PLEASE KEEP COMMENTING YOUR REACTIONS TO THINGS THAT HAPPEN DURING THE CHAPTER AND JUST THE CHAPTER IN GENERAL
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Jane walked into the G.C.P.D looking around the busy room. Not only did the cops use the precinct as a workplace still, but many of the civilians they saved found comfort there. Her eyes drifted throughout the room looking for the man that summoned her. Early that morning, before Jane left to go do her rounds throughout the city, a message from Jim Gordon got to her. He wanted her to come in. He had something very urgent to ask.
Soon enough, she made eye contact and she made her way over to him. Several feet before she reached him, he noticed and nodded at her. She nodded back. When she got closer, Gordon decided to greet her. "Jane. I'm so glad you were able to make it on such short notice."
Jane nodded again. "Of course. You said it was urgent. Is everything okay?"
Gordon looked around before speaking. "Let's go somewhere a little more private. I have to show you something."
Jane followed closely behind as Gordon started asking her questions. "Has Jeremiah tried to contact you within the last three months?"
Jane nearly stopped walking. "No. It's been radio dead. Thank God. Why? What happened?"
They entered Gordon's office. Jane made sure the door was closed shut. They proceeded to the table. Jane's eyes widened. In front of her laid a map of the city, but this one had a creepy looking smile on it. However, the smile wasn't a normal line, instead it was created with a ton of capital "HA HA HA"s.
"What the-"
Gordon swiftly took over. "We have a reasonable suspicion that he is going to try something very soon. I thought he would try to reach out to you. But I'm glad to know he didn't."
Jane's heart started beating. She had a sneaking suspicion that he was, watching over her to see if she did anything bad. But she didn't want to be right. Being right was worse than being crazy and paranoid. Jane thought back to all of her rounds in the city, trying to remember if she saw anything that reminded her of him. Finally, she shook her head. "I haven't see any trace of him. I've looked nearly everywhere but he's trying to stay underground probably. He's definitely planning something big."
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The night was eerily peaceful as Bruce and Jane walked up to an abandoned park. They were here to find someone named The Witch, who would be able to heal Selina. Bruce was very determined when he came to Jane to convince her to come. He didn't even notice the girl was freaked out about the whole possibility of Jeremiah planning something big, and inevitably coming for Jane once again. He would probably kill her this time.
The fear of possibly seeing him again made Jane want to crawl into her bed and never come out. He wouldn't be able to get her if she was hiding in the green zone, refusing to leave. But the idea of being a sitting duck scared her even more.
But regardless, Jane let Bruce drag her with him.
They were walking up to the empty building, very carefully. Jane was extremely suspicious of the place. Why was a place like this so peaceful? Out of all the chaos that had happened the last three months, how was this a little safe haven? Jane didn't trust it.
They entered slowly, each clutching their own flashlight that illuminated the dark room. Overgrown plants were covering the walls, making it look more like a greenhouse than a large abandoned building. Jane moved some plants out the way, following Bruce closely. Jane watched as Bruce moved his flashlight to the wall, revealing a dead man strangled by the plants. They could barely see his face but it was obvious he didn't have a peaceful death.
They continued to move slowly throughout the building, seeing more dead men, until finally movement caught their attention.
Three men appeared in front of them, looking like they were getting ready to fight the two. They looked scared but were clearly trying to put up a front that they weren't.
"Are you with her?" One man spoke out.
Jane eyed him. "Who?"
"The witch." The man spoke as if it were obvious.
Bruce and Jane slightly glanced at each other. "We're not with the witch," Bruce spoke very calmly. "We just came here for her help."
"Come for her magic, have you?" He spat. "So did others from our district. And look at them now!" He gestured towards the men they saw walking in. "They came for help, too, and she took their souls!" Now the man started to have a sick look cross his face. "But she'll never kill again. We have her this time."
"You captured her?" Jane asked, slightly intrigued.
"She's locked in the storeroom back there. We stripped it clean before we locked her in." The man looked around the room. "Plants, you see. She talks to them. Makes them do things. So we took her light, water; put salt on the floor. She's helpless now."
Jane understood why they wanted revenge, but to watch as this man described with great thrill them capturing and torturing a woman made Jane feel sick to her stomach. She subtly moved hi right hand to her holster, ready to pull out her knife if needed.
"I need to talk to her," Bruce told them.
"No," The man answered bluntly. "We sent for more of us. When they come, we burn her."
Ok, yeah. Jane was definitely getting ready for when these freaks turned psycho.
After a moment, Bruce spoke to them again, trying to reason with them. "Listen, My-our brother is missing. I know this witch took him." Jane nodded, playing along. "We need to find out what she did with him."
"Please, let us talk to her," Jane chimed in. "We just need five minutes. Then you can do whatever you want. Burn her all you want."
The man shook his head. "Your brother's dead. She'll kill you too."
"Five minutes," Bruce echoed.
Eventually, the man nodded and pointed behind Bruce and Jane. "In there."
The two of them walked closer to the opening and looked in. Laying by the wall was a red headed women wearing head to toe green. She looked slightly unconscious and a little helpless in there. Salt was covering the floor, besides the area she was in. She was trapped.
Next to Jane, Bruce's face hardened. "Hello, Ivy."
Ivy? Who's Ivy?
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The five minutes started the moment they walked into the room Ivy was in. Her eyes fluttered open as Jane's flashlight reached her face. She gasped slightly, looking helpless as ever.
"Bruce?" She breathed out. Her eyes fluttered to Jane. "W-Who are you?"
