They were Falling. Falling. Falling. Falling. I wonder what will happen when we hit the ground? Ichigo thought, strangly detached from her own body. It's just a dream, what does it matter anyway. But still, she fell. And Fell. Everything was pitch black, and she was alone. Where was everybody?

"Hello!" She called into the abyss.

Nothing. She fell, Fell. Fell.

Suddenly she began to be afraid. She was alone and in the dark. Suddenly a light flashed, and she saw the ground rushing up towards her, sharp rocks stabbing up at her. She was afraid. What was going to happen to her? The light went out, and she heard the wind screaming at her as she fell, but she couldn't see anything. All she knew was that she was hurrying towards sharp rocks. She let out a scream of terror as the ground rushed up to meet her and suddenly…

She awoke in a world of pain her whole body throbbing, and the beginnings of a severe headache already splitting her skull. With a groan, she sat up and saw that she had been thrown against the wall of the cockpit, the display screen cracked from absorbing her impact.

All of a sudden, she realized somebody was missing.

"Goro." She whispered, horrified. Where was he?

"GORO!" She screamed, the sound echoing around the cockpit.

No response. Fear clutching her heart, she scrambled to her feet and looked around frantically. She spotted his crumpled body at the edge of the cockpit. Hurriedly she dashed over to him and was horrified to see the amount of blood he'd lost as she stared at his shoulder painted scarlet with blood.

"Goro!" She cried, scooping him up in her arms. "Come back to me!"

She shook him violently, and his head lulled back and forth, his glasses clattering to the floor, one of the lens shattering from the impact. "Come on!" She sobbed, "Don't you dare die on me!" Tears began cascading down her cheeks, "Come on, Goro, please wake up!"

No response.

"GORO!" She screamed, "No! Don't do this to me! Don't leave me! Come on baby, wake up!"

Silence.

"No! No! nononoononno! NO!" She sobbed, collapsing against his chest. She clutched his broken body to her, all her sorrow and pain consuming her. "Please… I'll do anything."

She sobbed against his chest, willing with all her might that Goro would come back to her. Pouring all the energy she could into reviving the man she loved. "Please.." She begged. "Come back to me."

It was then that she felt it, a slight shiver ran through Goro's body, and she heard the faintest intake of breath. Abruptly she sat up and stared at Goro's body, her eyes frantically searching for any sign of life.

"Come on, baby... Come on.." She whispered desperately. "You can do it."

It was then that she saw it, the slight rise and fall of Goro's chests as he breathed the faintest of breaths. Goro was still alive. Just barely, but still wonderfully alive.

"Yes!" She cried relieved, as she hugged Goro to her. "Yes! Yes! Yes! I knew you wouldn't leave me!"

Just then, she felt him twitch and separating herself just a little,watched as his eyes slowly flickered open.

"Ichigo." He whispered faintly, his voice horse and dry.

"I'm here." She said, giving him a loving smile and brushing some stray hair out of his eyes.

"Are you okay?" He croaked, still lying limp in her arms.

She smiled. "Yes I'm fine. But you need to look after yourself, you're in pretty bad shape."

Absently he glanced over at his shoulder. "Is it as bad as I think it is?"

Her smile faded, and she nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty bad. You've been bleeding out for hours. Your whole shoulder is covered in blood." Saying that she gently put him down. "I'm going to go find the Medkit."

"Its in a panel by my seat." Goro groaned.

She nodded. "I know, just give me a minute."

Grabbing the panel, she gave it a yank, and it came clear, revealing the medkit. It was smaller then she remembered. Or maybe she'd hoped. Pulling it out, she opened it and found a role of bandages and some disinfectant, along with a packet of paper towels.

Grabbing them, she made her way back over to Goro and set them down beside him, he looked up at her.

"Find it?" He groaned.

She nodded, "Yeah,' Then with a grimace, she thought about what she had to do. Reaching forward, she grabbed the collar of his suit. "This might hurt a little." She said, looking him in the eye.

He nodded. "Just get it over with."

She took a deep breath and began to tear the suit, pulling it away from his body to expose his wound. It didn't look good. She could see the FRANXX through the wound, and blood and pus had congealed around the hole.

Desperately she thought about what she had learned about treating wounds and realized that she knew precious little. And she realized, her stomach clenching in a tight knot, that she was going to have to do this on instinct. She took a deep breath and opened the bottle of disinfectant, the pungent smell of alcohol assaulting her nose. Tentatively she poured some around the wound, and Goro hissed in pain and writhed on the floor.

