Hello one and all! Thank you for reviewing chapter 25. I have had a lot of constructive reviews for that chapter, and there were some issues in the last chapter that I hope I can resolve in this chapter. So yea, thank you for the feedback. And thank you to the following people who gave me that feedback: Shane(nice to meet you!), LightningAres, Ssi'ruuk(thanks for the advice), AWarriorReborn, HumanicHedgeHog, BlackWolfUnder, Clytuis, A happy reader(thoughtful analysis by you!), Nova(thank you for asking important questions), AresTheUnderlander, MarbleSky and pyro159(welcome back!).
This chapter follows up with some anti-Gluxa stuff from the previous chapter, so brace yourselves again if you hate it. I promise this is the last time, though, so please don't throw hate against me! This chapter will help to build up to Gregor's return.
This chapter is written from Gregor's perspective.
Chapter 26: The Fount falls
When Gregor opened his eyes, he found Regalia in flames as animate shadows flew through the air and wrapped themselves around the multitude of buildings in Regalia, crushing them to pieces. Numerous skeletons were scattered across the ground level of the city, while Vikus' limp body hung from a noose. Mareth and Conrad, meanwhile, stood in the High Hall, watching the city being torn to pieces below them. Thousands of foxes had infiltrated Regalia, and were running riot, destroying homes and killing humans, rats, mice, cockroaches, bats, moles, spiders… The city was in absolute turmoil.
The Overlander mercenary Snake was opening fire on fleeing Regalians, while Dr Schmidt watched on, laughing manically away as he viewed the sheer anarchy. Gregor then looked up at the High Hall, where a battle was going on between Flavius and someone else. Gregor squinted to get a better view of the fight and when he saw who the fox was fighting, he gasped. Flavius was fighting Luxa.
Luxa was fighting fiercely, but Flavius was on a whole new level. He easily dodged most of her attacks, before bursting forward and sinking his teeth into her throat. "NO!" Gregor screamed, "LUXA!"
Flavius swung her body around with his jaws, before throwing her ragged body out off the High Hall. Gregor couldn't bear to watch her fall through the air, so he turned away and shut his eyes. But somehow, when he opened them again and turned around, she was still falling through the air, as blood flew out of the enormous tooth marks which covered her throat. If she didn't die from the fall, she would die from her wounds.
The scene suddenly changed, and Gregor found himself sitting in the arena, where thousands of spectators had gathered. A battered and bloodied rat had been strapped to a massive wooden pole. Parts of his fur had been torn off and one of his legs was missing, but there was no doubt who this was. The scars on his face was enough to reveal his identity. The old rat lifted his head to look at Gregor, before slumping back down again. Gregor's heart broke when he saw this scene, and while he tried to get off his seat and rush forward to help Ripred, he found himself stuck to his seat and unable to move.
A group of Overlanders marched forward, all of them holding rifles in their hands. They raised their weapons and aimed at Ripred,who looked too exhausted to say any last words. This was the first time Gregor had ever seen defeat or resignation on Ripred's face. All he could do was watch in horror as one of the Overlander soldiers hollered, "Prepare to open fire on the count of three! One! Two! THREE!"
Gregor closed his eyes as gunshots rang out in the arena. He didn't dare to open his eyes for fear of seeing his old mentor's lifeless body. But when he did open his eyes, he found himself staring at a completely different scene. Calvin was standing inside the council room, which looked more like a hall. Calvin was standing at the centre of the stage, fiddling with the revolver in his hand. "The gamble of my life," Calvin whispered.
Gregor knew what Calvin was doing. He was playing a real game of Russian roulette.
Calvin slotted a bullet into a chamber in the revolver, before spinning it and then placing it at his head. "Don't do it," Gregor said, his voice broken from all the tragedies he had just witnessed, "Don't leave me. I can't let it happen. I've seen enough people die. Calvin, please don't do this. I don't want to be alone."
"But you already are," came a voice from Gregor's past.
The Bane emerged from the shadows. "You," Gregor snarled at him, "You're dead. You shouldn't be here. I killed you."
