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Chapter 9: The Lost Boys (and Girls)


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Ninten, Ana, and Lloyd are facing down the biggest calamity in their world-saving careers: childcare. Every adult in Youngtown has been abducted, leaving behind a village of traumatized orphans, fighting to survive in the alien-infested wilderness. Fortunately, there are some pleasant surprises in store: strange new powers, old friends, and fun facts await in this epic and heartrending double-length adventure.

 

LINKS


 

CREDITS

Written, Produced, & Performed by:

Cat Blackard & Jessica Mudd

 

Original Score & Sound Design:

Jessica Mudd


Additional Voices:

Sarah Rhea Werner as Ana

Joshua La Forge as The Garrickson Baby

Nat Garnett as Pippi Lindgren

Declan

Nashville Children's Theatre Fall Break 2023


Album Art: Cat Blackard

Sprites: Benichi


Special Thanks:

kenisu

Biozilla

Nashville Children's Theatre

Colin Peterson

 

TRANSCRIPT:


[Omniverse Audio Brand]


[90s phone ring and pick up]


CAT

Hey, this is Cat!


JESS

And Jess


CAT

You know, “MOTHER,” She Wrote is free to listen to, but it’s not free to make.

JESS

So please consider supporting our work on Patreon.


CATYou’ll get early, ad-free episodes of this show and all the storytelling podcasts we create. 


JESSHead to Patreon.com/OmniverseMedia to chip in and join our community of world-saving wunderkind.


CAT

Oh and - heads up: this episode contains material concerning the loss of family members, child abandonment, enclosed spaces, abduction, trauma, and the threat of gun violence.


JESS

Please use your best judgment when listening… and take care of yourself. 


CAT & JESS

Love youuuu.

[phone disconnect sound]


[highway ambience]


NINTEN

Dear Mom, since we paid you a surprise visit, I know I don’t need to tell you some of this, but Ana said I should keep writing it all down “for posterity”. I suppose I can start with some stuff that I didn’t think to mention when we saw you, what with everything else going on… We fought a freaking dragon!


[cave ambience and Dragon snoring]


NINTEN

Remember that sleeping dragon in the underground maze leading out of Magicant? Since the first time I saw it, it’d just been sawing logs while we snuck past on tiptoes, but this time…


[Ominous music starts, the Dragon snoring gets louder, footsteps]


NINTEN

[whispering]

Shh-shh - real quiet now. And watch out for the hole.


LLOYD

[whispering]

You say that every time.


NINTEN

[whispering]

And I mean it every time.

[his echoey inner monologue]

Ugh, I sound like my mom.


ANA

[whispering]

Heh. You do sound like your mom.


NINTEN

[whispering]

Hey! No reading my mind! Just- …wait.


[the snoring Dragon grumbles]


NINTEN

This feeling went down my spine - Like catching someone’s eye across a crowded room. It was like all of a sudden, somewhere in my brain, the dragon and I saw each other.


[Rocks tumble, the Dragon unleashes a yawning roar]


NINTEN

Run!


ANA

Woah! Aah!


DRAGON

Mmm. [Laughs low and sinister]


NINTEN

The dragon’s long neck snaked around in front of us, blocking the passage.


DRAGON

Now, now - don’t leave so soon, hot shots. I’ve got something you waaaant


NINTEN

Uh…Yeah?


[The dragon steps heavily forward]


DRAGON

Mmm. There’s a song in my heart. And it’s yours… if you can defeat me. 


[Rocks rumble]


LLOYD

Uhh…Perhaps a battle of wits?


DRAGON

[laughs] Well! Ha ha. A little ape with no power! I didn’t even see you there. Alas, to prove to me that you’re truly up for the path before you…


[The dragon flaps open its wings]


DRAGON

…I require more heated conflict!


[Flames ignite, the Dragon roars and dives forward, rocks tumble]


NINTEN

Oh. Oh no! C’mon!


ANA

[screams]


[A big blast of flame. The kids run, panicked, scrabbling over rocks.]


NINTEN

Behind here!


LLOYD

[High pitched breathing]


NINTEN

We dove behind a rock, just in time to dodge a jet of fire breath!


LLOYD

“No power”…?


ANA

[whispering] 

What are the chances that fire is weak to ice?


NINTEN

[whispering]

I can shield you while you find out. Lloyd-


[A rock is struck somewhere nearby]


LLOYD

“No power”!?


[Lloyd unzips a backpack. The Dragon vocalizes nearby.]


ANA

[hushed, urgent]

Lloyd, if you’re going to arm a super bomb in a subterranean passage, I feel like that’s something we should have a conversation about.  


DRAGON

Where are the warriors? Where are the champions!?


LLOYD

This device has been successfully field tested and my calculations are precise. Do you trust me?


ANA

…Implicitly. 


