Key of Dreams

by Jebest4781

Through a chance encounter whilst sleeping within his Somebody's heart, Roxas met an entity who'll change his existence more than he realized. Rated M for language, violence, etc. Pairings hidden at current time. KHxDC Comics Cowritten by free man writer. Please leave reviews.

6. Waking Dreams and Nightmares

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Disney, Square Enix or Detective Comics. They rightfully belong to their respective owners.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Radio/TV

"Headset/Flashback"

-Scene Shift-

Chapter 6: Waking Dreams and Nightmares

The sun was shining, the flowers were blooming, the birds were singing-

"We're no strangers to looooove~"

-music was flaring through a nearby radio stand. Oh and the children were playing.

Everything was quite nice on this overcast day in Chicago, Illinois.

Yet there was this odd feeling in the air.

Roxas didn't know why, but something was rather off.

This was what the Keybearer occasionally thought throughout several parts of the day.

While out and exploring Chicago, Roxas still wore his Organization attire as he didn't have anything else to wear.

As for M'gann, she took on a shift in appearance while out in public and somewhat playing tour guide. Instead of being green, she now had caucasian skin with faint freckles on her cheeks. Her amber eyes and red hair stayed the same, but there was a headband placed on the top. And her attire was a white t-shirt under a short-sleeved red crop top sweater, a matching skirt with white knee-high socks with brown shoes.

She also had a public name, for some reason, in order to fit more as an Earth girl.

Megan Morse... not much of a difference in the name change from M'gann M'orzz, but when sounding it out it worked to a degree.

He voiced his inquiry to her of why she changed her skin with her shapeshifting abilities. To her response, it was due to the general populous would be… unsettled with what wasn't the norm. And Roxas responded in turn stating he thought she was fine just the way she was beforehand. Yet he added that as long as she was comfortable with how she looked, who was he to judge? Especially in order to blend in with the current environment.

This made her smile a bit as they left the Martian residence and hit the city after watching a few films she favored.

The two she selected were rather interesting for Roxas to watch. They were these classics called Mary Poppins and Star Wars: A New Hope. They were rather moderately long, but they told some good stories with pretty good messages and sequences.

Though there was some difficulty here and there with Roxas having to ask M'gann several questions. It did become a little excessive when he kept talking, making the Martian tell him to "shut his mind" and just enjoy the experience and save the overall questions for later.

It made him realize he'll need to look more into the present World he was in; with its history, regions, etc. in order to understand it a whole lot more. It'll be difficult, but he's got nothing but time now to kill to do so. And only then will he be able to appreciate and understand certain media a whole lot more, among other things.

Anyways…

After leaving the residence, M'gann showed Roxas around Chicago for hours: the City Center, the Chicago Theater, the Pullman Factory, some of the city's famous parks, the Wrigley Baseball Field, the Cloud Gate and several other locations.

Presently they were at this place called Giordanos over by Buckingham Fountain for lunch. It was somewhat busy at that time of the day, but neither M'gann nor Roxas were in a rush as they sat at a back corner booth of the pizzeria.

"I've been meaning to ask this earlier, but what do you believe will happen now since Lord L'zoril has the D'orilar back in his possession?" Asked the disguised Martian as she looked over the menu.

Roxas pondered a little on this question while looking at the menu as well.

A great number of options were available to him. Stuff that was all too new to him in its entirety. He honestly wanted to try them all at once, but he could do so at later visits.

"I definitely know he'll want to start fixing up his realm." Said the blonde Nobody. "And there's a long list of stuff he needs to catch up on, from what he mentioned. As for what they are, I don't have the foggiest idea."

"Being trapped for almost a century would no doubt be difficult for him to catch up on."

"Most definitely."

"And do you plan on helping him out?"

Roxas shrugged. "If he asks for it, I will."

The Martian smiled softly. "That is mighty nice of you to do, Roxas. I somewhat feel envious."

The Nobody quirked his brow at her. "How so?"

"Helping him, directly, could be considered such a great honor to my people." The Martian said in a near reverent tone. "Gosh, I don't know if anyone back home will truly believe me ever meeting him."

M'gann was exaggerating a little on that detail.

With her people's abilities, her fellow Martians would be able to soon learn such details once she returns to her home planet. Yet such a thing would still feel unbelievable.

"Is he really that big a deal on Mars?"

"He is one of our most worshiped deities, Roxas." Megan emphasized. "To meet him and also walk alongside one of his disciples-"

"Not a disciple, M'gann." The sandy blond haired teen stated. "He's just someone I became… well, guess I can call him a friend."

"Then you have been truly blessed by fate, Roxas." M'gann said with envy. "To be considered an equal… what I wouldn't give to have that same stature."

No. XIII found himself chuckling slightly. "It's not all it's cracked up to be."

The two fell into a comfortable silence for a moment when a stray thought drifted through the Nobody's mind as he glanced at his compatriot.

"What can you tell me of your home, M'gann?" Roxas asked. "You didn't talk about it earlier."

The disguised alien pondered for a moment to think of how to start things off.

"All Martians live in underground tunnels because the surface is uninhabitable." She began. "And our family lives are very intertwined."

"How so?"

"We communicate telepathically."

"Telepathically?" Roxas parroted, subconsciously reaching up to his head.

It was at that moment did Roxas get a weird tingle in his head. He would've passed it off as nothing until-

"Like this."

The sensation invaded him forcefully, making him grab his head in pain.

Alarm was clear and present on his face. "W-What's g-going on!? How-"

She widened her eyes in distress and worry and tried to correct the mistake.

"Oh, wait, I'm sorry! Uncle J'onn told me not to rely on communicating like this while I was on Earth!" Said M'gann through his head. "I forgot-"

Roxas held up a hand, interrupting her. He shook his head slightly as he tried to calm himself down.

"Hey, you okay kid?"

Roxas looked over to see the waiter, who not only arrived to give them their water and take their order but bore a brief concerned expression.

"I-I'm… okay." He muttered out. Not wanting to cause a scene or unsettle M'gann more, he told a white lie. "Just a sudden headache."

It appeared that the waiter bought the lie, a sympathetic look appearing on her face.

"I feel ya. Those are a pain." Said the waiter. "Would you like me to grab you some medicine?"

He waved her off, giving her a grateful smile. "I'll be fine. Thank you."

"Then are you two ready for your order?"

Roxas opened his mouth for a moment until glancing at the disguised Martian. She held a look of shock and embarrassment on top of the hints of distress.

Wanting to calm her down a bit more, Roxas wanted to speak to her but held off for a brief moment and didn't want to talk while the waiter was there.

"Umm… can we have some more time to look over all this?" He asked politely, eyes shifting back to M'gann, their server catching sight of this gesture.

The waiter then spotted the girl's expression and gave a nod of understanding.

"Sure. I'll be back in a few minutes."

As the waiter left, Roxas wanted to talk to her normally, but still felt the weird sensation in his head. He concentrated where it resided and thought about what he wanted to say.

"Sorry for freaking out, M'gann. You just startled me. That's all." He said or thought. "But what was-"

"With my people's powers, I can practically hear everyone's thoughts. It's the norm with how we communicate. Uncle J'onn told me I'm not supposed to do so here, but I can't help it." M'gann quickly said, her internal tone conveying sorrow at her slip up. "I'm trying desperately not to really do it here and fit in while not causing problems."

"It's… fine, M'gann. I just have issues with people getting in my head in the past."

"I'm sorry." She said meekly. "I didn't-"

"It's alright. You didn't know and you apologized. All is forgiven." He gave M'gann a reassuring smile, but it didn't exactly work as she still looked slightly depressed.

She exhaled a sigh of relief before speaking with her mouth this time. "Thank you, Roxas."

Wanting to perhaps make things more comfortable, Roxas continued to speak to her through his thoughts.

"I do have to admit, this is rather… strange." He soon made a face, scrunching it up a little. "Never done such a thing like this before. So this is entirely new."

He saw her give him a strained, understanding smile. "Same with me when I had to speak through my mouth instead of my head."

"Speaking of, but how can one of your people separate their normal… conversation with their personal thoughts."

"It's… more like closing themselves off or cutting a connection for a time. It's not entirely great for a long period of time, but-"

"I probably got the picture. You don't need to say it… or think about it."

She giggled a little in response.

With how he made the recent response was similar to her first friend on Earth.

Thinking about it now, she should actually get in touch with her very soon and-

"About who?"

M'gann blinked in surprise before realizing she didn't realize she forgot to briefly close her thoughts.

"Sorry, she's a friend of mine. A daughter of one of the League members. You might like her."

Roxas was curious about who this person was, but chose to not comment at this time.

"So about your telepathy… Not that I mean to offend you or anything, but how do I keep someone from entering my head? For future reference or whatever."

"Oh, that? Umm... whenever Martians are carrying confidential information, they'll often put up mental barriers to keep trespassers out from certain areas of their mind." She explained to him. "The only way afterward for someone to get in is either through permission or… brute force depending on how strong it is. It's pretty self-explanatory, to be honest. I can help you out with it later, if you'd like."

He smiled at her. "I'd like that. Thanks. But getting back on topic…"

"Right. So telepathy is the common form of communication we use which helps large martian families maintain a sense of community and stay closer."

"...How large are we talking here?"

"Martian families are… unusually quite large in comparison to ones here on Earth." She said, "I have twelve sisters and seventeen brothers! In my extended family, I have over three hundred cousins."

Roxas blinked owlishly. "That's… quite something…" he said aloud, eliciting a giggle from his new friend.

"Hard to imagine, huh?" She said in turn.

"Yeup. But what can you tell me about them, if that's fine with you."

"Well, half of my cousins are male… and most of my people look very similar to each other. You just need to look through a number of details to tell them apart visually. And I've been close to my younger brother the most."

Roxas nodded as he ushered her to continue. Instead of verbally, it was done mentally. And a clear indication of this was him oddly seeing four bald humanoid individuals hovering above the table. And the only garments they wore were some skin-tight attire with red straps.

The Keybearer whipped his head over, wondering if anyone else was seeing this-

"This is just a mental projection, Roxas. No one else can see it but us."

Roxas breathed out a small sigh of relief.

At that moment, the waiter returned to requesting their order. They ended up asking for some breadsticks with marinara sauce with a large cheese pizza to share and nothing else.

As he left, M'gann decided to inform the blonde Nobody of the four projections before him.

"We're mostly green, like… me and Uncle J'onn. But there are others with… differences. Aside from green, there are also Martians that are red, yellow and white..."

The Keybearer seemed to pick up on a few things which felt off to him. One of which was towards the end.

"Is there something wrong?"

"It's… complicated."

"You don't have to tell me if it's making you uncomfortable."

M'gann smiled at this and gave him a thankful nod.

"It's fine, Roxas." She said with a sigh. "Some on my planet do not see the whites as equals."

"The Whites? How so?"

She rested her cheek on her palm, letting out a small sigh. "A number of factors. They'd take too long to recount. But to sum it up, our ancestors had conflicts with each other and the whites… have gotten a bad rap sheet? I think that's how the Earthers say it."

Roxas gave out a shrug in response as this phrase was a first for him to hear.

"Anyways… My parents were both green and I was raised in what you would call a "liberal" type of environment. My family… I… had no issues with White Martians."

Roxas detected there to be something amiss. She seemed to stress out on a few details, but it was hard to figure out the reason why. Nonetheless, he didn't voice… or think it out of courtesy. It was her issue and he wasn't going to pressure her into revealing such a thing.

"What about the others of your kind?"

"They were not as tolerant… and the treatment was especially horrible." She went on. "The White Martian minority are treated as second class citizens by the green majority."

He found himself shifting uncomfortably at hearing such treatment. "That doesn't sound right at all."

"I know, but it's something which has been a sad norm for generations." She said sadly. "I just wish it could stop. We are all one people, but others don't see it that way."

Roxas frowned and wondered how such a thing could be the way it was.

Seeing his reaction, M'gann decided to move along.

"Next are the Yellow Martians. Interesting fact about them, there is no such thing as yellow-born Martians." Roxas blinked in confusion, making M'gann explain in detail. "Reason why is due to their status as sorcerer-priests and priestesses. They would only "shift" to them once completing their training and won't ever change back again thereafter."

"Sorcerer-priests and priestesses? Like they can do magic?"

M'gann nodded. "They can. Though there's one thing to consider, they need to have the affinity in order to begin the calling."

"Does this apply to anyone of your race? Allowing them to convert as such?"

"Yes, though it's sometimes… difficult for whites due to prejudices."

The blonde Nobody gave a nod of understanding.

"And the reds?"

"Higher forms of nobility, especially the royal family."

Nodding once more, Roxas soon voiced the next question on his mind.

"How'd you come to Earth?"

M'gann bore a bright smile. "Of all of my family members, aside from my younger brother, I was closest to Uncle J'onn. We have a great relationship."

At that moment, M'gann shifted the mental projection to show her uncle J'onn J'onzz.

He was a tall, green-skinned humanoid. His head is completely bald, and his face is oddly proportioned, with heavy brows, thick lips and red eyes. His costume is primarily black, with red accents, and a large red belt and x-shaped straps across his chest with a blue cape which is fastened by gold clips.

"My family and I would occasionally watch J'onn's exploits here on Earth with the rest of the Justice League! He grew to be a true beacon of hope and stood for what our society could achieve. He became the most famous Martian in our history! Upon his return to Mars it was declared a day of planetwide celebration."

He could practically feel her love, pride and joy being directed at her uncle. Any notions of her prior negative feelings were all but erased.

"I bet it was. But still, you didn't tell me how you came here."

She then gave out an awkward chuckle. "I was getting to that." The Martian adopted a fond look on her features. "After some time away from Mars, uncle J'onn sought to acquire a protege of his own and introduce a younger martian hero to Earth; all because of seeing the exploits of Robin, Batgirl, Aqualad, Kid Flash and Speedy."

Roxas briefly nodded, knowing they were the proteges or sidekicks to Batman, Aquaman, Flash and Green Arrow respectively when he looked them up at the Hall of Justice.

"Uncle J'onn declared he would hold a competition to find the next Martian champion that would be returning with him to fly among the heroes of Earth. And with me yearning to see Earth with my own eyes, I decided I would enter the contest, as did what seemed like half the Martian population."

"With it being that big, I bet it was difficult."

"Oh, it was."

It was at that moment did the scenery around them shift and morphed into something else.

The setting was a large colosseum with an assortment of obstacle courses with most of the Martian population sitting at the stands. And standing at a peculiar platform was J'onn J'onzz as he overlooked the proceedings.

