This is my first fanfiction so please go easy on it. If you like the story I'll keep chapters coming. If not keep it to yourself, please don't hate on it. If you find any errors, whether it be spelling, grammar or anything else please just let me know. I've been reading many of the fanfictions on this site but I just wanted to add my own to them.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Underland Chronicles or any of the characters, save the ones that I will be adding. Both the Underland Chronicles and the characters within belong to Suzanne Collins.
-Ssi
Gregor stumbled forward as he hit the ground. The currents had slowed his fall but not as much as he would've liked. Catching his breath Gregor peered around the cavern. It was pitch black, but Gregor could still see, or rather hear, the cave with his echolocation. There were four tunnels branching off in different directions. Gregor knew the direction of Regalia, but if he was being honest with himself he had probably spun around multiple times while falling.
"Well, only one way to know for sure," Gregor muttered to himself.
Digging around in his pocket, Gregor found his set of house keys and pulled them out. He walked towards the closest tunnel and marked the side of it with a line using his keys.
The first tunnel took about 15 minutes before Gregor found a small stream of water. Knowing there were no streams between the laundry room entrance and regalia, Gregor spun around and traced his way back.
While navigating the second tunnel Gregor felt himself walking uphill, but he could've sworn the way to Regalia was downhill.
Gregor was beginning to get annoyed with the time wasted in trying to find his way. When returning to the cavern Gregor dragged his feet toward the third tunnel.
Walking down the third tunnel, Gregor's mind began to drift. For years Gregor had wished and dreamed to find himself back in the Underland. This however wasn't exactly what he had had in mind. Gregor had gone completely against all of his parents' rules in coming back, but something was wrong.
There was no way that Luxa would send Hazard to the Overland without an incredibly good reason. On top of that she had gone a month without attempting to contact him? Unless of course she had tried but couldn't. Still, that was best case scenario.
The soft sound of wind broke Gregor from his stupor. Gregor looked up to see flickering lights that seemed to be moving spastically. As he moved closer he heard yelling and screaming… and something that sounded like clashing metal.
When he got closer, Gregor could more clearly see the curtain of moths that masked the entrance into the arena. Gregor closed his eyes and walked through their soft beating wings. Opening his eyes Gregor looked around the arena in the torch light.
Around a dozen humans and bats were practicing throughout the arena. All of them were concentrating too hard to notice that Gregor was on the outskirts, watching.
Then Gregor noticed the humans and bats on the ground. It looked as though these exercises were fairly difficult because there were many laying down.
Wait! Gregor thought, they're not lying down. He looked up in horror as he saw one of the humans run his sword through the chest of another.
Gregor broke into a sprint towards the chaos as fast as he could.
"STOP!" Gregor yelled as he ran. No one turned to heed what he said.
When Gregor made it to the skirmish he immediately barreled into one of the ground soldiers knocking him onto his back. Turning to face another, Gregor ducked under the sword swung in his direction. He followed up with an uppercut as he stood up. Another sprinted towards him with his sword raised high.
Gregor spun around his attacker and wrapped his arm around the soldier's neck pulling him away from his own move. Grabbing the sword from the man, Gregor held it to his neck.
"Run away, now!" Gregor yelled into the man's ear before releasing him to his knees.
The threatened soldier ran from the arena as Gregor faced the small group that was left. In the air there were two bats, one with a human on its back, and a white one with no rider. The last conscious human on the ground tried to swing his sword at the white bat but missed. In dodging the man's attack the white bat nearly collided with the other bat and rider. The white bat slammed into the ground and tumbled a couple dozen feet before coming to a stop.
Gregor saw the other bat come around and charge the white bat on the ground. The rider raised his sword for a killing blow, but it never came. Gregor leaped into the air and grabbed the man's wrist tearing him off of the bat. He hit the floor and gasped before passing out. His bat, being caught off balance, was redirected into the ground and made a thud as he attained the same state of being that the man was in.
The final human on foot lunged at Gregor swinging his blade in a long arc. Gregor raised the blade of the man he had just knocked out. Blocking the attack, Gregor went on the offensive and shoved the hilt of his sword into the man's helmet. The metal made loud, sharp sound as the human dropped to the ground.
