The night was silent. Marinette's eyes slowly opened as she inspected the still room. It had taken hours, but Adrien had finally fallen asleep. Now she could leave.

Her feet hit the wooden panels of the cabin, and she tiptoed towards the door. She glanced over at Adrien who was sound asleep on the floor, his lips slightly parted.

Inferno was gone for now, and she couldn't stay here. Her parents were definitely worried sick as well. And that thought made her wonder where Adrien's parents were and why he was living in a cabin in the middle of the woods. Everything about him screamed mysterious.

She grabbed the doorknob and twisted it open. After stealing one last glance at Adrien to make sure he was asleep, she bolted out the front door as fast as she could.

It didn't take long for her legs to ache and her lungs to feel like they were on fire. The night was dark and ruthless. She could barely see anything other than the shadows of the tall trees in front of her. Her foot caught on a rock and pulled her body to the ground. Of course, Marinette's luck never worked in her favor.

She scrambled profusely on the forest floor, getting back to her feet. A street lamp hidden behind the trees in the distance was her very own "light at the end of the tunnel." It called for her. It was her freedom.

Marinette started limping towards the light, thanks to her previous injuries and her now sprained ankle. She nearly bumped into a few trees, but it didn't matter now. She had finally reached the clearing and the street lamp of a park. To her luck, it was the park that was right around the corner from her house.

She picked up speed, her house being her motivation, and limped all the way there. She reached the front door and leaned up against it. Of course, it was locked, so she began pounding on it.

"Mom!" she yelled, insomnia and pure exhaustion causing her speech to slur. "Dad!"

In an instant, the door swung open and Sabine was standing there. She cried and grabbed her daughter, tugging her into the house.

"Marinette!" Sabine exclaimed. Tom rushed into the bakery. "We've been worried sick! Where were you?!"

"Forest," she mumbled, her eyes heavy.

"Who did this to you?!" Sabine yelled, lifting up her daughter's sleeves and looking at the bruises and burns.

"In-Inferno..." she murmured.

"I'm calling the police right now!" Tom yelled, running upstairs.

"We tried to issue a missing person case, but the police said we had to wait another day! We've been calling everyone we know!" Sabine said, tears welting up in her eyes. She guided Marinette over to the couch and lay her down. "Who is Inferno?"

"Bad... guy," Marinette replied sleepily. "The one on the news."

"I knew it!" Sabine cried. "Tom! It was the man on the news!"

He jogged down the stairs, phone held up to his ear. "My wife said it was the man on the news that hurt my daughter."

Marinette's eyelids slowly closed. "I'm... fine, I swear."

Sirens echoed in her ears just before she passed out. Sabine looked down at her, tears falling down her cheeks. "Stay with me, sweetie..."

Her eyes finally fluttered shut and sweet darkness consumed her soul.

*

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Marinette twitched in annoyance at the sound. As she sucked in air, the smell of chemicals filled her nostrils and she realized she wasn't in the comfort of her bed. She shifted uncomfortably and a surprised gasp was heard to her right.

"Tom," her mother's voice whispered excitedly, "I think she's awake. Get the nurse."

"Okay," Tom replied quietly before his footsteps echoed out of the room.

Marinette felt her arm being caressed, and the weird sensation of a needle pricking her skin. An IV. Her mother's warm gesture, however, replaced the sting and calmed her nerves. "Honey," Sabine whispered soothingly.

Marinette wasn't too thrilled about how she'd react to the light when she opened her eyes, but she did so anyway. Her eyes cracked open slightly and the blinding light caused her to close them again. She groaned in discomfort.

"How long have I been out?" Marinette croaked.

"Just a few hours," Sabine replied calmly. "You're in the hospital. I wanted to make sure you didn't have any internal injuries. But the doctor took an x-ray and everything seemed fine, besides the burns and bruises of course. I hope they catch that monster Inferno for what he did."

"See, I told you I was fine," Marinette said, opening her eyes again so they would adjust to the light. At first, she only saw the blur of her mother's figure but her vision became more clear as she spoke. As with Inferno, the last thing Marinette wanted to do was rise panic in her mother. "And he only burned me a little."

"That talk will be for another time. But what we wanted to ask you when you woke up was..." Sabine continued, her voice laced with confusion. "When the doctor examined you, she found that the burn on your stomach was treated prior to your admittance. And I know for a fact neither I nor your father treated it. We didn't even know it was there."

