When Makoto woke up, he was startled as he could barely see. All he could find was brown burlap over his head. He wanted to remove it, but something had bound hid hands to wooden armrests. He struggled, but they were tied tight.

"Hello?" the Ultimate Lucky Student asked. "Is anyone there?"

"Naegi." A regal voice called out. "Naegi, are you there?"

"Byakyua!" Makoto recognized. "Are you all right?"

"I'm tied to a chair, I've got a burlap sack over my head, and something smells suspiciously like carnival food." Byakuya said. "What do you think?"

"Oh, master!" a woman's voice cried out.

"Toko!" Makoto called out.

Byakuya sighed. "Of course."

"Master, I'm glad to hear your voice, but I want to see your face."

"That's gonna be hard to do when we're like this."

"Hina! Am I glad to hear you."

"Yo, Naegi, my man!"

"And Hiro too. That just leaves…"

"That's right. I'm here."

"Kyoko!"

"Great." Byakuya said. "And now that we're all here, would someone mind telling me what's going on?"

"All I know is that some creepy clown guy broke into the academy and dragged us outside while fighting off a bunch of Monokumas." Hina said.

"Yes, and it appears the outside world is in worse shape than we thought." Kyoko said. "The buildings were destroyed, the sky was red, and it smelt awful. I think that's how we passed out in the first place."

"Well, why are we here?" Hiro asked. "And why are we tied up?"

"Did Master Byakuya do this?" Toko asked.

"Hardly." Byakuya asked sternly. "Obviously, the clown did this."

"But why?" Makoto asked.

"You can ask him in a bit, short stack." A new voice answered.

Makoto felt a hand grab the top of the sack and pull it off of his head. The boy was finally able to look around him. First, at the long buffet table in front of him. Then, all his other friends tied up. Then, the tent that they were all in. And finally, the man who helped him see. It was a thin man with a black witch hat, a jack-o-lantern theme outfit, gray skin, and a face with a skull painted.

"AH!" Makoto gasped. "Who are you?"

"You can call me Ghoul. And we've got quite a party planned for you."

Makoto saw several strange people approach behind the captive Ultiamtes. One was a large, bald, very pale man who stood behind Byakuya. The other was a fat man with a pink undershirt and a clown mask. That one was behind Yasuhiro. There were also two identical girls with clown face-paint. The two had Kyoko and Asahina in front of them. Lastly, right behind Toko, there stood a being that didn't even look human, not with wolf/hyena like fur and a feral-sounding laugh. Each of them pulled off the sacks from their individual kids.

"AAAAHHH!" Toko screamed when she saw the man-beast next to her.

"Don't worry about him." The man in the clown mask assured. "Woof doesn't bite… much."

The teens looked outside. It looked like a carnival with park rides and game booths. It was packed with people wearing clown masks and makeup. Everyone looked like they were having fun, but the Ultimates certainly weren't.

"What's going on?" Byakuya asked. "Why are we here?"

"Someone's really calm, Dee Dee." One of the identical girls told her counterpart.

"Calm like a squirrel on caffeine, Dee Dee." The other responded.

"Ease up there, pretty boy." Ghoul said. "That's for the boss to explain."

Everyone turned their attention to the podium next to the table. Standing on top of it was the same person who guided them out of the school. The Joker posed like a showman in his purple suit and carnival hat. He spun around a purple cane as he walked down.

"Welcome, my little Ultimates." The Joker exclaimed. "I hope you're having as much fun as I hope!"

"We're not!" Hagakure shouted. "Let us go! You can't keep us tied up like this!"

"Tied up?" the Joker gave a confused look until he saw the straps on the arm chairs. "Guys, why are our guests tied up."

"Don't look at me!" Chucko said. "It was Ghoul's idea!"

"Hey, as soon as they were knocked out, that sicko with the glasses woke up instantly and tried to stab me with scissors!" Ghoul said. "You'd do the same thing!"

"Oh, that." Toko said nervously.

"Let them go. They're honored guests." The Joker said.

The circus-looking people looked at each other while approaching each Hope's Peak student. They released their wrists and let them rub them.

"I do so apologize." The Joker said. "These people can be so impulsive."

