Thanks to everyone who read / reviewed. I know the plot is semi-cliché-ish, but it's the first fanfic so I'm gonna get the basics down before I move on to fancy innovative and probably (Since I don't have any practice) failtastic stuff. That being said…
I do not own the Underland Chronicles. If I did, you wouldn't be reading this disclaimer. In fact, I wouldn't be writing this fanfic. Cuz it wouldn't be a fanfic. Moving on...
Chapter Two
Gregor walked in to the kitchen and greeted his mom, as well as Lizzie and Boots, with one of his rare non-artificial smiles. He offered to help prepare breakfast and proceeded to do so happily; he barely concentrated on the tasks while thoughts of the Underland raced through his mind at such tremendous speed he could barely comprehend them himself.
"What puts you in such a good mood this morning?" asked Grace curiously, yet suspiciously.
Gregor hadn't even rolled out of bed in time for breakfast in months; he was always shackled to his room in the mornings until someone severed him from the memories that tormented his waking thoughts.
"Nothing. Just feeling pretty good, I guess." Gregor responded dismissively, hoping to change the subject. Gregor's father had decided that they would avoid mentioning the note until dinner that night in order to have time to prepare for his mother's reaction. Gregor had read and re-read the scroll's elegant print so many times as he lay awake the previous night that he had committed it to memory.
Gregor
The Underland has been doing well in the time since your departure; however, we have recently discovered something to be amiss. A most vague and probably dire prophecy has been uncovered under a small section of rock which we have found can be removed from its original placing in the Prophecy Room. Upon this rock was the "Prophecy of Time", and underneath it, the "Prophecy of Power". If you do not wish to come, I understand completely. This especially after your experience concerning the "Prophecy of Time". However, I would be most glad if you would join us and I'm sure Luxa, Hazard, and Howard would be as well. Only myself, Ripred, and Nerissa know of its discovery so far. You would do best to bring Boots; we may have need of her.
Fly you high,
Vikus
Gregor had been so excited after receiving the text that he was unable to sleep for the entire night afterwards. If not for this excitement, he was sure he'd be utterly exhausted. "It's too bad there's another prophecy that will probably drag me off to kill something again. But," he imagined eagerly, "I'll get to see Luxa and Howard and everyone else again! I hope they are all okay." "Especially since Vikus had that stroke." he added with a tint of worry.
His thoughts continued to revolve around the magnificent stone city of Regalia and the inky caverns of the Underland until Boots high-pitched squeal of delight brought his attention to the living room couch, by which she was spinning in circles chanting fragments of the repeating stanza held within the "Prophecy of Blood". Grace's eyes became sorrowful; but she recovered quickly and distracted Boots by announcing that breakfast was ready.
Rushing over to the table, Boots happily consumed her bacon and eggs, though Gregor thought her clothes got a bigger portion of the meal than her stomach. Her greasy shirt reminded him of the pudding-stained garments she had worn during their first descent in to the Underland. He continued to daydream about the pale and violet-eyed denizens of the hidden world beneath New York until Lizzie shook him, announcing that it was time for school. "All right, Liz." Sighed Gregor as he walked in to the living room and hefted his backpack, the two proceeded out the door to what Gregor knew would be one of the longest school days of his twelve year old life.
It took an enormous amount of willpower for Gregor to focus on anything at happened that day. During lunch, he had to ask Larry and Angelina to repeat their every question and often blanked out by the time they finished it again. The only thing that kept his excitement in check was the thought that his mom might deny him access to the Underland. Gregor knew, though, that if Ripred was one of the ones who knew about the prophecy that he wouldn't be letting the warrior stay at home. The bell dismissing school had never been so welcome.
Gregor rushed through his homework and waited out the tedious expanse until his parents announced that dinner would be ready soon. All day at school he'd prepared some arguments in an attempt to allow him return to the shadowed world hidden beneath his feet. Entering the kitchen, Gregor glanced at his father to find out if he was ready. His dad shook his head and settled his still too-thin form in to one of the chairs arranged around the table.
Attempting to wait patiently, though he knew it was futile, Gregor waited for everyone to sit at the table and arrange themselves. He saw Grace take her seat, and watched his dad; waiting for him to light the fuse and ignite the explosive that was Grace's hatred for the Underlanders and everything that had to do with them. At last, he cleared his throat.
"Grace, Gregor and I have something to tell you." He began cautiously, waiting for her reaction. She froze in place; her hand went limp and dropped the fork on to the glass plate with a clatter.
"What?" she whispered, barely audible to the rest of the family. "When? When did you hear from them? What do they want?" Grace's voice was quiet, her eyes filled with a combination of sadness and anger. Gregor scanned the table, looking at the rest of the family: Gregor's dad, cautious; Lizzie, excited; Boots, too young to understand, but he was sure she'd be asking for her crawler friend Temp as soon as she heard what would ensue.
"Here we go…" Gregor thought, taking a deep breath. He felt like he was on a high dive at the pool, preparing to jump off and meet the freezing water that waited below. The table was silent for a minute as Grace considered the implications of her husband's statement.
"Why do they want my baby back… back in that place?" she hissed.
"They discovered a new prophecy; it sounds like they need my help. Please, mom! I really want to see all of my friends and Boots missed Temp and Lizzie really wants to see Ripred! All three of us want to go back down, and it's not like we're normal here or anything! Boots goes around talking to roaches and I can't do anything in public because of my scars! The humans and rats are at peace anyway! Please, mom!" Gregor blurted out, but immediately regretted it; his statements were the last straw that broke whatever thin shell separated his mom from a complete and total panic.
"No! No! Never again! You'll never go back down to the Underland; I don't care if they all die! They can all get that stupid plague, for all I care!" The rant continued for several minutes, all the while Boots chanting "We go see Temp?" and fueling Gregor's determination to return.
