Cross Effects 3.0 - November 16, 2014—April 13, 2015

[Alice]

Rin

"He attacked her because she was a vampire," the blond said with a sigh, "He thought ending her existence would save others.  One life to save many, an even trade."

Rin raised an eyebrow, then stopped for a moment to think. Forest had seemed awful pale, paler than most...

She turned to face Shirou.  Her green eyes met his mismatched ones as she folded her arms around herself.  "I understand the motives, but that does not give you an excuse to attack her from behind.  At least be honorable enough to face her head on," she said with a sigh before her shoulder's slumped.  "I would have hoped you would have imparted at least that chivalrous notion from me."

Rin looked over at Saber with a bemused smile on her lips. Looks like someone hasn't changed much.

The magus's eyes wandered back to Shirou, a stern look on her face. "Well, vampire or not, be more careful who you're shooting next time. Stop to consider the situation. I understand that time's often of the essence, but don't just barge in there with no idea what's going on! Get a better idea of what's going on first!"

Rin was about to say more, but a voice belonging to a person she'd failed to notice cut through her thoughts and words.

“HEY! Don’t be mean to Shirou!”

Clinging onto Shirou's arm was a little girl, shooting an accusatory look at both Rin and Saber. There was something... creepy about this girl. Had she not had an outburst, she'd be reminiscent of Rin's first impression of Illya. Before she got to know her better. ...Before she sacrificed herself.

With a sigh, Rin crouched down so she was more on the girl's level. ...besides, her legs were cold anyway, it helped keep them warmer. "We're 'being mean' to him because he did something not very nice. Even adults need scolding sometimes. And if he learns from this, he won't need to be yelled at again. Sounds good, doesn't it?" Rin was aware her smile probably almost looked as forced as it really was, but she was good at putting up masks. Good chance it was still convincing anyway. Maybe. Hopefully.

[Kat]

The Hidden reacted to the unforeseen defense with the experience of a seasoned fighter. A dagger lashed out against the shaft of the spear with enough force to knock it out of Mordred's grasp and the other obscured hand dropped its dagger and curled into a fist before moving to strike the knight's seemingly armored chest with enough force to shatter concrete.

With the spear knocked out her hands, Mordred lost any advantage she gained from it. Forced out from the circle, the thorns dispersed as if declaring the victor of the contest. But this was not the end of trouble for the knight. She certainly did not run out of Glamour, but her Mask failed. Everyone present could see her true form, even any mundane bystander. This must have been the weapon's curse manifesting.

She tried to stand up, surprisingly still conscious after suffering from the hit that should have broken at least few ribs ."A duel, my arse. If I were a human I could have died from my innards crushed..." she glared at both the Hidden and David with intense animosity. The aura of heat flared around her. The spear started rolling towards her. ''Persistent, heh? Both a friend and troublemaker you are, Gwayffon'' Mordred reached out for the prized weapon of hers. *No way we will abandon one another. Even if Rhydderch is not even here."

[Panda]

"I...What?" Elyssa sputtered.

It made the most sense - there were things here that she didn't even know existed -, yet it sounded like something from a poorly written movie. It was the kind of thing that only answers the Where, leaving out the when, why, and how.

However, this Adjutor couldn't be lying. Who would lie about something like this, while being threatened with death, to escape? That would be a lie that four year old child would call bullshit on.

Elyssa lowered her casting arm and removed her foot from the man's stomach. Warily stepping away, she asked the foremost question on her mind: "How do I return to my world, then?"

...Oh, this is going to suck.

Where's Darius when you need him?

Well...What's left of him anyway...

"I...Well...I honestly don't know. I mean, if you could secure some way of traversing between different dimensions, then I suppose you could manage it, but...Well, I had something that might have managed it, but I've kinda lost it, as in, I don't even remember losing it, it was just...not there anymore."

With that, Adjutor finishes with the rune on the robot's chest and breathes a bit easier, though whether from the lack of a magical conduit pointed at his head or from the lack of a foot on his stomach, it's difficult to tell.

"Mind if I get up now?" he asks, staying where he is in case.

