Chloe got into her limo feeling numb. She didn't quite remember saying goodbye to Sabrina, nor did she remember much of what happened at school after the whole Genie thing was sorted. Everything seemed like a jumbled mess in her head and she couldn't think about anything without getting confused. In fact, the only thing she could think of at that moment, was the weight of the earrings in her ears.

She knew she should have returned them, but there wasn't much opportunity to. Since coming back, Marinette had been constantly surrounded by her worried classmates, and that left no opportunity for Chloe to return her earrings and kwami. Chloe played with her loose hair, she wondered if she should put it up now that she was out of Marinette's sight, but decided not to.

The blonde bit her lip as she looked down at her purse. Tikki had been asleep for a while now, something about needing energy after powering her transformation and not having any cookies. Chloe watched the buildings fly by in a blur, thinking about her options. She hadn't returned them because she didn't have a chance to, but now that she had thought about it, she realised she didn't really want to face Marinette.

Facing her would mean talking to her, something she'd been avoiding since her apology. Chloe really was sorry, but saying it was hard. As a Bourgeois, she wasn't raised to be sorry for anything, apologising went against her nature and it felt awkward doing it. So, she wasn't really in the mood to face Marinette, she didn't want to talk about what happened, she didn't even want to think about it. She just wanted to forget it ever happened and move on with her life. Talking to Marinette would just make it real. Not just the whole wishing her out of existence thing, but the fact that she was Ladybug.

Chloe clenched her eyes shut as she thought about it. She'd given it a lot of thought when she first realised who Ladybug was, but it was still hard to accept. Ladybug was a hero. She idolised her. Finding out that she was Marinette, baker's daughter, nothing special about her Marinette, felt like a punch to the gut. She wasn't ready to face that kind of reality.

So, her only option left was to return them indirectly. She could have them sent to her, or drop it off at the bakery and give it to her parents or something. But if she did that, then Marinette would know that she had her earrings. She would know that she used them and would probably want to talk to her about it. And Chloe didn't want to talk about it. Ever.

She had to find a way to return them to Marinette without her ever knowing it was Chloe who had used them. Perhaps, putting them in her locker the next morning would be the best course of action. Yeah, that would work. Now she just had to make sure Tikki didn't say a word to Marinette.

Chloe blinked as she realised she was in her room, sitting on her bed.

'How did I get here?' She thought, then shook her head. She must have been really out of it. Some sushi and a good night's rest was definitely in order. Chloe peeked into her purse to see that Tikki was still asleep and asked room service to bring her up a platter of cookies as well.

Desi opened her eyes, confused of her whereabouts. She was outside, but she wasn't sure how she got there. And what was that smell? A quick glance in front of her revealed that she was standing in front of an open bin, the smell reaching out to her and sticking to her clothes. She had no idea why she was here, but she wrinkled her nose and reached out to close the lid...

But she froze at what was in her hand.

The button eyes of her favourite childhood teddy stared back at her. That's right. Her parents had thrown this out, and she'd come out here to look for it in the trash. She must have found it... But why didn't she remember?

With a bubbly laugh and the beginnings of tears in her eyes, Desi brought her teddy close and hugged it tight. Who cares. She was just happy to have her teddy back.

As the young teen walked back inside she decided to tell the truth to her new friends. So what if they thought it was childish, it was more childish to lie about herself just so people would like her. She wasn't going to make that mistake again.

But first, she had to talk to her parents about not throwing out things that don't belong to them.

Sabine and Tom had closed the bakery early. They were unable to concentrate with the strange memories in their heads. Memories of never having a child. They were vague with nothing solid, more of a thought really and could almost be written off as some sort of nightmare if it weren't for the fact that they both had them, and they got them halfway through the day.

Sabine could also recall Marinette's friend Kim stopping by and asking for her, only for her to say she didn't have a daughter. Why would she say that?

Both parents were sitting at the kitchen table waiting for their daughter to come home and hopefully answer some questions.

They heard the door open and a voice call out; "I'm home."

Before they could even think about it, they were rushing down the stairs and crushing their baby girl in their arms.

They couldn't understand why they felt as if they'd lost her, but they knew they weren't letting go of her for a long time.

Marinette climbed into her room with a sigh. Ever since she'd gotten home, her parents had refused to let her out of their sight and explaining everything to them had taken the better part of the afternoon. Their memories of the situation were a lot vaguer than her classmates, so they knew even less than she did before her class had told her everything.

