In the Web

Kato landed back in Kandy. He knew that the Shadowscales could probably find him if given enough time. He wasn't going to give them a reason to though. He didn't mind delivering the Hist. The tree needed a tribe. The Shadowscales were a fitting tribe. He headed back to the Inn and walked over to the shower.

Draco looked up only to see his Master disappear into the bathroom. He closed his book and put it aside. He hoped they could leave soon. He wanted a proper potions lab. He'd already figured out what he could about the scales for now. He put books away while waiting for Kato to make it back out of the bathroom.

The door opened and Draco asked, "So how did it go?"

"Could have been worse, could have gone better. We'll have to return next year or I'll have a tribe of assassins after me 'till the day I die," Kato said. "The Raj-deelith of the tribe I approached had an idea about our case. We need to look into Deva." He sat down and smiled as Kaanaaz and Qozul curled up together.

"At least you have a new approach," Draco said.

"Always something, right," Kato said. He was tired. He probably needed a day to rest before trying to muddle in the dreamer case again. He didn't want to be dragged in because he hadn't slept enough.

11th of August, 1998.

The Hospital was quiet early in the morning. The sun had barely risen as Kato made his way over to house five. He knew more than he had done last time. Now all he could do was hope that his knowledge would help. He knew asking the Naga had been a long shot. If he was lucky it would pan out.

Nimali wasn't there yet. He knew speaking to her could be crucial, but he also couldn't wait. He made sure he had Draco with him before entering Tharindu's room. Everything was quiet. Kato drew out a pentagram on the floor and used dragon runes to power it. Zii Aus Hahnu Staadnau Kren. He reached into the web of dreams and activated the pentagram.

Suddenly he was standing in a world twisted and strange. The very ground moved in ways not possible. 'Draco?'

'I'm here.'

At least Kato still had Draco with him. That meant he had a way out when he needed it. He started walking down a twisted brick road. The putrid stones were dripping slowly. Soft grass grew pink along the roadside. He was walking upside down when he saw a big temple in the distance.

'I hate this place,' Draco said. 'Just the colours are making me sick.'

Kato chuckled but he didn't say anything. He couldn't tell how long he had been in there. He could feel the strain. If he didn't find the Deva soon he might be in trouble. While the temple looked inviting he got the feeling that wasn't where he wanted to go. He walked off the road. The grass clung to his boots, pulling at him with every step. He pushed through a tangled mess of bushes and thorns to reach a small pond looked over by a crying willow. Next to the tree lay a small civet. Its long tail lay curled around a rock. Big yellow eyes looked up at Kato.

"Another lost soul… what will you with me?"

"Are you trapped here?" Kato asked.

"Trapped or trapper. Caged or the cager. Who knows which one I am."

"Did you bring the lost souls here? Are you forcing them to stay?"

"No need for souls. Lost or not."

"Could you help me free them?"

"Do they want to be freed? Are they not happy here? No one is ever sad. Not in these lands. You can have everything. You can have nothing. Who knows what could happen."

"Do I need to ask them?" Kato asked.

"Maybe. Maybe not."

Kato rolled his eyes. "I guess I'll be back then," he said. "Goodbye." He grabbed onto his connection with Draco and pulled back out of the strange dream. He was breathing slowly as he opened his eyes.

The pentagram glowed as he stood up. He would have to find each soul individually, but he needed to rest first.

Nimali was looking through some files as he walked out to the entrance room. She looked up at him. "Good you're still with us," she said. "Did you find anything out?"

"There is some kind of spirit stuck in the web. They are not very helpful. It looks like I might be able to get people out, but it will be a bit complicated," Kato said.

"Will the spirit be a problem?" Nimali asked.

"I do not think so. They don't seem overly concerned with anything," Kato said.

Nimali shook her head. It wasn't possession. They would have noticed that. The spirit had to be trapped or they would have noticed. It certainly irritated her that it could be something so simple. The process of extraction didn't seem simple this time around though. She certainly didn't mind that someone else was dealing with it. "Will you try to get someone out tomorrow?" she asked.

"I will," Kato said.

12th of August, 1998.

The sky was bright orange. The sun was hot but not uncomfortably so. A wide beach stretched out before Kato as he stood in the pink grass. He started heading down towards a group of people. No one seemed to care about clothes, not that he could blame them. A woman sat in the centre of the group. She looked quite comfortable. "Good afternoon Doctor," he said calmly. "Having a good time, are we?"

