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Date Posted: 22:22:20 02/14/04 Sat
Author: J.T. Magnus
Subject: Chapter 62: "Can't Keep A Good Man Down"

I finished the final word at the break of day, the challenge broke tradition, but I wasn't good at iambic pentameter. I was however good at haiku. Glancing over it, I liked what I saw...

"Many centuries past
Two Dragon Gods stood as friends
But darkness split them

Eons pass, two Gods clash
Shadow and Omega Flares blast
Now, let us end it.

Tonight, midnight light
Let us meet where it began
For these forms we wear

Behind the wood deck,
Steel, Brick, and Concrete around,
Face me if you dare."

**==

Age old rivals stood facing off, myself and Kay against the one once known as Zeall Maxwell. The final fight of Insanos and Megiddo had reached its apex and after today, only one of the mighty deities would exist. Kay reached out his left hand as I did my right and the two linked as Kay spun to be back to back with me and we let our other hands lock and began merging...

I've had to work with Kay to figure out exactly what that was like, but as near as we can tell, it went like this: Somehow our bodies absorbed each other, creating one that was twice as tall and powerful as either of us with it's own distinct appearance made up of a combination of our own. What happened next is even more difficult to discribe, it seemed afterwards like both Kay and I were remembering seeing and doing the exact same things, but that I was the dominant personality. Kay decided later that it was most likely because I was the original of the two of us. But I digress...

Huge primary wings stretching from floor to ceiling while folded burst from my shoulder blade area, followed by smaller wings from between my ribs and the small of my back. Horns grew from my temples along the sides of my head until they were past the back of it like canard wings. A thick tail, whiplike in it's power split from my spinal cord just below the small of my back and I cracked it as it grew.

I was ready.

He was waiting.

It began.

There were no exchanges of taunts or shows of respect. There was no respect between us and the time for talking was long past, it was time to end it for the last time and forever. There was no circling, waiting for the right moment, it would never arise, we were too evenly matched for that to happen in fair combat. But this wasn't fair combat, this was Vengence for wrongs commited. This was Justice's prevailance... I charged at him and flipped my legs up in an attempt at a drill to his chest, but he ducked under me and kicked up, sending me into a wall.

"ASSASSIN!"

"STRYPER!"

I brought the Holy Spirit Shield up just in time to keep from getting fried by his eyeblasts. My response was just as quick as his had been and was intended to give me time to get to my feet.

I drew my fist back and made a punching motion, "EARTH SLASH!"

"BA-CO RAVEN!" With a shockwave of energy throwing him aloft, Megiddo avoided the upheavel of the ground from my attack, but I was back to my feet and pressing the attack before he could retaliate.

"TORNADO!" I landed my first attack in this fight when the highest level of the Aero spell sent him into a wall in a similar manner as to how I had been sent into its opposite earlier.

"WARP!"

I automatically dropped to my hands and one knee and brought the other foot up in a kick, "Here's a tip, that's an old trick."

Megiddo flipped over me to avoid the donkey-style kick, "Well, here's a new one... REIKEN!!" A burst of energy shot from his arm and formed a sword in his hand.

"New name, old trick... DISPEL!" My spell knocked the sword away from his hand and it faded to nothing as it hit the ground.

We both charged at each other, Megiddo flying for what looked like a pile driver, but in return for kicking me across the room earlier he encountered an obstacle I had been working on, "BATSU KIAI TEKKEN!"

In English, Strike Spirit Fist. In this case, a fist charged with fighting spirit energy directly to the jaw.

Then he opened his mouth and hit me with a beam of black energy.

I winced as I hit the wall opposite him at the same time as he hit... Shadow Flare... I had forgotten about it, he had stopped using it when he Fell, but he still knew it. However, he made a mistake in using his Limit Break against me, because he had driven me to the point that I could unlock mine...

Drawing on a reserve of strength and determination, I forced myself to my feet and stood there, glaring, hating, swearing to bring this monster down if it took my final breath...

I bowed my head and crossed my arms over my shoulders, all four wings flaring out, and spoke in a voice that was so calm it shook me to the core, "Omega Flare."

I threw my head and arms back and with a roar a solid column of grey energy shot from my mouth into space, then I gained control and brought it down upon Megiddo like the hammer of God, slamming him harder against the wall behind him.

"No more second chances." From my subspace pocket I drew the Buster Sword, "Oiuchi-Starwave." The energies of every being in the universe were drawn to the Buster Sword, green auras, blue auras, purple auras, black auras, silver auras and more, they all swirled around it and me as I raised it above my head one-handed. My other hand rose to join the first and firmly grasped the Sword's grip.

