Ladybug leaped out the Agreste guest window and shortly afterwards arrived at the top of the Eiffel Tower. I beat Chat here… for once. She smiled fondly and surveyed the city. The TVI building looked the worse for wear, and there was still a small plume of smoke over her bakery, but Paris was still as beautiful as ever.

The familiar clank of a metal staff against iron girders announced the arrival of Chat Noir. "My Lady," he said by way of greeting. "It's been a busy day. How are you doing?"

"Busy is not the word for it. Were you able to make progress on your investigation?" she asked tersely.

"I was, my Lady. I can't tell you how I know this, but I have reason to believe that Serket is Kagami Tsurugi's mother. You remember Kagami; she was the fencing akuma, Riposte."

Ladybug gasped. "How did you… no, wait, you said you can't tell me. Grr! How sure are you?"

"I'd bet one of my nine lives on it," Chat responded.

"Kitty, I thought you were down to six." She grinned and poked him in the side, he responded by smacking at her left elbow, only to quickly apologize when Ladybug grimaced. "It's nothing, Chat. I got a little banged up underneath all of this and I guess it's worse than I initially thought."

"Heh, funny you should mention that, Bug, because I've been through the same thing… I sprained my ankle right before our fight with Riposte and it still affected me a bit. I guess these suits only protect us from harm when we're already in them. Anything that happens when we're not transformed carries over."

"Looks that way," Ladybug said, running her elbow gingerly. "Anyway… Mrs. Tsurugi is Serket… okay. Any clues as to Le Faisan?"

Chat hummed. "She has been entertaining a houseguest for the past couple of weeks. I'd start there. We can't just approach them, though… they'd overpower us, and we need a plan. We'd probably need reinforcements, too. What about the usual crew? Rena, Carapace, and Queen Bee?"

"They're not available. Viperion is off the table, too. We could use Aspik, but he's still kinda new to the game. It's a shame there's not another experienced Miraculous holder out there who can help us out."

"I'm not sure Aspik and I would work well together, Bug," Chat teased. "After all, the boy you're crushing on and the boy crushing on you working together? I can't picture that ever happening."

Ladybug cringed and replied softly, "Chat, I said I was sorry. And you'll have to deal with it if we do bring him along! We need the best chance to win, and we were already close with him!"

Chat's eyes twinkled. "My Lady, I'm just worried about him… once he sees what he's up against..." he made a show of flexing his muscles. "Besides, My Lady, I've said it before and I'll say it again: if you saw me without the mask, you wouldn't be able to resist me." He smiled a very Cheshire Cat-like grin at her.

"If you say so, Kitty," Ladybug rolled her eyes. "But focus, please… I also think we should bring our power-ups, just in case. If Le Faisan shoots fire, then we should be able to use that, too."

"A fantastic idea, Bug. So… snakes, fire, and surprises. How do we lure them out?"

"I think we would really just need to wait for them… but that's fighting them on their terms. We can't afford that. It all started at the Trocadero; let's meet there tomorrow at noon. I'll bring Aspik and my power-ups. You bring your power-ups and we'll get ready for battle."

"You got it, Bug. Let's get this done." And I need to figure out how to be both Chat and Aspik at the same time… this is going to be a juggling act. He moved to stand up, but Ladybug put her hand on his arm. "Yes, my Lady?"

"Chat… I still need to talk to you. About earlier today." She sighed and looked out over the city, indicating the small plums of smoke in the distance. "Serket or Le Faisan or both attacked a bakery today. Marinette's bakery. I was too late to do anything about it, and Marinette was hurt. Not badly, just a little banged up. It could have been a lot worse, but she's… lucky."

"How's her family? Were they home? They weren't hurt, were they?" The pain of seeing his friend lying injured on the ground came through in his voice.

"No, they're out of town. Kitty… I'm scared. I thought I would be okay and I'm just not." She took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. "Serket, the Guardian, Hawk Moth, Alya, Adrien, Marinette and her family… all of this is very overwhelming. I had someone I could turn to, but I couldn't tell that person anything about my Ladybug life, and since that's pretty much all that's been going on recently, I wound up shutting him out. It cost me, dearly, to do that. I know what I've said in the past about our identities, and I still think they should be secrets… but…" She paused again. "Let me put it this way. I've got a part of my brain that reflexively clouds over whenever I think about who you are underneath the mask. I don't know if you have that or not… but if you do, it's ok to turn it off. I have that yellow envelope with your identity in it, and I don't want anything to put our partnership out of balance. So, here." She reached into her yo-yo and extracted a small pink envelope. "Now we're even again. You'll know when it's time to open it."

Chat took the envelope and looked at it warily. "My Lady… are you sure?"

