Well, it's been a while since my last update; I had fall break off school and spent a lot of time hanging out with friends and gaming. I apologize for the wait, but judging by the amount of reviews only one or two people cared anyways! Sorry if it's not very good; I'm rusty from not writing anything in almost two weeks. Now it's time to get some of the action going…

Chapter Nine

"Oh no… They found us…" Gregor gasped out with a sinking feeling of dread. He gritted his teeth and started to pull out his sword; then something clicked in the back of his head. The rat looked like it was trying to keep itself from going into hysterics at the group's expression of horror. But not just any rat, Gregor quickly realized. It was Lapblood! Other than Ripred, no one seemed to have recognized her identity yet.

"Stop, guys! It's Lapblood!" Gregor whispered happily. The gnawer was easily number one or two on Gregor's list of rats. Twitchtip and Ripred were the only others on that list, really, and Twitchtip had died. Then there was the fact that Gregor was never really sure how much he could trust Ripred. The hands that were reaching for swords faltered and each face took on an expression of surprise, relief, and finally happiness. Ripred walked lazily forward to greet her in his usual sarcastic manner.

"Hello there, Lapblood. What a pleasure to see you again. I must say that I'm quite relieved you aren't here to slit our throats. Not that you'd succeed, of course." Ripred drawled.

"Perhaps I would not, Ripred, but there are many gnawers in Rupture's chamber that need only be alerted of your presence. I don't think you could take all of them, even with your rager abilities." Lapblood responded with a slight smile.

"Ah, but what about two ragers; one on a flier, and a few other skilled fighters? What then?" Ripred retorted.

"Then, perhaps, I-"

"Ahem, I'm glad you two are happy to see each other, but we really must continue… We do not have the time to spare on idle chat." Luxa interrupted in a slightly annoyed tone. The two rats looked at each other and then at Luxa.

"I most certainly am not glad to see Lapblood. I was simply happy to know that our mission is not failed and we're not all going to die." Ripred muttered, glancing away. Lapblood looked equally annoyed at his response but left it at that. After the momentary awkwardness had passed, Ripred asked Lapblood a few questions about the status of the rats in the tunnels, how many guards Rupture had, and tried to learn various tidbits of information regarding the prophecy or quest.

"Alright, then. We've got thirty guards to deal with, and more stationed as patrols around the tunnels. We don't know who this mysterious ally of the rats is, but of course we'll have to worry about them as well. Let's get moving."

Lapblood joined the party and they crept slowly down the deserted hallway that led to Rupture's throne room. She stopped them at a bend in the tunnel after fifteen minutes of agonizingly slow and anxious travel.

"Around this curve we will find the entrance to Rupture's throne… Stay sharp; there will be guards," she began in such a hushed voice that Gregor could barely make out the words, "Are you all ready?" After a brief moment of hesitation, everyone gave the affirmative. Lapblood nodded and snuck around the corner and through the tunnel, staying very close to the wall. Her nose twitched furiously as she tried to detect something.

There were two guards at the end of the passageway; they had not spotted the group of outsiders yet because of their disguised scent and movement in the shadows. Someone kicked a pebble.

The rats' heads both shot up and their ugly faces contorted into snarls.

"Did you hear that, Clawrend?" One asked quietly, his eyes darting across the heavy blackness that covered most of the tunnel. His eyes seemed to linger on the corner behind which everyone but Lapblood hid.

"Yes, Greyfang, I did. Do you suppose it might be the messenger we've been waiting on?" Clawrend asked casually.

"I think so, Clawrend. Come on out if you're there, Lapblood."

Everyone but Lapblood froze in place. She walked calmly out and greeted each of the rats kindly enough.

"What's going on? I thought they couldn't see us?" Gregor wondered dazedly. He was so worried about this entire thing he almost felt sick.

"Do you have the message for the king that the commander from our front lines sent? We need that information quickly to fine tune our battle strategy with the bur- Our allies."

"Of course I have it. Why do you think I came here?" Lapblood inquired with a disarming smile. The two rats laughed and agreed that she really had no other reason to be at the king's chambers.

"Except perhaps one reason…" Lapblood started. She didn't finish her sentence; her tail whipped around and smashed Clawrend in his skull while the deadly claws on her forelegs made short work of Greyfang. She wiped the blood from her claws on the rats' fur and motioned for her companions to come forward. Most of them were stunned by the sudden act of violence.

"Well done, Lapblood. Not even I expected that. Do you think you could manage taking care of all the guards that way?" Ripred said with a ratty grin.

"I'm afraid not, Ripred. Perhaps you could run in and scare them all off with your peacemaking abilities?" The scarred rat growled in annoyance but let the comment pass without too much opposition, merely mumbling something that Gregor guessed was about how stupid Sandiwch's prophecies were.

