A/N: This is part IV of my Knowers and Demons series. I wrote it for the NFA Stories that Scared Even Me challenge. There are a lot of references to the first three stories (none of which are especially long), but in essence, Tim is what is called a knower. Tony became a part of the supernatural world Tim is fighting against because he happened to be there when Tim needed help.

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or the characters in the franchise. I'm not making any money off this story.

Dreams with Open Eyes
by Enthusiastic Fish

"All men dream; but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible."

T. E. Lawrence

Chapter 1

He stood, looking over the edge of a precipice at a barren wasteland. Curls of mist wove around through the destruction. Then, out of that mist came dark shapes, some in attitudes of agony, throwing themselves to the ground and writhing...others in the guise of triumph, coming on and on, never stopping.

Then, he saw another figure, far off on another precipice.

"Who are you?" he asked, somehow knowing the other would hear him.

"Who are you?" the other replied.

"A knower."

"A dreamer."

"Is this your dream?" he asked, appalled.

"Yes. It's mine. All mine."

"This is wrong!"

"Why?"

"Look at all the pain and destruction!"

"Yessss."

"This is awful."

"This will be real, not just a dream."

"No."

"Who will stop me? You?"

"Yes!"

The other laughed derisively. He took a step toward the other figure...and he was right there, staring into the eyes of the other. All he could see were the eyes. At first, they were black and yet somehow glowing. He could see them in the absolute darkness that hid the details of his face from view.

"How will you stop me? You're constrained by what you know. I create what I know. I'm a dreamer."

He peered into the darkness...and the eyes began to brighten and swirl with the same mist he had seen out in the rest of the world.

"Who are you?" he asked again.

The eyes vanished as the other blinked. A deep breath and the world around them shivered.

"Do you remember?"

"What?" he asked.

"'In the real world, as in dreams..."

"'...nothing is quite what it seems," he finished.

Then, the other stepped out of the shadow that surrounded him and his misty eyes took on a different form...and his face was visible.

Tim shouted and sat up in bed. He looked around wildly and saw nothing.

...nothing except Jethro crouched in a corner whining at something. Tim wasn't feeling much better. He hadn't expected that...and this hadn't been just a dream. He didn't have normal dreams anymore, hadn't for months. His dreams were more like...visits...to...other places. He got out of bed and walked over to Jethro.

"Hey, Jethro. Sorry that you got bothered by all this."

Jethro surprised him by growling.

"Hey! What's up?"

He reached out to calm him and Jethro snapped at him. Worried now, Tim looked at his hand. His tattoo was glowing brightly.

"Oh, great."

Jethro started whining again.

"What did you see, Jethro? What did you see?"

The German shepherd let out a high-pitched bark. Tim resigned himself to the fact that Jethro had been freaked out by something and wasn't going to let Tim help. He got up and walked into the bathroom. He looked into the mirror...and he stopped and stared for a long moment. He couldn't believe what he was seeing...and yet, it didn't surprise him somehow.

"What are you going to do?"

He saw the white eyes even as his own lips moved to ask the question.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Knower."

Tim took a deep breath. He should have known.

"What are you going to do?" his own voice asked again.

"I don't have a choice. Where do I go?"

"You will know."

"Of course."

He didn't want this...and he knew that he couldn't ask Tony to come with him this time. He had promised to keep him in the loop, but that was about this coming battle that would be for the world. This was different.

"Liar."

Tim grimaced at his reflection. Yes, he was trying to lie, but in truth, he might need Tony, but not to put him in danger. He would need him to be alive. If he told him about this and let him come along, that might change.

"I'm afraid."

"You are a knower."

Tim sighed. That was why he had to go. Not just a knower. He hadn't asked for this, but it was his reality. He couldn't deny reality. He quickly got dressed, fed Jethro, left a note for his dog walker and left.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

The ringing phone woke Tony up. It was much earlier than he had planned on rejoining the waking world. He sighed and reached out to answer his phone. He figured there was some new case that required them coming in at the crack of dawn...or whatever time it was.

"DiNozzo," he mumbled.

"Tony, just ignore your tattoo if it starts glowing today."

Instantly, Tony was awake.

"What? What's going on?"

