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[Thomas is seen rolling a shoulder, exhausted but awake. He's far from where he usually stays, looking out at the rest of the Southern district that lay before him. It is obvious he's lost in thought.
A breeze picks up. As it does, his body involuntarily stands from where he sat, trudging. Walking.
Faint strains of an acoustic guitar float in its beautiful eeriness, gradually growing louder.
The young man falters in step and lifts his head, brow furrowing. The scenery has changed behind him - warm, mellow tones taking over the landscape. Another moment passes, letting him find his way down a concrete path that wasn't there before. Or has it? Well, according to Nautilus' history, the roads weren't placed there by accident.
And on the eighth measure of the intro, the bass and the drums kick in, the snare hit twice. He begins to sing.]
On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair,
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air...
[The scent makes his nose wrinkle as he trots pass these strange flower buds that appeared out of nowhere. A skeletal figure in a black robe plays the guitar only yards away, steadfastly looking toward the feed's viewpoint. But the boy's attention falls elsewhere, however, eyes squinting.]
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
[In front of the castle stands the lit Motel 6 sign. Except it has changed to read HOTEL CALIFORNIA.
Due to how stupid that now looks, the boy droops, placing his hands over his face.]
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night.
[Shaking his head, he gets into the courtyard. Death stands on the roof of the inn, looming as he continues playing. Again, Thomas misses him, glancing toward the manor doors.]
There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell-
[A loud CLONG goes off in the distance. Thomas looks utterly confused.]
-And I was thinking to myself,
"This could be Heaven or this could be Hell..."
[The view switches to the doors that are wide open. There is nobody standing there. Just the dark...and a floating candle that quietly lights up, drifting further inside. Thomas hesitates.]
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way.
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say:
[Here, Koroku, Pluto, and Reinbach start singing backup. This is sort of weird, coming from dogs, but they're into it.]
Welcome to the Hotel California!
Such a lovely place! (Such a lovely place!)
Such a lovely face...
Plenty of room at the Hotel California!
Any time of year! (Any time of year!)
You can find it here...!
[Thomas keeps staring at the dogs after they did their part, but he reluctantly follows the light indoors. Everything is swallowed by darkness. It fades into another area, with many expensive items collected in several adjoined rooms. He wonders where all of this came from until he recognizes part of it to be Nash's stash from Nautilus. What.]
Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes-Benz
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys she calls friends
[The portraits shown look familiar, but he continues onward, heading outside again.
It's raining.
Thomas holds his hands out to catch some of the drops falling, Death hidden in the shadows of the apple orchard.]
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet~ summer sweat.
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget
[A match cut has Thomas now standing inside of another room, holding a wineglass. He blinks, turning it one way, then the other, finally holding it out before him.]
So I called up the Captain,
"Please bring me my wine!"
He said, "We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine!"
[At the response, he shrinks back, glancing about. More voices join him as he heads out into the hall - a different hall. That doesn't belong in Budehuc.]
And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say:
[He reaches a stage-like area, singing into a mounted ribbon microphone. Nash walks by in the background, harmonizing (HAH) in the next chorus.]
Welcome to the Hotel California!
Such a lovely place! (Such a lovely place!)
Such a lovely face...
They livin' it up at the Hotel California!
What a nice surprise! (What a nice surprise!)
Bring your alibis...!!!
[Nash then blinks, frowning the moment after the chorus is over. He then hurriedly makes his leave.
The camera then settles back on Thomas, another match cut taking place as he takes a breath. His eyes open. The perspective shifts, showing him opening a set of double doors to the meeting room - or, what use to be a meeting room. Instead, it's set up as a fancy dining hall.]
Mirrors on the ceiling,
The pink champagne on ice-
[He passes the mirrors lined against the walls, pausing to look into one of them. The black-robed skeleton is missed once more, idly strumming as bright blue orbs observe what the boy sees. Thomas' reflection looks directly at him, but the expression changes, smiling darkly as it sings back.]
And he said, "We are all just prisoners here of our own device..."
[He jerks back. The scene suddenly converges onto the large table in the center of the room.]
And in the master's chambers,
They gathered for the feast...
[Strange shadows arise from what use to be normal place settings, monstrous and great. The mirrors gleam, suddenly sharp and jagged.]
They stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can't kill the beast!
[Thomas books it out of there, running through a maze of stylized halls. Every turn he takes becomes darker and more menacing. Although his voice stays strong with the song, the panic is visible in his eyes.]
Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door,
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before-
[Thomas turns sharply to see Death standing directly behind him. As he jumps back in surprise, Death lifts a long, bony hand in time to the music.]
RELAX, said the night man,
WE ARE PROGRAMMED TO RECEIVE.
YOU CAN CHECK OUT ANY TIME YOU LIKE,
BUT YOU CAN NEVER LEAVE.
[Death then brings up the electric guitar he's had all this time, flawlessly transitioning into the epic solo via power stance. As the guitar is pulled upward, the sound amplifies, blue light brightening and washing over the fingerboard and its strings.
This continues for several minutes, Thomas's shock waning as he watches in awe. The room slowly starts to spin around them, scene and sound finally fading out altogether.
- * - * - * - * -
It then fades back in. Thomas opens his eyes again, letting the silence fill in the pause before bolting upright on the chair. And Death stands there, canting his head while holding onto his guitar. He then nods, taking his leave shortly after that.
