Hey, guys! ...I swear I'll get this schedule thing right someday. I've just been dealing with a lot of stressful stuff lately, and...yeah. I promise I'm trying! Either way...let's take care of reviews, shall we?

Thanks so much to last chapter's lone reviewer, Demi clayton! Well...you'll just have to see what happens. ;)

WARNING: THINGS ARE GETTING DARK HERE. KEEP THIS IN MIND MOVING FORWARD.

With that said, on with the chapter!

Chapter 17: Madness

From the Journal of Arios Fletcher

Something has happened.

Unfortunately...I do not know exactly what. All I know for certain is that there has recently been a worryingly long stretch of time during which I can't remember a thing.

The previous entry in this journal bears the date of two days ago...and yet finishing it is the last action I can recall performing. When I attempt to think of what I have done yesterday and most of today, I draw a complete blank.

I cannot help but fear the possibilities of what might have caused this strange memory lapse. Perhaps I was hexed? Poisoned? Drugged? But to what end? And why does no one seem concerned?

Truthfully, I haven't left my room since I "awakened," so to speak. I use the term tentatively, as I do not believe I was asleep before my conscious thought returned to me. I was merely sitting up straight at the edge of my bed when I suddenly realized that I could not remember how I had gotten there. It was a strange sensation...but I digress.

I have not left my room since my odd awakening, so I have not spoken with any others about my condition. In truth, I find myself overcome with a strange feeling of fright every time I stand with the intention to exit...some unfamiliar anxiety is preventing me from going to seek someone else's opinion. Perhaps those that call me paranoid are correct, but...I cannot shake the feeling that I definitely should not leave my room.

Well...no one has come to search for me, so all must be well, yes? Or perhaps others are afraid as well...that would be beneficial to me.

But...why would it, again?

Ach, my memory may be failing more than I initially realized...it is as though there is some sort of barrier within my mind that is blocking off certain memories. But...was it intentionally placed there by an outside force? Or is this some sort of illness? And what of my oddly increased fear; could that be another symptom of whatever it is I have fallen victim to? If so, how do I fix it? Do I even want to fix it? My own mind seems to be trying to reassure me that everything is alright...but from a logical standpoint, this situation is far from alright.

Mhm...I feel a headache coming. I will have to look into this phenomenon more closely later, after some rest.

()()()()

Time passed. Of that, Jack was certain.

Unfortunately, however, he had no idea exactly how much had passed since Ebon had left the room. Ordinarily, he possessed a solid concept of time; he had hardly had much access to clocks or any other timekeeping devices during his years on the run, so he had gotten used to going without. However, the boy was now so disoriented and exhausted that he found himself unable to gauge exactly how long he had been hanging there, muscles aching and blood trickling down his body, some of it eventually dripping into the pool below. For all he knew, it could have only been an hour or two.

Though the fact that he had begun hearing things made him assume it had been far longer.

Granted, it wasn't much at first. Merely the occasional thump, creak, or unintelligible whisper that certainly wouldn't have been possible in an empty underground room with not another soul anywhere near him. Knowing that the "noises" were likely only the result of his frustratingly unstimulated mind trying to make something up for him to focus on, he forced his attention to remain on the one sound he knew was real: that of his own ragged breathing.

For some reason, as exhausted as he was, Jack found himself unable to fall asleep. It may have simply been because of his strange, uncomfortable position, but the young sprite had a sneaking suspicion that Ebon had stealthily laid some sort of curse on him at some point before leaving in order to torture him further.

He gulped nervously. No doubt he's hoping that I lose my mind completely… he thought, trying fruitlessly to stop his ears from twitching at the imaginary whisper he thought he heard just behind him. Not only am I confined to a dark room with nothing but my own thoughts, likely susceptible to any Fearling mind games, while my arms are nearly pulled out of their sockets from having to support me for so long...but I'm also unable to sleep...oh, if Sandy could see me now…

Suddenly, he paused in his thoughts, blinking as a thought came to him. Hm...maybe the other Guardians can't see me now, but perhaps I can see them? What was that clairvoyance spell Lily used…?

