Author's note: This story takes place after Shade and Marina have been sentenced to drowning by the rat prince, Remus. In the book, Romulus comes to their rescue. This is my take on what would've happened had Romulus not been there to intervene.

The Drain

"Drown them!"

The guards tightened their grip around the bats' forearms, and they were suddenly being dragged down a tunnel leading off of Prince Remus's chamber. Shade made a few attempts to break free of the rat's grip, but the guard simply tightened his jaws more, making him wince in pain. He looked to Marina and saw the fear in her eyes.

The tunnel opened to a small chamber. Water rushed out of a pipe halfway up the right wall, were it pooled to form a small lake of sorts. At the end of the chamber was a metal grate through which the water drained out of the pond.

Shade tried to gauge the situation, his mind working furiously. There were three prisoners: him, Marina, and a very frightened-looking small bird. Each was accompanied by a rat guard, and a fourth rat stood to the side, near the water's edge. The rat locked eyes with him, smiling wickedly, and Shade realized that this must be the executioner.

As he watched, the small bird was taken up to the water. Its rat guard handed it over to the executioner before making his way back through the tunnel to resume his post. The executioner placed a foot on the bird's back, holding it down. Then, he dragged the bird forward so that its head loomed over the water.

Without warning, the rat forced the bird's head into the water. It immediately began flapping its wings, struggling to lift its head to breath. Bubbles were escaping its beak as it screeched beneath the water. Despite the birds' constant hostility towards the bats, Shade couldn't help but feel sick watching this helpless creature struggle.

The bird's resistance became weaker and weaker. The bubbles stopped rising through the water, and soon its wings became limp, twitching slightly. Shade felt a dull burning at the back of his eyes as another rat appeared to drag the carcass away. As it passed him, Shade looked into the still open eyes, hollow and lightless.

They were next, he realized. He pictured his own body being dragged through the tunnel, and the image quickly turned into Marina, her eyes unfocused and lifeless.

No, he wouldn't let that happen. At the back of his mind, a plan began to form. He had no idea if it would work, but he had nothing to lose. He tried to catch Marina's eye so he could tell her not to worry. She was shaking slightly, her eyes shut tight.

"All right, who's next?", the executioner rat asked menacingly.

"Ladies first, don't you think?", Marina's guard asked, flashing her a fiendish smile.

"No!", Shade yelled, "I'll go first!"

"Ah, a real gentlemen, aren't you?", his guard intoned tauntingly. "Well then, I guess it's only fair that we fulfill your final wish."

Marina watched as Shade was pushed roughly towards the water's edge. She looked around, trying to find some means of escape, but the only way out was back the way they came. She could feel her guard's teeth, sinking into her skin slightly—she would not be able to break free.

Shade's guard dropped him at the executioner's feet and headed back through the tunnel, smirking at her as he passed. Shade was forced onto the floor, the executioner placing one paw on his back. Then, all too quickly, he forced Shade's head under the water.

"No!", Marina yelled, trying to break free.

The rat holding her bit down so tightly that she feared her wing would snap in two. She watched helplessly as Shade began flapping his wings, struggling against the rat holding him. His breath escaped in streams of bubbles that broke the smooth surface of the lake. Marina was terrified.

With a rising sickness in her stomach, she watched as Shade's struggles became weaker and the bubbles stopped flowing from his mouth. Soon, his wings were still, and the executioner lifted his wet body from the water. The same rat guard that had taken away the bird's corpse returned for Shade's.

As his body was dragged past her, she wanted more than ever to look away and pretend this wasn't happening. But her eyes remained open, transfixed on Shade's face as his lifeless body was hauled through the tunnel. His mouth hung open, his eyes staring off into the distance, unfocused. Marina felt tears stream down her face, before she was given a shove from behind: it was her turn.

Shade didn't dare move a muscle until he was well out of sight of the executioner and Marina's guard. He had faked his death—going limp while some air still remained in his lungs. It stung him that he didn't have a chance to tell Marina. Even through his blurry, peripheral vision, he could see the fear and grief in her face as he was dragged past her.

Now was the time to act. The rat was dragging him by his rear claws, and Shade quickly pulled himself up, wrapping his jaws around his captor's neck. The rat tried to cry out, but Shade's grip was too tight. His instincts told him that he should clamp down harder still and snap the rat's neck, but somehow he couldn't bring himself to do it—the rat was only doing its job. Instead, he simply kept his hold on its throat, suffocating it until it fell unconscious.

