You know what's weird? Day by day, nothing seems to change, but pretty soon...everything's different. Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Over and over you play this out, like some ominous dance with death just before dawn. Why?

"And now my GPA has dropped a whole point," Aurore told Lucy sadly as they exited the school. As it turns out, having a part-time job on TV made keeping up with grades a little difficult.

"Well, if you want some-"

"That's terrible! You hear that, Chloé? Aurore's GPA dropped a whole point on her last report card!" Sabrina called out while cutting off Lucy.

"Well, you can't be Little Miss Weather girl and Little Miss Good Grades at the same time!" Chloe remarked. "We better not make her cry, Sabrina, or she might turn into Stormy Weather and start raining on us. What a ridiculous power! Utterly ridiculous!"

"Chloe, stop being a twat." Lucy scolds, earning a glare from Chloe.

"Aurore won't be transforming," Marinette said, stepping to the other side of Aurore. "because her grade average will be up again next term." She then turns to the taller girl. "Don't hesitate to ask if you need any help." Aurore thanks her but Chloe simply scoffs.

"Yeah, right. Once a villain, always a villain!"

Lucy squints at Chloe. "You do see how much of a hypocrite you are being right now right? Chloe, you've been akumatized twice yourself in the past year." (I do find this dialog interesting on both Marinette and Chloe's sides. In this episode by this point, Chloe has been akumatized twice, but she was also given the opportunity to be Queen Bee. Thus, Chloe doing the whole, once a villain, always a villain line, as well as Marinette poking that Chloe hasn't changed for the better both contradict one another, at least at this point in time. My episodes are in a pretty funky order as I have mentioned before due to the fact that I was at first following one wiki page, then changed to the miraculous fan wiki. I also began following the episode in production order rather than in aired order. With that being said this chapter, for dialog purposes technically should have come before Miracular when Chloe was told she could no longer be Queen Bee. Even so, Ladybug took away her miraculous because her identity being exposed made her a target, not because she didn't make a good hero. However, I will adjust as needed. Regardless it was still odd things for Chloe and Marinette to say to one another.)

"Yeah Chloe, unlike you some people do actually change for the better," Marinette added.

Lucy tilted her head from side to side. "Well, I mean that's not really fair-"

"Once again, Lucy was cut off, this time by Chloe. "Well, you will never change, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You'll always be Adri-dumb...I mean, Adri-bummed abababababa lame!" Chloe then turns and points to Alya, who had come over along with Nino at the sound of commotion. "And you, Alya Cesaire. You still haven't found out who Ladybug is, right? Well, you two are made for each other! You're both just as clueless as the other. Back to you, now-" Chloe says bringing her attention back to where Aurore was standing, only to find the spot empty. Looking around and stomped her foot as she sees the girl get into a car and drive off.

"Huh! She's gone now because of you two. And I wasn't even halfway done trashing her." Chloe then turns and walks off, calling Sabrina to follow, leaving Lucy, Marinette, Nino, and Alya watching her go.

"Two steps forward, five steps back with that one, eh," Lucy comments walking away from the group. Alya and Nino laugh while Marinette glares after Chloe.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Marinette placed the lessons she had written out for Adrien into her backpack with a sigh. She had been thinking about what Chloe had said all afternoon. Normally, Chloe's words didn't bother Marinette much, but today...

"Chloe might not be completely wrong, you know, Tikki! I haven't changed. Look at how I always fail when I try to have a basic conversation with Adrien. As soon as I'm in front of him, my heart starts beating like crazy and my words come tumbling out, making no sense whatsoever. It seems like I'm paralyzed.

"I, uh, I wanted to, umm, gift you a make-– I mean, gift you a give I made- I mean..."

Marinette takes out the poems she had held onto that Adrien had written last Valentine's day and laid on the floor while reading them over.

"Somewhere
In a well-hidden place
Buried deep in my soul
Concealed behind my ego
Secured by the impenetrable walls of past history
-And unconvinced promises
There's this tiny box-
It is sealed with honesty
And the sanctity of mutual respect & admiration.
And in this hidden box –
Are my unexpressed feelings
For you."

