"Life has taught me that you can't control someone's loyalty. No matter how good you are to them, doesn't mean they'll treat you the same. No matter how much they mean to you, doesn't mean they'll value you the same. Sometimes the people you love the most, turn out to be the people you can trust the least."

- Trent Shelton

Ed sat up straight on the floor of his cage, his eyes glared at an unconscious Penguin on the cage next to his and then on Charlotte who was staring down at him.

"Ow," Ed groaned as he massaged his side. The guards had beat him up pretty bad and his whole body hurt. "Why did you call the guards?"

"I wasn't about to let you leave now, was I?" Charlotte answered with a raised eyebrow.

"You're mad because I fell in love with someone else," Ed stated bitterly. "People can fall in love with another person. It happens. Now get over it, Charlotte".

"Who says I didn't already?" She asked back.

Ed had looked down at his hands but her question made him look back up at her with a questioning look. "What?"

"You just assumed I still love you," Charlotte said with annoyance showing up in her tone. "But what if I don't? What if I fell in love with someone else after you shot me. I met some interesting people after you pulled that stunt".

Ed eyed her suspiciously. "Like who?"

"Like... Victor Fries, for example," Charlotte answered as she thought about the handsome man with unique icy blue eyes. "You would remember him. We both studied his case when we worked at the GCPD".

Ed recognized the name and felt bitter that Charlotte would fall in love with him. "Are you talking about Mr. Freeze?" When Charlotte hummed in confirmation, Ed shook his head. "No way. You're lying just to see how I react to it. But you know what? I don't care". Ed cared he was just too proud to admit it to himself. The jealousy he felt left him infuriated.

Charlotte shrugged and sat on the floor with her back against the bars. "Think whatever you like".

Ed was left wondering whether what she was saying was true or not. He liked the idea of her being in love with him, even though he didn't have the guts to admit to himself he still had feelings for her. Having her in love with someone else was unbelievingly frustrating.

Charlotte was trying to piss him off and smirked when she saw his bitter expression. However, her smirk faded when she realized that maybe she wouldn't see Victor Fries again. This realization made her sad. She had to admit, Victor both intrigued and fascinated her. She actually wanted to know more about him.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Oswald started waking up. He groaned and took his hand to his head. He felt a painful headache that didn't seem like it was going away anytime soon.

Ed, who had grabbed an old newspaper the guards had left on the previous day, glared at him from behind his glasses. Then he started hitting the newspaper against the bars. "My lockpick was confiscated! Now we're stuck in this unnaturally damp hellhole. I hope you're both happy".

"Did the guards club you?" Oswald asked, hoping for a positive answer.

"You know they did," Ed mumbled.

"Did you saw it, Charlotte?" Oswald looked over at the blonde and she nodded.

"Oh, they clubbed him alright," Charlotte told him.

A satisfied smirk spread on Oswald's lips. "Then I'm happy". Oswald looked around the room he was in and sighed. "Why are our captors keeping us here, anyway? Why not simply kill us?"

"I don't know," Ed told him while adjusting his glasses that kept falling down his nose whenever he looked down at the Gotham Gazette. "Since my first meeting with some woman named Kathryn, I've had no contact with upper management. But according to the guards' gossip, Court's planning some attack on the city".

Oswald wondered what to do for a while, but then he understood there was only one way out. He stood up from the floor with the help of the bars. "Fine. You want to kill us, we want to kill you. But being locked in these cages does neither of us any good. We have to escape".

"There's only one way that's gonna happen," Ed stated, not very happy with the idea, but he did want to get out of that detestable place. It gave him the creeps.

"We work together," Oswald said.

Charlotte agreed with them as she stood up from the floor. "I'm in".

Ed looked between them and dropped the newspaper. "There have to be rules".

"No sabotage," Oswald said.

"No backstabbing," said Charlotte.

"Of course," Ed agreed. "And no murder on the premises".

"Agreed," Charlotte and Oswald said simultaneously.

"Also, there needs to be a six-hour window, post-escape," Ed pointed a finger at both of them. "If I get outside and I'm worrying about you stabbing my neck, I won't be able to concentrate, and that's not good".

Oswald wasn't so quick to agree to that, but he ended up sacrificing his need for revenge. That would have to wait a little longer. "Agreed, reluctantly".

"Then we help each other escape," Ed decided, "together, so that we may be free to murder each other outside".

"Deal," Charlotte and Oswald agreed.

Ed shook Oswald's hand and then extended his hand to Charlotte. She wrapped her hand around his and shook it as well. However, Ed didn't let it go. She was the one to pull her hand away from his and he let his hand drop down.

For the next few hours, Charlotte, Ed, and Oswald worked on their escape plan. It took many tries until they finally found a plan the three agreed with. Every other went on with Charlotte or Oswald suggesting an idea and Ed immediately shutting it down. But in the end, they all agreed on one and prepared to play their roles.

"Help! Help!" Oswald shouted in desperation. His eyes were wide as Ed held his own razor blade to his neck.

"Guards!" Charlotte cried out as she held on to her right arm with a pained expression. "Help us! Guards!"

The door on the other side of the room opened and three guards ran in with their dart guns in hand, but this time they weren't using their masks. And Ed was right. He had told Charlotte and Oswald that there weren't always two guards outside. Sometimes more joined them.

"Help my friend, please," Charlotte begged with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Let me out of here, or I kill him!" Ed threatened the guards. "Now!"

Two guards walked into Oswald's cell and the other looked over at Charlotte. "Hey, are you hurt?" Charlotte sobbed and the guard walked up to open her cell.

