ᴄʜᴀᴘɪᴛʀᴇ ᴅᴇᴜx - ᴇꜱᴘᴏɪʀ
Chapter Two - Hope

Note: I do not own the following characters
Rey Lopez/Snow Drift, Lucky Touch, her lasso as a weapon - Sci-Briana14

Bernadette "Betty" Fontaine, Celestia Lesbianne/Ice Queen (her akumatized name), Professor (Poppy) Bourgeois - GeekyCookie1

Language checkpoint
"D'accord, allons obtenir ça." - "All right, let's get this over with."

Trigger Warnings
Explicit display of physical (medium) and verbal abuse (low to medium)

~~~~

As Lila, Lorelei, Mako and Alex wrapped up their isolated café session in the school, the four were then reminded of their own detention that they were allegedly forced to serve on the account of Professor Bourgeois.

"I can get us out of serving Professor Bourgeois's detention," Lila insisted as Mako eyed the light tanned girl, now raising his eyebrow toward her direction. "Oh, yeah? How?" the latter asked in a mocking tone, which Lila caught onto. "I'm just saying. She's not exactly like the others," he later said, now avoiding the girl's deathly stare.

"I hate to admit it, but Mako has a point. We're just going to have no choice but to serve Professor Bourgeois's detention," Lorelei reluctantly said as Mako smugly grinned in her direction. "Don't take it to heart, Mako. I still think you're a idiot deep down," she sharply stated, causing Alex and Lila to laugh.

"Hey! I am not an idiot."

"Oh, please. If you weren't such an idiot, then how come you haven't bagged Little Miss Perfect as your girlfriend, then?" Lorelei cheekily shot back as Mako's face flared from embarrassment and anger. "It's a bit of a process. Besides, almost everyone knows Rey is in love with Adrien Agreste and he's hard to beat," Mako admitted as Lorelei rolled her eyes.

"The boy isn't that special. Honestly, I only want him just to spite Little Miss Perfect. If she didn't have a crush on him, I wouldn't even be seeking him out," Lorelei admitted in turn as Mako stared at the girl. "Oh, yeah?" he inquired now in a lighthearted manner.

"Who would you be seeking out if you weren't busy trying to win Paris's Little Golden Boy?"

"Now that's a personal question, which I refuse to answer," Lorelei briefly stated to the boy, who she was slowly having a crush on. "Fair enough," Mako replied in turn, not wanting to push the girl further. Though, in hindsight, it was a shame because Mako actually sorta was beginning to form a crush on her.

But no.

Mako and Lorelei had to focus on winning over Rey Lopez and Adrien Agreste, which was well... easier said than done.

"Anyways, love, how do you plan on lying your way out of this one?" Alex softly asked his girlfriend, holding her hand as Lila returned the gesture, a smirk rising up as she could see her plan come together.

"Well, there's a certain security guard who just so happens to share the same disdain towards Professor Bourgeois as much as we do," she began as Alex, Lorelei and Mako began moving closer, now leaning in to hear the rest of Lila's plan.

"Captain Abbott? But isn't he the one that just recently transferred over to our school to deal with the akuma situation?" Lorelei asked as Lila nodded. "If that's the case, then how can he possibly dislike her so early into his time here?" Mako followed up as Alex shook his head.

"Who cares? If Captain Abbott despises her, then that could work into our favor," Alex insisted as Mako and Lorelei both nodded at Alex's response. "True, but Lila, don't you think you're in over your head with this one?" Lorelei began as she took a deep breath.

"Look, Captain Abbott is a legitimate cop and besides, isn't he like Cleo's stepfather or something?" she continued. "Do we really want to align ourselves with the father of our enemy?" Lorelei added as Lila took a moment to gather her thoughts.

"I get what you're saying, Lei, but Captain Abbott isn't entirely the brightest nor is he as good-hearted as the officer paints himself to be. The guy may look like a hard target, but trust me, he's a idiot like most of the people here at this school," Lila insisted as Lorelei and Mako cautiously eyed each other.

"Okay, Lila, but I really think you're way over your head on this one," Lorelei insisted as Lila nodded. "I know, but I've been watching him for some time. He'll play right into my cards, Lei," Lila stubbornly persisted and it was enough to get the girl to move on as she didn't want to cause any friction between them.

"Alright, then let's hope this cop is our get-out-of-detention free card," Mako chimed in as Lila wholeheartedly laughed at the boy's response, her eyes now sparkling with joy and mischief — the same ones Alex had first fallen in love with.

"Oh, believe me, he will."

Not long after the four threw away their trash, grabbed their things and left the school's café, Lila, Alex and their friends all made their way to Professor Bourgeois's classroom before the four stopped at the sight of her door. As the four glanced at each other, each of them had gave a silent nod.

"D'accord, allons obtenir ça."

———————

"You four are oddly quiet," Professor Bourgeois noticed as she stared at the group, now raising her eyebrow to which her students had innocently smiled in her direction. "We are all just soaking in our consequences," Lila insisted but there was something in her tone that came across as pure mockery.

While Lila continued to smile in a polite manner, those hazel-green eyes of hers told another story as her eyes had danced in the woman's direction with mischievous glee, causing the Professor to believe the four were hiding something.

"Exactly," Mako and Alex chimed in, though their voices had lacked any real meaning of sincerity. "We just wanted to atone for our mistakes," Lorelei pitched in, but the girl's eyes were also edging the Professor.

The woman would have chalked her own reaction up to being irrationally paranoid, but the professor has been around these kids long enough to know the four's tricks.

"Are you four trying to weasel your way out of detention?" Professor Bourgeois noted at once as their eyes had widened before all of them attempted to hide this fact from her, now laughing awkwardly.

"No! Professor, why would we ever do such a thing?" Lila sweetly replied, but her voice was dripping with venom, as if irritated by the fact, she had caught on faster than half of the staff here.

That almost made Professor Bourgeois want to smile.

Not because the woman was right, but because, Lila and her friends would know their actions would have consequences.

"Miss Rossi—" Professor Bourgeois sharply began, only to get interrupted when her door had unexpectedly opened. When she had turned around, her near-smile faded away at once as she stared at the pale-skinned male with his ocean-blue eyes entered the room in his undeserving, dark navy blue uniform. From his reddish-brown hair, Professor Bourgeois knew exactly who she was dealing with.

"Captain Abbott," the Professor bitterly spoke, her tone dripping from acid at the sight of him. "Professor Bourgeois," the Captain greeted her in turn, matching the bitterness in his tone.

