Catching a Clown ~ [Mythal]

There had been something just so thrilling about his fight with the Jelly Man. It was inspired. All of that risk, the danger, the chaos watching his face as he grew more and more horrified by the clown's antics. Yet she was able to fend off his attempts to hack him to pieces, and even put the clown at risk. The adrenaline that coursed through him was something that the clown had long since forgotten. The fun in being chased had lost its flavour, except now, he wondered what it might be like now. There were rumours in the dark corners of Earthland there the Rune Knights was being governed by some new leadership. And the word was, they were a force to be reckoned with. The prospect excited the clown, and now that he had gotten a taste, thanks to the Jelly Man. He wanted more.

And so, he had set into action, formulating a plan to grab attention. His Queen, he was sure would have no issue with it. After all, she despised the law, and the thing he was doing, would work in their favour because he would do this in their name. Errings Rising, a growing faction, this would certainly attract eyes to them. The clown couldn't see a single flaw in his plan. He strolled through the streets of Era, tapping his cane along the streets casually as he bobbed along. He was wearing his ringmaster suit, donned with a red cloak, and black lapels. A white shirt underneath with a black bow tie. Black tailored trousers, and leather brogues. A black top hat on his head and a white mask, carved with crescent slits for eyes and a wide smile. Each tapping of his cane, the clown, would count.

Less than a minute now.

The streets were busy. It was lunchtime and folks were bustling around on a summery day. They were heading to restaurants and cafes for a bite to eat. A spot of lunch, and a chit chat. Perhaps a vent about their workload or the customers they faced. The usual boring stuff that humans seem to invest their time in. But still, as irksome as it was to witness, their oblivious nature was thrilling at least. The way they were going about their day, without a clue what would happen in just a matter of moments. Well, it was splendid.

What was that, twenty seconds? Oh yeah.

He stopped in the middle of the square; his golden eyes glancing through the holes of his mask at the area around him. There were two cafes, opposite each other, a restaurant, a boutique, hairdressers and other various stalls and shops. But of course, he knew this. This wasn't his first visit to the square this week. He continues to tap his cane, those who pass would glance at him. Assuming that he must be some kind of street performer, preparing for an act, which wasn't that wrong of an assumption. He certainly had a performance ready, and it was going to be one hell of a showing. Three, two, one. And just like that, the peaceful, bustling of the public ceased.

Because everything... went BOOM.

The hairdressers, the cafes, several stalls. Laced with hidden explosives, placed there in the late hours of the night. The streets erupted in fire, bodies were flung everywhere, and part of buildings were blown to builts. Some of the weaker structures would crumble, and the screams that filled the streets of Era were music to Jester's ears. He trembled slightly, the deliciousness of the chaos flowing over him as he listened to the pain around him. The severed bodies, mutilated, maimed, some even decapitated completely. People would begin to flee, which was Jester cue. He would raise his palms, twirling on the spot, cards would fly from his hands. Soaring through the hands, they would chasing down any who flew and slicing away at them. It was a delightful carnival of chaos.

And hopefully, it would attract the attention of someone fun.


WC: 675

Yes, yes, yes.

This was it, what the clown had aspired for. There was the taste of delicious devastation in the air, coated with the thick scent of blood and fear. The shrill screaming of those around, panicking and attempting to flee the scene. The agonized cries of those who had been injured severely and were rendered incapable of fleeing, left behind by the word to die. It was but a sweet symphony. His cards were working wonders, they're sharpened edges would dance against throats, cutting screams short as their victims choked and sputtered to their death. Jester would watch through the slits of his mask as they collapsed to the concrete pitifully. Unable to escape their dreadful fates, no one to save them from the clutches of the cruel clown in the middle of town. Jester would begin to stroll along, tapping his cane almost musically, with a repetitive beat. He would hum along, twirling around to eye the scene. He stopped humming, taking a deep breath, he threw his head back.

"Roll up, roll up, get ya meat here. Ladies an' gentlemen, we've got a fandabby-doozey of a sale today. Buy one, get two 'alf price, what a bargain, won't find it anywhere else. Freshly sliced an' all~" He was calling out in a harsh cockney accent, he threw his cards at a group to his left. Taking out all three of them at once, before cackling in amusement at himself. He certainly did like putting on a good show. Now if only someone would come to play with him. He didn't mind it so much, this was certainly fun. The sheer level of suffering he had caused was a sight to behold, like a beautiful tapestry, and the clown was mesmerized. But still, as his thoughts lingered on the Jelly-Man, he couldn't help but hope for more.

