Dream Lord: I...I can't...make it!
Man: Emmett? Oh, it hurts! What are you doing? Don't just stand there!
Page 18 panel 3
The blue light surges from the helmet, the consoles explode and burst into flame, and the Man screams from the pain.
Man (trying to tear the helmet from his head): Why won't you help me? Help me! Emmett, come back!! You're killing me!!
Page 18 panel 4
Man: Help meeeee!!!
The device finally explodes in a shower of blue bolts, burning into the man's skull. The lab around him is now filled with raging flames.
Page 18 panel 5
Dream Lord (screaming at the top of his lungs): Tom!!!
Closeup of the Dream Lord screaming, surrounded by fire.
Page 18 panel 6
Similar closeup of the Dream Lord screaming, this time suddenly surrounded by cool, blue sky.
Dream Lord: Tom!!! Noooo!!!!
Voice (off-panel): Dream Lord, take it easy.
Page 19 (7 panels)
Page 19 panel 1
Same closeup, Dream Lord still screaming.
Dream Lord: No no no no nooooo!!!
A brown-skinned arm enters from off-panel, and a hand grips his shoulder. It is a small hand, that of a young black girl.
Voice: Come on, it's okay now.
Page 19 panel 2
Flashback of the Man being electrocuted in the fiery lab.
Man: Help meeeeee!!
Page 19 panel 3
Voice (off-panel): I'm gonna help you now.
Similar closeup of the Dream Lord's face, only this time, he has quickly turned in the direction of the voice, to see who's speaking to him.
Dream Lord: What? Oh God, no more!
Page 19 panel 4
Medium shot of the person talking to the Dream Lord: a 15-year-old black girl who is missing her right arm; she wears a green, Peter-Pan-style outfit, with gold braided trim and a green cap with a feather in it. She has short, curly, hair and a pixy-ish attitude, and is smiling comfortingly at the Dream Lord. She is the girl from the car accident in Chapter One.
Girl: Hey, relax! I toldja', there isn't gonna be any more! You're safe now, Dream Lord, I took you to a safe place. They can't get you here. This is my place.
Page 19 panel 5
Wide shot of black girl and the Dream Lord, floating in a blue sky full of fluffy clouds.
Girl: You like it? I call it "sky."
Page 19 panel 6
Medium shot of the Dream Lord talking to the girl. She is kind, smiling, wanting only to help him. He, in turn, is in physical and mental agony, afraid, completely broken down and torn apart as a human being. He desperately wants to believe that someone has rescued him, but is suspicious that she is a threat in disguise.
Dream Lord: Who...who are you?
Girl: Well, my real name's Stacy, but here, I call myself Lullaby.
Page 19 panel 7
Lullaby: I saw you were in trouble out there, so I took you away. I tried for a long time to bring you here, but he wouldn't let me.
Dream Lord: He?
Page 20 (7 panels)
Page 20 panel 1
Lullaby: You know...that creep who was pushing you around. Old big mouth; the Bogeyman. He's pretty nasty.
Dream Lord: This is...another one...probably...another attack. He's...conning me...setting me up...make me think I'm safe...and then...
Page 20 panel 2
Lullaby (insulted): Well, excuse me, buster! I pull your buns out of the fire, and all you can do is tell me I'm a bad guy! Look, I'm giving you the truth, Dream Lord! I got nothing to do with that big dork, I just wanna' help you out.
Dream Lord moans and grabs his chest; reeling from the excruciating pain.
Page 20 panel 3
Lullaby: And from what I can see, you definitely need some big-time help! You're in some kind'a shape right now!
Dream Lord (rolling onto his side and gasping-- away from the Bogeyman's influence, he is finally dying from his wounds): It hurts...I can't stand it!
Page 20 panel 4
Lullaby walks over to where the Dream Lord has rolled onto his side. She kneels beside him and puts her left (and only) arm around him.
Lullaby: Okay, okay, I know it's bad. Like I said, I'm gonna help you. It's gonna hurt, but you've got to hang on, okay?
Page 20 panel 5
Lullaby: See, you're hacked up real bad, and if you were on Earth right now, you'd be dead. That jerk kept you alive so he could beat you up more, give you more pain...so much pain you'd want to die, but he wouldn't let you.
Page 20 panel 6
Lullaby (passing her hand over the bullet holes on his body): You're still the Dream Lord, though. You've still got the power in this place. You can make it go away, you can help yourself.
