A/N: Well.

This must be a surprise.

Because folks say I only update Fate stories.

Remember that prank war? 'Course ya do. This is the result.

Do you really wanna poke that bear? Do you? I don't think that you do.

Consider this a response of sorts; I update as my health and responsibilities allow.

Also yeesh, I was nowhere near as good as I am now back in 2015. Ah, well. Away we go!

"I don't think I've heard you laugh before...I don't think I like it! Stop! You're scaring me, damnit! I said stop!"

~?

A Man's Folly (Interlude)

Well. This was unexpected.

"I'll say." Joker nudged the corpse with a foot warily, almost afraid the creature would lunge up and bite him. "Bats? Ohhhhh baaaaaatsy?"

Another nudge.

"C'mon now, Bats." the clown frowned, "You're laying down on the job."

Beneath his boot, Batman didn't budge. His face, still set in a rictus of a savage grin, his mouth still bloody from the flesh of his last victim, didn't even twitch. The gaping hole in his head had put him down. For good this time. Odd. Joker should feel happy. He'd finally bonked the bat. Only...why did he feel so empty inside? It had taken him so long, his

"Mistah...J..."

"No, no, Harley," he muttered, pushing the shambling figure away from him when she tried to approach and gnaw at his shoulder. "Not now. Don't need you biting me again. Can't you see I'm busy?!"

"Busy, indeed." A voice remarked from the rafters. "Ready to admit defeat?"

"You!"

When his partner in crime dropped in, it was all he could do not to grit his teeth.

"Yes, me, what did-oh." Naruto groaned as he alighted beside him, facepalming now as he saw the bodies. "Lovely. Just lovely You killed the world's greatest detective; the one person who had a chance of fixing this mess by himself. I hope you're happy."

"OF COURSE I'M NOT HAPPY!" growling, the comeback kind swung about, stabbing a finger in the blond's face. "There's no punchline! This is all your fault, anyway!"

"ME?!" the blond squawked! "You AGREED to the prank war!"

"I wasn't expecting zombies as a result, you twit!" the clown prince of crime seized him by his jacket. "How did you even do that?! Fix it! That's what you do, right? Undo things! NOW! DO IT!"

A slow, lazy smile greeted him.

"Hmmm...no."

...WHAT?!"

Blue eyes shone with devilish delight. In that moment his shadow seemed to writhe and twist around them, becoming something monstrous on the walls. He risked a brief glance at it, only to start as a hand settled on his shoulder. A convulsive shudder ran through him. Cold. Why did it feel so cold? That was most assuredly a human hand resting there, yet it felt as though a block of ice had landed on his back. When he turned back, those azure orbs weren't blue anymore; rather, they'd become red. Like the gaze of some terrifying devil.

"Admit you lost, first." he purred.

Urk.

Joker nearly choked on his own spit then and there

He'd planned this, he realized. All of it. The destruction, the plague, the infection, all that had followed. Just to win their bet. His blood boiled at the thought. What kind of madman willingly went to these lengths just to win a game?! Not the kind he wanted to tangle with, thankyouverymuch! Still, a thorn of pride caught against his heart and he refused to give in. To admit that he'd lost to someone like this, an entity that didn't even take this very existence with some semblance of seriousness...never!

"No! Never! I'd sooner die." he said as much.

...that can be arranged, you now."

A beat of silence passed between the two of them.

"Come now," the force that called itself Naruto smiled at him like a benevolent sibling. "Do you really want to live in a world like this? A rotten realm where you're the only thing left alive? An ending with no punchline? I'd reconsider, if I were you. This is your folly. You wanted to badly to win that our little war kept escalating, until...well." slim shoulders rolled in a heartless shrug. "This happened. Don't say I didn't warn you. Wouldn't you rather start over? Play our pranks properly? Who knows? We might actually have a proper victor this time."

Damnit. Slippery bastard actually had a point there.

To simply live in a world like this, alone...

But he didn't want to lose!

Another pang of quiet.

And then:

"Alright, fine!" he cried out, flinging his arms up! "I give! Are you happy now?! Now fix this!"

Beaming, the blond snapped his fingers. "As you wish. Reseting in three, two-

"You do realize I'm going to win this time." Joker swore.

His foe merely grinned at his challenge. "One."

And the world became light.

A/N: There we go. Hope you enjoyed this ghost, back from the dead.

I've said it once, I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I. Am. Updating. Everything. But I lost a lot of notes in the fire-yes, there was a fire-and had to start over from scratch in some cases. Do you have any idea how hard that is to do? Do you? My current update spree is only coming as a result of sacrificing my health, sleeping for only three hours a day, working two jobs and taking care of a nephew. I don't get paid for this. I work, I eat, I sleep, I update. Rinse and repeat.

So kindly think twice before you sling death threats.

I'm speaking to the anonymous trolls of course.

If you want to review, by all means.

No previews. Nope. None. Nadda.

Not this time. Peace~!

R&R! =D