"The competition was fierce... and dangerous. It was exciting and consumed or touched the lives of every single Martian on the planet. At first, Uncle J'onn seemed as if he didn't want me to compete. I thought maybe it was that he did not want me coming to earth. I had seen some of his adventures, and they were life-threatening and dangerous. But I was not going to let that stop me. I was determined to win! From everything I had seen and heard of earth up until that point, I found that I... loved it. I wanted to come see it for myself with my own eyes. I would not be bested!"

It was at that point did Roxas more or less witness M'gann compete through a good number of events. All the while she was being judged by her uncle amongst countless others.

"And with you here, you clearly won." He mentally said as the scenery around them returned to normal.

M'gann practically threw up her hands on the coming declaration. "Oh, my heart soared, Roxas! I just couldn't wait to get here."

"And… how did you get here?"

"With the Bio-ship, of course."

"Bio-ship?"

"I would personally show her to you, but Uncle J'onn took her with him on the off-planet mission with the rest of the League. And I'd rather show you what she looks like in person instead of a mental projection."

Roxas at first nodded but then twerked a brow of confusion.

"Her?"

"Martian Bio-ships are organic and my ship identifies itself as female."

"Right." Taking a sip of water, Roxas soon spoke to M'gann vocally. "After lunch, where do you wanna go next?"

The Martian pondered a bit about where else they may go for the day.

*BRRRMMM*

Absent-mindedly, she took out her cellular device from her pocket in order to see who it was. She briefly thought it was her uncle J'onn, signaling his return to Earth along with the rest of the League, given she didn't have that many contacts on her phone. Only a few at most.

Turned out it wasn't her uncle at all.

Once seeing the text message notification, M'gann soon formed a smile.

"I think I know what we could do for the rest of the day."

-NYC, New York-

Standing underneath one of the many Manhattan bridges, a young woman was pacing back and forth.

She was a light-skinned fourteen-year-old, who had medium-length black hair, cyan eyes and wore a pair of small white earrings. She wore a pair of white pants with a light violet top and white shoes.

Her presence here would appear strange to many if they were nearby. From the graffiti heavily layered on the bridge's underside and support to some amounts of trash and scrap littering the area. And her, who was all nice and cleaned up standing here by her lonesome.

There was a reason why she was here. For she was awaiting a friend of hers to arrive.

In that time, the ravenette thought of many things.

The first came from the earliest memories she recalled of her mother, a conversation about butterflies of all things.

It was rather silly to hear back then as an innocent child, yet her mother made it seem so important.

"Tell me if you ever feel butterflies, my little dove. If you feel them, it means you are either beginning to experience feelings a girl like you would truly want to have or you're about to suffer a terrible heartache."

"But mommy, I thought butterflies were supposed to be in your stomach."

"No," said her mother. "Heartburn and feelings of nervous dread come from your stomach, butterflies come from your heart."

It was ridiculous. Back then, she thought it was the dumbest thing she ever heard.

Yet it never occurred to her it may perhaps be one of the best pieces of knowledge her mother gave to her. More so when she truly experienced her mother's proclamation for the first time years later.

The sense of dread began in her stomach before the uneasy fluttering in her heart. The pain was not just emotional anguish, it was physical. The chest pain and loss of breath that then and there made her wonder if a person could die of heartache.

This event occurred after school one day a few years ago, when she was in the hospital to see her mother during visiting hours. Her mother had been suffering from cancer for some time, but she kept on with the fight.

Unfortunately, she came too late when her father broke the news to her.

She honestly thought he was playing a trick on her like what he normally did with his magic tricks. But there were no tricks at all as that peculiar feeling welled up inside her. She tried to disbelieve it, even after seeing her mother's body in the hospital bed. She tried shaking her awake, even screaming as tears streamed down her face before the truth finally set in.

"The Butterfly Effect" as many know, where one flaps its wings on one side of the world and it starts a chain reaction that causes a hurricane on the other side.

This can be taken in a literal sense or a figurative one. A person may experience a storm of a lifetime or be greatly affected by it, birthed by one simple innocent flap.

It could be wonderful or disastrous.

It all depended on how close they were to the storm, in it or at its very eye.

At the very least, it can be outright dangerous given how unsuspecting a single event or moment, no matter how simple, can be truly important and very significant.

To Zatanna Zatara, she felt them twice within the span of a week.

The first began days ago. She has been feeling unusual fluctuations of magic and mystical energies though she's been having difficulties in discerning what it's supposed to be.

And the second appeared as she woke up this morning.

It was similar to the first time, yet different. It was a slow riser, in a sense, but has been slowly growing as the day went on.

This peculiar energy in the air has been making her worried. And there are a few questions pacing back and forth in her mind: what exactly is going on? Is there something big about to happen?

She wanted to talk to her father about this, but he's presently off-world with the rest of the League.

To a degree, she wondered if that course of action was a pretty dumb idea.

It's understandable with everyone sent out if there's an "all hands on deck" situation. That's fine and good if the crisis event was here on Earth.

Yet in acting through this and everyone going off-world, it basically left Earth without its mainline heroes.

In a sense, she knew their time away would be a great test for all of the known proteges left behind and any possible "rookie" heroes -who aren't in the League- to rise up and protect the planet.

Villains would wise up, along with any and all criminals who could take advantage of the situation if they were to learn of this.

Anyways… the only ones with whom she could voice her grievances to would be her one friend -who knows who she really is- her godfather and an old family friend.

The last two felt the same sensation as well this morning and told her they'd look into it.

All she could do until then was wait…

But after distracting herself for hours today in her home by double checking her school project and trying to read a new book, she couldn't take it anymore.

She texted her friend to see if she wanted to hang out.

And now she's here underneath one of the Manhattan bridges, waiting for her arrival from Chicago.

Unbeknownst to her, Zatanna would never expect to soon meet someone who would greatly change her life, either for the better or for worse.

After several minutes passed on by, she saw the graffiti-covered wall part ways to reveal a unique cylinder-like mechanism installed into the structure. This was known as a Zeta-Tube, a device system the Justice League and their allies use to transport from place to place via Zeta-Beams.

The machine whirled to life with yellow lights. In a flash, M'gann M'orzz appeared as she smiled at the dark haired spellcaster.

"Hey, Zatanna." She greeted her happily.

"Hello, M'gann." Zatanna said in turn.

The Martian hopped down the small platform, letting the graffiti wall close back up in order to hide the Zeta-Tube.

"So shall we get going?" Zatanna inquired, gesturing in the direction of their small journey.

"Just a moment," said the disguised alien.

The ravenette quirked her head in mild confusion. "A moment? What for?"

"A surprise."

It was then did Zatanna feel something in the air. Something dark and cold.

In an instant, black wispy flames sprang from the ground and formed an oval blob-like portal. There were purples and blues within which swirled all around.

Cyan eyes widened in alarm, making their owner leap back and ready to defend herself.

She looked beside her and saw M'gann didn't react very much at all. By the look of it, it seemed the Martian was expecting this, despite the small bit of surprise on her features.

"What's going on?"

Composing herself, the disguised Martian sought to give her response when someone stepped out of it.

There they saw a dark clothed stranger whose features were hidden by the hood drawn over their head. The portal of darkness then went away a moment later as the new arrival turned to the Martian.

"So this is her?" Asked the hooded figure, tone giving away that it was a boy.

"Yeup."

Zatanna turned to her friend and repeated her question from earlier. "What's going on? And who's this?"

The disguised alien turned and gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry, Zatanna. I should've texted you about him sooner, but I thought of surprising you."

"Well consider me surprised." The ravenette said with a frown.

The hooded teen stepped forward with his hands held up. "Sorry for startling you. M'gann told me she doesn't have authorization in bringing guests through a Zeta-Tube quite yet. So I had to improvise in order to get here."

"Improvise?" Zatanna looked at the hooded teen up and down. "What was that just now? The way you came here it was… that was dark magic! Like legitimately dark!"

The last time she felt something remotely dark was her godfather demonstrating a number of spells so she may at least know about them. Yet what she felt moments ago made those she experienced before pale in comparison.

"It's how I get around." He said with a shrug.

"But it's dangerous!"

"I have protection." He stated, patting his chest and then tugged on his hood slightly.

"Your clothing?"

The hooded figure nodded. "Yeah, this coat here protects me from the darkness when using the Corridor."

"The Corridor?"

"What you just saw me use to get here." He elaborated. "I know what not to do with it so others may be safe. So don't worry."

Zatanna crossed her arms and gave the hooded figure a skewed and skeptical look. "Sorry, but I doubt it."

"It's fine. I don't blame you for worrying."

"Trust me Zatanna, he's a friend and he can really help us out." M'gann implored, making her friend furrow her brows in thought.

The spellcaster eyed the hooded teen further as if analyzing him a bit deeper.

There was clearly something off about him in more ways than one. Aside from the power she senses from him, there was his outfit.

'I swear I saw that somewhere, but when?' she pondered to herself.

She released a sigh. "Alright, I'll trust your word M'gann."

Her Martian friend beamed upon hearing this.

"Allow me to introduce you two properly. Roxas, this is my friend I told you about, Zatanna Zatara. And Zatanna, this is Roxas, servant to Lord L'zoril."

Roxas exhaled a sigh. "I told you, M'gann, I'm not his servant, prophet or apostle. I'm someone who wanted to help him in his time of need." With a gloved hand, he pulled off his hood to reveal his features to the young spellcaster and gave her a smile. "Hello, Zatanna, it's good to finally meet you. M'gann told me a lot about you."

At that moment, Zatanna felt a number of things.

They were rather conflicting, given what happened earlier to just now.

She had thought the hooded teen to be someone dastardly looking because of his unique entrance, not someone completely opposite.

His eyes were so bright and deep. His hair looked so interesting. And that smile…

Overall, she felt butterflies in her chest.

For argument's sake, this could be because she was a growing girl and starting to finally take interest in boys with her hormones finally kicking in.

That and… well, Zatanna is hard pressed in denying that he had a charming smile and striking set of eyes.

It wasn't love at first sight for goodness sake.

After what felt like forever, the young spellcaster snapped out of her little trance in order to greet the sandy blonde before her.

"She talked about me huh?" Zatanna said good-naturedly, praying that there was no color (there was) on her face. "I hope they were good things."

"They were. And you're a spellcaster, yes?"

To prove this, Zatanna held up her palm and said "erif". As a result, a ball of fire sprang to life as she tossed it up and down.

"Nice trick. Don't mean to be rude but what did you say exactly?"

Snuffing out the flame, Zatanna gave an explanation. "I say my spells backwards. It's how I operate."

"Huh, interesting."

Zatanna shook her head a little and looked over at the Martian. "I'm sorry, but who's this Lord L'zoril, M'gann."

The response came from Roxas instead. "It's one of his names. Who she means is Morpheus, otherwise known as Dream of the Endless."

"...Excuse me?"

"I said-"

"I know what you said, but I don't buy it."

"Oh? How so?"

"No one just meets one of the Endless and lives to tell the tale." Zatanna said, crossing her arms.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

For some reason, he felt as if he really wanted to prove her wrong.

"Well, I did." Roxas said, eyelid twitching slightly. "And if M'gann can, she can show ya through her mind."

Zatanna turned to stare at her friend with a raised brow.

"Is he really serious?"

"I met him too!" M'gann said with stars in her eyes. "It's how I met Roxas last night."

"There's gonna be quite a story behind that."

"One which we could happily get into," Roxas looked around to their present surroundings, "but I don't know if you wanna do that here."

"Oh yeah, we can walk and talk." Zatanna said. "Come on, let's get going."

And with that, the trio began walking away from the graffiti wall with Zatanna at the lead.

"So where are we going?"

"Anywhere is fine right now." Said the Spellcaster. "Now talk. How'd this whole you meeting one of the Endless come about?"

"That's a long and weird story." Roxas said, rubbing the back of his head.

Where skepticism first began was soon replaced with an apology once M'gann showed her friend the memory projection in her home.

From her lessons, the ravenette had to know the rough depictions of the Endless and their functions. Yet to clearly see and feel Morpheus, even through another perception, made her change her thoughts on the matter. For M'gann still saw Dream as a black flaming skull, Zatanna saw a bone white man.

It was her knowing meeting one of the Endless was a rare occasion for anyone. Many would voice their disbelief if they outright say it to others. And by her knowledge, no one has sensed the Dream King's presence or made an appearance anywhere for nearly a century.

Yet there he was in the memories.

Thus the story began with Roxas informing her of what came to the lord of dreams and nightmares all those years ago. His forced imprisonment by cultists, his escape, and meeting up with the hooded teen before seeking out his tools of the office that all led to last night.

"This probably explains what I felt days ago." The ravenette muttered aloud. "His freedom and return."

"Yeah, that's what John told me."

"And he didn't screw you over?" Zatanna asked in astonishment.

Roxas gave Zatanna a look. "Why would you say that?"

"Let's just say he doesn't have the best reputation in the magical community, along with other circles. And that's me just putting it lightly."

"Wait, what?" Roxas was startled by this little revelation. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah, what do you mean Zatanna?" M'gann asked in a more exaggerated manner. "What could Lord L'zoril have done to receive such a negative reputation on Earth?"

The magical girl cocked her head in confusion before realizing the mistake. "No, not Morpheus. I'm talking about John Constantine."

"Constantine?" Roxas was now surprised. "What did he do?"

"It's… a long and complicated story to talk about that Con-man. One probably saved for another time."

Roxas frowned slightly. "If you say so."

The trio walked through Manhattan's streets a bit more as the spellcaster eyed Roxas' attire a bit more.

Once again, thoughts were bugging her about the outfit he wore.

For one, she was able to finally recall where she saw it before as she saw it on the news days ago. The Black Clad terrorist group trying to blow up both the Old Bailey and four blocks in London and yet it was thwarted by the very person beside her.

From what she remembered hearing from her father, he and other members of the League were wanting to search for this person and ask a number of things.

It was from there did a sense of deja vu come to the ravenette, especially with what was said next.

"I gotta ask, and I don't mean to be rude, but don't you have anything else to wear?"

Roxas blinked, looking down at his Organization outfit. "What's wrong with what I have?"

"It's a bit shady." Zatanna said.

"Shady? It's all black."

"Yeah, thus shady. You stand out like a sore thumb."

"Nobody seems to have noticed me." Roxas rebuked.

Zatanna had a flat look on her face. "Maybe but still, you seriously can't just wear that all day and night."

He was relatively perplexed by this. "What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing is wrong with it, it's just you need more than just one set of clothing Roxas." Zatanna said with amused exasperation.

This only served to confuse him even more, looking down at his clothing again. "Do I?"

"Well yeah, we all do." M'gann said as if it was the most obvious thing.

