A/N: Alright, and we're back. Sorry, I haven't been posting in the past month, personal life stuff got in the way, so it put this a temporary hiatus. That and I've recently dabbled myself into a very popular classic TV show that I've ultimately decided to incorporate into this series, so I did kind of re-evaluated my future plans. so do expect references of it from this chapter onwards. Now that said, this chapter in particular was pretty hard to write as it is a very heavy adaptation of Episode 4 of The Sandman, with a few scenes of the Justice League Dark film sandwiched in between, but I had to figure a way to have it play out very straightforward while making it sense with who's replacing who. But I did come up with a solid compromise. So with that, let's go!
Hell
"It has many names… Avernus, Tartarus , Hades… the inferno region best known as Hell…" Dream of the Endless said as he and Lucifer Morningstar enter the Underworld.
"Or as I simply call it, home sweet home." Lucifer muttered.
"Where to, Lucifer?" Morpheus asked. The Devil then spotted a few tortured souls marching to the entrance in a line carrying what looked like some pitchforks covered in fire.
"We shall follow the damned."
Dream nodded as he and Lucifer began to follow the marching line. As they were walking, Morningstar then began looking around the place as it did look a bit different from the last time he was here.
You see, after the new ruler took over the throne four years ago, he had made some adjustments to the Underworld, to make sure less demons escaped to the mortal realm. Although over the years, a few demons still manage to escape from several different dimensions of Hell, most specifically to either Los Angeles itself, which would get on Lucifer's nerves a lot, or to another town in California named Sunnydale, only to get slain by a few people very close to an ally of the Devil, who ironically enough was one of those demons possessing a human corpse. Huh, when you think about it like that, life sure was full of surprises… for better or for worse.
Anyways, Lucifer shook that thought off for right now as he was getting off track there. He and Dream then finally reached near the entrance. But they decided to pause for a few seconds as the tortured souls made their way through, because as the old saying goes: "A king may not enter another monarch's realm uninvited". After the doors closed, the pair then proceeded to walk closer to the gate.
As they stopped walking, Dream stared at a drum of sorts for a few seconds before a demon gave him a stick. With that…
Bong!
Morpheus tapped the dream with the stick, causing it to echo across Hell. He and Morningstar then turn to see a large figure walking toward them.
"There's one at the door… At the gate of damnation… Is it thief, thug, or whore?"
"Oh, bollocks, not this sod." Lucifer sighed as he and the Sandman approached the figure. It had been years since he saw this particular demon. But he did remember that he was one of his more… for the lack of a better term, rude servants back when he was still ruler of Hell.
"There's one at the door… and there's room for one more…. Till the end of creation…"
"Greetings, Squatterbloat." Dream said to the large gray demon known as Squatterbloat. "I seek an audience with your new sovereign."
"And who might you be?" Squatterbloat asked in amusement.
"I am the King of Dreams. Ruler of the Nightmare Realm."
"Yes, my clown." Squatterbloat taunted before turning to Lucifer. "And why are you here, Morningstar? Trying to take back your crown? And where's his crown?"
"You better watch your tone…" Lucifer snarled in a low voice, with his eyes glowing red to remind the demon who he was talking to. "Me not being your ruler anymore does not give you the free will to disrespect me or an honored guest."
"And I am a guest in this realm as I am monarch of my own." Dream added.
"So where's your ruby?" Squatterbloat asked, apparently still not fazed.
"Should I use it to haunt your dreams and your waking hours too?" Dream threatened. "Or will you open the gates of Hell and let us through?"
Finding no other reason to argue, Squatterbloat then unlocked the gates for the Sandman and the Devil.
"Now, take us to the palace."
"There's one at the door…" Squatterboat repeated as he led Morpheus and Morningstar to the throne.
"There's one at the door… There's one at the door…"
Atlanta, Georgia
Meanwhile, as Alice and her friends were riding with Batman in the Batmobile, with Pierce sitting next to the Dark Knight, and Nora, Clayton, and Trixie in the backseat, they found themselves in the middle of nowhere in Atlanta, Georgia.
"Jeez, is John even gonna fit back here?" Espinoza asked.
