"Ow..."

Jett lay flat on his back, chest heaving with every gasping breath he took. Everything hurt, his limbs weighed 400 lbs each, and he was pretty sure he wasn't going to be able to move for the next three years. Yet despite all that, he felt more relaxed than he had in a long time.

He had missed this.

Boots soundlessly stepped across stone and dirt, coming to a stop a few feet away. A smile tugging at his lips, Jett turned his head to look at them, before shifting his gaze way up.

Raven peered down at him, a single brow elegantly arched. "That didn't take long."

All traces of Jett's smile vanished in an instant. He wondered what Raven would look like with a second black eye to match the first. It would suit the guy quite nicely, he thought. It'd match his black hair and flyer suit perfectly.

"You could have taken it easy, " Jett muttered, trying to sound miserable while at the same time, holding back a snicker as he pictured his brother with two giant panda-eyes.

"Why would I do that?" Raven actually sounded surprised by the idea, though Jett didn't believe it for even a second. "You lasted four minutes, maybe five if we're counting the time you ran into the wall and knocked yourself silly. That's a terrible track record, you realize."

"You got beaten up by a rock," Jett pointed out, though he still didn't buy that story. That bruise on Raven's face didn't look like the kind of minor injury one would get by falling onto a rock. No, it was the kind of nasty bruise that would take some serious time to fade.

"It wasn't a rock," Raven folded his arms. "It was a brick."

"You still got beaten up." Jett persisted stubbornly. Maybe if Raven admitted how ridiculous this whole "brick" thing was, he'd admit to what really happened. And Jett was really curious as to what sort of thing had managed to get past Raven's considerable defenses.

Raven's eyes narrowed just a fraction. "If you have this much energy to argue, then perhaps we should go for another round."

Who's arguing? Turning his head to the other side, Jett made a face. You're the one being ridiculous! He huffed. "I don't think I can move."

A pause. Then Raven said, "All right. Then how about a walk?"

"Eh?" That took Jett by surprise. It was so very un-Ravenlike that he wondered if he had misheard the man. Go for a walk? Instead of training? Not once in the past had Raven ever backed away from training. Not once had he taken it easy on him. Jett was baffled.

"Come on," Raven leaned down, offering a hand.

Wordlessly, Jett accepted it and was hauled to his feet. It wasn't until after he'd brushed the worst of the dust off his shirt and pants that he asked warily, "A walk?"

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Raven gave him a look, the kind that said "shut up and stop questioning me." Then he reached back to grab the blue hood of his coat, and flipped it over his head. It hid all but his chin within its shadows.

A grin tugged at Jett's lips, because he couldn't help but picture a small boy stubbornly pulling a blanket over his head to hide from the prying questions of his mother. Maybe he was just overthinking things, but Raven seemed almost embarrassed. Ha! I bet he got that bruise from something even more stupid than just tripping over a brick.

"Where are we going?" A thought occurred to Jett, causing him to eagerly step forward. "Are we going outside?" He hadn't seen in the sky in what felt like ages. There'd only been boring rock and concrete and dim lighting for the past few weeks. Or was it months? Just how long had he been down here anyway?

Raven snorted. "No. We're not going outside. I just wanted to show you something, that's all."

"Oh." All excitement disintegrated. Shoulders slumping, Jett made a face. He'd rather do some more training in that case. These tunnels were damp, dark and boring, and seeing more of them was not an appealing thought.

With his gaze fixed to the floor, Jett completely missed the item that Raven abruptly tossed at him. It smacked him in the arm, causing him to jerk like he'd been licked by a warthog. Then it plunked to the ground. Drawn by the sound, his attention flew to where it lay.

Jett's eyes widened. "Oh!"

There by his feet lay a piece of his flyer suit. The second forearm guard. White and gleaming softly, it brought a startled expression of delight and he hastily bent and gathered it up. A part of him wondered why he was getting it now, while another angrily demanded the rest of his suit, but both were very quickly drowned out by sheer happiness. Receiving this small piece was like having a missing piece of himself returned.

