Angela felt her heart racing as she ran through the streets of Wonder City. She knew there was very little time before she was caught, and she had to be ready. Though she had been training for weeks now, she knew that Jonathan could always catch up to her. He could squeeze through any tight space more easily than she could. He could take her in a fight any day. Her only hope was outsmarting him while he was angry.

She had a plan in place, she never would have come here was a small department store that had everything she would need to stop him. All she had to do was get ahead of him. He was so close she could practically feel his shadow clawing at her heels. She dipped through alleyways and cut shortcuts through shops until she had finally gained enough ground. Just as she slipped into the department store. She could hear him just outside, calling her name as he lost her trail.

"Angela," Scarecrow called in a singsong voice, "come on out, dear. I know you're around here somewhere.

Boys and girls come out to play,

The moon doth shine as bright as day,

Leave your supper,

and leave your sleep,

And come with your playfellows

into the street."

Angela grit her teeth at the rhyme. She was slowly starting to become more angered by his antics than afraid. She had to use that fuel to her advantage. She swiped a scarf from one of the displays and hung it from one of her belt loops. The scalpel she had swiped from Jonathan's medical cart was quickly slipped into one of her boots so she could easily reach it. She then found a full length umbrella. There was a trick Edward had taught her with his cane, and she fully intended to use it.

Angela took a short moment to pull her focus in. She took a slow, deep breath. If this didn't work, she was sure she would be meeting her end in the next five minutes.

With a determined look, she pulled a decorative plate from one of the shelves, and watched time slow as she let it fall to the floor with a loud clatter. For a moment, everything seemed to stop. She felt her skin crawl as the door to the shop slowly creaked open.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a clumsy girl," The Scarecrow rasped in that hollow, metallic voice as he entered the shop and caught view of the shattered plate.

She gave him no time to say anything else as she bolted towards him. She knew he could block her attack if she aimed high, so she used her lack of height to her advantage. With the momentum she had built up, she dropped down onto the wooden floor and slid on her knees. She used the hook of her umbrella to catch his ankle and pulled until his legs fell out from under him.

He fell on his side, but was recovering from the fall faster than she had anticipated. She dropped the umbrella and lunged towards him to tackle him back to the ground. They became a tangle of limbs before Scarecrow won out and pinned her shoulders to the dust covered floor.

"You know, Angela, you truly are testing my patience," he said with a hollow chuckle, as if it was all just a game to him.

Angela felt her panic take over her as she feebly tried to push him away. "Get off! It's not what you think. Just let me explain!" She cried out.

She screamed as she felt the sharp needles of his gauntlet begin to pierce through the skin her shoulder, and he laughed with delight. She had only a short moment to react before the toxin began to pump into her. She brought her knee up to hit him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

With her leg at that angle she was able to reach the scalpel that was in her boot. She quickly began slicing at the tubing that connected the toxin to his needles, cutting his hand in the process. Scarecrow roared in anger as the toxin dripped onto the ground, rendering his gauntlet useless.

"Foul witch!" He shouted and began to pull the gauntlet from his arm. As he was tossing it aside she was able to push him off of her. In her attempt to scramble away he grabbed her by the ankle and dragged her back. She clawed at the ground, leaving indents in the wood as she was pulled. He took hold of her by the shirt and tossed her, knocking her into one of the display shelves.

Crystal figurines fell from above and shattered on the floor around them. As Angela was covering her head from the downpour, Scarecrow had gotten to his feet and made his way towards her. He grabbed both her wrists in one hand and pulled her up until she was dangling in the air. She cringed from the pain in her shoulder, where blood had started to stain her shirt. He could see the fire and the pain in her eyes as he pulled the gas mask from her face with his other hand.

"There now, little Rook," he purred. "Isn't that better? You'll get a nice, pure dose of my toxin this way." He tossed the mask aside and lowered her to the ground. He quickly twisted her around, causing her to cry out in pain as he pressed her harshly against the dusty display case. He pressed himself close and roughly grabbed her chin to twist her head towards him. Angela cried out in protest as she felt the blood from his wounded hand smudge against her face.

"Let's hear that lovely scream, just one last time, my dear," he sighed as he pressed his burlap clad face against hers. She whimpered at the rough feeling of the fabric, which only seemed to spur him on. "We'll have so much fun, Angela. Don't you remember what fun we had? Your sweet Jonathan couldn't make you scream like Scarecrow could. Don't worry, my darling, I'll have you writhing and screaming again. All you have to do is take a nice, deep breath."

He released her chin. She could hear him removing a canister of toxin from his holster. This was her last chance. She quickly scraped her foot down his instep and slammed it down on his foot. He yeowled in pain and released her, giving her a chance to throw her elbow into his ribs - right where they had broken the night they met. He fell to his knees in pain and pressed his hands against his side, giving her the exact opening she needed.

Angela grabbed the canister that had fallen and swiped the remaining one from his holster before making a run for it. She bolted from the shop and ran into an adjacent apartment building.

