ALARM IN MY EYES

Blogger is telling me this blog has two followers now, though it only tells me who one of you is.

Uh. Shit. What do I do with two followers.

I mean, the DCA blog's slowly dying as my other works increase in popularity. I could write more DCA, but I dunno. I've been writing on-and-off lately.

I'll figure something out, surely. If it turns out the people want Shade and company, then I suppose it is my sworn duty as servant of the public to provide!

Hang In There, Baby!

Well, the time has come once again for me to make an empty post.

All I can really do in terms of content is recommend OH GOD THE RAPTURE IS BURNING, an epic story of mine that I consider to be the spiritual successor to DCA. It's much darker, though.

I do want to write more DCA. I want to finish Season Eight and let the chao be happy. Y'know, instead of being trapped in indefinite stasis like they are now. I just don't know when I'll get around to it.

"What does Gear Theater have to do with Season Eight?"

I'll figure it out.

Press Release '11

After long consideration and hiatus, I have decided to make some form of DCA-related material again! Specifically, this comes with the release of a hit new blockbuster, a title whose release I had actually already said I'd wait for and make something in DCA about it.


The chao have encountered many cinematic beauties over the years, but now they think they can take the term to a whole new level. Not content with ending the story at its current cliffhanger, the chao are going Back to the Future Part 2 on your ass.


Continuing a sort of alternate history canon, Shade needs to finish the fight by taking it... to the Instability and beyond.


Be on the lookout for Gear Theater, the action-packed sequel to Gears n' Roses. Formerly "Guns of War," I'm restarting it from the ground up, and this time.. I'm doing two games, not just one. That's right. I can double that offer. Call now, and you'll get not just Gears of War 2, but Gears of War 3 thrown in as well.


Dark Chao Adventures 2011 Edition: Gear Theater
The newest epic from DJay32

A Wild Follower Appeared! DJay Used Stutter!

ohgodohgod follower

HELLO THERE.

Um.

..oh deary, I honestly have no idea how I'm supposed to act. Especially since I haven't exactly touched DCA in a very long time. ^^;;

..do... do you have suggestions or questions or anything, Miss(ter) Reader? c:

After doing a bit of reading..

I'm probably gonna get busy working on Dark Chao Adventures soon.

Sunshine. DCA801. Finally.

Dark: Isn't this where we came in? In an empty notepad?
Shade: ..holy crap. Dark's right. We're in an empty notepad. DJay's starting a new episode or something?
Dalek1: ACTUALLY.. HE IS STARTING A NEW SEASON.
[the Protagonists stare, wide-eyed, at the head Dalek]
Red: Seriously? A new season?
Dalek1: SERIOUSLY. A NEW SEASON.
Mp: Man, wait.. so.. what.. WHAT. What is going on?!
Red: *sigh* Kay, let's try and explain this.


nur8et rejgnsihshsh
gignihs
LAST TIME
ON
DCA

Welcome to the machine, Protagonists.
SHADOW- The New Main Protagonist? Trying to get seven green chaos drives so he can somehow stop the Veteran's Committee.
SHADE- The Old Main Protagonist? Dark/Swim chao. He's already saved the world, probably. Now he's Shadow's mentor.
RED- The Brains? Started off as a trickster, evolved into a strictly brains guy. Interested in the meta-show.
DARK- The Emotional Support? We're really not all too sure what Dark does. He's just there. Naive, sometimes brilliant.
WHITE- The Soldier? Adrian Ruthford, codename "Jack White." Rebel chao. Don't ask. Loyal as hell.
MECHA KNUCKLES- The Brawns? Created by Doctor Eggman but quickly scrapped. Just wants something to do. Lost without his boss.
THE TAILS DOLL- The Curse? Created by Doctor Eggman, quickly scrapped. Demonic? Wants something to do. Insecure, hides it.
MEPHILES- The Reluctant Hero? Claimed to be a one-shot, wants something to do. Demonic. Kinda new around these parts.
FUTURE SHADE- The Veteran? Shade, but thirty years older. He's the old guy who doesn't want the show to end, either.

Enjoy the show, villains.
THE VETERAN'S COMMITTEE- The New Main Antagonists? Twelve (formerly twelve?) characters with motives to end the show.
) DOCTOR EGGMAN- New to the Committee. Benevolent to the Protagonists.
) LEVITY NITE- Stereotypical cloaked figure. Ambiguous.
) ???- The head honcho. We know he's there. We just don't know who he is.
(Anyone else is unknown.)
THE BETA AVENGERS- The Old Main Antagonists? Context sensitive. Overall, an assembly of once-unused ideas. Returned.
) MILKMAN- Shawn the Dark, Shade's father. Usually benevolent. ..changed?
) JOE- Identity constantly changes. Either Cham, Metal Speedy, or Echo. Usually malevolent.
) ECHO- Cryptic and ancient chao beast. Usually ambiguous.
) TAGLIARE- The Boring One. Essentially a Sonic fancharacter.
) METAL SPEEDY- Thrown in jail. Rather devious mastermind. Cyber chao. Don't ask.
(Prolly more.)

Apollo I: The Writing Writer.
DJAY32- Jordan, Narrator, supposedly "Ulysses." Wrote DCA. It is now his way of escaping reality.

To make the plot as simple as possible, I want to end DCA. I think it might just help me be able to move on from.. things.
Yes, "things." Don't ask. But of course, the Protagonists don't want the show to end! So Shadow and I, we talked things
through. If he wants to save the show, he has to...
1: Stop the Veteran's Committee.
2: Stop the Beta Avengers.
3: Get the seven green chaos drives, for closure on one plot point.
4: Fix all the plot holes in the show, or at least most of them.
5: Convince me not to end the show. This is the hard part.
6: Stop IT, the substance that makes everything, from wiping a clean slate for my next story.

That's the story, morning glory.. now let's see what happens in the eighth season of...


Dark Chao Adventures
Season Eight: The Last Journey
Episode Eighty: Six Degrees of Progressive Darkness, DEGREE ONE: Sunshine (Can You Feel It?)


[the feature presentation begins in the Hero Garden]
[all is silent, all is deserted]
Chapter 1: ...In That Quiet Earth
[Shadow fades in]
[all is silent]
[Shadow's radio crackles; he answers it]
Shadow: Shadow here. I've made it to the Hero Garden.
ShadeRadio: Remember, kid. We'll gladly come with you if you need us.
Shadow: I can do this by myself. Really.
ShadeR: *sigh* ..okay.
[Shadow looks around]
[rustle rustle]
[Shadow looks, but sees nothing]
[he checks out the pool, behind the fountain, but nothing]
[he pulls out his radio]
Shadow: Are you guys sure there's a chaos drive here?
ShadeR: The Daleks say there's one, for sure.
[rustle]
Shadow: ..I'll keep looking. This place is starting to give me the creeps.
[Shadow looks s'more; he climbs a nearby tower and takes a look around from above]
[nothing!]
[Shadow tries his radio again]
Shadow: Shade?
ShadeR: You need our help?
Shadow: Well.. actually, that'd be ni--
ShadeR: WE'RE ON IT!
[Shade, Dark, and Red fade in]
Shade: HEYYYYY
Dark: We're finally gonna do stuff!
Red: So Shadow, what's the problem? You can't find the chaos drive?
Shadow: No, it's nowhere in sight.
Shade: Meh, you're just looking wrong. C'mon, guys. Let's show him how to really look.
[the others look but find nothing]
Red: ..uh, Shade? I think it's really not here.
[the camera takes the point-of-view of something in the skies, spotting Shadow]
Shade: Nonsense, of course it's here. It's gotta be.
[the camera starts flying towards Shadow]
Shadow: But then where would it be?
[it's approaching at an impressive rate]
[Dark spots it and points]
Dark: Maybe he knows?
[the others look; Shadow has no time to duck as it strikes him hard]
[the camera switches back to normal]
[Shadow is on the ground; he looks up and sees Echo, the purple Dark/Fly chao, covered in some dark substance]
Echo: KrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Shade: Echo! You crazy son of a.. YOU have the chaos drive, don't you?
Echo: NFFFFFFFFAAAaAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHH
Red: Shade, he seems to be in pain.
Shade: Yeah, and covered in some dark stuff. I don't trust him.
Echo: RUN. RUN, DAMMIT.
Shade: Oh, he's talking now. Why should we run, freak?
Echo: I'm not your freak, friend. Please.. RUN! The developments..
Shade: Oh, here we go with those "developments" again. Dammit, man. Don't you ever speak English?
Red: Uh.. Shade, maybe we SHOULD run.
Shade: Why? The chaos drive's supposed to be here.
Red: But Echo wouldn't tell us to run unless it was something lik--
Echo: RAAAGH.
[Echo is no longer covered in the substance]
Echo: RUN RUN RUN. RUN RUN RUN.
Shade: I ain't running.
Shadow: Neither am I.
[Shade and Shadow stand together, strong, ready to fight anything that comes their way]
[..except Echo, who charges into Shadow]
[Echo passes through him and runs away]
Shadow: ..wait. What.
Red: He's gone? Shadow, are you okay?
Shadow: fidfjeasf0afjiegsoni. WIwfj. nrwyds. ..d9kfadsvi. fd9as0ref. feijaodsgfjnfgowkdfjk.fidsgsggidsgicv
fd9vjs0kxcirjfeds
affktj09tyjg90ejwdfvf9hn9nh9reht9wdfscx9ahew9dhsf9cahsd9funwe
efdvoaskc,3f9rewude384refdgjv98jr4efjd9icn9jv9j593rhjfhhadw9ch9ivhgtin3rtfevfn gughtujgfnegvot
rfd90jkoiscu389rj8349erdf74re7rer7erer7erer7erer7ere7rere7rere7rer7erer7ere7rere7re7re7re7re7re7re7re7re7re7re7re7re7re7re7re7
rewfd8-jvcj5 chaos drives

9gdfjv
e9jr
9ef
dj
a
y

help

Ulysses is lost at sea.

Ulysses is lost with me.

Ulysses is lost at sea.

Ulysses won't be back for tea.

I guess it's time to write.


Chapter 2: A Nightmare to Remember, movement two, "Beautiful Agony"
[Lying on the table in this unfamiliar place, Shadow is greeted by a stranger...]
[..a man without a face.]
[it is the slender man.]
[He says nothing, yet Shadow understands all.]
["Son, do you remember? Do you even know your name?"]
[Then he shined a branch onto Shadow's forehead.]
["Take this for the pain."]
[Hopelessly drifting, bathing in beautiful agony, Shadow is endlessly falling, lost in this wonderful misery...]
["Tell me, does this hurt you?"]
[the branch merged into Shadow's head]
["Can you move all of your fingers? Can you try your best to stand?"]
[Shadow asks about the others.]
Shadow: Is everyone okay?
["Don't worry."]
[The slender man turns and looks away.]
[In peaceful sedation, Shadow lays half awake.. and all of the panic inside starts to fade.]
[Hopelessly drifting, bathing in beautiful agony.]


