This is a chapter I've looked forward to writing for a long time. I'm a crappy writer, so it doesn't guarantee it will be good, but I enjoyed writing it. I hope the hundred or so that have read this far do too.

Jaren jogged towards Luna, Charlotte following, as Ryan attached the last cylinder to Luna’s hull, “You about ready to go?”

Mikan met Jaren and Charlotte at Luna’s ramp, “Just waiting on Étién and her mom now.”

Jaren stopped next to a stack of cylinders in the airlock, “Right, her mom was coming. She said she found a cure for your problem with Étién?”

Charlotte nodded to Mikan and walked ahead.

Ryan tried not to focus on Étién. Even telepathy gave her a headache now and she had to lay down and keep her eyes closed because her mind couldn’t handle all the stimulus even with Ryan limiting himself to just one thing at a time.

Mikan smiled and nodded, “Yep.”

Jaren leaned against the tubes and watched outside, “That’s good. Nice of her to let me use the gateway to get back too. Not that I wouldn’t mind the off chance we return to our universe and can’t return.” Jaren pretended to pout, “What would I do, not having to listen to my sisters constantly bicker in my head?”

Ryan recalled his connection to Mikan, and laughed, “Yeah, right. You know that these connections still work through universes.”

Jaren sighed, “Yeah, but a cat girl can dream, can’t she?”

Ryan wondered about something, “You’re fine being a woman? You don’t want to go back to being a man?”

Jaren shrugged, “The narcissist turned my wife into a cat boy, and my daughter into a cat girl, so I kinda want to at least experience the marriage life from the opposite side at least once,” she gave Mikan a wink, “if you know what I mean.”

Mikan laughed, “Yeah, I get ya.”

Anton poked his head through the hatch from the main deck, “Just saw Charlotte. It’s just you and her?”

Jaren turned to Anton and nodded, “Yeah. The others are off doing their thing, and Viennesoire doesn’t like being around Niamh for some reason.”

Anton nodded vigorously in agreement, “Yeah, that lady’s a bit intense if ya ask me.”

Ryan agreed, “Yeah, but she’s still a good person. Wish she wouldn’t be so strict with Étién, though.”

Anton turned to Mikan then to the cylinders, “What’s she doin’ right now? Becky’s itchin’ to get these babies deployed.”

Ryan could only hear some distant chatter near Étién, “She’s resting, but if I’m hearing things right, Niamh’s almost done packing.”

Anton nodded, “Any idea what she’s gonna do to fix your problem?”

Mikan shook her head, “Nope.”

Jaren thought for a moment, “I wonder if I could get her to use it on me.”

Mikan shrugged, “You can ask her.”

Jaren looked conflicted, “Maybe I’ll wait. I still need to train some cat girls before I cut them loose.”

Mikan turned and looked at Shina’s, “You mean get them to stop stealing?”

Jaren looked away, “I don’t know what you mean.”

Anton’s eyes squinted, “What do you mean, stealing?”

Mikan waved Anton away, “Uh, they returned the stuff so they were really just borrowing it…”

Jaren nodded, “Yeah, just borrowing.”

Anton pulled his head up and his muffled voice came back, “Wait a darn minute! Is that where you got those awesome upgrades for the fabricator!?”

Anton stuck his head back through the hatch and gave Jaren and Mikan a playful accusatory look.

Ryan heard Niamh enter Étién’s room, “Daughter, it is time to go.”

Étién briefly opened her eyes to look at her mother, who was giving her a flat look, and Ryan felt her feelings rise, “Yes, Mother.”

Niamh guided Étién by the arm, “Let us hurry. We have kept Ryan waiting long enough.”

Étién nodded, “Yes, Mother.”

The two began walking and Étién closed her eyes again.

Mikan smiled, “They’re on their way to the Gateway room.”

Jaren stepped away from the cylinder she’s been leaning on and headed for the hatch, “I’ll… uh… be in the mess hall.”

Anton disappeared from the hatch, “Me too. No offense to Étién, but I don’t wanna be near her mom.”

Mikan scowled at the comment, “They’ll be in the resurrection room until whatever it is we’re doing is done.”

Once Jaren disappeared onto the main deck, Mikan moved to the base of the ramp. It was a strange feeling he still hadn’t gotten used to, not being able to see through Luna’s cameras as he pleased. Now all he had was Mikan and Étién’s perspectives. How had he gone from being a normal human with a single point of view, to dozens, then down to two and feeling annoyed by it? Humans really were limited, weren’t they?

