Ch'en was currently getting ready for her shift of guarding the Copper Coast area. The blue-haired lung looked in the mirror and could see the bruise present on her eye, the bruise that her future daughter, Yua, gave her yesterday. "I still can't believe that she lashed out like that yesterday. Is her PTSD really that bad? I can't imagine what she has been through before she came back in time. But at least Yua will be getting the help she needs now. I'm sticking by her no matter what, and so is the doctor. She is our daughter, and I don't care that she is from the future. Yua is our flesh and blood." Ch'en thought to herself.
After Yua's outburst and the conversation with the doctor, they approached and discussed everything that had happened with Kal'tsit. They had a very long discussion with her. In the end, they all came to an agreement to remove Yua from operations for the time being. The white-haired lung would be receiving help regarding her PTSD. They couldn't afford Yua to have another episode like she did.
After that long conversation, however, Kal'tsit informed the doctor and Ch'en that Rhodes Island would be staying at the Copper Coast for some time. Many executives from Rim Billiton's companies had contacted Rhodes Island and asked to meet with the ancient feline directly. They asked for Rhodes Island to provide security for the area, while the situation regarding the attack was cleared up. Kal'tsit wanted to decline their request; she wanted to get to Laterano and begin searching for Mostima as soon as possible. However, after a long and torturous meeting, Kal'tsit eventually agreed.
The executives promised that they would pay Rhodes Island very handsomely for their work, and they would also cover the expenses of every single operator of Rhodes Island while they were here. Ch'en didn't care about the money; there were still many civilians at the Copper Coast. Another attack could still possibly happen, so the doctor and the blue-haired lung told Kal'tsit that they believed she made the right call that Rhodes Island would stay for the time being.
Ch'en had now finished getting ready for her shift. She was paired with her friends Swire and Hoshiguma. The blue-haired lung was staying in her hotel room, and Hoshiguma and Swire had moved into the same hotel as to make it easier to meet up to begin their respective shift. The lung wasn't looking forward to their questions about what happened yesterday. She had a feeling they would ask her about Yua, "She's fine, Yua is fine. That's all they need to know." The lung told herself. With this in mind Ch'en left her hotel room and headed downstairs to meet her two closest friends.
Once downstairs near the entrance, the blue-haired lung clocked sight of the oni and the feline. It wasn't difficult as there was hardly anybody else around. The pair also spotted Ch'en and waved her over to them, Ch'en then walked over to them. "Are you two ready?" She asked. Hoshiguma replied, "We are ready to go whenever you want Ch'en." Ch'en nodded and began walking out of the entrance with Hoshiguma and Swire right behind her, ready to patrol the whole area.
Outside the three ex-LGD officers could still see the remnants of all the carnage that had happened, signs of battle were still everywhere. The trio could also see many other Rhodes Island operators also protecting the area alongside the local police. The coast was still littered with remains of sea monsters, and bodies were still being discovered and brought to shore. "I bet Yua saw too much of this in her timeline. No wonder she snapped. I wonder how much death she came across." Ch'en sadly pondered about her daughters future. The blue-haired knew everyone had their limits before they reached breaking point. It was no doubt in her mind that her future daughter had reached hers.
After a short time looking around at the scene before them, the trio began their patrol of the Copper Coast. While on their patrol, Ch'en was the lead person, while Hoshiguma and Swire were right behind her. The two looked at each other and then began whispering behind her back, "Do you think we should ask her?" Swire whispered. "I don't know; yesterday was completely out of the blue. Yua looked like she had gone nuts." The green-haired oni responded. They both remembered yesterday's events with Yua. It took them both completely by surprise. They never expected the white-haired lung to go berserk like she did; she punched Ch'en right in the face and winded Gavial of all people. Yua had completely lost it. Both oni and feline were worried not only for their friend but also for her daughter as well.
After some more whispering, Hoshiguma decided to speak to Ch'en, "Ch'en, wait a minute. We need to talk to you." The oni asked. Ch'en stopped walking and turned to face Hoshiguma and Swire, "What's wrong?" the lung asked. Hoshiguma took a second to think before asking the lung what she wanted, "Ch'en, how is Yua? We want to know if she is okay?" Ch'en sighed when she heard her friends question. She did expect to get asked about her future daughter, but wished they didn't mention the subject. "She is fine. She is staying on the landship for the time being. The doctor is getting her the help she needs." The blue-haired lung stated to her friends.
While the pair were relieved that Ch'en's daughter was getting help, they still were not convinced that everything was fine with the lung. Swire then spoke up, "Are you sure she is really okay? Ch'en, I know it's not our place, but we want to help too. Yua said that in the future, she considered the two of us family. We want to help however we can, not just Yua, but you and the doctor as well. Neither you nor the doctor have to go through this on your own." The feline offered her help to her friend.