Chapter 3: Keeping the Blade
[Shadow wakes up in the Dark Garden, coughing up blood]
[the other protagonists are gathered around him]
Mp: The kid's waking up. Give him some space, guys.
[Shadow tries his best to stand]
Shadow: ..I feel weak.
Shade: Yeah, uh.. turns out Echo did more to you than we first thought, man.
Shadow: What? What'd he do?
Dalek1: HE STOLE YOUR CHAOS DRIVES.
[the Daleks are also here; they decided to set up camp in the Dark Garden so the protagonists can easily reach them]
Shadow: He did WHAT?!
[Shadow stumbles; he is helped up by the others]
Dalek1: WE HAVE MORE PROBLEMS THAN EVEN I ORIGINALLY THOUGHT. NOT ONLY DID HE STEAL THEM, BUT HE IS ATTEMPTING TO GATHER THEM ALL FOR HIS OWN POWERS.
Shadow: But.. so... so I have to get seven chaos drives again?
MK: Hey, don't sweat it, kid! You've got us now! We can easily do this.
Shadow: Bah. Bahbfjiadscejifdcnu. I'm sick of adventuring, guys. Goddammit, I'm sick and tired and I just want to give up.
Dalek2: YOU CANNOT GIVE UP. YOU ARE THE MAIN PROTAGONIST.
Shadow: Fuck you, man. Why have I got to be the main protagonist? What will all this prove?
Red: ...guys, could I speak with him privately for a bit? I think I know what he's getting at.
[Red leads Shadow out of the Dark Garden and into the lobby]
Red: Shadow, I know what you're saying. There doesn't seem to be much point to our lives, does there?
Shadow: Saving the show won't do shit. We'd do more dead, remembered in retrospect, than alive and ignored.
Red: Well, you've got to remember that we aren't real creatures. We're all words on a computer screen. We exist to provide DJay with escapism.
Shadow: Does he really fucking NEED the escapism? His life is improving!
Red: That's what you think. He's been lost. Confused. Stressed and abused.
Shadow: Not recently.
Red: Yes, recently.
Shadow: ..he has other stories.
Red: None of them give him the same feeling as writing DCA. We need him to realize this. With DCA, he has familiar characters who are also blank slates.
Shadow: He's abusing US. This isn't how you treat your chao. You don't keep them locked away in your head, putting empty shells of them in stories.
Red: Shadow, we're dead.
Shadow: We didn't die, though! His brother deleted us. We're trapped in the eternal nothingness of fucking fesjadfsngfd, goddamn philosophy.
Red: For all intents and purposes, we are dead. We don't have feelings anymore.
Shadow: How can you say that?!
Red: I can say it because I am self-aware. We're just DJay's imagination. He seriously needs help. OUR help.
Shadow: He needs far more than OUR help, Red.
Red: But he's not getting that. So we need to do all we can. We need to fix him.
Shadow: He's not seriously thinking of ending DCA, and you know it.
Red: The scary part is, as right as you are, he's close to unintentionally putting it on indefinite hiatus.
Shadow: ...fuck.
Red: The bad guys all know this, no doubt. They want to end the show to mercy-kill it.
Shadow: And what do WE want, then?
Red: We either want a mercy-killing or for at least this grand adventure to end.
Shadow: This journey has become a monster of a story...
Red: Exactly. It's spanning two seasons now; even Echo thinks it has gone on long enough, so he's clearly trying to get the drives, himself.
Shadow: How does this story affect DJay?
Red: He isn't exactly encouraged to work on it when he knows he's got tons of plot points to wrap up.
Shadow: ...oh.. so he's tempted to just shut it down and leave us here.
Red: This is why you can't give up, Shadow.
Shadow: Fucking shit. Fuck fuck fuck fuck shit fuck. This is crazy. Why ME, though? Why's it gotta be me?
Red: You're the newbie. DJay respects that about you, probably. So he's trying to turn you into the epic.. protagonist person.
Shadow: ..oh, alright! I'll do it, I'll go get the freaking chaos drives again.
Red: We're all pissed at this new development, Shadow. Trust me. But we need to work together.
Shadow: ...I'll give it a shot.
Red: That's the spirit.
[they re-enter the Dark Garden]
Chapter 4: Dance on a Volcano
[Shadow lies down on a hill, looking at the dark sky]
Shadow: *sigh* This isn't gonna be easy.
[..suddenly, he spies a shining yellow light nearby]
[it's on top of Dark Mountain, which I just totally made up for this story]
[it's a volcano!]
[Shadow starts heading up the mountain, and holy mother of god, he's got to move faster than THAT to get to the top!]
[it's a dirty old mountain, all covered in smoke!]
[She can turn you to stone, so you'd better start doing it right.]
[on his left and on his right are crosses of green and crosses of blue]
Shadow: Of friends who didn't make it through, I imagine.
[Out of the night and out of the dark.]
Shadow: Into the fire and into the fight.
Shade: Well, that's the way the heroes go! Hohohoh.
[Shadow merely grins at Shade, who pats him on the back]
[Through a crack in mother Earth, blazing hot, the molten rock pills out over the land]
Shade: If we don't want to boil as well, we'd better start to dance.
Shadow: ..do you want to dance with me?
Shade: You'd better start doing it right, then.
[they reach the top of the volcano]
Shade: The music's playing, the note's are right, so put your left foot first and move into the light.
[Shadow puts his left foot first]
Shade: The edge of this hill is the edge of the world, and if we're going to cross, you'd better start doing it right.
Shadow: And so had you.
Shade: Haha, yes. We'd better start doing it right.
[Let the dance begin.]
[FIRE spurts out as Shadow takes a leap onto a rock!]
[Realizing that convection clearly does not exist anymore, Shade follows suit]
[the rock starts to topple and our heroes hop to a nearby rock that seems to be going nowhere]
[the yellow light from above beckons Shadow to a rock just past a random lava waterfall]
Shade: WHY THE HELL IS THERE A LAVA WATERFALL HERE? THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!
Shadow: IT'S A CHALLENGE! It's all a challenge, and it never ends.
Shade: WHAT?
Shadow: NEVER MIND! JUST FOLLOW CLOSELY.
[Shadow pulls out his master protagonist skills and picks up a giant rock somehow]
[he throws the rock into the lavafall, and that splits all the lava]
[Look, don't ask me how any of this works. This is all for your entertainment.]
[the split in the lava allows the protagonists to.. run. On the lava. Past the split.]
[They make it to the yellow light, aaaand it's a chaos drive!]
[CHIRP CHIRP, BRRRING and all that]
[But hang on, Shadow. I need to speak with you.]
Shadow: Oh, and here I thought we almost had a fourth wall going for a second.
Chapter 5: Vacant
[I'm sorry that you have to go through all of this. Really. I empathize with you so much.]
Shadow: Yeah, and you pity me. So why the hell are you putting me through it?
[Well, for one thing, I really can't leave you sitting there indefinitely.]
Shadow: But why'd you even start this crazy journey, why are you making it so hard for me?
[I need to be a good writer.]
Shadow: Oh please. Whether you're a good writer or not, you're making a lot of mistakes already.
[I know. I know, I shouldn't even be having this discussion with you, I shouldn't have made this a work of fanfiction, and I shouldn't throw in so many cheap allegories.]
Shadow: And no one even READS this shit!
[That's no excuse to make it a boring story!]
Shadow: You're really an odd mind, Deej. Why are you so conflicted? Do you care for us, or do you want entertainment?
[I.. I need to finish DCA. I need to at least end this story arc professionally. I can't just throw in "They won, the end" and call it a day. That's crummy.]
Shadow: But DAMMIT, man! Screw professionalism! Try cutting me some fucking SLACK!
[I DO CUT YOU SLACK. When life's throwing ME all its curve balls, I don't get to talk to the man responsible!]
Shadow: ...BAH. Fine, fine fine, fine. Fine. What do you want to talk about, then?
[We need to discuss your goals. Where you need to go.]
Shadow: Alright. Lay it on me.
[You have a chaos drive in Future Europe.]
[You have a chaos drive in Russia.]
[You have, like, three chaos drives to choose from in Chao Talk.]
[You have a chaos drive in Future America.]
[You have a chaos drive IN SPAAAAAACE.]
[You have another chaos drive in super-Future America.]
Shadow: Alright, awesome! I guess I'll go tell everyone and we'll telepor--
[Well. I can't give you teleporting abilities just yet.]
Shadow: Okay, I meant the Daleks would teleport us, but--
[I know. I can't let you do that.]
Shadow: What? Why not?
[..do you remember that guy, the Butterfly Collector?]
Shadow: The narrator for The Lamb, yeah.
[Well, he's really the one who's been making this story harder for entertainment purposes.]
Shadow: ..but the Tails Doll killed him.
[The Tails Doll cursed him. He's still alive, basically. And he won't let me let you teleport.]
Shadow: Son of a-- okay, where's the Butterfly Collector?
[..I.. don't know.]
Shadow: You don't know? You're the writer! You HAVE to know!
[I haven't exactly written it all out.]
Shadow: Well.. gah.
[Yeah. "Gah."]
[Shadow gets back to the story; he and Shade head back the Dark Garden and fill in all the details and all that]
Shadow: ..so there! We have a lot of work to do, and I can't say I really want to do it all.
Mp: But we can do it as a team, man! It'll be less of a hassle individually.
Shadow: Yeah. ..yeah, good point.
Shade: You distracted, kid?
Shadow: Can you blame me?
Shade: 'Course not. Now c'mon. We'd better start doing some recon on the Butterfly Collector.
[the camera fades out as the characters start leaving the Dark Garden]

[the camera fades in in a cheap motel room as the future Shade wakes up]
ShadeF: ..wait, what?
TO BE CONTINUED!

Blogging on the Wii is hard. D:

I promise, guys. I'm gonna get a lot[ of writing done awfully soon. I'm getting a new computer. A desktop computer.

DCA will be among the first to be worked on. My original idea was to have DCA8 one reaaaaaally long episode, but fuck that! I'm reverting to the Season Seven style. It works. ^^;

"Chaotrope" is actually a real band.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/DarkChaoAdventures

There is now a Dark Chao Adventures page on TVTropes.

ENJOY :D

Regarding "Bound to a Stream of Consciousness" and the climax of "The Lamb and the Butterfly"

Well, whoever it is that reads this blog.. I've emphasized Bound/Stream's importance a lot, and if you've ever gone on TVTropes, you'd notice that I bring it up a lot when talking about my horror works.

I think it's about time I talk about the thinly-veiled allegory.

DISCLAIMER: ...Except "Bound to a Stream of Consciousness." That's based on a true story. (Spoilers and very sad topics afoot.)


Click this button. Scroll down to "Log Entry #46: Bound to a Stream of Consciousness." Now click this button. Read. Yes, that's me in there. That long-ass, dozens-of-paragraph OP was written by me. It's the first post of thousands.

That's the true story.


It may be surprising, even if the allegory in DCAHall3 is ridiculously thin. The future episodes only made the allegory even thinner, having the Narrator (meeee) refer to himself as "Ulysses" from time to time. Hell, I'll just go out with it.

Ulysses is me, Ness is my older brother, Jim Rennie is my oldest brother, Logic is my mother (I mean, not the Logic, the artist; the allegorical Logic is completely separate), and Captain Curator (the 'narrator') is my father.


I wanted to make DCAHall3 scary. I had about five hours' worth of 'horror' ready, but I still felt like I wasn't gonna scare the reader at all. So one night in my isolation, I put on random EarthBound music and just wrote what came to my mind. As time went on, I found a topic-- my life-- and rolled with it. I wrote what I thought my father was thinking during all those incidents. I told the story of child abuse through the eyes of the abuser. At least, I attempted to.

I know, some of you may be thinking that's really low of me, taking advantage of my own suffering for the sake of writing a good story. Well.. I agree. But at the same time, I think it really came out well.

Oh, and the Gatekeepers? Social services.


DCA729 was written both before and after social services investigated my family. It all changed with one line:

"[However, if you DO trust them, and do as they tell you, even the saddest of hopes may end up bumping right back up.]"


At that point, I had to go to bed. The next day, I woke up, and the social worker arrived at our flat. She investigated, alright. She asked questions, though she had a tendency to speak over me. I told her what I could. It all culminated with six words:


"We can't foster sixteen-year olds."


That night, I wrote more.


"[THEN AGAIN. They mean well, but they still follow the same rules as we do..]

[..and sometimes, those rules just won't let us win.]"

So yeah. That's what happened with that.

..gah, I hate this topic. ._.

EAT. is a restaurant in Windsor

I make a lot of posts that have practically nothing in them

This is one of them.

Oh, and I've had this other blog since 2007. Haven't done much with it. Until recently. >w> I highly recommend reading it. Even though I have way more readers of that one than this one, so chances are the only people reading this would be the people from the other blog that saw the link to this blog. <____<

And, uh... DCA's comin' along right on schedule. So far, we seem to have hit only one major snag. And that is, um.. that I haven't made.. Episode 80 yet. BUT. Before you start throwing full wine bottles at your computer screen, let me offer this as a cop-out:


The Digitally Remastered Director's Cut of


DARK CHAO ADVENTURES ONE:
DARK CHAO ADVENTURES, ...TOO?


And if you got that reference, I will give you a hug and some spoilers to DCA8. Or just a hug. Depends on what you want. Maybe a kiss, too.

DJay Powers Return!

In January, I wrote horror stories.
In February, I wrote romance stories.
In March, I'm writing mystery stories.


What genre will I write next? Will I release them anywhere? Who knows?
I predict DCA to get written in May. Don't quote me on this, though. Just speculation.

Of Excuses and Freudian Slips

Yeah, I haven't really worked on DCA much lately. My writing flow's gone down the drain. I'm glad I ended Season Seven before I hit this rut.

I've been working on a side project, one that focuses less on writing and more on presentation and immersion, to kind of ease my way back into writing. I can't say much about it, as it'd break any possible immersion intended. I've also been progressively writing bigger and bigger stories for my girlf--...>w>; my dear friend. I'm trying to get back into the writing groove!

