~ PANDORA

It was almost four o'clock in the afternoon, and Pandora was getting tired of running through the key points she wrote on her flashcards. Her last exam was tomorrow, and she had to make a twenty-minute presentation with a fellow student named Damien.

She was reviewing her statistics on her third card, roughly five minutes into the mock presentation when she heard a rap on the door. Setting her cards down on the coffee table, she walked towards it. Who could it be? Stanley wasn't coming over today, Pandora thought. And Damien wasn't supposed to be over until six.

The peephole was useless and had been so for years. Pandora picked up her pocketknife she kept in the foyer. She held it in her right hand so it would be hidden from view as she opened the door with her left.

"Ye..." Pandora's voice stopped working. She dropped the knife. "Wh- What are you doing here?" She opened the door wider and walked out into the hall, embracing the man who stood on her doorstep.

"Hello, Pandora," Howard said in her ear. "I am so glad to see you." Pandora just stood there and let Howard put his hands on her back. He didn't feel as thin and weak as he had the last time she had hugged him. Tears came to her eyes as she realized how much she missed him.

"What're you doing here?" Pandora asked again, barely more than a high-pitched whisper. She was completely flabbergasted. What would make him leave the Underland to go and find her? "Wait, wait. Come inside!" Pandora ushered Howard into the apartment and closed the door behind him.

"I was not completely sure this was your apartment. I must have stood outside for a few minutes, trying to get myself to knock." Pandora was so excited, albeit confused, that Howard was in her apartment, she gave him another hug.

"Why? How...? I mean, don't get me wrong, I am so happy to see you! But what would make you come up to the Overland?" Pandora walked into the kitchen and took down a glass. Howard followed her and leaned on the counter. His leg must have been bothering him.

"Here, sit at the table. I'm getting you some water." Pandora led him to the table. "How're you doing? How's your leg? You look so much better!"

"My leg still pains me from time to time, but I've resumed my work at the hospital. My mother transferred to Regalia to keep an eye on me." Pandora got the feeling that his mom was doing more than just keeping an eye on him. She probably barely let him out of her sight.

"What?" Howard asked with a smile.

"It's good that your mom is keeping an eye on you. I'm glad to hear it." Pandora set down his glass of icy water and took a seat beside him.

"Is that Damien I hear?" Rose called from her bedroom.

"No, Rose. Come and see who it is! You won't believe it!"

Rose shuffled in the kitchen and raised her hands when she saw Howard sitting at the table. "Oh, my goodness," she exclaimed. She stood there for a moment, looking quite surprised, then she moved closer as if she had known him her whole life. "You must be Howard."

"I am," Howard said with a smile. He stood to greet her. "And you must be Rose."

"I've heard so much about you," Rose said with a nod.

"And I you."

"Why don't you stay for dinner?" Rose said. "I'm making pot roast."

Pandora was elated that Howard might stay over for dinner, but was also concerned. "What about Damien?"

"Oh, I'm sure he won't mind an extra person. Let me go cut a few more carrots and potatoes. Make sure you double the Yorkshire pudding recipe, Pandora."

Pandora looked at Howard. He had a strange look on his face. "Damien doesn't know about the Underlanders," Pandora said to them both.

"Who's Damien?" Howard asked.

"My partner for a research presentation I'm giving tomorrow at school. We've been working on this for a month. It determines our final grade. But the point is how are we going to explain your purple eyes? Or your translucent skin?"

"Contacts and sun allergies," Rose said from the kitchen.

Rose did make it sound convincing, and Pandora really didn't want Howard to leave. "Alright. Sounds like a plan. Damien doesn't really ask a lot of personal questions anyway." If Howard was staying for dinner, Pandora wanted him to taste what the Overland had to offer. "I'll cut up some strawberries! Rose, what can I make for a special dessert? Something fruity." She opened up the refrigerator and yanked open the produce drawer. "And lettuce... we can make a salad, too."

"How about strawberry shortcake?" Rose asked.

