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defxserpentine · 2 years

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Evermore.

Pairing: Morpheus (Dream of the Endless)/OC Female

Reader Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 2.83k

Update Frequency: Fortnightly (flexible), could be late or early. I’ll try to stick to schedule. No promises.

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Slow Burn, Adventure

Warnings: Death, Sickness, Pain.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Sandman story or its characters. I do however, lay claim to my OC Juniper Scurlock and this Fan Fiction.

A/N: I’m trying to keep the chapters between 2-3k now. Thanks to everyone who’s read my fic and left kind words so far. 🥰

Chapter 4

A Bitter Farewell

I rushed upstairs after Morpheus. He was so fast, I almost lost sight of him. My leg was aching by the time we arrived at Rachel’s door. I really hoped I’d finally get some time to rest soon, I didn’t know how much more of this I could take before exhaustion finally crept up on me.

Morpheus stopped before the door. Turning back to me, hurriedly, he said, “I no longer possess my former power. Your assistance here may be of value.”

I hadn’t expected him to so openly discuss his weakness. It was nice to see that he could be honest with me about his current predicament.

“Whatever you need me to do, just ask and I’ll try my best to help.” I said sincerely.

“June,” he spoke softly then paused, his eyes turned sharp as he said “It could be dangerous.”

“Johanna is my friend. I’d go to hell and back for her.” I spoke firmly.

“Very well.” Morpheus concluded. I caught a glimpse of a slight smile as he turned back to enter the room. I followed in his stead.

Initially nothing seemed off about the apartment as far as my eyes could tell. However, I couldn’t shake this awful feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

Morpheus and I had made it into the centre of the residence. He stood there in the middle of the room, focused.

“What are you doing? Where’s Johanna?” I questioned him, growing anxious.

“I am breaking through the illusion.” he provided. “This is not the real apartment of Rachel Moodie but, an illusion created by the sand.”

I waited by his side until he spoke, “Constantine. Wake Up.”

Suddenly the room turned dark and Johanna appeared before us. She’d been obscured by the sand.

She turned to Morpheus in a lingering daze and asked “What did you do to me?”

“It was the sand.” he explained. I rushed to her side.

“Johanna, are you alright? You’re not hurt or anything?” I asked in worry, scanning her for injury.

“Never-mind that. Where’s Rachel?” she said dismissively. She appeared alright for now so, I let it go.

Morpheus’s expression was grim, he provided no response. Johanna turned then and walked further into the apartment. I followed, not bothering to wait for Morpheus.

“Rachel?” she called, “Rach?”

My gut was beginning to fill with dread as she softly pushed open the door to what I assumed was the main bedroom.

“Jo?” came a weak voice from inside. “Jo? Is that you?”

The door was open now and the sight before us was sickening. Rachel was lying in her bed and looked as if the life had been sucked from her. Suppressing a gasp with my hand to my mouth, I followed Johanna inside.

“That's such a wonderful dream.” Rachel groaned out. It was hard to watch.

Johanna moved to one side of the bed and Morpheus and I to the other. I stared at the pouch of sand, it was hard to believe such a small item could cause such suffering.

Johanna asked, “What's happened to her?” but, her voice sounded muffled. The longer I stared at the pouch the more I felt like I was drifting away. I watched on at their exchange, frozen in a sort of daze.

“It was not meant for humans.” Morpheus said softly as he reached forward to take the sand from Rachel.

I don’t know what possessed me in that moment but, I lunged for it first and tore the pouch from her hands. It felt like the same strange instinct that had pushed me to break into the Burgess Manor. Only, it was much stronger now.

I could hear Rachel’s crying but, I ignored her, held the sand up before me and opened it.

“June.” came Morpheus’s single word of warning. I froze at the sound of his voice.

“What is she doing?” Johanna hissed.

‘“ do not know.” Morpheus admitted. Johanna moved forward to stop me. ‘No. Something appears to have possessed her.’

“I’m an exorcist. It’s my job to deal with these kind of things.” Johanna stated.

I was trying my hardest to resist the urge to pour the sand. It was excruciating. Tears welled up in my eyes.

“I can’t stop it.” I cried. “Morpheus, help me, please.”

His eyes widened and he stepped forward to try to stop me from pouring the sand by force. But, he was too late, the sand had fallen. It rose up in a whirlwind around me and that’s when the pain began. It was the worst I’d ever felt, like lightning had struck my skull and fractured into my mind.

I feel to my knees and wailed like a banshee, head in my hands. I could barely believe the piecing sound was coming from me. I looked up through tear filled eyes and could see Morpheus through the wall of sand. He was frantically trying to break the barrier with what little power he had.

It’s then that I was bombarded by visions; I saw a gate made from the desecrated bodies of human beings, a fair haired figure with formidable webbed wings, a helmet made from strange bones and lastly, I saw Morpheus. He was lying on the ground. It looked like he was dying.

