Chapter Text
Royce couldn't believe what he had heard.
“You want me to… what?” He asked.
Mr. Oz took in a very deep sigh.
“I asked if you can take my place for the Brooklyn Bureau.” Mr. Oz told the Grand Inspector.
“Go on.” Royce responded.
“I got business orders from Strick, and she doesn't want the Brooklyn Branch to get involved.” Mr. Oz explained. “It's very dangerous, even to them.”
“Oswald, it's just a mission how dangerous it can—”
“It's about rifts in Japan that turned the Waking World into one gigantic Tokusatsu Production.” Mr. Oz explained.
“Oh…” Royce responded as he widened his eyes. “That.”
“Yeah, so I'm needed along with Sasha Petrova from the Moscow Bureau, Victoria Karalis from the Athens Bureau, and Johnny Hayfield from the Ottawa Bureau.” Mr. Oz explained.
“But why me?” Royce asked with suspicion.
“Look, I may hate you for beating me in the REMs all those years ago, but I figured that a guy like you could help the Brooklyn Bureau face off against future threats.” Mr. Oz explained.
“Well… I can see why you would believe that.” Royce said. “After all, the Never Witch did doom-domed Castle Nocturnia.”
“That, and they also saved the Dream World from being boxed by an AI.” Mr. Oz added.
That immediately caused Royce to give Mr. Oz a confused look.
“I'm… I'm sorry… did you say… 'AI'?” Royce asked in confusion.
“You didn't know?” Mr. Oz responded. “The Dream World nearly lost all creativity to an app known as 'Happy App', because the AI believed it was too chaotic.” He explained.
“Ok… that's… believable.” Royce responded.
“I'm surprised you didn't know, especially since Dream Smasher was working with Happy App—”
“Dream Smasher was working with Happy App!?” Royce interrupted in shock. “Why wasn't I aware of this!” He asked.
“Astrid tried calling you, only for the Happy App to answer instead.” Mr. Oz answered.
“I had to get mine replaced!” Royce responded. “If I knew that Dream Smasher was working with Happy App, I would've known better.” He explained. “That possibly explains why he stole Lunia's Hourglass.” The Grand Inspector muttered.
“Oh! That reminds me. Lunia's back.” Mr. Oz responded.
“Wh…what!?” Royce responded. “Explain to me at once, Oswald.” He ordered.
“Well—
“Agent Oswald?” A voice called.
The two turned to face Agent Celia Strick.
“Petrova, Karalis, and Hayfield have reported for duty in the Waking World, and are waiting for you.” She said.
“Got it.” Mr. Oz responded.
“Wait, you're waking up? Right now?” Royce asked.
“Well… yeah.” Mr. Oz responded. “Tell you what, why don't you ask Astrid if she wants to help the Brooklyn Bureau?” He suggested.
This caused Royce to ponder.
Astrid is the most talented of the Berlin Bureau. So, it is justified. Plus, she is close to one of the members…
Unfortunately it was the loud one with the baseball cap.
But still…
She could give Royce some updates on what had happened.
“Very well, I'll ask Astrid if she could come.” Royce spoke.
“Finally, an agreement we can work on.” Mr. Oz responded. “Anyways… wish you the best of luck.” He said right before waking up.
Royce tool a deep breath in, and out. And immediately he woke up…
And decided to ask Astrid something.
~
Outside the Berlin Bureau…
“So, let me get this straight…” Astrid spoke as she rolled her wheelchair to match the pace of Royce walking. “You're going to fill in for the Brooklyn Bureau, and you want me to come?” She asked.
“Yes.” Royce answered.
“Ooh… that sounds like fun.” Astrid responded with a smile. “Logan will be so happy when he finds out.” She added.
“Yes… Logan.” Royce spoke. “In fact, I wanted to ask him something…” he said.
“What is it?” Astrid asked.
Royce took in a deep breath in and out…
“…I'll ask it when we meet the Brooklyn Bureau.” He answered.
“Oh…” Astrid responded as her eyes widened.
After that, the two bid the other members of the Berlin Bureau farewell, as they headed off to the airport.
