Hi, people. There seems to have been a little mishap with my social life, so I suppose I just felt that editing a new chapter would help distract me. Not that I'm not grateful to Darkrider013, LadyCorkboard, Kizanna the Underlander, Sparky123, and saacool gregor and percy rocks for their reviews. They do help me out, honestly. And thus, your reward.

Oh, and for the record, I reposted Chapter Two in order to fix something vital I forgot (how Luxa got her scar in the jungle). Nothing major, I assure you, but helpful nonetheless.

Chapter Fourteen: in Which the Evacuation Has Mixed Results

"We are here," Tangent said. "Someone summon the blood-drinker."

"I'll do it," Gregor said. Everyone nodded and filed into a small, one-story stone house at the edge of the deserted crop fields. With his echolocation, Gregor could see a swarm of people on the floor when Tangent rapped on and opened the door. He couldn't tell who was there specifically, but he'd soon find out.

"I want to speak with the blood-drinker," Luxa said from behind him.

"Oh…kay," Gregor said, taken aback by her presence.

"And Gregor?" She stepped forward. "Before that, I must know. Do you trust her?"

"I'm not really sure." Gregor paused. It was just them, alone in the street. Gnawers and humans and fliers and roaches and all manner of creatures could hear them if they wanted to, but that thought was pushed to the back of Gregor's mind. She looked beautiful, standing there and staring at him with those large violet eyes.

"Please be careful in your trust," Luxa said. "In the jungle, when we found each other, and I said Aurora dislocated her wing in a fight at the edge of the jungle? That was not true. The blood-drinker dislocated Aurora's wing, while she was trying to drink from her mother." Her hand gently touched the scar that ran from her jawline to her eye. Gregor realized then that this wasn't just about Aurora.

"I cannot forgive such an act of treachery," Luxa said, "and I think she may do damage still. Even to you." She bit her lip. "Gregor, I cannot let that happen. She managed to harm me after she harmed Aurora, and she has such little control. I doubt she even gives this injury a second thought, compared to her focus on Aurora. She is too strong, and too thirsty, and her mind has been manipulated by gnawers."

"Luxa, if she's Ares' and Aurora's daughter, maybe she's a little bit like them," Gregor said softly. "I think maybe she's learned after that incident, even if the gnawers taught her differently. She said she regretted hurting Aurora, and she misses Ares-"

"But she thinks it is your fault that he died!" Luxa's voice echoed, and she began to murmur. "When the blood-drinker first arrived at the party with Locklunge, she spoke with hatred unheard of in any flier I have met. That is the gnawers' work. She does not like us, Gregor, though she may be pretending otherwise. It is unwise to trust someone who hates you."

Torches began to flicker out in the small house nearby. Gregor knew it was a signal. "Adrian!" He turned and called in a hoarse whisper. She coasted down as if she had been waiting for that cue, and Gregor told both her and Luxa, "It's almost time."

"Blood-drinker, there was another flier with you on the roofs at one point," Luxa murmured as they came to the door.

"An old friend," Adrian said. "She wished me well." The door opened to allow them in, and Gregor knew she would say no more. But he also knew Luxa wasn't going to forget to ask later.

"Good, you are here," Tangent said. "I am glad I could not hear anything outside. Now, our first priority is to evacuate the royal family and representatives. They make up our first group, followed by their guards and servants in the second group."

"So Mareth and Dulcet aren't here," Gregor thought as he surveyed the small, cramped room. Boots and Hazard were sitting on Temp's black shell; Temp raised his antennas to acknowledge Gregor. Lizzie, Nike, and Howard were all resting on the floor, near what Gregor could remember of the council, as if to protect the gray old man that sat staring into space.

"Vikus!" Gregor exclaimed as loud as he dared. The left side of Vikus's face seemed to lighten and smiled as Gregor, Luxa, and Adrian moved to meet him. The other side of his face seemed to grimace.

"Vikus, we are here." Luxa sat down and laid her hand on her grandfather's hand. "Gregor agreed to come down with his sisters to help us win back Regalia."

