The Joker sighed as he lay on his desolate bunk, in his desolate cell, in the desolate place that was Arkham Asylum feeing desolated.
Complete and utter desolation.
He pulled himself up into a sitting position and glared at the door.
It was too quiet.
Arkham wasn't supposed to be quiet, especially not the maximum security wing.
Come on, it's an asylum for fuck sake!
But, apparently the criminally insane needed their sleep too.
How he hated the silence.
He lived for the nights. The shadows were his dearest friends. They would never betray his secrets.
Silence was the enemy.
Silence and Bats...........
A faint note echoed shattered the silence.
The Joker frowned. That had never happened before.
More notes soon echoed through the hallway.
He recognised the noise.
A piano.
Music.
The notes stopped.
He scrambled off his bunk and over to the door.
Please don't finish. Not yet. Just a little bit more.
More notes. Scales.
And then…….
Silence.
Just one song.
The first chords of a song were played. He didn't recognise it, but no matter.
It was music.
The music stopped again and restarted.
Joined by a voice.
"I dreamed a dream of times gone by
When hope was high and life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving"
The voice trailed off.
It was high.
Feminine.
"Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung
No wine untasted"
The voice acquired a harsh edge.
"But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame"
The voice trailed off on a high note.
His breath caught in his throat.
"He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came"
He could hear the sadness in her voice.
Her strength returned.
"And still I dream he'll come to me
That we'll live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather"
The music trailed off.
The finale was coming. He could feel it.
The chords returned, powerful. Her voice strong.
"I had a dream my life would be
So much different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed
The dream………
I dreamed."
Voice and music gently trailed back to silence.
It was almost as if he had never heard it.
The Joker shakily pulled in a breath.
No.
He opened his eyes wide and clenched his fists in his greasy green hair.
He paused and slowly drew his hands down from his head staring intently at them.
What's happening to me?
He let out his breath, stood and began to pace.
Arkham was not going to get him. He wouldn't let it.
It wasn't going to take away his love, the nights.
He walked to the door and gently placed his palm against it.
Music.
The gentle cacophony of screams.
He licked his lips.
He would taste that joy again.
A smile slowly spread across his face.
He started laughing, the sound echoing around his cell.
It wasn't going to break him. He wouldn't let it.
The other inmates began to wake.
His eyes glittered.
He could smell their fear.
His laughter began to change.
The old manic edge creeping in.
He was back.
Gotham wouldn't know what hit it.
My new story. The idea popped into my head yesterday and it won't leave me alone. Mind you, my current hypernes probably isn't helping. *shrugs* oh well!
Hope you enjoyed so far. Please do feel free to rate and review! ^.^
Lyrics are from the song 'I dreamed a dream' from Les Miserables. Needless to say, I don't own.