None of the operators in the area could understand what was going on. The last few minutes had been a lot for them all to take in, and they were all as equally confused as the man or woman standing next to them. The first question on everyone's mind was why was the former leader of Reunion here and looking for Skadi. As far as everyone was aware, the two had never crossed paths before. Some operators could only guess that Yua was involved in some way.
The second question on everyone's mind was regarding the white-haired lung herself. Everyone believed that she had been killed by the church of the deep not too long ago. It was a shock for everyone to see her still alive, though everyone was wondering why she was here with Talulah of all people. Everyone had also heard Yua call the draco her aunt. Not everyone on Rhodes Island was aware of the connection between Ch'en and Talulah.
Everyone knew that Yua was the blue-haired lungs daughter from the future, when they began looking at Talulah and then towards Ch'en many operators could begin to see the connection between the two. This caused outrage among some of the operators...
"So the former leader of Reunion is Madam Ch'en's sister?!"
"I can't believe she is related to this monster!"
"Why did she keep it hidden from us!? Doesn't she trust us?!"
"Why didn't you tell us about this, Ch'en?! Explain yourself?!"
Everyone in the area wanted answers from the blue-haired lung about why she kept the fact that Talulah was her sister and she didn't tell them. Ch'en looked around and could sense the hostility coming from all the other operators. The blue-haired lung simply looked down at the floor and sighed. She didn't want anyone who wasn't close to her to know. This was too personal for her. "Everyone! That's enough! Return to your duties!" Kal'tsit decided to take control of the situation now and ordered everyone else to return to the jobs they were doing. The tone in which she spoke caused the temperature to drop. There would be severe consequences for whoever disobeyed her. Everyone took the hint and left the area to attend to their previous duties they were carrying out before Talulah arrived.
The ancient feline had so many questions for the people of this group that she wanted answering. Kal'tsit also could tell by the way Ch'en was standing and looking at Yua she wanted to speak to her time-travelling daughter. "Ch'en, you and Yua go to your room and talk in private. Talulah, Mostima, and Fiammetta come with me to my office. No doubt there are a lot of things we need to talk about. Ch'en and Yua, come to my office when you are done, please." Kal'tsit wanted the two lungs to talk with each other. She would talk with the rest of the group that had arrived at Rhodes Island. Everyone agreed on Kal'tsit's idea.
Ch'en and Yua left to head towards the blue-haired lungs room, and Kal'tsit took the rest to her office. While walking, Yua could notice some damage across the landship, "What happened here? Did Rhodes Island get attacked? If so, who attacked them?" The white-haired lung pondered while looking at the damage. Yua wanted to ask her mother what happened here but decided to save it for when they were in private. The pair carried on walking in silence until they arrived at Ch'en's room. Ch'en opened the door and allowed Yua inside first. She then went inside herself and shut the door.
When her mother had entered the room, the white-haired lung could notice Ch'en looking at her, Ch'en, then walked up to her and gently put her hand on Yua's cheek. This confused the younger lung at first until she could notice her mother's eyes begin to water, "You're alive...You're really alive. I thought I lost you, Yua. Words can't express how happy I am that you are alive." Ch'en told her daughter with sadness and relief in her voice.
The blue-haired lung then gently hugged her daughter, and Yua returned the gesture. Yua could feel wetness on her shoulder and knew her mother was crying, "I'm sorry, Mother, this is all my fault. I never should have run away with the abyssal hunters. I'm so sorry for putting you, Father, and Amiya through all of this." Yua apologized to her mother. Ch'en let go and looked at her through teary eyes, "No Yua, it's my fault. I know what saving the future means to you. Especially now with everything that has happened since you have been gone." Ch'en said to her daughter. "What do you mean, mother? I noticed that while we were walking, I could damage across the landship. Also, where is Father? Why isn't he here?" Yua enquired about what her mother meant and why the doctor wasn't here. No doubt he would have been just as eager to know she was alive.
Ch'en then sat down in a chair in her room and told Yua to sit on her bed. She had something important to tell her she knew the white-haired lung wouldn't like. "Yua you aren't going to like what I'm about to tell you...brace yourself. I know the truth about Skadi. I know she came from your future. She is the one who also tried to kill you. Me, your father, and everyone else thought it was the church of the deep. Skadi, however, confessed everything to Gladiia. I felt so angry that I tried to kill her for what she had done to you, but she was too strong for me. Whatever I tried to do didn't harm her in any way. She had me beat and would have killed me if it wasn't for Amiya saving my life. Skadi nearly killed Amiya as well, but your father went with her so she would spare Amiya. I'm sorry, Yua, Skadi has your father, and we don't know where they are." The blue-haired lung explained everything to her daughter since she had been gone from Rhodes Island.
