This story has been adopted/coauthored/rewritten alongside Autobot0001 and White Pedal. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or Miraculous. They belong to Kazuki Takahashi and Studio Gallop and Thomas Astruc and Jeremy Zag respectively.

The sun began to rise as Flight 683 from Tokyo to Paris flew on its way to the City of Lights Inside the plane, a fourteen-year-old girl with long auburn hair sat in a window seat, fast asleep. As the sun began to shine through her window, she groaned a bit and slowly opened her grey-green eyes. The girl's name was Serenity Wheeler.

Serenity rubbed her eyes and stretched slightly. Sleeping in a chair all night had not been very comfortable, but she had eventually fallen asleep. Serenity then looked out the window and couldn't help smiling. The sky looked so beautiful high above with sunlight shining through the clouds.

Serenity then then checked her watch. It was about 6:30 a.m. The plane should be getting there around 7:00, so about a half hour to go.

"I still can't believe this is happening," Serenity said in an excited voice. And Serenity had good reason to be excited.

Serenity was arriving in Paris on her own as a foreign exchange student from Japan. Due to her good grades, Serenity had been selected to study abroad in Paris at the Collège Françoise DuPont secondary school. Though excited, Serenity was also a bit nervous. She didn't know what to expect from attending a school in a foreign country, or if her host family, the Dupain-Chengs, would even be nice to her. Serenity knew that her host family had a daughter her age named Marinette, who would be in the same class as her, but she didn't know what kind of girl Marinette was. For all she knew, Marinette could've been a snobby brat like the French girls she had seen in TV shows and movies. Of course, Serenity knew that she shouldn't judge people by stereotypes, but she still didn't know what to expect. All she could do was hope for the best.

As Serenity readjusted her seat, she thought back to how it all happened. It was kind of sad though as she almost didn't get to go.

"Mom! Mom, guess what?" Serenity cried as she ran into the house. She was so excited she had raced home after school.

Her mother, Lynn, who had been in the kitchen, had come into the living room after hearing her shout.

"Serenity, please calm down, sweetie. Are you alright?

At that, Serenity ran to her Lynn and hugged her around the waist.

"Alright? Alright!? I'm better than alright, Mom! I'm FANTASTIC!" Serenity squealed.

Lynn smiled and returned the hug. "My goodness. Something good must have happened at school today."

Serenity released her mom and grinned from ear to ear. "That doesn't even BEGIN to describe it, Mom! You'll never believe what happened today!"

Lynn chuckled. "Well don't keep me in suspense, girl. Tell me."

Serenity took a deep breath to calm herself down and began as calmly as she could. "Well, it started during my art class. I was finishing a painting when an announcement came on and I was called to Mr. Muranaka's office."

Lynn's smile faded slightly at that. "The pricipal's office? You aren't in any trouble are you?" She didn't know how being called specifically to the principal's office was a wonderful thing, but upon seeing Serenity's face at the interruption, she quickly apologized. "Sorry. Please continue."

"Right. So anyway, I got called down and Mr. Muranaka told me about something the school has been planning on doing this year. They've been communicating with an abroad school about a student exchange program and were attempting to decide which student they would send."

Lynn's eyes widened at that. "Oh, Serenity! You don't mean…"

Serenity couldn't contain herself and let out a happy cheer as she jumped up and down. "YES! My grades were some of the best! Not THE best, but DEFINITLEY among the most desirables. And Mr. Muranaka said that if I got permission from you by signing this slip, I can be ready to leave by the end of the month!" At that, Serenity fished out a white official looking piece of paper from her bag, "Isn't that awesome!?"

Lynn smiled and hugged her again. "Oh sweetie, I'm so proud of you! Just wait until your brother hears this. He's coming over tonight for dinner and we can tell him then."

Serenity was so happy at that news. She was sure Joey would be thrilled. He always told her she was meant for great things and this proved it. If she knew Joey, when he heard it, he would most likely pick her up in a bone-crushing hug and swing her around shouting, "That's my little sis! I KNEW ya had it in ya!"

"So," Lynn spoke up again, breaking Serenity's thoughts. "Where are you going? Is It America? Maybe New York City. Oh, or is it England? I've always wanted to go there myself, but I could never afford it."

