Marinette asks, "Tikki, what do you think the missing piece goes to anyway?"

        "I honestly do not know," Tikki answers.

         "Oh, okay, well I hope we find whatever it goes too soon," Marinette says.

         "Same here, girl," Tikki replies.

              Marinette and Tikki continue the search for an item the pink glass shard matches up with since it is obvious whatever it has either a crack or chip in it somewhere.  The girls have no idea what is about to happen as they check every last nook and cranny for it.

            A few minutes later, they are still empty-handed and no closer to answers than they were before the search.  It seems the thing it goes to is nowhere to be found. Is it possible it is something they already threw out?   
  
            "Marinette, you do not think we tossed it away do you?" Tikki asks.

            "Tossed what away?"  Marinette asks in response to Tikki's question.

          "The object we are looking for because it seems to be impossible to find it," Tikki replies.

          "No, I think it has to be around here somewhere," Marinette answers.

        "We have not checked the garage yet," Marinette says as if that makes the most sense in the world to check this part of the place they rarely ever enter.

       "I suppose we could check there," Tikki states.

        Marinette enters the garage with Tikki not far behind her.  

        Marinette turns on the light and is surprised to see so many pink things out here.  It is not like she comes here often enough to recall what all it contains.  Tikki appears to be taken aback by the sight in front of them as well.

     "Oh, my goodness, there is so much pink out here," Tikki says.

     "I know it is like we hit the jackpot of pinkness," Marinette responds.

      "I suppose we could start on this shelf first then work our way to over there," Marinette remarks.

   "Sure, whatever you say, friend," Tikki says with a hint of sarcasm.

       Marinette grabs up a pink sponge. She places it into her pocket. Then, she glances at the next item and sees it is a screwdriver. She thinks it is cool, but not what we are after because it is plastic.  Next, she notices a few pink paper clips, a thumbtack, a folder, and some old dusty notecards.  She shrugs her shoulders at the vasty array of things in front of her eyes.

      Tikki can tell Marinette feels a bit overwhelmed at all this stuff.  No surprise there as she feels the same way about this huge mess.  It seems that nothing in the world could have prepared them for this day.  How on earth are they find what they are after in all this?   

       Marinette puts on some gloves and a dust mask.  She figures this should cut down on germs and help her not to sneeze as she inspects the shelf some more.  She is allergic to dust highly allergic.  She has been this way as long as she can remember.  

     "A-Achoo!  A-Achoo!"  Tikki sneezes from the dust. 

     "God Bless You," Marinette says.

     Tikki feels silly that she did not think to do the same as Marinette. She exits the garage, blows her nose, throws out the kleenex, and washes her hands. 

     Tikki returns to the garage with a dust mask on her face this time and gloves as well. She is not taking any chances on sneezing again, or on germs for that matter. She rather be safe than sorry.

     Marinette holds up a flashlight and notices it has no batteries.  On further inspection, she sees the lightbulb is missing as well.  She does not think it is what they seek since nothing appears to broken. She sets it back down.  She grabs up a pink hat and laughs at silly it looks.

   "Marinette, we are not here to explore, we are here to find answers," Tikki reminds her.

   "Awe, Tikki, where is your keen sense of fun gone off too?"  Marinette asks to tease her best friend.

     "Sense of fun, what might I ask is fun about trying to find some lost plate, cup, or whatever it is that matches the small piece we found earlier today?"  Tikki asks her.

      "Excuse me, but you sound like a party pooper," Marinette blurts out.

      Tikki rolls her eyes in annoyance but continues to hunt for the item anyway.  She sure hopes they find it soon.  She believes it is the key to something big.  

       Marinette exams all the things on the first shelf, but still does not see what she came after.  She sighs as she finds a small stool in the corner.  She unfolds it.  It is then she notices it is way bigger than she thought it was at first. She stands on it and is glad to see she can now reach the shelf above the previous one. She takes a close look at each object on it.  

       Tikki climbs a ladder to check the shelf beside the one Marinette exams.  She thinks perhaps with two of us at work we can arrive at an answer sooner.  She laughs when she sees a pair of goofy goggles. She tries them on and sees the serious look on Marinette's face.  She wonders what it is that Marinette found.

      Marinette decides not to tell Tikki she found something important. She is not sure how to explain what it is yet. She places it inside the small tote she found right before she found this particular thing. She is sure it has to be what the piece fits.  She can not be wrong.  She slowly climbs down so as not to drop it. She takes the small bag inside the other part of the place. She sets it on the table, then goes back to the garage and folds up the stool.         

     Tikki wonders why Marinette is quiet all over again. She has no idea what this means. She climbs down the ladder, folds it up, and stores it back where she found it.

     Next, Tikki goes to her room while Marinette takes the tote to her room.  

     Now, alone Marinette closes, and locks the door to her room, and smiles. She cleans off the item slowly and carefully. She is glad she thought to grab up the glass shard too.

    Marinette gets out some strong glue from a storage container under her bed. She opens it and carefully uses it to glue the small piece back onto the item. She sets it on her dresser to let it dry. She removes the deposable gloves, throws them away, and takes off the mask. She washes her hands, dries them, then takes a photo of it.  At least now, she knows what it belongs too since she has it with her at last.

    *Author's note: Will Marinette ever tell Tikki the truth or show it to her?

   to be continued in Chapter 3

 -Summer out!