Intro – 8s, rain tapping glass] Isaiah (cautious): You said this was urgent. Marco (calm): It is. Just… not how you think. ⸻ [Verse 1 – Isaiah | 30s] City still mourning, streets still sore, Hero’s symbol heavy like never before, I trusted quiet hands in the dark, People who move when the lights don’t spark, Marco, you stood when the feeds went blind, Cut the wires, saved us time— So why does this room feel colder now? Why won’t you meet my eyes? Marco (soft): Because I already decided. ⸻ [Pre-Chorus – Back & Forth | 12s] Isaiah: Decided what? Marco: Survival. Isaiah: At what cost? Marco: Everything I couldn’t protect. ⸻ [Verse 2 – Former Mayor | 30s] You see, Isaiah, fear is honest work, Hope asks for faith—fear makes it hurt, You carry symbols, you carry weight, But systems outlast idealistic faith. The villain understands the game, Order needs blood, not just a name, Marco sees what you refuse— The city wants peace, not truth. Isaiah (sharp): You don’t speak for the city. ⸻ [Chorus – Marco’s Turn | 25s] Marco: I’ve watched movements rise and fall, Watched heroes break against the wall, Every time the lights burn bright, Someone pays alone at night. So I’ll sell my soul if that’s the toll, Trade my name to save the whole, Call me traitor, curse my name— At least the city stays the same. ⸻ [Bridge – The Deal | 15s] (A shadow shifts.) Former Mayor: Say it clearly. Marco: I’m in. I’ll feed you routes, I’ll slow his reach. Just spare the streets. Isaiah (hurt): You think this spares them? ⸻ [Verse 3 – Isaiah | 30s] You don’t save a city by breaking its spine, By teaching it fear is the only line, We lost a hero to that exact lie, And you’re calling it compromise? Marco, look at me—this isn’t peace, It’s a quieter kind of disease, If you cross this line tonight, You don’t come back the same. Marco (resolute): I know. ⸻ [Chorus – Clash | 25s] Isaiah: You’re selling tomorrow for a calm today. Marco: I’m buying time the only way. Former Mayor: History forgives the ones who win. Isaiah: History remembers where evil begins. All: Say it once, let the silence fall— This choice changes us all. ⸻ [Bridge – President Reacts | 20s] (Emergency broadcast tone.) President (controlled, shaken): Marco… we trusted you. This nation doesn’t survive on secret bargains, It survives on courage— Even when courage costs. If this betrayal stands— So do the consequences. ⸻ [Final Chorus – Fallout | 30s] Marco: I’ll wear the blame, I’ll take the heat. Isaiah: You just taught fear how to speak. Former Mayor: The night grows quiet—order returns. Isaiah: Quiet doesn’t mean the city learns. All: Lines are drawn in whispered rooms, Deals get signed, and hope assumes— Every soul must choose a side, When the dark asks who you are. ⸻ [Outro – 10s, unresolved] Marco (low): I did this for them. Isaiah (steady, wounded): Then I’ll stop you… For them too. (Thunder rolls. The city holds its breath.)

Ink on the Night