Disclaimer: I don't own TUC. It's all Suzanne's.

P.S.: Watch out for the dates at the beginning of each new part- don't get confused! R&R

September 11, 2007:Luxa and Gregor

Luxa sipped the hot chocolate tentatively. She looked up at Gregor and smiled, "It is very good." She sunk back into the comfort of the futon and wrapped the blanket tightly around her. She had fast discovered that the Overland rain was not something that she particularly enjoyed, and was glad that Gregor had spared her some dry clothes to change into.

Gregor was watching her. She felt very strange, and yet at home in his tiny apartment.

"So...?" He let the question hang there, not knowing what to ask first. She knew what he wanted, but took a few more sips of the sweet drink before answering.

"I know it is very sudden for me to turn up, but there was no where else I could go."

Gregor stayed silent and Luxa continued, "So much has happened since you left. I do not even know where to begin..."

"How about the beginning?" Gregor cracked a smile and Luxa had a moment when she was afraid she would start crying, which was strange because it was only on very rare occasions that tears were her chosen mode of expression. She held them back and forced herself to take a deep breath before continuing.

"I suppose it all started about six months or so ago. We were in a long period of peace- after you left we have had a few skirmishes with the cutters, but nothing like what you experienced. Everything was going well."

"So... what made you do this?" Gregor asked reaching over to tug gently at one of Luxa's very short locks of hair. He smiled remembering the first time he had seen her sporting that look, but that memory was soon gone.

"Some people arrived. At first they seemed friendly. They are from the Overland and told us that their only goal was to become members of our society. They had started off looking for us with clues from the town on Sandwich."

"Wait... Bartholomew left clues so you could be found? That doesn't seem very smart."

"I am sure that he intended to allow all who needed refuge a place to live. Unfortunately, the Overlanders that came had cameras, like the one that you brought down- only these recorded movement and sound as well."

"They were filming you?" Gregor was starting to feel queasy.

"No. I did not allow it. It did not bode well that they were recording our lifestyle." Luxa took another sip of hot chocolate, seeming to gather her thoughts. Gregor sank into his own. If they had brought that footage back to the Overland, then everything would be exposed.

"So what happened after you told them they couldn't record?" Gregor asked nervously.

"They stopped. Their leader, a man named Rick- he gave all of the equipment to us. I had it locked away. I do not believe that his team members were too happy about it."

"And after that- did they just... integrate into your society?"

"More or less they-" Luxa's voice was cut off by a loud knock at the door.

Gregor stood and walked to the door. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Luxa slip from the couch and into the bathroom. He opened the door a crack and found himself looking into the face of a very tall man.

"Can I help you?" He asked, warily.

"Yeah, I think you can. I'm looking for a girl. Her name's Luxa. I saw her walk come in here."

"Well... I'm the only one in here." Gregor said, starting to close the door.

The man put his boot in the way, "Mind if I take a look?"

"Actually I do. I'm going to ask you nicely to remove your boot before I lose my temper."

"Oh he's got a temper does he?" The man changed his voice, sounding more like a dress up doll than the burly bull-like creature he was, "We wouldn't want him to misplace it!" With that the man shoved the door so hard that Gregor was pushed back into the wall.

Reaching up, Gregor grabbed for the iron that hung next to his closet door- hoping that he had remember to put it back. His fingers clenched around the handle and he swung it towards the man who jumped out of the way just in time. Gregor lunged again, feeling his blood pump viciously through his veins. This wasn't fighting in the Underland. He remembered how helplessly lost in his raging he had felt back then. Now it was all power and all control, not one or the other.

On his next swing, he made contact with the man's forearm and then ducked the swinging fist aimed for his head. Still near the ground he spun, kicking the man's feet out from under him. There was not very much space in the hallway, and the man's huge head went crashing into the wall. Gregor sprang up and reached for the handle of the broom as well, watching that his opponent was really and truly down. He was.

Gregor dropped the iron and the broom and ran towards the bathroom. Luxa was inside, her eyes wide.

"Did you...?"

"Nah, just unconscious." He said, grabbing her and dragging her towards the door.

"Where are we going?"

He grabbed his keys and cell, pulling on his coat.

