Oswald was sitting in his home and thinking about how he could get back at Victor Zsasz because of Victor betraying him, only to stop when he heard knocking on his front door.
He slowly stood from his chair and furrowed his eyebrows as he wondered who was at his home at that exact moment before he limped out of his dining room and over towards the front door.
Once he reached the front door, he opened it to see Annabelle Mikaelson standing on the other side of the door with her arms folded behind her back.
His eyes widened before he smiled and said to her, "Annabelle, I heard that you broke out of Arkham, but I feared that you got sent back there again."
She shook her head as she replied, "No, I haven't. I've just been busy helping out someone who was behind the massive breakout at Arkham, along with the two other partners in that scheme."
Oswald's eyebrows furrowed as he asked her, "What? Who are you talking about?"
That was when his eyes had widened.
He remembered that Jerome had gone to his cell and tried to have Oswald team up with him for his plans for Gotham, but he declined.
Then his eyes became even wider when he heard the familiar sound of Jerome's laughter before he said to her, "Please, tell me you didn't."
She replied, "I wish I hadn't, but I needed to get out and go after Sofia."
Oswald told her, "But Sofia was shot. She isn't a problem anymore."
She replied, "I already know that she was shot. Zsasz came to see me and told me that Leslie shot her twice— once in the stomach and once in the forehead— but that doesn't matter to me. She ruined the relationship I had with Zsasz and had me sent back to that damn place. I don't care about her being in a bloody coma. I want to rip her bloody head off, no matter the condition she's in."
Just as Oswald opened his mouth to respond, Annabelle stepped aside and Jerome— followed by Jervis and Jonathan— walked into Oswald's home.
Oswald stared at them in shock before he looked back at Annabelle and asked her, "A-Annabelle, what's the meaning of this?"
She replied, "Don't look at me. Valeska's the one that suggested we come here. This is all on him."
Oswald sighed before he asked her, "A-And you couldn't have, I don't know, told him not to come to my home?"
She scoffed as she replied, "Do you really take him for the type of person to listen to me? If he was, he would have listened when I told him to piss off all of those times I told him to do just that three years ago."
Oswald said to her, "B-But, Annabelle, you know what he did to me in Arkham. Are you really okay with him being inside of my home, where I sleep?"
She replied, "Calm down, will you? I'm here to make sure that he doesn't do anything else to you." When he opened his mouth to respond, she said to him, "Besides, I'm still your friend, Oswald. I won't let him bother you that way again."
Before he could say another word to her, she was gone and the next thing he could hear was her screaming at Jerome again.
With a sigh, he slammed his front door shut and let out a quiet groan.
He had a feeling that, from that day forward until Jerome's plan was finished, he wasn't going to get a decent amount of sleep, while they slept inside of his home.
* * *
While sitting beside Victor Fries and sitting closest to Oswald, Annabelle silently watched as one of the men that was putting food on their plates kept dropping some of the food.
From what she could tell, he was most definitely nervous to be in Jerome's presence.
But then again, her unblinking stare at him probably wasn't helping either, so that was something.
However, she soon stopped staring at the man when she heard the clinking of glass and looked over at Jerome, while he said to them, "Hear ye, hear ye! I'd like to officially welcome you all to our first ever Mandatory Brunch Meeting. Now, I know what you're all thinking. Why have I gathered this legion of horribles?" He was silent for a couple of seconds before he said to himself, "That has a nice ring to it."
Then he turned to one of the men that was standing in the room and said to the man, "Write that down, will ya?"
The man in question simply patted his chest, while Jerome told them, "Well, back when I was in Arkham, I came up with a plan to turn this city into a madhouse. Now I am on the cusp of making that happen, but I need help from all of... Put all questions on ice until the end."
Victor slowly lowered his hand and Annabelle merely patted his arm, while Victor quietly sighed to himself.
Then Jerome said to him, "Danke schön." Then he looked over at Oswald and said to him, "Mr. Oswald. Thank you for doing your part in hosting us today."
Oswald simply closed his eyes for a couple of seconds before he slightly shook his head as he replied, "Anything for an old friend."
Then Oswald glanced over at Annabelle and saw her merely raise her eyebrows in response, while Jerome turned to Jonathan and said to him, "Crane. Where are we with the... You know what."
