Wow...it's over. Hard to believe, huh? Damn, this is cool! This is the
first multipart that I've ever completed...18 parts and an epilogue in a
littel more than three weeks. 0.0

Ok, so it's time for my little spiel before you go on to the epilogue. ^^
First of all, I said that I would tell everyone what the title means when
the story was done.

Acherontia Atropos is the scientific name for the "Death's Head Hawkmoth."

Everyone: That's it???
KnM: Yep.
Everyone: That's STUPID!
KnM: Gomen nasai! *blush*

AA was only meant to be a temporary, working title...I had to make
SOMETHING up, and the name just kind of grew on me, so I think I'll leave
the title as what it is. Besides, I think that a Death's Head Hawkmoth is
appropriate...foreshadows the plot slightly and such. (Death...yanno...all
about Duo, the necro ;D) Death's Head Hawkmoths were are those moths on the
cover of the Silence of the Lambs movie. ^^

I want to take this oppurtunity to thank Darkchylde, my proofreader, and
Ad, the shameless flatterer of my ego and total motivator. ^^ I also want
to thank Jacque for helping me with cultural stuff for Wufei that is slated
to appear soon...

Which leads me to this...this bit's important, IMO, if you have a spare
moment, please respond!

KnM's End of Fic Questionaire (just made it up ;)

1. What were your general impressions about the fic? Was the first person
viewpoint ok? Were the guys pretty much in character (taking in to
consideration that this is an alternate reality)?

2. What was your favorite scene? Least favorite? (if there wasn't one you
out and out hated, pick one of the ones that just kind of left you cold...)

3. If I were to write more on this, what would you like to see more of?
Less of? (keep in mind that I can't write lemons ;D)

4. Now that I'm talking about writing another one already, what would you
prefer? The sequel or the prequel? Or would you rather I never write
something like this again?  I have good ideas for both sequel and prequel,
and both would be equally fun to write, IMO, so that's why I'm asking the
victi...er...audience. ^^;;; Keep in mind that if I do write more, it will
be a while before I even start, because I need a break from the universe
before I get burned out on it.

Just to let anyone that might be wondering know, yes, I am planning to do
something with the entire "Master of Tokyo" thing, that's just been saved
for the next story (should there be one). Also, in the next one, more GW
characters will be showing up, and you start finding out what's special
about the other pilots, namely, some of the stuff I've been hinting at.
More hints! YEAH! ^^

So anyways...I hope you all enjoyed reading this fic as much as I loved
writing it. It's been fun!

JA!

--
Katsu no Miko
A Wufei no Seishi
Duo's Grand Inquisitor and Head Torturer
Keeper of Duo's Stake and Mallet?? Duo's Browning .40 Hi-Power III???
(Or maybe) Keeper of Duo's angst???? (future generations will decide)
AND: Keeper of Ad's Sanity! (*snicker* What sanity?)

"Erst wenn die Wolken schlafen gehen/kann man uns am Himmel sehen/
wir haben Angst und sind allein.../Gott weiss ich wil kein Engel sein..."
(~Ramms+ein~)



Warning: The characters belong to who they belong to and not me. Don't
sue me, I'm not worth your time. Special thanks to Laurell K. Hamilton
for writing the Anita Blake novels.

Additional warning: Characters acting wildly OOC. You have been warned.

Additional Additional warning: Alternate reality fic. Events that have
happened or will happen in this reality not necessarily connected to what
happened in the real series in any way. Don't wave the time line at me, I
am beyond it now. A HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!

Additional Additional Additional warning: Extreme supernatural action.
Supernatural abilities are as defined by me in the shadow world, where
this takes place.

Additional Additional Additional Additional Warning: Story contains Yaoi,
Bad language, violence, and pretty much everything deemed as
"unwholesome" by Focus on the Family. (My Arch Nemesis...) If you are
easily offended, do not read. Also, extra warning is attached to this due
to the "YUCK!" factor during some scenes.

Additional...Oh, HELL With It Warning: This is not an Anita Blake
crossover, per se. Sorry if anyone's been misled. For more details about
the universe this takes place in, contact me about the shadow world.




Acherontia Atropos: Epilogue


When I woke up, I was in the ICU of the local hospital, along with Wufei
and Trowa. They had both been seriously injured, though not as badly as me.
Wufei had lost a lot of blood, and Victoria had managed to tear the lining
around his lungs when she shoved him onto his own knife, though at least
his internal organs were intact. Cheree had nearly disemboweled Trowa when
they killed her.

I was kind of surprised that Heero and Quatre weren't in with us. I was
even more surprised when Wufei told me that while Heero and Quatre had both
ridden to the hospital with us in the ambulances, they'd been released as
soon as the doctors took a look at them. Between the two of them, they'd
only needed about thirty stitches and some antibiotics. I guess that they
weren't hurt as badly as I'd thought. I must have seen wrong in the
torchlight. I was willing to believe that.