"It's been a while." Gregor smiled at Vikus, who seemed to be staring at the young bat standing behind him like a shadow. Luxa obviously wasn't going to say anything. "Oh, and this is Adrian." Gregor gestured to the bat, who bowed her head respectively. "I guess you'd know her as the blood-drinker, but I just call her Adrian."

"Pleasure," Vikus said. He must be getting better at controlling his muscles, though it pained him to say one word.

"It is good to meet you too," Adrian replied stiffly.

"Ah, the blood-drinker," Someone sighed from the corner. "I had wondered when I would meet you."

"Nerissa?" Gregor turned and raised his eyebrows. She didn't stir, but focused her light eyes on Adrian. A jacket was wrapped around her, and she clutched it to her skeleton body with small hands that were as white as chalk. She didn't seem too different from last time, but Gregor realized that she was probably an adult by now.

"I have seen you here," Nerissa said, still speaking to Adrian.

"I have not set foot in Regalia up until twenty-four hours ago," Adrian said, slightly confused.

"Nerissa can see into the future. And the past," Gregor said. He wasn't sure whether or not to add that sometimes no one- Nerissa included- believed her, but Adrian didn't seem to care.

"What do you see now?" She asked Nerissa.

"You," Nerissa said with a ghost of a smile. Adrian's shoulders dropped. "But if you intended to ask about any visions of you, then I have seen bits and pieces. You are very perplexing, for all but the humans appeal to you. But the person- or group- that truly cares for you is closer than you think."

Gregor wondered if she'd practiced that. She sounded more like one of those gypsies at Coney Island than she sounded like herself.

"Oh. And my greatest sympathies for your losses," Nerissa added. That was a bit better.

Adrian frowned, trying to make sense of it, when a cream-colored mouse came around and whispered to them to prepare. She stopped when she came to the bat.

"Oh," The mouse said. "I am glad you are alive, Adrian. I only wish you were not here."

"Sometimes we must do what we must," Adrian said quietly. "It is good to see you, Grid."

"How strange, how the gnawers can inspire reunions between those who have not met in years. War brings us together more than anything," Tangent said as he came up behind Grid. "Do you know what to do?"

"No," Gregor admitted. His head was dizzy enough from these reunions. He hadn't expected to see any of these people for the rest of his life, but now that his wishes to return had come true, he had too little time or privacy to greet everyone he'd missed. And then there were new people to handle, and they all had a complex web of relationships and experiences. He wished he had Lizzie's head, to sort it all out.

"Very well," Tangent said. "Follow Temp, then. He carries your sister, so it may be little trouble for you to do so. Nerissa, may I help you up?" He said to the frail teen- or adult.

"Yes, please." Tangent offered his paw to Nerissa at her consent. Gregor decided to go find Temp, and he could feel Adrian starting to follow, but Grid's voice stopped her.

"Adrian, where is Darius?" She asked in a whisper.

Darius, Gregor repeated the name to himself as he wove through the crowd, avoiding the stares and gasps that the Underlanders gave when they recognized his comparatively tan skin. Who was Darius? He needed to ask.

"An honor to see you, it is, an honor," Temp said when Gregor was close enough. "The tunnels, you travel, the tunnels?"

"Hey, Temp." Gregor smiled wearily. Temp was good company. Hazard had gone to visit Vikus, his grandfather. Boots was still chattering to the ever-patient Temp, but the cockroach didn't mind at all. "We could have flown through the net, but we're taking this way because Luxa, Howard, Nike, and Hazard can't get out any other way."

"Why through the net, go you, when not through the net, go they?"

Gregor took this as a question of why he could get through. He'd forgotten Temp's weird way of speaking. "Well…from what I know, the rats would let me through because I'm supposed to find them an army or something, but Luxa and Howard and all you guys are supposed to stay here."

"Goes too, the princess, goes too?"

"I don't know," Gregor admitted, looking at Boots. She was happy where she was, and he was sure she didn't want to be apart from Temp. Could he bring her to meet an army?

"Yes, I think she must come," Adrian said from behind him. "Because Lizzie is to use the Seek, Boots is most likely to ask our ally for help."

Gregor wasn't sure he wanted to hear that. Boots had to remember how sometimes bad things happened. She had fallen into a raging river, she had been cornered in caves by rats, she had watched Thalia die…she couldn't want it all to happen again, could she?

