They had gotten straight back into the cars and taken off after Furiosa, and, luckily, Warbird hadn't seen the People Eater or his boys yet. The Rock Rider canyon was looming ahead of them, but Joe wasn't slowing. The War Rig could be seen entering the canyon, and the Rock Riders definitely weren't going to be happy to see anyone else. It wasn't in the deal that Furiosa had made. She had to be alone.

Warbird was getting increasingly anxious. Had Nux made it through the storm? She hadn't seen him in the short time they had stopped to regroup after the dust cleared, but that didn't mean anything, did it? He was probably among them somewhere.

Right?

The rig was stopped and Joe was still flooring it, determined to catch up no matter what the Rock Riders had to say about it. As the first cars reached the canyon entrance, though, the riders detonated their explosives and the rocks came crashing down, destroying a few unfortunate pursuit vehicles in their wake. Then, just like that, Joe was finally forced to stop as the Rock Riders took off after the rig.

Warbird was still stuck in the Gigahorse with Gunk next to her, peering through the window as boys streamed through to see what had stopped them. Joe got out and slammed the door behind him, stomping over and climbing up the rocks a good ways before turning back to face everyone.

"Clear the rocks! Get everyone through!" he shouted. Immediately after, Warbird saw another Imperator running past, a boy following him.

"Immortan!" the Imperator yelled up to him. "Immortan Joe! I got a war boy here, says he was on the war rig!"

The boy ran forward, his back bent as he held what looked like cloth up to show their leader. Who the fuck had managed to reach the rig through that storm?

"You!" Joe said to him. "Climb aboard!"

The boy turned excitedly and Warbird swore. It was Nux.

"Hey!" she screamed, her voice hoarse. She pounded on the window with her fist. Nux ran past and Rictus pulled him up onto the back of the Gigahorse as Gunk did his best to shut Warbird up for the hundredth time.

She twisted around, ignoring him as she struggled to look through the tiny back window at him. She kept pounding her hand against the worn out glass until, finally, he miraculously noticed her. The Gigahorse was already moving, and in the few seconds he had the attention span for, he looked very confused.

"Warbird?" he asked, his voice muffled through the glass. "What're you doing in there?"

"She's bein' quiet!" Gunk snarled before she could say anything, still wrestling with her.

"LET THEM GO!" She screamed desperately as Gunk forced her down and Nux began disappearing from her vision.

She was sandwiched between Gunk and the seat, trying her best to get away but still failing. She could feel the car moving as fast as it could go, and she could hear the distant sounds of Rictus playing with his flamethrower. That probably meant they had caught up to Furiosa again.

Suddenly, Warbird heard Joe.

"Splendid!" he yelled. "Splendid, that's my child! My property!"

There was a thud and then silence for a moment before another voice cut in.

"Immortan, if I get on the rig, there's a way inside."

"What is your name?"

Warbird tried to turn over again, ignoring everything that hurt, and strained to look up. She could see Nux hanging on to the side of the car, all of his scars fully visible to her. She didn't want him to do this.

"It's Nux," he said. "I'll pike her in the spine, keep her breathing for ya."

Shit. Would he really do that?

"No." Joe said coldly. "Put a bullet in her skull. Return my treasures to me, and I myself will carry you to the gates of Valhalla."

Warbird's eyes widened. That was…what everyone had ever wanted. It's what she had wanted for a very, very long time. She knew it was Nux's dream, and that meant he was going to do everything he could to make it happen.

"A-am I awaited?" he asked.

"You will ride eternal, shiny and chrome."

Warbird could hear the spray of the chrome and knew that Nux was covered in the silver now. He couldn't do this, not today, not now, not to her….

"Rictus! Help him aboard!" Joe shouted.

Nux disappeared again as Rictus pulled him back up and launched him across to the rig and out of Warbird's view. She heard him thump against it as he landed, but then she heard Joe again.

"Mediocre!" he shouted and accelerated, leaving whatever was left of Nux behind.

"Wh-what happened?" Warbird asked.

"Shut up!" Gunk snapped.

"Please," she said weakly, breathing heavily. Then the car was airborne for a moment, and when it landed, her head slammed against the door and everything began getting hazy and black. Sounds were getting hard to hear and her vision was spotty at best, and she was fighting hard against unconsciousness until out of nowhere the car swerved heavily and her eyes were wide open as she was thrown across the cab, hitting Gunk, hitting the roof, hitting anything there was to hit—until finally it stopped, and she blacked out for another few seconds.

Warbird woke up a moment later with her head halfway out a window and her hands in the dust. This definitely wasn't how a car was supposed to be sitting. Dragging herself out, she saw that they had rolled quite a bit, and Joe was standing several feet away holding something, yelling in anguish about it.

Her breath was heavier than ever as she rolled onto her back, tears in the corners of her eyes from the sand all over her face. What the fuck happened? Looking to the side, she saw Rictus just in time to watch him fire a few rounds into the air.

"Get this car upright!" Joe shouted. War boys rushed forward, someone grabbed Warbird, and they tossed her back in when everything was right side up again. They shoved her to the side and, thankfully, someone was kind enough to set her upright in the corner. They had already somehow managed to rip seats out, which didn't necessarily surprise her at all, but the reason that they did was a minor shocker.

Angharad was brought in and laid down, her breathing shallow. Organic Mechanic came in and sat next to her and as quickly as it had all happened, they began driving again.

"What the fuck happened?" Warbird asked once she had the breath and capability to do so.

"Got hit," Mechanic said. "Went under the tires when she fell off the rig. Don't think she's got much longer at this rate."

Warbird felt whatever color was left in her face drain. This was the price they had paid, wasn't it? Splendid was dying now, everyone was gone from the Citadel, people were out of her life forever—where was Gunk, anyway? Dead too?—and all of it was just to get the wives away from Joe. Was it even fucking worth it? She didn't even know if Nux was alive. That thought scared her more than anything, honestly, even though she didn't want to admit it.

"Alright there?" Mechanic asked.

"N-no," she panted.

"Here." He shoved something into her face. "Drink."

The water tasted better than it ever had before and she drank it greedily, guzzling it down as quickly as she could.

"Right. Now if you plan on stayin' in here, you're helpin' me."

She swallowed hard as she scooted toward the dying Angharad. She wasn't ready for this. She had watched tons of boys die before, but never a breeder, and never a pregnant one. Was the child okay? What were they supposed to do if she kicked the bucket? She wasn't equipped for this. She had Nux to worry about too, and it was, for once, all too much.

"Stay with me, now. You pass out and I'm tossin' you." Organic Mechanic threatened.

It was incentive to stay awake and help.