Lynxara lay unmoving, her lifeforce ripped out by Sonic's foul spell.
     Shinji, her partner and friend, stood over her, concentrating. His eyes
     were frightening in themselves, glowing with power, and glaring into
     nothingness, in a mixture of fear, hatred, and despair...

AAA Special: The Wake
by Blazej "B" Szpakowicz

It was a day of sadness, a day of unparalleled mourning at Club Anipike. There
was, however, a slight difference from the last time such words were written.
This time it was true.

"She's dead." the tall, dark-haired young man who happened to be glowing a
pale blue muttered forlornly. He was sitting in front of the Club Anipike,
slouched over, an unreadable but distinctly unpleasant look on his face. He
stared across the Anime Turnpike at the somber graveyard that had appeared on
the other side.

"Shinji..." his friend, kneeling beside him, started to say. Unfortunately, it
will never be known if he was going to say something filled with infinite
wisdom; something that would touch the hearts and minds of every being in the
known universe.

"Don't," Shinji immediately interrupted. His tone made it clear that this
translated approximately as "Get the <expletive deleted> out of here, you
stupid <expletive deleted>." Normally this would be considered rather mean,
but since Shinji was (a) emotionally distraught and (b) extremely powerful in
this particular plane of existence, his friend let it slide.

"She was my friend too, but there isn't really anything we can do about..."
The speaker's voice cracked slightly, "...this."

This was, of course, one of those phrases that tend to engender the reaction
"Yes, I knew that but I didn't want to bloody well hear it, thank you." Not
surprisingly therefore, Shinji said, "Stop. Please. I should have been able to
*do* something, damn it! I mean, I mean..."

"Such as?" his friend asked.

"Just... something!" Shinji cried out, "Something... I... I warned her; I told
her something could happen to her. Why didn't she...?" This particular bit
translated roughly to "Yes, you're right but I would very much like to sulk a
bit, if you don't mind."

"She made her choice, Shinji." his friend answered, "Don't take that away from
her. Listen, why don't you go in..."

"I can't," Shinji said, shaking his head, "too many people. They'll blame
me..."

His friend sighed, knowing it would be an exercise in futility to attempt an
argument, "If you insist. You want anything? I could bring it out to you."

Shinji waved his hand absently, "Sure. Anything."

Having received that exhaustive description, the other sighed and nodded.
"Alright. Hold on..." he rose to his feet and walked the few steps to the
entrance of the Club. "I'll be right back."

* * *

Jotarou Joestar looked up from the counter as his latest customer entered the
club. "B?"

"Hi." B stepped over to the bar and leaned against it, downcast. He looked
down at what appeared to be a passed out Oscar Martinez, shrugged and turned
to Jotarou. "Well, that was certainly successful. I try to cheer him up, and
all I can manage is to make him even worse. Go figure."

"Don't blame yourself; I don't think anyone can help him right now." Jotarou
replied. "Except himself," he didn't add.

"Yeah..." B nodded, "Ironic, isn't it? I tell him not to blame himself for
what happened and now..." suddenly, he pounded the counter with a severely
tensed fist, "Dammit! I feel so useless!"

"No banging your head on the counter," Jotarou said, deadpan.

"I wasn't planning to, thanks. I wish I knew why I had to draw the short
straw... Yeah, I know... One of us MiSTers had to come and I was the lucky
winner," he paused for a second, "Do you know what Shinji drinks?"

Jotarou merely shrugged in response.

"Lemme guess: liquid." B shrugged, "Gimme a beer, most everyone seems to drink
that." The bartender nodded and soon passed along a mug and he contemplated it
briefly. He looked up again when it became clear that he wouldn't, in fact,
find the meaning of life in its depths, "Except me, of course."

Jotarou surveyed the Club briefly. It was hardly the happiest day in memory.
The patrons were all visibly saddened, some drinking in silence, alone; others
bunched together in small groups, talking softly. An almost tangible shroud of
grief hang over everything (Except for one small spot in the eastern corner of
the Club where David Kintobor was insulting someone over a cellular phone).
And the room had been redecorated all in black.

