Ok, here are some rules that would be nice to follow.
1. Please Do not post this anywhere else.
2. If you comment, please be nice. I want you to tell me if there are some things that I can fix. It's called constructive criticism for a reason.
3. Finally, ENJOY THE STORY!

Also, this book is a fanfic based off of The Underland Chronicles, so you might want to read the series so that you can understand this story. All of the characters mentioned belong to Suzanne Collins, except for Bat. Thanks for reading and enjoy!

                                                                                                          ***

Gregor was having a dream. He was falling, fast. He couldn't break the fall. He didn't know what to do. Everything was moving so quickly.

"Ares!" he called out. "He didn't come. Why wasn't he there? Had something happened? Where was Ares?"

Suddenly he saw Luxa, the only girl he thought about. She was beautiful with her silver hair, translucent skin, and violet eyes. She was walking closer and closer to Gregor. Gregor had frozen in mid fall and she was inching closer and closer to the cliff's edge. Just as she was about to fall-

"Wake up, Gregor, wake up!" someone yelled.

Suddenly, he sat up, hitting his head on his best friend's.

"Ugh, Gregor, really? Now wake up, we gotta go. We're going to be late for school. Hurry!" Bat yelled.

"God, Bat, I'm going as fast as I can. Lizzie is probably at her middle school and dad's probably at work," Gregor rambled. "I can't believe I slept at your house last night. What a nightmare. You sleep worse than the giant rats in the Underland."

"Well, I slept like a baby last night, unlike you," Bat recalled. "I was so tired after all those tests and projects the teachers always throw at me. You know, I think high school is torture, worse than the Underland."

"You don't know what you're saying Bat, you have no idea what it's like down there. The worry for my family, the need to reach home, and all the risks I took down there still keep me awake at night," Gregor said, his mood quickly turning sour.

"I know, I know. Jeez, no need to get defensive," Bat said, trying to lighten the mood. "Good thing it's our last year. I won't have to deal with annoying projects and studying for tests," he mumbled to himself.

The truth was that Bat knew all about the Underland. He had watched Gregor go through it all soon after meeting him. He knew there were some things that were just better left alone.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Bat yelled again, "Let's go, we've probably missed first period!"

                                                                                                       ***

School was a disaster, as always. Gregor had forgotten to do his homework for two of his classes, and got yelled at in English, when he realized he had forgotten to save the presentation he was to present.

"The Underlanders would love to see the technology up here. They didn't even have working flashlights until I showed them how they work. I wonder if they still use the same torches," Gregor thought.

He remembered the museum they had down there. It seemed to always have new things when he looked. There were flashlights, wallets, and jewels that the Underlanders didn't know the worth of. Vikus, the kindhearted, yet diplomatic leader had gifted Gregor an antique clock wrapped in money. They did not know how much they had really helped Gregor's family. His family had been so broken when Gregor came back, and the money from the wrapping and the clock had gotten his family through the roughest patch.

As soon as he got home, Gregor ran to the stairs in his apartment building, and turned off the lights. He could see the heat radiating off his body and when he clicked, the warmth and coolness of other objects seemed to flood Gregor's brain. No this was not normal for a regular human boy, however, down in the Underland, not being able to see was his greatest weakness. When he had finally cracked, his friend Ripred, the great rager rat, taught him to sense and use echolocation to his advantage. After waging in his last war, he had finally fulfilled the prophecies written by the guy the Underlanders worshipped, Bartholomew of Sandwich.

Personally, he thought that the prophecies written by the guy were a bunch of baloney. He had waged in the wars and become the warrior in the prophecies, but he had survived. The last one called for his death so why was he really alive. The prophecies were only words that the Underlanders followed, but no one can really predict the future. Nobody could really predict anything. The battles and the wars were only acts of revenge that could be prevented if wanted, but everyone seemed to only follow the prophecies. It was foolishness. Using some dead Guy's words to go through life was wrong, and when Gregor had gotten back 6 years ago, he had sworn to change their minds if he ever had the chance. Now, however, he couldn't go back, yet he longed to find them again and finally conclude his life's biggest question.

Gregor snapped out of his thoughts and started practicing. He had to keep up his abilities in case he ever went back. He knew there was only a sliver of chance that he would, but practicing kept him sane. It kept him going even in his hardest times.

Later that day, Gregor met up with his 11 year old sister, Lizzie. He had been that age when he first went to the Underland. He was now 18 and he still remembered every detail specifically. He would never forget. Every day he thought of his friends and Luxa, but he knew his parents would never want him back there again. They only wanted what was best. They didn't seem to understand that it was killing him to stay up here when he didn't know what had happened down there. He didn't know if the people he loved were still alive or if they were dead, like Ares.