"Death is very complex, Warrior," the Bane said philosophically, "I could be physically dead, but I live on in your dreams. In that sense I am still alive and will continue to exist as long as you live. I'm more like a distant memory who occasionally returns to haunt you."
"I don't want to talk to you," Gregor said almost petulantly, "You killed Ares. You ruined my life. You're the reason I am a monster right now."
"There's no need to behave like a child," the Bane said disapprovingly, "I just came here to give you some company. You did mention that you didn't want to be alone. And considering your allies have betrayed and deserted you, I'd say I am the best bet you have in staying loyal to you."
"Shut up!" Gregor snapped, "I'd rather die than have you accompany me for the rest of my life."
"Oh my, someone's cranky," the Bane chuckled, "Maybe it's because you have finally learned to accept that you and me aren't so different. We were very young when we both went to war against each other. We both took countless innocent lives while thinking that our actions were morally justified. We both saw our friends and allies die around us. Now you have joined me in being labelled as some kind of monster. For all the hatred you harbour towards me, the truth is I'm just a reflection of you."
"I'm not," Gregor insisted, "You're a twisted scumbag who never truly believed in goodness. All my life I've been trying to fight against all the evil that threatens Regalia, even if I may not have done my job well as the Warrior."
"Warrior, surely you can't be so shallow," the Bane slurred as he slouched against the wall, "The gnawers were never evil. We were just desperate. We were starving and dying because YOUR general Solovet chose to kill us off. So who's the evil tyrant now, Warrior? Who's the cruel and malicious leader who chose to send the Underland spiralling into chaos and war? I don't think that you can say that it was me with quite the same conviction now."
Gregor chose to remain silent. The Bane had just proven to him what he had been suspecting for a very long time. In the end, it was the victors who painted history, and hence the humans had portrayed the rats as the enemies that threatened the very existence of Regalia. But what if that wasn't necessarily true? Were children in schools taught that it was Solovet who actually attempted to kickstart the whole war?
The Bane yawned crudely. "I'm done disturbing you," he said drowsily, "I know you hate me, Warrior, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't listen to me. I've got a whole lot more to tell you as your life goes on. I have a feeling our relationship will reach a whole new level."
With a sly wink, the Bane melted back into the shadows. Gregor turned back to Calvin, who still had a gun pointed to his head. Suddenly, Gregor's vision vanished entirely and he was left in complete darkness. "Calvin, no!" he yelled, but then he heard a gunshot in the darkness. Then he felt himself falling.
"HELP ME!" he screamed in fear as his stomach lurched and he found himself plunging down an endless abyss. As the wind rushed past his face, he felt his heart hammering so hard that he thought it would burst out of his chest any second. Then he felt himself hit the…
Gregor shot out of bed immediately. He was drenched in a cold sweat and his body was shivering uncontrollably. The nightmares had come back once more. He grimaced as he tried to steady himself, feeling the horrible memories of his fight with the Bane also lingering on in his head.
His last memory before falling asleep was his discussion with Susannah. She had gone through a long conversation with him about how the Fount had been since Gregor left. Apparently, they seemed to hate Conrad out of his decision to cut monetary aid which had been directed to the Fount by Luxa ever since they were sieged by the foxes last year. York had been planning to carry out strikes in Regalia for a while, and the big man suspected that recent executions under Conrad was a sign that he had been allied with the foxes. No one at the Fount trusted Conrad, especially when one of their former citizens, Edward, was brutally executed. Whilst Susannah had a less extreme stance on Conrad, she didn't seem to trust him as well.
Groaning in pain from his injuries, he slowly but surely hoisted himself up and set his feet on the ground once again. He grabbed a fresh pair of clothes sitting neatly on the side of the hospital room and made his way to the changing room.
He changed his pants first since there weren't many scars there for him to look at. Then he pulled off his sweat-soaked shirt and looked into the mirror. He almost winced at the sight of the whole series of scars that streaked across his body. The one across his chest cut across the five old scars inflicted on him by the Bane, making for an intricate pattern. He then turned around and looked at the scar on his back. Another vicious wound that would remain with him forever. Great. Now he had massive scars on both his chest and his back.
