Disclaimer: The playground is by Rumiko Takahashi, I'm only swinging on
the monkey bars. Remember to leave the grounds cleaner than you found
them and please don't feed the Trolls.

This story is archived at http://www.kawaiikunee.com/slp/

Release 1.2 (Nov. 25, 2000)

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Authors Notes:

Tear-jerking bastich, ain't I?

Heh.

No, it gets to me, too, and I _wrote_ the thing.

You may notice that I spend a lot more time on describing Akane's fight
and what maneuvers she is using, while letting Ranma by with visual
descriptions and a higher level of vagueness. This is entirely
intentional.

You may also notice that I tend to choose Ranma's actions by their
visual appeal, silly as that may seem in a text based fanfiction.
Again, this is intentional. 

A lot of the whole fic is visually based, because I seem to have the
habit of formatting and developing the scenes that way. Also, Ranma is
serving as a plot-device and story-forwarder at this point, so I felt
that visual imagery was more appropriate.

Yes, Ranma does have a death wish. It's not a terribly strong one,
mind. And he himself would deny it vehemenently, but it _is_ there.
Again, this is a side-effect of Ranma no longer being truly heroic, and
will probably fix itself as he regains his proper form.

Or, again, I could just be playing with your minds. You never know.

But, whatever Ranma may _think_, he has been strongly marked by the
Samurai / Ronin death fetish (if that's what I want to call it). The
sense that a 'heroic' death for duty or honor's sake is desirable or
romantic. As I say, if you asked him, she'd deny it, but ....

Moving on, I consider the Hiryuu Shoten Ha to be the most visually
distinctive and impressive of Ranma's attacks, which is why I use it
here.

I've wanted to use "krakata-thoooooo......oooom" as a sound effect for
a long time now, and I refuse to apologize for it.

Yes that _is_ the First of the Fallen as in Satan, Old Scratch,
Lucifer, the Adversary, etc. Yes, he's extremely bad-ass.

For more on Invincibles, see the RAALS Essays on the web site.

For that matter, world and meta-world information in general is there,
and there's a lot to reference in this chapter.

The fall into the dark was pure stylistic showoff on my part, but I'm
not apologizing for _it_, either.

The Starless Sea is an escape route because it's the one place in all
creation where Lies are Not Allowed, and where the First _cannot_
therefore suddenly turn up. Or _any_ demon, for that matter. On the
other hand, it's usually very much a one-way trip. Nor can most people
climb the Cliff of Black Stone, even if they could _find_ it, which
they couldn't.

The pool of water at the base of the cliff is a very Important Well.
The root that feeds into it is a very Important Root. And a nasty
computer pun. I'm not saying any more right now.

Ranma and Akane would not normally be able to throw their weight around
to that extent; but due to their twin-world existence during the fight,
they are in much the same position as a demon would be confronting
humans on earth. That is, they're cheating extensively.

This also explains the rapid healing of their wounds during the fight,
and also at least partly what happened to Akane's eye. _That_ wound is
also very symbolic, if you hadn't already guessed that.

The sword will be dealt with in the next chapter.

The Iron-Men pseudo-history is complete garbage, in case that wasn't
obvious, but I think it's evocative garbage. It's also _All Mine_, but
I'm willing to share ...

Just for the record, major world influences to this point include:
Slayers
Godzilla
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (manga version)
Gunsmith Cats
Usagi Yojimbo
Neil Gaiman
Terry Pratchett
Ah! Megamisama
Iczer One
El Hazzard
Tenchi Muyo
Hellblazer!
In Nomine
Ninja High School
Gold Digger
Gunmm (aka Battle Angel Alita)
and my own deranged imagination.
Oh, and Ranma, too.

'Til Then,

Eric Hallstrom 01/16/2001