"I'm sorry." She said hurriedly.

He shook his head and winced. "Just get it over with." He groaned, "And make it quick."

She nodded and pouring disinfectant onto a paper towel, began to wipe around the wound, clearing away all the blood and pus, Goro writhing beneath her, doing his best to keep from screaming.

When she was done, Goro lay panting on the floor, looking physically and emotionally drained. She managed to wrap his arm in a rough bandage, but she knew that was a futile measure that wouldn't buy them a lot of time.

Gently she leaned forward and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead, and eventually, he groaned and managed to get himself into an upright position.

"We… We need to get out of here." Goro groaned, his eyes still closed.

She nodded. "I'd better check what condition we're in." She said, moving over to her pistol seat. "Hopefully, we can get this thing started up."

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and synced with Delphinium, only to have the world fall out from underneath her. Her whole body was helpless. Somebody had broken her arms and legs, and her back felt like it had been snapped in two. She tried to cry out, but her voice was silent. She concentrated on contacting Plantation 13, but she couldn't connect. Everything was silent.

She snapped back to reality, panting, and rolled away from the controls.

"How's Delphinium." He groaned, sounding concerned.

"Not good." She panted, "Everything is busted. We're stranded here."

Goro gulped. "Can we call for help?"

She shook her head, gulping hard. "No, the comms are shot. I tried to contact Plantation 13, but everything as silent."

Goro took a deep, steadying breath. "Well... What are we going to do now?"

"I don't know." She said, sitting up. "But I feel like we're fucked. Unless somebody comes looking for us, we're stranded…. Alone…"

They both sat in silence, the fear mounting within them. What were they going to do? What could they do? Everything had been taken away. Absentmindedly she saw that hard drive with all of human history tossed in the corner of the cockpit, but what good would that do them? It was useless to them now.

Suddenly they heard a scuttling sound crawling on the outside of the FRANXX, instinctively they both flinch and huddled together.

"What was that?" Goro said in a hushed whisper.

"I don't know." She whispered, feeling her stomach clench.

As the scuttling continued, they huddled closer and closer together. Not knowing what it was, but scared of finding out.

Suddenly a voice spoke. "C-Can you, h-hear me… Humans?"

Frantically the began searching their surroundings, desperate to find the source of the noise. Another few moments passed by, and there was more scuttling.

"Can you hear me?" The voice asked again, sounding hesitant.

"Who are you!?" Goro shouted back.

"We… Are called the Klaxosaurs." The voice said weakly. "The Queen told us about you… Squad 13…. You are Delphinium. Pilots, Ichigo, and Goro."

Ichigo and Goro looked at each other, wide-eyed. They couldn't believe that they were talking to a Klaxosaur. This was the most bizarre thing they'd ever experienced.

"Do you know where we are?" She said to the ceiling.

"We... Are in a trench that goes deep into the Earth. I believe its located in one of the ancient sea beds of the surface. These trenches are a way to get back home…. But… I don't think I'll be able to complete the journey in time. And you look like you're in need of some help yourself."

"We are." She said hesitantly. "How about yourself.. You… You seem to be in a lot of pain."

The Klaxosaur gave an amused grunt, and then let at a pained grown. "You could say that…" Then with a sharp intake of breath, wheezed out. "Look, I don't have much time."

They heard more scuttling around the FRANXX. "So I have a proposal to make."

Suddenly Delphinium's screens began to flicker on, and they saw the world around them. Faint rays of sunlight lit the scene, and they saw a Klaxosaur laying huddled, bleeding fluorescent blue blood. A small number of drones scuttling around them and one of them had anchored itself to Delphinium.

"We… We both seem to be in need." The Klaxosaur said weakly. "So.. So I propose a trade."

Goro gulped and said. "What kind of trade are we talking about?"

Alpha stared out at the rising sun, Delta sleeping in his arms, naked. It should have been a soft tender moment. A moment of bonding. But it wasn't. Nothing about it was special, because all they did was suffer. Their days stretched on endlessly, as they fought to stay alive. The human batteries that Papa had provided them, were on the verge of death, as he and Delta gradually consumed them to stay alive. The smell of sick and shit hung in the air as they wallowed in their own filth. Everything hurt.

"Stop it…" Delta whimpered in her sleep. "Please… Make it stop."