He felt his right side and almost doubled over in pain right away. Susannah was right. He had a bad stab wound there. His fighting would be severely hindered for a while, but he had opted to stay out of fighting anyway. He massaged it slightly to get used to the pain, feeling the sting intensify every time he rubbed it. But he just took in a deep breath and learned to push the pain to the back of his head. He felt his rager side starting to kick in slightly, but he forced it down, continuing to experience the pain.
"Are you ok?" came a voice that sounded like it was dripping with honey.
Gregor turned around to find Stellovet standing behind him. She closed the door to the changing room and stared at Gregor for a moment, before batting her eyelashes seductively at him and leaning against the wall of the changing room. "This is the men's changing room. If you wish to change, I think the women's changing room is down the corridor. Whatever you wish to do, you shouldn't be here," Gregor said as coldly as possible.
Stellovet broke into a high-pitched laugh. "Oh, I didn't know that," she said with a flirtatious smile on her face, "And you happened to leave the door unlocked, which is why I'm in here."
Gregor cursed himself on the inside for being so careless. How could he have been so foolish leave the door unlocked for HER to come in and give him an uncomfortable time? "You may leave now. I am injured and I don't… erm… intend to… erm…", Gregor stammered. God damn it, this was a moment of weakness she was sure to exploit. He recovered as quickly as possible, "I don't intend to engage in any kind of conversation with you at the moment. If you don't leave and try any funny business with me, I will let your mother know about your indecency. And I'm sure that won't be very pleasant for you."
"Oh come on, Warrior, I won't bite," she said, winking at him, "Or maybe I will, depending on how this goes."
"What the hell is that even supposed to mean?" Gregor asked gruffly, even though he knew very well what she meant.
"You and I seem to have great chemistry together," Stellovet replied, "Maybe I can show you what I mean by biting. How about that, darling?"
"No thank you," Gregor said quickly, before adding, "And don't ever call me darling again."
"How about honey?" Stellovet enquired innocently, "Or how about handsome? Or love? How about all those?"
"You may only call me Overlander. Don't even try calling me by my first name," Gregor responded icily.
His cold demeanour barely slowed her down. "Oh Overlander, don't be such a spoil sport. We both know we are going to do it in the end, right?" she said sweetly.
"This time, I genuinely have no idea what you're referring to," Gregor told her honestly.
She seemed to ignore his reply. Gazing at his features he looked him up and down, before saying, "You're even more handsome than the last time I saw you. Look at those well-defined features. And that amazing jaw. And those soft lips ripe for kissing," she said suggestively, "And look at those muscles. Back then you were a scrawny boy. Now I am sure every woman in the Underland yearns to be in your arms. What a fine specimen you turned out to be."
She stretched out her hand tentatively, before tracing the scars on Gregor's body slowly. The five claws marks by the Bane and the one by Flavius. She felt each and every centimetre of the scar, and it took a while before Gregor realised that he had actually let her run her hand all over his chest. He actually felt quite… aroused at her actions. But he snapped out of his trance. He swatted her arm away and said, "Ok, Stellovet, that's way past the boundaries already. This is just downright creepy and I'm pretty sure it counts as sexual harassment down here. So unless you want me to have you arrested down here for sexual harassment, I suggest you get out of this changing room RIGHT NOW."
She laughed playfully and leaned forward provocatively, exposing her cleavage now. "It's not sexual harassment if it's consensual," she said softly.
"Firstly, I'm not so sure about that," Gregor replied hastily, "But even if that is true, I'm very sure it's not consensual between you and me. This is the fourth or fifth time I'm telling you to get the hell out of this changing room. I am clearly rejecting your sexual advances right now. So this is probably going to end up being rape. And I'm fifteen, by the way. So I'm underage and this would end up being rape by you even if it was consensual."
"Don't try lying to me, Overlander," she said, wagging her finger at him in disapproval, "I know a lie when I see one. And this is the most blatant lie I've ever heard. You're twenty-one now, not fifteen. Even a child could see the difference."
"Ok fine," Gregor admitted, "I tried to pull the wool over your eyes. I'm not fifteen, I'm… Wait, how do you know I'm twenty-one?"
Stellovet only shot him a bright smile in response.