"Relax, Trixie." Nora said. "All four of us sat in the back of the Green Arrow's car before, I'm sure he'll be able to fit in with no problem."
"Yeah, but what if he's also with Gibb?" Trixie argued. "It might be a lot harder for five of us to fit in here."
"She's not wrong, you know." William agreed. Seeing no point in further arguing, Darhk sighed in defeat.
"Where is the address?" Batman asked, looking at his computer. "The GPS doesn't seem very useful."
"Trust me, it's not." Alice promised him. "I was taught this by John himself on how exactly to get to his millhouse, and I've managed to put in the correct coordinates… With also a little bit of magic to bypass the protection spell."
"Well, hopefully that means we're getting close." Blue Arrow muttered.
"Yeah, all of this is actually making me worried about Mom and Rory at home." Trixie added. With that, the Batmoblie continued its drive…
Constantine's Millhouse
Constantine sat on his comfy chair as he started pondering about what had happened the other day at Lucifer's penthouse. Thinking about it now, it probably was foolish that he had invited those demons to play poker, in which he cheated. Although to be fair, they cheated first. Yet at the same time, it still cost Lucifer's penthouse to get destroyed, including the last picture he took with his late friend, Mazikeen.
Ah yes, Mazikeen. John remembered that demon very fondly. It was actually one of the very first times he and Morningstar met, with him doing the Devil a favor and bringing Maze down to Earth. And there was something about her personality that really… intrigued Constantine every single time he would visit Lux for a good drink… if you get what I mean.
Still though, the question remained: should Constantine go see Lucifer and apologize for what he did?
John shook his head. No, he shouldn't for right now. Because as far as he was aware, Lucifer was probably still too angry to even want to see him at the moment. With that, Constantine reached for his pocket and took out his carton of cigarettes… only to find that it was completely empty.
"Shit." he cursed.
Meanwhile in the other room which once belonged to the late Chas Chandler, Gibb laid on her bed watching one of her favorite shows, Attack on Titan, which was currently in the second half of its final season. She had always been a big fan of anime. Shows like Fullmetal Alchemist, Naruto, Death Note, My Hero Academia, Sailor Moon being a big one when she was younger, there was something about them that fascinated her, even though it was very similar to what she consistently dealt with in her real life.
But while she was watching her show, Smith also began to ponder about what had happened at Lucifer's place. Now, she was already hesitant about attending the poker game herself when Constantine told her about it, and the only reason she even agreed was due to the fact that her hometown, Springwood, had become very stagnant as of late. In a way, as much as Gibb hated to admit it, the town was actually slightly more interesting when under the threat of… well… a certain person with a burned face, fedora hat, red and green sweater, and knives for fingers.
Even with that said though, that game still caused the destruction of Lucifer's penthouse. So, like Constantine in the living room, Gibb began to wonder: Was it time for them to apologize to Morningstar, or could he still be too pissed to even want to look at their faces?
Suddenly, Gibb's train of thought got interrupted as she heard her iPhone going off in her pocket. She then took it out and checked her messages. And she was shocked at what she saw.
News for you: Man murders wife at Springwood Diner, claims wife as demon
News for you: Gotham City woman commits suicide and leaves newborn baby, claims infant as the Devil
News for you: Tragic car accident on Star City Bridge
News for you: Los Angeles man drowns his children and himself, claims family as demons
"Oh my God."
"Gibbie! Could you get me a new pack of cigs?" Constantine called from the living room. Gibb turned the TV off and then walked to the cabinet, opened the drawer and grabbed a new pack of cigarettes that John for some reason liked to sometimes put in the cabinet.
"Sume Nome, Altar A La Constantine's Living Room!"
With that, Smith disappeared from the bedroom.
"Gibb!" Constantine called again. Suddenly, Gibb appeared out of nowhere right in front of him.
"Bloody Hell!" John yelled as he fell backwards from his seat which made Smith chuckle. "Ya know you could've just used the other way, right? The normal way?"
"Yeah, but this way is just more fun to me." Gibb said.
"You've been doing that a lot since mastering your teleportation." Constantine muttered as he got back up. "It's honestly starting to get really fucking annoying."
