The Underland Cyclopedia
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Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane is the second book in The Underland Chronicles series.

Synopsis

Months have passed since Gregor first fell into the strange Underland beneath New York City, and he swears he will never go back. But he is destined to be a key player in another prophecy, this one about an ominous white rat called the Bane. The Underlanders know there is only one way to lure Gregor back to their world: by kidnapping his little sister, Boots.

Now Gregor's quest reunites him with his bat, Ares, and the rebellious princess, Luxa. They descend into the dangerous Waterway in search of the Bane, and Gregor knows what is at stake. If he does not fulfill the prophecy, his life, and the Underland, will never be the same.

Plot Summary

Several months have passed since the events of the first novel, when Gregor and his baby sister Boots first fell into the subterranean city of Regalia and undertook a quest to save their father, who was being held prisoner by a group of Underland rats. The Underland humans supported the siblings' mission because they believed it was prophesied by their founder, Bartholomew of Sandwich. At the beginning of the second novel, the Underland humans kidnap Boots to force her and Gregor to participate in another of their prophecies. They interpret "The Prophecy of Bane" to mean that Gregor must kill a white rat called "The Bane" in order to prevent the rats from taking over the Underland. Furthermore, a set of lines about a dying baby convince the humans that Boots is in danger, so Gregor sails off on an underground lake with only a few soldiers and their giant bats to hunt down The Bane.

During their journey, the questers are caught in a whirlpool, encounter an island of carnivorous insects, which results in Howard's bat, Pandora, being eaten alive, and are betrayed by the two shiners who were hired to provide them with light. Gregor himself begins to struggle with a new "power" that manifests when he is in battle. He is what the Underland creatures call a "rager", a person who is overcome by a kind of "battle-fury" when they fight, making them completely deadly even without training. Gregor's worst trouble, however, is when he and the remaining questers become separated from Luxa, Temp, and Boots during a fight with some serpents. The three missing are assumed dead, and Gregor finds himself emotionally frozen at the thought of having lost his baby sister.

When he finally finds The Bane, however, he learns that it is not an adult monster, as was assumed, but instead a baby whose parents have just died. He can not bring himself to kill it, and so he and Ares take it to be raised by the only friendly rat they know: Ripred. After this, the two return to Regalia, where Nerissa has just been crowned queen. Upon their arrival, the surviving quest members--Andromeda, Howard, Ares, and Gregor--are tried for treason because they failed to kill The Bane. They are saved, though, by Nerissa, who controversially decrees it is good that Gregor was not heartless enough to kill a baby. Shortly thereafter, Gregor is trying to finally face the reality of going home without Boots when she is suddenly returned to the palace, having been saved in turn by Luxa, Temp, and an unnamed moth. The two then return to the surface world.

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