Hello readers! I hope you have had an awesome Christmas so far! Thank you for all the reviews that have come in, especially from 4sdzvrh! Your reviews have provided constructive feedback that has been extremely useful, and I cannot find the words to express to you how grateful I am to you for that. I hope you have enjoyed the story so far, and I will be working to include more plot twists and action sequences involving Calvin in the story. I have taken into account some improvements you have suggested, and rest assured that I will be working on combining my own ideas with them.

As for haha77, and other readers awaiting the appearance of Gregor, I am sorry, because he will not feature in this story. However, I have already planned to write a sequel, and he will feature very prominently in it. That being said, I encourage you all to continue reading this story, as this story will play a pivotal role in how the second story involving Gregor turns out. But once again, special thanks to haha77 for reviewing my story.

Once again, I wish all a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Chapter 11: Escape Plan

Calvin felt his stomach do a little somersault. Hero? Why Hero? His feelings for her seemed complicated, and now she was coming along? He honestly didn't know whether to feel excited or upset or alarmed or delighted or... Calvin could not control his mind from whirling with all kinds of confusing thoughts about Hero.

He saw Hero emerge from the crowd, looking genuinely frightened. She gulped slightly, before turning to Luxa, who still seemed to be in a state of shock. Nerissa only smiled placidly at hero, and didn't say anything further. A member of the audience suddenly yelled out, "This is ludicrous! She is merely a young girl! How can we subject her to such a mission? And she isn't even one of our best fighters!"

"I know that. But I have seen the fate of this quest. And it is doomed for failure if she does not join it. I cannot even begin to explain how important she is to the quest. Without her, Regalia loses hope of survival. I understand your doubts, but I call on all who are assembled here to trust me," Nerissa replied diplomatically.

"There are already many members of this quest. If we include her, there will be a strain on all other fighters of this quest to protect her," another woman pointed out.

"I understand that. Yet none of us here, including me, can even begin to fathom how crucial she is to the quest. From what I can see, if we need to reduce numbers, I would rather take a number of fighters out of this quest for Hero," Nerissa responded, seeming adamant in pushing Hero into the quest.

Finally, Luxa recovered from her earlier state of shock, and quickly spoke up, "I am not one who believes visions so easily, but seeing as how convinced Nerissa is of the need for Hero's presence, then I agree to add her in. That is, unless Hero herself objects to it. Hero, do you agree to become part of this quest?"

Once again, butterflies began to flit in Calvin's stomach. Would she say yes? Why would it matter to him? Calvin swallowed nervously as he awaited her response. Hero looked down on the ground for a while. When she looked up again, tears seemed to glisten in her eyes. "Will I come out of it alive?" she asked Nerissa.

Nerissa shrugged. "My dream did not show me your fate in the end."

"Do you know how I play my role in the quest's success?" Hero pressed.

"Yes, child, although I feel that if I reveal it now, your purpose will instantly become undermined and the quest will fail," Nerissa answered, although she seemed to be staring at Calvin while she said that.

Hero took another while to look at the ground. Finally she raised her voice above the noisy chatter of the crowd and said, "I will go on the quest!"

Calvin felt his heart leap for a second. It seemed almost as if he felt… pleased, that she was coming. He shook his head again to clear his mind from those unusual feelings. His entire head was shrouded with thoughts of her.

A hush descended on the crowd. An air of pity seemed to develop around Calvin, and he noticed people staring at her sadly, even pitifully. "So be it," Luxa replied stoutly, "the meeting is adjourned here. The quest members may take a short break, but I would like to meet all here again two hours from now."

Suddenly, a boy sprang forward from the crowd and proclaimed, "If Hero is going on this quest, then so shall I!"

Calvin squinted, and on closer inspection, realised it was Harold. He couldn't help but feel fresh feelings of anger towards Harold, and could even say he despised Harold. And yet Harold had done nothing to him. Calvin's head was a wreck at the moment. He couldn't even understand why he felt so strongly for Hero and against Harold. He wasn't used to these feelings. And he had no intention of letting them remain. They were a big distraction.

"I am courting her. I need to protect her!" Harold demanded.

"I believe we speak on the behalf of the council when I say that we have never allowed a member to join a quest out of love, especially when the love is at such a young age," replied Nerissa seriously, even though Calvin noticed a flicker of laughter play on Nerissa's lips for a second, "and I seriously believe that your presence on the quest may prove to be detrimental."

Just as Luxa was about to respond, Calvin saw a flash of sadness streak across her eyes, but she steeled herself to say, "I, of all people, understand what love means to you. But it cannot… cannot affect how you react to certain situations."

