Note: I don't know why, but Nate seems to mesh perfectly with Del and Death
(at least, to me). Guess it's time to mess with that a little. Oh, and
just so you know, everyone shows up here, as well. (Yes, be afraid…for
Nate!) Finally got my hands on "Brief Lives" and got inspired to do
something.
2nd Note: This takes place after "A Walk in the Park," just so you know.
Summary: Nate finds himself the prize in a dangerous game between the Endless. Desire & Despair have torn his life apart, Destiny & Dream can offer little advice, Death is all but powerless against her siblings, and Delirium is lost…
An angel has always been thought to be one of God's most precious works
I guess that's how She had you fooled
Because She was an angel in disguise
Hurt and Pain could never come from Her
So you left me only to find that Hurt and Pain involves Her
But now you see your mistakes
And now you see your angel was a fake
But my love was never misplaced
See, baby, my love is true
And most importantly, still I love you.
-- Brandy, "Angel in Disguise"
A Game of Nate
Part I – Opening Moves
Everyone dreams of death. Precious few actually dream of Death, because even less actually see her and live to dream again. Nate Grey is one of these very fortunate few, but good fortune does not last forever, especially where all of the Endless are involved…
It was a typical day for Nate Grey. The night was what got him into trouble. He'd fallen asleep on his couch (again), dreaming of what had become his favorite topic as of late: Death. He wasn't obsessed or anything like that, he just…liked her. Really, REALLY liked her. To the point where he was willing to ask her out. But, of course, he couldn't. She would never agree to a date. That was where Delirium came in.
He wasn't using her, though. Nate truthfully enjoyed spending time with the youngest Endless sibling, and she, in turn, enjoyed his company. It was only a coincidence, in his mind, that Del was closest to Death, who also enjoyed spending time with her. Apparently, Death had no problem sharing her with Nate…or was she sharing him with Del? Nate wasn't sure, and he didn't care, either. As long as he got to spend time with both of them, it never did matter. Del was the little sister he'd always wanted (but had been somewhat afraid to ask for, for fear of having his imagination beaten out of him), and Death was…special.
Was it any wonder that the Lord of Dreams wanted to know what a certain young man thought of (and was doing with) his two sisters? Of course not. Which resulted in Nate sleeping a LOT more than he ever had, and sharing his thoughts with Dream (and not always intentionally, either). Theirs was a cautious relationship. Brothers and boyfriends are natural rivals, so Nate and Dream were no different (although technically, Nate wasn't a boyfriend…though apparently, wanting to be one was enough). Nate never spoke badly or too freely about the girls, and Dream never manipulated Nate's dreams too much. It wasn't that he was afraid of his sisters, but they could be very annoying when they wanted to be. Having two of the Endless favor you could be a good thing…as long as they were the right two, anyway.
At any rate, Nate awoke from his latest dream to a very welcome surprise. The surprise was…well…perfect, in every aspect that he could think of. But then, males aren't known for their intelligence while gawking at half-naked women.
"I've come to reward you, Nate," the reward whispered, her eyes sparkling.
To his credit, Nate didn't drool, or even start panting. Though he instantly became a master of the well-known jaw-drop technique.
She smirked and slowly walked over to him, as if she were a hunter stalking her prey. In a very important way, she was. "Don't look so surprised, sweetheart. I know you've been thinking of me…maybe in ways you're afraid to admit?"
Perhaps he caught the term of endearment, or maybe it was the startling realization that the moment was a little too perfect. Either way, Nate blinked. "Wait. We can't-"
She pressed a delicate finger to his lips. "And why not, Natey? You've been a good boy, and I…well, even naughty girls deserve a treat every now and then. Especially the ones that don't get caught." She gracefully straddled his hips, smiling down at him. "Anyway, I don't think you'll be able to resist me much longer."
"Why's that?" Nate squeaked, sounding more like a boy on the verge of puberty than the incredibly lucky young man that he so obviously was at the moment.
"Because, my dear," she said, leaning over to press her forehead to his, "no one else ever has. And mutant you may be, but human you still are…right there."
Nate gulped as her hand slowly rose from her lap, brushing against his thigh…only to completely pass the area he was afraid she'd been talking about.
She tapped his heart lightly and grinned dangerously. "As they say, I'm the stuff that dreams are made of, and I've seen your dreams of me, Natey."
"You…have?" he asked, turning a slight shade of red.