"Nothing you can help me with this time, Tony. Don't try to follow me. Just go to work like usual. I won't be there."

"Hey! Remember what I said last time?"

"I do. I might have to use some of your...life, but you can't help in any other way. I'd rather have you where you are. I don't know what might come of this."

"Whoa! McGee, tell me what you're doing!"

There was a soft laugh. "I'm going to fight against dreams...not my own."

"As I recall, that didn't work so well for you when you were on your own with that before."

"This is different."

"Why?"

"Because the dreamer will be making the dreams, not me. I'm not fighting my fears. I'm fighting his desires."

"Huh?"

"Tony, just stay where you are and don't worry if you feel your tattoo burning. That's all. I wasn't going to call you at all, but I thought maybe I should, and...and I hope that you can think of some excuse for why I'm not there. I'm tapped out. I freaked out Jethro when I woke up...because Greta was talking through me."

"Greta? Again?"

"Not in the same way. She was...making sure I was paying attention. ...but I was. The dreams I have aren't dreams anymore, Tony. They've haven't been for a long time. When I dream, it's different, and the dream I had was...something I need to stop."

"You shouldn't be doing this on your own!"

"It's the only thing I can do, Tony. I know you're not supposed to be there."

Tony hated it when Tim played that card. It wasn't like he could say that Tim didn't know. He very well could.

"I hate it when you say that."

He could practically hear Tim's grin.

"Sorry, Tony. That's the way it is. I'm not exactly happy about it, either. Can't change it."

Tony sighed in capitulation.

"Can't you at least tell me where you're going?"

"No. ...well, maybe I could, but I'm not going to. I can't trust you to stay out of it."

"Guilty as charged...but you know what?"

"What?"

"If I'm not a part of it, we can't watch a Road picture."

"Yes, we can."

"No. We have to both be involved."

"Since when?"

"Since I just decided that right now."

"I'm not telling you where I'm going...but if I'm not back tonight, could you feed Jethro?"

"Sure."

"Thanks. Bye."

Tim hung up before Tony could say anything else. Maybe he would be in the way, but that didn't mean that he liked being left behind when he could pretty much guarantee that Tim was going to be needing his help.

Still, he'd do as Tim asked...for now.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim was relieved that Tony had listened to him for once. This was going to be dangerous, and he didn't know if he had the skills to survive it. He really didn't even know exactly what to expect. He just followed that part of himself that knew what to do.

...and pulled up to a lake that he didn't think had existed in this place before. He'd just started driving west from DC, getting off on the small windy roads that always had some kind of surprise around the turns. This lake shouldn't be here.

Worried, he got out of the car and walked toward the shore.

He seemed to be alone, but he kind of doubted that was the case. He'd been brought here by someone...by that other...he was afraid of that other because he didn't know what would happen if he lost. ...and he wasn't even sure if he had to win or lose. Was this going to be another thing like with Greta?

A pair of eyes appeared over the lake and looked at him.

They weren't Greta's eyes.

He took a deep breath and clenched his right hand tightly.

"Is that all you can do?" he asked.

"No. It's not. You're in my dreams now, knower. ...and I control my own dreams."

A wind came up and churned the water in the lake...back and forth...until it surged right at him. Tim put up his hand and shouted just as the water hit him and engulfed him.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tony sat at his desk. He hadn't been paying attention to anything beyond wondering when his tattoo would start glowing, and what he would do.

"I do not like this," Ziva said. "Where could he be?"

"I don't know," Tony said. "He said he had some things to do. I'm not his nursemaid."

Ziva laughed. "You would be a terrible nursemaid, Tony."

"Exactly."

"Tony."

Tony looked up. There was Gibbs.

"Yeah, Boss?"

"My office."

Ziva looked at Tony with a quizzical expression. Tony returned it and shrugged.

"What is it, Boss?"

"Now."

Tony got up and followed Gibbs to the elevator. They got on, the elevator stopped...and then Gibbs turned around.

"What is it, Boss?"

"How long have you known about McGee?"

"Huh?"

Gibbs pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and showed it to Tony. It was Tim's three-headed dragon tattoo.

"How long have you known? ...and where is he now?"

Tony gaped.