Jonathan told him, "It's coming along dreadfully."
Jerome replied, "Oh. Pun-worthy. Excellent." Then he looked back at Victor and said to him, "Freeze, Ice Man, you're our science guy. We're gonna need a lab. Big one."
Victor replied, "Easy enough."
Then Jerome looked at Annabelle and said to her, "Anna, you know what I need you to do, so there's no point in getting in specifics."
Annabelle merely raised her eyebrows in response as she plastered a grin on her face before he told them, "Now, all we need is Mr. Tetch to return with some very important information, and..."
Then he hit his hand on the table and yelled, "Use the tongs, Carl!"
Carl stared at Jerome with wide eyes before he slowly walked away, while Bridgit said to Jerome, "You still haven't told us how you're going to take over the underworld."
Jerome replied, "Ah. Who says I wanna do that? I'm an artist. I just wanna paint the town crazy. Once that happens, I could care less how you horribles rip the city apart."
Bridgit smiled before she looked around at the others sitting at the table and said, "I'm in. Let's do this."
Jerome said to her, "Well... Not yet. Nothing can happen until we have our one last essential ingredient."
It was then that the door opened and in came Jervis Tetch, who just entered the room and stopped right next to Jerome, as Jerome said, "The one thing that'll tie it all together."
While he grinned at Jervis, he gestured towards the open seat right beside him.
While Oswald looked between Jervis and Jerome with wide eyes, Annabelle slowly moved her hand over to Oswald's and lightly squeezed his hand, since she could hear his rapid heartbeat.
Then Oswald looked over at Annabelle, who didn't even bother to pay a glance at him.
It was only then that he remembered Annabelle telling him the night before that she wouldn't let Jerome do anything else to him, but that wasn't what worried him.
What worried him was what Jerome actually had planned for the city, if he held no interest in taking over the underworld.
Knowing Jerome, he had to have something rather horrible planned, if he refused to share the whole plan with everyone that had a part in it.
Not to mention the fact that he already told Annabelle what she needed to do and left him and the others unaware of her position in his plan.
Knowing how Annabelle could be when she was being told what to do, he was worried about what it was that Jerome had asked of her to do.
And this, above all things, was what worried him the most.
* * *
While standing in between Annabelle Mikaelson and an unknown, elderly woman inside of an elevator, Jerome whistled to himself as he looked around the inside of the elevator.
As she quietly stood beside him, Annabelle simply blinked and refrained from the urge to roll her eyes, while Jerome tried to continue to whistle, only for him to stop and turn to the elderly woman and say to her, "I used to be a great whistler."
The woman only said 'mm-hmm', while he gestured towards his own face.
At that point, Annabelle simply sighed to herself.
She wanted nothing more than to be out of the elevator and killing someone.
After waiting for a couple more moments, the elevator doors opened and Jerome quickly walked towards the receptionist's desk with Annabelle close behind him.
It was only when he reached the desk that he said to the receptionist, "Um, yeah, hi. I'm here to see Xander Wilde. And, no... I don't have an appointment."
After looking between Jerome and the gun he had held against his shoulder, the receptionist couldn't help it as her eyes widened even more when she saw Annabelle Mikaelson silently standing behind him and looking around the lobby with feigned interest.
It was only when Annabelle turned to look at the receptionist and mockingly waved at her that her eyes became even wider, while she shakily pointed towards the staircase before she quickly got out of her chair and ran towards the backroom.
Then Jerome said to her, "Don't bother going to security. They're all... Headless."
Annabelle simply raised her eyebrows to herself, while she listened to the sound of the receptionist's screaming before she followed Jerome towards the staircase and then started to walk up the stairs after him.
While they walked up the stairs, Annabelle looked around the building.
She didn't know why he needed to go and find this Xander Wilde he mentioned to her, but she didn't bother to question it.
The more she went along with his plan, the more people she could possibly kill, so she remained silent and simply watched, while Jerome jumped over the last step and walked into the closest room.
One of the board members was saying to the others, "Alright. If you would all please look at the rendering, you'll notice that there are several interesting engineering problems that present themselves. Mostly..."
It was then that Jerome cocked his shotgun, which got the board members to let out gasps as they quickly looked over at Jerome and Annabelle.
