Continuing where I left off, so let's get right into it shall we?

Prologue

In the city, the bright Casino is lively as always. Many people from all over come in and hope to strike it big. It's always go big or go home with these folks. But, amidst the wild life of the Casino, it had a brooding atmosphere that night. A robed being of the night had set off the alarm, letting all the patrons know that the Casino was being robbed. He smirks and makes his move, leaping from light to light. All the while, men in black suits appear and try to find him. Noticing this, the figure sleeks through the lights to make himself known in the moonlight.

"Hey, up there!" shouted a patron when he sees the now illuminated figure. It was a Young man wearing a long, black coat that is reminiscent of old-school thieves in movies. He wore red gloves and all black clothes, most likely for sneaking through areas. His most prominent article of clothing was his mask, a white masquerade mask with what seems to be black stars for his eyes. He was slim built and had unkempt black hair. He also had on him what looked to be a briefcase, which is why he was being targeted in the first place.

"He's here, move in immediately!" said one of the men, pushing past the patrons to chase after the thief. The thief, likewise, turns and leave the scene.

'Good, now get running!' Squeaked a boyish voice over the Thief's earpiece

'This is our only chance!' Proclaimed a boy's voice

A young girl's voice also voiced herself. 'Stay calm, you can get away now!'

Finally, another girl piped in, although she sounded more mature than the other girl. 'We'll retrieve the briefcase on our end.'

A mysterious transmission interrupted their conversation with the black thief. '…suspects…not…confirmed…hold…your...positions…'

'Hm…? What was that…?'

This time, the thief spoke up. "Hey, what's going on your end?"

'Don't worry about us. Just concentrate on getting away!' the boyish voice responded.

"Alright, just be careful." And with that, he started bounding from object to object, navigating his way around the Casino.

'But I have to say, showing yourself above that crowd earlier was an excellent move. Nice work as always Joker.' The thief, now named Joker, smile at this response. It's always nice to get praise every so often, he thought.

'I bet Skull wouldn't be able to pull it off that smoothly.' Said another girl's voice.

'Hey! I heard that!' Yelled what sounded like a delinquent's voice. But before Joker could respond to their little banter, he was cut off by guards.

"There he is!" An agent said as two more pooled in with him, attempting to cut off Joker's escape route.

'Joker, get out there!' A girl's voice cried. She sounded more commanding than the others.

"Gotcha, I wouldn't want to fight a 3-on-1 anyways." Joker then turned away and started leaping onto arches suspended by wires above the casino. The guards would have to find another way to catch this elusive thief.

'OK, the enemy's focus is on him, looks like the rest of us can slip away.'

Joker, pleased by this information, made his way towards an open balcony. Before he could dash towards the exit, two agents stopped his path. They suddenly transformed into grotesque beings with a mask on their faces. A third one dropped behind Joker, attempting to trap him. Joker simply smirked after being told to 'take 'em down!' He leaped high into the air, only to land onto one of the being's shoulders. He then violently ripped off its mask, revealing a black face with two red dots peering into the void. This form was temporary, however, as the being then lurched backwards and had its…everything spill out in a fountain. This explosive geyser brought forth a Hellish Monster, which roared a terrible roar. The entity looked like the Greek Minotaur, but with a metallic, snake-like body. Its figure looked imposing, as if to oppress others. This being is known as the Tyrant Moloch, of the Hanged Man Arcana.

The young girl's voice from earlier piped in again. 'Comparing Power Levels… No threat. Get 'em, Joker!

Joker had already begun his assault. He delivered swift strikes with his knife and his expert marksmanship easily brought the Moloch to its knees. The Tyrant was not pleased with this outcome, as in its rage, it casted a powerful fire spell.

"Damn you! AGIDYNE!" A giant pillar of flames erupted from the ground below Joker. It had completely incinerated the thief, or so he had thought. A phantasmal being appeared next to Joker, protecting him from oncoming damage. He did take some of the damage from the spell, however.

"Well then, who said you could damage me, huh?" Joker laughed as his opponent was stricken with fear. "Time to dispose of this trash, eh Arsene? NOSFERATU!" Purplish matter started coiling its way up the Moloch, until it had completely encased it. Then, without any hesitation, Arsene stabbed into the coil, and drained the life out of the demon. It erupted into black smoke until it was gone.

