Cory Waldhorn jolted awake. His brain was pulsing like mad as he shook his head to ease off the tiredness. He hadn't been able to sleep so well in the past few days. But he wasn't even drinking or anything! Not even drugs!

"That dream again…" He only muttered. What did it mean? There was some kind of city. Along with what seemed like zombies and fish monsters. And there were a LOT of tentacles. Probably something aquatic based?

He would rather save those thoughts for later. He got out of bed and got ready for the day.

Halloween was only a few days away. And it was only a few weeks after defeating Slappy the Dummy, this time for good. The town of Hollowville had been seriously messed up during his rule, but thankfully most of the buildings remained intact, like The Mystic Night Investigation Agency. 208 Lawrence Drive, where Cory now lived.

Having been fascinated with the supernatural ever since his high-school years, he had dedicated his life to the paranormal and oddities of the world. When not embarking on grand adventures, he would be here, investigating supernatural mysteries by day, and acting as a hidden vigilante by night.

But by today, he noticed a pattern in his cases: The missing people, murders, and suicides seemed to have something in common: At least one witness or suspect mentioned that madness had been involved. The victim had reported to have been seeing things, both when asleep and awake.

That mostly sounded like something along the lines of the Dream World or Nether. I tried investigating archeological expeditions, since some of the Makai's old artifacts ended up in this dimension ages ago, but none of them matched any drawn descriptions of those the victims had seen.

Linguistics weren't of any help either. Some victims claimed to be possessed, writing down a language that could NOT be translated. Diary entries mentioned that the voices and visions were getting worse and worse, growing louder and louder as they began to "lose themselves". Eventually, one murder victim ultimately died of laughter from becoming insane, and another jumped off a building just to make the voices and visions stop.

Oddly, even he seemed to be having such nightmares. He tried putting them down in his journal down to the smallest detail. He had a hunch they were important. But it was hard to remember dreams. So he couldn't guarantee they were all completely accurate.

The old phone began ringing shortly after he entered the office. Hopefully another file over at his contractor's place didn't destroy the documents again. It was a pain to do the personal information AGAIN. He simply took the earpiece.

"I'm listening." He answered. "Usually I don't get cases so early. Must be urgent."

"Indeed it is." The man on the other end said. "I called on the advice of a person I hold in high esteem. Hopefully you don't take visitors because your office may seem like a drunkard's lair."

"I'm not one of THOSE people."

"Well, in any case, I am Wilbur Whateley, and I am an occultist. I have begun noticing that there have been many people in this town who have been exhibiting traits of paranoia and madness."

Wilbur? Has he heard that name before?

"Luckily, I have done enough research to know what this means: The Primal Chaos, Azathoth, is beginning to invade your dimension. He's reaching through the Dream World, and once he takes his physical form, hidden in the sunken city of R'lyeh, you'll lose all hope of stopping him!"

Azathoth? R'lyeh? It sounded like a prank, but then again…

"And how DO I stop him?"

"Only the Ultimate can enter the gates of R'lyeh and destroy Azathoth's physical form, Cthulhu. The Necronomicon that you have should tell you how to find that city."

"Necronomicon?" Something hit Cory. "Wait a second…the Ultimate's gone."

"Is that so? Why don't you look in that book for answers?" Wilbur stated. "I believe you call it…the Dark Tome."

Cory looked at my bookshelf. Sure enough, the flesh-covered book rested there. He had a feeling that was familiar.

"How much do you know about the book?" Cory asked.

"The cover is made of human flesh, inked and written in blood. It was written by Abdul Alhazred. You may be familiar with Imhotep. He is Abdul's reincarnation. In life, he was Azathoth's first herald and servant in this world. He served his god so faithfully that he was resurrected by the dark one. However, his craving for power grew too great, and after trying to revive his lover…I think you know the rest."

"The book mostly has some kind of ancient language. I can't decipher it."

"Ah, but you're lucky I can read R'lyehian. I'll be waiting for you at Dunwich. Bring me the book, and I can help you pinpoint R'lyeh's location. That way we can beat Azathoth's Deep Ones and Deadites to the city before they can."

"Deep Ones and Deadites?"

"They are much like fish mutants and the undead. However, higher beings can possess them to do their bidding. Like many of Azathoth's unspeakable servants. I suggest you be on guard, Mr. Waldhorn. Once you begin to lose your mind, you won't be able to trust anyone. Let alone trust anything…"

The line went dead. Cory only set the phone down.

Questions flooded his mind. The Ultimate was every single monster rolled into one. A living superweapon of a creature. Jack Black used to be the Ultimate in this previous timeline. Then it was Dracula. Cory had that curse passed down onto himself, but Van Helsing managed to cure him.