I must get my famous DJay Powers back. >=O

Prog Volume II start speculation

DCAprog2, guys.

DCA8A will be DCAprog2.

Now, I've done plenty of thinking, and I think I've decided how to go about doing Season Eight.

Season 8: The Last Journey will be complicated.

Look forward to it. ;D

~DJay32

Nous sommes du soliel; we love when we play. :3

Hey, possible readers. How are you? ^_^

Me? I'm fucking cheerful as fuck. :D No, really. England's starting to look damn awesome. It's the best place ever. I've written tons of neat stories, and.. I'm thinking of doing DCA801 soon.
Oh, and.. I.. may.. be loved. >w> But nah. Not possible. Not DJay32, nosir. My loneliness makes my stories tastier, does it not? ......8D

The Lamb and the Butterfly. O_O

Previously, in the Epic Quest...
The heroes have gathered together in New York. Shade, Dark, Shadow, Red, Mecha Knuckles, the Tails Doll, Mephiles, and White.
White is now a Rebel chao. He says Echo sent him.
John, Shade's brother, is dead. Yet Shadow's last challenge is to find him.
"Echoes of your past life will come back to haunt you as the End Complete moves on to its final act."

Dark Chao Adventures
Season Seven: The End
Episode Seventy-Nine: Epic Quest in A Flat Minor ACT V: The Lamb and the Butterfly

[the final act begins in the apartment of the late John]
[Shade, Dark, Shadow, Red, Mecha, the Doll, Mephiles, and White have all slept and are now ready to face Monday]
Chapter 24: The Return of the Giant Hogweed
Red: ..it's Monday.
Shadow: I know. But nothing's happened yet.
MK: ..wait, wasn't there something the Doll and I were upset about? Yesterday?
TD: Yeah, uh.. what was it? It was.. plants and stuff.
Dark: ..HOGWEED. Giant Hogweed. Right?
MK: Oh yeah! That was it! The Giant Hogweed. It was eating everyone in sight.
Red: ****, really? Huh. Should we do something?
MK: Nah, this was last night. We're in New York! The cops'll have taken care of it.
Shadow: Just to be safe, let's check the news.
[they turn on the TV to the news]
News: of American nobility. In other news, a recent killer plant infestation has been taken care of swiftly and quietly.
[the protagonists sigh]
MK: Load off my back.
News: ..I have just received word that the plants, the Giant Hogweeds, have escaped captivity and are now at it again.
[the protagonists groan]
MK: And back on again.
Shadow: May as well take care of it. *gets up*
Shade: Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?
Shadow: We're the protagonists, right? I'm the Green One, you're the Grey One?
Shade: Yeah, and?
Shadow: I figure this means we should take care of these problems.
Shade: We're the main protagonists, not superheroes. We don't save every city from every two-bit crime spree.
[SMASH]
[the door is broken down and swarms upon swarms of giant plants fall in]
Shade: **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** ****!!!
MK: Mephiles, Doll, battle positions!
[Mecha, the Doll, and Mephiles hop up; Mephiles starts shooting.. demon bolts at the plants]
[Mecha turns his arms into razorblades of sorts and chops 'em up]
[the Doll.. does.. some Tails Doll-y thing]
[before long, the room is devoid of plants]
Dark: I'm glad you guys are here.
MK: Not a problem. Anyway, Shade, you were saying?
Shade: Yeah, we don't save every city from every crime. We deal with the stuff that pertains to us.
Dark: Um.. Shade, if I may interobjectify, right outside your door?
Shade: Sure.
Dark: This particle manure thing is the Giant Hogweed, right?
Shade: Right.
Dark: And I ask you, what is the Giant Hogweed?
Shade: A plant. ..that happened to be in a Genesis song.
Dark: And what have we been doing so far?
Shade: ...dealing.. with prog songs.
Dark: Exactly. So this kinda concerns us, doesn't it?
Red: Dark raises a good point, surprisingly.
News: ..this just in, the plants have been destroyed by a robot, a doll, and a demon!
[Mecha, the Doll, and Mephiles return]
TD: Sorry about that, we just had to go shoot some *****es.
Shade: ..see, Shadow? We don't have to do anything.
Shadow: ..well, fine. But we're gonna have to do SOMETHING today.
Mp: Relax, Shadow. You'll do what you have to do when you get to it.
Shadow: But I CAN'T relax! The end is near, and it's all resting on my shoulders!
Shade: I know what you need. You need a walk. C'mon, just you and me. ..and White.
White: Me?
Shade: Yeah, you haven't had much screentime. Let's go.
[Shadow, Shade, and White step out of the apartment and go for a walk]
Keep your fingers out of my eye.
While I type, I like to glance at the butterflies that paint themselves along these walls.
The following is a recollection, off the top of my head, of events that once happened, long ago.
I can't remember the characters all too well, but there is one, in particular, whom I will never forget.
His name is Shadow, but I like to call him "Rael." As an inside joke, you see.
See, I like Rael, but Rael doesn't like me. Hey, even ostriches despise their captors.
I like a good rhyme, Rael likes a good time.. but you won't see me directly anymore.
So if his story doesn't stand, I might lend a hand, understand?
..step aside, DJay. Go wait for your Gatekeepers. I'm about to tell a story.
Chapter 25: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway/Fly on a Windshield/Broadway Melody of 1974
[they walk through busy New York streets]
[it's early morning, Manhattan.. the ocean winds blow on the land]
[the chao walk by a cinema]
Shade: *points* Movie-Palace is now undone. The all-night watchmen have had their fun, sleeping cheaply on the midnight show.
[but it's the same old ending-- "Time to go, GET OUT!"]
[it seems they cannot leave their dream...]
[..there's something moving in the sidewalk steam]
[the chao keep walking]
[Nighttime's flyers feel their pain]
[the drugstores take down the chains]
White: *points* Metal motion comes in bursts, but the gas station can quench that thirst.
[suspension cracked on unmade road as the trucker's eyes read "OVERLOAD"]
Shade: Hey, where'd Shadow go?
[and out of the subway...]
[RAEL, imperial aerosol kid.. exits into midlight.. spraygun hid]
[..that is, Shadow exits from the subway, hiding a spraygun]
Shade: What the heck were you up to?
Shadow: Just.. graffiti. Felt like it. Took my mind off my worries.
Shade: Well, that's good.
White: ..guys.
[White is pointing forward, at the street of Broadway]
[in the very middle of the street is a lamb, lying down]
[the lamb seems right out of place, yet the Broadway scene finds a focus in its face]
Shadow: ..somehow, its lying there brings a stillness to the air.
[though man-made light at night is very bright, there's no whitewash victim as the neons dim to the coat of white]
[..Rael, imperial aerosol kid, wipes his spraygun; he's forgotten what he did]
Shadow: Well. I guess I'm "Rael" now.
White: I think DJay's getting poetic on us.
[Suzanne, tired, her work all done, thinks "Money, honey, be on neon!"]
Shade: ..the **** is "Suzanne?"
[cabman's velvet glove sounds the horn as the sawdust king spits out his scorn]
[as the chao walk along, Shadow looks at a big, grinning woman's face on an advertisement for a drugstore]
Shadow: Wonder women, draw your blind! Don't look at me; I'm not your kind... I'M RAAAEEEEEL!
Shade: ...Shadow.
Shadow: I'M SHADOOOOOOOOW!
[something inside him has just begun..]
Shadow: ..lord knows what I have done.
[screams are heard from behind]
[the chao turn and look]
[a giant, dark cloud is descending into Times Square]
[it solidifies and begins to expand, engulfing everything in its path]
[yet no one seems to care; they carry on as if nothing was there]
Shadow: ..then who was phone? ..screaming?
[Mephiles is running towards them]
Mp: GUYS! TO COLUMBUS CIRCLE! IT'S SAFE THERE!
[they turn and run, for nothing can stop this giant wall]
[every time Shadow would turn to look, the wall would have moved up a block]
Shade: WE'RE NEARLY SAFE!
[suddenly, they all stop moving]
[the wind is blowing harder now, blowing dust into their eyes]
[the dust settles on their skin, making a crust they cannot move in]
["And I'm hovering like a fly.. waiting for the windshield on the freeway."]
[all they can do is watch the wall come closer]
[however, there's an oddity about this wall...]
[from the outside, it looks like a screen. Everything inside looks frozen in place, almost like a photograph.]
Shadow: "Echoes of the Broadway Everglades.. with her mythical Madonnas still walking in their shades."
["Lenny Bruce declares a truce as he plays his other hand...]
["Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand...]
["Sirens on the rooftops wailin', but there's no ships sailin...]
["Groucho, with his movies trailin', stands alone with his punchline failin'.]
["Ku Klux Klan serve hot soul food as the band plays 'In the Mood.']
["The cheerleader waves her cyanide wand; there's a smell of peach blossom and bitter almond.]
["Caryl Chessman sniffs the air and leads the parade; he knows, in a scent, you can bottle all you made.]
["There's Howard Hughes in blue suede shoes, smilin' at the majorettes smokin' Winston cigarettes...]
Shade: "..and as the song and dance begins, the children play at home with needles... needles and pins."
[...the wall hits.]
Chapter 26: Cuckoo Cuccoon/In the Cage/The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging
[consciousness returns]
Shadow: ..I'm alive? Am I dying? ..I haven't changed that much.
[the only sound is waterdrops]
Shadow: I wonder where the hell I am.
[there's nothing he can recognize; this nowhere he has known]
Shadow: There's no sign of life at all; I guess I'm alone.
[he begins to wonder]
Shadow: ..I wonder if I'm a prisoner, locked in some Brooklyn jail. Or maybe I'm Jonah, shut up inside the whale?
[no, he's still Rael.. and he's stuck in some kind of cave]
Shadow: ..what could have saved me?
[time passes, he relaxes]
[he's got sunshine in his stomach, but that can't keep him from creeping sleep... sleep, deep in the deep]
[..rockface moves to press his skin; white liquid turn sour within]
Shadow: I must tell myself that I'm not here; I'm drowning in a liquid fear!
[bottled in a strong compression; his distortion shows obsession in the cave]
Shadow: Get me out of this cave! If I keep self-control, I'll be safe in my soul..
[a childhood belief brings a moment's relief, but his cynic soon returns and the lifeboat burns]
Shadow: My spirit just never learns.
[stalagmites and stalagtites grow, forming a cage; they shut him in and lock him tight]
[his lips and throat are dry; stomach churning]
Shadow: I'm dressed up in a white costume, padding out leftover room. Get me out of this cage!
[in the glare of the light, he sees a strange sort of sight-- cages joined to form a star]
Shade: SHADOW?! Is that you?!
Shadow: Shade?!
Shade: Man, this is crazy!
Shadow: Very.
White: Yes.
Shadow: White? You there?
White: I am.
Shade: Hm. Mephiles, are you here, too?
Mp: Effin' 'ell, you guys have the craziest adventures, yes, I'm here!
Shade: Good, we're all here. Now we just have to get out of--........
Shadow: ...Shade?
Shade: ..........
White: Shade, are you okay?
Shade: ..........
Mp: Hey, grey dude. What is it?
Shade: ......bro.
["Outside the cage, I see my brother, John. He turns his head so slowly 'round."]
Shade: HELP!
["I cry out 'HELP' before he can be gone. And he looks at me without a sound."]
Shade: JOHN, PLEASE HELP ME!
["And I shout out, 'John, please help me,' but he does not even want to try to speak."]
Shade: fff JOHN! JOHN! JOHN!!!
["I'm helpless in my violent rage, and a silent tear of blood dribbles down his cheek.."]
["..and I watch him turn again and leave the cage."]
Shade: My little runaway...
White: ..did you guys see that, too?
Mp: I thought John was dead.
Shadow: ..of course. "Find John." My last challenge.
[suddenly, the cage dissolves, and the four are left spinning like tops]
[as their dizziness fades away, they find themselves on a polished floor]
[it is a rather modern-looking hallway, empty and devoid of all life except for them and the drooping receptionist]
Rec: It's the last great adventure left to mankind!
[she offers her dreamdolls at less than extortionate prices]
[and as the notes and coins are taken out, they're taken in to the factory floor]
Rec: We've got people stocked in every shade; we're doing very well with trade.
Shade: ..every what?
Rec: Stamped and addressed in odd fatality; that evens out their personality.
[with profit potential marked by sign, the protagonists can recognize some of the production line!]
Mp: ..that looks like Metal Sonic.
White: Those look like my old squadmates.
Shade: ..bro.
[Brother John is number 9.]
Shadow: ..maybe we should get out of here.
Shade: Yes.
TD: Pssst!
[they look and see the Tails Doll, crammed between some other packages]
TD: Guys! Help!
[Mephiles pulls the Doll out]
TD: This place.. I mean.. I have no ****ing clue what the hell just happened.
Shadow: It's like the apocolypse.
[they hurry out of the factory]
Chapter 27: Back in NYC/Hairless Heart/Counting Out Time
[they now find themselves in a complete reconstruction of New York City, but underground]
Shadow: This is simply facinating. Why are there no other people around?
Mp: Well, we DID just kinda experience the apocolypse.
[they walk along, alone]
Shadow: ..I see faces and traces of home.. back in New York City.
Shade: You say something?
Shadow: So you think I'm a tough kid? Is that what you heard? Well, I like to see some action; it gets into my blood..
Mp: Oh, are we having a singalong? **** yes. They call me.. the trailblazer! Rael, electric razor!
TD: I'm the pitcher in the chain gang-- we don't believe in pain!
Both: 'Cause we're only as strong, yes we're only as strong.. as the weakest link in the chain!
White: Let me out of Pontiac.. when I was just.. seventeen! I had to get it out of me...
All: If you know.. what I mean! What I mean.
[Mephiles scats the instrumental section, much to the amusement of the others]
White: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, you say I must be crazy... 'cause I don't care...
All: WHO I HIT!
Mp: Who I hit!
Shade: But I know it's me that's hitting out, and I'm..
All: ..not full of ****!
TD: I don't care who I hurt.. I don't CARE who I DO WRONG! This is YOUR MESS that I'm stuck in; I really don't belong!
Shadow: When I take out my bottle, filled up high with gasoline.. you can tell...
All: BY THE NIGHTFIRES!
Shadow: Where RAEL.. has been!
All: HAS BEEN!
[Mephiles scats the breakdown]
White: As I cuddled the porcupine, he said I had none to blame but me.
Shade: Held my heart, deep in hair.. time to shave, shave it off, it off!
TD: No time for romantic escape when your fluffy heart is ready for r--
Mp: NO!
All: Off we go! ...off we go! ...off we go! ...off we go!
[more Mephiles scatting]
Shadow: You're sitting in your comfort; you don't believe I'm real. You cannot buy protection from the way that I feel!
Shade: Your progressive hypocrites hand out their trash.. but it was mine in the first place!
All: SO I'LL BURN IT TO ASH!
TD: And I've tasted all the strongest meats, and laid them down in coloured sheets!
Mp: Laiiiiiid them DOWN.. in coloured sheets!
White: WHO needs illusion of LOVE and affection when you're OUT.. walking in the streets.. with your mainline..
All: CONNECTION?
Mp: Connection?
[aand repeat the chorus, and there we go]
Shade: Mephiles, Tails Doll, I didn't think you guys knew Genesis.
TD: Of course, man. What else do you think we do when we're high?
[they walk along for a bit longer, looking for any sign of life at all]
White: ..are we gonna sing "Counting Out Time?"
Mp: Nah.
White: Why not?
Mp: Don't feel like it.
[they walk until they reach the end of New York]
Chapter 28: The Carpet Crawlers/Chamber of 32 Doors
[at the end is a long, dark corridor]
[there is lambswool under their naked feet]
[the wool is soft and warm, gives off some kind of heat]
[a salamander scurries into flame to be destroyed]
[imaginary creatures are trapped in birth in celluloid]
[the fleas cling to the golden fleece, hoping they'll find heat]
[each thought and gesture are caught in celluloid]
[there's no hiding in memory.. there's nowhere to avoid]
[the crawlers cover the floor in the red ochre corridor..]
Shadow: Well, for my second sight of people, they've more lifeblood than before.
[they're moving in time to a heavy, wooden door.. where the needle's eye is waking, closing on the poor]
Mp: ..the **** ARE these guys? Hey, you crawler guys know where the way out is?
[the carpet crawlers heed their callers]
Crawler: You've got to get in to get out.
Crawler2: You've got to get in to get out.
Crawler3: You've got to get in to get out.
[they come upon a monk]
Shadow: Hey, what's going on?
Monk: *yawn* It's a long time yet before the dawn.
[a Sphinx-like crawler calls Shadow's name]
Sphinx: Don't ask him; the monk is drunk.
Shadow: Then can you tell us?
Sphinx: Each one of us is trying to reach the top of the stairs; a way out will await us there.
[the protagonists enter the heavy, wooden door]
Shadow: ..there's only one direction in the faces that I see; it's upwards, to the ceiling.. where the chamber's said to be.
[through the door, a harvest feast is lit by candlelight]
Mp: ..it's the bottom of a staircase that spirals out of sight.
[our heroes head up the staircase and enter the chamber]
[it is almost a hemisphere with a great many doors built around its circumference]
[at the top of the stairs, there's hundreds of people running around to all the doors]
[they try to find themselves an audience; their deductions need applause]
Shadow: The rich man stands in front of me, the poor man, behind my back. They believe they can control the game...
Shade: ..but the juggler holds another pack.
[the crowd of people talks louder]
[and louder]
[AND LOUDER]
[AND LOUDER AND LOUDER]
[LOUDERLOUDERLOUDER]
Shadow: SHUT UP!!!
[the crowd grows silent]
Red: ..guys?
[Red finds his way through the crowd to get to the protagonists]
Red: Guys, this place is crazy. All the doors just lead right back here.
Shadow: I had suspected as much. Don't worry, Red; we'll get through this. We've bested all that's come our way so far.
Shade: Red! You done any more thinking on our meta theories?
Red: As a matter of fact, I have. This will definitely be one of, if not our very last adventure.
[our heroes' eyes go wide]
Shadow: ..wh..what makes you say that?
Red: It's just.. the way everything's being written, the way not even the Veteran's Committee has complete control..
Shadow: ..and DJay?
Red: Yes, he's at the core of it all. He's planning something. Something huge.
TD: Maybe this is it?
Mp: Yeah, I mean.. Lamb Lies Down is quite the epic.
Red: Perhaps.. but.. but I dunno. A lot of things just don't add up. Like the actual identities of the Veterans.
Shadow: Do we even know them?
Red: Well, there's Eggman, Levity Nite.. and that's it.
White: Echo used to be one.
Red: Indeed, though the fact that he's no longer one simply raises more questions than anything. And you, White..
White: What? What about me?
Red: The Veterans have been keeping you under stasis for several serials now. They only just now released you?
White: Yeah, uh.. that's another thing. Echo was the one who put me under stasis, and he's the one who let me out.
Red: ..Echo is clearly planning something, then.
Shade: Now, I have something that has been bothering ME all this time. White.
White: Yeah?
Shade: You're a rebel chao. A REBEL chao.
White: Yes, I am.
Shade: HOW?
White: Um.. I.. don't recall. I just.. I was taken out like this, and Echo filled me in then sent me to you guys.
Shade: But, see, the rebel chao were a Beta; they were a range of chao DJay made for the original Season Two.
Shadow: Oh yeah! The Betas! ..and the rebel chao! Yes! I remember. I helped you do Halo, didn't I, Shade?
Shade: Yeah, which the Beta Avengers were involved in, and it featured rebel chao, that's right. Good, you remember.
Red: ..oh, no. I think I see where you're going with this, Shade.
Shade: Echo's changed into something, my dad was coming down with something.. hell, even CHAM was.
Red: They weren't dying; they were undergoing metamorphasis.
Shade: That would explain a number of the "new developments" the Veterans mentioned during our Quinquennial serial.
Mp: Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, man! I can't take all this meta ****. Can we get on with the story?
Shade: Mephiles, this IS the story. In case you hadn't noticed, things have been getting "meta" for quite a long time.
Red: Yes, we're only discussing this so we can move the story along. It's more than just The Lamb.
?: Excuse me...
Chapter 29: Lilywhite Lilith/The Waiting Room/Anyway/The Supernatural Anaesthetist
[a blind old woman is talking to them]
Woman: Please help me through the crowd. If you help me through, I can help you, too.
Shadow: What's the use of a guide when you've nowhere to go?
Woman: I've got somewhere to go. If you take me through the noise, I'll show you.
[the heroes, not having any other leads, take her through the crowd]
Woman: Let me feel the way the breezes blow, and I'll show you where to go.
[so they followed her into a big, round cave]
Woman: They're coming for you, now don't be afraid.
[she sits them down on a cold stone throne, carved in jade]
[she leaves them in their darkness]
[they'll have to face their fear]
[the tunnel lights up abruptly]
[two golden globes float into the room]
[they whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr]
TD: THAT'S LOUD. AND ANNOYING.
Red: SHUT THEM UP!
Shadow: HOW?!
Mp: LEAVE IT TO ME.
[Mephiles stands and smashes the globes; the lights go out, and the noise stops]
[..but the ceiling caves in, as well, leaving our protagonists trapped under rubble]
[all hope seems lost; our heroes are coughing up blood, trapped, unable to speak]
[unable to move, getting harder to breathe]
[Shadow wishes he could have died in some more spectacular fashion, but no, just quietly buried in tomb]
["Anyway, they say she comes on a pale horse, but I'm sure I hear a train..."]#
["The doorbell rings, and it's.."]
?: Good morning, Rael. So sorry you had to wait. It won't be long, yeah? She's very rarely late.
[none of the heroes have the energy to respond]
?: Ha ha ha.. looks like I get to monologue. Let me.. clear some space?

