Chapter 81

Ruby glided over the city, fueled by the wind, with a pair of binoculars held firmly over her eyes. Her membrane-based wings flapped every so often, and she often had to steer to avoid hitting pigeons. In addition, the exhaust burdening the air stung her eyes. But all of these minor discomforts, she knew, were nothing compared to the anxiety Oswald was going through. Ruby could feel it: distant but present, tugging at her mind. Their connection was not unlike a loose string, both of them holding onto an end. Each quiver made its way down the string, into the notice of the other end.

And right now, Oswald's stress was enough to make even Ruby's stomach bubble uncomfortably. She persistently tried to help, to send him more positive vibes. It was all for naught.

Thus, she was on sentry duty. Everyone else had volunteered for that job, if only to get away from their psycho of a boss. The irony was that Ruby herself had wanted to stay by Oswald's side, if only to help calm him down. But Oswald had insisted that, since Ruby was the only one on his team capable of flight, she was best suited for the job.

Thus far, nothing of interest had caught Ruby's eye. The binoculars had been a gift from Barker (speaking of which, where was the poor guy?), and more advanced than anything on the market. They contained high-definition insight on things as far as forty thousand feet away, x-ray vision, and night-vision. With a sad smile Ruby remembered when she'd first learned of the third capability. To be precise, she'd asked him if he'd ever used it on her. Barker had insisted that he hadn't, but during his denial he'd sounded as though he'd suddenly developed the flu.

Chuckling, Ruby took a left and headed towards the docks. Seagulls replaced the pigeons, but other than that there was no variation. Corruption and sorrow met her sight almost at every turn. In the Narrows, a pair of beggars stabbed a pregnant woman for the groceries she'd been carrying. Near the pier, sailors snuck cargo from other ships onto their own. In the Otisburg District, a teenage couple held hands as they jumped off a bridge. Outside the Stacked Deck, a seedy nightclub, a wealthy man shot his prostitute lover when she asked him for a bigger tip.

A part of Ruby still grieved at the sight. The other, far more cynical part accepted it as her hometown. But that wasn't all. She had a child to raise now. How can she bring Beryl up in a city like this? She could try homeschooling the child, but the state didn't allow that to go on after middle school. Sooner or later, Beryl would be exposed to Gotham's horror. How would she react to it?

Ruby shivered. Tried to shake it off. There was still time to think about that. Besides, she had a mission.

It was then that something caught her eye. Holding the binoculars up again, she flipped the tiny switch on the side. Immediately the mortar and bricks became invisible, laying out the interior. What she saw was nigh incomprehensible. Ruby watched, but she couldn't understand. It was just past a back entrance. Dusty and forgotten. Now, fires had been lit in a few spare bins. In the orange light, she saw clearly. Several men - hired help, if she was to judge by their shabby clothing and nervous expressions - were hauling in enough chains to restrain a dragon. Now suspended in the air, Ruby watched. She'd barely given those other crimes more than a minute of her time because they hadn't been anything new. But this?

Like Pandora picking at the forbidden box's lid, Ruby neared the sight. The binoculars never left her eyes. Nor did the men. As she watched, they selected two chains that, when laid on the ground, almost touched the room's center. These were severed from the pile of iron links and subsequently screwed into the wall. All of the men pulled on them together to ensure that the chains wouldn't come loose. Satisfied, they moved onto their next assignment: bringing in a battered junk pile that had once been a car. Confused, Ruby drew closer. They put the car in front of the chains, separating them by just a few inches. Then, one of the men left for a few minutes. Ruby was about to look for him when he came back, rolling in a vat.

"What in the...?" Ruby was about to inspect further when her jeans' pocket began to vibrate. She dropped the binoculars, letting them rest on her collarbone, and summoned her cellphone. On the screen was a cartoon penguin holding an umbrella. Pushing the 'answer' button, she held the phone to her ear. "Oz?"

"Ed just called!" Oswald exclaimed. "Kane Chemicals! We have to go there now!"

Ruby's eyes widened. Looking down, she gasped. "I'm already there!"

"Oh, thank the heavens!" Oswald cried. "Get in there, please!"