He looked down at her, a tear cascading down his face. His poor Delta. His poor sweet Delta. What had they ever done to deserve this. Gently he reached down and brushed the hair out of her eyes, only for Delta to thrash and dislodge it again.

He looked up at the sun. "What did we do to deserve this." He whispered. "Please, if only for her sake. Help me."

The sun seemed to stare back at him its radiance blazing down upon him.

He remembered back, back to the times when Nine Iota had still been with the Nines. He' ed done so many horrible things to her. He'd tried to use her. Tried to possess her. For so long, he'd coveted her. He'd wanted her so badly. Not the way he wanted Delta. He hadn't wanted to see her happy or to see her smile. He just wanted to use her. Every time he'd thought about it of late, he'd blamed it on Papa. Thinking that he'd forced him to do this. But that wasn't the truth. And deep down, he knew it.

He looked up at the sun. "I'm sorry, Nine Iota." He sobbed. Then he remembered her name. Her true name. The name that nobody could ever take away from her. Zero Two. "Zero Two," He whispered, gazing at the sun. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. For everything. For all that I did to you. I'm sorry."

The sun's radiance blazed down upon him. Filling him with warmth and light. Cleansing all the sins that he'd committed. Its warm, encouraging rays gently soothed Delta awake, her eyes fluttering open as she greeted the new day.

"Alpha," She whispered, staring up at him.

He smiled and gently reached down and stroked her cheek, Delta gently nuzzling his hand as he did so.

"You're so beautiful." He whispered softly, smiling.

She blushed and turned away. "Only you could ever say that." She whispered hoarsely. "After everything you've done for me. After you've taken care of me and cleaned me like I was some helpless child. Only you could say that. Because I'm nothing. It's all been taken away."

"No it hasn't." He whispered, "I'm still here."

"Why would you want somebody like me?" She sobbed, a tear sliding down her cheek

"Because you're my precious Delta," He croaked, his voice catching in her throat. "And you never gave up even when you were suffering the most. You where the strength that I needed to keep from falling apart."

He drew her up and hugged her to him and clung to her. His Delta. His precious Delta. He was never going to let her go. If he was going to do one thing with the rest of his life, it was going to be to stay with her.

"Stay with me forever." He whispered. "If there's one thing I'm going to get right. It's going to be staying with you."

She sobbed and leaned against him, just allowing her self to indulge in the love and support she was being shown. After a few minutes, she wipped her tears away, and slowly did her best to turn around and face him. She made it, but as she did so, she collapsed forward unto his chest, and he fell backward, Delta lying on top of him, their faces only inches apart. "I'll always stay with you." She said softly, her warm breath on his cheek. "If you'll have me, I'll always be with you."

He smiled and gently rolled so that he was on top. "Thank you." He said, brushing a strand of loose hair out of her eyes. Gently he nuzzled her cheek, and he felt his heart beginning to race. Delta was so beautiful. Even when broken, she was the most beautiful person in the world. The sparkle in her green eyes, the rosy color of her lips. And... And the feeling of her breasts against his chest. She was… She was perfect. He stared mesmerized at her lips. So enticing… So beautiful.

Suddenly he felt a desire to press his own lips to hers. To get into as close contact with her as he could. He couldn't resist. Letting out a moan of desire, he pushed his lips against hers. Feeling… Feeling… Wonderful. At peace. The feeling of her cracked, dry lips, was the most wonderful sensation in the world. Because they were Delta's lips. And it didn't matter what they were like. They were hers

Delta gasped in surprise, but before he could pull away, she pulled him in closer and replied with equal fervor. Moaning as they explored this wonderful thing that they had discovered together. She opened her mouth to admit his tongue, and he gently began to explore inside her, feeling the sharp point of her teeth as they intertwined their tongues. A few minutes later, they separated gasping for air. Excited at what they had just done.

Papa had never let them do that. He'd promised dire consequences for touching any girl without his consent. Delta especially. He shook his head. Papa could go die for all he cared. Delta was so wonderful. She was so soft and gentle. He didn't care what Papa thought. If Delta would let him, he was going to touch her as much as he wanted.

Humming softly, he buried his face in her breasts, using them like a pillow. Delta let out a gasp of surprise, but didn't protest. Taking that to be a good sign, he rooted around until he was comfortable her supple breasts gently cradling his head. Delta smiled and gently pressed her lips to the top of his head, gently running her fingers through his matted golden hair.

Alpha never knew how long he lay there before he fell asleep. All he knew when he woke up was that it was the best sleep he'd ever had.

