Hey guys! Glad that you seemed to enjoy the last chapter. This chapter follows on from the previous chapter, although there is a small time jump of one day. I know that chapter was left open-ended, but don't worry, all loose ends will be tied up by chapter 50.

As usual, I have so much gratitude for those who faithfully review my stories: Hyphenman, bugging killer, Gyltig, and Jeremiah Hudson. I really do mean it when I say your interactions with my story have really motivated me to cross over the finishing line. The effort that Hyphenman and Gyltig especially put into dissecting each chapter... thanks guys, it helps me to feel seen.

This chapter is written from Gregor's perspective.

Chapter 42: Requiem

The lake remained as still as winter's night, its delicate surface a black screen between the living and the dead. And yet Gregor had no doubt that it had found its level, and in doing so it had found its peace. Sighing, he leaned against the entrance to the cave and tried to still his beating heart, to focus only on the slumbering lake.

The brittle surface was shattered by a small fish which briefly peeked out from the shadows, sending ripples across the small lake. Gregor almost felt mesmerised by the concentric circles that reverberated outwards across the lake's surface. They were in no rush to reach the edges of the lake. They simply spread out slowly, before reaching their final destination and ultimately bringing the surface back to its fragile suspension between air and water.

"When were you here last?"

Gregor turned around. Hecate was gazing up at the glistening crystal formations that reached down from the ceiling of Ares' cave. Gregor could have sworn they had grown since he was last there, but he was also pretty sure it was his own imagination. Laid out neatly on the far side of the cave was the picnic basket left there a lifetime ago, and a couple of presents he had brought over with Apollo whenever they celebrated Christmas. He liked to think it was a way of carving out some time for Ares every year.

"Probably last Christmas," he replied. "It's been way too long."

"Ah," Hecate said, still transfixed by the crystals that smiled down at her.

Following his conversation with Ares, Gregor felt the urge to return to the cave. It was a safe haven from the world of bloodshed and doom-mongering. Nerissa had quietly relayed the words of the prophecy to a few others, and by now news of the impending deaths of Gregor and Ripred had begun to spread like wildfire within the palace walls. It was a rather apropos development, given that it was a fire that had devoured the prophecy room and thus gagged Sandwich. It seemed that Sandwich had played his hand through Nerissa. So here Gregor was - sheltering in a cave far away from the scorching bombardment of expectations and demands now that the prophecy was known. People were entitled to an opinion, but Gregor had no interest in hearing them now. He needed to live while he still could.

Gregor had flown off before anyone could confront him about the words of the prophecy. He didn't really want to fixate on it any longer than he already had. But he thought it was only fair to invite Hecate on his little rendezvous, given that he had never visited her brother's cave with her. She had been too young to know him well before he and Henry had bonded, and after that he was mostly around the palace and far from the fliers' colony. So she watched him afar, a spectator of the spectacle that Ares' life had been.

Gregor wanted to close that distance by bringing her within the walls that had once shielded Ares from a world of hatred and bigotry. And in this space, he hoped she would find some obscure, intimate connection to his bond, even through the curtain of death. In a sense, he felt that joining brother and sister through a room, if not through time, was his responsibility. After all, as he had said to Hecate… he was her brother too, through their love for Ares.

"What about him do you miss most?" Hecate asked.

Gregor looked up at the crystals too. Now they appeared as a hand, reaching down to pluck him from obscurity and thrust him into the centre stage of yet another theatre of war. It seems even Ares' cave had its limits.

But Hecate's question reminded him that today wasn't about Gregor. "I miss training with him," Gregor answered. "Most of the time we spent together wasn't very happy because we were always off on some quest. I think it was only during training that we got to try a few things out and actually be like, I don't know, normal bonds?"

Gregor paused for reflection. Was that really what he missed most about Ares?

"I miss how I felt when I was around him," he said softly. "I didn't feel alone. He always had my back, and if I fell… he would catch me."

He began to tear up slightly again. "I couldn't have asked for a better bond."

He became vaguely aware that Hecate had torn her eyes away from the crystals and had fixed her gaze on him. "I know," Gregor said gruffly, shaking his head and wiping away a couple of tears that had slipped out of his eyes. "I know I have to move on."

