Been pretty busy lately but I wanted to thank you guys for the comments! I'm glad you're all still sticking around to read. In other news, if you like fanart, I've been drawing a bit and posting to my tumblr. You can find me by username fluoroidtheauthor.

Chapter 16: To Subdue a Hero

Continuation of the previous chapter.

A splitting headache brought Adrien back to the realm of the conscious when the light from the large windows shot onto his eyes. Wearily blinking away the pain and fatigue, he slowly became aware that his right arm was bound in a sling against his chest, a throbbing reminder that he had nearly ripped his arm clean off earlier. An effort to sit up resulted in a shooting pain surging from his shoulder through his neck, elicited a yelping whimper as he collapsed back into the mattress he lay on. The white hot agony in his shoulder clouded his vision with tears as he scanned his surroundings for any sign of the black kwami whom he could vaguely recall having attempted to block Hawkmoth's shadows from getting any closer. Oh yeah. . . Hawkmoth.

A renewed sense of urgency rushed through him, spiking his adrenaline as he tore upright, blatantly ignoring the protests pulsing from his injuries while attempting to free himself from the blankets.

"Calm down, Adrien. Getting excited will only increase your recovery time."

The cold voice sent a shiver of dread down his spine and Adrien could feel beaded sweat rolling down his face as he turned frantically to face the speaker. The teen's brow furrowed with disdain.

"As if you care!" he spat bitterly, narrowing his gaze at the purple clad man standing at the edge of the room. Unsurprisingly enough, the man had either maintained his transformation or simply renewed it since Adrien had last seen him. It figured Gabriel wouldn't address him as his own father after all that happened. Pain flared up in his shoulder again causing Adrien to curl inward as he grabbed for it protectively with his other hand.

"You clearly don't understand my priorities."

"Oh, excuse me. I forgot all good fathers terrorized cities and hunted their own children down with demons if they didn't behave properly."

Hawkmoth frowned.

"You have yet to hear anything I have to say about the matter at hand."

"Let me guess, you want the miraculous so you can bring mother back," Adrien scowled, his eyes now staring pointedly at the floor between them. They threatened to release more tears, and he didn't need that right now.

"Do you actually grasp an understanding of their potential?"

"I've been given the task of protecting the Chat Miraculous. What do you think-?" Adrien growled, still not looking up.

"If you understand my goal, why do you run from me?"

Adrien scoffed. "If you have to ask me that, then clearly you don't understand the power you're so desperate to obtain."

Gabriel sneered derisively.

"Since when do you lecture me? If you are referring to the repercussions, I have already determined the benefits outweigh the consequences. Significantly."

"Is that so?" Adrien now shouted, whipping his furious gaze back toward the man before him. "Returning mother will require the life of another. I miss her too! But there's no way I could ever do that! She would never want that!"

A gloved back hand struck Adrien across the face, knocking him back onto the bed. The blonde blinked dizzily as he tried to regain his sense of balance when the blunt handle of Hawkmoth's cane was suddenly jabbed into his injured shoulder. Adrien let out a cry in surprise, grabbing at the cane with his other hand as he fought to push back. Gabriel responded quickly, thrusting the weapon further against the teen's injury causing Adrien's grip to fail as the increasing pain made his vision spin.

"Don't speak as if you know what she would want," Gabriel hissed. "Enough of this. If you will not assist me willingly, I will assist you in changing your mind. Fortunately, I have something else especially for you. I will not fail to overtake you again."

Gabriel's free hand darted above him, catching a white butterfly from the air. An unearthly blood red seemed to pull from the very air as it collected to the hand that carefully caged the fragile insect. Releasing the now deathly crimson insect to the air, the villain turned his attention back to the struggling boy.

"It pains me to do this, Adrien. But you leave me no choice."

"What are you- ?!"

Jabbing the brunt of the cane again, Adrien let out a yelp, only to find Hawkmoth deftly unsheathing the hidden blade and thrusting it against his throat before he could react. Gloved fingers roughly gripped his jaw as the blade slid threateningly up his neck and Gabriel's masked face leaned in toward him coming close enough to for the man to whisper in his ear.

"I can not simply remove your miraculous on my own." His words came carefully, deathly quiet, and Adrien could feel the fear in his gut growing rapidly. "And since you won't assist me-"

"You won't kill me," Adrien replied, struggling to keep the quiver in his voice under control.