Cradling it in both hands, he looked up to catch the hints of a smile lurking on Raven's face. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome, I suppose." Raven folded his arms, his hooded face tilting up towards the ceiling with a sigh. "Though after that poor performance, I'm not even sure why I bother -"

"Hey!" Scowling, Jett pulled his precious forearm guard close to his chest, protectively sheltering it. "I did my best!"

"Sure, sure." Sounding entirely unconvinced, Raven waved off his protests with practiced ease. He started walking off, forcing Jett to hurry to keep up or get left behind.

Still feeling offended, yet quite pleased at the time, Jett followed his older brother in silence. Occasionally he'd glance down at the piece of suit held carefully in both hands, but most of his attention was focused on Raven. He wondered what the flyer wanted to show him.

For his part, Raven didn't seem very forthcoming with answers. Instead, he led the way through a maze of tunnels, some lined with electric lights, others so dark save for singular points along the wall where one oil lantern flickered with a tiny, guiding flame.

Eventually they came to a tunnel so wide that it could hardly be considered such - it was more of a room than anything else. And it was bustling with activity. Brightly lit and filled with tables piled high in different materials, people diligently worked in huddled groups, murmuring quietly to one another.

Here, Raven paused. He remained quiet, letting the people work undisturbed, and allowing Jett to take it all in with wide eyes.

One table held assorted clothing. A woman with a bandana covering most of her hair sorted through them, inspecting each with a critical eye before passing it on to the waiting hands of a small child who placed it into a waiting crate or tossing it onto a growing pile on the floor by her feet. An elderly man sat beside the pile, wielding large scissors, and his job apparently was to cut the discarded clothing into strips. These were placed in a large basket that an incredibly thin person nearly covered in stained bandages watched over. Once it was full, they carried it from the room on limping legs.

Another table had a similar process, though it dealt with small bits of scrap metal. The third group focused on wire, stripping away damaged parts and splicing together smaller pieces together into one long stretch. Coils of completed wire lay stacked beside the table.

After a while, Raven gestured and they quietly left the room, though Jett's head was spinning with curiosity. Once they were outside, Jett blurted, "What was that all about?"

"One of the work rooms," Raven answered. He carried on, the ends of his gray coat swinging with every stride. "They sort through what the scavengers bring them, and send each item to where it's needed."

Jett scratched the side of his cheek. "But why?"

"Because someone needs to do it," was the nonchalant response.

"No, I mean - why do they need to sort that stuff? What do you need it all for?" This didn't make much sense to Jett. Surely there were better ways to survive then living underground and digging through mountains of junk.

Raven glanced at him, one side of his mouth curving upwards. "There's one hundred and eighty-three people living here. They're going to need clothes, aren't they? Where do you suppose those are going to come from? Carve them out of rock? Spin them out of dust?"

"Well, no -" Jett sputtered.

"Of course not. Shann Tei is a ruin, but it still has much that we can use. There's several teams of scavengers, and the room you just saw - there's two others like it to sort through whatever they bring back." There was the faintest note of satisfaction in Raven's tone, one that drew Jett's attention. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it though.

Furrowing his brow, he asked, "Wouldn't it be easier to just build a camp or something above ground, though?"

A soft chuckle came from Raven. "Easier? Oh yes. But safer? No."

They turned into a second brightly lit tunnel, though this one was long and narrow with no visible turn-offs. A couple of people in dusty overalls passed by, giving polite nods to both of them, though Jett didn't even notice.

He was too occupied with staring incredulously at the back of Raven's blue hood. "Safer?" He repeated. "What about cave-ins? Floods? Collapses? That happened before, you know! What if another war machine -?"

Raven abruptly slowed, glancing back over a shoulder. His hood shifted, revealing a single, intent violet eye. "Yes?"

