Little Dipper

There's A Door

"...Are we still in the maze?" Stan asked.

"I...believe so?" Ford looked around.

"Why...is there...a castle in the middle of the maze?" Bill asked, gesturing to it.

"Is it...another illusion?" Stan walked over to examine it. "Hm..."

"There's a door."

They all jolted and looked over to see Keyhole sitting on the castle wall. "What?" Stan asked.

"I said, there's a door. It may be colored blue like the rest of this thing, but it's there. Just go in." Keyhole sighed.

"Where? I just see wall." Stan tapped the wall, walking along it as he tapped some more.

"Why are you here again? Another test?" Bill asked.

"Nah. I just like watching, and you're kind of pathetic when you're in a hurry." He snapped his fingers and the spot Stan was about to tap opened up, hitting him in the face.

"Where is the handle?! The doorknob?! Anything?! There's nothing here!" Stan gestured to the empty door.

"Sure, but if you found the crease, Bill could've created one. Seriously, you're supposed to know everything, Cipher." Keyhole chuckled.

"S-Shut up! I was distracted!" Bill blushed.

"Let's just go in." Ford pulled Stan and Bill in and walked inside. As before, as soon as they got in the door slammed shut behind them and disappeared. Not that that stopped Keith Holt, master of the twisted Mindscape. He walked past them and stood between two doors.

"Here's a fun game. One of these doors leads you to your objective. The other unleashes one of your nightmares at you. There's going to be about a dozen of these, by the way." Keyhole grinned.

"Enough of your games! We're done here! Let us get to the kids already!" Bill snapped.

"Yeah, what the heck? Are you actually enjoying this?" Stan asked.

"Am I enjoying watching the spoiled little brat from Flatland that just so happened to be good at Globnar and has a brother complex the size of Russia run around like a chicken with his head cut off in desperation? Yes." Keyhole said, nodding enthusiastically. "Honestly, I'm on Pyronica's side, so I don't care if you're stuck in here forever or not."

"But, you said before you wanted it over with. Make up your mind!" Ford snapped.

"The longer I'm watching you, the more I remember that Bill was a real dick and, actually, so are you, Stanford. Anyways, there's only a dozen. Just get the right doors the first time and this'll be over in a snap." He snapped his fingers and the doors started to glow. "Now, pick one."

"You said nightmares...so, it's just what we've already seen, right?" Bill asked. "Our worst fears?"

"Uh, no. I said nightmares. As in, the door will pick a random nightmare you have had and force you to fight it to get out. And, this time, there's no back-up allowed." Keyhole explained. "While one of you is suffering through a nightmare, the others can move on and wait for you to catch up. Or, they can reach the end and you'll be automatically spat out at the end but, to you, you'll still be in that nightmare. Forever."

Bill was suddenly understanding why none of Keyhole's victims were able to talk about their experiences in his mind.

"Wait for the victim and we waste time...but leave without them and they'll lose their mind. It's a catch-22. Damned if we do and damned if we don't." Stan cringed.

"Let's just...start and hope for the best." Bill focused on the doors, but a sharp pain hit him and he cried out, holding his eye. "Agh! That hurts! Why does it hurt?!"

"No cheating." Keyhole said, wagging his finger at him. "Looks like you're going blind for a few minutes, Bill."

"W-What?!" Bill moved his hands, but he was still seeing black. "No...no, no, no! I-I can't be blind!"

"Bill, it's okay. He said 'a few minutes'. Let's just calm down, okay?" Stan coaxed him as Bill felt comforting worn but gentle hands on his shoulders. "Uh, Ford, you pick the first door."

"Right..." Bill heard Ford say, and then he heard a door swinging open. "Lucky on the first try. Good. Let's hope this luck holds out."

"Let's hope." Keyhole hummed.

"Just walk with me, okay Bill?" Stan said, carefully leading Bill along by the shoulders.

"Yeah...thanks. Ugh, I've never been completely blind before. Keyhole, you're such a bastard." Bill rubbed at his eye.

"It's only a few minutes, stop whining. See, this is why we called you a kid. You throw tantrums, you act like a spoiled brat and you whine when you're inconvenienced. Plus, you're really young compared to the rest of us." Keyhole said from Bill's other side. He must be walking alongside them.

"Why did you have to do it at all, though?" Bill asked as they heard Ford open another door.

"It's safe." Ford called to them.

"Using your Sight on the doors is cheating. No cheating in my games." Keyhole said matter-of-factly. "It'd be the same if you tried to use your Sight to find out which picture went next in the order."

"Good thing I didn't try that, then." Bill shuddered.

"Maybe while you're here, you and Kryptos can work through your issues and get over yourself. I'm tired of hearing you whine about each other, it's so annoying." Keyhole said, letting out an exasperated sigh at the end.

"You know what's annoying? Being blind!" Bill huffed.

"Xanthar manages okay." Keyhole said, and Bill realized that his vision was starting to return. "You should feel lucky I didn't take away your vision permanently, as least as long as you're in my world."

Bill rubbed at his eyes. "...I guess I should be thankful for that. My vision's starting to return finally..."

Ford opened one of the next two door and let out a shuddering gasp before tendrils shot out and grabbed him, pulling him into the darkness.

"Ford!" Stan and Bill cried in unison.

"Mm, just in time to lose a companion." Keyhole smirked.

"Bring him back!" Stan yelled.

"...What part of ' fight it to get out' did you miss in my very simple instructions?" Keyhole sighed. "Well, take the safe door and move on. He'll catch up. Or, wait here for him to eventually come out."

"Will he be okay? He can't die...right? It's not like the illusions?" Stan asked.

"It's just reliving his nightmares. If they haven't killed him yet, they won't now. Moving on." Keyhole walked to the other door and opened it.