6:00

They're coming straight towards you. Dusty, they're coming straight towards you. A

6:02

flashing blade in the dark coming straight at you. Vesta,

6:05

move now. I move. After

6:07

being knocked over on the ground, she

6:10

just kind of rolls instinctively out of the way as

6:12

the sword comes falling down. Dusty,

6:15

three men are coming straight at

6:17

you. Weapons drawn. Turning from Tommasi,

6:20

I pull the mica jackhammer off

6:22

of my shoulder and with a

6:24

swing, just like

6:27

wham them. Seeing

6:29

now that Jacob

6:32

was not trying to attack me and

6:34

seeing that he holds the fireworks, I

6:36

reach into my bag and I toss

6:39

a thing of matches to

6:42

Jacob and Fiona. I

6:45

catch them out of the air, strike one, and

6:48

in a coordinated movement, as Jacob

6:50

holds the fireworks up, I hold

6:53

the matches down and they light. An

6:56

immediate explosion. Come off. Fold

6:58

safe? No, I don't think

7:00

so. These were specifically not fold safe

7:02

for exactly this reason. There

7:05

is an immediate swirling maelstrom of

7:07

movement, light, sound, fire,

7:09

explosions, soldiers falling

7:11

back in fear as a whirling dark

7:13

madness erupts in the core of the

7:16

moon around you. Soldiers scrambling,

7:18

carouche and shouting instructions. Baxford

7:20

wane-ian shouting, nice.

7:26

His men are spreading out around you, protecting

7:28

you, defending you as Carouche's

7:30

soldiers are stepping in trying to find

7:32

openings. Swords going

7:34

into armored chinks between soldiers, plate

7:37

protections. So they're fighting each other.

7:39

They're fighting each other. Baxford

7:41

is trying to hold them back. Mother

7:44

trauma is getting into position behind all of you, trying

7:46

to stay out of the fray. Oh, yeah.

7:50

Since I am next to Fiona,

7:52

who keeps giving me this shitty

7:54

look. I just don't know where

7:56

you stand, girl. I'm

7:58

still on the ground. and I look up and I just say,

8:00

we gotta go now. I

8:03

start trying to crawl out from the fray

8:05

using this as a distraction. Waltons

8:07

just taking it all in. This like

8:09

an immediate eruption that goes and goes

8:11

and goes. Is it a

8:14

short spell? It is

8:16

a swirling maelstrom of confused

8:18

darkness flashing and convolving in

8:20

front of you as

8:24

doorways in the hallway slam,

8:26

open, shut, strange creatures skitter

8:28

around the walls of the

8:30

chamber appearing, disappearing, half

8:32

remembered, half forgotten, their one moment

8:34

gone the next, very

8:36

much not fold safe, a terror spawning

8:39

in the air. Thankfully the fireworks are

8:41

relatively small. This is very different than

8:43

an entire colossal moon falling into the

8:46

fold. Also the thing is, I

8:48

don't think I'm scared of

8:50

terrors anymore. Not

8:55

like I used to be at least. Not as much as

8:57

I'm scared of all the other things going on in

8:59

here. So I throw out my hand towards Tommasi and

9:01

I say, come on, come with me, we gotta

9:04

get out of here now. Bodies falling all around

9:06

you, swords scattering across the ground, flying towards your

9:08

vicinity. These survivors are moving, trying

9:10

to position

9:12

themselves advantageously around the room but the soldiers are

9:15

cutting off your exit. Dusty

9:17

is like holding the jackhammer aloft

9:19

like, follow Vesta, go, we gotta

9:21

get back down the hallway, you guys. Yeah, back the

9:23

way we came. Carva

9:25

Pathway, get us out of here.

9:28

Baxford's men are trying to saber

9:30

their way through Carusu's associates. Momentarily

9:33

an aperture opens in the battling

9:35

fray, pointing straight out into

9:37

the hallway, the hallway of doors. Jay

9:41

and Suresh sprint

9:43

across the gap and Dusty

9:45

is like, approaches

9:47

Carusu and

9:49

the rest of the crew and it's like,

9:52

you get in our way. If

9:57

you stop us. I'm shepherding the miners through. Go.

9:59

Go, go, go, go. They're

10:02

trying to move as fast as they can through between

10:05

bodies out into the hallway. Caruso is shouting

10:07

orders, no, you can't get out of here

10:09

like that. We

10:12

had a deal. The deal was we

10:14

save the miners, you get the moon. We don't

10:16

give a fuck what you wanna do with it.

10:18

Let us go. The deal goes out the window

10:20

and you associate with Bexford Wainian. We do not

10:23

deal with dark barons and their friends. I didn't

10:25

know, I didn't know. Wainian

10:27

is storming through the crowd, throwing

10:29

bodies aside, his sword coming out, walking

10:31

straight toward Caruso, who's drawing her saber

10:34

as well. Dual, dual,

10:36

dual. Mother trauma is

10:38

moving behind you as well. Where

10:41

are you, your friend? He is still, I'm

10:43

vamping here. He is still groggy, he's still

10:45

woozy from what happened, and he is just

10:48

watching it all unfold, and he's

10:50

keeping tabs on, I know that I've been

10:52

quiet, I am keeping tabs on Bexford and

10:54

Caruso. So that's it for now for

10:56

me. I look

10:59

over at Walton, trying

11:03

to make eye contact. Okay, you do. You

11:07

coming or you staying? I'm

11:10

very behind you. Go,

11:13

you've got everybody, everybody's trying to move. Jay,

11:15

Suresh, the other miners, Tomasi is totally

11:17

bewildered. He is trying to grapple with

11:19

one of Caruso's soldiers who has

11:21

him pinned against a mica wall. I got this,

11:24

okay. Take it away. So Fiona has the

11:26

stilt that I mentioned, I'm

11:30

gonna have it retracted. I

11:32

don't even think I need to speak aloud to Jacob

11:35

anymore. I just kind of tell

11:37

him, hold us steady, and I

11:39

lean back and hold my right

11:41

foot out, soul pointed towards this

11:43

other soldier's head, and I untellescope

11:47

the stilt, aiming for the

11:49

soldier's face. Amazing. A

11:52

body goes flying, tell us about it. It

11:55

probably ends up a little bit more gory

11:57

than I expected or intended, but. There's

12:00

a crunch. There's bruising. There's a

12:03

collapse as the soldier goes limp and slumps down

12:05

against the wall But Tomasi is free is unpinned

12:08

and I hold my hand back out to him.

