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SILVER: Tales from the Fringes of Reality. Episode 22 – A Visit from the Moon.

GUILLERMO: –I’m not even sure if they’re awake yet, L. Perhaps we shouldn’t–

(door)

LUNA: Oh, Whim! My poor baby, how are you doing? I was trying everything to get here to you, I swear! Things just got a bit… chaotic.

GUILLERMO: That’s one way to put it I suppose.

(running)

OPAL: (out of breath) Is she- whoo. Is she really here?

LUNA: Hello, Opal my dear. It’s good to see you!

OPAL: Stars above, Luna, it’s good to see you too. I was hoping to catch you before you made your way inside, but I can see this hasn’t exactly gone to plan. Morning, Whim. I take it no one has filled you in on what’s going on here?

LUNA: Do they really not know?

GUILLERMO: I was trying to tell you, L, they were pretty lost when they got up here to begin with. Memories patchy in a way I hadn’t seen before, or… Well, I hadn’t seen until everything that’s happened with Minerva at least. 

LUNA: Do… Do you remember me? (tapping) ‘Some. I couldn’t tell what was memory and what was story for a while, though. Hi mom.’ Oh, Whimsy, I’m so sorry–

GUILLERMO: It’s hardly your fault, L. You’ve been disconnected from the Fringes for far too long now. Stars, I couldn’t even get a message out to you to let you know that they were here, that they were safe and happy and– (pause) And connected to my kid. 

LUNA: Your kid who is missing.

OPAL: Memo filled you in then?

LUNA: A little bit, yes. I… Thank you, for looking over Whim. And Whim, I’m so sorry I couldn’t get here sooner. (tapping) ‘The moon was disconnected from the Fringes?’ You didn’t tell them?

OPAL: It… It didn’t feel safe. You were disconnected from us for a few months and then your child came wandering onto the Fringes not knowing who they were or how they got here. It was difficult enough trying to explain your connection to them. Adding in the fact that they wouldn’t be able to go home at all felt… Wrong.

GUILLERMO: I promise we meant no harm, Luna. And you know how tirelessly we’ve been trying to get the connection reopened between us and you. I was hoping– No, that can wait. At least until you’ve had time to catch up with Whim.

LUNA: I haven’t seen her, if that’s what you’re wondering. Though to be fair, I didn’t know to look. 

GUILLERMO: One thing at a time, L. You should have some time with Whim; they’ve missed you, I’m certain.

OPAL: Is Winston–

LUNA: (teasing) You know how much he hates that name.

OPAL: Is Wind going to be joining us as well?

LUNA: He… No. I suppose now is as good a time as any… Whim wasn’t the only one to go missing from the moon. We were all scattered, which I think is part of the reason why the connection was fractured and you were unable to contact me.

GUILLERMO: You were… all taken from the moon? How is that even possible? Opal, you don’t think–

OPAL: It would’ve been a good distraction if we had the means to notice. Perhaps she hadn’t intended upon sending them all away from the moon, just Luna. That would leave Whim and Winston to contact us. Trying to find our missing moon goddess would definitely give Minerva an opening to take Silver. (thoughtful hum) Whim’s memories were scattered upon their arrival, this is true, but they did remember Luna after a while; likely would’ve remembered Wind as well, all things considered. Minerva doesn’t have proper casting abilities, she could have just… messed up, targeted all of them rather than just Luna, catching Whim’s heartline in the process and accidentally sending them here.

LUNA: Why would me and Wind have been separated then? We have a heartline too.

OPAL: But you two started in the same place! She must’ve interfered with the… magnetism, for lack of a better word, of the heartlines. Mari will hate me explaining it like this, will tell me there’s more to love magic than just– it hardly matters right now, I can apologize to her later. The heartlines are a bit like magnets, pulling people together. Reverse the polarity and instead of coming together they blast themselves apart. It isn’t that simple– magnetism or love magic– but that’s the gist of it. If Minerva found a way to flip that pull, it would send you and Wind rocketing away from each other. As for Whim… The way Mari explains it, the heartlines are kind of… dormant until they’re ready. What makes people ready, I don’t know, but I’m sure proximity plays a role in it. Whim wasn’t being drawn to us, wasn’t being pulled to the Fringes by any means until Minerva did whatever she needed to do to try to get you off of the moon. It sent all of you hurtling away along the heartline, pushing Whim out here.

LUNA: Are you certain, Opal?

OPAL: I am now, yes. I can feel it, the sense of knowledge invading my brain. Whatever Minerva did put a stop gap on it, but once I was able to start peeling away at it, the blockage gave way and now… I’m certain. And I’m certain that we can reverse the effects to bring Winston back here. I’m going to go and talk to Mari, let her know what I’ve discovered and see if we can start working on calling Wind back.

LUNA: Guillermo, why don’t you tell me a bit more about your missing person’s case while they do that. 

GUILLERMO: L, don’t you want a chance to catch up with Whim? 

LUNA: We’ll have time together, the two of us. Especially once Silver is found. I know them well enough to know they would prefer I help you find your child than sit here smothering them anyway, right Whim?

GUILLERMO: …They do put up quite the fight when you try to baby them too much.

LUNA: (fondly) That’s my kid. Now, come on. Tell me what you know. I want to help you get him back just as much as Whim does.

GUILLERMO: Minerva took them. And they escaped but Minerva keeps managing to find and move them before we can get them home. If we can just be a little bit faster, place the clues a little quicker–

LUNA: Clues?

