Welcome back! Sorry I was away for so long, AGAIN—several ideas for other stories suddenly popped in there, and I just had to get them out. Thankfully most of them turned out as one-shots, so yeah.
Before I begin the next chapter of "Optipinkstic," I have something important to say that I should have said a lot sooner. Credit goes to MaeManuel1, a talented writer and illustrator on Fandom in the Disney Junior Fanon Wiki, for inspiring me to write "Star Perfectionist." (this story is a sequel to that one, so since Star Perfectionist is finished it has to be said in here). She wrote a story on Fandom called "The Princess & The Star Darling," which also features Vega swapping places with someone, but in her story it was someone different and most of the plot was different as well. I know I should have written this a lot sooner, but I didn't know her username (sorry, I can be such a goofball sometimes) until a few days ago, so I couldn't give the credit until now. Don't worry though; I'm doing it now, and Mae, if you're reading this, thank you for inspiring me, and I hope to see more of your works in the future, both in writing and illustrating. :)
Alright…now that the credit for inspiration has been given, it's time to start the next chapter of "Optipinkstic." What is Vivica up to, and can she be stopped? Let's see…
Chapter 5
Like she did with her breakfast, Sabrina ate her dinner really really fast. This time, however, she couldn't even tell her father a fuzzy version of the truth when he asked what she was excited about this time. She had to tell a lie.
"I'm sleeping over with um, Nathaniel tonight," said Sabrina. "He needs help studying for his math exam, and Marc can't help him because he's busy helping Rose write a story for the hospital's patients."
"Oh," said Roger. "Well, have fun." Without suspecting a thing, he resumed eating.
Of course Rose, Nathaniel, and Marc didn't have anything to do with why Sabrina was so anxious to finish her dinner and leave. And the place she was going wasn't any of their houses either—it was the TVi Studio. While leaving school today, she'd hidden behind a trophy case just as Vivica and Chloe walked past it together, and she had overheard them talking about Chloe making sure an interview involving the two of them, Nadja Chamack, Ladybug, and Cat Noir happened at 7:30 tonight. Sabrina's theories about how the spiteful Starling's real plan would be put into action were now confirmed, and it was up to her to tell Libby every detail so she could lead the other Star Darlings into stopping Vivica from stealing the Miraculouses, while at the same time proving her worth. Just like the two BFFs had planned.
Once she was finished her dinner, Sabrina packed up her sleepover things to make her exam studies excuse more believable before hopping on her bike and pedalling to the TVi Studio. The sun was just starting to set now, and glancing at her phone, she could see it was 7:16. The interview would begin in just under fifteen minutes—she had to hurry!
As she pedalled down the street, Sabrina saw she was approaching a crosswalk, which someone else was in the middle of crossing. It was a girl around her age with short black hair, a strand of it dyed the colour of a raspberry. She was wearing a pink shirt with little primrose stars on it and long purple sleeves, a grey skirt, indigo tights, and plum-coloured boots with pink star-shaped buckles on them. And she was heading right into Sabrina's path.
"Watch out!" Sabrina cried, but the girl only had time to turn around in fright before her bicycle crashed into her, knocking both of them down. The impact caused Sabrina to fall off her bike, which then fell about an inch away from their feet. Instinctively, Sabrina sat up to ask the girl if she was okay, but when she saw her face, all that came out of her mouth was a startled gasp. The girl was Scarlet, disguised as a Wishling! Wow…she never thought she'd see her again…
Scarlet opened her eyes, a little dazed at first, but then she recognized Sabrina towering over her and froze in starprise. Temptations instantly came to both of them—to exchange positive greetings after being apart for so long and stuff like that—but of course, they both resisted it. Scarlet thought her memories of her had vanished, and Sabrina was aware of that. So instead of giving Scarlet a tight hug despite her disliking things that affectionate, she simply asked if she was okay, being very careful to sound innocent and not refer to Scarlet by her name.
"Yeah, I'm fine," replied Scarlet, a little uneasily. "Let's just get out of the street."
Sabrina nodded and helped her up. She then grabbed her bike and took it with them as they crossed the street, in the direction Scarlet had been going before they ran into each other.