12:10

I guess down at an angle He's

12:14

coming with you Karushu is looking straight at

12:16

you in one of her dead men lying

12:18

at your feet You

12:21

know, okay, you know run I think

12:24

to Jacob to grab the dead

12:26

guys sword Jacob

12:29

yeah, he reaches down scrambles. I don't know how

12:31

to use he handing it up to you. Yes

12:33

we do All

12:37

right, you can do this you can do this Baxford

12:40

is locked in one-on-one combat with Commissioner

12:42

Karushu. They are battling to the death

12:44

a knife against her throat a sword

12:48

negotiating between his defenses Enemies

12:51

to the last breath They

12:54

are distracted the soldiers are coming for

12:56

you Several crucios men

12:58

are coming straight for you Walden. All right

13:00

now some all my I pull I'm

13:04

still got eyes on Baxford and

13:06

cruciu and I pull out the

13:08

fold burst And I

13:10

throw it directly at my feet and it

13:12

erupts erupts shadow

13:15

like 300 feet in every direction So

13:18

it is a blind box in here now and

13:21

I close my eyes and start

13:23

moving through the soldiers

13:25

running in my direction and Slowly

13:29

navigating my way through and then

13:31

I start to circle around these

13:33

two who are locked to the

13:35

death and The

13:37

blades are flying out. So it is dangerous

13:39

as hell. I pull

13:42

out the wrench and

13:46

I take a swing at the back of

13:49

Karushu's head Does

13:52

it connect it it does connect

13:56

Unfortunately not as hard as I want and What?

22:10

You are in a hall of doors. There

22:12

is a figure coming towards you. A

22:17

tall black figure

22:20

with red glowing eyes.

22:23

As tall as the grandmother. In

22:27

fact, very similar to the grandmother.

22:30

In fact, it might be the grandmother. But

22:35

you said Dark Zone, yeah. I heard you

22:37

say that. I did say that. What?

22:41

What? It's not quite the grandmother. Well,

22:44

it looks sort of like a cursed,

22:46

bad grandmother. Someone

22:50

who might once have been a

22:53

grandmother. Who

22:55

now is not

22:57

just not quite human. But

23:01

absolutely not human

23:03

at all. Okay,

23:08

the door that is my door that I

23:10

cut to fit my head. That's

23:13

my door back at home. Do

23:15

I see it? You do. It's

23:17

at the end of the hallway beyond the

23:20

figure. That is gliding straight

23:23

towards you slowly. Whatever

23:25

it is, is taking its time. Okay.

23:28

It is coming towards you very

23:30

slowly, unhurried. Behind you, the

23:34

aperture leading to the core of the

23:36

moon is still open. And

23:38

the chambers beyond, the caverns beyond

23:40

are still visible. There, hovering inside

23:43

that cracked, broken, dark

23:46

cavern, still hangs the

23:48

large lunar shard that is

23:50

the core of the moon.

23:53

The broken, arrowhead-like, tall, knife-like

23:55

fragment, slowly turning in the

23:57

air. Baxford-Waynean.

24:01

is still within, still

24:03

standing with his sword driven

24:06

straight into Caruso's chest. He

24:09

is not moving, but

24:12

he is looking straight at you with

24:14

his coal red eyes. I'm

24:21

very sorry about this, Walden, he

24:24

says. Here.

24:29

You brought them right to us. The

24:35

figure is gliding toward you, blocking

24:39

your escape. Where is

24:41

Mother Trauma? Mother Trauma is directly

24:43

behind you. He

24:46

steps between your ranks, stepping between you

24:53

and the specter gliding towards

24:55

you down the collapsing telescoping

24:57

corridor. So,

25:00

Sonia, Mother Trauma.

25:02

And you. Us, Baxford.

25:05

Yes. There's

25:07

one way out. There might be multiple, in fact, there are

25:09

many ways out of this, not all of them good. Mother

25:14

Trauma turns to you all. I

25:17

told you you were under my protection. You.

25:22

You are. This

25:25

moon is a place of safety and

25:27

danger. More

25:29

so danger, but now safety,

25:33

I will make it so. You

25:36

are under my protection until the end. I

25:39

wish you all well, and

25:42

I hope you make it home. He

25:46

raises a hand, and the dark,

25:48

towering, arrowhead-like shard

25:50

behind you begins to glow

25:52

in eerie, heart-beating purple, a

25:55

strange luminescence. A.

28:01

I'm pulling onto Mossy's shoulders. Anyone else

28:03

I can reach, just walking backwards, retreating

28:06

back down the hallway. Walden,

28:10

mother trauma is coming straight towards you.

28:14

Tell me, Walden, do

28:20

you hesitate? The

28:23

knife is in your

28:25

hand. Mother trauma is coming

28:28

toward you. You let mother

28:32

fall on me and embrace

28:35

and grab. And

28:40

stab it in from behind as

28:43

he's on me. With

28:45

no hesitation? No. Immediately,

28:49

a shuddering wave

28:52

of sorrow and pain and fear

28:55

overcomes you as a bony hand claws

28:57

the back of your head. You see

28:59

a dripping, weeping

29:02

face with dark,

29:04

matted fabric hanging to bony

29:07

countenance inside the veiled mantle

29:10

as mother trauma leans against

29:12

you. I

29:16

don't want to die. Please.

29:22

He's falling into your embrace. He's

29:25

shaking, the red eye is

29:27

going dark. Thank

29:31

you. You

29:37

did the right

29:39

thing, says mother

29:41

trauma, as he

29:43

dies. You

29:57

are under mother trauma's protection. as

30:02

Darksania glides

30:05

slowly toward you.

30:08

And a voice,

30:12

Spring,

30:17

begins to resonate in the

30:19

hallway. A strange,

30:22

unearthly summon, as

30:25

a powerful, incalculable presence comes

30:29

toward you. Darksania

30:33

stands before you now. Hello

30:39

again. We've

30:41

met before. You look different.

30:44

I'm the same. You've

30:54

begun to know my face.

30:59

You already know my

31:02

name. I

31:07

am the one who calls you,

31:11

who says, Come

31:13

here. Come

31:16

home. The

31:19

voice that whispers from

31:21

within, so

31:25

you never feel

31:28

alone. I wait

31:30

in all your

31:33

doorways. I

31:37

watch you while you

31:40

sleep. I

31:43

live right

31:46

here inside you,

31:49

gnawing, growing,

31:53

squirming deep. I've

31:58

taken the time to be here. The

32:00

people you loved the most One

32:05

by one by one And

32:12

I have come to

32:14

take you next Will

32:19

you fight? Evade

32:22

me Run

32:30

I am the weight that

32:33

crushed your sister The

32:38

guilt that

32:40

carves you like a

32:43

knife I

32:46

am the fear that

32:49

no one loves you The

32:54

creep that drank

32:57

your family's life

33:03

I am the dark that

33:06

lives within you As

33:10

now at last

33:13

you see I

33:17

am the

33:20

wound you've

33:22

always carried You

33:27

belong to me

33:34

The darkness is coming toward you Red

33:36

eyes locked on each and every one of you in turn I...

33:45

The soldiers are not under Mother Trauma's

33:47

protection The remainder of Karrat's death

33:49

is the end of the

33:52

war The

33:55

soldiers are not under

33:57

Mother Trauma's protection from

34:00

her Carusius phalanx and

34:02

the remainder of Baxford's. They

34:05

all stand at attention in their various positions,

34:08

watching, staring,

34:12

waiting, red pinprick

34:14

eyes shining at you in the dark.

