Here it is, the end of it all.

Read, and enjoy.  If you don't well, I guess you don't.  Sorry to have
bothered you.

 
<standard disclaimer>
Ranma and company are property of Rumiko Takahashi.  This is a work for
fans by a fan.  This isn't meant to offend the creator in any way, so
please, no lawsuits!

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Epilogue

	All good things must come to an end, Doom had said.
	Andrew wasn't sure if he really believed it.  All good things
would come to an end, but ends were only beginnings for something new -
and perhaps something even more wonderful.  The end of the old was always
a beginning for the new.  This was the philosophy that Andrew steadfastly
believed in.
	As he gazed at the beaten form of his brother, barely maintaining
a precarious balance on his knees, he thought back to his philosophy.  Was
he right?  Was this end the mark of something new and better?  Andrew
couldn't tell.  For too long he had lived in the shroud of his own
ignorance, believing in something he knew Ken felt was outdated.  Yet he
clung to those beliefs like a lifeline.  It never failed him before.  The
end to his wandering days marked the beginning of his life with his wife,
Faith.  A life filled with bliss and love.  He never regretted giving up
his wandering adventurous days to settle with the incarnation of life and
love, yet this situation made him pause and think.
	Andrew's eyes peered at the people surrounding him.  Ukyou's sobs
were muffled by Nodoka's kimono.  Genma and Soun looked at the ground in
front of them, not wanting to hear the sound of Ken's head rolling on the
ground, but present nonetheless.  Shampoo was buried in Mousse's arms,
while Mousse himself looked on impassively.  Ranma gazed at Andrew with
respect, and yet a tinge of disappointment at the same time while Akane
was buried in his arms.
	Andrew turned back to matters at hand.  It was his duty to
decapitate his brother's body.  It was his responsibility to give his
brother the honor he had lost.  It was his job to take his brother's head.
It was necessary for him to play the role of the kaishakku.  Or was it?
	Andrew had lived a life Ken only dreamed of.  He had a loving
wife.  He lived in security and with the knowledge that things for him
would turn out for the best.  Andrew had honor and the respect of his
clan.  Ken had none of these things.  Ken had to witness the murder of
their parents.  Ken had to live a life of shame and ridicule.  Ken had to
run from people he could have beaten in a fair fight.  Ken had to give his
life up to protect those he cared about, and he had no choice in doing so.
	Andrew closed his eyes and grit his teeth.  There was no choice in
the matter.  He had to take his brother's head.  He had to fulfill his
duty as family.  He had to maintain his family honor.
	"Why?"
	Andrew turned to the soft voice that interrupted him.
	Ukyou was still buried in Nodoka's kimono, but her muffled sobs
had stopped.
	"Just do it.  Just do it and get it over with," she muttered
between the gasps for air.
	Andrew turned back to his brother's body.
	Why did he kill himself?  To protect the people he loved?  He
could have continued fighting with all of his might; and he would have
won.  Yet he chose to sacrifice himself to save everyone.  It was
needless, or was it?
	To live without honor was to live an empty life.  It was a
challenge to live when it was time to live and to die when it was time to
die.  Was this his time?  Was this the time for Ken to die?
	For Andrew, voices of family screamed about the injustice Ken's
life had been filled with.  The voices of reason and of honor would only
support Ken's decision.
	"My love, you hesitate.  Why?"
	Andrew turned to his wife.  He never heard her walk up behind him.
The soft, rounded English accent she had was warm and comforting in the
bleak surroundings.  As he gazed from person to person, nobody seemed
surprised that she had walked out of the darkness to stand by her husband.
Andrew gazed into his wife's eyes with pain and remorse.  This was the
woman he had dedicated his life to.  She stood behind him with sympathy
and love.  He could only feel pain and suffering, and she knew it.
	"I came when I felt Ken's lifelines unwind.  I saw his spirit
discorporate.  I knew that something happened, and that you would be near.
I was afraid you were hurt.  I see my fears have been affirmed.
	"You must do what honor dictates, dear husband.  To fail to do so
would be a disgrace," she said softly to her husband in English.
	"But is it the right thing to do?  The girl, Ukyou loved him with
all her heart.  You of all people should understand the pain I will bring
by finishing this."
	"Does that matter?  It is your duty."
	"It has to matter.  It's love."
	Faith smiled at her husband.
	"Then decide what you have to do.  Love and honor are not always
compatible, but there are just as many times when they are as when they
are not.  You must decide if this is one of those times.  Do what you
must.  You know in your heart that I will support you in whatever decision
you make."
	Andrew turned to look about him once again.  All eyes were on him.
The cries had stopped.  The storm had passed.  The silence of the night
air filled his ears.
	"And if I make the wrong decision?"
	Faith smiled once again.
	"Is there a wrong decision to make?  Listen to your heart.  You
live to fulfill the prophecy that Salvation put forth for you.  It is your
destiny to make the right decision."
	Andrew turned to look at his body, before turning to look at
Ukyou.  There was only sadness.  He took a deep breath before addressing
her in Japanese.
	"Ukyou, please believe me when I say that this is the most painful
decision I will have ever made in my life.  I have lived with many
burdens, including the death of my parents.  I was never there for my
parents, or my brother when it happened.  I was never there for my brother
after it happened."
	Ukyou trembled as she stared emotionlessly at Andrew.
	"I know how much he meant to you," he continued.  "You have my
condolences.  There is nothing I can do."
	"You're going to finish it."
	It was a statement said in a small voice, yet it filled Andrew's
ears like a roar.  It seemed to pierce his heart with the very accusation
of treachery.  Andrew gazed at Ukyou as the pain in him built up to
intolerable levels.
	"Can you possibly understand how much this will hurt me, as it
will you?  I have to destroy the last of my family!"
	"Then why didn't you help him?!  Why didn't you stop him?!" Ukyou
shouted.
	Andrew looked at his wife.  She carefully enveloped him in a
gentle embrace.  He turned to look back at Ukyou.
	"Can't you understand?  This is what he wanted."
	Ukyou's entire body shook.
	"He wanted to live a life in happiness.  Ken wanted to love
someone.  He loved me!  We could have been happy together!  You have a
wife, a home, and a family that loves you.  That's all Ken ever wanted."
	Andrew slowly disengaged himself from his wife.  The conflict tore