Dream Lord: Ngh...I...can't...breathe...
Page 20 panel 7
Lullaby: I've got a little magic, too, but you have to do most of it. Now come on, think for a minute! Fight the pain, make it leave.
Dream Lord: ARRGGH!!
Page 21 (7 panels)
Page 21 panel 1
Closeup of Lullaby's hand as it passes over a deep, bleeding cut on the Dream Lord's chest.
Lullaby: Now take it a little bit at a time. Here's a big cut. Get rid of it. Wish it away.
Page 21 panel 2
Closeup of Lullaby as she talks and guides Dream Lord from the brink of death.
Dream Lord: Ack...I can't stand it...anymore!
Lullaby: Don't be such a baby! Stop whining and start healing! Come on, work on yourself!
Page 21 panel 3
Closeup of the deep gash, as it fades from the Dream Lord's chest. Lullaby's hand hovers above it, glowing with a faint yellow aura.
Lullaby: There...there, that's it! You lost the cut! Now keep going, get the bullets out.
Page 21 panel 4
Dream Lord: I...I'm dying. I...can't...
Lullaby (her face also contorted with effort and pain): Will you stop? I told you before, buster...it's up...to you! Come on! Bullets...out!
Page 21 panel 5
Three bullets emerge from different points on the Dream Lord's body and weakly wobble away into the sky.
Lullaby: Ah, Dream Lord, will you give me a break? You can do better... than that! Don't...wimp out on me.
Page 21 panel 6
This time, the Dream Lord makes a supreme effort, and about ten bullets pop out and zip away.
Lullaby: Yeah! All right! Now...concentrate...seal the bullet holes... and we move on... to the real bad stuff...
Page 21 panel 7
Lullaby reaches over and grabs the hilt of the sword in the Dream Lord's chest. Her eyes are shut tightly and she is struggling to help Dream Lord with her own life force.
Lullaby: We gotta' play...King Arthur...and you're the stone! Now this...is gonna hurt...but you have to help me! When I...pull this out...
Page 22 (7 panels)
Page 22 panel 1
Lullaby: ...you have to fix everything...it chopped up! No other way...to do this...so come on...
Dream Lord: No! Aaaaarrrr...
Page 22 panel 2
Lullaby: Okay, I'm pullin' the sword out! Hang on! I guess this makes me...
Her arm strains at the sword, her small muscles and veins bulging. The yellow aura envelopes both her arm and the sword.
Page 22 panel 3
Lullaby yanks the sword from the Dream Lord's chest, trailing blood in its wake. The Dream Lord convulses and screams.
Lullaby: ...queen of England.
Page 22 panel 4
Lullaby (tossing the sword away): Come on, Dream Lord! Do it! Put it back together, man! Use your magic!
A purple glow surrounds the Dream Lord's chest, sparkling and crackling as he fights to return to life.
Dream Lord: I can't!!
Page 22 panel 5
Lullaby: Like hell! You have to! Who else do you think...
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p; Page 22 panel 6
Lullaby (off-panel): ...is gonna kick that Bogeyman's butt?
Closeup of the Dream Lord's eyes as they suddenly, briefly flare with rage.
Page 22 panel 7
With a final effort, the Dream Lord musters all his strength and seals the sword wound. His head is thrown back, his chest thrust forward, and the purple energy field is seething wildly.
Dream Lord: YAAAAAA!!!
Page 23 (7 panels)
Page 23 panel 1
Exhausted but alive, the Dream Lord falls back onto the cloud surface, gasping for breath.
Lullaby (cheering, elated): Way to go! I toldja' you could pull through! You are too tough!
Page 23 panel 2
Lullaby (putting her arm around the Dream Lord and hugging him joyfully): Now what was so hard about that?
The Dream Lord is alive, but completely exhausted. He is limp, drained, and sweated, and his mind is still far from recovery. He is still reeling in every way from the Bogeyman's nightmarish attacks and the personal revelations of his own visions.
Page 23 panel 3
Dream Lord: Th-thank you.
Lullaby: Hey, any time. What are friends for?
Dream Lord: Friends? I...don't even...know you.
Page 23 panel 4
Lullaby: Now what kinda' talk is that? I just saved your life, and you don't recognize me?
Dream Lord: I'm...sorry...I really don't...
Page 23 panel 5
Lullaby (laughing): Calm down, buster, I'm just pullin' your chain! I guess I'm sort of your secret admirer. I watched you, but you didn't know I was around.