[Lloyd speedily moves out from hiding.]


LLOYD

Hey! Dragon!


NINTEN 

If you’d told me that the kid I met hiding in a trash can was going to arm an explosive and stand between us and a fire-breathing dragon, I wouldn’t have believed you... But Lloyd’s always been full of surprises. 


DRAGON

Ha ha ha! Such spark. Did I wound you, little ape? 


LLOYD

Take this!


[Lloyd fires a rocket]


DRAGON

I intend to hurt more than your feelin-[gulps/chokes]


[The Dragon gags. A muffled explosion]


LLOYD

Feel my power!


DRAGON

[burps]


[A hiss sizzles from the Dragon’s throat and they heavily thud to the ground]


ANA

[gasp] Oh my gosh! [laughs]


NINTE

[laughs] Awesome! Woo!


[The score softens]



NINTEN

How did you know that would work?


LLOYD

Einstein's formula for success. A = X + Y + Z.  Where A is “success”, X is “work”, Y is “play”, and Z is “keeping your mouth shut.” He had a big mouth. And when all else fails: fight fire with fire. 


DRAGON

[weary, husky]

No mere spark, but a flame I see! Ha ha ha. Good! Ha ha ha. [Coughs] My melody is yours…


ANA

And so the Dragon cleared their throat and crooned the sixth melody to us. Maybe “croaked” is a better word for it - Lloyd’s bomb left them a little hoarse. 


DRAGON

Ba ba ba-ba-ba baaaaa…


LLOYD

That’s it?


DRAGON

…What? I assure you when you play it altogether it sounds much fancier.


ANA

Only two more melodies to go.


[Underfolw ambience fades to field ambience]


ANA

We were dreading the thought of having to cross the desert again- And just like that Magicant graciously released us into a cave in the wilderness, just outside Youngtown. It was a welcome surprise and a huge relief, but… being so… close unexpectedly… it shook me. 


[Ominous, dreamy music starts]


ANA

Ever since you were taken, Momma, I’d imagined myself here - surrounded by these big pines, running to you - as though I could reach into memory and pull you away from them. I didn’t even realize my legs were moving.


[Ana begins to run]


NINTEN

Ana? W-wait up!


ANA

I was consumed by that nightmare again - Light filling the Youngtown sky like the star of Bethlehem, until the village was blazing white. 


[A soft drone begins]


ANA

The shock of those inhuman hands grabbing you. The weightless and breathless terror of ascending from the Earth toward something unfathomably alien. The scream… 


[A bloodcurdling scream, very distant]


ANA

-That didn’t leave your lips, but was so loud that, hundreds of miles away, it came from mine.


[the music fades, the drone increases, but then is overcome by a soft melody]


ANA

And… just like then, as I was asphyxiating from fear and adrenaline, a vision hit me like a bolt and breathed life back into me. Except this time? As I ran, something about the wind, the light, the smell of the trees… It felt like deja vu… and I realized…


[Ana stops running]


ANA

The vision was real. Ninten, Lloyd, and I standing in tall grass, looking into the dark woods - together. I’d held onto this moment for so long, and now? I was living it. 


[Ninten and Lloyd run up]


LLOYD

Ana?


NINTEN

Are you okay?


ANA

I am. It’s all gonna be okay. 


NINTEN

It is.


[Ninten moves close to Ana]


NINTEN

[softly]

We’re gonna find her.


ANA

I believe it. He squeezed my hand, and his telepathy spoke a wordless warmth to me that made the sunlight seem more alive. 

[the music ends]


LLOYD

We should keep moving. I’d prefer not to be wandering around these woods at night.


NINTEN & ANA

You and me both. 

[they laugh]


NINTEN, ANA. & LLOYD

Jinx.

[they all laugh]


ANA

Guess we all owe each other a soda. …Unless the aliens abducted it all.


LLOYD

Perhaps they were repelled by New Coke?


NINTEN

Oh - they’re- They’re evil - they probably like New Coke.


LLOYD

A valid point. Like a sinister E.T…


[they walk through the forest]

NINTEN

That looks weird…


ANA

Through the woods, just ahead, we could make out the dirt road to Youngtown, and beyond that was a strange blockade where the town entrance should be. 


[the wind moves through the blockade]


ANA

As we got closer, we could see it was a kind of makeshift fence - cobbled together out of spare planks and downed branches…


[Lloyd kicks the fence]


LLOYD

This is not structurally sound.


CHILD GUARD

Halt! 


NINTEN & LLOYD

Aah!


ANA

Uh- H-hello?


CHILD GUARD

I said halt, interwoper!


ANA

A face, crudely streaked with camouflage paint, appeared through one of the holes in the fence. It was a child, maybe seven years old. He held a spear with a kitchen knife duct taped to it. Another face appeared next to his, this one wearing a too-big catcher’s mask.



