Hey guys. Sorry for the wait, but this chapter was surprisingly hard to write. Couple that with me also writing Return from the Darkness and I have a full schedule. This is a pure action chapter. Lots of quick descriptions. It may not be my best writing, but I like what I did with this. Hope you all enjoy.

Chapter 24

Fear. That is the one word that filled his head. He watched as rank and rank of stingers marched underneath him towards the outer wall of the city. The first defense, but probably their best defense. The rumble of the stinger's march was deafening and it filled Gregor's brain. And then it stopped. The stingers stood still their bodies in perfect position, each one the same size as the one next to it. It looked like a well-oiled machine had just landed at Regalia's doorstep.

"We should get back to Regalia now," Gregor said to Artemese and the purple bat replied, by turning and racing back the way they had come. Over the fields they flew, the images of farmers a blur. And then the horn blew. The alarm blared over the city. The farmers instantly jumped into action and started to harvest everything they could. It was the same way it had been when the gnawers attacked six years before. Take as much as they could and leave nothing for the enemy. Gregor, however, feared that the stingers could care less about grains. They ate other things. Things with a bit of meat on the bones.

Over the city the streaked and Gregor could see families streaming out of their homes and places of work. They carried everything they could as they worked their way towards the palace and the protection it provided. Others could go to the arena, the heavy doors protecting against attack from the city. Artemese coasted into the High Hall and it was already a bustling mess. Soldiers ran past, orders were being shouted, and he was set upon instantly.

"What did you see?" came the call from his left. He spun around and did not see anyone important to answer to, but someone had shouted the question to him. "Gregor, come to me now." He turned again and saw a quick glance of Perdita's head and he worked towards it. He jostled through the soldiers and bats that were landing in the hall to get to her. She wasn't alone either. Ripred, Eisen, and Luxa all stood with her, Eisen still issuing commands to his subordinates.

"What did you see, boy?" Ripred snapped. It was a command, not unkind by any measure.

"Way more stingers than I've ever seen. Wall to wall, walking in unison by size. Well orchestrated."

"Did you count a number of them?" Perdita asked, concern on her face.

"I didn't get a chance. At least twenty if not thirty ranks passed beneath me and they went on further into the darkness," Gregor was certainly showing the worry in his voice. They hadn't seen the amount or the size of the stingers. They couldn't match with size and they certainly couldn't match numbers. They would need reinforcements from somewhere.

"Thank you for the information, Gregor. Go and get yourself some armor and then report back to me," Perdita said and returned to issuing orders. Luxa looked at Gregor, her eyes telling him everything. She wanted to talk. And talk badly. He followed her out of the bedlam that currently filled the High Hall. They stopped in an empty corridor and Luxa walked into Gregor's embrace.

"Please be careful," Luxa said her voice strong, but Gregor could hear the fear in it. Luxa was rarely fearful of anything and the fact that he could sense the fear in her was surprising.

"Lux, I'll be as careful as I can be. But I may have to put myself in the way of danger to keep others safe," he replied speaking the truth. He was one of only a handful who could take on the stingers head on and win. The army would have a strategy, but he knew it would eventually fall to a melee of bodies and he would have to help out as many as he could.

"I know, Gregor. You will be the hero you are, but please try to keep yourself safe. I will not be allowed near the battle, but I will be watching. Promise me you will come back to me," Luxa urged him.

"I promise, no matter what, that I will come back to you," Gregor said with conviction. There was no way he wasn't going to make it back to her. Luxa hugged him harder and stood on her tip toes to plant a peek on his cheek.

"Go and get yourself ready." Gregor let go of Luxa and went off towards the armory. Most of the bustle was moving towards and away from one spot and Gregor jumped into it. He followed the soldiers in front of him and within no time he was at the armory.

His eyes scanned over the crowd looking for one person. Amongst the hustle and bustle he couldn't find her though. Soldiers were shouldering past him, grabbing weapons and helmets and pieces of armor. A spear swung dangerously close to his head as a young soldier jogged past. In the quick glimpse Gregor got of his face he saw fear mingled with determination. This was a battle not many were ready for and even less that would probably come out of.

"Overlander!" a female voice shouted. Gregor spun around and saw the little woman he was looking for. Miravet was signaling to him through the soldiers. He pushed a few of them aside as he made his way over to the armorer. She already had his armor set out for him when he got to her. The blood red leather was clean and the black metal shone in the torchlight. It was the perfect armor. Every inch felt right, looked right. The final touch to the deadly machine Gregor was. The armor would become the personification of death in a short time.