"For Life. For Love. For the Future. For Everything that is, was, or will be..." I brought the Sword down and to my left shoulder, then suddenly cut to the right, the energy flying out from where I had cut to strike Megiddo. But it wouldn't finish him, it would scatter his essence for a time, but he would reform. And that would not do. This time, there would be no next time. I would not let him continue to live, kill, destroy, die, and be reborn in a never ending cycle. I closed my eyes and spoke to the Four Dragon Gods, then opened them when I had been answered and fixed Megiddo with a look that fortold his end. Through sheer force of will I kept him together as the Oiuchi-Starwave attempted to tear him apart, and stowing the Buster Sword, I closed in on him. Tiamat, Bahamut, Neo, and ZERO appeared from their dimension at the same time I reached Megiddo. The five of us stood there, no mercy in our eyes.

ZERO's voice boomed out, "JUDGEMENT IS NOW, MEGIDDO. AND I FIND YOU TO BE UNWORTHY."

"Even such as we cannot change the past, but we can safeguard the future." Neo said.

"You betrayed both us and everything you once stood for..." Bahamut growled.

"You've committed the one Unforgivable..." Tiamat trailed off, but those gathered knew his meaning...

"AND YOU, INSANOS?"

I walked in a circle around the defeated Fallen God, "I called you brother, and you betrayed the Dragon Gods. You killed and took the body of another I called brother. You have attacked both Zeon and Earth seeking to destroy or conquer. You have attempted to kill a fellow Dragon God. But the most damning of all," My voice took on the tones of a judge with the final verdict in a case as I stood in front of him again, "The most damning of all is this: You have threatened the lives and well-being of those I love. For that, there can be only one punishment: Elimination."

"SO BE IT."

With ZERO's pronouncement of the sentence, we circled around Megiddo.

"DARK FLARE!" Tiamat began...

"MEGA FLARE!"

"GIGA FLARE!"

"TERRA FLARE!"

Then I added to the gathering power, "OMEGA FLARE!"

The energies of the Final Starwave and the Flares of the Dragon Gods combined and Meggido was utterly obilterated. With the battle over, I split back into myself and Kay...

Kay turned green, "That was not the most fun I've had this year..."

"So?... One... Down..." I panted...

And one to go, I thought. But I didn't mean one of Hades' Generals neither taken down nor left. I meant that there was only one more spectre of my past life that I had to deal with before I could truely begin anew with Jessica...

**==

Maryland, God, I had once grown to find this state distasteful, and the main reason why stands in front of me. I say once because... Well, Wesley "J.T. Magnus" Denny became simply J.T. Magnus, "That old man, he's passed away. And all things are become new." Ranma might have his Soul of Ice, but at the time she slapped me I had a Face of Stone, I showed no response. Had I not been punished enough for something mutual? I had been tormented by her for a time, Alex had knocked the crap out of me, and now this? But I stood there drawing strength from Jessica's presence behind me by Ironhide, not letting Star get to me. She couldn't, she had no power over me anymore. I let her hit me until she could do so no more, then I reached into my subspace pocket and pulled out the reasons I had came. Looking her straight in the eyes, I held out the DVD I had bought for her birthday but hadn't had a chance to give her before everything went to hell, the black velvet box that held the high school ring with mine and her initals, and a poem... Symbols of a past that had passed...

"These are yours."

She took them in silence and I turned and started back to Ironhide the same way.

Halfway there I heard her speak, "J.T...."

"Goodbye, Star. You shant be seeing nor hearing me again." And I kept walking.

**==

He handed me the things and turned to walk away, as cold as the day I learned that he had calculated our compatiblity. With only half my attention, I glanced over the paper, paused, and re-read it...

"To The One Who Left Me:

There's so many things I've left undone,
So much I didn't say,
And even though you left me,
I have to thank you,
You taught me so many things,
And that's brought me to where I am today.

From your seriousness I found my humor,
From your control I found my wild streak,
I may not be perfect,
But then again, neither are you.

There's so much that I'm thinking,
So much I want to say,
Not all good, not all bad,
But that's the way it goes.

You said "Let's be friends",
But we couldn't even be that,
Watch the ocean and you'll see,
That calm tide pools and raging waves
Can't exist together.

When you were sad you taught me joy,
By keeping secrets you taught me to be open,
I learned to always be there because you weren't always there.
You showed me how to be accepting the day you swore to change me,
And when I upset you by seeing through your layers you taught me to be direct.