"I was scared there for a minute, Lapblood." Gregor admitted. Luxa and Howard both agreed with him.

"Come, now. You didn't think I'd betray you so easily, Warrior? As much as I dislike saying it; I am in your debt for giving me and, through me, my pups time in the jungle."

Gregor didn't respond, but instead found himself surprised at the realization that Lapblood might have died if he hadn't helped her back during the quest for the "Prophecy of Blood." He was glad that he'd earned Lapblood's trust and could really consider her an ally. Gregor had guessed that she considered her debt paid after helping defeat the Bane's armies in the War of Time.

"Enough talk; we must proceed." Ripred ordered. Ripred and Lapblood moved the rat bodies into a small crevice in the wall, but were unable to hide the blood that stained the rock below them.

"Some gnawer will smell that blood soon. We have to go as quickly as we can."

It wasn't long until the group reached the entrance to a huge, circular cavern in the middle of which sat a lumpy throne. Upon it sat a large, black rat with a damaged, manmade silver crown resting upon his head.

"That's him!" Gregor hissed quietly. He probably shouldn't have said anything, but it was too late now. No rats heard him, anyway. Luxa squeezed his hand, likely thinking about the huge scars he bore from his last encounter with a mentally unstable rat.

Ripred retreated behind the wall from which they were viewing the main chamber from and looked at the face of each person, bat, roach, or otherwise present. The humans looked worried about Regalia, the bats were concerned about their bonds or, in Artemis' case, her friends. Temp looked worried about everything; he couldn't fight and there was no princess for him to protect.

"What's our plan?" asked the big, battle-scarred rat. "If we go by what Lapblood said there's about thirty rats in there, then between me, our almighty warrior, the pampered queen and the medicine man, we can handle most of them. Now that Lapblood is here, too, we stand a rather good chance. I'm concerned about whatever allies that begin with 'bur' the rats might have holed up in there, though."

Everyone was used to Ripred's insults, so they looked past them and thought about their plan of action. Now wasn't the time for rebuttle, anyway.

"Excuse me, Ripred. Luxa and I… we have no light… It will be difficult for us to participate in any battle. We only brought a few torches because of the nature of this mission and some were expired during our camping." Howard stated. Gregor wasn't sure, but he was pretty sure Luxa was blushing next to him.

"I brought flashlights and a lighter." Gregor said. He removed the flashlights from his backpack and passed them out to Luxa and Howard. He got one out for himself, too. Just in case. He reached in for his… Uh-oh. There wasn't any duct tape.

"Guys, I forgot to get duct tape from the museum. You'll have to hold them, I guess." Gregor hoped that it wouldn't interfere with Luxa and Howard's sword fighting abilities. They wouldn't be able to use two handed attacks very well. If either of them were hurt because of him he'd never forgive himself. Especially if it was Luxa...

"Do not worry, Gregor. I brought an extra roll of this 'tape' material in case we needed it. I did not expect you to forget, but it is no matter. I will attach the flashlights." Howard stated and walked over to Luxa to secure her light to her forearm.

"That's a relief… Good thinking, Howard." The young doctor nodded and continued wrapping tape around Luxa's arm. Gregor passed out some bread and cheese and sat by Luxa.

"You worried?" He asked.

Luxa laughed, careful to keep her volume in check. "Of course I am worried, Gregor. There are rats marching on my home and we are about to charge into a room full of them. Are you not worried?" Gregor laughed too and agreed that it was a stupid question. Howard silenced them and returned to readying his medical supplies.

When they were all prepared, the group turned to Ripred. The rat had been deliberating on a course of action while the rest of them had eaten and otherwise gotten ready.

"Here's how it will go," Ripred whispered, "I want Lapblood to go in first and pretend that she has her little message for Rupture. After she has been granted audience, we will move in and start the fight. Not what I'd call a perfect strategy, but they will be thrown off when Lapblood starts killing their soldiers and we'll get the element of surprise. Ready?"

For the first time in a while, Temp spoke up. "What do you want me, to do, want me?"

"I'm sorry, Temp, but there's not much you really can do in combat. No offense intended, of course. I'm sure you'll help us out afterwards." Ripred responded with a sigh. Temp's antennae drooped but he agreed solemnly.

Lapblood left the party to fulfill her role. Everyone listened anxiously as she walked into the throne room and chatted with some guards. The footsteps resumed and became softer as she proceeded towards the center of the enormous cavern that held the gnawer throne.

"Let's go." Ripred growled.

They walked swiftly and silently; the bats prepared to take off once they reached the open chamber. They soon reached the entrance of the chamber again and Gregor mounted Artemis. Luxa took her place upon her bond and Howard jumped onto the back of Nike.