Gregor's dad sat calmly through the entire stream of frustration emitted by his wife, and as it died down to a sputtering denial he walked over and hugged her. He spoke quietly and calmly saying, "Grace, I know you don't want the kids to go back. Part of me doesn't want them to, either. But, like you, I want what's best for them. They aren't happy here, Grace, and I think that the only way they will be is if they are at least allowed to visit their friends in the Underland."
Silence stretched for a few minutes, and Gregor hoped against hope that his mom would relent.
"No… No…" his mom moaned, sobbing.
"What if Ripred sends his friends again?" Gregor asked. He knew it was mean, but it might convince her. Grace jolted upright, eyes wide as she grasped his meaning. A mental war clashed behind her eyes, and finally she relented.
"Fine. Go." Unable to bring herself to say more, she placed her head in her hands and stared at a spot on the table cloth with such intensity that Gregor thought that her gaze alone might ignite the fibers.
Though he was worried about his mom's condition, Gregor could not help but be ecstatic at the chance to see everyone again. He desperately wanted to ask when he could leave but he knew that Grace needed his father's comfort, so he went to his room and contemplated the upcoming journey for the next hour and a half until his dad returned to his room and told him to send a note down to Vikus.
Gregor hastily scrawled a note to say that he would be coming, wanting to deliver it as fast as possible. Taking the scribble-covered paper, he descended the creaky stairs of his apartment building to the basement and went to slip the letter through the iron grate. As he was about to drop it, a familiar striped face popped out and greeted him with a soft purr.
"Greetings, Overlander. Are you ready to drop?" she inquired.
"Nike!" Gregor exclaimed, "I thought only a few people knew about the new prophecy. Did they just tell you or are there more people?"
"There is a new prophecy? I was merely told that I was supposed to retrieve you as you wished to visit!" Nike's eyes went wide with amazement, wonder, and curiousity.
"Oops. Umm, I don't think you were supposed to know that." Gregor mumbled, mentally slapping himself.
"Huh huh huh. It is as well, Overlander. I will tell no one. Bring you your sisters?"
"Yeah, actually. I was just sending down a note to tell you guys to dispatch a bat up here or something. I'll be right back."
Gregor raced up the stairs faster than he could remember and pushed through the door to his apartment, winded. He quickly explained the situation to his family which set in motion frenzied preparations from Lizzie, excited screams from Boots, and disheartened groans from Grace. Lizzie quickly retrieved her flashlight, handed a small keychain-sized one to Boots, and offered one to Gregor. "Nah, I'll be fine." He'd responded with a grin. She looked at him with confusion for a moment, then remembering his echolocation lessons with Ripred, smiled and placed it in a small backpack she carried.
Gregor's parents accompanied him to the grate, hugging and kissing them all goodbye. The children retreated towards the gateway, which emitted coils of the opaque steam-like substance known only as "the currents". After quickly reminding his dad to make up a story for his absence, Gregor dropped in to the darkness, his heart racing with excitement. Soon after, though, a wave of pain swept through him as he landed on Nike, not Ares. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to concentrate on the future and leave the past to itself.
Nike talked a lot, much more than most of the other bats that Gregor had met in the Underland. She happily conversed with him about the goings-on in the Underland and of many things that had happened since he'd left. Rallying his courage, Gregor asked Nike what had occupied his mind for the past months he'd been gone. "How's Luxa?"
"She does not well, Overlander." Nike purred in her soft voice, "I do not know of what ails her personally, but I have noticed that she is often tired and seems to lack her old energy. She has some small illness, perhaps?"
"Maybe." Gregor responded, though he was sure of the real reason.
He'd been the same way since he'd parted ways with Luxa. His thoughts lingered on her until the faint glow of torches that signaled Regalia approached on the underground equivalent of the horizon. As they approached the first sentries mounted outside the city, Gregor quietly reminded Nike not to mention the prophecy. She flew over the familiar streets of Regalia; most of them having been much repaired since the War of Time. The only thing lacking was most of the intricate carvings and glyphs which once adorned all of the city's misty grey architecture.
Gregor heard the voices of many Underlanders greeting him below. They shouted "Overlander!", "The warrior has returned!", or "Gregor!" in a symphony of voices that blended to create a giant welcome. As Nike coasted down for a landing in the High Hall, Gregor eagerly awaited the sight of Howard, Hazard, Mareth, and most of all, Luxa.
Fluttering down in to the massive palace, Nike finally made her landing. Lizzie leapt off of the bat and immediately went to search for Ripred. Gregor picked up Boots with a grunt then followed suit, telling Nike that he was going to search for Vikus. As he walked through the labyrinth of hallways, he stumbled upon Dulcet.
"Hey, Dulcet!" called Gregor. She spun around with a grin.
"Gregor! You have returned! Would you like me to take Boots for you?"
"Yeah, thanks."
Gregor didn't really want to part with Boots so early after his arrival, but he needed to see Luxa. Guessing she might be in her royal chambers; he sprinted there, focusing all of his energy and love and excitement in to speed. Gregor slowed as he approached the curtain that sealed the apartment off from the hallway and, drawing it aside, stepped slowly in to the torch-lit room.
Luxa lay facedown on the bed, unmoving. Aurora was perched on a ledge on the side of the room, looking at her worriedly. As he entered the room, Aurora's small eyes grew, and she started to flap over to him and arouse Luxa. Gregor held up a hand to stop her, and she settled down once more, understanding his motives. He walked stealthily over to her bedside and bent over, smile broadening with every inch closer he came to her.
"Hey, Luxa. I'm back."
Not the best ending, but I have to go to bed. I have two tests tomorrow and I are sleepy. Anyways, read and review. Later, peeps.