Caught off guard, Jett stammered, his train of thought derailing. "Uh..."

"What about the war machine?" Raven prompted softly. He'd stopped walking, though didn't quite turn around to face Jett fully. It was like he'd hit the pause button, halting mid-motion.

"They were here before?" Jett hesitantly answered, uncertain of what was happening. Raven's behaviour seemed odd, to say the least.

"Were they?"

"Yeah..." Jett wrinkled his nose. "Don't you remember? They came stomping through. That's how Shann Tei was destroyed. They made a lot of things collapse, and some of the Crossfires were trapped underground." He remembered watching a couple of them climbing out of a hole, dusty and battered, and one was badly injured.

"Should I remember?" Slowly, Raven turned to face him. The shadows of the blue hood swallowed Raven's expression once more, though Jett was 100% certain that Raven's attention was as focused as ever.

Though he was starting to wonder if that brick had done more damage than give a black eye. Maybe it rattled a few brains loose as well. He sighed, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Yeah, because you were there, too! We saw it all, remember? On the wall."

All. Wall. Yuck, he grimaced. Now I'm starting to sound like Seb.

"Hm," Raven made a neutral sound. "The wall, huh?"

"How can you not remember that?" Annoyed, Jett clenched his fists. "That's where he stabbed you! You fell, and -" His throat closed up tighter than a clam, and suddenly he couldn't speak anymore.

That moment swam before him with incredible clarity, every detail brought to focus. He could see Raven stumbling back, a charred hole in his chest plate, an uncharacteristic look of resignation on his face. Jett could smell the stench of burnt meat wafting from the horrible wound, could hear the unsteady footfalls as Raven staggered back towards the wall's edge. And worst of all, he could hear the utter silence as Raven fell.

That awful silence. That hit him harder than anything else, like a sucker punch to the gut that knocked all the breath out of him. Why this memory was coming back now, he didn't understand, but somehow, it felt a thousand times worse than he had remembered it to be. He wanted it to stop.

Clothing rustled as Raven crouched in front of him. A gentle touch to the arm was enough to draw Jett's attention from that terrible moment, but as he met Raven's purple eyes, he realized he was trembling.

"Hey," Raven softly said. "What are you thinking about?"

Jett's chest tightened. "You fell," he whispered. Tears welled in his eyes. "I thought you were dead. You were gone and... and I'd be alone again."

A shadow passed over Raven's features, like he was pained, but then he was reaching forward and Jett found himself pulled into a tight embrace. Confused at what was happening, Jett struggled at first, but when Raven's arms only tightened further, he gave in and let his head drop to the other's shoulder.

Like a dam that finally gave way, an overwhelming surge of emotion broke free. It seemed to come out of nowhere, startling him in its sudden intensity even as it swept over him. He shook with silent sobs, not making a single sound as he let it go. It felt freeing even though it hurt, and he was suddenly incredibly grateful that he wasn't alone, that Raven was here and literally offering him a shoulder to cry on.

"I'm sorry," Raven murmured. "I've been a terrible brother."

That was absurd and Jett let out a snort that sounded more like a sob than anything else. His face seemed to be leaking, making Raven's shoulder grow damp, but considering how filthy the coat was already, he didn't feel too guilty about it. "No, you haven't."

"I have," Raven insisted. "I shouldn't have left you with Troit."

Jett sniffled. "But if you hadn't, I wouldn't have gotten my suit."

That startled a chuckle out of Raven, and he gave Jett's back a couple of pats. "I suppose that's true." Both of them knew how it was. Suits often meant the world to flyers, for it gave them one of the greatest gifts of all - flight. Freedom. In some cases, it was merely the illusion of freedom, but sometimes that was enough.

"It would've - hic! - been nice to know that you were alive, though." Jett lifted his head and pulled back so he could give Raven a watery glare.

"I'm sorry." A sigh drifted past Raven's lips. There was regret written deep within his eyes, visible for a weary moment before it was swept behind a curtain of resolve. "I made a mistake. But it's not going to happen again. We're together now, and that's all that matters."