CHILD GUARD 2

[whispering]

They’re kids too.


CHILD GUARD 1

[whispering]

They’re suspishus!



CHILD GUARD 2

[whispering]

But- but!


ANA

Um-


CHILD GUARD 1

Who goes there!?



CHILD GUARD 2

[starts to cry]



CHILD GUARD 1

Stop crying, you baby.


CHILD GUARD 2

[cries even harder]



ANA

Oh, it’s okay- we’re here to help!


CHILD GUARD 1

One wrong move and you’re dead meat!


LLOYD

I highly doubt that.


ANA

Shh- Lloyd! My name’s Ana and these are my friends Ninten and Lloyd. We… heard something bad happened here and we wanted to-


[Child Guard 2 drops their spear, still crying, runs past the gate and wraps their arms around Ana]


CHILD GUARD 1

H-Hey!


ANA

Oh!


ANA

She rushed out and flung her arms around me.


CHILD GUARD 1

You can’t trust them!


ANA

It’s okay. It’s okay. 


[somber music starts]


NINTEN

We are here to help. I promise. Kids gotta stick together, right?


ANA

Ninten put out his hand, radiating kindness. His eyes met the child’s and the child dropped his spear and embraced him.


CHILD GUARD 1

[choking up]

It’s- Oh… It’s been so scary. 


[Children’s voices begin to echo through the town]


YOUNTOWN CHILD 1

Help is here! Help is here!


YOUNTOWN CHILD 2

Are mommy and daddy back?


YOUNTOWN CHILD 3

Are my parents back?


[The crowd of children gets louder]


ANA 

Children gathered around us. Some were dressed like warriors, as best as they could manage. Others were dressed like any other day, but disheveled from weeks of abandonment. None of them were older than 10, many of them younger. We held their hands and were led to the center of the village.


CHILD CHORUS

They’ve come to help us! They’ve come to help us! They’ve come to help us! They’ve come to help us!


[The crowd of children becomes sad, pleading]


ANA

More children appeared from wooded shadows and hiding places and rushed to us with tear-streaked faces, runny noses, and pleading arms - desperate to be held. 


YOUNGTOWN CHILD 4

Did you bring any food?


NINTEN

Uh… heh.


LLOYD

Are there no adults left?


YOUNTOWN CHILD 3

A big spaceship in the sky took all the grownups away. 


YOUNTOWN CHILD 2

I saw it fly toward the mountains. 


ANA

And here I’d been worrying about us, momma. A whole town of children had their parents taken away. A whole town of orphans… trying to survive on their own… 


YOUNTOWN CHILD 5

I told them to leave me alone. It’s all my fault!


ANA

No, no - you didn’t do this sweetheart.


YOUNTOWN CHILD 1

They’re never coming back!


YOUNTOWN CHILD 2

Please help us. Please.


CHILD CHORUS

[rises up again]


LLOYD

What… do we do?


ANA

[sighs]

We take charge.


[Ana claps twice assertively, the crowd silences]


ANA

Everything will be alright. I- I promise. My friends and I are here to help. We’re going to get back everyone’s mommies and daddies. We’re going to bring them all back. But right now we’ve got to keep you safe. Uh - Let’s line up two by two, just like Noah’s animals, and walk to the church. Can you do that for me?


CHILD CHORUS

[Assorted uncertain affirmations] 


ANA

Do you know the song? 

The animals, they came, they came by twosies, twosies


[The score fades and the Child Chorus begins singing along, quietly at first]


ANA

The animals, they came, they came by twosies, twosies. Elephants and kangaroosies-roosies, children of the-


TOM GARRICKSON

Are you Ana? 


ANA

Huh?


TOM GARRICKSON

Are you Ana, Ninten, and Lloyd?


ANA, NINTEN, & LLOYD

Yes…?


TOM GARRICKSON

My name is Tom Garrickson. My brother would like to speak with you.


[A strange, high drone rises up softly]


ANA

He took us to a house on the edge of town. The crowd of children followed us with a hushed reverence.


[a door opens]


TOM GARRICKSON

Welcome to our home. 


ANA

In the living room his sister was gently rocking a bassinet. 


[A baby goggles, a bassinet rocks]


NINTEN

Where’s… your brother?


GARRICKSON DAUGHTER

He’s here… He’s been so eager to meet you.


[Happy baby noises]


NINTEN

No way…


LLOYD

Surely not…


ANA 

We peered into the bassinet, at the giggling baby within, and…


GARRICKSON BABY

[echoing telepathy]

Ah, good. You’ve come. It’s a pleasure to at long last make your acquaintance. 


LLOYD

Eugh! It’s… talking in my mind!


NINTEN

Ana and I talk in your mind all the time.


LLOYD

But it’s… a baby!


