Part 58 "The King in Yellow"
A pained reunion, a questionable choice, a sight of the end...
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PART FIFTY-EIGHT: THE KING IN YELLOW
Transcripts made and edited by jack
CWs: human imprisonment/slavery, vomiting, discussion of eye trauma, character death, discussion of child torture/death, discussion of parental death, coughing, suicidality, sounds of gore/blood
(BEGIN Part 58.)
(A faraway thud and grunt. Heavy breathing. Footsteps. A low wind.)
LILLITH: So… this is Carcosa. (A gentle melody begins.)
ARTHUR: You’ve never been here?
LILLITH: There are many places I’ve never been. You have no idea how many realms exist.
ARTHUR (hesitantly): This is Carcosa. The last time I was here… it was in ruins. Thanks to…
LILLITH: Kayne.
ARTHUR: Thanks to Kayne. Is it… still? (Sounds of faraway rummaging, tapping, and shifting.)
LILLITH: No. The Dancers passed us, presumably returning to their King, but this… (Impressed.) This city is… I suppose in the process of being… reborn.
ARTHUR: How? Describe it for me.
LILLITH: I am not your puppet.
ARTHUR: Please.
LILLITH (sighing): As if almost by punishment, the beings here rebuild the city by hand. (Faraway clattering.) To our right, a large black… wasp-like creature, with spindly thorns upon its legs, lifts heavy rocks and places them on top an ever-growing tower. It matches the ornate stonework that once adorned the side of the building, as if to recreate the majesty it once held. (Sounds of clanging metal and glass.)
Ahead of us… in what seems to be a large square, the same hornet creatures work to clean, rebuild, and… clear the rubble that was a large structure made of what looks to be… maroon-colored glass? They vomit viscous sticky acid upon the pieces – (Vomiting noises.) As they reassemble what looks like a… large crystal teardrop that stood in the center.
(Stonework noises.) To the left… they occupy a building, the rooms of which are open and exposed to the pathways below, like hives… hm. They work to breathe life into this place again. (A pause.) Not good enough for you?
ARTHUR (sudden inhale): No, sorry, y-yes. Thank you. Wow, I-I…
LILLITH (chuckling): You don’t need to thank me. You asked. I’m just trying to be a cooperative guest.
ARTHUR: I’m just – the King in Yellow. (A sad melody begins.) Not John, not Yellow, but… (He exhales.)
LILLITH: Mhm.
ARTHUR: The last thing he said to me, before… the last thing he said to me was that he wouldn’t forget. That he would remember. But now, I, uh…
LILLITH: Worried you’ll be back in Addison?
ARTHUR: Yes. Having to re-earn his friendship again, his… (He sighs.)
LILLITH (impatiently): Love. You can say ‘love’, Arthur. I’m sure whatever the King is, he’ll be aiding us. And that’s all that matters. (She sighs.) But I’m sure he remembers you, too.
ARTHUR: You don’t need to placate me.
LILLITH: I don’t?
ARTHUR: Just be honest.
LILLITH: Well, then, honestly? No. I don’t know if your friend is still here. He’s probably gone completely. But I think the bigger picture is more important. That may not be the nicer answer, but it’s the honest one. And I bet you agree.
ARTHUR: The bigger picture?
LILLITH: That so long as the King is aware of Kayne’s plans, he’ll be helping us. Alongside us. Aiding us in stopping Kayne, and that’s all that matters. It matters more than you. More than John.
ARTHUR: Than yourself.
LILLITH: Yes. More than myself.
ARTHUR: I suppose you’re right.
LILLITH: You got a goodbye, didn’t you?
ARTHUR: I… did. Yes.
LILLITH: Then be happy. It’s more than most get. (Faraway clattering.)
ARTHUR: Well, I’m… glad they’re rebuilding, I suppose.
LILLITH: They aren’t the first fools I watched rebuild a destroyed city. Though they do appear to be the most… industrious.
ARTHUR: Your father destroyed this place. Brought it to the ground and killed all of its occupants.
LILLITH: A Tuesday for him. What’s your point?
ARTHUR: I don’t… I don’t have a point, I just… I guess… I guess it didn’t really matter, did it? (A bittersweet melody begins.)
LILLITH: What do you mean?
ARTHUR: I mean, he destroyed the city, brought it to rubble, and… and yet here they are, rebuilding. It only would’ve remained gone… had no one cared to rebuild it.
LILLITH: Yes. So?
ARTHUR: I don’t get why. Seems like an awfully human thing to do, I…
LILLITH: Ah. Well, well, well. It looks like the Dancers have… delivered us. The street is filled with rubble, but just beyond, a fallen pillar lay. Across the paved pathway and sitting upon it… as if it were a marble throne… sits the King in Yellow. Beside him, naked with a collar around his neck made of bone, is a man from… Addison. (Overjoyed.) Larson something, why? (She cackles. With enthusiasm.) His eyes are… oh, his eyes are not his own. Though he looks able to see, the eyes are stitched in as if taken from another body. He looks to be treated like a pet. He’s sneering at us! (Lillith is overcome with laughter. Arthur takes a deep breath.)
The King has not moved. We’re nearly there. His presence is quite… menacing, from the perspective of a human. Let’s hope he remembers you. Listen, Arthur, whatever you think you know about John, whatever closeness you shared, just do me a favor and treat him like a king first. You don’t know what it’s like to have that kind of power, you don’t know what it’s like to… to remember. Your friend may or may not be gone, but… no matter what, he will surely be different.
THE KING IN YELLOW: There. And no further.
ARTHUR: John?
LILLITH: The King doesn’t move. His face is hidden in darkness by his yellow cloak.
THE KING IN YELLOW: I am… I was.
ARTHUR: You’re… You’re no longer John, a-are you Yellow?
THE KING IN YELLOW: I was… I am no longer.
ARTHUR: Well. Well, who are you?
THE KING IN YELLOW: I am the King in Yellow. As I was before we met… and as I exist after our time together.
ARTHUR: Do you… remember?
THE KING IN YELLOW: I do. Though the memory is carried… in a different frame than what it once was.
ARTHUR: A different frame, how do you mean?
THE KING IN YELLOW: The anger I held as Yellow… combined with the love I held as John… brings both peace… and anger at your arrival. I felt you gone from this world, and yet. Here you are.
ARTHUR: A tree, a forest… We left our pinkie, a-and it…
THE KING IN YELLOW: I know. I felt your return.
ARTHUR: How long has it been? H-How long –
THE KING IN YELLOW: Long enough. Let us walk. (Shifting. Metal clanging. Larson makes noises of exertion.) Come, Larson!
LARSON (whispering): Yes, Master.
LILLITH: Hm. Colder than I would have liked. He’s climbing down from the throne, bringing the dog Larson, as well. They’re taking a stroll opposite the direction we came. Remind him of Kayne. Find out how long we’ve been gone. I need a body as well –
ARTHUR: We talked about this. You need to give me space, or I will put you away.
LILLITH (impatient): Fine, fine. Fine. Okay. I won’t say anything.
THE KING IN YELLOW: Who do you speak to? (Arthur sighs.) You contemplate telling me the truth. Such a change. As John… returning to my old body… confronting Yellow… such a change came to me as well.
ARTHUR: Tell me. Tell me what happened to you.
THE KING IN YELLOW: The voice is Lillith.
ARTHUR: Are we still friends?
