Hello guys, and welcome back! A LOT of you kept guessing that Hayden would try to kill Gregor while he slept, but I must say, that is not the case. Nobody actually got the answer, so I guess you will all see in the chapter! Also, I'm actually on time with a chapter, for once! So, as usual, any and all feedback is encouraged and appreciated, see you guys later!

See you peeps later,

-Tytonic

Disclaimer: I do not own any of The Underland Chronicles, only the characters I make up and the plot itself.

Gregor and the War of the Myriapods

Chapter 29: Maybe, Just Maybe

"Goodnight Luxa."

"Goodnight Gregor."

Gregor had thought he said it quietly enough that nobody would head him, but he became aware of Hayden glaring at him, who was up, along with his flier, for first watch.

His eyes looked as cold and threatening as death itself.

-O-

Gregor looked around, soaking in his surroundings. He was in a cave of sorts, the area seemed entirely closed in, as if it had formed as just a hollow chamber. Despite there being no light source, the cave was bathed in a warm, friendly light, eliminating any and all shadows.

The entire scene brought a wave of strange peace over Gregor. He instantly relaxed, his muscles settling down, and all knots being released. Gregor felt like he could sit there, bathed in the warm light for the rest of his life.

Gregor took a deep breath, and realized that the cave held an intoxicating smell of morning dew. Gregor relaxed even further. A soft scrapping sound was emitted behind Gregor.

Gregor slowly turned around, not worried in the slightest, even though he knew he should have whirled around, ready for anything. The scene presented in front of him pleased him. All of his friends and family where there, smiling happily.

Had the atmosphere been any different, Gregor would have tensed up immediately. It was usually this point in his nightmares when each of his loved ones was slaughtered right in front of him. Not this time though, instead, they just kept smiling happily, and began to initiate conversations among themselves. Gregor would have gladly joined into there conversations, but just as he began to open his mouth, the distinct metallic scrapping sound of a weapon being drawn was heard throughout the small cavern.

Gregor's eyes drearily fluttered open, presenting him with an inky darkness. He heard the scrape of a boot on rock. Alert, Gregor rolled to the left several feet, picking up his sword mid-roll. He had already whipped the dagger out of it's sheath, which was hidden on Gregor's chest. He sprung up to his feet as silently as possible. Gregor glanced over to where he heard the sound, and saw Hayden slowly and quietly making his way over to Xano.

There was no way Gregor was fast enough to intercept Hayden before he plunged his blade into the flasher's neck. The flasher was a good twenty feet away, and while Gregor could cover that distance very fast, Hayden was less than a few feet away.

Instead of wasting the effort on a hopeless maneuver, Gregor shouted out a warning. "XANO!"

Whether the bugs eyes opened or not, Gregor might never know, but in an instant Hayden was flat on his back, Xano's fangs at his neck. A look of pure horror crossed Hayden's face. He looked around, looking for some way to break free of Xano's grasp. His eyes landed on Gregor.

"Gregor! Gregor! Help me, this beast is crazed!" Begged Hayden.

Gregor really was turning into Ripred, cause only Ripred would have had the urge to say "He is crazed, he hasn't killed you yet". At this point in time, everybody else was finally waking, result of the yelling.

Gregor looked at Hayden like he way crazy, and did nothing. "Nope."

Hayden glared daggers at Gregor. "What do you mean no? I can have you executed for treason!" Hayden's eyes shifted to Luxa, who had just stood up, sword ready. "Luxa, darling! Help me, this beast is a traitor!"

Luxa walked over to Gregor, ignoring Hayden's plea for help. "How did Hayden get himself in that position?"

"I woke up to see Hayden walked towards Xano while he slept. He had his sword in hand, so he was obviously about to kill Xano." Gregor explained, not taking his eyes off of Hayden. He wished he had a camera. "I shouted a warning last second, and this is the result."

Hayden once again glared at Gregor. "He's lying, Luxa! I would never do such a thing! Who would you believe? The filthy overlander, or your beloved?"

Without speaking, Luxa walked over to Hayden. Gregor saw a look of relief wash over Hayden's face. For a moment Gregor thought Luxa was actually going to help him, that is, until she signaled Xano off, and kicked Hayden in the side. Hayden groaned in pain; it must have hurt twice as much, with small traces of his stomach injury still present.

