Hello people, and welcome back! Now, I cannot begin to understand why I didn't get a single review on last chapter; I usually get two or three in the first few hours of posting it. Because of that, nobody even guessed the question from last chapter. This may not be the greatest chapter, I am kind of working on four different pieces of writing right now, so my brain is split. 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.

Gregor and the War of the Myriapods

Chapter 31: Zeneator

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."

-O-

Within a few minutes, the entire group had gathered in a circle to go over the plan. None of the humans could see, save Gregor, due to the lack of a fire; it would have given away their position. Though none of them complained; they knew it was necessary.

The plan was simple, but very dangerous. The different leaders of the slashers each ruled over a different sector of slasher land, and they all ruled underneath the king of the slashers. There were five sectors, including the sector which housed royalty. It worked out perfectly. There were six of them, and five of the sectors. They would each go to one, and rid the leader of their life. Xano and Gregor would both team up for the king's sector.

Xano reported that the kings body guard was extremely powerful. He was not even a slasher, he was an Arthropleuridea. Supposedly, he is one of the largest creatures in the underland. Sitting at around twenty feet long, he was also five feet wide. He was unnaturally fast, and powerful. According to Xano, unlike normal slashers, he had no weak spots whatsoever. His shell was also more than two feet thick in places, making it almost impossible to kill him. On the edges of this shell, are razor sharp spikes; they make up for his lack of fangs or a stinger. He is also similar to Xano. He did not age, and would only die from injuries.

Xano claimed that there was an old story, one which had fallen into legend, though due to his age, he knew it was a true story. It was so old, that even with his thousands of years, his dad had been present at it in within his first hundred years.

The story went that before the slashers took control of the underland, the Arthropleuridea ruled. While they lacked in numbers, it took hundreds upon hundreds of slashers to take down a full grown one, which could grow up to a hundred feet long, and twenty feet wide. During the first few battles, the slashers had lost miserably, and were forced to retreat. It was not until Xano's father showed up, that the battles began to even out.

Being a flasher, he was the only one fast enough or powerful enough to keep up with the monsters. Even then, he could hardly beat their speed. He had managed to take down multiple of these monsters. They had had very few to begin with, but after Xano's father had killed a dozen or so of them, only two remained. It was reported that they escaped, but Xano's father would not allow it.

He tracked the beast down, and killed the both of them. In the process he discovered an egg of sorts. It was determined that the egg, which happened to be that of the Arthropleuridea, was to be raised with the slashers, and would serve as the kings body guard, and a warrior in times of need.

Unfortunately, it had turned out to be a pygmy, so its size was much smaller than a normal Arthropleuridea. Albeit, it was still far larger than any slasher. His name was Zeneator (Ze-neat-or), in honor of Xano's father. To this day, he still serves as the royal body guard.

This scared Gregor senseless. Gregor already knew that if he were to fight Xano, he would loose sorely. On top of that, Xano claimed that his father was far more powerful than him, and even he had trouble with the Arthropleuridea.

Gregor could only hope that he could defeat this monster. It did not help when he saw Luxa shaking in fear. Luxa never showed her fear. Never. She must have know that because of this monster, their chances of survival were next to zero. Because of that, Regalia and the rest of the underland was surely going to fall under the control of the slashers.

They knew it was gong to take some time for Gregor and Xano to either die, or kill this beast, so once everybody was done, they were to go to the main sector, and assist Gregor and Xano in ending the war.

It was once the king and Zeneator were dead, that Xano would take control over the slashers. Since the slashers were like the cutters, they could sense when their king was under attack, in danger, or has been killed. In order to become ruler of the slashers, you would need to gain this sense.

Xano said that it was a type of chemical in the royal bloodlines blood. He said that it was commonly know, that if you killed the king, you would not become ruler of the slashers, the next in their bloodline would. Because of this, they were killing every member of the royal bloodline. This will throw the slashers into chaos.

In order to take control of them then, Xano would have to get the specific chemical inside of his bloodline, meaning they would have to inject it into him. Fortunately, Howard had plenty of medical supplies, and he could use one of his needles to do so.