She looked up at him and lowered her sunglasses. "Well, who do we have here?" she asked. She smiled at him. "How about you come here and join me? We can have some fun together."

"This is an interesting idea of fun, Doctor," Kato said. "Doesn't it get boring though? Usually, you save lives and live on the edge. Now all you do is get entertained. Sure these people are beautiful and I'm sure it is all very nice, but where is the challenge? You can stay here of course, or you could come back with me and continue saving lives."

"Why would I leave? I have everything I could ever want right here," the Doctor said.

"Do you truly?" Kato asked. He held his hand out and a shape shimmered into existence next to him. It was a small girl. "Someone misses her mother. I guess I'll have to tell her that mommy is too happy on a beach with her friends to come back home." The girl disappeared and Kato turned around. He started walking away. He wasn't going to stick around for now. He could bring more ammunition if he had to, but he was pretty certain that she would change her mind. From what he had been told her daughter meant a great deal to her.

"Wait!"

Kato stopped walking and looked back. The people surrounding the Doctor were staring at them. Their heads tilted in unison and their eyes blackened. "You might want to hurry," Kato said. He held his hand out. "Someone doesn't want us to leave."

The Doctor started running yet the beach between them seemed to stretch out before her. Hands grabbed at her and tangled in her hair. She screamed and pulled loose. Why wasn't this man helping her? She looked over at Kato. He seemed to change too. At first, he looked like a blackened beast then the beast grew wings and fire spread out around him. She closed her eyes and tried to run towards him. She didn't care if he was a monster. So far he had been the most real thing she had met in a long time. He wasn't just part of her echo chamber. She heard a child screaming, but she did her best to block it out. She finally collided with a firm chest. She grabbed onto the soft cloth that draped him. "Take me out of here!" she begged.

"Open your eyes," Kato said calmly.

The Doctor opened her eyes slowly and looked up. She was sitting in the Hospital. She took a deep breath. What had been going on? She didn't know quite how to feel. She had been happy, but it hadn't been real. He helped her up on her feet and she looked around. She could see the beds filled with people. They were all like she had been, lost in their own dreams, held there by some unknown force. She looked away. How could she have forgotten her little girl? She had to be so sad. "Can I go home?" she asked.

"As soon as Healer Nimali has looked you over," Kato said. He had already made sure there was no dream residue left.

"Can we leave the room?" the Doctor asked.

"Absolutely," Kato said before walking over to the door with a steadying arm around her. He walked them out to the small entrance and pinged the wards to let Nimali know she was needed.

A few minutes passed by before Nimali walked out of a heavily warded door. She smiled as she saw her colleague and started speaking quickly. Kato moved away to give them some space. He certainly didn't need to be privy to their whole conversation.

'At least that is one,' Draco said. 'Now we just need to pull the others out.'

'True that,' Kato responded. 'I need more information about them. If I don't know what can pull them out then I have no way of actually doing it. The dream is quite powerful.' He couldn't help anyone else that day, but at least they had gotten somewhere. He said goodbye to Nimali before heading out. Now they needed to go for some information gathering.

15th of August, 1998.

Draco leaned back before connecting to Kato. He was getting quite good at running passenger. He had figured out how to be magically aware of Kato's surroundings. He still wanted to leave so he could work with his potions, but at least they were making a difference now. He saw the twisted world through Kato's eyes. They reached another dreamer.

"Well, if that… hmmm… then this could… and if those values add up then… maybe if I…"

"Excuse me, Professor," Kato said.

The man looked up and seemed to study Kato for a moment. "Not the same… could be worse… could be good."

'Has he gone insane?' Draco asked.

'According to his file he has always been like this,' Kato said.

"Not alone either… interesting." The Professor walked up to Kato and took a closer look. "That's it of course. An anchor… we should have thought of that." He walked around Kato. "Well," he said a little louder. "Time to head back. Come on now. Chop, chop "

Kato almost started laughing. No one else had been this easy to pull out. He placed a hand on the Professor's shoulder and dragged them out of the dream.