The Jester did a pirouette, releasing another burst of cards. However, as Jester twirled, he felt the cards hit a block. There was no slicing of flesh, no new screams, just the same screams that were already happening. Huh. The clown stopped spinning to eye the wall of darkness that had erupted in the direction of which his enemies were fleeing. His cards unable to move past it, the clowns' golden eyes lit up from under the mask and he sniffed the air. This was magic. He searched the grounds hungrily for the source of the spell, his eyes falling on a fellow a short distance away. He was around the same age as the clown. He had black hair and somewhat pale skin. His eyes were ruby red and were glaring at the clown in a way that sent a shiver of excitement through him. His entire body was coated in an aura of dark energy, Jester brought a hand to his chin, stroking it thoughtfully. Had this been what he'd managed to lure out?

He took a moment to get a feel of him, the magic radiated for the fellow was stupendous. Even greater than the Jelly-Man's had been, and he had been quite the opponent. This had to be one of the impressive new Rune Knights he'd heard about. Under his mask, Jester's grin split even further, widening to excessive proportions as he felt the adrenaline coursing through him even more. This was it, he had done it. He had set the bait and out had come was a prey so delicious, Jester was itching to get a bite of what he was made of.

The man spoke, his words were laced with a threat, causing Jester to snicker excitedly. Jester raised her finger, wagging his finger at the man, all the while shaking his hips to and through as he did. "Jester came the market to find something fun and found something exciting to play with. And all I had to pay was the small price of this entire square, which is cheap considering what I've gotten in return, wouldn't you agree, good sir?" His voice was silky and smooth, no longer using the gruff, cockney accent but his own. His voice was eloquent, and soft, although it was followed by a rather eerie giggle that was much higher in pitch. The giggle stopped as quickly as it started, Jester straightened up sharply, no longer doing his little dance.

"Now then, time for the real show to begin."

Jester snapped his fingers and the air would ripple around them. The square would disappear and in its place, around them would appear to be what looked like the inside of the circus tent. Except this was far from pleasant, there was blood everywhere, hastily strewn body parts and old corpses. Jester let out one last snicker before disappearing, in his place would stand a Harlequin doll. Dressed like a jester in red, gold, blue and white. It wore a mask not too dissimilar to Jesters, except it had no mouth. The Harlequin stepped aside to reveal a second one behind it. Then that one did the same, this process repeated until ten Harlequins stood there. Each holding a pair of machetes in each hand. Jester would be nowhere be to seen, actually sitting on the roof of the tent, watching the fight through the eyes of his dolls. He didn't intend to fight the man directly, at least not until he'd seen what he was made of. Jester licked his lips eagerly as the Harlequins darted towards the dark-haired man, swinging they blades at him swiftly in an attempt to carve him apart.

---

Jester rolled onto his back, his arms were bent leisurely behind his shoulders, staring up at the sky. One leg draped over the other, and his toe tapped casually to a beat in his mind. Anyone would think he was just having a leisurely lie-down, gazing up at the clouds. However, despite looking up at the sky, what the man's golden eyes were really seeing was the inside of the tent, where he was watching a rather splendid scene. His beautiful harlequins were charging towards the Rune Knight, the man seemed to use magic that manifested some form of darkness. He had formed dark wings and a crown and was flying above them light some sort of angel of darkness. Tendrils of dark magic flew towards the harlequins, one by one piercing through their mechanical limbs. The crumpled to the floor, crippled, some of them would attempt to climb onto their broken legs, only to collapse. They would look helpless for a moment, before pushing themselves up into a seated position, they would each begin to launch their machetes into the air towards the man in an attempt to hit him from a distance. Jester had a talent for knife-throwing, a skill he'd retained many years ago. His dolls shared the same skill, launching their blades with a lethal aim.

In spite of these attempts to hit the man, this didn't seem to stop his onslaught, as some of the harlequins were hit with another blast of dark energy, disintegrating them into nothing. Jester applauded excitedly on the roof of the tent. This didn't end here, however, the man seemed to thrust out his palms to release a twister of dark magic in his palm. Only the twister disappeared, and within the next moment, bursting from the ground. The Harlequins were sent flying sky high towards the roof of the tent. Jester snapped his fingers quickly, and before the harlequins bodies could rip open the tent, they would vanish in mid-air stopping just short of the tent's material. He couldn't have the fellow rip open his tent just yet, he had much more fun planned for the man first.