Xano claimed that it was the only way it could be done, and that it had only been done one other time. It was still unknown as to whether it would work or not, for Xano was not a slasher, he was only related to them. Injecting the slasher blood into him, since he's not a slasher, may prove to be lethal, maybe even fatal.

Gregor knew that they had very low chances of survival, and even if they did survive, the slashers would be thrown into chaos, with very slim chances of Xano being able to take control of them. If he failed to take control of them, they would eventually kill themselves off.

Before killing themselves off though, they would rampage with all of the chaos. This rampage would hold no limits, and would likely consume the entire underland. This is a win or lose situation. Winning meaning survival, and loosing meaning the fall of the underland.

-O-

Gregor predicted that if the slashers took over the underland, they would likely move onto the overland in seek of more power. Gregor knew that bullets would not be able to kill them. Explosives might do the trick, but they would not be very effective. Gregor feared that if they attacked the overland, it would mean the extinction of humans. More was at stake than he had originally thought.

It was on this note that Gregor noticed a faint light drift into sight. Far in the distance, he could see an orange line. He knew it was river of lava, the border of the main sector. The only thing separating him from the king, from Zeneator. The only thing keeping him from saving the underland. The only thing keeping him from saving the world.

Saving the world. It was something he would have never imagined being associated with him. After all, it was pure fantasy, some aliens or monsters taking over the world. Just a fantasy, right? Wrong. Just another night terror. No, not just another night terror. It's a real night terror.

As he approached the river of lava, he noticed an immense increase in heat. All of the heat from the lava was rising up, up to where he and Chronos were flying.

Sweat rolled down his forehead as he imagined how Chronos must feel, with all of his fur. He pitied the poor bat.

Soon enough the heat disappeared, though it was still hotter than normal, due to the volcanic activity of the region.

Gregor noticed the lack of slashers in the area, and pinned it to the fact that there was so much ash around. No normal slasher would be able to sense a thing in this area. Luckily, Xano was not even a slasher, and ash did not affect him in any way.

Apparently Xano knew where he was going, because Gregor and Chronos ended up following him through the entire region. It took around ten minutes before they arrived at a cave. Chronos had to land and walk through in order to fit.

As they exited the small cave they came into a very large cavern, one with plenty of room for Chronos to fly around. Chronos immediately began to circle above everything. It was not even twenty seconds before a deep voice rang throughout the cavern.

"Why, Xano, have you joined the humans? You have the power to kill every last one of them, and instead, you choose to betray your own race, and to join them?"

"Yes. I have joined them. Our race is cruel and twisted, and that needs to change. We have been above everybody for far to long, it is time we became equals." Xano replied.

The voice sounded angered. "How dare you! You and the human will die here today! Mark my words, you cannot win!" And with that, a tapping sound came from a smaller side cave.

Gregor's blood ran cold when he saw the beast. He didn't know what he had expected, but he had not expected this. Zeneator was straight from hell, he was the scariest thing Gregor had ever seen. He could have sworn he had seen it in dinosaur books before, but pictures were once thing, this was completely different. The picture were never accurate, they couldn't be. They only showed the skeleton, which was the only part that didn't decay, but this was different. There are no words aside from pure terror to describe the beast.

Somehow, Gregor knew it would be a miracle if they survived this.

Chronos immediately knew that he would be swatted out of the air, and so he landed and let Gregor off, before retreating. It must have felt terrible being so helpless in a situation like this.

Before Gregor even knew what happened, Xano was slammed against the cavern wall. He had not even seen a flicker of movement, he had only seen Xano hit the wall. Gregor's blood froze solid.

Gregor puled out his sword and dagger, and immediately slid into a defensive position. He let out a deep breath, and let his sense flow. It was something Ripred had taught him. Learn not to see with your eyes, but will all of your senses. Only then can you keep up with displays of such speed.

As Gregor finally relaxed he explored the cavern with his sense. He hardly had time to pull his sword up to block a hit from Zeneator. Even then, it only prevented him from getting cut, it did not prevent him from getting knocked against a wall.

