Aya was ready to follow when she heard a pained voice call out to her.

"Aya… Don't go…" It was the Blonde Boy. He was still alive, for now.

Aya stepped over to him and knelt down. As she pressed her hand on his chest, she experienced a vision, like the one from Maria's room.

This time she was taken to the front of the Drevis Estate. It seemed to be winter, as there was no grass in the soil, and the trees had shed their leaves. On the sidewalk next to the park the Doctor was talking to the boy.

"It's an honor to be allowed to stay and work here." The boy spoke nervously to the Doctor, who'd hired him earlier that week.

"No need to be so formal. You'll be living here after all. Feel free to think of us as family." Aya cringed as she heard these words. She already knew how this would end.

"No, I couldn't- "

"Please, don't be so modest. It's been hard since your family passed, yes?"

"Well yes but-"

"I recall you saying you had a sister, correct?" The Doctor ignored the boy's protests.

A voice echoed from the distance. "Wait! Snowball!" Aya recognized the voice as her own. It was odd hearing it from somewhere else. It sounded different than when she spoke. The Doctor turned the boy toward the woods, where a young Aya had caught her pet rabbit near a small lake.

"Sheesh, always so quick to run off." Aya collected the rabbit, oblivious to the conversation in the distance.

"That girl is my daughter." The Doctor informed the boy. "Which makes her your new little sister."

"My new… sister…" the boy pondered the idea.

"Her name is Aya, I'll introduce you two later. She can be terribly shy, so she might not think much of you at first, but be nice to her."

"Yes." The boy seemed at a loss for words. He pondered the thought for a moment as the Doctor headed inside. A new sister, how idiotic. As if anyone could replace her.

The boy's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of singing coming from the lake. There, Aya sat on a log, singing calmly while Snowball on the ground near her.

In stiller Nacht

Zur halben Wacht

Ein Stimm begunnt zu klagen

Der nächtge Wind

Hat süß und lind

Zu mir den Klang getragen

He listened intently as she sang. She was quite talented, all things considered.

Von herbem Leid

Und Traurigkeit

Ist mir das Herz zerflossen

Die Blümelein

Mit Tränen rein

Hab ich sie all begossen

He found himself smiling despite himself. She reminded him a lot of her, actually. Her voice as different, but she had the same carefree, peaceful tone.

Der schöne Mond

Will untergon

Für Leid nicht mehr mag scheinen

Die Sternelan

Ihr Glitzen stahn

Mit mir sie wollen weinen

Later that night, the boy was introduced to Aya properly. Aya cowered in fear of him at first when she saw him, much to his dismay. She held tightly to her father's leg for security.

The Doctor patted her on the head. "Now now, no need to be afraid. This is Robin, he's a new servant here. I assure you, he's friendly. He'll be living with us, so treat him like part of the family, ok?"

Aya looked between the two, confused. "Is he related to us?"

The Doctor chuckled. "Not exactly. He doesn't have a family of his own, so we're going to be his new one."

Aya was still confused. "Can people do that?"

The Doctor nodded. "Yes, it's called adoption. People do it when others don't have homes or families to go to."

Aya was still nervous, but she reached out her hand to shake Robin's. She shook weakly and said "i-it's nice to meet you."

Robin smiled. "Likewise."

"Do you wanna see my room?"

Robin nodded, his eyes misty now "Sure".

Aya lead Robin her room, excitedly showing him the doll her father gave her. They spent a half hour playing with the toys in her room, before Aya finally got tired. Robin didn't mind, he was happy to play with her. It brought back memories of when he and his sister would play as kids.

Robin wished her goodnight and went downstairs. Apparently, his room was in the basement since the mansion originally only had one servants' quarter. He wondered why they put them so deep though, it seemed unnecessary.

Not long after Monika's death

Robin found Aya sleeping on the couch in the reception hall. He walked over and knelt down next to her. "You'll catch a cold sleeping here. "He said warmly.

Aya stirred in her sleep "Mother… I love you…"

The boy sighed and went to fetch a blanket. He sat next to her and spoke as she slept. He didn't know if she was awake enough to hear. "You know, this really takes me back. I think you are just a little bit like my sister. She was right there, but I let her die. Only I made it out alive. I'm sorry…" He quickly realized this was quite a lot for a little kid.

"No…" Aya spoke in her sleep. "Mother… Don't go…"

Robin sighed. "You've lost someone precious too, Aya. You've got to let go and move forward. There's no need for a 'replacement', but when I see your innocence, it makes me want to protect you. I'll keep protecting you and your family, Aya. You can count on that."

Aya was snapped back to the present. She stared at Robin's body, now unmoving. Tears began to fall as the memories flooded back.

Robin… of course. How could I have forgotten about him?

She'd known him for a while before his death, and she remembered being devastated by the loss. Why hadn't she recognized him? Had she been so distracted by everything going on that she couldn't remember her own brother?

She then realized that the Doctor had refused to tell her how he'd died. Just that he'd been sick, and he couldn't save him in time. Aya didn't remember him being sick, but the Doctor refused to answer her questions. He told her to forget about him. She's done a pretty good job of it.

She felt for a pulse, feeling foolish for doing so given the circumstances. She was quite surprised when she actually found one. He was alive! Aya didn't have time to question why a spirit had a pulse, she had to get to work.

The wounds were bad, but not unmanageably so. The knives were small and short, the wounds would be deep, but not deep enough that she couldn't patch them up. He had two in his shoulders, and one just above his waist. She had the bandages she'd made earlier in her pocket, all she needed was some disinfectant. Puncture wounds were prone to infection, but didn't blead as much, meaning he shouldn't bleed out while she was away. The wounds were just below the vital areas of the chest, so he wouldn't be in too much danger if she acted quickly. She bolted to the kitchen.

