He sat at the bar, surrounded by a thin cloud of smoke...it wisped and curled about him. He raised the cigarette to his mouth once more, taking a long drag. And he lay the cigarette down on the side of an ashtray and rose the glass to his lips...He wondered where it had all gone wrong, where his life had suddenly given up and died. The barman clicked a button and then he could hear the news being announced on the television, echoing around the empty bar. The headlines where bleak. A priest had been arrested for abusing small children. Four men died in a drunk-driving incident. The effects of Global Warming where at an all-time high, plain to see. And he just didn 't care any more, he couldn 't see past the end of the glass, the next cigarette, whatever it took to help him forget...

Behind him he heard the door to the bar opening, and the loud 'clack' of boots beating across the bar-room floor. He heard an umbrella closing, the moisture falling to the ground. And he knew who it was. And he turned....

So it was that the Endless seemed to have an ending, and it was in plain sight. The terror was within each of them. In her realm, Despair despaired. Desire, who had little or nothing to do with Death, wanted her to return more than ever. Destruction felt it too, deep within him. A part of him cried out in warning. Death was missing, nobody knew why, except, perhaps...
 

As Destiny walked his Garden, writing slowly in his book ( writing of the unseen presence who, even now, was reading about him writing in his Book ). He knew what was happening, and he feared for the world and everything in it. The Change comes upon each of the Endless, often more than once, but always with devastating effect. Once, a long long time ago, the change came upon Destiny. But that was long, long ago. Long ago when there where only three Endless who watched the stars shine. Death and Dream knew not of his existence, in that time before time began. He had changed then, sacrificing his humanity totally, becoming the pure embodiment of Destiny to escape from the daily pain of loneliness.

Before the Change came upon him he had been much like Morpheus was in his last days, before the Kindly Ones. He saw people love, people die, people dream, and all he could do was write it down in his book. And every time he wrote of a death, something died within him, replaced by a dark mirror-image. He wanted to help the people so much ( of course, they where not people as such, but all life is sacred ). He was slowly driven to the brink of insanity, and from that point his memory faded. He supposed his humanity had been driven out of him to prevent his insanity - had he helped anybody or thing, the consequences would have been unbearable, unstoppable. So his humanity was driven from him, chained away deep within his soul, below the all-consuming, all-knowing powers of Destiny. That day, all feeling had been drained from him, he was impervious to the people around him. Even later, much later, when Delight felt the Change coming over her, he felt nothing. He knew that delight was a lesser emotion, insignificant in comparison to the powers of Dream and Death. Then Morpheus died ( Destiny knew he was indirectly responsible for this, but the final decision had been Morpheus' - Destiny could not be blamed for anything, for Destiny never took a driect hand in anything...) and he again felt nothing. The Dreaming would choose a new King for itself, directing Morpheus before he died to pass on his powers to Daniel Hall, the mortal child.

But Death does not change. Never in history had such a thing been considered - Death is Death, and that has always been a rule. Until now ( see previous story ) she had been in a way the strongest of the Endless. Destiny had written of the changes happening to the Endless. Desire was constantly tearing at the Fabric of the family, arguably assuming control over Despairs Realm. Of course such an accusation was grave, and Destiny would never have repeated it....Dream was captured by the mortals for a brief period, but he was never the same again. Destruction chose to abandon his duties, a violation of the rules, but he knew that it was coming - he had seen it written of in his book. Once he had been asked, after a mortal had stolen a page from his book : "If you know everything, then how could I steal this from You? "....Destinys reply was simple.... "I knew you would surprise me"

But for Death to change was...unthinkable...For her to spparently change so drastically without anything being written in his Book was...terrifying to a degree....

The Endless where slowly tearing apart, Destiny knew this. He had to do something, or he would be the next to fall. So it was that, following the departure of Death, Desire went into his Gardens. He wandered for hours, searching for something he had hidden long, long ago. He reached into a nearby wall of grass, losing his hand in the green.....

When he withdrew his hand, he was holding a small, roundish object. He held it up before him, letting the sun reflect in its infinite facets. Its appearence resembled that of a valuable gemstone, but was far more powerful than any mortal rock....He rose it over his head, before bringing it smashing down onto a rock. With a thunderclap, the 'gem' split into a thousand pieces, each of identical properties....A blinding white light soared from the gem, hovering before Destiny. He held his hand aloft, saying but two words....