Groaning with pain, he slid to the ground. His vision began to flicker. The last thing he saw was the flash of Xano's flasher. It distorted all of his senses, flicking the switch to consciousness.

-O-

Gregor's eyes flickered open and the first thing he saw was Ripred get knocked across the cavern into the wall. All of the memories of recent events flooded his head, and he sprung to his feet ready to fight once more. He was still dizzy, but he would manage.

He must have been out for a while, enough time for everybody to finish their part of the mission and come to assist him. Thank god, because he and Xano seriously needed the help.

Before Gregor knew what happened, his back crashed into the wall again, and a gash was sliced down his arm. He has to think faster, to react fast.

Ignoring the blinding pain, Gregor got back up to his feet , and quickly ducked underneath a blurred blow. He had hardly seen it coming.

Running forward, Gregor raised his sword to strike the monster, but quickly jumped above another blow. Just as fast, he brought his sword down, only to have it meet a solid surface. It hadn't caused so much as a scratch to Zeneator.

Just as quickly, Gregor got knocked back once more, skidding across the ground, scrapping his back, opening several already present scratches. Groaning, he pushed himself back up to his feet.

Gregor just raised his sword in time to have it get struck, and get halfway knocked across the cavern. He immediately realized the weight in which this fault put on him. Before he could do anything else, something collided with his back, and he went flying in the direction of his sword.

He hit the ground and tumbled about for a few moments before coming to a halt. Luckily he did not reach his sword, because as he stopped, the point of it was inches away from his neck.

He scrambled to his feet as fast as possible, ignoring the splitting pain on the small of his back, and snatched up his sword. As he regained his full senses, he grasped truly how hopeless the situation was.

He had no noticed Luxa enter, but she had a decent sized gash on the calve of her leg, and she was unable to stand, so she watched in horror as everybody got beaten around. Howard was scrambling around to fix up wounds that needed to be treated immediately. Ripred was panting, and he was hardly standing. Xano was laying against the far wall, a large crack on the back of his shell.

Gregor was sure it this was his death, as he noticed that Zeneator wasn't slowing in the least. Even where Xano had managed to strike him on the legs, breaking a dozen or so legs, he hadn't even paid mind to, and had gone on as if they were still functional. It was then that Gregor realized Zeneator was only playing with them.

He realized that if they were going to defeat him, they would have to use strategy, not strength or speed. Gregor began to formulate a plan. One that might work, just barely, but might just work.

As Gregor pulled in the final details of his plan, he smiled. He knew how to beat this monster. They could win, they could still survive. Regalia and all of the underland could flourish once more.

He purposely left Hayden out of the plan. The entire time, Hayden had been laying down on his stomach in the corner. Either he got hit there and got hurt, or he was just playing dead. Both options were very likely.

His hopes fell as he watched Zeneator change targets, and look right at him. He willed his body to move, but he was to exhausted; he was hardly holding his sword as is.

He watched Zeneator rush forward, and the world seemed to slow, as his last moments of life began to fade away. Every happy, sad, joyful, miserable, sensational, and painful memory playing through his mind on last time.

Was he happy with the decisions he has made? Yes.

Was he satisfied with the things he has done? Yes.

Did he think suffering four years of pain just for Luxa was worth it? Yes.

Finally, did he regret anything in life? Only not being powerful enough to save everybody now. In other words, no, he did not.

Just as Zeneator was about to crash into him, he heard somebody yell. Whether it was him or Luxa, he knew not. All he knew, was that a splitting pain in his side alarmed him. He went flying to the side, out of the path of the savage beast.

Gregor watched in horror as, looking back, he saw that Ripred had pushed him to the side, putting himself in deaths way. He saw as Zeneator hit Ripred, causing a gash, very similar to the one Gregor had gotten from the bane, to spread across Ripred's chest.

