Epilogue

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"What do you think it is?" Laurance asked Aphmau, trying to catch up with her while walking through the newfound Irene's ruins.

Iris stood behind a column, angled to watch the conversation.

"I-I don't know..." Aphmau responded. She ran her fingers along the swirled engravings of the golden stopwatch. She tried to blow off some dust to see if the engravings made a picture.

When Laurance finally caught up, he leaned in to look more closely.

"It looks like it's been here for a while," he said, "I mean, we did just find it buried beneath some rocks, who knows hold old it could actually be."

"Do you think it still works?" Aphmau questioned, slowing down to inspect it more carefully.

"Only one way to find out..." Laurance finally said after a few seconds.

Aphmau sighed, "Okay then." As her finger moved to click the button on the watch, Iris flicked her wrist towards the woman, using a magical force to shove her forward. The stopwatch fell from Aphmau's hold, shattering on the ground. Aphmau slouched her shoulders in disappointment, "Well, it definitely doesn't work now."

Laurance chuckled, "Yeah, no kidding. It's alright, though. It was probably just some old stopwatch anyway- no real loss."

Aphmau sighed sharply, "I guess you're right. Come on, let's head back, I'm sure Emmalyn and Kenmur have already beat us there." The pair strode out of the ruins, abandoning the wires and springs that were once a watch.

Iris gracefully walked towards the remnants, sweeping them into her hands. "Just in case," she muttered. With the pieces in her hands, she walked out of the decaying city and into the forest. She stepped through brush, following the gravel path, close enough so she could see it through the trees, but far enough to be hidden from sight. When she neared the town, Iris sat beneath a tree. As the day was still young, she didn't want to risk being noticed.

Iris closed her eyes, drained of energy. Moving herself and Aphmau through a rip in time consumed much of her power. The relic she was bound to could only take so much strain, so she took a rest and waited for the night before deciding what to do with the remainder of the stopwatch.

Closing her eyes, she involuntarily drifted into a light sleep.

The crunching of rocks snapped her out of her slumber. She shook her head, trying to pull back into reality. Iris pulled herself up with the trunk of the tree, looking towards the path to find the source of the commotion.

The masked man- the one Aphmau cared about- was walking away from the town. This is the night he dies, Iris recalled. She looked down at her hands, still cupping the broken pieces of the watch.  Pulling up her hood, she stepped from the tree line and into the man's past. He stumbled slightly, startled by her appearance.

"Um," he said, confused. After looking from side to side, he met her gaze again in an awkward silence.

After a few moments, Iris spoke, "Can I ask you for a favor?"

"Depends on what the favor is?" The man replied, uncertainty lining his voice.

Iris held out her palms, "Can you get rid of this for me? It does not matter how, as long as it is gone for good."

His eyes turned dark, acknowledging his soon to come future. He closed his eyes for a moment, and then stuck out his hands, "Sure."

Iris smiled weakly, and poured the gears into the dead man's hands. One side of her mouth twitched downwards into a pout, What a cruel world.

She stepped out of his path. He nodded at her before continuing on his way. Iris looked down, and then turned around to watch him walk away, One day I'll know your name.

Iris stepped back into the forest, feeling the pendant around her neck buzz. 

A staticky voice echoed from the jewel, "Irene- Irene!"

"Yes?" Iris, or rather, Irene replied.

"It is Esmund. We need you back here now. Shad created some sort of machine, we can't figure out what it is, but it doesn't look good. Can you get here?"

"Yes, I am on my way," Irene replied. She dropped the pendant back onto her chest. She closed her eyes, and felt herself fade into the past, turning back the clock for the last time.

Or maybe just for now.


------------------------------------------------------------

aND THAT'S A WRAP

forever immortalized 

forever the coolest dude

forever your bro

~.-fIsH fRiEnDs

or

Char

for good ol' times-.~

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