Jett couldn't breathe. It was like fear itself had closed its long, cold fingers around his throat and squeezed with all its strength. He stared at the lone Kairg flyer who'd just landed on the roof before them.
The flyer was like a viper wound up, fangs bared and ready to strike. His coal-black eyes burned with a cold fury.
"I said," the words came forth in a hiss, "I came for what is mine."
Those terrible eyes focused with unerring accuracy upon Jett, who shuddered.
He knew this flyer, this man, this monster. Even though his mind was as shattered as this city, some part of him recognized that face on the spot.
It had the same unruly black hair and the same tormented eyes and the same freaking nose; it was wrong. That wasn't supposed to be the face of a monster, because-
Wasn't it?
It was the same face as Jett's, but just older.
The same. Just like when he peered through the holes of the silver mask and saw the face rippling on the surface of the water. He'd seen those cold, burning eyes of a murderer then, too.
The same.
Where did the mask go?
It hurt, like cracks splintering in his mind. Seb had helped him accept and acknowledge the shadows in his head, but those shadows only masked twisted ruins that lay beneath. Sometimes, Jett wondered how those ruins got there, and other times, he wondered if he'd always had been this broken, ever since the day his mother passed and left him all alone.
But that didn't fit quite right.
A low groan ripped free, and Jett clutched at his head. Nothing fit right in his head anymore.
Someone's hand curled around his arm, just below the pauldron of his armor. It gripped tight, steadying him.
"It's all right," came a low voice. It washed over Jett in soothing waves, disintegrating some of the panic.
Jett looked up at Raven, who tilted his hooded face towards him. From this angle, Jett could see Raven's shadowed features. The mouth was smiling, but the eyes were hard purple diamonds.
"Remember what I said?" Raven asked. "Just think of that guy as a big old Fartface."
He did not bother lowering his voice, ensuring that everyone on the rooftop heard him. A muffled snort came from Gray. The gray-suited flyer currently stood between Jett and the menacing 'Fartface'.
Three of us, Jett thought, against a monster.
Ra'Skevvor had made his demand known twice. He wasn't going to utter it for a third time. Even though Jett was watching him closely, Ra'Skevvor vanished from one eyeblink to the next.
Gray shouted a warning.
Jett's eyes widened, and Raven was immediately in front of him, blocking off his view. He could only see the broad back of that silly coat.
"No," Raven said. "You're not touching him, Fartface."
A low growl was his answer.
"Go, Jett. Follow the plan."
How Raven sounded so calm was beyond Jett. But he wasn't going to stay around and find out. He had a role to play, and if he wanted his brother and Gray to survive this, he needed to follow it.
He whirled, and even though every part of him screamed against it, he ran for the edge of the roof.
"Stop!" The cry chased after him like a ravenous bear.
Jett didn't listen. He leapt, arms spreading open, wings rapidly unfurling to catch the air. The second his fall slowed, he pulled in his arms and dropped the rest of the way to the street. By the time he hit, he already had his helmet on.
Shouts erupted above him, and the sound of fighting drifted down. Jett's heart pounded in his chest, fear and worry flooding him. That was his brother up there, doing his best to hold back the-
"Fartface," Jett whispered, and then laughed, a high, thin sound that sounded more like a breathy sob.
He knew Raven would reveal himself. To fight with all his strength, Raven would have to toss away the mask of Mr Black that he'd worn for all this time. It was one of his biggest cards and now he was about to throw it all away.
Jett didn't know whether to feel grateful or guilty for that. Maybe both.
A flash of movement at the corner of the street caught his attention. It was one of Raven's bandaged scouts, a scrawny woman who waved at him. Once she saw she had his attention, she pointed down a street.
Jett waved back, and took off in the direction she indicated. Thank goodness for Raven's people. They knew the city far better than he did, and would be able to direct him where he needed to go. Just as Raven had promised.
All you need to do is run, little brother. Leave the rest to us.
The buildings above him shook. A thunderous crack ripped apart the air. Bits of rubble pelted down the sides of the buildings. A shadow passed by overhead. A flyer.
Was it him? Already?
Jett didn't dare look up. He leaned into his run, streaking down the street with every bit of speed he could muster. The sounds of fighting faded, left in the distance.
