So, I'm not going to lie, I love TUC (The Underland Chronicles) but I hated the ending of CoC (Code of Claw) so I decided to rewrite it. The Prologue is the ending of CoC that I have rewritten, and the chapters after that will be what I think happened next. I realize I am not as great of a writer as Ms Collins, but then again if I was I wouldn't be writing on this website.

Disclaimer: Can I ask you a question, if I seriously owned ANY of this then why would I be writing on this website? And why would I be changing the ending of my own book? I mean seriously…

Anything between * * is directly from Gregor and the Code of Claw.

Here it is, please R&R, enjoy!

(This picks up in the middle of Chapter 24 in Gregor and the Code of Claw)

Prologue

*"I've got to get closer if I'm going to take him out!"* said Gregor. "Ares, I need to be on the ground." The expression on Ares' face was one that Gregor was glad he was not able to see.

"That means death!" Ares cried out as they flew in circles at the very top of the cavern just out of the Banes reach. "I refuse to allow it!" Gregor growled in frustration.

"With your wingspan there is no way that I can get close enough to do serious damage! This is the only way!" He knew he was right; he just wished he wasn't. Underneath them the Bane was following them with his eyes, every once in awhile running below them in a circle, inadvertently making himself very dizzy.

"There is another option Overlander, there must be!" Ares argued. "Let us think about it for a few minutes. There is no danger of the Bane escaping the cavern and I am not tiring anytime soon." Both flier and human looked down at that moment. The Bane was foaming at the mouth his eyes screaming for their blood as he ran around beneath them in circles. Wait, running, in circles? Running in circles. That was it. Gregor grinned as he realized what they could do to stop the Bane with minimal danger to himself and Ares. He bent down on Ares' back and whispered his plan in the bats ear. The bat nodded and so they began to execute their plan.

Ares flew back and forth, did loops and spirals, and went in circles for a good 20 minutes. It was a good thing that he was so strong otherwise the plan never would have worked. As Gregor had predicted the Bane followed them and slowly he began to tire. Gregor could hear intense panting and he could almost feel the strain of the Banes muscles as he forced them onward. After thoroughly confusing and dizzying the Bane, Ares' tried a new tactic. He flew from one wall to the opposite as fast as he could, stopping a mere breath away from the rocky edge. Then he switched directions and did this again, all the while the Bane was following.

Ares tried this tactic for awhile and when the Bane had run himself into the wall a total of 7 times Gregor watched as he stopped in the center of the Cavern and stood, swaying slightly from side to side, a dazed albeit demented look in his eyes. Gregor squeezed Ares with his legs signaling his descent.

Ares angled down and shot straight for the Bane, his wings clamped to his sides. Gregor kneeled on Ares back and jumped and lashed with his sword as they passed the Bane. The Bane stuck out his claws as Ares opened his wings to make the ascent back to the top of the cavern leaving Gregor to face the Bane on the ground like they had agreed. The wing tore but Ares kept flying until he reached a small ledge near the ceiling of the cavern and latched onto it with his claws, waiting until Gregor needed him again. This had all happened in the space of 1 second and Gregor now turned to face the Bane. Even though the Bane was disoriented he was still lethal and he lashed out quickly at Gregor who instantly returned the favor with his sword. There was no pausing here, no time to think about his next move, it was all instinctive, a mess of fur, skin, teeth, claws, and the flash of silver. At the exact moment that Gregor's sword pierced the Banes heart 2 things happened. One, Ares flipped off the ledge and, despite his maimed wing, flew down to retrieve his bond, and two the banes claw gashed Gregor's leg, deep enough so the bone was visible.

The Bane died instantly as the blood pooled around him from his many wounds inflicted by Gregor's sword. Gregor on the other hand, cried out in pain and crumpled. Luckily Ares swooped down and managed to catch Gregor on his back. The blood flowed from Gregor's leg and Ares' wing as the bat grimaced through the pain and attempted to fly them back to Regalia. It didn't matter what Ripred thought about the prophecies, it seemed like Sandwich was right, The Warrior would die. Gregor's last thought before he passed out was not directed towards Ripred however, it was to a silver-haired girl who he had sent to the dungeons, "Forgive me Luxa."

