A Halloween Dream by Jilly

Matthew McRea laid back on his bed, groaning as his tired muscles protested the movement. Another bust down, and it hadn't been all that easy. He was used to the physical exertion of his job, but after a week of pounding the pavement and perps into the pavement, his tired body was screaming for some relief. It was Halloween, and he usually went out to the bar with some friends, but all he wanted to do tonight was sleep. Slowly his eyes began to slide closed, and he drifted to sleep.

"Chris look out!" a voice called.

Matt ducked confusion written across his face. "What in the hell?!" he demanded as he looked around. He looked down at his hand and saw a six-shooter there. Now a gun he was used to, but something wasn't right.

"Ch--," a voice started then stopped. All noise stopped. A quick glance over the water trough he was crouched behind revealed that all time stopped.

Matt stood slowly, a frown on his handsome face as he glanced down. "What in the hell is going on?" he said to himself.

"You are dreaming," a soft, and god-like voice said from behind him.

Matthew turned around and stared at the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. And he knew what she was saying was true. No woman looked like she did in reality. Blue-black hair cascaded around her voloptuous form in flowing curls. Her eyes were opalescent in color and shimmered in the light. Her full red lips were uptilted in a smirk of sorts, as if she knew everything.

"Who are you?" he asked.

The woman stepped closer to him. "My name is Sesha," she said.

Matt frowned. "Sesha?" he asked.

Sesha smiled at him and floated around him. Matt shook his head. "Yes, I am floating Matthew," she said.

Matt looked at her frowning. "How did you know my name?" he asked.

Sesha continued to float around him. "I am the Hindi serpent of time. I know all, including your name, and your past names," she said.

Matt frowned. "Past names?" he questioned.

Sesha stopped in front of him, and for the first time Matt could see where the serpent reference could be seen. Her pupils were like that of a serpents, and the color he recognized as a snake he had seen once. "Chris Larabee, Johnny Ringo, Xavier the Tyrant," Sesha said, breaking into Matt's thoughts. "All are the names your soul has had throughout time."

Matt frowned. "I don't think I understand," he said.

Sesha gently took his hand. "All Hallow's Eve and in your dreams are the one time of year that the past comes to life," she said. "Let's begin your journey."

Matt ducked as time started again and a bullet whizzed past his ear. He glanced to where Sesha was, and saw her gone, yet he could still feel her presence.

"Chris! You okay, pard?" a big man with a mustache asked as he ran over.

Matt drew a momentary blank, then all at once as if something turned on his mind, he knew who this man was, where he was, and who he was supposed to be. "I'm fine, Buck," he said aiming. "What the hell are these damn fools doing?"

Buck took a quick shot. "Got me pard," he said.

Matt glanced over and then felt a bullet slam into him, and the lights exploded around him. Suddenly he found himself on the other side of the street, looking at himself in a sense, and time once again stood still. Matt whirled around. "Sesha!" he roared. "What the hell is this?! How can I be two men in the same time?"

Sesha's voice rang clear and true, though she did not appear. "Dreams and reality are two different planes, Matthew. Dreams allow the two to meld. Johnny Ringo and Chris Larabee existed in the same world, in the same reality, and shared a resemblance. Sharing a common ancestor. Another aspect of your past, of your dreams, and of your reality," she said.

Matt looked around. "You are not answering my question," he said, his teeth gritting.

Sesha appeared before him, her eyes glowing a bit in shining iridescence. "I have answered your question, but a mere mortal with no understanding of time must be shown. Come we have somewhere to be," she said taking his hand.

Matt grit his teeth more. "What is the point of this?" he demanded.

Sesha did not look at him as she tugged him along. "It does not matter," she said.

Matt growled. "It doe--," he started then was silenced as space surrounded him. Black space. He blacked out, then woke up moments later, finding himself inside what looked like the large Catholic church two blocks from his apartment.

"No church," Sesha said beside him.

Matt looked at her then down at himself. He was covered in blood over the armor he wore. He snapped his head up as yells and shouts were heard. He ran over to the window, seeing total and utter destruction below. He heard shouts of things being done in the name of Xavier. "Xavier the Tyrant," he whispered to himself, glancing around.

Sesha hovered in the middle of the room, her voice going god-like. "Your quests are wrought with violence and despair. A never-ending chain within your soul. Embedded inside of you since Xavier's time. His cruelty created an evil within the All Mighty's soul and heart, instilling it into every son Xavier ever had from this moment forth. That same evil is passed down into every generation, broken only by a man willing to do so," she said.

Matt turned and looked at her. "What is the point of this?" he asked.

Sesha swooped close to him, her eyes boring into his. "Break the cycle Matthew McRea," she said. "Break the violence that will influence your life, your son's life and any other life from here on out."

Matt stared at her. "I'm a cop, violence is apart of my life," he said.

Sesha stared at him. "Then this was for nothing. Allow your dreams to wash away from you," she said.

Matt watched her start to fly away from him. "Wait!" he said.

Sesha was flying further and further away. "Do not give into the dark side of the violence Matthew McRea. Do not allow yourself to give in to hate, sorrow and despair. That is where you begin to dispel the evil," she said.

Matt tried to catch her. "Sesha wait!" he said, running, but his steps were slower and slower with each motion.

Matt jerked awake. "Sesha!" he cried out. He looked around with a frown. It had all been a dream. He laid back and stared at the ceiling. His eyes closed again, but no dreams this time came to him, for which he was grateful.

Outside, Sesha watched him sleep. "Sleep well, Matthew McRea. The evil is still within, and you need all the strength you can muster," she murmured to herself. She remained watching over him as he slept Halloween away.

THE END