"It doesn't surprise me that you're keeping innocent children hostage in this forsaken classroom of yours. You were always the deceiving type, anyhow," he continued as she began to laugh.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, Poppy," the Captain sharply stated, his eyes now narrowed on her. "If that's even your real name," he later added as Poppy took a deep breath to ensure she wouldn't strangle this man in front of her students. She might have strongly despised him, but the woman had her standards.

One of those standards being no witnesses present.

"Don't worry. You four are safe now. Thank you for informing me of your teacher's poor decision," the Captain assuringly told the group, now turning to her students as Poppy clicked her tongue from the sight. "So, this is how you four really want to start off your junior year," she coldly began as Lila was prepared to step in front of her crew when the Captain annoyingly intervened.

"These four are under my custody, Bourgeois. As of now, you are physically unable to hold them accountable for anything," Captain Abbott strictly told her as the woman scoffed at once. "Yeah, okay. Where's your proof?" Poppy shot back, only to be dealt with four yellow papers.

"What is this?"

"Your proof," Captain Abbott smugly shot back as he began to usher Lila, Lorelei, Alex and Mako out of her classroom. "Hey! Who gave you permission to escort my students out? They still need to serve their time!" Poppy shot back as the Captain bluntly laughed from her claim.

"As of now, their time is served," the Captain countered, to which Poppy began to grip the papers given to him in a deathly manner. "I will now bid you, adieu," he later added, preparing to leave when the woman grabbed his arm.

"You and me have unfinished business," Poppy sharply stated, deciding she would deal with Lila and her friends on another day.

"Your nails are different from yesterday. You keep your nails polished, but today, your nails look chipped and do I suspect traces of blood underneath your nails?" she added, glancing down as the woman could see dried blood underneath his fingernails and the chipped portion of his nails.

"I was painting and no. You and I do not have unfinished business," the Captain coldly answered, only to get stopped by Poppy as he attempted to leave once more.

"I know your secret. If you lay a hand on my daughter again, I'll take the matter to court myself and expose what I know about you. You will lose everything and I, for one, can't wait for your downfall, Lance," the woman sternly whispered as Lance now grabbed her arm and holding her firmly in place.

"You don't have proof, so you legally can't hold anything against me. Secondly, Cleo is not your daughter. She's mine and how I choose to discipline her is none of your concern," Lance angrily told her, his voice now rising as he was beginning to lose his composure.

"So, how about you stick to your womanly job and teach? After all, isn't that why you lost the election against your brother?"

"The election was rigged and you know it, Lance. I would have won fair and square had someone not gotten in the way," Poppy sternly stated, eyeing Lance darkly as the officer merely scoffed at her. "Like I said, you got no proof on me, Bourgeois," he cockily said, now pulling his hand back as he held his hands up.

"But hey, I would love to see you try and convict me. I'm pretty much untouchable at this point, so you got your work cut out for you, lioness," Lance continued as Poppy bitterly laughed.

"I bet you won't be saying those words when people find out why your wife really left Chantilly," she shot back, to which Lance sharply turned around. "What did you say?" he asked as Poppy merely laughed.

"Did I stutter, Lance? You heard me," she boldly stated. "You didn't think you could just pay off her little secret, did you? I might not get you, fine, but I can get Jolene and her downfall will almost be as exciting as yours," Poppy coolly continued as Lance angrily attempted to touch her again.

Only this time, the woman was prepared as Poppy punched the Captain directly in his nose with full force, causing Lance to stagger. As the officer touched his nose, Lance felt a warm, wet liquid and when he had pulled his hand back, he saw a darkish shade of red looking back at him.

"You hit me," Lance blankly said, slowly looking up as Poppy merely smirked, her eyes dancing in a flawless victory. "It's called self-defense, love," she tauntingly told him as Poppy smugly grinned in his direction. Oh, how Lance so wanted to wipe that smug look off her face.

"Now, get out of my classroom," she added, promptly kicking the Captain out as Lance had scrambled to get back on his feet. "This isn't over!" Lance angrily but pitifully shot back as Poppy only laughed, sensing the man's lack of a strong ego.

He was only a boy who kept pretending to be a man and that was a hilarious thought to her. Lance was a joke and soon, everyone would know.

"No, Lance, this isn't over," Poppy began, agreeing with him as she proceeded to look at the Captain with a sheer amount of confidence.

"This is war."

————————————

"Max, how did I let you talk me into coming here?"

As the dark-skinned girl looked at Max with his black-rimmed glasses, a light green polo t-shirt, and pale, light grayish gamboge and brown checkered jeans, she saw he also has a love for suspenders as Max was wearing a set with a light brilliant tangelo line between two grayish amber lines and silver buckles, along with pale, light grayish cobalt blue sneakers and a blue watch on his right wrist.

"Simple. You love me too much not to refuse my invite," Max cheekily told her as the girl found herself staring at the ice rink with a level of annoyance as she was wasting her time. Every second spent here could be utilized by the girl pouring time and energy into her... hobby.

"Oh come on, now. You needed to get out more, dear cousin," Max smartly shot back, much to her irritation. "I'm just fine keeping to myself and doing my own thing, Max. Besides, people disappoint me," the girl insisted as Max rolled his eyes from the girl's comment.

"This lone wolf mentality you have is going to get old really fast, Betty. Besides, I want you to meet my friends," Max followed up as she began to scoff. "Friends are a waste of time," the girl simply countered just as she heard the first set of ice skates closely come near her and her cousin.

So as the girl turned away from the short slender teenage boy with his medium-brown complexion, coily-kinky brown hair, and moderate tangelo eyes of his own, she went to surveyed the group, surprised to see that all of the other guys appeared to be wearing eyeliner [or at least, that's what she had assumed] than her cousin, who had realistic eyebrows.

But that was besides the point!

Dismissing that unwanted discovery, her eyes had first focused on the light Latina girl and who she (presumed) to be her blonde boyfriend. Upon observing the olive-skinned girl with her authentic white pearl necklace, she saw the girl wearing a grey shirt with long-sleeves, a pair of black leggings and black ice skates with white laces on as she had attempted to keep her balance.

Rey Lopez - threat level relatively low, could make for a easy target but remains to be seen if this is true.

