Cross Effects- The RP

[Cherry Lover]

"No, you shouldn't just assume. Nor should you leap to torture as the first option. Or... worse, a-as I suspect you were thinking. Seriously, why did you-", said Mille.

How dare she lecture me on morality! thought Rider, angrily.

Rider didn't know much about Mille, but she did know that she was a magus. And magi were assholes, by and large. People like Zouken and Sakura's father, who cared only about theirselves and their magical heritage, and like the magi at the Clock Tower, who would gladly turn Shirou and Sakura into exhibits if they understood their full abilities. Sure there were exceptions, like Rin, but even she had come within a whisker of murdering her own sister before she finally realised what truly mattered to her.

Before she could speak, though, Gabriel responded in a much kinder manner, although Rider could see he wasn't entirely happy.

"Well, I thank you for that."

Rider smiled at his words, happy that he seemed to have forgiven her.

"That's no problem, I don't hurt innocent people", she said.

However, Rider was still extremely unhappy at Mille's response, particularly since Gabriel seemed to agree somewhat. Before she could say anything, though, Angel responded to her question about his torture experience by informing them of his curse, leading to a discussion with Lancer.

"Oh, you can say I have a lot of experience . . . Bad past, but I'm trying to come clean . . .  Path of redemption and I'm not evil right now."

"There's this Gypsy curse.  As long as I'm not happy, I'm of the good."

Ouch, so if he gets happy he turns evil again? she thought.

Rider could fully understand how he would feel. After all, she too had been cursed in such a manner, turned into a monster through the whims of the gods. And, her master had also had a similar experience, and was still trying to atone for the consequences.

But, before she could attempt to console him, Gabriel spoke.

"I assure you that I will.  I'll look forward to getting a chance to talk in depth about the magic from your point of origin."

Rider smiled at the gorgeous man.

"I'll look forward to it as well", she said, before turning to Angel, smiling kindly.

"I know all-too-well how it feels to be cursed, and what it's like for someone to have to atone for acts they did not willingly commit. I hope you manage to find redemption.

Then, she turned to Mille. The girl was clearly angering, and Rider was not pleased in the slightest with her attitude. And, worse, Gabriel seemed rather supportative of her statement.

"As for you, Little Miss Magus", she hissed, "isn't it a bit rich of you to criticise my morality? At least I only harm those who deserve it, or to protect those I care for, unlike you magi."

Then she turned to Gabriel and Angel, worried that Mille would succeed in turning Gabriel against her.

"Don't listen to her, magi are monsters who think nothing of torturing an innocent child in the name of experimentation or turning anyone who opposes them or looks interesting into nothing more than exhibits in the Clock Tower basement."

Oh, wait, what about Rin? she thought, realising that they might get the wrong impression of the versions of Rin in the house if she didn't correct them.

"Oh, but the women inside called Rin are nice magi, they don't do things like that. All of my master's family are nice, in fact, you can trust them without any worry. It's Magi like Mille that you need to be wary of...."

Then, Mille spoke once more.

"W-we don't have time for this! For all we know the golem could have gone away by now. We have to get moving."

Rider nodded in response as Gabriel responded somewhat archaically, leading to Angel teasing him and, then, Lancer angrily insisting that they get moving.

Well, I guess I should get going too, she thought as Gabriel prepared to take everyone else with him.

"OK, I'm going to take her back into the house, then. I'll let her rest a bit, then see if I can get anything useful out of her. I won't hurt her, though, I promise", she said.

Before she could get going, though, a magical arrow whizzed past them, heading straight at the golem.

Rider, of course, recognised instantly the source. Her master's husband or, more likely, one of the many alternate versions of him that had made it to this world.

Hopefully it's not that idiot murderer..., she thought, worried that, if he were to see this, he might see her, Gabriel and the rest as justified "collateral damage".

