Okay, here is the promised sequel to my other fics, Prophecy of Light and Bone of Bane! I hope you like it!

Gregor

and the Run

of the River

Prologue

Luxa and Aurora had just exited the secret path that branched out from the prophecy room in Regalia. It had only been discovered a year ago.

"What exactly are we doing here, Luxa?" Aurora asked.

"I just want to investigate. There are so many things we have not seen down here. And I would really like to find out why this path leads to the river." Luxa answered.

Aurora sighed. "But you know that we have tried many times before. We have never found anything." She said.

"We have not actually investigated the riverbank itself before, have we, Aurora?" Luxa said, smirking.

"Well, no, but I do not think this is a good idea. What if something happens?" Aurora protested.

"Nothing will. Do not worry, Aurora." Luxa said confidently. But Aurora was still uneasy.

Luxa went out along the riverbank. Aurora stood back a few paces, watching her. It would not do to let her bond get into danger.

"Is there anything there?" Aurora asked.

"No, nothing yet." Luxa answered. But Aurora's eyes had just caught something on the stone wall beside her. It was a piece of writing. She read it over, and knew automatically what it was.

"Luxa, I think you may want to see this." She said, not taking her eyes off of it. But Luxa did not respond. "Luxa, it is a proph—Luxa?" Aurora looked around quizzically, for she had just noticed Luxa was not there.

"Luxa, where are you?" Aurora fluttered around up and down the river, but there was no sign of Luxa. She gave a shriek.

"Oh no, Luxa is gone!" Aurora cried to herself. What if they couldn't find her? But then her eyes caught something that made her heart drop.

A gold circlet was wedged in between two rocks pushing out of the water. Luxa's crown. Aurora shrieked again.

"LUXAAAA!"

Chapter 1

Gregor was looking out his bedroom window. It was the beginning of April, and spring was at its finest. Too bad he wasn't.

As usual, he had splitting pains in his back and his head hurt bad. There were scars there, which, along with the remorse, would never fade. And neither would the memory of the place he had got them from.

These injuries were some of the worst he had gotten from a place called the Underland. They ranked right up there with the five scars on his chest left by a rat called the Bane.

The Underland was a world miles beneath the streets of New York City, where Gregor lived. It was home to giant creatures such as bats, rats, roaches, mice, and fireflies. People also lived there as well, they were silver haired, pale skinned, and violet eyed people who mostly inhabited the city of Regalia.

He had many friends down there. The queen of Regalia, Luxa, a giant rat called Ripred, a doctor named Howard, and his own personal bond, Hera included. He loved the Underland in its peaceful times, and was counting the days until he would be called back.

But there were some things he didn't like about the Underland. For one thing, he hated being involved in all their prophecies, written by a man called Sandwich. He had been the target of seven of them already, and he was getting sick of it. He didn't think there was any more, but then again, all of them had come at him in surprise.

Since he was the prophesized warrior, he had been in many battles. Those were where his wounds had come from. The scars on his chest made by the Bane would never fade, and neither would the claw marks on his back made by a bat called Luna or the one on his head made by a rock that had fallen and hit him squarely on his head.

"Gregor, Kendra's here!" someone called. Kendra was an Underlander who had moved to the Overland to live with her grandfather who had been to the Underland before. He had utterly despised her when he first met her, but they had become better friends over time. Besides his family and Mrs. Cormaci, their neighbor, she was the only one in the Overland who he could talk to about the Underland.

"Hello, Gregor." Kendra said, greeting him. They had school that day. Kendra had adapted well to an Overland teenager's life, but still had not lost her formal Underland way of speaking. She had been teased at school because of it, but Gregor had always stuck up for her, and he let her hang out with him and his friends, Larry and Angelina.

Her appearance had also adapted as well. They had died her hair a beach blonde color instead of its normal silvery color, and her skin had tanned a lot. Although her violet eyes remained the same, she was having no trouble passing for an Overlander now.

The two said goodbye to Gregor's parents and began walking to school, taking Gregor's sisters, 10 year old Lizzie and 5 year old Boots, with them.

Lizzie was in the fifth grade, but was really smart for her age. It was only a matter of time before she was allowed to skip a grade. Boots had just started kindergarten. She was called Margaret by her teacher, but most people still called her by her nickname, Boots.

"Bye Gregor! By Kendra!" Lizzie said as they got up to the elementary school.

"Bye-bye!" Boots said, taking Lizzie's hand. "See you!"

Gregor waved at them and he and Kendra started off down the street to the High School. They had only just started there, as they were 14 and in ninth grade.

"How are your wounds?" Kendra asked Gregor.

"I can live." He answered. It had hurt worse getting them than it did now. He had been through a lot.

They walked in silence the rest of the way to the school. Even though they were friend now, Gregor still found it awkward to talk to her after she had poisoned Luxa.

