Awww, you guys! I know it's sad that it's ending soon! I'll have a really hard time ending it myself. anon, "Best story I ever read." :O Holy mother of frick! That's like a mega compliment! I don't even...Just wow. I wish you had an account and a user name so I could send you an uber-happy PM, but I hope you accept this love in the A/N instead. RaiRaiBlue, sorry! I hope your final went well! FallingforWerewolves, I know what you mean…Also, PokePyro, you think it's good enough to be a book? I thought about maybe making my own comic book with my own characters in the same scenario...Glad to know someone would read it! Since your review was so deliciously gangsta, I feel I should return the favor by being thug nasty. Hence: Gir, what chu say? You got yo own style, yo! You's be pimpin'! Dear Lord, I'm so lame. I'd attend therapy with Izaya too, but only if I get the same treatment as Shizuo!

Shizuo: EH?

Sachi: N-Nothing! On with the story! *ducks*

Snapped

Shinra walked into the apartment with a quizzical stare glued to his face. He had seen Izaya acting strange lately, and the wild behavior at his party had frightened him. But to hear Shizuo's terrified voice over the phone... That had scared him shitless. Shizuo never showed such emotion. Ever.

When he stepped into the large apartment, he first noticed Izaya at his computer. He was spinning in his chair and mumbling non-stop. Shinra looked to see if he was talking to Shizuo.

The blond was at the counter, his face in his hands. He looked up when he heard the door close.

"Shizuo, what's the problem?" Shinra asked, his eyes glued to the raven.

"I think you can see it." Shizuo sighed, looking over too.

Izaya was still spinning. He hadn't even looked up when Shinra walked in. He didn't seem to notice. He didn't notice Shizuo either. He was just...gone.

"Izaya! Izaya, I'm in your apartment! It's polite to greet your guests!" the doctor wailed dramatically, trying to provoke him.

He didn't look up. Instead, he stopped and looked over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes.

"Shut the fuck up, Psyche! I don't want to hear about your damn obsession with the color pink!" he growled.

There was a drawn out moment. Shizuo shook his head and ran his hands under his eyes briefly, before he looked over to Shinra, whose jaw was almost on the floor.

"What... Who's Psyche?"

"I-It's a long story... I guess you need to know it though..." The blond motioned to the sectional sofa before he led the brunet over to it.

"Basically, every personality I had...Izaya made one to match it..." he said quietly.

Shinra cocked his head to the side, his face impassive.

"He... Made one? I don't understand..."

"It was my therapy... He split himself up. For Tsugaru, he invented Psyche. For Delic, he invented Hibiya. And for Tsuki...he made Roppi."

"Izaya split himself up? But...that's impossible! That's not even heard of! I don't-"

"Look at him! Fucking look at him, Shinra! He's not faking this! He's given up his sanity for me! I-I can't bear this anymore!" Shizuo shouted.

The spectacled man looked over to the raven, who was now nowhere to be seen. At closer inspection, he realized Izaya had slid to the floor under his desk.

"Please... Please just be quiet... Please..." his voice whimpered pathetically.

That was not Izaya's voice...

"I know he's not faking... Izaya has always been so in tune with psychology... I suppose with his level of intelligence, it's more than possible that he achieved in splitting himself up. I just don't understand why he did it." Shinra said quietly, his heart aching from the level of despair in the room.

"He did it for me. Everything. He did it for me..."

"Shizuo... This isn't your fault. Izaya did this to himself."

"Then why do I feel this way? I only want him the way he was. I don't fucking care if he trolls people out of existence! I don't care if he deals with the Yakuza! I don't care if he sets me up and gets me arrested a thousand more times! I'll chase him around again and let him escape! I'll let him cut me! I'll- FUCK! Just...fix him!" Shizuo pleaded.

Shinra watched the blond crumple into himself, his head fading behind his hands and his voice breaking off. This wasn't Shizuo. No one was who they were supposed to be.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Izaya suddenly yelled from his hiding place. There was a slight shuffling noise and he emerged from the other side, holding his fingers to his temples. He walked to his room and disappeared again.

