Episode 8: Rescuing Cassidy

Gather 'Round the Trashfires

The cohort enacts their plan to rescue Madison's childhood best friend Cassidy from where she's being held underground the Church of Charismatic Virtues. Geri seduces a gullible security guard who has a crush on her. She also learns brand new things about her powers everyone wishes she didn't.

But she's not the only one who learns things about powers...

Sorry for the late update, I hadn't realized how long this game session was before starting.

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Episode Transcript:

Get your snack and beverage of choice ready. It’s time to “Gather ‘Round the Trashfires” for a tabletop roleplaying story! I’m your host, Bek Andrew Evans.

My current and main running story for this podcast is the misadventures of the cohort from the Deviant: the Renegades chronicle I’ve been playing in since early 2021. And I play Geri.

For those of you unfamiliar with Deviant, it’s a TTRPG about people who were formerly human but were irreparably changed in traumatic ways to the point their very Souls broke and they became something Other. They seek vengeance on those who made them, those who hunt them, those who seek to exploit them for what they are and will never leave them be.

As such, this podcast will feature heavy themes and content throughout. There’s an overall content warning for language, violence, criminality, homelessness, substance use, human experimentation, cults and religious extremism, mentioned torture, kidnapping, implied incest and incest-related comments, and abusive relationships. On episodes where there is a new content warning or a particularly notable instance of one of these, I’ll call it out.

I hope y’all enjoy hearing about my cohort’s antics and stumbling headfirst into the mysteries of the world as much as I have.

[Music Intro: "_violence" by Avantist]

Green Country Calcination Episode 8: Rescuing Cassidy

The night after the cohort had their planning session to rescue Madison's childhood friend, Geri has another dream: looking for hints about the church's secret basement.

She dreams she's passing through a door in the church, one she remembers leads underground... where she wasn't allowed. She walks with bare feet down the dark, stone staircase. Before her is a labyrinthine maze of tunnels with truly illogical or perhaps arcane design.

She hears something, a chorus of voices echoing down the hall. She follows the sound of the chanting until she winds up in a large, open ritual room. The chanting is coming from thirteen black-robed figures with hoods that obscure their faces.

They're surrounding the central stone altar, at the head of which is Serena leading the ritual wearing billowing grey robes. She stands over her victim on the altar, the young woman wearing pristine white robes who matches Cassidy's description. Serena has her hands at the girl's temples, concentrating.

Geri can tell, somehow, in the dream as she watches, Serena's doing something even more invasive, violating than telepathy, like she's taking something.

But then Serena pauses, lifts her head, and smiles widely. She looks up to the ceiling and says, "I see you."

The words echo in Geri's head as she wakes up screaming.

It's still morning but not ungodly early when Geri wakes up. She's not yet come out of her room a little while after the screaming, so Madison comes to check on her - bringing gifts of fresh coffee.

While Madison's bright eyed, bushy-tailed, already had a morning workout and showered, Geri shuffles out of her room wearing yesterday's clothes and her mane of curly hair in wild tangles.

Geri invites her in and they sit on Geri's bed. She's taken down all the decorations since moving in and put them in the closet. The sheets have small burn holes and singe marks. The room smells faintly of smoke.

They sit for a while together in silence while Geri has her coffee, before Madison finally gently prompts Geri to get breakfast.

By then, AJ's crawled out his dwelling in the garage, in a bleary-eyed haze from staying up all night making the requested gadgets. He's wearing a black hoodie, neon pink yoga pants, and his rubber apron. The girls walk into a scene of him pouring black coffee into a glass already half-full of sugar-free grape monster. He's so groggy, he goes to take a drink of his concoction, but nearly drinks from the coffee pot instead.

Geri's suddenly too awake from the sight of the yoga pants. Madison's traumatized from the whole situation, but especially the crimes against coffee.

They tell him good morning, and AJ doesn't seem to notice the stares as he asks Madi if they could maybe extend the central heating to the garage. AJ in his un-caffeinated state doesn't at all catch the sarcasm when Madi says she'll get her dad to call the builders.

AJ downs his unholy creation as they really start the conversation. Geri doesn't flinch, but is trying to not stare at the yoga pants. Madi's looking at AJ like he's lost his mind and watches him with a fascination as if he's the current feature of an internet drama deep dive.

He asks when they're going out for the honeypot trap for the uniforms, and Geri quickly says they have to go tonight.

Madi gently nudges her to talk about her dream, once she's finished her coffee. She agrees and quickly finishes her mug before telling the two that the church has Cassidy in the basement. She blurts out a jumbled description of her dream, including the bit about how Serena was stealing personality or memory or something from Cassidy's brain.

