"Great...now we need to head to Laterano. Back home...if I can even call it that anymore." Mostima's mood wasn't the greatest as her group was driving away from the Copper Coast and heading towards Laterano. When they arrived at the tourist area, they could see the place was crawling with members from Blacksteel, the private military company that several operators at Rhodes Island worked for.
Mostima and Yua asked around to find out any information about where Rhodes Island had gone while Fiammetta and Talulah stayed with the vehicle, the liberi wanted to get the window that had been melted by Yua's originium arts replaced, but with the amount of Blacksteel that where in the area it was too risky. If the mercenary company knew that the former leader of Reunion was here, it would have resulted in them attacking the group to either apprehend or kill her. The bounty on the draco's head would have set whoever had caught or killed her up for life. They more than likely would never have to work again.
The blue-haired sankta knew her group wouldn't have been able to fight off such a huge number of mercenaries. It would have been a bloodbath. Yua and Mostima wasted no time asking around about Rhodes Island, as soon as they got the information they wanted, they decided it was best to leave. Yua was glad to be leaving as well. The white-haired lung still remembered what had happened the last time she was here. The seaborn attacked, and the result of that attack brought back a horrific memory for the lung, one she wished she could forget.
Now that they knew where Rhodes Island had gone all of the occupants of the vehicle hoped they would still be there when they arrived, the group didn't want to have to go on a wild chase around Terra to find the pharmaceutical company. Yua wanted to return as soon as possible to warn everyone of Skadi and expose the truth of the future aegir. Talulah wanted to get to Rhodes Island as soon as possible as well. The draco wanted to see her sister again. She wanted to see Ch'en. The draco had so much she wanted to say to the lung. She wanted to apologise for all the pain and suffering she had caused.
Talulah wanted herself and Ch'en to be sisters again. She missed Ch'en dearly. Talulah wasn't sure if her sister could forgive her for everything she had done, but the draco knew she had one person who could bring herself and Ch'en closer together again.
She had Yua...
Her time travelling niece would surely be the link between them. The white-haired lung had told Talulah that her mother in the future still cared about her. Yua explained that when she was executed in her timeline, it greatly affected the future Ch'en even if she tried not to show it to others. Yua, however, knew differently. When it was in private, she saw the damage it had done. Her uncle had killed her sister, Ch'en could never bring herself to forgive him for that.
Regarding the white-haired lung, Talulah wanted to find out more about her infection. The draco knew her niece only got herself infected so she could use her originium arts to give herself a chance to defeat the Skadi from her timeline. She could use them when she wasn't infected before, but they caused damage to her body. That is what she said. Mostima even confirmed that the Swire from the future saw Yua's eyes roll in the back of her head and cough up blood before she collapsed. That was what the feline told Yua's mother, who then told her.
"What's changed? Why now that Yua is infected she seems to be able to use her originium arts with no drawbacks? What has the originium done to her? And why are the particles on her skin red? Why did Doctor Kal'tsit theorise that Yua getting infected would let her use them? What does she know? Does she even know it now if she only came up with that theory in the future? I need some answers from her when we get to Rhodes Island." Talulah pondered everything regardless Yua's infection and knew only Kal'tsit had answers. She definitely wanted to speak with the ancient feline when they got to Rhodes Island.
The group carried on moving throughout Rim Billiton. They only stopped when absolutely necessary and then carried on their journey. During this time, Yua decided to look at her infection and could see what Mostima and Talulah had seen on her arm...the red originium particles. "That's strange, I thought anyone who was infected only had clear or black crystals on their skin. I know that their are a few exceptions like Angelina... hers are blue. But she can control gravity, that's a very unusual power. Is that why mine are red? I'm going to ask Mostima if she knows anything next time we stop. I bet Kal'tsit told her something or she has an idea why, she seems to know a lot more than most." Yua thought to ask Mostima about her infection the next time they stopped. The blue-haired sankta did seem to have a lot of answers that the lung wanted to know.
As the group approached the barren lands, Mostima told everyone they would be having a quick stop before making the push towards Laterano. They wouldn't stop before reaching the nation of the sankta. It would take them less than a day if they kept going non-stop, and no bandits decided to attack them. Yua saw this as a chance to speak to Mostima, so she decided to talk to the sankta. The lung approached her, "Mostima, before we leave, can I talk to you in private? I want to know something." She asked Mostima. "Sure Yua, we will talk over there. Then you can ask me what you want to know." Mostima pointed to a place that looked suitable for them to talk in private with one another.
