A/N: Just a heads up, this chapter is a little racy but there's nothing explicit.

Chapter 9: Delusion

Chat fell against the mattress without hesitation, pulling the girl with him as he went. Ladybug landed with a giggle, running her fingers through his hair as they resumed kissing. Chat was in heaven. He still had no idea what had come over her, but whatever convinced her that she loved him was the best thing to ever happen to Adrien Agreste or rather, Chat Noir. Ah, whatever. They were the same. He rolled, kneeling over her as he buried his lips against her lace covered neck, coaxing another giggle to escape the blue-eyed beauty. She brushed her cheek against his as she pulled his shoulders toward her.

"I love you, my pretty kitty," she sang in a whisper against his ear.

Chills ran the length of his spine at her words. He kissed her again, pressing up against her body as she ran her fingertips along the small of his back. She planted kisses along the ridge of his jaw and down the exposed skin of his neck, to which he responded by kissing her neck again followed by her exposed shoulders before giving them a playful nibble. The girl giggled before flipping him over with a roll, kissing his nose before sitting up.

"I'll get the lights."

"I'll be waiting for you, my lovely Ladybug."

"It's not Ladybug. It's Mimic," she corrected, her back facing him.

"Whatever you say, Bugaboo," he grinned in retort, sitting up as he watched her flip the light off, allowing the glow of the moon to illuminate the room instead.

She crawled back onto the foot of the bed, stalking toward him on all fours as he continued to grin at her. Crawling over his legs, she straddled his hips as she pushed him back to the mattress. He traded kisses with her, daring to pass his tongue between her lips as she laid into him, running his hands over the smooth fabric of her dress as they ran down the sides of her abdomen and pelvis. The girl responded in kind, looping her arms past the wrinkles in the blankets and around his back as Chat continued to kiss her passionately. His hands traveled up her back, ecstasy convincing the fingers to seek a button or zipper for which to undo when an uncomfortable nagging sensation tugged at the back of his mind, like he had forgotten something important. His fingers froze in their tracks. But Ladybug was here with him, so surely he hadn't forgotten about an akuma. . . Or had he? He pulled away from her slightly.

"Hey, M'Lady," he interjected as her bright eyes stared longingly back into his. "I hate to interrupt the moment, but uh, isn't there an akuma we still have to take care of?"

The girl smiled at him. "Silly kitty. There's no need to worry about things like that right now."

Leaning over him, she ran a finger along his jaw down his chest as she bent in to pass her lips over his with a soft kiss. Chat put a hand to her shoulder, gently sitting her up as his brow furrowed once again as the troubled feeling was renewed. What was it?

"But I'm almost sure we've forgotte-"

"Shh. . ." she shushed, placing a finger against his mouth. "That doesn't matter right now."

He clasped her hand, pulling it away from his face as pulled out from under from her. He threw his legs over the side of the bed and got to his feet, looking to the open sky window above them.

"I'm just going to check quickly," he replied, bending down and placing a quick kiss on her forehead. "I'll be right back."

"Kittyyyy-" she pouted, grabbing his hand again, but he withdrew from her, walking to the side of the room to retrieve his baton.

"Just a few minutes," he reassured her.

A deep purple passed over the girl's face as Hawkmoth's voice came into her head again.

'Stop him, immediately. Do not allow him to leave.'

"But-"

'Need I remind you, your power comes from me. Stop him by any means necessary, or forfeit your chance to ever have Chat Noir again.'

Mimic grit her teeth as she yanked a couple of hairpins from her quiver. Chat was looking to the ceiling, extending his baton as he readied to leap back to the outside when a thin metal plate darted past him catching the side of his belt tail and pinning it to the wall. Adrien whipped his view to the side as he saw another blade heading straight for him. He slapped his baton downward, knocking the pin to the floor, instinctively blocking the next as it flew toward him. His eyes widened in alarm at his heroine in front of him when he realized she was the source of the sudden assault.

"M-M'Lady, what are you doing?!"

He yanked at his belt, tearing it free from the hold of the blade when another hairpin passed him, embedding itself in the side of the wide cuff of his glove and into the wall. Quickly reaching for the pin with his other hand, he suddenly felt a sharp pain enter his shoulder which elicited a yelp, instantly ceasing all movements as his arm dropped dully to his side. One of the large hairpins now jutted from his shoulder, a small amount of blood shone reflecting in the moonlight as it dribbled down his black suit. Three or four more pins then caught his costume along the calf, side, and thigh, trapping him further. The girl dashed toward him causing his expression to blow wide when she placed a hand on his cheek. Chat looked at her, his pupils constricted with fear as he watched his black-dressed Ladybug with increasing terror.

"Oh, my poor kitty," she remorsed. "Just look at you. . . your shoulder. Why didn't you listen to me?" she asked sadly, reaching hesitantly for the pin lodged in his arm.

