Ranma ½ Ferrets and Pigtails
- Thread starter NeverwhereCM
- Start date
Not quite what you were expecting?
---
After the palace guards had covered Herce with one of the tattered curtains and left bound for the royal physician, Yuuno was left alone in the devastated throne room with the Queen and the Guard Captain, who had yet to decide his fate.
The Queen looked amused at his nervous expression. ôDo relax Mr. Scrya. I am well aware of my daughter's... predilections.ö A wry grin appeared on her face. ôI was much the same at her age.ö Her gaze darkened a bit. ôThough even I had better sense than to seduce a man in the throne room,ö she grumbled.
Yuuno didn't know quite what to say about that, so he just smiled uncertainly at her.
Man, she's hot. You should have gone for it, earlier with the princess. Jed's voice was a little unexpected, but Yuuno kept the smile on his face. The last thing he needed was to be distracted by the horny skull, but there wasn't much option except to pray hope the device listened.
The Queen gave out a low chuckle at his smile. ôA gentleman, eh? Just as dear Akta described you.ö Her face straightened out and her voice lost much of its friendly tone, though it didn't turn hostile. It was more... business-like. ôTo the matters at hand then. I am Anya Vonalzo, Queen of Azulia. I welcome you, Yuuno Scrya, to my court.ö
Yuuno gave a polite bow with a more genuine smile. This was something he knew how to deal with. ôThe honor is mine.ö
The queen nodded with a slight smile of her own. ôThe first order of business is Isanto Sammakko. Captain, you have secured the prisoner?ö
From her place to the side, the woman nodded. ôYes. I have had him placed in a more secure cell, and he may be released from that cell only on my or your permission, no visitors of any kind.ö
ôExcellent, Captain. Hopefully this will prevent a repeat of last time's escape. His interrogation is to happen only under your personal supervision.ö If Akta had any reservations about that, she didn't show it, and the Queen glanced back at Yuuno. ôThough there is the question of just how he came to be captured the last time.ö
Yuuno had the good grace to blush, but said nothing, and Anya waved it away. ôI understand that it was self defense, but I do wish your aim had been better.ö
ôI... have been working quite extensively on that, your majesty.ö
She nodded. ôExcellent. Now, as to the matter of his second capture just now... Just what does the reward come to at the moment?ö
ôSome fifty-thousand centis, your majesty,ö murmured the red haired woman.
ôMy, my, that's quite a lot. See that's done when we're finished here, Akta.ö
ôI... can't accept that,ö Yuuno said firmly. This was true. It was a hard and fast rule for the TSAB that no officer in its employ could accept any form of bounty. It was there to keep officers from taking advantage of unadministered worlds while in pursuit of felons.
The queen was about to brush it off as modesty, but something in Yuuno's eyes must have decided her, and she glanced back to her officer. ôVery well. Akta, see that the amount is transferred to the orphan's fund. Know that you have the gratitude of the crown, Mr. Scrya.ö
Yuuno bowed again in lieu of any other response.
The blue haired woman sighed. ôAnd now to the main reason we are here. The Viahtaa, Mr. Scrya.ö She fixed him with a penetrating gaze. ôAre you, in fact, in possession of the artifact?ö
Yuuno nodded uncertainly. ôYes. I am.ö
ôI see. I must ask you to had it over, then.ö The woman sounded resigned, but resolute. A somewhat dangerous combination.
Yuuno's diplomatic process struggled to keep up. ôI must beg you to reconsider. The Viahtaa is potentially very hazardous. It must not be activated until I can confirm that it is not - and I have no idea what might set it off.ö Yuuno set his mouth in a grim line. ôFrankly, I'm afraid to even touch the thing, but the idea of someone else setting it off frightens me a lot more.ö
ôMr. Scrya, I assure you that it will be handled with the utmost care-ö
ôThat's not good enough!ö Yuuno's eyes glinted fiercely. ôI've seen entire worlds be wiped out by one of these misused. They don't even generally have the good grace to do it quickly, like a bomb or something.ö Yuuno figured that he was giving away a bit much, but was prepared to live with that if it meant walking out of here with the blue orb on his person.