'Alright, now pull out before their backup gets here. Everyone else, move to Route B!'

"Good, you defeated them with ease.'

'More of them?! Be careful!' Upon saying this, Joker was assaulted by 3 guards, all of whom looked threatening. Joker, realizing this was not a fight he should take, did a backflip and bound away. He climbed up to a higher balcony, where he was given directions.

'You should be able to get out that way!' said the young girl's voice.

'C'mon man, can he even hear us?' the delinquent's voice butted in.

'I believe in Joker, he can make it! I know he will' said the commanding girl's voice, albeit it was softer this time.

Joker then ran through the hallways until making his way to a room with glass separating it from the hallways. An agent ran through the hallway, looking extremely pissed.

"Where'd they go, dammit?! I can't confirm the intruder's location." He then ran off ahead, allowing Joker to pass through unseen, at least he hoped.

'Wait, stop!' The girl's voice stopped joker dead in his tracks. There was a rightful reason so, as a guard was blocking the entryway to the stairs. Joker was able to hide himself in the shadows, but now he was stuck.

'You'll never escape if you keep fighting. Hide in the shadows, and wait for the opportune moment to make a break for it!'

The agent blocking the doorway seemed stressed out a bit. "…Hey, you sure he came this way? …Understood! I will continue the search!" He immediately ran out of the room going to where Joker once was. Joker, seeing this chance, made a break for it.

He ascended past the stairs and came to a hallway illuminated by an adjacent room. Joker carefully snuck through the hallway and peered into the room. In it, was a command center with security footage all over the Casino. They were out for his blood, he thought. This was made evident by a man on the phone stating "He's not alone, find them and kill them all!" Hearing this, Joker dashed past the room and made his escape. He ran his way up to a balcony, where he immediately stopped.

'Something wrong, the exit should be up ahead.'

"Through there?"

'That's just how it is! After that commotion, the bottom floor is completely closed off… Hey! Can you make it?'

Joker simply smiled, knowing full well that he could, but before he made his leap of faith, two guards stopped him.

"Hey, over there!" They approached him with guns raised. "There's nowhere to run!"

Joker had other plans. He leapt onto the guard railings and ran on it until he got to the painted glass window at the top. He looked back at the now confused and said one thing to them before taking off: "See ya!"

Joker jumped through the glass, causing everyone in the casino to gasp and scream in terror. He maneuvered gracefully through the air, as if he was a ghost.

'Hmph, such a showoff. You're so reckless you know that?' Joker only smiled at this claim as he rolled onto the pavement with shattered glass falling around him.

He stood up, only to be greeted by a multitude of lights going off at once. He was surrounded.

'Enemies here?!'

'What's wrong?'

'These readings… it can't be…!'

'What happened?!'

'An ambush?!'

'Joker can you handle this?'

'Joker!'

'Oh no!'

"Capture him!" barked the commander of the ambush squad. Troops pooled in to capture the masked man, giving chase. Joker managed to outrun them and climbed up a ladder, hoping it would lead to escape. Unfortunately, it led to more troops on the ledge, with their rifles pointed at his head. One of them smashed his rifle's butt into Joker's head, making him fall into the crowd of police. They quickly apprehended him and part to let a man in a suit walk up to Joker. He grabbed him by his hair and made him look at him.

"Didn't expect to find some kid. You got your teammate to thank for this. You, were sold out." Joker looked surprised when he heard this, and let his head drop to the ground. He was cuffed and taken to jail.

In a small room underground, there were two men inside. The room had a table with a chair. The person in the chair was cuffed, beaten up, and unconscious. He wore a black student uniform belonging to a local high school. But, his unkempt hair was still as prominent as ever. This boy was in fact, Joker. The man in the suit from before was the first to talk.

"Guess the drug was too strong… Wake him up." Another man grabbed a bucket of water and splashed it on Joker's face, waking him up. Joker weakly opened his eyes and looked around. The first thing he saw were the men around him. They looked ready to kill him.

"No dozing off." Said the Man in the Suit. Joker attempted to move his arms, only to learn that they were bound by something. "You still don't get it, do ya? GIVE IT UP!" The man proceeded to kick Joker harshly in his side, knocking him to the ground. "Come on, cooperate. Or what, you want another shot?" Joker then shot a glance towards the camera in his room.

