Ryan shut down all of Luna’s systems except basic life support. She had placed Luna near the constellation of telescopes after refueling and readied to leave with Charlotte, Sashae, and the fairies.

Charlotte fiddled with the device in her pocket and opened the Gateway, “O… okay. Everyone is ready?”

Ryan looked around the cargo hold.

Aoi looked the most excited and rushed through the gateway, “Free!”

Sashae walked through after Aoi.

Ryan picked up a bag filled with gold, then rushed Mikan through after Aoi.

Saki followed Mikan, looking nervous, “Mayu momma’s not here?”

Ryan stepped through next, followed by Charlotte.

Charlotte waved when she saw Becky standing to the side, “Becky, hi.”

Becky returned Charlotte’s wave, “Hi! Did you have a great dinner?”

Charlotte smiled and nodded, “Yes! Not enough meat, but it was still good.”

Becky chuckled to herself, and said something about cats liking meat, before turning to Ryan, “So… Is what I heard about the Ullians right?”

Ryan sighed, “Yeah. Gonna ignore them from now on. They seem like they want to do things on their own, anyway.”

Becky shrugged, “Think Pal’s people are gonna be okay?”

Ryan smiled at the memory of all those spaceships leaving all at once, “Yeah. Sounds like they were leaving, anyway. Once we start clearing out the Dregasi bases from the galaxy, they’ll have nothing to worry about.”

Becky nodded, “Well, that’s good.” She turned to the door, leaving the Gateway room, “It’ll be a few minutes before we can use the Gateway again so you might as well relax in the garden.”

Ryan had already gone there with Mikan and the two fairies, “Yeah. The beach is fun, but I think I prefer the garden more. Less sand.”

Becky gave a look like she didn’t quite agree, “Think we can go back to that beach again?”

Ryan didn’t like the thought about having to arrange it with the Ullians, “I bet they’d let us, but you get to ask.”

Becky nodded happily, “Sure!”

Ryan spotted some bread and cheese laid out on the garden table and Mikan helped herself to some as she left the Gateway room, “How’s everything going here?”

Becky thought for a moment, “Niamh already took care of everyone she knew that was involved with the evil spirits and… the Three Stooges found some leads. Apparently they’ve been breaking into the houses of nobles and rich merchants and stealing letters and documents,” she looked uncomfortable admitting to that, “and they found out a lot of them were in on the whole thing.”

Charlotte’s ears and tail fell and her face showed her disappointment, “They’re stealing again?”

Becky pursed her lips and nodded, “Yeah, but how can you stop the three strongest Adventurers in the city?”

Ryan found herself laughing, “Cat burglars!”

Charlotte looked confused, “Cat burglar?”

Becky rolled her eyes, “It’s not funny. Some of their victims are completely innocent.”

Charlotte crossed her arms and nodded in agreement, “Where are they? I’ll… I’ll…” She turned to Ryan, “Can you tell them to stop?”

Ryan couldn’t care less but thought she could at least help out Charlotte a little, “I’ll bring it up next time I see them.”

Becky must have noticed Ryan’s indifference and gave a look that showed she didn’t think she would, “I think it’s fine for now. It’s helped us narrow down the evil spirits hideouts to one in the Elven district, and another near the center of the continent.” 

It did not surprise Ryan there was a hideout in the city, but the other one did, “What are they doing that far away?”

Becky thought for a moment, “From what we’ve seen, it’s some sort of dig site around some sort of sealed entrance at the far eastern base of the mountain range.”

Ryan wondered why they would be so interested in, “I vote for heading out there. Not sure I want evil spirits getting their hands on stuff behind sealed doors.”

Becky nodded, “Yup! That’s why we’re setting up an expedition. Niamh is dealing with the hideout here that the Three Stooges found. Ryo is also gathering up his friends and we’re heading out tonight to the tavern River recommended to us to get more help.” She looked at the bag Ryan carried, “And the gold you brought should be enough to pay for everything.”

Ryan entered the garden, and had to blink her eyes a few times as she got used to the light, “Can I go?”

Becky shrugged, “If you want. Just… well… men are pigs, especially when drunk, so be careful.”

Ryan had only peeked inside a tavern on one of her too few dates with Étién and hadn’t wanted to take her anywhere near one after the perverted ways they had looked at her. Which meant she was going to have to deal with it. At least she would be with other women that had… bigger assets, so hopefully that would take a lot of the looks away from her.