Anya was kind enough to ignore the slip, though he was certain she hadn't missed it. ôMr. Scrya. I can understand your caution, but I must insist.ö She closed her eyes for a moment. ôLet us speak frankly. My daughter, whom you have met, is unfit for the throne. She would hand my people over to the Hellig, and I assure you that this would be the end of them. The Hellig are taken with a simply unreasonable amount of religious fervor, and there have been times in history that he monarchy has been all that stood in the way of our people self destructing from their idiocy.ö
Yuuno frowned. ôWhat kind of idiocy?ö
The Queen got up to pace. ôThey preach holy war on the other countries on our world. About traveling beyond the stars without the slightest idea of how, let alone the logistics of such an undertaking, and yet they would insist that it is possible, based merely on the writings of madmen from long ago.ö She stopped to stare at him. ôMy people may die from the Viahtaa, Mr. Scrya, but I assure you that without it, we won't last much longer anyway.ö
ôHow is the Viahtaa going to stop that from happening?ö Yuuno wasn't quite sure of the logic there.
Anya retook her throne and gave him a humorless smile. ôBribery, Mr. Scrya. This, plus, I hear, loaning them the money to rebuild their cathedral, will convince them to back any person I designate for the sucession.ö She snorted. ôMy daughter can be silenced with her appetites.ö
Her voice took on a suggestive tone then. ôThough there is still the question of what to do with you until the poor dear wakes up.ö
Yuuno got the message immediately. He could either hand the Viahtaa over, or he could be locked up until the princess awakened and told them what had happened officially. And if some of his belongings happened to go missing in the mean time, well... He sighed, and dug into his satchel, fishing out the orb. ôI hope I'm doing the right thing.ö
Akta took a few steps forward, and took the Viahtaa from him gently, before giving it to the Queen, who stared at it for a moment before sighing, and slipping it down her dress. ôKnow, Mr. Scrya, that should anything happen, it won't be your fault.ö
Yuuno shook his head. ôGuilt is not a simple emotion, your majesty.ö
ôI am aware. Still, it won't be your fault. And thanks are in order, I think. Akta mentioned that the Hellig were holding a friend of yours?ö
ôYes,ö Yuuno agreed, ôhe-ö
The doors slammed open behind him, and Yuuno spun, to find himself facing the rather burnt and bruised form of Vaalea Kirkko, Bishop of the Hellig.
The moment she caught sight of his face, hers darkened. ôYour majesty, in the name of the Hellig/Azlan treaty of 841, I demand you arrest this man as an infidel!ö
Wincing, and shooting him an apologetic look, The Queen of Azulia waved her Guard Captain forward, who approached Yuuno with a hand on the hilt of her sword.
Dude, I told you you should have taken the princess up on her offer.
Shut up, Jed.
---
Not much happened here, I'll grant, but it was necessary.
---
After the palace guards had covered Herce with one of the tattered curtains and left bound for the royal physician, Yuuno was left alone in the devastated throne room with the Queen and the Guard Captain, who had yet to decide his fate.
The Queen looked amused at his nervous expression. ôDo relax Mr. Scrya. I am well aware of my daughter's... predilections.ö A wry grin appeared on her face. ôI was much the same at her age.ö Her gaze darkened a bit. ôThough even I had better sense than to seduce a man in the throne room,ö she grumbled.
Yuuno didn't know quite what to say about that, so he just smiled uncertainly at her.
Man, she's hot. You should have gone for it, earlier with the princess. Jed's voice was a little unexpected, but Yuuno kept the smile on his face. The last thing he needed was to be distracted by the horny skull, but there wasn't much option except to pray hope the device listened.
The Queen gave out a low chuckle at his smile. ôA gentleman, eh? Just as dear Akta described you.ö Her face straightened out and her voice lost much of its friendly tone, though it didn't turn hostile. It was more... business-like. ôTo the matters at hand then. I am Anya Vonalzo, Queen of Azulia. I welcome you, Yuuno Scrya, to my court.ö
Yuuno gave a polite bow with a more genuine smile. This was something he knew how to deal with. ôThe honor is mine.ö
The queen nodded with a slight smile of her own. ôThe first order of business is Isanto Sammakko. Captain, you have secured the prisoner?ö
From her place to the side, the woman nodded. ôYes. I have had him placed in a more secure cell, and he may be released from that cell only on my or your permission, no visitors of any kind.ö
ôExcellent, Captain. Hopefully this will prevent a repeat of last time's escape. His interrogation is to happen only under your personal supervision.ö If Akta had any reservations about that, she didn't show it, and the Queen glanced back at Yuuno. ôThough there is the question of just how he came to be captured the last time.ö
Yuuno had the good grace to blush, but said nothing, and Anya waved it away. ôI understand that it was self defense, but I do wish your aim had been better.ö
ôI... have been working quite extensively on that, your majesty.ö
She nodded. ôExcellent. Now, as to the matter of his second capture just now... Just what does the reward come to at the moment?ö
ôSome fifty-thousand centis, your majesty,ö murmured the red haired woman.