"Oh man, you really are quite creepy," Gregor remarked out loud, "And I thought all the stalkers were in the Overland. You guys don't even have freaking Internet down here and you still know stuff about me. Stellovet, I'm no doctor but I'm pretty sure your obsession with me is some psychological issue. I suggest you consult your…"
Stellovet put a finger to his lips, silencing him. "I'm not mad or insane, Gregor. I genuinely desire for you to be with me. I have waited years for a worthy man. And I've finally found him."
"I think that's the second time in the past forty-eight hours that someone has said that to me," Gregor observed, "And please don't call me Gregor. Just call me Overlander."
Stellovet sighed a little ruefully as her hand rested on her dress strap. "Maybe you prefer things to get started a little faster," she said as her hands began to fiddle with the strings of her dress.
"No! No I do not," Gregor exclaimed, alarmed at her suggestion, "I like the dress you're wearing. It's very beautiful. But this is still rape, because I don't want to do anything remotely sexual with you."
"Thank you for the compliment on my dress," Stellovet said with a sweet smile, "Now it looks like we're getting somewhere. But I can assure you this is not rape. Do you want to know why?"
"Why?" Gregor asked out of curiosity.
She leaned in and whispered alluringly into his ear, "Because if you really wanted me gone, you could have gotten rid of me a long time ago. But I'm still here."
Deep down, Gregor knew that it was true. The only reason why he hadn't driven her away yet was that he was enjoying this exchange between him and her. He wouldn't say he had been seduced by her, but their conversation with each other was rather engaging. It was a battle of desire and willpower. Stellovet's desire to have Gregor desire her versus Gregor's willpower to hold her at bay. It was very interesting.
Stellovet moved back slightly, before pleading with Gregor, "Please, Overlander. Your loyalty to Luxa hardly matters. She is married to another man. She can never return you the love you have for her. On the other hand, I am untaken. I can give you all the love, care and faithfulness you can ever desire in a spouse. Accept me as your partner. We can accomplish many things together in this relationship. We can even work our way up the ranks and end up as king and queen."
Her scent wafted into Gregor's nose and he could barely resist anymore. He found himself allowing her to lean in as she headed straight for his lips. He closed his eyes, ready to engage in a blissful and passionate kiss with a beautiful woman…
… Until common sense finally returned to him. He pulled away from her just in time. "No," he said firmly to her, "Get off me! You'll never truly love me. All you care about is power and yourself. Even if you do desire me, it doesn't come from your heart. It comes from your physical urges as a woman. And that isn't love or care or faithfulness. And that's why Luxa will always be more beautiful and more attractive than you ever will be."
Stellovet's expression turned from surprise, to rage, and then to sadness. Gregor recognised those feelings before. He had rejected enough girls to know that this was their standard expression each and every time. He put on the clean shirt, and shoved her aside forcefully, before walking out of the changing room. He knew he had been rude to do that to her, but he was honestly pissed off with her. She had tried to pull him away from Luxa, and that was something he would forgive or forget easily.
He walked back to his hospital room, where his armour lay in wait in a corner. He checked the clock on the side. It was almost time for him to leave the Fount. The clock had almost run its full twenty-four hours. It was time for him to leave. He began to dress up, fitting on pieces of armour. His sword and dagger lay in wait at one side, and so did a couple of bandages. Before he had nodded off to sleep, Gregor vaguely remembered Susannah telling him to put those on if the bleeding started again.
Suddenly, the whole room shook as tremors vibrated throughout the building. The wall shuddered and pieces of medical equipment fell off tables and landed on the floor with dramatic crashing noises. Something was very wrong. Gregor froze instantly, listening out for any more noises that might reveal what was happening.
Then came the most chilling and hair-raising moment Gregor had experienced in a while. He heard multiple gunshots echo throughout the city.
He doubled his pace, suiting up as fast as he possibly could. He stuffed the bandages into a small pocket of space he had on the side of his leg armour, before slotting his sword and dagger into their respective sheaths and attaching the sheaths to his belt.
Suddenly, Susannah burst into the room with the most frightened look Gregor had ever seen in her eyes. She burst into a restrained sob, "They're here," she said intensely but softly, "They're coming for us. They killed the guards outside, and now they're raiding and pillaging the city."
