And now you know who died. But did Clark survive the operation?

I have to admit, I never saw that (Ching's death) coming . Now the real question is what will happen to Zara and Kala. At least Lois and Clark's son will have a 'cousin' to play with now . Way to go DC, a great comeback!

I am going to have to check on some of your other works in serialized format to see if you feel a necessity to put a cliffy in EVERY part or whether this story is just special like that. Now since there are two more parts I assume the stress is not completely over but I suspect it will be for the most part.

As I said nice comeback/rally there. Now I can go to bed...

Mike

Thanks, Mike! And "yessssss! I did it! I pulled off a blindside!"

I only use cliffies when I find them to be absolutely necessary. That being said, if I find a natural place to put them (especially in a drama), I will totally do it, because I love leaving my readers on edge (makes for more fun feedback, and also feels more like professional writing to me). So, yeah, you'll find cliffies in my other works. Contractually Bound had quite a few, if I recall. Specimen S had some as well, but not as many because of the way it was written (like snapshots/journal entries with dates for each section).

Lois and Clark's boy will definitely have a "cousin" to play with.

Anyway, sleep well, now that you know who died (the 1,000 or so other NKers are the "who said I've only killed off one person, btw - unless, of course, I still kill Clark).

You are the bait and switch queen no doubt! On the other hand if you still kill Clark you probably WILL need the SUV full of bodyguards

Have a great trip to visit your relatives! We will see you next week when you get back. There will probably be a bit of FDK to catch up on I would think...

Mike

Thanks! Mom and I have tickets to a Broadway show. It should be fun. (Aladdin - oh what Disney freaks we are!)

I should still be able to post late Sunday after we get back home. Monday is likely going to suck around here (9 month vaccinations for the girls) so I'm really, really hoping Sunday night works out.

I hope Monday works out!

Ching's death was not as much of a shock as the destruction of New Krypton. How tragic!

As for Zara? Martha and Jonathan to the rescue. Zara needs to hide, because people know who she is. Am I right on this one?

Argh! Another evil cliffie. You wouldn't have Clark die after all of this, would you? You're not *that* evil, are you?

Poor Ching and Zara :(, but at least the timing was remarkably convenient for Clark.

My guess on Lois and Clark's baby's name? David. When Lois and Clark first met Ching (and mistook him for a realtor), Ching had introduced himself as Dave Miller.

I wonder whether, a couple of decades from now, the respective children will fall in love. (I'm guessing that Zara and Kala will stay on earth, since they really don't have anywhere else to go, from the sound of it.)

Joy,
Lynn

I am not as sure of Martha and Jonathan as I am of Lois. See below


Once Mad Dog Lane makes up her mind, don't get in the way!

I expect more surgery/recovery details in the next post and DC said she expected to get it up Sunday. She evidently went back to the once a week just for this part to extend the suspense out .

Mike

I doubt DC is THAT bad...

As for the kids, I would think they will very likely grow up together as they will have a lot in common. Whether they will fall in love or just be 'cousins' might make for a nice additional story sometime in the future. While DC says she is not planning on a sequel, there certainly is enough material in this tale for at least one more story placed sometime in the future...

Mike

I don't doubt that Zara will be very important in Lois and Clark's life, but she still needs to stay out of Metropolis for the foreseeable future. Remember when Superman said his farewell speech, Ching and Zara were there. It would be simple matter for someone to look over the film footage and put two and two together.

The LAST thing the Kent family as a whole need is more media attention. It would be better if she remained out of state for awhile and be introduced maybe years from now as a Kent relative. Being with Martha and Jonathan is one possibility. Somehow, I can't imagine her and the baby staying with Ellen! She certainly cannot go back to the Daily Planet as Sara.

In any case this is merely conjecture, DC can be very creative!

Urgh! Why does she have to leave us hanging like this?

I think the split was basically for dramatic effect. I don't think Clark is in any imminent danger its just she had 10 parts and that was the natural break for this one. That and her normal desire to elevate the suspense a bit at the end of each part.

I really want to see how she wraps all this up since as we mentioned there are a large number of possibilities but after this chapter the number of possibilities just exploded (pun definitely intended).