"Well, deal with it, dick." Gibb scoffed as she handed him his cigarettes, and he proceeded to put one in his mouth. Smith then formed a more serious expression on her face.
"Have you checked the news lately?"
"No, I rarely watch the telly." Constantine replied, as he lit up his cigarette.
"Well, some serious shit's been going down all over the world." Gibb informed, showing John the messages on her phone. After Constantine exhaled the smoke, he looked at the messages and was also very shocked at what he saw.
"Blimey…"
As Squatterbloat continued to lead Dream and Lucifer, the two found themselves in a place filled with dust and bones. Morningstar smirked at this sight of this landscape as he rarely ever walked on this side of the Underworld back when he was still ruler. But as they continued to walk, Morpheus and Lucifer began to reminisce on some of their past encounters.
For instance, one time, back when Lucifer was still the angel known as Samael, his Father, the Creator Himself, had invited Dream and the rest of the Endless to have dinner with Him and all of his angelic children, and Samael was, as mortals would say on Earth, the life of the party, making almost everyone in the laugh, even Morpheus himself, who rarely so much would crack a smile. Only one who wasn't very amused was Lucifer's eldest brother Amenadiel, but he was always a more stoic individual. Only times Morningstar remembered him having a bit of fun were when he was on Earth during the period when their Mom was visiting them. Still, Luci did miss that bloke.
Another time, actually the very last time Dream was here, Lucifer had invited him to have a fun little arm-wrestling match with each other. But of course, Morningstar won that match quite easily, because, don't get me wrong, Dream was a very powerful individual, but given that Lucifer was in the top 10 most powerful beings in the entire multiverse, he outclassed him in spades in terms of power, especially now.
Suddenly, the two halted their walking.
"What's wrong?" Lucifer asked.
"Squatterbloat… He's gone." Dream replied.
"Bloody Hell." Morningstar grumbled.
They then started to look around their surroundings, and saw what looked like… trees with mortals attached to them, making very uncomfortable groaning sounds. Dream then turned around and saw Squatterbloat facing him.
"This way."
With that, Morpheus and Lucifer continued their stroll.
They then found themselves in the main dark blue area of the Underworld where all of the prisoners of Hell were kept in their cells. As they were walking, Morpheus noticed a couple of new faces.
For instance, there was this one man with long black hair, crystal blue eyes, and was wearing a black and white suit. He was seen in a toy store getting continuously shot by a police detective. Unbeknownst to the Sandman, this was the infamous Lakeshore Strangler known as Charles Lee Ray, or as most people called him Chucky, who had transferred his soul into a Good Guy doll in 1988 and went on a murder spree for nearly three decades, until five years ago when his reign of terror was finally ended.
Another one was a man with balding blonde hair and a black suit who appeared to be at some dark and desolate place repeatedly getting his hand pinned to his chest by a shorter man with a beard, making his skin completely withering away. This was Damien Darhk, who had once threatened to destroy the world with every nation's nuclear weapons, only then to be killed by the Green Arrow. And then, when Damien was revived by his future daughter, he threatened to destroy the world again, only that time by unleashing the legions of Hell itself… only to be defeated again except that time by Andy Barclay and his Dark Legends team as well as a plethora of other heroes.
Finally, Dream saw what looked like some… red haired blue eyed doll with a multi colored sweater and overalls with the word "Good Guys" on them jumping off of an apartment with a hand grenade in its hand, pulling the pin off of it… and then blowing itself up.
"Fascinating new sets of people…"
"Yeah, we've been busy for the past five years." Lucifer shrugged. "One of them is actually from another Earth."
"Hurry up you slowpokes!" Squatterbloat urged, annoying Morningstar and Dream. The two then continued walking.
"Kai'ckul?"
Dream then stopped. That voice… It sounded so familiar to him… Was it…?
"Dream Lord?"
The Sandman then turned around and his suspensions were confirmed as he saw a young woman of African origin. He recognized this woman anywhere, even in the Underworld…
"It is you…" the woman gazed. In her eyes, Dream took on the appearance of a young mortal man, also of African descent with dreadlocks.
