Jett stared up at the narrow basement window and shivered.

It was a small square of light that represented sunshine, open skies and the freedom to fly wherever he wished. It had been a long time since he'd been outside. And even longer since he'd had the wings to fly. To regain these things had begun to feel like a distant dream, something to long for but never quite grasp.

Yet now that he had both, now that he'd been back outside, he couldn't stop thinking of dim tunnels and concrete walls. There were no skies underground. Nor was there any open space. It'd been dark and musty and suffocating, but...

It'd been safe.

He curled his fingers into fists, aware of the tremor running through them. By clenching them tight, he was able to stop the trembles, but it did nothing for the unease churning in his gut. This wasn't right.

He'd gotten his suit back. He'd gotten his wings back. And now he felt more whole than he'd been in a long time. But something was still off. Missing. Or maybe it was broken - what kind of flyer felt better in a hole than in the sky?

Jaw tightening, he spun away from the window. Its light cast across the floor in a stretched rectangle, interrupted only by his own shadow. It shone past him, around him, and with a jolt, he suddenly was swaying in a doorway, blinded by searchlights and surrounded by Kairg.

A rescue mission gone wrong. Poisoned. Twisted. Pale eyes peering through shocked shadows. A fierce woman bleeding on the floor-

I didn't do that.
Caught.
It wasn't me!
Trapped.
I would never -!

Memories, he recognized, and the admission scraped him raw. It was almost too much. He closed his eyes. Gritted his teeth. Breathed. In. Out. One, two, three. It helped a little, though it didn't get rid of them. The memories never went away, not even when he hid them deep within the ice.

Though he was tempted to sink back into that cold place, he didn't, because doing that meant he'd have to leave Raven behind. And that awful realization made it a little easier to push through, even though he felt as shaky as a newborn foal.

When Jett ventured deeper into the basement a few minutes later, he found the trapdoor that led into the tunnels. There were entrances like this hidden all over Shann Tei, though half of them would lead to dead ends. The other half fed directly into the maze-like system, and although Jett was starting to understand a little of how the tunnels worked, he knew only a mad, twisted mind could fully make sense out of the whole thing.

Like Raven's, he thought, lips twitching but failing to smile. Or Seb. And probably the majority of the Forgotten. Live in the dark long enough, and you started to see things a little differently than the rest.

Just inside the entry tunnel, Raven waited. He stood like a shadow shrouded in silence, with arms folded and hood bowed. It wasn't until Jett approached that he came to life. That great hood lifted, turned toward him, and a calm voice drifted forth.

"How did it go?"

Jett shrugged. He wasn't sure how to answer that. Instead, he watched the dark flyer out of the corner of his eye. Even without moving, the man exuded a quiet confidence. He was a shadow that never wavered, that never shrank no matter how little or how much light touched him.

A single bulb hung on the wall between them, supported by a power line that ran into the depths of the tunnel. It diffused a yellow glow too weak to do much about the darkness of the tunnel, but it was more than enough to reflect off of Jett's pale suit.

Jett glanced down at himself, feeling oddly conspicuous. If Raven was a shadow, he thought, then he himself was a ghost.

"Jett?" Raven took a single step closer. It brought him nearer the light, and it washed some of the shadow away from him. "What happened?"

Jett shrugged. He felt more shaky than he wanted to admit to his brother, so he took a moment to try and collect himself. After he'd gotten his suit back, he didn't want Raven to think he hadn't been ready for it. Or that he was still too much of a mess to be trusted with wings.

He made himself take a deep breath. His chest felt tight, like his lungs didn't want to expand to take in air. When Raven moved closer, standing within arm's reach, Jett stiffened, fighting the urge to move away.

This wasn't Gray. This wasn't the Kairg. It was his own brother, a person that already knew how much of a mess he was. Raven knew, and he hadn't cared. Even now, Raven waited patiently without making a move, as if he understood that Jett needed some time to work things out on his own.

