It had been more than a few days since Annabelle had last seen Nico Angelos after he told her what he heard Sofia saying whenever she was with James Gordon and ever since that day he left her to be by herself, she did nothing aside from think over what she should do about the entire issue that she was facing.
She even chose to not kill anyone she saw in the streets of Gotham, because of how much thought she was putting into her choice.
After not seeing or hearing from Nico during her time of pondering over her choices, she took out her phone to call Nico about the choice she made, only to stop and frown when she saw that Oswald was calling her.
After staring down at her phone for a couple of seconds with furrowed eyebrows, she accepted the call and said, "Yes, Oswald?"
Oswald told her, "Annabelle, I have reason to believe that you were right about everything." When she didn't respond, he said to her, "You were right about Sofia. She was the person behind Jim's promotion to captain of the GCPD and I have no doubt in my mind that she was behind any of the other things that occurred during her stay in this city. I know that I made you angry when I chose to believe her over you but as your friend, I hope you can look past this and come back to help me with regaining control of the underworld, despite her attempt to undermine me."
She sighed before she said to him, "You have nothing to worry about, Oswald. I told you not to call me until you realized she was trying to undermine you, and you listened. You found out about her attempt to undermine you, which involved her having Gordon be promoted from a detective to captain and her attempt to force you out of the city and allow her to do as she pleased with it. I'd be more than happy to see you put that bitch in her place, once and for all."
Oswald was silent for a couple of seconds before he asked her, "How do you know that she was trying to get me out of my position of power?"
She scoffed as she asked him, "Did you really think I'd leave my thoughts of Sofia's attempts of undermining you alone after I left?" When he didn't respond, she told him, "After I left, I had one of my vampire friends and several friends of said vampire watch not only Sofia, but also James Gordon. In doing so, I learned of her having the mayor make Gordon captain, that she wanted to rid the city of you, her plan of restoring the Falcone name and everything else you could possibly imagine."
When he still didn't respond, she said to him, "I might have been angry with you for your blindness towards Sofia and her obvious attempt of undermining you, but I wasn't going to just leave this be. I wasn't going to stop until she was revealed to be your hidden enemy."
She heard Oswald let out a sigh before he asked her, "So, does that mean you wouldn't mind returning to my side and helping me with regaining complete control of my empire?"
She replied, "I'd like nothing more than to see her wish of control blow up in her face and kill all of those she managed to turn against you."
And then just like that, Oswald told her his plans for Sofia and those she managed to turn against him, which made a bloodthirsty smirk make its way onto her face at the mere thought of Sofia being put in pain for everything she did since she first arrived in Gotham.
* * *
Sofia Falcone had just entered her home and walked into her dining room before she came to an abrupt halt when she heard Oswald say to her from a corner of the room, "Hello, Sofia."
After he turned around to look at her, she let out a chuckle as she said to him, "Oswald, what a pleasant surprise."
While Annabelle Mikaelson and Victor Zsasz slowly walked from the next room over and silently stood behind Sofia, Oswald replied, "Oh, I assure you, dear, there is nothing pleasant about it. I have continuously been suspicious of you. I mean, not so much as Annabelle had been rightly suspicious of you, but still. I never listened to her, despite the amount of times she told me that you were trying to undermine me. There would be moments where I'd believe her and come to you with an accusation of what you were attempting to do and yet, at every turn, you always had the perfect explanation to put my mind at ease. But now, I finally have proof that you are my enemy. You lied to me. You told me you hated Gordon. You are his lover. Martin saw you kissing him after the party."
Annabelle frowned and started to wonder who Martin was, but didn't bother to voice her thoughts when Sofia let out a chuckle before she said to him, "That's-That's ridiculous. I'm not sure what Martin thought he saw, but I can assure you it was no kiss—"
After he limped around Sofia, Oswald yelled as he stopped right beside her, "Enough of your lies! Our entire friendship, the intimacies we shared, they were nothing more than a pathetic charade."
