25 ~ Voices

Hey, it's me again
I'm so in love with you again
Please, can I see you every day?

You didn't know what you were lookin' for
'Til you heard the voices in your ear

Jackie did a little dance inside her mind. Steven and the others were close, she could feel them. She could also hear them. Her excitement overwhelmed her, bringing forth a new memory.

She was being carried, like a bride after a wedding. She couldn't tell who exactly was carrying her, but the person's arms were thin and strong.

Her eyes were fluttering, open and shut, open and shut. She felt so tired. She tried to take in her surroundings as much as she could when her eyes were open, but it was difficult.

She saw rocks, bathed in darkness. It must have been nighttime. Bits of grass or bushes jutted out of curves in the rock. A warm breeze blew over her face, carrying the smell of pine and salt water.

"Here we are," the unidentified voice Jackie kept hearing in her mind said. It must belong to the person carrying her.

Jackie forced her eyes open for a moment. A large mountain peak stood before her, with a gaping hole in the side that served as an entrance. Above the hole was an engraving, the words 'The Cavern Of Lost Dreams.'

Jackie's eyes fell shut again. She couldn't keep them open. She felt incredibly tired. Had the person drugged her?

Jackie's eyes snapped open to her iridescent mind. "Steven, are you still there?"

"Still here. Do you know anything about where you are? Can you give us a hint or something?"

"Yes! I'm in a place called the Cavern of Lost Dreams," Jackie said.

"I have heard legends of that place," Fez said. "It's where people go when Dream Wizards kidnap them."

"Why would a Dream Wizard kidnap me?" Jackie asked.

"This Cavern of Lost Dreams isn't on the map," Eric said.

"We can walk until we find it," Steven said.

"You sure you can handle carrying Kelso that far?" Donna asked.

"You're carrying Michael?" Jackie asked.

"I'll be fine. He can't walk and we gotta get to Jackie," Steven said. "Jackie, are we close?"

"You feel closer than before, but you're not there just yet. You're definitely close," Jackie said. She closed her eyes and focused on her heart. She could feel Steven inside it, and he felt very close.

Closer than he had been in a very, very long time.

Hyde inhaled deeply as he felt Jackie for a moment. She was happy, which made him happy. As he inhaled, he caught the smell of pine and salt water. The pine was from the trees and bushes around the mountains. The salt water was from the nearby ocean.

Forman and Donna let Hyde take the lead. Fez stayed close for Kelso. Hyde followed the path, feeling just a little bit closer to Jackie with every step.

He followed the path until the path split into five different directions. "Shit," Hyde muttered. He looked down the paths as far as he could see. None of them seemed right.

He closed his eyes and blocked everything out of his mind except for Jackie. "Jackie… help me help you." He opened his eyes again. The rightmost path glittered with yellowy-white light, shimmering in the sun. "Thanks, Starlight."

Hyde led the rest of them down the sparkling path. He grinned as a thought occurred to him. He would be able to see Jackie today. Exactly two weeks since Chicago, and he was going to see her today.

He had no idea how long the path to Jackie would be, but he wouldn't stop walking until he was with her.

Jackie had been thrown into another memory. She was sitting against a rock in the cavern. She was only half-conscious. Across from her was the person that had carried her here.

She finally got a good look at the face of the person who had been tormenting her this whole time. She recognized their face, she'd seen it a few times. But she couldn't make a connection between this person and herself.

"This is your last meal before I put you under, so eat up," the person said.

Jackie didn't move. She didn't trust this person one bit. She felt an inexplicable hatred towards this person; she felt like they had done something really terrible.

"I won't eat anything you give me," Jackie said, but her words were slurring.

"Might've gone a bit heavy on the sedative spell," the person murmured. "You gotta eat, or you'll never survive what I'm about to do to you."

Jackie curled into herself. She did not feel safe near this person at all. She wished Steven were here, or Michael, or Donna, or anyone. She just didn't want to be alone with this person.

"You gotta eat," the person repeated. A thin yet strong hand gripped Jackie's jaw, forcing it open. A spoon was pushed into her mouth, depositing a broth-like liquid onto her tongue. Jackie was too tired to fight it.