When the three of us compared wounds, the grand total came out to be
something like seven operations, over a thousand stitches, and three casts.
I'd been unconscious the longest; almost a week, while Wufei had been up
the whole time and Trowa had come to after the second day.

The doctors were thrilled that I was finally up and about. They had a lot
of fun telling me what a mess I was when I came in; punctured lung,
comminuted fracture of the humerus[1], five fractured ribs, compound
fracture of the collar bone coupled with severe muscle trauma...the list
went and on and. It sounded very impressive. They kept saying that I was
lucky to be alive.

They didn't have to tell me. I was well aware of that. Even if I didn't
particularly feel like it, at times.

They kept all three of us for another week and a half. We drove the
hospital staff insane. Wufei's a worse patient than me, if that's possible.
It was almost nice to have the chance to relax, though; I got to know Wufei
all over again, and really got to know Trowa for the first time. He's got a
real good sense of the ironic.

Quatre and Heero came and visited us, though Quatre showed up more often
than Heero. He always snuck us in junk food, and he even managed to smuggle
a six pack of beer past the attendant nurses once for me. There's a lot to
be said for looking innocent.

If he or Trowa can remember what Cheree and Carmen did to them, they don't
say. I try not to bring it up. Heero's still as distant as ever. The more
things change, the more they stay the same. At least he's not pushing me
away because of what happened.

When we finally got released from the hospital, the nurses threw us a big
party and bought us a cake. It was great. I asked around until I found out
who had called for the ambulances, since I was pretty sure that none of us
had been in any condition to run for help. I finally found out that it was
a woman named Hara. I can't help but wonder why she did it, but I haven't
called her up to ask. I'm not sure I want to know. She must have also done
one hell of a cleanup job, because no one mentioned dead bodies or anything
else that might indicate they'd found the remains of the vampires and
Carmen.

As soon as we left the hospital, we transferred to a new school, thanks to
Heero. When I asked, he said he didn't think I'd be comfortable in the same
school as the students that the vampires had controlled. It was a
surprisingly insightful thing for him to say. Sometimes I think there's
hope for him.

So far, things have been normal at the new school. We've all settled in
alright. Wufei's days of wearing tank tops are over, though, unless he
wants everyone to see the huge mound of scar tissue that he now has on his
upper chest. He also has some really interesting scars on his back now too,
though they're not too visible unless you're really looking for them. I
know for a fact that Trowa also has a scar across his stomach. We're all in
physical therapy now, and the therapist says that all of us will regain
full use of our various damaged body parts.

Heero's got a surprisingly small little pockmark in his chest, right over
his heart, which makes me wonder, sometimes. I try not to think about it,
though. Quatre managed to get through the entire experience pretty much
unscarred, at least on the physical level. As far as the mental level goes,
I can't say. None of us like to talk about what happened; I think it shook
us all up, and we want to go back to our quasi-normal lives and forget.

Except for me. I can't forget. Like Wufei, I'm never going to be able to
wear a tank top and look good in it again; I have some real bad scarring on
my collar bone and my right arm, but it's merely a reflection of the
internal stains, I guess you could say. I still have problems with people
touching me, and my claustrophobia has only gotten worse. Now that I've
acknowledged that the power in me exists, it constantly finds ways to bring
my attention to it, like it's some kind of eager to please kid. On bad
nights, I'll go out to take a walk, and the road kill will get up and
follow me.

At first, when I got out of the hospital, I had nightmares all the time,
and a lot of nights found me knocking on Quatre and Trowa's room door,
because I knew Quatre wouldn't mind sharing his bed with me, and that is
the one time that physical contact doesn't freak me out. It's something I
have to deal with, just like being a Gundam Pilot. I've accepted that, now,
and the nightmares aren't as bad any more. I won't say that I don't still
have a lot of issues to deal with, but at least I'm now dealing with the
ones I can. I am Shinigami. I can't escape that.

A month after we transferred to the new school, I went to one of the old
libraries in Tokyo, one that had a lot of really old books from all over
the world. I spent several days wandering the dusty stacks, but I
eventually found at least a few answers about vampires and witches, as well
as a little elementary info on what we might possibly run into in the
future if our world tries to turn itself upside down again. I hope that
I'll never need it, though. The first time around was bad enough.

I also found a few sketchy, incomplete details that gave me some answers
I'd been craving; answers about me. Tamlin had called my ability an
"affinity for the dead." It didn't ring true, though, I knew it. I found
the beginning of the answer for what I am in a thin, tiny book that had
gotten jammed between the pages of a larger reference tome. I walked out of
the library with it tucked inside my long-sleeved shirt. No one ever
noticed.

The tiny, insignificant looking book gave me a name for what I am.

I am Shinigami.

I am a Necromancer.




[1] Comminuted fracture is basically where the bone has been shattered.
Multiple bone chunklets floating around in the space where the bone used to
be, takes at least one operation to get everything back in place, normally
more than that, and it's not unusual for the affected limb to lose a great
deal of mobility.