While she mockingly waved at them, Annabelle repressed the urge to let out a sigh when Jerome said to them, "Oh. Don't get up. I won't waste too much of your time."
Then he knocked over a miniature diorama, which got it to shatter once it hit the floor.
Annabelle simply breathed through her nose and silently watched Jerome, while he told the board members as he walked towards the table they were sitting at, "I've got a business proposition. Tell me what I want to know, and you don't get turned inside out." Then he glanced over at Annabelle and said, "Oh, and bonus. You don't get your throats ripped out by Anna."
All but one board member looked over at Annabelle with wide eyes, who only mockingly waved at them once more as she plastered a grin on her face.
The one board member that was still looking at Jerome said to him, "Please, don't... Don't hurt anyone."
Jerome ignored him and asked them with a chuckle, "Where is... Xander Wilde?"
The man told him, "He's... He's not here."
Jerome replied, "Yeah. I'm not blind. Maybe you are." Then he looked over at the other board members as he asked them, "You know? Hmm?"
The man told him, "N-No one does. He-He's never set foot in this office."
Before he shot the man that was sitting across from him, Jerome replied, "Okay."
The other board members let out screams, while the man yelled, "Oh, God!" When Jerome looked back at him, he said, "W-W-We... We've never met. I... I've only ever communicated with him... Through a proxy."
Jerome asked him, "Proxy?"
The man nodded his head as he said, "Yeah."
In turn, Jerome said to himself before he started to laugh, "Hmm. That slippery little sucker thinks he can get away from me." After wrapping the man's tie around his hand and pulling him up a bit from the chair, he pointed the gun at the man's head and asked him, "Where can I find this proxy, pray tell?"
When the man started to stutter, Annabelle sighed as she said, "Bloody hell. Just spit it out already, will you? The more you do that, the more I feel like ripping all of your throats out."
Jerome quickly looked over at Annabelle and yelled, "Anna, not now!"
Annabelle merely tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at him as her veins came onto display, while the man said, "I, I, I... I'll... I'll tell you. I'll tell you."
Just as he started to tell Jerome everything he needed to know, Annabelle quickly looked away from them.
She could hear the voices of James Gordon and Harvey Bullock.
As she slowly stepped out of the room, she said, "I'd hurry up if I were you, Valeska. My least favorite captain and his bloody partner are on their way up here."
It was only then that Jerome shot the man in the head.
After that happened, the board members started to scream again and Annabelle snapped the neck of one that tried to run out of the room.
When another tried to attack her, she grabbed the man and took her with him as her hostage at the same time that she heard the dinging of the elevator and a man yelling not to take the elevator.
For reasons unknown to her, Jerome started to shoot at more board members, while they ran down the stairs with Annabelle close behind him and a board member thrown over her shoulder.
Once he saw Annabelle with Jerome, James faltered for a moment before he saw the man that she was carrying.
It was then that Jerome yelled once he saw James, "Jimbo! Old buddy, old pal, it's great to see ya!"
James ignored Jerome and yelled, "Annabelle, release the hostage! You don't need to take him with you!"
Annabelle replied, "Oh, well, since he tried to attack me, I'd say that I do have to take him with me."
Just as James opened his mouth to respond, Jerome shot at him, which got him to duck down before he said, "Drop the gun."
While hiding behind a pillar, Jerome said to James, "Oh, you are such a stick in the mud."
Harvey yelled at him, "Give it up, clown boy!"
Then he shot at the pillar, which got Jerome to move further back and say with a smirk on his face, "Hey."
Then he stepped out from behind the pillar with his arms held out as he said to them, "Knock, knock."
It was then that the two of them had to duck down, since Bridgit was standing behind them with her gun and almost burning them with it.
As he started to run away, Jerome said to them, "You were supposed to say 'who's there'."
Annabelle shook her head to herself with a sigh before she mockingly saluted James and said to him, "I'll see you around, Gordon."
Then both her and her hostage were gone.
* * *
While sitting in the corner of a room for an apartment, Jerome silently watched as a blonde woman entered her apartment with a bag of groceries in hand and closed and locked the door behind herself before she walked towards a small table and put her bag of groceries there.
