Toad awoke, for real this time, and he found himself covered in a cold sweat. Raini was still sleeping beside him, with her back turned to him. Toad quickly got out of bed and walked toward the window. Outside, everything looked normal enough, but as he watched, he noticed the distant skyline shudder and distort subtly. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, there was nothing unusual there this time. He turned to his clothes, drying on a heater and started to dress himself.
Pennington pulle dup in his car across the street to Dr. Elvin Gadd's surgery. He was about to get out of the car when the surgery door opened and a figure steped into the street. Pennington watched the shadowy man for a moment and get out and followed. Was it Gadd?
Pennington got out of his car and slowly followed silently, but without warning the figure stoped and turned. Pennington backed away into a doorway and while Mr. Pipe did not spot him, he did notice a bird strange statue in the dim light of the alley. He didn't see it when he looked again. So he followed.
At the top of a cathedral, looking up at the belltower were three Birdfaces casting long shadows across the weathered stone steps at the entrance. To any stranger passing by, if any strangers ever did pass by, it would appear to just be three stone statues. Yet, they were Birdfaces, joined by Mr. Pipe, who took note of Mr. I walking up and down the stairs.
To Mr. Pipe, Mr. I looked as if he had lsot something and culd not decide wehre to go look for it. The other Bridfaces just stood by, waiting there patiently. From across the street, Pennington watched the congregation of Birdfaces from the shadows. Then, Mr. I stopped, looked around, smiled and stepped over to Mr. Pipe.
Mr. Pipe lenaed down as Mr. I cut his hand and whispered something into the taller Birdface's ear. "Mr. I says that way," said Mr. Pipe to the other Birdfaces, pointing down a street. Pennington watched as all of the strange statue people walked off into the night.
It was a bridge-like structure, although Toad could not actually describe it if he tried, just what was featured on it. There was an enclosed corridor supported by rotting wooden pylons and under the b'bridge', pipes spewed sewage into stagnant water. Toad crossed the 'bridge' and looked horizontally through a series of illuminated, dirty windows. He was lost and he couldn't get out. Not where he was, this werid structure that he had come into upon leaving Éclair's home, but Petalburg as a whole. Toad moved through a number of rusted metal doors that opened and shut automatically. Each revealed another rroom or corridor. They were deserted spaces long forgotten.
Gadd paced through double doors, with Pennington in hot pursuit. "He's amnesiac?" asked Pennington, trying to keep pace with the doctor.
"I haven't seen Toad in three weeks," said Gadd, "but when we last spoke he convinced me he didn't have the slightest idea who I was – and when I began questioning him, he hung up." Gadd paused and looked at Pennington. "This is what I wanted to show you." Gadd opened the double doors and the men stepped through to reveal a room of animal experiments. "Formation of memorie sis the most important of brain functions." Gadd directed Pennington to a monkey with the top of its head missing, it squirmed in a mechanical device that restricted its movements. "We are little more than a sum of memories. From them we reference who we are, where we're going. Without a past, we are nothing." Pennington looked uncomfortably at the monkey, Gadd took note of it. "It feels no pain." Gadd pointed to a wooden structure containing two rats. "We know of two kinds of memory. Firstly, declarative memory." The rats performed various activities involving mazes and geometric symbols. "Then there is procedural memory." Gadd pointed to a machine also run by rats. The object was to make it thrugh a guillotine device, if a rat was successful, the other wat was chopped neatly in two. "Research on simple animals can be… useful to show us where memory storing systems are located. I'm planning an experiment with hamsters next. Cute little fellows."
"And this teaches you about human behaviour? Koopa behaviour? Kremling? Hybrid?" asked Pennington, staring at the rats.
"Oh yes," nodded Gadd. "They're remarkably similar to each other in many ways, down to the paleontological study of convergent evolution I conducted twelve years ago. I often wonder what these animals are thinking. Whether they realize they are a part of an experiment for us to find a way to survive past what we thought our lives would live to. For all I know, they could be secretly planning to take over the laboratory some day."
"Interesting thought, doctor, but let's get back to Toad," redirected Pennington.
"Toad is what's called a 'tabula rasa'," nodded Gadd. "Physiologically more than competent, but behaviourally an empty slate."
"Why did he start coming to you?"
"Severe depression."
"And when did his memory loss occur?"
"I think roughly three weeks ago," estimated Gadd, "though I'm not sure, nor am I certain why it happened." Gadd looked curiously at Pennington. "Has Toad done something, broken some law."
"He is a suspect," confirmed Pennington. "I need to speak with him in connection to some rather serious crimes."
"Well, I'll do all I can to help you," promised Gadd.
"Thank you for your trouble," said Pennington. "We'll be in touch."
"Of course."
"Oh… I want to speak with Toad's wife," said Pennington. "Do you have any idea where I can find her?"
"I'm afraid not," lied Gadd. "I didn't know he was married." Pennington looked thoughtfully at the bizarre experiments one last time and walked out the door.
"Thanks once again."