"No. They have cake in the Underland." Pandora thought for a minute. "Strawberry pie! Of course. I'll have to start making it now if we want to have it today, even though it probably won't be ready to eat until much later tonight..."

"I can make it honey. You've got company." Rose said, looking up. She had just put the extra vegetables in the oven with the roast.

"Are you sure?" Pandora asked, washing the strawberries.

"Of course, dear." Rose laughed. "Of course."

Pandora got out a cutting board and destemmed all the strawberries. She had just gotten out a bowl for the salad when she paused and looked over at Howard, who was patiently sipping his water and looking at the ice floating inside of the glass. She walked over to him.

"You can stay, can't you?" She asked.

"For a while."

"You haven't told me why you came up here yet." Pandora sat down beside him. "I haven't really given you a chance yet."

"That's alright. I know my showing up unannounced was a surprise."

"I just want you to have a real Overland meal. You know, with fruit and things besides mushrooms and meat and bread. Things that I've never seen in the Underland."

"I understand."

Pandora glanced at the clock. It was four thirty. She was starting to feel nervous and didn't want six o'clock to roll around. "Why did you come to the Overland?"

"That is a slightly long story," Howard said, leaning back in his chair.

"Well, we do have an hour and a half before dinner," Pandora replied.

"To start with the shortest explanation possible," Howard said slowly. "Gregor has returned to the Underland."

"He... what?" Pandora asked. What she really meant to say was 'already?' She already knew that Gregor was destined to go back, but she never dreamed it would be so soon. She had written all about it in her journals... or on her walls. Almost every night she had a new dream, and she would write them down in detail. Some were terrifying, some were joyous, some were either very strange or only one piece of an entire story, but not all were about the Underland. One night, she had dreamt of her mother the night she was murdered... it had been horrifying and all too real. Pandora snapped back to reality and tried to listen intently on Howard's explanation.

"With the warrior back, the Underlanders are confused and unorganized. No one except Luxa knew about the prophecy. She told a certain few of us about your prophecy only after he arrived."

"So you heard it and came to find me. Does anyone know you're gone?"

Howard smiled slightly. "They most likely do now. Your letters helped me."

"I wrote the number of my apartment in one of them, didn't I?" Pandora said with a half-smile. For the past several months, Pandora wrote continually to her friends in the Underland. As promised, Vikus had been sending fliers up to the grate in the laundry room. In one letter to Howard, she had described her apartment in detail, and must have included the number in her description of home.

Howard nodded, the slight smile vanishing from his face. A little string tugged on Pandora's heart; she hated seeing him look unhappy. "Yes, you did. I came to find you to ask you to come back. The Underlanders are lost. They need guidance. Luxa hasn't an idea what to do next in the war. Mareth and Vikus aren't much better."

"And if a plan isn't in motion soon," Pandora concluded. "The cutters will find out and use that opportunity to run the Underlanders into the ground."

"Exactly." Pandora pursed her lips. Did Howard need her to leave that night? What about her presentation? If she didn't show up, she would fail the class. It was her final semester at college; she was so close to graduating! She knew she wouldn't have a chance later to take the class again. It was at nine in the morning; couldn't she leave after the presentation?

"Do you need me to leave tonight?" Pandora asked with a frown.

"It possibly wouldn't do any good to leave so soon. Gregor arrived just this morning. I don't think the Underlanders could handle two important Overlanders arriving on the same day."

Pandora almost said 'yeah right.' The Underlanders did not think she was important. In fact, she was pretty sure they all hated her guts. But Howard did have a point. Gregor threw a curve ball at the Underlanders' previous plan, whatever it was. They were all worked up in a tizzy now. By adding Pandora too soon into the mix, the Underlanders might be so disorganized they wouldn't be able to recover.

"Could we leave tomorrow afternoon? And give them some time to breathe?"

"Maybe that is the better idea," Howard agreed.

"Will you stay here until then? I could show you the city at night. There's nothing like New York City in the dark. You could see the sun rise in the morning. Rose could cook you some awesome meals. It would be like a mini-vacation."