"Your hair is dark as night,

your pretty bluebell eyes,

I wonder who you are beneath that strong disguise.

Every day we see each other and I hope that you'll be mine,

together our love could be so true, please, will you be my Valentine?"

"It's so beautiful. But I'll never know what he thinks of me, or who these poems he wrote were meant for. Uh, I'm so-so lame!" She says sitting up in frustration. Tikki flies out in front of her in comfort.

"You are not, Marinette! You've changed a lot since the beginning of the year and since you first met Adrien!"

"You're right! I have changed. I got more and more clumsy since I met him!" Marinette replies, thinking about the time an umbrella closed on her the day she and Adrien had their first real interaction. This was also the day she suddenly felt her heart race for him.

"No!" Tikki argues. "Think of all the things you've done since the first day back at school! You went to the movies with Adrien!"

"Yeah, how could I forget that? In my PJ's wearing a towel!"

Tikki giggles lightly. "True... maybe that wasn't the best example. What about the time you practiced for the video game competition? Right here in your bedroom! And when you fenced with him! Adrien has become a true friend."

Marinette smiled as she thought of the handmade lucky charm Adrien had made her for her birthday. How he had told her he held on to the one she gave him everywhere he went.

"I always carry the lucky charm you gave me with me wherever I go, and I think it works pretty well. So... I figured it was my turn to make one for you."

"Adrien's become a friend who I can talk to about anything. Except when it comes to my feelings for him."

"It's better than nothing, though, isn't it?" Tikki asked.

"Can you still be in love with someone even after they become your friend?"

"Marinette! Perfect timing!" Marinette always had everyone's best interests at heart and Adrien felt confident in her ability to give him solid, well-thought-out advice. He walked with her over to a nearby bench. He sat down awkwardly as Marinette happily gave him her full attention. "Okay, well... I'm sorry, this is a bit awkward for me because it's about a girl."

"A girl?" Marinette's heart flipped, the conversation filling her with sudden anxiety and maybe even excitement.

"We see each other all the time and have been just friends but I have been feeling...different and she can be a little hard to read.."

"So...she was a friend but now you want her to be more than a friend...but you don't know if she feels the same way?" Marinette inquired, her anxiousness building.

"Exactly. Have you ever had that problem?" He asked.

"Yes..eh, no, well probably. What is she like?" She asked, hoping to hear some type of description that would fit her own.

"She's..." Where did he begin? "Kind...and funny. She has these eyes that I sometimes feel like I might drown in..." He closed his eyes and smiles. "And when I am with her I feel..."

"Happy?" Marinette interjected in a whim.

"Home." He corrected.

Marinette's heart hammered in her chest at his description. "Do...do I know her?" Say my name. She thought. Just say my name.

"Yeah," He replied looking at her. "Lucy."

"So it's definitely not a date?" Alya asked skeptically.

"Of course not." Lucy Laughed. "Besides, even if he had been, it's not like I would have said yes. Chicks before dicks."

"Do you think I'll ever be able to tell him that he means much more to me than just a friend? Or that I even should?"

Tikki opens her mouth to give Marinette some kind of reassurance. Something. Anything to ease her heart. And yet, even with billions of years of existence, the Kwami couldn't think of a single thing.

Because this storm isn't something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is you. Something inside of you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn't get in, and walk through it, step by step.

OoOoOoOoO

Gabriel Agreste stood in his office, facing the painting her had of his wife while his assistant Nathalie writes an email to Mrs. Tsurugi about their current contract.

"To the attention of Mrs. Tsurugi. Things may not be going exactly the way we planned but change can be a good thing. I'm confident it'll only strengthen our agreement in the end."

Nathalie typed his words into the tablet and couldn't help but let her mind race.

It's true. Things aren't going as planned. For me, either. I should never have taken this job. It's too much sometimes. As I watched Adrien growing up, my affection for him has grown, too.

"I'm… sure he'll understand, sir," Nathalie said over the phone while in the car with Adrien, heading for a play.

"My dad's flaking, isn't he? Let me guess! Something came up?"

