-Earlier-

Those ladies were pretty polite considering my initial introduction to this neighborhood, I thought to myself as I walked through the town. But even with their help it hasn't made this search easier. Surprisingly enough a place called Cannibal Colony has quite a number of butcher shops, crazy I know. Makes you wonder, do people walk in for dinner, or for dinner? Maybe I should've gone after Bruce first, he was closer and a backstabbing traitor; even with me being preoccupied he wouldn't have gone far, and his annoying stuttering would've given him away easily. But I suppose not all of us can be vengeance seekers who scowl above everyone else, and Alastor sounded like more fun anyways so he gets top priority. I wonder if he'd appreciate all the thought I put toward him, and I haven't even met him yet.

Anyways, enough getting lost in thought, I've passed a number of shops by now, looking through their windows and finding them empty. Was it past closing time? It's not like there's a way to tell time down here, well besides the giant clock that's currently too far away to see the time. And these streets having so few demons roaming around is making me believe that's the case. No, I need to keep looking, something about this man is calling me to him, beyond my own curiosities. I can't explain why but this feeling reminds me of the object of my past obsession, that scowling vengeance seeker of my more-alive days.

I snaked my way between streets, the layout of this town was nightmarish in how it mimicked small-town life. Everything was laid out in rows, separated by rectangles made up of streets that ran alongside the buildings and between them. Even the shops on each street seemed to have a similar theme, with the only constant being a butcher shop. Barber shops, grocery stores, bars, clothing stores, and one butcher shop. On every street. At certain points I felt like I was having recurring senses of deja vu, only to have the street name remind me this was a different set of stores. Out of everything I faced so far, this was true hell. No chaos, just fabricated order. The chaos did exist, I saw it for myself, but it was masked by a false sense of quaintness, I suppose that's the best word for it.

And as if to further my point, after snaking back down another street towards the middle of the town, I found a park. Different from the one I woke up in. Rather than a small forest of trees and bushes that you would find in a city park, this was a typical small neighborhood park. A sidewalk that went straight from one side of the park to the other, dividing a playground made for children on one side from a collection of benches and picnic areas on the other. Everything about it was perfect, and I wanted to set it on fire and watch as it torched this whole town to the ground. It was all wrong while pretending to be right, the perfection didn't match the insanity this place held, or drew out.

Standing in front of this empty, perfect park, I looked down at myself. I didn't bother to think about it since it happened, but what the hell did I do to that guy? I still wore the blood on my clothes, cracked and darkened. I remember feeling my head split open naturally, biting down into him and ripping him apart, and what came out of my mouth? Whatever it was it spread through him pretty quick, and those women are currently eating it right up. What will it do to them I wonder? Maybe I should have stuck around to find out. But much like everything else that's happened to me, in both my lives, I don't think it matters all that much. I wouldn't be able to get anything done if I stopped to question every single crazy thing I ever did. Best to just take this in stride for now, and who knows? Maybe whatever I did I'll find out about later, it'll be a nice surprise.

A gust of wind blowing from the left snapped me out of my thoughts as it sent a chill up my spine. "Woah! I should've packed a bigger jacket, what month is this even? Having a sky that's red all the time isn't very helpful. And if you're going to take the time to fill it with a giant pentagram you could at least write a date and time or something while you're up there," I said aloud, holding myself. Looking to the right, watching the leaves getting picked up by the wind, my eyes were drawn to a signboard sitting right outside the park along the sidewalk. Curious, I walked to it.

Like a signboard you would find in any small town it had posters collected all over it, advertising different things or asking about missing pets. Smiling to myself I looked over it, maybe something on here would provide a clue.

"Alright, enough meandering, let's see. Sparky, missing two weeks ago, no reward… kill on sight. We tossed out this stupid dog-fly thing three times now and he always keeps coming back, if you find him kill him before he comes back a fourth time. He isn't missing this was just the only posters available to print on… huh. Well concerned citizen if I have the time I'll be sure to put a bullet in him for you," I said, slightly bemused by the poster. Moving on I tried to find something that would lead me to Alastor, something like an advertisement for a new butcher shop opening.

I began reading through multiple posters, skimming them aloud. "Hmmm, interested in night work? Valentino has several positions... eugh no. Harvest Moon festival, Wrath Ring, interesting… but no. Seeking redemption? Ha, I wouldn't be here if I was. Hmmmm, ah this seems promising. Butcher shop opened on 678 Cannibal Road, is everything named cannibal here?" I rolled my eyes, then continued reading, "If you have trouble finding it, it's the only building with an eye on it, don't ask me why it's there, the guy who sold the place to me didn't have an explanation for it either."

I leaned back from the board and turned around to face the street behind me. "Well that's as good a lead as any for now. So, which direction was Cannibal Road again? I remember Cannibal Boulevard, Cannibal Street, Cannibal Drive, and one sign that just said Cannibal… was it to the right maybe?"

It was at that moment I heard a bloodcurdling scream, a scream with which I'm familiar. I've made many scream like that, and considering the usually eerie peace of this place this was enough to catch me off guard. Following the sound I ran to the left. After a few seconds the screams died down. Although it didn't last long, I judged the distance of the screaming and kept running past buildings until I stopped in front of an intersection about five blocks from where I was at the park. Looking up I found a street sign. Cannibal Road.

