The evening had started pleasantly for the young couple. Micro and Khalif lounged around in a hideout Micro set up for their operations. The UnderCity dwelling offered them unrivaled privacy, and Khalif had quickly become comfortable in the setting.

They prepared for another operation, and eventually found themselves with extra time before they would be forced to leave.

Khalif found himself knife training, while Micro sat near to a station table researching. The apartment they were in was spacious, taking up the entire floor of the dilapidated building they hid in, but the pair made the area feel lived within. Their many dates since they’d met coming with a lot of knick-knacks, and their numerous heists allowed them to skip the normal furniture shopping that most new couples got to experience once moving in together.

Khalif finally sat on a luxurious couch to rest before he got into the shower to finish preparing for their next outing. The young man flipped through the holo-web on his flatscreen, when Micro received a call through the station table where she worked.

“Hey, Scanner, what's going on?” Micro asked after answering the call. The hologram of her contact bloomed to life right before her eyes, a large floating head fixed beside the plethora of open informational windows she combed through.

The information brokers digital mask flickered between various smiling faces, eventually landing on the face of a beautiful brown eyed woman’s face that didn’t match the young man’s deep voice.

“Just called to give you the info you paid for,

Micro glanced toward Khalif and then back toward Scanner, giving her broker a quick nod.

“You sure, girlie? Haven’t seen you this happy… dare I say ever,” Scanner said plainly, causing Micro to bite her bottom lip as her brow furrowed.

“Just send over the bloody information package, Scanner,” Micro grumbled nearly underneath her breath, looking over to see Khalif still looking at his flatscreen; his knife twirling between his fingertips.

Khalif looked over to her and smiled, and Micro couldn’t help but smile back, even as she opened an information package with Khalif’s face as the icon within her Overlay; her gut twisting at a never before felt sensation of betrayal.

A feeling that disappeared as she read. The information in the package detailing all of the jobs the young Cultivator she now shared her life with had completed since joining the criminal underground within the bronze sector of Maelstrom.

Though Micro could ignore many of the reported actions committed by the man she now felt to be her partner, including the ransacking of an entire Augustine compound that resulted in the deaths of many mortals and Cultivators alike; she couldn’t ignore the contract taken to assassinate the entire UnderCity gang known as the Wretches. Her Wretches…

The young woman soundlessly picked up the knife she’d lain on the station table she worked at, reversing the grip of the small blade in her hand while rising to her feet and strolling toward Khalif.

The young man looked up at her smiling figure as she approached, and set his flatscreen and knife down when she closed in, jumping into his lap with a giggle as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Hey you, you about done, we should probably get cleaned up soon,” Khalif said with a kiss on Micro’s cheek.

“I know, I just wanted to ask you something before I jumped into the shower,” Micro said playfully. Khalif’s smile deepened, and he nodded slowly.

“What, "want me to join you?" That’s not even a question, beautiful.”

Micro, leaned in to whisper into Khalif’s ear, slowly bringing the knife she held around to the front of his neck just below his Adam’s apple.

“Was it you that killed the wretches of UnderCity?”

Khalif’s face scrunched, and he leaned back to see the knife at his neck.

“What is this about—“”

Micro pressed the knife down harder.

“Answer me.. now.”

Khalif, glanced at his own knife, Micro following his gaze, but before she could react, Khalif sunk into his own shadow, causing the young woman to drop into the space he once occupied.

Micro spun, jumping to her feet, and swung her knife through the air, assuming Khalif would be just behind her. Though she was correct in her assumption, Khalif ducked, grabbing his own knife from the couch, before he quickly raised his blade. A mere blink of an eye and the pair were locked in one another’s deadly embrace.

Khalif and Micro stood across from one another. Each held a knife to the other's throat, and neither showed signs of lowering their weapons.

“How was I supposed to know,” Khalif asked, his gaze serious.

“You expect me to drop this because you were unaware?”

Khalif shook his head and Micro’s knife dug into his neck, slicing him open enough to bleed the young Cultivator.