It dawns on Madison that that's how the church knew.

Geri continues to recount her dream in a more distant tone, about the thirteen chanting witnesses, and having Cass in white robes... she remarks there were thirteen witnesses at her own so-called 'baptism.'

Geri's description, her demeanor during it, unnerves AJ to wakefulness. He shudders and says an apocalypse cult on one side and super soldier conglomerate on the other sounds like a normal Wednesday.

Madi asks Geri to elaborate on what her baptism entailed.

Geri's description is fragmentary, in spurts of phrases that don't form full sentences. A white dress, going out to the lake, her father saying words with thirteen witnesses... She blurts a speculation about the thirteen original followers of Christ and trails off, rubbing the back of her neck and staring at nothing in particular.

AJ watched Geri as she spoke, but something about the description is so intimate that he looks away into his (second) cup of hell coffee.

Madison, careful not to touch Geri, replaces Geri's empty mug with her own full thermos of coffee. She's sparking again.

Something dark stirs within AJ, his usual cheeriness nothing but a memory. The cup shakes in his hands as he slowly, quietly says that it's not enough. Not enough to rescue the victims. The church needs to pay.

Madison says of course the cohort's gonna stop them! And they're gonna make sure all the bad guys go to jail for a super long time.

Geri has to leave the cabin abruptly to not accidentally burn it down. She's gotta let off the pressure valve on her powers somewhere nearby. AJ decides to start loading the car for the night's mission, and Madison starts getting ready, too.

It's evening when the cohort's gathered for the mission. The younger four are waiting by AJ's Camry in a Tulsa Walmart parking lot, waiting for Zuse to return with a temporary vehicle. They needed more room, a sturdier vehicle, for the mission.

Robert's wearing clothes that seem easy to pull off - loose boots, big hoodie, gloves, and jogging pants. Geri's wearing a thrifted black dress, modest enough to pass for church, with a matching light jacket. Madison's wearing a creme sweater and floral knee-length circle skirt, nylons, and nice shoes, and carries a large purse. AJ's wearing a squirtle gang tee shirt, faded black jeans, a bright burgundy fleece jacket, and black sneakers. He's also clean-shaven.

AJ, leaning against his car, asks the cohort what Zuse meant when he said they'd know him when he showed up as the new vehicle.

Geri thinks he'll make a scene.

And make a scene he does. The cohort hears 'The Flight of the Valkyries' played on Kazoos approaching. It's coming from the radio of a Tulsa Metro public transport van.

Robert makes a sarcastic remark on how unsneaky Zuse is being, so Madi ribs him about Plan Hulk Smash. Even so, AJ asks Zuse to 86 the kazoos and honking so they can actually attempt to stealth a little.

Robert gets in the driver's seat, though he's only pretending to be the driver as Zuse is merged. Zuse... is a typical Tulsa driver. Speeding, honking, generally aggressive, and certainly not helped by being a chaotic Remade. AJ and Geri are totally fine for the ride, though Geri is preoccupied with her thoughts like Madi, and tense for reasons unrelated to the driving.

AJ spends his time telling knock-knock jokes and recounting silly stories of past youthful driving adventures to Madi to try to calm her.

Geri's eerily silent the whole ride.

Robert, however, the normally responsible driver is having an entire conniption at the wheel when Zuse's driving overrides his own instincts. When they arrive at Blake's house, Robert demands Zuse never be allowed to drive again.

Before anyone gets out, Robert asks some very basic questions about what's going on that really should have been handled before arriving in their target's driveway. Even though the cohort had left all the necessary information for him in notes to accommodate for his whole... being mostly nocturnal thing.

AJ and Zuse- via the radio - wish Geri luck and she steps out with Madison. Zuse plays more music, specifically Love Story by Taylor Swift. When Geri glares at the van and presses some radio buttons to try to change the station, he just turns it up. AJ snickers from the safety of the van.

The two girls approach Blake Inghram's small, 1-floor house. It has a short, parched yard and chain link fence. As they step to the overhang and front step, they can hear Blake watching the news in the front room.

The cohort's lucky, no nosy neighbors in sight.

Geri feigns nervous coyness, twirling a lock of hair. She rings the doorbell.

Blake answers the door, clearly in the middle of relaxing after work from how his tie is undone and how he tries to discreetly button his pants back over his stomach. He's entirely shocked and excited to see Geri - she's the last person he expected to see on his doorstep. He asks why she's there and if this means she's home now.

