Chapter One: The Final Battle _____________________________________________________________

At some point and time, after playing Shenmue I and II, we wonder... What would Ryo do after the defeat of Lan Di and the ChiYouMen? Well, what you are reading now is just a little fanfic of what I think should happen. During and after the big battle. Thus, the epilogue begins...

It was a cold December night. December first to be exact. Yes, a year after young, eighteen year-old, Ryo Hazuki's father was murdered. Not just anyone murdered his father, but the notorious Lan Di, of the ChiYouMen. Where in this story is Ryo at now, you ask? The ChiYouMen headquarters, based in a remote mountain range of Guilin. Yes, the mountains that people travel into... And never come back from. At the entrance of a very large cave, at the base of a mountain, with a giant wooden door, with a big dragon symbol, the ChiYouMen symbol on the front of it; there were guards knocked out, fallen onto the ground. Several of them, scattered all over the entrance. About five or so. Who knocked them out, do you ask? Ryo Hazuki; and not to mention, his buddies, GuiZhang and Ren.

In a very large room, with white, marble tiled floor; with the giant ChiYouMen symbol in the center and large, white pillars lined the also white walls, Ryo, and Lan Di, are dueling in the middle of the room. The two men are attacking, and dodging each other, as Shenhua is being held back by a large group of men in black suits at the corner of the room. Ryo performed the famous, Hazuki-style elbow assault, only to miss by the ever- so-quick dodge of Lan Di, who moved right behind him, attempting a strike at him, on the neck, but this move was successfully blocked by him. As blocking, Ryo clutched onto Lan Di's arm with his right hand, and Lan Di tried to strike him with the other. But that too was blocked. As they were gripping on to eachothers' hands, keeping both of them from attacking the other, Ryo began to speak.

"You won't get away with this... Killing my father!" Ryo exclaimed.

"I had my reasons... And I shall have my reasons for killing you, also." Lan Di smirked.

Ryo, out of anger, attemped to jab Lan Di in the stomach with his knee, but that move was too slow, and easily dodged. The hit-and-miss battle went on for quite awhile, for what seemed like several hours. Just then, as Ryo tried a Katana Mist Slash at Lan Di, followed by another poweful move, Twin Hand waves. It hit Lan Di off guard, also attacking, and was hit by both attacks, directly in the face. He didn't fall, but you could see blood dripping out of his mouth, and pattering onto the shining floor. He wiped the blood off his chin with his hand, and they continued to fight. As Ryo threw an upper knuckle at him, Lan Di evaded , and then struck him off-guard in the face with his hand, causing him to spiral down twice onto the floor. Just like the way he defeated his father.

The Pheonix Mirror then slipped out of Ryo's back pocket, and fell down onto the ground, making a clanging noise which echoed throughout the room. He held his head in pain on the floor, while Lan Di glided over to him and kicked him at his side. Ryo screamed like he had never screamed before. The blow felt like he was stabbed in the side; maybe even worse. . . Was this the end of Ryo Hazuki? It couldn't be! The prophecy said that he would supposedly fulfill all of his wishes. He couldn't die so soon. Not now.

"Ryo!!" Shenhua shouted in a concerned tone, squirming while the blacksuits held her down.

" Fool... You really believe you can defeat me?" Lan Di laughed, while he picked the Pheonix Mirror up from the floor.

Ryo spoke as he tried to get up, holding his side, " I will defeat you. I vowed that I would! "

Lan Di smirked, and laughed some more. He found that statement... Humorous...

Ryo finally got up, and started to run towards him. Ryo struck an Avalanche Lance at Lan Di, who dodged it and attempted a kick on him. Ryo quickly evaded, performing the Demon's Triangle to his chest. Demon's Triangle... The move Xiuying was performing the last time he visited Man Mo Temple. Although struck hard, Lan Di moved quickly, jumped, and kicked Ryo in the face, mid-air.

Ryo held his face for a moment, noticing blood on his hand. He wiped it on his pants and continued attacking. Lan Di evaded and blocked almost every move, and then, performed a very complex combo of kicks. This struck Ryo everywhere. Although he was in great pain, he wouldn't give up this easily. Those who know Ryo know that he is one of the most persistent, stubborn people around. He would never give up until he won. And he was most certain that he would win.

The two men stood there for a moment, a few yards away from eachother, breathing heavily. Ryo wiped the sweat from his forehead, and walked closer to Lan Di. Ryo struck at him once more, but the move was evaded. Ryo suddenly lost sight of Lan Di, then felt a blow to his back. He didn't fall, but he felt like all of the air was knocked out of him. He quickly turned around and punched several times at him, only to be blocked. Lan Di then charged at him, attempting at a throw but Ryo thought fast, and grabbed hold of him and performed his own throw move, the Tengu Drop, on him, but Lan Di got quickly back on his feet and performed a few more kicks at Ryo.