"First... grab his arms." He said moving toward the mammoth's feet. They dragged him out into the hall. Gregor ran back inside, grabbed the cloak Luxa had been wearing, and pulled the door shut behind him.

"Here, put this on." His blood was still buzzing. He scanned the hall, but didn't sense another presence.

"Hold this." He commanded, handing her the gun that he had retrieved from the monster on the floor, "And don't point it at anyone." With that he led her down the narrow hallway.

Luxa ran behind him as they exited the building, stumbling a bit on the uneven pavement of the car park. Gregor made his way around the building, but stopped short as Luxa pulled his arm.

"There's another one." She said as they ducked behind the dumpster. She pointed towards the back of the building where Gregor saw a slightly smaller man pacing back forth on the wet gravel.

"Okay... we need to get to the back without him seeing us. You go around that way and I'll distract them." He said and showed her how to get around the far side of the building. He doubled back and ran towards the man.

"HELP!" He called, holding his ribs and making sure to keep his gait unsteady, "Please help us!" The man tensed as he caught sight of Gregor, looking up unsteadily at Gregor's apartment then back to Gregor.

"My wife... she's in the car. I can't get her out... the other car... drove away..." He collapsed on the ground, barely keeping the small smile off of his mouth. He heard the gravel crunch as the man walked towards him. The man bent down, but didn't get far before Gregor's fist collided with his chin. He stumbled back, crying out, and Gregor just had time to scramble to his feet before the man had pulled out a gun. He sent it flying to the ground with a quick kick, hearing a resounding crack as his foot made contact with the man's wrist.

The man, who Gregor had already assessed to be more strong than he looked, instantly pulled himself together and lunged at Gregor; a switchblade already being pulled from his sleeve. Gregor backed up a pace, letting the man get close before pivoting, using the man's weight force him away.

The goon turned, his face red and sour. Gregor felt himself smiling, but decided not to control that aspect of his raging. He had grown used to the sense of euphoria when he fought. He welcomed it even. He knew he wasn't going to kill this man, so it really was just training when looked at with a clinical eye.

Once again the man lunged, but this time he knew that Gregor was using his weight against him. Gregor blocked and pivoted, the man rammed into him. Immediately Gregor's vision splintered but he kept the bubbling to a minimum and it soon went back to normal. He rolled from where he had landed just as a fist came crashing down where he had lay only moments before. The man didn't let him up. He kept up a string of punches and kicks, that were easily blocked by Gregor. Finally realizing that the man's size wouldn't allow him to move to a place where he could stand, he allowed on huge fist to penetrate his defenses. He grabbed onto the bulging wrist, swung his feet up to meet the man's chest and threw him over his head in one controlled sweep.

The man came crashing to the ground. Gregor backed up a few paces- he liked to fight face to face, but as the man stood back up, a resounding crash could be heard throughout the alleyway. The man fell back to the ground in a mighty heap and Gregor saw Luxa, chest heaving and shovel in hand, prepared to hit him again if he so much as moved a finger.

"I said to go around..." Gregor said.

Luxa shrugged, "I had to save your butt... for old time's sake."

He rolled his eyes as she punched his shoulder gently. A sudden noise from above startled them both and Gregor pulled Luxa under the awning.

"Milo! ...Milo!"

"It's that guy from my apartment!" Gregor hissed into Luxa's ears.

"What do we do?" She whispered back. He nodded her towards the shed and mouthed 'follow me'.

Staying in the shadows, they made it as far as the edge of the building but there was a large gap in between the safety of the shed and their current location that was heavily illuminated by the street light above.

"Okay. You need to be ready to jump on as soon as I pull out, okay?"

Luxa looked confused, but Gregor guessed she would figure it out, "Stay here."

Gregor ran faster than he had ever run, flying into the shed in a frenzy. He pulled away the sheet and started the engine quickly. Revving it up he gripped the handlebars and shot out of the shed.

Feeling the engine- already hot near his legs he swerved toward Luxa. As expected she grabbed onto his shoulders, swinging herself onto the speeding bike.

The first man came charging around the corner, one hand covering the cut on his forehead the other brandishing another gun that was aimed directly at them. Gregor swerved once spraying him with gravel before jumping the curb and speeding off into the night.