"Who are you, crawler?" Adrian said after a moment of silence.

"I be Temp, I be," Temp said. And then he asked- the first to ask without a trace of caution or fear- "Be you the blood-drinker, be you?"

"I be…" Adrian said. "This does not trouble you?"

"I be cold-blooded, I be," Temp reasoned. "Not threatened, my life be, not threatened."

"Oh," Adrian said thoughtfully. "I did not realize lives were threatened in my presence."

"Be you offended, be you?"

"Not offended, I am not…uh, no." Adrian tried to speak like he did, but gave up. He understood her just fine, anyways. "It is good to meet you, Temp."

"Temp talks to me!" Boots suddenly objected. "I missed Temp more!" Temp immediately clicked to Boots (an apology?), and Gregor tried to stifle a laugh.

"Ignore her," He told Adrian. "Boots and Temp used to be together all the time when we were down here. He taught her how to speak crawler, but she can only use it with him and Hazard, so she won't leave him."

"I understand why they are friends," Adrian said and watched the pair. The thought in her voice made Gregor wonder if she would want to be friends with someone like Temp. It had to be hard, living life with a label you couldn't deny. He found it hard just living down his reputation as a warrior/rager, but to drink blood…

"Temp." Tangent approached them, and everyone fell silent. "Lead the way."

Temp stopped just long enough to let the exhausted Hazard onto his back, and then he opened the door with his head and scurried out noiselessly. Gregor followed the cockroach in the blackness of the outside world, as did the other creatures. Howard and Luxa found Gregor and joined him, and they trekked for a few minutes, keeping each other's company.

The worst part was the near-total darkness. Somehow, the gnawers had figured out how to turn out the gas lanterns over the crop fields for the night- probably because the humans depended on the light to be on, and were supposed to do nothing without it. Small torches were carried sporadically throughout the crowd, but the people at the front carried none. Everyone had to rely on Temp's occasional clicks to determine where he was, because the torchlight only spread out a few feet for fear of being caught.

When Luxa and Howard began to stumble on his feet, Gregor began to wonder if it was more worth it to have the gnawers see them than to go without more light. For people who never saw the sun, they couldn't walk two feet straight without a torch! Finally, when Luxa was just about to topple onto Temp, Gregor grabbed her hand, set her up, and didn't let go. With his echolocation in her direction, he could see her almost smiling.

Over the past two years, his echolocation had improved to the point where he couldn't fall asleep without seeing his room, in all its black-and-white stillness. He could breathe easily and still have a constant stream of information. Right now, Boots was trying to teach Hazard rock-paper-scissors in the dark by shaping her hand in the appropriate form and whispering the name. For a five-year-old, she knew what "quiet" meant. Hazard just looked confused and didn't say anything. Howard was on the other side of Luxa, taking long strides as if he was stepping over something nasty each time; it was really to keep from tripping.

Breathing over his shoulder, Gregor knew Lizzie was close behind him (though he could have known another way- she kept stepping on the backs of his shoes). Two mice walked on either side of her, and she made sure she had a hand on at least one of their paws. Nike hobbled behind Howard, and Adrian matched Nike's pace in more graceful steps and hops. The bats weren't great on their feet, but at least they could see and not trip as often. Adrian even turned to face Gregor, as if she thought he could see her, but couldn't quite bring herself to believe it.

"Halt you, halt," Temp said quietly, and Gregor stopped. Everyone else stopped once they knew he did it, and they squinted in the darkness, trying to find where the exit was. They were far from any wall or cave-like surface, near the edge of one of the barren planting fields that the humans had harvested so the gnawers could feast that night. People lit more torches, probably because they didn't think any rats were around to notice.

Gregor looked around before he saw what they were near. Ahead of Temp was a small pile of dirt next to a hole in the ground, like someone had tried to dig to China and got bored in fifteen minutes. It would look shallow from this distance, nothing to worry about. But leaning forward a bit and clicking made Gregor recognize the echo that the hole produced. After a good ten foot drop, the hole turned into a tunnel.

"It's small," Gregor whispered to Luxa and Howard. "We might need to go single-file."

"Can you determine its height?" Howard asked.

