I do not own Underland Chronicles (unfortunately), but I do own the plot and whatever characters I decide to make up and stick in here.

Chapter One

Gregor stared at the board where his teacher was busy scribbling notes and attempted to make his face display an even somewhat interested expression. Gregor was not interested, and the way he saw it, he never would be. There was too much in his mind already without his teachers making fruitless efforts to fill him with knowledge that he would need for a future Gregor could not make out. He couldn't see a normal life ahead of him anymore, not after falling deep into the Earth, into a place known as the Underland.

He'd fallen for the first time roughly a year and a half ago, and at first the place had seemed a waking nightmare with its array of enormous creatures such as rats, bats, and cockroaches. He had been the unsuspecting target of five merciless prophecies that had caused him to lose friends and... Ares. Over time, however, Gregor grew to love the Underland, its people, and its queen. Luxa. Just the name alone sent a wave of agony through his heart. He would never see her again. Thoughts of Luxa and his friends in the Underland occupied his thoughts during every moment he could spare during the day, and at home he was lethargic; he did his homework then lay on his small bed remembering the amazing world buried deep beneath New York City. Now was no different.

"Gregor!" The sharp voice of his instructor cut through his daydreams and brought him crashing back in to the incredibly boring world of public education. "Umm, yeah?" Gregor asked, attempting to discern what exactly he was supposed to do. He had no idea if he was supposed to answer some type of question or if the teacher had simply noticed he wasn't really paying any attention at all. The teacher tapped an equation written on the board and looked at him expectantly. Great. "Oh geez" thought Gregor apprehensively. Math was his worst subject. He secretly wished that his little sister, Lizzie, was here to solve the daunting algebraic problem before him.

Lizzie was amazing at math, much better at it than anyone else in Gregory's family. Better than anyone he knew, really, and she was only seven. Lizzie could answer what was probably a very easy question to her on the board, and Gregor merely stared at it as if it were some type of ancient Egyptian hieroglyph. He quickly did some mental math that he hoped was somewhere within one hundred thousand of the correct outcome and dumbly answered "Twelve?"

"No. Who else wants to try?"

Gregor placed his head back on to the writing-covered desk and allowed his thoughts to shift back in to the sunless world far beneath his feet. He let his mind wander from how Howard was doing to what languages Hazard had mastered and, finally, to his feelings for Luxa. Luxa was amazing: she was beautiful, intelligent, and a strong ruler. "And," thought Gregor with a slight smile, "the most stubborn person I will probably ever meet." He sighed miserably; he wanted nothing more to return to the Underland, to talk to all of his friends, to see Luxa's amethyst eyes and her smiling face. "I'd be happy even to see Ripred, and that's saying something." Running a hand through his muddy brown locks, Gregor checked to see how long was left until he finally got to leave class. "Five minutes left. I don't know what I'm looking forward to, anyway." He thought, knowing there really wasn't anything for him to look forward to. It sounded odd, but it was true. Gregor had not been truly happy for five months; he had been able to muster only one or two genuine smiles.

Everything else had been a charade for the benefit of his mom, so that she would think that maybe, just maybe, he could return to a normal childhood. But, of course, he couldn't. Gregor could not wear anything that might reveal the silvery scars that clung to his arms and legs, he couldn't dress out in gym class with the other kids for the same reason, he could barely talk to people because he constantly zoned out of reality and in his mind wandered through the torch-lit caverns of the Underland. How was that normal?

Not only that, but Gregor couldn't even manage to feel like a normal kid. He had killed hundreds of creatures, rats or otherwise. He didn't care that they were rats, they were still living, sentient beings with families and friends…Gregor quickly cut himself off of that stream of thought; it would not lead anywhere he wanted to go. With another heavy sigh, he waited out the remaining minute until the bell rang and children stampeded out the door, reveling in their freedom.

Gregor slowly stood up and followed the bustling crowd of teenagers out the door, waiting patiently for them to squeeze through the narrow exit. As he was about to leave, a hand was laid on his shoulder, detaining him. He turned and looked in to the worried eyes of his friend Angelina. She had been curious about his whereabouts during his long absences from school due to "illness", and Gregor was pretty sure she didn't entirely believe the stories. Didn't believe them at all, probably. "Are you okay, Gregor?" she asked for probably the one hundredth time that week. "Yeah, I'm fine." He muttered, pulling away from her hand to make the seemingly endless journey home.

Gregor moved slowly down the crowded streets of New York. He made a right, angling towards Central Park. He took this way home often, nowadays. He did not push the rock aside; nor did he leave any notes for the Underlanders to find. He just sat there for a minute, remembering the last moments he had shared with Luxa there as she kissed him goodbye and looked at the stars shining overhead; their soft lights reflected on her beautiful and infinitely sad violet eyes as she watched the warrior leave her, the two destined never to see each other again.

Gregor walked in to ambient expanse that was Central Park, still reflecting on those last moments shared between himself and Luxa. "I would do anything to see her again, but my mom would never let me go back down there. Not in a million years." Gregor had decided some time back. He knew how much she had opposed him even returning a second time; she would never let him back. Especially if she ever learned about a certain line in the "Prophecy of Time"

"When the warrior has been killed, when the monster's blood is spilled"

Gregor hadn't died, of course, but the prospect would still frighten her. "I almost wish there was another prophecy, just so I could go down and see everyone again one last time." Gregor thought wistfully. "If only my mom would just let me visit them once in a while!" Surrendering himself to unmitigated sorrow, he heaved himself down in a distressed clump by the rock that hid one of the gateways in to the Underland. Gregor had a great desire to hang the rules, forget the consequences, and jump down in to the tunnel.