Before the girl fell though, she was caught by a fair-skinned teenage boy with brushed-back blond hair swept to the right. He also has emerald-green eyes and a rosy tint on his cheeks, nose, and the tips of his ears. As she looked, Bernadette saw he was about half a head taller than the baker girl.

"I got you," the male told Rey, his eyes trained specifically on her as Bernadette rolled her eyes from the excessive display of affection. It was gross and pointless, well at least to her, it was rather distracting.

"Thanks, Adrien," Rey softly said, now blushing as she proceeded to be helped by the blonde, who had been oblivious to her blush. As she observed his white button-down jacket with an upturned collar and sleeves rolled up above his elbow, which he kept unbuttoned.

Underneath, Adrien wears a black t-shirt with five horizontal stripes around the chest, which are all colored, from top to bottom, yellow, brown, bright green, navy blue, and purple. As such, he wears blue jeans and orange sneakers with white laces, and a logo of a black butterfly in a circle on the sides.

On the ring finger of his right hand though, Bernadette saw a sliver ring which would have caught her attention if the ring itself wasn't so bland-looking.

Adrien Agreste - threat level relatively low, could make for a easy target but remains to be seen if this is true.

"Hey, Max! Who's the girl next to you?" Adrien casually asked, flashing Bernadette a friendly smile to which the girl had masked her annoyance with ease as she wasn't surprised by the boy's inability to remember her.

"I'm Bernadette, Max's cousin," she greeted, flashing a smile as the two shook hands just as Adrien proceeded to help Rey keep her balance. "Sorry, I thought ice skating would be easier than dancing, but clearly I have some things to work on," Rey said, though Bernadette could sense a level of frustration that the girl was trying to keep at bay.

"But anyways, I'm—"

"Rey Lopez, Paris's very own Little Miss Perfect," Bernadette finished with ease, holding out her hand. "Word gets around, but regardless, it's nice to meet you," she later added as Rey's eyes faltered from the title before being replaced by one of warmth. "You too! I hope we can become friends!" Rey softly but happily told her as the girl had to refrain herself from laughing.

Bernadette Fontaine did not do friends.

"Yeah, sure," Bernadette slowly told the girl, masking her sarcastic tone to which Rey then begin to grin at the idea of making another friend. "Yay! Well, me and Adrien will leave you two be, but it was nice to meet you!" Rey happily responded before she and blondie took off.

"Look! You already made a friend," Max excitedly told his cousin as Bernadette only blinked in his direction, unsure how he got the idea that one interaction with a person suddenly made her friends with someone.

Still, Bernadette had no intention to correct him. Upon hearing the next set of skates, Bernadette prepared herself for the next round of internal analyzing. "Hey, Max!" she heard the girl greet before facing her.

"Oh, hey, aren't you Bernadette?" the girl asked as Bernadette slowly nodded as a small smile came on her face. "You must be Marinette," she said with pure contempt, to which the teenage girl with a fair complexion followed by shoulder-length black hair with blue reflections nodded in turn.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng - threat level low, no need to make her a target

"Yep! Though, I'm trying to figure out why you're so familiar...." Marinette sheepishly told her as Bernadette saw the girl's very dark gray blazer with rolled-up sleeves; the inside of the girl's blazer is lined in white with light fuchsia polka dots, and it has black trimming.

Underneath, Marinette wears a white t-shirt with black stitching and a flower design below the collar. The design itself has pink flowers and black leaves. She wears pink rolled-up jeans and light pink ballet flats with reddish brown soles before noticing her black earrings and her light pink purse with a thin black strap over her right shoulder.

"Oh, yeah! You're Paris's top culinary student!"

Looking to her side, Bernadette stared at the Martiniquan Creole-French girl with her heart-shaped lips, grayish gold eyes, and a mole above her forehead, noting how the girl's hair was rather wavy and a reddish-brown ombre color, growing slightly past her shoulders and having brilliant tangelo tips.

"My mother never stopped talking about you," the girl explained, pushing back her own
black horn-rimmed glasses, with a white spot on each side with her outfit consisting of a white tank top underneath a short-sleeved plaid T-shirt with white, beige, orange, and purple stripes; light blue jeans, and white sneakers with black tops, wearing a brilliant crimson lipstick.

"Oh! You must be Marlena's daughter, Alya Césaire," Bernadette stated as Alya softly nodded. "Yep! That's my mom. You were her mentee, right? She really loved seeing the way you grew," she explained as Bernadette gave the girl a genuine smile. "Well, tell her I said thank you," Bernadette sincerely said as Alya nodded.

"Will do."

Alya Césaire - threat level low, no need to make her a target

"That's why! Well, thanks for coming through, Alya," Marinette said, now blushing from embarrassment before looking at Max's cousin. "But again, I'm sorry for forgetting. If you don't mind me saying though, your macaroons could use some work," she gently advised as Bernadette nodded.

"You should teach me your secrets," Bernadette replied as Marinette cheekily laughed at her response. "No, but I can give you some tips," she insisted as the girl nodded. "Fair enough," Bernadette said in turn as she saw the two best friends linking arms, saying farewell and returning back to the rink.

"Before you ask, Marinette and Alya like to visit me when I'm in charge of our school's bakery," Bernadette sharply said just before Max could ask her a series of never-ending questions. "Fair enough," Max simply said, though he was secretly pleased to know that his cousin wasn't a complete loner.

"Is that all of your friends?" Bernadette promptly asked as Max sheepishly smiled in her direction. "Well... not quite," Max shyly admitted as she proceeded to laugh. "At least, people like you," the girl had said, though it meant she was stuck greeting more of her cousin's friends.

"Hey! Are we too late to join y'all?"

As Bernadette briefly looked up, she saw Rey's eyes lock up with the slender teenage girl of cobalt blue eyes, pale pink lips, and light honey blonde hair as her smile grew. "Rey-kins!" the girl greeted as the two hugged. "Chloé!" Rey happily greeted in turn as the girl went to apply her own skates before she, Chloé and Adrien linked arms and proceeded to continue their skating.

Chloé Bourgeois - unknown; further evaluation is needed before making a conclusion

"Glad you could make it, Celestia. I got worried something had happened to you," the slender, Japanese teenage girl with creamy-pale skin, a lighter dusting of light-brown freckles on her cheeks and the bridge of nose, sharp, slanted moderate vermilion eyes, light scarlet lipstick and thick straight black hair with blue reflections told her, the girl's bangs swept to the left in a face-framing bob that levels with her chin with dark blue tints.