THE KING IN YELLOW: I do not imagine a being such as myself could have friends. I did… I do not know if I do now. When John returned to this world… in the body of Hastur… he found Yellow had already reclaimed this domain and was more vicious than ever. As you can tell by this… dog.
(Larson growls.)
ARTHUR (gently): Oh. God, Larson, I’m…
LARSON: Arthur Lester, you –
THE KING IN YELLOW: Quiet! (Clanging metal. Larson pants.) Yellow made quite the example out of Larson. And wished for him to witness all that would transpire, so we took the eyes from another prisoner and gave them to Larson. The rest of them… he slaughtered.
ARTHUR (shocked): The rest? All the prisoners? Were… God.
THE KING IN YELLOW: John’s time with you… together…. allowed him to bring… warmth. That humanity, to Yellow. And along with the powers… and your encouragement to use them… John was able to meet him as an equal. Both halves fought, however. Long and hard. It seemed at one point all was lost. Until we found… common ground. A place where the darkness that existed in Yellow and the light that you had birthed in John… could both be seen as two halves of the same whole.
ARTHUR: How?
THE KING IN YELLOW: I often found myself musing on humanity as John. You recall?
ARTHUR: Of course.
THE KING IN YELLOW: The question of what that view gave, the notion of weakness and strength, all within the limitations… they had always fascinated me. Being John allowed me to explore that in a positive way… while being Yellow made me fear that, and angry at the limitations. What makes a human human? (‘Faroe’s Song’ begins.) Why do they fight to survive, why do they create beauty… and destroy each other?
John and Yellow had the same answer, and it was… because it ends. Well. All of this will end, too. Kayne made that a reality. One that we had never even thought possible. We were comfortable in the idea that we would reign forever. That mortality was a silly notion, and that time would stretch on forever. Both John and Yellow found that the fear in all of this ending… could unite them. It may not have been mortality the way we had always viewed it, but the notion of mortality is cut from the same cloth that Azathoth weaves in his slumber, and when that stops… (The King in Yellow growls.) Everything ends! It all ends.
Together, we could understand that. Together… we could understand that therefore, the single most valuable thing… is a life. Whether it be mine or yours… or Lillith’s. Together, we could understand that when you gave your life… for us… you gave what you valued most. (A bittersweet melody begins.) And once we truly understood that… we finally saw each other again. We became one, again. Willingly. And sought to alter the Dreamlands in a way that would make it a place to honor all the values of the King… the ones John had held… the ones Yellow had learned… and now, we rebuild.
ARTHUR: Wow. I… I really don’t know what to say. O-Other than… I’m… so… proud of you. (Chuckling.) Silly that as that may sound, I-I can’t believe it! (A shaky breath.) I suppose… in a way… John is gone, then?
THE KING IN YELLOW: Yes.
ARTHUR: I…
THE KING IN YELLOW: I am whole again, Arthur.
ARTHUR: I’m so happy for you, I-I… I am, I… (He sighs.)
LILLITH: Arthur, I’m… I’m sorry, this… this must be tough. (Quickly.) But is the body of Hastur still around? (Arthur sighs.) Though. It’s just –
THE KING IN YELLOW: What?
LILLITH: If all the prisoners are dead, I need a body. If Hastur is still here, just… just ask. Please.
ARTHUR (sternly): No.
LILLITH: Arthur, I get it. But hear me out. I know – (Arthur shushes her.)
THE KING IN YELLOW: What? (Lillith growls.)
ARTHUR: Nothing. I’m…
THE KING IN YELLOW: Still fighting the voices inside your head.
(A mysterious melody begins. Arthur sighs.)
ARTHUR: More than ever.
THE KING IN YELLOW: It’s an odd position to be in. To know how it feels being the one without control. The passenger.
ARTHUR: You weren’t a passenger –
THE KING IN YELLOW: John.
ARTHUR: Yes, John wasn’t.
THE KING IN YELLOW: But he was. I don’t say that with anger or regret. I know that he was happy to be. Although… there were times… I would’ve given everything… to have my voice be heard.
ARTHUR: She’s not… (Firmer.) She’s not like you.
THE KING IN YELLOW: Like me?
ARTHUR: She’s not like John was, she’s… she just takes. Takes… she’s more like… (Chains clank together.)
THE KING IN YELLOW: Yellow? (Larson growls. ‘Faroe’s Song’ begins. Arthur exhales.) Then she is like me, Arthur.
ARTHUR: That’s… not what I meant. Look. I’ve already nearly lost myself multiple times since arriving here. Lorick told me to… told me that I-I needed to… (A short pause.)
THE KING IN YELLOW: What? (Arthur sighs.) I, too, would exploit a perceived weakness. And did. During our time in Addison. You wish to be strong in who you are. Dissuade her from treating you like a servant.
ARTHUR: Yes.
THE KING IN YELLOW: I understand. And I believe… she does now, as well. (Lillith sighs.) But I am now asking. This is not about her exercising the power she has over you. It is about a request… from me. What did she say? (Arthur sighs.)
ARTHUR: I… Lillith, she… she wants me to ask about… the body of Hastur. If that’s still available.
LILLITH: He’s… walking. Why is he –
THE KING IN YELLOW: When you were unconscious, before Lillith caused you to reject the body the Dollmaker had made for you… the Dollmaker asked for your body.
ARTHUR: I remember you telling me, vaguely, on the way back to… Yorick’s. It…
THE KING IN YELLOW: He’s dead. Are you aware?
ARTHUR: Who?
THE KING IN YELLOW: Yorick.
ARTHUR (breathless): What? How?
THE KING IN YELLOW: He did not have the heart to tell you. To tell us. But the way he… sent us back… the way he sent me back… it cost him his life.
ARTHUR (emotionally): Yorick, Jesus, I… I didn’t…
THE KING IN YELLOW: And he didn’t want either of us to. At least, not until after he had…
LILLITH: Arthur, the body. H-He’s…
ARTHUR: Quiet. Quiet.
THE KING IN YELLOW: Bickering, still? I…
ARTHUR: I did the same with you.
THE KING IN YELLOW: Are we the same? To you? Just another voice in your head?
ARTHUR: What is… no, a-are you…?
THE KING IN YELLOW: Take the body, Lillith. Assuming it will aid in stopping Kayne.
LILLITH: Excellent. Excellent. Where is it –
ARTHUR (frustrated): Enough. When the time comes, you’ll get your fucking body. What did you mean, just another voice in your head?
THE KING IN YELLOW: It means nothing.
ARTHUR (sighing): So you’re really happy like this? Just like you once were.
THE KING IN YELLOW: Just like I once was.
ARTHUR: The King in Yellow –
THE KING IN YELLOW (fierce outburst): The King in Yellow was a tyrant of unspeakable power! A ruler of these lands with an iron fist, a manipulator of men! And a killer for all that stood in his way! I am not… what I once was.
ARTHUR: But you’re… not… John, either. Y-You’re… He… He was entirely his own.
THE KING IN YELLOW: John… was a piece of me. A piece that cared about you, yes. But he was not me. I am… whole, again.
ARTHUR: You honestly believe that?
THE KING IN YELLOW: It is not belief. And my happiness… isn’t a factor.
ARTHUR (exhaling): I-I…
LILLITH: I hate to beat a dead horse, here, but there are more… pressing things. (Arthur sighs.)
