"Alright everybody," Ladybug was saying, projecting her voice to be heard throughout the whole room. "The reptile house has cleared out and it is the easiest to defend. Cat Noir and I are going to lock you in, alright? Nothing will be able to get you. Just stay calm and stay together until we can clear this up."

Nino sat in the entrance of the reptile house next to Cat Noir, ears up and alert but his tension clear by his body language.

"You alright?" Cat Noir asked quietly, the dog looking up at him. It wouldn't be long now before they got to work, and ever since deciding to help Nino had seemed apprehensive.

"This isn't something I'd normally do…" Nino responded after a while, his gaze shifting to watch Alya weave between Ladybug's legs. "This sort of hard-headed 'run into a war zone' type thing is more Alya's style. I'm not really…" he fidgeted, looking away from everyone before looking back to Cat. "Brave. Or anything."

To his surprise Cat Noir snorted, crossing his arms and almost looking… mad.

"You are helping save Paris," he said crossly, "and you've done so much already. You're trying to keep everyone safe why do you still think so little of yourself?"

Nino drew back, staring up at the hero in confusion but Cat wasn't looking at him anymore. "Uh," Nino said, unsure now. "Are you cool?"

"I'm fine," Cat said, his expression contradicting his words. After a moment he said, "Something you said before has been bothering me."

"I'm sorry," Nino said quickly, standing to move in front of him in an attempt to get Cat to look at him. "What did I-"

"Adrien is not worth more than you," he said, his tone so biting and sharp that Nino withdrew, his tail drooping and head cocking in confusion. He froze under Cat's hard gaze. "You shouldn't put his safety above your own, and I'll bet anything the only reason you're like this in the first place is because you were protecting him. Right?"

Nino faltered, the dog looking bewildered as he sputtered, "How did you-"

"Lucky guess," Cat said with a sigh, his arms unfolding and falling to his sides. He ran a hand through his hair, rifling through it roughly. He looked at Nino with distant unreadable eyes, saying, "I wonder how he feels about that. Seeing his best friend go down because of him."

Nino didn't move, locked into Cat's eyes before he looked away uncomfortably, ears lying against his head.

"You're important Nino, so make sure you understand how people are going to feel if you do something like that. I bet you anything Adrien wants you safe too."

"You're one to talk," Nino muttered to himself, Cat's fake ears swiveling and the hero grimacing. When he asked though Nino said, "Nothing. You're right… sorry."

The hero sighed, kneeling and reaching out a hand that Nino walked towards without hesitation, not minding it much when he felt the weight of his hand on his shoulder.

That's how they were when Ladybug finished up with the class, the boys turning to watch as both Ladybug and Alya separated from the group.

"And where are you going?" Ladybug asked pointedly, looking down at the red furred cat who looked very unaffected by the question.

"With Nino," she answered simply, strutting forward with her large fluffy tail held up high.

"Alya-" Ladybug tried but the cat shook its head, forging on until it stood beside the dog of the group.

"I've been with him since we woke up and it might have only been an hour but I've figured out how he works. He gets distracted, he'll zip off after a plastic bag if I don't keep him focused."

"I will not!" Nino barked indignantly, glaring at Cat Noir when he snickered.

"Mhm," Alya hummed, wiggling her butt before leaping onto Nino's back, sitting primly with her tail curled around her. "I can't find Marinette without Nino, and my best chance of running into her is sticking with you guys."

Cat Noir grimaced, looking at Nino like he was expecting support. "What no words of protest?"

Nino shook his head, his expression already resigned and a bit exasperated. "Nah. Waste of energy."

"Good!" Alya purred, "You've learned."

"Mhm," Nino muttered, looking back at Ladybug over his shoulder. "Uh. Should we start?"

The superheroine sighed, gathering her thoughts before saying, "The last known for sure sighting we have is in front of the panther exhibit. It's the only clear smell we're likely to find… but there are some ground rules," her voice dropped, becoming more serious and in control as she approached the two animals, both of whom didn't dare not pay attention. "You two stick with us, and if we tell you to run you do it. Cat and I have done this a hundred times, we know how to handle ourselves. When we feel like we're getting close you guys fall back and stay behind us okay?"

