The moment the vehicle had passed, a frantiog came from Aya's door, she ran to it, listening to know whether or not Lydia or her goon Fido stood outside.

  She inteo stay like that, with her back pressed against the door until they left like st time, then she heard a voie from the other side of the door.

  "Aya it's me!" Mars said in a panicked whisper, Aya opehe door, pulling her dark haired friend in and shutting the door behind her quickly.

  "I just o y low for a little bit," Mars said. Aya nodded already deeply suspeg the bck car was there for Mars.

  But why?

  What could the irl have done? Could she have offended someone, some gang lord in Axen, and now they were sending goons to find her?

  "You stay here until you feel safe enough to leave," Aya said. Mars nodded, her eyes moved toward the window. She stayed with her back against the door

  "They left but it's safer to be here for a bit," Mars said quietly.

  "What's going on?" Aya said in worry. She rested a hand on Mars' trembling khe dark haired girl looked at her in surprise at the tenderness she was receiving.

  "I'm not in any pce to judge, I'm being bckmailed by literal family," Aya said trying to make light of the situation, it worked and Mars cracked a smile back at her.

  "You never know who help until you ask for it."

  "I ran away from some people and they've been trying to find me. I think they finally narrowed it down," Mars said.

  Aya's eyes widened.

  "That day...with the man that wouldn't leave you alone?" Aya said recalling the ihat made her drag Mars to the apartment building.

  She assumed the girl was getting mugged but now that she thought about it, the sario didn't make any sehe guy didn't even have a on on him.

  Mars nodded, her lips were set in a grim line, she looked toward the window again warily.

  "I might have to move again," Mars said. Aya's heart leaped to her throat at the thought of Mars leaving her.

  "If that's what you feel you o do I support you," Aya said swallowing painfully. She didn't want to lose her only friend but if it was for Mars' safety she wouldn't mind it at all.

  "You'd e with me right?" Mars asked, their eyes met. A heavy silence hung over them before Aya finally spoke.

  "You wao e, with you? Where would we go?" Aya asked.

  “To Mericross, it’s the biggest city, there's so much going on they wouldn’t even find us there, and most of all, gaming petitions,” Mars said. She ched her fist.

  "Before I have to face them in Evangels,"

  “I get the feeling you’re not tellihe full story Mars, I don’t uand who or what you’re running from,” Aya said softly. "I 't tell you if you don't let me know,"

  Mars exhaled, long and deep. She grasped Aya’s hands and squeezed as if psyg herself off to begin a long story.

  “I’ll tell you what really happened,” She said "It's a long story," her eyes glistened with uears, she begaale of her move to Axen.

  "Before Moon Valley, I used to py aname. A battle MM called The Scarlet Frontier,"

  Aya reized that game, it used to be one of the most popur long running MMOs in the world. Pyers from far and wide would pete in absolutely crazy matches.

  Like most games until Moon Valley Online, Aya could only watch from the side, not being able to afford any equipment to py.

  "I've heard of it, I used to watch the highlight reels, there were so many ways to py the game if I recall,"

  Aya had watched it a bunch back wheill had free time at her grandmother's house. No one was talking about it anymore, it seemed Moon Valley had taken its spot at the top.

  Mars nodded.

  "I rose to the top uhe username, Merciless Hunter as one of the SS ranked pyers in the game," A hint of pride escaped Mars' tone as she said that, a smile crossed her lips.

  "So I was recruited uhe team Eos querors," Mars quickly lost her smile and looked down at her knees.

  "I thought, my family would finally be supportive, I thought I had a team I could t on," her browns kogether in anger "I was mistaken," she spat bitterly.

  Mars paused, drawing in a deep breth to calm her anger.

  "My parents had never been supportive of career gaming. No matter how lucrative it was, they humored me though. Got me the Zephyr I offered you, so when I got on this team I thought I had it made Aya!"

  "You sound like you finally had it figured out, what went wrong?"

  "My team betrayed me, and there was nothing I could do about it,"

  [FshBack]

  The staff gave Mars a wide breadth as she stormed through the building on the way to the meeting room her team currently occupied.

  Mars burst into the round room of the Eos querors where the squad had their team meetings, her short hair boung as she walked in with quiet fury.

  "Look who finally showed," the team leader said desdingly, he swiveled around in his chair, smirking at the other members of the 7 squad team.

  "You locked me out of my at!" Mars said holding back her anger, he must have had a reason for it right? A bug? A hag i? They've had so many of those tely.

  "So you noticed, we've decided your at is a very valuable sell uhe Eos querors LLd the buyer only wants the at, not the pyer," the man said g his long fiogether.

  "And you didn't think to ask me about that? Do you know how long I've had that at, what it took to get me to the top?" Mars bit her lip, holding back the fury that threateo escape her.

  The leader scoffed, rolling his eyes at her as he exhaled through his lips. Another member ughed.

  "What it took? You mean Daddy's money right?"

  Mars smmed her palms down, rattling the half moon table stamped with the Eos Logo. Pain surged in the back of her throat, but she yelled anyway.

