Jack's Descent

A/N - I am SO SO SO SO SO SO sorry for taking so long! Gah! This chapter was SO hard for me to write, and it didn't help that I hardly got any reviews for the last chapter (more than I normally get anyway), so I felt like people didn't really care anymore. I'm a review ho-ho, so I always tend to write faster when I get lots of them. I'm a jerk, what can I say? :P Pleeeeeease review and love me, because this only has a couple chapters left, so the sooner I get this out of the way, the better!

Quick recap: Jack sends Rachel off to his aunt and uncle's farm, he follows her there, and then they get jiggy with it. ;)


WARNING: VIOLENCE VIOLENCE VIOLENCE (strong language), and did I mention VIOLENCE!?

CH 9: The Beginning of the End

When Rachel awoke the next morning, she was greeted by the sweet warmth of Jack's strong, possessive arms encircling her waist. Nosing his scarred cheek, she gently kissed him on the mouth and smiled when his bleary eyes opened in annoyance.

"What?" he grumbled.

"What?" Rachel reiterated, giving him a bewildered look. "Is that seriously all you have to say to me?"

Eyes alighting in recognition, Jack grinned devilishly before mumbling, "Ahhh, yeah, you're right -- we need to discuss our business transaction."

"Um...business transaction?"

"Yeah" he acknowledged, nodding, "after last night's little performance, I think your grand total has now reached a whopping -- but well-deserved -- three-hundred dollars."

"Jack, you jerk! You're only worth one-hundred dollars, tops!"

"What? No way!"

Laughing, Rachel pulled her pouting lover into her arms and showered his face with kisses, her voice soft and playful as she whispered, "Well alright, I guess you're worth a little more than that..."

Jack grinned. "Yeah, well you're only saying that 'cause you think I have such a nice ass."

"I-I do not, I...! Well... Oh, shut up!"

Chuckling, Jack tickled her sides and made her squeal, his scars bunching up in a grin as he fondly nosed her cheek. "Yeah, I knew it -- the moment you laid eyes on my butt, you thought to yourself 'Damn, I'd tap that!'"

"Jack!"

Laughing, he dotted several warm, burning kisses along Rachel's neck before stopping at her ear, his voice low and husky as he teased, "Y'know, not saying anything is the same thing as lying...you shouldn't deny yourself what you really want in life, 'cause it's unhealthy."

"Hm, well what I really want right now is for you to get off my arm."

"Huh?"

"My arm" Rachel irritably explained, "you're crushing it with your fat, 'delectable' ass!"

Laughing at her pained, yet playful order, Jack reluctantly released her before propping himself up on his elbow. Wiggling his eyebrows, he tweaked her nose while teasing, "Well, at least you've admitted it's delectable; hope my uncle doesn't get any ideas when he sees your delectable ass."

"W-what?"

Relishing in the horror on Rachel's face, Jack nosed her cheek and chuckled. "Uncle Ralph comes in here for hay and other tools during work...he is a farmer, after all."

"Oh, my God!" Panicking, Rachel shot up in the hay as if attached to a spring, her brows knitting amidst her fury when Jack began laughing uncontrollably. "And what the hell is so funny!?"

Clutching at his sides, Jack beamed up at her before returning, "It's Sunday, Rach -- my aunt and uncle are your average religious family, so they don't believe in working on the Lord's day. We're completely safe, unless the girls decide to come out here and play hide-and-seek."

"Well then give me my clothes, you oaf!"

Jack pouted. "Why should I? Don't you like being naked in a barn with me?"

"Can't say it's at the top of my fantasies list, no" Rachel teased, giving him a gentle push as she reached for her blouse. "Speaking of the barn, your uncle was talking about how long it's been taking to paint, so I figured I'd lend a hand as a surprise thank you gift."

Jack quirked a brow. "Uh, all by yourself?"

"Well yes, are you saying it's a man's job?"

"If the jock strap fits."

"Ugh, you are so foul!"

Laughing, Jack helped Rachel to her feet before kissing her nose, his arms encircling her waist as he offered, "Ok, I'll tell you what -- since you've been such a good little girl lately, I'll stay here and help you paint."

Rachel sneered. "A good little girl, huh? Tell that to the scratches I left on your shoulders."