Those were dodged, and finding the perfect opportunity, with Lan Di off guard, Ryo stepped behind him, and quickly chopped at his neck. He remembered. . . That Xiuying used this move on him while they were sparring . . . Following that, while Lan Di was temporarily paralyzed, Ryo got in front of him, grabbed a hold of his neck with his right arm, and punched him in the stomach with the other. He then let go of him, and Lan Di fell to the ground, with a surprised look on his face.

"I told you...That I would have my revenge..." Ryo said calmly, but still panting.

Lan Di began to speak, short of breath "I guess I... underestimated... Your power..." He lay almost motionless on the ground, breathing heavily.

Ryo then glanced at Shenhua, who seemed to be praying, still being held back by the men in black suits. The men looked at Ryo terrified, and backed away, closer to the wall, with their jaws dropped in surprise. Just then, two figures barged through the huge doors. Ryo knew these two men... Yes... One was a man in a blue jacket, baggy green pants, and a white dew- rag on his head, covering most of his long, black hair, which was drawn back. The other man was wearing a greyish-black business suit, with a red tie. He also had black hair, but it was much shorter than the other man's. It was Ren Wuying and GuiZhang Chen. They helped Ryo and Shenhua fight off the blacksuits earlier on in the building.

"Oh... Ren, GuiZhang. You're here ..." Ryo shouted halfway across the room.

The blacksuits quickly let loose of Shenhua and charged towards Ren and GuiZhang. With a few punches, kicks, and throws, the two knocked them all out in about only a few minutes. Shenhua then ran over to Ryo and hugged him for a moment. They smiled at eachother in relief.

"Heyyy, Ryo!", Ren shouted, walking toward him, along with GuiZhang.

As they stopped in front of Ryo, GuiZhang noticed that he took Lan Di out, "R--Ryo.. You... You..", he said, rather startled, mouth wide open.

"Yeah..." He said, looking at Lan Di, still motionless, on the floor.

"Whoa! Is he... Dead?", Ren asked, suprised.

Ryo sighed, "No..."

"Why didn't you..." GuiZhang asked, voice trailing a bit.

Ryo cut in, knowing what GuiZhang was going to ask, "Because... Father.. Wouldn't have wanted me to do that... If I did... I would have... " He looked at the floor, voice trailing off. They were silent for a moment...

Lan Di started to move, then slowly got up.

"Uhh....Ryo... Behind you---" Ren said nervously, pointing towards Lan Di.

Ryo and Shenhua looked behind. Lan Di was walking towards them.

"Damn..... Shenhua, run!" Ryo exclaimed

Shenhua ran over to the side of the room, as the three men took their fighting stances. Ren even took his dagger out. Lan Di kept walking, and then stopped a few yards away from them.

Lan Di then charged at them, and performed a powerful, and very fast kick at Ryo. That was dodged, but he kicked at him once more, knocking him onto the floor. GuiZhang punched at him and was countered by a punch to the stomach, then a kick which threw him, also, to the ground. Ren lunged his dagger at Lan Di, but it was knocked out of his hand. Ren then kicked at him, being blocked by the swift hand of Lan Di, who then tossed him to the ground.

Ryo got up again, and charged at him once more, attempting at one of his strongest moves, the Cross Charge. Lan Di moved to the side and chopped him at his side, and took the Pheonix Mirror, which was barely fitting inside his back pocket. After obtaining the mirror, he kicked Ren and GuiZhang, still on the ground, at their stomachs.

"Damn you... Lan Di! You were faking it!!" Ryo yelled, still on the ground, and wheezing, almost paralyzed from the blow.

Lan Di chuckled, " I told you... You couldn't defeat me!"

He took the other mirror, of the Dragon, out. He looked at the two stones proudly, and then began to pair them together. He did not notice that Shenhua, at the edge of the room, was standing in the stance she usually does when reciting her poem; but she was not reciting any poem. Not at all. She was concentrating on something. Lan Di finally noticed this and approached her slowly. Even though she knew he was heading toward her, she ignored him, and kept her eyes closed, hands in front of her.

"Shenhua!", Ryo shouted to her, as he, Ren, and GuiZhang tried to rise from the floor.

The room began to rumble, and all of the glass, and lights began to shatter. Everyone, besides Shenhua; and Lan Di, who was looking up, confusedly; covered their heads from falling glass. The room became almost pitch black, besides the moonlight, which was turning an eerie red color, shining through the windows. Shenhua was still in her meditating position, and the others were looking around in amazement, and horror.