Serenity giggled. "That's the best part, Mom. Here, read the paper." At that she handed her mother the paper and Lynn began reading it. However, Serenity was too excited to notice her mom's smile was slowly starting to turn into a frown. By the time she finished, Lynn looked as though she had read that a friend of hers had just died. "You're… you're going to-"

"France," Serenity cried happily. "At the Collège Françoise DuPont secondary school, right in the heart of Paris! You know I want to study art, Mom. And Paris is THE place to go if you want to learn about art and stuff like that. Can you believe it? They're letting me go to school for a year in the art capital of the world! It's like a dream come true! And all you have to do is sign the paper and I turn it in tomorrow to… Mr... Muranaka?"

It was then Serenity noticed her mother's face. It was a mixture of worry, trepidation, and…was it anger? Serenity didn't understand. One minute her mom had been hugging and congratulating her and now she looked almost sick. "Mom? Is everything okay?"

Lynn then looked at her and seemed to be thinking about what to say. "Serenity. Sweetheart. You… you know I care about you right? I have since you were a little girl."

"Mom, I know that," Serenity said, a little unnerved by how her mom looked. "What's wrong?"

"Serenity, please don't take this the wrong way, but," Lynn took a deep breath, "I don't think you should go."

Serenity looked at her mom, not knowing if she heard her correctly. "I'm… I'm sorry. Wha-what did you say?"

Lynn took another breath and this time repeated a bit more firmly, "I said 'no,' Serenity. You can't go to Paris."

Serenity felt her heart drop like a rock. How could her mother suddenly change her tune so fast? And in such a negative way? "But-but why!? I'm not really doing anything that would-"

"It's not safe in France at the moment," Lynn said simply.

That caught Serenity's attention. She hadn't heard about there being any trouble in France. At least that she knew of. "What do you mean 'not safe'?"

At that, Lynn walked over to the coffee table and picked up a newspaper that was a few days old and turned it to the International News page. "Read this." Lynn simply said, thrusting the paper into Serenity's hands. Serenity looked at the page. On it was a picture of a woman with a face that looked like she had been digitized with the exception of her dark red hairdo. She was also wearing a suit of armor that looked like something from a sci-fi film. Above the picture was the following headline:

Latest Akuma attack in Paris!

Super villainess"Prime Queen" attacks city only to be stopped by resident superheroes! However, does latest in numerous attacks on French capital prove city no longer safe?

Serenity couldn't believe this! A super villain? That sounded like one of those comic books Joey liked to read when he was little. This had to be some sort of joke. A really weird joke, sure, but not real. Right?

However, as Serenity kept reading the story, she was starting to see that this was no joke! There really HAD been a super villain attack on Paris by a woman who had apparently taken people over. This "Prime Queen" woman had apparently been an ordinary person, a well-respected reporter, who'd let her more negative emotions get the better of her, which in turn, turned her in to something called an Akuma, a mind-controlled person with powers who wreaked havoc on the city. Fortunately, Prime Queen had been stopped by to actual superheroes, two people who called themselves Ladybug and Chat Noir. Together, they had turned Prime Queen back to normal and saved the city, turning it back to normal from all the damage done. Serentiy couldn't believe it. The way this story talked it was as if it had been by magic. Then again, though,after what she had encountered with Joey and his friends during Battle City with Marik and the Egyptian Gods, she supposed she would be hypocrite for saying that there was no such thing as magic even after encountering it herself. Heck, her own brother had been magically brainwashed into battling Yugi to the DEATH, for God sakes! If she had said there was no such thing as magic after that, she'd probably turn into Seto Kaiba.

However what really caught Serentiy's attention was that this was seemingly not the first time this had happened. More than once, people had let apparent negative emotions get the better of them and turning into these "super villains": a man who could control pigeons and held the city's police hostage; a boy who had turned into a dark version of a Cupid and shot arrows making people hate each other; and even a little girl who had turned into a villain who could turn others who had been cured back INTO villains and control them against their will. The list went on for quite a bit.