Wiggling his eyesbrows, Jack bent over and gathered his shirt, pants and boxers, Rachel giving him a bump with her hip as she straightened her clothes. "So" she cheerily began, "do you happen to remember where the paint and brushes are kept?"

"All the way up in the loft."

"Really? Well that's inconvenient..." Shrugging her shoulders, Rachel moved to ascend the ladder when she suddenly shrieked, her limbs flailing as Jack continued to wrestle her back into his arms. "Jack, what are you doing!? Jack!"

Laughing, he nuzzled the nape of her neck while confessing, "I only told you that so I could get a nice view of your ass; I've never had the pleasure of watching you climb up a ladder before, so I figured why not?"

Smacking him soundly on the arm, Rachel squealed when he dipped her down for a playful kiss, her laughter being muffled by his lips when she realized how ridiculous they must look. "Jack" she slyly began, "do you think you could at least put some pants on?"

"And give up the Tarzan look? Never!"

"Well at least Tarzan had a loin cloth to cover his parts!"

Grinning mischievously, Jack teased, "What, so you're saying you don't like my loins?"

"God, Jack, you are so..."

"Charming? Quick-witted? Dashingly handsome?"

"No, I was thinking something more along the lines of vile, disgusting, egotistical, etc etc" Rachel quipped, smirking when Jack set her down and finally began to reclothe himself. Somehow, she couldn't see them getting too much painting done in the near future.

--

"You know, this might not be such a bad job, after all" Rachel observed, bending over to retrieve one of the spare brushes. "The barn looks a lot bigger from the inside, for whatever reason, so it might take us a whole lot less time than I originally thought." Once she’d dipped the brush in the bucket and started painting, Jack hurriedly took her by the arm before insisting, “Ah-ah-ahhh, you’re doing it all wrong, Rachel – you’re supposed to brush it back and forth like this.”

“Oh, well where on earth would I be without you?” she mocked. “Thank Heavens that my knight in shining armor was able to save me from the pains of vertical brush strokes!”

Jack couldn’t help but grin. "Yeah, well women like you tend to suck at life, so…hey!”

Giggling and admiring the splotch of paint she’d left on his face, Rachel impertinently insisted, “Why Jack, that shade of white suits you so well! It really brings out the red in your cheeks when you’re angry!”

Giving a snort, Jack reached for his brush in retaliation, only to see Rachel take off when she realized his intentions. “Can’t take what you dish out, huh?” he called, a vengeful smirk gracing his lips as he went running after her.

Racing around to the front of the barn, Rachel tried to keep her laughter to a minimum so that she wouldn’t tire so easily, her hand clutching her brush more tightly as she heard her boyfriend’s footsteps coming from close behind. Screaming, Rachel felt Jack’s strong arm come around her middle and pull her back against his chest, her laughter-filled pleas for being spared failing to invoke pity as he slapped his brush against her cheek.

“Gotcha” he whispered, grinning when Rachel gave a stunned shriek of outrage. Turning her around, he kissed her full on the mouth before she could even think to retaliate, her arms encircling his neck as she whispered against his lips, “You are such a jerk.”

“Me?” Jack demanded, stunned. “You were the one who started it, so since you injured my male ego, I naturally was going to be the one to finish it!”

Giggling, Rachel moved to smack his rump when she spotted a familiar car in the distance, her heart clenching once she realized it was Harvey's Lincoln Town Car. Feeling sick to her stomach, Rachel quickly grabbed Jack by the elbow and ushered him inside the barn, her voice barely above a whisper as she hissed, "That rat Craig must've told Harvey where you sent me, because he's currently outside in the driveway! What should we do!?"

Trying to keep Rachel calm, Jack placed a hand on her cheek and smiled weakly. "You just keep painting and pretend everything's normal, while in the meantime I'll go ahead and stay in here. I know it'll be hard, but I need you to try and convince him to leave."

Rachel uneasily nodded. "A-alright, but I feel so ashamed after what happened..."

"Why, because of me?"

"No!" Rachel argued, "Because of the fact that I'm still skulking around with secrets; I love you, so I should be flouncing it out in the open, not keeping it under lock and key."

Jack grinned. He couldn't help but feel a surge of pride over her words, for they meant he'd won and that she wanted him; him!

