A man with light brown hair sat leisurely atop the roof of a house, one leg crossed over the other, gazing toward the explosion that had erupted near the Clock Tower.
His smile was so faint it resembled a silent laugh.
Slowly, he adjusted his glasses with his right hand. His amber eyes glimmered as he murmured with that same gentle smile,
"How... fascinating."
He snapped his fingers.
Two objects slammed down on either side of him with terrifying speed. Dust rose into the air before gradually settling.
Two automatons stood there.
Their eyes glowed gold, while their bodies were forged from iron and brass.
The man rose to his feet, tugged his vest into place, straightened the sleeve of his white shirt, and, still smiling, said,
"Go... play with the one on top of the Clock Tower."
The Harlequin calmly seized one of the Night Keepers by the head, lifted him into the air, and walked toward the edge of Big Ben.
Slowly, he opened his fingers.
The Night Keeper fell.
The Harlequin turned to grab another when two automatons burst upward from opposite sides of the tower.
One fist shot toward his face.
Dust exploded everywhere.
The Harlequin had leapt away just in time, but another punch crashed into his ribs, launching him off the tower.
He plummeted at tremendous speed, yet moments before striking the ground, he kicked against the tower's wall and redirected himself toward the river.
He crashed into the water with incredible force.
The two automatons looked down from the top of the tower toward the river.
A moment later, The Harlequin calmly emerged from the water and landed upon the stone-paved street.
Although he had fallen into the river.
Not a single part of his clothes was wet.
Without hesitation, both automatons jumped.
As soon as The Harlequin saw them descend, he broke into a sprint.
Before reaching the ground, the automatons drove their hands into Big Ben's walls to slow their descent. After scraping along the stone, they released their grip and immediately chased after him.
The Harlequin glanced over his shoulder.
There was still a considerable distance between them.
Then he suddenly leaped onto the rooftops.
"These automatons..."
He looked back again, watching them rapidly close the gap.
"...Who's controlling them?"
He chuckled.
Turning forward once more, he took a single step...and vanished.
The two automatons stopped.
Dozens of meters ahead, The Harlequin reappeared.
He slowly spread his arms and burst into laughter.
Several Night Keepers stood across the river.
The moment they spotted The Harlequin, they rushed toward the bridge.
Their captain suddenly stretched out an arm, stopping them.
"Why won't you let us fight that clown?"
The captain forced a frightened smile and pointed toward the opposite bank.
"Those... those automatons..."
Everyone followed his finger.
"They belong... to the Commander of Gear Industry."
Every Night Keeper froze.
Their eyes widened.
The captain swallowed.
"We should head somewhere else. The Commander of Gear Industry doesn't need soldiers like us."
Without another word, he turned and walked away.
After one final glance across the river, the others quietly followed.
The two automatons advanced once more.
The Harlequin remained standing with his arms spread.
They took another step
Then stopped.
Steam erupted violently from vents behind their legs.
Without warning, one automaton launched itself forward with explosive speed.
The Harlequin instinctively stepped back before laughing even louder.
As the automaton closed within a few meters, The Harlequin darted backward, vaulted onto another rooftop, and accelerated.
His path led directly toward the entrance plaza of the City of London.
Less than a minute later, he reached the plaza.
Moments afterward, the two automatons arrived.
The Harlequin took a calm step forward.
One automaton suddenly moved backward, slowly circling around him.
The Harlequin glanced at the automaton before him, then at the one attempting to move behind him.
Taking a step back, he muttered,
"They're trying to surround me... not as stupid as they look."
His attention remained fixed on the automaton moving behind him.
Suddenly...
A fist came straight toward him.
He reacted just in time, twisting aside before it connected.
Seizing the opening, he grabbed the automaton's head with his left hand, planted both feet firmly against the ground, and tried to throw it over.
The automaton merely staggered half a step.
Another fist came crashing toward his back.
The Harlequin vanished.
An instant later, he appeared directly before the same automaton and drove a devastating kick into its head.
The impact forced it several steps backward before it lost balance and crashed onto the ground.
Landing lightly, The Harlequin laughed.
"HAHAHA! Heavy things... have their disadvantages!"
A fist immediately slammed into his back.
He was hurled through the wall of a nearby clothing shop.
The Harlequin slowly stood.
He looked at the shattered display window, then at the suits hanging inside.
Adjusting his cracked mask, he rose completely.
The wall behind him had collapsed.
One automaton was steadily approaching.
The other was already climbing back to its feet.