Sofia quickly shook her head as she said to him, "Oswald, I swear. I swear, I care for you deeply—"
Annabelle sighed as she said, "Bloody hell, Sofia. You're just being really pathetic right now. Just give up your plot, so we can get to my favorite part and I can go about my day doing as I please."
Sofia quickly glanced over at Annabelle and saw that the Original was both annoyed and looked to be rather bloodthirsty.
Whether her thirst for blood was for Sofia or whoever roamed the streets, Sofia wasn't sure.
And she couldn't ever really be sure, because she quickly looked back at Oswald when he yelled as he turned away from her, "Ha! Oh, I wish that were true! But after Martin told me about you and Gordon, I did a little digging into your boyfriend. Interesting. He took a trip down south shortly before you arrived in Gotham."
After Annabelle and Victor took a step closer to Sofia, Annabelle only chuckled to herself, while Victor said, "Coincidence? I think not."
While Sofia repeatedly nodded her head to herself, Oswald said as he started to limp towards her once more, "So you see, I know that the two of you have been plotting to destroy me from the very beginning."
Sofia didn't respond.
Instead, she silently stared at Oswald for a couple of moments before she raised her head and said to him, "Bravo, Oswald. Do you know, I was warned you were a mastermind?" She clicked her tongue before she said to him, "Turns out you're an easy mark. It is truly amazing what you can accomplish with goulash and a good foot rub."
Annabelle narrowed her eyes at Sofia and started to take another step towards her and go against Oswald's plan so that she could do with Sofia as she wanted, only to be brought to a halt when Victor wordlessly grabbed her arm and kept her in place beside him.
Oswald silently stared up at Sofia for a couple of moments before he said as he nodded his head to himself, "Now I see the real you." After sniffling to himself, he said to her, "I was blind to your manipulations. But today, I'm going to correct that mistake. You will tell me the full extent of your plan, if your father was involved, which of my captains you have turned and how you intend to rid me from the city."
After he looked away from Sofia, Victor scratched the side of his head with a finger as he said, "Bring him out."
While a man stepped out to be seen by Sofia, Oswald said to Sofia, "Allow me to introduce you to the Dentist. And he is not the kind who gives out lollipops after the visit." While Victor nodded his head to himself, Oswald turned to look back at Sofia as he said to her, "I would have had Annabelle do the honors, since she's much better at torture than the Dentist but knowing her, she would probably kill you and I need you alive in order to get the information I need, so that's that."
Sofia quickly looked back over at Annabelle and saw that her veins were now on display before she looked back at the Dentist, while Victor snapped his fingers and a couple of his men also entered the room.
The men walked over to Sofia and grabbed her to take her to another room, where she would be tortured for information.
While Sofia was forcibly removed from the room they were in and into another, Victor leaned in towards Annabelle and quietly said to her, "What do you know? You were right, after all."
Annabelle chuckled as she smirked at the mere thought of Sofia being covered in her own blood once more before she replied, "I told you once before, Victor, and I'll tell you again. I'm never wrong. Not once in my life have I ever been wrong about something like this and it would do you well to remember this moment."
In turn, Victor said, "Hmm."
Then both he and Annabelle looked over at Oswald, while he started to go on a rather tiresome tirade about how he should never trust another person that came to him.
Well, unless the person was Annabelle Mikaelson, who he planned on apologizing profusely to for not believing what she was saying about Sofia Falcone.
* * *
While he eyed Martin, who was sitting in his chair, Oswald said with a laugh, "You'll grow into it. Because of you, I was able to vanquish my enemy." As he turned away from Martin and limped towards a window, he said, "And now that you've proven yourself, I see a beautiful future ahead of you. I have so much wisdom to impart."
Then he quickly turned around and pointed at Martin as he said, "And if you pay attention, one day all of this could be yours." When Martin slowly shook his head, Oswald asked him, "What's wrong?"
