BREAK-IN: Baby Leash Ouroboros

[gatonina]

(cw: SUICIDE. SO MUCH SUICIDE.)

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[bittybat]

[Steph and Dick are together chatting because I said so, I want them to be a happy family. Anyway, they both see Damian come scurrying by like a little kobold with its paper prize clutched in one hand.

There he goes. He's heading straight for Winter Wizard's cabin without a single bit of hesitation. Follow?

He's got the squish out by the time they roll up on him. THE SQUISH.]

[unpredicktable]

[ the look he shared with steph was rather impressive before they both sprinted off after damian, and when dick sees him take out THE SQUISH next to the door, dick feels exhausted down to his bones. he has a pretty good idea what he wants to do with that. ]

Damian, stop! Why are you trying to destroy Winter's door?

[vigilantics]

Can we please stop breaking into their cabins? This feels so illegal.

[ she looks between the two of them. ]

Seriously, is there a reason you look like a man on a mission here?

[bittybat]

[While he doesn't startle, he does freeze and turn stiffly around to face Dick and Steph. Luckily, he has not used the squish on the door.]

I received a note.

[He... holds up the note in one hand. I just realized this has to be Wednesday. Anyhow, the note says:

open winter wizard's cabin
stop having it be closed

Someone has taken the liberty of drawing a row of hopping bunnies underneath the text.]

[unpredicktable]

[ ah. ]

Another one of those anonymous notes? [ dick reads it, pondering... ] Either way, you don't need to use that for it to open. [ a beat ] And you're not going alone.

[vigilantics]

[ uggghhhhh. she doesn't like this.

steph glances at the cabin, then back at the other two. ]

Maybe if I say sorry a lot to Winter, they'll forgive us...

[ ugghhhhh. fine. ]

Try to pick the lock. Knocking worked for the entertainment cabin.

[bittybat]

[He makes a face, and then makes an even more sour face at being told he isn't going along. NO.]

Why bother picking it when I can simply making it vanish? [GOD. Why is he being babysat.] Fine.

Have it your way. Knocking. Tt...

[unpredicktable]

I picked the lock for Purple. [ then sanji kicked it in because it was stuck, but he doesn't bother expanding ] If that doesn't work, there should be a trick to it. We dealt with doors that only opened under certain circumstances back on the ship, and we wasted a few weapons on them. If you tried to use that thing on it, there's a good chance you'd be wasting it.

[vigilantics]

Well then...

[ she'll try to pick the lock first. it, of course, does not work and she hums after, considering.

and then knocks. still nothing. ]

Next plan?

[bittybat]

[He

raises the squish pointedly, but then glances at Dick as if to see what the man wants to do.

Which he is certain will not be using the squish, of course.]

[unpredicktable]

[ dick looks completely unamused at damian but it's not like he has ... any idea ]

We could always... ask nicely? [ he looks at steph. this is your npc help him out ]

[vigilantics]

[ ugghhhh. but... nicely??

steph stares at the door, deeply considering... something... hm.

and then she grabs onto damian's hand. ]

Dick, hold his other one.

[bittybat]

[He looks absolutely bewildered when Steph grabs his hand. The other one has the squish in it, but he very quickly snaps a nonvenomous look of withered warning in Dick's direction.]

I am not holding hands to open a door.

[unpredicktable]

[ well. he has no idea what that's about but he trusts steph, so. ]

What, don't tell me you're too scared to hold hands, Robin?

[ dick is holding out his hand with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. are you a coward damian. wow. ]

[vigilantics]

It'll just be a few seconds. Don't you want to get inside?

[ COWARD. ]

[bittybat]

[GodDAMMIT, Grayson. His look says GO TO HELL. He drops the squish so fast and slaps his hand against Dick's outstretched one. His grip is like a vise.]

Shut up, both of you, let's get this over with.

[THEY ARE HOLDING HANDS. The door wiggles.......??? (Damian looks bamboozled by this.) But it is still shut.]