He stepped out of the ruined shop.
His head remained lowered.
He looked angry
Yet he was still laughing.
The automatons closed in until he stood between them.
A card appeared between his fingers.
"Fortunately... I got an extra card from The Magician."
The automatons advanced another step.
The Harlequin placed the card upon the ground and shouted through laughter,
"The Sovereign!"
Then he leaped upward, escaping across the rooftops.
The automatons continued forward.
Lightning branches exploded from the card.
They paused for a brief instant.
Every bolt suddenly collapsed back into the card.
A massive explosion swallowed the entire plaza.
Standing atop the rooftops, The Harlequin glanced behind him.
His laughter grew even louder.
He tipped his hat forward, letting its shadow cover the upper half of his mask.
The light-haired man turned toward the City of London plaza.
"Very... very interesting."
He snapped his fingers.
The automaton beneath the building rose.
"I want to go."
He pointed calmly toward the entrance plaza.
"There."
The automaton turned.
Victor climbed onto its back.
It leaped into the air.
The Harlequin still stood upon the rooftop when another crushing blow struck him from behind.
He was blasted into the lingering smoke left by the explosion before crashing across the stone pavement and slamming into another storefront.
Blood trickled beneath his mask.
Part of his suit became stained crimson.
Slowly, he raised his head.
Four golden eyes stared at him through the smoke.
Something collided with tremendous force.
The smoke scattered instantly.
The Harlequin shut his eyes.
Moments later...
He opened them.
Three automatons.
Six golden eyes.
The Harlequin laughed.
His laughter became louder...
And louder.
He planted one foot firmly upon the ground, rested a hand upon his knee, and stood upright.
Straightening his back, he touched the cracked corner of his mask before letting his hand fall.
Two eyes beneath the mask glowed.
One golden.
One crimson.
Another automaton landed beside a nearby shop.
Dust exploded outward.
A man with pale brown hair stepped calmly off its back.
Leaning against the wall, he smiled softly.
"A pleasure to meet you... Mr... Madman?"
The Harlequin burst into laughter once again.
"Call me... The Harlequin!"
The automaton beside the man stepped forward.
The man gently raised a hand.
"Stay where you are... Zero-Seventeen."
The automaton obeyed.
Watching the exchange, The Harlequin looked toward the three automatons before him.
"So... you've come to witness your defeat."
The man's smile never changed.
"Play."
Steam erupted from the backs of all three automatons simultaneously.
In an instant, they surrounded The Harlequin.
Two fists came from either side.
He caught them both.
A third punch shot straight toward his face.
The Harlequin suddenly dropped to one knee and slid beneath the central automaton.
Coming to a stop, he slowly applauded.
The three automatons turned toward him.
The smile painted upon his mask stretched wider and wider.
They moved again.
The Harlequin suddenly appeared before the central automaton and drove his hand deep into its chest.
The two automatons beside it raised their fists.
Before either blow could land
He disappeared once more.
Their punches collided with each other.
The Harlequin reappeared in the center of the plaza.
The central automaton's eyes went dark.
It collapsed onto one knee.
The Harlequin prepared to attack another.
Its eyes suddenly reignited.
Though their glow had noticeably dimmed.
The black smile upon The Harlequin's mask slowly turned yellow.
The light-haired man smiled gently.
"Enough playing...Bring him to his knees."
Steam burst violently from the automatons' necks, arms, and legs.
The Harlequin vanished.
He appeared behind one of them, seized its head, and pulled with all his strength.
The automaton's arm twisted backward before swinging toward him.
The Harlequin leaped upward.
He sprinted across the rooftops before diving directly toward the man commanding the automatons.
Before he could reach him... Automaton Zero-Seventeen raised its shield.
The Harlequin landed upon it.
The automaton slammed the shield into the wall.
When it pulled back...
The Harlequin was gone.
Every automaton focused on that spot.
Suddenly... The Harlequin crashed into one automaton's leg at incredible speed.
Its leg bent.
It lost balance and slammed into the ground.
Without hesitation, he rushed toward the central automaton.
Before reaching it A crushing impact shattered his ribs.
One automaton had struck his side with terrifying force.
The Harlequin was launched down the street leading back toward Big Ben.
The man calmly walked into the center of the plaza.
Automaton Zero-Seventeen stayed close, shielding him.
The Harlequin's right sleeve had been torn apart.
His right arm was severely injured.
Blood dripped steadily from beneath his mask and from his side.
