Rhodes Island had just arrived in Laterano; the nation of the sankta. The doctor had ordered Rhodes Island to come here for a mission, and that mission was to eliminate all of the church within the nation. Kal'tsit agreed to this because this was perfect for her own mission, that being tracking down Mostima so she could begin construction of her own time-machine just like how her future self did in Yua's timeline. Kal'tsit wanted it so she herself could travel back to the past and save her long lost friend, Theresa. Kal'tsit however left out the part about wanting to build a time-machine when the doctor gave the order for Rhodes Island to head to Laterano, she simply told the man that it would be in each others interests if they headed to the nation.
During the journey to Laterano, the doctor had cut down his workload to spend time with his loved ones, all of them were still suffering from Yua's death. Amiya's health had just started to improve. The doctor was keeping a very close eye on her and made sure the cautus was looking after herself. Ch'en also had stopped drinking. He could tell the blue-haired lung was still trying to bury the pain, but the man was glad she was no longer turning to the bottle. "I know it's hard Ch'en, Amiya. We will come through this together. Yua wouldn't want us hurting ourselves because she is gone. She would want us to carry on living. We will complete her mission for her. Her future will never come to pass." The doctor told himself this mantra. He also told this to Amiya and Ch'en on more than one occasion, Amiya still kept trying to convince the doctor to come along with the group he had assembled to fight the church of the deep. No matter how many times she tried, however, the doctor adamantly kept refusing. He wasn't going to lose another daughter to the cult.
As he was walking about the landship, the doctor caught sight of his partner, Ch'en. The blue-haired lung looked like she was going somewhere. "Ch'en! Over here!" the man called out to her. The sound of her name being called out drew the attention of the lung, looking around she could see the doctor approaching her, "Hello doctor, what do you need?" she asked as he approached. "Nothing Ch'en, I just wondered where you are going? Are you alright? Do you need me to come with you?" the doctor asked his partner. Ch'en shook her head, "I'm fine, doctor. I appreciate your concern. I just need some time on my own to think. I'm going to head into Laterano to clear my head." Ch'en answered her partner. The lung was grateful that the doctor was looking out for her, but she needed time away from the landship. The doctor could understand why Ch'en needed some time on her own. He knew Yua was still heavily on her mind, "Okay Ch'en, take as much time as you need. It's hard, I know. We all miss her, I miss her too. We need to be here for each other. Anytime you need my help, all you have to do is ask." The doctor told his partner with complete empathy in his voice.
"I know, doctor, and thank you." Ch'en replied. The blue-haired lung then embraced the doctor in a hug to which the man reciprocated. The pair stayed like this for several minutes until Ch'en let go. She gave the doctor a look before heading off to leave the landship. The doctor watched the retreating form of his partner and could only sigh. He wished he could make Ch'en's pain go away but knew it was impossible. The wound would eventually heal for himself, Ch'en, and Amiya; but the scar from losing Yua would always remain. Once Ch'en was out of sight the doctor decided it was best to get some work done, even though he'd had reduced his workload the doctor promised to still do what work he had to the best of his ability. The man turned around to head to his office, but when he did, he bumped into someone.
The doctor was about to apologise to whoever he bumped into, but he stopped when he saw who it was, "Skadi, she's right here again." The doctor thought to himself while looking at the aegir. Ever since Yua had died, the man noticed Skadi had been trying to spend more time with him. The doctor couldn't understand why. The only reason that came to him was because of guilt. The doctor theorised that Skadi felt guilty for not being able to save his daughter and was looking to make up for it in some way. He didn't hold Skadi responsible. However, the one's who he blamed for Yua's death were the church of the deep. The doctor could see Skadi was looking at him and decided to speak, "Hello Skadi, apologies for bumping into you. I'm just on my way back to my office. Do you need something?" The doctor asked with genuine curiosity.
Skadi got closer to the doctor, a bit too close for his liking, and he took a step back. Skadi didn't seem to care. However, she looked at the doctor and said, "No doctor. I don't need anything. I simply came to see if you were alright. Since the loss of your daughter I've decided to take it upon myself to protect you. I don't want the same thing to happen to you." The future aegir told the man. The doctor decided to decline her offer. He already had enough people on the landship who had already decided to be his bodyguards for him. "Thank you for the offer, Skadi, but I respectfully decline. I already have enough people protecting me. If you feel you need to do this because of what happened to Yua, then don't. You don't have to do this as some sort of atonement for what happened. You did what you could, and I couldn't ask for more." The doctor told the aegir she didn't need to be his bodyguard. Skadi however wasn't going to give in, "No doctor, I insist. I still feel guilty for what happened. I can't live with myself because of my failure. Please let me do this, I couldn't bear the thought if something happened to you and I couldn't prevent it." The future aegir tried to use the excuse of her own guilt to convince the doctor to let her be his bodyguard. In truth, the future Skadi didn't feel any guilt for killing Yua, but she hoped she could play on his emotions.