"I greet you, Nada."
"Kai'ckul… how I have prayed for this day…" Nada said with joyous tears in her eyes. "I knew you would come…"
"It pains me to see you like this…"
"Then free me, Lord… Only your forgiveness can free me…"
Lucifer was watching as this was happening, very confused at what he was seeing.
"Do you not still love me?" Nada asked.
"It has been 10,000 years, Nada." Morpheus said. "Yes, I still love you… But I have not yet forgiven you…"
As he saw Nada beginning to break down, Dream started to tear up himself, which was a rarity for him as he was usually very aloof with mortals… But this was one of the only exceptions…
No… This was not the moment to be sentimental. Dream had a job to do.
"Come, Morningstar." the Sandman said as he and the Devil continued their stroll.
"Kai'ckul, I will not give up!" Nada was heard shouting. "I will never give up."
"So, that woman back there…" Lucifer said as he and Dream got closer to their designation. "Care to explain yourself?"
"Her name is Nada." Dream started. "She was the ruler of a tribe that called themselves The First People… We were in love."
That last part made Morningstar chuckle a little bit. He was learning a lot about Dream today, because who knew the Sandman had the ability to be in love with someone, let alone with a mortal. Then again he himself had been in love with Chloe for the past six years to the point of them being engaged and even going as far as him having a baby with the detective, so he shouldn't be one to judge, even though that was pretty much his entire shtick.
"So… what did she do?" Lucifer asked. "I do remember her randomly coming down here out of nowhere, but I never figured out why she was here."
"She defied me."
"Oh, you put her here?" Morningstar said, sounding impressed. "Well color me impressed, Lover Boy."
Dream shot him a glare.
"Right, sorry."
"The new ruler is letting me know that Hell has prepared for our visit." Dream informed.
The two then stopped walking as Squatterbloat then made his leave.
"We're here." Dream announced as they gazed at the castle standing from afar. Once again, Lucifer was getting very nostalgic right now from seeing this castle as it reminded him of the glory days of him on the throne. With that, they continued walking… and walking… and walking… until finally reaching a large set of doors.
The doors slowly creaked open for them and what appeared to be blood came oozing towards their direction. Dream and Lucifer then stepped inside the castle with doors shutting behind them. As they walked around, Morningstar was fascinated at what was done to the place since the last time he ruled the throne. It looked a bit… fancier. Just then, they walked on a couple of small stairs and then found themselves staring at a man sitting on top of the Devil's throne. He had short dark brown hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a maroon colored collar shirt. This was none other than Marcus Pierce, or rather his real identity, Cain, the world's first murderer. When Damien Darhk had threatened to destroy the world with the armies of Hell four years ago, Cain took over the throne as a means to end his attack for good. And the Underworld had been thriving ever since.
"Hello."
Cain then slowly stepped off of the throne and walked up toward Dream and Lucifer and faced directly at them.
"Hello, Lucifer." Cain greeted, before facing Dream. "And I take it you're Dream."
"Greetings to you, Cain." Dream greeted back.
"So the legends were true." Cain mused. "I've heard all about you, Sandman. I just didn't think you were real throughout all of the thousands of years that I've lived."
"I believe the ruler of Hell knows that this is no social call."
"Then why are you here?" Cain asked. "Are you coming to take your throne back, Lucifer? With the Sandman himself as your new servant? Possibly even ally his realm to Hell."
Lucifer noticed that Cain had… changed since taking over Hell, as he had started to relish in the Underworld's nature, exactly the same way Morningstar did when he first started ruling the throne billions of years ago.
"I'm afraid not." Lucifer replied. "And I've already tried that offer on him before during my early days in Hell, and… let's just say it didn't work."
"Well, feelings change." Cain shrugged. "Especially when one had been caught and imprisoned by mere mortals. I lived thousands of years of torture to know that's just child's play."
"We have come because my Helm of State was stolen from me." Dream informed. "I believe one of your demons has it. I should like it back."
Cain stared at him for a good three seconds.
"Now."
"Oh, Dream, if only it were that easy." Cain said. "But there are rules in Hell. Protocols that should be followed."