Ruby hovered there, imagining herself alone with the man who both stole Oswald's heart and threatened to throw her baby out the window. "Well, what do you expect me to do?"

"Anything!" Oswald pleaded. "Stop the kidnappers from escaping! Slaughter them if you must! Find Ed! We'll be there in..." A second's pause, "seven minutes, if there is no traffic! Please!"

Just for a second, Ruby wondered if Oswald would be so frantically concerned if she'd been kidnapped rather than Edward. But then her senses reclaimed the driver's seat. Now wasn't the time for such childish pettiness. Swallowing down her bitter pill, Ruby replied, "Roger that."

"Oh, thank you, Ruby! Thank you, thank you!" Through their connection Ruby sensed Oswald's desire to hug her tightly. She smiled faintly. "We're best friends. It's in the job description."

The front doors began to open.

"Get here soon." Ruby hung up before whizzing down. Just as the man poked his head out, a pair of arms seized his coat. Seconds later he was sixty feet in the air. Ruby's face was inches away from his. "Alright, scum-bucket. Where's Nygma? And who put you up to this?"

"Who the hell're you?!" The man asked, sounding like he'd just woken up from a nap.

Smirking, Ruby let her arms go limp. The man screamed at the jarring motion. Looked down in horror as his feet kicked the empty air. At the void separating him from the cracked cement.

"You'd better give me an answer, and quick." Ruby advised coolly. "My arms are getting tired."

For an instant there was no reply. Ruby loosened her hold on the man's coat, if only by a fraction.

"Okay, okay!" The man yelped. "I'll - I'll tell you! Just please, for the love of God, don't drop me!"

Smiling devilishly, Ruby hoisted him back up so that they were at eye-level. "Well?"

"We - Nygma! He paid us to do this!"

Ruby stopped. "What?"

"Yeah!" The man's aura was too desperate to falsify. "He - he called us up, and paid us to set this whole thing up. He gave us five hundred bucks in cash."

Ruby's eyes narrowed. "If I find that you've lied to me-"

"I'm not!" The man wept. "I swear it on my mother's grave! He said we had to get outta here by the time he made that phone call." He swallowed. "I don't know why, we just did as we were told. I swear!"

As the truth dawned to her, Ruby struggled to breathe. Her lungs shrank. Her stomach twisted. She was still for a minute, thinking of Oswald hurrying towards here like a gallant white knight. Only this time, the damsel was also the dragon. Nodding, Ruby swooped down with the screaming man in tow. Stopping about two feet above ground, she dropped the man before zipping skyward. Barely stopping to breathe, she circled the building. Kane Chemicals. That meant that there must have been something still around. Something flammable.

There!

Ruby spotted several vats, not unlike the one suspended by chains inside. Grabbing one, she hauled it into the air. Transforming one of her hands into a blade made of bone, she stabbed the container's side. Clear, sweet-smelling liquid spilled out of it like blood from a wound. She held it up, leaving a clear trail around the building. Once the circle was complete, she tossed the vat aside. Reaching into her pocket, she summoned a box of matches (handy to keep near). Lighting one, she tossed it. A ring of fire blazed into being, rising hungrily from the kerosene river.

Satisfied that no one would get out - least of all Nygma, the treacherous snake - Ruby grabbed her phone again. Quickly hit speed-dial. She harrumphed as the line beeped. Unaware that she was being watched.

At last there was a click. "Ruby?"

"Oz!" Ruby cried. "Listen to me: do not come here!"

"What? Why?" Oswald sounded both shocked and perplexed.

"Because it's a trap!" She replied. "I just interrogated one of the men here. It's all a set-up!"

"No!" Oswald's head-shake was audible. "No, my dear, he must have lied to free himself of culpability!"

"I was holding him over a sixty-foot drop!" Ruby protested, flapping her wings in irritation. "Either the man's an Oscar-worthy actor, or he was telling the truth." Sensing that Oswald was about to argue some more, she cut him off. "Oz, please believe me. You may love Edward, but he despises you. Enough to do all this. If you come here, you'll be signing your own death warrant. Please." She was close to tears. Desperation, love, and terror tangled within her gut like hungry snakes.

