Metal impacts against stone, a symphony of loud thunks ripping through the narrow tunnel– it's natural crescendo ending in a massive explosion. A few hundred feet underground, a girl punches her gauntleted fists into the walls over and over, sweat beading down her forehead, mixing with the dirt and grime as it treks down the expanse of her face.

  She exhales slowly, allowing herself a moment to wipe it away, her hand gliding across her glistening, bronze skin to the short, auburn curls that tumble down just above her shoulders. Her eyes flit back toward the cavern she's created, a long expanse of broken up stone and dirt. It's nearing a mile, though it needs a bit more than a final push to go over the edge. She tugs at the collar of her sweat drenched white tank top, wincing a smidge as she does. Her forearm aches, her knuckles aggravated with the long hours of fisticuffs with an uncaring stone wall.

  “I reckon I could…” She mutters to herself, her head turning side to side conspicuously before looking down at the gauntlet with trepidation. She knows when she takes but one step back, they'll start to nag her. Trying never hurts, though. She didn't get this far without some repetition. She takes a tentative step away from the front of the tunnel, her breath hitching in her throat as she gets on her tiptoes, each step creating small crunches as the stone shifts beneath her feet.

  She makes it about three strides before that voice rings through her head, her steps freezing as she suppresses the urge to crack her head open on the stone wall.

  “There is more work to be done,” The voice speaks: the same pitch, same tone, same monotone everything as per usual. ”Return to your post, Liv.”

  Liv mumbles under her breath, looking down at the gauntlets. They're a dusty iron, covered in the same dirt and grime as Liv. Despite all the abuse Liv has put them through, though, not a single dent or scratch has made its way onto its surface. She's debated the damn thing so may times, and every time she falls short of winning. She hadn't given up yet, though. Debating them was one of the few forms of entertainment she had in this stupid city.

  “I don't wanna.” She says simply, staring down at the left gauntlet with a challenging glare. She swears she can feel it staring back at her in times like these, times where she tries to put her foot down. A decade ago, the feeling would've sent a cold shiver down her spine. Time had dulled that. She doesn't know if it has eyes of any sort, she never studied what type of creature she had on her hands. She knows they can see her at least. That much was obvious.

  “It's imperative you continue to dig.” It says, its voice as impassive as always. Liv mouths along to the words, her eyes nearly rolling to the back of her skull. If she hadn’t gone through every argument she could possibly think of, she’d think it was an automated response. Just going through the same motions as always

  “Been 'bout ten years, and you still ain't speakin’ on why I keep diggin’." Liv grumbles. "Ain't ya gonna share... I dunno, any day now?”

  Without a second's hesitation, the boss’s voice rings through her head, not a hint of emotion bleeding through. “When the time is right, you will be made aware. Proceed.”

  She would kill for a break in the monotony, for someone else to speak to, for an angel to swoop down in wash of light to take her away from her solitude. Sadly, she knew there was nobody at this point– she had checked more than enough to confirm that fact. Not even skeletons remained. The demons saw to that. Still, what she wouldn't do for someone else to talk to.

  “And what if I don't wanna?” She shoots back, a gruff frown on her face. Her other hand rests on her hip, her mind rapidly working to find ways out and just as rapidly shooting them down. They're all angles she's done before, and they never work.

  “It would be incredibly inefficient of you,” It responds. “Seeing as you’re already nearing completion of today's allotted mile.”

  Liv grunts, her eyes flitting across the caverns rough walls. She was almost done, but that didn't mean she wanted to do the whole thing today. What else would she do? She didn't really know. Relax, probably. It'd been a good while since she'd ever relaxed. A book, perhaps? Most of the above ground ones have long since rotted, but her cave had quite a few that had yet to decay.

  She goes to adjust her arm, but stops as a small twinge of pain tickles her back. The few times she just said "no", she found herself exhausted an lethargic the morning after. Maybe an old favorite could work, though doubts seep into her mind as soon as she starts.

