Nathalie stood her ground against the accusation. She didn't back down nor display any signs of being troubled. Instead, she simply fixed the young man, acknowledging what he'd just said but not immediately responding to it, intent to judge his reaction.

Strangely, he didn't appear to be as bothered as he might otherwise have been. Instead, he hopped up, sitting on the windowsill. He knew what was going on, that much was clear but for the time being, wasn't acting on it in the way that she had imagined that he might. Her eyes briefly fell upon the kwami. Plagg floated there in silence. He looked terrified and that in turn, caused a shudder to run down Nathalie's spine. The box was empty. Adrien had been quick to realize it but then no attempt had been made to conceal that fact. He waited patiently, seemingly waiting for an answer to his question.

She hesitated a moment before giving him one:

"You know the answer to that."

"You're right. My mistake. I should have been more precise: where have you hidden my miraculouses?"

Nathalie remained silent, narrowing her eyes slightly so that her stance was clear. Adrien let out a frustrated sigh, allowing his head to fall down. His disappointment was obvious. Still, it failed to earn even the slightest show of sympathy from the woman. She tried her best to read his expression but found it to be strangely indecipherable for a man who was usually so poor at hiding his emotions and whom she'd known for so long. Right now however, she wasn't all that surprised by that fact. Feeling nerves beginning to get the better of her, she placed a hand on the door frame. Somehow, this seemed to have turned into a waiting game. Finally, he spoke:

"So after all these years and promises, you finally betray me Nathalie."

"Adrien Agreste would know that I would never betray him..."

Marinette opened the little bag carefully. It was something of a puzzle to her. It was quite large for Adrien to have managed to sneak it in. She exchanged a puzzled look with Tikki. The kwami, somewhat worryingly seemed to be just as uncertain about their origin as she was. For a few moments, she contemplated calling her friend, just to ensure that the gift was indeed from him. The Cult of Kahn had been rounded up or so they thought but she was still somewhat more inclined to err on the side of caution. She gave her partner a glance, now somewhat nervous.

Something and she couldn't have said what however caused her to be daring. There was a sense of foreboding as she carefully unzipped the bag, peering inside. In an instant, her word began to spin. The bag was full. The slight clinking noise suddenly made sense. She didn't know what to do, reaching her hand inside, she pulled out five pieces of jewellery. Each of them were eerily familiar. She felt her blood go cold. The bag was literally full. Whilst she wasn't about to pull all of them out to count and make sure that they were all accounted for, she was willing to bet that they were all there.

Panic set in causing her to rummage through desperately for some manner of note or explanation. Her first assumption was a simple one: he had ran away. Why? Hopefully he would tell her in a latter of some sort. Finally, her fingers found a paper inside. She yanked it out desperate for some reassurance. If he told her where he was going, then there might be a chance yet to catch him and stop him. It was a tiny little post-it of a note with two very simple but terrifying words written which caused her heart to stop:

"Not Adrien."

Nathalie stood her ground, even as the young man's expression turned darker. It was hard to describe as anything other than a shadow which seemed to pass over his features. The charm and kindness vanished, replaced with something else that she'd never seen before. In those few moments, he reminded her of his father during his darkest days. He stayed where he was, eyes narrowed contemplating her with a cruel detachment.

"How long have you known?" He asked her coldly.

"A while now." She remained calm, stoic. "I had my doubts as soon as we rescued you. It was too easy..."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Amongst other things, you've lied at least twice tonight. Pointlessly as well…" She answered his question simply. "They didn't want the book or even the other miraculouses, did they? It was Adrien they wanted."

Her statement earned a smirk. Like a child who had misbehaved but felt no remorse for their actions, he smiled. Being caught out didn't seem to phase him. The challenge posed even seemed to bring something of a thrill. Another glance over towards Plagg confirmed her worst fears. She'd never seen the kwami look quite so terrified as he did now. His eyes were wide but his mouth had vanished. His silence suddenly made some sinister sense. Whilst the assistant might not know for sure what the matter was, her natural instinct was to run. There was something behind his eyes which she couldn't quite place and frankly didn't want to.

"And yet here you are..."

"Here I am." That single statement was harder to get out than she could imagine. "Don't make the mistake of thinking you're the first monster I've been faced with."

"All this from a few white lies?"

"If you really do want to know: it was Marinette. Adrien would never and I mean never have gone round to her house like that. Not after she had confessed that she was tired."

"I weighed up the risks. Last thing I wanted was her putting up a fight and maman and papa coming running in." A cruel smirk made its way onto his features. "She's quite pathetic really. You all are. What the guardians would say if they could see what the miraculous holders have become… You're not even shadows."

