"Alright Soul, we should try to clean up a little, in case we bump into people."

"Okay but I don't really see how," he grumbled.

"Well let's see," she walked up to face him. "Dirty hair...hmm...just shake out the sand. Muss it up a little."

He raised an eyebrow, and she nodded encouragingly. He shook his head back and forth a little, "Ta-da?"

"Ughh no, here I'll help. Bend over a bit so I can reach your head." He squatted a little so he was closer to her height and leaned forward. "Close your eyes so the sand doesn't get in there."

She shook all the sand out of his hair and tugged some strands down to make the whole mess a little less scary. "There," she said stepping back to admire her work, "Got that intentional bedhead look going on. Not bad."

"Now shake your clothes out from some of the dust. I'll turn around," she instructed after taking in the dusty black jeans and black t-shirt. She found the weird logo on his shirt interesting. It was a cartoony mouth with pointy teeth with the word eat around it. All done in thin yellow lines.

After a few minutes of cursing and clothing flapping around she turned to check him out.

"There, are you happy now?" He growled as she looked him up and down.

While he still looked a little beat up, it was much better. He might even be attractive under the dirt, and attitude.

"Not too shabby, too bad you'll still stand out like a sore thumb."

"Why is that?" He asked, sounding a little guarded.

"Well, red eyes, pointy teeth, white messy hair. Don't come across that...ever. You kinda look like a demon. Are you a cosplayer?"

"I'm weird looking..?" He sounded a little hurt and he slouched as if to protect himself from her gaze.

"It's not bad, it's just different. To me anyways... I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it."

"Well what do you know anyways. It's not like you remember anything about anything at all. Maybe you're the weird looking one. What grown ass woman wears pigtails anyway?" His sarcastic attitude back in place.

She hadn't even considered what she looked like. She had no idea what to expect as she reached for her hair. As Soul had mentioned she had two sloppy pigtails drooping from the sides of her head. She ran her fingers through the silky hair and looked at it for the first time. Sun caught some of the less dirty strands and reflected off her soft ash blond hair. "I guess I did," she responded as she pulled the elastics holding her hair out. She bent over to shake her hair out and when she felt like she got most of the sand out she pulled it into a messy bun.

She looked over and noticed Soul was deeply invested in something in his hands.

"What's that?" She asked as she took a step closer.

"It's my wallet I guess. I found it when I shook out my pants."

He pulled out a driver's license.

"Soul Evans," he read aloud, "Camden, Maine."

"Mr. Evans, of Maine," she said as she gave an exaggerated curtsy.

"This is good information Maka, do you have a wallet? Maybe there's more information about you?"

She reached into her front and back pockets and emptied the contents.

"No wallet, but I did find...27, 36, 65 dollars, and a piece of paper."

"Nice! Combined we have a whopping...136 dollars! Tonight we dine like kings! What's the piece of paper?" He asked as he noticed her unfolding it.

"It's a note..." she trailed off as she began to read to herself.

Dearest Maka,

I know what I did was despicable. I don't know how or why it happened. I guess the boys and I just got carried away at my bachelor party. I know it's not an excuse. But I wish you'd have it in your heart to forgive me. I know you already called the engagement off and you probably hate me. But please. Please. Let me talk to you in person, or at least take my calls. Maybe we can work this out. I know it's all really difficult for you, particularly because of your history with your father but I swear I'll never do anything like this again. Let me show you, give me a chance to show you how great we were and can be. If you have it in your heart to forgive me meet me tonight where we had our first date, 8:00 p.m. I'll be there.

Love Always.

She felt her stomach churn. She was engaged to a man who was apparently a cheater or something, and according to this man's note she likely didn't get along well with her father either. Maybe it wasn't so bad to be so disconnected from that life now. Her face may have given away some of the turmoil she was feeling because Soul came over to stand next to her and see the note.

"What's it say Maka?" She quietly handed him the note and continued to check out what else she found in her pockets.

In the depths of one of her back pockets she found a ring. A small plain gold band with one diamond in the middle. She looked at her left hand and sure enough there was a faded tan line from where her ring used to be.

Soul looked up from the note when he was done and saw that she was still looking at both the ring and her left hand. "Oh shit," he said, as he took a step back.

"What?"

"Are you okay? He was probably an asshole anyways..." He trailed off as she looked at him. He was alarmed by he small smirk she had.

"I'm fine. Remember? Can't remember a single thing. I can't miss what I never had. On the other hand. We can probably pawn this off too have a bit more money."

He seemed unconvinced she was okay, "Are you sure you don't want to keep that? In case things eventually go back to normal?"

"It may be a necessity, either way I doubt I'll be devastated. You read that note. Who knows how long he's had to wait already. Oh speaking of. What year is on your license?"

"2016," he responded immediately.

