Freemage wrote:

Well, now, isn't that just Extra-Special?

We aim to please. ^_^

OK, the quick break-down:

Happi in Heaven:  Whaddya wanna bet he gets some sort of Earthly
assignment, real quick?

And have people say 'if this is an angel, I'm not sure I want to go to
Heaven' ? ^_^

Either that or Urd will palm him off on
Mara....

Now that would be a far more likely scenario.

Happosai: (glomping Mara's cleavage) WOOHOO!!! This one really is a
hottie!

Death & Seer/Domino & Oblivion:

Hmmmm....  A bit talky, espeically if there's going to be a continuation
of all this at some point--

Not for these folks. (Except Death. It still has a present to give) The
situation is no longer interesting to any of them, so they're off to play
the 'Games of the Gods' elsewhere. Domino did leave that little care
package for Shampoo and Ranma in the form of Herb, though.


[Side note: Seer/Domino might turn up in a different fic. But it won't be
in the forseeable future]

it would have been better to resolve a lot of
these "mysteries of the Cosmos" then.

Afraid that's not possible. This was where their roles in this whole thing
were explained and why things happened as they did.

 Maybe some kind of action or
humour scene between these would've helped.

Maybe. Nothing came to mind right now though. These aren't the sort of
being that really take 'action' per se. And humor was in the first part of
the prologue, with Happosai.

R&S vs. Gemma:

Ah, the real meat of the story.

Excellent fight scene, friend!

Thanks. This one was a bit harder to write since you knew R+S were going
to have the crud kicked out of them.  Better than the way I wrote it the
first time, though.

Gemma's fate was appropriately nasty.

And so ends the last of the  Eight Devils of Kimone. I don't think
anyone's going to miss them.

And while Shamps won't be able to go home again, at least Kasumi will be
able to teach her all the ancient Amazon Lore, right?  ^_^

Wrong. Or rather, not directly. But you see, somewhere out there, there's
a case with all sorts of ancient techniques in it that can only be opened
by a true daughter of the Joketsuzoku. Hu Chaing may have sent it out over
a thousand years ago, but it might still be out there...

Farewells:

Nice.  Very nice.  And it included a totally gratutitous lawyer joke,
too, which gets double points!

Well, why they weren't going to try for that 'Exceptional Circumstance
Rule' (a red herring from WAY back in chapter 7) needed to be explained.
And D'Amour knows there are times when one needs legal advice. This way
its free.

Ranma and Shamps' departing banter was
excellent.

Thanks. It kind of flowed naturally and it was a kick to write. There was
even a little something in it that is going to pop back up in Ranma's life
(Amazons have real good memories when it comes to those that try to tease
them ^_^)

 Poor Aki, she doesn't get anyone....

Well, neither did Nabiki. Or Minami. Or Akane. Or D'Amour (well, you knew
that wouldn't happen) Or Cologne, and umm.. well Birdy didn't really get
anyone. Hmm. I seem to have run out of people. ^_^

Hmmm... is Kasumi going to be trained by the elders, or vice versa?

I take it Akane is going to be discussed in one or more of the
Epilogues?

The first one is hers alone and deals with the first year plus of her
life.

I can't wait to find out what Nabiki's angle to all this is going to be.

You'll find that out in epilogue one as well.

Oh, and btw:  WHAT ABOUT KASUMI?

You really seem to be hooked on that one.

Sorry, but that thread is probably the
most annoying of all, by my count.  It just screams "spinoff".

Looking forward to the Epilogues.

First one should be out in about a week or so.

Thanks a lot for the C+C once again.

D.B. Sommer