March 14, 2007: Sylvia

The rock was smooth against her skin. She leaned against the wall, breathing in the air that had been still for a very long time. They were the first one's to be down here in years.

A scuffling sound above her alerted her that another member of their group had arrived. After they had found the entrance a week ago, they had been buying supplies and planning their trek to the world below. It didn't seem real, like the last few weeks had been a dream, but now Sylvia realized that all of this was happening. It was all true, and there was no turning back. Holmes came down the stairs, carrying a heavy backpack filled with medical supplies and a large case that held a tripod light with it's own generator.

"That's all of us" Sylvia said and felt the group stir. They had entered the park at night, alone- so they wouldn't draw suspicion to themselves. The team members huddled together around Carlos' lamp as Rick finished prepping them for what lay ahead. Sylvia tuned him out- he had been saying the same things all week. Don't get lost. If you get lost don't panic- we'll find each other. Don't drink the water without purifying it. If you find something of anthropological value, don't touch it until Rick and the camera crew were around to get it on film. Pretty basic stuff.

Rick had assigned them into pairs earlier that day with each group getting a different supply load to be in charge of.

Sylvia and Holmes were in charge of medical supplies. Jeremy and Charles were in charge of food, Carlos and Milo were carrying the filming equipment, and Jennifer was in charge of flashlights. In addition to that each group member carried their own sleeping bags and small supplies satchel. Rick, of course, carried nothing but the large walking stick that Sylvia felt he needed to compensate for other things that weren't large enough in his life.

They gathered in their pairs and silently made their way after Carlos, whose large industrial lantern cast light eerily into the cavern around them. They exited the first hall with the stairs and headed into a tunnel that branched into two directions. Rick picked one and they began to trek their way deeper into the belly of the world.

September 12, 2007 Luxa

The Overland machine was surprisingly fast. Luxa didn't understand exactly how it worked, but Gregor seemed to be able to control which direction they were headed by turning the two bars he held onto at the front. They seemed to be slowing down and stopping every so often, and Luxa soon found that this pattern of stop and go coincided on the colored lights that were held above the road on wire. For some reason the Overlanders' machines only worked if the light was green.

Her hair was whipping around her as they sped off down another crowded street. This one was different, there were more machines around, but there were no people on top. Luxa looked inside one of them and found that there were people trapped within the metal and glass.

"Gregor!" She felt him jump as she screamed.

"What! What's wrong?"

"We have to help them- they have been eaten!" Luxa pointed wildly into the large yellow machine.

"What? No- Luxa they're fine. It's okay- those are just cars" Gregor focused back on the road, but Luxa wasn't thoroughly convinced. How could they breath if there was no place for the air to get in? Even the carts back in Regalia had openings.

They were going faster and faster as the noise of the city grew louder. Luxa remembered the noise- she had only escaped it a few hours previously. When she had gotten to the Overland, she had not known where to go. Luckily Nerissa had explained how to find Mrs. Cormaci's apartment and from there, finding Gregor had been relatively easy. The kind lady had ridden with her on the subway, a large metal beast that carried the passengers in one direction. Luxa guessed that the air in the subway was like the air in the cars- it could somehow go through the glass and metal to reach the people within. Still, she felt a shiver run down her back as she imagined suffocating inside the strange 'car'.

Gregor made his way deeper into the city, swerving in between cars. Luxa held on tight as the lights flashed passed. She had never experienced something so bright, and she found that when she closed her eyes the lights still danced within them.

She buried her face into Gregor's back, feeling his strong shoulders moving and smelling a scent that she had only ever been able to describe as Gregor. She had never thought that she would be able to smell or see or touch or talk to him again, yet here she was, riding through the streets of New York City holding onto him for dear life.

She wondered if it was all worth it.

She was so lost in her thoughts, that she didn't realize that they had stopped and that Gregor was attempting to disengage from her death grip around his chest. She let go and he helped her clamber off of the machine.

"Where are we?" She asked, looking up at the large brick building in front of them. In the windows were statues dressed in strange colorful fabrics.

"This is where Angelina and Larry live. Do you remember me telling you about them?"

She nodded, still impressed with the brightly clad figures in the window.