The doctor tried refusing again, but in the end, he reluctantly accepted Skadi's request to be his bodyguard, "Very well Skadi, I accept your offer." He told the aegir with a hint of exhaustion in his voice, the future Skadi's manipulation had worked. Skadi didn't show any emotion on her face, but deep down, she was elated. The future aegir believed she finally had a perfect chance to work her way into the doctors heart, and she could do it while he and Ch'en were separated from each other. The future aegir wanted to celebrate this small victory but soon felt a small pulse in the back of her head. It was the present Skadi trying to fight back to take control back of her body. The future aegir, however, quickly brought the essence of her present day counterpart back into submission, "There is no point in struggling you fool! I am the one in control! You will not interfere between myself and the doctor! He is mine! And you will not stop me!" The essence of the present, Skadi went dormant again.
Remembering that the doctor was going back to his office the future Skadi told the man she would accompany him and he wasn't going to object. As the two were walking, Skadi decided to grab the arm of the doctor, which was closest to her, and began holding it very tightly and close to herself. "Skadi! What are doing?" the doctor asked in complete shock. He never expected someone like Skadi to do something like this. "I'm protecting you doctor, how can I protect you if you are away from me? I want to make sure nothing happens to you." The future aegir replied. The doctor wanted to tell her this was too much, that she was going overboard. However, the man simply didn't have the energy to argue. He decided it was best to just let Skadi carry on. The two carried on walking, and the doctor could notice several operators looking at him and the aegir as they were walking past, "Oh gods, I hope Ch'en doesn't find out about this. This is the last thing she needs to hear about right now." The doctor told himself while he had his head in his hand of his free arm. He was absolutely mortified by this situation.
The future aegir, however, was overjoyed with this. She didn't care if they were seen by other operators. In Skadi's mind, she was staking her claim to what rightfully belonged to her, not some blue-haired lung. The aegir believed that once she had the doctors heart, the blue-haired lung would be an afterthought, as well as her spawn. Yua would never exist in this timeline. That would be one less problem to deal with if she didn't exist in the first place. That would be the final nail in the coffin for Ch'en. She would have nothing. Skadi could only think of that future with a grin on her face. Her plan was nearly complete. She just had to show the doctor she was the only one for him...
Skadi didn't realise that her recent behaviour had caught the attention of someone. Another abyssal hunter could see the doctor looking mortified and Skadi holding his arm in a tight grip from the shadows It was Gladiia. The leader of the abyssal hunters had noticed since Yua's passing that Skadi was doing what she could to spend more time with the doctor. At first, Gladiia believed that Skadi was trying to atone for failing to save their comrade. Looking at the scene now, however, the aegir believed her friend was doing this with less than noble intentions in mind. "Skadi, this is wrong. You have no right to do this, especially since the doctor and madam Ch'en lost their daughter recently. The doctor is a claimed man. If you won't stop what you are doing, then I will. I promise you that, Skadi." Gladiia still couldn't believe what she was seeing and was appalled by her friend. In her mind, this was morally wrong. Gladiia was going to confront Skadi about this later. If her friend didn't stop this, then Gladiia promised she would...by force if necessary...
In Laterano, Ch'en was walking around the city streets. The rain was coming down hard, but the lung didn't care that she was getting soaked. She just wanted to be away from the landship. Ch'en carried on walking, she had no particular destination in mind. Eventually, as Ch'en was walking, the lung caught sight of a church. Ch'en wasn't surprised a church was here, Laterano was a religious nation, after all. The blue-haired lung was never a religious person by any stretch of the imagination, but for some reason, she felt compelled to head inside. Ch'en didn't know what she wanted or what she would find but thought that maybe it could help her in some way.
Ch'en entered the church and looked around, "Nothing much here, looks like your regular church." Ch'en thought as she observed her surroundings. The lung decided to sit on a bench at the front near the church's alter. She simply sat in silence for some time, contemplating why she decided to come here. "Why have I come here? What do I want?" Ch'en thought to herself while sitting in silence, the blue-haired lung was beginning to question if this was a waste of time. Ch'en eventually decided to leave, but before she did, a door opened at the side of the church, and this got Ch'en's attention. An elderly sankta nun stepped inside and could see the lung was here, "Oh, I didn't realise anyone was here, apologies my child." The sankta told Ch'en. "It's fine, I was just leaving." The blue-haired lung replied. "Are you sure, my child? I sense something about you. You have this aura of sadness and grief around you. I have a feeling you have lost something important." The nun said to Ch'en.
