Les Miserables: Abbreviated Edition
~ACT II~

~The next day~

ENJOLRAS: So how many are we up against?

RANDOM REVOLUTIONARY: Twenty five thousand, approximately…

ENJOLRAS: WHAT? How do you know that?

RANDOM REVOLUTIONARY: Well I don't. But the author just checked Wikipedia…

ENJOLRAS: [A bit faintly] Oh. Um. [gulps] Wow.

RANDOM REVOLUTIONARY: And eight hundred casualties, give or take.

ENJOLRAS: Oh shit, we're all gonna die—Ahem, I mean, do me a favor, would you?

RANDOM REVOLUTIONARY: Sure.

ENJOLRAS: Don't...uh…don't mention that to anyone else, okay? Historical facts aren't exactly good for everyone's morale right about now.

RANDOM REVOLUTIONARY: Uh, sure. But just so you know, we're all screwed.

ENJOLRAS: SHUT UP, YOU.

JAVERT: [In disguise] Heh, I'm so sneaky.

EPONINE: [Also in disguise] So am I!

MARIUS: No, you're really not. Get the hell out of here, you moron.

EPONINE: [Giggles] You really like me, don't you?

MARIUS: Sure, whatever. Here, bring this to Cosette. [Hands her a letter]

EPONINE: What for?

MARIUS: Because in the twelve or so hours we've been apart I'm sure she's forgotten that I exist.

EPONINE: [rolls eyes] Oh, I'm sure… [to Valjean] Here's a letter for your daughter from a boy at the barricade…Ahem, I mean a love letter from her soulmate at the barricade…that she just met yesterday, by the way.

VALJEAN: [Takes letter] Oh, this oughta be good.

EPONINE: Oh yes. Have fun with that. [Walks away]

AUDIENCE: [becomes misty-eyed at the sweet tenderness of Marius' words as Valjean reads the letter aloud]

VALJEAN: So…going behind my back and doing God-knows-what with my daughter… I'll kill the bastard—Ahem, I mean…I wish them many years of bliss.

EPONINE: So I wander the slums of Paris at night all alone with an imaginary Marius. Is that weird?

CRAZYBEAGLE: It's dangerous, creepy, and borderline schizophrenic, honey. But every scorned woman in the audience feels your pain.

EPONINE: Who are you?

CRAZYBEAGLE: That's none of your concern. Now back to the story…

STUDENTS: Yay! The barricade is finished!

ENJOLRAS: Yup. And I want you all to overlook the fact that it's really not much more than a pile of random wooden crap, because it makes for one friggin' awesome set piece.

STUDENTS: Yay!

ARMY OFFICER: YOU AT THE BARRICADE LISTEN TO THIS! YOU'RE ALL SCREWED!

SAME RANDOM REVOLUTIONARY FROM BEFORE: See, I told you…

ENJOLRAS: SHUT UP, YOU. Damn their warnings, damn their lies!

STUDENTS: Yay!

JAVERT: [Still in disguise] So they're gonna starve us out, then attack from the right…

GAVROCHE: LIAR. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to INSPECTOR JAVERT!

GRANTAIRE: Nicely done, Gavroche. And because we're so darn proud of you, we're not even going to question the fact that there's a small child on the barricade with us when it's going to be raining bullets up here in a matter of minutes.

PROUVAIRE: So, what should we do to him?

ENJOLRAS: The people will decide.

THE PEOPLE: Mwahaha…

JAVERT: Do what you will, but I SNEER in your general direction.

MARIUS: I told you to go home, you idiot. But as long as you're here, did you deliver the…

EPONINE: Yeah. You're welcome.

MARIUS: [Sees she's hurt] Uh, are you okay?

EPONINE: Oh, I'm just fine- [collapses]

MARIUS: [catches her] No, you're not. You're, um, bleeding profusely.

EPONINE: …And you're touching me! [Sighs dreamily]

MARIUS: …And you're severely injured.

EPONINE: ...And you're still touching me!

MARIUS: …And I think you're dying.

