It had been a while since Chloé had been to Adrien's. They both had busy lives and saw each other often enough at school, so sleepover movie nights had mostly become a thing of the past. Until today that is. Adrien had invited her over out of the blue, and she was looking forward to the distraction from the day's events.

Truth be told, she felt horrible. She knew her treatment of Sabrina was what led her to becoming akumatized, but she didn't know how else to act; she'd never been taught. She'd been unlearning her bad behaviors for a while now, but it still felt like she was moving at a snail's pace.

And then there was the fact that she had almost been akumatized herself. Maybe she should have let it happened. Queen Wasp would have been easier to stop than Miraculer, right? Just one miraculous power as opposed to four? Chloé shuddered at the memory of Hawkmoth's voice, dark and apathetic and so, so convincing. She didn't remember his voice from the past times she'd been akumatized, and she suspected that was by design, but now it was engraved into her mind.

"We're here."

Chloé shook her head, clearing her thoughts and looking at her driver. "Thanks," she said, getting out of the car, backpack in tow. She wasn't oblivious to the surprise on his face.

Ignoring it, Chloé walked up to the door and rang the bell, which opened moments later to Nathalie. "Miss Bourgeois, a pleasure as always."

It was clear in her voice that it wasn't.

Chloé smiled nevertheless and walked inside, seeing Adrien and Gabriel walk down the stairs.

"Remember, you have a photoshoot tomorrow afternoon, so she can't stay all day," Gabriel said.

Chloé's blood ran cold and her chest tightened up. She… she knew that voice. How had she missed it before? It was obvious- he was right there! And that's why Adrien had never been akumatized.

Still, Chloé plastered a smile on her face and hugged Adrien, even with her vision going black around the edges. She could make it up the stairs to his room. She could at least do that. She wasn't paying attention to his voice, just putting one foot in front of the other until she was sitting on his bed.

"Chloé? Chloé, are you okay?"

Oh shit. Oh God, why? Him, too?

"Chloé, do I need to call Nathalie or my father?"

"No!"

The objection came out of her mouth faster and louder than she meant for it to. Her head jerked up to look at him, then, down to her hands- they were shaking violently. One went to her chest, trying to keep her breathing in check. She just couldn't slow it down, everything crashing in on her.

Oh God, Gabriel was going to akumatize her over this… No. No, he wouldn't do that with Adrien right there, right?

"Pollen," the answer came to her in a flash. "I need to talk to Pollen, you need to go get her, she'll know what to do. Just… go wherever it is you go to get them and let me talk to her, please."

She looked up at Adrien and saw that he looked rather like a fish, opening and closing his mouth. "I-"

"I know you said I can't be Queen B anymore, and I'm not asking to, but I need. To talk. To Pollen. Or- or- or yours, even, maybe he can help me."

Adrien stammered for a moment, trying to come up with something to distract her. "Wh- I- what are you talking about, Chlo?"

Her eyes narrowed, and she stood up. "Don't bullshit me, Adrien, this is serious. I need to talk to your kwami. In private."

There was a moment where Chloé thought he'd try denying it again, but then he just sighed and asked, "How did you figure it out?"

"Your voice," she said. A dry laugh escaped her. "Though I should have figured it out sooner, no one's as much of a pun-lover as you."

Adrien shook his head, eyebrows furrowed with worry. "What do you need to talk to Plagg about?"

"I… it's private. I can only talk to him."

Adrien looked her over for a moment, then called for his kwami.

"Thank you," Chloé sighed as the little black creature flew out. "Can we talk in the bathroom?"

"It'll cost you," Plagg declared. "And I only accept payment in the form of camembert."

Chloé scoffed. "I will buy you the entire village of Camembert if you help me," she declared before spinning on her heel and heading into the bathroom. Once Plagg flew in after her, she locked the door and turned on the shower.

Plagg raised an eyebrow, eyeing her skeptically. "What's this about?" he asked.

"I know who Hawkmoth is."

Instantly, all of Plagg's defensive stances fell away to shock and confusion. "What?"

Chloé swallowed the bile in the back of her throat and sat down on the toilet lid, putting her head in her hands. "Before he akumatized Sabrina, Hawkmoth tried me," she explained. "I-I knew the voice was familiar, but now I remember it because I refused him and- I guess since he didn't actually turn me, my memory wasn't erased?"

"Holy shit," Plagg breathed, sinking down to sit on the counter. "Blondie, I've been around for millennia, and I've only ever heard of two other people turning down an akuma once a butterfly wielder has gotten in my head. He really got in your head, and you refused him?"

"Yeah," Chloé said softly with a nod. Of course he didn't believe her; he had no reason to-

"Who is it?"

Chloé looked over at him, unable to hide her own surprise. "You believe me."

