The mean looking man walked closer to the three aliens.

"Well, well, well. We finally meet."

"Who are you?" Michael asked again, but with more force.

" I am who you have been searching for. I can tell you everything that you want to know. Everything that you have wondered. I am from your home planet."

"You mean you can tell us...” Michael who is skeptical cuts off Isabel.

"What are you talking about?"

"Ah, the young man wants proof."

The man puts his hands out and makes a bright light in them.

"Is that enough proof?" He asks with a smirk on his face.

"You can tell us everything we have always wondered about." Isabel said.

"The only thing I want to know at the moment is what he did to Liz and Maria." Max said in an angry tone.

"Well that figures. All the answers you have been searching for are staring you in the face and you wonder about your little human friends. How cute. That is the mistake I was talking about."

"Didn't you tell humans? How about River Dog and Atherton?" Max said.

"Yes, I have made mistakes too, but we are not talking about me. We are talking about you. You do not know whether these humans can be trusted with such a secret to keep. You..."

"They saved my life.” Michael interrupted.

"I know this. That is why I came back. I kept some of the stones and felt them being used. I went to River Dog and he told me what happened. Ever since I have been following you all around, trying to figure out what to do."

"Nothing has to be done. Nothing is wrong." Michael said.

"That is where you are wrong. You three, especially you two (he points at Michael and Max) have grown attached to these humans. I have been watching you and I know how much you care for these people. Your biggest mistake is not in telling them; you had to do that. Your biggest mistake is trusting them with your lives and caring about them so deeply that you would risk everything to keep them safe."

" But they have helped us. They have kept our secret and saved our lives." Isabel said almost in tears.

"I know they have, but I am still not sure. I don't completely trust them. So... I erased their memory."

"WHAT?" all three of them yelled.

"We can't erase memories,” Max said.

" Correction. YOU can't erase memories. I can,” the man said. " I decided that it would be better off if they had no recollection of anything that has happened since the day that you saved your little lady friend. Nobody remembers anything that happened that day or since."

"So, you made it where it never happened. Went back in time?" Max asked

"No, it happened. But the only people who remember is you three."

"So, everything that has happened didn't really happen?" Max asked.

"No, I just said it happened but nobody remembers it, but you."

"Why would you do that? They can be trusted!" Michael said after keeping quiet trying to let it sink in.

" I knew this is how you all would react. I was wondering, would they be happy that their secret isn't out in the open anymore, or would they be sad that their human friends, who they have grown so close to, didn't even see them as important anymore? I thought you would be happy that they could have a normal life again. Especially you (points at Max). You are the one who pulled away from the woman you love because you were afraid. Aren't you happy that now she isn't hurt? Now she can get on with her life not knowing what could have been with you if you would have just let it be. Aren't you glad she doesn't have that pain in her heart anymore?"

"Yeah, I guess it is better this way." Max said looking down at the floor.

"No, Maximillion. It's not. I want you to change it back the way it was!" Michael said.

" Me too." Isabel agreed

" Don't you understand? You are safe again. No more worries,” The man said.

"But.... they don't even remember us. Everything we have been through. They accepted us. It was nice to have someone to completely be free with, who knew your deepest secret and still accepted you and cared." Isabel said crying.

" Even if it meant that on a day to day basis, you have people searching for the truth about you?" the man said. "Is your life better with them knowing and having the constant fear of being caught, or without them knowing and you being safe again? These are questions that need to be answered."

Max, finally realizing what was important, spoke up again, "My life began when I saved Liz. I love her more than anything. She is everything to me." Max started to cry. " Not having her in my life and her not remembering anything we have went through is like me dying anyway."

Isabel went over to hug Max.

"They are important to us and we are important to them. Please change it back,” Isabel said crying.

"Do you feel the same way?" The man asked Michael.

"Yes, I do. " Michael couldn't believe that he had a chance to have his secret actually be a secret again and he couldn't think of anything besides Maria. How hard it would be for him if she didn't remember him. For her to not even acknowledge him. He finally realized that Max healing Liz that day in the diner was the best thing that has ever happened to him.

"Well. That's good. I didn't want to get your hopes up,” the man said.

They all three looked at the man confused, wondering why he just said that.

"Well, I figured that is what you all would decide. That's good because I can't make people forget forever. If I could then I wouldn't have had to... well, that is not important. Now that I know how you truly feel about these humans, I am going to tell you why I really did this."

"What are you talking about?" Michael said getting frustrated.