"Relax," Gregor said, trying to sound as confident as possible, "Who exactly is attacking?"
"The foxes," she said fearfully, "and the Overlanders. They are going to kill all of us!"
"They won't," Gregor said assuredly, "I promise that they won't harm any more of you, if you listen to me. Do you have a secret tunnel from which you can escape the Fount?"
Susannah nodded her head, hyperventilating as she replied, "We… We… We… built… built a tunnel… a tunnel that… tunnel… tunnel…"
"Calm down," Gregor told her as he looked around to make sure that the attackers weren't coming, before turning back to her and saying, "Calm down. You don't need to tell me about that tunnel. There's no more time to waste. Get as many women and children down there as possible, and flee the city immediately. I'm not sure if Regalia has enough space for you, but try and find a colony nearby that can provide some hospitality. Maybe the nibblers' colony, I don't know. Just get out of here now. Save as many as possible. Oh, and get York to call for guards to rush to the hospital to protect me. Make sure they hear him say that loud and clear. But do not send any guards to defend me. I can handle this. Have you absorbed all I've said so far?"
Susannah nodded, and Gregor said to her, "This may be the last time I ever see you. I wish you all the best, Susannah. Fly you High."
She replied softly, "Fly you High, Gregor the Overlander." Then she dashed away as fast as her legs could carry her.
The idea was simple. Lure as many foxes and Overlanders into the hospital as possible so that they would be drawn away from the fleeing citizens of the Fount. Gregor didn't know how successful that plan would be, but it would definitely be better than just standing their ground and fighting, because that would be a complete massacre. The Underlanders were neither equipped nor able to resist such a deadly fighting force.
Gregor knew that he had a very little chance of escaping from this situation alive. He was badly injured and hadn't even had sufficient time to recover from his injuries. He was going to need a miracle to pull him out of this sticky situation. A real life deus ex machina.
The doors of his hospital room burst open, and Gregor readied his sword for a fight. A big black hulking figure could be seen at the doorway. Gregor prepared his stance to defend against the assailant's attack.
But it never came. Apollo came bundling into the room clumsily, panting and sweating profusely. "What are you doing here, Apollo?" he asked the bat, "You're supposed to be escaping along with Susannah and the rest!"
Apollo shook his head. "Not planning to do that, Warrior. I intend to stay by your side until one of us falls. I may not be your bond, but like I said, it was and still is an honour to serve by your side. But we can get out of this alive. There are only two Overlanders heading for the hospital right now. The rest haven't heard York's announcement yet. They're still searching for you around this place. Only two of them have had the common sense to come to the hospital."
"How long till they get here?" Gregor asked Apollo.
"Two minutes at most, probably a minute and a half," Apollo replied tersely, "After you kill the two of them, we can take flight and escape back to Regalia."
"We can't, Apollo. We need to delay these guys long enough for Susannah and the other Underlanders to escape. That's why I told you to leave while you could. I can't fight off an Overlander army and an army of foxes and expect to survive. If you stay with me, you're not coming out of this alive," Gregor said ruefully.
"With all due respect, Overlander, I intend to contradict you. The schemers and the Overlanders aren't here to kill the Underlanders. They may be here to destroy the Fount, but they have showed no inclination towards hunting down and killing Underlanders. I'd wager it's lower down on their list of priorities. They just want to find and kill you. And if you can take down those two Overlanders, we can make a mad rush out of this city. Then they will continue to waste their time looking for you," Apollo explained.
Gregor could think of so many flaws in Apollo's arguments, but he didn't have any time left. he heard a door creaking at the end of the hallway. Gregor put a finger to his lips to indicate to Apollo to keep quiet. Apollo nodded and huddled in a dark corner where it would be hard for anyone to spot him with their naked eye. Gregor strained his ears to hear the conversation of the two men.
"The guy is hiding from us, I'm positive," said one man.
"Doesn't matter. He's running out of places to run. After we blow the shit up down here, we'll be clear to attack the main city. Seeing as how this assault went, I'd say we'll attack the main city and slaughter the whole bunch of those freaks and monkeys within the next week and a half," replied the second voice.
