Kal'tsit was sitting at her desk mulling over everything that had happened just over a day ago, "To think, the Skadi we fought came from Yua's future. She destroyed that world and took over the body of the Skadi we know. Now she has the doctor in her grasp. Skadi has him right where she wants him. And we have no idea where they are." The ancient feline realised she had made a grave error, an error which now meant the whole of Terra was in danger, "The doctor...I should have asked Yua to tell him about Ishar-Mla. Or maybe I should have told him myself. No doubt he would have thought of a way to stop Ishar-Mla, I only did it to stop Skadi from killing Yua if she found out. But Skadi killed her anyway...for once I'm a fool. All of this has happened because of me." Kal'tsit was regretting everything that she didn't say to the doctor.
Kal'tsit now believed that it was her own fault that Terra was now in peril from the seaborn and Ishar-Mla. The ancient feline realised they had to find the future Skadi as quickly as possible. Kal'tsit was not sure if Rhodes Island could stop such a being, but they had to try. Another problem is Kal'tsit didn't know where Skadi and the doctor vanished to. Time was against them. If they didn't track her down soon, the seaborn would overrun Terra and kill everyone in sight, just as they did in Yua's timeline.
Kal'tsit also knew there was someone who she needed to speak to and wasn't looking forward to the conversation, "Ch'en, I need to speak to her. Yua getting killed...Skadi taking the doctor. It's all my fault. Ch'en needs to know the truth. I know she will probably end up hating me for all of this, but I can't hide it from her." The ancient feline was dreading Ch'en's reaction when she told her the truth, but she couldn't hide it from the blue-haired lung. Kal'tsit had already hidden enough information already, and it cost Rhodes Island greatly and possibly all of Terra. Kal'tsit decided now it was best to see Ch'en and tell her everything. With a heavy heart, the ancient feline left her office and began to head to the medical wing to speak to the blue-haired lung.
While walking across Rhodes Island towards the medical wing, Kal'tsit could see all the damage to the landship caused by the attack from the seaborn and the church of the deep. The operators of Rhodes Island had managed to hold their own in the battle without the doctors guidance. While many had suffered injuries during the battle; by a miracle, nobody had been killed by the enemy. After the battle, The ancient feline had ordered Closure and the engineering department to begin working on repairs to get the landship moving again as soon as possible. Closure had explained to Kal'tsit that it would take at least several days to get the landship operational again, if not weeks.
Kal'tsit replied that they didn't have that time. They needed to leave Laterano as quickly as they could. They had to find Skadi as soon as they could. Closure only sighed and responded to Kal'tsit that the engineering department would what they could, as soon as the landship could move again she would inform her immediately. Any other repairs they would have to do on the move.
Kal'tsit was glad Closure and the engineering department was working tirelessly to get Rhodes Island moving again, the ancient feline would have to give Closure and her team a huge pay rise for all the work once the landship was operational again. Kal'tsit carried on walking towards the medical wing. She could see more and more damage as she carried on walking towards her destination. Eventually Kal'tsit had arrived at the medical wing.
Walking through the medical wing, Kal'tsit could see all the medical operators treating those that were wounded from the battle. The ancient feline kept going until she arrived at the room she was looking for, Kal'tsit knocked on the door and waited for a response from the other side. "Come in!" a voice called out, It was Ch'en which signalled to Kal'tsit that the blue-haired lung was awake. Kal'tsit walked inside, then shut the door from behind her.
The ancient feline could see Ch'en lying down in a bed with a lot of medical equipment around her. Kal'tsit looked at Ch'en and could see the lung looking outside with a solemn look on her face, with what had recently happened Kal'tsit could understand why Ch'en had the look on her face that she did now. "First she lost Yua. Now she has lost the doctor as well. All of this mess is my fault, I just hope Ch'en can forgive me for everything that has happened." Kal'tsit was dreading telling the blue-haired lung the truth but knew she couldn't hide it from her. Ch'en had already been enough.
The lung turned her head to see who had arrived, which caused Kal'tsit to nearly flinch, "Doctor Kal'tsit." Ch'en simply said. "Hello Ch'en, I've just come to check on you. How is your wound feeling?" Kal'tsit asked the lung about the injury she received from Skadi. After the battle the lungs wound was checked and she was sent to the medical wing. While the slash across the chest was deep, thankfully, it didn't hit anything vital.
Ch'en definitely would have been killed by the future aegir if it went any deeper, and if Amiya didn't step in to save her. "It's fine. Thank you for asking Doctor Kal'tsit. I'm more worried about Amiya. How is she doing?" Ch'en wanted to know about Amiya. Skadi had been particularly brutal with the cautus when she intervened in the fight between Skadi and Ch'en. Amiya stood up to the seaborn god but was no match for her, Skadi was simply too strong for her. "She will live. Amiya has several broken ribs, but she should recover in time. She is stronger than she looks." Kal'tsit replied to the lungs question.
