003. Ends - The End (The Endless & OC)

He walks through a garden filled with mighty statues. He navigates with familiarity, for he is blind. And though he has no sight, he reads from a great book, chained to his wrist. He follows a path worn by ages, sightlessly observing fate as it winds its way inexorably towards the end of time. Each word spoken is written there and read by him. Nothing is hidden from him. He knows everything, past...present...and future. But the things he reads in the pages of his book still move him. And on this day, a page halts him in his tracks. He stops, and stares for what might have been only a moment, a brief hesitation...but to him, it is nearly eternity. And then, with sudden vigor, he resumes motion, striding towards a gallery with seven large frames.

One frame holds a mirror, and it holds his own reflection. The other six hold the images of his sisters and brothers, as they wish to be seen. In his realm, in the realm of the Endless, wish and reality are seldom different. One of these portraits is hung with a large sheet, to hide its image. He smiles, the tiniest of smiles, and tears the sheet down with one hand. Behind it is a tall red haired man with a slight beard, and green eyes. He is frowning, as is oft his way. Only one of their siblings brings him joy, and that is the youngest. She was Delight, but now, after madness has taken much of that away, she is called Delirium. He steps back from the portrait, and summons them all to his garden. When he calls, as eldest, they all come. Even Destruction, who has long turned his back on his family. Destiny returns his sightless eyes to the pages of the book, and watches his siblings as they approach.

Death, the one he is closest to, arrives first. "You call loudly brother. Almost a shout." She states, stepping from the painting. "There is great need for expediency." Destiny replies as Despair oozes forth from he frame. "I am busy making people miserable, Brother." She says, scowling. "They can wait." Death grins at him. Desire, twin to Despair, arrives next. "Ah, sister/brother Desire. Welcome." Destiny says, bowing his head slightly. Desire laughs, and it rubs against the room like velvet, soft and warm. "Brother, you call?" Dream says, stepping forth, swathed in black clothes. "Did you bring Matthew?" Destiny asks. "I shall." Dream states, and steps back through his portrait just as Delirium steps out of hers. She looks around, confusion in her eyes. "I dOn't See wHaT aLl the FusS iS aboUt..."she begins, and Dream returns with the Raven called Matthew. "WhaT a pRetTy BirDie..." she says. Matthew blinks at her. "Thanks. You're pretty cute yourself, princess." he says gently. "Call her Delirium, Bird...Or you may confuse her." A voice rumbles, and they all look towards the last of their number. Destruction, the red haired man, stands before his portrait, looking no more impressed than usual. "You demanded my presence, Destiny. Now speak, that I may leave once more." he rumbles. Despair snickers. "He's missing his favorite show." she throws out, and he glares balefully at her. "Come." Destiny says, and leads them to the round stone table. They all sit, and he lays his book on the table. He turns it, and shows them the facing pages.

"It's a girl. She's pretty. Not as pretty as me, but I could make men want her like no other." Desire comments, gazing at the young woman. "I liKe HeR...WhAt's hEr NaMe?" Delirium asks. "To those who will be her friends, she is called Hope. She will have many names before I close my pages." Destiny turns sightless eyes on his family, meeting each gaze in turn. "We will call her 'Daughter'. For she will be that...a child to each of us...to carry our power. She will stand behind me, as Death collects my soul at The End of Time. But her beginning must be now, in these quiet days. We will create her...here...now." Destiny states. "How?" Despair asks. "Death can give no life, and I am barren." she reminds them. "I am both and neither." Desire shrugs its shoulders. "I aLwaYs wAntEd tO be A moMmY." Delirium sighs happily, tracing a finger over the curve of the jaw in the picture. "From each of us we must give her a gift, and a piece of our power. Place it on the table before us all." Destiny commands, and one by one, the others obey their brother.

