How Green Becomes Wood

"I do not know much of Japanese history," Dark admitted at the lights went down, settling in for Act II.

It opened with Hades telling Eurydice there were papers to be signed and instructing her to step into his office. As he went up after her, his physicality weirdly similar to how Dark moved, he removed his coat and loosened his tie, the implication as the door to his office shut behind him that this was less than pure. Then Persephone, now in a black version of what she wore earlier, began to sing Our Lady of the Underground, and Dark thought if it weren't for the fact Persephone clearly had a drinking problem, this was also how people should respond to Daizi when she entered a space.
 
"This took a dark turn," Xander muttered.

Alec eyed the closed door anxiously. "He's not really... and she's not... is she?"

Xander shrugged. "Probably not? Might get close," he said to comfort his brother. He, cynical person that he was, had no doubt it went all the way, but it was up to interpretation. Maybe it didn't go there. Maybe. He doubted it.

"No, neither of them could actually go through with it, no matter how angry or desperate," Alec agreed, satisfied.

Desperation and anger broke a lot of boundaries that otherwise might hold, Xander thought, but he didn't say anything.
 
When Eurydice reemerged, she was dressed like the other members of the chorus and was told to get on the line. The Fates explained there was no going back, that the others on the line could hear what she had to say but didn't care, and that they could look but not see because it was easier that way, and it was easier for them to forget who they were and everything which came before. They explained the same thing would happen to her. Then they asked her for her name, and she already couldn't remember it to tell them.

Then, when she was alone, she began to sing about how she wanted to simply fall asleep, close her eyes and disappear. She sang how she trembled when he laid her out and how he told her how she wouldn't feel a thing and nothing would wake her.

It was when she sang the lyrics:

Dreams are sweet, until they're not
Men are kind, until they aren't.
Flowers bloom, until they rot
and fall apart

That Daizi's breathing shuddered and she turned her face against Dark's shoulder, who instinctively put his arm around her as Eurydice continued:

Flowers, I remember fields of flowers
Soft beneath my heels.
Walking in the sun, I remember someone
Someone by my side
Turned his face to mine
And then I turned away, into the shade.

You, the one I left behind,
If you ever walk this way
Come and find me
Lying in the bed
I made.

And then, as she finished the song, just as he had said when they first met, Orpheus said, Come home with me.
 
Alec shuddered, both loving and hating the way the song affected him. It wasn't fair. None of this was fair! Why did she have to suffer so much? This was supposed to be a romance, wasn't it? A story? Stories were supposed to be a way to escape reality! But now she had to hurt so badly. When Orpheus showed up, Alec straightened with an audible gasp of delight. Yes! That was why she suffered! To make her release that much sweeter! To make it all worth it!

Xander squirmed a little, uncomfortable with the song. He didn't recognize the emotions it was pulling up inside him, and he didn't think he liked them, whatever they were. It was a harsh, tearing, desperate song... and then OrPhEuS showed up. About time!
 
It's you!

It's me!

Orpheus!

Eurydice!
They sang reunited as Orpheus told her he sang a song so beautiful the walls wept and let him in and explained he could sing them home again. Eurydice, concerned, tried to say he couldn't and that he didn't understand, but then---

Young man. I don't think we've met before
You're not from around here, son.
Don't know who the hell you are but I can tell you don’t belong.

Persephone tried to tell Hades he knew this boy but he told her to stay out of it and told Orpheus he was on the wrong side of the fence and should run. Eurydice also told him he should go, clearly concerned for him, but Hermes explained this poor boy raised up his voice with his heart out on his sleeve.

I'm not going back alone,
I came to take her home.

In response to this, Hades laughed in his face and said, unveiling a contract to show Orpheus,

Who the hell do you think you are?
Who the hell you think you're talkin' to?
She couldn't go anywhere, even if she wanted to.
You’re not from around here, son.
If you were, then you would know:
That everything and everyone in Hadestown, I own.
But I only buy what others choose to sell.
Oh, you didn’t know?
She signed the deal herself.
And now she
Belongs to me

While Orpheus protested it wasn't possible and begged Eurydice to say as much, but she only could only admit that she did and she does. And Hades called the chorus to gather around to watch him be run off as an instrumental sequence of him being kicked out of Hadestown followed.
 
