Monster or Mortal
Chapter 3"You have a superpower? You're both fucking with me, right?"
All things considered, Steph's reaction to Alex and Ryan telling her about Alex's emotional powers is relatively understated.
That said, Steph does get on board, especially when she realizes how exactly Alex knew that foosball would cheer her up on the day of Gabe's wake, and the three discuss the plan - find out what Diane knows about Typhon (noting that if Alex didn't help Mac last episode, he has indeed skipped town). Alex then has to get back to work at the Black Lantern, cleaning everything up and potentially helping customers with her power,; she can meet up with Charlotte, an unusually melancholy Duckie, and Eleanor - notably, if Alex hid the truth about Gabe's death from Eleanor, Alex's powers reveal that Riley found out about her Alzheimer's (if she didn't, she's still worried about being a burden on her).
After cleaning some dirty dishes, Alex notices that Diane has walked into the Lantern and walks back to Steph and Ryan, hoping that they've been able to come up with a plan to get her laptop, which they assume has the data they need about Typhon. The good news is that each of them has come up with a plan! The bad news is that Steph's plan is essentially to go up to Diane and flirt with her, and while Diane is Distracted by the Sexy, Ryan runs up and steals her laptop. The worse news is that Ryan's plan is the exact same plan, with the distraction and the thief reversed. They argue about the choice of plan, and Alex is the tiebreaker: who is the hotter distraction, Steph or Ryan?
No matter the answer (and the somewhat saddened non-distraction), Alex decides to go up to Diane and see if Diane even has anything currently worth stealing. After handing her her usual, Alex sits across from her and tries to provoke her emotions, either her sorrow for Gabe's death or her anger at having to cover for Typhon. Alex can then talk about several background objects in the area to provoke her more and more, until Diane begins to (visibly to both Alex and the player) display sadness or anger. Reading her feelings then reveals that Diane had warned Typhon about the possible impact of the detonation, and, more importantly, that Diane has stored all the evidence that she can use against Typhon if they try to scapegoat her for Gabe's death in a USB flash drive, currently sticking out of a pocket in Diane's open briefcase.
Now knowing what has to be stolen, Alex discreetly texts the choice of distraction to spring the trap. As Steph or Ryan flirt with Diane (in Steph's case, seemingly awakening Diane's inner woman-lover to hilarious results), Alex reaches over and takes the flash drive, both of them quickly leaving as a somewhat nonplussed Diane returns to her work.
Back upstairs in Alex's apartment, the three can barely conceal their hilarity at the events that have just occurred, and the success of their plan. Unfortunately, when they try to access the flash drive, it turns out to be password-protected; fortunately, Ryan believes that Riley, as Haven Springs's computer whiz, shouldn't have too much of a problem gaining access, even if she will need some time to crack it. In the meantime, though, there is a much more pressing matter: remember the LARP Steph planned for Ethan? That's today! Alex roams around her apartment looking for her guitar and bard hat (if Alex did not fill out the character sheet last episode, the choices are randomized and written on a note on her desk). On finding them, as well as some of Gabe's stuff (including, if you told Gabe the truth about your powers, a matchbook with a single matchstick), Alex leaves the Black Lantern to serve as the trusty bard companion to the monster slayer Thaynor.
Said monster slayer is somewhat morosely standing on the dock near the lake, clearly not really in the mood to spelunk about the town so soon after Gabe's death. A little encouragement by Alex is enough to get Ethan to at least give it a fair shot, though, and soon Thaynor and his trusty bard are in the court of King Tabor (played in good humor and Large Ham by Jed) who tasks the two with finding the three Soul Jewels to save the kingdom. It seems the entire town has been drafted into the LARP, with several townspeople involved – Duckie plays a gnome who was the sole survivor of a massacre in the tavern (and is taking the opportunity to partake of the Black Lantern's spare drinks); Ryan plays several enemies, including a wolf, a serpent, and a troll; Charlotte plays the forest spirit Notheria who will revive Thaynor and party if you fall in battle; and Steph herself has converted the record store into a Magic Shop with herself as its witch proprietress. Alex can also make a short detour to check with Riley, who is at work on the flash drive – if she found out about Eleanor's condition, she is revealed to have withdrawn her college application to stay with her; if not, she is excited to go to college but worried about how Eleanor will manage without her.
After the three Soul Jewels are collected, Notheria (to Ethan's surprise if you haven't died throughout the game) will meet the party, declaring that the forest deems Thaynor worthy of a great treasure: an accurate replica of the legendary Skysword. Ethan's joy is unparalleled on seeing it; Alex taps into it and marvels at seeing themselves how Ethan sees Thaynor and his bard, as the two celebrate Thaynor's acquisition of his legendary blade. The fun continues as King Tabor reveals himself to be the villain (as selected last episode, randomized if not), and Thaynor and party have an exciting boss fight against him, complete with Art Shift making the game look like an RPG. Ethan cannot believe that he has faced off against (and probably defeated) one of his greatest villains...
...only for the warning siren from the mines to blare, the same siren which played before Gabe's death, taking away Ethan's joy and immediately triggering memories of that terrible night. Ethan's terror and sorrow reveal that he blames himself for Gabe's death, and Alex can do little but hold him and tell him it wasn't his fault as Charlotte watches from afar.
Following the end of the LARP, Alex goes to the dispensary to speak to Charlotte, who is in the backroom working on a large sculpture. Charlotte thanks Alex for her work during the LARP and her support for Ethan, who has just been picked up by his father, and tells her he really looks up to her. Charlotte does seem somewhat out of it, however, and when Alex asks if she is fine she explodes in anger, a red aura surrounding her, and refuses to talk to Alex further. To help her, Alex taps into her anger, where she learns that her grief and rage at Gabe's death has led Charlotte to search for someone to blame: she blames Gabe for making her love him so much that she cannot cope with his death, she blames Ryan for being unable to save Gabe, she even blames Alex for her life having turned upside down since she came to Haven Springs. But most of all, to her own horror, she blames (and feels like she is starting to hate) Ethan – if Ethan had just stayed home, Gabe would have been alive.
Alex, overwhelmed by Charlotte's grief and rage, realises, at that moment, that she can take Charlotte's anger away with her powers, but is doubtful about whether she should do so or what its consequences would be. The player has to choose: do you take Charlotte's anger away, or leave her alone? Taking Charlotte's anger away causes it to be transferred into Alex, with Charlotte being confused as to how she is feeling; in either case, Alex leaves the dispensary and goes home.
Steph and Ryan are waiting for Alex inside with the unlocked flash drive, where they have found a recording of the call Gabe made to Mac asking him to halt the explosion. If Alex took Charlotte's anger, this causes her to lash out, causing Steph and Ryan to storm out of the house, leaving Alex alone to look through the drive; if not, the three of them investigate the contents together.
An investigation of the flash drive reveals that immediately after Gabe's call, Diane had asked her superior for permission to stop the blast, only for the superior to remind Diane of the importance of "Rhea", causing Diane to proceed with the blast (and subsequently cover it up and spy on Mac, indicating Mac was Properly Paranoid). Further investigation reveals that "Rhea" was a plan to use the blast that killed Gabe as cover for another blast, one in their old mine which had collapsed in 2008. A realisation slowly dawns on Alex (and potentially her friends): Typhon weren't mining for anything that night...
They were burying something.