Kagami Tsurugi - superior swordsmanship; low-to-slightly-moderate threat; best to keep as an ally

"You're so sweet, but I was just running a bit late. That's all, Kagami," the dark-skinned girl — now known as Celestia — had softly said, wearing a light blue dress to set off her dark brown eyes. "In that case, shall we?" Kagami offered as Celestia looked back at the girl Bernadette vaguely recalled, who gave her a thumbs-up. "Yeah, we shall," Celestia softly said, taking the girl's hand after she had applied her skates on.

Celestia Lesbianne - excellent swordsmanship; low-to-slightly-moderate threat; best to keep as an ally

"Hey, Max! Sorry, I can't stay long!" the dark-skinned French girl exclaimed, now out-of-breath as Max had frowned upon hearing her response. "But you just got here," Max insisted as the girl tiredly nodded.

"Y... Yeah, I know but s... something came up," the girl insisted, briefly coughing before she had looked up, now making eye contact with Bernadette, who had now recognized the girl from her dark amber (almost yellow) eyes and her rather long jet-black curly hair which went long below her shoulders.

As she saw the girl's pastel pink blazer [with her light pink T-shirt] and matching pants, Bernadette saw the girl had a pair of her own long black socks and a rather dark shade of pink high-top sneakers.

"Betty, this is the person I wanted you to meet," Max said at last as Bernadette refrained from telling her cousin that the two met prior. "Betty, meet one of my good friends, Cleo Monroe. She's the daughter of Officer Monroe and her stepfather is none other than the famous Lance Abbott," Max explained as Cleo chuckled.

Cleo Monroe - not a threat; best optimized approach is having her as an acquaintance

"It's really not worth mentioning," Cleo had insisted, though she was rather reluctant to make eye contact with her again. "Anyways, I got to get going before—" she began, only to get cut off as the doors opened, ceasing all movement as Bernadette and the others glanced up to see Paris's top rising star.

Lance Abbott - target-in-question (more motive needed to consider a execution option)

"Oh, Cleo! There you are!"

As Lance publicly hugged his daughter, he made sure to keep his voice from raising as he spoke. "You had me worried, sweetheart," Lance insisted, stroking her hair when in reality, he was furious at her.

"S... Sir, what um what are you doing here?" Cleo nervously whispered to him as he gave the girl a quick, cold look before releasing a laugh that came off as natural to most of the group, except for Celestia and Bernadette, who could pick up on the forced approach he kept trying to use.

"You know exactly why I'm here," Lance coldly whispered to her, keeping his anger to a minimal as he saw the flash of fear in her eyes. "I was going to come back, I swear. I just wanted to say hi to my friends and—" she whispered, attempting to talk in a fast-paced manner when he only gave her a look that rendered her silent.

"You lied about your intentions and we need to address the mouse situation, because you clearly did not listen to what I told you earlier," he had quietly whispered, furiously looking at his daughter as Cleo did her best not to shake in front of her friends. "We're leaving," Lance added and as he held out his hand, she reluctantly accepted.

"I'll see you all later!" Cleo responded with a unusual amount of perkiness that made Bernadette suspicious as she kept her eyes trained on the girl's stepfather. "Bye, Cleo!" the majority of the group had called out. "Well, that sucks. I thought her schedule was free," Max said, which caught her attention.

"Free?"

"Yeah, she doesn't work today and when we were talking last week, Cleo said she would come stick around. I guess if this was going to happen, she could have just called me but she doesn't have my number or anyone's number for that matter," Max briefly said with a sigh. "Just her parents," he continued.

"Interesting...."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Cleo, wait!"

"Celestia, please," Cleo had urgently whispered in a low tone, wishing the girl would just turn back around and go back inside the ice rink. "Cleo, let's go," Lance sharply told her, now attempting to grab onto her arm when Celestia had intervened.

"Whatever you're planning, girl, stop it," Cleo now urgently whispered to Celestia, who had chose to ignore the girl. "She doesn't have to go anywhere," Celestia firmly stated, now standing directly in front of Cleo, who could just see her stepfather becoming livid, which meant if he was livid....

"Cleo is not yours to control!" Celestia sharply protested as Lance darkly glared over at his daughter, who had timidly lowered her head from shame. "Control? My dear, I don't know what it is you're talking about," Lance confidently told the girl, his voice evident of any anger, which had made Cleo nervous.

"I just wanted to spend some quality time with my beloved daughter," Lance assured the girl as he brightly smiled in Celestia's face, while his eyes were mocking her. He had every intention to win this battle and had no intention on losing his control on Cleo to some French girl with a strange last name.

"Celestia, look, I'm fine. I just forgot about the time. Please just stop," Cleo insisted, her voice devoid of emotion as her stepfather began to intertwine his ring finger around his daughter's lockets. "Isn't this right, my little rose?" Lance further added, to which, Cleo meekly looked over in her stepfather's direction.

"Yes, sir," Cleo reluctantly answered, refusing to meet Celestia's eyes as she felt her own fate being sealed. "See? There's no control, here, dear. Only a loving father caring for his child," Lance briefly told Celestia, whose eyes were only forced on the girl's switched up demeanor.

"This isn't love," Celestia had firmly countered back, to which Cleo silently attempted to facepalm herself, only to stop as she remembered her face. "You're not loving her; you can't just stand the idea of Cleo ever leaving you and Jolene," she continued, to which Cleo took a quick look in Lance's direction to see her stepfather's eyes seething with rage.

Cleo really had to get Celestia to stop talking... now.

"Unlike you, I actually care about her because she's my sister!" Celestia sincerely told Lance as Cleo felt her father's tense grip on her. "Make your friend stop or I'll do it for you," Lance darkly whispered, quietly chuckling as Cleo pushed her father away, while trying to control her own nerves.

"Celestia, I'm hurt that you would accuse my father of something he's not. My father is a caring and loving man. I don't know what kind of conspiracy theory you got going on in that head of yours, but please understand, you and I are not sisters. We will never be sisters, so put that theory of yours to rest," Cleo stated, her voice devoid of any kind of emotion as she didn't want to alarm the girl any further.

"Cleo—"

"Celestia, please, just go before things get worse. I'll be fine, I promise, just go get inside the rink and go ice skating with Kagami and the others," Cleo whispered to the girl, who was on the verge of tears. As she saw the girl's eyes sparkle, Cleo felt a knot of despair in her stomach, knowing she was the one to cause it.