Yua went incredibly pale upon receiving this news, "No...I'm too late! Skadi has Father! She tried to kill Mother and Amiya! She's going to destroy the world again! All of this has been for nothing!" Yua believed this world was going to become the same nightmare she had escaped from. The white-haired lung began to shake and shiver. Ch'en could see her daughters reaction and immediately tried comforting her, she got up from her chair and kneeled in front of her and held Yua's hands in an attempt to comfort her, "Listen to me Yua, we will find a way to stop Skadi. She won't destroy Terra again. I promise you I will do everything in my power to make sure we beat her... even if it means my life." Ch'en told her daughter.
This only made the white-haired lung feel worse, "No mother! I don't want you to die again! Please! Don't die again!" Yua became hysterical when Ch'en said she would die if it meant defeating Skadi. The lung had already lost her mother once before and couldn't bear the thought of the aegir killing her a second time. Yua began to grip the hands of the blue-haired lung very tightly.
"Okay...I'm sorry that was a poor choice of words, Yua. But believe me, when I say this, I will do whatever it takes to beat Skadi. We will beat her. There has to be a way. We can't give up yet!" Ch'en truly believed that the future Skadi had a weakness they could exploit, she wasn't going to let Terra fall and become the same seaborn nightmare as her time travelling daughters future. "But what if we can't mother! You are one of the best fighter's I know! If you can't hurt her... then what chance do I have?! What chance does anyone have?! Everything I've done has been for nothing! Saving aunt Talulah has been for nothing! Stopping Reunion has been for nothing! Getting infected has been for nothing!" Yua believed that everything she had done didn't mean anything now. If her mother couldn't hurt Skadi, then nobody else could.
The last part of what Yua just said caught the attention of the blue-haired lung, "Wait?! what do you mean getting infected means nothing?! What are you going on about, Yua?!" Ch'en wanted to know what her daughter had meant. The white-haired lung let go of Ch'en's hands, then rolled up the sleeve of her jacket. She then showed her mother the red originium particles on her arm.
Ch'en held Yua's infected arm, she couldn't believe what her daughter had done to herself, "By the gods Yua! What have you done?! Why have you gotten yourself infected?!" Ch'en couldn't believe her daughter deliberately got herself infected. The blue-haired lung knew that she herself could be reckless. Yua's recklessness, however, eclipsed her own. The blue-haired lung wanted to know why she had done this. "It's for the future, mother! It's the only way I can use my originium arts without them hurting me! That's what Mostima said that the Kal'tsit from my timeline told her! I thought getting infected would give me a chance against Skadi! But if you can't fight her...then getting infected wasn't worth it!" Yua told her mother the reason she got herself infected.
This was starting to get too much for the blue-haired lung to deal with. Ch'en got to her feet and started to walk around the room in an attempt to calm down and try to process all of this information. The blue-haired lung cursed under her breath in her native tongue. It was another thing that led back to Kal'tsit. "Dammit! Kal'tsit! Again! More secrets! Even if it was the Kal'tsit that Yua knew, I bet the one here and now knows something! I've had enough of the secrets! It's time for Kal'tsit to finally tell me everything!" Ch'en was sick and tired of the ancient feline hiding things from her. The blue-haired lung had enough, Ch'en told Yua to come with her to see Kal'tsit. Ch'en marched out of her room with her daughter right behind her.
Ch'en wasn't in the mood for any idle chitchat. Any operators that saw her immediately got out of her way. The look on the lungs face and her body language told them to stay out of her way as she walked around the landship. Yua walked behind Ch'en and kept quiet. She could tell her mother was on the verge of exploding. The white-haired lung could feel whatever was going to happen between her mother, and Kal'tsit wasn't going to be pleasant. She just hoped her mother didn't do something crazy.
The pair carried on walking until they arrived outside Kal'tsit's office, the blue-haired lung heard talking from inside, but she didn't care what everyone inside was talking about at this moment in time. The lung flung the door wide open. This drew the attention of all of the occupants inside. Ch'en could see the others looking at her, but the lungs attention was on Kal'tsit who was sitting behind her desk. She walked up to the felines desk and slammed her hands down on it. Ch'en then looked at Kal'tsit dead in the eyes and spoke, "You and me need to talk Kal'tsit! Right now!" Ch'en told Kal'tsit that the pair needed to speak with incredible authority in her voice, the ancient feline didn't have a choice in the matter as far as she was concerned.
Kal'tsit calmly replied, "And what is it you need to talk about Ch'en? I was talking to your sister, Mostima, and Fiammetta regarding the situation with Skadi right now. Can it wait?" the ancient feline asked. "No Kal'tsit! This can't wait! I'm tired of all of the secrets you have been hiding from me! It's about time you told me everything...and I mean everything!" Ch'en told Kal'tsit she wanted the truth from her.