Jett breathed in the stale, damp air of the tunnel. As unpleasant as it was, it was familiar and reminded him of walls and confusing, disorienting pathways designed to trap any infiltrators. It was a near impossible thing for an outsider to find their way into the inner workings of New Shann Tei. He thought about that for a while, and found his nerves settling.

He almost gave a self-deprecating smile. Truly, what kind of flyer had he become? At this rate, he was more of a bug, a pale beetle that eagerly scurried into cracks at the first sign of danger.

"I saw Gray," he said eventually, voice soft and barely audible. "I stood on the Wall, like you said, and he came to me."

The great hood dipped as Raven gave a slow nod. "I thought he might. What did he say?"

"He wanted to know what you were planning."

"Of course he did," Raven sounded amused. "Did you tell him what I asked?"

A whisper of ice made Jett shiver, and he crossed his arms tightly. "Yeah. I warned him to get ready. I don't think he was very happy about it."

"I don't imagine he was. But if I had to make a bet, I think he'll help us when the time is right." With a faint rustle of his coat, Raven slung his arm over Jett's shoulders. "You did good, kid. Now then, let's move on to the next part of the plan."

With that, Jett was dragged deeper into the tunnel. He stumbled at first, startled by the unexpected action, but he quickly found his footing. Raven didn't remove his arm, keeping it hanging loosely around Jett's neck. It was heavy, restrictive, yet somehow, it was comforting. Something within Jett eased.

He didn't try to shove the arm away. Instead, he asked, "What's the plan?"

"Well," Raven said, "I was thinking about some lunch. I'm getting hungry. How about you?"

Food was the last thing on Jett's mind. His stomach felt too nauseous to even consider eating. He shook his head. "No."

"That's too bad. I was thinking of a picnic."

Raven's tone was light, but Jett couldn't help but snap his gaze over to his brother in alarm. A picnic? Horror sent a new tremor though him, with distant tendrils of dread ticking his memory. Raven and picnics, from his past experience, were two things that should never be combined. The last time that happened, Jett had spent hours being chased down by a giant black cat.

Jett swallowed and gave a nervous laugh. "You're kidding, right?"

The hood shifted towards him. "Why would I be kidding? It's a lovely day and I haven't had lunch. What's wrong with wanting a nice meal outside?"

Everything, Jett thought, but there was no arguing with Raven once he'd made up his mind. At this point, he was along for the ride.

"Seb," Raven said suddenly.

At once, a soft voice answered from behind them. "Mr. Black, Little Crow. Hello."

Jett started badly enough that he almost dislodge Raven's arm from his shoulders. In response, the arm tightened a little, and tugged Jett closer. As awkward as it was, it helped soothe Jett's frayed nerves. He craned his head, trying to see the bandaged man behind them.

When had he gotten there? Had he been following them all along? Jett wouldn't put it past Seb. The man seemed to turn up at the oddest of moments.

"Sound the call," Raven said. He didn't bother to turn around or even glance at the man following them.

Seb gave a bow, somehow being elegant about it even though he was walking. He caught Jett's baffled stare, and his own eyes creased at the corners. "You've done well at your task, Little Crow. As for you, Mr Black, I'll do as you ask. I'll go."

As soon as he finished speaking, Seb abruptly stopped. Immediately, the distance between them grew until the darkness of the tunnel swallowed him up. Jett turned his head to look up at his brother.

"What's he going to do?"

"He's going to invite some friends to the picnic."

Jett scowled. It was a serious question! Why wasn't Raven taking this seriously? "What's that supposed to mean?"

Even though he couldn't see, he could almost feel the grin on his brother's hooded face. "You'll see."

Jett didn't see. He didn't think he'd ever would unless he fell on his head and knocked his brains loose. So he didn't bother asking any more questions, even though more and more kept arising in his head. Especially when Raven took them to the kitchen.

There, Raven finally removed his arm from around Jett so he could spread his hands wide. "Ava!" He called, sounding like he was greeting a long lost friend. "There you are."

The young woman gave a soft exclamation where she was, which happened to be under one of the tables, and then a second, louder one when she moved too quickly and knocked her head against the underside of the table.

