TawniBravo: Yes, still alive! :D Though I could use a Lazarus Pit right about now... ;)

Kookachoooie, Chapter Number Two-ey! :D

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Redemption, Restitution, & Resurrection

-Chapter Twenty-Four: THE QUEST, Part Three-

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2 am, the wee hours of Sunday morning. The outside was dark, dark, dark. Inside, a lamp cast shadows and eerie shapes over the wallpaper in the living room.

Danielle paced sleeplessly in front of her large map of Gotham City. She had managed to mark most of the payphones on the map, based on her own inventory. Now there was one more thing…

Zsasz had called her six times, she recalled: four times on her landline, once on her new cell phone, and once on her now-smashed old cell phone. Luckily the last several incoming calls were still present on her caller ID. She scrolled through her landline's record and looked at the numbers again.

One of the calls was from near the Sprang Bridge. No surprise there. It was the first time he had called her after three long years apart. It was the phone call that proved he was still alive. How appropriate that the call should come from the same place he had died.

The next one was a few days later; it was from a number that wasn't on the map. She tried to recall the conversation... He'd been inconsolable, out of his head; it had been while he still had amnesia but after he realized he was missing his marks. Was he somewhere on the streets when he called? She remembered it had been easy enough to hear him, which meant he was probably inside somewhere. In someone's house, maybe, some poor victim's?

And then her mind flashed to the boiler room in the steel mill, where he had sequestered her friends. There had been a phone with the wires ripped out… He was distraught enough the day he called that she could imagine him ripping them out. She wouldn't be surprised if the numbers matched.

I should become a detective like Batman, she thought wryly.

The next phone call was the day when she accused him of being the Note Writer. The number had come from Park Row, from the booth very close to the Baudelaire.

The next call had been from Cindy's phone, she remembered with a shiver. There was no record of it, and there didn't need to be. It was when Zsasz had held her friends captive.

The one after that was yet again from the booth near the Baudelaire. It was the conversation they'd had when she had laid out the ground rules for him… and he had agreed to them. Their game was on.

The next one was near the playground, his first and only call to her new cell phone, when she had seen him wrapped in bandages. When he had threatened to murder the children.

A shudder ran down her spine. He was a monster. Sure, he didn't want to kill her, but he thought nothing of threatening to slaughter innocent children. Her fist clenched.

I'll drag you back to Arkham myself!

And then the final number, the one from earlier tonight, near her old hideout. "So he seems to favor Old Gotham," she mused softly to herself.

BRIIIING!

"Gah!" Danielle nearly jumped out of her skin. She had been so lost in musing – about the phone, no less – that the ringing of the phone made her feel edgier than usual. Then she frowned. Who would be calling me at this hour? Did something bad happen? Her pulse quickened as she picked up. "Hello?"

"My dearest Danielle."

"Zsasz," her words came out half a breathy sigh of relief, half giddy with anticipation. "You called."

"Of course," his sinister voice crooned back. "You didn't think I had forgotten about my Alive Girl, did you? I could never forget you."

"I'm almost flattered."

"So cynical, aren't you? Unable to take even a small compliment from your would-be suitor, would-be murderer. Well, I guess it would depend on whether I'm in my head at the moment, wouldn't it?" He laughed gaily, almost carefreely. It set her nerves on edge. He hadn't talked about killing her in a long time, not even as a joke…

"You're not hearing any voices, are you?" she asked lightly.

"Of course not, Dani dearest," he replied. "They're gone, remember? Don't you worry your pretty little head about mine; I couldn't be better! I just called to see if you were awake. I have a proposal for you."

"And what's that, Zsasz?"

"I want to see you. Tomorrow."

"Where?"

"Never you mind where. Just be at Gotham Square, phone in hand, and I will tell you where to meet me."

"It's a surprise?"

"I just don't want anyone following you. It would be a shame if that pesky Batman interrupted our alone time together, wouldn't it? He did that well enough last week."

"Oh, don't hate Batman so much, Zsasz," she said lightly. "He did take out those ninja who were trying to capture you. You could even say he saved you from them."