Gregor didn't feel very comfortable on Artemis' back. It wasn't that he didn't trust the bat or thought she was a bad flier; he just didn't know her fighting style like he knew Ares'. It was only complicated by the fact that she was large and reminded him of his deceased bond while Gregor was still trying to get over his old bond's death.

Finally, he heard the order. Ripred uttered the solemn, awaited words that signaled the event that Gregor had been waiting for since his arrival.

"Go."

Underneath him, Artemis surged forward. He heard the clatter of Ripred's claws against the stone floor. The powerful beats of the three fliers' wings assailed his ears. Gregor grew deaf to it all as his rager senses boiled under his skin. They began taking over his body and all the unnecessary noise was muted as his vision shattered into fragments that highlighted upon his enemy's weak points.

Ripred was right; they had the element of surprise. Four rats were down before the rest even had time to react. Lapblood killed another two when they all looked toward to source of the commotion before leaping out of the range of nearby foes.

Behind the wall of guards and soldiers that had by now all turned to face the intruders, Rupture stood with a look of fury upon his face. There was something else there, too… was it fear? Gregor didn't know, nor did he care; he just hacked at every rat that came within his range. The battle raged and the rats leapt mercilessly at Gregor every time he descended to make an offensive move. After killing a few rats one of them snagged his leg with a claw and opened up a long, but not too deep gash. He applied pressure to it while he was in the air to try and halt the bleeding.

Artemis was an agile and strong flier; she held her own even among the more experienced Nike and Aurora. Artemis dove down and Gregor stabbed a rat in the life-giving vein in his right foreleg. Unexpectedly, another rat jumped at him and knocked Gregor from Artemis, stunning him as his dead slammed against the ground. He heard Luxa scream his name and, through flickering vision, Artemis wheel around.

Gregor looked up, struggling to maintain his rager sensation as fear grew in him. Above Gregor, Rupture stood with a claw raised as if it were the honed ax of an executioner.

"This is it… I'm going to die…" Gregor thought through a haze of pain and confusion. The long cut he had received on his leg bled freely and his head was pounding so forcefully that it was difficult to concentrate. He would never go back home to see Boots and Lizzie. He wouldn't see his mom or dad ever again…

As the claw came downward, something unexpected happened. Lapblood dove in front of Gregor and received the full, brutal force of the blow. The claw split her stomach open and she fell in a pile of bleeding flesh beside him. Gregor gasped in horror and used Lapblood's sacrifice as a rallying point for his anger; his fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword and he drove it upward into Rupture's exposed neck.

The rat tried to speak, but the only sound that came out of his punctured throat was a gargling sound as the blood filled his windpipe. Rupture collapsed beside Gregor, next to Lapblood's body. Gregor pushed himself up, trying not to fall down as his injured leg threatened not to support his weight. He limped over to Lapblood. She was breathing in quick, ragged gasps. Her eyes found him and her breathing slowed.

"My debt to you is…fulfilled… Gregor the Overlander… tell Ripred that if he doesn't watch out for my pups, I will kill him… run like the river, Warrior…" Her final words spoken, Lapblood became still and her breathing stopped.

"No! Lapblood!" Gregor cried. He was on the verge of tears now, only vaguely aware that all the rats had died and that Luxa and Ripred were both beside him, staring at the corpse.

'That's a pity. She was a good rat… a good fighter… a good friend." Ripred sighed. He actually seemed genuinely sad that Lapblood had died. Since when had the sarcastic gnawer ever called anyone his friend, after all? Luxa bent down and hugged Gregor; a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Howard hurried over to the three of them and demanded to take care of their wounds, hesitating as he noticed Lapblood's ravaged form laying on the ground. He stitched up Gregor's leg and stopped some bleeding on his head. Luxa had to have stitches on a gash on her arm but most of her injuries were minor. Ripred insisted on taking care of himself.

All three bats had tears in their wings that had to be stitched up and Nike had acquired a pretty large cut on her torso. For the most part, though, everyone was in working order. Except, of course, for Lapblood…

"Well, Rupture is dead. I suppose we've completed the prophecy, at least. Be happy for that, pups. She did not lose her life in vain." Ripred said at last. Howard and Luxa nodded at him, but Gregor had a pretty bad feeling that didn't come from any of his wounds.

"I don't know, guys. I mean, it seems like we just kind of skipped past part of the prophecy. There are no 'new allies' or anything yet that I've seen. And then there's, uh, what Nerissa told me." Gregor said, directing the last part quietly at Luxa.

"Yes… that does not make much sense. Perhaps it will become clear when we return to Regalia." Luxa offered. A booming, rough, and serpentine voice followed up her statement.

