Chapter 12 - Consequences

After Joker's attack, I must have lost consciousness at some point, because I came to me just as the van came to a stop in front of the warehouse. Before my brain can fully process the events, I feel someone grab me by the arm and throw me out of the van onto the pebbled floor.

I slowly lift my head as a shadow looms over me. Joker stares down at me, but I can't read any emotion from his eyes. He's like a viper, you never know when he's going to bite.

"Henry, takeAri-ahto my room." With that, he turns away from me and goes over to James and Logan.

Henry pulls me up (a little more gently, thankfully) and pushes me back into the house. I don't miss Logan giving me a guilty look, but he doesn't dare to intervene in Joker's presence, which I can't blame him for.

After Henry has escorted me into the room, he closes the door behind him and leaves me alone to await my fate.

'I have never felt such fear before.'

I broke Joker's trust and didn't want to imagine what he was about to break.

No, that's enough! It was now or never, I had to fight back. I couldn't let Joker continue to play his sick games with me. Fearful, I started to look around the room for something I could use as a weapon when something sparkling under the bed caught my eye.

A Knife!

Hesitantly, I walk to the bed and pick up the trade with trembling fingers. A thousand doubts shoot into my head but I force myself to suppress them all.

After my escape attempt I was already a dead woman anyway, but I refused to go down without a fight!

Bruce's P.O.V.
Bruce had not left Alfred's side for hours. It pained him to see the man who was the only remaining member of his family lying helplessly in this small bed. Thousands of thoughts flashed through his mind to that night when he wanted to leave early and his parents had died. How he couldn't cope and ran away from Gotham ... Left him behind. Came back after a long time and became Batman.

Bruce really thought that Batman could make the city a safer place, but if he was honest with himself, he was beginning to think that maybe he never should have returned. Ever since he came back and took on this persona, only more mischief had happened. He had lost Rachel. He did have Elena, but even that was thanks to Batman, and now? Not only was Alfred seriously injured and lying in a hospial bed, but on top of that Aria had been kidnapped by the clown and had to go through unspeakable things ... and Bruce, he just couldn't manage to find her.

He had searched every little corner like a madman to find any clue about Joker, but there was nothing! It was simply beyond explanation, Bruce was rich, he had allies and the money to remain anonymous, but how did Joker manage to do it?

'KNOCK. KNOCK.'

Bruce turned to the door and caught sight of Rachel.

"Hey. How's our patient doing today?" she came in with a bunch of yellow flowers.

Even now, she was still there for him, without him even having to ask. A tired smile played around his lips as he continued to look at her.

Rachel Dawes.
Childhood friend.

And his first love.

"He still hasn't woken up, but the doctors are positive that he will be fine. The shoulder is healing well, the only thing they are unsure about is what Alfred will remember when he finally wakes up. They say he suffered a trauma to the brain and that it is quite possible that he will suffer from memory loss."

Rachel pulls an chair over to Bruce and sits with him. "Hey, but the most important thing is that he will get back to health." She lovingly takes his hand.

"It's my fault."

"Don't say that, Bruce..." but he interrupts her.

"But it's the truth! Ever since I came back ... I thought I could actually do something to help. To make Gotham safer, but it's getting worse every day, Rachel. Everyone I care about sooner or later ends up in danger. Don't even get me started, you, Elena, and now Alfred. And now thanks to me, Joker has Aria and god knows what he is doing now to an innoccent kid!"

Rachel rises from her chair to give Bruce a hug, stroking his hair tenderly. He worried her. For as long as she has known him, she has never seen him so beaten down. Not even when his parents died.

"I know this seems like the end for you right now, but Bruce, Gotham needs Batman."

"No. What this town needs is Harvey." She realized just now, how it still pained him to see her happy with another man, but she also knew he had Harvey's back, because he and Bruce were fighting for the same things.

"And Batman." She insisted. Bruce looks her in the eye while he has to suppress a tear.

"Why the sudden change of heart?"

She stares at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"A year ago. When the two of us ... you said."

A deep sigh escapes her as she sits down again. "When I heard that you had come back ... I started to have hope, but then I found out about your mask, Bruce."

"I'm still the same Bruce I used to be!" he protested.

"Oh no, Bruce. No, that..." She puts her hand gently on his cheek and caresses it. "That's your mask. Your true face is the one that the criminals learned to fear. The man I loved - the man who disappeared - he never came back to me. But maybe he's still out there somewhere. Maybe... Maybe if the day ever comes that Gotham no longer needs Batman. Maybe I'll see him again."

Their faces are only inches apart as Rachel continues to speak. "And as for Aria. You just have to remember what Batman stands for. Don't let Joker get into your head, Bruce otherwise he's already won. And once you realize that, you'll find answers to your whys and you'll find Aria."

"Rach ..." But before Bruch can speak any further, the door opens. Elena stops abruptly when she finds her boyfriend and Rachel so close together.

"What the hell is going on here?" she demands.

"Nothing. Rachel was just trying to comfort me," Bruce explains as he wipes his eyes. Rachel gets up from her chair so that Elena can sit next to Bruce. But she doesn't miss the venomous look Elena shoots her way.

"I see", she says briefly, turning her gaze away from Rachel completely.

"You know, I don't understand it. The two of us have hardly spoken a word to each other for days, but as soon as she shows up here ..."

"Ehm, Elena." Rachel interrupts her.

" You let down all your barriers and even cry in front of her..."

"Elena.."

"Don't you think I'd like to see that side of you too. God, Bruce my sister is with this FREAK and Alfred is lying here and instead of us being there for each other...

"ELENA!"

"WHAT?!" she shouts back and turns to the woman who has just grabbed the remote control and is turning up the volume on the TV. Elena, Bruce and Rachel all look at the TV in shock when they see Vickie's Gossip Report on Joker.

