Drifting throught an endless void.

The blonde-haired man turned over as he floated along--at least, he thought he did. It was hard to tell without any direction. There was no up, down, left, right, forward, or backwards. There only was.

Lhaeo blinked slowly, his bright blue eyes scanning all around as if trying to pierce the void to its boundaries in search of something. In search of a person. In search of Johnny. His passing had come as a shock. Lhaeo's mind had stumbled in confusion and amazement at the news. He had already had to deal with Kellson's death; now he was to deal with Johnny's? But then the message had continued; Johnny had not been stolen away. He had not died in some battle to the death. No. Johnny had fulfilled his mission. The ten thousandth soul had been saved, and so Johnny had been called home.

Lhaeo sighed within the void, bending into a sitting position and pulling his coat around himself. Johnny had fought, struggled for Atonement, and now he had finally achieved it. He had gone through hell--literally---so that his path to Heaven might be clear. The Elemental Master smiled. Kellson . . . Johnny . . . He had been such an amazing and fascinating individual. An a wonderfully loyal friend. Such loyalty. And such passion and wit. Lhaeo laughed into the void as one particular memory came back to him. Johnny strolling boldly, guns blazing, into the grasp of sure defeat, raunchy insults and hilarious wittisms spewing forth from his jaw almost as rapidly as bullets from his guns. And true to every insult and promise, the man had come through victorious, his ever-enduring cloak of confidence intact. The blonde-haired man wouldn't cry for his friend, nor would he become angry nor depressed. Instead, he smiled and sent out his heart to his loyal friend. He hoped that he would one day find the peace that he knew Johnny had found.

Lhaeo had been searching for Johnny in the void between worlds and realms, hoping to catch a glimpse of him in the next world. But I suppose that isn't going to happen, Lhaeo thought, resigned. Then I suppose that I'll have to just do what I can to honor your journey home. Straightening his back, the Elemental Master stretched out both arms, palms held upward. Slowly, a pool of stone began to form in his hands, molding into twin basins, strong and thick. Twin bubbles of water appeared above them, sloshing and swirling in mid-air. Then, as if an invisible needle had popped them, water began to flow out of the bubbles to fill the stone basins. Next, air swirled up around the basins, lifting them from Lhaeo's hands to turn slowly in the void before him. Taking a deep breath, the Elemental Master brought both hands together, touching them to his lips. He breathed out through them, fire escaping from between his fingers to stand upon the pools of water.

Done, Lhaeo floated back to survey his work. He nodded in satisfaction. Now, to ensure that the Guiding Beacons would last forever. The priest closed his eyes and reached out to the Weave. He took a strand of the mystic cloth and fed it into the two monuments, tying them forever to the Weave. The man opened his blue eyes, sparks of joy gleaming within them. Now the Beacons would stand for as long as the Weave existed to feed life into them. Lhaeo tossed one hand out, and one of the Beacons floated out with it. The Beacon, made from the Stone of the Strong, Water of the Pure, Fire of the Willfull, and Air of the Free, drifted out into the void. And it would stand there between the worlds, a monument to Johnny Bones, who had triumphed over his sins and the hate of others.

Closing his eyes once more, Lhaeo faded out from the void, the other Guiding Beacon following. Eyes opening once more, the Elemental Master found himself back in his world, surrounded by a rapidly-fading white glow. He sat cross-legged on the peak of a wonderous mountain, snow piled ip around him. Through the skimpy white clouds, he surveyed the world below. A pair of smaller mountains flanked the one Lhaeo stood upon, and at their feet stretched out a massive carpet of grass. The vibrant green was spotted by bright reds, yellows, blues, and oranges of wildflowers, and in the distance the the darker green of a forest reached up towards the sky. Glancing up, Lhaeo saw the second Beacon floating before him, taller than a man and as powerful as the raw elements that composed it.

Rising to his feet, Lhaeo looked over the monument to Johnny that would stand here at this mountain peak. He would have to show this place to Zorlo. He knew the fencer to be an aquaintance of Bones as well. And Akira, too. Tossing his head back, the Elemental Master laughed once more--for Johnny. Opening his mouth wide, Lhaeo called out over the mountains, field, and forest as loud and cheerfully as he could.

"For Johnny Bones! Long live the spirit of Johnny Bones!"

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