"Oh, yes!" she confirmed, gently tracing his face with her fingertips. "It's not as if I don't have access to Dream's realm, y'know. Say the right words, make the right faces, send the right people, and he's a mere puppet…like so many other people I've known. But enough of that." She took his chin in one pale, petal-soft hand. "You've been so good to Del, trying to make her feel special. You've been good to me, too. Now, though…let's be bad, Natey. Let's be REALLY bad…" She moved closer, her black lips brushing lightly over his.
His eyes widened, and Nate tried once more to resist. "Death, no! What if Del or Dream finds out-"
"They aren't here," she breathed. "But I am, Natey. And so are you. That's all that matters. Now, shut up and kiss me."
* * * * *
Delirium was, amazingly enough, bored. But then, she'd already done all her favorite things to do in her realm. She'd played with the butterflies, danced around the sundial, made the streams wiggle, planted maybe-I'll- bloom-and-maybe-I-won't daisies (by crying tears of joy/boredom in the field, since there was really nothing to be sad about at the time), and talked to every single voice that had spoken to her.
Ultimately, she came to one conclusion: She had to go see a Special Pal.
Currently, she only had two, but it wasn't really her fault. Dream and Destiny both wandered on and off the list. They were nice at times, but then they'd get caught up in Other Things that Delirium didn't really care for and stop being nice to her. Her other siblings were either too scary or too mean to even be considered for the list. And her favoritest brother…well…he was Gone.
As a result, the only two names on the list were Death and Nate.
Death was always nice, whether she was busy or not, and almost always made time to play when Delirium visited her. On the rare occasions when she was too busy, Death simply let Delirium play with her two fishies until she wasn't busy.
Nate was…well…special in many ways. He was a Special Pal, a Not-So-Human, and like a Brother…only he was never scary and never too busy to play with her. He was also an Endless Friend…but Delirium wasn't sure if that meant he'd always be her buddy, or just a friend of the family. She suspected it might be both.
After being torn for exactly ten seconds, Delirium decided to visit Nate. After all, she'd visited Death last time, and Nate hadn't gotten a visit all week. So, upon appearing in his apartment, she'd be promptly smothered with a hug and offers of ice cream, candy, and various other sweet items. She smiled at the thought and opened a portal.
Within seconds, she stood on Nate's bed, slightly disappointed at finding it empty. That was no real problem, though. A short walk later, and she found him on the couch…only he wasn't exactly alone. He was with Big Sister, and they were making really happy noises together. That was good, if not too mature for Delirium's tastes.
It only took her an instant to realize that it was the wrong Big Sister.
"NO!" she shouted.
Dark eyes glanced over a pale shoulder, and the Big Sister smiled. "Hey, Del. Glad you could make it. But you came a little too early. We'll be done in an hour or so."
"Nonononono! Get away from him!" Delirium ran forward and grabbed her sibling's foot. "Stop it!"
"Brat." The Big Sister spat the word, then kicked Delirium away. She turned back to Nate. "Sorry, lover. Maybe we can continue this another time." She gave him one last lingering kiss, then…changed.
Nate could only watch in shock as the woman that he'd thought was Death turned into someone else.
The woman chuckled and stepped away from the couch. "Bye, Natey. See you soon." She blew him a kiss and then vanished.
Nate blinked, trying to figure out what had just happened.
"How could you?!" Delirium cried, pulling at her multicolored tresses. "She was the wrong one! The really wrong one!"
"The wrong…?" Nate frowned and shook his head. "Wait. Del, what are you doing here? And where's my shirt?"
"She put her spell on you, and you didn't fight it! You're supposed to fight it!"
"I don't know what you mean. All I remember is going to sleep, then I woke up, and you and that woman were here."
Delirium frowned and slowly got up. "Maybe it's better you don't remember. But you're special, Nate!" She ran forward and beat on his bare chest with her small fists. "You should have ended up with Big Sister, not Big Pretty Sister! She's not good for you!"
"Look, none of this is making any sense, Del." Nate rubbed his eyes and blinked. "So why don't you start at the beginning? I'll make us some dinner, and then we can…talk…"
Nate trailed off as he spotted the look on Delirium's face. From the moment they'd met, he'd always assumed that she would be forever happy. To him, her only emotions were happy, confused, and very happy. But while the look on her face did have confusion somewhere in it, it also had some rather unexpected emotions.
As was her nature, Delirium's emotions fought for control over her facial expression. Anger and Sadness had finally beat out Confusion, but were finally overtaken by something much more powerful: Disbelief.
"It wasn't supposed to happen this way," she whispered, her voice almost fading. "You were supposed to be ours…not theirs." Her hair turned solid black, and then her eyes faded to gray. Her skin seemed to become three shades paler.