Something cold was placed on his forehead. He groaned and upon slowly blinking his eyes open, encountered a bright light which temporarily blinded him. While waiting for his vision to clear Gregor began to think. "Where am I?" He wondered and it was only when a familiar voice answered that Gregor remembered what had happened.

"You are currently in the hospital at Regalia." A weary, slightly forced cheerful voice responded.

"Howard." Gregor replied, chancing to open his eyes again and blinking in the direction of the voice.

"Overlander." Came the reply. Gregor squinted and Howard's blurry form became clear. Good he could see now.

"Howard what's going on? Why am I here? How did I get here? Where is Ares? Oh god Ares, his wing was torn he lost a lot of blood. The Bane, the Bane is dead. I killed him. Where is everyone? Where are Boots and Lizzie? Where is Ripred? Where's…" Gregor paused in his relentless stream of questioning unsure of whether or not mentioning Luxa would make Howard angry or upset since he had told Gregor that a relationship between Gregor and Luxa was a very bad idea. Howard however didn't seem to notice the awkward pause.

"You have many questions Overlander," Howard remarked before continuing, "The war has ended for two days now, you have been asleep for four. You are in the hospital because you suffered a severe injury to the leg and lost a lot of blood. I'm not sure of the details of how you arrived; you will have to ask Luxa that question as she is the one who found you. Ares is fine, he is in the hospital like yourself but for over exhaustion, not his wing. I am not sure of the exact whereabouts of the specific people you listed but I do know that they are all well and somewhere in the castle. And Luxa is safe and in the palace as well." Howard added with a knowing smile. "Oh and there is someone here who wants to see you."

"Gregor?" Gregor glanced confused at Howard. That voice it sounded like…but it couldn't be…his dad was in the Overland...but that voice…Howard said nothing but nodded and slowly backed out of the room, clearing Gregor's line of sight allowing the man standing in the doorway to come into focus.

"Dad!" Gregor grinned as his dad hastened to his bedside.

"Hey buddy, how are you feeling? You gave your sisters and I quite a scare showing up by the river covered in blood." His dad's voice was soft and soothing; it made Gregor want to cry. He was so sick of being the warrior, of killing and being a hero, he just wanted to be a normal kid.

"Dad," was all Gregor could say as he succumbed to the tears that had been threatening to fall. Sobs racked his body as he let out all the emotion he had been forced to bottle up when he was the "warrior". But now, here, alone except for his dad, he could cry for the sights and the dangers he had seen and the blood he had spilled.

"Shhh bud, it's ok, it's going to be ok." His dad held him and whispered calming words into his ear, effectively soothing Gregor until the only sign that he had been crying were very red, bloodshot eyes. "Now do you want to tell me what's going on?" His dad asked quietly, Gregor nodded and took a deep breath, and began to speak.

He told his Dad about the 'picnic', the avalanche, the Volcano, the currents, the flood. He talked about Luxa starting the war and how there was a prophecy no one would tell him about. He told him about finally reading the prophecy and the battles and the bloodshed that accompanied the war. He talked about the code breakers and the final fight against the Bane, and he talked about Luxa. About how he sent her to the dungeons and how she would never speak to him again. He talked until he couldn't talk anymore and it was only when he finished that he realized something.

"Wait, I'm not dead." Gregor voiced his newfound discovery with wonder.

"No you aren't." His dad agreed with a slight smile on his face.

"But, Sandwich said-"

"Didn't I tell you boy that Sandwiches prophecies are crap?" A gruff voice was heard coming from the doorway and Gregor turned quickly to look at where the sound came from, his muscles aching in protest.

"Ripred!"

"Yes boy that is my name, I'm glad you can at least remember that." The mocking voice coming at him was so familiar and it sounded so anticlimactic that Gregor laughed out loud.