Ch'en was touched by her friends' concern, but to her, this wasn't their problem. Yua was the responsibility of herself and the doctor. Nobody else had to get involved. The blue-haired lung replied back, "Look, I appreciate what you both are trying to do. But please don't get involved. Yua is mine and the doctor's daughter. It's up to us to see that she gets the help she needs. My future self failed her; she didn't help Yua how she should have. I'm going to make that right. The doctor is going to make that right. So please can both of you drop the subject?" Both Hoshiguma and Swire wanted to argue against Ch'en, but quickly remembered the stubbornness of the blue-haired lung, trying to reason with her would be pointless.
The pair decided to drop the subject for now. If Ch'en wanted their help, they would have to wait until she asked them first. Seeing that her friends weren't going to question her anymore, Ch'en turned back around to carry on her patrol. Deep down, Ch'en was grateful that she had people who cared about herself and Yua, but this was the problem of herself and the doctor. Nobody else needed to help. After this patrol was finished, the blue-haired lung decided that she would head back to the landship. She wanted to see how Yua was doing and also give her some difficult news.
Back at the landship, Yua was currently trying to relax in the garden, which was being tended to by Perfumer and Flamebringer of all people. Yua never expected that someone like the sarkaz warrior was so talented in gardening. From what she remembered of the man, he always hung about with W in the future. Yua only ever saw him as a bloodthirsty fighter. But seeing him tenderly looking after flowers changed her perspective of him very quickly. Perfumer noticed the lung and asked why she was here. Yua replied, and then she wanted to try some aromatherapy that the kitsune was known for. Perfumer replied, "Come with me, Yua, I'll take you somewhere that will help." The lung followed perfumer to a small hut inside the garden.
Once inside, Yua could see many candles inside the hut. "They are all scented candles, I come here sometimes when thinks get tough. Being here helps me calm down and be at peace." The kitsune explained. Yua asked if she could use the candles, to which Perfumer replied it was fine. Perfumer lit the candles then left Yua on her own. Once alone, the scented candles began to help Yua think more clearly about what happened yesterday.
Yua still couldn't believe what she did. She had punched her mother in the face, which left a bruise on her eye. She also hurt Gavial and scared everyone else around her. The lung was disgusted with her actions, but the dream she had and the dead ursus child frightened Yua so much. The dream, however, felt real to Yua, too real. She actually felt she was back home in the future. Seeing the remains of all the people she knew and all the dead ursus children made Yua think that something or someone sent her back home.
The lung then began to remember one other thing, "That person in red. Who were they? They know who I am and why I'm here. Did someone else come back in time? But how? Kal'tsit and my mother couldn't have sent anyone else back. Mostima only had enough power to send me back, and even then, it was a miracle that it worked. So, how did someone else come back as well? And how do they know me? I don't understand." Yua worryingly thought. The lung began to believe that someone or something was out to get her, but she couldn't figure out who or what. The fact that someone or something else came from the future put Yua on high alert. She couldn't afford to let her guard down until she discovered the identity of this individual.
The door to the hut opened, and immediately, the white-haired lung got into a fighting stance, her nerves all over the place. When the person entered the room, they could see Yua ready to fight and stuck their hands up in the air to let her know they weren't a threat, "Yua! Calm down! It's only me!" the person told her, it was Amiya. Seeing her sister Yua relaxed her stance, she then sat down on the floor of the hut.
Knowing that Yua didn't see her as a threat anymore, Amiya closed the door of the hut and sat down next to the lung. There was silence for a few minutes, neither knew what to say to the other. The cautious then broke the silence by speaking to her sister, "How are you feeling, Yua?" Amiya asked. The lung sighed then replied, "I'm fine, Amiya. Better than I was yesterday. Thank you for asking." The hut then went silent again.
Amiya remembered what happened yesterday. Those events scared her. Finding out that Yua had a panic attack and then Yua going berserk truly terrified her. The cautus had lost enough people in her life. She didn't want to lose her sister, even if she was from the future. She wanted to help the lung, no matter how much it would bring back painful memories. Amiya decided to ask her sister if she could remember what caused her to go berserk. "Yua, I know you probably don't want to talk about this. But do you remember what happened yesterday? I want to help. You can tell me anything. I promise I won't judge." The cautus told the lung.
Yua didn't want to talk about it; she didn't want to remember the dream. But if someone or something had made her their target, it couldn't hurt to let Amiya know. At least she wouldn't think she had gone insane. Yua then began to reluctantly tell Amiya everything: the ursus children, the landship, the remains of everyone, and finally, the individual in red. By the end of it, Yua expected Amiya to simply look at her like she was crazy. But to Yua's surprise, Amiya didn't. If anything, Amiya looked like she believed her. "So you think someone or something else came back in time along with you? And they are after you? If this is true, the doctor needs to know about this. Who or whatever this is, I promise you, Yua, nothing is going to hurt you." Amiya declared.
Seeing that her sister wanted to protect her, the white-haired lung responded, "Thank you, Amiya. It feels good knowing that you have my back. You are the best sister I could ever ask for." Amiya smiled at her sister, and the two were silent again. They sat there for ages, simply enjoying each other's company and enjoying the scent of the burning candles in the room.