Geri keeps up the act, giving bright smiles and explaining she wanted to see him, and she's trying to surprise her dad with her arrival. Madi gives Blake a wave, giggling adorably.

Blake offers the two some of the pizza rolls he just made, and Geri introduces Madi as "Sarah", a girl from the Cassica Hall Interfaith project. She says she assumed Blake would know her already. Madison says Geri told her a lot about him and asks if he'd seen her around, prompting him to question his own memory. He assumes he must have seen her in passing before and goes along with the story, politely offering small talk about the recent memorial.

Geri gives him puppy dog eyes when asking again if he wants to help surprise her dad, who she says has sounded like he's been worried sick. Blake confirms that everyone's been worried about her and they've all been praying hard.

He offers to drive them, and asks about the bus, if it normally makes door-to-door stops... and lowers his voice to ask if it's a special delivery from the hospital.

Meanwhile, in the van, AJ tells Zuse he'll have to actually pretend to be a normal van and just let Robert drive while they have Blake there. Zuse makes some fake beeps over the radio instead of any form of speech like before to acknowledge his understanding.

Geri claims she's been evangelizing and converted some new friends so they've come with her to join the church, and that more believers joining the flock would make her father happier.

Blake not only believes the lie, he's overjoyed by it and scrambles to get his shoes. He thinks they can catch the pastor at his house before bed, but Geri stops him and says in his last message he said was gonnna stay late to plan with the ministers - but it was supposed to be a secret. She plays up her already stronger Southern-leaning mannerisms, covers her mouth from the scandal.

Madi joins in, admonishing Geri, saying Serena said not to tell.

Blake thinks this all checks out and offers to bring them to the church instead, maybe get to show them the Youth Building's new basketball court floors if they have time.

As Blake's rushing around to get ready inside his house, he excitedly remarks that he loves surprises. Geri "suddenly" has an idea for an even bigger, better surprise. She matches Blake's energy, grinning widely and bringing her balled-up hands to her face, practically bouncing.

Geri flirtatiously offers her hand to Blake as she explains how fun and bonus-surprising it would be for some of her friends to dress as security.

Blake is surprised and begins to get a tad suspicious at that. Madi explains it's a harmless prank. He asks if Geri's friends are from "rehab," and Geri spins a story on the spot about how they're old friends who moved away and live between the hospital and Blake's place, all while playing up the dream girl eyes.

AJ watches the exchange from the van and asks Zuse to play a song AJ had played earlier as soon as Geri comes back.

There's a long pause as Blake considers. Madi guilts Blake, asking if he's cool. She says Geri said he was cool. He relents under the two's pressure.

All of a sudden Blake pulls out his phone and says he'll call, no, text his boss Derek to let him know about the prank so he can be in on it. And to let him know Geri's graduated the psych ward program.

The girls freeze. Madison hides her hands behind her back to hide the sparks on her hand when she activates electrokinesis to kill the power on the phone.

Blake's surprised when his phone dies, but assures the girls he'll only be a moment - he'll just use the house phone!

AJ and Robert notice the spark from Madison's hand and realize things have started go sideways. They're getting ready to intervene if the situation worsens.

Madison lightly bullies him for being old because he still has a house phone in the year 2021. Geri pulls a Hail Mary and dramatically grabs Blake's hand as he tries to leave and looks into his eyes and with just a hint of disappointment in her voice tells him they can just do something else and they really need to get going.

Blake stares into Geri's big, brown eyes and relaxes. He can't say no to her.

Geri brings Blake to the van, still walking hand-in-hand with him. Madison tags along close behind. ZuseVan queues up AJ's requested song, "He's Up to Something Lately" by Pendown. The song notably includes lines like "No one should try to stop him now, He's about to let us down" and "Cause he then decided it’s alright, it's alright, To leave us all behind to die."

Geri introduces Robert as their Driver, William, and AJ as her old friend, Noah.

Blake is, truly, the world's most uninteresting conversation partner. He doesn't really let any of the cohort get a word in edgewise but he prattles on about mundane, boring minutia of life at the church "to catch Geri up" the entire ride there. There's something in his tone of trying to convince Geri to stay this time when she comes back.

Zuse is apparently in a particular musical mood because no matter how many times Robert tries to change the radio, it keeps winding back on a 50s oldies station. He otherwise behaves.

Geri feigns interest in Blake's chatting, and him, and his endless talking gives her time to pluck some information from his mind. She looks for what he knows about the church's security patrol, what he knows about security vulnerabilities at the church, and... what turns him on in that moment. She is trying to keep Blake wrapped around her finger with seduction, after all.

