Atia woke up with a quiet groan. The first thing she noticed, was that she was lying on a cold, hard floor. Beside her, Morpheus was still out cold. Matthew, on the other hand, was constantly talking, pleading for them to wake up.

"Lady Atia!" exclaimed as he noticed she was awake. "Finally!"

"What happened?" she asked, her hand going up to her head.

It was pounding and she couldn't focus. The last thing she could remember was them finding the Ruby. Then, nothing.

"I don't know," the raven admitted. "Dream said something about the Ruby being altered, before it knocked you both out."

"Wha-" her eyes widened, as she remembered.

As she touched it first, she felt something was off, but she brushed it off as the feeling of its power after so long.

"What happened after we got knocked out? Where's the Ruby now?"

"I don't know. Some guy came in here, looked around. To me, it seemed like this place is his. Like he owns all of this," Matthew shook his head. "Anyways, when he saw the Ruby, he quickly grabbed it and ran off."

Atia sighed and turned towards her husband. Gently she raised his head and put it on her lap.

"Come on, love," she urged him, running a hand through his hair. "You have to wake up."

The Endless didn't react. He stayed still, his breathing steady, yet an unsettling stillness clung to him.

"Come on, we don't have time for this. Someone took the Ruby again and we have to find it," she whispered, her fingers gently brushing through his hair.

Still, Dream remained undisturbed, lost in the depths of unconsciousness. Atia's gaze lingered on his face, studying the familiar contours. Despite the worry etched on her features, a calm determination emanated from her.

She turned towards Matthew.

"I'll stay with him. Can you go on, and search around, see if you can find that man?" she asked.

"Yes, My Lady."

"Please, Atia's just fine," she waved him off.

The raven looked at her for a moment, before nodding and quickly moving towards the exit. Then, he took off. Atia turned back towards Morpheus.

"Come on, love, any time, now," Laura murmured.

She took his hand in hers, the connection grounding her as she patiently waited for any sign of his return to consciousness.

The minutes passed by, but there was still no sign of Dream waking up. Atia's composure never wavered; she remained by his side, murmuring encouragements in his ear every once in a while.

Matthew came back after a few hours. He spotted something disturbing happening in the nearby dinner and after taking a closer look, he saw the same man he saw earlier in there. And he had the Ruby.

Finally, a subtle shift in Morpheus' expression signalled the return of awareness. His eyelids fluttered, and a gradual awareness dawned in his eyes. Atia's face brightened with relief as she offered him a reassuring smile.

"Well, well, look whose back," she whispered, her thumb gently stroking his cheek.

Dream blinked, his gaze slowly focusing on his wife. Confusion clouded his eyes briefly before recognition dawned. He slowly sat up, Atia steading him as he wavered.

"What happened?" he mumbled, still groggy.

"We found the Ruby," Atia said.

"And then, we lost it again," Matthew cut in.

"Yes, but you found it again," she rolled her eyes, before looking back to her husband. "But you won't like it."

*****

Atia gasped, as she looked at the sight before them.

The small dinner was covered in bloody puddles, bodies and destruction. People, who had big dreams and just waited for the right opportunity laid around, their bodies massacred.

Yet, John Dee, son of Ethel Cripps, sat calmly on the stool by the bar, eating ice cream straight from the container.

He smiled slightly as he saw them and stood up.

"Hello," he greeted softly and sighed. "I'm John. I'm glad you're here. The power has gone out. So there's no TV, and no one left to talk to."

The Queen of the Dreaming wanted to be sick. He caused this whole massacre, for these people to kill themselves and yet, there he stood, acting innocent and calm as if nothing was wrong.

"What is it you think you're doing?" Morpheus said.

"Saving the world from its lies," the man said, as if it was obvious.

"How? By killing everyone in it?" Atia scoffed. "That's not what the Ruby was made for. It wasn't supposed to ever be used by mortals. "

A look of realisation crossed John's features, as he let out a quiet gasp. He looked between the two of them.

"Oh, you're the Sandman," then, he glanced towards Atia. "And you're his wife. My mother was right. She said you'd be coming for it."

"You must return it to me so that I can repair the damage you have done," Dream demanded.

"I'm not giving it to you, it's mine."

Atia sighed. John's mind was far too twisted for the man to be alright again. The damage the Ruby caused him was irreversible.

"It's harming you, John," she said softly. "Both you, and your world."

"It's revealing the truth. This is the truth of mankind."

"No. You're wrong," Morpheus protested, and their surroundings changed as he used his power. "This is the truth of mankind."

The waitress, Bette, made a small, pleasant talk with a couple sitting in the corner of the small restaurant. It was the pair's, Kate and Garry's, fifth wedding anniversary. They talked about job, their regular lives.

"They're lying to themselves," John declared. "It's all lies."

"Not lies, John. Dreams," they all looked towards the businesswoman, as she talked with her husband. "Kate dreams of running away, where no one will find her."

Then, their gaze moved towards her husband, as he asked Bette some questions.

"Garry dreams of proving his father was wrong about him," Atia continued. "And Bette dreams of creating something that matters to people. Their dreams inspire them, make them go on with their lives, even when it gets hard. It's been like this since... well since the beginning of the humanity."

She glanced towards her own husband, who nodded once, confirming her statement.

"Their dreams kept them alive. But if you rob them of their dreams, if you take away their hope, then..." the scene around them started to change once again, going back to the actual massacre around them. "Yes, this is the truth of the mankind."

