Part Nine
Edward long gone, Isabella gathers the last remaining scattered items she needs for her trip and stumbles upon the Van Dahl book.
What to do with this?
She turns it over and over in her hands nervously. Poor Oswald. It was already no secret that he was the illegitimate son of a Van Dahl – the Van Dahl estate had been bequeathed to him and he was now using it as the Mayor's mansion. But it had just been so easy for her to piece together his twisted lineage from this book and easily available public records – information that really shouldn't see the light of day.
Yet she knows that there would be an interest in this book at the conference – seeing as it was directly related to Gotham's mayor. And there's so much history here . . . about so many others, not just Oswald. It's an important historical record.
The librarian in her wants it preserved. But the angel in her knows it has the power to destroy the life of Edward's best friend.
And she can't let that happen to him.
So, it is with a heavy heart that she finds some kerosene and a trash bin behind her place . . . a final resting spot for the history of the Van Dahls.
Isabella cries as the ancient book goes up in flames, hot tendrils licking at its fine binding. It absolutely breaks her librarian's heart to see a book burn, especially at her own hands. But it has to be done. To protect Oswald.
As Isabella leaves for the conference, she's humming, lost in the memory of how Edward had reacted upon examining the kitchen table and its surroundings after their little tryst that night. "Boy, did we make a mess!"
She chuckles to herself. She can't wait until their scheduled call after her panel Monday morning – she misses him already.
She had never felt so alive before him. Everything had changed since this assignment. The love, the caring – it's not just one way this time. Even though she has been inhabiting Kristen's body, she feels that Edward knows and loves her for who she really is. And he's the only one who ever has.
Wait! The car's not slowing down. There's a train coming.
"Come on, come on, come on," she says frantically as she pumps the brakes, then screams out for help when she realizes that it's futile.
Oh no, is this . . . ?
"Oh, dear."
As the train barrels into her she realizes that yes, it is. Her work is done. She's been called back to heaven.
"Edward!" she screams out, doubled over as if in physical pain. Tears are racing down her cheeks. No, she can't lose him. Not this soon. This isn't fair. "Edward!"
Other angels race to her side and hold her tight, trying comfort her.
"It's okay, Isabella."
"You're home now."
"It's over."
Isabella screeches back, "I don't want it to be over. I want Edward!"
"There, there," one of them says, cradling her head, stroking her hair. "It will be alright."
"No, it won't." Isabella gulps down big, heavy tears. "I loved him. I LOVED HIM! Do you hear me?"
"She's never been like this," she hears one of the angels in the background whisper to the archangel who sent her down on assignment.
"I know," he responds, perplexed, before bending down to her and holding out a hand to her. "Come with me, Isabella. I think you need to convalesce."
The archangel guides her to a place of rejuvenation - it is filled with big, fluffy, clouds. He lays her down into a space within it just for her to recuperate. "Rest now, dear one. Let your heart heal."
"This is a sad and twisted tale," one of the angels says to the archangel. "I think you need to see."
He shows what he's uncovered to the archangel, who is still worried about Isabella. She's not recovering as she should be. In fact, she hasn't left the place of rejuvenation since she'd first been settled in it and seems to spend all of her time crying or talking to an Edward that isn't there.
The window onto the world opens up to show Oswald Cobblepot ordering a hit on Isabella.
"Wait? You mean Isabella was recalled to heaven by these means?"
"Yes."
"We don't work that way – we have strict extraction protocols." The archangel is utterly shocked. "But yet . . . I thought her assignment was complete. She should have been recalled anyway."
"Well, it was. Her botched extraction is just one of the reasons this case is so odd. And … well, you need to look at this. It gets worse when Edward finds out what his friend did."
The window onto the world scrolls to the near future where Oswald is tied down to Isabella's wrecked car, confessing to Edward that he had ordered her death.
"You should thank me because we both know what would have happened if I hadn't," he tells Edward.
"Yes!" Edwards yells. "I could have lived a life with the woman I loved. I could have been happy."
"No, Ed. You would have killed her."
Edward slaps him across the face. Hard.
"Just like you did the other one," Oswald continues. "You couldn't have helped it. And afterward you would have hated yourself."
"Well, we'll never know, will we?" Edward turns away from him in disappointment.
"I did it for love," Oswald says quietly and Edward spins back around on him.
"What?!"
"I did it because I love you. You should know that."
"Shut up!" Edward yells, grabbing his mouth. "Love is about sacrifice. It's about putting someone else's needs and happiness before your own."
