Episode 20 - Trapped In This Station With You

## Summary

Mystery County starts to get a little... quantum as the Hunters explore the mysteries of the Haverford Generating Station. Shamanda finally gets a change of her own, Adam Miller doesn't know if anything matters, Susan is all tied up (and not in the good way), Krashlee turns out to be weird on purpose, and Derrk is deeply concerned... about catching up on TV references.

## Previously On...

~~Dear Live Journal,~~

No, this is gonna be an angsty one.

Dear Xanga,

It's me, Adam Miller, and yeah I guess you could say things aren't going well today. My cousin CEJ's dead, the one reason I was turned into a Moth Man in the first place. So yeah I guess I shit the bed. And then Susan Wexler said she could save us, but now she's been taken away. I'm just feeling so helpless and useless and angry. I'm gonna say it, I'm peeved to hell.

But you know, we gotta save Susan. She's gonna help us save not only our world, but the entire universe, probably. Great, we're heroes and we won't even get the respect we deserve. Plus Shamanda's mad at me because, well, I guess I haven't really been talking to her much recently. I've sort of been dealing with my inner demons literally, but I should talk to her before she gets hurt.

Or she kills us all.

Adam Miller signing out.

*Listening to Freak on a Leash.*

## Plot

### Haverford Generating Station Halls

Shamanda feels herself manifesting what she has always believed herself to be, and she becomes Spooky Shamanda. She is able to tune in to any monster or minion, and knows where they are and what they are planning. She gains big whammy, which is an ability that allows her to use her weird powers to fuel her attacks. She also gains the sight and can see spirits and invisible things.

It's as though a radio station has become all fuzzy and the Shamanda of the past disappears as the new radio signal clicks over to Spooky Shamanda Felt. As she walks forward, one step she is a girl, and the next she transforms into the Queen of Hell through the power of her belief.

Lailah speaks telepathically to Shamanda, asking for her help. In return, she offers anything Shamanda desires. Shamanda agrees easily. She directs her mind-controlled softball team to continue to bring Susan with her as they seek out Lailah. Susan has gone boneless, making it as difficult as possible to carry her away, all the while yelling to Shamanda, trying to convince her to stop.

Unable to influence Shamanda, Susan opens her third eye to find out more information.

Meanwhile...

Derrk, Krashlee, and Adam are racing down impossibly long hallways that seems to be shifting constantly. While they are running, Derrk tells Adam and Krashlee about The Coherence, which seems to be occurring.

The bounds of what can be and cannot be are loosed, and belief begins to change reality.

This also occurs to Susan. Susan is angry. She is angry about her situation and circumstances and has to push down another version of herself that tries to claw to the surface. She is able to push down Crooked Wexler, but realizes that her biggest threat would be failing to do so and letting her greatest fear, that she would fall back into her life as an assassin, come to fruition.

She looks around her, and sees that the softball team is starting to fall victim to this very issue. One girl has become little orphan Annie, another is a literal horse.

> "We can save CEJ!" Susan yells to Shamanda.
>
>

Shamanda doesn't believe Susan. Wanting to distract and hurt Susan, Shamanda summons the soul of Chet Gibbons. This actually gives Susan a sense of relief. As bad as he was as a boyfriend, Chet was a great monster hunter.

Further back, Derrk finishes explaining the coherence to Adam and Krashlee. This is something very exciting for Krashlee to learn. She immediately imagines herself as Wonder Woman straight off of a cereal box. Unfortunately, nothing happens. Derrk can see how Krashlee is unchanging during this time when everyone is changing. It's weird. Something is off about Krashlee Grenadine.

Krashlee starts explaining that she is sure she knows what to do. Adam just doesn't believe her. He feels hopeless and let's go. He shifts into a different version of himself. He becomes The Wronged. He wants to get even in a world that is completely wrong. Adam's skin has become paler, and his hair is dyed black, bangs hiding his eyes, and he is no longer the Moth Man. His clothes are Hot Topic originals, with chains and bungees hanging off him every which way.

This parallel universe Adam Miller is one who has spent the last year hunting the Moth Men, working to avenge his family who were taken from him. Adam uses his new move of Know my Prey to try to find the Salamanders and Susan. Instead of finding the prey he is seeking, Prime, the Moth Man leader walks into the room.

He looks at Adam and says, "What a disappointment."

Adam flips his hair and retorts that Prime is the disappointment. Next to Prime, Adam's aunt Rebecca appears in her Moth Man form. She tells Adam that it's all over now. Krashlee is surprised at Rebecca's presence and Adam reveals that she was the one who turned him into a Moth Man. Krashlee is shocked.