Dream Lord: How...?
Page 23 panel 6
Lullaby: I ain't tellin'! Let's just say I'm too sneaky!
Dream Lord: What...whatever. I don't...understand anything...anymore.
Page 23 panel 7
Lullaby: Sure you do, buddy. You're just worn out right now, and a little mixed up. That boogey guy really slapped you around.
Dream Lord: Everything...hurts...like crazy. I feel like...I have...the worst hangover...of my life.
Page 24 (9 panels)
Page 24 panel 1
Lullaby (joking): Hey, that's your problem! I'm not gonna worry about your measly headaches after you've been out drinking all night! I'm not your nurse, buster!
Dream Lord: I'd laugh...but it wouldn't do me...any good. (He is still exhausted, but manages to smile a little at Lullaby.)
Page 24 panel 2
Lullaby: Oh, brother! A laugh is always good for you.
Dream Lord: Not after...the things I've seen. It'll...be a long time... before I laugh again.
Page 24 panel 3
Lullaby: Don't be such a party pooper, Dream Lord! Things are better already aren't they? You're still alive, right? You're safe from Bogeycreep. You've got a wonderful person like me to talk to!
Page 24 panel 4
Lullaby: And, you're still under 40! What else do you want, you big dummy?
Dream Lord (listening, but not laughing; he is still remembering his awful visions, the flashbacks he thought he had buried long ago): Nothing... is the same for me. I thought I was...the Dream Lord...a hero...
Page 24 panel 5
Lullaby: So? That's who you are.
Dream Lord: No. I'm...something...someone else. Things I've done...and never knew, until he...forced me to see. Awful things...
Page 24 panel 6
Dream Lord: I think there are more...but I can't...remember. I don't think... I want to remember.
Lullaby: You will.
Page 24 panel 7
Lullaby (looking solemnly at the Dream Lord): It'll all come back to you, and it'll be okay. Just stick with me, kid.
Dream Lord: Even worse...than that...I'm...I'm...
Page 24 panel 8
Dream Lord: ...going to be sick!!
He rolls over onto the cloud to throw up, and Lullaby jumps out of the way.
Lullaby: Hey! Just don't do it on me, buster!
Page 24 panel 9
Closeup of the Dream Lord's face as he hears someone talking to him, and turns around quickly to see them.
Voice (off-panel): Emmett Adams?
Page 25 (1 panel)
Page 25 panel 1
A full-page splash panel.
The Night Brigade has appeared on the cloud with the Dream Lord arid Lullaby, and the government dream agents are all ready for a fight. They have arrived to apprehend the Dream Lord and return him to reality.
There are six members of the Brigade:
NIGHT TERROR, a muscular, square-jawed man in his late 20's, with the power to create unreasoning, debilitating fear in victims.
CATNAP, a young, red-haired woman with the power to send people into brief, deep sleeps.
HANGOVER, a heavy, burly man in his early 30's with the power to create crushing hangovers.
SYMBOL, a thin, blonde man in his mid-20's who can change shape, represent anything.
SWEET DREAM, a beautiful, black-haired woman who can render victims helpless with pure pleasure.
COMA, a tall, thin, black man who has the ability to instantly plunge anyone into a deep coma.
Night Terror (the group's leader and spokesman): Come with us, sir.
CONTINUED....
END OF PART TWO
Part III: The Charge of the Night Brigade
Page 1 (8 panels)
Page 1 panel 1
This page will consist of two separate sets of panels, running in vertical columns and distinctly split down the middle of the page. The first set of panels, running along the left side of the page, introduces a narrative by a person describing his dreams, which are actually his impressions of action which he sensed in the Dream Zone. He thinks that the dreams are simply products of his own mind, and is unaware that he has tuned in to the Dream Lord's battle with the Night Brigade. This is similar to the technique used in Part 1 of the mini-series, when two other dreamers described their dreams, which were unwittingly visions of the Dream Lord.
This new dreamer is a Vietnam vet, talking to a psychiatrist in a VA hospital.
The set of panels running along the right side of the page details the activity in the command center of Project Dream Lord, as technicians and command personnel monitor the progress of the Night Brigade during their mission. These scenes will include dialogue, not straight narrative like the dreamer panels.
The two columns of panels will thus provide parallel accounts of what is happening in the Dream Zone. During the actual sequence within the Dimension, both accounts will continue, and will climax later in the story.
Mr. Sandman Page 7