Chapter Text
There are many things Joker never thought he would do. Never thought he’d live in some dusty attic, or meet some talking cat or fall head over heels for the most infuriating girl he’s ever met.
He especially never thought he would be zigzagging through the lighting fixtures of a casino, running away from the police while trying not to fuck everything up. It’s one of those things that come out of nowhere but you just have to deal with it; like the time he and-
He stumbles and he’s quickly greeted with the sound of static and a boyish voice hissing at him.
“Joker, concentrate! There’s no room for mistakes!”
Quickly regaining his balance, he continues on. He can’t be dwelling on old memories at a time like this, not when everything is riding on him pulling this off perfectly. It’s daunting but who is better suited to pull off a heist than the leader of the famous phantom thieves himself? His teammates are strong but none of them have the same flair for dramatics that he does.
Plus, it means that he doesn’t have to worry about any of them getting in trouble. The last thing he wants is one of them getting cocky and trying to to show him up- or worse yet, try to take his place in the heist. None of them, maybe bar Skull, are that stupid to even try but there's a nagging voice in his head that tells him that like he’d do anything for his teammates, they’d do the same for him in return.
“Oracle, how’s it looking?” Skull’s voice rings in his ear, the syllables sounding stressed. Joker can picture how stressed he probably is- despite being on the team from the very start, he’s quick to worry.
Joker quickly leaps to a lower platform as Oracle starts clacking away on her keyboard, practically in all their ears. Thankfully, he doesn’t stumble again but lets out a quiet swear as he continues on.
“Joker’s got some officers he can’t avoid up ahead- two of them but he’ll take ‘em out easy!” Oracle snickers into her ‘radio’, evidently proud of their leader’s power. He can’t help but chuckle despite the oncoming fight.
She continues on, “Otherwise, we all look good. Plague and Crow have three officers on their right but they’re easily avoidable- most of them are too focused on finding Joker.”
Plague swear under her breath and Crow’s chuckles, amused. “Evidently not focused enough.” She grumbles and the radios barely catch Crow’s reassurances of their strength. Joker can’t help the frown that comes as he listens to the two, and ignores Oracle’s amused giggles in his ears.
“Please, stay safe!” Noir’s pleading voice crackles in and all the thieves chime in with various “of course”s and “see you soon”s. Joker stays silent.
He wants to come back from this. He wants to be able to tell his fellow thieves and friends that he’ll meet them on the other side, safe and sound, but it’s a lie. He doesn’t know how this is going to play out- doesn’t know if he’s gonna come out unscathed. But it’s worth it, isn’t it? The treasure is secured and his friends are safe; it’s all he needs.
“Right- the enemies are right in front of you! Be ready!”
Jumping down onto the balcony, Joker readies his blades. Despite their earlier fight, he still feels invigorated. Maybe it’s the adrenaline or the fact that he’s so, so close to pulling this thing off, but he’s thankful for it. Better than having to quickly chug soda and whatever leftover medicine he had in his pockets. That sounds kind of shady, honestly.
He watches amused as the two officers morph into shadows- complete with easily rippable masks. Jackpot.
Leaping into the air, he maneuvers himself onto the back of one of the shadows and grips the blue mask, ripping back his arm and grinning when the shadow starts bubbling. He jumps back before it explodes. transforming for a second time into some creepy looking mechanical bull-creature.
Joker lands on his feet, smirking beneath his mask. It’s probably unhealthy that he loves this rush of fights so much but it comes with the gig. At the very least, he’s glad this shadow doesn’t seem too strong.
He grips the sides of his own mask, barely wincing as he pulls his hand back and rips off the mask, leaving only blood in its wake.
“Arsene!” He calls, dramatically pointing at the shadow before him. He feels the ever looming presence of his Persona at his back, punctuated by the rush of power that goes through him as Arsene releases a wave of shadows at the enemy. The shadow falls almost instantly, ending the battle.
“Hey- more of them? Be careful!”
He turns around just in time to spot a shadow coming at him with an electric baton, which he promptly dodges and backflips up onto one of the platforms behind him- one that leads to the higher level.
Oracle calls out to him again, pointing him in the direction of an emergency exit door. Without her, he’d probably be lost by now.
He manages to navigate through the backrooms of the casino, letting the chatter of his teammates wash over him. He thinks being split up has taken a toll on them considering they’re all used to working as one big team. Even while Oracle is ever present in his radio, it still feels like he’s going at this alone and the thought is terrifying. He knows better of course but he can’t help but feel alone.
A few minutes later he’s peering over a balcony, wondering what the fuck his life has come to. The casino is still crowded and Oracle’s navigation must’ve been off because there's not a single exit in sight.
He catches on just as Oracle crackles into his ear again. “Something wrong? The exit should be up ahead.”
Joker doesn’t reply and he hears Oracle sighing, before the clacking starts up again. “Joker...after that commotion, the bottom floor is completely closed off. Do you understand what i’m getting at here?”
He nods, knowing she can see him and leaps up onto the banister, narrowly avoiding the group of officers that have finally caught up with him. He’s honestly a little peeved that they’re shooting at him.
Joker takes a second to peer down at the casino hall once he’s made his way to the stained glass window, half scared and half amused. He supposes this is it- he just has to take the chance.
“See ya!”
And with that, he crashes through the stained glass window and lands square on his feet. He can faintly hear Oracle and Mona scolding him for showing off but he’s blinded by a sea of bright lights before he can even think of answering.
Oracle seems to scramble for an answer while the rest of his team voice their surprise and concern for his safety. He didn’t expect to leave without a fight but this is an entire police force waiting for him in the goddamn Metaverse. He can’t even try to think the whole thing through before he tries to escape, sprinting to a nearby ladder. Maybe he can try a different way, on a different side of the building-
He’s greeted with a rifle butt to the face and cold concrete against his battered body. The steel-toed boot to the side doesn’t help either but in terms of police brutality, this is nothing.
“Didn’t expect to find some kid.” The owner of the boot says, digging the tip into his ribs. “You have your teammate to thank for this. You were sold out.”
Joker passes out before he can even think of a reply.