"Bob- Bob! What are you doing?" Mel cried out.

"I'm doing what I should have done a long time ago. I'm doing something I've always wanted to do!" Bob's entire arm was trembling, but he continued to pull the trigger. His eyes lit up with a certain glint they never had before.

"Krusty! You have to get out of here!" Mel panicked.

"You'll never escape! Because I won't let you!" Bob screamed.

"Ugh," groaned Krusty. "Hey! Quit it!"

"Never. This is what I'm going to do and no one can stop me now!! I hate you Krusty! Why aren't you dying yet??" Bob yelled, then looked over at Mel. "I might be killing him now, and that might be killing you now, but I swear to God it will save your life in the long run! I won't regret this! You won't regret this! Nobody will regret this, not even Bart Simpson! When he grows up he might realize that I was right all along! Krusty was wrong! They were both wrong! This needs to be done for the sake of all our sanities!!!"

"Speaking of sanity," Mel said, standing up, "the children don't want to see your loss of one."

As he turned the film off, Bob growled, "They've seen it once, they can bear to see it again."

"But they don't want to watch Krusty die, and… neither do I."

Bob, too weak to pull the trigger any more, sank down to the floor, cackling in short spurts. Mel took Krusty by the arms and pulled him out of the building. "They'll be here soon, don't worry…" Mel tried to comfort Krusty, calling first to get Krusty medical attention.

"What's his problem?" Krusty asked, barely audible. "It's almost like I'm the reason he's crazy or something. He just went crazy on his own time and blamed it all on me."

I believe Bob on this one, Mel thought, but didn't say. He didn't want Krusty to feel betrayed in what might be his last moments on earth.

Bart, fearing that Krusty was dead, ran to his room whimpering, as did Lisa.

"The kids seem so terrified. Someone should go talk to them," Marge said.

"You can do that," Homer said.

"Not this again, I meant we both should."

"D'oh!"

In Bart's room, where everything was Krusty, Bart was holding five Krusty dolls in his arms. "Sideshow Bob is such a monster," Bart whispered. "It's not even fair that he was let out of jail. He deserves to be locked away his whole life! Our police force is made up of such idiots. They arrest Sideshow Bob when he's good and let him out when he's bad! It's almost as if they have no judge of character at all."

"Now Bart, I know this is hard for you, and it's probably hard for a lot of other kids too. But knowing Krusty, he'll be okay. He always is, and before you know it, Sideshow Bob will be back in jail. So cheer up! When everything returns to normal, we can forget this ever happened," Marge explained.

"Yeah. And you don't have to worry about him trying to kill you anymore if Krusty does die," Homer added.

"Which he won't," Marge corrected, glaring at Homer.

"Oh, he won't? Then you'd better look out boy, because he'll never be satisfied until he kills one of you. And maybe not even that much! Maybe Krusty's going to die AND Sideshow Bob will still come after you."

"No, Sideshow Bob is just satisfied to get the blows in! He doesn't care if Krusty lives or dies, he's just going to stop now that he's hurt Krusty!"

"I hate these talks… they always end up with me more scared than I already had been," Bart complained. "Sideshow Bob is a maniac. Nothing you say is going to stop him."

Marge groaned uncomfortably, and then said, "How is Lisa taking this?"

"Come in here, I don't want Bart to hear it."

"Okay, Lisa, what's on your mind?"

"I'm not actually that worried about Krusty."

This prompted an awkward silence in the room. After a while, Marge said, "I thought you looked up to Krusty."

"I don't. I've been trying to appeal to Bart by saying I did, but now that he's dying, I don't think I'll miss him that much. I feel the same way about Krusty as Bart did about Bleeding Gums Murphy. What really worries me is that Sideshow Bob is out there and he might try to kill Bart again. It's always scary when your brother's life is in danger. But your brother's idol…" Lisa trailed off. "I feel bad that I don't feel bad about Krusty possibly dying. It just seems… wrong to me, how Bart's going through trauma and I'm feeling nothing."

"Oh, Lisa, you don't have to feel bad! It isn't your fault, sweetie! And I'm sure that if Krusty IS alive, you'll feel better than if he died. You aren't really feeling 'nothing'; you're just… not taking it as hard as Bart is. And that's a good thing! That means that you're at least a little happy. And I want you two to be happy."

"Thanks Mom."

That night, after the kids had gone to bed, Homer and Marge watched the news about Krusty; how he was doing, if he was alive.

"This is Kent Brockman, reporting for Channel 6…. Now I'm sure the story you all want to hear is what's new with Krusty the Clown. After the incident in Sideshow Bob's house today, many adults and children alike are wondering what has become of our favorite clown. The doctors themselves are unsure. Let's ask one now…"

Dr. Hibbert, looking dead serious, stated, "Well, I don't know for sure if Krusty's going to be all right. But right now, it's just… it's not looking good. It's not looking good at all. He's too weak to talk, and he definitely won't be completely okay for the next few weeks to do his show. The channel is going to have to do something about that."

"Knowing Dr. Hibbert, he's probably going to crack up right about," Homer paused, "now."

Dr. Hibbert remained still. He didn't laugh.

"Well, our fun-loving local physician is actually being serious this time! So what does the future hold for Krusty? Find out, after the break!"

"Oh man, I hate it when they do that!" Homer complained. "Now we'll have to wait even longer to find out. I'm wetting my pants over here from anxiety!"

"Homer!" Marge scolded. "Use the bathroom if you need it!"

"But I don't want to miss important news like this! I don't want to be on the toilet and all of a sudden, 'Krusty died' and I miss it. So I'm staying right here."

"Well… at least… get off the… couch…" Marge said.

"Fine, be that way. I just want to find out if he's alive."

The show returned, and Kent Brockman looked very somber.

"So, what does the future hold for Krusty the Clown? …Apparently, nothing at all. Krusty was an idol to many, a simple form of entertainment to others, but now, all he is… is dead. We are sorry for the many people who enjoyed his work, and if you are, you might want to turn off your television right now… but the way I see it, GOOD RIDDANCE."

Marge was worried. "Homer… Bart is going to feel so bad about this. I don't know how we're going to tell him."

"How about… 'Bart, Krusty died.'"

"Well, maybe… But he's going to need some comfort after hearing something like that. Some people find solace in church, but not Bart."

"We have to go to church tomorrow?!"

"Yes Homer, tomorrow's Sunday."

"But- But we're celebrating the life of Krusty! He's Jewish, so he doesn't have to go to church."

"That doesn't mean we don't have to."

"We're all going to miss Krusty, so I'm going to ask the reverend if he'll hold a funeral for a man who isn't Christian. He might say yes."

"We'll see."

In Sideshow Bob's home, Bob sat in front of the television and saw that Krusty was dead. "My job is complete," he said. "I've won. I've finally won."