" Ok, I now know that you love these humans. They are important to you and they obviously care for you. But there is one detail that I am curious about and I know you have to be too. Yes, they saved your lives and they would do anything for you, but is it just because of the novelty that you are, you know, not of this Earth? When the novelty wears off, will they still be there for you? Now it may same like that is not the case, but in the future, will they come to realize that they really don't care for you?"

"No, they..." Max started

"No, you don't know! You were hardly even friends before you saved her life. Does she genuinely care for you or is it just the fact that you saved her life. I mean, any girl is going to fall in love with the person who saves her life. Don't you ever wonder if in different circumstances, would she still want to be with you? And you (looks at Michael), what if the only reason your girl cares for you is because you are an alien? The excitement of it, not you, might be what she really cares about. And Isabel, what if the only reason they are friends with you is because your powers come in handy?"

"They aren't like that" Isabel said.

" Well, you just don't know, but now you will. Now you are back to the beginning. A blank slate. For 24 hours, your human friends will not know anything about what has happened. It is up to you what you do with this opportunity. You can try to see if they will give you the time of day or you can waste it. To be safe, they will not remember this 24 hours at all. You can tell them if you want, I don't care, but they will not remember for your safety."

“So, to them, everything is like it was before the shooting." Max asked

"Yes, everything. Nothing has changed. For 24 hours, they will be living like they did 5 months ago. It is up to you to find out what you need to." With that, the man started to leave.

"WAIT!" Isabel yelled. " You can't just leave. You can give us answers about.."

"No, I will not answer any questions. I will only say three things. One: If there were any way I could get home, I would be there, so you know you can't go home. Two: There is no need for you to know about something that you can't have. Three: You will realize in time what is really important. I am sorry." With that he went out the window and left before they could stop him.

"But...” Isabel started but the man was long gone.

"I can't believe he was standing right here and now he is gone. All of our answers gone." Isabel said

" No, I think he is letting us find our own answers." Max said

"What do you mean?" Isabel asked

"Maybe what we have been looking for has been right in front of us." Max said

"Maria, Liz and Alex." Michael said realizing what the man meant by saying they would realize what was really important.

"Do you think we should really do this? Find out if they would give us the time of day?" Isabel said.

"Well, it would just be a waste if we didn't." Max said. Max had wondered before what would have happened if he asked Liz out before all of this happened. If he hadn't been so shy. Yeah, she was with Kyle, but maybe she would have said yes anyway. "Wait a minute," Max said finally realizing what he had just thought, "this means that Liz thinks she's still with Kyle.”

"Well, I guess you are going to have to work around that." Isabel said

"I can't believe we are actually going to do this." Michael said.

"If we do it, should we tell them? They won't remember, but I know I would feel bad about it. Do you think they would be really mad at us for doubting them?" Isabel said.

" I don't know, but it would be a waste to not use this time." Max couldn't believe he actually wanted to do this, but he couldn't help himself. "This is an opportunity to see how it would be if they didn't know our secret. How it could have been when they still thought we were human. " He couldn't stop thinking about whether or not Liz would give him the time of day. He felt bad for wondering, but with this chance, what would be the harm? Unless he finds out she would have rather been with Kyle.

"Maria and I weren't even friends before all of this. I didn't even know who she was. How am I supposed to see if she would go out with me before all of this if we never even talked?" Michael said. He knew that Maria cared about him now, but now he also is wondering if it's only because of the thrill of him being an alien.

" Just start a conversation with her. I guess that's how I am going to have to see if they would be friends with me. Just try to talk to them and see if they blow me off." Isabel said.

"They would never blow anybody off that tried to be friends with them." Max said. "They aren't that way."

"Yeah, I know. You are right. But I'll try just to make sure, I guess. My job is easy, but you and Michael have your work cut out for you. " Isabel said

Isabel knew she wasn't kidding. Max had the Kyle factor and Michael had the fact that him and Maria never even talked before all of this. At least Max and Liz were "class friends". The kind of friend that just talk a little during the classes they had together and said "hey" in the halls sometimes when they saw each other. Michael had nothing to work with. Well, they are going to have fun, Isabel thought to herself sarcastically.

"So.... we're going to do this?" Max asked already knowing the answer.

"I guess so which means that I need to get home and try to figure out what the heck I need to do." Michael said leaving through the window.

"Well Max, good luck! " Isabel said going to her room.

Luck? I need more than luck, Max thought. I need a miracle. Why would Liz even consider me when she has Kyle? Maybe this isn't such a good idea. If she turns me down, it will break my heart and I wouldn't be able to forget it when the 24 hours were up. But it was such a great opportunity. What if I had made my move before I saved her? What if I hadn't been so shy? Then Max realized that he had to seize this opportunity if not only to just ease his mind.