Cat and Lily were looking through a window into one of the buildings on the underground Revolution base they had stumbled into on accident, trying to escape a massive series of underground tunnels they had literally fallen into. They were here to gather some information before the inevitable fighting started. There was no way they were going to leave this terrorist base to keep harvesting valuable ether crystals without interfering.

They were both invisible, each by different means. Cat had created a living construct Cloak that protected her from the scorching heat in these caverns and also granted her a slew of other benefits, one of which was the ability to turn invisible. Lily simply formshifted using her Cloud shroud into a cloud of carbon monoxide. Now she was an invisible, odorless gas floating around, unobserved.

Both of them immediately noticed that this building was slightly different than the ones around it. Most of the structures erected in this cavern were identical, like they had been poured from the same mold and stamped out into shape. Lily suspected they had been built offsite part by part and were designed to be set up and taken down easily.

This gave the streets they wandered through a disorienting similarity. They were in a housing section right now, with row after row of bunkhouses for all the mining crews they had seen working in the hidden depths of Black Reach.

The one they had heard yelling from looked purpose-built. Like a custom version of the same design. It was slightly sturdier-looking while also being nearly half-again as large as the rest. Clearly, someone important was here. That correlated with the conversation they could hear through the heavily built window.

None of the houses needed windows, seeing as they were underground. The only thing to look at was black rocks shot through with lines of glowing orange energy. That lent even more credence to Lily's internal theory that these were pre-fabricated buildings.

"I understand you're angry-"

"ANGRY! I'M FURIOUS!" The voice they had first heard came from a tall, willowy man with short cropped hair and sharp features. He was gesturing wildly at a much older-looking man who was sitting in a chair and watching him impassively. The room appeared to be some kind of office with a desk, a couple chairs and a couch. The angry man was pacing around like a caged animal.

Neither man was wearing the reflective, shiny suits the other revolutionaries wore to ward off the deadly heat that pervaded these deep tunnels. The building must be temperature controlled.

"I understand that. But this is not a matter of 'want to'; this is a 'have to' situation. This mountain will be coming down in a few days' time. Whatever is still here at that point will be gone." The older man looked completely unperturbed as he talked about an event that would spell the death of thousands of civilians with a calm certainty. "You don't have a choice in this, Oswald."

"THAT'S BULLSHIT!" The angry man, Oswald, continued to yell. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOONER?!"

"Boy, you will address me with respect and cease this yelling. My patience has limits." The older man didn't raise his voice. He continued to speak with the same calm certainty. Like the voice of a mountain, uncaring and unshifting but irrefutably strong.

Instantly, the rapid pacing of Oswald stalled out, and he deflated like a popped balloon letting all the air out. He sunk into the couch and remained there, unmoving. "I apologize, you caught me off-guard. I would still like an explanation, though."

He sounded tired and defeated, all the fire drained out of him.

The older man moved something other than his lips for the first time, shrugging apathetically. "The analysts underestimated the deterioration rate for the confinement device. Its principles are still a mystery to everyone except the Founder, and he's been unusually tight-lipped on the subject. Apparently, the situation was worse than anyone realized. The town above will be rendered a burning hell before the week is over, and there's nothing we can do about it. We must make sure to recover as many assets as possible in the meantime."

Oswald groaned. "I wasn't kidding. Removing everything will take a week at the least. We're going to lose a fortune in buildings, materials, and lost revenue. This is one of the most profitable mines under our control. Losing it is-"

"Unfortunate." The old, unnamed man interrupted. "It is unfortunate but nowhere near crippling to our functionality. We will endure, as always. You younger ones don't remember, but it used to be many times worse than it is today. The support comes to us in floods instead of the depressing trickle we received fifty years ago. We are not so weak that the loss of one mine, no matter how valuable, will be our undoing. It'll simply tighten the margin of error for other projects. Nothing more."

"I have so much work to do." Oswald moaned. "Usually, when we leave we know ahead of time and are ready long before it happens. Our withdrawal is going to be sloppy, disorganized. We'll lose more than I want to admit." He warned.

"Then you best get on it. The leadership isn't holding you responsible for this, but I'm sure whatever you manage to pull out of here would be…appreciated."

Without another word, Oswald bolted to his feet before exiting the room like his ass was on fire. The old man watched him go with something resembling a smile.

"Ahh, to be young," The old man spoke to himself. "With the Revolution in the hands of young, ambitious men like him, we've got a bright future for all of humanity."

Without a word, Cat and Lily moved away from the window, making sure to be out of the way, when a reflective suited man who could only be Oswald bolted out of the building and practically ran down the street.

"We need to get back to the boys." Lily's voice reflected the fear that Cat felt.

"Yes. Yes, we do."

{}

Caeden and Erik had only been waiting for a few minutes when Erik's boredom reached critical mass, and he brought up a long-standing topic to hash over once more.

"So…How do you feel about Lily?"

Caeden groaned. He had simply laid on the ground, letting the intense heat of the baking earth seep into his muscles. His body was not built for sneaking, and he could feel some cramps coming on. With his body as enhanced as it was, the oven-hot ground was like a heated bed to his stressed muscles.

"Dude, we're not talking about this again."

"Oh, come on, don't be like that. You guys are great!" Erik cajoled.