"Shizuo… I think you already know he's not going to accept help so easily. This is Izaya we're talking about. I can't do anything without his consent," Shinra said apologetically.

"I know that! I just- I don't know… Just try! Try."

"You… You're in love with Izaya…" It wasn't a question, but the blond nodded in response anyway.

"That's why…I need you to try."

The doctor removed his glasses and pulled a rag out of his coat. Wiping them off, he looked back up at the troubled man and shook his head sadly.

"You know I can't. I'm not even a certified therapist. Unless he gives me permission, I can't do anything at all."

"That's BULLSHIT!" Shizuo roared. "You can! You have to! We don't have any other options- He's out of time!"

"You have another option! A real therapist! Someone with the license and the experience! I don't know what to do except prescribe him medication, and you and I both know he wouldn't take it! The bag of vitamins I gave you is still on the counter and it looks like it hasn't even been touched! He's too stubborn to accept help unless he's forced to! I can't do anything for him!" Shinra retorted.

"I can't take him to anyone else! They'll lock him up! They'll take him away from me!"

"Maybe that's what he needs!"

"I'M WHAT HE NEEDS!" Shizuo screamed, standing up from the couch, his fists clenched.

"It seems to me that you're the one who needs him!"

The blond's stature slackened in defeat. He looked at the doctor with his eyes full of pain.

"I do need him. He cured me! He's been there for me this whole fucking time… Please, Shinra…We just need to try…" he said miserably.

Shinra sighed, nodding in defeat.

"If I make it worse, you have no one to blame but yourself."

"You can't make it any worse. He's already having a hard time coming back to reality when he slips."

"Slips? Shizuo, we need to start from the beginning if we're going to do this. Tell me everything that happened since he first decided to help you."

"Do you think Tsu-chan is happy wherever he is?" Psyche asked dreamily from his space on the bed. He was lying beside Hibiya, who was leaning against the headboard.

"I don't know. Delic told me he was fading. I guess that means they all just went back to where they came from," Hibiya replied, looking up toward the ceiling.

"Tsuki said pretty much the same thing. They're part of Shizuo now," Roppi said in a bored voice. He was sitting at the edge of the bed at the other alternates feet.

"Part of Shizu-Shizu? So what Iza-chan said about them still being alive…" Psyche said in a hopeful voice.

"Yeah, I think they're still very much alive. Just…in a different way now," Roppi told him.

"Ooooh, yay~! I wonder if that means we can ever see them again!" Psyche said happily.

"Don't be ridiculous. You see them whenever you look at Heiwajima," Hibiya hissed.

"B-But… I can't kiss Shizu-Shizu… This isn't fair!" Psyche wailed.

"No. Life's not fair. It's not just you, it's all of us. If prissy over here would get help, we could fade with them," Roppi sighed, pointing to the last raven.

The alternates looked down, the threads on their fingers leading to the informant. He was lying in the floor, facedown.

"Iza-chan… Are you alright?" Psyche asked gently.

"Define 'alright'," Izaya mumbled.

"Orihara, you have no reason to be so sullen about things. This is what you wanted. You summoned us to help Heiwajima, and we did," Hibiya informed him.

"That's all I ever wanted…" Izaya replied, his voice muffled from the floor.

"T-Then you should be happy… He's all better!" Psyche said with false cheer in his voice.

"I thought I was stronger than this. I can't even make you shut up anymore. I can't open my eyes and know reality from fraud. I can't even hear my own voice anymore. I just… Who the hell am I? Izaya doesn't exist. He never did…" Izaya whimpered.

The other personalities all exchanged an alarmed look. Red, gold, and pink eyes wide.

"Izaya… Don't talk like that. You're just a little mixed up right now. You're still the same…" Roppi tried to be comforting.

"How do we know…that you aren't the real ones? Maybe you summoned me? Maybe my entire existence is a dream. One big fucked up nightmare."

