Hi! This is my first fanfiction but that's no reason to be nice to me. If you hate it I want to know, but try to give some criticism of the constructive kind.

-A

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, nothing at all.

Chapter 1

Falling, falling, "Ares?" He called out frantically. "AREEEEEEES!!!"

He sat up, sweating, t-shirt sticking to his scarred chest. He was breathing like he'd just run a marathon and his heart beat as fast. He glanced at the bright, glowing, green numbers on his alarm clock. 2:36, they proclaimed. He supposed he ought to try to go back to sleep, but he knew he wouldn't be able to. Even now, a year and a half after the terrible War of Time when Gregor's bond had died, Gregor still had ongoing nightmares that involved falling from great distances.

He picked up the plastic figure of a bat that Boots had pressed on him. It was oddly comforting. Boots didn't really remember the Underland but she still talked to the "little" cockroaches that scurried across the kitchen floor. Gregor had more or less come to terms with his life but he still missed everyone terribly. More than once he had considered going back, but he knew his mother would be terrified if he didn't tell her and wouldn't let him if he did. Besides, what good would that do? They wouldn't let him stay… Would they?

* * * *

Her eyes opened just slightly, but it was too bright. She closed them again. She'd had a dream, not a bad dream, not a good dream, but a dream. She needed to remember it…too hard…can't- her mind began to slip back into sleep.

* * * *

Gregor walked home, over heated in a long sleeved shirt and pants on a hot smoggy day. His too small backpack straps dug into his shoulders and the old shoes that had belonged to Mrs. Cormaci's son pinched his toes. Being poor seriously sucked, though at least the strange array of clothing had nothing to do with that. He walked a little bit of faster. His mom was still at work and his dad needed to leave for an interview for a job soon. Somebody would have to look after Boots. It had been so nice to have a castle full of people who would look after his sisters if he were late for babysitting. No- he couldn't think about that. He quickly banished the picture of a brightly smiling Dulcet, because with it came a picture of Cartesian's limp body floating down the river.

Finally he reached the apartment air-conditioning. The elevator was broken, as usual, so Gregor took the stairs. The door to his apartment was welcoming, but even here he wasn't completely happy. Maybe that wasn't possible now.

Lizzie and Boots sat on the kitchen floor. Lizzie sat cross-legged against a wall with a puzzle book. Boots was having a very in depth conversation of clicks with a cockroach.

"Hey Girls!"

"Gregor!" Boots ran up to him and hugged his legs. He smiled and bent down to pick her up.

"Hey Gregor," Liz seemed slightly distracted by her puzzles.

"How was school?" Gregor tickled Boots under the chin as he spoke and she laughed hysterically. It seemed like she was the only truly happy one left in the family.

"I dunno. It was fine, I guess."

"Good," Gregor new that it hadn't really been fine, Lizzie was in as much pain as him, but talking about how much they missed it did no good. "I have some laundry to do, I'll be right back."

"OK, Boots and I are fine." Gregor set down Boots and went to his room to get the hamper.

He tried to be as quick as possible, opening the door to the laundry room and hurrying inside. He hated being in here. His eyes were always drawn to the grate where Boots had once lost her ball. He tried as hard as he could to keep his eyes trained on his laundry but as he loaded the darks into the small washer he couldn't help but glance at the grate. To his surprise he saw something white lying next to it. He supposed that someone had dropped it there, but he bent to pick it up incase someone fell in when retrieving it. It was tightly furled scroll. Inside there was neatly written note.

Gregor-

We need you. Please come back, just for a little while. Meet me here at noon in two days time.

-Luxa

His heart leapt to his throat. Luxa. She needed him, she missed him, she needed him. Was she in trouble? That's what was implied. He had to get down there.

* * * *

"Gregor-" His mother's voice cracked, the note dropped into her lap. "You can't… I won't allow it." She managed to drain the helplessness from her last sentence.

"Mom…" Lizzie put her hand on her mom's shoulder. "Mom, they-"

"I know they 'need him', I know they 'miss him', but he is not going down there!"

"Mom-" This time it was Gregor who spoke.

"You are not! Gregor, I can't loose you again."

"I am, Mom, you can't stop me."

