~ PANDORA

Pandora woke up even more tired than she had been before she fell asleep. The dream she had seemed to go on forever, and although it hadn't been particularly scary, it frightened her to the core. Those incidents must have happened on Gregor's previous trips, but they both seemed so different. In one, everyone's eyes had been on Ripred. In the second, everyone was looking away, as if pretending the rat named Twitchtip did not exist. It was confusing, the Regalian's past with the rats.

"Excuse me, miss," came a voice at the curtain. Pandora invited them in, and was pleased to see Ciel walk in with a tray of food.

"Vikus asked me to bring you this," he told her.

"Hello, Ciel," Pandora said. She accepted the breakfast tray. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," he answered. "Oh, there is a letter there, too. One of the scouts dropped it off just a few hours ago."

"Really?" Pandora immediately picked up the envelope to find her name printed in the middle in Rose's handwriting.

"Enjoy your meal," Ciel said with a small bow before leaving.

"See you later," Pandora called, not taking her eyes off the envelope. "And thanks again."

After ripping off the top and pulling out the letter, Pandora mindlessly ate the food on the tray as she read.

Pandora, I hope all is well down there. I thought I'd keep you up to date with things going on up here!

You'd probably like to know that an invitation to your graduation ceremony came in the mail yesterday. That early? Pandora thought. Well, she did leave the day right after her final class ended. I know you wouldn't be here to participate in it, but that doesn't mean you can't celebrate! I am so proud of you! You have overcome many obstacles in your life and are such a strong young woman. I am so happy that you've accomplished such an amazing thing as graduating from college. I am positive that you'll be able to conquer anything that crosses your path in the future. So far, Rose's note made Pandora's heart ache with homesickness. She missed her favorite person. She used to always refer to Rose as her grandmother while talking to people, and Rose's unconditional love for Pandora made it all the more convincing.

On another, less positive, note, a friend came to the door looking for you. Stanley and I were just about to go out to eat when I heard him knocking. It was that young man Damien, your research presentation partner. Pandora shook her head, not wanting to eat any more of the food on the tray in front of her. What did Damien do? Did he threaten Rose? At least Stanley was with her. Why did he come back? Pandora hoped Rose called the cops. He was asking where you were, saying he wanted to apologize to you. I told him that you left, and he took it very hard. I think it was because he blamed himself. I tried to assure him that you left because you had some important things to do, and not because he scared the pants off of you, but he left very sullen anyway.

Don't worry, he didn't cause any trouble. Stanley and I left soon afterwards and had a wonderful night out. How are you and Howard? Pandora remembered the night before, and how strange Howard was acting. They weren't doing so well at the moment... and Pandora had to figure out what was going on! And what about your other friend... Nerissa? I can't seem to remember her name right now. At least Nerissa and she were still close. In fact, Pandora was going to see her soon.

Well, anyways, dear, write back soon! I love you, honey.

Love, Rose

Instead of making Pandora feel more secure, Rose's letter made her feel even more stressed. She was glad Damien didn't try to hurt Rose, but it still made her nervous that he thought he could return to the apartment. And what about Howard? Why was he acting so strange? Did he not feel the same way that Pandora felt about him anymore?

Pandora started to think that it was a horrible idea to come back to the Underland. She pushed the tray of half-eaten food to the side and walked out of the room. It was probably almost time to see Nerissa up in the Prophecy Room.

After walking up a couple of flights of stairs, Pandora walked along the corridor in a depressed mood until she saw someone walking towards her. Although she had some doubts about him, Pandora couldn't help but smile. It was Howard.

"Hi," Pandora said with a small wave as they passed.

He didn't even look up from the floor.

Pandora stopped walking and turned around to view his retreating figure. There was no way he hadn't heard her! Biting on a finger, Pandora quickly turned about-face and picked up speed, completely stung by Howard's blatant disregard of her presence. She felt hot tears prick at the sides of her eyes but blinked them away.

It was just confirmation of Howard's true feelings. He obviously didn't like her anymore. Who even knew what his feelings were about anything? Pandora's dream was based on true events. She knew for sure, because Sandwich himself had told her. Howard had refused to help the drowning rat in the whirlpool. He didn't care whether she lived or died, no matter what Gregor yelled at him.

Pandora stomped into the Prophecy Room, feeling as though she had finally seen Howard for who he really was.

~ GREGOR

"Hey, Howard," Gregor said. He had heard from Vikus that Howard's shift at the hospital started soon, and Gregor wanted to talk with him as soon as he could. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Of course, Gregor," he said. He gave Gregor a sad smile and followed him to the side of the wall, so they wouldn't be in anyone's way.

"I was talking with your dad yesterday after you left," Gregor started.

"I am sorry you had to hear that," Howard said, his head lowering back to its original mopey position Gregor had seen him in.

