Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When the akuma attacked the school, Chloé couldn't help the smug smile that crossed her face. This was the moment she had been waiting for. A fast akuma that Ladybug and Chat Noir were having trouble keeping up with, never mind stopping? The situation definitely needed a deft touch - or a deft sting. She watched as Ladybug left the fight, leaving Chat Noir to do his best, and had to stop herself from clapping her hands with glee. No matter what Ladybug said, Chloé had always known that she would become Queen Bee again.

It was several minutes before Ladybug returned, followed by Carapace and Rena Rouge. Chloé watched intently as Ladybug caught Chat Noir's arm and whispered something to him. Her heart sped up with anticipation as Ladybug handed Chat Noir a very familiar box. As Chat Noir turned and ran towards the school, Chloé's smile broadened. She flipped her ponytail off her shoulder and sauntered off in the direction Chat Noir had gone. It looked like he was heading towards the gym. Silly boy. He should've known Chloé wouldn't be caught dead in the gym unless she absolutely had to!

But when she got there, the gym was empty. Chloé looked around and finally heard, over the sound of the akuma destroying things, the faint murmur of voices coming from the women's locker room. Frowning, she moved over to the door and pushed it open. What she saw inside froze her to her very core.

" - this miraculous offers the subjugation power of the Bee. If you want to help, you must take it and say the words Buzz On. When the fight is over, you'll return this miraculous to me," Chat Noir was saying.

The young woman standing before him frowned. "I thought there was already a Bee miraculous holder?"

"There was, but for various reasons we can't use her anymore," Chat Noir said. "Kagami, will you help us?"

"I have a busy schedule, but I suppose I can take some time to help." Kagami took the box and opened it. Chloé could barely breathe as Kagami picked up the Bee miraculous and affixed it into her dark hair. There was a flash of yellow and then Pollen appeared.

"Hello, My Queen!" Pollen chirped.

It was like someone had slapped Chloé across the face. Her hands tightened into fists.

"Hello. Buzz On!" Kagami called out. Pollen zipped into the miraculous and yellow light flowed around her. Her outfit was drastically different from Queen Bee's, but Chloé couldn't bring herself to pay attention to that. It was all she could do to keep from screaming.

"Great!" Chat Noir said enthusiastically. "Now, I don't know how familiar you are with the Bee's powers. You have a stinger and your attack is called 'Venom'. It can paralyze anyone it touches. You only get once chance to use it before you'll transform back, so be careful. And once you do use it, you've only got five minutes before you transform back. I think that's everything. Oh, wait! What's your name?"

The new Bee miraculous holder blinked at him, then said, "I suppose you can call me Hachi."

"Hachi. Pleasure to work with you," Chat Noir said. "Let's go!"

They went out through a window in the locker room, which was just as well because Chloé couldn't bring herself to move away. She stared numbly at the spot where Chat Noir and Hachi had been. There was a dull roaring in her ears. She knew that Ladybug had said she might never get the Bee miraculous again, but Chloé hadn't really believed her. Not until this moment. Not until they found someone else to replace her.

This was it, then. She would never be Queen Bee again.

The anger and grief grew, pulsing in her chest, until Chloé thought she might choke on it. Time dragged by; she had no idea how long she'd been standing there for before she heard the familiar cry of "Miraculous Ladybug!" and saw flashes of red light going past the locker room window. Chat Noir and Hachi didn't return, and she had the vague thought that the two of them had probably gone somewhere else so that Kagami could return the Bee miraculous. But only until the next time they needed her, of course. Because she was good enough to be useful.

Something purple caught her eye. The akuma landed on Chloé's sunglasses before she could react, and the familiar numb feeling swept over her. Hawkmoth’s voice whispered in her ears.

"Hello again, Mlle Bourgeois."

Chloé squeezed her eyes shut against the burn of tears. "Hawkmoth."

"Ladybug has broken your heart, hasn't she?" Hawkmoth cooed, sounding sympathetic. "She and Chat Noir have no comprehension of just how valuable your skills can be. If you were to agree to work with me, I would give you a miraculous of your own. You'd be able to keep it at all times."

She should be yelling at him. Chloé knew that. She really did. But standing there, the image of Hachi burned into her mind, she couldn't bring herself to. She wasn't a super heroine. She was nothing.

"I just want to be special," Chloé whispered, mortified when her voice broke. Two tears ran down her face.

"I know exactly how special you are. Join me, Mlle Bourgeois. I'll treat you with more respect than Ladybug. You'll be a valued member of my team," he coaxed. "You'll never have to return your miraculous. It will be yours."

"I... I can't," Chloé said.

"Of course you can. After all, Ladybug will never give you a miraculous again. She doesn't understand you. Not like I do."

Chloé's hands were shaking. "Okay."

Hawkmoth gave a triumphant laugh. "Excellent! Meet me tonight at midnight at the Eiffel Tower. I will have a miraculous for you."

The connection between them snapped, and Chloé opened her eyes to see the akuma fluttering away from her. She watched it go until it phased through the wall. The true reality of what she'd just agreed to started to sink in, but she ruthlessly thrust away any feelings of guilt. Why shouldn't she work with Hawkmoth if Ladybug didn't want her help? All Chloé wanted was to be special. She wanted to help someone. If the good guys didn't want her help, then fine. She would just have to help the bad guys.

"Chloé!"

Chloé jumped and wiped quickly at her eyes before turning around. "Sabrina?"

"There you are," Sabrina said, smiling nervously. "Madame Bustier said class is over since it's so late in the day. I thought you might want to go shopping?"

Her first instinct was to yell at Sabrina, but Chloé tamped it down. "Sure," she said, ignoring the way Sabrina looked at her in surprise. "Let's go shopping. I could use a brand new outfit."

She spent the rest of the afternoon shopping with Sabrina, though she didn't buy anything. Sabrina kept shooting her worried looks when she thought Chloé wasn't looking, but Chloé pretended not to notice. This wasn't something Sabrina could ever understand. No one could understand it, not unless they'd experienced what it was like to hold the power of a miraculous. And no one would ever choose Sabrina to be a miraculous holder. She just wasn't strong enough.

Shortly after supper, she parted from Sabrina and went home. Mayor Bourgeois had a charity gala schedule that night at the hotel, and guests were beginning to arrive. Chloé was actually supposed to attend herself, but that was the last thing she felt like doing. She went up to her room and waited out the hours until midnight alone.

It was a cold night, cold enough that Chloé could see her breath as she walked to the Eiffel Tower. She wrapped her arms around herself and quickened her pace, but she didn't feel truly chilled until she was within reach of her destination and she spotted the familiar figure standing in front of it. Hawkmoth looked exactly the way he had the last time Chloé had met him as Queen Bee, way back on Hero's Day. He turned to face her as she approached, his cane held loosely in one hand. Chloé drew to a stop and looked at him expectantly.

"Well?" she said.

Hawkmoth smiled. "A pleasure as always, Mlle Bourgeois."

"I wish I could say the same. You're brave, you know. What if this had been a set up?" Chloé wanted to know.

"You forget that I felt what you were feeling this afternoon. I know exactly how you feel about Ladybug." Hawkmoth smirked. "You won't betray me."

He was annoyingly smug, and Chloé had to squash the urge to immediately prove him wrong. Instead, she said, "Then give me my miraculous."

"Ah, yes. Your miraculous. There are a few things you should know. First of all, you will not be getting the Bee miraculous."

"What?!" Chloé demanded, outraged. "You said -!"

"I know what I said, but I've decided that having you as Queen Bee is not helpful to me. Ladybug will be able to use you against me too easily if she knows your identity," Hawkmoth said calmly. "So I have stolen a different miraculous for you. You can take it, or don't. But it's your only choice."

Chloé set her jaw. "What miraculous?"

"You'll see," Hawkmoth said. "First, I expect your presence at every akuma or sentimonster fight. No exceptions. Second, you are to do everything in your power to hinder Ladybug and Chat Noir. Third, you will help me get my hands on their miraculous no matter what it takes. If at any point you decide to betray me, I will make sure you regret it, Mlle Bourgeois. I am a powerful man in more ways than one, and I'm prepared to eliminate anyone who gets in my way." His expression was completely serious, eyes cold as ice behind his mask.

Another shiver ran through her. Chloé held herself tighter. "What if I can't get their miraculous? What then?"

"I don't expect you to retrieve them," Hawkmoth said. "You'll be rewarded beyond your dreams if you do, of course. But all you need to concentrate on is doing what you can to make their lives as difficult as possible, whether that means distracting them or actively fighting them."

A cold, hard lump formed in Chloé's chest. She was definitely in over her head. But she couldn't back down now. She held her head high and said, "I accept."

Hawkmoth smiled unpleasantly. "I expected you would. Mayura?"

Like magic, Mayura stepped out from behind a nearby lamppost. Chloé was almost positive that Mayura hadn't been there before, but then she hadn't exactly thought to look around either. She took a step back as Mayura walked over to her; she couldn't forget that the last time she and Mayura met, the two of them had been on opposite sides and Chloé had come within inches of unmasking Mayura. There was no way that Mayura didn't remember that.

But all Mayura did was hold out her hand, which held a familiar box.

"Take it," said Hawkmoth.

Chloé obeyed, grabbing the box and clutching it to her chest.

"Take this as well," Hawkmoth said, tossing a small bag at Chloé's feet. "Keep it on you at all times. It's how we'll keep in contact."

She stooped to grab the bag, and when she looked up again Hawkmoth and Mayura were gone. She stared at the spot where they'd been, then lowered her gaze to the bag. When she opened it, there was a cell phone inside. Chloé took it out and swiped to unlock it. The phone wasn't password protected, probably because the only information on it was two numbers. Presumably, one belonged to Hawkmoth and the other belonged to Mayura.

With a quick glance around - there was no sign of either of them, but with the increased abilities a miraculous granted they could literally be miles away by now - she slid the box into the bag and set off at a quick pace. She made her way back to the hotel, sneaked back up to her room, and shut the door. It was late enough that she knew she wouldn't be bothered, so she threw the phone onto her bed and eagerly took the box out. The smooth wood opened easily, revealing...

Chapter Text

"The Fox miraculous?" Chloé said, stunned and staring at the necklace. It suddenly occurred to her that Hawkmoth or Mayura or both of them must have ambushed Ladybug after the fight today. Probably while Ladybug was on her way back to wherever she got the miraculous from in the first place. Did that mean Hawkmoth had more than just the Fox miraculous in his grasp? Did he have the Bee and Turtle too?

She hesitated a moment before slowly picking the necklace up. There was a flash of orange light and then a fox kwami appeared.

"Who are you?" the kwami asked.

"Uh, I'm Chloé. Your new holder," Chloé said.

The kwami frowned. "Where's Ladybug? And the guardian?"

Guardian? Chloé had no idea who he was talking about. She shook her head. "Never mind about Ladybug. You're working with me now, and I -" She took a deep breath. "I'm working with Hawkmoth."

"Really," the kwami said, sounding deeply skeptical about that.

"Yes! I think. Sort of. It's complicated." Chloé threw up her hands. "The point is, you're mine now."

"I see." The kwami stared at her for several seconds, then suddenly smiled. "Okay then. I'm Trixx. Pleasure to meet you, Chloé."

"You too," Chloé said, relaxing slightly. She hadn't realized until that moment that part of her was terrified that Trixx would refuse to work with her. She looked again at the Fox miraculous. At least a necklace would be easier to hide than a comb. The Bee miraculous had really stuck out like a sore thumb.

She took off the necklace she usually wore and fastened the Fox miraculous around her neck. It fell delicately against her collarbone, long enough to hide beneath her shirts if the neckline was high enough. Chloé turned to look at it in the mirror. As weird as it was to see herself wearing another miraculous, she didn't dislike the way the Fox miraculous looked on her. She wondered what Ladybug was thinking right now. Had Ladybug told the previous Fox miraculous holder that it had been stolen?

Well, if she had, Chloé visciously hoped that they were hurting over its loss.

"How do I transform?" she asked Trixx.

"You say 'Trixx, let's pounce'. And to detransform, you say 'let's rest'," said Trixx, flying over to her. He hovered over her shoulder. It was a little weird to see him there instead of Pollen. Chloé had had so many dreams where she woke up every morning to find that Pollen was with her. She sternly told herself not to think about that.

"Okay," she said, nodding. She put a hand on her hip. "How committed to orange are you?"

