Disclaimer: Me: "Hey Suzanne?"

Suzanne: "What is it now?"

Me: "Can i borrow your series to write on a fanfiction website as long as i don't take any credit for it?"

Suzanne "Sure"

There you have it folks as you can OBVIOUSLY see, i wouldn't be asking her permission if i owned the series now would i? Think people think!

Prologue Part 2

Gregor growled in frustration as he stalked purposefully through the halls, his mind in every direction as a result of his tumultuous emotions. He was so focused on his anguish that he didn't see the hairy mass straight in front of him.

"Oof." Gregor gasped as he slammed into the aforementioned hairy mass.

"Watch it! Oh it's you." Ripred exclaimed angrily and then lazily. "And where is my little love struck rager off to with such a purpose, to see his girlfriend?"

"Leave me alone Ripred." Gregor muttered and tried to shove past him, but the rat blocked his way.

"Ooh trouble in paradise I see." Ripred sounded amused which annoyed Gregor.

"What paradise? Does this seem like paradise to you? Paradise is an island, with sun and water and sand and no worries, no sarcastic giant rats or cutters, there are no wars no stress, and no queens." He added sadly. "All I see here is rock, problems everywhere I turn, and a rat who doesn't have his own life so he spends his time picking on me. Well I'm sick of it here but I don't want to go home. There's nothing for me there and apparently there's nothing here for me either. I don't belong anywhere. Is that paradise? Because if it is I don't want Paradise! I want normal! I just want my life to be normal!" Gregor's chest heaved and his eyes shone with tears that he angrily wiped away as he stared defiantly at Ripred, who was looking at him with an odd look on his face. It almost seemed like…pity.

It was a while before he spoke. "Well Gregor it sounds like you've got your fair share of problems and I'm sorry but I'm here to deliver more bad news, Howard and your parents are looking for you. You're completely healed, you're leaving tomorrow."

Gregor stood on a balcony in the suite given to his parents. He looked at the swirling darkness below him broken only by the lights of the city. He didn't know what to do. He had one night left. That was it. Then they would arrive in New York only to hop on a plane to Virginia the next day. There was no time for anything except goodbyes. He glanced down again, before seeming to make up his mind and without another thought he stepped off the wall into the vast nothing below.

He was free-falling for only a second before he landed on the familiar fur of Ares back. He buried his face in the black coat and sighed. "Ares."

"Overlander, I know. But we will still be bonds even while you are in this, Vir-gin-i-a you are going to."

Gregor nodded, his throat closed up and he couldn't speak. "Fly you high Ares, fly you very high." He managed to choke out.

"The same to you, Gregor." They flew in silence for while, both enjoying each other's company alone for what would be one of the last times.

"Overlander if I may I would add something." Ares began hesitatingly. "Queen Luxa, is under much pressure from everyone. She is expected to do the right thing. But she is young, she knows not what that is, and you…being….is complicating her further. Do not take personally what she told you. She knows not what she says." Gregor sat in shocked silence. That was one of, if not the longest speech he had ever heard Ares speak. Neither spoke for the rest of their 3 hour flight to nowhere. Each reveled in the comfort they felt with each other.

Too soon, for both of them, Gregor had to return to the palace. When Ares dropped him off at the balcony, he said nothing, he stuck out his bonding claw and Gregor grasped it with tears in his eyes.

"Tomorrow." Gregor said quietly, Ares nodded his agreement and flew away, slowly becoming a black dot in a sea of blackness. Gregor watched as he faded into the background and turned, only to find that the balcony he was on wasn't the right balcony. There was no way Ares would make a mistake like that, it must have been intentional and as Gregor turned to the doorway he saw what the reason that Ares had dropped him here.

