...

Tunnels Outside Regalia- Helena Morten

...

Helena was in a predicament. After she had landed at the bottom of the pit, she headed down the rightmost tunnel. The problem was, after five minutes of walking, she found her way blocked by a giant pile of rocks. The tunnel must have partially collapsed due to the earthquake, Helena presumed; that or the tunnel had been like this for quite some time. Regardless, she was stuck. Waiting for other explorers to come down the pit was still not an option, which meant she had to choose one of the other tunnels. Sighing, she headed back to where she had started.

Helena looked at the left and middle tunnel in turn. The left tunnel had stalagmites on the bottom of the tunnel, which looked quite sharp and deadly. The middle tunnel, however, seemed deceptively normal- except for the strange sounds that came from it. Looking back and forth one more time, she decided that she was more likely to die by tripping and falling on the stalagmites in the left tunnel than she was to die to whatever was causing the noise. She headed down the middle tunnel.

Moving slowly and carefully, she progressed down the tunnel. Minutes turned into hours and Helena began to doubt she had taken the right path, but it was far too late to turn back now. Different tunnels branched off on either side of her but she continued following the path she was on. All the meanwhile, the noises were getting louder. It almost sounded like... extremely bad and garbled English. Fear seized Helena. Had one of the explorers somehow made it down here before her?

The tunnel suddenly ceased narrowing and opened up into a large cavern. The second she stepped into the cavern, the noise abruptly stopped. It became unnaturally quiet, the only sound being the sound of her breathing. If Helena was scared before, she was terrified now. "Hello?" She called out, her voice echoing. More silence. She swung her light from left to right, scanning her surroundings, and when she looked to her right-

"AAH!" She screamed, jumping back a foot, tripping, and falling on the stone floor on her butt. Because barely a meter from her, sat two giant moles. They were bigger than any she had seen before by a long shot, easily twice the size of her car. Scrambling away, heart beating fast, she pressed her back against the far wall.

The moles had a similar reaction, both moles moving backwards and away from her so fast, her eyes couldn't follow. Helena attempted to calm herself down. From what she remembered of moles' behavior, they were mostly solitary creatures and it was rare they came together in groups; also, that they were mostly peaceful creatures and only fought when it came to defending their territory. And judging by their reaction to her, they weren't hostile.

Just as Helena was getting over her shock, one of the moles took a small, cautious step forward. "Killer..." it said, in garbled English.

Had they just spoken... No way, she thought. Her brain was playing tricks on her.

The mole continued. "Why... you here?" This time, Helena knew without a doubt that the mole had spoken. Her eyes rolled back into her head, fainting from the shock, and her world went black.

...

Tunnels Outside Regalia- Gregor

...

After landing at the bottom of the pit, Gregor soon learned two things. One was that the normal path to Regalia was cut off due to falling rocks from the earthquake. Secondly was the fact that someone else had been here recently. A few drops of fresh blood were splattered across the stone floor. Whoever had been here before him was obviously injured, and the scent of blood attracted the worst types of creatures in the Underland. Gregor knew that the injured person would not last long. Pity swelled in his heart, but he knew there was nothing he could do now.

Gregor knew from a meeting with Vikus long ago that the middle tunnel led into the Uncharted Lands, while the left eventually looped around and opened up near Regalia. The tunnel was not often used because of the stalagmites growing out of the floor, but he didn't have much choice now. Gregor headed down the left tunnel.

His progress was tedious. He had to go slower than he liked to avoid tripping and killing himself and he estimated, at this rate, it would take him many hours to get to Regalia. Sighing, he let his mind wander as he continued his journey.

Thinking back to earlier, he thought about Mrs. Cormaci. She seemed distinctly different than she had five years ago. While she was initially quite confrontational and rude, she quickly backed down after he had made his argument, which Gregor found strange considering the emotion behind her words. Was her reason for giving up really because she thought the argument was futile? Gregor didn't know. He shrugged; Mrs. Cormaci had always been a mystery to him and he doubted he would ever understand her.

His thoughts moved towards the Underland. Seeing the tunnel to Regalia collapsed had led to him to wonder what other damages the earthquake might have caused to Regalia. Strangely, he had never considered the earthquake and its potential effect on the Underland; he had been so preoccupied with the Overlanders discovering the entrance. He hoped Luxa was okay.

Looking forward at the many stalagmites ahead of him, Gregor realized how defendable this tunnel was. The rats, or any other creature that tried to attack Regalia through these tunnels would either have to be prepared to walk for hours without any cover, or find a different route. Meanwhile, the Regalian defenders could simply fly over all the stalagmites, and when the time was right, move in for the kill...

"I've got to get closer to take him out!" Gregor shouted.