Plagg nodded. "Yeah," he said, voice as quiet as hers. "You're a lot of things, kid, but I don't think you'd lie about something like this. Especially after watching you come in. So who is it? Have you been freaking out like this since the fight?"

Chloé shook her head mutely. She took in a breath, but she couldn't get the words to come out.

"Who is it, Chloé?"

She had to tell him. She had to say it. Another deep breath. "It's M. Agreste."

"Fuck."

"Yeah." Chloé's voice cracked, and she buried her head in her hands again. "I don't know what to do, I can't tell Adrien, it'll hurt him too much." A sob wracked her body.

Suddenly, she felt a tiny paw on her cheek. "Hey, blondie, you're gonna be fine," Plagg told her. She looked up at him again, uncaring of her smeared makeup. "I'm gonna talk you through this."

Chloé sniffed and nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"After you leave here tomorrow, you go home. Act like nothing has happened."

Chloé's jaw dropped. "What?" she asked. "I can't just not-"

"I'm not finished," Plagg cut in. "You're gonna give it a week and pray there's at least one more attack in that time to keep suspicion off you."

"Suspicion? Why-"

"Listen." Chloé shut her mouth, waiting for Plagg to continue. "In a week, you're going to go to the Guardian's and tell him Plagg told you to borrow the snake miraculous. Sass will tell you how to use his power. And then you're gonna use it to steal Hawkmoth's miraculous while he's sleeping."

Chloé nodded mutely, hanging onto Plagg's every word as he told her how to get to the Guardian's shop and all the weak points in the Agreste mansion's security.

"You can do this, kid. I believe in you."

Hearing that almost made Chloé forget everything she'd been told. "You do?" she asked.

Plagg winced. "Don't get sappy on me, but yes," he said. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wouldn't trust anyone else with the job."

A smile worked its way onto Chloé's face, and she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Okay," she breathed. "I guess it's time to get back out there and bullshit something for Adrien. Think he'll buy that I was just that shocked to find out his identity?"

"Yeah, he can't even figure out who Ladybug is, so he'll fall for it."

Chloé let out a sigh of relief and nodded her head. "Okay. Let's get back out there."

Chloé stood up and turned off the shower, then walked back out into Adrien's room, a sheepish smile on her face. "Hey," she said. "I'm sorry I freaked out."

Adrien just shook her head and walked up, embracing her in a hug. "It's fine," he replied. "What's wrong, Chlo? What happened?"

"I just… something you said as Chat, and then seeing you today… I put it together and freaked," she lied. "I just needed a moment to process, but I'm better now." She squeezed Adrien tighter, blinking back tears. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too," Adrien replied. As they pulled away, they smiled at each other and laughed. "So, Sailor Moon movie marathon?"

"Uh… yes," Chloé replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. And for a moment, the stress fell from her shoulders, and she let herself relax for the night.

Plagg had told her to hope for another akuma attack in the coming week. Apparently, she hoped a little too hard, as there were three, two of which were accompanied by sentimonsters. Even as she made her way to the location Plagg had given her, Chloé spotted an akuma victim nursing the typical post-akuma headache.

Yeah, she told herself, this was for the best. Even if it was a risk. If Gabriel caught her, he'd get the snake miraculous- if the Guardian even gave it to her.

She stopped upon reaching the address and looked up at the sign on the door. Master Fu's Massage Parlor. Well okay then.

Chloé walked inside, heading towards the back without any invitation.

"This is worrisome, Master," a small voice said. It reminded her of Pollen in that way that her voice just held some sort of magic to it she couldn't identify. Did the Guardian have a kwami, too?

Another voice sighed and answered, "I know, Wayzz. I feel we can expect Ladybug to stop by more often with requests for help."

Chloé took that as her cue to knock, and after a moment, the door opened to reveal a short man in a red Hawaiian print shirt. "Hi," she said, narrowly stopping herself from blurting out her intentions.

"Hello," the man greeted her. "What brings you here, Miss Bourgeois?"

She hesitated, wondering if the man before her was the Guardian or if she was about to make a big mistake. Only one way to find out… "Plagg did," she finally said. "He said to ask for… uh… the Guardian?"

The man tensed up at the mention of Plagg's name, and he looked around to make sure she was alone. Seeing no one else, he stepped back and gestured inside. "Come in." Chloé walked inside to the center of the room, her eyes landing on the dresser in the room. A gramophone connected to a Chinese box sat atop it, and for a moment, she thought she saw a flash of green inside. "What has Plagg sent you for?"

The question snapped Chloé out of her trance, and she turned back around to face the man. The door was closed, and he was actively standing between her and it.

"The snake miraculous," she said, trying not to let on to the fact that she knew what the man was doing. "He said it could help me steal the butterfly miraculous from Hawkmoth."

"It could, if you know who has it," the Guardian replied. "Do you?"