Miravet helped Gregor suit up. She strapped his shin guards, helped him get on the greaves that protected his upper legs. As she strapped him into the chest guard, Gregor slid his hands into the gloves. The armor on his forearm felt heavy at first, but it soon felt normal, natural like it was a part of him. His fingers wiggled free from the tips of the gloves and he whipped his sword out. Everything felt good as he placed the blade back into its scabbard. A helmet was thrust into his hands. Chain mail hung down the neck and the helm fit snugly on his head.

"How do I look?" Gregor asked Miravet. The old woman stepped back and took him in. Her hand rested on her chin and she stroked her fingers back and forth.

"Deadly," was her conclusion. "Go and do what you do best." She stepped to another soldier and helped him, pulling his chest piece so tight he was pulled into perfect posture. Gregor snickered at the sight as he weaved his way out of the armory, the one single different person amongst the ranks of soldiers. His armor stood out from the ordinary, his stature, his height. And to be honest he didn't like it. A lot of the rank and file soldiers were average height, average size. They weren't the well trained killing machine of Gregor. They were trained in group tactics more and on individual fighting less. Fliers would be integral to this battle, Gregor knew and he already had pangs in his stomach telling him it might not be a good thing.

He found himself back in the High Hall and there was still just as much going on. But all of the commanders were gone. Ripred was gone. Perdita and Eisen gone. All that was left was Mareth.

"Mareth!" Gregor yelled above the noise. The general turned and saw Gregor, a slight smile coming across his stern face. He waved his hand to Gregor, signaling him to come.

"You are to report to the wall. Ripred, Perdita, and Eisen are there at the moment and are waiting your arrival. Artemese is waiting for you on the balcony." Gregor was already turning from his friend. "Fly you high, Gregor."

"Fly you high," Gregor said back as he raced to the balcony. There were many bats, most deep browns and grays. But there was only one purple bat. Gregor squeezed between bat bodies and delicate wings as bats came in and out. There was still much going on. Artemese sat quietly on the far corner of the balcony. When Gregor reached him, the two greeted each other quietly. There was little time for chit chat. Gregor jumped on and Artemese shot off the balcony. His wings extended and they were flying over the city. Gregor could see soldiers helping people towards the palace, others moving people towards the arena, and even more moving towards the walls. As they flew over the fields they could see even more people than they had seen before harvesting what they could. It was a frenzy as the Regalians did what they had to do.

As the outer wall came into picture, Gregor could see the wall was packed with bodies of fliers and humans. There was an area open right in the middle of the wall and Artemese coasted down into it. Gregor hopped off to see the leaders already discussing their tactics. They were so involved that they didn't notice Gregor standing mere feet behind them. Ripred turned to him first.

"Oh look he shows up. And in such shiny armor, too." Gregor shrugged off the comment, preferring to look at the two commanding officers. Perdita was still looking over the battlefield, but Eisen had turned to him, a steely look in his eyes.

"Gregor, come and look. Tell me what you see." Gregor walked to the edge of the wall looking down at the rows of stingers. the closest to the wall were a good thirty feet away. Plenty of room on the ground for fighting. And the cavern was well lit with plenty of space for aerial maneuvers. Really anything they wanted to do they could. His gaze shifted down the wall to the ballista that were mounted and the baskets of bolts that sat alongside them. They would get their ultimate test today. "I hope they don't hit anyone when their shooting. Especially me," Gregor thought of the teams that would be operating the weapons.

"Well, Eisen, I see many options," Gregor started. "They left plenty of room on the ground for combat and there is room above for aerial combat as well. And the ballista will make for some interesting changes." Eisen was nodding with all of his observations. Perdita had turned as well to listen in.

"What say you of the ground fighting? Easier or harder than on a flier?"

"It's hard to say. Personally on the ground is easier. But it leaves you at a size and speed disadvantage. And there are a lot of stingers. If someone gets stuck between a few of them they aren't coming back. Experienced fighters would manage on the ground, but less experienced would fare better on the back of a flier." Perdita was nodding in agreement and even Ripred seemed impressed. "So how am I fighting on the ground?" Gregor asked. Eisen stared at him blankly.

"You are not fighting on the ground. You will be on the wall in charge of the ballista," responded Eisen his voice steely. Gregor could feel his heart drop and start beating fast at the same time. He wasn't fighting on the ground. How was that possible? No one else had fought as many stingers and killed as many. There was no way he wasn't going down there. And he was about to argue it.

