"There you go!" - said Lucas, smiling - "Got time now?"
Selene/Neruite chuckled.
"You seem more anxious to solve this than I am. We would have to give her some proof, you know. And I can't quite bring humans to the Moon willy-nilly. I did it in your case because you and Cass weren't on Earth anyways."
"Luckily, I am subject to no rules on the matter. I'll set up a nice environ on my plot and you two can meet there. As soon as..."
"Inviting her? Shawn... I mean... Sabrina..." - Said Ruth.
Sabrina smiled lightly. "I understand you think it is absurd, sister, but the world changed quite a bit. Suppose they need to be called..."
"But... Wouldn't that be... Idolatry? I mean..." - Ruth began.
"When you idolize someone, Ruth, you submit to them. I doubt you are submitting to her." - Said Sabrina.
"Okay. And... How should I invite her?" - Said Ruth.
Sabrina shrugged and walked to the window, with her usual grace. She motioned for Ruth to come forth.
"This is the silliest idea I ever agreed with..." - Sighed Ruth - "Selene... I need to meet you." - She said, looking towards the moon. - "Please. I want to understand..."
For a few seconds, nothing happened.
And then something happened.
That something was a very mundane doorbell ringing.
"That was silly... I'll answer the doorbell. Please don't tell anyone I did this..." - Said Ruth, a mix of shame, disillusionment and even some relief that Selene hadn't come down there. She looked through the peephole and saw an angel girl with a sword waiting. She had a momentary fear that God had sent the angel to deal with her idolatry, but that lasted only half a second as she remembered that, per the Church's own teachings, this wasn't how things worked. She opened the door, figuring it was a new angel-changed neighbor or something.
"May I help you?" - Asked Ruth as politely as she could.
"Yeah, name's Lucas, Brazilian translator, nice to meet ya. You want to talk to Selene, right? Well, I'm inviting you guys and Harriet on her behalf. I set up a nice place for that..."
"You were saying, sister?" - Said Sabrina, smiling gently.
"But... How?" - Said a shaken Ruth - "What the..."
"Relax. She's a perfectly nice woman and I'm sure you'll understand each other just fine. Look. It's all fairly simple when it's explained, but, newsflash, you don't have to abandon your faith. Heck, I didn't abandon my agnostic one. I'll be glad to take you guys there as soon as you're ready, and I need air as much as the next guy, so, don't worry, there is air there." - Said Lucas.
"I'll go get Harriet." - Said Sabrina.
"I need to, er, freshen up..." - Said Ruth, a bit dizzy.
Lucas nodded. "I figured you guys would need a while. Here's my card, it has my number. When you're done, call me and I'll get you there. When you need, I'll send you guys back as well. I'm glad you guys will finally patch things up."
With that, Lucas made a gesture, opened a hole in reality from which Ruth could see the moon, and stepped through.
Ruth, still confused, but at least seeing some light in the end of the tunnel, just stared. Her daughter wasn't crazy, the back of her mind warned her. That was a relief.
"I think that was her way to prove she meant business, sister." - Said Sabrina - "Let's get ready."
10 minutes later
"Hello, Er, Lucas? We... We are ready..." - Said Ruth.
Seconds later, the doorbell rang.
The three, Ruth, Sabrina and Harriet, stepped outside to see Lucas by the side of an open portal. Harriet treated it with utter naturality. Sabrina, though elegant as usual, was clearly surprised at the notion of stepping through. Ruth was clearly shaken, but, then, something clicked.
How much longer will you be afraid? - She thought to herself.
She took a deep breath and stepped through with Sabrina and Harriet. Lucas followed them, and the portal closed.
The four of them were now on the Lunar surface. Breathing.
An elegant gazebo overlooked the strange, desert landscape. In it, on a table filled with a small banquet, sat a beautiful silver-haired woman, which - Ruth figured - likely was Selene.