34:18

You alone have been warded. You

34:21

alone are safe for

34:24

now. Oh. This

34:27

reaches over, grabs

34:30

Walden by the collar, shoves

34:35

Mother Trauma off of him. His

34:38

limp, skeletal body has lost

34:40

all definition and feeling, husk,

34:44

loose bones, and

34:47

desiccated remains clatter and rustle

34:49

away as limp fingers

34:51

and clawed remains scatter

34:53

across the floor. There's nothing left,

34:56

an ancient mummy in a

34:58

black shroud. I am physically

35:00

yanking Walden, and I'm grabbing

35:03

him, and I

35:05

shove Walden up against the wall. Someone

35:09

has to drive the fucking

35:11

ship. Where are the miners? He's gotta

35:14

be you. They're with Fiona, and I

35:16

take, and I reach in my medical

35:18

bag, as I'm continuing to grab him,

35:21

I take just a wall of gauze,

35:23

that can be not even going

35:25

to unroll it. There's no time for that.

35:28

I shove it into your sword wound, and

35:32

I take another syringe.

35:34

This is just like a quick

35:36

medical, basically morphine,

35:38

to try and shove it in your

35:40

wound to stop the coagulation, or start

35:42

coagulation. Have the miners been warded? Are

35:46

they, are they, are

35:48

they with us? Are they bitable, or are

35:50

they frozen in place? That's

35:52

a great question. I did just say that you

35:54

are all protected, and I will stand by that.

35:57

They are outside the immediate bubble of

36:00

your body. Tomasi and the others stand

36:02

just beyond you here in the hall

36:05

between you and

36:07

Sonia, who's approaching from behind them.

36:10

Tomasi and Jay. The protection is local to us. It's

36:13

like an aura. It would seem to be the case. Tomasi

36:15

and the others stand still,

36:19

gazing at you in

36:21

the darkness, their

36:24

eyes shining red pinpricks. They

36:29

are not moving. Dark Sonia is taking

36:31

her time. You belong to

36:33

her, after all, it would seem. She

36:36

doesn't need to hurry. Dusty

36:39

is in the hallway, and

36:43

he steps

36:45

forward, attempting

36:47

to put himself between the

36:49

miners and Dark Sonia, with

36:53

jackhammer over

36:55

his shoulder. A

36:58

darkness is spreading rapidly

37:00

throughout the room. A

37:04

spectral sheet is coming

37:07

toward you, moving slowly through

37:09

the dark. The walls

37:11

are beginning to dim. The

37:13

walls are beginning to go dark. The

37:16

paintings, the doors, are disappearing one by one.

37:19

One more time for clarification. Sonia

37:22

is between us and our exit.

37:24

That's correct. Awesome, that exit. That's

37:26

correct. This moon is full of holes. There

37:29

are many ways off this moon, some more optimal

37:31

than others. Well,

37:33

the other three look back to

37:35

approaching doom, and

37:38

after that adrenaline shot in my chest, I

37:40

kind of get up on one knee and

37:43

take the moment to hoist

37:45

my wrench out, and I see a dark crystal on

37:47

the ground. I don't touch it, but I

37:49

get the wrench on top of it,

37:51

and then I weakly tighten it, and

37:54

lift the wrench that is now holding a hunk

37:57

of crystal in its

37:59

ground. and I try

38:02

to stand up, hold on to

38:04

Jacob's shoulder. Vesta,

38:08

the black scarification has reached your shoulder.

38:11

Yeah, it kind of, it starts, and

38:13

especially as I am holding Walden up

38:16

against the wall and Dusty

38:18

standing next to me, you

38:20

see it starts with the silver

38:22

filigree first as it turns to

38:24

black and begins to swirl following

38:27

the pattern before the rest of

38:29

it begins to creep up like

38:32

water level rising in a sinking

38:34

ship and it

38:36

reaches her right

38:39

eye and

38:41

it begins to glow a

38:45

familiar red tent. Go,

38:50

I'll help you for as long as

38:52

I can. You

38:54

should probably see a doctor. I

38:57

take one step after Dusty, I don't

38:59

know how this protection thing works, but

39:01

I try to extend its

39:03

field of effect over the miners, over Tomasi, and

39:05

I reach for it and I grab his shoulder

39:08

and I say, hey, you forgot

39:10

our fucking anniversary. You

39:14

are gonna come home and we're

39:16

gonna have a fight and I

39:18

don't think we should get married, but I

39:21

don't want you to die. Tomasi.

39:27

Stands before you. Clearly,

39:37

his eyes are red, but

39:40

not with spectral evil, but

39:42

with tears. Maybe

39:46

I should have waited until time. No, he says, and

39:48

I'm really sorry. I'm sorry. Fiona,

39:55

I've been so scared. I thought I'd never see

39:57

you again. I

40:01

thought we were gonna die down here and all I can think about is

40:03

how... How

40:06

much I fucked up. I

40:09

don't know who this guy is. But

40:11

he seems a

40:13

lot better for you than me. So I agree. I

40:15

think you should just let me go. No, no, that's

40:18

not what I said. You... You

40:22

are important to me. You...

40:26

You were the first step towards Stationary Hill

40:28

feeling like home to me. And I felt

40:30

like as long as you wanted to marry

40:33

me then maybe I was... Okay,

40:37

maybe I was... worth

40:40

something. But listen... We

40:44

don't have to be each other's everything or

40:47

one and only but... I

40:50

still care about you. But what if you are?

40:53

I tell the guys on the moon all the

40:55

time at work. How wonderful you are. How excited

40:58

I am to be with you. Why didn't you ever tell me

41:00

that? Let's

41:03

go home so we can fight about this at home. Okay?

41:07

Come on, just come. This

41:09

is Jacob, by the way. You're extending a hand to him

41:11

it would seem. The

41:14

moment you do so... His

41:16

eyes turn red. And

41:19

again, this is actually the supernatural red

41:21

this time. Not the sad emotional red.

41:25

Jacob's too naive to

41:28

know that you're worthless and mediocre. It's

41:32

only a matter of time until he finds out. Till

41:37

he thinks you're a burden. He'll

41:45

resent you, you know. He probably

41:47

already does. You

41:53

want to go home and fight about that? Yeah.

42:02

I do. I

42:06

want to give him that time to figure out that

42:08

I'm a mediocre piece of shit. I'll

42:12

take that, Pat. Says

42:16

Dark Sonic. She is passing through

42:18

the ranks of the miners. She

42:21

is not far from you. You

42:24

have the jackhammer. Make

42:27

an exit. So

42:30

Dusty is holding the

42:33

jackhammer aloft like a

42:35

bit loaded. And

42:40

as Dark Sonic approaches,

42:45

looks her dead in those eyes.

42:50

It says you are

42:54

just one more

42:57

barrier to

43:01

getting these people out. And

43:04

I am not letting you stop me.

43:12

And with a flick, click,

43:16

and a stab, and

43:18

a practiced hand, Dusty

43:21

jams that jackhammer into

43:23

the mica floor of

43:26

the Dark Moon hallway between

43:32

Dark Sonic and

43:36

the miners and

43:39

Fiona and Vesta and Walden.