"I might as well stay," Howard said, his smile returning. "If I went back, they probably wouldn't let me return to fetch you."

"Good point. Now get ready for a delicious first meal in the Overland. With Rose doing most of the cooking, I have no doubt that everything will turn out perfect!"

After filling most of the hour and a half void talking to Howard about the differences between the Underland and the Overland, Pandora saw Rose making her way to the kitchen to check on the roast. "I'll make the salad, Rose. There's no way I can mess that up," Pandora volunteered. "Howard, why don't you help me? I can teach you. It's really easy."

Howard smiled, stood, and followed Pandora into the kitchen. "Gregor once taught Luxa how to prepare a sandwich. And she in turn taught all of us."

Pandora laughed. What a coincidence that the founder of Regalia had the same name as a common Overland meal! "Now you can teach everyone how to make a salad! Well, I guess you can only explain how to make it. If only there were more edible plants in the Underland."

Pandora and Howard cleaned the lettuce, chopped some up, and placed it in a bowl. Pandora showed Howard how to toss the salad once the dressing was added.

It was almost six when Pandora realized Howard was wearing the traditional Underland style of clothes. "Oh my gosh," she jumped, turning to head for her bedroom. "You need a sweatshirt."

"What is a sweatshirt?" Howard asked, trailing behind her.

"A long-sleeved top that will cover the tunic. Your pants are alright to wear. They look like khakis." Pandora turned to look back at Howard. "You're an Overlander until Damien leaves."

Howard looked uneasy. "I'm not very good at lying."

"Don't worry," Pandora said, handing him a large black sweatshirt that had the name of a professional sports team on it. She had bought it for a sports-themed party and never worn it since. "I'm not very good at lying, either."

Damien knocked on the door almost exactly at six o'clock. The table was set and Pandora's heart was pounding. Why was she so worried? Pandora mused that Damien was just a fellow classmate and didn't have to approve of Howard anyway.

"Hi, Damien," Pandora greeted him and swung the door wide so he could come in.

"Nice to see you, Pandora," Damien said with a charming smile. He kicked off his shoes and placed them near the wall. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"

"I will be after one more run through with you."

"Great." Damien stopped in his tracks when he saw Howard sitting at the table. "Who's this?" he asked.

"Uh, Damien, this is Howard. Howard, Damien."

Howard smiled. "It is nice to meet you." Damien didn't respond.

"Here, Pandora," Damien said instead, holding out a chair for her.

"Thank you," Pandora said awkwardly. Damien sat on the right side of the small square table. Howard sat on the left, and Rose sat at the other end. Everything was quiet for a minute.

"Well, what're we waiting for?" Rose asked with a laugh. "Let's get some food! I didn't work so hard to have the roast just sit pretty in the kitchen!"

Pandora served herself and Rose some food, inviting Howard and Damien to help themselves. She brought out a few chilled root beers and gave one to each person. Howard watched Pandora open hers before attempting to pop open the tab. He jumped slightly at the hissing noise of the carbonated water inside. Pandora winced, hoping Damien wouldn't notice.

"Everything looks wonderful," Howard said.

"I know it looks great," Rose said, "but let me know how it tastes."

A few bites in, Damien spoke up. "So Howard, are you related to Pandora?"

"No," Howard said politely. "I'm..."

"He's my grand-nephew," Rose said quickly.

"Yes," Howard rolled with it as convincingly as he could muster. "I'm her sister's... daughter's son."

"Where are you visiting from? It's hard to place your accent," Damien said suspiciously.

"Virginia," Howard said. It was probably the only other Overland place he knew.

"Really? You don't sound Virginian."

"That's because," Pandora said, "he studied abroad in England for a while. He picked up a bit of the accent."

"That's interesting. What did you study?"

"Medicine. I'm a doctor," Howard replied after he finished a bite of roast beef. "Rose, this is delicious." The older woman beamed.

"A doctor? Wow, that's impressive. You look too young to be a doctor."