[Kaze]

EMIYA SHIROU

Shirou sighed in frustration as Saber gave him a look of mixed exasperation and disappointment and Rin continued to berate him. Recovering himself, he recalled Forest’s description of the Nexus, and that it took people straight out of space-time and planted them here, trapped. It seemed to be what had happened with Saber, but why was Rin a teenager? Something wasn’t adding up.

The archer looked down at the little girl clinging to him while telling Saber and Rin to be nice. Before he could think of the right words to say, the Japanese magus was already crouching at Mia’s eye level, calmly reasoning with the girl with a smile on her face. Shirou didn’t know what to make of it, caught between joy at having back a friend he thought forever lost and confusion at… well, everything else. Hopefully he would be able to get some answers soon, once Mia had been seen to.

Shirou steeled himself, refusing to be distracted from the task at hand. His usual cool, businesslike expression back in place, the freelancer turned to the young woman who was once a King.

“Saber, Tohsaka, this is Mia,” he said in English, patting said girl on the head before absently brushing some snowflakes out of her silvery white hair. “She cannot find her parents. Can you help?”

Shirou didn’t have much hope in the chances of Mia’s parents actually being found, but he was certain the police were better suited for such a task than he was. Hopefully Saber could point him to the people who could help.


ANATU

A solitary girl with long blond hair sat in front of a small fire, a river to her right and back to a small stable she had constructed herself. She gave the fire a prod, taking the utmost care to keep it burning while preventing the flames from spreading. Fortunately the night was cold and a layer of frost and snow covered the nearby ground, making it harder for any stray sparks to set the grass alight.

Anatu suppressed a yawn and scanned the horizon, her eyes adjusting from the bright light of the fire to near pitch-black of night in the wilderness with supernatural speed. Her father would have scolded her for giving into her weakness and lighting a fire to keep warm when she was supposed to be on watch, but she was cold damn it, and she hadn’t been wearing her winter garments when she got transported to wherever this strange land was.

The girl turned her gaze to the lights of the nearby city. It was a strange, filthy and bloated place that held uncountable subjects but lacked the awe-inspiring majesty of her home. Her nose wrinkled at the thought of the Nexus’ foul smell, a pollution that permeated throughout every nook and cranny of the city. She had no love for the place and its unnatural lack of wildlife.

Anatu sighed and turned back to the fire, trying to imagine the words her father would scold her with.

[Umbra of Chaos]

David

The redhead simply gave a polite smile at the animosity directed at him by Mordred. "No need to be so rude. All I gave you was what you desired. And considering you are wearing armor that no one else can perceive you were upholding the idea of a fair duel even less than I was."

The Hidden skulked back to David without a wasted movement and silently stood by the superior illusion's side.


Infected

Within the dark forest dozens of shapes moved. Some where vaguely humanoid while others weren't. Hulking beasts with pink flesh accompanied these smaller beings as they searched the forest for any creature foolish enough to wander out in the night.

Spoiler for Hiden:

As they continued to wander the group slowly began to separate and spread out in search for prey and one of the larger creatures wandered around by itself within the twilight woods. It was far from quiet in its searching. Simply going through bushes and foliage that stood in its way and its clawed hands thumping against the ground with every movement. Attracted by the light and smoke drifting in the air the Hunter slowly approached an area until it saw a girl sitting in front of a fire, but it's attention was quickly diverted to the stable behind her.

There it saw three animals. A person would have identified them as two horses and a pony, but the Hunter paid no need to what they were. It stood up on it's two hind legs and gave a terrifying roar that could wake the drowsiest man before charging forwards, its arms swiping out at anything that stood between it and the creatures in the stable.

[Kat]

Mordred

The redhead simply gave a polite smile at the animosity directed at him by Mordred. "No need to be so rude. All I gave you was what you desired. And considering you are wearing armor that no one else can perceive you were upholding the idea of a fair duel even less than I was."

The Hidden skulked back to David without a wasted movement and silently stood by the superior illusion's side.