"Yes, but he's reserved the best seats in the house for you, Adrien. Front row."

"As usual. The best money can buy." Adrien said with a sigh.

As I've watched Emilie falling deeper into an endless sleep, my sadness for her has deepened, too. And little by little…my admiration for Gabriel, a man who would do anything for his family, has turned into something more. I never thought I would have feelings like this. I would do anything for Gabriel Agreste, no matter the cost.

"Are you ready, Nathalie?"
"They've been keeping you from achieving your dream for way too long. I will go to any lengths to end the reign of Ladybug and Cat Noir."
"Good."

Nathalie coughs, and for a moment, her knees go weak, bringing her to the ground. Gabriel's eyes widen as he watches her.

"Nathalie! Are you alright?" Quickly regaining her composure, Nathalie stands in hopes of not worrying her employer.

"Yes, thank you, sir." She tells him.

"I feel a strong negative emotion. We'll finish this later." It astounded her sometimes, how even without his miraculous active, he could sense the emotions of others from across Paris so long as they were strong enough.

Adrien bursts into the room with a wide smile as his eyes land on his father. "I have to tell you how amazing this photoshoot was, Dad." And yet, even as he was able to sense the emotions of people miles away, Gabriel still seemed to disregard the ones of the boy who stood only a few feet away. Noticing his father's tense stance, Adrien apologized. "I'm sorry, Father. It was very interesting."

"You'll tell me all about it later, Adrien. I'm busy at the moment." Gabriel tells him. Adrien frowns at his response. Of course, he is.

"In that case, can I go out and meet up with my friends?"

"You'll see them at school tomorrow." Nathalie then walks over and escorts Adrien out of the room, leaving Gabriel to ponder the negative emotion he is sensing alone.

"This negative emotion I'm feeling… it's familiar." Nooroo, his Kwami, appears beside him.

"Maybe it's your son's emotion. You should spend more time with him." The creature suggests, only for his owner to glare at him.

"I'm doing all of this so that he can be happy again." Through the blur, Gabriel wondered if he was alone or if other parents felt the same way he did - that everything involving our children was painful in some way. The emotions, whether they were joy, sorrow, love, or pride, were so deep and sharp that in the end they left you raw, exposed, and yes, in pain. The human heart was not designed to beat outside the human body and yet, each child represented just that - a parent's heart bared, beating forever outside its chest.

"But aren't you in danger of losing him if you continue down this path?"

There's no sun there, no moon, no direction, no sense of time. Just fine white sand swirling up into the sky like pulverized bones. That's the kind of sandstorm you need to imagine.

"I forbid you to talk to me like that, Nooroo!" Gabriel seethed. After all, the things we need to hear, are usually the most painful. Nooroo's mouth magically seals shut and Gabriel enters his lair with Nooroo following behind him. In his lair, Gabriel summons his kwami and transforms into HawkMoth. As he does so, he can't help but wonder if his Kwami was in fact right.

"What if Nooroo is right? Am I taking too many risks?"

"You have to trust me!" Ladybug shouts to Adrien from the top of the skyscraper.
"Always!" Adrien responds as he jumps out of Gorizilla's hand, and over the side of the building.
Hawkmoth can feel his heart fall to his stomach as he sees the scene before him "No!"

"So, that's why I lost touch with my Akuma! It's too far out of range."

"There's another problem. Adrien's class is on the train, and your son is on the passenger list!" Nathalie informs him.

"He's up in space! And there's nothing I can do." Gabriel clenches his fists.

"I'm sure Ladybug and Cat Noir will rescue him."

"Hoping that my enemies will save my son... How ironic."

And you really will have to make it through that violent, metaphysical, symbolic storm. No matter how metaphysical or symbolic it might be, make no mistake about it: it will cut through flesh like a thousand razor blades. People will bleed there, and you will bleed too. Hot, red blood. You'll catch that blood in your hands, your own blood, and the blood of others.

"I no longer have a choice. I must succeed, at any price." Hawkmoth declares. "Fly away, my little Akuma, and evilize her!" He would bring Adrien his mother back. He would ensure his son's future happiness, even if he hated him for it.