THE KING IN YELLOW: Lillith is correct.
LILLITH: What?
ARTHUR: Wait, you can hear her? (Lillith cackles in surprise.) Then why did you –
THE KING IN YELLOW: I needed to know what you would do. (Arthur sighs. Shifting noises. Chains clang.) Sit. Kayne has the Stones. If he should succeed, all of this ends. Our existence will become nothing, not even a memory.
LILLITH: Agreed. But I have a plan.
ARTHUR: Lillith has been working on this long before we were involved.
THE KING IN YELLOW: Is that so?
ARTHUR: She knew that Kayne had planned to kill Azathoth years ago. Our involvement is due to her.
THE KING IN YELLOW: Is it?
LILLITH: Not entirely true, kid. Your involvement is due to me. His… well, he just got mixed up with you mortals.
ARTHUR: Right.
LILLITH: You’re the special one.
THE KING IN YELLOW (slower): Arthur is the special one.
ARTHUR (uncertainly): Yeah. I suppose. (Shifting noises.)
THE KING IN YELLOW: I’m… glad to hear it. I always assumed. I knew it, truly.
LILLITH: Right, well. The point is, we need to get you close to Kayne, Arthur. I can help him with that. But what I really need… is a body.
THE KING IN YELLOW: The body of Hastur.
ARTHUR: With the body of Hastur, Lillith can stop Kayne, she says.
THE KING IN YELLOW: Understood.
LILLITH: Then Arthur and I will leave through the Plateau of Leng. As soon as Kayne shows up –
ARTHUR: Whoa whoa whoa, wait. Why are you so sure Kayne would show up? What guarantee do you have that he would even notice us?
LILLITH (innocently): Oh, me? None. (Chains clang. Larson growls.) But you? He can’t resist you.
THE KING IN YELLOW: He can’t?
ARTHUR: Kayne can’t… resist me. I-Is that…? (Lillith sighs.)
LILLITH: Look, let’s just say… I needed a lure.
ARTHUR: A lure? Like when Kayne used the fucking music box to bring me here?
LILLITH: Clearly it’s a family trait!
ARTHUR: That’s it! That’s all I am, the bait? How long, h-how far back does this go? How far back did you… is that why I’m your favorite? You just labeled me as ‘chum’ and… waited for Daddy to bite.
LILLITH: It wasn’t my fault that I was trapped in another realm.
ARTHUR: Hold on! Is that actually it? (More forcefully.) Tell me there’s more –
LILLITH: Calm the fuck down, Arthur! (Arthur grunts.) What did you think? That you were an archangel or some shit? You’re a fucking human. Be happy I didn’t slaughter you along with Mom and Dad. I –
THE KING IN YELLOW (echoing): Enough! (Normally.) Once Kayne has arrived, then what?
LILLITH (sighing): Then, Arthur distracts him. When he does… you slip the lighter in his pocket.
ARTHUR: The lighter?
LILLITH: He won’t see it. He can’t. And he won’t see me coming, either. Because… well, as far as I’m aware, he still thinks I’m dead, and doesn’t have any reason to think that I’m back.
ARTHUR: Okay.
LILLITH: Then… I kill him.
THE KING IN YELLOW: You… kill him. (Arthur sighs.)
LILLITH: Yes.
THE KING IN YELLOW: Are you sure that is the best idea, considering the –
LILLITH: Considering what? (Growing more monstrous.) Kayne is a monster, hellbent on ending reality. There is no middle ground with that creature. There is no compromise. We must destroy him.
ARTHUR: Fine. So I… (Lillith grunts.) I just need to get close to him and-and use the lighter, slip it into his pocket, o-or…
LILLITH: Yes. I’ll do the rest.
ARTHUR: A-And what does Jo – (He cuts himself off.) And what does the King in Yellow do?
LILLITH: Stay here, for all I care?
ARTHUR: No no no, this is his fight, too.
THE KING IN YELLOW: You don’t… need me.
LILLITH: Me? No. Arthur… also no.
ARTHUR: Hey, I didn’t say that. I didn’t –
THE KING IN YELLOW (overlapping): Well then, I’ll stay here. If there’s no reason for me to come, I’d rather not.
ARTHUR (incredulous): You’d rather not? Everything is at stake!
THE KING IN YELLOW: If there is nothing I can do to help, then there is no need for me to be there.
ARTHUR: Fine.
LILLITH: In any case, the linchpin of my plan is you, Arthur.
ARTHUR: I’ll get the lighter on him, no matter what.
LILLITH: Oh, I’m sure. It’s not just that, though. You have a weakness. I’ve seen it. The Manager has seen it. Even the King here has seen it. You need to deal with it.
ARTHUR: Weakness? (A short pause.)
THE KING IN YELLOW: Your daughter.
LILLITH: Faroe.
ARTHUR (puzzled): Faroe?
LILLITH: You need to consider how dark this is going to get, kid. Kayne, right now, is holding all the cards. And when his plaything comes back from the dead, he is going to get angry. Really angry. It’s one thing to toy with your meal before eating it, but he is fed, stuffed! And now you’re rearing your head at a time he does not want you there. He’s taunted you with her before. He played with your heart and plucked those strings in a way that will feel timid compared to how he will treat you. I’ve watched him murder children for no other reason than to hear the sounds of their screams and I am telling you, you need to let go.
ARTHUR: Let go?
THE KING IN YELLOW: Faroe, Arthur. You’ve held her in your heart. You’ve never let her go. It’s been a point of pain for you as long as I’ve known you. For as long as you’ve let it. She is your Achilles’ heel. He will exploit it and abuse it and manipulate it. As long as you still hold it in your heart.
ARTHUR (shakily): I don’t know understand what you want me to… to-to what? Forget about her, forgive myself? I… what? No, really, I-I don’t understand, how am I supposed to let her go? I… I can’t just… move on from that, I can’t just… pretend she never existed or stop… stop caring about her. (Tearfully.) She’s my daughter. She… She’s my little girl. I won’t just…
LILLITH: Kayne lured you with her lullaby. You saw nothing else. That blinded thinking is going to get us killed, and more, we will lose.
ARTHUR (upset): I‘m not going to just – I, I can’t believe you’re asking me this, I… I can put it away! I can simply shut it out. You don’t want me to follow a song, I won’t follow a song, Jesus Christ, you’re overreacting! I don’t need to forget about her. I don’t need to let… John. (A short pause. Heartbroken.) You really want me to do this? Both of you.
LILLITH: Yes.
THE KING IN YELLOW: Yes.
ARTHUR: I turn to a friend and I have… (A shaky breath.) Yeah.
LILLITH: Can you… let go?
(‘Faroe’s Song’ begins.)
ARTHUR: I-I-I-I don’t, I don’t know. (Footsteps.)
KING IN YELLOW: Where are you going?
ARTHUR: To clear my head!
LILLITH: Arthur, kid, you –
ARTHUR (upset): Don’t make me put you in time out! I need… I need space. If you can’t give it to me, then I –
LILLITH (quickly): Okay, okay! I will. But you’re bli – you can’t see where you’re going.
ARTHUR: I don’t need to see, I need to walk.
LILLITH: Alright. (The King sighs.) I’m silent.
KING IN YELLOW: Arthur.
ARTHUR: What?
KING IN YELLOW: You must know that…
ARTHUR: I must know what? That John would never ask this of me? I need a moment.
