Voidic darkness enveloped BP’s mind as she dove into Sophia’s psyche. Where to begin? Tehom had taught her what came first – a mental construct, a tower to protect herself. She started there, brick by brick, until she was high above all else. BP reached out with her mind, trying to find purchase in the void, something to grab hold to. Stars lit up in the darkness – memories locked away behind the walls of nothingness. She reached for one, and grabbing it, the world of darkness burst with light.

  BP was no longer in the void, but the cold corridors of a ship – the Tevat. A bright red light flashed above her, and an alarm blared. It almost drowned out the frantic screams of people abandoning ship. “This is when it happened,” BP said to herself, “when the Tevat crashed.”

  Hordes of ghosts rushed by her, faceless forgotten souls dragging along luggage, children, whatever they could as they made it to the escape pods they thought they’d never need. The unthinkable happened – their holy sanctum had been defiled, infiltrated by a demon. Its systems were no longer their own, but rope in a vicious tug-of-war between it and the Godhead, and she was losing. “All crewmembers evacuate to the nearest shuttles or escape pods immediately,” an all too cheery voice announced over the speakers. “All… members… near…” the voice cracked and died, taking the blaring alarm with it.

  Suddenly, BP was cast once more into darkness lit only faintly by the backup systems red glare. “Sophia… Where are you?” BP asked, reaching out with her mind. She had to be further in, buried deep. BP would have to delve deeper still to find her.

  BP started down the dimly lit hallway to its very end and beyond. The next room was a large chamber with a doorway at either end. Nearest to her there were more ghosts. Faceless like the others, but she could still see their fear. They knew this was probably their end. In their hands they clutched familiar weapons – light rifles of angelic tech. They shook in their hands as the anxiety boiled within them.

  The other door began to buckle under some great force pressed against it. The metal began to twist and boil, bubbling up red hot before finally exploding outward. They didn’t wait to see their foe before they started firing. “Mehgh-Steg!” shouted a cavernous voice as a giant stepped through the gaping wound. The beams of light ricochetted and bent as they bounced flutily off a shimmering rainbow shield he held in the outfaced palm of his hand. The giant made no effort to talk, no effort to parlay or bargain. He crossed the room with sinister intent, and once he did, acted out that intent with vicious efficiency. BP looked away as he tore into them, only looking back once the last scream fell silent.

  Sophia wasn’t here either, BP realized as she made her way to the far side of the room – but she saw all this happening. That was probably why she confused their memories for her own. “Was she part of the bridge crew,” BP wondered as she stepped into the darkness. That would make sense, BP thought, if she were in a place of power, able to bare witness but unable to help. Maybe it was guilt that clouded her mind? “Take me to the bridge,” BP urged, and the darkness complied.

  The alarm returned, silent but flashing red. It felt odd standing there again. The last time was the last time she had seen her old – she didn’t know what to call him – Dr. Xu alive. Some small part of her wished he had survived their battle with the angels; some small part of her didn’t. She shook the thought from her head – that wasn’t what she was there for . She was there to help restore Sophia’s memories, not dwell in her own.

  “Engines one through four are down,” a voice suddenly called out. “We’re going into freefall.”

  “The heatshield is operating at max,” another voice announced. “They don’t want the ship destroyed in reentry – the bastards are taking the ship!”

  BP haunted the room, drifting like a ghost to person to person. They all looked the same – faceless nobodies just like the others. Where was she, where was Sophia? How could she see all of this without being anywhere? BP reached out further with her psyche. “Where are you?!” she called out with brows knit and eyes shut tight. “Sophia!”

  In an instant the room went dark, and BP found herself in the void again. A single star remained in the darkness, a pinprick of shimmering gold. BP willed herself closer and found something she hadn’t expected – not a star, but a woman on fire. She was down on her knees, praying, weeping, begging GOD to deliver her from evil.

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  The fires didn’t burn her, but instead engulfed her like an aura, a blanket of cosmic energies that complimented instead of devoured. The woman seemed to be at odds with it however, struggling against retaining herself and becoming pure fire. “Hello?” BP called to her softly. “Sophia?”

  The woman looked up with eyes full of fire and pain. “Help me…” The woman uttered. “I can’t keep back the flame any longer. It’s too much!”

