I jog through the mine shafts winding downwards and out, making my way to the western side. The VIXX district is to the southeast of Mato, and that's where we need to get our recruits. Just this morning, I was on a comm.-link with the leader of the main ROVIXX fleet, telling him Zelo had found two new pilots for him. N can be hard to read sometimes, but he seemed genuinely relieved to have help on the way although he informed me that he already has his hands full. Three days ago, one of his men rescued a young woman from the VIXX district who had wandered outside the district walls. She's in poor condition, skin and bones, but Hongbin is positive of a full recovery once she gets some real food in her; I was also informed of her first aid ability and that there's talk amongst the team of getting her properly trained as a field medic, however, Hongbin only has a few books to help her learn. I knew Himchan would approve of training another field medic for their team, so N didn't have to ask twice when he mentioned borrowing books.

I skid to a halt in front of the newest rabbit hole and see Daehyun talking to one of my miners. When they notice me, I scratch my ear casually; the woman scratches hers in response and I half-smile – she's one of us. Pulling my brother aside, I ask him if he can spare time to make a run upstairs and he shakes his head quickly. Youngjae had asked for both his and Jongup's help in the Shelter today and whenever Youngjae asks for help in the Shelter, you don't refuse. Lately he had been working on plans for exo-skeletal suits for our group and it seemed like the actual construction of the Matoki armour was finally under way. Given the requirements for the construction, Youngjae has asked me to begin to arrange for things and people to be "lost" in cave-ins. They aren't hard to arrange, but it's a pain in the when anyone from the above-ground wants to check things out to make sure we aren't pulling any funny stuff. That's what makes the Shelter so important.

Though it's called the Shelter by anyone with ink, it's a hidden weapons cache, a storage facility, and an ever-growing network of tunnels and rooms used specifically for Matoki. In comparison to the government, our efforts are miniscule, but that's why Youngjae and Jongup are building the suits. The Mato district has contact with many other surrounding districts through the expansion of abandoned mining tunnels – these are known as rabbit holes. Matoki and other efforts for the rebellion use them and have recently begun to expand on them within their own districts. The Matoki suits are designed for stealth and speed in the hopes that we can become useful outside of supplying information and engineering weapons plans. People in Mato are tired of not having a hand in their own fates and we're all ready to fight to the death to get the chance.

"Bree."

I nearly jump out of my skin at the low voice that calls from directly behind me.

"Don't do that! You scared the bejeezus out of me. How did you find me, anyways?" I snap, looking at him over my shoulder rather than turning away from Daehyun. He knows I hate people sneaking up on me.

"You're almost six feet tall, you're so pale you glow, and your hair is green."

"Only partially."

"My point is that you're hard to miss, even down here. You and Zelo both need to change it. I don't know why you dyed it such a dangerous colour to begin with…" he says disapprovingly, picking at the ends of my hair.

"Because the kids did it, not me; Himchan always sneaks them dyes and bleaches from the textiles prefectures. You know he can't refuse them."

"Neither can you, apparently."

"Why did you come looking for me?" I ask, turning away from Daehyun entirely. Yongguk and I are close so I understand he isn't the type to mince words, but some days I can't help but think he's trying to get a rise out of me. He coughs loudly watching for people to look up before he scratches behind his ear; one by one, three quarters of the workers present return the gesture as inconspicuously as possible. There are outsiders present. He nods an apology before looking back at me.

"There have been complaints about continued instability in this area," he comments, making sure to speak loud enough for the outsiders to pick up on. "People are worried that having so many down here at a time may contribute to another cave-in in this mine shaft."

I know what he's getting at; the people in VIXX are on the other side waiting for permission to connect one of their rabbit holes up with this one. "Understood. Cut back workers in the area to minimum and have them on  rotating shifts instead. We can still get the work done without too much of a drop in productivity," I reply at equal volume. "I'm leaving you in charge of the necessary changes to the work force down here. Daehyun?"

"Ma'am."

"Go deal with your previous tasks but be aware that I'm heading up to the medical ward today. I think Yongguk may have cracked one of my ribs when we fought yesterday. If there are any problems, people will probably come looking for you."

Yongguk raises an eyebrow with a worried look but I nod reassuringly and he understands; I'm fine, but I need to speak with Himchan. Daehyun claps a hand on my shoulder and looks to Yongguk. "I'll leave it to you then. Bree, I'll walk back with you."

