A7X Finishes Antony and Cleopatra, Act V, Scene 2. The End.
M SHADOWS' mancave in his house. MATT, BRIAN, Bella and Pinkly the dogs and Charmian the banded krait on stage
MATT
I’m feeling compromised and so dehumanized
I lost my final fight to disease
Enter BUNNY
BUNNY
Hi, excuse me. Is this a good time? I’m Belinda, but everyone calls me Bunny.
MATT
Yeah, Andrew told me about you. Seems you’ve turned into Octavian’s right hand woman.
BUNNY
Come on, be reasonable. You’ll be as amazing a band as ever, it’s just that your label will be a different name.
MATT
Right.
BUNNY
I’ll bring Oliver over then?
MATT
Whatever.
Exit BUNNY
BRIAN
We’re done for, Matt.
He clutches PINKLY. MATT stares at CHARMIAN, who’s lying in a coil.
MATT
I lost my final fight to disease, I feel that this is where it ends.
BELLA sidles up to MATT. He strokes her absently.
MATT
Now’s the part where I channel Cleopatra. But I don’t know how it goes.
BRIAN
You dreamt there was an Andrew Montague, such another sleep that you might see but such another man. His voice was propertied as all the tuned spheres, and that to friends; but when he was meant to quail and shake the orb, he was as rattling thunder.
MATT
That’s beautiful.
Enter OLIVER
OLIVER
So which one of you is the frontman?
MATT and BRIAN stand side by side, arms crossed, staring OLIVER down imperiously.
OLIVER
Oh come on, don’t be like that. It’s just a new record label to sing onto. You’ll be as awesome as ever. And I could make your albums gold… platinum - triple platinum. Well…just consider it, huh?
Exit OLIVER
MATT
I’ll be with Andrew again. And…and I’ll meet the Rev again.
BRIAN
God rest his soul.
MATT throws his arms around BRIAN. They embrace, BRIAN on the verge of manly tears. MATT approaches CHARMIAN and pokes her.
MATT
Come on, Charmian, do your thing. I need that shot to enter my veins, my Brompton cocktail blend
She strikes his arm.
MATT
And I take my life tonight because I have the right to die how I wanna and leave how I arrived, so alive.
MATT dies. BRIAN falls to his knees beside MATT’s body and takes a while to pull himself together. He steels himself.
Enter BUNNY
BUNNY
Where’s Matt? Oliver sent-
BRIAN
Oliver Kaiser’s too late.
He pokes CHARMIAN. She strikes and bites his jugular. He faces BUNNY and continues “Brompton Cocktail”. CHARMIAN goes back into a coil.
BRIAN
I wanna meet my maker in peace, I wanna feel alive again. [sinking] So put that smile back on my face…[dies]
Enter OLIVER
BUNNY
Oliver, they…they’re dead. Matt and the lead guitarist, Brian. It’s so senseless.
OLIVER
Matt will be buried with his Andrew Montague. The funerals will be fit for kings, and we’ll put it on Sextus Pompeius Records’ tab.
BUNNY
Yes.
FIN
MATT
I’m feeling compromised and so dehumanized
I lost my final fight to disease
Enter BUNNY
BUNNY
Hi, excuse me. Is this a good time? I’m Belinda, but everyone calls me Bunny.
MATT
Yeah, Andrew told me about you. Seems you’ve turned into Octavian’s right hand woman.
BUNNY
Come on, be reasonable. You’ll be as amazing a band as ever, it’s just that your label will be a different name.
MATT
Right.
BUNNY
I’ll bring Oliver over then?
MATT
Whatever.
Exit BUNNY
BRIAN
We’re done for, Matt.
He clutches PINKLY. MATT stares at CHARMIAN, who’s lying in a coil.
MATT
I lost my final fight to disease, I feel that this is where it ends.
BELLA sidles up to MATT. He strokes her absently.
MATT
Now’s the part where I channel Cleopatra. But I don’t know how it goes.
BRIAN
You dreamt there was an Andrew Montague, such another sleep that you might see but such another man. His voice was propertied as all the tuned spheres, and that to friends; but when he was meant to quail and shake the orb, he was as rattling thunder.
MATT
That’s beautiful.
Enter OLIVER
OLIVER
So which one of you is the frontman?
MATT and BRIAN stand side by side, arms crossed, staring OLIVER down imperiously.
OLIVER
Oh come on, don’t be like that. It’s just a new record label to sing onto. You’ll be as awesome as ever. And I could make your albums gold… platinum - triple platinum. Well…just consider it, huh?
Exit OLIVER
MATT
I’ll be with Andrew again. And…and I’ll meet the Rev again.
BRIAN
God rest his soul.
MATT throws his arms around BRIAN. They embrace, BRIAN on the verge of manly tears. MATT approaches CHARMIAN and pokes her.
MATT
Come on, Charmian, do your thing. I need that shot to enter my veins, my Brompton cocktail blend
She strikes his arm.
MATT
And I take my life tonight because I have the right to die how I wanna and leave how I arrived, so alive.
MATT dies. BRIAN falls to his knees beside MATT’s body and takes a while to pull himself together. He steels himself.
Enter BUNNY
BUNNY
Where’s Matt? Oliver sent-
BRIAN
Oliver Kaiser’s too late.
He pokes CHARMIAN. She strikes and bites his jugular. He faces BUNNY and continues “Brompton Cocktail”. CHARMIAN goes back into a coil.
BRIAN
I wanna meet my maker in peace, I wanna feel alive again. [sinking] So put that smile back on my face…[dies]
Enter OLIVER
BUNNY
Oliver, they…they’re dead. Matt and the lead guitarist, Brian. It’s so senseless.
OLIVER
Matt will be buried with his Andrew Montague. The funerals will be fit for kings, and we’ll put it on Sextus Pompeius Records’ tab.
BUNNY
Yes.
FIN