He did not expect her to ever broach the subject of his impending demise, despite the fact that it weighed so heavily on her shoulders it was almost a tangible thing. She carried on as though they would be together forever, and there were many days he wished it were so. He never expected his little Ghost to be so passionate about something as meaningless as his existence. It truly should not have surprised him that she was.

And he never expected the outburst that raged through him so hard it rocked the foundation of his world.

"This is insane!" She had railed at him, hands fisted so hard blood dripped between her knuckles where her nails bit into her skin. "This little bitch," He hissed at the word which only made her angrier. "Leaves you to die in that cesspool of hell only to come flouncing back into your life spouting nonsense about some Brotherhood or something, and a cause that wasn't even your own!"

"Ghost..." He began in a warning tone and she snarled at him, fingers twitching like she were fighting the urge to hit him. It had become common place for them to fight, to spar, to wage war on one another. There was a purity to it, a freedom they had both come to crave.

"I will not watch you die." She said with such finality he knew the time had come. He would have to rid himself of this specter, this ache that had plagued him for so long. He would finally be free to finish his glorious task, so why did that thought hurt worse than any other?

He moved towards her slowly, stalking, muscles taut as if rebelling against his self-appointed task. In their time together she had grown as a person, as a warrior, skilled though she was before, she was now his perfect equal. He forgot this, from time to time, in her defection towards him, in how she looked to him for instruction, but never purpose. Though, perhaps he never truly forgot, merely misplaced the thought, as he did now.

The pipe crashed across his face with enough force to loosen the valves in his mask and rattle his thoughts. His nerves were instantly set aflame by unbearable pain. He hadn't even seen her reach for the pipe, hadn't registered her as a threat. His eyes watered as he tried to heave breath into his lungs. Her blurred form stood impassively in front of him, weapon dangling from loose fingers, those sharp eyes dulled. She knelt briefly, fingers alighting along his brow until she pressed a gentle kiss to his skin, her breath whispered across his face (a brief reprieve) before she was simply gone. Bane struggled to push the small valves back into their places and when he finally succeeded he drew a slow and ragged breath.

He took his time pushing himself to his feet and moved slowly into the large antechamber where his men trained and stared about. Nothing was amiss, no alarm raised, to call to arms. She was just...gone.

When Talia came to him later, ire raised and ready to strike at him, she quickly rejoiced in the purging of his haunts. He stared at her silently while she smiled and sang of his good work ridding himself of distractions. He didn't have to heart to admit his distractions had rid themselves of him.

Alexis sobbed. Great, hot tears that burned her skin and eyes, that flowed down her cheeks in glittering streams. She choked on her tears, gasped around them, greedily pulling air into her lungs to try and stave off the hysteria she felt clawing its way into her chest. He was going to die. He was going to die and she left him to do it.

It wasn't fair. She couldn't be expected to sit idly by as he threw himself into Death's waiting arms. She would not just wait for his end, there was no part of her that could watch as such greatness was washed away and forgotten. Her nails bit into her scalp as she rocked back and forth in the tiny grungy alleyway.

"Idiot!" She cursed past the lump in her throat. "Stupid, heroic, moronic imbecile." She growled as she pulled at her hair, silently praying the pain would clear her mind until she remembered how he would often touch the long strands. A gentle tug while his eyes crinkled at the corners when he was particularly amused at her antics. Maybe she had made a mistake in leaving. Maybe she could have saved him if she had just stayed. Maybe...maybe, maybe, maybe. Maybe she would drive herself insane with what she could have done. She scrubbed at her eyes and pushed herself to her feet. She moved towards the street and stared around herself.

"What do I do?" She asked no one in particular. She was alone again, with no purpose to drive her actions. She sighed and straightened her spine as she lifted her chin to look around once more. She was a survivor. Priorities woman, she berated herself silently. Food, shelter, protection. With a sharp nod she set off down the street in plain sight at a lazy jog. She was a Ghost, what did she have to fear now?

"No signs sir." A mercenary reported solemnly, eyes downcast. "Nothing we can follow at least." Bane raised an eyebrow at that and the mercenary shook his head. "A body here, a sighting across town from that. She's never in one place for more than a few hours."

"Of course not." He hissed softly. "Very good, there will be no distractions." He waved away his man, who hesitated for only a split second before he turned and strode away. "Good." Bane growled to himself once more. It had been days since she had left, days since he'd seen any sign of her save for quiet whispers that floated to his ears and drove him mad. He didn't need the distraction.

"Move out!" He ordered sharply, watching as his men leapt into action. There were things that still needed to be done.