As they started walking to the right because they'd reached a sidewalk curve, Sabrina saw Scarlet take something out of her pocket: her Star Zap, which was already flipped open. There were directions on its screen, instructing her to go straight until she reached the intersection straight ahead, where she was to turn right. Libby had talked about these kinds of Star Zap instructions; they only popped up when the Star Darling the device belonged to arrived on Wishworld and said, "Take me to the Wisher I've come to help." Or, on the occasions where the Star Darling had to help one of her teammates complete a Wish Mission they'd been assigned, when she arrived on Wishworld and said, "Take me to Leona." Or whoever it was that needed help.
Sabrina immediately knew that Scarlet was searching for Vivica, which meant she also now knew for sure she was in Paris. But where were the other Star Darlings? Where was Libby? She needed to spread the word about what Vivica was really up to, and her best friend was the only Star Darling she could talk to about that without endangering her memories!
Checking her watch and seeing it was now 7:20, Sabrina sighed. The interview would start in ten minutes, and there wasn't enough time to look for Libby. She would have to give the information to Scarlet instead; even though she had to be careful about what she said—she couldn't let her know that she still remembered Starland.
"So, are you excited about the interview with Ladybug and Cat Noir tonight?" Sabrina began.
Scarlet perked up. "There's an interview with them? Tonight?"
"Yeah, it's at 7:30 at the TVi Studio," said Sabrina. "I heard Vivica, the new girl in my class, talking about it with my classmate Chloe. Vivica just moved here, so she hasn't seen Ladybug and Cat Noir in person, and you know…it's everyone in Paris's dream to meet them in person. And since they just defeated the Miraculous supervillains, she knows this might be the last time anyone in town's going to see them at all. I mean, Chloe's pretty famous, so only she can get the TVi Studio to do an interview to bring the heroes out of hiding, and…" Sabrina's voice trailed off as she noticed the pensive frown on Scarlet's face. She was looking right at her. Uh-oh…had she said too much too soon? Enough to give her the impression she was helping her—and why? She had been rambling about Vivica with a little too much detail than necessary…
"You don't mean Chloe Bourgeois, do you?" Scarlet asked.
"Yeah…" Sabrina said, trying not to sound nervous.
"Why would a new girl hang out with her if she's mean to pretty much everyone in town?"
Sabrina shrugged. "I have no idea. Maybe because Vivica's mean too…she did ignore most of our class all day. She probably just wants to meet the heroes in person so she can take a picture of herself with Ladybug just like Chloe always has…or maybe she's secretly trying to do what Hawk-Moth tried to do: steal the Miraculouses." Then Sabrina got nervous again, once more worried that Scarlet would pick up on how specific she was being and get suspicious.
Scarlet frowned at Sabrina for a while, but then thought for a bit and shrugged off whatever she was thinking. She then thought about something else, and when her eyes suddenly went wide, Sabrina guessed she was thinking back to when they'd discovered why Hawk-Moth wanted the Miraculouses: according to Nathalie/Mayura, when the same person wielded Ladybug's Miraculous and Cat Noir's at the same time, that person gained the power to destroy the universe and create a new one where everything went their way. It didn't matter if Scarlet was imagining Vivica making the new universe or if she knew Rancora was the one who wanted to do so—either way, the Miraculous wouldn't be safe.
"So…the interview's gonna be at the TVi Studio?" Scarlet asked.
Sabrina nodded, and then so did she. "Well…it was um…nice talking to you."
"You too," said Sabrina, biting her tongue to stop herself from adding Scarlet's name.
Scarlet gave her a small smile and then said, "Hey um…I've gotta meet some friends before it gets too dark out, and I could use a ride. Can I borrow your bike?"
"Sure," replied Sabrina, handing over her bike and helmet. "And don't worry. When you're ready to return it, just take it to the police station."
Scarlet nodded and put on the helmet. As she did, her Star Zap beeped, and a picture of Sage appeared on the screen. Scarlet hopped on the bike, answering the call as she pedalled away. Just as she disappeared from sight, Sabrina heard her say, "Sage, Astra, I've got some news."
