Gregor and Luxa's embrace was broken by the slight cough of one of the other members of the greeting party, Howard. Howard was Luxa's cousin and a good friend of Gregor's. He gave a slight smile not unlike the one that Luxa often wore herself.
Gregor looked around for the first time since he had gotten there. Other than Luxa and Howard, there was Gregor's good friend Perdita, Luxa's bat Aurora, and the princess of the fliers Nike the bat.
"Hey Howard, how's it going Gregor said in a weak attempt at shoving off the awkwardness.
"It is going quite well actually. We have almost restored Regalia to its pre-war glory." Replied Howard, he still had a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
"That's great!" Gregor said in an upbeat voice, but then he quickly changed his tone. "So what's going on with the humans and the fliers?"
"Ah Gregor," Luxa sighed her face now downcast. "Much has happened, and I am most troubled to say so. Let us walk to the palace as we talk."
So as they walked Luxa gave Gregor the awful news. The bats had turned on the humans, all except a few loyal bats like Aurora and Nike. "Why would they do that? They have been bonding with humans since good ol' Sandwich came down here!" Gregor shouted indignantly.
"It was because I made that bond to the rats last time you were here, Gregor. The Fliers were deeply offended that their bonds were now also bonding to a species that had killed so many of there own." Luxa looked on the verge of tears.
"Hey, we can work this out," Gregor whispered to her as he put his arm around her. "Maybe we can work out a treaty or something."
"No Gregor, you don't understand, we are at the start of a second war! We can't reason with them, that time passed when they declared war." Luxa said stonily as she hardened her face into what appeared to be her queenly face.
When they arrived at the palace, Gregor was greeted by even more familiar faces. Gregor saw Mareth and Vickus and Temp and- "RIPRED!" Lizzie shouted as she ran into the giant scarred rat's warm embrace. Gregor had nearly forgotten that Lizzie was with him until just then, major big bro points for that one.
"I missed you too, Lizzie!" Ripred said in the most sincere voice that Gregor had ever heard uttered from that furry mass. Then to Gregor he said, "It's about time you got here Overlander, we thought you had forgotten about us down here."
"Well, it's not that easy to forget about everything down here, now is it Ripred?" Gregor retorted, although secretly glad that Ripred was here.
"Welcome back Gregor!" Vickus said with as much of a smile as he could manage with only the use of the left side of his body after a stroke paralyzed the use of the right side of his body. He was sitting in a sort or wheel chair pushed by none other than one of Gregor's favorite people in the Underland, Mareth.
Mareth was a soldier and trainer for the Regalian army, but he had lost a leg in Gregor's second journey into the Underland. He now wore a prosthetic leg which was working for his just fine he hobbled over to Gregor and gave him a rib crushing hug. "Welcome back Overlander." Mareth said with his face lit up.
"It's good to be back." Gregor said as he was released from the suffocating hug.
"Ripred, Ripred! I've got something to tell you!" Lizzie shouted, literally bouncing up and down with anticipation.
"Okay, what is it?" Ripred asked patiently.
"I can use echolocation now!" Lizzie burst out. "Gregor taught me as soon as we got home!" Lizzie was ginning ear to ear.
"Wow, I'm impressed!" Ripred said. "I didn't think Gregor could teach a Shiner to be a complaining glutton." Everyone laughed at that one, even Gregor who was just glad to be with Luxa again.
Gregor slowly reached out for Luxa's hand and their fingers intertwined. That's when Gregor knew that he had made the right choice in returning.