"What do you people think you're doing?" A third voice said from the hallway. Mars stood on the staircase leading up to her apartment observing the scene with cold eyes.

Aya sighed in relief.

"Beat it kid, this has nothing to do with you," Fido said, reverting to the tone Aya had heard outside her door earlier in the day.

"I beg to disagree, that's my friend you're talking to and I don't appreciate her being threatened,"

Fido laughed nervously on being met with such a hostile tone, a cold sweat broke out on his forehead as she read the girl who gave every indication she could and would end him where he stood.

"We're practically family, isn't that right Aya?" Fido said, prodding Aya to vouch for him. The brunette in the doorway folded her arms and shook her head.

"I barely know you, I told you we haven't spoken in nearly three years!" Aya said bluntly.

Fido laughed, masking his discomfort with a laugh. He looked to Lydia who was already inching away from the confrontation. The bony woman widened the gap between them, already halfway toward the staircase.

"Oh you've always loved to play games as a child Aya, I can't really stay long but I promise I'll be back," Fido said, waving at Aya as though she was someone dear to him.

"Take your time," Aya said, folding her arms.

----------

"You saved my life back there," Aya said to her friend as they walked upstairs carrying Aya's things into Mars' apartment.

"You were taking longer than usual. I knew something had to be wrong," Mars replied as she hefted the old suitcase Aya had up into her arms. Aya had the box containing the Revista in her arms and walked through the door to the apartment first.

"I'll find you some boxes, for now locking up is the best thing you can do," Mars advised.

Aya flopped onto the girl's couch, grumbling as she did about the whole situation.

"That man," Aya said sadly. "Did he really think he could just show back up into my life like that?"

Mars sat beside Aya, resting a hand on her back. She rubbed comforting circles, listening patiently as Aya ranted about her encounter with Mr. Fido, Lydia's partner in crime.

“At the end of the day the safest thing for both of us to do is to leave,” Mars said again. Aya rolled around to face her.

The brunette studied her friend's stern expression and resigned herself to the decision. She already agreed to move to Mericross with Mars but it was taking a bit longer than she thought it would.

"I know," Aya said. "I don't really know how moving works,"

"I can take care of that, you just need to relax. I'll even pay you back for those expensive locks you ordered," Mars said.

"There's no need to," Aya said softly, she hugged a purple throw pillow to herself and shyly hid her face at the suggestion. It would be sad to leave the locks behind but unless the locksmith removed them, they would remain on her apartment door.

Mars chuckled.

"You should know me by now Aya," Mars said, tapping Aya's nose fondly.

----------

Aya lay on the couch thinking as Mars prepared dinner for the both of them. A mouth watering smell wafted from the kitchen prompting Aya to roll onto the floor and join her friend.

"What are you making?" Aya asked, Mars looked up at her and away from the BooTube recipe video she was watching.

"Just some cheesy pasta," Mars said, ripping over a packet of cheese and beginning to tip its contents over into the boiling pot.

"Did you get the Ever Bloom?" Aya asked, recalling she had sent the girl the plant not too long ago. A smile stretched across her face, she turned swiftly. Facing Aya with an ecstatic look.

"It worked!"

Aya gasped, it had been a concern of hers that the Ever Bloom wouldn't work for Mars. The flower hadn't been easy to plant and Aya herself had a limited amount of plants, she would need to find out how Rael made them and create or find more.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"So you fought the Miasmic Guardian?" Aya asked. Mars lifted an eyebrow in confusion as she sliced some onions for the pasta.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Uh oh," Aya said. "Did the Miasma come back after a little while once you passed through the area?"

"What? How did you know that?" Mars asked suspiciously. The pasta was just about done as Mars stood over the stove stirring the mixture patiently.

"That option didn't come up for me at all,"

As Aya suspected, only her class could deal with the Miasmic Guardians, luckily that was a bridge she would cross when she got there.

"So tell me about the Miasmic Guardians," Mars asked as she dished out the food while Aya helped set the table.

"They're servants of the gods corrupted by the Miasma. I don't fully understand how, but they're essentially trapped in a realm different from ours in Moon Valley, only after defeating them does the Miasma disappear permanently," Aya explained.

Mars nodded, poking her food with a fork.