  "Shut your mouth you traitorous shit! My parents never supported my career in gaming. They only lehe money for the Zephyr and you know it!" The girl was breathing fire at that point.

  How dare they disrespect her like that? Parents? Don't make her ugh.

  "I huhose rare items, those power ups, upgrades! You oher hand wouldn't know a hard day's work if it called you for a hookup!" Mars roared. The member cowered, while the others began to mumble to themselves.

  Mars turned her eyes to the team leader again, who refused to meet her eyes. He pretended he was looking at something else.

  "When's the sale?"

  "Tonight," the man mumbled. "It's not like you're not getting a cut you know, you built the at, you do it again."

  A cruel, bitter ugh escaped Mars.

  "Typical Evangels pricks, this may just be another venture for you but this was my life," she said beating her chest in passioe her best efforts Mars' voice broke.

  She turned around to pose herself. The he flowed through her veins, simmering down into a cold fury.

  Mars turned around to meet the leader's eyes.

  "Let it be on the record that I quit," she said.

  "I figured you would, your at was locked because it is noroperty of the Eos querors," the other member from before said wanting to get a rea out of her.

  "You anticipated this?" Mars asked. She couldn't believe this, they were scum. No, lower than that.

  Mars looked on coldly, keeping her face stoic. She marked ead every face of her former team.

  Kylo, Brielle, Mina, Sis, Arlo, and their leader Mateo.

  "Do I at least get severance?"

  The members mumbled again. Brielle and Mina snickered as they scrolled through their phones, probably making a farewell Hoot they would post on their various SNSs.

  "Uh, sure..." The leader, Mateo, replied in fusion. If they had expected her to beg, think again.

  "Wire it to my at,"

  In a fsh, she had gotten her money. Mars lifted her phoo find a seven figure sum wired straight to her mobile at.

  "It also includes the sum from the sale," the leader said as if it would make things aer. Mars seethed but accepted the money, one way or another she was going to make them regret this.

  Mars spun around on her heels and began walking out the door.

  "Mars wait, at least resider! You're a valuable member of the team." Mateo said. She was the lead fighter, a trump card when things got tough for them.

  Mars said nothing, not even turning around to face them, her only response? A single middle finger, backward.

  [Fsh Bad]

  "Those pieces of trash! They sold your at with all your stuff," Aya's eyes brimmed with more fury than Mars had ever seen in the girl's eyes. "What happened after, did you just run after that?"

  Mars shook her head.

  [FshBack]

  Mars stuffed her clothes aimental belongings into a bag as she packed up her things from the team dorms, an enormous apartment in Evangels' p of luxury. It was an enormous home, a gamer's dream.

  She had even gotten a rge gaming pod installed after one of their biggest matches, now she would have to disassemble it and take with her to a new life.

  From the door frame her former teammate Arlo watched her pack, the silver haired man adjusted his gsses and after a while spoke.

  "Don't you think you're being too stubborn about this?" He asked.

  "Then shut up ae your at," Mars hissed. His brows shot up into his hairli her words.

  "W-What?"

  "You heard me," Mars stopped pag to fix him with a pointed expression of hatred. Her eyes burned, Arlo took a step back at the menag aura emanating from her.

  "If my gaming at should mean so little to me, then join me ae yours. Let's both build our ranks back up. I'll stay with E.C. if you do," Mars said.

  Arlo's mouth twisted into a snarl. He ched his fist and gred at his former teammate.

  "Do you hear yourself? Why would I do that? Jeopardize my ces when I've only just made it,"

  "And who put your name in for that reendation Arlo?"

  Arlo's mouth snapped shut.

  Mars scoffed and snapped her fingers giving two men the signal to ehe room and begin disassembling the gaming pod.

  She walked out of the building.

  "Tell Mateo that I hope he gets exactly what he deserves,"

  ----------

  Mars was orain to Axen whe a call from an unknown number, she read the s, taking the lollipop out of her mouth to answer.

  "Mars what did you do?!" Mateo's voice came screaming through the phone.

  She smirked as she listeo his stressed rantings, it seemed the t did not appreciate an at without its SS Raems.

  "I told you I've had that at all my life Matty, did you think I wouldn't have backdoor access to my stuff?"

  "You sold everything that made the at special, it's worthless now,"

  "You see that's where you're wrong, I ever get that username back, I ever get that history back Matty! Our history! I thought you were my friend,"

  "The ime I see you again, I'll crush you like a bug under my heel! You're nothing Mars! Noth-"

  Mars ehe call, a weight lifted off her chest. Being a former Pro Pyer had its perks after all. All she o do eak to her tact at the pany running Scarlet Frontier and they were happy to log her ba.

  She had a mass au of her collector's items, limited edition items, and special run items.

  Mars had enough moo live fortably for years before she would ain, but Mars had a certain hunger, she o build herself back up and rise again like the phoenix.

  Mateo was right about ohing, if she did it before, she could do it again.

  [Fsh Bad]