Hey guys! Welcome back to an epic adventure! Sorry that I haven't updated in a very long time, but I was taking a break from writing, among other things. So, as usual, any and all feedback is encouraged and appreciated, see you guys later!

Enjoy the chapter,

-Tytonic

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

Attention

I'll cut right to the chase here, I really don't feel like finishing this story. I have lost my inspiration for this story, and whenever I attempt to write it, my thoughts drift to my book. I am NOT abandoning this story, I will finish it, however, the time in between updates will greatly increase. I'm sorry for this, but if I want to keep this thing half decent, then this is the way it has must be. I have not lost all of my inspiration though, and I am still writing.

Gregor and the War of the Myriapods

Chapter 30: It is Time

Once everybody was up, and had begun eating breakfast, they all froze. A loud clicking noise resounded 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.

-O-

Softly gliding through he inky darkness, Luxa sat behind Gregor upon Chronos, arms around his waist, and chin resting on his shoulder. The young couple needn't worry about Hayden discovering the infatuation between them. For even if there was a light source at the moment, he was tied up on his flier, facing away from the group.

Gregor's hands lay comfortably on Luxa's, which were around his waist, and he was stroking the top of her right hand with his thumb. Despite the inky darkness surrounding the group, Gregor was acutely aware of his surroundings, due too echolocation.

Over the past few days, there had been a noticeable difference in the landscape. Whereas it was rough rock everywhere in the known underland, the slasher lands had a rough sand, that got gradually finer as they got deeper into slasher territory. No doubt caused by the many slashers who's legs had dug deep into the rock, upturning it.

The wind howled around Gregor and Luxa, masking their conversation from all but Chronos. It seemed these days that Luxa was more relaxed, happier with her life. Gregor had been the key to her lock, metaphorically speaking. She had been closed up her entire life, letting nobody in. Being princess, and then queen, did not help her make friend, for it would always be awkward.

Having Henry around had just brought out the worst in her, but once Gregor had come along and. . . rid her, of Henry, he had broken through her shell. He had given her what she had needed to open up, however slightly, a friend. As that friendship developed into something more, she continued to open up. That comes up to know, where Luxa is a room without a roof, at least around Gregor.

Unlike the prophecy of gray, Luxa did not cut off all of her hair for the war, instead she pinned it up. Her hair, while not pinned up, was all the way down to her waist, and it was thinner than most hair, so it didn't look like much while pinned up. Gregor hardly noticed, but over the past four years, Luxa's hair had changed color, ever so slightly. Before, her hair was a whitish blonde with a metallic tint to it; now, four years later, the blonde part seems to have drained, leaving behind a very silvery hair. Not like she was aging, her hair was still very different from the average graying of hair.

In Gregor's opinion, she had improved in many ways since he had left the underland. In his eyes, she was the very definition of perfection, of beauty. Apparently she was in Hayden's eyes, as well, much to Gregor's dismay.

The personification of beauty. That is the only suitable way Gregor could describe her, and even then, it was a little on the weak side.

-O-

As the week wore on, the clicking noises grew more frequent. Gregor could tell when they occasionally saw a slasher in the distance. It was never a very big problem, since the slashers were blind, but if they got within thirty feet, fifty at most, the slasher would be able to detect their presence.

The first few slashers they had come by had proven to be quite an issue. They had not noticed them in time, since they had not been alert, and Xano had been spotted. Apparently he was known far and wide. They had easily disposed of these few slashers, but had covered Xano in ash, so he would not be recognized, since ash distorts the slashers view on things.

Xano had failed to mention before, but the slasher land was broken up into sections by several rivers. Apparently, the section where the leaders of the slashers were, was accompanied by an active volcano. Because of this, a single river of lava separated this section from the others.

Gregor did not understand why they would choose that location, if ash distorted the slashers senses. He decided to ask Xano.

"Xano," Gregor asked as they camped one night, "why would they settle near a volcano, if ash distorts their senses?"

Without moving, Xano answered, "It is due to a special trait that is granted to royalty. When a new leader is appointed, their senses are heightened. Because of this, the ash has no affect on them, so they reside in is as a sort of defense from other slashers. Fortunately, not being entirely slasher, I also posses this trait, and the ash has no affect on me."

Gregor was satisfied with this answer, but not at all happy with it. It would be extremely difficult to complete this mission as is, but without the cover of ashes? Gregor began to seriously doubt their chances of success.

The next day, Gregor awoke to a loud clicking noise. He immediately began to reach for his sword, but quickly topped when Ripred signaled to him to be quiet. Checking his surrounding, Gregor could tell that slashers had been there recently. The sand was freshly upturned in weird patterns, Patterns that Gregor recognized as Slasher prints.

Gregor could hear slashers nearby, searching. This was the first time they had come close to being found. Each night, after the first signs of slashers appeared, they had had a bat fly over their camp, covering it in a thin layer of ash, as to conceal their presence.

Obviously, the slashers had found the ash, and were searching the area for whoever had spread the ash out. Gregor knew this would happen eventually, he just hadn't expected it to happen so soon; they still had another day's flight before they reached the first slasher homes.