Nate tried to think of something to say, but that was when he saw it.
The single tear formed in Delirium's right eye and fell to the ground. But instead of the usual colorful flowers, a black rose sprang up.
By the time Nate's gaze left the rose, Delirium was gone. In her place was a dark stain that he guessed wouldn't be coming out of the carpet for a few months. It was almost as if all her swirling colors had drained out of her.
Ten minutes later, when he finally decided to pay a visit to The Dreaming, Nate noticed that the black rose had withered away to nothing more than a twisted, thorny vine, fit for nothing more than choking the life out of any root it touched. The thought that it had come from a small girl that had never even frowned was disturbing. The thought that it was his somehow his fault didn't help much, either.
* * * * *
"Hmm. That was…easy."
"Yeah, so?"
Despair stared contemplatively at the tiny hook she was dragging along her arm, leaving a dark trail of blood in the process. "Well, you didn't have any trouble. There's less to be upset about now, isn't there? Which means I have to work harder."
"Oh, please. Like you don't enjoy what you do. And besides, it's not like I'm asking you to make Destiny tell a knock-knock joke. All you have to do is keep her there for a while and work your magic on the cute guy."
Despair considered that for a moment…by dragging another hook along her left cheekbone. "Fine. But I don't like having her here…at least not right now. She's making my pets…happy."
The face in the mirror blinked. "Happy? Are you sure?"
"Yes. Happy," Despair repeated. "They like having new flesh to knaw on, besides my own." She stepped aside so her sibling could see the scene behind her.
Delirium was seated on a torn throw pillow, murmuring to herself. Despair's rats had already eaten through most of her clothing, and were just getting started on her skin.
"Just keep an eye on her so she doesn't muck up anything."
"An eye? So good of you to remind me." Despair picked up another hook and frowned. "Not as sharp as I'd like. Still…"
Desire turned away from the mirror in disgust. "Well, at least she'll keep her part of the bargain." She stretched her arms and leaned back in her chair. "Too bad Del walked in us, though. I could've had some fun with that Nate guy. Those mutants usually have pretty good stamina..."
Desire smiled and closed her eyes. The plan was working perfectly.
* * * * *
Continued in Part II: The Dream King's Counsel
In search of answers, Nate travels to Destiny's garden, and then the Dreaming. Desire & Despair reveal the next step in their plan, while another member of the Endless enters The Game of Nate…but who's side is Death on?
2nd Note: This takes place after "A Walk in the Park," just so you know.
Summary: Nate finds himself the prize in a dangerous game between the Endless. Desire & Despair have torn his life apart, Destiny & Dream can offer little advice, Death is all but powerless against her siblings, and Delirium is lost…
An angel has always been thought to be one of God's most precious works
I guess that's how She had you fooled
Because She was an angel in disguise
Hurt and Pain could never come from Her
So you left me only to find that Hurt and Pain involves Her
But now you see your mistakes
And now you see your angel was a fake
But my love was never misplaced
See, baby, my love is true
And most importantly, still I love you.
-- Brandy, "Angel in Disguise"
A Game of Nate
Part I – Opening Moves
Everyone dreams of death. Precious few actually dream of Death, because even less actually see her and live to dream again. Nate Grey is one of these very fortunate few, but good fortune does not last forever, especially where all of the Endless are involved…
It was a typical day for Nate Grey. The night was what got him into trouble. He'd fallen asleep on his couch (again), dreaming of what had become his favorite topic as of late: Death. He wasn't obsessed or anything like that, he just…liked her. Really, REALLY liked her. To the point where he was willing to ask her out. But, of course, he couldn't. She would never agree to a date. That was where Delirium came in.
He wasn't using her, though. Nate truthfully enjoyed spending time with the youngest Endless sibling, and she, in turn, enjoyed his company. It was only a coincidence, in his mind, that Del was closest to Death, who also enjoyed spending time with her. Apparently, Death had no problem sharing her with Nate…or was she sharing him with Del? Nate wasn't sure, and he didn't care, either. As long as he got to spend time with both of them, it never did matter. Del was the little sister he'd always wanted (but had been somewhat afraid to ask for, for fear of having his imagination beaten out of him), and Death was…special.