"No, I must go. It is imperative that someone who loves her takes care of her," Harold answered obstinately.

"Oh great. Now we have to watch the two lovebirds kissing while we have to watch guard," Lapblood grumbled. Everybody in the audience save Harold and Hero then instantaneously bit their lower lip to stifle themselves from erupting into laughter. Hero just looked ownright embarrassed by Harold's outburst, while Harold was flushing a scarlet red with anger.

"No,"Luxa replied tersely, "we will no longer tolerate your protestations, Harold. Please join the rest of the audience in leaving the council room. As mentioned earlier, the council is now adjourned. The quest members are to meet me in two hours' time."

Harold glared at her intensely for a few seconds, but Luxa appeared indifferent to it. Finally, he stormed out of the council room, unleashing profanity after profanity on his way out. Calvin just rolled his eyes and headed towards the corridor where Mareth was waiting.

"I don't understand what Luxa is trying to do," Calvin said, shaking his head, "she might have just made the decision to kill us all."

Mareth shrugged. "She can be stubborn."

"That doesn't entitle her to being stupid," Calvin replied angrily.

Mareth eyed Calvin for a moment. "Calvin, if I were you, I would remain cautious and choose my next few words carefully. You may have an opinion, but you should keep it to yourself. As I have suggested to others like you before, not everyone here is your friend." With that, Mareth strolled off.

Calvin frowned unhappily, but in the end realised that Mareth was right. Harold and Kent certainly weren't his friends. He didn't trust many people, and he was sure most people didn't trust him. He wasn't even that close to Ripred.

Just then, Hero made her way past him, shooting him an angry glare. Calvin was immediately taken aback. "What did I do?" he called out to her as she breezed past him without greeting him.

Hero spun round, disappointment written all over her face. "I saw you in the council room! You were laughing at me and Harold. You could have stood up for us but you chose to keep quiet and silently giggle away," she said accusingly, "I expected more from you, Calvin."

Calvin thought about responding passionately and aggressively, but instead chose to reply calmly, "My intention was not to hurt your feelings Hero. I am only human. We laugh when we think something is funny. And I thought that what Lapblood said was funny."

Tears welled up in Hero's eyes. She bit her lower lip, and then in a shaky voice, said, "Well, if you really cared about me, then you would have thought about my feelings!" With that, she turned and walked down the corridor.

"Hero, are you alright?" a male voice from behind Calvin called out.

Calvin and Hero simultaneously turned around to see a tall, young man, who was wearing a doctor's coat. He was decent looking, and even appeared slightly similar to Hero in terms of their facial features.

"I'm fine," Hero replied stiffly, before quickening her pace and hurrying down the corridor.

The man only sighed. "Greetings Calvin, I believe we haven't had the pleasure of meeting each other yet. I am Doctor Howard, and I'm taking care of your caretaker Mr Bennett. He is close to consciousness, and I assure you that you will see him before you set off on your quest." He extended his hand in an attempt to shake Calvin's hand.

Calvin shook his hand firmly. "Thanks, Doctor Howard. I owe you my utmost gratitude," Calvin replied, trying to sound as formal and dignified as possible.

Howard smiled warmly in return. "You're welcome. But why was my sister so angsty earlier?"

"Hero's your sister?" Calvin asked incredulously.

"Yes, she happens to be. Many of us here are related. For example, Nerissa and Luxa are my cousins, and Vikus is my grandfather. In such a small city, you will find that some of us are related in one way or another," replied Howard, with an evident twinkle in his eye.

Calvin was taken aback with this revelation. "Luxa's grandfather is Vikus?"

Howard nodded politely. "Indeed he is. Her parents are dead, and so is her grandmother. He is her last guiding light in her life. Well, I would like to count myself as her older brother somewhat, but then again she never listens to me," he said with a chuckle.

"I'm not surprised," Calvin snorted.

Howard only laughed. "You know, she's not always that bad. She inherited some of her grandfather's genes, so she has some good in her. The stubborn part comes from our late grandmother."

A sudden thought struck Calvin, and he couldn't help himself from blurting out, "If you are related to Luxa, this puts you in the royal family as well. Why is it I didn't meet you that night at the dinner when I met Luxa's other cousins such as Hazard?" He then looked down, feeling slightly embarrassed for asking the question so impolitely.