Eventually the pressure on Jackie's jaw relented and the person stopped feeding her. "I don't know how Steven stayed with you for two whole years if you're this helpless."

"Steven?" Jackie murmured. Her heart warmed at the thought of him, then broke. He'd left her alone in Chicago. Alone and heartbroken. "I still love him," Jackie said, but her words slurred too much to be comprehensible.

The person sighed heavily. "You're really testing me, you know that? I hate kids. But I need you, much as I hate you. Least I won't have to deal with you once I get you inside your mind."

"Inside my mind?" Jackie managed to ask somewhat clearly.

"Yep. Putting you in the Mindscape. Only way out is if you really, really want to get out. Or if I got fatally wounded. But that won't happen, so it's all on you." The person lifted her up, not gently.

The person started speaking a different language, one that was vaguely familiar and made Jackie think of Fez. And then Jackie passed out.

Hyde stopped. He had stopped feeling Jackie for just a moment. She was back now, but he was worried. "Jackie, are you okay?"

"Steven? Yeah, I'm fine. I just… fell into a memory. You're closer than the last time we talked."

"Good." Hyde continued walking.

"What do you mean you fell into a memory?" Donna asked.

"I'm trapped in my mind, so sometimes I relive old memories. And sometimes the voice forces me to relive bad ones."

Hyde chewed the inside of his cheek. Whoever this voice was, they were getting their ass kicked when Hyde got a hold of them.

Kelso lifted his head from Hyde's shoulder. "Jackie, why didn't the voice talk to you while I was there?"

"I don't know. They probably didn't want you to know who they are. I don't even know who they are."

"Well, whoever they are, we're taking them down," Donna said.

"Damn right we are," Hyde said.

Jackie's giggles echoed off the mountain's rocks and warmed Hyde's chest. He loved the sound of her laughter. He couldn't wait to be able to hear it in person.

"I can't wait to see you all again," Jackie said.

"I can't wait to see you either," Donna said.

"Eh. I could wait a little longer," Forman said. Then he laughed. "Ah, who am I kidding? I freaking miss Jackie too. The world is ending."

"Crazy times breed crazy thoughts," Hyde said.

"I miss you too, Eric. The world really must be ending," Jackie said, a laugh in her voice.

"Well, the world's not allowed to end just yet. Not before I see you again, Jackie," Hyde said.

"Aww, Steven! Now I really, really want to see you."

"We'll be there soon enough," Fez said.

Hyde hoped that was true as they continued down the sparkling path.

They were closer to Jackie than ever, Hyde could feel it. He turned the corner, Kelso securely on his back, to see a tall mountain peak. The peak had a large opening in the side of it. Above the opening, the words 'The Cavern Of Lost Dreams' were carved.

"Holy shit. We're here," Hyde said, a smile forming on his face and a disbelieving laugh bubbling in his throat. "We're really here."

Hyde entered first with Kelso. Forman, Donna and Fez were close behind.

Inside, stalactites hung from the high walls of the cave. But the stalactites weren't what drew Hyde's gaze upwards.

Up at the top of the cavern, Jackie was floating. She was surrounded by a faint white glow and her hair was floating around her head.

Relief flooded Hyde's chest at the sight of her, seemingly unharmed. She was finally, finally within his sight. An incredulous smile formed on his face. He couldn't believe they were really here.

But they wouldn't be able to get her down. She was too high up, out of their reach.

"Holy shit," Donna whispered.

"How are we supposed to get her down?" Hyde asked.

"We can't. She has to get herself down. All we can do now is wait," Fez said.

"You mean we just have to wait here until she saves herself?" Hyde asked.

Fez nodded. "Or until whoever imprisoned her shows up."

He put down his bag and started to help Kelso off of Hyde's back. They both propped him up against one of the cavern's tall rocks.

Hyde looked up at Jackie again, chewing the inside of his cheek. He was so glad to finally be able to see her again. But he would have to wait to really be with her again. He'd searched for Jackie for weeks, what was waiting just a little longer?