I could hear them coming down the tunnel, their footsteps becoming louder and louder. Doc came in first, alone.

'Ian' he said. I looked up. 'They found a body for her. They're bringing it in now'

I nodded, my eyes returning to the Cryotank I still held safely in my arms.

'Don't put her in just yet, Doc' I said. 'Try and wake the body up first. Make sure there's no human consciousness. I want this body to be Wanda's, and only Wanda's'

'Hmm...' Doc said. 'I didn't think of that. But you're right. It's what Wanda would want' He glanced behind him, back down the tunnel. 'They're bringing the body now. We'd still like to know what you think of it'

At that moment, Melanie, Jared, and Jamie came in. There was an unconscious girl in Jared's arms.

I leaned over to have a look as he set the body gently down on a nearby cot. She was small, very petite; she looked maybe sixteen. Her features were almost babyish; an oval-shaped face, small nose, full lips and big eyes. Her skin was pale, and had a silvery tint to it, contrasting subtly with the golden freckles sprinkled over it. Spread out around her face was masses and masses of golden waves, creating a halo on the pillow. She was very pretty, almost angelic, and, though I said I didn't care, which was true, I truly didn't care what she looked like as long as she was Wanda, to be honest, I couldn't have picked a better body myself. This was perfect for her. They had done a good job.

'What do you think?' Jared said, watching me scrutinize the body on the table.

'Perfect' I said 'It's perfect for her. I think she'll like it' I looked up at him. 'Thank you' I said quietly.

'No problem. Jamie picked this one. He said it was perfect for her too' Jared replied, shrugging. Jamie grinned from where he was sat on the other end of the room, but didn't say anything. Obviously he understood that this wasn't the time to joke around.

'Is there still a soul inside her?' I asked, my eyes raking over the girl's sleeping face, looking for any sign of consciousness. Jared shook his head.

'No. We did the extraction on the way here. Doc did it in the van. We thought...you know. The quicker the better'

'Mmm' I said. I slid away from the cot and took up my previous position, sitting on the floor with my back against the wall, Wanda's tank cradled in my lap.

'What was the soul's name, Jared? The one that was inside her' Doc called from the other side of the cot with the sleeping girl.

'Petal something, I think' Jared replied.

'Petals Open to the Moon. But she said her friends call her Pet' Melanie said.

'Why?' Jared asked.

'Ian said we should try waking her up first. Make sure there's no human consciousness in there. Like Jodi' Doc said sombrely. Hearing that made me think back to Kyle; I hadn't seen him since we put Sunny back into Jodi's body, after we couldn't wake her up. I wonder if they were okay. Wanda would want to know that when she wakes up...

I looked back to Doc, who was spraying something in front of the sleeping body's face.

'What's that?' I asked him.

'Awake' he replied. 'It should wake her up, if there's anyone in there to wake up. I'll try using her old soul's name too. That worked with Mandy' He turned back to the body.

'Um, excuse me? Miss? Um, Pet?' Jamie began speaking to the unconscious form in the cot. I didn't realise he was still here, he was so quiet. 'I know that's not your name anymore, but Pet was inside you, right? Well, she's not anymore, and if you wake up, we'll prove it to you. Come on, if Pet isn't your name, what is? Hmm? Wake up and tell us your name, Pet'

We waited, but there was no response from the body.

'C'mon, wake up' Jared joined in. 'I know you're scared, but there are a lot of people here to take care of you. Besides, if you don't wake up, we're going to have to put another soul in you. Is that what you want? Hmm? Come on, wake up'

Soon everyone was talking to the unconscious girl in the cot. But there was still no response

They used the Awake on her several times, and tried to wake her for hours.

Eventually, hours turned into days.

Three days later, long after I had given up watching them, Jared came up to me.

'There's nobody in there, Ian' he said slowly. 'The mind is totally blank. If there was anyone there, she'd have woken by now. She's empty. Like Jodi'

'Let's send Wanda home then...' I said, tracing light patterns on the lid of Wanda's Cryotank.

Jared nodded.

'Doc's already setting up. We've got everything ready; we just thought maybe...maybe, you'd want to do the insertion yourself?' he asked unsurely. This surprised me. I hadn't thought of that actually.

I glanced down at the tank. Would I be able to do that? Now, I've seen other souls before, like when we took the Seeker out, but this was different. I've only ever seen Wanda in a human host. With a human face.

If I saw her in her true form, saw her as something other than human, as an...an alien, would I still be able to look at her the same way afterwards? Love her the same way?

Yes. She's still my Wanda. I always knew she wasn't...entirely human. But I loved her and she loved me, and, once she's in her new body, she will be human. Human enough for me.

'I'll do the insertion' I said to Jared, standing. 'Just show me how'

'I'll show you' a familiar voice came from around the corner. Melanie came into view, her eyes flickering downwards as she saw the expression of pain flash across my face.

Yes, it was still difficult to look at her. Because when I see her face, I still see Wanda. Of course, I know she's not Wanda, and I'm sure this will all go again when I have the real Wanda back in my arms, but it's hard, after all this time, to look at her and see Melanie. I suppose it'll just take some getting used to.

'You've done this before?' I asked her, my voice levelled. She shook her head.

'No' she said. 'But Wanda has. I remember how to, from her memories'. I nodded slowly. Just then, a voice called from over by the cots.

'Ian? Melanie? We're ready now, if you want to start' Doc called.

'Can I watch this time?' Jamie asked. Once again, I didn't even realise he was there. When had that boy become so quiet?

Melanie looked at me. I shrugged. 'Doc?' I asked.

'Fine, Jamie. Just stay quiet, okay?' he said.

'Okay' Jamie replied, excitement dominating his features.

