Turn Back the Clock ~-Aphmau MCD FanFic-~

Chapter 10 ~Memories~

Levin and Malachi's treehouse lay in complete silence, illuminated only by groups of fireflies fluttering around. Aphmau was out of breath when she arrived, not as a cause of the run, but rather the state of shock she was in. Had she jumped through time? Wouldn't be the first time, but it was strange non-the-less.

She began to climb the stairs, making her way to the top, trying to recount everything that had just happened: She had jumped 3 years since the war between Phoenix Drop and Scaleswind, and her and Laurance had been in a romantic relationship for around 7 months. Aphmau ran a hand through her dark locks while chuckling at the absurdity of the events that had occurred. 

Upon arriving at the top of the treehouse, she sat herself against the railing and hugged her knees to her chest.

"It's crazy, isn't it?" Aphmau said to no one but herself, "How in just the span of what, two, three weeks? I end up here. 12 years in the past, yet also 3 years in the future." she chuckled again. Aphmau turned herself around to face the the water that glimmered underneath the bright moon. She lowered her eyes slowly until they met the ground. She remembered so clearly the day she build this treehouse. 

Aphmau ran her fingers along the smooth wood rail. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, recalling simpler times. She stood up and smiled. How could she forget her clumsiness that also played a hand in the construction of the treehouse? She had been hammering these exact rails in, on the opposite side of where she should've been, and slipped on her gown, causing her to fall. She remembered falling through the air, wind pushing at her back. It was terrifying, yet peaceful and exhilarating at the same time. However, had Garroth not been there, she could've met her demise far too soon.

She recalled the sudden stop, as Garroth wrapped his arms tightly around her, not wanting to let go, ever. She remembered he was shaking just a bit, but it was difficult to notice because she was shaking profusely at the time. Aphmau smiled wider at the memory, thinking about her loyal guard. How she missed him so.

Her hands started to shake, the joyful nostalgia turning to sadness. She missed Garroth, a lot. She missed everyone. She missed the Laurance the casanova, the one who flirted with her for fun, whether there was a deeper meaning or not. She missed Katelyn, Lucinda, Malachi, Levin, Lilith, Aaron. Irene, she even missed Travis. 

Uncontrollable tears started streaming down her face. She stifled a sob. Aphmau turned around expecting to see Iris, who usually made an appearance at one of her now so often meltdowns, or, Irene, she expected someone, anyone to be there to comfort her.

But there was no one.

Aphmau was completely and utterly alone in all this. No one could understand what she was going through, not even Iris. Her situation and the way it was affecting her was completely unique, unfortunately. She had never really felt the true, darkened feeling of loneliness until now. Back in her true life, the one before all this stopwatch nonsense, she would have someone to reach out to, someone to at least comfort her. But everyone in this time jumpy town was  a stranger, and nothing more.

She leaned on the railing, looking out into the night sky, when something caught her eye to the right of her. She saw Katelyn holding a torch near her house, and listening intently to an obviously worried Laurance. He was using a lot of hand-gestures, which was Aphmau's hint that he was on edge. She knew it was because she ran away, but what was she supposed to do? She had already come to the realization that he wouldn't understand, no one would.

Suddenly, she remembered something. When she had first met Aaron, he had arrived at Phoenix drop via boat. I wonder... she though, placing her hand on her chin in thought. Maybe Aaron never left. Maybe he went after Zane- Oh no... Aphmau thought, dread overcoming her, What if... What if Aaron went after Zane...? There was no way he could've survived Zane's wrath by himself, although it wouldn't be surprising if he tried to anyway. That was the thing with Aaron, as Aphmau knew so well, he was willing to risk everything he had to help those that were important to him, and to better the world. At least that's how he was in Aphmau's world.