Just as she started to take her loaf of bread out of there, Jerome made his presence known by asking her, "Got any ice cream in there?" When the woman ignored his question and actually took out the loaf of bread, he said to her, "I've always had a soft spot for Chunky Monkey."
As he walked to look out the window, the woman said to him, "I was wondering when you would come."
As he slowly started to walk towards her, Jerome asked her, "Me? That's very flattering. So, tell me, Little Miss Proxy, where is he?"
The woman turned around and said to him, "I'll never tell you."
While he ran his gloved fingers over the top of the cage, Jerome replied, "Hmm. I don't know." After he flipped open his switchblade, he said to her, "See... I can be very persuasive."
The woman nodded over at the cage as she asked him, "See that?"
After he looked back at the cage, Jerome replied, "Yeah. I was wondering about that. You got, like, a big dog or something?"
With a shake of her head, the woman replied, "No. That's how I'm going to transport you."
Jerome's eyebrows furrowed before he let out a groan when the woman quickly turned and swung her elbow at his face before she turned once more and swung her other elbow at him.
Once Jerome fell onto the floor, the woman turned her back on him and picked up her phone before she said into it, "I've got him."
It wasn't long after she said that that Annabelle, who was sitting in the car she was temporarily sharing with Jerome, watched as the blonde woman walked out of her apartment and carried a covered cage and shoved it into her vehicle before she drove away with him.
She let out a sigh and muttered under her breath, "Bloody hell."
Then she took out her own phone and dialed in one of the fairly new phone numbers on her phone.
It wasn't long after the first ring that she heard the familiar sound of Jonathan Crane's deep breathing before she told him, "Valeska just got kidnapped by the proxy. I need you and Tetch to come with me and get him back."
Jonathan sighed as he asked her, "And why, Miss Mikaelson, can't you go and get him yourself?"
She scoffed as she replied, "Does it matter why?"
Without so much as a warning, she ended the call and sped towards the places she knew Jonathan and Jervis were at and grabbed them before she sped back to her vehicle.
After tossing them inside of it, she drove in the direction she saw the woman's vehicle go in.
Jonathan sighed once more before he asked her, "Was that really necessary?"
As she started to drive a little faster, she replied, "Well, you weren't listening to reason, so what choice did I have?" Then she heard groaning coming from Jervis, which got her to say to him, "Tetch, I swear, if you so much as try and throw up inside of this vehicle, I will rip your head off."
Then she heard a gulp, which let her know that Jeris had swallowed whatever vomit was starting to crawl up his throat.
* * *
While he limped through a bar and was currently unaware of the fact that a certain male vampire was following him and keeping a close eye on him, Oswald quickened his pace the moment he saw Butch Gilzean sitting at the end of the bar with a hat on his head and a small glass in front of him.
It wasn't until he was close enough to where Butch was sitting that he said to the pale man, "Butch."
Butch slowly looked over at Oswald before he looked back at the bar and put his glass down.
After he moved closer to Butch, Oswald said to him, "I had heard you were different. But I will be honest... I like it."
After he picked up his glass from the counter, Butch asked him, "What do you want?"
Oswald said to him, "I assume you've heard about the Arkham breakout." When Butch slowly nodded his head, Oswald told him, "Well, I just came from brunch with Jerome Valeska, and let's just say that he has plans for Gotham."
Butch asked him, "What kind of plans?"
Oswald replied, "That part wasn't entirely clear. Seemed to involve a great deal of paint. No matter. I have seen his kind come and go. Jerome Valeska will flame out. And in the rubble, I will reclaim the underworld. I could use a good man like you by my side."
Butch forced a chuckle before he said to Oswald, "You must be all out of allies to come looking for me."
Oswald replied, "On the contrary. I still have Annabelle, but she's all wrapped up in Jerome's plan and won't see that nothing good will come out of whatever he's planning. That's why I've come to you. You're the only person I know that is still seeing straight." When Butch only forced a chuckle in response, Oswald said to him, "Don't be modest. With your brute strength and my brains, we will be unstoppable."
As he turned to look at Oswald, Butch said to him, "I did that job. I'm my own man now."
Oswald laughed before he said to him, "Really? Because from where I am, you look like a man who has nothing."
As he looked back at Oswald, Butch said to him, "You'd be wise to watch what you say to me. I'm not the same man you remember."