Jett tilted his head, curious. Why was she under the table?

She crawled out, one hand rubbing her head, and the other a hammer. Two nails stuck out from her mouth, where she held them trapped between her lips. She eyed them, a faint flush dusting her cheek, and then got to her feet. She plucked the nails from her mouth so she could talk.

"What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing too much." Raven's voice was so cheerful that Jett unconsciously took a step away and eyed his brother warily. "I'm wondering if you'd like to have lunch with us?"

She blinked twice, lips parting in soundless surprise. "I – lunch? You mean, eat with you?" The color on her cheeks deepened.

"Of course! How about it? We'll have a little picnic outside, get some fresh air and sunshine – it'll be quite lovely, I assure you."

Her eyes widened. "Out-outside? Is that safe?"

She wasn't the only one alarmed by the idea. Jett stared at his brother, completely baffled as to what the man was thinking. Troit was outside, for crying out loud! Did Raven intend to have a picnic right under their nose?

Oh.

Oh no.

Jett's mouth went dry. Raven wouldn't dare.

"Of course it's perfectly safe. I'll be there, Jett will be there. And you know what?" Raven snapped his fingers, as if a new idea occurred to him. "Let's invite Andrew along as well. It's been so long since he's been outside, and I'm afraid he'll get terribly pasty if he doesn't get some sun."

"Oh!" Ava brightened. "That sounds lovely!" She leaned in, and whispered loudly, "I think he's been pretty depressed lately. The poor man doesn't even come out of his room anymore. An outing would be good for him."

"Excellent." The big blue hood bobbed down, then up, and then it turned to face Jett. "Do you mind helping Ava pack something up? I'll collect Andrew and a couple of other things."

Before Jett could even respond, Raven left.

"Oh my." Ava giggled. "What an unexpected surprise. I don't know if there's going to be much ready to go on such short order, but I'm sure I'll find something." She set the hammer down on the table before bustling around the room.

With cold concrete walls and homemade wooden furniture, there really wasn't much to look at it. A wood stove in the corner had some rough ducting that shunted the smoke into another tunnel, one with just enough airflow to suck the smoke out of the way. Everyone knew to stay out of that area whenever Ava or anyone else was cooking. Old mold from humidity clung to some of the walls, and although she and others have tried their best to clean it up, the stains remained and the mold eventually returned. As did the spiders, judging by the strings hanging in one corner.

Jett watched in awkward silence as she pulled out something wrapped in brown paper and placed it on the table, before she disappeared in the cold storage room. When she didn't come back for a while, Jett wandered over to the table and poked the brown paper.

Whatever was inside was as hard as rock. He picked it up, a little startled at the weight of it, and gave it a wary sniff. It smelled vaguely of sour meat. Grimacing, he put the package down.

Ava came back out, her arms full of a few other cloth-wrapped shapes. "Here," she said, pushing a basket at him. It was lined with more brown paper. "Pack these up, please."

He looked at the new things on the table. "What are these?"

"Dried meat and some cheese," she told him. "I've got some bread left from the other day, too. And for desert - a special treat!"

She hurried off somewhere else, leaving Jett alone with the basket and food bundles. Though, "food" was a pretty generous term in his opinion. Half of the time he didn't know what he was eating in this place. All he knew was that it was halfway edible since it hadn't killed him yet.

He sighed softly, and began placing them in the basket. One of them was slightly squishy. The cheese, he figured, though that didn't make him feel much better.

Clearly, Ava had no idea of what was transpiring outside. If she knew, she wouldn't be so eager to go outside.

"All right, there we are." She popped back in, this time with a little bag tied with twine. "You'll like this, I'm sure. I don't have much of it, so I've been saving it for a special occasion."

"What is it?" He watched as she added it to the basket.

"A surprise, silly! Now, why don't you wash your hands before we go? There's some water in the corner."

He sighed once more, and did as she asked. It wasn't like he had anything else to do. Besides, it was a tiny distraction from the growing unease in his gut. He really hoped his brother wasn't going to do what he suspected.

