When Marinette opened her eyes again she was in an unfamiliar setting. She seemed to be on the observation deck of some kind of strange stone tower.

"Where am I?" she mumbled.

"Welcome to Wonderland Marinette!"

She turned to see the stranger with bunny ears that had kidnapped her just moments before, standing a few feet away. "How do you know my name?"

"Of course I know your name. I love you."

"Take me home you perverted stalker!"

"That's impossible," he stated matter-of-factly. "Now drink this." He held up a crystal vial filled with a clear liquid.

"Are you crazy? I'm not going to drink some suspicious liquid just because you tell me to. It could be poison for all I know."

"Well that's a problem." The man made his way towards her confidently. Marinette tried to get back, but found herself unable to move at. "That's okay though. If the game were that easy it wouldn't be fun after all."

"A game?"

At the mention of a game her head began pounding once again, her mind replaying the small bits she remembered from her earlier dream. She watched as he opened the vial and put it to his own lips. Before she could react, his mouth was on hers as he forced her to drink the liquid.

"You drank it!" He smiled brightly. "This is the option of hearts. Now that you've drank it, you must participate in the game." He made his way towards a spiral staircase, satisfaction emanating from his entire being. "My name's Theo by the way. Theo Barbot." He turned back and smiled. "Now Marinette, let the games begin." With those parting words he disappeared down the stairs, leaving her alone.

She stayed where she was for a minute, replaying what had just happened over and over again. When she was finally able to process the final piece of information she felt a frustrated tear slide down her face.

"I just lost my first kiss to some bizarre kidnapper..."

"THAT PERVERT!" she screamed. "HE IS GOING TO GET IT THE NEXT TIME I SEE HIM!"

She took a few calming breaths to regain herself before grabbing the now-empty vial he left behind. "Just what did he make me drink?" She tried to stand and was relieved when she was able to do the action easily.

"Wh-who are you?" a shy voice asked from behind her. Marinette turned to see a red headed man standing in the doorway that Theo had just left through. He was wearing a large black coat with coattails that almost brushed the floor and a slightly wrinkled white shirt, his black pants in a similar disheveled state. His straight red hair was pulled back in a short ponytail. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry," Marinette said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to intrude at all. But you see, I was actually kidnapped. I don't quite know how I got here or where here even is. Some man named Theo brought me here and made me drink some strange potion."

"Potion!?"

"Ah, yes." She held the vial out to him. "It was in this."

The man stepped towards her and sighed when he saw what she was holding. "You said that Theo did this? Theo Barbot?"

"That's correct."

"That stupid rabbit." The man sighed before continuing. "Uhm, I think I can explain. If you'll let me of course." He smiled when she nodded. "My name's Nathanael Kurtzberg by the way. I sort of run the Clock Tower here."

"It's nice to meet you Nathanael."

She followed him into what looked like a workroom in the center of the Clock Tower. They each took a seat at a large work table while Nathanael quickly pulled out a map. "You've been brought to the Country of Hearts. It is divided in to four territories. The first territory is Hatter Mansion. It's actually the headquarters for this country's mafia boss Alya Caesar, so it can be quite danerous. The inhabitants tend to swing weapons first and ask questions later. The second territory is the Castle of Hearts, ruled by the Queen of Hearts herself, Chloe Bourgeoise. She has a habit of using execution as a punishment for every offence, so if you run across her it would be best to stay on her good side. The third territory is the Amusement Park, run by a man named Plagg. All three territories are constantly fighting over land among other things, and battles can pop up just about anywhere. Then there's Clock Tower Square in the center, it's the only neutral grounds in the country, and for the most part is solely inhabited by myself. The three-way power struggle is of no importance to an outsider such as yourself, but you should still be careful while wandering around in order to avoid fights. I know this may not make any sense to you, but it's just the way this world works."

"Thank you for explaining all of this to me, but I honestly just want to go home. If you'll tell me where to go I'm sure I can make it by myself."

"I'm afraid that's not possible miss. You can't leave alone."

"Oh." Marinette looked up at him hopefully. "Then could you possibly take me? Please?"

"That's not really the problem. 'You can't leave alone' is one of the rules of the game you are participating in."

"What? Game? Rules?" Marinette paused when she noticed the room suddenly get dark. Looking out the window, she saw the moon and stars twinkling above. "Wait. It was just noon, how is it this late?"

"It's normal in this world. It's best to not make a fuss over it. I'm sure you'll get used to the time changes."

"I get it. This is all a dream."

"It's fine if you think of this as a dream. But if you don't progress in the game, I'm afraid it will be never-ending. You could have left when you first arrived, but that potion Theo made you drink means you have to participate in order to get home. Look at your bottle again."

Marinette did as he suggested and saw a couple drops of liquid at the bottom. "But I could have sworn it was empty before."

Nathanael smiled knowingly. "The more of this world's inhabitants that you interact with, such as myself and Theo, the more that vial will fill. When all the liquid you drank has been replaced, you will be able to go back home."

"That sounds easy enough." Marinette sighed with relief, missing Nathanael's skeptical look.

Marinette stood silently, surrounded by fog. "Where am I?" The last thing she recalled was lying down on the bed in the spare room Nathanael said she could use. "Is this a dream in a dream?"

"I suppose you are half right."

"Who's there?" she called out.

"My name's Tikki." A woman in a red dress with black spots floated in front of her. She had her short hair loose around her face and a bow attached on either side, the ribbons flowing around her. "I know everything must seem a bit strange to you right now, but I truly am happy to finally meet you Marinette.

"Why are you here?" Marinette asked skeptically.

"I thought I should come and explain things to you a bit more is all. I am the one that Theo got the potion from after all. We wanted to give you the world you've desired most. Everyone will love you in this world. Even I love you."

"So in other words, I'm just a lonely person on the inside that wants everyone to love me. This world I've come up with reflects my inner feelings."

"Oh Marinette. You didn't create this world. It's a world that already existed." Tikki smiled at her.

"That's not possible. No one would ever love someone like me. I'm far too plain and uninteresting."

"It's the truth I assure you. It may not be romantic love, and it may not be love at first sight, but everyone here will love you after they truly get to know you Marinette." Tikki's reassuring smile never once faltered as she spoke, and Marinette found herself silently hoping what she said was true.