Cassidy trudged down the hall, chewing the cookie in her hand.

Play the game. Cassidy repeated it like a mantra. Play the game. You can beat this.

As she approached Hugo's office, her teeth crunched against something unusual, like gristle, and she picked it out of her mouth.

Pulling it out between her fingers, she looked in horror.

A cockroach.

Half-alive. Tiny legs wriggling.

She collapsed, hacking up pieces of cookie. Moldy. Infested- cockroaches, droppings and tiny dots hatching.

Cassidy retched.

She didn't care what she threw up. She didn't want it inside her.

Quivering, she gripped her throat- when the lights flickered.

She looked to see a figure in the distance, obscured by the flickering lights. But all at once, they stopped.

It was Pearl.

The same frizzy hair, the only thing that was still recognizable.

Her head was a bloody, gaping hole, save for her mouth, blue on the inside and locked in the same rictus grin it had been in only that morning.

Seconds later, the lights down the hall switched off, hiding Pearl and half the hallway in darkness.

CLIP CLOP CLIP CLOP-

Footsteps ran toward Cassidy from the dark, getting louder and louder.

She ducked.

"It's not real... It's not..."

Tears stained her fists, and after a few moments, all remained quiet.

She picked up the courage to look again; no one was there, but the lights were still off. No cockroaches, or eggs nesting. Nothing. Not even on the cookie, normal once again, and crumbled in pieces on the floor.

Unable to turn away, Cassidy shuffled her back to the wall, feeling for the door to Hugo's office before pushing it as quickly as possible.

Slamming the door, Cassidy, inside Hugo's office, began to calm her troubled breathing, and after a minute, studied the room. Deserted, like most rooms she had passed. At least it was quiet.

Cassidy wiped her tears and rummaged about inside her shoe, pulling out the brass key, relieved it had been there all this time.

She searched the safes hidden behind the library books, most of them requiring a code, which she didn't have. As for the others, sometimes the key slotted in, but didn't turn.

After the 7th lock, Cassidy slumped her head on the wall. She scanned across the room, having no energy to walk around, when she glimpsed the Rorschach painting. She thought it was a bat the last time she looked at it, but this time, there was nothing. It was like it had vanished, and all that was in its place was black and white splatters- no particular meaning or reason for it to be there at all.

She trailed to the edge of the painting, noticing from her angle that it was protruding out- more so than anything else on the wall.

She walked towards it, unhooking the painting, only to let it slip out of her hands, as she was greeted by a gray wall safe, hidden in its place.

She slid the Sentry key into the lock, turning it inch by inch, until-

Click!

Cassidy opened the safe, nothing except for a small plastic case, shoved into the shadowy corner. She dragged it towards her, catching it before it could drop.

And in the center, a DVD, tucked inside with the label:

'PLAY ME'.

///

Hugo held the taser close to him, peering over his shoulder as if he expected someone to pounce.

"I really hate these new cameras!"

Hearing Joker's voice from the auditorium, his breath labored, too heavy. No use trying to calm down.

Another man's voice muffled in the background, cloaked over something.

"So hard to manage! Don't you think, Jerry?"

Hugo barged in, blinded by the lights and the buzzing of the DVD projector.

"Now now-" Joker said "I hate leaving too! Especially with all the progress we've been making- but, well, when breakouts happen- you have to grab em while ya can! Haha!"

Hugo recognized the DVD recording, but as it was being cast onto the large wall, gave it a blurry, home movie feel. It was the only pleasant thing about it.

"Shame your security couldn't stop a rocket launcher blasting the south wall- but hey, consider it a teachable moment-"

Joker strode over to Jeremiah, squirming like a fish in a net- except his was a cord, wrapped tight...

... To the rifle by his head.

It was taut enough so that even one tug would squeeze the trigger. And his knees were weakening.

"All this security, all this restraint- is just another joke- ready to snap at the slightest pull"

Joker flicked a strand of Jeremiah's hair, as sweat dripped down the poor man's brow.

"I mean; Arkham, your accomplishments, your life's work- everything you've ever struggled for- and, well- look where it's got you"

Jeremiah murmured as loud as he could, under his mouth gag. His eyes were pleading, not angry, just... Tired.

Joker held his hand to his ear in mock concern.

"What's that?" Joker listened, leaning in "Ohh- right! Diana's waiting for you! I forgot!"

Joker slapped himself on the forehead.

"Shame you'll be working late- but cheer up! I've sent someone to keep her company for a while..."

He ran, but then skidded to a halt midway, having forgotten something as he turned back to Jeremiah.

"Oh, your house is on 115th Broadway, right? Zsasz can be so clumsy with directions"

Jeremiah's face drained of color.

The rest of his body couldn't move, but his expression bulged with terror. Everything in his face wanted to scream, but he couldn't comprehend what was happening to him.

And he was powerless to stop it.

"See ya around Doc! Hope your knees hold out! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Hugo flipped over the projector, but all the rage seemed meaningless when he spotted her at the lower part of the auditorium. The shock on her face, painful.

Cassidy.

Hugo checked for a sign, anything, to see if Cassidy was okay. Of course she wasn't.

He was kidding himself.

"You knew..."

She stared wide-eyed at the corner of the auditorium. Ready to snap.

"Cassidy-"

"You... All of you... And you didn't..." Cassidy said, breathing heavy.

"... We were going to... You... You must understand..."

Hugo looked at the projector on the floor and back at her.

But she couldn't look at him.

"After Diana was murdered... Jeremiah had a complete breakdown- he nearly beat Zsasz to death before he disappeared..."

He stuttered, struggling to carry on.

"Then we found him... attempting to lobotomize Mr. Doe with... A hammer drill..."

Cassidy twitched.

"He held us at gunpoint... You must believe me, we... We tried talking him down... But..." Hugo sighed, wincing. "... He turned the gun on himself..."

Cassidy backed away, her expression twisted in disgust.

"Cassidy- Cassidy!"

Hugo ran to her.

"You may judge as you see fit- but I swear that everything- EVERYTHING we have done- has been for your protection!"

He tried to approach, seeing Cassidy scanning for an escape.

"It's why your father never told you- "

"SHUT UP! You don't know him!"

"I know how he met your mother, the long hours he worked, how isolated she was-"

Cassidy sprinted to the door, but Hugo grabbed her wrist.

"Cassidy- listen! Your mother was ill! She-"

"NO!"

Cassidy pushed him to the ground and ran from the room, far away from his voice- calling out to her in vain.

///

"Poor Cassie-" Joker sighed, resting his legs on the table. "You can't trust anyone these days"

He grabbed the walkie-talkie next to him, carrying on with no care in the world, all while his hostages whimpered in the corner.

"How's it going, boys?"

"We're clear, boss. Ready when you are"

"Great! Fire away! It's about time we kick things up a bit" Joker chuckled.

Turning the scarred half of his face away, Harvey scoffed.

"So, Joker's got guards on his payroll. Figures"

Edward Nygma blinked in astonishment and leaned closer.

"Wait... did he actually pay them to beat him up?"

"PRECISELY!"

Both of them flinched, seeing Joker grinning at them.

"It's soooo hard finding good help-" Joker said, flaunting. "Besides... A little bribery now and then doesn't hurt, does it?".

///

Joker's laughter reverberated like a ghost, creeping into the Control Room.

One of the bribed guards leaned his fingers on the red switch- and with a flick- the Panic Room doors sprang to life.

Joan and the others watched in horror as the hallway outside opened...

Before their very eyes.

A/N: No wonder Dr. Arkham lost his mind...