This is the final part (chonologicly) of the Hero's Journey
series. Granted I still have a rather large gap to exploit
if I wanted to do more (and I still have some loose
threads).
Hope you like it.
-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
-- File: hjs1.txt
Disclaimer: For the last time, *IT'S NOT MY FAULT!*
Hero's Journey, Alpha and Omega
By Andrew Wilson
"Granpa!"
The man turned to face the small swarm of children. His face had it's share of lines, and his long hair was an iron gray. Even so, he was in better shape then most would believe, and was easily able to jump over the mass of children.
As the children tumbled in a pile, the man gathered them up in his arms.
"Now, what did your grandmother always say about running in the house?"
The children chorused the reply. "Only when it's an emergency."
"So, you had better have a good reason."
"We were bored," one of them, a blue haired girl, answered.
"Well, I guess that's a good reason."
"Tell us a story, Granpa," a dark haired boy asked.
The man entered the main room of his home, and settled onto a mat in the middle of the floor. Motioning the children to gather around, he shifted his voice to, as he put it, "story teller mode."
"I think there is one I haven't told you yet. It has adventure, romance, magic, and mayhem. It is also true..."
*******
Ranma launched a blindingly fast punch combination, knocking the vampire on it's back long enough for Deedlit to summon a torrent of water. The undead screamed under the stream, dissolving into a puddle of goo.
"That's the last of them," Deedlit said.
Ranma swore. "We finally get some time alone, and these bastards interrupt us." Turning back to Deedlit, Ranma forced himself to be calm. "Sorry about that, where were we?"
"You were about to tell me why you dragged me out here in the middle of the night."
"Well, the time has to do with the view," Ranma waved to the horizon, where the full moon was low in the sky.
"Okay, but what's the other reason?" Deedlit asked after admiring the view for a moment.
Ranma's hands were fumbling around in his pockets. "It has to be around here."
"Did you drop 'it' in the fight?"
"I might have." Ranma began searching the nearby puddles. After a moment, he shook his head. "Not here either."
Deedlit produced a small, black box. "Is this what you're looking for?"
Ranma paled. "How did you get that?"
"You dropped it."
Ranma tried to snatch the box back, but Deedlit danced out of the way. Giggling, she slowly opened the box. What she saw inside made her heart stop.
"It's been a year since we met," Ranma explained. "And it took me this long to admit that I can't live without you. I guess the question is obvious."
Deedlit smiled. "Say it anyway."
Ranma became more than a little dehydrated from sweating. "Deedlit, will you marry me?"
*******
"Boring!"
The storyteller looked at his youngest grandson. "Boring? Boring?"
"Yeah, when are things going to happen, not just this mushy stuff?"
"Boy, you'll change your mind about that when you get older."
"Can we just skip to the good part?" another child asked.
"Skip to the good part!" The storyteller was outraged, then quickly calmed down. "I guess what happens between that and the good part is a little much for youngsters. Alright, we'll skip to the good part."
The children cheered as the storyteller continued.
*******
Ranma tugged at the collar of his tuxedo, wondering where Deedlit had gotten the idea for a western wedding. His best guess was that the only priest within a thousand miles (at least) was Christian, and had set up shop outside of Vulcan's Forge. Conner had supplied the name and location, with an expression that told Ranma not to ask where the information had come from.
The minister, a small woman named Kathleen Weber, had been rifted into the dimension over two years before. Once she had recovered from her shock, she had decided that her presence was a sign from (or act of) God, and set about restoring the ruins of a small cathedral.
As Ranma waited at the altar, he examined the construction around him. He had to admit, the place had class. The music began, coming from an old fashioned pipe organ, and Deedlit appeared at the entrance to the main anteroom. Ranma struggled to keep control of his jaw when he saw the dress she was in. It enhanced her beauty to a point where he was having trouble remembering his own name.
*******
"You said this was the good part!"
"Haven't you children ever heard of a thing called 'setup?'"
*******
Deedlit was halfway to the altar when an explosion shattered the main doors. Standing in the remains of the stone archway was what appeared to be a woman. That is, if a woman had six arms, and a lower body more suited to a snake.
"Hello, mortals," the demon hissed.
Ranma swore. He recognized this demon. Lilith, former associate of Errtu and Ashram. She and the black knight had joined up after Errtu's death a year ago, and had caused trouble for the companions every now and then.
By this time, though, the companions knew that they tended to attract trouble, and had come prepared.
The guests, few that their were, quickly took cover behind the altar. Ranma grumbled as Drizzt moved toward a small bundle in the first pew. Both Ryoga and Conner reached under their jackets and pulled out their pistols, while Catti-brie took the pieces of an energy rifle out from under her skirt and quickly assembled them. Drizzt drew his scimitars from the bundle, and tossed Pirotess her sword. Emeralda simply reformed the dress she had into her normal clothes. Deedlit wouldn't need her weapon, since she was literally glowing with rage. Ranma cracked his knuckles and prepared to pound Lilith when Conner held him back.
"Ranma," the older man said, "never go hand to hand with someone who has more hands then you."
A dozen new forms moved into the church, all big, mean, and ugly.
"This is real low," Ranma shouted at the demon, "attacking people in a church!"
"Die, mortals," was the demon's only response before the gathering charged.
Ranma, Drizzt, and Emeralda met the charge, while the others (except Deedlit) opened up with their weapons (or, in Pirotess' case, magic).