Keeping his gaze down at his present attire, he thought back to what clothing he wore throughout his entire existence.

He'd only worn his Organization uniform for like… ever. The only time he wore anything else was the clothing he had back in the digital construct of Twilight Town DiZ/Ansem the Wise created. After a few more seconds of contemplation, he nodded.

"You're probably right."

Zatanna wore a smug smile. "I know I am."

Roxas then saw Zatanna and M'gann make eye contact. He didn't know if they were communicating telepathically or if there was some sort of silent conversation between the two.

Whatever the case may be, he saw them turn towards him with a peculiar mirthful glint in their eyes with matching smiles. And the looks they gave him sent an odd chill down his spine.

With that, both girls all but dragged Roxas to a destination in mind.

Unbeknownst to them, they were watched by something perched from up high before taking flight and following them.

-Manhattan Mall-

"I gotta ask, but why's this place called a mall?" Roxas asked, walking beside M'gann and Zatanna, as they made their way to the mall's entrance.

It was quite a large building. At first he thought this mall was the entire building, which had to be about ten stories and mayhaps reached through the entire block. But apparently, the actual mall was on the first two floors while everything else above is just offices and other corporate work.

"Because… uh… You know, that's actually a good question." Admitted Zatanna.

"Should probably look it up sometime." M'gann said in agreement.

Making it inside, the trio saw the many people walking about; coming and going through the various stores visible to the teens thus far. A couple of people glanced their way when seeing Roxas' attire out of curiosity, due to how unique it was, before minding their own business. There were a number of apparel, accessories, pets, and technology in a single glance. And by looking at the store index stand, Roxas could see there were about forty in total here, which also included a food court.

"Anywhere we need to go first?"

"Yes." Said the Spellcaster. "Our first stop is over here."

Roxas didn't take notice of what the store's name was when he was dragged into by his two present companions. Whatever the place was, M'gann and Zatanna began tugging him along to a number of places where he was soon asked what his measurements were.

This led to an awkward set of moments for him, due to not actually knowing at all.

It may have been understandable at first if he didn't know his basic size range. That wasn't the case at all with him being handed his present attire when he first joined the Organization to what clothing he acquired in the digitized Twilight Town with them ready on the spot; courtesy of his Nobody superiors and DiZ/Ansem the Wise respectively.

Because of this, Roxas would now have a longer time shopping for clothes.

Zatanna thus began analyzing him, pulling up several kinds of pants and shirts, holding them up to him and making a small pile. From there, she shoved him to the nearest dressing stall for him to change into his potential new clothing.

"This reminds me of when you took me out shopping the first time." Mg'ann said offhandedly.

"It does, doesn't it?" The ravenette said, reminiscing, before dropping her voice slightly so she wouldn't be overheard. "You're actually easier to figure out in a sense with you changing your sizes."

"Yes, but it's rather awkward when some outfits don't fit me. Not literal, but figuratively."

"What did she mean by that?" Roxas said from behind the nearby changing room door.

"Fashion, Roxas." Zatanna said slightly aloud. "Styles which compliments her."

He only tilted his head at the idea of such a notion. "Huh, weird."

"Not to mention the seasonal fashions."

"...That's a thing?"

M'gann and Zatanna glanced at the blond teen who was gazing at them for the answer, the latter answering him. "...You're really clueless about this, aren't you?"

Roxas' silence was all telling.

It wasn't much longer before the greater Nobody opened up the door, stepped out and presented himself to the two young women. Wearing a simple pair of jean pants and t-shirt, he was soon asked to twirl around for them to let them get a better inspection.

"Do they feel fine for you?"

"Mostly." He said to Zatanna. "The other pants you gave me were a tad tight in some places. Some shirts were looser than I may have liked."

"Blame a number of styles. Now back in and hand over which ones don't fit. Also give me the sizes which work well for ya."

He complied with the command and did just that. In mere seconds, several pants and shirts were thrown over the door, which M'gann snatched and dropped into a hamper nearby for the store employees to take care of.

"Somewhat still envious of you with your shapeshifting clothes." Zatanna chuckled out. "Don't get me wrong but you're essentially-"

"Don't remind me."

The clothes M'gann typically wore when she first came to Earth weren't actually clothes at all but originally came from her very being.

In actuality, she was completely naked.

You see, the "fabric" of her clothes is organic matter coming from her very being and responds to her mental commands, morphing into the look she desires.

In terms of "actual" clothing Martians wear in fact vary like the red X-shaped harnesses to show they're in law enforcement. Great sorcerer priests and priestesses wear holy vestments. And the royals and other reds wear similar garments in terms of style. But the average citizen's polymorph body coverings reflect one's mood.

Yet this wasn't the case ever since she met Zatanna.

When the young spellcaster learned of this, she immediately demanded J'onn Jones lend them his credit card so this could be rectified.

Like today with Roxas, the two girls went on a shopping spree to get M'gann an entire wardrobe.

It was just so she wouldn't get caught shapeshifting from one outfit into another in a public setting, like if she attended school while as a civilian.

Not to mention other… embarrassing topics such as the young martian learning what it really meant to be naked.

The concept of it back on Mars had no shame, due to them shifting their bodies as they saw fit, but on Earth it was an entirely different matter.

"Do I wanna know?" Asked Roxas from the changing room.

"No." Said both girls.

As this went on, Zatanna soon went off to grab some other clothes for Roxas to try out, all the while acquiring several undershirts, boxers and sock bundles for standard necessities. Asides from this, things devolved into a process of additional attire change-ups for Roxas to try out and present to the martian and spellcaster.

At the end of visiting the one store, Roxas would acquire a handful of simple outfits that worked well for him in the Spring and Summer season.

For a bit of Roxas' displeasure, he soon learned this would not be the only clothing store he'll be taken to today. Yet he was a bit more compliant when convinced he needed more variety for his "closet space"... if he actually had a closet.

He'll figure that out in the near future by storing it all.

By the time of purchasing all of his newly acquired clothing…

"Are you sure you don't want me to pay for some of these?" Came Zatanna's offer. "This one's on me until-"

"No, I'm fine with paying for all this. But thanks for the offer." He said, pulling out… a pouch from his pocket? From there he withdrew a card before handing it over to the store clerk.

Upon first glance, it was like any other debit/credit card. A typical graphic on the card with card numbers, the owner's name, etc. But there was something odd about it that drew her eyes.

For starters, there was Roxas' name as it just showed his given name… and No. XIII for the surname? From there, an odd decal graphic of a Moogle's head present along the surface, blending into it but only noticeable with a light shining upon it.

There was also one other discernible factor to consider.

'A black… titanium… credit card…' Zatanna thought with slowly widened eyes when seeing more of the card's surface.

She knew these things existed, but never saw them in person. The cards have an unlimited line of credit, only owned by those who can actually back up their finances. They were essentially a myth to most, like an invisible alicorn who can shoot rainbow laser eyes. As far as she knew, only a number of stinking rich people have these like Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne.

Either Roxas was pulling their legs with a well-made forgery or he was in fact legitimately rich.

If only she knew how right the latter factor was.

The temptation was now there, yet the young Spellcaster had to squash such thoughts of having Roxas buy… a lot of things she wanted to have while at the mall.

With a big shopping bag in hand, Roxas smiled a little at Zatanna and M'gann. "Where to now?"

With that asked, the two girls took him further around the mall in acquiring several other things for the day. There was acquiring two pairs of shoes and even more clothing. Along the way, Zatanna and M'gann got some clothing of their own so they wouldn't feel left out on the shopping spree.

After the latest clothing store, Roxas had to change out of his Organization attire and into his "civilian" look to blend in more with the local population. Out of the many shopping bags in his possession, he assembled something casual, yet stylized in a sense which he liked in a way.

Black jeans and shoes with a leather belt. A light gray short sleeve button-up shirt with darker gray vertical lines on the design. It was untucked with its top button undone with a red tie barely loosely done and a black vest over them both. To finish off the look was a creamy-gray hoodie with the sleeves tucked up towards the elbows, which was fully unzipped to show the clothing underneath.

As for his Organization attire, it was all kept in a separate shopping bag amongst all of the others he'd now awkwardly carried.

While she wouldn't voice it -let alone admit it- but Zatanna liked seeing him model for them in a variety of styles that seemed to suit their respective tastes. And his present attire made him a bit more attractive in her eyes like a teen model.

With M'gann she was having fun with the overall experience. Being with two great friends and spending time together.

From there, the greater Nobody got himself something called a cell phone. It was something out of a common necessity for people these days, getting in touch with others nearly instantly.

This bit only came up when Zatanna brought it up on a passing comment, which prompted a myriad of questions. As such, he needed to get one.

At least he had them now on his contact list and vice versa.

Though he did wonder if his new phone would work in the Dreaming or only here in the Waking World. He'll obviously test that out later.

Leaving the phone store, the trio soon heard a live weather report from a nearby screen set for the news channel. Looking over, they saw the Newsline of 'Softball-sized hail strikes power lines.'

"The storms I predicted are producing high winds and hail, which aren't totally unheard of this time of year." Said the meteorologist, showing the map of the eastern United States. "It's just that, apparently, they're coming down from the north now, instead of the storm fronts…"

"That's a little concerning, I think." Muttered the blonde Nobody.

He somewhat knew there was gonna be a storm outside earlier today from the weather reports, but he didn't know it seemed to escalate this badly already.

"It does." Said M'gann. "Hopefully the weather will let up soon."

"No kidding." Said Zatanna. "And I don't wanna get hurt by that possible hail the moment we go outside by all that hail."

Other thoughts moved elsewhere when the trio went further along to another store. It was then that they heard another news broadcast.

"In other news, the Vienna Zoo is reporting that two giant pandas have successfully mated after ten years of trying." Said the newscaster. "Reports are that the pandas, Bao Lin and Pai Gao, have mated after a decade-long courtship effort by zoo staffers. Personally, I don't blame them for not wanting to procreate since they are two of only about two thousand pandas in existence…"

"...Okay that is an odd thing to see." Commented Roxas.

"What is?" M'gann asked innocently and curiously. "The topic or…"

"That and how it was addressed at the end."

"No kidding." Zatanna added in. "Don't know why the reporter had to sound so condescending on such a thing. Pandas are an endangered species and I believe such a thing shouldn't be joked about."

With all of the necessities done and over with, the trio decided to go to check out a few more stores before leaving the mall for the day.

Presently being at a music store, the trio were browsing over a litany of albums -both old and new- along the varying isles in both CDs and vinyls. There were display towers of newly released works with headphones attached for customers to listen to. Framed posters, album art and artist photos were hung along the walls to help brighten up the space instead of making it bland. Same went with music being played through some speakers. And to finish things off, there were also a variety of music players and stereos on display. There may have been some instruments, but probably tucked away for reasons or sold elsewhere entirely.

"Find anything good?" Zatanna asked Roxas.

"Yeah, but it's really hard to choose which albums to possibly get."

"You could get them all if you want."

"I could, but don't know if I could carry anything more."

Zatanna looked down at the various bags placed beside the blonde's legs. There was indeed a lot, given she and M'gann had convinced him to buy all these clothes for himself.

"We did go overboard."

He waved off the ravenette. "Nah, it's quite alright." He glanced down at his purchases with a brief frown. "I'm just concerned on how to store all of these."

"Don't you have a home," she asks, "or a place to stay?"

"I don't." The blonde saw her give him a look. "It's complicated."

"Then how…"

"I can probably ask Morpheus if I can stay at his palace until I find one of my own."

He only lived at the Castle that Never Was for the majority of his existence. His digitized prison was only for a week. After that, he resided within Sora's Heart for an unknown amount of time until he met Morpheus.

"If that's the case, then Morpheus could allow you to stay with him after all you've done for him. And I recall you want to help him fix up the Dreaming, so there's that to consider."

Roxas gave her a nod as they kept on browsing the store's selections. He made a mental note on what to check back on and perhaps purchase at a later date, if not at this store but at others.

They could even see M'gann was some isles away with a hand basket putting some albums in there to purchase later. Zatanna did the same as well, but only a few; given she's reaching the end of her budget.

Once more, the ravenette was tempted to have Roxas purchase some stuff for her; especially with a store she likes nearby. If not today, then at a later date.

The spell caster did think back to Roxas' present position and voiced an inquiry.

"Don't you have anyone else?"

Roxas looked up from his browsing and focused on the ravenette. "Excuse me?"

"I mean, you said you don't have anywhere else to go. But don't you have any friends or relatives?" She soon cringed a little. "Sorry if I was prying."

"It's… okay, Zatanna. Just me… in more ways than one."

The magical girl could get an idea of what he meant.

"And are you handling yourself alright?"

Roxas had a small frown. "I manage," he said to her. "And if they were around, I bet my friends would tell me to move on and not worry about the past, despite how fresh it all is."

"I can probably relate, in a way. Just me and my dad. But without him around for so long makes me worried… and rather antsy."

"Have you not spent time with anyone else? Any friends?"

"I would but I don't… exactly have that many friends."

He cocked his head slightly out of curiosity. "Why not? I thought M'gann was your friend."

This got Zatanna to frantically shout a little. "No, she is; she definitely is."

"Then why…"

The ravenette exhaled a sigh. "It's rather hard for me if I'm being honest. Not that it actually was when I met M'gann for the first time some weeks ago. We clicked and things went on from there. No, what's hard for me is keeping my personal life from my public one."

"I don't understand."

"Few things. One, I go to a private school with a lot of my assignments eating up much of my time. Second, I help my father out as his assistant during his performance tours, especially when he has me pulled from school to do just that; so it's hard for me to really hang out with anyone at all. When I do, I need to keep a number of things on the down low."

"Huh?"

"You know, not telling any secrets."

"Okay. Then what are you worried about?"

"I just can't reveal I have magic to my classmates."

"How so?"

"They aren't in the "hero business" as many say or have powers or being Humo-Magi."

"Humo-Magi?"

"It's what many of us in the field of magic label ourselves as. Aren't you?"

"Uh, no. I'm not." This relatively confused the ravenette. "Sorry if I didn't reach your expectations."

"It's… fine. I just can't assume all the time."

"Right. But what else is wrong about the ones you attend with at school?"

"They more or less know my father is in the Justice League, yet they believe he's using advanced science to perform the illusionary and stage-show tricks while fighting crime. And you wouldn't believe the number of times they ask me how we do them all."

"It must've been really frustrating."