OoOoOoOOoOo

Adrien lies down on his bed and sighs. "My father will never change."

"I like people who never change," Plagg says, floating above his owner. "That way you always know what to expect. Look at me. I love eating cheese. Why would I change that? I wouldn't be myself anymore if I did."

"Does this mean my life will never change?" Adrien asked making his Kwami laugh.

"'Course not, don't worry. Think of everything that's happened since the end of last summer. You're finally going to school. And you know I still find it weird for a boy your age to love going to school so much when you could just stay at home."

"I was tired of being cooped up at home, never seeing anyone, all because of my father. I met a lot of friends at school." Adrien explains.

"See? You've already started to change."

"But father still hasn't," Adrien replies.

"You sure about that?" Plagg asks knowingly. "He didn't punish you after you went to the movies with Lucy or that Marinette girl all by yourself."

"True. We even watched mother's movie together instead."

"And you played a duet on the piano with him, didn't you?"

"And he allowed me to meet my friends afterward."

"Your father's like one of those wheels of cheese with a very thick rind." Plagg went on. "Once you manage to sink your teeth into it, you realize it's all soft inside. Or slightly rotten."

Adrien laughed and sat up in his bead. "Plagg, you're really gross. But you're right. Thank you." A sudden shake of the ground alerted both Adrien and Plagg. The Kwami quickly denies his involvement, saying he never used his cataclysm. The both rush over to Adriens window to see an unnaturally large volcano erupting in the distance.

"What is that?!" Adrien asked, more to himself than anything before saying the magic words and transforming into Chat Noir.

OoOOOooOoOo

At home, Lucy sat alone on her couch, her mother facetiming her as the news broadcaster informed everyone of the current threat Paris, and the world, was facing. Stormy Weather had risen again, this time more powerful than the last. She had made a volcano so large that it was basically being used as a rocket bosted to push the earth off its axis and away from the sun. Lucy couldn't help but struggle to understand this plan.

She knew it was to convince Chat Noir and Ladybug to give up their miraculous in order to save everyone, after all it always was. However, the people threatened by the plans conjured up never included the villains themselves. If the earth did in fact go far enough away from the sun, it would kill every living organism on the planet. Even if Storm Weather's power protected her from this some how, Hawkmoth wouldn't be, and once he parished, so would she. Even if for the sake of argument, regardless of Hawkmoths life, Stormy Weather managed to keep her power and survive, she would be the sole living organism on a dead planet. She couldn't live long after that, and even if she could, why would she want to?

None of it made sense.

Panic, was the answer. She wanted people to panic. Stormy Weather probably didn't actually have any real intention of dooming the planet and thus dooming herself, but because of Chloe's stupid little poke at her abilities earlier, she wanted to make sure it was abundantly clear that she could. The again, mass homicide, or perhaps in this case genicide, followed by the surrender of ones own life wasn't unheard of when you consider suicide bombers and Kamikaze piolits. Or even an attempt at Murder-suicide, Lucy thought solemly at the memory of Arnold Robertson in her home.

And once the storm is over you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive.

OoOoOooOo

Chloe stood on the roof with Sabrina while watching the chaos in the distance. Regardless of Ladybug telling her she could no longer be Queen Bee, Chloe remained confident that the super heroine would eventually find she needed Chloe's help once again. There would come a day when a villain would appear that Ladybug and Chat Noir simply couldn't handle alone, and when they came asking for her help, Chloe would give a well earned "I told you so" and accept her miraculous with pride.

"I don't understand why she wont just come give back my miraculous already. I am after all the best super hero of them all." She spoke allowed and Sabrina, ever the loyal one, quickly agreed. "Nobody is nicer than me." Chloe tested while glancing back at her friend.

"So true Chloe." Sabrina answered, though of course, they both knew better. Neither girl was truly blind to the kind of person Chloe had the habit of being. All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision. But as that decision is repeated, a habit sprouts and grows stronger. Roots entrench themselves and branches grow. The task of breaking a bad habit is like uprooting a powerful oak within us. And the task of building a good habit is like cultivating a delicate flower one day at a time.