"Excuse me?" Trixx said.

"It's just... I thought foxes were supposed to be about sneakiness. How sneaky can you be when you're wearing bright orange?" Chloé flipped her ponytail. "Besides, I look awful in orange."

Trixx looked very amused. "You know, you're right. Hold onto that thought when you transform."

Chloé shrugged. "Sure. Trixx, let's pounce!"

The Fox miraculous lit up and Trixx zipped inside. White light came out of the miraculous and swept around Chloé. She kept her eyes shut until she was sure the light had died down. Only then did she hesitantly open her eyes and look again into the mirror. Her jaw dropped.

Instead of the garishly bright oranges and browns that Volpina and Rena Rouge had favored, Chloé's outfit was largely white with violet, grey and black overtones. She had white, grey-tipped fox ears sticking out of her hair, and a lush white tail. Her bodysuit was mainly white and grey, with violet detailing around her midsection. Her gloves and boots were both black, with more of that violet detail. Her hair was pulled back in a long french braid with two chunks of hair left to frame her face; just like Volpina and Rena Rouge, the bottom two inches of her hair was colored, but in violet and not white. Lastly, the mask over the upper half of her face was white and grey.

"Whoa," she whispered, shocked. She hadn't expected this. She hadn't known that miraculous holders could change their outfits this much. She twisted around to look at herself from the back, wondering why she had a real fox tail as opposed to Volpina and Rena Rouge, who just had a jacket that looked like a tail. Her tail emerged from her lower back, letting the tails of the jacket hang to either side. Maybe it was because Chloé was so much cooler than both of them.

She reached for the flute on her back and saw that it too had changed, now striped grey and white instead of white and orange. The flute felt fragile beneath her fingertips, like she could easily break it if she wasn't careful. Yet she knew that it wasn't. She ran her fingers over it and found a small button; when she pressed it, the flute extended to become a staff. Pressing the button a second time meant the flute shrunk to its condensed form. She shrugged and put the flute to her lips, trying to remember what Rena Rouge had done when she used it.

She played a short tune, moving her fingers over the holes, and a white light appeared at the end of the flute. "Mirage!" she called out, snapping the flute forward. The ball of light followed the motion of the flute and formed into a replica of Ladybug.

"Oh Chloé, I never should have doubted you! You were the best of all of us, I'm so sorry!" Fake-Ladybug cried dramatically.

"You're damn straight I was," she said, eyeing Fake-Ladybug thoughtfully. Obviously she'd need to work on her skills. Fake-Ladybug was see-through at the edges and her voice didn't sound right. It was too low-pitched. No one who knew Ladybug would be fooled by it.

"I was a fool to have given the Bee miraculous to someone else! We're going to be completely lost without you! When I think of how horrible things are going to be, it just makes me want to die!" Fake-Ladybug moaned, collapsing on the floor. As fun as it was to see Fake-Ladybug carrying on like that, it was way too dramatic.

"Ugh, that's enough of that. Trixx, let's rest."

The mirage vanished as white light flashed over Chloé, returning her to her former self. Trixx appeared, grinning.

"Well? What did you think?" he asked.

"How did you do that? Change the colors and everything?" Chloé said. She fingered the necklace, glancing down at it. Instead of being orange and white, it was now violet and white in color.

Trixx shrugged and smiled impishly. "I'm a fox, remember? So far as I'm concerned, rules are made to be broken. No one ever said you had to be a normal fox. Arctic foxes are a thing too, you know."

"I like you," Chloé said, smiling for the first time in what felt like weeks. "I've always felt that rules were for other people."

"I like you too," Trixx said. "I'll like you even more if you feed me."

"Oh. Of course. What do you eat?" Chloé asked, curious. She'd never actually thought about what a kwami ate, though she supposed it made sense that they did. She'd never been with Pollen long enough to need to worry about something like that.

"Berries will do in a pinch, but I also like meat."

Berries and meat. Chloé shrugged. "You'll have to wait until tomorrow to have meat, but in the meantime I can probably get you some fruit from the kitchen. Come on."

"Out of curiosity, what do you plan to call yourself?" Trixx asked.

Chloé paused in the midst of opening her door. "Call myself? Uh..." She hadn't thought that far ahead. She certainly couldn't call herself Queen Bee anymore, could she? And she didn't like the thought of the obvious name Vixen: that felt way too close to Volpina for comfort.

"If I may make a suggestion," Trixx said.

"Go ahead," Chloé said.

"You're the first arctic fox I've had in centuries," Trixx said, violet eyes gleaming. "So how about Arctique?"

"Arctique," Chloé repeated softly, liking the way the word sounded. She smiled. "I like it. Arctique it is."

"Yay!" Trixx cheered. He seemed so happy that Chloé couldn't help laughing a little. She held out a hand and Trixx came streaking over to her.

She hid Trixx in her pocket and went down to the kitchen. The chefs were used to her by now, and none of them were brave enough to challenge her. Chloé took a small container of strawberries and raspberries and retreated from the kitchen. Her mind spun with all the questions she needed to ask Trixx as she took the elevator back up to her room. Things like, how could she improve her mirages? How complicated could she make them? What were mirages capable of? It was a much more complicated power than what the Bee miraculous granted. With the Bee, you just stung someone and that was the end of it. With the Fox, it was going to require a lot more thought.

Inside her room, she locked the door again and opened the containers of fruit. Trixx fell on the berries ravenously, chowing down on them like he hadn't eaten in years. Which, Chloé didn't know, maybe he hadn't. She realized she had no idea whether Ladybug stopped to feed Trixx, Pollen and the turtle kwami before taking them back to where they'd come from. She hoped that someone was feeding them.

She crawled into bed while Trixx was eating, and, in spite of her determination to stay awake so that she could ask Trixx several questions, ended up falling asleep. When her alarm woke her up the next morning, it was to find Trixx sleeping on the pillow beside her head. Chloé stared at the kwami for a long moment, the events of the night before fully sinking in.

Had she really agreed to help Hawkmoth against Ladybug?

Ladybug, who had been Paris’s heroine for the better part of two years now. Ladybug, who swore that she and Chat Noir would stop Hawkmoth no matter what the cost. Ladybug, who Chloé had idolized ever since the day Ladybug had first appeared. Ladybug, who had taken the Bee miraculous away and told Chloé that she might never be Queen Bee again. Ladybug… who had chosen someone else.

Chloé’s eyes filled with tears and she buried her face in her pillow to hide them. Why didn’t Ladybug understand? Being Queen Bee was everything that Chloé had ever dreamed of. It meant that she was finally somebody. Of course she’d wanted people to know that was her! Who wouldn’t? What was the point of being a superhero if you couldn’t tell people about it?

Well… she wasn’t a superhero anymore. Now she was on Hawkmoth’s side. Chloé squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t really want to fight against Ladybug, but if this was the only way she could have a miraculous… what choice did she have? She couldn’t give the Fox miraculous back now. She couldn’t bear the thought of being cut off forever. To never be able to feel that amazing magic flowing through her, never being able to jump effortlessly between rooftops, never being able to –

A gentle pressure against the top of Chloé’s head stopped her thoughts mid-track. She opened her eyes and lifted her face from her pillow to see that Trixx was sitting right in front of her. Trixx smiled sadly and patted Chloé’s forehead again with his tiny paw. He was trying to comfort her, she realized belatedly. It was such a strange feeling that she wasn’t sure how to react.

“Chloé, it will be okay,” Trixx said, not unkindly.

“How can you say that? I agreed to fight against Ladybug. I can’t back out now; Hawkmoth threatened me. He said he’d eliminate anyone who gets in his way.” Chloé shivered as she remembered the look in Hawkmoth’s eyes. He’d been serious. Dead serious. Did Ladybug and Chat Noir even know what they were truly up against?

Trixx’s eyes hardened, though he kept petting her. “You’re a Fox now, Chloé. You’re not a Bee anymore. So you’ve got to start thinking like a Fox. We don’t rush in blindly, stingers waving, and hope that we take our enemy down. We sit back. We look at all the details. We strategize. We figure out how best to disorient and confuse our opponent, until they’re so upside down and backwards that they don’t even notice when we strike. The best Foxes I’ve ever had thought for themselves.”

Chloé blinked at him and sat up; she missed Trixx’s gentle touch immediately, but she had to wipe her eyes and face. She thought about what Trixx had said, and finally said, “So… you mean, the Fox isn’t supposed to follow Ladybug and Chat Noir?”

“Not necessarily. The miraculous are meant to work as a team, after all. I just meant that there is a third side to all of this. There’s Ladybug’s side, Hawkmoth’s side, and the in-between.”

“The in-between?” Chloé repeated blankly.

Trixx grinned. “Neutral,” he said gleefully. “You can be neutral. You can make Hawkmoth think you’re on his side while simultaneously helping Ladybug whenever you can. You’re also in a unique position here.”

“I am?” Chloé said, still trying to wrap her mind around what Trixx was suggesting.

“You’re closer to Hawkmoth than any other miraculous holder has been except for Mayura,” Trixx explained. “You can gain his trust. You have the chance to gather intel on him that Ladybug and Chat Noir can’t. You might even be able to figure out who Hawkmoth really is. Think about it, Chloé! You’re in the perfect position to put an end to this fight once and for all!”

Chloé’s eyes grew wide and she stared at Trixx in shocked silence for several seconds. Then her shoulders slumped. “But Ladybug will still hate me.”

“She’ll hate Arctique, but she won’t know that Arctique is Chloé Bourgeois,” Trixx pointed out. “Besides, if you can unmask Hawkmoth and Mayura, then you’ll be a hero! Ladybug won’t hate you then.”

“That’s true,” Chloé said slowly, thinking it over. “But… this sounds hard. Won’t Hawkmoth notice that I’m not really helping him?”

“You’ll have to be more sneaky and conniving than you’ve ever been in your life! You’re going to have to gain Hawkmoth’s and Mayura’s complete trust, and pretend that you hate Ladybug and Chat Noir. You’re going to have to get excellent at lying and thinking up stories that are believable, until you can spin tales without any effort at all. You’re going to have to practice your mirage until your illusions would fool even the guardian himself!” Trixx’s tail lashed the air with excitement as he spoke. “You’re going to have to walk the perfect line of subterfuge, Chloé Bourgeois. Do you accept your mission?”

“I…” Chloé trailed off. It sounded like an overwhelming task, more work than she’d ever even thought about doing in her whole life. And it sounded dangerous too. But what choice did she have? At least Trixx was offering her a light at the end of the tunnel. If she really did figure out who Hawkmoth was, Ladybug couldn’t hate her too much. Maybe she’d even get the Bee miraculous back as a reward.

Slowly, Chloé nodded. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

Trixx beamed, violet eyes glowing, and a shiver ran down Chloé’s spine as Trixx exclaimed, “Excellent! Just watch and see, Arctique. You and I are going to change history.”

Chapter Text

Six weeks later

Arctique sat back on her heels, idly playing with her flute, and watched as Ladybug threw her Lucky Charm into the sky. The red beam of light swept across Paris, repairing the damage done – not that there had been much. This had been an extremely short battle, lasting only about eight minutes by Arctique’s estimation. Barely long enough for either Ladybug or Chat Noir to break a sweat, and definitely not long enough for Arctique to bother interfering.

She stood up as Ladybug and Chat Noir fist bumped. Neither hero had realized she was there, which was just as well since Arctique had no interest in fighting with them today. She was turning to leave when a flash of purple caught her eye. Arctique’s head whipped around and she stilled as she spotted Mayura below her. Mayura had clearly decided that this was not her day to challenge the superheroes either, because she was turning around and heading up the street. Curious, Arctique followed along the rooftop.

It wasn’t very often that Mayura showed up, Arctique had noticed, though she had yet to divine why that might be. She suspected, but couldn’t prove, that it was because Hawkmoth preferred to have Arctique do his dirty work and let Mayura operate safely behind the lines. After all, if Arctique got caught and stripped of her miraculous it would be no great loss. If Mayura got caught, Arctique had the feeling that Hawkmoth would raze Paris to the ground.

Mayura turned into an alley and stopped, and Arctique started to duck down – but not so fast that she couldn’t see the moment when Mayura’s lips moved and a bright purple light flashed around her. Arctique’s jaw dropped and she gasped when she saw Nathalie Sancoeur emerge from the purple light. A peacock kwami appeared beside Nathalie’s shoulder, ears and tail drooping from exhaustion.