"It is. All I can get with them these days are our classes, assignments and just the day-to-day gossip or the local news. Nothing else. I practically demanded them to not focus on my father's status. All I wanted was to not be harassed for such a thing. I ended up losing a number of so-called 'friends' because of it, only wanting to be close for popularity's sake." Zatanna spat out but then formed a small smile. "But when M'gann came into my life, I began to feel more open and I could connect with someone with a similar background. One who had a hard time forming bonds of friendship back home."

"And have you tried befriending other magic users? Or anyone… similar in that nature." He said, referring to people with powers and unique abilities and skills.

"A handful here and there. Most are family friends like the magical mentor to my father and I to my godfather and some League members who come over to our home sometimes. Aside from them, I haven't gotten the chance to meet and interact with the proteges of the League; except for M'gann, of course."

Hearing more about Zatanna made him realize how she and M'gann became friends so quickly. It may be just him, but he detected some similarities.

Despite their different backgrounds, they seemed to be isolated in their own ways. From what experiences he pulled from Sora's memories, he knew parts of their upbringing may not have been good for them as they didn't have any genuine friends growing up.

Yes, they had their family members and family friends to keep them company and never leave them alone, but they could only go so far. Through Sora, Roxas knew he could grow stronger as more and more people are connected and bonded with him. And the same can apply to others.

In another part of the mall…

"You likin' anything you see, Tuppence?" Said a tall blue-eyed blonde as he was chowing down a burger. "Cuz y'know I wanna keep your Lil sis happy."

"Tommy, y'know darn well yer only three minutes older." Responded his sibling, who was sipping from a tall soda cup. "So quit babyin' me."

Both of them were twins and it may have been clearly obvious if one were to look at them.

The two wore similar clothing with a punk-rock look with the slightly ripped-up white shirt/top, red suspenders and black combat boots. They also had multiple piercings along their ears. With their differences, Tommy had a torn-up pair of black pants, had a padlock on a chain around his neck and black fingerless gloves. As for Tuppence, she had some makeup on, wore a black plaid skirt, torn black stockings and black fingerless gloves which reached up to her elbows.

Something soon caught Tuppence's gaze.

"But there are some pretty bangles in here…"

Tommy looked towards where his lil' sis was looking at and smiled slightly.

Eating more of his burger, the twins went inside the store labeled Gemini Gems: Jewelry & Watches.

Tuppence leaned over the glass case and inspected a number of the items being displayed. She happily slurped more of her drink as the salesperson was conversing with her brother.

"I'm afraid no food or drink is allowed in the store." He said politely. "Perhaps you'd care to come back when you're through? If that is, you actually think you might make a purchase?"

This got Tommy to get up in the salesperson's face with a snarl. "Now, is that any way to talk to a potential customer?" He glanced slightly over to his younger twin. "I think this son's disrespecting us, Tuppy!"

Tuppence slurped the last of her drink as she stood straight. "I think yer right, Tommy. And here I was ready to have him wrap up this pretty thing."

The salesperson soon saw the blonde punk girl tap her finger on the glass above a particular item.

"That's a two thousand dollar necklace."

Finishing up his burger, Tommy snorted a little. "Just two grand? Why that ain't no skin off'n our noses!"

Assumptions were oddly made as the salesperson tried to put up a smile. "Well… then… allow me to ring up that up for your lovely lady friend-"

That ended up being the wrong thing to say.

Next thing the clerk knew, he was hoisted up by the scruff of his neck by the male twin.

"What that tone, mister! That's my sister yer talkin' about!"

Tommy then threw the man across the store, having him crash to another display case.

Tuppence smirked as she broke the one case beside her with her fist.

"And I asked you to wrap it up, not ring it up. It's not like we're payin' for it or nothin'."

Back with the trio…

"I often ask myself, why would my father teach me magic, yet forbid me from using it without his supervision or my mentors?" Came Zatanna's complaint.

"Protecting you, most likely." Was Roxas' response.

M'gann nodded and was about to give her opinion on the matter when-

"Freeze punk!"

*BANG* *BANG*

*KRASH*

Rushing out of the one store they were in, they saw a security guard crashing through the window of a jewelry store.

"Who're they?" Asked the Nobody.

"No clue." Said the Martian.

"They're causing trouble." Said the Spellcaster.

"We gotta stop them."

"Not like this." Zatanna emphasized their current outfits. "Brag us ni ruo s'traeh erised!" In an instant, a plumb of smoke surrounded the three teenagers. And as it happened, Zatanna cast another spell. "Dnes sgab ot ym tesolc!"

As it cleared, Roxas found himself back in his Organization attire.

Turning over, he saw M'gann now appeared in an outfit consisting of a short-sleeved white top with a red X on it, along with a blue skirt, cape, gloves and ankle-high boots. And instead of the caucasian skin, it was now of her martian green.

As for Zatanna, she was no longer in civilian wear, but something else. A white button-up shirt and white bow tie and gloves, a low-cut yellow vest, a black blazer, black mini-shorts with gray stockings and black boots reaching midway up her calves. And to finish it off, she wore a black domino mask with white lenses.

The Keybearer soon took notice of something. "Wait, where's our stuff?" he asked.

"Don't worry, they're back at my place." Said Zatanna. "We can get your stuff back when this is all over."

Roxas nodded as he pulled up the hood over his head before the trio went to take care of the issue at hand.

-Insert Kingdom Hearts III: Rowdy Rumble-

"I'm still hungry, Tuppence." Looking around the corner, the three young heroes saw Tommy drag the salesperson to the food court. "So I'm takin' our new pal back to pay for another meal."

"Right behind you, Tommy." Tuppence leaned over the downed security guard, a fancy-looking necklace dangling around her neck. "Just cleanin' up a bit first." She then lifted him up with ease. "Y'know how I feel about folks leavin' litter lyin' 'round."

Sounds of panic became known as the pedestrians on the mall's lower levels saw the security guard thrown and fall down.

Before he crashed onto the tiles of the first level, he was caught by an unseen force.

The man's savior was none other than Miss Martian, using her telekinesis to stop the fall.

"Don't worry, sir. You're safe now." Said the alien.

"Nice catch."

M'gann nodded as she gently set the security guard down.

Zatanna came over and spoke to him. "You should call for backup."

The guard nodded as he took off.

This didn't go unnoticed as Tuppence saw it all happen from the upper floor.

"Hey, Tommy!" The blonde punkette called out to her twin, who dragged the jewelry store clerk up to a cement pillar before slamming him to its surface. "We got us some real company comin'!"

"Well, if company's comin', we should set the table."

Tuppence then adopted a knowing look as she smirked at her brother.

"Hostages?"

"Hostages." Tommy then dropped the one store clerk before turning towards the people situated around the food court and spoke aloud. "If I could have yer attention, y'all are now officially hostages of Tommy Terror and Tuppence Terror… The Terror Twins."

To emphasize they were a threat, Tuppence broke apart a cement pillar nearby with a single side strike. This got a good number of mall patrons to panic a bit more.

Before Tommy could share in his sister's spotlight, he was smacked from the side by a thrown table. Several more came soon after, alongside some magical blasts as the male twin was sent flying, courtesy of M'gann and Zatanna.

"I'm sure they're feeling the honor, pal." Said the magical girl as the hostages started to flee for their lives.

As this was said, Roxas delivered a series of sword strikes against Tuppence. She retaliated with a few punches and kicks, yet they were evaded or parried by the Oblivion and Oathkeeper Keyblades. Soon enough the Nobody struck the female twin hard.

Crashing into another cement pillar, Tuppence groaned as she got back up and eyed the unique-looking weapon in the hooded teen's hand. "Boy, you pack quite the wallop with your swings."

Roxas spun his Keyblades, getting into his usual battle stance. "Lady, you have no idea."

Tuppence merely smirked. "I ain't no lady."

In a surprise move, Tuppence grasped onto Oblivion's blade, yanked Roxas off his feet and flung him towards M'gann. The Martian was blindsided by the action, causing both to crash and skid across the floor. And before Zatanna could go in and help her friends, she momentarily forgot she was facing Tommy but was given a harsh reminder when she was punched hard to the ground.

Tommy loomed over her with a smirk on his face, cracking his knuckles. "Reckon yer focused on the wrong hero, hero." He soon shot forward a punch at the downed magical girl.

"Dleihs!"

A magical barrier surrounded Zatanna as the blow made contact. Tommy then continued with the onslaught as he brought down his fists again and again. Her magical construct would not last much longer, causing her to improvise.

Whipping out a wand from her sleeve, Zatanna quickly dropped her defensive measure and cast some stored spells in her magical tool. They sent Tommy back some feet, but he regained his footing.

Tommy Terror gave out a taunt upon seeing what was in her hand. "You think a tiny stick will harm me?"

"It's not the size that counts, but how it's used." Pointing her wand to the ground, she cast a spell. "Cigam rallip!"

Underneath his feet, a quake could be felt before a blast of magic sent him flying into the air.

"Gninthgil dgarrab!"

With him momentarily vulnerable, he was struck down from various areas by lightning strikes. He crashed down hard as one last one struck him on the back.

Getting back up, Tommy snarled at the spellcaster.

"Big mistake, pissant!"

"Ekoms dna srorrim!"

A plumb of smoke appeared around Zatanna, just in time when Tommy lunged forward in hopes of grappling her. It disbursed, showing she was no longer there.

"You missed me."

Whirling around, Tommy Terror saw several copies of his opponent, wearing a taunting smile. He went forward and began punching them, only to have them disburse into smoke.

"Too bad." Said one of the Zatanna copies before going "poof".

"So sad." Pouted another.

"Let's see if you can pick the right one this time." Spoke the last of them.

Turning around once more, Tommy saw a dozen more of the domino mask-wearing magical girl.

With a roar, her opponent charged onward to strike them down.

So far since their separation from their spellcaster friend, M'gann and Roxas were fending off against Tuppence Terror.

Their opponent brought her hands down as she missed her targets, resulting in a small quake emanating on the floor with various cracks forming as a result. Tuppence moved quickly and went towards the hooded Nobody.

Ducking and weaving through the attacks, Roxas couldn't help but voice something on his mind. "Man, you clearly remind me of someone I used to know. Just about the same looks and attitude."

"Don't know if I'm flattered or insulted for a comparison." Said Tuppence Terror.

"Maybe. She was just short-fuzed. Let's see if you share the same quality."

Slamming his Keyblades into the floor, he casted Blizzara. As a result, it became an ice wall. Tuppence's fists made contact, forming cracks along its surface. By the time it finally broke apart after another blow, Roxas was away and threw a dual Thunder Raid right at her.

After being electrocuted from the recent attack, the female Terror skidded back. It came to an end when coming to a kiosk, grasping it and throwing it at her hooded opponent. He cleaved it in half before having to roll out of the way from another piece of mall property thrown at him.

Tuppence soon broke a pillar and pried it out of its placement. She then threw it at her opponents. Before it could remotely land its mark, it was halted midair before placing it on the ground, courtesy of the martian.

"Will you please stop causing more damage?" Came M'gann's comment.

The female Terror merely broke the tiled floor and pried out a large piece of debris before lifting it up. "Unlikely, gingersnap." She said, tossing it soon after.

With how close she was, M'gann sought to fly around the debris, yet part of her was struck. She recoiled from the blow before another came with Tuppence coming in to deliver a powered punch.

The martian really wished she would have mastered density shifting already. Would've made some parts of this fight easier for her.

At least she had some help.

Whilst recovering in the air, M'gann saw Roxas zooming in towards their present opponent. His Keyblades swung downwards, then quickly upwards, side to side all before swirling around to Tuppence's exposed backside to deliver one final strike to send her away.

Landing near the alien girl, Roxas cast Cure on his friend to help with her wounds. She gave him a thankful nod before seeing their present surroundings. How wrecked it started to become with the continued fighting.

"We need to get these Terror Twins away from the hostages." M'gann said through the mental link.

"More like getting them out of this mall." Added in No. XIII. "I don't see any hostages nearby."

"I have an idea for containing them." Spoke the magical girl. "Just get them close to me and I may work something out."

The Nobody and Martian nodded as they went to work. Getting Tuppence closer to her twin would be a tad challenging. But nothing either of them couldn't handle.

Heading right towards the female Terror, the pair soon became relentless in knocking Tuppence towards their desired location. Psionic blasts and magical strikes sent her away, yet the Terror was a sturdy one with her bits of retaliation. And if there was any indication, her twin was made of the same stuff.

This proved to be true when seeing the other fight going on.

Once nearing Zatanna, the pair saw her weaving spells, fending off Tommy whilst he was preoccupied with magical copies. To their knowledge, the magical girl was seeking to tire Tommy out as best as possible for what's to come.

Summoning a deck of cards in her hand with her wand, Zatanna cast a spell alongside her magical copies. "Ytfif owt pukcip!"

Instantly, the playing cards zipped out of her hand and struck Tommy from all sides. Some exploded, others gave him significant cuts and blows.

Before long, the twins collided with each other with both parties coming together.

"Get them into the clothing store."

Hearing Zatanna's telepathic order, the Martian and Nobody complied.

Zipping in close, Roxas conjured a spell as he brought his Oblivion Keyblade close to the twins. "Aeroga!"

The spell cast at close range sent the Terror Twins flying. And with the added effect of M'gann contributing her psychic powers into the mix had their enemies crashing into the nearest clothing store, which just so happened to be a Nordstroms.

The teenage villains crashed through the front doors and tumbled further into the store. When they were getting back up to resume the fight, they heard the magical girl speak.

"Sehtolc emoceb stniartsr!"

Clothes from all over the store glowed. They soon came out of their placements, hovered even, before flying right towards the Terror Twins.

They began clinging onto the pair, who began struggling with each article latching onto their person. Before long, they became partially entombed with the fabrics.

The twins sought to free themselves from their newly applied restraints. Roxas, however, sought to take care of them.

"Gravira!"

With the "power of the stars", the Terror Twins were shoved down onto the ground with a growing pressure. It made their attempts for freedom rather bleak.

Before they knew it, someone stood above them.

"Nighty night."

With quick and powerful strikes to their heads, Roxas knocked out the villainous twins.

The fight having been won in their favor, the trio of young heroes smiled.

"I consider that quite the heroic debut for us." Said the martian.

"Really?" Asked No. XIII.

"Yes, really." Came M'gann's proud response.

"I wouldn't say that," Zatanna said dismissively, getting a curious look from her alien friend. "Not in Roxas' case." This got the blonde Nobody to cock his head to the side. "London, with those terrorists."

The Keybearer nodded as he dismissed his weapons in white and black wisps.

"What now?"

"Hard to say." The magical girl responded to the Nobody's inquiry. "Some heroes stick around to help out on cleaning up the collateral damage, others take off if there's something else going on."

"Is there anything else?"

