Welcome to the next chapter! More big events to come…;)

Chapter 5

After her heart-to-heart talk with Libby, Sabrina was able to enjoy the rest of her vacation on Starland without any problems or self doubt. She now knew that wanting to make decisions for herself wasn't a bad thing, and that even friend pleasers like herself and Libby were allowed to have a voice. Once she went back to Paris, Sabrina was going to use her voice. Use it to tell her father and Chloe that she could make decisions just as much as anyone else. Maybe Vega had done that already while taking her place, but Sabrina was going to do it herself anyway. Now that she'd unearthed the other side of herself, she wanted to prove it was there and practice being the kind of friend that gave and received.

So after breakfast the next morning, Sabrina began calling her own shots, all the while making sure she still talked like a Starling and behaved reasonably like Vega. Throughout the starday, as she was now used to calling it, she hung out with the Star Darlings and participated in activities that they liked, but that she had an input in as well. Sabrina played dress-up games with Libby, Gemma, Tessa, Adora, and Leona, half of which involved cosplaying as various Starlings including Lady Stella. She then helped Tessa cook the meals she most enjoyed back in Paris using Starland food, which resulted in the brand new glorange and starberry smoothie they made being added to many Starlings' lists of favourite foods. Next, she resolved an argument between Leona and Scarlet by suggesting a good way to understand each other better: doing each other's favourite things for a starhour. With a little help from Clover and Astra, this plan had somewhat worked.

Sabrina had so much fun that the day zipped by at the speed of light. Before she knew it, it was time for dinner. To get more accustomed to the food on Starland, Sabrina ordered everything on the Celestial Café's menu, hoping to try all the foods and see what she liked. Tessa, who loved food and cooking, was impressed with her thinking and did the same thing just for fun, which had made the bot-bot waiters along with Cassie and Clover a little nervous. Libby, Leona, and Sage offered to eat the extra food for them if they got full, which pleased Tessa. The bot-bot waiters took a while to deliver all the food, but when it arrived, Sabrina didn't waste a second. She took a bite out of each meal, and in the end, decided that she liked the zoomberry cake best.

When night fell, Sabrina had a sleepover with Libby in her bedroom as a thank you for helping her through her doubts. Gemma kept both of them awake by talking in her sleep, so they passed the time by hiding under Libby's pink blankets and discussing their hopes and dreams. As a generous Starling, Libby wanted nothing more than to give Starlings and Wishlings everything they wanted. Sabrina had always thought her greatest wish was to do that sort of thing for Chloe, but now she wasn't so sure. She'd been so focused on helping Chloe accomplish her desires that she hadn't thought much about her own.

"I have an idea," whispered Libby, "How about tomorrow, I take some time off of my classes and hang out with you? We can explore Starland together and talk about stuff. Maybe something will inspire you."

Sabrina was surprised. "Really? You'd skip class…just to help me decide on my future?"

"Of course, Sabrina," said Libby, "It's what friends do. Real friends, anyway."

"Yeah," Sabrina agreed, sighing wistfully, "Chloe's never done that for me." There was a moment of silence (well not exactly, since Gemma was still sleep-talking in the background), and then Sabrina held Libby's hand. "Libby, there's um…there's actually one part of my future I do have figured out."

"Really? What is it?"

Sabrina hesitated. "I don't know, it might get you in trouble with Lady Stella…"

"You can say it. I won't be mad at you."

"But once you hear it, you might start breaking the academy rules."

"Scarlet, Sage, and Cassie are already breaking the rules just to help make their wishes come true. And so far none of them has been caught yet. With them around, I don't think I've got anything to lose." They both chuckled.

Sabrina finally admitted it. "Okay. The thing is…when the starweek's over and it's time for me to go back to Paris…I was wondering if, even after my time in Starland…we can stay friends. You can sneak out every night, go to Paris, and we can do stuff together. And then maybe when I grow up, I can move to Starland and help you make your dream come true."

Libby's eyes widened. "You…want me to…visit you? Even after the starweek's over?"

"Libby, you're the first person who ever got me. You taught me so many good things, like how I don't always have to do what other people want. And I understand you too. We have so much in common. By the time Vega and I will need to switch back, I think you and me…are going to be BFFs. Real BFFs."

"Do you really think so?"

