Come. Take it.
Our offering.
Father!
No, stay there, Son. Don't leave the light.
Whatever you do, don't ever leave the light.
Take it.
Father!
The journal says the bowl only works during a full moon,
and there's one tonight.
We should be able to use this artifact called a scryer bowl
to scry or talk to Dad's spirit.
Don't say spirit. Dad is not dead.
We're not saying that he is, sweetheart,
but we need confirmation that what we're doing is working.
Yeah. And if we can talk to Dad with this scryer bowl,
it will prove our hypothesis that we can still save him.
If there's even a chance, we have to try.
After dinner, we find that scryer bowl.
Admittedly, I have never seen it in action per se,
but I am quite familiar with where it is located.
Is this another security measure?
Indeed.
Most of these gates can only be opened from the outside.
Voilà.
In there?
But it's so dark.
Not to worry.
Darkness can sometimes hold surprises.
I deeply dislike surprises.
Wow. It's beautiful.
Welcome to the celestium.
All these artifacts deal with outer space.
I come down here quite often to play my harmonica.
The acoustics are surprisingly crisp.
-Alex plays harmonica. -Indeed.
Who do you think I learned it from?
Is that the scryer bowl?
Fascinating design.
Okay, so how do we make it work? How do we talk to Dad?
The journal says that to speak to a loved one in another realm,
we need to fill the bowl with water.
Got it covered.
You're sure you know what you're doing?
I'm reading what's in the journal.
Okay.
Nothing happened.
Why isn't anything happening?
Don't rush me.
Next, we need a personal object of the individual being called.
This key chain was Alex's.
We gave him that for Father's Day last year.
We'll get him a new one. I promise.
Toss it in the bowl.
It's working.
What's next?
Well.
Horus, what does it say in the journal?
There's some water damage.
I can't read the rest.
Okay. I'm putting the kibosh on this.
We should know better than to proceed before reading everything.
But, Mom, the full moon is tonight.
Yeah, it'll be a whole month before we get another chance.
We need to do this--
Stay away from me, whatever you are.
Everyone, this way.
What was that thing? It came out of the bowl.
It didn't say anything about that.
Precisely why we shouldn't have tried this without all the information.
If we don't talk to Dad now, we won't know if what we're doing is working.
The risk parameters seemed acceptable.
It's okay, Russ. We'll fix this.
Let's just hope this gate traps it in there until we do.
Stanley! Where's Stanley?
Please open the gate.
Stanley!
Do hurry. That thing is still in here with me.
It won't open.
The briar's tangled in the mechanism.
We're gonna get you out of there, Stanley. Just hold on.
We need to find something to cut through this.
I've got it.
Any chance you could do that faster?
I'm sawing as fast as these blades will move.
You know how stubborn this briar is.
Hello?
I think that horrible thing that came out of the bowl is afraid of the light.
Good. Back into a defensive position and keep your electric torch pointed out.
I will do my best.
I can't believe I trapped him in there.
I'm the worst friend ever.
We all wanted it to work.
Sometimes hope clouds judgment.
Yeah. You guys really messed up.
Kidding. I mess up all the time.
We need to figure out how to get that thing back in the bowl.
But how? The instructions in the journal are only half-legible.
I've got an idea.
Nice job, kiddo. Can you make out any words?
Some parts are still smudged,
but seems like moonlight has something to do
with getting rid of that thing?
I can see an opening in the ceiling.
Almost like a shaft.
This must be why Cornelius put it in there.
It's for the moonlight.
We need to find where the other end of that shaft is.
But we still don't know how this bowl works.
We need to track down someone who does.
What about your museum lady? She helped with the Olmec Babies.
-You're right. Georgia might know. -Great. We have our marching orders.
You go figure out that bowl.
I'll stay here and figure out the moonlight.
We'll be back soon.
Good luck.
Yeah. Try not to die, bro.
Not helping, Pandora.
You can do this, kid.
That's right.
I can do this.
But is there any way you could please do it quickly?
Thank you so much for staying after hours, Georgia.
We really appreciate it.
A scryer bowl.
So very interesting.
What is this for, by the way?
Just some research for Alex's book.
Do you know anything about them? Maybe how they work?
You mean in theory, correct?
I'm sure you don't actually believe in magic bowls.
Why? It's not that wild.
Of course, in theory.
Unfortunately, no.
But I do know someone who might.
He's a specialist in divination artifacts.
Neil Peckmin.
I don't know him personally, only by reputation.
Rumor has it that Neil is a very peculiar fellow.
He never leaves his house.
Noted. Thanks again, Georgia.
Larry, are you still there?
This beast seems particularly obsessed with me!
I'm here. Still sawing.
Keep talking, please.
The silence is beyond unnerving.
I know what'll calm you down.
Larry, are you there?
That is the opposite of what I requested.
Here you go, pal. Your cure-all.
But you hate the sound of this.
I'll make an exception this time.
Farewell and adieu To you, Spanish ladies
Farewell and adieu To you ladies of Spain
We've received orders To sail for old…
That music.
It's coming from the observatory.
Of course!
I found it.
I'm at the top of the shaft. Can you hear me, Stanley?
Yes, I can hear you.
I'll get you some moonlight down there. Just hang tight.
I could not be any tighter.
Go away, little girl.
Excuse me? I am not little.
Whatever size you are, please leave.
You picked the wrong night to knock on my door.
Mr. Peckmin, please.
We need to speak to you about this.
