A New Partner | #MLWattysAwards | ✔️

Dreaming

After meeting up with Chat again and feeling what he would've done for Marinette, Mirielle felt excited, but with large amounts of guilt in her stomach.

"Mirielle! I really believe the city of Paris would love you for you if you let them know who you truly are!" Tikki insisted, hoping to convince Mirielle to be brave enough to tell everyone the truth.

"Tikki, I know I'm causing so much trouble right now... I'm so sorry. I never meant to end up getting this far, but I'm not sure how to tell the truth. Poor Alya and Chat Noir... I'll do my best to make sure that it all works out, as long as I keep everything under control," Mirielle tried to convince her.

Tikki grumbled disagreeingly, but left her to be.

Mirielle felt so badly for Tikki. Her- no, Marinette's poor kwami had to put up with her crazy lies. At this point, she was worse than Volpina. Why couldn't she just tell Chat Noir at the beginning that she was his new partner? It was eating her up with guilt.

She curled up into her bed and took a little nap.

----------------------------------------------------

"Mirielle, what you're doing is sweet, but you have to stop," Marinette told her.

"But Marinette! I can make you live on!" She insisted.

"Let me live on in people's hearts. Mirielle, I chose you to be Ladybug because I know you are capable. I know you can do it. I know the people of Paris will love you. Chat Noir will love you. Just please, please dear cousin, don't pretend to be me. When everyone finds out, there will be consequences and I don't want you to suffer. Please just come clean now. You won't be digging a bigger hole for yourself," Marinette pleaded.

Mirielle was stunned.

"No one will like me as Ladybug, Marinette! They all think I'm just the dumb weather girl who just tries to be cute and tell the weather!" Mirielle yelled.

"You shouldn't care what other people think! I know you can do it, Mirielle. You can be Ladybug! But please, let everyone know I'm in peace and I'm watching over them. Let Alya know I'm still with her; let Adrien know that I love him and always will. Let my parents know that I'm going to be there when they need me. Just don't lead them on, Mirielle. It would be cruel giving them false hope," Marinette told her, a tear slipping from her eye.

"If you say I shouldn't care what other people think, then I won't. I won't care what you think and I'll still help people as you!" Mirielle yelled back.

---------------------------------------------------------

"Wait!" Mirielle jolted up in her bed, out of breath. Where was she? Oh yeah, in her bedroom.

Tikki stirred slightly but didn't awaken.

She looked around, realizing she was in her bedroom. She then took a deep breath and realized it was just a nightmare.

Mirielle wondered how she could be so evil to Marinette. Was this how she truly felt inside? It couldn't be. She wouldn't dare be so... rude to her sweet cousin.

She could tell that in the dream, Marinette truly wanted her to stop taking over as her and wanted her to be herself.

Mirielle didn't know how she would just tell everyone that she wasn't really Marinette or the Ladybug everyone knew and loved.

She was scared that Alya would find out or Chat Noir would see her detransform now, and if they discovered the truth, it would hurt them further than finding out Marinette had died the first time. She was causing them so much heartbreak, and yet she couldn't find it within herself to say the truth. She was so scared.

Mirielle loved the fact that she made so many people happy that day, but she knew her method was wrong. Marinette's poor parents, her friends would all be so devastated upon finding out she tried to take the beloved girl's place.

She knew what she did, pretending to be Marinette, was truly cruel and would lead to horrific consequences if she weren't careful enough. She had to say something. She had to tell them, but how? How could she do such a thing without breaking the hearts of the people in Paris again?

After pondering for a bit, she fell asleep once again.