Oswald replied, "And neither am I. Look at the two of us. We used to run this town. Together. We were friends. Look, you want your old life back, so do I. We are the same."
As he quickly grabbed Oswald by the neck and raised him from his chair, Butch yelled, "Wrong! You can have your old life back. I can't. Look at me. Tabitha will never love me again. Slaughter Swamp turned me into a monster!" After he threw Oswald onto the floor, he said, "Now get out of here. If I ever see you again, I'll pop your head off like a flower."
While Oswald simply lied there and coughed as he rubbed his neck, the male vampire sped out of the bar and quickly walked away from the entrance of it the moment he was outside.
Once he was far enough away from it, he took out his phone and asked after he dialed in a phone number, "Annabelle, are you sure about this? It doesn't feel right that I spy on your friend for you."
Annabelle sighed as she said to him, "I know it doesn't, but it has to be done. I have no other choice in the matter. You know what he's willing to do to him, if I don't do what he wants."
He asked her, "What's the worst that he could do that he hasn't already done?"
Annabelle replied, "I don't know. Maybe he could try and kill him again, like he almost did when he wanted Oswald to make him laugh when we were still in Arkham." When he only sighed in response, she said to him, "Look, Nico, you've never met Valeska, so you don't know what he's willing to do in order to get what he wants done."
When Nico didn't respond, she sighed before she told him, "I mean, before I got sent back to Arkham and my relationship with Zsasz wasn't quite ruined, Valeksa would hold Zsasz's life over my head in an attempt to ensure that I didn't kill any more of his followers. There's nothing that that bloody lunatic won't do to try and make all of those involved in his plans do what he wants."
Nico started to say to her, "And since he believes that you don't care about Victor anymore, then that means—"
She replied, "Exactly. Now, since I showed that I cared about Oswald after what he did to him while in Arkham, he's going to hold Oswald's life over my head as well. I need to make sure that I don't lose yet another human friend of mine, similar to how I lost him."
Nico's eyebrows furrowed as he asked her, "Do you mean Carmine Falcone?"
She replied, "Yes, him."
Nico opened his mouth to respond, only to stop when he heard the sound of someone throwing up.
Annabelle sighed as she said, "Tetch, that better not be you throwing up in this damn car because if it is, then I will rip your bloody head off."
It was then that Nico heard Jervis Tetch say to her, "Not to worry, Miss Mikaelson. I found an old brown bag that I could throw up in."
She scoffed to herself before she said to Nico, "Anyways, I have to go. We're almost at wherever this proxy is taking Valeska. I'll talk to you later."
Before he could say anything more to her, the call had ended.
* * *
After watching Jerome slightly move his face away from the camera and then quickly raise his head and say 'boo' before he laughed, James Gordon looked away from the monitor as he said to Jeremiah, "You need to take us to your brother."
While James walked towards him, Jeremiah replied, "I can't do that."
Harvey asked James, "What if he's nuttier than the other one?"
Jeremiah yelled, "I'm nothing like Jerome!"
While standing in front of Jeremiah, James asked him, "Do you want me to put you in a cell next to his? Because that is where this is heading."
Jeremiah replied, "And then what, Captain Gordon? You couldn't hold him, Arkham couldn't, I can. And I will make sure Jerome never escapes again."
As he raised a finger, James said to him, "No, no, no. Jerome comes with us. And if you wanna make this easier on yourself, I suggest you stay the hell out of the way."
After he looked over at the monitors, Harvey said to James, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! The loonies and Annabelle are outside."
James and Jeremiah looked over at the monitor and saw that on one monitor, Annabelle was walking with Jonathan Crane and on the other, Jervis was walking with Ecco.
As he quickly walked towards his monitors, Jeremiah said, "No, no. No, no, no, no. How'd they find me?"
James told him, "Must've followed Jerome. We need to move. Now."
At that exact moment, the monitors were turned off and the lights in the room suddenly became red before the sound of an alarm blaring was heard.
With a slight shake of his head, Harvey said, "This is not good."
James asked Jeremiah, "Is there another way out of here?"
Jeremiah replied, "Yeah, but I'm not leaving Ecco."
Harvey told Jeremiah, "The loonies and Annabelle will use her against us."
Jeremiah replied, "She's devoted her life to me."