Shade removed himself from his captor and began scuttling back towards the drain. He knew he had to be quick, but he didn't dare to fly in case the executioner heard him coming. Along the way, he passed a vertical shaft leading upwards from the tunnel. Light was pouring in from above and the smell of fresh air wafted down towards him. He took of note of it and continued.

Marina felt the cold water burn against her face as she was forced beneath the surface. She fought and struggled, beating her wings as hard as she could, but it was no use: the rat had too strong a hold on her. She could feel her brain starting to panic as it ran low on oxygen. Her lungs felt like they would explode. Soon, she was overtaken by a strange grogginess and began to drift in and out of consciousness. The last thing she felt was an odd shudder against her back before she blacked out.

Shade had returned to the drain chamber to find Marina already thrashing around, desperately trying to escape. Only the executioner remained. He wasted no time, leaping onto the rat's back, trying to sink his teeth into its throat again. This rat was much stronger than the other one, though, and quickly threw him off. Shade knew that there was no way out now—his echo projections would not work on rats. His only option was to fight. He flared his wings, effectively tripling in size. His fur expanded, standing on end. He bared his teeth and let out the most vicious hiss he could muster.

The rat seemed to consider his chances for a moment, frozen to the spot, before fleeing down the tunnel. Shade was surprised by this: had he really been that frightening? He realized with a jolt that the rat was simply going for reinforcements. Shade turned to tell Marina this—that they had to leave quickly—when his heart plummeted: she had fallen into the water, unconscious.

He dove in after her. Bats weren't meant to swim, but Shade was not about to let Marina drown. He thrust with his wings, fervently trying to reach her before it was too late. He couldn't see anything; his water-leaden ears were sluggish in the water—his echoes forming a silvery mush—and he couldn't open his eyes. Finally, he felt something graze his foot: he was within reach. He wrapped his claws around Marina's forearms and began pushing downward with his wings, trying desperately to rise to the surface. He could tell that he was making progress, but very slowly. His muscles began to feel like mush and he was having a hard time thinking straight. His lungs were shuddering, desperately trying to fill with air. Just when he was certain that they would both drown, his head broke the surface.

He climbed out, gasping for air, and used his front claws to drag his soaking body from the water. As he pulled his legs out, Marina came with them. He laid her down gently on the tunnel floor. She was still unconscious. Or dead, he thought. He flared his ears. He could hear the sound of hundreds of rat feet approaching. He didn't know how long they had.

"Marina!" He started shaking her, frantically trying to rouse her.

She can't be dead! She just can't be!

Suddenly, Marina's chest began to move as she choked, spitting out water. Her eyes turned to Shade, still slightly unfocused. She looked a little lost, as though she still hadn't registered what had happened.

"Are we dead?", she asked in disbelief.

"No", he looked behind him, "but we will be if we don't hurry!"

He tried help her get up, but she was still slow and mildly absent. Without hesitation this time, he nipped her tail. That did it.

"Hey!", she yelled.

Shade could see realization dawn on her face as everything came crashing back. She opened her mouth to say something, but Shade interrupted her.

"I'll explain later, come on", he said, "I think I spotted a way out!"

They took to the air. Shade beat his wings as fast as he could, making a break for the shaft he had seen earlier. As they came streaking through the tunnel from one end, a horde of rats appeared at the other end. Shade looked in despair: the shaft lay in the centre of the tunnel, right between them and the rats. He sent out a barrage of echoes, trying to gauge their speed and distance. He couldn't tell who would make it there first.

"Up here!", he yelled to Marina, inclining his wings and shooting through the opening into the clear sky.

He looked behind him to see her shoot through the opening as well, just as a pair of sharp teeth clamped down near her tail. They were free.

Later, Shade explained his plan to Marina. How he had faked his own drowning and subdued the rat guard. Then he told her about how he jumped into the water to pull her out and how he remembered the shaft he had passed while be dragged away. When he stopped talking, she remained silent for a while before speaking solemnly.

"I have to admit Shade, that was pretty impressive", Marina said later. She smiled over at him a little weakly, "I thought we were goners for sure."

"So did I", Shade agreed. He felt a dull pang in his chest, "I only wish we could've done something for that bird."

Marina nodded grimly. They flew on in silence for a while before Shade asked:

"Do you think we're ever going to make it to Hibernaculum?"

Marina moved in closer, "With quick thinking like that, I sure you'll get us there in one piece."

Shade smiled at her. He was glad she had stuck by him. They had argued almost constantly, and they always seemed to find themselves in mortal peril, but she had remained right there next to him. He felt a great rush of gratitude.

"Besides", she continued, "I'll be around to make sure you don't do anything stupid."

Shade laughed in spite of himself, "Thank Nocturna for that."