(reminder that Sierra's real name is Elara, they're the same person)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~CHAPTER 14~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I suppose we'll have to kill it," Jenna said. Marwick frowned. "But we all know that's Sierra. If we kill it we kill her." Jenna grinned. Finally she knew something the others didn't. "We won't kill her, we'll free her. She's already dead. Not completely though. A part of her… is in a part of us. She told me. I can hear her. In here." She made a fist over her heart. "We can bring her back, whole this time, and this Insanity thing will be gone forever." Beetle, Rose, and Marwick nodded their silent agreement. Suddenly, the enormity of what they were about to do washed over them. They would actually have to face the monster. Beetle shuddered. Sometimes he appreciated it when Septimus was the center of attention. He would do the hard work for them. "Okay. L-Let's go then, shall we?" Marwick wavered, but he kept his stance. Steadied now, or so he hoped, he stepped out of the SafeShield and beckoned the rest to come. They stepped out and were horrified. Everything was on fire. Jenna heard a strangled squawk and screamed. A dead chicken was lying at her feet. She calmed herself down and looked straight ahead of her. The silhouette of a black figure was there, but she couldn't tell whether it was coming towards them or the Castle. "We can't stay its end. We have to kill it. Now," Rose whispered. "But how?" Beetle was interrupted by a tree being hurled at them. They threw themselves out of the way just in time and the SafeShield flickered as the naked tree bounced off of it and into the Mott. Rose couldn't stand dead trees, just as she couldn't stand dead chickens. She pulled out a toy warrior, the kind JoJo Heap used to play with and murmured, "Darkness falls, dead of night. Silence calls, we will fight. Pain is all, we will fight. We will fight in the dead of night." The warrior bowed and Transformed into four swords. She gave one to Beetle. "If you strike, it will confuse the monster." She gave one to Marwick. "If you strike, it will immobilize. If I strike with mine, it will forget a little bit of its pain." She finally turned to Jenna. "If you strike, you will penetrate it. You have to kill it." Jenna was astounded as she took the sword from Rose's outstretched hands. She finally had an importance. It wasn't just Septimus. As she took the sword, a current of adrenaline flowed through her, and she suddenly felt invincible. "Come on, then. Let's free her!"

They had no need to run to the Insanity monster, it ran to them. It softened a bit, realizing who they were, but toughened its heart. It was feeding off Elara's previous thoughts and paranoia that all they felt towards her was pity, and became more stronger, full of hate. It hissed, making the fires already across the Marshes flame upward and spread. Marwick had quickly Extinguished the flames, leaving the Marshes sizzling. He had an immediate fear for the Boggart. What of him? The monster sensed this and smiled inside. More food. It sucked the essence of fear out of Marwick through the slit which might have been its mouth. It swept its hand over the Marshes, and the fires leapt up, higher than ever. "It feeds off negative emotions! Guys, we have to think positive! Think of when we will free Sierra, or good times we had with her!" Marwick screamed over the thunderous crackle of the fires, finally realizing what was happening. Rose took out a ThunderFlash, one that Septimus had stolen from Simon when he was influenced by the Darke. She stared at it for a moment, and threw it, not caring where it hit, but just that that part was paralyzed. It hit the thing's arm, and the thing made a sound like "schzeeeee!". It tried to bring life back into its arm, but it trailed behind like a limp noodle. It narrowed its eyes at Rose, who started backing away, but still keeping in mind the good times she had with Sierra. A tear slid down her cheek, but it wasn't a tear of sorrow, fear, or that those might be the last few seconds of her life. It was a tear of joy, remembrance, and faith.

Rose was swept off her feet as the thing grabbed her. She did not have a reaction, however. She was still in the past, and the present was no concern for her. Memory of the thing was gone from her mind. As the thing kept tightening its grip and Rose's lips began to take on a blue tinge, she absentmindedly raised her sword. Still drowning herself in the memories, still smiling, she jerked her arms down so violently, having no reaction as the thing screamed. She was dropped down, but she was in the memory of she and Sierra dancing together and laughing. Gracefully, she pulled herself out of the Mott, and travelled up towards the limp arm. She danced up and whispered in the thing's ear, "Sierra, that was so much fun!" and swung her sword. She dropped again as the thing shook its head. Now, many people in the Castle had thought Queens to be distinctly UnMagykal. But they had their Shields and Defenses. A different kind of Magyk no Wizard could master. So, as Rose fell, Jenna stretched out her arm in reflex and a white barrier appeared, catching her as she was about to meet her most certain death. Jenna waved her hand towards herself and carried Rose towards herself. She hugged Rose as she was brought back to the present. Crying in relief, Jenna was taken to the same world Rose had, and laid her down on the scorched grass. She swiftly got up and strode to the limp arm. The thing had noticed and quick as lightning, jerked to grab her. Jenna raised her empty hand and put it down, severing its lower arm, in the memory of when she was performing in front of Sierra and bowing. The thing shrieked, and, closing its eyes, tendrils of muscles and Darke things came out of the dripping arm, closing in and wrapping on each other, forming a new arm and hand. Opening and closing its fingers, its eyes laid on Jenna. She slowly came out of her reverie and motioned to Beetle. He was grinning uncontrollably, remembering Sierra's most recent birthday. He walked slowly up to the thing.