Derrk and Krashlee congratulate Adam on not being a Moth Man anymore, and Krashlee notes that goth Adam is kind of hot. Rebecca opens up her wings and flies at Krashlee. Adam steps in and protects Krashlee with his move, Never Again. Adam bars the doorway, grabs Rebecca and she bites into his neck. For the moment, Krashlee and Derrk are shielded from the Moth Men.

Krashlee pulls a bug zapper out of her fanny pack. Adam looks at her wide eyed, "Were you going to use that on me?". Krashlee replied, "Not if I didn't have to."

The young Flake sets the bug zapper to ZAP. Krashlee burns a luck to direct the bug zapper at Rebecca Ernst. She forces Rebecca out of the Haverford Generating Station and into the nothingness. She claws at Krashlee, pulling away some of her essence, as Rebecca is knocked away and she disappears into the possibility of the universe.

Krashlee looks at Prime. "Do you want to try it?", with a slight whine as she holds her wounds.

Adam is shocked out of his hopeless state and shifts back into his Moth Man self. Giant moth wings sprout from his back as he charges at Prime. Derrk points at Prime and says, "Hey now, you bad moth! Get on out of here!", using Cast Out Evil.

Together, Adam and Derrk force Prime out into the Coherence. Prime rips into Adam, leaving him critically injured and unstable. Adam passes out and Derrk runs to him. As he brushes against the rune carved walls of the Generating Station, he winces in pain as if burned. The luck cost of Krashlee succeeding against Rebecca Ernst plays out as Krashlee's Flake mind is pulled to Derrk. Krashlee realizes that whatever Lailah and Rider Strong are, Derrk must be the same thing.

"Were you on Boy Meets World too, Derrk?", Adam mumbles as he sees what Krashlee sees.

Derrk lays glowing hands on Adam. "Adam, I don't know what that is, but it's probably based on me."

Adam heals some harm and is stabilized.

As Adam, Krashlee, and Derrk exchange some banter after their harrowing experience, they all agree that Derrk needs to watch South Park once they save the world.

Ready to continue on, Derrk unzips the air, and puts his giant flaming sword back into his interdimensional pocket. Adam cautions that they may need it, and Derrk immediately pulls it back out.

Putting all the pieces together, Krashlee realizes that since Rider Strong is an Angel, and Derrk uses a flaming sword then he must also be an Angel. And if he is an Angel, Lailah must be an Angel as well.

Krashlee asks if Derrk knows Lailah, and he explains that Lailah is the reason he is in Haverford. He also has been expecting Adam, Krashlee and Shamanda to be at the Haverford Generating Station. He doesn't know who Susan is, and he is surprised that she is here. He mentions that the only Wexler he knows is Barb Wexler, who is very important.

### Central Chamber

In the center of a room, carved with mystic runes, is held a being covered in shadow. Her substance is made of pure black, with the night sky spiraling through her form. Enormous moth wings sprout from her back, hanging limply behind her. Chains from each corner of the room bind her and wires ripple out of her skin, attached to the walls and going into vast batteries, draining energy from her. This being is what powers the Haverford Generating Station.

Circled around her are the Salamanders that remain. They croon prayers to her. Susan notices a slumped form underneath the figure. Her sister Barb Wexler. Shamanda hears Lailah's voice echo in her head, telling her that Susan must perform the ritual. Annoyed that Lailah wants to get right to business without greeting her, Shamanda tells her off and Lailah apologizes. But she does ask Lailah what needs to be done.

If Susan doesn't perform the ritual, nothing will exist, and they will all be stuck in the Generating Station forever. Unbeknownst to Shamanda and Lailah, Chet is telling Susan what is happening between the two. Shamanda is shocked to learn that, now that she has made herself a celestial, she is just as imprisoned in the Generating Station as Lailah and Rider Strong. Behind Shamanda, the moth wings that have erupted from her back flap.

Shamanda tries to tune into what Lailah is feeling. Wanting to know what Lailah fears, she understands that doing nothing is what Leilah fears most. She reveals that she has been trapped in the power plant since 1962. As far as she sees it, there are two options. Susan does the ritual, and they join the coherence, or Susan doesn't do the ritual and they are stuck in the power plant.

Susan tries to understand what the options are as well. Chet helps her to understand them as Lailah believes what the options are. It dawns on Susan that they can't prevent an apocalypse as the world as they know it has already ended.