Ch'en then called Yua over towards Kal'tsit's desk, the ancient feline had a feeling whatever it was that Ch'en wanted to know it regarded her daughter. "Yua, show Kal'tsit your arm." The blue-haired lung told her daughter. The white-haired lung did as she was told and showed Kal'tsit the red originium particles on her arm. This caused Kal'tsit's eyes to widen. Seeing the white-haired lung had become infected wasn't something she had expected.
"How did this happen? I never thought it was possible. Yua, how and why did you do this?" Kal'tsit asked with genuine shock in her voice, she knew about the doctors incredible resistance to oripathy and believed that Yua shared that same trait. However, looking at her arm and seeing the red originium particles shattered that belief. Kal'tsit believed that the white-haired lung must have done this on purpose, but why did she do it was also something Kal'tsit wanted to know.
Mostima was about to answer that question but Ch'en beat the sankta to it, "I don't know how she did it, but the reason she did it was so that she could use her originium arts without hurting herself. Yua told me that the you from her timeline said that...isn't that right...Mostima?" Ch'en turned her head to look at the blue-haired sankta when she finished speaking. Kal'tsit then turned her head to look at the sankta, "Mostima, if the future me said that...does that mean you are from the future as well?" Kal'tsit asked the sankta. The ancient feline was yet again shocked.
Mostima had an awkward smile on her face and began scratching the back of her head before she started talking, "Well...not physically Doctor Kal'tsit. When I used my power to send Yua back in time, I unintentionally sent part of my consciousness back in time along with her. For a while, I got what I thought were visions. Until I realised they were memories of the future. I remembered everything that happened and knew I had to find Yua. Regarding how Yua got infected, she stabbed herself with originium when we found a thunderstorm. Just to clarify everything, you only theorised that Yua getting infected would let her use her originium arts without repercussions Doctor Kal'tsit. One thing that does puzzle me, when Yua stabbed herself steam started coming out of the wound. I've never seen a reaction to originium like that before. Also, why is Yua's infection different to most? I have an idea why but I think it's best you told everyone Doctor Kal'tsit. I'm certain you know the answer." Mostima explained everything regarding being here in the past and how Yua got infected. She also asked about the white-haired lungs infection.
"Mostima sent her consciousness back in time? That means she knows how the time machine was built! I need to find out how it was constructed...I can definitely save Theresa now! But Skadi is in my way, and everyone wants to know about Yua's infection. I need to focus on these things for the moment. Once this mess is done, then I can turn my attention to saving Theresa." Kal'tsit knew what she wanted to do once Skadi had been stopped, if they could stop her in the first place. For the moment the ancient feline had everyone's eyes on her, they wanted answers about Yua's infection. Kal'tsit knew this was going to be a long and difficult explanation.
The ancient feline told all the others to sit down and get comfortable. It was going to be a monumental amount of information to absorb. "I understand you want to know why Yua's oripathy is different than most of the infected. And I have a good explanation for it, but before I go into that, does anyone have any idea of the origins of originium?" Kal'tsit posed the question to everyone else in the room.
Everyone else simply looked at each other. They had no idea where originium came from or where Kal'tsit was going with this. Seeing as she wasn't going to get an answer the ancient feline decided to explain the origin of said rock, "Thousands of years ago, a race that wasn't native arrived on this planet...the doctors race. This race, which are known as aliens, are the ones that are responsible for building the first civilization. The doctors' race are also the ancient ancestors of the modern day sarkaz." Kal'tsit explained the origins of the doctor and his people.
Mostima and Yua were not as shocked as everyone else. The blue-haired sankta had explained this before to the white-haired lung. Ch'en was the most shocked out of everyone else, "The doctor...is an alien? And his people are the ancient ancestors of the modern day sarkaz? Just how old is he? And why did his people come here to Terra?" Ch'en was trying to piece together everything Kal'tsit had just said.
The blue-haired lung then looked towards her daughter, "Wait! If the doctor is an ancient alien...what is Yua? Is she half-sarkaz or half-alien? Why is Kal'tsit telling us this? And more importantly... how does she know all of this? And how is this connected to originium?" Ch'en couldn't make heads or tails of what Kal'tsit was saying and why she was telling them all of this. The blue-haired lung had so many questions for the ancient feline. Ch'en knew, however, she would only get answers if she carried on listening to where Kal'tsit was going will all of this. The ancient feline paused to let everything sink in before speaking again, "For a time the doctor and his people were living in peace and prosperity, but that soon changed. The children that were being born began to change into the sarkaz we know today. The alien race was beginning to die out, and they were getting desperate to save their people. An alien woman by the name of Priestess thought of a horrific plan to save the doctors' people. She was the one who created originium. Her plan was to use it to commit genocide against every other race in Terra." Kal'tsit told everyone else in the room about Priestess and that she was the one who created originium.