As silently as Gregor could, he grabbed his sword, and drew it. With his sword in hand, he gently hook Luxa awake; she had been sleeping but a foot away. As he eyes slowly flickered open and met Gregor's, she smiled briefly, but quickly tossed the look when she realized that something was wrong, due to the look on Gregor's face.

Luxa was about to ask what was wrong, but kept her mouth closed when Gregor put a finger over her mouth. Nodding in understanding, Luxa stood up, and rubbed the weariness out of her eyes. Luxa had no way to see clearly. There was a soft light coming from a nearby river, but it was so dim that you could not make anything out that wasn't right in front of you.

Luxa quietly took her sword out, and began to wake the others. While she was doing so, Gregor began to wake the fliers. It didn't take very long at all, since they were all on a hair trigger, and awoke to the sound of his footsteps, even though he was being extremely quiet.

Gregor had to signal them to be quiet. They were smart, and understood the situation. As quietly as possible, Gregor, along with the other questers began to pack up their stuff. They had been prepared for a situation like this, and had everything packed up within two minutes.

Everybody mounted their respective bats, and they all took off. As they left the ash covered ground, the safety that the ash had provided became irrelevant. Gregor noticed one of the slashers pot them, but before the slasher got word out to it's comrades, Xano had stuck his tail right through the slashers stomach, killing it.

Gregor assumed that Xano either killed the others, or hid the body, because he heard no sounds what so ever. Either way, Gregor was glad that that threat was dealt with.

The rest of the day was uneventful, save a few sightings of slashers. They had quickly realized that the slasher sighting were becoming very frequent, and that they would not be able to avoid them any longer. Because of this, they had covered every inch of themselves in ash. For the bats, it was hardly a noticeable difference, but for the humans, it was a rather funny sight.

Gregor thought Luxa looked very pretty with black hair, but in contrast to her pale skin, it didn't look as good as her normal silver hair. Either way, to Gregor Luxa's appearance didn't matter. She could be the ugliest human alive for all he cared, though he was happy she wasn't, and he would still be in love with her.

Hayden hadn't put up much of a fuss about it all, and he couldn't even if he wanted to. He was still tied up. When they had first tied him up, he had been making sounds of sorts, and talking and stuff. So he didn't give them away, they had been forced to gag him as well.

They all knew they would have to untie him when they arrived at their destination, but by that point, he wouldn't dare give away their position or attempt to kill Xano. If he did, there was no chance that he would survive. With his stupidity, Gregor highly doubted that he would survive more than a few years anyway.

Gregor could tell by the way that Luxa was shifting around that something was bothering her. Because of the circumstances, Gregor had to whisper. "Luxa, what's wrong?"

Luxa tensed up slightly, but relaxed when Gregor squeezed her hands. "It is. . . I just do not wish to be known as the queen who brought forth the destruction of the humans. I have led us into many wars, wars which we hardly survived. I feel as if I have been a bad queen."

Gregor squeezed her hands tighter. "Luxa, you are not a bad queen. Yes, you have led us into many wars, but you also led us out. If we fail this mission, and the humans are all killed, it will not be your fault. It would not have mattered whether you were queen or not, the slashers would have still risen. If we survive this, you'll be known as the greatest queen of all times. The war of time, as far as I know, is the largest war ever to happen in the underland, and I believe that if you had not been queen, we would not have survived."

Gregor felt Luxa lean into him more, as if hugging him from behind. Gregor wished he could return her hug, but he had no choice but to sit there awkwardly due to the position they were forced into in order to effectively ride a flier.

As the hours wore onward, Gregor noticed something in the distance. He could see a very faint light, most likely from a river. However this was different; there was movement. It was to far away for Gregor to tell exactly what it was, though he had a pretty good guess. He knew Chronos had seen it to, so he knew that the other fliers had relayed the information onto their riders. The only one who didn't know was Xano, and he knew the land well enough to know what was coming up.

Gregor could clearly see what the movement had been caused by once they reached the river. There were the first slasher homes they had seen. Gregor could notice that many of them were smaller, and not as powerful as the ones he had fought. If he had to, he could kill these slashers as easily as spreading butter on toast.

Then a realization struck Gregor. The slashers were not just overgrown bugs. They were sophisticated, to some degree, and intelligent. They had families, children and loved ones that they cared for. Their military was unlike any other in the underland, save the humans; it didn't consist of every able-bodied being, but of those who chose to fight. This entire time, they had been fighting to protect themselves. Protection or not, it does not change the fact they they are the ones who attacked the humans, not the other way around.

They did not waste a moment. They did, however, circle over the group of slashers so that Xano could walk through, rather than run through, and still keep pace with them. If the slashers saw a slasher sprint past them as if rushing, they would grow suspicious, and possibly alert the few larger slashers, who Gregor assumed were Guards or such.

As the slashers became but specks on the horizon, Gregor began to gain confidence, ever so slowly. He had feared that the entirety of the slasher race would be fearsome and deadly, but apparently he had thought wrong.