We are barely five steps on our trip back and Yongguk is already shouting out orders. I smile to myself. Everyone sees him as a scary man, but as intimidating as he can be, he does have his moments and when you talk one on one with him, he's a bit of a softie. My best guess would be that's why he always fights when there are new recruits; he can't protect everyone, but he'll sure as hell try. I tell my brother quietly about the message from N.

"People are actually trying to leave the districts now?" he asks in disbelief. "That's suicide. How bad are things going to have to get before everyone is willing to work together? We know they're still there, but the Shinhwa district hasn't been heard from in ages, district LC9 has loose cannons for a rebel group, and the founder of the MBLAQ branch has been missing more than a year. We need the machines from upstairs, Bree. We need to get a full network set up with our rabbit holes – it's the only way we'll stand a chance!"

"I know, little brother. And believe me, I wish we had what we need to join in actually fighting." I heave a sigh before the conversation is lost to the darkness of the mines. The path back up to the surface is long, but the silence that passes between Daehyun and I is comfortable and I find myself reminiscing about our lives together. We have known each other for a long time – longer than we've known any of the others, though all of us met in the kitchens where even children are made to work. As a child, I was picked on a lot in the kitchens because I was one of those who couldn't deal with the stress of suddenly being ripped away from their parents.

When the seven of us were still young there were signs of open rebellion in the VIXX district, and the government came down on them with the force of everything at their command. They decimated the district in the literal sense of the word – they killed one in every ten people in the district; the only place in the district this didn't happen in was VIXX's central city. Twelve human experiments were sent into central city and, wielding powers that should have been reserved for the ancient gods of Earth, they massacred half of the citizens. That was the day the government mandated that no child in Mato will grow up knowing blood relations, reasoning that without tight-knit families, people will be less likely to express thoughts of resisting their rule. Children who were still living with their families, children like me, were removed and placed in separate barracks. Ever since that day, any baby who no longer needs to feed is taken away immediately; sometimes you can hear parents crying as their children are ripped from of their desperate arms.

But we found new families.

When I was first taken away, all I could do was cry and it left me open for ridicule from others my age. Maybe they were only trying to hide their own pain, but it didn't make mine any easier to deal with and I quickly became a very angry child. A year later, I was getting into fights with everyone. The biggest turning point in my young life came when someone dropped a pot on my foot and my eyes watered from the pain. Seeing me standing there clutching my sore foot, a skinny boy with a grumpy expression told me I'd get over it and to keep moving. He meant it as encouragement to keep going in his own brusque way, but I didn't realize it at the time and the others in the immediate vicinity didn't see it that way – to them I was still a cry-baby and they let me know it. By the time I was on my feet, there was already a crowd and I went after the person I thought was responsible for starting the others on bullying me again. The skinny, grumpy child barely saw me coming as I tackled him to the ground and we started fighting. Another child got too close while making another comment and I leapt off the grumpy boy and went after him, too. Pretty soon, I was fighting half a dozen children at once and I was losing; maybe it was a combination of being hit over the head and getting kicked in the sides and ribs so that I couldn't breathe, but I still have no memory of the final blow that knocked me out. What I do remember is an innocent-looking boy and the grumpy one clawing at the crowd trying to get to me while I was on the ground before everything went black. Then I can remember them standing over me, the grumpy boy crying and shaking me to get up while the other was washing dirt off my face.

A long, thin finger jabs me in the ribs. "What's going on in your head? You're not usually this quiet."

"Just thinking about our past. Remember the first time I met you? I'd gotten the kicked out of me and when I woke up, you were trying your very best to take care of me – decided all on your own that you'd be my new brother."

"I do remember that. And I remember why I said it, too; you were so hurt and crying so hard because you'd lost your family that I wanted to try to give that back to you. That was the day our family really started, wasn't it? You really have a way of uniting people, Bree."

We turn one last corner and I find myself standing in front of a large steel door to the medical office… Himchan's territory. That day really was when it all started, though I always felt it was what Daehyun said which first brought us together.

I like you. Can we all stay together? I smile to myself at the memory and then remember the fight the other day; Yongguk hasn't really changed much since then, except that now he doesn't let people see when he cries – not usually. Still looks grumpy, still tells it like it is, and still worries incessantly about the well-being of others.

My brother punches my left shoulder with one knuckle, intentionally hitting the nerve and I rub the spot; I'll probably bruise, but what else is new? He taps me on the head and tells me to get my head out of the clouds before he grins and points at the door, slowly walking away backwards. I don't bother knocking and slide the heavy steel wide open.