“No I expect you to understand that I’m not holding the deaths of anyone I cared for before I met you against you, nor your choices made while trying to survive, and you seeing that you doing the same in my direction is reasonable…”

Khalif pulled his knife away and smiled, even as Micro began to cry.

“What do you think I’m weak or something, that I won’t leave you left for dead right here, cut you down and never come back!”

“No, I’m just hoping that you are as enthralled with me as I am with you,” Khalif said slowly opening his arms, stepping closer to Micro. The young woman shook her head, her hand trembling as she tried to step back, but Khalif wrapped her up in a hug before she could. The knife dropped from her hand as she sobbed in his embrace; the young man kissed her forehead as she gripped his shirt in her hands.

“Why would the maiden make me fall in love you… of all people?”

“Why would the maiden make me fall in love with the woman who sold the information that led to my gang’s hideout being raided by Alister Kim. Doesn’t matter to me the why honestly, I’ve never been happier.”

Micro looked up at him, her face scrunching in confusion.

“I’ve only sold information to one broker, and I didn’t know they had ties to Alister Kim?”

Khalif nodded, smiling at her as he spoke.

“I assumed as much, but I’m sorry to tell you this, but your gang ruffled the wrong man’s feathers, and unfortunately for me, so did mine, love, it's all a part of being wrapped up in the games of the powerful, I suppose.”

Micro nodded slowly, resting her head back on Khalif’s forehead as she mumbled a response.

“So what are we supposed to do, just let them continue to destroy our lives as some sort of game?”

Khalif laughed, staying silent at first, but eventually made a a declaration that surprised even the more than violent Micro completely out of her saddened state. Her tears stopped instantly.

“No darling, we are going to kill them all, one Cultivator at a time…”

…

Lane took her time moving from rooftop to rooftop, using a picture of the area she’d taken from above, during a rather intense sky dive from a mail carrier drone to navigate. The area of Maelstrom’s silver sector she slunk through was owned by a single corporation known as Alister Industries. The chain of buildings all hung from a translucent dome of purified and condensed mana that produced a subtle misting of water perpetually.

Each street that was accessible to the patrons in the shopping and entertainment district was actually a stationary bridge. The bridges too dangled from the top of the dome by ropes made of condensed mana, providing walkways for the buildings that drifted through the maze of unmoving pathways.

The intricate setup all floated above a beautiful lake sized aquarium filled to the brim with aquatic life, and a dazzling coral reef.

Shoppers loved the shifting design as it offered an ever-changing experience. Enter a building on one bridge, and leave that same building on another, surrounded by a completely new set of shops , restaurants and attractions. Or spend time on the parks filled with greenery and gardens that sat to either side of the long bridges that offered alluring views of the aquarium below.

The problem for Lane was the movement of the buildings. Lawful entry into the chopping district came with a map that would consistently show all patrons where the buildings were, and where they were headed, accessible through both Overlays for Cultivators, and Flatscreens for mortals.

Lane who traveled from rooftop to rooftop, knew what the building she searched for looked like, but had absolutely no clue where it had moved once she landed. She’d been forced to attach herself to a massive load of incoming produce being dropped into an opening that quickly closed. Knowing that through her research before infiltrating the area that the shopping center known as Aqua, a place designated as private for the wealthy, had no other security weakness that would allow her to gain easy entry.

Even the rooftops she snuck through had many mortal security guards that patrolled atop them, in addition to the guards that flew in the air above the shopping center.

If it wasn’t for her stealth suit, she’d have long been caught. The suit was beyond advanced, and far more expensive than the one she’d worked hard for, and purchased with her own credits.

Though she wasn’t able to access her family's money during her threshing, her elder brother Caspian hadn’t been able to ignore the attempted purchase of the suit while tracking her actions; the young man stepped in, sending Lane a device he felt far more capable than the basic instrument of infiltration she’d bought personally, and throwing away the less superior item the moment the intercepted package arrived at his own doorstep.