The redheaded man's voice reached Mordred's ears. "Don't talk about things you have no bloody clue about. I didn't ask to be made that way. I don't remember my real name, I don't remember my own relatives, all that was dear to me was taken from me by a cruel whim. So shut up. Just shut up..." she said with bitter voice, as if pleading to not remind her of things she did not want to discuss with total strangers. Everything she wore turned into that armor of hers, and that was part of her existence. A reminder of her Durance.

[YOLF]

Tar

"Detective Henry Barthow," he offered in return to the infamous vampire.

Then, Henry briskly jotted down notes on the little black book he reserved for investigations, recording the most important important details pointed out by the newly arrived Law Unto Herself. It wasn't that he needed it, but it was a detective thing to do. Averting his eyes, he briefly wondered why every person who came into this crime scene looked more disheveled or out of place than the next.

"Sewers. Bloody great." He grunted out. Why did it have to be sewers?

Pushing back the memories of cult sewer facilities and infrastructure, the Unchained turned his gruff face to the other man who had entered the scene clad in barely more than a blanket.

"And who are you supposed to be, kid?" He asked, pointing his pen at him.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lorenzo Remei

Lorenzo Remei, sitting on a crowded table occupied by worn out men , was himself down his twelfth bowl of chicken porridge. All the attention of the bunch was now focused on the strange man, he would grace them with the tale of one of his "exploits".

"...So as I heard the gunshot, I knew something was off. And I quickly noticed that the whole ship was on fire! Yes, for this was a trap caused by none other than Corporal Hamperfold!

Suddenly ten, no, fifty men came from all sides of the cabin, each armed with guns to blow me to smithereens and blades to skewer me. It was a trap!

But before they had a chance to fire, using my secret sword techniques and incredible skills, I managed to incapacitate all 100 ruffians in the blink of an eye, all with nothing more than a rusty..."

But before he could finish, the man was interrupted by the innkeeper.
"Rude, I was just about to get to the good part," Lorenzo thought, surely the fellow had a good reason to interrupt him in such a manner.


"Excuse me sir, but it seems you have not paid for your meal." The innkeeper stated in a nonchalant tone.

"Yes my fine gentleman, what about it?" Lorenzo answered sharply, his voice brimming with energy, but the answer was met with a deathly glare.

"Oh, I see... well, I should have money here...um...yes, I am sure I have it somewhere..." Remei searched desperately in his pocket for it, but all he could feel was the hollow touch of soft fabric.

"I see...You scoundrel was attempting to dine and dash, you probably do not have any cash with you to begin with." The innkeeper spoke, the nonchalant tone now replaced with one of slight annoyance.
Lorenzo now gulped, his hand slightly shaking in response to the murderous glare directed at him.

"Well, um..." Sweat now dripped from his brow, in a breath's notice, he took his chance and darted towards the exit.

"Stop right there criminal scum!", the innkeeper yelled as others tried to get in Lorenzo's way to apprehend him. But a normal man surely wouldn't be enough to catch him, for he was the legendary rider of the seven seas Lorenzo Remei. Swiftly slipping trough men and tables alike akin a phantom, he quickly ran towards the exit door.

Reaching for it, he tried to knock the door down as hard as he could, but it was no use, it seemed it was somehow blocked. Struggling with all his might to open the door, he clicked his tongue in frustration.

"Ayyyyy darn it!" He now yelled, this situation was not favourable at all. Quickly turning around, he saw in horror the innkeeper now held a shotgun, aiming for the running target. "...curses."
 He gasped, but all commotion stopped  as the tenant of the tavern roared fiercely, "Stop this instant or I'll shoot, vile thief!", surely it was no bluff, Lorenzo could tell that much.

But Lorenzo wouldn't have gone that far if that was all it took to stop him now would he?

"Fine, fine, I surrender, there is no point in this madness..." he sighed, his hands up in the air as the innkeeper approached, the rusty muzzle of the gun looking straight at Remei as if to pierce his body.
"...Um, I should probably drop my weapon." For a fraction of a second, Lorenzo lowered his stance before unsheathing his rapier, and in a flash, thrust it into the ground.
"What are you playing at, thief?" Asked the man holding the weapon before cocking it.

Yes, if he wanted to escape, the only option was to use "that", it would be risky without an incantation, but he could make it if he played his cards right.