Nathalie said something and the kwami nodded. Then, suddenly, the kwami looked up and right at Arctique. Arctique squeaked in alarm and tried to hide, but it was too late. Nathalie had looked up too.

“Arctique!” Nathalie’s voice was sharp. Very sharp.

She could run. The thought was oh so tempting, to the point where Arctique cast a longing glance in the direction of her home. She could even see the top of the hotel from here; it would only take her a matter of minutes to get there if she traveled across the roofs… But that would be stupid. Hawkmoth knew who she was. There was no running away from something like this, not when Mayura or Hawkmoth could show up on Chloé’s doorstep tomorrow.

How had that damn kwami known she was there?

Reluctantly, Arctique stepped forward and leaped off the roof. She landed on the ground a few feet away from Nathalie, who had pulled out her phone and was tapping out a text. Studying Nathalie’s completely blank expression, Arctique swallowed hard. She was familiar enough with Nathalie to know that this wasn’t good. Nathalie Sancoeur was not a kind woman, not by any stretch of the imagination. The only person she truly cared about was Gabriel Agreste, and maybe Adrien to some extent.

It was entirely possible that Arctique was going to be taken away somewhere and ‘eliminated’. That was the threat Hawkmoth had given her that night six weeks ago, and nothing between now and then suggested that Hawkmoth would hestiate to follow through.

But as scared as she was, Arctique refused to show it. She pasted on a blank expression and did her best to pretend that nothing was out of the ordinary as Nathalie put her phone away and looked up.

“Detransform,” Nathalie ordered. “Quickly.”

“Trixx, let’s rest,” Arctique said reluctantly. She supposed it made sense that Nathalie and Arctique couldn’t be seen in public together, but Chloé instantly felt a little less confident as the white light faded away. It helped when Trixx came to rest on her shoulder.

“Come along,” Nathalie commanded, turning on her heel. Her kwami disappeared into the front of her suit as she began to walk, heading towards the car idling at the end of the alley.

Chloé followed because she had no choice, wondering if she should be texting someone to tell them where she was going. But who? Adrien? He wouldn’t care. They’d barely spoken in the past six weeks. Sabrina? Not a good idea; there was too much risk Sabrina would prematurely alert Officer Raincomprix. The last thing Chloé needed right now was to make things worse. Her father? Mayor Bourgeois would just assume Chloé was going to the Agreste mansion to see Adrien.

She set her jaw and clenched her fists and got into the car behind Nathalie. The car started and pulled away from the curb. Chloé stared out the window, her stomach twisting as the car took a familiar route. There was an awful suspicion building in the back of her mind the closer they got to their destination, but she didn’t want to consciously think about it. Didn’t want it to be true.

But the fact remained that Nathalie had only ever been loyal to one man.

As the car approached the Agreste mansion, the familiar gates swung open to admit them. It drove up and parked right in front of the doors. Then the driver jumped out, rushed around, and opened Nathalie’s door. Nathalie climbed out. Chloé hesitated for a moment, exchanging a worried look with Trixx, before she moved to follow. She trailed Nathalie up the stairs, into the house, and up the main stairs to Gabriel Agreste’s office.

Nathalie opened the door without knocking and said, “Here she is, Sir.”

Shit. Chloé fisted her hands to keep them from shaking as she entered. Gabriel stood up from his desk and looked down his nose at her. There was a little flutter of motion over his left shoulder, and then another kwami appeared. This one was light grey with butterfly wings, and Chloé’s heart sank straight through the floor as her worst fears were confirmed.

“Mlle Bourgeois,” Gabriel said icily. “Care to explain your actions?”

Every lesson Trixx had ever given her about lying rushed to the forefront of Chloé’s mind all at once. Her pulse calmed, and she let some of the tension in her shoulders drain away. People were more apt to believe what you said if you looked them in the eye and spoke calmly. She wasn’t going to lie exactly, but in this case the truth was going to sound like a lie if she wasn’t careful. So she forced herself to look at Gabriel – fucking Hawkmoth! – and, in a measured tone, said:

“It was an accident. I was leaving the scene of the akuma attack and trying to avoid Ladybug and Chat Noir. I didn’t even realize that Mayura was there until she was already detransforming.”

Gabriel stared at her for a moment, eyes narrowed, like he was trying to see through her. Chloé met his gaze evenly, hoping that he’d focus more on the fact that she’d willingly avoided Ladybug and Chat Noir than on the fact that she was lying about not having noticed Mayura earlier. And if she just so happened to get Nathalie in trouble at the same time for not looking around before she detransformed, so much the better.

“And why were you leaving without engaging them in battle?” Gabriel asked at last.

“Because I was late for a meeting with my father,” Chloé said with a straight face, which was an absolute, straight-up lie. “He wanted to talk to me about my mother coming for a visit.”

Gabriel actually flinched slightly at that. Chloé grinned inwardly. No one like Audrey Bourgeois.

“I texted him on my way here,” Chloé went on, “to let him know I’d be late.” She smiled disarmingly, knowing Gabriel would know what that meant. Someone was allegedly waiting for Chloé to come home.

“I didn’t see you with your phone,” Nathalie said.

“I’m a Fox. I’m very good at slight of hand,” Chloé said. That was complete bullshit, and it was likely that both Nathalie and Gabriel knew it, but they couldn’t exactly prove otherwise without demanding to see her phone. And while she wouldn’t put it past them to do that, she was willing to bet that they wouldn’t.

Nathalie looked at Gabriel, and Gabriel looked back at her. It took Chloé a moment to realize that the two of them were doing that thing that Ladybug and Chat Noir did all the time, where they had a whole conversation without every saying a word. That made her nervous. She cast a glance at the door, wondering if she could just demand to go home.

Then Gabriel said, “Mlle Bourgeois, I need to show you something. Could you spare a moment?”

“Uh, sure,” Chloé said slowly, glancing over at Nathalie. But Nathalie had turned away and picked up a file of papers on the edge of Gabriel’s desk. She leafed through the papers like they were the most fascinating thing in the world. No help there, obviously.

Gabriel moved to the door and opened it, looking at her expectantly. Chloé walked through, and as she did Trixx nuzzled her cheek. Trixx’s presence helped to calm her considerably as she followed Gabriel through the mansion. Because Gabriel might be Hawkmoth, but she was Arctique. And if worst came to worst, Chloé was reasonably confident in her ability to fight her way free.

At the very least, she was positive she could cause enough of a fuss to bring Ladybug and Chat Noir running.

They went down into the depths of the mansion, lower than Chloé had ever been before, and then into a room that took her breath away. She looked around with wide eyes, taking everything in: the arched ceiling, the dim lights on the walls, the beam of sunlight that was coming in through the sole window. At the far end was a tree that appeared to be growing out of the floor. Gabriel began walking towards it.

“Uh, where are we?” Trixx whispered.

Chloé just shook her head, a chill running down her spine. She was in way over her head here. Nothing Trixx had told her was enough to prepare her for this. She wanted to turn around and run, but forced herself to follow Gabriel up the catwalk. As she got closed, she saw that the wall behind the tree had some kind of pattern on it. And behind the tree, in front of that wall, was a glass casket.

“Oh my fucking god,” Chloé blurted out, stopping. “Is that – Tante Émilie?!”

It was indeed Émilie Agreste laying within the glass casket. Émilie looked exactly the way she had the last time Chloé had seen her. She was wearing a white suit with a black blouse, which was as perfectly ironed as though Émilie had just put it on that morning. Every strand of hair was in place, her make-up was flawless, and there was even a fresh rose tucked into her lapel.

“Yes,” Gabriel said. “You can approach, if you like.”

Morbid curiosity drew Chloé close enough to see Émilie in better detail. Slowly, she let a hand rest on the casket. “Tante Émilie… I thought she went missing. What happened to her?”

Gabriel sighed heavily. “She was the first holder of Peacock miraculous,” he revealed. “She was a hero.” His face shone with pride for just a moment before sadness took hold. “But what we didn’t know was that the Peacock was broken. It did something to Émilie one day. I don’t know what, but she collapsed. She’s not dead, but she just… won’t wake up.”

“That’s… shouldn’t you take her to a hospital?” Chloé asked. She took her hand off the casket, thoroughly freaked out. All she could think about was Adrien, and how many times Adrien had wept on Chloé’s shoulder because he thought his mére had left him. And all this time, Émilie had been down here. Alone.

“They can’t help her. What’s happened to her is magical in nature, not scientific. They’d want details I can’t give them.” Gabriel shook his head. “No, the only thing that will help her is another miraculous.”

Chloé stilled. “You mean…”

“Yes. That’s why I need the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculous, so that I can wish for Émilie to be okay again. It’s the only way. I want to do this for me… and for Adrien. You can understand that, can’t you? I need my wife, and Adrien needs his mother. That’s understandable, right, Chloé?”

Hearing Gabriel use her first name rocked Chloé to her core. For a split second, she could see a hint of the man he used to be: her Oncle Gabriel, the man who actually smiled once in a while and didn’t spend all of his time ignoring the only family he had left. But just as quickly, the flash was gone. The way he was looking at her right then, it was too much. It scared her.

But she couldn’t let him know that, so Chloé said, in a voice that only trembled a little, “Of course. I… I just wish I’d known that this was about Tante Émilie sooner.”

“I couldn’t risk anyone knowing,” Gabriel said. “Not even Adrien. You have to keep this a secret from him. It would destroy him to know that his mother has been so close all this time, but that he couldn’t do anything to help her. I want to keep him out of this fight. He doesn’t need to know.”

“Of course,” Chloé said tonelessly, and smiled at him like the first thing she did when she got out of here wasn’t going to be finding Adrien.

Chapter Text

Chat Noir’s baton slammed against Arctique’s flute with enough force to make her arms tremble. Arctique swallowed a gasp at the impact and saw Chat smirk; he knew as well as she did that in terms of brute strength, he far overpowered her. She locked her knees and arms and strained against him, vaguely aware of Ladybug moving around somewhere in her peripheral vision.

“Give it up, Fox,” Chat said. “You should be working with us, not against us. Hawkmoth is the bad guy here.”

“I’m not stupid. Don’t tell me things I already know,” Arctique shot back, and used his moment of surprise to pull back. He stumbled, not having suspected the move, and she ducked low and swiped his feet out from under him. It was a move that never would have worked had she not knocked him off balance, but Arctique was grateful that it had. She used her moment of reprieve to put some distance between them.

“If you already know, then why are you fighting for him?” Chat asked reasonably, easily springing back to his feet and grabbing his baton.

“Not everything is that easy,” Arctique said, holding her flute with both hands in preparation for another attack. She didn’t understand why Chat and Ladybug spoke to her like this. They had never tried to convince Mayura to switch sides. Only Arctique had the dubious honor of having to repeatedly listen to this. It was maddening.

They had no idea how much she both wanted to join them and didn’t want to join them. On the one hand, fighting with Ladybug was all she’d dreamed of for months. On the other hand, Ladybug had rejected her and chosen another Bee over Chloé. If they knew who she was, would they even want her to fight with them? Arctique couldn’t be sure, and the uncertainty never ceased to make her angry.

She lunged forward rather than wait for Chat to come to her, acting as though she was going to aim her flute at his lower abdomen. At the last second she feinted, dodging to the side and throwing an elbow back. But Chat was ready for her, nimbly leaping out of the way with a cackle of laughter. Arctique gritted her teeth in frustration. In a direct fight, she was outmatched by both strength and experience.

“Laugh it up, Cat,” she snapped, setting her flute to her lips. It pleased her to see the way Chat tensed as she blew a soft tune. “Mirage!”

Chat swore loudly as dozens of Arctique’s flared into existence around them. He immediately began lunging around, using his claws to slash through the illusions. Arctique took the opportunity to back off, sidling into an alley and quickly detransforming. She was just in time, as in the distance came the cry of ‘Miraculous Ladybug!’ and a familiar wash of red light overhead.

“Hawkmoth must’ve been really mad you figured things out. He doesn’t usually send two akuma in one day,” Trixx said, perching on Chloé’s shoulder.

“Yeah, probably,” Chloé muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. She watched as Ladybug landed beside Chat. It was interesting to see how exhausted Ladybug looked. Akuma were a lot harder for them to handle if one of them was distracted by Arctique or Mayura. Hawkmoth’s plan might have actually had some merit to it had it not been for the fact that Chloé wasn’t devoted to him.

