S2 Episode 10: The Cave (Arthur-verse)

╔════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ WELCOME TO THE ARTHUR-VERSE · S2 ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════╝ Arthur is a self-created author and storm god. He believes he created this world. The City of Owl’s Walk (O.W.) — inspired by Gotham City — has become self-aware… and calls herself **Mother**. Arthur becomes trapped inside the **Hall of Memory**: a vast museum lined with interactive paintings, each one representing a defining moment in Owl’s Walk’s history. Each painting is a memory. Each memory can be entered. Each memory carries consequences that defined the city. Throughout this season, Arthur is guided by: • **Smokey Lois** — a sharp-tongued, time-keeping guide acting as Arthur’s tether back from memory. ──────────────────────────────────── **RULES OF THE HALL OF MEMORY** 🚫 Memories of O.W. must not be rewritten 🚫 Changing canon risks erasing the world 🚭 **NO SMOKING** ──────────────────────────────────── 🕳️🦇🧵 CANON INTERVENTION · GAP FILLED 🧵🦇🕳️ ──────────────────────────────────── Arthur enters a memory and finds a young Bruce Wayne calling for help—lost in a cave in the ground, somewhere in field where the grass hides everything and leaves no tracks. When Arthur finally locates the cave, Bruce is trapped below, terrified of the “things with teeth and eyes”—bats, seen through a child’s panic as monsters. Arthur pulls him out using the rope from “Roaring Rockets”, patches the cut on his forehead, and walks him to the Wayne Manor’s gate, leaving the trauma intact but refusing to leave the child alone inside it. This moment doesn’t rewrite canon—it fills a gap canon never specifies: how Bruce got out, and how long he was down there. The fear remains, and that fear becomes the mask later; Bruce will grow up to still become Batman. Arthur uses the small strip of frayed rope he took from the Roaring Rockets as a practical lifeline, while Smokey Lois’s rhythm remains the true tether that lets Arthur exit the memory when the count reaches four. ──────────────────────────────────── ⚠️ CANON PRESERVED · EMOTIONAL DAMAGE RECORDED ⚠️ [verse 1] Lois taps the beat; the frame lets me through. Paint turns into grass; the world shifts in view. In my medic disguise, I hear a shout. A kid yells somewhere; I can’t work it out. He yells, “I’m stuck down here!” I shout, “but wait! what? where?” I still can’t see him; my temper burns hot. My eyes flash red; all the tall grass gets shot. Grass slams to the dirt, pressed flat to the ground. A gap in the field shows a dark cave I’ve found. I run toward it, fast. No pause, no looking back. The grass stands back up; the field looks the same. It wipes out my tracks like I never came. I lean over the lip, stare into shade. The Pearl Alley kid curls up afraid. [pre-chorus] The boy’s hurt; he shakes, won’t stand. I hit the ground and hold out my hand. [Chorus: build up] Down where you fell, You’re trapped in hell! You shout “I’m stuck,” (I’m stuck! I’m stuck!) I shout “not true.” (NOT TRUE! NOT TRUE!) This hell breaks the second I reach you. [bridge] I reach out my hand. I say, “I’ll pull; you can stand.” The boy cries, “They’re coming. They’ve got teeth and eyes!” I beg at the edge. He jumps and still slips. He’s stuck on a ledge. Too far—he hits and trips. I find rope in my coat. I drop it straight down. I yell till my throat’s raw. Grab on—right now. —Again! the boy tries, its a bust I summon wind, just a bump Its just one small gust to help him with his jump He tries just once more I know he’ll grab it His feet leave the floor Rope hits hand, he has it! I pull him in near. He shakes; I hold tight. I keep him right here. “You’ll be fine, alright.” [Chorus] Down where you fell, You’re trapped in hell! You shout “I’m stuck,” (I’m stuck! I’m stuck!) I shout “not true.” (NOT TRUE! NOT TRUE!) This hell breaks the second I reach you. [verse 2] Blood on his forehead, dirt ‘cross his face. Steri-strips from my bag—set in place. I press them on firm; the cut closes tight. “You’re okay,” I tell him. “We’ll walk out right. Time to go home, kid. You did good. You did.” I walk him back home; we stop at the gate. I leave him there shaking; can’t stay and wait. I see the porch light as I turn to run. My feet hit the path; this part of it’s done. I’m gone before they see. No one looks back at me. [pre-chorus] I count with Lois, “one, two, three, four.” I look back once more and the score… ends… [Final Chorus] Down where you fell, (Where you Fell!!) You were stuck in hell! (aaaaah) You shout “I’m stuck,” (I’m stuck! I’m stuck!) I shout “not true.” (NOT TRUE! NOT TRUE!) This hell broke the second I reached you. I’ve got you. [build up] aaaaaah aaaaah aaaaaaahh I’ve got you!