I rewrote this story as an alternate scenario that happens after Gia and Nellie have already become a well-synced team. On a morning when they’re supposed to start a routine smuggling mission, Nellie vanishes, her aether bracelet shattered, burn-marked, and a drag trail left behind.

In this version, she’s taken by a rival faction opposing Mr. Blanc. The world is split into two sides: the wealthy elite who control aether, and the struggling lower faction that wants to overthrow that power. They kidnap Nellie because she knows too much and because she’s the easiest way to get to Mr. Blanc.

For Gia, this isn’t work anymore. It’s personal.

She isn’t chasing a paycheck; she’s fighting to recover the one person she trusts, the partner she wasn’t supposed to care about but does anyway.