Sabrina sighed in disappointment. So that meant only Sage, Scarlet, and Astra were in Paris; not Libby or the others. But why? Clearly the girls knew the Vivica thing was a very serious situation; why hadn't all twelve of them shown up? Was there another serious matter going on in Starland? Then, all of a sudden, Sabrina remembered one of the things Vivica had said to her in the bathroom: Maybe I'll go back to Starland and have Rancora do something to you. Those Star Dippers may have stopped her from making our planet go dark, but that doesn't mean she's not still out there, with just enough power left in her to literally give people nightmares.
Could the Star Darlings have found out their sworn enemy wasn't completely defeated yet? Were those of them who were still in Starland battling her right now? That thought made her shiver. Hopefully Libby and the others had brought their Power Crystals to the battlefield—more importantly, hopefully they wouldn't get hurt!
It's okay, Sabrina told herself. They stopped her before, and they'll stop her again. They're the Star Darlings! They'll be able to stop her and Vivica, especially now that you told Scarlet about Vivica's plan. Plus, if Libby succeeds in helping stop Rancora, she'll still be able to tell them how they've been making her feel.
Taking a deep breath to reassure herself that all was well, Sabrina took out her phone and went to the news website. It was almost time for the interview, and for many reasons, there was no way she was missing it. As she waited for the live video to start, she wandered forward, wondering where she was going to spend the night after that sleepover excuse she'd given her father. She doubted Libby would be coming to visit her tonight because of the trouble with the Starland villains, which gave her an entire night to herself. But what could she do? She couldn't go back home or else her father would realize the sleepover thing was a lie (Sabrina was now wondering why she'd even said that if her errand would take less than an hour), and she couldn't go to Nathaniel's house for real because he didn't even know about her excuse. He could also get very stubborn when learning about last-minute changes with huge impacts on him—something that had caused him to accidentally get his best friend Marc akumatized once.
I guess tonight I'll have to camp out someplace no one will find me, Sabrina thought. Good thing she'd packed her sleeping bag—who knew where she would end up staying for the night? She would just have to make sure it wasn't too far away from the police station, because she would need to get her bike and helmet back from Scarlet before her father even woke up.
Eventually the interview with Ladybug and Cat Noir began, and Sabrina paused right next to an alley so she could listen to it. The screen lit up, and she could see a room with three walls and a floor made entirely of green-screens, which were working together to display a brightly coloured red, black, and gold swirly wavy background. There was a refreshments table on wheels placed in the middle of the floor, and surrounding it were three bright red armchairs. Nadja was sitting in the chair on the left, Vivica and Chloe occupied the one in the middle, and Ladybug and Cat Noir sat in the one on the right. Sabrina noticed Vivica was holding Chloe's phone, and she was just starting to record a video on its camera app. That was odd. Why wasn't she using her Star Zap instead?
"Good evening," greeted Nadja. "I'm Nadja Chamack and this is Face To Face. For our final edition, I once again welcome the beloved guardians of Paris: Ladybug and Cat Noir. I also welcome the daughter of our city's faithful mayor, Chloe Bourgeois, and her new best friend from the United States, Vivica Dipper."
Vivica smirked, while Ladybug and Cat Noir just waved. Chloe glared at Nadja and said, "Uh, excuse me? I'm also only the most prestigious fan of Ladybug, and don't forget my daddy is also the manager of the best luxury hotel in the entire city." She then gestured to Vivica and added, "Oh, and that's my phone. Vivica says I could use a personal recording of this interview because this might be the last time we'll ever see Ladybug and Cat Noir. And Miss Generous here has decided to record the interview while I do the talking, a deal I was utterly delighted to agree to."
Vivica chuckled. "But I'll have to pause my videos now and again to make sure there's room for every detail on your photo-and-video-storing app."
"Whatever works, as long as you get everything filmed," said Chloe.
Nadja smiled. "Thanks so much for coming, Ladybug and Cat Noir. Now I must ask…will Paris ever see you in action again after this exclusive live interview?"
Ladybug opened her mouth to say something reassuring, but Cat Noir interrupted. "No, they won't. Sorry to all my fans, but now that the city is safe from akumas and sentimonsters, there's not much fun we can have in public. So I hope thousands of people are watching this chat right now, because you'll want to savour it while it's happening."
"Oh I'm savouring it," bragged Chloe. "Why wouldn't I, being such a good friend of these two?"
"You know, Chloe," sighed Ladybug, "maybe before we leave the studio, you can take a bit of advice from your favourite hero and stop being mean to everyone."
