Marinette started hyperventilating the closer they came to Paris. She wanted so badly to run to her parents house and bury her head in her mother's tight embrace. Or to relish the feeling of security from her father's arms around her. But she just couldn't. Couldn't put them at risk, couldn't let them know what happened, couldn't stand the looks on their faces when she explained that she was married to the same guy that raped her. That took control of her body and abused it. Marinette had spent most of the ride beating herself up for getting into the situation she found herself in. But now it was time to plan.

Her thoughts strayed to Adrien, not for the first time. She knew he would be furious to know she was in town. She had already done enough damage to him, maybe it'd be best if he didn't know she was back until she had this whole thing solved. But, she also knew that he would be able to help her in a way no other person could. His cool head and quick thinking mind would be an excellent tool to utilize in her plan to fix this. She didn't know what she wanted the outcome to look like, she just wanted something to start going her way. What happened to ladybugs being good luck? That was yet another thing that baffled her, adding to her rapidly growing list of things that she didn't understand. Why did she get those sensations when Luka touched her tattoo? Just thinking about him made her stomach turn, but she pushed those feelings to the side in order to focus. She forced herself to think back to the sensation of being aware of her body's reaction to him, but unable to direct it in any way. But, that only happened when he touched it. As much as she was loath to admit it, it was her decision to play his game initially. It was all her decision to reach for any sort of happiness she could get and try to move on from the love of her life abandoning her. So she had offered to dance, offered to basically have sex with him on the dance floor (she could admit that their dancing was the closest she had gotten to any form of intimacy in the past six months), until it went horribly wrong. Her body's strong reaction overwhelmed her in that instance, almost like it was being controlled to… But how? Questions with no answers swirled around and around in her head, along with the image of a blonde haired boy with striking green eyes. She wanted to go to Adrien with every single fiber of her body, but at the same time she was terrified to see the look of disgust in his eyes.

"Mari…. Mari… GIRL!" Alya had to raise her voice to snap her friend out of whatever thoughts she was drowning in. Alya could read her best friend like a book, so she could see that whatever she was considering wasn't going to be helpful. "I hate to bring this all up, but…. Do you have a plan? Where am I taking you to when we get there? I know you probably don't want your parents to know, and Adrien…. Well, I'll let you figure that out. But it probably wouldn't be a wise decision to just show up out of the blue with all of this clusterfuck of shit and dump it on him."

"I can't see Adrien, Al. Not yet. Maybe not ever again. I can't deal with having him look at me and know what I've done. This is all my fault. I don't need him to tell me that and I have every reason to believe that he will. He begged me not to go to Milan and when that didn't work he begged me to allow him to go with me. I was such a fool. Turning away a man that would uproot his life to be with me….." Marinette's chin started to tremble as her breaths started coming in short gasps. She didn't realize it until Alya slipped her hand in hers, but she was gripping her knees so tightly she had scored the skin. Her whole body shook as she leaned against the window, the cool glass catching the tears that ran down her face. She couldn't face her best friend.

"Mari… You know you're more than welcome to stay with me and Nino, but it's only going to be a temporary fix." Alya wanted to reassure her best friend, but the right words wouldn't come to her. How did you console someone who went through this? She didn't have the foggiest idea. And it was unfair to Nino, what was about to happen, but it couldn't be helped. She had sent him a text containing their emergency code, followed with a very brief text saying something had happened and she would be bringing Mari back with her. He had wanted more information, but this wasn't something you could explain in a text. So she had ignored that and texted their ETA.

A sudden thought caused Mari to turn and finally look at her best friend. Alya wished she hadn't. The look on Marinette's face, the pure terror, caused Alya's heart to painfully clench. Her foot unconsciously pressed down on the gas pedal a little harder, and her eyes flicked to check her mirrors, thinking Mari had seen something. "Alya! I can't stay with you and Nino! What if he can track me? I can't bring him to your front doorstep! Where should I go? What should I do? I can't risk him finding me with anyone. I'll have to stay on the streets or in hotels. Keep moving, don't spend too much time in the same spot - " Marinette trembled as she realized she was well and truly alone. She had escaped only to find herself homeless and likely spending the rest of her existence in fear of every shadow. Some existence. Maybe she should've stayed. At least then, it would only be her suffering. She could've saved another woman if she had. She could've saved Alya and Nino the fear that comes with her staying with them or having anything to do with her at all. If she hadn't panicked and ran she could have prevented so many bad things happening around her. But like a coward, she saved herself and put everyone else in danger. She hung her head. "I- I'm so sorry, Alya." Her soft mutter cut off whatever reassurances Alya was making. "I- If I would've just stayed…." Mari said softly, head hung.