Thus he answered:"Absolutely nothing, I do not mean any harm to you or your establishment. That you can believe."

"Then keep your mouth shut and stop resisting. You're only making this worse for yourself!" the innkeeper snarled.

Damn, this guy is a complete madman, who the hell would go this far for a bit of money? Not that Lorenzo was one to talk...
"Yes, I agree, however is it wise to point a gun at someone like that mate? You could get hurt." Remei stated in a cheerful tone, grinning widely before gripping the blade's handle, he clicked his tongue.

And before anyone knew it, the floor rumbled, shaking as if it was meant to shatter from the inside. In such a commotion, the tenant and witnesses all stumbled, losing their balance. Smoke and fire erupting from the very ground and engulfing the surroundings in flames, pyre growing and dancing around Lorenzo without harming a single soul.
The armed man, struggling to keep control, fired the gun instinctively, but as the trigger was pulled, the weapon burst violently into flames.

All those who witnessed the scene looked up in astonishment...
"Ay ay, never guessed it would've worked." Lorenzo chuckled. "Thanks for the meal and company fellas!" He added humorously before the flames extinguished, leaving nothing but smoke. And covered in burning ash was something enormous, some sort of mass composed of smoke and fire stood, rising before the stupefied audience and soared trough the roof and into the skies with all it's might. Remei gripped to it as tightly as he could, doing his best to contain his laughter.

"Damn, thank god he actually fired the gun, bought me some time there... but damn, without the incantation, this won't last lon-" But before he could finish his thought, he felt a shiver running down his spine, a stabbing pain throbbing in his left tight as he felt something wet dripping.

"This is what I get for being cocky huh?"

However, Lorenzo had no time to worry about such meaningless things, he was losing control, thus he had to focus completely, for his concentration was to falter, he would surely fall to his death.

In a quick glance, he noticed a mansion in the distance, just far enough to be reached. If he was careful, he could land to safety on the rooftop, if he managed to hang on just a bit more...If he managed to keep it's form and flight just a bit longer...

Slowly but steadily, he kept balance, trying desperately to attain the mansion. The mass slowly decomposing as the smoke dissipated, Lorenzo began to panic. Not unlike a comet, it was falling, Lorenzo held for dear life onto what remained of what could only be described as an avalanche of ash and smoke, burning as it crumbled and slowly vanished.

Remei knew he wasn't going to make it.
At this rate he would die, his bones would most certainly break once he touched the ground, the fatal impact would end his life... He had to think of something, anything... But there was nothing to think about, there was only one way to survive. Yes, aligning himself with his targeted destination, he came flying down at full speed as a hawk.

Before what little of the massive mass of pyre was left disappeared, he leapt with all his might. A powerful thunderous cry escaped his throat as he prepared for the rough landing. It was all calculated to the most utmost precision, there was no room for error. Lorenzo's only chance was this insane leap of faith, but would it work?

Feeling the falling snow battering his body, he could feel the wind tearing his skin as his falling body accelerated.
Yet his goal was getting closer and closer...

"Five seconds..." He closed his eyes.

"Four seconds..."He gasped for air.

"Three seconds..." His feet and body curled up, stiffening as Lorenzo's muscles tensed.

"Two seconds..." His fists clenched shut, rapier still in hand held tightly. As primal fear overtook his body, Lorenzo's heart stopped as his body suddenly flipped backwards, exposing his feet.

"One second..." Feeling something touch his feet, he yelled before striking with his whole body.


A rushing sensation overtaking Lorenzo Remei, all he could hear was a violent crashing sound, his limbs were torn by glass and wood and before he knew it he violently hit the edge of an enormous bed. Bloodcurdling pain overtook him as he let out an agonized moan, his face twisting as he tried to bear it, he coughed violently before

Not unlike a drowning man regaining the surface, he gasped for air as he opened his eyes. He was now in a ragged state, his body deeply wounded and bleeding profusely as a sharp chill ran down his spine. His left leg and arm felt completely numb, his right eye...

But he did not care, all that mattered was that he survived once again the impossible, the thought of it alone was enough to put him in a fit of laughter.
 