“I wonder if Hawkmoth did this on purpose to stop you from trying to find Adrien,” Trixx mused.

Chloé sighed. “I wouldn’t put it past him.” She reached into the small black purse she’d begun carrying around with her and took an apple. Trixx preferred berries, but in a pinch any fruit would do. He wasn’t overly picky, though the way he said it suggested that some kwami were.

Trixx took the apple and took a huge bite of it, chewing with gusto. Not too long ago, it would’ve annoyed the hell out of Chloé that he was doing it right in her ear. Right now, she felt too tired to get upset. She just stood there and watched as Ladybug and Chat did their signature fist bump, then both of them took off in opposite directions. It wasn’t surprising that they weren’t sticking around, as it was after midnight.

She walked home, showered, and fell into bed, not that she slept much. Her mind was racing with how she was going to break the news to Adrien in the morning. Could she just tell him to his face? Would he believe her? Would he think she was making it up? He’d probably ask how she knew. She wondered if he would believe that she had recognized Hawkmoth’s voice after he tried to akumatize her and she fought the butterfly off. If he didn’t, what would she say? She couldn’t tell him the truth!

When her alarm went off, it was a groggy Chloé Bourgeois that crawled out of bed. She threw her closet open and stared at her clothes. Shortly after transforming into Arctique for the first time, Chloé had thrown out most of her clothing. Yellow had been her signature color for years, but looking at those clothes right now was too painful and reminded her too much of her short-lived time as Queen Bee.

She’d replaced her old clothing with shades of black, white, grey, violet and pale blue. Several people had done double-takes the first time Chloé walked into Madame Bustier’s classroom wearing a blue shirt and a white skirt, but no one was brave enough to ask her about the change, not even Sabrina. Chloé told herself, as she reached for a violet dress with a high enough neckline to hide the Fox miraculous, that she didn’t care.

“Can we stop for a smoothie on the way to school?” Trixx asked, flying up behind her.

Chloé fastened the black belt and grabbed her purse. “Sure.”

“With a side of bacon?” he asked eagerly.

“Why not?” Chloé said, sliding her feet into black flats. “Come on.”

Trixx whooped and flew into the purse, which put a small smile on Chloé’s face. She hadn’t spent a lot of time with Pollen, but she thought that Pollen was probably pretty different from Trixx. There was something inherently sassy about Trixx. He didn’t hesitate to say what was on his mind or shy away from difficult topics. He’d straight-up told her to her face that she was putting Adrien in danger by hanging off of him so much, which was why she’d been making more of an effort to distance herself from Adrien.

For today, at least, that would have to change.

When Chloé got to school, smoothie in hand and smelling faintly of bacon, she scanned the grounds and spotted Adrien’s blond head bent beside a red baseball cap. Chloé squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and marched over to them. As she got closer, she saw that Adrien and Nino each had an earphone in and were listening to something on Nino’s phone.

“Hey, Adrien?” Chloé said, then felt a sharp jab in her hip from Trixx. Right. She was supposed to be pretending that nothing was wrong. She forced a smile and drawled, in her imitation of the girl she’d been three weeks ago, “Heeeey Adriiiiikiiiiins!”

Adrien visibly winced. It was a minimal reaction, but Chloé still recognized it for what it was. How many times had Adrien done that before and she hadn’t noticed? Trixx was constantly telling her to pay attention and observe the world around her. Knowing what was going on around her, Trixx said, could be the difference between surviving one encounter unmasked and not.

Considering that Chloé had caught Mayura because Mayura hadn’t thought to look around before she detransformed, Chloé couldn’t exactly argue that. And honestly, she’d never realized before how much she didn’t pay attention to the people around her. Trixx seemed to think that most of humanity was pretty oblivious, and was adamant that no fox of his was going to be so obtuse.

“Hi Chloé,” Adrien said with a wary smile. “What’s up?”

“Can I talk to you for a moment? In private?” Chloé asked.

“Sorry, Adrien is busy listening to my sick tunes,” Nino said, slinging an arm around Adrien’s shoulders. Adrien grinned and ducked his head, looking so pleased that it hurt. Was she really that awful? Didn’t Adrien care at all that she hadn’t spoken to him much for the past month and a half?

She squared her shoulders. “But this is important. Really important.”

The bell rang. Adrien sighed. “We have to get to class. Maybe we can talk after – oh, but I have to leave early. I have a modeling shoot this afternoon.”

“I thought you were coming out to get ice cream with me, Alya and Marinette?” Nino said.

Adrien shook his head. “I want to, but Nathalie told me about the shoot this morning during breakfast. Very last minute, she said. Pére only decided on it yesterday.”

Chloé ground her teeth in frustration. Gabriel had definitely done that on purpose. “But Adrien –”

“We’re gonna be late,” Nino interrupted, standing up and grabbing his bookbag. Adrien got up too.

“Later, Chloé,” he said, before walking off with Nino.

She stared after them, torn between frustration and hurt. They’d just assumed that what she had to say wasn’t that important. Maybe she should storm after them and just blurt the truth out no matter who was listening. Make Adrien listen to her. That’s what the old Chloé Bourgeois would’ve done. She’d never settled for letting anyone ignore her; she’d never cared who she hurt in the process, so long as she got what she wanted.

Chloé clenched her hand into a fist. She couldn’t do that. Adrien didn’t deserve to hear the truth about his father like that, and it wouldn’t be good if Gabriel found out she was trying to tell people the truth after she’d promised not to. She hadn’t forgotten his threats. Gabriel Agreste was not a man who made threats without following through on them.

“Don’t give up, Chloé,” Trixx said. He phased through her purse and zipped up to burrow beneath her braid. He loved curling up there, where he could whisper in her ear. He did so now, adding, “A Fox doesn’t charge at barriers. They fall back, examine the barrier from every angle, and figure out a new way to approach their goal.”

“You’re right,” Chloé said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. “The very next time Adrien leaves school, I don’t care what Madame Bustier says. I’m going to follow him, push him into a room, lock the door and refuse to let him leave until he listens to me.”

Trixx chuckled in her ear. “That’s my kit,” he said, sounding proud. Chloé smiled and walked up the steps, dumping the remains of her smoothie in the garbage.

She didn’t know that she’d get the chance to carry out her plan way sooner than she expected. She didn’t know that shortly before lunch, an akuma would attack near the school. Madame Bustier ordered their class to follow Akuma Protocol 2 – which meant that everyone was to kneel beneath their desks with the doors and windows locked and the curtains drawn.

Chloé spotted Adrien making a run for the door and jumped up to follow. In the confusion, she was pretty sure no one noticed them going. Adrien was fast, sprinting down the empty hallway. He turned the corner and Chloé lunged forward, opening her mouth to yell his name. She didn’t know where he was going but he had to listen!

But the words got stuck in her throat.

“Plagg, claws out!”

Chapter Text

Chloé threw her bedroom door open and then slammed it shut behind her. She sprinted across the floor, jumped on her bed, grabbed her pillow and smushed it to her face. Then she screamed, as long and as loud as she could, until her breath ran out. Then she was just sitting there gasping, trying not to break down into semi-hysterical sobs, pillow still pressed to her face.

“Chloé, it’s going to be okay,” Trixx said, though for once not even Trixx sounded very confident about that.

“Okay?!” Chloé repeated, pulling the pillow down to hold it against her chest. “Adrien is Chat Noir. Adrien. Is. Chat. Noir. I hit Adrien in the face with my flute last week!”

Trixx snickered. “You got him good, too,” he said gleefully, and in spite of herself Chloé had to smile a little bit too at the memory. Chat had looked so surprised, recoiling and grabbing his right eye. She hadn’t hurt him; they were almost indestructible in their suits, but she’d definitely made him take her more seriously.

“I just… I never thought…” Chloé shook her head. Adrien had changed a lot in the past two years, but Chloé had, mistakenly it seemed, attributed all of that to Adrien attending public school for the first time. If she remembered correctly, Ladybug and Chat Noir had appeared right around the same time.

Well, of course they had. No wonder Gabriel had agreed to let Adrien go to school. He wouldn’t want Adrien hanging around the house too much while Gabriel was pulling his Hawkmoth shtick. He still had to put up a fight about it, because Gabriel Agreste was nothing if not a control freak, but Adrien attending school actually worked in Gabriel’s favor. Wait until she told that to Adrien. His head would explode.

Except… Chloé’s smile faded as reality set in. She couldn’t just tell Adrien that Gabriel was Hawkmoth. Not now that she knew Adrien was Chat. Because that meant Chat would go running straight to Ladybug – there was no doubt in her mind about that. The two of them were so ridiculously co-dependent that it was miracle they’d kept their identities from each other for this long – and god only knew how that would go. Probably terribly, especially if they rushed in without a plan.

And that was if Adrien even believed her. Chloé shrank in on herself, pulling her knees up against the pillow and hiding her face. If she told Adrien the truth, and he found out that she was Arctique, he would know she was their enemy. He would know that three days ago, Chat punched Arctique in the stomach so hard that Arctique hadn’t been able to breathe right for several minutes.

“Chloé?” Trixx said quietly. “Kit, talk to me.”

“This just got so much more complicated,” Chloé said tearfully. “I can’t believe Adrien is Chat. Well, actually I can believe it. They’re both huge dorks. But I just – ugh.” She flopped over on her bed and spread out like a starfish, looking woefully up at her kwami. Trixx hovered above her.

“It’ll be okay. You’re right that this is more complicated, but it’s not impossible,” Trixx said earnestly. “You can still tell Adrien the truth if you want to. You don’t have to acknowledge that you know who he is.”

Chloé sighed. “I could, but I’m worried that he and Ladybug will go running in there,” she confessed. “They’re just not ready to take on Hawkmoth and Mayura. It’s too much. Hawkmoth will win and then he’ll take their miraculous and probably make the whole world explode.”

Trixx was quiet for a moment, thinking. “Okay, so you don’t tell Adrien,” he said, motioning to her right legs. She obligingly slid her leg up and bent it so that he could land on her knee.

“But I have to tell Adrien. I can’t not tell him. It’s dangerous!” Chloé said.

“He’s been okay so long,” Trixx pointed out. “If Gabriel loves him, he wouldn’t hurt his son. Would he?”

It was a real question that Chloé had to stop and think about. She didn’t think Gabriel would hurt Adrien, though he’d been unknowingly doing so for several months now. If he did, he would have to explain himself to Émilie when she woke up. That conversation would not go over well. So Trixx was right, Adrien was probably okay in the Agreste household so long as Gabriel never figured out that Adrien was Chat Noir.

“And also, you have to ask yourself whether there’s any risk of Adrien joining him,” Trixx said.

Chloé bolted upright. “He wouldn’t!”

Trixx looked her in the eye. “Are you absolutely, positively, 100% sure?” he asked quietly. “Because Chloé, this is his mom you’re talking about. Practically one of the first things you told me about Adrien is how much he misses his mom. Wouldn’t he do anything to get her back?”

Would he? Chloé stared at Trixx, frozen, for several seconds. She thought about Adrien’s devestated expression the morning they woke up to find that Émilie had ‘mysteriously disappeared’, and how for weeks after he’d been paranoid about keeping his phone fully charged just in case Émilie decided to call him. She thought about how many tears Adrien had cried, and how he’d eventually come to the conclusion that he must have been the one to drive Émilie away – him, the little twelve-year-old ball of sunshine.

She thought about Adrien and how much happier he was since he’d started attending Collège François Dupoint, because he had real friends now and people who genuinely cared about him. She thought about how Adrien sometimes ducked out on his lessons because they didn’t matter to him as much now. She thought about Chat Noir, who looked at Ladybug like she hung the moon and stars and revolved around her like she was the sun.

And then she shook her head.

“Maybe if Ladybug didn’t exist,” she said. “Maybe then, but Adrien – he would never betray her, Trixx.”

“Okay,” Trixx said. “If you believe that, then I believe you.”

Chloé nodded, biting her lip not to cry. Adrien wouldn’t choose Chloé over his mother. She knew that for a fact. But Ladybug? There was just no way. It stung. Trixx patted her knee in sympathy and she tried to smile, brushing away a few stray tears.

“Maybe when the time comes, you can tell Ladybug first,” Trixx said eventually. “She might be able to look at the situation with a clearer set of eyes.

“For all I know, Ladybug will turn out to be someone with a connection to Gabriel too,” Chloé said.

