Several things happened in the aftermath of Bastet's departure. Ranma was dwelling on his third wish. He was joined in this matter by everyone present, to some degree or another. But many other thoughts were making their way through the assembled minds. Thoughts like how Bastet's massive doors had fit inside the house without damaging it, or what they were going to do with the cats she left behind, or how peaceful it was that Amaterasu was punching Soun every time he tried to say something stupid.
But perhaps the most important thought in the short term was the one going through the head of Genma Saotome. Oh yes, Genma was capable of thought. They were rarely pretty, but he had them. This particularly thought, a malformed beast that went through three miscarriages and suffered from narcolepsy, noted that no one was paying much attention to Belldandy's lamp. This thought quickly became the best friend of the 'cool crowd' in Genma's brain, namely thoughts like "steal what you need" and "cure the curse" and another newcomer, "the genie can cure the curse."
These thoughts became important in aggregate for one simple reason: Genma lunged for the lamp, held it high above his head, and bellowed, "Free me of the panda!" as loud as he could.
Stunned silence reigned for a moment as all eyes fell on Genma. A mouse coughed in a corner, attracting the unfortunate attention of the cats who quickly decided this human nonsense was unimportant as long as they didn't forget to serve their feline masters.
Genma blinked and looked at Bell. "Shouldn't the cure have come with something more dramatic than that?" he asked.
Belldandy gently sipped her tea and said nothing. This confused Genma. In fact, it confused everyone. Genma frowned at the goddess-slash-genie and calmly fled the room to find a source of cold water and test his cure.
Ranma looked to Bell. "So…does that mean I don't get a third wish?"
Bell looked to Ranma innocently and produced an unreasonably large leather-bound book, with gold letters proclaiming The Unabridged Regulations and Bylaws of the Djinn, 397th Edition. "Page two-oh-seven is quite clear."
A familiar panda ran back into the room, shook Bell's bottle at her face, and said "Growf!"
Bell returned the look with a blissful expression Kasumi wanted to take notes on. "My contract with your son needs to run its course first, and I'm afraid that if you try to coerce him I will be forced to do something unpleasant."
"Unpleasant?"Nabiki asked warily. "Example?"
Bell put a finger to her cheek and thought. "The usual punishment for such little things is to give the thief an anti-wish. So I might lock Mr. Saotome as a panda, or make his curse turn him into different things each time, none of which would be pandas."
"That's the low end," Amaterasu added. She casually knocked Soun out before he could bawl over his friend's tragedy and looked to Genma. Genma looked back and saw in her expression His Worst Fear. This fear apparently translated into pandaese as "GROWF!" followed by running from the room as fast as he could, so what, exactly, he saw will forever remain a mystery.
The assembled blinked after the fleeing patriarch. Ranma turned to Amaterasu. "Um, thanks?"
"You're welcome. Unfortunately I must be going. Interfering with mortals, imperative of free will, all that sort of thing." She made for the door, but paused and turned back. Suddenly her voice carried the booming quality expected of one who was a Goddess, and her eyes turned to orbs of sunfire. "Nodoka Saotome!"
Nodoka jumped. "Y-yes?"
"The old ways are gone. We do not require your genuflections, but We appreciate your respect."
Nodoka's jaw worked soundlessly. "So, um, should I sacrifice something at an altar?"
Amaterasu's eyes were suddenly eyes again, and they were rolling. "What did I just say about traditions changing?" she asked in a shockingly normal voice. "Figure it out for yourself." And then she stepped into the light and was gone.
Bell, once again the only divinity to be seen, sipped her tea again. "As blessings go, that was a lot less fuss than they usually cause," she said approvingly.
Bastet sighed and returned her heavenly office to its original appearance. The only thing that didn't change was the kendo idiot on the floor. "What am I going to do with you?" she mused. Ah well, she'd figure that out after meeting with Kami-sama.
Meetings with the Holiest of Holies are rare, even among the highest ranks of divinity. And each one is a unique experience. Comparing Kami-sama to Bell, Bastet, or Amaterasu is like comparing them to Genma. He simply existed on a level without peer. When he spoke, he didn't use any kind of pronounceable language. Listening to Kami-sama is listening to pure Meaning, pure Truth. The mortal mind could take apart a single syllable for decades and not fully appreciate all the knowledge imparted by that simple act of communication.
Bastet listened to Kami-sama for a full two minutes. Stars are born and die in less time than it would take to relate the nuances of such perfect communication in mere language. Bastet had a great deal to think about.
The excessively short version was that Kami-sama was pleased by the return of the werecheetah race and the disruption to Events That Will No Longer Be that Bastet had aided. The matter of Kuno, however, was less pleasing. Bastet would surrender the boy to another.
That other was respectfully waiting with Bastet's secretary when she returned. "Ah, Bastet. I got a memo about a young fool who crossed one god too many?" His name was Theoc Wheyt, and he was the closest thing in Asgard to a demon.
Bastet smiled slightly. Not toying with the fool herself was depressing, but if anyone knew how to make mortals suffer, this was the man.
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(Posted Fri, 02 Sep 2011 06:09)
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