KING IN YELLOW: We need to –
ARTHUR (passionate): We have a moment! (Footsteps. Emotionally.) Let go. I can’t believe… months, months we’ve spent together. Faroe is my… she was my… (A shaky breath.) You don’t want to be put in time-out, fine, but I am talking, and it won’t be to you! So just shut up, unless I ask.
W-Who is this man? Who is this figure that plays pretend? Who… Who mimics the voice I cared for, the voice I thought I knew? This… terrible puppet show, this facade, a facsimile of a friend… who no longer even pretends to be. Mocking my path, belittling his journey, and – and… and for this?
For this to be the point that breaks me? (Shuddering with emotion.) H-How… How dare he… you… you… you, the voice who shall remain silent for now, I understand, but, but he… he was there. He witnessed my downfall. He was the reason I climbed out of it, and now! As if a stain, he asks me to wipe it from my mind. To wipe her from my memory. To wipe her from my heart.
(‘Faroe’s Lullaby’ begins.) For what? What blague is this? This is not a choice, it’s an attack. From… cold, calculated creatures that know nothing of what it feels like to have… (Tearfully.) To watch something you’ve given your life to, torn from your hands and taken from this world. What… What humor to believe that beings such as this demand something so human to be stripped of me, what an insult! (Bitterly.) As if they know the feeling of having a hole in your heart that will never close and a pain in your stomach that will never cease and as if practiced at this, they dare ask for me to give it up!
What arrogance… what ignorance… to live eons and to think they have a clue what it feels like to love on that level? Not of someone you’ve met or cherished, but of someone you’ve brought to this world. Someone you love with… every fiber of your being… that brings new purpose to your world, and when they’re gone, they strip you of the will to live. How dare they… t-they… (A short pause.) He says my life was the most powerful gift I could have given, but I died with my memories! I took those to my grave.
And no matter the reason, I… I had always known since that day… when I took my final breath, my last thought… would be of her. That my dying breath would say her name. Hoping that I would see her face again. (A shaky breath.) She’s been there with me, every time I’ve closed my eyes. Uncertain of… whether or not I would open them again. But this… this is to say all that made me, all that defined me… should be forgotten.
And what of her? If I let her go, then who will remember her? She’s back in that hospital, back before I knew she was alive. I made a promise that day, silent but a promise nonetheless, that I would never let that be the case. A time where not one person in the world knew she existed who loved her. If that is the cost to save existence, what existence is worth saving? (A sudden impact, discordant piano keys.) Fuck.
(One piano note.) Are your keys still stained with blood, I wonder? (He chuckles. Wooden squeaking. More notes.) You want… do you want to hear the song I wrote for her? (A short pause.) You can talk again. (The first few notes of ‘Faroe’s Song’.)
LILLITH (insolently): Oh, can I, now?
ARTHUR: Don’t… Don’t test me. (Lillith sighs. Arthur sniffs.) Do you want to hear it?
LILLITH: Sure.
ARTHUR: This is ‘Faroe’s Song’.
(‘Faroe’s Song’ begins. It plays in its entirety.)
LILLITH: You wrote that for her?
ARTHUR: I did.
LILLITH: No, you didn’t.
ARTHUR: What?
LILLITH: No. You didn’t. (Arthur sighs.) Look. What do you want me to say? It’s a beautiful song.
ARTHUR (sarcastically): Oh, thank you.
LILLITH: But it’s not a song… for a child.
ARTHUR: What – ? What does a song for a child sound like to you?
LILLITH: Oh, come on, Arthur! You’re not that dense. You’re a musician. You’re musical. You wrote that song because it sounded dark and mysterious and filled with all the frilly cadences that you’ve come to enjoy. It’s darkness, Arthur. But did you write it for her? (Arthur exhales.) This is a song that speaks to your journey. Whether it be pain or anguish, it’s a song about a man’s life. How can you ever expect to let go if you can’t stop to look through the eyes of the ones you’ve hurt?
ARTHUR: What?
LILLITH: Write something for her.
ARTHUR (not following): For her?
LILLITH: You love her? You’re unsure if you can let go? You point out our inhumanity, our alien nature, to show how little we know about the human condition, how little we can appreciate it? Then show me. Write something for your little girl, Arthur. Write a song for your daughter. Something she would enjoy.
(Two discordant notes.)
ARTHUR: I-I… I mean, I-I don’t… (Minor key notes.) I wouldn’t even know… what, what to… (More minor key notes.)
LILLITH: There are no minor keys in the heart of a child, Arthur.
ARTHUR (frustrated): I mean, I don’t… (Major key notes.)
LILLITH: There! That’s it. (Arthur continues.) There it is. And try something… simple, with the right hand. Something a child could play. No darkness.
(A brief pause.)
ARTHUR: Only light.
(The song begins in earnest: light and warm, akin to a lullaby.)
(Sounds of shuffling.)
PAST ARTHUR (whispering): What?
(Past Faroe babbles.)
PAST ARTHUR: Are you telling me a secret? Are you telling me a secret?
(Past Faroe sing-songs in the tune of ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.’)
PAST ARTHUR (thrilled): Wonderful. Very good. Where’d you learn that? Did Tess teach you that?
(Past Faroe continues to sing-song ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’.)
(A wooden creak.)
PAST ARTHUR: Are you awake?
PAST FAROE: Yeah!
PAST ARTHUR: Are you supposed to be sleeping?
PAST FAROE: Yeah!
PAST ARTHUR: Why aren’t you sleeping?
PAST FAROE: Um…
PAST ARTHUR: Are you scared?
PAST FAROE: Yeah.
PAST ARTHUR: What happened? Hey, hey. Scary?
PAST FAROE: Yeah.
PAST ARTHUR: What’s scary? Tell me.
PAST FAROE: This!
(Sounds of paper turning.)
PAST ARTHUR: What’s that?
PAST FAROE: That’s… scary.
PAST ARTHUR: What’s scary?
PAST FAROE: This!
PAST ARTHUR: Are you scared? Don’t be scared.
(A slight pause.)
PAST ARTHUR: Give me that. Tickle tickle. Tickle tickle. (Faroe giggles.) Tickle! Tickle? Are you going to tickle Daddy? (Faroe giggles further.) Oh, come back here! Come back here! There you are. Are you tickling me? You tickle me, I’ll tickle you!
(A slight pause.)
PAST ARTHUR: Are you a good girl?
(Faroe babbles an affirmative.)
PAST ARTHUR: Are you a good girl?
PAST FAROE: Yee. I’m a good girl.
(The song comes to an end.)
ARTHUR (shaky breath): You’re right, you know. You were right. Lillith.
LILLITH (quietly): Okay.
ARTHUR: Okay?
LILLITH: I understand now.
ARTHUR: You… (Lillith cuts him off.)
LILLITH: Not another word. As far as this conversation is concerned, I convinced you in the best way possible to let her go and you did. Understand?
ARTHUR: Yes… yes, but – (Lillith cuts him off again.)
LILLITH: No buts! No more words. We have things to do. Let’s go back to the King. (Wooden creaks. Footsteps.)
ARTHUR: It was your seed. Wasn’t it? The nail that you left in the carriage, back in England. You dropped it for me to pick up.
LILLITH: And you did.
ARTHUR: I’m… glad.
LILLITH (surprised): You’re… glad.
ARTHUR: Thank you, Lillith.