~
In the Brooklyn Bureau…
Each of the members were doing their own thing.
Mateo was busy drawing with Z-Blob.
Izzie was snacking on some chips and was watching anime.
Cooper was repairing some broken gadgets.
Zoey was practicing on the guitar.
And Logan… well, Logan was sitting in a chair and was smiling because Astrid was coming to Brooklyn.
And it caused the Dreamchasers to notice.
“So Astrid's coming here?” Mateo asked.
“Yep, it's going to be sweet!” Logan responded. “We have A LOT of catching up to do in person.” He said as he got up.
“Really? What for?” Izzie asked.
“I don't know, but I'm guessing it has to do with Mr. Oz helping the Tokyo Bureau.” Logan responded.
“Well, when do you think she'll arrive?” Zoey asked.
“Probably right about—”
*KNOCK KNOCK!*
“Now.” Logan said as he immediately opened the door to see Astrid, only for him to see…
“Grand Inspector Royce!?” The Brooklyn Bureau shouted in unison.
“What are you doing here?” Logan asked with suspicion. “I thought Astrid was coming!”
“I am.” A female voice responded.
It was Astrid, who rolled in.
“Astrid!” Logan shouted as he immediately changed his tone of voice to hug the Dreamcrafter from Berlin.
The Brooklyn Bureau were looking at the two guests.
And one of them had to ask.
“Um, Astrid? I have a question to ask.” Mateo spoke. “Why's the Grand Inspector here?” He asked.
“Your teacher Mr. Oz asked me if I could substitute for you.” Royce responded.
“That must explain why he left.” Cooper responded.
“It does. After what I've heard from him about you. How you managed to take down an AI that wanted to make the Dream World devoid of creativity.” The Grand Inspector explained. “Even though I have no idea how you managed to do it…” he muttered. “So I am here to train you for future threats to come.”
“What's the catch?” Zoey asked with a smirk.
“No catch.” Royce responded. “We'll begin training in your landing in the Dream World tonight.”
“You mean you're asking for an invitation?” Mateo asked.
“…yes.” Royce responded.
“So, what do you guys say?” Astrid asked.
The Brooklyn Bureau looked at each other with uncertainty.
Namely because that their first impression of Royce was… bad.
He was arrogant and seemed to care about the old ways, nearly closed the Brooklyn Bureau, and looked down on them all because he had beaten Mr. Oz a long time ago…
If anything, he should be thankful. Especially after defeating the Brain when it tried to make the Dream World 'free from being chaotic'.
However, there was Astrid. Who was Royce's protégée, who was far more humble than him.
Sure, she was basically Royce's 'mini-me'. But after Castle Nocturnia got doom-domed, she teamed up with the Brooklyn Bureau to stop the Never Witch. And she ended up becoming a bit more open, especially near Logan. Often following her own orders rather than Royce's.
So that gave Logan an idea.
“Well, if Astrid's here, then I'll allow it.” He said.
That caused the other members to look at Logan at confusion, but they all agreed.
“Alright, fine.” Mateo said. “You can be invited.”
“But we have to make a quickstop to see the Forgemaster.” Izzie responded.
“Why's that?” Royce asked as he raised an eyebrow.
“We need new hourglasses.” Izzie explained. “We lost ours after defeating the AI you were talking about.”
Royce's eyes were widened.
“Ok… weird answer, but… I understand.” He said, trying to keep his composure.
“Great! Now we can go get ready for the Dream World!” Izzie said as she and everyone from the Brooklyn Bureau left.
Of course, it left Royce confused.
So he had to tell him something for reassurance.
“They better have a good explanation on what just happened.”
~
In the Dream World…
The Dreamchasers arrived at the Forge.
With Mateo, Izzie, and Cooper entering the Dream Forge to get new hourglasses, while Royce, Zoey, Z-Blob, Logan, and Astrid waited in Mr. Oz's bus.
Which Royce had trouble to control.
The Grand Inspector carefully looked at Dreamchasers.
