Hi everyone! I am so sorry for being missing for so long - had a lot of work to get done, and essentially finished a massive project. Have spent the last week recuperating and slowly writing this chapter. Seems like most people don't really frequent this story anymore, but the few of you who do, leave a review if you can! It really spurs me to keep on going.

Thank you so much to bugging killer (nice to meet you!), the only reader I still have from 2016 Gyltig (will get to your story over the next week or so), and Hypheman (thank you so so much for all your reviews, it means so so much to me, and your feedback actually helps me to write a better story to reflect the message I want to send. Btw love your answer to chapter 34's question).

This chapter is written from Gregor's perspective.


Chapter 35: Vengeance

A wave of fliers collided with the amorphous mass of rats, shattering into a melee of wings, claws, and teeth.

Another wave crashed against the scattered, disoriented rats, this time led by Lapblood and her gnawer units.

The armies were completely interspersed at this point - no one could tell who was where and on which side. It was utter mayhem.

Gregor was not about to remain gawking at the chaotic spectacle unfolding in front of him.

Unleashing a guttural growl which was one part regret, one part pain, and one part frustration, he hacked down two rebel gnawers in front of him with swift strokes to the head. By the time a third noticed his movement, his blade was already in motion, with a crimson downward arc of bloodstained metal the last thing it saw.

Gorger spun around. "Well," he smiled menacingly, "I believe we were discussing terms?"

Something about Gorger's maniacal grin in the face of a certain defeat unnerved Gregor. His eyes revealed resignation, but it was also clouded with violent anticipation. Gorger was not about to witness his new empire fall in a day, and Gregor knew it. He was going to take down everyone with him if possible - Gorger had no intention of taking the final, unchartered leap into the unending abyss of death alone.

So Gregor advanced slowly towards him, his grip on his dagger and sword tightening. Gorger was no rager and was way past his prime, but there was no doubting the cunning edge he had. Gregor would win in a fair fight, but Gorger had no intention of fighting honourably.

And true enough, the old rat began to back away.

"Don't be a coward," Gregor snarled, pushing up his visor so Gorger could see his face. "You're better than that."

Gorger let out a half-laugh, half-gasp of disbelief. "I'm really not."

Suddenly, a shadow passed over Gregor. He glanced upwards to see Dionysus descending slowly, his expressionless face slowly creasing into a vicious snarl. His rider sprang off gracefully and landed a few yards in front of Gregor, steadying himself slightly before rearing up to full height. The figure lifted his visor as well to meet Gregor's gaze.

"Overlander," Conrad greeted him simply.

"Conrad," Gregor replied equally icily. He glanced up again at Dionysus, who gently floated with the wind to one side, and perched himself on a rock overseeing the scene. Lapblood had reorganised the Regalian troops into formation and relaunched a second assault, causing the haphazard rebel gnawer formation to fold into a crumpled heap. The shrieks and squeaks of the discombobulated rats almost morphed into a collective groan of pain, as they desperately tried to right themselves and rush for the safety of the tunnels.

But none of that mattered to Gregor right now.

The former king of Regalia drew his blade out of its sheath. "Do not fret, Overlander," he said, the cold detachment of his voice matching his stone-faced expression. "Luxa has made her position abundantly clear. Once I have killed you, I will not take her hand in marriage again. You have my word."

"That's not for you to decide," Gregor spat. "And your word means nothing to me."

Conrad lowered his visor. "We will arrange to send your body back to your family."

That's it. Gregor was not going to let Conrad bring his family up without consequences.

He sprang forward and thrust at Conrad's neck, but Conrad parried the blade quickly and responded with a similarly determined thrust at Gregor's right shoulder.

Gregor brought his blade up to deflect the strike and then swung it down on Conrad's head, but Regalia's former king somehow brought his blade up to match the strike. The two of them strained against each other, their blades slowly grinding into a screech as both attempted to seize the advantage. Gregor pressed down hard, willing his sword to cut clean through Conrad's and crack open his helmet.