On Oswald's cell, the two guards were pointing their dart guns at Ed.

"Shoot him! What are you waiting for?" Oswald shouted at them with a panicked tone.

The guard in Charlotte's cell grabbed Charlotte from behind and tried to pull her left hand away from her right arm. "Let me see". But she didn't take her hand away and continued crying.

"Never mind," Ed said before he slit Oswald's throat.

"Oswald!" Charlotte shouted her friend's name as he fell on his knees with a hand clenched around his bleeding throat. The guard who was with Charlotte grabbed her to stop her from running to Oswald's cell.

The two guards with him, turned his body to see the cut on his throat, but the guard noticed that what was sliding down his throat wasn't blood. "Wait. Is that Jell-O?"

Oswald suddenly opened his eyes and grabbed the man by his neck. "Surprise!"

Charlotte and Ed took advantage of their distracted opponents and attacked them. Ed grabbed a guard by the hand which was holding the gun and bashed his head against the bars. He took the man's gun and shot him with a dart. Charlotte elbowed the guard who was still behind her and his head hit the iron bars. His body slid down until he was on the floor. Oswald slit the throat of the last guard standing while Ed laughed amusedly and Charlotte cleaned her tears.

Oswald stepped out of his cell and opened Ed's. Charlotte walked towards the door to see if there was anyone else close by.

"Your death scene was quite convincing," Ed complimented Oswald and then looked at Charlotte. "You looked really hurt too".

"Well. We've had some practice, haven't we?" Oswald asked rhetorically. Ed's smile faded away after Oswald accused him of hurting Charlotte too. He knew he had done it, but he hated to hear it.

The three of them wandered through a few hallways and rooms until they found the exit, but the door was locked. It took a few tries of Ed hitting the doorknob with a pipe, but they managed to open it.

Finally, they were out. They had gotten out through a back door and were now in an alley. Many homeless people had been warming themselves in front of barrels with fire inside and were now staring at them with surprise, confusion, and fear. Charlotte imagined their figures wouldn't be the prettiest thing since they were covered in blood. Not to mention Oswald held a bloody razor blade.

To the horror of the homeless people, Oswald let out two loud yells that spooked them all away in seconds.

The three of them faced each other and Oswald seemed like he was about to stab Ed, so the latter thought it was best to remind him of their deal. "Our agreement still holds for five hours".

"I am aware," Oswald mumbled.

Ed extended the hand holding the pipe to the side and Oswald did the same. At the same time, they let their weapons fall on the ground of the alley.

For a second they stood there in silence, but then Ed gave one step towards them with an arrogant smile on his lips. "How do you expect to win? Barbara Kean runs the underworld. We have the gangs. You have just the two of you".

"Actually, we have an army of Hugo Strange's monsters at our command," Oswald told and Ed's smile faded. "But even if we were alone, you wouldn't stand a chance".

Ed smiled again as he looked between him and Charlotte. "I suppose we'll see".

"I suppose so," Oswald replied and Charlotte just stayed quiet while staring back at Ed.

Oswald took a step back and he looked at Charlotte, but she didn't have the intention of going anywhere just yet. "Go on, Oswald. I'll catch up in a minute. There's something I need to say to Ed before we part ways". Oswald looked over at Ed and then at her as if asking if she was sure. "Don't worry, I'll kick his ass if he tries to end our deal".

Ed chucked when she said the last sentence and Oswald nodded at Charlotte before walking away. Now, Charlotte and Ed were alone in the dark alley. The moon shined over them with the usual dark clouds giving it a mysterious glow.

"Don't look so happy, Ed," Charlotte warned him. "Barbara's gangs are nothing compared to who we have".

"We're going to take our chances," Ed said with that arrogant smile never leaving his lips for a single second. "And don't call me Ed. My name is the Riddler. Better start using it".

He wondered how is new name would sound coming through her lips. For the hundredth time that day, he hated himself for even thinking that.

"I'm sorry. You're right," Charlotte nodded. She stepped closer to him until their chests were touching and leaned to whisper in his ear. "Riddler".

Ed felt a shiver go down his spine when she finally spoke his name. He expected her to make a fuss about it just like Oswald had done. However, he was reminded of how she was not one to make a fuss about anything. Well, unless that something really pissed her off.

She leans back from his ear and was only a few inches away from his lips. It was becoming strangely familiar to his hallucination he had and it was driving Ed crazy. Even though he would never admit it, he missed being this close to Charlotte and to feel her body pressed against his.

"I am something quite. I can be happiness, sadness or fear," Charlotte started and the way she spoke the riddle left the Riddler feeling another wave of shivers. "I can show or just be gone, but I'll come back not before long. What am I?"

His eyes looked down at her lips before he answered. "If you still have feelings for me then why didn't you let me get away once I had the chance? Instead, you called the guards and they beat me up".

"You still owed me after shooting me," Charlotte explained. "And don't put much thought into it. It's just a riddle, Riddler". Then she took a couple of steps back leaving Ed disappointed with the distance that now stood between them.

Charlotte sent him one last smile before walking away. Ed stared after her until she disappeared around the corner.

"No," he spoke to himself. "It's not just a riddle".

Ed believed Charlotte still had feelings for him. But they were at war and he couldn't back down. He knew she wouldn't either.

***

A/N: I was going to the post office today with my mom and imagine my shock when I saw there's a small shop near my house called 'Iceberg'. I'm d e a d...

Hope you liked this chapter, my lovely Gothamites. Love you all <3