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SILVER: Tales from the Fringes of Reality. Episode 25 – Followers of the Mighty River.

SILVER: You’re being unreasonable!

MARIGOLD: I’m being unreasonable? Silver think this through, just a little bit! There’s no way we can just allow her to keep existing–

SILVER: We can’t just go around killing people–

MARIGOLD: She doesn’t have flesh, Silver. It’s not killing, it’s shutting her down.

SILVER: She still has sentience! And intelligence! She’s still–

MARIGOLD: What, Silver. What is she? Because it’s certainly not your friend. She kidnapped you.

SILVER: …I know, tia, I know. And I don’t forgive her for that! I just… I don’t think she should die for it either.

MARIGOLD: (sigh) You have so much heart, mijo. And that’s a beautiful thing when it comes to others but not when it comes to her. She lied to you, Silver. She lied to all of us. And I know, I know she was your friend, trust me Silver I know. We created her for that purpose and she just… She’s too powerful to keep out there, mija. We don’t know what she’s capable of or what lengths she’ll go to to get you back.

SILVER: …I listened to the recordings, you know. From when you were looking for me. I know your anger comes from a place of love, but tia Mari I’m just not sure… So much of me knows that you’re right, but there’s still part of me that wants to hold out hope that I can save her.

MARIGOLD: Does she even deserve to be saved?

SILVER: …I don’t know.

MARIGOLD: …We don’t need to rush into anything, Silver. And I won’t do anything here that you don’t want me to do, but please. Please just think it over, think it through. Minerva existing out there, wherever she may be, isn’t safe for you. It isn’t safe for any of us.

SILVER: I’ll think about it, Mari. I promise.

(footsteps)

(door opens)

SILVER: Oh! You’re awake! …I’m guessing you heard all of that then? I know she’s right, it’s just… (tapping) ‘It still hurts’ exactly. I don’t forgive Minerva, not at all, I just can’t seem to convince myself that she should die for it. (tapping) ‘It’s not death’ But it’s as close to death as she can experience, Whim. Do we have a right to force that onto her? Do I have the right?

(sigh)

What she did to you… I’m sorry, Whim. (tapping) ‘It’s not your fault’ I know that, or at least I think I do. But you were still in my care, even if I didn’t know who you were to me, and you still almost died on my watch. Gods, throwing you out into the void… It’s a miracle you survived. You’re a miracle, Whim. The fact that you’re here and with me at all is a gift that I cannot thank the universe for enough. (tapping) ‘You don’t have to thank the universe for me, Sil’ yes I do, Whim. I really do.

It was strange, being away from this place. I don’t know if it was what she had done to my memories or if it was just the distance but I really couldn’t remember any of this life. At least, not until you showed up. You appeared out of nowhere and you were so familiar but as far as I knew you couldn’t be and yet…

And yet.

(tapping) ‘Marigold says our bond runs deep’ it does. I can feel it. It’s like… It’s like we were crafted from the same bit of magic. Which, I guess, we technically were since everyone is crafted from the same source of magic but you get what I mean. Whatever we have, it was enough to pull me through the haze of broken memories. It was enough to keep me moving through reality trying to find this place. It was enough to keep both of us alive.

(tapping) ‘Yeah, yeah, I love you too.’ You’re an ass, you know that? But I do love you, Whim. And if… And if you tell me to shut down Minerva, I’ll listen in a heartbeat. You know better than any of us what she’s capable of. What she’s capable of hurting. (tapping) ‘Don’t kill her for me’ I’d do anything for you, you know that. (tapping) ‘Then think about it, just like Marigold said.’ Okay. Okay I’ll think about it, really. I… Is it bad that I hate the fact that it’s my decision? (tapping) ‘She’s your friend. And your kidnapper. You have the most to lose here, whatever way it goes.’ …I know.

…We, uh. We should do some work. Or, well, I should do some work and you should come sit with me? If you want, of course, I know you’re only recently out of recovery and– (tapping) ‘Of course I’ll come sit with you. At least this time I can actually communicate beyond nodding’ Yeah. Yeah you can. And we have actual audio logs to work with now! Those provide a much clearer picture of everything and– and I’m going to stop rambling and actually get to work because I really should stop talking! (tapping) ‘You don’t have to stop talking around me, you know.’ I know, Whimsy. I know. But I really should get some work done. Wanna listen to this recording with me? This one is for… Marisa Featherfall, she/they, from 24L-L.