He knows that on a Wednesday and this time of night, there's minimal security on the clock - only two guards patrolling the building and one patrolling the youth center. He also knows the Northwestern door into the main building, across from the youth building, has a jam. You can tug it hard and it'll open without setting off an alarm.

Much to Geri's horror and disgust, she also learns in vivid detail that Blake really wants to have a threesome with Geri and "Sarah" aka Madi.

She manages to not puke and is a good enough actress that her screams remain internal for the rest of the drive.

Geri hasn't had telepathy long enough to really get that sometimes people have private thoughts that'll seriously skeeve her out, but simply having the thought doesn't make someone a terrible person.

The van approaches the Chruch of Charismatic Virtues, a gleaming glass and stone monument of a megachurch. The size alone is imposing. It's multiple stories tall, making the trees planted directly next to it look miniature. It's expansive with an equally sprawling parking lot, not unlike a mall, with covered dropoff points.

Madi asks if Blake's gonna be cool and get the uniforms, which he says he can't, but he'll be happy to sneak everyone into Geri's dad's office to surprise him. Madi gives him the most crushingly disappointed look in response, but he doesn't budge.

Geri signals subtly, brushing hair behind her ear at her temple with a couple fingers. AJ has to consider a moment, and he's unhappy with the ask at first, but he nods his consent. Madi does, too.

Blake reminds Geri to put her hood up so she's not recognized. Geri puts up her hood and puts on her big sunglasses she brought. Madison also puts on some over-sized sunglasses.

Blake excitedly leads the trio - Geri, Madison, and AJ, out of the van and across the parking lot, trying his level-best to be stealthy.

But he's just so damn oblivious.

Geri boots up the mindcraft server. Her mental voice is disturbed and wound-up all at once. She infodumps about the known guard scheduling and the jammed door. She also sends them mental images of the cameras and their locations that she can remember.

AJ suggests in the mindcraft that the Youth Center will have the easiest way to get into the basement, and wants to know how they lose Blake to go where they need to.

Madison shoves her hands in her pockets and tails behind the group spoofing the cameras with electrokinesis so the cohort won't show.

Geri asks Blake if he can show them the basketball court renovations after all before they surprise her father. He agrees, but warns there was just a game so people might recognize her before her planned surprise.

AJ warns they can't trust Blake, that he's hiding something and made a stop to his bedroom before coming outside. Geri Has a Normal One and goes off about how she knows he has secrets and he can die in a fire once they're done with him.

Blake prompts Geri for an answer - apparently, the cohort had been completely silent for several moments in their telepathic side conversation and Geri hadn't actually answered Blake yet. He's unlocked one of the main building doors and is holding it open.

Geri says to Blake it's fine, they should visit the basketball court.

Telepathically, Madi asks what Geri saw. Geri tells her she'll spill later but don't be alone with him.

Madi asks why Geri's bringing him to the Youth Center instead of ditching him at the office. AJ suggests they find a discrete spot to take him out before carrying on. He clarifies he means just knock him out. Geri says she thinks she can.

Robert mentions in the link that he's gonna keep lookout, and the cohort can spot some of his speedy clones - thankfully Blake's too distracted to notice.

Geri abruptly changes her mind to Blake, saying they should go to the office first after all. She plays it off as being just so excited it's hard to think straight.

Blake is momentarily confused but charmed by the "quirky" goth girl, accepting that excuse and bringing the cohort inside.

There's a shriek of pain in the mindcraft server the moment Geri sets foot inside. She suddenly has a splitting migraine and gushing nosebleed. Geri yelps quietly out loud and covers her nose with her hand a moment belatedly.

Blake is so, so very oblivious. Though he looks back to Geri at the yelp, he doesn't notice any blood. He asks her if everything's alright. She plays it off that she twisted her ankle a little but she's fine. Blake makes a little joke about her not getting broken before seeing her father and continues leading the group.

Over the mindcraft, the cohort's panicking asking Geri what's wrong. Geri's shouting in confusion and whimpering in pain directly into their heads, which, while the silent outlet is keeping her (barely) able to act, it's making things significantly more difficult for the other two.

The building is huge, and Geri's terrible nosebleed and migraine continue the whole walk. So does Blake's inane chatter. He goes on and on about how there logistically should be more than two guards in the main building and the mundane staffing reasons why there aren't currently. It takes a good five-minute walk to make it to the preacher's office.