"It varies, from what my uncle told me." M'gann added in.

Once more, Roxas nodded before looking back to the unconscious Terror Twins. "What about the local law enforcement?"

"We should go find them so they may help take care of them."

Roxas and M'gann followed Zatanna out of the clothing store and began searching for any mall cops to help resolve the one issue.

Unfortunately, they couldn't find any of them. In fact, they can't find… anyone within the mall.

A bit concerned, the masked ravenette magically summoned her cellphone into her hand before calling the police. After hearing the dial tone for nearly a minute, she heard someone from dispatch on the other end.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"Hello, I'm calling to report an incident at the Manhattan Mall-"

"I understand ma'am. We'll try to send some help over there when possible."

A split second later, the call ended.

Blue eyes blinked in mild confusion. Their owner pulled her phone away from her ear and looked down at her cellular device in an odd way.

"Something wrong?" Asked M'gann as they began exiting the mall.

"Yeah." Said the ravenette. "Just-"

"Girls."

Hearing Roxas essentially calling out to them, the two teenagers looked away from each other and turned to the blonde. As they did, they noticed something was clearly amiss. A troubled look on his features could be barely seen from underneath his drawn-up hood.

It was then the two teenage girls listened and heard something was wrong.

From the pouring rain of the mall's exterior, the trio of young heroes took notice of their surroundings.

"Dear lord." Muttered Zatanna.

All around, chaos ensued.

Cars toppled over or set ablaze among the wreckages. Buildings had many windows blown open with roaring fires streaming out. Violence was occurring with many pedestrians as far as the young heroes could see.

"How… How didn't we notice this?" M'gann asked out of worry. "Hear it even?"

"We were focused with fighting the Terror Twins, but-" Said the magical girl.

"This shouldn't… I don't know how this is possible."

Roxas was about to speak up, perhaps contributing to the conversation or at least doing something. He halted the act upon feeling an odd presence nearby. He wondered who or what it was.

It didn't take long for him to locate it.

Perched on a toppled over car nearby was a bird, a raven to be exact.

An ordinary person would've dismissed such a creature. Some avian lovers may have sought to get close and pet it or do something else of similar nature.

To Roxas, he was merely curious. As for why, well, he got the distinct feeling the raven was looking directly at him.

And upon focusing ever further, the Keybearer could tell this was no ordinary raven.

"Hello there," said Roxas as he slowly approached the perched bird. "Who are you?"

M'gann and Zatanna had physical responses to the hooded Nobody's action. Wondering why he was talking to the perched bird all of a sudden.

Reactions morphed with what occurred next.

"It's, uh, Matthew, kid." The raven said roughly before letting loose a *caw*. "Boy, feels weird talking like this."

Feminine eyes blinked in shock, surprise and confusion when they heard the blackened bird speak up like a human. Roxas didn't notice their reaction. Instead, he conversed more with the intelligent avian.

"Talking like what?"

"Like a person through a bird's vocal cords." If it was possible, the now identified Matthew would've used a wing to rub his throat.

"I see, I'm sorry… I think." Roxas soon scratched his head a little. "Say, you feel familiar somehow. Where'd you come from?"

"The Dreaming."

"Really? You're a dream?"

This got more reactions from M'gann and Zatanna as they were in the presence of… an actual dream entity in the Waking World?

"Yeah, freshly made, apparently. Died in my sleep earlier- Wait, look. As much as I'd like to chit-chat about my backstory, I've been sent by Lucien to deliver a message."

Roxas cocked an eyebrow when Morpheus' librarian was brought up. "Lucien? About what?"

"He needs your help." The raven said grimly. "The Dreaming is in danger."

This alarmed the Keybearer and his friends. "What? Is it in danger? But how? Shouldn't Morpheus-"

"That's the thing, kid. From what Lucien told me, Morpheus is hurt. And not just that, but something is causing havoc in the Dreaming, which in turn is affecting the Waking World."

-Star City, California-

Along an intersection, a businesswoman was talking through her Bluetooth headset for a conference call when suddenly a car rear-ended her.

"Well, that's just great." She spat out before hearing some chatter on the other end. "No, not the presentation. That's terrible. Some idiot just rear-ended me. I'll have to call you back."

Getting out of the car, she saw the damage to her rear bumper and all but stomped her way to the jackass who hit her.

"Do you realize how much this is going to cost? Not in money, which I have plenty of, but in..."

She stopped talking when she saw the jackass come out of his car to confront her. In mere moments, her rage quickly subsided and was replaced by unadulterated fear.

The reason being was her seeing a literal demon.

"W-What the…" She stammered out, backing towards her car. "G-Get away from me! Get away!"

Getting back into her car, she tried to get her car started back up when she started to hyperventilate even further. The reason why was that she saw a number of demons around her vehicle.

The businesswoman screamed, demanding help from anyone.

Unfortunately for her, her "help" came from another demon showing up at her driver's window.

This caused her to harshly press onto the gas pedal, propelling her car forward and running over and hitting other demons in her way.

This went on for nearly a minute before the car was harshly stopped. The source of it was an arrow hitting the front wheel and reconfiguring into a car boot. This ended up causing the vehicle to skid along the road and crash into a nearby lamp post.

The driver looked around in confusion before seeing someone approach the driver's window.

He was an auburn-haired young adult wearing what appeared to be a red version of a stereotypical Robin Hood-esque outfit. The only other color which stood out were the yellow combat boots, gloves, utility belt, hat and quiver.

It was Speedy, protege of Green Arrow.

The woman soon got out of her car and voiced her plea.

"Speedy, thank god. Save me! Save me from-"

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

This wasn't what the businesswoman was expecting. She had known to see Green Arrow's sidekick a bit more cool, collected and pleasant when he helped save the day with his mentor. Yet this was out of the ordinary and out of character to experience.

"W-What are you talking about?" Stammered out the woman.

"You were causing a severe disturbance and hurting-"

"The demons." She interrupted him. "They're everywhere! Don't you see them?"

"They weren't demons, they were people!"

Turning around, the businesswoman saw the "demons" were in fact human.

A number of bodies lay along the street. They were severely injured or worse as the police and ambulance sirens whirled in the air.

"I only see one here and it's you." He spat out in disgust.

-Central City, Missouri-

There was quite a disturbance within a suburban neighborhood. In particular, a normal-looking home.

On the outside, everything was relatively normal, but it was a facade that hid the mess inside.

A number of things were tossed around with damage done severely. Furniture was tossed aside, light fixtures were greatly wrecked and gunshot holes were littering a number of walls.

Within the kitchen was something else entirely.

"I'll ask you one last time." Spoke the father of the household as he cocked his shotgun. "What did you do with my family?"

Before him was a demonic mass with an assembly of eyes and mouths, crouched down on the floor. Some eyes were crying and mouths were quivering. There were some blood marks streaming down some of its sides, due to cuts and other forms of injuries.

"S-Steven, it's me, Gloria!" Pleaded the demonic mass. "I'm your wife. And these are our children!"

"You're not my family!" Screamed out the father. "You killed them, just like the others. Now it's your turn."

Before he could fire the shotgun, a yellow blur zoomed into the home and knocked the weapon away as it fired. The blast broke some nearby cabinets.

He was a young adult who wore an armored uniform primarily yellow in color with red pants, gloves and goggles. On his chest was a red lightning bolt within a white circle. His spiky red hair stood out from the top as a pair of green eyes narrowed at the father.

This was Kid Flash, the protege of the current Flash

"Sorry, pal, but no one's dying here tonight." Said the teen hero, ripping the shotgun away from the father.

Instead of retaliating, the man practically groveled at the young speedster's feet.

"It's not me you should be stopping." He soon pointed towards the demonic mass. "It's them. Look at them!"

Kid Flash glanced sideways for a brief moment as a SWAT team from Central City's police department busted through the various entrances in the home. Most aimed their weapons at the man and quickly handcuffed him.

Before the young speedster could comment on this, the man said something which filled a sense of dread in his gut.

"It's just like the neighbors. Go to my shed. You'll see I'm right!"

In mere moments, the shed in the backyard was broken into with Kid Flash soon peering inside. He soon began to breathe harshly and step back in horror at what was before him.

There were bodies littering the space. Some were hung. Others were covered up in tarps. But overall, the dead resided here.

"W-What-?"

The speedster was practically speechless with what he was seeing. And he wasn't alone with other SWAT team members who came over to check what happened.

-Gotham City, Connecticut-

Standing on top of a cathedral, a woman was carrying a bundle in one arm. Sounds of crying could be heard from it. With her other hand, she held a rosary as she was whispering a prayer into it.

Her closed eyes were sunken in from the sleepless night she had. She couldn't dare look at the infant within her grasp.

Holding out the bundle, she planned on dropping it to the street below.

"Let us help you." A boy's voice said suddenly.

Whirling around, the woman saw the two proteges of the Caped Crusader, Batman.

The first was a short dark haired young boy barely hitting his teenage years. His attire consisted of a red vest held closed by three yellow rectangular fasteners on the front, black leggings, boots and gloves, all of which seemed to be made of a sort of protective body armor that still allowed him great mobility. On the left side of his chest he had a yellow stylized "R" symbol in a black circle, and around his waist, he wore a yellow utility belt with pouches for his various equipment. He wore a cape over his shoulders that was black on the outside and pale yellow on the inside.

The other was a young girl of similar age with shoulder-length red hair. Her attire consists of a black cowl mask and cape and gold utility belt resembling those of the Batman, except with dark purple highlights. She also wears a light purple shirt with a gold bat emblem, skirt and pants and black thigh-high boots.

These were Robin and Batgirl respectively.

"You don't have to do this." Said the costumed heroine.

"I-It's not my fault." Said the woman. "I've given birth to the devil. It's the devil!"

From a normal perspective, the baby was a simple newborn who was loudly crying. But in the woman's perspective was a demonic entity with horns sticking out of the eye sockets with a large mouth moving around in its mouth.

"Please, ma'am. You're tired. Give us the baby." Robin said as calmly as he could.

"We'll get you help." Said Batgirl. "You don't want to hurt your child."

Looking down at the bundle in her arms, things swiftly shifted in her vision. The demon baby appeared human for several seconds. An instant later, it went back to a demonic visage.

Suddenly, the woman tossed the baby, causing Robin to rush after it.

Plummeting further and further, Robin reached out and secured the child in his embrace before whipping out a grappling gun to fire at one of the cathedral's buttresses. Once secure, he swung upward and landed while trying to calm the child down.

As this occurred, Batgirl was fighting against the mother. She tried with all her might to secure her, yet a single misstep caused the mother to slip away from the heroine's reach.

Batgirl looked over the ledge, soon rearing back in terror whilst covering her mouth.

From one of the spires, the mother was impaled by one of the decorative spikes as her blood was dripping from the massive wound.

Witnessing this, Robin widened his eyes in horror for the briefest of moments. He then turned to the child in his arms and shed a few tears.

"I'm so sorry." He said to the newly made orphan. "I'm so sorry."

-Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean-

People often believe life under the ocean was relatively peaceful. No violence beyond understanding. Life functions as nature intended with the survival of the fittest and the cycle of life among other factors.

That was all before people on the surface learned there were civilizations underneath the waves. Them being known beyond myth but of actual reality. For they were like the surface dwellers in many aspects, even if many of their residents believe otherwise.

Like for instance: war, conflict, grudges.

No one exactly knew when it started today, but it happened like a snap of one's finger or a flip of a switch.

A battle waged on with many of the Atlantean kingdoms facing off against each other. Old grudges sparked instantly with many unraveling old wounds and hate towards everyone. Thus the fighting began.

It wasn't just against their neighboring kingdoms, but of a people who they often feared quite a lot.

The Trenchers were a cannibalistic race of ocean-dwelling Atlanteans who devolved over the years since the kingdoms plummeted into the ocean's depths thousands of years ago. They were more animalistic than their sentient counterparts. Highly dangerous and could never be reasoned with.

Presently, they rose from their habitats and were attacking every reachable citizen. There was no warning, no reason as to why the sudden act. They merely went through their basic instincts and followed to kill and feed.

When the Trenchers began attacking, so too were countless others with inhibitions being further unchained.

Over in Poseidonis, like other kingdoms, many were fighting for survival and to restore order.

Amongst the fighters was a young adult with light blonde hair cut at the bottom, deep brown skin, pale green eyes, high cheekbones, and a lean build. He possesses black, eel-like tattoos that run across his back and along his arms. He also has webbed hands and feet and possesses a set of gills on his neck that allow him to breathe underwater.

His present attire is a skin-tight, full body, red and blue swimsuit that exposes his arms and feet. There is a set of small dorsal fins on the back of the calves and a stylized "A" on his belt buckle. And on his back is a water pack which holds twin water-bearers and water.

This was the Atlantean Kaldur'ahm, otherwise known as Aqualad.

Bearing his water-bearers, Kaldur was cleaving through Trencher after Trencher. He sought to save as many innocents as he and his friends and loved ones could reach. Knocking out others who sought out harm, for he and others believed they were not in their right mind.

Kaldur was growing weaker with how prolonged the fight for survival was reaching. Sooner or later, he'll make a mistake and lose his own life if he wasn't careful.

Without King Orin -the Aquaman- present on Earth alongside all of the other members of the Justice League, quelling much of this conflict would become much harder than the norm.

All everyone else could do was pray to their gods -any higher power- that this crisis will end swiftly.

Unbeknownst to the Atlantean and many other heroes at this moment, the pattern was repeating across the globe.

-Elsewhere… Everywhere-

Listen… You can hear the screaming.

Three children are trapped in an elevator with a man who they dearly trusted. Moments after all hell broke loose, the aforementioned man turned on them and slaughtered them with utmost glee.

A man named Harold Smith prowls the dog's home, a tire iron clutched in his bloodied fist.

"Shut up, you mutt!" He yelled, bludgeoning one of the caged canines to death before moving on to the next one.

*WHWEEP* *WHWEEP* *WHWEEP* *WHWEEP* *WHWEEP*

Listen…

At a hospital, Maude Carillon -one of the local nurses- screams with laughter as the flame devours the geriatric ward.

*KRAAAAASH*

Listen… You can hear sobbing.

On the freeway, helpless weeping comes from the crash-sculpture of twisted, blistered metal, burning rubber, shattered glass.

"Don't leave us here!"

"Someone, save us!"

Listen…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHH!"

Joey Campbell screams in agony as the oven cleaner consumes his face, burns out his eyes; to the happy laughter of the little children.

Listen…

"911, what's your emergency?"

"Your building's on fire. Sending dispatch right now."

"911, please hold."

"We'll get help to you as soon as we can. Please be patient."