"No More"

The light surrounded Destiny Of The Endless, drawing from him his powers, some of his knowledge, and other, unspeakable things.....

He fell to the ground, dropping his book. He remained where he lay for a long time indeed. When he rose, he reached for his book. His hands past through it as if it where not there.

"So, this is the price I must pay for my mortality. So be it. From this day forth, I am no longer Destiny of the Endless. I forsake my book and my duties. It appears that my sister is not the only one who has fallen today. When this is over, however it may end, for without my book I am blind to the future as well as the present, I shall return here to resume my role as Destiny, as has been written. Action must be taken to ensure that the Endless remain."

Thus it was that Destiny was no more. He lifted his head a little defiantly and walked from his gardens into the Void that seperates the Realms of the Endless. His heart was set on one thing. He must get word to The Family, he must warn them of what his coming. He must warn them of all the terrible dangers they faced. And then, he must save them. They MUST find Death, no matter what the cause, and repair the damage done by her departure..... One way or another, there MUST be a Death, MUST be an Ending. For in Truth all things have an Ending. Had they not, it would be a dark world indeed.

He stood there, surrounded by black, considering which realm to enter first, which realm would be safest....not the Threshold, Desire is not trustworthy at the best of times, and this same reason meant that Despairs realm was also not an option. Destruction was out of his realm, attempting to gain access there would be fruitless. Even if he did, he would probably be destroyed within moments of his arrival. Deliriums realm was perhaps the most dangerous, travelling there in this form would be suicide.

Thus it was that Destiny of the Endless paid a visit to a land all men must visit, the land that men spend a great deal of their lives in, the place that everybody knows, but nobody ever rememebers the truth...

The Dreaming.
 

There is A Land all Men must Visit on a regular basis. All men are connected to the dreaming in some way, whether they are aware of this or not...Confused?

When you close your eyes and think for a moment, surrounded by blackness, you are visiting the Dreaming ( or at least a small part of you is )

When a child sleeps at night, he is in the Dreaming, as are his parents. ( Although A possibility exists that they are in Desires Realm also )

The Dreaming is divided into an infinite number of sections. The Love Fields, Fiddlers Green ( or rather, the inhuman place Daniel constructed to replace Fiddlers Green.... ), and many other places. The Dreamers subconscious decides on the final destination...Unknown to the Dreamers however, at the very heart of the Dreaming, not far from a small house ( A House Of Secrets if truth be told, but that is another tale, best left for another time ), lies the Heart Of the Dreaming, The Seat of its power. The Dream Kings Castle is guarded by two hulking animals, facing each other over the enormous door. Between them, also above the door, is a huge stone Statue, a memorial to a third guardian who was slain not long ago ( SEE : THE KINDLY ONES ) by the same force which slew its master with an almost casual ease....

And in the Castles Walls are an infinite number of rooms and private chambers. The interior of the Castle is easily bigger than any mortal city, but, as does any mortal city, the Castle has a heart, a huge room, in the center of which is a huge throne, floating in the air above many many layers of steps.....

A man sits in the chair, looking insignificant in comparison to the huge room around him. But, truth be told, this man could destroy the entire Castle, the entire Dreaming, if such was his whim. This man is the Dream King, the Lord of all Dreams. The second of such Kings, if truth be told...

Above and behind the man, perched on the back of the chair is a Raven... The 'man' ( he is of course a member of the Endless - he is not a man, he is an anthropomorphic personification ) *-[WRITERS NOTE - MAY BE SPELT INCORRECTLY]-* is talking to the bird.....

"Matthew, you where a loyal servant to Morpheus, he confided in you, befriended you a little, even though you where his creation. Something is seriously wrong. Destinys book, which supposedly always remains in my Gallery, has vanished without reason. Death is gone, as is Destiny. What is happening Matthew? What would he have done where he here and not me?"

Astonishingly, the bird actually replies to the mans ravings...

"*KRAWWK* I dont know Boss, he always seemed to know what he was doing, some folks even say he knew he was going to die, and could even have stopped it from happening. Deaths a cute chick - she should be OK, at least I hope she will be. Y'ask me, she 's the only one of the old Bosses family worth a damn....Destiny though..brrr....hes a creepy guy, never really cared much about anything except that creepy book o ' his, you know, the one he 's always writing in. Dream said something about it containing 'all possible futures, presents and pasts'.I tried to look in it over his shoulder once, but the words on the page...they just kept dancing about, I couldn't read them at all. Weird...Well boss, unless theres anything more, I promised lucien I would help him in the library today....