EPONINE: …Oh…so I am…but you're still touching me! [Dies]

MARIUS: …Wow. Now that she's gone, I kind of feel like a jerk... [Kisses her]

ENJOLRAS: No time for that right now! Back to business!

MARIUS: [Drops Eponine's body] Okay, then!

ENJOLRAS: And now that we have a casualty, we have an excuse to kick their sorry asses!

REBELS: Yay!

JOLY: Who are you?

VALJEAN: I AM JEAN VALJ—Ahem, I mean, I'm here to help.

JOLY: But you're obscenely old.

VALJEAN: So I am. But I can do THIS! [Shoots a sniper who is trying to shoot Enjorlas]

ENJOLRAS: All right! Welcome to the club.

VALJEAN: Give me the spy Javert!

ENJOLRAS: Give him to you…for what, exactly?

VALJEAN: Wouldn't you like to know…

ENJOLRAS: No, I wouldn't, actually. But go on ahead.

VALJEAN: Get out of here.

JAVERT: Hmph. I SNEER at your mercy. [But flees anyway]

JOLY: [Moderately intoxicated] Here's to…to…hot girls we've slept with.

GRANTAIRE: Uh-huh. And to not getting killed tomorrow.

REBELS: Cheers.

VALJEAN: BRING HIM HOOOOOME! BRING HIM HOOOOOME! BRING HIM HOOOOOME!

MARIUS: You DO know it's hard to sleep when you're singing like that…

VALJEAN: You shoulda thought of that before you started sneaking off with my daughter. BRING HIM HOOOOOOOOOOOME!

ENJORLAS: …Wow. We really are screwed.

FEUILLY: [Now very drunk] Well…here's to us being screwed.

REBELS: Cheers.

FEUILLY: We need ammo.

MARIUS: I'll get it!

ENJOLRAS: Uh, no.

VALJEAN: I'll get it!

GAVROCHE: I'll get it, you slowpokes!

CRAZYBEAGLE: Insert Gavroche's death here, because I can't and won't make fun of that.

ARMY OFFICER: YOU'RE ALL GONNA DIE!

ENJORLAS: Okay people, listen up. New plan. We're all gonna die, so let's die as epically as possible, got it?

REBELS: Yay! …Wait, what?

MARIUS: [Gets shot] …Ow. [Collapses]

ENJOLRAS: [Gets shot] …Dammit. Eh, might as well make it look awesome. [Splays himself out on the flag melodramatically and dies]

STUDENTS: [All get shot, and die in exaggerated slow motion as the audience resists the urge to roll their eyes]

VALJEAN: [Looking around at the pile 'o bodies] Huh. This is not good. [Sees Marius] Oh, crap...

MARIUS: … [Translation: "Ouch..."]

VALJEAN: Well, Cosette will never forgive me if I just let you rot here. [Opens the sewer hatch, climbs in, and flops Marius around quite comically while trying to lift him into the sewers]

MARIUS: … [Translation: "OUCH. Stop that."]

VALJEAN: [Struggling to carry Marius] Ugh, after all this, this boy BETTER make all of Cosette's wildest dreams come true… [Drops Marius unceremoniously and collapses]

MARIUS: …urgh… [Translation: "Are you TRYING to kill me?"]

THENARDIER: [Steals Marius' ring] I'm just gonna take this, if you don't mind… Of COURSE you don't mind! 'Cause you're DEAD! AHAHAHA!

VALJEAN: Back off! He's MINE!

MARIUS: … [Translation: "What exactly do you mean by that…?"]

JAVERT: YOOOOOOOU!

VALJEAN: [Exasperated sigh] Really?!

JAVERT: Yes, really.

VALJEAN: Can we do this later?

JAVERT: NOOOO!

VALJEAN: Do you not SEE this dying guy right here?

MARIUS: … [Translation: "Yeah, what he said."]

JAVERT: Ugh…fine. But I'll be waiting for you, 24601!

