Finals are coming up soon, May will be a busy month so updates will be slow. Also sorry for the long wait for this chapter, I just got a huge project. Otherwise, I hope to get chapters up every other day or every day after finals. Also, is it wrong to cry when writing an emotional speech in fanfiction? Anyway Enjoy!
Claudia: Go on. Do it. What are you waiting for? She's a Moonshadow elf. And she kidnapped the princes. You just have to--
Soren: I know! I've just never attacked someone who's sleeping before. It doesn't seem… sporting.
Claudia: You want me to wake her? And how long do you need her to be awake for it to be sporting? Ten seconds? Five?
Soren: One second.
Claudia: Okay. On three. One… two… But how did you resist the sleep spell?
Rayla: Oh, I used this lovely rose to help me stay awake. Hard to sleep with a thorn poking at you. Are we gonna fight, or is this a talent show?
Soren: Oh. I keep telling people, "Sweep the leg" is not a thing in swordfighting!"
Rayla: Oh, any more sword fighting lessons? I'm eager to learn.
Claudia: Soren!
Rayla: Ahh!
Soren: Any last words, elf?
Rayla: Does "hot mud" count as a word?
Soren: What do you mean?
Callum: Stop!
Claudia: Callum?
Callum: Don't fight each other! You're not enemies.
"They just tried to kill Rayla. That makes them an enemy." Tiadrin said.
"Well, to be fair I was only trying to defuse the situation." Future Callum said.
"Callum? Were you ever really scared on this quest?" Ezran asked.
"All the time. Some more than others, but I was never alone." Future Callum said while smiling at Rayla. Runaan and Tiadrin noticed his smile and looked at him suspiciously.
"I mean like… like Rayla was always there as...as a friend, ya know." Callum said nervously.
Rayla: Your friends tried to kill me!
Claudia: She kidnapped you!
Soren: She threw mud in my face, and some got in my mouth!
Callum: Okay! Okay! Knock it off a second. Just let me explain. First of all, Claudia, Soren. I don't know what you're doing here, but I'm really glad to see you.
Rayla: Are you kidding? They attacked me. How can you be glad--
Callum: Buh-buh-buh-buhp-buhp-buhp. Yeah, they're two of my oldest friends, and I am glad to see them. But not glad to see you trying to murder my new friend, Rayla, who happens to be--
Soren: She's an elf!
Callum: But a good elf.
Rayla: What do you mean, "But a good elf"?
Claudia: She kidnapped you and Prince Ezran. How can she be good?
Callum: There was no kidnapping. We went with her by choice. Listen. It's late. Let's all just get some rest and cool off. If, in the morning, I can't convince you that we're all on the same side here, you can fight each other then. Agreed?
Rayla: Fine.
Claudia: Fine.
Soren: Whatever. Guess we'll kill you in the morning.
"Why are so many people trying to kill other people on this quest?" Past Callum asked.
"Old hatred and wrongs. Neither side is good or bad. In war, both sides aren't really right, they mostly just want the world to be in their image. Because people imagine the world differently or one side does something the other considers wrong, we have war. That's what happened with the Elves and Humans. Humans learned Dark Magic and refused to stop." Rayla said.
"Both sides spread lies about each other and continued to fuel hate. That's why this war lasted so long. Humans were taught that Elves were monsters and I guess no one had the chance or cared enough to go meet Elves for themselves. Elves are taught the same thing. They're taught that Humans are greedy and that we're monsters. I guess in some ways we are. All it takes for healing to start is for one person to take that first step into breaking the cycle of hate. I guess we were chosen to take that first step." Future Callum said sadly. Rayla put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a small smile.
"Since when did you become so wise?" Soren asked.
"Probably hanging around with all these Elves. They just kinda rub off on you." Future Callum jokes.
Callum: That's more like it! Come on. I'll show you where you can stay tonight.
Claudia: That was very confident, Callum.
Callum: Oh, yeah? Uh… I guess.
Claudia: Even though your hair's a little messy.
Soren and Rayla: Ugh!
Gren: Good morning. I...I assume. Come to think of it, I have no idea what time of day it is. Good whatever-time-it-is.