Ripred went flying across the room ,and much to Gregor's dismay, hit the wall right next to Luxa. Sadly, as he fell to the ground, his large body Crushed Luxa's leg, pinning her to the ground. He watched in horror as he realized that Ripred was way to heavy for anybody to lift, and that Luxa was probably stuck until Ripred woke up, which may very well never happen.

Zeneator turned back to Gregor, and he somehow found the energy to lift his limbs and move once more. Perhaps it was because his friends needed him. All he knew though, was that he was no longer scared. He was not scared of this beast. This beast, the beast that would haunt a persons vision for the rest of their lives.

Gregor took a deep breath, and relaxed. He sharpened all of his sense to the tip of a pin, and , using all of his senses, watched as Zeneator rushed forward at him.

What would have been a killing blow, Gregor swiftly dodged with little time to spare. Zeneator seemed to become enraged by this, and wasted no time in charging once more. Again, Gregor avoided the death blow by only centimeters.

Back and forth this went, Zeneator charging, Gregor dodging with only centimeters to spare. Finally, Zeneator charged again. Gregor dodged, as he usually did, but something stuck him in the back.

Zeneator had whipped his tail around after passing Gregor, and struck him in the back. Gregor went flying across the room, and groaned as he came to a halt on his back, at the far end of the room.

Gregor struggled to stand back up, and watched again as Howard got hit across the room in a very similar fashion.

Gregor lost almost all hope, but grasped only a thread as he watched Xano slowly pull himself back up to his feet. The large crack on his shell seemed to have seriously hurt him.

Something crackled inside of Gregor as he stood up, gaining his balance. He saw Zeneator begin to approach Luxa, whose leg was still stuck underneath Ripred's body. He did not have time to think, to register what was happening. Nothing crossed his mind, save two words. Luxa, and Danger. In his mind, those words did not go well together, and he would do anything to prevent them from coming together.

Before Gregor even knew what was happening, the edges of his vision blurred, and he lost all control of his body. Gregor recognized what was happening. He was going into outrage. He didn't lose control over his body at all, in fact, his control was just handed over to his subconscious.

He instantly felt an enormous wave of energy crash into him as his outrage took full affect. Everything slowed down before Gregor. He saw as Xano let out a flash of sorts, blinding everybody's sense. Just, it didn't effect him. He watched as Xano's speed increased exponentially, and he charged Zeneator. He watched as Zeneator literally swatted Xano to the side like a fly.

Gregor felt yet another burst of energy, as his body began to move. With blinding speed, speed so fast that even Xano would have trouble so much as spotting him, He shot forward, towards Zeneator. Zeneator clearly knew he was coming, but hadn't turned half of the distance he had to before Gregor was right on top of him.

As the outrage sensation melted away, Gregor found himself standing on Zeneator's back, with his sword driven through he beasts head.

Gregor gave a hard yank, and tore the sword from the beasts skull. The scrapping sound send shivers down his spine. He hopped off of the now dead bug, and rushed over to Luxa. The moment he reached her, he could see an assortment of emotions splayed across her face, ranging from pure terror, to loving affection. She seemed to be scared of Gregor's raw power, but she also seemed happy that he would never so much as scratch her on purpose, that he would use every ounce of that power to protect her.

Gregor tried to lift Ripred's body off of Luxa's leg, but found that the rat must have weighed at least three hundred pounds. Gregor stole another glance at Luxa. As he saw how helpless she looked, and how pained she looked, his outrage side sent him a burst of strength, and he managed to roll Ripred off of Luxa's leg.

The second Luxa was free, she threw her arms around Gregor. He could feel her trembling. He understood completely. She was surrounded by the strongest being on the entire planet, all of who could kill her within the blink of an eye. She was completely helpless.

Truthfully, Gregor was just as scared. Zeneator had been a beast from hell. Nothing natural could ever be so terrifying, so powerful. He was the personification of pure terror.

Gregor remembered The king, suddenly. He spun around just in time to see the king rushing at him. It was truly a pathetic attempt. Gregor easily got his sword up and stabbed the slasher in the neck before he could react.

Around an hour later, Gregor found himself watching as Howard completed patching up a huge gash on Ripred's chest, and then moving on to Xano. With a large needle, Howard stabbed it into the king's exposed neck, where the shell had been cut.