This answer gave Ch'en relief, "Thank goodness. At least she is still alive. If it wasn't for the doctor, Skadi would have killed Amiya... just like she killed Yua." Ch'en's voice began to break mentioning her future daughter. Ch'en didn't want to even begin to imagine what the doctor would have done if Amiya was killed as well at the hands of the future Skadi. Losing Yua had been difficult enough. She still felt the pain and anguish.
For Ch'en it wouldn't have been difficult to imagine that losing Amiya would have pushed the doctor over the edge. The future Skadi had caused all of them enough pain. The blue-haired lung understood why the man went with the aegir now that she had time to process everything. It was to protect his surrogate daughter. He had already lost one child to Skadi and didn't want to lose another.
At the mention of the man, Kal'tsit decided to speak, "As much as I admit I don't like the man. One thing I will say about him is that he will do whatever it takes to protect Amiya. I have no doubt it was the same for Yua when she was alive. Amiya means the world to him. He would rather see Terra burn before letting anything happen to her. I'm not surprised he went with Skadi. I imagine he hates the aegir for everything she has done. He only went with Skadi so she would spare Amiya. He wouldn't willingly go with her for no other reason." The ancient feline gave her honest thoughts on the doctor and why he disappeared with the aegir.
Ch'en knew that Kal'tsit hated the doctor but could never understand why. It always got her curious. Ch'en could never work with someone who she despised so much, she found it strange. "Doctor Kal'tsit, I know you hate the doctor, but why are you willing to work with him if you dislike him so much? Do you hate him as much as W? What did he do to you, Doctor Kal'tsit? Can you tell me?" Ch'en wanted to know the reason for the feline hating the man that she loved.
"My apologies Ch'en, but that is between me, him, and W. I don't want to talk about it. I doubt W will want to speak to you either, especially with what happened between you two. It is best you hear it from him. If we manage to find and stop Skadi, and if his memories ever return, he should be the one to tell you. While I hated what he did, I can understand why he did it. As for hating him enough to kill him, no, I don't hate him as much as W. I will admit I did, for a very long time I did. But I'm past that now, I have no intention of killing him. I want to rid the world of oripathy, and so does he. As long as our goals align, then I am willing to put my hatred aside to work with the doctor." Kal'tsit told Ch'en what her personal feelings were towards the doctor.
Kal'tsit however, didn't tell Ch'en about Mostima and potentially travelling back to the past to save Theresa from her fate. Yua had given her hope to save her friend. That was another reason why she didn't want to kill the doctor. The ancient feline still wanted to look for the blue-haired sankta, but now that priority had to change. Rhodes Island had to track down and defeat Skadi. If they didn't then everyone in Terra would end up dead. Finding Mostima would be pointless, that could wait. Finding Skadi couldn't wait.
Ch'en processed everything that Kal'tsit had told her, "What did the doctor do that was so bad that Kal'tsit hates him? Is it really that bad that she can't tell me? But Kal'tsit said he had his reason. He wouldn't have done something so horrific unless he had a good reason for it. But what could it have been?" Ch'en was struggling to think what the man did, part of her wanted to find out.
Another part of her didn't however, the blue-haired lung didn't want the image she had built of the man she loved to become tainted by what he had done in the past long before they met each other, "No! I trust the doctor had his reason! He hasn't given me any reason not to trust him! He has done so much for so many! I know he is a good man! Whatever the doctor did in the past doesn't matter anymore! I believe he has more than atoned for whatever he did!" Ch'en wasn't going to lose faith in the doctor.
The lung fully believed that the doctor was a good man. She would follow him to the ends of Terra. "We will find you, doctor! I will find you! Skadi won't win! We will find a way to stop her! And make sure Yua's world never happens!" Ch'en wanted to do whatever it took to find the doctor and stop the future aegir. Skadi would pay for the genocide of millions and killing Yua. Ch'en was certain they could stop her. There had to be way, Rhodes Island just had to find it.
Kal'tsit gave time for Ch'en to think about everything she said and time for herself to gather her courage. The feline knew what she was about to tell the lung next would be extremely difficult for her, "Ch'en, I have something to tell you, it was the reason I came here to see you." Kal'tsit explained her reason for being here. This intrigued the lung, Kal'tsit had already told her so much already. The blue-haired lung didn't know what else Kal'tsit wanted to say but was willing to hear her out, "Of course Doctor Kal'tsit, what do you need to tell me?" Ch'en said to the ancient feline.
Kal'tsit took to moment to prepare herself for the lungs inevitable reaction to what she was about to say, the feline instinctively knew this was not going to end well...
