Turn Back the Clock ~-Aphmau MCD FanFic-~

Chapter 11 ~I Just Want to go Home~

Aphmau awoke with a start, head throbbing. She sat up quickly, resulting in a head rush. 

"uGH," she groaned, slapping herself on the forehead, "OW!" She blinked once. Twice. She wasn't in her room- well technically she was-  but not her room in Phoenix Drop. She was in her room on the Phoenix Alliance island. Sunlight was flooding through the windows, casting a ray of brightness to stretch along the floor. 

Aphmau dragged herself out of bed, feeling very tired as a result of the past few days... Or was it weeks? She had lost track. Time didn't even stick to a "schedule" in this time-loop-skip hell. Aphmau passed by a mirror, and took notice to her change in appearance. Time had not been kind to the lord. Small wrinkles had formed on her face, she had remnants of scars on her arms, and a look of exhaustion painted on her face.

She didn't look old, but she didn't look young either. Aphmau ran her hands over her hollowing cheekbones. Thin. She was thin. It must have been all the stress. What had the Aphmau who took the long timeline route gone through? Aphmau was wearing her grey shirt and maroon shorts, like she had before entering this endless purgatory, but it wasn't her. 

There was a commotion outside, adults chattering and children playing. Suddenly, the door to Aphmau's little home opened, and Laurance leaned in the doorway. Aphmau spun to meet his eyes, a look of shock on her face. Laurance looked older as well, carrying similar wrinkles to Aphmau and a constant look of worry. He had bruise-like bags beneath his eyes.

"Oh Aphmau, thank Irene you're okay." Laurance said, concern weaved through his voice. He took long strides over to Aphmau and pulled her into a tight embrace. The raven haired girl's ribs felt like they were going to collapse, probably because of the lack of meat on her bones. She made a squeak of discomfort. Laurance pulled away immediately.

"Oh! Oh my Irene, I'm so sorry, I forgot. I just... really needed that hug from you," he said, sounding a bit embarrassed.

"It's-it's okay... What happened?" Aphmau asked, clueless of her situation.

"Oh no... Amnesia again?" Laurance looked at her with more worry than before, if that was even possible.

"Um... Yeah? I guess? Can you start... when I tried to sail out of Phoenix Drop?"

"Well, that was a while ago..."

"How long?" Aphmau said with sudden intensity.

"What?"

"How. Long." Aphmau said between clenched teeth.

"Aphmau, please calm down. Last time you asked questions like this, you almost died."

"What- huh? Died? What are you talking about?"

"We should take you to Zoey... Lucinda's potions aren't coming fast enough and you've been getting sick more and more ever since you..." he trailed off.

"Since I what? Laurance,  since I what?!"

"Aphmau! Calm down! Look at yourself, look at what all this is doing to you! To us!"

Aphmau pivoted to face the mirror, looking at her reflection again. It seemed as if she had gotten even skinnier in the last few minutes. She turned back to Laurance, taking a long look at his slowly greying hair, much too premature for his age, even with all the time gone by. Wrinkles curved their way over his forehead because of so many worried expressions. His boyish smile had long gone, being replaced with an everlasting frown.

"...Are you alright?" Laurance inquired after a short pause. Aphmau didn't respond. She couldn't respond. Her eyes were glued onto the man's face- a face that had suffered torture it never deserved. None of this was her fault, however, she couldn't help but take the blame. I shouldn't have opened that damn watch she thought to herself with regret, I got a weird feeling from it- I should have just left it alone...