Gregor looked around at all the bodies on the ground. Many of them were dead, but a few of them only looked wounded. All of the ones that Gregor had fought were only knocked out.
Gregor turned to the only conscious being in the arena besides himself.
The white bat struggled to its feet and Gregor got his first good look. The bat was almost reflecting the torchlight off of its pelt. The pelt was littered with more than a couple of scratches that glimmered dark red in contrast with the bright pelt.
"What's going on here?" Gregor asked.
The bat purred with a distinctly feminine voice, "the rebels attacked the arena during training, not everyone could escape." The bat turned to face Gregor and he got a clear look at her face. She had blood running down a gash over her eyes. One of her eyes was closed while the other remained open revealing her pure white eye.
"Are you blind?" Gregor asked.
"I do not have the use of my eyes if that is what you mean," The bat responded. "With the use of echolocation however, I have no need of my eyes."
"Did they do this to you?"
"No," she purred, "I was born this way."
"Oh," Gregor said. "Who are the rebels you were talking about?"
The bat contorted her face in confusion. "The rebels? The ones who tried to assassinate the royal family?"
The bat sniffed the air distinctively. "Are you not from Regalia?"
"No," Gregor said before continuing his own questions. "Why not arrest all the rebels? Or have them leave Regalia?"
"The counsel has no clue as to who are rebels and who are not. They hide in plain sight amongst the Regalians." The bat explained. "Where are you from if not Regalia?"
"Go to the palace and tell them what happened here. Then get someone to look at your cuts." Gregor told the bat ignoring her question.
The bat hesitated. "If you are not from Regalia, then you have no business ordering me around."
Gregor grinned, "It wasn't an order. But in any case you may want some stitches."
The bat nodded. "Are you going to the palace as well?"
"Yes, there are a few people I need to talk to," Gregor answered.
"Would you like to go together than?" The bat questioned.
"Thanks but I'm not too fond of flying." Gregor said, "Nothing against you or anything. I'm just a little afraid of heights." He admitted.
The bat thought for a moment. "What if I were to join you on your path to the palace?" The bat asked.
"Um, sure. I don't mind the company," Gregor answered confused. "Do you not want to go by yourself?" Gregor asked.
"It is a somewhat embarrassing story," she answered as she lifted just off the ground and followed Gregor as he began walking towards the gate leading to Regalia.
"Well it looks like we have the time," Gregor said as he walked at a steady pace. "How about you start with your name? I'm Gregor."
"Greetings Gregor, I am named Iris," the bat said thinking for a moment, "Gregor? Why does that name sound familiar?" Iris asked.
Gregor contemplated telling Iris he was the warrior. He was sure she would realize it sooner or later, but he didn't like the thought of her just thinking of him as someone that he had killed years ago.
"I'm not sure," he said and quickly tried to back track the conversation. "So why don't you want to go to the palace alone?"
"Well," Iris started, "when I was younger I used to always attempt to sneak into the palace. My brothers kept daring me to find a room called the museum."
"Where they keep all of the Overland stuff?" Gregor asked.
"Yes," Iris continued, "when I finally found the room I accidently ran into the Queen of Regalia. I knocked over a pile of relics when I left the room and flew as fast as I could. Since then I have tried to avoid the palace as best as I can."
Gregor laughed as they moved through the streets of Regalia. The streets were nearly entirely empty but Gregor felt as though there were still many eyes on them. "How long ago was this?"
"A couple of years ago," Iris responded, "I am sure the Queen would not recognize me any longer, but I still fear that confrontation."
Gregor looked up as they neared the palace. "Luxa, wouldn't hold a grudge just for that, trust me," Gregor chuckled.
"For someone not of here, you seem to know much of Regalia," Iris said in a questioning tone.
Before Gregor could answer three bats swooped down from the palace and three men dropped off of the bats landing squarely in front of Gregor. Iris fluttered back a ways as Gregor held his ground.