Was it any wonder that the Lord of Dreams wanted to know what a certain young man thought of (and was doing with) his two sisters? Of course not. Which resulted in Nate sleeping a LOT more than he ever had, and sharing his thoughts with Dream (and not always intentionally, either). Theirs was a cautious relationship. Brothers and boyfriends are natural rivals, so Nate and Dream were no different (although technically, Nate wasn't a boyfriend…though apparently, wanting to be one was enough). Nate never spoke badly or too freely about the girls, and Dream never manipulated Nate's dreams too much. It wasn't that he was afraid of his sisters, but they could be very annoying when they wanted to be. Having two of the Endless favor you could be a good thing…as long as they were the right two, anyway.
At any rate, Nate awoke from his latest dream to a very welcome surprise. The surprise was…well…perfect, in every aspect that he could think of. But then, males aren't known for their intelligence while gawking at half-naked women.
"I've come to reward you, Nate," the reward whispered, her eyes sparkling.
To his credit, Nate didn't drool, or even start panting. Though he instantly became a master of the well-known jaw-drop technique.
She smirked and slowly walked over to him, as if she were a hunter stalking her prey. In a very important way, she was. "Don't look so surprised, sweetheart. I know you've been thinking of me…maybe in ways you're afraid to admit?"
Perhaps he caught the term of endearment, or maybe it was the startling realization that the moment was a little too perfect. Either way, Nate blinked. "Wait. We can't-"
She pressed a delicate finger to his lips. "And why not, Natey? You've been a good boy, and I…well, even naughty girls deserve a treat every now and then. Especially the ones that don't get caught." She gracefully straddled his hips, smiling down at him. "Anyway, I don't think you'll be able to resist me much longer."
"Why's that?" Nate squeaked, sounding more like a boy on the verge of puberty than the incredibly lucky young man that he so obviously was at the moment.
"Because, my dear," she said, leaning over to press her forehead to his, "no one else ever has. And mutant you may be, but human you still are…right there."
Nate gulped as her hand slowly rose from her lap, brushing against his thigh…only to completely pass the area he was afraid she'd been talking about.
She tapped his heart lightly and grinned dangerously. "As they say, I'm the stuff that dreams are made of, and I've seen your dreams of me, Natey."
"You…have?" he asked, turning a slight shade of red.
"Oh, yes!" she confirmed, gently tracing his face with her fingertips. "It's not as if I don't have access to Dream's realm, y'know. Say the right words, make the right faces, send the right people, and he's a mere puppet…like so many other people I've known. But enough of that." She took his chin in one pale, petal-soft hand. "You've been so good to Del, trying to make her feel special. You've been good to me, too. Now, though…let's be bad, Natey. Let's be REALLY bad…" She moved closer, her black lips brushing lightly over his.
His eyes widened, and Nate tried once more to resist. "Death, no! What if Del or Dream finds out-"
"They aren't here," she breathed. "But I am, Natey. And so are you. That's all that matters. Now, shut up and kiss me."
* * * * *
Delirium was, amazingly enough, bored. But then, she'd already done all her favorite things to do in her realm. She'd played with the butterflies, danced around the sundial, made the streams wiggle, planted maybe-I'll- bloom-and-maybe-I-won't daisies (by crying tears of joy/boredom in the field, since there was really nothing to be sad about at the time), and talked to every single voice that had spoken to her.
Ultimately, she came to one conclusion: She had to go see a Special Pal.
Currently, she only had two, but it wasn't really her fault. Dream and Destiny both wandered on and off the list. They were nice at times, but then they'd get caught up in Other Things that Delirium didn't really care for and stop being nice to her. Her other siblings were either too scary or too mean to even be considered for the list. And her favoritest brother…well…he was Gone.
As a result, the only two names on the list were Death and Nate.
Death was always nice, whether she was busy or not, and almost always made time to play when Delirium visited her. On the rare occasions when she was too busy, Death simply let Delirium play with her two fishies until she wasn't busy.
Nate was…well…special in many ways. He was a Special Pal, a Not-So-Human, and like a Brother…only he was never scary and never too busy to play with her. He was also an Endless Friend…but Delirium wasn't sure if that meant he'd always be her buddy, or just a friend of the family. She suspected it might be both.
After being torn for exactly ten seconds, Delirium decided to visit Nate. After all, she'd visited Death last time, and Nate hadn't gotten a visit all week. So, upon appearing in his apartment, she'd be promptly smothered with a hug and offers of ice cream, candy, and various other sweet items. She smiled at the thought and opened a portal.
Within seconds, she stood on Nate's bed, slightly disappointed at finding it empty. That was no real problem, though. A short walk later, and she found him on the couch…only he wasn't exactly alone. He was with Big Sister, and they were making really happy noises together. That was good, if not too mature for Delirium's tastes.
It only took her an instant to realize that it was the wrong Big Sister.
