Here is the next chapter I hope you enjoy. I have the next couple of chapters already written and just awaiting scan overs but at the moment I'm struggling to figure out where I'm wanting this fiction to go, I did have half an idea but I've discarded it completely as the writing has gone on so I'm just going to continue posting at one chapter a week in case I need to radically alter the story. As a reader there is nothing I hate more then following a story and realizing after a while that it has been abandoned and will never be completed so I will try my best to figure it all out.

Disclaimer;

The Batman cartoon series and all its related content belongs to WB studios, I do not own anything.

Joker was, to say the least, annoyed as he made his way deeper into the twisted back alleys of Gotham. The floor continued to shift and sway beneath his feet making him stumble from wall to wall as he delved deeper into the city. The street's were quiet at this hour but any noise that he did hear, the distant sounds of sirens or the rattle of a dustbin lid he had knocked over, sounded muffled and distorted. His vision blurred every so often as he tried to focus his gaze further down the alleyway he had entered.

Things hadn't been going the clown's way since he had left the sewer system and emerged top side with Gotham herself looming up in front of him. It had been snowing, and, although normally Joker would have found himself giddy with excitement at the sight.

"let's pretend it's the ashes of a burning Gotham, We'll dance between the embers and make ash angels in it's ruins"

He knew that even a complete foolcould follow him now, his bare feet making distinctive impressions in the deep snow and marking his route clearly, but then again, someone following the harlequin of hate would have to be a complete fool, but there was always Batsy. His only hope that the snow still falling would cover his tracks eventually.

He continued onwards, he knew where he was going, listening to one voice speaking quietly amid the howling of the others

"Find somewhere dark and quiet, somewhere secret where we can sleep"

Joker chuckled to himself, he knew just the place, he'd used it before, after his chemical bath.

It was in the industrial sector of Gotham near the docks, an old storage facility sitting unused for years amid the general decay of the area, it wasn't really his style nowadays but back then, after Jokers birth and the beginning of poor Jacks decline, it was perfect, abandoned and forgotten, no one would stumble upon him.

Getting to the warehouse was proving to be troublesome.

Joker was finding it harder to stay focused, finding himself making wrong turns or forgetting completely where he was heading for seconds at a time.

He was also struggling to stay on his feet, twice he had fallen as he pushed onward though the city, the second time he found himself sprawled on his side, his legs kicking up furrows in the snow as he continued mindlessly to try and run. He heard Jack's whimper of terror as he forced himself to his feet with a frustrated growl.

"What happened? Did we black out? Joker stop, we have to stop some things wrong, my head hurts so much, everything hurts!"

Joker scowled "It's not your head any more Jackie boy now hush up and lets move out" he shook his head hard and stumbled on, sometimes bouncing from wall to wall of the narrow alley as he tried to make progress. It was hard for him to remember how long it had been since he left Arkham behind him but he felt he needed to hurry before the batman made his usual dramatic entrance and dragged him back to the asylum.

"O we can't possibly go home yet, Batsy will have to wait until our next play date"

Joker glanced down at his foot prints trailing haphazardly from the way he had came, noting with mild interest the spots of crimson highlighting his route, his head had stopped bleeding so the blood was coming from somewhere else, he chanced a glance down at himself as he stumbled on, hearing Jack give another moan as he spied his right sleeve of what was left of his restraints soaked through with blood, he blocked out Jack before his incessant whining started up again and took another turn out onto the main street, dodging between parked cars and across the quiet road before plunging back into the darkness of the passageway.

Normally Joker would delight in strolling boldly down the brightly lit streets of the city, revelling in the panic and chaos his appearance caused and it irked him to find himself skulking in the shadows of his own private playground, it was almost a relief to him when the unfavourable smells of the docks reached him, telling him his goal was in reach.

He had made his way though the area without incident and had spotted his entrance to the warehouse, most of the small upper windows had been broken at some point and allowed him to enter the building without having to break in though the locked doors.

Snow drifted into the building to settle on the metal walkway as Joker slipped awkwardly though, landing heavily before heading towards the stairs and down across the main bay.

"It's cold"

Joker stopped, frowning heavily as he looked down at his feet, since when did he get cold? He looked up as he became aware of something, cocking his head to one side as if listening, and since when was it so quiet? The constant chattering inside his head was still there but seemed fainter, more like whispering then the usual screams and shouts echoing though his mind. He dug a finger into his ear, looking blearily at the dried blood and clear fluid he came away with before his eyes slipped past and settled on the truck.

It was the same truck he used last time, a couple of hours after his chemical bath. He'd half crawled, half fell into the back, nearly blind and hardly able to breathe from the fumes coming off his skin and what remained of his clothing. He'd been fighting with Jack, using sheer will to force him to give up the tenuous hold he had, to push him down the rabbit hole of his mind so that he, Joker could take control and survive, something Jack didn't have the strength to do.

He moved to the truck, noticing the dried blood covering the flat bed, a giggle rising from him, it really was just one big joke.

"You know how to make me laugh"

Joker spun wildly, the voice was so loud and out of place from the rest he was sure there was someone there with him in the building. His crimson eyes searched the area completely but no one appeared. It had been a woman's voice, light and uplifting but making him feel a deep sense of unease.

"That voice...I know that voice, Joker what..."

Joker snapped down on Jack's thoughts with all the strength he could muster, the unease had flared into blind panic at the sound of Jack's muttering, and although he had no idea why, he knew he couldn't dwell on that voice and nor could Jack.

Joker slipped over the tailgate of the vehicle and slid towards the back of the cab, rolling himself in the heavy spare canvas folded up there and curling up on himself, careful to keep his thoughts free of the feminine voice that had echoed though his mind,he had blocked Jack out completely now and was concentrating on the whispers in the darkness, even when muted it all soothed him, he found himself drifting off, an unusual sensation to him as he rarely slept, his manic energy keeping him moving always. It had all deserted him now though as he looked blearily at the panel work in front of him, his eyes closing as he finally succumbed.