He picked Lizze up from school and dropped her at a friend's house. Lizzie walked in excitedly and waved a goodbye to Gregor. After a few years, Lizzie let go of her shy nerves.. She was still just as smart and nervous, but she had learned to control it. After seeing the animals in the Underland, she had opened up to the humans up here. She now hung out with friends and had a normal lifestyle. Gregor could not remember if he was ever as carefree as her.

After dropping Lizzie off, Gregor went to his small room and laid on his bed, thinking. His room here was a better adjustment to his size, his old room in the other apartment was an old and cramped attic, but it was his home. The family had gone to Virginia when they first came back. However, after everything that happened, Gregor just couldn't adjust and he always longed to go back to New York. His parents noticed. In Virginia, Gregor had gotten quieter and even more reserved than he was now. He would barely speak and only smiled to his parents when he knew that they were happy. So, 2 years later, after gathering enough money, they came back, bought a small house, and spent the next 4 years living in the Big Apple.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something twitch. He sat up, moving closer to the desk. He noticed that the little creature was a tiny cockroach. He remembered how the Underlanders were am way in contact with their smaller creatures. He couldn't help but wonder if it was some kind of sign.

The little critter scurried farther across the desk, and soon as it reached the edge, another scurried in from the opposite corner. After each cockroach reached the edge, another would follow. They kept coming, forming some kind of shape.
Soon, he seemed to realize they were letters.

The first saying, "A MARRIAGE."
The critters broke apart, and moved again to form more words which said, "INVITED YOU ARE."
They broke apart and formed one last time. The letters saying, "WAIT WE WILL. WHAT YOU CALL PARK OF CENTRAL."

Gregor had learned to crypt the Underland language. It was a form of English, however they tended to switch words around. The humans were typically good at understanding proper English, but it seemed others, like the roaches, mixed a few things up. Gregor was not scared. He was used to things like this. He was just surprised, because the Underlanders hadn't tried to reach him ever since he left 6 years ago. Was something else wrong? He knew they were talking about a wedding, but they always seemed to drag him through a war even in the happiest of times. Before his last war, Gregor had gone down for a birthday party held for Luxa's cousin, Hazard. A message during the party is what brought him to war.

Gregor wasn't mad at them for contacting so late, but he sure was worried. Weddings were a happy occasion but who's wedding was so important that Gregor had to be brought down from the Overland. A thought struck Gregor. What if it was Luxa's wedding. There was always danger down in the Underland so things tended to happen fast. What if she had found someone. Had she forgotten him? Gregor knew he was only 12 when they had kissed, but it meant a lot to him. Was it not the same for her? His head was spinning. He needed to know. He had to go. It was a sudden decision, but Gregor had to go through with it. He expected the Underlanders meant tonight. He had to get packing.

the little cockroaches started forming words. Little by little, they climbed each other, fell, and then repeated the process. Who could

have sent them there? Was there a problem in the Underland? Could there be danger! Maybe there was a new Bane, or some other evil

creature, gregor didn't know about! What was happening! Suddenly, Gregor came out of his thoughts and he realized that they were

done. The message read: THERE IS A MARRIAGE GOING ON! PLEASE COME, GREGOR THE OVERLANDER! WE ARE WAITING!

What he would do if he found Vikus! He got so mad he was shaking, they had no idea how much trouble they were in, what if there

really was a lot of danger! A thought struck Gregor! What if Luxa was in danger. Then another thought, what if this was Luxa's

wedding. She would surely invite him. Then who would have sent this message and who's wedding was it.

The thought was clearly torturing him. The idea of Luxa becoming distant from him.... "No," he muttered in a dry voice. "It can't be."

His worst nightmare had became true.

Gregor knew he had to get out of there ASAP. Someone was getting married, and it could be Luxa. If it was hers, he had to stop it. He

couldn't live knowing this. So the next morning,

Gregor started looking for supplies. He found a bunch of flashlights in the cupboard and he also had batteries in store for emergencies like this. He wanted to be prepared in case he had to leave again. He then realized that he may need a weapon. In each of the quests, Gregor had to fight to save his friends and self, but this was a wedding. He wasn't sure if it would be inappropriate to bring a wedding. Well, he was going to bring one anyway. Better to be safe than sorry.

Last time Gregor went to the Underworld, he had been sent supplies from Mrs. Cormaci, an old neighbor who was too sweet. She always had the perfect things. First it was the boots, then the flashlight, and finally a whole package of supplies when he was fighting the war. However, now he was late and he didn't have time to go over to the old apartments. Instead, he walked over to the corner of his top closet shelf and pulled out a small, sleek, black box. He opened it to find a small pocket knife waiting for him. Before he had left for Virginia, Mrs. Cormaci had given it to him I case of an emergency. When he came back, he tried to return it but she refused. She was always a knowing old woman. She seemed to know when emergencies came and what Gregor would need to survive them.