The scattered-minded man looked around before looking down at the floor. "A pentagram matrix… quite powerful too… though the runes are strange. Well, I can see where we messed up. Not enough precautions," he mumbled to himself. He looked at the people still sleeping. It was quite interesting this whole ordeal. "Do you know the source?" he asked Kato.

"The current theory is that patient zero tried to forcefully take on the power of a deva," Kato said.

The Professor considered the information for a moment. It was a foolish notion for certain. No one in their right mind would upset the spirits like that. Of course that demanded that the patient was in his right mind which was debatable. He wished he could go in again, but he needed an anchor first and that wasn't easy to get a hold of. "I see," he said finally. "Well, I guess I should go speak to Nimali. She did well to bring someone else in. It would have been disastrous if she had gotten pulled into the dream." He disappeared out the door before Kato could respond.

'Strange man,' Draco commented.

'According to his file, he is the best in his field. Though they did mention that he could be reckless at times,' Kato said. 'I guess that might be why he got trapped.'

'Because you are never reckless,' Draco said.

'Your sarcasm is noted,' Kato responded. He looked around. They were down to only four people in the room. It would be great if they could pull another out now. He figured they could since he felt just fine. 'Ready to go again?' he asked Draco.

'Ready whenever you are.'

Kato redrew the pentagram and charged the runes before diving back into the web. He rolled his shoulders and sighed before he started following the thread he had focused on. For the first time, grand houses and people who didn't revolve around the dreamer appeared. They seemed to simply be living their lives and minding their own business.

Kato walked up the street past houses on his left and right. Big apple trees were filled with flowers. The fences and hedges looked perfectly cared for. It was almost too perfect.

'The colours aren't messed up here,' Draco pointed out.

'Whoever is trapped here has a certain amount of control over this place,' Kato noted.

'Will that be a problem?' Draco asked.

'Could be,' Kato said. 'I can't both deal with that and talk to this person.'

'Can I help?' Draco asked.

It was silent for a moment as Kato considered the suggestion. It certainly was possible as long as he kept some semblance of control. He pulled back slowly and grabbed onto Draco's consciousness so he could push him forward. Their body changed slowly to become some kind of mix between the two.

Draco looked around. It certainly felt strange to be the one in control. He could feel Kato's magic working within them. This was as close as they had ever been before, and it was a little awkward. Slowly, he started walking towards what felt like the centre of the current dream. It was a house even grander than those around it. Draco pulled himself up and had barely thought of a mirror before one appeared. The joint features of him and Kato didn't look too bad. He did some quick changes and the ringlet of a crown appeared on their brow. 'Dragon Prince. You are not lying,' Kato pointed out.

Draco drew a deep breath, the mirror disappeared and they headed up towards the house. If Draco remembered correctly this man was no Healer. He had been trapped by accident as he was getting treatment himself. Draco pushed the doorbell and waited. A staff, much like his father's, appeared in his hand. When the door opened he walked inside. "Let your Master know that the Dragon Prince of Skyrim wishes to speak with him. It is most urgent," he said. He didn't stop walking until he found a good place to stand. He was looking out a window not really interested in what he had to see. 'How is it going?' he asked Kato.

'Forward,' Kato said. 'His grip on this place is good, but not good enough.'

'Can you stop him from making changes?' Draco asked. He heard someone walking up behind him and he turned around slowly to face the man that ruled this dream. He looked nothing like his real self. "Ah, finally," Draco said. "I have been looking for someone worth talking to for quite some time."

"And you are?" the Lord said with disdain.

"Didn't your servants introduce me?" Draco asked. "I am Draconis the Dragon Prince of Skyrim."

"A Prince would never travel without an entourage and armed guards," the Lord said.

"They were slow," Draco responded. He felt a nudge and stepped to the side showing a grand-looking dragon outside the window. "I flew ahead," he said. "Isn't she beautiful?"

The Lord watched the dragon raise its head and puff out a wave of smoke. He had thought too small. He needed to be more than this Prince.

The Emperor sounded good, did it not? He could be an Emperor. The Emperor. He stretched taller and gave Draconis a superior smile. "You may be a Prince," he said. "But I am Emperor of the Seven Stars." He reached out with his arms dramatically.

Nothing happened.

Draco raised a perfect blonde eyebrow. He didn't say anything. He certainly wasn't impressed.

The Lord looked like he was struggling before he focused on Draco. "You are doing this," he said. "How? What sorcery is this?"