ôMy, my, that's quite a lot. See that's done when we're finished here, Akta.ö
ôI... can't accept that,ö Yuuno said firmly. This was true. It was a hard and fast rule for the TSAB that no officer in its employ could accept any form of bounty. It was there to keep officers from taking advantage of unadministered worlds while in pursuit of felons.
The queen was about to brush it off as modesty, but something in Yuuno's eyes must have decided her, and she glanced back to her officer. ôVery well. Akta, see that the amount is transferred to the orphan's fund. Know that you have the gratitude of the crown, Mr. Scrya.ö
Yuuno bowed again in lieu of any other response.
The blue haired woman sighed. ôAnd now to the main reason we are here. The Viahtaa, Mr. Scrya.ö She fixed him with a penetrating gaze. ôAre you, in fact, in possession of the artifact?ö
Yuuno nodded uncertainly. ôYes. I am.ö
ôI see. I must ask you to had it over, then.ö The woman sounded resigned, but resolute. A somewhat dangerous combination.
Yuuno's diplomatic process struggled to keep up. ôI must beg you to reconsider. The Viahtaa is potentially very hazardous. It must not be activated until I can confirm that it is not - and I have no idea what might set it off.ö Yuuno set his mouth in a grim line. ôFrankly, I'm afraid to even touch the thing, but the idea of someone else setting it off frightens me a lot more.ö
ôMr. Scrya, I assure you that it will be handled with the utmost care-ö
ôThat's not good enough!ö Yuuno's eyes glinted fiercely. ôI've seen entire worlds be wiped out by one of these misused. They don't even generally have the good grace to do it quickly, like a bomb or something.ö Yuuno figured that he was giving away a bit much, but was prepared to live with that if it meant walking out of here with the blue orb on his person.
Anya was kind enough to ignore the slip, though he was certain she hadn't missed it. ôMr. Scrya. I can understand your caution, but I must insist.ö She closed her eyes for a moment. ôLet us speak frankly. My daughter, whom you have met, is unfit for the throne. She would hand my people over to the Hellig, and I assure you that this would be the end of them. The Hellig are taken with a simply unreasonable amount of religious fervor, and there have been times in history that he monarchy has been all that stood in the way of our people self destructing from their idiocy.ö
Yuuno frowned. ôWhat kind of idiocy?ö
The Queen got up to pace. ôThey preach holy war on the other countries on our world. About traveling beyond the stars without the slightest idea of how, let alone the logistics of such an undertaking, and yet they would insist that it is possible, based merely on the writings of madmen from long ago.ö She stopped to stare at him. ôMy people may die from the Viahtaa, Mr. Scrya, but I assure you that without it, we won't last much longer anyway.ö
ôHow is the Viahtaa going to stop that from happening?ö Yuuno wasn't quite sure of the logic there.
Anya retook her throne and gave him a humorless smile. ôBribery, Mr. Scrya. This, plus, I hear, loaning them the money to rebuild their cathedral, will convince them to back any person I designate for the sucession.ö She snorted. ôMy daughter can be silenced with her appetites.ö
Her voice took on a suggestive tone then. ôThough there is still the question of what to do with you until the poor dear wakes up.ö
Yuuno got the message immediately. He could either hand the Viahtaa over, or he could be locked up until the princess awakened and told them what had happened officially. And if some of his belongings happened to go missing in the mean time, well... He sighed, and dug into his satchel, fishing out the orb. ôI hope I'm doing the right thing.ö
Akta took a few steps forward, and took the Viahtaa from him gently, before giving it to the Queen, who stared at it for a moment before sighing, and slipping it down her dress. ôKnow, Mr. Scrya, that should anything happen, it won't be your fault.ö
Yuuno shook his head. ôGuilt is not a simple emotion, your majesty.ö
ôI am aware. Still, it won't be your fault. And thanks are in order, I think. Akta mentioned that the Hellig were holding a friend of yours?ö
ôYes,ö Yuuno agreed, ôhe-ö
The doors slammed open behind him, and Yuuno spun, to find himself facing the rather burnt and bruised form of Vaalea Kirkko, Bishop of the Hellig.
