Poughkeepsie

-- Drop everything and run --

"Don't, sister, you wouldn't want to start a war."
"No, I would hate another war."
"Then. Stay. Away."

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"What you did to T, that was not fair. It's not who you are, Z."
"How could you possibly know who I am? You should not even exist. You are an abomination--no, you are a mistake, a bastard child that should have perished in the womb."
"You don't mean that--you can't."
"Stay. Out. Of. My. Goddamn. Way."
"Z... snap out of it."

**************************************

"You would never use us--pin us against each other like this, Z! Please, why are you doing this?"
"Stay. Away."

*****************************************************

Miss Cassandra got closer to Mister Zisco now; she started slapping him, trying to push him out of the madness that his mind had succumbed to. However, Mister Zisco had grown powerful. Hungry for more. Mister Zisco was not backing down.

*******************************************

"Bahahaha, that's right, sister, fall as I did! Keep hitting me!"

Miss Cassandra grew tired, her knuckles were covered in blood and her fists, sore as ever, felt numb at this point. She was not sure just how much longer she could keep hitting on Mister Zisco. She hated herself even more than usual with every punch that landed on Mister Zisco's face.

"Please, just stop-- stop this madness-- please..."

Mister Zisco spit out blood and teeth, still smiling, he looked up at Miss Cassandra, and softly whispered,
"I. Am. Always. Going. To. Win."
"No--this isn't winning...this is...this is suffering, Z..."
"You are nothing...without...me."

Miss Cassandra then grabbed her baseball bat, for one last time, she lifted up above her head, and with tears in her eyes, she looked Mister Zisco straight in the eyes and said, "one...cannot live without...the other."

Miss Cassandra then swung her baseball bat as fast as she could towards Mister Zisco's head. Tears streaming down her eyes, blood still covering her knuckles, her grip ever so strong...

"No!" a voice came out of nowhere and a dark figure stood over Mister Zisco, taking the full blown force of Miss Cassandra's swing.
It was Mister Truth. He jumped over Mister Zisco and took Miss Cassandra's swing full-force onto his head.

---

"Y--y--you... Are Not... A Mistake..." Mister Truth struggled with the words, his head an odd shape now, hair and skin sticking onto Miss Cassandra's baseball bat. Blood forming on Mister Truth's lips. He struggled to open his eyes, yet he tried, he always tried so hard. He turned and faced Miss Cassandra.

"I---I---Had---To..." Mister Truth mustered a smile, even though it looked like the saddest smile any man or god could ever muster.

"No... No---I-- I'm sorry, no, no please---" Miss Cassandra let go of the baseball bat. She fell to her knees. She didn't take her gaze from Mister Truth's eyes for one second. She grabbed him by his cheeks.

"S--stay---stay with me, please..." she whispered, her makeup smearing with tears.

"You---Ugh---Y-you... Did... Good...Kid." Mister Truth was now choking on his own blood and spit.

"T!!! No!!! Please don't...no, no noooo! T!!! Stay with me please!!!" Miss Cassandra screamed.

A gravely voice out of thin air then whispered in Miss Cassandra's ear: "Poughkeepsie."

Miss Cassandra froze. She stood there, unmoved. Almost catatonic.

"T--ta---take Care---Of Your--Yourself...Cass--Cassandra..." Mister Truth's light in his eyes started fading.

Mister Zisco laid there unmoved in the floor...but he was no longer wearing a smile...his eyes were the color of fear and envy.

Mister Zisco was shivering.

And nothing would ever be the same now.

---

Gotta get a hold of myself
I see them gathering around
And they need me to do their will
It's like I'm standing again
On the same window sill
Am I happy on the pill
If I wanna be the man
Should I open my wrist again
Would that make it excellent, yeah
If I wanna be the one
Should I book me an interview
To get an audition
Save me
I'm my own worst enemy
Running headlong to the wall 'cause I want my freebie
Save me
You're the only out I see
N' I need your love the most when I least deserve it
Gotta get a shot of something
Before I'll enter the ring
Gimme just a minute, just a minute
Did I really ask for all this
Did I really cut open the goose
Just to lose what's in it
If I wanna be the man
Should I open my wrist again
To find the way in
Yeah, if I wanna be the one
I'll need to get me that interview
To get that audition
Looking at myself in the mirror
Funny I should see only headlines and ads with my name
I was told I'd see my ally
So who are these skeletons with guns taking aim
Save me, save me...