"There is no need to feel ashamed of what you just said," Howard answered kindly, "many have asked us such a question in a much cruder manner. While we are not often present in Regalia, my parents are in charge of another human city called The Fount. We hail from there. The only reason why you see me and Hero here is because I serve as Chief Doctor in Regalia and Hero is courting Harold. However, I suspect you will meet more of my family members soon. The Fount is unstable at the moment. If we survive the siege, the schemers will attack the Fount. So we will flee here."

Calvin nodded slowly. "Well, I'm going for a break. Pleasure to meet you Doctor Howard. Thank you for divulging some information with me."

"The pleasure is all mine, Calvin. I will let you know when your caretaker wakes up. I estimate he will wake up a few hours from now," Howard said with a bow, before striding off towards the hospital again.

Calvin made his way on foot to the arena, which appeared deserted at that moment. He picked up a blade and walked over to one of the dummies. He practised swinging his blade to hit certain weak points on the human dummy and the fox dummy. The limbs, the eyes, the neck… Mr Carter had taught him all these things. Calvin wondered how Mr Carter was doing at the moment. How was life going back in the Overland? Was he reported missing? Was his disappearance on national television? Would Mr Carter know where he was going?

He tried to ignore these thoughts and distractions, focussing on hacking the dummies. But the thoughts of the Overland began to intrude into his mind again, and endless streams of thoughts flooded his mind. Mr Bennett… his father… Hero… Vikus… Luxa...

Shouting with frustration, he whipped out his Berrett and fired six shots and the fox dummy, blowing its head off. "That's an interesting weapon you have there," a weary voice called out from behind.

Calvin whirled around to find Ripred slouched against the wall, yawning and exposing his razor sharp teeth. "They kicked you off the team," Calvin informed Ripred bluntly.

"Oh, I am so surprised. I did not see that coming," Ripred slurred.

Calvin decided to ignore the rat's sarcasm. "You know we need you," he told Ripred, "or we're all going to die."

Ripred waved his paw in the air dismissively. "You'll be fine," he responded nonchalantly.

Calvin lost his cool. "Stop it! We need you to help us! I don't care what Luxa says! In fact, I trust you more than Luxa! Look, even if you don't care about me, care about Regalia. Care about your people, your family. Do you not care about all of them?"

Ripred's eyes suddenly lit up with anger. "Do you really think I do not care about my family? My people? Look at me, boy. Look into my eyes. And now you know I'm telling the truth that showing my care for people has gotten me nowhere. My family is at the bottom of the river, separated from me by the very people who are barking orders at me. My fellow gnawers are being torn to shreds by schemers. Forgive me if I refuse to show any care for you, Calvin," snarled Ripred.

For a moment, Calvin forgot the anger Ripred was showing him, but instead focussed on the pain that Ripred was exhibiting in his eyes. A pang of sympathy shot up through Calvin as he remembered Ripred's story about his family. Instead of glaring at Ripred, or retorting back at him, he said to him, "I'm sorry for what I said. I understand how you feel."

Ripred stopped bristling with anger, and his expression softened for a moment. "In a sense, we're not very different, you and I," Ripred said after a lengthy silence, "because you are a son without parents, and I'm a father without children. And we both fight for a city which we officially have no allegiance to."

Calvin nodded, almost a little sadly. Ripred cleared his throat, before saying, "That weapon of yours. The pistol. It is a secret weapon that can be played on the schemers if the situation becomes desperate. I would suggest you use swords at the start, but when you meet Flavius, blow his brains out with that gun. Do you have more of these?"

"Yes."

"How many of them?"

"Three."

"Bring all of them. But store them away. I suspect you will have to use them at least once before you meet Flavius. Never mind. Keep the strongest pistol a secret. There is a traitor in Regalia, even if it isn't the schemer. The traitor might even be on the quest. I suggest you don't tell anyone about it except Lapblood, her children, Hecate, Nike and Temp. Only trust those few. Promise to me you will keep this secret," Ripred advised Calvin.

"I promise," Calvin replied.

Ripred seemed satisfied with Calvin's answer. "Good," said Ripred, who suddenly seemed very exhausted. He mustered up some strength to say, "This is my last piece of advice to you. Remember that night, when I talked to you about legacies? What I've been trying to say is that essentially, you will be compared in every aspect to the Warrior. Do not be daunted by that. Do not be frustrated by those comparisons. You can always step up and create your own legacy. You cannot always live in the shadow of the Warrior's legacy. Or it might threaten to crush you," Ripred said ominously.

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Calvin.

"Because I have always felt that it is my allegiance to teach my students what is best for them," responded Ripred.

A ripple of surprise surged through Calvin. "I'm… I'm your student?" Calvin stuttered.

