Fade in to the Ballroom's dance floor. Cleggy cautiously walks forward between frantic dancers and smoke. He sees the DJ booth and heads off towards it.

Cut to DJ booth.

Cleggy steps into the booth. The area is vacant and nothing is moving save for blinking lights on the CD player. Warily, Cleggy walks toward the deck.
Smoke begins to build up in the room. Looking up through the fog, Cleggy sees a dark figure standing at the far end of the platform. Cleggy is not surprised at all to find not Rex, the usual DJ, but Simon Price. He takes out a CD single and turns to face Price. He feels confident, eager to engage his enemy.
Price: You have a good ear for goth music, young Andrew. But you are not a DJ yet.
Cleggy turns toward the deck in answer. He opens a CD player and puts in the disk. Cleggy quickly grabs the headphones and queues up the track, fading out the last song as he does so. He reaches out and fades in a Nitzer Ebb track.

Cut to outside the club. Shawnee, Felidae, and Pete, helping Kara along, march along Kentish Town Road, guarded by three bouncers. The group reaches a side street where Dok and a dozen of his friends stand eating chips and kebabs.

The goths immediately take out chains and broken bottles, displaying them threateningly at the startled bouncers.

Felidae: (to Dok) Well done. Get them out of here -- and keep it quiet. Move.
As Dok and his friends quickly shove the bouncers away, Felidae begins to undo Shawnee's handcuffs.
Shawnee: What do you think you're doing?
Felidae: We're getting out of here.
Kara: I knew all along it had to be a mistake.
Shawnee turns on Felidae and starts to choke him.
Shawnee: Do you think that after what you did to Nic we're going to trust you?
Felidae tries to free himself from Shawnee.
Felidae: (choking) I had no choice...
Kara: (to Shawnee) What are you doing? Trust him, trust him!
Shawnee: Oh, so we understand, don't we, Pete? He had no choice.
Felidae: I'm just trying to help...
Shawnee: We don't need any of your help.
Felidae: (choking) N-i-i-i...
Pete: What?
Kara: It sounds like Nic.
Felidae: There's still a chance to save Nic...I mean, on Camden High Street....
Pete: Shawnee.
Shawnee finally releases Felidae, who fights to get his breath back.
Kara: (to Felidae) I'm terribly sorry about all this. After all, she's rather short tempered.

Cut to Camden High Street. The two Suits lead Nic's legally bound body down the street towards the head hunter's car. James Forgy gets into the driver's seat.

Forgy: Put Mr. Gibson in the back seat..
And with that, the door slams shut.

Pan down Camden High Street to Felidae, Shawnee, Pete and Kara running down the street.

Felidae: There they are!
Just as they arrive, James Forgy's car starts up and drives away towards Kentish Town. In wild anguish, Pete starts flinging rocks and empty cans at the car.
Kara: Oh, no! Pete, they're behind you!
As the car fades off in the distance, everyone turns around to see see what Kara has already spotted coming from the other direction; a group of bouncers running out of the Ballroom toward them.
Upon seeing the bouncers, Felidae turns and runs. Pete follows dragging Kara along with him. Shawnee stands there a moment, and dashes off after them.

Cut to Camden Road. They race for Pete's car with a groups of bouncers from the Ballroom close on their tail. Felidae and Shawnee throw random debris at the bouncers as Pete searches his pockets for his keys. Pete whips out his keys and unlocks the door. Kara hits her head on the car as Pete helps her into the back seat.

Kara: Ouch! Oh! Ah! That hurt. Oh, you thoughtless...Ow!
Pete starts up the car. The engine rumbles to life as the others dive into the car just ahead of the bouncers.
Felidae: Pete! Go!
Pete puts it into gear as Shawnee sits next to him and Felidae watches over their shoulders. As Pete steps on the accelerator, the car begins to move.
The car drives off down Camden Road as the bouncers slow to a stop and watch.

Cut to DJ booth. Cleggy and Price stand side by side in front of the deck.

