The metallic clanking of one's shoe was the main sound present. The stars and moon shone with a soft yet brilliant light making traversing the landship deck easy.
Kal'tsit in all her near infinite wisdom in the eyes of many and nonstop work ethic also needed momentary pauses to recollect herself. She walked to one of the high platforms of the landship and sat herself there with a small snack in hand, crackers.
She ate them slowly so as to enjoy the salty flavor of them, many of the children that she performed treatment on often gave her sweets as they didn't have anything else to offer her. Kal'tsit doesn't hate sweets but too much of it can get tiring so the crackers are a good palate cleanser.
As she looked up at the sky her graze bounced from one star to the next. As she looked more at the stars and was intoxicated she could momentarily believe that the landship she is on is not that of Rhodes Island, but belonged to its predecessor: Babel.
"Beautiful night wouldn't you agree?"
All of Kal'tsit movements stopped along with the reminiscing of the past due to the presence of another body.
"It is." Kal'tsit stood up wiping any crumbs that may have and landed on her. "What can I do for you Apollo?"
Apollo doesn't answer for a moment but rather looks up at the stars. "Oh nothing. Just here to admire the heavens, that's all." Apollo takes out a sucker and starts eating it. He looked back at Kal'tsit.
Kal'tsit didn't turn around but that nonchalant voice is recognizable to anyone who's been around the man for long enough. Kal'tsit is always on guard in the event of a sudden attack it wouldn't be the first time she's gotten abused in a place she believed to be safe. There are only a handful of people that she can drop her guard around and that number barely changes with time.
The last time that number changed majorly was not that long ago when someone everyone trusted betrayed them, causing her already clenth hands to turn white. All she has now are Amiya, the Elite Op's, and a small number of allies outside of Rhodes Island.
Kal'tsit takes a deep breath to push those thoughts away to deal with the upcoming conversation at hand with a potential threat. Someone from an unknown land, someone who barely talks about his past, and someone who brings a power that no one has heard of. There were too many red flags in her mind, and in the mind of some of the Elite Ops.
Apollo strolls next to Kal'tsit and plots himself on the ground.
"Here Kal'tsit, do you like to travel?" Apollo asked not to take his eyes away from the sky.
The question caught her off guard, she expected something grander. "I don't mind the process of traveling, after all to help the infected I have to travel the world." She replied.
"It's good you have a goal in mind." Apollo said as he took out another sucker.
"Of course, everyone in Rhodes Island is here because they have a goal in mind. Whether that is to help the infected, receive treatment or anything in between." Kal'tsit said.
"Then I guess I'm the anomaly in that case." Apollo said as he sat upright. "Hell, I assume even though Marth is as lost as she is, I can already see her staying here for a long time. No rather I can guarantee she will, so get ready Kal'tsit because you are going to have a new Elite Operator soon." Apollo said.
"Then wouldn't taking care of Marth as both a teacher and brotherly figure not already be your goal?" She was curious about his answer now.
"If I'm being honest. I don't consider taking care of Marth to be my goal. If nothing else you all are already doing a better job than me. My only function at this point is to teach magecraft to the point my students have a good understanding of the fundamentals along with making sure Marth is happy with herself.
"Then what's the plan after that? You plan to leave here, leave Marth?" Kal'tsit asked, already feeling confident that he would say no. Afterall everyone can see that he deeply cares for Marth, he buys her new clothes whenever they stop somewhere and gives her a healthy connection to someone.
"I might leave. I didn't have a major goal when I arrived at Lungmen, and that fact hasn't changed even now." Apollo said.
Surprised would be the simplest way to express how she felt to his response, but she kept her face as calm as usual. "Then what do you consider staying here then?" She asked.
Apollo faced Kal'tsit sitting with his legs crossed. "I don't know. That's really the best answer I can give you. Me being here is like a side quest where I don't even know if the main one exists. Taking care of Marth is my top priority, that's a no brainer but in the grand scheme of my funcationity she isn't major. However, don't think that means I will half-ass taking care of her." Apollo said.
Kal'tsit looked into his eyes and what he saw unsettles her. His eyes were so confusing to her. Being alive for so long allowed Kal'tsit to pick up many skills, reading people is one. The eyes being a gateway into someone's mind and soul, one that she believes and the soul she saw in Apollo showed something.
Peace.
Fullfillment.
"If Marth isn't your main goal, then what was your main goal back home? You talk as if you did everything you wanted in life." Kal'tsit asked while maintaining eye contact.
"Simple, I want humanity to progress. I want to show whatever higher being god, demon, or anyone inbetween that humanity is deserving of life along with showing they existed." Apollo said.
While it was for a quick moment, something that can be missed by anyone. Kal'tsit saw that those peaceful eyes of his flickered, with a fire so bright, so fearsome that not even Hell could burn him.
"Then it seems we had similar goals." Kal'tsit said as she looked back towards the stars.