"Go, Matthew, thank you for your help"

"No problem boss, glad I could help"

And with that, the bird flew from his perch on the Dream Kings throne. He soared through the huge chamber with ease, silently passing through the door, gliding into the hallway, down to a nearby door, and into a room on invisible air currents.....Matthew did not want to think about this. He 'd been a Raven for a long time, and he still worried about how he could fly without any wind.....

Lucien was nowhere to be seen.

"Luc? Luc? Where ya hiding Lucien old pal?"

From behind a pile of books, a voice rang out..:

"I 'm back here Matthew.."

"Lucien, what do you think is going on with Dreams family? They all seem to be freaking out on the poor guy, he doesn't know what to do at all, he keeps asking me what Morpheus would have done. I mean even the Old Boss would have been worrying about all this - Daniel 's only new around here and the whole thing is going bananas on him...And have you seen the weather recently? Clouds...clouds everywhere, and not white fluffy clouds, the dark grey ones. Y'know, the ones you only ever see when its about to rain. But it never does, they just fly by. And then a minute later, more clouds. Im worried about whats going to happen..."

"So am I Matthew, So Am I..."

The conversation continued, the raven helping the thin librarian in his tasks. They talked about how much things had changed, how the Endless, who had once seemed to be invincible, now appeared to be falling apart. Their conversation lasted for hours..Occasionaly, Lucien would let his glasses drop from a ladder, and Matthew would fly down to retrieve them - He liked Lucien...

Our gaze moves now, outside the Castle at the Heart of the Dreaming.

And a man in a heavy robe is approaching the door. If he gains entry to seek an audience with Dream, things will never be the same again. And the Guardians reach down to stop him. Destiny shouts something then, five long words. Then he Orders them to let him past. And they Do....

And now he is entering the Castle, and now he is talking to Dream.

And now things will never be the same again. God help us all...
 

Know, reader, that there are other lands around us. Lands nobody can see or hear. There are many names for these lands, many ancient civilisations suspected the existence of these lands, some even worshipped them. It was extremely rare for one of the mortal race to see a realm of the Endless ( Except, of course, for the Sunless Lands which all mortals must visit sooner and later. And that is not truly a realm at all...but I digress.. ). There are precious few people who have ever actually seen ( or, more accurately, recalled seeing ) the land of Dreams. Everybody visits the land of Dreams when they sleep, their subconscious chooses out an area of the Dreaming to remain until morning.

Where we go to now is not one of those places. It is not Fiddlers Green ( or rather, it could not be compared to Fiddlers Green - that particular aspect of Dreaming 'died' months ago and refused the new Kings kind offer of ressurection..), and it is certainly not the Love Fields. Love is out of Place in these realms. The last time love came to these halls, the Master of the Dreaming destroyed himself, to be replaced by a new, younger avatar. We focus on the Castle at the heart of The Dreaming, which has always been a safe haven for Dreams minions, with one exception. At that time, the Dreaming was ravaged and its creator was slain. The major Arcana suffered greatly. That was the time of The Kindly Ones, the Furies. They came to slay Morpheus, because he had killed his son. ( SEE : THE KINDLY ONES, and for Vital BackGround Info SEE : FABLES AND REFLECTIONS )

But since that time the Keep has been rebuilt, restored to its former glory, safe once more from harm. Or so it would appear. It towers high in the air, a building of great strength. Inside its halls ( an infinite number of halls ) reside all makes of beast and man alike. And, of course, Dreams and Knightmares of great power. But perhaps the most powerful room of all is Dreams gallery. It is here we resume the tale...

Daniel is standing there, in the enlarged gallery ( Mervin Pumpkinhead had not been bothered with this most mundane task, Dream had simply willed it to be so ) with his Raven on his shoulder. Behind him and a little to the right is Destiny, clothed in a heavy robe, covering his face. He has no book, he has forsaken his duties. He has broken every rule available, he should be dead already. But he is not so he will continue his quest... Will seek an ending, whichever ending it may be....

