Gregor and the Prophecy of Destruction - a Gregor the Overlander fanfiction

Chapter 13

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!"