Delirium is the first, and she holds out her hands. A butterfly lands on the table, along with a sphere of rainbow colored light. "I giVe CuRioUsiTy. AnD bUtterFlies. I liKe BeiNg A bUttErFly." she says solemnly. "Curiousity and Butterflies." Dream smiles, and Destruction ruffles his sister's hair fondly. "I give emotions. All of them, hers, and everyone else's. She will learn to keep them out, but the strong ones...they'll get through. She can send them out, or take them in." Despair states, and places a mud colored ball of power on the table. "Your gift, sister?" Desire asks. Desire scowls, and places a second item, a crystal in the shape of a tear on the table. "Widow's Tears. They can heal all wounds. Not my specialty, I know...but she'll despair when she runs out one day." Despair sneers. "You are a horrible creature, Despair. Not that I haven't been aware of this for eons." Dream says quietly, and places his gifts on the table.

"Of myself I give the doorway to the dream realms. She may walk there as none but I ever have." he states. Then he holds his hand up, and Matthew jumps from his shoulder to his wrist. "My gift is Matthew, to guide her and be her friend. This is not presumptuous of me?" he asks the raven. Matthew gives a hoarse laugh. "I could stand to stretch my wings, Dream King. I will take good care of her." he promises, and stands on the table with the Widow's Tear and the Butterfly. The Butterfly flutters up to sit on his head. "Sister/brother, what is your gift?" Dream asks. Desire laughs. "Why of myself I give Beauty." It states, and places a rosy globe of light on the table. "And how better to see that the soul matches the body than with a Mirror of True Beauty?" It adds, placing a polished round mirror on the table. Curious, Matthew looks within, and sees the face of a man gazing back. He gives a harsh laugh. "If only." he states bitterly, and Despair laughs as well, though for different reasons. "I give the child her Soul." Death states, placing a white sphere on the table. "And my promise that I will not collect it until after I have collected yours Brother Destiny. As for my gift to her...She may use this to buy a life from me. I will spare a mortal for her, if she loves them truly." Death states, placing her Ankh pendant on the table beside the Mirror of True Beauty. "WhAt wiLl yOu giVe hEr, DeStrUctiOn?" Delirium asks. He smiles slightly.

"I give the Elements. For creation or destructions, she may bend the forces of nature to her will." he states, placing a fiery orb on the table. Matthew shies away from it. "And this." He adds, holding out his hands. After a second, power coalesces, and a mighty sword appears in his hands. He lays it on the table. "This is the Sword I gave to Michael, back in the day." he pats it wistfully. Having each given a gift and a part of their power, the siblings turned to the eldest. "What will you give her, Destiny?" Death asks. "She will be curious, so I will not give her great knowledge. She has already been given life exceeding my own. I will give her ten seconds of the future, that she might foresee any immediate dangers to herself. That is the part of my power I pass to her." he states. Then he gazes down at the face on the pages of the book. "What gift do you give?" Destruction asks softly. Destiny continues to stare at the image, and slowly, he smiles. "I have little of value but the book of fates, and that I cannot give. I will give her this." he states, and removes his Grey cloak, worn over his Grey robes. "I give her my cloak...that she might always feel the warmth of her family about her...and that when she wishes to go unseen, she shall." he states.

The seven gifts sit on the table, with seven spheres of power. Destiny collects the spheres, and holds them out to the middle brother, Destruction. "You are a creator, and a destroyer. Destroy these spheres, and create Hope, Brother." Destiny states. Solemnly, Destruction takes them in his hands. Then he smiles at Delirium. "Want to help?" he asks. She nods, clapping her hands, and they step apart, beginning to juggle. Both close their eyes, concentrating as they toss the powers back and forth. Curiousity, Empathy, Dream walking, Beauty, Spirit, Elementalism, and Precognition, moving in shimmering flickering arcs of light. And then, the middle and youngest of the eldest drop their hands, and the orbs fall together on the floor, with a sound like the shattering of glass. A great flash of light, and all but Destiny shield their eyes. Then the light fades.

"Hello, child." Destiny says solemnly. The curled form on the floor unfolds, and rises, bare. Dream takes the cloak from the table, and gently drapes it around her shoulders. "Thank you, Father Dream." she smiles, and her voice is sweet and pitched low. Her eyes, like Delirium's, are mismatched, with one the color of a cat's gold, the other the silver grey of a clouded sky. "Have you a name, child?" Despair demands. "Mother Despair, I am called Hope...but my name is The End." she smiles. "The End...it has a ring to it." Death smiles. The red haired girl returns the smile with one of her own.