El Mariachi Muerte sits atop a pile of rubble. A collection of bricks. Guitar in hand, he strums a chord.
♫ We don’t need no education
We don’t need no thought control ♫
“We’ve been building a wall for a long time, mi amigos. We each play a part.”
“Each one of us, amigos, we’re all bricks in this wall. We think we act independently, that our lives and choices matter when ultimately… we’re nothing but lambs led to slaughter.”
“Mere bricks in a wall of Zeus’s construction. He’s been placing those bricks, controlling us all – we are the wall he built.”
“And every year, twenty more bricks are placed into that wall.”
♫ All in all it’s just another brick in the wall.
All in all you’re just another brick in the wall. ♫
“Preservationists would do anything to become part of that wall. Be it hubris, greed or safety that guides them, they each willingly take their place in the wall. Thinking that they’re important in doing so.”
“When in reality, they’re merely bricks in his wall.”
“From Tombstone and Gravedigger fighting for control of the Underworld, to Narcissa taking pride of place as the decorative facade atop the wall. As they squabble and fight, they set the foundation of the wall itself.”
“Others seek to fight against the wall. Felix Foley, Harold Attano, The Night. They fight against the loss they have suffered. But the harder they fight against it, the more they have become part of the wall.”
“Because we’re all bricks in this wall. I know that better than anybody else. I have seen the wall from both sides.”
“I’ve seen behind that door. I was the reason it was opened.”
“I’m the reason Arcadia began to believe in something more, something else.”
“That there is a world beyond this wall that Zeus hides behind.”
“Yet I’m no ordinary brick.”
“I’m the fucking cornerstone of this wall.”
“Without me, it comes crumbling down. You can take any other brick out and the wall will stand, but take out the cornerstone and it collapses.”
“Just like Arcadia has, imploded on itself since that door was opened.”
“At Pandemonium, once more the wall will be constructed. The bricks will fall in line.”
“But as haphazardly as Zeus has thrown this wall together, the bricks will start falling. One by one. But I will not.”
“You see, stacking bricks on top of each other with nothing to hold them together is poor construction. Bricks without mortar hold no strength. One by one, they will crumble.”
“The mortar holds them firm. It grounds them. Cements them in their place. I hold in my hands that mortar. That which binds Arcadia together and makes it stronger. La musica is that mortar.”
“And when my song plays after all of the bricks have come crumbling down upon Zeus’s legacy, one will remain. That which is grounded in mortar. That which will not die. That which can see the wall for what it is.”
“The undying, unrelenting cornerstone of a wall he is desperate to destroy.”
“Not just another brick in that wall.”