They were in a state of rather controlled panic.

Controlled in that they were relatively well organised when it came to fleeing their respective residences. Marinette dropped by Nino and Alya's first. They didn't have the bodyguards or protection that were present at the Mayor's residence. If Adrien went after anyone, it would be them. Take out two unprotected miraculous holders without anyone noticing… She found them however packed and ready to leave but otherwise unharmed. She gave them their miraculouses, they took their belongings and followed her. It was a similar story where Chloe was concerned.

They were safe from whatever had taken over Adrien. Perhaps he had been being honest when he'd invited them to seek him out. In which case, they would have to plan their next moves incredibly carefully. It wasn't something that they discussed. Instead, the group of four youths darted over the rooftops. They didn't have a particular destination in mind asides from somewhere where they could sit down and talk for a bit. They couldn't go home. They didn't want to run the risk of Cat Noir paying their families a visit. Scared, they wandered over the rooftops, ignoring the chill of the evening.

Finally, they found themselves settling down in an old building. It was disused, likely going to be torn down at any moment in the future but for the time being, it provided some much needed shelter for the frazzled group. At least, it would save them looking over their shoulders all the time, fearing the sight of an enemy clad in black with bright green eyes pouncing down upon them.

The group caught their breath. Both literally and metaphorically. Marinette felt somewhat guilty for not having told them more about what was going on but she simply hadn't had the opportunity. They formed a circle. All remained silent for a few minutes. Trying to come to terms with what had just happened and waiting until their heart rates lowered slightly so that they would be able to process things properly. She hesitated a moment before slipping the small rucksack off of her back and dumping it in front of them so that they could see the contents.

Very cautiously, her friends rummaged through. They would pick up one of the jewels before putting it back in the pile. There was no need to make a list. They could tell that all of the miraculouses usually contained within the box were now here, in this bag. Even more worryingly, the peacock broach was amongst them. Nathalie was defenceless. They contemplated the pile for a while before Alya slowly looked up to Ladybug and asked:

"Where did you get these?"

"Nathalie…" Marinette muttered quietly under her breath. "She must have figured out something was wrong. She dropped them in my room when I wasn't looking."

"And..." Chloe hesitated before speaking. "What about Adrien? What's happened to him?"

She couldn't answer that question immediately. If only because she didn't know. She'd replayed the events in her mind and she still can't understand what was going on. It was almost impossible to do so as everything had happened so quickly.

Even on the phone last night, when she'd talked to him, for the first few minutes, she'd been convinced that it was him. It had been the same affectionate, somewhat innocent voice. Then it had changed into a flash into something cruel, taunting her. That had been a man whom she didn't recognize. It wasn't even Hawk Moth although it had been enough to send a shiver down her spine as she'd listed to his invitation to come and face him. There were many possibilities, some more appealing that others.

"I don't know." She let out in a sigh. "I don't know if he's possessed, if it's a clone or if he's just gone mad!"

She didn't want to believe that was the real Adrien Agreste talking. A clone wasn't necessarily any better and she had a hard time imagining just how it would be possible in so short a time. Possessed? Their only previous encounters with possessed people had been akumas. With the butterfly miraculous accounted for, it couldn't be the cause of the problem. They would need to ask the kwamis and even they might not be able to provide much assistance given that they had so very little to base themselves on. Still shaking slightly, she changed back to Marinette. Tikki knew what had happened, the others, like their partners would need explaining to.

They wanted to know what exactly had happened. She told them everything that she knew. Beginning from Adrien's bizarre visit, which upon reflection had been somewhat peculiar. She had dismissed his attitude as being a result of the ordeal he had just gone through, not questioning it any more than that. She hadn't been exactly in her usual mindset either. Then had come Nathalie's blood chilling message and the phone call. That brought them roughly back up to scratch.

"Where is she?" Nino spoke quietly, fearing the answer.

"I- I think he might have killed Nathalie."

A terrible thought but one which had been troubling her for some time. There was little doubt in her mind that the man she had talked to on the other end of the line was more than capable of taking a life. Nathalie had betrayed him. Probably depriving him of a victory by stealing the miraculouses from right under his nose. After that, she'd sacrificed even her own jewel, leaving herself defenceless should he turn his rage against her. He almost certainly had judging by what he had said and that the assistant was still unaccounted for.

At any rate, she was unlikely to be able to help them.