Hey there. MILKMAN here. Moohoohaahaa. I can see you turning pale, Shade. I'm not your dad anymore. From now on, it's anything goes. DJay's made some bonus papers. He's written down the plans for the rest of the show. That's right, he's actually planning things out. However, this means I have complete access to what's going to happen. Let's check the ending. ..ah-ha. So there IS an ending. This isn't just the ending to this story arc, folks; this is the ending to the whole freaking SHOW! The show is ending, hahahaha... YES. Finally, this pure mockery of fiction will be stopped.

Oh, I know, you think Jordan might not be a terrible writer. Well, I'm his cynical side, you could say. JOE and I. JOE's back at the old TV room, sprucing things up, by the way. Anyway, we hate this show, and we REALLY want to end it. Luckily, it's ending, one way or another. So we're just.. trying to help the cause. You guys have a lot of stuff to do if you want to save DCA. You're gonna have to, uh.. lemme check the paper.. ah, yes. "Defeat the Beta Avengers, defeat the Veteran's Committee, and.." what's this last one? "Convince.." ..ohhhh-ho-ho-hoh. "Convince DJay not to end the show." There's even a little side note here. "Note: Will require outside assistance." I think he means he's gonna need REAL people to actually tell him not to end it! HA. That, my friends, will never happen.

There is one problem with my plans, however. Back in Seasons 3-6, the paper was connected to DJay's thoughts, so I could easily figure out what's going to happen. However, this time around.... mm, never mind. How about I just let the story continue?