"Of course! At first I didn't know why I was having more fun with you and your friends than I did with Chloe. Now I do. It's because you understand me! And I…I don't want to forget all this. I don't want to revert back to the old me who caters Chloe all the time just because I can't go back to Starland for a while. If that happens…" Sabrina's voice trailed off, and blinking back tears, she gave Libby a tight hug. Libby returned the hug, and they spent the rest of the night in each other's arms.

Sabrina fell asleep a few starmins later, but Libby stayed awake for a while. She was touched by what the Wishling said, but she knew she wouldn't be able to visit her in Paris. Not because of her classes or the rules, but because Sabrina wasn't supposed to remember her experience on Starland. To protect the Starlings' secret from negative Wishlings like Chloe and Hawk-Moth, they needed to erase Sabrina's memories of them once they brought her back to Wishworld. However, Libby also knew another thing for sure: Sabrina was right about the two of them becoming BFFs. No one understood either of them more than each other, and it would likely always be that way. Losing Sabrina would have a huge impact on her, but it was for the greater good…or was it?

As Libby fell asleep, she found herself resting her head on Sabrina's shoulder. She didn't want to let her go, and neither did she. There had to be something they could do to make their friendship last forever—something that didn't involve memory erasing.

Vega's Sunday was a big day for her too. Someone got akumatized that afternoon, and that someone was a Wishling hypnotist named Simon Grimault. Not only was he a hypnotist either way, but he'd also been missing in action during the whole Chloe thing. He was the perfect man for Vega's plan. All she had to do was use her powers and make him tell the superheroes that he was the one who planted the speech controlling spell on Chloe.

Once Alya announced on the internet that Ladybug, Cat Noir, and the hypnotist, who was now known as Simon Says, were battling at an attraction called Arc De Triomphe, Vega left Sabrina's place, telling Roger that she was going to help her classmates with an overdue science project. He believed her, but said, "Just stay away from Arc De Triomphe, okay? Simon Says was bad enough the first time he was akumatized, but he's stronger now that it's his second time."

"Don't worry, Dad," said Vega, "I'll be careful." But as soon as Roger left in his police car, she called a taxi and asked to be taken to Arc De Triomphe. The driver agreed to take her there, but the way she did it gave Vega the impression that she really only did it because she thought her passenger was Chloe's (former) servant. This theory was confirmed when they arrived, and the driver willingly let her out despite Vega having no money to pay for the ride.

As the Wishling vehicle drove away, Vega gazed at the old, majestic building in front of her, and the battle that was transpiring on top of it. Ladybug was swinging her yoyo in circles, conjuring a circle of pink energy, and Cat Noir was twirling a steel stick in the air. The man in bright green and purple clothing who stood before them (clearly the villainous Simon Says) was holding a deck of cards, which (Vega could tell from the calculating smile on his face) were filled with negative energy.

Vega watched as Simon Says jumped up, did a midair somersault over the heroes, and tossed a card at Cat Noir. "Simon Says," he shouted, and the card touched Cat Noir, disappearing once it did. As soon as this happened, Cat Noir dropped his stick and grabbed Ladybug's yoyo, trying to pull it out of her hand. Ladybug quickly started trying to pull it away from him, and Simon Says took advantage of the distraction. He walked towards Cat Noir, and the cat-themed hero obediently held out his hand. "Now it's time I took your ring," said Simon Says.

Now. Vega focused all her attention on Simon Says and chanted in her head, Tell them you did it. Tell them you did it. Tell them you did it. Tell them you did it. Simon Says reached for Cat Noir's ring, and then suddenly froze, dropping his deck of cards and letting them fall off the building. He quickly held his head with both hands, a strained expression on his face. "I…I…I did it! I made Chloe say she made Sabrina do her homework! I did it because I want her to stop being so mean to her and everyone else in Paris!"

Ladybug was puzzled. "But that happened on Wednesday. Weren't you just akumatized today?"

"Y—n—y—n—NO! I was…not corrupted unt…Tuesday! I just thought I'd wait until…no I…Horrificator was def…I wasn't a…to show until later…!"

Vega nearly collapsed in exhaustion. Normally using her mind controlling powers on someone couldn't be easier, but this time it was a lot harder. It was obvious that Hawk-Moth was aware of what she was doing and fighting for control over Simon Says' actions. He definitely knew there was another magical source in Paris, one that didn't have anything to do with his villain-creating powers. Starf—maybe her plan hadn't been such a good one after all.