"Oh no!" Alec gasped as Orpheys was getting kicked out. "No, he can't do that!"

"He can and he did," Xander replied, unbothered. He'd been expecting Hades to step in. It would have been far too easy if he hadn't. The Big Bad Guy needed to block the way for the hero and give him something to conquer. A journey wasn't enough, usually.

"But..." Alec whispered.

"She knew what she was doing. He might have talked her into it, but it was still her decision," Xander whispered back. "Maybe, if this story's any good, she'll start a riot and dethrone him. Imagine her as the queen of all the Underworld."

Alec hesitated. "Okay, that could be cool, but Persephone would never allow it. They might be fed up with each other right now, but they still love each other. I'd stake my name on that!"

"Then even better. Cat fight," Xander replied.

Alec grumbled, but the pair settled back.
 
As Orpheus failed to convince Hades to let Eurydice go, the fates gathered around and sang

Why the struggle, why the strain?
Why make trouble? Why make scenes?
Why go against the grain?
Why swim upstream?
It ain't, it ain't, it ain't no use
You're bound, you're bound, you're bound to lose
What's done, what's done, what's done is done
That's the way the river runs
So why get wet? Why break a sweat?
Why waste your precious breath?
Why beat your handsome brow? Nothing changes
Nothing changes
Nothing changes anyhow

Then, Orpheus, feeling broken and defeated and sang about how if it was true what they said, he may as well be on his way. He couldn't save the girl he loved, he was beaten, he was betrayed, and everyone just told him nothing changes. Distressed at how the world was, he repeated that he'd be on his way. But then Hermes repeated how everyone knew the walls had ears and all of the workers had set down their hammers and pickaxes. The whole chorus watched Orpheus, asking what is the purpose of a man if he just turns his eyes away and throw up his hands. They asked what was the purpose of a backbone if he never stands upright and turns his back on those he could've stood beside.

And Orpheus, hearing them, sang

If it's true what they say,
I'll be on my way,
But who are they to say
What the truth is anyway?

Because the ones who tell the lies,
Are the solemnest to swear.
And the ones who load the dice,
always say the toss is fair.
And the ones who deal the cards,
are the ones who take the tricks,
With the hands over their hearts,
while we play the games they fix.

And the ones who speak the words,
Always say it is the last
and no question will be heard
to the question no one asked

He began to sing about how he feels their answers, together, mattered more than anything they said, that if there is still a will then there was still a way.

I believe that together we are stronger than we know,
I believe we are stronger than they know,
I believe that we are many,
I believe that they are few.
And it isn't for the few
to tell the many what is true.

Then it wasn't Orpheus alone, it was Orpheus with the power of all those in Hadestown standing beside him.
 
Alec clasped his hands together as the fates sang about nothing changing and then Orpheus singing his song of defeat, terrified Orpheus would give up and leave. He couldn't, of course. He was the hero of this story! But this story hadn't gone how it was supposed to from the start, so what if it didn't follow through here? But then the workers of Hadestown began to join him, and Alec squeaked with joy as they all started banding together. Yes! Yes! Together, they were stronger!

Xander sat watching grimly. Finally, Orpheus was starting to make sense. Finally, he was starting to act like a man, not a dancy-prancy-fairweather-lover. Euridice still deserved better, way better, but maybe this was helping the guy to grow into someone she did deserve. Still, it took a whole city agreeing with him to make Orpheus stand up and decide to do something about the injustice. He smirked at the idea of Dark needing that amount of support to save Daizi from the grip of death, even the Dark who'd let her leave for Egypt all those years ago.
 
Meanwhile, Hades and Persephone had a second argument. In this one, Persephone pleaded with Hades to just let Eurydice go because she knows the girl meant nothing to him, but everything to Orpheus. Calling him her light and her darkness, she said had he heard how Orpheus sang, he'd pity him and that all of his sorrow didn't fit in his chest and she demanded to know how long he'd let Orpheus suffer. He replied that it would last as long as he was king and stated nothing comes of wishing on stars, nothing comes from the songs people sang, regardless of how sorry they wore. He explained how if he showed any weakness, the entire kingdom would fall.