Ripred snorted. "Don't get your hopes up too high. You're not my student per say, but I have a strange feeling of protectiveness over you like I had for the Warrior. I am confident in your abilities, boy. You may not be a rager, but I'm sure you're capable of holding your own."

"What's a rager?" Calvin inquired.

"That's a story for another day," Ripred replied brusquely, "all you need to know is that the warrior's legacy may be immortal, but you don't have to fall under it. Be a trailblazer. Forge your own reputation. And you will find in yourself an inner strength you have never known before."

"Your thoughts are so... deep," Calvin remarked.

Ripred rolled his eyes. "Are you going to listen to my advice or not?"

Calvin nodded quickly. "I will, Ripred, but I think it's time for me to leave and hurry along."

Ripred waved his paw in the air. "Go off. But remember my advice, boy. My advice always come in handy."

Calvin just nodded and walked back towards the palace, reflecting on Ripred's advice. How could he destroy a legacy of Overlanders that was immortal? How could he imprint himself into a nation's history, and create a legacy far greater than the Warrior's legacy?

Just as Calvin was about to make his way to the council room, Howard intercepted him. "You will be pleased to hear that Mr Bennett is awake. He is weak, but he's much better. You can visit him now," said Howard with a smile.

Calvin could barely contain his excitement. "Could you please direct me to his room?" Calvin asked as politely as he could.

Howard nodded, and with a smile, said, "That's the plan." He quickly led Calvin down a series of unfamiliar winding corridors, that eventually led to a series of rooms, with glass panels for visitors to peer through. Calvin was led into one of the rooms, and found himself staring at Mr Bennett, who was lying comfortably on the bed. Mr Bennett's face lit up with pure glee.

"Calvin! It's so good to see you!" Mr Bennett exclaimed.

Calvin found himself running up to Mr Bennett to embrace him, something which he hadn't done since he was a toddler. He had always been fairly formal with Mr Bennett, and treated him nicely, but they hadn't been so close for a long time. Calvin felt a surge of gratitude towards Mr Bennett. "How are you, Mr Bennett?" he asked.

"Fine," replied Mr Bennett generically, before saying, "I still feel like a sack of bones, but I believe I've felt worse before. I think I'm getting old."

"We all do," Vikus remarked, as he entered the room, "Welcome to Regalia, Mr Bennett."

"Thank you, but who are you exactly?" Mr Bennett asked, lacking his normally refined tone.

"I am Vikus. I believe your master Richard knew me," Vikus introduced himself.

"Indeed he has," Mr Bennett confirmed, "and he spoke well of you."

"Has he now? Well, I must say that is a pleasant surprise. I think I should leave Calvin with you so you may speak privately. However, your presence is required in the council room in ten minutes," said Vikus politely before exiting the room.

Mr Bennett shot him a questioning look. "Why are you going to their council? Why are you wearing armour? And what happened after I collapsed?"

Calvin decided to condense the events of the past two days as fast as possible. He told Mr Bennett about how Ripred and Regalia's fliers fended off the foxes, and his introduction to the key people in Regalia. He then spoke of the tour he had with Vikus, and the dinner they had that night. He decided to exclude what happened during his "late night rendezvous" the previous night.

Calvin then went on to talk about the meeting in the council room, and the details that were divulged there. Furthermore, he included the whole sequence of events that happened in the arena, except the part where he felt awkward feelings for Hero. He then went on to discuss the siege of Regalia, and the ruthless cruelty of General Brutus and his schemers. Finally, he concluded with Ripred's confrontation with Queen Luxa, and his inclusion amongst the quest members.

Mr Bennett nodded slowly. "Seems like you've been very busy in my absence," he observed.

Calvin shrugged. "I've seen a lot throughout these past twenty-four hours. And there is more to come."

Mr Bennett leaned forward. "I don't have much advice to give. All I can tell you is to be careful, and to keep yourself safe. Don't do anything rashly. Always stay close to someone you trust. And do not walk straight to your death without considering the big picture," Mr Bennett pleaded.

"What the heck does that even mean?" Calvin said, scrunching up his face.

"It means don't throw your life away without thinking of the people around you and the people back in New York," Mr Bennett explained.

Just then, a guard walked through the doorway. "Overlander, the Queen summons you to the Council room," he said stiffly.

"Remember my advice, Calvin," Mr Bennett called out as Calvin left the room. Calvin just waved. Perhaps the wave was a little sad, but Calvin knew that there was a chance he might not see his caretaker again.

