Hi! This is my first real attempt at a Fan Fiction, so please give me all the feedback you can! I'd love to learn how I can improve my writing style to make this story more appealing. I have already planned out a good chunk of this story, but due to my slow writing time, there will be many inconsistencies in upload times. Another aspect I'd like to note is that I am doing my best to mimic the style of Suzanne Collins' source material. To put that in perspective, the point of view will never leave Gregor throughout the story, and there will be 3 parts with 9 chapters each. Without further ado, please enjoy Gregor and the War of Men!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of The Underland Chronicles. I am under no impression that this story will generate any profit and will not publish it anywhere else. This is the only disclaimer I will have for this story, but it goes for every chapter.

EDIT: After rereading my first two chapters, I found myself unsatisfied with the quality of my writing (mainly pacing). I've decided to go back and rewrite several parts of this. If you've already read the first two chapters, not much will change, but I still encourage you to read them again and let me know how the improvements affected the overall reading experience. Hopefully this is the only time I feel the need to do this.

Part 1: The Collapse

Chapter 1

It was in darkness that Gregor felt most comfortable; which was why despite living with it for the first eleven years of his life, he couldn't get used to the constant stream of moonlight coming through his window. The moon had originally been a source of comfort- a way to see no matter the time of night. But now, after mastering echolocation, Gregor didn't need any light to see. So, the moon had just become an annoyance.

Nearly five months had passed since Gregor left the Underland, the land beneath the surface of the earth. Despite being a world revenged by war, the Underland was the only place Gregor felt truly welcome. He felt more comfortable around the pale skinned natives and the massive talking animals than around anybody in the Overland. After fighting in many battles with them and earning the name "The Warrior," Gregor considered them to be his closest friends. His parents did not share this same sentiment.

Gregor was nearly killed at the end of the war, barely escaping with his life. The thick scars of five claws that penetrated his chest were a constant reminder of how close to death he had gotten. The fear of losing their only son pushed his parents to refuse to allow him to return to his home away from home. And as much as this hurt Gregor, he couldn't blame them for their fear.

Sleep had become a rare committee for Gregor ever since the war. Nightmares plagued his every dream. Visions of endless pits, blood-soaked wings and giant white rats populated his nightmares. At first, he tried to power through the night terrors, hoping to be able to make it through the night. However, his apartment was small, and he nearly always awoke with a scream. To save his family both worry and exhaustion, Gregor gave up attempting to sleep. So instead he spent most nights staring at his ceiling, waiting for enough time to pass so he would feel that it was acceptable to leave his bed.

Glancing at the clock beside his bed and, deeming 5:00 to be an okay time to get up, Gregor stood and dressed himself in his baggy, long-sleeved clothing. Despite the heat of March, he knew wearing any clothing that exposed his skin was a no-go. His arms and legs were like a road map, with scars all over his limbs, zig-zagging across one another. Some were simple lines on his legs he received from fighting giant ants, while others were large sucker marks on his arm from being grabbed by a squid. He had hoped they would've blended in at least a little bit, but in the five months since leaving behind the world beneath the surface, they had barely faded. The fish ointment the Underlanders gave him to help with the scars did little to help him blend in with the rest of the people on the surface.

Before leaving his room, Gregor reached to his dresser and grabbed two items off the top of it, one of which was a photo. The photo was of him and a girl, someone he considered to be the love of his life. It was a simple picture; just the two of them smiling to the camera. But behind the smiles of the two teens was pain and loss. Despite being the queen of the underground nation, the two of them had developed a romantic relationship that they both knew couldn't last. The smiles they had weren't happy, goofy smiles that most pictures kids took together. Although they looked happy, the truth was, they knew that would be one of the last times they would be together. Their smiles were a mask over the layer of sadness that resided in both of them.

The other item was a claw. It had once been attached to Gregor's best friend, a large bat named Ares. Ares was more than just his best friend; he was Gregor's bond. They were supposed to do everything in their power to keep each other alive. And Gregor had failed to do so. Holding the claw in his hand, Gregor flashed back to his last moments with his friend, the final fight against the Bane, the largest rat in the Underland.

"I've got to get in closer if I'm going to take him out!" Wing snagged. Bane drawing them in. Locking his jaws on Ares's throat. Sword in heart. Chest ripped open. Falling. Dying. "Don't go, Ares, okay? Don't." Lying in blood. Soaked in blood. Dying. Dying.

Ares' death had been his fault. No question about it. Had Gregor been smarter and less hasty, both of them could have made it out of the fight. But Gregor made a mistake. Gregor was a rager and Ares wasn't. He forgot that simple fact, and his bond paid the price for it. He kept the claw as a reminder of his failure as a warrior, as a friend, and as a bond.

Jolting himself back to reality, Gregor pocketed the two items and left his room.