Hecate ambled over to him and placed her claw on his left shoulder. "I would be the last to stop you from mourning him," she said.

"Miss me, but do not mourn me Gregor."

Gregor smiled sadly. "Well, he'd be the first to stop me."

He turned to face Hecate. "How about you? What do you miss most?"

Hecate returned Gregor's sad smile. "We never spoke much, but I remember him bringing back fish sometimes. He did not care much for our father, but he was close to our mother."

Gregor thought about his own parents. There was no doubt he was closer to his dad, mainly because they were more often on the same page than not. As for his mother… in spite of the arguments they had, the shackles she had placed on him, the anxiety he had wreaked upon her… in spite of everything, he would do anything to make sure she was safe. Perhaps happiness was something he had denied her previously, but he hoped one day he could make up for it.

"He never really talked about his family," Gregor said. "I probably should have asked him, since I was talking about mine all the damn time. He must have thought I was such a douche."

"Do not take his reticence to heart," Hecate replied gently. "He is the most constipated flier the Underland has ever seen."

Both Hecate and Gregor stared at each other for a second, before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"You know what I miss?" Gregor said between bouts of laughter. "I miss his laugh."

"Aye," Hecate said, her uproarious laughter now settling into a light giggle. "His laugh made me warm, the few times I heard it."

The two of them turned to look out of the cave. Gregor's torch began to flicker more aggressively, offering a dying burst of light before the cold dark swallowed it whole. "Thanks for saving Calvin," Gregor said.

"I did nothing," Hecate purred. "He saved himself."

"You caught him…. You caught him when no one else could."

Hecate sighed. "I did what any friend would."

"I'm not sure I'd put it that way," Gregor replied.

He paused for a moment, and then asked, "Why don't you have a bond?"

Hecate sighed again. "I was a rather garrulous young flier. I offended the wrong human once. Most have avoided me since."

"So basically… you were an annoying little shit?" Gregor asked, a stupid grin now plastered on his face.

"I suppose I was, Warrior," Hecate replied stoically.

"You'd make the perfect bond for Calvin then," Gregor said.

The cave went so quiet that Gregor could have heard a teardrop. "Bonding is an eternal commitment, Warrior," Hecate said. "I would not place that burden on Calvin."

"All your life you've been unfairly treated," Gregor replied. "Calvin doesn't see you as any more or less than who you are. Isn't that what you've always wanted?"

"I have," Hecate agreed, nodding her head, "though I would not say I was unfairly treated. I have said some truly terrible things."

"Oh c'mon, it can't be that bad."

"I said a Councilman's son looked like the lovechild of a gargoyle and a gnawer."

"You said it to the Councilman?"

"To the son."

Gregor looked at Hecate. "I'm guessing he deserved it."

"He was a cripple from birth."

Gregor stared at her for a few good seconds. The sheepish grin on her face almost made him laugh incredulously. "Okay, maybe you do deserve it."

"I told you," Hecate replied. "Garrulous."

"Well, it doesn't change how I feel," Gregor replied. "You and Calvin would make good bonds."

"As would you and Apollo," Hecate said.

Gregor now turned to look at the spluttering flame as it inhaled its final breaths. "I don't know," he said, his voice almost reduced to a whisper. "I've already failed my bond once."

"You did not," Hecate replied firmly. "Ares' death was his choice."

Hecate's words were a jolt to Gregor's system. "How… How do you know that? What did he say to you?"

"Nothing," Hecate replied. "I said it was Ares' choice not because I know him, but because I know you."

"I thought you blamed me - "

"I did," Hecate cut in. "I have now seen how wrong I was. You are as good a bond as any flier could hope for. And I know Apollo is not Ares, but he is loyal and wise."

Gregor didn't know how to respond.

"You said it yourself," Hecate continued slowly, "it is time to move on."

"I don't know how to," Gregor said as the light in the cave dimmed to a murky orange glow.

"It takes time," Hecate said gently. "But you must be prepared to take the first step. Each step after that gets easier."

When Gregor remained silent, she added, "You owe it to yourself to try. I know it is peace and not happiness you seek, and I can assure you… one day you will have both. You cannot erase the scars of your past, but you can live with them. And that is only possible if you choose to move forward."