"Cool, hopefully we can find a newspaper or something. Alright hold all this and turn around," she said as she handed him the contents of her pockets, "It's my turn to dust off." She pulled her dark red tank top off and shook the sand out of her shirt and bra. Then she struggled out of her black skinny jeans and gave them a good shake too. After she was clothed again she felt more comfortable, and less sandy.

By the time they decided to stroll into the city like nothing was wrong, the sun had already gone down and the last light was fading from the sky. They had come into the town near a small cluster of already closed shops. There were few people around and those that were out seemed eager to get home. Everyone looking tired and a little worse for wear.

"Do you think it's this miserable looking everywhere or are these people sad looking because they live in the middle of a desert?" Asked Soul dryly.

Maka shrugged in response and continued to scan the buildings for a place they could stay. Up the small street to the right she saw the neon sign for a motel. "Let's go there. I'm sure there's food and water and I would kill for a shower." She said as she pointed the to the Oasis Motel sign.

They walked into the little building. Tucked neatly between a sad looking laundromat and a small diner.

She handed Soul her cash, "You go ask how much for a room. I'm gonna go check out that newspaper stand."She left him at the main counter to check out the small pile of papers.

"The Desert Gazette," she read. She searched below the title for the date. Wednesday, July 23rd, 2056

She gasped a little, "Holy shit, 40 years," she whispered to herself.

"We'd like to get this too," she said as she walked up to Soul at the counter.

"Complimentary with the room m'dear," said the old man behind the counter as he handed soul a key card on a purple lanyard. "You folks will be in room 207, up those stairs, right hallway on the left side," he pointed at a small staircase behind them.

"Thanks," said Maka brightly as they turned to walk up the stairs.

As soon as they entered the little room Maka stopped and slouched against the closed door while Soul walked in to investigate the room.

"Sorry Maka, it was way cheaper to get a room with just one bed. I figured we should be careful with our money." He turned to look at her when she didn't respond. She was sitting on the floor with her back against the door.

"Whatsa matter? I really don't want to sleep in the floor, but if it's that bad..."

"No, it's not that. It's this," she said as she handed him the newspaper.

Bewildered he reached to take it from her, "What...?" His eyes quickly scanned the front page. He whistled. "40 years huh..."

She nodded. Still reeling from the surprise. She didn't know what to expect but she certainly hadn't expected that.

"Alright Maka, why don't you get in the shower. I'll run over to the diner. Get some food. And we can eat here and read through this newspaper, see if we can figure some shit out."

"Yeah, okay," she said as she got up. She was grateful for the time alone to clean up and shake off the shock of how long it had been. She got up and went into the bathroom. She heard the front door close behind Soul as she turned the shower on. She picked up the little bottles off sink to read them.

"Coconut Shampoo, luxury on the go! Coconut Cream Hair Conditioner," she read to herself. She grabbed the little bottles, along with the small plastic wrapped soap and hopped in. If she thought she had cleaned up a little before she was wrong. "Ew," she mused as she watched the water run brown and murky off her body. She shampooed her hair twice, just to be sure before, she got out of the shower. She was surprised by how soft and fluffy the white towels were given the obvious aging of the motel. She left the bathroom wrapped up in her towel. Opting not to wear the dirty clothes again just yet. She made her way to the bed and sat down before flicking on the TV. She searched briefly through the channels before settling on a news broadcast.

... unanticipated meteor action has been reported in several states suggesting that satellites are no longer able to relay as much information as they had before the Kishin mobilization... Finally new reports have surfaced on the movements of controversial and wanted Doctor Frank Steinzle. Before he was wanted by Kishin officials for his resistance he was known for his controversial research on souls. Shortly after Kishin Leader Asura announced a world wide ban on any unapproved science and research activities Steinzle went into hiding and had not been heard from in almost 6 years. However, he's back in the news because of the untraceable release of this footage.

At that point a grainy video clip began to roll. It featured a grey haired man in a lab coat with strange scars on his face trailing down his arms. He spoke with urgency and Maka's full attention was on the television.

She heard Soul walk into the room and before he could say a word she sushed him and pointed deliberately at the television without turning away. He looked confused but he quietly edged in. They both listened to the grainy man from the television.

"I know about the time links. I'm here to help. If you fell from somewhere. If you just appeared here from another time, find me. Return to the location of your landing leave me a sign on how to find you. I know where you landed I will come by within the week. Make yourselves known to me when you see me. I can find you. I know what you need. Come with your linked partner and come and find me. I need your help... And you need mine."

And with that the footage was over and the shot returned to a rather stricken looking newscaster.

The woman telling the news looked upset, frightened almost before she managed to clear her face of emotion and say, "Apologies from WorldWideNetwork News. It has just been discovered that the video was a hoax. The Kishin government urges all people to disregard the last story but to report any sightings of the mad Doctor Steinzle."

Maka and Soul looked at each other thoughtfully.