Once they finally make it, Blake unlocks the office so they can all hide there together for the totally wholesome family reunion surprise. He's so engrossed in his deeply uninteresting monologue about the entirely mundane reasons some entry-level guards resigned that he doesn't notice Geri spending a little effort and activating her Lash behind him.

The wisps have taken a pinkish-magenta hue this time instead of their normal scarlet. She throws it at him... and immediately regrets existing.

Geri can change what her Lash does, making it more, less, and different kinds of deadly. What she meant to happen was to try to overwhelm Blake's brain to stun him into a stupor.

What actually happens is the Lash triggers a.... certain kind of overwhelming, loud, full-body ecstasy. In front of everyone.

Geri's blushing and yelling her mortification into the mindcraft, while still bleeding everywhere.

Madison looks like this is the worst trauma she's been through since after divergence, for a moment stunned in disgust and horror. She tries to oh-god-make-it-stop and smack him on the back of the head with her large, heavy purse to knock him out. A lot.

AJ tries to wrangle the man while he's still... writhing, to try to save the uniform before it's very soiled. He sighs and gives a 'goddamnit, Geri.'

Geri blurt-shouts defensively in the mindcraft that Blake's a huge pervert, she saw his fantasy about the threesome with her and Madison and she didn't know this would happen when she used her powers.

AJ pauses his unfortunate wrestling to ask if fantasizing about threesomes makes you a pervert. Geri explains (badly, in her current emotional state) that it's not the threesome, it's the fact that Blake's in college, closer to 30 than not, and only knows Madi's in high school but not her age. She only happens to be eighteen.

Geri's actual explanation is less articulate and shouted into everyone's brains.

Madi manages to smack Blake into unconsciousness in her indignant, creeped-out flailing, and AJ's finally able to start getting the clothes.

AJ, to make Madi feel better, badmouths unconscious Blake. He says she's far out of Blake's league. It placates her.

Madi suggests in the mindcraft they use some tape or something to bind Blake and stuff him in a janitor's closet. And then she notices Geri.

Geri's covered in enough blood to look like a slasher movie final girl. She's covering her face from mortification - which is just smearing the blood everywhere. Madi offers Geri all the tissues she'd packed in her purse, and the wetwipes.

Zuse, who had been silent in the mindcraft up til this point, asks with amusement if this means the plan has taken a different route. Madi shouts at him that they're still not murdering anyone, and Zuse teases them that it sounds like the opposite if someone's gotten to be a pervert.

Geri yells at Zuse that time, and he says it couldn't have been that bad... and asks, hopeful, if they need him to ram the building. He says he has the kazoo track prepared. Madi shouts a 'NO.'

Geri begins to bleed from her eyes, too. She looks very ill. AJ asks Geri to please keep enough blood on the inside to remember where the nearest basement access is. She's too busy trying futilely to slow the bleeding to be much help otherwise. Madi shoves her a mini first aid kit from her purse.

AJ psychs himself to get dressed in the soiled pants and then does, reluctantly. And Madi hog-ties Blake with duck tape from her purse. Everyone is having a terrible time.

AJ finishes getting changed and shoves his clothes in his bag. He and Madison carry Blake. They find a supply closet to stuff Blake in and use his own keys to lock him there.

Madi asks if the telepathy's causing the bleeding, and offers Geri could stop if it would help. Geri doesn't think that's the problem since it's never been a problem before. She doesn't know what's causing it.

AJ puts on a baseball cap from his bag and laments that they don't have time to search the place for all the important information. He's also afraid Geri's father's going to pop out of nowhere at any moment and fuck them over like Camille.

Geri leads the way to the basement entrance from memory, but she's getting woozy and off-balance in her gait. The walk is tense but ultimately uneventful - they manage to be stealthy enough to avoid the guards.

They make it to a dead-end hallway with a metal door with no windows with a camera trained on it and a keypad.

AJ notices and informs the others that further ahead there's motion sensors down the hall towards the door, painted to look like the wall.

Madison makes quick work of the electronic security obstacles. She warns the others to keep pace with her as she passes through the hall since she can only control so many at a time.

Zuse gives an unasked-for soundtrack to their adventurous break-in because he's either started singing to the radio or gotten a song stuck in his head and decided to share. In any case, the cohort make their approach to "I Wanna Be Sedated" by The Ramones.

When they reach the end of the hall, Madison's electrokinesis swells from just a little manipulative power to something that rivals her moment in the ward - LED lights in her vicinity glow for a moment as she powers up, and sparks crackle across her exposed skin as she spoofs the keypad.