"All right then." Kyoko said. "Would you mind telling us what's going on? We have a lot of questions."

"Of course." The Joker said as he pulled out a seat and sat in between everyone. "Ask away, my pretties."

"First of all, where are we and why are we here?" Byakuya asked.

"You're in Amusement Mile, of course." The Joker answered. "The most fun amusement park in the world. I gave it the official Joker seal of approval myself. As for why you're here, I had to bring you here after saving you from Hope's Peak Academy. It's a good thing you kids didn't account for acid when you set up those iron bars."

"What?" Makoto asked. "Hold on, we didn't set those up. We were knocked out and woke up with those bars already there."

The Joker chuckled. "You actually think that. But too bad you're wrong."

"What do you mean by that?" Kyoko asked. "That's how I remember it."

"You only remember what Junko Enoshima wants you to remember."

"Junko Enoshima?" Hagakure asked. "Wait, you mean the fashionista chick? She's dead."

"Nope. That wasn't her." The Joker chuckled again. "You fell for quite a good trick. After all, if you remembered the real Junko Enoshima, you wouldn't be fooled by that."

"What are you talking about?" Byakuya asked. "If that wasn't Junko, then who was it?"

"That was her twin sister, Mukuro Ikusaba, the sixteenth student." The Joker said. "She's commonly known as the Ultimate Soldier, but she's also known as the Ultimate Despair same as her sister."

"Ultimate… Despair?" Makoto asked. "Wait. None of this makes any sense."

"I… I have another question." Toko said. "Earlier, after you got us out of Hope's Peak, the city was in ruins. What happened?"

"The world's been destroyed." The Joker said. "Been that way for about a year." The Ultimates were stunned silent by that sudden revelation. He laughed again. "Oh, you're faces. Wait." He pulled out a handheld camera and took a picture.

"What do you mean the world's been destroyed?" Makoto asked. "We've only been in school for a few weeks, and everything seemed fine!"

The Joker pulled out a joy buzzer and pushed it with his thumb letting it make a buzzing sound. "EGH! Wrong! It hasn't been a few weeks. Junko found a way to erase your memories of your school life."

"That's ridiculous!" Hagakure exclaimed. "You're saying we all have amnesia! Can we really believe in such sci-fi stuff like that?"

"Actually, it does answer some questions." Kyoko said. "In her suicide note, I remember Sakura saying the mastermind did something to our bodies. It must have been amnesia. Not only that, but there's one other thing. I didn't want to bring this up before until I got some answers… but I have no idea of my past. Other than my name, I know nothing about myself."

"Seriously?" Makoto asked.

"Sounds like you got hit with a much more massive dose." The Joker said. "Not surprising, considering who you are."

"And who do you think I am?" Kyoko asked.

"Kyoko Kirigiri, the Ultimate Detective!" the Joker announced. "Daughter of the late principal of Hope's Peak Academy, Jin Kirigiri! If you were allowed to remember who you were, Junko's plan would've been foiled too early."

"What?" Toko asked. "Kyoko… is the principal's daughter?"

"Wait." Kyoko said. "What do you mean 'late'?"

The Joker giggled. "Hate to break it to you, 'glovely', but your old man bit the dust after Junko took over the school."

Kyoko's eyes widened at the sound of the news. She then looked down gripping her hands together. "Why? Why did he die?"

"Because he stood between Junko and you kids." The Joker replied. "You see, after the world went all topsy turvy, you all sealed yourselves with the principal in the school and boarded everything up to protect yourselves. Unfortunately, Junko was already among you."

"You're saying we put up all those metal plates?" Hina asked. "And the principal stayed with us to try to protect us."

"Guess he didn't do a good job if he couldn't even figure out a murderous psychopath in his student body." Joker laughed making Kyoko even more upset.

"But why the amnesia?" Makoto asked. "And what was the point of the killing game? Why not just kill us?"

"Based on what I learned, not everyone wants to play in Junko's Purge. She actually has people trying to fight her. For some reason, she sees them as a threat, so she decided to weed out the hope among the despair by torturing you kids."

"Torture?" Toko asked anxiously.