I was torn away from the vision harshly and found myself back in the apartment. I’d dropped the pouch to the floor, it was closed again.

I looked up slowly, still on the ground, at Morpheus who had crouched before me. He cautiously reached forward and grabbed the sand. I didn’t try to stop him, I could barely even muster the energy to speak.

“I’m sorry.” I strained out. My entire body felt like lead. I looked into Morpheus’s eyes and was shocked to see so much fear there. It wasn’t a look given to someone you’d only known for a day. I placed that tidbit of information in the back of my mind to revisit later when I didn’t feel on the verge of collapse.

Luckily I was leaning back against a wardrobe otherwise, I surely wouldn’t have been able to support myself. My body felt utterly spent but, surprisingly my mind felt more awake than it ever had.

“What in the bloody hell was that?” Johanna asked, now at my other side.

“She will be alright. We should go.” Morpheus said, reaching for me.

“What?” Johanna asked in surprise, rising to return to Rachel. “What? We can't go yet. What about Rachel? We can't leave her like this.”

I shared Johanna’s sentiment and was a little shocked that Morpheus’s first thought was to just leave her here. I gave him a disapproving look and he sighed, rising to stand.

“We can't help her. The sand was the only thing keeping her alive.” he explained. His tone was somber and I knew then that there was no hope left to save Rachel.

“You have to do something. If it wasn't for your sand, she wouldn't be like this.” Johanna pleaded.

“I'm not the one who left her with it.” Morpheus countered. He was beginning to piss me off in his refusal to take on even a ounce of responsibility for the harm caused by his sand.

“What is wrong with you?” Johanna spat, moving to stand before Morpheus, “You want your sand back so that you can save all of humanity, well, here she is!…But we're all just Roderick Burgess to you. All you care about is your sand. Your power…What is the point of you?…Well, you got your sand back. Why are you still here if you won't help?”

Morpheus looked bothered by what she’d said. I don’t think he expected a human to call him out or pose such heavy questions to him. If I’d been in Johanna’s position I’d have surely done the same. I would have to talk to him later about the way he chose to go about this whole situation.

“Take June with you and wait outside.” he said after a moment of consideration. Johanna looked to me and nodded, then sat by Rachel’s side on the bed.

“Rach...” she said softly, cradling Rachel’s head in her palm.

“I'm sorry, Jo. I'm so sorry.” Rachel said, her voice barely a whisper.

“It's my fault. All of it. Should never have left it with you…should never have left.” Johanna spoke to her sincerely.

“Well, you came back, though. Didn't you?” said Rachel in response. Johanna rose abruptly at her last words and approached me. She must’ve reached her limit.

“Come on, June.” she said in a restrained voice, lifting me up to wrap my arm around her shoulders and hers around my waist. I’d regained some strength by then and could at least manage a hobble. “Let’s get you out of here.”

I gave Morpheus one last look and exited the room with Johanna’s assistance. She didn’t speak until we’d made it outside.

“I’m sorry, June.” she began. “If the sand hadn’t left my possession none of this would have happened to you or…to Rachel.”

She let me down to rest on a ledge as she stood in an archway, looking out at the deluge. It was easier to talk now, the pain was leaving me, albeit slowly.

“Please, Jo. Don’t say that.” I said. “There’s no way you could have predicted any of this would happen. It’s not your fault.”

“But, it is though.” she deflected.

“Johanna. If anything it’s Rodrick Burgess’s fault that any of this even happened in the first place.” I said trying to reason with her, in an attempt to make her feel better.

“Fuck’s sake, June.” she snapped. “For once just let me be a shitty person. Doesn’t matter that Rodrick fucking Burgess started all of this. If I hadn’t bought the pouch none of this-“ she stopped, unable to continue.

Leaning back against the arch, she closed her eyes for a few seconds and said, “I knew that pouch could be dangerous but, I left it with her anyway. All because I was too much of a coward to tell her the truth about myself. So, I fled and now I have to live with the consequences.”

I didn’t press her further as I knew she wouldn’t budge. Morpheus appeared then and joined us in the archway.

He approached Johanna and spoke, “She died in peace. In her sleep.”

“I’ll let her dad know.” she said, looking into the distance. After a pause she continued with a bittersweet smile. “You know, she was actually a good person. There are a few of them out there, you know. They're not all like me and Roderick Burgess.”

She looked to me as she said this and gave me a wink.

“You are not Roderick Burgess.” Morpheus spoke. Johanna then reached into her coat and pulled out a piece of parchment. She walked over to where I sat.

“Now, June,” Johanna began, “I was gonna tweak the amulet myself but, after your little display up there, I’m sure you won’t be needing my assistance. Besides, you’ve got this one,” she gestured to Morpheus, “to help you if anything goes wrong.”