Starting to become more familiar with the corridors, Calvin made his way to the Council room with little assistance from the guard. As he entered the room, he realised that all the members of the quest had already gathered. All eyes in the room swivelled to meet him. He glanced quickly at Hero, but she seemed determined not to meet his gaze. He cleared his throat. "Sorry for being late," he apologized.

"You are excused," Luxa said, dismissing his lack of punctuality quickly. She swiftly got down to business. "The schemers say that we cannot go on our quest, or we will be attacked by the schemers. Under attack by such vast numbers and with the additional threat of miss… miss… missides… or is it missiles... yes missiles," Luxa said, struggling to pronounce 'missiles', "Regalia will surely fall. However, we have devised a simple plan to solve the problem. However, it is tricky to execute, so all here have to listen up carefully."

The quest members all became a little bit restless. Calvin had a feeling that nobody wanted to be part of a plan difficult to execute. Calvin knew these types of plans often went awry and bad things tended to happen.

"Our scouts have observed that the schemers have a slight weakness in their siege. The number of schemers that are deployed near the Waterway are particularly few. If you all escape down the river, then you can sail down to one of the banks near the forest, where your journey will continue towards the schemers' main base of operations. However, the lack of guards at the Waterway might be a deliberate ploy by the schemers to lure out our quest members, where we will be slaughtered easily," Luxa said grimly.

That was when Conrad stepped in. "That being said, we have developed a plan to counter this problem. We will send a number of soldiers dressed as fishermen, to check if the schemers are present in the area. If they are not, the soldiers will send a signal for you to come. If the schemers have set up a trap there, the soldiers will pretend to be ignorant fishermen, but will still send a signal. Not for you all, but for reinforcements."

Conrad paused for a while to let his words sink in. "The reinforcements will come, pretending to be under the impression that the fishermen were assaulted, breaking the truce that was struck between both sides. Amidst all the confusion, you will sail down the river and escape the chaos. Hopefully the schemers will not notice, for we will cover your scent in fish. Then your quest will resume from there, while you all are on your own."

There was an awkward silence, before lapblood commented, "I hate smelling like trout."

What she said wasn't particularly funny, but every quest member in the council room cracked up anyway. They were all so incredibly nervous. The fate of the Underland rested on all their shoulders. Agamemnon, one of the massive bats, wrinkled up his nose and said, "Unlike most fliers, I agree with you. Fliers generally love fish, but I prefer not to consume them."

"Great. Now all the fliers except for Agamemnon will gorge themselves on us," Lapblood said grumpily, and everybody started laughing again. Calvin realised that in retrospect, it sounded quite offensive, but everyone was so tense that they needed some humour.

"You all better get some rest before tonight. You have about three hours to gain as much as rest as possible. Tonight will be a long night. You'll need the sleep," concluded Conrad solemnly.

"Report to the armoury in three hours' time. From there, we will lead you to the river, where the plan will be executed," added Luxa.

"Schemers there are, how many, schemers there are?" inquired Temp.

"As mentioned earlier, temp, we're not sure. But we estimate that the number of guards present will number between five and ten," answered Luxa.

"Enough for me to kill," mused Sixclaw.

Flyfur shot her brother a look. "We should avoid battle where possible," she said frowning.

Temp's antennae shifted from side to side agitatedly. "Dangerous, this be, dangerous," he said uneasily.

Luxa seemed to be concerned by temp's words, but Conrad seemed to ignore them. "Keep your worries to yourself for now, Temp. We should not let it hinder ou… the quest," he said, correcting himself.

With that, the members were dismissed. Calvin headed straight for his room, where he lay on his bed. He decided to attempt to sleep, no matter how difficult it was, though. Slowly but surely, his eyelids began to droop, and the dark feeling of sleep began to embrace him and enshroud him. He felt words beginning to seep into his mind.

"Come out boy! I can smell you, and I can smell your fear and anguish."

He tried to ignore it, but just before he fell into the realms of slumber, he heard a voice say, "Be on your guard, boy. Because I'm coming… FOR YOU."

Thank you to all those who have reviewed my story. I seemed to be caught in a slump for this one, as I struggled to write it. Nonetheless, this chapter is complete and I hope you have enjoyed it.

As the New year approaches during the next few hours, I would like to express my gratitude to all those who have read and reviewed my story this past year. It has been full of ups and downs, but ultimately, I am satisfied with it. I wish for all of you to reflect on a good past year, and I hope all of you have an excellent 2015. This is adieu to 2014, but there are better things to come.

Happy New Year!

For auld lang syne, my dear,

For auld lang syne!

We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,

For auld lang syne!

Fly you high!

P.S. if you have any ideas on what adversities the quest members face on the quest, please feel free to share it.