“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, even if it was a bit underdeveloped at the current moment. It was a personal favorite of hers as it eliminated her least favorite part of scavenging for materials: the climb up. She got rope burn when she used ropes, ladders were far too short, and rocks were a pain. With a breath of anticipation, she readies her body, lining herself up as she braces herself. Then, she leaps, clapping her hands together.

BOOM

A detonation sounds out as she’s sent hurdling up, her body tumbling midair as she immediately loses and semblance of control she had. She curses as her body bounces off the walls, shuttling towards the surface like some terrible ping-pong ball. Each bounce sent another flash of pain coursing through her body, one she's experienced many a time before.

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. 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. 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, stone 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. This particular demon is a lot of things: intimidating, horrifying, massive, imposing. Now? Now it's dead. 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.