Persephone asked what Orpheus cared for the logic of kings or the laws of the Underworld, because he only sang for the love of a girl. Hades said her pity didn't fit in his bed and it just burned like a fire. She said it would last as long as she was his wife, because yes, the Earth must die, but then the Earth comes back to life and the sun must go on rising.

As they sang their song, they heard the chorus rising up and Hades recognized it was Orpheus. He and Persephone went out to see what was happening and proceeded to try to cajole Orpheus into leaving again. This time he tried to explain how he remembered being young and in love too, and told him to keep a woman he had to shackle her with bracelets and fill her pockets full of precious stones and diamonds. He explained he had been turned on one too many times and was no longer singing a love song but just enjoyed the sound of the machinery, the symphony of Hadestown, he had strung the world in wire and conducted the electric city.

He told Orpheus, yelling the more he got into the final verse of the song:

I'll tell you what, young man
Since my wife is such a fan
And since I'm going to count to three
And put you out of your misery
One!-- give me one more song
One more song before I send you
Two!-- to the great beyond
Where nobody can hear you singing
Three!-- sing a song for me
Make me laugh, make me weep
Make the king feel young again
Sing for an old man!
 
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Alec felt tears prick his eyes as he listened. Poor old Hades! Poor, desperate, hurting, loving Hades! The old man just needed to remember. He needed to remember what love was! That was all, right?

Xander quite enjoyed Hades telling Orpheus off. Sure, Hades was the Bad Guy, and a very obvious metaphor for the powerful and the rich, but Orpheus was such a whiner! It was nice to have someone not telling him what a lovely singer he was or how he just needed to stand up for stuff or something like that. Although, now that he thought of it, didn't Hermes at least tell him off in a small way when Euridice first died or whatever she did? That was good. He was all for letting Orpheus have another song. It'd better be a good one!
 
Hades slammed down a stool and sat on it, arms crossed, watching intently as Persephone and Hermes stood by either side of him. All eyes on stage watched the young boy. One of the Fates gave him his guitar. Hermes sat a microphone in front of him. Orpheus looked terrified but nonetheless, he began to sing:

King of Shadows, King of Shades
Hades was King of the Underworld
Hades chuckled and said, Oh, it's about me before Hermes urged Orpheus to continue on:

But he fell in love with a beautiful lady,
Who walked up above in her mother's green fields,
He fell in love with Persephone
Who was gathering flowers in the light of the sun
And I know how it was because
He was like me
A man, in love with a woman
Singing la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la

Hades stood suddenly, asking where he got that melody, but Persephone quietly told him to let him finish, so Orpheus continued, his voice getting stronger as he continued, turning to look at Eurydice:

And you didn't know how
And you didn't know why
But you knew that you wanted to take her home
You saw her alone there against the sky
It was like, she was someone you'd always known

It was like you were holding the world when you held her
Like yours were the arms that the whole world was in
And there were no words for the way that you felt
So you opened your mouth and you started to sing
As he continued to sing the melody, the one Hermes had called an old song, all the fates, all the chorus, even Persephone joined in singing
La la la la la la la, La la la la la la la. Hades stood still and watched, slowly walking (again, very much in the way Dark would), as the turn table spun them all slowly around.

But what has become of the heart of that man?
Now that the man is King?
What has become of the heart of that man?
Now that he has everything?
The more he has, the more he holds
The greater the weight of the world on his shoulders.
See how he labours beneath that load,
Afraid to look up, and afraid to let go.
The chorus and the fates backed up, so it was only Hades, Persephone, and Orpheus. Eurydice still stood near, but not as close at hand as she had been.

So he keeps his head low, he keeps his back bending
He's grown so afraid that he'll lose what he owns
But what he doesn't know is what he's defending is already gone.
At that moment, Hades turned around to see Persephone, watching her husband intently.

Where is the treasure inside of your chest?
Where is your pleasure, where is your youth?
Sitting beside her husband, Daizi was holding tightly to his arm, because she had been quietly crying along to this song from one of the very first verses, but when she, her cheek against his shoulder, felt Dark shudder at that line, she stretched up and gently brushing her hand against his cheek found that he, too, had begun to cry. Letting go of his arm, she did her best, seperated as they were by the arm rest of the theatre seats, to hold him too.

