Gentle vibrations hummed at a distance, beyond the borders of her subconsciousness. Little by little, she drifted toward the source, returning to the physical world, taking in every sensation-old, frayed carpet pressing into the side of her face, moldy, sour odors invading her nostrils. Adrian stirred and gradually came to, mild nausea in the pit of her stomach, a feeling which extended from the ghost of another scent-one she was certain she had been subjected to in previous hours. Disoriented, she opened her eyes, and was filled with questions the moment she took in her surroundings. Familiar though the area was, what was she doing there? Had she come there willingly, or...

...It was after I'd left Miles and everyone else. I headed toward the room with the central panel, and... and...

No...that's not right...is it?

She slowly sat up with a groan, frustrated with her inability to recall. The only clue as to what had happened next was that other scent, and the fact she still felt a little sick. Someone...whoever it was...must have chloroformed me. I didn't even make it to the panel-

Oh no...then that must mean...the others are still trapped in here! I have to go see if they're all right. She could not bear the possibility she might find one of her friends in the same condition as Franziska...or worse. We came so far...it just can't end like this. She brought herself to a standing position and looked around; partial daylight that crept through a set of small windows near the ceiling allowed her a decent view of the office's layout.

When she located the door, she hurried over, only to find it locked. Of course...that would have been too easy. As she turned around, she wondered why the door was locked with no way of releasing the latch from the inside. It had been nearly two years since Adrian had visited the studios, but she was certain none of the office doors had been configured in this way.

She would have to push aside the thought for now. I need to get out of here. The old office equipment was still present, so she went over to the desk in search of...something, a paper clip, a bobby pin, anything to pick the lock with. Nothing turned up in the drawers, but to her surprise, a key was hidden beneath an old paperweight. Despite her suspicions, Adrian brought the key over to the door, inserting it into the lock. She turned the bow, which made a quarter revolution with ease. Once the lock was released, she reached out for the handle again. There was an odd ache in her wrist as she did so; she looked closely, alarmed to see bruising there...as well as on her other wrist. What...? When did they...? I'd better be careful...

Adrian pushed open the door only slightly at first, trying to see if her captor was near. Seeing an empty hallway gave her a sense of relief, but she still took great care in stepping out. Quietly, she made her way down the corridor, grateful that the old carpet hid her footsteps. When she reached the end of the hall, she slowly poked her head out, looking for any sign of life. Stillness greeted her at the T-junction, and continued in all three directions. Determined to make her way back to where she and her friends had first entered the building, she took a left. To her disappointment, the door at the end of the hall did not budge-another unexpected finding, as the lock was on the opposite side. She could not let this deter her, so she immediately went the other way. This time, the door welcomed her.

She had gotten no more than a few feet inside of the room when she stepped in the path of a small but bright light. She flinched, bringing an arm up at first, trying to pinpoint the source. It's too bright to be an emergency light...what is going on? Something caught Adrian's eye then, and she started to look downward. To her horror, asymmetrical dark spots speckled the front of her top, as well as part of her shoulders and upper arms. Is...is that...blood?

Before she could process this discovery, everything went dark.

With a gasp, Adrian looked around frantically. No...not now...

Her silent plea was met by a series of light shuffling noises, followed by muffled pops. Disoriented and confused, Adrian slowly stepped backward, coming into contact with an object she was sure hadn't been there a moment ago. Dangling freely, it was a scratchy item with weight to it. Adrian had unintentionally bumped into it at first, but as she changed direction, it seemed to be following her around in the darkness, its abrasive touch causing her to wonder if she had just been going in circles.

Just then, light returned to the room.

And Adrian froze.

Suspended in the air all around her, were dozens upon dozens of rope segments, all tied into perfect nooses. Multiple scenes flashed through her mind then. Celeste and Juan walking down the hall, hand in hand. A memory of speaking with a heartbroken Celeste and learning that the wedding had been called off. The sight of Celeste in the open coffin, cheap make-up barely disguising the marks around her neck. Adrian wishing she had been just as successful in her attempt to follow after the woman. The shame returned, but more importantly, the desperation to never again feel that shame. "No," she screamed, quickly pushing past the rope to get to the room's exit. It was not a large room, but no matter how rapid her pace, the field of nooses seemed to go on forever.

At last, Adrian found her way to the door and stumbled out with an anguished cry. Before she'd had the chance to recover, scornful laughter erupted from behind her.

"Why, Adrian," the man taunted. "You're looking a bit glum. Why don't you hang for a while, and we can catch up on old times?"

Stunned by the ill-timed joke, she turned around to get a better look at the person she guessed was her captor. She had seen him partly in the shadows before a small object quickly approached, greeting the skin of her neck with an abrupt sting. "Agh...!"

"Oops. Sorry about that. Anyway, I can't have you leaving yet. You understand, right?"

Adrian reached up and pulled out the item, seeing it was a dart. Before she could inquire about its purpose, she could feel herself growing sluggish, each of her limbs suddenly weighing a thousand pounds. She took a step forward as the ground gave way, her knees feeling the impact first. "Ugh..." Returning to a standing position soon proved impossible; for all the motions Adrian could manage, she might as well have been swimming through sand. She gave up then, lying facedown on the floor. "What...what the hell...is this...?"

"Just something to help you relax. You've been through so much lately, I thought I'd be a nice guy and relieve you of some of that stress."

"What...would you know about nice...? Take away your image, and you're just a monster. You always have been...Matt."

Matt Engarde drew closer, stopping when he was standing next to her. "Aren't we all monsters to some degree? The difference is, I can admit the things I've done. But you still enjoy playing the part of the innocent witness."