Realising he still had his dagger, Gregor quickly closed the distance, intending to slip it through a chink in Conrad's armour. But Conrad had read Gregor's movement like a book and closed the gap simultaneously, with both of them colliding into each other and hitting the ground hard. Gregor scrambled to his feet as Conrad lay sprawled across the floor, and brought his sword down. Again Conrad parried the blow and in a single graceful move, rolled back onto his feet and faced Gregor yet again.

Gregor's vision splintered even more, and almost seemed tinged with a bloodred hue. He took a deep breath but his vision remained just as fractured and incoherent.

Conrad seemed to notice his discomfort. "You shall not be alone in death, Overlander. Apollo and Lord Ripred will join you in the next world."

If it hadn't dawned on Gregor before, Conrad had certainly made his strategy very clear in that moment. He was getting into Gregor's head and Gregor was lapping it all up. Conrad was unlikely to beat Gregor 1-on-1, but Gregor's greatest enemy was himself, and Conrad knew that. It was time for Gregor to start playing his own tune instead of dancing to Conrad's.

"I won't kill you," Gregor replied stoically, hoping that his words would get under Conrad's skin as easily as Conrad's had gotten under his. "But you're going to answer for everything. It's way overdue."

Conrad's steely graze broke into an arrogant smirk. "And you, Overlander," he replied snidely. "When will you answer for all your crimes?"

Gregor took another deep breath. A few years ago, he would have caved to his rager impulses and silenced Conrad in a murderous rage. But Gregor had seen too much and paid too high a price for him to lapse back into old habits.

It was much easier to lose his head than to keep it. And he wasn't about to let Conrad win a battle of wits and minds against him.

He sheathed his dagger and placed both hands on the hilt of his sword. "As soon as you're ready, your Majesty."

Conrad bit the bait. He rushed forward and thrust at Gregor's chest. Gregor swiped the blade aside and took two steps back. His little dig had clearly provoked Conrad into advancing, which was exactly where Gregor wanted him. Conrad lunged forward with another stab, this time at Gregor's shoulder, but Gregor batted the strike with conviction and replied with an upwards slash of his own, forcing Conrad to backpedal quickly.

Conrad took a quick breath and renewed his aggressive assault, this time swinging at Gregor's knees. But Gregor had seen it coming from a mile away. He parried the strike with ease and countered with a quick jab at Conrad. The tip of the blade struck Conrad's shoulder piece and bounced off harmlessly, save for a prominent dent in the armour.

Conrad glanced at it and looked back at Gregor. "It seems you are trying to get under my skin, Overlander," he said coolly.

Gregor almost smiled underneath his visor. "Come on man, I thought you were made of harder stuff."

Conrad wordlessly responded with two quick jabs at Gregor, but he easily deflected both strikes and retaliated with three strong swings of his blade. Conrad mete ach stroke at the last possible second. He was a competent fighter, but he was no rager. Gregor's vision slowly pieced itself together, until his rager senses had trained on three chinks in Conrad's armour.

And a critical gap between his plate armour which exposed the slightest glimpse of his collarbone, unguarded by chainmail.

No.

Gregor knew if he plunged his blade through that gap it was almost certain death for Conrad. It was not for him to decide if Conrad lived or died.

He glanced at Luxa, who was in the thick of battle with her soldiers, fending off three rebel gnawers from getting to Susannah. He had no idea if she knew he was fighting Conrad, but he knew this wasn't his fight to finish.

Conrad followed his gaze. "Ah," he breathed. "My poor wife. She should not be in the middle of a battle. It is not queenly of her."

Gregor steadied himself with another breath. "She's exactly where she should be," he replied curtly. "I'm not so sure about you."

Conrad slowly moved towards Gregor's left. "Why do you say that, Overlander?"

Gregor adjusted so he was facing Conrad head-on. "You think Gorger's just gonna let you be king when all this is done? His army isn't gonna stop until they've killed every human down here. And even if they don't, how do you plan to stop the foxes? Or the other Overlanders?"

Conrad lifted his visor, and the look on his face made Gregor's blood run cold. There was nothing behind his eyes - no hope, no fear, no desire. Conrad's eyes were as lifeless as the corpses strewn around the both of them.

"Overlander," he smiled. "There is no way I emerge from the next few months alive. You are correct - I have lost everything, and there is little hope of touching Luxa, or holding the crown, or stepping foot in Regalia again. I know this."