Jester rolled onto his stomach, grinning manically, he would kick his legs playfully to and fro. Propping himself up on his elbow. The clown made a tutting sound. His words would echo through the tent so the man could hear him. "Lots of dark magic to play with Mister, although I can't help but feel like you have much more exciting toys to show me. Jester likes toys, would you like to see them? Then we can play a little more, Jester would like that~" Jester would chuckle in a teasing tone, snapping his fingers one more, from the sky new harlequins would fall. Their bodies completely intact, for these, weren't the harlequins he had damaged. But fresh, untarnished dolls. They would land gracefully on the floor, brandishing their machetes once more. Jester clapped his hands together and from the sky, hundreds of clowns horns would fall, scattering themselves inside of the tent. An assorted of blue and red, covering the vicinity around the man.

"Now really, these won't harm you, should you avoid moving on the ground that is. But that's no fun, seeing as you can fly and all. I'd rather see you dance~"

The Harlequins would shift their machetes into one hand and with the other, they would scoop up a handful of clown horns. Taking aim, they would throw the horns towards the man; if a red horn struck, it would explode, if a blue horn struck, it would release a wave of sound design to paralyze the man. All the while, the harlequins would move forward, the horns vanishing under their feet, allowing them to approach without accidentally stepping on one. They continued forward once again, hoping to get close enough to carve up the dark-haired man.

"Dance for me Mr Knight, I wanna see how you boogie, hehehe~"

---

Through his peripheral vision, Jester would notice the appearance of something next to him. He glanced over casually, no longer watching the dark-haired fellow inside the tent. Instead, looking over at the space next to him, where a strange looking man had appeared by his side. The man would stop Jester from speaking, although he hadn't been about to speak but rather attack the being. He would comment on how much fun it was, before asking him what else the clown had in store. Jester blinked curiously before his face split into an unnaturally wide grin. The challenge of bringing out more toys to play with to show this stranger more exciting than the prospect of attacking him. Much like a lonely child that had been joined by another during playtime. He returned his attention to the Rune Knight, who seemed to be punching and kicking at his Harlequins at this point, having handled the potential explosions within the tent somehow. His legs were kicking to and fro once more, with even more enthusiasm now that he had company.

"Oh mind that knife, behind you, to your left, pow! Mind you don't step on that horn there, oh nice dodge! What a good dancer you are~"  He chirped along happily, not really phased by the possibility of accidentally helping the man, but more so enjoying the opportunity to deliver such commentary. His enjoyment clear as he bobbed his head from side to side as he spoke. The man would challenge him, calling out to him and calling him a coward. Jester was unperturbed by the insult; he knew full well the reasoning behind it. Some bait for a fish, to lure him out. Soon, he certainly wanted to have a more personal dance with the man but not yet. He was having far too much fun as it was. The being next to him would add a comment, combining the words together. Jester's eyes would light up at the combination of words, "Clowardah, Clowardee, Cloward do, and Cloward see."  He would rhyme before snickering relentless, "You wanna know what I see?"  His eyes would narrow slightly, and his voice would deepen slightly, his tone laced with malicious intent.

"I see an exciting game in our future... Mr Knight."

This little event he'd created had gone so perfectly well; the man was as even more exciting than he'd expected him to be. This would only prove to motivate the clown, was there other fun little playthings that could be found amongst the ranks of the Rune Knights. We're they all as interesting as this? Plans were beginning to form in the red-heads mind; crazy, brilliant ideas of all the fun games he could manifest. All of them twisted and cruel yet delightfully entertaining. He would lick his lips excitedly. Then almost instantaneously, his expression would change becoming a facade of shock.

"Officer, Officer, I have to report a crime..."  He would cry in the voice of a desperate civilian. Inside the tents, the horns would vanish from the ground. And behind the dark-haired man, there would be the distinct and loud beeping sound of a clown car as it appeared from thin air. It was much like a beetle, with hot pink bonnet, doors and tyre rims. The remaining segments of the car painted bright yellow and royal blue. It would drive towards him at full speed, playing loud, audacious music. The kind of melody one might associate with an ice-cream van. "IT'S A HIT AND RUN!" He would call out, before bursting once again into maniacal laughter. The car would mow down any harlequins that were broken to pieces by still alive, relentlessly speeding towards the fellow in an attempt to ram him. In the front seat, sat a clone copy of Jester, grinning wildly at the man while bobbing his head along to the music. "I wonder how many points this will put on my licence?" He commented casually to his fellow observer, as though he actually had a driver's licence.

