Why, hello there! This chapter is ridiculously overdue, so I advise you to at least reread the precedingchapter, if not the entire story.

I give no excuses.

And now, after much ado, here is the next chapter!

Chapter something…

Kass

"You think?" I groaned, easing myself off the ground, spitting out dirt as I did so. I felt sore, and my skin was all tingly. Which could have been a side effect of being tossed into lava, but hey, that's just my opinion. "Groooooossssss." I gagged, reaching up a hand to pick out a rock I was in danger of swallowing. Now holding the pebble I gazed down at it with a disgusted expression. I then paused, staring in shock at my fingers, which now ended in deadly sharp-not to mention lethal looking-nails and were bright red. I would say it was the sun burn... if it weren't for the circular scales on my palm, which were a shade lighter.

"Liiiiiiiinzzzzzzzyyyyyyyy." I cried out, voice cracking as I turned towards her. My eyes widened, "Y-you too?!"

...

"We're scaley-I mean-even MORE scaley!" I spluttered, my hands suddenly reaching up to my scalp, "H-how's my hair?"

"It's fine, Kass! Calm down." Linzy sighed, raising her hands up. "It's just... really red. Redder than usual."

...

"Sweeeeeeeet." I grinned, letting out a low whistle. I looked at her wings, "So cool! You think I'm gonna get a pair too?"

...

"How are you not... freaking out?"

"Oh, I am. I am most definitely freaking out. I'm just really good at hiding it behind over enthusiastic sayings and gestures." I shrugged.

I then paused, scratching my chin, "How are we going to explain this to the others? Duncan and Alice especially? Won't they... smell the... kaijuness on us or something?" I asked her.

She shrugged, "I'm sure we'll think of something, Kass."

"... I got it!" I said, snapping my fingers together and pointing to the both of us, "We both have rashes!"

...

"No, Kass. Just-no."

...

"Should we douse ourselves in perfume then? Or paint ourselves back to normal?"

"No, Kass. Just-no."

...

"Skin suits?"

"Once again, no."

"Eh, it was worth a shot. " I shrugged before looking up at Comoro, "Hey! Miss Snot! Don't think I'm not gonna get you back for tossing me in a lava pit!"

Said giant dragon lady rolled her eyes with a scoff, "I'd like to see you try."

"Come at me, bro-I mean-come at me, sis!" I shouted, jumping up and pounding on my chest, bouncing on the balls of my feet. "Come on! I can take ya!" I hissed
"Come-"

All she had to do was pick me up by the back of my long johns, lifting me up into the air.

"Hey! No fair!" I whined. "Liiiiiinzy!" I flailed my arms at the other kaiju-fied girl, suspended in the air as Comoro held me up between two long talons.

"Don't look at me, you're on your own." she tiffed, going over to her bag and digging through it, pulling out a thick novel moments later. I was pretty sure it didn't matter how many pages there were, if it was Linzy she'd have it read by the day after-and would probably have a good summary about the plot and character development too, although I may just be exaggerating (but only by a little bit).

"Well then!" I pouted at my friend, who simply waved a hand at me in dismissal. I swiveled my head towards Comoro, who had a sly look on her face. In aggravation-and maybe a smidge of immaturity-I puffed some air into my cheeks, exhaling loudly which caused a cloud of smoke to exit both my mouth and nostrils, billowing in front of her face.

"You know smoking's bad for you, right?" I asked her, cackling.

She scoffed, waving the smoke from in front of her and promptly droping me. With a yelp I landed harshly on my backside, and I rubbed at it.

"Owwwwwwie, Comoro you're a real meanie mcmeanerson, you know that?" I hissed up a her, earning a chuckle in return. "Hey! Don't you laugh at me!" I shouted, voice echoing off the dirt walls.

I froze, suddenly noticing something embedded into the walls. Pushing myself to my feet I scampered over, placing my hands on one of the large crystals.

"Oh wooooooowwwwieee!" I gasped, gazing around at the gems. They shone bright, shimmering a rainbow of different colors. "Linzy, Linzy, Linzy, oh my gosh Linzy. Look, loooooooooooook." I squeaked, "They're so shiney!"

I turned my head towards her. "I know what you can get me for my birthday!"

I returned my gaze to the stones, "I wonder if there are any orange ones..." I mused before looking up at Comoro, "Hey, snot scales, what are these shiney gemstone thingies?"

