***NOTE: The song "Wasted Time: is copyright Skid Row.  All characters
                           are originals, and can only be used with permission.***
 

*mumble mumble*  Alright, this is only being posted because LR convinced me
that I should share it.  C&C welcome, of course -- email me and tell me what you think.  ^_^

---------------------------
Illusion
"WASTED TIME"
Diaphonous Records
Director - Zillah
----------------------------

    (Okay, this needs an intro.  This is sung by Illusion, the guitarist in
Storm’s former band, Spastique Colon.  ((He was Storm’s best friend; Illusion
and Storm had known each other since they were both in their early teens.))
Now for a little background info - Storm’s father used to beat and molest him,
but he finally got carted off to jail for murder when Storm was 6.  Storm’s
mother, a victim of spouse abuse, was pretty well a basket case by this time.
Soon after Storm turned 12, he went into his mother’s room one morning to wake
her, only to find her dead in bed, a gun in her hand and half of her head
blown off.  Rather than become a part of the foster care system, Storm ran
away and became a child prostitute.  He met Illusion on the street one night,
and the two hit it off immediately.
    They became roommates (who slept together, of course) and dreamed of
forming a band.  As you can probably guess, they did – and it was a very
successful one.  After about five years of selling out arenas and seven albums,
Storm began his long career of self-destruction.  He pushed away everything
that he ever cared about, and almost died a few times.  Illusion saved him,
and Storm never forgave him for it.  The two never spoke again, and this is
one of the songs Illusion covered on his one solo album before he died of hepatitis.)

***

(The song opens with a dark room lit by only two candelabra. Illusion’s long
cherry-red hair glows richly in the candlelight – his tall, rainbow silk-clad
form sits facing backwards on a folding chair, his arms draped over the back.
We see his huge jade-colored eyes, rimmed heavily in black, open as he begins
to sing.
 

You and I together in our lives

(flashback of a fifteen-year-old Storm laughing with Illusion on the street
corner where they’re working)
 

Sacred ties would never fray

(another flashback – this one is of Storm cutting his and Illusion’s wrists
with his stiletto, then taking Illusion’s hand and pressing their wrists
together to mix their blood and become blood brothers)
 

Then why can I let myself tell lies

(flashback shows Illusion covering for Storm one time when Storm was late for
rehearsal – he told the rest of the band that Storm was sick, only to have him
come breezing in an hour later drunk out of his skull carrying two cases of
beer and with a couple of joints tucked behind his ear.)
 

And watch you die every day

(flashback of Storm unconscious in the backstage area at Madison Square
Gardens, his arm tied with rubber tubing and an empty hypodermic sticking out
of his arm)
 

I think back to the times
When dreams were what mattered

(image of two long-haired seventeen-year-old boys laying in bed in a
broken-down slum apartment, discussing their future hopes and dreams of one
day forming a successful band)
 

Tough talking youth naivete

(flashback of a deadly-eyed young Storm, holding a drug dealer up against the
wall by his collar and pointing the stiletto at his skull.  Storm’s eyes are
glowing bright green with an inner fire as he threatens to kill the dealer and
carve his face up into food for the alley cats)

(~bridge~)

You said you'd never let me down

(image of Storm holding a trembling Illusion and vowing to never desert him)
 

But the horse stampedes and rages
In the name of desperation

(flashback of a shirtless Storm, sweating, screaming, crying, and throwing
chairs and glass bottles at the brick wall in the dressing room at some
nameless concert arena)
 

(~~chorus~~)

(back to the present, as Illusion tilts his head to the side, facing away from
the camera so that the desolation in his eyes is easy to see.  The candles
flicker, and on the wall in the room, a movie screen flashes pictures of two
young men laying together and talking as the sun rises)

Is it all just wasted time

(Illusion looks directly at the camera, as if speaking to Storm alone)

Can you look at yourself
When you think of what
You left behind
Is it all just wasted time
Can you live with yourself
When you think of what
You left behind

(as Illusion’s voice fades back to a melodious pitch, he once again looks down
and away from the camera [[note: think Yoshiki’s many poses]]
 

Paranoid delusions they haunt you

(flashback of Storm sitting cross-legged in a corner, rocking back and forth
crying with his head buried underneath his hands)
 

Where's my friend I used to know

(the present – Illusion looks up, tears of anger and loss glittering unshed in
his eyes.  His black eyeliner creases at the corners as he narrows his eyes at
the camera to express his resentment at the loss of the man he knew as his
friend)

He's all alone

(flashback of a post-concert party going on – as the rest of the band lifts
champagne bottles for a toast, Illusion’s red hair flies as he turns around to
see where Storm is.  Storm, still dressed in his concert clothing, is sitting
on the floor by the full-length window with his legs crossed and stretched out
in front of him.  He is smoking a cigarette and drinking from a bottle of Jack
Daniels as he stares blankly out the window, completely oblivious to the party
going on five feet away from him)
 

He's buried deep within a carcass
Searching for a soul

(image of Storm and Illusion’s hotel room at 4:00 A.M.  Illusion is sleeping,
but Storm is in the bathroom, standing naked in front of the mirror.
Self-hatred shines brightly in his eyes as he picks up the razor blade that is
sitting on the side of the sink and slashes first his left, then his right
wrist wide open.  He drops the bloody blade in the sink and slides down the
wall until he’s kneeling on the floor in front of the bathtub.  The blood
flows freely from his wounds, and he watches it drip onto the white floor and
form a bright red puddle.  A livid Illusion charges in and knocks Storm to the
floor.  He hauls Storm to his feet and turns on the cold water with one hand
as he thrusts Storm’s wrists under the stream with the other.  Storm moans and
closes his eyes as the icy liquid washes over his skin and turns the water to
a sickly pink color.)
 

