Epilogue: Aftermath

A reminder: This epilogue is for the whole arc starting at "The Bachelor Party" and running through this story. Spoilers follow for the other stories...

Daran stood atop the tower watching the sun rise over Nerima. Hoshi stood in front of him and both were wrapped in his coat. She had her eyes closed and was leaning back against him. Neither said a word, nor did they need too.

Ranma sat in the living room at the house getting drilled on mercenary protocol by Mausu and Ciren. As with any kind of studies, the young man looked like he was suffering badly, probably because he was. His two teachers had promised to reward him with a work out after dinner, provided he finished his work. Olaf was in the kitchen carefully watching Akane cook, which freed Nodoka to attend to her Nuido. It had surprised the dojo residents that the giant was actually an accomplished cook. Despite her work, Akane was wearing her engagement ring…

Akane followed Apay into her young ward's bedroom. Even here, Akane wore her new ring, something that amused Apay. The Fire Sprite was also amused by how "over-the-moon" her big sister was. Apay immediately led Akane over to the new feature in the room, a fish tank. Inside, five colorful fish swam.

"This is what you did with the Water Elementals?" Akane asked.

"I needed somewhere safe to store them," Apay answered her. "After the Storm, I can dump them into the Sea. It wouldn't be a kindness to do it until then. They can't hurt you no matter what – There's nothing about you that they can feed on. Just like they can't hurt me either. Ranma and Ryoga are safe too – there's just not enough overlap."

Akane nodded her head. "All right then, you can keep them here," she agreed.

The Human Sprite smirked then: "It's a good thing the Cats can't come here though."

"For now," Akane agreed. "If they start causing problems, I may fix that," the young woman said while indicating the fish. The fish all seemed to give a little shudder and moved away from Akane.

"I think they got your message," Apay laughed.

The Amazon Elder Razor looked in dismay at the springs her village depended on. Now the five smallest springs were dry and so was the largest – the second largest was the only one flowing. "Gods, no!" she moaned. "This can't be happening! Henna, what have you done to us?" Despondently, she turned back to the village while thinking how to start copying the Books of Lore.

Henna walked along the path to the Village to answer the urgent summons. She was in a furious mood. She knew what had happened and why everyone was in a panic - and there was nothing she could do about it. "I was tricked!" Henna thought. "The Unryu girl was a distraction! So was Shampoo! Someone played the Sprite so I'd concentrate on them first. I missed the true threat completely. Now, it's too late!"

She sat down on a rock for a minute. Unbidden, the face of a young woman filled her thoughts - one with hard brown eyes and blue-black hair. "NO!" Henna shouted. "NO! DAMN YOU, AKANE TENDO!"

Liang sat in her pool and reflected on her situation. She had returned to Henna with three souls, the most she could carry. When Henna had demanded where Liang's sisters were, Liang could only tell the witch what she had seen before running for her life: the blue-black haired girl had touched the Water Elementals and destroyed them. Liang couldn't sense them any more in any realm. Henna had screamed, shouted, and struck Liang, but the Water Spirit didn't change her story - Henna's Truth spell forbid that. Her six sisters were gone.

Henna raised her hand to punish Liang, but before Henna struck, Liang reminded Henna that Liang was the sole surviving Spring. If Liang became poisoned, the Amazons were finished as a tribe and the Covenant was broken. Henna stood there raging silently for a full five minutes before angrily ordering Liang back to her Spring.

"I'm untouchable now, Henna," Liang thought smugly. "The Covenant is broken if I dry up. Your power ends and so does your life. I no longer have to do your bidding. As it is, you better hope I can provide enough water for the Tribe, even though I'm compelled to…"

General Xie looked at the latest dispatches from his spies. The news was unanticipated: Beijing mystics had told him that the springs would dry up, but he never counted on Henna being the one to cause it. "She sent them off and they haven't returned. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot…" he mused. He stood up then and walked to the window in his office. "Still, things are going to come to a head soon. She'll get angry and desperate for power…."

Kevin whistled as he scraped the burned seaweed off the plate into the garbage. Then he turned and began to scrub the dish in the hot water bucket. Carl came in carrying a large tray full of more dishes. He placed the tray on a kitchen counter and glared at Kevin. "How the hell are you so happy?!" Carl demanded.

Kevin gave Carl a small smile and answered: "Because I'm not dead."

"Might as well be," Carl grumbled. "We're stuck in this house for the next hundred years."

"Would you rather be in Hell? Or consumed by Henna, which amounts to the same thing?" Kevin replied. That brought Carl up short, so Kevin continued: "The pain is gone. We have to work twelve-hour shifts, but they feed us. The work is hard, but the sleep is peaceful and restful. We get one day off in seven and the rest of the workers are friendly enough even knowing our history."

"That's because theirs is worse!" Carl snapped back.

"So, they're sinners like us," Kevin shrugged. "Still beats Hell." His eyes narrowed. "What's got you so pissed?"

Carl blew out a breath. "Those damned Katakirauwa keep trying to steal my soul."

"They can't do that," Kevin half-laughed. "The Master has them for safe keeping - for just that reason. Besides, they're easy to take care of…"

"How so?"

Kevin winked. "Just remind the little swine that there's a lot of pig on the menu and you're the one adding up their tab," he said conspiratorially. "If they continue to harass you, you can always add an entertainment fee that the Master will only be too happy to enforce - and He has ways of collecting what's owed to Him."

Carl stood stunned for a moment. Then he slowly smiled. "He would do that, wouldn't He."

"Ogres Magi don't make the best Masters, but they do protect their own…" Kevin winked again. "…and they certainly beat Hell."

A/N: And done. In a week or two, there will be a new story: In Japan, during one weekend in January, college-bound high school seniors take two days worth of tests to see if they can get into the college of their choice. This is a national event there, enough to warrant news coverage. Now it's Ranma's and Akane's turn (and their friends). Will Nerima help or hurt them? ... Come see in"Examination Hell"!