LILLITH: For what? I only helped you with the song, I…
ARTHUR: Exactly. (Lillith exhales.)
KING IN YELLOW: I heard music.
ARTHUR: Yes.
KING IN YELLOW: It was… lovely.
ARTHUR: Thank you.
KING IN YELLOW: A new piece?
ARTHUR: Faroe’s… Light. I will let go.
KING IN YELLOW: I’m glad.
LILLITH: Me too!
ARTHUR: But before we do any more… let’s get Lillith a body.
LILLITH (very eager): Yes! Yes. That.
KING IN YELLOW: Very well. This way. (Metal clanging.) Come, Larson! Now!
LARSON (groaning in pain): Yes, Master.
ARTHUR: King! I…
KING IN YELLOW: What?
ARTHUR: Please. Larson is… he’s just a man. I’m sorry if I, in any way, contributed to… this, but… King, I… if this was a result of Yellow, don’t torture him any longer. Please.
KING IN YELLOW: He is not just a man, Arthur. He is a murderer and a monster. He is the worst parts of humanity, as you yourself have proclaimed. He deserves this and so much more. (Metal clanging.) He will not stand in my presence. He can crawl… like a dog… beside me. But if you wish… you may walk with him.
ARTHUR: I… (He sighs.) I… do. Let him walk. I-I’ll walk with him.
(A soft melody begins.)
KING IN YELLOW (displeased): Fine. (Clanking metal.) You can hold his chain. He knows he has nowhere to run. (Larson sighs.) I will be near the body of Hastur. Larson can show you the way. (The King huffs. Shifting fabric.)
ARTHUR: I…
LILLITH: Uh-oh.
ARTHUR: Very well.
LILLITH: He’s leaving. (She sighs.) The body. Where is it? Ask Larson.
ARTHUR (impatient): Give me a moment. (He grunts. Metal clanging.)
LARSON: Let go of that chain. (Metal clanging.) I do not need you to hold my leash. You are not the King.
ARTHUR: I just… I didn’t want you to crawl on the ground anymore, I –
LARSON: What do you want? A thank you?
ARTHUR: No. No, I-I –
LARSON: You think this is better? Walking beside the man who did this to me? The man who caused all this suffering, all this pain? You… the only reason I stand here is because the King knows how humiliating, how angry, this makes me. You taught him that.
ARTHUR: I didn’t teach him this. Yellow was the one –
LARSON: Yellow tortured me, but once the two became one, it was within John’s power to let me die. And he didn’t.
ARTHUR: You… You want to die?
LARSON: Look at me! Look at what I’ve become. My eyes are not even my own. (Footsteps.)
LILLITH: Huh. I’m not even sure they’re human. The iris is red.
ARTHUR: I…
LILLITH: He is a villain, though. Isn’t he? I mean, from what I saw through your memories. He killed his daughter. He murdered a woman through the vents and fed countless people to a monster in the mines. There’s no redemption here, kid.
ARTHUR: I just…
LILLITH: Get him to walk, at least. I need my body.
ARTHUR (sighing): Where is it? Walk. (Footsteps.) Look, you’re not going to suddenly convince me that you’re innocent. I just… I just didn’t want you to crawl.
LARSON: What do you want?
LILLITH: Do you want to kill him? Do you want him to die with whatever little dignity he has left?
ARTHUR: No.
LARSON: No what?
ARTHUR: No, I… I…
LARSON: Still fighting the voices inside your head, are you? I know how it feels. (He chuckles, and then coughs.) Something happened that moment Uncle threw you into the mines. Something that felt… that felt like I had been chosen. (‘Faroe’s Song’ begins.) I heard a voice in my head… a voice I had never heard before. As I drove back to New York… that first time, we spoke, I… I poked and prodded the being. I came to understand it was… it was something I had spent my life in servitude of. Something from beyond the stars. And yet… it was… weak. Weaker than I expected. Almost pathetic.
I, of course, didn’t tell Yellow this. I was in control, I-I had… plans, great plans. (With growing passion.) I could continue to use the Graystone as I had to find out more about you, I could take over New York, and then Arkham! Where the true power lies.
ARTHUR: What true power lies in Arkham?
LARSON: But you… you ruined it. You ruined everything. I almost had it.
ARTHUR: Almost… Almost had it? What… what are you talking about? Do you still not get it, you – you can’t control these beings! You can’t control anything. These are gods, Larson. Witnessing our existence from a point of view that even attempting to comprehend can drive weaker minds mad. There is no… controlling them. There is no power dynamic you can exploit. They are… gods.
LARSON: Then… how did you do it? (A sad melody begins.)
ARTHUR (taken aback): What? I… I didn’t… I didn’t try to, I-I didn’t… I-I just… I treated him as a friend. I… it doesn’t matter. Maybe you didn’t notice. But John is gone.
LARSON (scoffing): If you think he’s gone… then you truly are blind.
ARTHUR: What…?
LILLITH: Where are we going?
ARTHUR: Where are we…
LARSON: Here.
ARTHUR: Anyway, none of this matters. If we don’t stop Kayne, all of this will end. He intends to… (He trails off.)
LARSON: Nyarlathotep intends to what?
ARTHUR: End existence.
LARSON: And you think you’re going to stop him?
ARTHUR: With this body, yes. We can’t –
LILLITH: Don’t. Don’t. Just… say less.
LARSON: We can what?
ARTHUR: Stop him. Look. Look, I am sorry, Larson, I am sorry you ended up here. But I think even you can see… that this is because of the actions you chose to take. I won’t feel bad for what you’ve done, you’ve killed, you killed Charlie! You shot him when he was –
LARSON: Ah, yes. The detective. That was quite a speech he gave. Here’s hoping he died peacefully. (He chuckles.)
ARTHUR: Fuck you.
LILLITH: There. There. I see the King. He’s waiting down a dark hallway to our right. A stone archway, ornate and detailed. Stonework that seems to evoke a sense of… death, I guess.
ARTHUR: A crypt?
LARSON: More a mausoleum of sorts. An imitation of something we have on Earth. (Disapproving.) It’s like he’s playing house.
LILLITH: The King is just ahead.
LARSON: Stop, wait, listen. I will say this, Arthur Lester. If you have any mercy in you before this is done, I’ll ask that you request the King to end my suffering. And let me die.
ARTHUR: I… that’s not my decision to make. (He sighs. Larson breathes heavily.)
KING IN YELLOW (at a distance): A fruitful conversation, I hope.
ARTHUR: I didn’t… my intention was not to avoid you, King. I only wanted to –
KING IN YELLOW (closer): It matters not. The time has come. Larson. Fetch the body… of Hastur.
LARSON: Yes, my King. (Footsteps.)
LILLITH (sighing): Well, talk to him. (Arthur exhales.) It’s obvious something needs to be said. Go.
ARTHUR: This dynamic… between us, it’s… it’s difficult, for me, to… I’m having a tough time. Coming from what we once were to… to what this is now, i-it feels like… like I’ve lost a part of me.
KING IN YELLOW: I felt that way, too. But it will pass. (Arthur sighs.)
ARTHUR: So happiness isn’t a factor? That’s what you said.
KING IN YELLOW: What do you wish me to say?
ARTHUR: I wish to talk to the man I once called friend, the man I encouraged to grow to be himself!
KING IN YELLOW: He is before you. Only not the same.