MM: Farewell, protagonists.
[and with that, nothing else is heard]
[..except approaching footsteps, heavy as a truck]
MK: Holy living ****, where was that voice coming from? ..GUYS! AH! You're.. you're in rubble! Um.. hang on!
[the rubble is lifted.. by Mecha Knuckles!]
MK: ..are you guys okay?
Shadow: ...
Shade: ...
White: ...
Red: ...
Mp: ...
TD: ..thanks.
MK: Aw, man, of course. We're protagonists now; I've got to save you when I can.
TD: No.. thanks for being a good buddy all this time..
MK: .."all this time?" Dollface, you sound like you're talking about... your death, or something.
[the Tails Doll does not respond]
MK: .....****. No. No, c'mon, man. C'mon! C'MON! NO.
[no response]
MK: Nah, c'mon, Doll! We've already lost the boss.. I can't...
[no response]
MK: ..I can't afford to lose..
[no response]
MK: ....*twitch*....
[Mecha grabs all his buddies and heads down the cave]
Chapter 30: The LamiNO
Chapter 30: Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats
[Mecha finds a quiet pool lit by chandelier]
[he gently places his friends in the water, making sure that they could breathe if they were to..]
MK: THEY'RE ALIVE; THEY CAN BREATHE.
[Mecha. You have scriptbending powers, but not even you can bring the dead back to life.]
MK: **** off, DJay. This was all in your "papers," too; I know it! You wanted them dead! You want us ALL dead!
[..no. I don't. I just don't want to keep making episodes.]
MK: WELL, WHY THE **** NOT?!
[Mecha, do you think the REAL Mecha Knuckles would be arguing about keeping a fanfiction series going?]
MK: ..the **** do you mean, "the REAL Mecha Knuckles?!"
[You know exactly what I mean. You're not the real Mecha. You're just a medium for my emotions to freely express themselves.]
MK: No, nuh-uh, nope! I'm the real Mecha, alright.
[You're ALL--oh, hang on.]
[Shadow opens his eyes and sits up]
[There we go. He's got to hear this. I promised him.]
Shadow: ..*coughs*
[blood falls into the water]
[Listen up, Shadow. Mecha. This is important.]
[I have ulterior motives for wanting to end DCA, yes. But first, why do I still make DCA?]
[It's certainly not for anyone else's benefit; I don't know a single person who has read every episode.]
[I write DCA now to let my confused, bottled-up emotions run free.]
Shadow: ..hm.
[After all, let's consider the four main protagonists' personalities for a second-- Shade, Shadow, Red, and Dark.]
[What ARE your personalities? How are they different from my own? Well, there are a couple of differences...]
[BUT. As a whole, you guys-- in the end, every single character I make-- are just parts of me. Different parts.]
[Shade is my ego, my pride, my leadership "qualities," my taste in video games, my.. family tensions. Somewhat.]
[Dark is my naivity, my gullibility, my trust issues, my taste in music and Rock Band, a part of my comedy...]
[Red is my analysing, my smarts, my numbness when in true fear, kinda my humility, and... Ulysses. Me.]
[Shadow, you're me as an apprentice. My panic, my insecurity, my unsureness, my.. genericness. You're almost a blank slate.]
[Shade's relationship with his brother is.. a mixture of things, to say the least. He doesn't know John very well, does he?]
[John occasionally used to bully him, and yet now Shade looks up to him so much. Now he wishes he could find him.]
[In those ways, John is my brother. But.. John's relationship with Shawn...]
[..and, hell.. even SHADE'S relationship with Shawn...]
[..let's say that fathership doesn't come up much in this show. Different subject, please.]
Shadow: What about the Gatekeepers?
[The Gatekeepers. Right. For you, they're your direction, much like how I have trouble doing things without being directed.]
Shadow: What about YOUR Gatekeepers?
[..you should always trust Gatekeepers, Shadow. If you're not honest with them, it only makes it harder for them to help.]
[They won't actually eat the world; that's just a metaphor. They'll simply.. not be able to help you.]
[However, if you DO trust them, and do as they tell you, even the saddest of hopes may end up bumping right back up.]
[THEN AGAIN. They mean well, but they still follow the same rules as we do..]
[..and sometimes, those rules just won't let us win.]
Shadow: ..why the sudden change of mood?
[It wasn't sudden. It's been a day now. It's Tuesday now. The Unwritten End has come and gone...]
MK: Aw, hell nah.
[Relax. In the end, my Gatekeepers couldn't help me. I have a lot of time on my hands again.]
Shadow: So.. so you won't end DCA?
[Oh, I'm still ending DCA. I haven't gotten to that part of my monologue yet. Go ahead, ask me.]
Shadow: Well.. we know why you make DCA-- your emotions need a medium of sorts. Now, why do you want to end it?
[Well, it's almost uncannily similar to the story of the Writing Writer in "Good Apollo." Do you know that?]
MK: Man, we're not all as obsessed with prog as you--
[COHEED IS NOT PROG.]
MK: ..****. Fine. No. We don't know the story.
[Well, Coheed & Cambria's "Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV" features the Writing Writer, named Claudio...]
[..in Volume One, we learn that the whole story all this time has been a work of fiction by him.]
[Turns out, he was hurt very badly in the past, and has some kind of mental problem, and so he writes to escape.]
[That is, he writes this magnificent epic and uses some of his experiences as ideas in it.]
[Then, his mental problems become apparent as he engages in a lengthy discussion with his bicycle, Ten Speed.]
Shadow: That would be.. "Ten Speed (of God's Blood and Burial)," right?
[Yeah. Ten Speed tells him how the only way to move on with his life would be to completely forget about his past pain.]
[And, of course, the only way to forget would be to stop writing the story, as it has all his emotions in it.]
MK: ..oh. ****ing ****ity ****, man! Are you telling me you were talking to your bicycle?!
[No, not to my bicycle-- hell, I don't even own a bike. It was more of a.. metaphorical discussion I've had. With myself.]
Shadow: So that explains why there's all these mentions of "The Unwritten End," "The Writing Writer," and "The End Complete."
[Right. It's unbelievably similar to Good Apollo, isn't it?]
MK: Right, so how's this story end, anyway?
[Well, Volume One ends with the Writing Writer writing himself into the story and having a discussion with the protagonist.]
Shadow: Like.. like right now?
[..****. You're right. Like right now. I didn't even spot that until just now.]
Shadow: Well, keep talking. What's the discussion end in?
[Right. Claudio tells the other Claudio about--]
MK: "Other Claudio?"
[Both the Writer and the Character are named 'Claudio,' undoubtably on purpose.]
MK: Ah. See, man.. you gotta tell us these things.
[Sorry. Anyway, he tells him that he, the Character, must end the story within the canon by killing the antagonist.]
Shadow: So who have I got to kill?
[What? Oh, you don't have to kill anyone. As far as I know. See, MILKMAN was wrong; I haven't figured everything out yet.]
MK: So.. so let me get this straight.
[Go ahead.]
MK: You're ending DCA 'cause you think it'll help you move on?
[That's the main reason, yes.]
MK: Kid, I don't know too much about your little situation, but I'm pretty sure it's not THAT--
["Bound to a Stream of Consciousness" was only a fraction of it.]
MK: ...well...
[I can show you my notebooks filled with ramblings, if you'd like.]
MK: That's.. not necess--
[How about the drawing of myself shooting myself I made in the middle of the night? Wanna see that?]
MK: Shi--
[Or, better yet, how about I just take you out here and show you my situation? I've been dying for a hug, anyway.]
MK: Sorry! I'm sorry.
Shadow: But, Deej.. you said your Gatekeepers couldn't save you, right?
[I can't believe I was so hopeful.]
Shadow: So you're still in your situation?
[Unfortunately.]
Shadow: Then why attempt to move on when you're not even out yet?
[Oh, no, The Unwritten End for DCA won't happen for some time. I've got some big plans up my sleeve.]
Shadow: ..so what can I do? To stop this Unwritten End?
[It's gonna take a lot, Shadow; I can tell you that. More than I think you can do without outside support.]
Shadow: Just name it.
[Well, first of all, we've got to end Season Seven. Whether or not the show, itself, ends, this season's had its time.]
Shadow: Alright. Do you have a pen and paper?
[Shadow finds a pad and pencil on the ground]
Shadow: ..whoa, that's nifty.
[You don't have to worry about ending this season; I can do that for you.]
Shadow: Right, just tell me what I WILL have to do.
[Put a stop to the Veteran's Committee, AND the Beta Avengers.]
MK: So.. so they're really back?
[They're really back.]
Shadow: Alright, I can do this, no sweat.
[Ah, but defeating enemies will not be the only task. If you're wanting DCA to keep going, we're gonna have to fix it.]
[Shade's eyes open upon hearing this]
Shadow: Sh..Shade?
Shade: That buttwipe had better not just said what I think he just said.
[Haha, so my DJay powers still work. I want this End to be a good one, and without Shade, it's simply not cricket.]
Shade: Can the chatter. DID YOU SAY WHAT I THINK YOU SAID?!
Shadow: What, that DCA's gotta be fixed?
Shade: YES.
[Shade, the Beta Avengers only show up when the script is littered with plot holes.]
Shade: Yeah, and we've tried our best to avoid them!
[The Veteran's Committee's sole intention is to end the script, no matter the cost. They're retconning everything.]
Shade: A retcon and a plot hole are two separate things!
[They're still related. The retconned object could be considered a slight type of Beta. ..ohhhh-ho-ho-hoh. Idea.]
Shadow: What?
[No, you'll see. Anyway, to save DCA, you must clear up the plot holes. So we can return to normal.]
[If we want to make another epic season later, we're gonna need a clean slate.]
Shadow: Right.. what else?
[Get your seven chaos drives. We need closure.]
Shadow: Workin' on that.
[And, of course, convince me not to end everything. This will be the hardest part; I'm the freaking Writing Writer.]
Shadow: ..oh, geez. Kay. So, let me check: "stop Veterans, Betas, fix plot holes, seven drives, convince DJay not to end."
[That sounds about right. I'll let you know if I think of anything else.]
Shade: So what the heck will we do with all these dead guys? Our friends, that is?
[Huh? Oh, right.]
[cue Red, Mephiles, Tails Doll, and White's awakening]
Red: ..what just happened?
TD: Did we just freaking DIE?
Shadow: Yeah.. we did. But Mecha saved us.
MK: Don't mention it, guys. Really. We have a show to save.
[Yes, you guys DO have a show to save. But don't expect much more help from me.]
["I will not save your world. To the end with you," to quote "The Willing Well."]
[Now you'd best go. We'll skip to Chapter 32, but.. just go.]
Shadow: Alright. And DJay?
[Yes?]
Shadow: ..we'll stay strong if you will.
[....go, Shadow.]
Ah, good, now I have control over the story again. Now that that little meta-discussion has ended, let's shift from
Coheed & Cambria back into good ol' Genesis! So last we checked, Rael (plus amigos) was exploring this subterranean
post-apocolyptic world. He'd just been buried in rubble, but now he's okay again! It would seem the time slot for the
Lamia has been taken up by their Good Apollo speak, so let's move ahead. The gang leaves through the same door they had
used to come in, and they find a freak's ghetto on the other side. When the freaks catch sight of Rael, they burst into
laughter.
Chapter 32: Colony of Slippermen (The Arrival/A Visit to the Doktor/The Raven)
(The Arrival)
[one of the colony walks up to our protagonists]
Slipperman: We, like you, have tasted love.