Martin simply grabbed the board he had hung around his neck and pulled off the cap for his pen and started to write on one of the blank sheets of paper, while Oswald limped over to him.
After a couple seconds of writing on the paper, he turned the board around to face Oswald and showed two words that were written on it.
The words being 'I lied'.
Oswald slowly looked away from the board and up to Martin's face as he asked with raised eyebrows, "What are you talking about?" While Martin turned the board back to himself, Oswald asked him, "You mean, you did not see Sofia kissing Gordon?"
Martin ripped off the sheet of paper and started to write once more.
After he finished writing and turned the board to face Oswald once more, Oswald said, "'She wanted me to tell you they kissed'. Why would she do that? Unless... She knew exactly how I would respond. She wanted me to confront her. Even torture her."
After he walked into Oswald's life with Annabelle and carrying a phone in his hands, Victor shared a glance with her before he said to Oswald, "Boss, we have a problem." After Oswald quickly turned around to look at them, Victor told him, "The Dentist is gone."
Oswald asked him, "What happened to Sofia?"
Victor replied, "To be honest, that's still a little unclear. Barbara Kean has her."
Oswald yelled, "What?! How do you know this?!"
Victor closed his eyes and let them remain that way for a couple of seconds before he opened them and told Oswald through grit teeth, "She's on the phone. Says she wants to make a deal."
Annabelle raised an eyebrow when she saw just how angry Oswald was becoming, but didn't bother to say anything, while he quickly limped over to Victor and took the phone out of Victor's hands as he said, "Give me that."
After being silent for a couple of seconds, Oswald quickly turned around and said into the phone, "Barbara."
Barbara replied, "Hello, Oswald."
Oswald said to her, "I see you have crawled out from whatever rock you were hiding under. What are you doing with Sofia?"
Barbara told him, "We scooped her up this morning. And of course, when we did, we thought she was your best friend. Turns out, she's your worst enemy."
Oswald said to Barbara, "I want her back. Name your price."
Barbara told him, "We keep the gun shop, we don't share profits and from this point forward we operate with complete autonomy."
Oswald replied, "Fine. I will send Zsasz and Annabelle over to collect her. She had better be there when they arrive."
Barbara told him, "She will be."
After the call ended, Oswald quickly looked over at Victor and handed the phone back over to Victor as a smirk made its way onto Victor's face, while Annabelle had her head tilted to the side and her eyes narrowed before they both walked out of the office and left Oswald to sway some last few words to Martin in regard to his position in Sofia's plan.
* * *
While she walked around the inside of their gun shop, Selina Kyle said, "That was easy."
Barbara replied, "Yeah, a little too easy."
While she was still tied to the chair she was put in prior to waking up, Sofia told them, "Because he couldn't wait to get you off the phone. We need to get out of here."
As she slowly walked towards Sofia, Barbara asked her, "And then what happens? We are not working for anyone but ourselves."
While Selina slowly walked towards their monitor screens, Sofia replied, "I'm not asking you to. I will give you everything you want from Penguin."
Tabitha told Sofia, "You're not in a position to offer us anything. We're in charge here."
While she continued to stare at the screen, Selina said, "Uh... Guys, I think we should listen to her."
Barbara asked Selina, "Why?"
As she watched Annabelle stare at the building with a grin on her face and laughed rather maniacally, while Victor silently stood beside her, Selina told them, "Because Zsasz is standing out front holding a rocket launcher."
Barbara and Tabitha simultaneously turned around to look at Selina with wide eyes while Victor, who had just glanced over at a still laughing Annabelle, crouched down onto one knee with the rocket launcher held over his right shoulder.
After giving the building a slight nod of his head, he said, "Ladies."
Then he fired the rocket launcher, which got Annabelle's laughter to become even louder once the building was hit and it had burst into flames, while Victor merely smirked at the burning building.