"...If you would've stayed, I would've kicked your ass. Mari, I know you are over there convincing yourself that this is all your fault, but it isn't. No one deserves what happened to you. He would've killed you if he caught up with you. I'm starting to think that he was targeting you from the very beginning." Alya shook her head in frustration, she should've seen the signs before this happened, not afterwards. She had started thinking once the silence in the car stretched on longer and longer after they left Milan. Marinette had told her what happened in broken sentences and sobs. After she had gotten the whole story out in the open, she had stared out the window of the car, refusing to look at Alya any more. Alya had given her the space she needed to recover, and while she did she started looking in the past for clues, for anything that suggested this was just a random event. But the more and more she added things up, the more she came to the conclusion that this was planned. The e-mail detailing his club, hell even the two creeps that had accosted them at the bar; all were a part of a bigger scheme. And now, with this ring that Marinette couldn't get off and with the tattoo she described; Alya's fingers itched to start running searches on the web to find out what it all means.

If she was honest with herself, she was surprised and a little disappointed that Marinette had kept her tattoo from her all these years. Then again, Alya should've noticed. She's a journalist for crying out loud. Her livelihood is details and yet she had somehow missed something of this magnitude that was right under her nose all these years. She hadn't shared her theory on Luka with Marinette just yet, but she would have to soon. "Mari, you're coming home with me. No argument, I don't want to hear anything other than 'okay Alya', you got me?" Alya waggled a finger in Mari's direction with a mock severe face, causing a soft giggle to escape her best friend. She nearly pumped her fist in the air when the Eiffel Tower finally came into view.

"Okay, Alya." Marinette smiled gratefully at her before her gaze fell on the Eiffel Tower as well. I'm back. I wasn't supposed to be here this soon. Why do my plans always end up blowing up in my face? I lost Adrien, then I lost Milan, and now I've lost myself. She shook her head clear of the self deprecating thoughts that continued to push at her mental defenses. She was glad that Alya was letting her stay with them, even with the danger she was putting them in by staying there. Alya was good for her soul, Nino as well. There was just something about your best friend picking you up during the worst trials of your life, without hesitation, just made her heart swell with love.

After another half hour of driving through the city, they finally pulled into the underground parking garage for Alya's apartments. Helping Marinette get out of the car without too much pain, handing her purse and the antique box to her, Alya walked behind the car and popped the trunk. Lifting both her bag and Marinette's out, she got them settled for carrying and closed the trunk. She locked her car and they both headed towards the elevators. Once they arrived on Alya's floor, they started towards her door. Alya noticed Marinette was hanging back and slowing down. "What's wrong? It's just Nino, Mari. You don't have to tell him anything you don't want to. If you want me to tell him, I will. If you want to tell him the gist of it, do it. He loves you, Marinette, and he just wants you to be okay. However that looks for you." Alya said softly, walking back to Mari and setting the bags down to envelope her in a gentle hug.

"Alya… I don't know how to ever thank you… And Nino. I don't deserve either one of you. I'll work hard to get my life back on track so I don't disappoint either of you." Mari smiled through the tears falling down her face.

"Girl, get outta here with that nonsense. The only way you could ever disappoint us is if you give up." Alya took her keys out and started to slide the key in the lock, but before she could turn it the door was yanked open. In the doorway stood Nino, who appeared calm but his eyes frantically jumped between the two best friends. He took in Alya's exhaustion and forced smile before turning to the other girl he had known since preschool. His eyes widened as his gaze flicked over Marinette's crumpled dress, picking out stains that he didn't want to identify. He embraced Alya, placing a chaste kiss on her lips before moving towards Mari and out of Alya's way so she could walk into the apartment. He approached cautiously, not sure whether Marinette would welcome a hug at this time. Mari made his decision for him as she reached out for him, wrapping her arms around his middle and holding onto him like a lifeline. "Oh, Mari…. It's okay sweetheart, don't cry. You're safe now, you're safe here." Nino kissed the top of her head, muttering reassurances into her hair and guiding her into the apartment. He walked her over to the white couch in the living room, sitting her down before walking back to the door to lock them inside. "There's hot water ready to go for tea, babe. I was just about to get the cups down from the cabinets when I heard your keys." Nino glanced back over at Mari. She was nearly catatonic, if he couldn't see the rise and fall of her chest, he would've been seriously scared for her. "So, uhh… How's it going?" He immediately knew this was the wrong thing to say, mentally slapping himself for acting so flippant at a time like this. He heard Alya drop the tea bags on the counter a little harder than necessary. He cringed, expecting her to throw something at his head for his stupidity.