Where is that man
With his arms outstretched to the woman he loves
With nothing to lose
Singing la la la la la la la
Walking slowly to Persephone, Hades sang, in a raspy, cautious voice which sounded like he hadn't sung like that in a very, very long time
la la la la la la la. Orpheus repeated the melody and he, again, finished it, more confidently that time. And before he and Persephone could take each other's hands, a red carnation appeared in his hand, just as had appeared in Orpheus' at the beginning of the show. Crying, Persephone took it, held it, and carefully pinned it into Hades' lapel.

And Hermes spoke to the audience:

Orpheus was a poor boy, but he had a gift to give.
This poor boy brought the world back into tune, is what he did
And Hades and Persephone, they took each other's hands
And brother, you know what they did?
They danced.
 
Alec reached over and took Xander's hand, squeezing it tight. His heart hurt for something he'd never truly known. At least, not yet. It was like this song called to him from somewhere in the future, somewhere where he did have a love, where he had loved, where he was loving. He hoped that someday he could see this future and experience for real. Maybe someday. For now, he closed his eyes and felt it wash over him, opening them when Hades and Persephone began to dance together.

Xander let Alec hold his hand, his expression still and silent as he watched. An outsider. Someone who did not understand. Part of him wanted to. Part of him yearned so much to understand this feeling that it hurt, and yet... yet he still pulled away. He could not. He could not let himself open his heart to this feeling. It was too dangerous. And yet, he wished it wasn't.
 
Eurydice turned to Orpheus amazed he had finished the song, and Orpheus was dumbfounded as to what he needed to do next. Eurydice said he just had to take her home with him.

Orpheus expressed that he had no ring for her finger, no banquet table, and no bed of feathers, regardless of what promises he made earlier. He couldn't promise her clear skies above or kind road below, but he promised to walk beside her anyway the wind blew. Eurydice told him she didn't need any of that, just bread when she was hungry and fire when she was cold. She didn't need clear skies or an easy walk, just a steady hand to hold. Together they sang about not knowing what way the road would end but that they'd walk it together, regardless of the wind.

They answered the questions "Do you let me walk with you?" and "And keep on walking come what will?" as though they were wedding vows and then turned to Hades to ask, "Can we go?"

And the King answered, "I don't know."

Dark and Daizi sat holding each other as much as they could given the circumstances, both quietly and subtly crying as they watched Orpheus and Eurydice, fully aware of what was to come.

The Fates crowded around Hades, telling him he had to think quick, because if he let them go, he was a spineless king who would never get the Underworld in line again, but if he told them no, he was a heartless man and was going to have a martyr on his hands. Everyone was watching him---but they pointed out men are weak, men are frail, and if given a rope, they'd hang themselves. Then alone, Hades sang a deep, rich, song Dark would be brilliant performing at, expressing how with Orpheus' kiss, a riot would start. All of his 'children' came to clamoring for a home, but now they clamored for freedom. He decided he'd let them go, so long as their was a condition and it was up to them to see if they would fail or not. Orpheus was only confident with the crowd behind him, when as alone, without his lover's hand to hold, his blood would run thin and doubt would come in.

So after having a discussion with Hades, Hermes went over to the two young lovers and explained the situation: They could go, but it wouldn't be as they planned. It wouldn't be arm-in-arm or side-by-side. Orpheus would have to walk in front, Eurydice in back, and if he ever turned around to see if she was coming too, she'd go back to Hadestown, and there wouldn't be a thing Orpheus could do about it.

Hermes explained it wasn't a trap, it was a trial. It wasn't a trick, it was a test. They trusted each other, and they trusted themselves, so they agreed they would walk out of hell together.
 
Alec's smile nearly split his face. They were going free! They could do it! Orpheus loved her so much, he went through so much to get to her, he could do this! It might not be easy, but he could do this! Then they would be free to live their lives, and spring would return, and Persephone and Hades could find love again! Right? It was going to be beautiful!