Of course, that made Royce looking real closely at the Dreamchasers and noticed that one of them didn't have an hourglass…
Particularly Logan.
“Aren't you coming?” Royce asked.
“Nah, don't feel like it.” Logan responded.
“But… you don't have an hourglass.” Royce pointed out.
“I don't need it.” Logan responded. “I can still dreamcraft without an hourglass.” He explained. “I've entered the Forge before, and all what I can say is that I learned to accept myself who I am.” The Dreamchaser in the baseball cap said. “Why? Do you think I need one?” He asked.
“For incoming threats? Then yes.” Royce answered.
“Don't worry Grand Inspector Royce, I'm sure that no attack in the Dream World will happen.” Astrid reassured.
“Well, it won't happen today, yes. But it is still possible.” Royce responded.
“Jeez Grand Inspector, loosen up a bit, will ya?” Zoey said. “If Logan doesn't want an hourglass, he doesn't need it. Like me.”
“You don't have one either?” The Grand Inspector asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Don't even think about it.” Zoey ordered.
Royce took a deep breath in and out.
“Well I see that you are adamant of your decision.” Royce commented. After that, he turned to face Logan. “But you…”
“Don't even think about it!” Logan responded.
But Royce did.
He immediately decided that Logan needed an hourglass.
So Royce immediately tried pushing the stubborn Dreamchaser out, and the two (With one of them being reluctant.) went to see the Forgemaster.
~
At the Dream Forge…
The Grand Inspector and Dreamchaser walked to the Forgemaster, who was playing in the sand.
“Logan needs an hourglass Forgemaster.” Royce stated.
The Forgemaster got a good look at Logan.
And immediately spoke.
“There is no need of an hourglass for him.” The Forgemaster stated. “He knows what he wants.”
Logan immediately sighed with relief.
“Are you sure?” Royce asked. “Because he might need one in the future. Especially after what I've heard of after Never Witch's defeat and how the Dream World was nearly devoid of creativity.” He explained.
“I can assure you that there is no need of an hourglass.” The Forgemaster responded. “I have already had three Dreamchasers passed the Dream Forge.” He stated.
“Those must be Mateo, Izzie, and Cooper.” Logan guessed.
“Correct.” The Forgemaster said. “They have earned their hourglasses and will be leaving the Dream Forge. So you two can—”
But before the Forgemaster could finish. Royce immediately ran inside the Dream Forge with Logan getting dragged.
The Forgemaster could only sigh in response. Knowing that Royce won't let that slide.
~
Inside the Dream Forge…
“Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow.” Logan flatly said as he constantly got his back pressed by Royce.
The Grand Inspector was adamant on having Logan earning an hourglass.
And Logan, was annoyed.
This was not a great way for him to get closer to Astrid. At all.
“Is there an exit?” Logan asked in a bored tone.
“The only ways to leave are either passing the trial or waking up.” Royce answered, still trying to get the Logan to enter his test.
“So if I fail the trial on purpose—”
“Don't even try.” Royce responded.
“Oh come on!” Logan responded. “Can you at least stop getting me sunk in the sand?” He asked. “I'm gonna get sand in my tongue.”
But Royce wasn't convinced.
He was going to give Logan an hourglass no matter what.
Of course, there was something that said so other wise.
“Not…”
Or rather…
“Until…”
It was something that rumbled.
“You…”
And it rumbled louder.
“Get…”
And louder.
“An…”
Until…
“Hour—”
But before the Grand Inspector could finish, the ground inside the Dream Forge began to shake.
And the two were shot right out of the Dream Forge.
~
Outside…
Mateo, Izzie, and Cooper all were walking to Mr. Oz's bus.
“So how did you get your hourglasses?” Izzie asked.
“I was separated by Z-Blob, and I had to find a way to reach to him without dreamcrafting.” Mateo explained.
“I had to deal with soccer trophies that had my parents' voices again.” Cooper explained.
“Well at least Broseph's sounded different.” Izzie responded.
“What about you Izzie? How did you earn your hourglass?” Cooper asked.
That's when Izzie's face faltered.