"And you're so certain of this, that you aren't remotely afraid?" Hawkmoth asked, pressing the flat edge of the blade along Adrien's jaw.

Sweat now poured down his face as the blonde struggled to remain in control of his feelings, watching the evil butterfly flit closer in his peripheral. He swallowed hard before replying.

"Yes."

Gabriel chuckled darkly. "That's not what my akuma says," he replied, turning his gaze to the insect fluttering mere centimeters from Adrien's torso.

Adrien went completely still and his eyes bulged wide as the once butterfly touched down on the wrap binding Adrien's arm, dissolving into a deep crimson that spread continuously from the epicenter. The dark color overtook the entirety of the bandage and Adrien could feel an immense pressure pulsating at his head, blacking out everything in his vision. He blinked madly, opening his eyes as much as physically possible in an effort to regain his sight, but it only got darker. Adrien could no longer remember where he was, now only aware of Hawkmoth's voice ringing against his ears and reverberating in his mind.

"You feel betrayed," the man's voice came.

"Well if I do, it's because of you!" Adrien shouted, but the voice continued as if it hadn't heard him.

"Your remorse and frustration could be healed if only your family was whole again."

Adrien shook his head rapidly and he could feel tears rolling from his eyes as the words continued to come. The words were so powerful, so much stronger than his own, and it scared him. The sound of the voice flooded into his very soul, pushing him into the center of a torrential downpour, rapidly forming into a flash flood that pulled him deeper into the dark. He pushed against the flow, only to be sucked under the power of the voice with greater force the more he fought.

"I won't-! Nothing you. . . nothing you say will-"

The voice overwhelmed his thoughts again. His consciousness was drowning in a surge of emotion, the voice pushing him down into a dark forgetfulness. He struggled with all his will against the swirling, ever rising tide, suffocating his thoughts as soon as he grabbed hold of them upon his resurface. Resistance seemed to goad the power of the voice into using more force, and Adrien found himself fighting even harder and longer with each bought. The strain weighing heavily on his mind now moved into his injuries, making Adrien all the more exhausted. He couldn't keep this up.

"Returned to the state it once was," Hawkmoth's voice continued, "with a loving mother and father, happily together as they always should have been."

For what purpose was he fighting? Adrien thrashed madly against the darkness that swam over him, remembering that the reason was important. At least, he thought it was important, but whatever it was now washed to the fringes of his mind and try as he might he couldn't recall the thoughts. They quickly became less pressing. Less dire, melting into the oblivion with everything else. The voice in his mind seemed to think things would be okay and when he thought about it, nothing else contested otherwise. The voice gave him a sense of hope, a hope for a happiness he hadn't dared dream of for years. As he listened to the calm words, a faint red light pierced through the darkness, extending in a beam toward where he was. It seemed to envelop his consciousness, and for a moment, Adrien felt relief. Warm and soothing, it pulled him into its refuge, rocking him like a boat upon gentle waves. His eyelids felt heavy, like they would close on him at any moment, but the light told him it would be alright. The light would protect him from the evil around him. He could rest now.

Red. The color reminded him of something he loved. . . something he once held so dear, but it had become fogged and he couldn't rightly put his finger on who or what it was. Part of him felt it might be sad if it could see him now. But that was nonsense. Adrien felt a sense of hope now, and that was all the more reason to be happy. As he contemplated it further he recalled the light that saved him was red. That alone was significant and was probably all there was to it, he decided. Letting his eyelids drift shut, he allowed himself to rest completely in the warmth of the red glow. "Good." The voice was soft now, as though it was pleased with Adrien, but the teen didn't give it much thought beyond that as he fell into a broken dream or white and red.

Hawkmoth smirked with pleasure as the boy stood in front of him free of bandages and sling. The boy eyes flicked open to reveal red irises, his expression appearing equal to that of a stoic soldier at attention. The purple clad villain walked about the room, viewing his newly born specimen from multiple angles, noting the teen looked like Chat Noir had undergone a palette swap. It was probably for the best, Gabriel mused, considering the remaining task was to retrieve the ladybug miraculous. Overtaking a miraculous user had proved quite the task, but now that he had Chat Noir at his beck and call, he wouldn't need to resort to such power to subdue Ladybug since she would come for her once partner. The miraculous was mere moments from his grasp. He let out a manic bought of laughter before wheeling back toward Adrien.

"We are nearly there, my precious, Chat Blanc."

As per usual, let me know if you have any thoughts of suggestions for the future. :)