I took a deep breath. Wow, I was nervous. Micah squeezed my hand beside me, "It's okay, Etta. You'll be fine," He reassured.

I nodded and tried to smile.

Then, I knocked.

After a moment, the door opened. A middle-aged woman stood there. She had long brown hair, with bright green eyes, "Hello?"

I smiled, "Umm, hi. I'm Marinette, and this is my cousin Micah... we were hoping to see Thalia?"

The woman suddenly smiled, "Ah, yes. She said you were coming. Come in."

Me and Micah shared a confused look, then followed the woman inside her house.

As we came into the living room, we immediately noticed a teenage girl wearing a flowing purple dress laying sideways on a chair, "Finally! You took FoReVeR!" She exclaimed.

"Pandora?" Micah asked, unsure.

Pandora laughed, "The one and only," She hopped up from her chair, "Come on... Thalia's in here."

So, we followed her through the house to the back. There, a door lay. There were beautiful drawings of flowers, butterflies, and bees.

Pandora knocked.

"Come in," Came a voice. It was a girl's.

When we entered, we found a girl laying on a bed. Her brown curls looked like a princess's, and her bright blue eyes were the exact shade as my own. She was holding a throwing knife in her hand. Smiling at us, she threw the knife, and it embedded itself into a dartboard on the wall.

Then, she frowned, "Oh... I thought you were someone else," But then, she smiled again, "Sorry, that was rude. I'm Thalia... and, if you don't mind me asking, who are you?" She asked when we stood there, silently.

"Oh! Umm... I'm Marinette. This is my cousin, Micah, and my... umm, friend Pandora," I said.

Thalia smiled brighter, "Pretty names."

Silence.

Then, "So... is there a certain reason you came to see me?" Thalia asked.

"Oh!" Gosh, I was bad at this, "Well... you see... umm..."

Pandora stepped forward, "We wanted to give you something... and we have a few questions to ask you."

Thalia seemed to deflate a little, "Oh... are you with some school paper? Because if you are, I'd prefer you not ask me questions... find some other cripple," There was a slight edge to the last part of her sentence. I was surprised. Thalia was so polite.

Micah began to speak, "No, we're not with a school paper or anything like that. We're with... umm..."

Suddenly, Pandora dropped the bomb, "We work for Marigold. Scarlet Lady and Chat Noir have betrayed her, and take all the credit for her hard work."

Thalia's nose wrinkled in disgust, "I saw what Chat Noir did on the news... everyone seems to think it's so wonderful that he's come clean with his feelings for Scarlet Lady. They all seem to have forgotten Marigold."

At the mention of Chat Noir, my stomach dropped. I could feel tears at the back of my eyes, but I shoved them down. No. Feeling. Upset. You cried yesterday. Never again. You will not become HawkMoth's prey.

Micah tried to speak again, "So... you're probably gonna think we're crazy... or that we're tricking you... but... how'd you like to accept a once in a lifetime opportunity, and become a real-life superhero, working beside the one and only Marigold?"

Pandora rolled her eyes at Micah, "You sound like a used car salesman."

But Thalia wasn't paying attention to Micah, or Pandora... she was looking at me, "Work beside..." She gasped, "You're her... Marigold."

My heart began to speed up, and my eyes widened, "No! I-"

"You are her!" Thalia exclaimed.

Figuring there was no point in denying it now, I said, "Yes... Thalia," I stepped forward and knelt beside her bedside, "Bad things are happening. There's a lot to explain, but right now, I need you to decide," Then, for the first time in months, I took off my bee comb, "This is my miraculous... but I need you to wield it for me... Can you help me?"

Thalia frowned, "Me? Wield a miraculous? Marigold... er, Marinette, I'm honored, but... I can't move my legs. I can't do things even regular people can do, much less what a superhero can do."

Now's when Pandora smiled, "No, Thalia. You can't do what regular people can do... you can do so much more. Trust me, we are asking you because we know what you can do."

"Please, Thalia," I begged.

Thalia still looked unsure, "I..." Then, a steely determination filled her eyes, "Okay."

I sighed with relief. But then, I realized something... I had to give her Pollen.

A sinking feeling suddenly filled my stomach... My little kwami wasn't going to be mine anymore.

"Pollen?" I called.

She came out of hiding and faced me. I heard Thalia gasp.

"Pollen... thank you... I feel like this is so rushed, and I don't have enough time but I just wanted to say..." I bowed my head in respect, "Thank you. You've been an honor to serve beside."

Suddenly, Pollen started crying, "OH MARINETTE! I ABSOLUTELY HATED BEING YOUR KWAMI! YOU CRY ONE MINUTE AND GIGGLE THE NEXT, LIKE A LOOSE CANNON, BUT I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, EVEN THOUGH I HATED MY JOB SO MUCH! BUT I'M GOING TO MISS YOU SO MUCH! EXCEPT FOR BEING YOUR KWAMI! BUT I LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU!!!" Then, Pollen began to sob harder.

I just stood there... level headed Pollen was crying... I didn't know what to think.

But Thalia seemed to know what to do. Gently, she scooped Pollen out of the air, and held the kwami to her cheek, "There, there, giant magic flying Bee-Thing... It's okay."

