"I want to see what Ranma picks!" Akane declared, almost without hesitation. She still wasn't likely to admit it, but Akane had grown rather attached to Ranma; he wasn't her favorite person, but without the forced engagement stuff she thought he'd be a lot easier to get along with now.
Nabiki was also interested in what some of the others might pick. Besides, it might be amusing to see if she could guess what certain others would pick, and to see if those guesses were right. "Ranma will probably go for a warrior the same as Akane, they're both the 'charge in and think later' types after all. I bet Kuno-chan fancies himself a paladin; I mean, he's always spouting that 'the wrath of heaven' garbage at Ranma," Nabiki added with a knowing smirk.
"I wonder if Ranma will choose a male or female character," Kasumi pondered aloud, apparently in her own little world. It was interesting question, to her at least, and Ranma hadn't been complaining nearly as much about his curse lately.
Akane rolled her eyes at the mere suggestion that 'manly man' Ranma would actually volunteer to be a girl for next sixty-odd years. "Oh please, Kasumi, as if," she replied incredulously. To her it wasn't even a question worth asking.
Nabiki agreed with Akane on this one, mostly, but it did bring up an, arguably, interesting question. "Can we pick our genders? I mean, yeah both genders were represented and all. But can we really pick a different gender than what we are, assuming that we wanted to?" Nabiki asked, admittedly thrown off by the idea.
Athena smirked evilly at the three of them before finally answering. "Well, I don't see why not. After all, it's not like anyone here's been reincarnated as the same gender life after life. Why else do you think so many people have 'less than natural' preferences in their choice of lovers?" the goddess told them with a mischievous grin. Her grin broadened a bit as most of the crowd turned a bit green at the suggestion. 'Wimps. Mortals are way too squeamish to handle any of the really 'messy' truths about their existence,' she added mentally.
It took the gathered souls a few minutes to recover from that particular revelation. However, the goddess didn't wait for them to recover before pressing on. "Well, since our three sisters have gotten us curious, let's have Ranma and Kuno up next. We may as well have two volunteers come up with them; no need to make this take any longer than it has to, I'd like to see some action soon," Athena called out to the gathered souls. As she said that, Athena waved her sword and all sixteen of the racial archetypes reappeared as she reset the stage.
Answering her summons, Ranma Saotome and Tatewaki Kuno both entered the selection area. The two who volunteered to take their turns alongside the pair were Dr. Tofu and Happosai, both of whom were also prominent individuals of the area. "Okay then, do any of you have any questions that our three sisters didn't ask me?" Athena asked with a pleasant smile for her second group.
Dr. Tofu immediately raised his hand in query. "Yes, Athena-sama, I have a question. You see, I am, or was, a doctor; so I was wondering if I'd lose what I know now from my medical training when I select my occupation class?" he asked her somewhat timidly, adjusting his glasses as he spoke.
Athena thought it was a surprisingly good question. Unfortunately she hadn't anticipated it when she'd made up this world, which meant she had to think about it for a moment. "Good question. Unfortunately this was a rush job we're talking about so my answer's a little iffy. I'm not exactly a programer you know," the goddess admitted reluctantly.
"Anyway, the answer is somewhere between yes and no. Without the usual memory wipe caused by reincarnation you'll still know what you know. However, some things just won't work like you're used to. For example only the more basic ideas of medicine will work in the world you're going to. This is because your bodies won't be as detailed as what you're used to, especially on the inside," finished the goddess lamely.
"I see. Still, it's good to know; it'll make my decision a lot easier knowing that ahead of time," responded the ex-doctor with an agreeable smile.
"It's good to know that I won't lose all my martial art's skills too," added Ranma with a smug grin. Athena considered telling him that once the others had leveled up enough his old skills wouldn't matter that much any more, but thought better of it. It would be a lot more fun to let him find that out on his own.
"Verily, it would be most unthinkable that I, Tatewaki Kuno, should lose my heavenly prowess with the blade. Yet this news does widen mine options in this game," Kuno replied with a superior air.
"Oh, happy day! For a while there I thought I was going to have to give up all my hard earned skills at perversion!" crowed Happosai as he commented on the doctor's question.
Athena sweated a little at the unorthodox outburst. It wasn't entirely unexpected, but it was definitely still disturbing. But at least it wouldn't be her the old goat would be bothering. "Well gentlemen, any other questions before you choose your species?" Athena asked them in an attempt to change the topic.
After a few helpless shrugs from the four males Athena pressed on. "Alright then, gentlemen, choose your new looks!" the goddess prompted them with a theatrical wave of her hand. With another shrug the four souls began to make their decisions. Some of their choices were expected, others were a surprise though.
