Sooooooo yeah, I'm sorry. Really sorry. I know it's been a while since I have updated and I'm sorry. But I have excuses! T-there was... stuff! Yeah, stuff! It was school stuff! And band stuff! And quick recall stuff! And... and ... and... Okay, so bottom line was I had writer's block and I like to procrastinate on anything that doesn't have a deadline. Soooo... time got away from me and it took me forever to update, I'm sorry.

Moving on. So I started this chapter with no idea how to start it, no idea what I should have for the middle, but I did know what I was going to end it with. So I just started writing hoping that I would find a way to smoothly end up where I wanted it go. Well, it sort of did. I like the ending but I'm not sure about the beginning. So if the beginning of the chapter seems stupid to you, sorry, I just needed to get to the end and the beginning is just the blah I used to get there. So, the chapter is here so enjoy!

Disclaimer: I ran out of funny and cleaver ways to say I don't own this story about a story and a half ago soooooo... I don't own the Darkest Powers series or its characters.

*Warning*: Long chapter :D

Chapter 9: Going Mad

Chloe didn't sleep too well that night. Maybe it was from the lack of Derek or maybe it was from what had happened to Jessa. Who knows, maybe it was both. But when she woke up the next morning, the sunlight just starting to peek into the bedroom window, she felt groggy and tired and completely unrested.

With a sight she rolled out of bed and changed and started making her way down to the kitchen for breakfast. Derek greeted her with a lope-sided smile and wrapped her in a hug, "How did you sleep?" He asked, kissing her gently on the forehead.

"Horrible." Chloe murmured into his chest, closing her eyes at his warmth.

"Me too," Derek said, his fingers finding her chin and tilting it up so he could softly kiss her lips, "C'mon," He said, pulling back and taking her hand in his, "food's ready."

Breakfast was good; it was always good because Kit always made it, though Jessa would sometimes help. Despite the good food a somber mood was hanging over the table thanks to the empty chair between Chloe and Simon.

"Oh, come on!" Jessa exclaimed from her perch atop the kitchen counter after a long painful period of silence, "Speak! Vocalize! Communicate!"

Chloe didn't comment on Jessa's outburst. Normally she wouldn't care about talking to a spirit in front of the others but it just felt rude to talk to Jessa while everyone was mourning her loss. Even though she wasn't really dead.

"So," Kit said once it seemed like everyone had eaten their fill, "We need to get Jessa back." Everyone nodded, "And the only way to do that is to find a way to get Nadinka out of Jessa's body." Kit sighed, "Unfortunately, I don't know how to do that, but I do have a friend who is also a necromancer." Chloe perked up at this, "Odds are he will know how to get Jessa's body back."

Everyone was quiet, taking in the proposed plan.

"Well," Jessa said, having moved to stand beside Simon, "I think it's the best bet we have and the only plan that could actually take us somewhere."

"I agree," Chloe said and everyone looked at her, "Jessa likes the idea and so do I. It seems like the only chance we have. We both say yes."

"Yes." Simon voted, his face tired and worn.

"Yes." Tori said firmly.

"Yes." Aunt Lauren said quietly.

"Yes." Derek said, wrapping his arm around Chloe's waist.

Kit nodded, looking at everyone, "I suggest you all pack, we might not be able to come back to this house after we are done with this whole ordeal. It's best to plan ahead and take our stuff with us."

Everyone stood from the table and started heading towards their rooms, ready to leave the place and start working on their plan to help Jessa, even though their plan was vague and smokey, at least they had one.

"Here," Tori appeared in the doorway of Chloe's and Jessa's room, "Let me help pack up Jessa's stuff."

"Okay," Chloe started pointing to things, "Jessa's dufflebag is in that closet and her clothes are in those drawers."

Tori nodded and walked into the room and silently started to pack up Jessa's stuff.

"So is Jessa in here right now?" Tori asked after a few moments of silence.

"No." Chloe replied, folding up some of her own shirts and placing them neatly in her bag, "I think she's with Simon right now. Just watching him."

"How's she taking everything?"