VALJEAN: No, MY NAME IS JEAN VAL- Eh, never mind. [Flees]

JAVERT: AAAGH! I cannot LIVE in a world where people show MERCY! Ha ha, THIS will show him… [Flings himself into the river Seine] Glub glub glub… [Translation: "On second thought, maybe this wasn't such a good idea…"]

PARISIAN WOMEN: [Looking at the dead students] Huh, look at that, they're all dead! Serves the morons right…

MARIUS: They're all dead, and I'm not… AUGH! THE GUILT!

GHOSTS OF THE STUDENTS: [Stare him down]

MARIUS: Hey, don't look at me. [Points at ghost of Enjorlas] Just because I've got massive survivor's guilt doesn't mean it was my fault.

GHOSTS OF THE STUDENTS: [All heads turn to glare menacingly at ghost of Enjolras]

GHOST OF ENJOLRAS: [Nervous laughter] Heh heh heh, you didn't have to listen to me, y'know.

COSETTE: Serenade me, Marius!

MARIUS: Okay!

COSETTE AND MARIUS: A HEART FULL OF LOOOOOVE…

MARIUS: I WAS LOST IN YOUR SPEEEEELL—ugh…ow…

COSETTE: What?

MARIUS: On second thought, maybe attempting to loudly serenade you when I'm recovering from serious bullet wounds isn't such a good idea…I think I popped some stitches…

COSETTE: SERENADE ME, DAMMIT.

MARIUS: [Cowers] Uh…okay then…A-a h-heart full of yooooou…

COSETTE: That's better.

VALJEAN: Ah, young love. Oh, by the way, Marius…

MARIUS: Yeah?

VALJEAN: I'm an ex-convict, Cosette isn't really my daughter, and I'm leaving forever because that's what's best for her.

MARIUS: What…?

VALJEAN: Yup. And it's up to you to think up some reasonable explanation for my sudden and mysterious departure. [Flees]

MARIUS: Uh…okay?

WEDDING CHORUS: YAY! Finally a couple with a happy ending!

MARIUS: Yeah, except for the massive emotional baggage I'm bound to have for the rest of my life.

COSETTE: Yeah, except for the fact that I'm stuck with a guy who's bound to have massive emotional baggage for the rest of his life. Not to mention the sudden and mysterious departure of my father.

THE THENARDIERS: [In disguise] Heh, we're so sneaky.

MARIUS: No, you're really not. Go away. You're terrible people.

THE THENARDIERS: Why yes. Yes we are. But we've got dirt on Valjean.

MARIUS: Okay…

THENARDIER: I took this from some guy he killed. [Shows Marius his ring]

MARIUS: So Valjean saved me! And stealing stuff off people who aren't really dead is very rude.

THENARDIER: So it is. Pay up, boy.

MARIUS: [Throws money at him and punches him.]

THENARDIER: Ow. Ah well, at least we got your money. See you all in hell! [Flees]

VALJEAN: …So at this point, I serve no real purpose in the play anymore. Might as well will myself to die now!

GHOST OF FANTINE: Okay, so I forgive you for letting me get fired and thus ruining the remainder of my life, because Cosette turned out okay. Are you ready to die now?

VALJEAN: Certainly!

COSETTE: What? No!

MARIUS: SIR, I OWE YOU MY LIFE, THANK YOU SO MUCH-

VALJEAN: [Ignoring Marius completely] Oh Cosette! You're here! Now I can die happy!

COSETTE: What? No!

VALJEAN: Here, let me write down the story of my past for you, because I plan to be conveniently dead before I have to undergo the awkwardness of actually explaining it to you…

GHOSTS OF FANTINE AND EPONINE: Ahem, we don't have all day. Are you ready to die now?

VALJEAN: Yes!

VALJEAN, FANTINE, EPONINE: TO LOVE ANOTHER PERSON IS TO SEE THE FACE OF GOD…

GHOST OF EPONINE: [Glares at Marius] Actually, that depends.

GHOST OF FANTINE: That's because you were stalking him, dear. There's a difference. Now, are we ready?

VALJEAN: Yes! [Dies]

CAST: DO-YOU-HEAR-THE-PEOPLE-SIIIIIIIIING!

AUDIENCE: [Weeping and applauding]

THE END!