About time, right? XD Well, my Watchmen muse had left me, and now she's back. Full force (I blame Rorschach & Nite Owl II. needs more of them. *noms*) I'm itching to get this thing done and out of the way - So let's get back to the horror, shall we?

Part VII

If a piece of fabric could be brought from the dream, it stood to reason that Krueger himself could also be yanked out by the scruff of his neck and disciplined like so many other citizens who broke the law. Adrian had put together a plan near the instant he realized the previous statement to be true. Only half a day later and he had all involved parties in a meeting room with plush office chairs awaiting further instruction. "We will make sure to synchronize our watches and at the designated time make sure someone has a hold of Krueger for when the timer goes off."

"And then you'll wake us all up, correct?" Nite Owl confirmed and crossed his arms, muscles tense. "If the plan goes as it's supposed to, at least one of us should drag Krueger out of the dream and into our world."

"To face justice." Rorschach added, the sound of leather stretching and tightening as the small man's fists gripped in his gloves. His back itched from the scabs scratching up against his shirt from Krueger's previous message. He was going to break a bone for every single mark.

"Yeah." Nite Owl swallowed, slightly nervous at his partner's anger. "And for once, I don't think I'm going to comment on your particular brand of justice, buddy."

"Wouldn't have listened anyway."

Ozymandias coughed into his hand before checking his watch. There was one more unpredictable element that might make an appearance yet and he wanted time. "Alright, enough banter." Adrian shook his head and handed out a new set of watches to get instructions to the more prepared members of this party. "I've already synchronized these for you, so just make sure you pay attention to the time."

"Who's that one for?" Dan pointed to the extra watch in Ozymandias' hand even after the smartest man in the world had put his own time piece on his wrist. "There's only the three of us, right?"

"Wrong." The door to the conference room burst open with a kick. Cigar smoke filled the room along with some heavier emotion. "Three are going in while Ozy sits and watches."

"Comedian?" Dan jerked slightly. Was the sleep deprivation causing him to hallucinate now? There was no way the Comedian was here and willing to help of his own will. "What are you doing here?"

Ed tilted his head to the side slightly and licked his lip. "Sally finally pulled herself together enough to call and tell me about Laurie." He shook his head and muttered something about not even getting to see the kid's funeral before taking a deep breath. "Called Adrian over there to find out what the hell happened since Sally was too busy sobbing for details." The Comedian cracked his head to the side and rolled his shoulders. The Comedian had done a lot of 'unforgivable' things in his life, but this…he couldn't forgive this. "I don't believe any of it, but the bastard that hurt her is going down even if I have to sit here and be crazy with the rest of you."

Rorschach heard the slight crack in the Comedian's voice. More affected by Ms. Jupiter's death than anyone could have guessed. Interesting. Rorschach made a note for further investigation after Krueger's face was smeared into the pavement. "Agreed."

"Wonderful." Adrian tossed a watch towards Blake and secretly wished the man was pummeled in the dream. Never did care for the man in any way shape or form, but who was Ozymandias to deny a father rights to revenge? "You have twenty minutes to locate Krueger and keep a grip on him. Understood?"

"Got it." Nite Owl leant back in his chair, hand set on the timer ready to go. Rorschach sat down beside him and the Comedian plopped to his other side. It was amazing how having a real team boosted one's confidence even while under the pangs of exhaustion. "Did Adrian explain what we were doing?"

"Fall asleep. Beat the crap out of anyone with burnt skin and wearin' a bad sweater." Comedian sucked on his cigar and gripped the arm chair tightly. "Not complicated."

"Start your timers on my mark." Adrian held his watch up and waited. "Then fall asleep as quickly as possible. We've got a limit before he figures out what we're doing." A set of nods followed. "Ready." A click and a tiny beep sounded as Ozymandias started the watch. "Go."

Rorschach was the first to fall asleep. He had plenty of practicing forcing himself to sleep in the past when he only had an hour or two to spare. Spending twenty minutes trying to get to sleep was a waste of time. The vigilante threw a hand up to his face and almost sighed in relief when he felt the smooth fabric covering the blotchy red skin. Seems Krueger hadn't gotten the desired reaction from taking face the first time. Rorschach hid the relief.