A portal opened next to Luna, and Étién, Niamh, and Healer Fawinn stepped through. Niamh and Healer Fawinn both carried heavy bags with metal stands sticking out.

Mikan greeted the group, “Good morning! We’re ready to go as soon as you’re onboard.”

Niamh nodded to Mikan, “I apologize for the wait. It was difficult procuring all the needed materials from Hy Brasil.”

Healer Fawinn headed up Luna’s ramp. While the others felt uncomfortable around Niamh, it was Healer Fawinn he felt uncomfortable around. At first, he thought she was much like Evan, someone who didn’t express their emotions well, but the more he’d seen her through his link through Étién, the more he’d felt some sort of animosity. Not just towards Étién, but to everyone but Niamh.

Mikan gestured for Niam and Étién to enter Luna, “Everything’s ready to go. The power hookup you asked for is on the far wall.”

Niamh handed Étién off to Mikan, “I will leave my daughter to you.”

Mikan looked at Étién and smiled, “Of course!” She looked at the bags, “I can have a drone carry those for you.”

Niamh shook her head, “It would be best if we handled these items.”

Mikan turned back to Étién, “How’re you feeling?”

Étién rubbed a temple, “Headache. Worse.”

Ryan could sort of feel her headache, but only that it was there and it was bad.

Étién wobbled as she walked, and Mikan did her best to hold her up, “Just a few more minutes…”

Slowly Étién made her way to the resurrection chamber.

Ryan had to occasionally switch his views around Luna to open and close doors as needed, so he’d almost run Étién into things, but they eventually made it. He also made an announcement to the rest of the crew that they were leaving and jumped Luna to the airlock, where he gave it the command to open.

Niamh and Healer Fawinn had already started setting up whatever device it was they had brought. One around Ryan’s brain vat, and another just in front.

Mikan placed Étién in a chair, “Alright, just need to wait for your mom to set it up.”

Mikan sat on Étién’s lap, and Étién wrapped her arms around the fairy.

Niamh turned to Mikan, “Tell me, what do you know about souls?”

Mikan shook her head, “Other than that they exist and can break in the wrong body, not much.”

Niamh’s eyes glowed as she watched Mikan and Étién, “Did you know that souls normally can’t break?”

Mikan shrugged, “I guess? People don’t normally get put in different bodies, right?”

Niamh nodded, “Yes. Only when beings like the Builder get involved.”

Mikan had thought as much, “That makes sense.”

Niamh looked at Étién, then to his brain vat, before turning back to assembling the device in front of the vat, “The Builder and those like him are rare creatures. Those that rejected becoming like…” She glanced up at Mikan, “Your people on Earth worship a god, correct?”

Mikan smirked at that, “Depends on who you ask. Some do, others aren’t sure, and others don’t.”

“What if I told you that there really is a being that rules over your planet in the capacity of a god, and that there are countless others like them?”

Ryan doubted this, “Really? How come we never see them, then?”

Niamh laughed, “You really know nothing. Oh, they leave hints, but you either choose to ignore them, or believe them made up.”

Ryan recalled all the religions around the world and wondered which one she meant, “Okay, but why does it matter?”

Niamh paused, “Perhaps I should start at the beginning.”

Mikan nodded, “Okay.”

“You have heard about Intelligences from the Guardian, correct?”

Mikan nodded again, “Yeah. Said something about them being the core of every soul or something, and it’s what makes up who we are?”

“You mentioned that you saw many universes on your way here, correct?”

The question prompted Ryan to switch from Mikan, to the dorsal sensor and move Luna into the now open airlock before switching back to Mikan, “Yeah.”

“Now, imagine, over countless times, the universe produces just the right condition to make just the right pattern to form a brain of sorts made out of pure energy.”

Ryan wasn’t sure what to think, but after seeing so much he didn’t understand he couldn’t outright reject this, “Okay… That’s our Intelligence?”

Niamh nodded, “Now, imagine the innumerable universes left over near infinite time frames. Would this not produce a near infinite amount of these brains?”

Ryan didn’t even want to try and imagine infinite anything, “I guess?”

“Now imagine one of these learns enough to become self aware. To desire to improve itself. What can a brain of pure energy do? It doesn’t have a body. It has no senses. Only infinite time to think.”