The teen collapsed on her bed, wanting nothing more than to sleep away the day's craziness and forget about the fact that her earrings and Tikki were missing. But it seemed that was not to be as she was interrupted by a sharp knock.

"Who is it?" She groaned, too tired and drained to recognise that the knock came from the trapdoor above her and how not normal that was until a familiar voice called out to her.

"It's your favourite superhero."

Marinette opened her eyes, but still didn't move. Her favourite superhero?

"Chat?" She jumped up, unable to believe her ears. Sure enough, though, a pair of luminescent green eyes were peeking out at her from the glass of her trapdoor.

"Hi, Princess!" He waved, "Can I come in?"

Shocked by his sudden appearance, Marinette complied. She unlocked the latch and sat back as he jumped down.

"Sorry for the scare, Princess. I just wanted to check on you after today." He smiled sincerely at her, worry and relief evident in his eyes.

"… What?" Marinette asked, confused.

'Why does he want to check up on me?' She wondered, then panicked, 'Does he know who I am!?'

"Well." He rubbed the back of his neck, "You didn't exist for a while there. I don't know what that's like, but… I'm glad you're back."

Marinette blinked at his bright smile, still a little wary that he might know, but also confused as to why he was so worried about her. He wasn't that close to Marinette. He had to know!

"W-why?" She tried not to let her fear show in her voice. There was a chance he didn't know.

Chat looked at her with wide eyes, "Well… Because you being gone forever would be bad?" The way he said, like it was something that should be obvious and there shouldn't be a different answer, calmed her down. He wasn't worried because he thought she was Ladybug, he was worried because she was someone who was caught in an akuma attack.

She suddenly felt very ashamed. Assuming Chat would only be worried about Ladybug was terrible of her. She should have more faith in her Kitty.

"Right." She said awkwardly. "Sorry, that's obvious. I'm just a little out of it, and… I didn't think you'd drop by for a personal visit."

Here, Chat seemed to blush. It was hard to tell with the black mask covering half his face, but there seemed to be a bit of pink dusting the edges. "Yeah, I know we don't really know each other. That time with Evillustrator and again with Gamer are the only times we ever met, but that's more direct interaction I've had with any civilian, aside from reporters of course, soooo…." He was rubbing his neck again and staring out at her room, a little awkward. She tried not to giggle. "Yeah, I guess I just felt I should check on you personally. Make sure you're okay."

Marinette smiled widely at him, "I'm fine. Thank you, Chat Noir."

He returned the smile, "Anyway, I should get going. I have a patrol with Ladybug right about now and I have to see her too." He had stood and was opening the trapdoor as he said this, so he missed Marinette's flinch.

She stood to see him out but paused when he turned back to her. "And for the record, Marinette. The world wouldn't be the same without you in it."

Marinette gaped at him for a moment, then smiled. "Thank you, Chat. The world wouldn't be the same without you either."

The feline superhero gave his usual Cheshire grin. "Guess the world needs both of us then."

She giggled. "Bye, Kitty."

"Bye, Princess!" He left with his usual flashy over-the-top exit and it kept Marinette's smile on her face for all of five seconds. Once she was left alone on her room again, she remembered where Chat was going… And who he wasn't going to see.

Marinette walked into school, early for once, feeling as if she would cry. She had been up all night, wondering what had happened to her earrings and worrying about Tikki. She knew from her classmates' stories that someone else had wielded the earrings for the fight with Genie (They weren't sure why and Marinette was so glad no one had managed to put two and two together) but she wasn't sure how they got them. What if she, Spots they called her, had been given the earrings to replace her while she... Didn't exist... And still had them? Was she going to keep them? Would she take care of Tikki? Did she know who she was?

She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she missed the worried look Kim gave her and the pair of blue eyes that pretended not to be watching her as she walked to the girls' locker room.

Marinette had tried to give up the earrings once because she thought she wasn't good enough for them, good enough to be Ladybug. But what if this girl was better than her. Alya had told her that she wasn't keen on keeping the earrings, hence why Chat had to nickname her Spots, but that was before the fight with Genie. Before she'd won. What if she had changed her mind? Marinette knew she did when she got that second chance with Stoneheart. Being a hero was amazing. She got to help people in a way she never could before, she could be an inspiration, she made people smile and feel safe, she could run and swing across building tops and she could be a whole new person. She loved being Ladybug, she knew it was amazing. So why would this new girl ever want to give it up now that she'd had a piece of what it felt like to be Ladybug?