Trixx sighed. “I wish you could tell the guardian.”

“You’ve mentioned the guardian a couple of times now. Who is that?” Chloé asked.

“The Guardian of the Miraculous! There used to be lots of them, but now there’s the only one left. He makes sure that the miraculous are safe,” Trixx explained. “Whenever Ladybug needs the help of a holder in battle, she goes to the guardian to get another miraculous. At the end of the battle, she has to return the miraculous to the guardian because it’s dangerous to have too many fully active at once.”

Oh. Chloé had always wondered how Hawkmoth got his hands on the Fox miraculous, but now she realized that Ladybug must have been ambushed on her way back to the guardian’s the day that Kagami used the Bee miraculous. Rena Rouge and Carapace had been there too. It must have been Mayura who’d attacked Ladybug. She was sneaky like that, and it sounded exactly like something she would do.

That also explained why Carapace and Hachi hadn’t shown up to battles recently. The guardian had probably freaked out when the Fox miraculous got stolen, and didn’t want any of the miraculous being used except for Ladybug’s and Chat Noir’s. Chloé felt a very tiny flicker of guilt over that, but she resolutely pushed it away and told herself that Ladybug and Chat had made their bed.

“Do you know who he is? Maybe I could go talk to him…” Chloé said, yet even as she spoke she realized that she couldn’t. If the guardian realized she had the Fox miraculous, if he tried to take it away – her chest tightened at the thought, and she grabbed the necklace tightly with both hands.

But Trixx was shaking his head anyway, and said, “I can’t tell you that, Chloé, I’m sorry. I don’t know what identity the guardian has assumed. I don’t even know where he lives. Ladybug never releases me from my miraculous until we’re at the scene of the battle.”

“That’s okay,” Chloé sighed. “Maybe… do you think if I wrote him a letter and gave it to Ladybug, she would take it to him?”

“Maybe,” Trixx said doubtfully. “But that still doesn’t solve your problem. You’re right in that Ladybug and Chat Noir can’t take on Hawkmoth and Mayura alone. Even if the guardian gave Ladybug a bunch of other miraculous to use, you know how long it takes to get used being a holder.”

“And they’re down a miraculous they’re used to,” Chloé muttered.

“That too. So…” Trixx trailed off.

There was something impish about Trixx’s voice that made Chloé squint at him suspiciously. “So?”

“Obviously the answer is that we need to steal either the Butterfly or Peacock miraculous,” Trixx said.

Chloé stared. “… What?”

“Think about it! If you can get your paws on one of them, that means Ladybug and Chat have a much better chance of winning. Especially if they bring Hachi and Carapace, and then you’re there to provide surprise back-up. I’m thinking it will be easier to take Mayura’s miraculous.” Trixx tapped his chin as he thought. “She seems much less used to having one, which means she’ll be easier to pin down.”

“Uh, hold on a second. I can’t just take Mayura’s miraculous! She won the last time we fought,” Chloé said, flushing. She often wondered if her failure to stop Mayura that day had been one of the contributing factors to Ladybug’s decision to find a new Bee miraculous holder.

“Sure you can! Then you can write your letter to the guardian and add the Peacock miraculous to it. That will give the guardian reason to believe you.” Trixx smiled brightly.

“Trixx, that’s not – ugh.” Chloé buried her face in her hands. She felt Trixx’s light weight leave her knee, and then a moment later felt a gentle tugging on her bangs. She looked up right into Trixx’s eyes.

“I know you can do this, Kit,” Trixx said, softly but seriously. “I know you can. You have to. There’s no one else who can.”

“But I don’t know how,” Chloé whispered.

“We’ll figure it out, I promise. You don’t have to fight Mayura one on one. You know who she is. You can ambush her as Nathalie, steal the miraculous, and then get the information back to the guardian before Hawkmoth even knows what’s going on. So long as Ladybug and Chat move quickly, and I think that they would, Gabriel won’t have time to do anything.”

Chloé swallowed a couple of times and tried to just breathe. “But what if he does?”

“Then we’ll deal with that, but I really don’t think he will. He’ll have his hands full of pissed off miraculous holders,” Trixx said comfortingly. “This is part of being a double agent.”

“I don’t think I want to be one anymore,” she mumbled.

“It’s too late now. You don’t have a choice. Besides, remember why you’re doing this. Think of how indebted they’ll be to you. You’ll have pretty much single-handedly laid Hawkmoth on a silver platter for them. You could get the Bee miraculous back!” Trixx exclaimed.

Right. The Bee miraculous. Chloé was quiet for a moment. Two months ago, she would’ve happily traded the Fox miraculous for the Bee miraculous without a second thought. But now… she wasn’t sure that was what she wanted. She’d only been Queen Bee a handful of times, and she’d absolutely loved it, but... Being Arctique wasn’t always fun or pleasant, but it was comfortable and she understood it and it fit.

“I’d rather keep you,” she said finally, and Trixx looked at her with shock.

“Really?” he asked.

“I don’t know Pollen that well,” Chloé admitted. “We didn’t get the chance to talk at all. I like being the Bee, but maybe I’m more cut out to be a Fox.” She crossed her arms. “And… you know… I guess I’d miss you.”

Trixx beamed. “I would be very happy to stay with you, Kit!”

“You don’t miss Rena Rouge?” Chloé asked, surprised.

“I barely spoke to her,” Trixx said, still smiling. “You’re my new holder. Just watch, Chloé. We’ll do this so well that no one will even think of taking the Fox from you!”

Chloé smiled slightly at that. “I hope you’re right.”

Chapter Text

“Hey Chloé. What did you want to talk to me about?”

Chloé looked up, blinking in surprise, and hastily locked her phone. She’d been so involved in typing that she hadn’t even noticed Adrien coming up behind her. Luckily Adrien was way too polite to snoop, so he was standing at such an angle that he couldn’t see her screen. Or maybe he’d just put extra distance between them out of fear that she might pounce on him.

“Hi Adrikins,” Chloé said, turning to face him. “What?”

“Last week, you said you needed to tell me something.” Adrien smiled at her, but it was his fake, model smile. How had she never noticed before that he didn’t really smile at her? It only reaffirmed Chloé’s decision that she was doing the right thing by not telling him about Hawkmoth. Not yet, anyway.

“I don’t remember what it was. It wasn’t very important,” Chloé said quietly.

“Oh.” Adrien didn’t leave, though. He stood there for a moment, looking at her with a faint frown.

Chloé raised an eyebrow and got up. “Is there something else?”

“You’ve changed recently,” Adrien said bluntly. “You don’t boss people around anymore. You barely talk in class. I can’t even remember the last time you fought with Marinette. You don’t even talk to Sabrina. Did you guys have a fight?”

“No,” Chloé said. That was the truth, at least. She had purposely distanced herself from Sabrina. Sabrina seemed to think she’d done something wrong, and had made several attempts at pacifying Chloé that Chloé had resolutely ignored. It was finally paying off, sort of: in the last week or so, Chloé had noticed that Sabrina had started hanging around more with Rose, Juleka and Lila. It hurt, but it was also safer for Sabrina.

Adrien’s frown deepened. “Are you okay, Chloé?”

“What do you care?” Chloé asked, maybe a little too loudly. Marinette, Alya, Nino, Nathaniel, and Max, the only other students still in the classroom, all looked their way.

“I’m your friend,” Adrien said, and Chloé had to bite back a laugh. They weren’t friends. They were enemies.

“Sure, Adrikins,” she said wearily, picking up her backpack. “Say, as your friend, could you tell me where Nathalie will be this afternoon?”

Adrien looked confused now, but he answered readily enough: “As far as I know, she’s going to be at the hall. Père is supposed to be there, working on the last minute details of his show. I’m heading there soon myself.”

The show. It took Chloé a moment to figure out what he meant by that, before she remembered the tickets that her father had hand-delivered to her last night. Gabriel Agreste had paired up with half a dozen other designers to have a huge show. According to the rumors, he was planning on showing off some details from his 2020 Spring Line. Of course Nathalie would be there, assisting Gabriel.

“Thanks,” Chloé said absently, a frisson of nerves running through her. If she got caught – if Nathalie ran to Gabriel – if Adrien figured out what was going on and showed up as Chat –

“Chloé,” Adrien said, catching her wrist.

Startled, she turned to look at him.

“You can tell me if something’s wrong,” Adrien said. His green eyes were intent, like he was trying to see through her. Too bad Chloé now knew that there was nothing more than a cat’s curiosity behind that look. Chat’s heart beat only for Ladybug.

“Sure,” Chloé said again. She was pretty sure that after the next couple of days, that offer would be swiftly rescinded. She gently tugged her arm free and quickly left the classroom, mind spinning.

“Looks like this is our chance,” Trixx whispered from beneath her braid.

“Yup,” Chloé muttered, her pulse quickening.

She emerged from the school and walked out the front gates. She’d already told her driver that she would be making her own way home, so she turned right and walked down the street alone. It didn’t take long to find a convenient alley that was empty; Chloé ducked behind a dumpster, wrinkling her nose as Trixx flew out to join her. They looked at each other for a moment.

“You’re sure about the plan?” Trixx asked.

Chloé took a deep breath, then grimaced at the smell, and said, “Yes, as sure as I’m going to be. I’m going to get the Peacock miraculous and tie Nathalie up somewhere. Then I’m going to sit on a Parisian rooftop until Ladybug or Chat come looking for me. I have the letter here.” She withdrew it from her bag to show Trixx, then set the letter and her phone on the ground.

“Good,” Trixx said. “I’m so proud of you, Chloé.”

“Thanks,” Chloé whispered. The words meant a lot. She managed a smile. “Trixx, let’s pounce!”

Arctique stood, tucking the letter and her phone safely into her pocket, and leapt up to the rooftop. She quickly made her way towards the same building where Gabriel had had his last fashion show. The one that had become interrupted when her mother became akumatized. She made a face at the memory, realizing that Chat Noir had failed to show up because Adrien had been Style Queen’s first victim.

It was funny how many things made sense in retrospect.

On the rooftop across from the hall, Arctique paused. What would be the best way to get Nathalie out of the building? She was pretty devoted to Gabriel, so it would take something major. She’d thought about texting Nathalie, but there was too big of a chance that Nathalie would speak to Gabriel about it first. If she could only enlist Adrien’s help, getting Nathalie out here would be much easier.

But maybe… Arctique straightened up slowly and smiled to herself, fingering her flute. Perhaps there was a way to make Adrien help after all, or at least his image. All she had to do was wait for the right opportunity. If it didn’t happen, she might have to detransform and go into the building to find Nathalie – but Arctique was counting on Adrien being a little late today, especially if he didn’t take a shortcut like she had.

She hunkered down to wait, checking her phone on occasion. Naturally, there was nothing of use on Adrien’s social media. Arctique wasn’t even sure Adrien was the one who posted on them. He probably wasn’t. She doubted that Gabriel would allow his son that much control over his brand. Arctique sighed and put her phone away, narrowing her eyes at the entrance.

Her patience paid off. About twenty minutes later, Nathalie came to the front door. She had her phone to her ear and a very unimpressed look on her face; whatever she was hearing, or not hearing, was not making her very happy. Arctique lifted herself up on her haunches and pulled her flute off her back, holding it to her lips. She only had one chance at this. Luckily, she’d spent a fair amount of time looking at Adrien Agreste.

“Mirage!” she whispered, flinging the ball of violet light at the ground. It expanded and formed into a vaguely male shape, which slowly solidified into a copy of Adrien. Faux Adrien looked around with a pleasant, if vapid, smile and started walking towards the building.

“Adrien?” Nathalie called out sharply. “Adrien! You’re late. Your father is waiting – Adrien!” Her voice rose as Faux Adrien waved at her and then turned to walk away.

Naturally, Nathalie followed. Couldn’t risk upsetting Gabriel by not having his lead model show up, after all. Arctique stalked her from above, carefully counting the minutes in her head. Faux Adrien turned into an alley. Nathalie rushed up behind him mere seconds later, an angry expression on her face. She reached out to grab Faux Adrien’s shoulder and froze when he shimmered and vanished.

“What the hell –” Nathalie began.

Arctique silently dropped down behind Nathalie and swung her flute. It impacted against the back of Nathalie’s head with a wet, meaty thump. Nathalie dropped like a stone, sprawling on the dirty ground. Arctique stared down at her, shocked and sickened, and stood there, frozen, until her transformation wore off and Trixx appeared in a burst of white light. The kwami looked at Chloé and then down at the ground.

