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

Prog Volume I end speculation.

Prog (volume) I, just so you know, is the codename for the Epic Quest in A Flat Minor. There's a pretty damn good chance that it will be the only volume, so now we're just keeping the name 'cause it sounds cool. "Prog I." I like it.

Anyway. The Epic Quest. I hope you guys are liking it so far. I'm really, really, really passionate about progressive rock, so I wanted to give it a proper tribute. Of course, being an insecure teenager, I realize (very, very much) how boring it is for most people to even listen TO some prog, let alone listen to people talk about it. I also remembered how much fun I had working on DCAHall3, and how.. surprisingly well that turned out. Even Act V. o.o So I decided to combine my passion for prog with my passion for writing, and.. yeah! I'm trying to make this progressive script as entertaining for non-prog fans as I can.

If you're wondering about the Gatekeepers, I really don't know where I'm going with them. xD But for once, that is entirely intentional. After all, in the old epics of yore (namely, The Odyssey, The Illiad, and the like), there were all kinds of beings that just sorta.. showed up inexplicably. Hell, even modern-day (musical) epics have them (like the Lamia, the Carpet Crawlers, even the eponymous lamb in "Lamb Lies Down," Narcissus n' the Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man in "Supper's Ready.." even the older man in "Metropolis part 2" wasn't exactly explained at all).

..so yeah, I'm using the whole "Those guys didn't need explanations" excuse. >.>

Oh. All this time, and I've yet to include the necessary "What the fuck is 'prog'" section. I haven't even explained it in the script yet. ..so here you go!

So what in the name of shitting fucksicles is "prog?"

Progressive rock, or "prog," is rock with classical/jazz influences. Or it might be rock that does not follow traditional song structure, nor traditional time signatures. It frequently has extended instrumental sections and.. concept albums, leitmotifs.. shit like that. It's not that easy to give an accurate description of prog, but it's sometimes called "art rock," and the common opinion on it involves "ten-minute space-rock solos."

IMPORTANT: THERE IS NO PROG SONG WITH A TEN-MINUTE SPACE-ROCK SOLO. EXCEPT FOR MAYBE "ECHOES." BUT THAT DOESN'T COUNT, 'CAUSE PINK FLOYD ISN'T PROGRESSIVE IN THE SLIGHTEST.

..OKAY, SO MAYBE THEY ARE.

ANOTHER IMPORTANT THING: EVERYTHING THE COMMON MAN KNOWS ABOUT PROGRESSIVE ROCK ONLY APPLIES TO PINK FLOYD, EXCEPT FOR "REALLY GOOD INSTRUMENTALISTS AND SINGERS." THAT DOES NOT APPLY. THEY'RE ALRIGHT. NOT MAGICAL, NOT SPECIAL, NOT UNIQUE, AND NOT PARTICULARLY ALL THAT GOOD.

..IN MY OPINION.

But, then again, I'm very strict about what I consider to be "good." THEN AGAIN, I'm one of the only people I know who thinks Dream Theater's "The Great Debate" is good. ...okay, I admit it, I don't exactly have the best of tastes in music. But at least I don't just like what others tell me to. I listen to all this shit, y'know. I listen to it, and I analyse it.

Um.. what was I talking about? OH YEAH. What prog is.

Here are some examples of progressive rock songs (Google 'em at your own risk):

"Cygnus X-I" and "Cygnus X-I Book II: Hemispheres," by Rush.

"The Fountain of Lamneth," also by Rush. "2112's" pretty proggy, too.

"Supper's Ready," "Watcher of the Skies," "Can-Utility and the Coastliners," "Get 'Em Out By Friday," all by Genesis.

..hell, most of Genesis' early work (from Trespass 'til Duke, I think) is progressive.

Most of Dream Theater's work, namely "Metropolis part 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper," "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence," The Twelve-Step Suite ("The Glass Prison," "This Dying Soul," "The Root of All Evil," "Repentance," "The Shattered Fortress"), Metropolis part 2: Scenes From a Memory.. yeah, most of their work.

..I'm feeling lazy now. xD Screw the prog explanation; let's get back to talking about DCA.

SO Act III was quite the departure in style from the first two acts, wasn't it? It focused a lot more on dreams, the perceptions of self-isolation, and mental problems. It even had guest-star ME in it again. I've been showing up a lot lately. o: That has to do with the "ulterior motives behind DCA" that has come up a couple of times, as well as with "the Unwritten End," as Coheed & Cambria put it.