Serenity looked at her mom after looking at the story. "Okay, so weird things are going on in Paris."

"'Weird things?" Lynn asked. "Weird things!? Serenity, this goes BEYOND weird! It's downright FRIGHTENING!" Serenity noticed her mother was getting rather worked up about this, so she decided to try and calm her down.

"Alright, alright. So things are more than weird. But why should that keep me from going? People are still visiting even after this, right?"

"That's not the point!" Lynn cried throwing her arms in the air. Serenity could tell she was getting more upset with all this.

"Are you not thinking about what could happen if you went there and something like this happens? A villain attacks the city and YOUR'RE in the thick of it! They cause destruction, mayhem. I've even read that there have been injuries thanks to those attacks!"

"Mom, I get why you're worried. Honestly, I do. But I think I can handle that. It's not like I would willingly let myself get caught in an attack like that."

Lynn heaved a heavy sigh. "It's better to be safe than sorry. I'm sorry, but I won't let you go, Serenity. Right now, Japan is much safer for you. You'll thank me for this someday."

Serenity couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her mother was worried about her safety and she thought Japan was SAFER!? Had she NOT been told of the times with Battle City where the Rare Hunters had attempted to accost her and Tristan? About how Dartz and his crew tried to turn the world into slaves? About the KC Grand Championship and Zigfried von Schroder trapping her brother and other Duelists in parts of the park turned up to their most extreme? Sure, she hadn't been there for the other two, but Joey had told them all about them when he sat down and talked with them. If anything, Japan was just as dangerous as France. Nowhere in the world was completely safe from danger, but her Mom didn't seem to realize that.

"I can't believe you!" Serenity cried out, her anger at the situation finally starting to seep into her voice. Lynn turned and had her own angry look.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me! You're letting your fears get the best of you. Mom, have you not read that there are superheroes- real, actual, SUPERHEROES- protecting the city!? If anything, they'll keep anything from happening to me."

"You don't know that," Lynn shouted, sounding angrier now. "I can't believe this! I'm trying to keep my little girl safe and she insists on running into danger."

"It's not like that, Mom! And I'm not a 'little girl' anymore! I'm FOURTEEN for crying out loud! I can take care of myself! You and Joey have both taught me a lot, but how can I put those teachings into action if you won't let me? You're acting like I'm still that little girl who was so weak from years ago!"

"Well maybe I think you ARE! Maybe you're NOT as strong as you think!"

At that, a silence permeated the house. Serenity looked at her mom with a look of absolute hurt. Her mother had essentially called her 'weak.' Like she thought she couldn't take care of herself.

"I see," she murmured as tears started to spill from her eyes. She immediately turned away and headed for the door.

"Serenity, wait! I didn't mean it like that!" she heard her mother shout, but by that time she was out the door, salty tears streaming down her face as she hustled away. She had to get away from the house for a while.

She just had to get away.

Serenity wiped her eyes as some stray tears threatened to leak out. That was probably the worst fight that she and her mom had had in a while. The last time they had fought like that was after her and Joey had had that huge argument almost two years ago. Serenity had been so mad at her mom then, upset that she had left Joey all those years back. And because of that, he didn't want to come back to them. The two had shouted at each other for a good twenty minutes before they calmed down and apologized to each other. This was worse though.

After she had run out of the house, Serenity had run to a nearby park she'd sometimes go to where she thought about things while swinging on a nearby swing. Sometimes it was good things. Other times, usually when she was upset, she thought of troubling things. That time, it was a tidal wave of thoughts. It was as if her life was flashing before her without dying.

She thought about her life with her mom, Joey… and her dad. How he beat them, yelled at them, scared her mom so bad that the first chance she got she bolted with her in toe. Unfortunately, she had left her son behind and when she tried to get him back, she found it was too late. Her husband had called in favors to get him awarded Joey. All so he could spite his ex. To rub her grievous mistake in her face.