The sankta told Talulah and Fiammetta that herself and Yua would be having a talk in private. She promised the two that it wouldn't take long. They would leave when they were finished. The pair then began walking until they came to the spot where Mostima decided they could talk, "Okay Yua, what did you want to ask me?" Mostima asked the white-haired lung what she wanted. "It's about my infection, Mostima. Do you have any idea why the particles on my arm are red? Did Kal'tsit tell you anything or have any idea if the signs of my infection would be different? If you know please tell me Mostima." Yua asked if Mostima knew anything about her infection.
"Sorry Yua, Kal'tsit didn't tell me anything. I don't think she had an idea that your infection would be different from most. Remember, she only theorised that you getting infected would let you use your originium arts. I don't think she had any idea this would happen. She definitely wouldn't have had any idea your body would have reacted the way it did when you got infected. I want to know why as well, it's definitely strange. My only guess to why the originium on your arm is red is because of your alien blood. You are a unique individual, Yua. You are a hybrid between a lung and an alien...the original ancestors of the sarkaz. No one else on Terra is like you as far as anyone is aware. Hopefully, when we get to Rhodes Island, Kal'tsit will tell us what we want to know. Sorry I can't be of any more help to you Yua, is there anything else you need to ask?" Mostima answered what the lung wanted to know and asked if there was anything else.
Yua couldn't think of anything else to ask and thanked the sankta for her time. Seeing that Yua wasn't going to ask her anything else, the sankta started to walk back to the vehicle, and the lung followed her. "Right, if everyone is ready let's get to Laterano. We won't be stopping anywhere on the way. The last thing we want is any bandits deciding it's a good idea to attack us." Mostima asked if everyone was ready to leave and told her group they would be leaving and not stopping. Everyone replied that they were ready, seeing that they were good to go. Mostima got in the drivers seat, and Fiammetta got in the passenger side. They would change as when they needed the other to drive. Yua and Talulah got inside the back. The group then set off towards the barren lands and towards Laterano.
The group drove through the barren lands, Mostima, and Fiammetta changed when the other felt tired. The one that wasn't driving got some rest as they were moving. They didn't want to waste any time in getting to the nation of the sankta. In the back, Yua and Talulah talked about what was the best course of action when they got to Rhodes Island. They had so much to deal with and find out when they got to the pharmaceutical company. The biggest issue for them, though, was Skadi.
The aegir was a threat to the whole of Terra and had to be stopped at all costs. No doubt, when Skadi saw Yua and realised the lung was still alive, she would try to kill her again. Yua knew she had to warn everyone of who Skadi truly was and what she was going to do. "That's if she hasn't done it already. I hope mother and father are okay. She will kill mother and do whatever it takes to get father, I hope I'm not too late." The white-haired lung began to imagine the worst case scenario. She hoped they would manage to get back in time before the future aegir carried out her plan.
Talulah could see her niece was feeling anxious and did her best to reassure her. The draco could only guess that Yua was thinking about confronting the aegir from her timeline. Talulah told her niece that they would stop the aegir, she would not destroy the world again. Yua thanked her aunt for her reassurance but was still unsure if they could beat her, even though the white-haired lung could now use her originium arts she didn't think it would be enough. After some more talking with her aunt the two decided to get some sleep, both hoped when they woke up they would be at Laterano and Rhodes Island would be there...
After many long hours of driving and several changes between herself and Fiammetta, Mostima could begin to see many buildings in the distance, "There it is...Laterano. Hopefully, Rhodes Island is there, I hope they haven't left and gone elsewhere. If they have...then we need to find out where they have gone to." Mostima thought to herself while driving. The sankta didn't want to have to keep chasing to find the organisation. She prayed that they were still in Laterano. The sankta carried on driving until she entered the nation.
Once the group entered Laterano, Mostima decided to find a good place to park the vehicle. The sankta then told Fiammetta that just like at the Copper Coast herself and Yua would ask around for any information regarding Rhodes Island. Fiammetta then said that she would look to get the window melted by Yua replaced. The liberi knew someone who would do it and would not ask questions. Talulah could hide in the back while it was being replaced, Fiammetta then said she and Talulah would drive back here when the job was done.
