Cross Effects- The RP

[OPOI]

As he stepped back, Shirou felt a spike of pain smash into his gut, his knees buckling as if unable to withstand a great force pressing down on him. He coughed again, throat spasming painfully, blood speckling the floor, indistinguishable from the other puddles of blood spreading across the floor.

Looking up wearily, he noticed that the creature had finally stopped screaming, its head dropping weakly onto its shoulders as it fell unconscious. Grimacing, he looked away: now that the creature had finally stopped thrashing around, he could no longer picture it as anything other than a man.

He caught movement from the corner of his eye. The cat-like creature! Now that the assailant had been subdued, it may have decided to turn on him. He shifted slightly, right hand gripped around the hilt of a knife strapped onto his belt, silver eyes staring down purple.

The creature approached slowly, careful not to startle him. Suddenly, Shirou felt a male voice sound in his head:

I am certain that you are rather wary of my approach. Tom said. There was no gentleness in his voice, just a frank firmness. Shirou, is it? Do not be alarmed, I am merely here to heal your wounds. But I must have physical contact to do so properly. Hold still.

Shirou tensed as the creature placed a three fingered paw on his chest, but did nothing else. The creature focused, a blue glow emanating from its hand. Wounds began to heal, cuts closed up in an instant, bruises vanished into nothing. Shirou felt the pain in his midsection slowly fade away until nothing remained, and he no longer felt the urge to cough. With this realisation, Shirou relaxed, silver eyes shifting back to gold, hand releasing the well-worn hilt of his knife.

As the creature stepped away, Shirou noticed Forest coming over. He nodded in acknowledgement, before slowly getting up. The creature's magic had healed his wounds, but not his exhaustion: looks like he would need that rest after all. He wasn't looking forward to it.

He observed Forest's interaction with the creature. Both's body language showed that they were completely relaxed in each other's presence, and the creature's strange cat-like features screamed of affection towards Forest. The lady in question seemed a bit confused, but otherwise reciprocated this affection. Shirou smiled. Lovers then. He was happy for them.

He dropped his smile as soon as Satoshi walked into the room. Though he may appear to be neutral for now, Shirou hadn't forgotten his previous threats.

His mood soured at the man's report. He failed after all.

"Who's dead?" he demanded.

[Aiden]

Rose

She was in the middle of hearing the most fascinating story from this slightly tipsy shell of a man which called itself Uchiten, about a time when he ended up trapped in a tea cup that was still full of tea. It sounded like quite a waste of good tea to her, but apparently humans are quite inclined to such bizarre displays! Rose just nodded in the right places, passing him another drink to keep him talking, when quite suddenly-

Her heels clicked the pavement with each step and as she went about on her quest for absinthe.  The hairs on the back of her neck rose on end as she sensed something akin to her but different.  Turning, she looked up to find a bar with most unusual clientele.  Curious, the Lady of the Shadows walked in.

She turned her eyes to the door, and blinked. Her eyes flickered between the hue she had chosen for tonight, and the color of her newest potential patron's hair, as she tilted her head and considered her. So familiar...

... well, if the shadowy woman could find her way to the bar and overcome the immense competition to have a chair so close to her, then she might be worth talking to!

That meant getting someone to vacate a seat. Not her problem.

------------------

Marius

He had no context for this war. He knew not the principals, the environment, or the stakes at risk beyond the potential for his own unlife to come to a sudden and violent ending. Which was, admittedly, how he expected everything to end eventually anyway. Still, he was not inclined to invite that end before its proper time and place.

A time that was certainly not right now.

He was also ill prepared to fight it in any case; his equipment was clearly corroded to worthlessness, from his dagger all the way to his armor. That last piece, his armor, was pressing deeply into his skin and cutting deep with every movement as he took a leap up and away from the chaos of the battle. Marius wrapped himself in obscurity, disappearing from all awareness, and... and...

Oh.

Oh, gods. What obscene conurbation was he witness to here? In what time had he found himself, that the insulae of the common laborer would be built of stone, and reach to such heights? Where were the hills of Rome, and the fine white polish of its temples?

If his lungs were free of debris, he would vocalize this strange feeling as he stood amid the teeming masses filled with blood, unseen.

Everything, it was just so...

[YOLF]

Max

Scheisse.