"I can take care of myself," Zsasz's voice turned cold. "Do let me know if you're unable to show up tomorrow. I wouldn't want to think you're going back on our deal, after all. If you ignore me again… That old woman won't know what hit her."

Danielle gritted her teeth against the sudden icy jolt of fear. "I'll be there, Zsasz. You don't have to doubt me."

"I won't, Danielle. As soon as you prove yourself…" so softly she barely heard him, "I'll never have to doubt you again."

"So was that it?" she tried to sound impassive. "If there's nothing else, then I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you then." He hung up abruptly, leaving a ringing silence in his wake.

Exhaling slowly, Danielle put down the phone and then, out of new habit, checked caller ID. 555-2752.

The phone booth near the Baudelaire.

She smiled. "Or how about tonight?"

It was cold when she arrived at the phone booth, stepping out of the shiny warm yellow cab. The street had a thin layer of ice on it, no doubt from the night's chill. Her boots thumped lightly as she walked closer to the phone booth.

It didn't look out of the ordinary, of course. But the knowledge that Zsasz had been there not ten minutes before made the hairs on her arms stand up.

Where was he now?

She thought about it. Zsasz was a nocturnal person. She knew this from experience. His "best" times of the day to hunt and kill were at night, under the cover of darkness – like most criminals in this godforsaken place. So where would he be now, at 2:15 in the morning?

Hunting and killing, of course. Meaning he was probably still close by.

Had he already found a victim? The thought made her sick. She had to walk around, see if she saw or heard anything. If it gave her a shot at catching him, she had to try.

The baseball bat thumped comfortingly against her thighs.

She walked up the dark street toward the Monarch Theatre. She passed a sign for Live Nudes on the way and cocked her head. No... Zsasz wasn't the type to go in a strip club. He was probably hunting on the streets or already in someone's residence.

She heard a scream suddenly. It was very faint, but unmistakeable. There! She spun. It had come from this alleyway over here… A very familiar alley, actually. She had fought a thug for his brass knuckles here once…

Danielle slipped into the alley, bat raised in both hands. There was a woman's voice, pleading. A man's voice, rough and demanding. Not Zsasz.

She narrowed her eyes. The man was telling the girl to take off her jacket. Danielle felt sick.

She edged around the corner, keeping close to the wall. Then she saw them. The girl, in her early twenties, scared and backed up, the man with the silver knife pointing at her. The man was easily twice her size. Cold fury washed over Danielle.

The girl's eyes widened. The thug turned to see what was behind him, and Danielle took him out in a single hit.

The thug crashed to the pavement, lump huge on his head. Danielle didn't know or care if he was dead then (she was sure he wasn't). She would not tolerate this happening to anyone else, not if she was around.

Her eyes softened as the girl tearfully came closer to her.

"Y-you saved me," the girl sobbed brokenly. "He-he was- gonna-"

"I know what he was going to do," Danielle said gently. "Did he hurt you physically? Do you need a hospital?"

"No," the girl whispered. "I was so scared. I thought he was gonna rape me and kill me. He was, wasn't he?"

"He's not going to harm you ever again. I'm going to calling the police right now."

"Thank you. How did you do that?" the young woman looked at Danielle in astonishment.

"I'm a self-defense teacher. I teach at the Gotham General Hospital."

"You do? Do you go around the streets at night beating up criminals?"

Danielle laughed a little. "No, that's Batman. I just happened to be nearby. Hey look, if you need a safe space to talk about what just happened, you should come to my self-defense class… My name's Danielle Lee. You're not alone-"

"Priscilla Edwards. I'd love to." The girl shivered, clutching her arms against her chest. "C-can I go? Please, I don't want to be near him." She gazed apprehensively at the man on the ground.

"It's not safe…" Danielle protested as the girl turned away, despite her words. "You should wait until the police come. We should stay together-"

"Thank you for everything." The girl began to walk toward the alleyway entrance anyway. Danielle looked down at the attacker. It didn't look like he'd be regaining consciousness anytime soon.

"Oh my God!"

"Good evening, Danielle."

Ice froze in Danielle's veins. Zsasz. She turned.

Zsasz stood in the entrance to the alleyway. He had the girl she had just rescued in his wiry arms, and he was holding a knife to her throat.