"Well," Chloe stared at the shirt that was in her hands, frowning, "At first she was really shaken, she was even crying, but she seems better now, more like her normal self. But I can't tell if she really is better or if it is all an act to make it seem like she's better so we don't worry about her."

"What do you think it is?" Tori asked, looking over her shoulder at her.

Chloe sighed, "I think it's a bit of both."

She continued to work on folding her clothes and placing them in her bag then once she was done with that she helped Tori with Jessa's clothes.

"Check all around the bed." Chloe told Tori when they were done with the clothes from the drawers, "She always leaves her clothes everywhere, which isn't a problem for her because she can sniff them out, but it poses a problem for us."

"Found a bra and some socks." Tori said throwing them on the bed.

Chloe was on the floor halfway under the bed looking for clothing items, "I found a shirt and I think there's a pair of shorts on your side by the head board."

"On it." Tori said from above, and Chloe saw her appear on the other side of the bed as she got on the floor, "Got 'em." Tori grabbed the shorts.

Chloe felt someone grab her feet and pull her out from under the bed. She shrieked and kicked at them, but stopped when she saw that it was Derek. "Oh. It's just you." She said, standing up and brushing the dust off that she had collected on her adventure under the bed.

"Just me?" Derek asked, offended.

"Well, I thought it was a kidnapper or a serial killer or a crazy scientist. But it was just you, which meant that it was completely anti-climatic and totally disappointing."

"Disappointing?"

"Well, yeah." Chloe was trying to hide a smile because she was just jesting with him, trying to have some fun, "In all the movies whenever a girl is pulled out from under a bed by her feet it's normally done by a kidnapper or someone about to hurt her and then a whole bunch of action starts. So when you grabbed my feet I was totally ready to scream and fight you and then, if you did manage to kidnap me, I would plot a way to escape you and save the day all in less than three hours. So, when I saw it was just you you can image my disappointment."

"You're right," Derek said seriously, "It must have been devastating."

"It was!" Chloe replied, wide-eyed, "It totallly ruined my day."

"Well I'm sorry," Derek said sencerly, "I will just to fix that now won't I?"

"Yes, you must!" Chloe replied, not really sure where the whole bit was going.

And then Derek was kissing her, his lips suddenly on hers, and for a moment she almost didn't know what to do due to shock. And then she was kissing him back her arms wrapping themselves around his neck as he pulled her closer to him. A peace that only Derek could bring settled over her, a peace that spread deeper and deeper through her being as Derek's lips continued to move against hers.

"OH MY GOD!" Tori yelled, "MY EYES! MY EYES! STOP THE PORN! MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE!"

Chloe jumped at Tori's outburst, knocked forcefully out of her peaceful cloud as her and Derek broke apart.

"What is wrong with you two!" Tori yelled at them, her eyes switching back and forth between them to glare at each of them, "You both knew I was in here! And yet you still decide to go and get all up on each other!"

Chloe was blushing, "It's not such a big deal, Tori." She said quietly.

"For you it isn't." Tori narrowed her eyes at her, "You were about to get some, of course you don't care. I, on the other hand, enjoy knowing that I can be in the same room with the two of you without having each of you throwing yourselves at each other as soon as I look away!" Chloe couldn't help but want to smile at how funny Tori's rant was, she had trouble holding it back, "It's not much to ask for!" Tori made and exasperated noise and stormed out of the room while mumbling under her breath.

Chloe stared at the open door that Tori had just stormed through for a moment before a laugh sputtered thorugh her lips. Then she was full out laughing, and Derek wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her to his chest and laughed with her. It felt good to laugh, it seemed like years since she had done so, even though it probably hadn't even been a day. But with the weight of Jessa's predicament on her mind (always on her mind, always reminding her that Jessa was in danger) a good laugh was welcome. It made the day better, gave it a promise of a brighter future. Of course the kiss helped too.

"Are you done packing?" Derek asked, once their fit of laughter was over.

"I'm done." Chloe said, looking around the room, "Tori and me were just trying to locate all of Jessa's stuff. I think I have everything..." She frowned.