"I like the beard." Amaya said and Gren smiled.
Ethari grabbed Runaan's arm as the memories from last time came to his mind. Runaan pulled him closer and put an arm around his chest.
Viren: Today is a special day, mystery mirror. It is the day you reveal your secrets to me.
Callum: Ah!
Ezran: I can't believe they found us. I hope Claudia's not mad. Last time we saw her, you chained her to a wall. Plus, you stole her Primal Stone. Then you broke her Primal Stone.
Callum: Yeah, yeah. But how does my hair look?
Ezran: Hmm… Well, it could be more up. Who are you trying to impress, anyway? Claudia?
Callum: Wha! What? Wha… Trying to impress… Does this look more up?
Soren: I figured out what's going on, why the princes have gotten so chummy with the elf.
Claudia: Don't talk to me until I've had my hot brown morning potion. Okay. Go on.
Soren: She must have bitten them, and now they both have Moonshadow Madness!
"What? That doesn't even exist. Where did you get that from?" Rayla asked, surprised. Soren then found the ground very interesting.
Claudia: What?Soren: It's a thing!
Claudia: Where did you hear about that?
Soren: Camp. Well, we need to do something. Dad gave us a mission.
Claudia: To bring the prince's home.
Soren: Right. Unless a terrible accident occurs. Accidentally.
Claudia: What?
Soren: Nothing. My point is… we should stuff them in sacks!
Claudia: Soren! They're our friends. We should try persuasion first. Use our words, not our muscles.
Soren: So you're saying… we need to butter them up.
Claudia: Pancakes!
All: Yeah!
Rayla: Hmm. I have to admit, these are good.
Claudia: Impossibly fluffy, right?
Ellis: Mmm. How do you get them so light?
Claudia: The secret is separating the eggs, and beating the whites into a stiff meringue. And a hint of Dark Magic. So… now that we know you're not kidnapped you guys should come back home. With the egg, of course.
Soren: Egg? Eggs would go great with pancakes.
Callum: Actually, there is no egg.
Claudia: What? What happened to the egg?
Callum: You'll understand in a second…
Claudia: It's so cute! Oh! It's a baby dwagon! Hey, you--
Rayla: Whoa! What happened to, "It's not an egg. It's a powerful weapon"?
Claudia: Still true. Someday, it could bring death and destruction raining down on all of us. But right now, he's so widdle!
Rayla: Well, get a good look, because we're headed back to Xadia to return him to his mother.
Callum: Rayla's right. We can't go home yet. The mission is too important.
Soren: We need to butter them up...butter them up… butter them up… You all do need to come home… because the king, your dad, really misses you.
Amaya smacked Soren in the back of his head.
"Yeah, I deserved that. I was a real jerk back then." Soren said apologetically.
Soren: Whoa. Did you catch the intense look I get from the elf? I think she's into me.
Claudia: Ugh! She's not into you. She's onto you! Soren, their dad is dead, and you lied about it. And they're our friends. It's wrong.
Soren: You squash innocent creatures to make magic pancakes. Look, I tried it your way, "using words." Maybe it's time for my way, punching and stuff.
Claudia: No! Give me one more day to convince Callum to leave with us. I'm going to rely on something that's even stronger than muscles.
Soren: Some kind of magic muscles?
Claudia: Trust.
Rayla: We can't trust them!
Callum: Look, I get it. You don't like Claudia. She tried to kill you multiple times. But remember, until today, she thought you were trying to hurt me and Ezran.
Rayla: Ugh! That's not it, Callum. I know they're lying. I know because… Well, because--
"You tried to tell me, but I didn't listen. I'm sorry Rayla." Future Callum said.
"Eh, I should have told you earlier." Rayla said
Claudia: Knock-knock.
Claudia: So are you two, like… Did I interrupt something? Between you and…
Callum: What? Me and Rayla? No! I don't think of her that way. I think of her more as an assassin. An, uh… assassin friend.
Rayla lightly punched Callum's arm.
"You've got some way with girls." Rayla said.
"Yeah, I guess." Future Callum said.
"Did your sketchbook come with you?" Rayla asked.
"Um… yeah. It did. You can look at it later." Future Callum said.
