Chatting to an equally concerned Marinette on the phone only further convinced Adrien Agreste that he should be doing more than just sitting around twiddling his thumbs, while his only childhood friend could be in mortal danger.

...Or, in the guise with which he hoped to assist in Chloe's search, his 'paws'.

"Come on lazy, stop stuffing yourself silly with stinky cheese and help me transform right now." Adrien commanded of his glutinous feline companion currently spread-eagled on the sofa watching trashy television.

"What? You don't mean… you're actually going to go down there?!" Plagg gestured to the Le Grande hotel on the big screen he appeared to be hypnotized by. "Look at all the cops they have already! They've got the joint heaving with 'em! Do you really think Chat Noir can do something for the girl that the law can't? Why don't we just stay in, and watch the drama unfold in hi-def stereo sound? I'll make my special cheezy popcorn!"

"Plagg, don't you remember? That 'girl' was my only friend in the world for years before I went to school. You might not believe this because of uh, recent 'changes' in her behavior, but her warm smile and infectious laughter got me through many hard times in the past." Adrien sighed wistfully for a moment, before turning his attention back to the present. "Besides, you know we can't stay in all day. We have school, then piano practice, later we're meeting Kagami…

"Correction. It is you who's decided to do all those boring things. I'm just being dragged along kicking and screaming for the ride. Oh, the joyless ardors of magical servitude!" Plagg exclaimed in a sorrowful voice, like a tragic hero in a hammy stage play. "Just because The Master's gone, you think you can take full advantage of this poor tortured soul. Well it's wrong, I tell you… it's wrong. If we kwamis had our own union, you wouldn't dare take such outrageous liberties with us!"

"What have you got to complain about?! Compared to others of your kind, you're living on Easy Street!" Adrien was desperate to leave, but not before correcting his stubborn friend on a few key points. "All you do when we're not patrolling the city is languish about the place, filling your oversized belly with dairy products! Most other kwamis, when not in service, just spend their life sitting around in a box! If you'd like to live in the same conditions as them, I'm sure it can be arranged…"

"Argh! Okay, I get it! I'll be good! I'll be good! No pickets or strikes, I swear!" Adrien helpfully reminded Plagg that, all in all, the rebellious feline had a pretty sweet deal everything considered. "...But even so, I bet if you asked your Dad real nice like, you could get the day off school to deal with your 'grief'. It doesn't seem fair does it, that Marinette gets to do that and you end up having to attend, in the midst of your darkest hour..."

"Wow, you can be so caring when you want to be, Plagg. What a shame it's only ever motivated by getting your own way." Adrien rolled his eyes at the black cat's latest suggestion, knowing full well how his fiendish little mind worked by now. "Nope, we're off and that's the end of it. Better make that hunk of Camembert your last… you don't want to travel on a full stomach, do you?"

Grumble. "I s'pose I have no choice, then. Even if I refused, you'd do that irritating thing where you say those awful words and I'd get vacuumed up by that darn ring. Might as well accept my fate, but I tell ya… this is no way to treat a god." Mumble. Plagg finally admitted defeat in his attempts to skip 'work' for the day and shoved as much delicious cheese in his fanged mouth before departure.

"Oh, is that what you are now… a 'god'?" Despite his overall depressed mood due to Chloe's disappearance, Adrien couldn't help but be mildly amused at Plagg's new prestigious self-imposed classification. "Hate to break it to you, but while gods can live forever and have awesome powers of destruction, they also don't tend to be four inches tall with a non-stop craving for farm produce. That is, unless all the lessons I've ever had about Greek Myths were a lie."

"The ancient Greeks?! Please. What did those guys know anyway? And I should know, I've met most of them. Who in their right mind would fly to the sun with feathers glued together with wax, or agree to spend eternity balancing a planet on their back?! Sounds like a perfect recipe for lumbago, that!" Plagg indicated his dissatisfaction with the comparison, whilst reluctantly floating over to await his inevitable fate. "I am part of a new breed of smarter, handsomer mystical beings who'd never get involved in such foolishness, so forgive me if I feel personally offended by your prejudices…"

"That's fine by me. Just as long as you do it on the way to the hotel. Claws out!" Plagg's stalling tactics had finally worn out Adrien's patience, and like Tikki before him the loquacious kwami was interrupted mid-sentence before being unceremoniously pulled into the blonde's ring.

When the transformation sequence was complete, Chat Noir wasted no more time in vaulting straight out of his bedroom window to aid in the search for his dear, dear friend…

...But not before sneaking a quick peek at a treasured picture of them together as little kids, perched high up on his mantelpiece.

I'll find you, Chloe. I've never forgotten the oath we made together that dreadful day when things started going wrong for both of us. Even though sometimes I suspect you have...

…

"W-What could it be, Sir?"

"I-I have no idea, officer. This certainly wasn't the design on the material when we bought it. Any thoughts, Ladybug?"

"Sorry Mayor, I'm as in the dark on this as you are. And you're telling me this wasn't on here last night, before she went to sleep? Most peculiar…"

Andre, Ladybug and the anonymous police officer (his name was 'Gerard', FYI) had speedily made their way to Chloe's recently-vacated room, and now stood in various states of confusion staring at the heiress's plush bedspread.

The impeccably-made sheets and wonderfully-fluffed pillow were much less interesting however, than the large garish circular pattern on the mattress, once you lifted the blankets. It was almost like someone had landed a flying saucer on there, except the huge yellow marking seemed to glow of its own accord.