He had to close the Club off to all those not invited to the funeral. So
far, he'd thrown out seven different people. Ken and Ryu had come swaggering
in again... They just *never* learned. And then he'd had to tell Rei Ayanami
that no, she *couldn't* come in and get drunk today. It had been quite
interesting trying to get her Eva away from the Club before she turned it into
sawdust...

* * *

Deb Lawson and Samantha Jones sat at a table together. Sonic's treatment of
those close to them had given them an unspoken bond. Many empty shot glasses
were gathered around Samantha, who was somewhere between "slightly toasted"
and "Boris Yeltsin", with a slight emphasis on the former.

Deb looked over at Samantha, frowning. "There's got to be something we can
*do*!"

Samantha shook her head sadly. "Such as?" she asked after a short pause, "You
can't change the past." With that wise, insightful and painfully unoriginal
thought, she grabbed the nearest unused shot glass and downed it in one gulp.

Deb shrugged, "Yeah... Don't you just hate life sometimes?"

Samantha nodded. "Yeah... It just isn't right." She paused to wipe away a few tears that she
hadn't noticed she'd been crying. "It just isn't right." she repeated.

The conversation then proceeded to continue along this oh-so-happy line.

* * *

"What's up with him?" The Mally-Award-Winning-God Taruchi said, pointing over
to Wolf, who sat simpering alone at a far table, trying to shoo away the rain
cloud that had gathered over his head. It had presumably become lost somewhere
on the way to Toontown. Finally, he just chose to look contemplatively at his
razor-sharp claws, which swiftly made the cloud vanish. Satisfied, he then
went back to the important business at hand...

General Patterson answered, "Looks to be getting piss drunk. Can't really
blame him; he knew her better then most of the rest of us."

Taruchi shrugged, "Yeah, but I wish he'd stop already. This is a wake, isn't
it? You're supposed to be celebrating, cherishing your memories of the
deceased, not getting blasted." Actually, some people would say that any time
is a good time for getting blasted, but that's admittedly debatable.

"People handle death in different ways. It's not that easy to just get over
it." Patterson argued.

"Yeah, but..."

* * *

*crack* *bang* *smash*

Lord Thinker looked on as Nav played the slightly modified version of the
S.o.L.'s award winning Hit-an-Author (TM). This one had heads of various
Sailor Senshi in place of it's usual assortment of Oscars and, well, Oscars.

"Isn't that sort of small for you?" Thinker asked.

"They didn't let me bring in any heavy artillery." Nav replied. "I think they
said I'd be liable to do some 'really nasty things' with it. Idiots." He
turned to look at Thinker, "Oh, you're one of *those*. What the hell do you
want?"

Thinker spread out his hands. "Nothing, nothing! I was just making
conversation."

"Yeah, well go make it somewhere else," Nav growled.

"Sorry," Thinker grinned cheerfully as he backed away. "Um... you're
crying..."

Nav wiped away the non-existent tear, "No, I'm not. <expletive deleted> off."
Thinker nodded silently before moving off. "Stupid <expletive deleted>. I wish
I could break his face..." Nav muttered under his breath. Then he proceeded to
hit Chibi-Usa, which understandably made him feel a lot better.

* * *

Jotarou grinned slightly. There wouldn't be any fights today. Shinji had, at
the beginning of the day, said in no uncertain terms that anyone who so much
as thought of punching someone else would get jobbed to Taruchi for the next
three years or maybe even erased from existence if Shinji was in a
particularly bad mood.

There had been a few close calls, such as when David Kintobor had come in,
proudly wearing his AAA Net Championship belt, only to receive a glare that
spoke loudly of death, destruction and the grave from his ex-teammates in Team
Foxfire.

That fuse lay waiting to be lit for several long whiles before Team Foxfire
had simply turned away, muttering darkly. Kintobor had sat himself down in the
corner, and none of them had moved since.

