Bast grinned. “Yes, ‘Avatar.’ My most favored servant. My champion. My representative in the mortal world. Do you get it yet?”
Ranma reluctantly answered. “Uh, yeah?”
Sighing, Bast conjured a pair of recliners and gestured for Ranma to sit down before she seated herself across from him. “Alright, the first thing you need to understand is that there are many, many gods, and I am one of them. There was a time when we walked amongst mankind, our divinitay on display for all to see, but when different cultures started to fight amongst themselves due to differing religious beliefs it was decided that we should withdraw our presence from the mortal world and let humanity continue without our interference. In different universes deities are allowed to interact with humans to differing degrees, but for the most part direct contact with the masses is all but forbidden. Are you with me so far?”
It was a little difficult for Ranma to hear what she was saying, as he was being distracted by the long, golden furred legs stretching out from the short and thin white robe the sensual goddess was wearing. “I think so.”
Nodding, the cat goddess continued. “Now, direct contact is limited, but indirect contact is allowed to a much greater degree. This means we gods and goddesses can communicate with our faithful priests, grant them the ability to channel our power, and perform minor miracles and appearances to convert others to our faith. The more priests and followers we have, the greater our influence on the mortal world.”
“That makes sense, the more priests you have, the more people you can talk to directly, right?”
Bast smiled. “Correct!”
Ranma’s satisfied smirk turned back into a frown of confusion. “So where do I fit in?”
“As my Avatar, you are a representative of my faith and myself personally. You were chosen because you have a number of traits that fit neatly into my areas of influence, those being cats, protection, pregnant women, and a few other things.”
Ranma interrupted her. “Wait, I can understand my connection with cats, and ‘protection’ is covered by my martial arts, but where do ‘pregnant women’ come into the deal?”
Bast fought back a lascivious grin. ‘Oh, I predict plenty of pregnant women in your future, my soon-to-be-dehydrated stud-muffin.’ “I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Like I said, you have a number of traits that fit into my portfolio, but you don’t need to match it exactly.”
Greatly relieved, Ranma sank back into his chair. “Great.”
“Now, an Avatar’s possible duties are fairly varied. An Avatar may lead their patron deities’ followers in prayer, or stand at the front of an army during a holy war. You may be sent to protect a temple or my faithful from harm, or sent to worlds where I have no followers so that you can ‘spread the faith.’ You may be asked to stay in heaven for a time and serve me personally. Basically, if I need something important done, you’ll probably be the man I call.”
“I hate to sound like Nabiki, but is it safe to assume there’s something in this for me?”
Bast nodded and smiled reassuringly. “Keeping a steady job will be next to impossible if you have to leave every now and then to undertake a quest, so it’s only fair that you’re compensated for your efforts. You’ll be paid a more than fair wage, taking into account the work you’ll be doing for me and your needs. You won’t be a millionaire, but it will be enough for you to live comfortably. You also get to keep any money and equipment you may make during the course of your missions, but remember to have any magical items checked over to make sure there aren’t any nasty surprises.” She paused to think for a moment before continuing. “A number of feline races practice martial arts similar to yours, and have developed techniques to take advantage of their cat-like qualities. If you’d like, I can have a look through my and several other feline-themed deities libraries and see if I dig up a few scrolls for you.” The cat goddess leaned forward expectantly. “So, have we got a deal?”
Ranma thought it over for a while. ‘Being an Avatar doesn’t sound too bad. Heh, it’s better than teaching Anything Goes to a bunch of kids while Pops sits on his fat panda ass drinking sake and playing shogi.’ In the end, it wasn’t a difficult decision to make. “Alright, you’ve got yourself an Avatar.” He grimaced. “I don’t know what this is going to do to the situation in Nerima, though. Last time I left things got pretty crazy, and I might not be going back for a while.”
Bast grinned and pounced on the massive weresmilodon, hugging him tight and purring into his chest. “I’m looking forward to working with you Ranma. And don’t you worry about those engagement in Nerima, I know some people who know some people who can clear up that mess with no loss of honor to any of the parties involved.” Her cheerful grin turned feral. “As long as certain ‘parties’ know when to cut their losses and back off.”
Ranma was slightly freaked out by the evil giggling coming from the scantily clad Egyptian goddess. “Um, great…I think.” Shaking off the brief shiver of fear that shot up his spine, he decided to change the subject. “So what do we do now, Boss?”
Bast hopped off his lap and stretched in a not-so-surprisingly cat-like manner before she answered. “It just so happens I have a mission for you. To be a proper Avatar, you need to learn two things; how to deal with a wide range of situations and opponents, and how to act responsibly.”
The black-furred martial artist nodded in acceptance. “So where am I going to get experience and responsibility?”
Bast plucked a remote control out of mid-air and pushed the ‘on’ button, turning on a TV that wasn’t there a moment ago. Ignoring Ranma’s surprise, Bast pointed to a planet displayed on the screen. “This is the world of Jade. Unlike Earth, the continents of Jade aren’t separated by oceans of water, but by oceans of air.”
“Air?!”