"I'll help." Derek said squeezing her tight around the waist and kissing her lips. He let her go and faced the room, breathing in deeply, "There's something over here..." He walked over to the dresser, then reached behind it his hand groping in the inch of space that was in between the back of the dresser and the wall. "How did she even get anything back here?" He asked, his arm stretched to its limit.

"It's Jessa," Chloe clarified, "She can do anything."

"Of course I can do anything." Jessa said, walking into the room, "But what exactly am I doing now?"

"Getting clothes stuck behind the dresser." Chloe said.

Jessa smiled, "Yeah, I am pretty good at that. Though I can't remember what it was this time..." She frowned in thought.

"AH!" Derek jumped away from the dresser, a look of pure horror on his face. Chloe was about to ask what was wrong but then she saw a blue bra flying through the air from where Derek had let go of it after having brought it out from behind the dresser.

"That's where that went!" Jessa exclaimed excitedly, "I thought I left behind at the last house. What a relief it's here! That's my favorite one. Thank you, Derek!"

"Jessa says thank you." Chloe said, smiling at Derek who was wiping his hand on his jeans and staring at the bra, which was now lying on the ground, like it was the grossest thing he had ever seen.

"Well she needs to keep better track of her stuff so this doesn't ever have to happen again." He was still staring at the bra.

"It's just a bra." Jessa said, trying to pick it up, but failing to do so since she didn't have a body, "What's so bad about it?"

Chloe translated.

"It's your bra." Derek replied, "It's just.. weird."

"Aww... how cute!" Jessa said, smiling, "You're afraid of bras! I knew Derek wasn't as invincible as he seemed."

Derek glared at where he assumed Jessa was when Chloe translated, "I am not afraid of bras."

"It's okay," Jessa said earnestly, "We all have our own silly weaknesses. Mine's are all bugs with more than six legs."

Before Derek could reply, Kit notified them that they were leaving in ten minutes and they were all supposed to make a final sweep of the house to make sure they had everything.

And before they knew it, they were all packed into the van, in the exact same place where they were just days before. Once again everyone became conscious of Jessa's missing presence.

They were heading to the house of Kit's necromancer friend who live in a small town just a couple hours away. Chloe spent the down time catching up on her sleep which was surprisingly easy with the help of Derek's presence.

When they were just minutes away Kit spoke to them, "This friend of mine," He said, his eyes glancing at all of them in the review mirror, "He's a little... different. Just so you know ahead of time." Chloe frowned at this, not sure what that meant, but she didn't really care. She couldn't wait to meet the guy, couldn't wait to meet a trained necromancer that wasn't crazy and evil; couldn't wait to meet the guy that held the last hope as to how to get Jessa back.

"Are you sure he's still there?" Simon asked from the backseat of the van, "I mean, he didn't move, did he?"

"No." Kit said, "I'm quite confident he didn't move."

"Well that's good. The last thing we need is to come this far only to find out that this guy moved." Jessa said, suddenly appearing in the van next to Simon, scaring the crap of Chloe who jumped and yelped from surprise.

"What?" Derek asked, scanning their surroundings, instantly on alert.

"It was Jessa," Chloe breathed, clutching her heart and glaring at her friend, "You shouldn't do that." She told her.

"Oops." Jessa smiled, "But how exactly am I supposed to announce that I'm here? It's not like I can walk loudly or something."

"Good point." Chloe said, "Maybe cough quietly next time."

"Willl do."

They were at their destination in just minutes. Chloe stepped out of the van and faced a one story white house that she reasoned hadn't had a paint job for at least half a decade and was in serious need of one. Derek was scanning everything, using all of his senses to check for danger without actually moving since prowling around in a stranger's yard was rude.

Kit walked up the porch steps, the others all in tow, and knocked on the screen door.

Chloe heard someone shout from inside and the sound of something crashing followed by loud quick footsteps.

"Kit!" A man exclaimed, opening the door. The man was extremely thin and pale and if Chloe hadn't already known that he was a necromancer than she would have assumed that he was a vampire. He had a handful of scattered freckles on his face and balding short orange hair and didn't look much older than Kit. The man stepped eagerly onto the porch and shook Kit's hand roughly. "Oh, what a surprise!" He looked around at the others on the porch.