Claudia: Oh, yeah, yeah. No, I have friends like that.
Callum: So, uh, you want to talk?
Claudia: Yes. I need to tell you about some things that happened back at home. You know, good things, bad things…
Callum: Mmm-hmm. I broke your Primal Stone.
Claudia: What?
Callum: Sorry. I just had to get that off my chest.
Claudia: But how did you--
Callum: I smashed it. Yup.
Claudia: Hmm. Well, accidents happen.
Callum: On purpose.
Claudia: I'm sure you had a good reason.
Callum: I did! I really did. Oh! You're the best, Claudia. I know this doesn't exactly make up for it, but I thought maybe you would let me show you around all the magic Moon places and stuff?
Claudia: I would let you.
Soren: Ah! You can't hurt a kid, Soren. He's just a kid. On the other hand, if there's an accident because he's doing something dangerous and stupid, well… that's on him. Hey, friends! Ez. Dragon. Wolf-girl. Wolf. And my main glow guy right here, Bait! What's happening, little toad man? I have an idea for something super fun, but also incredibly dangerous in which some potential accidents may occur. But so fun! Who's in?
Ezran: What is it?
Ellis: I'm in! I mean… What is it?
Callum: Oh. Uh, Claudia, this is Lijanne. She's a Moon Mage. an illusionist.
Claudia: Wow! Are you an illusion yourself?
Lujanne: Well, no, I'm--
Claudia: But you feel so real!
"Please next time, keep your friend away from me." Lujanne requested.
"Okay, I'll try." Callum said.
Lujanne: I am real.
Claudia: Huh, that's exactly what an illusion would say. And just like that, she disappears. This place is amazing!
Callum: Yeah. I wonder what all these runes do.
Claudia: They're probably incredible spells.
Callum: It's just too bad humans can't do magic without a Primal Stone.
Claudia: What? Yeah, we can.
Callum: No, I meant Primal Magic. Not, you know, your kind of magic.
Claudia: Oh? My kind of magic?
Callum: Dark Magic.
Claudia: Do you always whisper when you're being judgemental?
Callum: Sorry, I didn't mean it that way. I just… I loved learning magic, and I feel sad now that I can't.
Claudia: But you can. If you want to.
Callum: I want to learn Primal Magic. But you have to be born with that magic inside you.
Claudia: That's the good thing about Dark Magic. You just take creatures that are born with magic inside and squeeze it out of them. What… You're doing it again. Princess Judgy-face! Look. Here's how I think about it. Humans weren't born with magic. We were born with nothing. But we still found a way to do amazing things. That's what Dark Magic is really all about.
"That's gross and horrible. Magic creatures should be cared for just like normal animals." Ezran said.
Callum: I'm sorry. It's just not for me.
Claudia: Hmm.
Ezran: So you just zip across this line?Soren: Exactly. I call it the Slidey-Sling Go-Fast Rope!
Ezran: That is a good name. Are you sure it's going to hold? Zym is nervous.
Soren: I'll show you. It's fine. That was the best!
Ezran: Okay, Zym, this is your chance to see what flying feels like. Yeah! Whoo! Yeah! Zym, you didn't open your wings. That was the whole point.
Soren: You could go again. But what if, this time, you go first?
Callum: There's not much to see here, but I thought I'd show you--
Claudia: Ruins! I love ancient ruins.
Callum: Really? Me, too.
Claudia: If you close your eyes, you can imagine what it was like. Everything was so magical back then. It's beautiful.
Callum: Yeah, beautiful.
Claudia: Hey. Your eyes aren't closed.
"You took a Dark Mage to the ancient ruins?" Lujanne said.
"Yeah, probably not my best idea." Future Callum said.
Callum: You think this is great? Wait until you see the Moon Nexus. Actually, hold on. We should come back tonight, after the moon rises
Claudia: Great. It's a date.
Callum: It's a date!
Soren: Whenever you're ready.
Rayla: What you thinkin' about?
Soren: Nothing! What are you thinkin' about?
Rayla: I'm thinkin'... you should go next. Go ahead. Unless you think it's not safe for some reason?
