Weeks pass, and he doesn't catch a single card.
When cards become active, he goes looking. They just disappear before he gets there.
He's getting worried, and he's not sure he's satisfied with Kero's explanations.
He tries to focus on school.
"Stiles? Uh, Maze, surround the area!"
He places a hand on his friend's shoulder, trying to steady him.
The Shield successfully saves the Jeep! But then the car that was disappearing before starts disappearing again.
The Maze starts deforming the place, making the street elongate and turn, duplicating houses and cars, distorting the whole area in all three dimensions. There are now streets and trees and cars and houses above them, surrounding them, and stars and arcs are appearing here and there.
Stiles doesn't even slightly collapse, and his breathing is totally normal, see?
All this worrying over nothing.
"Scott, buddy, I don't think experimenting with surrealism is going to fix it.
"Windy couldn't trap it, but I thought maybe it wouldn't be able to get past the Maze."
...Can it?
"Arrow strike the ground, form a Shield all around."
He fires it at the ground at his feet.
"That's my cue," he sighs.
Focus on the staff, focus on the Erase...what is it trying now?
"I can't sense the Erase. It's too far, or the Maze messes with my senses too much."
"Windy and Maze couldn't trap it, but maybe it needs something really tempting, and then Alistair can use the shield arrow?"
"I don't usually use this much lifeforce at once. Kero, can you tell how much I have left?"
"Okay so either the Erase isn't in the Maze or it's too far in it for us to detect it, I think you should probably dismiss it."
"Instead of wasting magic juice, let's actually make a plan first. We know we need to get it into it's true form- Kirby, does it have to do that to erase things?"