"Now what is my Alive Girl doing out at this hour?" Zsasz casually brushed the hostage's bangs out of her eyes with his knife, relishing the fury that mounted on Danielle's face. "And who is her darling little friend?"

"Let her go, Zsasz!"

"But Danielle… Don't you remember? The deal was to leave alone your three pathetic friends. I never agreed to cease killing altogether. And this piggy would make a perfect sacrifice…"

"Who are you?!" the girl yelped. "Please, let me go! I'm not a part of this!"

"You're a part of this world though, aren't you?" Zsasz crooned, almost soothingly, as if speaking to a small child. "If you're a part of this world, then you're a part of my mission. And my mission is to liberate… everyone." He glared suddenly. "If the so-called Batter here wouldn't keep interrupting my kills, that is."

"I don't even know her-!"

"Now is that any way to show gratitude towards your savior, Priscilla?" Zsasz said mockingly. "I heard her rescue you from that boor on the pavement." He nodded at the unconscious thug. "Rather a nasty fate he had in store for you, wasn't it? Don't worry, mine will be much more merciful—!"

The hostage's talking had worked too well. It had distracted him. The next thing Zsasz knew, he felt a tremendous grip upon the hand that held the knife, prying it away from the girl's neck— "Go! Run!", and then his arms were empty, and Danielle was body-slamming him, crashing both of them into the brick wall.

The hostage had escaped. He could hear her loud breathing as she fled. And now it was just Danielle and him in the alleyway, and she was head-butting him. Stars danced behind his eyes and his free hand darted up, catching her under the chin. He heard her gasp of pain. But she hadn't let him go.

The knife came up, despite her hold. She moved in time, using his own momentum against him to pull his hand backward over his shoulder. He lost his balance. Danielle moved to pin him, and he struck at her, second knife already drawn in his other hand. Blood dripped from her forearm. Once again, she had underestimated his speed.

"Do you care so much about her random life, Danielle?" he asked as he rolled away and spun to his feet. "Or are you just jealous that I held her so closely to me?"

"Jealous? That you like to be creepy and intimidate your victims right before you kill them? Not a chance!" she spat as she picked up her baseball bat from where it had fallen.

He raised his knives, and she readied her bat. They faced off.

"Aaah, so you are jealous! You had a death wish once. You asked me to kill you, right before I died. Do you remember?" His voice became almost coy. "I wonder if you wish for it still..."

Danielle was edging back and forth, looking for openings. Energy surged between them. If she attacked him head on, she would be leaving herself open to him. And with knives in both hands, he'd probably cut her up the first opening she gave him.

"Why didn't you kill yourself while I was gone?" Zsasz's eyes looked into hers hypnotically. "It would have hurt me deeply, yes, but I would have moved on eventually." Without warning, he struck! Danielle moved out of the way as he charged her. She clubbed at his unprotected back with her bat, but he spun around with surreal speed, attacking her face and neck with his blades. It was all she could do to block him.

Something was not right. Even when he threatened her, Zsasz's voice usually held a certain playfulness when he was talking to Danielle. And yet now, there was barely veiled malice in his words.

"Instead you stayed alive and remained here. In your endless loop, prolonging my misery!"

"What?!" Danielle just barely dodged his knives again, slipping on a piece of garbage and slamming backward into a brick wall. Her heart hammered as she realized that he might actually want to kill her this time.

"If it hadn't been for you, I would not have remained in that man's captivity for so long! I would have escaped so much sooner. I wouldn't be suffering nightmares and waking memories every moment from the torture he put me through!"

Zsasz stabbed at her. The blade struck the wall in the spot she'd just been. He jabbed with the other hand, and she twisted away again.

"Zsasz-"

"It's your fault! You make me feel things I should never feel. You're the one who keeps me connected to my wretched humanity! You make me soft. You make me weak. I HATE WHAT YOU DO TO ME, DANIELLE!"

She swung with the bat. He blocked her, backhanded her, hitting her face with the butt of his knife. She raised her hand to block and he pinned her arm against the wall with the blade, forcing her to drop her bat. Blood trickled down her arm.