Jotarou suddenly heard someone knocking at the back door. He looked around to
make certain that no one was in dire need of alcohol then went over to the
source of the sound. It was a young lady dressed entirely in black, with eyes
that seemed older than life itself.

"I'm sorry but I can't let you in without an invitation..." he started.

"Hi, Jotarou." she said.

"Do I know you?" he asked, puzzled.

"Yes, you do." she nodded.

"Look, I'm sorry but I can't let you in; not unless there's a cancellation."

She grinned, "That can be arranged... But I don't need an invitation; I'm the
host. I just wanted to ask you where Shinji is."

"Oh, he's at the other door," Jotarou said, pointing at the other door in
question. "May I ask why?"

The woman shrugged, "It's time." And then she left.

Jotarou would have liked to take the time to mention to her that there was
someone currently with Shinji, and that maybe she'd like to wait a little bit.
However, the person in question had already left after deciding that he
couldn't seem to do anything to help and maybe some of the *other* MiSTers
would have an idea what to do, so it didn't really matter that the opportunity
had never arisen.

Shrugging, Jotarou went back to the bar. It was a good thing that they weren't
hosting the funeral this time around, he suddenly found himself thinking.
Those things were *really* bad for business...

"Ahem. If I could have your attention please... The proceedings are about to
start."

It seemed that, whoever she was, the woman had succeeded. Shinji was back.

* * *

The sky was heavily overcast, as though to fit the present not-so-sunny
disposition of everyone under it. A podium had been erected on the same raised
platform that bore Lynxara's coffin. Shinji stood off to the side, discussing
something with their hostess.

After a short while that felt much, much longer, Samantha Jones stepped up to
the podium. What little small conversation there had been died out abruptly.

"Thank you." Samantha said, "I'm sure you all know why we're here tonight. The
deceased was, as many of you know, a friend of mine. I won't say I knew her as
well as I could have or perhaps should have... but I know that I liked her and
that she was truly a good friend. And I know that I will miss her. I think we
all will, or at least, I hope so. I also hope that we can get through this...
I... *sniff*.. Excuse me." Several tears rolled down her cheek, more than she
would have liked, and she turned away briefly. "I should probably say more but
I don't know... what to say. Thank you."

Samantha stood silently for a few seconds before stepping away from the podium
and sitting down.

After an awkward pause, Wolf was the next to speak. He seemed to show few ill
effects from his journey into the realms of Extreme Pissedness. "I too think I
knew Lynxara rather better than most of you. She was my manager, towards the
end. And she was my friend. I know I will miss her but I also know that I will
never forget her. And she died while saving my life. Because of that, I cannot
*allow* myself to forget her. I'm certain that anyone of you would feel the
same. I only have one more thing to say. Sonic dies. I don't care how, or
when. If it's the last thing I do, Sonic dies." He stepped down, visibly
overwrought but too proud to cry.

And so it goes.

Many words were spoken that day. Many spoke, virtually every single being who
was part of the AAA that had not chosen to ally themselves with Sonic. Most
stayed within the bounds that had unanimously been set. One glance at the
smouldering figure standing at the back of the gathering was enough to cow any
one of them. All but the last...

David Kintobor paused after a long and anything but heartfelt speech to glare
mightily and point at his former teammate. "And, finally... David Kronos..."

"No," Shinji said softly.

Kintobor paused incredulously, "Listen, I don't care if you're one of the
Powers That Be or not, I'm David Kintobor, I *am* the AAA Net Virtual Champion
and you *can't*..."

Shinji, who had walked slowly up to the podium, frowned slightly. "Perhaps you
didn't understand me. When I say no, Mr. Kintobor, I mean no."

Kintobor shook his head, "You can't..." he started to repeat.

"I can do virtually anything I want and everyone here knows it. Save this for
the proper time and place. I'm not in a good mood, Kintobor, and regardless of
Sonic's powers, you know full well that I am very much capable of dealing with
you."

Kintobor swiftly backed off.