Soren: No. It's perfectly safe. Let me just double-check this peg. Ah, yeah, it's safe. So safe.
"You're a terrible liar." Runaan said.
"Hey, Rayla is intimidating!" Soren defended. The group laughed.
"Good to know I scare you, ya big oaf." Rayla said between chuckles.
Rayla: We can't trust Soren and Claudia.
"Ugh, I should have listened to you." Future Callum said.
"Yeah, you should have. It would have saved a lot of time." Rayla said.
Callum: I thought we talked about this.
Rayla: But I have proof now. Soren built a zippy line thingy for Ezran, but it was a trap. He wanted there to be an accident.
Callum: Wait. How do you know that?
Rayla: The peg was kind of loose.
Callum: Kind of?
Rayla: It was definitely loose. Which is why Soren tightened it before he went down.
Callum: So, it was loose, but then he tightened it?
Rayla: Callum, I know I'm not explaining it well, but you just have to look me in the eyes and trust me.
Callum: I can see you believe it. But I've known Soren and Claudia for years. You and I don't have that yet.
Soren: Hey, are you doing something different with your hair? Some kind of a… braid-bag flower-dealy?
Claudia: Yeah, it's cute. So what?
Soren: We need to stay focused on getting the princes to leave with us. I just want to make sure you're still on mission, not just… having fun.
Claudia: Uh, you built a zip line today.
Soren: I took no joy in that.
Rayla: Lujanne, I need your help.
Lujanne: If wisdom is what you seek, I shall do my best to fake it. That's an old illusionist joke.
Rayla: Right, um… I need my friend to trust me, but he doesn't. And I think it's my fault. I've been keeping a secret from him, hiding the truth.
Lujanne: Rayla, look at the moon. Light only falls on half its face right now, but that doesn't mean the other half isn't there. And it is the same with you. There are parts you keep hidden.
Rayla: If I want him to trust me, don't I have to stop hiding the truth?
Lujanne: Real trust is about accepting even the dark parts we will never know.
Rayla: No. No, I don't think that's right. Lying and hiding the truth aren't that different. Strong relationships need honesty, the full truth.
Lujanne: Oh! Now you sound like my first three husbands.
Rayla: I'm afraid of hurting him, but I owe him the truth. I can't leave Callum in the dark any longer. I have to tell him what happened to his dad.
Lujanne: Hmm. I'm glad my wisdom helped.
Rayla: It didn't. It was wrong.
Lujanne: Was it? Or was it just differently true?
Viren: This true-sight serum will strip away all illusions, and allow me to see you for what you really are.
"That doesn't look healthy." Rayla said.
"He's screaming, of course it doesn't look healthy." Ezran said.
Viren: Nothing? Nothing. Nothing! Oh, you're powerless, useless. I thought you were going to be something special, something important!
"Anger issues much?" Ethari said.
"Yeah, Viren is not known for his patience when he finds something he really wants to do." Soren said.
Lain and Tiadrin tensed when the mirror started to glow.
Viren: What is this place?
Claudia: Hi.
Callum: The moon's so bright tonight. You can see our shadows.
Claudia: Hey. Did you just have your hand-shadow hold my hand-shadow?
Callum: Did I?
Claudia: Come on! Take me to see the Nexus. Wow! It's like the moon, but more… here.
Callum: So, Claudia…
Claudia: Yeah?
Callum: Uh. I've known you for so long.
Claudia: Yeah. Me, too.
Callum: Well, sure. You've known yourself your whole life.
Claudia: Callum, you always make me laugh.
Callum: You make me laugh, too. And you make me think. You make me… see the world a whole different way. Wow. I, uh… I suddenly don't have any more words.
Claudia: That's okay. We can just be here… without words. Wait. Callum, I need to tell you something.
Rayla: Callum? Oh, I'm so glad you're here. We need to talk.
Callum: I know what happened. He's gone.
Rayla: Oh, no.
Duh... duh... dun! Yeah, this took longer than expected to actually finish. Half Moon Lies and Smoke and Mirrors isn't one of my favorite episodes when it comes to Rayla, Callum, and Ezran. I honestly prefer the side with Viren and Aravos. done with the show and done with season 2. Well, see you next chapter.