---

This day couldn't get much better in the clown's perspective, he had gotten everything he wanted and more. The Rune Knight was proving to be such a great source of entertainment, and so was the weird stranger next to him. Jester couldn't tell much about this perky fellow, except that he didn't seem like a normal human. Maybe he was a ghost or a figment of the clown's imagination. He may have been admittedly a little crazy but was he that crazy? Who knew really. Whether the ghost was real or not didn't really matter to the clown, he just seemed to be enjoying the playful co-teasing of his dark-haired opponent. The more irritated he got, the more the clown was entertained, encouraged to push further, deeper so.

Upon his suggestion of the game, the man's grumble caused the clown to throw his head back in laughter. "Oh mee, oh my! Break my neck! Now that's not very lawful Mr. Officer. I thought you were supposed to arrest us baddies, or are you perhaps... a corrupt cop." He commented darkly, wondering if such an accusation might get under the man's skin. After all, there was no doubt that there was the occasional corrupt cop that had been exposed in the past, but under this new leadership, would it different? Probably not. Still, something about the man didn't feel especially dark, he was attempting to save the people of Era, so maybe this was a good egg. A good egg with a lot of power, power the clown couldn't help be want to play with. There was something delightfully, tantalizing about watching the man fight. Every move he made, the way he so smoothly and effectively. Jester wondered about the feel of it, the glorious power behind his hard knuckles.

What happened next caused the clown's eyes to widen like saucers, and his little clown car, Beep-Beep, hurried towards the man in an attempt to mow him down. The man would adjust his stance, and drive his fist into the base of the car with incredible force, smashing it back and destroying it in a single blow. Parts flew everywhere, metal scattering towards the tent. It was clear to the clown what was about to happen, he had options to counter, he could use his Harlequins to protect the tent, or allow it to break and re-summon it if he wished. But no, neither of these were what he wanted to do.

This distant toying had lost its spice, after what he'd just seen, he wanted to dance a little closer. He rolled onto his side, looking at the figure beside him."Well Ghostey," Not really sure what other nickname to apply to the figure, "It's been a delight, but this dance is going to end soon, and I'd like to grab a quick tango with him before it does~"  He flexed his fingers in a playful manner before vanishing once more. This time appearing inside of the tent, moments before the car parts tore through the roof and punctured it completely. The damage done to the tent was not something Jester could heal, so instead, he allowed the tent to fizzle away, much like dust it was dispersed into the wind revealing the town square once more.

As the dust cleared, the clown would dismiss all of it. The tent, the car, any clown horns or Harlequins, all of it was gone in a matter of moments. The clown would stretch out his arms, as though greeting an old friend. "That was exquisite, I thoroughly enjoyed watching you play with my toys~" He said, in the palms of his outstretched hands, two long daggers would appear, there handles and blades covered in paint, and rainbow-colored tassels dangling from their hilts. "But it made me envious, envious of my own toys and for that I commend you." He said bowing at the man in a swift graceful motion, before stretching up.

"But I've put away my toys, and I've decided I want you to myself. Just you, me and my funny blades." He remarked, twirling the blades playfully. "Time to get close and personal Mr. Officer~"  He purred, before leaping towards the man swinging his knives in an attempt to slice him real nice.

---

Jester was fully aware before he came before the Rune Knight that this could be a loss, the pure energy he could feel radiating off the man was enough to tell him he did not have the upper hand. He knew that, if he was struck with them unbelievable strength, it could full well result in him behind a prison cell at the hand of the Rune Knights. Even so, he was okay with this. There was no fear of pain or capture, either of these was an acceptable sacrifice for him to be able to feel it. His might. He wanted to endure it for himself first hand. The worst-case scenario was the man killed him, which he just had to gamble that he wouldn't do. And what was life without a little risk?

As he surged forth, weapons at the rest, swinging in hopes of drawing blood. There would meet their mark, but it would seem at the Rune Knights intention as the clown become unable to pull them forth. And thus he was trapped, his face snapping up to look at the dark-haired man before him, an unnatural grin stretched across his features as he anticipated the next attack, seeing the almighty fist of his opponent descend upon him with immense power. The immediate collision rocking him to his core, the blood spurting forth from his nose and mouth, the bridge of his nose shattered under the incredible blow. The clown slumped to the ground, eyes rolled back as he slipped into the unconscious, a disturbing blood smile across his mangled face.

---