"Krueger!" He shouted hoarsely into the dark area before him. There was just enough light to reveal he was in a house of some sort. A two story, suburban home with carpet on the floors. It was old, in disrepair; reminded Rorschach of Daniel's home. A quick glance out a window from a bedroom confirmed second story. Room smelled of dust and decaying wood. Rorschach grunted. "Come out!"

Silence reigned, save for the slight creaking of floorboards beneath his own weighted shoes. Rorschach moved forward hoping the other two would arrive soon. Needed the distraction of three minds to keep Krueger busy. Rorschach came to a halt when he heard the sound of giggling. The masked man slowed his steps as he neared a bedroom door. The door was cracked open just enough to see inside.

Rorschach swallowed at the site of two young girls dressed in white. They were skipping rope, eyes focused on the masked man standing just outside their door. Creepy. Rorschach moved slowly out of view and past the room. Distraction. Children were not real. Had mission. Rorschach opened his mouth again to call out yet again. "Krueger!"

"Do you have any volume between silent whispers and grunted screaming, buddy?" A familiar voice chuckled from behind. "I'm starting to think you don't know how to talk at an audible level without screaming. It's quite annoying sometimes, you know, especially when we're trying to have a conversation." There was a pause and the slight metallic sound of glasses being adjusted. "Not that we ever have any decent ones, being the wonderful conversationist you are."

Rorschach turned slowly towards the other end of the hallway. Daniel stood at the end of it, out of uniform in khaki pants and a red and green striped sweater, smiling and head tilted. Collar of dress shirt was hanging out and connected with a familiar tie Rorschach had seen him wear more than once. Hair was messy, posture slouched, and the window created a glare on the glasses preventing Rorschach from seeing man's eyes. No mistake this time. "Krueger."

"Aw, isn't that sweet?" The impostor Daniel smirked and placed his hands casually in his front pants pockets. "You know him well enough to spot a fake instantly." A shrug of disinterest followed. "How cute."

"Partners." Rorschach grunted and made a running start. There was still time on the clock for him to beat Kruger's face in before they yanked him out of here. "Need to know these things."

The grinning Daniel took the punch to the cheek like a sport and hit the ground like a leaded weight. Almost laughed when the kick came to his side immediately after. Did laugh when a shoe met with his face two and three more times. Glasses and ribs cracked alike as this pit bull of a man wailed into the unresisting body. Still wearing Daniel's face, Krueger spit a mouthful of blood to the side. "Wow, don't even hold back for friends, do you?"

"Not friend." Rorschach grabbed the ugly sweater and yanked a strangely passive Krueger to his feet. The monster was plotting something. "Just stolen his face."

"Which you have no problem punching in." Dan answered with a distorted grin, teeth missing and glasses skewed. A hand reached up and placed itself over Rorschach's, fingers rubbed the knuckles through the leather. "Doesn't it bother you even a little bit to see your friend broken and beaten?"

"Daniel's fine." Rorschach would not be deterred by such things. Justice over powered any hurt he might have associating this sort of beat down with his friend. Knowing friend's twisted sense of humor, he might even find this funny. Besides, it was impossible. Rorschach would never hurt Daniel. "But you won't be."

"That so?"

Rorschach's head whipped around behind him to stare at the man standing behind him. Red and Green sweater, fedora on head, and skin burnt, peeling. Rorschach's hands tightened around the fabric they were holding and the body that seemed heavier by the second. Rorschach couldn't bring himself to look down; wondered why there was still something in his hands with Freddy across the room. "Krueger?"

"Have I mentioned yet, just how much power I have in your head?" Krueger chuckled and raised a clawed hand to wiggle his fingers, light dancing on the blades. A single one separated from the rest to point at Rorschach's hands. "And you really outta' look at your friend there. He might need help."

Rorschach jerked his head down to look at the limp body hanging from his hands and felt his own face start twitching when he caught a glance at those familiar goggles, now cracked beyond repair.