He couldn't, just due to his family, because if he did his mom would completely freak out. She would start crying uncontrollably at first, then become angrier than the Bane had been once he'd lost his tail. "And this time," Gregor thought with a sad smile, "I won't be able to whack her with a sword and solve the problem." Those words brought back a flood of memories; memories of Ares. Gregor crammed his hands over his ears in an attempt to stifle the flow of remembrance; he was unsuccessful. Tears formed in his eyes and he thought of his lost bond, and he began to cry softly.

Gregor figured it was about thirty minutes before he had calmed down enough to go home, thoughts of Ares still lingering in his mind and threatening him with another loss of control. His limbs felt heavy and he dragged himself to his small apartment at no quicker than a snail's pace. Gregor finally reached the run-down building and entered the lobby. Glancing at the elevator and seeing that, as usual, it was out of order, he began ascending the long pathway of stairs that led up to his apartment.

Gregor reached his floor and gratefully stopped climbing; his wounds from the Bane's massive claws had mostly healed but sometimes he ached where the strong muscles were torn asunder. Even with this pain in his chest, the true suffering lay in his shattered heart, the pain it caused sometimes almost crippling. It was a scar that Gregor knew would never diminish, not as long as he was in the Overland.

As Gregor reached his apartment door, he mentally braced himself. His mom was probably worried and he expected her to assault him with a flurry of questions, not relenting until she was one hundred percent sure he did so much as set a foot in the Underland. He pushed the door open, waiting for his mother to unleash the inevitable maelstrom. As soon as her despairing eyes caught sight of him, she leapt from her perch at the kitchen table and made a beeline to him, circling her arms around him in a relieved embrace. That was when the questions started: "Where have you been? What were you doing? You didn't go down to that place did you? You know you are never allowed to go down there again! Ever!" her voice rose to a shrill yell as she reached the end of her panicked interrogation.

"It's okay, mom. I was just hanging out with Larry and Angelina for a little while after school. I was gonna call you, but I guess I forgot my cell phone." Gregor hated lying to her, but he knew she would really get upset if she knew he had been at Central Park, as he was expressly forbidden to be there. He saw her tight face relax a little, and she gave him a small smile saying "Well, I'm certainly glad that you are back on your way to having friends again." Gregor wasn't really on his way back anywhere in his mind.

Boots ran in to the living room as fast as her toddler legs would carry her. "Gregor! You home!" she piped excitedly. "Yeah, I am little girl. How are you?" he asked blowing a raspberry in her stomach and forcing his sad heart to make a smile. She giggled, "Me good!" came the happy response. Gregor set her down, and she immediately ran over and started playing with a toy bat. A wave of pain swept through him and he resisted the flow of memories he knew would cause him to break down.

Lizzie made her way over to him, eyes wide. "Hey Liz, how's it going?" asked Gregor with more false cheer. Lizzie examined him for a moment before asking, very quietly, "Where were you really?" "I should have known I couldn't hide anything from her." Gregor thought with a sigh. "I was in Central Park." He whispered tersely, hoping she wouldn't keep asking more questions.

"Did you go down?" Lizzie asked him.

There was a pause while Gregor wondered if she was going to say anything else.

"I miss Ripred. I want to go back."

"Me too, Liz."

Gregor sighed, the fact that Gregor's parents had decided to remain in New York didn't matter to him. Boots and Lizzie had both begged to stay, but Gregor knew that either way his mom would never let him back. He went to his room and sat on his bed. For the next hour and a half until dinner, Gregor stared at his tear-stained picture of Luxa. His thoughts were haunted by the painful memories of their time together.

He was finally interrupted from his reverie by Lizzie, who quietly told him that it was time to eat. Sighing sorrowfully, he replaced the picture in his pocket after Lizzie had left and hoped that she didn't see it. He walked in to the kitchen and sat at the table beside Lizzie and Boots. A knock resounded from the front door and an always cheerful Mrs. Cormaci strolled in. "Hello, everyone." She said. Glancing at Gregor she proceeded to ask "How are you all feeling?" Everyone answered politely, except Gregor who stared as his plate and mumbled an unintelligible answer. She gave him a funny look but proceeded to help get everything ready and serve everyone.

The food was wonderful, and the adults all talked excessively. Boots talked a lot, too, not forgetting to greet a roach who crawled by her seat. Gregor closed his eyes as his mom swatted the thing, he could not watch it after Tick had given her life for Boots. He and Lizzie were silent, only responding to questions or remarks directed at them specifically. As soon as he was able, Gregor excused himself and returned to his room where he remained the rest of the night.

As soon as everyone had gone to bed, Gregor's dad walked quietly in to his room. "Are you awake?" he asked softly. "Yeah." Gregor responded, not bothering to move. "What's up?" His dad hesitated a moment, then responded in a voice so quiet that Gregor could barely hear it. He was certain of the words, however. His dad had said possibly the greatest, most amazing, most unexpected, and most welcome words Gregor had heard in the past five months:

"You got a letter."