ARTHUR: But I want him the same.
KING IN YELLOW (angry): Well, that is not for you to choose, is it? I… am finally myself again, Arthur. Do you not understand that? Our journey, everything we set out to do… it all led to this. To me becoming this… again.
ARTHUR: But I… I didn’t want it to be at the cost of losing yourself.
KING IN YELLOW: John… was me losing myself. This… this is me becoming whole again. Don’t you get that?
ARTHUR: I’m trying, I really am!
KING IN YELLOW: It’s not enough to be a piece of you! It’s not enough to be a passenger on your journey! I deserve my own life. I deserve to take what I’ve learned… to take what I’ve become and-and use it!
ARTHUR: But what you’ve become is so… watered-down! It’s diluted. It’s no longer –
KING IN YELLOW: And to me, John was the dilution!
ARTHUR: But that’s… that can’t be. I…
KING IN YELLOW: Why? Why is it so hard to understand… that the eons I spent as the King in Yellow… a being I have been since the dawn of creation, why is it so hard to realize that this is what I have missed being? What logic is it, what right? What arrogance you speak with, in saying that a few months as John made me give up who I am! Is it not enough to take the lessons and carry them with me? Look, look at all we’ve accomplished. Look at Carcosa! Look at all we are rebuilding. The previous King would never have cared.
ARTHUR: The previous King. You mean Yellow?
KING IN YELLOW: Yellow was no more the King… than John was.
ARTHUR: I just don’t see –
KING IN YELLOW (cutting him off): This! This is not about… you.
(A melancholy melody begins.)
ARTHUR: You’re right. You’re right, i-it isn’t about me. This is… your journey. Your life. My feelings, m-my thoughts… they don’t come into account when it comes to you. Who you choose to be. What you choose to become. Or… or what you choose to leave behind.
KING IN YELLOW: Thank you.
ARTHUR: So John is dead.
KING IN YELLOW: Yes.
ARTHUR: Well, then, can you… can I… I didn’t get to say what I wanted to say to him before he died. I was too scared of… what was about to happen. S-So could you… may I… say something to him? Just for my own peace. Not about you.
KING IN YELLOW: You wish to speak with me a-as if… I was still…
ARTHUR: I wish to say something to John that I wasn’t able to. And you are the last connection I have to him.
KING IN YELLOW: Very well.
ARTHUR: Thank you. John. (A long pause.) I love you, too. That’s it. Thank you.
KING IN YELLOW (surprised): That’s… That’s it?
ARTHUR (exhaling): You know, I never got to watch Faroe grow up, but god, I wanted to. I wanted to see what she would’ve become, who she would’ve chosen to be. And I think… in a way… I… did. I do. With you. So thank you. F-For that.
KING IN YELLOW: I… yes. Well.
ARTHUR: We want our children, our friends, we want it all to stay forever, don’t we? But we can’t control how people change. How they grow up. And if you’re truly happy… or if happiness truly doesn’t matter anymore… and this is truly who you want to be… then I’m sorry I made you feel… like you ever needed to defend it. Okay? I mean that, I really do. I loved John enough for me to give him this. At the very least. This is your decision. And I respect it.
KING IN YELLOW: This… is my decision?
ARTHUR: Yeah. Okay. (Larson’s quick panting. Footsteps.)
LILLITH: Larson! He’s wheeling out the body of Hastur. Oh, yes. Yes. This will be wonderful.
ARTHUR: It’s here.
KING IN YELLOW: Yeah, yes, yes. This is Hastur. Lillith. You have the ability to…
LILLITH: To enter it. Yes. (Larson’s noises of effort.) I just need to grab its arm. I think I can –
ARTHUR: This won’t… hurt me, will it?
LILLITH: No no no no. Though I’m glad the King is out of the body.
ARTHUR: Why?
LILLITH: Oh, I don’t think whatever is inside would survive. Think of it like a clean slate.
KING IN YELLOW: Very well. Well, if you – (A clattering.)
LARSON: Kayne wishes to end it.
ARTHUR: What?
KING IN YELLOW: How dare you speak!
LILLITH: Larson, you idiot.
LARSON: If you will not let me die –
ARTHUR: What?
KING IN YELLOW: Silence!
LARSON: Then I will take an end to all existence instead!
LILLITH: He has a massive piece of stone, Arthur. (The King gasps.) Stop him! Stop him! (Larson’s grunts of effort. Sounds of gore and blood. Repeated impacts.)
ARTHUR: No!
LILLITH: No! (More impacts.) No!
ARTHUR: No!
KING IN YELLOW: Foolish mortal! (Arthur growls. Lillith continues to make noises of anguish. A larger impact, and Larson’s noises of pain.) I will make you regret that!
LILLITH: Larson destroyed the head of Hastur.
ARTHUR: Larson, you fucking idiot!
LARSON: I will take non-existence over this hell!
LILLITH: God damn it.
LARSON: Kill me!
KING IN YELLOW: You will never die!
LILLITH: The body… its head is completely caved in. God damn it.
KING IN YELLOW: For that, I will bring levels of pain to you that you will never – (The King continues, unintelligible under conversation.)
LILLITH: Wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Arthur.
ARTHUR: What?
LILLITH: Let me have him.
ARTHUR: What?
LILLITH: I can take his body. He wants to die anyway.
ARTHUR: Yes –
KING IN YELLOW (louder): No. He will never die. That’s what he wants.
LILLITH: So what? So what do you care? Let me have him. I get a body. And he can die. And everybody wins.
KING IN YELLOW: Not me!
ARTHUR: King? I-Is it –
KING IN YELLOW: Arthur! This being murdered his daughter, killed Noel, destroyed countless lives that you are not even aware of. He does not deserve the mercy of death!
LILLITH: I need a body. Maybe he doesn’t deserve the mercy of death, but think of all the things I could do. Think of how humiliating it would be for him to have his body puppeted around forevermore by me.
KING IN YELLOW: You are only giving him what he wants.
LILLITH: What does that matter? (Arthur exhales.)
KING IN YELLOW: You are the one who saw his true nature, Arthur. You are the one who was hell-bent on making him suffer. (Larson breathes raggedly.) Who agreed his death would not bring you fulfillment.
LARSON: No.
KING IN YELLOW: Do you think he deserves death now?
ARTHUR: Yes. (A mysterious melody begins.)
LILLITH: Excellent!
KING IN YELLOW (enraged): How… why? After everything that’s happened… after all your words in Addison… after I… (Clanking chains.) After John pulled you from the depths of your despair, you… you…
LILLITH: Don’t listen to him, Arthur. It doesn’t matter what –
ARTHUR: It does matter! And it’s not an easy decision.
KING IN YELLOW (roaring): He’s a monster, Arthur! And what’s more, he hasn’t changed. He hasn’t attempted to change, he hasn’t… grown! Even now, he takes and takes and takes! He should be tortured. He… should suffer! He needs to suffer. (Metal chains.) He doesn’t deserve to get what he wants. After all he’s done, all the pain and suffering he’s caused… why does he get to die? He… He must stay here. He must be who he was and always will be. And live with that pain! He doesn’t deserve to… to…
ARTHUR (in realization): Oh my god. (The King exhales.) Oh my god. You’re not punishing me. And you’re not punishing Larson. You’re punishing yourself.
KING IN YELLOW: What?