Cleggy takes out a new CD from his bag and starts to queue it up. While he does so, Price turns up the lights, causing people to leave the dance floor. As a counter move, Cleggy turns on the smoke machine, clouding the room and filling the dance floor once again.
Price: You have learned much, young one.
Cleggy: You'll find I'm full of surprises.
Price makes two quick moves, knocking the disk Cleggy is holding out of his hand and sending it flying. Another lightning wave of Price's lit cigarette forces the youth to jump back to protect himself. Losing his balance, Cleggy rolls down the stairs to the dance floor. There he sprawls on the floor, surprised and shaken. Just in time he looks up to see an out-of-control dancer stepping backward on top of him. Cleggy rolls away as the dancer just misses him. Crouching, Cleggy keeps his gaze steadily on Price.
Price: Your destiny lies with me, Andrew. Java-G knew this to be true.
Cleggy: No!
Suddenly, Price puts on a CD and cross-fades it in. It is a far overplayed, but still popular old Prodigy single. This all happens too fast for Cleggy to react. The few old goths on the dancefloor walk off heading toward the bar, while the rest of the dance floor packs with franticly dancing casuals. Price stands in front of the deck and relaxes.
Price: All to easy. Perhaps you are not as strong as the Pale Emperor thought.
There is a blur of motion in the smoke from the dance floor and Cleggy appears on the other end of the booth, whipping out an LP and placing it on the turntable. He starts up Saint Saëns' Danse Macabre, speeding it up so that the beats match with the Prodigy single. The crowd on the dance floor continue dancing, joined by the old goths who seem intrigued by the novel combination.
Price: Impressive...most impressive.
Cleggy crosses the booth toward Price. He reaches down and picks up the CD which had fallen on the floor.
Price: Java-G has taught you well. You have controlled your mixing... now play something more popular.
Cleggy is more cautious, controlling his actions. He searches for an old classic as Price goads him on. As Cleggy takes out the disk, he realises he has been foolhardy. A quick switch and he selects a less popular but more bouncy track, which takes Price aback. He fades it in and Price retreats. Cleggy gains in confidence.
Price: Only a popular tune will impress the punters.
Breathing hard, Cleggy jumps to the other side of the booth, past Price and turns on the smoke machine. He reaches out and knocks a CD out of Price's hand as the room continues to fill up with smoke.
Price retreats before Cleggy's assault. Price reaches into his case for a new CD, but looses his balance and falls out of the booth and onto the dance floor. The energy Cleggy has used to stop Price has brought him to the point of collapse. Cleggy moves to the railing and looks down, and sees Price start up a mosh pit on the dance floor. He puts on Vengeance, turns off the smoke, and heads off into the pit.
Moving down the smoky dance floor, Cleggy cautiously approaches the pit. He readies himself and dives in. He sees Price on the other side of the pit and raises his elbows and moves forward to attack.
Behind Cleggy a large crusty-punk joins the pit and comes smashing forward toward his back. Cleggy turns and fends him off with a spiky bracelet just as another punk comes hurtling at him. Using his elbows, Cleggy manages to deflect him and send him flying. A spindly goth joins in and comes flying at Cleggy. He deflects him. Suddenly dreadlocks from a tall crusty begin to whip at the youth. Some small punks and goths come flying at him. Bombardment from all sides, Cleggy does his best to deflect everyone, but soon he is bloodied and bruised. Finally, one overweight skinhead hits him head-on and Cleggy goes flying out of the pit.
Cleggy lies there on the dance floor momentarily dazed. He looks up at the DJ booth and sees Price queueing up a new track. He leans on the railing and pulls himself up the stairs to the DJ booth. Price puts on Manson's "Sweet Dreams". Cleggy searches through his music collection for a track which can complement it, but finds nothing which can help the horrid song.
Price: You are beaten. It is useless to resist. Don't let yourself be destroyed as Java-G did.
Cleggy answers by fading the song into the Dream Disciples' version. Price seems surprised he used such a weak song, but immediately recovers.
Cleggy backs off toward his bag as Price mixes the track into a Type O-Negative song. Cleggy grabs his bag and makes a quick move around the booth heading toward the turntable at end of the platform. Before he can get there Price kicks Cleggy's leg out from under him, tripping him and sending his bag flying out over the dance floor. As it flies through the air, records and CDs scatter in a hundred directions.
Cleggy sits up absolutely stunned. He inches back to the extreme end of the booth. Price follows. Cleggy sits there. There is nowhere else to go.
Price: There is no escape. Don't make me destroy you. You do not yet realise your importance. You have only begun to discover your abilities. Join me and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can stop Britpop and bring Goth to the popular music scene.
Cleggy: I'll never join you!
Price: If you only knew the power of the techno side. Java-G never told you what happened to the goth scene.
Cleggy: He told me enough! He told me you killed it.
Price: No. (gestures towards the dance floor which is filled with Crow rip-offs and Manson look-alikes) This is the goth scene.
Shocked, Cleggy looks at Price in utter disbelief.
Cleggy: No. No. That's not true! That's impossible!
Price: Search your feelings. You know it to be true.
Cleggy: No! No! No!
Price: Cleggy. You can destroy the Pale Emperor. He has foreseen this. It is your destiny. Join me, and we can rule the music scene together. Come with me. It's the only way.
Price puts down the CD case and holds out his hand to Cleggy.
A calm comes over Cleggy, and he makes a decision. In the next moment he grabs a Wedding Present EP from the floor, places it on the turntable and fades it in. The dance floor clears as a disappointed crowd rushes up to the DJ booth. The leaders of the mob grab Cleggy, carrying him over their heads to the emergency exit at the back of the club. They force open the doors and shove Cleggy out onto the street.
Cleggy lies there in pain, exhausted from his confrontation. He takes out his mobile and makes a phone call.
Cleggy: Guy...Guy, please!
The sound of ringing can be heard from the phone as Cleggy tries to pull himself up on his feet but can't, and he falls back down. There is no answer.
Cleggy: Guy.... Shawnee!
Cleggy hangs up and redials the phone with a new number. A rowdy group of youths down the street spy the prone form of Cleggy and start towards him.
Cleggy: Answer it! Shawnee!