He jerked away from her as much as the hold on him would allow, his tail trashing rapidly behind him as she continued to hone in on him.

"L-Ladybug," he shouted. "Are you crazy?!"

"I am not Ladybug! I am MIMIC!"

She gripped the metal suddenly yanking it from him, eliciting a cry as Adrien's compromised flesh was torn deeper. Chat folded into himself, not noticing the girl as she stepped away from him, throwing the blade away from her in horror as she watched the boy gasp. Adrien slammed his hand against the wall. Summoning and releasing his cataclysm, he caused the immediately surrounding wall and ceiling to disintegrate and collapse, crumbling into a cloud of dust. Flipping the staff at the ground, he rocketed himself from the dusty rubble of the top floor to the roof of an adjacent structure whereupon he sprinted away without a second glace, leaping from building to building as he hastily fled the scene.

He was frantic. Racing across the city, his thoughts went back to Ladybug. Why did she- How could she- It didn't seem real. To express her love to him one minute and literally stab him the next, but then seem to regret it? And she disowned the name 'Ladybug'. What was happening? Chat couldn't let her find him, but the questions still stood. . . questions that didn't have answers, answers he wasn't willing to risk getting. Tears of fear and betrayal welled up in him as he continued running, pushing himself for all he was worth. He was terrified. The one person he knew he could trust with anything, she had gone out of her way to hurt him. Fear consumed him, eating his thoughts as tears blinded him. What was he going to do now?

"Plagg!" he yelled, hoping desperately that Plagg hadn't somehow abandoned him too. "Plagg!"

"Finally!"

"Where the hell have you been?!" the teen shouted, angrily blinking away the tears in his vision.

"Don't use that tone with me." Plagg's voice was upset, and if Adrien didn't know any better, he would have said the little cat was crossing his arms and scowling as he spoke. "I've been here the whole time. This is the first time I've been able to communicate clearly! AND for the record, I'm the LAST one you should be yelling at right now. There's only so much ONE CAT CAN DO!"

"Y-yeah. Sorry, Plagg," Adrien whispered guiltily as he landed on the next building, wiping the back of his hand against his face. "I shouldn't have said that. I'm just- a little stressed."

"A little stressed ain't cutting it, pal. I'm barely keeping you together right now. Notice that you're still bleeding! Now take it easy, or you'll end up getting hurt even worse."

The boy extended his baton again, digging it into the ledge of the building, launching himself over the alleyway as Plagg's voice resounded in the back of his mind. There was still so much ground to cover before he'd make it home, and there wasn't much time left on his miraculous. His body shook with adrenaline as dark thoughts of Ladybug hovered over him, causing him to cast the occasional worried glance over his shoulder to ensure he wasn't being trailed. Sniffing against the tears that poured down his face, he tried to focus on his home in the distance, automatically leaping across each alley that came between him and the next building.

However, the wound at his shoulder burned, lighting up in complete agony when he was only halfway across the next gap. Adrien instinctively rolled his shoulder into him, letting out a cry of pain as his hold on the baton slipped, leaving him to support all of his weight with one arm. Squinting through the tears and the sharp sensation as he tried to reroute only to feel himself fall, releasing his baton entirely as he slammed off course into a wall. Digging his claws into the bricks, he made a desperate attempt to slow his descent, forcing the aid of his otherwise unusable arm, clawing for any purchase he could manage.

Feet hit the ground, but not so heavily as to cause further injury. Regardless of the success of the landing, Adrien found himself having to use the wall as support as he pulled his way along the corridor. The pain in his shoulder now shot up his neck and pounded against his head. He could feel shock setting in as his vision became fuzzy, blood smearing across the wall's surface as he slumped against it when he stumbled forward. He had to get home. There was no Ladybug to save him this time. Sweat ran down his face as he tried to peer past the blackening fog when Chat caught himself against the wall, a dull pain blooming just above his knee resulting in huffing breaths of rapid succession as he struggled to remain conscious. The ring let out a final beep and Plagg felt himself yanked back into a physical state as he exited the miraculous. With the kwami's absence, Adrien felt himself fail completely, instantly dropping to his knees as his head tipped back, his arms falling limply to his side. The little cat gasped in surprise when Adrien then tipped forward, falling to the pavement with a weak grunt.

"Kid? Kid! Adrien, come on."

He zipped over to the boy's face, waiting for a sure sign of breathing before floating over him and patting his cheek with rapid repetition. No response.

"Wake up. Wake. Up," the cat sighed, now pushing his tiny body heavily against Adrien's face. "Aww, man. This isn't gonna be good."

A/N: Annnd we're further down the rabbit hole.

Poor Adrien, never gonna get any action with the real Ladybug, it seems.