ARTHUR: You’re…
LILLITH: Arthur, Larson!
KING IN YELLOW: Do whatever you wish, then.
ARTHUR: King, wait! (Arthur grunts. Larson breathes heavily.)
LILLITH: He’s leaving, Arthur. Get Larson.
ARTHUR: No, I want to –
LILLITH (urgently): Give me Larson and then follow the King.
ARTHUR: Fine. (Lillith huffs.)
LARSON: You… you’re going to kill me. Of course. It had to be you. It always had to be you, it…
ARTHUR: It’s not me, though.
LILLITH: Yes. Reach out.
LARSON: It’s not?
LILLITH: Grab his arm.
ARTHUR: I’m sorry, Larson. B-But… this will give you what you want. Right?
LARSON: Right.
LILLITH: It’ll give everyone what they want. And it’ll hurt.
ARTHUR (exhaling): Goodbye.
LARSON: Goodbye. Thank you, Arthur.
LILLITH: Don’t let go. Whatever you do.
ARTHUR: Okay. (Lillith grunts. Larson and Arthur both scream. A supernatural whoosh and crash.)
LILLITH (in Larson’s voice): Oh, god: Oh my god. (She breathes heavily.) It worked. I can’t believe it. It, it worked. (She giggles.) Arthur. Arthur, get up. Are you okay? (Clanging chains.)
ARTHUR (at a loss): I… I… I can see. (A gentle melody begins.)
LILLITH: Of course you can, kid. Get up. Come here.
ARTHUR: Will, will touching you…?
LILLITH: No, no. We’re done with that. Come here.
ARTHUR: Jesus. (Lillith grunts in exertion. Dirt shifting.) It’s not like you to help, help me up.
LILLITH: Oh… I’m feeling grateful. (She chuckles.) It’ll pass. Man. Oh, this feels great. Like taking control of you, only… oh.
ARTHUR: Oh, my god. Larson, y-you look like…
LILLITH: Death. I know. The eyes are strange, aren’t they?
ARTHUR: You’re so gaunt. H-He’s… so gaunt.
LILLITH: We’re the same now. Although… (A supernatural zap.)
ARTHUR: Oh my god. Y-You can shape change, still? Lillith.
LILLITH (in a higher pitched, feminine voice): In the flesh. (She giggles. A supernatural zap. Larson’s voice.) Oh. That’ll be easier in time. But for now… I quite enjoy this scrawny little body.
ARTHUR: My god. This place, it’s… it’s massive. The sky is…
LILLITH: Those aren’t stars, kid. It’s the underside of a cavern. Kind of.
ARTHUR: My god. My god. So… you’re… Lillith, once again.
LILLITH: More-or-less.
ARTHUR: Where do… where do we stand?
LILLITH: Listen, kid. We’re far from friends. Hell. If we should survive this and succeed at stopping Kayne, you and I might just have to make amends for all the inconvenience you caused me. But for now, I’ll call us allies. You’re right. As you had been from the start. (A gentle melody begins.) Working together… trusting each other… at least, for this last part… will be easier.
ARTHUR: Well, alright.
LILLITH (exhaling): The plateau of Leng is outside the city walls.
ARTHUR: But…
LILLITH: But you have someone to speak with. Very well. I’ll meet you there. Wouldn’t mind giving this thing’s legs a fair shake. (She giggles.) I’m Southern, now! Well, hello there, darlin’! (She laughs again.)
ARTHUR: I’ll meet you there.
LILLITH (fiercely): Do not take too long. (Growing distant.) I’ll see you there.
ARTHUR: Which way –
LILLITH (very distant, to herself): Howdy there. Howdy there. (She giggles.)
(Arthur sighs. A step, and the clattering of rocks. Arthur laughs.)
ARTHUR: Has his sight back, trips on rocks, right? (Footsteps. Calling out.) King? King? (More solemn.) King. (A short pause.) I… see… you.
(A slow melody begins.)
KING IN YELLOW: Your eyes.
ARTHUR: My god. Is this… is this what you’ve always looked like, my god. Oh, your hands are…
KING IN YELLOW: What?
ARTHUR: Oh, they’re just so much bigger than I… I guess I just assumed you had five fingers, y-you look… you look so much more… more…
KING IN YELLOW: What?
ARTHUR: Alien than I envisioned. Hastur was so much smaller, I… and your face…
KING IN YELLOW (slowly): What’s wrong with my face?
ARTHUR: Nothing! Nothing, i-it’s just… are there features beneath the hood, or…?
KING IN YELLOW: It is not a hood. This is not a cloak. It is part of me.
ARTHUR: I can’t tell where it ends. Are you… Are you making the end of your cloak stand like that, or –
KING IN YELLOW: Arthur.
ARTHUR: Sorry, sorry. Can I sit?
KING IN YELLOW: N-No. Let me walk with you. To the plateau. There is little time to be wasted.
ARTHUR: R-Right, right. (Footsteps.)
KING IN YELLOW: Larson is…
ARTHUR: Lillith, now.
KING IN YELLOW: Is that a wise decision?
ARTHUR: No, but it’s a decision. And Kayne is the bigger fish right now, so.
KING IN YELLOW: It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve made a hard decision that may come back to bite you.
ARTHUR: Nor the last. And it wasn’t all me. John helped with a lot of those decisions.
KING IN YELLOW: I remember.
ARTHUR: So. What aren’t you telling me?
KING IN YELLOW: I… hear them. As distinct as I hear you now. The voice of John… and the voice of Yellow. They are one, we are one, but… I still hear them. Why?
ARTHUR: I’ve always heard voices in my head, too. In a way. Even before John. It’s just… it’s what makes me patient. And, at times, violent. It’s a constant weighing of this or that. Whether I lash out irrationally, or… calmly. Or lash out at all, I suppose. Having those voices, listening to those voices, is what some people call having a conscience. The inner sense of right or wrong, it can be what makes us care about others, what gives us empathy and kindness –
KING IN YELLOW: But they’re so loud. And so distinct. I can hear Yellow’s want for blood and suffering and I can hear John’s desire for love and kindness, and… I’ve witnessed you do both. Seemingly justified in both, at various times.
ARTHUR (uncertain): I guess. The gates, will they…?
KING IN YELLOW: Open. (Metal creaking, a cog clicking.)
ARTHUR: Wow. So the plateau will be…
KING IN YELLOW: The stairs leading up are just here. To our left. (He sighs.) How do you know which voice to listen to? I can’t seem to find… a balance. For eons, I had one singular voice. One path, one motivation. Without an internal struggle… without any doubt. And now! I’m filled with doubt.
ARTHUR: So am I! You make it seem like every choice I made was easy, but… I was never… never a hundred percent certain about anything I’ve chosen to do during our time together.
KING IN YELLOW: Why?
ARTHUR: Because that’s the nature of choice. And every choice is viewed through a distinct lens, a lens of purpose and intention, value, ethics, belief, and… experiences. All these different voices weighing in on a singular question: do we search upstairs or downstairs? Do we take the road or follow the shore? Do we pull a dagger or run? Do we eat bread or cheese?
All these choices, every single one, was met with a multitude of voices, all wanting different things. What is the value of taking the road, what are the ethics of killing Larson? What is my experience in wanting bread? In the end, it’s never about certainty. It’s about making a choice and moving forward.