"The system is different in England," Pandora said curtly. Damien was asking too many questions. Why would he not press Pandora for questions when she waved him off all the time, but was practically interrogating Howard?

"So..." Damien said, apparently not finished. "Isn't there... sun in Virginia?" Pandora slammed her knife and fork down and took a swig of root beer. She refused to look at Damien.

"Oh, my Howie's just allergic to the sun," Rose said. "Five minutes and he's as red as a tomato!"

"Right, right," Damien said slowly. "And I guess the purple contacts help distract people from your... pale skin?"

"I'm finished eating," Pandora said, looking at Damien with a tight smile. "If you're done, we should get started practicing our presentation."

She hoped Damien would take that as a hint to shut up. He was just starting to be rude. From that point on, he ate more than he talked. After dinner, they rehearsed their presentation in front of Howard and Rose. Once they felt confident enough to present their research for the actual grade, Pandora served the strawberry pie.

"They don't have a dessert like this where I live," Howard said as he ate another bite of pie with relish.

"Doesn't Virginia have strawberries?" Damien asked.

"No," Pandora said matter-of-factly. "One of its main food exports is peanuts. Although, back in the day, their main export was tobacco, which the colonists sent back to England." Her slightly off-topic comment put an end to the conversation. Damien left shortly after that, saying he needed a good night's sleep to prepare for the final exam the next day. Pandora agreed with him and quickly ushered him out. He didn't seem happy.

Pandora gave a loud, frustrated sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm sorry, Howard. He was such a jerk. He probably completely ruined your perception of the Overland."

Howard grinned. "Not entirely."

"Care for a night on the town?"

"A night on the town?"

"Sightseeing around New York City."

"Sounds interesting."

~ GREGOR

A hand appeared at the edge of the curtain, and Luxa immediately pulled away from Gregor. He was a little hurt by how quickly she dismissed him, but he also turned to face who was at the door. With a concerned look, Vikus took a step into the room.

"Hey, man," Gregor said happily. "You're looking good."

"You are looking well also," he said with a lopsided smile. He leaned against his cane as he took another step towards his granddaughter, who was busy wiping tears from her cheeks with the backs of her hands.

Sniffling and clearing her throat, Luxa took a second to compose herself before speaking. "I suppose we must coordinate a special dinner for our guest," she nodded her head towards Gregor. Although her comment sounded impersonal, Gregor could see a small smile from behind her hand. There was the mischievous glint! He couldn't contain the huge smile on his face; not a day went by that Gregor didn't long to see Luxa's smug expressions.

"Of course," Vikus answered immediately. "Let us all go and see what we can do on such short notice."

"Oh, believe me. For the warrior, I think the chefs would prepare any dish," Luxa said. Gregor held the curtain open as Vikus and Luxa stepped out and made their way back to the High Hall. As they walked, Nerissa joined them.

"Gregor! I've heard the news. It spreads throughout the palace like fire," she said with a nod of her head. She fidgeted with the many robes that were falling off her shoulders with one hand, the other trailing along the wall. A guard abruptly turned the corner and almost barreled into her. He quickly nodded his head towards Vikus and Luxa before continuing down the hallway.

"Nerissa," Gregor said. "It's great to see you."

"As it is to see you," She replied.

"Excuse me!" Cried a voice from behind them. A small boy sprinted down the hallway, acknowledging the queen as he made his way. Gregor figured he was a messenger.

"See? I told you he's back. Took one look at me and took it upon himself to challenge me to a duel," Gregor heard Ripred say from somewhere behind him. Turning, he found himself face to face with Ripred and Mareth.

"Mareth! What's up? How've you been?" Gregor laughed and stepped over to meet them. He extended a hand and Mareth accepted it, only to be surprised when Gregor reached up with his other hand to give him a sideways hug.

"I cannot complain," Mareth said with a smile. Gregor could see large bags under his eyes.