Extracting a large amount of blood, He walked back over to Xano. The tension in the air was great. It all boiled down to this moment. Either Xano would survive and the underland would flourish, or he would die and the underland would fall into chaos.

As Howard Jabbed the needle into Xano, Gregor's entire body went stiff. He watched as the blood slowly drained from the needle, and into Xano.

Once the needle was empty, everybody stood still, waiting for something to happen. Xano's antenna twitched slightly, and he began to shift around with sudden movements.

"It. . . It feels so weird. I can feel them. I can feel the minds of the other slashers, every last one of them. I. . . I can sort of connect with them, to contact them or feel the situation they are in." Xano explained. "I think it worked. It worked, it really worked."

Only one thing registered in Gregor's mind. It worked. The underland was saved. It was over. The war was finally over. Nobody else had to be pointlessly slaughtered. Peace. Peace could finally rule over the underland.

As this thought registered in his mind, he finally came to the conclusion that his work here was done. With a few labored breaths, he finally gave into the overwhelming exhaustion that had been plaguing him.

-O-

Xano had been sure to pound it into their heads that the humans would always be allies, and that no slashers would harm them now. They all knew that Xano had to stay behind, and none of them liked the idea of that, save Hayden, but still, it was required that it be that way.

Xano had also promised to send them multiple gifts signifying their alliance. He would send them Zeneator's shell, which was even stronger than slasher shell. It would be used only to make the highest of grade weapons, such as weapons for royalty, and for the greatest of warriors, such as Gregor. Albeit, Gregor already had his own sword, so he would deny the offer of a better one.

The humans would also send gifts to signify their alliance. They would send things such as tools, specially designed for slasher use, so that the slashers may advance in technology. They would also send crops. The soil was very fertile in the slasher land, and with the large, bright rivers, they would be able to grow many many plants, since they did not have plants in the slasher lands as is.

The journey back went fine, and without problem, or cause for alarm.

They passed many many slashers, most of which were very threatening, but didn't dare attack. If they did, they would either be killed by the group, or if they survived, they would be executed.

They made much better time, since they had no need to avoid slashers, and they would not have to hunt for their own food or water, since they were out of their own. The slashers would provide that for them.

Gregor's injuries were healing very quickly, since they were not to severe, Ripred, however, was in very bad condition. His entire chest was fully bandaged up, and he would live, but he would not be awake for another week or two. His injury was very similar to the one Gregor received from the bane.

On their way back, they had passed the slasher army. The army was but a day from Regalia, inside of charted lands. The army was not in a rush at all, and they were slowly making their way back into their land. Xano had honestly pulled through. Hopefully he would be a valuable ally in years to come. Due to his immortality, if he did prove to be a good ally, he would continue to be until the day somebody powerful enough to kill him showed up.

The day the arrived in regalia, they were treated as heroes. Hayden tried to take credit for killing both the king and Zeneator, and everybody had believed him. That is, until Luxa slapped him and explained to everybody how he did nothing to help during the entire journey, how he was only a liability. Once she had set that straight, and everybody who had been present on the journey had confirmed what Luxa said, the story of the journey quickly spread to every corner of Regalia, and likely the rest of the underland.

Everybody cheered for them whenever they saw them, and many bowed to Luxa. Even more bowed to Gregor. To the underlanders, he was basically legend, and would be in years to come. He has saved Regalia many times.

Gregor swore, he could sit down in the middle of a road and ask for a foot massage, and the people would give it to him! It may sound awesome, but honestly, Gregor didn't like people worshiping him so much. He was fine with worship, but if there was a such think as over-worshiping, this was the perfect example.

If anything, the war had showed them that they could loose royalty at anytime, due to Luxa's near death experience. Because of this, they rushed the wedding, and it was to be held within a few days of their arrival.

Luxa's Point of View (Just before the wedding)

"Don't worry, you'll be fine!" Zoey cheered. She didn't seem to notice that Luxa hated Hayden.