The man in the middle stood only a few inches taller than Gregor but had a sense of strength about him that Gregor did not possess. He didn't quite look like any of the other Underlanders Gregor had met. He was cloaked in black armor with a dark red cape that hung over his left shoulder. He wielded a thick broadsword in his right hand and held it forward with ease as though it were as light as a feather. But the reason he looked different from the other Underlanders was his hair. His hair was untidy and a bright red, almost blood color. Gregor wasn't sure if it was some kind of gel or actual blood but either way it looked odd.
On the man's right was someone that Gregor recognized as the Governor of the Fount, York. He was incredibly tall with a long broadsword held firmly in his hands. On his left was a strong soldier in silver armor standing on a fake leg. Gregor smiled at the man with the whalebone leg.
"Who comes forth to enter the palace?" The red haired Underlander asked.
Before Gregor could answer, the man with the whalebone leg seethed his sword and stepped forward, "Gregor?"
"Hey, Mareth," Gregor grinned at his old friend.
"You know this Overlander?" The red haired man asked Mareth, lowering his own weapon.
"I dare say I would recognize this Overlander anywhere." He smiled, "This is Gregor, the Warrior and savior of Regalia," He laughed as he moved forward giving Gregor a back breaking hug. "Gregor, I am so pleased to see you once more."
"The Warrior?" Gregor heard Iris gasp behind him.
Gregor hugged Mareth back. "It's so good to see you, you have no idea how much I missed you."
As York and the red haired man began to mount their bats and leave, Mareth grabbed Gregor. "I truly am pleased to see you, Gregor. But I am afraid you have picked a rather unpleasant time to return."
Gregor became serious as he remembered why he was here. "Look, I saw Hazard. I had to come down to make sure everything was ok."
"Saw Hazard? What do you mean you saw Hazard? He has been under guard in the royal chambers for weeks now, ever since rebels made an attempt on his life." Mareth looked confused.
"Mareth, Hazard's in the Overland. He has been for nearly a month. Did Luxa not tell you?" Gregor asked. When he realized the man didn't know, Gregor explained. "She sent him to the Overland to keep him safe while the rebel problem was dealt with. I thought you knew?"
Mareth quieted to a whisper even though only himself, Gregor and Iris were there now. "No, she said no such thing. If she had, the counsel would not have allowed it."
"Why not?" Gregor asked.
Mareth answered in a hushed voice, "because the rebels have been attempting to assassinate her for weeks and should they succeed, Hazard would be put in charge of Regalia."
"Wait but wouldn't Nerissa be put in charge?" Gregor asked. "And it's not like they'll be able to kill Luxa while she's in the palace."
"Hazard would be the next to rule Regalia. Nerissa is unfit to; she has been slipping in and out of comas while her visions have been getting worse. And as much as I hate to admit it Luxa is no longer safe in the palace, I am sure rebels have infiltrated the ranks of soldiers within the walls."
Gregor tried to make sense of everything he was learning. "But then Luxa should have guards or something right?"
"She could, but then how would we know if they were Rebels or not?" Mareth said. "Just, please do not tell anyone of Hazard's true location. I will speak to Luxa of this later."
"Of course," Gregor said. "Wow, I can't believe I miss the good old days of knowing the rats were the enemy."
Mareth chuckled, "As do I. Now whether they be human, rat or flier, we have no clue if they are friend or foe."
Mareth look over Gregor towards Iris, "I am sorry but I do not believe you and I have met, I am Mareth." He introduced himself with a slight bow of his head.
Iris bowed back, "Greeting Mareth, I am named Iris."
"Friend of yours?" Mareth asked Gregor.
Gregor looked back at her. He really didn't know her at all but for some reason Gregor trusted her. "Guess you can say that." Gregor said.
"Well then Iris," Mareth said with a smile, "would you like to join us for a breakfast feast in the palace?"
There is a nice and long Chapter 9. I hope everyone enjoys it! I ended up thinking i was going to end it completely differently but i like this way better. Thank you to everyone who reviewed my last few chapters, Vengeous, Pyro159, and The Toast Ninja especially for the reviews and IMs, they're really helpful! Thanks! Please rate and review. Any and all feedback is welcomed.
-Ssi