"And what may I ask is so funny?" The rat asked, who was at this time eating something out of a container he carried in one paw.

"Nothing it's just, the Bane is dead and I'm not dead and it seems like something should have changed but it's not, everything is the same as it was before."

Ripred snorted. "You obviously have not heard the news if you think everything is the same."

"What news?" Gregor asked, imagining something terrible like the rats taking control of Regalia, or something like that.

"Your girlfriend is now officially Queen of Regalia. The coronation was yesterday." He licked his paws unceremoniously. "And the remaining members of the council are having a fit because the arrangement is that until Her Highness turns 16 she and the council rule together, which, as you can imagine, is working beautifully."

"Wait, can we go back to the girlfriend thing?" Gregor's dad grinned and looked from Ripred, who shrugged, to Gregor whose neck and face burned red as he stared pointedly away from both Ripred and his father.

"She's not my girlfriend, and before either of you say anything, the last thing she said to me was that she hated me."

Ripred just gave him a look which Gregor took to mean, that's what you think boy, and his dad smiled knowingly at him. Before either of them could broach the subject again Gregor quickly thought of another thing to get them talking.

"Dad, why are you here?" Gregor was puzzeled, how could his dad have known to come down, where were his mom and his grandma? Were they all going back up again?

Gregor's dad's face took on a grave appearance and Ripred said, in as subdued a tone that Gregor had ever heard him speak, "Well I'll just leave you alone then." And he slunk off, presumably to the kitchens to stuff himself with more food.

"Well son, Vikus put a scroll in the grate the day after your battle with the Bane telling me that I needed to come down as soon as I could and that a bat would be waiting for me at midnight. I met the bat and came to Regalia where they explained that there had been a war and while you were severely injured, they thought that you would recover. In the meantime they told me that your sisters were both fine, a little shaken by what had happened to you, but fine nonetheless. They um, they also told me that your mom is healthy now, and as soon as you're healed, well we're going home, and son, …we are never coming back."

It had been three days since Gregor's dad had told him that they were leaving for good. His leg was beginning to heal, and while Howard said it was going to take awhile, he would at some point regain full use of it, for which he was very grateful. He could now, using a crutch much like the one Mareth used, take short walks around the palace, which is what he was doing at this moment. Except today wasn't like the other days. Today he was going to seek out the one person who hadn't visited him in the hospital. His dad and Ripred had both been regular visitors, Lizzie and Boots had both come to see him, his mom came, and Vikus, Dulcet, even Ares hopped through the cramped hallways uncomfortably to see his bond. But Luxa, she never came to see him, not once. Ripred said that she was always busy, but so was he trying to negotiate peace with the rats yet he still found time to come. By now Gregor was sick of the waiting and the lame excuses. He wanted to find her and he wanted to find her now. Gregor noticed he was receiving stares from the castle residents he passed and he could hardly wonder why. He supposed he looked kind of funny to them, their great warrior who was supposed to be dead according to the prophecy, hobbling around the castle with a cane. At this point he was beyond caring what they thought. If his mom got her way they would soon be leaving, not just the Underland, but New York as well. His dad had told him that once they left, they would be finally going to live on the farm in Virginia like his mom had planned a lifetime ago. Remembering this made Gregor want to find Luxa all the more, and he quickened his pace. He had already checked the High Hall, her living quarters, the rest of the hospital, even the arena and the training grounds but she was nowhere to be found. He was running out of ideas when suddenly he thought of something. He did a quick 180 startling the maid that was walking behind him, and charged in the opposite direction towards his new destination.