"Then we get our money and we go home," the first voice said with a small sigh, "Sounds good to me."
The two men walked into the hospital room, shining their torchlights around. Gregor didn't give them a chance to speak or react. Triggering his rager senses, he whipped out his blade and slashed once. He could see the panic and surprise in their eyes as the sight of his blade flashed brilliantly through the small rays coming from their torchlights. The lethal stroke sliced the throats of both men, causing blood to gush out instantly. The both of them died without a sound within seconds. Gregor stepped over their bodies gingerly as Apollo trotted out of his hiding place. "I have made a note never to get on the wrong side of you," Apollo told him, "That move was so fast and silent I didn't even see it myself."
Gregor had no response for that. He took a small peek out of the window. He saw a number of foxes smelling the air suspiciously, and his heart leapt as he saw more and more foxes gazing in the direction of the hospital. They had probably caught either his scent or the scent of the Overlanders dying. The Overlanders, meanwhile, continued to scour the city for him. "Is there another way out of this hospital apart from the main entrance?" Gregor asked Apollo.
Apollo nodded. "There is an exit at the back of the hospital. Let's move."
They quietly made their way out by the back door. "Phew, that was quite close," Gregor remarked to Apollo, before turning and finding himself staring at the face of a fox.
"I had a suspicion you would be here," the fox said, licking its lips as it advanced towards them, "And my suspicion proved to be right. Lord Flavius will reward me greatly for claiming the both of your lives."
Apollo wasted no time. He flew valiantly at the fox's face and tried to distract it for Gregor. But just as Gregor neared the fox, the fox lashed out with its claws, tearing a hole in Apollo's left wing. With a cry of pain, Apollo hit the ground and lay sprawled in the dirt. Gregor then charged at the fox, summoning his rager senses at the same time.
But his body was far too injured and exhausted from the previous battle for it to be a fair fight. He tried to slash and stab at the fox, but every move he made was far too slow, allowing the fox to retreat just in time. The fox responded with a lunge at Gregor, but Gregor had just enough strength to block the attack and prevent the fox from scratching his left shoulder. He tried to jab the fox's paw with his sword, but the fox retracted its right paw and swung its left, causing Gregor to swing abruptly and block the strike heading for the right side of his face. But the effort used in blocking the attack caused a stinging pain on his right side. Susannah was right. Putting too much weight on his right side was hurting him.
He stumbled back from the pain as the fox immediately advanced towards him rapidly. Gregor was finally resigned to his fate. There was just far too much pain for him to endure this fight any longer.
Suddenly, Apollo bravely flew in front of the fox's face again despite the bleeding wound in his left wing. The fox snapped at Apollo, but Apollo just managed to fly away to escape from the fox's jaws snapping down on his left wing again. Gregor instantly felt inspired by Apollo's determination. Forcing the pain back, he took aim and threw Solovet's dagger at the fox's head. The dagger landed between his eyes with a sickening thud. The fox slumped down, dead on the spot. Gregor pulled the dagger out of the fox's head and turned to Apollo, who had stretched out his wings.
"I can't expect you to fly right now, Apollo," Gregor told him, "It just wouldn't be fair. Your wing is injured."
"It doesn't matter now, Warrior," Apollo said through gritted teeth, "I can fly and I will do it as long as there is strength left in me. So stop sympathising with me and get on me right now! We need to move!"
Apollo's sudden assertiveness and authority surprised Gregor slightly, but he was in no mood to argue with Apollo. He climbed on top of Apollo, who took in a deep breath before launching himself into the air, heading as fast as his wings could take him back to Regalia.
This was a fairly fun chapter to write! Of course, I expect some unhappiness from Gluxa fans, but please don't be too upset. I just planned out that scene so that it would bring more depth to Gregor's character and make him a little more realistic. I also intend for Gregor to use those moments as a way to strengthen his relationship with Luxa and show how he can ignore even the greatest temptation to stay with her. So yea, that's my explanation.
Please remember to review this chapter! I'd love it if all my readers could drop a review for this chapter!
Question: Would YOU like any important characters from the Fount to die? I have a feeling that most of the answers will be Stellovet, but it'd be nice to see some variation too!