The silence in the tent was torturous for Yua. Every second felt like an hour, and the fact that Operator Matterhorn was with her in the tent made the experience even more unbearable. After being brought here by Matterhorn, she was told to sit down and wait in the chair while he went and got Doctor Kal'tsit. He returned about 15 minutes later and said, "Doctor Kal'tsit is currently in a meeting with Kazimierz executives; until she returns, I will wait here with you."
Ever since then, Yua hadn't been able to look or speak to the man, the future version of him leaving a horrible impression of him on her. Although Matterhorn wasn't complaining about the silence in the room; he was standing up at the side of the tent, like a guard on duty. Yua could feel his gaze on her and she felt incredibly uncomfortable.
She thought to herself, "At least he isn't going berserk like he did when Mr. Silverash died." She still remembered that incident as if it had just happened yesterday.
A young Yua came down to the entrance of the landship to greet the operators, returning from a battle with the seaborn. Ever since her father went missing four years ago, the command responsibilities of Rhodes Island had been taken over by Mr. Silverash, Doctor Kal'tsit, Amiya, and her mother, Ch'en.
It had become increasingly difficult as seaborn attacks were becoming more and more frequent, and one country that was being hit particularly hard was Kjerag, Mr. Silverash's homeland. He, along with his personal guards, Courier and Matterhorn volunteered to deal with the seaborn threat to his home; several other operators also volunteered.
Yua knew of Silverash's power and tactical prowess from her father, so she thought that the battle would be easy, and Mr. Silverash would return victorious. When the young lung girl saw the operators dispatched return, however, she was met with a completely different story.
Only seven of the twelve team members who were dispatched returned; Miss Liskarm and Miss Franka both had cuts all around their bodies, and Liskarms shield was split in two. Miss Dur-Nar was on a stretcher and completely unconscious, while Miss Rope was bleeding from her head and appeared to be suffering from a concussion. Mr Totter was in the best condition out of all the operators, though even he seemed incredibly fatigued.
Mr. Courier and Mr. Matterhorn were also in bad shape, but what happened next is what set such a bad impression of the man. Courier was still in a state of shock from seeing his master struck down by a seaborn, but he knew for his sake, his friend Matterhorn's sake, and every other operator out there, he had to stay strong and comfort his friend.
"Matterhorn, what happened out there is not anyone's fault; it is the fault of the seaborn. So, don't keep blaming yourself—you did what you could." Matterhorn was completely unresponsive; he was just looking at the floor. "Listen," he continued, "we have to keep fighting, not just for ourselves but for the future. We can't fail now."
Matterhorn then all of a sudden shot his head up and said, "Can't fail now you say?" In a completely unexpected turn of events, he grabbed Courier by the neck, threw him into the wall with such force that it left a dent in the wall, and shouted in his face, "CAN'T FAIL NOW YOU SAY? I HAVE FAILED…FAILED THE MASTER I SWORN TO PROTECT WITH MY LIFE! AND YOU ARE TELLING ME TO KEEP FIGHTING!"
Matterhorn continued "I have nothing left to fight for now! I have no future!" Matterhorn screamed as he started to hit Courier harder into the wall, creating a larger, deeper dent. Some operators arrived to attempt to calm him down, but in a blind rage, he began punching and throwing them around all over the place.
His bloodshot eyes then met Yua, and Matterhorn started charging at the terrified girl. Yua, at this point, was completely rooted to the spot, trembling with fear; the crazed forte man was closing the distance, and all Yua could do was close her eyes and brace for impact… But the impact never came.
She heard a loud grunt and then heard the man land some distance away; when she opened her eyes, she saw long blue hair, a Rhodes Island jacket, and a glowing red sword in someone's hand. It was her mother, Ch'en, and she was furious.
In seconds she had closed the distance between herself and Matterhorn and as the man was recovering from the strike he took he saw a sword pointed at his neck and a very angry lung woman. "Make one more move and I swear you will be joining your master, is that clear!" Ch'en shouted at him with incredible venom. Feeling incredibly tired from his rampage and a sword pointed at his neck, Matterhorn began to calm down. He knew if he didn't, Ch'en would end him on the spot.
Seeing that the worst of the situation had passed, Chen was on the radio to the control center. "Amiya, send down medics and any spare operators available down to the entrance; we have a situation here." Within minutes, Amiya and more than a dozen operators arrived at the scene. Amiya approached the blue-haired woman and asked, "What happened here?"
Amiya then understood the situation after Ch'en finished explaining what had happened. Amiya then ordered the medics present to immediately begin treating Courier, whose injuries were the most severe after Matterhorn's rampage, and then to begin treating those who were in need of medical care the most.
Several operators then detained Matterhorn and took him down to the holding area. Seeing the situation was now under control, Amiya walked up to Ch'en and asked, "Are you okay, Ch'en?…Do you need anything?" Ch'en simply replied, "I just want to check on my little girl…I want to know that she is okay." Amiya nodded and said she could deal with things now.
Ch'en found Yua in a corner of the entrance, in a fetal position and still shaking. The blue-haired woman carefully approached her, got down on one knee, and in a very soft voice spoke to Yua. "Darling, it's okay; you're safe now." The young girl raised her head and saw who it was. "Momma?" Ch'en simply nodded.
The young girl then jumped immediately into her mother's arms and started crying. Ch'en responded by rubbing her daughter's back and whispering, "It's okay now, sweetheart. You're safe; I promise not to let anyone hurt you, I swear my life on it." Mother and daughter then remained together in a hug for quite some time.
Remembering this incident, Yua had never trusted the man again. Even now, in the tent, she could not trust him to not go on a rampage and start attacking people like his future self did. All Yua could do was remain calm and wait for Doctor Kal'tsit to arrive.
Several minutes later, a rustling was heard at the entrance, and Matterhorn went to check. When he saw who it was, he simply said, "This is the person whom I found in a Rhodes Island uniform." A simple "Understood," was then heard. Footsteps were then heard going around Yua, and then a chair was pulled up on the opposite end of the desk. When Yua raised her head up, she saw someone who she was both glad and not glad to see.
Doctor Kal'tsit.