Her shower did an effective job of clearing her head, but, judging from the now steamy bathroom, she used up all the hot water for a week. When she was fully clothed and left the bathroom, Mr. Captor was back with groceries. Mituna's eyes were still glued to his game, and Feferi assumed that Sollux was in his room.

Unsurprisingly, Sollux was on his bed, fiddling with his laptop. "Hey," he greeted when she opened the door. "How'd it go with Meenah?"

"Same as every other interaction I've had with her, I guess," Feferi replied.

"It's no wonder Vriska had a huge crush on her."

"They're basically the same person, except Meenah is more rude and prefers older Serkets."

"Who can blame her? Mindfang is pretty hot."

"Ew! I meant Aranea, you perv!"

"Meenah and Aranea are a thing now?" Feferi nodded. "That's adorable. We have to tell Nepeta."

"Meulin set them up. And now I forever pity Aranea." Then Feferi glared at Sollux. "Besides, Mindfang isn't that hot."

"FF. She's gorgeous. If she wasn't a casino owner, she'd be a model."

"Horndog." Feferi stuck out her tongue.

"Prude." Sollux stuck out his dual-tipped tongue. They burst out into laughter. Feferi always felt like she was five around Sollux, and she loved it. Then Sollux's phone started ringing.

"I thought you always kept it on vibrate?" Feferi asked as Sollux looked at the caller.

"I keep AA's ringtone on full blast. She only ever calls me if it's important." He answered the phone. He started by drilling her with the usual questions, then fell into silence as she responded. Feferi had always been jealous of their relationship. They had such a strong friendship, something that had been built upon years of trust and companionship. The only person Feferi had that with was Eridan, and he was too much of a flirt to consider a good friend (he'd get the wrong idea).

Feferi contented herself with playing on her phone. She sent a few messages to see if Gamzee was alright, and Sollux left to find privacy. Gamzee was sober, but doing well. She wished she could find a way to get him out of his home. But with Mr. Makara watching over them, it would be near impossible.

After a few minutes, Sollux came back. "Hey, we have to go see AA. Her mom was just arrested for the murder of Doc Scratch."

Feferi was too stunned to reply, but followed Sollux out of the apartment. They hailed a cab, but the ride to Aradia's house still felt like it took forever. Aradia's apartment looked as though it was violating several city regulations. Some of the windows were cracked or covered with cardboard. The building walls were crumbling. Trash covered the streets, along with a few homeless people. A noxious odor surrounded the area.

"What happened?" Feferi finally asked.

"I'm not quite sure. If AA is okay, we can ask her for details." Sollux led her through the apartment. Most of the locks were broken. He didn't bother with knocking on the door to the Megido apartment, but instead barged in. The smell of weed wafted out, and Feferi covered her nose. Damara was sprawled across the couch. She said something to them in Alternian. "Cut the crap," Sollux said. Damara switched to New Japanese. "This is serious, Damara."

Damara nodded. "Bitch had it coming."

"Where's AA?"

"I'm not my sister's keeper."

"She told me she'd stay here!" Sollux snapped.

"She lied, scrawny punk," Damara said, taking a puff from her joint and blowing it out. Feferi thought she resembled an Eastern dragon from Alternian legends. "She stepped out not long ago." She said something in Alternian, something Feferi heard her mother say frequently. It was most likely a curse.

"Come on," Feferi said, grabbing Sollux's arm. Red and blue wisps of psionic energy flickered around his eyes, and the air surrounding Damara began to darken. She did not want to get caught up in a psionic battle. "We can try to find her outside." Sollux nodded and allowed Feferi to drag him away. Damara laughed.

"I fucking hate that bitch!"

"Everyone does," Feferi replied. "Where would Aradia go? You're her best friend."

"Fuck, I don't know. She could be anywhere if she's upset."

"Uh, I'm right here guys!" Feferi and Sollux both ran to the staircase and looked down. Aradia was standing there, in her natural radiancy, holding a plastic bag.

"AA!" Sollux exclaimed. He ran down the stairs, almost tripped, then wrapped his arms around Aradia. "Are you okay? Why'd you leave? What happened?" Feferi walked down to meet Aradia.

"Hey Feferi," Aradia grinned. "Sollux, you can detach yourself from me. I don't love my mom that much anyway."

Sollux let go. "Right. Sorry." His face was yellow. "Okay, so what happened?"

"There was substantial evidence at the crime scene that suggested my mom killed Doc Scratch. There was DNA, like hair and fingerprints. The blood on the walls was some of Doc Scratch's mixed with animal blood, so they suspected a cult member or practicer of dark magic. That, and my mom's last job was working for Doc Scratch, who was a creep, so she had the motive."

"Any alibi?" Sollux asked.

"Nope. Damara and I weren't about to cover for her either. Besides, I believe that my mother is capable of beating a man to death."

"What are you going to do?" Feferi asked.

"Damara can't look after me. I think she's going to stay with a friend. I'll have to ask Karkat about my options. Think he'll let me stay in the safe house?"

"Oh gosh, that place looks like a war zone," Feferi said. "Maybe you can crash with me and Sollux?"

"I doubt it. The apartment is pretty small, and we're already pushing it with four people. Maybe Karkat can hook you up with someone in the Midnight Crew. Clubs has offered for me to stay with him for 'convenience'."

"I wouldn't mind staying with him. If anything, it seems like he's the one who needs to be looked after," Aradia said. She hugged Sollux, who blushed and returned the hug. Feferi committed this to memory. Sollux had teased her about her crushes in the past, this could be a wonderful opportunity for revenge. "Thanks for coming to check on me. I know I sounded hysterical on the phone, but I'm okay now." Then she hugged Feferi. "Thank you too, Feferi."

"No problem," Feferi replied.

"Yeah, any time," Sollux said. Aradia went back to her apartment, and Sollux sent a message to Karkat about the situation.

"Sooo," Feferi said.

"So what?" Sollux asked.

"Should I have left you two alone, casanova?"

"Shut up," Sollux said, his cheeks turning yellow once more.

"You two are cute," Feferi said. "I think she likes you."

"I don't want to gossip about my love life, FF. There's too much stuff going on to waste time on matesprits and stuff."

"You put up with moirails."

"Not really. Aradia isn't my moirail. I didn't want to make the same mistake as Eridork and try wooing someone while in the pale zone."

"Oh." They started walking back to Sollux's house. "We should be moirails."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I tell you everything. And I like to think you do the same. Be my pale without pails," Feferi winked.

"Oh, you're terrible," Sollux laughed. "That's a yes by the way." Feferi grabbed his hand.

"You know what else?"

"What?"

"This is the first time I've ever heard of the Genesis City police solving a case.