Three automatons stared directly at him.
The man stood behind them beside Zero-Seventeen.
"It would be better...if you stopped exhausting yourself."
The Harlequin slowly rose.
With his left hand, he removed his mask.
With his bloodied right hand, he wiped the blood from his lips and nose.
Then...He laughed.
"This performance... must not let its curtain fall so suddenly."
He released the mask before his face.
It multiplied.
Three masks floated to the left.
Three more to the right.
Each pair of eyes shone with different colors.
Then every mask transformed into another Harlequin.
He caught his original mask, laughed, and said,
"I think... it's time...for Act Two to begin."
Taking one step forward, the six copies charged toward the three automatons.
Each automaton found itself fighting two Harlequins.
Meanwhile, the real Harlequin began walking.
With every step...
His speed increased.
So did his laughter.
Only a few meters remained.
He suddenly accelerated.
Crimson threads burst from his fingertips.
He flashed past the first automaton.
The threads wrapped around it.
Then the second.
Then the third.
The crimson threads coiled tightly around all three.
Stopping just short of the man controlling them, The Harlequin slammed both hands downward.
All three automatons crashed violently into the ground.
The crimson threads glowed.
Several enormous explosions engulfed them simultaneously.
Smoke rolled across the plaza.
The Harlequin stood several meters away.
"All my copies are gone...and you've lost two automatons."
The man smiled even more softly.
He removed a cloth from his pocket, took off his glasses, and calmly replied,
"Yet... those two yellow eyes behind you say otherwise."
The Harlequin spun around.
Too late.
An automaton smashed his left arm to the ground.
It pressed harder.
Bone shattered.
His left arm was crushed beneath its hand.
His mask fell away.
He could not even scream.
Blood filled his eyes.
When he tried to cry out...
Only blood spilled from his mouth.
The automaton lifted him effortlessly before hurling him backward once again.
He crashed into a massive rock and finally stopped moving.
The man slowly approached.
Looking down at The Harlequin, he smiled gently.
The Harlequin laughed.
Quieter now.
Interrupted by bloody coughs.
"I... want to know...the name... of the last audience... of my performance..."
The man slipped the cloth back into his pocket.
Still smiling, he answered,
"My name...is Victor Sterling."
Victor extended his hand behind him.
An automaton placed a revolver into it.
Victor raised the weapon before his face, aimed directly at The Harlequin's head, and asked with the same gentle smile,
"Any last words?"
The Harlequin lay in the corner of the plaza.
His left arm had been crushed.
His right arm was barely functional.
His broken mask rested beside him.
He laughed softly.
"I hate you."
Victor's smile deepened just a little.
"I'll take that...as a compliment."
The Harlequin's laughter faded into a peaceful smile.
"Good..."
A trace of pity softened Victor's eyes.
He pulled the trigger.
The gunshot echoed throughout the entrance plaza of the City of London.
Blood slowly spread across the broken stone pavement behind The Harlequin's head.
Victor lowered the revolver and looked toward the remaining automaton.
"Take him...and throw him into the river.
Perhaps it'll cleanse him."
After a brief silence, he added,
"At least he'll be... a little less angry."
He turned and walked away with Automaton Zero-Seventeen.
The damaged automaton, one arm missing and much of its body shattered by the explosions, lifted The Harlequin over its shoulder with its remaining arm and leaped toward the river.
───────────────────────────
Victor had only just left the plaza when a whisper drifted into his ears.
"One of the commanders at the Tower of London has fallen unconscious... severely wounded."
Victor stopped instantly.
He scanned the surroundings.
The automaton beside him did the same.
Nothing.
Victor frowned slightly.
He turned toward the automaton.
Without hesitation, it turned around.
Victor climbed onto its back.
The automaton leaped into the Morning sky.
Not long after Victor disappeared.
A figure stepped quietly out of an impossibly narrow alley.
The Onlooker.
He watched the direction Victor had gone before smiling faintly.
Then he walked toward the pool of blood left behind by The Harlequin.
He knelt.
Three fingers brushed across the blood.
He raised his hand and silently examined the crimson staining his fingertips.
Then he stood.
Taking a handkerchief from his pocket, he carefully wiped the blood away.
He laid the handkerchief over the remaining bloodstains.
A gentle smile rested upon his face.
Adjusting the brim of his top hat with his right hand, he quietly said,
"You met a bitter end, The Harlequin... but I must be on my way. My master is waiting."
Then he began walking.
Very...
Very...
Slowly.