Still reeling back from seeing the numbers of the vampire assault forces in the rooftops eradicated by damn meteors, Max had been seriously contemplating his chances and wondering if this wasn't the best time for a strategic retreat before a stray shot got him, a feeling that was helped in no way by the fact that tall-handsome-and-not-quite-kindred and his even more handsome buddy had decided to bail a while ago, and the commander of the vampires had just gotten himself involved in the fight, completely torn up by some sort of spell hurled at him, and then regenerated.

The area was turning into a place where he didn't want to be more by the second, and the only thing holding him back was the presence of his ancient kin still in the midst of that hell, about to be charged by an enemy.

It was, until said kindred leaped away in retreat and vanished alongside all traces of his predatory aura. And then Max cursed.

Today was not his night.

With the air far too hot to be around for no reason, he rushed down to the street level, jumping down a rusty set of fire escape stairs into an alleyway. The proceedings above were too much to ignore, but as he was right now, there was nothing he could do to interfere that would not put him at an unreasonable risk. And this was the first Kindred he'd seen since awakening at Nexus City. There was both the thought that it was the logical course of action to seek an ally in him, and the urge to simply communicate with someone that was familiar in a way in this world he was still very much a stranger to. Max couldn't simply let him escape like this.

He dashed to the street and ran in the direction he saw the Kindred jump down towards. Searching for traces of his target's passage (that crumbled armor must have been leaving pieces behind), Max delved into himself and poked the Beast, turning its predatory instincts loose around him to uncover anything hidden in the shadows.

There.

His senses were shaken with what was not quite a smell nor a sound, a primal recognition disturbing the edge of his perception with the fact that there was something there, and he acknowledged that presence.

Max grit his teeth. It wasn't entirely safe, but any other means to call his attention was too indiscreet. He had no choice. With a moment's focus, he dropped the veil concealing him from the world, and let loose the aura of his Beast at his target in as restrained a way as he could.

[lantzblades]

Satoshi moved to the skewered man and counted off the swords "I'll finish up here, there might be more than one attacker, the two dead upstairs can't be moved for now, I put a spell around them to keep ghouls, shaman and the like away from the remains, I'm going to put a float spell on this guy so he can't touch the ground" Satoshi stated. His voice was hollow as if a machine had said it.

[Elf]

Ryoko described the tension between the Hound and myself as similar to the natural animosity between a canine and feline. If only she knew just how very correct she was.

Forest did smile at Tom's response before Shirou demanded, "Who's dead?"

Her face fell as she could clearly see Isa and Shuya's bodies in her mind.  Biting her lip, she turned to the white haired magus killer, a sad look in her eyes.  Before she could deliver the bone crushing news, Saotshi said in a wooden, mechanical voice, "I'll finish up here, there might be more than one attacker, the two dead upstairs can't be moved for now, I put a spell around them to keep ghouls, shaman and the like away from the remains, I'm going to put a float spell on this guy so he can't touch the ground."

Forest said, "If any ghouls got in the wards would react, but thank you."

She bowed her head and said, "Shirou, it was Isa.  Shuya's gone too.  I haven't gotten a chance to look for Vanessa.  From the look of it, it was at least quick."  Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the floating captive.  "However my gut's telling me it wasn't this wanker who did it."

Isa . . . I promised her that she'd be safe.  I even gave her a crow pendent to protect her . . . Forest sent to Tom.

[Alice]

"Honestly, if you want to keep him from touching the ground, good old fashioned iron chains suspended from the walls would work better. There's too much that could potentially disrupt a spell. With chains at least you can replace or repair them as needed. Which is something I could do on both counts."

Archer brushed a piece of vine off his shoulder shortly after saying this, Hakuno standing close behind him. "Sorry for the late entry. We had a bit of a greenery problem in the living room. Somehow only the walls and floor were damaged, but it still gave us a bit of an unpleasant time."

He then surveyed the area. "...Yare yare, I just fixed up the kitchen. Now I'm going to have to repair the whole apartment building. And I thought the days in the Moon Cell were overly exciting."

Then Forest replied to Shirou, confirming the identities of the dead. Hakuno stood there in wide eyed shock. Death of her companions was no strange thing to her, yes. But somehow... when outside of the Moon Cell, somehow it all seemed worse. Archer put a hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

Rin, who had saw Forest run past on the way to fetch her, stood silent for a moment, her eyes shut. Steeling herself, she opened them and walked over to where the others could see her.

