Chapter 7
Death's Reset

"Alright, pups! Hustle up!" Ripred called over to the two lumbering figures behind him. "You're almost there! Come on!" he yelled before scrambling into the cave.

Gregor was trudging as fast as he could, while helping Luxa up the scattered boulders and rocks. Ever since the blissful moment they shared a while ago, neither Gregor nor Luxa could look at each other without feeling awkward. Eventually, Gregor mustered up his courage to break the awkwardness between them.

"So you finally became queen while I was gone, huh?" Gregor coughed. "Wish I could have been there for that."

"Yes, it was a very big deal. There was a very large feast." Luxa frowned slightly. "But the thrill of being a queen is not long-lasting. It is a very boring job to take."

"Oh yeah?" Gregor flashed a grin. "Bet you get to boss people around a lot. Like Ripred, right?"

"Oh yes." Luxa didn't smile. "But I have been doing that ever since I was a child, so it feels no different."

"Right…" Gregor scratched his head. Well this wasn't going anywhere.

"Do you remember where this is?" Luxa suddenly asked. She was staring out at the beach with a distanced look on her face. Gregor turned in surprise.

"It seems really familiar… but I don't remember why…" Gregor stared out at the beach.

"It was on your first visit. You tried to escape through the Waterway and you ended up in the gnawer's hands on this very beach. We had to come and rescue you."

"Oh…" Gregor turned slightly red. "Sorry about that."

"It is in the past." Luxa replied like it didn't matter. Gregor frowned. Why was she so quiet and non talkative?

After that, Gregor gave up trying to talk to the suddenly reclusive Luxa. Their communication eventually reduced itself to the occasional grunts and murmurs. After what seemed like hours, the cave's entrance welcomed them.

"Took you long enough," grumbled the rat when they finally arrived. As usual, he was slouched on the wall in a horrible fashion. "I thought you had died, with the time you were taking and all." He continued to grumble.

"Very funny, Ripred." Gregor wheezed as he eased Luxa down before he slumped against a nearby wall himself. "So you have a plan?" he raised an eyebrow at the rat.

"Wait a moment," Ripred held up a paw. "I have some questions for you, boy." He paced around the cave, twitching his whiskers. "First and foremost: Why are you here?"

"What? What do you mean? You led me all the way out here and-"

"No, no, no." he spat in annoyance. "I mean why are you alive?" Ripred sniffed as he turned towards Luxa. "I'm sure our Queen would also love to know the answer." He chuckled as he swiped a paw towards a thumb-twiddling Luxa who looked up suddenly at the mention of her name.

"I…" she paused for a moment before standing up and turning away from Gregor with a haughty air about her. "I… do not have interests in affairs that do not concern me." She crossed her arms, still facing away from Ripred and Gregor. "You may talk all you like. This has no interest for me." She huffed. Gregor stared in disbelief. How can this not concern her? She just kissed him minutes ago! He was about to retort when Ripred waved a paw in his direction.

"Very well." Ripred shrugged nonchalantly and turned to Gregor. "Talk. Now."

So, with great reluctance, he did. He explained his life in the Overland and his school life with his friends. At one point when Gregor mentioned Rachel, he saw Luxa shift uncomfortably in the corner of his eye. He quickly then went on and talked about how he had died and how he had talked to Death. Finally, he explained what he was thinking when he crashed the ceremony and all the events before he came into this god-forsaken cave with Ripred. After Gregor was finished, it was silent in the cave for a moment.

"Well… that is a bit far-fetched." The rat tugged at his whiskers. "By the way… how's Lizzie doing?" the rat scratched the back of his head, trying not to look at Gregor's amused face.

"According to my sources in the Overland, Gregor's family is doing fine physically and mentally." Leonardo's voice piped up. "Emotionally, however, they seemed to be scarred with the death of our little hero here."

"No one asked you, metal junk." Ripred growled at the bracelet on Gregor's arm. He jerked his head at Gregor. "You tell me. How was she when you last saw her?

"She's doing okay. She's gotten a lot of friends in Middle School and she's really taking the role of Boot's older sister seriously." Gregor couldn't help but smile as Ripred's face seemed to grow more serene.

"Hmm. Well that's good." Ripred murmured before snapping back to attention. "Right. So, we need to find this scythe that apparently Death was foolish enough to lose to a human. It's probably someone in the House of D. and you need to somehow get it back without him knowing."

"Speaking of which," Gregor cut in. "What was going on with this Joining Ceremony? Was that really Henry?"

"Ahh that." Ripred chuckled as he crossed scratched his head. "Guess you haven't heard the news. You know, you're not the first to come back to life. About a year ago, Henry came marching in here with tons of these people who were supposed to be dead. Of course, we were suspicious at first and kept a close eye on all the people, but they didn't try anything stupid. They eventually called themselves the 'House of D'."