It sensed the presence behind it, and swiveled around fast enough to see Beetle advancing upon it. Very slowly. Bemused, and clearly humoring Beetle, it stood still, wondering what the tiny human would do.

Beetle was not actually consciously doing anything. He had already struck the monster, and the sword had done its job; confusing and bewildering the beast. It was now Marwick's turn. He took out two StunFlashes, the ones Aunt Zelda had given him before she had died. He threw them at the thing's legs. It screamed in pain, and its legs became paralyzed. Zelda had said to use them for good. This was good. Good for Sierra, good for his friends, good for Sam Heap, his one and only. Sam was always there. Lost in a memory when he was with Sam, for he didn't have many memories with Sierra, he travelled back to the memory when they had gone to Wizard Sandwiches, and Sam coming out to Marwick. That had been the happiest moment of Marwick's life, that he was not the only one who was homosexual. Marwick felt light, and not weighed down by the new responsibilities he had for the past three years. Climbing up the cottage walls, he stood on the thatched roof. Remembering what Septimus had told him about the Flyte Charm, he freed himself emotionally and jumped. Taking the limp thing by surprise, he stuck his sword in the thing's chest and slid down, taking the sword with him. He hopped down. The monster was completely paralyzed. But its head was not. It made the fires stronger, and one leapt up right where Jenna was walking to free her dear friend. A wall of flame looked her in the eye, trying to make her remember the traumatizing events she had encountered ever since her tenth birthday. Hearing the pistols aimed at her head and heart, being kidnapped, hearing disturbed spirits of the two dead Princesses behind the wainscoting. Witnessing an Inhabited Ephaniah Grebe. Seeing hundreds of warrior jinnee marching up to her Castle. Walking through the Darke Domaine, and finally, facing Shamandrigger Saarn and Dramindonnor Naarn. The thing was trying to make Jenna remember all the pain. But Jenna didn't. She blocked out the suffering with laughter. Laughter with her brothers. Laughing with her true parents, her foster parents, Sarah and Silas Heap. Laughing with Beetle. Rose. Marwick. Sierra. She knew she could not get out of the fire, but she could get out of the bad memories. Coal suddenly dropped all around her, and the fire extinguished. Confused, she looked up, where Septimus was Flying. He winked and flew towards the head of the thing. He looked the thing in the eye. It was living, but at the same time, dead. He may have felt some guilt in doing this, but he did not care. He shoved shards of glass in the thing's eyes. "Schzeeeee!" it shrieked, making everyone clamp their hands over their ears.

While in the cottage, Septimus knew he had been blind, and he wanted to make it up. He went into Aunt Zelda's cupboard and went through the Queen's Way. He looked down, and sure enough, there was the trapdoor he had went through five years ago, when he had been kidnapped by Marcellus Pye. Reluctantly, he went down to the Robing Room and smashed the Glass. The shards scattered everywhere, and he took the two sharpest, longest, and biggest ones. It was these he shoved into the thing's eyes, and blinded the thing. He could now see.

Jenna had smiled at the awakening of her her brother and strode to the thing's heart, a pulsing, pounding thing. Reminding herself the thing was partially dead, she took her sword and shoved it in. Twisting and turning, slicing deeper into the black flesh, she kept in mind that killing evil would revive the good. Finally, when her face was splattered in its blood, she yanked out her sword. Heartbroken, she looked around. She could only see the white and anxious faces of her friends. Sierra… was not there. She reminded herself to stay positive, but couldn't. Maybe she had killed Sierra. She collapsed in a fit of sobs. Septimus flew to Jenna, a tear sliding down his cheek as well. He was crying out of love, however, and not grief. It landed in the wound, mixing in with the thing's blood. Swirling, swirling, swirling…

I laughed out loud. I was alive. Alive! I saw my friends' relieved, joyous, and tear-streaked faces staring at me in disbelief. I looked back at them with love. Love for my friends, my family. I looked back at Falyn, Nimue, and Cyne, who nodded. Even Cyne nodded, who, in her surprise of being alive again, remembered how society worked again. I leapt down and embraced them, crying and laughing at the same time, sometimes not able to tell which one I was doing. I swept my hand and the Marram Marshes were restored. The dead creatures had come back to life. Just as I had. I was alive. Insanity no longer existed. I finally had a family. I was with the friends who raised me. I fell like I did when Una Brakket came to kill me but killed my parents. I fell again. But I also came back to life. And my name is Elara.