Bugger, Lucifer forgot all about this. He really had been very out of touch with his home as of late.
"So, which demon has it? State the name and we will bring it here."
"I confess I do not know the name." Dream admitted.
"Then we'll have to summon all of them." Cain said, as he then raised his hand, and at that moment, a ton of demons appeared down below the castle.
"There, now, Dream. You may inquire… Which demon has your helmet? Should we interview them one at a time or…"
"That actually won't be necessary, Cain." Lucifer spoke up, as he then walked forward to behind the Devil's throne, and pulled his Pentecostal coin out of his pocket. He stared at the coin for a good 10 seconds before closing his eyes and flipping it.
After the coin flipped, Morningstar stepped back as he watched it slowly burst into a circle of flames. And after a few seconds, the flames dissipated and in its place was a demon with pale green skin and spiked purple hair holding what looked like a helm. Dream stepped forward and stared at the demon straight in the eyes.
"Tell me your name, demon."
"Do I have to tell him?" the demon asked Cain. Lucifer sighed.
"Dream, this is Choronzon, one of the Dukes of Hell." Lucifer explained. "I should've renamed him a Douche of Hell."
"Choronzon…" Dream repeated. "The helm is mine. You must return it to me."
"No, it's mine now." Choronzon refused. "I traded it from a mortal for a paltry thing. It was a fair trade. I've broken no laws. And if the Dream King wants his helm back..."
Chronzon then stepped closer to the Sandman's face.
"He will have to fight me for it."
"Very well." Morpheus accepted. "I challenge you, Chronozon."
"You know the rules, Dream Lord." Choronzon chuckled as Dream continued.
"If I win, you will return my helmet."
"And if you lose, you will serve as my slave… in Hell… for eternity."
There was a moment of silence as Dream and Choronzon continued to stare at each other. But then Dream broke it when he said the words:
"I accept the terms."
"And who will you choose to represent you in the battle?" Cain asked.
"I shall represent myself." Dream replied.
"And Choronzon, who will you choose to represent you?" Cain asked the demon. Choronzon thought about that question for a good 10 seconds as he continued to stare at Morpheus. But then, he had thought of his answer.
"I choose… you, sire."
Cain smirked, and what felt like 2 seconds later, he was dressed up in an all black leather suit and stood right behind Dream.
"Do forgive me, Dream. But the laws of Hell demand that I become his champion." Cain said. "But if you wont fight me."
Dream turned back at Choronzon.
"I have accepted the terms."
Suddenly, Dream was also cladded in black leather as he and Cain had a long staredown with each other.
"Let the challenge begin."
"Oh, this is going to be so exciting!" Lucifer commented.
Now Playing: "Demon Tornado" from Justice League Dark OST
As Alice, Batman, and the others continued their drive to Constantine's place, Nora put her hand on forehead with a worried look on her face. William and Trixie looked at her with concern.
"Nor, are you alright?" Will asked his girlfriend.
"I got a bad feeling that… Something's coming for us…" Darhk said. Just then, Trixie turned to the front and saw something terrifying.
"Uh, guys? You might wanna take a look outside." Trixie told the others. They all turned to see what she was talking about and saw a giant tornado forming before them.
"What the fuck is that?!" Alice asked.
Suddenly, multiple trees came crashing down towards the Batmobile, with Batman trying his best to not get hit by them. Nora raised both of her hands in an attempt to stop the trees with her magic, but it was of no use as the tornado, now suddenly wearing yellow eyes and forming a mouth, swallowed the Batmobile whole. Not wanting to give up, Darhk then formed a magic shield around the vehicle, but was clearly struggling to keep it intact.
"Shit, she can't hold it much longer!" Clayton shouted before turning to Batman. "Do something!"
Batman quickly pulled the handbrake lever and the Batmobile drove its way out of the tornado. As they continued their escape, Alice spotted the millhouse just a few feet away.
"There!" Pierce yelled. Without any hesitation, Batman and the teens jumped out of the vehicle and rushed their way to the house, with Constantine and Gibb opening the door for them.