The pig tailed girl sighed as she opened her locker. She supposed the best thing she could do now was wait, and hope that the next time she turned on the news or an akuma attacked, she wouldn't see someone else wearing her earrings.

All thoughts came to a halt at what she saw next, her arm, frozen in place from the movement of putting a book in her locker. Right in front of her, sitting innocently in the centre of the middle shelf, was a familiar octagonal box made of dark wood and complete with dark red inscriptions.

Could it be? Was this really what she thought it was?

Quick as a whip, Marinette shoved her book inside, grabbed the box and ran, not even stopping to make sure she had closed her locker properly. She was still early so there wasn't many people to block her way as she ran outside and to the side of the school. When she felt she was far enough away from the other students, Marinette practically collapsed against the brick wall, sliding down until she unceremoniously landed on her rear. The foliage around her would hide her from prying eyes and anyone who might see what was about to happen. She knew how bright that light could get.

After hesitating only a moment, feeling the box in her hand to make sure it was real, Marinette opened the lid and braced herself from the explosion of light she'd only seen twice before.

Pink filled her vision, even through her closed lids and the arm she held in front of her face. It died down and she turned to find a sight she was starting to think she wouldn't see again. Tikki opened her big blue eyes, a little dazed from the summoning, but her whole face lit up when they fell on the girl in front of her.

"Marinette!" The kwami cried, rushing forward to nuzzle her wielder's cheek with the widest grin she'd ever seen on a kwami.

Marinette immediately cupped the little red being close to her face, enjoying their little version of a hug. "Tikki, I was so worried! I thought I wasn't going to see you again. Oh, I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too, Marinette. I'm so glad you're back."

Marinette let the cuddle continue for a seconds longer before she pulled back, the little kwami still resting in her hands. "But what happened? Alya said someone else had the earrings. How did she get them? Why did she give them back?"

Tikki smiled with a shake of her head, "I'm sorry, Marinette, but I can't tell you everything. There are things you're not meant to know yet, and I promised Spots I wouldn't tell you about her. But I can tell you she returned the earrings because she knew they belonged to you."

Marinette paled. "So she knows then? She knows who I am?" It was one of her greatest fears; someone finding out who she was and thinking she wasn't good enough to be Ladybug, telling everyone and they'd all realise what a let down she was. Who would want clumsy unimportant Marinette to be the great hero Ladybug, who got everything right and saved the day?

"Marinette." Tikki caught her attention before she could start panicking. "You don't have to worry. She's not going to tell anyone. She had an opportunity to help, so she did and then she returned the Miraculous to you. There's no reason to be scared."

The human licked her lips, "A-and you can't tell me who she is?" Tikki shook her head, "Then... The next time you see her, o-or if you get a chance... Could you tell her thank you for me?" Thank you for protecting Paris while she was gone, thank you for bringing her back, thank you for not meeting her face to face because she didn't think she was ready for someone to know who she was yet.

Tikki smiled. "Of course I can."

Back inside the school, Kim sat in his seat fidgeting. He didn't know how today was going to go, but he was ready to be prepared for anything. He decided not to tell Marinette he knew she was Ladybug, at least for the time being. Yesterday was pretty hectic, and he had no idea how she was coping with it. Adding on the fact that someone knew her secret identity might just be a bit too much for the hero in hiding. And to be fair, she was probaly already getting that from knowing Spots knew who she was.

He looked at Chloe with a smile on his face. Her hair was still down, but he'd discretely checked earlier and he knew she was no longer wearing the earrings. He figured that's why Marinette had run off earlier after going to her locker. She must have found the earrings in her locker and there was that kwami thing the heroes were talking about, so she probably had a friend to catch up with. But he wanted to be sure, so he wouldn't rest comfortably until he saw that Marinette really had her earrings back. So now he was just waiting for her to walk in. Even though she had arrived early to school for once, she still hadn't come to class yet.

While he waited, he entertained himself with chatting to Alya about Jade Turtle. Now that everything was back in its place, the turtle themed hero had vanished. While she still held some scepticism about the guy, she hoped he would come back someday. She was also intrigued by the thought that there were more Miraculous out there, meaning a possibility of more heroes.

"If he really was a good guy, then I hope he comes back. Ladybug and Chat Noir need all the help they can get against Hawkmoth, and he deserves the chance at the very least."

"Plus, a new hero means more interviews for you to hunt down." Kim added, teasingly.

"Can I help it if I want my blog to have the finest content available." The blogger placed a hand over her heart and stuck her nose in the air in mock superiority.