"It'll never change," Celestia whispered as a wave of realization dawned on her, to which Cleo felt her heart sink. "I'm sorry, Clementine. I'm sorry for everything," she later told Cleo, whose eyes widened in the moment. "Celestia—" Cleo began, only to get cut off as Lance forced his daughter to move to the side.

"You've lost, child. You can keep trying, but me and Jolene will always be a step ahead of you," Lance strictly told Celestia, now mocking the girl, who forced herself to blink back her tears. "You never stood a chance, love." he followed up, now chuckling as he stroke the girl's hair.

"Cleo will always be mine to control and you can tell Poppy that if either of you decide to interfere in me and Jolene's lives again, I will guarantee both of you that the girl's safety will greatly be compromised," Lance sharply concluded, staring at the girl's little friendship bracelet.

As Lance stared at the icy blue and white colors, he could tell that it was his daughter's handiwork as Lance proceeded to grab the bracelet (which Celestia had failed to stop) before stepping on the bracelet, the beads and string coming undone.

"There. For your troubles," Lance lightly snarled, tossing the broken bracelet back to Celestia, who only stared at him as she felt her anger rising. "Now get lost, tramp, and don't make me repeat myself twice," Lance coldly concluded to Celestia clutched onto her broken friendship bracelet.

"This — This isn't over, Captain Abbott. You and Jolene will pay for what you're doing. Oh, I'll make sure of it," Celestia angrily whispered back, now out-right threatening the police officer before she silently ran off.

"Celestia!"

On the other side of Paris, a window sill opened as a light purple glow could be seen in the distance. In the dark, shadowy part of the room, a secluded older male resembling an actual moth gripped onto his cane with a smirk.

"A swirl of emotions makes the ever-perfect storm for my latest akuma," the mystery man spoke as he touched a pure, white butterfly which was now corrupted with dark, purple energy as the butterfly mindlessly flapped its wings.

"Go to her, my little akuma and fester her dark heart!"

As the akuma began flapping away from its master toward the direction of the source of the negative energy, Celestia kept running before she made her way to the back of the ice rank as she angrily punched the wall.

"This isn't fair! Abbott and his stupid wife shouldn't be getting away with this! No one should be getting away with things!" Celestia angrily exclaimed, continuing to punch the wall until her anger gave way and she fell on her knees, clutching what was left of the bracelet as she curled into a ball and began to cry.

As she did, Celestia wasn't aware of the akuma that had made its way to her bracelet, so the moment the akuma made contact with her broken accessory, she felt a initial shock overwhelm her as the girl lift her head, now frozen in place.

"Hello, Ice Queen," Hawkmoth greeted her at once. "My name is Hawkmoth and I can give you the ability to freeze all those who've done harm to your sister. You could turn Paris into a winter wonderland and reclaim justice at last," Hawkmoth began as Celestia began to ponder the possibility of getting her revenge.

"All I ask in return is that you get me the miraculouses of Miraculous Ladybug, Chat Noir and Snow Drift. Do we have a deal?" Hawkmoth followed up as Celestia faintly sworn she heard someone call out to her.

No matter.

The girl had sworn revenge and Celestia intended to make good on her promise.

"We have a deal."

As Celestia smirked from the thought of getting her revenge at last, an akuma symbol faded from her eyes as she was covered in a blanket of dark purple and gold ish clouds, which soon faded away, leaving the girl in a completely different look.

Now donning a soft, light blue, ice crystallized dress with her crystallized ice skates, her eyes were a dark shade of blue and the remains of her bracelet had morphed into a new staff as Celestia, the power rushing through her. The girl hadn't been aware that she was being watched as a pair of amber eyes widened from the sight of her.

"I'll protect you, Cleo, and I'll stop anyone that gets in my way. Everyone will have no choice but to bow down to the Ice Queen now," the newly akumatized villain spoke as the akuma symbol reappeared on her eyes.

"Remember to keep your eyes on the objective. Get my miraculouses first, then you can do what you wish," Hawkmoth strictly reminded the girl as she simply laughed, her eyes now glowing.

"Of course, Hawkmoth. I won't disappoint."

——————————

"Celestia's been compromised!"

As Cleo barged back into the ice rink, she looked at the group with a saddened look as Kagami stared at her. "What happened?" she concernedly asked as Cleo took a moment to gather her thoughts.

"She got akumatized because of me a... and now she's going to turn Paris into her winter wasteland unless she's stopped!" Cleo exclaimed, now out-of-breath as Rey, Adrien and Marinette all began making excuses before the three quickly left, an act Bernadette had quietly noticed.

"What did you end up doing that you could have led her to become Hawkmoth's latest victim?" Chloé chimed in as Kagami and Max glared at her. "This isn't Cleo's fault," Kagami and Max told her as Cleo rubbed her hand.

"Something stupid, but that's beside the point," Cleo insisted, not wanting to recall the things she had said. "We need to go," she said just as the doors opened.

"There you are, my sweet, little rose. You know, you really need to give me a heads-up," her stepfather insisted as Cleo found herself unable to move when he placed his arms on her before looking at the group.

On the other hand, Max, Chloé and Kagami had all sighed in relief at the sight of the officer.

"Okay, well as long as Captain Abbott is here, we should be safe from..." Chloé began as she briefly eyed Cleo. "She's calling herself the Ice Queen," Cleo briefly explained as her stepfather laughed, but everyone seemed to ignore this. "Well, we should be safe from the Ice Queen until the heroes show up," Kagami and Max finished as Chloé thanked her.

"Which is great, considering that Daddy hired Abbott to protect us," Chloé chimed in as Cleo looked at her, trying to mask her horror. "Mayor Bourgeois hired him as a guard for our school?" she slowly asked as Chloé briefly laughed. "Uh, duh! Daddy said our school needed the best and I had suggested him as a recommendation," she said as Cleo only stared at her, unable to say anything else.

"Have no fear. I'll be here to protect all of you," Lance insisted as Cleo silently held back her scream. "She's after you, sir!" Cleo exclaimed as Bernadette saw the way his face had changed to a look of fear before being replaced by a false sense of confidence. But it was the way Kagami and Max had awkwardly stared at each other.

"Why would Celestia be after your father out of all people?" Max and Kagami asked the girl as Bernadette leaned against the wall. "She just couldn't handle the truth, but have no fear! I'll talk sense into the girl," Lance confidently answered as Bernadette shook her head, quietly chuckling.