Everyone else was stunned. They couldn't believe that whoever Priestess was, she was willing to commit genocide against Terra's native races in order to save her own. Yua then began to feel a chill down her spine. The white-haired lung wanted to know if her father was involved in the alien woman's insane plan, "Doctor Kal'tsit, please don't tell me my father was involved in her madness!" The lung wouldn't know what to think of her father if he was involved in the potential genocide of all of the other races of Terra. Ch'en also wanted to know the answer to that question. She could never look at the doctor the same again if he was involved with Priestess's plan.
Kal'tsit could see the two lungs were desperate to find out the answer, "No, your father had nothing to do with it. If anything, he was one of his people who were against her idea. Priestess and the doctor used to be close. That changed when she did what she did. I don't know how she created originium, but ever since then, even if the doctor doesn't remember it, he has seen it as his duty to fix the damage she has caused. For all these long years, neither myself nor the doctor have managed to find a cure for oripathy." The ancient feline answered Yua's question.
Kal'tsit's answer gave everyone in the room, especially the two lungs immense relief, Kal'tsit still had more to tell, however, "I'm guessing you are all wondering how I know all this? I have been alive for over ten thousand years, and the doctor has been alive even longer than me. Both of us have seen nation's rise and fall. We have seen countless wars and deaths. The doctors race is incredibly long lived, and he is more than likely the last pure-blooded alien on Terra. I don't know how many years the man has left on Terra. It could be decades, centuries, or even millennia. I know, however, that once we defeat Skadi, no matter how long he has left, he will not stop until he finds a cure for oripathy." When Kal'tsit finished speaking nobody could believe how long herself and the doctor had been alive.
"Doctor Kal'tsit is over ten thousand years old?! And my father is even older! Just how old is he really?! And if he's lived so long... how long will I live for? Will I live as long as him or as long as mothers race? Mothers people only live for a few centuries at most. Father will be alone... even if he manages to find a cure one day, mother will still die long before he does. And since mother is also infected, she will more than likely die even sooner. It's the same for Amiya... and the same for me. Father will lose all of us, I'm such a fool. I should never have gotten myself infected." The white-haired lung felt deep remorse and regret getting infected.
Yua knew that her mother and Amiya had already shortened lifespans from being infected. Her own lifespan had more than likely been shortened as well. The doctor would lose them long before he passed away himself. The lung didn't want to imagine the pain her father would face in the future. He would see all of them die, and he would still be alive and on his own...
Ch'en was also feeling just as morose as her daughter, the man who she loved could outlive her by many years. She didn't want to imagine the pain and suffering he would go through seeing his loved ones die long before he did, that was if they could even stop Skadi. After telling everyone what she did about the origins of originium and the doctor, Kal'tsit decided it was best to tell them how this all linked to Yua's infection, "I know you are all wondering why I've told you all this and how it's connected to Yua's own oripathy. I'll explain, originium was created to be used against other races. Not Priestess's own. Yua, however, is the first known hybrid between an alien and a race native to Terra. While her alien blood gives her a strong resistance to originium, the same can't be said for her lung blood. Her lung DNA does allow her to use originium arts, but because her alien DNA isn't compatible with them, her originium arts cause damage to her body. Now that Yua is infected, the originium has caused her body to adapt to using them. It's a very rare instance of someone getting infected has actually helped them. And, since Yua is part alien, her oripathy will take much longer to kill her than a pure-blooded lung." Kal'tsit explained to everyone why Yua's oripathy was unique.
When the ancient feline finished her explanation, Mostima realised her own theory as to why Yua's infection was different was correct. It was because of Yua's alien DNA. She was definitely a unique being in Terra...
It was starting to become nightfall, and while everyone still had much to discuss, namely how to defeat the future Skadi, Kal'tsit could see everyone had taken in a lot of information today. It was best for everyone to get some sleep and return tomorrow when everyone was fresh and had time to digest everything. They could then discuss the Skadi situation.
The ancient feline dismissed everyone in the room except for Mostima, Kal'tsit needed to talk to her before she retired for the evening. "Okay Doctor Kal'tsit, what do you want to talk about?" the sankta enquired. Kal'tsit had a stern and focused look on her face. Whatever it was the ancient feline wanted to say, the sankta could feel it was important.
"I know about the time-machine, Mostima. I want you to tell me everything about it..."