"Jane," She answered plainly. "Nice to meet you, Ivy."
Ivy nodded but continued to talk very airy. "You two have to help me. I didn't kill those men out there in the vines, you have to believe me."
"You'll forgive me if I find it hard to do so," Bruce answered.
Ivy weakly sat up. "It wasn't me. It was the park."
Jane frowned. "The park?"
"The trees, the plants, the roots underground." She weakly stood up, with the help of an empty fountain." They're speaking to one another. When those men came to kill me... the plants came to my protection."
This was Jane's first interaction with her, but even she found it hard to believe her. The woman standing in front of them didn't look like she would just be a weak little damsel. Her face was too rough for that.
Bruce, who wasn't as good reading people, slowly lowered his flashlight, seeming to believe her words. "Then maybe we can help each other. I have a friend... who was shot. The bullet severed her spinal cord. The doctors can't seem to help her. But a woman at the hospital said that you might be able to help."
Jane watched Ivy's face very carefully, watching every slight reaction she had to the words. The woman did a good job faking sincerity, however, her eyes sometimes came her away.
Ivy kept her voice weakly and panting. "Normally, I would say no. But this park.. ever since we were cut off from the rest of the world, it's been behaving differently. There are things growing here I have never seen before."
There was a knock at the door. Jane's head whipped towards it. "You guys okay in there? Our friends are on their way. Time's running out for you, witch!"
When they looked back towards Ivy, she was pressed against the wall. "There's a seed. It's growing under the oaks. It's said to have magical qualities. When digested, it heads for damaged tissue and bone, healing them. If I help you find it.. will you protect me from those men out there?"
Jane found the whole thing very hard to believe, yet somehow a moment later, Jane found herself walking out with Bruce, Ivy staying behind them. When the men noticed Ivy, they held up their weapons, ready to fight. "Push her back inside! Lock the door."
"Stay calm," Bruce told them. "Okay, her name is Ivy."
"She's a witch," one spatted. "And will burn for what she's done."
"I take full responsibility for her." Jane admired how strongly naive he was. "If she's done what you say, she will pay for her crimes, but-"
Ironically, cutting Bruce off, Ivy attacked the three men, killing them instantly by slashing their throats. Jane whipped out her knife easily. She had a feeling this would happen.
Ivy gently wrapped her hand around Bruce's throat and pouted her lip slightly. "You are so utterly naive."
Bruce glared. "You didn't have to kill them."
"I wanted to." Ivy glanced at Jane. "And don't speak down to me. Not when you have Jeremiah Valeska's killer sister with you." Jane glared as Ivy looked between the two of them. "Why are you here?"
"I'm here for my friend," Bruce spoke simply. "Our friend. Selina."
Ivy's face softened slightly. The first true emotion Jane had seen from her tonight. "Selina's the one that's hurt?"
"She's paralyzed and has lost the will to live."
Ivy's mouth slightly twisted in a smile. "Good. That bitch destroyed the last of the Lazarus Water. Let her suffer."
"I don't believe that." Bruce shook his head. "You two have known each other for a long time. You grew up together on the streets."
Ivy smirked and looked around. "You know, I wasn't lying when I said this park is changing. I'm feeding the earth with these wretched creatures. It consumes them, and then it flourishes. I think I shall plant both your bodies in the ground. What will grow from you, I wonder." She glanced at Jane with a smirk. "With all the people you've killed, I'm sure it'll feed these earth for decades."
"Those men you killed were right." Jane glared. "You are a witch. A murderous, callous witch."
"You trying to bait me?"
Jane shrugged. "I wouldn't waste my breath. There's good left in you, I saw that the moment I walked into that room. If you were trying to help this park flourish, it would be full of beauty and color. Instead, it smells of death."
That seemed to tip her off. "It's a work in progress. Besides, what would you know of beauty, circus girl?"
Jane ignored that comment. "It's a nightmare. Just help us help Selina. And we'll get out of her hair."
"For good?" Ivy questioned. Jane nodded, although felt uneasy. Why would she want to left alone for good?
Ivy rolled her eyes. "Follow me."
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The sun was starting to come up as Jane and Bruce followed Ivy through the trees of the park. She went towards the ground and stuck her hands in the dirt gently. Jane watched carefully, extremely intrigued with the relationship Ivy had with the earth.
Eventually, Ivy grabbed what she needed and pulled out a seed. "Here." They got closer. Jane examined it. Was that blood on it?
Bruce grabbed the seed from her hands. "Is that human blood?" He echoed her thoughts.
Ivy chuckled under her breath. "If Selina ingests this, it'll find its way to her wound. It's roots will wrap around her spine, fusing the nerves and cartilage together."
"It'll cure her?" Bruce clarified. He seemed skeptical, as was Jane.
Ivy shrugged. "Maybe. Everyone's different. Depends on how strong she is. One thing is for sure though- the seed will alter her forever."
Bruce's attention increased even more. "How?"
"Some say the darker angels of our nature are unlocked and set free." Jane gulped, thinking about when hers had come out and played. People could do the unthinkable when their dark natures are released. Jane's anxiety started increasing. How would it affect Selina?
"Can she live with that?"
ok i know this chapter is two days late! but! this chapter is extra extra long to make up for it :)
i hope you guys enjoyed it. im very excited bc fun things are happening soon! also! theres only a couple chapters left :( next chapter is kinda the start of things being wrapped up and finished which is sad but im so happy with jane's journey :)
please continue to comment and i will see u all next week!