“What?” I blurted out. “But, you’re the expert. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

“Don’t get all humble on me now. You’re an occult historian, June. You’ve studied this all your life. And it’s clear to me now that you’ve got some serious power.” she said in response. She did make a fair point but, what did she mean by me having power?

“I prepared this earlier on the drive here. They’re detailed instructions on the spell you need to perform on the amulet. I trust you’ll be alright.” she continued. “I’m sorry to dump this on you, I just…I need some time.”

“Oh my god, Jo. I’m so sorry.” I said in a rush. “I…after all that…please, take all the time you need. I’ll be fine.”

She pulled back and smiled at me, then turned to Morpheus, who had waited patiently until our discussion had ended, and fixed him with a stern gaze.

“Don’t let her do this alone.” she said firmly in warning. “You’re part of the reason she’s in this mess.”

He simply gave her a stoic look. I thought it was a little unfair to blame Morpheus entirely for what had happened. It was me after all who had freed him but, then again I had been compelled by an unknown force.

“Look after him, June. He needs it.” Were her closing words to me as she opened her umbrella and walked out into the storm.

“Constantine!” Morpheus called to her, she turned back. “That nightmare won't trouble you anymore.”

I watched Johanna’s figure disappear whilst clutching onto the parchment she’d left me. I just hoped she’d been right in entrusting this task to me, an amateur.

“That was…nice, what you did up there.” I said to break the silence. I was looking at the instructions Johanna had left me, trying to memorise them.

Identify your element. Gather water, earth (salt) and fire (a lit candle). You don’t need air, that’s all around you.

Draw a large pentacle and place in clockwise order, starting at the western point; water, fire, earth and ‘air’. Stand in the middle of the pentacle and reach out to your ruling element.

Identify your animal totem. Sit at the top point (representing your spirit) and reach out to your animal guide. This should be easy. Take a handful of salt, then hold out your hand and in it will form a talisman of your guide.

Draw on your element and animal guide and speak the following chant; ‘Ego ducere in potentia aqua, et sapientia anguis. Audite me Bastet. Brigid. Yemaya. Durga. Kuan Yin. Freya. deaeque divina protectio. Da mihi benedictionem tuam, et potestatem, et aegida. Ego invocare te.’

The amulet has been blessed. Erase the circle and place the amulet on your person.

The instructions seemed simple enough and I was glad they didn’t require some ancient grimoire or rare herb. I carefully folded the parchment and placed it in my coat pocket.

I looked over to Morpheus, seeing that he had yet to respond, only to find him already staring at me intently. I quickly averted my eyes and bit my lip nervously. I’d have to tell him that my visions had returned but, I was worried about what that entailed.

“So…what’s our next move?” I questioned, deciding the visions could wait. Sneaking a glance, I saw that Morpheus had looked away. I was worried he might be cross with me about what had happened but, studying him now he appeared his normal self.

“I had intended to search for my helm. However, the matter of your protection takes precedence.” he began, “Of which we shall return to the Dreaming.”

‘“ don’t know. The instructions Johanna left were pretty simple. Lucienne and I could probably figure it out.” I said, essentially rejecting his help.

Morpheus moved forward then and stood before me. His face was cast in darkness and in his eyes I saw the stars I’d glimpsed during our first encounter.

“I shall accompany you. That will be the end of it.” he said firmly. I didn’t know why he was insisting and knew I should let it go but, pushed on nonetheless.

“Dream, please. You can continue your search, I’ll be fine.” I spoke.

“Dream?” he whispered, stepping back.

I was confused, that was his name wasn’t- Oh my god. My face flushed bright red as I realised I’d slipped up and called him Morpheus out loud earlier when I had pleaded for his help. But, that couldn’t explain his reaction? He didn’t…care about me, did he? No, that couldn’t be it, he just met me! It must be something…else. Right..?

I pushed the thought away and ignored the pull in my chest. Lucienne would be in for an earful when I saw her next. Trying to hide from my embarrassment I stood up and walked to the edge of the archway.

“Well…Morpheus,” I began, using his name because I felt guilty for the way he’d reacted. He gave me a slight smile and joined me at my side. The pull was getting stronger.

“We’d better get a move on then. Don’t want to keep Lucienne waiting. So, how do we go about this? Another portal? Can we portal from here? How do portals even work?” I rambled on like a complete idiot.

“June. Calm yourself.” Morpheus spoke and just the sound of his voice was enough to soothe me. “Take my hand and I shall handle the rest.”

He held out his hand to me and I took it after a moment. I jolted as a sharp spark of electricity ignited at our touch. I looked to Morpheus quickly as the portal opened before us. He showed no reaction as he turned to me, the stars again in his eyes, and pulled me with him through the portal.

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