Nothing but Clowns

Chapter 10 - A Rescue Mission

They tried everything that night, every little thing that one of the three suggested, but nothing seemed to wake him up. Joker was getting closer and closer to losing hope after each failed attempt, so badly wanting to take his anger out on something, anything. But both Bruce and Pennywise wouldn't let him.

"Didn't that clock say anything about this? Anything at all?!"

Pennywise suddenly snapped, Bruce about to respond, but Joker interrupted him too.

"Yeah.. some sorta riddle I think."

"A Riddle? Are you sure that wasn't the Riddler's cartoon persona or something."

"It looks nothing like him, of course it isn't."

"Well? What was the riddle?"

"Hmm, something along the lines of.. his past being a maze, his future being a puzzle, and how no one could help on the outside..."

"His past being a maze.. He's in a maze!"

Bruce exclaimed, snatching a piece of paper and pen and starting to draw a maze on it.

"He.. he's in a mind maze?"

"Yeah! He's having to retrace the steps of his past. And we have to help him!"

"B-But how?"

"We retrace with him."

Once Bruce had finished the maze, he put a dot at the starting point and slowly dragged the pen towards the first obstacle.

"So, he was born, he looked more like?"

"B-Batsy! We've never seen his parents before!"

"Who says that?"

Bruce pulled out Beppi's phone and opened up his photos, seeing a picture of an old family photo of him, his mother, and his father. His father was a blue balloon with brown clothing, ocean blue hair, and orange eyes. His mother was a cutesy type clown, she had a split face of white and red with purple hair, white and black eyes, and purple clothing.

"Hm.. I'd have to say his mother."

"Agreed."

Bruce went right on the maze, Beppi's body was still froze, but his eyelids were starting to rise.

"Okay okay, keep going!"

Bruce went along the path and came across a three-way.

"Alright, where was he raised?"

"What's our options?"

"Well, there's at his old home, at the carnival in Isle 2, or.. I'd assume the hospital."

"..check to see where all three go."

"His old home and the hospital routes connect, the carnival is a dead end."

"Pick his old home."

Joker told him as Bruce dragged the pen along the path, it going to the next two options.

"Hm, this one is too easy."

"What? What is it?"

"His future job."

"Heh, yeah. He's one of the clowns nowadays."

"Do you think if his mother hadn't, left him, would he still have picked it?"

"Well, the carnival would have easily been inherited then, and his mother was a clown too, so I doubt. I bet it'd push him further."

Bruce smiled and continued down the path, this time Bruce got hesitant when he saw the next question.