On Oswald's end there was a deafening silence. Ruby wanted to cringe at it, dreaded it, but didn't. She knew that these were the last words her friend wanted to hear because they contradicted the perfect, fairy tale-styled rescue that he'd been envisioning. But in that moment, she couldn't bring herself to care. No fantasy is worth getting killed over.

At last, there was a long, heavy sigh. "I...need to see it for myself. But I want to see you safe first." Oswald paused, presumably looking out the window. "I'll be there in about a minute. I can see the...wait, is that you? In the sky?"

"Yes!" Ruby spun around, holding her binoculars to her eyes. Spotting the long black limousine, she began to wave. "Oz, don't come any closer!"

She would have said more.

But then a spear went through her neck.

An inhuman screech tore from Ruby's throat.

From the car, his phone still to his ear, Oswald thrust his head out the window. His eyes were huge with horror.

Ruby's wings dissolved like dust in the wind. All of a sudden she was tumbling downward, steered by the wind. Even from this distance, Oswald could hear her yowls of agony. A part of Oswald was screaming with her. He could only watch, horrified, as a geyser of blood poured from the falling girl's wound and showered the ground below. He watched, desperately hoping that this was a nightmare, as his best friend dropped from the sky like a shot pigeon. The blood didn't stop flowing, even as she crashed through one of the windows.

Through their link, Oswald felt Ruby. Felt the cold metal beams she'd crashed into. Felt the burning-cold agony, sizzling like firecrackers, in the gaping hole of her neck. Sensed the hot blood gushing from the wound, staining her clothes and skin. Felt the black edges close in. He heard Ruby give one last, faint cry. Then all went black.

Oswald's phone slipped from his trembling, cold fingers. Gasping. Tears running down his face, unnoticed. Suddenly realizing he was in his luxurious car rather than by her side, he lurched forward. "GO FASTER, YOU IMBECILE!" The driver obeyed.

A pair of well-polished shoes walked across the empty room. Leisurely. Calmly. Towards the young woman tangled in metal beams. A pool of fresh blood, growing larger by the occasional dribble, lay beneath her. Cold air blew in from the ruined window.

Eyes glanced at the mess, then at the target.

She was badly wounded, and had lost a lot of blood - at least a gallon, possibly more. Her eyes were closed, her body limp. But her chest was rising and dropping with feeble breaths.

And, as he watched, the hole in her neck - which was large enough to fit an apple through - began to close. A red, clay-like substance frothed in the ragged ends. Skin and sinew knitted themselves back together from nothing. In very little time, the injury was closed. A round, shiny scar was all that remained.

Good. She was needed alive.

A hand reached into a pocket. Found the vial. Then, the hand reached up and grabbed a handful of bloody clothing.

Oswald all but kicked the door down. Desperation gave him the strength of five men, and none of the pain that such exercise normally would. His two lackies could only stare. Pushing his way through the gap, he flashed his torch into the dusty darkness. "Ed and Ruby's safety are all that matter." He instructed the men, who also weilded flashlights. "Whoever did this will pay - but only once we have Ruby and Ed back."

Ruby's warning whispered in his ear.

He ignored it. Unable to accept it.

"Ed!" He screamed. "Ruby!"

For a long moment, there was no response. Only the infinite silence of the void. Oswald looked around, searching for the slightest movement. His nostrils caught the iron stench of spilled blood. His own blood froze in his veins. No. Ruby was still alive. He could sense her pulse, weakened and barely conscious but still holding on. Oh, why oh why had he asked her to participate? Why hadn't he anticipated something like this?

Before he could find an answer, footsteps greeted his ears. He held up the light. Eager. Terrified.

Edward walked out from behind a pile of truck tiers. His face was an expressionless mask. Oswald, in his ecstacy, did not notice. Handing the torch to the man to his left, Oswald hobbled towards Ed. Trapped him in an unreturned hug. "Are you alright?" He asked as he pulled away. "Tell me you're alright!"

"I'm fine, Oswald." Edward's voice was as robotic as an ATM's.