They were gasping, face to face. Danielle struggled to free herself.

He drove the second knife into her.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Blood splattered him—

.

.

.

There was a snag in Rā's plan. Zsasz almost smirked when he found out. So the old man, in all his arrogance, still made mistakes it seemed.

This particular mistake had happened in the small village they had freed from the bandits, the one now growing their engineered crops. A child had eaten one of the apples from the altered orchard. He was only supposed to be picking them for the scientists, but apparently his hunger had gotten the better of him, or the apples, with their hypnotic autumn sheen, had just looked so tasty… The child got sick and died horribly, within hours. The villagers were now convinced that Rā's practiced witchcraft. At very least, he had brought poison into their land, into their homes, and after everything they had endured from their former bandit masters, they refused to tolerate such an assault ever again. It didn't take long for a revolt to form. Pitchforks raised, they talked in loud voices, not bothering to conceal their plans. Rā's learned of it immediately.

He sent Zsasz to put them down.

Grudgingly, for he had not forgotten the bitter pain of his latest Lazarus resurrection, Zsasz complied.

He walked through the dust, knives at his side. He wasn't doing this for Rā's, he told himself. It felt good to roam. As long as he did what Rā's said, he could go outside the cage. He could have his freedom…

Freedom…

For the hundredth time, he remembered that if he were really free, he would go home to Gotham. Home to Danielle. No, he wasn't free. He was a bird with clipped wings.

A shot down plane.

But he could give these people their salvation. Yes. He could still liberate them.

And yet it was a hollow sort of walk to the small town.

No doubt the victims were in the barn or somewhere with a large meeting area. Perhaps their temple of worship. What good could their faith do against him and the dozen trained ninjas who followed at a reasonable pace, awaiting his signal?

He stopped.

Apparently not everyone was at the meeting.

In front of him stood the young woman he had first seen when he entered the village months ago. Her honey gold eyes shining in her dark face.

She had a boy in her arms. He looked at Zsasz, and his eyes were the most alarming shade of green.

And Zsasz couldn't move.

They were so beautiful. If he squinted even a little, he could pretend it was Danielle with – their son, maybe? The way he had always imagined, the cold nights in Rā's cell, where he pretended he'd chosen a future with her instead of continued on his murderous crusade.

The woman blinked at him. The look in her eyes hadn't changed. In spite of the seriousness of her village's predicament, she still had the carefreeness, that warmth in her gaze. As if, in another life, they were not strangers.

Zsasz stood for the longest moment, and they stared back, and he realized, for the second time in his life – he didn't want to kill. He wanted to let them go.

The ninjas were waiting for him. He knew this. His hands began to tremble, and suddenly he was biting back tears. He had to do this. He had to—

The blade moved.

The silent scream slipped out of the woman's lips as a gasp. Her child moaned as the blade cut him as well. Their bodies slumped in the dirt.

Zsasz looked up at the heavens. There was something in his eyes. When he wiped them, his arm came away red.

.

.

.

The blade was still red and slick with blood. Zsasz blinked. The knife was still in his own hand. A body was lying in front of him, a dark puddle spreading out underneath and staining the ground even darker.

Dread filled him suddenly. Who was it? He bent forward—

Danielle lay on the pavement in a pool of blood, unmovingly.

Zsasz fell to his knees. His Alive Girl—She was—He had—

Zsasz's anguished scream tore through the night.

Danielle lay on the ground, staring up at the dirty buildings. All she was aware of was the terrible, all-consuming pain, the burning agony right in her center. And the darkness. There was a darkness that went even deeper than the night, and it was growing rapidly. She felt her body shudder. Was she dying? Was this what dying felt like?

From far away, she could hear something. It sounded like wailing. Was she screaming? Was-?

Danielle felt hands lift her tenderly, despite the terrible pain that tore through her. Someone picked her up and cradled her. Zsasz. She could see his blue eyes, staring intensely into hers. You've won, she wanted to whisper, but her lips wouldn't move.

The darkness was spinning faster now.

Just before she blacked out, Danielle heard the far off sound again, and she could have sworn that it was Zsasz, sobbing.

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