She thought about how she had heard about Joey leaving Dad for good and getting independence at a young age. Her mom had tried to apologize and reconnect, but to her heartbreak and shock, found out Joey wanted nothing to do with her, calling her apologies flimsy. That she was an awful mother and he was better off now without her. Lynn's heartbreak had turned to anger and after a horrible argument, the two left vowing never to speak to each other again. Each blamed the other for how badly it ended, but Serenity could tell that her mom shouldered most of it on herself. Thinking back to her mistake all those years ago, Lynn knew that if that had that never happened she never would have even fought with Joey. Still, she stayed away from him for six long years, not willing to risk a fight worse than that one.

Because of that, Serenity would only send her brother video messages of herself to him in secret. She knew her mom was still hurting and didn't want to cause any unwanted extra tension between the two. She had hoped that, given time, she could push them back together again and they could talk things out. That they could be a family again.

Then her eyes started hurting. Not the small bouts of hurt she had as a kid that caused her to get blurry vison for a bit before getting better. More like a FIRE behind her eyes. Like a hot poker! It hurt like HECK! Upon taking a trip to a specialist, she received news that sent her life into a tailspin. She would go blind within a year or less. She had accepted that in time. Plenty of people lived with blindness. At least she had seen most of the world so she could remember colors and shapes and things.

Then, another strike to her face. The worst of all.

It turned out she had Retinoblastoma, a rare cancer of the eyes. Because of her never getting them checked out as a child by experts (her father had refused to pay for those kinds of doctor visits and her mom had never been able to afford to take her to a good one before), she never found out until it was too late. By then she had had the tumors growing for so long that unless they were treated with a special surgery, the tumors would not only take her sight, but later, her life as the tumor would affect her brain too.

Her mind then went to the tape she'd sent Joey. In her mind, she only wanted to send Joey one last good bye, but really, it was also for her. As a way of saying thank you to Joey for all he had done for her, even if he hadn't been there in person for a while.

Serenity had been willing to accept the fact that her sight was going to go. That she would eventually die and she would never see her family or her friends again.

Then, a miracle happened. Joey had managed to win second place in Duelist Kingdom and win the prize money to pay for her operation. As she felt herself get wheeled down to the OR, she heard her brother's voice telling her it would be okay.

And everything DID turn out okay. Better than okay even. As she was lying in recovery, her mother had come to visit her. She told Serenity she had wonderful news. During the procedure, Lynn and Joey had met, talked (though not without a little heartache and a touch of shouting) and had come to an agreement. Though Joey would never fully forgive Lynn for leaving him to his father's wrath all those years ago, he said he was willing to try to reconnect if a bit for Serenity's sake. Lynn had readily agreed and let him take it at his own pace. Serenity had never been more happy. It meant she could now visit her brother without having to worry Lynn. He might even come see her.

After that thought, they came even quicker. The remembrance of Rooting for Joey with Tristan, who had helped her through so much while Joey was dueling and her mom was at work. To helping that little boy Kenta get over his fears and to face them. To leaving with Tristan to go see Joey battle in person and show him her newly healed eyes. To finally taking her bandages off and saving Joey from his surely water demise.

All these thoughts and memories rushed her at once. She realized that she had grown so much over all these years. So how could her mom say that she was weak!? She knew that she probably didn't mean it that way. She'd never say anything like that thinking rationally. She was letting her fears get the better of her. Still, she couldn't understand her mother's vehement reluctance to allowing her to go.

It was at that moment Serenity got a burst of courage. She knew her mother was obviously trying to protect her, but she could take care of herself. After all, even with the others by her side at Battle City, she'd survived all that had occurred. She also figured that her host family most likely would not let what was going on there affect her if they could help it.

Serenity could still remember that feeling coursing through her as she got up from the swing. Though she couldn't see it, she could feel the determination on her face. She knew what she had to do now.

She had to go back and confront her mom in a calm manner and explain to her that she needed to stop being afraid and hear her out.

Imagine her surprise when she got to the house…

As Serenity reached her house, she took deep cleansing breaths. She knew she had to be calm about this. Getting worked up like she had before would only make things worse.

"I can do this," she said. She then got closer to her house and, as she did, her eyes widened. There sitting in the driveway was Joey's blue car. She remembered him getting it a few months ago after passing his driver's test. That could only mean…

Serenity raced faster and once she got onto the front step, she inhaled through her nose and opened the door.