Oswald swallowed. "And - and Ruby? I saw her..." He had to stop. Swallowed. A stray tear ran down his face as he looked away. If only he hadn't. He'd have seen Edward spying the tear and smiling. "Someone knocked her down, and she crashed in here. Is she, well...?" Oswald stopped, realizing how stupid his question was. Of course she wasn't alright. But she wasn't dead, either. Through their bond, he could feel her regaining consciousness. It was like breaking the surface of a tar ocean.

"She's alive. For the moment." Edward answered.

"Oh, thank God." Oswald bowed his head. Looking up again, he wiped his eye. "Where are they? Who dared to think they could put their hands on you or her?" Anger fired his words, saving him from sorrow.

"I'm alone."

"Oh." Oswald smiled. "You escaped!" Manic laughter rushed out of him like horses from a stable. "You did, didn't you? You rascal!"

Edward remained serious. "Did you bring anyone else?"

"What?" Oswald asked between giggles. "Why, no, I-"

Edward extracted a revolver and shot down both men with all the disinterest one has when stepping on a bug. Oswald jumped at the gunshots. Just like that, his fantasy shattered. Leaving nothing behind.

"Just wondering if I was gonna have to reload." Edward aimed the gun at Oswald. Who, in turn, felt as though he'd just woken from a pleasant dream to find a hideous nightmare waiting for him. He stood there, paralyzed, as he struggled to put words together. "I...I don't understand!"

At last the emotionless mask cracked. A smile of wicked delight shone through. "I know. That's been half the fun." Still holding the gun, he grabbed Oswald's jacket and pulled him deeper into the room. Oswald, whose feelings could not be put into words, was forced to comply on numb legs. They walked for a few feet in tense silence. Towards the lights burning in several bins.

By their light, Oswald could see. And it made him yell.

Ruby was chained to a wall opposite of a run-down car. Her ankles and wrists were heavily bound to metal ropes as thick as pot roast. The ends of the chains were screwed into the barrier. Ruby herself, despite leaning against the wall, barely looked strong enough to stand. Her clothes were so thoroughly soaked in blood that Oswald couldn't guess their original color. Yet a small pang of relief hit him when he searched for wounds, yet found none. Her head was lowered, and her mouth was gagged tightly.

As he watched, Ruby twitched. Then, slowly, she raised her head. When her eyes met his, she lurched forward without a second thought. Oswald did the same. But the chains restrained her, and Edward's powerful arms held him.

"How sweet." Edward drolled. "But I'm afraid your friend is only part of what I've got planned for you." Grabbing Oswald's face, he jerked it towards the battered ruin of an automobile. "Recognize it?"

Oswald's mind, cold with shock, came up blank.

"Oh, why should you? I doubt you did the deed yourself." Edward pointed at the former vehicle. "That car belonged to Isabella."

Panic bled into Oswald's chest. He turned to Edward, who still hadn't let go of his jacket. "Ed, whatever you've heard-"

Edward hit him with the butt of his gun. Ruby screamed through the gag. Oswald hit the floor, his head spinning.

Towering over him, Edward pointed the gun at Oswald's face. "I know it was you, Oswald." His voice was low, growling, like a savage beast. It chilled Oswald to the core. "Isabella was my everything, and you took her from me. And now I've taken everything from you." He paused, then looked back at Ruby. He knew that, despite the final ingredient in his pocket, she couldn't attack him. Not for a while.

"Well, that's not entirely true. You still have her. And you still have your life." Edward snarled. "But that ends tonight."

Ten minutes later found Oswald tied to the car, similarly gagged. Unlike Ruby, who was glaring daggers at Edward, he looked at his love with betrayal and sorrow.

Edward stood between them, his back to Ruby. "I want you to know, I understand. Even though what you did was unforgivable, I understand the jealousy that drove you. I remember loving Kristen while she went with that ape. I close my eyes, I can still see him dying at my feet. No other thought has given me greater joy." Edward smiled in an almost friendly fashion at his former ally. Oswald, in turn, looked at him with hope. Hope that they could move past this.

But then the smile vanished, replaced by icy anger. "There's a big difference, though. I killed him to protect Kristen. He'd beaten her once, enough to leave bruises, and I knew he'd do it a hundred more times. But me? I'd have died before I let myself hurt Isabella. She was mine. And you took her from me. Why did you do that?" For the briefest of seconds it was Ed again. The way he asked, so broken and human, made Oswald's heart hurt. But he couldn't have answered, even without the gag's interference.