NINTEN

Yeah, I’m not gonna lie - that’s weird.


LLOYD

Is it weird that it’s the strangest thing we’ve encountered so far?


NINTEN

…So you’re a baby, huh?


[Haunting music and chimes join the drone]


GARRICKSON BABY

Though my body is indeed that of a babe, like you all, I possess exceptional abilities. 


ANA

Clearly. But- pardon me, your cognition is… remarkable. 


[Low, misty noises join the score]


GARRICKSON BABY

Surely by now you’ve seen that a linear perception of reality is but one facet of an immeasurably complex universe. I am new to this life, this body. In time, this mind will fog to the awareness that I currently possess, but - regardless of our waking minds’ perception, our cosmic consciousness is… ever present.


GARRICKSON DAUGHTER

In other lives I’ve been his mother. He showed me. I’m glad I can be here to care for him now.


GARRICKSON BABY

We are, all of us, in communion with our greater intentions. And that is how we come to find ourselves in this moment. We are precisely who, what, where, and when we need to be. We have called to each other, and we have answered. I am here - to impart to you knowledge that will unlock a tremendous power. A power which adults cannot comprehend. 


NINTEN

Woah…


GARRICKSON BABY

Follow me, with your minds. 


[the tones increase]


GARRICKSON BABY

[his voice becomes less echoey]

Follow my voice within. 


[Sounds fade to silence]


GARRICKSON BABY

Consider this physical universe. All matter is in agreement on where and when it is. 


[Bright, synthy music starts]


GARRICKSON BABY

This bed, this house, this land, and our bodies - upon this planet, in this galaxy; and all molecules therein - in this moment, in this reality. And within that, what are you?



NINTENUm… h-human?


LLOYD

Homosapiens.


ANA

Ana.


GARRICKSON BABY

True. But these bodies called by these names are not the whole of your “selves” - they are the means through which you experience this world. They are a multitude of microorganisms and cells, each with their own consciousness, operating and growing in collaboration with your higher selves.


ANA

So… we’re like the cells… in the body of Mother Earth.


GARRICKSON BABY

Precisely. And like the cells of our bodies: we are in collaboration with her. Whereas the invaders from the stars… are not.


LLOYD

And therefore… we are Earth’s defense force! Like an immune response! After all - most human bodies and minds don’t materialize the elements from thin air...


GARRICKSON BABY

Ah, nor does the average mind puzzle out grand designs to better comprehend or harness the power of the universe, my friend. Our respective abilities hold more purpose than this conflict, though it is the matter at hand. And to that point: in this facet of reality, the older one grows, the more likely they are to anchor themselves to a fixed idea of what existence is. So I am here to remind you that existence is: 


[The music swells in energy]


GARRICKSON BABY

[echoing]

Boundless!


ANA

No thing is one thing!


LLOYD

Everything is relative…


NINTEN

“Boundless…” Boundless? Th- the dimensional slip! I can do this thing where I blink out of a moment and sort of move.


GARRICKSON BABY

Yes! You know. You know it instinctively. All of existence is in conversation with itself, held together by collective intention. You know somewhere you’d like to be, you ask politely, and the physical world obliges you.


LLOYD

That would mean…!


ANA

We can go anywhere!


GARRICKSON BABY

The power of teleportation - to move through space and time. 


NINTEN

We could go to Mt. Itoi right now…


GARRICKSON BABY

Unfortunately no. To tesser is no small feat. In your present forms, in this linear reality, there are… limitations. But those limits can also be tools. Your bodies have functions, instincts, intentions that can be redirected to other purposes.


LLOYD

A backdoor?! To hack reality…?!


ANA

Something you’d like to share with the class, Lloyd?


LLOYD

Don’t mind me. Please, continue.


GARRICKSON BABY

Very well. Now - Picture in your minds a beloved, but distant place - perhaps one of your homes. 


[Neighborhood sounds swell up]


GARRICKSON BABY

Feel that place, remember it - vividly - with all your senses, with all your heart. …You are already there. Through memory, an invisible piece of you travels. You exist in two places at once; you have but to bridge the gap. However, your bodies do not understand traveling in this way. 


LLOYD

But! If you were to, say… run. Your body understands motion. It executes the “travel” program. If I am running, then I am going somewhere. Meanwhile, your mind isn’t pointed at your local address, it’s logged into an address halfway around the world. Psychokinetic Transmission Control Protocol! Of course!


GARRICKSON BABY

I’ve… No idea what he said, but… I sense his instincts are correct.


LLOYD

Ha! Reality bows to my elite skills.


ANA

Wow, Lloyd.


LLOYD

You don’t understand how your powers work - and you don’t mind. I don’t understand how your powers work and I mind very much. But I think I’m catching on…


ANA

Okay so… we can only go somewhere we’ve already been… 


NINTEN

Uh-huh.


