Good and Evil

Chapter 5: Rufus the Lion, and, you Guessed it, More Creature Training

Ryoga: Can I say the disclaimer this time?

Jen: I don't see why not.

Miroku: Neither do I. Since this is Lady Jen's fic, it would be unwise for us to tell

her how to do the disclaimer.

Jen: Thanks, Miroku! ^_^

Miroku: You're welcome. Lord Ryoga, would you do the honor for the disclaimer.

Ryoga: *looking adorably confused* "Lord"? *Ahem* Jen doesn't own Black &

White. The people at Lionhead do. She's said that if she did own Black & White,

then Black & White 2 would already be in stores. So, don't sue, unless you want

to feel intense pain from her Punishment Gunblade.

Miroku: "Gunblade"? What's that?

Jen: *unsheathing Punishment, the light glinting ominously from the twin blades*

This is a Gunblade. It's a combination of sorts of a gun with a sword. This is the

"Punishment" variant.

Miroku: *looking at the weapon apprehensively* Ah, I see.

********************************** is the beginning/end of the story and/or scene changes

~...........................................~ Are thoughts/ telepathic communication...I'll let

y'all know which is which. ^_^;;

*********************************************************************

They arrived at the valley, surprised to see a huge Lion Creature standing there,

looking somewhat sad.

"We're dead! We're all dead!", Evil shouted in panic.

"What are you blathering on about? He looks friendly.", Good said calmly.

"Doesn't matter! We're all dead, even us spirits!", Evil continued panicking, then

looked at Rekka. "You, too, boss!"

"I'm what?", Rekka asked in confusion.

"He thinks that that Lion Creature is going to kill us all...the villagers, us, you,

Senka...I mean, really! He looks more sad than evil."

Just then, a deep voice rumbled through their minds.

~I see you have a Creature. Please. Bring him to me.~, the voice said.

"He's talking to us.", Good said in awe.

"Yeah. Well, Senka, you heard him. Walk over there to meet him.", Rekka said in agreement.

Senka growled in the affirmative, and strolled on over to the huge Lion, and set

Rekka down. She looked up, noting just how huge and imposing Creatures look

to villagers.

~To a mortal, even Senka looks imposing, and he's still a child.~, she thought as

she reverted to her true form and flew over to the Lion to get a closer look at him.

~May I ask what your name is? I can't just call you "Lion"~, she asked the huge

Creature telepathically.

~It's been such a long time since anyone's wanted to know my name. I've been

so lonely all these years with no other Creatures to interact with. I'll tell you my

name. It's Rufus. What's your Tiger's name?~, Rufus replied.

~His name's Senka. What do you need from us?~

~I want to train the both of you in the ways of gods and Creatures~

~Oh. Okay. I suppose that it would be wise to learn just what the hell I'm

supposed to be doing besides trying to get Senka to stop crapping in the middle

of the village and trying to stop him from throwing the livestock.~, Rekka replied

with a mental nod.

~Okay. Follow me when you're ready to begin your training.~, the huge Lion

commented with a nod and walked off. Rekka looked down and noticed Senka

running after Rufus and flew after him.

When they reached the Aztec village, Rufus pointed it out to them.

~ Gods get their power from belief. I will teach you how to impress villagers so

that they believe in you. Look at their Village Store. They're out of food.~, Rufus

explained.

~I see. So, to impress them the most, I put food in their Village Store? Where will

the food come from? I don't want to take food from my village and deprive my

villagers of food.~, Rekka said, as she floated over the Aztecs' Village Store.

She noticed a few of the villagers pointing up at her, looking amazed.

~That's where one-shot miracles come in.~, Rufus patiently explained, then

held up a green ball with a cornucopia floating in it. ~This is a one-shot miracle

for food. To cast the miracle, you break open the ball and the miracle's power

flows into your hand. Then, you simply cast it. If Senka's on the Leash of

Learning when you cast it, he'll begin to learn how to cast the miracle.~

~So, I can teach Senka to cast miracles? That'll be handy. I have a feeling

that I won't always be around the village to help the villagers. So, if Senka's

able to cast miracles, it'll make things much easier.~

~Precisely.~, Rufus commented with a mental grin. ~Okay. Let's see you cast the

miracle.~

~Okay.~, Rekka said as she reached down into the small canyon where the

one-shot food miracle lay and broke through the covering and grabbed the

miracle contained within. She felt the power coursing through her hand. Attaching

the Leash of Learning to Senka, she flew over to the Aztecs' Village Store and,

muttering a few words, cast the miracle. The Aztecs looked up and cheered

as food seemed to drop out of the sky and into their Village Store.

Meanwhile, Senka had wandered into the village and was picking up villagers

and looking at them curiously. After eyeing them for a second or two, he'd gently

pat them on the head, then gently set them down. He had remembered some of

the harsh lessons that his goddess had taught him about respecting the lives

of villagers, though she obviously didn't know everything quite yet. That was to be expected,

since she had just arrived on Eden.

