A/N thanks for the one review : ). Sorry it is going a little fast but I was at the beach and will definetly go into more detail now that I have more time.

Disclaimer; Don't own the series.

At the gate were two guards, neither of which recognized. "Halt! Identify yourself!" The one on the left yelled out.

"Gregor the Overland." Gregor said with a small grin.

The look of surprise from the guards face was clear even where Gregor was standing. "C-come in." The guard said giving the order for the gate to be opened. He was lead to the palace without a complaint after that. In fact, everyone on the street gave him a look of wonder but beyond that there was fear. There was also there wasn't as many people as he expected. The final thing Gregor noticed was that there were rats inside the city as well. He grinned at the last part. He was raised into the palace quickly where an official greeting party waited.

The party consisted of Mareth, one of Gregor's first friends in the Underland, Luxa, her grandpa Vikus, and Hazard. Mareth hadn't changed much in that time but Luxa sure had. She had filled in a lot but stayed the same height so now she was a good five or six inches shorter than Gregor himself. Her pale skin had grown even paler. Hazard hadn't changed much, he was still the same little kid as Gregor thought of him. But Vikus looked like a wreck, he had more wrinkles than Gregor could count and was nearly completely bald.

Luxa's violet eyes seemed to bore into him as he took the step of the rudimentary elevator. He saw an anger that he didn't expect to see in her eyes. "Why have you come back?" she growled out. Vikus put a caring hand on her shoulder as if to calm her, but she was obviously already past that. "Answer the question Overlander!" she snapped out before Gregor had a chance to talk in return.

"I- I came for you." Gregor said simply actually wincing from the hatred in her voice.

"Your leaving has torn Regalia apart!" Luxa yelled at him. Before she could bear to stand more, she turned and left the room with Mareth and Hazard silently following. Gregor quickly shot Vikus a questioning look.

"Don't worry, it isn't truly your fault." The old man explained with a sigh. "She is just stressed. Once you left, some people wanted to follow you. Most were vehemently opposed to such a thing but the ones that wanted to go were brutal. A civil war soon sparked between the Regalians and others sparked. The rats still fight on our side, but the entirety of the fount and half of Regalia went with the others. But, for some reason the others stay and wage war on us instead of heading for the surface." The old man sat in a nearby chair and rubbed his temples.

"So that's why I was attacked.' Gregor said thinking aloud. He brought the bloody sword into view. "Maybe I can convince them to abandon their quest. Where's Ripred?" Gregor asked. If he wanted anyone to go in as his backup it was Ripred, with Ripred, he could easily make it to rebels lands and back. For a moment Vikus stayed quiet looking at Gregor curiously. "What's wrong?" Gregor asked. "I know this is bad, but we can make it through, we always have."

"Gregor…. Ripred is missing, presumed dead." Vikus said quietly. This was a great shock for Gregor. The rat that had done so much in Underland and in the past wars, that made the bond with Luxa, had gone missing. "He went to the Uncharted Lands to see what was there and if we could expand and never came back. That was three years ago. Even Ripred couldn't have lasted that long."
Gregor sat speechless for a second. "I'm going to find him." He said after a second. "I need a flier." He moved into motion instantly. "But first, I need to see Luxa."

"Very well. I thought you would feel like this. If you hurry, we may have a chance in this war." Vikus said tiredly. "Luxa will be with Aurora in the main hall, you know where."

Gregor did know and he ran like hell towards the main hall where there was no roof to allow all the bats in. He arrived there in minutes and would have made it sooner if not having to dodge through several surprised Underlanders and even running into one.

"Luxa!" Gregor yelled seeing her with her golden bat Aurora in one of the corners closest to him.

"Go away Overlander! Can't you see you aren't welcome here?" Luxa asked with tears in her eyes. She stood stepping away from Aurora. "You are the one who made us have all this pain, all this new war in the Underland."

"That may be true, I doubt it, but it may be. Also, If I did start it I'm going to stop it. I'm going to get Ripred, are you with me?" Gregor asked, not even bothering to make a speech of why he didn't do it. This stopped Luxa in her tracks who looked like she was going to slap him.

"I-if you truly mean this, then you have my condolences." Luxa said formerly, at least she wasn't trying to hit him anymore. "I-I can't go with you. I'm the queen now. But, Aurora can fly you." Gregor considered this for a moment. He had never talked to the golden bat much, but she was Luxa's bond so she couldn't be that bad.

"Ok thanks. I know I just arrived but I'm already to go." Gregor said, blinking slowly. "You ready to go Aurora?" The bat nodded. "Goodbye Overlander, good luck." Luxa muttered as he got on Aurora. The bat launched herself into the air and flew into the air. As they flew up, he heard word that his family had arrived. To be completely honest, he had forgotten about the rest of them but he was glad they were alright.

"I assume you know where you are going right?" Gregor asked. Apparently it was a stupid question, because Aurora just shrugged with a little laugh. They flew through many nondescript caverns. Apparently, the Uncharted Lands were far away. Gregor kept up with his locations by using his echolocation skills. After a while though, he just gave up. He lay back on Aurora's back and started to drift into sleep. The little time he had been in the Underland, it had been extremely hectic.

A while later, he woke to the sound of the bats voice. "Overlander, we have been in the Uncharted lands for a while now. There is something happening below. I can't go any farther you will have to walk the rest of the way. I am going to land a bit away from the commotion." Aurora said giving him a status report. This short report was the most he had ever heard Aurora talk at one time. He just nodded knowing that she would know what he decided. She landed quickly on a small outcropping and Gregor hopped off.