Luxa glared into Hayden's eyes. "How many times must I elaborate? You are NOT my beloved, I would rather marry a fish."

As Luxa finished her insult, a half eaten fish came flying at her, and hit her in the shoulder. It startled Luxa for a moment, but she instantly recovered and glared to where the fish had come from. There stood Ripred, smirking and chucking to himself. "Maybe he will turn into a prince if you kiss him, Luxa."

Knowing that Ripred was referring to the fish, a questioning look crossed Luxa's face. While she pondered that, both Gregor and Ripred burst out laughing. Luxa's look only intensified.

"What humors you, Gregor?" Asked Luxa.

Gregor's laughing died down to a low chuckle. "It's an overland thing. It would have been better if it was a frog though."

Luxa looked even more confused. "A frog? What is a frog?"

Gregor had to think for a moment before answering. "A hopper, maybe? They would live near water if they existed down here."

"Oh, hoppers, yes. Now, what are we to do with Hayden?" Asked Luxa, looking at Hayden. He had crawled several feet away, and was examining a large bruise that was forming on his side.

Ripred snorted. "I don't know about you pups, but I'm still tired. Just tie him up or something Here's an idea, warrior, you take watch and keep an eye on him. Shouldn't be and more difficult then your sister was, except the catch cloth might be a bit messier."

By unspoken consent, everybody that had awoken settled back down into their respective spots, and slowly drifted off to sleep. Hayden kept his eye trained on Gregor as he dragged himself over and laid down.

Luxa gave Gregor a sad smile as she walked past, and laid down. Chronos fluttered over to Gregor, and settled down, where Gregor leaned against his side. His side was soft and warm, overall comfortable. Gregor had a few things to talk to Chronos about, but he didn't dare speak while Hayden was still awake. Luxa could hear and he wouldn't mind, but he preferred this be kept from her.

Chronos could tell that Gregor wanted to talk, and he could also tell that Gregor was waiting for everybody to fall back asleep. So far, everybody but Hayden had drifted back to sleep, though Gregor could tell that Hayden's breathing was beginning to slow, as he gave in and began to fall asleep. Within minutes, Hayden had drifted off.

Gregor knew it was as good a time as ever, so he spoke, only he spoke in whispers as to not awaken he others. Right when Gregor opened his mouth, Chronos beat him to the chase.

"Gregor, I know you have feeling for Luxa, but exactly how deep do they go?" Asked Chronos. "My mother has told me or Luxa's feelings for you, but she has little knowledge on the matter."

"I love her, and I cherish that love deeply. I would go so far as to say that I would die for her." Responded Gregor.

Chronos sucked in a breath of air. "She is to wed Hayden, I'm sure you are aware. Personally, I do not wish to see her wed him, he is sick and twisted. My mother agree's as well, in fact, she is where I first heard it from. Are you going to do anything about the wedding?"

Gregor nodded, and went on to explain his plain to prevent Luxa from having to marry Hayden. Chronos listened intently, as Gregor explained his plan. He gave bat nods every once in a while, showing that he understood.

Once Gregor had completes explaining his plan, Chronos remained silent, presumably in deep though, for several minutes. If he was human, he would have been rubbing his chin as he thought.

A few minutes later, Chronos finally spoke up. "That should work. Should. Unless the Underland council is also corrupt, then it will work fine, I think. Technically, you could have used that plan at any time, but it might not have had the desired effect, and would have lessened the chances of it succeeding if you happened to try it again. Overall, I can see no flaws in the plan, at least not now. I will run this over in my head for some times, and inform you if I discover anything." Chronos slowly blinked, and then began to speak again. "For what it's worth, if anybody should marry Luxa, I believe it should be you. You would be a fit king, I have seen all of the necessary traits in you."

Gregor frowned. "No I wouldn't. Even if I would be a good king, I can never be king, I'm an overlander."

"Why do you think in such a way? There are no laws restricting you. I believe the only requirements are that you must be at least sixteen, you must be human, and the council must approve of you." Said Chronos. "Nothing concerning overlanders."

"That's just it though." Frowned Gregor. "The council would never approve of an overlander."