Thomas is left dumbfounded.]
A breeze picks up. As it does, his body involuntarily stands from where he sat, trudging. Walking.
Faint strains of an acoustic guitar float in its beautiful eeriness, gradually growing louder.
The young man falters in step and lifts his head, brow furrowing. The scenery has changed behind him - warm, mellow tones taking over the landscape. Another moment passes, letting him find his way down a concrete path that wasn't there before. Or has it? Well, according to Nautilus' history, the roads weren't placed there by accident.
And on the eighth measure of the intro, the bass and the drums kick in, the snare hit twice. He begins to sing.]
On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair,
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air...
[The scent makes his nose wrinkle as he trots pass these strange flower buds that appeared out of nowhere. A skeletal figure in a black robe plays the guitar only yards away, steadfastly looking toward the feed's viewpoint. But the boy's attention falls elsewhere, however, eyes squinting.]
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
[In front of the castle stands the lit Motel 6 sign. Except it has changed to read HOTEL CALIFORNIA.
Due to how stupid that now looks, the boy droops, placing his hands over his face.]
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night.
[Shaking his head, he gets into the courtyard. Death stands on the roof of the inn, looming as he continues playing. Again, Thomas misses him, glancing toward the manor doors.]
There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell-
[A loud CLONG goes off in the distance. Thomas looks utterly confused.]
-And I was thinking to myself,
"This could be Heaven or this could be Hell..."
[The view switches to the doors that are wide open. There is nobody standing there. Just the dark...and a floating candle that quietly lights up, drifting further inside. Thomas hesitates.]
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way.
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say:
[Here, Koroku, Pluto, and Reinbach start singing backup. This is sort of weird, coming from dogs, but they're into it.]
Welcome to the Hotel California!
Such a lovely place! (Such a lovely place!)
Such a lovely face...
Plenty of room at the Hotel California!
Any time of year! (Any time of year!)
You can find it here...!
[Thomas keeps staring at the dogs after they did their part, but he reluctantly follows the light indoors. Everything is swallowed by darkness. It fades into another area, with many expensive items collected in several adjoined rooms. He wonders where all of this came from until he recognizes part of it to be Nash's stash from Nautilus. What.]
Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes-Benz
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys she calls friends
[The portraits shown look familiar, but he continues onward, heading outside again.
It's raining.
Thomas holds his hands out to catch some of the drops falling, Death hidden in the shadows of the apple orchard.]
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet~ summer sweat.
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget
[A match cut has Thomas now standing inside of another room, holding a wineglass. He blinks, turning it one way, then the other, finally holding it out before him.]
So I called up the Captain,
"Please bring me my wine!"
He said, "We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine!"
[At the response, he shrinks back, glancing about. More voices join him as he heads out into the hall - a different hall. That doesn't belong in Budehuc.]
And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say:
[He reaches a stage-like area, singing into a mounted ribbon microphone. Nash walks by in the background, harmonizing (HAH) in the next chorus.]
Welcome to the Hotel California!
Such a lovely place! (Such a lovely place!)
Such a lovely face...
They livin' it up at the Hotel California!
What a nice surprise! (What a nice surprise!)
Bring your alibis...!!!
[Nash then blinks, frowning the moment after the chorus is over. He then hurriedly makes his leave.
The camera then settles back on Thomas, another match cut taking place as he takes a breath. His eyes open. The perspective shifts, showing him opening a set of double doors to the meeting room - or, what use to be a meeting room. Instead, it's set up as a fancy dining hall.]
Mirrors on the ceiling,
The pink champagne on ice-
[He passes the mirrors lined against the walls, pausing to look into one of them. The black-robed skeleton is missed once more, idly strumming as bright blue orbs observe what the boy sees. Thomas' reflection looks directly at him, but the expression changes, smiling darkly as it sings back.]
And he said, "We are all just prisoners here of our own device..."
[He jerks back. The scene suddenly converges onto the large table in the center of the room.]
And in the master's chambers,
They gathered for the feast...
[Strange shadows arise from what use to be normal place settings, monstrous and great. The mirrors gleam, suddenly sharp and jagged.]
They stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can't kill the beast!
[Thomas books it out of there, running through a maze of stylized halls. Every turn he takes becomes darker and more menacing. Although his voice stays strong with the song, the panic is visible in his eyes.]
Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door,
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before-
[Thomas turns sharply to see Death standing directly behind him. As he jumps back in surprise, Death lifts a long, bony hand in time to the music.]
RELAX, said the night man,
WE ARE PROGRAMMED TO RECEIVE.
YOU CAN CHECK OUT ANY TIME YOU LIKE,
BUT YOU CAN NEVER LEAVE.
[Death then brings up the electric guitar he's had all this time, flawlessly transitioning into the epic solo via power stance. As the guitar is pulled upward, the sound amplifies, blue light brightening and washing over the fingerboard and its strings.
This continues for several minutes, Thomas's shock waning as he watches in awe. The room slowly starts to spin around them, scene and sound finally fading out altogether.
- * - * - * - * -
It then fades back in. Thomas opens his eyes again, letting the silence fill in the pause before bolting upright on the chair. And Death stands there, canting his head while holding onto his guitar. He then nods, taking his leave shortly after that.
Thomas is left dumbfounded.]