"Hold on!" Ares said, and engaged in a spinning maneuver that brought him closer to the Bane. But something about their positioning, something about their proximity to the Bane was off.

Fear seized Gregor. "Get out Ares! Pull back!" But it was too late. There was a smile on the large white rat's face as he snatched his bond from the air.

...Gregor stumbled from the memory, reaching out and grabbing a stalagmite to steady himself. It had been five years since his bond had died and his death still haunted him. Blood trickled down his hand as the sharp edge of the stalagmite dug into his skin, but Gregor hardly noticed. A single tear trickled down his cheek. Why did those memories have to come back now, of all times, when he needed to help those still alive and get to Regalia? But now that the memory had been triggered his mind kept going over it, the scene replaying in his mind. It was his fault. If he hadn't ordered Ares to get closer to the Bane, maybe he'd still be alive today.

"I'm sorry, Ares." Gregor whispered to himself. "I'm sorry."

...

New Jersey

...

James gripped the steering wheel tightly as he drove down the highway. It had been hours since the entire family had gotten in the car and started driving to New York.

After Lizzie had made her suggestion to call Mrs. Cormaci, they wasted no time in doing so. To their surprise, she picked up on the second ring and instantly agreed to watch after the kids while they went down to the Underland. Lizzie had gone and woken up Margaret after the phone call, and after everyone packed, they left, which brought them to now.

For the most part, the ride had been completely silent, the tension heavy in the air. James was mad at his son for abandoning them like he did; but he had been able to calm himself somewhat, understanding his son's reasoning. Didn't mean he wasn't worried out of his mind though.

Grace, however, was absolutely fuming. James could tell from her expression and the way her fingers kept twitching. She always did that when she was angry. He smiled, recalling old memories. He and Grace had been high school sweethearts and had been together ever since- James knew every one of her odd quirks and mannerisms.

Shaking his head, he took the exit off of the freeway and into New York City. Taking a back road to avoid the traffic, he drove as fast as he could without going over the speed limit. The sooner they could get to Gregor, the better. He pulled up at the old apartment complex and Mrs. Cormaci was waiting for them outside.

"Mrs. Cormaci!" Margaret said happily, jumping out of the car and running up and hugging her. "It's been too long!"

Mrs. Cormaci gave a small smile and hugged Margaret back. "Agreed. I've missed you, Boots. How have you been?"

Margaret huffed and stomped her foot. "I'm not Boots anymore! I'm Margaret!"

She chuckled. "I should have known you would outgrow that nickname. Forgive me, dear."

Margaret turned her head away. "Hmph!"

James and the rest of his family got out of the car. "Nice to see you again, Mrs. Cormaci. How have you been?"

She shrugged. "I'm getting older. I could be better."

James laughed. "I know the feeling. Anyways, I appreciate you being willing to look after the kids while we're gone."

Suddenly, Mrs. Cormaci's expression changed from one of happiness to one of sorrow. James noticed the difference immediately. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm sorry." she said. "I can't let you go. They threatened me."

James's eyes widened. "What do you mean..."

Mrs. Cormaci raised her arm into the air and made a gesture with her hand. Officers rushed out from both the inside the building and the neighboring alleys to the apartment complex, and surrounded James and his family. An officer spoke into a megaphone. "Freeze! Put your hands where I can see them."

His heart was racing. What was going on? Why were they being arrested? James spotted Mrs. Cormaci over the row of officers, tears streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as the officers handcuffed her old neighbors and took them away.

...

Author's Note

Hey everyone, thanks for reading! Some things to say:

-Sadly, I got a little behind in my writing and this is probably the last chapter that will be posted before I go on my month-long hiatus. But expect a chapter almost immediately after I get back!

-Did you guys notice this story has a cover now? I hand-drew it myself :). The lighting is kinda weird in the photo I took of it; the picture is much better in person, trust me. I might try to get a better photo of it at some point. Tell me what you think of the cover, and what you think it means!

-I did my best to give some insight on how the Gregor in my story deals with his memories and emotions. He had buried the memory of Ares along with his guilt, but the slightest reminder of Ares and his final fight with the Bane brought all those feelings back and it completely unraveled Gregor. He doesn't even notice himself bleeding. Please tell me what you think of this!

-Also, tell me what you guys think about the ending twist with Mrs. Cormaci. Some of you might be upset by what I've done with her character, but trust me, there's an explanation for her actions coming next chapter. Give me your theories on why the officers arrested Gregor's family and why Mrs. Cormaci betrayed them!

-By the way, longest chapter yet :)

And lastly, many thanks to those who reviewed, Vengeous and Clytuis (Guest)!

Until next time,

Gyltig