Draco shook his head slowly in a disappointed motion. "Did you really think you could simply become a ruler by some wish?" he said. "You will never amount to anything this way." He shifted his grip on his staff. 'I hope you are ready to break the illusion,' he told Kato. He raised the staff up before slamming the butt of it down on the floor.

Cracks spread quickly. Darkness reached up for them, and the Lord stumbled back. His eyes were wide with fear. The ceiling groaned before it gave in.

Instead of ending up back in the dream, however, they now stood in darkness. Only Draco and the Lord. Nothing else.

"This is all your dreaming will ever amount to unless you take action and do something," Draco said. "I could show you the way, but… only if you are willing to listen." He turned around slowly and started walking. 'Get us out,' he told Kato the moment he knew that the Lord was following.

Draco pulled back to his own body and Kato quickly stepped away from the Lord. Their minds moved apart. They wouldn't be helping anyone else that day.

"You are not Draconis," the Lord said as he looked at Kato.

"I am not," Kato said calmly before leading the man out of the room so he could get some proper care before going home. He doubted Draco would ever speak to this man. The deception had been necessary. He certainly didn't mind it.

19th of August, 1998.

The Professor or Gishan Hewage stood waiting somewhat impatiently by the Dreamer's door. It was time for the last push. The final confrontation and he wasn't missing it. Healer Nimali was moving through the other rooms making sure everything was in order before she too walked up to the door.

Kato arrived with several jars of different potions. Draco had been working hard the past few days to prepare them as much as they could. They walked into the room and Kato placed the jars down. He drew the pentagram on the floor and sat down. Draco's presence lingered on the edge of his consciousness like a warm blanket. He added his runes before settling down. The jars stood within his reach. He opened two of them. The room slowly filled with a soft floral scent.

"Open the next two exactly twelve minutes from now and the last one nine minutes after that," he instructed Nimali.

In the first jars was a calming potion remade into vapour. It wasn't so strong that it would affect the wake ones badly, but it would make things easier for Kato.

With a familiar reach into the much smaller web, Kato suddenly found himself back by the pond. No one was there… or at least that was the way it seemed at first. The feline was gone. He reached out and tore the dream down. The pink grass went up in smoke. The sky darkened to black. He stood in nothingness.

"Unafraid of nothingness, human?" a soft voice asked.

"There is something here still," Kato said. "There will never be nothing. I may not be me one day, but what I was will be part of something else."

"Many would call that nothing."

"That's true," Kato agreed.

"Will you walk forward and become nothing or go back and continue?"

"I will walk forward," Kato said. "It is not my time to join the great wheel yet." He started heading towards a slowly growing light in the distance.

It was a cage.

Kato walked around the cage slowly. Did he break it or leave it be?

"Leave!"

Kato stopped and closed his eyes.

'Be careful,' Draco said.

In a fluid motion, Kato stepped to the side and cast a shield between himself and what looked like a monster out of someone's nightmare. Long branch-like horns were covered in what looked like tangled moss. Burning orange eyes locked on to Kato and a deep guttural growl passed the slit that seemed to be the mouth. Kato didn't care what the being looked like. He was more focused on making sure that the long clawed fingers didn't tear into him. He didn't speak. Whatever this was, it could not be reasoned with. He didn't just want to throw magic around though. He couldn't guarantee that it wouldn't manifest from his body. He ducked and tried to get a feel for the magic. Was this an illusion? Could he dismantle it without hurting anyone? He threw up another shield before using wand magic rather than magicka. If he could restrain the being maybe he could figure things out.

"What do you think he is doing?" Nimali asked as she watched Kato draw his wand. He was still sitting in the pentagram, but his body would move every once in a while.

"Probably fighting," Professor Hewage said. "Whatever is causing the dream must want to fight for it." He knelt down and grabbed the lid of one of the pots. "I'd say we better open these when we are supposed to," he said. "I'll assume that Healer Peverell and his apprentice know what they are doing."

They removed the lids from the pots. A thick blue vapour billowed out over the floor.

Kato suddenly jerked back and hit the floor. The vapour flowed in over him. In the darkened blackness where the web had once been, he dodged long claws. He could feel the rush of the potion as it filled his lungs. He pushed back against the beast and activated the runes he had laid. A bright cage encased the beast holding it still.