Marinette broke out into a cold sweat. Was she supposed to keep Adrien's whereabouts a secret? Should she tell them the truth? He must've been hiding in the forest for a reason, all alone... She couldn't rat him out, not after he willingly helped her.

"Uh," she mumbled. "I-I can't remember."

Tom came back into the room with nurses by his side. They circled around Marinette, checking her IV and such. Sabine looked inquisitively at her daughter.

"I just want to go home," Marinette sighed, feeling the pressure build up on her. She stared up at the bland ceiling.

"You will be permitted to leave shortly, mademoiselle," the nurse replied. She carefully pulled the IV out of Marinette's arm and placed a bandaid on it. "But the police are waiting to question you."

"Right," Marinette murmured, looking around for her phone. "Where's my phone? I need to call Alya. She's probably worried sick."

"I already did," Tom said, holding up his cell phone. "She's glad you're okay and can't wait to see you."

Marinette smiled slightly. She loved her best friend. She couldn't wait until this entire mess was over with so she could go back to her normal life.

She then saw two men dressed in black suits approaching from the long hallway that stretched before her. Her eyes widened. They looked vaguely familiar to the FBI. Or Men in Black! Were they going to erase her memory?

Her palms grew sweaty as she shifted uncomfortably in the bed. Her eyes stayed glued to the scary looking men; their facial features were guarded by the fedora-like hats. Both were tall but the man nearest to the door had a bit of stubble.

Sabine swiveled around in her chair. "Ah, looks like the police are here to question you sweetie," she said slowly, almost in dismay. She faced Marinette again and grabbed her hands. "You'll be fine. I'll see you soon," she whispered before planting a kiss on her forehead.

Tom winked reassuringly at Marinette before following Sabine out of the room. They closed the door behind them at now the only people in the room were Marinette and the police.

"Hello, Ms. Dupain-Cheng," the man with stubble said. "We are aware that you had an encounter with this... supernatural being if you will."

"Yes," Marinette gulped.

"We're also aware that your injuries had been treated by someone else prior to your return. Do you know who helped you?"

"I," she breathed. "No."

The man's partner pulled out a chair and sat at the end of her bed. "Listen," he said slowly. "I know this was a bit of a traumatic event, but we need you to be honest with us. Capturing Inferno is our number one priority and we need to know who helped you."

"I am being honest," Marinette said, her voice shaky.

"Are you sure?" the man with stubble asked, his arms folded. His eyes burned holes into her soul; he knew she was lying. Marinette couldn't go on. She needed all the luck in the world to get out of this situation. As if highlighting the direness of her situation, an ambulance echoed down the street outside.

"Please," he continued. "We need to catch Inferno before he hurts anyone else."

Marinette pinched her eyes shut. She desperately tried to tap into her power of luck. It worked with Alya, it had to work now.

"We're going to ask you one more time," the man said firmly. "Who helped-"

The door suddenly swung open with a slam. Marinette opened her eyes in shock and saw the nurse standing in the doorway with wild eyes. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I think you two need to see something outside!" she yelled, staring at the investigators.

The men quickly composed themselves before racing out the door. Marinette couldn't believe it. Just her luck! Literally.

She climbed out of her hospital bed with a grunt. Her bare feet hit the cold floor, sending a jolt up her spine. Also, it had just occurred to her that she was in a hospital gown. Saving the thought for another time, she limped over to her window, hoping that she could get a view of what was going on.

Outside, there was a crowd of people circling around something she couldn't see. She unhinged the window and slid it open. Sounds of cries and incoherent chatter filled her ears.

She wasn't feeling the best, but she felt well enough to get out of there. The investigators knew she was lying. Plus, they would study her like a lab rat until they found out how to get to Inferno.

Marinette slid the window all the way up and lifted her leg over the side. She hopped out of the window and into bushes. More of the people's cries filled her ears. She lifted her head in curiosity and gasped at the sight a few feet ahead.

Houses and trees were on fire. The town was in ruins. People were screaming and running away in terror.

Ambulances raced down the street and news reporters started to flood the scene.

Of course, this was the work of Inferno. But why? Was he after her specifically? It didn't add up.

Marinette didn't know what else to do, so she did the one thing she could do. Find Adrien. He was the only one Marinette knew could help her. After all, he seemed to know more about Inferno than anyone else.

She knew he was in the forest somewhere, so she'd better start heading towards it now. The forest lay directly ahead of her. She dodged people running down the sidewalk in terror and raced into the forest.