The door opens and the stairs to the basement look like part of a different building entirely - something ancient, stone, deeply creepy, and very dark. AJ has to psych himself up to go down because the basement is waving every red flag possible to him. He jokes weakly about horror video game protags having it way worse.

When they step into it, Geri instantly begins to feel better - her migraine's gone, at least, and some of the damage can start to heal. The bleeding's stopped so she can finally clean herself.

Madi asks, not fully serious, if Geri's dad murders his wives and buries their bodies in the creepy cult church basement. It gets a little awkward when Geri admits her mother died when she was very young.

They wander the dimly lit labyrinth below for about an hour. Geri slowly gets less woozy and leads them according to her dream. They occasionally hear echoed whispers or footsteps that are difficult to pinpoint.

But then, they find it. The room entrance is marked with a crimson curtain - like symbolic blood. The room's round with a very high-vaulted ceiling and eerie light coming down on the stone altar in the center of the room. There are stone statues staring toward the altar as well. Geri's creeped out because she recognizes them as former church Elders.

There are three men in black robes with guns strapped to their waist playing cards at a side table. Another man in tighter-fitting dark clothes like a stereotypical cat burglar sits on the edge of the altar. Cassidy, still in white robes, appears to be unconscious on the altar.

One of the robed figures tells Derek, the cat-burglar figure, it's sacrilegious to sit on the altar. Derek threatens him and spits on the floor.

No one notices the cohort right away, so they stick to the shadows and take a moment to coordinate their movements in the mindcraft. AJ says they can use the gadget he gave Madison, just get the cultists in the dark first.

Madison, when she sees Cassidy, very nearly breaks with the plan to run to her. AJ has to tell the sparky girl to hang back behind him and Geri physically holds her back, earning a zap.

Madison is paused long enough to accept the directions and go along with the plan, so long as the gadget won't hurt Cass, which AJ assures it won't. He gives her a code word when to activate it and Madi crouches into position. She takes a rod device out of her purse that looks not unlike a mix between an old sci-fi prop and a magical girl scepter with wires and LED lights. It has googly eyes as an added touch.

AJ puts his hand on Geri's shoulder and instructs her to pretend her hands are tied behind her back. They approach the cultists, with AJ taking on a mousey, subservient persona when he addresses his "boss," Derek. Geri pretends to struggle in his grip. She has her Lash active, so little wisps of energy circle her.

Before Derek realizes why a guard is supposedly there, he unleashes a blast of pure dread on AJ for the crime of... being one of his subordinates and daring to make him do work when he was clearly slacking off.

AJ manages to barely stammer out an explanation that he caught Geri trying to break in and he thought the Head of Security should know.

Derek targets Geri then with his brain blast of dread. Geri resists it easier and gives Derek a murderous stare.

AJ warns Geri can do something with the lights. Derek reacts with mild curiosity and dark interest. In a flash, he's by her side, swiping a finger of blood off her cheek, then tastes it. He says it won't matter down here. He looks like he's about to do something awful to them.

Madi asks over the mindcraft if AJ just needs the light to go out, cuz that's kind of her thing. AJ does indeed want her to do it now please and thanks and hadn't considered this option - instead opting for the 'trick villain to turn off the lights' route. Geri's meanwhile internally threatening to light Derek on fire.

AJ puts his shades on and says a line with the code word. Madison cuts the lights by blowing up the bulb with electrokinesis. She emerges from her hiding spot, lit only by the sparks. She begins to say a Hail Mary in Latin, as a threat, and activates the wand. It emits a blinding light. The robed cultists scream from pain. Derek stumbles back and calls Madi a fucking bitch.

But in another moment, he's transforming - his eyes shrivel out of his head and ears grow pointier, his nose and other facial features become more bat-like. He screams how superior he is, how he needs nothing but his faith.

Madison rushes towards Cassidy to guard her. Geri makes good on her threat to light the asshole on fire. AJ sticks to the shadows, hoping to not be noticed in the commotion when there are some way more feisty Remade present, and makes his way to the altar.

Derek screams in pain and orders the cultists to kill the cohort. He transforms again into a stone-like substance and rips off his still-burning shirt.

Madison throws some Catholic vs. Protestant snark and taunts in for good measure and yells about Derek literally turning into a demon. She is, meanwhile, blasting arcs of electricity at the other cultists.

In the heat of the fight, AJ's reached Cassidy and politely asks Geri, acknowledging he sees she's busy, if she could maybe add Cass to the mindcraft. Which is met with a resounding 'not the fucking time' as Geri and Madison toss more combustible psychic energy and lightning bolts across the room.

