Sandman #12 (1990)

Six months pregnant, Lyta Hall wakes up in the Dream Dome. Her husband Hector has been absorbed in his work, cooperating with Glob and Brute as the new Sandman. Hector becomes aware of an entity approaching. He believes that it is a nightmare, and that he must fight it. Lyta interrupts, and wonders aloud why she hasn't given birth yet, given that she was pregnant two years ago when they first came to the Dream Dome, and it has not changed since. Meanwhile, Jed Paulsen is dragged from the cellar in which his second cousins Clarice and Barnaby keep him locked day and night. They warn that an inspector from the welfare office is coming to be sure that the money they get to support him is going to the right place, and threaten him against revealing that they are mistreating him. While Hector believes that the coming entity is a nightmare, it is actually Dream - the Lord of Dreams. Brute and Glob are well aware of this, and they fully expect Hector to lose his battle against their former master, but they hope it will buy them time to escape. After their rental car breaks down, Rose Walker and her companion Gilbert walk back to a hotel, which is unfortunately hosting a cereal convention, which has booked it up. They talk their way into getting a room for the night despite the lack of vacancies. As Hector goes out to face Dream, Jed begins to realize that something is going on inside his head, and Lyta begins to notice that the Dream Dome is falling apart. Dream is amused by Hector's efforts, knowing that the man is already dead. Hector's delusion amuses Dream further, but eventually he brings the dream to an end. Bringing everyone out of the dream, Dream, Lyta, Hector, Glob, and Brute find themselves in the cellar in which Jed has been trapped. Dream demands an explanation of the two nightmares. They had hoped to build a new Dream King of their own making in their master's prolonged imprisonment. Annoyed, Dream cleans up their mess for them and condemns them to the darkness for thousands of years. Turning to Hector, Dream unceremoniously commands the dead man to go to the land of the dead, and Hector is ripped away from his wife. Lyta is angered, refusing to accept that her husband has been dead these last two years. Dream makes it clearer to her, but before leaving, he warns that the baby she carries belongs to him, and that he will return for it. Seething, she promises that he will only get the child over her dead body. Meanwhile, Jed escapes to the road, and is picked up by a car. The driver turns out to be the nightmare known as the Corinthian.