When Gregor reached the solid oak doors he hesitated. Now that he was finally here what was he going to say to her? Hi how are you just didn't seem right in a situation like this. Come on Gregor, you're a rager, a warrior, this shouldn't be this hard. You don't even know if she is in there! He thought and steeling himself for the worst he slowly pushed open the museum door. Sitting in the middle of the floor surrounded by a stack of pictures that was so familiar, sat a girl. She was no more than 12 years old but on her shoulders rested the weight of her people. Outside she had peace treaties to negotiate, armies to train, a younger brother to care for and wounded to heal but here in this room all Gregor could see was an orphan girl who had lost everything she held dear. She looked up as Gregor took a step inside and let the door swing shut and he could see that she had been crying, although she tried to hide it.

"I've been looking for you." The words were out before Gregor could stop them and he blushed and looked at his feet.

"Have you? And to what purpose?" Luxa asked putting on a queenly air which annoyed Gregor.

"To talk to you!" He answered quickly.

"Well, I am here. You may speak." Her cold, distant tone was the last straw and Gregor snapped.

"What do you mean I 'may speak'? You are not the boss of me, you can't tell me what to do! I know you're angry and upset and hurt but I did what was right and you and I both know it. You don't have to like it or me but you have to accept that what I did, I did because I care about you. And I don't know if you got the note I sent you or not but what I said I meant and I still mean. And, I'm leaving in a few days, leaving for good and I…I don't want to…I want to stay here with you but I can't and…and…and God Luxa I just don't know anymore! I don't know how to act around you, before I left, we, we kissed and now you won't even look at me…" and it was true. Excluding the quick glance when he had first entered the room Luxa still hadn't looked Gregor in the eyes and it was pissing him off. "Why can't you even look at me? Are you really still mad at me about the stupid dungeon thing? I'm not going to apologize for saving your life. I can't do that. Not when I'm leaving. I just don't want to spend our last days together fighting." His voice trailed off and he stared at Luxa's back. Her form was stiff, unmoving and he sighed, the sound echoing off the stone walls. He turned and opened the door, his emotions reeling as he limped into the hallway. He couldn't believe that she hadn't stopped him from leaving the room, he couldn't believe she hadn't even looked at him! That was just…

"Gregor!" He heard the oak doors slam shut and turned to find himself face-face with the same girl he had just left. She stood 2 feet away from him looking proud. Her shoulders were thrown back, her eyes glinting like steel, Gregor expected to yell at him, to berate him, anything but what she did. Before his eyes her posture collapsed and all the barriers she seemed to have put up, vanished. He took a step towards her and she crumpled into his arms. She wasn't crying, he noticed, she just seemed…tired. No exhausted. His arm that wasn't gripping the crutch was around her waist and her head was resting on his shoulder as she breathed heavily. It was some time before she pulled away and Gregor saw the dark purple circles under her eyes. Without taking his eyes off her, he reached around and reopened the door to the museum before taking her hand and leading her inside.

"Luxa I don't understand" Gregor began but Luxa cut him off. She looked at him for a long time and then her stiff, formal posture returned. She took a step back and Gregor's heart sank, her eyes were different then they had been in the hallway though. Before they were fierce, defiant; now he saw regret and sadness and he didn't know what to make of it.

"Gregor, I'm…sorry. My behavior towards you has been inexcusable and I apologize. But my life is not easy now and, and I do not need distractions." Wait, she wasn't talking about him…was she? Before he could protest she continued. "I know that this does not seem fair, especially after how I, we, acted before, but with my duties as queen and you're pending depature, a…a relationship is not wise." Gregor couldn't believe what he was hearing. He came to find her and tell her in person what his note had said but here she was, crushing all of that with a few measly sentences. Gregor could feel his heart beat wildly and suddenly he was angry. He was angry at Ripred and his Dad for encouraging this, he was angry at Howard because he had originally been right about their relationship not working, he was angry at his mom for making them leave, he was angry at the council for putting extra stress on Luxa, Luxa for what had just happened. But mostly he was angry at himself, for believing that things could work when obviously he wasn't good enough for a queen. He was so angry he didn't know what to do or say,so he turned and stalked out of the room without a backwards glance. If he had, he would have seen a 12 year old girl push a heavy crown back on her head, a tear sliding down her cheek.