Thank you to those who have reviewed, followed, and added this story to their favorites. It means the world to me and I feel terrible just to leave it unfinished. Due to previous comments, I have rewrote this story. Many readers said that it was confusing because of the way I set it up. The format will be different this time around. There will be three chapters in the "past" (Bane and Raven in the pit), ten chapters in the "present" (The Dark Knight Rises), and three chapters in the future (Post-Dark Knight Rises). Because the story is being rewritten, you may read some of the same parts again! Please understand that some chapters I only tweaked a little while others are dramatically changed.

Unedited Version: Read at your own risk of seeing errors in grammar and spelling. I DID NOT read over this chapter. There will be mistakes!

Despair Without Hope

Chapter II

…

Once upon a time...I thought I could rise

…

The word hope seemed foreign to her, as though she had never felt the emotion before. It seemed to be the last word on her mind after surviving a few days in the Pit. She was surround by many, none who cared for her or about any others. Most seemed lifeless and dead, perhaps due to depression or maybe sickness. Some were stupid, speaking of leaving or escaping some how. Others spent their days with busy work, keeping to themselves or having the minimum of friends, usually one or two.

One her second day, she had watched a man attempt a climb, a scary task she would never try herself. The others had chanted for the individual, shouting strange words that Raven herself did not understand. She remembered the sound his spine made when he had failed; it was an awful sound. The breaking noises had thundered and echoed off of the walls. The voices of chanting stopped and silence had taken over the Pit. He had been hanging by the rope, dangling from the top. They had all seemed to have lost hope.

By the end of her third day, hunger greeted her like an old friend, one she was not quite fond of. Hunger was the reason her stomach felt as deep and empty as this Pit. Thirst caused her throat to burn as though it had been set ablaze. At this point, she did not care if the food she received was tasty or varied; she was only concerned that it could stave off the pains for a while. Her captors from before would have fed her by now, but here, she had nothing.

Oh, and the cold. Yes, her cell had been cold, but this - dare she admit it - was worse than her concrete box. The cold was perhaps the worst part of this endless torture. Though the mornings and days were hot, and she felt as though she wanted to peel off her skin in order to stay cool, the nights were blisteringly cold. She had only a shirt and ragged pants. The pants were too big for her form, for she had stolen them from the carcass of a man who had died on her second day of captivity. The shirt she wore was of her own, but it was small, showing a portion of her belly, and did nothing to keep her warm.

Raven dealt with her loneliness, hunger, and coldness for three days until she met him; he came unexpectedly. For three days a man had been watching her without her notice, and for three days he had watch her struggle. She had the appearance of a young boy who was lost and could not find home; with her hair shaven and her young features, the prisoners assumed she was male. Constantly, she would hum to herself and cry herself to sleep only to awaken a few hours later and repeat the process. When he witnessed her rocking back and forth in a fetal position in the corner, he became more than a bystander.

He approached her with water and a small roll of bread. The bread was no larger than the palm of a child's hand, but at least it would appease her hunger for the moment. As he approached, Raven noticed him and tensed. Her rocking stopped and her attention was directed towards the young man. As he advanced, she continued to stare at him, worried.

He was young - not as young as her -, perhaps in his late teens or early twenties. His features were kind as he approached, his face relaxed. On his face was a clipped beard, just as his hair was, the beard was also wild. He appeared in need of a bath, and a good one, for his clothes were dark from dirt and his face was tanned from mud. Yet, he still appeared to be gentle.

"It's okay," he whispered.

Her breath was almost taken away. A voice had spoken to her, not yelled or threatened, but actually spoke to her. It was refreshing, like a cool breeze on a summer day. His voice had been so kind with two quick words.

Once a meter away, the stranger sat himself down next to here and opened his palm to reveal the bread. Raven stared at him, not saying a word, then glanced at the roll. Three days she had not eaten and the tempt of food was slowly, yet surely, driving her insane. She reached to grab the food he was offering before she stopped herself. She did not know this man. Had he come to kill her; make her ill? Raven pulled her hand back and scooted away from the man.

"You may have it," he offered, but she did not make a move to take it.

When he noticed that she was going to remain motionless he placed the roll on the ground and slid the cup of water towards her. She flinched, frightened by his swift movement. He slowly retracted his hand, not wanting to frighten her anymore than he had already done.

"You can call me Bane," he said to her. She looked into his eyes, signally that she understood him. "You can eat and drink," he offered once more.