"The sky is up, Gregor. Even a toddler knows that," Ripred said in a mocking tone. Gregor knew Ripred understood the Overland saying perfectly, seeing as though he communicated with normal-sized rats who lived in the Overland (who had once invaded his apartment and scared his mother half to death).

"And Ripred," Gregor had to continually raise his voice to be heard over the increasing volume of voices in the hall. "If I had had a sword with me when we met in those tunnels, you'd be mincemeat."

Ripred chuckled. "Would I now? That's a very confident statement for someone who has spent plenty of time in the middle of nowhere!"

"Hey! Virginia happened to be a pretty nice place. And admit it, you're getting old!"

Three servants skirted past the rat, carrying large packages in their hands. He bounced slightly closer to Mareth's crutch to give them more room. "What you call old, I call experienced," Ripred yelled back.

"In that case," Gregor asked, "why don't you fight Vikus?"

"Now, now," Mareth said with a bellowing laugh. "Speaking of Vikus, he, Luxa, and Nerissa are leaving us behind."

Gregor turned around and sped up to match the other's pace. They passed through the High Hall, the noise level now reaching an all-time high, and entered another hallway.

A few people called out Gregor's name as they saw him walk by, causing a crowd to start pushing towards Gregor and his friends. Guards pushed them back and yelled to one another. "So where are we heading?"

"The luxury room. It's smaller and in a lesser-traveled part of the palace. It will be most peaceful there," Vikus answered him.

"Gregor!" he heard a familiar, cheery purr behind him. Turning, he saw Nike, Andromeda, and Aurora waddling to catch up to the group. They must have just landed in the High Hall.

"Hey, you guys!"

"We are girls," Aurora said with a smile not unlike Luxa's mischievous grin. Leave it to Luxa's bond to point out such an obvious statement.

"Right, sorry. Overlander habit," Gregor laughed. "It's nice to see you three. I was starting to wonder where Aurora had gone to!"

"Are we heading to the luxury room?" Aurora asked.

"Right you are," Gregor affirmed. Mareth hung back to walk with his bond, Andromeda. Aurora fluttered up the hall to stand with Luxa and Ripred, leaving Nike walking with Gregor.

"So, Nike, where's Howard?" Gregor swiveled his head to look back towards the High Hall, figuring Howard and Hazard were the only two friends left who Gregor hadn't seen yet.

"Ah, he's... very busy in the hospital wing. Many refugees and wounded soldiers. We even asked the Fount for volunteer hospital personnel!"

"It's starting to sound all too familiar to me," Gregor said sadly, remembering how crazy Howard had worked during the last war. He remembered pressuring Howard to take a nap, and then forgetting to wake him up. He felt guilty at first, but seeing how much more alert Howard was afterwards made him feel much better.

"Yes, I wish it weren't so," Nike said, matching his tone.

The group entered a small room on their right, a room Gregor had only been in a handful of times. The room was full of comfortable seating and decorated with drapes. Gregor eyed one couch in particular, where his mother had sat when she had arrived in the Underland, before she was bedridden in the hospital. He decided to sit as far away from it as possible.

"Hey," he laughed, walking to the other side of the room and sitting next to a curly-haired boy about the age of twelve. "Hazard. I'm glad you're here!"

"It is I who is glad that you are here," he said with a smile. His green eyes shone as he saw Gregor's face. "I heard you were coming, so I ran here. Look what I brought!"

Hazard held up an old toddler's toy – a round object with pictures of animals, a lever, an arrow, and a speaker. "I remember this," Gregor said quietly.

Hazard pulled the lever and Gregor watched as the arrow in the center spun. "The elephant goes brrrr," the toy said.

Gregor laughed with surprise. "I can't believe it still works!"

"Oh, it ran out of batteries long ago. But then Pandora helped me find new ones."

"Pandora?" Gregor asked, his brow furrowing. Who? He leaned back as he realized that Hazard was talking about Howard's old bond. But... that couldn't be true. She had died on Gregor's second quest. He turned towards Luxa and Ripred to ask, only to find them making silent signals towards Hazard to stop talking. They froze when they saw Gregor looking in their direction.