There in the living room sitting on the couch were Lynn and Joey. Once the door opened, the two turned and upon seeing her, Joey's face lit up.

"'Ey, sis! Where ya been? I come all dis way and ya ain't even here ta greet me?" Serenity knew by the look in his eye he was just joking. She gave a smile back.

"Sorry, Joey I… needed a little time to myself." At that, Joey's face fell slightly and Lynn's fell completely.

"Yeah. Ma told me about yer… little spat before I came." He then got up from the couch. "Welp, I think you two gotta bit to talk about I'm sure, so I'm gonna check up on supper." He then patted Lynn's shoulder as he passed and Serenity heard him whisper, "Like we talked about." Lynn nodded and Joey went through the kitchen door.

Soon it was just the two of them again. The silence was thick enough to cut with a knife as the two looked awkwardly around them. Eventually, after a few seconds, Serenity walked over and sat with her mom on the couch. The two then stared for a bit and then,

"Serenity/Mom, I want to talk to you about…"

They stopped and then chuckled at what had happened. Then Serenity started again.

"Look, Mom. There's something I need to tell you-", but was stopped by Lynn raising her hand first.

"Actually, Serenity, if you don't mind, I'd like to go first. This whole thing was my fault anyway." Serenity looked at her mom, then nodded to let her continue.

"First of all, I want to say, I'm sorry. I should have NEVER talked to you like that or said what I did. I just let my fears and anger at the situation get the better of me again." She sighed and put her head in her hands. "I'm such an idiot. I thought I was getting better at that and I relapsed so easily."

Serenity then scooted closer to her mom and gave her a small hug. "Mom, it's alright. Everyone makes mistakes."

"But it shouldn't have happened in the first place!" Lynn cried. "Serenity, what I said was completely unacceptable as a parent."

"You didn't mean it, I know that. And even if you sorta did, it probably wasn't the way I thought it." She gave Lynn another hug. "You were only worried about me. I understand. I was sort of to blame for things getting out of hand too. Those things happening in Paris ARE something I should consider before going and-." Lynn held up her hand again to stop Serenity. She then put her hands on her shoulders and looked at her in the eyes.

"Serenity, there was another reason I didn't really want you to go."

Serenity looked at Lynn in surprise. "Really?"

"Really. You see, the truth is I have always seen you as my little girl. The girl who was small and fragile when she was born. The girl who needed my help when things got bad. Even after everything that's happened, I still see you like that."

"But now, I am beginning to see that you're growing up into a beautiful young woman. Only fourteen and you've done amazing things. I suppose I've just been too stubborn to accept them happening."

Serenity's eyes shone as her mother continued.

"You know that my and you're brother's relationship isn't the best. He visits certainly, but not too often, though that's his choice. And you're often going to visit him in Domino. More often than not, I'm alone in this house until you get back. And when I found out about you potentially going to France, well, I-I guess I just couldn't bear the thought of you leaving for a good chunk of the school year and being alone all that time. Not only that, but something like this means that eventually, you'll have to leave home, leave ME, to start your own life. Find someplace to settle in, find a nice young man, raise a family…"

At those words, they heard a clatter near the door and footsteps hurrying away. Obviously Joey had been listening in and had broken something upon the mention of that topic. Lynn and Serenity looked from the door to each other for a few seconds before bursting out laughing.

"Provided your overprotective brother even LETS you," Lynn said with a hearty chuckle.

Serenity giggled at that. Then she looked at her mom with a slight sorrowful expression. "I'm sorry, Mom. I had no idea you felt like that."

"Well, I'm sorry for thinking like that," Lynn said. "I know that even if you leave me and fid your own way in life, you'll never fully abandon me." She then sighed gloomily, "I just KNOW you wouldn't make the same mistakes I did. You're far too smart for that."

"Thanks," Serenity said with a small smile as she patted her mom on the back.

Lynn then got a wide grin on her face. "And who knows, maybe Paris has just the sort of things like that in store for you. Villains or no villains."

Serenity gasped and clasped her hands in joy. "You mean…?"

"Yes, Serenity," Lynn said, beaming. "I'm letting you go on the exchange trip to Paris! You need to experience the world like your brother has and I shouldn't try to stop you for my own selfish needs."