  “My muscles’re killin’ me, though,” She responds, shrugging her shoulders. In actuality, she wasn’t all that hurt. Sure, it wasn’t exactly easy punching through stone for an entire mile from sunrise to sunset, but she’d gotten used to it at this point. It's not an untreaded gambit– one she's liberally abused to minimal success; although, her back did ache a bit, and her forearms have certainly been better. She continues, reaching up to rub her trapezium muscle with a groan. “Don’t think I’ll make this one… Mighta tore a muscle, boss.”

  Her boss doesn’t speak for a moment. Liv stares, hope bubbling up in her chest. Rarely does her boss ever freeze or pause, let alone for this long. Did she actually have some sort of injury? She already incurred three just today, so that would give her at least a day to work with. Early rest was more than rare, and she could argue she completed a mile when she came back for this one! It was genius-!

  “Highly unlikely,” the boss interrupts her merriment: its infernal, grating voice raining on her parade. “I have done an extensive scan on your body. While there are a few microtears within your lower trapezium, it's hardly something that would constitute a true ‘tear’. Resting for the night will fix them, so it makes no difference if you go for an additional dozen yards with such minimal injuries.”

  Liv groans, running the hand that was just on her back down her face, doubling as a way to get some of the extra sweat that's collected on her face. It's blazing down here, it is every time she stops mining, seeping into her skin, making her body sluggish as a sloth. Every breath is uncomfortable, filling her lungs with blisteringly humid oxygen. She considers arguing for a bit longer, but ultimately goes against it. Once again, the damned things had convinced her, and arguing with it in the heat would just make it even more annoying a chore to do.

  With a sigh, she shrugs her shoulders a final time, allowing both her hands to fall as she loosens them, jittering all the aching muscles from her arms: to her shoulders, and all the way in her back. Just a bit more, and she’s done for the day. Hopping from one foot to the other to loosen her legs, she begins forming that mind-muscle connection to generate more power before planting her feet, priming her fist as her hips twist.

  THUNK

  Her gauntleted fist slams against the stone causing large chunks to cascade down, thumping to the floor like a… Well, stone. Her expression hardly changes as she shakes her hand, trying to ease the dull ache that runs across her nerves with the impact of her fist. One down, three to go. She primes that same fist once more, pulling it back before she allows it to fly loose.

  THUNK

  The reverberations shake her body as she punches the stone wall, stone flakes raining down like snow. Strange. It's never that powerful. She can swear she feels the reverberations farther above ground, a dusting of dirt raining down like a haze. She wonders if she did that for a moment. Was that a bad thing? She'd been getting stronger over the years, but affecting the world above still felt out of reach. That seemed bad. She shakes her head. If anything, she’s just getting stronger– she might be able to complete these miles quicker. The thought makes her smile; after all, more time to relax is always welcome. That or she'd be forced to do more. Two done, two to go. She primes her fist again, putting a bit more pizazz into it. Might as well show off, even if nobody’s going to see it.

  THUNK

  Her hand slams into the stone again, the fault lines within her gauntlets glowing a bright orange, the heat within the cavern increasing. The reverberations were far stronger that time, causing the cavern to rumble as if the earth itself was ready to split open. She stops for a moment, her brows furrowing, unable to ignore the shaking beneath her feet. That impact was certainly more concerning. Was she hitting something above ground? It couldn't be, she was hundreds of feet down, far enough to make ladders impossible to use. She shakes her head, equating the quivers of the earth to her punches. Getting stronger was good, right? With a final breath, she twists her hips a final time, letting loose a final swing of her fist.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  THUNK

  …

  BOOM

  Her fist suddenly detonates, the wall blown to smithereens as stone dust billows out in all directions, cascading down like snow on a winters day. The power of it blows back at her, her arms raising to shield her body, her planted feet skidding on the floor. Liv can swear she hears a snap, the reverberations stopping for a split moment. For a single second, she considers if her strength was a placebo. An earthquake? That didn't explain the snap, but she could've been hearing things. Maybe she broke a bone? No, she didn't feel any pain, and her boss would immediately comment if she had some sort of bone break. She'd been digging these stupid caverns for a decade, and "snap" was not a sound stone made. So what could've it been-?

