A Miraculous Story Book 3: Rivals Part 1: Queen Wasp 2

• Bike Ride •

Finally, the long battle of the afternoon was over. Ladybug sighed in relief as she watched the white butterfly and the green leaf happily float away, as if they were glad to be purified too.

"We did it," she breathed, a smile on her face.

Cat Noir rubbed his forehead. "Heh, I guess so," he said. He looked down into the large hole he'd created in the floor with his Cataclysm. Thank goodness for the Miraculous Ladybugs.

Omuku couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. In Adrien's skin, smiling felt great. It certainly felt better than smiling as Kagami. "Are we done here?" she asked. "What are you going to do about Albibis and Princess Panda?"

Right on cue, Albibis emerged from beneath the rubble she fell into. Her face, although white from the dust, was also obviously red from embarrassment and anger. She'd worked so hard, just to lose to Ladybug again. It was so stupid! She used her wings to fan the dust particles in the air away from her face, coughing and spluttering.
Albibis jumped out of the hole and silently glared at the four others, dusting herself off at the same time. There was a clear, strong tension of resentment coming off of her, ready to break at any moment and keeping the heroes on their guard. Albibis was unpredictable and cunning.
She bit her lip and Ladybug swore she saw her brow quiver. It looked like she was about to cry, or say something, or explode.
However, she simply turned around, tapping Princess Panda on the shoulder and signaling for her to follow, and jumped off the roof without a sound. Panda obeyed and followed, leaving the heroes and Chloé in a confused silence. Should they have done something, and was Albibis okay?

Chloé was the first to speak. "Ladybug, I'm so, so sorry," she muttered quietly, looking down. She was still on her knees, with her dirty blonde hair dropping down past her shoulders and masking her face. "I'm sorry for betraying you and, and becoming a villain."

Omuku was stunned silent, stiffly looking back and forth between Chloé and Ladybug with wide eyes. What? This isn't Chloé, not from what she'd seen and heard.

Ladybug pursed her lips and knelt down beside Chloé, gently placing a hand on her back. "Hey, it's fine! Hawk Moth got the better of you. I forgive you."

"Thank you, Ladybug..." the blonde replied, her voice breaking. She looked up for the first time since being freed from the akuma and folium, first at Adrien, then Cat Noir. "Thank you, Adrien, too. And Cat Noir, I guess." Then, addressing Ladybug, "I've done so much against you guys, but you still saved me. I feel sorry, so utterly sorry for Miracle Queen. Oh, I was such an idiot," she groaned, covering her face and shaking her head. She'd been living this whole past week in sorrow and regret, and she didn't know if it would ever go away.
"I shouldn't have been so... so..." Chloé's face contorted as she struggled to finish her sentence, more tears already running down her face, sobs and hiccups shaking her tired body. "... so... selfish! I realize I never wanted to help out, I just wanted your attention. I just wanted people to see me as a hero instead of a selfish brat. That's the only reason I wanted a Miraculous, so I could feel... accepted. I didn't change at all, I'm so stupid!" Chloé's rant died off into a bunch of incoherent babbling about how terrible she'd been and how sorry she was as she buried her face in her hands again.
Ladybug gave her her time before speaking.
"It's alright," she replied in a hushed voice. "There's no use crying over spilled milk. What's passed has passed. What matters is that you learn from your mistakes, and then move on, and forget about it." Ladybug slowly wrapped a hand around Chloé's face and brought her into a hug, comforting the currently vulnerable girl. Although tears were still flowing freely down her face, she had managed to calm down a bit and stop crying so hard.
"I- I'll try," she whispered. "I just wish there was some way to prove myself to the world..."
Ladybug hummed in response, gently stroking her hair in a comforting manner. She sometimes felt surprised that this was the same girl that Marinette knew from school. Ladybug had truly changed her life, and although she at first changed for herself, it sounded like now she realized she was wrong. If she truly wanted to be like Ladybug, she had to change for others. She had to help others for the sake of helping others, not for the praise she would receive.