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”Now, will that be cash, credit, or memories?”
”Now, will that be cash, credit, or memories?”
He knew the drill. He would not be able to get out until he gave the right answer.
Sometimes, he thought of giving up the guardianship of Fate. He wondered what could happen, maybe, if he surrendered it to someone who would surely use it far less than he had to, some random unsuspecting civilian.
Time and its derivatives often had a surprisingly evil mind of their own, he and Alix knew better than anyone. He had no idea how their Miraculous got its payback, but if it was any like his, he was grateful he wasn't the guardian of Time itself.
The first few times he used his power, it had been a life changing experience, to experience how five minutes could change so much for all the possible futures.
The concept of his Miraculous mesmerized him, being in charge of the destiny of the team and Paris. Even of the world.
As much as he loved being able to help give the team breaks when they were about to be jthe ones to break down, solve the unchangeable and bring back those they lost, he sometimes wished he had never outgrown the five-minute limit.
With the limit, he could go back as many times as he desired, free of any collateral damage. His green bracelet was the warranty of a new day, whatever was to go wrong during the battles. Even if it made him spend every day more on Sass' snacks, it was worth it. Safe, interesting, perfect.
With the five minute limit, nothing could go wrong. If it happened to do, well, that was what he was there for, right?
He lived for his Miraculous. He loved it.
Until Sass' warning.
Young wielders could be just as powerful as adult ones, even more if they knew how to use their powers. Limits were practically off the picture once they put their minds to it.
The thing was, Kwamis needed to gain their energy from somewhere. After a tragic incident very long ago, when they were first wielded, the kwamis vowed not to allow any other young wielder to feed them off anything that wasn't physical food.
As the wielders grew up, their energy did too. As everyone knew thanks to the Order, They would all reach a point where their Kwamis were able to feed off them. Their energy.
This was useful during battles, sure, but sometimes, when it ran out, it turned… complicated.
Sass had hated himself the first time he had to do it. Luka had taken care of him for so long. They had bonded over time. The Kwami had watched the boy grow. Years were nothing for a Kwami, but those spent with a good Holder were more than any of them could ask for.
The first time Luka had gone back more than five minutes, it was almost by accident. He hadn't noticed when his timer was up, when the ouroboros was completed.
Sass didn't have a heart, being a cosmic entity, but if he had one, it would have crushed it.
”Now, will that be cash, credit, or memories?”
The look each one of his hatchlings had had on their faces when they were first presented with the question never failed to pain him.
Just like Luka, they would be confused at first.
”Now, will that be cash, credit, or memories?”
Many tried to give the easiest answer.
Cash.
But it would always be the wrong one.
Credit, some would try.
How many hatchlings had he lost to unknowingly offering time too much time of their lives as credit.
Memories.
Luka had been the first one wise enough to go for the last option the first time.
The least harmful of the two that were useful, yet the most damaging to the mind of the Holder.
How many others had he lost to the despair of a perpetually oblivious mind.
The first time Luka appeared worried about having forgotten where his guitar was, after fighting yet another akumatization of Desperada, it looked like nothing.
Forgetting his own in exchange for messing with hers. That was what he got. Over ten long second chances, or until Sass ran out of his and Luka's energy, that was the rule.
Whenever any of those conditions were overlooked, That was bound to get their payback. He, she, it, one of the many alternate figures Sass could take yet one of the many he could not control either.
It appeared, and the next moment, it would be gone with whatever the innocent Wielder had decided to give up.
Slowly, esch wielder would descend into a spiral, asking themselves what the voice that filled their headspace each time they fell into the void was.
It had been long since Luka had overcome the doubt, simply accepting it as a new part to his life. The question still lingered in his mind, but if Sass couldn't say anything, there was probably a reason he didn't, he concluded.
It was a fair trade in a way. He took memories to be from the universe, and gave his back. An eye for an eye, a leg for a leg, something that never happened after he intervened for something that did and was buried in the back of his mind.
”Now, will that be cash, credit, or memories?”
He had surrendered so many times.
”Now, will that be cash, credit, or memories?”
Another one shouldn't hurt too much, though.
”Now, will that be cash, credit, or memories?”
Sometimes, he wondered if he would ever run out of trading cards.
”Now, will that be cash, credit, or memories?”
Maybe one day he wouldn't even remember what was he trading. What he had lost, and what he had gained.
Sometimes, he wondered if he would ever conclude it would be better to surrender his time instead of his mind, just to try.
”Now, will that be cash, credit, or memories?”
"Memories".