"Gregor, do not be angered," Perdita said calmly, placing a hand on Gregor's shoulder. He spun and jumped at the contact. "It was not Eisen who made the decision but I. You have the most knowledge of the weapons because you designed them. It is most important that you assist on the wall to make sure we get the results desired. And you have proven that you know the strategy. Should any of the three of us die on the ground, I would insist you take over. There is no one better. Finally, we will need an accomplished fighter on the wall should any stingers manage to conquer it. You are that fighter. I want you on the wall and no below it." Gregor felt his energy start to leave his body. He was relegated to backup and leadership. He did not like to lead. He wanted to fight and feel his adrenaline flow. That was what he was there for. But it was no use arguing. Perdita wanted him there and he would do his job. It was flattering though that she would want him to have a command role. He had always been just a soldier. He followed order and never thought to give them. But perhaps he had it in him.

"I'll be here if you three need me," Gregor said. Perdita smiled at him and Eisen clapped him on the back. Ripred just stared off at the stingers, but Gregor could see the hint of a smile on the rats scarred snout. He had learned to control himself and realized he wasn't always the one needed for fighting. There were other roles he could fill. At that moment a large flier landed behind them and York hopped off. The massive man was armed and armoured to the teeth and he was ready for a fight.

"Is there any sight of my daughter?" York asked the hope in his voice very evident.

"There is no sight of Stellovet," Ripred replied. "But that massive stinger is sitting in the middle of them, just waiting." Gregor could see York's jaw lock and his hand reach for the hilt of his sword. His eyes were set out into the cavern searching for the one thing he wanted to fight.

"Is the man there?' Gregor asked for York. They all knew what man Gregor was talking about. The one that seemed to be in charge. The one that had kidnapped Stellovet.

"As far as I can see, there is no sign of him," Ripred replied. There was more movement around them as more and more of the soldiers arrived on the wall. Eisen was moving to direct the chosen fighters to the ground and replacing them in line with fliers and their riders. It was almost time for it all to start. Artemese was in conversation with Perdita. There were groups around the twelve ballista, already cranking back the first bolt waiting for the order to fire. The order to start dealing death. Even he felt the wait. The time that was slowing in front of him. Ripred was sliding down the wall, Eisen and Perdita were hopping onto their bats to follow him and even more men and women were following them.

"Overlander," came the purr from behind him. He turned to Artemese who was standing directly behind him. "I have been ordered to patrol the air and help the injured. If you need me I will be there."

"Artemese, be careful. If I need you I will call. Fly you high," Gregor said.

"Fly you high," Artemese said and lifted into the air and drifting over the wall. Gregor felt alone for a second. There was no one but the mounted fliers left on the wall with him. He could see the lack of fear on every single face. This was their job and while they may die they were willing to do it if it meant their families could survive. If their city could stay standing. And then the single came. The ranks of fliers took off one after the other and the dived in towards the stingers. Gregor caught a glimpse of the ground troops rushing in towards the stingers. It seemed to be deathly quiet. He watched as a flier went in for a stingers tail and then it was gone, a stinger sticking out of its chest. Its rider fell into the stingers. Finally, the screams hit him. Tons of screams. Screams of agony, screams of rage, screams of frustration. But he didn't hear one sound.

The ballista weren't firing. The twang of their powerful strings weren't assaulting his ears. He looked and saw the men on all the ballista staring at him. It dawned on him that it was his job to command them. They wouldn't fire until he told them to. "Fire at will!" Gregor shouted and the men turned and fired. The bolts flew out and he watched as several of them pierced stingers, killing or immobilizing them. It took a second for the next volley to ready, but without hesitation the bolts flew again. He watched as eleven bolts dropped onto targets. Only one missed and it missed bad, nearly hitting soldiers fighting on the ground. That wasn't good at all.

Gregor looked to the position he knew the miss came from. and he saw the problem right away. The firing man was the smallest on the team, hardly able to aim the ballista. He didn't have the strength to get it to fire where he wanted. Gregor bolted over before they could fire the next shot. He grabbed hold of the arm of the small man running the ballista and he recognized him as the young man he had seen earlier.