After a few hiccups, Pollen calmed down enough to nod.

Then, I gave Thalia my comb.

Pollen flew up into the air, "H-H-Hello. My n-name is Pollen, and I'll be your k-kwami," She said, still hiccuping from tears.

Pandora suddenly took charge of the situation, "Thalia, we'll be here at 1 am tomorrow morning, got that? I'll take care of filling you in, but till then there are places we need to be."

Thalia nodded, but her eyes were focused on Pollen.

Then, my cousin, Pandora and I left Thalia... and my miraculous.

...

I laid down in bed, thinking over the day.

Suddenly, a thought pierced my mind.

"No, Marinette... No," I told myself sternly.

But in the end, I got up and went down the stairs that led to my bed. Then, I grabbed my diary and a large box.

I opened up my diary to an entree. Then, I pulled out a newspaper clipping.

"Dear Diary," I read softly, "Today, something crazy happened. Now, this is gonna sound weird, and totally made up, but Paris was attacked by a supervillain. He called himself StoneHeart. He was Ivan, but not Ivan... I'd never been so scared to see my friend. But then, a boy showed up... a superhero. He called himself Chat Noir."

I looked at the newspaper clipping. It was a picture of the superhero.

"He seemed kinda new to this whole thing, so I helped him today... He's good and kind, and obviously wants to do the right thing. Once he gets the hang of it, he'll make a great superhero... I wish I was more like him, and less like... well, me."

I turned the page to the next entree, "Dear Diary... I think I'm in love. Today, Ivan was akumatized -I found out what it's called- again, and turned back into StoneHeart. He kidnapped me, and Mylen, and dragged us up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Chat Noir hurried to save us while his snotty partner, Scarlet Lady just sat there! But as Chat Noir climbed up to save us, StoneHeart threw me. I would have hit the ground with a big SMOOSH, but I suddenly felt these strong arms around me, saving my life. I felt so safe... and I looked up to see the face of Chat Noir. It was pouring rain at the time, so I probably looked a mess, but he didn't. He looked so strong, and brave and fierce with water streaming down his cheeks, and thunder rumbling above. Then, I felt it. Like a pull on my heartstrings... I was in love. More later, dear diary!"

I laughed at how hopeful and childish I was... falling in love with someone you don't really know never works out unless you're reading a fairytale. And sadly, I was no Snow White, and Chat Noir wasn't my prince.

I turned to another page, "Dear diary, I. Kissed. Chat. ON THE CHEEK! AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I can die happy now! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH I must have been so red, and AHAHAHAHAHHAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHUFC UI#HC I#UHCP#OCHP#O CHPUCHCHHCFE. I KISSED HIM!!!!! Hehehehehehehehahahahahahahehheheehehehhhohohohohohohihihihihihihuhuuhuhhahahahahahehhehehe!" I felt tears well up behind my eyes... the first time I showed any real sign of affection towards Chat... if only I'd known where it all would go.

"Dear Diary... Everything is different now. Ever since Chat was akumatized we've been closer. Inseparable, really. Every spare moment is spent with him... he makes me happy. So, so, so happy. So happy, that if I died tomorrow, I wouldn't mind so much, because I know Chat loves me today. He's started bringing me roses. He says they were his mother's favorite. I haven't asked, but I'm guessing she's dead. Poor kitty! The reason he brings me his mother's favorite flowers makes them my favorite too and makes me love him all the more... He ties a black ribbon around each one because it's 'our' color he says. Both our suites have it. I think if he goes on, I'll explode from his cuteness," My voice cracked, and I pulled out one of my many bouquets of dried roses I still had.

"Dear Diary, as Marigold, I went with Chat to Starbucks. The looks on the employees' faces were priceless! Thinking back, I'm so lucky I was chosen... without my miraculous, and without Pollen, I never would have gotten to know Chat, much less start dating him. I don't think there's a single person as sweet as he is. So, THANK YOU BEE MIRACULOUS, POLLEN, and MARIGOLD FOR MY AMAZING LIFE!!!"

It wasn't till then that I realized I'd never be Marigold again. Despite myself, I began to cry. Marigold was my strength. My getaway from the real world. Sure, it was a burden, a responsibility, a sacrifice, but it was Marigold's burden. Her responsibility. My sacrifice... and my last connection to Chat Noir...but now, she was gone.

And for the first time, in a long time, I felt weak.

I climbed to my roof, holding Chat's flowers. Tears dripped down my cheeks.

"WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?" I yelled into the icy Parisian night. My only answer was the sounds of the city.

Then, I flung the bouquet as far as I could and watched them land on the road below. There, they were run over by car after car.

Suddenly, I smiled.

I rushed down and grabbed my box of memories. I opened it, and grabbed everything related to Chat Noir out, and flung it into the road. Every flower, every note, every scrap of newspaper, I threw it away.

Then, I finally came to my diary. For one moment, I hesitated. Then, I launched it through the air with such force, it didn't land on the road. It landed in the river.

I realized I wasn't crying anymore. I looked up to the sky, and let the cold wind slap my cheeks. Tomorrow, I was going to be Marinette. Not the heartbroken Marigold. Not the sidekick. Just Marinette. And then, the day after that, I was going to be Ladybug. And I would be .