To make it absolutely clear, I have reasons for wanting to end DCA, and they will become clear by the end of Season Seven. To kinda hint at stuff, I might possibly also be making a follow-up to DCAHall3's "Bound to a Stream of Consciousness." I dunno why I'm so obsessed with that entry. I guess.. 'cause it actually scared me, to write and read.

More definite news! Act IV of the Epic Quest will be dedicated to Dream Theater. Act V will be dedicated to Genesis. There may be the occasional other reference, but it'll mostly be two scripts filled with many tributes to my two favourite bands. :3

..so there. Look forward to seeing Shadow get the last two/three chaos drives.

Bricks! :D

Oh hey, I'm actually gonna be able to finish this damn serial before it happens. My Gatekeepers keep delaying their visit. But believe me, I am anxious as hell for this. You can see how bad it's getting in this script. You can't miss it.

Previously, in the Epic Quest...
Shadow was forced to kill himself to satisfy a Gatekeeper.
To escape the Underworld, he had to strike a deal with the Dark Lord: Kill the Writer.
In the climax of that task, Shadow was unable to deal any finishing blows, and thus he broke the deal.
But the Dark Lord did not punish him..?
Now Shadow has regrouped with Shade and Dark, and they are on their way to New York.

DARK CHAO ADVENTURES
Season Seven: The End?
Episode Seventy-Seven: Epic Quest in A Flat Minor ACT III: Bricks