"911, please hold."

In the radio room, Nan Fowler knows she has no more ambulances to send, and the calls just won't stop coming in.

"J-Just… Just make it stop…" The woman sobbed out. "I… I can't…"

Listen to the anguish of a world in which the bad things are coming out of the dark places.

Listen to the rushing rivers of blood, flowing downwards in a warm torrent. The blood of the weak. Of the helpless. Of the mad.

Listen to a world in pain.

Listen… and you can hear it.

At a GBS news station, an emergency broadcast was being aired to all parts of the world.

"News at six. Is everybody going crazy? Reports are coming in from across the country about a wave of madness, suicide and bad dreams from law-abiding citizens..."

At the TV station, many present were on edge and were doing their best in staying calm. Yet they were at a knife's edge with managing their controlled panic.

"...Nightmares, sleeplessness and insanity reported earlier on local news are shaping up to be a planet-wide phenomenon. Reports have already come in from the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe of... of accidents and disasters, f-from people falling asleep on f-freeways, plane's crashing, botched surgery... Here with a f-full report is G. Gordon Godfrey."

"Thank you, Mary." Spoke a blonde haired newscaster, identified as Gordon Godfrey. "Leading fundamentalists across the globe have already begun to proclaim Armageddon. Internationally, people can't sleep or they have nightmares. And anybody even marginally mentally unbalanced is going over the edge. The Justice League were not here to comment, all because they aren't present, let alone sighted. Where they are, I have no clue whatsoever. Many have sought answers from other heroes and vigilantes, yet are ignored. Some may comment it's just them trying to focus on saving as many lives as they can or they don't know either. Whatever the case may be, their help can only be stretched so far whilst assisting the militaries, hospitals and police officials. But I swear to you people of the world, once this crisis has ended, I will personally march to the Hall of Justice and demand the answers we all want to know."

For a small steady incline throughout the day, many things weren't noticeable across the planet. The crimes and accidents were minor and manageable until they began to grow out of proportion. It was as if someone let loose the metaphorical bomb for chaos to reign supreme.

To many Lords and Agents of Chaos, this could be considered a holiday for them; a once in a lifetime event where they had to be there to see it or see many of their dreams coming true. The opposite could be said for the Agents and Lords of Order as it was a literal nightmare brought to life.

Yet the balance between Order and Chaos was greatly unbalanced with what was occurring.

-Manhattan, New York-

Troubled expressions were seen on the faces of the three teenage heroes. Neither could know the full scope of how large this issue was as it was going across the globe. All they could do for realization was through their imagination.

Coming down from his surprise and worry, Roxas narrowed his eyes at Matthew the Raven.

"Where's Morpheus now?"

"Back in the Dreaming, recovering. Lucien dragged him back and-"

Roughly knowing where Morpheus was, Roxas quickly brought up a Corridor of Darkness. He then turned to Zatanna and M'gann.

"I have to go."

"Do what you need to." Said the Spellcaster.

"Save him." Spoke the Martian.

"I will."

Stepping through the Dark Corridor, with Matthew flying right after him, the Keybearer sought the Lord of Dreams in hopes of preventing this waking nightmare from progressing further.

With the magical girl and martian, they stared at where the Corridor once was. Both wishing their friend the best of luck. Hoping this travesty will end as soon as possible.

In the meantime, they went out to the city, enacting their roles as heroes in saving those of the Waking World like so many.

-Insert Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance L'Emienza Oscura I-

As he swiftly traversed through the lands of dreams and nightmares, Roxas focused hard on the signature he knows of the prince of stories.

He practically flew through the realm for what felt like hours, even if it was a short amount of time.

Before long, he came across what appeared to be a large, twisted hourglass with a naked figure trapped inside. One who he's been familiar with for these past days.

With Keyblades drawn out, the blonde Nobody swiftly broke through Morpheus' glass-like prison as the structure began to crumble around them. At that instant, the Endless glanced at his companion with tired eyes.

"You took your time."

"Sorry, Morpheus. But it's rather chaotic in the Waking World and I just got Lucien's message."

The Dream King nodded in understanding.

Focusing on the surrounding sand, the Shaper formed his blackened cloak with the pouch of endless dream sand hanging around his neck. In mere moments, his helm of the office quickly forms around his head. Its lenses brightened considerably as the eyes behind them focused not just on the Dreaming, but in the waking realm.

He recognized the power and influence behind it all.

"My Ruby." Morpheus spoke out loud. "Someone is using and abusing its power."

"Then let's get it back."

Spreading out his arms, the black cloak surrounding the pale man now appeared like wings as he soon floated in the air.

"Follow me."

In an instant, the Lord of Dreams took off and swiftly flew the expanse of his domain. A trail of blackness carried on like a mighty path for his companion to follow.

Said Nobody pushed himself to catch up with him with his gliding ability. Improvising, he called out his Keyblades and casted Aeroga first before Firaga. The combining of these spells propelled him forward like a fighter jet.

On and on they went through the Dreaming. They saw the state it was in. The shambles and tears with the harsh echoes of harmed dreamers throughout reality.

Goes to show the Shaper was indeed the physical manifestation of the concept. For the Dreaming reflected him greatly. Not just because of Morpheus' long absence but the power stolen from him.

Entering and exiting the sleeping and waking minds of countless dreaming individuals, they followed the path of the perpetrator of this travesty. And the Nightmares influenced by this person sought to stop them by any means necessary. These encountered skirmishes were swift and precise with the Keybearer assisting the Dream King in taking them down.

After the harsh travel, the pair soon came near the source of it all, as the surrounding space was harshly lighted by a ruby light. It was mostly a seemingly expansive graveyard with a tower of electronics which was connected to six graves in particular.

Something flew past them as they made their landing. Taking a quick look, it was a fly.

Once near the tower, an arm shot out of a grave and snatched the insect before crushing it. From there, deformed bodies dragged themselves out of their shallow graves and harshly glared at the pair. And they weren't alone as Nightmare entities appeared alongside the mutilated individuals.

It didn't take much guess these were the manifested guardians of the one holding the Dream Ruby. This gave the Dream King and his companion the known fact they were truly near their destination.

The guardians soon charged at them, causing Roxas and Morpheus to act accordingly.

Sand flew out of Dream's bag, which ensnared one mutilated guardian. Grasping the conjured mass, the Endless began to whirl it around like a whip. He flung the one enemy to and fro, smacking a number of others along the way. He soon had his sand-whip unfurl, causing the mutilated enemy to fly into Roxas' general direction.

The blonde Nobody batted the mutilated enemy with several strokes before striking it down to the earth. He then cast a volley of Blizzard and Fire spells whilst airborne. Before coming down for a landing, he brought down a stream of Thunder all over the battlefield. Making his landing, he thrust his Keyblades into the air. Using the "power of the stars", the hooded teen utilized Graviga, causing an assembly of enemies to collapse onto the ground and become flattened by the built pressure before exploding.

An arrow flew past Roxas' head, impacting and disintegrating a Nightmare from his blindspot. Looking over, the Keybearer saw Morpheus holding up a bow made out of infinite sand. He conjured up another arrow before firing again and again in rapid succession.

A headless body flung itself forward, swinging its severed head at the back of Morpheus'. The attack landed, causing the Endless to stagger back. Another came down, but the blow was intercepted by Roxas, who cleaved through the offensive "weapon" with one Keyblade before using the other to take down the guardian.

Roxas knew he'll need to stay close to the Dream King to protect him from the growing enemy numbers. He flew around Morpheus, throwing his Keyblades in a volley of Strike Raids. Before long, he began warping about, cleaving more and more mutilated entities and Nightmares with white and black wisps coming off of his Keyblades. At the end of it, he let out a magical burst which knocked many enemies away.

Meanwhile, the Lord of Sleep could no longer have his opponents at a distance with his sand-whip or sand-bow. As one got too close, he reformed the infinite sand into a scythe and began cleaving through the enemy. He wasn't as fast as the greater Nobody and was weaker after what happened to him earlier, but he will pull his fair share in the fighting.

With controlled, mighty swings, Morpheus destroyed more enemies. Some acts were missed, but he made up for it by shooting out a sandblast from a free hand. After some time, he slammed his weapon down, sending out a shockwave to help give himself and the Keybearer some breathing room.

Yet the growing numbers became too much for Dream and Roxas to handle. They were wasting too much time by fighting these overwhelming odds.

Casting Aeroga, Roxas had their enemies back off. This allowed him and Morpheus to take off and fly away from the area. Yet their enemies were persistent, taking off right after them.

The pair soon flew past a titanic figure, whose hand was held out. Within her palm was a collective of wisps that were being gathered from everywhere.

The haunting specters and Nightmares chasing after the Keybearer and the Lord of Dreams were quickly snatched by this being before adding them to her collective.

Turning slightly, Roxas saw Morpheus looking back and regarding this titanic entity with a small nod. Curious, he looked back and saw someone beyond his comprehension.

All Roxas could register at this time was that she had the presence of someone who he could truly trust. And her dark eyes held much warmth which matched the soft smile she bore on her face with the ankh hanging around her neck shining ever prominently.

She waved at them, happily.

As much as the Nobody would want to inspect her more, he had to focus on the task at hand and fly ever faster to catch up with Morpheus.

Upon exiting the Dreaming, the Shaper's helm of office dematerialized as he made his plummeted landing with the hooded Nobody at a small parking lot with a surrounding storm ever raging onward.

Arriving at the 24 Hour diner in the town of Mayhew, Morpheus and Roxas witnessed the chaos covering the area. Stores were broken into, cars toppled over or on fire. These were small samples that the rest of the world was experiencing; yet on a far wider scale.

Unsteadily, the pair entered the establishment. The smell of death was all over the place. And bodies lay all around in a gruesome scene of carnage.

A waitress' head was cut off as it dangled from its body with a large bloody meat cleaver held in her right hand.

A severed hand of a cook was nailed onto the counter. Its owner lies along the floor in a pool of blood with the rest of his arm roughly cut off in many haphazard pieces.

A pair of skewers were lodged into the eyes of a young woman wearing a leather jacket. She was propped up against a bench seat.

Someone who appeared to work at an office had their throat bitten out.

A near-fully clothed woman was straddling a naked man. Both of their guts were slashed open with their entrails intertwined with each other.

The perpetrator of this whole mess, both inside and out of the diner, calmly sat at the booth on the far end.

"Oh, hello. I'm glad someone finally came." John Dee spoke to them with a rotted, toothy smile which was greatly highlighted by the light coming from the dreamstone ruby. "It had really gotten boring after a while. The power went out. So there's no TV," he then waved his hand towards the dead bodies lying around, "and no one to really talk to."

The ruby was created a long time ago by the ruler of the Dreaming, out of his very substance. Powered by his spirit, Dream manipulated the fabric of his own World.

This was long ago.

How long ago, you may ask?

Have you ever wondered what the planet Earth dreamed of in its early days? Or even any other planet out there in the cosmos? Back then when each and everyone was practically cooling down from their molten state and became thin crusts on the surface on top of the atmosphere.

It was at that time did Morpheus create the ruby, out of necessity. He relied on his tool for the simplest of manipulations as he still didn't know how to work out his own abilities.

Without his tools -especially his ruby- upon his imprisonment, he lost so much of his own power.

Eventually, he found his ruby again but found it warped and changed.

Instead of focusing and enhancing his energies, it began to absorb them. It left him weak and literally drained.

As he lay helpless and unconscious, he could subconsciously feel the havoc occurring in the Dreaming. The distortion and the pain, especially when it would slowly go beyond Earth and reach towards the ever-expanding cosmos.

In order to regain any bit of his strength, he subconsciously called out for Lucien to bring him back home and send out aid.

Fortunately for him, Roxas received his message in order to retrieve the last of his tools. Unfortunately, the time it took for his return may have become costly.

Morpheus soon spoke in a tone that withstrained the utmost fury he carried towards his ruby's new master.

"What is it you think you're doing?" Morpheus radiated murderous rage.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Said John Dee, swinging the chained dream ruby little by little in his hand. "I've sent my little ruby into their deepest dreams, to dredge up the blackness from their souls." He chuckled slightly. "I'm hurting them all. I'm driving them mad."

"You're using the ruby to do that?" Asked Roxas. "Why?"

The escapee from Arkham Asylum hummed for a brief moment as if pondering. "Revenge, possibly. That and dreams of power. In the beginning, I thought I'd tell them I was doing this and the world's governments would make me their ruler if I stopped." He snorted before barking out a laugh. "But it's so much fun! I don't want to stop."

Dr. John Dee soon twirled his jewel to and fro with his smile growing ever more. "I think I'll dismember the world of its lies and then I'll dance in the wreckage." He stopped playing with the ruby before looking at it with love and affection, kissing it soon after. "She's so clever. My clever baby."

"I don't know what you think, but I highly doubt the ruby wasn't made for that."

Morpheus agreed to Roxas' words. "I made the stone, created it from the fabric of my very being long ago. Powered by my spirit, it was made to manipulate the fabric of dreams, of the world I rule."

As this was being said, John Dee was slowly being drawn in by Morpheus' words.

"It was not made for this. You must stop." Morpheus then put down some necessary facts. "If you reverse what you have done to the jewel… then let me use its energies to repair the damage you have done to the world." His face took on a look of desperation and plea. "You have robbed me of my creation. I cannot use it, and I am no longer strong enough to repair the havoc alone. Can you not see what you are doing? You must listen."

After several moments of silence, John Dee finally processed what was thus spoken. "Yours?" He said, voice filled with realization as he eyed his precious ruby. "Ohhh~ This was originally yours. It's your stolen power I've been using all these years. Yes. I see." He let out a drawled sigh. "Very well."

Some flicker of hope appeared in Dream's eyes, yet Roxas thought otherwise as he looked at the skeletal-like man before them.

"You will repair it, then, give back control of it to me? You will return it?"

The former Doctor Destiny snapped at the Endless. "I'm not giving it to you, it's mine!"

"Listen to him, please." Said Roxas. "You're harming the world."

"I'm saving it by showing them all their nasty truths." Growled out Dee.

"No. You're wrong."

"Am I?" Came a rhetorical question. "They're lying to themselves. Every day, they spout falsehoods and harm everyone in their wake as a result. Even to themselves."

"Maybe it is, maybe it's not." Said the Keybearer. "But I know there are good people out there. They may lie, but for a reason. The truth may be painful and hard to accept. They could bury it, yet it will surface eventually." He brought a hand to his chest and continued to speak with a form of passion. "All they want is to live a dream and seek out another so they may have a better life from what bleakness they're experiencing. But one day, when they want to 'wake up', they can speak their truths on their own, which can be far more accepting. But if they're forcefully revealed, then it's harmful."

