...

Regalia

...

The meeting between the council members, Luxa, and Gregor was coming to an end. One of the more prominent council members, Edward, was currently speaking in his nasally voice and Gregor was finding it hard to pay attention. Edward had somehow grown more boring over the years and at this point was rehashing points others had already made. "Representatives of Regalia will be sent out to all known entrances to the Underland to greet any Overlanders who happen to make their way down. Representatives will rotate every six hours until the Overlanders arrive."

The other council members in the room all nodded with rapt attention. Luxa did her best to hide her boredom while Gregor tapped his foot impatiently. Edward continued. "Diplomacy and courtesy are key, so minimal weapons are a necessity. As such-" Edward was cut off by a loud bang as the doors to the council room swung open. Gregor smiled, seeing a familiar face. It was Ripred.

The rat had aged in the years since Gregor had last seen him. His fur was more ragged and silver, and a claw was missing from his front right paw. Ripred's eyes, however, were as sarcastic as ever. "Sorry to cut you off Edward," the gnawer drawled. "I heard our beloved Overlander had returned and I couldn't simply wait to see him."

Edward huffed. "Lord Ripred, you have a voice at this council but to barge in in this manner-" Edward cut himself off as Ripred began to much on some shrimp he had apparently had in his left paw.

Ripred noticed the councilman gawking. "What?" he said through a mouthful of shrimp. "I'm hungry." Edward was lost for words, his jaw moving up and down. Gregor laughed to himself. Even after all these years the man was still caught off guard by Ripred. Ripred, taking advantage of the silence. "Nothing more to say about my interruption? Good. Now we can return to the topic at hand." Ripred sat himself next to Gregor, winking at him. Gregor couldn't keep the grin off his face.

Luxa cleared her throat. "Ripred is correct, there is still much to discuss. Sarah, as the representative from the Fount, have you any say on this matter?"

The meeting continued on for a few more hours. While as Luxa and Gregor did their best to seem like they weren't bored, Ripred made no such attempts and by the time the meeting had come to a close he had been subject to many harsh stares from the other council members.

Luxa, Ripred, and Gregor exited the council room together. Luxa shook her head, sighing. "You should have at least tried to be polite, Ripred. This was an important meeting."

Ripred snorted. "Those fools barely know what they are doing. They were talking in circles for hours."

"I know," Luxa said, "but never the less, they hold a lot of power and it would be best, as my bond and the representative of the gnawers, to be on their good side."

Ripred rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine, I'll behave like a good little gnawer." he said sarcastically. Turning to Gregor, the rat had a rare genuine smile. "How are you? Glad to see you've ignored the fact Sandwich no longer cares about you and returned to the Underland anyways. How's Lizzie?"

Gregor laughed. "I'm just glad to be back. I missed all of you so much. As for Lizzie, she misses you but is doing well, all things considered. She's had considerably less panic attacks lately. How'd you lose your claw? I thought nothing could hurt an old rager like you."

Ripred shrugged. "I was fighting against some gnawer rebels- Bane worshippers- a few years back and I snagged my claw in a gnawer as I did my rager spin. Not a big deal. I may be getting older but I could still wipe the floor with you, boy." he smirked. Ripred continued, looking back over his shoulder. "We can catch up later. I think someone wants to talk with you." Ripred then left, leaving only Luxa and Gregor in an empty hallway.

Instantly, the mask of formality slipped off of Luxa's face as she rushed forward and embraced him. "I missed you so much."

Gregor quickly got over his shock and hugged her back. "I missed you too." They stayed like that for several more minutes before they finally pulled apart. "How have you been?" he asked.

Luxa sighed. "Being a Queen is much harder than I originally thought all those years ago. I was consumed by own arrogance, temper and pride, and that only served to inhibit me as I sought to build and repair relations with the Fount, the gnawers and even with the surviving diggers." She paused. "I believe what really began to change my perspective was the Gnawer Rebellion."

Gregor had been meaning to ask ever since he had heard mentions of it from Ripred. "Gnawer Rebellion?"

"Yes. Around three years ago, some gnawers, with the support of the diggers and cutters, marched on Regalia. The gnawers were former followers of Bane, and worshipped him as if he was their God. However, the diggers and cutters had different reasons for fighting. The cutters hate all the species of the Underland, and simply saw it as a good time to strike, when we were all at our weakest. The diggers- well- fought for obvious reasons." Luxa took a deep breath. "I failed to control the situation. I was too arrogant, too..." She trailed off.

