Author's note:
Erik-is-my-angel1234 : Thank you for so many reviews :)
i love all yaoi : Now you'll see what's going on. Sort of.
Madi H : Thank you kindly for your review :D
nadillaandlaprasthefireandice : Everything will be explained, sooner or later.
sandradee27 : Holy catch-phrases, I missed all that love :)
Jenicide24 : I know it looked strange, but it all makes sense in the end.
"Pain... unbearable."
That one thought was paralyzing my mind as I ran on the rooftops, finally jumping on the ground and entering the sewerline in the abandonded building. It was the same place where Alice and I entered the sewers when she was sent to Arkham City.
My eyes quickly adapted to the darkness and I started to look for the my storage. Blood was dripping slowly from my mouth, along with saliva.
"It's nearby, I know it.", I thought to myself. Maybe I wasn't in best condition right know, but tracking was one thing I knew plenty about.
I fell on the knees when another wave of pain shocked my body. That fucking collar from the Asylum was nothing in comparison with this.
I was feeling guilty for leaving Alice behind like this, but it happened so quickly.
I was caught off guard and I knew I was running out of time.
"What the hell happened ?", Ivy asked, contrasting with her previously calm demeanor.
"He's... gone.", I said, shocked and confused.
"Those are his clawmarks, there's no doubt. But this blood... is it... is it his ?"
I looked at the blood stains on the floor. "Maybe somebody attacked him ?", I asked.
"In here ? Nobody knew he was there. Unless somebody followed you.", Ivy answered. "But my plants would've told me if there was an intruder nearby. And this hole over there... it looks like Waylon just ran through the wall."
"What... how...", I muttered with confusion, when suddenly Ivy grabbed my shoulders and shaked me rapidly.
"Focus, Alice. What could possibly cause Waylon to just depart like this ?", she asked.
"I... I don't know. We...", I started, not really knowing what I wanted to say.
"What ?"
"We... we don't have secrets with each other. At least, that's what I thought.", I said.
"Listen, I'm sure he had a reason to do this. But whatever the reason is, it's nothing good and we need to find him.", Ivy said. A few plants of her erupted from the wall and moved outside of the building, as if they were looking around.
"It is Waylon's blood.", she said. "Its trail runs through the rooftops for a few yards, but my vines can't sense anything more than that."
"What... what should we do ? He may be anywhere."
"Not really. As far as we know, he tried to stay hidden while being here. He's probably in the sewers and even if he's not there right now, it's the best place to start looking for him."
"Any chance you could come with me ?", I asked. Ivy's company would surely be useful.
"I'm sorry, but I can't. If I'll leave for too long, the building may start to collapse without my influence. Also, somebody should stay here in case Waylon returns. Afterall, you can protect yourself, right ?", Ivy asked.
I thought about the bag full of ammo and medkits that I took from the GCPD. I still had Waylon's magnum as well.
"Yeah.", I answered.
"Good. Rooftops are relatively safe, so you shouldn't have trouble with following the blood trail. If anything happens you can always come back here and I should be able to patch you up."
"I'll be on my way, then.", I said, but when I wanted to leave the room, Pam said "Wait."
I turned back.
"Be... careful.", she said.
"I will."
I struck the wall in fury, roaring loudly. I pressed my forehead against the old bricks, trying to focus and to remember when I hid the damned thing. I was never caught off guard like this, I rarely left the the sewers before. Suddenly, I felt a familar scent.
"Not you, for fuck's sake...", I thought.
I started sniffing around, locating him a couple meters behind the wall. I made a few steps back and ran through the wall with full force, breaking it and immediately noticing iron bars in front of me. The Bat was standing behind the bars. I grabbed them; he probably thought I was about to destroy them as well and get him. In fact, I did because I felt I could pass out any moment and I could barely stand.
"You are not welcome here.", I said with anger.
He was startled for a moment, I swear, but he immediately put on his 'I-don't-give-a-fuck' face again.
"I'm not here to fight you, Croc. Let me pass.", he said.
I just needed one more sniff to figure out what was wrong with him. "Your scent is... different.", I said. "I smell death on you. I don't need to fight you, Batman.", I said and started to walk away. "I just need to wait, and then, I will feed on your corpse."
I dived into the water tunnel and as soon as I found the other exit, I sighed with relief. At least he won't find the storage.
"You're sure you've got everything ?", Pamela asked.
I once again checked out my bag, making sure that all the ammo and other supplies were there.
"Yes, that's all.", I answered, not really knowing what to say next. I was still shocked by Waylon's disappearance. "Do you think... do you think he's okay ?", I asked. I knew he wasn't, but right know I needed any assurance that he was still alive.
"He didnt' lose that much of a blood.", Ivy said. "Although I'm not sure where the blood came from to begin with. It may be some internal injury, perhaps some sort of...", Ivy said and stopped when she noticed that I was close to tears.
"I'm sorry. I'm sure he's okay, I mean... it's Waylon, right ? He's tough. He can regenerate after some time, so I'm sure he'll be just fine.", she said with a forced smile, although she calmed me down a bit.
"Sure... he's fine.", I said more to myself than to her. "Thank you, Pam. For all your help."
"I'm not good at saying goodbyes.", she said. "So if you'll die out there, I swear I'm gonna be mad.", she said with a sad smile. "If you don't find him, then come back. We'll think what to do next.", Pammy said and created a bridge for me to leave the building. I stepped on the rooftop next to her hideout and looked at Arkham City, which was just as cold and unfriendly as before.
"It's close... I know it.", I muttered. I barely saw what was ahead, shadows were dancing before my eyes. I sat next to the wall, resting for a moment.
But I couldn't get up.
I couldn't get up.
My body was getting numb, my arms and legs completely useless.
For the first time in the past couple of years, I started to feel... cold.
I was getting sleepy.
"Can't... close my eyes.", I said to myself. Or rather I wanted to say, as the words were stuck in my throat.
"Alice...", I thought. "She's out there. Waiting for me..."
I tried to stand up, but my legs wouldn't listen.
I started to crawl through the sewers, hoping that it wasn't too late.