He closed the box and shoved it into his pocket as he quickly finished packing. Everything was ready. Now, he just had to figure out how to get there without worrying his parents. They had both been down there and knew what it was like. Neither would agree to his decision. Gregor figured that the best way to get out was to keep it a secret. He would tell them he was staying with Bat and instead of going down to his house, he would walk to Central Park.
                                                                                                        ***
That night, Gregor quickly called up his mother and father. Today was Friday, and each Friday his mother and father went down to the retirement home to visit his grandmother. She was an old woman and still often forgot Gregor's name. She also hallucinated being in Virginia on her original farm. Though, she was settled in New York, Gregor's family planned to move her down to Virginia to stay with Gregor's uncle so that she would be happier. They couldn't leave her when they moved back to New York, because his uncle lived farther down south, but now that he was at the farm, Gregor's grandmother could be taken care of there.

The phone rang twice until Gregor heard a click and his father's raspy voice came on.

"Hello," he said.

"Hey dad, it's me. I was just calling to say that I'm staying over at Bat's tonight," he said, his voice shaking a little at the end.

"Yeah, of course. Just be careful and stay away from that creepy man in Bat's apartment building," his father replied. Gregor's father was always watching out for him and the slightest threat took him into protective mode.

"Course, Dad. Love you," Gregor said one last time, "Listen, can I talk to Mom for a second?"

"Yeah, sure," he said before he handed the phone to Gregor's mother.

"Hey Greg, what's up?," his mom said casually.

"I just wanted to say I love you. Oh and that I'm staying at Bat's tonight," Gregor said, his voice getting shaky again.

"Just take care, okay mom? Don't overwork yourself because we have enough money and I know you always worry.

Watch Lizzie too. She seems to be having fun with her friends. Oh and I bought a bilingual Spanish book for Boots since she loves other languages. It's sitting on the counter."

His other sister, Boots, who was 9 now, loved other languages ever since her encounters in the Underland. She was only 3 when she started learning a bit of cockroach and a language that the hissers in the Underland spoke. She had soon forgotten, but to this day, she still loved other languages.

"Honey, is everything okay," his mother asked. "You seem a little shooken up."

"I'm fine Mom. Just take care of them all okay?", Gregor said as he realized that this would be his last time talking to his mom in a while.

Soon after, Gregor ended the call and grabbed his stuff. He started walking to Central Park. On his way there, he took a look around the city one more time before he left. The lights were on and Gregor knew that the land underground would still be a dark haven.

As soon as Gregor got to Central Park, he looked around to make sure nobody was watching. He knew he couldn't get to Regalia without a bat since it was far off and their way of transportation was usually by air, but since the message said that they would be waiting, he hoped there would be a bat waiting for him. When Gregor realized that there was not a single soul around, he quickly slid the slab of rock over and jumped in. He quickly climbed down the steps and jumped through the hole, free falling for a minute or so, and finally landed. He walked in the general direction of Regalia, the capital city for the humans, using his echolocation skills. He remembered parts of his previous journeys. He remembered to avoid the waterway and walk in the opposite direction. Clicking every once in a while, Gregor walked far down the same direction until he stopped to rest for a while.

Suddenly, he saw a pink tail coming straight for him, about to smack his face. Gregor quickly ducked out of the way, and realized the knife from his pocket was now in hand and the box had fallen to the floor. His rager skills were definitely still in check. The tail came once again, this time about to smack his stomach and he found time slowing down. He quickly caught the tail.

"Remember me?", asked a voice from behind him.

Gregor slowly turned around cautious, but knowing that it was a friend.

"Ripred," Gregor said aloud.

"Course it's me, boy!", the rat chuckled. "Look how you've grown now. You almost look like a man. And my those rager skills sure have improved, haven't they."

"Good to see you too Ripred," Gregor said happily. He was back in his prime time and he felt good knowing that his rager skills were still there and ready to be brought back to life. However, the burning questions in the back of his brain got him and he had to ask, "Ripred, who's wedding is it and why have they called me down here? Is something wrong?"

"Oh, I won't tell you just yet. You'll find out when we get there, and it'll keep the suspense going in that little head of yours. Besides, I want to see you reunite with your little crush!", the rat smirked.

"Ugh of course you wouldn't tell me," Gregor mumbled as he realized that Ripred wouldn't budge.

"Climb up on my back," Ripred barked as he took off running towards Regalia,

The ride was a few hours long so Ripred had let Gregor sleep on his back knowing that the boy was tired after this shock. Gregor woke up in the middle and then didn't sleep again. He was too worried about the wedding. His previous thoughts came back to him.

"What if it really was Luxa's wedding. Ripred would be so amused watching Gregor go through that," he thought as he rode on toward Regalia.

Time was running out and he needed to know what was going on. Gregor did not want to see Luxa married to anyone else. He had gone through enough, and he didn't need more problems in his life. He had to reach Regalia before the wedding. He had to see for himself.