"It's going to be okay, Gregor. You don't think so now. You don't see how it ever could be. But one day, I promise, it's going to be okay."

Over the years, Gregor had come to hate that promise his dad had made, because it had never come to fruition. The nightmares were recurring, the pain never-ending, and the sorrow eternal. And even if he would never admit it out loud, Gregor harboured a slight resentment for everyone who told him that things were going to be "alright" or "okay". How could they be? Did they know how he had felt, what he had seen, what he had suffered? How could they possibly know that things would be alright?

But here, in the waning light of Ares' cave and under the crystal stars above him, Gregor wondered if maybe moving on wasn't about forgetting everything that had happened. It was about using the present to reconcile the horrors of the past with hope for the future. Gregor could not bring back those he had lost… but he could still save himself. He could still honour his friends by choosing to embody the values they stood for, and by making sure that they hadn't died in vain.

"We better fly back soon," Hecate said.

As Gregor clambered onto her back, he stared at the small flame that was left. It was now no larger than his pinkie finger, but it still burned bright and true.

I'll see you soon, Ares.

On their way back to Regalia, Gregor had developed an urge to strike something, so he had Hecate drop him off at the arena. Sure as hell, there was a pile of sandbags and even a fresh cow carcass strung up for practise. A stack of swords lay untidily to one side, beckoning for him to pick one up.

As Hecate took off, Gregor walked across the vast arena, bouncing upwards with each step from the springy dark green moss beneath his feet. He grabbed a random sword and made the slow trek over to the carcass. He stared blankly at it for a second, before thrusting his blade. With minimal vigour, four inches of the blade found its way through the flesh of the carcass. Grunting, Gregor yanked the sword out.

"Why did you come back?"

Gregor turned around to find Ripred lounging against the sandbags.

"The light in the cave went out," Gregor replied.

"No, fool," Ripred said, sighing. "Why did you come back to the Underland?"

Gregor swung the blade a couple of times, getting used to its weight. He slashed the air in front of him aimlessly once more, and then he replied, "Nerissa reached out to me through Calvin."

"Nerissa!" Ripred spat, as if he had crunched into something bad. "Don't play the village idiot with me, boy. You were wasting away in New York for two years before you jumped at the first opportunity to head back down. Why did you want to return to this hellhole so badly?"

"Why bother asking me?" Gregor shot back. "Hasn't the all-knowing Ripred figured me out by now?"

"Your sarcasm is wasted on me," Ripred said, his tail flicking up and down impatiently.

Gregor looked down. His grip on the sword had tightened considerably, as if he were scared of it slipping out of his grasp. There were times he felt naked without a sword in his hand.

"I think," he began uncertainly, "I think… I think I felt that life would start again for me down here."

"Go on."

"I woke up every day hating my life," Gregor said bitterly. "After everything I'd sacrificed, I had to leave the people who really knew me, because my family wanted to run away from everything. And after we left, I didn't know what my sacrifice was worth, because I had no idea if you guys were fine or whether you'd gone back to war."

The old rat stared at him wordlessly.

"I came back because I felt like I mattered here," Gregor continued. "I didn't want to feel lonely and angry anymore."

"Because you felt you mattered here," Ripred repeated slowly, his eye trained on Gregor the whole time. He finally broke his gaze to look up behind Gregor. "Does that make you feel like you matter enough?"

Gregor turned around to see his colossal statue glaring at him in the distance. The Warrior had taken on a life of its own - no matter how strong Gregor got, there was no way he could sustain the weight of that statue on his shoulders. The Warrior's legacy threatened to crush him, suffocating him into an eternal silence.

"That's not me," he said weakly.

"Indeed," Ripred replied solemnly. "Of course, I was against it from the very beginning, but no one ever listens to me."

"Why the statue?"

"Because it made perfect sense," Ripred said dryly. "The Council wanted to commemorate the war and celebrate the Underland's newfound peace, and nothing embodies peace better than a tribute to the all-slaying conqueror."

"I was just trying to defend Regalia," Gregor said, feeling anger rise in his chest with every breath.