All these lights, so hot.
Here.
You get used to it.
Now, where did you find that bowl?
It was in our basement.
We were told you know something about them?
I know too much about them.
My family has all been cursed by those dreaded scryer bowls.
Believe me, we know family curses.
Please, Mr. Peckmin.
Neil.
We need your help.
Why should I help you?
Our friend is in danger because something came out of this bowl.
It's got him trapped and we don't have much time.
You released a messenger?
You didn't provide the offering?
What offering?
Oh, no. This is bad.
You made the same mistake we did.
-You didn't follow the rules. -Rules?
There are two specific parts of the process.
You activate the bowl with a personal object
of who you want to reach.
We did that part.
And the most important part is the payment of an offering.
Something meaningful to you inside the bowl within the light of a full moon.
This appeases the messenger.
An offering!
That must have been what Russ couldn't read.
So now that the messenger is here, how do we get rid of it?
By putting an offering in the bowl.
But at this point, it's not that simple.
My ancestor released a messenger long ago
and it's been haunting every Peckmin since.
Tell us so we can understand.
Maybe we can figure out our solution and help you too.
My family used to have that very scryer bowl long ago.
All Peckmins had the gift of scrying.
It all started with my great-grandfather, Arthur.
He used scryer bowls with the pure intention
of allowing grieving people to talk with their loved ones again.
All of that changed, however, when he met an artifact collector.
This collector twisted the purpose of these bowls.
He exploited them by disturbing the dead
in order to find their unclaimed treasures.
He wouldn't let their souls rest until he got what he wanted.
The collector coerced Arthur into doing his bidding,
until he finally had enough.
Arthur agreed to one last scry, then he was done.
But the collector double-crossed him and stole the bowl
before the offering could be made.
So the messenger took Arthur as punishment for his unpaid debt.
The messenger has been living in the shadows ever since.
Every full moon, it comes for the next Peckmin.
No matter where we go, it follows.
I watched my own father attempt to make an offering.
This pocket watch.
But without the bowl, the messenger wouldn't take it.
So that's why you live in constant light.
No shadows, no messenger.
But I can feel it watching me, every moment, every day.
That's horrible.
Neil, I think that collector guy was our ancestor.
He was?
Look, great-great-great grandpa Garbage may have done some seriously uncool stuff.
And now it's our job to fix it.
There's no fixing this curse.
It consumed my father and my grandfather.
It's an endless cycle.
Says who? You can break the cycle. That's what we're trying to do.
We can do it together.
Mate, you all right?
Oh, dear.
-What's going on in there? -I must have broken the flashlight.
That thing made me drop it.
We're coming!
Why isn't this working?
Any luck? I'm running out of light.
No. Every configuration I try won't redirect the moonlight
down to the celestium.
It won't reach the shaft.
Perhaps the new telescope isn't quite as long as the old one.
New telescope?
Yes. Your grandfather replaced the old one back in 1969,
so he could watch the moon landing.
It's the wrong telescope.
It's not going to reach.
Ready, Mr. P?
I suppose.
First, pour in the water.
Now the personal object, right?
No need to throw in the personal object,
as that was done by my great-grandfather all those years ago.
Now, to draw out the messenger.
It's coming.
We just need it to get a little closer.
The moonlight!
Oh, no.
No! Neil!
No! Let go of them!
Let go.
Here's your offering! Take it!
Did we get it?
It looks that way.
I knew you could do it!
We have to take this to save our friend,
but we'll return it to you when we're done.
No. Keep it. I want nothing to do with scryer bowls anymore.
We need to call Russ. Tell him what we found out.
Stay away from me!
Yeah! Stay away from him!
We know how to get rid of the messenger.
Great. Get in there and send it back to where it came from.
Stanley!
You're still with us, mate?
Barely.
Now toss in an object that has personal meaning to you.
-Why me? -Because you're the one who summoned it.
Hurry! Anything that means something to you. Like an offering.
It'll act as payment and that thing will leave.
This harmonica has brought me much joy.
I'd hate to lose it.
Not as much as we'd hate losing you.
You old softy.
Glad you're not dead.
It would have been a pain to clean up this mess alone.
There is the Larry I know.
Is he safe? Did I get Stanley the light in time?
Great job, Russ.
Thanks, Mom. But I'm so glad you're back.
Guys, the water in the scryer bowl didn't turn clear
like it did at Mr. P's place.
It's still black.
Oh, no. Not again.
Let me at it.
I'll teach that inky blob to come after my friends.
Hello?
-Dad? -Dad?
Kids?
-Dad! -Is that you?
-It is! -Hey, Dad!
Alex, it's so good to hear your voice.
Where are you?
I don't know.
I'm in some kind of dark void.
I can't tell where I am.
Can you see us, Dad?
Can you see anything?
I can't see you, but I can hear you.
I can also hear other things out there, almost like skittering.
Skittering? Like what?
I don't know.
But whatever they are, I don't want them to hear me.
They're drawing closer.
No matter where I run I can't escape them.
We watched your video.
We returned an artifact and made the hourglass sand reverse and fall up.
You did? I wondered if that would work.
Now you have to figure out how it's all connected.
Connected.
Don't lose hope, Alex.
We're gonna get you out.
I know you will. I--
He's gone.
Don't cry, Pan.
At least we know Dad is alive.
And we will talk to him again at the next full moon.
A month from now?
It'll be here before you know it.
We can get a lot done in a month.