"Into the house!" Constantine yelled, prompting the group to rush in as the tornado neared closer to them. And then, just before the tornado could do the deed, John quickly shut the door, and the tornado then swallowed the Batmobile.
"Is everybody alright?" Gibb asked.
"Yeah, we're good." Alice assured her before turning to Constantine and offering to shake the exorcist's hand. "Good to see you again, John. Just wish it was under better circumstances."
"Likewise, Pierce." Constantine agreed, accepting her handshake.
But as Constantine shook Alice's hand, he stared into Pierce very curiously, which of course made the teen very confused. See, every time they had met, John had always found something… familiar about her… particularly in her face… In some weird way, she looked a lot like… like…
"Uh… John?"
Constantine's train of thought got interrupted when he saw Gibb looking at him with a confused look on her face.
"Were you good there?" Smith asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine, luv." Constantine said as an attempt to shrug the previous thought off for right now, before turning to Batman. "So, an odd little group here for a road trip. To what do we owe the visit?"
"Yeah, I'm curious too on why Batman of all people decided to show up at the millhouse." Gibb added.
"If you haven't seen the news, civilians have been killing each other all over the planet." Batman explained in his gruff voice. "Green Arrow, the Flash, and Wonder Woman believe this spike may have a magical cause."
"Sorry about the Batmobile, by the way." Trixie said to Batman. "Sure hope your insurance was paid up. I mean, is there even a policy for that or something?"
Nora and Blue Arrow gave Espinoza a glare, which in turn made her decide that she should probably, well, for the lack of a better term, shut up for right now as they currently had more serious matters at hand.
"Bloody Hell, Gibb was just telling me about that before you all showed up. And here I was thinking we've already got enough shit on our minds." Constantine grumbled as he magically conjured up a glass of wine and a small glass cup. "Well, I'm gonna have a nice glass of Rosé to get me in a more calm state of mind and then we'll have that little chinwag."
Now Playing: "The Oldest Game" from The Sandman OST
"Welcome, ladies and gentleman." Choronzon announced to a large crowd of demons, holding Dream's helm as a sort of microphone. "Today for your entertainment and delectation, a formal challenge."
The crowd roared a loud cheer as Choronzon continued.
"The challenger is Dream. Once the Master of the Realm of Sleep. As the challenged, I've selected my champion: Ruler of Hell, Cain…"
Even louder cheers were heard at the mention of the Ruler of Hell's name.
"...To represent me in a contest of skill, confidence, and transformation… The Oldest Game."
The crowd continued to run wild as Morpheus and Cain stared at each other and Lucifer was watching from afar.
"As the challenged," Cain started. "I set the meter and take the first move."
"Very well." Dream accepted. "Make your move."
And with that, the Oldest Game began.
"I am… a frightful wolf."
Dream then saw a vision of what looked like a growling wolf with blood red eyes.
"Prey-stalking, lethal prowler…"
Dream then had the next word.
"I am a hunter…"
Cain saw a vision of a figure riding a white horse.
"Horse-mounted, wolf-stabbing."
The figure then grabbed a bow and arrow and proceeded to shoot at the wolf.
Back from the outside, Cain felt a sudden pain in his chest, and then saw blood dripping on his hand. But due to him being immortal, the pain quickly healed. He then stared at Dream again as he said the next word.
"I am… a serpent…"
Back in the visions, a serpent was seen sneaking up on the large figure and its horse and bit the horse in its leg.
"Horse-biting, poison-toothed…"
Dream then felt as if he was being poisoned himself as his face started to swell, which caused Lucifer to be concerned. But the Sandman was definitely not ready to give up just yet.
"I am a bird of prey…"
A large bird then flew into the picture and landed on the snake and proceeded to rip its skin off.
"Snake devouring, talons ripping…"
Cain suddenly felt something scratch his cheek and then saw that he was covered in marks. Oh no, this was definitely not over for the first murderer.
"I am… a butcher bacterium…"
The bird suddenly started to decay as if it was turning into dust.
"Warm-life destroying…"
Dream then fell to the ground, and as he got up, he suddenly had decaying marks all over his face. But oh no, there was no way this was going to let him down.