[KAIZA]

It all happened in a flash. Most of her systems were severly damaged just by her overloading her Null Driver, not to mention the circle's explosion and the fall. Several images flashed in her mind, somewhat making a picture of what had occurred.

One moment she was ready to self-destruct to destroy the flesh behemoth, who was about to devour her, the next, the giant circle collapsed. Her body was too damaged to do anything, though, and she was left standing there, ready to be consumed by the explosion.

Her mind drew a blank momentarily. The next image was of her falling through an alleyway. Her vision had faded severely, but she still felt the sensation of someone grabbing her. Someone had saved her from the explosion, but it seemed they hadn't made it that far, if the readings she had were correctly.

Another blank. Her systems were going haywire. Apparently, both her and her savior had crashed somewhere and she had received a large amount of damage from the impact. Her self-repair systems were useless, and what little energy she had left was being rapidly drained just to stay awake.

She could barely make out a figure approaching. It was a...girl, maybe? From the looks of it, she was inspecting her, with an almost gleeful curiosity.

"Well, let's see what I can do here. Hang on tight, I'm going to get ya all fixed up in a jiffy." she said.

Repairs...Yes. She needed repairs right now. She tried raising her hand towards the girl...

ALL SYSTEMS CRITICAL. PREPARE FOR SHUTDOWN.

The unit could  no longer keep going, and her systems deactivated immediately. As soon as they did, her armor, without the energy to be maintained, dissipated into Mist, leaving the frail, battered body of the unit lying on the ground next to the stranger.

[Alice]

Rei hadn't even been able to touch the armor yet before it melted into mist right before her eyes.

What she saw was truely beautiful. Like a butterfly coming out of her chrysalis. ...Like a very battered and beat up butterfly, but a butterfly nonetheless.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"

The young alchemist clapped her hands in delight, a big, huge grin plastered on her face.

"OhwowohwowohwowshelookssorealthisisunbelieveableandincredibleandIcan'tbelieveI'mseeingthisand I should start repairing her, huh?"

Rei blushed, her grin fading as quickly as the armor had. She stopped to clean the fog off her glasses before leaning back over the damaged android. "Sorry about that, I just get awful excited around machines, especially one intricate as you." She smiled, but with a hint of concern in her eyes. "Looks like you took a real beating, huh? I'll getcha up and running again in a jiffy, just you wait and see."

With that, Rei set to work, her gaze steely and determined. She was going to make things right again for this girl, and nothing or no one was going to stop her.

[Bloble]

What was taking them so long?

If the golem could look puzzled, or indeed, display any kind of emotion, it would. Instead, it sort of crumpled into a ball in its idle state, once more resembling a pile of junk as the force controlling it released its invisible grip. It was only as it heard a small whistling in the air that something within the metal shell 'reacted'.

It was funny, actually. Something unexpected falling from the sky had ruined its life once. For it to happen again was nothing but a nightmare.

It saw. He 'saw'. The arrow was already halfway there when he 'reacted' to it.

It was a fair hundred meters away when something within the golem's shell, something that resembled a soft, pink crystal shaped like a heart, gave off a bright glow.

At fifty meters away, His time stopped, and all was revealed.

It was an interesting mechanism, and had even the simple act of looking at the object not been painful in a way his soul had never known, he would have spent hours examining the arrow's flawed, incomplete structure. It was a fake, he knew, something that couldn't exist for a very long time. Well, that didn't matter. What mattered was that he had no way of changing the thing's velocity. The arrow was only capable of moving forward and...

The answer came to Him, and at a distance of 25 meters the Broken Phantasm detonated, fulfilling its purpose a slight bit too early. The Trick couldn't do what the arrow couldn't do, yet it could, in fact, do one simple thing. And that was enough.

Hrunting detonated 25 meters away from its target, 25 meters too far from where it had been aimed.

The golem rolled, blown back by the edge of the magical blast, several of its lighter components flying off into the streets. The sunglasses cracked, but held, and the orb in its chest pulsed once more before dimming. A periscope extended from the pile, moving and minutely adjusting its lens until it could trace the rent in the air created by the supersonic projectile. Back where it came... back where a man with a bow waited.