  CRASHHH

  Liv jumps as a massive crash sounds out. The world shakes for a horrifying moment, a massive sinkhole forming at the end of her newly formed cavern, her caverns ceiling above into the newly formed maw of the earth. She covers herself. Cave-in's were rare nowadays, but her muscle memory hadn't left her. Earth continues to flow in before eventually stopping, that familiar greenish tint wafting into the air. Smog.

  “Boss? The hell did I just do?” She questions, her voice filled with awe and a hint of fear. Had she done that? She sure as shit hoped not. Despite her earlier musings on her strength, that was perhaps too much strength. She sure as shit didn't want to get herself killed just because she couldn’t control the power in her punches.

  For the longest moment of Liv's life, her boss doesn't say a word, panic running rampant in Liv's mind. Once it does give its assessment, however, Liv's panic is subdued.

  “I believe you hit something quite large. Perhaps a support on a building? Either way, it is of little consequence.” They say slowly, though they don't seem as clear and confident as usual, a hint of doubt creeping in their voice. "You'll just have to be more careful when digging."

  “Huh. Aight,” She responds slowly, her eyebrows furrowing, “I'm gonna go above ground n' check.”

  “For what reason?” It responds, confusion lacing its usual pragmatic voice.

  Liv smiles, real pride and giddiness entering her voice as she responds, “If I knocked down a buildin'... I kinda wanna see.”

  “If you don't come into contact with any demons, I suppose it should be alright.” It confirms as Liv's smile broadens, her fist flying out to give a nearby wall three quick jabs. She looks down at the gauntlets, feeling the boss’s indifference, the power humming between the fault lines in the gauntlets, orange light swirling beneath. She had been developing this technique for a bit now. This was a personal favorite of hers, mostly because it removed her least favorite part of scavenging: the climb up. She got rope burn when she used ropes, ladders were far too short, and rocks were a pain. It was a bit underdeveloped right now, but she reckoned it'd work out.

  With a breath of anticipation, she readies her body, lining herself up as she braces herself. Then, she leaps, clapping her hands together.

  An explosion from her gauntlets, her body tumbling midair as she immediately loses and semblance of control she had. She curses as her body bounces off the walls, pain lancing through her body. After fifteen seconds, she flies out of the top of the sinkhole, remaining airborne for a second before slamming to the floor. She groans, pushing herself up, the putrid smell of smog filling her nose. She coughs, waving it away with a single hand. She had to find some time to practice that.

  Her nose wrinkles as she shifts on the floor, a dark liquid coating her arms, warm and vile smelling. She sneers, wiping it off as she looks for the building she supposedly knocked over. After years of smelling that stupid smog, she'd thought herself immune to bad smells. As her eyes roam over the street, she sees the giant heap leaking that same black liquid on her arms. She frowns deeper, taking a step closer, inspecting it.

  In front of her lies a massive, reddish-brown skinned, building-esuqe demon– its infernal, black blood oozing out of recently accumulated, blunt impact wounds, eye stalks writing as it tries in vain to make any movement whatsoever, flashes of light sparking from the flitting stalks. This particular demon is a lot of things: intimidating, horrifying, massive, imposing. Now? ow it was dying.

  She did all that to it?

  “You must have struck one of its weak points.” Her boss mentally points out, alluding to one of its strange, thin, flared, toothpick-esque legs. Liv looks to it, seeing the black blood leaking from it snapped leg.

  “Is this why I was diggin’?” She mutters questioningly, poking the demon. At her touch, the demon begins to evaporate, its large body sizzling as it fades to nothing. The blood that leaked from its wound evaporates alongside it, the only trace of its existence being the destruction wrought in its wake. She didn't know they did that.

  “No, this is simply a coincidence,” the boss says, “Not an unwelcome one, however. Removing threats is quite the boon, and a rare one at that. I do believe you are finished with your mile, however. Rest is imperative to recovery, so rest– I will alert you when it's time to return to work.”