"Maybe… But you can't do what you want, now can you?"

In a flash, his expression clouded over. Her words had hit their mark. Now, he was angry. That wasn't exactly a reassuring conclusion to come to.

There was something dangerous behind his eyes as he got to his feet, pushing himself up from the windowsill. He covered the space between them quickly, taking long strides but not rushing for all of that. The young man didn't even blink, he kept his gaze focused upon her. Every bone in her body demanded that she turn and flee. Instinct was a powerful thing, capable of detecting a threat and acting appropriately when sometimes the mind might try and struggle against. It took all of her self-control to stand still, trying not to let her fear show. Even when Adrien cast a long shadow over her, standing so close as to force her to practically bend backwards to avoid them butting heads.

"Think you're clever?"

"I think I don't have anything to lose right now." She summoned her courage so as to look him in the eye.

"No…" He reached out so as to pluck her glasses off, placing them on the table. "I suppose you're right."

He gave no warning. Simply lashing out, dealing a powerful punch to her stomach. It knocked the wind out of her. She couldn't breathe, unable even to try and fill her lungs with any more oxygen. The pain was enough to cause the woman's legs to buckle. He hadn't been gentle, the intent was to cause her suffering, that much was clear. Desperately, she clutched at her abdomen, trying her best to recover. It took a few seconds before she was finally able to take a breath of air. Her muscles remained tense and tender however, leaving her on her knees struggling with the urge to scream. Nathalie wasn't accustomed to physical violence. She'd never been much of a fighter. The miraculous of the peacock had given her the strength to defend herself and her allies but as a civilian, she was never going to be able to stand up to Adrien.

Gathering her wits ever-so-slightly, she managed to raise her gaze to meet the young man. He seemed to have walked off and was now only a few feet away. His back was turned, seemingly indifferent for the suffering that he had caused.

"Plagg… Claws out."

It wasn't the usual enthusiastic and excited cry but rather something lower, more in control, more sinister. There was a familiar flash of green light. Adrien disappeared, giving way for Cat Noir. He stood there for a moment, still with his back turned. It was only when she was powerless to hold back a whimper, that he finally spun on his heels, a cruel smile occupying his face. He seemed to hesitate however, rocking back and forth on his heels for a moment as he contemplated her. Apparently, her suffering meant precious little to him. If anything, he seemed to be enjoying it.

"So… You stole my miraculous." He looked at her, tilting his head to such an angle that it was practically upside down. "Hm… You even got rid of your own."

Gasping, the woman forced herself to try and get to her feet. Her legs were physically shaking from the shock and pain. For a few moments, she found herself wondering if he might have succeeded in shattering some of her bones. That seemed unlikely however she realized. As strong as the punch had been, he'd also aimed carefully. He'd targetted her stomach as opposed to her bones. It had been intended to hurt but not cause permanent or life threatening injury. More than once, she'd watched the young man train on practice dummies explaining the theory to her. That had been Adrien… This person was a stranger to her.

He came back over, causing her to shudder. In her current state, she didn't stand a chance of escaping. Without a miraculous, Cat Noir had the clear advantage here. He didn't seem to be menacing, more relaxed, back in control of the anger which had initially taken over him.

"Of course… If you ran, you knew I'd suspect something." He placed a hand on her back almost comfortingly as he squeezed her shoulder. "How clever! A shame you're going to regret it!"

His words didn't match the almost joyful tone with which he spoke them. His grip abruptly tightened. She didn't have time to respond with anything more than a pained and alarmed gasp. A few seconds later, she found herself sailing through the air. It wasn't something that she had a great deal of time to process. She saw the room pass her by quickly.

The next thing was a sharp pain in her back followed swiftly by another in her right leg. There was the sound of something breaking. Thankfully not bone, this sounded more like wood splintering and giving way. The pain was enough to stun her. For a few seconds, she teetered on the brink of unconsciousness. The world was spinning and she once more couldn't breathe. She simply closed her eyes, unable to even think. Lying there, in the remnants of a small wooden tea table, to the untrained eye, she could have appeared to be dead. It was only after her body physically screamed for oxygen that she dared to take a deep breath. It came out as a weak wheeze.

She was scarcely even aware of the man coming back over towards her. He walked a little faster this time, not about to give her the time that she needed to recover. Instead, he stormed over to her. What little strength she still possessed was summoned by her instinct which demanded that she get out here or at the very least that she didn't just lie there helplessly. Shaking, she was just about able to drag herself back onto her feet by the time that Cat Noir had reached her.