Chloé nodded quickly. "Yeah," she confessed. "I'll bring them both back here when I get it, I promise, but… I can't tell you who he is."

The man shifted, putting more weight on his walking stick. "And why is that?"

Tears formed in Chloé's eyes, but she wiped them away as soon as they appeared. "I can't tell you that, either. Look, I know I screwed up as Queen B, but this could help Ladybug and Chat Noir, get it back so they only have to fight one thing, and they don't need to worry about hurting it on accident. I know they're always worried about injuring akuma victims, but sentimonsters don't have that problem."

For a moment, the Guardian didn't speak.

"Please," Chloé begged. "I need to help A- Chat Noir."

The Guardian looked her up and down, then a smile spread across his face. "I know Adrien's identity," he declared. "I'm the one who gave it to him, after all. But knowing you are doing this to protect your friend and not yourself… you've learned since finding the bee miraculous."

"I'd like to think so," Chloé sighed, "but it's slow going."

"Slow progress is better than none," the man replied, walking over to the gramophone that had caught Chloé's attention earlier. He pressed a few buttons, and the cone folded over to reveal a box within. He took it out and sat down on the floor, and Chloé followed suit. He opened the lid, and she saw a number of miraculous inside, and more drawers opened from the edges to reveal more. Once they were all out, the Guardian removed a green bracelet and presented it to Chloé.

Chloé took a deep breath and accepted the bracelet, sliding it onto her wrist. A green ball of light appeared, transforming into a small, snake-like creature. It smiled at her in a way that made her feel like it could look right through her.

"Hello," he said. "I am Sssassss, the kwami of ssstealth. Niccce to meet you."

Chloé smiled and gave him a wave. "Hi," she said. "I'm Chloé, and I need your help. I found out who Hawkmoth is, and I'm trying to steal the miraculous from him."

Sass grinned back, flying up towards her face. "You can retrieve Nooroo?" he asked, and she nodded in response. "Then I am at your sssservice. With me, you can turn yourssself invisssible. Jussst sssay 'Sssassss, ssslither on,' and 'ssstealth' to hide yourssself from your enemiesss."

"Thank you," she sighed, then looked to the Guardian. "Both of you. I'll bring the butterfly miraculous back soon, Master…"

"Fu," the man replied. "And I trust that you will, Miss Bourgeois."

Chloé gave a nod as a silent promise, then looked down at the bracelet. "Sass, slither on." In an instant, she felt the familiar-yet-different magic slide over her, transforming her into another person. She looked down at herself, admiring the turquoise scales that covered her body. "Okay," she sighed. "I can do this."

Master Fu nodded, a smile on his face. "I trust that you can."

Chloé got up and left the shop, immediately jumping onto the roof and heading towards the Agreste mansion. She kept close to the ground as she moved, knowing the last thing she wanted was for her appearance to be reported and for Ladybug and Chat Noir to come looking for her.

Soon, she arrived at her destination, and she headed around towards the atrium. Plagg said there were no cameras there, so it was the perfect place to sneak in. Chloé slipped inside, trying to remember everything Plagg had told her. There was only one camera that was unavoidable, but that was the one outside of Gabriel's bedroom door, and she'd be able to steal the miraculous and get back out in that time.

Right. She could do this.

She looked up, spotting the camera on her approach. "Stealth," she breathed, glancing down at her hand. Sure enough, it vanished from her sight. Confident in Sass's power, she headed to the door and opened it, walking inside like it was nothing. She saw Gabriel lying in bed, and next to him, on the nightstand were a pair of glasses and a butterfly-shaped brooch.

Chloé let out a sigh of relief- no hunting the thing down required. She took it off the nightstand, and turned to leave, but a hand wrapped around her wrist.

Chloé turned back, her eyes wide as she saw Gabriel sitting up in bed, glaring at her.

"Who are you?" he demanded, eyes narrowed as he tried to see her. He couldn't though, he wouldn't be able to.

Immediately, Chloé jerked her hand back, but he had a tight grip on her. He got out of bed, pushing her against the wall, and she reacted by lifting on leg and kicking him in the chest. He fell back and she took off running, but Gabriel recovered quickly and jumped on her back, forcing her to the ground. She turned over, only for Gabriel to wrap his hands around her throat.

Chloé clawed at him with her free hand, but he didn't let up. Her eyes went to the butterfly miraculous, and she slammed it against her thigh, crying out as the pin pierced her skin.

"Yes, Master- wait, huh?"

"Help," Chloé choked out, praying the voice could hear her.

"You say 'Nooroo, wings rise!'" the voice said, and she managed to get the syllables out and let the magic wash over her.

"No!" Gabriel yelled, tightening his grip on her neck.

Chloé knew she was running out of time. Her vision was going black, only gold stars visible to her. "Help," she gritted out again, not sure what else to do. Her head started to loll back when suddenly the pressure left her, and she managed to roll over and stumble to her feet.