Can you feel me inside your heart
As it's bleeding

(later that same night – Illusion cradles the now-sleeping, bandaged Storm
against his bare chest.  A tear slips out of his eye and lands in Storm’s long
black hair; Storm murmurs in his sleep.  Illusion touches his face softly and
bends his head, hiding behind his shiny sherry hair as his shoulders shake
with sobs.)
 

Why can't you believe you can be loved

(the present again – Illusion looks up quickly and sings directly to the
camera, his eyes never wavering)
 

I hear you scream in agony

(flashback of Storm, standing bare-chested in front of a full-length mirror.
He screams at his reflection and picks up his guitar.)
 

And the horse stampedes and rages

(Storm swings his guitar at the glass, shattering it)
 

In the name of desperation

(he swings the guitar again and again, screaming in anger and pain as the
shards of glass fly at him and cut him open in a dozen places)
 

(~chorus – see above~)
 

(--SOLO--)
 

You said you'd never let me down

(Illusion sings directly to the camera again – he gets up and kicks the chair,
knocking it over)
 

But the horse stampedes, it rages

(flashback of a twenty-year-old Storm and Illusion rolling around on the
floor, snarling and fist-fighting.  Storm calls Illusion a basket case;
Illusion tosses back that at least he doesn’t need drugs to get through the
night.  Storm stops his arm mid-swing and bursts into tears – he untangles
himself and runs out of the room, down the stairs, and into the street below.)
 

In the name of desperation

(Illusion catches up with Storm, grabs him by the hair, and pulls him back
from the pimp Storm was snarling at.  He drags Storm kicking and hollering up
the stairs back into their dingy apartment.  Storm throws a dark glare at
Illusion, then turns and drives his clenched fist into the wall in front of
him.)
 

(~chorus – see above again~)
 
 

The sun will rise again

(Illusion looking sideways at the film that is still flashing by on the back
wall)
 

The earth will turn to sand

(flashback of Storm and Illusion after a huge concert, sitting on the floor
across from each other and placing hits of acid under each other’s tongue)
 

Creation's colors seem to fade to gray

(Illusion staring at his hand and murmuring at the different shades of color
he sees present in his flesh - Storm looking up at the ceiling, his face a
beautiful, perfect mask of despair)
 

And you'll see the sickly hands of time

(Storm stands up and walks into the next room, gathering all the paraphernalia
necessary to accomplish the plan he holds deep within his mind before closing
the door)
 

Will write your final rhyme

(Illusion hears the muffled sound of a chair being – kicked?  dragged?? –
across the floor, and slowly gets up to go find out just what in the hell
Storm is doing in there.  He [Illusion] can’t shake the awful feeling of
foreboding, and feels his heart race the same way his mind is speeding from
the drug.)
 

And end a memory

(Illusion opens the door and sees Storm dangling from a hook in the ceiling, a
rope tied tightly around his neck.  The beautiful black-haired leader of
Spastique Colon is already unconscious, his aqua eyes closed and a peaceful
smile on his perfect face.  Illusion runs screaming out of the room and grabs
the first person he sees, who luckily is one of the roadies instead of a band
member.  He grabs the man by the front of the shirt and drags him back into
the room where the awful vision confronts him – lunging at the chair, he
pushes it over to where his best friend hangs and jumps up on it, screaming at
the technician to call an ambulance.  He slides his arms underneath Storm’s
motionless ones, and by some weird twist of fate, Illusion is able to cut
through the rope using the stiletto that Storm always kept in his boot.  He
catches Storm gently and lowers him carefully to the floor – gently, Illusion
pushes Storm’s hair back from his face and cradles him like a child as the
lights of the approaching ambulance stain the walls of the room the color of
blood.)
 
 

I never thought you'd let it get this far, boy

(the present – Illusion is once again seated in the chair, facing forward this
time; he is leaning toward the camera and has his fingers entwined as he
sings)
 

I never thought
I never thought you’d let it get this far, boy, no, no

(flashback to the hospital – the ambulance attendants are racing the stretcher
containing Storm’s unmoving form towards the Emergency Room.  They hook him up
to an oxygen tank and insert an IV drip while Illusion is unable to do more
than look upon the scene helplessly.  The doors to the ER swing shut in front
of Illusion, and he turns and walks blindly toward the other band members, who
are rushing noisily toward him in spite of the shrieks of the night desk
nurse.  He reaches them and buries his face in the front of Dustin (the
drummer)’s shirt, crying uncontrollably.  Dustin wraps his arms around
Illusion and holds him as he cries, his own tears gleaming unshed as he
strokes Illusion’s long cerise hair.)
 

I never thought
I never thought you’d let it get this far, boy, no

(later that night – image of Storm as he lays breathing shallowly in the
private hospital room’s sole bed.  The thick door is closed in order to keep
the press away – Dustin and Laine [the bass player] are sleeping in chairs
outside the room to prevent the reporters from entering.  Illusion’s normally
serene appearance is now disheveled, but he refuses to leave Storm’s side.  He
gazes wordlessly at his once-vivacious friend, now laying deathly still and
hooked up to all manner of monitors and machines.)
 

I never thought you’d let it get this far, boy

(the present again – Illusion gets up from the chair and walks towards the
camera, again looking directly at it.  His iridescent silk trench coat
reflects a rainbow of colors as he places one black fingernailed hand on
either side of the camera; as he sings the last line, his jade green eyes
close, and we see a tear cut through his heavy black eyeliner, leaving a dark
streak on his pale left cheek.)