[the scene begins in a countryside at daytime]
[a rocket flies in and lands]
[out of the rocket comes Shadow]
Shadow: This doesn't look like New York, guys.
Chapter 11: The Count of Tuscany
[cut to miles down the road]
[Red is walking along the side]
[a car pulls up to him and stops]
[a young, eccentric man, bred from royal blood, is sitting in the driver's seat]
[he opens the window, then leans out]
Man: GET INTO MAH CAH.
Red: What? ...no!
Man: C'mon, let's go for a drive! Along the way, I'll be your guide....
Red: I don't wanna!
Man: Just step inside.
[Red acquiesces and sits at the passenger seat]
[the car drives off]
Red: So, um.. who are you? And where are we going?
Man: My identity is not important.. but maybe you'll recall a cannibal curator.
Red: You mean the baddie from "Silence of the Lambs?"
Man: Indeed. He was a character inspired by my brother's life, you see.
[Red looks out the window, worryingly]
[on and on, they drive.. the nearest city far behind]
[down narrow streets and dusty roads]
[at last, they come upon a picturesque estate on sprawling emerald fields]
Man: Ah, my abode. An ancient world of times gone by, no?
Red: Uh.. yeah...
[they pull up and enter the mansion]
[the man leads Red into a living room, complete with armchairs and fireplace]
Man: Pray, have a seat.
[Red sits down, as does the fancy man]
[there is a third armchair, facing the fire; a man's hand can be seen resting on the armrest]
Red: Who's that?
Man: Let me introduce... MAH BROTHA! A bitter gentleman. HISTOREEEIAN!
[the brother stands up and turns to face Red]
Brother: How do you do.
[sucking on his pipe, distinguished accent.. he's making Red uptight.]
Red: I.. um.. where is the lavatory?
[Red is directed to the bathroom, where he steps in and locks the door]
[he washes his face in the sink and speaks to himself]
Red: I wanna stay alive.. everything about this place just doesn't feel right. I don't want to die.
[he looks into the mirror]
Red: Suddenly, I'm frightened for my life. I wanna say goodbye.. this could be the last time anyone sees me alive.
[he unlocks the door and steps out-- and is immediately greeted by the man]
Man: Would you like to see our secret holy place?
Red: Um... s..sure..?
[the man leads him down into a dark room with a shrine]
Man: I come here late at night.. to pray to Him by candlelight.
[Red spots a window, and looks outside-- he sees, with disbelief, still dressed in royal clothes, the Saint behind the altar]
Man: Come. I have more to show you.
[the man leads him on to a wine cellar]
Man: History recalls, during times of war, legend has been traced back inside these castle walls.
Red: What legend is that?
Man: The soldiers came to hide in barrels filled with wine, never to escape.. these tombs of oak are where they died.
[Red spots a number of barrels nearby, and his eyes grow wide]
[down the cellar stairs, the man disappears, but his voice is heard from below]
Man: Like the angel's share.. the end is near. Moohoohaahaa.
[he pokes his head up the stairs, holding a glass of wine]
Man: Come and have a taste of this rare vintage. After all, all the finest wines improve with age.
[cut to outside the estate, Red steps outside into the gardens for a breath of fresh air]
Red: I may not survive. Knew it from the moment we arrived.
[he gazes up at the stars, and contemplates his life]
[Keep going, Red. Don't worry about it.]
Red: ..DJay?
[I'm frightened, too. My Gatekeepers aren't coming fast enough.]
Red: ..what do you mean?
[If I can stay strong when I absolutely feel like just dying, then so can you. Keep going.]
Red: .......
[Red thinks for a while, then goes back inside]
[he enters the living room and sits in an armchair; he notices he is the only one there]
Red: Could this be the end? Is this the way I die? Sitting here alone, no one by my side?
[the man enters the room, then notices Red talking to himself, and hides, listening in]
Red: I don't understand.. I don't feel that I deserve this. What did I do wrong? I just don't understand.
Man: I just don't understand?
[Red sees him]
Red: Give me one more chance, let me please explain.. it's all been circumstance, I'll tell you once again.
Man: Whatever do you mean?
Red: You took me for a ride, promising a vast adventure.. next thing that I know, I'm frightened for my life.
Man: Now, wait a minute, man! That's not how it is! You must be confused; that isn't who I am.
Red: Then who the hell are you?
Man: Please don't be afraid. I would never try to hurt you. This is how we live, strange though how it seems...
[he sighs]
Man: Please try to forgive. The chapel and the saint, the soldiers and the wine, the fables and the chills all handed down through time.
Red: ..I forgive you. I just.. I want to go home.
Man: Of course, you're free to go! Go and tell the world my story.. tell them about my brother, tell them about me...
Red: Who ARE you, though?
Man: The Count of Tuscany!
[KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK]
[the Count and Red go to the front door and open it; Shade, Dark, and Shadow are there in front of a busted rocket ship]
Shadow: Hi, um.. you wouldn't happen to know the quickest way to get to New York, would you? It's kinda my next challenge.
Chapter 12: On the Run/One of These Days
[the Count drops the chao off at the nearest airport]
[they thank him and run like hell-- next flight to New York is in half an hour]
[the four of them hurry to the ticket counter, then realize they have no money]
[Shadow runs back outside, only to find the Count has driven off]
[he goes back in, and shrugs]
[the chao come up with a plan]