James said to Jeremiah, "We get you out first and we can come back for her. Deal?"
Jeremiah was silent for a couple of seconds before he said as he walked past them, "As a child, I was obsessed with labyrinths, so I designed my house like one."
As he and Harvey walked after Jeremiah, James asked him, "You mean this place is a maze?"
Jeremiah replied, "Easy enough to get in. I'm the only one who knows the way out." After he pressed a button and the door opened, he said to them, "Stay close to me."
* * *
While he led James and Harvey through the maze of his home, Jeremiah told them, "The maze is built on a hundred acres. There are seventy-three dead ends. I once invited the top maze designers in the country to try to solve it. One did. It took him three days."
James asked him, "And how much further?"
Jeremiah replied, "Not far. We just passed the final switchback point."
While they continued to follow Jeremiah, Harvey said to James, "If I knew this thing was a hundred acres, I would have stopped and got a sandwich before we came."
It wasn't long after he said that that Jeremiah came to a halt when he saw Ecco standing on the other end of the path with a blank look on her face.
Just when Jeremiah said Ecco's name, she started to walk towards him and he walked towards her as well, while he said to her, "Oh, thank God you're okay."
As he started to walk after Jeremiah, Harvey said to him, "Hey, hey, hey. She's hypnotized."
The moment he said that, Ecco kneed him, which got him to fall onto the floor, while Harvey attempted to punch her in the face, only for Ecco to punch him in his side and punch his chest before she pinned him against a wall.
Just as James started to go towards her, she kicked him away and threw Harvey against another wall before she tossed Harvey away from herself.
She tried to hit James, only for him to block her attack and grab her by the arm and pin her against a wall with her arms held behind her back.
In response, Ecco hit James in the face with her elbow, which got him to let out a groan before he grabbed her again and slammed her into another wall.
Then Ecco kicked James away from herself and threw him against a wall before she kneed him and threw him over her, which got him to land on his back and let out a groan.
She only hovered over James for a couple of seconds before she looked over at Jeremiah once he said to her, "Ecco. It's me. It's me."
Ecco only ignored him and pinned one of his arms behind his back and grabbed the back of his jacket before she hurriedly walked him away from James and Harvey.
While she did that, Jeremiah yelled, "Gordon! Help! Gordon!"
While he stood up at the same time as James, Harvey said, "She's a pistol."
Before he and Harvey ran after Ecco and Jeremiah, James replied, "Come on."
While they both ran after Ecco, Jeremiah said to her, "Ecco, please. Where are you taking me?"
Ecco told him, "I'm taking you to Jerome."
Jeremiah replied, "No. He'll do horrible things to me. Ecco!"
It was then that Harvey, who was standing at the end of one hallway, yelled from behind them after he turned off the safety for his gun, "Stop!"
Ecco quickly turned around and held Jeremiah out in front of herself before Harvey slowly walked towards her and said to her, "Let him go."
Ecco did as he said and released Jeremiah, only to shove Jeremiah right into Harvey and grab the detective before she slammed him against another wall.
After she slammed him into yet another wall, Harvey tried to hit her once more, only for him to get punched in the face by her and kicked in the stomach, which got him to fall and land onto his back.
It was then that James hit the back of her head with a gun, which got her to let out a groan before she fell onto the floor.
While he was still lying on the floor, Harvey said to James, "Thanks." While James grabbed Harvey's hand and helped him up onto his feet, Harvey told him, "He went that way."
James replied, "Alright."
Then the both of them started to run in the direction of where Jeremiah had gone and while they did that, James said, "Jeremiah?"
When they didn't find him, James said to Harvey before they walked towards their right, "Now, let's try this way."
While they did that, Jeremiah suddenly came to a halt when he heard a voice say from nearby, "Hello, brother."
Jeremiah simply backed away and turned around to go back the way he came, only to stop when he saw Jervis Tetch, Jonathan Crane and Annabelle Mikaelson silently standing behind him.
Once the three of them started to walk towards him, he backed away and quickly turned around to head towards the exit, only to stop once more when he saw Jerome standing in front of him with a gun in his face.
With a wave of his hand, Jerome asked him, "So, how you been? Oh, you look great. To think I used to be the handsome one, right?"