"Then we need to find the killer, fast. Ensure that no one else suffers their fate, if nothing else." She stood up straight, taking on an air of command. "One group should stay here and guard the intruder pinned to the wall while another group searches for the killer. We don't know how far they've gone, but the least we can do is search the area. Shuya and Isa deserve at least that much."

On the side, Tom received Forest's telepathic message. He may not have known either of these people, nor was he overly upset by their deaths... But Forest was clearly devastated by it, and in his mind, that was enough.

He walked to her side, closing the distance between them. Despite his monstrous form, he wanted to hold her. He wanted to give her at least some small comfort. But for now, he simply placed a paw on her shoulder.

Do not blame yourself. Some things are beyond prediction, even for someone as powerful as yourself. Even I, in all my power could not save them. All you can do now is find their murderer and ensure you are strong enough to face the next threat that would dare to attack you or your charges. And I will do everything in my power to aid you. I am not certain if that is of sufficient comfort to you but... That at least, I can do for you.

[lantzblades]

Satoshi caught word Moon cell and paused before speaking a mostly unintelligible sentence save for the last word which was float. "The spell lasts three hours Forest and don't thank me, I didn't save them so I don't deserve it. Avalon couldn't heal them, but I might have another way to save them, so thank me if that works." he replied to Forest as he tapped the intruder once and then began yanking out the swords.

"Archer. I am sorry for the way I confronted you, hearing you're from the moon cell does change the situation. However confronting you was my only choice as things stood. Death is death, I can't go watch people die needlessly, more over, I will not watch you kill yourself again." he stated removing the final blade.

he moved effortlessly into healing the wounds of the man, Avalon's blue glow sealing his wounds "That vampire is still running loose, it's unlikely however he killed the two upstairs, the rest of you should find out the rest of the situation, I can take care of this guy" Satoshi's words were simple statements the emotion slowly dying in his voice was the only thing that kept him from screaming in rage at the utter nonsense of the situation.

[Mooncake]

Lucas



The iron blades are pulled out of my body,  and my wounds are beginning to be healed by an outside source. Are they... are they healing me? That is the height of foolishness, but I'll take it. They've offered me such a great chance to act, so I'll be gracious enough to do so.

As the last blade is pulled out of my body, my eyes open. It's a shame, what I'm about to do. I liked this coat. I kick out, my leg aiming to strike the man in the face with all the force I can currently muster.

I utter the first and last word of arrival, my voice rough from disuse.

"Fool."

My hand shoots forward, intent on ripping his head from his shoulders-!

[YOLF]

Uchiten

"- It was very cramped. I couldn't even work up an effort to get out of there with how uncomfortable I felt - not to mention it would've been a shame to ruin such a nice cup - and dozed off for some two decades. It's like falling asleep on the couch far too early in the night in an awkward position and then you wake up and you feel sore but it's too much of a pain to actually move to your bed, but you're still tired so you let yourself stay there."

He paused for only a moment to raise his drink to his lips and moisten his throat. Then went on.

"If nothing else I'm grateful to that chi wizard for having the mind to put such a lovely antique to use and boil himself some tea, waking me up in the process, but trying to get anything at all done in that town with that kid and that... creative martial artist I'm not even sure was ridiculously unlucky or stupidly lucky or what was one note too much for me so I hitched a ride back to Japan, by which I mean I possessed someone going there and once at our destination painfully burst out of their body -"

Uchiten continued to entertain his kind host with his selection of amusing tales from his times of tomfoolery in the mortal world, alternating his expressive descriptions and tirades with sips of sake. He had to say, it was pleasing to talk to something who seemed genuinely interested and sharing some stories for a change. Taunting, torturing, deceiving, lying and bringing mortals to despair got somewhat passé after a while if you did nothing but those things.

If he had anything to say about it, he was yet going to convince her to join him in drinking and storytelling. Where he was wasn't important - what kind of place he was in was, but more than anything, right now he was interested in her.

He finished his cup and extended it to his host to fill up again, about to voice a request to hear her due response to his stories, but what happened next irredeemably split his attention.

Her heels clicked the pavement with each step and as she went about on her quest for absinthe.  The hairs on the back of her neck rose on end as she sensed something akin to her but different.  Turning, she looked up to find a bar with most unusual clientele.  Curious, the Lady of the Shadows walked in.