GUILLERMO: Yeah, clues. Here, let me– (tapping) New one came through just before you arrived. Stopped recording to this file already which means she’s been moved again. Nothing new with her magical signature has kicked up yet, might still be falling. Or sleeping. Or maybe Minerva caught her and– No, I’m not going down that road. We get these every few days, once Silver really starts… living in a reality, I guess. Usually catch it just after he’s been moved again, trying to piece together where he was and where he’ll go next. It’s… Well. It’s hard, but you’d know that, wouldn’t you L?

Do you want to take a listen? Just so you know what we’re working with? Obviously there isn’t much we can do now, not until their recordings start coming through again, but it could be good for you to hear. 

LUNA: Whatever you think would help prepare me to find them with you.

(tapping)

SILVER: Gods, my head… What happened last night? Min, can you turn the lights down some?

MARGUERITE: ‘pologies, I don’t think the suns would turn down even if I wanted them to.

SILVER: (rushed rustling) Stars above, I’m sorry, I- I don’t know what I was thinking–

MARGUERITE: You said the name ‘Min’. Are they the one who did this to you? I haven’t seen someone this banged up in quite some time.

SILVER: No, no, Minerva– Well, I guess in a way she did. But! But it’s a little more complicated than that. …Except it’s not, not really. I’m sorry, I’m talking in circles. My name is Silver. How did I get here? Did you see me falling?

MARGUERITE: Sure did! It was like the sky had torn open, swirls of light in a million colors filling this little seam in the sky. Then it closed, and I saw you, like you had been in the sky the whole time expect now you were hurtling towards the sea. Thankfully the Legal Valkyrie has a good engine on her or I might have lost you once you hit the water.

SILVER: Is this roughly where I landed?

MARGUERITE: It was a little ways back swordside, but I can probably get us there. Why? (teasing) Lose something in the water?

SILVER: (muttered) Found something in the sky I think. 

MARGUERITE: …Right, well. I’ll get steering, should be back there in just about a bladecast or so. Rest up if you can, from the look on your face, you’ll need the energy for whatever it is you’re planning.

(door)

SILVER: Deep breaths, Silver. (fizzling sparks) Magic here, but weak. That’s okay, we can build it up, like Jaci and Riv. Stop the flow through me… If I can just get to that seam, maybe I can find Minerva. Or better yet, maybe I can find my way home. The colors don’t sound quite right for the Fringes, that was mostly gold. Do I still have– I do! Hello, little friend. You’re helping me remember better, aren’t you? (rocks crunching) Well, my little Spellerman’s egg, do you know what that colorful seam could’ve been? (rocks crunching)

Maybe it was the void. I didn’t really get a good look at it when I jumped… It was brighter than I thought it would be, and not in the golden magic way of the Fringes. If I can get to the void… Well, Minerva is there somewhere. It could be dangerous. Or it could be a good place to hide from her… But I would also be hidden from my family. It could give me the time I need to plan my next move, maybe figure out which reality I’m going to so I can send them a sign…

MARGUERITE: We’re approaching the spot! 

(door, hurried footsteps)

SILVER: Stars above.

MARGUERITE: Have you never seen the morningstar sea before? Can’t believe you’ve fallen out of the sky but never seen one of the most incredible wonders in–

SILVER: Don’t! Don’t say where we are, please. I– Thank you, for all of your help. I need to get moving before Minerva finds me.

MARGUERITE: …Are you sure you’re going to be alright, kid? I don’t like the sound of this at all.

SILVER: I’m going to be fine, I promise. I just… She’s very good at listening in and already has more details than she needs. I need to get out of here before she puts all of them together.

MARGUERITE: …If you’re sure. Take a cloak at least, it’s absolute ice out there right now.

SILVER: Thank you, Marguerite. And take care.

(jumping, loud whoosh, glitched sound fading into static)

GUILLERMO: Stars above.

LUNA: You’ve raised an incredibly powerful child, Memo. Figuring out how to enter the void between realities and flying directly into it? That takes strength, both of will and of magic.

GUILLERMO: That’s why the recording cut off so early. Minerva didn’t find him, he found a way out. He could be anywhere right now, literally anywhere. The in between… my stars, I love this kid so much but why did he have to make it so much harder to find him?

LUNA: You heard them, Mems. Now they can plan, can plan a way to show us all where they are so we can be that little bit faster than Minerva. We can, we will find them this way. Your kid’s almost as smart as Opal.

OPAL: They are certainly more wise than me at the very least. What have we discovered?

GUILLERMO: She made it to the in between. I think… I think she’s going to store her magic to make a big show once she enters reality. So we can find her again.

OPAL: My stars, she’s absolutely remarkable. This is a good thing, Memo. 

GUILLERMO: It doesn’t feel like it. Yeah, it gets Minerva’s eyes off of her but it gets our eyes off of her too. What if something happens?

LUNA: Your child is incredibly resourceful, Guillermo. I have every confidence in their abilities and so should you. We’ll get him back, Guillermo. We will.

OPAL: Speaking of getting things back, Mari’s ready for you Luna. She’s figured out how to use the heartline to pull Wind back here. Now that the moon is connected with us again, we’ll be able to keep an eye on you and on Whim.

LUNA: Thank you, Opal! Though… Though I believe Whim would rather stay here. At least for the time being.

GUILLERMO: Don’t you want to go home, kid? (tapping) ‘Not until she’s home too’. Well, at least I know your mom knows where to find you now.

LUNA: And nothing is going to stop me from getting to you ever again. I promise. Now, if you’ll excuse me darling, I’m going to go find your dad.

OPAL: You should probably go let mom and ren know what’s happening, Memo.

GUILLERMO: Yeah, yeah alright. You coming with me, kiddo? What, I know better than to try and leave you out of our plans by now. Come on, let’s go tell the others what we’ve learned.