The golem came together again, stretching to its full height, looked at the man who was beyond human vision, and laughed, a creaking, metallic sound no more natural than the manufactured body that had released it, challenging the man to shoot again.

[Alice]

Mille watched as Rider continued to try to vouch for her own character, that she wouldn't harm anyone innocent. The young magus didn't believe that for a second. She was lying through her teeth, she had to be. Why else would she suddenly be so insistent on it if she wasn't trying to cover up for her own crimes?

"Interesting, you seem like quite the expert on torture, do you have a lot of experience?" Rider asked him. "Perhaps you can teach me a few things, mock 'interrogations' of a consenting partner can be rather misleading in that respect. I'll even let you use me as a 'practice dummy', see if you can manage to break me."

The vampire with a soul frowned, rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Oh, you can say I have a lot of experience . . . Bad past, but I'm trying to come clean . . .  Path of redemption and I'm not evil right now."

"So you've been known to go evil?" Lancer asked eyebrows raised.

Angel shrugged and said, "There's this Gypsy curse.  As long as I'm not happy, I'm of the good."

". . . Sounds like a shoddy curse," Lancer said, narrowing his eyes at him.

Mille nodded in response to Lancer's comment, but for different reasons. What he had said restored the points he had lost with her. He knew how to torture people, but that didn't mean he enjoyed it. He only used it when he had to, which, as Mille saw it, was how it should be. Only when necessary.

As for the curse... It couldn't be so simple as keeping him miserable. That meant that even some small happiness could set him off and turn him evil. So it must be something more specific... maybe absolute, true happiness? That's the only way that really makes sense, otherwise it'd be too easy for him to shake off the curse.  ... Still, it means that he could potentially turn evil at any time.... We'll have to keep an eye on him...

"You know, I would love to have let you 'interrogate' me for all that information you wanted, and anything else you might desire. I'm sure it would have been a most enjoyable experience for us both", she said with a combination of lust, amusement and slight regret at what could have been. "But, alas, your anti-magic field seems to make any such idea impossible," Rider said, turning her attention towards Gabriel.

"Still, once you are finished with that monster, I would be more than happy to explain everything to you. I'm sure you will find it very interesting indeed...."

"I assure you that I will.  I'll look forward to getting a chance to talk in depth about the magic from your point of origin."

Even if there was something forced in the way he said those words, for Mille, they stung just a bit. How could he trust her? Admittedly, she could see where distrust wouldn't be an issue, if he was seeking answers wherever he could find them, but surely there were more trustworthy Servants he could ask. Though then, Rider was the only one he knew of so far, so perhaps...

"As for you, Little Miss Magus", she hissed, "isn't it a bit rich of you to criticise my morality? At least I only harm those who deserve it, or to protect those I care for, unlike you magi."

Mille's eyes widened. Then they narrowed.

There was little doubt now, this woman was not to be trusted. How she even became a Heroic Spirit was completely beyond her.

But before she could respond, Rider turned towards the two men.

"Don't listen to her, magi are monsters who think nothing of torturing an innocent child in the name of experimentation or turning anyone who opposes them or looks interesting into nothing more than exhibits in the Clock Tower basement."

That was it. That was it. Mille began to see red, rage flowing through her bloodstream like the raging waters of a typhoon crashing along the shore. How dare she. How dare she.

She knew that there were magi out there who would commit such atrocities. But to sweep the whole group with such a broad brush. To accuse her of even being capable of such things. How dare she!

"You lying, manipulative bitch."

"Oh, but the women inside called Rin are nice magi, they don't do things like that. All of my master's family are nice, in fact, you can trust them without any worry. It's Magi like Mille that you need to be wary of...."

So then.... I was right all along. I was right all along. I can never trust Rin Tohsaka, ever!