"Okay," Nino answered, heart thumping unevenly now as Alya nodded in agreement.

Cat Noir stood, following Ladybug's wordless prompt to lock up so they could leave. The entire time Cat was locking the doors Nino watched him nervously, flinching when Ladybug spoke to him.

"It's gonna be fine Nino," she said softly, reaching down to pat his head. "We're going to do this as safe as possible."

"Mm," was all he replied. Alya seemed to notice this, and after a moment he was aware of a gentle, consistent purring. He could feel the vibration of it on his neck as back and admittedly it was pleasant, enough so to calm him down a little.

The group looked up as Cat Noir headed back, staff slung over his shoulders as he walked forward. "Are we off?" he asked, grinning at them all before swinging one foot in the direction of the panther exhibit.

"Anything Nino?" Ladybug asked quietly, as if afraid to disturb him as he paced quickly back and forth. The Shepard would stop suddenly, neck craning as its large black nose worked tirelessly, spurring the canine to turn again back track with a deeply focused expression.

The dog made a sort of noise, a low rumble of sound that made the cat on its back lean forward, one ear pricked.

"What is he mumbling?" Cat Noir asked from his place out of the way by Ladybug, watching the two animals as well as the perimeter.

Alya waited, listening again as Nino muttered, padding around the area. "He's saying names mostly." Nino stopped at the section just in front of the open gate of the panther cage. "Marinette," Alya relayed, the dog moving a little. "Then he said my name." Nino turned, heading father over and casting about. "Then he said… Adrien. Then his own name, but he said 'Person me.' I guess the smells are different between himself then and himself now." Nino seemed to linger on that pair of scents, but after a moment he unconsciously let a quiet whine slip out before heading away from it, sniffing again. He strode over to a planter, bending so far forward Alya had to shift to stay on.

"Max," Nino said loudly, speaking for himself as he lifted his head, tail wagging. "Max, Kim, panther, and a fourth smell. That's our guy."

"Nice work!" Cat Noir praised him, smothering a chuckle when Nino's tail wagged even harder. The canine was practically vibrating now, constantly shifting its weight. "Hold on buddy, wait just a sec," Cat warned him, holding up a claw hand and laughing aloud when he whined.

"Can you pick it out well enough to follow it?" Ladybug walked forward, crouching beside the two animals as Nino hopped a bit in place.

"Yes! I know where it goes, this way!" He pointed with his nose over the planter and towards the zoo entrance, one paw raised slightly like he was about to take off.

"Relax!" Alya placated, planting one paw between his ears and forcing his large eyes to look directly up as she leaned into view. "You can't just sprint away! We need to keep pace with the heroes."

"I'm going to," Nino grumbled impatiently. However his tail also drooped a bit and he looked frustrated. "I can't help it okay can we just go?"

Alya looked over one furry shoulder, making sure to get a nod from Ladybug and an eager thumbs up from Cat before saying, "Alright Nino, go get him!"

He barked once involuntarily before surging forward, Alya digging in her claws to stay put but he didn't complain. He vaulted the planter in one powerful bound, legs extended and driving him onward with new seemingly limitless energy. He vaguely heard Cat Noir and Ladybug shout in surprise from somewhere behind him but he didn't slow down, he trusted them to keep up as he tore through the distance between him and the akuma.

He followed the scent that lingered on the ground, taking a logical guess that it headed straight for the entrance to save time. He turned a hard corner, scrambling a bit to keep his balance but he kept at it, breathing deeply and analyzing things as he went. It was at the entrance that he stopped abruptly, Alya yowling in surprise as she was thrown over his head, twisting to land on four feet.

"Nino!" she chastised him, fur poofed out as she hissed in irritation. "Get a hold of yourself!"

"Busy," he muttered, shooting her a grin before bowing his head again, darting one direction then the next as he mumbled the picture he was getting. "Kim, he was here, at the entrance. He was here for a while, he didn't leave till recently but he smells different. He was here," he explained, jabbing at a particular spot as he kept sniffing. Alya took a deep breath, trying to think as the heroes landed next to them.

"Kim must have been hit," Alya explained to them. "Nino says he can smell Kim's scent here laying on the ground for a while, which means he must have been knocked out and changed."