A hysterical laugh tore from Mari's throat, causing Nino's concern to shoot up another couple of notches. He had never seen her this way and it scared the shit out of him. He turned to Alya, not knowing how to proceed. Alya brought over a tray with tea for the three of them, as well as some cookies for Mari to munch on. She placed everything in front of them, coaxing Mari into taking her cup and a plate with a couple of the cookies. "What did you decide, Marinette? Moment of truth time. Is it gonna be you or me?" Alya looked at her expectantly. Nino thought this was kind of a harsh intro to what is obviously a very sensitive subject, but these two had a very unique relationship. He was smart enough to know that, and to keep his mouth shut with his opinions. He would wait for their silent communication to come to a close. His eyes switched focus back and forth between them, almost like he was actually listening in to their conversation. His gaze focused in on Alya's as she rose, moving to sit next to Mari. She wove their hands together, taking a deep breath at the same time as Marinette. "Nino, Marinette has something going on that she isn't quite ready to talk about. So, I'm gonna do my best to fill you in as painless for her as possible. I'd like for you to hold off on any questions until the end. Do you think you can handle that?"

Nino nearly smiled at the formal tone Alya spoke with, but now was not the time. They were trusting him with something big, and he wouldn't let them down. "I'm your dude. My lips are sealed."

Some time later, Marinette couldn't handle the oppressive pity that permeated their apartment. She didn't want their pity, she definitely didn't deserve it. This was her fault. She appreciated Alya's words, but they were just that. Not wanting to stay, but terrified of running into someone she might know, she convinced herself that she would take a walk just around the building before going to sleep. Alya and Nino had already turned in for the night; Alya exhausted from all the drama and driving and Nino because he didn't know what to say. She probably should've changed before venturing out, but she couldn't bring herself to care about appearances when her life was in such shambles. She was only walking around the building, it's not like she'd spot someone in that small of an area, at this time of night too. She wrapped her arms around herself as she meandered around the corner. She should've at least brought a jacket. Another stupid decision. One of these days, they would lock her up for the safety of the public. Sighing as she rounded yet another corner, a shiver of foreboding raced up her spine. Not knowing what that could possibly mean, she promptly panicked and ran into a nearby alleyway. Walking as deep into the shadows as she dared, she willed her heart to quit thundering so she wouldn't be found. She walked to the other side of the alleyway, coming out onto a dark street. Figuring she would walk in a giant circle to assure herself she wasn't being followed she set off down the street, going the opposite way she came out. Just as she came up to another alley she planned on ducking through, she stopped to listen. She could've sworn she'd heard….

Voices.

She just couldn't catch a break. Leave it to her to stumble upon some drug deal gone wrong or some other form of crime. She needed to continue on her way, but she didn't want to just walk past and hope for the best. Her luck just didn't run that way lately. She walked as quietly as she could up to the building next to the mouth of the alleyway. She would just quickly glance around the edge of the building to locate where the men were so she would know where to walk to be undetected. She dropped down to a crouch before slowly moving her face to where one eye was trained down the alley.

Marinette suddenly caught sight of familiar bright aqua tips. Her heart pounded and she ducked behind a trash can near the alleyway. The same alleyway that Luka was busy shaking hands with ex-Mayor Bourgeois with a sly crooked grin. She clutched at her broken dress as her heart rang in her ears. She tried to focus on what they were saying, but it was hard for her to make out words between the pounding and ringing. Marinette gathered her courage and powered through it, catching Luka's liquid metal voice as he spoke again.

"Bonjour, Mayor Bourgeois." Luka smiled at the rotund man, who was dressed in a crumpled white plain tee and gray sweatpants. Marinette couldn't believe the ex-mayor had fallen so far that he would be caught wearing such an atrocious outfit, or maybe she just couldn't reconcile the man she left Paris knowing with the man before her in the alley. She shook her head to try and focus on the conversation again and not on the ex-mayor's state of dress.

"Bonjour, Luka. What did you want to discuss? Money? I have none and you know that." Bourgeois sighed and put his hands in his pockets. He didn't stand up tall like he used to, but slouched and hid his face, as if he was ashamed of where he was in life. A stance befitting the criminal he was.

