Disclaimer: All the characters used in this fic belong to DC Comics and are based on the characters in The Dark Knight. I own absolutely nothing but the plot and my characters.

Falling Into Madness

Chapter 1: Denial

A/N: (EDIT 1/27/11) It's really been too long since I last updated this. Things have been up and down. Although, I really didn't expect to go without an update for... almost two years. I really lost interest in TDK for a while once I hit a dead end. But I believe my writer's block is gone.

Song: Wishing Well by Ben Moody


It seemed that she really was losing it. The decline had been steady, but noticeable, nonetheless. Each passing day had been a living hell for her. The constant, wicked companion, fear, had caught her again. The evil she had so eagerly prayed and worked to avoid. Finally, it had grabbed her in its sickening clutches; squeezing, draining, suffocating her from within. As long as the Joker roamed free, Anna feared that she'd never again rest peacefully.

Her mind was betraying her.

The traumatic, and vicious, visit with her now "dead" brother had taken a toll on all who had been present. Amy had been waking at the most ungodly hours of the night, thrashing about in a cold sweat as she begged her dearly departed father for protection. Bruce had called every hour, on the mark, for the past week to ensure that all was in order. And, if Anna didn't answer the phone, he had made it a point to let himself in and sleep on her couch. Even her father, she used the term loosely, had suffered severe mental trauma that had landed him in the hospital.

Three weeks of rumors, and no sign of their ghostly assailant. Only newspaper articles.

Anna sat in silence by her father's bedside, staring blankly at the floor as the monitor's gentle beeping echoed in her head. She really was empty if the steady beep, beep, beep was all that had occupied her mind. She glanced nervously at her watch, anticipating Amy's return from school with Bruce. The child's school day had, undoubtedly, been filled with a field trip to the zoo, but the circumstances did little to quiet Anna's thoughts.

As a precaution, she had asked Bruce to attend as a guardian to ensure that Amy wasn't snatched away again. It wasn't beyond Jack to abduct an innocent little girl in the middle of the day. Let alone in a public setting. He was just that gutsy.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Amy cried joyously as she darted into the room, decorated with an array of zoo merchandise. "Look what Uncle Bruce got me!"

Anna smiled gently as her daughter shoved a fluffy little giraffe plush into her hands. As Amy began unloading the trinkets from her little backpack, Anna shot Bruce a gentle glance and a genuine smile. The first she'd been able to give in days. She felt pleased that "Uncle" Bruce had been able to take Amy's mind off of the upcoming visit to her child therapist. The last thing her sweet baby needed was a constant reminder of her abduction.

"Anna..."

Gasps sounded, and Amy fell silent, all eyes coming to rest upon the trembling man in the hospital bed. His eyes were glazed over and bloodshot, and his body shook, probably as a result of the run-in with the Joker.

Anna's first instinct was to take his hand in hers and tell him that everything would be fine. But she hadn't forgotten where the evil had stemmed from. As the saying went: "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." That had been proven with Jack. She, on the other hand, had gotten lucky that day. Very lucky.

With her eyes glazed over with tears, Anna turned to Bruce. "Would you mind taking Amy outside for a minute?"

Bruce glanced between her and Richard before nodding and taking Amy into his arms. "Don't start a riot," he whispered, walking out the door.

Anna clenched her fists, gaze cast to the floor as she shook, ignoring her father's pleas. "You can't just expect me to forgive you... You've done far too much damage. You ruined him."

Her breath trembled as she heard his own hitch on cue with the beeping monitor. She didn't have to look to know that he had turned his eyes from her. The feeling of being watched no longer hovered above her shoulder. His lack of words sent a message that a man of his pride would never be able to speak: He'd been wrong.

"I'm pleased, at least, that you can acknowledge your faults," she said, looking up to stare out the window. "This is... the first time you've ever taken real responsibility for your actions."

"I didn't say anything like that," he replied gruffly. "You need to stop running around making such rash assumptions."

Anna rose from her chair, eyes burning as she stared into her father's face. She's been mistaken to take his silence as a confession. He was clearly in denial. "No," she hissed, fighting back the tears. "You're the one running. You've been running from that night for years, and you haven't been able to accept that you were wrong. We could have been happy, you know. The four of us. We could have lived a normal, peaceful life if you'd given up your drinking."

