The flash dwindled as everyone exited the portal. I fell upon immediate impact of my foot and the ground. Damn, I'm already kissing the ground! It hasn't even been halfway through the chapter yet!

"W-What was all that about?" I heard Aphmau ask to no one in particular. Suddenly, memories pounded at me in a flash. Aphmau, Katelyn, Laurence, Emmalyn, Kenmur, Garroth, and I had all gotten trapped in the Irene Dimension with Zane. Garroth, being the naive little shit he happened to be in that moment, was tricked by Zane into joining his side. Wait, thinking of Garroth and the emo bitch, where are they?

"I-It's you... It's really you!" An elf girl exclaimed happily. She sounded familiar, very familiar, but I couldn't place my finger on it.

"Huh? Wait... who're you?" Aphmau asked the girl. At that statement, I was up and beside Aphmau. I protectively stood behind her, giving off a bad vibe with my aura.

"You mean... you don't recognize me? I mean, it has been many years since you saw me but still... Aphmau, it's me... Zoey" The elf gir- I mean, Zoey replied.

"Zoey?!" Aphmau and I both asked at once, quite shocked at the sight before us. Zoey looked different... Her hair was down! That was unusual for Zoey!

"You look way different then when we last saw you, Zoey!" I exclaim, "Your hair's longer!"

"Heh, well... what did you expect me to look like after 15 years?" She laughed out. She stopped once she noticed that we weren't laughing along.

"Wait... 15 years?!" Aphmau asked, her voice switching to something more shaky. The shock Jan her eyes gave away any hidden emotion on the situation.

"...That's right..." Zoey replied, smiling nervously. I looked from Zoey to Aphmau, who happened to hold the same facial expression as me.

"Zoey, you've gotta be shittin' me? 15 years? No, this is all just a prank, right?" I ask, panicking internally. Zoey was never one to joke around on something serious like this, but sometimes a little time apart might change that?

Remain calm. You aren't fully sure she isn't messing with you... Zoey shook her head, confirming that we were 15 years into the future.

"We have to get to the village now!" Aphmau was already off, not giving us a moment to really gather our things. I don't blame her, all of the things she cared for in Phoenix Drop could be in danger or destroyed, all because as use none of us were there. Aphmau's conscious was something that shouldn't be messed with, and this incident could do some collateral damage to it.

Taking that first step, I felt like pins and needles were stabbing my feet. My vision blurred with each antagonizing step. Images flashed in and out of focus at a constant rate, a constant speed. How in hell is Aphmau running?

"(Y/n)!" A voice shouted my name, bouncing around like echoes. A sudden nauseous feeling came following after, my insides feeling jumbled up. What is this hellish feeling? A sudden weight was pulling me down, spinning, and tripping me up. A push was on my chest, almost as if something heavy was sitting against, knocking any and all air out of me. I couldn't breathe, a pain pounding on my chest as I try to just relax.

I try to relax,

But...

I can't relax.

I was falling. I knew that from the start. It happened all too soon all too slowly. There was no wind nor color, but it was obvious when my face finally smacked against the ground. The impact wasn't as loud as the voices shouting out my name or the sudden flash of blurry colors.

"Don't worry! I've got you!" Katelyn exclaimed once I was rolled over. I couldn't really see her face, but I could tell she was worried, "Stay with me, (Y/n)!"

"S-So... much... distortion..." Someone, most likely me, sounded out. Katelyn shushed me as she lifted me up, attempting to try and sturdy me with her own weight. Laurence grabbed my other side to allow me to lean on him, lessening some of the work of the blue haired girl on my other side.

"I've got her, Lady Katelyn-" Everything after that either sounded slurred or was really complicated to make out. The colors became more blurry and the edges of my vision darkened.