Chloe shifted uncertainly, unsure how respond to the bombshell. The prospect of a murder was enough to cause all their blood to turn cold. It was one that they chose to dismiss, reasoning that she would be more use to him alive than dead. Finally, after contemplating a thought which had been circulating in her mind since they had seen all of the miraculous in the bag, the mayor's daughter spoke:

"Wouldn't Duusuu know? I get that she must have taken the broach off but up until then?"

"Great idea Chloe!" The compliment from her former rival was genuine.

They carefully got out the peacock broach. It was a miraculous which stirred many memories. At least two of its previous owners had used its powers against them: first Nathalie and then Emilie Agreste. As such, it was difficult to imagine it being used as anything other than a weapon for evil. Even recently when they'd witnessed Mayura in action, she'd still seemed to be rather intimidating. That blue skin and pale purple eyes just didn't quite seem to be human… Still, it wasn't the fault of the kwami. Duusuu couldn't help what her respective masters had had her do.

They called the kwami out carefully. Duusuu appeared on command although looked to be disorientated. It must have been strange to awaken in a place like this. The way that her eyes darted around, confused and evidently concerned. Upon spotting them however, she seemed to relax somewhat, letting out a sigh:

"Thank goodness it's you!"

"Duusuu… What happened with Nathalie?"

"Of course, she wanted me to tell you. She was really scared." The creature paused as if to ensure that they were all here. "Adrien… He isn't himself."

"We know." Marinette pressed hoping that kwami might be able to give them more information than just that. "Did she tell you anything?"

"He'd lied and wasn't keeping his oaths. She just had a bad feeling. She wanted to keep the miraculouses away from him. So when he left, she brought them to you, Marinette."

Hardly helpful. She could have worked that much out by herself. It would seem that the assistant had simply noticed some things which they hadn't, cluing her in and allowing her to steal the jewels before they could be misused.

Marinette suspected that they wouldn't get far like this. It was evident that nobody was entirely sure just what had happened to their friend. The only way that they would know is upon confronting him. That was a task none of them could particularly face right now nor did they even want to envision the implications of having to battle Adrien. It wasn't just the physical aspect, Cat Noir was a ferocious adversary but also close to them. They hadn't known who lay behind Hawk Moth and Mayura's masks. If they had, no doubt they would have had some of the same issues about confronting them.

They had to act however. The power of the cat miraculous was too dangerous to leave in the hands of someone who had clearly lost their mind one way or another. It wasn't something that the young woman even wanted to think about right now. The first thing that they had to do was find somewhere safe for them to hide the miraculous so as to ensure that there was no possible way that Adrien could get his hands on any of the ones which they weren't currently using.

"We can't say here..." Marinette declared upon reflection. "Maybe for tonight but we're going to need a better place to hide."

"Think he's coming after us?" Chloe asked glancing nervously out of the window.

"He doesn't need to. He knows we're going to have to go to him." Alya answered shaking her head slightly.

She was right. There was one thing they couldn't do and that was leave Adrien in his current state loose around Paris. He still had the Miraculous of the cat. That was enough for him to level the city if given enough time. Certainly, he could kill almost whoever he chose and it was unlikely that the authorities would be able to do anything to stop him.

That did however mean that they would have to come up with a plan, an attack plan. With three miraculous holders to defeat, Adrien would be unlikely to attack them. He would sit tight. Wait until they came to him. It was almost always easier to defend than attack and they had discovered that the Agreste Mansion was built like a fortress. He would make their lives a misery, even more so because she doubted that in his current state he would have any qualms about killing them. As Cat Noir, all he needed to do was touch one of them once, even the briefest of brushes would prove fatal if he used his fearsome Cataclysm.

"So, we're like going to attack him?" It was Nino who first brought up the subject.

"We can't." Marinette shaking her head negatively. "He might be expecting it. He could kill Nathalie. If she's still alive..."

"She probably is..." Tikki declared sounding reassuringly confident. "Adrien wouldn't kill her. Even if she means nothing to him. She's more valuable to him alive."

It was hard to fault the logic and somewhat comforting.

On the other hand it presented them with a new problem: a hostage. He would inevitably hide behind her. It was fair to assume that without Duusuu, Nathalie was helpless. It made her surrender of her miraculous all the more incomprehensible. She had given up her only chance to fight back. Perhaps she had assumed that if she didn't pose a threat she would be spared or that at least he wouldn't have another potential weapon. Then why not run?

