With Great Power...

"With Great Power..." is the eighteenth episode of *Daniel Kravitz, Chosen One (Volume 3)*, and the forty-fourth installment of the series overall. It is roughly double the length of most episodes. It was performed on November 14, 2020 via Zoom as the second half of Show LXV and streamed live on a private, paid YouTube link. It was released as podcast episode 326.

Written by Jerome Wetzel and Samantha Stark

Directed by Kristin Green

Previous episode: "Ready Player Chosen One"

Next episode: "Conspiracy Theories" miniseries

## **The Story**

It's night on the U.L.P. ranch, a short time after the previous episode began, well before it ended. Monbo's army is actively invading the property, and one of the monsters, O'Kjo, has killed B.J. McKibben. O'Kjo corners Stephanie Garcia, who then beats O'Kjo to death with a bo staff in angry revenge. Arnold Armstrong and Abby Reynolds arrive, and Abby tells Stephanie she doesn't know where Daniel Kravitz is. Abby sends Arnold to look for him while she and Stephanie fight.

Meanwhile, Dawn Vaughn and Corey Addison are in post-coital bliss, having finally slept together for the first time. They're happy, but when Dawn presses Corey to define their relationship, saying it would be cruel if this was a one-time thing, given that Corey knows how Dawn feels about her. Corey hedges, unsure if she wants to commit to Dawn. They are interrupted by Madison Maguire, who tells them the ranch is under attack. Madison leaves, and the other two throw on clothes and follow. They see the magic barriers fall above the ranch, visible as a bright, purple wave spreading out like an atomic blast, leaving them vulnerable.

Almost immediately the enenra appears. Corey wants to run away from the ranch to escape it, hoping the caves where she saw Daniel's powers get drained could help. Dawn insists they can't leave and must fight with the others, saying Abby and Daniel can help Corey. Corey runs away anyway, abandoning Dawn. As Dawn watches Corey flee, Monbo comes up behind Dawn and runs her through, killing her. Dawn's last word is "Corey..."

Elsewhere, Zagor the Murderous has cornered Arnold. Both threaten one another, but both also seem reluctant to attack, and Arnold won't flee as Zagor wants, even though Arnold is so scared he has peed his pants. Alexis Augustus Armentrout arrives and calls Zagor on his hesitance to hurt people, having only destroyed property thus far. Zagor admits he doesn't want this war, and agrees to hide in a cell until it's over, as he would be killed for deserting. Arnold leads Zagor inside.

Across the compound, Novir is trapped by Pr-Pratt and Dr'Foog, who have wounded Voldare gravely. Abby tells Voldare to shapeshift, but he can't. Alfredo enters (his date having gone poorly) and uses magic to put the two monsters to sleep, but stops short of killing them as Abby demands, so Abby kills the unconscious creatures herself. Alfredo then heals Voldare and reluctantly uses a spell to given Abby limited Chosen One powers, a magic they were working on but that isn't completely ready. Alfredo also casts it on Novir, but Voldare declines.

In the ranch prison, Fran asks Arnold and Zagor what is happening. As Arnold puts Zagor in a cell, Fran escapes, having gotten a key and gun from Kai Akane. She locks up Arnold and takes the keyring from her to free her group. She and her cult run outside where Alfredo, Madison, Novir, Voldare, Abby, and Stephanie are barely holding back monsters with their Chosen One powers (Voldare without them), Alfredo re-casting his spell as needed. Abby orders Fran to help them, but she refuses, trying to lead the cult off the ranch. Before they can go far, Gigaxx and other monsters slaughter the entire cult. Abby orders her people not to help, not that they really could, and they fall back. Voldare morphs into a dragon.

Daniel, Grezit the Green, and Rufus Reginald Rochester, finally out of the video game, find Abby's group, surprised to see them using Chosen One powers. Alfredo says Daniel needs the Amulet of Sh'all to reinforce his powers for this fight. Alfredo and Madison go to fetch it, Daniel telling them to bring it to him, but the Chosen One won't leave the battle.

In the caves, Corey taunts the enenra as it follows her, sure she can beat it and that she doesn't deserve to die. Eventually, Corey becomes stuck and begs for her life, realizing Alfredo has dispelled all the cave's magic and the enera isn't weakened. Corey offers the monsters and even the other U.L.P. members to die in her place. The enenra is unmoved and kills her, burning her from the inside out.

