Zatanna was screaming in anger at herself. She was crying for her father to come back to her. To remain by his little girl's side. To teach her things no one else would. To tuck her in at night, to chase the Nightmares away. She missed his goofy smile when he did something idiotic, namely tried to cook something like pizza with magic, and it resulted in a gooey mess. She missed him because he was her father.
It had been a long time since she'd called him that. Well, that figures. She thought bitterly The one time I want him to stay, he decides to go. And it's all my fault. I'm sorry daddy. I need you. A baby dove can't fly without it's father. It won't survive.
That's how she felt. A dove without a father, without anyone. Sure, she had family in Italy, but she didn't know any of them. She wanted to go and visit, but not without her daddy dove. Now she wished she hadn't tried to distance herself from him. She wished she'd realized sooner that whenever he said he loves her, he meant. She should have known she was his whole world. Why? Why had she been so stupid!?
She wishes it was her under the helmet. That it was her without companionship, not him. But no matter how hard she wished, magical or otherwise, it wouldn't happen. She looked at her clock, her bloodshot eyes with tears still in them read the red letters 11:59pm. It was almost midnight. Her father would have killed her for staying up this late.
She climbed into bed, not even feeling the mattress or blanket surrounding her or the pillow beneath her. The cave, as nice as the League and Team were for giving her a home -No. She thought. This place isn't home. Home is with daddy. This is only temporary until he comes back. He has to, he has to.-, wasn't home for her.
Until he comes back, Zatanna thought I'll face my nightmares on my own. I'll be a big girl like daddy wants. I'll learn lots of magic and free him from Fate. I promise daddy, one day we'll be together again.
She fell into a fitful sleep of nightmares galore. Each time her father suffered a different Fate. In one nightmare, he was staked through his chest. In another he was set ablaze in a Trial, a Witch/Werewolf trial. The clincher was when her and Artemis were chasing Harm that Halloween. They had caught up with him and Artemis had taken the sword from him and was swinging it at him, bad part was: Zatara was Harm's hostage and he couldn't escape his bonds because he'd been drugged by chloroform.
Artemis had lunged the sword forwards, Harm moved out of the way, and it went into Zatara's chest, through the center of his heart, his green eyes were wide with shock as he stayed suspended in the air before his body was ripped to shreds by an unknown force.
"No! Daddy!" She lunged forwards, opening her eyes. She thought she saw a faint ghost of her father fading away, or maybe it was just her eyes. To confirm her suspicion, she looked at the clock and groaned 3:15 in the morning!
She then looked around for anything to help her get rid of the nightmares. Nothing was around that she could access easily. So then she whispered, as quietly as she could "Nwolc llod, emoc ereh!" (Clown doll, come here!) In her outstretched hands appeared a clown doll. She held it to her and fell into a fitful sleep once more. Never once letting go of the one item that her parents made for her. She kept it close to her heart.