ANA

We set the destination in our minds… 


NINTEN

Uh-huh.


ANA

And… we just… run…?  


NINTEN

Heh. 88 miles per hour.


ANA

Oh my gosh! YES! T- That’s it!


NINTEN

Punch in the time circuits, hit 88, and boom! …My body is a Delorean!


GARRICKSON BABY

You comprehend- Heh, you comprehend this power in a way I cannot follow, but I am glad that it comes to you with ease.


NINTEN 

Yeah… you might not be ready for that yet, but in a few years? You’re gonna love it.


GARRICKSON BABY

You are close to the end, but the path ahead will be harder still. Use this power and the people and places you’ve made a connection with will always be within reach. Your survival may depend on it. 


ANA

Thank you. Oh…!  We- we don’t know your name. 


GARRICKSON BABY

My parents were taken before they could give me one. The names of our pasts have… little meaning here. Perhaps, for now, address me in the truest manner, which we’ve shared so many times.


ANA

Thank you… friend.


[The music crescendos and fades]


[Organ music begins to play, children sing “This Little Light of Mine”]


ANA

And there I was, in the Youngtown church. The last place you’d been. Leading the children in song just like you did. All things considered, they’d done a good job keeping each other alive with what skills they had. But there were no leaders, just… the chaos of scared kids holding onto what hope they could. The ramshackle wall had been their best attempt to defend themselves from the threat of aliens returning.  …What possible reason could they have had for taking just the adults…? It’s so cruel.


[The children’s singing fades, we hear kitchen ambience under the organ music]


ANA

We took inventory of food and supplies, cooked them a hot meal, and helped them feel safe as the night came. 


[The kitchen ambience fades to night noises]


ANA

Many of them wouldn’t let us out of sight and crawled into our beds. In the morning we planned our next move. 


[The organ and night sounds fade to daytime outdoor ambience]


NINTEN

There’s some kinda swamp nature preserve between here and Ellay.


LLOYD

Mt. Itoi is just beyond that. The city could provide a good staging ground for our ascent.


ANA

I hear Ellay’s pretty rough.


NINTEN

And with the alien base nearby… who knows what’s going on over there! But meantime… we have to figure out this teleportation thing. I could hardly sleep thinking about it!


LLOYD

The crying children didn’t help.


ANA

[sighs]


LLOYD

I’m simply stating a fact.


ANA

I don’t know if we should leave them.


NINTEN

We’ll be right back! That’s the point. We could go visit your dad…


ANA 

I bet that would cheer him up.


NINTEN

Yeah, we’ll see your dad, my mom - wanna see your folks, Lloyd?


LLOYD

No need. 


ANA

Are you sure? I mean, we’ve never met them. You don't talk about them much.


LLOYD

My parents are kind people and we have an understanding of each other. Their jobs are very demanding. There'll be plenty of time for introductions once our work is done. Now… I’ve scouted the area. There’s a clearing ahead where we should be able to put this new ability to the test.


[The sounds of children playing fades to a pensive score and a series of mysterious chimes]


NINTEN

Out in front of us was trees and sky, maybe about three hundred feet of open field. I took the lead, Ana was in back, and Lloyd in the middle. 


[tension strings build in the score]


NINTEN

He figured, if there was a chance of him taking this ride with us it’d be sandwiched between the two people with PSI abilities. We all focused on Snowman; imagining the smell of the pine trees, the cold, the sound of our feet crunching on the icy ground. Ana and my telepathy helped the three of us sync our memories - see and sense the same place until we felt like we were there. And then… we ran. My eyes were closed, I just saw where I was going, not where my body was headed. Then I felt the wind rushing faster than it should and-


[The score builds and suddenly stops]


NINTEN

[writing]

-It was like stepping into a freezer. Just like that - We skidded to a stop on the road right outside of town. 


[The kids skid to a stop]


NINTEN, ANA, & LLOYD

[heavy breathing]


[Triumphant score swells]


NINTEN

…That was awesome!!


LLOYD

Incredible. Our bodies appear to be intact. Hundreds of miles traversed in an instant with no apparatus but the human body. This is the discovery of a lifetime! The implications…! The implications!


ANA

Oh gosh… It’s so good to be home.


[Windy ambience]


ANA

We visited papa and Ninten’s family. We picked up supplies in Merrysville and were back to Youngtown in an hour and a half. I’ll admit I was nervous even being gone that long. It didn’t feel right - leaving them alone. They were so in need. So hurt. 


[The distant sound of children fades in]


ANA

I want to be their rock. Time and again I let myself think, “maybe I could be.” But… me being here wouldn’t get our parents back. 