There's so much more that I could say,
Hopes, dreams, ups, and downs,
But that's all in the past,
Another person's past,
Because the boy you tried to control
Died in a fire of love,
Pure, True, and Total,
And all that's left is this man.

I hope one day you realize
Just what it was you lost,
But the most important thing I have to thank you for is this:
That you didn't truely love me.

I thank you for that,
As strange as it sounds,
Because the day we ran out of possibilities
You set me on a path that would bring me more love,
Warmth, happiness, and friendship than you ever gave me.

When you hurt me I became stronger,
You said I was immature and that brought me maturity,
And when you ruined my life,
I learned to love again,
And I thank you for it all.

Because now it doesn't matter if my work is in on time,
I don't care if people put me down,
I don't need acceptance,
and my tears are long dried.

I loved you with my mind,
I loved you with my heart,
I loved you with my hopes,
I loved you with my dreams,
I thank you because you loved me with nothing,
And She's my everything."

I looked up to see him halfway to his van and the girl with him and spoke, wanting to know why, "J.T...."

"Goodbye, Star. You shant be seeing nor hearing me again." And he kept walking...

**==

Kay was already waiting in the back seat and as we got in Ironhide, Jessica commented, "I pity her. Because she's so focused on what is, should be, and needs to be and not what can be made to be, she never got to see what could have been."

Fastening my seatbelt I responded, "And you will?"

She reached up, got a pair of Aviators out of the overhead, and put them on. "You'll see. Just fasten your seatbelt, Major."

"You forget, 'Pageboy,'" I shot back, cranking Ironhide, "I'm the one driving."

"At least you're not Clutch or 'Gears." She laughed.

Now, I've always been a subscriber to the theory that vehicles have personalities, but Ironhide proved it that day when the radio came on a classic rock station instead of the country it had been when turned off...

"~~I loved you all the summer through
I thought I'd found my dream in you
For me you were the one
But that was yesterday and yesterday's gone

We walked together hand in hand
'cross miles and miles of golden sand
But now it's over and done
'cause that was yesterday and yesterday's gone

We had such happiness together
I can't believe it's gone forever
Wait 'til summer comes again
I hope that you'll remember when
Our love had just begun
I loved you yesterday and yesterday's gone

We had such happiness together
I can't believe it's gone forever
Wait 'til summer comes again
I hope that you'll remember when
Our love had just begun
I loved you yesterday and yesterday's gone
Yesterday's gone
Yesterday's gone
Yesterday's gone~~"

"Smart-ass van." I muttered,

As we turned on the road, he continued...

"~~East bound and down, loaded up and truckin',
we're gonna do what they say can't be done.
We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there.
I'm east bound, just watch ol' "Bandit" run.~~"

"Westbound, 'Hide, but you've got the idea." I answered, fondly patting the dashboard

"~~Wish that I was on old Rocky Top,
Down in the Tennessee hills,
Ain't no smoggy smoke on Rocky Top,
Ain't no telephone bills.~~"

"Yeah, that way. But a little farther south, Chattanoga, not Knoxville."

Kay spoke up, "Chattanoga?"

"Hey, "It's a beautiful day, and your boy Stitch is ready to play.'"

"~~Let's get down to business--to defeat the Huns.
Did they send me daughters when I asked for sons?
You're the saddest bunch I ever met
But you can bet before we're through
Mister, I'll make a man out of you.~~"

I gave the radio a 'yeah, right' look, "See, now you're just being silly, you don't have a CD loaded and no station plays that."

In response I got another burst of music, "~~Well, I heard some movie stars talking on TV,
Said they were being a voice for you and me
Saying things like "No Blood For Oil"
And "Not In Our Name"
And just like the roar of an F-16,
I heard this country say...

Hey, Hollywood,
We hear your message and it don't sound good,
You're just running this country down
With our troops overseas.
Hey, Hollywood,
Take a look around if you would,
And if you don't love this land,
You're free to leave...~~"

"Fine, Fine, 'Ya win, ya depraved wad of stinkin' slag.'"

Jessica shook her pretty head, "I don't know which is worse: that you're talking to a van, that the van's talking back with song verses through the radio, or that it actually seems comparatively normal..."

"The weirdness, Ironhide, and I are a package deal."

"A damaged package."

"I already know you're a sergeant, you don't have to keep proving it."

"Sir, yes, Sir, Major Magnus, Sir."

"Hey, hey, hey, no need to get insulting."

And so it went all the way to Chattanoga.

**==

Devastator and Megiddo were dead and Star was part of the past, life was good. Even for the three of us, three who would celebrate the arrival of 0230 every Thursday night/Friday morning, life was worth celebrating.