“Cool, you got her!” Trixx said excitedly.

“I…” Chloé said weakly. “I did?” She gulped.

Trixx flew down. “Help me find her miraculous.”

Chloé swallowed hard but obeyed, running her fingers along Nathalie’s suit jacket. She unbuttoned it and found the Peacock miraculous pinned to Nathalie’s white dress shirt. Like all of the miraculous, it looked like nothing more than an innocent piece of jewellery. It felt warm to the touch when she brushed her fingers against it. She unfastened the miraculous and held it up.

“I hear there’s something wrong with Dusuu,” Trixx said somberly.

“What?” Chloé asked.

“I don’t know. The guardian thinks the Peacock miraculous is damaged somehow. We haven’t seen Dusuu in centuries,” Trixx said, looking sadly at the Peacock miraculous. “I hope he can fix whatever’s wrong with it.”

“I’m sure he can,” Chloé said quietly. She took the letter from her pocket and added the Peacock miraculous, then sealed the envelope. Then she looked down at Nathalie. Gabriel would surely notice she was missing, but Chloé didn’t think he’d jump to the idea of foul play immediately.

“Let’s get her hidden. Got a snack for me?” Trixx asked hopefully.

“Of course.” Chloé took a handful of berries from her bag and handed them over. Trixx gobbled them down and burped loudly.

“Okay, ready!”

“Trixx, let’s pounce!”

Arctique carefully picked Nathalie up and took to the rooftops. They weren’t too far away from the hotel, and Arctique had prepared a room in advance. She laid Nathalie on the bed of an empty guest room that was under repair and loosely bound Nathalie’s wrists and ankles to the bed. It wasn’t right, obviously, but she couldn’t risk Nathalie getting away or alerting Gabriel.

And then she went to sit on the rooftop of Collège François Dupont. People definitely noticed her; she saw fingers and phones alike pointing her way. It only took Ladybug approximately fourteen minutes to show up. Arctique’s heart fluttered as Ladybug landed several feet away, spinning her yoyo in her right hand. Ladybug didn’t look like she was in the mood to listen, but Arctique had to say her piece anyway.

“Before you attack me, I have news for you,” Arctique said loudly.

Ladybug’s eyes narrowed. “What?”

“In this envelope is everything you need to know about Hawkmoth and Mayura,” Arctique said, holding up the envelope. Everything needed to break Adrien’s heart. She kept her expression composed with effort.

“What do you mean?” Ladybug said. “Is this some kind of joke?”

“No. It’s not a joke.” Arctique crouched down, laying the envelope on the roof. “Please contact Chat Noir and take this information to the guardian as fast as you can. You don’t have much time.”

“Wh – how do you know about the guardian?!” Ladybug’s eyes bulged now.

“Never mind,” Arctique said impatiently. “Just hurry!”

She turned on her heel and flung herself off the roof. Ladybug yelled after her; Arctique had plotted out an escape route, and in a matter of minutes she had circled back into the school and detransformed. Chloé watched through a window as Ladybug’s yoyo took her away from the school, the envelope clutched in Ladybug’s right hand. It held all the information that Chloé knew, including Hawkmoth’s motivation and Nathalie’s current location.

“You did it, Kit,” Trixx said softly, resting on her shoulder.

“I did,” Chloé said numbly. All those weeks of sneaking around and living beneath Hawkmoth’s thumb were nearly over. The prospect was both terrifying and exhilarating, and left her dizzy. She leaned against the window, suddenly shaky.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Trixx said, nuzzling Chloé’s cheek. “You’ll see.”

Chloé was quiet for a moment. Then she said, “How do you feel about tropical fruit?”

“Huh?” Trixx said, surprised.

“I don’t want to be here when everything goes down. I want to be as far away as possible. I have a trip booked for the Caribbean,” Chloé said. “Wanna come?”

Trixx contemplated that. “Shouldn’t you be here to help?” He flew up to face Chloé.

“I think I’ve done enough,” Chloé whispered. Her eyes burned, and her face felt kind of hot and wet. She didn’t want to be anywhere near Gabriel Agreste ever again.

Something in Trixx’s eyes softened. “You know what, you’re absolutely right. I had a holder once who fed me pineapple, coconut and mango. I’d like to taste all of them again.”

Chloé wiped at her face. “You can have as much fruit as you want.”

Chapter Text

From a comfortable reclining chair beside the pool, Chloé learned about what happened next. The fight with Hawkmoth happened that very night from what she could tell; while Chloé was on a plane trying not to have a breakdown, Ladybug had definitely moved fast. Ladybug, Chat Noir, Carapace and a new Bee miraculous holder, Abeille, had all shown up to the fight. Hawkmoth had been swiftly dealt with, the Butterfly miraculous retrieved, and Gabriel Agreste placed under arrest. Nathalie had also been removed from the hotel and taken into custody, according to the Ladyblog.

Chloé spent several minutes staring thoughtfully at a photo of Carapace and Abeille. Apparently Ladybug had chosen not to give the Bee miraculous back to Kagami. It seemed unlikely that Ladybug would bring someone new to the fight, which led Chloé to believe that Abeille and Rena Rouge were one and the same. She tried not to wonder too deeply over what Rena thought of Pollen.

There wasn’t much mention of what was going to happen to Adrien, and there was no mention of Émilie at all, even though Chloé combed through every news outlet in search of that information. Finally she put in a call to her father, and Mayor Bourgeois promptly offered Adrien a suite at Le Grand Paris since the Agreste mansion was still under investigation and it seemed like it would be for some time. The police were still searching through it to make sure they’d found all of the evidence.

“Has it died down enough yet?” Trixx asked. He was halfway through a bright pink smoothie.

“It’s getting there,” Chloé said absently. She hadn’t yet decided whether to be mad that no one was talking about Arctique. Was that because no one considered her to be a threat? Or had they all summarily decided she had disappeared when Hawkmoth was defeated?

“Don’t you think it’s about time we went back? It’s been five days,” said Trixx.

Chloé lowered her sunglasses. “It’s not like you’re suffering.”

“Chloé. We can’t stay here forever,” Trixx said.

“I know,” Chloé muttered, pushing her sunglasses back up. Her father had paid for a vacation without hesitation, all too pleased to buy something for his unusually quiet, moody daughter. She knew he wouldn’t blink an eye if she chose to stay for another week, even two.

But Trixx was right, much as she hated to admit it. She couldn’t stay away from Paris forever. Adrien deserved what support she could give him, even if it was nothing more than money for him to throw at his problems. Finding out that Gabriel was Hawkmoth had to have been a serious blow. He needed whatever friends he could get, at least until the outcry over Hawkmoth died down some.

At least he had Ladybug now, she reflected as she looked back down at her tablet. The Ladyblog had featured another series of pictures of Ladybug and Chat Noir. In one photo, they were kissing. Chloé felt a small wrench in her heart at the sight of it, but it didn’t hurt as much as she would have thought. The past several weeks had pretty much forced her to come to terms with the fact that she would never be with Adrien that way.

She closed the Ladyblog, locked her tablet, and got up, adjusting her purple bikini top. “Okay, Trixx. Let’s go home.”

“Excellent!” Trixx slurped the last of his smoothie and burped loudly, then said, “Can we bring some pineapples home too?”

“Sure,” Chloé said. “Why not?”

The very next morning, she took a flight back to Paris. It was late when the plane landed. One of her father’s drivers picked her up and took her back to the hotel. Chloé didn’t sleep that well. She was apprehensive about what would happen when she saw Ladybug and Chat Noir again. If they tried to take her miraculous away, they would have a big fight on their hands. Chloé had earned her miraculous, goddamnit, and they could pry it out of her cold, dead hands.

When her alarm went off, Chloé got up, hauled on a black sundress with a violet cardigan and white boots, and re-braided her hair. Then she made her way to school. Her heart started to raced as she drew nearer to the front gates, remembering the last time she’d walked out of them. So much had changed between now and then, and, while she was glad she’d missed the drama, it was nerve-wracking not knowing what would happen.

Ironically, Adrien was the first person she saw when she entered the school’s grounds. He was sitting on a bench, looking tired and worn. Marinette was sitting right beside him to his right. Alya and Nino were squeezed in beside him to the left. Several other classmates were clustered nearby, though curiously Chloé noted that Lila was no where to be seen. She was wondering if someone had finally chased Lila off when Marinette leaned over and kissed Adrien.

Chloé’s thoughts screeched to a stop as the final piece of the puzzle slotted into place.

Ladybug and Chat Noir were dating.

Adrien was Chat Noir.

Marinette had just kissed Adrien.

There was no way Adrien would cheat on Ladybug.

“No. Way,” Chloé breathed.

“What?” Trixx hissed.

“Marinette is Ladybug,” Chloé whispered, somewhere between complete shock and utter horror. She couldn’t believe she’d spent over two years idolizing Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Yet the evidence was indisputable, and made so much sense that Chloé wanted to facepalm. How had she never figured it out before? Like Adrien, Marinette always mysteriously vanished whenever an akuma attacked. She had the same do-gooder attitude that Ladybug did. And she even wore her hair in the same pigtails!

There was no way she could deal with this right now. Chloé took a step back, ready to bolt, but Adrien looked up at that moment and caught sight of her. The poorly suppressed flash of hope that crossed his face held her in place, and she couldn’t have left no matter how much she wanted to. In spite of herself, she found herself walking across the schoolyard towards him.

If Marinette was Ladybug, that meant Rena Rouge/Abeille had to be Alya. That left Nino as Carapace. All five of them were literally in the same class. Chloé had to bite her lip to hold back the hysterical laughter that wanted to spill out. They’d been so close this entire time. Alya was the former Fox miraculous holder. Alya was the new Bee miraculous holder.

All those thoughts flooded through her mind in the span of a few seconds. Chloé stopped in front of Adrien and just stood there for a moment, struck speechless.

“Hi Chloé,” Adrien said finally, with a thin smile.

“Hi,” Chloé said dumbly, aware that Alya, Nino and Marinette were all watching her warily. They probably wanted to chase her off, but were holding off for Adrien’s sake. Now that she was closer, she realized that none of their other classmates were within hearing distance – but that didn’t stop them all from watching her. Her skin crawled from the attention after so many weeks of keeping her head down.

“When did you get back?” Adrien asked.

“Late last night,” Chloé said. “I… I needed a vacation.”

Alya snorted. “Cause your life is just so hard?” she said sarcastically.

“Alya,” Nino said quietly.

Chloé ignored them both. “I’m sorry,” she said to Adrien, and there was just so much that she was sorry for that she could never put into words.

“Thanks,” Adrien said. “And thanks for letting me stay in the hotel.”

“Of course.” Chloé paused. It wasn’t her business, but she had to know. “Adrien – Tante Émilie, is she –?” And that was a mistake. Had she been in a better frame of mind, she would’ve had the foresight not to ask in front of other people. Marinette immediately tensed, and Chloé had exactly enough time to think that she’d fucked up before Marinette spoke up.

“How did you know about Émilie?” Marinette said, eyes hard.

“What?” Chloé pasted on her best condescending look to hide her quickening pulse. “What are you even talking about?”

“Why would you ask about her?” Marinette pressed. “None of the papers have mentioned her recently.”

“It’s logical, duh,” Chloé said quickly. “Gabriel wouldn’t want anything else. Of course he’d want her back.”

Marinette stood up. “You’ve changed a lot over the past couple of months,” she said, and it wasn’t a compliment. It was a challenge.

Shit, shit, shit. Time to abort. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Chloé snapped. “Adrien, let’s talk later.” She started to turn away.

“Chloé!” Marinette grabbed Chloé’s arm, pulling her back. Her other hand shot out. As though in slow motion, Chloé saw that hand aiming for her necklace. Her free hand automatically snapped up, blocking Marinette’s hand. It was an encounter that happened in the blink of an eye, movement much too fast for the average person, and left them both standing there staring at each other, frozen. Marinette’s eyes were locked onto Chloé’s necklace. The pendant was hidden beneath the neckline of Chloé’s dress, but it felt like Marinette had x-ray vision and could see straight through the fabric.

Then Adrien whispered, “Chloé?”

Chloé thought she might throw up. She jerked free of Marinette’s grip and backed up. “What?”

“It was you,” Marinette said, understanding crossing her face. “It was you!”

