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