You Guys Ready For Some Romance Next Chapter ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Twitchtip hissed and flicker her tail. Soon a crowd formed, wanting to see what the ruckus was about. Twitchtip tried to jump over the crowd but Ripred flung her onto the ground with a blow from his tail.

"You will just scare them! Keep calm" Ripred hissed.

"How am I to keep calm? They smell hideous!" Twitchtip hissed back.

"There is nothing to see here. If you don't move I will chop your heads off with my tail, now go on!" Ripred growled at the crowd.

"Now, what did you need, since you scared the whole town," Ripred asked as the people began to move back into their rooms, and the places they came from.

"Well I have two things to tell you. One is bad, one is good. Which one would you like?" Twitchtip mumbled.

"Well both. But tell me the bad news first," Ripred replied.

"I saw the Bane. He is in the Fire Lands. He is trying to make an army; it does not seem to be working. Knowing him he will scare the other rats into it," Twitchtip answered.

Ripred shook his head. "No…this cannot happen. Well Gregor, load your bat, sharpen your sword, we have plans."

"The good news…well I think it is. Your pup, Silksharp, was found in the Dead Lands," Twitchtip said.

Ripred looked astonished. "What? Why didn't you get him!?"

"Well…there is more bad news….the Bane..has him hostage," Twitchtip replied.

"I'll kill him! I will rip his heart out and shove it down his throat! Then grab it again as it digests!" Ripred yelled as he began to pace.

"Ripred, calm your nerves," Mareth said as he tried to calm Ripred.

"Calm my nerves?! When my pup has come back and is now in the care of a beast?! Do not tell me to calm my nerves!" Ripred growled. "We need to make a plan. We need to set out and save him!"

"Now do not get ahead of yourself. You know we cannot make plans that easily, none of us are ready," Mareth replied.

"Then ready yourselves! Train and pack! Do whatever you can to get ready!" Ripred replied.

Mareth whispered to an Underland woman and she hurried away. "There, now we will get ready," Mareth said.

"What did you say?" Ripred asked.

"To ask of others to pack baskets of food, water, swords, and to ask if the arena is available," Mareth told. "We do not know how many bats we will need to take. What do you think?"

"Well…we will obviously need that dumb sling again. The boy will have to come and his bond. Maybe his little pest of a sister. Luxa and her bond. My question is, what will we do with Henry?" Ripred asked.

"I suppose we have to bring him with us. He cannot stay here, he needs us to watch him," Mareth replied.

"Well, then we will have to bring the bat he rode upon here," Ripred said.

"We are bringing him? Why?" Luxa asked.

"Like I said, no one here can watch him. We found him, we are responsible. And if he comes, maybe he will die out there so we don't have to kill him," Ripred mocked.

"Well, since it is early, we might as well train," Mareth stated.

The woman who Mareth whispered in the ear hurried back and told him the arena was open. "Well that settles it, get your weapons and bonds and hurry to the arena," Mareth said.

Gregor walked back to Luxa's room. He walked through the doorway and into his room and grabbed his sword and belt. Gregor wrapped the belt around his waist and placed the sword in its sheath. He hurried back to the High Hall where Ares was waiting for him. Gregor mounted Ares and was about to take off when a woman hurried over to Ares with Boots next to her.

"Mareth asked of me to report Boots to you," the woman said.

"Thanks. What's it for?" Gregor asked.

"He asked of her to train with you," the woman replied.

Boots got onto Ares' back in front of Gregor. He thanked the woman and flew off towards the arena. Gregor ran his hand through Ares' glossy black fur, remembering each time he did that before Ares had died. Ares landed in the arena and Gregor and Boots slid off of his back. Gregor and Boots walked over to Mareth who was talking to his bond.

"So what are we going to be training in?" Gregor asked.

"Flying of course. Ares and yourself have not flown together in a long time. Also fighting enemies, you need more training with your sword. You will also train in stealth, you never know when you will need it," Mareth replied.

"Well, just tell me what to do then," Gregor said as he remounted Ares.