Xander, on the other hand, felt a sense of foreboding. Orpheus might love her dearly and all of that, but it took a city rising up around him for him to get his butt back in gear. Outside of singing, dancing, and walking, he was a pretty weak fellow at heart. Was he really going to be strong enough to not look? If Xander was Orpheus, and Euridice was Alec, Xander wasn't sure he would be able to keep from looking back to check on Alec. If it was like that between brothers, how much worse would it be for lovers torn apart and having to deal with all of this?
 
As Orpheus began leading Eurydice out of Hadestown, Hermes said:

The meanest dog you'll ever meet
He ain't the hound dog in the street
He bares some teeth and tears some skin
But, brother, that's the worst of him
The dog you really got to dread
Is the one that howls inside your head
It's him whose howling drives men mad
And a mind to its undoing

The two lovers were followed by the Chorus who kept chanting for them to show the way. If he could do it, so could she, and if she could, so could they, and they'd show the way the world could be. They would follow them because they believed in them. Persephone asked Hades if he thought they'd make it. He said he wasn't sure, and after she, pleased, commented he let them go, he reminded her he only let them try. She asked if they too would try again, and Hades told her it was time for Spring and they could try again in the fall, and he promised to wait for her.

Meanwhile, the Fates began to ask Orpheus:

Who are you?
Who do you think you are?
Who are you?
Who are you to lead her?
Who are you to lead them?
Who are you to think that you can hold your head up higher than your fellow man?
Hermes, the psychopomp of Greek mythology was still explaining to Orpheus he had a lonesome road to walk, but it wasn't the blacktop he was used to. The real road was his mind. That was the path both to paradise and to ruin. Eurydice, along with the chorus, sang a reprise of Wait For Me, with complete confidence he would certainly lead her home.

But as Hades prophesized, doubt came in. The fates continued to sing to Orpheus, asking him who he thought he was, asking him where he thought she was going, and why he thought he could be the one to lead Eurydice home. Slowly he began to echo their questions. Who was he against him? Why would he let him win? How could he trust Hades wouldn't deceive him just to make him leave?

He sang, I used to see the way the world could be, but now the way it is is all I see.
Eurydice, undaunted, sang behind him, her arms thrown wide, and she sang:
Orpheus
You are not alone
I am right behind you
And I have been all along
The darkest hour
Of the darkest night
Comes right before---

And Orpheus stepped just outside of the Underworld. He was free. And Eurydice was one step away when Orpheus spun around.

It's you.

It's me.

Orpheus.

Eurydice.
 
Alec gripped Xander's hand hard as Orpheus and Eurydice walked along the lonesome road. They were going to make it! He leaned forward, willing Orpheus to ignore the fates and everyone else and all the thoughts in his mind. He could make it! And Hades and Persephone, they were going to make it, too! Hades even told Persephone to go back above, and Persephone even asked for him to wait for her! Oh, it was almost too beautiful!

Xander was fairly certain his hand had gone numb by now, but he let Alec continue to latch onto it. He actually kind of liked the fact that it wasn't an easy call for the king to make. He had to figure out a way that was right down the middle, and while Hades guessed that Orpheus couldn't make it, he did give them a chance, fair and square. You couldn't argue that.

Then Orpheus stepped out of the Underworld. Alec almost cheered. And Orpheus got to see that Eurydice was right behind him the whole time! Yes! They'd done it! They... Wait. Wait! Alec's eyes went huge as the true end of the story unfolded. Eurydice was still inside the Underworld boundaries! No! She was being forced back because he turned too soon!

"NO!" Alec yelled in absolute horror and anguish, bolting up from his chair. "NO!"

Xander grabbed him and pulled him back down, shushing him.

"It's not fair! Orpheus made it! He was free, and he couldn't see how far back she was, so of course he turned back!" Alec sobbed, making no effort to be quiet. "They belong together!"

Xander clamped a hand over Alec's mouth. "It's going to be okay!" he whispered. "It's not over yet, right? Maybe they'll fix it." There was no way they were fixing this.
 
A hushed gasp fell over the crowd, and thankfully most of the audience was too focused on the events on stage to look over at the kid who leapt up in anguish. It was mostly the people in their row and those in the rows immediately behind them. Enough of them were sobbing that, at least, his sobbing didn't register for anyone else.

Hermes stepped up, cautiously, aware for the characters what this meant.