"You have no right to speak to me this way, Anna!" Richard shouted. "I did what I could for you kids. I fed you, clothed you, put a roof over your heads! And you dare speak to me this way?"

"Oh, yeah!" she shot back. "You did so much for us! Beating us when you lost your damned poker games, or got fed up with work! You were a real hero, Dad! I guess that's why Jack turned out the way he did: A mass-murdering genius!"

The room fell silent; the soft plip, plip, plip of the monitor mingling with the sound of fresh rain against the window. Anna turned, crossing the room to stand by the window, pressing her hand against it. Oh, how she wished she could turn back time. What she would have given to restore balance to a once happy family. That's right... They had been happy once. More than twenty years earlier. But all that had been taken away on that dark September night.

Her hand slid gently down the glass, her eyes staring deeply into her reflection. For an instant, she saw him: The happy, kind-hearted little boy she'd lost so long ago. The boy who'd died long before his designated time. Anna sighed, resting her head against the glass.

"You killed him..." she said quietly, turning to face her father. "You killed him, Dad. He didn't even have a chance..." With a scowl, Anna darted to the shelf for her purse, slinging it over her shoulder as her hand rested on the door handle. "You can't keep running from this, Richard. No matter how much you want it to, this nightmare won't end easily. The only way to wake Gotham from your nightmare... is to kill him."

6 - 7 - 6 - 7

"Oh, darling! Darling, where are you?"

Her constant wooing was really getting to be a pain in the ass. She'd been stuck to him like glue for the last three weeks, never daring to leave his side. Now, the citizens of Gotham feared him more than anything. But what the Joker had come to fear... was Harley.

He'd made one hell of a mistake in busting her out of Arkham. She'd developed a frightening stockholm syndrome, and it was freaking him out like nothing else. The woman would croon and cling to his arm whenever she got the chance. He couldn't handle so much human interaction. He didn't even interact with his goons if he could avoid it. What was the point when he could send a messenger to deliver the orders?

With Harley, he didn't have that kind of luxury.

He, the Joker, the Clown Prince of Gotham, had been reduced to hiding from a woman. A very obsessive woman, at that. Not a moment went by where he didn't hear her voice in his head, calling, pleading, begging for his company. At this rate, he'd surely go mad.

He had to get rid of her, or at least appease her, somehow.

"Hey!" Harley cooed, glomming onto his arm. "Where'd you run off to? I was lonely."

Jack rolled his eyes, trying desperately to free himself from her grip. "There's this little thing I do everyday," he said, trying to remain calm, "and it's called working. I'm a busy man, Harley-girl. So, I really... don't have time... for your games." He sighed, relinquishing himself to her clinging. He'd surely have to take his own arm off to escape now.

"But you're always busy," she whined, staring up at him with puppy eyes. "Why can't I go with you? We never get to spend any time together."

His eyes widened at the statement. "Never get to spend any time together?" What the hell did she think they were doing? He couldn't get a moment's peace with her around, much less some well-deserved alone time. Jack shook his head. Thinking back on it, it really was his fault this had happened. He'd busted her out of Arkham, turned her into his pet, and forced her to rely upon him for everything she needed.

What the hell have I done...?

"We're together all the time," he said, trying to calm himself. "All the damn time."

Harley huffed, taking her turn at rolling her eyes. "That's a lie if I've ever heard one," she replied, snuggling closer. "You go away all the time, and I'm always left here. It's no fun being here without you. You're the life of my party, Jackie."

Well, shit. She'd officially granted him a pet name. It wasn't supposed to be that way. He was in charge, not her. So, why the hell was she getting so damn chummy? Of course. His fault. Again.

"Boss!" a man shouted upon barging into the room. "We got word that Wayne's hanging around Gotham General with that woman and her kid. Whatcha want us to do?"

The Joker hesitated before yanking his arm away from the clingy woman. "Post snipers around a three block radius. And don't lose sight of him!" he barked, ignoring Harley's incessant pleas to tag along. "Look," he hissed, taking her chin in his hand. "You go anywhere with me, you're expected to obey. Understand, doll?"

"Anything!" she said, a wide smile overcoming her face. "I swear, I won't mess up again!"

Damn right you won't... he thought with a grin. Can't let this get fucked up again... It ends tonight...


Emotions ran high in this chapter. Please review.