"Huh, what about the camera? Do you think it'll be used as video evidence?"

"…"

The Man threw him to the ground and kicked him again. "Didn't you hear my question? ANSWER!" He then let Joker cough and wheeze on the ground while he grabbed a clipboard from his subordinate. He then began to read off the list.

"Obstruction of Justice, Blackmail, Defamation, Possession of Weapons… Manslaughter too yeah? Talk about the works!" He then turned back towards Joker. "To think all those crimes were led by a punk like this… And you seemed to be enjoying every second of it, huh?"

'I was…enjoying it?' Joker thought to himself. 'Everything's hazy… I can't remember.'

"You should know you place." The Man motioned the guards towards Joker, uncuffing him. Joker rubbed his wrists, bruised from the torture. The Man gave Joker the clipboard. "Sign here. It's a confession under your name."

"I-I understand" mumbled Joker.

"Good choice." The man handed him a pen from his Jacket, but he leaned into Joker's face and made himself menacing. "Don't expect to walk out of here in one piece. We are going to make you understand… that one must take full responsibility for their actions." Joker grabbed the pen, as the Man rose away from him. He weakly signed his real name in the signature box: Akira Kurusu. He gave the Man the clipboard and after accepting it, he left the room.

Down the hall, a tall woman with Ash-colored hair and dark red eyes walked down the hall. She wore a black business suit with gold accents. A guard noticed her and said curtly

"Excuse me, but this area's off-"

"I'm Nijima, from the Public Prosecutor's Office."

"The Prosecutor's Office? What business do you have here?"

"Just let me through; it's urgent. There's something I need to confirm with the suspect."

"Nijima-san, I believe this case is no longer in your jurisdiction. Besides…" Before he could finish that thought however, an Older detective came from down the hall.

"Are you Prosecutor Sae Nijima? There's a call from your director. Hurry and get it over with. To be frank, you're being an inconvenience."

Sae's phone vibrated, so she picked it up. It was the SIU Director, aka her boss.

'sighI thought I ordered you to stand by.'

"I'm responsible for this case yet I'm not even allowed an interrogation!?"

'I'm calling because I knew you'd bring it up.'

"I will not be convinced unless I confirm it for myself. This is MY case."

'sigh good luck to you, then. I won't be expecting much though…' The Director hangs up the phone. The older detective then told something to Nijima.

"Uh, prosecutor? I forgot to mention something. Your time with him will be cut short. We can't permit you to talk with him for long."

"….."

"It's for your own sake. His methods are unknown. After all, we don't even know if it's safe to even meet and greet with him."

"Alright, I understand…" Nijima entered the room and was surprised to see the boy in front of her. She had expected some sort of cruel and malicious man, not the boy in front of her. Nijima was shocked to say the least.

"It's been a while, hasn't it? I hope you don't mind, but I'll be asking the questions this time around." Akira was silent, and Sae knew exactly why. She saw the drugs on the floor and was disgusted by the torture methods used to make him speak. But she wasn't going to let that waver her resolve. She had to get to the bottom of this case.

"I need to know why. Why did you do it? Why did you cause such a major incident? I knew it wasn't a prank from the get-go, but I didn't have enough evidence for a case. I didn't even know how you committed your crimes…"

Joker managed to draw out a curt, but coarse laugh. "Of course you couldn't …" His voice was low and raspy. It didn't sound alive.

"Heh, looks like I'm not talking to a wall. Now then, tell me about this 'world' of yours. How does it work?" Sae then looked back to the paper and spoke again. "And tell me, what are these things you speak of: Demons, Gods, Risen, and the Dragon's Gate. Just saying it makes me disbelieve it, but I know otherwise… Tell me about these products of what many thought were just of fantasy. Start from the very beginning."

Joker looked at Nijima and sighed. There was no other way, he thought. "Fine, I'll tell. But you will have to believe my word for it. I know what I've seen, and I know that my Fate can be changed. Can you say the same, Sae Nijima?"

Annnd Done! I'm so friggen tired after writing this. I'll get into that nitty gritty stuff soon though. Until then, see ya!