KING IN YELLOW: I know. You’re right. That is why I chose… I choose… to try. To listen to both. And that is why I choose to be the King in Yellow. I need to try. This is still me, I feel… I know I would feel regret in abandoning this life because it was too hard, because it was easier to be unconflicted. To be only half –
ARTHUR: That wasn’t what it sounded like. It sounded like you were… you were punishing yourself. Not choosing this because you wanted to try, but because you felt like you had to try.
KING IN YELLOW: There’s no difference.
ARTHUR: There sure is a fucking difference. I stayed with Bella because I, too, felt like I had to try to be something I was not. All the pain I caused her, all the terrible things I did to that family. It was so much worse than had I just… stopped trying to be something I was not.
KING IN YELLOW: I do not think I would be content… living as half of what I could be.
ARTHUR: I think you’re wrong in thinking that Yellow and John were only half. John was not only good, believe me. Oscar could attest. And Yellow… Yellow… you were not only evil. I think what’s happened, which no one could predict or understand, not Kayne, not Lillith, surely not you or myself, is when you were separated… both of those lives became… full. In and of themselves. (The King sighs.)
I don’t believe that you forcing yourself to stay as the King is the only way to be whole. Don’t force yourself to be something you are not. Or that you are not, any longer.
KING IN YELLOW: Mm. (The King sighs.)
ARTHUR: But. I stand by my previous statement and no matter what… I support you. I cannot tell you what you want to be, all I can tell you is I care about you and that I want you to be yourself. Whatever that ends up being. And moreso… that coming to this decision… is about the most human thing you can ever do.
LILLITH: Well, you took your sweet time.
ARTHUR: Yes, we’re here. (In awe.) Jesus.
LILLITH: This is the thinnest part of the Dreamlands. We’ll be able to exit, uh, back into your realm. (She sighs.) We won’t have long after we’ve entered. Kayne will sense you.
ARTHUR: Yes, the lure. Once we have Kayne, I will distract him and slip the lighter into his pocket.
LILLITH: By any means necessary.
ARTHUR: Right, and, then, at which time, you will kill him.
LILLITH: Correct.
ARTHUR: And we still don’t think trapping him may be a better plan? Something maybe a little more –
LILLITH: It will work.
ARTHUR: Fine. (The lighter flicks.) So it all rests on this little guy.
LILLITH: If you’re referring to yourself, that’s not as cute as a name as you think it is.
ARTHUR: I mean the lighter. Whatever it is.
LILLITH: It provides light.
ARTHUR: I know that.
LILLITH (sighing): And Nyarlathotep is a being of such darkness that he cannot see it. Satisfied? (A light melody begins.)
ARTHUR: Alright.
LILLITH: Alright. Well, then. I suppose this is goodbye, King.
KING IN YELLOW: Y-Yes. I can… open the rift for you and send you back. I will remain.
ARTHUR: You’re sure?
LILLITH: Yes, he’s sure. Let’s not draw this out anymore, shall we? Open it. (A supernatural whoosh. Roaring wind.) Alright. There we are. Ooh. Brisk! I suppose we’ll need some clothes.
ARTHUR: Thank you, King. For everything. And thank those voices in your head for me, as well. Will you?
KING IN YELLOW: Of… Of course.
LILLITH: Come on, kid. It’s quite the jump.
ARTHUR: Alright.
KING IN YELLOW: So long, Arthur. L-Lillith. Good luck.
LILLITH: Three… two…
KING IN YELLOW (growing louder): Wait, wait, wait, wait! (Lillith grunts in frustration.)
LILLITH: What?
KING IN YELLOW: Arthur, wait.
ARTHUR: What?
KING IN YELLOW: You once told me that the greatest gift you ever gave me was your sight.
ARTHUR: Yes.
KING IN YELLOW: W-Would you be… willing to give that to me again?
ARTHUR: What do you mean?
KING IN YELLOW: I needed to try, Arthur, I-I needed to see what it felt like to be whole again, to give my whole heart! Or whatever is left of it, to the idea of becoming what I once was… again! But you’re right. Y-You’re so right. John wasn’t a dilution of the King. He was, in his own way, an entire new person, an evolution, a better being than I ever was! Yellow, for all his missteps, was as well! And I can hear that in him, now.
ARTHUR: What are you saying?
KING IN YELLOW: I’m saying that… if you’d be willing to be together again… with all the drawbacks and pain it caused.
ARTHUR: It won’t be easy. You won’t have all of this.
KING IN YELLOW: I don’t care. I felt more whole being your eyes… than I ever have in this body. So long as you can live without… without seeing again. Having me… describe things, pales in comparison to –
ARTHUR: I would much prefer… (The King gasps.) To hear the world described in the way you see it. It’s a cold, drab place, but you’ve always tended to make it sound brighter.
KING IN YELLOW: Lillith?
LILLITH (annoyed): Fine, yes. I can do it.
ARTHUR: You can?
LILLITH: Of course I can! Don’t you remember our deal back in New York?
ARTHUR: What are you looking for?
LILLITH: Something small… ah!
ARTHUR: You… a stone? A stone, you – you –
LILLITH: Kid, I possessed multiple people as Scratch. You were supposed to let me jump into another body, had you put the stone in their pocket. Hell, I entered your body after you picked up a nail from the floor. Soul jumping is my bread and butter.
KING IN YELLOW: Alright. Okay.
ARTHUR: You’re sure about this?
KING IN YELLOW: More than anything.
ARTHUR: Wait, wait. What will happen to –
KING IN YELLOW: Yellow will stay behind. I can feel him. It’s going to be okay. He still learned what… what we’ve learned together.
ARTHUR: Alright.
LILLITH: Alright, John or whatever. Breathe on this stone. (The King exhales.) Alright, Artie. Swallow it.
ARTHUR (displeased): A stone?
LILLITH: Yes.
ARTHUR: The stone. I thought you only needed it to be on me – (Rising whispers.)
LILLITH: Just… swallow it! (Arthur swallows. An otherworldly whoosh.)
KING IN YELLOW: I feel… I am… yes. Thank you. Both of you.
ARTHUR: John? Are you…?
KING IN YELLOW: I am the King. Thank you, Arthur. I think… I think you have helped. Both of us.
ARTHUR: Both?
(The music swells.)
JOHN: Arthur?
ARTHUR (emotional): John!
JOHN: I needed to know – I needed to feel like I –
ARTHUR: I get it, I understand!
JOHN: I’m sorry!
ARTHUR: I’m sorry! I understand. I’m sorry, I…
LILLITH: Alright. Everybody hunky-dory? Can we get the fuck out of here now?
JOHN: Yeah.
ARTHUR (determined): Yes.
JOHN (also determined): Damn right we can.
LILLITH: We’ve got little time to stop Kayne from ending all existence. And now we’re down to only two pairs of eyes.
ARTHUR: Well, I’d say we’re up a man. And that makes it three versus one.
LILLITH: Look. Everything stands. Kayne is powerful and deadly and we need to be smart.
ARTHUR: This is our last shot.
JOHN: Our only shot.
LILLITH: Let’s make it count.
KING IN YELLOW: Good luck. I’ll do what I can… if anything. From here.
ARTHUR: Thank you, King.
JOHN: He nods. Let’s do this. (The wind grows louder.)
LILLITH: One…
JOHN: Two…
ARTHUR: Three.
(A grunt of effort, and a supernatural whoosh.)
(END Part 58.)