They would have a thousand questions to ask her when they got her back. There was so much uncertainty about the current situation that it made even considering acting a virtual impossibility. One step in the wrong direction and they would get themselves and Nathalie killed, essentially handing the world over to Adrien, be he mad, possessed or a clone. Without knowing what was wrong with their friend, it made it hard to see a solution. At least with akuma victims, they'd worked things out relatively quickly. Right now, they didn't know.

"We have to get Nathalie out somehow, if she's still alive to rescue. Once she's safe, we can concentrate on Adrien." Marinette eventually summarized to the group.

"How are we going to do that?" Chloe questioned nervously. "We can't exactly walk in there ourselves."

It was a major issue. They couldn't walk in. Adrien would be expecting that. Equally, she wasn't confident in their ability to sneak inside of the building and find the woman. They needed a new approach. Someone who could get inside and wouldn't arose suspicion. That in itself would be a challenge. Nobody went into the Agreste mansion. The son was about as strict as his parents had been in that regard. That severely limited their options.

She thought about the matter long and hard. It would be impossible for any of their group to sneak into the building. They couldn't disguise themselves and scout out the situation from there…

A solution slowly became clear to her but she pushed it to one side in her mind. The implications were simply too horrifying to even begin contemplating. Not for her… She would be quite safe, it was whoever they called for help who would be risking life and limb. They spent over an hour debating the matter, trying to think of alternatives. Anything other than the plan that had already been silently formulated but that none of them dared to utter. It would be both dangerous and in many ways cruel… Still, they found themselves convinced that they didn't have a choice.

"We need help..." Marinette muttered, broken and defeated.

"But who-" Nino spoke quietly unwilling to name any suggestions himself.

"I..." She took a deep breath, trying to prepare herself for what she knew she needed to do. "Know who to ask."

It was a few hours and a brief text message later that saw her waiting quietly by the quais. It was cold and her head was intent on reminding her that she was still recovering from a concussion. The others were nearby, watching in silence and ready to intervene should Cat Noir suddenly show herself.

It wasn't long before a young man turned up. He seemed somewhat concerned, eyes wide and rushing as he came towards her. She couldn't even muster something of a reassuring smile. She could tell that he was worried. The young woman had done her best to avoid creating panic but couldn't exactly lie to him. She needed his help. Yes, it was urgent. He had to keep it to himself however. The rest of his family couldn't possibly know. It was a confusing message for her to give him and one which would inevitably cause some nightmare scenarios to make their way into his mind.

As such, he practically shouted at her as he arrived:

"Marinette! What is is! Are you okay? You look awful!"

"I'm fine..." She spoke quietly so as to try and avoid causing trouble. "Luka… I'm sorry to have to drag you into this."

"Into what? What's going on?!"

She let out a sigh, looking around nervously. It might have been late or early, depending on how you counted things but there were still some people around. She couldn't talk too openly about matters here. Unfortunately, Luka seemed to be so worried, so panicked that she reasoned she would have to at least clue him into some of what had happened and why she needed his help right now. The young woman looked him in the eye, hesitating slightly. It was too late to go back now and yet she found herself struggling to continue.

"You've got to promise to keep this a secret. You can't tell your mom or Juleka or Rose… Nobody!" She told him firmly, perhaps sounding somewhat harsh.

"I… Promise?" He didn't sound entirely sure. "Marinette, are you in some kind of trouble?"

"It's… Probably easier if I show you." She took a couple of steps away from him, giving one last look around to ensure that the coast was clear. "Tikki! Spots on!"

There was a familiar flash of light as she allowed her transformation to envelop her. She kept her eyes shut for a few seconds, not daring to see his reaction. Not once had she even dared to mention the possibility of her being Ladybug. They had promised Master Fu that they would never breathe a word of who they once were. They had to keep the secret of the miraculouses. As such, even when her relationship with Luka had become more serious, she had stayed quiet. The akumas were gone now. Hawk Moth and Mayura were behind bars. Paris was safe and their heroes had vanished as quickly as mysteriously as they had first appeared.

In many respects, it had been easier once the mask had fallen and Adrien had left. She'd tried her best to convince herself that it had been a part of a new life. That everything else had been in the past. It made her feel less guilty. Now though, there was no more running of fleeing from it, like it or not, he knew who she was and has been forced to become once more.