Mille didn't notice the tears that started streaming down her cheeks, slowly. In truth, she was conflicted.

The Association had sent Rin. There was little evidence to dispute this fact. So then.... Why? Why had they sent Tohsaka? Was it true then? Was the Association bad after all, like her parents had always said? Like Finn had always said? Had... Had she been helping terrible people all along?

No. She had to focus on the monster they needed to fight. That's what mattered. That's what mattered. But why? Why?

She told them they needed to go. But she missed the three men's replies in agreement and Rider's assertion that she needed to go take the vampire girl back as something dawned on her.

Ruu.... Ruu had been a familiar. His final words and response seemed to indicate that what he did was via orders or some sort of internal programming rather than by his own volition. Rider's denials had been suspiciously specific. ...Rin. Could Rin be Rider's Master? Could the victims have been their doing? But... why? Why?!

All the emotions churning around inside her finally came to a head. A part of her knew it was irrational, that she could be completely wrong. After all, while she knew Rider's character to certainly be more than questionable, in spite of her doubts, Rin came off as haughty and too sure of herself perhaps, but not a heartless killer. But at the same time... she was desperate for an answer, for a face to match to the tragic aftermath she had witnessed. For a culprit, for the ability to avenge their deaths... and perhaps Ruu as well. And after everything Rider had said... About her, about magi, and then claiming Rin's innocence in the face of that... No... it had to be-

"You... it was you..."

Her ebony eyes seemed to light up as if they were coals, just recently lit. They focused on Rider, hard. Her body shook, it trembled. The tears streamed down faster, but to Mille, they remained unnoticed, her rationality buried deep beneath the weight of her emotions. Her fury burned at her chest, tight, aching, the flames blazing forth unchecked, her breaths slightly ragged, her heart feeling as if it would explode and burst.

"You MURDERER! You and Rin both, MURDERERS!"

The girl quickly let go of Gabriel's hand and reached her arm out.

"Ruby!"

"You know, I don't think you're thinking very straight right now-"

"Just help me!"

"Well, OK~ Just don't blame me if this goes badly for you~"

Changing back into wand form, Ruby floated down to Mille's hand. One transformation sequence later, and Mille attempted to fly towards Rider.... Before being thrown back into the arms of the three men behind her.

Ruby floated upward and changed back to her portable form, once again well out of reach. Below, the young magus glared up at the Mystic Code.

"What are you doing?! Are you on her side too?! She's connected to the killings, we have to stop her!"

Ruby moved one of her wings in Mille's direction, almost as if she was waggling it at her like a finger.

"Now now, I may allow some idiocy, but a suicide rush from a crazed, confused, and enraged teenaged girl who's big brain's on the fritz is not one of them~ I have some standards, you know~"

"Get back down here!"

"How about no~" As Mille continued to struggle and protest, Ruby turned her attention to the three men. "If I were you three, I'd make sure she's well restrained so she doesn't try anything stupid~ The pretty one keeping a good grip on her so she doesn't do anything that'd wind up wasting what prana she has left and frying her magic circuits to a crisp would be a good start~ Calming her down a bit might be good too~"

The Mystic Code whipped out a syringe, filled with strange pink liquid, seemingly out of nowhere. "Of course, I could always just inject her with this sedative~ You could put a raging bull to sleep with one shot of this, so I'm sure it'd work just great on Miss Firebrand down there~"

She put it away in the nothing she had retrieved it from in the first place. "Now then, while you all decide what you'd going to do with the wild girl, I have a few words for Miss BDSM~"

Ruby turned towards Rider.

