(No P.O.V.)

Though the world was ruined by a certain fashionista and everyone was willing to die for her, everything was being run by a particular group of high school students called the Remnants of Despair.

These students were called into an emergency meeting and told to meet at the Kuzuryu household. The thirteen of them gathered around a long table greeting each other. Although they didn't show it, they still had the madness of despair in their eyes.

"Miss Sonia." Kazuichi Soda greeted the Ultimate Princess. "You're looking well."

"Save your hopeless delusions for later." Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu said. "Where's Nagito?"

"Junko pawned him off to a few kids." Teruteru Hanamura said serving plates of meat to his allies one by one. "At least, that's what I've heard."

"Good thing." Hiyoko said. "That guy was a total creep, but I'd still prefer him over that hopeless case, Mikan."

"My beloved." Mikan said with aroused breath thinking about Junko.

"Can't talk. Eating." Akane said gorging herself on all the food in front of her.

"Now to our dark business." Gundham Tanaka said. "Kuzuryu, your message didn't state on the purpose of this meeting. What exactly is it that you called us here for?"

Kuzuryu stared with just his one eye full of confusion. "What are you talking about? I didn't call for this meeting. You all told me you had something urgent to talk to me about."

"Nuh uh!" Nekamaru Nidai exclaimed. "We were summoned here."

"Well, not by me, obviously." Kuzuryu said while Peko Pekoyama stood behind him glaring around the room. "Then by who?"

The meeting was interrupted by the laughter of a man closing in on them…

(Joker's P.O.V.)

…My laughter in fact. I marched into the meeting room with an emphasis on each step. All the other kids stared in confusion at me as I took a seat at the end of the table across from the Ultimate Yakuza.

That's right. I already know who these guys are. And all it costed was five lives, plus a tailor to perfect my new purple suit.

"Looks like the circus is in town." I stated. "And now, you have your star clown."

"Who's this clown?" Akane asked.

"How did you get through my guards at the gate?" Fuyuhiko asked.

"I pretended I was a bar of soap and gave them the slip." I answered. "I went through so much trouble to organize this little shindig and I didn't want to miss it."

"You organized this?" Mahiru asked. "Who are you?"

"…Truth be told, I don't actually know myself. I've been brainstorming new names for me. Perhaps… Jack Napier. Or… Jeremiah Valeska. Arthur Fleck? Whatever. It'll come to me. But for now, I want to talk about you guys."

"What about us?" an unknown fat guy asked. I've only heard of him as the Ultimate Imposter.

"Well, when I was reborn as this… unnamed individual, I felt like I was gonna be stuck for the rest of my life. But then, I hear that you people played a part in giving everybody their one bad day. You Remnants of Despair have brought the world on its fractured knees. It's truly a work of art… but I know I can't thank you. Instead, I plan to personally thank the true artist."

The Remnants looked at each other with a certain amount of surprise in their eyes.

"So that's it then?" Kazuichi asked. "You want to see…"

"Yes." I answered widening my blood-covered smile. "I want to see the real person responsible for making an actual Hell on Earth. The girl who's name I keep hearing from her devoted admirers over and over again. The Ultimate Despair! Take me to Junko Enoshima."

The Remnants exchanged suspicious looks before turning back to me.

"And what will you plan to do when you find Junko?" Mahiru asked.

"That's a good question, and I will get back to you on that later." I answered. "Look, I just want to have a chat with her. I'm kinda on the fence on something. There's definitely a lot we have in common, but something feels off. I just want to talk to clear the air."

"Well, hate to break it to you, chuckles," Fuyuhiko said, "But Junko's preoccupied right now. She's got a situation to deal with at Hope's Peak. Don't you watch TV?"

"Oh, you mean that." I said. "Her little reality show about getting the Hope kids to kill each other and drive the world even deeper into despair. Unfortunately, I couldn't find that place, and even if I did, it's sealed off tighter my mom on prom night… or is it the opposite? Either way, I can't get in. I was hoping you guys could call her and make an appointment for me."

"Shows what you know, bozo." Akane said. "We can't call her."

"What?" I asked. "What do you mean? You're her top people. Certainly, you should have a secret way to call her, right?"

"Nope." Kazuichi said with a confident smug. "She didn't want anyone to interrupt her, so she told us to break off all communications to her and let her do her thing."

"I see." I said. "So, if I were to, say, gather a small army of folks who see the funny side of things to storm the place and rescue the remaining kids, then neither of you guys would be able to warn Junko?"

The thirteen kids fell silent as reality started to sink in.

"But… you said you didn't know where Hope's Peak was." Mikan said.

"I didn't when I looked." I said. "But when I went inside this house, I came across a Hope's Peak pamphlet left behind. It had its address and location and everything."

"You wouldn't dare." Nidai growled. "Why would you want to save the Hope's Peak kids?"

"I just want to talk to Junko. If saving those guys is the only way to make her so upset, she'll have to confront me herself, then so be it. Besides, I may not have another chance. Junko may not see it, but I do. Those kids, if they get the strength, will be her undoing. Really, you should be thanking me. If Junko's dead, then the rest of you go back to being the pathetic losers you were before the tragic event. Even Kuzuryu will go back to being a softie."

"Enough from the clown!" Fuyuhiko shouted. "Peko, get rid of him!"

Peko Pekoyama grabbed her sword and started to dash toward me, but I knew better. I paused her when I opened up my purple jacket. It was tight with all those explosives around my chest, but I knew it got their attention. The starting point would be the grenade I had above my belly button, which I threatened to pull the pin out of.

"Now, now, now." I said. "Let's not blow this out of proportion." I laughed again.

"Shut it!" Kuzuryu said making me stop. "You think you can threaten us and just walk away?"

"Yeah."

"I'm putting the word out!" Kuzuryu growled. "A huge reward for someone who can bring me this joker dead. Double it if he's alive so I can teach some manners first."

"Whatever you say, pal." I said waddling backwards.

As soon as I left the house, I removed my dummy explosions and toy grenade from my chest and tossed them behind me. I laughed once more. When I caught my breath, I thought back to what the Ultimate Yakuza called me.

"Joker, huh? What a nice ring to it."

Author's Note: Now, I originally planned for Joker to have his own brand of fun in this dystopia that Junko created while messing with the Future Foundation, but over time, I gained a new idea, a plot that will definitely work. But first, Joker is going to have to mess with Junko a bit. Yes, after a lot of reviews, the idea of Joker being a rival for Junko wins by a landslide. Let's see where this goes. Any and all comments are welcome.