Suddenly Simon Says started striking strange poses and then screamed. He was engulfed in black and purple smoke, and as he turned back into his original form, a dark-coloured butterfly flew into view. Although still starprised by what just happened, Ladybug wrenched her yoyo out of Cat Noir's grasp and began to swing it around again. "No more evil-doing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize!" She then caught the butterfly in her yoyo. "Gotcha!"

Vega decided now was a good time to leave the area and look for Sabrina's classmates in case Roger went looking for her. Unbeknownst to her, however, she wasn't the only audience Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Simon had had just now. Alya had been hiding behind a nearby bin, and she had filmed the entire thing on her phone—everything including "Sabrina," who was now really starting to fascinate her.

Vega was eating dinner with Roger in the evening when the video was posted on the internet. A notification popped up on Sabrina's phone when the video appeared; apparently she paid a lot of attention to Alya's special website, the Ladyblog. As soon as Roger finished eating and went to bed, Vega went on the Ladyblog and watched Alya's new video.

"Yo peeps, Alya here. You'll never guess what happened today. Simon Says was akumatized, and while Ladybug and Cat Noir weren't able to figure out where Hawk-Moth was hiding, I was able to solve another mystery!" Alya disappeared, but she continued to narrate as a recording of the Simon Says battle began to play. Vega froze as she recognized herself as Sabrina in the video.

"See right there?" Alya continued, "There's my classmate Sabrina, watching the battle. The moment she develops that focused look, Simon Says starts acting weird." After the rest of the recording played without any narration, Alya reappeared on the screen. "As a journalist, I can tell Simon Says wasn't trying to say all that stuff! Just like Chloe wasn't trying to admit that Sabrina does all her work, which Sabrina was also there for! Not to mention that focused look too. Could it be that Sabrina Raincomprix, daughter of police officer Roger Raincomprix, is really a superhero in disguise? Let's hope so, because it looks like Ladybug and Cat Noir might have a new ally helping them!"

Vega groaned. Starland was safe, but her cover had still been blown. It was only a matter of starmins before Hawk-Moth went after her, and since Sabrina was a well-known civilian Wishling, that wouldn't be a hard task for him to complete. She had to leave Paris before he took action—fast. But was that the right decision? The real Sabrina wasn't due back in Paris for another three stardays, and if Vega left the city, she wouldn't know where to find her. Then they wouldn't be able to switch back, and Sabrina wouldn't be able to prove Alya's theory about her being a superhero wrong.

It's okay, Vega tried to reassure herself, They don't know about Starland, or about the Star Darlings. All they know is that you've got powers. They'll only go after you. As long as no one suspects you're from another planet, you'll be fine.

The next morning, Vega was driven to school by Roger. He had learned about Alya's video after his friend Nadja Chamack mentioned it on the phone at breakfast. Of course he didn't think the theory was true, but to protect "Sabrina" from any civilians who did, he decided to stay by her side until she arrived at school.

"Are you sure you can handle yourself in there?" Roger asked.

"I can do this, Dad," said Vega, "Don't worry about me. Focus on helping the city."

Roger smiled. "I'll do that. But if anything comes up, call me."

Vega nodded and got out of the car. She tried to act normal as she went up the steps and into the school, but she could tell that all the students were staring at her, wondering if Alya had been right. In class, no one could stop glancing at her—not even Miss Bustier as she took attendance.

"Where's Juleka?" the teacher asked.

Rose, the girl at the back who was dressed entirely in pink, replied, "I'm not sure. I tried calling her before the bell rang, but it went straight to voicemail."

"I hope she's okay," said Alix, the girl who usually wore rollerblades, "This is the first time she's ever been absent."

Suddenly a girl who wasn't in Sabrina's class burst into the room, looking scared. "Reflekta's back!" she yelled, out of breath. Then the girl was zapped by a pink ray, and she turned into a strange being that was different shades of pink. A dark purple wrist mirror appeared on her hand.

A girl who looked identical to what the first one had turned into stepped in the room, cackling evilly. "Juleka," gasped Rose, "why were you akumatized again?"

"I'm Reflekta now," said the villain, "and now I'm stronger than I ever was! Now I can't only make people look like me, I can also turn them into who they really are, deep down inside them!" A pink ray shot out of Reflekta's wrist mirror, and many students ducked as it sailed across the room. Chloe started to grab Vega and pull her in front of her, but she leapt to the floor before she could touch her. The ray hit Chloe before she had a chance to react, and she was transformed into a grotesque black and brown beast. Chloe, horrified at her new form, screamed. "AAAAH! What have you done to me? This is an even worse look than the one you gave me last time!"

