Need Some Help

Choosing Sides

Chloe set out to do exactly as Felix and Lila had instructed her to. She made as many people as she could mad, furious really. It was something she was good at, something she did all the time. It was how she cooled off her own anger; by thrusting it onto others. Over the years, she had somewhat mastered the art. But that didn't mean Chloe felt right about doing it. She was helping Lila and Felix steal the Moth and Peacock Miraculous. They knew who Shadowmoth was and Chloe wasn't doing a single thing about that. She was letting it happen. She was making it happen.

About midway through with as many of the students in the school, as she could anger, Sabrina came up to her. "Hey Chloe!" she said in that cheery voice of hers.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "What do you want?"

"I wondered if maybe you would want to hang out together after school. We could do whatever you wanted! It's just...lately you haven't wanted me to come over, or do anything with you...I hope you're alright," Sabrina said.

She hoped she was alright. Sabrina, even after all of the hateful, horrible things Chloe had done to her, still cared about her. Still stood by her side. Sure, she was the closest thing she had to a friend, but Sabrina had stayed by her side this whole time.

"I don't know! I've got a lot to think about!" Chloe said hastily. Now was her chance. Say something rude. Mean to Sabrina. But for some reason, she couldn't. Not right then. She had said probably over a hundred mean things to her at once, but Chloe couldn't make herself do it. She couldn't turn Sabrina a monster. Almost as if she was too pure for that. She had stood by Chloe's side this whole time. That, should at least mean something.

"Okay, let me know, or not, or whatever you want," Sabrina said.

Chloe rolled her eyes and continued on. Despite what she told herself, deep down, she had a small soft spot for Sabrina.

***

It wasn't long afterward when word of multiple Akuma attacks came. Ladybug, Cat Noir, and even Rena Rouge and a handful of others were already on it. Chloe continued to make people mad, all over Paris. But she couldn't shake away the feeling that this was wrong. It didn't sit well with her. You shouldn't be doing this, a voice from inside her head said. But she couldn't fully shake it away no matter how hard she tried.

***

"We need more help!" Ladybug yelled over to Cat Noir, as he dodged another one of Gorzilla's attacks.

"You got that right!" he said. Cat Noir had already used his Cataclysm, so he only had a few minutes left before he would transform back. "Might be time to get some of that help, hmm, M'lady?"

"On it! I'll be right back!" Ladybug dashed off. She had already handed out several of the miraculous, but it wasn't enough. Shadowmoth seemed to have gone crazy. He was acumatizing everyone.

Ladybug pulled out another miraculous. The Bee. It had once belonged to Chloe Bourgeois, but she had long ago proved herself untrustworthy of it. Ladybug sighed. A part of her had hoped maybe, in time, Chloe would change. But that didn't appear to be the case.

Chloe ducked her head and ran as fast as she could into an underground subway station. Lila and Felix could've at least warned her how quickly the world was going to turn into chaos. There was no way Ladybug and Cat Noir were going to be able to save Paris from all of this. And it was all because of Chloe.

She stopped abruptly when she heard someone talking just a few feet away.

"Zoe Lee, this is the miraculous of the Bee. You will use it for the greater good to help save Paris from Shadowmoth."

Chloe almost choked. What? Zoe, was Vesperia? No...it wasn't possible. That was the one thing she wasn't supposed to be able to take from her...the one thing that Chloe had...only she didn't anymore. Tears started to leak from her eyes before she knew it.

"Thank you, Ladybug," Zoe said as she transformed.

Chloe was about to storm right out there and give Zoe a piece of her mind. She couldn't have the Bee miraculous! It was hers. But she decided against it. Or, at least she would wait until Ladybug was gone.

"Why is this happening?" Vesperia asked.

Ladybug looked over to the side. "This wasn't by accident. Someone made all of these people mad, possibly on purpose. Shadowmoth may have more allies than we realize."

Vesperia looked Ladybug straight in the eye. "You think it's Chloe."

Chloe gasped. Was it that obvious? Did they know? What did this mean? Of course. She always knew it was only a matter of time before Zoe betrayed her.

"I don't know for sure, but I've heard rumors. We don't know who's side Chloe's really on," Ladybug replied. She sounded remorseful when she said it.

"There's still good in her. I know it," Vesperia said confidently. "Deep down, she has it in her to do the right thing. And I'll be by her side no matter what. I'll be waiting to help her when she decides to take the first step on the right path. That's what sisters are for after all."

Every bone in Chloe's body froze. She suddenly realized that Zoe had not been faking or putting on an act. She really cared for Chloe. She really believed in her. She had meant every word she said about loving Chloe no matter what.

She staggered backward a few steps. Chloe had been wrong. She wasn't alone. Not everyone was against her. Zoe loved her. Cared for her. She was her sister. It had always felt like she was alone. Chloe had thought that in order to survive, she had to become someone else. She had to become a monster. But that wasn't true. You had to be brave enough to be yourself. Zoe had done it. And more than that, she was brave enough to believe that Chloe had it in her to change. And that thought, the sudden realization of just how wrong she had been hurt Chloe's heart in a way she couldn't explain. Luka was right. She really did care. Zoe knew exactly how Chloe felt. And what had she done? She had treated her like dirt. Not like a sister. But..even after all of that, Zoe was still willing to give her a chance.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Chloe muttered again and again under her breath. No, no. She was doing it all over again. She was making the wrong choices. She was choosing the wrong side. It was all an illusion. Just like Volpina, Lila was faking the truth. She was using Chloe to make it seem like she was the bad guy. And she was. She was being selfish, and hateful, all because of her own mistakes. All because of her own unhappiness. The world was suffering for it, and that wasn't right.

Through watery eyes, Chloe looked back up and balled her hands into a fist. "I won't be useless. Not this time."

It was time for Chloe to stop being a spoiled brat. It was time for her to stop taking her anger out on others and face it. She wasn't angry at the world, or anyone. She was angry at herself. The only reason she wasn't happy was because she refused to be. She refused to accept the fact that she wasn't Queen Bee anymore. It was all an illusion. A figment of imagination. She could pretend as long as she wished, but no matter what she did, no matter who she tried to become, she would always be Chloe Bourgeois. There was no taking back all the mistakes she had made. There was only forgiveness.

"I'm sorry Zoe," Chloe whispered to herself as tears slid down her cheeks. "I'm sorry everyone, for the mistakes I've made."

But there was nothing she could do to change them. She couldn't go back in time. She could only start now, and look to the future.

By the time Chloe had gotten a hold of herself, Ladybug and Vespera were already long gone. She wasn't thinking very straight, only that she had to fix this mistake before it was too late.

"Ladybug! Ladybug!" Chloe cried out. Paris was a disaster, with akumatized villains wreaking havoc at nearly every turn. There was no sign of Ladybug or any hero at all. Chloe wiped a few tears from her eyes, desperately hoping for a hero to show up right about now.

Then, before Chloe even had a chance to look behind her, Time Breaker came up behind her and pressed a hand firmly against her back.

No, Chloe thought to herself as the life drained out of her. She had failed. Not just herself, or Ladybug, or her sister, but all of Paris.