Aria's P.O.V.

The door flies open as Joker steps into the room. He immediately notices the knife in my trembling hand and starts laughing. "Andwhat-ahdo you think you're going to do with this?" He points to the sharp blade, not a hint of fear to be heard in his voice. Either he really wasn't scared of anything or he already called my bluff.

Tightening my grip on the knife. My voice unfortunately lacking all confident. "If ... If you come any closer I will stab you." I warn, but Joker only snickers at my poor attempt of a threat.

"If you want to sound threatening, don't go straight for death. Describe how you're going to destroyeverything-ahI stand for." He taunts me as he takes a step forward, closing the distance between us.

'Okay Aria, don't panick now. The door is open, you just need the momentum.'

It takes everything inside of me not to back away. If I let him corner me against the wall I'm screwed.

'You don't need to kill him. Just stab him and then run for your life.'

My heart's threatening to burst through my chest as he now completley closes the distance towering over me. It's now or never. I close my eyes and before I can even think about my next actions I yelp, swing the knife towards him. I'm surprised when I meet resistance and once I dare to open my eyes I'm shocked to see his bare hand wrapped around the blade. Blood starts to seep out of his hand but he doesn't even flinch. No in fact he smiles, but this time his smile is diffrent then anything I have ever seen before. There is something even more sinister. His eyes filled with what I can only guess as Lust, never leaving mine.

I can almost see the monster within the monster.

With barley any effort he yanks the knife out of my hand, tossing it across the room. Fear consumes me, as his bloody hand reaches towards me, gripping me by my throath.

'KLICK' -another one of his knife is now resting against the side of my face, toying with me. In highnsight how stupid could I possibly be thinking that I could outsmart him with his own weapons?

The cold tip of the blade presses into my chin forcing me to look up at him. His eyes are wild and I have no idea what's going through his head right now. "Mhm you really shouldn't have donethat-ah,because now I'm going to have topunishyou evenmore."

Throwing the knife aside, he grabs me by my upper arm dragging me out of the room with him. Barley able to keep up with his pace I wonder if he's now going to kill me. Joker drags me out of the warehouse and throws me to the ground.

I lift my head to see Joker starring down at me with his head cocked to the side.

"One-ah."

'What is he doing?'

"Two."

"I'm sorry ... I"

"Three. When I get to ten your time is up. Better startrunning-ah, Ari-ah." I quickly scrabble back to my feet and start running into the woods. His horrible laugh still piercing my ears. I run as fast as I possibly can, but I'm not able to hear him laugh anymore or hear him chasing after me.

I remeber when I used to make fun of the stupid people in horror-movies, who ran away from their killer and tripped and fell ... Well safe to say that I'll never laugh at them again, because as I turn my head back to see if Joker was catching up to me I stumble over a branch landing face first into the dirt.

With a now bloody knee, I crawl to the nearest tree hoping that it would give me enough coverage for Joker to not be able to see me in the dark.

Covering my mouth as tears are streaming down my face. I'm scared out of my mind. Why is he chasing me in the woods? Was he getting off on acting like I was his prey?

I can hear leaves rustling in a distance. He's here! Ever so slowly I peak my head left and right, but Joker is nowhere to be seen. If I can manage to stay quiet for a few more minutes, maybe I can finally get away. After all the woods are huge and I definatly wouldn't have been able to find the way back even if I wanted to.

Turning my head one last time I finally release a sign of releafe and letting my self sink against the tree, but that was a fatal mistake as a hand buries itself into my hair. "Found-ya."

He lunges at me, while I scream for anyone who might be able to hear me. I kick and scratch desperately at his hands to get away from this monster. I manage to kick him in the abdomen, forcing him to take a step back. I waste no time and keep running (or rather limping), but I can barely make out where I actually am.

A scream gets stuck in my throat as the ground beneath my feet comes to an end. Just as I think I'm about to fall to my doom, a hand again finds itself in my hair.

"Well that wasfun."

"Please, please," I beg him through my veil of tears. He is still holding me in the air by my hair as I can now clearly see water reflecting from deep below.

"Hm, what was that?"

"Please Joker, Please. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for running away. I'm sorry for breaking your trust, but please, please don't do this." I scream despratly clawing at his hand to make sure he doesn't let go of me. My scalp feels like it's going to rip off my head at any second but I don't care, I was terrified about what was about to happen.

I didn't know how deep the water was and not only did I not know how to swim, since the accident with my parents I was extremely scared of bridges and water!

There is no point anymore to try and hide my fear, because Joker has long since smelled it and he's having a lot of fun playing with me. Joker thrived off of fear.

"We're just right in time." I can hear him smacking his lips.

"For what?" and I was terrified of my slowly approching end. The only thought running through my mind washow long it would take for a person to drown.

As expected I don't recive an answer from Joker, only this time it's not nessecary because in the distance I can see the sky lighting upand a muffled explosion can be heard.

"What ... What did you just blow up?" My voice breaking and filled with shock.

"Oh, nothingimprotant-ah" His hot breath tickling my ear. "Just an orphanage."

"You're completly crazy." A deep growl rises from his chest, but if I was really about to die any second now, why not insult the clown at least?

"AhAri-ah. You really shouldn't haverun-ah, kid." His laugh piercing through my ears as I feel his hand slipping from my hair and my panicked scream filling the forest.

*A/N: Hi, guys. I wanted to take the time to thank each and every one of you for your support. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my book. I hope you enjoy it.

Now that we have the sentimental part behind us; WOW what a chapter?! Aria fought bravely, but was it really the best idea to attack Joker with his own knife? What will happen to her now? Can she overcome the madness and will Batman be able to save her or is it already too late?

Stay tuned if you want to know what happens next. Also please feel free to review, follow and share the story :)*