"No, it's cool. Really. I just wanted to let you know that I asked your dad to let me do something."

"What?"

"He seemed so determined to break you and Pandora up, so I asked him if I could help prove that all of what he said isn't true."

"I don't understand," Howard said with a shake of his head.

"If I can prove to your dad that you would love Pandora even if her name wasn't the same as your old bond, that you would love her even if you weren't the person who took care of her when she first got here, he'll let you go out with her."

"Go out with her..."

"You know? Like date her."

Howard's eyebrows instantly shot up and a smile brightened up his face. "Oh Gregor! You asked him that, really?"

"Yeah," Gregor said. "Your dad might take things really seriously and yell a lot, Howard, but he only wants the best for you."

"Gregor, you don't know how relieved it is to hear you say that. I passed Pandora in the hallway and my heart almost burst because I couldn't think of how to tell her what my father said! It was all I could do to just keep my eyes glued to the ground. She must think the worst about me! I wish I could find her right now and tell her this, but I'm afraid I'm going to be late. If I don't fulfill my duties at the hospital, I'll be in even more hot water! Thank you, Gregor, I must be going!"

"Happy to help, Howard," Gregor said with a wave and a chuckle. "I'll see you later!"

"So, you really are helping them with their relationship," came a voice from in front of Gregor. Luxa turned a corner and leaned against the wall that Gregor was near. Apparently, she had heard at least part of their conversation.

"Someone has to. And as the only other Overlander down here, I think I should be keeping an eye out for Pandora, don't you think?"

"Do not think I am dogging you for the wrong reasons, Gregor," Luxa said with a genuine smile. "I think what you're doing is wonderful. Who knows? It might be good for you, too."

"What do you mean?"

"With your mind busy about Howard and Pandora, it might help keep your rager side under control. Let's face it Gregor, I think I am the only one besides Ripred who believes that this new war is not your place."

"That's good to hear, cuz I don't want any part of it." Gregor was relieved that Luxa understood why Gregor returned. Finally, he was making some headway towards being in control of himself. A sudden thought came into his mind. He initially came to the Underland because he recognized that he was a danger to others. Now that he was here, all he could think about was himself and how much he didn't want to participate in the Regalian's war... until the recent incident with Howard and his father. "You don't think that I'm helping them out for my own selfish reasons, do you?"

"No, Gregor," Luxa answered immediately. "I understand that you want to help. You've always only wanted to help. I am just telling you that you could also benefit from this."

"Thanks, Luxa, but can you do me a favor and not mention that? I don't want it coming off like I'm helping them to help myself. It seems like the sort of thing Ripred would do, you know?"

Luxa smiled again. It was so great to see her really smile... something that was from the heart and not just because she was giving attitude or being roguish. Gregor couldn't help but give a heartfelt smile back.

"You know, if I remember correctly," she said, "Ripred believes the best way to get in control of your rager sense is to take part in fighting. How about we attend some combat training, like we used to?"

"Sorry, but I don't think that would be the best thing," Gregor declined her offer. "I mean, for the Underlander's sake it might be helpful, to see me fight and believe that I'm training for the war... but I don't want to give them any false hope. I don't want to hold a sword either. Having it in my belt is one thing... having it in my hand is another."

"And that is fine, Gregor. The choice is completely up to you," Luxa said politely. "It is not the only way to get control of your sixth sense. I know you'll find a way to make it work in your favor."

"Thanks, Luxa," Gregor said. Holding out his arms in an open gesture, Gregor was happy that Luxa accepted his hug. He felt good that he and Luxa finally got a chance to talk alone. He didn't feel pressured by anything when she was on his side. Luxa was the sort of person who could give you the exact advice or constructive criticism you needed to hear... if she was rooting for you.

~ PANDORA

"Do I get to read about your visions?" Nerissa said excitedly.

"Yes," Pandora said, flipping through her notebook to the most recent entries. "Sorry there isn't more."

"Some is better than none," Nerissa said. "I find that writing things down, even just the smallest amount, makes a huge difference. You can channel your gift better, and it will not bombard you so much."

"Oh," Pandora said as she made a similar connection with her own psychic experiences. "I've never noticed it up until now, but if I try to ignore everything that goes through my mind, I just get overwhelmed. It happens a lot when I sleep. I have so many nightmares. But if I take the time and write down as much as I can, it's easier."

"Now tell me about this one," Nerissa said while pointing to a page. "What do you mean when you say the cave has a strange marking? Is it carved into the stone, or is it a rock that is shaped like something?"

"It's a bunch of little stones that lean up against the edge of the wall in a zig-zag pattern. Well, that's how I can describe it best." Pandora drew a lightning bolt in the air. "Kind of like that. I wish I could draw, but I tried to describe it the best I could."

"That's quite alright," Nerissa said. "What is it exactly that you feel about this cave?"