The ex-doctor, who had an obvious crush on the newly created druid chose to be a male night elf himself. Unfortunately, though he didn't know it, he'd caught the wrong sister's attention with his obvious choice. Apparently there was another secret crush hidden in the works there, Athena noticed. Sadly the ex-doctor was a little too inarticulate at the moment to make any meaningful comments.
The old man on the other hand was another story all together. "Hmn, while I think these two on the end there are a couple of good looking fellows," he began, pointing at the gnome and dwarf respectively. "I think I'd like to branch out a bit. Besides, it'll be a lot easier to spice things up a bit if I'm playing for the opposing team. But which one to choose . . . it's got to be smart and it's got to be sneaky. . . ," the old man mused aloud to himself.
"Well, if you're wanting smart and sneaky in the same package, then I'd say that the troll's are the best choice for you then. They're a bit brutal at times, but they've got the smart and sneaky bit down to a T, old man," Athena told him helpfully.
"Well, wouldn't that be ironic; after being called an old troll for so long I finally get to be one for real. Heh heh, now they'll really regret calling me such a deplorable name, hehehee!" Happosai announced jubilantly as he chose the male Troll archetype. The ex-old man's laughter turned into excited cackling as he considered his new look. "Look out ladies, here I come!" crowed the new troll as he went into another fit of cackling.
"How disgusting, I would wager that man is an even worse degenerate than Ranma Saotome here," remarked Kuno with audible disdain. Most of the souls present nodded in mute agreement, the scene Happosai was making was uniquely, yet indescribably disturbing.
Ranma snorted contemptuously at Kuno's snipe. "I ain't no degenerate, and I ain't no pervert like him either!" Ranma declared irritably, shaking a fist at Kuno for emphasis. Ranma's defense was met with a few disbelieving noises from those who heard it, but not many. Akane looked ready to make a verbal retort, but she thought better of it in the end.
Kuno, surprisingly, ignored Ranma's retort and announced his decision. "I believe I shall remain as the heavens have made me, human. After all, it would be a crime to go against what the gods themselves have decreed," announced the delusional youth. A lot of people groaned at the boy's posturing, yet they were all careful enough not to be singled out by the boy as he tried to identify those mocking him.
Athena on the other hand wasn't intimidated by Kuno's glare in the least. Instead she rolled her eyes impatiently as she prepared to put the upstart mortal in his place. "Ahem! Hello? Anyone home up stairs? Because that was then, and this is now! And incase you're just now tuning in to our program, little mortal; a bonafide goddess, myself, just told you that you can pick any one of these bodies you like!" the goddess interjected, scowling at Kuno's ghostly form.
Before Kuno could respond she continued. "Which reminds me, you're extremely lucky that Zeus couldn't hit the broad side of a barn if he wanted to anymore; and that Raiden's been too busy to stay at home lately. Otherwise you'd have been toast ages ago for all the times you've declared your personal desires as being our will. So I wouldn't keep saying that you're 'favored by the heavens' if I were in your shoes. Because, to be honest, I hate it when mortals up and say something's my will without even attempting to consult me about it first. As a side note, I'd recommend that you in particular don't choose to be a paladin for a couple of lives, I don't think you'll have much luck with that class," continued Athena, verbally stomping on Kuno's ego and grinding her heal into it.
Kuno, unable to warp Athena's words to suit his fantasies due to her godly will, curled into a fetal position on the ground a few feet in front of the goddess. Dark clouds of despair forming over the disillusioned soul as Kuno wept. "There, there, it could always be worse brother dear. After all, you could have spent the rest of eternity with this Zeus person using you for target practice," Kodachi called out to her brother consolingly. If consolingly meant massaging salt into a bleeding wound with a smile that is.
Eventually Kuno picked human anyway, but he was a lot quieter after that moment. A few souls believed it had something to do with the ominous sparks of lightening dancing about the cloud of despair floating over Kuno's head. But sadly the theory went unproven, despite the hopeful stares of a few souls who will remain safely anonymous.
Once he did pick though, Athena simply shrugged and got back down to business. Turning to the only member of the four who hadn't made his choice yet. Oddly enough it was the same person Akane had gotten her curious about. "And now for you, Ranma; what will you be picking?" Athena asked the pigtailed youth with an encouraging smile. The boy seemed to be looking repeatedly over the selections, intently avoiding the choices already picked by the others before him, with the lone exception of the night elves.
"I can't decide, really. I don't want to copy everybody else, but all the really cool looking ones have already been chosen by Akane and the rest. I really liked the night elves, but the girls already picked them. I would have gone with human or trolls for my second or third choices. But there's no way that I'm copying Kuno or the old letch, there's just no way!" the youth temporized as he dried to make his decision.