"And your boys!" The man looked at Simon and Derek, beaming, "Oh, it's been years since I've last seen you. Simon, you probably don't remember me, but it's hard to forget you. You were a little pest back then, but a cute boy, and look how you've grown!" Simon frowned, not really sure what to say to that. "And Derek! Why, you look like a full grown werewolf already! I remember when you were just a scrawny little lad! I used to work in the lab with your dad. I remember how the other three boys used to treat you, amazing that they ever managed to pick on you looking at you now. A shame what happened to them, but after that I left the group for good, of course I helped your dad get you out first, we couldn't just leave you there. You might actually remember me, Derek. Do you?"

Derek seemed to be a bit in shock at how much the guy seemed to know about him, but he frowned and thought, "I think I remember you." Derek said slowly, "You seem familiar."

"That's probably the werewolf in you," The man said happily, "I probably smell familiar to you too." Derek nodded slowly, "My name is Jon by the way, Jon Parker." He held out his hand to Derek who took it and shook.

"And Lauren it's nice to see you again." Jon said, turning to Aunt Lauren shaking her hand, "Good to see that you have finally left the Edison Group behind." Aunt Lauren blushed a bit at Jon's words.

"And who might this be?" Jon was studying Tori, "Back hair, prominent cheek bones, I believe this is Victoria Enright, am I correct?" Tori nodded and Jon smiled, "I used to help care for you when you came into the lab as a young child. You won't remember me, for that I am certain of, but I certainly remember you. You used to throw some fits that I believe made even your mother jealous. It's good to see you again, and away from that ghastly woman who is your mother." Chloe saw tears forming in Tori's eyes at the mention of her dead mother, but she was quickly blinking them back.

Jon was now turning to Chloe, "Well, look at who we have here." Jon's bright blue eyes were studying her, and Chlo couldn't help but notice that he didn't look quite stable, the way that he eyes were too wide and they way his eyebrows were pulled too far up, it just didn't make Jon look completely sane. And maybe he wasn't. "Chloe Saunders, the girl I always hoped I would meet." Jon stuck his hand out and took Chloe's hand in his and shook it vigorously. His skin was cold and felt really soft against hers.

"It's so nice to meet you, dear." He was still shaking her hand, "It's so nice. I was afraid that this would never happen, so so afraid." Was it just her or was he starting to sound a bit crazy? And was his hand starting to grip hers harder? "I worried that my life would end before we could meet, or that yours would, depending on how your powers affected you."

Jon's grip on her hand was starting to hurt hers. "You see, I was there when the Edison Group tested you. I told them, I told them over and over again that what they were doing to you wasn't going to help you, that your powers were only going to become more powerful, and they wouldn't listen." Jon's eyes were starting to look more and more crazed. What was wrong with him? "And so I feared how you would react to those powers, feared that you would be driven insane faster than the usual. You seem perfectly sane right now, my dear." Chloe's hand was really starting to hurt now. Jon had her hand gripped in his like a vice grip. She could feel the blood leaving her fingers. Scared, she started to softly tug her hand back from his, hoping he would take the hint, but he wouldn't let go. He just kept talking.

"Of course I also feared that I would be too lost in my own madness by the time I finally met you that I wouldn't be able to teach you what I wanted to. It's already started, you know," Jon said to her matter-of-factly, as if he was oblivious to the fact that Chloe was struggling to get her hand back from him, "the madness. I'm going mad, it started a few years ago. It's not like I didn't know it wasn't going to happen, I always knew it was coming."

Jon's nails were starting to dig themselves into her hand sending sparks of pain up her arm, "Please let go." She said quietly.

Jon ignored her, "It happens to all of us, the madness, and it will happen to you too. It came for me early, I used my powers too much, took my sanity for granted. It's not too far along, though, I'm sane most of the time but I have relapses every once in while, just seem to lose my mind sometimes. That's why Kit took so long to bring you here, why he didn't bring you here sooner to be trained by me. He's afraid I will lose my mind, afraid that you will get scared, afraid that you will be cowed by the future that awaits you, that awaits all necromancers."

