A group of ravens is called an unkindness. A group of ravens is called an unkindness. A group of ravens is called-

"Hey, kid, watch where you're going!"

"Sorry!" He squeaked. The bearded man gave him the stink-eye before pushing past him, leaving Kester stumbling behind. A cluster of schoolgirls walking next to him giggled as his freckled cheeks flamed. Nearby, a pair of macaques screeched noisily in their cage.

Needless to say, the Brazean Zoo of Beautiful Creatures and Gorgeous Greenery was not all that beautiful (or gorgeous) to the ears. Kester bit his tongue to pull his concentration away from the cacophony of sounds. He needed to remember what Foxy told him.

A group of ravens is called an unkindness.

Granted, he had no idea how this was supposed to help with figuring out where she and the others were, but he guessed he'd just have to trust his gut.

Actually, nevermind, his gut was telling him to 'get the fuck out of here and go home, dumbass'. It was the logical thing to do.

Too bad, he thought as he passed an army of blindingly green tree frogs and skulked by a particularly angry looking jaguar. Kester paused, but it bared its yellowing fangs at him which made him swiftly regret his decision.

I'm not here to be logical. I'm here to get the job done, and then the hell out of here.

He stopped again to observe a peacock lazily strutting about its bronze railed exhibit. Seeing him, it fluttered its ocean of blue-green feathers in greeting. Behind it, solemnly stood a barn owl, who's amber gaze bore holes into his eyes before he looked away. Kester walked by a trio of parrots mid-way through their noisy song, a hummingbird that zipped around so fast it made him dizzy. There was even a plump little chicken who was looked like she was having a rather hard time trying to keep track of her cream colored chicks before he finally stopped by what he was looking for:

An unkindness.

The ravens weren't particularly stunning. He counted maybe five or six of them, all clustered together in one corner of the rusted birdcage. A blend of highly glossed plumage in iridescent greens, blues, purples, and blacks. Their long, pointy beaks were turned up in an almost haughty manner.

There was an almost unnoticeable indent on the last rung of the bronze cage. Almost. His eyes could pick up on anything - they'd been trained to from searching for mistakes in eternal strings of 1s and 0s.

Who knew, being a hacker apparently had some benefits for his character.

Kester leaned a little closer to inspect the indentation. It almost looked like writing. One of the smaller looking ravens squawked indignantly at him when he got too close, but he paid it no attention.

Squinting while he read, he mumbled the words under his breath.

"'It is easy to forget a kindness, but one remembers an unkindness.'"

What? He read it again.

And again.

And again.

Was this what Foxy had made him come out here for? A heartfelt quote? He had had to sneak out of The Fire Fiends base for this! His father never let him out in the first place, if he found out his only son had disobeyed his orders of staying put, Kester might as well say good-bye to the sun.

He ran his finger across the sentence until he stopped at the word 'unkindness'. He dug his finger into the word in frustration. Seriously, what was he supposed to-

Click.

He paused and let go of his grip on the bird cage. It swayed precariously in the air, its inhabitants cawing in protest as they were rocked side to side. Kester glared at them, stumbling back across the cobblestone and into someone's waiting arms.

He didn't even have time to scream before he heard the person stomp thrice. A soft rumble sounded below him, making him sway before the ground opened up, revealing a row of narrow stairs. It wasn't long before the person, who he now identified as a black-haired lady, kicked him right in the butt. He yelped as he slid down the staircase on his tailbone, hoping when he got home there were no bruises. After the last stair, Keseter was left panting in a dark, underground cave. It looked similar to the room he'd been in when he was kidnapped; wet (surprisingly not because he'd peed his pants), slimy and downright gross.

"T-The Beasts' sure d-do love their s-surprises." He gasped out heavily.

A soft, velvety voice echoed through the air, making his spine tingle. The woman leaned over him eerily. "Ah, no, it is just my little sister who has a love for the dramatics."

"S-Sister?"

"Tsk-tsk, Foxy hasn't mentioned me? How very rude of her."

"Your Foxy's sister?" A beat of silence. "Raven, was it?"