Giving Jack a regrettable look, Rachel closed him inside the barn and hurriedly made her way over toward Harvey's car. The lump in her throat was unmistakable, but her resolve to prove that everything was fine caused a forced, brummagem smile to cross her lips as she waved. "Harvey!" she called, feigning surprise, "What on earth are you doing out here?"

"I had to see you" he sheepishly explained. "I've been kicking myself all week over how I treated you at the fundraiser, so when Craig told me where you'd run off to, I just knew I had to come out and apologize."

Rachel grimaced, but tried to hide her disgust with a laugh. "What, so you thought you'd ride in and sweep me off my feet? I really wish you would've just waited for me to come back to Gotham..."

"I couldn't" Harvey earnestly cut in. "Like I already said, I couldn't forgive myself for what I said to you, so I knew I had to come and see you were alright." Now looking over her shoulder he asked, "Painting a barn?"

Startled by the sudden subject change, Rachel nodded meekly. "Um, yeah...I thought I'd pay the Wallace's back for their kindness by surprising them."

"Oh, well then let me help you."

"NO!" Panicking when Harvey gave her a look of surprise, Rachel timidly corrected, "I-I mean, no thank you, sweetheart...it'd mean so much more to the Wallace's if I did this by myself, don't you think?"

Harvey grinned. "Well maybe so, but then I won't be able to talk to you until sunset -- if you let me help, we can catch up on a few things while we paint."

Seeing that there was no way out of her current predicament, Rachel bit her lip and slowly nodded. "Yeah, um...alright. Follow me."

Getting out of his car, Harvey grinned and jogged after Rachel like a foolish, lovesick little puppy. He really did care, she realized, and this only made her feel all the worse for her recent decision.

"Sooo, I heard you left 'cause things were getting too messy in at the office. That true?"

Startled out of her reverie, Rachel gave an uneasy shrug of the shoulders. "Um yeah, I guess...just needed to get away from it all for a while, you know?"

"Oh, yeah" Harvey assured her, grimacing as he reached down for a paintbrush, "I know."

Smiling, Rachel moved to pick up the other paintbrush alongside him, but that was when she heard a sickeningly amused giggle.

Harvey quirked a brow and rose to his full height, sending Rachel a questioning look. "Um, what the heck was that?"

"Oh, probably just one of the Wallace kids" Rachel hurriedly cut in, giving him a weak smile. "I'll go check and see if she's getting into mischief."

When Harvey nodded and began to paint the barn, Rachel hastily opened the double doors before closing them with equal haste, her eyes adjusting to the dim lighting as she slowly made her way toward the source of the noise. "Jack?" she whispered, her voice quivering with apprehension. "Jack, are you in here?"

A shrill giggle greeted her in response, but before she could turn around and intercept the maniac, she felt her arms get viciously yanked behind her and bound to a nearby ladder.

"Well hello there, beautiful -- quite a love-uh-ly day for some S&M, wouldn't you agree?"

Trembling, Rachel glanced over her shoulder in absolute horror, her mouth growing dry once she caught sight of Jack's eyes. They were dark, soulless, and full of caustic spite, his otherwise charming grin now the paradigm of absolute dementia.

"Jack" she pitifully whispered, "Jack, please..."

"Sorry, wrong number! Don't know a Jack" the Joker mockingly replied, his fingers doublechecking the belt he'd bound her with as he grinned. "Even though you refused to coo-op-er-ate earlier on at the hospital, it would seem that you finally gave in and brought me what I wanted, after all."

Rachel eyed him fearfully. "W-what do you mean by that?"

With a dramatic sigh, the Joker cracked his neck before shaking his head. "You know, for an assistant DA, you aren't very bright. I wanted Harrrrvey Big-Chin-Dent, and you de-livered, just as I knew you would!"

"No..."

"Um, yeah, you did."

"No!" Rachel shrieked, now tugging frantically at her restraints, "I won't let you hurt him, I won't!"

The Joker gave her a look of mock astonishment. "Why Rachel, whoever said anything about hurting him? All I want to do is play a little game!"

"Please" she begged again, tears streaming down her cheeks, "take me, instead."

Before the Joker could respond to her broken plea, the double doors swung open and in stepped Harvey Dent, his eyes widening in horror once he took in the spectacle before him.