In the Center of the room is a large circular table, with a dark mirror-like surface. Around it is placed 7 chairs. On the walls of the gallery are the Symbols - the most powerful symbols of all. The hooked ring of Despair, once it latches into your heart, the only way to remove it is by removing your heart. The Heart of Desire, who would be better remembered by a brain - Desire is constantly plotting against the other members of the Endless. There are 3 other objects. One is a mirror, one of which can be found in every gallery of the Endless. The other 2 are...bizaare. Destinys Book has now vanished completely, leaving a dark stain on the wall...and Deaths Ankh has metamorphosed to cover the entire frame, a twisted mockery of its original perfection...this causes Dream some distress. Of course there is another frame, but that does not hang on the wall any more, it rests nearby, and within it is a Sword....

Silently, he slips the ring of Despair onto his left hand, holding Desires heart in his right, surrounded by the psychadellic mist that is Deliriums sigil.

Then, he called to his Family....

"My sisters, I stand in my gallery and I am bearing all of your sigils.. I am calling a meeting, as is my right as the Eldest remaining member of the Endless. We have a problem, and we urgently need to discuss it. I request that each of you visit my Realm in Good Faith."

With that, Deliriums smoke drifted softly from around Dreams head and materialised in the form of a green Dog in the chair he had prepared for Delirium......

"ummm...hi New Dream, I like you, you 're not scary like the other Dream. Um...well you are scary like the other dream Im sorry that was a lie. aaahh...whats wrong with Death and Destiny Dream?"

As they spoke, Dream placed Despairs ring on a chair and did the same with Desires heart.

"Soon my sister, soon, that is what we are here to discuss. Delirium Why are you a dog today?"

"oh well I was playing with Barnabus and it seemed that we would have more fun if I was a Dog so I twiddled my nose, I saw that on the television once on a program about a witch, and I was a dog and everything was really smelly and I got to run after Barnabus really fast and it was really really good. I 'll change back now if you want me to"

With that, the Dog sitting on the chair seemed to suddenly become malformed, growing rapidly, hair changing colour. When she was done, Delirium sat there on the chair. She too had changed in recent months. After Dreams death the Change started to come upon her. Her hair was no longer the huge trail of multicolor threads any more, rather it was shoulder length hair. It was still multicolour, but only the primary colours. Dream looked closer at Delirium, and was slightly surprised to see that the glitter in her eye had vanished, again mirroring the serenity that was slowly forcing itself into her mind. Two months ago, she would never have changed into a dog to play with Barnabus - that showed a clear passage of though which Delirium should be incapable of having. He should, he realised, be confronting this Change urgently, but the recent events had left him quite unable to...This would be the first thing to deal with after the current problems, if he still could.....

Dream faced the other two guests sitting at his table. He was disturbed at what he saw. Desire and Despair where hand in hand beside each other. Despairs ring was cutting deep into her twins skin, spilling blood onto the table, rippling the reflections of those present. Perhaps more worrying was the damage being done to Despair. Her face was a criss-cross of scars, her mouth hung from her in shreds.

"Despair? Who has dared to do such a thing to one of the Endless? Speak his name that we may have Vengeance upon him, when the time is fitting...."

Despair just shook her head, unable to speak. Desire spoke for her :

"Isn 't it obvious Dream King? Despair has done this to herself, with that cursed ring of hers. It appears she cannot handle the amount of Despair within her and her realm any more. That should not be possible. This is all Deaths and Destinys fault - what are they thinking? Running off like that? It will not be long before the mortals notice that nobody is dying. This isn 't like that whole one-day-a-century thing Daniel, this is unauthorised, this is seriously dangerous. To the mortals, to the Endless, to the very Fabric of existence. We have to get her back quickly Dream, as quickly as we can."

Dream looked a little surprised at Desires outburst, but spoke quickly to reassure it....

"I am aware of the seriousness of this predicament Desire, but I thank you for your advice. It...pains me to see my sister in such distress. Morpheus was never close to any of you, but I am not Morpheus, and you are all my family. It will not be easy to find Death if she does not wish to be found. As for Destiny, I have already found him. Or rather, he has found me, and approached me with the means of finding Death. As I say, It will not be...

Desire rose to its feet then, with an angry expression etched onto its face.....

"Impossible, Destiny can not be here, I would have sensed him my brother. I would hear that infernal scratching noise of him writing everything into his book. I would have.."