Edward sighed. "It doesn't matter now. Though, I guess it would be kind to allow you to speak." He reached forward and put his fingers on the cloth tied around Oswald's head. "Just don't bite. Ruby already did, and it still hurts." He pulled it down.

Oswald shook his head. "I simply don't understand. My father...he appeared to me. I saw him."

"No." Edward shook his head. "You saw a man who I met in Indian Hill. He does killer impersonations."

Ruby's eyes widened.

"You see, Oswald...how do I put this?" Edward got close to Oswald's face. "GHOSTS. AREN'T. REAL!"

Oswald felt sick. "My father's remains...you stole them from his grave?" He mentally pleaded his friend to deny it.

"Yep!" Edward cheerily confirmed, crushing Oswald's chest. He clapped a hand on the smaller man's shoulder. "Don't worry, he's at peace now. I gently placed his remains...inside a dumpster behind a Chinese restaurant." Oswald closed his eyes, struggling with the tears, while Ruby's chains clinked. Weakened and exhausted, Ruby had fury in her eyes. Struggling against her bonds, she spat out a horde of muffled insults at Edward.

The tall man grinned. "I'm sorry, I can't understand you!"

Ruby tried to speak, but the cloth digging into her mouth blocked her words.

Edward laughed at her before Oswald's words grabbed his attention. "You are angry. I understand. I can even forgive you. But killing me is not the way."

The man stopped. Glowered at the bound crime boss. "So you admit you killed Isabella?"

Oswald's sorrow faded into rage. "Fine. Is that what you want?" He asked coldly.

"Yes!" Edward replied.

"I confess! I had her killed!" Ignoring Edward's heartbroken expression, Oswald pressed on. "But you know? You should thank me! Because we both know what would've happened if I hadn't!"

"Yes!" Edward yelled. "I could've lived a life with the woman I loved. I could've been happy." His voice cracked.

Oswald shook his head. "No, Ed. You would have killed her."

Edward slapped him. Ruby jerked her chains.

The hot pain only enraged Oswald more. "Just like you did the other one!" He yelled. "You couldn't have helped it! And afterward, you would've hated yourself!"

Edward snarled. "Well," he leaned in, "we'll never know, will we?" He turned away.

Heart cracking, Oswald whispered, "I did it for love."

Edward stopped. Slowly turned around. "What?"

Oswald was on the brink of tears, high from this cocktail of emotions. "I did it because I love you."

Ruby closed her eyes.

"You should know that."

"SHUT UP!" Edward slapped a hand over Oswald's mouth, stopping any more venomous words from spilling out. When he was sure that more wouldn't come gushing out, he spoke. His voice was barely better than a growl. "Love is about sacrifice." He pulled away. "It's about putting someone else's needs and happiness before your own!" He gestured to the bound woman. "Like Ruby does for you."

Ruby froze like a deer in headlights.

Oswald frowned. "What?"

Edward smirked. "You dummy. Really? After almost two years, you've never noticed?"

Oswald only continued to see fog, and this angered him. "What're you talking about?"

Ruby had dropped to her knees at this point. She was covering her face with her hands.

Edward stepped closer to her. Placed a hand on her curly head. Ruby was so distraught that she didn't notice. The man answered with relish. "I mean, that Ruby here has been in love with you since the word 'go'. It's so obvious even a retard could see it, and I felt it that time we fused. It was only for a few minutes, but it was strong. It felt like I was bathing in the hottest, sweetest water ever. But there was a trace of bitterness to it. 'Oh, he could never love me back! I'm a freak, a product of incest. But I just can't stop loving him'. And I thought, wow. How does someone keep all that emotion, for so long, and not blow up?" He looked down at Ruby, whose shoulders were trembling. "I guess bad taste in men is only hereditary, ain't it, Sinclair?"

Ruby shrugged him off. He backed away. Looking at Oswald, he felt nothing short of merriment. The man was panting, eyes the size of dumplings, mouth agape like a fish. He just stared at Ruby like he'd never seen her before. The sight was more satisfying than anything the Internet could come up with. Grinning with glee, Edward turned to Ruby. "Oh, cheer up! You'll get to spend the next few hours with the man you've been infatuated with for almost two years. But be sure not to waste a second of it." He pointed above Oswald's head.