"Changed…" Nino muttered, wandering a little farther towards the edge of the street, brow furrowed. He looked up at the heroes watching him, confused. "Not Kim."

"You just said-" Alya started, but Nino shook his head, eyes… concerned.

"No, I meant it before. There was Kim but- I-" he faltered, trying to explain. "Okay. The you smell and the me smell at the panther cage, that was our person smell, yeah?"

"Yes?" Alya said, not sounding incredibly sure of herself. The canine huffed, trying to find the right words.

"Person smell and animal smell is different, but with us and everyone from class it was mixed. It smells like Alya and cat, you I mean. Before it just smelled like Alya."

"When she was a person you mean," Cat contributed, trying to keep the gears moving and Nino looked grateful for the help.

"Yes. I smell Kim, person smell Kim. Then I smell Kim and something else, mixed together, right?" Nino pointed with his nose at the lip of the street he had been obsessing over. "But here? It's just something else. It's the animal smell, but by itself." He paused, looking wary. "No Kim."

"No Kim…" Ladybug echoed, looking at Cat Noir before saying quietly, "That's not good."

"Can you tell us more?" Cat Noir asked gently, kneeling down on one knee and gesturing to the space around them. "Was he alone when the smell changed?"

Nino looked around, ears lowering a bit. "I… can't tell. No? I can't tell times well, only places. But, the akuma smell and the panther smell, they are both strong here where Kim must have been sleeping. Like uh-"

"Like they waited?" Alya finished, Nino nodding.

"Yeah. I think they waited for Kim to wake up as an animal. Then whatever changed the smell happened, then the akuma left." He gestured into the deserted street. "That way."

"Did the animal smell that was originally mixed with Kim also go that direction?" Ladybug asked, gesturing for Cat Noir to move forward towards the dog. Nino looked nervous again, calming a little when Cat knelt next to him and laid a hand on his back.

"Uh…" Nino said slowly. "I… think-" He looked around, head lowering a bit. "I don't know. I think so but, I can't tell when. I don't-"

"Nicely done," Cat said quietly, Nino looked up at him surprised. Cat grinned, gesturing in the direction Nino had indicated. "Can we follow the akuma that way?"

"I don't think so," Nino answered, surprising them. "It fades, I think it goes up but the scent in the air is gone already."

"That must be when he flew off…" Ladybug theorized, remembering Alix's claim of the shapeshifting akuma.

"B-but!" Nino said, trying to still be helpful. "The panther didn't fly away. It walked, it doesn't change shape like the akuma does. They seemed to be in this together, if the panther followed after him we can follow it and let it lead us to the akuma! Right?"

Cat Noir blinked once before leaping to his feet. "Right! Well done! You can track the panther?"

"Yes!" Nino announced, padding in place and already ready to go. "The scent gets muddled with a bunch of other stuff but, I can follow it. There are a lot of animals up ahead, I can hear them too. They must be all over the city by now."

"It doesn't look like there are any people left in the streets," Alya spoke up, bounding towards Nino since they seemed about to leave again. "There are probably hundreds of animals around by now."

"If it's people who were changed they are either asleep or hiding," Ladybug said, striding forward to stare into the city. "We follow the panther until the akuma hits the ground again, then we follow that till it hits the source."

"And if the akuma gets impatient and goes for us first," Cat laughed, grinning as he put his hands on his hips, "then it just saves time."

"Alright team we have our plan," Ladybug announced, turning to watch as Alya climbed back into her seat on Nino, Alya looking eager and Nino looking mostly determined. The Shepard's stance was strong, focused on what he was being asked instead of his fear or hesitations. It was an incredibly single minded look that she had never seen on Nino before, the look more comparable to service dogs. It was a slight change that she noticed and filed away, looking away when Nino looked up at her. Probably nothing, but worth keeping track of.

"Let's get this guy," Cat Noir said happily, standing beside Nino before gesturing forward and declaring, "Lead the way!"

"Yes sir!"

Into the city charged a German Shepard, a fluffy red cat crouched on its back as two superheroes followed closely. Occasionally there would be a bark and a sudden change of direction, but the team stayed with him. Every individual tensed and ready for a fight.