"Aphmau!" Melissa finally exclaimed from the silence. "You should get down from there." She raced to the stairs and carried her down while Aaron followed.
She turned to Katelyn. "Can you get her wheelchair? Thanks."
The blue-haired girl nodded and scurried off.
Melissa set Aphmau down on the couch. Aaron sat beside her. "Does your legs hurt?"
"No, not anymore." She smiled at Aaron. "Thanks."
"Um, uh. . .no problem?" he replied.
Aphmau looked at all the commotion that left the entire crowd at a standstill. Zach was there, bending over and clutching his face. The bloodstains left his pinkish shirt darker red. She couldn't believe it.
Her dad was here. In the cabin. In the same place as her mom, his former wife.
Mom never mentioned who he was. As she grew up, Mom always avoided that topic. That was, until Starlight. . .
"You know. . ." He rose steadily to his feet. "I'm starting to know why I cheated on you."
Sylvana was breathing heavily. Aphmau could see her chest heaving high then low. The others stood in bated silence, even Toby.
"You. . .you. . !" she began. Then she prepared to do another punch.
"Stop, honeycakes, stop!" Eric said, stumbling forward to Sylvana. He grabbed her arm in an attempt to stop her.
Zach became perplexed.
"Get off me!" she screamed. "Don't make me do it to you too!" Aphmau could hear the strain in her voice.
She had enough. "Mom, Dad, stop! Please."
Now they turned to her. Their eyes widened.
"Seriously, no one knew?" Melissa mumbled.
"Knew it," Zane countered.
But Zach didn't hear or mind them. He turned to Aphmau and smiled sadly. "I'm glad my daughter has inherited some decency from me, at least."
"She's not your daughter," Sylvana said, trying to refrain from hitting him with her signature chancla.
Aphmau only scowled. "I'm glad I didn't inherit your heartlessness, Father." She cringed once the last word left her mouth. A while ago she was wistful over Aaron, now she was angry over Zach. And that sadness only added to the flames.
He cleared his throat. "I propose an offer. I can help Zianna find Garte in exchange that. . .I come with you back, uh, home."
Sylvana only smirked. "You must've lost your mind after all those years, huh. Because we're not taking an. . .a scoundrel like you."
"I've changed and I want to see how's my. . ." He glanced at Aphmau. ". . .daughter doing."
"I said she's not your daughter!" Sylvana screamed and raised the chancla.
Eric managed to grab the flip-flop and toss it away, somehow landing on Aaron's lap. "Let him talk, sugar cube. There must be a reason why he's here."
Sylvana turned to him. "Are you crazy?!" She pointed at Zach. "He needs to leave! I do not want to see his face before, and I still don't want to see his face now!"
"Mom, please. Let's listen. Just--just be sane for a second. Do it for me, please," Aphmau said gently. Then she hardened her voice: "Okay, Zach. Talk."
Sylvana tried to retort, but instead, her insults shrunk down to murmurs.
He looked at Aphmau gratefully. "Thank you for knocking some sense into her. Sometimes, she can be a little. . .annoying."
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" she exclaimed, walking towards him. "Oh, you are so close to getting it! Now that you're here and you won't leave, I can finally murder you in the flesh--"
"Mom!" Aphmau scolded.
Sylvana sighed. "Ugh. Fine. Carry on." Then she gave the stink eye at Zach.
He took a deep breath. "It all started. . .when Sylvana broke up with me. . .
"I worked in a business with four other people, Derek, Elizabeth, Garte, and Michael--the demon warlock. We wanted to make the world a better place. Michael believed that some stone, an emerald apparently, could help us do that. We created a miracle potion that could cure the worst of diseases and give them superpowers. Eventually, we decided to sell it. I supported the cause because I was also a doctor back then. I also wanted to get rich while saving the world."
Sylvana scoffed.
"While we sold it. . .Michael wanted to test them on our children: Aphmau, Garroth, Aaron, Katelyn, and his son whom I forgot the name. Derek refused and I did too. In the end, only Garroth and Katelyn had what was known as Forever Potions injected into their bodies."