"I'm not sure all my gnawer brethren see it that way," said Ripred, yawning crudely. "You're still a soldier on a pedestal wielding the sword of a man largely considered to be a blight on the Underland."

Gregor suddenly felt a chill coil around his bones. He knew it couldn't possibly be real, but it felt like Ripred's lifeless eye had also fixed its gaze on Gregor, making him feel more exposed than ever before. Ripred wasn't asking a question - he was making a point.

"You think I shouldn't have come back?" Gregor asked.

"Oh no," replied Ripred dismissively. "I wouldn't dare make such a radical suggestion."

"So?" Gregor asked, increasingly annoyed. "I know you're trying to say something."

Ripred's eye narrowed. His thousand-yard stare pierced straight through Gregor's facade, armour, and walls, finding its way right into his heart of hearts.

"Sandwich, Gorger," Ripred said softly. "The Bane, Flavius… The Warrior."

"I'm nothing like…" Gregor began to retort, but he stopped. Was he really unlike them?

"The Underland suffers from an awful disease that has plagued us for centuries," Ripred continued. "It's called hero worship."

"That's also why you tried to depose Luxa," Gregor recalled.

A wry smile crossed Ripred's face. "Perhaps I targeted the wrong person all along."

"I'm not… I wouldn't…" Gregor stuttered, his words tripping over his own self-doubt.

"I'm not accusing you of anything, Overlander," Ripred interrupted him. "But it's not up to you whether the people see you as a God or not."

"They already do," Gregor realised.

"An unfair burden to bear," Ripred drawled, "and a burden that will destroy you. It won't be long before you feel the pressure to realise their worst aspirations."

"And then?"

"And then everything we fought for would have been for naught," the old rat finished grimly. "You could have the noblest intentions, but they will turn you into a monster. And you'll become what they want you to be, because you want to matter."

The last word stung Gregor. "I lost everything!" he said, raising his voice.

"No, you didn't!" Ripred snapped. "Yes, you were hurt and alone. But you had your family."

"They don't understand me," Gregor said, his anger subsiding slightly. Ripred wasn't entirely wrong.

"Of course they don't," Ripred snarled. "Why would you want them to?"

Gregor felt like he had been bowled over by a wave of guilt. He had been so consumed by his own desire to make sense of his broken world that he had forgotten to reach out to his own family members and connect with them.

Ripred sighed. Then the rat spoke with a vulnerability Gregor had never seen before.

"I don't want you to become like me, boy."

Ripred had never looked so weary. Gregor remained silent, unable to muster the right words.

The old rat's gaze dropped. "I came back because I lost everyone that mattered to me. And the only thing I could do to make sense of their loss was to fight for their memory."

"You wanted to make sure they didn't die in vain," Gregor said.

Ripred looked back up at Gregor. "You still have so much to live for. Your family might not know what a rager is, but what does it matter? They love you. I would give my last eye to…"

He stopped himself and shook his head. "It doesn't matter what I'd do. But you can still get out of all this. You don't have to be what they expect you to be."

I would give my last eye to have my family back for one more day.

Gregor didn't need Ripred to finish the sentence to know what he wanted to say.

Gregor looked up again at the statue. From the palace's vantage point, the Warrior seemed to hold his sword upright in defense of the city. But from the lowest point of the arena… the Warrior seemed intent on lifting the sword above his head only to bring it crashing down onto the city with one massive swing.

"I'll ask Luxa to take it down," he said. "You're right - we shouldn't make heroes out of murderers." He turned back to Ripred, who smirked at him.

"I'm glad we finally see eye to eye on this," Ripred deadpanned.

Gregor winced. "You're never going to let me live this down, are you?"

"Don't worry Overlander," Ripred laughed. "If Nerissa is right, you won't have to hear it for much longer."

"She's been going around telling everyone," Gregor sighed.

Ripred rolled his eye. "That girl has singlehandedly made Sandwich relevant for another decade."

"I'm sure everyone in the palace is asking questions about it right now."

"They are."

"How've you got away from everyone?" Gregor asked.

"I haven't," was the old rat's terse reply.

"So what do you tell people when they ask you about it?"