Papa drummed his fingers along the railing of his raised platform on the command deck, watching as the techs busied themselves with the day to day task of conducting a war. He scowled behind his mask, unsure of what to do. This war was going terribly. He was losing plantations to the Klaxosaurs at an alarming rate, and his forces weren't inflicting enough losses upon the enemy. He needed something drastic. Something to tip the scales in his favor.

He glanced over at Apus, the construction on the superweapon finally resumed. Still, that card wouldn't be ready for quite a while, and he needed something to buy him time, and the human drones weren't numerous enough to get him the time he needed. He let out an angry sigh. What could he do? What could he do to prevent the destruction of humanity?

If only he could implore some divine power to rain hellfire down upon his enemies. That would solve a lot of his problems, and he could finally get back to rebuilding humanity.

As he stood there, the idea of hellfire circled round and round in his head. Something else had been described as hellfire, but he couldn't remember what. Something a long time ago. Something before, he'd even begun to dream of his revolution.

He let out a gasp, as the thought came to him. "The seven days of fire. The days that hellfire scorched the Earth."

"Nuclear missiles." He muttered excitedly.

They'ed scorched the Earth once before. Evil men had used them to try to stay in power. But in his hands, they'ed be a tool of divine justice. It would bring him so much closer to victory, and allow him to finish his righteous mission.

He let out a groan as he remembered something, and swore at his own stupidity. He'ed started the rally that finally urge the world governments to destroy all those missiles.

How could he have been so stupid!? Sure it had gained him popularity but now that he needed them… This was disastrous!

Abruptly he stood up. "Search all the world's old missile silos for unfired missiles!" He shouted to the techs below him.

"Yes Sir!" They all shouted, hurriedly doing as he bid.

He began to tap his foot in anticipation. World governments were notorious for not following the will of the people and hiding secrets from the masses. If there was ever a time he needed that to be true, it was now.

His heart was pounding in his chest. It had to work. He needed those missiles. Even if he just had a few, those missiles had enough warheads to even the playing field.

"Sir!" A tech shouted up to him, the main monitor alighting with data. "We've found twenty unfired missile silos."

"What's the warhead count?" He asked excitedly.

"Each missile should have about 25 warheads." The tech responded. "It'll take a few hours to have a full comprehensive analysis, but that's what preliminary data suggests."

"Forget the analysis prepare for launch." He said excitedly.

"But Sir, the missiles have just been sitting there for a century there's no guarantee that they'll…."

The man toppled to the floor, a clean hole blown straight through his head, the gun in Papa's hand pointed directly at where the man had been.

"I trust that none of you have any further objections." He said calmly.

"No, Sir!" They all shouted.

"Good. Now start targeting, The Gran Crevasse, and all the Klaxosaur armadas you can."

"We're on it, Papa." They said hurriedly, rapidly beginning to access the missiles launch controls and setting target coordinates."

For once, he waited patiently, letting the techs program the missiles correctly. This was his chance to turn the tides of war in his favor. He was not going to mess it up.

"Point at least 5 of the missiles at The Gran Crevasse." He commanded. "We're going to crack that thing open."

"Aye Sir."

Serval long minutes later, a tech looked up at him. "Sir the missiles are ready to launch."

"Transfer missile control to me," He said, grinning.

"Done."

"Computer, prep launch sequence." He shouted.

"Launch sequence initiated." A female voice replied. "Confirm final destination."

"Confirmed."

"Targets acquired." The voice said. "This is your final chance to abort. Are you sure you wish to confirm the launch."

"I am." He said triumphantly. "Begin the countdown."

"Countdown confirmed. Sixty seconds to launch."

He waited, his excitement almost palpable in the air around him. He felt like a schoolboy who'd just been given his favorite treat. Except for him this treat was vengeance. Vengeance against all who had defied him, and vengeance against the stupid Klaxosaurs that had prevented his mission from becoming a reality.

"Thirty seconds."

He took a deep breath and watched as the countdown continued to tick closer to launch—the moment when his divine justice would rain down upon the Earth.

"10"

"9"

"8"

"7"

"6"

"5"

"4"

"3"

"2"

"1"

"LAUNCH!"

"Missile 1 is away!" A tech shouted. "Missile 2 is away!…. Missile 3 is away!"

"Yes." He hissed. "Yes."

"Missile 4 failure to launch."

He felt his excitement weaken a little. One of his missiles had disobeyed him, and its failure had held him back from bringing his full wrath to bare.