Chloe gasped. "Hey! I can treat people the way I want, who says I can't—"
"Oh come on, m'lady," Cat Noir said playfully. "Everyone in Paris knows I'm the fan favourite!" He winked and blew a kiss at the camera, which made Sabrina and Nadja laugh.
"Very funny, Cat," Ladybug told him. She sighed. "But he's right. We came here to rescue all Parisians and keep them safe from Hawk-Moth. Now that he and his sidekick Mayura have been exposed, defeated, and arrested, there's no crime in this city that the police can't handle on their own. So, it's a good thing you're hosting this interview tonight, because if it had been scheduled any later, you'd have been too late to catch us."
"Too late?" Vivica asked. She sounded concerned, but Sabrina could tell by the look in her eyes that she was enjoying this. "What do you mean by too late?"
Nadja gave her a quick glance and then asked, "So where is the rest of your team, like Rena Rouge and Carapace? Whatever happens when they go into hiding for a long time, is it about to happen with you too? Maybe you can tell us a few details about how that plays out."
Chloe cleared her throat loudly. "I'll answer that question, since I happen to be the amazing Queen Bee. Ladybug took my Miraculous back every time we were finished saving Paris, and she always puts it away somewhere! Not in her yoyo either, but in this utterly ridiculous-looking box that looks like it's owned by someone from medieval times."
"More like guardian times," Cat Noir blurted out. He then realized what he said, and his smile disappeared. At the same time, a different kind of smile appeared on Vivica's face.
"What do you mean by guardian times?" Nadja asked, stealing a glance at her wristwatch, which displayed a digital light turning from red to yellowish-green. "Are all the Miraculouses secretly being kept in a furtive hiding place by a mysterious guardian?"
"What in the world are you doing?" Sabrina exclaimed. "Heroes have to keep their secrets hidden, everyone in town knows that! Even you, Mrs. Chamack! Don't you remember the Prime Queen incident?"
"Uh, now you're getting close to the classified information," Ladybug said nervously. "Let's just focus on the fact that we only have about twenty minutes left before we have to—"
"Oh, I know!" Vivica shouted. "Guardian Of The Miraculous! That's where all the Miraculouses go when you don't need them anymore, right? To someone called the Guardian Of The Miraculous?"
When Ladybug looked even more panicked, Vivica's smile increased, and Sabrina saw her glance at Chloe's phone. There was a sinister look of accomplishment in her eyes; one that Sabrina hadn't seen since she, the Star Darlings, and Lady Stella battled Star Perfectionist. Instantly the loyal Wishling girl grew nervous, keeping her fingers crossed that the Star Darlings would do something to interfere with whatever Vivica was about to do.
"Uh, let's change the subject," said Cat Noir. "Thinking back to all the pawsome times we had with you…Nadja, where do you wanna begin?"
Nadja clasped her hands together. "Chloe, tell us how you feel about your adventures as Queen Bee."
"Now that's a good subject to start with," smiled Chloe. "Thanks for making sure that came first on such a tight schedule…"
While Chloe rambled on and on about herself, with Nadja and the heroes listening, Sabrina saw Vivica glance around to make sure her companions were busy paying attention to the spoiled girl's speech. Then she pressed the stop button on the phone's camera app. However, instead of starting a new recording, she went to the Photos app, selected the video, and pressed the "share" icon. Vivica would have pressed the "mail" button too—if Chloe's phone hadn't suddenly been lifted out of her hands by an invisible force. At least, it was invisible to Sabrina, Nadja, Chloe, and the heroes; Vivica could clearly see it, because she suddenly yelled, "STAR DIPPERS! What are you doing in here? Chloe didn't put you or your wish energy on the guest list!"
Wish energy manipulation—that's what was lifting up the phone! Sabrina smiled at the screen as Vivica grabbed the phone and tried to pull it back, soon with the assistance of an annoyed but confused Chloe. The Star Darlings had found Vivica, and they were now foiling her plan without anyone seeing them.
"Star Dippers?" Chloe asked Vivica as they pulled harder and harder, but to no avail. "What are you talking about?"
"Stop talking and pull harder!" Vivica shouted, straining with all her might.