"More than anything else in my life right now. I've had secrets wreck my life and secrets wreck my friend's life. I don't want it to wreck ours, too."

He unzipped his suit pocket and reverently placed the envelope in there before zipping it back up. "I'll guard this with my life, my Lady. Cat's honor."

"I know you will, Kitty. I've got to go get ready for tomorrow. You should, too. Go rest up. I'll be in touch later." She stood up and paused slightly, looking down at her partner, before swinging off into the Paris afternoon.

Chat watched her fade into a red spot in the distance. He toyed with the zipper on his pocket and said, under his breath, "Well… that happened." He shook his head in disbelief and vaulted off toward his house. I hope I beat her there.

Ladybug wasn't heading to the Agreste mansion just yet. As much as I'd love to think of that place as home… I just can't. I'm on a mission, and the sooner I get this mission done, the sooner I'll get my home back. I have a stop to make. She swung by a park that overlooked the Seine river and looked at the benches. Mr. Ramier was sitting on one of the benches feeding the pigeons. The other bench, as it had been on other occasions, was empty. Ladybug sat in a tree, staring at the bench. I wish she would come by. I hope she is safe - and if she isn't, I need to know how to protect her.

After a half-hour had passed, Ladybug sighed and swung away toward the right bank of the Seine. She stopped in front of a familiar apartment building. There was a new sign next to the entrance door: "For Rent. Call Sempé Properties at…" Dejected, she opened the door and climbed the stairs, feet mechanically following the path that she knew so well. When she reached the door to Master Fu's old apartment, she halted. On instinct, she reached for the doorknob and tried to turn it, but it was locked.

"Silly," she said aloud. "I don't know what I was thinking, coming here. You're not here, Master. I miss you more than I want to admit. I feel like there's another conversation we should have had about being the Guardian - about beating Serket and Le Faisan - about finding a companion, which you never told me about! by the way." She chuckled. "There's a great secret that I missed, some little bit of information, or something that I should be seeing that I'm not. I know there is… a key to defeating Serket. Instead, I'm alone with my partner, all the other regular Miraculous holders are unavailable, the first person I picked outside of them didn't work out, and I'm scared about the second one. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm scared, period. I'm just a kid, and here I am with the weight of the city on my shoulders… and I really need someone to talk to, and you're not here anymore." Tears fell unbidden from her eyes and dropped on the ground. She brought her head forward until it hit the door.

It was to her great surprise that she suddenly lurched forward as the door opened. "Ladybug," came a voice from the shadows. "I thought I heard your voice. Come in, quickly." Marianne Lenoir pulled her in by the arm and closed the door behind her, locking it.

Chat Noir landed in an alley convenient to his house. I can't go barging into my room like I usually do… if Marinette or Ladybug - or both! - is there, then that will lead to too many questions I don't want to answer. He pulled the pink envelope from his pocket and twisted it between his fingers. You'll know when to open this, she said. If she had given this to me before, I probably would have torn it open on the spot! He frowned. But would I have, really? Hang on, I need to talk to Plagg about this. "Claws in," he said, and Plagg was at his side after a flash of green light.

"Sooooooo," Plagg drawled. "You've got a gift from Ladybug! Are you going to open it?"

"That's the thing, Plagg, I'm not." Adrien watched as the kwami's eyes grew wide. "I know, I know… this is the chance to find out who the girl of my dreams really is! But she told me… I'll know when to open it… and now doesn't feel like the right time. Just like in the hotel after Lady Wifi, or in the Dark Owl's trap… or even in the sewer during Heroes Day. I had three golden opportunities to open my eyes, or open a door, or peek around a ledge… and there she would have been! But that would have been betraying her trust. And here," he waved the envelope at Plagg, "is the physical manifestation of that trust!" He stuck his chest out with pride. "I've been keeping it for so long, I can afford to keep it a little longer."

"But what if she opens her envelope with your name in it?"

"Then she'll know! She knows how I feel about her, as Adrien and as Chat Noir. That doesn't worry me one bit. Maybe Chat scared her off a bit, but Adrien's been sincere with her. And I know how Ladybug feels about Adrien Agreste… she told me herself! I'm flattered that she would even give me the time of day, but that's the kind of person she is! She's risked herself to save me so many times… both as Adrien and as Chat. She's amazing, and my life has been brighter ever since I found out that she likes me at least as much as I like her."

"You don't just like her, you know…"

"Plagg, you're the one bringing that up? After all your talk about feelings being icky? Fine, have it your way! I love her! I told her I would follow her to the moon without a spacesuit, and I would. Twice, if she asked me! I've loved that girl since the moment I laid eyes on her, and I've spent my life since then trying to catch up to her and catch her eye. I just hope… I just hope she loves me too." He pocketed the envelope and made his way back to the mansion.