Mostima agreed with this idea and decided to head towards the back to fetch the white-haired lung and tell her the plan. Before leaving the vehicle, Mostima put a hood up over her head. She didn't want anyone to know she was a fallen sankta. Her own people hated those that became fallen. Her fellow sankta had treated her just like a sarkaz when they knew what she was. It was the main reason Mostima didn't want to come home.
Mostima got out of the driver's seat and went round the back to get Yua. The blue-haired sankta opened the door and could see the lung and her aunt were both asleep, "Yua, you and your aunt need to get up. We have arrived at Laterano, you and I have a job to do. So get up." Mostima called out to the pair in the back to wake them up. Yua and Talulah woke up from their slumber and could see the back was open and Mostima standing there, "Mostima? Where are we? Are we in Laterano?" Yua asked as she was waking up.
"Yes Yua...we are in Laterano. You and I need to start looking for Rhodes Island. Talulah, you stay inside. Fiammetta is going to get the window that was melted replaced. Once she has gotten that done, she will drive back here and wait for me and Yua to return. We will tell you if we have found out anything once we have returned. Now come on, Yua...let's get going, please." Mostima told the two occupants in the back what the plan was, Mostima clearly sounded annoyed. The sankta wasn't annoyed with Yua or Talulah however. She wasn't happy about having to be back in Laterano. The sankta gave the lung and draco a couple of minutes to adjust as they woke up. Once both Yua and Talulah were ready the lung stepped outside to join the sankta and the door to the vehicle was shut, it then sped off towards where Fiammetta decided to head to get the window replaced.
"Okay Yua, let's ask around. Someone has to know something about Rhodes Island. Nobody would be able to miss a landship that size. If it's not here, then hopefully, someone has an idea where they went." Mostima told Yua what the plan was to find the landship. Yua nodded, and then the pair started to walk around to hopefully find the information they were looking for. While walking, the lung turned to look at the sankta next to her, Mostima was holding her hood really tight. Yua knew that Mostima didn't want anyone to know that she was a fallen. The white-haired lung always found it curious why Mostima became a fallen sankta.
Yua had tried asking her before when she was younger, but Mostima never gave her an answer. "Mostima must have done something bad if she became a fallen. She never wanted to talk about it in the future. I doubt she wants to talk about it now. And with the way most other sankta treat the ones similar to her, I can't blame her for wanting to make sure no one knows what she is. Maybe one day we can find a way to reverse it." Yua was thinking to herself about the blue-haired sankta's situation. She hoped that one day, Mostima could find a way to return to normal, if it was even possible. The lung had to put that to the back of her mind for now, finding Rhodes Island was her priority.
While looking around Laterano the pair noticed it was quiet, too quiet for either's liking, "Something isn't right here. I expected the street to be bustling right now, what's going on?" Yua could feel something wasn't right. She looked towards Mostima, and the sankta was thinking the same thing as her by the look on her face. The pair then heard gunfire. They drew their weapons and looked around to see where it was coming from. More gunfire was heard, and this time, bullets landed near them.
Yua and Mostima took the nearest cover they could find. More bullets came in the pairs of direction, and the two stayed in cover. After a short time, voices were heard, and neither could hear clearly what was being said. One of the voices then shouted towards Yua and Mostima, who were staying in cover, "You there! Sarkaz scum! How dare you come here! Show yourself!" The voice shouted at them.
Yua and Mostima looked around, and neither could see any sarkaz in the area. It took a few moments for both to realise who the voice was on about, the white-haired lung then put her hand to her face and sighed, "Whoever they are, they mean me. They think I'm a sarkaz. It's not the first time I've been mistaken for a sarkaz. Then again, with what I know now, they aren't wrong. After all, father is one of their original ancestors." Yua knew whoever shouted was on about her. The white-haired lung didn't want a fight. She hoped she could end this peacefully, "I'm not a sarkaz! I'm a lung!" she shouted back. Yua knew she had features of a sarkaz, but she was more lung than anything else. Yua hoped that when they saw her, they wouldn't notice her sarkaz features and would believe she was a lung. "If you aren't a sarkaz, then show yourself! You have five seconds to come out!" the voice warned her.
Seeing no alternative, the white-haired lung stepped out of her cover with her hands in the air to show she wasn't a threat. Mostima stayed in cover for now. The sankta didn't want to resort to violence but would do so if it meant protecting Yua. When the lung was out of cover, she could see several sankta with their weapons pointed at her. "See? I'm not a sarkaz. I'm a lung...just like I said." Yua told the group of sankta in front of her.