"You'll pay for what you've done, Angela!" he shouted after her. He was hot on her heels as she ran up the building's stairwell. When she reached the top she quickly slipped through the roof access door and pulled the scarf that still hung from her hip to secure the door.

She could hear him banging on the metal, fiercely trying to knock it open, but it would hold for the time being. She walked to the edge of the building and threw the canisters of toxin as far as she could. Just as she threw the second canister she heard the knob break off of the roof access door. She could hear him approaching, his footfalls crunching on the gravel floor with each step. Angela kept her back turned and looked out at the underground city she had grown so familiar with.

"You've nowhere left to run, Angela," he said from a few steps behind her. She heard a rustling sound, and then something soft hit the ground - his mask.

Angela turned and met the icy gaze of Jonathan Crane.

"Jonathan," she began softly, "please, just listen to me."

"Begging is so unbecoming of you, Angela. Haven't I taught you better than that?" He told her snidely as he took a step closer.

Angela glared back at him and straightened her posture. He could see the fire ignite behind her eyes, and despite his anger, he was still drawn to it. "That's more like it," he purred.

She took a step back and hopped up onto the ledge of the building. Jonathan's eyes went wide.

"What are you doing?" He growled.

"This is what you want, isn't it?" She said as she held his gaze. "You want me to face my fears? Well take a look, Jonathan. You did it. No toxin required!" She held her arms out wide in a congratulatory gesture.

There was a moment of silence between them as he glared daggers at her. What he said next came out in a low growl. "Get down here now, Angela. Get down here and I'll show you what you truly fear."

Angela laughed humorlessly. "No, I don't think I'll be going out on your terms. I think I'll do what Alice couldn't. Maybe I'll just jump."

Angela had no intention of jumping to her death. However, there was a second ledge just below her. If she played this right, she could make Jonathan think she had jumped, and maybe, just maybe, he would snap out of his rage. She would exploit his fears, just as he had done to her.

"You are nothing like Alice, little Rook. Now get back down here!" Jonathan could feel his heart rate picking up. The rhythm was a foreign thing to him. It wasn't the steady tempo of the chase, or of a fight. It was erratic, and distracting. His palms felt sweaty, and his skin felt cold. This wasn't anger, he realized. It was fear. A fear he hadn't quite felt before. The fear of loss.

Angela met his gaze with a knowing smirk. Jonathan felt his stomach sink as he watched everything move in slow motion. Angela took a step back, and gravity began to pull her down. Jonathan's eyes went wide, and suddenly, he was screaming. Angela grinned.

"NOOO!" he shouted as he lunged forward, faster than even he thought he could possibly move. He reached out and caught hold of her shirt. His feet left the ground for a moment, just before his knees caught on the ledge. He struggled to keep hold of her. His legs scraped against the edge of the building painfully. He growled at the strain in his arms. When he finally had a firm grip, he threw his weight back and pulled until she was in his arms.

He held her in a crushing embrace and brought her down with him as he sunk to his knees. Angela could feel him shaking as he held her. "Don't leave me," he murmured into her hair. "Please, don't ever leave me." He began to weep as he rocked her back and forth in his arms. "I'm so afraid."

Angela felt surprise at such an honest admission. She wrapped her arms around him and stayed silent as she began to feel his tears sink into her hair.

"I'm such a fool," he continued, "I should have listened to you. I'm so sorry. Please, please don't leave me."

"Jonathan," she started as she pushed back to look in his eyes. She reached out to hold his face in her hands. "I never intended to leave you. You have to know that." Tears began to sting her eyes. "That note, I never meant for it to hurt you. It means nothing to me. Don means nothing to me. I should have thrown that note in the trash the moment Lark handed it to me. What Don said, none of it matters."

"You make me so weak, Angela. So very, very weak. I don't want to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you. Please believe me. I was just so angry, so afraid of being betrayed, of losing you. I should have trusted you. I should have listened."

He pressed his forehead to hers and ran a hand through her hair. Angela leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss against his cheek. "It's okay, Jonathan. I won't ever leave you. I promise, you have nothing to fear."

They both began to chuckle at that. Jonathan pressed a soft kiss against her lips, grateful that she had accepted his apology.

"We should go back," she sighed as she began to stand. "I'm sure Edward and Jervis are wondering if I'm still alive," she chuckled and then stopped abruptly. "They're fine, right?"

Jonathan grimaced.

Angela looked back in shock. "Please tell me you didn't kill them."

Jonathan laughed. "They're fine. Come on, let's go back." He took hold of her hand and led her back to the stairwell. "Please refrain from telling them I cried."

"No promises," she laughed.

AN: Another short chapter, but this was really more like part 2 of the previous chapter.

Anyway, I can't wait to get started on the next one! Though it'll probably take me forever, as it always does. And on that note, a big thank you to everyone for your patience and continued support!