Tentatively, he cleared his throat and said softly, "C-Clair-" He stopped, wincing. Not only was his throat burning beyond belief, but even his raspy whisper of a voice sounded far too loud to him after the extended silence of the cell. Even the imagined noises were hardly anything compared to any actual sounds, it seemed.

Regardless, Jack took a deep breath and steeled himself for another attempt. As confidently as he could possibly manage in his current state (which wasn't much, unfortunately), he recited, "Clairvoyus...Nicholas St. North."

Nothing happened, save for a slight twinge in his wrists.

He sighed. Of course… he thought grimly. Magic-sealing shackles...I suppose they don't only seal my natural magic, hm?

Idly, he wondered if it was possible that the other Guardians knew the clairvoyance charm as well, and if they could see him now. Seconds later, however, that theory was quashed by the memory of Dr. Fletcher claiming that the entirety of the underground city was cloaked in anti-detection charms. He could only assume that those charms covered his current cell as well...wherever exactly he happened to be in relation to the rest of New Iskald.

Besides… he acknowledged with a frown. If they had been able to find me, they would have already come for me, and I would be out of here by now.

"If they even want to find you," an alarmingly clear voice whispered in his ear, causing him to nearly jump out of his skin.

His sudden jerk of shock sent pain coursing through his whole body, leaving him unable to suppress a strained yelp as he struggled to stop his swaying from his chains. It did not take him too terribly long to recover physically, but mentally, it was another story altogether.

"W-What...th-the hell…!?" he hissed under his breath as his heart pounded in his chest. His glowing eyes darted every which way, trying to ascertain whether or not he truly was alone.

Sure enough, he could see no sign of life anywhere in the darkness. This revelation, however, was far from comforting.

Alright… he internally began, desperately trying to set his frenzied thoughts back in order. No one is here aside from me...which means that either Ebon is playing tricks from the shadows...or I'm...beginning to lose my mind…

Though he greatly hoped the answer was not the latter, he was forced to acknowledge the fact that he had not spoken his last thoughts about the Guardians aloud. Unless Ebon was somehow telepathic...Jack's mind was the only thing to blame for the voices that threatened to haunt him.

The boy suddenly flinched as a heavy footstep thudded behind him. For a moment, he thought that the Fearling had returned through an alternate entrance, but a quick glance over the shoulder told him that there was nothing but a solid wall on that side of the room. The pool he was hanging over took up the entierty the floor of that half of the cell-no one could have taken any kind of step there.

Keep it together, Jack...he thought nervously as he faced forward once more. Your mind's only playing tricks on you...your mind and that damn Fearling, that is...that's all…nothing to worry about for now...just...hold out until this is all over...

But no matter what he told himself, he could not shake the feeling that things would soon get much, much worse.

()()()()

He was now convinced that it had, in fact, been several days since he was first left alone. Perhaps even a week. Or longer.

Time felt nonexistent in the dark cell. An eternity could have passed and Jack would have been none the wiser.

All he knew was that the hallucinations had gotten worse.

Indeed, after an indeterminate amount of time, he had finally allowed himself to admit that what he was experiencing were indeed hallucinations. Whether brought on from some dark magic Ebon had cast or from his own deteriorating mind (or a combination of the two), he didn't know, but he could not deny the fact that he was being tormented by things that, quite simply, were not there.

Though they had started out as quick, meaningless snippets of sound, they soon escalated to the point where, had he not known better, he would have been absolutely sure that someone was whispering in his ear or scraping the walls of the room with a blade. Eventually, desperate to block out the imagined noises, Jack began quietly singing to himself, even at the protest of his ragged throat.

"R-Run, run, r-run away…"

"You'll never get out of here alive," he heard a low voice say.

"B-Buy yourself a-another d-day…"

A few footsteps sounded off to the left.

"A c-cold wind's wh-whispering...s-secrets in y-your...ear…"

He flinched as the voice once again whispered, "Why bother trying to stay sane?"

"S-So low o-only y-you can...h-hear…"

He heard the distinct sound of a blade being sharpened.

"R-Run...run...r-run and h-hide…"

"Won't you feel better if you just let your mind go?"

