The Madness Within- Jeremiah Valeska

Videos and Dreaming

''Congratulations, Mr Wilde,'' said Professor Carter, shaking Jeremiah's hand as he walked across the stage to join the rest of his classmates. He had been top of his class, almost perfect scores in everything. He finally felt like he was more than a forgotten son of a snake dancer. Free from Jerome's torturing. Jeremiah stood beside a younger brunette woman, whose face was dotted with freckles. She gave him a warm smile and a small nod. He returned the smile, then watched the last two graduates walk across the stage. Marcy Williams and her brother Scott. Jeremiah hadn't had much to do with them, but they had been in his engineering class. 

As the students left the stage and the last few speeches were made, Jeremiah watched as a group of his fellow graduates left through the side door, Marcy noticed his gaze and paused on her way after them.

''Hey, Xander.''

''Hi,'' he said, and Marcy smiled to herself. Everyone knew that Jeremiah wasn't much a talker, and was generally very formal. 

''We're heading to the circus. They've got a new magic act.''

''Really?''

Jeremiah's breath hitched in his throat at the mention of the circus. A magic trick? He knew one person who had been dying to be the star of her act. He ignored the rest of Marcy's words, only nodding as she turned to leave. A young, teenaged face appeared in his mind, wavy brown hair and curious eyes. Eyes that burned with fire when she was angry. 

Something cold and crackling in his hand caught his attention, and Jeremiah looked down to see a small leaflet for the circus laying crumpled in his open palm. Marcy must have left it. It had been years since Jeremiah had seen his brother or Clarissa. She had been emotional the last time he saw her when he left to live with his aunt and uncle. He would maybe go to a show, but Jerome would recognize him. Leaving the hall, he took out his phone and typed in Haly's Circus into the search bar. A list of results came up, but it was the videos that he was interested in. He clicked on the most recent as he left the campus, heading to the bus stop on his way back to his apartment. He had only just moved out of home and was still struggling to pull his life together. The apartment had been a gift.

''Well then,'' he mumbled to himself, adjusting his glasses as he focused on the video and found his mother performing her usual act. She was catching the eyes of every performer who waited in the wings, and Jeremiah sighed. His mother had always been a whore. 

''Ladies and gentlemen,'' called the ringmaster as Lila Valeska left the stage to loud applause, mostly on behalf of the men in the audience. Jeremiah noticed that the curtains behind him were rippling. 

''Please welcome to the stage the mysterious Mr Ereni and his beautiful apprentice Clarissa Halliwell.''

There was applause as Mr Ereni crossed the stage with his arms wide, soaking up the energy from the audience. He was dressed in a bright red suit with a grey tie and carried a baton in one hand. Clarissa followed, pulling a large box behind her. Jeremiah pulled the phone closer to his eyes. The video had been dated three years ago, and Clarissa looked older but just as pretty as she had been when Jeremiah knew her. She had on a sparkly black and blue dress, her hair curled up on the side of her head. What followed was the usual routine, cutting Clarissa in half, making her disappear, but then towards the end, she walked forwards and called a volunteer from the audience. Jerome. Jeremiah's eyes narrowed as he stared at his brother who looked happy and excited as he climbed up to join her. He made a show of not knowing exactly what he needed to do as Clarissa twirled a ribbon, tied up Jerome with it, and three chains and then released him with a single tap of her own black baton. Jerome laughed and took Clarissa's hand, bowing deeply before leaping off the stage. He even blew her a kiss, which caused Jeremiah to close the video and return it to the pocket of his suit. The bus rounded the corner and he stood to wait. 

----

"Good morning, darling.''

Clarissa rolled over, looking up into Jeremiah's face. He was staring at her, his bright green eyes full of intelligence and desire. She smiled, leaning into his warmth as he pulled an arm around her. She could feel the satin of his nightshirt rubbing gently against her arm and she wanted to melt into him. 

''Comfortable?'' he asked, and she nodded. 

Clarissa closed her eyes, breathing in Jeremiah's scent, before sitting up and looking around her. She gasped as she came face to face with Ecco's head hanging by nail over the door. Beside it were the heads of her parents and then, a smile on his face, Jerome. Clarissa screamed, thrashing, and found herself standing in a misty blackness, Jeremiah behind her. His arms found her waist, trapping her against his body and he whispered ''Isn't it nice to rule the world?"

Gasping and struggling against Jeremiah's body, Clarissa tried to find a way out of the mist that surrounded her, running blindly away from him. She found herself standing before a line of mirrors, each reflecting her at a different point in her life. Baby, child, teen, young woman. The little girl looked up at her, waving and smiling happily. Clarissa froze, watching with widened eyes as the figures all melded into one.

"Ya know, it ain't that bad being crazy,'' she said, and Clarissa felt her lips moving silently as she stared at her reflection. She shook her head.

''No, I came here to work for Jeremiah. Not to lose myself to him."

"Sure, sure. Ya in love, and ya tryin' to keep yourself sane."

"I am sane."

"Not at all. You've had Borderline Personality whatever it is for how long? Ya whole goddamn life. Why else did ya be so possessive over Jerome and Jeremiah? Why did ya break when Jerome died? Why'd ya kill ya parents?"

"Jerome did that.''

"Right. But tell me why ya fell so quickly for Jeremiah? Ya need someone. Ya can't survive without him. And he's already sprayed a little with the Insanity Gas. It was glorious."

"What?"

"Rissa? You've never been able to control ya emotions or ya impulses. It's why ya stabbed Ereni. Ya lucky he let ya stay."

The copy laughed, then paused and shrugged. 

"Jeremiah wants ya. Wants ya to embrace what's made ya so uncomfortable being yourself."

In a moment, a scene played out in front of them, snapshots of Clarissa's life. Trying to cut her skin and stretch it so she'd be thinner, stealing makeup and wearing it only to rub it off. Staring into a mirror with tears rolling down her face. 

"Accept it. And while ya at it, kill Ecco."

"Ecco? Why?"

"Because she's getting awfully close to stealin' Jeremiah. And if ya wanna be his one and only I'd make a strong show of ya loyalty."

"I'm not a psychopathic killer!"

"Ya are. Maniax, Rissa. It's been in ya all this time."

"Clarissa?" came Bruce's voice, and she turned to stare into his eyes, before a reflection through a knife at his heart, and burst out into giggles. Clarissa couldn't help but feel shocked, scared, and then, as Bruce turned slowly into Selina, laying soaking in her own blood on the ground she started laughing too.

Clarissa opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling of her room, breathing heavily as sweat ran down her face. She groaned, sitting up. She was still dressed in her clothes from that day and hadn't intended to fall asleep. Swearing under her breath, she looked around her and realized that the blanket was tucked in around her. She hadn't fallen asleep like that.  Jeremiah? She doubted it, but a hope bubbled to life in her chest. Maybe he had. Maybe he did care as much as he alluded to. 

My darling.

Clarissa grinned and climbed out of bed, deciding that she would pass the time with her old cultists. It had been a while after all and she hoped Jeremiah hadn't replaced them all. 

"Ya never know,'' she muttered and walked out of the room.