The child swiftly took up his offer and grabbed the bread. With doing so, she scooted away from him and pressed herself against the wall. Bane observed as she stared at him while devouring the bread. Despite it being stale, she ripped at it with her teeth. When she was finished with the bread, she moved closer to him to retrieve the water. This time, when her hand reached out, Bane gripped it firmly in his grasp, causing the girl to tense.

"What is your name?"

Baffled, Raven attempted to pull her wrist away, yet Bane grasped her firmer. She began to struggle, grunting and making noises. When she realized he wouldn't let her go, she began to scream, and bare her teeth at him. He pulled her towards him, causing her to slam into his chest.

"You don't need to fear me," he whispered to the girl, "I wish to help you."

"No," she whined, trying to pull away. Her voice had come out raspy, for it was the first thing she had said in a while.

Bane was relieved; at least the girl wasn't a mute, but he was also put into shock. What he had thought to be a young boy was actually a girl. She had no figure or shape. She lacked breast, causing him to think that she hadn't experienced puberty yet. Her hair was cut short, and her cheeks were as sharp as a knife. Her face was masculine, animal like even. No wonder she did not trust him.

He picked up the cup of water with his left hand and held her with his right arm."Now," he began, "I am going to release you and you will tell me your name in exchange for the water."

Just as he promised, he released Raven she glared at him. A light smile formed on his lips as he watched her. She glanced from the water cup to him and then back again. Appeasing the burn in her throat was more important than being stubborn.

I don't know my real name, she wanted to say, they called me Raven. By "they" she meant her captor.

She remained quiet for a long moment for she got teary eyed. It pained her that she couldn't remember her name, or if the one they had given her was her true one. She was upset that she couldn't remember anything. Not a single memory.

"Raven," she sobbed out with a single tear, for she was too dehydrated to cry, "my name is Raven."

Bane didn't know what to say. This small child, that he now knew was a girl, was crying in front of him over a name. He was bewildered nonetheless. "How old are you?" He asked hoping she would answer.

She opened her mouth to say something, to give him some form of answer, but she didn't know. "Twelve," she whispered the lie. It was not her fault. She could not remember.

He handed her the cup, which she gladly took. The child gulped down the small amount of liquid before licking her lips in a content manner. She was still thirsty, but she did not dare to say so. This man, Bane, had been kind enough to give her a small amount of what he had.

"Are you cold?" He asked her. His voice was firm and laced with so much concern that Raven could not resist answering the person who was now so close.

Tensed, she replied to the man with another lie, "No," she spoke. This time, her voice was less raspy when she spoke and Bane could noticeable hear the higher pitch. When he did not move for a few moments, Raven grew concern. Perhaps he was awaiting a thank you, or something else in exchange for the water and food.

"Thank you," she murmured, gripping the cup in her small hands.

He smiled and nodded his head, continuing to watch her. He did not move like she expected, instead he stayed next to her and watch her every movement. She didn't know if she was either frustrated or scared with the fact that he continued to stare at her and would not leave. She waiting for a few moments, possibly minutes, for him to depart, but her waiting was in vain.

"I will give you a choice," he began randomly, "I can stay and help you or you can tell me to leave and I will never bother you again."

When she made no attempt to speak, Bane considered that a rejection. Without a word, he got up to leave, but before he could walk away, a small hand gripped his shirt. He turned to look at the small girl whose eye's were pleading for him to stay. She was scared and alone, and she didn't want to be. He smiled softly at her, and sat back down.

"I'm not going anywhere."

She shivered violently in the dimly lit crater she had learned to call home. After merely a few days, Raven had grown very weak and sickly, without the proper care, she would soon become another nameless corpse. In the Pit, her growing body had become malnourished and dehydration had consumed her, causing her health to plummet. With the endless headaches and the lack of energy, she found herself sleeping her days away. Before she realized it, days had turned into weeks, a soon those weeks became months.

Lying in the dark, neither asleep nor fully awake, Raven found herself thinking about her life. Perhaps she would survive another month, or maybe she would die tomorrow. Many had died since she had entered the Pit. Most from starvation, others from fights, and out of the few were were stupid enough to attempt a climb, most died in recovery.

Corpses littered the place, causing it to reek of death. She did not mind the smell nor did she mind the bodies She rejoiced the fact that their numbers were narrowing. The more who died, the more space, the more clothes she could gain from stealing, the more food rations that were given. Terrible, she knew, but when it came to surviving, every human was a terrible person.