Cut to Pete's car. Shawnee is softly talking on the phone, her expression troubled. Pete is busy driving the car. Felidae sits next to the Quarrier, trying to find a station on the radio. Shawnee hangs up and puts the phone down.

Shawnee: Cleggy... We've got to go back.
Pete: Huh?
Felidae: What?
Shawnee: I know where Cleggy is.
Felidae: But what about those bouncers?
Pete: Yeah.
Shawnee: Pete, just do it.
Felidae: But what about Price?
Pete turns on Felidae, the newcomer, with a real nasty look.
Felidae: All right, all right, all right.
Pete turns the car around back towards the club.

Cut back to Cleggy. Nearly unconscious, Cleggy lies on the street grasping his mobile phone. A group of rowdy drunk youths are walking towards him.

First youth: Oi! goffik!

Cut to inside Pete's car. Pete drives around looking for Cleggy. Shawnee tries to remain calm.

Felidae: (pointing out the window) Look, someone's over there.
Shawnee: It's Cleggy. Pete, slow down. Slow down and we'll get him. Felidae, open the door.
Felidae unlocks the door as Pete slows the car.
Cleggy lies on the street partly surrounded by lads who look down on him as an easy target.
The door pops open and Felidae jumps out. He runs through the lads and scoops up Cleggy, dragging him into the car.
Felidae: All right, Pete. Let's go.
The kids shout unintelligible insults at the car and start slapping it with their hands as Pete speeds away.

Fade to black


Fade in to a music exchange store in Camden Town. Felidae stands behind Cleggy who is busy looking at used CD singles. Pete is standing by the door, ready to leave, and is making motions that he's getting impatient. Felidae taps Cleggy on the shoulder. Cleggy turns to face him.

Felidae: Cleggy, we're ready to go.
Cleggy: Good luck, Felidae.
Felidae: When we find those remixes of "Defcon One" and "Subterranean", we'll contact you.
Cleggy: I'll meet you before Slime at the York. (To Pete) Pete, I'll be waiting for your call.
Pete: Got it.
Cleggy: Take care, you two. And good luck.
Cleggy looks down at a new row of records. He flips through the whole row, stopping in the middle at a particularly interesting one and holding it up.
Cleggy: (smiling) Hey!
Cleggy adds the record to the pile slowly amassing next to him. He is gradually getting his music collection back.
He collects his stuff and walks over to Shawnee. There is a new bond between them, a new understanding. Shawnee is thinking about Nic, who is busy at work. Cleggy is thinking about his uncertain and newly complicated future. Together they stand at the large window in the front of the shop looking out at the crowded market in Camden Town. Cleggy puts his arm around Shawnee. Kara stands next to them. The group watches as Pete's car moves into view, dodges a pedestrian, and zooms away down the street.

The End



Part 5

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