"So have you fought any Miasmic Guardians?" Mars asked eagerly.

"Yes! Just one, her name was Viseli. I think she's the hardest boss I've faced so far and I've faced a lot of them," Aya said, scooping some pasta into her mouth to enjoy. Her eyes shone with glee at the savory, cheesy taste of her dinner.

The food was so good that Aya expected to see a stat buff notification appear mid air telling her she had been reinvigorated.

"This is delicious!" Aya said, shoveling the food into her mouth, Mars stopped her with a laugh.

"I told you if you choked I wouldn't save you!"

"Then I'll die a happy woman!" Aya retorted, prompting both of them to laugh.

"There are bosses in Bloom Haven? I thought it was a paradise from what you told me there are still forests and lakes," Mars said, raising an eyebrow.

Aya swallowed more pasta and chugged a glass of water down before replying.

"Well yeah, there have been several. I've fought a Rabbit Queen, A Giant Weed Mimic, Viseli, Commander Addison," Aya said, listing off the bosses she had fought so far.

Mars listened, taking note of the names. She didn't recognize any of these bosses from gaming forums or even niche discussion groups.

Bloom Haven was truly a world of its own

Mars scooped her pasta into her mouth, chewing as she listened to Aya who by now was explaining the fight with Viseli.

"Oh Mars, are you done with that list you were making?" Aya asked.

"Not yet, I could always give you the incomplete list, Moon Valley is still a pretty new game despite how widespread it's becoming,"

"I guessed as much,"

Mars looked up from her plate, what Aya told her was so different from the Moon Valley she was playing.

"Aya when you leave Bloom Haven I think you're going to be very surprised at the world you'll meet," Mars said, she scooped some more food into her mouth before continuing.

"From what you've told me about your class I think you're going to have a big role to play in restoring a large part of what's happened in the war of the gods,"

"What do you know about the war of the gods Mars?" Aya asked.

"There are some Lore Keeper guilds, that document stuff, but they only allow members of their guild to have that knowledge for free," Mars sipped a cold drink she had set out for the both of them. "The rest of us have to pay for it,"

"I didn't know you could sell information!"

"Imagine what it'll mean if you told them about all these special bosses you've encountered or even the Miasmic guardians,"

Aya averted her eyes, feeling the pressure of unseen eyes on her. If that many people knew about her feat would she be able to play her game in peace, what if the PVP crowd decided to attack her?

"I think it'll be best if no one knows, for now," Aya said.

Mars raised her eyes but nodded, respecting the girl's decision. Attention had its drawbacks and that wouldn't benefit Aya right now. All the girl really wanted was to find her remaining family.

"Alright, I promise not to say anything. But if I see some clues to your specific class I'll let you know,"

Aya smiled.

"Thank you Mars and thanks for the food," Aya said, thoroughly cleaning her plate, it had been a while since she had a home cooked meal from someone other than herself.

Mars smiled, beaming with pride that her culinary prowess was being appreciated by her friend. Her former team never seemed to appreciate the importance of a warm meal, preferring to dine out for the publicity.

Mars shook her head, letting the thought fly free. It wouldn’t do to think of them now. They were in different spheres of life. All she wanted to do was focus on getting Aya somewhere her Aunt and former family friend couldn’t reach.

----------

Once again a man sat at his desk typing intensely, a notification popped up telling him the Moon Valley auction house had been graced with a new and possibly valuable listing.

He scanned the details of the listing, reading the description of the Epic Item dropped into the auction house by the same mysterious user he had purchased a water stone from not too long ago.

"Well, well, well looks like they've gotten another fine item," He said smirking. Sure enough, he inspected the item once again, finding it to be authentic and verified by the game.

"Now where would someone get a ring like this?" He asked curiously. He hadn't expected another item from this user so soon after he pinned them. Now he knew he was wise to do so.

"We might be meeting each other very soon, Yvlena," he said, sending the girl 120 Gold for the epic item. He was lucky no one had seen it already. The 5 Gold price point was simply too low for an Item of this caliber and would have no doubt been a steal.

He sent her a note of thanks, telling her once again to heed his words and price certain items higher, this was an Epic Item after all.

"I look forward to your next find,”