Yeah, another dream. This one I actually got to finish.

As a member of the B.P.R.D., I see some weird stuff. The tupperware container I was holding in my hand was not weird in the slightest, but the scientist who had handed it to me was trying to convince me otherwise.

"I've been working with that goo you brought back on the last mission (B.P.R.D.: Into the Deep), and it has some really interesting - and powerful - properties." It looked a lot like pancake mix to me, except for the purple droplets swirling about the surface. "I've been mixing and experimenting, and I think it's going to do what we need it to do but for one missing ingredient."

Missing ingredient. There's always a missing ingredient. I accepted the lid to the tupperware and stowed it in a pocket.

* * *

The members of the mission team decended the steps. The underground lab was state of the art, but of course Nazis had the highest standards. The main attraction was a circle of suspension chambers, each containing a latent figure. We stood in awe as we surveyed the extent of the damage. They had obviously been the subjects of some grotesque experiment. Some sported limbs that were obviously not their own, or were missing pieces altogether.

Hellboy broke the silence. "Let's blow this joint." Liz Sherman agreed. "We should put them out of their misery."

Hellboy reached into his utility belt and pulled out explosive devices, and handed them to Liz, Abe Sapien, and myself. "One each."

We worked quickly. My last placement, I made the mistake of eye contact. This figure was a little less grotesque; it was a child. It had none of the disfigurement of the others, but I knew instantly that the experimentation had been the most extensive when the full force of its anguish hit me: "Help me."

The psychic connection was strong. I knew instantly how to remove the child from its prison, and flipped the appropriate switches. The cryogenic fluid drained and the chamber rose. Abe cried, "What are you doing?" as the child fell into my arms.

"Saving this one," I said softly.

Hellboy finished placing his last charge. "Let's go."

We raced up the stairs, and I lagged last carrying the child. I reached the top of the stairs and stopped short. Nazis. Damn.

Hellboy dropped to his knees with the appearance of surrendering. Liz and Abe did the same. I was grateful. Between the forthcoming explosion and their subsequent fight, they were going to give me the chance to escape with the child.

The child had another plan, however. I felt a prick on my arm, and the next thing I knew, it had between its thumb and forefinger a hair dripping with a green liquid. (In my dream, the green liquid was the blood of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, who was standing behind us, but how the heck am I going to explain that? Even in fantasy, there has to be some logic.) I didn't know what and I didn't know how, but I knew I wanted whatever it was no where near me. The hair and its payload was instantly in the arm of the Nazi Capitan that stood next to me, and he was just as quickly writhing in pain on the floor.

The explosion was right on time, and I had just enough time to register my friends leaping to their feet before I took off. I easily reached the door in the confusion. Where was the van? We had parked it under this tree, but I concluded the Nazis must have taken it. I glanced at the child in my arms and ran. There was a safehouse around here somewhere.

It was closer than I thought. Too close, actually, to spend more time there than was enough to catch my breath and grab some supplies. That plan was quickly scrubbed when the words echoed in my head, "I am Shana."

Shana. My beloved Shana. Relief and shame spilled over me in equal waves. Shana. I had let her die. I had held her in my arms and watched her die. I had had to then leave her behind that mission, and grief had haunted me since.

Now she was again in my arms, and I was again responsible for her survival. "You won't get her this time." I had lingered too long. The Nazis were sure to be on my trail; even Hellboy couldn't keep them all busy for long. I scooped the child back into my arms, lighter and inexplicably smaller, like she was growing younger. I ran out onto the back porch. The screen door slammed as a Nazi disguised as a police officer rounded the corner of the house. "Hello, officer," I said. "There's been a disturbance. Have you seen anyone run through here?" He knew I was B.P.R.D. and I knew he was a Nazi, but we continued the charade as he moved closer. "No, I haven't seen anyone. Should I be concerned?" He was almost within arm's reach now. "No, but it might be a good idea to go back inside and lock your doors." Bingo. I threw a throat strike, and he reeled, choking. I smashed his temple with my elbow, and was off before he hit the ground.

I ran as fast as I could, trying to hold the child, who was now a baby, steady against my body. The baby kept growing smaller and smaller. "Wait," reverberated in my head. I dropped to the ground, panting. "I will not survive this," the child communicated psychicly, "I have much to tell you."

"I am not truly Shana. But Shana's soul resided in me for a time, and I absorbed her memories, which is how I knew you and knew you would protect me. My name is Emma Watson, and I am an extraordinary being, one which the world has never seen, nor will ever see again. The Nazis discovered me long ago and have been performing experiments ever since, and have done much damage with the knowledge they have gained.

"But you must put a stop to it, now. Listen, my blood can do it. Mix it with the Tears of Drakna and you can open the Hellmouth." My hand went to my pocket. The baby nodded. "You must take it now, before I am gone." I closed my eyes as my hand closed around my pocketknife. This child, this poor being, the things it might have been able to do for the world. Now it was sacrificing itself to end it. I took my pocketknife and the tupperware container from my pocket. So that's what that purple stuff was. I made a cut in the tiny baby's arm and let the drops fall into the mixture, which began swirling and turned a deep red. I laid a gentle kiss on the babe's forehead, and left it to it's well-earned rest.

The Hellmouth. I had the picture in my mind. I had often walked past the spot without an inkling of what it was. Children played King of the Mountain on this flat boulder and now it was the only hope for mankind. The Apocalypse was our only hope. Fancy that.

I raced and knew the Nazis were close behind. I could see Hellboy, Liz and Abe down the street, and only hoped they could hold off the army; I only needed a few seconds. Reaching the rock, I ripped the lid off the container and poured it onto the surface of the rock. The gray swirled into red, into purple as as the great mass disappeared and a countdown started. 11...10...9...

A countdown. Funny. Even funnier was the image of a happy face that appeared between each number. ...8...7...6... It was like I was looking at one of those 3-D hidden images, where you have to unfocus your eyes to really see the image. ...5...4...3... My friends and the Nazi soldiers surrounded me, watching. "All those Apocalypses you tried to start, and here's the real thing!" yelled Hellboy, triumphant. ...2...1.


Then I woke up. But I'm sure mankind was saved and the Nazis all died.