“You’re from the future!”
The Professor was amused and amazed.
“So where is our Rex?” he asked.
“Well, you can’t tell the Princess or Jones, but he’s dead. Blasted away by Mondex.”
The news struck The Professor like a bullet to the chest. He stumbled and grasped for the stool behind him. Sitting down he tried a few times to speak, and finally said, “but that’s impossible! You would cease to be! The paradox here could destabilize the universe.”
Rex rested a hand on his old friend’s shoulder.
“That’s why I’m here. I’ve already started forgetting what happened the first time ‘round, and I’m afraid if I return to the future, my death might catch up to me. If I stay here, maybe I can make myself useful, and at least save the Princess.”
“What happens to Anrianna?” The Professor could see the future unraveling before his eyes.
“I don’t know. Maybe my memory of that has been erased too, but now I can prevent it. Before I left for my Sheebat game you spotted an anomaly. That was Mondex, travelling back from the future to kill me in the past. In the future we were waiting for it because I left a message for myself about what Mondex was planning. I came through the vortex after him, but I don’t know what happened differently this time and he succeeded.”
“Rex I… don’t know what to say. I’m glad you’re alive for now. Maybe it will give me time to find a way to change what happened. At least I might figure out how to keep you alive. I’ll begin studying the anomaly at once.”
Rex dropped Mondex’s time-belt on The Professor’s work bench.
“Maybe this will help.”