Nadja looked at her watch, which was now a pure green colour. "These ratings are the highest I've ever received! But wait…if Hawk-Moth and Mayura are gone forever, then why is Vanisher, one of their servants who had the power of invisibility, back in action?"
"I…I don't know," stammered Ladybug, who was just as shocked and confused by the sight as Cat Noir. "This doesn't make sense! It can't be Vanisher! The Butterfly Miraculous is in good hands now!"
"It's not Vanisher, whoever that is!" Vivica screamed, getting angrier and angrier. "It's not a sentimonster either! Just stop wondering who it is and help me save my minion's phone!"
Sabrina gasped in shock, and so did Chloe. But while Sabrina just stayed shocked, Chloe instantly became angry. "Minion?! HOW DARE YOU! Who gives you the right to describe me with that title? You don't deserve my phone or my respect!"
While Nadja, Ladybug, and Cat Noir just sat there, unsure of how to handle the situation, Chloe grabbed her phone and began pulling on it as well. Yet Vivica and whoever was holding on using wish energy both clutched the device just as tight as she did, and none of them exactly seemed to be winning the tug-of-war. Unfortunately, Vivica quickly realized this, and while continuing to pull, she stretched her index finger toward the phone's screen and pressed the mail button. She then typed in an address and pressed the send button, which Chloe saw, causing her to angrily yell something. Sabrina never heard what it was though, because as soon as Vivica pressed send, she heard a beeping sound; the kind only a Star Zap made. It didn't come from her phone though—it came from inside the alley she was standing next to.
Sabrina froze in horror. That Star Zap had to be the device Vivica sent the video to—which meant only one person could be standing in that alley. It wasn't someone the loyal Wishling had met in person before, but she'd heard enough about her to know she was the last person she wanted to be near.
Muting the volume on her phone, Sabrina inched as close to the edge of the wall behind her as she dared. She heard the parts of the interview Vivica had recorded being replayed, but the video was paused as soon as the spiteful Starling asked, "The Guardian Of The Miraculous?" A few seconds of silence passed, and then Sabrina heard an unfamiliar woman's voice say, "Take me to the Guardian Of The Miraculous."
Sabrina gulped and quickly pulled out her phone, pretending to play a game on it. She glanced up and saw a woman unlike any she'd ever seen before leaving the alley and walking right past her. Or rather floating past her, since the woman had no legs. Instead, a huge cloud of black energy resided under her waist, even blacker than the sleeveless shirt she was wearing. There were purple bands around each of her wrists, her skin was a light but sickly colour, and her long, blackish-teal hair stuck out behind her, sizzling with cyan electricity. Her eyes were especially creepy, seeing as their scleras were a dark teal colour, almost the same shade as their irises. There was no doubt about it now; this woman was none other than Rancora.
Thinking through everything that had happened so far, Sabrina pieced together the missing details regarding the villains' plan. She didn't know when Rancora had arrived in Paris, but she'd definitely stayed on Starland long enough to cause some trouble there—trouble so serious that most of the Star Darlings had to deal with it while Sage, Scarlet, and Astra went to look for Vivica. She probably showed up an hour or so before the interview, after Vivica let her know that she had Ladybug and Cat Noir just where she wanted them. Then the two had reunited, and since Rancora couldn't possibly have a Star Zap of her own because she wasn't a Starling Academy resident anymore, Vivica had let her master borrow hers instead. Then she'd tricked Chloe into letting her borrow her phone long enough to record valuable information and send it to her Star Zap, allowing Rancora to somehow use that information to help Vivica take the heroes' Miraculouses. But how?
A sinking feeling came over Sabrina. There was only one way to find out how what that villain was planning on doing, and with the Star Darlings all busy with other matters, she was the only one who could do it. She had to follow Rancora and spy on her—one of the most wicked villains of all. She wasn't looking forward to this task, but it was her only option at this point. So, taking a deep breath, Sabrina lowered her phone from her head and quietly went in the direction Rancora had gone. Luckily she was moving very cautiously to avoid being seen by nearby Wishling adults, so it didn't take Sabrina long to catch up to her. Still, once she did, she made sure she didn't get too close to her and hid whenever she could, just to be safe.