Cory only took the Dark Tome from the shelf. It had been so long since he first got it. He flipped through the pages, some more horrifying than others. That's when he noticed something.

His magic began working, desperately trying to translate the language through his eyes. But the passage was unfinished. All he could make out was this:

The Ultimate cannot be created. A host is required. The transformation and abilities are amplified if said host is born from an unholy and inhuman mating.

Unholy? That child would have to be illegitimate. Yet inhuman at the same time…maybe it had to be a monster child?

A monster born as a bastard. No monster families he ever knew of had illegitimate offspring. Even Lucy and Dina married before having Max!

There seemed to be some coordinates as well. But his magic couldn't translate it.

Cory only sat back down. And for a split second, another hallucination struck. And he only saw…nothing.

His eyes widened. That was a first. All he saw in his head was nothing but eldritch chants, voices, inhuman faces and areas, and nothing but distorted chaos. But never did he see a void of pure pitch blackness before.

Another ring from the phone grabbed his attention. He answered it again with a sigh.

"Yes?"

"Something's happening." The familiar voice said. "I've been informing the others. Meet me at the old Resistance Base under the town. We're talking about global cataclysm and broken reality here."

Global cataclysm? Broken reality?

Finally, some action.

"I'm on my way, Abe."

Cory hung up. Click.

Long ago, these tunnels used to be home to mummies and giant worms. Deeper than even the sewers. During Slappy's takeover, Dylan managed to get as many people as he could to safety here. Some portions of the tunnels were overrun after Slappy discovered the base. Thankfully, people are living above ground again now that he's finally gone.

After parking just near one of the entrances, I trek through the sewers and descend down one of the holes. I've trekked through these tunnels a few times before. It's how I quickly get through the town during my vigilante time.

And with Shadow House gone, Dylan's made this our new base. By the time I reach the old war room, an ancient and massive Egyptian archive area that Nila Rahmed made during her time in the present with her mummy army under Slappy's command, most familiar faces are already there.

Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, demons, aliens, robots, cryptids, and monsters and humans alike. But with Van Helsing was some kind of sentient undead man. He seemed blank of emotion, yet serious at the same time.

"So," Abe stated. "I bet we all know why we're here."

"The Reapers in the Shadow Realm are going berserk." Hannah Fairchild stated. "Someone or something is beginning to control them, along with all the ghosts. All Realmwalkers had to escape to the living world."

"The same can be said for the werewolves within Fever Swamp." Vandal added. "Something is mutating them into savage undead beasts. Frederick has stated that the same happened to vampires. They are not Revenants, however. They are something far worse."

"The Makai in Nether have begun encountering a new enemy that is currently waging war with them." Lucy Dark replied. "This seems to be familiar to The Menace's own army, yet more powerful. They seem to be scouring all the dimensions in the universe, trying to find something called the Godstone. According to Sasquatch, that thing acts as the literal heart of the universe, holding the very fabric of existence together and keeping all worlds in it connected."

"And Atlantis has been attacked by a strange mutant fish-monster army unlike any other." Kruu Deep responded. "While my people were able to hold them off, they attacked with ferocity unlike any we've faced before. They eventually retreated, but I heard one of them say that Atlantis was the 'wrong city'."

"Cyberspace is also experiencing some massive glitches." Mark Tyler, the Cyber Shinobi, said. "Some kind of malware super virus that not even I can purge. Super Duper was also telling me that most of the heroes from his world suddenly turned evil. He and Arach-Kid are trying to find out why."

"You are all being under the threat of invasion by a supernatural and godlike force unlike any other." The man said. "I am Providence. And I know all there is about these dark forces. Fear, also known as Azathoth, is finally done cowering, and is facing you all himself. He is sending his minions, from his hideous aquatic Deep Ones to his ravenous undead Deadites, to possess and break more minds to add to his forces. He seeks to find a hidden city known as R'lyeh. Within lies his physical form, Cthulhu. If that form is released, Azthoth will inhabit that body, and he will destroy your universe as he did mine."

"Even more bad news, Fear shattered the Moonstones." Van Helsing added. "He's left us without our greatest weapon. And he's already getting into our heads. Does anyone have anything useful?"

"The Dark Tome seems to have information as to where we can find R'lyeh." Cory answered. "But it's in an unspeakable language. All I could make out is how the Ultimate plays a part. Apparently it can take on any host, and is stronger when it is apparently some kind of monster child born illegitimate. It needs to come from an unholy and inhuman mating."