Gregor knew that it would only be a matter of time before they reached the heart of slasher territory, perhaps only a few hours, so he advised everybody to use that little time to rest, so that they may be ready for their mission upon arriving. The less time they spent in slasher territory the better.

As Gregor closed his eyes, he found that sleep would not overtake him; he was simply to nervous, or eager, to sleep. The shallow breathing of the form laying on his back told him that Luxa was not plagued with similar problems.

Instead of dwelling on the future, Gregor chose to focus on sleeping; he knew he would be thankful for it later. Gregor began to focus on Luxa's hands, which lay loosely around his waist, in order to relax. He found that this method was highly effective, and soon enough, his eyes fluttered shut, and sleep overtook him.

Chronos's Point of View

Chronos sighed in relief as he felt Gregor's breather become shallow, signifying that he had fallen asleep. He knew Gregor would desperately need it later. In a way, Chronos envied the humans. He loved flying and all, but it was very energy consuming, and after flights of this length, he would often pass out upon landing.

Chronos was also thankful that Luxa was riding him. He would not have liked to see Luxa forced with Hayden, and it made him happy to see the effect Luxa had on Gregor. Chronos had know that the warrior was in love with the queen long before he had met him, from Aurora, but could never have guessed the depths of his love.

Chronos's senses tingled, and his fur stood on end, as he discovered a group of slashers ahead. Warning the other fliers, Chronos began to worry as he realized what he was seeing. An army of slashers, larger and stronger than any other he had seen, was passing beneath him. There had to be hundreds, no, thousands, at least, below him. And they were headed in the direction of Regalia.

Understanding that, with the strength of these slashers, they would be able to outrun a flier, he deduced that they would attack Regalia with three or four days time. It only encouraged him to push himself even harder, to complete this mission before it was too late.

Suddenly, a realization struck him: Xano. How would Xano get past this force?

Casting out his echolocation, he began to watch Xano, to see what his next move would be. He watched in awe as, just before the army struck Xano, he seemed to curl into a ball, and with a flash of his senses, a moment where all went blank, he disappears. Moments later, one his senses returned, he noticed that Xano was deep within the army, among their ranks. With another strange flash, Xano dug even deeper into the slasher ranks, and was about halfway through.

A few flashes later, Xano appeared at the other end of the army, where the fliers were waiting for him. Chronos did not bother asking what it was he had done. He already knew it was his ability as a flasher, to distort ones sense for a brief amount of time, and move lighting fast within that time.

It was the polar opposite of being a rager. Being a rager did grant increased speed, but only by a fraction of what being a flasher did. Being a flasher did grant a little more strength, but only a fraction of what being a rager did.

If the two were to square off, it would be impossible to tell the outcome before it was set in stone. Chronos hoped that he would never have to see that day. Ok, maybe if it was Ripred and Xano, it would be fine, but not if it were Gregor and Xano.

The rest of the flight was mostly uneventful, save various groups of slashers passing below. It was easily four hours before Xano signaled for them to land, and they drifted into a smaller cave, hidden behind some rocks. The ground of the cave was a very rough sand, showing that very few slashers had ever been within the cave.

Chronos dropped and slipped into sleep the second he was in a reasonable spot on the ground.

Gregor's Point of View (four hours after landing)

Gregor's eyes fluttered open, and the first thing he noticed was that he was still on Chronos's back, Luxa leaning on him, landed on the ground.

Using echolocation, Gregor deduced that Ripred was on watch. Ripred instantly took notice of Gregor.

"Ok, one of you pups are finally up. Wake the others, we are going to eat and be on our way." Ripred ordered. "I have gone over a plan with Xano; the mission will be either a success within the next two hours, or a failure."

Gregor gave a nod in response, and slid off of Chronos's back. He quickly spun around and caught Luxa before she fell face first onto Chronos. He gently shook her, waking her. It did not take much, for she was trained to awaken quickly, as was everybody.

As Luxa's eyes snapped open, she looked over to Gregor with a questioning look. He muttered but three words.

"It is time."

So, that's a wrap on it! This chapter has taken me unbelievably long (almost two weeks (it is unbelievably crappy for having that much time)), and so will the next, I believe. I was going to post this chapter along side the next two, which are almost done, but I figured that I have been gone long enough, and so I am posting this now! Stuff is really starting to get spicy here! 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: How will the whole assassination go down?

*CLICKCLICKCLICK*

*POOF*

Tytonic: Thoughts, Ideas, concerns?

Gregor: I just want to get this over with.

Luxa: I just hope that we survive.

Tytonic: Don't worry, we all already know you will live, but at what cost?

Luxa: That worries me even more.

Tytonic: Well that's your problem, not mine.

Gregor: How long will this take?

Tytonic: Not that long, but it will be, by no means, easy.

Gregor: As to be expected.

Tytonic: Ok, so if you guys are done now, I will see you later!

Gregor and Luxa: Bye!

*CLICKCLICKCLICK*

*POOF*

See you guys later,

-Tytonic