43:44

And I press it down. At

43:53

first the mica bit

43:56

sparks the way the mica

43:59

bit. bits do. And

44:03

being in the fold, a

44:06

terror occurs. A couple

44:08

of smaller jackhammers roll out onto the floor,

44:11

just sort of rattling and

44:17

dusty presses.

44:22

And the jackhammer goes further in. The

44:26

light within the mica flashing

44:29

out around through the hallway,

44:31

down the hallway, behind the

44:33

paintings, through the doors. And

44:41

with a guttural yell, jams

44:48

it down, floor

44:51

cracking asunder, I

44:56

stagger as I feel this shockwave run through

44:58

the floor, this vibration. Dusty,

45:04

there are fault lines running out. Go.

45:13

And to my, uh, Dusty, myself.

45:20

Like, pressing the jackhammer

45:22

down hauls

45:24

himself over the fissure toward

45:29

Darksanya. What's

45:32

happened to the miners? What's happened to Tomasi? Are

45:35

they still frozen? Can they move? Are they responding

45:37

to any of this? They

45:39

are. Tomasi, in particular, at the front

45:41

of it, having spoken to you, you

45:44

can see the emotion still within him.

45:47

You can see him struggling. You've connected

45:49

with him, but Darksanya's grasp on his

45:51

consciousness is mighty

45:53

indeed. He

45:56

wants to come with you. The pain in

45:58

him is real. The eyes

46:00

glow, glow red with incandescent

46:02

strange power, but his

46:04

face and his body demonstrate

46:07

total anguish. He

46:10

doesn't want this. He does wanna

46:12

come home with you, not to fight. He wants to

46:14

be, he

46:16

wants to be your husband. But

46:20

other things have to come first. As

46:22

the fissures in the ground

46:25

begin to further crack, I

46:30

see what Dusty is doing. And

46:34

I just drop my

46:36

foot with the fold

46:38

beginning to create this like

46:40

pulsing strength, that feeling,

46:43

that weight. Is

46:47

this how my sister felt? Is

46:50

this how the mothers feel? A

46:52

strange heaviness is spreading through you,

46:54

arm first as the scarification begins

46:56

to consume the side of your

46:58

torso. Is

47:01

this how Darksonia feels? Doesn't feel

47:03

good, let's put it that way. And

47:06

with the weight that I

47:09

feel as everything is beginning to

47:11

coagulate, to transmute into

47:15

this foreign

47:18

material that my body is slowly

47:20

becoming, I take my

47:22

heavy fist and just smash it

47:24

to the ground, shattering through the

47:26

floor, finally cracking it open. An

47:32

exit has revealed itself. Indeed

47:35

one has. The

47:38

void yawns below. One

47:40

of the miners was in a

47:42

very inopportune place and

47:44

slips and tumbles through the cracking

47:47

floor. And

47:49

unfortunate casualty. Speaking

47:52

of unfortunate casualties, Baxford Wainian is

47:54

approaching from behind. I'm

48:00

very sorry about this, Walden. The

48:02

moon already belongs to

48:05

Dark Sonya. His

48:07

red eyes lock on you. It's

48:10

nothing personal. You've always been an

48:13

outstanding lieutenant. I

48:16

wish you nothing but the best and I applaud

48:18

you for all your service. And

48:20

I salute you for everything you've been through. You

48:22

are a good man. You were a

48:24

good man. What happens to the

48:26

moon? The

48:29

moon comes with

48:31

us, he says. He

48:34

says to you, the

48:37

moon comes with

48:40

you. What

48:43

about the UB? You

48:47

were always going to use it to

48:51

hurt the UB. Baxford

48:54

would have. But

48:57

Baxford's not really here anymore.

49:00

Dark Sonya lives within him. A

49:03

dark squirming ichor

49:06

is crawling under Baxford's

49:08

skin. His

49:11

red eyes glowing, dimming,

49:14

going black, black,

49:17

black. I'm

49:21

sorry, Walden. Dark

49:24

Sonya has won. I

49:27

look at Fiona. Go.

49:32

Is there something to open up an exit in the floor? Is there

49:35

something to jump onto or is it just a drop?

49:39

What do you see down there? I

49:42

think you see a very

49:44

precarious scaffolding open up to

49:46

the abyss. It is at

49:48

an angle. It

49:50

is possible to

49:53

land. With appropriate speed and maneuvering,

49:55

one could almost take that scaffolding

49:57

back up to where the slug

49:59

awaits. Potentially. One more time.

50:01

I read your hand out to Tomasi. Are

50:03

you coming? Do you take

50:05

his hand? Yes. No.

50:18

Says Dark Sonja. Tomasi

50:22

wants to come. You could make him

50:25

come. You could bring him with you.

50:27

But Tomasi isn't really Tomasi anymore. Black,

50:32

slithering darkness is beginning to grow

50:34

across his face, across his neck.

50:38

The sorrow, the pain is clear in his eyes.

50:41

You could bring him with you now, if you want. But

50:44

Tomasi doesn't belong to you anymore. He

50:48

hasn't for a while. He

50:51

wants to belong to you. He really does. Will

50:54

you take him with you? How'd

51:02

if he's not gonna make the effort? He's

51:05

trying. He's trying in there. A

51:12

brave, but

51:14

false defiance.

51:19

A valiant stand.

51:23

Good show. But

51:28

your doubt and

51:30

fear betrays you.

51:35

I will never

51:39

let Tomasi go. But

51:44

that's just her opinion, right? Maybe

51:47

something can be done about this. If

51:50

you really want it. If

51:53

you get out of his influence. If

51:56

you get out of this sphere of

51:58

influence, he'll probably come back. But

52:01

you have to go. Now we're

52:03

running out of time. Okay,

52:06

Jacob, grab him. Jacob

52:09

grabs him. And at the same time,

52:11

we step back and we fall

52:13

down. Plummeting through the

52:15

fissure. And I reach down

52:18

and I hook to Massey under the arms, leaving

52:20

Jacob's hands free, and I just

52:23

hope that he's going to

52:25

catch us on that scaffolding. I

52:28

know he can do it. I know he can

52:30

do it. You tell

52:32

me if he does. We

52:35

are seeing terrible shit down here.

52:40

But I keep coming back to one thing, which is that...

52:45

a terror made Jacob.

52:57

And it's kind of the best thing

52:59

that ever happened to me. He

53:06

sticks the landing. Down

53:09

on the ground, immediately. Fiona,

53:11

Jacob, and Tomasi are what's left of

53:14

him. Land

53:16

below. You see them fall. You see

53:18

them clank onto the

53:20

scaffold below the aperture. It tilts

53:22

and creaks. You're sliding. Darksonia

53:27

is simply waiting. Is

53:29

Jay and Suresh still here as well?

53:32

They're standing at a slight

53:34

distance, accompanying Darksonia, standing

53:36

at her side. I have a couple

53:39

clarification questions for the table. One

53:42

is Baxford making

53:45

any attempt to stop

53:48

me, prevent me? Do I get that sense? Or

53:52

is this ward that we've been

53:54

discussing creating some sort of a...