We headed over there to see that Doc, just like last time, had lit the room with Kerosene lamps, and patched the holes in the ceiling with tarps. He'd also dragged a cot to the middle of the room, in the brightest spot of light, and laid out some cans of Heal, Clean, Seal and Smooth and a new one I'd never seen before. Still. I wonder what that was.

On the cot was Wanda's new body, face down, her golden hair swept aside to reveal the slender pink line on the back of her neck.

As we approached the cot, I looked down at the glowing red light on th Cryotank, signifying that it was occupied.

'Not long now, Wanda' I murmured to it. 'Soon, you'll have your new body, and then, your new life'

I set the Cryotank gently onto the table, and turned to Melanie for instructions, one hand still on its smooth metallic surface.

'Okay, Doc' she said in a low, concise voice. 'I need you to cut the length of the scar, like last time, remember?' Doc nodded and stepped forward, scalpel in hand, before I stopped him.

'Doc' I said. 'She's going to bleed when you cut her. Don't we need a towel?' Doc shook his head. 'Just watch' he replied, turning back to the body and swiping the scalpel deftly through the skin, cutting precisely the length of the scar. Before the blood could start really flowing, Melanie took up the can of Still and squirted a line of thick, pinkish gel along the cut. Slowly, the gel disappeared, seeping into the wound, and the blood-flow stopped. Oh, Still. That's what it meant. She turned to smile at me.

'See?' She said.

'Cool!' Jamie said. Melanie looked at him. 'Oops, sorry' He put his finger on his lips to show he was going to be quiet.

'Okay...so what's next?' I asked.

'Now...' Melanie began. 'Now, we bring out Wanda'

I nodded, taking a deep breath. 'What do I do?' I asked quietly.

'You see the dial on the side of the tank?' Melanie replied.

'Yes' I said.

'Turn it until it's pointing a quarter of the way up, like, at the 3 o'clock position'

I moved the dial slowly until it was pointing the direction she wanted.

'Okay, what's the colour of the light now?' she asked. I checked

'Light blue' I said.

'Okay, pop the lid' she said. I found the latch and gently lifted the lid, feeling the cold air of the tanks blowing into my face.

'Now, before you take her out, spin the dial all the way up' Melanie said, and I did. 'What's the colour now?'

'It's...purple' I said, watching the little bulb change colour.

'Good' she said. 'Now, it's time, Ian. Put your hand into the tank, carefully, and cup it. Wanda should go into your hand automatically; she'll be attracted to the warmth'

'Okay' I breathed. I slid my hand into the freezing opening ever so slowly, and made a cup shape with it. Soon, I felt a tickling, a feather light touch in my palm. Like a thousand tiny silk hairs brushing against my hand.

'I can feel her!' I whispered. Melanie nodded in approval before saying 'Soon, you'll feel her...body curling into your hand. Do you feel that?' Just as she said that, I felt what she was talking about.

'Yes' I replied quietly.

'Okay, bring her out now, Ian' Melanie said to me. I drew my hand out carefully and looked at the creature inside it.

'Woah' Jamie breathed as he saw her.

She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Like a living ribbon, she twisted and waved in the air, stretching out her feathery limbs. The lights of the lamps reflected off her, causing her to glitter in little, subtle rainbows, and the air to glow like a halo around this tiny, perfect being.

What was it she said to be once before?

'If you could hold me in your hands, you would be disgusted. You would throw me to the ground and grind me under your foot...'

I can't understand how she would think that. How anyone could think that. She was the most beautiful, amazing, perfect creature in the entire universe. And she was mine.

Looking at her, at her beauty, suddenly, everything made perfect sense. Of course I would still love her the same way. Of course I wouldn't feel pain when looking at Melanie. Not anymore. Because she was Wanda, and I loved her, loved her for everything she is. I even love her like this, as a centipede. No, not a centipede. An angel. A butterfly.

I brought her close to the cot, and reached down towards the cut, which Doc held open for me. Her thin attachments seemed to sense that there was a vacant body nearby, and stretched happily towards it. I pushed her gently towards the cut and watched her slide in, reaching down and tying herself to the body that was now hers.

'Go home, my Wanderer' I whispered to her. 'It's all yours now'.

I turned to shut the Cryotank, and by the time I turned back, Doc was already busy healing and sealing the wound, dusting Smooth over it until the scar was all but vanished. He then turned her over so she was lying on her back. The expression on her face was so different than before. When the body was empty, so was her face. Vacant. But now there was a hint of an unconscious smile there, a peacefulness that could only be Wanda.

'When will she wake up?' I asked Melanie anxiously, turning towards her. Her face didn't cause me any pain now.

'I'd say give her an hour or two before waking her. Let her get settled, wear off the chloroform' she said. I saw her glance back to the sleeping girl, now Wanda, an affectionate smile playing on her lips.

'You really love her, don't you?' I asked her. She looked at me and smiled again.

'Yes. She could have taken my whole life. She could have gone on living with the souls, or been transferred to a different body, or led the Seekers here. But she didn't. Instead she risked her life, gave up her home, got hurt time after time, just to get me back to my family. My human family. Those who were meant to be her enemies. No other soul would have done that. Only Wanda. She's so special. And I couldn't have asked for a better sister' She stroked Wanda's arm lovingly.

'You're right. She is special. More special than she'll ever believe' I agreed.

'Mmm. Well, I'm going to go spread the good news. The insertion was a success, everyone else deserves to know' she said brightly. 'Come on, Jamie'.

'But...' Jamie began to protest, but Melanie hushed him with a look.

'Okay, see you' I said absently, my eyes still on Wanda's sleeping form. I heard their footsteps echo as they walked away.

I sat down beside Wanda's cot and took her hand.

'You're home now, Wanda. I know you'll be confused when you wake up, but it's ok. I'm here and we'll get through this. Together. I promise'.

...