"Of course you're the original! Stop being like this! Succumbing to depression is beneath you!" Hibiya snapped.

"Is it really? I don't even remember…what I used to be like…"

"Iza-chan…you're scaring me… Go get Shizu-Shizu…" Psyche pleaded.

"Shizu-chan is the punch line to this awful joke isn't he? The irony of my discontent? The cherry on my fucked up sundae?" Izaya mumbled.

"What are you talking about?" Roppi asked incredulously.

"The one time I did a nice thing in my life, and it ends like this… I used to love irony. Didn't I? I caused it… I created it for others. Here I am, reduced to this…" A hollow laugh escaped him as he sat up.

"Iza-chan…"

Izaya reached under his bed and pulled out the briefcase filled with all their notes on the brute and his alternates. Opening them one by one, he began pulling out every page that had been written on.

"What the hell? Izaya! Why did you have us write those if you were just going to tear them up?" Roppi snarled.

"I'm erasing. Erase, erase, erase… This way, Shizu-chan can forget…"

"Forget…? Orihara…" Hibiya's golden eyes were panicked.

"Y-You're…giving up? Iza-chan, we need you!" Psyche wailed loudly.

"No one needs me. I used to be a god, you know. I could stand above anyone. Now I find myself below the feet of those I used to condescend to… I can't bear it. I can't do this," Izaya said bitterly, tearing the pages to shreds in anger.

"So, you're just going to kill yourself?" Roppi asked quietly.

"I'm going to disappear."

"Shizuo loves you! He fucking loves you! Why are you acting this way? You're so selfish! You never think about anyone but-" Roppi was cut off.

"Shut up! I am thinking of everyone! What use is a broken god? A former glory to the world of man? A fallen angel is nothing but a fucking demon! I can't be here if I am imperfect! Stop lecturing me like I'm the only selfish one here! You only want me to stay so you can see your stupid lovers again!" Izaya shouted.

"That's not even the point here, Izaya! You need to get help! Stop being so-"

"I'M NOT BEING ANYTHING! JUST KEEP YOUR WORDS TO YOURSELF!"

"Stop yelling! Stop, please! Iza-chan, we're only trying to help! We love you too!" Psyche sobbed, his pink eyes filled with moisture.

"Love is a fucking useless emotion. It makes you do things that lead to your downfall. I only want to leave this place. Since you're tied to me, you're coming too," Izaya said simply.

"Heiwajima is tied to you, too," Hibiya pointed out.

"Shizu-chan will find someone else to be tied to. He's a beautiful creature. He can adapt."

"It's not that easy, imbecile! Heiwajima is in love with you!"

"All the more reason to leave! If you don't want to come… I'll just snap these threads!" Izaya yelled viciously, scratching at his fingers.

"Stop that! All you're doing is hurting yourself!" Roppi chastised, rising to try and pull the original raven's hands apart.

"That's the idea! I'll tear these hands to shreds! FUCKING SHREDS! Then you'll finally shut up! I can disappear… Shizu-chan can move on. If only they'd cut!"

Izaya's hand was a bleeding mess as he ripped at them mercilessly.

"Stop, Iza-chan!"

"Orihara!"

"Izaya!"

A new voice added in.

"IZAYA!"

Shizuo ran to him, yanking his hands apart and holding him down.

"Stop! What the fuck are you doing?"

"I NEED TO DO THIS! Leave me alone! If you ever loved me at all you'd leave me alone!" Izaya was thrashing in his grasp, flailing his limbs in an escape attempt.

"Shinra- Fucking help me!" Shizuo shouted to the spectacled man in the doorway. Shinra was watching with wide eyes as he gave a curt nod, reaching for the needle.

"NO! NOOO! I'm not crazy! Just let me go and you'll never see me again! PLEASE! Shizu-chan!"

"This isn't about that! I need you to get better, Izaya! I do love you! That's why I'm doing this!" Shizuo yelled over him.