53:58

I don't know, cancellation? The

54:01

sensation swirling throughout your bodies

54:05

feels to you like

54:07

a waning protection.

54:12

Mother Trauma's sacrifice has

54:15

allowed you to evade

54:17

instantaneous consumption by Darksonia,

54:21

but the barriers are weakening. It's only

54:23

a matter of time. Perhaps

54:25

that's why she's so unhurried. She

54:28

simply stands before you. She's just running

54:30

out the clock. Awaiting your

54:33

assimilation. Next

54:36

question. You described your

54:38

eye going red, so how similar

54:40

are we talking about to Red Sonja?

54:46

This is different. The

54:50

influence from... Rusty. The

54:53

chain-meant bikini glinting in the water.

54:57

The influence from Sonja is

54:59

external for the time being.

55:03

This is creeping

55:06

folds inside

55:09

Vesta's veins. She

55:12

is not consumed

55:16

by Sonja, but

55:18

the similarities are undeniable. Vesta

55:23

reaches over, grabs Jay

55:26

with her strength, that is

55:28

consuming her. Her heaviness. And

55:31

tosses him down. Jacob

55:33

catch, and like, kind of

55:35

monkey swings him. Our

55:38

body's coming down towards you. Jacob

55:41

lands it again. We have

55:43

forearms. We do have forearms. Advantages.

55:47

The body comes down. You're

55:51

up. Someone

55:54

has to get the fuck out

55:56

of here and fly the ship. Throw

56:00

my hand on your shoulder and

56:03

get my head right. Our noses

56:05

are almost touching. Fuck

56:08

you. Follow after if you can.

56:11

And as I chuck myself down the hole,

56:14

I have shoved the

56:16

homing beacon that's been in my pocket

56:19

into hers and I fall down the hole. As

56:23

I once again kind of monkey

56:25

swing him across, it

56:28

is strong but he is heavy. It

56:31

dislocates my shoulder. You just see a

56:33

pop. That was

56:35

best. Down

56:41

you go. Most of you are on the

56:43

scaffold below now. Sonya looms, red

56:46

eyes watching, waiting. Jump

56:50

down. Dusty

56:53

is in the hallway, facing

56:56

dark Sonya. Toe to toe.

57:00

And Suresh is here still. That's

57:03

right. And

57:07

even though this guilt is

57:09

eating him, I'm

57:17

not letting my people die.

57:22

And Dusty, grabs

57:25

Suresh from beside dark

57:28

Sonya. Fucking

57:33

hauls it back, tipping

57:35

through the hole. Dragging

57:40

Suresh with, so two, one

57:44

barbarian-like fellow evading Sonya

57:46

and Suresh fall. You

57:51

both plummet through the hole, through

57:54

the aperture, the crevasse. We

57:57

try to spot you, but are you able to catch yourself? Question,

58:00

are you able to catch yourself? And

58:03

in this free

58:05

fall, Dusty

58:08

holding Suresh is like, diggers

58:12

forever, right? And

58:15

like, using his weight, fucking, heaves

58:20

Suresh in the direction of the

58:22

rest. Seeing

58:26

this liner slung towards us, we do our

58:28

best to catch him. But

58:30

because of this, the

58:33

equal and opposite reaction, Dusty

58:38

falls, and

58:44

he keeps falling. And

58:52

to the void, red eyes watch

58:54

you from above as the darkness

58:56

engulfs you. Dusty

59:03

rooms, I

59:09

offer you a

59:12

doorway, and

59:16

exchange if you agree.

59:25

If you consent

59:28

to meet the void,

59:34

the others may

59:39

go free. Do

59:47

you fall willingly

59:51

and with readiness and acceptance?

59:55

Or do you fall with fear, guilt,

59:59

and regret? for what

1:00:01

might have been. Knowing

1:00:09

that he did what

1:00:14

he could. And

1:00:22

knowing, well,

1:00:26

that without much

1:00:29

other recourse, a

1:00:34

choice is being offered. Dusty

1:00:43

releases the fight.

1:00:52

He always knew Micah Mining

1:00:54

was dangerous. That

1:00:58

falling through the air was

1:01:00

a risk. That

1:01:04

safety was a good preventative.

1:01:12

But it

1:01:17

was always a job. And

1:01:20

with jobs, you did the best

1:01:22

that you could. So

1:01:28

knowing that

1:01:31

he'd made the effort, that

1:01:34

he made the journey, that

1:01:37

he found the crew, still

1:01:40

alive, well, for

1:01:42

now, and knowing that

1:01:44

a path

1:01:47

has been opened, Dusty

1:01:56

accepts. He

1:02:00

surrenders to the fall. Tell

1:02:07

us what we

1:02:09

see before Dusty disappears.

1:02:18

Looking down this shaft,

1:02:22

the large

1:02:25

form of Dusty, once

1:02:30

big and imposing, seems sort

1:02:32

of dwarfed and small, cast

1:02:36

against this backdrop of infinite

1:02:39

darkness, stretching

1:02:43

down who knows how far. And

1:02:47

as he sort of

1:02:49

slowly turns

1:02:53

and looks up, he

1:03:02

salutes and

1:03:08

disappears into the dark. With

1:03:13

your final binding

1:03:19

agreement, the

1:03:22

fold will now comply.

1:03:28

I take this one

1:03:33

and bid the

1:03:35

others good

1:03:40

night, but

1:03:43

not goodbye. Dusty

1:03:52

Rivers is gone. Am

1:03:56

I correct that the rest of you are now below

1:03:59

on the gantry website? beneath the

1:04:01

core of the moon mine. Vesta

1:04:04

is still the only one in the hallway,

1:04:08

finishing the last of the miners,

1:04:10

helping them down. She

1:04:13

just watched Dusty plunge. You

1:04:16

saw him go, and

1:04:19

you heard his

1:04:22

final agreement. Dark

1:04:28

Sanya stands before you, a

1:04:31

former grandmother transformed

1:04:34

by the darkest truths

1:04:38

of the fold. The

1:04:42

embodiment of all the pain

1:04:44

and loss and fear

1:04:47

that the fold has ever felt, for

1:04:50

as long as it has ever touched

1:04:52

human minds. Do

1:04:57

you belong to her as well? Dark

1:05:02

scars have covered most of your upper body.

1:05:05

One of your eyes has turned a crimson

1:05:07

red. As

1:05:10

an extraordinary pain, both literal and

1:05:12

metaphorical, spreads throughout your body and

1:05:14

throughout your consciousness. Fear

1:05:17

and loss, a sense of

1:05:19

not belonging, a sense of not mattering, a

1:05:21

sense of no one really knowing you, of

1:05:24

knowing your worth. It

1:05:27

will not be a glad acceptance. But

1:05:33

the opportunity still stands. Two

1:05:36

red eyes watch as

1:05:39

the spectral figure awaits your decision. Not

1:05:46

a glad acceptance, no. But

1:05:50

in this moment, Vesta

1:05:54

feels vindicated. Vindicated

1:05:58

in her distrust. of

1:06:01

the mothers vindicated in the choices

1:06:03

that she's made. Relinquishing

1:06:11

her selfishness,

1:06:18

all she wanted to do was matter, to

1:06:22

be recognized, to

1:06:26

burden the expectation

1:06:31

that was put upon her and her sister,

1:06:34

and then to solely rise

1:06:36

to the occasion, and she always just

1:06:38

fell a little short. But

1:06:42

in this moment, she

1:06:46

matters, and

1:06:49

she is granted that recognition. No

1:06:54

attention is

1:06:56

bad attention, and

1:06:59

getting it from Darksonia feels

1:07:06

oddly rewarding.