~Very good. I'm going to go rest now. I'll contact you when I'm ready to continue

your training. For now, your assignment is to impress and convert this village.~,

Rufus said as he wandered off.

~Feh. "Homework"? I get homework?~, Rekka grumbled to herself, mentally as

she transformed into her human form, unsheathing her sword.

"Okay, Senka. I have an idea. You get the one-shot miracles when I tell you to,

one at a time, and I'll break them open and see if I can channel the power through

my sword. I don't intend to remain in my true form all the time.", she said to the

Tiger.

~Affirmative, mistress.~, Senka's voice rumbled through her head.

Nodding in approval, Rekka readied her sword.

"Okay, Senka. Bring over the first one-shot miracle. I'm keeping you attached to

the leash so you can learn the miracle, too."

Growling in an affirmative, Senka jogged over to the small canyon and picked up

the closest one-shot food miracle and brought it over to the goddess.

"Okay, watch this!", she exclaimed as she raised the sword, then brought it down

on the miracle, easily breaking through the covering. She closed her eyes in

concentration as the sword's blade approached the miracle.

When she opened her eyes, the blade was glowing with energy and the one-shot

miracle's covering had vanished.

"I did it! The miracle's power is in my blade!", she exclaimed happily, then ran

toward the Aztecs' village store.

"Miracle Food!", she shouted as she swung the sword toward the Village Store,

releasing the miracle, grain falling into the huge food compartment.

Rekka and Senka repeated the process until, in a flash of fireworks, the people in

the village ran over to Rekka and started worshipping her.

"Umm...", she started, but Good floated in front of her face.

"That means that you've converted that village, which is a good thing.", he said at

her confused look.

"So, all I have to do to convert a village into believing in me, I have to give them what

they need most?"

"Precisely. It also wouldn't hurt to heal the sick or cast a few miracles just for show.

When you get these miracles, you might want to teach them to Senka so that he

can cast them if you're not around.", Good replied. "You can also take Senka

into a village that doesn't believe in any god and they'll be impressed by him."

"But there are no other villages on this island. When will we get to go to other

islands so I can be a real deity?", Rekka asked impatiently.

"I imagine that it'll be after Rufus finishes training you and Senka. We can't have you

going to other lands not knowing what to do, now can we?"

"I suppose not.", Rekka said, pouting a bit, beginning to act her age a bit, as a very

young goddess.

Good chuckled. "You're still quite young. You'll learn in time. When we go to other

lands, you'll have to deal with gods much older than you are. Gods that have been

around for centuries...some good...some evil. Since you have your followers' needs

at heart, you'll be a fairly good goddess, even though you're prone to throw

tantrums from time to time."

"Tantrums? Also, I already figured that we'd have to deal with other gods.", Rekka asked

in irritation.

"Yes. Tantrums. Throwing things around the village when things don't quite go your

way, or smashing a tree in frustration when you tried to cast the one-shot water

miracle from the dispenser that you got when you helped those sailors with their

boat and food, but couldn't figure it out until Rufus taught you how the one-shot

miracles work.", Good explained patiently as Rekka and Senka headed back to

the Temple. "You may not realize it but you've been naturally following the path

of good. You helped that woman with her brother in return for the gate stone when

it would've been easy for you to simply smash her house and take the stone, and

leave her brother to die. You helped those sailors with their boat, and provided

them with food, when it would've been easy to just kill them. Plus, you have your

followers' best interests at heart. You're a naturally good deity. At your best, truly

good, at your worst, neutral. When you gain power, all lands under your rule will

remain sunny and beautiful."

"What happens to the lands ruled by evil gods?", Rekka asked in curiosity.

"They become bleak, barren, and frightening. The people living on those lands

live in fear from the perpetual darkness and frequent lightning storms. If you take

over villages in those lands, the land will become sunny with lush vegetation, and the

people will stop being constantly fearful. Those villages should be the easiest to win

over, since you'd be showing the people that there's a better life out there for them if

they throw their lot in with you."

"I like the sound of that.", Rekka commented as they approached the Temple.

Senka immediately headed for his pen to take a nap.

"I thought you might.", Good said, then disappeared as Rekka sat on the grass

outside Senka's pen, leaning back against the wall, looking over the village.

"My people...I will always watch over you.", she vowed to herself, as her eyes closed

and she dozed off.

To be continued...

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A/N: I can't remember Rufus' exact lines because it's been so long since

I've played Land One(I'm on Land 3 again, and I've thought up some great scenes

for when Rekka & Co. get there), so, I'm kinda ad-libbing his lines. Since Rekka's

still very young, as deities go, at this point in the story, I decided to have her act like

a kid from time to time. Also, I finally reveal the reason for giving her a sword when

there's no war in the B&W universe(yet...wait until B&W2 is released...Rekka will

act very much like the Warrior Goddess that she claims to be, except that it will

if in the defense of her followers). There was a reason for it...and it's not because I

think swords are cool. ^_^;;

Anyway, comments and constructive criticism welcome, flamers will be fed to Senka

as a snack and the flames thrown at an enemy village.

Until next chapter...ja ne!