Inside he could just make out a bed and on that bed he saw her. She was tossing fitfully and her sheets had been kicked clean off the bed. As he got closer to her he could hear her groaning and mumbling and he saw the tear-stains on her cheeks and pillow. His heart broke and he retrieved her covers, lightly tucking them in around her without waking her up (he had a lot of practice with 2 younger sisters) and he couldn't resist sitting on the edge of the bed. He just stared at her, knowing this would be the last time he would be able to do so and as she turned and moaned he whispered softly to her. "Shhh," he murmered, "you're ok, I'm here." He brushed the back of his hand along her cheek and she instinctively curled around his warmth. "Gregor" she sighed in her sleep and was immediately peaceful, a small smile on her lips. He bent down and kissed her forehead before getting up and walking to the door. "Sleep well…You'll make a great queen." And he shut the door.

Getting out of bed the next morning was the hardest thing he ever had to do. He dressed silently, avoiding all conversation with his parents and his sisters. They were to be leaving first thing today, they wouldn't even be having breakfast, Grace wanted them out of there as soon as humanly possible. They grabbed their things and went to the High Hall where they were to be seen off.

They opened the doors and Gregor smiled sadly at the group of people who had gathered to say goodbye. Mareth, Vikus, Ripred, Howard, Nike, Nerissa, Perdita, Temp, the code breakers, Hazard, and Ares were there. Lizzie sprinted immediately to Ripred who gathered her up in his front paws murmuring soothingly to her as she cried, and the code breakers gathered forlornly around them. Boots ran to Temp and climbed on his back. "Boots go for ride Temp!" she shouted. "We go for ride." Temp clicked sadly "Princess" was all he said as he took her for one last ride, although she didn't know it. Gregors dad went to Vikus, Mareth, and Perdita while Grace walked over to Howard and Nike, to thank them for their 'hospitality' Gregor thought bitterly as he went to his bond. It did not escape him that neither Luxa nor Aurora were there to say goodbye nor did it surprise him, although it hurt. He and Ares didn't say anything. They had said their goodbyes the night before, now they just stood next to each other, as Gregor surveyed the people, the friends he would leave behind and he felt sick to his stomach. He couldn't believe that he wasn't going to return to what he now considered his home. Too soon, the goodbyes were over and the party going to the dop=off point at Central Park mounted their bats. Grace and Lizzie were on Vikus' Bond, and Gregor's dad and Boots were on Nike to give Gregor alone time with his bond. Just as Ares claws left the floor of the High Hall, the doors burst open. Ares stopped and simply hovered, waiting to see what the commotion was all about, Gregor stared. In the doorway stood Luxa. Her silvery hair was a mess and even from the distance he was at Gregor could see that her eyes were red and puffy, but he didn't care. Ares touched down and Gregor slid off his back as the entire company went silent. Luxa hadn't moved from her spot in the doorway and Gregor slowly made his way over to her, each step echoing off of the concrete floors.

"Hello." She said as he reached her. He said nothing, he was angry at her, for not speaking to him, for ruining their last days together, he wanted to be angry with her, but as he stood before her in stoic silence, he saw her face falter then fall and tears well in eyes, his anger broke like a dam and he wrapped his arms around her as she fell into them.

"You came." He whispered so only she could hear.

"Of course." She returned with a sad smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "I am a fool." And the smile was gone, her head tilted towards the ground.

"No." Gregor answered, and he lifted her chin with a finger and almost laughed out loud at the butterflies in his stomach as he leaned forward to kiss her. He could defeat the Bane but he couldn't kiss a girl? It was absurd! But all thoughts were erased from his mind as their lips met. It wasn't a kiss like the ones in the sappy romance movies Gregor's mom liked. It wasn't some over-the-top, overly romantic kiss. It was just two twelve year old kids. But it was enough to make Vikus smile a bittersweet smile, Ripred to nod slowly as if confirming a thought to himself, Howard to grimace then relax accepting what was happening, and for one split second just before the two broke apart, it was enough to make Grace reconsider leaving forever. But just for a second, for when Luxa pulled away, Grace convinced herself that she had imagined it, and everything was back to business.

"Fly you high." Gregor said quietly to Luxa and he climbed slowly onto Ares, never taking his eyes off her face, trying to memorize it now, for the last time.

"Fly you high." She repeated and the tears that she had stopped from falling until this point, slipped down her cheeks like raindrops on a window. But her shoulders were back and she stood proudly as Ares beat his black wings, carrying Gregor away forever.