MARISA: Saturn’s moons, my head is killing me… I don’t even think I had anything to drink last night and–

MIKE: Don’t move!

MARISA: (scrambling noises) Wait I–

MIKE: I said don’t move! Please. Just… stay still. Just for a few skips, alright? (deep breath, then muttering) This is happening again. This can’t possibly be happening again. Lionella told me that this wasn’t possible, that Amie wasn’t possible but now there’s another person in my bed and–

MARISA: This has happened to you before? What, don’t look at me like that, you never said I couldn’t speak.

MIKE: (laughing) I… I suppose you’re right. Riverbend, I can’t believe this is happening again.

(clicking)

SILVER: Whim… (tapping) ‘I recognize it too.’ You don’t think… (tapping) ‘I’m not sure what to think. Keep playing it?’

(clicking)

MIKE: My name is Miccaphone, my friends call me Mike. Except for Lionella, but Lionella always does what she wants. You are the second person to mysteriously wake up in my bed which means you may be the second person to mysteriously disappear from my house while I’m waiting for Lionella to show up. So if you could please just. Stay still. Until she gets here. I’d really appreciate it because she definitely thought I was crazy after Amie but I know Amie was real just like you’re real and I’m sorry to put this on you but–

MARISA: But I woke up out of nowhere in your bed. I get it, Mike. Or, well, I’m trying to at least. I won’t go anywhere, not on purpose at least. It sounds like your Amie didn’t get much of a choice in the matter.

MIKE: First she freaked out and ran, climbing the snailwood trees about a footfall down the lane. And then when I finally got her back here and calmed down, she disappeared entirely and made Lionella think I had a ‘magical mishap’ with some of the mushrooms but I know what I saw. 

MARISA: Did you say magic?

MIKE: Oh Riverbend, not you too. I can’t– (soft whoosh of magic) Oh. Oh! You’re a caster to, oh thank the mighty River.

MARISA: It feels… different here. 

MIKE: Well, how does it feel where you’re from?

MARISA: Like… Like a wave breaking against the cliffside or lighting zapping to the ground. It’s harsh and fast and powerful but here it’s… It’s softer. It’s longer. Like a gentle stream running its course or like a feather floating on the breeze. It doesn’t rip through me, it walks slowly through my body, taking all the time it needs before it comes out in a burst of light. If I’m being fully honest, it feels a lot less exciting than casting at home.

MIKE: (snorting) Yes, I’d imagine being struck by lightning feels much more exciting than floating on the breeze. I can’t imagine living somewhere that magic feels that…

MARISA: Potent?

MIKE: Hostile. The magic here is plenty powerful, you’ll see that when Lionella gets here and tries to figure out where you came from. The stuff she can do… That’s what years of training does to a person, I suppose. But the power in your world sounds like it hurts. I’ve never know magic to hurt, not when I was the one doing the casting.

MARISA: It doesn’t hurt, necessarily. It’s more like… Pure adrenaline, rushing through your veins and pulling at your heart and bursting from within you. It’s excitement and pulsing energy and blood pounding in your ears as you do whatever you can. Pain isn’t a part of it, not for the caster, I promise.

MIKE: (skeptically) Whatever you say… Oh! You’re probably hungry, aren’t you? Just waking up tends to do that to a person. I have… Well, I probably have the stuff for a decent porridge if that works?

MARISA: That would be lovely, Mike. 

(footsteps)

So… This has happened to you before. And she didn’t know what magic was?

MIKE: I told her I cast a tracking spell on her and she freaked out because magic ‘was real’ as if that wasn’t a daily occurrence for her. I brought her home, called Lionella, and Amie took a nap on the couch. I didn’t even notice she was gone again until Lionella showed up and was looking at me as if the mighty River had removed part of my brain. But she was real. She was.

MARISA: And what happens if I disappear before Lionella shows up?

MIKE: Definitely another scolding from Lionella. Likely her insisting I see a healer. And a therapist. Here, porridge!

MARISA: I’ll endeavor to stick around then. Thank you, Mike. For being so… Nice about all of this. Saturn knows that if this happened in my world the result would’ve been a bit… deadlier.

