Alya shut her laptop, frustrated with what she had found. Or, more accurately, what she hadn't found.

When she got home, the first thing she did was tell Renard what had happened, as he demanded to know. Once he heard the truth, Renard asked if he could be alone with his thoughts. Pitying her poor Kwami, Alya obliged to his request and went to take a cold shower. But no matter what, Alya couldn't stop thinking about Undead Eliza and her warning. Once she got out of the shower, she had gone on her computer to learn more about what a Vixen could be.

"Nothing." Alya spat. "Absolutely nothing more than a female fox." She plopped backwards onto her bed, trying to relax her tense nerves.

Suddenly, Alya felt her phone buzzing from next to her. She groaned, then rolled over to see that it was a call from Adrian.

"The heck?" She muttered before answering the call.

"Adrian?"

"Hey, Alya. How are you feeling?"

Alya sat up on her bed. "Uh... Fine, why do you ask?"

"I heard that you got really spooked earlier, I wanted to ask you if you were okay. What happened?"

"I know you're my friend, but it seems unusual for you to be this concerned about me."

"Under usual circumstances, I wouldn't usually be probing into the situation too much. But I figured from what you said to Marinette, you couldn't tell her everything, and that this was something to do with your alter-ego. I also came to the conclusion that you'd want to talk to someone about what you saw, but you couldn't just talk to anyone."

Alya blinked. "Okay, first off, when'd you talk to Marinette? You guys almost never talk. Second off..." Her voice trailed off. "Well, you're absolutely right."

"I ran into Marinette at her family's bakery. I saw she was just getting out of Chloè's limo, so naturally I got curious. She also looked a bit nervous even before I approached her, and she said it was unnerving to see you so shaken up."

Alya sighed and darted her eyes around her room. "Alright. I'll tell you what I saw. Just hang on a minute."

Alya stood up and headed towards her window, opening it and climbing out onto the rusty fire escape of the apartment building, shutting the window just short of a few centimeters before speaking again. "Okay. I just wanted to be sure no one could hear me."

"Oh, okay."

Alya thought for a moment, and then laughed dryly. "Heh, I don't even know where to start... Well, do you remember when you and Ladybug got Akumatized?"

Adrian grunted. "It's impossible to forget."

"And the previous Volpina who got killed in action?"

"Yeah... Where are you going with this?"

"Well, once she got stabbed, and the two of you ran off, I ran to help her and I took her to the nearest hospital. It was abandoned, so she revealed her identity as an Italian girl named Eliza. No matter what I tried, I couldn't save her, and in her dying moments, she passed on the miraculous to me and begged me to avenge her."

"That's how you became Volpina?"

"Yeah. And today, while I was out with Marinette and Chloè, I saw her."

"You what?!"

"I saw Eliza, Adrian. At the store. She stared at me with cold, black, dead eyes. She looked like a walking corpse, everything lively about her gone and rotten. She walked up to me and said, Beware of Vixen."

"Oh my gosh... What- no, who is Vixen?"

"I don't know." Alya spoke, exasperated with her lack of knowledge on it. "I couldn't find anything more than it being a term for a female fox." She scoffed to herself. "A warning from beyond-the-grave, from Eliza herself, and I can't even find out what it means."

"It's okay, Alya. Even I don't understand a word of that warning. It's not your fault." Adrian paused. "Wait a minute, a female fox?"

"Uh, yeah. What about it?"

"Um, you're Volpina. The FOX superheroine. Doesn't it seem a little suspicious that the former Volpina gives you a warning to beware of some sort of Vixen, even more fox symbolism? I mean, I can't be the only one noticing a pattern here, right?"

Alya gasped. "How didn't I see it before?!"

"Don't beat yourself up about it. Maybe it just took hearing it all at once to notice the pattern."

Alya sighed. "Yeah, I'm probably being too hard on myself... I tend to do that when Eliza's in the center of things."

"You still blame yourself for her death, don't you?"

"I-"

"Alya take it from someone who blamed themselves when someone they cared about disappeared, blaming yourself isn't going to help."

"I know." Alya sighed. "I still can't help but think I could've done more."

"Try not to think on it too much, Alya. And I even though I never knew her, I don't think she'd want you blaming yourself."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks for listening, Adrian."

"Thanks for telling me. Well, you should probably get some rest now, it's pretty late."

"Yeah, probably. Not you, though?"

"Nope. Pulling an all-nighter here, drank way too much coffee earlier. Waiting for an epiphany on how to help Nino."

"Well, good luck with that. I need my rest over here."

"Thanks. See you in two days."

"Huh?"

"The festival, Alya! Don't tell me you already forgot."

"Oh... That's right... We have a festival in our honor..."

"Uh-huh."

"Well, I'll definitely need my sleep for that. See you then."

"Bye, Alya."

"Bye."

Alya pulled the phone away from her ear and hit the end call button. She opened the window and climbed back into her room.

Alya saw Renard flying around her room anxiously and felt bitterness rise up in her throat.

"Do you hate me, Renard?" She asked blatantly.

Renard stopped dead in midair and turned to face her. "No! Why would you think that?"

Alya pursed her lips and sat down on her bed. "Because I'm not her. Because I'll never be as good as her. Because if I died, you wouldn't be fluttering around like this."

"Who are you talking about, Alya?"

"Eliza, Renard. Who else?"

"Wha- I'm not allowed to think about her at all, now?"

"That is not what I said, and you know it!" Alya growled. "I bet you wish I was dead instead of her."

"I'd never wish that, Alya! It's just-"

"Just what??"

Renard sighed. "Eliza and I had a very complicated history. She was a complicated person who did some things that she regretted and paid the price for. And even though she abandoned me, I never held anything against her because we had a job to do."

"Of course, nothing against her." Alya rolled her eyes.

Renard realized he had chosen his words poorly. "No! That's not what I-"

Alya scoffed and crossed her arms. "I don't want to hear it. Why don't you go see Master Fu and find a way to bring her back to life if you miss her so much."

"Wait a minute..." Renard murmured to himself, and then his eyes widened. "Alya, wait! I have an idea-"

"I don't care anymore, Renard! Go and visit Master Fu if you want."

Renard looked like he didn't want to leave Alya in this state, but as he also didn't want to upset her any more, he sighed and flew out of her window.