She was clearly dead. She must have died in the currents. Almost all of her clothes had been torn and shredded from her body. A two-inch gash ran diagonally from her right shoulder all the way down to her left butt cheek. The currents had taken their toll on her skin too—it was rubbed raw and red. Gregor carefully made his way towards her, his eyes stinging with tears. This was all too much. He just couldn't stand it. This was his fault! Gregor thought furiously, he hadn't managed to stop her from going through the entrance in central park.
He carefully reached out and guided her toward the shore, feeling very conscious of the fact that he was toughing an almost completely naked girl. His cheeks smarted with embarrassment. He carefully carried her body out of the water. "She deserves a funeral at least," thought Gregor. But how would he ever explain what had happened to her parents? He couldn't she would have to be buried here.
York solemnly helped Gregor carry Angelina's corpse up onto a bat. Gregor covered her near-naked body with a blanket. It looked better to his eyes. His hands were trembling and he tried to steady them.
They flew on for the rest of that day, stopping only to distribute their dwindling supply of food.
By what Gregor guessed was around evening (he couldn't tell as it was always dark out) they began floating down toward the stone city of Regalia. Horns sounded, signaling their entrance to the city.
Guards ran out to greet them. And a few doctors. Surprisingly, everyone was actually in pretty good shape. Gregor was the only person with an injury. "Well," though Gregor, "A curable injury."
After most of the other quests, everybody had returned pretty beaten up. "Looks like we're skipping the traditional hospital visit this time," thought Gregor.
Suddenly Gregor just had to see his mom. He hadn't seen her in weeks. "Where's my mom?" he asked the nearest guard. The man pointed down a hallway. "Down and take two lefts." Gregor thanked the man and took off at a steady jog. He reached the end of the hallway and turned, walked another thirty feet, and turned again.
He found his mom, sitting on a bench and looking deeply sad. Her face lit up when she saw him. "Hey, kiddo," she said. Gregor didn't speak, he just reached out his arms and hugged her. She held him back for a few moments before they broke apart.
"So how are things going?" asked his mother. Gregor just shook his head. He couldn't talk without breaking down, and that would scare her to death.
"We've got to get out of here," said his mom, "There's going to be another war."
"Yeah, I know. Maybe you're right. Maybe we should just leave." He couldn't believe he was saying it, but he was exhausted and didn't think he could face having to protect Regalia from a siege of ants.
And before Gregor realized what he was doing, he had broken free of his mom and was tearing through the halls. Only one thought ran through his mind; he had to get his family out of here! If They were at war with the cutters they would stand no chance. They had numbers, sheer numbers, and Ripred had said something about them having unquestioning loyalty toward their queen. No, he had to get his family out now before they could get hurt.
Suddenly, Gregor didn't know who to talk to. He had always confided in Vikus but with the old man knew as little as he did about the approaching war. He needed someone who had been here and knew what was going on. Who would he turn to? Mareth? Perdita? Where would he find them? "Probably the war room," thought Gregor. With the looming threat of the cutters attacking, they would likely be trying to come up with a plan of action.
He ended up running into Mareth in some sort of break-room. There were dishes of food and cups of tea on small counter-like shelves secured to the walls.
"Mareth!" gasped Gregor with relief.
"Gregor!" The soldier gave him a quick smile. "How fare you?" he asked formally.
"Not great," said Gregor, which was the understatement of the decade—even of the century.
"Listen," said Gregor urgently, "I need to get my family back to the Overland," said Gregor.
"But—" started Mareth.
"No buts," said Gregor. "I need to get them back." His mom was right. He couldn't risk having his whole family down here. If it were just him, it might be one thing, but Boots? His mom? Lizzie? His dad? Mareth sighed unhappily.
"There is nothing I can do. Even if I could convince the council to move them, there is no way through the barricade. They finished its construction today."
"What barricade?" asked Gregor, feeling his chest contract.
"Has no one told you?" asked Mareth skeptically.