Luxa cleared her throat and laced her hands together in front of her. Ripred walked towards the door and called in a loud voice. "What was that, Gregor? You hope they prepare shrimp in cream sauce? Oh, what a lovely choice!"

"What's he talking about?" Gregor jammed a thumb in Hazard's direction.

"It's not important at the moment," Luxa said, taking a seat across from him. The others were already seated; Nerissa, in the farthest corner, jotted down notes in a journal that she must have been carrying in her many robes.

"So, what is important at the moment?"

"Well... you," Aurora said, extending a wing to point at him. "You have no idea how your presence affects our battle strategy."

"I'm just one guy. It's not like I can hold off an entire legion by myself," Gregor said. "How does that affect any strategy?"

"Psychological warfare, expertise, secret weapon, morale," Mareth started listing.

"Okay, okay," Gregor waved him off. "I get it." The last thing he wanted to talk about right now was war. He had hoped on his way here that the Underland was still in a time of peace. Boy, how shortly peaceful times lasted far beneath New York City.

Servants entered the room, carrying small trays – one for each person in the room. A steaming tray of all of Gregor's favorites appeared in front of him, including the little yellow fruits from the jungle that tasted like plums.

"The stingers may back out of their alliance with you," Ripred chimed in. When Gregor glanced over at him, he noticed that Ripred's tray carried one of his favorites: shrimp in cream sauce. Not only did the chefs remember and cater to Gregor's tastes, but they also went to the trouble of preparing a personal, five-star quality dish for everyone.

"Really? Why say you?" Luxa asked with raised eyebrows; apparently the thought of giant scorpions rethinking her offer had never crossed her mind. "They've given me their word."

"He was present the first time... when things went awry," Ripred said. "And he might remind them of a certain Underland moniker that the Regalians have been trying to expunge from their reputation..."

"Killer," Gregor said curtly. He pushed away his untouched tray of food. He was no longer hungry. "Can we talk about something other than war? For once! Don't you guys realize that you haven't even asked me why I left Virginia to come back here?"

"I thought that was apparent," Andromeda spoke up.

"You've decided to return and help us," Aurora finished.

"No!" Gregor yelled, standing up and clenching his fists. "I came because I'm the one who needs the help!" He could feel his pulse in his neck. His blood pressure rose and his vision started to box itself in, focusing on anyone who moved. Gregor tried to fight off the sensation, tried to wrestle the rager side back down before it became too powerful.

Just then, someone stepped into the room. It was a petite woman whom Gregor couldn't quite put a name to, although he could recognize her face. Focusing on trying to remember where he had seen her before helped him calm down. Although her initial features were purely of the Underland variety, the details of her facial structure reminded him of Howard.

"Oh, I apologize," she glanced over at Nike. "I thought Howard might be here." Now Gregor remembered! It was Howard's mother who lived at the Fount. "He is late for his shift at the hospital. Have you seen him?"

"He is not there?" Luxa asked, a confused expression on her face. "Nike mentioned that he was already there."

"No. He hasn't appeared since earlier today."

"That's strange of him," Mareth commented. Several members of the room agreed.

"Nike," Luxa said. "Where is he?"

"He.... Didn't tell me," she answered with a nervous laugh. "I assumed he..."

Ripred cut her off. "You know where he is. I can smell your discomfort. You're lying."

"Well?" Luxa pressed.

"I know where he is," she said dejectedly.

"And where is he now?" Vikus asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"He went up..." Nike began, but faltered. She started over. "Right after we saw Gregor, I took him to the apartment opening. He climbed up... to look for Pandora."

Many surprised gasps could be heard. Gregor looked around to see many dropped jaws.

"He wouldn't!" Luxa snapped.

"Oh, my goodness," Vikus said, his hands covering his face.

"Why would he ever....?" Exclaimed Howard's mother.

"Seriously," Gregor said loudly. "Who the heck is Pandora?"