When Sleepwalker and Rick reverse their fusion and return to the Mindscape for the first time, they are caught up in a battle with Cobweb. Cobweb taunts Sleepwalker with the illusions of his dead and dying kinsmen, driving the alien hero into a murderous rage that leaves him wide open to Cobweb's counterattacks. It's then that Rick realizes the truth of what Cobweb is doing:
Rick: You want to beat him? Break the cycle! That’s the way to do it! Sleepwalker: I…have beaten him many times before. Why should now be any different? Rick: This time it’s different because he caught you in the cycle! You’ve been through my thoughts? Now I’ve been through yours! I know how you feel, but you’re not alone! I’m here with you! Don’t let this bastard win! You know how he plays the game!
That's when Sleepwalker sees through the truth of Cobweb's illusions and rallies to finally defeat him.
When the Silent Ones, the lords of Sleepwalker's race, are ready to execute him for his crimes, Sleepy's human host Rick Sheridan intervenes and refuses to let it happen:
The Silent Ones: You are advised to stand aside, human. Rick: And what if I don't? Can’t do much to me in my own mind, can you? That’d really screw up the tenets of the Sleepwalker race, wouldn’t it? Sleepwalker: Rick, you must not- Rick: No! Killing Terren’sk isn’t going to bring back Mom and Dad! Killing Terren’sk isn’t going to stop Psyko if he ever comes back! Killing Terren’sk isn’t going to protect Julia from Lightmaster, if he ever comes back! Killing Terren’sk won’t do a damn thing for Sv’ara, or any of the other Sleepwalkers! The Silent Ones: Explain yourself, human. Rick: It happened, alright? My fusion with Terren’sk, Mom and Dad’s deaths, all of it! It happened, and I wish to God it hadn’t, but it did! There’s nothing that’ll change it, and it’s a part of who I am now. Besides, who’s to say there isn’t a way to break the bond? Kill Terren’sk, and you lose a warrior, you lose someone who’s put his life on the line against Cobweb time and again, you lose someone who’s saved who knows how many lives, both in the Mindscape and on Earth! Besides, you think of all the criminals he’s iced, they’re not going away on their own! (To Sleepwalker) Until you can return home, we still need you.
Sleepwalker's battles with Psyko always push the alien hero to his very limits, turning into bloodbaths from which Sleepy usually emerges more dead than alive. Not only does Psyko very nearly destroy Sleepwalker in body, but also in mind, as his Hannibal Lectures play on Sleepwalker's despair and guilt...until Sleepwalker throws them back in his face:
Psyko: Look around you, brother! Do you not see what the end result is of our conflicts? Do you not see the reflection of your sins? Do you not see the cycle that entwines us, now and forever? Sleepwalker: Yes, look around. Look around and realize that, without your guidance, your puppets are losing the battle. Realize that, just as it has before, the city will rebuild itself after your destruction. Realize that, even now, everyone from police officers to firefighters, from soldiers to superheroes, from bystanders to civilians, are all fighting in their own way against your perversions. They risk their lives, with or without gain, to support the ones they love.Many have already died, and for that I fully accept my share of responsibility. There will be a reckoning, and I shall atone for my sins. But too often have I forgotten the good I have done, the lives I have saved. How many more victims will you have made to suffer if I do not oppose you? How much good have I already done by confronting your depredations? Such is the irony of your observations that we are a mirror image. For every time I see you, I am reminded of my heritage and my duty as a Sleepwalker, and the fight my people have waged against monsters such as yourself since time immemorial. Your nightmares and your suffering are what I exist to fight. You speak of killing me-I would have no regrets at perishing by your hand, for then I will have given my life in the defense of those who cannot defend themselves. Your killing me would justify my existence as a Sleepwalker. Psyko: Foolish brother! I would then be triumphant! Even you, in your ridiculous decisions, cannot deny the truth! Sleepwalker: You forget your own words. We are intertwined, now and forever. Should I perish in battle, I will have no regrets in taking you with me-the Sleepwalker edict against killing makes exceptions for when the warrior may redeem himself by perishing with his enemy. The greater good is achieved thereby, and the cycle shall end.
And then there's Sleepwalker's My Name Is Inigo Montoya speech as he confronts the truth behind Cobweb's machinations and forces himself to remember just who he is and what his responsibilities are. Then he takes on Cobweb, fighting with a renewed vigor until Cobweb is banished once and for all.
