Chapter 17

                                    

                                          
Oh boy, a lot goes down here. I'm trying to write longer chapters so this doesn't drag out, because I've got an amazing idea for the sequel already, but I gotta define the ending of this first aaa
                          


                          
-Aphmau's POV
                          
They had finally arrived at their destination. It was a city that was simply way to far away from where Aphmau actually lived for her friends to ever find her. Plus, it was far to late now anyways. His daughter's eyes had been darkening over the past few ours, the green starting to fade as the potion began living up to its name.
                          
The car pulled up into a driveway, where Zack shifted it to park and exited the car. Aphmau got out as well, walking around the car to stand next to her father. "Welcome home," Zack says, motioning towards the building.
                          
Aphmau stared at it, looking over it slowly. It was about the size of her current house, if not a little bigger, but it looked like any other ordinary house. "We live here?" She says in disbelief, then turning around to look at the populated, bustling neighborhood around them.
                          
"We sure do!" Zack confirms, clapping his hands together. He fishes in his pocket for his keys, locking the car and unlocking the front door. This was it, this was Aphmau's new home.
                          


                          
-Garroth's POV
                          
He and Zane had decided walking around to find Kim would literally take them into the next morning unless they went quicker now. So now they were running through the forest, following the path Zane had took that met him up with Garroth and back to the three-way fork where they stopped for the millionth time to simply breathe. "Thank god I'm still slightly athletic." Garroth says.
                          
"I'm not at all!" Zane protests, calling his brother lazy if you read between the words, which Garroth didn't.
                          
"Which way did she go?"
                          
"She went down the furthest one from us," Zane said, leading his brother down the path. They began to call out Kim's name, "Kim? Kim! Where are you, we're going home!"
                          


                          
-Kim's POV
                          
She was still sitting under the tree, clutching her legs to her chest as she looked at the falling snow. Kim heard something in the distance, but she couldn't tell what was being said. Either way, it was clearly human voices, they could help her get back, they'd know where the lodge was!
                          
She got up and started running towards the voice calling out, "H-Hello? I'm here!"
                          
Eventually she was met with Garroth and Zane nearly running into her as all three stopped in their tracks to avoid such a thing. "Kim! You're okay!" Garroth says happily, "Come on, we're going back to the lodge before something bad happens!"
                          


                          
-Lucinda's POV
                          
Lucinda and Aaron were both quietly sitting in the entrance room, both waiting for the front doors to open with their friends walking through it. Lucinda would occasionally glance over at Aaron, specifically to see his eyes. She pretty much watched as the Aaron she had known died as the green disappeared completely, his eyes returning to normal again. This is it, I failed. I failed them all. She thought to herself, stiffly looking back at the door, trying not to show her reaction in body language at all. She had already messed up enough with this fake Aaron which was here to stay, now that this was the real Aaron, she needed to stop being so reckless with things now.
                          
Despite trying not to react, she still felt a surge of panic that was like a harpoon plunging through her.
                          
The door opens again, five people, their friends, walking in. They were all covered in snow, and the three who had gone out into the forest were looking blue. Lucinda jumped up, "Did you find her!?"
                          
Kim looked at her sadly, the two brothers not making eye contact with her as Kim spoke, "N-No.., it just ended in disaster! We had to split up and then I lost the path and they eventually had to come find me; we had to come back!"
                          
"Is Aphmau-Senpai gone?" Kawaii-Chan says, her eyes wide and sad. Aphmau had been her first, true friend!
                          
"Yes..," Lucinda replies, "If she was taken away in a car, she's long gone by now." She concludes, looking down at the floor, pretty much everyone else doing the same as well.
                          
Aaron, however, just seemed angry. Maybe a little too angry.., "This isn't fair!" He said, his hands becoming fists and his tail lashing back and forth. "She didn't deserve something like this, she must be so scared!"
                          
Thankfully she isn't scared anymore.. Lucinda thought to herself. By now, her potion is set forever as well for sure. 
                          
Lucinda suddenly jumps, and glances at Aaron fearfully. In the past, whenever something this bad had happened to Aphmau his eyes always changed, he wasn't usually aware of it, and they were in a room full of people. This wasn't good at all. "A-Aaron," She says, purposely not looking him in the eyes because she didn't know what his eyes looked like at the moment. "You need to calm down.., your eyes might change!"
                          
Aaron's face falls as she says that, losing all the fiery hatred for whoever had stolen Aphmau from them. 
                          


                          
Alrighty! Next chapter should be the last one, and then I'll add in a chapter to say when I've got the first chapter of the next one done. I'm not taking any kinda break between them because I'd lose my ideas for it real quick I'm sure, so it'll just continue onto another work as frequently as I've been updating this!