He noticed her entering. How could he not? Dark, glorious, tempting and powerful, she made him stop and turn to see her waltz in.

He let a small sound of wonder float up his throat, and the feeling show in the almost unchanging mask that was his expression. Seeing her cast her gaze around, this lady of strength and shadows that did not feel dissimilar from his host, the corners of his mouth quirked upwards in a smirk. He held up a hand towards the woman on the other side of the counter, wordlessly requesting that she hold the booze for now, and turned to the fat, lost looking but blissful drunk on his left.

"Hey." Uchiten called out.

The human blinked once then turned to him with a peeved look on his chubby face, and spat a question at him.

"Whut?"

"Get up and free that seat, will you?"

The man's expression twitched dumbly as the curse hidden in the specter's words sunk in. His body moved without protest from his mind, removing him from where he sat, and he walked away without even picking up his unfinished beer.

Uchiten gestured softly towards the vacant seat with an inviting look at the fae newcomer.

[Cherry Lover]

Rider nodded at Satoshi's words, before following Forest up the stairs and into the room. Forest froze in shock as she entered, but Rider walked past her and into the room.

What she found when she got in there was utter carnage. There was blood everywhere, and on the floor were two bodies. One looked like Shuya, which Rider thought was no great loss, but the other....

Isa...

Rider stood there staring at the dead girl in shock and sadness.

She was such a sweet girl..., she thought, sadly.

Rider had killed many people in her time, but this was the first time she had seen someone she actually cared for die. Aside from her sisters, of course, but by that time she had been too far gone to care. Only a few hours ago, Rider had been talking to the girl, even promising to protect her, and now she was dead.

I failed her....

Out of the corner of her eye, Rider noticed Forest turn and run towards the fighting. Toshi had told her to go with Forest, but....

Some bastard killed Isa. She was kind, like my master....

Rider was angry and upset. She had been rather fond of the sweet young girl, and someone had killed her. She wasn't sure exactly who, but whoever it was, Rider wanted revenge and justice for the poor girl.

And, plus, whoever it is is still out there, and dangerous.

Rider wasn't sure exactly what had gone on, but it was pretty obvious that this had not been a mutual killing. Someone had killed at least one of the two people in the room, and most likely both. And, judging by the lack of damage on the rest of their bodies, whoever had done this was rather powerful. She knew Shuya was very strong, and he hadn't even so much as put up a fight.

What if Kiyo had been here?

Rider shuddered at the thought as she saw Satoshi enter the room and walk up to the bodies. He bent down to Isa and touched her.

Is he trying to heal her?

Momentarily, Rider felt some hope for Isa, but there was no sign of life in the girl. Satoshi placed some sort of barrier spell on them, before standing up and leaving, muttering an apology to her as he did.

Rider looked at the hole in the wall. Whoever had done this had clearly gone that way.

What happened to Jack?

Rider was somewhat suspicious. She didn't think the vampire had killed these two, there were no signs of a vampire attack and he had seemingly reacted to an existing situation, but she was still wary of him.

Regardless, though, she would not let Kiyoshi be the next victim. Whoever did this had to die.

Rider turned into spirit form and headed for the hole. As she did so, she heard Lancer and Mille enter the room and start talking. Apparently, they wanted to investigate what happened.

Well, let them investigate, I'm going to find who did this. And kill them, she thought, still clearly upset at Isa's death.

She moved through the holes from room to room, looking for the culprit until, finally, she reached one that led outside. Seeing yet another body down there, Rider jumped out of the hole. It was a young boy, his head ripped clean off. Oddly, though, there was no blood.

What?

Looking at the boy more closely, she could see that his internal structure was not normal. He seemed to be more like a magical construct.

A familiar?

Her thoughts were interrupted as Mille floated down and landed beside her. She seemed to be looking at the blood on the familiar.

Did this boy kill Isa?

Rider would have been shocked, but if he was truly a familiar, then his look was entirely unrelated to his capabilities.

Well, if he's the killer, then I guess there's nothing more to deal with.

Still, she couldn't be sure. For one thing, someone had killed his boy.

Possibly Jack....

It could be Jack, yes, but then it could not be. She needed to be sure. She rematerialised, and turned to Mille to ask her a question.

