Scout bounded out of the room at his command, and Will strode towards the wall to examine the switches. After a while, he shook his head—they seemed in order. He placed one hand on the wall and considered the problem.

It couldn't be the bulbs. All of them being loose was unlikely. He had already checked the fuses, and they were in the clear.

The thin wall shook underneath his palm, and Will heard music coming from his neighbor. The notes rang high and swung low as the radio fluctuated along with the sputtering current. It wasn't just the lights in their wing. The problem was everywhere. It was looking more likely the problem stemmed from the stabilizer.

Will opened the window next to the bed and stuck his head out. A pipe ran alongside the window, and a few feet down was the main stabilizer junction box. He would have to climb down to check it out. He let out a tired sigh.

An excited yip came from behind him. Scout had returned with a toolbox clutched in his mouth. He waddled over and let go of the handle.

"Good job, boy," praised Will. He glanced down at the weathered old box and was taken aback. This wasn't his tools. "What's this? What did you bring me, Scout?"

"Mom told me to clear out the cupboard," said Ellie as she scratched Scout's underbelly, "and I found this old toolbox."

"Right," mused Will. Scout had brought him the first box he had recognized instead of bringing him his personal tools. He had given the wrong answer the right way, or was this thinking outside the box to complete tasks at minimum cost? Either way, he would have to check Scout's logic circuits soon.

Will wiped the dust off the box and opened it. Its rusted hinges creaked, and a couple of photographs flew out of the box.

"Oh! What are those?" his sister squeaked.

"Dad's old stuff," muttered Will. "We had this before we moved here, prewar."

"Wow," said Ellie in a hushed whisper. She picked up a Polaroid. "What are these?"

"Photographs."

"Are they painted on?"

"No, silly," said Will. "You know what photographs are. You've seen my necklace."

"Yeah, but I never knew they could be made this big," she gestured at the photos.

Will snorted. Kids these days had never seen anything other than their smart screens.

"They look ancient. Is this before the war?"

Will looked at the photograph. It showed a fountain in the middle of a bustling city. A bunch of kids were off to the side, splashing each other with water.

"That's Belgrave, the old capital," said Will. "We used to have our shop just around that plaza."

"What do you mean, Belgrave?" asked Ellie. "We are Belgrave. We live in Belgrave."

"No, that," Will pointed at the photo, "is what we are named after."

Most of the refugees who survived Final October were from the capital. They managed to unite with the military before the second disaster of subspace collapse struck them. Most didn't make it, but the few that did built their base in the undercity. And now, it is the most defended place under the Tower.

"Bit odd naming ourselves after an old place," said Ellie.

"It means we still have our roots there," said Will. "You are right, we are Belgrave. We are still here."

Ellie flipped through more photographs with fascination. It was like looking at another world, a world where people used to live underneath the open sky. More than that, the people seemed alive. It shone through their eyes. It tugged at you, like finding a piece of you that you never knew was missing.

Ellie was certainly transfixed. It was a minute before she exclaimed again. "Oh, look at this!"

It was a family photograph. All of the Dunns were in the picture, standing in front of their shop.

"There's you!" Ellie laughed and pointed.

Up ahead was ten-year-old Will, his hands and face caked in grease. He proudly showed his grease-covered hands to the camera with a grin on his face. Next to him was an older girl in her late teens who held him out to the camera, laughing out loud.

Behind the two kids were mom and dad. His dad had a small smile on his face, watching their antics. Mother had baby Ellie bouncing on her hip with her head leaned on dad's shoulder.

"Why are you covered in mud?" asked Ellie.

Will chuckled. "I tried to open up a mech when dad wasn't looking."

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

Ellie peered at the photo. "Is that Dad?"

"Yeah, that's Dad."

"Wow, Mom looked so young." Ellie gazed at the photo, captivated, and she traced her finger to the last person in the photograph.

"That's big sis?"

"...Yes," Will blinked and rubbed his eyes. "You don't remember much about her, do you?"

"No," said Ellie slowly. "She is so pretty... What was she like?"

"She was great." Will cleared his throat. "Why don't you digitize the photo? We don't want to lose them again."

"Okay," said Ellie enthusiastically.

Will stared at the tool box in silence for a moment and reached out for an old, battered screwdriver. Even after all these years, it was still usable.

"You know, the family photo," began Ellie. "Is that our shop in the background?"

"Yup," said Will, still staring at the screwdriver. "Finest mech crafters in Belgrave."

He wiped the dust off the screwdriver and headed towards the window.

"You ever think of making a shop of your own?" asked Ellie.

"I don't know, munchkin," said Will. "I don't think I could ever look at a mech shop the same again. Plus, I'm not much of an administrator."

Will peered out of the window. The pipe looked sketchy, and the climb down won't be easy. Building codes had always been lax in the undercity. Hopefully, he doesn't bring the entire pipe down with him.

He grabbed a piece of cord from his coat, securely tied it to the window, and began to climb down the pipe.

He made his way down with caution, mindful of every foothold. The old pipe creaked under his weight, and the rope around his waist was his only source of comfort.

