Is the Party Over?

I: Cracks in the Walls:

The month isn’t even over yet. Still, problems are already showing up. It was probably a good thing that Pandora got out when she did. The downfall was just beginning. It started with Ian and Violet.

They looked at each other.

“What do we do?” Violet asked. The director shrugged. Violet looked at the screen.

“We can’t tell anyone about this yet,” Ian said.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“What could we say to the others?” he asked. “I mean we already lost one of them. Think of how many more will leave when they find out how much money the Factory was losing.”

“But this can’t stay quiet,” Violet pointed out. Ian tried to think of something to say but nothing came out.

“What are you doing in here?” they heard from the doorway. Violet and Ian looked up to see Andy staring at them. The artist and director stood up. They tried to think of something to say but they drew blanks.

“People from the NHK came earlier,” Ian said at last. Violet whipped around to him.

“Oh,” was all Andy said.

II: Money Troubles:

Three people now know that Factory is losing money. So how are they going to fix it?

“How long have been losing money?” Ian asked in bed later that night.

“Since last autumn,” Andy said. The director sat up in bed.

“Last autumn?!” he asked.

“I know, I know,” the other director said.

“Well, do you have a plan to fix this?” Ian asked. Andy took a moment to think.

“I do,” he said.

“Okay… what is it?” Ian asked. Andy took him by the hand.

“I reveal everything in the morning,” he said. His lover said nothing.

III: Final Gambit:

This was going to be last deal before everything going dark. Andy knew that the Factory wasn’t going to last any longer. Why not let it go out with a bang at least?

Andy’s been planning this project since last summer. He never had the chance to act on it until now. This was going to be his last grand show with this crew. Maybe it was time to more on. But he still had some art left in him.

“I reveal everything in the morning,” Andy told Ian. He meant that too. The question was who was still going to be around to aid him. Pandora and Jemima were gone. They left early this month. Emily might be next to go. The glow in her eyes seemed to dim. Some of the other actors felt like it was time to move on as well. Maybe it was time for Andy to do the same.

But he would have one more big project to his name before it was all over.

IV: Morning Announcement:

Andy had everyone meet up in the Factory. The artists, musicians, and actors whispered among themselves. What were they doing here? Why was Andy calling them so early in the morning? Was this going to be a new project? Ian looked so nervous.

I hope you know what you are doing.

The room went quiet when they heard the door open. Andy stood in the doorway. He walked across the room with all eyes on him. He kept his hands in his pockets. Ian lifted his chin. The artist made it to the stage. He tapped the mike with his index finger. The echoing tap filled the room. Everyone winced at the sound.

“Good morning,” Andy said. “I have an announcement to make.” The artist paused for a moment. All eyes stayed on him.

“I will be shutting down Stardust Factory by the end of the year,” Andy said. Shocked whispers filled the room.

“What?!” some of them asked.

“Yes, it is true,” he said. “We are running out of money. I have no choice. But fear not, we will not go out with a whimper. I will grant you all one last project. Who is with me?” At first, the room remained silent. Ian hesitated as he raised his hand. More hands followed behind. Andy bowed his head.

“Thank you,” he said. The artist turned and walked off the stage. Everyone clapped with hesitation. Ian looked over as his own hands slowed to a stop. He lowered his hands to his sides.

I wish you luck. Ian lifted his chin and took a breath.

V: Keeping Everything Together:

Now, it’s matter of keeping everything together on Neo-Tokyo and Simple Tokyo. Things are slowly starting to slow to a crawl. Andy and everyone know that the Stardust Factory is about to be over. This is the last project from the Stardust Factory. Everyone is going to put their all in it. They didn’t have Pandora’s shoe design. But that didn’t matter. They were going to make this work.

Meanwhile, Kei has a business to run. Her father died and now she is the head of his company. Lately, things have gotten stale. The company needs to go in a new direction. The younger members of the board are for it while the old men are against it. The stuffy old men keep telling her this is going to be a terrible idea. Kei knows otherwise. Something has to change or the company is going to be left behind. She had to be the one to do it. Lucky for her, the CEO has her sister on her side to help sway the old men on the board.

Both sides are trying to hang on for a long year. They aren’t going to go out and leave nothing behind. Something had to change. They are going to go out in glory. But which one is going to crash and burn first?

VI: Production Begins:

The planning began on a Sunday. Andy had a big idea of what he happened to do. This wasn’t just going to be a movie. There had to be ab exhibit. Everyone was going to be on deck. They were going to throw all their talents into the circle.

Art

First there was going to be the art. It wasn’t just going to be him. Violet volunteered her old pieces as well as some new pieces. Andy was going to go out and get some new up and coming artists in the city. He still had his connections to make it work.

Music

Jenny and the Indigo Kids were up here. Their greatest hits and their newest singles. They were itching to do something with the music again. The band felt like it was going around in circles since the last year. Maybe this “last” project would shake things up and wake up a new love with their music. They were going to have to give it a try.

Poetry

Violet would come back here. She had been working on nice pieces of poems lately. Andy wanted her to read them off to the Indigo Kids music in the background. Andy had a section especially built for them. Even the nice speakers were going to be hooked up. This would lead into the next section.

Fashion

The models teamed up to show for this next part. Andy managed to get Pandora to do one more set of designs for the Stardust Factory. He had been sitting on them for quite some time. This would seem like the perfect time to use them. Now, he was going to have to get Jemima back for the day. The rest of the models were on board with the project. They would be doing more than clothes and shoes. It was going to be a contest.

Movie

Now, there was going to be the main attraction. Andy was going to filming everything. From how everything in the making to the final product. Movies were going to projected against the walls of the Factory. The biggest money was going to be at the end of the Factory. In fact, the guests would be coming through the Factory just to see everything.

Grand Finale

Andy was going to keep this one a surprise. He didn’t tell anyone what this part was going to be. The only thing that he told everyone was that it would involve everyone coming together at the end of the Factory. What was going to happen after that? Only Andy knew the answer to that.

All of that sounded so ambitious. Everyone was going to give it their all. Sounded promising. What could possibly go wrong? Well…

VII: An Accident:

-Months Later-

There’s been an accident. Someone is going to end up in the hospital. The news shocked the city. This is going to shift everything in an opposite direction. This is what Simon to make his final decision. This accident alone would cause a chain reaction that no one would even bother to connect the dots. Maybe when someone noticed, it was going to be too late. From there, nothing was going to be the same.

But who was in the accident? Who was hanging between life and death? Would they come out of it alive?

There’s been an accident. Who’s going to come out of all of this when it’s over? We are going to have to see.

VIII: Fade to Black:

The end is crawling towards everyone in both parts of Tokyo. Not everyone is going to make it out alive. Some might come out untouched. Others not so much. Either way, nothing is going to stay the same before the year is over.