"What the hell is going on here!?" he demanded, looking from the Joker to Rachel, and then back to the Joker, again. "Who are you!?"

"Why Harvey, I'm crushed! Don't you recognize me?" the Joker asked, feigning a look of hurt as he clutched at his allegedly broken heart. "I'm your biggest fan!"

"Enough mind games, freak -- tell me who you are!" Harvey bellowed, his gaze hardening as he raised a fist and stepped forward.

The Joker grinned. "Uhhh, and if I don't?"

"Then you're history!" Harvey snapped, charging him just like the Joker had hoped.

Stepping effortlessly to the side, the Joker whirled around and chopped Harvey on the back of the neck with his hand, the DA giving a grunt as he fell like a deadweight to the floor.

"Harvey!" Rachel screamed, shaking as the Joker bent over to open a tool box.

"Hoo, well that was easy!" the clown prince giddily observed, reaching inside the box before pulling out a piece of rope and securing Harvey's hands. "A little too easy, eh, Harvey-boy?"

The DA merely groaned in response, thrashing wildly about once he realized what was going on.

"Ah-tah-taaah, no use in struggling, Pretty Boy -- you're not going anywhere until I'm finished with you."

Horrified, Rachel watched on as the Joker hefted Harvey to his feet and made sure he was steady, immediately attaching his bindings to a hook slung over the rafter directly above them.

Sluggishly shaking his head to clear his tunnel vision, Harvey groaned when he twisted slightly to see what his captor was doing. Bent diligently over the tool box, the Joker gave pleased little 'ooh's' and 'aah's' every so often, a giggle escaping him once he finally found what he was looking for and rose to his feet. "Now these are fun" he explained, holding up a dull blade for Harvey's terror-stricken eyes to see. "I'm going to ask you a few questions, and if you answer cor-rect-ly, this'll be the easiest game you've ever played!"

Completely unable to respond, Harvey choked with fear when the Joker stopped directly in front of him, the blade now sliding down the DA's cheekbone in a teasing caress.

"Al-righ-ty then, first thing's first" the clown prince cheerily began, "who else knows you're out here?"

"N-no one..."

"No one?"

"No one, I swear!" Harvey exclaimed, howling in pain when the Joker furiously jabbed the knife through his shoulder.

"You're lying to me!" he snarled, twisting the blade for good measure. "Who else knows!?"

"J-just the guy who told me about Rachel being here in the first place...C-Craig Stephenson" Harvey shakily returned, his shoulder throbbing as he ignored the pitiful look in Rachel's eyes. "I swear to God, he's the only one...everyone else just thinks I'm going out on a business trip!"

Wordlessly glaring up at Harvey's perspiring face, the Joker suddenly grinned while twirling the blade in his hand. "Al-righ-ty, fair e-nough" he agreed, giggling. "Now that that little issue's out of the way, we can finally play our game! Question number one: what is my real name?"

Harvey balked. "What!? I've never met you in my life, you sick son of a..."

"Ah, ah, aaah, think carefully" the Joker entreated, amusement glimmering in his irises. "Think about who I am." Running his finger along his scars with a smirk, he became delighted when Harvey's eyes finally flashed in recognition.

"You!"

The Joker made the sound of a buzzer. "Sorry, wrong answer!" With a manic grin, he took the blade and slashed the front of Harvey's shirt wide open, watching on with a sick satisfaction as a pool of crimson began to spread across the torn fabric.

"Jack, stop!" Rachel shrieked, tugging furiously at her bindings, "Just stop it!"

"Jack?" Harvey reiterated, his mouth opening in astonishment. "No, it can't be...you're not Rachel's..."

"Brother? Nope, you're right, I'm not!" the Joker gibed, whooping with laughter at the look on his face. "The truth is it doesn't matter who I am, because judging by the rate you're going now, you won't even survive the next ten minutes."

"But why me?" Harvey demanded, his eyes narrowing. "Why are you doing this to us?"

"Uhhh sorry, but I'm the one asking the questions here" the Joker irritably reminded him. "Speaking of which, on to question number two! What's black and white and red all over?"

"Um..." Harvey paused, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. "...A newspaper?"