"Since no one is owning up, the whole school will be punished." Principle Damocles told everyone after a fake fire call was made.

"What?! I'm not so sure my father will react kindly to me being punished without any proof."Chloe gets out her phone, preparing to call her dad.

"Oh, no! Please, don't disrupt the busy mayor." He coughs. "The whole school is punished except for Miss Bourgeois!"

"Sabrina, who? I don't know any Sabrina." Chloe spoke to her butler as he informed her of Sabrina's presence.

"But, of course you do, Chloe. It's me." Sabrina takes off a rose pin that Chloe gave her before the incident. "Your BFF!"

Jean approaches to Chloe. "You should talk to her, Mademoiselle. She's right here."

Chloe turns to look towards Sabrina. "I don't see anyone."

"Ladybug could have never defeated Despair Bear without you," Sabrina encouraged. "Its not wonder she chose you to be the awesome Queen Bee!"

"Ladybug? What are you doing?" Chat asked, after Chloe used an patio umbrella to yank off Despair Bear from Chat's leg. Ladybug smiled triumphitly.

"Oh, nothing. Just saving your skin with the help of our new little sidekick." She said gesturing Chloe who stood proud at the title.

"I've always dreamed of doing this… with you!" Chloe says after being given the Bee miraculous.

"We must work together as a team, all right, Queen Bee?"

"Venom!"
Queen Bee stings Malediktator in his sash; he lets out a girlish squeal; the orb he was creating disappears. "Your turn, Ladybug." Bee throws the sash to Ladybug, who catches it and breaks it in half like it's nothing; the akuma flutters out.

"Pound it!"

"You really are the best of the best, and Ladybug such a laney for being a no-show." Sabrina says and although Chloe still holds resentment toward Ladybug, she couldn't completely let Sabrina dismiss her that way. "If you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too-even when you're in the dark."

You won't even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over.

"Hey, stop it! Don't talk about Ladybug like that." Chloe says as a shadow crosses over them. "Finally. Huh?"

Stormy Weather peers down at her with a smirk on her lips. "So, Chloe Bourgeois, you still think my power is utterly ridiculous?"

Chloe remains unfazed. She had been the target of enough Akuma's in the past year that they hardly rattled her anymore. "Ugh, this is just proof that I was right: Once a villain, always a villain."

Stormy glared at the blonde girl. "I guess that's something we have in common then." With that she pointed her umbrella at the two girls and shot at them, freezing them both in a small glacier and laughs until Ladybug and Chat Noir show up.

"You'll never defeat me!" Stormy shouts. "I'm a hurricane!" Stormy Weather blows away Ladybug and Cat Noir with the power of her umbrella, sending the two flying throw the air.

"Ouch. It's true, she really is a lot stronger than before..." Ladybug thinks to herself. "...but we're also stronger than before. Cat Noir and I have gotten to know one another better, and we've learned how to fight together" She thinks about all the villains that she and Chat have taken on together in the past year. Sandman, Queen Wasp, Dark Owl, Riposte, Mayura.

"We are Ladybug..."

"and Chat Noir!"

We've learned to trust each other. Thinking of the time when they have had to detransform to defeat Dark Owl and keep their eyes closed so they didn't learn each others identities.

And now, we have new super powers!

"Aqua-Tikki, spots on!"

"Plagg-glacier, claws out!"

"After all, we've been through a lot together." Ladybug says to Chat as the land in the street. "We're not gonna let Stormy Weather defeat us, right, kitty?" Chat Noir smiles and gives her a firm nod.

"As usual, I completely agree with you, Bugaboo."

But one thing is certain.

"Stormy Weather has been defeated!" The reporter's voice shoots out from the TV. Magucal ladybugs fly through the air, fixing the damage that had been caused, bringing everything back to normal.

OoOoOoOo

"You can do it, Marinette!" Tikki cheers as Marinette walks up to Adrien's home. Marinette winks and presses the doorbell, and a camera appears in front of her.

"Yes?" Nathalie's voice comes through the speaker.