The moment she caught sight of his face, hers darkened. ôYour majesty, in the name of the Hellig/Azlan treaty of 841, I demand you arrest this man as an infidel!ö
Wincing, and shooting him an apologetic look, The Queen of Azulia waved her Guard Captain forward, who approached Yuuno with a hand on the hilt of her sword.
Dude, I told you you should have taken the princess up on her offer.
Shut up, Jed.
---
Not much happened here, I'll grant, but it was necessary.
-
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Yeah, but if Yuuno is arrested spuriously--and both he and the Queen know it--isn't it better that he be arrested by the Queen and not the Church? It's certainly not ideal, but just because he's been arrested doesn't mean he's going to be charged.
That said, if it was me, I'd still break out of jail with Ranma, get the Viahtaa, and skip planet.
That said, if it was me, I'd still break out of jail with Ranma, get the Viahtaa, and skip planet.
A little short, also not what I promised in my last post. Still, it needed to happen. Nothing much happens here, just a reporter working through some things and coming to some erroneous conclusions.
---
Casi Exelim hummed a bit as she sat at a table in a small inn and perused the information sheÆd finally gotten from the home office on a floating screen. Facial recognition software had pinpointed the mage who had captured Sammakko as one Yuuno Scrya, Captain in the intelligence division of the TSAB Navy.
Hmm. she thought as she scrolled down a bit further, HeÆs headed up the Infinite Library for the last five years. That was an eyebrow raiser, according to the information provided. Apparently Infinite Library had had the reputation of something of a dumping ground for intelligence officers before his arrival. Without what were apparently spells known only to the Scrya clan, the place was a career death trap, with new information coming in far faster than others could properly process. The fact that heÆd been doing it at age eleven meant that he was quite the prodigy in his field.
She shifted a bit in her chair and made a few notes of her own while gesturing to the waitress to refill her glass. For one, how exactly does the Infinite Librarian find himself hunting down one of the more notorious Dimensional Criminals around?
She considered for a moment that it was sheer coincidence, then dismissed the thought. There was nothing else that could bring a man like that out here. SheÆd interviewed a few people in the intelligence division before as preliminary work in her earlier days. They tended to be exceedingly sharp people, though perhaps not the strongest magically. TheyÆd never go on any type of assignment without learning everything they could about the places theyÆd be operating in.
Another note. Where is ScryaÆs support team? Also of good fact was that no Intelligence officer would be risked without a team in place. They simply knew too much about everything that passed by them. She imagined that the Admirals would go into fits at thought of letting Scrya run around free with every bit of information ever passing by his desk.
Of course, without knowing exactly how the Scrya spells worked, there was no telling how much or how little of the information he was required to personally lay eyes on. She tapped her finger lightly against the table top. Of course, there was always the possibility that Sammakko had killed them, and possibly even that heÆd eaten the evidence.
None of this, frankly, was adding up. She kept going through the file. Currently his status was æon hiatusÆ. Well, that certainly backs up the idea that the spells he uses are independent. No way theyÆd let him go that long otherwise.
But to go on hiatus and come out here? Something stinks. There was nothing here. While the blue plant life was somewhat interesting to a botanist maybe, his background showed him to be trained as an archeologist. There were some ruins out here, but there were far better sites for a man with his credentials, sheÆd learned from her own background research into the place, so that was out.
She closed her eyes and replayed the scene in her mind again. The Royal Guard Captain commenting on æearlier not being a flukeÆ. Yuuno flying. Sammakko crashing down with a simple gesture. Her eyes shot back open. Wait a minute! She scanned back up to her quarryÆs vital statistics. There it was. Next to YuunoÆs smiling face û she noted the change in hair color absently, but it didnÆt concern her (it was a simple procedure) û was what she was looking for. His mage rank was B-class.
B-class. There was no way. Flight required A-rank ability. And casual use of telekinetics? She supposed that it could be a specialty of his, it was certainly a custom spell, but that would still, by her estimation, require one to reach a significant plateau of power. Double, possibly triple A-class. It was possible that he just had never retested for his mage rank, but there was just no way no one would not notice this level of power coming from a desk jockey.