One of the sankta stepped forward to look at Yua, and the man carefully examined her to see if she wasn't lying. After some time, the man turned around to his fellow sankta, "She's telling the truth. She might look like a sarkaz, but she's definitely a lung." The man told the others. Hearing what was said, the other sankta lowered their weapons, "I see. My apologies, young lady. We are sorry for mistaking you for one of those filthy demons. Having hair as white as yours makes it easy to mistake you for one of them. I've never seen a lung with such white hair before. Again, my sincerest apologises." The one who shouted earlier stepped forward and apologised to Yua.
Yua replied that it was fine. In reality, the lung was relieved that it didn't end in violence. If the sankta in front of her knew what she truly was, Yua knew they would have shot her there and then. The hatred between sarkaz and sankta was great. It was a huge risk she took, but Yua was glad it paid off. Seeing that everything was calming down, Mostima came out from behind cover and stood next to Yua. "Ah, so you are with one of our brethren. That does explain a lot. None of us would be caught dead with one of those devil's. Now that this misunderstanding has been cleared up, mind telling me why you are here in Laterano?" The man asked Yua why she was here.
"We are looking for Rhodes Island. We have heard they are here. Do you know anything?" Yua asked if Rhodes Island was still in Laterano. "So I'm guessing you are looking for treatment? Or do you work for them? Never mind. The good news that I'm sure you want to hear is yes, they are still in Laterano. They have been here for a while now. I can give you directions to find them if you want." Upon hearing this, the white-haired lung asked the sankta for directions.
Once Yua and Mostima received the directions, the pair bid farewell to the group of sankta and headed back to where they would meet up with Fiammetta and Talulah. While they were walking away, the sankta man was looking at the retreating form of Mostima, "That sankta in the hood, I swear I've seen her before. But where?" The man tried to think where he had seen Mostima before but couldn't pinpoint it. In the end, he decided it wasn't important and left the area to carry on with his day.
Yua and Mostima returned to the meeting spot, waiting for them was Fiammetta. "Windows replaced. Did you manage to find out anything about Rhodes Island?" the red-haired liberi asked the pair. The blue-haired sankta replied that they did and had directions to where they were. Seeing as they had what they wanted, the group got inside the vehicle and began heading towards Rhodes Island.
Mostima gave the directions given to them by the sankta from earlier, after over an hours driving Mostima and Fiammetta could see the landship in the distance, "There it is, the landship of Rhodes Island. I'm guessing Skadi hasn't decided to destroy the world yet. That means we still have time. Hopefully we can stop her...but can we? No! We can stop her! There has to be a way!" The sankta wasn't looking forward to the confrontation with the future aegir. Skadi had become a god, but Mostima was certain that she must have a weakness. For Mostima, it was just a case of finding it.
They eventually arrived outside of Rhodes Island, Mostima got out and opened up the back door. When the door was opened, Yua and Talulah looked at the sankta, "We are here. I'm going to head in first. You will wait here with Fiammetta. It's best I let Kal'tsit, Ch'en, and the doctor know what's going on. I also need to warn them that you are here Talulah, last thing we want is every operator here ready to tear you apart. I'd hazard a guess a lot of them still haven't forgiven you for what happened with Reunion. Once I'm back, then we can all head inside." Mostima told the lung and draco what her plan was now they arrived at Rhodes Island.
Talulah however, didn't want to wait, Skadi was here, and her sister was in danger. The draco wasn't going to let the aegir kill Ch'en. She had already done it once before in the future and would happily do it again. Skadi had also tried to kill her time travelling niece. In the dracos' mind, as long as the aegir was alive, she would be a threat to her loved ones. Talulah wasn't going to let that happen. She didn't care if Skadi was a god. The draco vowed to stop her by any means necessary.
Talulah drew her sword, then jumped out of the vehicle and past Mostima before either her niece or the blue-haired sankta could react. She then began to run towards the landship, her body flickering with fire as she was running. Talulah wanted to end all of this here and now. "Talulah! Stop! Get back here!" Mostima screamed out towards Talulah. The draco, however, kept running. She wanted to hunt down Skadi.
Fiammetta heard Mostima's scream and realised Talulah was heading towards the landship and began chasing after her. Yua and Mostima did the same. They began to chase down the draco. They wanted to stop her before she reached the landship. However, Talulah had put a good amount of distance between herself and the rest of the group. The three hoped they could get to the landship before Talulah started reeking havoc. Otherwise, someone was going to get hurt or killed...
