A Shipwreck ~ A Aphmau Ship-Based book!

Chapter 10

"And..." Jess looked uncomfortable, but Zane knew what she was inevitably going to ask. "What was it like, then? This prison you both were in?"

Zane glanced at the floor. "I don't think you'd understand."

Aph glanced up. "Come on, Zane. We all experienced it. We understand now."

"No, you don't." Zane's voice was sharp and he crossed his arms. He hated having attention on him, and now everyone's eyes were firmly fixed. He didn't want this attention. He wanted to melt away into the floor. This whole situation... He wanted it to stop. "It was... so much worse than that. It was dark and it was cold and hot at the same time, and it was always wet. But that wasn't the bad part. Gene was more than upset, and he was afraid, and his fear began to manifest. He would yell at me sometimes, just because he was frustrated. Like kids do. But when things began to manifest, he couldn't control his hallucinations. They ran wild and they...they scared me. They didn't stop for five straight years. I thought I would just get used to them, but I didn't. They planted themselves onto me and even if I'd see it a thousand times before, it still scared me. It was a like a nightmare I couldn't wake up from. It was awful. By the time KC let me out, I would have done anything to keep Gene in there. I didn't know what he could do to Jess, and I didn't know what he would do to me or the rest of us. So I told Kawaii~Chan to leave Gene in there, and I was brought back to the others, and things were... awkward."

"You did just show up out of nowhere," Aaron said quietly. Zane could tell he didn't even really believe his own excuses anymore. "We didn't know if you were angry at us or if you could cause damage to Jess. We were just worried."

"And so you hated me for over ten years," Zane concluded, keeping his gaze on the ground. "There's a reason we didn't officially meet until recently, Jess. They were afraid of me, just like we're afraid of Gene now."

Jess looked so shocked. "Zane, I...I had no idea."

"We don't tell you these things because it's unfair to you. We're facets of your personality What happens to us affects you, and you have no control over that. It's easier if we just keep it to ourselves and try to do our jobs." Zane sighed. "But now Gene is out, and that complicates things."

"How did he even get out?"

Aaron cleared his throat. "Because Zane refused to help, we were only able to put up three walls. We were able push his prison up to the very edge of the mindscape, in the back of the mind, creating a false fourth wall, but it was not completely stable or secure. He must have been able to let some of his hallucinations or otherwise leak out of the prison. From there he was able to trick me into saying the code phrase I had programmed for my wall to let it down, because I thought Zane was in danger. If all of the walls are let down, he'd be released. Theoretically he could leave if only one wall was let down, but I think he sought to bring all of them down to make a point."

Aph nodded. "I had to destroy my wall. His illusion made it seem like he was out and was going to attack Zane, so I tried to attack him, and he led me to the wall like a dog doing a trick." She sighed, frustrated. "I should have realized, but he motivates us by planting fear and making us forget what doesn't make sense—like him being out at all."

"Gene~Kun used Zane~Kun's voice to make Kawaii~Chant hink he was trapped again," Kawaii~Chan said softly. "Kawaii~Chan can only let down the wall if Kawaii~Chan really wants to, so Kawaii~Chan normally can't be forced, but if Zane~Kun was trapped, then Kawaii~Chan would do anything to let him out. Kawaii~Chan couldn't let him stay in there again."

Zane sighed. "So once again, it's my fault."

Kawaii~Chan looked at him, panicked. "We didn't say that!"