Gregor the Overlander

There is great commotion and uncertainty about what to do, but Gregor’s decision carries a lot of weight and Ares is allowed to live among the Underlanders again. Gregor tells Ares he’ll be leaving soon, but Ares says it doesn’t matter: “While I have flight, I will always be here for you” (294). Gregor leaves the arena and spends some much needed time with his dad and sister, getting reacquainted: “They spent the afternoon playing with Boots, trying to make each other eat, and often, without any particular reason, reaching out to touch each other” (297). Gregor’s father tells him he spent the last two years making weapons for the rats. He tried to escape from Regalia two years ago and had a BB gun on him which he’d taken from the museum. He convinced the rats he could make one for them if they kept him alive. 

Gregor leaves the hospital and has a last conversation with Vikus. Gregor learns that Ripred is trying to assemble a loyal following and take leadership of the rats: “He must first convince them that peace is desirable, and that will be a long struggle” (299). Vikus then tells Gregor he has something special for him; he unveils the sword that once belonged to Bartholomew of Sandwich. He says it is the wish of the Underlanders that Gregor accept it. Gregor thinks back to all the acts of violence he experienced over the course of the quest and all the lives that were lost. He tells Vikus he doesn’t want to be a Warrior; he wants to be like him. So, Vikus tells Gregor there is another gift he’d like to give him and that is hope: “There are times it will be very hard to find. Times when it will be much easier to choose hate instead. But if you want peace, you must first be able to hope it is possible” (301). Vikus tells him he is happy to tell the Council that Gregor has refused the sword and then says the boy must rest for he has a big journey tomorrow: the journey back home. 

The next day, Gregor gathers with Boots and his father at the dock where he first tried to escape. Luxa is there to see him off, and they embrace. Gregor tells Luxa his mother will probably never let him leave their apartment again, and she says, “That’s not what it says in the Prophecy of Bane” (303). Gregor starts to panic, and just as Ares takes flight, Gregor learns that the Prophecy of Bane follows the Prophecy of Gray. He swears he sees Vikus say “see you soon” as they take to the air. Ares flies over the current and the waterways to an old deserted Stairwell in the Overland. Ares says he can go no further, and they say their goodbyes. 

Gregor, Boots, and their father move a stone slab at the top of the stairwell and end up in Central Park. They take a cab home, with money Mareth gave them as they were departing on the dock. Gregor’s father opens the door with the old keychain Gregor made him, and they all see their mother hunched over and worried at the kitchen table. Gregor doesn’t want to scare or shock her, so he says the one thing he’s sure she wants to hear more than any other: “Hey, Mom. We’re home” (308).