[Sad music swells up]


ANA

Even though we can teleport now, it’s not right to assume I can promise to tuck them into bed every night. So we made sure they had what they needed… I told them we’d be back as often as we could… and we left. Or, we tried to. They clung to us as we turned to leave.


[The Child Chorus and score rises up with voices pleading for them not to leave]


NINTEN

None of us wanted to leave the Youngtown kids on their own, but Ana? I don’t know if she’d admit it, but… after everything we’ve been through, I could tell that was the hardest thing she’d done. That’s the kind of person Ana is. She cares - more than anyone else I’ve ever known. Heck, she might give a kidney to somebody on the street if they said they needed it. She told me that back in Snowman, the other kids call her “little mother”. I thought it was funny. I imagined her fussing over a bunch of little kids like a teacher or something, but… that’s not it. She was ready to give everything to protect these kids. She was willing to give all of herself, because that’s what they were asking for. It was beautiful… and… scary. There wasn’t much Lloyd and I could do to comfort her. In some ways, we were lucky how difficult the road ahead was. 


[The music ends, swamp noise fades up]


NINTEN

The Youngtown forest opened to a flat marshland. We could practically see all the way across with only tall grasses and a few scattered trees between us and the woods on the other side. But it was anything but a straight shot. It was a mess of lakes, streams, bogs - whatever. Dry land was scarce and that made this big open place a beautiful… and unbelievably hostile maze.


[Sinister droning rises up,along with muddy footsteps]


NINTEN

Small herds of buffalo charged us. 


[Rumbling footfalls move past]


NINTEN

We’d dive out of the way, and with nowhere to go, we’d land face first in the mud next to a pair of hissing alligators. 


[Alligators hiss]


NINTEN

The water was teeming with them, and it was easy for the big ones to waddle up on land and block our path. 


[Alligators grunt]


NINTEN

Even when we didn’t see them, we could hear their weird grunting. No matter where we were, we were surrounded. And it wasn’t just the wildlife, Mom - we saw aliens. I don’t mean the saucers or robots, not those weird creatures out in the desert, I’m talking actual space invaders in the flesh. We weren’t sure what we were looking at at first. Some things came in low and flat from the water, then pushed themselves up tall. 


[Squishy noises move, and dangerous synthy music begins]


NINTEN

They moved in a kind of sticky, wrong way, sloshing like a liquid made of pure muscle, like an octopus, but with way too many tentacles. The first thing we could make out were their teeth - these big, creepy smiles. 


MOOKS

[hostile, hissing vocalizations]


NINTEN

And then we saw their eyes… three of them. Two on stalks that poked out like snails from their head, or body I guess, and the third just above their mouths. 


MOOKS

[hostile, shrill, grunting vocalizations]


NINTEN

They barked some words at us that we didn’t understand but we definitely got the point. 


NINTEN

Scatter!


[Muddy running]


NINTEN 

Ana and Lloyd dove out of the way and I threw up a psi shield just in time to shatter two blasts of ice in front of my face. 


[Ice crunches against a shield]


NINTEN

They had psychic abilities too! And… they looked at me or looked into me


MOOKS

[hostile, burbling vocalizations]


NINTEN

I could feel them rummaging around in my brain. If Ana hadn’t thrown a bolt of lightning at them, I don’t really know what would’ve happened. 


[a splash


ANA

Why were you just-


[She shoots a bolt of lightning, a Mook screams]


ANA

-Standing there?


NINTEN

Don’t look at their eyes! They were trying to hypnotize me or something.


[Mooks slosh away in retreat. Dangerous music ends, swamp sounds persist]


NINTEN

After that encounter we were on the defensive more than ever. Teleporting back was basically impossible. Not enough room, too dangerous, so we pressed on. Out in the distance we’d seen a small cabin with smoke coming from its chimney. With all the winding paths, it took us ages to figure out how to get there. By the time we did, we were exhausted, covered with muck and mud, and paranoid. What if this cabin was another trap like the hotel in Spookane? What if it was a hideout for those squiddy space mooks?


[Tentative, plucky music starts]


NINTEN

We approached the cabin from the back, cautiously… But just as we did, this weird white trash can by the side of the house started moving.


[Dull, plastic thumps]


NINTEN, ANA, & LLOYD

[Startled noises]


LLOYD’S DAD

[muffled]

Hello? Look, whatever your concerns are, I promise you I’m no threat. Just… Please let me out. These industrial buckets aren’t certified for this usage, you see…


LLOYD

Wait- …What did Einstein call his biggest blunder?


LLOYD’S DAD

[muffled]

Oh! Well- Einstein thought his biggest blunder was the inclusion of the cosmological constant in his field equations! You know, presuming that the universe should be attracting itself gravitationally, slowing its own expansion… Quite the blunder indeed! Unless, of course, if the constant is real - then it’s not a blunder at all is it? Ha ha ha!


