Hi all. This is a first chapter of "After The Fall", a story in which Zoot survives the fight in the mall and lives to witness, and change, the events of 1 to 3 seasons. I have about 6 chapters ready and hope to finish the story soon, but I've decided to post the first chapter as a pilot of sorts, to see if people read\like it and if I should go on with it.

Rated M for violence and strong language.

What else, it's a song fic. For the first chapter I used ICP's "Oddities".

I don't own anything, don't shoot me.

R&R, God bless

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The Smile Of A Clown

"Power and Chaos!"

"Power and Chaos!"

"Power and Chaos!"

"POWER AND CHAOS!"

The chants grew louder as the police car slowly rolled into the square. Zoot smiled, feeling every eye in the crowd watching him - with admiration, fear, hatered, but watching him, never turning away. All the uneasy thoughts about tonight were gone, at least for the moment. Let things happen when their time comes. And right now, it was show time.

He threw his hands up, crossed above his head, fists clenched.

"Power and Chaos!" shreiked Ebony who stood in the car beside him.

"Power and Chaos!" the crowd roared; crowd consisting of about a two hundred teenagers and kids, residents of the Loco Zone, three neighborhoods controled by Zoot's tribe. They were gathered here today and under the guard of fifty Locos were to witness what was about to go down. The guards surrounding the spectators were armed with baseball bats, iron bars, night sticks. The others, spread out around the perimeter of the square, packed heat, varying from shotguns to Magnums to Uzis, all picked up during the raid at the firearms store a few blocks away. Those of the kids who were not chanting enthusiasticly enough for Locos' taste, were kicked, shoved and threatened with weapons. Anyone attempting to leave without premission was to be shot.

The car, siren blaring, pulled up to a crude handshift platform in the middle of the square. Zoot stepped out and, lifting his head, observed two teenagers tied to the big valve piles towering in the center of the platform. One of them, a tall, skinny boy about 16 years old, was wearing an oversized neon green shirt and baggy orange pants, both torn and splattered with mud; half-smeared clown-like facepaint could not hide a big shiner under his eye and dark tracks of blood under his nose. The boy's hair was dyed bright green and askew. He was snarling at the Locos guarding the patform, showing no signs of fear. The other

captive, however, seemed terrified. It was a young girl, aged 13 or so, a bit on a chubby side and dressed in bright, multicolored jersey with a big yellow smiley on the front and yellow vynil pants. Her hair was done up in spikes and colored sky blue. The girl wore the clown makeup too, and like her unfortunate companion's it was smeared and her face was stained - not with blood but with tears. She was turning her head franticly and twisting, in attempts to break free from the ropes tying her to the pile.

"You wait here," Zoot ordered Ebony (she made a grimace but didn't object) and ran up the steps and onto the platform. "Spike,"

"Everything is set. We're ready when you're ready" his lieutenant reported and nodded at the plastic jerrican at his feet.

"Good. Now I'll just..."

"Hey google boy!" the tied up prisoner called suddenly."You know Top Hat's gonna get you for this shit, right? You know he's gonna turn each and every one of your assholes inside out. You have no idea what you got yourselves into."

Spike, nightstick in hand, stepped towards him, but Zoot stopped him with a raised hand. Calmly, the Locos leader walked over to the prisoner until they were practicly nose to nose. The girl tied to the pile next to him made an attempt to shrink back as her eyes widened with fear.

"We'll see about that," Zoot said in a quiet, soft voice. "What's your name, hotshot?"

The boy sneered.

"I'm Pennywise. You hear me google boy, if you don't let me go right now, Top Hat will fucking skin you alive. Him and I are like this", he tried to raise a hand with middle and index finger pressed together. "You will have so much trouble on your ass with Tribe Сircus, your beef with Demon Dogs will look like a kids' game. You better..."

Zoot backhanded him across the face, then followed with a shot to the solar plexus. Pennywise grunted and would've fallen on his knees if it wasn't for the ropes. The Locos cheered; Zoot noticed how Ebony's eyes lit up and a small smile appeared on her face. Oh yes. Me beating the shit out of someone, always a turn on. She'll now be in a mood for some action tonight. Shit

He turned to the girl. "And what's your name?"

She was just staring at him, too terrified to speak. Zoot grabbed her by the chin and squeezed.

"I said, what's your name?"

"G-gail," she whimpered and began to tearfuly beg for her life, but he wasn't listening anymore. Turning on his heels, he walked towards the edge of the platform and stood facing the crowd, his hands raised in an order for silence. Underneath him, on the square, the guards raised their weapons to enforce the leader's request. Within less than a minute there was a complete silence, only interrupted by the cawing of the crows in the grey cloudy sky and the quiet sobbing of the Tribe Circus girl.

"Yesterday these two, Pennywise and Gail of Tribe Сircus wandered into the Loco Zone in Pine Drive area. During their trip they spray-painted their tribe's logo over four our logos and then attempted to bully a five years old kid into giving them food. When they found out the kid had no food they beat him up. They were still beating him when spotted by a Loco patrol and then went on to resist arrest..."

"No, no! It's not true! He did it, I didn't even touch the boy! Please...!" cried Gail, but Pennywise cursed her, telling her to shut up. Zoot continued, ignoring them both.

"For that, I, Zoot, the ruler of the city, sentense Pennywise and Gail of the Tribe Circus to death. The execution shall begin immideately."

"Kill the clown! Kill the clown! Kill the clown!" chant errupted; again, the spectators were encouraged to join in by punching, kicking and clubbing.