"About seven feet, and four feet across."

"It will be cramped for the fliers and nibblers," Luxa pointed out. "But we may be comfortable if we walk in pairs."

"No, cousin, I see no benefit in that," Howard said firmly. Gregor couldn't help but feel bad. He could have kept guiding Luxa in the tunnel. But no, Howard didn't even want them holding hands…

"Overlander?" Gregor turned to see Grid, the mouse, with Lizzie at her side. "Make you arrangements for your sister?"

"Oh, yeah, she can walk with me," Gregor said.

"I would advise it, but Tangent has assigned you and Queen Luxa the duty of flanking Temp. Should there be peril at the other side of the tunnel, you may not want your sister to see it first."

"Uh…okay, what do you suggest?" Gregor glanced to Boots and Hazard sitting on Temp's back, He probably wasn't going to get Boots to go with Lizzie, and Hazard was too weak to keep up on foot. He'd just have to fight hard enough to keep them safe.

"We request Howard to aid Vikus and Nerissa in their walk. Lizzie may accompany him," Grid suggested.

"Howard, do you mind?" Gregor asked.

"Not at all. Lizzie will be safe with me," Howard said.

"Thanks." Gregor nodded, and put a hand on Lizzie's shoulder. She flinched; of course she couldn't see him. "Howard will walk with you, and I'll be just up ahead if you're scared. Okay, Liz?"

"And the mice?" Lizzie squeaked. "Tangent said they'd be…"

"Of course," Grid said. "I will be walking nearby to protect you, and to carry one of the fliers while I am at it."

"Carrying?" Luxa asked.

"We will go faster if each nibbler carries a flier," Grid explained. "I am to carry the blood-drinker."

At that point, Tangent came over and shooed Grid, Howard, and Lizzie farther down the line. He also asked in a fervent whisper that Gregor and Luxa take out their swords, as they were the only two guards he could find for the front and they needed to be ready. As Tangent scurried away, Gregor realized just how frazzling this could be, even for a strategist. They were supposed to evacuate an entire city, most of the citizens being scared, hungry, and miserable. This had to be done in a matter of hours, with no light and the threat of discovery by gnawers looming over their head. No wonder he had to make sure everything was exactly right.

Gregor took out his sword from his belt, and as he exhaled, he noticed Luxa smiling. "What?" He asked.

Luxa's smile diminished, but was still present. "Nothing. It is only that Howard said we should not walk in pairs. But how can he tell from so far down the line?"

"Yeah," Gregor grinned. "Thank Tangent."

Hazard coughed, and Gregor took some water from his backpack to give to Luxa. She fed it to the Halflander, her smile replaced with concern. Gregor picked up Boots, just to distract himself from how Luxa's wrinkled brow made him feel.

Temp announced that he had been signaled, and so Luxa picked up Hazard, and they all watched (or listened to) Temp drop into the hole, using his cockroach wings to break his fall. Gregor and Boots followed, and Gregor almost fell down and dropped his sister upon impact. But he recovered, and once he and Luxa had given their siblings to Temp, they started to walk.

For a while, the only thing to note was the sound of people and mice falling into the tunnel. The mice seemed to have more balance, and even had to catch humans like Nerissa to keep them from breaking bones. But as he walked farther from the opening, Gregor began to notice the terrain. The tunnel seemed to slope down at a sharp angle, but there were more left-and-right turns. Sometimes a smaller hole would branch off of the main hall, and sometimes Temp would go into the smaller opening even though it looked more treacherous than the hall they were in. Or rather, the smaller opening looked ready to fall apart around them; the terrain was bumpier in some places, and the ceilings sometimes sprayed dirt on them. But Gregor had to hand it to the moles who had built this: after two years, their tunnels were still fit for masses to travel through.

Gregor wondered how those behind him were doing. The bats must loathe being with such little space and air, and the mice must be muttering curses as they carried giant bats through tiny passageways. Some of them had to be hitting their heads on the ceiling, because he could hear bangs and feel more gravel sprinkle in his hair. And the humans must be exhausted (after walking at least an hour and a half), and frustrated with the darkness. Gregor could see every twist, turn, rise, and fall in the terrain, but sometimes torchlight neglected to warn the other humans of rocks jutting out to snag them.