Shadow: What.. the **** are you?
Slipperman: Don't be alarmed at what you see; you, yourself, are just the same as what you see in me.
Shadow: Me? Like you? Like that!
[the slipperman points at Shade; Shade is now a grotesque stump of a chao]
Slipperman: You'd better watch it, son. Your sentence has only just begun.
Shade: Hey! Turn me back! What..
Slipperman: You'd better run and join your brother John.
[Shade looks and, amidst the freaks' ghetto, spots a familiar face-- John]
(A Visit to the Doktor)
Shade: JOHN! Where the heck are we? What's going on?
John: You're in the colony of Slippermen! There's no who, why, what, or when.
Shade: I hate it. How do we fix me?
John: You'll get out if you've got the gripe to face Doktor Dyper, reformed sniper; he'll whip off your windscreen wiper.
Red: Um.. we're chao. We don't have--
Dark: He means your emotiball.
[Dark is here]
Shade: DARK!
Dark: Yeah, yeah, DJay filled me in. I know what's going on. I'm glad to see you guys, too.
Shade: Anyway, what were you saying?
Dark: To not be a Slipperman anymore, you've got to lose your emotiball.
Shade: ..****, can I do that? What would that do?
Red: I.. huh. I don't think it would actually do anything besides make you harder to read.
Shade: ..eh, fine, let's do it.
["John and I are able to face the Doktor and his marble table. He says,"]
Dyper: Understand, Rael.. it's the end of your tail!
Shade: Don't delay, dock the--
Dark: EMOTIBALL
[Shade watches his countdown timer tick]
(The Raven)
[he places the number into a tube.. it's a yellow, plastic shoobedoobe!]
["Though your fingers may tickle, you'll be safe in our pickle."]
[suddenly, black cloud come down from the sky.. it's a supersized blackbird that sure can FLY!]
[it takes the tube right out of Shade's hands]
Shade: Man, I've gotta find where that blackbird lands!
[Shade turns to John]
Shade: Look here, John; I've got to run. I need you now; you going to come?
John: Now can't you see? Where the raven flies, there's jeopardy! We've been cured on the couch, now you're sick with your grouch.
[John scoffs]
John: I won't risk my honeypouch, which my slouch will wear, slung, very low!
["He walks away and leaves me once again.. even though I never learn, I'd hoped he'd show just some concern!"]
[Shade, hurt, runs after the raven; the rest of the protagonists follow]
[he is led down an underpass, though it narrows, the raven still flies very fast]
[when the tunnel stops, Shade catches sight of the tube just as it drops]
["I'm on top of a bank too steep to climb. I see it hit the water just in time to watch it float away.."]
Chapter 33: The Ravine/The Light Dies Down on Broadway/Riding the Scree/In the Rapids
[the protagonists are on top of a tall cliff]
[at the bottom of the steep, tall cliff are raging rapids]
[they are still underground]
[the chao just stand, in awe, at this magnificent sight]
[as Shadow walks along the gorge's edge, he meets a sense of yesteryear]
[a window in the bank above his head reveals his home amidst the streets]
[that's right-- a window seemingly out of nowhere, leading to New York City]
Shadow: My home.
Red: Well.. no, it's not.
Shadow: But it's where the chaos drive is. The Daleks said so.
[they inspect this window]
Shadow: Is this the way out from this endless scene? Or just an entrance to another dream?
[But as the skylight beckons him to leave, he hears a scream from down below.]
[Within the raging water writhes the form.. of brother John.]
John: HELP!
Red: The gate is fading now, but open wide.
Shade: But John is drowning, we must decide!
Shadow: Between the freedom I had in the rat-race, or to stay forever in this forsaken place..
[...]
Shadow: HEY, JOHN!
[He makes for the river, and the gate is gone, back to the void where it came from.]
["And the light dies down on Broadway."]
[Shade and Shadow make the dive for it; the others stand, unsure of what to do]
[Struggling down the slope, there's not much hope. They begin to try to ride the scree, but rocks are tumbling all around.]
Shade: If I want John alive, I've got to ditch my fear-- take a dive, while I've still got my drive to survive.
Shadow: Evel Knievel, you got nothin' on me. Here I go!
[they dive down into the cold, cold water]
[Moving down the water, John is drifting out of sight...]
[It's only at the turning point that you find out how to fight.]
[In the cold, feel the cold all around, and the rush of crashing water surrounds them with its sound.]
[Shade reaches out for John, but he cannot reach.]
["When you're racing in the rapids, there's only one way.. that's to ride."]
[Taken down, taken down by the undertow.. Shadow's spiralled down the riverbed; his fire is burning low.]
[Catching hold of a rock that's firm, he waits for John to be carried past.]
[Holding together, they now wait for Shade.]
[They hold together and shoot the rapids fast.]
[And when the waters slow down, the dark and the deep have no-one left to keep.]
Shade: Hang on, John! We're out of this at last.
[they reach dry land; as Shadow coughs and dries off, Shade looks at John, who is lying on his stomach]
Shade: ..something's changed. That's not your face...
[Shade flips John over]
Shade: ..........it's mine. It's MINE!
Shade's consciousness darts from one body to the other, always gazing into its own eyes. This happens so many times until its presence is in neither body, but outside both, seeing all. In this new presence, Shade witnesses the two bodies outlined in yellow, with everything else melting into a purple haze. With a sudden surge of energy, their bodies, too, dissolve into the haze. All this takes place without a single sunset, without a single bell ringing and without a single blossom falling from the sky. Yet IT fills everything with its intoxicating presence. IT's over to you.
Chapter 34: It
[Shadow is... somewhere.]
[Shade is here.]
[Red is here.]
[Dark is here.]
[White is here.]
[The Future Shade is here.]
[Mecha Knuckles is here.]
[The Tails Doll is here.]
[Mephiles is here.]
And I'm here, too. Not DJay, but me. The narrator for The Lamb.
Hi, folks. I'm what they refer to as the Butterfly Collector. I'm the one who's been managing all this progressive rock. Yeah, that's right. I'm the part of the Writing Writer that likes to make things harder for the sake of entertainment. Anyway, that's The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway for you, all credit goes to Genesis, and the story n' most of the lyrics were written by Peter Gabriel. Y'know. To give credit where credit is due. Where was I? Oh, yes. DJay's heard from at least one person that he shouldn't end DCA. He still doesn't know if he will.
Then again, the likelihood is very.. likely.
BUT. Let me ramble for a bit. Progressive rock. "If you think that IT's pretentious, you've been taken for a ride." If you've gone through this entire serial without the slightest idea what prog is, then you've been missing out on half of the fun. Yes, there have been plentiful song references in this serial, and aside from one David Bowie chapter, it's all been progressive rock. Genesis, Dream Theater, Coheed & Cambria, Muse, Pink Floyd, Van Friscia, Between the Buried and Me.
Oh, and an ELP reference. I'm surprised DJay didn't throw in some Yes. You see, prog is what they used to call "art rock." It tends to go on for a long time, with twenty-minute songs, extended instrumental sections, space-rock solos, concept albums (like "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway").. yeah, it's an acquired taste. DJay decided to dedicate a whole freaing serial to his favourite genre for one reason, and one reason, only.
These words will surely burn--
Shadow: WAIIIT, WAIT.
Shade: WAAAAAIIIIT!
Red: WAIIIT, WAIT.
Dark: WAAAAAIIIIT!
White: WAIIIT, WAIT.
ShadeF: WAAAAAIIIIT!
MK: WAIIIT, WAIT.
TD: WAAAAAIIIIT!
Mp: But what did I do to... to deserve all of you?
Fighting prog with prog. Clever. But IT is already taking over.
ShadeF: The **** is "IT," you swine?
IT is real. IT is Rael. IT is only knock and know-all, but I like IT. In non-Gabriel terms, IT is the substance that makes everything you know to be real. IT is simply.. resetting. To make room for whatever story DJay will work on after this one is long gone. IT is chicken, IT is eggs, IT is in between your legs.
Red: But we don't have anything there. That's what I keep saying.
Amphis believes it, too. And you'd be right. IT is nothing. Yet IT is real. IT is here, IT is now. And you can't stop IT.
[..oh yeah, Shadow, I forgot to mention IT. Stop IT, too. Write that down in your notebook.]
Shadow: Um.. *writes "STOP IT" in notebook* kay.
MK: So IT is the more.. real version of Red Metal?
IT is Red Metal, except IT is neither red nor a metal.
..if you want to win, I'll give you a head start. Kill me. I'm one of the Veterans.
Kill me. I won't fight back. I've done all I intended on doing.
TD: ...mmkay.
[the Tails Doll puts a curse on the Butterfy Collector]
.....what's that supposed to do, again?
TD: Uh.. I haven't done curses in ages, but I think it's supposed to make you either die, or kill all your friends. Or both.
I don't have any friends. ..URK!
Chapter 35: The End Complete V- On the Brink
[the chao find themselves back in the Space/Time Rip Beyond the Planet of Pure Dooky]
Mp: *gasp* My home!
[the Daleks are here, as always]
Dalek1: YOU WERE UNABLE TO ACQUIRE YOUR SIXTH CHAOS DRIVE.
Shadow: Yeah, uh.. things got very complicated. I'm not even sure if finding John did anything.
Shade: It wasn't even John.. it was.. I'm not even sure!
Red: Yeah, The Lamb isn't known for being very specific.
Dalek2: IT DOES NOT MATTER. YOU HAVE NEW PROBLEMS.
Dalek1: THE WEIGHT OF THE WHOLE SHOW IS RESTING UPON YOUR SHOULDERS, PROTAGONISTS.
MK: Aw, hell. This ain't gonna be easy. Shadow, what have we got to do, again?
Shadow: Lemme check my notes.
1: Defeat the Veteran's Committee.
2: Defeat the Beta Avengers.
3: Fix the many plot holes plaguing the show's logic.
4: Acquire all seven green chaos drives-- this will help you to do 1 and 2.
5: Convince DJay32 not to end the show-- will require outside help.
6: STOP IT.
ShadeF: Sounds to me like you should focus on number four for now.
Shade: ..Future me, where did you come from?
ShadeF: Huh? I.. I don't really know. I was in the Void, last time I checked.. but then I was suddenly with you guys.
Red: ..that may be because the Veterans are losing control over the script.
Dalek3: THAT REMINDS ME OF A TOTALLY HELPFUL TIP. ^_^
Dark: I like this Dalek. :D
Dalek3: YOU GUYS HAVE POWER OVER THE SCRIPT, YOU KNOW. THE WRITING WRITER IS NOT THE ONLY ONE.
Shade: ...holy living ****, he's.. um.. she's.. it's right! We can bend the script!
Red: I imagine our enemies have more power than us, so we won't be able to do much when in their vicinity.
Mp: Yeah, or in their domains. Like Half-Life 2: Episode One, or Metal Gear Solid 3, or something.
Dalek1: ...OH CRAP. OHHH CRAP. I WAS JUST REMINDED. OF SOMETHING. BAD. VERY, VERY BAD.
Shadow: Whoa, if it makes you stop pontificating, then I'm actually a little scared. What is it?
Dalek1: ..OH WAIT. IT HASN'T HAPPENED YET IN THE TIME LOOP. NEVER MIND.
[the protagonists look at each other in confusion]
Dalek1: IT'S A VERY, VERY CONFUSING THING. I WILL NOT ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN IT.
Shadow: ..okay. So where do we go next, anyway? We need to get a different chaos drive.
Dalek2: YOUR NEXT CHAOS DRIVE IS IN THE HERO GARDEN.
Dark: ...hey, Shade?
Shade: Yeah, Dark?
Dark: ...........nothing.
Shade: No, really. Dark. What is it?
Dark: ..well... I mean..
[all the protagonists, and the Daleks, quiet down and look at Dark]
Dark: ..um..
[silence]
Dark: Isn't this where