LLOYD

Correct. We have nothing to fear. That is… provided that you don’t take issue with my truancy… father.


ANA & NINTEN

Huh!?


[the can is unsealed]


LLOYD’S DAD

[gasps] Oh, good gracious it’s bright out here. …Lloyd?! Is that you, son?


LLOYD

It is.


[Lloyd’s father stumbles out of the bin]


LLOYD’S DAD

Oh, oopsy daisy.


ANA

Sir, are you okay?


LLOYD’S DAD

It’s just the paresthesia... Why Lloyd! You’ve made some friends!


[a sudden, glitching noise. All music and ambience stops]


LLOYD’S DAD

Hello there! It’s nice to see you all! Well, I know you can’t necessarily see me, outside of your mind’s eye, of course - but it wouldn’t be the human experience without limitations, I suppose. I’m Lloyd’s father, and you are? Oh, I understand if you’re shy. I was shy for a long time. I had to read a book just to figure out how to work my way around it! Now, I can be overly forward - but I promise I don’t bite. If it’s safe for you to do so, if you could just speak your name aloud so I can hear you? Well, pleased to meet you! Are you enjoying the show? I guess you must be if you’ve gotten this far! That’s just wonderful. Thank you so much for cheering on my son and his friends. Lloyd, well… He’s a chip off the family block: all brain. And that’s not easy - Being different paints a target on you. I haven’t been around to protect him, frankly I don’t know how - in any material sense, that is. Though, by the looks of things, he may have figured that out on his own… You know, it means so much that you’re here for him; listening along and encouraging him. I’d wager it means a lot to him too, even if he doesn’t acknowledge-


[a sudden, glitching noise. Music and ambience resumes]


LLOYD

Father- be it far from me to criticize your predicament but, what are you doing here?


LLOYD’S DAD

Oh, well, just a little workplace accident, son. Never a dull moment for an enclosure specialist! Duncan’s refurbishing a factory in Ellay to produce these plastic industrial buckets. I was… inspecting the product and well I’ll be darned if I didn’t get sealed in. Though how I ended up in the river I can’t say…


ANA

And you washed up here?


LLOYD’S DAD

Fished out! Whoever it was, well - they sounded like a young girl, but it took a lot of brute force to haul me out. She asked if I was a zombie or a squid - 


NINTEN

Wait a minute…


[the music fades out]


LLOYD’S DAD

- I guess she lives here…?


NINTEN

Pippi?!


[Ninten’s footsteps round the house]


NINTEN

It seemed impossible but, what wasn’t these days? I rounded the porch and saw a folksy wood sign above the door that read “The Lindgrens”.


[Ninten runs up to the house]


NINTEN

Pippi Lindgren?


[The front door bursts open and an air rifle is cocked]


PIPPI

Who wants to know?!


NINTEN

Ah! …Hi?


PIPPI

Ninten?! 


[She runs across the porch to him]


PIPPI

What the heck are you doing here?!


NINTEN

Haha!


PIPPI

Mmm!


[BBs rattle in her gun as she hugs him]


NINTEN

I could ask you the same thing! 


ANA

Woah- gun!


PIPPI

Who the-


[Pippi quickly takes aim]


NINTEN

Woah-ho-ho- They’re with me! Gun down.


PIPPI

It’s just an air rifle…


LLOYD

A deadly weapon, in capable hands.


NINTEN

Pippi, these are my friends Lloyd and Ana - and uh, Lloyd’s Dad… who you fished out of a river? Um, everyone, this is my neighbor from Podunk, Pippi.


ANA

Oh! From the graveyard! Gosh! It’s a pleasure to meet you!


PIPPI

You’d all better come inside. 


[They walk up the steps to the proch.]


PIPPI

Ninten, you look hungry.


NINTEN

Oh big time.


PIPPI

I could make waffles…


NINTEN

Waffles!?


[Swamp ambience fades to a crackling fireplace, cracking eggs and kitchen noises.] 


ANA

The cabin was rustic and cozy - though the only warm reception was reserved for Ninten. 


[A mixer starts up]


ANA

Pippi regarded me in particular with icy indifference. If there was some kind of test for me to prove myself, she flunked me before I had a chance to take it.


NINTEN

I had no idea your family had a second house!


[Mixing stops, griddle noises]


PIPPI

Where did you think we went on vacation?


NINTEN

I dunno… Summers?


PIPPI

[Sigh] I guess you’ve got a lot to learn about me, huh cutie?


[Cooking sizzles]


LLOYD’S DAD

You’re out here all on your own? Your parents aren’t here?


PIPPI

I’m fine. I know these swamps like the back of my hand. 


NINTEN

Is everything okay, Pippi? 


PIPPI

It’s fine. I’m just having a little me time, you know? 


[She plates the food]


PIPPI

Who wants waffles?!