"These are Di Gems." she informed me. "There is a jewel for each element-"

"And orange? Orange Di Gems. Are there any of those? That's all that I really want to know." I cut her off, running my hands along the wall. They seemed to range in size and shape, some being as tall as the cavern and others no larger than a penny. Still, they were each beautiful in their own right.

"Yes," she sighed, dragging a large hand down the side of her face in what I could only perceive as annoyance. "There are orange Di Gems."

"Aw yeeeeeeea." I grinned before turning my head over in the direction of my friend, "Hey Liiiiiinzy, you wanna see if there are any purple ones around this place?"

Linzy

I was about to reply when a tinkling laugh echoed throughout the cavern.

"I haven't heard that sort of talk since Comoro was a hatchling!" The voice chimed, and a very tall Femju came striding towards us. She came to a stop and towered over me, her sparkling blue eyes boring into my own as her silvery white scales glimmered in the pale light. My eyes raked over her and soaked in everything they could; high regal brow set with three identical smoky colored stones, lethal razor-sharp claws scoring dents into the stony ground, thin wisps of frost streaming from her nostrils…

"Greetings, high Empress Tiari!" Bellowed Comoro, bowing her head in reverence. "These are the two hybrids our Gamorradons signaled out."

Empress?

Wait a second…

"Excellent, General. Did you have any trouble retrieving them?"

"No, your highness. Well, only with this one." She replied, flicking Kass in the back so she stumbled forward.

"Hey snot-face, watch it!" Kass grumbled, her eyes still locked on to the empress.

Wordlessly I bowed my head. "Erm, High Empress Tiari, if I may speak?"

Her lips pulled back into a smile and she inclined her head. "Of course."

"My name is Linzy Keeper, and this is my friend Kass Sand. If it's possible, I would like to know why we have been brought here, and, on a lesser scale, why no one knows about female kaiju."

Her sparkling eyes took on a colder tone.

"Well met, Linzy. Both questions have the same answer, and I'm afraid it's a rather long story to tell. Follow me to the high chambers and we will begin." She turned on her heel and disappeared behind a rock wall. As I flapped my wings and hopped ahead Kass moved to follow me, but she was held back by Comoro.

"Not you, runt. You'll have to wait with me."

My friend complained loudly but didn't argue, the hard gaze of the Femju holding her in place.

"I'll come find you when I'm done!" I shouted, zipping around the corner and into the unknown.

Using both my hands and feet to find footing on the precarious rocks, I clambered up a sharp slope I'd seen the empress lithely cross only moments before. With one final flap of my wings I arrive at the lip of a large cave, Di gems casting the chalky white floor in shades of dark purple and silver.

"Come closer, child."

Suddenly feeling sheepish, I inch forward into the cave. A well-lit area was directly ahead of me, and in it Tiari was perched upon a raised dais in the form of a throne.

"Take a seat."

I knelt near the foot of the throne and leaned back on my toes, my wings relaxing and curling up loosely around my sides. The Empress eyed me critically and cleared her throat.

"Many years ago," she started, her voice reverberating off the walls, "We lived alongside the male Kaiju, as a separate race. Our name: the Feijuenumajus, or, in your own words, the Femju. Not unlike you humans, we had many wars fought amongst ourselves… and one small incident was enough to shake our allegiances' fragile boundaries.

'As you may be aware, Belloc is the Kaiju king. He was, in human terms, "betrothed" to one of our own. Not only did she love him, but the union was the last ditch effort between our races to stabilize the peace. Unfortunately, Belloc had other plans."

My eyes widened as I soaked in this information. "He chose a human." I breathed, my hands clenching.

"Yes. He chose a human woman over… well, she'd be displeased if I told you her name, so I'll just move on. To say the least, when I found out he had broken our agreement I was furious. I called a full evacuation of the Femju and pulled out my troops. We decided to get as far away from the desert as we could, and we made our haven here, in the rocky realm beyond the water fall. We have remained here ever since, using our Gamorradons spies to keep an eye on the Kaiju. And-" I blinked. Are the lights in the Di gems dimming?

"-to a lesser extent, on their hybrid offspring. Belloc's young son, Duncan…even the one you call "Alice". You and your friend Kass, however, were completely unexpected. You quite literally showed up out of nowhere, and we have Gamorradons all over the world."

She leaned her head down and looked me in the eye, her crystal breath making frost cling to my hair. As the last of the Di gems faded, her eyes took on a ghostly blue light.

"So, you're going to tell me how."

And then I passed out.