Annabelle merely rolled her eyes, while Jeremiah asked him, "How'd you find your way through the maze?"
Jerome replied, "Oh, bro, we might not look the same anymore, but we still think the same. Plus, you used to draw those stupid things all the time as a kid. I paid attention." Then he looked past him and over at where Jervis, Jonathan and Annabelle were standing before he said to Jervis, "Hey, uh, Hat Head, take Crane and Anna, find Jimbo and his bearded sidekick. Kill them."
Annabelle grinned.
Without saying so much as a single word, she followed Jervis and Jonathan, while Jerome said to Jeremiah, "I've been waiting for this moment for fifteen years, ever since you ran away in the middle of the night like a coward."
Jeremiah quietly said to Jerome, "You're insane."
With a nod of his head, Jerome replied, "Yeah."
Jeremiah said to Jerome, "And I tried telling Mom, but she didn't want to listen to me. You blame me for everything that's gone wrong in your life, but the truth is, Jerome, is you were born bad."
Jerome slightly nodded his head before he asked Jeremiah, "Born bad, huh? So, that's why you made her think that I tried to kill you, right?"
Jeremiah nodded his head as he said, "Yeah, we both—"
Jerome asked him, "What was it again? What was it? I put a blade to your throat. No, no, no. I tried to light you on fire."
Jeremiah replied, "We both know you wanted to."
Jerome said to him, "Yeah, that was a funny story, wasn't it?"
Jeremiah was silent for a couple of seconds before he replied, "Okay, maybe it didn't happen exactly like that, but-but I didn't have a choice and I was right." When Jerome said 'hmm', Jeremiah told him, "You killed our mother."
Jerome was silent for a couple of seconds before he said, "She did deserve it, though." He started to grin and chuckle before he said, "After that whore hid you away, she gave up on me, poisoned by your stories. You turned everyone I ever loved against me. My own flesh and blood! I guess it's like what they say, 'we all could go insane with just one bad day'. I guess with you it's more like one bad spray. You'll see."
While he started to laugh rather maniacally, James and Harvey were walking through the maze with their guns held out in front of themselves, only to stop moving and come to a sudden halt when they saw Jervis, Annabelle and Jonathan standing not far from them.
Once Jervis saw them, he said, "Listen to what I have to say."
As he raised his hand and pointed at Jervis, Harvey yelled, "Oh, hell no! You are not hypnotizing me again!"
Annabelle's eyebrows furrowed before she glanced over at Jonathan, who was silently standing beside her.
It was then that Harvey let out a yell as he ran towards the three of them, which got Annabelle to chuckle to herself with a sigh as she said, "You've got to be bloody joking."
After she stepped aside and watched as Harvey ran after Jervis and Jonathan, she looked at James, who slightly shook his head before he said, "That's one way to do it."
After watching the both of them disappear, Annabelle shook her head with another sigh before she slowly walked after them.
While she slowly walked towards where she could still hear Jerome laughing, she heard Jervis yell, "Must go! Must go! Must go! Must go!"
It was then that she heard two gunshots before Jeremiah asked Jerome, "What are you gonna do to me, Jerome?"
Jerome replied, "Come on. I'm gonna kill you, of course. But first... I'm gonna drive you mad. But don't worry, you won't be alone. All of Gotham will be joining you, too."
It was then that they heard Jervis, who was still yelling, yell as he and Jonathan ran past Jerome and Jeremiah, "Must go! Must go! They're after me and the Scarecrow!"
Jerome said to himself, "These guys just don't give up, huh?"
Not long after he said that, both he and Jeremiah could hear the sound of Harvey's yelling.
Once Jerome saw Jeremiah attempt to run towards James and Harvey, he quickly grabbed him and held Jeremiah against himself with a gun pressed against the side of Jeremiah's head, while he said, "Get any closer, and I splatter him! I'm gonna splatter broski."
As she silently stood behind James and Harvey, Annabelle simply raised her eyebrows at Jerome's words, while James said to him, "No, you won't. If you wanted him dead, you would've killed him already."
Jerome started to laugh before he said to Jeremiah, "He's right. I'll see you soon."
Then he kissed the side of Jeremiah's head and threw him away from himself before he started to shoot at James and Harvey.
After shaking her head at Jerome, Annabelle simply walked out from behind James and Harvey and slowly walked towards Jerome.