"Ch'en, I will tell you the truth. I'm sorry... I should have spoken up earlier. If I told the doctor earlier, then none of this might have happened. All of this might have been avoided...it's about Skadi." When Ch'en heard the name of the future aegir that had caused her so much pain and turmoil she began to feel a pit in her stomach, "Doctor Kal'tsit...What is it that you didn't say? What is it about Skadi?" Ch'en reluctantly asked the feline about what she knew.
The lung was dreading to find out the answer. She had a feeling she wouldn't like what Kal'tsit was about to say. "Ch'en, I knew what had happened to Skadi. Ishar-Mla resides inside of her. Yua found out about Ishar-Mla, I didn't want her to know the truth. I told her not to tell the doctor, to not mention it to him. Looking at everything now that has happened...I should have told Yua to tell him, or have told him myself. I know he would have found out sooner or later the truth about Skadi. He probably would have thought of a plan to stop this. Ch'en...I am so sorry for everything." Kal'tsit told the lung the secret that she had been keeping from her, regret was obvious in Kal'tsit's voice.
Ch'en took some time to register what she was told by Kal'tsit. This revelation was difficult for her to absorb. After some time taking this information in the lung began to speak, "You knew...you knew about this?! You knew about all of this and didn't tell anyone?! Yua knew as well?! And you told her to keep quiet! Why Kal'tsit?! Why?! If you told the doctor, then he could have found a way to stop all of this! Terra wouldn't be in danger now if you spoke up sooner! The doctor wouldn't have been taken by Skadi! Amiya wouldn't have gotten hurt and nearly killed by her! And Yua... she could still be alive right now!" Ch'en was irate with Kal'tsit for hiding this information from everyone.
The lung couldn't believe that Yua knew about Ishar-Mla as well as Kal'tsit and the feline told her not to tell her father. In Ch'en's mind Kal'tsit had put the world in danger and was partly responsible for everything that had happened.
Kal'tsit could see the lung was angry and tried to justify her actions, "I told Yua not to say anything because she could have gotten killed. If she told the doctor about Ishar-Mla and he made the connection with Skadi, I know Yua would have also found out as well. She would have done whatever it would have taken to kill Skadi. Skadi, however, would have been too strong for Yua to fight. She could have died fighting her. I told her not to say anything in order to protect her. Nobody could have guessed that the Skadi from Yua's timeline had travelled back here to the past and taken over her body. I'm sorry Ch'en, I know with the situation now I should have spoken up earlier. But at the time, I believed what I was doing was right. For that, I am truly sorry." Kal'tsit explained her reasoning to the blue-haired lung in front of her.
Ch'en however, wasn't happy with the ancient felines reason, "But Skadi killed Yua anyway! She is dead because of you! If you did something earlier...then maybe she could still be alive! I can't believe you Doctor Kal'tsit! I thought I could trust you, but it seems I was wrong!" Ch'en was angry with Kal'tsit and it showed, the ancient feline had damaged her trust by keeping all of this a secret from her. Kal'tsit tried to talk to Ch'en again, but the blue-haired lung screamed at her to get out of the room, Ch'en didn't want to look at her right now. Kal'tsit decided that Ch'en had been through enough today and left the lung alone in the room.
Once Kal'tsit was outside, several operators had shown up outside when they heard Ch'en scream, "Doctor Kal'tsit? What has happened? Is Madam Ch'en alright?" It was Ansel who asked Kal'tsit what had happened. Kal'tsit looked at the cautus, then looked around towards everyone else, "She is fine. Ch'en is just dealing with some difficult information at the moment. It is best to leave her alone for the time being." Kal'tsit told all of those around her.
All the operators looked at each other and then decided to leave the area. They knew the blue-haired lung had been through so much lately, so it probably wasn't the best idea to see her at the moment. They all listened to Kal'tsit's advice, none of them wanted to catch the wrath of either Kal'tsit or the lung. Once Kal'tsit was sure she was alone, she sat down up against the door to the room Ch'en was being treated in. Kal'tsit knew she had made a massive error, one that resulted in the doctor being taken, Amiya getting hurt, Yua getting killed, and now Terra was in grave danger.
Kal'tsit also knew she had damaged Ch'en's trust. No doubt the blue-haired would find it difficult to work with her now that she knew the truth. The ancient feline hoped that they could at least work together to track down Skadi and find the doctor. They had a common goal for now, just like herself and the doctor had. Kal'tsit didn't know how long she sat outside Ch'en's door, but the ancient feline hoped the blue-haired lung would forgive her for what she had done. If she could work together with the doctor for what he had done the past, then Kal'tsit hoped Ch'en and herself could work together to stop Skadi.
They had to, for if they didn't then Terra would be doomed...