[Dark runs around a bit and trips over Shade, who gets mad at him]
[the security guards come to see what's happening]
[Shadow and Red sneak around to a back hallway]
[Red gives the other two a thumbs-up; they get up and run like hell]
[security gives chase]
[the chao run through the airport, riding terminal trains, going up and down escalators, dodging checkpoints]
[they meet up in the snack bar]
[Red leads them into a back door out into the runway]
[they sneak onto a plane, and hide in the cargo holds]
[as they hide behind suitcases and luggage, a security guard enters the holds]
[the guard spots Dark's emotiball]
Guard: One of these days, I'm going to cut you into little pieces.
[Dark hears this and runs to another hiding place]
[the guard spots him and gives chase]
[Dark hops across the luggage, then runs up a ramp into the main plane]
[he is chased through business class, second class, first class, up to the flight deck]
Pilot: GET THE HELL OUT OF THE COCKPIT!
Dark: Heheh.. you said--
[the guard grabs him; he wriggles free and runs]
[he is chased back down to the cargo holds, where this time, he hides in a suitcase]
[the guard cannot find him, and assumes he has left the plane; he leaves, as well]
[the plane takes off, and the chao are now safe]
Chapter 13: In the Flesh?
[cut to a hotel in New York City]
[Shade, Dark, Red, and Shadow enter the lobby and spot a white Dark chao sitting perfectly still]
Red: ..hey, Shade. Isn't that.. Shade 2?
Shade: John. Yeah, they said he was here in New York, didn't they? Hey! John! Bro!
[they run up to John; he remains sitting, staring into the beyond]
Shade: ..bro?
John: So ya, thought ya might like to.. go to the show. To feel the warm thrill of confusion, that space-cadet glow...
Shade: Bro, what.. what's wrong?
John: Tell me, is something eluding you, sunshine? Is this not what you expected to see?
Shade: No.. John, what's the problem? Are you okay?
John: If you wanna find out what's behind these ol' eyes, you'll just have to claw your way through this disguise.
?: He's long gone.
[the receptionist is talking to the chao]
Rec: It's your next challenge, Green One. Save John.
Shadow: *gasp* Another Gatekeeper...
Shade: We have to figure out what's wrong with my brother?
John: If you should go skating.. on the thin ice of modern life.. dragging behind you, the silent reproach of a million tear-stained eyes... don't be surprised when a crack in the ice appears beneath your feet.
Shadow: Alright, c'mon, John. What's troubling you? Tell me about it.
John: Daddy's gone 'cross the ocean.. leaving just a memory. He didn't love me, anyway...
Shade: Oh.. right.. dad never loved him.
John: Daddy, what'd you leave behind for me? All in all, it was just a brick in the wall. All just bricks in the wall.
Shade: C'mon, bro.. what about our childhood? The happiest days of our lives?
John: When I grew up and went to school, there were certain teachers who would hurt the children in any way they could...
Shade: Oh, my. I.. I guess school was different back then.
John: We don't need no education, no thought control.. no dark sarcasm in the classrooms...
Red: Damn, he's lost in his world.
John: HEY. Teacher! Leave them kids alone!
[the chao stare at each other]
John: All in all, it's just another brick in the wall.. you're just another brick in the wall.
You're all just bricks in the wall.
All just bricks in the wall.
Just bricks.
[reality seems to shift away into puddles of green]
Shadow: Green.
[a green wall appears before Shadow]
Shadow: A wall. A wall?
[A wall.]
Shadow: behind him lies a courtroom
[A court? Huh? This is all a bit strange.]
Shadow: reality fades in again
Red: Shadow? Shadow, you okay?
Shadow: What? Huh? ..oh. Yeah, sure.
John: I don't need no arms around me. No drugs to calm me. I've read the writing on the wall.
Shadow: "..the writing on the wall." What wall is he talking about?
Dark: Pink Floyd. It's a.. it's a prog thing.
Red: I didn't know Dark liked art rock.
Shade: Pfft, he's crazy about it. Remember, he used to sing Genesis like crazy?
I am aware now. Of what's going on.
[reality shifts.. into view]
Shadow: wat.
[Don't talk like that, Shadow. You know how insecure we.. rather, I am.]
Shadow: DJay again? Self-insert serial, or what?
[It's relevant to the overall plot.. I've dropped hints about this throughout the show, but it'll all make sense soon.]
Shadow: But.. Deej, could you speak English? Just once?
[Insert sigh here. I'll insert another chapter, then I'll give you a call.]
Chapter 14: In the Flesh/Run Like Hell/Waiting for the Worms/Stop/The Trial/Outside the Wall
[Shadow is in an apartment]
[the phone rings; he answers it]
[Hello, Gatekeepers speaking, is Shadow there?]
Shadow: Um.. hello.
[I'm going to talk to you in private at the end of this season, Shadow. Then, we can talk about business.]
[Just you and I.]
Shadow: I've been waiting for this for so long. Thank you.
[We're getting you out of there, Ulysses.]
Shadow: ....please, DJay. It's justttttttttttttttttttssssniaastop.
[I can't.]
Shadow: Let me.
[No.]
Shadow: Tear down the wall.
[I CAN'T. Not yet. I am unable to.]
Shads=nononohangonhangon. Just please hang on. Little bit longer.
A little. Bit. Longer.
I'm being stubborn.
No, I'm not. ..okay, so I am.
But Ten Speed, if I must, then I must.
..I sigh, then I resume typing. Tears will have to wait, yet again. They've waited months; they can wait another week.
"Not until we're out. Out in the flesh."
[Just hang on until Monday. I'm having to. Please cut me some slack.]
Shadow: ..Monday. Got it. What day is it now?
[It's 3 AM on a Friday morning.]
Shadow: Alright, DJay. I'll wait until Monday.
