Finally, I have the last chapter done. I hope it
doesn't disappoint anyone, but this is how I
had alwas planned for it to end.



Standard Disclaimer: All characters appearing in this
fic are the property of their respective creators.
Please don't sue me, I have no money.

                      Desert Moon
                A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction
                 By Valandar the Red


                     Chapter Eight
                    Don't Let It End

     Ranma found himself following Kiima through the maze of
tunnels below Phoenix Mountain, supposedly to a back way
into the hall Jalamdhara had claimed as a throne room. Not
that he really trusted her, of course. Finally, the
flickering of torchlight could be seen around the next bend.
Using every bit of stealth he could muster, he crept up to
the rocky wall, and clung to it as he peered around. The
first thing to greet his sight was the cage of energy, both
glowing with its own light, and reflecting the orange torch
light that filled the cavern. Saffron appeared conscious,
but lay on the floor of his cage listlessly.
     More than a quarter century ago, this 'god' of Phoenix
Mountain had been responsible for the near-death of Akane.
For that, Ranma had nothing but dislike for him. It was not
hatred, because the martial artist had always been unable
to hold a grudge for long. But the sight of this man, the
only man he had ever been willing to truly kill, in such a
state as this, was enough to spark a little pity, even if it
was mixed with disgust. Tapping Kiima on the shoulder, he
motioned for them to back away from the aperture.
     After dropping back fifty feet, he spoke with a low
voice. "When they fought - did the demon god show that he
could fly?"
     Kiima nodded.
     "Was Saffron a faster flyer?"
     Kiima nodded again, afraid to speak lest they be over-
heard.
     "I'm gonna tell you how to free him. I got a good
enough look at the cage for that. Tell him to take one swipe
at Jumbalaya, or whatever his name is, then dart through the
tunnels to the outside. Got it?"
     "But what will you do?" she whispered.
     He dropped a finger over his mouth. "Whispers can carry
farther than a soft speaking voice. I'll take care of what I
have to do. Now..."

                    ********************

     Kiima was worried. What if she did this wrong? Her
quartz dagger was out, and she was almost on the cage.
Reaching out with the blade, she carefully laid it across
two of the bars of energy, near the top where they all met.
A brief spark flashed, and the bars crossed along the
dagger, rather than flowing to the floor. One foot tapped
her god and king on the shoulder, and he rolled over, a
defeated expression on his face.
     "My Lord Saffron," she started, "the only mortal to
ever defeat you has returned to aid you."
     Confusion warred on his face with depression. "You
speak of the Saffron I was before. Without your influence,
with only the arrogance. Before I was reborn. You say he has
retured. But if he was my enemy, why is he now my ally?"
     Glancing around, to make sure no one heard his little
monologue, she answered. "Sire, the demon is a threat to all
that live. Here is what he requests of you..."

