Hola, mi amigos!

This is my first fanfiction, and I'm so so so excited to be doing it on my favorite books ever! Writing is such a joy and I am so blessed to be able to post my work for other people who love the Underland Chronicles and writing as much as I do! When you're reviewing- and please, review- don't sugarcoat it! Constructive criticism is the best way for me to grow as an author.:) I hope you enjoy!

Also, special thanks to my beta reader, theotherem.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own the Underland Chronicles.

Luxa sighed. The plan was simple. Get in, get out. A small job, but one that could gain them the world if successful, or lose them a great deal of light if timed incorrectly. In other words: if she failed, she was dead.

Luxa stroked Aurora's back gingerly as they flew, whispering hushed words of comfort to the frightened bat. Aurora was scared, she knew. She could feel it in her flier's tense muscles. "Come on, Aurora girl, we shall accomplish this. We can and we will. We will be back in Regalia by the time the sun is setting in the Overland." Overland. Saying the word brought on a fresh wave of pain as she thought of- NO! She mustn't think of him, not never. She had given up on her rule, the one of telling herself each day was her last, and replaced it with a new one: no thinking about the future, with or without him. Ever. Dreaming about him was pointless. He was probably in Virginia and had forgotten all about her- surely he was too busy with all of his Overland friends to remember the strange Underland girl.

Luxa, what are you doing, you're breaking your rule, she told herself nervously. You need to focus!

"Luxa," Aurora whispered. "Think you still this a good idea? You know it is against the council's wishes, and it is not like you to disobey them." Aurora was right. It actually was unlike Luxa to disobey the council. She was no longer the rebellious girl, too proud to accept that she was an eleven/twelve-year-old queen who needed some help. Part of the reason for the transformation was that after the War of Time, there was a new, better council that Luxa thought much more qualified for the position. Another part of it was that she was older, had gained approval from the people and therefore had much more power than before, which meant less commands to actually disobey. But mostly it was that she had lost her stubborn edge when she lost Gregor. She respected authority. She was still headstrong and had her own opinions - she was still Luxa- but she sucked it up and did as she was told. Until now.

"Yes, Aurora," she replied with as much courage as she could muster. "It will work, no matter what Nerissa's prophecy says. My cousin is ill and knows not what she is speaking of." She tried to tell herself that this was true, that disaster was not about to fall upon them. Still, Nerissa had never given Luxa reason to doubt her, but rather many reasons to believe she truly had the gift. Until then, Luxa really thought that she did. But now, Luxa's mind had changed. Nerissa had to be wrong because . . . because . . . well, because she just did!

No, Luxa, she told herself with a sigh. She has to be wrong because this is more than you can bear.

With tears in her eyes, Luxa fiddled with the corner of her shirt. Gregor was so very strong. Perhaps his fate was not as awful as hers was to be- that is, if Nerissa was to be believed- but it was close.

Oh Gregor, she thought, breaking her rule for just a moment. How I miss you.

Gregor closed his eyes and waited for the impact.

He felt the currents in his hair, the wind in his eyes, the sensation of falling throughout his whole body- - - but most of all he felt the fire in his heart. He was truly drowning in an ocean of happiness, the adrenaline pumping through him, the excitement and delight overwhelming him. He was finally going home! Going to see Nike and Howard and Hazard and Aurora again. Heck, he was even excited to see grumpy old Ripred again. But most importantly, he was going to see Luxa, his lovely Luxa, again.

Thump! Gregor landed. He sighed contently. Here he was . . . back in the Underland again. It felt like . . . like . . . like a dream.

"Beeg bug!" he suddenly heard. "Beeg bug!" It was . . . Boots? How in the world was she even down here? He turned around, and there she was. "Beeeeg bug!"

"Boots! What are you doing here?" he exclaimed. But before she had a chance to answer, another voice spoke out.

"Be it Overlander, it be? I be Temp, I be."

"Temp!" Gregor cried, not grasping how bizarre the situation was. He didn't even notice that Boots had dissolved into thin air. "It's great to see you, my friend!"

Temp opened his mouth to reply. "Gregor, your breakfast is getting cold!"

"Umm . . . what?" Gregor was what? This didn't make any sense. No sense at all. The words were wrong. The voice was wrong.

"Gregor, I'm not kidding! Get up now!" Temp's image began to shimmer, then fade. He then realized who the voice belonged to.

No. Oh, no. Just . . . no. No, no, no was all Gregor could think.

Sweat broke out on his palms. His breathing went rapid. His head began to ache. Gregor's body shook as he desperately tried, using sheer will power, to make the situation real. It had to be real. It just . . . had to be.

"Gregor! Hurry up now!" his mother's voice called again, this time breaking him out of his sleep.

For a few moments, Gregor laid there, continuing his laborious breathing, unable to stop his racing heartbeat. He'd had dreams of returning to the Underland for three nights now, and while each gave him great joy, they also gave him great grief far more cumbersome to carry than all of his previous nightmares. The pain of realizing that he was still in the Overland, and that the probability of his return anytime soon was oh so very slim, destroyed him inside. It hurt worse than the squid sucker marks. It hurt worse than the vines in the jungle. It even hurt worse than the Bane's cla- - -

"Gregor?" Grace poked her head in Gregor's room, looking worried at first (she seemed to think that at any moment Gregor might vanish these days), then relieved at the sight of him, then stern and a bit annoyed. "Gregor, seriously. Get up and get dressed. No breakfast for you; school starts in twenty minutes, and it'll take what, ten to get there? And you know that another tardy will mean a grade deduction." For a moment, it seemed like Grace was done, having been strangely calm throughout the mini speech. And then, she burst. "You're barely passing anyway!" She slammed the door on the last word.

Gregor sighed and began to change, purposefully making it at slow as possible. It was a weak act of defiance to his not-letting-him-go-to-the-Underland mother. At first, Grace had actually considered staying in New York and letting him visit his Underland friends, but when their grandmother died, any and all open-mindedness about the situation vanished. Grace had always been strict, but within reason. Now she had risen to an irrational point of overprotectiveness as some weird way of channeling her grief. And they were all suffering from it.

Gregor finished his dressing and prepared to leave. But as he grabbed his backpack, he noticed something in the corner of the room.

Boots' little bat toy. Gregor wore Ares' claw around his neck always, to remind him of his deceased bond, but eventually he was so used to it that it was just something he did out of respect. But the bat . . . the little bat toy . . . .

He still cried every time he saw it.

And now cry he did. Gregor the Overlander cried at the sight of a plastic bat. Gregor, Savior of Regalia; Gregor, DeadlyRager; Gregor, the Warrior of Prophecy, cried great, big, heaving sobs.

He would be late for sure now. He didn't care. School and grades, which had once been something of an idol to him, now seemed to matter very little. As far as he was concerned, no matter how successful he became he could never be happy. Not away from home.

And despite all his mother's attempts to change that, Virginia was most definitely not home.

So, what did y'all think? Did you love it? DID YOU HATE IT? I must know! I will have the next update for you sometime in the next week. Hmmm... In the meantime, I wonder if anyone can predict what will happen next...

Stay reading, my friends. Adios y buenas noches.