Gregor's eyes widened as the news sunk in. Lizzie. Gone. Captured by the rats.

"You have to go! You have to go save her!" Hazard was shouting. "I'll come with you."

Gregor could barely focus on anything, but he shook his head. "Stay here. Where's Ripred?" Ripred would be... devastated, concerned, angered? Gregor wasn't sure, but he knew he wouldn't be happy.

"I... I don't know!" Hazard was starting to panic, and for a minute, he reminded Gregor of Lizzie. He shook his head and quickly ran off.

"Stay here!" Gregor yelled as he ran off. He was in a state of panic himself. Lizzie must be so scared. Gregor had almost gotten used to Boots getting herself into trouble, but with Lizzie, it was a completely different story. Lizzie didn't even want to come down to the Underland in the first place. She barely managed to make it down here. Gregor could hardly imagine what she must be feeling.

He sprinted through Regalia, screaming Ripred's name repeatedly. Ripred and him both loved Lizzie more than anything, and Gregor knew they would both fight to the death for her.

Finally, after long minutes of yelling for Ripred to come, Gregor saw the rat running up to him.

"This better be important," he said, obviously annoyed.

"Lizzie's captured!" Gregor shrieked. "Come on, we have to get her back!"

Ripred didn't need to hear another word. Gregor leapt onto his back, and they took off. The pair got a lot of stares as they sprinted out of Regalia, but neither of them cared.

"Tell me more," Ripred said in a rather calm voice.

"Hazard told me the rats didn't want Boots, or the cockroaches," Gregor explained frantically. "It was all a setup to get Lizzie. She's the code-breaker. She's the one they wanted."

"I should have suspected this!" Ripred shouted, suddenly picking up more speed. Gregor lurched backwards and almost fell off, but Ripred didn't seem to care.

"I know about Silksharp," Gregor said quietly.

Ripred's head shot up. "What?"

"I'm sorry. But Lizzie's not your pup. Nobody expects you to protect her," Gregor told him.

Ripred glared at Gregor. "Oh, really? You told me before you fought the Bane that I needed to protect them and get them home!"

"That's back when I thought I was going to die," Gregor responded. "You don't have to put so much pressure on yourself." He took a deep breath to say the next part. "We thought you were dead, Lizzie and I. She was heartbroken. She was never the same."

"Is this supposed to make me feel better?" Ripred demanded to know. "You cannot give me a pep talk at a time like this!"

"Just listen," Gregor said. "When I thought you were dead, I... I was devastated." He took a deep breath yet again. "The only thing running through my mind was that I..." he sighed. "I never thanked you. Never showed you gratitude. I wouldn't be who I am today without you. I wouldn't have survived without you." Gregor held on tighter as Ripred sped up again. "So... thanks. For everything."

Ripred shook his head. "No, Gregor. We cannot do this now."

"Fine. Where are we going?" Gregor asked, slightly annoyed. He'd just opened up to Ripred, only to have the rat tell him they couldn't "do this now"? It was infuriating, but Gregor knew deep inside that Ripred was just too worried to concentrate on much else.

"STOP!" a voice shouted from up ahead. "Gregor! Ripred! Stop!"

Ripred's eyes narrowed as he continued to sprint towards Howard, who was jumping up and down with his hands out. "STOP! YOU'LL GET YOURSELVES KILLED!"

Ripred nearly ran over Howard, but he managed to dodge Ripred at the last second. Gregor grabbed Howard's arm, and with one huge surge of strength, he pulled Howard onto Ripred's back. Howard's arms immediately went around Gregor's waist.

"Gregor!" Howard exclaimed. "Lizzie has been found. She was taken to the hospital! This is useless!"

Ripred stopped so suddenly that Gregor almost flew over his head. His voice was sharp and angry. "What?"

Howard turned to the rat. "She was bleeding to death right outside of Regalia." He was panting. "I heard you were going after her, so Nike flew me here as quickly as she could."

"Well, get back on her and get the hell back to the hospital!" Ripred shouted before bucking off Howard, but somehow managing to keep Gregor on. He had turned around and taken off so fast that Gregor almost pulled out some of his fur to hold on. Ripred didn't show any pain. He'd been through too much already. They both knew it.