1:07:11

And you see her

1:07:14

other eye go. And

1:07:19

with the last bit of humanity

1:07:24

that she still holds, she

1:07:27

looks down at the crew. Run.

1:07:36

And she looks, she

1:07:41

looks at

1:07:43

Fiona specifically. And

1:07:48

out as

1:07:51

the eyes begin to turn, that

1:07:53

glowing arcane red, you see a

1:07:56

tear fall from the corner. I'm

1:08:03

gonna go see my sister. And

1:08:09

Vesta turns and

1:08:13

looks for her door to

1:08:16

her family estate. Right

1:08:20

this way. And

1:08:23

as the rest of the black fold

1:08:25

covers her body, she

1:08:28

goes home. I

1:08:34

will always

1:08:37

be within

1:08:41

you, and

1:08:46

I will slowly

1:08:49

grow. You

1:08:53

and I

1:08:58

will meet again. But

1:09:04

for now, I'll

1:09:08

let you go. And

1:09:13

Darksanghye is gone into

1:09:16

the void. Vesta,

1:09:19

Sterling, Dusty Rivers

1:09:24

are gone. As

1:09:31

on the gantry below,

1:09:38

the remaining survivors stand

1:09:42

free. Jacob,

1:09:46

help me up these fucking stairs. Come

1:09:48

on. Alright, Dusty. Er... He

1:09:53

looks wide-eyed. Then he

1:09:55

looks sad. Then he looks into the abyss. Baldwin.

1:10:01

You might as well get these people up. It doesn't

1:10:03

matter. Tomasi's eyes

1:10:07

and the eyes of the other survivors are

1:10:10

once again human. Tomasi

1:10:13

looks absolutely shell-shocked.

1:10:17

Baxford Weyneath above

1:10:21

in the crevasse on high, looking down at

1:10:23

you, takes one last look at

1:10:25

you. And

1:10:29

nods in

1:10:31

appreciation, in recognition, in farewell.

1:10:37

And with a flash and a blink

1:10:39

of those red eyes, a fathomless darkness

1:10:41

gleaming behind them, he

1:10:45

turns and is gone as well. Walton

1:10:47

holds the gaze, but he is so fucking

1:10:50

angry. He is

1:10:52

so fucking angry, nothing. He

1:10:54

came here for us, panned out, almost

1:10:58

nothing. He shoves

1:11:00

Jacob and Fiona, ahead

1:11:03

of him as he limps, bleeding along this

1:11:05

catwalk. Go, go, go.

1:11:08

I'm coming, go. I don't

1:11:10

know how to deal with any of that or medicine, but

1:11:13

I do know how to modify clothes.

1:11:16

And I take all the extra mining

1:11:18

suits that we brought with, and I

1:11:20

buckle them together. I buckle them into

1:11:22

each other, making supports, making

1:11:26

slings, trying to help Walton

1:11:29

and help these miners

1:11:31

who are probably weakened, just

1:11:33

giving them the support that they need as

1:11:36

we climb up. And then Jacob and I,

1:11:39

like a beast of burden, like an

1:11:42

ox, just kind of lean into this

1:11:46

network of tied together and buckled together

1:11:48

suits and just take

1:11:51

it one step at a time. And

1:11:56

I reach down, and I hold Jacob's

1:11:58

hand. He

1:12:02

holds it back. Tomasi watches.

1:12:06

He looks at Jacob. He looks at you. He

1:12:10

looks scared and he looks sad. But

1:12:14

he looks ready. Let's

1:12:17

go home, he says. In

1:12:21

the crevice above. Half-remembered,

1:12:26

half-invisible, half-forgotten. Dark

1:12:29

figures climb the

1:12:32

walls, flitting between crevices,

1:12:34

appearing and disappearing. There

1:12:39

are two of them. But

1:12:42

for a moment, you could

1:12:44

almost say seem slightly different than the

1:12:46

others. Do

1:12:48

they linger? How do they move?

1:12:52

What do we see? A

1:13:03

momentary appearance, perhaps a farewell.

1:13:07

Do they watch? Do they go? Do

1:13:14

they seem at peace? You're

1:13:19

first. In

1:13:24

the shadow of the crevice. In

1:13:32

the substrate of

1:13:34

the moon. A

1:13:39

figure looms. At

1:13:43

home. At

1:13:47

work. At

1:13:52

peace. A

1:13:58

sort of dark... Umbra

1:14:00

of what

1:14:03

maybe could be a beard, what could be

1:14:05

Tal's old brown

1:14:07

hair, but

1:14:10

for now is just full

1:14:12

shadow. Gazes

1:14:17

after his once

1:14:19

companions before

1:14:23

sliding into

1:14:29

the dark mica, squirming

1:14:34

between the molecules,

1:14:39

sliding into the strange

1:14:43

transformed crystal of the moon, and

1:14:48

is gone. There are two side by side,

1:14:50

if I'm not

1:14:53

mistaken, similar,

1:14:59

almost a family resemblance. Perhaps

1:15:06

once they were sisters. I

1:15:10

think the only remaining remnants

1:15:13

that you might possibly catch

1:15:15

a glimpse of

1:15:18

Vesta and henceforth,

1:15:21

Sophie Sterling. A

1:15:27

webbing vein, flash of

1:15:30

vine growth of

1:15:34

a silver filigree that

1:15:37

spiders across the dark mica

1:15:39

crystal, and

1:15:42

then as quickly as it appeared fades.

1:15:49

It's not a long walk back up to the sky. scaffolding,

1:16:01

winding, strange, scenic,

1:16:06

if it weren't for the fact

1:16:08

that it is also terrifying.

1:16:13

If you didn't feel kind of like shit, like you'd been

1:16:15

through an emotional, surrealist

1:16:17

psychedelic meat grinder, it

1:16:20

might almost be described as peaceful. In

1:16:24

fact, I will venture to describe it as peaceful, as

1:16:27

our remaining survivors approach the

1:16:31

Dark Moon's dock. Jacob

1:16:34

and I get there first, and then it's just a matter

1:16:36

of helping everyone

1:16:39

else up. And... Here,

1:16:42

get everybody situated. How

1:16:45

do you open it again? Pfft.