The school day was pretty much uneventful, but Gregor was extremely glad to leave. He was going back with Kendra to her grandfather's house after they dropped his sisters back at home.

Kendra's grandfather, Renaldo, had been to the Underland and killed the deceased rat king Gorger's predecessor, King Slashblood. He had a lot of interesting stories to tell, and Gregor loved to listen to them.

"Hello, grandfather." Kendra greeted her Renaldo as they stepped into the paint shop.

"Hello, Kendra. And you as well, Gregor." He nodded their way, and got up from his canvas. He was a very talented painter.

"So how was your school?" he asked, pushing his ragged grey-brown hair out of his eyes. Kendra shrugged.

"Fine." She said. Gregor nodded.

"Oh yes, Gregor, I have finished that picture of Hera I told you I would make. Consider it a gift." Renaldo turned to Gregor.

"You don't have to…" Gregor began, but Renaldo held up his hand.

"Please, it is fine." he said. Gregor took the painting that Renaldo was holding out for him.

As usual, Renaldo's painting looked exactly like the giant bat he had asked for. He had painted Hera's gold and white speckled fur perfectly. It really made him miss his bat, and he hoped he would get a message from them soon.

"Thanks." Gregor said gratefully. Renaldo had also painted him a picture of Ares some months before, his old bond. He still missed him just as much, but he had become used to carrying him in his heart.

"It is no problem." Renaldo said.

"Grandfather, did you not say you were going to teach me to paint a nibbler today?" Kendra asked.

"Oh yes, I did. Gregor, would you like to learn too?" Renaldo asked him.

Gregor considered the offer, but he really wasn't much of a painter, and besides, he had to get home to help his mom with dinner soon. Mrs. Cormaci was coming over for a while.

"Thanks, but I should probably get home know." He said politely. Kendra waved goodbye to him from behind her canvas.

"Fare you well, Gregor." Renaldo nodded to him. Gregor stepped out of the shop.

He began walking back toward his apartment and breathing in the spring air. It had been a frigid winter, and his family had barely been able to stand it. But they could live with the mild temperatures of April. All you had to do was wear a thin coat to be comfortable.

"Oh, Gregor's back!" Lizzie said as she opened the door for him. She had been teaching Boots the basics of the game "go fish".

"Gregor! Hi! I'm playing go-fish!" Boots giggled. She was a pretty small five year old, but not as small as Lizzie had been. Her dark curls had grown out a bit, and were now close to her shoulders. Despite her big girl-ness, as she called it, she was still his littlest sister, and he could remember her as a two year old, when they had taken their first trip to the Underland, boy, that seemed so long ago, even though it was not yet three years.

"Hey, Gregor. Can you help me with the spaghetti?" his mom peeked her head out from in the kitchen.

"Sure, mom." He said. His mom knew how he would have to return to the Underland sometime, and he was surprised she was not more upset about it. He hoped she would willingly let him go, but even if she didn't, he would have to go anyway. They would hold Luxa ransom before they let him stay in the Overland. And he wouldn't let them do that.

They had a nice dinner with Mrs. Cormaci, and Boots sand the sharing song she had learned in school today…over and over again. I was a relief when she finally fell asleep. Gregor decided to go do the laundry.

He had purposely dirtied his clothes lately so he would be able to do the laundry faster so he could check the grate to the Underland more often. He didn't really think that there would be a message today, but it didn't hurt to check. So he grabbed the bag full of dirty clothes and went down to his apartment's laundry room.

The laundry room was luckily empty when he reached it. He loaded the clothes in the washer and moved the machine over a bit. What he saw surprised him.

A reddish Underland bat was peeking through the grate. "Hello, Overlander! I carry a message from Vikus." He said, holding out his claw. In it was a scroll. He passed it to Gregor and flew away. Heart pounding in his chest, he unrolled the message and began to read.

Greetings, Gregor.

I have some very urgent news that must be attended too. Yesterday evening Luxa and Aurora were investigating the path you discovered leading to the river, and Luxa vanished. We cannot locate her, but we believe she has been carried down the river.

Meanwhile, Aurora has also found a new prophecy carved on the stone wall in the passage. It fits with Luxa's disappearance, and it calls for the Overlander. It is required that you come down as soon as possible. I will have Hera meet you at the Central Park entrance. We feel that this one is dangerous, the messenger bat we sent, Achilles, thinks he was sighted by another Overlander. Boots and Lizzie are welcome as well.

Fly you high,

Vikus

Oh yes, and I have enclosed a copy of the new prophecy.

And it ended. So there was another prophecy. Another chance for him to get killed. But if it was to save Luxa, then he would do it.

What could have possibly happened to her? Was she still alive? He was so worried. But he flipped over the scroll and saw a prophecy written on it. It was entitled 'the Prophecy of Water'. He took a deep breath and began to read.