The first line of creatures was down before they could reach the companions. The second line crawled over the bodies of the first, and leapt into the fray.
Ranma and Drizzt worked back to back, dispatching the beasts with an almost casual attitude. A combination of blows was followed by neat beheading. A dozen quick slices was prelude to an axe kick crushing the skull. The beasts crowded around, but none could touch them.
Emeralda had an easier time. Ranma and Drizzt, it seemed, were the primary targets, so the others were largely left alone by the hoard. Only when the beasts noticed the energy blasts killing off their fellows did they pay any attention to the other companions. Those that broke off from the pack were Emeralda's responsibility.
While Ranma pummeled and beat, and Drizzt sliced and diced, Emeralda used her powers to fry and shred the creatures. Anything that made it through her barrage of magical lightning and fire would have to put up with her formidable hand to hand abilities. After all, she had learned from the best.
Of course, Ranma was one of the best fighters in the Megaverse. The demons were getting tougher, but he was just getting warmed up. He and Drizzt broke apart, expanding the area of coverage, and giving each other room to operate. For Ranma, it was a dance of death. What appeared one instance as a tangle of bodies soon changed to a victor standing on a pile of corpses. One by one (or two at a time, such as when Ranma crushed a pair of heads against each other) the demons fell.
While Emeralda learned from the best, and Ranma was one of the best, Drizzt was *the* best. While Ranma's form could be compared to a dance, Drizzt was a hurricane. Looking like chaos incarnate, Drizzt adjusted his stance from one moment to the next, constantly adapting to the situation. In front on his blades, the beasts were doing a fine imitation of a lawn. That is, they were being mowed down.
Soon, Lilith was the only being remaining. The demon laughed as she pulled out a small gem.
"I still have your friend in this, Ranma Saotome. Go ahead, attack, if you want to risk his soul."
"He wasn't a friend," Ranma stated, pulling a knife from his sleeve. Throwing it, he managed to hit the demon's hand, dropping the gem to the floor.
The companions began to advance towards the demon, intent on having it feel fear, pain, and death, hopefully in that order. On second though, the fear and pain part would be minimal, they just wanted it to die. Deedlit's shout stopped them.
"Drop!" The companions followed her command, dropping to the ground. Looking back, Ranma saw Deedlit surrounded by a white corona. Holding her hand out in front of her, Deedlit released a bar of liquid light, brighter than the sun, at the demoness. It struck Lilith, causing her to glow for a second, then fade away.
"What the hell was that?" Conner asked when the light faded.
"I don't know," Deedlit slowly said. "I don't think I could recreate it, either."
Ranma went back to the altar and found the minister, along with the guests, behind it, praying.
"Sorry about the mess," Ranma told her, "we'll help clean it up."
"Do you still want to get married?" the woman asked, more than a little shaken.
"Yes," Ranma replied.
"Do you?" she asked Deedlit.
Deedlit hesitated, mostly to make Ranma sweat, before replying. "Yes."
"The say 'I do' and kiss each other, you're married."
They did just that.
*******
"But, what did they do after that?"
The man smiled. "That, is another story, young ones. I hear your parents calling, you have better run."
With a collective squeal, the children rushed off, leaving the man alone.
"I think I got it rather accurate," he said to the empty room. "Don't you think so, old friend?"
"Yes," a shadow said, detaching itself from the wall. Throwing his cloak back, Drizzt sat beside his friend. The elf was largely untouched by the centuries, with only a few wrinkles around his eyes. "Though you left a few parts out."
"You don't expect me to tell them *that,* do you? They're only children!"
"None of us had what you would call a normal childhood, Ranma."
"True," Ranma nodded. "We did have some good times though."
"When we weren't off fighting to save countless civilizations from beings that make the devil look like a kind person."
"Hey, it wasn't that bad. Even Ryoga rarely went into his rages."
"That's because few of our enemies lived to see any of us get truly angry. Most were dead by the time we were mildly annoyed."
Ranma laughed. "I'll give you that one. How is Catti-brie?"
"Teaching the little ones to shoot the eyes out of a rat at three hundred meters. What about Ryoga and Pirotess?"
"Your guess is as good as mine. Last I saw them was with Conner and Emmy, going off to who knows where. And that was almost fifty years ago. But that's not what you came to ask me about."
"I heard about Deedlit."
"Yeah," Ranma sighed and leaned back, "I figured it was that."
"What happened?"
"Some avatars from the Ba'al regions were sent to cause some havoc, and feed their masters. We managed to destroy them, and without very many casualties. But Deed was one of those casualties."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. She died doing what she took the most joy from, helping people."
There was a long pause before Ranma spoke again.
"She was supposed to be immortal, ageless. I always expected to die first. Then the cycle would begin again, like it did for her eight hundred years ago."
"Not anymore."
Ranma shook his head. "No, and in a way I'm glad. There were too many burdens, to many memories. It's an odd thought, knowing that after you die, your soul will be reborn over and over again. I guess the only constant is that we will be together."
"You sound like you are eager to make that journey."
Ranma laughed. "No. I figure that I have another century left in me, and I intend to make good use of it. Right now, her soul is in the spirit world, or being reborn this instant, memories of what came before sealed off. Until I met her, I was living in ignorance, while she was searching, waiting to be with me.
"Now, it's my turn to wait."