Bane continued to sleep next to her during the night. He seemed to be the only kind person in this enjoyed his company and conversation. Whenever he would speak, Raven would stare at him and maybe even nod every minute or so. She would always listen, but was too scared to reply. Of course, her child curiosity caused her to ask numerous question, which Bane would answer without hesitation. That was normally the only time he would hear her speak. On occasion, she would comment on something that he had said, which would always cause him to smile.

They had discussed rules; things to protect her. Bane made her understand that she could not talk to other prisoners if he was not with her. He did not want them to find out she was a female. He would cut her hair every four months or so, which she did not complain about. It was easier to take care of and was less of a mess. He told her to stay in her corner and to next leave it. Wondering could get her lost, and he worried not to find her. She viewed him as an older brother. One who knew what was best for her so, she followed all of his rules, and so far she had been safe.

Raven had been drawing on the walls with a rock when Bane found her for the day. Raven made yet another mark on the wall with a sharpened rock. This had become an everyday occurrence with her. The activity was something that seemed to keep her sane. All she could do was stare up into the sun, praying that one day she would be able to feel it's warmth on her skin again. When she spotted Bane out the corner of her eye she did not flinch or move. She continued doing what she was doing, drawing squiggles for entertainment. It was not uncommon for him to disappear at times, only to reappear with no explanation for where he had gone. Sometimes he would stay to may sure she woke up, but sometimes, rarely, he would She never asked him where he would go or what he would do.

"Good morning," he said to her.

"Good morning," she replied. Her first question of the day was random and baffled Bane, "Is it possible for anyone to make it?"

"Make what, Raven?"

"The climb."

She managed to roll onto her side to see Bane approaching with bread and a bowl of what she could only think was soup. he would usually bring food and water every three to four days. That was the only time food was available. And the food that was given would be hard or stale but it would stave off the screams of their bellies.

"Many have tried but none have truly finished the climb," he explained, squatting down next to her and giving her a miniature cup of water and the bowl of soup; which of course would either be bland or taste of dirt. "I wanted to climb years ago, yet now it seems like a distant fantasy."

He placed his hand on her forehead, "You're fever has come down," he announced to the girl who knew he was trying to change the topic to something else. After waiting a few minutes, Bane sat and began to eat him bread slowly. She had learned from him to savor the rations, for you only ate every few days.

"Is it possible?"

He took a moment to answer, "Perhaps."

She slurped her soup from the bowl and just as she had predicted, it was bland with the taste of dirt. Her hunger wasn't pick though. She ate as though it was the it was a mother's cooking. When she was done, she asked yet another question.

"Bane," she whispered, "do you have any friends?"

The question was not meant to offend. It was only for her curiosity. Perhaps his appearance of loneliness was not only a mere expression, maybe it was real. She wondered if anyone ever talked to him or if she had been the first on he could vent to. He seemed to be a mystery. He wanted her to reveal things about herself yet he would only give her a taste.

For a moment, he eyed her, then chuckled."I thought you would be my friend," he told her.

She nodded, but wanted to know more. "Besides me," she replied.

He stared at her for a long moment, not wanting to tell her about his secrets. It was true, the small girl could bring no harm to him. Possibly, she would bite off a few of his fingers. He laughed to himself about the thought.

"There is one person who I would call my friend; her name is Talia."

Her, she thought.

"Was she your wife before you entered the Pit."

Bane laughed lightly, at the child's ignorance, which did not amuse Raven. "No, she is a child, much like you, but younger."

"Your child?"

"No."

His answer was final, as though he ended the conversation. Raven didn't dare to push for more information, she just smile lightly, as though to thank him for the conversation, and then played with the dirt on the ground.

Bane stood to his feet and began to walk in the opposite direction. A confused expression fell upon Raven's face. For a moment she thought that she had upset him, and for a moment she was scared. She didn't want to be alone in this hell hole. She wanted someone to be there for her when she had nightmares and when the nights were cold in this pit.

Suddenly, he looked back at her and smiled. "Would you like to see any angel?" he asked her with his arm extended. Talon felt as her lips grow ear to ear. She took his large hand and rose next to him, dusting herself off.

She took one last look at the wall she wondered to climb. She stared up, looking at the great blue sky. Perhaps...she would one day rise.