Before she could, though, a sound came from the familiar's detached head.

"S-sorry Finn, Ruu can't be friends with you anymore", he said.

Wait, did he just speak? Is he still alive?

Whatever had happened, he clearly seemed upset. He certainly didn't act like a cold-blooded killer, that's for sure.

Rider turned to Mille.

"Is he the killer? If so we need to make sure he doesn't get back up, he's too dangerous. And, we should find whoever killed him, if it's not Jack...."

[Arch-Magos Winter]

Jack

I could hear heartbeats outside. I could hear a voice. The abominations, I think, just for a second. Then it went quiet again. The girl - the dead girl that I had found, was now empty of blood. I still closed the wound though, that my fangs had caused. It wasn't much but... it was as much respect as I could pay for her. Bringing her back would...

I don't know what it would do. But... perhaps it was better to be dead than in the state I am in. Bringing her back would ruin whatever peace she'd found. It wasn't something any Kindred could do lightly either. Her death had been quick, that much I could tell. A sudden stop, the lights suddenly going out, and the Reaper's embrace soon after. I hadn't gotten that dignity. I hadn't gotten anything close to a choice in becoming Kindred. So, I wouldn't be doing the same with this girl. To drag her back to the world of the living unwillingly, and damning her in the process, would be a cruelty beyond measure.
be
Closing her eyes, I adjusted my bloodstained and splattered coat. This was going to need to be replaced, considering all the damage it'd taken. For that matter, I still needed more blood. Stepping outside, I went to make sure that the thing was dead. I wasn't taking chances here.

Raul

Tricky bastards. The Demon's wing batted the hand grenade right back at its thrower, before coming together and shielding the being against the gunfire from the third assailant. Raul wouldn't win this in pure speed, likely. As the light rounds warped and deformed against his bladed feathers, Raul prepared for his next strike, blades coming up and intending to disarm the one with the guns. Literally. His blades swung down in a calculated arc, intent at the very least to sever the guns in half, or knock them away. This fight was going to be difficult, but Raul had come out ahead against worse odds than this before.

[OPOI]

"Shirou, it was Isa. Shuya's gone too. I haven't gotten a chance to look for Nessa," Forest said, grief visible in her eyes.

Shirou's face became blank, robotic even. Not a trace of emotion could be seen on his face, a far cry from the emotions churning inside. Isa, Nessa...new names to add to the list of regrets he had accumulated throughout his short life. It was a long list, so long that Shirou could not be certain if it was worth all the good he had done to try to make up for it.

"I see," he said emotionlessly. He placed a hand on Forest's shoulder, searching for ways to comfort her, but ultimately failing. He had never been good at this, dealing with the aftermath of a death of a loved one. "Don't worry, you do not hold any blame for this," he said lamely, "No none does, except the murderer. Don't beat yourself up over this."

In a rare moment of tact, he chose not to tell her that Vanessa was most likely dead as well. The twins shared a bond which allowed one to feel the pain of the other. There was no way Nessa would be alive if Isa was given an instantaneous deathblow, as the shared pain would almost certainly have stopped Nessa's heart.

Shirou moved away, shoving the matter to a secluded corner of his brain, a maneuver he was quite familiar with. Catching a hint of magic, Shirou turned to face Satoshi, eye's widening when he saw the man healing the Creature.

"No don't!" he yelled in a panic, watching as the Creature attempted to decapitate itself with its hand. He quickly groped inside his pockets, retrieving a single-shot tranquilizer gun and firing in one smooth motion.
.

[Cherry Lover]

After everyone had left, Kiyoshi put down his bento, walked to the door and locked it, as Satoshi had asked him to.

"Don't worry, I won't let whatever is out there hurt us", Kiyoshi said, before returning to his bento.

"This is wonderful", he said, still eating. "Your version of mummy is as good at cooking as mine."

[lantzblades]

Satoshi stepped into the attack causing the kick to instead become a knee to the ribs which his armor absorbed easily enough. The second attack did damage although not as Lucas would have liked, instead it wrecked the armour around his free hand and caused a gash in his arm.

Satoshi heard Shirou fire a dart weapon but Satoshi doubted it alone would stop someone who regenerated as fast as Lucas so Satoshi pushed him against the wall to pin him and cast a sleep spell hoping one or both would work.