"Yeah I got that much. But is Henry their boss or something?" Gregor cocked his head.

"I don't think so. He is in a higher position than the rest, but he is not the leader of the House."

"Then who is?"

"We don't know." Luxa's voice cut in. "But Henry constantly told us that his leader was extremely dangerous and that only a Joining Ceremony could prevent any conflicts between us."

"Wait, why would the House of D attack you? Aren't they happy to see their friends and family again?" Gregor inquired.

"Apparently, their leader can control them against their will." Ripred sighed. "It's a real pain. We've seen it happen several times before. Their eyes turn red and they act like… oh what's the word?" he muttered. "Zombies? Oh whatever. Anyhow, an engagement with them may prove to be quite difficult, so the leader offered us a truce with this ceremony."

"And you went along with it?" Gregor couldn't help but lash out. "Didn't you try to find another way to maintain some sort of agreement?"

"Of course!" Luxa cried out suddenly. "But Henry said his leader was going to make a move soon if we didn't do anything! Regalia's people were in danger and I was responsible! And… and…" she looked down. "You weren't here." She muttered. A very awkward silence passed before Ripred snorted in amusement.

"If you two are done with your drama, I say we move along. We don't have all the time in the world, you know?"

"Right…" Gregor cleared his throat. "So we need a plan, right? Let's make one right now." He was still a little dazed at Luxa's outburst.

"Hold on, boy." Ripred stopped him. "There's something about this whole thing that bothers me. I don't think this is just a snatch and grab mission. Death could have chosen anyone for this job. So why pick you for this mission? What does he want from you?"

Gregor froze. Could Ripred be right? Was Death using him for something else?

"I…I don't know." Gregor stared at the ground for a moment. "But I think our only option now is to play along." Gregor looked up. "But we have no other options, do we?"

"No. We don't. Well, I guess you're right." Ripred chuckled in, if possible, annoyance. "But this time, we plan together, got that boy?" Gregor nodded and Ripred turned to Luxa. "You too, your Majesty. You're in this whether you like it or not. But we all know that you actually like this, so come along." Ripred gestured. Luxa turned scarlet as she quickly turned towards them.

"I am only participating for the well-being of the Underland." She huffed as she trudged over to where they were standing. "Nothing more."

"According to scans of her heart rate and levels of perspiration," Leonardo observed. "She is lying. My databases suggest that the true reason of her participation is her being able to be close to Gre-" Luxa punched Gregor's bracelet.

"OWWW!" Leonardo screamed.

"I…I'm not thinking about him at all." She fumed at Leonardo. "Not in the least!"

"Sure you're not." Ripred scoffed before gathering them closer. "Alright, so first things first…"

"This is the stupidest plan I've ever been a part of." Gregor muttered.

"Shut up. You didn't have any other ideas." Ripred scowled back.

"Yeah, I did. You just didn't like any of them."

"To me, that is the equivalent as not having any other ideas, 'Jack'." Ripred chuckled.

Gregor groaned. "Why do I have to use that name again?"

"It's part of the plan. Do not question it." Luxa tried hard not to smile.

So here they were: all three of them on their way back to Regalia. With Gregor's armor off, their cover story would be that the "mysterious black-armored rebel" managed to subdue Ripred and tried to drag Luxa away when "Jack", who is actually Gregor, came in and managed to fight off the rebel in some miraculous manner without the use of a weapon. When Ripred and Luxa came to, they noticed he was marked by Death, so they decided to bring him back to the House of D.

"I do not have a good feeling about this plan." Leonardo muttered softly. "It seems like it will take too much time to find anything with the positions we will be in."

"Oh shut up already." Ripred groaned. "We have the queen, her bond, and a highly-skilled fighter who is bound to leap through the ranks of many soldiers in the House of D. At least one of us is bound to be able to do something."

"Yes, but there is no guarantee that such high positions will yield any results or leads." Leonardo grunted.

"I'm with you, Leo." Gregor sighed. "But looks like we got no choice on this one."

"Hush." Luxa murmured. We're here."

After several hours of painful walking, they finally found themselves at the gates of Regalia. As they approached, Gregor could hear the shock and surprise on all the guards near the gate.

"Your Majesty!" Gregor heard cries from the guards. "She's safe!"

"Somebody get Vikus!" another one called.

"What? Impossible!"

"All hail the Queen!"

"Oh bother." Ripred scoffed. "Don't just stand there!" he yelled up at the guards. "Let us in!"

"Yes! Right away, Ripred!" a guard rushed to the gate.