"What are you doing here?" Ladybug asked Ms. Lenoir. "I thought the apartment was for rent!"

"It is for rent… I just keep it clean for when the property manager shows it. I have a little arrangement with him. Plus… I miss Fu, too. This is my way of keeping his memory alive a little bit. Tell me, Ladybug… you seemed upset. Have a seat." She gestured to a small table with two chairs.

"Thanks, Miss Lenoir. I admit… I'm a bit shocked. I never thought I'd see you again!" Suddenly, Ladybug's voice took on an urgent tone as she remembered why she wanted to see Fu's old confidante. "You're in danger! Le Faisan and Serket are looking for you. They burned down my bakery this morning and are coming after you because they think you might be the Guardian!"

"Calm down, Ladybug. Yes, I know all of that. You don't think I survived years in the French Resistance and as the companion of the Guardian without learning a few tricks, have you? I'm perfectly fine moving around in times of danger. Fu lived in hiding under an assumed name."

"Yes, and they knew that name from his wake! If they looked up where he lived, they could-"

Ms. Lenoir held up a hand to stop Ladybug. "They would find an old building of rent-controlled apartments that has long since been condemned. Not even squatters are brave enough to go in there. We are safe. For now," she added.

"How… how can you be so confident?"

"I wasn't always like this, Ladybug. Fu and I met in East Africa. I was a nurse in the French Colonies, and he was… well, he was Fu. He wandered, never choosing to stay in one place for very long. He and I must have been destined to be together, since he kept coming back to visit. He told me stories of adventure, romance, heartache… I was a naive girl, fresh from university. I fell in love with the life he was leading, and I made a decision then and there to follow that life. Shortly after that, I fell in love with him, and we were together ever since."

"When did he tell you about the Miraculous?"

"Oh, it must have been about a year after we started traveling together. I thought he was an archaeologist, or a paleontologist, or some sort of scientist. He was always writing things down, taking notes, and telling me interesting facts about the places we visited. After I had gained his trust, he sat me down and told me the story of the Miraculous. A year after that, he told me what he was searching for. Ten years after that, he told me the story of the Temple. You are lucky," Ms. Lenoir grinned, "it didn't take him nearly as long to finally tell you. Now, my story is not important, as it is coming to an end. Your story is just beginning, my dear. Please… what did you learn from Master Fu's teachings?"

Ladybug frowned. "He told me how to heal kwamis, and how to make tea…" She struggled to find the words and wound up gesturing helplessly in the air.

"What did you learn from the destruction of the Temple?" Ms. Lenoir prompted gently.

"I learned… he was human. He made mistakes. He used the Wish selfishly and it backfired on him. He felt that him wandering the globe searching for the missing Miraculous was his punishment for being selfish. Miss Lenoir… what if I make a mistake? I don't want to spend the rest of my life being punished for it! Besides," she rubbed her elbow gingerly, "I feel like I'm already going down that path."

"Ladybug. As Fu was human, so are you. You are allowed to make mistakes! You are not as selfish as Fu was in that moment. He let himself be taken in by Temptation and guided to do something foolish. Don't get me wrong - Sass is wise in his own way and can see into people's hearts. You have used him already, have you not?"

"I have. Twice."

"And did you talk with him, or did you just shut him in the Miracle Box when he was not needed?"

Ladybug blushed. "I talked with him. He offered to show me what was in the minds of the two boys that he powered."

"Did you take him up on that offer?"

"I… did." Ladybug hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry… I guess that was my way of giving into Temptation myself."

"I see. Do not fear, Ladybug. Whatever else Sass may be, he is honest and means well. Think back on what he said and whether or not it was useful. You would be surprised, I think." Ms. Lenoir cleared her throat. "Now, Ladybug. I have no tea to offer you to calm your nerves. But I will tell you that you know everything you need to know to defeat Serket and her friend. The power of Ladybug is luck and creation - two things which you already have plenty of. The secret to defeating those two and gaining their Miraculous is within you. Look into your heart, Ladybug. It will guide you."

Ladybug fought back more tears as the older woman talked to her. "Thanks," she sniffed. "How can I get in touch with you again if we need to talk?"

"You should not need to talk to me again, Ladybug. You have a companion of your own. Trust in him."

"But… my boyfriend and I just broke up!"

"Child," Ms. Lenoir smiled gently. "You know of whom I speak. Go to him. Confide in him. Trust him. It will give you the strength you need to defeat Serket."

"Is this… is this goodbye, then?" Ladybug said, heavy hearted.

"No, Ladybug. You will see me once more. Fu has given me a final mission to fulfill. I will be there when it is time. Now… go. Your companion awaits you."