Kim, and several others who had joined the converstaion, laughed.

"So how many Miraculous do you think there are?" Alix asked.

This made Alya wiggle in her seat in excitement. "I have no idea." She said cheerfully, "But that just means I have to find out." The class laughed again, typical Alya. "We know there's a ladybug, a black cat and a turtle. Hawkmoth is most likely also a Miraculous wielder, but I'm not sure which one." She tapped her chin in thought. "His name is Hawkmoth, which is two animals, but he uses butterflies to do his bidding." She threw her hands in the air. "Why do supervillains have to be so confusing?"

"So that's four." Max hummed, "So why haven't we seen the turtle until now?"

The class thought about this. If there were more heroes, or possibilty for more heroes, then why was Ladybug and Chat Noir the only ones fighting Hawkmoth. "Maybe it has to do with the numbers?" Nino suggested. "I mean, when Ladybug wasn't there, Jade filled in. It wasn't just Chat. Maybe there needs to be two?"

"Then why bring the ladybug Miraculous back in for the fight?" Alya asked.

"Their powers." Kim said simply. Everyone turned to him. "Think about it. Ladybug's the only one with the powers to cure the akumas and fix everything. Even when Ladybug wasn't fighting her powers were still being used. Because that's the best option of fighting against the current threat. Maybe other Miraculous aren't being used because they wouldn't be helpful in this situation. We don't even know what Jade's powers were. He never used them. Would they have been able to help?"

"That's... A pretty good hypothesis." Alya thought out loud. She then went back to trying to contain her excitement. "Oh, I can't wait to ask them about this next time I get the chance."

"Can't wait to ask who what?" Everyone turned to see that Marinette had entered the room. She took her seat next to Alya and waited for an explanation.

While her best friend filled her in on their conversation, Kim sagged into his chair in relief.

'She's got them. Chloe gave them back.'

Seeing those dark circles resting on Marinette's ears was like a weight lifting off his chest. He didn't realise how much he had been stressing about this.

He looked at Chloe. He'd have to thank her. Not just for returning the earrings, but for saving the day as Spots. He wasn't going to tell Marinette that he knew she was Ladybug, but he wanted to thank Chloe. She really went out of character doing what she did. She deserved thanks.

While Alya started giving Marinette all of her latest theories about the heroes of Paris, Nino turned to his best friend. During yesterday's lunch they'd talked about what they remembered. All of the fake memories had completely vanished, to the point that the majority of Paris had no idea about the akuma at all, not remembering or experiencing anything different. But Nino and Adrien still remembered the important parts.

Adrien was Chat Noir, and Nino was Jade Turtle.

Adrien was ecstatic to know that his best friend still remembered him and that he no longer had to hide from him. Nino was just as happy to have no secrets between them, and they spent all of their lunch break discussing the parts of Adrien's life he was never able to talk about before.

He also talked about how he wanted his friend to be able to be Jade Turtle again (He didn't say wish. They doubted any of their classmates would feel comfortable using that word for a while.)

And now, as the rest of their class was discussing the very same thing, his friend was sending him a knowing look. Nino sighed. It would have been pretty cool to be Jade Turtle again, he didn't have much of an opportunity to fully explore it before (And the conversation going on behind him made him even more curious. Just what was his special power? He never got to figure it out), but it wasn't up to him anyway. And he'd explained as much to Adrien yesterday, who'd begrugingly accepted he was right.

He didn't now how Miraculous wielders were chosen, or where the turtle Miraculous was now. He had no say in this matter whatsoever. So unless he was somehow gifted with the bracelet again, he wasn't going to be Jade Turtle. He did wonder how Wayzz was doing though. It would have been nice to say goodbye.

Although for now, he'd have to deal with his friend silently telling him how the rest of the class wanted to see a return of the turtle hero as well.

Chloe slowly walked towards the front of the school, not really in a rush to go home for lunch. She didn't quite feel like she wanted to go home just yet. As she considered asking her driver to take her somewhere else for lunch, she played with her hair. A habit she'd quickly picked up now that she wore it loose. She didn't have to hide the earrings anymore, but when she had stood in front of the mirror that morning ready to tie it up like usual, she stopped. She still wasn't sure why, but she kind of felt like having it out. Odd, since she'd always wore it in her signature ponytail, but Tikki had also convinced her to try something new.

Thinking about Tikki made her think about Marinette, so she pushed it away. The kwami had kept her promise of not telling Marinette, so she was free to forget this whole thing ever happened.

