Phrenology: E-Lunar (3) Route A (MANUSCRIPT)

Epilogue 4

                    "I... didn't think I'd run into you again. But, life has its ways of bringing people together, and tearing them apart, doesn't it?" The higher voice of one Todd Grayson spoke to a figure on a spring night, his eyes glaring downward.

    Nora whispered, clinging on to her significant other's side, "Todd, isn't that-"

    "Ah, yes. The moonlight is wonderful. It helps me get in touch with my... archaic side, don't you agree? I'd always wondered if I'd had the right head-shape for this- Enjoying the moon. Doesn't matter though, does it? Phrenology is an... old school of thought." The Inquisitor looked over at the both of them- Nora was young, vulnerable while Todd guarded her like a ferocious lion. 

    "I've heard the news. Rather, I've read up on it. The ODA wants to have an investigative meeting with... Hinge Corporate. Isn't that your other job?" Todd stepped forward. "You're the CEO of the same company you tried to thwart. How do bastards like you get away with that?"

     "Yes, yes, yes. Hinge Corporate is my other job. Uh, hm, however... you may never get to know my third job." The hatted-man laughed.

     Suddenly, a brighter voice seemed to shine through, veins popping out from the Inquisitor's throat. "Let me out! Let me out, Bartholomew!"

     "What the- What is- What am I watching?" Todd stepped back, holding Nora tighter.

     "Todd... we should just run!" Nora tugged at her boyfriend's jacket. 

     "No, I'm going to do what I should've done a while ago." Todd walked over to the Inquisitor and held him by the shoulders. 

     "Help me, Todd! I'm not... Inquisitor! I'm just... some guy! I run a bar called the Café Merlot, and my life was fine until this guy took over." 

     Suddenly, the darker voice returned -- perhaps this was the real Inquisitor -- with, "Oh, sure. It was all me! Way to put the blame all on your dark-side! I've always been around, you know? You know it to be true. I was always inside you... and it was that big bang that awakened me." 

     "I see." Todd nodded and looked over to Nora, his hands slipping off the Inquisitor's shoulders. "Inquisitor is just... a schizophrenic, old man."   

     "Ca- Ca- Catalina!" The Inquisitor shouted to the sky, his hands clawing at his sternum. "It was that day... that I lost you... and myself. The day that me and her... got into a huge fallout. It was the... second long-term relationship I'd ever been in. Only two have I had in my life. Why do they always end... so badly? Huh? Why? Why do they always have to... end in blood?" 

     "What?"  

     "Look, if you're not going to kill him, then we really should just go." Nora begged, jumping in place. "Todd, come on! I don't wanna die. Inquisitor could kill us. He's a mad, sick man!" 

     "It's... so hard to piece together the memories, at this point- It's been so long. I have yet to re-consolidate them- Those memories!" The Inquisitor, suddenly, started to laugh maniacally, and tipped his hat, as he stood in the middle of a neighborhood of tall, brown houses. "Regardless... the end result was a fucking bloody mess. Afterwards... I had such conniptions about the relationship, her, and the break-up. So... Fitzbartholomew McCoy split up. Fitz Coy was a bartender... and... Bartholomew Mac continued to be the CEO of Hinge Corporate and... the leader of the 'unnamed inquisition'! It was... perfect! One side of me felt completely lighter, but... I started losing sleep, you see?"