It seemed like they were back in Regalia within seconds. Gregor didn't leave Ripred's side until they got to the hospital.

"Where is she?" Gregor yelled, pushing through the crowd and sprinting up to a nearby doctor. "Where's my sister?"

"Boots is in the nursery with..."

"Not Boots! Lizzie!" Ripred shouted. The doctor quickly nodded and hurried down the hall. Then, they saw her through the glass.

She was unconscious, her hair splayed out in different directions. Her breathing was heavy, and she was connected to many different machines. She was so much paler than usual - she had lost so much blood. Gregor nearly broke down again, right then and there, but he held it back.

"I want to see her," Ripred said.

The doctor shook his head. "I'm sorry, that's impossible under the current circumstances."

Ripred stood up at his full height, baring his teeth threateningly. "I said, let me see her!"

"Hey!" Gregor shouted. "So do I. But we can't threaten the people who are treating her!" He stepped between Ripred and the doctor. "What good will that do?"

Ripred looked at Gregor with an expression he'd never seen from the rat. "Let's go." He and Gregor walked away silently until they reached an empty bedroom. Gregor sat down on the bed, and Ripred sat on the floor beside it.

"I knew we had to have this conversation at some point," Ripred said. All his usual sarcasm was completely gone. Gregor didn't even have to ask what he was talking about - he knew.

Gregor nodded. "Like I said, we were devastated. I was as devastated by your death as I was by... Ares. Because I never... I never told you how much I..." He couldn't continue. His face turned red. Ripred didn't laugh, or make a joke, as he usually would have. Gregor knew the fear they'd experienced... the fear they were experiencing at this very moment... it was real. It had changed things.

"How much I admire you," Gregor finished. "You... you scared me to death at first. You were the first one in the Underland who I knew was... that dangerous. More dangerous than I ever could have imagined." Gregor sighed. "If I'd have known about the rager stuff back then, I would've known you were one." He looked down, slightly afraid of Ripred's potential reaction. He didn't want the rat to laugh at him, or make a joke, or tell him to keep his feelings in. Gregor wanted Ripred to understand.

Luckily, he did.

"I admire you, too," Ripred admitted.

Gregor was shocked as his head shot up. "You do?"

"Quite a bit," Ripred said. "Especially what you did last time you were here. You created peace."

Gregor sighed. "And look at us now."

Ripred let out a small laugh, then turned back to Gregor. "This isn't your fault. None of it is. You told me in the jungle that you didn't want this gift, but you made the best of it. And you know what? I'm proud of you. You've come a long way."

A smile came across Gregor's face. Although it was weird having a heart-to-heart with Ripred, it meant a lot to know the rat was proud of him.

"Of course, you were nearly useless in the beginning," he said. Gregor rolled his eyes but couldn't help grinning a little. There it was.

"You were giving up on echolocation for a while," Ripred reminded him. "You almost gave up completely until you realized just how crucial it was."

"I'm surprised I survived without it for so long," Gregor admitted. "And the other humans, too!"

"Humans are fools for not learning echolocation," Ripred commented casually. Gregor couldn't help but chuckle at that. Ripred was smiling, too.

"But, in all seriousness..." Ripred said, looking straight into Gregor's eyes. "I'm with you until the end. Your sisters, too. Both of them. I promise to never abandon you."

Gregor nodded. "You too." He decided to make a joke. "Guess we're basically bonds now."

Ripred chuckled, but then, his face turned serious again. This time, his eyes were full of pain and sadness. "I'm sorry about Ares."

Gregor looked down. "I know you are."

They sat in silence for a few moments before there was a knock on the door. Gregor got up and opened it, and standing outside of the door was Vikus.

"Vikus!" Gregor exclaimed, wrapping his arms around him. "So good to see you!"

"You too, Gregor," Vikus replied, his eyes shining with tears. "Um... you have visitors."

"Visitors?" Gregor asked, confused.

Vikus stepped out of the doorway. What Gregor saw made his mouth drop open in shock.

Both of Gregor's parents were standing outside of the door with their arms crossed, glaring at Gregor.