Back at the ranch, Daniel and Rufus fill Abby in on Josh Wallace and the video game. They see a Thunderbird rise to protect the property, and theorize Josh, actually Mortimer Miles McClendon, released it. Rufus vouches for Mortimer, but Abby isnt convinced. Alexis shows up and questions Abby about her Chosen One powers. Daniel says the powers are dangerous, and Rufus is impressed with Alfredo's skills, calling him one of the most accomplished sorcerers of all time. Abby asserts that she helped Alfredo.

A short distance away, Stephanie, Novir, and Voldare fight in tandem. Grezit the Green bursts onto the scene, feral and frightening. Voldare sees his stable on fire and shifts into a horse to go to it. They comment on how formidable a fighter Khoo is. They spot the Thunderbird warring with a Sphinx and losing. Grezit jumps up and helps, with both the Thunderbird and the Sphinx winding up dead. As the group becomes overwhelmed, Grezit has them fall back to defend Abby.

In front of the main building, all the surviving U.L.P. members come together. Voldare returns, saying the stable is lost. Daniel is getting tired. It's looking like this will be their last stand. And then Monbo stops all the fighting, striding through the crowd to confront Daniel. She introduces herself and her amy. Rufus wonders why Kali sent Monbo and Monbo laughs, saying the Ultimate Evil didn't send her. She tells everyone that Daniel broke the truce between the Subworlds and humans when he killed her children. Daniel insists he only defended himself, but Monbo points out that there is an endless cycle of suffering, revealing her own personal tragedy, and says they cannot talk this out. She wants to end this, and demands Daniel battle her one-on-one. Rufus points out that Daniel is now tired and weak and this isn't a fair time, but Monbo says none of this has been fair.

Daniel steps forward, the two alone in the middle of all the combatants. Daniel immediately blows her unconscious with his Stun Wave. Abby is unsatisfied, and strides forward to stick a sword through Monbo's neck, killing her, which enrages the monster army, Rufus calling Abby's action a mistake.

The U.L.P. group wearily begins to fight again, but are quickly overrun. Alexis takes a dagger in the eye. Many students are killed, including Madison and others whose name the audience never learned. Alfredo gets the wind knocked out of him and can't keep casting Chosen One spells. Even Khoo is looking weak.

Daniel feels power building inside of him, amplified through the amulet. He lets it grow until he cannot take it anymore, far greater than it's ever built up before. He tells Abby he loves her, and then unleashes it all at once. Every monster is stunned, the closest ones being obliterated, and only those near the back will survive the outpouring. Daniel collapses, smoke pouring from the amulet, and he is spent. Not just spent, he's dead. Abby cries.

The next morning, Alexis finds Zagor still in his cell. Alexis is heading back to the Subworlds and invites Zagor to join him. While Zagor doesn't befriend humans, he is supportive of Alexis' goal to change things and agrees. In the caves, Voldare, Alfredo, and Stephanie find Corey's dead body. And in Abby's office, Rufus reports there is no sign of Mortimer, and insists that rebuilding their ranks is more important than going after him since only four trainees survived - Stephanie, Novir, Arnold, and Jeleen. Grezit says he will hunt down Kai and murder him. Rufus has told Alexis they don't have resources to help him in the Subworlds, then trails off, realizing Abby isn't paying attention. When he gets her attention, Abby tells the two to get the fuck out of her office.

## **Guest Starring**

* Keith Jackson as Alfredo
* Dana Bauman as Corey Addison
* Karen Perta as Dawn Vaughn, the enenra, and Gigaxx
* Katie Boissoneault as Stephanie Garcia and Fran
* Nick Arganbright as Novir and O'Kjo
* Sam Clements as Voldare
* Kristin Green as Monbo
* Matt Schlichting as Zagor the Murderous
* Samantha Stark as Madison Maguire
* Chase McCants as Arnold Armstrong

## **Trivia**

* The first half of this episode takes place just after the beginning of "Ready Player Chosen One," while four of the leads are trapped in a video game.
* Nathan Haley and Shane Stefanchik, besides playing their lead roles, reprised the parts of Dr'Foog and Pr-Pratt.
* Nick Arganbright, who shaped much of the season, was invited to pen this along with Jerome. He declined. He strongly disagreed with Daniel's ending, and had an entirely different pitch to shape Volume 4 than the story ultimately went with.
* Josh Wallace does not appear in the finale, including the intro, because cast member Seamus Talty left the troupe the month before. Had he not, Mortimer would have remained in Josh's body and been part of this episode. Instead, not wanting to introduce a new character in the final episode, Mortimer disappeared off-stage. He will appear in Volume 4.
* Samantha Stark contributed Corey's scenes, the Thunderbird's fate, and seeing Grezit the Green in battle, among other portions of the episode.
* Nathan added Daniel's final "I love you" to Abby. It wasn't part of the original script.