The gate creaked open and the group stepped through. The guards were cheering and celebrating and pretty soon, news of the Queen's return spread. Crowds of people came rushing to the gate with happy faces, cheering alongside the guards. Luxa smiled and waved at the crowds, occasionally touching one or two hands in the crowd before resuming her waving. Gregor couldn't help but smile. It sort of felt nostalgic, watching Luxa do her thing for the public again. Ripred merely nodded at all the attention he was getting. Gregor awkwardly stood there with his head looking downwards. When he looked up for a moment, he spotted someone running up quite quickly through the crowd.

"Luxa!" It was Vikus. "Luxa! There you are!" He rushed towards her and gave her a big hug. "Oh my…! I… I was so worried! I am sorry. I am a failure as your grandfather…" he stopped to wheeze.

"Stop, stop." Luxa rubbed Vikus' back. "You did everything you could. It is alright." All Vikus could do was nod as his eyes started to water.

"I am just so glad…" he whispered.

"As am I!" a voice bellowed above all the voices of the crowd. The crowd quieted to a soft murmur as they parted for a figure strutting through. It was suddenly deathly quiet as Gregor could recognize the figure as Henry. That walked up towards Luxa. "I am so relieved you have found your way back, your Majesty! We have sent many search parties for you, hoping you would be found, but here you are! Coming back all by yourself." He kneeled before her. "And now, we can finally resume our ceremony now, can we not?" he grinned.

Gregor grimaced and was itching to turn his bracelet, but Leonardo scolded him in his mind.

"Oh no you don't." Leonardo muttered. "Your chances of survival would be very slim." He urged. Gregor groaned, but reluctantly kept still.

Luxa's face was emotionless. She bit her lip and looked down. Apparently she had forgotten about the Joining Ceremony. She opened her mouth to say something, but then a voice cut in before she could utter a single word.

"Since her Majesty has been through a lot, I suggest we postpone the ceremony until later."

Henry turned towards Gregor.

"Is that so?" he bore his eyes into Gregor's. "And who, exactly, are you?" he strode up to Gregor, head lifted high.

Gregor suddenly realized he was the one who spoke up. Oh great. Well this was awkward. He could hear Luxa face palming herself in the background.

"His name is Jack." Ripred stepped in. "He saved our hides, so I think you should treat him with more respect, boy." He jabbed Henry with his tail. "Managed to fight off that dark-armored man who took us away."

"Is that so?" Henry now looked at Gregor with keen interest. "I'm sorry. You look like someone I knew in the past…" he narrowed his eyes. "The similarity is uncanny."

"Yeah? Well good for you." Ripred rolled his eyes. "Anyway, he bears the mark of Death, so take him to the House of D. Looks like he got lost out there." He shoved Gregor towards Henry. "Also, I agree with what Jack said. Luxa's been through a lot, so she will need to recuperate before proceeding with the ceremony."

"Yes, I am in agreement with this as well." Vikus cleared his throat. "We will arrange the ceremony for another time soon, I assure you." He promised Henry.

The crowd murmured in surprise and confusion while Henry seemed to grow restless. It was a tense moment, and Henry looked like he would explode out of anger. After a long moment, Henry turned away from the crowd and sighed.

"Very well!" Henry growled reluctantly before turning to Gregor and lifting a finger at him. "Come with me. You're coming to the House of D."

"Sir!" a guard called out. "Sir, there are two people here to join the House of D!" he announced as his footsteps resonated throughout the room. The dark room was surrounded by torches producing a harsh, black light and was decorated with rocks that shined with smoke. In the center stood several tall thrones that seemed to loom threateningly over the guard. A shadowy man on the tallest throne grunted as he turned to look at the man.

"Is that so?" his voice boomed around the room. "Interesting. I was not aware we had more marked people out there besides us."

"I believed the same, milord. But they have the mark of Death like the rest of us. Maybe they're from another Death colony?"

"That's highly improbable." The figure rose from the throne. "But possible. This is not the only time Death has lost track of his prisoners." He chuckled. "Very well. Bring them in here."

"Yes, sir!" the guard saluted before rushing out of the room.

After the guard left, the mysterious man held out his hand and smoke billowed from it like clouds in the night time. When it cleared, a huge, wicked scythe glinted back into the eyes of the shadowy man.

"Just, what are you up to, old friend?" he murmured.

AN: Oh gosh it's been a while. Please don't hate me guys :3. I was trying to get this done as fast as I could. But with SATs and finals and all this other crap I'm going to use as excuses came up, so please forgive me for the longggg delay. Anyway, I hope this doesn't seem too lacking... I have to admit I was rushing on this because of the long delay. But anyway. I've been surprised by the amount of reviews I've been getting! I have to thank all of you who actually took the time to do it. And like I've been saying, it's really been encouraging :)) Keep it up!