'Sleep, my darling! You must rest for your big arrival!' I felt my head bob constantly and my eyes close. I kept fighting it, not ready to sleep, not ready to let my guard down, but we don't always get what we want. Slowly, my eyes closed once again. I allowed the sleep to take over this time, entering a dream state that I wouldn't be freed from anytime soon.
~~~~~~

The darkness had disappeared almost as soon as it appeared, placing me inside of a place all too familiar. Various objects that would seem to belong to a young child surrounded me every place I turned and a bed that seemed all too small for someone of my age lay underneath where I currently was laying. Quickly, I sat up, trying to take in all of my surroundings as thoughts of every single possibility filled my mind. These thoughts stopped once a small child with (h/c) hair ran into the room. Her sudden appearance shocked me, causing a small noise to leave my mouth.

"Eep!" The noise caught the (h/c) haired girl's attention, it suddenly being drawn in my direction. Her vibrant (e/c) eyes were suddenly filled with both shock and fear, probably due to my sudden presence in this once empty room. She scanned the area I was in from her current spot, wiping and blinking her eyes to make sure she wasn't imagining me. Her eyes widened after her attempts, probably wondering if I was really there. I, unfortunately, made the situation slightly worse by waving,  a small "hi" leaving my lips. Suddenly, the frightened girl pulled out a bow, aiming her arrow at me and shooting it as fast as she could. My immediate reaction to the on coming arrowhead was to lift both my wrists to cover me and pray that it hit the metal bracers. However, the impact of the arrow hitting me never happened as it instead past right through me. This shocked both the smaller girl and I, our stares returning back to each other as our faces mirrored one another.

"G-Garroth! Z-Zane! Vylad!" She suddenly screamed out, multiple footsteps bolting up what sounded like stairs. Three small boys around her age immediately made their way into the room, each one standing in front of the small girl protectively.

"What happened, (Y/n)?" the small one that looked like Garroth asked, looking around the room for any danger. The smaller me pointed straight ahead to where I was currently sitting. The boys all stared in my direction confused, looking from where I sat to the smaller me.

"There's nothing there" The younger boy that looked like Zane bluntly stated, frowning and slightly glaring at the small girl. The smaller me stared at them in shock, not understanding why they couldn't see current me.

"How about we go ahead end head out? Maybe the stress is getting to you" Vylad recommended,  grabbing her hand and pulling her out the door. Little (Y/n) nodded hesitantly, looking from the green eyed boy to the place I sat and back to straight in front of her. Her vibrant (e/c) eyes dulled a bit due to her sadness. The other two boys followed behind them, Garroth looking back at where the smaller me swore she seen something, and out the door they were.

Once the door slammed shut, everything around me changed. The scenery became something for a more older child, most likely a tween. The small bed grew longer as the walls changed design and some of the toys disappeared from the scene. Small flashes of what seemed like fire flashed in only to disappear once they appeared.

Everything stopped changing once the door opened, an older version of the smaller me from earlier walking in. She paced the floor, looking at the bed I sat on every so often. She was distressed, anxious, and probably scared, each emotion taking play on her (s/c) skin. After a tenth lap of small paces across the room, she stopped in front of the bed, sitting on top of it and crossing her legs.

She faced me, almost as if we were in an actual meeting, and led her eyes to meeting mine. For awhile, we sat just like that, (e/c) eyes staring at (e/c) eyes, talking in silence. Smoothly, she reached out to touch me, but her hand phased right through. The small action caused her to let out an exasperated sigh.

'Well, isn't this interesting... Two little (Y/n)'s in one spot' That voice from earlier sounded, causing my head to throb. The other me in front of me grabbed her head as I grabbed mine, both of us wincing. The pain quickly subsided, the two of us looking at one another once again.

"Are you real?" The teenager finally asked, breaking the awkward silence. It took awhile for me to process the question and even longer time to find a definitive and inoffensive answer.

"Sorta..." It wasn't much,  but it was an answer. The teenaged (Y/n) in front of me nodded, looking away for a brief moment.

"Do you-" She stopped herself for a moment, trying to find the right way to ask what she was aching an answer for, "Are you...happy? Sad? Is the marr-" I stopped her in her tracks, shushing her.

"Why would I spoil all the fun?" Her eyes lit up at the term 'fun'. She smiled and bounced in place, her (h/c) hair moving with her. I felt guilty for not spilling, but another part of me felt happy that she was happy, maybe even proud that I actually made a person jolly.

Unfortunately, that moment ended all too soon as the scene before me changed once again, only this time, fire surrounded me in a field. The field was all too familiar, one I've seen way too many times.

I found myself trapped, unaware of where to go or turn, until I saw it. Aphmau, her back to me, stood in the field with me.  With every pint of adrenaline, I ran for her, scared for the worst, but once I reached her, I wanted to turn back.

"Aphmau..." Aphmau's face was covered in dirt, a small burns already formed on her left arm and clothes. Her eyes were closed, hiding something behind them, a small frown adorning her face. She opened her eyes to reveal tears, all of them falling at once, "Aph-"

"You lied to me!" She shouted, quite upset over something I didn't understand. I stepped back a bit, worried about what she might do, "Now look what's happening! Why didn't you tell me?!" She fell to her knees, light sobs and muttering leaving her lips.

"Aphmau... I-I'm sorry... I just couldn-" I tried helping her up, only for her to push me away.

"Just leave! You've done enough!" Her words stung, like a venomous slap to the face. Small tears left my eyes as she got up herself. Aphmau walked away from the fire, taking both her pride and a few of my broken pieces with her.
~~~~~~~~

My eyes blinked open, being met with a blinding light. I sat up, my head suddenly hurting as I lifted myself up. Thing's were a little blurry as I looked around, pain aching every part of my body.

"The fuck?" The words slipped out as I rubbed my forehead, attempting to soothe the aching.

The table next to me caught my attention once the throbbing calmed to a stop. My satchel, books, and various weapons lay on it, awaiting my awakening. Since no one was there to tell me otherwise, I grabbed my things and equipped them. A smirk grew on my face as I took in the feeling of having my stuff back, until I realized that something was missing, something important.

'Don't worry! Zoey has your precious necklace! We'll retrieve it later!' The voice merrily explained, 'Now go find Aphmau!'

Opening the door, immediate thoughts of freedom and confusion jumbled through my mind in various speeds. These thoughts stopped once I officially made it out the door, the ideas of trees soon replacing all other feelings. Looks like Aphmau might need to wait...

While everything seems one way at first, a hidden feeling or emotion (fear, excitement, shock, etc.) can change the very definition of a simply complicated scenario with zero to no explanation...

A/n: Woo-hoo! The re-editing process has begun! I hope you enjoyed this re-write as much as I did! I'm gonna admit, writing something Aphmau related hasn't felt this good in ages and you can probably tell from the writing. Anyway, better start on the next chapters. MCI out, Peace 😜!