Gregor vaulted onto Ares' back. "Go!" he shouted. "Go!"
Ares didn't object, but he did remind Gregor: "They will know now! That you still have life!"
Ripred had told Gregor to lie low until the Bane arrived, but that seemed of little importance now. He hardly notice– or cared– that his appearance was a huge shocker for the rats, who began to howl his name the second he and Ares left the rocks.
Gregor ignored them. He would deal with the Bane later, if the white rat even showed up. Now he had a far more urgent mission, and he wasn't going to make it. He just wasn't. He knew Ares well enough to gauge the distance and calculated the amount of time he would take to get to his sisters. From that he knew that the rats would overwhelm Nike and tear his family to shreds before he could get there.
All Gregor could do was watch and yell as the rats tore past Nike into the opening where his family was hiding. Seconds later, Gregor and Ares dove into battle and started hacking desperately to get to Gregor's family. It was like the first few fights for Gregor, when he let the rager take over his actions completely. But he was so afraid, so deeply terrified for Boots and Lizzie, that he could not contain himself. He hacked and sliced indiscriminately, every slice and stab a death blow in his desperation.
Ares had to arch back and crack Gregor in the face to get his attention. "Gregor!"
"What?" Gregor snarled back. "Get in there, Ares! I have to kill those rats!"
"Try this one!" Ares said. The bat swung around and there was the Bane, right in his face.
It seemed to Gregor as if the Bane had appeared out of nowhere. Almost as if he had appeared out of the ground to exact his revenge, Ares had to veer sharply to avoid the Banes wild claws.
"We must have more space!" said Ares. They couldn't fight the Bane trapped up against this wall. They needed more room to maneuver.
"But my sisters–!" Gregor began, but he knew he had to let them go and hope. This may be his last chance to end this whole thing. "All right!" he finally yelled.
Ares flew back to the heart of the battle, drawing the Bane after them. Gregor had a few moments to assess his opponent, and boy was he a mess! Scarred and hurting from their last encounter, the stump of the Bane's tale was capped with a ball of bloody spider silk. Losing the tail made the Bane move unsteadily, but the real change was the look in his eyes. One glance told Gregor he had crossed from damaged to demented.
"Where'd he come from?" he asked Ares.
"The tunnel to the right," Ares replied. "I know it. It leads farther into the rats lands."
"Is there much room?" asked Gregor.
"Yes. A large tunnel, then more caverns," said Ares.
"Take it," said Gregor. "Lets make him work for it." Hopefully a chase would wear the Bane out a bit and keep him away from anyone else. It would also allow them to fight alone, one-on-one.
Ares shot down the tunnel, and the Bane was right behind them, bouncing off the walls, roaring. The torches were gone, but echolocation told Gregor that the tunnel led into a rocky cavern that soared high in the air. Ares flew higher, but the Bane followed every time, leaping over boulders. Eventually, once they'd flown into and isolated cave with dripping rock formations, Ares was able to land on a plateau for a moment and rest.
"Will this place do?" Ares asked.
"It's perfect," said Gregor.
As the Bane took one last leap onto the plateau and Ares took flight, Gregor noticed the rat riding on the Bane's back. Twirltongue.
She leaped off the Bane to a safe vantage point. It was all Gregor to do not to take her out then and there. She was to blame for all the evil plotting and violence. "You're looking good Twirltongue," Gregor called out. "A little too good, seeing any action? Or are you just sending the Bane to lose his tail and such?"
"My tail? My tail?" said the Bane. He began to move in circles, trying to locate it. "My tail!"
"A king does not need a tail," said Twirltongue.
"He's not going to be king," said Gregor. "Are you Pearlpelt?"
The name distracted the Bane from his tail. "I am king. I am king now! The rats follow me!"
"Then how come they're out there attacking you, along with the whole rest of the Underland?" asked Gregor.
"Twirltongue says I'm the king!" said the Bane.
"Yeah? Is that how it looks to you?" said Gregor. "Because from up here, it looks like she's getting you killed so she can take over."
"What? What?" The Bane was so far gone that that was all it took. He turned to Twirltongue, his eyes narrowing into slits. "You will never take over. I'm the king! I'm the king!" The Bane sprang and, in one bite, ripped Twirltongue's head from her body. After tossing it aside, the Bane stroked his eyes and looked around in confusion. "Where's Twirltonge? Where did she go?" The Bane's eyes rested on Twirltongue's dead body. "You killed her!" he roared. With that the twelve foot rat launched himself at Gregor and Ares, the fight had finally begun.
Ares dodged the rat's first attack. By the time the bat had spun back around, Gregor's rager state was in full gear. He was not overcome by it however. In fact, he had deadly precision that made him feel invincible. This must be what Ripred felt all the time.
"Go for his face!" Gregor said. This strategy had worked well before and now the Bane had no tail to retaliate with.
But if the Bane had been a challenge back in Regalia, there had been at least some sense to actions. Now his motions were erratic and unpredictable. The Bane swiped at them again and again, not bothering to block Gregor's attacks, ignoring his own wounds as his claws found Ares' wing, Gregors arm, Ares' ear.
"Pull back!" Gregor shouted and Ares whipped out of the Bane's reach.
"We need a new plan," said Gregor, trying to twist the sleeve of his shirt into a sort of bandage.
"He has lost his balance," said Ares.
"Use it," Gregor responded.
Ares began to dive in wild circles around the Bane. The rat soon became disoriented, lurching from side to side, but was still fighting bitterly. Gregor did some damage to his paws, but that was all his sword could make contact with.
"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 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 his bat opened his wings, Gregor knew there was no way they could clear the claws. He thrust his sword in the Banes direction but it was too late. "Ares!" Gregor cried. "No!" Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the rat caught Ares' wing, spun him around so they were face-to-face, and pulled him forward. Gregor dropped Solovets dagger and wrapped both hands around the hilt of his sword. As the Bane sank his teeth into Ares' 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 an unearthly sound and rammed his free paw against Gregors chest, sending Gregor flying back. His had went to his breastbone. The claws had torn aside his armor and opened a hot wet hole in his chest.
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 curled up into a ball, and rolled onto his back.
He knew they were dead. Both Ares and the Bane. Because there was only one creature breathing. And it was Gregor.
Despite this knowledge, despite the pain, Gregor made his way over to Ares. His vow ran through his head. Ares the flier I bond to you. He couldn't finish the words as he grasped Ares' claw in his hand. "Don't go Ares, okay? Please don't go." But he was gone. Gregor rolled onto his back, cradled against his bond's body. The blood was leaving his chest rapidly, mixing on the floor with Ares' and the Bane's.
"This is it," thought Gregor. "This is the end." The blood was flowing too quickly, and no one had come to help him. He could feel the world slipping away from him. The world was going black, and Gregor couldn't really process what he saw. Right as everything went blank, into Gregor's field of view came a lone spinner.