away at him violently.  He stared at Ken, trying to fathom why he would
kill himself.  Was the stain of his banishment so great that he could not
live in spite of it?  Everyone here told him how close he was to a real
life.  Was that why he killed himself?  To preserve in one moment all that
he desired?  The only one that could provide those answers now teetered
precariously staring a dead vacant gaze outward, at Ukyou - at the woman
he loved so much; and then it dawned upon him.  
	To live when it is time to live was the challenge.  So was dying
when it was time to die.  Ken loved Ukyou fiercely, and rather than let
any harm come to her, he was willing to kill himself to keep from hurting
her himself.  It was bitterly ironic that he had hurt her just as much in
death as he would have in life, and enslaved by Cologne.  Now bother were
dead, Cologne incinerated by the soul blast Ken created, and Ken from
creating it.  It was a double coincidence of wants.  Honor demanded death.
Love demanded he protect Ukyou.  Ken killed both birds with one stone.
	"Husband?"
	Andrew sadly turned back to his wife.  He loved his wife.  There
was nothing he wouldn't do for her.  He knew Ken felt the same way about
Ukyou.  He could see it in his brother's eyes whenever he saw her clearly,
and now Ken had done it.  Andrew stared at the sword.  A single drop of
water dropped from the tip.  Where had it come from?  It looked like a
tear, as if the sword crying for its master, just as Ukyou cried for him.
He would have cried, but his own wouldn't come.  It was not becoming of a
warrior.  It was unbecoming of the warrior Ken had become.
	It was too much for Andrew.  The ritual was pointless.  It was
humiliating.  Ken was dead and his death didn't need to be cheapened by a
routine ceremony.
	With a hoarse cry, he stabbed the sword into the ground.
	"I won't do it!  Forgive me, please," he said as the tears finally
came.
	Faith quickly went to her husband's side and embraced him.  
Ukyou stepped slowly to Ken's body.  She hesitantly reached out a hand to
touch his lifeless face.  Her hand traced the outline of his cheek and
chin.  She would have cried again, but the tears wouldn't come anymore.
	"Ken," she murmured softly.
	"You loved him very much."
	Ukyou turned to the strange woman that held Andrew in her arms.
	"You speak Japanese?" she asked in a surprised voice.  The sudden
remark in Japanese from the woman in white took Ukyou's mind off present
matters.
	"I can speak a hundred thousand languages if I need to.  It comes
naturally to me, just as it comes naturally to my sisters."
	Ukyou wasn't surprised.  Hardly anything surprised her anymore,
mostly because of the emptiness she was feeling.
	"I can tell that you loved my husband's brother a great deal.  I
can't tell you how sorry I am."
	Ukyou nodded solemnly.
	"But now he's dead," she replied in a small voice.
	Ukyou turned back to the body, cradling Ken's head in her lap.  It
was warm.  It felt like it was alive; but Ukyou knew better.  She closed
his eyes carefully.
	"He lived to fulfill demands honor made of him.  He lived to
fulfill demands love made of him.  I wish it hadn't come to this."
	Ukyou turned again to Andrew's wife.  Faith smiled gently.
	"He's dead," Ukyou said bluntly.
	"Yes, he is.  Well, to you he is," came an unfamiliar voice.  It
was gentle, and musical.
	Ukyou turned to look over her shoulder.  A pretty Japanese woman
dressed completely in black stood behind her.  She wore a plain black
kimono, and a loose black hood.  The obi she wore seemed to have silver
threads woven in with the black.
	"Who are you?" Ukyou asked softly.
	"I am Death.  I've come to collect that which is rightfully mine."
	Ukyou turned to Faith with a pleading look on her face.
	"Lilith, why have come?" Faith asked.
	"I'm sure you know what I'm here for.  Surely my older sister
knows the routine already," Lilith replied with a smile.
	A look of complete fear passed Ukyou's face.
	"Please don't do this now, Lilith.  This isn't the time, " Faith
admonished.
	Lilith sighed as she looked at Ukyou.  Ukyou saw sympathy and
sadness in Lilith's eyes.
	"You loved him very much, didn't you?" Lilith asked softly.
	Ukyou could only nod.
	"This will hurt me as much as it will hurt you.  I cared for Ken a
great deal as well.  He was the brother I never had.  I do not relish
carrying out my responsibilities."
	"Then why are you here?"
	"It's Ken's time.  It's time for me to take him to his new home,"
Lilith replied as she took a small sword from behind her back.
	"Why do you need that?" Ukyou asked fearfully.  In her
heart, she thought the blade was for her.
	"Ken's body is dead, but his spirit still lives.  It is in great
turmoil.  I must release it for him so that he can find the peace that I
bring."
	Ukyou shook her head.
	"His spirit?"
	"Yes.  Please, I must do my sworn duty.  I don't want this to be
any harder than it already is."
	When she looked at Lilith intently, Ukyou could see the pain
masked behind the forced smile and the air of calm Lilith radiated.  Ukyou
gently passed Ken's body to Lilith when she kneeled beside the okonomiyaki
chef.  Ukyou watched sadly as Lilith slowly brought the gleaming blade to
Ken's neck.  Remembrances of the days she had spent with Ken passed
through Ukyou's mind, and she wished she could bring them back.
	Lilith cradled Ken's body for a second before looking at Ukyou
curiously.
	"What is it?" Faith asked.
	Lilith looked evenly at Ukyou.
	"I can sense your thoughts as easily as my own," she said.
	Ukyou looked at the ground.
	"What do you mean?" she asked quietly.
	"You can't do that."
	"What?"
	"You can't make a deal with me.  Unless..."
	"Unless what?" Ukyou quickly asked.
	"All things in life maintain balance in life and in death.  If you
want to take something away from that balance - "
	"I have to give something in return?" Ukyou interrupted.
	Lilith nodded.
	"What do you want?  I'll give you anything!"
	"You must give me a soul as powerful as Ken's," Lilith said
quietly.
	The hope that momentarily flared in Ukyou's heart was extinguished
as quickly as it came.  There wasn't much time for her to express her
remorse.
	"And that is precisely what I intend to do, dear sister."
	Ukyou turned to see a woman in a full bodysuit.  It looked like it
was made of silk by the way it shimmered in the firelight.  Fitting pants
and a short sleeved tunic completed the ensemble.  Everything she wore was
in dark green - the same color Ken's armor and clothes were.  Red hair
flowed in sensuous waves to the middle of her back.  Piercing green eyes
turned to look at Ukyou.  The woman was horribly attractive, and Ukyou
felt a sudden pang of envy pass through her heart as she realized who the
woman was.
	Faith and Lilith turned to look at the woman in surprise, and then
in disdain.
	"What is it you want, Angela?  What would the aspect of Fate
desire in these bleak parts?" Lilith asked tightly.
	Angela smiled a predatory smile.
	"Don't you remember?  Ken's mine," she said matter of factly.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

