The most nerve-wracking part of all of this was the fact that Chat thought it too easy. They'd made it out of the prison, outside, and were currently running along a stone path that led to what Chat guessed was the main house. It was larger than the other surrounding buildings, and he could see a larger number of guards standing outside. If he were to find Marinette anywhere, it would be there. And hopefully, by now the Dragons would be with Her.

Kim, Nino, and Max were running along behind him, each carrying weapons that they had stolen off the guards they'd confronted. Chat felt much better having his weapon in his hands again. They'd left his spear leaning up against a wall. Amateurs.

Being locked behind those bars, he'd felt so helpless. Now, he felt as though he could take on anything in front of him, and there was a clear goal in his mind.

A rustling from above caught his attention. Though it could have just been the wind, Chat knew there wasn't a breeze strong enough to be creating that much shaking in the trees. He held out his arm, signaling the others to halt. Each held their weapons out in front of them. Chat knew they couldn't stay standing here for long. They were too out in the open, risking being noticed at any moment.

It only took a moment for their supposed adversary to drop out of the trees, however. Even before they came up out of their crouched position and stood to their full height, Chat recognized who it was.

"Kagami," he said, greeting her with a nod of his head.

"You look horrible." Kagami grimaced, turning her nose up at him.

Alya landed next, walking up to Kagami and resting her elbow on her shoulder. "Well, they have been in prison. I wouldn't be surprised if Cash was dumping all his shit down there."

"You know these two?" Max asked, lowering the knife he was holding only slightly and narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"Unfortunately, yes," Chat answered with a smirk. Kagami's expression remained blank while Alya stuck her tongue out at him.

"Does "unfortunately, yes" mean we can't trust them?" Max asked.

"If you don't want to take his word for it, how about mine?"

Chat was almost startled by the unfamiliar voice that now joined their group. It took him a second to recognize her face, not hidden under the cover of night. Max seemed to recognize her as well, though he didn't have time to question how a theater performer and the Green Dragon would know each other.

"Fei!" Max and Kim both shouted in surprise, relief crossing their face.

"What are you doing here?" Max asked.

"Well, we're making a move against Cash," Fei said, placing a hand on her hip. "And you're mom asked us to find you if we could. Lucky we ran into you."

Max seemed to tear up at this. Fei seemed surprised when the two boys ran over to her and threw their arms around her neck. She stood with her hands at her sides, unsure of what to do. Chat wanted to laugh at her awkwardness, but he couldn't find it in himself to.

"This reunion is very sweet and all, but we need to get moving," he said, eyeing the buildings nearby for any guards. Chat turned to the Dragons. "Where's the Princess?"

"We were just going to look for Her," Kagami said. "We ran into you instead. I'm sure She's alright-"

"She is. I've seen Her," Chat said. "Despite the fact that you sent Her in here. Alone-"

Alya pushed on Chat's chest, forcing him to take a step back. He hadn't even noticed that he'd been advancing on them. She stared deeply into his eyes, trying to calm him. "Hey," she said, matching him as he took a deep breath. "Take it easy. She's no more than a half a mile from us. We're going to get to Her soon."

"I'm sorry," Chat apologized looking down at his feet. He wanted to kick himself. Of course, he shouldn't be taking out his frustrations on his friends. But there hadn't been a time in his life since he'd known the Princess when he'd been separated from Her like this. Once, when they were kids, She'd been gone from his side for only a few minutes and would have certainly been lost forever if he'd not found Her. 

Chat felt as though his body might melt into the stone if he didn't see Her again.

"Let's go look for Her," Alya said, nodding her head in an attempt to get Chat to respond. He did. His head followed her motions and Alya kept her hand on his shoulder as they started walking toward the main building.

"We're coming with you," Kim said, jogging to catch up with them.

Fei raised a brow. "Are you two sure? We're not exactly having a walk in the park here."

"You're moving against Cash," Max said, pushing up his glasses. "No doubt you've got my mother on your side for that, and if she's going to assume a temporary ruling position, which I'm guessing is your plan, then I want to help clear the way for her. This city deserves to have things run smoothly for them for once."

Fei looked to the others and Kagami shrugged her shoulders. "It'd be nice to have some extra help."

"Great," Chat said, nodding his head to Max and Kim, partly in thanks. He twisted the spear around in his hands. Looking to Kagami, Chat reached out to her. "You and I should go find the Princess. The others can start looking for Cash. No doubt he'll be dining by now-"

"Extravagantly," Kim said with a frown.

"-If we can get to him first, we might have an easier time dismantling his guard," Chat said. Alya and Fei nodded along, agreeing with his plan. Chat placed his hand on top of Alya's. "Will we be able to find you once we have the Princess again?"

"We have a signal worked out," Alya said, nodding. "It's shouldn't be too hard to spot. It's-"

Chat assumed that the booming sound overhead had been a cannon at first, but when what looked like lightning flashed overhead, he turned his gaze skyward. It hadn't been cannon fire or lightning. It was a firework being set off directly above them.

"What?! Is Cash having a party now?" Kim asked.

"No," Fei said. "That's the signal."

Chat tried to follow the line of smoke from where it had exploded in the air to the ground.

"The balcony on the other side of the building," Alya said, pointing towards the smoke trail.

Chat exhaled through his nose. It seemed that they were constantly running out of time today. "She's found him," he said, his grip on his spear tightening. So much for the plan he'd just come up with. They wouldn't be splitting up, after all, just killing two birds with one stone.