The blue-haired lung wanted to deny the nuns claims, but she knew the nun was right on the money. She couldn't refute them. Ch'en simply sighed, and the nun took this opportunity to sit next to her. "What is wrong, child? How can I help you? It is my duty to help those who walk into these halls." The nun told Ch'en in a comforting voice. Ch'en didn't know what to say at first, but eventually began to open up to the nun, "It's my daughter. Not too long ago, I... lost her. She died." Ch'en told the nun, the blue-haired lung, left out the details of Yua being from the future and dying in battle against the church of the deep. "I am truly sorry to hear that. If you don't mind me asking, what was your daughters name?" the nun asked with empathy and sadness in her voice. "Yua, that was her name. She was a strong girl, was always looking to help others, and she had a kind heart. But she's dead now, and I don't know what to do. I just miss her so much." Ch'en's voice began to break when she finished talking to the nun.
The nun could see Ch'en was hurting and did her best to comfort the blue-haired lung, "I understand. Losing your own child is truly cruel. No one should ever have to suffer such a fate. I have seen others in these halls who have also lost their children. I know it is hard, but I am sure the gods will welcome Yua into their warm embrace. And I am also sure you are not alone, I would imagine you have the aid of Yua's father?" The nun said to Ch'en. Ch'en nodded and then spoke, "Yes, he has done his best to help me during this time. I know he is missing her just as much as I am. He has been my rock, I can't thank him enough." Ch'en explained to the nun how much the doctor had been helping her since Yua's loss.
Hearing that the lung was receiving help did put a smile on the nuns face, "That is good to hear my child. I know it is only a small comfort, but at least you are not alone. If you want, we can pray for Yua's soul, pray that she finds peace and comfort in the afterlife." The nun told Ch'en. The blue-haired lung didn't know if praying would help, but she did want Yua's soul to be at peace and, if possible, reunite with the souls of the future versions of herself and the doctor. The two put their hands together, and the nun and Ch'en began to pray. Once it was complete Ch'en decided to stay at the church for some time. The nun left Ch'en on her own, and the lung walked up to the alter and lit a candle. "I promise you, Yua, me and the doctor will stop the seaborn for you. Your future will not happen again. I will see you again one day, Yua, until then...rest in peace." Ch'en told herself while looking at the burning candle. The lung didn't know if she would see Yua again in the afterlife, but Ch'en was going to do whatever it took to complete her mission for her. The blue-haired lung was going to make sure that Yua's future would never come to be, not just for the daughter she had lost but also for the one who would come to be...
The sun was starting to set over Rhodes Island. The doctor had completed what work he could and decided to finish up for the day. The man was going to wait for Ch'en to return and spend some time with the lung. His new self declared bodyguard. Skadi was walking back to the room of the abyssal hunters. The future aegir was pleased with how today had gone. She had managed to spend a good amount of time with the doctor. This put Skadi in high spirits. She got to be with the doctor, and Ch'en wasn't here to interfere. She was annoyed that the doctor would be waiting to see the blue-haired lung, but the aegir believed that would change in time. In her mind, the more time she spent with the doctor, eventually he would begin to drift away from Ch'en. She just needed time.
When Skadi arrived at the room of the abyssal hunters, she opened the door but didn't see anyone else. "That's strange, where are they?" the future aegir began to wonder to herself. A voice, however, spoke up from behind Skadi, "What on Terra are you doing, Skadi?" it questioned the future aegir. Skadi turned around and could see Gladiia looking at her with a very sour look on her face. "I don't know what you mean Gladiia, what am I doing?" Skadi replied, trying to act innocent. This answer only caused the look on Gladiia's face to get even worse, "You know what I mean Skadi, don't play dumb. I saw you today with the doctor. I know what you are trying to do Skadi, as your superior I'm ordering you to stop. The doctor has only just lost his daughter, and he is already claimed by madam Ch'en. Leave him alone. He doesn't need you trying to complicate his life even more." Gladiia ordered her comrade.
"My superior? Oh, Gladiia, you have no idea who the true superior being here. The doctor is mine, no one else's. Don't think you can tell me what to do when it comes to the doctor. I've killed you as well before Gladiia, I'll happily do it again if you get in my way." The future Skadi thought to herself while looking at Gladiia. Skadi had killed the aegir leader in the future and was more than willing to do it again if she needed to. That, however, would give her true identity away if she carried it out. She had to kill Gladiia only as a last resort. Skadi decided to tell her leader that she was only acting as his bodyguard, that nothing more was going on. Gladiia didn't buy it for a second, but decided to accept the answer only so Skadi wouldn't realise she would be watching her more closely from now on.
"I swear, Skadi, I know you are up to something. I will find out the truth one way or another." Gladiia promised herself she would find out what Skadi was up to. The aegir leader was beginning to suspect her comrade was hiding something sinister and was going to find out what it was...