"I am… a world…"
Cain suddenly found himself standing in front of Dream in an unknown garden, which in many ways reminded him of the days from his childhood when he and his younger brother Abel would often play with each other. Of course, all of that being… well… before his infamous curse.
"Space-floating, life-nurturing…"
But this was still not enough to bring Cain down.
"I am a nova! All-exploding, planet cremating…"
Dream then saw a giant nova coming straight at him, and as he did his best to block it, it was not enough, and it wound up destroying the unknown world and leaving the Endless in burned bruises.
But once again, Morpheus just couldn't give up now. He just couldn't. He had to keep fighting till his last breath!
"I am… a universe…"
In Dream's eye was the vacuum of time-space itself.
"All things encompassing… all life embracing…"
"I… am… Anti-Life…"
Suddenly, Dream's vision turned into that of a large imposing figure sitting on a throne while fire surrounded him. He had a rocky and grayish appearance with what appeared to be alien armor with an Omega symbol on its chest covering most of his body as well as his head, and eyes of a reddish orange color. Morpheus had heard of this figure before as he was one of the most feared beings in the entire multiverse with the goal to reshape all life into his own image. Most people know him as the Master of Darkness. Some even call him the God of Evil. But speaking of his actual name can inflict fear among many others.
"The Beast of Judgement…"
The figure's eyes then started to glow a flaming red… Until the vision became nothing… but darkness…
"The dark… at the end of everything…"
Back in the outside world, Dream found himself on the ground, feeling completely pale, paler than he already was, and worse for wear.
"What are you going to be then, Dream Lord?" Cain asked.
"I…" Dream tried to answer as he did his best to pick himself back up. But it was of no use.
Cain had just pulled out his ultimate trump card, and I won't lie, it was affecting the Sandman quite considerably. To point to where he began to wonder… was it time for him to ultimately give up, and have Cain take the win? Was Dream truly not strong enough to continue this fight?
Just as Dream thought this, Lucifer ran up towards him.
"Hey, Sandy!" Lucifer called.
"Still with us, Dream?" Cain inquired.
"He is and it's his move, Cain." Mornigstar injected.
"There are no more moves, Lucifer…" Cain said. "You know more than me that nothing can survive the Anti-Life."
Lucifer stared at him for a good 3 seconds, because he did make a solid point there. But then, an idea popped into his head.
"Sandy, listen to me. Do you have an idea of what can survive the Anti-Life?" Lucifer asked. Morpheus said nothing. "You. You're the fucking Sandman. Dreams don't die, not if you believe in them or whatever the bloody Hell Daddy used to tell me all the time! So… what are you?"
Those words were seemingly enough to snap Dream out of it, as he stared at Morningstar, and then toward Cain.
"I… … Am…"
Just then, Dream slowly but surely got himself up on his knees and with his eyes, he stared into Cain and said one word:
"...Hope."
Suddenly, the entire room felt like the sun was shining bright on everyone, as Dream got himself fully back up and continued to stare into Cain's eyes.
"Hope…" Cain remarked, feeling some of his old self coming back to him as the sun rays faded.
"Well, First Murderer." Dream said. "It's your move. What is it that kills hope?"
Cain just stood there for a good 5 seconds, and then turned to Choronzon.
"Choronzon, give him his helm." Cain ordered.
"No." Choronzon refused, stepping back. "I won't. It's mine. Please."
Lucifer then stepped up towards the demon and snatched Dream's helm out of his hands, before grabbing him by the throat. And as Morningstar lifted Choronzon up, he then morphed into his Devil form, reminding the demon what he was dealing with. And with that, the Devil tossed him down to be with the rest of the demons.
As Lucifer morphed back into his normal form, Dream then walked towards him, and Morningstar then handed the Sandman back his helm.
"Thank you, Lucifer." Dream said. Lucifer nodded, and Morpheus turned to Cain. "Thank you, First Murderer. The Ruler of Hell is honorable indeed."
"I wouldn't necessarily call myself honorable, but you do have my respect, Dream Lord." Cain nodded. Dream then smirked and he and Lucifer were just about to take his leave, but then Cain interrupted them.