"Gregor, can't we just forget the Underland? No good-"

"That's what we've been trying to do for more than a year. It's not working. I still wake up in the middle of the night calling out Ares' name. Liz still cries when someone asks her to answer a complicated math problem. Dad still has relapses of his sickness, and you can't pretend he doesn't still have nightmares too. None of us have friends anymore and Boots, Mom. She's a five-year-old girl who talks to cockroaches! I know you hate the place and I know that you don't want to loose us, but it's too late, the ties have already been made."

She stared at him for a long moment, and then something died in her eyes. Her voice hard, she responded. "Fine. Go. I can't stop you. I can't even stop Liz if she wants to follow you. You're right, this family has been scarred for life."

* * * *

She felt almost awake… Almost. But she still couldn't open her eyes. Too bright… Too dark… Too soft… She almost fell asleep again but then she remembered. A dream! Need to remember! What was it? So impor…

* * * *

He knocked on Mrs. Cormaci's door. He had to say goodbye and say thank you for everything she had done for him.

"Gregor! So nice to see you! Come in, come in!"

"Hi, Mrs. Cormaci. I just-"

"You're going back." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Gregor just nodded.

"Are Lizzie and Boots going too?"

"Just Liz, not Boots."

"Okay, would you like some tea?"

"Yes please." One of the many things Gregor loved about Mrs. Cormaci was her matter-of-fact-ness. She took a large box from the closet by her door and then walked to the kitchen. Gregor followed, wondering what the woman had in store today.

In the kitchen she had placed the box on the table and started a kettle on the stove. Now she opened the box. The first thing the she pulled out was a brand new dark green backpack. She handed it to him.

"This is for any birthdays I've missed. Go ahead and open it."

"Mrs. Cormaci-"

"Shush, dear. Open it up." Hesitantly Gregor opened the pack. Inside was a shoebox. He pulled it out and opened it. The sturdy work boots inside were still in the tissue paper. It was obvious that they had never been worn. "Try them on." Mrs. Cormaci prompted. Gregor gulped, these must have cost a ton. Mrs. Cormaci had more money then his family, but she wasn't rich. She shouldn't have spent this kind of money. "Don't you like them?"

"Of course. They're wonderful, its just… you shouldn't have bought them."

"Nonsense. I know what I'm doing." Gregor knew she wouldn't be convinced. He pulled the boots out of the box and replaced the old shoes with these. Of course they fit perfectly, of course they would be extremely useful, because if the weren't perfect Mrs. Cormaci would know and she would know that she had wasted her money, which she had, whether they fit or not.

"Thanks." There was a knot in Gregor's throat, he would miss her so much. The kettle's shrill scream gave Gregor the distraction he needed; he wiped his eyes while her back was turned.

After they both clutched steaming mugs of mint tea Mrs. Cormaci reached back into the box. This time she pulled out a sky blue backpack.

"This is for Lizzie, you can give it to her for me."

"Thank you, Mrs. Cormaci. You really didn't have to do any of this."

"Of course I did!" She reached into the box for a third time. A smaller pink backpack emerged. "This is for Boots, I meant for her to have it in the Underland, but I'm sure she'll still enjoy it."

"I- Thank you." Gregor didn't know what else to say. Mrs. Cormaci next pulled out a plastic bag that you would get at a convenience store or something similar.

"These are for all of you. I hope that they make you more comfortable wherever you end up."

Gregor stayed and talked to Mrs. Cormaci for a long time. As he left, all the bags in his hands, the knot returned.

"Thanks for everything Mrs. Cormaci. I don't know how I –we- could have survived all these years without you." For some reason this goodbye seemed a lot more final than all past ones and he wanted to be sure she knew how much he appreciated her.

"Your welcome, Gregor. Goodbye." She hugged him and then he left, wondering if he would ever see her again.

* * * *

She felt a warm cloth on her face, but she couldn't find the will power to open her eyes. Instead she reached out and felt the bedside table. A pen and paper sat there. She wrote the words that ran through her head. Ellipse, Maia. Her hand went limp and her mind was once more fogged by sleep. She thought she heard a voice, but she was too tired to recognize the words.

Did you like it? Did you hate it? I don't think I did the best job w/ Mrs. Cormaci, but its not too bad, is it?