Alexis sat on a rickety fire escape, several stories off the street, and watched the transport truck with the bomb drive through the city. She couldn't help the small smile that touched her lips as she watched it turn and back track, never following the same route twice.

"Good man." She murmured softly. She kicked her legs out, letting them swing in the free space beneath her, as she folded her arms to give her chin a place to rest. She'd reached the conclusion, some days ago, that survival was no longer a priority. She'd let go of hope then, not without a fight, but the peace she'd gained as a result was worth it. She was going to die, everyone in Gotham was going to die, there was no escaping it now. She understood him a little better now, for he'd known all along what she'd only just come to accept.

She was still furious with him. Simply because she accepted what was to come did not mean she agreed with it. In fact, she'd decided, if she saw him before the end, she'd hit him with a pipe again just so he would truly understand her displeasure.

If she saw him.

A sigh rattled from her chest as she tilted her head so her cheek rested along her arms now. Movement below caught her eye, drawing her gaze like a predator. A boy ran from a group of thugs, she could tell because they did not move like she'd trained their men to, a shiny red apple clutched desperately in his hands. She didn't move when he was caught, not wanting to give away her position, perhaps even alerting him to her presence.

She allowed her eyelids to droop when a woman came to the boy's aid, quickly dispersing the common thugs as though they were nothing. An eyebrow quirked slightly and she could only imagine their men against this woman. It would be a good fight, good training for them. She grumbled slightly at the thought and let her eyes droop more, idly watching as the child scampered off, until a newcomer took his place at the woman's side.

She watched for a long moment, gazing down at the couple until recognition hit her hard and sent her reeling backwards. He'd told her of this enemy, proud of his defeat and subsequent sentence to death in Hell.

"No!" She gasped a split second before she was scrambling to her feet and flying down the fire escape. Staying secret was no longer important.

The emptiness of the catacombs unnerved her greatly. She held a knife loosely in her fingers, her eyes sweeping the area in front of her slowly, taking in everything as quickly as possible. It had been abandoned for some time by the looks of things. She stepped lightly, nearly dancing across the floor as she searched out Bane to give him the news.

"Oh please..." She murmured quietly as she peered into one of the side rooms.

"Oh please, what?" A voice asked behind her, which sent her spinning on her heel, knife gripped tightly.

The first blow split her lip and snapped her head backwards. The second blow laid open her eyebrow and sent blood spilling into her eyes. Arms grabbed her roughly even as the world swam and she tried to focus through the blood. She wrenched her arm free quickly enough to swipe at her eyes and search out the closest body. Her knife flashed and skin parted beneath the lightening strike.

"Bitch!" The third strike sent her to her knees and rough hands gripped her wrists and shoulders, keeping her in a kneeling position. She snarled at her captors but her head lolled on her shoulders pitifully. Her knife finally fell from her hand as fingers dug into the tendons in her wrist. She heard the sound of sharp heels against the metal grating and managed to lift her head a bit.

"He told me he'd rid himself of his distractions." A smooth, lilting voice danced above her. Alexis shook her head, sending little droplets of blood spattering about her in sad little patterns. "He lied to me." A smooth hand slid under her chin and lifted her face the rest of the way. Alexis stared at the beautiful woman before her, dark hair, dark eyes, everything was dark.

"Ahh, so it's you." She slurred slightly, eyes focusing and unfocusing again. She was fairly certain she had a concussion. "His little light. His innocent to protect." Nails bit into her cheeks making her flinch slightly, but she smiled with the knowledge that she was right.

"I am Talia Al Gul, and I have come to purge this city of it's filth, to finish my father's work." She said haughtily and Ghost sneered.

"You are a spoiled brat." She spat, earning her shoulder a violent twist in the wrong direction. It didn't stop her, very little could stop her anger. "You! You're the one who's killed him! You're the one who's to blame!" She jerked her other arm free and snatched at her knife. The surprise at her sudden ferocity left Talia's guards scrambling to keep up. Steel parted flesh in such rapid succession blood flew across her face and hands.

This woman was a beast, savage, cruel in her uncaring ways towards her most loyal man. She dared to call him hers. "Wretch!" Alexis hissed even as fingers tangled in her hair and tried to jerk her away from Talia, who struggled beneath her. "I will kill you! I'll kill you and mount your head in front of the courts!" She was shrieking now, kicking wildly as she was hauled off the leader of this pitiful little rebellion. Leader, she didn't deserve the title. Bane did the work. Bane was the true head of it all. He was the unstoppable force behind this movement, not this little girl, cowering and bleeding before her.

"Chain her here!" Talia cried as one of her guards helped her to her feet. "Let her die in the cold dark!"