"Actually, before you go, I just want to let you know about something." Cain said, catching Morpheus and Morningstar's attention. "Someone has escaped Hell."
"Who?" Lucifer asked. "And how?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure." Cain admitted. "Abnegazar and his brothers were supposed to watch over him, but they've been on Earth for over a week."
"Yeah, I had played poker with them the other night with our old pals, Gibb and Johnny." Lucifer grumbled. "But who escaped Hell?"
"That wizard, Felix Faust."
"Bollocks." Lucifer muttered, remembering the old wizard. Back during Damien Darhk's reign of terror, he and his future daughter had recruited a couple of people to combat Andy Barclay's Dark Legends team, which Lucifer was a part of alongside Cain, Constantine, Gibb, Nica Pierce, and Constantine's longtime friend Chas Chandler. Faust ended up being one of the people Damien had recruited, but luckily he was killed by Chas, with some assistance from Gibb and Constantine, who had banished his soul to Hell. But now, he had apparently escaped and was back in the mortal realm. Great, just what they needed, as if trying to stop the ongoing supernatural epidemic wasn't enough.
"Well, thanks for everything, Cain." Lucifer said. "But we'll take it from here."
"Till we meet again, Cain." Dream said, bowing his head. Cain nodded, and with that, Lucifer pulled out his Pentecostal coin, and teleported him and Dream out of Hell.
Back at the millhouse, Constantine had cast a spell to be able to see the crimes that had been happening for the past few days.
"Demons!"
"It's not me you should be stopping!"
"Oliver, look at that thing!"
"I've given birth to the Devil. It's the De-"
With that, Constantine stopped the connection and turned to the group.
"Y'know, this could be Damien Darhk all over again."
"Darhk's dead." Alice reminded him. "We were all there when it happened, remember? Andy beat him, Cain went to Hell, and we all went back to living our… abnormal lives."
Okay, admittedly, she was going to say "normal lives" there, but… she remembered that she accepted a long time ago that her life was never going to be normal when she was living in a world with killer dolls, demons, metahumans, the literal Devil living in LA. Heck, she was currently in a relationship with a girl whose sister slayed vampires on a weekly basis. Yeah, anything but normal.
"I doubt Freddy Krueger is behind this." Gibb added. "As far as I know, he didn't have nearly power to terrorize a whole state, let alone the entire planet. And he really only cared about Springwood anyway."
"So that means it's something else." William finished.
"Well, it's dodgy either way. Me and Gibbie will definitely dig into it." Constantine muttered as he walked towards the millhouse door and opened it. "You lot can leave now."
"Hold up, wait a minute!" Alice exclaimed. "We're coming with you."
"And why would I let you?" Constantine asked.
"Because you're gonna need all the help you can get." Trixie spoke up.
"Like for example: I still have my magic." Nora pointed out. "So you two might need an extra magic partner to help you out."
"Not to mention, excluding yourself, Alice probably knows more about the occult than all of us here." Will added.
"And from what I've heard, you're not that much of a fighter." Batman continued. "So if things get ugly, I might have to pull your bacon out of the fire."
Constantine and Gibb then look at each other, processing what the group told them.
"They kinda have a point, John." Gibb shrugged. John then sighed.
"Alright, fine. Guess the Dark Legends are back in business." Constantine muttered. "Think I should call up Andy and Nica?"
"No, you shouldn't." Alice declined. "Somebody has to be there in Chicago to look after Cindy and Mia, and there's nobody else right now that can do the job."
Pierce then took another look at the new Dark Legends team.
"Besides, with seven of us here, I'm sure we're more than enough to handle it."
"But, John, if we should call somebody, I'd prefer that we call Lucifer." Trixie suggested. "Cause you know, he's the Devil."
"Nope, sorry, Trix." Constantine shot down. "Haven't talked to Luci in a few days after me and Gibb played poker at his penthouse. He probably doesn't even want to see me anyhow."
"Damn." Espinoza cursed.
"But anyways, enough of that." Constantine said, wanting to shrug that thought off for now. "Let's take a walk on the dark side, shall we?"
And with that, the Dark Legends walked out of the millhouse and started making their way to the city…