Casi frowned and leaned back in her chair. She paused long enough to order a meal while she considered things. The library was fairly isolated. It was possible that no one had simply noticed anything, with almost all requests going through the militaryÆs proprietary mage net. Of course, that would also make it more possible for him to slip away unnoticedà
On a hunch, she hit the link for his mission history. Surprisingly, his name came up in two cases prior to his being hired on as librarian. Both were classified, and it looked as if the paperwork for his position was pushed through pretty fast in the final days of the second. The rest of his history was at the library, though he took semi-frequent hiatuses.
Also of note from her contact in research was that his routes on these leaves of absence took him directly past, or into several hot zones.
She thought about this for a few minutes, her mind running in circles trying to connect the dots. She thanked the waitress as her food appeared, and picked at it, moving bits around the plate as if they represented the bits of data in her head.
First, she had a severely under-ranked mage. Secondly, his recruitment into the TSAB was under highly suspicious circumstances. Thirdly, his career had a strangely high number of leaves of absence. And fourth, heÆd shown up here, possibly for Sammakko, possibly for the ruins, and possibly for something else entirely.
After a bit of moving her food around her plate, the pieces started pulling themselves together. His past was blanked out, his career spotty, and his present furtive. Coupled with his absurdly high level of power, he had all the earmarks of being some kind of secret agent.
Of course, that pointed to his goal being in the æsomething else entirelyÆ category. One did not send powerful secret warriors off just to pound on criminals who disappeared a long time ago.
ThereÆs something going on here, she thought, a wolfish smile coming to her face. Something BIG.
Then she dug into her food with gusto. The thought of huge secrets waiting to be uncovered always made her eager.
---
More to come soon, hopefully. Still, this setup had to happen.
---
Casi Exelim hummed a bit as she sat at a table in a small inn and perused the information sheÆd finally gotten from the home office on a floating screen. Facial recognition software had pinpointed the mage who had captured Sammakko as one Yuuno Scrya, Captain in the intelligence division of the TSAB Navy.
Hmm. she thought as she scrolled down a bit further, HeÆs headed up the Infinite Library for the last five years. That was an eyebrow raiser, according to the information provided. Apparently Infinite Library had had the reputation of something of a dumping ground for intelligence officers before his arrival. Without what were apparently spells known only to the Scrya clan, the place was a career death trap, with new information coming in far faster than others could properly process. The fact that heÆd been doing it at age eleven meant that he was quite the prodigy in his field.
She shifted a bit in her chair and made a few notes of her own while gesturing to the waitress to refill her glass. For one, how exactly does the Infinite Librarian find himself hunting down one of the more notorious Dimensional Criminals around?
She considered for a moment that it was sheer coincidence, then dismissed the thought. There was nothing else that could bring a man like that out here. SheÆd interviewed a few people in the intelligence division before as preliminary work in her earlier days. They tended to be exceedingly sharp people, though perhaps not the strongest magically. TheyÆd never go on any type of assignment without learning everything they could about the places theyÆd be operating in.
Another note. Where is ScryaÆs support team? Also of good fact was that no Intelligence officer would be risked without a team in place. They simply knew too much about everything that passed by them. She imagined that the Admirals would go into fits at thought of letting Scrya run around free with every bit of information ever passing by his desk.
Of course, without knowing exactly how the Scrya spells worked, there was no telling how much or how little of the information he was required to personally lay eyes on. She tapped her finger lightly against the table top. Of course, there was always the possibility that Sammakko had killed them, and possibly even that heÆd eaten the evidence.
None of this, frankly, was adding up. She kept going through the file. Currently his status was æon hiatusÆ. Well, that certainly backs up the idea that the spells he uses are independent. No way theyÆd let him go that long otherwise.
But to go on hiatus and come out here? Something stinks. There was nothing here. While the blue plant life was somewhat interesting to a botanist maybe, his background showed him to be trained as an archeologist. There were some ruins out here, but there were far better sites for a man with his credentials, sheÆd learned from her own background research into the place, so that was out.