"Now then, let's talk about you then, shall we~ Or rather, what a great job you did breaking Little Miss Stick-Up-Butt over there!~"

She started wiggling back and forth. "Congratulations~! You'd make a great villain~ I mean, points off for doing it in front of someone who can vouch for her, but hey, still, great job!~ I should have Haku-chan practice becoming a Magical Girl by trying to take you out sometime~ Now, you and I both know that you weren't the one that set that little familiar on those unfortunate two in the building like you've just been accused, nor was it the Hag, but you sure did a great job of making yourself look suspect~"

She continued to wiggle back and forth. Had her ruby eyes been present, they would have been twinkling with an ominous light. "I mean, ouch, even after she saved your skin from all those vampires that were trying to kill everyone, even that Kiyo-whatshisface, and after seeing her throw up after seeing those bodies, and after her clearly being on the same side as you even in spite of the objections she has about you, that's cold~ But that's what a villain does, right? Tears the group apart by making them suspicious of each other~"

There was something... mocking, about all that wiggling. "And oh boy, you mentioning the Hag? I bet now Miss Nothing-But-Fire here isn't going to trust her one bit now. Considering that she's Miss Hag's apprentice now and the Association wants her to keep an eye on Miss Temperamental... Whelp, I'm betting Miss Hag's going to be pleased as punch with you, isn't she?~"

Yes, there was definitely something mocking about the wiggling. Almost.... triumphant too. "You know how to pick-em too, you know?  Aside from needing to be pierced with Dog-Man over there's spear to help get over that stupid attitude problem of hers-"

She took the chance to turn to Lancer. "You had the chance to do that you know, why didn't you take the opportunity?~ Do I need to spike your beer with something to help that along?~"

 She turned back to Rider. "She's actually slightly more tolerable than the Hag~ But only slightly, what with that stick shoved so far up her butt~ Might be worth a spot on the B-Squad, but she's not protagonist material, not like Haku-chan~ So you just bullied someone relatively innocent~ Oopsie~"

The wiggling again. Ever the wiggling. "To sum it up in case you haven't been paying attention... You really screwed yourself over here, you know~"

[Elf]

"Oy, not this load of utter horse shit again," Lancer said, rubbing the back of his neck.

There was something that needed to be fought, and the longer they were down here bickering like a bunch of old folk it was getting away.  He also wasn't happy that his Landlady's godson's new friend was pretty much a ticking time bomb.  With a shoddy curse keeping him from becoming a monster.  Well, if he does become a monster, its not like I haven't fought them before, he thought to himself eying the one called Angel.

He didn't have a heartbeat- Lancer couldn't hear it in his chest while he could hear the others, but oddly enough he could sweat.  Forest didn't sweat; it was something he had noticed very quickly about her.  She really had no body odor except apparently when she was aroused or injured and he could smell the blood.  He'd asked her about the lack of body odor, after all it was sort of odd.  She explained something about vampires and metaphysics and he'd lost track of it rather quickly.

Then Rider was going on about how magi were the worse sort of assholes ever but how her Master's family and Rin were good people and Millie was apparently some horrible murder.

He stepped up to the curvy Servant and said, "You.  Quit being a judgmental bitch to impress the Faerie.  You know nothing about Millie, and considering what I've seen of your 'family' from that brat you're so protective of, I wouldn't be casting too many stones, you ken?"

******

Gabriel sighed at Rider's accusations towards Millie, cleared his throat and decided to settle things diplomatically.

"What someone is doesn't dictate who they are.  Magi might be murderous monsters in general, but it's a bit off putting to associate an individual with a whole.  When dealing with people, judge how the person is by their own actions, not by what they are.  Doing so may surprise you,[/i] Gabriel said.

Angel studied him and said, "You're pretty philosophical, aren't you?"

"That and I have this ingrained instinct to always play Devil's Advocate," Gabriel replied with a shrug.

Then he other Irishman, Lancer, decided he had enough of Rider and decided to settle this in a fashion his godmother would secretly approve of.   Angel said in a loud voice, "Hey.  Bad guy.  Rooftop.  Innocents in peril.  We can argue semantics later."

Then Millie let go of Gabriel's arm.  He wasn't empathic by any means, but he'd seen enough women in a pique of anger in his days to recognize the signs.  Especially women who were passionate and tended to react towards violence.  Millie did not disappoint.

