I woke to sunlight instead of darkness. I was back at the Agreste Mansion, tucked into my giant bed. A jolt of fear hit me when I realized that- if I was here, Hawkmoth could get me at any time!

I leapt out of the bed, bare feet hitting the carpet. I was almost to the door when I realized something else – bare feet! The hand reaching for the doorknob was human too. I was no longer in Sphinx form!

Which meant that I was free from her somehow, which meant that...

"You're awake." Said a sleepy voice from behind me.

I whirled around to see Adrian uncurling himself from the armchair next to the bed, hair tousled from sleep.

"Wha- what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Keeping an eye on you." Adrian said, stretching. The hem of his shirt lifted as he raised his arms over his head, revealing a few inches of solid muscle. "I would've curled up in bed with you, but I usually wait until after the first date." He said winking.

"Uh...date?" I asked, weakly. I felt like my brain was slowly turning to mush as he walked toward me and took my hand.

"Yes, [Y/N], date. With you." Adrian said, reaching out and gently stroking my cheek. "I know it's only been a few days, but watching you lie in bed, I realized that you brought were a ray of sunshine to my life that I'd never had before, and if you ever woke up, I'd spend every second I could telling you how important you were to me."

"But...what about Ladybug?" I asked.

Adrian lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it gently. A question that had started to form in my head fizzled out as he turned my hand over and kissed my wrist, then my palm, then the tips of my fingers, sending shivers through my body. He pulled my closer so he could whisper in my ear.

"Ladybug has nothing on you."

His bare skin felt like silk under my hands - when had his shirt come off? With his body pressed against mine as his kissed my neck I could feel every muscle, and down lower...oh my...

Adrian pulled away slightly to kiss my forehead, his golden eyes so close I could see the slitted pupils. Then my nose, stopping just before he kissed my lips, teasingly rubbing the tip of his nose with mine.

"[Y/N], I've loved you from the moment I saw you. Say you'll stay with me, forever." Adrian murmured. Something was bothering me but it was hard to focus with his fingers threading through my hair.

"How do you know my real name?"

Adrian froze for a second, then smiled gently and cupped my face in his hands and repeated.

"[Y/N], say you'll stay with me forever."

"In this room? Isn't it a bit cramped?" I said, trying to throw some levity into the situation. Adrian looked serious.

"I never want you to leave my sight. Say you'll stay with me." His hands were no longer gentle but gripped me forcefully. "Say it!" He demanded.

"You're hurting me," I protested, struggling in his hold.

"Say it! Say you'll stay with me!"

The room seemed to shimmer all around us for a second, a storm was brewing outside the window; lightning crackling across the sky as a fierce wind howled and tore at the filmy white curtains leading to the balcony.

This can't be real, I realized, this is just Sphinx messing with my head.

"Let go of me!" I shouted over the storm, twisting in his iron grip.

"Say you'll stay with me!" The fake Adrian repeated, his golden eyes, like the Sphinx, boring into me.

"I said, let go!" I yelled, ramming my knee between his legs. Unfortunately, he didn't react.

"Say you'll stay with me, [Y/N], I love you and will make you happy." The fake said, sounding almost robot-like.

"No! I'll never stay with you!" I screamed over the roar of the wind.

In an instant, sounds of the storm were gone, and fake Adrian and the room suddenly disappeared, leaving me in the black void once more.

"Shame, I was sure that would work," said a low voice from the darkness.

I looked around, trying to ascertain where Sphinx's voice was coming from.

"You're sick, you know that?" I yelled. "Did you really think you could trap me here with a fake Adrian...sex toy?"

"There were plenty of similar fantasies in your head already," Sphinx purred, stepping from the shadows. "So don't try to convince me you wouldn't enjoy being in that situation, because we both know you would be lying."

"Oh, I'm sure you'd keep me there for the rest of you life instead of killing me once you got control of my body." I snapped.

The Sphinx smiled lazily, considering.

"Perhaps I would've. I've become quite fond of you, [Y/N], despite your extensive human flaws. Seeing what you would do trapped in that illusion with your fake Adrian would've...amused me."

I turned away from her.

"Well it doesn't matter what you do, I'm never giving up my body."

Sphinx chuckled. It was not a cheerful sound.

"You say that now, but let's see how long you last surrounded by your worst nightmares."

There is a cracking noise and the area around me changes to the city of Paris. But this was not the happy, bustling place I knew from reality. The city has been demolished and burned, chunks of broken masonry and rubble littering the ground, ash falling like snow. The air is thick with smoke, stinging my eyes and making them water furiously.

The light from above is a dull, amber color as if the sky is on fire. I can hear the screams of victims lying trapped under fallen buildings, children crying, the wail of sirens as ambulances rush through the streets.

I close my eyes against the horror.

"It's just a dream, it's not real." I repeat to myself, willing for everything to go away. But when I open my eyes again the illusion is still there.

Someone tugs on my ankle.

"[Y/N]. Help me."

I know that voice.

"It's just a dream, it's just a dream." I say again, but the tugging persists.

"[Y/N], please."

I will myself to look down.

Ladybug is buried almost to her neck in rubble, her red spotted suit torn, her pigtails tangled and coated with filth.

"[Y/N], help me," Ladybug pleads, coughing. A trickle of crimson blood runs out of the corner of her mouth, staining the brick around her. I can't help but drop to my knees, furiously pulling the broken pieces of building off of my friend. It doesn't seem to make a difference, no matter how many bricks and slabs I pull off of her, ten more seem to take their place.

I stop, my breath heaving out of my lungs, my fingers bruised and bloody.

"[Y/N] help me," says another voice, and when I look up, I see my father instead of Ladybug, buried in a pile of rock, struggling to get free.

"No!! I scream in frustration, digging with renewed vigor. "Just hold on Daddy, I can save you!"

I keep digging, uncaring that my fingers have gone numb, only that my father has stopped struggling and instead stares sightlessly up at the sky, ash starting to cover his face and arms.

And as I continue to shovel rock from the unending pile, I hear Sphinx's cold, callous laugh from the sky.

Hi Everyone! Sorry for the short chapter, but not to worry, the next one is much longer, so stick with me for a few more days! I really enjoyed writing this fanfiction, but I am also juggling some other projects so there is a part of me that is glad I'll be wrapping this up soon. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this...barely PG-13 fantasy and Like and Comment your opinions!