Yes, my friends, the wait is over. Here, after nearly four months of
non-stop writer's block, is the final chapter of "The Death of Ukyou
Trilogy." (For those of you unfamiliar with the Trilogy, the first two stories
are titled "The Letters" and "The Shadows." Beg, borrow or steal 'em,
cause I'm not retypin' 'em.) And for those of you wondering if Ukyou will
return at the end of this story...well...read it and see!!! :P
===

                                          RANMA 1/2:
                                         THE BEYOND
                                           by Erin Mills
                      based on characters created by Rumiko Takahashi

    It blasted through the barriers between the realm of the living and the
world of the dead. It needed to heal itself. The damage Saotome had
inflicted on it was considerable. It considered itself lucky to have
escaped when it did.
     No matter. Once it fed, it would be back to full power, and if all the
insight it had acquired into Saotome's character was correct, he would
have no qualms about following it. 
     Even if it meant his own death.
     The Ki-Spirit snickered. Kuonji was it's and soon, it would gain more
power by feeding on Saotome's soul, and then...
     <But let's not get ahead of myself.> it thought, <First, I must feed.>
      It arrived at a place it had separated from the rest of the Plane. A
place where it could keep the souls it had stolen. It passed through the
blackness that surrounded the area and entered a cave like area. In the
center of the cave was a campfire and a large cage. The sight of the
cage stopped the Ki-Spirit in it's tracks.
     The cage it had kept Ukyou Kuonji's soul in was empty. The door
swung open, the handle of a small throwing spatula jammed in the lock.
     The Ki-Spirit howled in rage. It's source of power was gone! Without
a soul to feed on, it would soon perish. And when Saotome came...
     The trap had now become a race. A race which not only held one
soul in the balance, but the souls of every human being in the living
plane.
===
 
    Sorry it's so short, but I'm having some minor dialogue problems with
the next section. Please bear with me on this. Gomen. -_-
    
                                                                       ---Erin 2.5