Despite her gradual loss of strength, Adrian managed to keep something of a grip on the dart. "What are you...talking about...?"

"Just exactly that. How many laws did you and your prosecutor boyfriend break here this morning? How many people did you get in trouble by trespassing onto private property?"

Adrian groaned as something hard wedged itself in between her torso and the floor. It pushed into her stomach, forcing her over onto her back. She looked up as if to demand an explanation for the action, but only received a full view of the man's well-scarred face.

Matt could only laugh at her reaction as he knelt down. That's when Adrian noticed the gun that was in his hand. "Yeah, I knew about all that. Is it really that surprising, or did you already forget? I've got eyes and ears all over the place. That much hasn't stopped. Only now, I'm extra careful after what you and your friends did to me. In fact, I've taken measures to ensure I'm three steps ahead of you at all times." Tucking the gun into his holster, he took in the sight of her. There it was, that smug grin, the one that showed just how pleased he was with himself. "I'm sure you've noticed the security system isn't what it used to be. Doors that shouldn't be locked, passcodes that suddenly don't work, cameras that couldn't possibly exist...starting to get the picture? Heh...no pun intended."

No, Adrian thought. It can't be...

"I take that as a yes. It's amazing what someone can accomplish in two short years, especially when they've got nothing better to do than to stare at a prison wall. I'm a big star, Adrian, and the money never stopped pouring in...which made it easier to research all things technological. And when that Grayson clown took interest in me, well... let's just say, he gave me an opportunity to show everything I've learned. And thanks to that, I know exactly what you've been up to these last couple of weeks. From the letters to the meetings to this...pathetic rescue mission. I have to say I did enjoy plotting for that last one. And that noose trick was a pretty good gag, wasn't it?"

Hearing him laugh, Adrian felt revived to some degree. Fueled by hatred and disgust, she swung her arm up, driving the point of the dart into the man's chest.

He was momentarily stunned but scoffed. "You realize you took the bulk of the sedative, don't you? All that's going to do is create a spot for a new band-aid. A pretty small one, for all the blood it's going to draw." As if to demonstrate, he yanked out the dart with his free hand and threw it aside. A tiny red dot appeared on the fabric of his shirt where the point had been. "How stupid are you? If you're going to hurt me, then you might as well do it the right way. Like...this."

Adrian let out a weak cry as the man's hands gripped her throat. "S...stop it...if...if you...kill me...my friends...will know...and-"

"Friends? You mean the ones you came with? Don't worry, they won't be interfering anytime soon."

"They know...I'm here-"

"Lies, Adrian."

Adrian could barely choke out a word in protest with his rough hands tightening around her neck. As Matt pushed her, she could feel the dull pain of her head pressing into the linoleum. Weakly, she reached up, attempting to grasp the man's wrists. "Y...you're...the one...telling...lies," she declared between gasps. "I...know them. They would not...abandon me..."

At first, the response was his mouth curling into a sneer. "Are you sure? Then, where are they, Adrian? Would you like to guess? I'll even give you a clue." That grin. She always hated that grin. "If they didn't willingly abandon you, and they aren't scrambling to help you now, then what do you think happened to them? Come on, Adrian, it's not hard now..."

"No..."

"I see you're catching on."

"You wouldn't...you're...too much...of a coward..." She let out a moan of anguish as Matt again shoved her against the hard floor.

"Am I, Adrian?" he taunted. "Thanks to the revelation that stupid lawyer made to de Killer in court, I haven't had much luck in finding someone to do my work for me." His merriment returned. "On the other hand, there's always something to be gained from doing something yourself, isn't there? Heh..."

Something about his tone nearly made her shudder. "Wh...what do you mean?"

"Well, apparently, our singing ninja friend had a lot of fans. I know. It was news to me too. Did you know about three or four come by every week? All wanting to see where the magic happened." He rolled his eyes. "Magic...more like overrated horse crap." Seeing Adrian's expression, smugness covered his own. "What? It's not like I went after every idiot who came by. Just the really persistent ones, like...the ones who tried to break in. Or the ones who got a little too close for comfort. You know how they say 'curiosity killed the cat'? Well, call me 'Mr. Curiosity.'"

Adrian gaped at him in horror. "It was you...the one behind the hiker homicides..." I told Miles we were safer inside the building...but the killer was lurking there all along. Oh God, all those people... As the revelation sent a chill down her spine, past failures returned to haunt her, such as the time she had been in charge of looking after Kurain Village's Sacred Urn. In trying to do the responsible thing, she had inadvertently hired the fox to guard the henhouse. Once again, she had been lulled into a false sense of security... only this time, instead of feeling assured that a self-appointed 'Ace Detective' would catch a thief of valuable treasures, she had relied on a building's security system to keep her and her friends safe from an unknown serial killer. Desperate...I was so desperate. I had to know Franziska was safe. I had to see it with my own eyes. But now...everyone...

"Hiker, jogger, unfortunate no-life twit...does it really matter? They all stuck their noses where they shouldn't have." His expression grew cold. "Kind of like you. I had a nice, clean hit planned for Juan, but you just couldn't leave it alone, could you? No, you just had to interfere and pin the whole thing on me, and all because of your unhealthy obsession with Celeste. And then you carried on with your life as though nothing happened, while I was thrown behind bars. Well, the good news is, all that's caught up with you today." He finally released her, taking a hold of his gun.

Adrian welcomed the rush of air, taking it deep into her lungs.

"I may be guilty as sin, but so are you. The difference is...you're not making it out of this one alive."

Adrian had no time to demand clarification; the last thing she saw was the gun rapidly approaching her face.