"Just don't look down."

He reached the junction box. An acrid smell of burnt plastic invaded his nose. Covering his nose, he pried the lid open. Black smoke billowed out of the box. Will waved off the smoke, and he grabbed the large circuit breaker, flipped the lever down.

Cries of dismay filled the colony. Lights went dead, and the music stopped.

"William, is that you?" A shout came from the neighboring apartment.

"I'm here, Ol' Bert."

"You messing with the lines again? Get the shit fixed," he croaked.

"Lights are out?" Another shout came from a different apartment.

"Will?"

"William?"

The old people of the building called for their resident gofer.

"Alright, alright, keep your hair on!" Will yelled. "I'm trying to fix these fluxes."

"That's been going on since morning. See to it, lad."

Will grinned wryly. Most of the retirees here were from the military. They had practically raised Ellie and Will.

He opened up the panel and examined the stabilizing array. Inside, there was a burnt ovoid ether core the size of his fist.

Most of the undercity power was 'borrowed' from the Tower. However, the nature of the power itself brought about some challenges.

Geothermo-psional energy was harnessed from folded subspaces deep within the Earth's crust. Within these folded spaces, matter displays very unusual properties, and one of its manifestations were the etherite crystals.

Etherite acted like a bridge between subspaces. They could act as a buffer during Tower power surges.

Will plucked the burnt etherite out of the socket and stared at it. This one was completely spent; it had to be replaced. Will reached into his jacket and brought out the new ether cube. It shone in the dim light.

Will looked between the crystals and then at the panel. He let his arms fall to the side, staying like that for a bit until he finally broke. He groaned and began bumping his head against the wall.

"Is everything all right down there?" Ellie yelled.

"Yes, it's fine," Will grunted. He reluctantly, with very jerky movements, slotted the new ether cube into the junction array.

He let out a breath and stared at the mess in front of him. There goes another five hundred credits down the drain. Forget about making money; he was losing credits by the minute.

He glared at the burnt ether core in his hands. It was oval compared to the new one and a much older make. As he twisted the etherite around, he felt indentations on its surface. He wiped the dust off the core and found the text stamped into the crystal.

BX7Q2 type M5, Belgrave.

It was made in the old country. This core had been active for decades. He might get a few credits from a nostalgic collector, but it wasn't worth much.

There was nothing for it now. He had already made his decision. Will looked up and yelled, "Ellie, can you get me the multimeter and the core tuner?"

"Just a sec," said Ellie and yelled for Scout.

While they hunted for his tools, Will was deep in thought. If only he could get his hands on a couple of ether cores. The embargo would raise prices, but if they were unchipped, he would need truckloads of them. There was no place where he could find that many cores. It was a crap shoot of a plan.

"Scout, be careful," said Ellie. Will looked up at the turtle bot, who had scrambled to the window.

"Look out!"

Will held onto the pipe with his legs and pushed away from the wall. The multimeter came at him first, and he grabbed it with his left hand; the core tuner came next, which he caught with his right.

"Will, the photo!" yelled Ellie, and he saw a photograph fluttering out of the window. With both hands occupied, Will cursed under his breath. The photo drifted towards him and was about to pass him by. Will stuffed the multimeter in his mouth and snatched the photo out of the air.

"Thank heavens," Ellie breathed a sigh of relief. "Bad, Scout. You really are too much."

The bot's head drooped in contrition.

"It's alright," Will tried to speak past the multimeter. He tucked the photograph into his pocket and returned the multimeter back into his hand. "Everything is fine."

Ellie dragged Scout back into the apartment. Will let out a breath, his heart hammering in his chest. He felt a familiar tingling shoot up his leg towards his spine. He gritted his teeth and hung on to the pipe. The shakes took a minute to pass, and he could only sigh in relief.

He shook himself. The stabilizer array was still waiting for him, and he went back to his work. After checking the etherite connection with the multimeter, he began to tune the core. The etherite began to harmonize with the grid, and Will made a quick inspection to ensure everything else was in place. He gave the setup a final check and flipped the power breaker back on.

The power slowly cycled through the etherite. The harmonization was still in process, and the connection had yet to stabilize. This would take a while.

He stuffed the tools back into his vest and brought out the photograph. It was the family photo in front of their shop. His eyes drifted through the smiling faces and fell on the signboard in the back.

Best Mechs in Belgrave!

"Wait a minute," Will muttered. He grabbed the burnt-out core and looked up its imprint. It was the same words. Made in Belgrave. It was the capital.

Eyes wide with realization, he recalled a place where there were cores aplenty. Truckloads of them and enough money to pay for everything.

A buzz of static filled the air, and the main stabilizer junction finished harmonizing. The power came back on, and the residents cheered. Will, still in shock, grabbed his slate and dialed a number.

"Hey, hey," said Remy. "What's up, Will?"

"Remy," said Will, "I have a plan."

"About the party?" asked Remy.

"No, it's better than a party," said Will. He squeezed the burnt etherite hard. "A whole lot better."