Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. I have been having extreme writers block, only aggravated by the stories popularity. Thank you for all the comments, follow and faves...I hope that I don't disappoint. I made this chapter extra long so enjoy.

"Genius and madness are two sides of the same coin" The Clown whispered into my ear. He flipped the coin to decide on what I would be today.

"Madness" He said, delivering the ominous verdict. I conceded and the Clown branded the mark of fire on my brain. I felt the blood pooling behind my eyes.

I found a gold plated AK-47 cradled in my arms. I briefly wondered how I got here? I didn't remember. I was sitting in the back seat of the candy clown car. Frost was driving through the post apocalyptic site, that was now midway city. A strange light beam shot out in the sky, and around it was swirling metallic refuse.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing" I asked Frost. He didn't skip a beat. He was used to it.

"Yes, its really happening boss" He confirmed. I nodded and leaned back into the leather cushion.

I looked to my left. There was a scared gray man wearing a lab coat. It was the doctor from the last act. I was sure that I had killed him in Act VII. I had shot his neck full of Nanite. He had keeled over and the curtain had closed. My lids dropped over my eyes, trying to recall the past. That was what happened.

But here he was alive, albeit with a lot of medical gauze around his neck, but alive nonetheless. I point the AK-47 in his direction. A frighted squeal escaped his throat. He closed his eyes and began to pray.

"...oh god no" He whispered under a sheen of sweat.

"And what are you doing here?" I asked not bothering to hide my confusion.

"I'm... the one that can deactivate the Nanite in Miss. Quinn... remember?" He answered.

"If I remembered... I wouldn't be asking" I said shoving the barrel of the gun into his mouth.

"Why don't you just deactivate it right now?" I asked in slow threatening syllables.

"Need...to be with in a hundred yards" He replied in a muffled voice. The gun was still in his mouth. I was tempted to pull the trigger. But I knew it was the Clown that spared him and I dare not disobey. I lowered the gun reluctantly.

"Boss, we are going to intercept the Boeing. There should be two of them. From the sky, we'll separate out Dr. Quinn from the rest of them, once we've jacked it" Frost said.

The gray little man proceeded to curl up back in to his own little ball, now that I had stopped prodding him.

"Alright... I got it" I confirmed with Frost. His jaw was set hard and his eyes seemed to burn the road ahead of him behind pitch black sunglasses.

I flipped open my phone.

"I am close be ready :)" I texted. I could feel the little words leave my phone and travel through the air to her. I would be with her again soon. My body shivered in anticipation, soon the gaping, bleeding wound in my chest would be once again filled.

We reached the liftoff site with time to spare. Immediately military goons swarmed the place.

"Did we put a potato in the tail pipe?" I asked Frost. He briefly spoke into his headset before he answered me.

"Affirmative, we've jammed communications. The task force shouldn't receive any warnings. Griggs has come through" Frost replied.

"Gooood... the mice won't come out if the cat's about" I replied with a metallic grin.

I heard gunfire. The soldiers guarding the copters had started their defense, but nothing was making contact.

I got out of the car in a carefree manner. They focused their gunfire on me. But nothing was happening, and I walked about like a God among men. It would have take them a few moments to realize that they were shooting blanks. But the chaotic pen was a cruel overlord. My men mowed them down like blades of grass before they could contemplate their own mortality.

I climbed into the Boeing, a massive helicopter with two propellers that worked in tandem. I laid against the wall of it. Frost climbed in next with the gray doctor. Jerry climbed in after him and headed straight for the wheel.

"Jerry, let's fly" I said. He looked over at me to see if I was pointing any artillery at him. He seemed relieved that I wasn't. Then he turned forward and flipped on various switches. I heard the copter blades cutting the air. The ground crumbled beneath us. In an hour's time we would be at the pickup spot.

I closed my eyes for a moment. I felt a chill in the air. The specter of memories past visited me again. Maybe it was just the fact that I was in a copter again. The sound of the blades roaring became like a lullaby.

I felt her presence. It was like being submerged in a lukewarm bath. The illusion of time faded once more.

"Miss me, baby?" I whispered into her ear. We were ascending into the sky. My toy soldiers were pulling me back into the copter.

I see the neon choices present themselves to her. They appear like lights in the red sky.

(A) Struggle... and try to push him off the ladder. Probably fall off the ladder in the process

(B) Say something funny.