"Dreams inspire people in countless ways. Far more than you could ever imagine. It's through dreams which keep them alive. But if you rob them of their dreams, if you take away their hope, then… yes, what you're enacting is the truth of mankind; in your own twisted fashion." Said Dream of the Endless before focusing back on the matter at hand, hoping their words were able to sway the man before them. "The ruby is hurting you-"

"No, it won't." Growled out John, who wasn't swayed by the little speeches. "The ruby works for me. Even if it doesn't, I'm protected." This caused Morpheus and Roxas to look down to the man's wrist and saw the Amulet of Protection.

"-The ruby contains too much of my power within it. It stole more when I tried to use it."

Hearing this detail got John to form a malicious smirk. "Then perhaps if I use it to steal the rest of your powers, I will be the King of Dreams."

'With the power of my own ruby? Perhaps he could. It has absorbed too much already.' Thought Morpheus, realizing John Dee would not be compliant in relinquishing his dreamstone that easily. "I see… If you would fight me, mortal, you will not take me unprepared-"

"And not alone." Roxas announced as he interrupted the Endless.

Dream glanced over to the blonde Nobody, wanting to argue back. It was a matter of pride for him to fight back against this conflict alone. Yet it was his pride and arrogance which plopped him here in this present predicament.

At this moment, he'll need Roxas more than ever to restore the Dreaming and put order back to the Waking World.

Taking out his pouch of endless sand, the limitless substance streamed out and began to encircle both Morpheus and Roxas.

"The battle shall not be here." Said Dream of the Endless as he eyed John Dee. "If you intend to rob a Dream lord of his power, you shall do so in his realm. In dreams."

A split moment later, the sand disappeared. And with that, so too were the Nobody and Endless.

As a result, John Dee began to snarl.

"So it's like that, is it? So be it." John lifted the dreamstone and glared at its shining surface. "Now, beloved. Follow him. Take me into dreams, my darling. Do you hear me? NOW!"

With a flash of ruby light, John Dee disappeared from the Waking World…

…..

…..

…..

…..

…..

"...Where have you brought me, my faithful dreamstone?" Dee muttered aloud, finding himself in a cramped space. The stone's light illuminated the darkness and revealed what was around its owner. "Clothes? Am I… in a closet? A wardrobe?"

Bushing himself forward, he fought his way out of the tight closet and stumbled out.

With the first bit of natural light in his surroundings, John Dee found himself in a home. A luxurious one at that.

There were taxidermies of many animals that are extinct. Artifacts lining the walls and corridors, both expensive and unique. Rugs, tapestries, everything that made the residence show off its exquisite furbished taste from its owner.

All John could do was explore the space he was presently in. Having any old lights guide his way through the abandoned manor.

What he doesn't know is that this was Fawney Rig, an estate located at Wych Cross, East Sussex.

Wandering around for about a minute, he finally found someone. It was hard to tell who it was, given the surrounding, dim lights. The former doctor moved after it, hoping it was the Dream Lord or his young companion.

This proved to be wrong when he heard some laughter, coming from a woman. Yet he was curious with who this person was.

Coming to the source at the upstairs master bedroom, John Dee found an interesting sight of a naked woman dragging herself on the silk sheets. The only thing worn on her person was a peculiar piece of headwear which reminded him of a gas mask with an elongated nozzle stylized as a backbone.

Prying it off, he saw a beautiful blonde woman, who wore a saucy smile and invited him to join her on the bed. She looked so much like his late wife… who he can't recollect her name.

John Dee was going to ignore her, perhaps kill her and move on to his search. It was due to him no longer having any working bits to use for intercourse, despite how lustful and alluring the sight was.

That was until he found himself younger.

With that, he dove in and began kissing her. Seeking to relieve so many decades of pent-up stress. Hoping to stick his member inside of her, raping her and experiencing pleasures denied to him for god knows how long.

Breaking away from the kiss, in order to get an intake of air, Doctor Destiny heard the woman speak.

"Welcome home, Johnny boy."

Doctor Dee reared back when he now saw his own mother lying on the bed. For in truth, the blonde woman who he was just with was Ethel Cripp's younger self.

It could be argued he had an Oedipus complex.

Falling off the bed, John scrambled back in shock and surprise when seeing his aged mother beginning to laugh. "Don't be such a baby, Johnny. Give mommy another kiss."

John soon heard the wails of an infant in the air. Whirling around, he saw he was no longer in an exquisite master bedroom, but of a rundown hovel.

"Go to sleep, Johnny."

Focusing on the corner of the hovel, Doctor Destiny could see his own mother trying to smother his infant self whilst in the crib.

"Please, Johnny, you have to go to sleep."

Before he could get closer to stop his mother from killing his infant self-

"GAHHH!"

-he felt someone choking him from behind. It wasn't from a pair of hands, but from a rope- no, tied up clothes fashioned as a rope.

John collapsed onto the ground, fighting with all his might to free himself from being strangled.

"I never should have had you." He heard his mother say. "I should've strangled you at birth! Or saving me the trouble and had that abortion like your bastard of a father demanded!"

As this all happened, John could only wonder of one thing when his eyes landed on his wrist.

Why wasn't the amulet working!? It's supposed to protect him.

Unless…

"It's a dream!" He rationalized. Rasping for air, he spoke once more. "It's a dream."

Could dreams actually hurt him? Figuratively or literally? Mentally or physically?

He never knew the true extent of the Amulet of Protection and if it could go beyond physical harm or not.

Apparently, he was getting that tested out at this very moment.

But not for long.

For when John was starting to black out from the strangulation, the dreamstone in his possession began to glow.

Then she was gone… and so was everything else around him.

Panting and rasping for air, once he no longer felt any pressure around his neck, John saw he was now in a barren wasteland. Getting back onto his feet, he peered down at his precious "baby".

"...You did that, my ruby? Thank you." John began to seethe in anger as he looked around his present environment. "You almost had me fooled, Dream Lord. I nearly forgot this is your realm." He let out a snort. "Not impressive. But what should one expect from the Lord of Lies."

"I believe that title belongs to someone else."

Whirling around, John saw Roxas swing down his Keyblades upon him. His Amulet of Protection activated soon after, conjuring a barrier around him from taking the blow. The barrier pulsed and blasted the Keybearer away, who recovered in the air before landing on the desolate earth.

-Insert Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance: L'Eminenza Oscura II-

"Maybe, boy, but I don't care." John grasped the dreamstone ever more, having its light pulse ever stronger. "I'm gonna kill your friend and take his kingdom as my own."

Spinning his Keyblades, he soon clashed them together before sliding the blades down against each other. "You'll have to deal with me first."

Forming a demented smile, John Dee used his tainted ruby. With a flash of light, his form began to shift.

What was once a heavily gaunt individual was now something else. He was fit and healthy. He wore an attire similar to what he once wore years ago when he fought against the Justice League with a blue and purple bodysuit with a flowing hooded cape. And underneath that hood was his very own skull, picked clean of everything. And in place of his eyes were a pair of glowing embers.

Light dripped from the ruby, like blood coming from a freshly cut wound. Like so, its present owner was out for blood.

"Gladly."

Ruby arcs of energy shot forward from the dreamstone. Roxas acted by bringing his Keyblades together, guarding him against the powered assault. He was severely knocked back several feet, his boots digging into the desolate landscape as he tried to hold his ground. Before long, he lost more ground as the one attack broke his guard and was sent flying.

Recovering in the air, he began to glide and evade the newly sent out blasts seeking to take him out.

"I hold his power in my hands, boy!" Roared John, blasting more power from his ruby.

With gritted teeth, the Nobody had to evade each and every continued attack from Doctor Destiny while airborne.

Getting some space and time to retaliate, Roxas let loose a Firaga Burst. The balls of flame rapidly shooting outward from the orbiting "sun" overhead went straight towards Dee. Yet each of them were snuffed out before landing their hit. The same occurred with a Blizzaga Burst once an opportunity presented itself.

For this fight, Roxas had to fight as long as he could. Either by stalling John Dee as long as possible for Morpheus to figure something out or by beating him on his own. However, with that Amulet on him, John could be practically invincible from what the Dream Lord told him whilst the illusion was enacted earlier. For any possible attacks coming to the amulet's possessor, they'd be blocked, repelled and so on so no harm may befall the owner.

Yet there had to be limitations.

Roxas saw to that with Morpheus' earlier assault on him.

A possibility was timing. How quick one had to be when wearing it for the amulet to activate its function. Or was it done subconsciously? And if he can't strike from afar, he has to get close in hopes of making his attacks work.

Whatever the solution was, all he could do now was fight and live on as long as possible. He had to pull his own weight on this conflict now.

No longer airborne, Roxas poured his magics into his legs, making him faster. He evaded the coming energy blasts from the tainted dreamstone. If that wasn't enough, he had to leap away from many debris being thrown his way -even springing off the occasional ones- in hopes of getting closer to Dee.

Ruby energy arcs were battered away with Roxas proceeding onward. Him delivering magical attack after magical attack, which none prevailed in working, yet he had to keep on trying. His weapons and skills held them off as long as he could before being sent flying some distance away. Thus he had to repeat the same process as before again and again; hoping he'd cause Doctor Destiny to slip up and eventually fail.

After a while into the fight, Dee roared to the heavens of this realm.

"Where are you, Dream Lord!? Show yourself and fight me! You can't hide from me forever!"

As this fight continued on, a hundred million sleepers stirred uneasily in their slumber. Those who were awake and affected by the chaos in the Waking World were in a similar state.

Clutched in Dee's hand, the dream ruby began to change. It's less facid, more organic; like a lump of raw and bleeding liver. The light pulsing from it made it appear more like a heart.

With the tainted ruby, Doctor Destiny reared it back and thrust it into the sky. From the dreamstone, a massive compressed beam shot upward like a massive lightning bolt. It branched off everywhere and resembled an eldritch tree. Its power ruptured the dreamy heavens and the desolate landscape.

"Can you see me, bastard!? Can you see me using your power to rip your dreamworld apart?!" Called out Doctor Destiny as his ruby blasted everything in its wake. His cackles and laughter echoed everywhere. "Can you see me?!"

Roxas looked all around him, seeing his enemy was not attacking him all that much but instead focusing on everywhere in the Dreaming. A means of drawing out Morpheus from his hiding place by hurting his realm as he was momentarily tired from fighting the Keybearer and not his desired target.

Everything around the Dreaming that was being wrecked from the continued blasts were being drawn towards the ruby, giving Doctor Destiny more power. The flames from said blasts were eating the dream substances away. And those sleeping all over the world screamed, whimpered and moaned. Those awake and affected by the crisis were experiencing pain like no other. They thrashed and called out as if caught in the darkest of nightmares. And in dreams, John Dee spewed his hate and laughter into the winds.

The ensuing conflict was destroying the foundations of the Dreaming from all of its corners.

Eve, the Raven Woman and third wife of Adam, stares out from her cave at the erupting dreamscape with utmost worry. And she wasn't alone in more ways than one.

"Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit." Matthew the Raven caws out in panic. "We gotta get outta here."

"I don't know if we can." Said Lucien, who was ducking for cover. "The ways in and out of the Dreaming are fluctuating. If we try to leave…"

"I get the idea."

The quakes and lights sent the keepers of the Houses of Secrets and Mystery scurrying for cover. Their gargoyle companions hide with them under the best bed they have.

Abel was a stuttering mess, holding onto Goldie for comfort.

"Enough of that, brother." Growled out Cain. "And keep that gargoyle still. There's only enough room under here and something keeps moving this damn bed."

"B-Bu-But Cain," whimpered Abel, "it's not us, it's Gregory."

"Gregory is under here too."

Said gargoyle roared in acknowledgment before he was smacked slightly at the side.

"Shift over, I need the space."

In the Garden of Forking Ways walks Dream's older brother, Destiny of the Endless. The stoic, hooded figure glanced towards the book chained to his arm, the Book of Everything, whilst walking these paths for eternity.

Destiny finds himself -perhaps for the first time- hesitant to turn to the next page in his book.

"Come to me and watch me! I'll rupture your land and piss in its ruins!" Dee roared out, continuing his destruction of the Dreaming whilst battling the blonde Nobody. "Ohhhhhh~ This is so good." He chuckled aloud. "Mother… if you could only see me now."

If Ethel Dee could see him now, she would not see the face of the child who reminded her so much of Rodrick Burgess, the father of her son. Instead, she'll only see the ghastly terror that was an animated skull.

"WATCH ME, DREAM-WRECKER! Do you want to see me continue burning away your lies with your own power!?"

Roxas panted, being winded from having to fight as long as he could. He was going to rush in for another go when he saw the space nearby warp. Coming from it was Dream of the Endless, who wore his helm of office which hid his pained expression. His posture was slumped and defeated.

He was trying so hard to hold the Dreaming together from the fight. Yet he was heavily drained and exhausted from maintaining it as long as he could.

"STOP!" Called out Morpheus. "Enough! I am here, Dee! Desist!"

Seeing his presence here alarmed Roxas greatly. Doctor Destiny, however, was pleased.

"Yes, good. You're here. Hello." Said Dee, bellowing out a laugh from his animated skull.

"It's not too late to save yourself."

The skull cocked its position in mild curiosity and confusion. "Oh, you think it's me that needs saving?"

"You've been cursed with what was stolen from me."

"I consider myself blessed, actually." Raising his arm, Dee continued speaking as he marched towards Dream with the ruby glowing more in his grasp. "This lovely thing is yours, isn't it? It contains your life. Your power. Right?"

"...Right."

"And the last time you used it, it sucked out more? Yes? Yessss?"

Roxas soon spoke aloud. "You need to stop! You're hurting the dreamers. You're hurting everyone!"

Dream then struggled out saying. "You are tampering with the order of things…"

Doctor Destiny roared out and screamed like a spoiled child. "Shut up! Shutupshutupshutupshutup! I'm going to take all of it. All your life. Every bit. WATCH ME AS I MAKE THEM ALL WAKE UP FROM THEIR LIES AND FACE THE TRUTH!"

John held out his hand, extending it so the ruby would be closer to its former master. A blast struck Dream hard, causing him to tumble back and fall onto his knees. The blinding light pulsated as another blast connected and stayed there. Morpheus' anguished cry echoed through the Dreaming. Him not only receiving damage from his creation, but him already beginning to be drained significantly at the same time. This could be visually seen with a grainy black substance -like obsidian sand- coming off of Morpheus and was sucked into the tainted ruby.

"Morpheus!" Roxas cried out.