"Not today, Bourgeois. Shame as it is that you ended up where you are, I have something more important to ask such a fine man as yourself." Luka put on his cunning act and wrapped his arm over the older man's shoulders. A look of disgust crossed his face as he touched the former mayor, but he swiftly replaced it with a sickly sweet smile. "See, I met this girl over in Milan. She's about… oh… let's say yay-tall." He gestured with his free hand, holding it up to about Marinette's height.

Marinette gasped and threw her hand over her mouth in a panic. She wanted to scream, but that would give away her position. Marinette swallowed hard and clutched the can with her hands, as she turned to peer around it again.

"She's got hair the color of midnight with just a hint of blue and skin the color of a light almond with an undertone of a dusty rose… eyes the color of sapphires. Sound familiar? Her parents run a boulangerie in town. Some argue the best one in all of Paris." Luka smirked at the man with a hint of gleaming pearly white teeth. "See, a very important man is looking for her. I want to save the little damsel in distress before that happens, and I think you could be of some help to me." He leaned into Mayor Bourgeois, the older man yelping as the grip on his shoulder grew painful, "Maybe you even know of some friends of hers that I could talk to, hm?"

Marinette turned to put her back against the trash can and chewed on her fingernails to keep the panic from bubbling out. She didn't want to be caught by Luka. She just wanted to forget that Luka had ever existed. She wanted to forget the part that she played in it, forget why she had let him do what he had. A tiny flash of green broke her out of her musings, she looked down to see the eyes on her serpent ring glowing. She gasped and quickly covered it with her palm, hoping against hope that it didn't mean what she thought it did.

Against her will, her eyes darted back over at Luka, only to see him flash a glance in her direction. Marinette quickly pulled back behind the trash can, panting at the adrenaline that was pumping through her veins.

Bourgeois had also caught Luka's glance to the side. Fearing it to be some sort of signal for his goons to attack, he panicked and burst out the only real answer he had for Luka. "Chloe knows of the girl and you might check with Gabriel's son." Luka nodded with a cheshire grin that spoke wonders beyond his words and handed him a 100 euro note.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Mayor. I'll be seeing you around." He patted the excited man on the shoulder with a condescending smile. Marinette heard footsteps making their way towards her and suddenly knew with absolute clarity Luka knew she was there. She crawled along the sidewalk until she reached the other end of the building, which backed up to a park. She continued to crawl until she was reasonably sure it was safe before getting up and sprinting across the park.

She couldn't hear whether his footsteps were still following her or not, all she knew was that she needed to get out of there, and fast. She had the hometown advantage and she planned to use every bit of her knowledge of Paris' alleyways against him. She wanted to peek over her shoulder to see if he was following or not, but she was terrified of falling down. She had managed to escape him once, but she wasn't naive enough to believe she could a second time. Spotting a place to turn at that would allow her to quickly glance and gauge where he was before he lost sight of her completely, she put on an extra burst of speed. Her hair flew out behind her as she put her all into creating a bigger gap between them. She reached the corner and took her moment, looking around to find him about 30 feet behind her. He was too close. She needed to put more space between them, but she could feel the burn in her lungs and her legs taking over. She wouldn't be able to last much longer at this rate. She needed another place to hide. She needed to get this damn ring off. She was now positive that it was somehow broadcasting her location to Luka. For right now, she concentrated on coming up with a way to buy herself some time. She tore down an alleyway, then zig zagged over to a different one that was caddy-corner to the one she just flew out of. She did this a couple of times, hoping to confuse Luka enough into falling behind or making a wrong turn. She risked another glance behind her as she ran out of yet another alleyway, relieved to find that he hadn't turned the corner yet. She was losing him.

A small smile broke out on her face right before she slammed into a hard body. Her fast pace was arrested by the collision that sent them both tumbling to the ground, rolling over and over again before coming to a stop abruptly. She heard a man's voice groan from on top of her as she attempted to catch her breath and keep her modesty. She closed her eyes as the world kept spinning. She felt bad for whoever it was that she had crashed into, but she couldn't stick around and make sure they were alright. Besides, the further away she got from him, the less danger he was in. Opening her eyes to find out the best way to squirm out from under him, she squinted as she caught sight of his face in the darkness. Actually, it wasn't his face that caused her to go still. No, she didn't even get to recognize the other features of the person currently dumbstruck on top of her.

She only saw shocked bright green eyes.

"Ma - Mari?"