Part 95: Blackwell Epiphany - Update 18 (Part 2)

Heather Goffstein



Tanya floats towards her old house in confusion.

I used to live here. Back when I was...

She stops and glares at Joey.

Why did you bring me here? Whatever you brought me here for, get on with it!



Funnily enough, right at this time, Rosa receives an email from Jim, who threatens her in an attempt to have her leave him alone. Looks like we can add another restraining order to the list!



Alright, that's enough stalling. Let's do this.

There's nobody here I want to see. I assure you.
Even still. I just need you to follow me. Then we can forget about this whole thing.
*sigh* Fine.



Joey floats inside Heather's yard, with Tanya in tow.

Hey. Heather?
Hey. Who's your friend?
...

Tanya floats towards Heather in horror.

What is THIS??



She angrily demands an explanation from Heather, who is confused by the question.

Heather Goffstein. Who are you?
No. No no no no no.

Tanya looks away in misery.

This is insane. I'm going insane.
Um. Sorry?

At Heather's voice, Tanya turns back furiously towards Heather.

You shouldn't be here. You shouldn't exist!
What's your problem?
My problem? My problem is that I hate you.
Hate me? You don't even know me!

Tanya floats in close to Heather.



You can't get rid of me that easily.
No kidding. For twenty years I was free of you. And now you come breezing back!
Breezing back? From where?

Geez, there are some fairly strong emotions flying around here. Joey's just trying to stay out of it, but has no such luck.

First Jim wanted a promotion. And now this idiot here wants... I don't know what!

Joey can ask to be left out of it:

Hey, leave me out of this.

But, at the same time, both Heather and Tanya snap at him:

YOU STAY RIGHT THERE!

Joey can say he doesn't want anything:

I don't want anything.
That's bull!

Or he can offer to just leave

Um. Maybe I should just leave you two to talk.
YOU STAY RIGHT THERE!



Suddenly noticing that they both just spoke in unison, Tanya and Heather face one another.

You be quiet!
Hey!
Stop that!

Joey floats up to them.

Look at each other. You're the same person. Give or take twenty years.
I don't understand.
I... don't think I want to.

Looks like their emotions are at a peak. It's time to go in for the kill.

Tanya. What happened when you got Jim's note?
What note?
It's too late to deny it.
Nothing happened! I just wanted to forget!
Forget what?
Forget you! Forget this whole life I left behind!

That gets Heather's hackles up.



All this. This life. It's a part of who you were. Who you become.
Will I... ever be free of you?
Do you really want to be? I'm not a bad person. I'm just... kinda lost. I know I'll find my way eventually.
Isn't that the important thing?
...
Well? Isn't it?
...

Tanya seems to be coming around to Heather's point of view, slowly.



You're really beautiful now.

Tanya looks back at Heather.



Finally accepting the ghosts of her past (literally!), Tanya's spirit merges with Heather's. Immediately, the change in the tone of her voice is noticable.

You okay?
Okay? I haven't felt this good in years! It's like a... an espresso and a colonic all at once!
Speaking of which, you can take your blackmail threat and shove it.

Hahahaha, she's feeling feisty, all right She continues.

And I'm going to tell Jim the same thing. Maybe it will end my career. Or maybe it will give me a book deal. Either way, I'm tired of hiding.
Tanya, listen...
No. I'm not Tanya anymore. Tanya died.
She...
...

Suddenly, it dawns on her what she just said.

She what?
She... I... We...



And there it is. Tanya, or Heather, or whoever - both, I guess - are aware. I suppose, since she said herself that "Tanya died", we'll go with Heather from now on. So, Heather is aware.

...took three valium with a vodka chaser... That's all I remember. You're not really a blackmailer, are you?
No. I'm not.
I'm... I'm dead?
I'm sorry.

Just like Peter, Heather's recognition of her death is met with almost immediate nausea.

I... Ugh.
If I'm dead, why do I feel sick to my stomach?



This time, Joey is more prepared.

What?
Just do it!

Heather grabs the totem, and is teleported away, presumably back to the circle.

That was... interesting.
Did it work?
Only one way to find out.

Michael Cooper



Joey and Rosa quickly hightail it back to Grace school, where Michael is hanging out in his circle along with Peter and Heather.

You're taking it much better than I did. Can't you feel it? Like something is trying to pull you apart?
I've been pushed and pulled too often this evening for me to notice.

Rosa walks up to Madeline.

Madeline. Have you had time to examine them?
I think... yes.