"Then why-" Gregor began.

"I have but one purpose," Conrad interrupted him, his eyes suddenly alight with fury. "It is you who took my wife, my throne, and my home from me. I had plans to protect Regalia - I made the deal with the schemers to defend our borders."

"That's bullshit," Gregor snorted derisively. "We all know you were just trying to save yourself."

"I am no fool, Overlander," Conrad snarled. "I knew the schemers would try to betray us. But I was trying to buy this city time… we have been remarkably short of it since, well, the War of Time."

"The foxes were surrounding us. They took the Fount. We didn't need time, we needed a king!"

"Is it 'we' now?" Conrad sneered. "We needed time to fortify our defences, time to make a plan. You know nothing of the sort Overlander, all you know how to do is fight and take what does not belong to you. With you Regalia may win a battle, but without me it loses the war."

His words left Gregor speechless. Was Conrad right?

"Aye," Conrad continued. "History may remember you, if the schemers do not erase it. But you did not win the War of Time. You did not break the Code of Claw. It was not your plan to ambush the gnawers on the plains of Tartarus. You were Solovet's pawn, and then Ripred's. Wars are not won by swords, Overlander. They are won by minds."

With every word, Conrad inched closer and closer to Gregor. Gregor knew this, but didn't make a move. Conrad was trying to bait him again, but Gregor had another plan up his sleeve. Conrad's arrogance would be his undoing.

Conrad closed his visor. "Like I said, Warrior," he said scornfully. "I have but one purpose remaining."

He stretched out his arms, offering his chest as a target for Gregor. "I have one life left to take."

Gregor's vision remained splintered in a delicate balance, Conrad's every movement edging him slowly into place. He'd have to pretend to bite the bait now.

Gregor rushed forward and jabbed quickly towards Conrad's chest. Conrad had seen that coming, of course. His blade was halfway towards intercepting Gregor's before Gregor had even thrust his blade, which was exactly what he wanted. Gregor's hands released his sword and his left hand unsheathed his dagger in the blink of an eye. Conrad's eyes now flashed with alarm, but it was too late.

Without a sound, Gregor thrust his dagger through a chink in Conrad's armour, plunging it into Conrad's right side. Conrad released a pained gasp and dropped his sword.

Gregor had the chance to twist the knife further into Conrad and seal his fate.

But he left the blade in Conrad's right side, and took two steps back as Regalia's former king sank to his knees.

Conrad pulled his helmet off and looked up at Gregor, gasping desperately for air like a fish out of water. He tried to say something, but the pain was too overwhelming for him to string any coherent sentence together. Gregor picked his sword up and glowered down at Conrad. "You were saying?"

Conrad, unable to kneel upright, sank further backwards but reached out quickly with his right arm to prop himself up and prevent himself from lying flat on the floor. If this were any soldier in Regalia's army, Gregor would have considered it a brave stand to take. But this was a man who had left Gregor to die. Gregor's mercy and kindness had limits.

Gregor suddenly heard the fluttering of wings and he looked up to see Dionysus surging down. Of course Conrad had a get-out-of-jail-free card. He had the same last-gasp escape in his previous confrontation with Gregor. Dionysus made a beeline straight for his bond, claws outstretched to pick him up and carry him away to reorganise his insatiable pursuit of vengeance…

… until a red and grey blur slammed into Dionysus. The bat and the figure hit the ground hard, rolling several feet away before the grey figure reared back to reveal itself.

A bloodied Ripred snarled down at Dionysus, before sinking his teeth into Dionysus' wing and twisting viciously. Gregor heard a sickening crack as Dionysus screeched in agony. Satisfied with the damage he had inflicted, Ripred clambered off the incapacitated flier, and limbered over to Gregor. "Sorry I was late," the old rat said. "Would have kept my eye on you, but had to save my only remaining one for my own battles."

Gregor sighed. Had to give that one to Ripred.

He turned to look around at the rest of the battle. Fliers were now approaching from the western side led by Perdita, cutting off the rebel rats' retreat to the tunnels they had excitedly poured out from a mere hour earlier. They were hardly the teeming mass of teeth and fury they had been before Regalia's armies had squeezed them. Reduced to the last few stragglers, the rebel rats snarled and hissed at their captors, who quickly isolated and surrounded as many of them as they could. Gorger's empire had ended with nothing more than a pitiful whimper.