"We have started construction on a wall to stop other overlanders from discovering us. The gang of men you apprehended alerted us to how easily our security could be breached." Gregor's insides began writhing. This just couldn't happen.
"Wait, does that mean we are stuck here forever?" asked Gregor. Mareth slowly nodded sorrowfully.
Gregor aimed a kick at a nearby wall. It didn't help vent any of the feelings of anger and frustration boiling inside him; all he did was hurt his toe. They hadn't even been asked if they wanted to return before the underlanders had taken it upon themselves to stop any chance at returning. This was all their fault. The council. How he loathed them. All they ever cared about was themselves; Gregor was sick to death of them.
Suddenly, Gregor knew what he needed to do. He dashed through the halls until he found her. She was the answer. The one person who could stop the ensuing war. Or at least the one person who might be able to try.
"Luxa!" gasped Gregor with relief as he spotted her. She gave him a look of utter contempt and folded her arms.
"Don't "Luxa" me!" shouted Luxa.
"What's wrong?" asked Gregor, completely bemused. Luxa glared at him a few moments before responding.
"I was devastated when you left... Then you show up months later and barely manage to say hello!"
"I was busy," said Gregor feebly.
"Busy!" screamed Luxa derisively. Wow was she mad! Gregor had never seen her lose control like this before. She was shaking with poorly suppressed rage.
"I..." stammered Gregor, trying to think of something to say. He needed to apologize but he wasn't sure how to."Look, Luxa, I'm really sorry..." She rolled her eyes towards the ceiling, then turned her back on him.
"Ouch," thought Gregor. "Now what?" And to that, he had no answer. He tried acting like it hadn't happened. After a moment's silence, he walked back over to her and said,
"Hey, Luxa.". "How are things going?" she didn't answer, but Gregor could guess. (hint: not too well.) "I wanted to talk to you," he said.
"About what?" asked Luxa finally.
"About ending the war."
"How would you do that?" she asked. "There is no way."
"I don't know how!" he admitted, "but I do know I don't want to fight anymore!" he said, his voice growing louder. "I just don't. There has to be a way to resolve this peacefully!"
"There is no way, Gregor," said Luxa. "The cutters cannot be reasoned with!"
"How would you know?" he shot back. "It's not like you guys ever tried talking to them before."
"What would you have us do?" she asked in exasperation. "All my people will die if we do not fight!"
"Fine," said Gregor "do whatever you want, but count me out! I'm done fighting!"
"What do you mean, done fighting, you are the warrior; you must fight."
"I'm not the warrior anymore, remember, Luxa?" In the final prophecy, he had ended his role as the underlander's warrior.
"What are you going to do, pack up and leave?" she said. Her tone stung Gregor.
"Yeah, maybe I will," he said. That would show her. Let her go fight the cutters without his help. See how she liked it.
"Feel free!" she shouted. Gregor folded his arms and turned his back on Luxa. After a moment's awkward silence, Luxa stalked off, muttering to herself. Gregor stood alone, fuming. Was he really going to walk away from it all? Forget all the friends who had helped him. Forget about the people who he owed his life? Forget about the people and creatures who had died to protect him and his family? Who had sacrificed themselves, so others could live? Tick, Hamnet, Frill, Twitchtip... Ares... would the bat approve of what he had done? Trying to stop the war. Or would he see it as deserting his friends? Of course, he would see it as Gregor deserting his friends! That what he was doing! He was struck by an urge to run after Luxa and apologize. A war was starting soon. She could be dead in a matter of hours. Suddenly he couldn't remember how they had started bickering. What if that had been the last time he ever spoke to her? Gregor felt like an ice cube had dropped into the pit of his stomach. There was still enough time—he could run up to her and tell her he loved her. He made his decision.
He turned and walked out of the door. He broke into a quick jog. Before he knew it, he was tearing through the halls, looking for her. But he never found her again. What he did find, was Vikus. The old man was sitting quietly on a bench. His face—gray and wrinkled—was drawn with worry.