"The truth? What exactly was your truth?" Bernadette shot back, which had caught the group's attention as Lance stared at her, a look of recognition dawning on him. "You," he said, which caught Max's attention, as he looked back at his cousin with a sense of curiosity and concern.

"I see you remembered me at last, Captain. It took you long enough, considering that men like you are supposed to be smart, but hey. Maybe the role of Captain isn't meant for you," Bernadette wittingly shot back, a look of mischief in her eyes as Lance stared back at the girl, unable to say anything back.

Luckily though, the attention quickly shifted away from Lance as the temperature in the ice rink rapidly began to drop. As the group began to look, everyone noticed ice crystals forming as Max grabbed his cousin's hand. "Okay, we got to go," Max quickly insisted as his cousin held him steady.

"But Captain Abbott is here to protect us. How could we leave when his precious ego is at stake?" Bernadette lightly mocked as Cleo shot the girl a stern look. However while she had acknowledged the look, Bernadette paid Cleo no mind. "Come on, Captain. Be the hero," she later mocked once more as Lance held his tongue.

"Gladly."

As the ice rink began to get more colder with each passing minute, Bernadette and Max had grabbed Kagami as the two pulled the girl over to their side just as Abbott began to step away from Cleo, who had the nerve to hold her stepfather back.

"Sir, this is not a smart idea. Just get everyone out and go," Cleo desperately insisted, trying to protect him [not because she cared, but because Cleo knew her mother would not be able to function without him].

"I wouldn't be in this position if you never came back to warn those so-called friends of yours," Lance sharply whispered as Cleo took a solemn breath. "I was just trying to think about their safety. You know, like a cop would," she meekly said as Lance only scoffed at her response.

"How many times have I told you? You're not a cop and you'll never become one. All you did was endanger everyone here in this very room," Lance told her as Cleo's face fell at the sound of his words, not wanting to think it was actually true.

"Whatever happens to them or me is on your hands and when I come back, you are in serious trouble," Lance concluded, now walking away as Cleo tried to defend herself, only to end up sighing to herself.

As she ran to meet up with the group, curious got the best of her, so now she was poking her head out as she saw her stepfather guarding the rink.

"He's an idiot."

Glancing over to her left, Cleo saw Bernadette poking out her head out as she rolled her eyes. "He's still my father, you know," Cleo said as Bernadette blinked. "You're a fool for calling that man your father," Bernadette harshly countered back as Cleo glared in her direction.

She had the words ready to go, but the look of disdain caught Cleo off-guard, so now the words stayed stuck in her mouth, the taste of disappointment unwittingly lingering on her tongue while Bernadette felt some degree of empathy for the girl.

After all, Cleo was probably one of the people (outside of her cousin and his family) that Bernadette actually liked. Luckily, neither one had to address each other as the girls saw the snowflakes in the corner.

"She's here."

———————————

As Ice Queen touched the rink, a look of glee lingered in her eyes as the ice began to grow, which continued to crystallize as she saw the officer, only to frown when she caught the lasso coming in her direction.

"Come on out, leopard," Ice Queen bluntly stated, touching the heroine's lasso as Snow Drift unwittingly flew, only to get caught by Chat Noir, who luckily came to her rescue by helping her stand up as Miraculous Ladybug dealt with removing the police officer out of harm's way.

"So, the leopard, the cat and the bug are finally here. Paris's little trinity of superheroes all here in this very rink," she continued, now looking at the three heroes. "Just give me your miraculouses and I'll let you all go. Besides, the faster I get your miraculouses, the sooner I can get to the cop you're all choosing to protect," Ice Queen added with a bored tone.

"Well, aren't you a cold sight?" Chat Noir began as Snow Drift chuckled, only to stop as she stared at her lasso, which was beginning to grow ice on her. "Snowflake!" the feline cat panicked as Ice Queen smirked.

"Well, when your partner freezes, I'll have her miraculous in no time," Ice Queen said as Snow Drift willed herself to grip the icy lasso. "Well, I guess you'll have to do better than that," Snow Drift confidently said.

Perhaps, it was because the heroine had the snow leopard miraculous or maybe, it was icy akuma, but the ice physically stopped growing on Snow Drift and began, morphing itself onto the heroine's costume, causing the heroine to have crystallized spots on her spandex suit.

"Impossible," Ice Queen said in disbelief as Snow Drift smirked from her response. "No, just the opposite, really," the heroine later boasted as Ice Queen growled at her. "Fine. I'm getting your miraculouses one way or another," the akumatized villain spoke as she stabbed her staff into the ice, creating a crack in the center as the three heroes struggled to keep their balance.

As the trio moved to higher grounds, the three heroes began to see ice monsters slowly forming from the ice crack. "M'lady, Snowflake, this is a snow-isaster!" Chat Noir later explained as Snow Drift chuckled, which caused Ladybug to look at the two. "What? It was funny!" Snow Drift protested.

"But now isn't the time for puns! We need to figure out where Ice Queen's akuma could be," Ladybug insisted as Snow Drift stared at the villain's outfit. "Maybe, the akuma is inside one of her ice skates," Snow Drift stated as Ladybug blinked.

"Maybe... but we should reflect on the lucky charm before—" Ladybug began, only for her yo-yo to glow as she received a pair of scissors. "Scissors?" Snow Drift and Chat Noir asked as Ladybug took a deep breath.

"Okay, well, I might be able to come up with something if—" Ladybug began, only to watch as Chat Noir leaned against the pipes. "Kitty, what are you doing?" Snow Drift asked as the feline hero grinned.

"Testing out the icy grounds, but I need you and Ladybug to cover me. I'm going to try to see if I can create an opening," Chat Noir insisted as Ladybug began to see how she could use the scissors. "Okay, we got your back," the two said as the three heroes took off.

While the three heroes took on the ice monsters, Bernadette, Max and Cleo had looked for any openings. When the three came back, Max was already explaining to the group of a few possibilities he had discovered before everyone agreed on the exit near the front of the rink.

"Okay, we might be able to leave while the heroes are distracting the Ice Queen, but this requires us to be—" the three spoke, only to get interrupted by Cleo's stepfather, Lance, who (out of any time he had) chose that moment to run to the group, which attracted the attention of the monsters.

"Stealthy," Bernadette, Max and Cleo mumbled amongst themselves as everyone gave Lance a harsh look. "It's not my fault none of you chose to include me in your plans!" the officer snapped just as the group were stuck being together.