Minor setbacks.

Well. DCA729 won't be able to be released yet. I had to delay it. My Gatekeepers haven't arrived yet, though, so story-wise, we're good.

In the meantime, here's a horrible promotional picture.

Tomorrow...

Tomorrow, on Monday, January the 9th, 2011.. catch the Season Finale.

That's right. Season Seven, "The End," is ending. Tomorrow.

Don't miss it. :D

John's Metropolis! :D

Previously, in the Epic Quest...
The four Darks regrouped and made their way to New York.
Shadow stepped into the mind of a crazy person and helped save Shade's brother, John.
The Writing Writer made it known that things will start to make a bit of sense at the end of the season.
Now we step out of one crazy journey and into another.

DARK CHAO ADVENTURES
Season Seven: The End?
Episode Seventy-Eight: Epic Quest in A Flat Minor ACT IV: John's Metropolis

[the scene begins in a small apartment]
Chapter 16: Metropolis, part 1 (The Miracle and the Sleeper)
[Shade, Dark, Shadow, and Red have brought John (formerly Shade 2) back to his apartment]
[they have placed him on the couch, and are currently sitting around, nervously, waiting for him to wake up]
[the camera zooms in on John's unconscious face]
[the scene drifts away to ancient Greece]
[the smile of dawn arrives.. it is early May]
[time lapse!]
[a woman appears on a hill, with blistering ankles]
[the unspeakable love affair..]
[night sheds a tear to tell her of fear and of sorrow and pain she'll never outgrow]
Woman: Death is the first dance, eternal...
[a cloaked figure-- Gatekeeper-- steps into the shot]
Gatek: There's no more freedom. The both of you will be confined to this mind.
[John slams into the ground-- he had fallen out of the sky-- and gets up]
John: ..I was told there's a miracle for each day that I try.
Woman: I was told there's a new love that's born for each one that has died.
John: I was told there'd be no one to call on when I feel alone and afraid.
Woman: I was told, if you dream of the next world, you'll find yourself swimming in a lake of fire.
[the Dark Garden montage Shade 2 childhood]
John: As a child, I thought I could live without pain, without sorrow...
[Shade 2 being kicked out of the Garden by Shawn Shade 2 becoming John John entering New York]
John: As a man, I've found it's all caught up with me. I'm asleep, yet I'm so afraid.
[ancient Greece]
Woman: Somewhere, like a scene from a memory, there's a picture worth a thousand words.
John: Eluding stares.. the face that's before me, it hides away and will never be heard of again.
Woman: Deceit is the second, without end.
[New York John surviving working withdrawing]
John: The city's cold blood teaches us to survive.
Woman: Just keep my heart in your eyes, and we'll stay alive.
[ancient Greece.. thunderous footsteps]
Woman: The third arrives.
[Shadow falls in from the sky]
Shadow: John? John, it's me. I.. sorta put myself in your dream. Sorry. I want you to wake up.
John: I've still got stuff to sort out in here, kid. You broke down the wall earlier, now something else is happening.
[the Gatekeeper shows up again]
Shadow: ..you. What's my next challenge?
Gatek: John will be vital to you, if you can save his mind. You've done half of the job.
Shadow: Well, what's wrong with him now?
[no response]
Woman: Before the leaves have fallen, before we lock the doors, there must be the third and last dance.
John: This one will last forever.
Gatek: Metropolis watches and thoughtfully smiles.. she's taken you to your home.
[the Gatekeeper disappears]
Woman: It can only take place when the struggle between our children has ended.
John: Now the Miracle and the Sleeper know that the third is love.
Both: Love is the dance of eternity.
[fades fade.. fades back to the apartment]
[John and Shadow wake up]
Shade: John! Bro!
John: Whoa. Shade. Right. Uh.. yeah, well.. hrm.
Shade: Dude, what the heck HAPPENED to you? You seem.. very not-okay.
John: It's.. complicated.
Shadow: The Gatekeeper said I have to "save your mind."
John: ..if you can, be my guest.
Shade: His mind needs saving?!
Red: Well, he clearly has some kind of problem. When we first found him, he was massively introverted, and then unconscious.
Shade: He's fine! He's.. completely fine.
John: Shade. It's alright. Let them help me.
Dark: .....OH. There's, like.. a psychiatrist person next door.
Red: Well, that's awfully convenient.
Shadow: I don't care how convenient it is; we've got to save him. C'mon.
[they take John next door to the medical person of questionable intent]
Chapter 17: (Metropolis, part 2 [Scenes From a Memory]) Regression/Overture 1928/Strange Deja-Vu
[it turns out, the doctor person is a hypnotherapist; the chao figure they have nothing to lose]
Hypno: Close your eyes and begin to relax.
[John does this]
Hypno: Take a deep breath, and let it out slowly.
[deep breath.. lets it out slowly]
Hypno: Concentrate on your breathing. With each breath, you become more relaxed.
[John starts to relax]
Hypno: Imagine a brilliant white light above you, focus in on this light as it flows through your body.
[John seems to be very relaxed]
Hypno: Allow yourself to drift off as you fall deeper and deeper into a more relaxed state of mind.
[he starts to drift off]
Hypno: Now, as I count back from ten to one, you will feel more calm and peaceful. Ten. Nine. Eight.
[John drifts off some more as he thinks he hears hints of music in his subconscious]
Hypno: Seven. Six. You will enter a safe place where nothing can harm you. Five. Four.
[the hypnotherapist's words are just echoes to John now]
Hypno: Three. Two. If at any time you need to come back, all you must do is open your eyes. One.
[now John is safe in the light that surrounds him, free of the fear and the pain]
[his subconscious mind starts spinning through time to rejoin the past once again]
John: Nothing seems real; I'm starting to feel lost in the haze of a dream...
[as he draws near, the scene becomes clear]
John: It's.. it's like watching my life on a screen.
[the woman from his previous dream appears]
John: Hello, Victoria. So glad to see you, my friend.
[they hold hands and dance around for a bit]
[John does not feel like he is dancing with her; he feels.. like he's dancing with himself.]
[But there's a hint of something else in there. Like holding hands with a corpse.]
[sinister feelings drift through John's mind, followed by feelings of euphoria, bliss, joy, depression, suicidal thoughts..]
[..and then nothing. He feels like he's dead.]
[Oh, the feeling's gone. He's just drifting around now.]
[drifting around.. it's a subconscious, strange sensation yielding unconscious relaxation]
John: What a pleasant nightmare... and I can't wait to get there again.
[every time John closes his eyes, there's another vivid surprise.. another whole life waiting, chapters unfinished, fading..]
[there's a house he's drawn to; there's a pathway leading there, with a haunting chill in the air]
[there's a room at the top of the stairs, and every night, John is drawn up there.]
[there's a girl in the mirror. Her face is getting clearer.]
John: Young child, won't you tell me why I'm here?
[he gazes into the eyes of the girl in the mirror]
John: In her eyes, I sense a story never told.. behind the disguise, there's something tearing at her soul.
Girl: Tonight, I've been searching for it.. a feeling that's deep inside me.
[she begins to come out of the mirror]
Girl: Tonight, I've been searching for the one that nobody knows; I'm trying to break free.
[she leaves the mirror, and starts walking away from John]
Girl: I just can't help myself; I'm feeling like I'm going out of my head. It tears my heart in two..
[she turns and looks at John]
Girl: I'm not the one the Sleeper thought he knew.
["Open your eyes, John."]
[suddenly, John is back in the hypnotherapist's office, awake]
Hypno: How do you feel now?
John: Back on my feet again, eyes open to the real world.. metropolis surrounds me; the mirror's shattered the girl.
[Shade looks at the others, who look back at him in confusion]
John: Why is this other life haunting me every day? I'd break through to the other side if only I'd find the way.
Shadow: Other life? John, what did you see?
John: Something's awfully familiar; the feeling's so hard to shake. Could I have lived in that other world?
[he gets up]
John: It's a link that I'm destined to make.
[he leaves the office; the others simply watch in confusion]
[John's still searching, but he doesn't know what for.]
John: ..the missing key to unlock my mind's door.
Chapter 18: Through My Words/Fatal Tragedy/Beyond This Life/Through Her Eyes
[John and Victoria in the mental void of blackness]
John: All your eyes have ever seen, all you've ever heard, is etched upon my memory.. is spoken through my word.
[they begin to fade]
John: All that I take with me is all you've left behind. We're sharing one eternity, living in two minds..
Victoria: Linked by an endless thread, impossible to break.
[John wakes up in his apartment that night to find the others are asleep]
[he quietly gets up]
[he shuts the door and travels to another home]
[he meets an older man; he seems to be alone]
John: I feel that I can trust you.
Man: Lad, did you know a girl was murdered here? This fatal tragedy was talked about for years.
John: ..Victoria's gone forever? Only memories remain.. she passed away; she was so young!
[without love, without truth, there can be no turning back]
[as the night went on, John started to find his way; he learned about a tragedy, a mystery still today]
John: What more can you tell me?
Man: You're on your own.
[the man turns away and leaves him here, all alone]
Man: ..you'll know the truth as your future days unfold.
[without faith, without hope, there can be no peace of mind]
[John spends the night tossing and turning in bed, restless]
[the next day, he goes to the hypnotherapist again and tells him of his findings]
[the hypnotherapist has an idea of what to do; he tells John to lie down]
[they're going to perform regression again]
Hypno: Now it is time to see how you died. Remember that death is not the end.. but only a transition.
[the scene shifts into drifting to 1928]
[a newspaper is on the ground]
[Headline: "MURDER! YOUNG GIRL KILLED! Desperate shooting at Echo's Hill. Dreadful ending, killer died, evidently suicide."]
[The article reads, "A witness heard a horrifying sound. He ran to find a woman dead and lying on the ground.]
["Standing by her was a man, nervous, shaking, gun in hand. Witness says he tried to help, but he'd turned the weapon on himself.]
["His body fell across that poor young girl; after shouting out in vain, the witness ran to call for assistance.]
["A sad close to a broken love affair."]
John: Our deeds have traveled far. What we have been is what we are.
[The article goes on, "She wanted love forever, but he had another plan. He fell into an evil way; she had to let him down.]
["She said, 'I can't love a wayward man.' She may have found a reason to forgive, if only he had tried to change.]
["Was their fatal meeting prearranged?]
["Had a violent struggle taken place? There was every sign that led there. Witness found a switchblade on the ground.]
["Was the victim unaware?]
["They continued to investigate. They found a note in the killer's pocket. It could have been a suicide letter.]
["Maybe he had lost her love?"]
Letter: "I find there's only one thing left to do. I'd sooner take my life away than live with losing you."
John: Our deeds have traveled far. What we have been is what we are.
Victoria: All that we learn this time is carried beyond this life.
["Open your eyes, John."]
[John finishes up his hypnotherapy session, then heads to the nearest graveyard]
[after some searching, he finds Victoria's grave]
John: She never really had a chance on that fateful moonlit night...
[Now that John has become aware of this fatal tragedy, a sadness grows inside of him]
John: It all seems so unfair. I'm learning all about my life by looking through her eyes.
[the camera shows the writing on her stone, "In loving memory of our child, so innocent, eyes open wide"]
[John begins to cry; he feels empty, like he would suffocate]
[he goes home; the scene speeds along to nighttime]
[he weeps like a baby as he lies, awake, in bed]
[and John knows what it's like to lose someone you love...]
John: ..this feels just the same. I had to suffer one last time to grieve for her and say "Goodbye.."
[the door has opened wide, he's turning with the tide, looking through her eyes]
[the curtain closes on this scene.. and the intermission begins]
Chapter 19: (Intermission) Ytze Jam
[cut to the apartment; Shade, Dark, Red, and Shadow are sitting around, bored]
Red: Well, THIS is a boring episode.
Shadow: The hypnotherapist told me it's best to let John deal with this problem by himself.
Shade: Why the heck does he think there's some other life?
Shadow: Most likely, that'd be either DJay or the Gatekeepers messing with the script.
Red: I get the feeling it's either the Veteran's Committee or something else.
Shadow: "Something else?" Like what, Red?
Red: I.. I'm not sure. But there's definitely something else here. Some other large force at work.
Shade: What about the fugitive?
Red: He's an unknown factor. We don't know much about him, and we're trying not to worry about him.
Shadow: ..this is all going too easily.
Shade: Don't say that.
Shadow: No, really, screw being Genre Savvy. This IS all going too easily. We nearly have five chaos drives.
[KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK]
[they stare at the front door]
[they look at each other]
[Shadow gets up]
[he opens the front door]
[it's Mephiles!]
Mp: Hey. Shadow here?
Shadow: That would be me.
Mp: Oh? OH. Sorry, all you guys look the same to me. Uh.. well, you wanted that chaos drive, right? That fifth one?
Shadow: Yeah, and you couldn't find it.
Mp: Yeah, well.. turns out, it was in my pocket the whole time!
[Shadow's jaw drops]
Mp: Mind if I come in?
[Shadow steps to the side, jaw agape; Mephiles steps in and sits down]
[Shadow is about to close the door when Mecha Knuckles and the Tails Doll come in]
MK: Comin' through!
TD: You don't mind if we crash here, do ya? Thanks, you're a pal.
[Shadow closes the door and goes back to his seat, only to find Mecha has taken it]
[he stands next to the Doll]
Shade: So what's going on? Why are they here?
MK: Those Veteran guys, they're bad. REAL bad, man.
TD: They have this big plan to get us sent back to Sonic Team, and end the show.
Mp: And hell, they knew Sonic Team didn't want me, but they were still gonna ship me back.
TD: Man, Sonic Team doesn't want ANY of us. We'd be just ideas then. Gone forever.
MK: Yeah, we like just sitting around in the Stardust Eggman. And going on adventures with you guys.
TD: Bottom line is, we don't want the show to end.
Mp: That's not even why I wanted out.
MK: The ****? Then why?
