Time Maze

The Lost, the Confused and the Awakened

"This is ridiculous. Tyson didn't even tell me where exactly we are. I mean, what is Alamo? I've never even heard of it," Marcus mumbled under his breath, trying to understand what was going on.

It was clear that something serious was happening, not from what Tyson told him as he only remembered the basics but from the expression on his friend's face. He had never seen him as solemn as that. Not even after that banana peel prank that went horribly wrong.

"I really need to get my act straight. I haven't got even the slightest idea what to do if Tyson doesn't come back. Or even worse, if he comes back with no memory and needs me to help him remember," Marcus continued talking to himself as he sat on the ground with his back to the nearest wall. "Wait a minute! If he gets his memories wiped, how is he even supposed to know to come back here?"

The thoughts that ran through his mind like a freight train terrified him. After all, it wasn't like Tyson to leave things to chance. That Tyson didn't think through all the details told Marcus how much trouble they were in better than any words could.

He lowered his head into his hands, thinking through all the possibilities and what the best thing for him to do would be. Listening to Tyson and staying put didn't seem advisable in case something happened to Tyson. However, from what little Tyson told him about their situation, it seemed most of the trouble was caused by his reckless behavior.

"Marcus, are you okay?" Tyson asked as he approached Marcus cautiously.

He was unsure why his friend looked so disheartened. It made him worried that he might have been hurt in the scuffle with that odd Mazer. The fact that he didn't even stop to check up on his friend told Tyson more than he was ready to accept.

It was clear that he was getting lost in all the maze business. It was changing him and not for the better. His first priority should have been to keep Marcus and himself alive and unharmed, not finding the way out of the maze. It stood to reason that only if they stayed unharmed would they stand a chance to find an exit, and Tyson needed to remember that.

Marcus snapped his head up at those words with more relief and emotions than Tyson had ever seen in his closed-off friend.

"Tyson! You remember who I am!" Marcus exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

"Of course I do," Tyson said, reaching out to steady Marcus as he stumbled to his feet. "And I would have been able to do so even if I were hit with the Full Wipe."

"How come?" Marcus asked, confused but eager to understand their situation better, to help Tyson.

From the new lines on Tyson's face, it was clear that he needed all the help he could get, and Marcus was determined to provide him with all the aid he possibly could. Instead of running away from life in one of the fantasy scenarios that kept playing in his mind, Marcus decided to stay present and face the troubles of life head-on. For his friend, he was ready to do so even if it meant facing his demons, even if it meant waking them from their slumber.

"Marcus, they don't want to erase us completely. They just want to remove all the memory of the Time Maze," Tyson said, sitting down tiredly.

"Doesn't that mean the same thing, though?" Marcus asked.

"I guess it does, for us. However, it must be easier for Time Eraser to delete the time we spent here than to remove all our memories. I am guessing that whatever that dust is, it's not powerful enough to do that," Tyson said, thinking through his answer and hoping that he was right.

If he turned out to be mistaken, he assumed that being deleted would be a fate worse than death. Wandering around with no idea who you are, without a goal or purpose.