The nearly invisible Lane was able to find the ballroom hosting a gala after perching atop a guard-less building, and allowing its movements to bring her toward the building rather than the other way around. Once in sight, she prepared herself for a jump that made her guts twist to even think about. She wasn’t necessarily afraid of heights, especially when using a parachute, but that function of her suit was mana based and still recharging.

It's no big deal, you just gotta bend your knees and roll… bend your knees, roll. No big deal…

The much shorter ballroom came into full view, and Lane rubbed her hands together while in a sprinter's stance to prepare herself.

Quit procrastinating Lane, just run and sparking jump…!

After a few more deep breaths, Lane's heart began to beat out of her chest, and if it wasn’t for the sound of the nearby guard on an adjacent rooftop, she would have missed her opportunity completely.

Lane took off as fast as she could. Her steps were made silent by her suit, the gelatin soles underneath her feet made to suppress any and all sound.

The jump came before she knew it, and took her breath away as gravity took hold pulling her stomach into her throat. She forced herself not to scream, plummeting toward the glass ceiling below. A sudden gust of wind blew by her lower half, sending her into an end over end spiral, Lane unable to hold back her scream any further. Her cursed yells stretched across the air as she fell.

“Bloody embers!”

…

“Did you hear that?”

Khalif looked over his shoulder toward the glass ceiling of the ballroom, swearing to himself that he heard something thud against the surface, only to see absolutely nothing there.

“No, are you sure you are up for all this? You’ve seemed off since we manage to get inside.”

Khalif took a deep breath and smiled toward Micro.

“Yeah, sorry, felt off since the doorman actually let us in, just makes all of this more real,” responded Khalif.

The well dressed couple roamed through the ballroom, smiling and greeting the wealthy as they acted like the economic equals of those around them. Khalif stoic in his every action, while Micro remained soft and graceful in her own confident allure.

“So what exactly does Alister Kim want from our target,” Micro whispered, keeping her voice low as they sipped daintily from their wine glasses.

“I am unsure. I think we are here to gain information on some sort of vault location, it's the only reason I could see us needing a Cracker,” Khalif responded in a whisper of his own. After a while longer the pair finally found the young woman Khalif was looking for, and the two approached casually once the young man pointed out their target.

The beautiful blonde wore a rather elegant dress that would have never led either of the young couple to believe that the woman was an engineer of any kind.

The woman carried herself with a noble’s grace, and seemed to be surrounded by an entourage of well dressed business men and woman.

“What’s the move, how should we…”

Khalif and Micro stopped abruptly, their arms separated as an unseen figure strode directly between them.

“Excuse me,” came the voice of a younger male, causing Khalif and Micro to share a look before spinning slow circles in an attempt to find whomever had just brushed by them.

Neither one had completed a full spin before a scream was heard behind them. Their gazes shot back toward their target who flailed violently in alarm; the woman grasping wildly for anything to stop herself from being captured while being dragged through the ballroom by her previously well fashioned hair.

“Someone bloody help me!”

“Did a bloody ghost just snatch our sparking target,” Micro asked in absolute shock. It wasn’t just her, but most the room stood like statues, completely unmoving as the engineer was dragged away. The only proof the woman had ever been there, the kitchen doors that slid close, suppressing the sounds of her screams.

“I sparking hate this city…” Khalif grabbed Micro’s hand and charged after their target.

They burst into the kitchen and saw something that made their confusion only grow further. The culinary team of chef’s were all in a battle for their lives.

Dishes made for the ballroom’s guest were being slung across the kitchen both in alarm and panic. Cake batter, sizzling pans, and even salads could be seen flung in every direction.

Khalif’s eyes widened at the sight of the now slightly visible individual dragging their target, now drenched in white cake batter. As well as a second individual in a demon mask being assaulted by many of the chefs that appeared to also be fighting to get to his target. Khalif looked over to Micro who wore a huge grin.

“I know you said you hate it, but honestly my dearest Khalif, I sparking love this place…!”

Khalif rolled his eyes but couldn’t help but smile back at Micro who waved an open hand toward the violence before them both.

“Shall we?”

Khalif shrugged before nodding.

“Yes my love, we shall.”