Raven rose, reaching out to give Jett's messy black hair a ruffle. In silent protest, Jett knocked the offending hand away. Unphased, Raven smirked and did it again.

"Stop that," Jett danced away, putting on a scowl that he didn't really mean. Face damp and eyes red, he was distantly aware that he probably looked like a horrid mess, but he didn't care. There was a lightness in his chest, a brightness in his heart that threatened to spill over into a tiny, genuine little laugh. Together.

"So," Raven took a step back, then another, until he was walking backwards down the tunnel. "Do you want to know why I created this underground city?"

That was a silly question in Jett's opinion. Of course he wanted to know. And so did probably anyone else on the planet who knew of its existence. He trailed after Raven, wiping the dampness from his face with an arm. "Sure, I guess."

A smirk crossed that shadowed face. With a flourish that had his coat swirling about his legs, Raven spun around and walked forward, his pace picking up. "Then let me ask you a question, Jett. Why did you leave Troit?"

"What?" Not expecting to be asked that of all things, Jett hesitated, until he realized he was getting left behind. He trotted to catch up. "I mean, they're kind of crazy, aren't they? With their stupid rules and regulations and everyone watching what you're doing...who wouldn't want to leave?"

Raven tossed his back, a short laugh breaking free. "Indeed, who wouldn't? Though you have to realize, kid, that by leaving as you did, you've got a death sentence on your head. Troit's not going to let one of their flyers run free for long."

Isn't that what you're doing, too? Only, you're cheating since everyone thinks you're dead. Jett wrinkled his nose. Then he just shrugged, because he'd already come to terms with the whole on-the-run thing. "They'd have to catch me first."

That amused Raven to no end, because this time, he laughed long and loud. The sound echoed down the tunnel walls, carrying far into the distance before rebounding back at them. It confused Jett as to why that was so funny, but he found himself smiling anyway.

"What about you?" he asked, when the tunnels were silent once more. "Why didn't you go back to Troit?"

"Same reason as you," Raven answered, a smile still playing about his lips. "It's great to have freedom, isn't it?"

Without giving Jett a chance to reply, Raven went on, making a sweeping gesture at the tunnel around them. "But that's exactly what this is about. Shann Tei is destroyed, its people broken and scattered, helpless with no real means to recover. Troit has abandoned it. The Kairg - why would they return seeing as how they've already razed it to the ground? That's why it's the perfect place."

"For your underground city?" Though that reasoning was sound, Jett still didn't understand what that had to do with building this endless maze of tunnels in the first place.

"That," Raven agreed, "and also to create a force that can rival both Troit and the Kairg. Troit was supposed to keep the peace after the last great war, but what have they done? Through their inaction, their apathy and disregard for the consequences of their idiotic Law, countless of people - innocent, good people - have suffered. And died."

Brow furrowed, Jett took a moment to process that. That was a very different view on what Troit was, and while he agreed that the Law was stupid, he wasn't so sure that they were the ones to blame. They weren't the ones sending war machines to stomp out entire cities, after all.

"I thought the Law and the Covenant and all that was supposed to protect people," he finally said, though not without hesitation.

"Originally, it was," Raven said. By now, they'd approached a large intersection, carved out of crumbling rock and supported by thick metal spikes piercing solid beams of metal against the sides and ceiling. With a gesture towards the right tunnel, they turned and headed down that way.

"But it was executed poorly, and honestly, it was never meant to last so long. Once order was restored, Troit was supposed to reevaluate their strict Laws and re-purpose their assets to better benefit society. But did they do that? No, the Council rather enjoyed the absolute power they held and selfishly abused it beneath the veneer of 'upholding the Law.'" Raven all but spat the last words, startling Jett in his vehemence. "Troit is a remnant of the old world, and it's time for it to go."