The Comedian heard Rorschach's guttural wail from the first floor of the house. The older man had wondered if he was even in the right place when he opened his eyes to some family's happy little home (granted it was covered in dust, but to each his own), but now he knew he was in the right place. Edward Blake knew the freak he would find here was a monster for killing Laurie, but he had to be even worse to make Rorschach lose his cool that way. The Comedian yanked a shotgun over his shoulder and leapt up the stairs two steps at a time.

The top of the stairs was quiet and empty save for some sort of moisture in the air making the area seem humid and warm. Having spent plenty of time in unbearable conditions already, the Comedian barely noticed. Edward cocked the gun with a deafening click and spoke around the cigar in his mouth. Time to get this party started. He walked slowly, cigar shoved to the side of his mouth and eyes constantly searching for any movement. "Knock, knock."

"Who's there?" A little girl's voice echoed in the room.

Blake looked up to see a small girl in a white dress standing at the end of the hallway. Her body was covered in blood and her hair was matted. She was twirling side to side holding her dress up slightly to reveal her knees. The skin was missing and he could see the bone underneath. Looks like they weren't kidding about that Krueger guy changing forms. "The Comedian."

"The Comedian, who?"

"Sorry," The man smiled and aimed his gun at the strange kid and put his finger on the trigger. Blake felt his mouth stretch even wider with the grin. "Forgot the joke."

The bullet burst from the gun and into the little girl's throat, dropping her dead to the ground.

Dan was spinning. Or not. Felt like it. He heard a voice calling his name over and over. Sounded panicked but his whole body felt too numb to care or notice. Dan couldn't remember the last time he had felt this way. Something about a gang fight came to mind, but Dan was sure even that wasn't this bad. Dan grunted and shifted slightly before realizing why it was still so dark everywhere. His eyes opened and could only see cracks spread out over a dark surface. Dan couldn't tell if they were from his goggles or the ceiling. His shoulder shook harder this time and Dan forced up a cough.

"Daniel!"

What happened? Dan groaned and shifted before his hand smacked into his face on reflex. Nite Owl hissed and shot up at the pain that laced through his body. The adrenaline did its part and woke him up to his surroundings. Daniel tried to remember why his face felt like it had gone through a blender and his stomach felt nauseous. "Ug."

"Daniel." Rorschach gripped Nite Owl's shoulders and tried to get the man to look at him. Had done a number on what he thought was a fake. Could be any number of problems from concussion to broken jaw. Guilt was creeping up along his spine and dancing over the scars there, but Rorschach could feel guilty later. Once he had made sure his friend would be alright. "Daniel. No time, need to wake up, Daniel."

"Rorschach?" Dan forced the name out of his mouth and turned to his friend. Friend. That's right. Nite Owl took in a breath. He had fallen asleep and woke in the hallway. He saw Rorschach and called out to him and- "Why did you beat me up?"

"Thought was Krueger." Rorschach bit his lip under his mask. Daniel's face was bruised and bloody under the mask. Probably was worse than it looked. "Used mind trick."

"Oh. Okay." Nite Owl was still too out of it to be mad just yet. He was sure he'd find some reason to yell at Rorschach later, but right now he just needed to get up and take stock of the damage. Dan tried to push to his feet but found the world spinning a bit and memories of fists coming at his face for no reason came to the front of his mind. Thankfully, Rorschach was there to catch him on the shoulder. "No problem then."

The masked man grunted slightly and shifted his hold on Nite Owl to keep him on his feet. Rorschach decided to leave out the part where Krueger had used Daniel's form as the illusion. No need to give the man more ammunition when he finally came back around to coherency. "Time is running out."

Dan groped at his goggles to pull them down around his neck. He squinted in the dark room and leaned more heavily on Rorschach's shoulder. "What happened to Krueger?"

"Don't know. Left." Rorschach looked around noticing they were alone for the first time. Didn't make sense. Logic would cause enemy to take out prey while they were down. Rorschach disliked things that played with their victims. The urge to beat the crap out of Krueger was growing larger by every second. "Probably went to find Comedian."

