Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoy this fan fiction story based of the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. I'm new to this site, although I'm not new to the literature/writing world. If you find any mistakes in my writing, please, please, please let me know! I will strive to make my writing perfect, but no one is perfect, so I guess I'll have to live with a few mistakes.

Thanks (:

~ Castronovo

The quiet buzz of the city soothed Gregor as he lay in bed in his apartment. His thoughts wandered back to the Underland, as they usually did every night. Three years had passed since the last time he was in Regalia - three years of painful longing. Upon returning to the Overland, his mother had wanted to move to Virginia, but ultimately, the family had neither the time nor the money to make the move a reality. So instead, his mother had moved them to an apartment on the other side of New York City, as far away from Central Park and the Underland as possible, forbidding Gregor, Lizzie, or Boots to ever think of returning or getting anywhere near Central Park.

Gregor's thoughts drifted back down to Regalia, a vast city located miles and miles below New York City. He thought about all his friends down there - Mareth, Ripred, Vikus, Howard, Nike, Hazard, Nerissa, Luxa. Luxa. Just thinking her name made Gregor blush. Luxa, his Luxa, now the queen of Regalia. Her face appeared in his mind - her translucent skin, those striking, violet eyes, her silvery-blonde waist-length hair, the way her lips always curved up into her trademark half-smile. How Gregor missed Luxa; more than anything, he wished he was with her in the Underland once more.

His hand instinctively wrapped around the claw - Ares' claw - that rested on a chain under his t-shirt. Memories of the last time he was with his former bond flashed in his mind…

"I've got to get in closer if I'm going to take him out!" said Gregor.

"Hang on!" said Ares, and suddenly they were spinning over and over, and Gregor found himself directly under the the Bane's foreleg. He plunged his sword into the soft flesh. The Bane gave a strangled cry and jerked backward, freeing Gregor's blade.

"Get out!" Gregor cried. "Get out, Ares!" He had a terrible sense of dread. Something was wrong about their position, their proximity to the Bane. Even before chis bat opened his wings, Gregor knew there was no way they could clear the claws. He thrust his sword in the Bane's direction, but it was too late. "Ares!" Gregor cried. "No!" Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the rat caught Ares's wing, spun him around so they were face-to-face, and pulled him forward. Gregor dropped Solovet's dagger and wrapped both hands around the hilt of his sword. As the Bane sank his teeth into Ares's neck, Gregor's blade pierced the rat's heart. For a moment, they hung there, interconnected, supported by teeth and swords and claws. Then the Bane made and unearthly sound and rammed his free paw into Gregor's chest. Gregor lost his grip on his sword and flew back into the air and slammed onto the stone floor. His hand went to his breastbone. The claws had torn aside his armor and opened a hot wet hole in his chest. His fingers pulsed with the rapid beating of his heart.

Above him, Ares still dangled from the Bane's jaws. The rat opened his mouth and the bat fell, lifeless, to the ground. The Bane pawed at the blade in his chest, trying to dislodge it. Then he became still and slowly sank down to four legs, onto his side as if to curl up, and rolled onto his back.

He knew they were dead. Both Ares and the Bane. Because only one creature was breathing. And it was Gregor.

Gregor squeezed his eyes shut and then reopened them, the memory vanishing as swiftly as it had appeared. He couldn't think about that now, especially since he was never going back down there.

Gregor sat up and rolled out of bed. His room was more spacious than the one in his old apartment, but not by much. His bed took up most of the space, while a dresser and a desk took up the rest of the room, leaving only a small amount of space to get around. Hastily, Gregor pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a long-sleeved blue shirt to hide the scars from his time in the Underland. He glanced at the old alarm clock beside his bed. 11:17.

Silently, he crept out of his room and out into the kitchen, using echolocation to navigate the dark, silent apartment. He quietly opened the cabinets, checking to see how much food the family had. The cabinets were always full; Gregor was so used to checking on the food supply that he forgot that his dad had started up teaching high school again.

Hastily, Gregor found a notepad and scribbled a message to his family, telling them he'd gone out for a walk and not to worry. He pulled on his sneakers and quietly unlocked the door. Slipping outside, he realized that he had no idea where he wanted to go, only that he needed to get away. A sudden idea popped into his mind - his old apartment!

Gregor jogged over to the subway. There were barely any people as he boarded the westbound train. He sat down in one of the empty seats as the train pulled away from the station. Gregor watched as the dark walls of the subway passed by in a blur.

Soon enough, the subway slowed to a halt, and Gregor jogged the five blocks to his old apartment. He climbed the steps to the front door and let himself into the lobby of the apartment complex. The familiar scenery hit him like a kick in the gut, and he almost doubled over in physical pain. He took a moment to compose himself, then walked over to the service stairs and began to climb to the floor his apartment was on.

He stopped when he reached the right floor, realizing that the apartment was probably occupied. Gregor turned his feet the opposite way and trudged back down the stairs, letting his mind go blank. He didn't realize he'd passed the lobby exit until he came to a door on the basement floor. Immediately, he realized where his feet had taken him - the laundry room.

Gregor turned the handle on the door and let himself in. At first, after he had moved apartments, Gregor had come here as often as he could, hoping for news from his friends in Regalia. But as the days passed, he began to accept the fact that the Underlanders were never going to contact him or need him ever again. Slowly, he started coming less until he stopped altogether. That had been almost a year and a half ago.

Gregor stepped into the laundry room. The familiarity of the room was heart wrenching, and Gregor almost had to take a rain check. He walked around the small room filled to the top with washers and dryers. As he passed the bolted grate that served as the gateway to the Underland, he did a double take. There, half concealed by the thick metal grate, was a scroll wedged into the air duct.