"Wrong! A bloody Batsy with facepaint!" Shrieking with laughter, the Joker stabbed the blade into Harvey's other shoulder, grinning manically when he heard Rachel screaming for him to stop. Turning to give her an appreciative glance, he nodded smugly before reassuring her, "Now don't you worry, beautiful, you'll be included very soon -- it'd be cruel of me to just leave you out of the festivities!"

"No!" Harvey pleaded, gritting his teeth, "Leave her alone!"

And because the Joker had been told to spare Rachel, he immediately withdrew his blade from Harvey's shoulder and approached her, a sickly grin forming across his lips when she shunted from his touch. "Aww, well what's the matter, Rrrrachel? Afraid of the big, bad clown?"

"You leave her alone!" Harvey bellowed, shoulders burning with pain as he tugged at his restraints.

Regarding the DA with a scornful giggle, the Joker pocketed his bloody blade and reached for the silver loop in Rachel's left ear. "Hmm, pretty, pretty" he cooed, stroking her cheek with his free hand. "She's so pretty, wouldn't you a-greee, Harvey-boy?"

"Fuck you!"

With a whoop of laughter, the Joker shook his head and slapped his thigh. "Oooh-hoo-hoo, what a nice offer, Harvey-kins, but I'm afraid I'd prefer taking a romp with this de-light-ful creature, instead. More cushion for the pushin', eh?"

Eyes alight with a molten fury, Harvey began screaming and biting out colorful curses, the Joker shrieking his merriment as he reached back for Rachel's earring and gave a gentle tug. "Now, now, Harvey, that's no way to speak around a lady! Why don't you put that mouth to good use and answer question number three, hmm?" Before Harvey could give an enraged response, the clown prince cheerily interrupted, "Who is the philosopher I try to em-u-late? Think carefully, now."

Feeling his forehead beginning to perspire, Harvey ran his tongue across his dry lips as he and Rachel locked eyes.

"Just answer him" she pleaded, tears spilling down her cheeks, "he'll hurt you if you don't."

"Uhh, ac-tu-al-ly" the Joker condescendingly cut in, "I'm going to hurt you, beautiful."

Cursing, Harvey pulled at his bindings amidst his pain, his teeth gritting as he ground out, "Aristotle...your favorite philosopher is Aristotle."

"Hmm." Appearing to be thoughtful, the Joker rubbed his chin before turning to Rachel, stroking her cheek with his knuckles as he asked, "Do you trust Harrrvey with your life?"

Shaking, she nodded. "Yes, I...I do."

"Rrreeeeally?"

"Yes."

"Hmm..." With a sudden jerk of his wrist, the Joker ripped the silver hoop through the flesh of Rachel's ear, her cries of agony filling the barn as her wound began to burn and throb like the sting of a hornet.

"You son of a bitch!" Harvey snarled, his voice rising amidst his panic. "I swear to God, I'll get you for this!"

The Joker giggled, rubbing the blood and bits of flesh from the earring as he admired it like some sort of sick, twisted trophy. "Well I hope you will, Dent-Chin, I hope you will! What's the fun if you don't seek any vengeance, hmm?"

Practically frothing at the mouth amidst his rage, Harvey moved to denounce him when he suddenly found himself face to face with the Joker's knife.

"I'm getting a little tired of this 20 Questions game, how 'bout you?" the clown prince crooned, grinning manically as he reached inside his pocket and pulled out a tiny pair of metal tongs. "Whaddaya say we just go ahead and skip to the good parts, hmm?" When several moments passed by with Harvey glaring back at his captor, the Joker finally pressed, "Well what's wrong, Harrrvey? Clown got your tongue?" Without even waiting for a proper reply, he seized the DA's chin and grabbed ahold of his tongue with the tongs, Harvey's eyes widening when the Joker brought his blade up to the slippery organ. Sawing and hacking away at the DA's tongue, the Joker began shrieking with glee as Harvey's cries became garbled with the blood gushing from his mouth. When the organ was nearly completely severed, the Joker pulled and tugged at the remaining tissue until the flesh ripped straight from the roots.

Screaming and sobbing in terror, Rachel found that she couldn't see anything but blobs of color through her tears, her breathing coming out in short, panicked breaths as Harvey continued to howl and wail at the top of his lungs.