[She sets a plate on the table]


ANA

This looks wonderful, Pippi. Thank you so much. 


[Silverware clatters as they eat]


PIPPI

It’s no big deal. I had to improvise on the eggs, but they’re just as good as chicken eggs. 


LLOYD

How… resourceful. 


PIPPI

What do you think, cutie?


NINTEN

Oh- they’re real good.


LLOYD’S DAD

Mm-MMM! Young lady, these are scrumptious! Perhaps it’s the famine talking, but I dare say this is the best waffle I’ve ever had.


LLOYD

How many days were you trapped in the bucket, father?


LLOYD’S DAD

Uh… Well… It’s hard to tell... In the absence of outside stimuli, my ability to observe the passage of time was undone. Heh. Now that I’m moving through it again, it’s quite novel! I’m tremendously grateful to our hostess for bringing me ashore and opening the ventilation seal or, I dare say - I may not be here enjoying this superb meal with you all.  


PIPPI

Yeah- Sorry about leaving you in the can. Never know who you can trust these days. 

[her echoey inner monologue]

Least of all an adult. Probably just a matter of time before he loses it like mom and dad. 


ANA

Oh, Pippi - I’m so sorry.


PIPPI

What’re you talking about?


ANA

Your parents. 


PIPPI

Hey!


[Her silverware clatters]


PIPPI

What the- What the heck?!


[She stands up from the table abruptly]


ANA

Oh no. Oh shoot.


NINTEN

Whaaat’s going on?


PIPPI

Who the heck do you think you are?! 


ANA

I’m sorry. It’s none of my business. 


PIPPI

You’re darn right.


LLOYD’S DAD

Son, can you provide any insight here?


LLOYD

Ana has psychic abilities and I believe she’s read Pippi’s mind.


LLOYD’S DAD

Oh, fascinating. 


ANA

We can help - we’re trying to fix things-


PIPPI

I don’t care!


NINTEN

Hey, Pippi - listen. Ana’s telling the truth. We’re here to help! We’re chasing down whatever’s doing this and we’re going to stop it. I promise. 


PIPPI

Stay here, Ninten. Please. After the zombies… mom and dad started acting weird…. They were scaring me. I ran away. And - I’m fine! Really! But it’d be so much better if you stayed.


NINTEN

I… I can’t. We’ve got to end this thing or it’s gonna get worse. 


PIPPI

Fine. Do whatever you want. I can take care of myself. Just promise me you won’t tell them where I am. 


ANA

Pippi… I think you did the right thing and you’re right where you need to be… Over in Youngtown, ALL the adults were abducted. There’s a bunch of kids, most of them younger than you, living on their own, trying to keep it together. 


PIPPI

So what? You want me to be a babysitter?


ANA

It’s not like that. You’re resourceful, strong as Samson, You know how to live off the land… 


[Optimistic music starts]


ANA

These kids lost their parents. They feel so helpless. We are going to put a stop to this, but those kids need someone right now.


PIPPI

[sigh] I guess… if I could be a help…


ANA

I can’t think of anyone better suited.


NINTEN

Heck, I bet you’d be running the place when we get back.


PIPPI

Emperor Pippi does have a nice ring to it…


ANA

And I don’t think it was a coincidence that you found Lloyd’s father. I think you both should go.


LLOYD’S DAD

Uh, well- I’m afraid you’ve got me at a loss. As I’m sure my son will attest, I don’t really have much aptitude for conventional parenting…


LLOYD

It’s true.


ANA

But you’re an engineer! A problem-solver! You have a unique way of seeing the world. These kids are building things out of spare parts, trying to keep themselves safe while literal aliens are lurking through the woods! They have a problem, and your talents can help them solve it. …Plus you’re tall. 


LLOYD’S DAD

I… suppose the home office can wait a little longer before I file my report. 


ANA

So that’s where we left them - in Youngtown. Rested and resupplied, we made our way back through the swamp, through the wilderness beyond, and there was Ellay - a rough-hewn, rugged barnacle of a town, clinging to the river delta, with Mt. Itoi and the dark cloud looming nearer than I’ve ever seen them… You’re so close, Momma. We’re so close… For you, for the children of Youngtown, for Pippi’s parents, for Papa - for the planet and everyone - I swear with all that I am: nothing will stand in our way. Love, Ana


[The music swells and ends. The “MOTHER,” She Wrote theme begins and plays under the hosts.]


CAT

Welcome to “MOTHER,” She Wrote - a travelogue diary through the strangest, most thought-provoking, most heart-rending video games ever made: MOTHER as it’s called in Japan, and EarthBound - as it’s called everywhere else. This is the story of the first game in that series: EarthBound Beginnings.


[The “MOTHER,” She Wrote theme ends]


READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT HERE




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