Travis, Aphmau thought. The son's name was Travis.
"That's how you have super strength," she supplied. "That's how Garroth survived the wolf transformation. He should've died, but he didn't because of the potion in him."
Zach looked at her in awe. "I didn't know you knew. Who told you?"
"Terry."
He winced. "He was a good man." He turned to Travis. "I'm so sorry, Travis."
"It's. . .it's fine." Aphmau heard him sigh.
"Anyway, after Derek found out that the Forever Potions were only brought by thugs and criminals, and when Garte heard that victims kept dying, we went into a conflict." Zach shifted uncomfortably from where he was standing. "I--we--the business had to shut down and we went into our separate places. Apparently, Derek and Garte founded their own businesses and Elizabeth disappeared. Michael was nowhere to be seen. I--I was on my own for a while."
Aphmau couldn't decide whether he was genuinely sad or withholding information.
"Until thanks to a friend, I landed a job as a therapist. It took some time until I got an interesting tip that someone needed physical therapy in Starlight Wonderland. When I settled there, that was when I met Aaron."
Now Aaron shuffled uncomfortably. "You. . .met me?"
"Yes. That was how I knew that the Lycans were on Starlight. And so were the rest of you. After meeting Derek, Elizabeth wanted to meet me before we meet Michael. She introduced me to a new ally in their plan: Ein."
Aphmau's anger bubbled inside of her. He killed her. He killed her.
"Michael was tipped that there was something beneath the center island in Starlight. Having all of you there at the same time was not only a coincidence but also a miracle. We set out for it, leaving Michael behind for whatever shenanigan he was planning to do."
"I think that was when Aaron saw Ein. And turned me," Garroth said from behind Zach.
He turned and faced him. "Huh. You're still there. Never mind that. So when the Guardian Forces stepped in, I went back and forth between the resort, but I mostly stayed in the GF building. Then Derek got himself captured and I ratted out to him like a maniac."
Sylvana wanted to agree, but there was something in his voice that made her hesitate. He sounded sympathetic, sad even. Had he really changed for the better?
"When he was turned into a relic, I was slowly starting to doubt my loyalty to Michael. It wasn't right. When Aphmau died, that was the last straw. I didn't agree with my daughter getting killed. That was when I realized that I was only there for money and power. Back then, that was all that mattered to me.
"When everyone stormed into the Celestial Cannon, I was shocked to find Aphmau still alive. I only watched from there, until when I pushed the button that banished Terry from this realm. I had a part in the grand scheme of things, but I knew it wasn't enough."
Aphmau swelled with pride, but her spirit deflated. Hearing the words "Celestial Cannon" only brought back bad memories.
"When the Cannon was falling, I wasn't able to escape, through regular means at least. I was teleported to a spot on the island by Elizabeth. She somehow learned magic. Garte was with her and she said that she cast a spell that made sure that no one will remember him."
Zianna was sniffling. "Oh Garte!" she bawled.
"We stayed in the island for a few months, until Elizabeth managed to coerce a captain to give us a ride away from Starlight. But as you can see, I didn't follow her all the way and ditched her to this island. I didn't know you were all here until Daniel and Garroth found me." He clapped his hands. "I think that's just about it."
Everyone was now silent, save for Zianna's crying. Aphmau's breath shook. At first, she wanted him to leave. She wanted to make him regret what he had done for everyone. Despite his desire for change, Aphmau still believed that he was still a monster and directly responsible for everyone's trauma here. Including hers.
Sylvana didn't say anything and just scowled.
"Is it true that you're a werewolf?" she blurted out. "Like what Mom said?"
"Of course." Aphmau watched as he grew some gray wolf ears and a fluffy tail. "See?" Then he turned to the crowd. "I know you won't forgive me so easily. But I'm still going to try to change for the better."
He turned and started to walk towards the back door when Aphmau stopped him.
"You. . .you can stay."