"NO!" she shouted.
Dark eyes glanced over a pale shoulder, and the Big Sister smiled. "Hey, Del. Glad you could make it. But you came a little too early. We'll be done in an hour or so."
"Nonononono! Get away from him!" Delirium ran forward and grabbed her sibling's foot. "Stop it!"
"Brat." The Big Sister spat the word, then kicked Delirium away. She turned back to Nate. "Sorry, lover. Maybe we can continue this another time." She gave him one last lingering kiss, then…changed.
Nate could only watch in shock as the woman that he'd thought was Death turned into someone else.
The woman chuckled and stepped away from the couch. "Bye, Natey. See you soon." She blew him a kiss and then vanished.
Nate blinked, trying to figure out what had just happened.
"How could you?!" Delirium cried, pulling at her multicolored tresses. "She was the wrong one! The really wrong one!"
"The wrong…?" Nate frowned and shook his head. "Wait. Del, what are you doing here? And where's my shirt?"
"She put her spell on you, and you didn't fight it! You're supposed to fight it!"
"I don't know what you mean. All I remember is going to sleep, then I woke up, and you and that woman were here."
Delirium frowned and slowly got up. "Maybe it's better you don't remember. But you're special, Nate!" She ran forward and beat on his bare chest with her small fists. "You should have ended up with Big Sister, not Big Pretty Sister! She's not good for you!"
"Look, none of this is making any sense, Del." Nate rubbed his eyes and blinked. "So why don't you start at the beginning? I'll make us some dinner, and then we can…talk…"
Nate trailed off as he spotted the look on Delirium's face. From the moment they'd met, he'd always assumed that she would be forever happy. To him, her only emotions were happy, confused, and very happy. But while the look on her face did have confusion somewhere in it, it also had some rather unexpected emotions.
As was her nature, Delirium's emotions fought for control over her facial expression. Anger and Sadness had finally beat out Confusion, but were finally overtaken by something much more powerful: Disbelief.
"It wasn't supposed to happen this way," she whispered, her voice almost fading. "You were supposed to be ours…not theirs." Her hair turned solid black, and then her eyes faded to gray. Her skin seemed to become three shades paler.
Nate tried to think of something to say, but that was when he saw it.
The single tear formed in Delirium's right eye and fell to the ground. But instead of the usual colorful flowers, a black rose sprang up.
By the time Nate's gaze left the rose, Delirium was gone. In her place was a dark stain that he guessed wouldn't be coming out of the carpet for a few months. It was almost as if all her swirling colors had drained out of her.
Ten minutes later, when he finally decided to pay a visit to The Dreaming, Nate noticed that the black rose had withered away to nothing more than a twisted, thorny vine, fit for nothing more than choking the life out of any root it touched. The thought that it had come from a small girl that had never even frowned was disturbing. The thought that it was his somehow his fault didn't help much, either.
* * * * *
"Hmm. That was…easy."
"Yeah, so?"
Despair stared contemplatively at the tiny hook she was dragging along her arm, leaving a dark trail of blood in the process. "Well, you didn't have any trouble. There's less to be upset about now, isn't there? Which means I have to work harder."
"Oh, please. Like you don't enjoy what you do. And besides, it's not like I'm asking you to make Destiny tell a knock-knock joke. All you have to do is keep her there for a while and work your magic on the cute guy."
Despair considered that for a moment…by dragging another hook along her left cheekbone. "Fine. But I don't like having her here…at least not right now. She's making my pets…happy."
The face in the mirror blinked. "Happy? Are you sure?"
"Yes. Happy," Despair repeated. "They like having new flesh to knaw on, besides my own." She stepped aside so her sibling could see the scene behind her.
Delirium was seated on a torn throw pillow, murmuring to herself. Despair's rats had already eaten through most of her clothing, and were just getting started on her skin.
"Just keep an eye on her so she doesn't muck up anything."
"An eye? So good of you to remind me." Despair picked up another hook and frowned. "Not as sharp as I'd like. Still…"
Desire turned away from the mirror in disgust. "Well, at least she'll keep her part of the bargain." She stretched her arms and leaned back in her chair. "Too bad Del walked in us, though. I could've had some fun with that Nate guy. Those mutants usually have pretty good stamina..."
Desire smiled and closed her eyes. The plan was working perfectly.
* * * * *
Continued in Part II: The Dream King's Counsel
In search of answers, Nate travels to Destiny's garden, and then the Dreaming. Desire & Despair reveal the next step in their plan, while another member of the Endless enters The Game of Nate…but who's side is Death on?