I was woken up in the night later by Edward shaking my shoulder.

"What is it, Edward?" I asked irritatedly. "I was asleep."

"What is five plus seven?" he asked. I took my pillow and covered my head.

"Twelve. And I'm guessing that it is that time of night as well?" I said, my voice muffled through the pillow.

"It's actually only ten or so. I'm going to sleep myself, and I just wanted to make sure that you're okay." He said. He gently pulled the pillow off my face and shone a light into my eyes.

"What are you even doing? I asked, jumping at the sudden burst of light into my right eye. It moved over to my left after just a minute, and then it disappeared. I blinked as spots floated where the light had been.

"I'm checking for a concussion. Your dizziness earlier worried me," Edward said simply, walking away. I sighed, and turned back onto my side. "I'll come back a little later, just in case." I heard him say before he closed the door.

I woke up the next morning, well rested despite the five times I woke up because Edward wanted to check for a concussion.

By the time I got out of bed, he had left the apartment. There was a green envelope sitting on the kitchen table, however.

"Riddle me this, riddle me that…" I said absentmindedly as I turned the envelope over to open it.

Good Morning, Sable. As far as I can tell, you don't have a concussion. If your headache persists or gets worse, go to the doctor. If you begin to vomit, blackout, or experience other worrisome things, go to a doctor. But don't drive yourself there. The last thing that this city needs is a car accident.

I'll be leaving early in the morning, when Batman is most likely not out and the police are still groggy. I'm sure that I will see you again soon.

His note was signed with a riddle, as always.

Riddle me this- What always ends everything?

I sighed and put the note back in the envelope. My head wasn't hurting so much anymore, which was a good sign.

"What do I have to do today…" I muttered to myself as I assessed my day.

Talking to Dr. Crane about that voice would be a good idea, so that would be my first priority. The problem was finding a way to contact him.

"I don't have a phone number and I don't have work at the University today," I said, sighing. Besides, I doubt he has a phone number that I could easily call. That was a little too risky… too traceable.

"And now I'm thinking like a criminal," I sighed, bemused.

After some fruitless thought, I finally decided to clean my apartment, rather than attempt to find the scarecrow today. I was more than certain that I'd see him again before too long.

Halfway through the afternoon, someone knocked on my door. Upon opening it, I saw Rick.

"Hi. I saw you on the news yesterday," he said, smiling brightly.

"Oh… yeah. Problems…" I sighed. "Come on in," I added quickly, stepping out of the door frame so that he could come in.

"Thank you," he said, nodding. "Do you mind if we talk for a bit?" He asked, gesturing towards the couch.

"is… something wrong?" I asked, confused. He seemed a lot more serious all of a sudden.

"I'm worried about you. I don't think that you realize how dangerous it is to play with fire."

Does he know…? I thought, panicking slightly.

"W-what do you mean?" I stammered, sitting down and staring at him.

"You need to stop associating with them. You're in a dangerous balance, and I don't want to see you go over the line," he answered, his eyes turning cold.

"And what gives you the notion that I've been talking with 'them'?" I asked, crossing my arms defensively.

"Harley told me."

"If you can be friends with Harley, why can't I be friends with Edward and Jonathan?"

"Don't call them by their first names! Don't talk to them… just don't!" He said suddenly standing up. "They'll manipulate you… change you… send you to places you don't want to go… they've already kidnapped you for heaven's sake!"

"And they won't do it again. I made it very clear that I wasn't happy with their actions," I interjected.

"And why do you trust them? Thieves, liars, criminals?" He asked. I had no words.

"Why do you talk to Harley so often?" I asked, trying to counter.

"It isn't exactly by choice." He mumbled.

"Look, I wasn't really looking for a debate today. Just tell me what you mean and then I'll decide what I do with that knowledge," I finally said after a long silence. Rick sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I want… no, I need you to stop associating with them. It's a dangerous place to be, and I promise that you won't come out unscathed," he said, looking at me again, his eyes warming up in the light. I pursed my lips and thought.

"But… they haven't harmed me at all… they're not bad.. well they are…" I sighed and stopped. "I don't support their actions, but I support them as people. Let's say that."

"Sable… what do you most want in this world?" He asked, stopping.

"That's pretty easy, I guess. For people to be safe and happy. For there to be less pain in the world." I said, shrugging.

"And yet…" he sighed, almost laughing. "You call the Master of Fear and the Prince of Puzzles, two of the biggest troublemakers in this town. 'friends'. It's ironic, isn't it?" He looked back over at me. "Why?"

"I want them to be happy too," I pointed out. Frankly, I was thinking about what Professor Cook had told me.

"Is it illegal to have friends? No. Most certainly not. Just because the law doesn't agree with them doesn't mean that they aren't allowed the simple pleasure of a true friend. I think it helps them to have a friendly face to turn to. I try to be a good influence for Jonathan,"

"I try to be a good influence for them," I said, looking away awkwardly. I didn't really have an explanation for my actions. Just lame excuses.

"And they just forced you to help them break The Joker out of Arkham," he said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I know you don't want to admit it, but this is dangerous for you. Please… just stop," he pleaded. "I really don't want to see more people hurt by them."

"Do you think that I'm not capable of handling myself?" I asked, wondering why he was intervening.

"No, I just know that you'll be safer," he said.

"Well, I can't exactly avoid them…" I said. "They more just show up around me…"

"Leave Gotham. This city is never safe," he said sharply. "Take your family and go back to The Galapagos."

"Never safe? I grew up here. I'm not leaving just because you tell me!" I said, standing up. "I have a good life here… Give me one good reason to!"

Rick sighed, keeping his cool. Something was definitely off about him.

"Please leave. don't want to argue right now…" I muttered, sitting back down. "I just… don't know what to do."

"I understand that you are stressed and confused right now. But think about what I said, okay?" Rick said standing up and walking out. He seemed… more cold than normal. He usually was warm and excited about everything.

"Bye," I said, moments before the door closed. It was a lame thing of me to say, but I was too confused with the war in my head to really care.

My voice was arguing against my rational side, debating over my position. My head throbbed again, making me worry about what Edward had written earlier.

If your headache persists or gets worse, go to the doctor.

I sighed and laid back on the couch. The headache from the voices was normal. I got it every time they talked.

"Do I need to go to the doctor..?" I wondered out loud, taking deep breaths and trying to remove my mind from the argument.

As I started to be able to ignore it, that strange voice said one last thing…

They're pretty much your only friends. Why leave them?

Author's Note: Hi again guys! I'm so sorry that I haven't posted in a long time... I've been pretty stressed with school lately, but I only have two weeks left. Again, sorry about the long wait!

-Idealwolffang