A'ight
It's an old song
It's an old tale
From way back when.
And that is how it ends.
That is how it goes.
Don't ask why
Brother don't ask how
He could have come so close.
The song was written long ago.
It's a sad song.
It's a sad tale.
It's a tragedy.
Again, the audience fell silent, but Hermes looked up, strengthened, even as Eurydice returned to the Underworld and Orpheus stood in shock and horror. He continued, emphatically:

But we sing it anyway.
'Cause here's the thing.
To know how it ends and still begin to sing it again,
As if it might turn out this time.
I learned that from a friend of mine.
See Orpheus was a poor boy.
As he said this, Eurydice stepped out just as she had in the first act, dressed in those clothes, with that candle, and asked if anyone had a match. Because Orpheus was a poor boy, but he had a gift to give. He could make you see how the world could be in spite of the way that it is.

Can you see it?
Can you hear it?
Like a train--
Is it coming, is it coming this way?
This time, it was a sunny day when the train rolled in, and the lady stepping off it didn't have a suitcase full of summertime. No, because when everybody looked, they all saw that Spring had come again. With a love song. Persephone repeated it: With a love song. The chorus repeated it: With a love song. It was tale of love from long ago, and it was a sad song. The chorus repeated: A sad song. Persephone repeated: a sad song. We keep singing even so, it was an old song! Eurydice repeated, Orpheus repeated, the Chorus repeated: An old song!
All of them, together, every member of the cast all at once in perfect harmony sang:

It's a love song
It's a tale of a love from long ago
It's a sad song
We keep singing even so
It's an old song
It's an old tale from way back when
And we're gonna sing it again and again

Finally, Hermes simply spoke the words:
We're gonna sing it again.

Then the lights went down, the actors left the stage, and the show was over.
 
Alec was still bawling as Xander held him, but he'd managed to quiet himself enough to not bother everyone around him, and he could hear the words of Hermes as the cast finished the song with the end, an almost perfect recreation of the beginning. What had happened before was going to happen again, apparently. He tried to find the hope in that, but his heart was still completely shattered by the sudden snatching of happiness, of the loss of Eurydice to Orpheus. How could anyone recover from that?

Xander, for his part, didn't think he could survive another show like this. He was relieved when the show ended! Finally! Maybe he could regain some sanity.
 
When the cast came out to bow, all of the audience was on their feet, including Dark and Daizi, although Dark stood slightly in the aisle so he didn't block anyone's view behind him. The cast seemed joyous. The stage lights meant they couldn't really see anyone in the audience clearly, although the actor who played Hades seem to squint vaguely in their way with a briefly confused face, making out what appeared through the lights to be a strangely familiar shape before focusing back in on what they were doing.

Halfway through bows, Persephone's actor stepped forward, and while they were all on their feet, she began to sing again:

Pour the wine and raise a cup,
Drink up brother, you know how,
and spill a drop for Orpheus
Wherever he is now.

Then, with Eurydice joining in, they sang:
Some birds sing where the sun shines bright,
Our praise is not for them,

Persephone alone sang:
But the ones who sing,
in the dead of night.
We raise our cups to them

Again, the two woman sang together, about how they hoped their singing would follow wherever Orpheus was wandering alone and bring him comfort. When the whole company joined in to sing, they sang:

Some flowers bloom where the green grass grows,
Our praise is not for them,
But the ones who bloom in the bitter snow
We raise our cups to them.

They raised their cups and drank them up to Orpheus and all of us. Persephone spoke the true final words of the musical: Goodnight, brothers, goodnight.

Then they all bowed again and the lights went dark again. The audience continued to cheer as the lights came back up in the house, and Daizi, who had not quite stopped crying since Epic III, did her best to dry her eyes as she turned to hug Dark properly, now that they were all standing, laughing softly as he bent to kiss the top of her head and dry her eyes, being careful to not smear her makeup. He had cried for a significant portion, but had stopped now, with no remaining evidence that he had at all.
 
Xander had to practically pull Alec to his feet for the ovation, and Alec hadn't stopped crying, either. He shuffled down the row, snuffling, to stand near his parents, and the twins paused to listen to the final song. That set Alec off again, and Xander was running out of tissues to hand him.
 
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