With that, The hooded man stepped from the shadows and spoke in a dull, monotone voice:

"Impossible, my younger sibling? You of all people should know that nothing is impossible if you want it badly enough. I am not writing in my book because I have chosen to forsake my duties for the immediate future, and possibly forever, to aid you all in finding Death."

"Dream, this man cannot be Destiny! Destiny is inhuman, a cruel being who cares not for anyone or anything, let alone the members of his family. Look into Morpheus' memories! It is Destiny who was responsible for his Death! HE sent Morpheus to kill his own son. HE didn 't CARE about his family. Tell me, you who claim to be my Eldest Brother, what has brought about this change?"

"My sister/brother, I cannot tell you why I have changed. Suffice to say that when you say I am not Destiny you are right, in a way. The Man who you know as Destiny is not truly me. However, I am the Destiny you never knew. I am the Destiny of old, who none here could possibly rememeber. The man you knew as Destiny was the PHYSICAL AVATAR of Destiny, with no true human element. As Destruction once said, 'Every coin has two sides', and I am the human element of Destiny which has been suppressed for so many years..I cast the spirit of Destiny out, the man before you now is the true Destiny;

My plan is simple. As you all know, Death must and has spent one day every century in mortal form. This is for a number of reasons, none of which are particularly significant to us at this moment. What IS significant is that Death is more than likely hiding somewhere on the mortal plane, with one of her 'acquaintances'.

Desire rose once moe to its feet...

"Destiny, if that is who you truly are, nobody knows how she spends that one day mortal, it is forbidden to track her, unless..."

A wry smile spread across the mans face....

"Yes. Unless it is his job to write about every action of the Endless. And, my sister/brother, that is exactly my job. I have written a short list of names, the only ones who are still alive. I suggest we start with the most recent and work our way back?"

Destiny turned then to Dream, and looked into his face, slightly puzzled.....

"But Dream, why do you need all of us to accompany you? Surely you can achieve this yourself?"

"Because, Desire, we do not know how this meeting will end. What can we do if Death has passed the point of no return? What if she refuses to accompany us? It will be a most arduous task to convince her to return to her duties. It will need all of us, working together."

"Dream, there is another reason you want us all there, isn ' t there? What if she refuses to resume her role as Death? What i.."

This time it is Dream who interrupts....

"Most perceptive. At current, the mortals have not noticed anything is amiss, I can not predict this lasting for much longer. I have Lucien, my librarian, consulting all the relevant texts to find a solution. If she will not return with us, then I am afraid there can be only one ending. The final ending. We will attempt to kill Death so that a new avatar will be chosen.."

Desire roared then:

"WHAT? Are you out of your mind Daniel? Or are you as eager as your predecessor to have yourself killed? If you slay Death, you will be slaying a member of your family. If we help you, we will be assisting you. If we kill Death, it will bring the Kindly Ones down on our blasted heads and we will all die as easily as your predecessor died!"

"Perhaps. But What must be shall Be. And I will do what has to be done. But wait, something is amiss in these halls. I fear my librarian has grave news for us indeed"

With those words, the doors to Dreams Gallery burst inwards, and Lucien crashed to the floor, sending books skidding along... The entire meeting turned with some amusement at this little man....

"Lucien, what is the meaning of this? I am holding a conclave of the Family, I ordered no interruptions"

Lucien looked up, flustered, and spoke....

"I...I...I know you did, Lord. But I bring urgent news about the Family. I have read the texts, the scrolls, all the prophecies, and I have discovered a most disturbing truth indeed. My lord, we must seek out the Lost One, my Lord, or we will all be lost....."

"Lucien? Explain your words."

"My lord. You must seek out Destruction. The texts clearly state that if Death is absent for more than one day, then the earth will be wracked by natural disasters....The texts also state that a replacement can be found and resume her tasks, however, in her abscence. This someone must be a member of the Family my Lord, one who has no realm, but retains all of his power.

There is only one such man in existence, Lord.

You must seek out Destruction....."
 

Deep in the Land of Dreams lies a Castle. Picture it in your mind, we have all seen it in passing, let it form from the void of your mind. Now, Go in closer, through the doors...follow the endless dark corridors, feel the tug of an ancient power guiding you through the Castle...And then, you are there, before the door....and in....