"I tell them to mind their own fucking business."

Trust Ripred to be straightforward on these matters, thought Gregor, an amused grin spreading across his face.

"I burned the prophecy room down, you know," Ripred added, twirling his whiskers dramatically.

"Yeah, I know," Gregor said sardonically. "It's, like, the worst kept secret around."

"I suppose the idea of a fire accidentally starting in a room made of stone is a little bit silly," Ripred admitted gleefully. "But I didn't see much of a choice."

"I guess it's just our bad luck Nerissa has the memory of an elephant," Gregor replied. "Or she's Sandwich reincarnated."

"Given how much credence she has given to Sandwich's nursery rhymes, I'm quite convinced it's the latter."

Gregor chuckled. He tossed the sword aside and sat down across Ripred.

Now that they were both facing each other at eye level, the old rat's eye was suddenly ensnared by something on Gregor's arm. "What is that?"

Gregor looked down at his right arm, where the faintest pair of crisscrossing lines marked an old scar. "I got it from the Vineyard of Eyes," he replied, "I think these scars are the scratches left by the silver vines."

Ripred tilted his head to the right but said nothing more about it.

Gregor stretched across the spongy moss. "Do you think all of that… finding imaginary cures, fulfilling prophecies, the War of Time… do you think all that was all for nothing?"

Ripred snorted. "I sure hope not."

"But it seems like this place is always at war," Gregor said earnestly.

Ripred eyed him. "Eighty years ago the whole of the Overland was engulfed in a war that would put the Underland's worst tyrants to shame. Have Overlanders seen eighty years of peace since then?"

"Good point," Gregor replied begrudgingly.

"The story of this place is long, and if Sandwich really had his head screwed on right, its story will long outlive that of the Overland," Ripred said. "You are but a single stone in the river of time."

"So nothing we do matters?"

"No," Ripred replied. "So everything you do matters."

The old rat must have registered Gregor's puzzled expression, because he rolled his eye and sighed. "Many came before us, but their story is no less significant than yours. Many will come after us, fate willing. You have no power over what they have done or choose to do. All you have is the here and now, the people you care about that are worth fighting for and saving. And at the end of the day, that's what matters most."

"So the future doesn't matter?"

"You do what you can, but also accept that much is out of your control," Ripred answered. "To give the future a chance, you have to focus on what you can do in the here and now. You leave the rest to fate and hope for the best."

"You're beginning to sound like Vikus," teased Gregor.

Ripred snorted loudly. "I can't help that I've become the sole proprietor of wisdom in these parts."

The two of them leaned back simultaneously, enjoying the rare tranquility of the arena. As Gregor stared into the endless dark that hung above him, he blurted out, "I think I'm ready to die."

"Don't be an idiot," Ripred replied brusquely. "You have far too much to live for to start talking like that."

"I'm being serious," Gregor responded. "I mean, obviously I hope I don't die, but you know… I've made my peace with it."

He glanced over at Ripred, who was also staring up into the abyss that glowered down at them. "If I die and you live, I want you to bring my body to my parents. I swore to my mom I would come back home, and I want to honour that promise."

"Your corpse will be rotten by the time it gets to them," Ripred protested. "Besides, I'm quite sure the subtext of that promise was for you to return ALIVE."

Gregor glared at Ripred.

The old rat sighed. "But yes, I will do that for you, if you so desire."

"And Luxa?"

"I'll do everything I can," replied Ripred. "She's my bond too, you know."

"Yeah, I know," Gregor said, returning to staring up into the vast expanse of shadows. "I just felt like I had to ask."

"Well," Ripred said, "if some tragedy somehow befalls you and not me, I will make sure everyone you love will be taken care of… for at least as long as I breathe."

"One rager to another?"

"One rager to another," Ripred said with a curt nod.

"Thank you," Gregor replied with a nod of his own.

As Gregor contemplated the possible finishing line of life in front of him, he remembered his reaction to Ripred's alleged death at the end of the War of Time. He'd been devastated that he never got to tell Ripred how grateful he was for him, and how much he admired him. Of course, all that was rendered moot when Ripred hauled his bedraggled body onto the stage to discuss terms with Luxa, but all this talk about death reminded Gregor just how transient everything was. If either he or Ripred died, they'd never get a chance to talk like this again. Hell, perhaps neither of them would be alive in a matter of days.

