...

Regalian River

...

Gregor stood on the shore of the river near Regalia, the water lapping at his feet. Armed guards flanked him on either side but he might have well as been alone. Despair consumed his heart as memories from his past flashed through his mind. Vikus. He couldn't believe that he was... dead. Died only just before he returned; Gregor wished he could have seen him one last time, or at least attend his funeral. But he had been able to do neither.

He stared down at the objects in his hands. The hilt felt so familiar in his hand, but yet it also felt so... foreign. Sandwich's sword belonged to a man that was no longer him. The broken blade of the sword was held in his other hand, the cool metal pressing against his scarred palms.

When he thought back on it, Vikus had been the person who had gotten him to reject the identity of the warrior. It had been him who had given Gregor the hope that conflicts could be solved in ways other than violence. The sword may have belonged to Gregor, but the broken sword belonged to Vikus, who was the truest proponent of peace the Underland ever had. Gregor felt it was only right to lay the sword to rest with him. It's not like Gregor would ever swing the blade again anyways.

Gregor got down on his knees and pulled up the rocks that lined the shore until he had a sizable hole. Gently laying the pieces of the shattered blade in the hole, he reburied the sword. Gregor stood up, staring at the river for a moment and whispered to himself: "Farewell, Vikus. This is where I will think of you. You are a greater man than I will ever be." A tear trickled down his cheek and Gregor turned on his heel and walked back up the shore.

Luxa waited for him sadly at the docks. "Let's go. The council has requested our presence."

Gregor nodded and followed her back inside Regalia. The silence between them was tense. Luxa finally spoke. "I regret my actions every day. I hope you know that."

Gregor took a deep breath. "I know."

...

Outskirts of New York City

...

Little more than five minutes had passed when the metal door to the room opened again. Four FBI agents in uniform entered through the doorway. James stood up from his seat on the couch to introduce himself. The biggest of the four agents approached him first, shaking James's hand. A large tattoo of a dragon covered the left half of his face, green eyes glinting under the black ink. "It's a pleasure to meet you sir. You can call me Agent Green."

James raised eyebrows. "Codenames I see. I guess I can't expect much else."

Green shrugged. "Standard procedure. Anyways, these are my fellow teammates: Agent Blue-" a middle-aged woman with silver hair stepped forward- "Agent Black-" a petite, feminine-looking man with pure white hair waved his hand shyly- "and lastly, Agent Orange."

Orange put her hands on her hips. "Come on Green, you know how much I hate the color orange."

Green grinned. "Your fault for naming me Pink last time."

Orange just flipped her long black hair back with a humph.

James would've smiled and gone along with their antics had it happened under normal circumstances, but as it was he got down to business. "So what are you all here for? I don't think it's just for idle chit-chat." He already suspected what the answer would be but he wanted to here it from the agents themselves.

Blue gave him a blank stare. "Straight to the point then. I can respect that. We are here to observe the situation in the Underland from afar, analyzing any and all data that comes in from the field, and using your previous experiences in the Underland to our benefit."

James shrugged. "Figured."

Orange stepped forward, her seriousness contrasting her earlier playful mood. "First, however, we need to here a recount of your time in the Underland. Beginning to end. We've heard bits from Mrs. Cormaci, but we know that you didn't tell her everything you know."

James sighed. There was no use fighting it anymore. He couldn't risk his family. So he began to speak, a tear brewing in the corner of his eye. "Almost nine years ago now, I fell into the Underland through a grate in a laundry room..."

...

Uncharted Lands

...

Helena had been following the diggers in near complete darkness and utter silence for several hours when she began to hear scuttling. Her heartbeat increased. "What's that noise?" She whispered to the digger next to her.

"Those cutters. We almost there."

The surroundings gradually grew lighter as they entered a large cavern. Small stalactites hung from the ceiling, and countless tunnels branched off to the sides. Helena and the group of diggers paused in the center of the cavern as the sound of the scuttling increased. Helena began to sweat nervously.

In an instant, thousands upon thousands of ants- cutters- poured out from every tunnel. The sound grew unbearable as Helena slowly sank to her knees and pressed her hands over her ears.

The cutters formed a circle around the small group, blocking every exit. Only then did a rather large cutter step forward. To Helena's surprise, its English was quite good. "Diggers. Why are you here? Haven't we warned you countless times to stay out of our land?"

The diggers did not sense the hostility in the air as Helena tensed. "Came... to discuss alliance against killers." One spoke.

The cutter that had spoken before gave off a bizzare cackle, not unlike a laugh. "We're not interested in any such alliance. What makes you think we need you?"

The diggers grew confused and shuffled among each other. "More against killers... better?"

Helena watched the cutter pause before almost giving the diggers a pitying glance. "I'm sorry, but the answer is no. I also have orders from my Queen to rob all you diggers of your time." The cutter's tone changed as he addressed the thousands of cutters in the cavern. "Spare the killer."

All at once, the cutter army converged on the small digger party, tearing through them with ease. Helena began to tremble as the digger's blood lapped at her shoes, the corpses of those she had spoken with moments ago surrounding her.

The lead cutter approached her. "Come with me if you wish to live, killer," it sneered.

Numbly, Helena followed.

...

Author's Notes

Well, I made my monthly update goal- barely! On another note- happy (belated) Thanksgiving to all my United States readers! A few things I wanted to say:

-What did you all think of the scene with James? I'm really curious to see what you all think, as I did introduce four new OC's (granted, you guys know hardly anything about them yet)

-Helena's scene. Did I surprise you with the cutters, or was it what you expected? What do you think the cutter queen's plans for Helena are? Please let me know your thoughts in a review!

-Lastly, I know this is a shorter chapter than usual but I hope you all still managed to find some enjoyment in it.

And as always, many thanks to those who reviewed: lucastreet, dragonfire (Guest), Vengeous, and koipbuiop!