There are five people present - five of The Seven..They stand in a circle around a huge mirrored table, apart from Destiny who stands on his own...The table is criss-crossed with cracks, stemming from a central point - a sword has been driven through the center of the Table...The Sword is glowing softly in the Dark, four people have their arms raised... Azure beams of power link them all to the Sword....

Dream Speaks:

"As the Eldest empowered member of our Family I call to you, Brother Destruction..."

Delirium speaks in a surprisingly-composed voice:

"Destruction come here and talk to us please...."

Desire and Despair speak as one:

"We, your siblings, call to you in our hour of need; come to us, my brother, we have need of you..."

Then, the Four chant as one, drawing upon their powers

"Brother, We Call to you by the Elder Rule - You are bound, as are all of us, to the ties that bind. The ties of Blood. We would not call for you where not drastic measures required. My Brother, Death is missing, and we have need of you..."

An Explosion of light then, blinding all those present. And suddenly the sword is held in the hand of he that was Destruction....He is not happy

"What is the meaning of this? I have chosen my Path, and I had thought you wise enough to let me be. You have need? I have no more powers, my brethren ; I can be of no use to you."

Dream speaks then, as Eldest present, the others must wait their turn...

"My Brother, we do not need you despite your lack of powers - but rather Because of them. Death has gone missing, and if you do not take her duties as your own, there will be a great deal of trouble."

Destruction cast his sword from him

"Yes Dream King, I am aware of that particular rule - In your own words Dream King - We do what must be done ; and I will do what I must. I will take her duties while you seek her out, but in return I demand that after this duty is performed, you respect my wishes and leave me be until I am ready to return....."

Dream nods....

"Very Well, my brother - it is a pity, I know little of you, excluding Morpheus' memories, but I will abide by this agreement. And if you ever decide to return, let me know, brother....One last thing....Why did you not attend the Wake brother?"

Destruction raised his head then, to look into Daniels eyes before speaking:

"Daniel, I do not attend funerals. While Morpheus Death IS a loss, he lives on within you, is that not so my Brother?"

"It is, yes, but....You Should have attended the Wake - it is the Endless way. When one of us dies, the Family meet to mourn his passing as a body. Then they return to their duties and their Realms to continue...As you once said, every sky has two sides - without witnessing Death, we cannot fully appreciate Life, wit..."

He cut him off then, face puffed with anger:

"You talk to me of Endless ways? You? You who have been one of us for but a short period? You know nothing little boy, and your words anger me. You speak still as a mortal - listen to your words. 'Without Witnessing Death' indeed, maybe it has escaped you that everyone in this room has witnessed Death on a regular basis, everyone is related to Death. While it is true that you have some of Dreams Essence within you from the Eagles Stone, you still seem to have an unhealthy amount of your mortal self present also...You are, perhaps, unhealthily mortal. Never let this side of you interfere again, Young One...."

Daniel blushed

"Not true..."

Destruction laughed then, a forced laugh...Behind it you could here the resignation the defeat...

"Inform me when your task is complete...."
 

It was Didi. After all these years, it was Didi who once more stood before him. There was a hush that fell upon them both in that moment. Broken only by the sound of a smashing Glass down the bar - a cloaked man had just gotten quite a shock from something...

She silently took a seat next to Sexton at the Bar...

"YOU! After all these years, you!!"

The woman smiled then, a twinkle in her eye...

"Yes, Sexton, I am here..."

"But...I mean....Are you really Death?"

Another smile, and Sexton felt a stirring between his legs...her smile was so...so nice and happy and seductive all at once....

"Yes, I am Death Sexton, and I am here"

"But...are...do you...Are you here for me? Am I going to die now?"

Within Sexton, a small voice remarked that it would be worth dying to spend eternity with this woman before him....

She laughed then. A laugh like none other - sweet and happy and mournful and bittersweet all at once...It was the most amazing thing he had ever heard....and, he suspected, the most amazing thing anybody could ever hear.

"No, I am not here for you Sexton. At least, not in the way you think. Today, I am not fulfilling my responsibilities as Death, today I decided to visit you Sexton, and it worries me that I do not know why..."

"Listen...Death...or whoever you are, it 's been a long time since I last saw you, and I 've spent a lot of time thinking it over, and I 'm STILL confused by this whole thing. I mean, how can you actually BE Death? What manner of creature are you ?"