"No, Zoey. You don't understand, it's not that." Luxa claimed.

Zoey shot Luxa a questioning gaze. "What do you mean?"

Luxa felt bile rise in her throat as she spoke her answer. "Weddings of royalty. Do you honestly think I like Hayden? If I were get married to him, I would kill myself, if it were not for my duties as queen!"

A look of pity flashed across Zoey's face. "You don't love him at all? So, that means he was forced on you? That's not fair at all! I honestly can't believe that I thought you just cast Gregor aside like that. I have a question."

"Yes?"

"If you could, would you get married to Gregor? Or do you think your a little young to make that decision on your own?" Zoey asked.

"It is different in the underland. Many girls get married at the age of fourteen, so no, I don't think I am to young to make that choice. Would I marry Gregor? Yes, I would. I would in a heart beat. Most would believe it to be too early in our relationship, but I think that what we have gone through together makes up for that." Luxa responded

"I am really sorry for you, I truly am. If I could do anything to stop this, I would. Isn't there any way you can prevent this?" Zoey Asked. "Any way at all?"

Luxa smiled as she thought of the plan. "Yes, there is a way. It was Gregor's idea a while ago, very few people know of it. Normally, I would have had no choice but to marry Hayden, even if I said no during the wedding, but with this plan, I may be able to prevent it. Earlier, I would not have been able to do it on my own, but with the help of Gregor, and a few others, I may be able to succeed in this."

A little bit of relief spread across Zoey's face. "Well that is good to hear. I Wouldn't want my friend to get married to some random guy who was forced on her."

Luxa was shocked. "Your. . . Friend?"

"Yes I consider you my friend. And under the conditions, my best friend. I honestly hope we can keep it that way." Zoey Responded.

Luxa smiled, she had never had a true friend, not one who was not related to her. "So do I, Zoey, So do I."

"Now, lets fix this mop of hair on you head, it looks terrible as is!"

-O-

Luxa walked up the aisle, arm entwined with Vikus's arm. As if she wasn't already nervous, she could feel the eyes of thousands settled upon her, burning holes through here every which way.

Her dread increases ever so much as they reached the end of the aisle. Vikus kissed her, as he should, and placed her hand in Hayden's hand. She stiffened at the contact, but if Hayden noticed, he hid it well.

Luxa felt her stomach knot up as the councilman, serving as the priest due to the lack of churches in the underland, began the wedding ceremony.

So, how did you guys like the chapter? Action packed, I'd say! This is, by far, the longest chapter yet. My computer literally crapped out on me half way through, so that set me back many hours. My mom is literally screaming at me to go to bed, so a lot of this was rushed. She is literally going to pull the plug out of the wall, so I have to post this tomorrow. This chapter was very awkward to write. It was fun, yes, but I did not write it in order. Actually, I wrote the fight scene last, even though it came halfway trough the story. The wedding! Very interesting scene, and then after the next chapter, well, you have all been waiting for that, chapter 33! I dare say it might be the best chapter out of all of them. 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 wedding go?

*CLICKCLICKCLICK*

*POOF*

Tytonic: Thoughts, ideas, concerns?

Luxa: This is going to be terrible.

Tytonic: Terrible? For you, maybe, but it will be interesting for the rest of us!

*Luxa grumbles*

Tytonic: Oh, stop being such a downer, the chapter after the wedding will be amazing, and I'm sure you will love it!

Luxa: Even with Hayden as my husband?

Tytonic: You assume to much, now shush, Gregor has to talk.

Gregor: Can I just kill Hayden now?

Tytonic: NO! Not yet! Yet. . . a little foreshadowing, for those of you who read these things.

Gregor: Yet? So I do get to kill him?

Tytonic: Yes! No! I don't know, its confusing! Just wait and see.

*Gregor grumbles and plops himself down in a chair*

Tytonic: You guys are way to negative. . . So anyways, See you later!

*Gregor and Luxa both ignore Tytonic*

*CLICKCLICKCLICK*

*POOF*

See you guys in the next chapter,

-Tytonic