[Umbra of Chaos]

David

"Don't talk about things you have no bloody clue about. I didn't ask to be made that way. I don't remember my real name, I don't remember my own relatives, all that was dear to me was taken from me by a cruel whim. So shut up. Just shut up..."

The redhead gave a light sigh and began to lean a bit more on his staff. "Well, the duel itself was entertaining enough. If you ever need an ally I'll be willing to help as repayment for the little fight."

Then his gaze shifted over to the soldier and David said, "I feel like tagging along with you. There are interesting things that could be found when running around this city looking for dimensional anomalies. And as you've seen I do have my own uses."

[Elf]

Forest

The blond nodded at Law's assessment and gritted her teeth at the child's body.  She gestured to Law and said, "This is Lawrence, he can read the dead."

She looked at Henry.  There was something . . . off about him.  There was a melodic static in his mind that she couldn't get past.  His mind was utterly alien to her, but he didn't put her in Flight or Fight mode like Mia did. 

"I can start looking for this thing before some other family dies," she said, her eyes dark and unreadable.  She said, "Detective Barthow, Saber has my contact information and I have hers.  If I find anything, I'll let you know, but you might want to have people start scouring the sewers."

Without anything else, she started to head back out of the scene.  She saw Saber there and felt a spark of ice shoot through her chest.  Or rather, she saw how Shirou was looking at her and how . . . content the former king looked.  The vampire clinched her fists and headed to the camaro without a word.


Saber

Saber nodded and said, "We can assist the girl."  She smiled at Mia and said, "Are you hungry?  I am famished.  Would you like to get something to eat with us?  Maybe even get a bath and a fresh change of clothes."

Saber was about to turn to head back to the scene to ask Forest to come with her.  Even though the two of them had gotten off on the wrong foot, Saber knew that Shirou and Forest could over come their differences.  Not to mention she should get Lancelot to come as well.  He needed to get out of the apartment more, and she wanted her knight to meet Rin and Shirou.

She saw Forest stride out of the building and head directly for her car.  The vampire's expression was unreadable as she got into her car and drove away.

[Knick]

Mia

Mia glared at the girl with black hair before sticking her tongue out at her. The girl was wrong, after all Shirou is a nice man, and nice men don’t do bad things. And so the girl had to be wrong.

Such a childish way of thinking certainly fit Mia. 

And then Shirou started to speak again. “Saber, Tohsaka, this is Mia,” he said, switching the way he spoke yet again, making Mia glance at him with a curious gaze. He continued as he brushed some of the collecting snowflakes off her head. “She cannot find her parents. Can you help?”

Mia held onto Shirou even tighter. She had Shirou so she was fine, why didn’t Shirou feel the same way? Was Shirou trying to get away from her? Did Shirou not want to spend time with her?

No, that couldn’t be it. Shirou was nice after all. Nice like a papa was. There was no way he would leave her. However before she could speak out on that thought Saber spoke to her, "Are you hungry?  I am famished.  Would you like to get something to eat with us?  Maybe even get a bath and a fresh change of clothes."

Mia looked at her with brief confusion for a moment before her stomach growled, loud enough so the other three could hear it. She quickly hid behind Shirou in embarrassment.

That embarrassment was cut short when she saw Forest walk out of the building. Instead happiness replaced it, hoping to spend time with both Shirou and Forest. This hope however was immedietly struck down however as Forest simply walked to her car, getting in, and drove off.

Mia simply stood there, looking in the direction Forest left. Her eyes wide in shock and disbelief as moisture lightly gathered in them.

“Forest…?” She whispered, so very confused.

[Ivan The Mouse]

Lorenzo Remei

[...]

Rattus/Yukina

The sound of something crashing and moaning in pain disturbed the peace of the Manor during that day.

Rattus was at the living room during that time when it happened, so was Yukina. They were playing their seventieth round of Blackjack when it happened. The keen reflexes of the businessman overtook him and he hurriedly grabbed the nearest weapon he could find before he ran upstairs to where the sound originated.

She, on the other hand, fumblingly pulled out and unsheathed her kaiken dagger as she clumsily followed the man of the house to his own room.