"Whew, hoo-hoo-hoo, look at it go!" the Joker giddily observed, wiggling the dismembered tongue around like a flapping, gelatinous piece of liver. Forcing the organ to slide against Harvey's nose, the clown prince whooped before chanting, "Stop licking yourself, Harv! Hey, stop licking yourself!"

"Please, let him go!" Rachel begged, sagging against the ladder as she gave a pitiful sob. "Jack, if you have any mercy left in your heart, you will stop!"

Turning with a bored look on his face, the Joker yawned before irritably observing, "Y'know, you DA's sure are a bunch of stiffs. You just don't know how to have fun anymore!"

"And how the hell is torturing a man fun?" Rachel snapped. "He's done nothing to you, yet for whatever reason you still feel like inflicting pain on him -- I don't understand you at all!"

The Joker grinned, bending over as he began sifting through the tool box. "Nobody understands me, beautiful, but I wouldn't have it any other way. After all, what's the fun in being read like an open book?"

Lifting a handheld saw from the box with an appreciative "aah", the clown prince then rose and pranced back to Harvey with short, giddy strides. "Looky what I found!" he exclaimed, giggling while spinning the small, circular blade with his finger. Wincing when he cut himself, he grinned before observing, "Well gee, it's sharp, too -- nice!"

Shivering and shaking, Harvey began spitting blood as he cursed and struggled in his bindings, scarlet dribbling down over his chin and staining his shirt as the Joker approached him with a gleeful grin. "Well what's the matter, Harv? Clown got your tongue?" Shrieking with laughter, he held the blade still and swiped it across Harvey's chest, his grin widening when he watched the DA's blood spill past the open wound.

Grunting, Harvey moved to choke out several demeaning curses, but that was when the Joker decided to turn on the handheld saw. Blade whirring at a maddening speed, it came toward Harvey's midsection as he gave a terrified yelp and tried to leap to the side.

"Jack, what's happening!?" Rachel demanded, completely bewildered by the noises she was hearing. "I can't see....Jack, please, for the love of God, just stop!"

Ignoring her hysterical cries, the Joker giggled as the saw tore through Harvey's flesh, the blade shredding through the skin and muscle and leaving behind remnants similar to grated cheese. Gore oozing darkly from the wound, Harvey shrieked as he watched the Joker's face get splattered with crimson spots. But it wasn't just anyone's blood...it was his blood.

Howling when the Joker pushed his hand deep inside the wound, Harvey wheezed and gasped as he felt the clown prince's fingers curl around something soft and spongy. Before he could even protest, the Joker gave a forceful tug and the DA's entrails began spilling out past his flesh and muscle, a shrill scream escaping his lips as he choked on his own blood and felt his life slipping away at a frightful, maddening speed.

"Harvey!" Rachel shrieked, sobbing when she saw the pile of carnage at his feet, "Oh God, Harvey, please...Jack, stop it!"

Giggling, the Joker sawed away at the remaining entrails before remarking on how he "needed to cut the umbilical", a manic grin crossing his face as he slapped Harvey's pale face a few times before checking his pulse. Giving a disappointed pout in accordance with his findings, the clown prince cheerily muttered, "Ah well, good victims are so hard to find these days!" Grinning at Rachel over his shoulder, he then dipped his fingers into Harvey's wound before smearing the blood across the DA's lips and cheeks. When Rachel saw the gory smile she immediately felt as if she could retch, her vision going in and out of focus when it suddenly dawned on her that Harvey was dead.

Oh God, oh God, oh God!

Just when she managed to return her gaze toward the scene of the crime, Rachel gave a shrill shriek of astonishment, her eyes widening when Mr. Wallace snuck up behind the Joker and swung a bat across his head with a swift, dull crack. Sobbing when his body dropped to the ground like a deadweight, she felt all of her remaining strength ebb away and paint her out in an endless sea of black.

A/N - DONE!! HALLELUJAH! I don't know why this chapter was so freaking hard to write, but it was! At first I wasn't in the mood to write "happy, sappy" stuff (yay, I rhymed!), and then once that was out of the way, I wasn't in the mood to write the torture scene, so in result, this took like a gajillion months to finish. GAH!!! If I lost all of my readers, it's all my fault. :( Please show me that you still love and support me by clicking on that de-light-ful little review button! YAY :D