Ryan hated the thought of being trapped in his own mind for eternity, “Nothing?”

Niamh shook her head, “If that were the case, we would all be naked Intelligences floating through the voids of dead universes, utterly alone. But that is not how it is. One, or several, or maybe innumerable found out how to make bodies of light and energy, our spirits.”

Ryan was kinda getting it so far, but he still had his doubts, “Okay. So we started as space brains, and then we made out spirit bodies?”

Niamh shook her head again, “We did not. Not every Intelligence is equal in its abilities. The Intelligence found in a person is much greater than one found in, say, a dog, but it takes the highest of Intelligence to form its own spirit body. One even higher than yours or mine.”

Ryan could see how that worked. If each brain was randomly made, then it would make sense the quality would differ, too.

Niamh, finished with her device, and moved to help Healer Fawinn with what looked much more complex, “Now, as these greater Intelligences used their new bodies to explore the universe around them, they eventually made immortal bodies of flesh and bone as well as the power to manipulate the universe around them as the laws of the universe allowed.”

Ryan was beginning to wonder why Étién’s device was different from his. Hers was a simple ring on the floor with three stands equidistant from each other going up to about chest height. These stands had a mix of crystals and antennae at the ends that pointed inside. His had four stands, each of which had crystals that ran from the top to bottom and looked like it would use much more power.

Niamh continued, “These Great Ones, or perhaps, Gods, saw they had the power to raise the lesser Intelligences from their eternal isolation and gave them, us, spirits.” She turned to Mikan, “Now, what do you think happened next?”

Ryan guessed it was the same order, Intelligence, spirit body, physical body, “We got bodies?”

Niamh smiled bitterly, “Oh no. Now, these Gods, they don’t follow time like we do. When they ascended to where they are now, they gained the ability to walk along time like we would walk on a road. They could see what would happen to those spirits they had uplifted and wanted to make like themselves. They saw that there were those that would not use their abilities in as noble a cause as they themselves had. They saw many who would use their power over others in ways that only the most evil in your world could only dream of.”

Ryan had read enough history to understand that, “Yeah. I can see how that could go bad. I’m guessing they kicked out the bad spirits.”

Niamh’s bitter smile started to turn to hate, “The Gods, they created rules and two tests. They wanted to make every Intelligence like them, but they didn’t want those of evil intent to gain those same powers.” She studied Mikan for a moment, “You passed the first test. All those that have bodies did so.”

Mikan smiled at that, “Cool.” Ryan thought about the other spirits that didn’t pass, “What happened to the others?”

Niamh and Healer Fawinn finished building the second device.

Niamh walked to Étién, “Come, it is time.”

Étién glanced at the devices before closing her eyes again, and let her mother guide her to her device as she held Mikan.

Healer Fawinn stepped back, a grin on her face.

Niamh put a hand on Mikan’s shoulder, “Only my daughter should step inside.”

Étién let go of Mikan and Ryan moved the fairy off to the side to watch.

Niamh moved next to a button on Étién’s device, “We will start with my daughter. The process will most likely fail if we do things out of order.”

Ryan wondered how the devices worked and why, but he imagined it was most likely a bunch of boring technical jargon, “Alright, let’s get this over with. I’m moving Luna outside the dome and I’m really wanting to show you guys the half world from outside.”

Niamh glanced at Mikan, “Perhaps you should set Luna to drift away from the dome? You might be rendered unconscious.”

Ryan had started getting nervous at the mention of him being knocked unconcious. Niamh’s discussion had distracted him enough, but now he was alone in his thought about having a device intended to separate souls on him and Étién. A device that might have unintended consequences.

A radio transmission came from a transmitter near the airlock, “Thank you for your visit to the Museum of Earth’s Mythology and we hope you enjoyed your stay. An escort will arrive shortly to take you back to your home universe and we request that you follow them until your destination is reached.”

Ryan replayed the message to the crew, and switched his vision to the ventral sensor where he saw the familiar gold orbs appear from FTL just below Luna.

Niamh held her hand up to the button, “We best hurry. It appears the Builder already has planned for your departure as soon as Luna left the dome.”

Ryan switched his vision back to Mikan, “Maybe…”

Niamh pushed the button.

There was a bright flash of light and Ryan momentarily saw a glowing orb leave Étién.

Ryan could no longer feel Étién’s mind. He could still feel her senses, but his connection to her mind was gone. He guessed the device around his vat would finish severing their connection.