Somehow, Chloé had lost all control of the situation. “You’re crazy, Dupain-Cheng!” she snapped. Forget school. She needed to make a strategic retreat. All four of them were looking at her and it was too much like she was being ganged up on again.

“You were working with him! How could you?” Marinette hissed, obviously fighting to keep her voice down. “Do you even know how much trouble you’ve caused? You’re lucky you’re not locked up right next to Hawkmoth -”

“Shut up!” Chloé didn’t mean to scream, but somehow it came out much louder than she intended. “You have no idea what it’s been like – what he did!”

Everyone was staring now, not just their classmates. Normally Chloé relished attention, but right now it was definitely too much. It felt like that moment in the park, when both Hawkmoth and Mayura had been staring her down right after Hawkmoth threatened both her and her family; like that moment standing over Émilie’s glass coffin, listening to Gabriel rationalize the things he’d done; like every time Hawkmoth had gotten angry over her consistent failure at getting the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculous.

The thought of being locked up with him was unbearable.

“Chloé?” Adrien said again, standing up. His face was pale. “Did he threaten you?”

“I have to go,” Chloé said shrilly. She spun on her heel and sprinted back through the gates as fast as she could.

“Chloé!” Marinette yelled.

Chloé didn’t stop. Rationalization told her that they were most likely following her, and she was too aware of the fact that there weren’t many places in Paris where Ladybug and Chat Noir couldn’t go. Chloé kept running until she got to the hotel. She raced through the front lobby to the elevator, where she paced impatiently in a circle; when it opened on her floor, she fled to her room and locked the door. And then she closed and locked the balcony doors for good measure.

Then she sank down onto the floor, gasping for breath. Trixx flew out from beneath her braid and landed on her shoulder. Chloé pulled her legs up against her chest and buried her face in her knees, shaking. She’d messed up so bad. She never should’ve gone to school today – she should’ve turned and run the second she figured out who Ladybug was. Now it was too late.

“Kit, it’s okay. You’re okay,” Trixx said soothingly, stroking her cheek.

“I screwed up. I screwed up,” Chloé sobbed.

“It’s fine. It doesn’t matter,” Trixx said.

“Yes, it does! They’re going to take you away from me,” she cried, clutching at the Fox miraculous so hard it dug into her palm.

“No, Chloé. You’re my fox. The best fox I’ve ever had. I’m not letting you go without a fight,” Trixx said fiercely. “Do you know how rare it is for me to find a suitable arctic fox? No. You’re not going anywhere.”

Chloé wanted to believe that, but she wasn’t sure she could. When she thought about how determined Ladybug had been to get the Bee miraculous back when she was Queen Bee, it sounded impossible. Especially now that Ladybug knew who she was. She tightened her grip on the Fox miraculous, sniffing miserably. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose Trixx now, but how could she fight against Ladybug anymore?

She wasn’t sure how long she sat there on the floor for, before there was a knock at the door. Chloé winced, wondering if Marinette and Adrien had followed her here. They were smart enough to guess she’d come home. Trixx patted her cheek before launching himself off her shoulder and flying over to the door. He looked through the peephole and gasped, and Chloé looked up at him in alarm.

“Chloé, open the door,” Trixx said.

“Who is it?” Chloé said warily.

“Just open it!” Trixx’s tail was lashing with excitement.

Confused, she peeled herself over the floor and moved over to the door. She slowly unlocked it and pulled it open to reveal an elderly man wearing a hideous Hawaiian shirt.

“Good evening, Chloé Bourgeois,” the man said. “I think it’s time we talked.”

Chapter Text

“Master!” Trixx chirped as the man stepped into the room. Chloé moved back accordingly, suddenly realizing that she was a mess. Her face was streaked with tears and her clothing was wrinkled and her hair had gone all frizzy. She wiped at her face, but the man wasn’t even looking at her. He was smiling at Trixx.

“Ah, hello Trixx. I hope you’ve been well,” the man said.

“Wait, who the hell are you?” Chloé interrupted before Trixx could respond.

“I am Master Fu, the guardian of the miraculous,” Master Fu said, now pinning her with a look. “You have caused a great deal of trouble over the past couple of months, Chloé. Or perhaps you would prefer I call you Arctique?”

Chloé’s knees got weak. Marinette hadn’t followed her. She’d gone and gotten the guardian instead.

“You’ve had Ladybug quite up in arms,” Master Fu went on, linking his arms behind his back. “Normally, I would say I’m here to take back the Fox miraculous through whatever means necessary. But I have the feeling that I don’t know the whole story, and I’ve learned that it’s unwise to act before I know all the details. So. I would like to hear your side of the story.”

Chloé blinked at him for a moment, shocked. “Really?”

“Yes, really,” Master Fu said, not unkindly.

“You’re not going to just attack me?” Chloé asked, suspicious.

Master Fu held up his hands. “I promise I won’t touch you or your miraculous until I hear everything you have to say.”

She wasn’t sure she believed him, but, behind Master Fu’s back, Trixx gave her an encouraging nod. And Trixx hadn’t steered her wrong so far. Chloé realized she had no choice but to roll with it. She backed up until she got to her bed and could sit. Master Fu took a seat on the chair in front of her desk and looked at her expectantly.

“I was Queen Bee,” Chloé began, though of course Master Fu knew that. All of Paris knew that. Sometimes she wondered if she would’ve been better off to keep her identity as Queen Bee a secret. It hadn’t gotten her anywhere with her mother; if anything, Audrey Bourgeois now thought less of her daughter than she ever had before. And maybe then Ladybug would’ve been willing to trust her more, and this never would’ve happened.

Although, considering Ladybug was Marinette, maybe not.

“Ladybug told me that I couldn’t be Queen Bee anymore because it was too dangerous. I didn’t really think she was serious until… until I saw Chat Noir giving someone else the Bee miraculous.” Chloé clenched her fist. Just thinking about that moment still stung.

Master Fu nodded. “Ladybug told me she was planning to do that. We agreed it was the best course of action.”

“Yeah, well, I disagree! I was a good Bee,” Chloé snapped. “I was good at being a miraculous holder.”

“So when Hawkmoth offered you the chance to work for him in return for a miraculous, you said yes,” Master Fu said sharply.

Chloé looked away, slightly ashamed. “I – yes. I didn’t really think about what it meant until I met him in the park, and then it was too late.” She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. “He said he would eliminate anyone who got in his way.”

“Yes, that sounds like him.” Master Fu shifted and sighed. “I understand.”

“You do?” Chloé looked at him in surprise.

He shook his head. “The Butterfly miraculous is gifted with the power of empathy, Chloé. Its original purpose was to find champions, people who could fight on behalf of the miraculous holder. Hawkmoth chose to reach out to people experiencing negative emotions because they are easier to manipulate. You were upset over what happened. You felt angry and abandoned by your hero, and he was able to manipulate you as a result. The blame for that doesn’t lie solely on your shoulders.”

“I don’t know about that,” Chloé muttered. “I thought he would give me the Bee miraculous, but he gave me the Fox instead. Then I met Trixx.” She turned towards her kwami, holding out a hand. Trixx immediately flew over to her and settled in Chloé’s hand, then crawled up her arm, across her shoulder, and curled up atop her collarbone. His presence was comforting.

“I could tell Chloé was in over her head, Master,” Trixx piped up. “Things were going to get dangerous. I suggested that instead of doing what Hawkmoth wanted, Chloé could become a double agent instead.”

“Trixx! That was very dangerous. You could’ve put Chloé in danger,” Master Fu scolded.

“She was already in danger! I taught her how to be a Fox,” Trixx argued back. “I taught her how to protect herself so that he couldn’t use her even more. Hawkmoth thought she was just a dumb teenager. He had no idea that Chloé was trying to work against him! I bet if you went and asked him in prison right now, he wouldn’t have the slightest clue who put him there.”

Master Fu sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “What exactly did Trixx tell you to do, Chloé?”

“He didn’t make me do anything,” Chloé said defensively. “We worked out a plan together.” That wasn’t exactly true, but there was no way Trixx was getting in trouble for this. “I hung back for a long time and tried to make it seem like I was fighting Ladybug and Chat, but that wasn’t getting me anywhere. Then I accidentally found out who Chat is –”

“What?” Master Fu interrupted. “You knew? How?”

“I saw him. It was an accident. I was trying to talk to Adrien to tell him…” Chloé looked down at her hands. “I should back up. I accidentally found out who Mayura was. She took me back to the mansion to talk to Gabriel. He told me about Tante Émilie. I think he was trying to get sympathy. He was trying to make it seem like he was doing it all for Adrien, but I know that was bullshit. Gabriel wasn’t thinking about anyone but himself,” she said bitterly.

“What then?” Master Fu prompted.

“I wanted to tell Adrien the truth. I didn’t think it was safe for him to be under the same roof as Hawkmoth. But when I found out Adrien was Chat Noir…” It was her turn to sigh heavily. “I just… I couldn’t. It was his father. So I thought that maybe Ladybug was a better choice, but then I didn’t know if she was close to Gabriel too… and then Trixx suggested I write a letter to you.” She looked over at him again, trying to figure out what he was thinking, but his expression was carefully blank.

So she kept going, adding, “I figured Ladybug and Chat could take Hawkmoth down if Mayura was out of the picture. Trixx and I came up with a plan to get Mayura out of the way. And…” Chloé shrugged. “It worked. I got her miraculous, gave the package to Ladybug, and the rest is history.”

“Why did you leave?” Master Fu asked. “Where did you go?”

“I went on vacation. I didn’t want to be anywhere near Gabriel Agreste,” Chloé said bluntly. “Besides, they didn’t need my help. I didn’t think they’d want my help.” She muttered that last part under her breath, but she was pretty sure that Master Fu heard her anyway.

“I see,” Master Fu said. He steepled his fingers. “Chloé, would you mind giving us a moment? I’d like to speak to Trixx in private.”

Chloé paused at that, wondering if Master Fu would grab Trixx and make a run for it. Yet that wouldn’t do him any good, would it? Not when she still had the miraculous. She touched it reassuringly as Trixx’s comforting weight left her collarbone, and got up. She walked over to her balcony and stepped outside, drawing the doors shut behind her. The temptation to leave them open a crack was strong, but she overcame it.

They were deciding her fate as a miraculous holder, she knew. Ladybug hadn’t deemed Chloé good enough before, so it seemed unlikely that Master Fu would let her keep the Fox miraculous now. What would she do if he asked for it back? She could refuse, but he was the guardian. He probably had all sorts of magical ways to make someone hand over a miraculous. It was one thing to say no to Ladybug, it seemed like something else entirely to say no to the guardian.

But the thought of losing Trixx… it hurt. Trixx had become her sole confident over the past couple of months. There was no way Chloé would’ve been able to survive this mess without him. Losing him now would be like losing the best part of herself. And it would be too much to see Rena Rouge running around Paris again. Chloé didn’t think she could bear that. Seeing another Bee miraculous holder had been bad enough, and she’d only been Queen Bee a handful of times. Seeing Rena Rouge again would ruin her.

She leaned over the balcony and panted quietly, feeling nauseous. The Fox miraculous was a heavy weight around her throat. She’d become accustomed to it after all this time. Her neck would feel bare without it.

“Chloé? Hey, are you okay?” Trixx appeared in front of her face suddenly. Chloé reeled backwards, startled.

“What? I’m fine,” she said, but she reached out and grabbed her kwami and cuddled Trixx to her cheek. Trixx nuzzled her and licked her temple. His tongue was rough, but it was soothing.

“Chloé,” Master Fu said from behind her. Chloé swallowed hard and turned around.

“I won’t give you the Fox miraculous,” she said shakily. It sounded pathetic even to her own ears, and she frowned at herself and stiffened her spine. “It’s mine now. I’ve earned it. I won’t work, or even pretend to work, against Ladybug ever again, so – so it’s okay, right?”

Master Fu looked at her for a long moment. Then he said, “To have a miraculous is to hold the responsibility of everyone in Paris in your hands. It is a promise to your kwami that you will take care of them and work with them to the best of your ability, and that you will deal with the burdens that come with your power. Furthermore, such powers are meant to serve the greater good. They must never get into the wrong hands.”

Chloé’s throat tightened with shame. “I understand.”

“Trixx tells me that you are a good Fox. One of the better Foxes, and an arctic Fox at that. He wants you to continue as Arctique. He believes that you can work well with Ladybug and her team, and that to take your miraculous away from you would be a disservice to you, to him, and to Paris.”