In a matter of seconds, a battered and bruised Gorger was escorted towards Luxa by half a dozen Regalian humans and three rats, all of whom kept a close eye on him. Gorger had a bad limp, his right forelimb twisted at an awkward angle. The once mighty king was adorned in dirt and blood, looking like the same mangy dishevelled mess which was dragged into the Council room when he had returned from schemer territory. Worst of all, his eyes were no longer brimming with defiant malevolence - they were a vessel of fear.

Gregor looked at Luxa, who had taken her helmet off. Her eyes had that same cold streak which he had seen in Conrad earlier.

It was the cold streak of vengeance.

"She's going to kill him," he breathed out loud.

Ripred turned to face her too and immediately his face darkened. "We need him alive to end all of this," he growled.

The guards shoved Gorger to the floor, eliciting a groan from the rat. Luxa stood over him and lifted her sword. "Any last words?" she asked.

Gorger looked up at her, and the fear in his eyes dissipated. "Ah," he mused. "I knew it would come to this. Unfortunately for you, I will not scream like your parents did."

If Luxa had been cut by his words, her face showed no sign of it. "As queen of Regalia, I sentence you, Gorger, to death."

"WAIT!" Ripred roared as he bounded up towards her. Gregor quickly darted over as well, his mind racing with conflicting thoughts and emotions. He knew he couldn't undermine Luxa in public, but he also knew they needed Gorger alive. They needed him to lead them to the foxes' base.

"Your Majesty," Ripred pleaded with Luxa, "consider what you are about to do."

"It has been considered," Luxa replied icily, her gaze still fixed on Gorger.

"We need him," Ripred said, his tone dangerously edging closer to that of a growl or a command. "Think not of your personal score with him, but of the war this city is fighting. You you gave me your word before this battle."

Luxa's face remained frigid expression contorted into a look of disgust. "I promised you nothing," she spat. "This piece of filth took my family. He took my mother."

She was frozen in position, her sword held above her head, ready to bring the weight of years of pain and loneliness crashing to the ground with a singular brutal stroke. Gregor knew that beneath the magisterial queenly armour was an animal, shackled by fate for more than a decade, its muscles and sinews stretched by the long wait. Vengeance knew no prey or food. It could brood in a pit for centuries, concealed beyond light or shadow. But when it revealed itself, it was an unrelenting force of nature.

And Luxa had left her vengeance starving for a very, very long time.

Gorger burst into a laugh. The fear which one clouded his eyes had cleared and the clarity of his fate had given him a reckless temperament. His empire had fallen and he would die. But there was no enemy greater than one consigned to his death, Gregor knew that from experience. They had nothing to lose.

Somehow, despite Regalia emerging victorious in this battle, its fate remained on a knife edge. Its fate rested in Luxa's hands, which trembled as it gripped her gilded hilt tightly, poised to cave to her stirring vengeful impulses.

"Your Majesty," Ripred said quietly, "your people are watching."

"They will witness the price of injuring me," she responded brusquely. "The Underland will know that Queen Luxa always remembers to pay her debts."

Gregor glanced around at Regalia's soldiers, who locked their gazes on the sight in front of them, their faces revealing the conflicting attitudes which ran through each and every one of them. Some seemed to be willing her to swing her sword, their piercing gazes fixated on her trembling arms, which shook from both tiredness and eager expectation. Others eyed her warily, seemingly conscious of the precarious nature of the moment, with Luxa swinging like a pendulum between justice and tyranny.

In his heart, Gregor knew that Luxa's revenge would not end with Gorger. Revenge was a dish best served cold, but it possessed a smouldering character which could easily transform into a raging wildfire, one which threatened to devour everything, including Luxa herself. Gregor knew its taste as a lion knew fresh meat - when he had slaughtered the mercenaries holding his family, he felt vengeance pulsating through his veins, becoming the lifeblood of every word he spoke and action he took. Vengeance had hoped to make a home of Gregor's soul. But his mum's words had splashed cold water on the fire, shocking it out of his system.