"Hello, I'm Marinette, and I'm in Adrien's class. I'm bringing him the schoolwork that he missed today, and the homework that is due tomorrow." The mailbox opens and for a moment Marinette hesitakes. "You tell him it's from Marinette, his friend from school, and that I did it as a friend to help him, okay?"

"I will." Nathalie confirms.

Marinette hesitates once more before deciding to place the homework on the floor and write a note on it.

"See you tomorrow at school, love your friend, Marinette." Marinette places the homework in the mailbox and the mailbox closes.

"Good job! We've got ourselves a new and improved Marinette." Tikki praises from inside her purse, earning a smile a laugh from her owner.

When you come out of the storm you won't be the same person who walked in.

OoOoOoOo

"I mean it was scary, but I suppose I had faith in our heroes and all." Lucy's voice came through Adrien's phone speaker.

"If one thing is for sure, we can count on Ladybug and Chat Noir to keep us safe." Adrien agreed with a smile.

"Always," Lucy agreed. "Listen I gotta go, but you'll be at school tomorrow right? You gotta tell me more about this super amazing photo shoot after all."

"Yes, and don't worry, I wont spare any details." Adrien told her.

"Good. Chow for now sugar."

"See you tomorrow Lu."

Adrien smiled at his phone. She's so wonderful. He thought to himself. She always has been.

"There will be other parties Adriekins. Other parties, under better circumstances."

Adrien smiled and nodded at the ground, rolling his eyes at her use of Chloe's nick name. Lucy tilted her head and leaned over and placed her hand under his chin, giving the boy a kiss on the cheek.

"Chin up birthday boy, life's not so bad, I promise.

"You mean like the time she stood you up after you invited her on a romantic date on a Paris rooftop, or when she told you that the two of you never stood a chance?" PLagg teased.

"This is adorable Tigress said as she looked around at Chat's setup.

"It's beautiful." Ladybug agreed.

Chat gave them a weak smile and leaned against the railing.

"So what happened? Why didn't she show up?" Tigress asked crossing her arms. Chat shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess she hasn't forgiven me yet."

"It's not going to work." She whispered, calming down a little as they still held each other.

"Why don't you look for another girl to love? There are plenty to chose from!" Plagg says as he brings over the pile of valentines and love letters Adrien had recived.
Adrien picks up one of the cards. "The heart wants what the heart wants, Plagg. You can't just change your feelings just like that." Adrien notices Nathalie standing in the door way with a notebook in hand. "Yes?"

"Your friend from school, Marinette, just brought you these lessons you missed today. She copied them out for you by hand; she wanted me to tell you she did it for you as a friend to help you."

"Thank you, Nathalie." Adrien says, taking the notes from her. As she leaves, Adrien looks down at the note attached to the book and reads it. See you tomorrow at school. Love, your friend, Marinette.

"I'd never noticed, Marinette's writing. Remember this unsigned card I got on Valentine's Day?" He asks Plagg as he holds up the heart shaped card he had received. "Of course, it couldn't have been from Ladybug. It had to have been from someone at school, but Marinette? No, Marinette couldn't possibly be in love with me, she's just a friend who loves fashion. Besides, she was the one helping me try and plan a date with Lucy. She wouldn't do that if she had some kind of feelings for me. And of course there's Luka. It's just someone with similar writing, that's all."

That's what this storm's all about.

Alright, a shorter chapter but I have a feeling the next one (time tagger) is going to be pretty long so I think this will do. It's kinda just a filler chapter but I still wanted to write it anyway. I like to go over peoples inner thoughts and feelings and this episode did a lot of that for several characters. I could have added more of them just for kicks but was to anxious to get this out haha. Anyway. I hope you liked this chapter and I will see you in the next one! Remeber to vote and heart and comment! I love reading them!

Also, side note. On wattpad I get notified when someone adds my story to their reading lists. These lists are sometimes named crazy things however, this morning I get one that says it was added to a list called "Short stories that are good but not that great" and bruh.

I sat here like...okay fair...but this is not a short story...smh. Idk, I mean they saved it so, I guess you like it at least a little so that's cool. Thanks for reading anyway!

Alright, chow for now!