Shinji glanced at the congregation in front of him. "I suppose it was my turn
now, anyway. You all know me as one of the Powers That Be. The sole one now, I
suppose. I am, however, not infallible. My partner, my friend, my other half,
one who had as much power as I do, lies before you now. We are... I am not all
powerful. I warned Lynxara that she might be in danger, yet she still went
ahead with her course of action. And now she is dead.

"A few of you have already said this. I suppose I will be the next. She would
not want us to mourn her overlong. She would want us instead to learn from her
mistakes, now that she cannot. She would want us to make certain that she did
not die in vain. And this we must... *I* must do.

"I think... I think that until now, I never really took Sonic seriously. He
was powerful, certainly, but so was I. And he could not possibly be powerful
enough to challenge the Powers That Be. That was a mistake. Sonic is certainly
the most powerful evil we have to date faced. He might be the most powerful we
ever will. He must be defeated. For Lynxara's sake, and for all of our sakes
as well, he must be defeated. That is all. In closing, since we have not to
date done so, I would like everyone to observe a moment of silence for the
dead."

He closed his eyes and, for a short time, the silence was almost deafening.

And then someone came and crashed the funeral.

"Well, well, well. Hello, everyone," Shinji turned around in surprise, and
then his eyes narrowed with hatred.

Sonic had arrived.

"What, aren't you happy to see me?" The dark hedgehog asked with a malicious
grin. His followers, grouped around him, laughed heartily. "I merely came to
pay my respects to the deceased." He stepped over to the edge of the platform,
to look down at Lynxara's still-feline body. Then he spat on it.

Shinji clenched his fists and began to glow a soft blue. Sonic stared at him
for a fraction of a second and then with an errant backhand sent Shinji off
the platform. The latter smashed to the ground heavily and then dabbed
surprisedly at the small spot of blood that had appeared on his forehead.

"You're too emotional," Sonic sneered. "I *shouldn't* have been able to do
that. Still, this is a very... interesting opportunity. After all, once you've
gotten rid of one half, why the hell not get rid of the other? Wouldn't you
agree, Shinji?"

No one dared move or speak for what felt like eternity. Then a voice from
behind everybody spoke. "No, not now; not here."

Everyone turned around as one. The speaker was the young woman who some of
them recognized as their host. She was leaning against a blackened, twisted
tree and holding a pure white dove. "Isn't he nice? I call him Alistair..."
she grinned cheekily, "I'm not much with names, am I?"

Sonic glared at her. "Who are you?" he asked pointedly. "Did you know *that*?"
the last word was almost spat out, and accompanied by a paw pointing at the
coffin.

"Oh, I know everyone." the woman replied, grinning. "And I'm certain you know
me. Anyway," she moved her hand slightly and the dove flew away, "I'm afraid
that if you want to kill him you'll have to wait a little bit. You see, we
have a deal: no one dies here today."

"I know who you are..." Sonic said slowly, "Very well, we'll leave."

"But..." Tuxedo Chris started to complain.

"Maybe you didn't understand me," Sonic snarled. "We leave. Now. Certain
things one does not tamper with." The hedgehog may have been evil, but it
appeared he was not stupid. "It appears you get a reprieve." he said with a
pointed glance in Shinji's direction before disappearing.

Shinji struggled to his feet. He walked over to their host and exchanged a few
words with her, words that no one heard. After a while, she smiled, shook her
head and then walked away.

Shinji's shoulders slumped slightly as he walked back towards the rest of the
congregation. "Now we bury her."

* * *

Shinji stood over the gravestone silently, the last one left.

Finally, he spoke. "Goodbye. Until we meet again."

And then he too was gone.

THE END

Well, I'm certain that *someone* or other will want to kill me for completely
mangling their personality here... Or if not for that then for making this so
damned *serious*. Ah, well... ;) Anyway, AAA belongs to Tim McLees and Alicia
Ashby, Club Anipike belongs to Nightbreak and all characters belong to their
creators. If you can tell where I borrowed the "hostess", the title and
several other things from, then you're very smart and deserve a cookie. ;)

- B