(Aphmau's POV)
Shad kicked me into a tree and I yelled in pain. As I felt the sting of the pain on my back, I saw Aaron with the purple sword.
"APHMAU!! COME ON!!" Aaron shouts.
I then mumbled to myself.
"I have... to keep... him... away... from Haley!" I said to myself.
He then charged at me. I dodged the attack and I rolled onto the ground. Aaron grabs my hand and me and the gang run off. I loo back to see Shad's sword stuck in the tree again and he laughed evilly.
"Run like the coward you ARE Irene!" Shad taunted.
He pulled the sword from out of the tree and that's when I began to get very scared. We were running non stop. But I just can't let him kill me.
Lucinda and Melissa hid behind a tree. So did Other Aphmau. Me and Aaron did the same. As I hid behind a tree with Aaron, I peeked from the corner to see if Shad was still chasing us. He wasn't there. I was panting with fear, trying to catch my breath.
"W-where... where did he go?" I asked shaking.
I turn around and I ended up getting hit in the face by Shad himself as I fell to the ground.
"Hey!" Aaron replied angrily.
He tried to swing the purple sword at Shad but it wasn't any use. Shad used his telekinesis to knock Aaron into a tree. As he dropped to his knees after getting knocked into the tree, Aaron dropped the sword and fell face first into the ground.
"Aph..." Aaron said weakly.
He passed out. Lucinda, Melissa, and Other Aphmau came out of their hiding spots and they tried to attack Shad but he used his telekinesis and knocked them all to the ground.
"Get... away... from her.." Lucinda replied weakly.
"Don't touch her..." Melissa added.
"Stay away from...." Other Aphmau said.
They couldn't get up. They were all weak from the attack. I was face to face with Shad.
"Hmph. Pathetic. We got off to such a bad start. I thought maybe we should try it again. You know, give us a fresh start." Shad said.
I get up from my feet and I look stubbornly at Shad, catching my breath.
"I... want nothing... to do with YOU!" I exclaimed.
"And yet here we are..." Shad said.
He took a step forward as I took a step back.
"Alone in a forest, again. You always did love your privacy." Shad continued.
That make me irritated.
"You, know NOTHING about me!" I yelled.
"Ah, but that's where you're wrong." Shad said as he took one more step closer.
This made me back up into a tree but he was only 8 feet apart from me.
"I know you better than you know yourself. You've always been everyones favorite. The Matron Irene, come to save the people from themselves." Said Shad.
I made a fist as if I were squishing a stress ball.
"I am NOT Irene!!" I yelled at him.
He laughed.
"Then who are you, if not Irene??" Shad asked.
"Someone you know NOTHING about." I replied.
I sighed.
"And that thought scares you, doesn't it?" I asked.
He tsks. I laughed to taunt him.
"Face it Shad, there's something you don't understand about me. And you're trying so desperately to figure it out." I said.
That's when charges at me. He placed his right hand on my upper arm and his left hand on my forearm. I guess he was trying to make me scared but this was only making me try to hide my fear. He laughed.
"NOW I'm intrigued. This attitude, you've changed, Irene." Shad said to me.
I took a breath.
"YOU, keep calling me Irene, but do you KNOW if that's who I am?" I asked.
"No, I don't. But I know, THIS BODY does." Shad said.
"Huh?" I asked.
That made me confused. What did he mean by that? Suddenly he looked down and then he looked back up at me. He spoke... but... his voice... was... different?
He let out a chuckle that was all too familiar to me.
"Hey." He said.
I had a look of shock and fear on my face as I heard the voice.
"OTHER AARON?!?! No! This can't be him!! THIS CAN'T BE OTHER AARON!!!!" I screamed in my head.
"O..... Other Aaron??" I asked shaking.
"That's right. It's me. The other version of your lover." He said.
Tears fall from my face as I close my eyes with anger.
"NO!!! IT'S NOT YOU!!!!! YOU'RE NOT THE OTHER AARON!!!!!" I screamed.
He chuckled.
"Where's your cocky grin now?" He asked.
I didn't wanna listen to him but I know this ain't Other Aaron! This is Shad! I faintly hear Lucinda and Melissa call out to me.
"Don't listen to him Aphmau!" Said Melissa faintly.
"He's just trying to mess with you!" Lucinda said faintly.
I could faintly hear the echoes of their voices as began to get lost in thoughts with the voice coming out of Shad's mouth.
"Stop it!" I cried.
"What's wrong? Are you alright?" He asked.
I hyperventilate but I tried to resist the voice.
"You... aren't.... him!" I said weakly.
"How could you say that? After everything you've been through." He replied.
I... couldn't resist...
"O.... Other Aaron..." I said.
"You've been through so much it saddens me. Makes me want to help you. Don't you want to be helped?" He asked.
I didn't know if this was real or not but it felt like I was being paralyzed by a spell.
"Y... yes..." I said weakly.
"Then come here... and hold me." He said.
He hugged me. I faintly saw Lucinda and Melissa slowly get up on their feet. Same with Other Aphmau. But Aaron... he slowly got up on his knees and I faintly heard him cry out my name. I saw him grab the purple sword.
"APHMAU!! YOU HAVE TO RESIST HIM!!" He said to me faintly.
"He's trying to taunt you!!" Other Aphmau yelled to me faintly.
I could only listen to the echos of everyone's cries as I was being hugged by him. We stopped hugging and he held my hands.
"Aren't you tired of it all?" He asked.
I felt a tiny bit dizzy and I tried resisting.
"This isn't you... this has to be.... some kind of.... trick..." I said getting weak.
"Then why are you holding me?" He asked.
"I... don't... know...." I said crying.
"I'm the other version of your lover right? The other you had a child." He said.
I couldn't stop crying.
"You were.... more than that..." I said.
"And I still can be." He said.
I sniffled.
"You.... can...?" I asked.
"All you have to do is give up." He told me.
"Give up... what?" I asked as my ears and tail twitched.
"My daughter." He said.
I gasped.
"A... Alina...." I said.
"Alina... that's such a pretty name. I want to see her. Don't you think I want that?" He asked.
I didn't know what to say.
"You... never got to experience that with her." I said tearfully.
This is Other Aaron.
"Exactly, and now I'm not going anywhere. I'll be here with you and Alina. Now... take me to her, Irene.." He said.
That made me come to my senses and I gasped.
"Irene?" I asked.
It wasn't Other Aaron. It was Shad! He was just mimicking Aaron's voice to manipulate me. To make me think the Other Aaron is alive. Even though he is gone.
That's when Aaron barged in, kicking Shad off of me which made Shad back up just a few feet away from us. Aaron's ears and tail twitched rapidly for two seconds. He stood in front of me, had the purple sword in his hand, and was mad.