"If you meet the younger me and asked to join, then I would have gladly joined you regardless of what situation you will find yourself in." Apollo said confidently.
"So the days of you pushing humanity forward are over?" Kal'tsit said.
"I never said that." He said.
Apollo walked closer to Kal'tsit so close that the two were millimeters away from each other. Apollo towered over Kal'tsit as her head reached his shoulder.
"To push humanity forward is my main function, it's the reason I exist. So I will achieve and push for progress regardless of what I need to do."
Kal'tsit has always had an interesting feeling about Apollo. He joked, he laughed and seemed to never take anything too seriously. So for him to give such an answer is intriguing to her. As she looked into his eyes, just for a moment the imagine she could see in them changed.
A sudden breeze rushed causing a slight chill.
"I swear this is why I hate the winter seasons, too cold for no reason." Apollo said.
He raised his and a mage circle appeared, out from it came a flame. He looked at Kal'tsit and saw that she wasn't wearing the warmest thing in the world. He stuck out his other hand and produced another flame.
"Want to warm up?" he said, presenting the flame to Kal'tsit.
She stared at the flame and didn't see anything abnormal about it, but her understanding of magecraft wasn't the best. She would need to make time with Apollo so she can understand it, however now isn't that time.
"Thank you but I have to decline, I need to head back inside anyway to finish some work." Kal'tsit said as she started to walk back inside as Mon3ster continued to watch Apollo.
"Oh, then good night Kal'tsit. Don't overwork yourself to death, a lot of people would be sad, me included." Apollo said.
"No promises." Was all she said before she disappeared from Apollo's view.
Once Kal'tsit was left alone he simply looked at the stars. Bright lights cause the once great void of space to be full of life. The conversation with Kal'tsit pushed something he didn't think about, he was too absorbed in teaching and doing other things.
Apollo sat up, his legs were crossed. He looked down at his feet, the tip of his white hair in his peripheral vision. His legs relaxed, his shoulders dropped and his face loosened. More memories of his home surfaced in his mind.
The day she met Hermes in that fire.
The memories of being Shinji's only family member for school.
The children he taught throughout his travels.
The betrayal he committed against his friends and the world.
The countless number of people and their history ended.
The day Chaldea killed him yet he ended up here.
The days he has spent here roaming aimlessly
The days he spent here just existing.
"What is my goal here, what is my function?"
That was the question he asked himself as he sat there alone, so far deep in his mind that not even the piercing light of the stars could reach him nor did he notice that his sucker was done for a long time.
Kal'tsit quickly arrived back in her office and was faced with more paperwork. She swears that the pile only increased since she took her break. As she looked through the paper letter from Apollo ironically enough was there.
'Not sure how likely this will be and I am not a fan of formal writing so please don't take this as disrespect. I was wondering if it is possible that if you plan to send more people for magecraft, could I have an office? Currently I'm having my room double as my office in case the students need help. A proper office would help so I could double it as a workshop.
From Apollo Kotomine your neighborhood teacher'
Kal'tsit just looks at the paper with an expression so stiff she would be comparable to a rock. She rubbed the bridge of her nose before putting down the paper and writing 'TBD' on the paper for further review later on.
"At times I can't tell who is who. The jokative down to Terra teacher or the oddly mature Apollo I just talked to." Kal'tsit said as she laid back in her chair, one thing Apollo said stuck out to her.
'Regardless of what I need to do.'
Those words left a bad taste in her mouth, the same words said by a certain man along for a brief moment Apollo and him had similar eyes.
"PRTS." Kal'tsit ordered.
"Yes Boss Cat?"
A woman's voice was heard all around Kal'tsit.
"I thought I asked you not to call me that." She said slightly annoyed yet amused.
"I have no recollection of that, you must be mistaken Kal'tsit." PRTS replied.
After the two of them went back and forth Kal'tsit asked PRTS her favor.
"Correct me if I'm wrong but you would like to build a file of Apollo, all videos, things he has said and everything stored there?" PRTS said with confusion in her voice.
"Yes and make it so that the only people who can access it are the Elite Ops and similarly viewed personnel are able to see it." Kal'tsit said as she continued to do paperwork.
"While I can't object due to my programming, can I ask the reason as to why you are going to such lengths on a fairly new employee. He's only been here for about four months." PRTS went silent momentarily "Oh, I know now. After running some math. You believe he is a threat to Rhodes Island don't you?"
Kal'tsit puts down her pencil. "Not a threat but rather an unpredictable person. I feel as if Apollo is becoming like he was back in Babel."
PRTS didn't answer but her expression said it all. "While you hate him, you know Ace and Scout held him dearly. You don't want a repeat of that again, is that right?"
"Good night PRTS." Kal'tsit replied.
The lack of a voice signaled that the AI understood that Kal'tsit didn't want to talk more, so she left to complete her task leaving Kal'tsit alone.
Kal'tsit could only deeply sigh as she leaned forward and continued her battle against the mountain of paperwork.