Chloé looked down at Trixx. Her kwami beamed up at her.

“So tell me, Chloé Bourgeois. If I agree to allow you to keep the Fox miraculous, you will have to work with Ladybug and the other miraculous holders. You will have to follow her direction as the leader of the team, and differ to Chat Noir when she is indisposed or otherwise occupied. You will have to keep your identity a secret this time; no one else can know.” Master Fu crossed his arms. “You will have to protect not only Paris, but whoever needs your help, no matter what sacrifices are required of you. And above all, you will never use your miraculous for personal gains or for evil purposes. Can you agree to all of that?”

“Yes,” Chloé said immediately, without hesitation.

Master Fu nodded, like he actually believed her, and smiled. “Now that I have the Butterfly and Peacock miraculous back where they belong, I don’t feel so uncomfortable with having a third miraculous out there all the time. You may keep the Fox miraculous, so long as you remain on the right path. If at any time you should deviate from that path, you will have to give up your miraculous.”

“I won’t,” Chloé said firmly. She’d had a taste of what it was like to be on the other side. Turned out there was a big difference between being a bitch and being genuinely evil. The latter was nearly as much fun as it sounded.

“Good,” Master Fu said. “I will let Ladybug and Chat Noir know of my decision. It’s up to you to smooth things over with them, and with Carapace and Abeille.”

That would be easier said than done, Chloé knew, but she didn’t care. “Thank you, Master Fu.”

“You are most welcome, my dear. Trixx, it was good to see you again,” Master Fu said. “Take care.”

“Bye Master!” Trixx waved as Master Fu turned and left the room.

“I can’t believe it,” Chloé said, numb. “He actually said I could keep you.”

Trixx smiled. “Master Fu is a good guardian. He listens to us.” He flew out of her hands and up towards her face. “I like you, Chloé Bourgeois. You’re a good kit.”

“Thanks,” Chloé whispered, dredging up a smile. Now there was only one obstacle left.

What the hell was she gonna say to Ladybug?

Chapter Text

Marinette looked kind of like she’d swallowed a lemon when Chloé showed up to the park, which wasn’t exactly a welcoming expression but, considering the situation, Chloé decided to count it as a win. As she strode forward, she noticed Adrien, Nino and Alya sitting at a picnic table about fifteen feet away. Adrien was the only person to smile in her direction. He was the one who’d slipped her the note telling her to be here on his way out of school earlier.

“Hi,” Marinette said stiffly, folding her arms over her chest.

“Hello,” Chloé said.

Trixx leaped out from beneath Chloé’s braid. “Tikki!”

A little red blur burst out of Marinette’s purse. “Trixx! It’s been forever!”

“Trixx!” three other voices cheered at the same time. Chloé watched in amazement as three other kwami raced over. A little black cat, a little green turtle, and – she swallowed hard. Pollen.

“Hi guys!” Trixx said happily.

“You found yourself an arctic fox,” said the black cat kwami. “Nice!”

Trixx preened. “Well, it only took a couple dozen centuries.”

“Chloé,” Marinette said.

Chloé jerked her attention away from the kwami to look at Marinette. “What?”

Marinette pursed her lips into a thin line. Then she said, “Did I make you do that? Join Hawkmoth? Because I told you that you couldn’t be Queen Bee anymore?”

The old Chloé would’ve said yes just for the pleasure of shoving it into Marinette’s face, but Trixx had, annoyingly enough, taught her better. So Chloé just frowned back and said, “I was also there when Chat Noir gave the Bee miraculous to Kagami.”

From across the park, Adrien made an audible, pained sound.

“I see,” Marinette said quietly. She sighed. “Master Fu has made it clear we need to work together, and Queen Bee and Ladybug never had any problems with that. Can you say the same for Arctique and Ladybug?”

Chloé watched her warily. “Yes, if you can.”

“You never punched me that hard,” Marinette said with a very tiny smile.

“I was never really trying,” Chloé said with a sniff, crossing her arms. That was bullshit and they both knew it. There might have been a time or two in the beginning when she’d put a little more force behind her punches, but she’d quickly learned there was no point in exhausting herself by throwing everything into each punch: Ladybug was way too skilled at dodging and fighting. It would be a long time before Arctique was on the same level as Ladybug and Chat Noir.

“Sure you weren’t,” Marinette said wryly. “I guess… Thank you for your help. I wish you’d come to me from the beginning, but I understand why you didn’t.”

“Good,” Chloé said. She wasn’t going to apologize for that; there was no way Marinette would’ve believed anything Chloé had to say back then. They both knew that too. She looked more carefully at Marinette, remembering the day after Chloé had received the Fox miraculous. Marinette had come to class looking pretty beat up. At the time, she’d told everyone she fell down the stairs. Now, Chloé knew better. Those bruises had been from Hawkmoth and Mayura.

“I have to ask, are you interested in having the Bee miraculous back?” Marinette asked loudly, and it seemed like the whole park held their breath. Chloé was pretty sure Alya was crossing her fingers. Pollen turned to look at her, and so did Trixx.

Seeing the two kwami at the same time was easier than Chloé had expected, even though it had stung a bit at first. Part of her wanted to say yes out of spite, because she’d told Ladybug that she would be Queen Bee again and she wanted to prove herself right. Plus, being Queen Bee was comfortable and easy. Pollen’s powers were straightforward and required very little effort or forethought. Plus, Pollen worshipped her holder.

The Fox miraculous power was harder to wield. Trixx had taught her a lot about being a proper Fox over the past two months, but there was still so much for her to learn. The thought of all that work was kind of exhausting, and part of Chloé balked at that. But on the other hand, everything she’d done as Arctique had been hard-earned through her own work. Already she was seeing an improvement in her illusions. Figuring out to toy with people’s minds and use her illusions in the best way was intriguing.

“I’m sorry, Pollen, but no,” Chloé said.

Marinette looked surprised. “Really?”

“Really. As much as I liked being a Bee, I’m a Fox now.” Chloé turned ever so slightly towards Trixx. “Going back just wouldn’t feel right.”

“That’s okay, Chloé,” Pollen said with a kind smile. “I wouldn’t want to take Trixx’s kit away from him. Good Bees are easier to find than a good Fox, especially one that’s sneaky enough to be arctic.”

Alya came storming over. “I want my miraculous back!”

“Tough,” Chloé said. “It’s mine now and I’m not giving it up.”

“Alya,” Marinette said, putting a hand on Alya’s arm. “I’m sorry, but Master Fu said that Chloé is very compatible with the Fox miraculous.” She gave Chloé a curious look, but continued speaking to Alya. “He said that it wouldn’t be a good idea to disrupt that connection if Chloé didn’t want to.”

“But it was mine,” Alya said. Her chin quivered.

“You can either stick with the Bee miraculous, or you can pick out a new one. There’s another miraculous for you, I know it,” Marinette said soothingly.

Nino approached then too, wrapping an arm around Alya’s shoulders. “Think about it, Babe. You could have the Dragon miraculous. Imagine how badass you would be!”

Frankly, Chloé didn’t care what miraculous Alya ended up with. She privately thought that the Bee miraculous was a decent match for Alya, because Alya could be headstrong, stubborn and quick to rush in. All qualities that would suit the Bee miraculous well, since the Bee’s sting required fast decisions and close combat. But it really wasn’t any of her business so long as she got to keep the Fox miraculous.

“I guess it’s just as well, since everyone knew you as Queen Bee. Gonna be able to keep your mouth shut this time?” Alya asked, crossing her arms.

Chloé shot her a look from beneath lowered lashes. It was a coy, dangerous look she’d perfected in the mirror, and it gave her a thrill to see the way Alya winced. Even Marinette and Nino looked a little caught off guard.

“I’ve managed to keep plenty of secrets for the past two months. Unlike some people, I don’t believe in putting everything I know online,” Chloé retorted.

Alya’s mouth dropped open. “I don’t put everything I know online! And you literally told the whole city you were Queen Bee!”

“I know better now,” Chloé said. Boy, did she ever. “A good Fox knows how to filter information and is adept at lying when necessary.” She caught Trixx’s eye and they exchanged grins.

“Somehow this makes me more nervous,” Marinette muttered.

A hand touched Chloé’s shoulder. She startled, surprised to find that Adrien had approached her without her notice. It wasn’t very often someone could do that lately. He squeezed her shoulder and smiled at her.

“Alya, I know you liked being the Fox. But you do make a good Bee too,” Adrien said, not taking his eyes off Chloé. “Trixx has been with Chloé now for over two months, which is way more time than you spent with him. And I personally think that Marinette’s right. You’d be well suited to pretty much any other miraculous you want. That’s not something everyone is capable of. Is it really that big of a deal to let Chloé have the Fox?”

Alya scowled, but sighed. “I guess not.”

“You could be a Dragon,” Nino whispered to her again, and Alya finally cracked a smile.

Chloé figured that meant the conversation was over and started to turn away. She was utterly shocked when Adrien suddenly hugged her.

“A-Adrien?!” she stuttered.

“I’m sorry,” Adrien said, hugging her so tightly that she felt breathless. “For whatever he said or did to you, and for not paying enough attention to you to notice that something was wrong. You’re my friend. I should’ve noticed.”

“What?” Chloé said, genuinely baffled and then, because it was Adrien and she knew exactly how much he’d probably been beating himself up over this, she added, “I was purposely staying away from you because I thought Hawkmoth might make you another target to keep me under control. That’s not your fault.”

Marinette, Alya, and Nino all simultaneously quieted and stared at her. Adrien’s grip tightened even further.

“Of course you did,” he said, which made no sense. Chloé wasn’t exactly the self-sacrificing type, and that wasn’t something she would’ve done for just anyone.

“Adrien, honey, I think you’re squishing her,” Marinette said finally.

“Oh!” Adrien jerked back, flushing. “Sorry.”

“Stop apologizing,” Chloé said crossly, gingerly patting her ribs. She took a step back, feeling awkward. She’d never intended to make Adrien feel bad, and she honestly wasn’t sure why he was upset right now.

“Right. Sorry,” Adrien said, then sighed. “I mean –”

“It’s fine, whatever,” Chloé interrupted. “Trixx? Can we go?”

“Sure!” Trixx flew over to her. “Ready when you are.”

“Trixx, let’s pounce!” Chloé whispered. Trixx zipped into her miraculous and the familiar violet light washed over Chloé. She immediately felt a little more self-assured.

When she looked at the other four, she saw that they had all tensed. Even the kwami were staring at her. Arctique raised an eyebrow.

“Habit,” Nino said, not lowering his hands.

“Uh huh,” Arctique said dryly. “Sure. See you around.” She bent her legs slightly and then jumped, as high and as hard as she could. The wind whipped at her face and hair as she shot into the sky, instantly leaving behind the tension and awkwardness. She landed on a nearby rooftop and just stood there for a moment.

It hadn’t gone too terribly. They hadn’t pounced on her and demanded the Fox miraculous back. Marinette hadn’t denounced her and refused to work with her. It was a step in the right direction, Arctique thought, and probably as good as she was going to get for a long time. Ladybug had always been a little reluctant to work with Queen Bee; it made sense now that she knew who Ladybug was. And it would be even worse now that there was more unpleasant baggage to work through.

But as long as she had Trixx and the Fox miraculous, she could put up with anything. She knew that now.

Someone landed behind her, and she turned quickly to see Chat Noir standing there about ten feet away – a safe enough distance; he’d learned the hard way that coming up behind Arctique when she was on guard usually ended with her flute to his ribs. His tail curled lazily as he offered her a sheepish smile.

“We don’t usually patrol alone,” he said. “I thought I could join you and start explaining… well, things.”

“I wasn’t going patroling,” Arctique said. She hadn’t even thought about that.

His face fell. “Oh.”

“But, uh, I guess I don’t mind if you join me on a run,” Arctique said slowly.

Chat lit up. “Great!”

“Great,” Arctique echoed, giving him a hesitant smile. It would be weird, but not a bad weird. And it wouldn’t hurt to have Chat Noir’s support either. She told herself that was the reason why she felt a little excited as he walked over to her. It had nothing at all to do with the thought of how nice it would be if she and Adrien could be friends again. Friends for real this time.

“Ladies first,” Chat said, gesturing to the city before them, and Arctique grinned as she ran forward and jumped.