"I wish Ripred had taught me more of echolocation," Luxa sighed. Though the gnawers couldn't hear them there, the tunnels could echo, so she spoke in a low voice. "What good are strategies and ceremonies if I cannot even conduct myself in the dark?"

"You say that now," Gregor smiled, "but I wouldn't repeat that when Ripred's around. He wouldn't let you forget it."

"And then my life would be nothing but sitting in the dark with a grouchy gnawer." Luxa rolled her eyes.

"I learned it when Ripred wasn't even close to me," Gregor said. "Maybe you only have to-"

"Hear you something, hear you?" Temp interrupted. Gregor immediately tightened his hand on his sword and listened. At first, there was nothing but the sound of feet and paws on dirt. But then, as if it was getting closer…it sounded like construction workers moving massive amounts of dirt with bulldozers- only very, very quickly. The sound was coming from the right wall.

"What is it?" Gregor asked, bewildered.

"It cannot be good," Luxa muttered. She turned and called out, "Tangent?"

"He is above, directing the next squadrons," Grid responded with a grunt. She was just a body or two behind him, with Adrian peering at them over her shoulder.

"Louder, it gets, louder," Temp said.

"I hear it too," Adrian said. People were beginning to notice.

"Like a cereal box!" Boots said.

"Huh?" Gregor asked, exasperated. People's heads were turning around in confusion, and unless it stopped soon, there would be panic. And how could they handle panic down here?

"When you shake a cereal box, it sounds like this," Boots said. "Only this gets louder."

"Right, Boots." Gregor nodded. She had a pretty good description of what was going on here. The shuffling got louder and louder as they walked on, until the right wall began to flake dirt. Until Luxa's eyes widened as she realized.

"No," She breathed. "Gregor, it is the-"

At that point, the wall burst into a gaping hole, showing rocks and dust on them with a sound like a crack of thunder. And Gregor found the claws of a star-nosed mole prying the walls apart.

Before anyone could even cry out, he was attacking. His rager sense kick-started to life, roaring inside him after being dormant for so long. He could pick out the exact point where claw met flesh, and so he hacked off the sharp nails that had been shoveling through the ground. As the mole let out a cry of pain, he stuck his sword into a tender spot in its head and kept it plunging until the head met the handle. It fell on its belly as Gregor pierced its brain.

Humans were screaming (Boots' was the highest pitch) as another mole broke into the hall a short way ahead of them, but Gregor and Luxa ran for it without another thought. Luxa did some fancy acrobatics to distract the mole and keep it guessing where she would hit, while Gregor battled his was past the protective claws and stabbed the colossal beast in its chest. Luxa jabbed her sword into its eye at the same time, so the mole backed into its tunnel before it too collapsed, bleeding to death.

Gregor was just trying to wedge his way out of the tunnel to meet Luxa when he heard a horrible battle cry. He emerged to see rats- at least ten of them- following the path the first mole had made and trying to frighten the humans into retreat. Luxa had already taken off, determined to stop the flow of gnawers coming in.

As Gregor ran to attack the rats already in the tunnel, he raised his sword. It was long and lightweight, easy to carry around once he had it positioned right, but he had underestimated it. That sword seemed to have a rager side to it too, executing every move to be precise and lethal.

His opinions were proven right when he pinpointed a weak spot on the back of a gnawer about to pounce on Luxa. The sword had struck home as soon as Gregor noticed the spot between two ribs. But now rats were turning to find him, and soon he had to face several attacks at once. His left side gradually became bloodier; as soon as the rats realized he didn't have a dagger for his left hand, they began to direct their blows there, and went for his right while he was defending himself.

A sword that wasn't his clashed with a claw that sounded only inches from his head. Gregor turned to see Howard deflecting a gnawer. He didn't acknowledge Gregor or Luxa, but only went on to battle. More gnawers were slipping behind the carcass of the mole, and the people at the front were backing away in fear. Some slashed at the occasional gnawer blow with whatever they had, some were backing away, some were already gone.