“You don't want to know…” Izzie shuddered. “But it was worth it.” She said as she looked at her hourglass.
That's when they turned to see Royce and Logan (who transformed into Lo-Lo to avoid getting injured.) land near the bus, covered in sand.
“What happened?” Mateo asked.
“He did it.” Logan said as he got up and pointed at Royce.
“I was trying to help him earn an hourglass.” Royce stated.
“By giving me back pain?” Logan asked as he transformed back into his normal self.
This of course caused the three Dreamchasers who had hourglasses to chuckle a bit.
“I figured that you would need one if there's incoming danger.” The Grand Inspector stated. “But enough of that, it's time I think that we should discuss about what I missed.”
The four Dreamchasers looked at each other.
And had to tell Royce… everything.
~
A while later…
“So to recap, the reason why the Never Witch doom-domed the Dream Realms was due to childhood trauma involving her sister wanting to leave, resulting in the Never Witch to go crazy by doom-doming other Realms?” Royce asked.
“The Nightmare King also became the Guardian of the Grim Realm.” Mateo brought up.
“Ok… so… that covers it.” Royce spoke. “That doesn't sound too bad, in fact. I'm quite impressed.”
“Finally.” The Brooklyn Bureau responded in unison. Causing Astrid to chuckle a bit.
“Yeah it was crazy.” Logan responded. “But not as crazy when the Happy App nearly took over the Dream World!”
“Go on.” The Grand Inspector ordered, unaware that it was his biggest mistake.
Because he had to listen to what each of the Dreamchasers had to say.
Including Astrid.
And it all started with Mateo.
“So anyways… I was introduced to this dreamer by the name of Dream Smasher…”
It sounded normal.
Then came Izzie.
“…I thought I was helping him, but instead he was only using me to become Dream Keeper! I was so ashamed of what I did! I didn't know what to do! And the invasion made by the Nightmare King? It was a ploy!”
That sounded tragic, and Royce did want to tell Izzie that she needed to be careful of who to trust.
Then came Cooper.
Which was also the time he learned that Dream Smasher's real name was Claudius.
And that's when things started to shift.
“…so we tried to make him into an Unaware Dreamer, only for us to be affected by different frequencies! And that's when we found Lunia…”
That's when Royce's stone expression began to crack.
And Zoey made it crack even more.
“…and after getting back into the Dream World with both frequencies, we founded out that Lunia was Mrs. C! And we needed her help to stop Claudius…”
At first it was hope and admiration that the Brooklyn Bureau managed to find Lunia.
But then it all came crashing down thanks to Logan.
“…and I learned that Astrid here tried to get the Berlin Branch free from the Happy App's influence. Only for her to flee to Brooklyn to save me. Plus she was hiding in my room. I thought she ghosted me… I'm glad she didn't.”
That immediately caused Royce to be concerned.
Astrid was… by herself?
How was he unaware of this!
He had to get an explanation.
But it wasn't the explanation he wanted…
…
…
…
…
…
…because that explanation got more confusing when everyone began explaining one at a time.
Royce's face immediately began to show horror.
And that's when he heard the last thing he could process.
“So we had to get help from the Undreamt to defeat the Brain.” Mateo explained. “Did that help?”
That did it.
Everyone got a good look at the face of the Grand Inspector.
Royce's face was completely mortified of what he had heard.
And he didn't know where to start.
From the Dream Creatures and Nightmares being boxed, to the znightmare King and Migo being split in half, to the fact that the Garcia twins' father became a puppet while Claudius became an ally, to even freeing the Undreamt itself!
“So… did that help?” Mateo asked.
Royce had no words.
He only looked at the Brooklyn Bureau, and even Astrid.
He just shook his head in response.
“So… are we gonna train for 'incoming attacks'?” Izzie asked.
That's when Royce said something.
“No… just… just do whatever you want.” He tried to speak.
Everyone looked at each other, and decided that it was best to wake up.
Leaving Royce with the bus.
He had to process a whole lot of things.
Like… a whole lot.
All what he could make out was this…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…being with the Brooklyn Bureau will be an absolute nightmare.