Ryan looked around the garden, “Mind if I get some peace and quiet for a while? It’s nice not having dozens of cameras and images running through my head and I want some time to clear my head.”

Becky nodded, then looked over at Mikan, “So, that’s why you only brought Mikan over? The Mk. I might have been nice for later though. Could have just turned it off until you needed it.”

Ryan stretched her arms, then sat on the grass near the pond, “I’ll have Charlotte open a Gateway and get it later.”

Becky reached for the bag of gold, “Alright. I’ll let you relax for a while. I’ll take care of this for you. Need to pay the dwarves later, anyway.”

Ryan didn’t stop Becky from taking the gold, but stood back up, “I kinda want to see the Dwarves too and see how well they did with Anton’s blueprints, so I’ll go with you.”

Becky stopped at the table and prepared some bread and cheese for herself, “Oh, that reminds me. Anton wanted to continue working on your plans for the attack drone factory.”

Ryan smacked her forehead, “Ah! I forgot about that! Maybe I should have brought along some drones. Neither me nor Mikan have hologram projectors.”

Becky swallowed her food, then waved for Ryan to sit back down, “Some communicators would be great too. Like… a lot of them.”

Ryan thought to herself for a moment, “I wonder if Anton can get them to work without me.” She’d have to bring that up when she saw him.

Ryan sat at the table, but didn’t touch the food as she still felt full from the feast.

Becky smiled mischievously and leaned forward, “Oh! Want to help me with… something less important?”

Ryan wondered what Becky was up to, “Hmm?”

Becky’s grin widened, “You know how Evan likes River?”

Ryan nodded, “Yeah, I think you said something like that?”

Becky leaned in just a little closer, “Well, he’s being really timid and I don’t think he’ll go through with asking her out. Want to help me give him a little push?”

Ryan felt a smile creep on her face, “Like what?”

Becky finally leaned back a little, “Well, first we need to give him little hints here and there to remind him of her and how sexy she is. Then we find ways to get them together.”

Ryan had never cared about getting people together before, but now it seemed fun. It seemed Evan had never gotten married, so it would be nice to see him find someone, “Alright. Just don’t expect me to be any help.”

Becky leaned back to a straight sitting position and did a fist pump, “Great! Mayu is helping too, so this shouldn’t be too hard.”

Ryan didn’t have her confidence, “I don’t know… Evan seems pretty observant, and River seems pretty smart too.”

Becky waved a hand at Ryan dismissively, “So? He likes her, so he probably won’t say anything other than,” she did a terrible impression of Evan’s voice, “‘I know what you are trying to do. It isn’t necessary.’”

Ryan giggled, “Yeah, that’s something he’d say.”

Becky nodded smugly, “And we’ll just ignore him.”

Ryan wasn’t comfortable pushing Evan too far, “I’m out if he starts getting irritated.”

Becky shrugged, “Mayu said something like that too.”

Ryan wasn’t surprised, “Sounds like Mayu.”

Becky put a finger on her lips as she considered something, “So… How’s it being a woman? Unlike Anton and Evan, you seem like you’re accepting it more. Before, you wouldn’t have agreed to something like this. It hasn’t been long since… well… you know, but I can tell you’re already acting more feminine.”

Ryan didn’t have to think long before she answered, “I noticed too. I… well… Anton and Evan had female bodies, but still had their original souls. The evil spirit said souls are male and female too and I had my Intelligence put in a female soul, but they kept their male souls, so....”

Becky got what Ryan was trying to say immediately, “So, because they still had their male souls, they kept acting male and never felt comfortable in their female bodies and because you now have a female soul, you’re acting more feminine?”

Ryan nodded, “Yeah. That’s what I’m thinking.”

Becky thought about something for a moment, “I wonder what happens when a soul put in a body of the wrong sex… I mean, long term. Those two only had their female bodies for like a month and a half.”

Ryan shrugged, “The evil spirits said something about souls being damaged if they have a body of the wrong sex.” She recalled something, “Didn’t the Guardian say something like that too? How Evan’s soul was getting damaged because he had a woman’s body?”

Becky’s eyes lit up in recognition, “Yeah, I remember. That’s why Even let Mathew kill him so he could remake his old body.”

Ryan looked Becky over and wondered something, “Do you miss your old body?”

Becky thought for a moment, “Sometimes. I wasn’t what you would call beautiful, but I think I looked pretty enough and this body seems like I’m cheating when there are so many other women that… aren’t blessed with good looks.”

