Chapter 1

After returning from the park, Gregor got the best news he has ever heard. His family would stay in New York! The only problem is that they are moving to the other side of the large city. Their new house is going to be a small house in Queens, New York. After his mom got through her second relapse, Mrs. Cormaci decided to help them out by giving them money for food and other essentials. Gregor took up a part time job delivering newspapers; since he is only twelve he can't get a real job for quite some time. For now he will live a normal life and try to fight the urge to go back to the Underland.

"Wake up honey, time for school!" I hate when she calls me honey, Gregor thought with a laugh.

He rolled over in his bed, and then suddenly stopped. This was a regular thing in the morning because on his dresser next to his bed was the picture of him and Luxa in the museum the day he thought he was going to die of a battle. Just thinking about Luxa made him tremble.

With her attitude and slight edge that gave her the strength to rule the city of Regalia. Gregor loved her, but knew the chances of seeing her again were slim. Plus, that was four years ago, she probably found another guy, most likely a soldier. Who knows if she's even still alive! Maybe they broke the truce had another battle and Luxa was killed. No! He couldn't think about it. So he wiped his face, got out of bed, got dressed and went downstairs.

"Hey Gregor!" said Lizzie. "I made you a big stack of pancakes."

"Thanks Liz but I don't think I can eat all of those!" Gregor said with a chuckle.

"Gregor, Gregor look!" screamed boots excitedly.

She's 7 now and always has dreams about the Underland but can't fully remember clearly, she was only 3 when she fell down the laundry grate, went on all of the prophecy quests, and befriended a roach Temp to the point where the roaches did a ceremony and refer to her as the princess.

Everytime she would tell mom and mom would tell her that it's all in her head and to let it go. So the dreams have now become a little secret between her, Lizzie, and I. This time she went on and on while we were eating about meeting a lizard and speaking with it in its weird hissing language.

All her dreams have the same person in it…me.

When he gets out the door he gets this really happy jolt of energy through him.

I have to take the bus to the old apartment to help Mrs. Cormaci, thought Gregor.

She's gotten sick so he has to visit her once during the week too. So he goes through the stupid thing people call high school.

At lunch, he reflects about the Underland, and about Luxa.

Almost on cue a cockroach crawls onto his tray; that was out of the ordinary, but what happened next caught him off guard.

He had a note folded to the size of a fingernail on his back. He dropped it on my tray and scurried off.

Dear Gregor,

All warm bloods have been in jeopardy of extinction for the past few weeks. It is the Cutters, as you know they hate all warm bloods. Now it has gone from border battles to a war. The reason you are receiving this letter is that we have found a prophecy in the depths of Regalia. The prophecy has one specific request, you and the princess. Since you are going to be with Mrs. Cormaci tonight, I will meet you below the laundry grate in your apartment building, i will have scouts there all night just in case you can't get out right away.

From, Vikus

"Another prophecy!" he didn't even know that he screamed that and now everybody was staring at him.

Immediately he folded the note back up and thought about what just happened. There was no explanation. He has to return to the Underland with Boots and fulfill another one of the crazy prophecies that Sandwich dreamt up. This is great, just great, how is he going to get back, his mom would never let it happen. Plus, he had to bring Boots who barely remembered it happened at all.

Then he thought of the positives. He would go back to the beautiful city of Regalia. He would see Howard who is probably a doctor by know, and all of the bats and spinners and other creatures that made up the council. Boots would reunite with Temp, but wouldn't remember who he is which will probably hurt his feelings. But most of all he was returning to the person he loved, Luxa. Hopefully she was still single, which he thinks she will be but you never know. All in all, this might be a good thing.

He got up and headed toward the next class.

"Attack!" the cry ran through the heart of Regalia. "Ares, dive!" screamed Gregor feeling the rager sensation pulse through his veins. "We're falling, why are we falling?" he screamed. "M-my wing, it's torn!" the huge bat rasped.

"Gregor, do you know the answer?" said Gregor's 11th grade teacher. He snapped back to reality, he sweating profusely and trembling like there was no tomorrow. "U-um…no." Everyone was looking at him now, all he could see was the shaking head of his best friend Larry.

Thankfully the bell rang, and at that moment they were dismissed.

As Gregor was walking towards the front door of the school, he saw a crowd. They were chanting "fight, fight, fight." He knew what was going on.

He was in the back of the enormous crowd and could make out the shapes of the two combatants, one was Sean, the biggest bully in school even though I could easily beat him. The other looked to be a girl.

She could really fight; first Sean threw one of his powerful rights. The girl caught it and propelled him into the corner with a punch to the gut. Sean lunged at her but she was one step ahead of him. She nimbly stepped aside tripped him and he went tumbling to the ground. Just then he signaled to his sidekicks, Bryan and Danny.

They grabbed her by the arms and he saw her violet eyes, he knew those eyes and ran through the crowd and had his rager side kick in. The girl he saw was Luxa.

"Gregor!" Luxa exclaimed, meanwhile he was beating the living crap out of all three of them for what they did to the girl he loved.

After it was all over he grabbed her by the hand and they went to a little park to talk about what just happened.

"What are you doing here?" Gregor yelled. After he said it he knew he came off too strong, so he backed off a little bit.

"I was afraid you wouldn't come to the spot Vikus told you to. I got permission from the council to come and get you. One of our scouts located your school so I went in to get you when that stupid kid got in my way and tormented me so I fought him, that's when you came in." Luxa spilled it all out to him without stopping.

It hit Gregor like a ton of bricks.

"Let's go then" with that they headed to the bus stop, and then to the apartment building.