Connor nodded towards Kiyoshi.

Tsukasa's smile was as bright as ever but deeply hidden she lamented her position.

[Elf]

"There's a body down there. I'm going to fly down and investigate."

Lancer nodded and waited until Millie floated down.  An icy knot was starting to eat away at his gut.  There was a familiar smell in the air; the smell of someone he had played with and talked to just hours ago.  Someone who called me Mr. Wolf, Lancer thought, which he realized the boy was probably complementing him.

Lancer knew he was a hound, but to be compared to the more noble wolf was something he never heard.  Hounds were loyal and good to have around.  Wolves were amongst the divine; cunning and family oriented. 

While he was contemplating this, Rider moved in front of him and gracefully leaped into the hole.  His eyes narrowed as the lavender haired Servant approached Millie and the corpse. Without a word, he jumped down and nimbly landed beside Millie.

That icy knot clutched his innards as he recognized the body before him and the broken head beside it. 

Ruu's eyes were unfocused as he said, "S-sorry Finn, Ruu can't be friends with you anymore."

Then Lancer noticed the blood on the boy's hands.  Hell, he could smell its coppery sweetness in the air and recognized the nicotine and steel scent of Shuya and some young girl who was probably a magus.  The familiar himself didn't bleed, but then he was a doll.  A very good doll, but one who lived a tragic half existence.

"Is he the killer? If so we need to make sure he doesn't get back up, he's too dangerous. And, we should find whoever killed him, if it's not Jack...." Rider said, breaking Lancer out of his trance.

Lancer eyed the boy and sent a swift prayer to Manannán mac Lir and turned to the exquisite Servant.  "Aye, he's the killer," Lancer said before biting the tip of his pinky to get it to bleed.  He traced the fire ruins on Ruu's head and body.  "May you find peace in Tír na nÓg, little Ruu."

He looked at Rider and said, "Something made him do this.  He was programed, I believe that's the word used for it, and considering his age and what made him something set him off.  He was made to protect nature and something triggered him."

His smile was blood thirsty and more a baring of teeth than anything else.  "And if it was Jack who caused it, I want first crack."

******

Wynn entered the bar and felt eyes upon her.  Some overweight patron was forced out of his seat to make room for her.  Wynn bowed her head in thanks before striding over to the seat, her long raven braid swishing behind her like a tail. 

She perched herself upon the bar stool and held out her hand to get the barmaid's attention.

******

Tom's paw on her shoulder was warm and oddly comforting. 

His voice was in her mind - she had the feeling it was the only way he could communicate in this form -, Do not blame yourself. Some things are beyond prediction, even for someone as powerful as yourself. Even I, in all my power could not save them. All you can do now is find their murderer and ensure you are strong enough to face the next threat that would dare to attack you or your charges. And I will do everything in my power to aid you. I am not certain if that is of sufficient comfort to you but... That at least, I can do for you.

Her jaw tightened at that, knowing that Tom was trying to comfort her.

Before she could reply to him, she saw Shirou's face come completely devoid of emotion, as if it had been wiped away.  "I see," he said, his hand going to her shoulder, "I see," he said, his voice completely void of emotion.  It reminded her of Quinn and she inwardly shivered at that. He placed a hand on Forest's shoulder. "Don't worry, you do not hold any blame for this," he told her, "No none does, except the murderer. Don't beat yourself up over this."

Satoshi was removing the swords holding the attacker's body up and was casting some sort of floating spell.   Then she realized he was also healing the wanker too.  Before she could protest amber eyes opened and he said one word, "Fool."

Then he moved to punch himself in the head after shoving Satoshi off of him.  Satoshi took the blows like a champ and Shirou fired a tranq dart into the wanker.  Then Satoshi started to press the guy into the wall, casting yet another spell.

Forest didn't move, she didn't have to.  She just harnessed every ounce of anger, grief, and guilt she was keeping tight inside and bundled it together.  Then she focused on the thing before her before shoving her mind into his with all the force and subtlety of a battering ram. 

She wanted to hurt the thing who invaded her house.  Chances were that he was responsible for Shuya, Isa, and probably Vanessa's deaths.  So she made the mental invasion as brutal as possible.

No.  You're not getting out of this that easily, you wanker, she said, moving to take control of the being's nervous system, You came looking for me.  Well, I hope I don't disappoint.