The girl was crying as she summoned her magic to attack, until the stick decided that its current wielder wasn't in her right mind  threw her towards them.

"What are you doing?! Are you on her side too?! She's connected to the killings, we have to stop her!"

Lancer caught her instantly, his arms going around her to hold her back.  "Millie, Rider is a right bitch, but she didn't kill those people," he said, "She's not worth your time and effort, Lass."

Angel nodded and moved between her and Rider, acting as a shield between the two women.  He said, "She's clean.  There's no fresh blood on her hands.  Whoever was killed, she didn't do it.  If she had, I would have been able to smell it.  Listen, I know we just met, but I really don't think you're the murdering type."

The stick continued to taunt because, Gabriel realized, that's what happened when someone gave a magical weapon sentience.  It became a giant, as the popular phrase said, "Troll".  He was a little disturbed by the sudden appearance and then remove of the pink syringe.

Ruby continued on, calling Rider a great villain and so on and so forth.

Then she said, "You know how to pick-em too, you know?  Aside from needing to be pierced with Dog-Man over there's spear to help get over that stupid attitude problem of hers-"

She took the chance to turn to Lancer. "You had the chance to do that you know, why didn't you take the opportunity?~ Do I need to spike your beer with something to help that along?~"

Lancer's crimson eyes flared as he shouted, "That is none of your godsdamned business.  Besides, she was weakened, it wouldn't have been any fun for either of us!"

Angel looked at Gabriel and said, "I'm missing something here."

"The poor thing's repression is almost overbearing," Gabriel replied.

"Anyway, you shut your fucking whatever passes as a mouth or I'll blow you straight to the Morrigan, and then she can use you on her withered bits!" Lancer continued.

Then there was a very loud, magical, and powerful explosion overhead.  Gabriel looked up, seeing the brilliant red flare in the sky and shuddered at the destructive power.  If that would have hit something, it would have been devastating, he thought.  Then he realized that it was being aimed at the very thing they were supposed to be chasing.  Another ally then? he mused to himself.

Lancer gnashed his teeth and bellowed, "Fucking bowman!"

"What the hell was that?" Angel asked, looking at the dissipating explosion, the damage it did to the buildings (mostly superficial), and then the direction it came from.  Gabriel looked as well, and saw a man in black holding something in his hand.  As he watched, the man on the roof nocked a rather huge sword to a rather sturdy bow and began to take aim.

******

Dark Archer did not enjoy having his skills tested like this.  It wasn't like fighting Lancer, which admittedly he enjoyed because it was fun to piss him off.  Or it wasn't the sheer exhilaration of fighting a losing battle, but making sure one went out as gloriously as possible as he had records with Berserker.

Still, that thing had managed to stop Hurunting. 

He wasn't going to let that stand.  He charged another phantasm to break as he mounted it onto his bow.  He took aim and fired.  Once the arrow was in motion, so was he, jumping from the rooftop to the next.  Sniping at this thing wasn't going to be the answer, but to open fire machine gun fashion with swords required him to be closer.

[lantzblades]

Rin twitched sensing the familiar magic and stood up "I'll be back in a minute" she said slamming the door shut unintentionally as she left and took off at full speed for the roof. 'Between this city and Satoshi's over protective nature I'll have an an aneurysm before I can settle anything, hopefully miss bitter britches won't be with him, honestly she needs to take a joke. At least maybe I can get some answers.' she thought as she kicked open the roof access.

"Alright Archer, we need to talk, now!" Rin was usually calm but between everything that had happened and her own projection of the near future she had adopted her tone of authority on accident.

[Alice]

While Forest's suggestion to have the vampire drink from their captive invader instead was tempting, there was too much of a risk involved with that. The fae, after all, was able to regenerate just by touching the ground. It was possible something could happen when Jack attempted to drink from him. So as much as Tom wasn't thrilled about the prospect of being a blood donor, there was no other way. He felt Forest's possessiveness, however, and couldn't help but feel a sense of smug triumph.

