Chapter Text
1
Death of the Endless. She was eons old, she'd been there at the start of the universe and she would be there until the end of everything. She'd be there when the stars went out and the cosmos collapsed into nothingness.
That was the lot of being Endless. And in Death's long life, she'd seen so much, accompanied countless humans into the place beyond. She could confidently say that she'd seen just about everything. That nothing could surprise her anymore. She was wrong.
2
Klaus Hargreeves was ten years old when he died. It had been an accident, it wasn't anyone's fault. Well maybe it was a little bit his fault, he'd climbed up onto the roof of the Academy.
Or maybe it was Ben and Diego's fault. They'd dared him to climb up there in the first place. And Klaus was never one to chicken out of a dare, his siblings knew that. So when Diego suggested he climb up onto the roof and walk along the tiles, he jumped at the chance.
But in the end it didn't matter whose fault it was. What mattered was that Klaus died that day. His feet slipped over the damp shingles and he lost his balance, tumbling towards the ground.
The last thing he remembered before he blacked out was Ben and Diego's shouts from the third floor window they were poking their heads out of. Then. Nothing.
3
Death had seen children die before, more than she could count or even wanted to count but this child was different. This death was different. Klaus Hargreeves stood staring down at his dead body crumpled on the ground at his feet as his two brothers bent over it, their shouts carrying on the autumn air.
The boys couldn't see Klaus or Death, they were on a different plane. The astral plane wasn't visible to the living so the two of them were invisible to the rest of the world.
Klaus looked away from his body and stared up at Death with huge inquisitive green eyes. That was something that made this feel different, he didn't look scared or upset. If anything he looked curious.
'I'm dead aren't I?' he said, matter of factly, peering up at her, his dark curls falling into his face.
'I'm sorry sweetheart.' Death replied in her softest voice, the one she used for the dead who were hysterical, that needed her comfort. 'You need to come with me now.'
She held out her hand towards the boy, who glanced at it, and then back at his brothers who were now openly crying on the ground next to his body.
Then inexplicably, Klaus Hargreeves shook his head.
'No I don't think so.' he said with a small smile. 'It's not time.'
Death looked at him, people usually begged and pleaded with her to let them go back to the land of the living. They didn't usually inform her matter of factly that they were going back. But then again, there wasn't anything normal about this little boy who was staring at her with the wisdom of something ancient in his eyes.
'Klaus, honey.' she said, crouching down so they were on a level. 'It doesn't work that way, you have to come with me now…'
Klaus shook his head again and looked back towards his body again.
'I'm going now.'' he said simply. 'Goodbye Death.'
And before she could do anything else, the boy did something that should have been impossible. He walked back through the invisible veil that separated the spirit and living worlds and lay down in his body.
She watched in astonishment as Klaus' body shivered slightly and he sat back up again, shaking his head like he was trying to get water out of his ears. His brothers shrieked in alarm and suddenly they were all talking over each other, trying to work out what had happened.
And Death stood just feet from them, wondering what the hell was happening.
4
Klaus shivered and sat up, staring around and rubbing his head. He remembered falling off the roof and then…nothing. He must have passed out but that didn't make sense, that fall should have killed him.
Shrieks came from very close to his ear and he jumped. Ben and Diego were crouched next to him, tears streaking both of their cheeks like they'd been crying.
'You're alive!' Ben yelled so loudly that Klaus covered his ears.
'W..w. we thought you died.' Diego stammered. 'You f f fell off the roof!'
Klaus shook his head to clear it. It felt like someone had stuffed his ears with cotton wool.
Then suddenly Ben was hugging him and Diego was shouting for Grace and everything dissolved into chaos.
That was the first time Klaus Hargreeves died.
5
Death did not visit her siblings often, she was too busy and her responsibilities did not allow her much time for social calls.
But she needed to talk to someone, her encounter with Klaus Hargreeves had rattled her. She couldn't shake the image of the little boy who calmly looked Death in the face and said 'no, I'm not going with you.'
He had cheated his own death without her help and it shouldn't have been possible. The boy seemed to be immortal but he was immortal all on his own, and she'd never seen anything like it before.
So Death went to The Dreaming.
Of all her siblings, Dream was most likely to listen to her. He might be brooding and sullen most of the time but he could at least provide a listening ear.
When Death arrived at the door of the palace, she was greeted by Lucienne, the librarian of the Dreaming, who opened the door with a slightly bemused look on her face.
'My lady.' she said, inclining her head. 'It has been a long time since you have visited us in The Dreaming. Are you well?'
'Quite well.' Death replied, as a raven came soaring out of the door and landed on Death's shoulder. 'Hello Matthew.'
'Lord Morpheus is expecting you.' Lucienne continued, turning back towards the door. 'Please follow me.'
Death followed Lucienne down the familiar passages of Dream's palace whilst Matthew swayed on her shoulder and chatted away about all the latest goings on in The Dreaming.
Death liked Matthew, Dream's raven. He clearly cared a lot about her brother and Death appreciated that. The Endless didn't have many beings who truly cared about them but Matthew was one of those rare creatures that did.
'Why are you here anyway?' Matthew asked as they entered the library. 'You need the boss' help with something?'
'Just wanted to have a talk with my little brother.' Death replied. 'Nothing to worry about.'
In a corner of the library, under a window sat Dream of the Endless, his expression as impassive as ever as they approached.
He stood up to greet them and a small smile pulled up at the corners of his mouth.
'My sister.' he said. 'It's good to see you.'
6
'So you're saying the child is immortal?' Dream asked, leaning back in his chair and watching Death with those starlight eyes.
They were sitting opposite each other in two high backed velvet chairs in Dream's library, underneath an ever changing stained glass window. Lucienne had brought in a pot of tea, and then retreated to the shadowy bookshelves, giving the siblings some space to talk. Matthew had left Death's shoulder and was now perched on the back of Dream's chair, his head cocked to one side as though he was listening.
Death had just finished telling Dream all about Klaus Hargreeves and his apparent immortality, hoping against hope that her brother could somehow shed some light on the situation. See something she'd missed.
'Yes, he's immortal as far as I know.' Death answered, taking a sip of tea.
'That isn't unheard of.' Dream replied, his brow furrowed. 'People like Hob Galding are immortal too.'
'He's not like Hob, brother mine.' Death said, frustrated that he didn't seem to be getting it. 'I didn't make him immortal, he did it all by himself.'
Dream's eyes widened in understanding and Death threw her hands up in relief.
'Hallelujah, he gets it.' she said.
'Why are you so afraid?' Dream asked gently. 'You're scared of the boy.'
'It isn't supposed to work this way.' Death said desperately. 'It's not how things are supposed to be, humans can't just be immortal, it's impossible.'
'It's a big universe.' Morpheus mused. 'I'd say it was narrow minded of you to call it impossible.'
'But what am I supposed to do?' Death asked, she felt all off kilter, like the axis of her world had shifted slightly.
Morpheus looked thoughtful for a moment, running a hand through Matthew's feathers
'Look after him.' he replied simply. 'The boy needs you, even if he doesn't know it.'