"Seriously, Erik." Caeden sighed. "It's not going to happen, so just let it go. I know that you and Cat seem obsessed with the idea of us getting together, but you wanting it doesn't make it a reality. So let. It. Go."

Caeden was not in the mood to be having this conversation. Erik had brought up the idea of Caeden and Lily becoming a couple within a week over their meeting. Admittedly, at the time, Caeden had been just as interested in that idea as Erik seemed to be. Now, he knew it was a pipe dream.

"You can't just give up without trying like that. You guys are such good friends, I'm sure it would all work out." Erik continued on unhindered. Caeden had no idea why he thought anything he said would stop his roommate from keeping going.

"No, Erik. It wouldn't work out." Caeden's words were clipped and annoyed.

"Why not?"

For some reason, the genuine confusion in Erik's voice made Caeden angry. Maybe because he was just as confused on the topic. Either way, his response was clear.

"Because Erik." Caeden snarled. "I already asked Lily if she wanted to start a relationship with me, and she very clearly and very kindly said no. So it's not going to happen. Got it?"

Erik flipped out of his hammock, nearly face planting as he skidded on a loose rock that he just so happened to land on. "Whaaaaaaat? Since when? You've been holding out on me! Not cool, man. I thought we were tight."

Erik looked genuinely hurt that Caeden hadn't discussed this with him. That look sucked much of the angry burning sensation out of Caeden's chest. "I…I didn't want to talk about it, I guess."

"Well, why not?"

"I was embarrassed, I guess. I was so sure that she felt the same way I did, but she was crystal clear. Lily is not interested in me as anything other than a friend." Caeden felt a weight settle on his chest when he thought about it.

Lily was the first girl he had ever had any real interest in, and he didn't like thinking about his failed attempt at romance. So he kept that sensation tucked away deep in the back of his mind and never let it show. Lily was still his best friend, the person that understood him the most. He wasn't ever going to give that up just because she didn't want more.

Erik looked intensely conflicted. "Are you…sure."

Caeden shot him a dirty look. "She said no. I'm not sure how much clearer it could be. No means no."

"Ok, while that is completely true, I think you might be missing something here."

"Care to elaborate."

Erik took a deep breath like he was bracing for a fight. "I'm just going to explain this to you; since you're, how should I put this? 'Romantically impaired.'" Erik made air quotes as he said it. "I'm not calling you dumb or anything, but you suck at telling when a girl is interested in you."

"It's not that hard to tell when no one is interested." Caeden denied.

Erik bowled over, laughing his ass off. Caeden was almost worried someone would hear him with how much noise he was making. But the tunnel they were camped outside was a good distance away from the Revolution's campsite, so he just let his skinny friend peter out.

"Hahahaha! You-you actually believe that hahaha! Shroud, you are so dense!" Erik continued laughing, barely pausing to breathe.

Caeden frowned. "What are you getting at?"

Erik slowly managed to master himself, the laughter coming down to a chuckle before slowly cutting off. "Dude, you could not be more wrong if you tried. In the Academy, you're basically a sex symbol."

"WHAT?!" Caeden bolted upright.

"Yeah, man. Pretty much every girl, and some of the guys, in the Forged want to spend a night with you. More than a few would lock you down in a heartbeat. You have so many ladies waiting on you you could have been swimming in a sea of sex for months now. I should know! I only get a fraction of the attention you do, and I'm already swimming in it!" Erik chuckled.

"Bullshit!" Caeden barked disbelievingly.

"Swear on the one True Shroud," Erik promised. "Admittedly, everyone holds back a lot more than they normally would because everyone in the Forged basically assumes you and Lily are an item and leave the two of you alone. If you ever clearly stated that you weren't in an exclusive relationship anywhere, even semi-public on Academy grounds, you would have to beat them off with a stick."

"But, why?" Caeden couldn't get over it.

"I think you fail to understand just how deeply respected you are. You're a master ethersmith that armed an entire faction for free and instituted a system that allows oppressed people to experience peace and freedom to an unheard-of degree. Also, you're wicked powerful and not that bad looking. Nothing compared to my dashing charms," Erik waved toward his face, putting on his best smile, "But enough to not detract from any of your positives. Plus, you're just nice. I've seen how much you help any forged that come asking questions. Everyone else notices that shit too. People like you."

Caeden sat in stunned silence. He would have never guessed. When he first arrived at the Academy, any attention he had for the fairer sex was almost immediately captured by Lily and her fierce intellect and boundless kindness. Then, when she rejected him, he had basically shut off that part of himself. He hadn't expected any attention and, to a certain degree, didn't want it. As far as he was concerned, Lily was basically perfect. He genuinely couldn't imagine wanting anyone else, even now.

Admittedly, he hadn't gone looking. He'd just shut down. So it was possible there were other wonderful women out there who might return his affections.

Just as he was warming up to the idea of looking for a romantic partner outside of his initial choice, Erik decided to drop another bomb on him.

"Also, just so you know. The one who noticed the most? That's Lily. She's been watching you this whole time, and she doesn't look at you the way a friend looks at another friend. So I think maybe you might want to have another conversation with her."

Before Caeden could come up with an articulated response, he felt two people approaching with his aura. Two people that he couldn't see.

The girls were back.