[Thank you. Would you like to return to the hotel?]
Shadow: *sigh* Not really. Most of these challenges have been even remotely exciting, but this one's.. a big meh.
[Oh, keep going with it. I think the others have gotten the boring parts out of the way now.]
Red: Sh..Shadow?
Shadow: Guys, what day is it?
Red: Friday?
Shadow: ..well, I'll be damned. Okay. How's John doing?
John: Would you like to see Britannia rule again?
Shadow: ..I see. Well. *pulls up chair* Hello, John. What seems to be the problem?
John: Would you like to send our coloured cousins home again?
Shadow: Hm. John, are you REALLY saying all this? Or are you just not feeling yourself?
John: ...I wanna go home.. take off this uniform and leave the show. But I'm waiting in this cell because I have to know...
Shadow: And what's that?
[John leans forward and stares Shadow in the eyes]
John: ..have I been guilty all this time?
[John then grabs Shadow]
[reality revolves to reveal John's perspective]
John (voice-over, echo): As you are, I was..... as I am, you will be. View the world.. through walled eyes.
[on Shadow's left.. a giant, expansive, neverending wall]
[on Shadow's right.. a giant, expansive, neverending wall]
[in front of Shadow.. a giant, expansive, neverending wall]
[behind Shadow.. a giant, expansive, neverending wall]
[John is in court, in the defendant's chair]
[a mass of morbidly macabre maintenance mice stand before him]
Mass: Good morning, Worm, Your Honor.. the mass will plainly show the prisoner, who now stands before you, was caught--
Mouse: RED-HANDED--
Mass: --showing FEELINGS--
Mouse: FEELINGS--
Mass: Of an almost HUMAN nature!
Mouse: This will not do.
[a giant Worm abomination is sitting at the Judge's chair]
Worm: What does THE defendant.. have to SAY ABOUT himself?
John: Crazy.. toys in the attic, I'm crazy.
Shadow: John...
John: They must have taken my marbles away.
Worm: Very WELL, then! Prosecution, YOU may call your first.... WITNESS!
Mass: CALL THE SCHOOLMASTER.
[a hissing python slithers into the court, its many heads and necks looking in all directions-- except for at John]
[Shadow gets a glimpse of the eyes of one of the python's heads-- they are not eyes. They are bullet holes.]
Snake: I alwaysssaid he'd come to no good, Your Honour. Let me whip him into sshape. Let me.. HAMMER him today.
[suddenly, a swarm of giant beetles barge into the courtroom, chattering loudly and feeling everywhere-- they are all blind]
Beetle: HAY HAY HAY where's that old sunuvagun now I WANT MY SUNUVAGUN JOHN LEMME HAMMER HIM A BIT
Beetle2: I TELL YA YOUR HONOR, there ain't no guy out there half as bad or crazy as this here motherhugger
Beetle3: Just five minutes, Worm, Your Honor!
All: HIM. US. ALONE.
Bird: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
[a giant bird stomps into the courtroom, pecking at all the beetles, giving off pure carnage]
Bird: YOUR HONOR, LET ME TAKE MY LITTLE JOHN HOME!
[the Worm bangs its gavel.. somehow]
Worm: DEFENDANT. How do you PLEAD?
John: Crazy.. over the rainbow, I am crazy. Bars in the window.
Shadow: John, c'mon! You're innocent! This is all in your head!
[suddenly, every single member of the court turns their head(s) to stare at Shadow; all goes quiet]
[John slowly and cryptically speaks to him]
John: There must have been a door there in the wall for when I came in.
[John stares at Shadow]
[Shadow stares at John]
[John stares at Shadow]
[Shadow stares at John]
[John stares at Shadow]
[Shadow stares at John]
[John stares at Shadow]
[Shadow stares at John]
Worm: The evidence before the COURT is inconTROvertable. There's NOO NEED FOR the jury to retire.
Mass: Pray, do tell!
Worm: In all my years of JUDGING I have never heard before of someONE MORE deserving of the full PENALTY.. of law.
Shadow: WHAT?! How?!
Worm: The WAY YOU MADE THEM SUFFER. Your.. exquisite.... father.. and brother. Fills me. With the urge. To. ..wrrrrETCH.
[...>.<]
Worm: SINCE. My friend. You have revealed.. your deepest fears.. I sentence you to be EXPOSED BEFORE your PEERS!
[he bangs the gavel]
Worm: tear down THE wall
Mass: TEAR down the wall
Beetles: tear DOWN the wall
Jury: tear down the WALL
Worm: tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall TEAR DOWN THE WALL
All: tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall
tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear tear tear the wall
Shadow: No but this isn't fair WAIT
John: tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall tear down the wall
AAAAAAAAAAHhhhhhhhhhhAHHAHHHAHHHHHhhhh
Shadow: John John John c'mon let's get out of here
John: i am paralyzed so afraid to die
Shadow: ..John?
[John runs]
[John tries to hide]
[but John is overwhelmed by this complex delirium]
[Shadow runs up to John and hugs him]
[bricks fall everywhere as the mob of angry creatures tears apart the foundations of the wall]
[Shadow and John stay in the corner while the bricks fall and fall and fall]
[ultimately, the bricks all fall, revealing a hotel lobby]
[THE hotel lobby]
[Shadow and John both fall backwards onto the floor, eyes wide]
Receptionist: Some stagger and fall. After all.. it ain't easy.. bangin' your head against some mad bugger's wall.
[the receptionist disappears]
[John simply stares at Shadow, then sees Shade and faints]
Chapter 15: After the Ordeal
[Shade, Dark, Red, and Shadow leave the hotel, carrying John with them]
[In John's mind, his corpse is being taken in a hearse out of a street filled with dead bodies.]
[Far in the distance, you think you can see what looks like the remnants of an old wall. But you're not sure.]
END ACT III