Unbeknownst to Annabelle, who was far too busy enjoying the sight of the burning building, the four of them had gotten out of the building with little to no injuries and Barbara was making her declaration of wanting to be the one to end Oswald Cobblepot once and for all.
* * *
After he spent his time pacing around his nightclub, Oswald slowly limped towards Martin as he said, "I trusted you, Martin. And you betrayed me."
While Martin quickly wrote on his board, a tear slowly rolled down the right side of his face as he turned the board around to face Oswald again.
The words he wrote were 'She used me' and 'I'm so sorry'.
Oswald told him, "I think it's time for you to go back to the orphanage."
While he walked towards Oswald with a still grinning Annabelle walking beside him, Victor said, "Boss."
Oswald quickly held out his hand as he said, "Hold on." When Annabelle and Victor came to an abrupt halt, Oswald said to them, "Let the little spy step out of the room."
Annabelle's eyebrows furrowed as she silently watched Martin get off of the chair and walk towards the doorway of the room.
It was only when he was near the doorway that he stopped walking and turned to look at Oswald and saw that Oswald was still staring at him before he walked out of the room.
It was only when Martin was out of the room that Oswald turned to look at Victor and Annabelle before he asked them, "So?"
Annabelle let out a chuckle, while Victor said as they started to walk towards him once more, "The place went up like a great ball of fire."
Oswald replied, "Good. Alert the capos. We are going to unleash a crime wave on this city like it has never seen. That will teach Jim Gordon to align himself with Sofia Falcone."
The three of them suddenly looked towards the doorway of the room when they heard a voice say from the doorway to the office, "I wouldn't make that call if I were you. I just spoke with Sofia. She's alive. And she told me you tried to kill her."
While Victor looked between the captain of the GCPD and Oswald, Annabelle sighed before she said, "I knew I should've just done as I wanted and ripped her bloody throat out."
Victor did nothing but pat her arm in response, while Oswald said, "Hearsay, Jim. Been here all day. I have witnesses."
As he slowly walked towards Oswald, James replied, "I don't care. I'm not here to arrest you. I came to make a deal. I think we've both put up with Sofia long enough."
Oswald turned to Victor and asked him, "Victor, would you give us a moment?"
Victor silently turned away and started to walk away from them and out of the room with Annabelle not far behind him, only for the both of them to stop when Oswald said, "Not you, Annabelle. You'll have to stay. Knowing Jim Gordon, he most likely has a trick up his sleeve."
Victor slowly turned to look at Annabelle and almost frowned at her as he narrowed his eyes at her.
Annabelle only shrugged in response before she grabbed his hand and lightly squeezed it.
It was only after he also lightly squeezed her hand and then left the room that Oswald said to James, "Okay, Jim. You have my attention."
As he eyed Annabelle, James asked Oswald, "Is it really that necessary for her to be here?"
Oswald replied, "Like I said, you most likely have some trick up your sleeve in an attempt to have me arrested. Annabelle's the only person I know that can't die from one of your bullets, so I trust her more than I would anyone else." When James continued to silently eye Annabelle, Oswald said to him, "Well, go on, then. Talk away. She's not going to hurt you."
After he silently eyed Annabelle for a couple more seconds, James turned to look at Oswald and said as he slowly walked towards him, "Since the moment she set foot in Gotham, Sofia has put us on a path to war. She's willing to let this city burn to the ground to prove herself to her father. I can't allow that."
Oswald asked him, "So, what do you want from me?"
James told him, "I'm putting her on a train home tonight. But I need assurance from you, you won't get involved." After glancing over at Annabelle, he said, "And that she won't get involved, either. I think we both know how much Annabelle just wants to kill her."
Oswald scoffed before he turned away and limped towards the bar as he said, "Not good enough. She needs to suffer for what she has done."
James replied, "That is not gonna happen."