Serenity immediately squealed with glee and hugged her mother so hard she nearly fell off the couch.

"THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" She cried, tears of joy leaking out of her eyes.

Lynn soon straightened herself up and returned the hug. "You're welcome, honey. And again, I'm so sorry for everything I said before."

Before Serenity could say anything, the door opened and Joey came in, obviously trying to act nonchalant and like he hadn't been listening into the conversation just a short time ago.

"'Ey! Looks like everthin's alright between you two, huh?"

The two looked at him and smiled.

"Yes, Joseph. I think they are," Lynn said.

Joey clapped his hands together with a grin. "Teriff! Now, I got everythin' set up on the table, so what say we go in and chow down an' Serenity can tell us about her upcomin' trip?" He said this with a wink at the girl in question.

"I think that's a great idea," Lynn said. She got up from the couch and walked over to the door, Serenity following behind. However once Lynn got far enough away, Serenity went to her brother and hugged him tight. Joey froze up slightly but returned the affection nonetheless.

"What's this for?" He asked with a chuckle.

"I KNOW you said something to Mom to get her to change her mind," Serenity said in to Joey's chest. Joey blushed and smiled.

"Well, I MIGHTA said somethin' while you were out an' about. I may've told her about how you managed ta hold yer own against so many odds. Ya stood up to ol' money bags Kaiba. Ya proved yer worth as a Duelist. Hell, ya even saved my butt from restin' at the bottoma Domino Pier. After that, she realized you weren't that weak little kid anymore. Y were growin' up and could take cara yerslef. But, I think she knew that alla long. I just helped push 'er ta accept it."

Serenity smiled at him with more tears in her eyes. "Still, thanks, big bro. I know you and mom may never get very close, but it's nice to see you do things like this."

Joey shrugged, "Well, I-"

"Hey you two! Where are you? This food looks delicious and I don't want Joseph's cooking going to waste."

The two laughed. "We'll be right there, Ma," Joey called. The two then went in to a wonderful meal as a family.

As soon as the memory ended, Serenity heardthe captain's voice over the intercom.

"Attention passengers, we will be making our final descent into Paris in about ten minutes," the captain announced, "Please return your seats and tray tables to their upright positions and fasten your seat belts. We will be landing shortly."

"Finally," Serenity said as she began to stretch her arms a bit, "I thought we'd never get here."

As she did what the captain said, her mind went back to one more memory. It was one that had taken place not too long ago right before Serenity had boarded the flight.

Hanada Airport in Tokyo was bustling early that morning at almost eight o'clock. People running to and fro to get to their flights. Plains taking off and landing. It was pretty nuts.

On one side of the airport near a terminal, a small party was gathered to say good-bye to a certain someone. After turning in the permission slip to her principal, Serenity and her family worked on getting her ready to go to France. They helped her get her passport renewed, get money for her trip, and even helped her buy some new clothes. They also got to work on letting the family she was staying with, the Dupain-Chengs, know what they needed to know about her.

Now, after a month or so of preparations, the time had come. Serenity stood there facing the group of family and friends that had come to see her off with a suitcase in her hands for the plane (the rest had already been sent on the plane). She gave a smile to them all.

"I'm so excited I can hardly stand it," she said, slightly bouncing on her toes.

Yugi Muto gave a smile of his own. "I'm sure you'll do great, Serenity. You're smart enough."

"Thanks, Yugi," Serenity said. She then frowned and looked down. "I'm…I'm still gonna miss you guys, though."

"Don't worry. You'll see us again soon. It's only for a little while after all," Tea said.

"Yeah. Before you know it you'll be back," Mokuba added.

Serenity thought for a moment and then the smile returned and nodded. "You're right. I shouldn't worry. I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Of course," Ryou said with a nod.

Just then Duke jumped in front. "SO Serenity, you'll video call us every night to talk and tell us what's up, riiiight?" He added a wink with the question. Serenity giggled a bit.

"Sure I'll call you guys. Why wouldn't I?"

