The next few days were probably some of the most confusing of Rachel's young life. She was a hostage here, and yet, she was not badly treated. She was not abused or filmed like the videos GCN showed. She was fed, allowed to wash up in the mornings, and was not even kept in isolation, though she did see what the Joker meant about his goon's conversation skills. The only thing that proved that she was here against her will was the restraints she was forced to stay in most of the time. It was confusing. Here she was, being held captive by the most insane villain Gotham had ever seen, and she was still in good condition.

Then again, this could go back to needing her to be alive for whatever plot he had set-up. Perhaps she needed to be uninjured for it. For this, she was grateful. First, being in this chair for hours on end was uncomfortable enough; bodily injury would not help the situation any. Secondly, if she was awake during the scheme, she might be able to talk to Bruce and help him get away. She worried about this. Harvey might be smart enough not to give into the Joker's demands, but Bruce was so much more emotional and impulsive. He would risk everything for her even though the city needed him more than her. Then again, the Joker probably knew this already and had made sure that she would be unable to do this. Hopefully he was the stereotypical villain that would reveal every part of his plan to her before hand so she could try and figure a way out of it. Something told her that was not the case.

The door opened for the second time that day and in walked Mopey. He was not one of her favorite goons. A cloud of rancid B.O. surrounded him and he was much rougher with her than Dopey or Grumpy. Still, his coming broke up the monotony of the day. She gave him a pleasant little smile (rudeness wouldn't help anything) but felt that fade as he pulled out a knife. He came closer and with every step her heart beat faster. He was a foot from her and she clamped her eyes shut and awaited the pain. But it never came. She opened one eye hesitantly to find him sawing away at the rope on one arm. She openly stared at him for a minute before finally speaking.

"What are you doing?" Mopey grunted as he broke through the last strand and moved on to the other one.

"Boss says we should let ya move 'bout a bit and damn Grumpy ties his knots ta tight," the masked man answered gruffly. Rachel felt the light of God shine down upon her with this information. Being free, that would give her a chance to escape. All she had to do was wait for him to finish releasing her feet, somehow get passed him, and run for it. The door was open and the hallway looked clear. It was now or never in her mind.

The rope on her left leg was cut away and the right one was quickly joining it. She watched it carefully, waiting for the right moment. She heard the gentle tear and snapped her leg forward quickly, hitting the goon square in the nose; a sick crack met her ears. Taking advantage of his distraction, Rachel jumped over the bleeding clown and took off running. She didn't make it too far. Maybe ten feet out of the room, an arm reached out and caught hold of her. The person pulled her back and slammed her violently into the wall, hitting the still tender area of her head. A knife was pressed to the corner of her mouth.

"Now, now, what is this?" the Joker asked with a dangerous edge to his voice. Rachel struggled against his grip, but could not get away. He had learned his lesson last time and did not allow for her to move. "Here I thought I was being nice, letting you move about, and you betray my trust. Now, what should I do about that?" he hissed. Rachel froze and felt the knife being pressed harder against the sensitive skin. "Oh Rachel, why so serious?" He tensed, but before he could do anything, Mopey interrupted.

"Sorwee Boss, she ga away. I di'n't me' it," he apologized through his broken nose. Joker relaxed a bit and dragged her into the room, indicating for Mopey to follow and close the door. He sat Rachel down roughly in her chair and this time she did not try and move. He walked around to the other side of the table and looked at her with a sigh.

"What to do with you?" he asked like a parent to a wayward child. Suddenly, he perked up and started digging through his pockets. "Hey, do you want to see a magic trick?" She did not respond, but watched as he pulled a pencil out of his pocket. "I am going to make this pencil disappear! Have you seen this one yet Mopey?" he asked the still approaching thug. The injured man muttered no. "Oh, you're going to die!" He stuck the pencil to the table and began counting backwards. "Three... two... two and a half... ONE!" and with that he grabbed Mopey's head and drove the pencil through it. "TA-DA!" he yelled, letting the dead henchman fall to the floor. Rachel's scream caught in her throat and she simply stared at him in shock and fear.

"So Rachel, I like anarchy, but not from other people! You will stay here and follow my plans, or you will end up like Mopey here. Am I understood?" he yelled. Rachel violently nodded her head to make sure that she understood perfectly. With that, he turned and stormed from the room, slamming the door shut. Rachel continued to sit there shaking and crying.

XXXXXXXXX

Joker leaned against the door once he had returned to his study and ran a hand through his hair. He lost far too many men. Oh well, they were worthless and usually just got in the way. He crossed back to where he had been drawing up his latest scheme. He needed a way to fake Miss Dawes's death, frame Batman for it, play the good guy, and crack Dent like the nut he could be. So far, he had a grand total of nothing. The obvious thing would be to just let Dawes die for real in say a tragic explosion for lover boy or Batman to hear, but he had a feeling that she could end up being quite useful. She was afraid of him and fear could be a very manipulative emotion.

A/N: Sorry for the length. You guys are amazing! Have I told you that? I think so... well, so this chapter was totally right off the top of my head. I had some idea of where I wanted to go with this, but changed directions right near the end. Knew I wanted to use the pencil trick though... LOVED THAT PART OF THE MOVIE!! However, do not despair my lovely readers, after viewing a few The Animated Series episodes, I have come up with some ideas. It was nice to get another viewpoint of the Joker and see what schemes he's done in the past. Well, hope he wasn't too ooc here. I've never actually written a villain before. I don't count Voldemort either because he changed way too quickly and was mentally stable. So please review! though I don't think that will be a problem.

Alex: Thanks so much! Joker really is a complex character and I was afraid about approaching him. So, glad you like it.

RoseO: Thanks! Glad you like it.