HALLUCINATE | THE SANDMAN

TWENTY ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
-[ What It Means To Dream ]-
"Your precious King of Dreams lacks empathy"

FLOATING THROUGH THE DREAMS OF HER FRIENDS, ROSE SLOWLY BEGAN TO LEARN MORE AND MORE ABOUT HER POWERS. She was beginning to move more efficiently through the Dreaming, transferring herself along with Morpheus and Azrail through the array of dreams being naturally drawn to her.

             Even the Grim Reaper was coming to understand dreams a little more. For a being who had never seen the purpose of sleep or the dreams that would plague your mind when you fell asleep, she never gave it a second thought. But, seeing them unfold, she grew to watch from a new perspective. One that was seeing dreams as a necessity to the human mind, a way for them to relax and feel at peace in a world of their own creation.

               Morpheus pulled her through the newest gateway, finding themselves to be stood on a quiet street, the air still and abandoned of life. Azrail spared a glance to Morpheus, who was more concerned with Rose. The grasp upon her hand didn't ease. A small home stood silently in front of them, roof drained of colour and brick walls greying with age.

"You know this place?" Morpheus observed.

Rose turned the missing poster to Morpheus and Azrail, showing a large grin. "That was our house growing up. Look." She rattled the piece of paper, gesturing to the large photograph and the house positioned behind the young Jed and Rose Walker.

"Hm, impressive," Azrail remarked, finally feeling Morpheus lift his grip upon her cold hand. She missed warmth that seemed to radiate out of his palm.

The Dream King nodded with affirmation. "You've done it. You've found your brother's dream." But despite the pride, his expression turned grim and the scenery became suddenly very tense with the very air around then tightening. "Now, we find Gault."

                    "Okay," Azrail nodded along sarcastically. "And, do tell, how do we do that?"

                    A gust of ash and sand slipped into the tense air. The sand contorted around the three and formed a sudden vortex ahead of them. Morpheus extended an arm in front of Azrail protectively despite the Grim Reaper's purpose of being there being to defend the Dream King.

Azrail didn't necessarily hate the protective hold, but when the sand clear and the dust settled, confused was an understatement. Taken aback, she lowered her scythe and tilted her head.

"Halt, King of Nightmares, or I'll send you all to Dreamland," Jed threatened cautiously to the three. Wearing a very comic book-like costume, a large sand timer hung from his neck and a cheap red mask was secured over his eyes. The outfit wasn't very pleasing either, reminding Azrail of some of the lesser known heroes she had seen Maeve interact with whilst she spent time with her sister on Earth.