"Days go on forever

But I have not left your side.

We can chase the dark together

If you go then so will I."

After making sure there was absolutely no clue of Kristen's death left at the GCPD, it was time to bury the body. A thing Charlotte was excited about. She was almost sure once Ed buried the body of Kristen Kringle, he could finally let go of her once and for all. Or at least that's what she hoped would happen.

Charlotte noted the big change in Ed after he found the body in the medical examiner's office. She remembered how sweaty and exhausted he looked that day. But then he just came out with a smile on his lips.

The two forensic scientists drove in Ed's car until they reached an isolated forest. Ed took out the leather trunk, two shovels and a small basket with food. Charlotte grabbed one side of the trunk and Ed grabbed the other. It was heavy, but together they would manage. Then they made their way deeper into the woods.

Ed led the way and Charlotte walked behind, making sure the trunk didn't fall. Once she was sure Ed wasn't looking, she slightly bumped the trunk against a tree. For Ed, it would just look like an accident.

He looked back at the trunk with an emotionless expression. "Oh, sorry, Miss Kringle".

Charlotte bit her lip hard to stop herself from laughing. Ed didn't appear sad anymore and was actually in a good mood.

"Are you feeling better now, Ed?" Charlotte asked him, wanting to make sure he was okay.

He turned to her for a few seconds and sent her a smile. "Yes, I'm much better now. Thank you".

Ed was telling the truth, but there was something in his mind that didn't concern the chopped up woman in the trunk. He still hadn't forgotten the conversation with his inner self about Charlotte. Did she really like him? Ed had no idea, but he was considering the idea. However, he didn't know how to ask her something like that. He decided it was better to let things as they were. If he asked her and she didn't hold any feelings for him, their friendship would be ruined. He liked to have her friendship and he expected to maintain it for a long time.

It took a while but they finally found a good spot to stop and dig a hole. While Charlotte started digging, Ed set up the sandwiches and the glasses of wine.

After twenty minutes, Charlotte stopped and slid the back of her hand across her forehead. Digging was not as easy as it appeared. The unusually hot weather wasn't helping either. She looked at Ed to see why he hadn't started digging yet and found him watching her while he drank a glass of wine.

"Queen Nygma, would you mind giving me a hand over here?" Charlotte joked and passed him the other shovel.

Ed chuckled, put down the glass, grabbed the shovel and started digging. It took a while to dig a hole big enough for the trunk to fit in.

"Well, I'm afraid this is as proper a burial as circumstances allow," Ed said once they finally finished. He passed one glass of wine to Charlotte and grabbed another for himself before continuing. "I was a broken man, Miss Kringle. Two halves at war with each other, but thanks to you I am whole. I will not forget you".

Charlotte smiled discretely and held her glass high before drinking the liquid inside.

"I take you by night, by day take you back. None suffer to have me but do from my lack. What am I?" Ed asked.

"Slee-" Charlotte started to answer.

"Is that some sort of riddle?" An unfamiliar man interrupted from behind Charlotte, making her jump in surprise.

A man had sneaked up on them. A hunter to be more exact. There was only one way the two could dispose of him because he surely would be suspicious of the fact they were burying something in the middle of the woods.

"You know you really shouldn't sneak up on people. That's not polite," Ed hissed at the man, growing anxious. Charlotte knew what would have to happen next, so she just stood in her place and drank more wine.

The hunter turned to look at her and she sent him a half-smile. Charlotte could see Ed grabbing the shovel to take the man out.

"Not usually any people out here," the hunter commented suspiciously at the blonde.

She just tried to smile more convincingly. "Oh, my friend and I love nature, so we thought we would do a picnic out here. We wanted to enjoy this warm sunny day to the fullest. These are so rare in Gotham".

"Can I interest you in a tea sandwich?" Ed asked the man, who looked at him confused. But then he noticed the trunk inside the hole on the ground. He peered closer at it and noticed a thick red liquid sliding down the edges of the trunk.

"You might want a glass of wine perhaps," Charlotte tried to get his attention back to her, but it was too late.

"What the heck is in there?" The hunter asked suspiciously.

Ed took advantage of the time the man crouched down and hit him in the head with the shovel. The unfortunate hunter cried out and fell in the hole.

Charlotte sighed in frustration as she saw the hole was too small for both the trunk and the bulky hunter. "We don't have time to dig more. Who knows who might show up next?"

"Great," Ed muttered bitterly to the dead body of the hunter. "Now, we've got to improvise. Don't go anywhere".

"I'll stay just in case someone else comes along," Charlotte told him, but Ed shook his head.

"No, I'll need your help getting all the stuff here," he said, making Charlotte huff in annoyance. She glanced at the dead body before following Ed back to his car to get the things they needed to cut the body into pieces.

