• Night 2: Deeper into the Rabbit hole

    That night Morpheus sat in his bed and eyed the pills. He grabbed the dream guard and laid in his bed.
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    "Here goes..." He swallowed the pill and sleep took hold.
    Morpheus opened his eyes. He was standing on peak of a mountain. The sky was dark and an old dead tree leaned over the peaks edge. "Nice view." Came a voice. Morpheus looked around and saw nobody. "Down here." Morpheus looked to his feet and saw the dream guard looking up at him.
    "Wow..." Morpheus looked at the little guy. "That's new."
    "I'm your personal dream guard." The little guy said. "And you are a moron!" He pounced and bit Morpheus on the hand.
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    Morpheus screamed in pain. He felt the razor sharp teeth of the doll sink deeper into his hand. "Wake up!" Morpheus yelled to himself. He began to shake his hand violently but the doll refused to let go. It was agonizing. He couldn't believe he wasn't waking up. "Why won't I wake up?" Blood began to pour from the mouth of the doll.
    "Because you can't." A whisper on the wind said. "Lock-Jaw! Enough!" The doll released Morpheus' hand. It landed and ran to the tree on the ledge where it bowed. Standing gently on the tree was a figure Morpheus knew too well. Morpheus grabbed his bleeding hand and looked up at the figure with pain in his eyes. "Hello Morpheus. I am-"
    "I know damn well who you are!" Morpheus cut him off angrily. "I've known since I finally had the guts to tell my mom about you! She told me everything! Now let me go!"
    "I'm not keeping you here." The figure replied. "You took the pill. You screwed up everything!"
    "What are you talking about?"
    "The power!" The figure vanished and reappeared in front of Morpheus. "The power of Nightmares! After years of keeping my blood safe, you foul it all up with a simple blue pill." The figure began to pace around Morpheus. "But I must thank your doctor for this opportunity. I can now speak with you uninterrupted by you waking up. We need to have a talk Morpheus. I have a lot to explain and little time to do."
    "But-"
    "SO SIT DOWN AND HOLD YOUR TONGUE!!!!!" The figure pointed to Morpheus and Morpheus was thrown to the ground by invisible hands. Morpheus tried to object but found he was unable to open his mouth. Lock-Jaw giggled to himself at the sight. "You may think you know everything but I will tell you everything whether like it or not. Centuries ago there was a great war amongst the Greek gods. My sons and I fought on the side of Zeus. We were amongst the last survivors after the Graceful Ones had taken Olympus. My fellow gods and I had decided to leave objects of vast power on earth so that one day mortals such as yourself could overthrow the Graceful Ones. So I sent my sons out to find the best place to hide my gift to man. Morpheus, your ancestor, was the first to return. He was beaten and bruised. His brothers had betrayed him and vicariously me. By the time my other sons had returned I had already hidden the gift. They were too late. In their anger they killed me and stripped their brother of his godly powers. You see Morpheus, I am not Hypnos. I am not the father of he who you were named for. I am a memory. A fading glimpse of what once was. The gift hypnos hid was the gift of The Nightmare. The first nightmare. A power so great it can end life, yet so small..." the figure smirked. "It could be hidden in the blood of a God. That's where you come in. With every new generation this memory has been passed on. Hoping that one day one of Hypnos' great descendants would take up his mantle. And this time you have no choice." Morpheus tried to scream, tried to object, tried to fight the invisible force holding him down. "Over the centuries my two disloyal sons have spread their blood into the mortal world. Like you they were named for their ancestor, but unlike you they have been helping the Graceful ones. You see Morpheus, Gods cannot interact directly with mortals. They can, however, visit their dreams. Until now there was nothing to worry about. But this pill, the one you took. It's not like your average sleeping pill. It turns dreams into reality. What happens in the nightmares will happen in the waking world. Soon the Graceful Ones will know of this. The pill will be spread and they will conquer the mortal world. You must accept the gift. Only then will you be given it's power. You will unlock the true potential of your own nightmares and those you choose." With a flick of the figures wrist Morpheus became free. He stood and thought about all he had heard.
    "And if I don't accept?" He asked.
    "Then all you hold dear will die." Morpheus thought hard. He wanted to fight this.
    "This isn't possible. This is a Nightmare! I want to wake up! NOW!" Morpheus demanded.
    "You will see proof this is no dream. Just look at your hands when your eyes open. You will believe then."
    Morpheus smiled triumphantly. "He only bit one of my hands!" Lock-Jaw jumped and clamped his teeth down hard on the unwounded hand.
    Morpheus awoke with a start. As he wiped sweat off his brow blood tricked down his face. In total shock Morpheus looked at his hands. They had been torn open by what looked to be teeth marks. He collapsed in his bed. Thoughts swirling around his head. "********."
    "You said it." A familiar voice agreed. Morpheus looked around. No one was there. No one except the doll Valda had made him. Morpheus looked at it curiously.
    "Did you just say something." Morpheus asked it.
    "Well I'm not telepathic!" The doll replied sarcastically.
    "Am I still sleeping?" Morpheus got out of the bed and pulled a first aid kit out of the closet.
    "No." The doll stood on the bed. "I'm your link to the dream world. Thanks to that little blue pill." Morpheus took out some bandages and began wrapping his hand.
    "So... You know what the deal is with these?" He pointed to the bottle of pills. "And why? If the gods are in on this, did my doctor give them to me?"
    "Well." The doll walked around, testing the stability of the mattress as he spoke. "As you now know, without a doubt, the pills have the ability to have your dreams affect your physical body. Everyone sleeps, so everyone dreams. Gods have found a loop-hole in the "No direct contact with mortals" rule of being a god. They can enter the dreams of mortals and put persuasive thoughts in their heads. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. But if the gods could physically interact on a dream plane the possibilities of Mortal Conquest are endless." He began to jump on the bed. "To answer your question about your shrink."
    "Psychiatrist."
    "Tomato-Tomaato. He's a Satyr."
    "You're joking."
    "Nope. One of the last sons of Dionysus. He has been helping to develop that pill for centuries. All he needed was a test subject." The doll did a back-flip. "Someone who wouldn't survive their dream." He stopped jumping. "Lucky you."
    "Well what happens now?" Morpheus sat back on the bed. "And if I'm not sleeping, how are you still alive?"
    "I told you. I'm your dream link. The thing that keeps me kicking is your power over the Nightmare. When you unlock it, you will be granted the powers of Hypnos. The abilities to enter the dreams of others and effect the outcome. At that time I will be a lifeless doll again. Until then." The doll sat by Morpheus. "I'm the plucky side-kick."
    "That's just perfect. And what do I call you?"
    "Lock-Jaw!"
    "I think I'll call you L0cke." Morpheus said.

    The two sat in the bed and talked until the sun came up. Morpheus had learned that he had distant cousins. Descendants of his namesake's brothers. The two had been helping the graceful ones create the sleeping magic of the pill. Remy was just the supplier and tester. They had been testing the drug for years with no good outcome. Until now. As soon as the Remy saw the bandages on Morpheus' hands, he would know that the pill finally worked. The worst part was, that's all it took. One pill and, if you woke up, every time you fell asleep after, the pill's effects would kick in again. Morpheus only knew of one thing that kept him from sleeping. The pills he used to take. The red pills. He decided to go to the clinic and get some. Maybe even find out more about what was really going on while he was there.
    The whole day, the two planned their night. How they were going to get in, what equipment they needed, where they needed to go, how they would get passed security, etc. Finally night came.