  Liv furrows her eyebrows, millions of questions broiling in her mind. Still, she wasn't going to pass down a nights rest. She felt beat to hell, both physically and mentally. She rolls her shoulders, grimacing. Landing on them didn't do her any favors. “Yeah… Guess I'm ready for bed-.”

  “Oi! Scuse me!”

  Liv turns as someone interrupts her, her eyes widening at the sight before her. Her jaw slacks, her mouth forming a pronounced O. A pit forms in her stomach, a whirlwind of unfamiliar emotions bubbling just beneath the surface.

  People. Four real, breathing people, all grouped together, only a few yards away. From her vantage, she can see the largest one walking toward her, and the only one without a mask. His hands are raised in front of him in a defensive, placating gesture, his face showing a clear smile. He’s quite a ways taller than her, a head and a half atleast. Liv looks at the arm, digging up a memory from over a decade ago. In this situation, she can do something. Her hand reaches out, grabbing one of his hands in a quick, one pump shake.

  The man’s face scrunches up in confusion as he looks at his now clasped hand. When he does speak, he speaks slowly, his voice gravely and low. “Thanks for the assist. The name’s Alexis Andino. You got a name?”

  Liv snaps out of her delirium for a moment, her gauntleted hand still gripped in his. She involuntarily gulps, not used to conversing with other people, nobody besides the boss and their conversations. In the end, she speaks slowly, trying to maintain eye contact as best as possible as she gives his hand another quick shake.

  “Liv.”

  The man known as Alexis nods his head at the curt response, pulling his hand out of her grip with quite a bit of effort, looking back to his own team. They seem to be approaching slowly, if a bit wary. Luckily, the demon carcass has long since vanished, leaving no barrier between the two factions. He clears his throat, speaking, “You all alone out here?”

  “Uh, kinda,” she says nervously while raising her hands, showing off the gauntlets that had gone eerily silent, “got my boss.”

  “...The gauntlets?” Alexis questions.

  “Yeah.” Liv says, nodding slowly.

  “They… Talk?” He questions again, giving her a once over.

  “Yeah.” She nods once more, sweat pouring down her back. He was looking at her strange, like he was looking for something.

  “Well I’ll be damned,” Alexis mutters, looking at the glimmering gauntlets as a grin splits his face, "Synth Weapon user and a completion! Our lucky day!"

  “Huh?” Liv cocks her head, her own eyebrows scrunching up in confusion. They were on a mission? What the hell is a Synth Weapon? Did they mean the boss? The term is new, and the rest of his group seems to be aware as they approach, huddling around her like she’s some celebrity. Her confused response prompts a confused look from Alexis, his smile never faltering as he attempts to explain.

  “Ya know, the gauntlets!” He gestures at the gauntlets with a smile, “Didn’t think we’d find anyone out here, but I guess you were hidin’! What were ya doing out here all by yourself?”

  “Uh. Diggin'.” She responds sheepishly, pointing the hole she made in the floor.

  “Digging?” Alexis questions, his eyebrows rising.

  “Diggin'.” She confirms, nodding. They were a good for digging. Better than shovels, at least. She hated shovels.

  “With those?”

  “What else would I be diggin’ with?”

  “Jesus. Better than I am.” He chuckles, shaking his head, exasperation clear in his voice. “Your arms must be killing you.”

  Liv nods, the ache in her arm just about gone. She looks down at the gauntlets, her fingers flexing and relaxing over and over. Usually, her boss would have spoken up, told her what to do. Now? It was silent, leaving her to try and piece a conversation together with the first people she had seen in a decade.

  Her wandering mind is interrupted by the clearing of a throat, Alexis a few steps back. He seems jovial, as does his group. One of the girls, the one with the blondish-reddish hair, seems a bit nervous, the younger male about her age seems to be investigating her, and the girl with the long, black, silky hair seems to be looking at the gauntlets with something like jealousy. Alexis gestures across the back of the road with a question Liv has dreamed of for years.

  “You wanna get outta this place?"

  Yes, yes she would.