"Remember, I will always love you. Always."

Despite the anger of abandonment, all the pain they had inflicted on each other, and everything else in between, his mum hadn't forgotten her love for him. And to be honest, neither had he. If he truly believed in revenge, perhaps he wouldn't have returned to save his parents. But shrouded in the deep darkness of Gregor's angst, the love he held for his family had clutched on to its light - and seeing his mum again reminded him of its existence far below the tragedy of war and the devastation of a lost youth. Love was the sibling of hope - it shone brightest in the darkest corners of the world, and Gregor knew that it was the fuel he needed to keep fighting, instead of losing himself to the all-consuming nature of vengeance.

His mum's words returned like an old friend in that moment. "She's a good girl, Gregor. You don't want to lose someone like her." He looked at the woman he loved, watching vengeance grip her heart as she held her sword. Vengeance urged her to swing and fall into its abyss, but he believed love could catch her fall. He had to try. He could not afford to lose her.

"Luxa," Gregor said softly.

She remained in her statuesque pose, trapped and locked between desire and duty.

"Luxa," he said again, this time a little louder. "I know he's hurt you. I know you want to do this, I've always known that. And if you decide to end him, I mean, that's your choice. I want you to know that it's ok."

Gregor felt Ripred's thousand-yard stare fall on him, but he ignored him. "But we do need Gorger. And I know what this means to you. I know you think it means letting yourself down. But I also want you to know that's not true. I don't know your mum and dad, but I'm pretty sure they'd want you to make sure no one else has to suffer what you've suffered. And the only way to do that is to keep him alive."

"Oh please," Gorger scoffed. "Even if I could lead you to the schemers, I would not. You have no army left to offer me, no bargain left to tempt me."

"Please Luxa," Gregor pleaded. "Don't let him win. Not after all we've been through."

Luxa continued to stare down at Gorger. She seemed unmoved by Gregor's words. With every second, it seemed as if her icy stare was plunging yet another blade deep into Gorger's heart. Gregor did not even dare to consider what was running through her mind.

Gorger continued to meet her gaze with unwavering confidence. "You are doomed in any case, pup," he said, his voice barely louder than a whisper. "Just make all your futile efforts worth it."

Luxa's arms arched back as she raised her sword even further above her head. Gregor's hands instinctively squeezed the hilt of his sword. Ripred cleared his throat, clearly noticing Gregor's movement.

The old rat was right - he couldn't do anything about this. It had to be Luxa's decision.

Luxa's icy, pale complexion suddenly gave way to a burst of colour. Her purple irises faded ever so slightly against the crimson red which coursed through her face. The cold ruthlessness in her eyes snapped into two competing emotions - the warm hearth of bittersweet forgiveness and duty, or the incandescent flames of revenge.

Gregor held his breath. He knew that each Regalian and rebel watching her held their breaths as well.

The tip of the blade slowly descended. Luxa's arms sagged forward…

… but never dropped.

She lowered her sword, its tip gently caressing the edge of Gorger's snout. She took a deep breath as her shoulders hunched forward slightly and her body just about maintained its regal posture, desperately trying not to fold in on itself. She took a second deep breath and then straightened her back. And in that moment, no one on the battlefield stood taller than Queen Luxa of Regalia.

Everyone collectively exhaled, whether in relief or disappointment. Gregor noticed a few soldiers shaking their heads, while others nodded in approval.

Ripred's warning about Luxa finally hit him. He still thought the old rat got a lot of things wrong - but he was right that Luxa could not make everyone happy. She was doomed to let someone down for every person she did right by. It wasn't her fault - but it was the curse of being a monarch, a single figurehead for everyone to look up to for guidance. Luxa would always fail in someone's eyes.

Sensing the weight of the moment, Luxa cleared her throat. "Take him away," she said softly but strongly, still determined to suffocate any show of weakness.

She turned to face Ripred. "I expect you to have a plan for this."

Ripred nodded slowly. "I might have a few ideas."

"That is not enough," she said sternly. "He dies if you cannot conjure a plan."

For once, Ripred seemed to yield to the gravity of the situation and the austerity of her demeanour. "As you wish," he said without retort.