"You see that vat?"

Oswald looked up. He did. It was tilted ever so slightly. He gulped.

"It's filled with a highly corosive acid." He gestured to the chain holding it into place. Specifically, to the huge block of ice keeping the iron rope taut. "When the ice melts, the chain comes loose, the vat of acid tips..." He grinned. "You get the idea." He put a device beneath the ice. With the push of a button, a long tongue of flat shot out and licked the block.

"Ed, please!" Oswald begged. "Maybe you're right. The fact that I love you proves that I can change. Just give me a chance!"

Ruby, wincing at those three little words, stared at the scene with teary eyes.

Edward, on the other hand, was unmoving. "You know as well as I that a man facing death will say anything to save his own skin. But you haven't even heard the best part yet." He pointed, again, to the ice. "That ice will take hours to melt. Three or four, I'd say. Which is why I'm giving you some entertainment." He walked back towards Ruby. Smiling coldly at her. "I thought of maybe having one of my hired help stay here and torture Ruby for you." He combed some curly hair, spotted with blood, out of her face. "Maybe carve this soft skin off her skull. Poke out those big blues. But that would be too fast. I thought of crushing her head between two blocks of concrete and have you stare at the body until you, too, died."

Oswald moved against his bonds, eyes wide with anxiety.

"But the thought of this loving face splitting open like a melon?" Edward turned to Oswald. "No, it's just not right." With that he shoved Ruby against the wall. She grunted at the impact, her eyes rolling, as Edward seized her face. He yanked down the gag.

"ED!" Oswald screamed. "Stop it! Don't! Whatever you're doing, don't!"

Edward forced her mouth open, barely saving his fingers from her snapping teeth. Popping open the vial's cap, he dumped the contents down her throat. Ruby's eyes widened. Shoving him away, weakly, she choked and spat. Yet as the liquid fire, bitter as wormwood, pooled in her belly, a new terror blossomed. Ruby looked up at her friend. "Oswald?" She sounded so small, so helpless, so vulnerable, that it struck Oswald deeper than any bullet. Edward wasted no time in putting the gag back over Ruby's mouth. Then, he stepped forward and held up the empty bottle for Oswald to see.

"Botulinum toxin. Often used for Botox injections, this stuff is pretty lethal. It causes paralysis of the muscles, to the point that the respiratory system fails and the victim dies suffocated." Edward examined the bottle with refound interest, ignoring Ruby's weeping. "Usually it takes a long time to work. But I added my own special touches to it. It'll take two hours to take effect. And the best part? It deactivates her powers."

He turned to Ruby, who stared back at him with confused eyes. "Your body's only goal is survival, like any other body. You've already lost a lot of blood. That alone would've put your powers out of use for a while. But now that you've got this in your system," he wiggled the bottle in front of her, "your body will focus all of its strength on slowing the effects, and keeping you alive. That means you won't have any strength to convert into combat." He hovered over Oswald. The man's cheeks were bathing in hot tears, and he was barely suppressing his whimpers. It was pathetic.

Edward leaned in close. Whispered in his ear as he set the gag back into Oswald's mouth. "Your best friend will die here, in this room. And you'll be here watching when she does. You will live to see Ruby's corpse. To see the light fade from those big eyes, to see her body stiffen. All the while contemplating the choices you've made." He smiled. "I hope you like the fires. I didn't want you to miss a thing."

With that, he walked out of the room. Oswald, gagged and crying, climbed off the vehicle and ran towards Ruby. She did the same. But on both sides, their chains tightened. The two friends stared at each other with teary eyes as they fought and struggled to touch each other. To comfort. But Edward had thought of everything. Yes, Oswald's chains were long enough for him to get off the car. But he was still in the suspended vat's range. The chains stopped just centimeters away from each other, leaving a void that felt as great as the universe.

Oswald and Ruby had fought together, lived together, mourned together, and rejoiced together. Now, they had come full circle and were going to die together.

And they could not even share one last embrace or word.