But the only song that he could play was
"Over the Hills and Far Away"…
Joker reaches the entrance to the circus just as a drop of rain falls from the sky. He leans against the entrance, looking towards the streets… for you… waiting… hoping… knowing…
More drops fall from the sky… it is now a downpour. His cloak blows in the wind. He does not let the rain bother him… he is frowning.
"BOSS! WE GOTTA GO!", shouts Dagger from inside the circus. Joker says nothing. Dagger walks up to him and grabs his shoulder from behind. "Boss… please…". Joker turns his head slightly to the side. His eyes close slightly. He looks towards the streets again. Dagger lets go of Joker's shoulder. He frowns. "Boss… something's bothering you, right?". Joker says nothing again. Dagger looks at him with concerned eyes. "You hated the rain… remember? And now you're standing in it like it's a shower! You've been acting strange ever since we came to… ever since we came back to, London…"
"Nine years…"
"What?"
"Nine years since… we…". Joker pauses. He closes his eyes, tears about to fall.
"Does it bring back memories?"
"Lots…", says Joker, his words shaking. "Mostly… mostly bad memories… but I… but I… regret…"
"Regret what?". Joker pauses. He opens his eyes. Tears fall from his eyes, onto his face. He frowns, looking towards the streets.
"I… regret… letting the bad memories… impact my decisions… it hurts… it hurts because now I find it nearly impossible to turn back… and let the small amount of good memories… beautiful memories… shine…"
Joker remembers the time he first met you… his life had been meaningless… he was useless… you gave him the hope of survival… and the hope of love… with you there was a purpose… and he could not understand why he abandoned it to follow only a more meaningless and useless life…
"But… Boss… you've moved on since that time… if we hadn't been passing through London, you probably wouldn't have remembered any of that!". Joker bows his head, tears still falling from his eyes. He feels ashamed. If he had not been in London, he probably… no! He promised himself that he would never forget you! And he did not… everyday he felt sad or depressed, he would think about you… it gave him a purpose… a chance at life… he knew in his heart that hope was prevalent… you were a girl, rich at that, who saw a light in him no one of that position would even consider… and it was not because he was benefiting himself, but, rather, because he was benefiting someone else… you… that he knew for sure. The things he did now for pleasure involved hurting others as a means to benefit others who, perhaps, did not even need help… he was never sure. To him, certainty was key… he was aware of what he was doing and who it was for… no tricks, no side games. Every good deed that he did, every second he spent with you, was worth it… he was certain of the feeling he had… happiness… and love…
He was not about to let his feelings slip way again… that is why he bears the rain, even though he hates it… that is why he ignores his Family when they plead with him to move on… that is why he spends every second with you… and all not because he feels sorry for you… but because… but because…
"I love you… just the way you are…"
Joker wipes the tears from his face. He looks towards the streets again. To find love in the streets, where you never had any to begin with… this was not a miracle… it was fate…
"Boss, if we don't leave now, the… Yard…"
"FATHER!", says Joker, not paying attention to Dagger. "I need… I need to talk to him…"
Joker realizes that fate is an extreme… but compared to other extremes, one being his deal with Father, this… this is more important… he needs to talk to him… confront him… tell him that he wants change… he was not afraid this time…
"Sis's already at Father's… she's gonna meet us on the road…"
"Father?", says Beast, entering the room of her Father. He looks at her from his bed. He smiles in the shadows.
"What is it, child? Is something wrong?"
"Yes, Father… something's very wrong…"
"Oh? And who does it pertain to?"
"Joker…"
"Joker?", says Father questionably. Beast takes a few steps towards him. She takes out the note from her pocket.
"You mustn't be alarmed… we had no idea that he was having any contact with people from the outside world… here… a note he left her…". Beast walks up to Father. She hands him the note. He reads it. He reads it again. He closes the note. He crumbles it up and throws it at her head, laughing madly. She frowns, waiting for his answer.
"YOU THINK I CARE WHAT LITTLE GIRLFRIENDS HE HAS IN HIS TENT WHILE OTHERS AREN'T AROUND? I'M NOT A PEEPING TOM… I CAN CARE LESS!"
"BUT, FATHER! THIS IS DIFFERENT! IF THIS GIRL TOLD THE SCOTLAND YARD ABOUT US…"
"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK JOKER EVEN TOLD THIS GIRL IN THE FIRST PLACE?"
"He…". Beast pauses. He would not tell her… but she could not… she would not… let him get away with something like this… and the girl herself to go unpunished…
"I saw him…"
"Hm?"
"I… was there when he told her about us… he told her everything…", says Beast, a shadow around her face. Father says nothing.
"Beast…"
"Yes, Father?"
"Get me my wheelchair…". Beast walks over to his wheelchair and puts him in it. He rolls himself over to the window. Beast looks at him, scared and with a frown. He waits a few seconds before answering.
"I told you Children not to interfere in the lives of others… only grief results from doing so… such disobedience leads to punishment…"
"HE WILL NOT GO UNPUNISHED…"