"There you go." - Said Lucas, clearly noticing the four of them needed some time among themselves - "I, er, I should go now, I've got a couch in the oven." - Lucas then left, opening another rift, seemingly into another part of the Moon.
Sabrina chuckled lightly at the either joking or horrible excuse. Harriet looked at Lucas evenly. Ruth wasn't listening. She had to settle this issue.
"So... You are Selene..." - She said, cautiously. She had hated this woman, yet the woman was so peaceful... And the fact was that this seemingly WAS the Moon. Maybe there were some things she needed to know before getting so angry.
Selene, by her turn, nodded.
"I am. Nice to meet you, Ruth. We have a lot to talk about."
Artemis and Sabrina had sat down quietly. Neither of them wanted to interfere unless it was absolutely necessary.
Selene sighed and began.
"First of all, I need to make it clear that Harriet is still Harriet. As Artemis is still Artemis. The Sun made them one, as it made 'Selene' and 'Celine Andrews', which is who I was before the Sun, or am. I am giving you my full name so that you can actually contact me or even sue me or something if you feel the need. But I ask that you hear me out."
Ruth looked at Selene's eyes. Old. Incredibly old. Ancient. She felt taken aback.
"I... I just want to understand..."
Selene nodded, gently.
"As you have spent a month without seeing your daughter, for which I am truly sorry, I spent the last two thousand years without seeing mine. I was asleep through some of that time, and, for the first month, the first cycle after the Sun changed and I again woke up, I had yet to fully awake. It is what prevented me from sending her back. Your daughter's claims are true..."
"But there's only one God..." - Ruth protested weakly.
"Indeed there may be. We, gods in the non-Christian sense, do not know. I do not intend to challenge your faith in any way whatsoever. But... I, too, am her mother now. In a specific sense. I am the mother of the Artemis in your Harriet. As you are the mother of the Harriet in my Artemis. It is true that they are somewhat interchangeable now, but only somewhat. Likewise, your daughter still needs you, as mine needs me."
"But... I... I felt like..." - Said Ruth.
"Like I was trying to replace you. I know. I could not, even if I wished to. Because I am not Harriet's mother. I am Artemis's mother. Likewise, you could not replace me for the Artemis in Harriet. It is complicated, I admit, but it is how I can explain it. Your daughter did not change beyond the point in which she can interact with you, Ruth. Neither has mine changed beyond the point in which I can interact with her. They are both the same, but... Well... Fused, after a fashion, in one being."
"You could have told me before hauling her away..." - Said Ruth.
"She didn't haul me away, mom... I changed and appeared here. I knew I was Artemis when I changed, too..." - Said Harriet.
"As Harriet says, I, too, was surprised by her appearance here. Rest assured I took the best care of her I could and sent her back to explain herself as soon as was possible..." - Said Selene.
Ruth looked at Selene. The woman she had come to hate was now proving quite a gentle soul. She sighed.
"I am sorry."
"It is perfectly understandable, Ruth. It is odd for me, as well. As Celine, I have no daughter. I am but a biologist, getting a master's degree at Seattle University and working on a seaside ecological station on the side. But... But as Selene, I love Artemis dearly, and I will see to her happiness. I would never usurp Harriet from you either. Now. I believe the air is clear enough for us to talk more while we eat? I think the two of us would benefit from knowing one another, after all."
Ruth nodded, feeling some much needed relief. Then something called her attention.
"Wait. Seattle University?"
"Yes, I graduated there. Why?" - Said Selene.
An hour later
"Go Redhawks!" - The two women giggled, Ruth by now seeming to just accept that they were on the Moon as if it were a perfectly normal thing.
Sabrina, by her turn, talked to Harriet and otherwise enjoyed the meal. It seemed the two women had actually hit it off well enough, especially after finding out they shared an alma mater, and things finally seemed to be going back to normal - after a fashion, at least.
Harriet/Artemis smiled watching this. Things looked like they were going to be okay, after all.