Mp: Turns out, one of those guys, Echo? Well.. he's up to something.
Shadow: Wait, wait, wait. Echo? I haven't seen him since.. well, Future Europe. The first chaos drive.
Red: I thought he was sick.
Mp: He WAS sick. Now he's up, but the Veteran guys won't let him do anything. They're keeping him under quarantine of sorts.
TD: What is he, a zombie?
Mp: Nah, that'd be stupid and overdone.
MK: Now what the heck does "that's overdone" have to do with this? Life does **** that's overdone all the time.
Red: Ah, but gentlemen, I see where Mephiles is going with this. This ISN'T life. This is a fanfic.
Mp: Yeah, that's what I was getting at. DJay's not the kind of guy who writes about zombies. He has something planned.
Shadow: ....something planned. Something.. Mephiles, what day is it?
Mp: Sunday.
Shadow: Then whatever's happening is happening tomorrow. Without a doubt.
Red: You sure? He told you, I take it?
Shadow: Yes. He said we need to wait for Monday. ..wait, right! I almost forgot. You said you had the chaos drive?
Mp: ..oh yeah! We were still telling our story. So we realized we couldn't stay under their custody, right?
MK: Oh, yeah. So then Mephiles pretended he didn't have the drive, so they thought we were useless.
Mp: Then, they just left us back in the Stardust Eggman, and I told these guys about my lie.
TD: We yelled at him for a bit, then he told us what they were planning to do.
Mp: Anyway!
[Mephiles pulls out a shiny new green chaos drive out of his pocket]
Mp: This what you were looking for?
[Shadow grabs the drive, and absorbs it or whatever the devil chao do with those things]
Shadow: Yes. Thank you, Mephiles.
Mp: No prob. Tell you what, we'll come with you guys and help you get your last two, kay? Everyone fine with that?
MK: Sure thing.
TD: I don't want to be working for Sonic Team again.
Mp: So then. The heck are you trying to do now?
Shadow: That's the thing. We.. really don't know. We were told the next drive will be in New York somewhere. Sometime.
TD: "Sometime?" Like.. any time at all? ****.
Shadow: Yeah, so for now, we're just killing time, and doing what the Gatekeepers tell us to do.
Mp: "Gatekeepers." Great. Lots of new stuff here.
Shadow: Yeah, I know. I'm not even sure what the Gatekeepers are, but all I know is that I've got to do what they say.
Red: Yeah, won't the world.. get eaten, or something? If you refuse?
Shadow: Yes.
MK: Holy living ****.
Shadow: But apparently, they're omens. Bad omens. They only show up when a hero's quest will cause fatal results.
TD: In English, please?
Shade: If the kid keeps going with the chaos drives, something extremely bad is going to happen.
Shadow: My money's on The Unwritten End.
Mp: So what was the last thing they told you to do?
Shadow: Help Shade's brother, John. He's got quite a lot of mental problems, it seems.
MK: And where is the bugger now?
Shadow: Either in bed, asleep, or next door at the hypnotherapist.
[the camera pans back and fades out]
Chapter 20: Home
[welcome to 1928]
[there is a man, a lazy man, a gambler.. and the Sleeper]
[he is giving a soliloquy]
Sleeper: Shine, lake of fire.. lines, take me higher. My mind drips desire, confined and overtired.
[he stands up from gambling (did I forget to mention that?)]
Sleeper: Living this charade is getting me nowhere.. I can't shake this charade; the city's cold blood calls me home.
[he looks, longingly, in the distance]
Sleeper: Home! It's what I long for.. back home where I belong.
[reality begins to drift away as he falls down and down]
Sleeper: HELP! I'm falling.. I'm crawling.. I can't keep away from its clutch. Can't have it, this habit..
[close-up of his face]
Sleeper: It's calling me back to my home.
[the scene drifts off to a different man, 1928..]
[this man is a senator, busy and wise; he is the brother of the Sleeper.. he is the Miracle]
[he is also giving a soliloquy]
Miracle: I remember the first time she came to me.. she poured out her soul all night and cried.
[zoom-in on the Miracle]
Miracle: I remember I was told there's a new love that's born for each one that had died.
[the background gets all firey and evil]
Miracle: Living their other life is getting them nowhere. I'll make her my wife; her sweet temptation calls me home.
[moohoohaha]
Miracle: My home, it's where she belongs.. her ecstacy means so much to me, even deceiving my own blood.
[muahahaha]
Miracle: Victoria watches and thoughtfully smiles.. she's taken me to my home.
[he begins to fall into the fading reality]
Miracle: HELP! He's my brother.. but I love her. I can't keep away from her touch! Deception.. dishonour..
[close-up of his face]
Miracle: It's calling me back to my home.
[as reality drifts, it shows scenes from 1928]
[The Sleeper is lost in his addictions...]
[CHING CHING CHING]
["Just one more. C'mon. Just one more."]
[..and the Miracle is lost in Metropolis.]
[THUMP THUMP THUMP]
["Just one more time. C'mon, Victoria. One more."]
[CHING CHING]
["Just one more. C'mon."]
[THUMP THUMP]
["Just one more time. C'mon, Victoria."]
[CHING]
["Just one more."]
[THUMP]
["Just one more time."]
[CHING]
["C'mon."]
[THUMP]
["C'mon, Victoria."]
[CHING]
[THUMP]
[CHING!]
[THUMP!]
["Open your eyes, John."]
[John wakes up in the hypnotherapist's office, and begins HIS soliloquy]
John: Her story, it holds the key to unlocking dreams from my memory. Solving this mystery is everything that's a part of me!
[he begins leaving the office]
John: HELP! Regression obsession.. I can't keep away from its clutch. Leave no doubt, to find out...
[close-up of John's face]
John: It's calling me back to my home.
Chapter 21: The Dance of Eternity/One Last Time/The Spirit Carries On
[John is walking along, contemplating]
John: It doesn't make any sense, this tragic ending.. in spite of the evidence, there's something still missing.
[as he's walking, he hears some rumors-- a taste of one's wealth]
["Did Victoria wound his soul?"]
["Did she bid him farewell?"]
[he sits down on a bench, and can hear Victoria in the back of his mind]
["One last time, we'll lay down today.. one last time, until we fade away!"]
[he gets up and does some searching; he finds the house of the Miracle, Sleeper's brother]
John: Here I am, inside his house. It holds the many clues to my suspicions. And as I'm standing here right now..
[he looks around]
John: I'm finally shown what I have always known.
[the house begins to come to life; footsteps are heard, voices are raised]
John: Are these her memories awakened through my eyes? This house has been brought back to life!
[he finds an open door]
[he walks on through into the Miracle's bedroom]
[he feels as cold as outside; the walls disappear]
[he hears a woman scream, and a man begs forgiveness]
John: His words, I cannot hear...
[he ponders this for a bit]
[he spends the next hypnotherapy session trying to talk to Victoria]
John: ..was the Miracle involved in this?
[Victoria appears in front of him]
Victoria: Move on, be brave, don't weep at my grave because I'm no longer here, but please never let your memories of me disappear!
John: ..safe in the light that surrounds me, free of the fear and the pain, my questioning mind has helped me to find the meaning in my life again.
[Victoria hugs him]
John: Victoria's real; I finally feel at peace with the girl in my dreams. And now that I'm here, it's perfectly clear...
[he hugs back]
John: I found out what all of this means.
[sparks fly, happiness swirls around]
John: If I'd die tomorrow, I'd be alright, because I believe that after we're gone.....
Both: The spirit carries on!
Chapter 22: Finally Free
[he begins to hear the hypnotherapist's voice, first an echo..]
Hypno: You are once again surrounded by a brilliant white light.
[a brilliant white light enters his subconscious]
Hypno: Allow the light to lead you away from your past and into this lifetime.
[as John follows the light, Victoria starts to fade, and the hypnotherapist's voice becomes more defined]
Hypno: As the light dissipates, you will slowly fade back into consciousness, remembering all you have learned.
[the light dissipates, and John starts to feel his body again]
Hypno: When I tell you to open your eyes, you will return to the present, feeling peaceful and refreshed.
[John is now back to normal, though his eyes are closed]
Hypno: Open your eyes, John.
[he opens his eyes, and feels better and clearer than he ever has before]
[as he happily returns back home, we get to see what really happened back then, in 1928]
[the Miracle is standing in front of the Sleeper and Metropolis' corpses]
Miracle: Friday evening, the blood's still on my hands. To think that she would leave me now for that ungrateful man...
[he looks around, paranoid]
Miracle: Sole survivor.. no witness to the crime. I must act fast to cover up; I think that there's still time.
[he pulls out a piece of paper and a pen]
Miracle: He'd seem hopeless and lost with this note; they'll buy into the words that I wrote.
[he plants the letter on the Sleeper, and starts a soliloquy]
Miracle: This feeling inside me.. finally found my love, I've finally broke free.
[the scene goes back several hours; we see Victoria, happy and cheerful]
Victoria: Feeling good this Friday afternoon! I ran into Julian, said we'd get together soon.
(Julian being the Sleeper)
Victoria: He's always had my heart; he needs to know. I'll break free of the Miracle; it's time for him to go!
[now she begins HER soliloquy]
Victoria: No longer torn in two; he'd kill his brother if he only knew.
[she and the Sleeper meet up; their love renewed, they'd rendezvous in a pathway out of view]
[they thought no one knew, then came a shot out of the night...]
[footsteps..]
[Victoria exclaims]
[struggle!]
[BANG]
[BANG]
["AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! AAAH!"]
["Open your eyes, Victoria."]
[BANG]
[BANG!]
Sleeper: One last time, we lay down today.. one last time, we fade away...
[as their bodies lie still, and the ending draws near, spirits rise through the air]
[all their fears disappear; it all becomes clear]
[a blinding light comes into view; an old soul is exchanged for a new]
[familiar voice comes shining through...]
John: This feeling inside me, finally found my life, I'm finally free.
[John is on his way back home]
John: No longer torn in two; I learned about my life by living through you.
[he stops at his front door, and looks up at the sky]
John: We'll meet again, my friend.. someday soon.
[he enters his apartment and is greeted by all seven people]
Mp: So, this is the Johnster, huh?
John: Um.. wait, who are these guys?
[they fill him in; he fills them in on his developments, as well]
Shade: So you're okay now?
John: I've never felt more alive, bro.
[they hug]
[John sits down and turns the television on]
[there's a news report]
News: --downtown Brooks. And in other news, a man was caught in Rockefeller Center today under suspicion of a bomb threat.
MK: Pfft, New York always has the weirdest news.
Shadow: Wait, wait, hang on.
[the video feed shows a cloaked man being escorted away by the police]
Shadow: That looks like a Gatekeeper.
News: He was reported with a message to a mister.. Shadow. "Your final challenge is to find John. Then you will be done."
[they turn off the TV and stare at John]
[he stares back at them]
John: Um.. I'm right here.
MK: Now hang on. This guy's challenge was prolly just late. He only came home, like.. a minute ago.
Shadow: Yes. I'm sure that's it. Either way, let's stick with John for tonight.
TD: Alright, then.
[they spend the night talking, watching TV, and keeping a close eye on John]
[cut to them listening to some old records, drinking beverages, and relaxing]
[footsteps]
[John is sitting with his eyes closed, enjoying the music]
[footsteps]
[the other chao have fallen asleep]
[footsteps]
[Mecha and the Doll are out at a bar]
[footsteps]
[Mephiles is half-awake, half-asleep]
[footsteps]
[John sighs, content]
["Open your eyes, John."]
[John gasps and bumps the record player, cutting the music off and replacing it with static]
Chapter 23: The End Complete
[the chao wake up; Mephiles jumps up]
[John is dead, lying on the ground]
[the hypnotherapist is standing over his body with a pistol]
Hypno: It begins now. Finish up, Shadow.
[he disappears]
Shade: What th.. WHAT THE ****?!?!
Shadow: He was a Gatekeeper. All this time, and he was a freaking Gatekeeper! ARGH!
[Shadow punches the wall]
Shadow: How could I have been so stupid?! Of course! It WAS all going way too easy!
Red: Calm down, Shadow. This was clearly meant to happen. If it didn't, you'd be refusing the challenge.
Shade: My brother was "meant" to die?!
Dark: Shade--
Shade: WHERE THE **** DID YOU COME FROM?!
Shadow: Yeah, you've been awfully quiet lately.
Dark: I've just been.. thinking. About stuff.
Red: Like what?
Dark: Well.. Monday. Tomorrow. What DJay means by "his own Gatekeepers." And what his reasons for ending DCA are.
Shadow: He said we'll find everything out tomorrow, Dark. No need to think about it.
Dark: Yeah, but it's just like Marble Hornets. We don't HAVE to think about it, but it's fun.
[KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK]
Shadow: Argh, again?!
Mp: I'll get it. That'll be Mecha and the Doll coming back from the bar.
[he opens the door, but.. it's not]
Mp: Who are you?
?: I'm Jack White. I was told to come here by Echo.
[everyone looks at the chao standing in the front door]
[he's a lime-green chao with two antennae and red eyes]
Shade: ..White?
Shadow: You're not White. White's a.. a neutral.
White?: But I am. I'm Adrian Ruthford, codename "Jack White." I helped overthrow Eggman, remember?
Shadow: Well.. geez! What happened?
White?: I evolved. I'm a Rebel chao.
[Shade shivers]
Red: You okay, Shade?
Shade: ..who did you say sent you?
White?: Echo. Why?
Shade: And.. and what did he want you to do?
White?: He told me to go to this address and help Shadow. Oh, and he has messages to both Shade and Shadow.
Shadow: What's mine?
White?: Uh.. "You're going to need all the help you can get."
Shadow: Well, that was nice of him. Maybe he was quarantined because he's not a Veteran anymore?
White?: Yeah, it's something like that. I dunno the details, really. Just that he's not a Veteran anymore.
Shade: And what was the message to me?
White?: Oh, yeah. "Echoes of your past life will come back to haunt you as the End Complete moves on to its final act."
Red: Well, THAT'S rather cryptic.
Shadow: Come in, White.
[White comes in]
[before Mephiles closes the door, Mecha shouts "WAIT!"]
[Mecha and the Doll enter, panicking]
MK: CLOSE THE DOOR!
TD: SHUT THAT THING! NOW!
[Mephiles shuts the door; the Tails Doll locks it]
Mp: Hey, calm down! What happened? You lose a bet? Tick someone off?
MK: Dude.. DUDE. It was a freaking.. killer plant thing!
TD: I think it was called a "Hogweed."
[Dark's face lights up]
[the gang just stands/sits; they have a LOT going on now]
[the camera pans out and leaves the apartment]
END ACT IV