"You are correct. The council would never approve of you." Said Chronos. "But if your plan works, the council will not be able to make that decision, the grand underland council will, and since the other species hold no rights over who we choose to rule, the decision will fall to a public vote. If you have not noticed, most of the humans praise you as if you were a king already."

Gregor allowed himself to smile a little. A glimmer of hope shone through the cloudy skies of his mind. Maybe, just maybe, it could happen. Gregor glanced at Hayden, who was still sleeping soundly.

"He may cause a few problems. I have seen his determination, Luxa hits him in the face, and screams that she doesn't love him, and he still thinks that she loves him. Even if I do win the right to marry Luxa, he will not let her go soundly." Gregor explained. "With his determination, I fear I may have to kill him if it come to that, and as much I would like hurting him, I don't want to kill him."

"You have killed many before, what is different now?" Asked Chronos.

"I have killed many of other species before." Said Gregor. "It's different, killing another human." Gregor frowned. "How would you feel if you had to kill another flier?"

Chronos had a look of understanding on his face. "I understand. It is different, killing gnawers or cutters, as oppose to killing one of your own race."

After that, and eerie silence befell the two. Gregor would have broken the silence, but there was nothing he could talk about at the moment. So, Gregor and Chronos sat watch for a few more hours. There was a constant drip drip drip of water somewhere to Gregor's right, but he ignored it for the most part. After all, it is just a cave, and all caves were formed by water.

Once Gregor and Chronos were both satisfied that their watch had been completed, Gregor woke a sleepy Howard and Nike, so that they may take over.

Howard and Nike groggily accepted the watch, and Gregor went back to where he sleeps. Chronos went over to the bat pile, and choose a spot in between two bats that Gregor did not know, some of the bats that carried the supplies.

Once Gregor had gotten comfortable, he tried to shut his eyes and sleep, but he could not relax enough. He focused on Luxa's rhythmic shallow breathing to calm him, for she was only two feet away from him. Her breathing slowly coaxed him into a deep slumber.

As Gregor's eyes finally fluttered shut, he could have sword that Luxa moved over a few feet, and was right up against him, but then again, maybe he had just been dreaming it.

Gregor stood in the center of the arena, crowds cheering him on, as he faced down Hayden. When the signal to begin went off, Gregor and Hayden began to circle each other, waiting for an opening.

Gregor's right foot went down slightly wrong, and he had to reposition it. Hayden saw this opening, and chose to rush forward and strike at Gregor. Hayden slashed downward, and Gregor held his sword to block a horizontal strike.

Sure enough, Hayden had bluffed, and changed direction at the last second, swing horizontal. Metal met metal, and a loud clang rang out through the arena. The crowd went silent in an instant, as they began to focus intensely on the fight before them.

Before Hayden had a chance to pull back, Gregor spun to the right, lashing out at Hayden's right side. The blade met nothing but air, and the momentum of the swing kept Gregor spinning until Hayden was behind him.

Hayden stabbed forward, but Gregor dashed out of the way. The strike opened a small cut on Gregor's back. Gregor spun so he was facing Hayden, and he dashed forward right at Hayden. Gregor stabbed forward, quickly spinning at the last second, bringing the sword around to the side of Hayden's head.

The blade was about to make contact, but Gregor knew it would be blocked, and he yanked the sword down, so it hit Hayden's hand, cutting off two o his fingers. Hayden howled in pain, and dropped to his knees, grasping his hand, which now only had a pinkie, thumb, and pointer finger.

Gregor took advantage of this, and was about to ram his sword through Hayden's neck, when he hesitated. He was about to take another humans life. Gregor quickly thought of Luxa, and urged himself to stab forward. Just as the sword went into Hayden's neck, Gregor felt a searing pain in his heart.

Gregor looked down, and saw a dagger sticking out of his heart. His hesitation and given Hayden time to stab Gregor in the heart. For a few seconds the two warriors stared at each other, neither falling.

Sword in neck, Hayden fell to the ground the same time Gregor did, dagger in heart. He could hear voices calling out to him as the pain numbed, and he was overwhelmed by a sense of peace. He could hear a sweet voice coaxing him. He could not identify the words, but whatever it was saying, he knew he should do what he was being told.