"Ow!" She felt his nails draw blood as he gripped her hand even tighter and she started to fight earnestly, putting the strength of her whole body into it.

Jon's eyes lost all grain of sanity they ever held, "But what Kit doesn't know is that you already know. You already know that you are going to go mad one day. If someone hasn't told already then you would have figured it out on your own by now."

Derek was moving forward, grabbing her wrist gently and pulling along with her, trying to free her from Jon, but it wasn't working, Jon wouldn't let go and Derek couldn't use all of his strength without hurting Chloe.

"What Kit doesn't know is that it is better this way;" Jon was saying, not noticing that Derek and Chloe were struggling to get him to release her hand, "better to see what you are going to become than spending your life fearing the unknown. You'll accept, we all do, once you get over the shock of seeing it you will understand, you won't fear it anymore, just accept it."

"Hey, let go." Derek had his hand on Jon's wrist now, trying to get him to let go. Chloe was scared. Her heart was pounding and she could see the madness slowly taking over Jon's mind, slowly taking control of the man in front of her, slowly seeing what was going to happen to her as she grew older.

"It's better this way..." Jon was saying quietly, his eyes unfocused, staring at nothing, blank and emotionless, "Better for her, better for everyone..."

"Jon!" Kit was in front of his friend's face now, "Jon, let go of her!"

"Better this way, better this way, it's better, it's better..." Jon didn't seem to notice Kit. Blood was starting to drip down Chloe's arm and onto the porch, Chloe cried out as Jon's grip on her hand become even harder.

"Screw this." She heard Derek whisper, he took Jon's wrist in his hands and twisted. There was a loud crack! and Jon cried out and let go of her hand. Chloe stumbled backwards and would have fallen if it wasn't for Derek who caught her and pulled her into a hug.

She buried her head against his chest, scared and shaken at what Jon had done. She didn't care about her bleeding hand, that didn't matter, it would heal. No, what scared her the most was Jon showing her what she would become. He showed her the raving lunatic she would one day be, the person that was slowly forming inside with each passing day, the person that would slowly take over her sanity until she was nothing but a crazy person. Slowly taking her over until she wasn't even herself anymore, until she was just a crazy ghost of herself. That was her fate, no matter how much she fought it, that was what she would become, what all necromancers became.

She was going to become Jon one day, and that scared her more than anything she had ever faced because going mad wasn't like dying, no, going mad was slowly losing your grip on reality. Going mad was having to have your loved ones watch you as you slowly faded into nothing, as you slowly lost everything you ever were. Going made was like dying while still living. It was the worst fate she could ever think of and it was going to happen to her.

She was going mad.

So yay! The chapter is finished! *loud and cheerful applause* Thank you, thank you, it was nothing, really. Hey! Who threw the roses in my face? They are ROSES! They're POINTY! Get better aim, idiot!

*cough* Sorry, it just took me forever to finish this chapter and I thought I needed some fake applause and some roses thrown at me (in the face! Horrid aim!). So in case you hadn't noticed, Jon is a bit crazy. And I love him! I just made him up today and I already love him! That's true love right there. And he's a ginger! Who doesn't love gingers? Anyway, he's crazy (well sort of, he is mostly sane but has moments when his loses all his sanity) and that's why Kit took so long to decide to go there to get advice on how to save Jessa because he was afraid that Jon would 'go into one of his fits' (that's what Jon calls them. I love him!) and scare Chloe. But Kit risked it and in less than ten minutes Jon was in one of his fits, so you can bet Kit is feeling bad now cause Chloe is freaked out (obviously).

So what will happen now? Hmmm? Well I know and you don't, so HA!... Wait a sec, I was supposed to blackmail you... let me rephrase that... *clears throat* Review and I will post another chapter! Yay! Then you can find out what happens!

P.S. I'm on a sugar rush, I'm not normally like this. Well, actually I am, but I don't normally let that affect my author's notes. Sooooo... REVIEW! *whispers* Just click that little button right underneath this line. You know you want to. Click it... click it... click it... If you haven't clicked it by now you suck :P

Thanks- Cheerfully Blue