And she spoke to him then. And she told him the Tale Of The Endless, the seven most powerful beings in existence. She explained how each of them have their duties to attend to. How each of them have responsibilities which must be carried out. But also, she explained, often such responsibilities would be avoidable with a fair amount of ease...often they took care of themselves, as happenned when the Dream King was imprisoned by mortals for many years...( See Sandman : PRELUDES & NOCTURNES ) how when he returned his realm was damaged, almost beyond repair. How it took many weeks to restore the Dreaming to its former glory, how he ventured into the World to find the Major Arcana. And how, after it all, when his task was complete, he returned to his duties. And, in the End, how he committed a complex form of suicide by slaying his own son, in accordance with his sons wishes ( see Sandman : BRIEF LIVES )

He was disconcerted by the way she spoke. She told him a great deal in a very short period of time, information he really didn 't understand. It was as if she had sought him out merely to talk to him about her brothers death, how hard she was finding it to accept his passing. And as she spoke, she visibly changed - when first he saw her she seemed tired, drained both physically and emotionally. But as she spoke, she seemed far more relaxed, more calm. And as she spoke, a commotion built up outside. She seemed impervious, as if she knew what was happening. And then, time stopped for everyone in the bar.

Four of the most powerful beings in the world walked in. Despair, Desire, and Dream took up positions at the door and around the room, each weaving their magic on the people in the bar, blinding them to what was happening.

Except Sexton. He noticed what was going on and turned to Didi..

Her expression was one of fear, and this confused Sexton. If she was Death, then what could possibly be so powerful as to scare HER?

"Uhhhh...Didi? what 's wrong?"

"Sexton, I never told you the end of my tale. I left my realm, abandoned my duties. In my absence, the others in my Family will have appointed someone to take my place, to perform my duties until I return. And, unfortunately, it must be a member of the Family - one without a realm, if I remember the texts correctly. At the time I read it, it seemed a paradox : Every member of the Endless must have a realm, must have responsibilities.

That was before Destruction had abandoned his realm, it is he who will have taken up my Role as Death of the Endless. But if he is Death then....."

She was cut off then. The fourth figure strode to the bar behind her. :

"Excellent deduction, my sister....I must admit, I am deeply disappointed in you Telleute, I expected better. Morpheus died, this is no reason for you to to risk everything. When I left my realm, I knew it would work out by itself. But the risk you took, my sister, the risk is far too great..."

< this is where I took up writing again after several months >

Death spun on her stool, meeting Destruction with a steely gaze

"You would talk to me of responsibility, brother? You? You who have shirked your responsibilities again and again? You who wander the universe aimlessly, you question MY commitment? Oh, brother, the irony"

Destruction put a hand on Deaths shoulder

"Sister, my sister. You were always the bravest of us all, unafraid of facing the truth. But now you hide from it. Morpheus is dead, and there is nothing you or anyone else can do about it."

Death looked again at Destruction, eyes moist,

"But don 't you see? I could do it. I could bring him back, strike a deal with Hades, save him from the tortures of the Furies - that 's where he is, you know, suffering from day-to-day, he knows nothing but hurt."

"Death, you know it is not our place to judge such things. There is no right or wrong, no justice, there is only us and we fulfill our duties as we see fit. Morpheus lived by the same rules as the rest of us, and he chose to break them - he CHOSE. We both know he didn 't truly need to seek me out, nor kill his son in doing so - he knew the consequences of his action, sister, he knew the ramifications of them equally so. Nobody is responsible for Morpheus' actions other than Morpheus himself. You have to accept that he decided to die, nothing else"

Death considered this for a time, going over it in her mind. She sighed softly, and smiled at her brother:

"Once again, brother, you teach me something I did not know. Thanks for bailing me out, it just kinda got a bit too much for me."

Destruction smiled back,

"It is you who are the brave one sister. Will you be alright?"

Death smiled

"Peachy Keen"
 

And so, Death returned to her realm and resumed her duties. Destruction left the Endless once more, resuming his travels of the universe.

Destiny, through a process best left unmentioned, resumed his task as keeper of Histories, Teller of Stories, Recorder of Secrets. His human persona was once again wiped out.

Death never spoke of the incident again, nor did the Family.

Two years later, Sexton was shot twice in the back of his head, execution-style, in a drugs-related murder. It is not known what words passed between Sexton and Didi on the day of their final meeting. Death herself tries not to think about it any more.