"R'lyehian." Providence answers. "I used to be a Deadite myself until I broke free of Azathoth's control. I should be able to translate that text."

Cory handed Providence the Dark Tome, and he flipped to the page of R'lyeh. He studied the passage carefully.

"Of course. The book says that it lies within the Southern Pacific Ocean. 47 degrees and 9 minutes south, and 126 degrees and 43 minutes west. Azathoth's forces must not seem to know where it is if they attacked Atlantis instead."

"Someone told me that the Ultimate was the key to stopping Fear's plans." Cory added. "Someone by the name of Wilbur."

Providence only glared at him with a frightening glare. At the sight, Cory only gulped.

"That man is the son of Yog-Sothoth, one of Azathoth's heralds." Providence spoke. "He is not to be trusted."

"Well, given how YOU know R'lyehian, and the fact I didn't have to travel all the way to Massachusetts, I guess that saves me the trouble."

"Still, it matters not as of now if you heeded his advice. Azathoth's arrival in this dimension is imminent. Through the Dream World, he begins to spread his corruption through all mortals, man and monster alike. And as it spreads, the barrier between dimensions will weaken. This will allow his forces to arrive in this world in physical form, securing gateways for Azathoth's arrival as they search for R'lyeh."

"We can battle these forces across the world from here." Arragotus added. "I can sense that Nila gave this place powerful magic. I can tap into it to open portals across the world. And we can make ourselves stronger while in this war."

"Maybe we can find some powerful artifacts in this end-of-the-world sale as well." Lisa stated. "Bummer that I haven't been hearing from the Sleep Master at all. Matt says the Reality Police has been completely overrun and destroyed! Does this mean that Fear can spy on us and control us when we sleep?"

"I myself had a similar problem." Providence stated. "But while traveling to this dimension from my old world, I found something…peculiar."

Providence held up a curious gemstone. It seemed to be a sapphire, in the shape of a star. And it glowed and pulsed with strange anonymous power.

"Woahhhh…." Cory gasped. "What…What is that?!"

"It seems to be magical in nature." Sasquatch noted. "Yet oddly, I…cannot determine what magical source it has! And rarely am I baffled by such ancient magic…"

"It doesn't seem like it is Makai forged." Lushara added. "Or mortal, for that matter."

"Nor is it from Azathoth's chaotic magic and energy." Providence stated. "However, its magic is indeed powerful. Somehow it seems to shield me from his presence while dreaming. A cloak that makes us, in his eyes, invisible."

"Like a dream shield barrier." Abe noted. "Maybe the mages and I can expand that barrier onto all of us. We'll have to get it done by tonight, however."

"Meanwhile, the dark forces grow more numerous as they grow stronger. The Deadites will take many forms, and most likely the kind you will face often. Yet we must grow stronger ourselves. If we fail to stop Azathoth, all of reality will be ripped and torn asunder. That dark future that Tara said she has foreseen will come to pass. However, the Primal Chaos will arrive no matter what we do. But we CAN prepare for his arrival."

"So, can he make his astral form strong enough to enter this dimension without the need of a physical body?" Cory asked.

"Yes, but he will prefer needing a body, for he will become much stronger when he gets a physical form. Azathoth draws his chaotic godlike power from the Void, but he cannot journey outside his own dimension. For now. Even now, his magic and power increases the more his corruption spreads, and the more minds he breaks. Eventually, he will arrive at R'lyeh himself to free his physical form. His forces will be guarding the Reality Holes that his power seeps through, in order to speed up this process. These are the gateways that I mentioned earlier. You may have sealed Reality Holes before, but these ones will be far stronger to close. If they grow too powerful, you will have to seal the hole from the inside."

"Wait, won't we be trapped though? For Azathoth to make us go crazy?"

"He has broken the natural laws and physics of that dimension. Nothing will be what it seems. But as long as you have this strange charm, perhaps you can return back to the waking world once you close that seal."

"If Azathoth does indeed seek the Godstone, he will need to enter the Mystic Realm through those Reality Holes." Sasquatch added. "We'll have to start there. I do recall a legend about how the Ancient Guardians created four barrier pillars to shield the realm from any dark threat such as this."

"Alright, guess we're paying a visit back to your home sweet home." Van Helsing stated. "I'll have I.G.O.R. prime a portal there back at my mansion. Meanwhile, you guys have to make sure that shit doesn't go down while I'm gone."

"I suppose I should have a portion of my city's militia guard the second city." Kruu added. "To make sure no old thing gets even a mile of it."

"I highly suggest you prepare yourselves." Providence warned. "This final battle will not be without dark moments…"