1 The Scroll

It all came flooding back. Ares death. Luxa. The Bane. Hazard and Howard. It had been almost a year since Gregor entered the Underland for the last time. He had sometimes managed from thinking about it. Other times he got like this. He was locking himself in his room, staring off into space, thinking about Luxa and the Underland. How was it doing? Was everyone okay?

Gregor got up and left. Boots was sleeping on the couch. Trying not to wake her up, Gregor went to the Laundry room out of habit. He did not miss the Prophecies, but he did miss his friends. Secretly hoping for an excuse to go back, he saw the scroll lying on the floor. Lined with gold around the edges, it was cumbersome. Gregor unfolded the thick parchment. It contained eight words.

Gregor, we need you down here now.

~ Vikus

Gregor felt glad that he could see his friends, but what if there was another prophecy? He would face a hypothetical prophecy, but he would also get to see his friends. Would his parents let him go? Probably not. Gregor couldn't just go to them and say

"Hey, Mom and Dad. I got a new message from the Underland. Bye!"

Gregor walked over to his parent's room, where he heard a faint snippet of argument. Interested, he started to eavesdrop.

"-Not sending him back there!" Gregor's mom stated in a tone of finality.

"We have to! He is-"

Gregor didn't hear the rest of his dad's sentence because he had entered the room with the scroll in his hand.

"Mom. Dad." Gregor stated. "I need to go back to the Underland."