Hi guys! I hope you liked the last chapter! It took a while to write, but I think it turned out well. Time for a new one!
Diana's POV
We started our trek back to Perdido Beach. I had no idea how I would explain Natalia to my parents. All I knew was that Caine would be with me when I told them, and I will be with him when he tells Connie. Astrid and Sam are walking in front of Caine and I, I'm holding Caine's hand and he's carrying Natalia in the other arm. I take another look at Natalia. She looks like a mini version of us. Caine's lips and hair, my nose, facial structure, and ears, and a combination of our eyes. Caine looked at me and gave me a quick kiss before going back to walking.
"Listen, Diana, I know this is probably not what you expected to hear from me right now, or maybe it is, but please don't take this the wrong way.." Caine started trailing off.
"What is it Caine?" I asked.
"Please, please, don't take this the wrong way and for the wrong reasons, but...did you get a reading on Natalia?" Caine asked.
"Caine.." I started to say.
"Look Diana, I'm only wondering because apparently all of us mutants kept our powers and mutations, meaning Natalia must have some kind of power within her. And it's important to know what bar she is considering we're both mutants and she was a four bar back in the FAYZ." he stated.
"Well don't you think she would've kept that bar status?" I asked.
"Actually, no." Caine answered.
I was kind of shocked. "Really? Why not?" I questioned.
"Well...for starters she doesn't even look like what she did in the FAYZ. Don't forget that she's not a host for the gaiaphage anymore either. Meaning the Darkness might as well have been the one giving her extra power." Caine explained.
"I see your point." I looked at Natalia. She was sleeping. "When do you want me to read her?"
"Whenever you feel like it." Caine said.
"I might as well do it now, I guess." I said.
Caine handed Natalia over to me. She woke up.
"Hey there my, I mean OUR, little bundle of joy" I cooed.
Natalia made some baby noises and smiled. I took her hand.
One bar...
Two bars...
...
It's getting fuzzy, but, is that?
Three bars..
And not quite four bars.
Natalia was a three and a half and may or may not expand her powers.
"She's a three and a half." I told Caine.
"Do you think she'll stop there?" he asked.
"I have no idea. What do you think?" I responded.
"Well...I think yes. She's still a baby, and I'm a four bar and you're a two bar, so yes I think she will expand her power range as she gets older, little by little." Caine stated.
"Yeah, not to mention she was a four bar even without the whole gaiaphage taking control of her body" I added.
"Was her power everyone else's power, or was that all the gaiaphage?" Caine asked.
"I have no idea. From the time I spent with her, that seemed to be it. You seemed to spend some time with her too though." I stated.
Caine grimaced, remembering the horrible details of our last two days in the FAYZ. Those days were filled with death. We later came to find out that they really just poofed into the real world, much to my delight because that let Caine and Natalia stay alive.
And all the moofs kept their powers. We just didn't tell anyone about those parts. We didn't want to get taken away like Taylor and Orc. The only people who didn't make it out of the FAYZ when they poofed were Mary and Francis, but that was because they were touched by the gaiaphage before they poofed out. The details of their appearance were very gruesome. I felt bad, Mary and Francis were generally good people. Mary had her moments, like when she was on the cliff with the prees when she poofed, but she was tricked by Nerezza, aka the gaiaphage. I felt bad for Mary, I really did. When Dahra told everyone about how she was struggling with her depression and eating disorders and anxiety, I felt horrible because someone was struggling just as much as I was. After I had Gaia, of course. I mean Natalia. Sometimes I keep forgetting we changed her name. I didn't really know Francis well, at all. When I think about it, I barely even knew him. I think the only time I ever spoke to him was when I read him back in the early days of the FAYZ. Or the good old days, as some people call them.
We started nearing Perdido Beach. I gripped Caine's hand harder. He looked at me and smiled. My heart just wanted to melt. He is so darn cute when he smiles!
*10 minutes later*
We made it into Perdido Beach. Sam and Astrid walked ahead of me, Caine, and Natalia. Natalia was now walking, so she was on the other side of Caine. And then I heard it.
"D….Diana..?" I heard in a shocked voice.
I turned around in shock. It was my mother, and I was so not ready to explain this situation to her.