Gregor, Vikus, Luxa, and Aurora ran down the hall. The Regalian Army had taken their place at the wall. Gregor had been asked to fight by Ripred. He had accepted, because he already felt bad enough about his absence.
"The first order of business is a flier," Luxa said, as they arrived at what looked like a war room. "Do we have a brave flier for the Overlander?" A few people whispered among themselves, and Gregor caught some "The Warrior returns!", before a flier that was a piercing black and grey coat said, "I will fly the Overlander in battle."
Luxa sighed in relief. "Thank you Cosmo," she turned to him. "Cosmo is one of our most experienced and strongest fliers, so you two should fare well together. Now you should see Miravet for weapons and armor." Gregor left the room with orders to meet Cosmo at the top of the east tower. He couldn't help but feel a little excited. He was returning to battle! He stopped at the armory and heard a welcoming voice say, "Welcome back, Overlander!"
Gregor smiled, "Hey Miravet!" It wasn't long before he was being fitted into armor. He picked out a pearly white breast plate and helmet, along with knee guards, since Miravet said this look would match Slagsh. Then when it came time for weapons, Miravet gave him a small but heavy dagger. When it came time to pick his sword, she said he should pick. He looked at his options, feeling them all out, before he laid his eyes on the perfect one. It was light, white, and jewel studded. He gave it a little swing and he knew this was the one. He thanked Miravet and left the armory to go to the East Tower.
When he climbed the stairs, Gregor saw the huge bat that was Cosmo waiting for him. He mounted up and they took off.
"Hello, Overlander." Cosmo spoke. His voice was low and reasurring.
"Hey Cosmo."
"I understand that this may be hard for you, to ride a different flier besides Ares, but I assure you I will make the battle as comfortable as I can."
"I know you will. Thank you. Hey, Cosmo, do you have a bond?"
Cosmo gave his head a sad shake. "No, he died years ago." And that was the end of the conversation. They arrived on top of the wall and met up with Mareth.
"Hello Overlander," he said. "Cosmo, I want you two at the top of the second arc." Cosmo gave a sharp nod and flew over to the center of the wall. Gregor finally got a good look at the field below. The cutters seemed to be listening to Slagsh, who seemed to be giving a speech.
"Cutters, cutters, settle down please!" he hissed. "I know many of you are eager to start fighting but before we do I must tell you a story about my father. Some of you-"
Mareth whispered, "Now." Gregor drew his sword and waited for the bats to take off. But instead, he watched in horror as the city gates opened. He thought surely he was hallucinating, but no, Regalia was warmly welcoming the cutters into the doors.
A few front line ants tried to waltz into the city, but almost immediately a roar went up and the rats, led by Ripred, charged and started to fight the cutters. Mareth hobbled over to them. "Change of plans! Overlander, go for the beast." he said to Gregor. He nodded and Cosmo lifted up and dove into battle.
The second they got into striking level, Gregor drew his sword. He slashed off a few mandibles but when he arrived his sunk the blade right through Slagsh's back. The huge ant let out a weird groaning sound before running full speed at Cosmo. Gregor thought the bat was dead meat but he spun through the air like he had never seen any bat spin before, before driving his sharp claws into the ants face.
"Gregor, Cosmo!" Mareth yelled at them. They flew back up just in time to see the ants retreating. "Gregor, great job! However, I am sending you two to training."
Gregor was a little bit shocked, but before he could protest, Cosmo was in the air and flying towards the arena.
"Why are we getting sent to training?" Gregor asked the bat. "We did great!" Cosmo nodded. They circled around the arena a couple of times before they landed in the midst of a training session. Perdita was leading a session and she saw them. "Hey guys, come to join the practice." she said warmly. They did normal drills before Mareth arrived on a flier with Ripred and the two of them got their private lessons. Gregor had improved greatly, fending off Ripreds attacks and nicking him with his sword every once and a while. Meanwhile, Cosmo was up in the air performing several various tricks and spins. After what seemed like a while, Mareth had them fight Ripred together. They did well, leaving a 3 inch scratch on the rat's back.
Finally, Mareth had them end practice. Gregor couldn't help but ask, "Mareth, why are we here? We made the ants retreat!" Mareth gave him a puzzled look.
"But Overlander," he said, clearly confused. "This training isn't for you. It is for Cosmo."