"What were you going to do? Leave me to fend for myself?" he continued as Bernadette merely blinked, as if the answer was already obvious.

"Yes."

"No," Cleo quickly corrected, stepping in front of Lance. "We were definitely going to include you, but you were on the other side of the rink," she said as Bernadette crossed her arms. "That was never going to be the plan," the girl countered back as Cleo took a deep breath.

"Well, the plan can surely have a few adjustments," Cleo simply insisted as Bernadette only laughed at her response. "Sure, but not when you're risking the life of everyone else for that idiotic stepfather of yours," Bernadette swiftly countered back as Max quickly intervened between the two.

"Ladies, we got bigger problems here!" Max pointed out, gesturing to the ice monster at large. "Get the cop and freeze anyone that stands in your way!" Ice Queen strictly told her gigantic ice monster, creating a slippery slope for the group. While the group were able to move in time but Lance, Max and Cleo weren't so lucky.

"Captain Abbott! Max! Cleo!"

"We're fine!" the three had called out to the group [though in particular, Bernadette was more concerned about the safety of Max and Cleo, not so much Abbott] as the three had struggled to retain their balance. "Judging by my calculations, there's a 98% chance we will become ice statues," Max said as Lance boasted a laugh.

"Son, we still have the two percent and I'm willing to take those odds," Captain Abbott heroically said as Max stared at him in awe while Cleo simply rolled her eyes from her stepfather's statement.

"Come at me!" her stepfather yelled, charging at the ice monster as Cleo and Max were able to skate their way to safety, at least until the two heard Lance's scream. "Come on, you two are almost there!" Bernadette and the others exclaimed as Cleo stared back at her stepfather and sighed.

"I have to go back for him," Cleo insisted as Kagami and Chloé helped out Max, who was now in the safety zone. While Kagami, Chloé and Max were heading to the initial exit point, Bernadette was busy trying to convince Cleo to come along. "Forget him! Lance wouldn't help you if you were in his position!" she insisted as Cleo merely sighed from her words.

"I know, but someone has to try," Cleo sincerely told her as Bernadette stared at the girl, who was dead set on saving her stepfather. "You're an idiot, you know that? He could be setting you up," Bernadette pointed out before she sighed. "Fine, just be careful, Cece," she said as Cleo nodded.

"You too, Spider," Cleo said before heading back into the battlefield as Bernadette tried to tell herself that the girl's safety didn't matter that much to her as she attempted to run off with the others. As Cleo heard her stepfather's scream, she picked up the speed as she was soon beside him.

"Give me your hand," Cleo insisted as Lance reluctantly hesitated. "Sir, no one is here to see you," she pointed out, but still he refused. So when the two were spotted, Cleo took it upon herself to drag her stepfather along until the monster's latest thump caused her to fall while her stepfather slid to safety.

"Sir!" Cleo exclaimed, trying to stand, only to fall back down as Lance was able to climb himself up to safety. "Hmm, no," he said as her eyes widened. "Consider this moment as one of your consequences for going against my orders," he continued as the girl silently clutched her fist.

"Goodbye now," Lance added as Cleo wanted to call after him, only to find herself with a bigger issue as her ice skates were beginning to ice over. She tried taking the skates off, but she couldn't do it without enduring the risk of getting ice on her body, so she was stuck on the ground as the monsters spotted her.

"Oh no...."

Bernadette tried to run with the others, but she found herself stopping and lingering back to see if Cleo was going to pop up.

"Cleo has Captain Abbott with her," Max chimed in as Kagami and Chloé attempted to comfort her, but none of their efforts had helped. So when the four saw Captain Abbott heading in their direction, the group went to approach him.

"Where's Cleo?"

"The ice monsters got to her first," Lance solemnly answered, lowering his head to mask his smirk as Kagami and Chloé's eyes widened. "I tried to save her, but by then, it was too late," the man continued, now raising his head as tears began to develop in his eyes, which got Max's attention.

"Oh no...."

"No, no, no," Bernadette sternly repeated, shaking her head as she went to approach the man himself. "Where is she?" the girl stubbornly asked and as she looked into his eyes, Bernadette knew her answer as he proceeded to chuckle.

"I knew it," she later mumbled, pushing the man aside as she ran back toward the rink. As the others ran to catch up with her, Captain Abbott had no choice but to follow. As Bernadette made her way back to the rink arena, she saw a glimpse of the snow leopard heroine.

"Lucky Touch!" Snow Drift called out as Bernadette leaned against the railing to see the heroine touch the soles of Cleo's feet to melt the ice. From there, the heroine carried the girl as Bernadette found herself sighing in relief. "Thanks," Cleo sincerely said as Snow Drift nodded before taking off to rejoin her team.

"You're okay!" her stepfather exclaimed to the group as he pulled the girl into a forced hug. "I was so afraid that we lost you there for a second," he continued as Cleo resisted the urge to laugh. Her stepfather was purposely saying these things so he would make her look stupid in the event she had confessed.

"Yeah, luckily Snow Drift was there to help," Cleo countered back, the two now pulling away as she was embraced by the group. As such, Lance had his eyes glued on the snow leopard heroine, a dark disdain toward the girl. "Yeah, luckily...." Lance had reluctantly mumbled to himself.

"Cataclysm!"

As Chat Noir touched the ice skate, he was dismayed to know the akuma wasn't there as Ice Queen chuckled.

"You missed," Ice Queen shot back before holding the feline by his face. "Now your ring will be mine," she said, only to have her arm restricted by a lasso. "If you want his ring, you are going to have to go through me," Snow Drift sharply said, holding the villain's arm steady.

"Pfft — I'm not afraid of a cat and his little leopard," Ice Queen bluntly stated before the villain heard chuckling. As the villain turned around, Ice Queen saw Ladybug was near her staff as the polka-dotted spotted girl smugly looked at her direction. "No, but you should be afraid of all of us," she said before Ladybug held the scissors.

"No!"

As Chat Noir and Snow Drift worked together to restrain Ice Queen, Ladybug dropped the staff to reveal one of the beads as she used the scissors to cut through the string. As she did, the akuma flew out, leaving Hawkmoth's latest victim defenseless as Ladybug she caught the butterfly in her yo-yo.

"Gotcha!"

As soon as Ladybug caught the akuma and purified the akuma, she grinned. "Bye, bye little butterfly," she softly said before tossing the scissors lucky charm directly into the air.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

As the scissors dissolved into a energy of pure red and white light, any damage caused by Ice Queen was immediately reversed by the bug's special power. With the damage reversed and Paris back to normal, the heroes and the others watch as the Ice Queen reverted back to Celestia Lesbianne.