"Let me aim. I can see you are struggling. Help them load it up. We'll be the best team there is," Gregor said taking control of the beast. The next bolt was loaded and he swung the ballista to aim. His senses sharpened and he felt his rager side start to take over. Even from his distance he could see weak spots. A soldier was fighting valiantly, but he was losing ground. Gregor swung the Ballista and aimed. The bolt sung as it fired and zipped through the air. He saw it come closer and closer to his target. his adrenaline pumped as he saw the tip zip right into the eyes of the stinger, piercing all the way into it, killing it on the spot.

He fired bolt after bolt, every single one hitting its target. But it wasn't helping. There were too many stingers and they were pushing forward towards his position, obviously knowing he was the one dealing the most death. A large stinger swatted away the last vestiges of the ground force in front of his section of the wall. It came to close for Gregor to aim the ballista. It was up to the mounted soldiers to kill it. But none came. He saw that all of them were occupied with much worse things. Perhaps he should call Artemese and take it out himself, but he saw a purple streak zooming from the battlefield a wounded soldier on his back. Too late. He would have to take on whatever came his way by himself.

"Keep firing!" Gregor shouted as he drew his sword. The stinger was at the wall and there was more behind it. The largest braced itself and made a bridge for the smaller ones. They came racing up the wall only to meet Gregor. His sword slashed down loping off pincers and killing with deadly accuracy. There was another blade along with his, but he couldn't see who it was. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ripred rushing to his aide, but he was cut off by other stingers. The melee from the ground was now on top of the wall.

A stinger just missed impaling him and he took his chance to cut it from the body. He could feel that he was alone again as he had to yield ground to the stingers. They were pressing him hard and he had to move back. His sword arched down, his dagger coming up behind it hoping to hit a weak spot. But the opposite happened. He missed the joint and the sword ricocheted off the super hard metal didn't stand a chance and it snapped clean in two. He was left with just his dagger to fend off an onslaught of stingers. He felt his chances were low. The stinger pushed forward again and he went down. There he was, the mighty warrior, looking death in his face. He was dead no matter how he did it. And all that came to his head was the promise he had made Luxa. He had promised he would come back, no matter what, but he couldn't. He could feel the pincers grabbing at his arms, pinning him to the ground. He saw the stinger poised ready to strike. "I'm sorry, Luxa," Gregor cried aloud. He braced himself for the pain that was about to come. It never did.

At the last second something buzzed inches above his head. He felt the warm splatter of sticky blood splash on his body and the pincers went limp. His head rolled back to see the young soldier he had taken over for commandeering the ballista, the tip still aimed right at the stinger's face. Gregor forced himself to his feet. His body bussing back into rager mode. There was no way he was going to let himself break his promise. He had almost given up and that wasn't his game. Gregor never gave up. But he was weaponless and there wasn't anything for him to use. Or was there. He reached out and grabbed the bolt that was embedded almost entirely into the stinger's head. He pulled as hard as he could and he felt the bolt start to slide out. He was lucky that the stinger's couldn't really get to him through their fallen comrade. Finally the bolt came free, covered in stinger blood and guts. He shook it off and looked around him. there were a few stingers in the fields, but fliers were already tracking them down and killing them.

But there were still ones on the wall. They were killing the ballista soldiers and Gregor couldn't allow that. He got his energy up, his adrenaline pumping and he went to work. He leaped over the fallen stingers and back into the fray. None of them were paying attention to him and he used that to his advantage. He jumped onto the back of the closest stinger and ran right to it's head. The shell was soft there and the bolt plunged straight down into the brain. The stinger went limp and he whipped the bolt out again. More stingers were in front of him and he had to take care of them. He dodged the pincers and the stinger as he made his way closer to the face for the kill. The pincers bounced off of the bolt as he knocked them away like he was using a quarterstaff. in the confined space he didn't have much chance to move closer.

But he didn't have to. A sword sliced through the tail and the stinger flinched enough for Gregor to slide the bolt into the stingers eyes. A sword sat next to his foot, in a pool of blood, the dead soldier's hand mere inches away. He quickly stooped down and grabbed the blade. "Thank you," Gregor said to the soldier. It may have been too late for him, but the blade would hopefully be Gregor's salvation. The stingers on the wall seemed to have been cleared out, so Gregor turned his attention to the battle on the ground. He could see Ripred was the only one really still going full force. He was a blur as he slashed joints and ripped away at the stingers. Corpses were everywhere on the ground: human, flier, and stinger. And he could be needed.

