Okay, this is my first fanfic on my third account. I hope this one flies, unlike the other two. Hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this way cool Underland stuff, as much as I wish I did.
Gregor bit his lip nervously. Even after all he had been through in the Underland, confrontation was not something he enjoyed. And when it was forced, he was usually soaring around on Ares with sword in hand, not sitting at the table in front of his anxious-looking dad and impatient looking mom, who sighed.
"Just spit it out, Gregor," she said.
He thought about the request he was about to ask, the one he'd been planning for weeks. With his grandma in such a critical condition, his parents had decided not to move to Virginia. But even at home in New York, life had not been a picnic. In fact, living in the modern world again was a whole lot harder than fighting in wars, fulfilling prophecies as a warrior, and other basic survival techniques he had gone through in the Underland. It had because a daily struggle for Gregor to act like a normal 12-year old, Overland kid, to control his instincts as a natural-born killer and focus on not lashing out at total strangers on the street.
School was out of the question completely. He had barely made it through the first day and totally flipped out half-way through the second, tackling a kid in the hallway and setting fire to the science wing, destroying hundreds of dollars worth of equipment. The school had expelled him immediately, and it was only his family's grim condition that had kept the school from taking them to court. Since then, he had been confined to the house with his mom, dad, and Boots.
Not that he cared. No matter where he was in the Overland, his mind was in the Underland, with Mareth, Vikus, Temp, Hazard, Lapblood, Ripred, Aurora, Luxa…he even sometimes missed the two fireflies Photos Glow-Glow and Zap, annoying as they were, because they were part of the Underland, and the Underland was where he wanted to be.
When Gregor had first thought about where he wanted to live, there had been bad points to either side. But the more he thought about living in the Underland, the better of an idea it seemed. He had a lot of friends down there, enough so he wouldn't end up like Ripred had, alone in the Dead Lands. He had lost Ares, and that was a huge minus, but with all the rats now allied with the humans and peace to go around, it might be easier for him. Plus, he just missed everyone so much he was going crazy. So he had decided to ask his parents to go back. He knew they would probably flip about, but he had to ask.
Although he had planned to ease into it, ask them calmly and rationally, and negotiate his point, under his mom's cool gaze, he just took a deep breath and blurted out,
"I want to go back and live in the Underland."
He braced himself. But their reaction was totally different from what he had expected. Instead of totally freaking out, they just looked at each other and sighed.
"What?" he demanded. "What?"
"Well, Gregor, baby, to be honest, we expected you to ask sometime," said his mom gently.
"No one can get so involved and connected somewhere and then go back to an old life," added his dad. "You went through so much down there, son, you're more of an Underlander than an Overlander now. We knew you were changed, and that you would need to go back."
Gregor stared at them, completely floored. He had been expecting to have to negotiate his point for hours, and now they understood, with only one spoken sentence.
"So you're just going to let me go?" he asked incredulously, but also hopefully. "Just like that?"
They glanced at each other again. "Well, that's not what we said," began his dad.
Gregor's heart sank faster than it had risen. They didn't understand. They had known he was going to ask. They had made up their minds before he had even framed his request. No amount of arguing would do him good now.
"Son, we know you have a lot of friends down there. But up here is your home. The family needs you."
Gregor didn't want to admit it, but it was true. He was still working for Mrs. Cormaci on Saturdays, and that was basically what his family was living on. Mrs. Cormaci would come over almost every night to cook dinner, and Boots was finally out of diapers, which was a huge relief, but even with that enormous help, they were barely scraping by. This meant no air no refrigerator, no turning on the lights or running water unless it was absolutely necessary, and almost no heat.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but you can't go back," said his mom, squeezing his hand before weakly lifting herself out of her chair. His dad moved to help her, and together they left the kitchen.
Gregor sat still, unable to move. How could he have been so stupid? They hadn't understood. He should have made himself clear. Instead of saying he wanted to go back, he should have told the truth and said he needed to go back. It was unbearable up here. And why had he let them just walk away? He had points to argue and everything.
It didn't matter. They were gone. And he couldn't remember any of his points anyway. Angrily, Gregor stood and kicked his chair in, then stormed his way to his room and flung himself on his bed.
Why had he even asked them to go back? He knew that they would say no, but he had gone ahead and asked anyway. All he had gotten himself now was a deep well of bitter disappointment.
Gregor rolled over. Somewhere inside him, he knew he was being pretty selfish, asking to abandon his family when they were in such a desperate condition. But deeper than his sense of responsibility to his family, there was a sense of responsibility to his friends. And deeper still…there was a hollow ache, as though he had left some critical part of himself in the Underland. He rolled back over, willing the pain away.
Why did he keep ignoring Ripred? How many times had the rat told him not to come this way? It's too late now, thought Gregor. This is my new nightmare. My light's going to go out, the rats will chase me, and I'm going to fall off a cliff and die.
But he was wrong.
This dream was different. Instead of the dark tunnels he was used to visiting in his sleep, he was sprinting through a very bright jungle. And his pursuers weren't making the sound of chasing rats, they were making a different noise. These enemies were clicking, clicking, clicking. Cutters.
He wheeled around to face them. He was still angry at them for destroying the starshade, even though it hadn't turned out to be the cure. But instead of facing and army of ants, he was teetering on the edge of a cliff. Even while Gregor tried to back up, the pit at his feet grew wider until he was falling, falling, falling. At least this part of his dream was familiar. He gritted his teeth, waiting for the impact. But he was wrong again. A flash of wing, and brush of fur, and he was flying, rising toward the increasingly bright ceiling of the jungle…
Gregor woke with a start and looked around wildly, disoriented by the dark room. Then he groaned and fell back on his bed. He had not meant to fall asleep, but his sleeping habits were still with the Underland clock. Not that the Underland had any clocks. He wondered vaguely how anyone knew when to go to bed and wake up.
His dream had been strange. Since Ares's death, every night he had dreamed of falling to his own. But in this one he had been rescued. What bat would rescue him in the middle of the jungle? Probably Aurora. She had been there. Or Nike. She would have wanted to help him.
The jungle part had been strange too. He had only visited the jungle twice, and the last time was many, many months ago. Why should he suddenly think of that place now?
It was all so confusing, and it made his head hurt. Frustrated, he let out an angry sigh of irritation. His echolocation lit up the room for him a bit. Just for something to do, he let out a short, quiet click to see how far away his ceiling was. But then something happened that had never happened before, an event he could never have predicted.
Something clicked back.
Ohmygawd what is it?! I'm sure you smart ones will be able to figure it out, but to be sure, you'll have to read the next chapter. J Peace owt.