  “Don’t worry,” BP said confidently. “I think I can help. Here, take my hand.” BP reached out with her mind and body. Hesitant at first, the woman accepted the offer, taking BP’s dwarfish hands into hers. Instantly images flashed before BP’s mind, images of fire, of people burning, of cities, countries, whole worlds engulfed in flames. She could hear the pleading screams of a hundred thousand souls crying out for mercy before being cut short by the wrathful sword of heaven – the Tevat. BP could see the host of heaven, the legion of angels marching now on a dead world, marching toward the death and renewal of mankind.

  In that instant she knew who Sophia was, what Sophia was. She wasn’t a passenger, she wasn’t a First-Seed, she was the Godhead herself. BP tried to pull away, but the woman held firm, tears of fire streaming from her eyes. “L-let go!” BP exclaimed. “Let me go!”

  “Please, help me!” urged the woman desperately. “You said you could help me!”

  The fire that consumed the woman began to inch up BP’s hands, crawling like snaking vines up her arms – trying to pull her into it. “No – no, I’m sorry!” BP yelled, pulling away with all her might. “I can’t help you! You want to destroy the world!”

  “I don’t – I can’t fight it alone!” the woman sobbed. “Please don’t leave me! It’s coming back, I can feel it! Please, you have to help me before it drowns me out again!”

  It was then BP realized that this wasn’t the Godhead, but the poor human soul it attached itself to – this was Sophia. She had to think fast before the fire consumed her as well. “O-okay, okay, I’ll try!” BP offered, shutting her eyes tight. It couldn’t be any harder than taming the Amalgamation, she told herself. But what to do? It wasn’t a fractured mind needing to be rebuilt, it was something else entirely and nothing she ever trained for. She just needed a way to control the fire, right? A torch, a hearth, something to keep the fire isolated so it couldn’t burn everything.

  “Alright – alright, focus your mind,” BP ordered. “Focus the flame in the palm of your hands! Quickly!” BP did the same, corralling the flame, pushing it to where she needed it to go. It fought back, but weakly. The Godhead’s power seemed to be diminished greatly since the battle in the algae marsh. That was good, that made things possible.

  With BP’s guidance, they pulled their minds power over the flames, forcing them down into a ball in the palm of her hands. Now what? If they just left it, it would only be a matter of time before it spreads again. They needed something to contain it – a construct. Stone by stone, BP built up around them a new tower to house the flame – a lighthouse.

  She couldn’t tell how long they sat there, days, weeks, months, years even, but at long last the fire was contained. BP let go and so did the woman. Able to breathe at last, she fell to her knees sobbing. “You did it…” the woman exclaimed. “After so long fighting, you did it…”

  BP stared up in exhausted wonder at the lighthouse, it’s beam cutting through the darkness anew with each pass. “It’s safe to remember now,” BP announced with a toothy smile. “You don’t have to hide anymore.” The woman staggered to her feet, herself once more. She nodded surely and then said, “My name, I remember my name… It’s Elizabeth.”

  BP pulled out, pushing away their union of minds until she found herself sitting at the table in her kitchen once more, Sophia sitting across from her. “How do you feel?” BP asked.

  “Free,” Elizabeth returned, a smile spreading across her face. “For the first time in a very long time, I feel free.”

  Just then, the front door would open, and a burly young lad would push through, calling out as he did so, “BP I’m home!”

  “Right here in the kitchen, Jeremy!” BP announced. “We got guests! Where’s Brenin?”

  “Oh, he’s doing overtime at the plant,” Jeremy said, tugging off his jacket. “He told me there’s something funny about the water, so he wants to look into it – you know, nerd shit. What smells so good?”

  “My stew!” BP exclaimed, practically falling out of her chair. She hopped down and rushed to the oven. With a sigh of relief she’d make the announcement, “It’s fine, it’s not burnt.”

  Jeremy made his way into the kitchen, eying their company cautiously. “So, what’s this stray about?” he asked. “Running from debts or a vindictive ex?”

  “Neither – a We??hekw,” BP answered over her shoulder as she stirred the stew around.

  “No shit?” Jeremy said in surprise. “You sure? We haven’t seen or heard from them since…”

  “I wasn’t at first,” BP said softly, turning around on her stepstool to sit on the top step. “But after delving into her mind… I’m sure of it now – a hundred percent.”

  “Well, we gotta tell Vagari then,” Jeremy offered, palming his fist for emphasis.

  “I already sent a message – but there’s no telling when he’ll get it,” BP stated clambering down. “So, we need to prepare for the case that he won’t make it in time.”

  “Jesus,” Jeremy said with a curse, meeting eyes with their guest. “What did you do lady?”