Nite Owl straightened up and let out a short breath. Untangling himself from Rorschach, Dan found he could stand on his own again. He looked down at his watch and over to his partner, face now in a determined line. "We should find him, too."

"Agreed."

The Comedian strolled up to the corpse on the ground and got a good look at it. He was no stranger to killing kids, to most peoples' disgust, so he wasn't sure what that mad man thought he would accomplish by taking the form of one. Blake snorted at the cutesy white dress and the brown hair as he kicked the body over to see the face. Edward dropped his gun. "Laurie."

Laurie's lifeless eyes gazed up at him from the floor. It was his baby girl, dressed in a stranger's clothing. Blake felt his eyes start to burn with the threat of tears. Blood was smeared unnaturally on her face and hands from something other than a bullet. The body looks staged and The Comedian felt his teeth clench together. Was this how she looked when everyone found her killed in the bedroom? Was this on the crime scene photos Sally refused to let him see? The Comedian let out a snarl that could rival Rorschach on any day. "KRUEGER!"

"Ah, is the daddy mad I killed his baby girl?" Freddy snickered suddenly popping in front of the enraged bull of a man, invading yet another crime fighter's personal space. Though, unlike the man in the black and white mask, The Comedian showed no sign of discomfort at the proximity. Krueger smirked seeing that familiar passion in the man's eyes behind that ugly domino mask. "Previous generations felt burning me alive was a good form of retribution for this particular grievance." Freddy yanked the stunned man's cigar from his lips. "And you are fond of flame throwers aren't ya?"

"What the hell?" The Comedian threw a punch forward and the scarred man in front of him dodge. Blake snarled and threw another punch. Missed. "What's your game?"

"Nothing." Freddy grinned as he skipped a few feet back from the near-foaming man. He twirled a claw once before reaching behind himself to pull a giant flamethrower off his back. It was about time he got some real payback for idiot parents who can't get over their screaming offspring. "It's my turn to heat things up."

The Comedian dodged to the side when the stream of flames burst from the mechanism the freak was holding and covered his head. Well that was just perfect, wasn't it? Not to be outdone, Blake low crawled under the flames towards a man he'd only met once but knew without a shadow of a doubt he wanted to kill. Comedian rolled to the side when Krueger aimed the weapon at him and rolled forward to kick the man in the kneecaps.

Freddy stumbled a bit with a laugh, but stayed up right. The dad-fellow was persistent however when he pushed up and tackled the man with the flamethrower from the side. "Nice take-down," Freddy smirked from the floor. "But I think you wanted a pass."

Comedian jerked when the flame thrower was shoved into his arms with enough force to crack a rib when metal collided with bone even through the armor. Using the football metaphor as a guide, The Comedian shoved himself towards the man shoving the weapon into his chest and pretended it was one of those tackle-dummies they used to use in practice. One foot in front of the other kept the momentum until adrenaline alone shoved both flamethrower and man out of his way and onto the floor. His breath was heavy, but happy at the tiny victory.

A beep on his watch sounded in the room and The Comedian realized his time was counting down. He stalked towards his prey on the ground ready to pound into this freak with his fists.

Freddy was laughing the second he hit the floor and jumped back to his feet gracefully as the other man approached. He faked wiping dust off his sleeve just to be petty. "Best you got, tough guy?"

"Nope." The Comedian grinned suddenly, similar to the cat-eating the canary grin he always got on his face when things went his way. He held up his hand and mimed his hand into the shape of a gun; lifted his hand up mimicking the recoil of a hand gun. He almost mouthed the bang. "I got him."

"What?" Freddy lifted an eyebrow when the man with the smiley face pin disappeared from the dream with a blink. He growled to himself wondering who the hell woke the bastard up and stopped all his fun yet again. Though, it was the animalistic snarl sounding loudly in the hallway that made his eyes widen.

Rorschach tackled Krueger from behind with enough force to snap a spine. They both hit the ground at the same time just as everything went white.