"S-Somewhere n-no one else c-can...f-find…"

A splash sounded somewhere below him.

"T-Tall trees...b-bend and l-lean...p-pointing where t-to...g-go…"

"Going mad sounds like an easier fate than being aware enough to think about how much you're suffering."

"W-Where y-you will s-still be a-all...a-alone…"

"You are alone, aren't you…? And yet you're hearing voices. You've fallen far…"

"D-Don't y-you fret, m-my dear…"

"What, are you about to cry?"

"I-It'll a-all be o-over...s-soon…"

"No, it won't be."

"I-I'll be w-waiting here…"

A single tear rolled down Jack's face.

"F-For you…"

()()()()

After the last echoing notes of the old song from his memories had faded from the cell, Jack had broken down crying with an intensity that he hadn't experienced since his first couple of years on the run. He had been little more than a scared child then, and was beginning to feel quite similar to one now.

He was helpless, hurt, frightened, and quite possibly losing his mind.

To hell with his usual emotional repression. For once, he felt that his tears were completely justified rather than shameful and weak.

Perhaps such a feeling was merely brought on by his deteriorating mental state, but at present, he found himself unable to care. His apathy was so great, in fact, that even when the door to the cell finally opened once more, he made no effort to quiet his sobs. Instead, he merely lifted his head weakly and stared through blurred eyes at the figure in the doorway.

"Why, hello there, Guardian!" Ebon called out, a wide grin on his pale face as his yellow eyes flashed. "Have you been enjoying your time alone?"

Jack did not say a word, but Ebon didn't seem to mind.

"By the way, that was a beautiful song you were singing earlier!" the Fearling chuckled with a condescending smirk. "Such a shame it had to be marred by your voice. Honestly, you sound awful! Almost like your throat's been burned!"

While the monster laughed, Jack once again did not even attempt to respond.

Ebon still seemed unbothered by the boy's silence as he finished laughing and stepped forward with a grin. "I know your alone time must be fun, but I'm afraid there's been a bit of a change of plans." His smile took on a distinctly sinister air to it as he took a few steps even closer.

Ebon's face was now only inches away from Jack's own. Jack idly wondered how this was possible with the pool separating the two of them, but didn't try to investigate.

"Instead of keeping you alive...I'm going to have to dispose of you instead," Ebon whispered darkly.

Suddenly, a flash of intense pain through his abdomen caused another painful sob to tear itself from Jack's throat. The young sprite looked down, panicked, to find a dagger now lodged in his midsection, blood already oozing out from the wound.

With a jovial laugh, Ebon roughly yanked the dagger back out, then plunged it in again a little to the left, prompting Jack to cry out in pain once more.

The boy wept and wept as the dagger pierced his stomach, his side, his arms, his legs, his chest, and finally his throat, and though the pain was nothing short of blinding, he simply couldn't seem to die. Even when thick, dark blood coated his entire body, when it blurred his vision and flooded into his mouth, he still lived. Even when the stench of the blood suffocated him, he still breathed. Even when the organ had surely been torn to shreds by the razor-sharp blade, his heart still beat.

And through it all, Ebon's laughter never once ceased, nor did Jack's sobbing.

For what felt like forever, pain and blood was all he knew.

Then, all of a sudden, everything stopped.

There was no laughter, no blood, no dagger...the pain still persisted, but he suddenly realized that it was merely a result of his continued hanging position. Otherwise, all he had left were the tears.

Breathing heavily, Jack opened his eyes and stared into the darkness. No one was there. The room was still silent, the pool was still undisturbed, the door was still tightly shut, and his body was still intact.

It had never happened.

Jack suddenly felt sick to his stomach. He lowered his head, trembling with shock, fear, and uncertainty. It was becoming nauseatingly clear that he could no longer trust even his own senses. It terrified him.

He was forced to accept that he was entirely helpless in this situation. He had no control to speak of, not even over his own mind. Even now, he could barely formulate more than one, singular timid thought.

I-I want to go home…

And on that note...I hope you all enjoyed. Don't forget to leave a review and tell me what you think, and I'll see you all in the next chapter.

Until then, Sapphire316, out.