"Future Rewoven" Book 3 of "Secrets Unraveled" Trilogy |COMPLETED|

Chpt 36: Just What Can a Kwami Do Now?

Maya walked over to where Marinette was standing completely frozen, wondering just how much time she had. She had frozen Marinette's parents about thirty minutes ago and they hadn't moved yet, but it could be any time now. She was hoping to quickly figure out which item was the Miraculous and then leave before anyone saw her. She had already thought that it was either the necklace or the earrings, so she'd start there.

Maya carefully pulled the necklace out from underneath Marinette's shirt and then unhooked it. She examined the necklace's charm. Is that a sock? She peered at it more closely. Yes, it is! Marinette has some of the weirdest taste in jewelry. Maya secured the necklace around her own neck but nothing seemed to happen, though she wasn't exactly sure how the Miraculouses worked.

The earrings next. Maya took the earrings off of Marinette and put them on herself. Suddenly, a red and black spotted creature appeared in front of her! And, it didn't seem to be too friendly- it was glaring at her!

"What did you do to Marinette?! You didn't hurt her, did you? She won't be frozen like that forever will she?!" said the creature angrily.

Maya took a step back from the flying thing, not only from surprise that it could talk but also to put a bit more distance between her and the waves of anger she could feel coming from it. Was this creature part of the Miraculous in some way? She'd never read anything about it, but she figured she couldn't ignore it in case it had the power to hurt her in some way.

"Yes, she'll be fine. It will wear off eventually. And, I'm sorry, but I don't have a choice. I need to get back to my own time and this is the only way I know how to," Maya replied as she double-checked that Marinette was actually okay.

Maya noticed the change in expression on the little red and black face, moving from anger to sadness as it looked at Marinette. The face then turned toward her, looking at her accusingly.

I won't feel guilty! This is what I've been working toward for the past year and I almost have all that I have desired! I'm so close! Maya looked again at the frozen girl in front of her who did so much for the city, practically sacrificing her life for it, and who still made time for others. Who treated people, even her, with kindness. What am I doing? But, what other choice do I have? Maya frowned and felt the earrings on her ears, while trying to ignore the seriously upset creature in front of her.

"You know, you could have just asked her for her help! You didn't have to freeze her and then steal from her! I've seen you watching her and I know that you've noticed that she can't keep herself from helping others. It's not too late to unfreeze her and then talk to her!" said the little creature as it waved its arms about. "And then give her back the Miraculous!"

Maya glanced at her phone, realizing how much time had passed. She needed to go. She could continue this discussion at the lab, as Max had other plans for the night and wouldn't be there.

"We've got to go," said Maya as she put her freeze equipment back in her bag. "Maybe you should get in the bag so you won't be seen?" she said.

"I'm not going in there with that thing!  I don't want to accidentally get frozen!"

Maya sighed. "Okay, well how about my shirt then?" she asked as she held open her outer shirt that had an inside pocket.

The creature flew in and Maya crept down the stairs, checking that Marinette's parents weren't there in the living room before she headed down the rest of the way. She had frozen them in the closed bakery, so she was going to go out the other way, in case they had unfrozen already. They shouldn't have any memory of what happened, but she didn't want to take the risk.

She pushed open the door and headed out onto the sidewalk and toward the lab.

- - -

Tikki had been shocked to find Maya in Marinette's bedroom- if only she'd warned Marinette sooner maybe this wouldn't have happened! She hoped Marinette would be alright. In the meantime, Tikki set herself the task of convincing Maya to return the Miraculous. She could tell that Maya was wavering. Maya hadn't even asked her how to use the Miraculous! And luckily, the young woman didn't seem to know anything about kwamis or the fact that she could command Tikki to do whatever she wanted her to. Thankfully, there was also no requirement to tell the Miraculous holder anything about how the Miraculous worked unless commanded to do so and Tikki had no plans to say anything about that. She had plenty to say about other things, however!

"It's still not too late to go back and give Marinette what was rightfully given to her. She was chosen to help people. You should let her do that! The city needs her! And if you leave this time with the Miraculous, who will protect the city? Leaving Paris unprotected could negatively affect your life in the future!" Tikki didn't know whether that was true or not- she didn't know anything about time travel or timelines but she was determined to continue talking. She hoped it would persuade Maya to do the right thing, but if not, maybe Tikki would annoy her so much that she would just want to return the Miraculous so she didn't have to listen to Tikki anymore! Tikki continued to lecture Maya from inside her shirt.

"Geez! Don't you ever stop talking?!" said Maya quietly to her shirt.

"I'm pretty much immortal- I can talk forever!" replied Tikki gleefully. Tikki debated about flying off and returning with help, but she really thought that she could convince Maya to do the right thing.

"Don't you think this might be better for Marinette, though?" said Maya. "It must be hard for her to juggle all of this extra responsibility. Shouldn't she just get to be a kid? I mean, she and Cat Noir already defeated Hawk Moth. Shouldn't that be enough? I haven't really seen much that the superheroes have been needed for since I arrived here anyway. Marinette's- and whoever Cat Noir is- their lives will be better without this, won't they be?"

Tikki was glad to hear that Maya didn't know Cat Noir's secret identity. They hadn't been sure about that. At least the Cat Miraculous should be safe and able to be used to get back the Ladybug Miraculous if needed.

"There are other things going on though that you aren't aware of. And taking the Miraculous means that you've left Marinette defenseless!"

Maya stopped walking and directed the next statement into her shirt. "What do you mean? What other things?" she asked sharply.

Aha! Well, now we know that Maya isn't responsible for Marinette's accidents. But, then who is? thought Tikki. "Somebody's been trying to hurt Marinette. Pushing her into the street and off of a train platform. We thought it might have been you, but from your reaction, that is obviously not the case."

Maya felt torn. She didn't want anything to happen to Marinette. But, she didn't want anything to happen to her own self either! She started walking again.

"I really am sorry! I wouldn't wish for anything to happen to Marinette, but this is also life and death for me. What choice do I have?" said Maya in an anguished voice.

Tikki remained silent after that. She couldn't completely fault the young woman for taking drastic measures if she thought her own life was at risk. Though, Maya was the one who chose to travel through time. She chose to take the risk for her own gain. While Marinette had only accepted these risks to herself to help people!

Maya unlocked the door to the lab building and started climbing the stairs. She reached the correct floor and walked down the hallway to unlock the lab. She was completely lost in her thoughts and didn't notice the light on at one of the desks.

Max looked up from his computer screen. "Hi, Maya. I think we need to talk."