The number of gnawers whittled down, but Gregor found a claw or a tail always waiting for him. They weren't going to get through this. Luxa was trying to get Temp over the carcasses to safety with Boots and Hazard, who were covering their eyes. Boots was screeching: "DON'T HURT GREGOR!"

This was the one rat with silver fur that let her companions battle, and concentrated solely on keeping the refugees from anywhere. She slashed at Boots, but Luxa cut her sword between the rat and the toddler.

"We will not just stand by and let you leave," the rat snarled. "We have other plans." And she swiped at Luxa, who deflected the blow.

"My people will not die on your terms!" Luxa retorted. Gregor killed one of the other rats, and at its screams, the other troops finally began to look wary. They turned to pounce on the crowd that still remained and was trying desperately to keep walking forward.

The next moves seemed to happen in slow motion. Luxa saw two rats lunge for her people, and she moved to stop them. The silver rat aimed her claws for Luxa's throat. Gregor leaped between them; the silver rat's sword met with one ringing sound. The rat smiled.

The next thing he knew, Gregor had his back pressed against the rat's front. Her claw was at his neck.

"Nobody move!" She roared. "I have the rager, and unless you go back to Regalia, I'll take his life! And for those who do not believe me…" She grabbed his right hand with her paw, and held it up for all to see. Then her sharp claw sliced into the skin on the back of his hand, and she tore a diagonal line into his skin.

Gregor clamped his jaw shut, but it wouldn't stay shut. He screamed. It echoed through the entire network of tunnels, and no one, not even Luxa or the other rats, could tear their eyes from his pain. The silver rat was going to chop his hand off!

He formed words. "STOP!" was the first. "Stop, stop!" he cried, staring at the floor and trying to keep tears from his eyes. But her claw didn't stop, it was forging itself into his bone, leaving a permanent mark. It had to end! "Enough!" He said and dropped his sword to the ground. The act of opening his hand mashed the claw deeper still into his hand. Breath didn't come into his lungs.

"What was that, rager?" The silver rat asked.

Get your claws away from me," Gregor gasped.

The rat let go, and he fell on all fours, panting. He made the mistake of looking to Luxa. The shame in her eyes cut at him all over again.

"Do you see?" The silver rat gloated. "He is only a boy. See how he cowers when he is in pain? This rager cannot protect you. Now back to Regalia," She said and bared her teeth, "or you will bear worse punishment than the boy."

After hearing Gregor's screams and seeing the threat the silver rat and her troops promised, almost everyone turned around and walked back as fast as they could. Or rather, those who witnessed everything turned around and gave sad looks to those behind them before the gnawers that were still alive ushered them, using their claws and teeth as encouragement when they didn't move fast enough. Many heads turned back to Gregor with disappointment he hadn't thought he'd see in them.

Gregor ducked his head down. Because this capture was his fault, because he was weak. Everyone now truly was a prisoner of Regalia.

Luxa, Howard, Lizzie, and Temp (with Boots and Hazard) surrounded Gregor, followed shortly by Nike, who had slipped through the crowd to meet with them. Lizzie and Boots looked distraught; Howard, Nike, and Hazard looked sympathetic; Luxa and Temp were blank; and Adrian…where was Adrian?

"Get away, gnawer, you will do worse to her than you did to the rager!" Grid squealed. She alone had stayed put, with Adrian burrowing her face into her back rather childishly.

Gregor slowly rose from his all-fours pose, ignoring the blood on his hand that was flowing freely. He had eyes only for the silver rat. She hissed at Grid, and when the mouse reeled back, Adrian fell off. The silver rat lunged for Grid, who scurried back far enough that one of the other gnawers could catch her and force her into the crowd of prisoners.

Adrian was left alone on the ground, and as Gregor stepped closer to the rat and the bat, he could see that Adrian's eyes were downcast.

"Adrian…?" The silver rat stepped closer to the bat, her back to everyone behind her. Her tone was softer. "You were part of this? But why…?"

Adrian opened her mouth to respond, but could only come up with "Silversnap…" As she fumbled for an answer, Gregor reached for his sword. He picked it up with his left hand, aimed, and stabbed the silver rat in the back.

As she fell to her knees, Gregor looked to his companions behind him. "Let's go."

The Seek will be up next. Review, please.