"You deserve it more than anything," declared Reflekta, "You're even more beastly on the inside."

As she crawled into the next aisle of tables to hide, Vega noticed two Wishling teenagers doing the same thing, deliberately heading for the door. Coincidentally, they happened to be Marinette and Adrien, the two Wishlings who had been absent a few stardays ago.

"However," Reflekta continued, "as crazy as it is, Chloe's not the real reason I'm here this time." She began wandering around the classroom, looking in all directions. "Sa-brin-a? Come on out, I know you're in here! Or is it really Sabrina I'm talking to?"

"Why would you think it isn't?" asked a boy named Kim.

Chloe scoffed, which wasn't easy now that she had beast fangs and a frog's tongue. "Seriously, Kim? I know Sabrina more than the rest of you put together. She doesn't have any problems with being my BFF, and she certainly doesn't have powers! I think she's been replaced by an akumatized villain who wants me to suffer more than she does!"

"That's not true, Chloe," snarled Reflekta, "Hawk-Moth hasn't akumatized anyone mad at Chloe since the week before last week! But he agrees with what you said first. So, since he wants to know Ladybug and Cat Noir's secret identities anyway, he put me in charge of the ultimate reveal!"

Vega gulped. She had to get out there, now. But she couldn't let anyone see her. What could she—

"Uh-oh," said Nino, a boy who spent a lot of time with Alya, "better get to Place Des Vosges so we can tell Sabrina she's the main target."

Reflekta laughed. "Nice try, Sabrina. I know you're just using your speech controlling spell again. This time it's not going to work." Vega glanced up at Nino, who gave her a disappointed wink when Reflekta wasn't looking. She hadn't used her powers on him; he was just trying to get Reflekta to leave the school so she could escape.

Suddenly Ladybug and Cat Noir burst into the room, confidently smiling. "Sorry Reflekta," said Ladybug, "but you're gonna have to let us take the case."

"How dare you interrupt my search," yelled Reflekta, "Can't this wait until after I've found my so-called classmate?"

"Well, I've always kind of wondered what it's like to be a real cat," joked Cat Noir. Ladybug shook her head in annoyance, and then Reflekta charged at the heroes. As they began battling with Alya excitedly filming them, Vega crawled toward the windows and silently tried to open one of them. It was locked.

"Here, let me get that for you," said Ivan, a more muscular boy in the class. With his superior strength, he was able to break the glass. Unfortunately, Reflekta heard the glass breaking, and she pushed past Ladybug and Cat Noir to tackle her down, preventing her from climbing out the window and up the bricks of the school wall. Vega twisted out of Reflekta's hold and leapt over the tables to get to the door, with Ivan, Rose, and Alix quickly restraining the villain to stop her from following her.

"Cataclysm!" Cat Noir shouted. Black energy surrounded his hand, and he rushed toward Reflekta. He was able to touch Reflekta's wrist mirror and destroy it, which freed her from Hawk-Moth's control, but not before a pink ray flew out of the wrist mirror and hit Vega when her back was turned. Instantly she was bathed in pink light, and when it cleared away, her hair was blue again, and the outfit Sabrina always wore was replaced with her Starling clothes.

Everyone in the classroom except a dazed Reflekta (now Juleka, the Wishling she'd started out as) stared at her in starprise. No one said or did anything except for Ladybug, who quickly used her yoyo to trap the dark-coloured butterfly that had come out of the wrist mirror. Vega's eyes went wide. She looked at her arms and legs, and she examined her hair. "No…" she whispered in horror, "no, no, no…"

"Yes," replied Chloe, her starprise shifting into a look of pure anger, "yes, yes, yes."

Without a closing phrase or anything to say, Alya slowly stopped filming the scene. Ladybug released the now-white butterfly from her yoyo and said, "Miraculous Ladybug." The room was filled with glowing pink ladybugs, and when they cleared away, Chloe was human again, Juleka's hand mirror was fixed, and Vega looked like Sabrina again. However, the damage had already been done.

Chloe's glare deepened. Without a moment's hesitation, she stood up with a grunt and yelled, "What have you done with my loyal minion?!"

Oh dear…the secret's out! Will Vega manage to get out of this mess? The chapter coming up next will let you know. See you there!