As if hearing her plea for a distraction from her thoughts, she heard someone calling her name. Chloe turned to see Kim a few paces away. Curious as to what he wanted with her, she stopped and faced him.

"What do you want, Kim?" She hardly noticed the lack of malice in her voice, but Kim did and it made him smile. He hoped it meant she was turning over a new leaf.

"I just wanted to say thank you. What you did was amazing and I'm incredibly grateful and proud." The absolute sincerity in his eyes was almost too much, even without the words. She'd never heard anyone praise her like this. 'Grateful and proud', her father had said things like that to her before when she made a good appearance in front of the cameras, but it was never quite as meaningful as Kim had said it. She felt warm and happy, the words eliciting a smile from her without her realising it. It made her wonder what she did to deserve it.

"F-for what?"

Kim smiled, "I know you were Spots."

Her eyes widened and she immediately looked around to make sure no one was listening in. "I'm not going to tell anyone." Kim continued at her frantic look, "But I just wanted you to know how thankful I am." Chloe stared at him. "What you did really went against your character, and it can't have been easy to do all that. But you did, and you gave the earrings back when I was half expecting you to keep them. So I'm proud of you, Chloe. Real proud."

And Chloe... She just stared. She had no idea how to react to this kind of thing. She thought that no one would have figured it out, but if it had to be anyone she figured Kim would have. He was the only other person who remembered after all. But this was... It reminded her of how they all looked at her when she was walking up to Genie. She was being admired and thanked in a way she never had before. For the things she could do instead of what her status gave her. And here was Kim, looking at her with real gratitude and full of genuine pride at what she did.

She felt tears come to her eyes and a full blown smile break out on her face. "Th-thank you, Kim. I... I really needed that."

He returned the smile and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You deserved it, Chloe. You did good."

Chloe nodded, unable to find the words, and after one last encouraging nod, Kim left.

Chloe Bourgeious stood still, forgetting the world around her and ignoring the people who were looking at her wierdly. She looked up to the sky with tears of pure joy falling down her cheeks. She couldn't describe how she was feeling right now. The motions were all whirling around in her head until none of them made any sense, but she knew she was happy. She didn't know why, but Kim's words had sparked something in her chest, and she felt just as proud as he did.

'You did good.'

She did good.

Chloe wiped the tears of her face and pulled out her phone. She felt like celebrating, but since no one could know why she figured she would have to be more subtle about it. And right now, lunch with her friend sounded great.

"Hey, Sabrina. What are you doing for lunch?"

Across the road from Francois Dupont High School, Master Fu watched the two students with interest. He had a feeling that Kim would figure out it was Chloe who had filled in for Ladybug, and he was incredibly grateful to him for whatever he said that made the blonde beam with pride and happiness. This was really good experience for her. He can see her growing and flourishing right before his eyes.

There was also Nino. In the previous timeline he'd given him his own Miraculous. He didn't remember doing it, but he knew he had. And he knew he hadn't regretted the choice. He was a rookie when he fought Genie, but Master Fu could see the potential there as well. Nino would make a fine turtle. It also helped that the boy reminded Fu so much of what he was like when he was younger.

Yes. If the time came, he was confident he had two potential Miraculous holders. He wasn't sure it was necessary at this point, but it was good to have a back up plan. Especially with the Peacock still missing.

And who knew. With how dangerous some of these akumas were getting, it would be a good idea to have more heroes on their side. He'd just wait and see.

And that's it! Finished! My first officially finished fanfic. I'm so happy! You know, I'm not even upset to see this go. I've been working on it for so long and I'm just so happy to have finally finished it. It gives me a sense of satisfaction and fulfilment. Welp! Time to start on the next one. I've still gotta find out what I'm doing with 'Finding A Hero' and I really want to start with these ideas I've had for Danny Phantom fics as well.

Now, I know I've left this open for a sequel but I honestly have no plans of writing one. I might sometime in the future, but there are no plans at this very moment. But if anyone has some ideas for where to go from here, I'm open to suggestions.

That is all. Thank you to everyone who read this, favourited, followed, and left reviews. I am incredibly grateful for every single one of you. You are all Miraculous!

Seeya!

P.S. The name Desi means to desire or long for. It is also related to the name Desiree which is French in origin and means wish and desire. Desiree is the name of a genie ghost in Danny Phantom who was probably a subconscious influence of Genie. I watched a few episodes many years ago and started watching it in full a few chapters into this story and found the two characters to be very similar. It wasn't my original intention, but I'm happy with it all the same.