Zara going to Smallville is a possibility but since it is such a small community she will certainly stick out and as you mentioned her presence at Superman's Farewell address which was probably seen in Smallville also could be an issue. She could certainly blend into the large population in Metropolis more easily but her association with Lois and Clark would draw more attention to her than might be comfortable. I have confidence that DC will come up with something beside making her and her baby hermits in the mountains of Montana or the like.

Part of the reason I like the Metropolis solution better is that I really loved the connection between Lois and Zara. It does make sense since one just gave birth and lost her husband and the other is about to give birth and thought she was losing her husband not even mentioning the whole arranged marriage thing that neither one of them wanted any part of. There is a major emotional link between the two and now that Clark has Ching's heart there will be an even greater one between Zara and Clark. Besides you know Clark would LOVE having a baby girl and a baby boy around. Of course Martha might make a Smallville push to set it up so Lois and Clark would visit more often with their baby.

It will be interesting and as I said in an earlier post plenty of material for another story if/when DC gets the urge...

Mike

It shouldn't be a problem to keep people from recognizing Zara. All she needs to do is don a pair of glasses and slick back her hair.

Joy,
Lynn

While I do show what happens a year later, Zara is not shown to have either taken or not taken a secret identity.

Well, I'm evil enough to live Clark's life or death up in the air for a couple of days.

Great memory, Lynn! You may just be right...

I haven't thought about the kids possibly falling in love later on down the road. I show a year later (after Clark lives or dies) but that's it. I leave any further adventures up to my muse's discretion.

The next chapter is what happens from the moment Sam enters the waiting room and beyond, up until a couple of weeks after, sort of dealing with some of the aftermath.

I honestly didn't mess with the schedule to draw out anyone's pain. It's just how this week has stacked up. But, by next Friday, the whole thing should be up.

*points to Evil Writer Club membership card*

That's why.

I will say that, while Zara appears in the year later stuff, I don't go into great detail of where she's living. (Maybe I'll fic it at some point, but for what I wanted to accomplish in the last chapter, it wasn't all that important.)

RE: the split: Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! Whether or not I kill Clark, it was a natural break/natural cliffy to end the chapter. It would have been too long if I'd covered everything I did and then everything that's still to come.

As I said above, I don't go into much detail with where Zara and Kala end up. I left it up to the imagination, as well as the fact that it really didn't "fit" with the ending I wanted to accomplish.

A request for a sequel has been submitted to my muse, but she's been distracted by a couple of other stories at the moment.

Poor Ching and Zara. I can't wait for the next part.

Caught up...a little bit of and . I really enjoyed having chapters in front of me, ready to read (as each cliffhanger approached). But being ready to go, when #9 is up--yeah, that feels pretty good, too.

Whoa!!! Did not see Ching as the donor whatsoever! No matter how many times I spun the story--and thought about who might die and just how Clark could (possibily) survive...yeah, I don't think I ever would have come up with this scenario--You.Are.Good

I feel horrible for Zara--without her people, without her planet, and without her husband...raising a new baby. Wow, such a sad outcome for her.

BUT--feeling a lot of relief for Lois and Clark, Martha and Jonathan, and everyone...(if the transplant goes well, that is).

Looking forward to the next part!
Laura

Does it help that I'm posting right now????

Whoa! You threw a joker into the mix - I never thought about the New Kryptonians! Well done.


So all the Kryptonians (except for Clark, Zara, and Kala) are now dead. It's like comic book canon where Clark is the only survivor.

I agree with previous posters. I think Zara would want to stay in Metropolis near Lois and Clark. They are basically her remaining family, and Clark would certainly want to make sure that Zara wanted for nothing (he would feel that would be his duty, I'm sure.)

I'm hoping that Kryptonian immune systems don't reject foreign hearts (maybe they don't under a yellow sun) so that Clark won't have to take meds and have biopsies taken, etc.

BTW - since Clark is now officially a transplant recipient, how are you going to finesse the need for followup care on him? You don't just get a transplant and then walk away - you have to keep up with the anti-immune meds, checkups, etc.

Glad I could throw you for a loop! Yes, my intention was very much to throw a nod to canon, where Clark is the Last Son. As things are explained, Kryptonians aren't quite like humans, in that rejection is not a risk. So, while Bernie will want to keep a strict eye on Clark (should he live), he won't need to worry about meds (which would be as useless as Nyquil to him). And once his powers return (again, should I spare his life), his immune system will be just as strong as always.