"Yea... like I miss my stomach ulcer" she answered. Choice (A) flickered out of existence.

I laughed. The Clown laughed as well.

The knight was holding a rag doll robin in his hands. He was already become smaller and smaller as the copter rose.

"God I can't believe that he fell for that again" The Clown whispered. I saw the look in her eyes as she passively looked down on the knight.

I could see her misguide faith in him vanish into to dust. Hatred was all that remained. I saw the ivory queen stretch out her jagged claws.

I wrapped my arms around her. Her back pressed against me. I felt the energy swirling between us.

Then the man, the man that was long dead, stirred inside of me. It was glimmer, a single moment, and then it was gone. It was so brief; I couldn't be sure that it was real.

I pulled her closer to me. The fumes coming off her skin intoxicated me. I rested my chin on the crook of her neck. The Man reasoned with me...

"Let her go..." He said.

But the Clown only shook his head.

Gunfire tore through the smoke and brought me back to reality. I shook my head and the ephemeral ghost had vaporized. She was here. The Harley of now was staring up at me from the building top below. But I couldn't be sure that it wasn't a dream

Butterflies danced across our skin. The moon was a pale spot light shining upon our skin on the stage. And she, with dream eyes, looked upon me.

"I love you pudding" She sighed into the night. She loved me?

The Man once more surged upon the surface, resurrected by her words.

"Spare her" He pleaded with the Clown.

The Man wiped away the grave yard soil from his face.

And the Clown shed a single bloody tear of pity. Then he closed his blood red eyes and nodded in agreement.

Frost was manning the copter artillery. He shot machine rounds on the building. There would be no chance for return fire. I picked up my baby and shot rounds into the air as well. The Clown bellowed.

I looked over at the sweating man in the lab coat. He was working furiously on the tablet. Now that he was in range, he could deactivate the Nanite.

"Professor, could ya pick up the pace?" I sang at him impatiently. After a moment, he looked back up at me. He gave me a confirmative nod.

I momentarily lowered my Gold plated AK-47 and reached for the phone in my pocket.

"NOW!" I texted her.

Right on cue, She appeared from behind the wall. She was immortal, and the gunfire curved around her. Our eyes locked and I felt once again, whole.

"Come on baby" I whispered to her. Despite the chaos all around us, I knew she heard me.

She ran over the ledge of the building and latched herself onto the rope that was dangling out of the copter door.

I looked over to Jerry. He began to pull us out of the space. I leaned down and started hoisting up the rope. She doubled our efforts by climbing up as well.

Then I heard a single shot whistle through the air. Harley went limp just a few feet from me. Her corpse dangled on the rope.

And the Man awoke. He tearfully wept.

"Why didn't you... just let her be?" He accused the Clown.

The Clown was silent and simply pointed a bony finger at her figure.

She was suddenly resurrected on the spot. She waved at the people on the building before beginning her ascent again.

I felt her hand for the first time in centuries. I pulled her up into the bird.

"Puddin" She said with tearful eyes.

Her lips crushed against mine. I felt a familiar heat coursing through my blood. Her hands worked their way into my hair. I pulled her in as close as I could. My arms were a vice around her torso.

"You got all dressed up for me" she said leaning her forehead against mine.

"You know I would do anything for you," the Man replied.

"By the way, I've got some grape soda on ice and a bear skin rug waiting," The Clown added.

Before I could have even a moment more with her, Frost interrupts us.

"Boss we got a problem" He said turning his head back at us. There was always a problem. Smoke filled the air.

She loved me. Her love was pure and innocent. Though the clown had tried to destroy it. It only served to redeem the Man.

I scrawled out a good bye note and placed in the arms of the teddy bear. And the Man was glad that she would be spared. She slept peacefully basking in the moonlight. I laid a kiss on her forehead. I knew if I ever saw her again, that she would die. So I swore to myself that I would never see her again. But the Clown crossed his fingers.

"This bird is baked" I said to her. She nodded. I saw the missile coming for us.

"Okay honey... its just me and you" I continued.

"Let's do it" She smiled.

But the Man finally had enough. He shoved Harley away. She tumbled onto a building top.

I wanted to take a dive myself but the Man would not let me leave.

"No more..." He said, barring my way.

The missile closed the distance between us. I heard metal crushing around us. Then there was nothing.