He knew by the sound alone that the thing that went crashing into the room wasn't a thief trying to break-in, but rather either somebody who, for some reason, dove headfirst into it at a high speed or a monster who flew in violently and moaned out of aggression.

Rattus hastily opened the door to his room and found the former. Apparently, this young man, who is dressed and armed like an eighteenth century seafarer, unceremoniously crashed into the window and hit the edge of the bed. As a result, the window was now totally wrecked beyond repair and so was the young man, who received multiple open wounds all over his body and probably blunt force trauma in some of his appendages. Rattus left the wrought iron grills of his window open during that time, due to the climate being kind enough to warrant letting the sunshine into the manor.

If it so happened that it was raining during that time, the young man would have hit the iron grills and might have died to massive head trauma. But he was lucky.

As the two of them approached the young wounded man lying in front of Rattus' bed, the German commanded his companion. "Young adult man, somewhere in his early twenties, massively incapacitated, conscious. Yukina, get the medicinal kit. Now." Rattus' droning, lifeless and monotonic speech contrasted his appearance, in which he wore a yellow chicken hat, aside from his usual formal attire, which mainly consisted of a black waistcoat and a tie. The weapon he slung around him was an iron pike, which he grabbed from the decorative Medieval Germanic suit of armor he had on display at the living room.

Rattus squatted down beside the wounded man to observe him carefully as Yukina came back with a medicine bag. She was wearing her usual green yukata and a cutesy green penguin cap, which accentuated Rattus' yellow chicken hat. She then put down the bag beside the wounded body and sat beside him in a seiza position.

"How unfortunate for you to land like this in the vicinity, isn't it?" Rattus said, partly mumbling to himself and partly to ask the wounded man.

"Please hold on there, stranger." Yukina said to him worriedly, but with some cheerfulness. "You will soon be alright." She then pulled out a flask of green liquid from the medicinal bag, uncorked it and made the wounded man drink its contents. "Please, take a drink. This would make you better."

[Kaze]

ANATU

The ancient Babylonian could feelsomething wrong in the air, a sudden sensation that got her heart racing and sent lightning down her spine. She stood up and looked away from the fire, trying to recover her night vision when she heard it.

The thump of large paws hitting the ground and rustling of leaves and branches came from the foliage nearby, and Anatu tensed in terrified anticipation. Her experience hunting the wild animals of her homeland with her father was limited, but she could tell that these footfalls did not belong to any animal she recognized. If she weren’t so scared she would have chided herself for having failed to detect the thing before it got so close.

With a roar, a monstrous yet humanoid beast charged into the open at lightning speed. Before she even realized what she was doing, Anatu had grabbed the nearest log out of the fire to use as a weapon. It was hot in her hands, almost hot enough to burn, and the far end still burned in small orange and yellow flames. With a start, she realized that the monster was not gunning for her, but rather her livestock.

Trying to ignore her terror, the blond young woman charged at the disgusting animal, instinctively timing it so that she would reach it right when its side was exposed to her. With a grunt she swung her log at the beast, burning wood impacting thick flesh with a dull thump before jumping back on reflex.


SAMUEL IBARRA

Ibarra observed the conclusion of the duel, his expression impassive. Although mildly surprised by the supernatural abilities the tall blond woman had displayed, he had already suspected her capable of magic in some way. He had yet to gain the information he wanted from her, but considering how distraught her behavior was, now was not a good time to press for answers.

“I’m sorry you’ve had a bad day Mordred,” the soldier said, looking up slightly at the woman in heavy red and white armor. “Let’s meet again under better circumstances.”

The young man who held the shadowy familiar at his beck and call expressed his desire to hang out and assist with gathering information, and Ibarra turned to face him.

“Yeah, your pals sure got some skills. I’m on duty right now, but as long as you’re helping out you can stick around. Mind telling me your name, by the way?”

[Umbra of Chaos]

Infected

The burning log stuck the Hunter's side with considerable force for a human but the beast was not harmed in the slightest. However the attack did make it shift its target to the young human. So it returned to its position on all fours and lunged at her, but that was far from her only concern. The loud sound of foliage being crush could be heard throughout the area a group of Hunters and lesser Infected began to close in on the area, attracted by the loud roar.