Eventually, with the help of the directions on Vivica's Star Zap, the villain made it to Place Des Vosges, which was at the moment deserted. There was one person there though, sitting behind a horse on the merry-go-round: an old man who appeared to be Asian. He had short light grey hair just below the top of his head and a thin triangular beard, and he was wearing a red Hawaiian shirt, dark-coloured pants, and majestic brown shoes. He was holding a black box shaped like an octagon, with a main compartment and two levels of side drawers. On the main compartment's lid was an ancient red symbol, and Sabrina suddenly realized this was where the temporary holders' Miraculouses went when Ladybug disappeared with them. That meant this man was the guardian Cat Noir had accidentally mentioned!
As Rancora snuck up on the man, Sabrina could feel herself getting angry. Even attempting to harm the elderly was wrong, and now she desperately wanted to reveal her presence and stop her. Yet that would be impossible to do all by herself. Sabrina didn't have any superpowers, plus she'd left her Power Crystal at home. If she confronted that powerful villain without the Star Darlings or the Miraculous superheroes there to help, she would be doomed for sure. So, even though she felt like doing so was also wrong, Sabrina hid behind a garbage can and spied on the scene before her.
The confrontation didn't last as long as she thought it would. Of course, the Guardian Of The Miraculous instantly realized Rancora was a villain, and not one created by the Butterfly or Peacock Miraculous. He knew she was a very dangerous threat, and he tried using one of the Miraculouses—the Bee Miraculous (good thing Chloe wasn't here to see this)—from his box to battle her. Unfortunately, he experienced back pains before he could finish saying the jewel's transformation phrase, and because of that, Rancora was able to take away the box while he was recovering. The man tried using his walking stick to knock the box out of her hand, but she levitated into the air a little and blinded him with the negative energy under her waist.
Rancora quickly found and put on the Butterfly Miraculous, learned how it worked by forcing its kwami to spill the beans, and transformed. It was simply bad luck that a couple of moths happened to fly by while she said the magic words, and soon she had one in her hands, infecting it with dark energy exactly like Hawk-Moth used to do. She then akumatized herself—something Sabrina had never known was possible until learning Gabriel/The Collector was Hawk-Moth—into…well, actually, her appearance stayed exactly the same. The only thing that changed was that now her powers were even stronger than they'd been before the Star Darlings weakened her. With this upgrade, she was able to shoot one powerful blast of negative energy at the Guardian, causing him to fall unconscious before he could react.
"Now to collect the Ladybug and Cat Miraculouses so their owners won't be able to stop us from completing Operation Akuma," the villain said to herself with a smile. After chuckling wickedly, she closed her eyes and shapeshifted into an exact duplicate of the Guardian. Then she left, opening Vivica's Star Zap and saying (in the same voice as the Guardian), "Take me to Ladybug and Cat Noir."
Operation Akuma? Wait a minute…the Starland villains had actually been seeking the Butterfly Miraculous all this time, so Rancora could use it to strengthen her powers? Sabrina was absolutely shocked; Hawk-Moth had been just as hungry for ultimate power as Rancora was now, but apparently when it came to planning how they would achieve that goal, they were even less on the same page than anyone would think. The Starland villains had a chance to create a new universe, and they really weren't going to take it? Or maybe they just didn't know about what happened when someone used Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculouses at the same time; Sabrina and the Star Darlings themselves hadn't known until Nathalie/Mayura told them.
So that was what Vivica meant when she'd mentioned Starling magic being upgraded! She had been talking about the Butterfly Miraculous; maybe even the Peacock Miraculous too. Still, that didn't mean the universe was any safer, or that Ladybug and Cat Noir weren't in danger of having their own Miraculouses stolen too—sooner or later they were bound to find out what happened to the Guardian, and who was to blame for it. As Rancora just said, the villains' plan would still have a chance of failing as long as the two main superheroes of Paris were still around. Of course Sage, Scarlet, and Astra were available to confront the villains too, but now that a newly upgraded Rancora was on her way to help Vivica out, Sabrina knew they could easily be taken out if they weren't prepared; which they wouldn't be as long as they didn't know their sworn enemy had akumatized herself. Once again, it was up to her to find the Star Darlings and tell them valuable information.
But can I do it without letting them know that I still remember them? Sabrina wondered. Scarlet's probably suspicious after our last conversation, and I was pretty nervous. I almost blew my cover by saying too much!