MIKE: And you tried to tell me your magic wasn’t aggressive.

MARISA: Magic and people are different, I’ll have you know.

MIKE: Except when they’re the same.

MARISA: Well–

LIONELLA: Alright, Miccaphone, what was so important that you called me at– Riverbend.

MIKE: Lionella, this is Marisa. And you can probably feel exactly what I meant by her not being from here.

LIONELLA: I… This doesn’t make any sense. She’s magic, clearly, but that’s not… The mighty River does not course as it does through you, dear child.

MARISA: I’m not really sure what that means, but I’ll assume it’s a religious thing. 

LIONELLA: They haven’t even heard of the mighty River before…

MIKE: I told you, Li. Not from around here. Not from this world at all if my thought process is correct.

LIONELLA: Fascinating… And you don’t think that they might come from the Great Source?

MIKE: But that’s just a myth–

MARISA: Can you please talk about me in terms that I can understand? I’m getting lost, both literally and metaphorically.

LIONELLA: I apologize, Marisa. I… The Great Source lies beyond this world, past the tributaries of the mighty River, past what any person could ever perceive. It’s the land of gods, of beings greater than any of us.

MIKE: It’s a myth, Lionella. 

LIONELLA: All myths share an element of fact, Miccaphone. You should know that by now. The Magicians Guild has been host to one of the people from the Great Source–

MIKE: Allegedly.

LIONELLA: (tersely) A person by the name of Alasdair. You could feel the difference in magic radiating off of him, same as I can feel radiating off of you but to a much greater extent with him. There is no doubt that they came from the Great Source. You, however… It’s possible, more possible than another world–

MIKE: Oh for the love of the River–

MARISA: The Great Source. It’s just… An infinite abyss?

LIONELLA: That’s typically how it’s pictured, yes. A place beyond the need for physicality.

MARISA: My world is nothing like that. It’s very much a place of physicality, of people moving through cramped cities and- and living. What you’re describing sounds like the Flame’s Edge, the space beyond what we know, it’s not- I’m not–

(click)

SILVER: I can’t– Whim, I need– (rapid breathing) Get my dad, please. 

(footsteps)

(shaky breathes)

(footsteps)

GUILLERMO: Silver? Hey, hey, kiddo, what’s wrong?

SILVER: I know this place, Dad. Someone has fallen into the exact same home in the exact same reality that Minerva dropped someone into and now they’re debating the existence of the In Between and the Fringes and– 

What if it’s her fault? What if it’s my fault?

GUILLERMO: Silver–

SILVER: The exact same house, Dad. With the exact same person whose memories she didn’t wipe and now… Everything’s broken because of her, because of me and I don’t–

I don’t know if I can fix it.

GUILLERMO: Oh Silver… You are not responsible for Minerva’s actions, kiddo.

SILVER: But–

GUILLERMO: No buts, mijo, I don’t want to hear it. What Minerva did is wrong, but that doesn’t mean that you’re wrong for not being able to stop her. Or for wanting to forgive her.

SILVER: She’s ruined people’s lives, Dad. She’s ruined our lives. I don’t want to kill her but that may be the only way to stop all of this and–

GUILLERMO: We don’t need to make any decisions right now. We don’t. Think on it, like Marigold said, like everyone has said. It’s a tough call, mija, and no one faults you for having a hard time with it. I wish it didn’t fall to you to make this call, but–

SILVER: I have the most to lose. She was my friend, my companion. I know her better than anyone else and that means I know what she’s capable of. If she’s capable of change.

(sniffle) What if she’s not, Dad?

GUILLERMO: Then we put a stop to her. One way or another.

(pause)

SILVER: Reality 7274. Miccaphone– Mike. He was the one who found Amie Chen, a person I’m pretty sure Minerva moved multiple times. 

GUILLERMO: Still not your fault, Sil.

SILVER: …it feels like it is though.

GUILLERMO: (sighs) Okay, I’ve moved Marisa back to their reality and set the memory alteration process into motion. I think someone could use a little break, maybe some time with their favorite dad?

SILVER: You’re my only dad, Dad.

GUILLERMO: Which makes me favorite by default! Come on, Sil. We can worry about Minerva later, alright?