"Quit being so difficult Ranma! There's only eight choices, there's no way you're going to pick something that nobody else does, not with so many people here!" Akane admonished him from the sidelines.
"If my good for nothing son knows what's good for him, he'll pick the same race as his fiancée so that he can marry her!" bellowed someone from the crowd. It wasn't too hard to guess who it had been even though the person couldn't be seen for the crowd around him
"That'll be quite enough! No one, and I MEAN no one, is going to tell ANYONE what they are or are not going to be! This is your life, don't let anyone else tell you how to go about it, boy. If you want to be a Night elf, then go a head and pick it. If you want to be a girl instead of a boy, more power to you. Just make sure it's you making the decision and not them," Athena told all of them sternly, giving every soul there a withering glare as she spoke.
Ranma nodded solemnly at the goddess's decree, apparently making up his mind in the process. "I guess I've decided then," he muttered before heading over to the male Night Elf's image. Only his resolve seemed to crack a little just then, and the boy known as Ranma hesitated where he stood.
Athena looked at him sympathetically, in a way, she understood his difficulty. The boy wanted to rebel, to chose something else, yet he actually wanted what they were trying to make him pick, just not for the same reason. "If this is what you want, kid, go ahead and do it. Just remember that you're doing it for you, not for them," the goddess whispered to him consolingly.
With a second, firmer nod, Ranma braced himself and stepped through the archetype. Only to have a child like voice, Skuld's, yell out unexpectedly from seemingly nowhere. "ERROR, ERROR! SYSTEM IS UNABLE TO OVERWRITE FILE! PLEASE REENTER DATA TO TRY AGAIN!" boomed Skuld's voice from everywhere and nowhere all at once.
Ranma looked positively terrified at the unexpected, and loud, message. Athena was also confused, Skuld had assured her that the Pocket dimension's OS would work without any major hitches. Yet Athena hadn't even gotten everyone properly processed yet and bugs were already showing up in the system. "Er, sorry about that, kid. This is the prototype version after all, I should have expected at least one or two bugs to be in the system. Please try it again," she told Ranma with a sheepish grin.
The boy nodded nervously, but bravely tried again like he'd been told. Stepping around the taller figure, Ranma tried entering his chosen archetype again. "ERROR, ERROR. STILL UNABLE TO OVERWRITE FILE DATA. ANALYZING . . . ANALYZING . . . PROBLEM ISOLATED, READ ONLY SUB-CODE DETECTED. CURRENT OS PARAMETERS UNABLE TO MODIFY IMAGE DATA ON CHARACTER FILE 'RANMA SAOTOME' AT THIS TIME. FULL ERROR REPORT AVAILABLE TO SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR, 'ATHENA', ONLY," announced Skuld's booming voice again, much to the gathered crowd's annoyance.
With an annoyed grunt, Athena pulled her laptop out sub-space and accessed the error report. There was a long line of code listed under the error report with a detailed explanation at the bottom. Apparently this Ranma person had encountered Jusenkyo, and had been changed by it. Unfortunately, Jusenkyo had been created through the use of the 'ultimate force' and as such was immune to random meddling, even from gods. Basically Athena needed permission for a class 1 unlimited overwrite, have the boy reincarnated, or direct intervention from the boss himself to fix this. However the last two were unlikely to happen this eon, while the first option would only seem that way.
Looking up at Ranma, Athena decided to let him know what was going on. "Okay, Ranma, here's the deal. Apparently you've been to Jusenkyo. Unfortunately for us that means that I currently can't change your physical appearance with any of the archetypes right now. You can still pick a class for yourself, but aside from that, you're pretty much stuck as you are now. I'm sorry, kid, it's a really tough break," she told him sympathetically.
Athena then turned to face the rest of the crowd waiting to go their turns. "Okay, some of you heard me and some of you didn't. So here's the deal, anyone with a Jusenkyo curse won't be able to select any of the available archetypes for a while. Apparently the current operating system for our pocket dimension won't allow any rewrites of your image data. However, I can still let you choose your faction and class type. If you choose to join the Alliance you'll obviously be human. If you choose to join the Horde, and I'm stretching things just to do this, you'll be considered a Forsaken. I apologize for any disappointment this problem may have caused, but cheer up, at least it's not going to be a permanent problem," the goddess announced to the large group of souls waiting behind the velvet cords. There was some muttering from those affected by the statement; but the goddess didn't worry about it much, it wasn't like they could do anything without her help anyway.
While the rest of Jusenkyo's victims cursed their luck, Ranma makes his decision. He's going to:
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(Posted Sun, 30 Apr 2006 22:02)
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