Jett blinked, then shivered as a chill seemed to seep into the air. Did he just hear his own brother say that Troit needed to be destroyed? That was painfully familiar in a discomforting way. In a small voice, he said, "That sounds like something the Kairg would say."

For a moment, his words hung heavily between them, then chatter from ahead broke the silence. A small group of people approached, dusty and weary from a hard day's labour, but they smiled and laughed as they bantered back and forth. Even as they noticed Raven and Jett walking towards them, their cheerfulness did not dissipate. Unlike the earlier people Jett had seen, these workers waved good naturedly as they passed by.

"Hey, Mr. Black!"

"Nice sunny day, eh?" Another one asked, then gestured above, indicated the cold stone ceiling above their heads. She grinned at the irony of the question, since down here, it was forever dark and dusty. The others chortled, finding it amusing as well.

Jett just thought it was sad. He'd rather be outside, beneath a real sky of endless blue. Sun or moon, he didn't care. Both were equally wonderful and far better than a bunch of stifling rocks.

"Sure is," Raven agreed easily, eliciting another series of laughs. The group continued on and once they were well out of earshot, Raven slowed his pace.

Very quietly, so that Jett had to scoot closer to hear properly, he said, "You are right. That's exactly what the Kairg would say. Why do you think they have gained power so quickly? Many people see Troit for what it is and want to get rid of it, knowing that doing so is the only way they can live freely. Unfortunately, their great Leader is so twisted with madness that he no longer possesses any semblance of humanity. It's a pity they don't realize how far gone he is, and so they will follow him into ruin believing that there will still be a world left for them to live in once all is said and done."

Their Leader... A pair of eyes, deeper and darker than any bottomless pit flashed into Jett's mind, and he failed to suppress a violent shiver. A deep dread coiling tightly like spring within his belly, just waiting for the right moment to unleash a terrible strike. Unconsciously, he slowed, his hands lifting to press tightly against his aching chest.

This is all for you, a sinister voice whispered. My little son.

For the second time, tears suddenly sprang unbidden to Jett's eyes. Pressure built within, a swell of something so massive and horrible that he'd thought he'd explode. Vaguely aware that he wasn't alone in the tunnel, Jett turned his head, jaw clenched, hands clenching. The white forearm guard was forgotten, grasped tight in one hand.

No nonono, not now, please. But he more he tried to turn away, to not think about the overwhelming terror and guilt and dread that came with the image of those eyes, the worse it got. And so he thought of the only refuge he knew, that lonely pool of icy numbness that he now understood was able to take all of that away. He reached for it -

"Jett." Raven's voice. Insistent. Near. "It's all right. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up so soon. Hey."

Hands gripped his shoulders, turned him towards a shadowed face. The visible mouth drew a thin line across the only visible part.

"Breathe," Raven said softly. "Remember what Seb said? Let's do that now. Together."

Jett hesitated, caught between Raven's presence and the safety of that cool, unfeeling calm. One he knew offered a haven, but it was lonely, empty existence. And the other was full of uncertainties but it came with something new and wonderful and frightening and he suddenly realized how much he wanted it.

So he breathed. A shaky, weak inhale of air, but he held it, counting silently as Raven counted along with him, and then he exhaled slowly. And again, another breath, taken together, held for another count, then released as one. And before he knew it, the panic subsided, replaced by the wonder of having this support, this sense of not being alone, of having family.

It was amazing. Liberating. And when he started smiling, his own brother smiled back.

"I think," Jett said, "that I want to help. The Troit, the Kairg, this place – it's crazy, but I'll help you." He had absolute certainty of that. No matter what Raven planned, no matter how insane or grandiose, Jett knew he wanted to be a part of it. Because no matter what, he'd found his family, and he'd do anything to hang on to it.

Raven's smile deepened. "I was hoping you would, little brother."

A comfortable silence settled between them, lasting all of three seconds before Jett couldn't help it.

"So, can I have the rest of my suit back now?"