And so it all ends, but like they say, ends are just beginnings of
something new.

I'd like to thank the following people for their part in helping me write
this monstosity down:

Raoh - Thank's a million.  Read his stuff.  It won't make you as depressed
and angst ridden as I am.  In fact, it'll leave you with that warm fuzzy
feeling, like after you've had a nice nightcap.  something like that.  A
real master of the trade.  Thanks for letting me bounce a few ideas around
in your company.  It's helped out as much as, if not more, than the
storyboards I've been drawing to move things along.

CEO - You may see the Chief Executive Officer now.  The threat of
Corporate Downsizing and Asset Liquidation still looms over my head.  I'll
finish War and How To Be A Ranma 1/2 Character.  I promise.  Until then,
thanks for the help with the martial arts, the names, the moves and the
groove.  If only I knew Aikido and Iaido.  I wish I could shout out stuff
in Japanese and swing a katana around.  In the words of Cartman, "kick
ass!"

Ronny, Dfire, DC, Sean, kickaha, and the rest of the FFIRC gang - You guys
really know how to rip a guy a new asshole.  It helped the story evolve
and move in the right direction, as much as it hurt to hear.  Thanks for
the painfully blunt C&C.  I'm a better writer now.  I promise!  Really!  I
mean it!
	PS - Please tell Gary that the puns have worn off now.  I'm now
immune.  Better luck next time I guess...

TJ - Thanks for the encouragement, boss.

And to all the prereaders/victims who volunteered.  Your input was
insightful, useful, and thought provoking.  It's helped a lot, and I hope
I can be as much help to you in the future.

That's all for now.  Go home and go to bed.  Lord knows I have to.

Ja ne!

*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Ethan Tsai
1 N. College Street
Northfield, MN 55057

TSAIE@Gridley.ACNS.Carleton.edu
http://public.carleton.edu/~tsaie/ethan.html