"I can't believe they didn't kick us out of the store for that, bro!" I said, laughing heartily along with Kay and Jessica, "What in the name of the Pit Three possessed you to ask if they had the 'Karma Sutra - Interactive Edition?'"

"Well, I needed SOMETHING to give you two as an engagement present!" He responded, which only made Jessica and I laugh harder until I was forced to lean against the back wall of PetSmart to keep on my feet.

"Kay, if we didn't need you around to beat the bigger problems over the head with, I'd have shot you in there..." The words were more joking than anything, emphasized by Jessica joining me in using the wall as a brace.

Kay completed the trio, "I know, that's why I can get away with almost anything."

"Ain't this cute?"

Jessica couldn't help but give a small irrevent laugh and I had to agree, after all the things we had faced we were now up against...

A common mugger.

Unfortunately for him, we had a little surprise that Kay had told to meet us in Chattanoga following us...

"What's black, grey, purple, and pissed?"

The mugger glared at me, "What?"

I pointed at the completion of Kay's project that was standing behind the mugger, "That."

The mugger whirled...

The completed and active Project-R, that is to say Battle Ravage snarled and lunged, slamming him into the ground, his head bouncing off the cement.

We were in such a good mood we helped the cops pick up his teeth when they arrived.

**==

We were on our way out of Media Play after the incident earlier with the mugger. Last time we had seen Ravage he was curling up in the back compartment of Ironhide. The thing with the mugger had been a cut and dried case, no real problems with the cops, he had threatened members of the RPTF and got his six handed back to him, it all evened out. He even got to continue breathing.

Why the hell is it that I can never have a true 'day off'?

Oh well, the Saya-jin landing in front of us may be Nappa and not Vegita, but it's still an Apeface to kill...

And I knew just the spell, simple seeming, yes, but that was because it was so high level a spell that few could master it...

**==

J.T. stood there, unmoving as the Saya-jin charged his attack. Then I saw him twitch his hands and the Saya-jin turned a strange orange color. As soon as he let loose with his energy beam, he fell, killed by J.T.'s Heat spell. I turned to look at my fiance and gasped. I ran to him and dropped to my knees beside where J.T. had fallen, left side of his torso half gone with smoke drifting up from the wound.

"Oh, J.T., you fool..."

He mustered up his strength and gave me that smart-ass smile of his, the one that says 'I feel like hell, but there's no way I'm showing it,' "Hey, I pulled it off, didn't I? Besides, I never liked DBZ anyway."

Kay knelt down beside us, "You ok, man?"

J.T. winced, "Except for this gaping hole in me, 'ya, mon.' But... Really? I think this is my last Hoo-ah, bro, I've taken one hit too many." He paused, breathing hard, "'Thenny, I'm sorry..."

"Don't be!" I grabbed him by the shoulders, "There's nothing to be sorry FOR!"

Kay placed his hand on my shoulder, "He's already gone..."

"NO!"

Shaking off Kay's hand, I grabbed J.T.'s side, ignoring the heat the wound was still giving off.

I silently prayed, "Morrigan, goddess of war, they tell me we're linked... If they be truthful, help me now, please, don't let me lose him..."

I knew my prayer had been answered when my hands began to glow and J.T.'s body began to heal.

**==

I opened my eyes, wincing and looking around, "Except for the angel leaning over me, death looks a lot like my life... I must've been sent to hell..."

"Y'ain't THAT lucky." Kay, eloquet as always...

I felt Jessica crying against my chest and put an arm around her, "Not even I could've... ...I shouldn't have survived that..."

"You didn't," Kay answered, looking at Jessica and trailing off...

I got the idea though, "...Morrigan?"

Jessica looked me in the eyes, causing me to notice how the red in her hair was a little brighter and the blue of her eyes a little clearer, "Some, but not all. I'm still me, just... enhanced..." She rose up and braced herself with her right arm, "You're not getting rid of me that easily, John Thomas Magnus." Each part of my name was emphasized by her poking me in the chest with her finger.

"Don't even want to, Athena... Let's just..."

"Get the hell out of here?" She asked, getting to her feet and extending a hand down to me.

"Yeah. I'm tired." I answered as she helped me up.

"Being killed does that." Jessica joked as I stumbled and then leaned against her for support.

I let Jessica drive home...

What Kay said as we got in Ironhide worried me...

What he said was, "Nappa was never that powerful before. To have done that with one shot... He'd need to be much more powerful than even Amanda's Vegita... It's almost as if he's become that strong as a herald of what's to come..."

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