### Haverford Generating Station Halls

Derrk is trying to understand South Park while Krashlee and Adam process the end of the world. They hear someone running toward them, and Adam Miller flies ahead. Tom Knutts and Marcus Verhmese approach. When Marcus sees Adam's wings he urges Tom to shoot him. Tom takes a moment to load his musket. Behind Marcus and Tom, the Coyote creeps up. Krashlee snags Tom's musket with her lasso. She tries to reason with Marcus that Adam is a good Moth Man, but Marcus says their is no such thing.

"Marcus Verhmese, for a guy who couldn't talk to girls in high school, you certainly are looking down on children a lot." Derrk says reproachfully.

"Marcus, you said that you were a ladies man in high school!" Tom Knutts shouts accusingly at Marcus.

Tom is so offended he walks to the side with the children. He cannot abide liars. Marcus reminds Tom that they have sworn an oath on the Chamber of Commerce. He tells the children that he is here to protect his investment, and that the Chamber of Commerce exists to protect the bindings that hold Lailah. The state of Superior was created because Lailah was captured by Philadus Haverford IV. Marcus took over his mantel when Philadus retired.

Philadus Haverford had the idea to create a 51st state, captured an Angel, and used her power to shape history to form Superior. Tom's grandfather created the net that captured Lailah. Tom is holding it in his hands, and it scares Derrk. Krashlee and Derrk tie Marcus and Tom up in Krashlee's lasso. It's poorly done. Tom tries to help.

### Central Chamber

Krashlee, Derrk, Adam, Marcus and Tom join the rest of the Club in the central chamber with Lailah and the Salamanders. Susan recognizes what Derrk is instantly. She looks at Shamanda and starts to murmur to her about how they work together well, and when things are hard and you don't know what to do, you call a friend. She grabs Shamanda's hand, reaches out to Derrk, and she summons CEJ. Shamanda holds Susan's hand tightly and whispers to Susan, asking longingly if she can have a Sprite when this is all over. Susan tells her that she has one saved just for Shamanda.

Susan spends a luck to make the magic work smoothly. As she does so, she notices something. In the hands of her unconscious sister is a manuscript. *Her* manuscript. And around Barb are oddly familiar items for a ritual. Barb Wexler was using the ritual that Susan had detailed in her original copy of Monster Girth.

As that sinks in, CEJ is summoned into existence.

## Characters

**Main Cast**

* Rashawn Nadine Scott as Shamanda Felt
* Jeff Murdoch as Adam Miller and Tom Knutts
* Erin Rein as Krashlee Grenadine
* Claire Linic as Susan Wexler
* Alan Linic as Derrk Pflifer
* Tyler Samples as Lailah, softball players, Rebecca Ernst, Prime, Chet Gibbons, Marcus Verhmese, and everyone else.

## Introductions

Tyler: Welcome to Mystery County Monster Hunters Club, where we use dice to tell a story of motivated mortals and apocalypse apologists. I'm Tyler Samples, your Keeper of Monsters and Mysteries. Let's meet our players.

Rashawn: Hi everybody, I'm Rashawn Nadine Scott, and my character is Shamanda Felt, the Crooked. And I just wanted to say: I can't feel the way I did before, don't turn your back on me. I won't be ignored.

Jeff: Hi, I'm Jeff Murdoch (said by Alan Linic). And I play Adam Miller, the Monstrous. And I'm a perfect 10 antennae. I'm more like a seven. (said by Jeff)

Erin: Hi I'm Erin Rein. I play Krashlee Grenadine the Flake. The dictionary defines Flake as a small, flat, thin piece of something. And that is scarily accurate.

Claire: Hi everyone, I'm Claire Linic. I play Susan Wexler, an expert at monster hunting, and even better at whistling. \*whistles beautifully\*

Alan: Hey everybody, I'm Alan Linic. I play the voice of real life Jeff Murdoch and also Derrk Pflifer, who is the divine. And did you guys know that they make M&Ms small now?

## Notable Quotes

* "Shamanda feels fucking on the moon and the moon's on fire and I controlled the fire and I'm gonna throw that fire into the earth just to watch it burn." - Rashawn Nadine Scott (Badass)
* "I was a Moth Man, now I'm just...troubled." - Adam Miller
* "I have to ask. Has Krashlee secretly been building weapons to take down each other member of the Monster Hunter's Club?" - Tyler Samples
* "Wow, evil!" - Derrk Pflifer
* "I rolled a perfect a-ten-nae." - Jeff Murdoch
* "I don't know what Boy Meets World is, but it sounds like something that happened to me." - Derrk Pfliffer
* "Adam, they can't name the TV character after the real person. That would be literally illegal." - Krashlee Grenadine
* "It's time for some 'prov." - Claire Linic

## Links

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