Later on in the evening Ch'en had returned to the Rhodes Island landship. The first thing she did was look for Yua. The blue-haired lung searched everywhere for her but eventually found her daughter with Amiya in the garden. Ch'en could see that Yua was much more stable than yesterday. Yua saw her mother had arrived and walked up to her, apologizing profusely for what had happened yesterday. Ch'en replied that it was fine. All that mattered was that she got the help she needed. Ch'en then said that she would do whatever it took to help as well, that it was her duty as Yua's mother. Yua hugged Ch'en and thanked her. During this time, Amiya had left. She was going to tell the doctor what Yua had told her earlier.
Once alone, the older lung looked at her daughter with a solemn face. "Yua, what I'm about to tell you might be difficult to hear. Your father and I had a long and hard talk with Doctor Kal'tsit. Because of what happened yesterday, you're being removed from operations for the time being." Ch'en reluctantly informed Yua. The white-haired lung couldn't believe what she had just heard, "Did I just hear that right, Mother?! I'm being removed from the field?!" Yua asked. Ch'en simply nodded. She didn't want this to happen to Yua, but it was for the best. "But, Mother! You can't! What about my mission?! It's important! If I can't continue my mission, countless people will die! Please, Mother, reconsider!" The white-haired lung begged. She didn't want her future to happen again, and she was willing to do anything to prevent it.
Ch'en however was resolute. She wasn't going to let Yua change her mind, "You think I wanted this, Yua?! I don't, believe me! I know how important your mission is to you! But you are important to me! To the doctor! To Amiya! And so many others! The last thing any of us want is for you to get killed because you suffer a panic attack during an operation! We want to help you! But we can't do that if you are dead! I know you don't like this! But trust me, Yua, this is for your own good!" Ch'en told her daughter.
After hearing this, something had stirred inside Yua, "No...not again. I'm sorry mother...as much as I love you I can't let you control my life again...not when there is so much at stake...I know you and father will hate me for this...but I have to do what must be done." The younger lung thought. This situation reminded Yua of the amount of control her mother had over her life in the future. She didn't want to be in the same situation again, not with so much at stake.
Yua immediately turned away from Ch'en and stormed off, "Yua! Come back here!" The blue-haired lung called out, but Yua didn't listen to her. She kept going until she was gone from the garden. When Yua had left, Ch'en brought her hand to her face and sighed. She knew she should have expected this, but Ch'en hoped Yua would understand why she was removed from the field. Ch'en only wanted her daughter to be safe...
When Yua left the garden, she was angry. Although the lung understood why her parents had decided to keep her away from the field, Yua couldn't accept it. The future was at stake; she didn't want the seaborn to destroy Terra again. Her own well-being came second to that. Yua decided that there was only one thing to do: she was going on the offensive against the seaborn. And for that, she needed the help of the abyssal hunters. The white-haired lung looked around the landship for the room of the abyssal hunters, ignoring anyone who tried to talk to her. The lung kept searching until she found where she was looking for. Once outside the abyssal hunters' room, she knocked and waited for someone to open it, hoping they hadn't been dispatched on a mission.
After a few minutes of waiting, the door opened, facing Yua was Specter, and she looked surprised to see Yua. "Well, look who it is! My favourite little one! It's been a while, Yua!" the aegir said rather jovially. Yua replied, "It's good to see you too, Specter. Is Gladiia around? I need to speak to her." Yua asked. "Yes, she is. We all are here, Yua. Come in." Specter stepped aside and let the lung inside.
Once inside, she could see the other three aegir talking with each other. Andreana noticed Yua first and let Skadi and Gladiia know she was there. Seeing the aegir leader walk up to her, Gladiia questioned the lung. "It's good to see you, Yua. I know that with all the events that have happened, we haven't had much time to speak. May I ask why you are here?" Yua looked Gladiia in the eye and replied, "I want to help you fight seaborn again. I know that with everything that has happened, I haven't had the opportunity to help. But I'm back now, and I'm ready to fight. Can i come?" Yua asked.
After Yua asked Gladiia, the aegir began to think, which caused Yua to believe that her mother or father had told her that she wasn't to take part in field operations. In truth, Gladiia hadn't been informed of this; she was thinking if Yua was up to the task. The abyssal hunters had received information about a huge number of church of the deep members in Rim Billiton. The aegir was wondering if Yua could handle it. After much thinking, Gladiia decided that Yua could come on their next mission; they would be leaving very soon and told her to get ready and meet at the entrance of the Rhodes Island landship. The lung thanked her and sped off to collect her sword from her room.
Not long after, the lung met up with the abyssal hunters, and they began to leave. As they were leaving, the future Skadi was walking behind her teammates and had a sinister grin on her face, "This is perfect! I get to finally be rid of one of them! Yua is walking right into a trap! Once she is out of the way, I can focus on disposing of that deplorable Ch'en! The look on her face when she finds out her daughter is dead will be so satisfying! I cannot wait to see it!" the future Aegir darkly thought. She could imagine it all now, and at the end of it, she would kill the blue-haired Lung just as she did before and claim the doctor for herself. Nothing would get in between them ever again...