Kato didn't waste any time, he went straight to looking at what had brought the monster about. Why was it there? As he worked he placed more runes. He was hoping that if nothing else he could cleanse it out.

'Watch out!'

Kato felt the impact. He took a deep breath. Along the edges of his vision, he could see the fraying dome of a shield. 'Thank you,' he told Draco.

'No problem,' Draco responded. He sounded strained. They only had a few minutes left now. They had known they would have to limit their time when they planned everything. They were using too much magic to stay for long.

Kato ignored the new threat as he activated the cleansing runes. A soft star-like mist formed above the beast slowly. It looked down on Kato for but a moment before disappearing. The Deva was free. At least that was a good thing.

The monsters however only seemed to grow stronger.

"They're not real," Kato said suddenly. He took a step back and looked at both of the large beasts. They were just a figment of imagination. They couldn't harm him. They were hatred and fear. They were insecurities manifested as real. They weren't real though. He wasn't sure he could reach the Dreamer and convince him of that though. Maybe with time, it could be done.

The last pot was opened and the smoke pulled Kato back to reality. He blinked a few times before sitting up.

"Well, how did it go?" Professor Hewage asked.

"The Deva is free," Kato said. "With some luck, he doesn't have any power to reach out anymore, but I don't know if he can ever be helped. He is stuck in fear."

"Can you tell for certain if he has lost the ability to reach out?" Healer Nimali asked.

"I can, but not today," Kato said. "Right now it is hard to stay standing."

Nimali nodded. "In a few days then," she said.

"In a few days."

22nd of August, 1998.

Draco was smiling as he packed his things. He was glad to be going back to Ennerdale. Winky would cook and there was a lab he could work in. The Dreamer case had been interesting, but he really wanted to continue his training and find new ways of using potions. Kato had promised him a full view of memories he had with Rashall and Rhavaniel when they brewed. He was looking forward to it.

Kato's bags stood ready. He had headed over to Rohala Ajantha to check on Tharindu. No matter what his conclusion was, he had promised to bring Draco back.

Angry voices sounded from the other side of the door. Draco drew his wand. He didn't know who was standing on the other side of the door. It might have nothing to do with him. He wasn't about to take the risk.

Suddenly the door flew open and Kato backed inside. Dusty popped in and gathered their bags. He wasn't sure why this man was yelling at his Master, but he certainly didn't appreciate it no matter his own feelings about Harry. What he knew for certain was that they were leaving.

"Sir, my apprentice certainly hasn't acted in any way inappropriate. He enjoyed some time with ladies his own age at their request. He took every precaution. If one of these ladies is pregnant now it can't possibly be his child," Kato said quite sternly.

Draco's eyes widened as the man who was confronting Kato spoke. He was quite glad that his Master was stepping in.

"He befouled my daughter with his ilk!" the man roared finally.

"Prove it," Kato said coldly. "How far along is she?"

The man froze. He looked purple in the face with rage. Draco was worried he would try to physically attack Kato. He knew that wouldn't end well for this guy, but that wouldn't help them.

"Take your daughter to a Healer and find out how far along she is. We have been here less than a month. If she is more than a month along then my apprentice can't possibly be the father," Kato said sternly. He could see the local Aurors standing behind the man. They looked like they didn't quite know what to do.

Kato grabbed the father's hand as he reached for his clothes. The Aurors moved in and pushed them apart. "What is going on here?'' one of them asked.

"This son of a bitch dared to touch my daughter and leave her with his ilk," the angry father growled. "He should be neutered like the dog he is."

The Aurors turned to Draco. "Well, young man speak up," one of them said.

"Anything you have to say to my apprentice will go through me," Kato said. "I will repeat myself. I wish for proof that this pregnancy could even have involved him. Our arrival in Sri Lanka was logged with the goblins. Have the girl examined by a healer and compare the time. I can stay until we are done, but my apprentice is heading home."

The Aurors looked at each other. They couldn't stop a Master from protecting his apprentice. "You will take full responsibility?" one of them asked.

"I will," Kato said.

Draco watched the Aurors lead the angry father out. He was glad Kato was dealing with it. He hoped his Master wouldn't end up in too much trouble as he was sent home. At least he wasn't in Kandy anymore. Now he just needed to get their things back to Ennerdale.