"The Ruby is hurting you, John," Atia said again, softly.

"It has too much of my power within it," Morpheus stated. "It stole more when I tried to use it."

"Then perhaps if I use it to steal the rest of your powers, I will be the King of Dreams," John mused.

"If you'd rob a Dream Lord of his power, you shall do so in his realm. In dreams."

Before Atia had a chance to ask her husband what he was doing, the world around them disappeared. 

*****

Even if Atia was the Queen of the Dreaming and had powers of her own, Morpheus was still superior to her. Her powers were no match for his.

So, when they found themselves back in the Dreaming, and she found herself unable to follow John or her husband as she'd like, she knew Morpheus was blocking her. And while she also knew he was probably doing so to protect her, she couldn't help but feel slightly angry.

She wanted to do something to help him, but there she was, stuck as a spectator to everything that was going on.

She watched as John entered the mansion that haunted the two Rulers of the Dreaming. The home mansion of Roderick Burgess. She was the wonder in his eyes, as he wandered through long corridors, following faceless figure.

He found her in his father's old bedroom. She watched with slight satisfaction as the shocked expression washed over his face when he almost kissed the younger version of his mother.

She mocked him and hurt him, told him awful things.

Atia knew it was all Dream's doing, him constantly creating these horrid images to confuse and scare John.

And it all worked until he found himself back in the room at the mental facility his mother put him in, with her standing behind him, chocking him and whispering things about how she should've never had him.

"It's a dream," he gasped out and the Ruby started glowing. "It's a dream. It's a dream."

And he was alone. Suddenly, he appeared in the ruins of the palace. Atia watched as John panted and slowly looked around, taking in the place's ruined state.

"Is this your palace... Dream Lord?" the man called out. "Is this your throne... King of Lies? Well, it's mine now!"

He raised his fist, clenched around the Ruby as it glowed brightly. The ruins around him slowly burned away. Literally.

"Are you watching? Can you see me?"

The fire ate everything around him. The pillars, walls, windows... even the ground. It ate everything until only small fragments were left. Burning away everything Atia managed to save from falling apart.

"Using your own powers to burn away your lies?" John taunted.

"You must stop," Morpheus' voice finally answered.

He appeared in front of the man, the Helm on his head, his posture emanating power and self-confidence.

"It is not too late to save yourself."

"Oh, you think it's me that needs saving?"

"Your father stole the Ruby from me and cursed you with it."

"You mean he blessed me with it."

Then, John extended his hand with a Ruby towards Morpheus. The gem glowed brightly.

"Your, and your whore's reign ended when my father captured you," the man declared.

Slowly, the Ruby started to absorb the Lord of Dreams. Black specks of sand flew away from Dream, towards the it.

"Your kingdom is my birthright."

Morpheus fell to his knees, too weak to remain standing. Atia fought against his powers, but as they were absorbed by the Ruby, it seemed her own went along. She felt weaker and helpless as she watched the scene unfold before her.

"Your power resides within me," John declared. "How does it feel to know I hold your life in my hands?"

The way Dream laid on the ground, barely moving and his skin ashen, reminded Atia of the final round of the oldest game. How he laid on the ground, seemingly beaten, but still managed to win. She could only hope he could do it again and deep down she knew he would.

"You're hurting the dreamers," Dream Lord weakly gasped out.

"Well, it's time they woke up! Your life and your lies end now," the man said. "Next, I'm coming for your wife."

But, when he clenched his fist around the Ruby... it crumbled. The gem was too full and too small to hold such power. And while it helped great deal when it had some of it, it was never meant to hold as much as John absorbed in it.

Blinding light replaced the unfolding scene.

"I did it," John muttered, as he looked around white, that surrounded him from all sides. "I killed him. I won."

"Thank you, John."

As the white died out, it was revealed that John was standing on Morpheus' massive hand. The Endless looked unharmed and no longer in pain. His helm disappeared and his face held smallest hint of smile.

"But I killed you." John said.

"You destroyed the ruby and released the power inside it," Morpheus explained. "I would never have thought of that. I'd forgotten just how much of myself I had placed in the jewel."

"Are you going to kill me?" the man asked, his voice small.

"I could. Perhaps I will. But the dream stone was not made for mortals. And it came to you through no fault of your own. So, no, John. I will not kill you."

Instead, he brought the man back into the waking world, to the same room he's been confined in for the last couple of years. There, he would remain for the resto of his life, sleeping for eternity, just like his half-brother, Alex.

It wasn't until he went back onto the streets, that Atia was finally able to break through his power and go back into the waking world.

As soon as she did, she slapped Morpheus.

"Don't you ever do something like that," she warned him, pointing a threatening finger in his face.

Yet, the bastard had the audacity to smile, amused. He gently grabbed her hand and brought it down, holding it to his chest. Then, he leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss on her forehead, before resting his own against hers.

"Let's hope I won't have to," he said, and she sighed.

Then, she rolled her eyes and pulled away.

"Don't think you're getting off that easily," she muttered.

"I never did," Morpheus chuckled, before they looked around.

The world was a ruin. Car wrecks were burning, rubbish was all around them... and yet, it held a certain charm.

"All the damage the ruby did, can you undo it?" Matthew asked, as he landed beside the two.

"The ruby didn't do this. John merely used it to reveal wounds that were hidden, but never healed. Tomorrow, the rebuilding will begin. In this realm and in mine. But tonight at least... humanity will sleep in peace."