Ryan could see why Becky would feel that way, “I just think of it as we got lucky. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don’t.”

Becky sighed, “Yeah, life never is fair.” She looked Ryan over, “Maybe we can help a little with Luna when we get back? Make things easier for people? Nothing wrong with sharing that farming tech Pal gave us or using drones to build housing for the poor.”

Ryan thought it was a great idea, “Yeah. Sounds good.”

Becky looked towards the dome above them, “Think we’ll ever get home?”

Ryan brought up the map of the universe in her mind, “I think we will. The map of the universe is coming along pretty good. Maybe you’ll find something familiar?”

Becky smiled at Ryan, “I’ll take a look at it as soon as you get something that can make holograms.”

Ryan felt embarrassed, “Sorry...”

Becky shrugged, “It’s fine. It’s just a few hours.”

Aoi turned her head towards the hallway, “Momma Mayu!”

Ryan and Becky turned towards the hallway.

Mayu, Evan, and Niamh were passing through the doorway from the hall into the garden area.

Aoi fluttered into Mayu’s arms, and Mayu hugged her, “Momma! Aoi missed you!”

Mayu patted Aoi’s head, “Momma missed you too.” She turned to Saki, who was approaching cautiously, “Momma missed Saki too. Have you been a good girl?”

A cautious smile appeared on Saki’s face and she joined in on the hug with Aoi, “Saki was a good girl! Saki nice to everyone! Even Mikan that looks like Étién.”

Mayu smiled at Saki, “Good girl. Momma promises to not put Saki back into cage if you promise to not hurt anyone anymore.”

Saki nodded enthusiastically, “Saki promise! Saki doesn’t like cage!”

Becky turned to Ryan, “Has she really been good? It’s only been a couple days.”

Ryan nodded, “Yeah, though I think it’s only because she understands what happened and that the real Étién isn’t in this body anymore. If Étién really were here, she still might be going crazy.”

Becky’s expression saddened, “Yeah.”

Ryan put a hand on Becky’s shoulder, “Don’t worry about it. That talk I had with Étién helped me. I’m even ready to change my name.”

Becky perked up a little, “Really? To what?”

Ryan turned to Mikan, “Mikan. I’m already used to using it, and I think it’s a cute name.”

Becky considered Ryan for a moment, “Hmm… Are you sure?”

Ryan nodded, “Yup! I thought about keeping my name different from my fairy self, but this feels right.”

Becky smiled, “Alright, Mikan.”

Ryan noticed Niamh studying her. 

Niamh had a neutral look on her face, although the more Ryan looked, the more he saw the sadness leaking through.

Ryan turned to Niamh, “Um… Hello, Niamh.”

Niamh bowed her head, “Hello, um… you are Mikan now, if what I just heard is correct?”

Ryan nodded, “Yeah. It’ll be a while before I think of myself as that, but it’s what I want.”

Niamh nodded, “I see.” She fidgeted a little, “I heard you were able to speak with my daughter one last time?”

Ryan smiled sadly, “Yes. I… I wish you still had your daughter, but she’s coming back. I promise I’ll find her for you and bring her back to see you.”

Niamh glanced at Becky before turning her eyes back on Ryan, “Thank you. Although it will be strange thinking of her as a son now, rather than the daughter I raised for so long.”

Ryan glanced at Becky, who nodded at her, before turning back to Niamh, “I’m hoping we can switch Intelligences before then.”

Niamh shook her head, “It is too dangerous. You risk destroying both your souls. It also brings the risk of attracting more evil spirits. Perhaps even the Great Ones.”

Ryan scowled, “The Great Ones? If they’re worried about this, why haven’t they come to stop the evil spirits?”

Niamh looked over everyone in the garden, “Perhaps it is because they do not need to and know that we will stop them.”

Ryan clenched her fists, “Then why didn’t they stop them before they started hurting and killing people!? Why didn’t they stop,” she gestured at her body, “this!?”

Niamh’s facade cracked a little more and Ryan could see she was angry too, “I do not know. I have thought the same. Why did they not stop the evil spirits before… before I dirtied my hands. Before we discovered how to destroy souls.”

Ryan took a deep breath and did her best to push her angry feelings to the side, “I… I… Let’s go find the Builder. Maybe he’ll know more.”