Gregor carefully closed the front door as to not awaken any of his family. Had his mother ever found out about his habitual morning routine, she would probably chain his arms to his bed to keep him from leaving. Gregor sighed at the thought, climbed down the stairs and departed his apartment building at a brisk jog. The physical exertion running provided was like bliss to Gregor. He wished he could've remained on the track team at school but being on the track team meant he would have to dress out in the locker room, which meant exposing his scar-torn body to the other kids. If there was one thing Gregor couldn't afford, it was questions about where he obtained these scars. It was probably for the best, though. Even if he could be on the track team, he couldn't begin to think of how he would be able to interact with the normal kids at his school. He shared little in common with them anymore. How many 13-year-old kids fought in wars against giant rats?

Ever since returning to the real world, Gregor had been at a loss to find his place in the world. Everyone at school had simply gotten used to his excessive absences and decided to just leave him alone. Even his only friends, Larry and Angelina had accepted the lack of answers to their questions on his disappearances and strange clothing choices. He could always sense their worry, but he made the conscious choice to keep the reality of his previous situation to himself. This obviously put a strain on his interactions and really pushed him apart from the rest of the people above ground. Normally, he would have been dreading the rest of his day because it meant going to school, but since it was Spring Break, Gregor savored the small amount of freedom he felt.

His mom was still hell bent on moving them out to Virginia, but with his Grandmother's consistent hospitalization and both his mom and dad's occasional relapse into sickness, it was simply unrealistic to begin to think about moving, not only because of their physical situation, but their financial situation as well. His mom frequently got bouts of sickness that left doctors worrying about her weak immune system, and his father still struggled from the effects of his imprisonment almost two years ago by King Gorger.

As Gregor passed an alleyway, he saw a rat scurry into a trashcan. Another thing he would never get used to was the rats. After spending what felt like a lifetime in a war against bigger versions of the rodents, Gregor still felt uneasy around even the small Overland-sized rats. It didn't matter what size they were. The sight of a rat reminded him of his part in the war against the gnawers.

Feeling chills shudder down his spine, Gregor quickened his pace.

After an hour of vigorous jogging, Gregor returned to his apartment. Purposefully closing the door a bit louder than silent, Gregor used the sound of the closing door to gauge the activity of his home using echolocation. The ability to use echolocation had been invaluable to his sneaking in and out over the past five months. His father stirred but didn't awaken. Having had over a year to heal from his time as a prisoner of King Gorger, his dad had become relatively healthy. But he was still scarred from the several years of torture he had endured. Gregor's father was probably the only one in this household who had worse nightmares than himself.

Walking into the bathroom, Gregor gingerly removed the photo and claw from his pocket and set them on the sink. He stripped off his clothes and turned look at himself in the mirror. He had regained most of the weight he lost after his devastating injury given to him by The Bane. When he first returned to the Overland, he looked like a ghost, his skin rather pale for Overland standards and his body thin as a rail. Now, looking in the mirror, he still felt like a ghost of his former self despite his physical wellness.

Jumping into the shower, Gregor turned his thoughts to his place in the Overland. Gregor was a rager, otherwise known as a natural born killer. Whenever he got into a fight, his vision fractured, like a broken mirror, and focused on only what was important to a battle. When he was fighting in the war, this skill was invaluable, but now, at a public school, his rager abilities were a hindrance. Gregor had to go out of his way to avoid fights. Should he lose control, he could seriously hurt someone or worse.

After drying himself off and getting dressed again being careful not to forget his photo or claw on the sink, Gregor walked out into the kitchen and saw his little sister, Lizzie, making herself some oatmeal.

"Morning Gregor," Lizzie greeted him. Her voice had a hint of fake happiness, lacking authenticity. Gregor knew this was because she too missed her friends in the Underland.

"Hey Lizzie. How'd you sleep?" Gregor asked her, feigning a yawn so she'd think he just awoke and took a shower rather than snuck out.

"Better than you. How was the jog?"

Gregor nervously scratched his head but said nothing in response. He had learned not to try and hide things from Lizzie. She and him shared a special connection that the rest of his family lacked. They both missed the Underland and wanted nothing more than to go back. He knew she wouldn't make a big deal about it or push too hard for information. Of course, Lizzie knew he hadn't been sleeping. He doubted she was sleeping much either.

"How much oatmeal do we have?" Gregor asked, trying to change the subject.

"Enough. We're out of brown sugar, though. I don't mind, Boots won't eat bland oatmeal."

Gregor sighed. "Okay I'll go next door and ask Mrs. Cormaci if she has any."

"It is a bit early. Are you sure she'd be up by now?"

"I'll knock lightly on her door. It won't be loud enough to wake her up if she's asleep, but it'd be enough so that I can see if she's up and about." Gregor responded. Echolocation was so useful.

"You know, that's really creepy. Seems a bit like an invasion of privacy, using your little superpower to spy on your neighbor," Lizzie smirked at Gregor.

"You'd do it too if you could."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Lizzie laughed in response.

"Okay I'll be right back," Gregor turned to walk out the door, when he noticed something by the kitchen table. There was a small rat inside his apartment looking up at them.

And in its mouth was small a rolled-up scroll.

Okie dokie, that's my first chapter. Please review and let me know what you think and how I can improve! Thanks a bunch!