"Wh-Who are you?" She hoped that her question might buy her a precious few more seconds.

"Guess..." The man looked down dangerously at her.

"Kahn?"

"You should have run Nathalie!"

He neither confirmed nor denied her statement which for the time being she was going to assume meant that she was right. She didn't question the physics of it, being too distracted by the kick that he dealt her which toppled her over onto her back. She made a brief if futile attempt to get back up again. It was stopped instantly however as the young man placed a foot on top of her shoulder, physically grinding her into the ground.

The woman let out a brief cry of protest which was cut short by her attacker placing his knee atop her windpipe, cutting off the oxygen supply. She gasped, clawing at his knee in an attempt to get him to allow her to breathe. This close, she could see the unbridled rage behind his eyes. He was angry, yes but not entirely out of control. The true terror struck her as she realized that he wasn't simply lashing out and throwing something of a tantrum having been denied his precious miraculouses but instead knew full-well what he was doing. Perhaps even intending to kill her here and now.

"You think that giving your life will make up for your past actions? Pathetic. Believe me, there's no redemption for people like you and me."

"I never said that there was..." Despite everything, Nathalie managed to croak the few syllables out.

In a flash, his expression changed. The rage vanished in a second or rather, it was pushed back. Instead, a twisted smile took its place. In its own way, it was every bit as monstrous. Something about the current situation had struck him as amusing. About five minutes into a cohabitation with Kahn, she was already beginning to get a feel for what made the man tick. Anything which caused him to grin in such a way was something that she should fear. He sat backwards on his heels, removing some of the pressure form her throat, allowing her to take a few breaths at least a little more easily. She did so, gasping in order to fill her lungs with oxygen whilst her tormentor decided to be generous enough to let her breathe. Closing her eyes, she tried her best to regain some sense of herself. The pain was still omnipresent, preventing her from moving, it truly felt as if she had been hit by a truck.

She couldn't have said how much time had passed. The young man seemed to have decided to leave her in peace, to give her some time to recover perhaps. She didn't question why, preferring to take advantage of the brief reprieve. With every passing moment, the initial numbness brought on by shock was fading away, reminding her that she was not meant to be thrown around like some kind of rag doll. She couldn't even begin to muster the presence of mind to begin to try and assess the damage done. The woman tried her best to block everything else out. She was powerless to prevent a pained groan from escaping her lips as her ribs throbbed violently, her left hand instinctively travelled to the part which hurt the most gripping around the area. It did little to alleviate her suffering.

She felt something soothing brushing against her forehead. Her eyes opened just a crack, enough for her to peer out, barely even conscious. Her vision was blurry, her missing glasses were no doubt in part to blame. Still, she managed to make out the young man crouched next to her. He stroked the side of her face. It was a soft, tentative action, gentle seemingly intended to be comforting. Her mind demanded that she try to flee, to get away from this man who was very clearly not Adrien. Her body however remained heavy, unwilling to move any further, essentially trapping her. Terror once more gripped her, leaving her powerless but to stare fearfully awaiting whatever was to come next. She couldn't hide it, he would have picked up on it, seeing it as a weakness just waiting to be exploited. Try as she might, she was helpless in the face of him.

"Where are the miraculouses?" His voice was silky smooth, alluring. It was a polite request, one which a part of her demanded she surrender to.

"No..." It was all that her body would allow her to whisper out.

Instantly, he stopped his tender and caring action. Instead, he very steadily placed a hand flat over her eye so that his fingers were resting on her forehead, somewhere above her left eyebrow. They seemed to linger there for a moment, hovering ominously for a couple of seconds, giving her a chance to think matters over once more. In a flash, he curled his fingers, digging his nails - closer to claws as Cat Noir - into her flesh. She let out an involuntary yelp of pain which she was powerless to prevent. Adrenaline pumping back through her body once more, she desperately tried to get away. Her attacker's free left hand wrapped itself around her neck and the base of her jaw holding them in place. She felt his weight, his knee resting on her chest and the other on her right arm, pinning her down. Only her left arm was free. Instinctively, it tried desperately to pry off his iron grip, tugging at the hand currently cutting into her in an attempt to get him to release. Her efforts barely seemed to register as anything more than a minor nuisance to the man. His green eyes glared down pitilessly at her. Flexing the muscles of his digits, digging them ever deeper into the skin, he earned another cry of protest. It was enough to convince her to stop her struggling, hoping that by playing possum her attacker might relent his torture of her.

