EMPIRE/HURT by highway67

(Note: I do not own The Raccoons and I do not own any of Nine Inch Nails' or Johnny Cash's work.)

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel

Everyday was the same. Cyril Sneer counted the money in his vault. He was all alone; the Pigs were already in their quarters and his son Cedric was already in his room in a quiet slumber. It was nighttime. Cyril accidentally had a paper cut on his fingers while counting his dollar bills. As he grimaced in pain, he realized that he was all alone.

I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hold
The old familiar sting

Cyril sighed in loneliness. He knew that there was no point in continuing his banal activity any longer during the night. He decided to retire for the night. As he walked up the dark, empty stairwell, his steps echoing throughout, he thought about the people he had betrayed in his life. The people he stole, swindled, and cheated to accrue his vast, immense fortune. Cyril realized that didn't have a friend in the world.

Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything

He entered his room, filled with the infinite sadness that plagues him every night. He has become an insomniac because of it. He had never told anyone that every night, he talks to a photo of his deceased wife. Except for spending time with Cedric, this was the only thing that comforts him. He asks the inanimate image,

What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away
In the end

He still isn't comforted. Cyril tossed and turned through the night. He needed to talk to someone. He needed to talk to Cedric. Cyril entered Cedric's room. Cedric was still sleeping, hours away from the morning reveille of the sun. He knew his son couldn't hear him, but Cyril talked quietly to Cedric in order to dispel the darkness of his heart. He wanted, one day, to pass the company on to him, but secretly, he fears that the family business will one day turn his son into a mirror image of himself. Cyril cannot let that happen. He whispers,

And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

Cyril wandered aimlessly throughout the entire mansion, looking for direction. He was under extreme anguish. He came to the conclusion that his empire was a fake, a sham, an illusion. His empire was not dependent on the money he makes, or the business he acquires, but it was dependent on the good will that is promised to people. This good will was non-existent. To the people of the Evergreen Forest, he was the main antagonist in their quiet lives. He was an emotional pariah and the more he hurt, the more he became hurt. As he found himself in the family library, he turned on a single light, sat down, and continued to think.

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here

Cyril shed three tears and three tears only. His mighty empire over the forest was meaningless. He knew that the people of the forest still despise him and Cyril knows that he deserves it. He wanted to apologize for the misdeeds that he has caused, but he is too hurt to do so. He knew that the pain he had caused was irreparable. Cyril knew that he needed a fresh start. He wanted to leave.

If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way

But, as he entertained the notion of departing, he thought about Cedric. Cedric has created a life here. Unlike his father, he has friends that are near and dear to him. As much as Cedric's life included his friends, it also included the most important person in his life: his father. Cyril returned to his quarters and went to bed, the moonlight shining through the window, highlighting the blue coat of his faithful pet, Snag, feeling healed and hurt.

THE END