The Keybearer rushed forward, hoping to stop this. Yet his weapons met the barrier created by Dee's Amulet of Protection. He bashed the Keyblades against it more and more with utter determination.

Meanwhile, John looked back to his primary target with a sinister smile on his boney face upon seeing Dream's writhing form. "Does that hurt? Does it? I bet it hurts. I bet it hurts a lot!" He roared, commanding his ruby to continue hurting the Lord of Sleep with each passing second. "What does it feel like? To have your life sucked out of you? To have your power become mine!"

Morpheus' cries were growing louder as he grew weaker. His very essence being sucked into the ruby as he began to fade.

"TELL ME! I WANT TO KNOW!" Came Dee's demand. "I hold your life in my hands. I can kill you! I can end your life here and now!"

To emphasize this, Doctor Destiny began squeezing the dreamstone.

*KKRAKKK*

Cracks appeared along the object and the sounds which came from it were audible for Roxas to hear.

"NO! STOP!"

Roxas' pleas were ignored as Dee was continuing his present action. "This is your life and I'm crushing it with my hands!"

"NOOOOOOOO-"

*KKRAKKK-WHOOOMPH*

The moment the ruby broke, a massive, erupting shockwave went out… everywhere in the Dreaming. The light was ever blinding as if everything now appeared to be an ever-present void in the darkness.

The only ones left present when the light died down was John Dee, who stood proud and triumphant once overcoming his surprised shock, and Roxas who was slumped and defeated on invisible ground.

"I did it." Dee spoke out of utter disbelief, breathing in and out in rapid succession as if he ran a marathon. "I… I killed him. I won."

Looking at his palm, he saw his precious ruby was gone after destroying it. He felt strange, different without it.

John looked over when he soon heard faint sobs coming from his other adversary. He was smug with his victory and felt like gloating to make it ever sweeter.

"Your friend is gone, boy. Whoever he was. Whatever it was… no longer matters."

Roxas soon got up and glared at Doctor Destiny. "He still matters to me… and others."

"Like I care. He's just a fleeting memory now." He chuckled slowly. "Now I rule the dreamworld. I will hide in dreams. I'll never go back, never leave here for the real world where people hurt you, where they don't care. Where they die when you still need them." He soon adopted a posture -in his mind- of a posh, yet rightful ruler. "I will be a wise and tolerant monarch, dispensing justice fairly and only setting nightmares to rip out the minds of the evil and the wicked… Or just anybody I don't like."

"You'll be a tyrant with what you plan on doing. And I'll stop you from doing that." Roxas declared, Keyblades held tightly in his hands.

"And how will that happen, boy?" Doctor Destiny boasted, a deranged grin in place. "I'm the king of dreams now!"

"You're the king of nothing!" Yelled out Roxas, pointing his Keyblades out to the side of the void they were present in. "Look around you! You destroyed the Dreaming and everything connected to it!"

"Then I'll rebuild this dreamworld in my vision. What I desire will be everyone else's." Roxas said nothing, only staring defiantly at Dee. "I do find it funny. I always thought when I became king, I thought there would be applause." Doctor Destiny said with spoiled annoyance. "I thought somebody would say something…"

Roxas was going to say something. Perhaps a comment or yell on showing how much he hated the man before him.

Yet something… someone beat him to it.

"Thank you, John Dee."

…..

…..

…..

Surprise took hold of both Roxas and John Dee upon hearing the voice.

In mere moments, their surroundings changed.

John Dee was no longer looking like his Doctor Destiny persona, but naked and heavily malnourished; his appearance before he fled Arkham Asylum.

For Roxas, he appeared better and not exhausted from his earlier fight.

The pair soon realized they were now tiny, for they now stood on Dream's giant, outstretched palm.

Looking up at the Endless, they could see he was younger and refreshed far more than they previously knew. It wasn't just that, but his expression was mildly quizzical as he looked at them.

"Morpheus… You're alive…" He whispered in relieved disbelief.

What were once tears of sorrow streaming down Roxas' face were now of joy. His companion, someone he could eventually call his friend, was alright!

"Very observant, Roxas." Chuckled the Endless. "It has been so long. I had forgotten… I had forgotten how much of my power I had placed in that jewel. How much of it was denied to me."

"But… But I killed you." Dee said out of disbelief before adopting a posture that screamed he was utterly worried and terrified. "Wh-What are you going to do to me?"

Dream gazed at him, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"I am not sure. You have pretended to power not yours… wreaked havoc in my realm, inflicted pain upon my person and my companion. For that you should be punished." Dream leaned his gigantic head closer to the smaller figures to focus more on John Dee. "But you destroyed the ruby, my dreamstone. I doubt I would have thought of that. Destroying it, you released the power stored in it. My control of the dreamworld, it's all mine again. It feels… good."

Roxas smiled, letting out a small laugh out of relief. It may not be appropriate or apply timed, but he was mentally exhausted from the ordeal. He needed the means to vent such an issue in his own way.

After what felt like hours, Dee spoke. "A-Are you going to kill me?"

"I could. Perhaps I will…"

This got Roxas to stop his little laugh and become a tad serious. He honestly didn't know how Morpheus would carry out the judgment upon the man who caused this crisis.

Falling to his knees, John Dee began to grovel. "I'm- I'm sorry."

"I don't doubt it- not that it matters." Dream remarked, almost dismissive of Dee's now pathetic state. "You should never have used my ruby. It was not made for mortals. And it came to you through no fault of your own. The damage to your mind must have been considerable."

Something clicked within Roxas' head as he came to a realization. "Wait, you mean… after what he did, you're not gonna do anything?"

This surprised Dee when this was said, making him confused in the process.

"Of course, I'm going to do something."

Morpheus soon shrank down to normal size. With an outstretched hand, he drew a rectangle in the air behind them. Once done, it became a portal to some darkened space.

"I'm taking him home."

It didn't take long for Doctor Dee to realize what was about to happen to him. Dread filled his very being.

"Oh no, not there. Please…" John was breathing heavily.

The plea was ignored as the trio found themselves in Arkham Asylum.

"This way." Came Dream's direction and navigation.

Dee gave a response, slumped as he walked. "I know where my cell is."

When this was said, Roxas blinked in surprise. He didn't know John Dee was a prisoner before this whole mess went down. So if he was going back into his cell for his punishment… then who can deny such a sentence? A continued one at that?

Besides, it felt right in his mind. Perhaps serving the rest of his life behind bars is the best for Doctor Destiny.

Traversing through Arkham Asylum, the trio could see the place was… wrecked. Much chaos happened after what Dee caused upon the Waking World. Walls were scorched and caved in among other descriptions. Not a lot of inmates and patients were in here, perhaps due to a massive breakout. There was some evidence of their presence here with the occasional yells and screams. Of course there were a number of dead bodies lying about, both of patients, inmates and asylum personnel.

Whatever the case may be, this was yet another sample for what happened.

Before the trio realized it, someone jumped from the corner and surprised them.

Whilst Morpheus and Doctor Dee didn't give any response, Roxas sure did as he leaped back with a mild shriek.

"HA! Gotcha!"

The perpetrator for this act was Dr. Jonathan Crane in his Scarecrow attire.

Roxas was about to summon a Keyblade when Morpheus grasped his shoulder slightly, a silent message to stand down. He complied, perhaps wondering for the reason why.

The man before them didn't appear dangerous some seconds later as he became… flumbering? "Oh. Mmm. Sorry. Hang on." Said Crane, soon taking off his burlap-styled gasmask to reveal his face. "I-I-I'm afraid I can't see a thing without my contacts or spectacles."

Once putting on his glasses, the Gothamite soon saw who stood some feet away from him. "Good lord! It is you, Doctor Dee. I was worried that you might not be coming back to Arkham. And you've brought friends."

"Sorry," Morpheus soon pointed to himself and Roxas, "but we're not staying."

"Pity."

Dee merely whimpered as he was escorted back to the holding area where his cell resides.

Crane, however, followed alongside them as he wore a smirk whilst eying the returning inmate. "I told you that you'd come back. We always come back." Crane soon gave out a quote. "It is a comfort in wretchedness to have companions in woe." He saw Roxas give him a quizzical look. "That's by Marlowe from Faust. Of course, he was talking about Hell. But it applies equally to Arkham."

"Really?" Asked Roxas.

"It sure does, given place and circumstance."

Dee only walked past the Scarecrow with misery and defeat. "There's no place like home, Professor Crane."

"Exactly." Said Crane. "Be it never so humble, nor in this case, full of hateful thugs hellbent on frying your brain with their drugs and shocks."

John soon looked over at the Gothamite with curiosity. "Are you gonna try and escape, perhaps like everyone else?"

Crane craned his head to the side before shaking in response. "Me? Oh no, no, no."

Roxas voiced a question. "Why not?"

"It's crazy outside. I'm not risking my life for something I'm not prepared for."

"Then you're staying." Came the statement, not a question.

Crane nodded with reluctance. "Listen- it's so horrible here. All the screaming the last few days. Mister Dent tried to strangle himself. It's been so mad. Madder than normal. Quite terrifying. It's never quiet here, not even at night. There's always someone crying, someone calling out, someone in the next cell banging their head against the wall. Banging and banging and banging."

"That is horrible." Roxas said out of concern.

"Oh yes. While I've grown used to the noises, I can't sleep well in my cell that easily. There's a rat in there, you see. I'm afraid of rats." Crane soon went off into an odd tangent, muttering. "Fear of rats. Let me see. Commonly called musophobia, suriphobia and murophobia, steaming from the Muridae family pertaining to mice and rats…"

Roxas cocked an eyebrow at how the Scarecrow was acting and focused on where he was walking alongside Morpheus.

Before they realized it, the group were now in front of the cell belonging to John Dee.

Morpheus opened the cell door, speaking right after. "I'm sure you can share Doctor Dee's cell."

Before John could actually go back into his cell, he felt his arm tug to the side. Looking back, he saw the hooded teen pry the Amulet of Protection off of his wrist.

"You won't be needing this anymore."

Dee offered no resistance, never reacting over the present loss of his mother's amulet as Roxas pocketed the item. He was utterly defeated and didn't have the strength to take it back. All he did, however, was looking back to the Endless.

"Goodbye. I think I'm sorry about… about what I did. You know. Sorry."

Morpheus only nodded as Doctor Crane walked past him and entered the cell with his new cellmate.

"Sleep well, John Dee."

"I don't sleep."

"Perhaps you will tonight." Said Roxas with a smirk before Morpheus closed the cell door. He quickly summoned his Keyblade and locked the doorway to keep the two inmates in. "And Doctor Crane. Rest well."

"Thanks."

About to dismiss his Keyblade, Roxas looked on in surprise upon seeing it was different. Not one he was familiar with, but in fact something new.

"Wow…" Muttered the greater Nobody with curiosity and wonder in his voice.

The handle and most of the guard greatly resembled Morpheus' helmet in a stunted, warped fashion. The handle was its eldritch backbone nozzle. Jetting out and curving upwards towards the helmet's sides were a pair of raven wings for a near, closed connection. Coming from the guard top was a stream of crystalized sand which made up the weapon's blade and teeth. And coming out from the pommel was a representation of the dream ruby in its pristine, untainted glory as it functioned as the Keyblade's keychain.

Unlike Roxas, Morpheus hid his surprise with quizzical intrigue on his features.

'Fascinating,' thought the Endless; eventually seeing the Keyblade disappear from Roxas' grasp in yellow and black wisps.

Soon walking away from the cell block, Roxas and Morpheus began to converse as the Lord of Sleep began to stretch out his influence… everywhere.

"All the damage the ruby did, can you undo it?" Roxas asked out of concern.

"The ruby didn't do this. John Dee merely used it to reveal wounds that were hidden, but never healed. Manipulating them for his own pleasure and desires."

Roxas cocked an eyebrow. "Must've been one big set of wounds."

"...Tomorrow, the rebuilding will begin. In this realm and in mine."

"And I can still help."

"You don't have to. Your service in helping me with my quest has come to an end."

"I know, but I want to."

Morpheus bore a small smile, shaking his head a little. "Let me think of this. For now rest. For tonight, this world -perhaps others affected by this event- will sleep at peace."

Roxas nodded as the pair exited Arkham Asylum and entered the Dreaming.

As fast as they dawned, the crazy times were over.

People began falling asleep at their workstations, breathing slowly, deeply. Patients brought in that day, cut and smashed and broken, all asleep like angels, needing no morphine.

They breathe in, out, in, out, in an unbroken and quiet rhythm.

And for the first time in a long time, John Dee sleeps without dreaming, but without issue. His sleep is sound and restful alongside his cellmate Jonathan Crane.

Silence washes over like a river not just at Arkham, but all over the world. No sounds of screaming, no sobbing, no noises of pain or madness. Just peace.

The only noise is the gentle, even cadence of people asleep. In, out, in out.

Listen… You can hear it.

Well… if you weren't asleep.

-End Chapter-

Endless Dreams Keyblade: received after completing the quest alongside Morpheus to retrieve his tools of office whilst saving both the Dreaming and Waking World.

Other skills and abilities are kept under wraps for now...

AN:

Boy it's been quite a long while since I updated this story, let alone anything at all since February 2022.

A lot has happened since then for me.

For starters, work was getting a bit more hectic and busy. I know it's not much of a good excuse, but for a number of reasons it was starting to weigh on my mental health. It made me not motivated all that well for writing my own stuff when I get home after a long day with me heavily drained. And for when I was getting to writing, I kept hitting the occasional writer's block and it was a total pain.

Hoping for some means of breaking my writing stump, I've been reading a lot of books I've neglected in my book collection. Not to mention I've also played a bunch of video games, both old and new. With a new one was Elden Ring as I've put in roughly 160 hours on just the first playthrough before going into NG+. As for "old" it was the Mass Effect Legendary Edition and Kingdom Hearts III as some examples.

The Sandman Netflix adaptation, I thought was good. It was great on how it was done with transitioning from the comic to being filmed. I did have some gripes on a few minor concerns, given they had to take out a lot of DC comic elements for legality reasons. And it shows a number of times. But overall, it was done well and I'm glad Neil Gaiman's passion project came to fruition. Fingers crossed for season 2.

House of the Dragon, it's coming so close and I'm giddy to see its premiere. Unlike the mess we got with the initial Game of Thrones show in the later seasons, this prequel show will be better. For many fans of the franchise, we actually know the major layout of the events as it was depicted in the Fire and Blood book, the World of Ice and Fire and many official lore videos. Hopefully the adaptations will be translated well to give it the proper respect it deserves.

Anyways, be sure to review this story guys! Would like the criticisms. Please and thank you!

R&R