It's Madison's turn to bleed profusely from her face as her Lash takes its toll on her body.

AJ assures Cass has nothing strapping her down or otherwise binding her and then takes one of his Smokey-bois out of his backpack. Version 2.0 is an actual RC car and it, too, has googly eyes. He races it toward Derek and uses his shirt from earlier to make a makeshift mask for Cass' mouth and nose. He warns the other two over the mindcraft. He scoops Cass up and gets ready to book it.

Derek's having a hard time going toe-to-toe in such a chaotic, confined space. He tries to dodge but even with his super speed, Madi's lightning bolt catching him in the shoulder blasts him so hard into the stone wall it leaves a crater.

Madi tells the others to run with Cass so she can drop a storm on them.

Geri sets the last cultist on fire with a lucky shot thrown behind her as a parting gift. She and AJ run down the halls together.

Madi begins to say more of the Lord's Prayer as she starts up her thunderstorm indoors, adding a semi taunt about needing protection from the obvious demon.

There's some back and forth Catholic vs. Protestant fightin' words, including calling Madison a witch. Madison slows him down by throwing more lightning at him to keep him in place. The storm's still gaining strength.

He tries to adapt to the electricity damage, and all of a sudden he's overwhelmed with smoke and has to adapt to that. He yells until his mouth is sealed.

The last she can tell, wind and the smell of burned flesh flow out of the ritual room. Derek's changing again, slowed down, but not stopped.

Geri finally has a moment to link Cassidy in like AJ had asked as they run through the halls. She announces she plans on checking if she knows where Madi and Cass's friend Jake is, and AJ makes a snarky comment about the unconscious girl and Geri caring about consent.

Geri glares at AJ, but moments later tells him she knows where the prisoners are kept. She sends mental pictures across the mindcraft so they can all locate it. Madi warns them they need to hurry.

The trip takes much less time on the way back, but still far too long for comfort, especially now that they're a lot more worn out. They reach the cell block, a series of little rooms with metal doors that have observation slats. They're plain and dank and stone with only a cot each, like Geri's dream.

In one of the cells, the only sign of Jake is a single shoe of his favorite pair of Nikes.

Geri looks in another of the cells and tells the others to not look in it and doesn't elaborate. There's a dead body that had been left in there.

AJ looks at the shoe, really looks at it, and nearly drops Cassidy from falling into a fugue state. His eyes go milky white. He stumbles backward when he snaps out of it a moment later and Madison catches both him and Cassidy.

AJ apologizes and says they all have to go. Now. Madi asks if Jake's alive... and AJ says he's not here, and repeats that they all have to leave.

Madi tells them both to Run and they all do, as fast as they can. Geri begins bleeding from her face again as soon as they exit the basement and doesn't stop until they get to the parking lot.

They rush to the van and Robert's there. He yells for them to hurry up, they're just waiting on Zuse.

AJ, understandably, yells back asking where Zuse is as the trio jump in. Geri shouts in the mindcraft for Zuse to hurry up. Zuse hollers back in a sing-song tone he's on his way.

Just then, something's approaching the van, having turned a corner around the megachurch building. It's not quite human-shaped, much more rectangular, but not moving like a car, either. It's more of a fast waddle.

As it gets closer, the unidentified waddling object shouts at them that it borrowed something from the gift shop. It becomes clear that it's an ATM machine. An ATM machine with a Zuse head, Zuse arms, and Zuse scrawny legs sticking out of it.

The trio just stares, mouths agape. AJ almost drops Cassidy. After everything that happened tonight, this is what finally breaks them.

And then, none of them think it can get worse, but oh how it can.

Zuse decides the one and only way to share his bounty is to pelvic thrust at the open van door and eject all of the money through the cash dispenser wildly into the van, coating the floor and everything else in bills. Despite the gesture, the money is just money.

Geri's exhausted stare begins moving through several stages of grief in quick succession into blank, broken acceptance. AJ swears he's not touching the jizz money. He refuses.

Madison starts rambling about how she must have died in the serial killer basement and this is a death hallucination. She pulls out her phone and starts typing an email to one of her beloved teachers at her old Catholic school, about how he was super right, demons are very real, and he was also right about Protestants. She also asks her memorial not be held with the crazy megachurch if she dies.

Once Zuse is done, he unmerges naked out of the ATM, leaving it in the middle of the parking lot, and jumps in the van, flopping on the floor. It takes a moment before the van absorbs him. But once he's absorbed, the doors slam shut, the van peels out, and the radio starts blaring Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now."