"Pound it!"

As Ladybug, Snow Drift and Chat Noir fist-bumped, their miraculouses all began to beep with Ladybug's own earrings following a minute after. "Well, this has been fun but..." as the three heroes trailed off, the trio chuckled.

"I gotta bounce!"

———————————

"Adrikins! Rey-kins! Where have you two been? You missed out on everything!" Chloé exclaimed as she hugged her two best friends, who had hugged her back. As Adrien and Rey both made their excuses, the two had shyly looked at each other before bashfully looking away.

"Well, neither of you will believe what I saw!"

While Adrien and Rey were getting caught up to speed with Chloé, Marinette got her information from Alya. "It sounds like today was a eventful day for the LadyBlog. It's a shame that I missed out on meeting the heroes," she said as Alya laughed at her best friend's response.

"Next time. I'll try to get Ladybug or one of the heroes to stick around," Alya sincerely said as Marinette grinned, now laughing. "Sounds great," Marinette cheekily told her as the two then rejoined Kagami, Max and Celestia.

"Is it possible the bracelet simply got lost, Tia?" Max gently asked as Celestia shook her head. "No... At least, I didn't think it was," she admitted before sighing. "Hey, I'm sure your bracelet will turn up soon," Kagami told her as Celestia gave the girl a small smile in her direction.

"Thanks... It's just Cleo made the bracelet for me on Friendship Day and I wanted to see if maybe I could repair what was left of it," Celestia truthfully admitted, before she had looked around to see Cleo and Captain Abbott weren't around. But before she could ask, Kagami and Max had beat her to it.

"Oh, yeah. They had left some time ago, but, Cleo sends her regards," Max softly said as Celestia found herself frowning. "Oh," she mumbled in disappointment as a twinge of sadness still lingered within her.

"Ice Queen..."

"Did you hear that?" Celestia asked Kagami, who frowned as she shook her head. "No," she said as the girl awkwardly chuckled. "Maybe, it might have just been the wind or something," Celestia countered back as Kagami reluctantly nodded. "Sure," Kagami briefly said, agreeing with her.

As Bernadette saw Max chatting with his friends, she smiled to herself when she got the idea to tell him something. However, she didn't want to interfere with his friends and with a free opening, Bernadette decided to take advantage of her cousin's distraction as she proceeded to leave the ice rink as though she was never there.

"Hey, where did Bernadette go?" Marinette and Alya curiously asked as Max began to look around before shrugging. "She said she had some things to do earlier, so maybe that's what my cousin is doing," Max simply said, unaware of what his cousin actually did.

"Well, that's a shame. I was going to ask her if she had wanted to hang out with me and Alya," Marinette said, though there was disappointment in her own tone. "I'll inform her and let you know what she says," he said as the girl's eyes lit up. "Yay!" Marinette exclaimed as Alya and Max laughed.

"Alright, now come on. Let's get out of here," Kagami and Celestia both said in sync, now linking arms with the group as Rey, Adrien and Chloé had all linked arms before the teens left the ice rink and went their separate ways.

——————————

While the city of lights soundly slept, Celestia could not. She kept tossing and turning in her sleep, only to become fully aware of her surroundings when she heard a knock on her windowsill. At first, the girl had tried to ignore the knocking but when it become too much to bare, she finally got up.

At first, Celestia had wanted to snap at whoever was knocking on her windowsill when she heard a faint 'hey.' Glancing down, she gasped from the sight of the girl in front of her, who looked as though she was completely drained.

"Cleo?"

"Were you expecting your girlfriend?" Cleo playfully teased, even in the state she was in as Celestia softly blushed. "Kagami is not my girlfriend and you know this, Cinders," the girl firmly stated as Cleo chuckled.

"I know it's late but I just came by to give you back your bracelet," Cleo briefly insisted, holding the newly repaired friendship bracelet as Celestia gasped at the sight of the detailed sliver snowflakes in between each bead, but more importantly, the bracelet weren't come undone so easily.

"I thought I had lost what was left."

"No. I was able to repair what was left and tried to update the look while retaining the originality of the last bracelet," Cleo softly explained. "Though when I was repairing the bracelet, I did—" she later added, only to get cut off by Celestia, who had affectionately hugged her.

"Cleo, this is beautiful. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Cleo softly said, preparing to go when Celestia caught a glimpse of her arm in the moonlight. "What happened here?" she asked, lightly holding the girl's arm as the latter didn't answer. That was enough to clue her in as Celestia took in the vertical marks on Cleo's arm.

"Cleo—"

"It's fine. Besides, I deserved it. That's what he told me, anyways," Cleo mumbled as she held her arm. "How did it happen?" Celestia asked to which the girl sighed. "He broke a empty whisky bottle and I made the mistake of trying to defend myself," Cleo quietly explained as Celestia's face fell.

"Please tell me you don't plan on going back."

When Cleo didn't answer, Celestia felt her heart crush at the sight of seeing her little sister figure in her state. "Cleo," she repeated, her voice now pleading as Cleo took a deep breath.

"I..." Cleo began, only to take a look at Celestia as she sighed. "No, I don't plan on going back. Not tonight, at least," she followed up as she awkwardly rubbed her hair. "I was wondering if I could stay here with you instead. Just for the night," Cleo timidly added, half-expecting to get rejected when Celestia happily grinned.

"Of course."

So as Celestia helped Cleo change into another set of night-wear clothes (as the girl might have bought clothes for her sister figure in the event she actually came to her house), she also took it upon herself to clean the girl's bruises and newly inflicted wounds.

Once that was finished, Celestia had roped Cleo into her bed (as Cleo had wanted to sleep on the ground and that was unacceptable). "Thanks for everything," she heard Cleo mumble as Celestia smiled.

"You're welcome, Cleo. Sleep tight," she softly told the girl, moving the blanket slightly over. "Goodnight, sis," she heard Cleo whisper as Celestia's heart swelled in size from the response.

As she looked at her ceiling of glow-in-the-dark stars, Celestia found that the universe was giving her a sign. There was hope for her that things would get better and though, she couldn't catch Lance Abbott or that scheming wife of his today (or any day for that matter), she was determined to prove that the two were not saints.

But until then, Celestia would take the small victories.

"Goodnight, Cleo."