Luxa turned to Gregor and her expression softened. "Thank you, Gregor. When you spoke, I heard my mother's voice. It has been a very long time since I last heard her."

Gregor smiled. "Glad I could give you that."

"Your Majesty!" a voice called out.

Luxa and Gregor turned towards the voice. Perdita trudged forward and stood at attention in front of Luxa. Her eyes quickly darted over to register the soldiers dragging Gorger away, before springing back towards Luxa. She bowed her head slightly. "Your Majesty, what of the traitors?"

Luxa glanced over at Conrad, who was still on his knees, his breaths becoming increasingly ragged and shallow. Gregor saw the temptation to exact revenge flash across Luxa's eyes once more, but this time he didn't hold his breath. Anybody who had lost what they had lost would inevitably succumb in some way to the allure of vengeance. What mattered was the conviction to resist it when it mattered most.

"Take him to the hospital," she said simply. "Once he is treated, have him placed in a cell. He will face the Queen's justice when this war is fought and won."

Conrad looked like he had lined up a gibe in response, but the dagger embedded in his side seemed to take its toll with every passing second. He mumbled a few garbled words, before slumping back into silence.

Gregor smirked as Luxa afforded a wry smile at Conrad. "I thought as much."

Perdita's voice again cut through Luxa's personal moment of triumph. "Pardon me, your Majesty," she said, her tone deferential but also urgent, "we do not need him to lead us to the schemer base. We are not ridden with any obligation to spare his life. With your Majesty's grace and blessing, I would be honoured to finish the traitor and his bond myself."

Of course. No one knew how much, and in what capacity, Mareth meant to Perdita, but everyone knew that she was never the same following his death. Gregor had personally witnessed her transformation, from a battle-hardened but jovial soldier to a cold and distant general. He knew Conrad's life wasn't just Luxa's to take either. But unlike Luxa, he had no idea if Perdita was already wracked with vengeance beyond redemption.

A glance at Luxa's eyes was enough for Gregor to know that Luxa recognised this too. "I am afraid that I cannot grant you this honour, General," she said sadly. "He must stand before the Council before any judgement is to be made."

"He is guilty beyond measure, your Majesty," Perdita's monotonous tone belying her emotional struggle. "His crimes are of a nature which does not merit the opportunity for clemency or mercy."

Scattered murmurs began to break out amongst the soldiers.

"That is not for you to decide," Luxa replied, her tone significantly more severe, "nor is it for me to decide solely either. You will do well to remember that, General."

Perdita's eyes dropped and for a split second, her facade faltered. A wall of cold bricks came crumbling down and Gregor saw her again. She looked exhausted, defeated, and most of all, utterly shattered. Gregor's heart broke as he saw the resignation seep into her eyes after years of clinging on to the hope of performing a final act of vengeance.

War had made all of them corpses, both the dead and the living.

And Gregor wondered whether more was lost by letting go of vengeance. It was a horrific thought, but perhaps that was the ultimate cost of war - the dead had no battles left to fight, while the living had to endure its scars and trauma every second of their miserable lives. Vengeance was the only expression left for those who had lost everything. It was a depressing thought.

And an absolutely terrifying one.

Perdita's stoic expression returned as the blood left her face. She bowed ever so slightly at Luxa, and slowly paced away. As she trudged past Conrad, Regalia's former king inhaled sharply, and again tried to say something.

Perdita halted at his side and looked down at him. Conrad again inhaled sharply, and finally, with a hoarse whisper just about audible to Gregor, mustered a single word.

"Mareth."

Once again, everyone froze. Gregor's rager senses suddenly heightened, and he noticed Ripred tensing up too. But he and Ripred were too far away to do anything by the time Perdita had drawn her sword. Everyone else was far too slow.

Conrad barely had the strength nor time to say anything else. A smile stretched across from ear to ear, a last laugh as Perdita's sword met his throat.

Dionysus howled in sorrow.

And then silence thundered across the battlefield, save for the sheathing of Perdita's sword.


Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I've written some pretty extensive battle sequences and set pieces, so really want the story to focus on the characters whom we really love. Please leave a review if you can!

Question: Which character would be your best friend if you got to meet the TUC characters?