"Missiles 5, 6, 7, and 8 are away!"

"9 and 10 failure to launch. 11 launch. 12, 13 blew up on the pad. 14, 15, 16, and 17 are away. 18, 19 failure to launch."

He waited with bated breath, desperate to hear the report of his final missile. It better not defy him. It had better not.

"Missile 20 is away."

He stood there watching as only thirteen of his divine missiles arched their way into the sky, seven of them having defied their master, and refused to launch. Still… As he watched the missile's projected paths, he was glad to see that the 5 targeted at The Gran Crevasse had all launched. It was good to see that at least something good was about to come out of this.

He looked down at Earth's scarlet surface and watched as his missiles began to ascend into the atmosphere crossing paths as they each arched towards their targets. He smiled and watched as his divine justice rained down upon the Earth.

Maya stood over a projector table staring at a map of Earth, tracking the movements of the Klaxosaurs in relation to the known locations of Papa's plantations. She felt optimistic about their chances in this war. Papa's forces were crumbling faster than the Klaxosaurs, and if this held out, then they'd win this. Still, she mustn't get overconfident. Because unlike Papa, if she failed, she had everything to lose, and she was on a time limit. She and Logos would have to remake the world, as soon as the energy inside her was ready to be born. And that could be at any time. Instinctually she checked the clean magma storage levels. 5 years. It hadn't changed since the last time she checked, but it still wasn't enough for Naomi's children.

She sighed as her thoughts drifted to Naomi. What a blessing she was. Naomi was more than she could have ever hoped for. And now she reflected with a smile, a Queen. She was still at the beginning stages, but she was undoubtedly going to turn into a queen. Maya smiled. Well, that was one more thing she'd have to teach her. But she had confidence the girl could do it. She'd been able to handle everything else thrown at her. Being a queen would just be a step up.

All of a sudden, an alarm blared, and the lighting in the room switched to the dim red lights of tactical mode. They were under attack.

"Incoming." Said a computerized voice. "100 nuclear warheads are falling towards The Grand Crevasse. Impact one minute and thirty seconds."

Abruptly she sat up and looked frantically at the screen alarms blared warning that serval of the Klaxosaur armadas had also been targeted.

"Send an order for all Klaxosaurs to disperse!" She shouted to the computer, "Get them out of there."

Frantically her hands dashed across the display, preparing The Gran Crevasse defenses. "Shields to maximum!" She shouted. "Reroute all unused power to the generators. The shields must hold. Defense cannons intercept the warheads."

"Shields online." The voice said. "Integrity at 100%"

She watched terrified as the missiles plummeted down towards The Gran Crevasse, the defense cannons ineffectual as they tried to hit those deadly warheads.

"Thirty seconds to impact." The voice said.

"Please." She prayed silently. "Hold the shields."

"10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1"

The impact was defying as the warheads rained down on the shields, explosions the size of cities decimating the shield. She felt everything around her shake, and a glass of water she'd had on the table spilled as she clung to the table, praying that somehow they'd make it through this.

She barely even heard as the computer shouted out the shield integrity. As it plummeted from eighty to fifty to forty, to thirty, to twenty-five percent. Then seemly out of nowhere, the computer shouted. "Less than ten percent integrity remaining."

She looked up terrified and horrified watched as warheads continued to rain down upon them.

But then. Almost as fast as it had started, it was over, and with one final shuddering crash, the last warhead spent itself against the shield, and for a moment, everything was still.

"Shield integrity holding at 2%." The voice said. "Generator 1 has been destroyed. Generators 2 and 4 are offline. Generator 3 remains undamaged." A few seconds passed by, and the voice spoke again. "Shield failure imminent. Estimated thirty minutes to shield failure."

She let out a relieved sigh. "We made it." She whispered. Then to the computer in a louder voice, she commanded. Switch to radiation shields. Get repair drones down to fix the other generators."

The computer thought for a moment and then said. "Confirmed, repair drones deployed. Switching to radiation shields. Estimated time to shield failure six hours and forty minutes."

"Then you have six hours to repair the generators." She said firmly. "The Gran Crevasse must hold."