As she ran through the cafeteria, she saw a boy with brown hair covered in dirt. He wore a tattered blue shirt. Aya quickly made her way over to him.

"So… hungry." The boy spoke.

Aya felt for him, but didn't have time to deal with the issue now. "Listen, I can get you some food, but I need your help first!"

The boy looked over, eyes wide with surprise, and a bit of hope. "Really? Uh… ok, mis, waddaya need?" He spoke with a thick Bavarian accent.

"There's a boy in the church who's been stabbed! He's still alive, but we need to hurry!"

The boy was confused. "Wha- what am I supposed to do 'bout- "

"Just keep an eye on him and tell me if anything happens! I need to get some wine from the kitchen. Whatever you do, don't pull out the knives!"

"U-Uh, alright ma'am!" The boy ran down to the Chapel. Aya hoped the young spirit could be relied on. He seemed friendly, but she could never be sure with these spirits.

In the kitchen, there was a bottle of cooking wine on a shelf above the ovens. She climbed atop the one underneath. Thankfully, it wasn't lit like the other one. She grabbed the wine and rushed back to the Chapel. The boy knelt near Robin, feeling for a pulse.

The boy looked up at Aya. "He's still alive I think."

Aya sighed with relief. "Quick, help me unbutton his shirt, but try not to pull on the knives." The boy did so, still processing all of this. He hoped this kid would be ok, whoever he was.

Aya pulled out the bandages and soaked them in the cooking wine. She washed her hands with them too. She poured the rest over Robin's wounds. They were tricky to get to, especially the waist one. Aya was glad he was unconscious for this part.

Now came the tricky part. Robin's shirt was pinned to him by the knives. Wrapping the bandages around the wounds wouldn't be easy. Aya decided the best course of action would be to rebutton his shirt and wrap them over it.

"But couldn't that get the wound all dirty?" The boy wasn't a first aid expert but that sounded to him like a pretty big issue.

"It's soaked in alcohol, so it should be clean enough. If he needs more treatment, I can get Maria to do it." She chuckled at the irony of that statement.

Aya tied the bandages tightly around the wounds. After she was done, she sighed leaned against the alter table.

The boy spoke up. "So… what do we do now?"

Aya remembered Maria saying the soldiers were on their way down. "There are soldiers. They'll be down soon; they can help him."

"The Army? Here?" The boy looked skeptically.

"Well, not exactly. My father made them."

The boy recoiled in shock.

"No no, they're friendly! They're not like the other dolls!" Aya quickly added.

The boy wasn't so sure, but they didn't exactly have many other options. His stomach grumbled.

"Oh right! I said I'd get you food! Head back to the cafeteria, I cook some for you in the kitchen."

The boy nodded enthusiastically and returned to the cafeteria.

Aya returned to the kitchen to find something for the boy. She immediately noticed the sausages. She pulled out her knife and cut some from the rack, and carried them over to the stove. Fortunately, there was already a warm skillet on the lit stove. The fire was about to go out it seemed, so Aya quickly grabbed some firewood for it. As she did, she noticed her chainsaw laying on the floor in the hallway. She'd forgotten all about that.

Aya sauteed the sausage until it was a nice brown color all over. The delicious smell of the spicy meat made her mouth water. She put it on a plate and took it to the boy.

The boy smiled widely as he smelled the food, and even more so when Aya presented him with the plate.

"Um, would this be okay?" Aya had no idea what the boy actually liked.

"…Ahh, smells just like that sausage I like!" The boy immediately dug in. "Mmm… so good…! Tastes a lot like mom's!"

As the boy ate, he noticed Aya staring longingly. "You want some?" He spoke with his mouth full. Aya eagerly agreed. They ate together, largely in silence at first. They were too focused on the meal to think of anything to say. Eventually, the boy struck up a conversation.

"So, you the Doc's daughter?"

"Yeah…" Aya said uncomfortably.

"Think I saw you once 'fore I was taken to the basement." The boy spoke between bites. "Guess this must be pretty crazy for ya huh?"

"Tell me about it." Aya said, tiredly. Now that the adrenalin was wearing off once more, she felt the exhaustion slowly returning.

"Well, for what it's worth, you don't seem so bad. Nicer 'n him at any rate. You're good people."

Aya wanted to defend her father, but she really couldn't, given the situation. "Thank you" she said finally. His words were comforting, despite the insult to her father. She'd been having doubts about that all night.

Eventually, they finished their meal. Aya felt much better on a full stomach.

The boy stood up and stretched. "Well, not quite to mom's standards but it was pretty tasty. I aint had a bite to eat since I was locked up here! I was starvin'!"

Aya was surprised to hear that. "Maria always brought food to the basement… Didn't you have that?"

"Everyone else was getting food, but not me… I was always unwanted. No use and just pissed people off, so I was abandoned." The boy lowered his head, the bags under his eyes emphasizing his exhaustion.

Aya hugged the boy, much to his surprise. She patted him on the back, and paused for a few seconds. She wanted to speak words of solace, but she didn't know what to say.

The boy smiled at her once she broke off the hug. Suddenly, he got an expression as though he'd remembered something. He dug through his pockets and produced a napkin, which he handed to Aya. "Here, have this! Y'know, as thanks for givin' me good food." The boy paused awkwardly. "Em, well… um… Thanks, I guess." He gave a tired smile. He wasn't good at saying goodbye, never had been.

"Yeah!" Aya said cheerfully. Aya was glad to see him perk up. She couldn't do much for him now, but at least she gave him some comfort.

Aya pocketed the napkin and waved goodbye to the boy, who waved back as he vanished. And with that, she returned to the kitchen, collected her chainsaw, and advanced forward.