Étién fell to the ground.

Niamh sneered, and turned to the brain vat.

Healer Fawinn cackled in delight.

Ryan immediately felt something wrong, “Why are you laughing like that?”

Niamh walked over to the brain vat and ran her finger down its side, “You asked what happened to the souls that failed the first test.”

Ryan wondered what this had to do with anything, “Yeah...”

Niamh turned to Mikan, “We are condemned to remain as souls for eternity. We are no longer able to progress into higher forms, to receive bodies.”

Ryan was confused, “We? But you have bodies.”

Niamh laughed, “Étién told you what happened to her mother, no?”

Mikan nodded, “But you’re…”

Niamh pulled the mask off her face, revealing a deep scar that had barely missed her eye and a missing ear, “You see, Aoi Si are a petty race. Putting beauty above all. When Niamh received these scars, she went from a woman of peerless beauty, to something even the lower races found grotesque.”

Ryan had too many questions swimming in his head to answer. 

Niamh knelt next to Étién, “Poor Niamh and her daughter were exiled to the city of lesser races, never to return to their isle in the sky. Even her husband disowned her.” She grinned wickedly, “Her mind broke, and I seized the opportunity. I promised her many things. That I would help her to regain her beauty in exchange for allowing access to her body. Even now she watches helplessly as she realizes what I have planned for the two of you.”

Mikan was shaking, “What… what plans?”

Niamh’s grin turned wicked, “To fulfill our greatest desire. A body. Not one borrowed like this, but bodies we can call our own.”

Mikan turned to Étién, “You’re going to steal Étién’s body!?”

Niamh shook her head, “No, my naive child. There is still one more step to this experiment. You see, this device around where your brain resides is designed to shatter souls and the one around Étién is designed to expel Intelligences from the souls that house them.” She cackled, “A feat that even the Great Ones, the Gods are sworn to never do lest they be cast down.”

Ryan remembered the orb escaping Étién and how empty she felt right now. He had seen her Intelligence being forced out.

Ryan opened comms to the others, turned on his cameras, and opened the door to the resurrection room and the mess hall, “Help! Stop Niamh! Hurry!”

Mikan raised her arm and fired a fairy laser at the device around his brain vat, but Niamh easily blocked it, grinning wickedly.

He also commanded all his drones to head towards the room.

Jaren was the first to react and was out the door before anyone else thanks to the fact she’d sat closest to the door.

Healer Fawinn put her hand in her pocket and pulled out the device used to remotely open gateways.

Mikan turned to fire at Healer Fawinn, but Niamh threw a knife at her, crippling her and sending her to the floor with a thud.

Jaren slowed in front of the door to the resurrection chamber, and as soon as her momentum changed to take her through the door, Healer Fawinn activated the remote gateway causing it to appear in front of Jaren. 

It was hard to see, but Jaren’s footsteps disappeared as her momentum pushed her through the wormhole.

The gateway revealed a chamber Ryan didn’t recognize. Which meant if the entrance of the gateway was on this side, Jaren had gone through the bad side and to who knows where. If it hadn’t outright killed her.

Niamh cackled again, “Now that the biggest nuisance is gone,” she glanced at Healer Fawinn and nodded, “we can continue.”

Niahm put her finger to the button to the device around his brain vat, “Thank you, Ryan. If it hadn’t been for your problem with bringing your fairy body to the embassy and the cat girls’ connection to each other, we never would have thought of this solution.”

Ryan recalled the medicine he’d put into his brain vat,“The medicine…”

Niamh nodded, “To think after kidnapping so many people from the forest, the prime subjects would be my host’s daughter and a man she came to love.” She put a finger on her lips and smiled sweetly, “Oh, and thank you for saving her. The ‘patchwork’ man I sent to attack her did almost too good a job at injuring her.”

Ryan’s mind could barely comprehend what was going on, but he could feel his rage pushing the confusion to the side. If only his drones could get there fast enough he would…

Niamh pushed the button as the others could be heard rushing to enter the resurrection room through the med bay entrance.

Every fiber of his being screamed in unimaginable pain as he felt it shatter into countless pieces. All of himself except a thread leading towards Étién’s now familiar being. A thread that pulled at him hungrily. Desiring to replace what it had lost.

Alright! Who's ready for the next arc? Gonna get back to space, where I never should have had the story leave, and continue the search for the way back to Earth!