He didn't slow.
Ahead, another one of Raven's scouts stood at a junction in the road. It had once gone in all four directions, but one entire street had been buried beneath the rubble of a fallen building. The scout had one arm pointed straight ahead, indicating that Jett should keep on going.
Jett blew past them. A second explosion shook the ground, only a few blocks behind. That meant the battle was following him as planned. Yet Jett couldn't stop the worry from seizing the breath from his lungs.
Had it even been a minute since he dove from the roof? Was Raven okay?
Another junction was ahead, this time with only two directions. Left or right. A scout stood in the middle, one arm stretched out to the left, and the other held straight up with two fingers extended.
Two fingers meant two more turns before he reached the first trap. He just had to get there before Fartface caught up with him.
He all but skidded around the corner, his boots slipping on loose stones. He almost went down, but planted a hand onto the ground to catch himself.
It was the worst possible time to stumble. Jett regained his footing within a second, but he was mentally scolding himself.
The streets of the city were terrible at best. He knew better. He should have been watching where he stepped.
A flyer hit the street in front of him so hard they nearly buckled to their knees. Greenish-gray wings flared like a bird of prey before they withdrew. And Jett found himself charging straight toward the terror of his dreams.
Ra'Skevvor grinned through bloodied lips. There was a bruise darkening the side of his face and some scorch marks all along one side of his mottled green armor. Why he hadn't bothered to put on his helmet was beyond Jett.
Still, that kind of damage shown upon his person was nothing short of impressive.
Jett wasn't impressed. He was horrified.
The Kairg flyer spread his arms as if to welcome an embrace. "Come."
Like Jett had any choice. He was already running straight towards the flyer.
Every part of him recoiled at the sheer horror of it. His throat closed up, his chest tightened, and he couldn't breathe. There was no way he could stop in time.
And then a second flyer dropped down between them. His suit was black as midnight, with deep purple accents. A helmet obscured his face, but Jett would have known him anywhere.
Raven the Talon flyer was back.
Jett grinned. Raven was okay! The sight of him was enough to crack through the panic. Jett angled towards the right, trusting the black Talon to block Fartface.
There was a burst of movement, so fast that it was barely more than blurs. The Kairg flyer tried to bypass Raven, who immediately moved to block him. Raven went even further, hammering his opponent with heavy punches. Ra'Skevvor deflected them easily, but the attacks still served to distract him for a few seconds.
A few seconds was all Jett needed to slip by. He continued down the street, flinching as an angry roar filled the air behind him.
"Enough!"
Jett flinched. It was safe to say that a certain someone was pretty angry.
There was another scout ahead, pointing the way with one finger held up. One more turn. He could make it.
He pushed on, preparing to take a corner at high speeds.
The world turned white in a brilliant flash, a horrid vibration rippling through the earth. Jett went blind and deaf in an instant, the shock too great for even his helmet's sensors to filter out. He staggered, losing momentum. It felt like the ground warped beneath him.
Then something struck him, knocking him clear off his feet. Jett yelled and went down hard. No sooner than he did, there was a weight on him, pinning him in place.
Bits of his vision started to return, flecked with dazzling white spots, and he saw a large shape leaning over him.
A Mountain flyer! Where had he come from?
Jett struggled, but he might as well have been slapping at a rock with tissue paper.
These jerks! Didn't they know they were ruining the plan?
That was when a gray meteor smashed into the Mountain flyer, knocking him clear off of Jett. Jett immediately scrambled up and away. His legs were a little unsteady, but he could see clearly enough to realize it had been Gray who'd come to his rescue.
The gray flyer had pinned the Mountain flyer, and with two incredibly heavy strikes, he cracked the other flyer's chest armor.
Jett didn't stay to see what happened next. He took off like a bullet. Behind him lay a scene of sheer chaos, and ahead stood another scout, waiting with a bizarre calm. It was like they couldn't care less that the world was going up in flames around them.
Just where did Raven find these people?
The scout held up one finger, and pointed to the right. This was the last stretch, then.
He glanced behind. A River flyer had descended upon Gray, wielding twin short swords with smooth lethality. Gray was forced to back off the Mountain flyer, who struggled to rise. Jett wasn't too worried, as he knew Gray was both stubborn and tough.