"No!!!" the girl screamed hystericaly and began to thrash about with renewed strenght, trying desperately to break free. Zoot turned to her, smiling."Please, please, don't, I don't want to, I don't wan't to!..."

"And to make this experiense a little bit more pleasureable for you guys," he said "We'll let you go out to some music you freaks like. I mean clowns like you must be into ICP, right?"

He signaled to someone in the police car, and seconds later two loudspeakers on it's roof exploded.

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Ooooooh yeah dum diddy dum

Get your ass off the way cause here we come

And we're bringing this spectacle into your town

We got creep show freak show

Wicked clowns

Most people don't like this oddities

Most people would love to get a shot at these

If you think you're too good for us sideshow freaks

Let me know and I will whip-smack your cheeks

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Pennywise yelled and swore, Gail wept, but their voices were barely heard in the deafening storm of sounds; Zoot stood calmly with his hands in his pockets and watched Spike open the jerrican and pour clear liquid over Pennywise. When the lieutenant moved on to the girl, he shook his head, as if to say "not yet".

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Everybody come to see the greatest show

Unlike anything that you know

You gotta be down with the clowns

The big oddity freak show's in town

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"Fuck you! Fuck you, bitch! You faggot google boy! Go shove your googles up your ass!" Pennywise was screaming on top of his lungs into Zoot's smiling face."Top Hat will fucking kill you for this! He'll kill all of you bitches! Top Hat..."

Spike lit a match, dropped it at the tied boy's feet and jumped away. The flames enveloped Pennywise within merely a second. Zoot, the smile gone from his face, turned away as a burning figure behind him bucked and twisted letting out high-pitched, inhuman squeals.

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I'm a sideshow looney watch me get nuts

I do backflips in front of mad trucks

And in high school chicks always gave us probs

'Cause I'm nine feet tall and my boy's a ciclops

I can swim shark-filled waters, yeah

I can chew nails and spit out quaters

Go tell your daddy what's that gonna do

When he's just as shook as you

You little snoot

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The crowd stood silent as Pennywise was burning alive. Some were crying; some threw up; a couple of young girls fainted. Finally, Zoot waved his hand and two Locos ran up the platform and began to douse the body with buckets of water, putting out the flames. Meanwhile he walked over to Gail, who was hanging on the ropes having lost her senses and woke her up with a hard slap to the face. The girl blinked and groaned, then shreiked in horror at the sight of blackened, disfigured body next to her.

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Everyone come see the greatest show
Gather up all Juggalos and roll
Everyone come see the greatest show
Gather up all Juggalos and roll
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Zoot gestured to tone the music down.

"Gail, look at me. Look at me, you dumb cow!"

The girl's teary eyes focused on the the Locos' leader standing in front of her.

"Do you want to walk away from this place without being punished?" he asked.

She looked shocked, unable to believe her ears.

"I asked...," Zoot started again, but she began to nod her head franticly.

"Yes, yes please, let me go, I'll do anything, anything, just don't kill me, I..."

"Very well." Zoot once again turned to the crowd.

"I've decided to spare this little ho's life. For that she must deliver a message from me to Top Hat. I want all of you to remember what I'm going to say. I, Zoot, am the ruler of this city. Top Hat may think he's still alive because he's such a great and powerful leader. He's wrong. He's only alive because I allow him to be. He may think he runs some little part of this city. Wrong again. This is my city; he only lives here because I haven't gotten to him yet. But in time, I will. Same goes for the Demon Dogs, the Roosters, the Jackals and the rest. This city belongs to me and the Locos. And in the future, the whole world will be ours. Power and Chaos!"

"Power and Chaos!!!!"

"Power and Chaos!!!!"

"Power and Chaos!!!!"

He walked back to Gail, looking straight in her eyes, while extanding his hand to Spike.

"A knife," he ordered. "So, Gail, did you remember what I've just said?"

"Yes, yes,"

"Did you remember it well? Will you pass it on to your leader?"

"I will..."

"Good girl", purred Zoot, approaching her, knife in hand. "I'll let you go now...But there's one more thing."

The girl, who was smiling through tears, suddenly looked alarmed.

"We must return you to your tribe as we took you, right? And I see your make up is all messed up. Your smile's messed up. You had such a big beautiful red smile drawn right here... Let me fix it."

Zoot slashed Gail across the face, from one cheek to another, cutting it open in a wide, grotesque, bloody smile.

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Where you going richy boy?
What's the matter son?
Just because we're a little different, you gotta run?
Well I'm an oddity
You're looking odd at me
But then I gotta be
And there's a lot of me
We's a little bit twisted I gladly admit it
I can unscrew my head off, and shoot hoop with it
And you can't so you gotta label us weird
Even though your mama's got a beard

What!

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"Take her to the Pine Drive and dump her there. The body, too." he ordered Spike as he walked to the car. On the platform, three guards were trying to restrain a screaming, bleeding, crazed with pain girl. "And tell them the show's over. They can all fuck out of here."

"Should we get more guys to the the Pine Drive and the area?" asked a concerned Spike. "Them assholes from Tribe Circus will want revenge."

"Yeah, you do that. Go."

Zoot climbed into the car, flopping his head wearily back on the seat. Ebony hugged him, pressing her hot lips into his ear.

"It was sooo exciting," she wispered and bit his earlobe. "You're such a cold-blooded bastard, you know that? And I love you all the more for that."

Zoot ignored her, closing his eyes and thinking about tonight.

Tonight.