She looked down at the holo table, needing to assess what damaged the Klaxosaurs had suffered. It wasn't looking good. Two of the Klaxosaur armadas had been completely wipped out, and a third had lost over half its forces. She stared horrified. She'd just lost half of her forces in a single stroke. Five million Klaxosaurs had just be wipped off the face of the Earth. She felt a tearing running down her cheek, as the reality of what had happened was starting to sink in. One man had just dealt a crippling blow to her people. Again. When would it ever stop? Was she just that much of a failure. She leaned forward and began to sob, tears falling to the holo table the hologram flickering at the interruption. She failed her people. Again. It wasn't enough that they'd all been transfigured and mutilated. Now half of them were all dead. When would it stop? She just wanted this to be over. After a hundred years of fighting and suffering. She couldn't take it anymore.

"Help me." She heard a voice whisper.

She shook herself, not sure if she was imagining things or not. What was that voice? Her horns began to glow as she attuned herself to her surroundings.

"Maya, help me, please." Naomi sobbed.

Maya flew from the control center and began running towards Naomi's room, hardly aware of what she was doing. Naomi's voice still echoing in her head. What had happened to Naomi?

"Please," She begged as she ran. "Not her. Anything but her. Don't do this. Don't take her away."

Maya screeched to a halt outside of Naomi's room and slammed the open button for the door. She was through the door before it had finished open and stepped into a world of chaos. Numa lay on the bed, sobbing and wailing, afraid and confused from the sudden abandonment of her mother. Maya looked around for Naomi, frantic as a search of the room yielded nothing. A moment later, she saw a light from the bathroom and saw that the door was ajar. She rushed over and found Naomi hunched over the toilet, sobbing as her horns glowed a dull blue.

"Naomi!" She cried, rushing over to her.

She knelt down beside the sobbing girl, and the smell of vomit assaulted her nose, and she felt the girl convulse as she spilled still more sick into the toilet.

"Naomi," She said, rubbing the girl's back. "Whats wrong?"

"I don't know." Naomi sobbed. "I was breastfeeding Numa, and suddenly everything started shaking, and all of sudden, I thought my head was about to split open. It felt like thousands of people were screaming in my head. All of them shrieking in unimaginable pain." Naomi sobbed and clutched the toilet for support. "And then. And then, everything was silent. All the voices were gone, and it felt like somebody had just ripped out my heart."

Maya sat back, mouth open, and absolutely speechless. She could not believe what had just happened.

"What does it all mean?" Naomi sobbed, looking over at her. "Whats happening to me?"

She stared at Naomi opened mouth for what felt like an eternity. But, finally, she found the words. "You just felt half the Klaxosaurs die. Papa just used a weapon and obliterated them. And was seconds away from blowing open the Gran Crevasse."

Naomi stared up at her, helpless. "Tell me thats not true." Naomi sobbed. "Just say it's some sick joke."

Maya shook her head. "Its not. They're dead. Five million Klaxosaurs were just murdered, by Papa."

Naomi collapsed forward, her body going limp, and she just cried, her whole body shaking. Maya gently reached forward and tucked some of Naomi's loose hair out of her eyes. Eventually, Naomi calmed down enough to stop crying, and they sat together in silence. It was then that they were able to hear the still wailing Numa in the next room.

Dazed Naomi's motherly instincts kicked in and she slowly stood up standing on shaky legs. Maya gently put an arm around the girl and help her from the bathroom, the still dazed Naomi driven by the desire to find her daughter. They exited the bathroom, and Naomi abruptly started forward and walked over to the bed, scooping up the sobbing Numa in her arms. Naomi clutched her little girl and just held her, too overwhelmed to offer any words of comfort.

Maya stood just processing everything that had happened over the last serval minutes; it was all too much. Half the Klaxosaurs dead. The Gran Crevasse assaulted. Naomi mass connecting with the Klaxosaurs, which by all rights, should be impossible. It was all just too much. She couldn't keep it all sorted in her head. What was she going to do? All of it was screaming for her attention, and all of it required addressing NOW.

She took a breath and stared at the two of them, watching as mother and daughter took solace in each other. Maya couldn't help but smile at the pure power of a mother's love. No matter how much hate and destruction was in the world, a mother's love never faltered. Maybe that was what this world needed. After this was all over, somebody would have to rebuild it all, and as she stared at Naomi, she knew that there was nobody more qualified for the job. And in that moment she knew. Naomi was destined to become the next Queen of the Klaxosaurs.

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading Chapter 23 of The Jian Bird.

Sorry this one took a little longer than I intended. Things have been a little hectic. I'll try to get the next one out as soon as I can.

Stay tuned for Chapter 24 of The Jian Bird: Into the Fray