She closed her eyes and replayed the scene in her mind again. The Royal Guard Captain commenting on æearlier not being a flukeÆ. Yuuno flying. Sammakko crashing down with a simple gesture. Her eyes shot back open. Wait a minute! She scanned back up to her quarryÆs vital statistics. There it was. Next to YuunoÆs smiling face û she noted the change in hair color absently, but it didnÆt concern her (it was a simple procedure) û was what she was looking for. His mage rank was B-class.
B-class. There was no way. Flight required A-rank ability. And casual use of telekinetics? She supposed that it could be a specialty of his, it was certainly a custom spell, but that would still, by her estimation, require one to reach a significant plateau of power. Double, possibly triple A-class. It was possible that he just had never retested for his mage rank, but there was just no way no one would not notice this level of power coming from a desk jockey.
Casi frowned and leaned back in her chair. She paused long enough to order a meal while she considered things. The library was fairly isolated. It was possible that no one had simply noticed anything, with almost all requests going through the militaryÆs proprietary mage net. Of course, that would also make it more possible for him to slip away unnoticedà
On a hunch, she hit the link for his mission history. Surprisingly, his name came up in two cases prior to his being hired on as librarian. Both were classified, and it looked as if the paperwork for his position was pushed through pretty fast in the final days of the second. The rest of his history was at the library, though he took semi-frequent hiatuses.
Also of note from her contact in research was that his routes on these leaves of absence took him directly past, or into several hot zones.
She thought about this for a few minutes, her mind running in circles trying to connect the dots. She thanked the waitress as her food appeared, and picked at it, moving bits around the plate as if they represented the bits of data in her head.
First, she had a severely under-ranked mage. Secondly, his recruitment into the TSAB was under highly suspicious circumstances. Thirdly, his career had a strangely high number of leaves of absence. And fourth, heÆd shown up here, possibly for Sammakko, possibly for the ruins, and possibly for something else entirely.
After a bit of moving her food around her plate, the pieces started pulling themselves together. His past was blanked out, his career spotty, and his present furtive. Coupled with his absurdly high level of power, he had all the earmarks of being some kind of secret agent.
Of course, that pointed to his goal being in the æsomething else entirelyÆ category. One did not send powerful secret warriors off just to pound on criminals who disappeared a long time ago.
ThereÆs something going on here, she thought, a wolfish smile coming to her face. Something BIG.
Then she dug into her food with gusto. The thought of huge secrets waiting to be uncovered always made her eager.
---
More to come soon, hopefully. Still, this setup had to happen.
Ranma, right now, is resting and stuffing food in his face, recovering from his guesting with the Hellig. Not especially interesting, really, but even he needs some kind of break.
The only characters not in the palace at this point are Ranma, Casi, and Taide. Ranma and Casi aren't allowed to come across each other at all, according to Home canon, as nothing here was listed in his charges, and in order to establish Yuuno's reputation.
Taide and Ranma can't meet yet because Ranma would end up beating Taide silly, and Taide's got things I need him to do. Things he can't do if he's gotten the hell beat out of him and left in a random alley.
Ranma's trouble making needs people to interact with in most cases, and there just isn't anyone available for the moment. Unless I get some solid inspiration, it's going to be the Queen and the bishop next, segueing into another Yuuno bit. Ranma will be back 'tomorrow' in terms of the story, but he's basically taking the night off to recover.
And beyond all that, all of this exposition is a necessary evil. We're moving into the phase where we start piecing everything together in preparation for the end game. Ranma is here, but he doesn't have a hell of a lot to do with the explanations unfortunately, except for the very last pieces of the puzzle.
The only characters not in the palace at this point are Ranma, Casi, and Taide. Ranma and Casi aren't allowed to come across each other at all, according to Home canon, as nothing here was listed in his charges, and in order to establish Yuuno's reputation.
Taide and Ranma can't meet yet because Ranma would end up beating Taide silly, and Taide's got things I need him to do. Things he can't do if he's gotten the hell beat out of him and left in a random alley.
Ranma's trouble making needs people to interact with in most cases, and there just isn't anyone available for the moment. Unless I get some solid inspiration, it's going to be the Queen and the bishop next, segueing into another Yuuno bit. Ranma will be back 'tomorrow' in terms of the story, but he's basically taking the night off to recover.
And beyond all that, all of this exposition is a necessary evil. We're moving into the phase where we start piecing everything together in preparation for the end game. Ranma is here, but he doesn't have a hell of a lot to do with the explanations unfortunately, except for the very last pieces of the puzzle.