As he ran to jump off, a small cheer erupted on the field. Gregor's eye scanned the battle again and saw something new. Stingers were attacking stingers. But these were different stingers. They were their allies, the Fat Tails. The lethal toxic of their stingers were already reeking havoc amongst the yellow legs. It was starting to look like a rout as Gregor saw Truxin lead the stingers out and in perfect battle poise to attack. The surprise was what did it. Nobody saw it coming.

"They're retreating!" came a shout from below. Gregor watched as the stingers turned and started to leave. Ripred pushed them harder, driving them away. Perdita, Eisen, and York joined him and flashing swords joined the raging claws. As the stingers rushed away the carnage behind them became more and more obvious. Hundred of humans lay dead in the most grotesque ways. Stingers lay cut to pieces amongst the dead, and fliers lay on their backs their wings still twitching as the last of their light left their bodies.

There was a rope by one of the ballista and it was his best way to get down to the battlefield to try to assist the wounded. He tied one end as tight as he could to the ballista and readied himself to throw it over the side. But something caught his eyes. The retreat was a feint, as a small group of stingers were coming up behind the remaining humans. Eisen, Perdita, and York would die if he didn't do something. And then it hit him.

He grabbed a bolt and tied the rope tight to the end of it. He stuck it onto the ballista, ready for it to fire. He aimed and hoped he adjusted for the slight extra weight enough. He pulled the trigger. Away the bolt flew and he watched it travel in slow motion right towards the stinger that was closest to his friends. He watched as Perdita turned and opened her mouth to scream a warning. And then the bolt slammed into the stinger. It didn't kill it, but it was incapacitated enough that Perdita was able to easily drive her sword into it. But it was far from over. There were still five more stinger advancing on them, closing them between two walls of pincers.

Gregor already had his chest plate off, his plan coming to fruition. He ripped his shirt off and held tight to it with both hands, his sword safely in it's scabbard. He placed it over the rope and to his luck the rope was close to taught. A deep breath was all he needed as he pushed off from the wall, his shirt sliding on the rope as he zoomed towards his friends. The cool air assaulted his bare chest, beating him hard. But he hardly noticed. The soles of his boots slammed into the back of the pierced stinger and he jumped into action.

His sword slid from the sheath and he pounced onto the nearest stinger, plunging his blade down. "One down, four to go," he thought as he judged his next move. The stingers had registered him and were all switching to attack him. He was in the middle of the four of them, with only one sword. He couldn't even spin if he wanted to.

"Gregor, my sword," Perdita yelled and looked to her. He saw the blade sailing towards him and he caught it with his free hand. He located a spot on the wall and started to turn his feet, his concentration the only thing he thought about. The swords were locating points somehow and limbs were falling away. A leg here, a piece of a pincer, another leg. He caught a glimpse of York as his massive blade cut clean through a stingers tail. The distraction caused him to miss his spot and he wobbled. A pincer pierced his spin and he felt it cut into his flesh, the point was that sharp. The warm blood welled up and ran down his side. And it hurt.

He was slowing and the stingers were still alive. His side injury had caused him to falter and it was too late to stop. He stopped his spin and slammed his feet into the ground as his head spun. He felt something pull his leg out from under him and his ankle gave out. The pain was immense. He looked up and swung Perdita's sword, the tip slicing into the eyes of the nearest pincer raked it's point down his back as it tried to grab him. He fought it off and then felt it go limp behind him. Ripred was standing on it's back and then the rat pounced across the circle, lashing out with his claws. The last stinger fell to the onslaught. Gregor tried to stand, but felt weak. He felt the wounds on his body pumping blood. Collapsed on the ground he felt helpless.

"Stay calm, Gregor," Perdita said to him. "We will get you back to Regalia. You have done enough." He nodded his head the best he could, but he wouldn't let his body succumb to the embrace of the darkness. It was there like a long time friend standing by his side, but he pushed it away. He wouldn't let himself go this time. The pain was dulling, his body forgetting that there even was pain as more adrenaline pumped into his system. He felt pressure on his side and back and several other places on his body. Wind gusted down on him. and then in a matter of seconds he was looking at purple fur and was flying. His eyes were blurry, but he saw the carnage from above. He forced himself to look at it not willing to close his eyes. Not yet anyway. He had to see someone first.

Gregor needs to stop falling unconscious haha. Always a good way to end a chapter right. Drop me a review of what you thought of this and Greogr's heroicness. Is it to much for him or is it just right without him becoming to perfect. Please let me know what you think.

Edit: Obviously Gregor didn't fall unconcious. Changed it because I had done that a couple time already and I didn't like it.