The goddess nodded. “Yes, air. Due to a horrific ancient war, the continents were torn free from the planet and now float some distance above it. This has had surprisingly little impact on the inhabitants, who now traverse the vast distances in flying ships. Technology varies from place to place, with some nations being similar to modern day Earth, and others being more like a collection of villages from the depths of a South American jungle or the Middle Ages.” With another *click* of the remote more than half a dozen moons showed up on the screen. “Another big difference between Earth and Jade are the moons. Rocks from these moons frequently fall to Jade, and are attuned to a specific element depending on which moon they came from. With the aid of these ‘moon stones’ magical energy can be harnessed and wielded even by those who have no magical talent. A common use is to provide weapons with an elemental power-up, or to power a flying ship.” Another *click*, and the screen began flicking between pictures of various different races. “Finally, there is a wide variety of races living on Jade, from humans, to elves, dwarves, trolls, werecreatures, giants, and so on. You won’t need to worry about looking too out of place, most people will just assume you’re some kind of werelion/werepanther hybrid.” Turning to her Avatar, Bast raised an eyebrow. “Any questions so far?”
Ranma turned from the screen and nodded. “Why this world?”
Bast plucked a notepad from nowhere and started flicking through it. “Right, your mission. Hmm…Ah! Here it is!” She read through it a few times to (mainly to drive Ranma crazy from the suspense) before she threw it away. “Your mission is to save the world of Jade.”
“…You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Nope.” Turning back to the TV, Bast clicked the remote again, showing a fleet of vast metal ships soaring over a country beneath a thick mass of storm clouds. “This is the country of Valua. Due to the abundance of lightning moonstones falling on the continent, there is a permanent layer of storm clouds blocking out the sun. The lightning stones also power Valua’s advanced technology and fleet of ships. Where most ships are made of wood and propelled by winds and engines, Valua’s fleets are vast masses of floating metal powered entirely by lightning stones, giving them some advantage over other nations. This military superiority has led to the Nobles of Valua believing that they have the right to rule the world, an idea their rulers have adopted wholeheartedly.” *Click!* The TV flicked between images of several huge machines. “These are remnants of the war that shattered Jade. The Gigas are powered by Moon Crystals, extremely powerful and pure moonstones, one for each moon.” Bast leveled a serious look at Ranma. “If Valua manages to gain control over the Gigas, nothing on Jade will be able to stop them.”
Ranma stared at the screen in thought. “How am I supposed to stop an entire country?”
“That’s where the ‘responsibility’ part of this mission comes from. You’ll have to ask The Edge Guard for help.”
“Who’s the Edge Guard?”
Another *click* and several wooden ships were shown swooping down and firing upon a much larger metal ship. “Several groups of pirates call themselves ‘The Edge Guard.’ One thing they all have in common is their habit of only attacking and looting those ships that can defend themselves adequately, like Valuan battleships. Kind of a ‘Robin Hood’ way of life.”
Ranma’s face was the very picture of confusion. “Robin Hood?”
Sighing at her servant’s ignorance, Bast explained in greater detail. “They steal from the strong, keeping the booty for themselves or sending it where it can do the most good, and they defend the weak from ‘bad’ pirates.”
Eyes lighting up, the only smilodon in existence smiled to show he understood. “And you think they’ll help?”
Bast nodded. “I’m sending you somewhere where you can meet up with one particular group.” She glanced up at a clock that appeared on a tree and took note of the time. “I can’t tell you anymore about the situation, so you’ll just have to trust your instinct.”
Ranma noticed her brief look at the clock and frowned. “Is something wrong?”
Bast nodded again. “You have to leave in a couple of minutes if you want to make a good impression, so I’ll have to finish this up.” She pulled a pair of gloves and a small glowing orb from within her robes, making Ranma wonder how the hell she managed to hide those in the tight garment. “These gloves can be imbued with a moonstone each, giving your punches elemental powers, so they’ll definitely come in handy against some opponents.” She then pointed to the glowing ball. “I cashed in a few favors and had this orb filled with the basics of sky-ships, how to fly them, maintain them, repair them, and so on. It’ll help you pull your weight on a ship.” With that she shoved the orb into the portion of Ranma’s head known in some circles as the location of the third eye…
“GAAAggghhh!” The pain was blinding as hundreds of pages of text worth of knowledge was crammed into his head. The stabbing pain was thankfully brief, but he was left with a lingering headache similar to one left by an enraged tomboy’s mallet. Stumbling back to his feet (‘When did I fall over?’) he took the fingerless gloves from Basts’ hands and pulled them on. “Anything else I need before I go?”
Bast ran her eyes over him and hummed in though. “Well, this is just my opinion, but you may want to find some clothes that fit you. And, you know, aren’t hanging off you in tatters.”
Ranma glanced down, finally remembering the shredded state of his usual Chinese outfit. “Oh. Right.” He looked up at his patron with puppy-dog Kitty-cat eyes.
Rolling her own eyes, Bast waved a hand and the tattered silk shifted and melted into a pair of plain black pants, a black shirt, a red jacket, and thin-soled black boots. “Those will change size to fit your 'human' and 'hybrid' forms, and they’ll disappear if you shift to 'cat' form. Oh, and two last pieces of advice; there are a number of temples dedicated to me scattered across Jade, and you’ll always find help within. Secondly, the Edge Guard group you’ll soon meet is mostly made up of werecats, so get one of them to teach you to change forms.”
Ranma adjusted his new clothing. “Got it. When am I leaving?”
“Now.” Ranma barely had time to look surprised before he dropped through a portal that opened up under his feet, and Bast laughed softly to herself. ‘Good luck Ranma, you’ll probably need it.’
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(Posted Wed, 17 Nov 2004 23:00)
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