"First you will silently fly up and destroy the dummies. Watch out for the ropes attached to them. Make sure to work with Ares as one, and your sword is part of you, not a tool. Then I will show you some twists to perform to get out of tight places," Mareth instructed.

Gregor laid his hand on the hilt of his sword and Ares propelled off of the mossy ground. Ares' silent wings carried the both of them towards the first target. Gregor pulled his sword from its sheath and the rager sensation set in. Gregor's vision first blurred then grew stronger. He blocked out all sounds, though he could barely hear any as it is, Ares was so silent. Gregor slashed the dummy's head off and the body fell to the ground. Ares flew to the next dummy and Gregor stabbed it through the heart and the sand poured out. Ares flew to the other dummy, but his wing caught on the rope that hung the dummies. A bone cracked in Ares' wing and he screeched as he hurtled towards the ground. Gregor hurled himself off of Ares' back at an attempt not to stab him. He then threw his sword to the side as he to fell towards the ground. Andromeda flew up and Gregor landed on her back face first, hurting his nose. Ares plummeted to the ground; there was nothing anyone could do to help him. He crashed into the moss and slid to a stop in front of Mareth who rushed to his side. Andromeda landed near Ares and Gregor launched off of her back and ran to Ares' side.

"Ares! Ares are you alright!" Gregor cried.

"He is obviously not alright boy! He just fell from two hundred feet up and landed on the hard ground!" Ripred yelled.

"The both of you stop yelling! You are not making it better! He is unconscious but he is alright. He has a broken wing and probably a cracked skull. He needs to be rushed to the hospital," Mareth told. "Andromeda, fly to the High Hall and tell them we need large fliers to transport Ares back."

Andromeda nodded and then flew off to the High Hall. In less than two minutes four large bats flew into the arena and landed next to Ares. A large harness was at the end of eight loops. Two for each bat's foot to hold onto. Mareth took the harness and adjusted it around Ares' body and under his wings.

"Make sure to not bump his head," Mareth instructed as each bat took a loop and lifted to the air.

"Are you sure he will be alright?" Gregor asked nervously.

"I am sure, do not worry. The doctors will take care of him, those injuries I am sure have happened before. Now, fly upon Andromeda back to the palace. You may not visit Ares until you have read over the prophecy," Mareth said.

Andromeda fluttered over to Gregor and he mounted her and waited for Boots. Boots ran over to Gregor and he helped her onto Andromeda.

"Gregor, the big rat told me you need to meet the little rat," Boots told Gregor.

"You mean Twitchtip?" Gregor asked.
Boots nodded. "But only after you study."

"Okay, I will make sure I study before," Gregor laughed.

Andromeda flew into the air and took off towards the palace. They were there in no time and Gregor went straight to the prophecy room. He found Twitchtip there, looking over the prophecy. She had turned over the table so she could read the prophecy without going under it. She turned towards Gregor and stood up.

"What do you think of it?" Gregor asked.

"It is…quite amazing. Amazing how so many can come back, though we do not know who they may be," Twitchtip replied.

"Yeah. I really do understand it all. I'm not sure why I have to look over it again. I rather just talk to you, which you needed to talk to me right?" Gregor asked.

"Well….I just wanted someone so I didn't feel so lonely. And you are the only one who truly understands me," Twitchtip told.

"There is one thing that I have always wanted to know," Gregor said.

"And what is that?" Twitchtip asked.

"When did you figure out your 'gift'?" Gregor asked.

"I learned it when my mother was with me. I was lying in my nest and my mother was cleaning. I asked her if she had ever left her earlier pups. She asked me how I knew that," Twitchtip began. "I told her I could smell her biggest secret. She had left her first litter for there was no food and she could not bear to eat them."

"Oh, well how did she feel about it?" Gregor asked.

"She thought it was amazing. She told everyone. Some thought of me as a freak, some thought I was a gift," Twitchtip started. "I...still do not know which to believe."

Gregor scooted closer to Twitchtip."You are not a freak. I wish I could do that! I mean, with being a rager who can see in the dark and that put on top, I think that would be awesome," Gregor indicated. "I think you are amazing."

The rat smiled faintly. "It is not all fun. I do not want to know others secrets...only my own."