"Heh, look at that, it was to the left." The butcher shop was close, and if those screams meant what I think they did, so was Alastor.

I saw a couple people at the other end of the street briskly walking away from the scene, none of them fit the description of Alastor however. So I continued towards the butcher shop. I eyed each building on the side I was on, reading each number as I passed by. 672. 674. 676.

678.

Here it is, the butcher shop with a giant eyeball out front, what is it with things here having eyeballs that shouldn't? I pushed that question to the side for now and tried looking into the shop, only to have my view blocked by large splotches of red. It covered both windows, and the glass door that led inside, looking beneath the door the red slowly pooled outside. It didn't take the world's greatest detective to figure out what happened here. Seeing the pool of blood my eyes also spotted a red trail leading away from it, down the sidewalk opposite where I came from. A series of outlines resembling dress shoes, with hooves inside each outline, and drops of blood alongside them. Alastor. And he was carrying something, something that was still bleeding. I took a step towards the trail intending to follow it, but my curiosity stopped me, and I turned back towards the entrance of the butcher shop. Slowly I pushed the door open and peeked inside, and my eyes widened in delight.

I don't know what happened here but whatever it was must have really set poor Alastor off. The entire place seemed to be covered in blood, from the counter to the walls and even the ceiling. Only a few limbs were left strewn along the floor to indicate someone was ripped apart, otherwise I'd just assume they exploded. I could tell though it was only one person, not enough blood to be more, and I know that from experience. That, and there was someone still alive in here. A small sheep girl wearing a purple sweater was looking up at me from where she sat against the wall, frightened by my appearance. I smiled, resisting the urge to ask if her clothes were made of wool.

Instead I greeted her by asking, "I don't suppose you did all this?"

The sheep continued to stare at me unresponsive, it seemed she was in shock, which is something else I know from experience. Unfortunately I didn't have the time nor care to try and snap her out of it. "I'll just take that as a no. I'll take my business elsewhere then, the workmanship here looks sloppy anyways, heheh." I pulled my head back and closed the door in front of me, then set my eyes back on the trail I found. It still looked fresh, hopefully that small talk didn't delay me too long.

I followed the footprints until they faded at the end of the street, then used the drops of blood as my guide as they went across the street and to the left. Buildings of different colors and shapes passed me by as I followed the trail, slowly growing less and less picturesque. I must've been on my way out of the cannibal town. The spaces between the drops of blood were growing wider, so either it was drying up or Alastor was helping himself to a walking snack. I hurried my pace, not wanting to lose this one lead. Soon I began to hear the sounds of the city again, I was on the outskirts of the town, meaning Alastor was already out. I was going to lose him. A few moments later, and as I rounded another street corner following this trail, it ended in a large pool of blood. Drops of red coming from above sent ripples through the pool, drops that came from a wet bag of meat hanging on a street lamp. I stood there and looked around. Behind me was the quiet town of cannibals, and in front of me was the loud hum drum of the city. And Alastor was seen in neither.

I frustratingly rubbed my hands on my face. "This is insane," I said aloud. "Batman never had this problem, he could track people from the snot they wiped on a tissue. Me? I get a blood trail like a treasure map, X marks Alastor, and I get no Alastor. Wasted all this time…" I sighed, "I could've been causing mass mayhem and hysteria. I finally don't have a bat on my back and the first thing I do is go on a wild, boring goose chase."

I shook my head, catching my reflection in a window out of the corner of my eye. Turning my attention to it I said, "Then again… I guess it wasn't all boring. This new body, new powers, and I've killed quite a few people already. Even if it's not enough to get me noticed, Rome wasn't built in a day!" I smiled wide and chuckled, "There'll be time enough for Alastor, but I need the people of this town screaming my name. If I find him, or Bruce, along the way, well bully for me."

As I laughed and talked to myself, a yawn caught me off guard, "Oh my, guess it has been a long day. I think it's time I find a new Joker cave. And this being a city that must mean there are apartments, I'm sure no one would mind me occupying one of them. An apartment would be an upgrade to the usual abandoned amusement park, and it's not like those exist down here anyways. An amusement park in hell would be downright wacky!"

I looked away from the building's window and back at the bag of meat, now having stopped dripping. I smiled and walked away, back towards the city. "I'll see you soon Alastor, you can count on it."

-At that moment, very close by-

The shadow watched as Joker walked away from the bag, smiling and humming to himself. Blending in perfectly with the darkness of the alleyway there was no way he saw it. But it saw everything, it had been keeping an eye on Joker ever since he noticed he was being followed. Without a sound it slowly slunk back into the alley and through to the street on the other side. Dodging past the wandering pedestrians and reckless drivers it snaked its way back to its master on the other side of the city. He too was humming, a different tune and one that was more pleasing to the shadow that encouraged him back at his side.

"So he was following us, interesting. Why, I wonder?" Alastor asked, the shadow didn't have an answer.

He shrugged, "I suppose we'll find out later." The shadow got closer to his master and whispered in his ear, "You have a feeling about this one?"

Alastor stopped and raised an eyebrow at his familiar. The shadow nodded slightly, its twisted smile grew wider. Alastor looked at it for a moment in thought, then shrugged and continued walking.

"Alright, I'm a bit occupied with another project at the moment, but I don't see the harm in steering him in the right direction," he said, as he eyed the television display of an electronic store as he walked past.

"Make sure it's… entertaining."