RK/PMK: Shadows, Chapter 21
Find the chapter here!
Author's Notes for this chapter: this is not the last chapter in the story, but it does wrap up a lot of the storylines. There will most likely be only one final chapter - the epilogue. In writing and planning out Shadows, I had never envisioned a 'happy' ending, only an ending that is uncertain about the future. Because of just how fast Japan embraced all things Western and grew, I wanted that uncertainty to carry over towards Yahiko and his generation. The adults know that there is a war looming on the horizon, but that they are only pawns upon the board that is maneuvered by world leaders. They don't want the next generation to grow up in yet another war, but as we know from history, the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War engulf the next generation with a vengeance.
The 'enemy' or 'bad-guys' in this fic could see that outcome happening and sought to mitigate as much of that. One could say that from the interrogation of the prisoners, that all of it was deliberately done to ensure the survival of the group - to make their voice heard by the Meiji leaders. A better parallel to showcase what was done is to compare it to a cell that has not turned cancerous just yet, but since we're dealing with medicinal knowledge that most people didn't have that day and age, only Susumu and Megumi would fully understand the cancer analogy.
Anywho, one final chapter, the epilogue, and that will be the end of the entire Legends of the Revolution series.
Author's Notes for this chapter: this is not the last chapter in the story, but it does wrap up a lot of the storylines. There will most likely be only one final chapter - the epilogue. In writing and planning out Shadows, I had never envisioned a 'happy' ending, only an ending that is uncertain about the future. Because of just how fast Japan embraced all things Western and grew, I wanted that uncertainty to carry over towards Yahiko and his generation. The adults know that there is a war looming on the horizon, but that they are only pawns upon the board that is maneuvered by world leaders. They don't want the next generation to grow up in yet another war, but as we know from history, the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War engulf the next generation with a vengeance.
The 'enemy' or 'bad-guys' in this fic could see that outcome happening and sought to mitigate as much of that. One could say that from the interrogation of the prisoners, that all of it was deliberately done to ensure the survival of the group - to make their voice heard by the Meiji leaders. A better parallel to showcase what was done is to compare it to a cell that has not turned cancerous just yet, but since we're dealing with medicinal knowledge that most people didn't have that day and age, only Susumu and Megumi would fully understand the cancer analogy.
Anywho, one final chapter, the epilogue, and that will be the end of the entire Legends of the Revolution series.