"Izaya, you need medical attention… At least let me look at your hand…" Shinra whispered.

"Then put the damn needle away!"

The doctor placed it back in his pocket and raised his hands innocently.

"Easy… I'm just going to bandage your hands…"

Carmine eyes clouded over again as the informant looked up, gazing absently at Shinra. Shizuo climbed off of him, helping him sit up.

"I love you…" he whispered quietly, knowing the man didn't hear him.

Shinra knelt in front of them, looking over the wounds carefully.

"Wow… You did a real number on yourself… I need to clean these."

Izaya was only noticing the threads. The threads. The fucking THREADS. Still there, plain as day. Looking up, he saw his alternates standing behind Shizuo. They were watching him. Always watching him. GOLD, PINK, RED. Always. Mixed with Shizuo's own coffee eyes and now the spectacled gaze of Shinra.

More and more subjects were seeing him lose it. Unacceptable. Then…he noticed…

The thread on his thumb… The clear thread that was frazzled… It was hanging on only by a sliver of string. Barely there at all. He frowned, cocking his head to the side as he observed it. The others were so bright. Why was this one… Why…

Looking up, he saw the man with glasses say something to the blond. They both looked scared, the smaller of the two even more so. The blond told him something, and the man in the white coat reached in his pocket again.

Izaya knew what that gleaming was.

"NO! GET AWAY!" Izaya screamed in pure terror, scrambling to his feet and bolting. He pushed the doctor and did all he could think to do. He ran.

There were voices calling him, real or imaginary, he didn't know. He didn't look back. He was in the black streets, the lights up above his head. The rain had returned. The streets were filled with it.

"Izaya! This is crazy! You're in no shape to be running away like this!" Roppi didn't understand that this was necessary. No one ever did.

This was the only SANE thing left to do.

"Iza-chan! Go back! They can help you!" Psyche's voice was broken due to his sobs.

No. Never again. This was all there was. This was all there needed to be. Blackness and them. They were part of the scenery now. Never to be noticed. Never to stand out. Not anymore, not anymore, not...

Vaguely, he knew they were in a city. He just couldn't remember what it was called. People were everywhere. Only…they didn't interest him now. They looked at him with scrutinizing eyes. Their speech made no sense. None. NONE.

"Izaya!"

"Orihara!"

"Iza-chan!"

The alternates continued to verbally abuse him. Their voices filled his mind. His own was fading. Fading like the string. The thread. The clear thread…tied to his chest. FADED.

"Izaya! Izaya! Izaya! Izaya! Izaya! Izaya! Izaya!"

Over and over. That wasn't his name anymore… That person didn't exist. He couldn't…

He never did!

"IZAYA! ORIHARA! IZA-CHAN! IZAYA! IZAYA! IZAYA! IZAYA! IAZYA! IZAYA! IZAYA! IZAYA!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" The informant sank to his knees in the sea of people. He felt hands on him, but couldn't register what they were trying to do.

Clawing, scratching, biting, ripping, tearing.

He'd do what he had to in order to get away. He only wanted peace. He wanted to disappear…

These people would never let him… All of them were trying to help him… They were all condescending to him, making him feel worse. They were getting back at him. Physically, he'd never get to escape… Never…

But mentally, he could….

He looked at the clear, frazzled thread. So feeble…

He placed his thumb near his mouth, gnawing at it. Immediately, his alternates caused an uproar. They pried at him ruthlessly. He continued to scrape his teeth across the thread. Then-

Snap!

Everything went dark.

Finally…peace…

Peace…

.

.

.

All alone, in a sea of nameless faces, Izaya Orihara had finally snapped.

Sachi: I don't even…I mean…This chapter is the product of a stressful week and…I've been depressed so I just poured it all out and…THIS happened. I actually teared up while I was typing it…I'm so sorry! It just…had to go down like that…

Izaya …

Shizuo …

Sachi: For once, there will be silence in the postscript…We all need to recover. Please review! They are the beacon in the dark that has been my week.