Kal'tsit had just finished talking with Closure. The engineering department was starting to make more progress on getting the landship moving again. Kal'tsit however told the vampire that they needed to speed up. Time was of the essence. She still hadn't received word of Skadi's whereabouts, but that could change at any moment. The ancient feline was walking back to her office, but alarms began to sound, and many operators began running around in a frenzy, "By the gods! Has Skadi returned?! What's happening now!?" Kal'tsit began to fear the worst. She believed that the future aegir had returned and was looking to finish the job she started.
Kal'tsit saw an operator heading in her direction and knew that whatever news she was about to receive wasn't going to be good, "Doctor Kal'tsit! We have a situation at the entrance! Talulah has shown up!" the operator told her. "Oh no! First Skadi attacks us, and now Talulah?! Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, this happens! Ch'en will need to know about this. I'm hoping that's why she's here. This is the last thing anyone needs right now!" Kal'tsit hated the fact that the former leader of Reunion showed up. It was the last thing on Terra she wanted right now. The feline hoped that the reason the draco had come here was to find Ch'en.
Kal'tsit told the operator to find Ch'en and bring her to the entrance immediately. The operator left Kal'tsit and began searching for the blue-haired lung.
Kal'tsit headed down to the entrance of the landship. When she arrived, she could see many operators with their weapons drawn and could hear lots of shouting. Talulah's voice, however, was the loudest of them all, Kal'tsit could recognise it immediately, "Where's Skadi?! Where is she?! She thinks she can get away with everything she has done?! Skadi is going to pay for everything! I won't ask again! Where is she?!" Talulah was screaming at the top of her lungs. The draco was out for the aegirs blood.
Other operators could see Kal'tsit had arrived and stepped aside for the feline. This allowed her to get closer to the enraged draco. When Kal'tsit was closer to the draco, she could see the flames emanating all around her. Talulah could see Kal'tsit had arrived and decided to ask the ancient feline, "Where is Skadi, Doctor Kal'tsit?! You can't hide her from me! Tell me where she is, or I'll burn this landship to the ground!" Talulah threatened to destroy Rhodes Island if Kal'tsit didn't tell her where the aegir was.
"Wait...how does Talulah know of Skadi? And why does she want to find her so badly? What's going on?" Kal'tsit was confused how the draco came to know about Skadi and why she wanted to find her. Kal'tsit was about to question Talulah how she came to know about the aegir, but a voice behind Talulah answered that question, "Aunt Talulah! Stop! Don't do anything crazy! Skadi is too powerful right now! She will kill us all!" Kal'tsit couldn't believe who's voice it was, "No way! It can't be...Yua?! She's alive?!" A few seconds later, a white-haired lung along with a red-haired liberi and blue-haired sankta appeared behind the draco. All three were panting, Kal'tsit summarised by the way the three looked they had been chasing the draco. Kal'tsit wanted to know why the other three were with Talulah and how Yua was alive, but that wasn't her priority at this second. Kal'tsit wanted to calm Talulah down before she tried to destroy the landship.
"What do you mean Talulah is here?!" another voice shouted from behind Kal'tsit. It was Ch'en, the blue-haired lung had just arrived. Ch'en could see the situation in front of her and couldn't believe her eyes, "I don't believe it! Talulah is really here!" Ch'en thought to herself when she saw her sister. The lung had many questions for the draco. Ch'en then noticed other people were behind Talulah, the lung looked at who one of them was, she brought her hand to her mouth and nearly began to cry, "Can it be?! It's...Yua! Yua's alive! She's alive!" Ch'en was nearly overcome with emotion seeing her time travelling daughter alive in front of her.
The lung believed she had died at the hands of the future Skadi. Ch'en wanted to run up to the white-haired lung and hug her right now. The blue-haired lung knew that she had to keep her emotions in check at the moment, she first had to find out why her sister was here. Once she had the information she wanted then she could focus on the daughter she thought was dead.
Talulah noticed her sister Ch'en had arrived, and the flames around her began to dissipate. The draco was relieved her sister was still alive, "It is good to see you again... Sister. I'm glad you are alive. Now... where is Skadi?" The draco asked the location of the aegir. This was getting too much for Ch'en and Kal'tsit. Both knew this was going to be a difficult conversation for everyone. They couldn't do it here, though. It needed to be someplace private far away from any prying ears...