Beep, beep, beep!

Sass appeared before her, and she gave him a smile, then her eyes drifted to the left, and she saw a giant black cat on top of Gabriel. Who… Adrien. She'd sent an akuma to him, and he'd accepted it. A sigh of relief escaped her, but before she could get back to the door, she was blindsided by a red blur.

Chloé crashed into the wall before falling to the floor, the butterfly miraculous digging further into her thigh. She slowly propped herself up, eyes landing on a pair of red, spandex-clad feet. She looked up, seeing Ladybug staring down at her.

"Please, just make it easy on yourself and tell me where it is," she requested.

Chloé winced, falling back onto her butt. "I'm not an akuma," she managed to say.

Ladybug shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Sure," she replied, leaning in.

Chloé kicked at her, forcing Ladybug to stumble back long enough for her to get back on her feet. "I'd be more concerned about the cat," she said, jerked her thumb towards Adrien, who had Gabriel pinned down and was snarling at him.

Ladybug's eyes went wide, and she took off towards the two, giving Chloé enough time to sneak out. She limped down the hall and into the kitchen, turning on the light. "What do you eat?" she asked, looking at Sass.

"Miccce."

"Are you kidding me?"

Sass just shrugged. "I'll sssettle for whatever'sss in the fridge."

A sigh of relief escaped Chloé, and she threw open the fridge doors, rummaging through it for any sort of meat. Finding some prepackaged turkey, she ripped it open and held it out for Sass. In a second, it was gone.

"Sass, slither on!"

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

"Shit!" Chloé winced, glancing down at her leg- it was bleeding from where she'd stabbed herself with the butterfly miraculous. There would be no running out of here any time soon. "Stealth."

Just as she turned invisible, the door slammed open to reveal Ladybug, Adrien, and Gabriel.

"She's not in here," Ladybug sighed, shaking her head. "Why would Hawkmoth go after you, M. Agreste?"

Gabriel shook his head, uncertain. "There's a book I have, a family heirloom. It's got strange symbols in it that I've never been able to decipher, but some of the pictures look like your and Chat Noir's miraculous. Perhaps he's after that?"

Ladybug looked around again, a pensive look on her face. "We should go check. Where is it?"

"This way," Gabriel declared. The three walked out of the kitchen, and Chloé snuck out after them. She waited until they turned the corner before heading out the front door and making her way as far off as she could before Nooroo flew from the miraculous in her thigh, then Sass from the bracelet.

"Are you okay?" Nooroo asked, looking down at Chloé with concerned eyes.

Chloé nodded mutely, looking back up at them. "Are you?"

Nooroo nodded. "Thank you for saving me."

"Yeah," Chloé grit out, putting her hand over her wound. "I need to get you both back to the Guardian."

She managed to make it back to the massage parlor and pulled at the door, only to find it locked this time. She couldn't stand up any longer. She couldn't do this.

Chloé collapsed to her knees, holding her thigh and struggling not to scream and cry in pain.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Chloé fell inside. Master Fu grabbed her arms and pulled her the rest of the way in, back to the back room for some privacy before he went up and locked the door again.

With the adrenaline crash, Chloé found the world spinning around her, everything fading in and out. One second, she was bleeding from her thigh, the next, it was bandaged and she had three concerned kwamis and a Guardian looking down at her.

"That was very brave of you," one said- it was a turtle. "I am Wayzz, Master Fu's kwami."

"Thanks," Chloé nodded, eyes half-lidded. She looked down, seeing the bracelet still on her wrist. She looked back up at Sass. "Thanks for the help. I couldn't have done it without you… but I bet you're ready to go back into the bracelet, aren't you?"

Sass just smiled at her. "It'sss the way it hasss to be. It wasss niccce ssserving you."

Chloé removed the bracelet and handed it off to Fu. "I- uh- guess you already have the butterfly brooch," she said with a nervous laugh.

Master Fu gave her a soft smile. "I wouldn't be so sure." He nodded his head to Chloé's chest, and she looked down to see the brooch pinned to her sweater.

Confused, Chloé looked back up. "I-I don't remember putting it on-"

"Because you didn't," Master Fu answered. "I did. You've proven yourself worthy of the butterfly miraculous, and Ladybug and Chat Noir still need help defeating Mayura. Just… don't reveal your identity this time."

A dry laughed escaped Chloé, and she nodded. "I won't. Thank you, Master Fu, I won't let you-" she looked to Nooroo- "or you down. I promise."

Nooroo smiled, flying up to Chloé and hugging her cheek. "I know you won't," they replied. "I can tell you're going to be an amazing butterfly."

Today on "your fave could never": stab a fucking miraculous into her thigh while being strangled so she can transform