"Hey Ripred," he said, his voice quivering slightly, "I just wanted you to know…"

He was now aware that Ripred's eye was trained back on him. He took a deep breath and decided to run with it, no matter how awkward it sounded. "I've always wanted to tell you that I'm grateful to you for… for everything. I owe you so much, I don't really know where to begin. But if this really is it… I just want you to know that I'm glad I met you."

He felt himself turning a light shade of pink from embarrassment, which Ripred could definitely smell. But then he remembered how he'd felt in the hospital when Mareth told him Ripred was dead, and the embarrassment faded. Ripred had been a nasty and impatient mentor, but he sacrificed so much for Gregor and his family. Despite all their differences and conflicts, deep down Gregor never doubted that the old rat cared about him. He owed Ripred his life.

Gregor had no intention of dying with regrets over what he hadn't said to those he loved.

He was vaguely aware of Ripred choking on a stifled laugh. Then the old rat cleared his throat and said,

"Solovet should have left you in the dungeon a couple of days longer to drain the sap out of you."

Gregor sighed. What did he expect? Of course Ripred was never going to be sentimental with him.

But then the Peacemaker continued.

"I will say something though… I was wrong."

Gregor stared at Ripred. "Wrong?"

"Aye," Ripred sighed. "I once told you that mutual need was a stronger bond than friendship and love."

"And?" Gregor pressed him.

"And…" Ripred paused, before saying, "I was wrong that any mutual need existed between us. I could have deposed Gorger without your help."

Gregor stared at Ripred for a few more seconds, with each second feeling like an hour. He couldn't believe the delusional arrogance he was listening to.

Then the old rat burst into a hearty laugh. When he was done chortling, he said,

"Ah, you should see your face, Overlander… you really haven't changed all these years."

Gregor found himself laughing as well. Maybe it was the sheer absurdity of the situation they were in, finding themselves on the precipice of death and at the mercy of Sandwich's poetry. Or maybe it was the cathartic release of years of stress that both ragers had borne and suffered from. Whatever it was, that laugh made him feel better.

Or maybe Ripred's joke WAS the reality of the situation - maybe he never truly needed Gregor. Maybe their relationship over the years was a product of conscious choices he had made without duress. When everyone else had sent Gregor off to war like a lamb to slaughter, Ripred had been steadily preparing him to fight in that war. The old rat had even tried his best to help Gregor defy the prophecy demanding his death. Sure, it might've ended the war with minimal bloodshed… but Ripred had also looked out for him when it probably would've been easier not to.

Gregor finally felt relaxed enough to lie down on his back and stare into the distance above him. As a brief breeze swept through the arena, they carried the voices of lands far away. Gregor thought he heard his mom, beckoning for him to come back up to see her. He heard Ripred sigh, and wondered if Ripred could hear his mate and pups in the wind as well.

"You know," he heard Ripred mumble in the background, "I'm beginning to think you and I might actually survive this war."

Gregor allowed himself to smile. "I never pegged you as an optimist."

"Neither did I," Ripred replied. "Neither did I."

For a second, Gregor forgot they were ragers and they had a war to fight. The both of them lay down, watching as the wind took their secrets into the distance.

In Regalian Bloodbath, Ripred and Gregor don't get many chapters/scenes together, so I'm glad I've been given a chance to remedy that with Fall of Ragers. I've technically dropped my first (and probably only) F-bomb in this chapter, because it somehow felt appropriate and in-character. I thought about it and felt like I genuinely wanted it in there, so I hope you don't consider it lazy writing.

We are ramping up towards the end! Maybe a couple more chapters before we are on the final sprint to the finish. As usual, please leave your reviews and let me know what you think! I have a bit more time on my hands these next couple of weeks, so I'll be able to talk more, respond more, and write more.

Oh, and as for last chapter's question, I'll probably go with option B: writing a Vikus prequel.

Question: What is your favourite Gregor and Ripred moment in the original TUC? And do you have a favourite moment between them for this trilogy?