Once James saw her walking towards Jerome, he grabbed her arm and tried to restrain her, only for Annabelle to grab James by the neck.
After tilting her head and eyeing him, she threw him into Harvey, which got the older detective to fall onto the floor.
It was only after she stared at them for a couple of seconds that she sped out of the building and over towards Jerome after she heard him laugh.
James and Harvey quickly ran towards the exit and opened the door to try and apprehend them, only to come to a halt when they found no one standing outside of the building.
Annabelle Mikaelson, Jerome Valeska, Jonathan Crane and Jervis Tetch were all gone.
* * *
With her back leaning against a wall closest to the doorway of the room, Annabelle only let out a sigh, while she watched Jerome repeatedly turn the chamber and try to shoot Carl since they got back to Oswald's home.
She wasn't even the only one watching it.
Bridgit Pike was watching it, too.
Carl, on the other hand, was tied to a chair, while Jerome would turn the chamber and try to shoot him, only for the gun to simply click, which had happened again.
Then he tried again for what felt like the hundredth time and the gun did not but click.
Again.
Before he wiped his forehead with the back of his glove, Jerome said, "Damn."
Then he turned the chamber once more and pointed the gun at Carl.
This time, though, he did actually shoot him, which got Carl and the chair he was tied to to fall backwards.
Even after shooting Carl in the chest, Jerome said to himself, "Doesn't even make me feel better at all."
Annabelle sighed as she said to him, "Honestly, Valeska, if you're looking to make yourself feel better, then try to either kill your brother or at least Gordon. Either one of them could work."
Jerome shook his head before he started to mutter to himself about how he could make himself better, only to stop when he heard Jonathan Crane say from one of the other doorways to the room, "Jerome. The test subject has arrived."
Jerome turned around and looked at Jonathan before he looked over at Butch and Oswald, who were standing beside Annabelle, before he said, "Hmm. A little large for a test subject, don't you think?"
With furrowed eyebrows, Annabelle looked between Oswald and Butch.
Just as she was about to ask Butch what he was doing with them, Oswald slightly moved closer to Annabelle and elbowed her arm, which got Annabelle to frown at Oswald, while Oswald told Jerome, "He is not your test subject. This is Grundy. He will make a welcome addition to the team."
As he walked towards Butch, Jerome said, "Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm." After he stopped in front of Butch, he said, "I like him. He's scary. Good thinking, Mr. Oswald."
Then he said to Butch, "Nice to meet you, big fella."
Then he punched Butch in the chest, only to start to shake his hand and say 'ow' before he looked over at Jervis, who was closely followed by the test subject he grabbed, and Victor Fries close behind him.
As he pointed at the man, Jerome asked, "Test subject?"
Jervis told him, "Here to test your plan, an unwilling businessman."
Annabelle sighed, which got Butch and Oswald to glance over at her.
Then they looked back at the man after Jerome grabbed him and started to drag him closer towards where Jonathan was standing, while the man yelled, "No, no, no! Please, please. Please don't hurt me."
As he closed the spray he made for Jerome's plan, Jonathan said, "Oh, this won't hurt a bit."
It was only when the man looked over at Jonathan that Jonathan sprayed him in the face with a purple gas.
The man let out a groan and covered his eyes before he coughed.
Annabelle tilted her head and started to wonder what the point of this gas was, only to stop and her eyebrows to furrow when the man started to laugh.
While the man laughed, his mouth grew wider than it should be as his laughter started to become louder.
While Jerome started to laugh, he yelled, "Oh, we're gonna need a lot more of this!"
After he said that, it looked as if blood started to seep out of the man's eyes, while he continued to laugh before the man started to scream.
After he stared at the screaming man with wide eyes, Oswald glanced over at Annabelle to see her eyeing the screaming man.
It was unaware to him of whether or not she was bothered by what was happening in front of them.
The only thing he did know, though, was that he had to try and find a way to get Annabelle to back out of whatever agreement she had to have made with Jerome prior to the four of them breaking out of Arkham.
He didn't care what he had to do or what her agreement with the deranged ginger was.
She was his friend, after all, and he would be damned if he let her fall in any sort of way as a finishing result of Jerome's plan or get sent right back to Arkham.