1:16:49

Pfft. Okay. The door is hiss open in

1:16:51

the darkness. The slug is intact. A

1:16:54

twittering sound emanates from within

1:16:56

as, take

1:16:59

one guess, who wriggles excitedly

1:17:01

in his cage. Come

1:17:05

on, give me a minute. God,

1:17:08

as quick as I used to be, I

1:17:10

limp over to the bar. Everybody

1:17:13

makes yourselves comfortable. I

1:17:16

grab a puffer fish. The miners, survivors coming

1:17:18

in. Tomasi gratefully, but with

1:17:21

some guilt, accepts the puffer fish. It's

1:17:23

clear there's a lot on his mind.

1:17:25

He feels bad.

1:17:27

He feels lost.

1:17:29

You've seen the look in his eye before.

1:17:33

He's afraid that he's the villain. He

1:17:36

doesn't wanna be. He

1:17:38

hasn't been making eye contact with you very much.

1:17:44

Or with Jacob. Especially not

1:17:46

with Jacob. As

1:17:50

you all board the ship and prepare to make

1:17:52

your departure. I

1:17:55

get the door shut and I reach a hand up to Fiona.

1:17:57

Hey. Can

1:18:01

I help? What do you need? Tomasi is trying to

1:18:04

help too. Come on,

1:18:06

Waldo. Look after the guests. You're

1:18:09

a first mate now. Okay. I'll

1:18:12

be up front. You take care of them, okay? Okay.

1:18:15

You take care of them. Okay. You call

1:18:17

over the intercom if you need anything. Otherwise, I'll

1:18:19

just... It's not as bad as it looks. And

1:18:22

then he takes his booze up

1:18:25

to the front of the cockpit. That's funny.

1:18:28

He turns back and says,

1:18:31

It's slime time. It's a button

1:18:33

and the door shuts. And

1:18:37

I head into the cockpit, and

1:18:40

I open up the

1:18:42

birdcage, and

1:18:44

I scoop up a horse, and

1:18:47

I pop him on my head,

1:18:49

and I can feel him. I know I... I miss

1:18:51

you too, buddy. He

1:18:56

burrows into your hair. Gets all

1:18:58

bunched up and starts wiggling

1:19:00

in. Okay. So

1:19:06

I kick off of lip flops, and

1:19:10

by sight take

1:19:12

the slug up and

1:19:15

then swoop down close

1:19:19

to the scaffolding where we left. And

1:19:21

I fucking know it's futile. I fucking know

1:19:24

it. But I flick on

1:19:26

the screen. It will show me where that

1:19:28

tracker is. I

1:19:30

kid myself into thinking it's gonna work. Five

1:19:33

or six seconds, I can see a little... Then

1:19:40

it goes screwy. And

1:19:43

it goes dark. And

1:19:46

the moon hovering in

1:19:48

the void as you begin

1:19:50

your departure... is

1:19:56

no longer there. I'm

1:20:00

looking at it out the porthole as this happened.

1:20:02

Does it just vanish?

1:20:06

It begins to descend, begins

1:20:08

to sink, begins to

1:20:10

drop, and disappears quickly

1:20:12

into the darkness. You

1:20:17

all hear over the last... And that is gone. Intercom

1:20:20

again over radio

1:20:22

crackle. Slime

1:20:24

time. Take

1:20:27

us home, Woe. I

1:20:29

close my eyes and

1:20:31

begin to take

1:20:35

us on the

1:20:38

not too long journey home. My

1:20:43

sensory abilities are hanging

1:20:46

on by a thread, but they are there. And

1:20:50

I can see as it's

1:20:54

confused and faltering,

1:20:56

but works, bodies

1:20:59

passing by. Hours

1:21:03

into the journey, at one point I feel something

1:21:05

coming up on our side, and I judge the

1:21:07

distance and fear us

1:21:09

out of the way, but I'm

1:21:12

wrong, and everyone feels something scrape

1:21:14

along one side of

1:21:16

the sled. But we scratch

1:21:19

on through. I'm

1:21:24

making ramen for the miners. No

1:21:27

choice. Passing

1:21:32

out the hot cups. Let

1:21:37

me know anything you want to do

1:21:39

above table, because I'm just heading for

1:21:41

stationary hill. You

1:21:44

do hear a little tap on the closed door of

1:21:46

your cup pit. All

1:21:50

done? Yeah. You hungry?

1:21:56

I think I'm okay. Okay.

1:22:00

You'd say if you wouldn't, if

1:22:02

you weren't, okay, right? Of

1:22:04

course. Okay.

1:22:10

I let him have that. The

1:22:15

journey home is

1:22:17

not as long as it should have been

1:22:19

by your charts, conveniently. The same

1:22:21

distance it took you to get down is

1:22:24

indeed, thankfully, blessedly,

1:22:29

the same distance back up. You've

1:22:32

heard of people in your stories

1:22:34

of full navigation who only seem to

1:22:36

go a short distance and end up

1:22:38

having to go home. Impossible fathoms, leagues

1:22:40

back. Thankfully, this is not one of

1:22:43

those stories. See,

1:22:46

Cuester, soon is apparent

1:22:48

to you in your consciousness

1:22:52

and soon beyond that, you begin to feel

1:22:54

the mass of midst. And

1:22:57

as you feel the presence of midst

1:22:59

itself, Walden, you

1:23:02

feel the terminus of the median

1:23:05

beyond which your echolocative consciousness

1:23:07

does not stretch. The

1:23:12

surface of the fold lies just above. And

1:23:16

quite soon indeed, the dark

1:23:19

underbelly of the islet of midst

1:23:21

becomes visible to you as

1:23:25

it hangs from the underside of the surface of

1:23:27

the fold. So stationary hill is

1:23:29

still fold side. You

1:23:34

can come in for a landing in your full merciful. You see the lights

1:23:36

of the town. I

1:23:39

start with the greater topography. As

1:23:43

we get closer, I can make

1:23:46

out spires and buildings and familiar rock

1:23:49

formations. I

1:23:51

see them on the window too. Closer

1:23:54

still, I can feel the contours

1:23:56

of the shipyard. And

1:24:02

I bring us

1:24:05

down. I

1:24:10

see a familiar pair

1:24:14

of, well, a tree

1:24:16

and sort of

1:24:18

a metal radio

1:24:20

tower with

1:24:23

a hammock swinging in the middle.

1:24:26

And I bring the slug down

1:24:29

next to it in the shape

1:24:32

of the dragonfly.

1:24:36

And you all feel touchdown

1:24:41

as the slug's bottom

1:24:44

makes contact with solid

1:24:47

nosed. Solid

1:24:50

nosed. Mmm.

1:24:55

You are home. And

1:24:59

just in time, too, as

1:25:03

night turns into

1:25:05

day, as

1:25:08

the islet of midst rotates on the

1:25:10

median, and from your vantage here on

1:25:12

the surface of the islet, what

1:25:15

seems to be a vertical wall

1:25:17

of foggy darkness, translates at

1:25:19

about the rate of speed of a slow walk

1:25:23

through the shipyard, passing

1:25:26

through the slug, passing

1:25:29

over you as

1:25:32

day and unlight once

1:25:36

again returns. Or

1:25:43

I might expect a cheer to go up

1:25:45

from the miners. Instead, there's just kind of

1:25:47

this collective. It

1:25:50

is... Sigh. An

1:25:53

extraordinary relief. Upon

1:25:55

seeing something they never thought they'd see again.