The walls began to crack, and suddenly, two gigantic figures bashed into the room; one from above, and one from below. Tile and chunks of the ceiling flew all over the place. The figure on top seemed like a bird, which was a reddish-gold colour, with purple mist trailing behind it. The Pheonix... And the one on the bottom, was a serpent-like creature, with a greenish-brown colour, and gray smoke seeping out of its mouth and nostrils. The Dragon...

Dark clouds began to smother the sky quickly, resulting in utter darkness. Nothing was visible in the room, except for the Pheonix and the Dragon. They began to approach eachother slowly. Ren and GuiZhang backed away, but Ryo stood there, whatching, and ready for what was about to happen.

Both the Dragon and Pheonix finally met, creating an almost blinding light beam throughout the room, then a very high-pitched, almost deafening screech. The two creatures suddenly disappeared into a huge fireball which fell onto the ground, covering the tiles with flames , and then another, even larger figure emerged from the ground, causing more of the tiles to fly into the air. It made a loud roar, and began destroying most of the vicinity.

So the prophecy was true...

A dragon emerges from the earth as ominous clouds fill the sky. A pheonix descends from the heavens trailing purple mist from its wings. The pitch-black night unfolds with the morning star as its only hope.

The creature looked like a bull and a dragon combined, with four red eyes, and a narrow, hairy face. It was also very muscular, and had a bull- like tail and hooves on two feet It looked almost demonic...No...It was. It was Chi You...

"Is this... Chi You?!!!" Ryo exclaimed loudly over all of the noise.

"Sure as hell seems like it!", GuiZhang responded.

"Damn, this thing is huge! I only thought Chi You was some stupid spook to keep people away from the Qing Dynasty's treasure!!" Ren said.

Ryo took the sword; the Sword of Seven Stars, out of his belt, and unsheathed it. He held it in front of him.

"Ryo! What the hell are you doing?!" Ren asked.

Ryo did not answer him. Chi You approached Lan Di, standing there, terrified, but still calm. He was powerless, now, against that gigantic monster. Lan Di knew it was the end of himself, and the ChiYouMen, so there was no use for him to live anymore. Chi You opened its mouth, and red- orange flames poured out of it. Lan Di was no longer visible, through all of the fire. Chi You then punched the floor, causing a small earthquake- like crack spreading almost all the way across the room. Then it punched a wall, creating a huge hole in it, revealing even more of the pitch black sky.

There was no trace of Lan Di left. Nothing, at all. Although he was very excited that Lan Di got what he deserved, he still had to remain serious, in order to destroy this monster.

Ryo glanced at Shenhua, then at Chi You, which was approaching....Her.

Fearing that it would kill Shenhua also, Ryo knew what he had to do. He had to stab the creature, and kill it.

Now was his chance, to destroy it. He began to run towards the monster, sword in front of him. The Sword of Seven Stars began to glow bright blue, like it had in the Stone Pit. He eventually got close enough to it, and got in front of Chi You. It glanced at him , with puffs of smoke blowing out of its nose. It didn't even look like it cared about what Ryo was about to do to it.

Chi You just kept focusing, and moving forward to Shenhua. Ryo then jumped up, and stabbed it in the stomach. The sword dug deep into Chi You, and it took a hard tug to pull it out. Ryo slowly pulled the sword out, which was now covered in blood. It then leaned over slightly, clutching its wound. Now, as Chi You lowered, Ryo stabbed it in the chest, and it gave out yet another roar. Fell to the ground, on to its side, in a pool of blood. Ryo tugged the sword out, and looked at the monster. It was sickening, seeing something die. Ryo felt almost nausiated, looking at the blood on the sword, and all over the ground. He slowly stepped back, towards Ren and GuiZhang. They watched for a moment.

After a few minutes, its breathing became slower, and slower. And finally, Chi You was dead.

The clouds filling the sky began to part their own ways, and once again, the moon shone; this time, white. It was becoming brighter, for they could barely see a sunrise out the windows. Shenhua got out of her meditating stance, and looked around the room, like she didn't know what happened, even though she did. Ryo ran over to her, along with Ren and GuiZhang. What just happened was too much for saying anything about. Ryo hugged her tightly, trying to hold back his tears, as Ren and GuiZhang crowded around them.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------- Well, tell me what you think of this chapter. Perhaps I'll write more if you send some nice reviews... ^_^

Next Chapter: Back at Hong Kong Three days later, Ryo, Shenhua, Ren, and GuiZhang are back in Bailu village, preparing to return to Hong Kong. How will Shenhua react to city life? Find out in the next exciting chapter of Shenmue: The Epilogue! :)