David

The redhead walked towards Ibarra and as he did The Hidden was quickly replaced with The Joyous and The Scholarly. Then he held out his hand for the soldier to shake. "I'm David, and these to are The Scholarly and The Joyous. Any place we're going specifically right now?"

[Elf]

The Fanged Foursome

"Yes, I get it.  We're evil," Buffy said, rolling her eyes.  "We're corpses that have demons who set up shop who have our memories and personalities because our souls are wherever the hell they are.  And we eat people.  Angel gets off on torturing nuns."

Angelus smirked and said, "I like the noises they make."

Buffy grinned at that and asked, "Do you like the noises I make?"

"Yeah.  I do find it hilarious that you make the same noise when you find a pair of shoes you like in your size that you do when you come," the dark haired vampire replied as the petite blond walked over to him.  Buffy stood on tip toe and they exchanged a brief kiss, a fast pressing of lips before she moved back towards the guy with the spear.

Drusilla was making a humming noise as she smiled, her hands dancing with anticipation.  Spike pulled out a cigarette, took a long drag and said, "I hate the self-righteous bull shit.  'I'm so better because I got snockered on communion wine and think I'm chosen by Christ to hunt vampires.'  Bloody hell.  I'm going to enjoy ramming that spear straight up your sodding ass."

Drusilla pointed at Deborah and said, "She's not one of us dearie.  She believes she's God's Monster, culling the humans.  Swish Swish.  Like cattle."



Forest

I am not going to cry.  I'm not going to cry.  I have to find the thing that killed that family and pummel it until it can't hurt another family, the blond vampire thought to herself as she drove.  Forest's fingers gripped the wheel.  She had changed her playlist from her normal metal to something that fit her melancholy state. 

Her previous student, the dhampire Quinn Frost had introduced her to the band she was currently listening to and she had been mesmerized by the vocals, however listening to their songs for too long had always blackened her mood.  Her mood was already black though, so it was fitting versus Priest's chorus of angry rebellion or her beloved Maiden's love of World War II and geeking out about the occult, or the Dungeons and Dragon tone of Dio.

She had been in the Nexus for over a year.  A year cut off from her godson, surrogate family, friends and . . . Hawk Hunters.  A decade ago she would have snorted at the thought of missing Hawk, but events had forced her to spend time with him.  She got to see who he really was and how he actually felt.

He treated her like a person, and not a possession to gain like so many others did. 

And yes, he's bloody good looking.

After failed relationships, the things the Roman Bastard did to her, and ready to give up any chance of real love, it turned out that Mr. Right was actually a cheeky bloke with hair the color of a startled carrot and right under her nose.

Before they could make anything of it, and the many centuries' worth of pretty intense sexual tension they'd built up, she'd been transplanted here.  Cut off from friends, family, and that cheeky bloke.  At first she had tried to make the best of it and searched for a way home.

Except she found out quickly that there was no way home. 

Finding Saber had saved her.  She'd been too preoccupied with proving to the former king that she wasn't some horrible monster and getting her to the police to help them.  Then Lancelot had showed up with his constant stream of Murder Death Kill thoughts towards Forest that she could hear with the fury of a Van Halen guitar solo.  So she started seeing Saber less and less to keep the girl's knight from going completely around the bend.

She hoped that maybe someone she was close to would show up in the Nexus, like King Arthur's bloody court that showed up.  Gabriel or Hawk would be ideal, but Ash, Wynn, Joshua Hunters, or even William Irons would have been more than welcome.  However the only people she had encountered from her home world were old enemies or knew her by reputation only.

Part of her was looking for that last glorious fight.  A battle she had no chance of winning where she could exit in a beautiful blaze of glory.  Part of her just wanted to curl up into a ball on her couch and marathon through the entire Bruce Campbell catalog.  Another part of her was tempted to drive to the redlight district and find some pretty redheaded boy whore and pay him an absurd amount to tell her that he loved her while going down on her or something.

She parked the camaro, not caring one whit about her lack of attire, made sure she had a few back up magazines and went out to greet the night in Nexus.