"Oh I know you would, but, I mean if you ever want to, I dunno, talk to someone in particular, I'm always-" Just then, Joey grabbed Duke by the back of his and yanked him back as Duke gurgled out some noises. "Alright, alright! Give us others some time, wouldja?"

Serenity laughed at that. Leave it to Joey to be overprotective. She knew Duke had a thing for her and she had gone on a few dates with him, though nothing seemed to "click" between them. Oh well. Maybe the time in Paris would leave him enough time to find someone new. From what she heard, he had girls swarming him as much as Ryou did.

Then Tristan came up and nodded to her. "Serenity, I…I really hope you have a great time learning in France. I'm sure you'll do wonderfully."

Serenity smiled at Tristan. "Thanks. You're such a nice friend to say that, Tristan."

Serenity didn't notice Tristan's slight wince at the word but he quickly formed a smile again. "R-right. Friend. Of course." Unknown to most (Serenity in particular who was still as oblivious as ever), Tristan's former intense crush on her had since cooled down somewhat. He had decided that if she wasn't going to see him as potential boyfriend material, he'd at least keep her friendship. Still it didn't make it any harder for him.

Finally, Joey and her mother came up to her. She came up to them and gave them both a big hug. "I'm going to miss you both most of all."

"We know dear," Lynn said. "But like you're friend Duke said you'll be calling us often, so we won't be far away really."

"Ma's right, sis," Joey added. "An' besides, I got a little surprise for ya. I decided ta give 'em to ya before ya left."

"Really?" Serenity asked excited now. "What is it? What is it?"

"Close yer eyes," Joey said in a sing-song voice. Serenity rolled them first but closed them anyway. She heard a crinkle and then Joey said, "Okay. Open 'em."She opened them and they then widened at what it was.

"Duel Monster Cards!"

"Yep," Joey said with a smile, "I bought a bunch of packs from Gramps' game shop for you. Now you can build your own deck. And who knows? Maybe you'll be a champion duelist someday like your big bro!"

Serenity smiled back, "I'd like that. But how will I know which ones to use?"

"Just use your instincts, Serenity," Joey suggested, "And don't forget to practice. But don't make the same mistake I did when I started and fill it up with only monster cards."

Serenity then giggled a bit, "Okay, that's good advice." She then wrapped her arms around her brother and hugged him lovingly, "Thanks, big brother."

"Anytime, Serenity," Joey said as he returned the hug and held his little sister close. Then an announcement came over the loudspeakers.

"Attention! Attention! Flight 683, non-stop from Tokyo to Paris, is now preparing to board! Repeat! Flight 683, non-stop from Tokyo to Paris, is now boarding! Please have your tickets and all necessities ready! Thank you!

"Oh! That's my flight," Serenity said, quickly unzipping her suitcase to put the cards Joey had given her in a safe place. She then picked it up. "I better get going." She turned and started running to the line of people getting ready to board. As she did, she turned over her shoulder and waved to everyone. "Good-bye, or au revoir!" She laughed at that.

Everyone else smiled, waved and called out farewells to the auburn-haired girl. As Serenity stepped into the line, she took a deep breath.

This was it. Time to spread her wings and fly.

As the plane finally came to a slow decent into the airport, Serenity looked out her window. She smiled as she saw the distant outline of the Eiffel Tower in the distance from the airport. She couldn't believe it. She had traveled 11 hours across the continent and now she was finally here. Paris, France.

This was without a doubt going to be the biggest adventure of her life.

However, as Serenity was gathering her suitcase and getting off the plane, she had no idea how right that statement would turn out to be.

The window of Hawk Moth's lair opened up as the dark villain stood in the center, butterflies rising around him.

"I sense something," he murmured. "A great power unlike any other I've ever felt before. Something ancient...something terrifying." Suddenly, a smirk formed on Hawk Moth's face. "And it may be just what I need to turn the tide in this fight."

Hawk Moth then took a butterfly in his hand and infected it into an Akuma.

"Fly away, my little Akuma," he said as it flew off. "It's time we did a little… investigating."

He gave an evil laugh as the insect flew toward Paris International Airport.

A/N: The idea of Serenity having a cancer of the eyes comes form the mind of White Pedal.