As he quickly turned around and looked back at James, Oswald asked him, "And how do you think your girlfriend's gonna react when she realizes you betrayed her? You think she's just gonna run away quietly?"
James told him, "If she sets foot in Gotham again, I'll put her behind bars."
Oswald asked him, "And if I say no?"
As he slowly walked towards Oswald once more, James told him, "Then I'll have no choice but to use the full force of the GCPD to tear you apart, piece by piece."
With a slight shake of his head, Oswald said, "That does not sound very pleasant."
James replied, "It won't be."
Oswald sighed as he said to James, "I guess I can put aside my personal feelings for the good of this city." After he glanced over at Annabelle and saw that she started to take a step towards them, he held up a hand to her as he said to James, "But I do have one question for you, Jim. When Sofia is gone, where does that leave us?"
James told him, "No more licenses. If you or any other criminal in this city break the law, my men will enforce it. But at least you won't have to worry about Sofia again. So, do we have a deal?"
After Oswald looked down at James's hand, he looked back up at James and said to him, "After all we have been through together, Jim, it is nice that we can resolve this matter with diplomacy."
Then he grabbed James's hand and shook it before James pulled his hand and turned to leave the room but not before he eyed Annabelle once more.
It wasn't until James was gone that Annabelle said to Oswald, "I still think we should have her killed."
When Oswald didn't respond, she disappeared.
* * *
Selina Kyle, Tabitha Galavan, Barbara Kean and Sofia Falcone were silently standing under the Crown Point Bridge and waiting for Oswald to make his appearance with Martin as their hostage.
It wasn't until three vehicles stopped across from them and Oswald— along with Annabelle and Victor— stepped out of one of them and they moved towards the bridge that Sofia said to Oswald, "Glad you could make it, Oswald."
Oswald ignored her and said to Martin, "Everything will be alright, Martin. I promise."
While Martin nodded his head, Sofia said to Oswald, "Well, that depends on you. Turn over control of the underworld to me and I'll let little Martin here keep his head."
Annabelle scoffed as she said to Sofia, "You're bluffing."
Sofia tilted her head as she asked, "Am I?"
Annabelle replied, "Yes, you are. You wouldn't dare do that. You don't have the guts to."
Sofia retorted, "Just like you don't have the guts to behead your own two children?"
Annabelle's veins came onto display and she quickly started to shake.
She was just about to forget the importance of Martin's safety and tear Sofia and her new allies into tiny, little pieces, only to stop when Victor grabbed her and quietly whispered to her all of the words he said in the past whenever he had to calm her down when she was in that angry state.
While Selina, Barbara and Tabitha eyed the murderous couple, Sofia merely stared at Oswald as he said to her, "The name Falcone used to mean something in this town. Wait until your father hears of this. Threatening the life of a child? He will be disgusted."
Sofia replied, "Wrong. My father will be proud."
Oswald was silent for a couple of seconds before he said to her, "Must be hard to live your whole life trying to get Daddy's approval. I, myself, can't relate, seeing as my parents loved me without condition."
In response to Oswald's words, Sofia grabbed Martin and pulled him in front of herself before she said to Oswald, "Say one more word and I will kill him and then I will execute you." While Annabelle scoffed in response to Sofia's words, Sofia said to him, "I am choosing compassion, but I am willing to change my position."
Oswald stared at Martin for a couple of seconds before he said to Sofia, "Don't hurt the boy. He's innocent." After being silent for a couple more seconds, he yelled, "I submit!"
Without taking her eyes off of Oswald, Sofia quietly said to Martin, "Go ahead."
Then Martin ran towards Oswald and once he reached him, Oswald placed a hand on his shoulder and said to the young orphan, "Martin, I want you to know, I am sorry for what I said today. I do care about you. You know that's true, don't you?" When Martin nodded his head, Oswald sighed before he quietly said to him, "Good. Now, go wait in the car."
After Oswald stepped aside, Martin ran towards the vehicle, while Victor dragged a finger down the side of his face.