"Well I told them about you too." He said, staring at her as she gazed into the dazzling window. She cast a quick glance at him, but didn't say anything. From what Gregor had told her, Larry and Angelina were his closest friends in the Overland, and if he needed to talk to someone she would have guessed that it would have been them.

"Why do they live here?" She asked, moving closer to the frozen maidens.

"Well, Angelina works here. They live above the shop."

Luxa turned to him, "This is a shop? For what?"

Gregor smiled- a look of mischief in his eyes, "It's a disguise shop" he said pulling the door open and stepping into the world of color.

Smiling, Luxa followed.

March 14, 2007 Sylvia

The group hadn't gone far before making their first big discovery. There was a large stone circle that seemed well-like in appearance. As all eight of them stood there, staring down into the abyss below, they were all wondering what to do next. It was obviously very deep and the chances of finding anything down there but skeletons was slim. Still, as modern day adventurers they didn't want to settle with an un-exploratory exploration of the caverns underneath NYC. Holmes was the one that offered to be lowered into the hole.

Jeremy and Carlos soon had him strapped into a harness and the team lined up, each grabbing a rope.

"Barbie! I want you up front." Rick called and Sylvia grudgingly let go of her spot at the back of the line.

"Yes?" Her tone was nothing but biting.

"I need you to be up here. I want you to remember what he calls up to us and make a full report to me." Rick sneered in his normal tone with her. Shortly after she had been awarded her internship, she had made it clear that she would not be sleeping with him in any future circumstance, and from that point on his demeanor had changed around her. Jennifer of course, who was the group floozy, didn't have any trouble getting out of any duty she didn't want to do. For instance, she was now being shown how to hold and point the video camera into the hole because pulling on the rope would 'damage' her poor hands.

Rolling her eyes, Sylvia decided to drop the entire subject. At least Holmes seemed to understand and flashed her a reassuring smile as he was fitted with a hardhat and lamp.

She grabbed onto the rope again and felt Rick's breath on her neck. Shivering, she kept her disgust to herself, but was already planning to change out his daily multivitamin to a laxative.

Clicking on his headlamp, Holmes winked at her, "Wish me luck," he said in his deep voice. She smiled back, wishing that Holmes' father would take a leaf out of his son's book. Then maybe people would like him too.

Holmes disappeared into the inky blackness, his headlamp the only marker of his descent. Suddenly his full weight was on them and Sylvia dug her feet into the ground so she wouldn't lose her footing.

They heard him exclaim, "God in Heaven!"

Rick called down, "What do you see Holmes?"

"Well I thought it was a tunnel, but it opens up into a huge cavern. I've really never seen anything like this! There must be a whole ocean down here!"

"Can you judge how wide it is?" Rick's breath smelled very strange. It was a very sickly sweet smell that burned her nose. She turned her face as far away from him as he yelled down to Holmes.

"Can you hear me? I asked if you could judge the width- could we find a shore?"

She could hear him, but for some reason Holmes' reply seemed muffled. The smell was burning her throat.

"What?" Rick called again. The muffled noises came again. She needed to close her eyes. She was getting dizzy.

"Holmes... you're going to have... to come back..." Rick mumbled and she felt his entire weight fall against her.

"Rick?" She choked out, her voice sounding strange and garbled.

She turned to find the rest of the crew just as wobbly as she felt. One by one she saw each one stagger and collapse.

There was a screaming coming from the tunnel. She could feel the rope slipping through her fingers, which seemed to be completely out of her control. If that smell would just get out of her head she would be able to focus.

She took in a deep breath trying to clear her mind. It was a mistake. The last thing she remembered was leaning over the edge before the rope caught on one of her hands and dragged her into the darkness.

A/N: Okay guys- sorry for such a long wait between chapters. This one is going to be difficult to write because I am jumping back and forth in the time stream. Please watch the dates so you won't get confused. It'll get even more difficult when the years are involved so stay alert!

It took me so long because I wanted to plan EVERYTHING out and plan I did. So far this will be 10-12 chapters long. They will mostly be long chapters, although I may shorten them and update more frequently. What do you guys want?

Anywho- thanks for reading!

Please leave a review below.