1:25:59

Perhaps Fathoms... who can say the

1:26:01

relief is felt as well.

1:26:08

A sensation of success,

1:26:11

accomplishment, a certain recognition,

1:26:13

you might say. And

1:26:18

nod to certain accomplishments, to certain sacrifices.

1:26:23

Strong and brave choices

1:26:25

having been made. Take

1:26:30

us out. Joe,

1:26:34

in the company of other townspeople is

1:26:36

coming towards the shipyard. He's

1:26:39

got one of those like house

1:26:41

arrest bracelets like people

1:26:43

things on. We have those amidst.

1:26:46

It's, listen, the United Baronies

1:26:48

has prisons. Certain

1:26:50

other people in the cosmos don't have prisons,

1:26:53

but that's spoilers, you'll have to listen to a certain

1:26:55

podcast to learn more about that. Joe

1:26:59

is coming toward you with others in the

1:27:01

town, with excitement, wonderment

1:27:04

in their eyes, and

1:27:06

behind them at a distance, a

1:27:10

variety of black clad mothers,

1:27:13

here on midst as usual to offer their aid,

1:27:16

as they have been doing for the past month since

1:27:18

the moon fell out of the sky, and

1:27:21

at the back of their ranks, one

1:27:23

very tall horned figure, with

1:27:26

a unhooded face, black eyes watching

1:27:28

you with

1:27:31

a knowing. For

1:27:34

a moment, I want to flag them down to

1:27:36

come inside to check on Walden. I've kind

1:27:38

of been leaving him alone up there in

1:27:41

the cockpit, trying not to bother him

1:27:43

until it's absolutely necessary. But

1:27:47

I just don't know

1:27:50

how I feel about them. Right

1:27:55

now. So

1:27:58

with everybody, Um,

1:28:01

safely disembarked from the slug. I

1:28:03

go, we go, Jacob and

1:28:05

I go, and knock on the door of the

1:28:07

cockpit one more time. Walden?

1:28:13

Walden? You in there? Jacob

1:28:16

asks. I

1:28:22

turn that off. Um, Jacob,

1:28:25

could you, could you

1:28:27

look? Okay,

1:28:33

if you want. He says. Then

1:28:36

push it open and turn

1:28:38

away. Walden

1:28:42

is in his seat. There's

1:28:47

a little crumpled up sketch

1:28:49

of what

1:28:52

looks like a small industrial town

1:28:56

on a rocky landscape on the console and

1:28:58

firm. These

1:29:01

flip flops tossed off to the

1:29:03

side. Empty

1:29:06

puffer fish. And,

1:29:10

uh, Boris nested

1:29:12

into the hair of Walden.

1:29:17

His eyes are closed. And

1:29:21

I ask Jacob, is

1:29:24

he breathing? No,

1:29:30

he's not. Walden

1:29:32

held on as long as he could, and

1:29:36

let go moments ago. He

1:29:45

got some. He

1:29:48

got some. And

1:29:51

so did you. Yeah.

1:29:56

I guess. Um,

1:30:00

I guess I did. I love you,

1:30:02

by the way. Tomasi

1:30:06

doesn't look- He's out, he's out, he's out of the- He's

1:30:08

outside, he didn't notice that. That's

1:30:11

fine, he didn't see that. That's a conversation for another

1:30:13

time. That's for later. It's

1:30:17

okay, you don't have to, you can just

1:30:20

think about that. It's okay, Jacob says,

1:30:22

you didn't have to tell me. I

1:30:28

can feel it. Okay,

1:30:30

um. Uh,

1:30:35

yeah. I reach over

1:30:37

to Walden's head, and

1:30:40

just offer my fingers to the

1:30:42

little bird. He

1:30:45

probably doesn't want to move. Not

1:30:48

really, it's a comfy head. But

1:30:52

yeah, he- He doesn't

1:30:54

fight, doesn't pick, none of that.

1:30:57

No. He

1:30:59

understands, it's okay. Okay.

1:31:02

It's time to go. We'll

1:31:05

come back and give him a proper burial. Later.

1:31:10

Joe and the others are waiting outside for you. Gathering

1:31:14

with the survivors, rejoicing, um,

1:31:19

somewhat more jovial than you are at the

1:31:21

moment. Glad to see you against all odds.

1:31:23

I was asking a lot of very,

1:31:26

very loud and excited questions. It's

1:31:28

a strange, it's a

1:31:30

strange hubbub that you don't really hear. It's

1:31:37

okay. I dare say your attention is

1:31:39

a little more inward at the moment. Yeah.

1:31:42

I let their excitement wash over me.

1:31:45

It does feel good, even if I profoundly

1:31:48

cannot engage with it at the moment.

1:31:52

Tomasi turns to look at you with

1:31:55

a look

1:31:57

of incredible thanks, appreciation, wonder, and

1:31:59

also- Address

1:34:01

Unknown in a

1:34:03

comic shop near you. Address

1:34:07

Unknown features siblings Rowan and Ogden

1:34:09

Shearwater as they attempt to make

1:34:12

a fresh start on the strange

1:34:14

new Islet of Midst after their

1:34:16

postal ship unexpectedly

1:34:19

lands. Crashes

1:34:23

on the Islet of Midst. It is an entirely new midst

1:34:25

tail, so you can jump right in and check it out

1:34:27

for yourself. So we

1:34:30

will see you out there

1:34:32

in the cosmos. Bye.

1:34:43

Thanks for listening to Moonward, a

1:34:45

Midst role-playing story. If you

1:34:47

enjoy the story, please rate and review

1:34:49

to help someone new discover the cosmos.

1:34:51

To stay up to date on what's

1:34:53

next in the cosmos, sign up for

1:34:55

our newsletter on midst.co or

1:34:58

find us on social media at Midst

1:35:00

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The Fable and Falling Network,

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where fiction producers flourish. Hi,

1:35:13

Janie, what's up? Do you

1:35:16

hear that thunder where you are? Oh

1:35:18

yes, amazing, isn't it? No, it's quite

1:35:20

scary. Do you think there will be

1:35:22

a terrible storm? No, darling, it's just

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an announcement from Thunder's Mouth Theater. You

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know, poetry, passion, and philosophy,

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all that stuff. Oh really? I

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thought they were producing audio fiction as a

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podcast nowadays. You know, like theater, but on

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the air rather than on the stage. Am

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I old yet? Oh, Mom, of course you

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aren't. Don't be silly. I'm talking about the

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podcast. That's what it's called. Am I old

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yet? And it's more than three years old,

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and that is pretty old for an audio

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fiction podcast. And no, I'm not being silly.

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For goodness sake, Janie, how old do you

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have to be before you can call yourself

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1:35:58

question. Just head over to

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the podcast. Mum? Janie? Isn't that the

1:36:05

one about us? Oh yes, didn't I

1:36:07

say?