Raven was either the most fearless man on the planet or the most insane. Sometimes, Jett wondered if it was a mix of both.

"Doesn't this seem strange to you?" he blurted before he could think better of it.

Ava tilted her head. "What?"

"That he wants to takes us on a picnic outside? None of us have been outside for weeks. What if... what if there's looters or something out there?" He didn't dare mention Troit to her, but he wanted to at least give her some kind of warning. This wasn't going to be some pleasant outing, that was for sure, and it felt wrong to let her walk into it blindly.

She laughed gently. "Maybe a little. But I don't mind. Mr. Black has never done anything to harm us, and I don't think he'll start now."

Both of Jett's eyebrows rose.

"And you're right. It's been a long time since I've seen the sun. It'll be nice to see it again."

What could he say to that? He just shook his head and let it go. Let her keep her positivity for as long as she could.

"I think Andrew will appreciate it, too," Ava added. She smiled wistfully. "He's had a difficult time down here."

Andrew again. Jett was sure he hadn't heard that name before. Why did it keep coming up all of a sudden?

"Who's Andrew?" he asked.

"You haven't heard?"

"No."

She laughed again, but this time, there was an odd note to it. Her gaze seemed to grow brighter. "He's Andrew Chovik, the son of Andre Chovik."

Jett stared at her blankly.

She widened her eyes a little. "You don't recognize the name?"

He shook his head.

"Hmm, maybe that's not much of a surprise. I didn't make the connection until Raven told me, either. Another name for Andre Chovik is Zelus. He's –"

"-an Elder of Troit," Jett finished, feeling like he'd just had all the air punched out of him. He knew the Elders of Troit by name, because it'd been a requirement before he gained his wings at Troit. He hadn't thought he'd hear them ever again.

This was unbelievable. He stared up at Ava, eyes wide.

"How many hostages did he take?"

To that, she laughed. "Just two, as far as I know."

"And he's taking both of you outside on a picnic," he stated faintly. "Doesn't that worry you at all?"

"Nope!" True to her word, Ava didn't seem bothered or concerned in the slightest. "I never cared much for my family. And even though this place is well, a dingy underground cave, it's really not so bad. Mr Black's doing something amazing, and I'm happy to help in whatever small way I can."

Well. She wasn't as clueless as Jett had thought. She'd just chosen to throw her lot in with the madman. Jett looked at her with new eyes. And maybe a little resignation, because the one person he'd figured to be the only sane one here was just as crazy as the rest of them.

Raven returned shortly after, a long rolled-up bundle under one arm. A small, mousey-looking man followed behind him like a beaten dog, his gaze downcast, his hands clasped tightly before his waist.

"Mr Black," Ava greeted him. "We've got everything ready."

"Wonderful." Raven sounded pleased. "Jett, would you carry the food for us? And Ava, please help Andrew watch his step. These tunnels can be a bit treacherous, with rabid rats and all."

What? Jett stared at his brother. There were no rabid animals down here. And actually, apart from the odd mouse, he hadn't seen any other rodents, either.

Then he noticed that Andrew was shivering violently, his face as pale as the moon itself.

Jett narrowed his eyes. Another puzzle piece clicked into place in his mind, giving him a more solid idea of what Raven was up to. He hoped it wasn't so, because he didn't much like it. Nevertheless, he promised to help and so help he would.

If they were going to walk straight into the lion's den, then they were going together.

He picked up the basket, and gave Andrew a smile devoid of all humor. "Don't worry. I'll watch your back. I'm good at catching rats."

Andrew jerked his head up. He saw Jett, and let out strangled breath. A shudder tore through his entire frame. For a second, he swayed on his feet, looking like he might actually topple over. He didn't though, and eventually dropped his eyes back to the ground without saying anything.

Raven chuckled, a low, amused sound. "Let's go."

They went.

A dark, menacing shadow led the way, and two civilians followed in its wake. They couldn't have been more different than night and day, but that didn't matter. They walked side by side just the same. And behind them, a ghost trailed after like an icy mist.