Have we ingested hallucinogens?

[unpredicktable]

[ :3c at winning. anyway, it's a good thing dick is used to holding tightly onto things. since he has a free hand, he steps closer to try and turn the knob, but... ]

It's still locked. So... We're playing hot and cold with a door, apparently, and we're getting hotter. Any other ideas, Steph?

[ damian is holding his hand so tightly and dick is just living with that now. it's fine. him being so indignant is actually adorable. he will never say this out loud he likes his spleen. ]

[vigilantics]

So... something more than just hand holding...

[ hmmmm...

well, it's probably not kissing on account of the fact that there is a ten year old here. even if the answer is kissing, steph is going to decide that's not the answer out of stubbornness. ]

Maybe we can sing friendship songs? Say nice things about each other? Hug?

[bittybat]

Absolutely not.

[To the first half. He is NOT singing ANY songs, he barely even wanted to hold a HAND!! He will die before he says a nice thing about Stephanie Brown. "What about Dick?" A single nice thing about Stephanie Brown.]

Can Winter not find a better prerogative than this ridiculousness? I am not singing. We can attempt the... hug, but if you tell anyone, I'll cut out both of your tongues.

[unpredicktable]

And here I was looking forward to telling everyone in camp I broke into another director's cabin by hugging it out. Bummer. [ damian, please. anyway, i guess they will stop holding hands long enough for this, so. dick grabs for steph and ducks a bit so he is hugging them both, suffocating damian to death in l o v e. it's. worth a shot?

this will look so stupid if it does not work ]

[gatonina]

[Sometimes, a door is just really into displays of friendship.

Because the moment they hug it out? It wiggles a bit more visibly — and they will hear the sound of the lock turning. A few more seconds, and the doorknob turns on its own, the door slowly creaking open in response to their efforts. It's pitch black inside. They cannot see a damn thing, Batman.

But from their current position, they can almost hear the sound of a crowd coming from somewhere within the blue cabin. Idle chattering. Someone's startled laughter. A joyful squeal. An angry shout. They all intermingle. How strange.

Shall they proceed?]

[vigilantics]

[ huh...... they shall. although not before steph tells them to hang on and runs off, before returning with a baseball bat. she is prepared now. i realized she would not be carrying this normally. damian probably went inside already but it's fine the cabins are like right next to each other.

anyway going in! and immediately going to look for a light source along the right wall. ]

This isn't spooky.

[bittybat]

[As soon as the door opens, Damian realizes how free he is, and he drops down low to escape their arms while also picking up the squish again. Did I forget to say it's a pink heart with NOPE on it and a face? Because he looks stupid carrying it, but it fits him.

And yes, he immediately tries to zip into the cabin unless Dick grabs him by the back of the collar.]]

It's noisy.

[unpredicktable]

[ dick absolutely grabbed him by the collar to wait for steph, which took like two minutes, damian, god, and then off they went. and... yeah, it is noisy. dick fully expects it's going to be a waste in about two seconds, but he still takes out a purple glowstick and cracks it to try to get some light. ]

Careful. Last time, the door closed after us after we came in. And remember, whatever you see in here-- it's not real.

[ probably. ]

[gatonina]

[Well, here's the thing.

Steph places her hand where the right wall should be — and there's nothing. It's like coming in contact with a void. There is empty space where, by all rights, there should be a wall. But there isn't. Dick's glowstick is going to do diddly squat, too. But by then, it really won't matter. Just like he said, the door slams shut behind them, leaving them in the dark. The sound of the crowd grows louder, their voices gettig closer and closer, and then

a bell rings.

And everything goes quiet.

A spotlight shines down on the group, illuminating the dark void they've suddenly found themselves in. The door is no longer behind them. The "sky" above them is black, black, black as far as the eye can see. And in front of them, they will see a building lit up in nothing but eerie, vibrant reds. Something is written above the doors, but it blurs and shifts every time they blink. Try as they might, they cannot seem to read it.

There is nowhere else to go but forward.]