I want to thank you, JoshGamerV for reviewing. Thank you for the support, it really means a lot ! I'll try to improve my grammar skills. Enjoy the second chapter !

Chapter 2

"No, I'm a mouse. Squeak, squeak ... see ?" said Ripred in one of the most sarcastic tones, Gregor ever heared.

"Ripred !" Gregor exclaimed, as he was hugging the giant rat. Gregor didn't know, until now, how much he missed his mentor and friend. Ripred was surprised by Gregor's hug, but, of course, he didn't show it.

"It's good to see you, too Overlander, but this is not the place, nor the time to speak. We must return to Regalia."

Gregor's eyes widened. He was about to see his friends again, after 2 years. He was about to see the giant Underland animals, and he was about to see Luxa. Now he was smiling as his life depended on it ... but the smile didn't last.

"Ripred, what do I do with my parents ? They are not going to let me go down there."

"I don't know, boy. We have to go to Regalia. Many lives dipend on it."

"What do you mean ?" Gregor asked.

"Focus pup ! What have I just said ? This is not the proper place to talk."

Gregor thought a few minutes and then nodded. "Ok, Ripred. I'll come."

"Then come on. We need to leave."

"Bye Mrs. Cormaci ."

"Bye "

Gregor almost left Mrs. Cormaci's apartment, when he looked at the older rager. "Ripred, how did you get here, without alarming the whole building ?"

"Well, I arrived in this apartment in the middle of the night. Mrs. Cormaci let me sleep here ."

"Oh...so I guess I'll clear the path to the laundry room ."

Fortunately, it was Sunday, so nobody left their apartments. When they arrived in the laundry room, Gregor was surprised, because there was no bat.

"Are we going to ride the waves of air ?" Gregor asked the rat.

"Yes, we will ride the waves of air."

Gregor didn't say anything . He didn't know why they weren't going to fly on bats, but he kept his mouth closed .

In no time, Ripred opened the grate with his tail and jumped. Gregor followed him. The air was blowing in Gregor's face and hair. He remembered how his mother freaked out when she first rode the air. He smiled at the memory, but all the sudden he was mad at his mom. She didn't thought a second what Gregor wanted. She just dragged him out of this place. A place where people undertood him.

In a few minutes the ragers landed. There was no light, but Gregor could see perfectly, thanks to his echolocation. He improved a real deal. Far from perfect, of course, but it was something.

For the first part of the way to Regalia, they didn't talk. Gregor decided to break the silence.

"How is everyone down here ?"

Ripred smirked. "By everyone you mean Luxa, don't you ?"

In normal situations, Gregor would glear at the rat, but now he just smiled. Sometimes Ripred knew Gregor just too well.

Ripred saw the smile and continued. "After you left, she didn't speak to anyone. She hardly spoke to Hazard. Now she's better, but far from perfect... She really must have loved you. Now she is overwhelmed ." Ripred said .

"Overwhelmed by what ?" Gregor asked .

Ripred didn't respond for a few moments, but then spoke . "Gregor, there's something I need to tell you ."

"What ?"

"We are at war with the cutters."

Then everything went black .

...

Gregor opened his eyes. "Good, you are awake. Now we need to keep going. Regalia isn't far." said Ripred.

"What happened ?" Gregor asked Ripred.

"You collapsed on the stone when you heared about the war."

Now, Gregor remembered. What caused it ? Maybe his memories of The War of Time. Gregor saw a lot of death in this war. He also killed a lot.

He saw how a war trully was .

Gregor stood up. Ripred started walking, so he followed him.

"Ripred, why we didn't ride to Regalia ?"

"We want to keep you a secret, save a few humans. The Cutters don't know you are here. You'll be a surprise for them."

"Ripred, if we are in the middle of a war, I need to train, right ?"

"Right. You will have to train early in the morning, when the Arena is empty."

Gregor nodded. 'That makes sense' he thought.

Some moments later, Gregor could see Regalia. The stone city was shining from its torches.

Gregor almost gasped. He forgot how beautiful the city was.

As they were getting closer and closer to the city, Ripred whispered in his ear. "Hide, now."

Gregor was hiding behind a rock, when a scout and his bat were passing by.

"If we don't want to be seen, than how do we enter in the palace ?" asked Gregor.

"Regalia is more of a maze, than a city. After you left, we discovered a secret passage, which just the Queen and the Council can use, in case of an attack."

"So I guess we use that passage."

"Bingo." said Ripred shortly, not sure of the origin of the word.

They hid a few more times because of the scouts that were patrolling, before they stopped in front of a wall. Ripred was starring at it.

"What'a rong, Ripred ?"

"This is the entrance." Ripred, then, slipped his tail trough an opening in the wall. The wall moved and formed a door.

"Wow..."Gregor said in disbelief.

"Indeed. Sandwich was a stone building master."

Behind the door, there were some stone stares. They walked on them for a few minutes, then stopped in front of another door.

"This door leads to a chamber, very close to the royal wing ." said Ripred, while he was opening the door.

Luckily, no one was there. They walked in a few coridors, that Gregor didn't know, but stopped at a beautiful carved door. The door from Luxa's chamber.

"Ready, boy ?"

"Ready."