Meanwhile, the underground crime boss, Oswald Cobblepot or the Penguin, wandered injured through the woods. He was bleeding heavily and didn't know how long he could take it. He didn't know if he wanted to live now that his dear mother was gone, but he still hadn't got his revenge on Theo and Tabitha Galavan. Oh, how he wanted to make them suffer for what they've done.

If it hadn't been for Jim, Oswald would have been able to kill Theo that night, but Gordon had to try and save everyone. He should know by now that Gotham didn't work that way. Some people had to die. Theo was one of those people.

Oswald leaned on a tree to rest for a moment. He was really tired, but he couldn't allow himself to close his eyes.

That's when he saw a tablecloth on the ground with three sandwiches. It was just laying there and Oswald asked himself if he was experiencing hallucinations due to the blood loss. He stumbled towards it and picked one of the sandwiches, taking a big bite out of it.

Tea sandwiches, but what were they doing in the middle of nowhere? Oswald didn't care about that. He just picked all the three sandwiches and continued on his way to find a place to lay down for a while.

When Charlotte and Ed returned, they were bickering over why she had to go with him if he only needed to bring two small cases. He could perfectly have brought them himself. It was not like they were heavy or anything.

"There was no way I was going to leave you alone in there," Ed defended himself.

Charlotte looked at him with narrowed eyes. "And why not?"

"Because no," he simply answered and crouched down to open his case. Inside was a bone saw and on Charlotte's was another. "Well, let's see. If I can't make the hole bigger, then I'll make you smaller".

Charlotte shook her head and went to sit on the tablecloth. Since he had made her walk all that way for nothing, he could do all the cutting by himself. He also had watched while she dug most of the hole too. She loved Ed, but he could act like such a drama queen.

She went to grab her sandwich, but all she saw was an empty plate. She stared at it confused out of her mind.

"Ed?" She called and he looked away from the hand he was about to saw off to look at her. "Where did my sandwich go?"

Ed stood up alarmed by her question. He looked at the plates to see they were all empty. Only bits of red liquid stained the white porcelain.

"Who has eaten my sandwich?" Ed asked himself.

"This is all your fault. I told you I should have stayed here," Charlotte argued and the male forensic scientist rolled his eyes. "Now somebody ate my sandwich".

"Remind me who called me a drama queen half an hour ago?" Ed sassed and it was Charlotte's time to roll her eyes.

Ed looked around and noticed the blood stains on the white flowers that grew in the wilderness. He figured if they followed the trail, they would eventually find the person who stole their food.

"For a secluded forest, this place sure has a lot of foot traffic" Ed commented bitterly. He eyed the dead hunter and sighed. "Looks like it's gonna get a tad crowded in there".

"Tell me about it," Charlotte replied with the same bitter tone as Ed and stood up on her feet. She was hungry, her feet hurt and the last thing she wanted was to pursue a stranger in the woods. Whoever took their sandwiches probably didn't see them and by all the blood she saw, they wouldn't live much longer either. "Let's just take care of this hole and go home".

Ed ignored her and made his way through the trees and plants of the forest. Charlotte groaned and followed after Ed.

They followed the trail for hours and Charlotte was surprised with how long the person had survived. Whoever it was, had lost a lot of blood and still had made all the way without passing out. He or she definitely had a strong will to go on.

"Finally!" Ed suddenly exclaimed in a whisper.

Charlotte followed his gaze and saw the RV standing in the middle of the trees. The blood trail led right towards it and the light inside was on.

The two made their way with the help of their flashlights. They tried to make as little noise as they could and looked for any shadows inside. Nothing was heard from the inside, so they approached the door slowly. Ed went first since he had the bone saw in hand. He carefully leaned his ear against the door to see if he could hear anything coming from the inside.

All of a sudden, the door burst open sending Ed to the ground and causing Charlotte to trip on a twig and fall as well. Charlotte crawled towards Ed and gave him his glasses, which he had lost sometime during the fall. When she looked at the door to see who had opened it, she almost screamed.

An extremely pale man dressed in purple clothes stumbled towards them with a long metal pipe in hand and prepared himself to hit them with it. However, he didn't seem strong enough and fell to his knees with his mouth opened in an 'o' shape. He appeared to want to say something, but nothing came out.

Charlotte noticed all the blood soaking his shirt and was reminded of the blood trail they had followed. Also, the man had a familiar face and Charlotte was surprised to see him there.

"Mr. Penguin?" Ed asked in disbelief.

"Help me," Oswald Cobblepot finally managed to say in a weak voice. "Please".

***

A/N: Charlotte, Ed, and Oswald from now on! This is too much for me. Their relationship will definitely be intense hahaha XD