Madison is making short work of technological evidence. She overloads and melts her own phone after sending that last message, then Blake's. She also desperately checks Cassidy over.

AJ eventually relents and begins collecting the scattered jizz money, but not without dramatically muttering basically how much he hates everyone and everything right now and he's far over-educated for this.

Geri helps AJ collect the money and quietly tells Madison that the church removed Cassidy's memories. That they may have looked for specific ones, but she's missing whole chunks now.

Madi asks Geri, almost pleading, if she can fix it. She doesn't know.

AJ doesn't know if it should be fixed, maybe she's better off not remembering some things. Maybe she'd appreciate ignorance more.

Madi asks, horrified, what if they stole all Cass's good memories?! She's also concerned about Cass's hibernation-like state.

Geri promises to check again after she's had rest. She's still covered in a lot of her own blood, and once AJ has enough of a handle on the money collecting, she curls up on one of the van benches, hoping to sleep soon.

AJ says he isn't sure the church took all their info from Cassidy. He asks Madi who tipped her off about the connection between Charismatic Virtues and Cassica Hall? Who told her the church had Cass?

Only one name comes to her mind. The one they didn't find there - Jake.

AJ gives Madi a sympathetic and solemn look, like he doesn't want to be the one who has to give her bad news or make her upset. He silently collects more bills.

Madi asks what he saw down in the cells. AJ explains he saw Jake, in Agatha's office. He saw them discussing a trap to lure Madi to her, while drinking wine.

Geri tries to see the bright side, that they rescued Cassidy even if it was a trap.

Madison breaks down crying. Jake was another childhood friend and Cassidy's boyfriend. She doesn't understand why he'd do such a thing.

Geri lists a couple possible reasons. Power. Safety. Neither offer comfort.

AJ explains further that Jake does love Cass. He lured Madi in exchange for Cass's freedom. AJ adds that Jake looked like he will be satisfied to learn the cohort escaped, too. See, the discussion he saw, they'd been talking about the successful escape like it had already happened, but at the time, the cohort were still at the cells.

Geri asks if the cult was at least mad, and AJ says Agatha won't be happy the cohort escaped, but will be happy to get to keep Jake. Which AJ is fine with, he thinks they deserve each other.

Madi asks Zuse, desperately, for advise on how to fix Cassidy. Zuse can't tell much about her current state - while being the van, but thinks at least some of it may be related to repeated episodes of memory theft. He can't say for certain.

Madi wants to know how to put the memories back, and Zuse really doesn't know, but suggests, in a tone suggesting it's time for SCIENCE!, that they should get the one who took the memories in the first place.

Madi says they just fled from the ones that stole them, to which Zuse replies that that narrows it down.

Madison isn't in the mood for anything in the same zip code as possible snark, so she zaps the van door with her sparking hand. It... doesn't have the effect she wants. The radio momentarily scrambles and Zuse makes something akin to a knockoff Pillsbury Dough Boy noise. Madison complains that wasn't what it was supposed to do and Zuse says she can't know without a little experimentation.

Geri pipes up that it was Serena; she saw her steal memories.

AJ asks if that means Serena's next on the list, and Madi agrees because they gotta find her and make her undo what she did.

Madi curls up on the van bench with Cassidy and Geri, wiping away tears. The rest of the ride back is silent, other than the radio.

[Music Outro: "Time Will Fail Us" by Troigo]

Thanks for listening, This has been Gather ‘Round The Trashfires with Bek Andrew Evans. Please subscribe to this podcast for future updates and leave a review or comment, I’d love to hear what you think. You can follow me on a few different social platforms with the username "bekandrew." That's [spells username] on tumblr and bluesky, mainly.

If you'd like to support me, subscribe to my Patreon at Patreon.com/BekAndrewTTRPG and purchase my art prints and tabletop products, including my Deviant: the Renegades community content novella related to this chronicle via my linktree in the description.

AJ is played by Roen,

Geri is played by me,

Madison is played by Syn,

Robert is played by Pandito,

And our Storyteller is Casey Grant.

The intro theme is "_violence by Avantist" from the Free Music Archive, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0.

The end theme is "Time Will Fail Us" by Troigo from the Free Music Archive, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0.

If you like the songs, I encourage you to check out more of their work. I've linked their Bandcamps in the description.

Until next time.

Follow my Patreon at Patreon.com/BekAndrewTTRPG Check out my other work at linktr.ee/bekandrew Check out the Intro and Outro artists' Bandcamps! https://theavantist.bandcamp.com/music https://troigo.bandcamp.com/ Remember to subscribe and see y'all next week!
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