She forced herself to open her eyes and face the young man. He'd turned a bit paler. His expression was one of pure shock. She didn't have anything to say to him: no witty comments or apologies for having concealed the truth from him for so long. There had been a time when they had shared everything, even briefly contemplating making their union somewhat more official. Now, Luka can see her, the young woman can only imagine what he must be thinking.

"All this time… You were Ladybug?" He manages eventually, still failing to even blink.

"I was. It's complicated." She let out a heavy sigh, allowing her shoulders to slump. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you but I'm not meant to reveal my identity to anyone. Even right now, I really shouldn't be..."

Luka looked at her uneasily. She struggled to tell just what was going through his mind. Did he feel betrayed? After all, on occasion, he had fought by their side using the power of the snake miraculous. She had known his identity and yet never once during the course of their relationship had she even given the slightest hint of hers. If he chose to be angry at her and refuse to help, she would understand. Many, the young woman imagined, would view it as at the very least a sign of a lack of trust.

Of course, it was no such thing. She wouldn't have come to her if she didn't have anything but the utmost trust in him. He wasn't to know that of course. Luka was without a shadow of a doubt, one of the people she put the most amount of faith in in the world. He had a good heart and could almost inevitably be relied upon. This was a big ask however and she knew that. Indeed, a part of her hoped that he would refuse. It would keep him safe.

"You..." His voice trailed off for a moment. "What's happening? If you need Viperion then-"

"Actually-" She cuts him short. "It's Luka we need. It's dangerous though. If you don't want to I'll more than understand."

"Mari- Ladybug… You need my help. You've got it. You know I'd do anything for you."

That hurt. She doubted that he intended it to but it did. She almost felt as if she was taking advantage of that love to get him to come along. He did though and she couldn't stop him. Ladybug convinces him to come with her. Standing around exposed like this was only endangering them. If one person saw them and posted something about the return of Paris' heroes online to social media and the game would be up…

He accepted without any protest to follow her to where the others were waiting for them. Before doing so, she became Marinette once more. There was no sense in arousing excess attention and Ladybug could stand out like a sore thumb at times. They were silent on the way back. She could debrief him once they were safe. Luka wasn't even too concerned about his family much to her surprise. He explained a few moments later that they had gone to a music festival in the north of France and wouldn't be back for another week. That was perhaps the first bit of good luck they'd had.

The others were waiting for them. They were nervous, on edge. As soon as they laid eyes on the two young adults, a sense of relief came over them. They were greeted enthusiastically. Marinette had no idea if they'd thought he would accept. Whilst they were familiar with Luka, they didn't know him quite as well as she did. He seemed a little surprised to see them but somehow despite everything managed a smile.

They spent the next twenty minutes explaining everything to him. He listened quietly, taking it all in and only asking a few questions when something evidently didn't quite seem clear to him. It was a lot to dump on the young man. At least he was aware that Adrien Agreste was back in town. His expression soon turned to one of horror when they explained just what had happened only a few hours earlier. They couldn't offer as many explanations as they would have liked given that they themselves struggled to comprehend just what had happened.

"So… You're saying Adrien's possessed? Mad?" Luka managed after a while, trying to sum everything up.

"We don't know yet." Marinette confessed quietly. "We just know he's not himself and that he needs to be stopped."

Luka seemed unsettled, it was easy to understand why. The prospect of going up against Cat Noir was a daunting one. They hadn't quite explained just what they were expecting from him. Perhaps he presumed that they just needed an extra pair of hands to tackle battling their new friend. So they told him about Nathalie. That seemed to enlighten him somewhat. Behind his eyes, it was clear that he had guessed what they were going to ask of him or at least had something of a suspicion of it. He wasn't an idiot.

"We can't do anything until she's safe." Ladybug informed him regardless.

"So you need someone Adrien won't recognise to try and get her out."

They didn't answer. It was their best option. They would sneak in themselves but the chances of him noticing them were too great. Rena's illusions were unlikely to last long enough, if they could even fool him to begin with. Their best option was to send someone in to try and rescue her or at the very least to try and access if she was even still alive. It was a terrible risk. One wrong move and in the best case scenario their enemy would have two captives. That was if he was lucky, Cat Noir could turn Luka Couffaine into a pile of ash in a heartbeat if he so chose.

In essence, they were asking him to risk his life.

"I'll do it." Marinette opened her mouth, ready to remind him that there was nobody forcing him to do it. "Don't try to talk me out of it Mari… We've got to stop this."

She offered him a small smile. Words couldn't do justice to just how grateful she was. She only hoped that it wasn't too late.