Her breaths were rapid, terrified and pained. Time seemed to stand still. She could feel beads of blood beginning to trickle down the side of her head originating from the punctures. He forced her to look up at him, so that her eyes had nowhere else to rest but his own. She had given up with trying to appear brave. Instead, she contented herself with simply ensuring that no tears worked their way into her vision.

"Where are the miraculouses?" He repeated once more, his tone harsher, more impatient.

Her lower lip quivered. Instinct demanding that she give it up. Who were they to her anyhow? Just a bunch of kids! A bunch of kids who had gotten her sent to prison for the best part of a decade at that. She clenched her jaw tightly, her body stiffening as she prepared for what she knew was about to come.

Without giving her any more time to think about the matter, he dragged his nails down her skin, ensuring that they dug in as deeply as possible, shredding her face as they went. It was almost like someone scratching a chalkboard with their nails. Instead of an unbearable screeching noise however it was the sound of her screams which echoed through the room. It was impossible to hold them in. She struggled, trying to get away. She could feel the blood cascading down her face, forcing her to close her eye and threatening to work its way into her nose or mouth. He moved slowly, ensuring that the pain was drawn out as much as possible:

"I said: WHERE ARE THE MIRACULOUSES?!"

The yell was almost deafening in its intensity. Yet she didn't answer. Even if she wanted to, it was unlikely that she would have been able to find the strength to do so. She was shaking from a mixture of shock and pain by the time he was finished, the man dragged his claws until the end of her jaw bone, finishing the action with a violent tug before finally releasing her. She simply looked up at him, fearing the worse.

Yet nothing more came. He simply sat there, looking down at her, perhaps expecting her to abruptly change her mind.

Everything became… Strange for lack of a better word. She felt dizzy. Her mind was spinning and yet somehow, it was almost as if she was disconnected from her body. At the very least, she could no longer control her limbs. Even her head, fell limply to the side as her attacker finally removed his claws from her flesh. The sensation was that of an icy cold which none-the-less was more than capable of burning. She could feel that her face was wet, she still had the presence of mind to associate it being her blood which was now flowing out abundantly. From some reason, it no longer seemed to concern her that much. It was just one of these things which she couldn't help, like so much in her life it seemed. The weight on top of her shifted slightly as Adrien-Kahn sat up. He examined the tips of his fingers, drenched in crimson up to the middle in some cases, with a strange fascination, as if he'd never seen the substance before. Her blurred vision made it a challenge to focus on him.

His gaze travelled back down to focus on her once more after a few minutes. He met her with a cruel and tormenting grin which managed to send a shiver down her spine. In those few seconds, with the moonlight shining down and the blood staining his hand, he truly looked like some kind of a demon.

"Hmph." The monster of a man huffed with amusement. "I didn't think that you were that brave."

He flicked his fingers, sending a few splatters of blood flying onto the undamaged side of her face.

He must have been able to sense that he wouldn't get much more out of her and that she no longer posed much of a threat as he released her a second later, getting back to his feet. She simply lay there, gasping for breath and wishing to no longer be aware of what was going on. The world had become a decidedly dark place, one which she struggled to make out any longer. The lack of her glasses was no doubt partly to blame for that. Still, she managed to keep track of the figure as he paced in what now seemed like the darkness. From time to time, he would glance back over to her, almost as if to check that she was still there.

"What to do with you… What to do with you..." He muttered after some time just loudly enough so that she could hear, turning back towards her. "So many possibilities, I'm almost tempted to try them all or maybe we should just get this over and done with. What do you think Nat?"

She was saved by his phone going off of all things.

Adrien jumped, apparently surprised by the phone. He looked around as if searching for some hidden enemy. It was his own ringtone. Surely he could recognise it or maybe Kahn didn't, if he was the one now in control. It wasn't something which she was in a state to reflect upon. Eventually, he spotted the device left carelessly on one of the tables. Presumably he had had other things on his mind when he'd dumped it there, namely going after the miraculous which he had perhaps assumed belonged to him.

He reached out for it but stopped himself, smiling bemusedly for a moment as he looked at the blood still coated it before switching, opting to pick the phone up with his left hand. His eyes widened upon seeing who was on the other other end of the line, still he answered all the same:

"Hey there Marinette!" Adrien's voice, the childish innocence took over once more. "What's up? After today, I'd have thought you would be in bed!"

"Hey Adrien…" She tried her best not to hesitate or to let any of her concern shine through. "It's nothing much. I don't want to bore you but Jagged had this idea for a music video with a super flashy jacket. He just wanted to go through some figures with Nathalie, is she around?"