"No, young queenling. I can not allow you to return home. I... we have waited far too long to take our revenge for my race's exile from the world above at the hand of you humans. Now, it is time for that vengeance. Cut off the exits."

A huge, lizard-like animal crawled out of the shadows of a nearby tunnel. Several like him glided down from unseen perches high in the expansive cavern and settled in front of any escape routes.

The lizard things all glared at them with intense hatred.

"Wait a minute… they aren't lizards. They have wings and horns and stuff. I'm definitely not an expert on these things, but are those dragons?" Gregor thought with bewilderment. It seemed to make sense. Dragons had wings and horns. The big one talked about an 'exile from the world above,' which probably meant that they had lived in the Overland until humans had pushed them out. He remembered some stories he'd heard about dragon slayers and stuff like that in medieval England. "I guess they really did exist. If there are giant dinosaur serpents down here, why not have a few dragons?"

All of them were shocked into silence by the appearance of the scaly monsters. The dragons were each covered in scales of a dark color. Unlike the fliers, they only had a single color that covered their entire body, though it varied from dragon to dragon. The beasts were each about the size of the Bane, with what he guessed was their king or leader or something, being a few feet larger.

The huge one, whose body was adorned by deep crimson scales, spoke again. "We, younglings, are the burners. An apt name for what we once were, but since our banishment by humans from the land above the trait of fire-breathing has become so scarce that hardly any of us retain the ability. Your race will be punished for our suffering, queenling. Do not forget this for the short time you will remain alive." The giant dragon turned his ancient head to the smaller burners who were blocking off the tunnels.

"Escort them to the prisons," rumbled the dragon, "If any of them try to escape, tear the queenling." Luxa's face paled.

Normally, Gregor would have tried to escape if he'd thought he had a chance. However, he didn't. First, they'd kill Luxa if he did. Second, there were six dragons in total, and only a couple good guys who were in any shape to be fighting. The burners escorted them down an abandoned hallway and stopped beside a sturdy stone door.

"You will enter," rumbled one of the creatures. The group filed inside and the door slammed shut behind them. Silence ruled for a minute.

"How did that door get here? Rats couldn't have made it." Gregor said out loud.

"We humans built it for the rats to detain the more violent gnawers during our short period of peace. It seems that plan has backfired on us." Luxa sighed. She placed her face in her hands and didn't say anything else. Gregor sat by her and tried to comfort her but didn't make much progress.

"These 'burners' seem pretty tough, and they probably are, but they can't be very strong in terms of numbers. If there were enough of them to attack the humans without entering an alliance with the rats, I think that they would have done so. We haven't seem them, either, so they must be holed up in the Uncharted Lands somewhere..." Ripred was saying as he paced back and forth across the cell. He didn't seem to be talking to anyone, really. Just thinking out loud. Gregor was glad to hear that there probably weren't five thousand of those things waiting outside, though.

Through his echolocation Gregor saw a medium sized cell with straw-like bedding strewn across the floor. The room was bare other than the meager covering on the ground. Gregor turned on the lighter to examine his surroundings in more detail, but found nothing new other than a few faces surprised by the sudden light.

Suddenly, Luxa raised her head and spoke.

"Herald of a long-lost time

Dark Bane's conquest seeks to mime.

Signified by death and rage,

Yet cunning, wise and ancient of age"

Aurora gasped and Howard looked surprised. Gregor slowly came to the realization himself.

"Hold on, you guys are saying that the prophecy never even told us to kill Rupture? It meant that we were supposed to kill the dragon king? That big guy who was back there?" Gregor asked in frustration.

"That may be, Gregor," Ripred said, eyes sharpening. "It must be that we are intended to kill the king of the burners. As to whether it was the large one back there… perhaps; that may have been a general or such. I think that there's a good chance that was him, though. I think that he may have been controlling Rupture; giving orders himself and having a rat carry them out in order to gain the gnawers' trust."

"For though one may seem to lead, often is the master a pawn in a much larger game…" Gregor said quietly.
Luxa raised her eyes and smiled at Gregor.

"Nerissa was correct… now we must only decipher her other words."

"What are these words you speak of? Did Nerissa say something we do not know of?" Howard asked in an annoyed tone. Gregor and Luxa looked at each other and Luxa nodded. So, Gregor explained what had happened during his encounter with Nerissa. Everyone listened intently, with the exception of Ripred. He looked bored to tears.

"Perhaps if we can decipher Nerissa's meaning in her second statement, we can find a way out of this cell. Let us get to work on it immediately." Luxa announced. The party gathered around the center of the desolate cell and worked to find salvation in the Nerissa's words.

There you go… Dragons. Rawr. Will they escape? Will they kill the dragon dude? Will I not take ten days to update this time? Find out in hopefully less than ten days! Oh, and review… Me likes the reviewz.