The window onto world goes silent as the archangel contemplates this. All is not lost if Edward understands love, yet . . .
"Do we have any more from the future to see regards to this matter? I'm afraid Isabella's work may have come unraveled due to a few ill-chosen words from that covetous racketeer."
"The future is muddled."
"Of course . . ."
"But there appears to be a high likelihood of him killing the next woman he falls in love with."
"Ugh." The archangel is disappointed, and shakes his head. "What do we have?"
"Well, it's unclear if he hires someone to kill her – or stabs her himself. But we've got this. . ." He waves his hand over the window onto the world and a faded image comes into view. This future is too far out to be seen clearly.
A raven-haired woman has a hand on Edward's neck and a resigned look on her face as he struggles with something. She says, "Sooner or later you were just going to kill me. It's just what you do."
"Oh no," says the archangel. "That's the last thing he needs to hear."
"It's quite possible," they hear Edward say, and then the two twist about each other within the window onto the world.
"Is that a knife?"
"Hard to tell. The future is so blurry."
They hear a faint, "But you're wrong, Lee," and what looks like the two of them kissing before the future completely fades away.
"These are the parts of the future that are unchangeable?"
"They are the most difficult to alter at this point, yes. Their course is set."
"Hmm…" The archangel needs time to think. What happened here? What went so terribly wrong with Isabella's assignment?
He's bound and determined to find out.
Isabella lies curled up into herself. She can hear Edward play Vivaldi for her. He is curled up too. They are both so sad. Even though they have this connection through music, it is not enough. It is only ethereal.
Yet Isabella clings to it. Every. Single. Note.
It is all she has left of the man she loves. Edward.
The music abruptly stops.
On both sides of the veil.
Oswald has walked in on him, the archangel on her.
"Isabella, we need to talk."
"Yes?" she says, sitting up, instinctively wiping some dried tears from her eyes.
The archangel sits besides her and takes her hand. "Isabella, we made a mistake."
"A mistake?"
"Yes, in this last assignment of yours. Frankly, I've never seen someone come back so distraught before. So unable to let go."
"Of course, I'm distraught. I love Edward more than I've ever loved anyone in my life."
"I know dear. That's why I looked into it so carefully." He sighs as if he carries a heavy burden.
"What is it?" Isabella asks, a bit of anxiety in her tone.
"We made a mistake. We sent you out – " The silence is deafening as the archangel pauses. "We sent you out to your soulmate and you got extracted anyway."
Isabella gasps and brings a hand to her mouth.
"We don't know quite how it happened though. For some reason we didn't even know Edward was your – " The archangel stops there. "Nor did we –" he sighs heavily and stops again before just saying, "I'm sorry."
"But that means . . . that you have to send me back," she says urgently.
"No –"
"If Edward and I are meant to be we are meant to be." Isabella is finally animated for the first time in a long time. "This all makes so much sense. Everything's coming together now. Send me back."
"We can't."
"Of course, you can. He's my soulmate. I get to stay with him forever. That's how it works."
"Not in your case, I'm afraid."
"What?" Tears so easily spring to her eyes. She feels like she has an endless well. Why is he stopping this? They made a mistake, they just need to fix it.
"Once your assignment was complete, you were extracted –"
"By mistake."
"It was a mistake, yes. But one we cannot rectify."
"Why?"
"Because of how it happened. We didn't –" He interrupts himself. "And, well he's already . . ."
"Already what . . . ?"
"Edward's already seen your corpse."
Shocked, Isabella brings her hands to her cheeks. "No . . ."
The archangel just nods solemnly.
She had still Kristen's red hair that night – she hadn't had time to change it back before she left. Her corpse would have looked just like her. What a horrible thing for him to see. "Oh, poor Edward."
"We just can't do anything to bring you two back together Isabella. I'm so sorry," the archangel says gently, placing a comforting arm around her. "Death has closed that door."
Isabella smells the white lilies as he carries them. Edward's nose had always been so sharp – she can smell them through him. He carries them to her true grave – where she was killed.
Edward stands over the spot and she can hear him speak to her as clear as day.
"The time I knew you feels like a dream and now I'm awake. . . I wish I'd gone on sleeping."
"Me too, Edward."
The scent of lilies between them is overwhelming.
"I will never forget you my love."
"Nor I, you, Edward."
"Goodbye, Isabella."
With those words, the tie between their worlds severs and the scent of lilies fades. She will never again hear his voice.
FIN