She barked out a cold laugh. "So she did mention me."

"Yeah, she-"

"No talking. Get moving!" She hissed as her footfalls sounded from about six feet away. His hands grazed the edges of sharp stones and gooey soil as he staggered clumsily - Wait, oh god was that blood!? Why did it have to be so dark in here?

Maybe around five minutes later was when he emerged from what felt like a never-ending darkness into...well, he wouldn't say it was great lighting but at least he could see. Even if the single, flickering lightbulb hanging from an alarmingly thin wire gave the entire room an eerie aura. There were seven people standing in the room. It didn't take long to spot Foxy, Sonora, Arabella, Flynn, and Tuan. But one person stood out.

She moved with the grace and fluidity of a dancer, every step deliberate. Purposeful. Her dress, adorned with layers and layers of delicate black silk, seemed to ripple and sway as she moved. The woman's obsidian-black hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall of shadows as her piercing eyes, a shade of deep umber, gazed intently at him. A cascade of dark feathers masked her face, paying homage to her namesake.

"Raven..." The word came out more like a sigh as he stared at her. Raven looked down her nose at him. Rather haughtily, he noted.

Foxy, still in her lacy white mask and red leather jacket, stepped in. Her own white dress fluttered prettily around her ankles. He caught sight of her muddy blue boots, kicked off and abandoned in the corner. "Kester! You're finally here. You're the last member of our crew."

Kester smiled shyly at her. She gave him a smile bright enough to make Barbie jealous before turning to address the entire room.

"I didn't think all of you would show up, but I guess you really wanted that reward we offered, huh?" She let out a sort of snort-laugh, as if this entire thing was somehow funny. Raven snickered as the five heirs glared daggers into Foxy.

Tuan, dark hair hanging over one eye, stepped up. "I need proof you have the equipment and money to get us out of here as soon as we pull the heists."

Foxy's smile dimmed a little. When she laughed, it sounded a little nervous. "About that-"

"-we don't have proof yet." Raven cut in. Foxy glared at her, but she ignored her. "Getting the crown might empower the common people enough to take the money that gangs stole from them back for themselves. With a part of the money, we can get you a ship to literally wherever you want. And you won't have anyone stopping you."

"MIGHT? WE'RE DOIN' ALL OF THIS BECAUSE YA RECKON THEY 'MIGHT'?" Arabella growled, walking to stand next to Tuan.

"Yes, we are. Deal with it Rage-a-Rella."

Foxy cringed and flipped her long, silver hair. "Sissy, don't try to be funny. It's insulting to the true comedian over here."

"Oh, really? Where? I don't see her." Raven sneered. Foxy gave her an equally hateful glare.

"Ladies, ladies...let's get back on topic, shall we?" Flynn drawled, his smirk as easygoing as ever. But his blue eyes, like the early flares of the dawn sky, remained cold as they fixed on Foxy.

Foxy sighed. "Ok, so you guys get the point though right? You're just going to have to trust us with the fact that you'll get your reward."

"Yeah, trusting people we barely know. How fun." Sonora muttered, loud enough for Foxy and Raven to hear. They both bristled.

"None of this is supposed to be fun." Raven snapped.

Sonora's scarlet painted lips were pressed into a thin line. "You what? Forget what I said, just explain how you want us to do this mission."

"All five of you will come here everyday at midnight. Same spot for now, unless we tell you otherwise. We'll help you with supplying training, weapons, and strategies while you get us info on your gangs and get the pieces of the crown back. Simple, right?"

Foxy paused while the five nodded hesitantly before spinning to face her sister. "Well, it's getting pretty late, you got it for now right?"

"I promise I won't kill them." Raven let out a weary breath as if it were hurting her to say it.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Kester squeaked.

"Oh, didn't Foxy mention it? I'm your mentor." She grinned, reaching into a hidden pocket in the back of her dress that Kester hadn't noticed. Her hand came out wrapped around the base of a sapphire studded dagger. There was a light in her eyes, identical to the one that shined off the silver tip of the weapon.

"And training starts now."