She seems a bit distracted here. Rosa notices it straight away.

Madeline?
Yes. Apologies. I believe I have all the information I need.

Murderer on the Loose



Madeline moves towards the circle, and it immediately dies away, to Michael's obvious concern.

Madeline?
Ugh. I... really don't feel so good.
This... can't be right. Michael? What's going on?
Madeline?

Holy shit, what's going on here?!



Madeline glares with malice at Michael, and the spirits of Peter and Heather are horribly torn apart Their terrible duet of anguished screaming fills the air even after their spirits dissipate. Rosa covers her eyes in horror, while Michael looks frantically around him self in unbridled fear.

I... Madeline? What just happened?

I don't believe this is happening.



Madeline glimmers and shines as what appears to be an influx of energy flows through her. She then turns her attention towards Michael, who shakily whips out his pistol. Joey yells out at her, and she is quick to respond.

You. Mallone. Stay BACK. You as well, Blackwell. I have absorbed enough energy to burn that precious body of yours to a cinder.
Why! Why do this?



Madeline then raises her fist in the air, and Michael finds himself putting his gun away, before he starts to float off the ground.

W-what?
It is said that every soul has a predestined fate, or destiny. And the goal of every soul is to find it. But it is also said that the joy comes from the journey, not the destination.

Oh Jesus.



Madeline shoves Michael through the air as she continues her sermon, still as proper as ever, but with uninhibited malice in her voice. I never, ever saw this coming.

Without the epiphanies that were pushed into your brains as if by magic? Maybe you would have all found your way. Maybe not. But you skipped the journey. Went right to the destination. It made your souls happy, for certain, but it also made them weak. Pliable. Controllable. By someone like me. And now if you'll excuse me, I am still very hungry.

Oh God.



Madeline then uses her powers to snap Michael's neck, wrench his ghost from his deposited corpse, and rip it straight in half, once again seeming to take in the influx of energy That's all of them now. That's every member of the Grace Group, destroyed soul and all. Fucking hell, this has all gone to shit.

You. This whole time. It was you?
Indirectly. I knew these souls existed. I just needed to collect them. I could not collect my host until last, because my existence here was tied to him. As for Fielding and Goffstein... they were sleeping spirits. They needed to be awakened - something only you could do. So. Thank you for that.

You have got to be kidding me. I can't believe this.

"Collect"? What do you mean by that?
Perhaps that word is not sufficient. Possibly... consume? Ingest? Absorb? I took their energy as part of my own.



Joey is obviously incensed about what has happened here, but Madeline has anger of her own to fire back with.

Free? You, of all souls, tells me that I'm free? I am dead. For centuries I have been dead. I was a good spirit guide. I did my duty. And yet, did I ever move on? Did I receive any reward? No. I was passed on from host to host. Saving spirit after spirit.
It... became tiresome.



Oh geez. Looks like she's still pissed at Jocelyn.

Until you brought me out.
Yeah. Well. We all make mistakes.
But I was still not free. To fully free myself, I needed power. Energy.
These souls - these poor misguided souls - were the nearest source I could find.

Rosa looks on at Michael's lifeless body, horrified.

You need to fix this.
Fix this?
Yes. You can still make this right. Just undo it. Please. Bring them back. I'll bring them through the light and we'll... just pretend this never happened.

I'm not sure that's possible, Rosa

I am sorry. I have not come this far to turn back now.



Allow me to demonstrate.

Oh fuck. This is not good. This is not good at all.



Madeline drags Rosa off the ground, just as she did with Michael, and erects the circle of protection to keep Joey out. Then she dematerialises and is absorbed into Rosa's body. This is turning into a bigger and bigger disaster by the second

The circle dims, and Rosa crumples to the floor. Joey floats over to her in massive concern.

Red? You okay?

Blackwell Lament



Rosa immediately stands up, but it doesn't sound like Rosa anymore...

I wondered if I would have to relearn how to breathe. Or walk. But it all comes quite naturally.
Like putting on a tailored glove.

Oh, no. No, no, no. This is terrible, just terrible. Madeline has possessed Rosa. Joey can respond in three ways - he can growl out Madeline's name:

Madeline.
Hello, Mallone. Seeing you with these eyes is... different. Of course, it might be these spectacles. Cumbersome things.
I'll show you cumbersome. How about a punch in the face?

He can shake his head in disbelief:

No...
Come now, Mallone. Surely this is a positive development? If I managed to achieve this, so could you.
All you achieved was making an enemy for life.