Gregor's eyes snapped open, and he noticed that he was shaking tremendously. He was also looking into the eyes of Luxa, who was but inches from him.

"Gregor! Your finally awake! I was worried, you were shaking so much, and you wouldn't wake up!" Explained Luxa, genuine concern in her voice.

Gregor was dimly aware of a dull pain in his heart, right where he had been stabbed. He was still looking into Luxa's eyes. Her vibrant violet eyes, he could get lost in them and never return. He blinked a few times and shook his head. He then pushed himself up onto his elbows.

"Sorry, it was just a bad dream." Gregor said.

Luxa looked concerned once more. "Just a dream? You were shaking like a crawler in icy water, are you sure you are okay?"

"Luxa, I'm fine. I'll tell you about it later if you really insist on knowing." Responded Gregor, nodding towards Hayden.

Luxa gave Gregor a nod, obviously still concerned, yet understanding what he met. Apparently he had really been shaking, more then somebody who was just cold. Gregor slowly sat up a bit more, so that he was just sitting with his legs stretched out.

"What time is it?" Asked Gregor.

Luxa looked back at Gregor. "About an hour into my watch, we will be leaving in an hour."

"I'll stay up with you, I don't think I could sleep after that anyway." Said Gregor.

Luxa gave Gregor a sweet smile, the type that could make his heart melt, and sat down on her makeshift bed, which was still about two feet away from him.

Both Gregor and Luxa where silent for a times, and Gregor hated it. He tried a few ideas out in his head, of how to initiate a conversation, but was met with no success.

Gregor finally stumbled upon a half decent subject. "Hey Luxa, do you think we have a chance at this? At actually surviving, I mean."

Luxa smiled a small smile. "I believe that we can, but not at no cost. I think that there will be some type of loss before we succeed. I just worry on what that loss may be. What do you think?"

Gregor thought for a moment. "I have no idea. It looks like this could turn out anyway, though I don't doubt that there will be a loss of sorts. You can never do such a thing at no cost."

Luxa gave a sad nod, and the conversation just picked up from there. They talked about all sort of things, all the way from overland foods, to hidden entrances in the palace. They even talked about the revolutionary war, which Luxa took great interest in, due to the fact that it was fought to separate from the king and the rest of england. Luxa also took great interest in the US leadership, the whole president thing, and how we do not have kings or queens.

Their conversation had not yet let up when their watch ended. They awoke everybody, continuing their conversation on overland animals, specifically on birds.

Once everybody was up, and had begun eating breakfast, they all froze. A loud clicking noise came from far away, from the north, to be specific. Thankfully, the sound didn't get any closer as it continued, only farther. Nevertheless, the group immediately packed up, and set off to the south, away from the sound, before again going west, towards the slasher land.

Okay, do what did you guys think? More plot development, so it's bound to be uneventful. I can now say, I think that this story will be over within the next five chapters or so. I highly doubt I could make it any longer. So, as usual all feedback is encouraged and appreciated, so give me any and all ideas! See you guys later!

See you peeps later,

-Tytonic

Question: What do you guys think will happen to Hayden?

*CLICKCLICKCLICK*

*POOF*

Tytonic: Thoughts, ideas, concerns?

Gregor: I swear, my list of reasons to kill Hayden just keeps growing.

Tytonic: I Know, I know, but no, you cannot wail on him. You will kill when, and if, I want you to.

Luxa: I do not know how I have kept my sanity, being forced with him for so long.

Tytonic: Don't ask me, I haven't altered the past four years of your lives in any way.

Luxa: Those years sucked.

Tytonic: Well, that shouldn't be the case now.

Gregor: What exactly do you have planned next?

Tytonic: Well, all of your bats will crash to the ground, and you will all die of dehydration.

Luxa: Wait, what?

Tytonic: Exactly, you really think I would tell you? I have only told two people! (You know who you are, if you leak info, I will kill you)

Gregor: Right.

Tytonic: Yeah, 'right'. Okay, see you guys later, nothing else to talk about here.

Gregor and Luxa: Bye.

*CLICKCLICKCLICK*

*POOF*

Ya'll tots be good,

-Tytonic