Jett kept going, and soon, he saw his first goal. A narrow stretch of street flanked by multi-storied buildings. They had once been apartment blocks, or perhaps a hotel, but now their lower flowers were all broken glass and gaping holes where looters had sucked them dry. Trash had spilled out onto the streets, but fortunately, it had been pushed to the sides. In the center of all this, was a single metal pole planted in the middle of the street.
Jett went to it, and stopped. He didn't dare touch it. Instead, he passed his gaze over the buildings on either side. Small flashes of silver caught his eye. This was the place, then.
"No way this is gonna work," he muttered to himself.
The metal pole was as obvious as the nose on his own face. Not to mention the fact that he was just standing here, in his particular location, waiting like a juicy worm on a hook. Old Fartface would know in an instant that it was a trap. But Raven had been certain that it wouldn't matter.
Jett huffed. He looked up, wondering how long he'd have to wait. He could hear sounds of conflict from the way he'd come, but come to think of it, it wasn't as noisy as he'd expected.
There was a tap before him, like a rock bouncing off the pavement before him. Jett's gaze shot downwards.
"Hello, Jett." The Kairg flyer was there, two arm lengths away, just standing and watching and-
Jett's thoughts skittered to a halt as Ra-Fartface took a single step towards him. It struck him all over again, how familiar that face was. He stared, unable to move, or tear his eyes away.
Was this why the monster did not wear his helment? To display for all the world how he was the same-?
"Jett!"
The shout yanked Jett out of his stupefied horror. Instantly, he remembered what he was supposed to do, and raised an arm high over his head.
Ra'Skevvor lunged, just as a thin cord shot down and wound multiple times around Jett's gauntlet. Jett was yanked skyward, even as the Kairg flyer's fingers curled around one of his ankles. And for one horrible moment, Jett was suspended in the air, caught by two opposing forces.
Then the metal pole sparked and blossomed in blue electrical light, and a deep hum rolled out over the street. Lines of crackling energy shot out in all directions, joining with the little silver studs in the walls until a net of electricity doused the entire area.
It caught Ra'Skevvor entirely. His eyes widened and he froze up, his grip on Jett's leg growing slack. Freed, Jett was pulled up to the nearest rooftop, where Raven immediately pulled him into his arms.
"I've got you," Raven murmured.
Jett realized he was shaking. He gritted his teeth, angry at himself for this stupid weakness, and also incomparably relieved at being safe. He leaned his head against his brother's chest for a moment, before making himself pull away.
"What's next?"
Cautiously, he peered over the roof's edge. The street below was completely bathed in blue, and in its midst, stood a livid Kairg flyer. Fartface twitched fiercely, but it looked like he was unable to even take a step while in the electrical field.
"Now the fight truly begins," Raven grimly answered. His featureless helmet tilted as he looked down at Jett. "Stay out of the fight. Troit has two more of these traps set up, so when Fartface escapes, we'll need you to lead him to the next."
"Yeah, I know."
They had gone over this plan already.
"Jett." Raven rested a gloved hand on Jett's helmet. "He's going to be serious now. His only goal will be to grab you and get out of here. You'll have to run faster than you ever have before. Got it?"
Boy, wasn't that encouraging. Jett nodded, dislodging Raven's hand.
"I got it."
Both he and Raven ignored the fact that he was still trembling.
Raven exhaled heavily. "I'll be close by."
With that, he dove off the roof's edge, descending to the electrical field below. Jett peered over again, his heart stuck in his throat. Just before his brother landed, the electrical field vanished, leaving only a twitching Kairg flyer behind.
Jett let out a shaky laugh. Of course Raven would have such perfect timing. Shadows swooped past as more flyers dove into the narrow street. Jett squinted, spotting Gray, Lante, and the large Mountain flyer that had pinned him before. And already on the ground was the River flyer, approaching Fartface from the direction opposite of Raven.
The Kairg flyer saw them all coming for him. But he didn't even look at them. He tilted his head back and stared up at Jett with a bloody grin. Rage and madness and a strange joy writhed in that stare.
It chilled Jett to the bone.