"Yeah." Ghoul replied. "That crazy kid's been televising everything you kids have been through since before you began."

"You all were working so hard trying to escape, that some of you ended up killing each other." One Dee Dee said.

"Only the world was already destroyed leaving you with nothing out here." The other twin added.

"You kids are meant to be the hope of the future." The Joker said. "If the world saw you all kill each other, the little remains of hope would flicker into nothingness. Flicker, flicker, flicker." He laughed again, only harder this time.

"If this is true…" Makoto said, "Then what does this have to do with you?"

"Nothing, really." Joker said. "I just wanted to get Junko's attention, and interrupting her killing game would definitely do that."

"You just wanted Junko's attention?" Hina asked. "Why?"

The Joker shrugged. "The truth is, I'm not complete. One of those despair doofuses threw me in a vat of chemicals and changed my life. I don't know who I used to be, but I don't care because I love myself now!" His smile then lowered as he stared at the glass of whine in front of him. "Although, I can't help but feel like something is missing. I've got influence. I've got an army that I joked out of Junko's influence. I've got a fancy hideout. But something about me feels incomplete. It's like I need something that'll push me to become a perfect Joker. Now, Junko, she appears to have it figured out. She's a worldwide sensation and she clearly loves what she does. I just need to figure out what she has that I don't… other than boobs of course." He resumed laughing.

"So you want a one-on-one chat with Junko because of an identity crisis?" Makoto asked. "That's insane."

"And so am I." Joker laughed. "Of course, I think I may need to do more. Thankfully, events are already in motion."

"What do you mean?" Chucko asked. The other clowns looked at him as if they were also kept in the dark.

"See that man out there?" the Joker asked pointing outside. The Ultimates gasped in fear as they saw a bunch of clowns playing hacky-sack with a bloody human head. "That man used to be Yusuke Daizono, a high-ranked agent for Future Foundation, the organization that's leading the charge against Junko. Those suits are looking everywhere for him."

"That's nice." Bonk said. "But there's no way they're going to be looking in a place like this?"

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure." Joker said. "I did give them a call with his earpiece before the party."

Everyone widened their eyes as they pulled out their phones to look at the images the Joker texted them. Suddenly, a whirling sound echoed from the sky. The group looked up and saw the three helicopters that shined their spotlights all over the amusement park.

Out of anger, Bonk grabbed the Joker's collar and held him up. "You sellout! You ratted us out to the suits! I had my doubts about you, but now, I'm really going to mess you…"

BAM!

Carnival music played as the Joker pulled out a pistol from his back pocket and fired a bullet into Bonk's chest. The strongman released the Joker, who proceeded to shoot three more bullets until Bonk fell backwards before dying. The Ultimates gazed in fear while the Joker dropped his gun and fixed his collar.

"Don't wrinkle the threads." The Joker turned to the others. "Now, you won't cause any trouble, will you?"

"No, boss." Everyone said at once.

"That's better. Now, release the kids and safely bring them out."

The goons obeyed while the Joker stepped out of the tent. He told his fellow clowns to stay calm and don't resist while the spotlights shined on him. He looked up at the air vehicles with a devilish grin across his face. He proceeded to do a slow dance for everyone to see as if he was doing a sad swan dance. Several agents zipped down and pointed their guns at the clowns immediately making them freeze. A few of them went into the tent the Joker exited to secure the kids.

Suddenly, the Joker was approached by a man in a white suit and white hair. He held a large katana across his waist.

"You there. My name is Munakata. I work for Future Foundations."

"Hi there, Mr. 'I-Work-For-Future-Foundations'." The Joker laughed.

His laughter ended when Munakata pulled out his sword and held it to his face. "I'm in no mood for games. We've got some questions for you. But first, you're coming with us."

"Jabol!" the Joker saluted in a German accent. He nodded to his fellow clowns and they all let the Future Foundation agents apprehend them and take them away.

The Joker was strapped up like Hannibal Lecter. He gave a small laugh as he was carried away. During that time, he whispered one small thing.

"This should be fun."

Author's Note: Now, the Joker meets the Future Foundation. What's his plan now that he's in their custody? You'll just have to wait and see.

Any and all comments are welcome.