Or, he can try to deny reality:

This... isn't happening.
You have spent the last three nights ensuring that it did. Denying it won't solve anything.
No. It won't.
But since I can't punch you, it's all I got.

Whichever way Joey goes, Madeline responds in her now-infuriatingly proper way.

Mallone. There is no need for this hostility.
No need? You lied to us from day one!
I apologize for the ruse. I admit I have not been completely forthcoming.
No kidding.
Come now, Mallone. Nothing has changed. I won't shirk the duty. I have no choice.



Oh, I don't think so, and neither does Joey.

Like hell.
Sadly, you have no choice.

Awfully, she's right. Joey is tied to Madeline now. He really does have to go along with her, though he can refuse to cooperate.

I'm going to fix this.
I'm afraid it's too late for that.
I work with Red. Not you.
You can think of me as her, if it will help.



He tries to reach Rosa, hoping a part of her still remains behind Madeline's influence.

She cannot. If her predecessors could not win against me, then she has no hope. Not with the power I now possess.
... Predecessors? What are you talking about?

Wait. No, she doesn't mean what I think she means, does she?

This is not the first time I have attempted this. In the void, I could only reach certain minds. The minds of other bestowers.
... Other Bestowers? You means...
The other Blackwell women. Yes. But I was too weak. And so were they. I could only control their minds for a few minutes before they... broke.
...

Oh, my God. No.



Joey growls this line out with a perfect mixture of fear and utter contempt.

I did not expect that would happen. But some good did come of it.
I eventually learned the proper approach. And finally, I have succeeded.

Joey turns away from Madeline, besides himself with anger, grief and despair.

You're insane. I mean it, Madeline. A stark raving lunatic.
Do you have any idea what you've done?
You dare condemn me, little ghost? Allow a few centuries to pass. Wait until you've been left abandoned in the dark. Adrift. Terrified. Then you can pass judgement. But until then, I must get to the business of living.

With that, she starts to leave Grace school.



Joey yells at her to stay, but she just ignores him and walks outside.



Awfully, as Joey screams after her, the bond that now exists between them kicks into effect, and Joey is dragged out the church.

Do try and keep up.

Without a care for Joey's protests, Madeline happily continues to walk down the street, with Joey dragged behind her. I know I've said it several times already this update - but this whole situation is awful, really just truly awful.


Betrayal is afoot in Blackwell Epiphany! Madeline has been using us all along to harvest the souls of the Grace Group, and she's now possessed Rosa. Not to mention that she was apparently responsible for Patricia and Lauren going insane all those years ago. Things are set to get very bad for us now. Join me tomorrow to see where this amazing development leads!

Also, since I did just do a video for the Goldfarb scene - this scene deserves a video as well. I strongly recommend you watch it, it's one of the best scenes in the entire series.

http://www.polsy.org.uk/play/yt/?vu...v%3DOrF_hiUgWkA





So it seems that Madeline played us for a sucker all along. But how long has she been planning this?

Back in Convergence, she told us things that we've since learned don't make sense. Why would she tell us that she was Jocelyn's spirit guide for thirty years? She clearly wasn't. For that matter, why would she claim that Jocelyn had loved it? Was she simply lying all along?

Madeline was lying all along...?

Well, kind of. This is something of a retcon. Actually, truth be told - Gilbert kind of forgot about the whole "guide for thirty years, Jocelyn loved saving ghosts" thing. It's not clear whether he changed it midway through, or just forgot about his plans when writing Convergence, but he didn't realise there was any discrepency until I pointed it out to him.

With that in mind, his subsequent explanation seems as good as any - Madeline was lying all long, presumably to gain Rosa's trust. There's something intrinsically attractive and trustworthy about the idea of a guide who looked after her host for thirty years. It immediately gives a sense of a motherly, caring figure who develops strong relationships with integrity and commitment. On the other hand, two strained months which led to your host banishing you to eternal nothingness doesn't exactly fill you with confidence.

Of course, all of this is just filling in the gaps in what has been a very tight story for the most part, but which had a bit of a plot hole here. Gilbert says: "Oops. Honestly, I could come up with a clever explanation, but I will err on the side of honesty and say that was a mistake! Let's just say Madeline was lying to gain their trust, since that is probably close to the truth."

I'll forgive Gilbert the one plot hole, because honestly, the Madeline betrayal scene was awesomely done, and it really caught me by surprise. We're now heading into the final few days of Epiphany, and they're going to be doozies. Don't miss tomorrow's update!