Disclaimer: I do not own The Underland Chronicles or any of the characters. Those belong to the wonderful and talented mind of Suzanne Collins.
It had been two weeks since Gregor and his family had returned to the Overland. His parents were adjusting well, trying to forget and make their children forget about the Underland and move on. However, it was not that simple. Boots didn't want to play with toys anymore, but liked to sit outside and play with bugs. Her former connection with Temp had left her obsessed with crawling creatures, particularly cockroaches. Lizzie was merely quiet. She never laughed or smiled, and very rarely talked. Having to leave the place where she had grown so much had been hard, but not nearly as hard as having to leave Ripred. Gregor . . . was another matter entirely. He was depressed. He awoke every morning and showered, tracing the scars all along his body. The slashes across his chest, the scars from squid suckers, teeth, and claws. He went to school but was always reprimanded for "daydreaming", when he was remembering the Underland and Luxa. He avoided everyone who attempted to talk to him, particularly his former friends. He would comply with his parents' requests without the slightest argument, and this worried his parents. They wanted to help their children adjust, but however they tried, they failed. Lizzie would become irritable, yelling at her mother. Gregor would storm into his room, yelling at his father. Nothing they did helped.
His parents had wished to move to Virginia, but after a conversation with their two eldest children, they realized what it would do to them if they moved. Making another trip to the Underland, however improbable, impossible. Even the slightest thing made Gregor remember the Underland. Putting his clothes on, for instance, always made him remember the feeling of the spider silk clothing from the Underland. The sight of a rat scurrying across the street made him cringe and remember the Bane, then smile at the memory of Ripred. The sight of a bug running through the grass reminded him of him of Temp. And the sight of long, blonde-silvery hair, made him think of Luxa. Dear, dear Luxa. He loved her and it had broken his heart to return to his "home".
It was during one cold rainy day, that Gregor's wish finally came true. He had just showered and as always had traced the scars along his chest and his arms, before putting his clothes on. He was almost ready for breakfast, just now pulling his shirt over his head, when he heard his door open. His mother walked in, a pile of laundry in her arms.
"Here, Gregor, I just finished washing these."
"Yeah, sure, thanks, Mom," he said in the bored, depressed voice. Finally Grace had had enough.
"Gregor, you need to snap out of this. I can't take it anymore. You live here and it's time you accepted that and moved on from that place." Her voice had risen exponentially, drawing the attention of Lizzie, whose room was across from Gregor's. At last, Gregor had finally had enough too.
"You don't get it, do you, Mom? You don't know what happened down there. Do you even care that I nearly died, that I lost some of my closest friends, that Ares is dead?" Gregor was screaming now, "Do you even care that I had to leave the love of my life? All because you and Dad needed your little family to be perfect and normal and safe. Well, guess what? I've had it." Gregor finished, breathing heavily. Grace seemed to have been stunned into silence by Gregor's outburst. Obviously, she had not fully thought about what her children had gone through. Lizzie, standing in the doorway, was staring, open-mouthed at Gregor. She was astounded to hear her brother yell like that. The last time she had heard him sound so passionate, was when they were still in Regalia, and Ripred had just returned. Thankfully, they had not left yet, or else Luxa and Ripred may have started a war among their peoples.
It made Lizzie happy, not seeing Gregor angry, but knowing that he may have passed this depressed, unsmiling phase.
Gregor turned from his mother, grabbed a backpack from his closet, and started throwing things in, not even thinking about what he was grabbing. He managed to grab some batteries, a flashlight, and some extra chewing gum.
"And just where do you think you're going, young man?" his mother demanded.
"I'm going home. Lizzie, are you coming?" Gregor responded, looking at his sister.
"You bet I am." Lizzie immediately ran into her room, packed a few things, then returned to find Gregor at an impasse with his mother, who was blocking the doorway.
"Mom, you know I can leave if I want to. Please don't make me force you out of the way."
"You wouldn't dare," Grace said, looking shocked, for she knew of Gregor's skills, particularly his rager quality.
"Oh, yes I would. Now please move." Grace looked reluctant at first, but then moved out of the way, allowing Gregor to pass, take Lizzie's hand, and storm down the hall, towards the laundry room. They passed their father, who was reading the newspaper and drinking coffee, obviously oblivious to the row that had just happened. They passed him without even glancing at him. Gregor thought swiftly about Boots, and what she would do, but she had Mom and Dad and would be fine. They reached the laundry room, pulled the barrier away their father set up, and slid down without another thought, for the 'home' they were leaving.
After the short walk through the rocks and stone walls, they reached the light of Regalia. It looked so beautiful, but not as beautiful as the person running towards them. Luxa. Her long, silver hair bobbing up and down, looking quite undignified as she ran. The queen stopped, looked at Gregor, then enveloped him in a ferocious hug, but not before giving him a swift kiss upon the lips. Gregor started as Lizzie screamed with delight. A few feet away, stood Ripred, conversing with a few other Gnawers.
"Ripred! Ripred! I'm here!" Lizzie screamed, happily. Ripred heard her, and ran towards her, looking as happy as ever. As they reached each other, Lizzie gave him the biggest hug.
"I missed you so much." Lizzie said, tears streaming down her face.
"I missed you too. I thought about you every day," Ripred replied, a couple tears forming in the strong, brave rat's eyes.
"I thought you weren't going to come back." Luxa said to Gregor, smiling, but puzzled.
"I couldn't take it anymore." Gregor replied, also smiling. "Being away from you, Regalia, Ripred, everybody here."
"Well, I am so very glad you have returned." Luxa said.
"Luxa," Gregor began hesitantly, "can I see him?" Luxa nodded sadly, knowing exactly what Gregor was referring to. After a short walk to the area of earth where war heroes were buried, they stopped, staring down at a patch of earth. Ares. His beloved bat, his best friend, his partner in crime. Ares was dead. His death still haunted Gregor's dreams. After a few gut-wrenching moments, reminiscing about the friend he had lost, Luxa took his hand and led him away. Over the next hour, he greeted old friends. Vikus, Mareth, Howard, Aurora, Twitchtip, and everybody else he had met on his previous trips. The Overland Warrior was finally home.
Gregor and Lizzie almost never visited their parents. After their leaving, their mother and father had grown quite distant from them. Boots was quite disappointed about the disappearance of her siblings, but once she was older, arrived in the Underland to live with them. Their parents did not even attend Gregor's wedding to Luxa a few years later. They were King and Queen of Regalia and ruled well. Lizzie and Boots continued growing up happily. They grew closer to each other and learned everything needed to be the King's sisters. They missed their parents greatly, but loved their country and home. Gregor the Overlander was finally home.
P. S. I know that in the books Ares' body wasn't able to be saved and the only thing Gregor had of him was Ares' claw, but I wanted to involve Ares more, as he was my favorite character. Sorry if this inconveniences you in any way.