     Jalamdhara sat in contemplation of the far reaches of
Svargaloka. It was the heaven of the minor gods, to be sure,
but it would provide him with an army of power. Then, he
could dispose of these troublesome garadu, and assail the
home of the Three - Brahma, Siva, and Vishnu. Ah, a mere two
hours, and the time will be right to open the portal for his
army.
     A small amount of pain caught his attention, a line of
fire along his shoulder. A glance at it with his leftmost
head, and the gash sealed as fast as it was made. He looked
with his foremost head, and saw the now free form of Saffron
taunting him, just hovering there. His rightmost and
rearmost heads roared hatred, as his lower arms reached out
to snatch at the annoyance.
     Saffron barely evaded the grasping claws, and began to
dart out into the tunnels. The demon god followed, hurling
bolts of raw magic, channeled by hatred. Where they struck a
cave wall, the tunnel collapsed, but he merely powered
through the blockages. In his anger, he did not stop to
consider that the man-god was deliberately staying just out
of reach of his talons, but close enough to be followed.
A very short time later, they erupted out of the newest
entrance of the mountain, into the cold night sky.
     Mousse, who had been resting outside with Ukyou,
fumbled for his glasses. "What's going on?"
     The chef was quiet for a short while. "I don't quite
know. It looks like the demon is fighting some sort of bird-
man."
     By this time, the injured master of hidden weapons had
fixed his spectacles onto his face. "Saffron..." he
breathed.
     Awed by the pyrotechnic display as the God King of
Phoenix Mountain battled Jalamdhara the Demon God, she could
only shrug. The battle raged across the mountainside,
echoing a battle from twenty-six years earlier. Pure flame
melted boulders into slag, and concussions echoed to cause
landslides.
     Running footsteps called the two martial artists'
attention back to the entrance to the mountain. There came
Shampoo, Khu Lon, Akane, and Ryouga. With them was a
bird-woman. "Where's Ranchan?" asked Ukyou.
     "We don't know. He went another way, probably for the
Kajaken. All we can do now, is wait." Khu Lon hopped down
from her staff, and settled against the boulder her Great-
Grandson-in-law was huddled against.
     The battle was all but over, and, once more, Saffron
hung limp in the grasp of Jalamdhara. One leg was barely
more than a stump, unable to regenerate due to the magics of
the demon god, while his wings were still smouldering. The
laughter of the demon god danced through the valley, filling
those who watched with horror.
     "Now, little godling, I shall remove from you the gift
of life. From this, there shall be no return!" One hand
poised itself over the throught of his defeated foe, and
began to glow a dark red.
     Behind the martial artists, a grinding noise could be
heard. Turning, they saw Ranma quickly emerging from a new
tunnel, the Kajaken in hand. "Stand back," he shouted. Only
seconds later, a jet of water streamed out from the tunnel,
splashing over the staff of fire. Quickly reaching the
boiling point, the superheated jet splashed directly onto
the back of Jalamdhara. A small, elderly Japanese man took
his place, and both he and Saffron fell to the unforgiving
earth.
     Ranma, Ryouga, and the rest raced down the mountain-
side. Kiima raced to Saffron, while the rest gathered around
the broken body of Tokugawa Akihito. "It's over," stated
Akane.
     To their shock and horror, the wounds of Akihito began
to mend themselves, bones setting in place with hideous
snaps, and blood flowing backwards into his mouth and ears.
The horrific sight of a man, who should be dead, standing up
once more, was more than Ukyou could take. She began to
retch.
     Akihito laughed. "No matter what form I am in, I have
control." The dark, shadowy voice was that of the demon god,
and not the old businessman. "And while I am in control,
this body is immortal!"
     "I don't believe you!" yelled Ryouga. "This is for
Plum's daughters! And Plum, herself, if we can't find her!"
He drew his belt, and strengthened it with his chi.
     Ranma found himself wanting to stop his old friend, but
couldn't. He knew, now, that the human inside the beast was
dead, and only the demon remained. He closed his eyes, and
turned away as the belt lashed out, and a thump on the ground
advertised Akihito's head hitting the ground. He then looked
again at their foe.
     The body still stood, to their horror, then bent over,
and picked up the bloody head. As it brought the head near
the neck, tendrils of blood snaked their way between the
two parts, fusing once the head was in place. In horror, the
martial artists unleashed every weapon in their arsenal
against the demon's host.
     The bloodied pulp shivered, as once more it healed back
to full. Laughing, it lay back against the hillside. "Do you
now believe? Nothing you do can destroy a god!"
     Ranma knew what must be done now. Akihito was truly
dead, and only Jalamdhara remained. Grabbing the man, he
began to concentrate. Slowly, he began to push the cursed
host of the demon into the mountainside.
     As sparks flared, and the buzzsaw sound advertised that
Ranma was performing his fusing technique. Jalamdhara raged
against him, beating at him ineffectually with his mortal
fists. He screamed in agony as his form fused with the
unforgiving stone, unable to stop the proccess.
     The martial artist was actually crying as he did this,
while some of the weaker stomachs among his friends turned
away. Ryouga, Mousse, Shampoo, and Khu Lon watched, as he
reached up and pushed both arms down, one by one, until
nothing was left. He backed away, then dropped to the ground.
     Akane turned back, and helped Ranma up. They turned to
leave, but Ryouga simply stated, "It's not over."
     "What do you mean? He'll never get out of there." Akane
was irritated, and Ranma too tired from the technique to
respond.
     "If anyone else learns that technique, they could free
him. It has to be finished. And I know just how to do that."
He pulled back his hand, and struck out with a single finger.
"Bakusai Tenketsu Revised! Directional Breaking Point!"
     A shower of stone shards, mostly grey, but some with a
reddish tinge, sprayed out, and away from the group. The
Lost Man stood, and began to collect the redish shards,
putting them in his backpack.
     "Wh-what are you going to do?" asked Ukyou.
     "Isn't it obv...ob....clear?" replied Shampoo. "Ryouga
going to drop off stones across the world in travels."
     "Yup. Tell Akari that I'll be back, and I love her." He
hefted his pack, and began to walk away.
     Ranma, sitting on the boulder next to Mousse, called out
to him. "Hey, P-chan, next time don't make us wait ten years
before we hear from you again, okay!"
     Ryouga merely waved, as he followed the moon to his next
destination.
     The rest of the group slowly stood, and helped Kiima get
the injured Saffron back to Phoenix Mountain.

                    ********************

     Over the next few days, things gradually returned to
what passed for normal in the valley. The Musk were nearly
wiped out, with only poor Lime remaining. Phoenix Mountain
was now in debt to the Amazons, and the rapidly healing
Saffron declared a blood debt to Ranma, and swore he would
never more seek traffic with those who did not seek it them-
selves. Plum and the old Guide were found a day after the
defeat of Jalamdhara, weak from hunger and thirst, but other-
wise alright.
     The Nerima crowd, other than Ryouga, returned to Japan,
hoping to return to a relatively normal existance. With any
luck, this was their last grand adventure, and they could
teach, and cook, in peace.
     Ranma and Akane approached the Tendo Dojo rather
tenatively. They were certain Akari would understand about
Ryouga leaving, but weren't sure how to tell her. No sooner
had they reached for the knob, than they were both bowled
over by a ponytailed martial artist, age seventeen, being
chased by a green-haired, chinese woman who was shouting the
familiar phrase of, "Wo a nai, Airen!"
     "Dammit," cursed Ranma, "I told Kenchiro to let Ying Lu
know that he was just sparring with her, and not challenging
her!"





Author's notes: Yes, it's done. Anyone who wants to, let me
know, and I'll give you what I have on the younger
generation. I really don't think Kenchiro minds having Ying
Lu chase him, it's just a family tradition. If you enjoyed
this, well, I'm sorry, but I don't plan on writing anything
else like it. Well...maybe I might write about the incident
with Taro and the Nine Rings of Destruction, if someone
would care to assist, as I have no idea what its about. All
I know is that Happosai dies when splashed with Nyaniichuan
water, and Taro dies, as well, somehow. Svargaloka is a
Hindu term, referring pretty much to the home of the lesser
gods, by the way.

Sudden vision:
     A visitor to the Eiffel tower sees a weird, red chunk of
rock. In his hands, it glows slightly, malevolently, then
fades. Also - what would happen if you dunked the stones in
cold water? I say nothing, since it can't really touch the
body of Akihito, just the stone. But...

- Valandar the Red of the Empty Tankard
http://members.tripod.com/~Valandar/fanfic.html


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