"Nathalie? She's busy. Give me the message and I'll pass it to her."

His cold eyes came to rest on her for a moment, a cruel smirk distorting his features once more. His face had become blurry as the world began to spin. Her mind was beginning to fade, making it difficult to concentrate on anything in particular. From time to time, she might wheeze or splutter, her body painfully reminding her that it had just been beaten to a pulp and that she really should be on her way to the nearest hospital. Ironically, because of the way her brain worked, she was still able to recall just where that was, as well as the phone number – something she had learned should an akuma attack ever turn nasty. She also knew that the chances of her getting there were nil.

Am I dying?.. A strange thought to cross her mind as she lay there. Another, perhaps more out of place given what's happening to her, as she watched the blood trickle away, forming a pool around her face is "who's going to clean this up?". Her gaze flickered round to see Adrien, he was gesturing for her to be quiet, a finger over his lips all the while trying to deal with a very insistent and increasingly desperate Marinette.

"What's this all about Marinette?" Adrien asked eventually, his voice was soft still, hiding the monster underneath. "You're beginning to worry me."

"..." There was a pause from the other end, as the young woman took a deep breath, summoning her courage. "You tell me."

In a flash, Adrien vanished once more. He was instead replaced by whatever had taken over him. His expression changed, the same cold harshness returning, twisting his features as a darkness settled in behind his eyes. He abandoned all pretences, allowing the world to see just what he truly was. Even going so far as to let out a bemused 'huff', as if the game had now ceased being amusing and was now somewhat beneath him. He flexed his right hand, perhaps digging its claws into yet another unsuspecting imaginary victim. This was a source of amusement for him: trickery, plotting and cruelty. Now things promised to become far more complicated and perhaps he relished the promise of the challenge.

"Looks like you caught me Bugaboo."

"She was right…" Marinette muttered horrified. "Where's Nathalie?!"

"Why don't you come and rescue her, you'd like that wouldn't you Nat?"

She didn't respond, too far gone to be able to mutter anything other than a couple of brief syllables. Already, she could feel herself beginning to lose consciousness. In a minute or so, she would be out. Whether or not she would awaken after that she couldn't say.

On the other end of the phone, Marinette let out a quiet gasp, already fearing the worse. The sound of her concern, was enough to earn a brief chuckle from Adrien. The young woman couldn't speak. In truth, she didn't know what was going on. With only a little piece of paper with two words scribbled on them, she'd dialled his number, not knowing what else to do. Now she found herself talking to someone or something that she couldn't identify. All that she knew was that it wasn't the young man that she loved. Her mouth dry, she did all that she could to channel her inner Ladybug in order to ask:

"Who are you?"

"Oh, you'll work it out. Until then, I look forwards to our next meeting, Bugaboo. You know where to find me."

He hung up, leaving her sitting there in a state of shock. Tikki floated next to her her concern only too clear to see. For a while, neither said or did anything. They had a pile of miraculous on the bed, stolen from right under Adrien's nose by Nathalie no doubt. Was she even still alive? It was impossible to say without going there to find out. For the time being, it sounded like the young man had no plans on coming to seek them out. Instead, it sounded like he had given them something of an invitation.

"We need to get to the others..." Marinette eventually roused herself from her thoughts. "Let them know what's going on. They could be in danger."

"They almost certainly are." Confirmed her kwami.

She was shaking slightly as she pushed herself up off of her bed. She send some quick texts, alerting her friends to her imminent arrival and warning them to whatever happened, not let Adrien in. She'd explain later – there wasn't time right now - but for the time being they had to stay away from him and Cat Noir. After that, she honestly didn't know what they would do… Fight? Run? Save their friend?

Taking to the streets, Ladybug couldn't help but give a glance towards where the Agreste Mansion was, wondering what manner of monster might be living there now.

It was dark inside the corridors of the mansion. Nathalie couldn't quite figure out why the lights weren't on. In truth, everything seemed to be blurry, faint and somewhat unreal. She didn't know what had happened but she was impossibly weak. Somehow though, she was moving. She drifted in an out of consciousness. One side of her face still felt as if it was on fire. Groaning softly, she turned her head. Even that seemed to require far more strength that she felt that she currently possessed. Still, she had to know just what was happening. She found herself staring up at a familiar face, carrying her through the corridors. He glanced down at her, taking note of the fact that she was now conscious. A wicked smile made its way onto his face.

"Don't die now Nathalie, you'd spoil the fun!"

That was right… She was in the company of a demon now.

/

Thanks for the review!