"It seems fine at first glance," Pandora explained. "But the more I looked at it, and the more I thought about it to be able to write it down, the scarier the scene looked. Like no one should be there. Almost like it's... abandoned? I'm not sure. Something's off about it."

"Hmmm," Nerissa mused. "Would you choose to enter this cave, if you ever found it?"

"Probably not. Just because of the creepy feeling it gives me."

"Perhaps it's a foreboding. Maybe there is something dangerous inside," Nerissa prompted.

"Maybe," Pandora agreed. "The next one in there is the same one I keep telling you about in my letters. Wagons upon wagons of people crossing the fields of Regalia."

"Yes," Nerissa agreed. "It is almost the same exact words as you have described them before. The people look forlorn. Dejected. Weary."

"Exactly."

"I understand now why you seemed so distant yesterday. These images all give off a bad energy."

"Just another day in the life of me," Pandora said with a shrug and a smile that seemed to say 'oh well.' "You know how it is. You have to take the good as well as the bad."

"I agree, Pandora," Nerissa said. "When I become overwhelmed by the negativities that come with my gift, I like to come here and read this." She walked over to one wall of the Prophecy Room and pointed out one very small poem, titled The Peacemaker. Pandora read it silently:

On soft feet, by none detected

Dealing death, by most rejected

Killed by Claw, since resurrected

Finally, they intersected

Two lines meet, one unexpected

Although it didn't immediately strike Pandora as a poem that could calm her down, for the words would not have meant half as much as they did unless the title was read, it did seem like the type of prophecy that could give someone some hope. If the peacemaker could cheat death and earn more time, who's to say the Regalians couldn't do that very same thing?

"I hope it gives you the same closure as it does for me," Nerissa said as she stood up. Leaning slightly against the wall, she made her way to the door.

"Thank you," Pandora said. "If it weren't for you, I don't know where I would be right now!"

"Oh, do not thank me, Pandora. What are friends for?" They both smiled at each other before parting ways.

Deciding to revel more in the Underland's history, Pandora entered a stairwell and headed downwards, intent on spending some time in the palace's old nursery. She knew the way there pretty well, considering she had entered the palace via the giant turtle head on the side of the wall.

"Pandora!" someone called from somewhere above her.

Pandora stopped and leaned over the railing, trying to see the stairs above her. She saw Howard a few flights up, waving to catch her attention.

"Wait, please!"

Pandora stood still on a step in the middle of the flight of stairs she was on, more in shock than because he had asked her to wait. What was going on with him... one minute, he didn't want to acknowledge her existence, and the next, he's running after her.

"I must talk to you about something. I apologize I wasn't able to do it sooner."

"Yeah, I have to talk to you about something, too," Pandora replied.

They both burst out at the same time:

"My father didn't want me to talk to you anymore!"

"Why were you ignoring me?"

Pandora was the first one to laugh, after a minute of trying to decipher what the other person said. "I guess that answers my question. But now I have another. Why didn't he want you to talk to me?"

"He had so many reasons. However surprisingly, being an Overlander was not one." Howard stepped in closer and offered to take Pandora's arm. She accepted his offer, and they walked down the stairs together. "Where are you heading?"

"The old nursery," Pandora replied.

"Ah, that is a nice, quiet place to talk. May I?" Howard asked to join.

"Of course," Pandora answered.

They talked as they made their way towards the agreed-upon room of the palace.

"You wouldn't believe how many times I had wanted to talk to you after the talk with my father. Dinner that night was excruciating."

"It was for me, too," Pandora said, unbelievably relieved that Howard hadn't intentionally caused her pain. All the doubts in her mind, rooted deeper by the crazy dream she had, seemed so silly now.

"I am terribly sorry about the confusion I've caused."

"It wasn't your fault," Pandora said. "You listened to your father, like you should."

Howard held the curtain to the nursery aside for Pandora, and she was greeted by the snarling maw of the gigantic turtle.

"It's me who should be sorry. I was starting to think the worst! I had this strange dream last night that really made my head spin. I didn't know what to believe. Gregor was in it... you were in it... and so was Henry."

"How did you know it was Henry?" Howard asked, the huge smile on his face slowly turning into a frown.

"His name was said, but my gut had already told me it was him before anyone said anything."

"What was this dream?"

"Henry tried to stab Ripred in the back... literally. Gregor got between them and ended the fight before anyone got seriously hurt. As they were walking away, Henry said something to Gregor about the rats. He said Gregor had to stay away from them, or else he could get killed. Then the scene changed. Gregor was still there, but everyone else was different. Suddenly, we were on this boat."

"A boat?" Howard asked.

Pandora nodded. "And Gregor was furious! He was walking around to everyone, trying to get them to help a poor rat trapped in the water. When no one would help, Gregor realized that no one wanted to save her because she was a rat. That's when you came in..."

Pandora could see Howard swallow, and knew that her dream had caused him to feel nervous.

