Amazon's Coliseum III (ENG)

Epilogues: Dream Theater (Reprise): Metropolis

Epilogue 1: One Last Time

Mexico City, Mexico.

Bernardo Navarez, clad in the classic inmate uniform, conversed with the only person who had shown him interest, apart from his lawyers: his daughter, Marissa Navarez. They chatted separated by the glass of the visitor's room.

-Honestly... I didn't expect you to visit me. Heh, heh —the man chuckled, a mix of irony and shame in his voice—. Well it seems that people still caere about me.

-You pushed away the people who cared about you. You pushed away Mom, Uncle Eugenio, then Adalberto distanced himself from you intending to turn you in. And, obviously, you pushed me away because of everything you did. Do you think I'll forget you held me as a hostage as gunpoint? Your own daughter?

-...On other occasions, I'd ask if you only came to tell me that... but, truthfully, it's not something I'm proud of, so I'll take it. However, believe it or not, I swear I wasn't going to shoot you. It's just that...

-You were desperate, seeing everything fall apart.

-All this time, I was a puppet... they used me to achieve something they didn't even know was going to happen. And in the end, Cholokashvili ended up turning herself in and destroying everything around her. Ha! What a mess!

-And you still ended up here.

-Look, I'm not going to apologize for what I did in my life, because, as you can see, none of this ever truly ends; it just rearranges itself, or we get to live in "PAX ROMANA"... or rather... "PAX PEDEMONTENSIS", I guess? But what I mean is, I did everything I could to safeguard you from all these games. Yes, I had to resort to dirty tricks and try to protect the family by allowing Adalberto to do his misdeeds... but I did it to preserve the family.

-What about Uncle Eugenio?

-He was going to align with Chocolate... so I felt I had no other choice.

-And how did all that turn out for you in the end?

Bernardo simply pointed to himself and then gestured to the floor, indicating the consequences.

-Well... the reason I visited you is to see how you're doing. After all, you were a good father for a little while... within the confines of what a millionaire father with questionable business practices can be, of course... but I did have a good childhood. Everything fell apart when my mom left... from there, you became emotionally distant, but at the same time, you wanted me to be... I don't know...

-To be like your mother, perhaps; to be that virtuous, entrepreneurial, and respectable woman; to be the one to lead the company in the years to come; although, as you well know, this business world, especially in our state, is sexist, and they always want a male face to rise as the new business big shot.

-And that's why you wanted me to marry some millionaire, even if he was an old geezer, right?

-I messed things up pretty badly. But if there's one thing that comforts me, it's that you seem to be doing fine... and you seem like you'll stay like that for a while. Just, and take this if you want; after all, it comes from me... but I'd like to give you one last piece of advice.

-Depends on what you say, I'll consider it...

-If you ever fall into despair, lean on the people who genuinely care for and support you, not the people you think are merely useful at the moment. Maybe they won't solve your problems, but they'll help you get a perspective on the bigger picture. I didn't do that with your mom, and that led to what happened. I didn't listen to Eugenio, and I ended up listening to whoever was bringing the family the most money... with illicit funds, of course; and then my dealings with those bastards in Israel, Germany, and the United States who just used me as another pawn on their board.