Niamh closed her eyes for a few moments as she too tried to relax herself, then nodded, “Tomorrow. Tonight we will recruit Adventurers for our expedition.”

Ryan nodded, “Sounds good.”

Becky turned to Ryan, “Are you going to send a drone over?”

Ryan nodded, “Yes, but I think the Dwarves are gonna use Anton’s project to get over there too so I’m just gonna watch them.”

Becky crossed her arms, “You’re still going to make me wait to find out what Anton designed?” She smiled, “I know it’s a ship. What else could it be?”

Becky’s guess was the most likely one, and didn’t surprise Ryan, “I’ve held out this long, not going to give up and tell you now.”

Becky rolled her eyes, “Yeah. One more day won’t hurt to see the Dwarves' ship.”

Niamh beckoned the group to follow her, “Come. The Gateway should have enough power to let us through if we hurry.”

Ryan turned to follow Niamh.

Mayu turned to Charlotte and Sashae, who had been watching but hadn’t moved, “You are coming?”

Sashae stood up from the rock she’d sat on and nodded, “I am.”

Charlotte shook her head vigorously, “Um… N… No, thank you. Bars… scare me. The men keep staring at my chest and bottom.”

Mayu gave Charlotte a sympathetic smile, “Okay.” She glanced at the fairies as they played above the pond, “Please watch these children so they are no trouble.”

Ryan waved at Mayu with Mikan, “We’ll be good!”

Becky rolled her eyes again, but chuckled a little.

Niamh’s group made their way to the Gateway room after Sashae joined them.

Ryan thought it would have taken longer to charge, but she guessed it didn’t need nearly as much power if they opened it to certain places.

Niamh touched a button, and the Gateway opened to the inside of the Embassy, “Hurry.”

Becky jumped through first, followed by Niamh, Ryan, Sashae, and finally Mayu.

Becky turned to Ryan, “Ready to do what we talked about earlier?”

Ryan actually started feeling excited, “Yup! I’ll probably mess up, but it’ll be fun.”

Niamh eyed Ryan and Becky, but said nothing as she moved ahead.

Mayu leaned in between Ryan and Becky, “This is about Evan and River?”

Becky grinned and nodded, “Yeah.”

Mayu smiled, “I had Evan wear something made by Shina. He is looking very handsome.”

Becky gave Mayu a thumbs up, “Good job!”

Ryan was beginning to think they’d been planning this for a while, “I’m so glad I’m not the one being set up.”

Becky patted Ryan’s shoulder, “Didn’t need to. You swept Étién off her feet like a champ.” She smiled sadly, “I was even hoping you might get married.”

Ryan put a hand on Becky’s and squeezed it, “I… I was starting to think about it too.” She looked up and closed her eyes, “Maybe we still can. I can still feel a connection deep down. Maybe someday…”

Becky’s smile turned hopeful, “She’s gonna be reborn as a man, right? Maybe you should start training to be a good wife?”

Ryan blushed, “I was hoping we could switch bodies and souls, but… I guess I can… um… train.”

Becky patted Ryan’s shoulder before turning to follow Niamh, “Sounds like a plan!”

Mayu gave Ryan a thumb’s up, “I will teach you lots!”

Ryan actually was looking forward to it. Even if she became a true male again, it might help with her marriage and be more sympathetic, “Alright, but first let’s get to that bar.”

Ryan saw Niamh waiting just around the corner.

Niamh gave Ryan the first sly smile he’d ever seen her give, “Can I help with this training? I have many things I can think of training you in.” She leaned in and whispered, “And how to properly someone please in bed.”

Ryan blushed deeply this time, “Um… Maybe that last thing can wait…”

Niamh laughed and turned to leave, “Come! The night is near and we do not want to be late.”

Ryan furrowed her brows as she watched the others walk ahead of her. She wasn’t worried about Becky or Mayu taking things further than she was comfortable with, but Niamh… She already saw her as a commanding presence and a bit scary, so she knew she’d have to be careful around her and be insistent on her boundaries. If she didn’t… she’d be training in things no child should get from an in-law. Or was Niamh her parent now?

Ryan wished Niamh would treat her like she had Étién, cold and aloof. Now she treated her like a parent would a boyfriend, friendly, but with a hint of ‘you better treat my daughter well, or I’ll kill you.’

Either way, she was looking forward to it once they got past this evil spirit problem.

Ryan jogged to catch up to Niamh, “Let’s go!”