Luxa coughed. "Long story short, war broke out. Ripred, along with a Regalian strike force, had to put the rebellion down." Luxa quivered and Gregor could tell she was on the verge of tears.

Gregor put his hands on her shoulders. "Look, I wasn't here. I don't know all the details. But, from what I remember the situation with the diggers was already unfixable, while the situation with the cutters was precarious and minimal at best. I don't believe you are entirely to blame for the situation."

Luxa smiled, still crying slightly. "Thank you for always being on my side, Gregor. But it isn't that simple."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well..."

...

Uncharted Lands

...

Helena sat in the darkness. The diggers had left hours before, giving her time to process everything that had happened. Not that her heart had calmed down one bit since. It still raced in her chest as she the large mole's face flashed in her mind's eye. She didn't know when she would be able to get over the shock of it all- everything had happened so fast. But in the meantime, she had to persevere, and gather as much information as possible for the world above. For science. For her family; for her younger sister, who had followed her to New York to pursue her own dream. She pushed herself to her feet. She would survive.

It was another few hours, according to Helena's wristwatch, before the diggers returned. They were the same two diggers from before. "Follow... me..." one said slowly. "Meet-ing."

Helena followed them through several tunnels, in near pitch darkness, relying on the dim beam of her headlamp to light the way in front of her. She dully wondered when her light would die, and what she would do when it did. Eventually, she was lead into a large, open cavern, filled with diggers.

The cavern was a giant bowl, almost shaped like an amphitheater, with diggers lined in rows at various heights going up the wall. If Helena wasn't overwhelmed before, she was now. She let out a deep breath of wonderment before the diggers urged her forward until she was in the center of the amphitheater. She felt hundreds of digger eyes upon her and sweat trickled down her chin.

A large digger emerged from a nearby tunnel to stand next to her, quickly barking off some words in a language she didn't understand. The digger audience instantly went quiet. Helena inferred that this digger was the leader and observed it for a moment.

It looked quite similar to the other moles she had met so far, with dark brown fur and large forelimbs for digging. What set the creature apart, however, was the large pale scar that went right down the middle of its face and onto its neck. When the mole spoke, it was deep and booming, but yet had a rasp to it. Helena stared at the mole in awe, wondering how it survived such a grievous wound.

The digger continued to speak for awhile, and the audience began to chant a phrase. The leader digger sat back with satisfaction as the chant grew louder and louder, and finally Helena couldn't take it any longer. Turning to the moles who had first found her, she asked what the lead digger was saying, and what the chant was.

The mole from before turned to her. "He... speaking of past, and plan for future. Says you follow diggers to meeting with cutters. The chant say... down with Killer and pawns."

...

Outskirts of New York City

...

The building James was brought to was unassuming in every manner. Colored a bland gray and two stories tall, the windows were all boarded over and paint flaked off the walls. No one would ever suspect the location to be home to a top-secret FBI base. He was escorted to the place in the dead of night by two undercover agents. Entering the building, they pulled a panel in the wall inside to reveal a keypad. Typing something into it quickly, a section of the wall folded aside to reveal a set of stairs descending downwards.

James counted about a hundred steps before they reached the bottom, where they were confronted with a large steel door and yet another keypad. After the agent on his right typed in another security code, the door swung open and James's mouth dropped open in awe.

Whatever he had been expecting, it had not been this. The room was a large lounge, set up with several couches in the center complete with small tables and lamps. Computers lined the far back wall, and small portable refrigerators were set up in one corner with a sink next to it. There were two wooden doors on both sides of the room, each labeled with a sign: "bedroom," "storage," "bathroom," and "shower".

He took a few small steps into the room, but the agents who had escorted him stayed by the door. "Your team will be here shortly. Try anything funny in the meantime and... remember, we have your family." The door slammed shut behind them as the agents walked away, the sound echoing.

James felt a shiver of dread course through him as he thought about his family and of what was to come.

...

Author's Notes

Well, it's been slightly less than a month. Still not great, but better than last time. I only hope to pick up speed with these updates. Just a few things to say:

-What did you guys think of the Ripred scene? Did he feel off to you or did I get him right? Ripred is certainly one of the more challenging characters to portray and I'm doing everything in my power to write him correctly.

-I dropped a lot of hints for what I have planned for the future in this chapter :) Let me know about some of your theories!

-As always, many thanks to those who reviewed: Vengeous, koipbuiop, DeathDrayanD, and a Guest!

-Gyltig