Sabrina gulped nervously, but sighed and shook her head. I still have to do it. If I don't, Earth and Starland will both be in great danger.
Without any second thoughts, Sabrina left the park and rushed down the street, hoping to get to the TVi Studio before Rancora did. Thankfully, with the help of Juleka, who happened to be biking in the next avenue, she managed to find her way there within eight minutes. Once at the studio, Sabrina thanked Juleka and rushed inside, taking her backpack with her.
The studio's receptionist looked startled to see her. "Can I help you?" she asked.
"I need to find Chloe Bourgeois," Sabrina said urgently. "What floor is she on?"
"Third floor, then look for the orange doors straight ahead once you come out of the elevator. Just don't interrupt the interview that's happening in there."
"Thanks," replied Sabrina, pressing the elevator's up button. The doors opened right away, so she headed inside, pressed the right button, and it took her up to that floor. Once the elevator doors opened, she quickly found the orange doors straight ahead at the end of the hallway. Swallowing hard, the loyal Wishling stepped out of the elevator, walked toward the end of the hallway, and silently opened the doors.
The doors led to a big black room with lights, cameras, and props scattered all over the place, and the three-walled blue green-screen tiled room in the back area. Several TVi employees including Clara Contard and Alec Cataldi were standing outside the green-screen area, watching in shock as the "invisible force" continued to pull on Chloe's phone, with Chloe herself and Vivica all pulling as well. Nadja was still watching the spectacle in confusion, but now Ladybug and Cat Noir were walking off the green-screen area and around the room, trying to find whoever was trying to steal Chloe's phone. However, they apparently weren't considering checking the metallic truss holding up the stage lights, which Sage, Scarlet, and Astra were seated at the top of, all three disguised as Wishlings. Sabrina, on the other hand, noticed them right away. She could tell by Scarlet's focused expression that she was the one using wish energy manipulation to try and take Chloe's phone, even though by now it was too late to do it. Astra was smiling in excitement, clearly enjoying what was happening, but Sage looked nervous, which confused Sabrina. Wasn't she usually fearless and impulsive when it came to making risky decisions like this?
Sabrina noticed there were two vertical parts of the truss, both attached to the floor, and thought hard. The only way to warn the girls about Rancora's next move was by climbing the truss (she guessed they'd gotten up there using levitation skills), but if she did that, the other people in the room would see her, then see the Star Darlings and realize they were the ones trying to steal Chloe's phone. The trio could try and use Starling hypnosis to convince them that they weren't trying to steal it, but sadly, that technique only worked on Wishling adults. Chloe, Ladybug, and Cat Noir would be immune to it, which would expose them even more.
Thinking quickly, Sabrina decided to stay where she was and simply deliver the message to everyone in the room instead, in the typical unsuspecting witness fashion. "HELP! A CREEPY GENIE-LIKE MONSTER STOLE A WHOLE BOX FULL OF MIRACULOUSES FROM AN OLD MAN! SHE'S ON HER WAY HERE TO TAKE THE LAST TWO MIRACULOUSES, AND SHE'S USING A SPELL TO MAKE HERSELF LOOK JUST LIKE HIM!"
The message startled everyone in the room, but the words "creepy genie-like monster" made Sage, Scarlet, and Astra go more wide-eyed than anyone else. Vivica understood the description too, and she wasn't sure whether she should feel angry at Sabrina for trying to sabotage her plan, or glad that most of the plan was going as expected. Chloe, meanwhile, managed to get her phone back because the news was distracting her two tug-of-war opponents, but she was still just as scared as the adults nearby. As for Ladybug and Cat Noir, they were now exchanging glances, and Sabrina understood why. The battle for Chloe's phone and the news she'd just given were both peculiar events, neither of which had been caused by a Miraculous. Something suspicious was going on, and Ladybug knew she had to start investigating.
But before Ladybug could ask her about her announcement, a creaking sound was heard, and Sabrina then realized why Sage had been uncharacteristically nervous seconds ago. The middle of the truss, unable to support the stage lights and the three Starlings' combined weight any longer, suddenly bent a little until it split in half, sending Scarlet and Astra tumbling to the floor.
OMG—so much suspense! What will happen next? Stay tuned for the next chapter, which will be coming soon…;)