"U-Um, I stopped putting my daughter to bed when she was about six at her insistence, so I'm not sure about her nightly routine after that. I do know everything she buys in the big-name stores though, since they appear on my bill and she insists on showing off her purchases to me before she stashes them away in her closet, possibly for good." The mayor's confession of his daughter's wastefulness was less interesting than what was to follow. "...And this particular item definitely didn't have… whatever this giant circle pattern is on there before. W-What could it possibly mean?!"

"I don't know, but if it can help provide any clue as to Chloe's whereabouts, I'd say it's worth investigating. After all, it's not like we have any other leads to follow up on." Ladybug reasoned this strange phenomenon was as good a place to start as any. "Hmm… now, that's intriguing."

"What is? What is?! Come on Ladybug, speak up!" At his wits end for any crumb of comfort during his ordeal, Andre wanted to know the second anything new was learned.

"Well, nothing. It's just… can someone turn the light out for a moment and close the curtains, please?" Ladybug indicated she might have a notion, but she needed complete darkness to demonstrate it.

"I got it, I got it!" One of the many police officers present, who'd temporarily suspended their search to stare at the newest discovery with awe, was quick to fulfil both of Ladybug's wishes.

"Thank you. Oh yes, it's just as I thought." Ladybug said with a nod, now that everything was pitch black, apart from a glaringly bright light emanating from the heiress's bed. "You see that? The circular shape is voluminous, about where Chloe must've been asleep. When I said I was 'in the dark' earlier regarding this situation, I had no idea it would provide the answer…"

"...And what's wrong with things 'glowing in the dark', M'lady? Surely you don't have a problem with this nocturnal cat's night vision? If you wanted to seriously hurt my 'felines', then you're a 'whisker' away from doing it."

What the… Ladybug was momentarily startled at the sudden presence of two equally radiant shapes standing out in the darkness, although these newest ones were of a greenish hue and much smaller than the larger pattern on the bed.

That was before the flirtatious tone, trademark bad puns and the sensation of a tail gently brushing past her leg clued her into their owner. "You better turn the lights on again, I guess."

To those who weren't already aware, Chat Noir had arrived on the scene. He winked a greeting at the exasperated Ladybug and the nonplussed mayor, before adding. "What's the matter… aren't you pleased to see me-ow? I was once told by someone very wise that this is an 'equal' partnership, was I mew-informed?"

"You know very well why I'm annoyed. You never respond when I call you up for a job, and when you do bother to show, it seems to be with the sole intent of scaring me half to death!" Ladybug shook her head at what she regarded as downright unprofessionalism. "Why don't we ever arrive at the same time? Ever heard of a meeting spot? Maybe we should agree to one… and stick to it!"

"Sorry, M'Lady. This kitty is a wild one, and needs to play by his own rules. But rest assured: When you need me the most, I'll be there. You have my word on that." Eager to put her fears to rest, Chat Noir dropped the humorous facade briefly to reaffirm his commitment to the cause.

"Sure you will, 'kitty'. Until a shiny bauble distracts you on the way there, and you end up chasing it instead of helping me in saving the day." Ladybug's tone was sardonic in nature, but she seemed to accept her partner's solemn words of responsibility and so dropped the matter for now. "Anyway, what do you make of this marking? It appeared at the same time Chloe went missing, and I was wondering…"

"Yeah, I heard most of the details coming in." Chat Noir strolled past Ladybug and the Mayor to keenly examine the mysterious shape. "Hmm, can't say this is really my department. Maybe we should speak to someone who's 'in the know' about this kind of thing? Get it 'forensically tested'?"

"I see we share the same taste in crime shows. But that aside, it's a good idea. Now, who could we talk to who might know about this sort of thing…" Ladybug began pacing up and down whilst deep in thought, as the mayor bit his nails and Chat leaned on his staff.

"You know, this isn't the only unusual thing to happen this morning. A friend of mine had a baby dumped on her doorstep… and you think we have it bad." Chat Noir regaled the pensive Ladybug with a brief tale, as if to relieve the tension. "She has no experience in taking care of babies whatever, yet her parents insist that she stay behind today to look after it. I tell you, some people…"

"W-What? U-Uh sorry Chat, I just remembered something very important, and I have to leave this second!" Unexpectedly, and completely out of the blue, Ladybug was in a state of absolute panic. "You've got almost as much experience as me, why don't you take over here for now and I'll be back later to look at all the evidence and decide our next move. Get a lot of nice pictures and tests going, you know what to do. This is your chance to prove to me you can 'up your game', as they say. O-Okay anyway, bye for now!"

"Um, okay… bye then, I guess?" Chat Noir gave Ladybug a half-hearted farewell wave that wasn't reciprocated as she yo-yoed away in typical fashion. "Geez, that was random. Was it something I said?"

"Erm, Mr Chat Noir? It's the Mayor here. Do you really think Chloe is alright? I'm not sure I could go on, if I thought anything bad had happened to my angel..." Andre was much more used to dealing with Ladybug than her leather-clad partner, but trusted him enough to ask the all-important question.

"She'll be fine, Mr Mayor. And we won't have a moment's rest 'til she's back safe and sound with her loved ones. " Chat Noir said with confidence and determination, whilst watching Ladybug fade away into the distance. "What I can tell you is… If it is kidnapping, knowing Chloe as I do, it's the criminals I feel sorry for."

…

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yee-ha! Longest chapter so far. You don't have to believe me, just count the words. Or maybe just read them instead… that sounds like more fun. Anyway, till next time then… :)

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