Annabelle, on the other hand, kept her eyes on Martin until he got in the vehicle and closed the door behind himself.
Then she looked over at Oswald when he turned to look back at Sofia and he said to her, "You were wise to use the boy. As you know, my heart is my greatest weakness. But I will not allow him to be used as a pawn in your game anymore."
While Sofia's eyebrows furrowed, Oswald quickly raised an arm and showed a remote he held in his hand before he pressed the red button, which caused the vehicle to explode from behind him.
While Sofia and her allies gasped in horror, Annabelle, Victor and the men Oswald brought with him started to shoot several rounds at them.
Barbara, Tabitha and their own men started to shoot several rounds back at them as they quickly hid behind their vehicle.
While Annabelle shot round after round at them, the only thing louder than the sound of the several rounds being shot was Annabelle's laughter as she heard their heartbeats increase every time she came close to hitting one of them.
While Annabelle continued to laugh, Oswald yelled, "You wanted a war, you've got one!"
It was only when Oswald started to limp away from them and towards one of their other vehicles that Annabelle and Victor backed away, while they continued to shoot several rounds at Sofia and her allies.
In Annabelle's opinion, it had been quite some time since a war had occurred in the streets of Gotham and quite frankly, she couldn't wait for another to unfold, just as one had unfolded three years ago between Salvatore Maroni and Carmine Falcone.
* * *
While he stood in his office with his back facing the doorway and staring down at this desk, Oswald listened as Annabelle told him about how she believed they could get back at Sofia.
However, his attention was soon brought off of her when he heard Victor Zsasz say from behind him, "Boss."
It was only after both Annabelle and Oswald slowly turned around to look at the hitman that Victor slightly turned his head to look behind himself, while Martin stepped out from behind him.
For a couple of seconds, Oswald said nothing and only smiled at Martin before he said to the young orphan, "My boy, you did a splendid job of dying."
Annabelle let a small ghost of a smile make its way onto her face, while Oswald limped towards Martin and told the young orphan, "Victor will take you to a safe location. You can never return to Gotham. This is goodbye, my friend."
Martin quickly shook his head before he wrote something down on his board.
It was only when he turned the board around that both Annabelle and Oswald could see the words 'I don't want to leave you' written on the piece of paper.
Annabelle sighed and repeatedly blinked her eyes, which got Victor to tilt his head and narrow his eyes at her odd behavior.
However, Victor said nothing on the matter when Oswald quickly pushed down the board and said to Martin, "There, there. This is what I have to do to protect you. One day, when you're older, you will understand."
In response to Oswald's words, Martin quickly moved forward and wrapped his arms around Oswald.
Oswald slowly wrapped his own arms around Martin and slowly patted his back.
Victor glanced over at Annabelle and saw one single tear roll down the side of her face, which got him to frown before he said to Oswald, "Sofia's on our heels, boss. Let's finish her off. Have someone else take the kid."
Oswald replied, "No! I want my top man on this. Besides, I have something much better planned for Sofia Falcone."
After looking between the three of them, Annabelle asked Oswald, "And what would you have me do?"
Oswald was silent for a moment before he replied, "Well, I suppose you can search the streets of Gotham and try to find her."
She raised an eyebrow at him as she asked him, 'So, you actually don't know what you'd like for me to do?"
Oswald shook his head with a sigh as he said to her, "No, I don't know, Naturally, I'd have you find her and torture her but since my plan would be far better than your choice of torturing and then killing her and her newfound allies, I suppose I'll have to let you go home and do what you want with Victor when he's finished with taking Martin to safety."
Annabelle slowly nodded her head before she walked towards Victor and grabbed his hand and lightly squeezed it as she said to him, "I'll see you later, Victor. Be safe."
Victor nodded his head as he said to her, "I will."
Then Victor nodded his head towards the door, which got Martin to quickly run towards it after he hugged Oswald once more.