Aya crept out of the apartment the moment it was clear. She opened her door, making sure to lock it behind her as she exited. The mechanism clicked, signifying the locks had slid into place.

Aya climbed the steps, making sure to take her time to prevent creaking as she walked to her friend's front door.

Aya knocked gently, trying to avoid alerting the neighbors and Lydia to her whereabouts. Lydia and Fido couldn't know she had been in the apartment listening to them.

"Mars it's me," Aya whispered as she waited nervously for her friend to answer the door. She glanced left and right keeping her eye out for Lydia's zealous and regular checks.

With the slightest sound, she would look over the banister, anxiously checking for Lydia's return. Aya's knocking increased, taking on a frantic pace until she heard footsteps from the other side of the door.

The door opened and a sleepy Mars greeted Aya with a yawn and a stretch. Aya took one look at her disheveled appearance and concluded she must have woken the other girl up.

"Aya, what?" Mars asked, rubbing her eyes, Aya didn't give her a chance to continue before pulling her into the apartment and locking the door. She led Mars to a couch and began speaking.

"Lydia and Fido tried to break into my house,"

"Just now?!" Mars asked sitting up, Aya's words jolted her awake, clearing her head in an instant. Worry filled her eyes, there was no way those maniacs could get into Aya's apartment right?

From the get go Mars had a sneaking suspicion the two of them had tried something similar when she and Aya had gone to the arcade. They just hadn't been around to prove it.

Now Aya had been inside the house when they had come around, it seemed to Mars that they were intent on entering, hence the more frequent checks.

"They're still looking for the deed to my grandmother's house, they're convinced I have it," Aya said. "Fido more than Lydia,"

Mars clenched her fist with a frown, while she was happy they couldn't get in. How often would they keep trying until they did?

"Are you alright Aya?" Mars asked, putting an arm around the scared girl.

"I'm still very shaken up," Aya said, staring into space. "I just want to know that truth, Fido was with my grandmother in her final moments you know,"

"He was?" Mars asked, her brows knitted as she thought, slowly realizing where Aya was going with her words.

"Aya, you don't really think they conspired to kill your grandmother," Mars said.

"That's exactly what I think, Mars," Aya said, turning to face the girl. "I think Fido did something to her,"

"That's a serious accusation,"

"I know," Aya said bowing her head, pain blossomed from the back of her throat as she struggled to hold back tears.

A sniffle escaped Aya, followed by a whimper as she tried to keep her sobs to herself. Mars scooted closer, wrapping an arm around the girl and resting her head on Aya's

"It's okay to cry," Mars said, listening as a series of mournful cries came from her distraught friend.

----------
Aya woke up on Mars' couch, unaware that she had passed out at her friend's apartment. She sat up, yawing then rubbing her eyes.

"Mars?" She called, standing up and pulling down the blanket the other girl must have draped over her as she slept.

Aya stretched her hand over her head and began looking for the girl within the rather spacious apartment. She found the girl watching something in her room.

Aya had almost forgotten what it looked like, now that Mars had fully moved in her bedroom was a sprinkle of neon lights with a giant bed in the corner. A desk was close by housing computer equipment and a stack of books.

Aya couldn't remember the last time she'd seen a physical copy of a novel or even nonfiction, with most preferring the holographic displays on their phones or reading devices.

Aya looked over at Mars who sat hunched over an expensive holo-monitor, the kind Aya used to see when she passed through the higher levels at Nue Corp.

The dark haired girl was staring at something, a stream of game footage played on her monitor as her obsidian eyes analyzed every movement of the battle.

"Mars?" Aya called.

Mars sat up, turning the monitor off, and swiveling her chair around to face Aya who was standing in the doorway to her room.

"Aya you're awake, how are you feeling?" Mars asked in concern. She could see the girl's sunken eyes with bags growing under them from late nights gaming and the recent events concerning Lydia and Fido.

Aya leaned against the door, nervously thinking about her next words. Mars leaned forward, showing Aya she had her utmost attention.

"Is it alright if I move in with you for a bit, I don't need a lot of space and-"

"Yes," Mars said, cutting her off. Aya's mouth opened and closed like a small fish. A sound of surprise escaped her.

Mars smirked at the sight of Aya's surprise and excitement. The brunette was already rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet as she considered moving in with Mars.

Mars understood her initial hesitation, until a while ago they were just strangers, and while she considered Aya a friend it might not be so comfortable to move in with just anyone.

But Mars knew more than anyone the tough spot Aya was in, family could get complicated.

Atlas briefly flashed through her mind, but she shook the thought off. Now was not the time to think of him.

Mars wanted to do all she could to help, Aya needed that more than anything else.

"I already offered to remember," she said.

"You didn't even let me finish," Aya laughed, the initial nervousness she felt left her body, evaporating at the sight of her friend smiling, and she felt a weight leave her shoulders. "Yeah,"

"I'll move the gaming equipment to my room so you can have the second bedroom until we find a way to relocate to Mericross, I'm still looking for apartments," Mars said.

"Oh I can just sleep on the couch, you don't have to move your stuff for me," Aya said, trying to brush off the gesture. The last thing she wanted to do was inconvenience someone who had given her such a generous offer.

Mars got up from her chair and walked towards Aya, she sighed and placed her hands on Aya's shoulder, trying to impress upon the girl her willingness to house her.

"Aya I insist," Mars said staring deeply into Aya's brown eyes. The girl could only nod dumbly at the intensity of Mars' gaze.

"Now go back to your apartment and I'll have the second bedroom fixed up by the time it's evening," Mars said, already heading towards it.

Aya nodded again, deciding it would be best if she went to her apartment and sorted out the things she wanted to bring to Mars'

It was noon now, and she had a few hours to kill before the second bedroom would be ready.

"Are you sure you don't need a hand Mars?" Aya asked. Mars only chuckled and bopped Aya's nose.

"Just leave it to me,"

----------

Aya unlocked her door and stepped inside the apartment to begin packing up the possessions she wanted to carry. After a moment she decided she would need some boxes to move some of the larger or more fragile items. But right now, she would only pack up the most important things.

Pulling a suitcase out from under her bed Aya recognized it as the cute but worn down little suitcase she had first come to Axen with from her grandmother's house.

It used to be a vibrant shade of purple dotted with little white flowers and had formerly belonged to her mother. Aya gazed at it fondly, recalling the times her mother would come over rolling suitcase across the floor but now the color had long since washed out and even the flowers had dulled to an unpleasant beige.

She shook it out, patting out the dust and coughing as she inhaled some, Aya was instantly reminded of the kitchen at the Rose Manor.

"Might need a wash," she said, dragging the suitcase to her bathroom.

After washing the suitcase in her tub and getting it out, Aya placed it on a drying rack outside hoping it would be dry by the time she needed to start moving all her clothes into it.

She didn't have a lot and earning so little didn't allow for much spending but things would be different now.

Aya pulled the Revista out from under the bed and set up her PacBook to play some more Moon Valley before the evening rolled around.

She had more renovations to do and more wood to collect, she wondered what she would find on the upper levels of the Rose Manor.