"Gregor was about to go into the water to save her, but you held him back." Pandora relived the dream in her mind. It was even scarier than she had realized, especially now that she was relaying it to Howard. What a horrible thing to imagine: all Howard did was save lives, yet, here he was in her dream, refusing to help and discouraging Gregor from trying. What would Howard think of Pandora, now that she was telling him this story? Pandora's voice got tight, and she fought back tears. "That's when he turned to you, and told you that you were the first person who would go in and save her, because that was what you promised. But you weren't following through. You turned your back on the poor rat! You turned your back on Gregor!"

Howard reached up and wiped away a tear that was falling down Pandora's cheek. He pulled her in and held her in a tight embrace. "It's true. In the beginning, I didn't want to save the rat any more than the rest of my peers. Twitchtip was the first rat I had ever encountered, Pandora. I had lived at the Fount my entire life, a place considered to be a safe haven from enemies. I had never seen one of the creatures that we were taught to hate.

"However," he continued, "Gregor changed my perspective that day. He didn't look towards Twitchtip as a gnawer. He looked to her as someone willing to help his cause. That's what makes Gregor so different." Howard leaned back to look into Pandora's watery eyes. It was made clear to her that what he was saying was also making him choke up. "He challenged me to hold true to the promise I had made, to help anyone in need of rescue from the water. I helped Gregor pull in Twitchtip. We were able to pull her up with a lifeline. No one lost their lives because of the whirlpool... but it wasn't me who was to thank. It was Gregor."

Howard's explanation of the true event made Pandora cry even harder. She had been so wrong! She had only viewed part of the past event through her dream, and, in doing so, had thought Howard was someone who he was not. Thinking of how she had thought about Howard in the past few hours, she chastised herself for coming to conclusions off such terrible evidence. They stayed close together until Pandora got her sobbing under control. When she pulled away, she noticed how puffy Howard's eyes were. He must have been crying almost as badly as she was.

"That trip was truly life-changing for me. It was the first quest I was entrusted with... the first chance I got to leave home without my parents. I wanted so badly to not disappoint them when I first left, but when I was out there on the water, it was easy to forget about my family. I existed only to help my teammates, and that was all. I had almost lost sight of that when we lost the other boat in the whirlpool.

"I had never come to understand Luxa, my own cousin, until that trip," Howard revealed. "You see, I had never experienced the kind of emotional pain that she had. So many of her loved ones died... it had changed her to a point where I thought I could never comprehend her actions or feelings. Then, my bond died. When I finally realized she was never coming back, I experienced all the pain Luxa felt. We finally understood each other, and I could truly say now... that was the moment when we truly became cousins."

"Luxa is a young girl with many layers surrounding her," Pandora said. "She and I might not always get along, but I think we understand each other more than we both let on. Her parents both died when she was little, leaving her orphaned. At least she wasn't by herself. But then Henry betrayed her... and died for his actions. That was probably even more heartbreaking. I don't even remember my dad. He died when I was very young. But I remember how my grade school friends would talk about theirs. 'My dad brought me lunch.' 'My dad is picking me up.' 'My dad's gonna take me for some ice cream tonight!' 'I'm going to play baseball with my dad!' I had realized early on that I wasn't living without something... I was living with something missing. When my mother was killed, it was... it was devastating. I thought I would never be happy again. My heart just couldn't have been repaired. On some level of our lives, Luxa and I see eye to eye."

"Luckily for all of us," Howard said in an effort to lighten the mood. "We have now found someone who can bring us happiness. I have my family and you. You have Rose and I. Luxa has Hazard, her grandfather, and now Gregor."

"Gregor?" Pandora asked incredulously.

"Yes. If I'm not mistaken, I believe they'll pick up what was left behind the last time Gregor left the Underland. Just watch the next time they're together... Gregor's face lights up as bright as his flashlights!"

Pandora laughed. "Does it really? I'll have to see that for myself!"

"Excuse me you two," came a voice from the door. Ripred stuck his face into the nursery room. "I don't believe you're allowed to be alone together without an escort."

"It seems you've caught us, Ripred," Howard said with a smile. "We were only talking."

"How did you know we were down here?" Pandora asked, accepting Howard's arm once more as they followed Ripred out of the nursery and up the stairs.

"I followed the scent of love," he answered.

"Don't joke, Ripred!" Pandora laughed.

"It's no joke. It was positively revolting."

"He's not serious," Pandora said to Howard.

Howard nodded his head. "I think he is. Please don't mention this to my parents!"

"Don't worry, boy," Ripred said, turning around and rolling his eyes. "I wouldn't dream of ruining Gregor's plan."

"Plan? What plan?" Pandora said.

"It's a long story, and particularly boring unless you know how to spin a good tale," Ripred said with increasing enthusiasm. "Do you mind if I tell it?"