As he... lectured Nessa in a numerous number of words in response to her one word statement, he noticed from the corner of his eye that the Imbecile had returned, with some armored woman in tow. He noted that they seemed to be pestering Forest about something and mentally that made him rankle. For the present time though, most of his attention was focused on the girl before him.

"Alright, alright. You don't have to put so much emphasis on it. Dang, you talk so much I don't even remember half of it."

She gave Tom an amused look.

"Though I suppose I understood the general idea."

While he was slightly irritated by her words, he could tell that she, contrary to what she had said, had at least paid some attention, and had taken away the main point. He couldn't help but smile wryly in response.

Good. So long as you have retained the most significant portions, my lecture was worthwhile.

Can you make it so that she can hear me? Oh, and don't listen. Girl's talk.

He nodded, connecting her mind to Forest's and attempted to heed her request to not listen. It was difficult, but he managed. From bits and pieces slipped through though, he got confirmation that his message seemed to have succeeded in it's intent.

After finishing her mental conversation with Forest, Nessa switched to speaking out loud.

"Isa told me, how much support and concern you guys expressed for her. She was truly happy to have met you. To be honest, I was a bit jealous. Your group had been there for her in my stead. Thanks to that. She could fall asleep peacefully like usual in spite of what had happened with the werewolves. She told me she considered you as precious friends and I could tell she was grateful. I even saw her smile in her sleep. When I watched her, I told myself that you had already saved her. The events of tonight won't change that. I know that she wanted to be closer to you. She even asked me to help in preparing a party for everyone as thanks. 'You have to express your gratitude properly.' I told her that it was kinda lame but she wouldn't listen... She was the kind to worry over such little things.

That's why I have a request. If you are to remember Isa. Do it with a smile. Don't grief over her departure. Otherwise, she would never cease to worry for you all. She'll be fine by herself, I know she will. My little sister's tough like that."

Tom watched the room in silence. Rin and Hakuno bowed their heads in silence for the first part. Tears fell down Hakuno's cheeks.

At the end, at the last request... the two of them did indeed give a smile. Hakuno was unable to do so without continuing to shed tears, but they heard the request, and fulfilled it, nonetheless.

With the eulogy said, Tom found his attention quickly drawn elsewhere.

"Uh, Tomcat... you sure you want to do this? I'm going to need a fucking shitload of it, then top off my tank just to be safe. It's going to take a while."

Tom nodded, but not without giving Jack a sharp look. There was an edge to his mental words.

Of course I am certain. I am the most logical donor for the immense amount of blood you need, even if I am not as close to being human in this form. Having you drain our intruder has too many risks involved. So it must be me.

He felt the vampire take his wrist. To be honest, Tom wasn't looking forward to this. There was something... unsanitary about it when it was some strange vampire he barely knew as opposed to Forest, and with his desire to keep himself quite clean and healthy, the prospect was not a comfortable one. But he was the most logical donor. Any other way was too much of a risk. So it had to be done.

He heard the Imbecile, who he noted smelled... odd, perhaps aged, speak to Forest. He noted that the moron claimed that he had volunteered his services.

The psychic's blood began to boil.

You hardly "volunteered" you foul smelling twi- "gngh!"

Even with the Kiss doing its work to suppress the pain, the feeling was still unpleasant. The fact that this wasn't Forest made it worse.

He couldn't help but note that Rin, Hakuno, and Ryoko were sighing in relief. Why they were doing so was beyond him. Surely they too thought the idiot deserved some kind of punishment.

"Now, Kitty-kun was it? While I wait for my Sire to get back in shape as he drains your vital essence, what about you tell me why I can smell lavender coming from you."

Tom first vowed some sort of small vengeance against Rin for allowing that little nickname to spread. He could see in spite of his blurring vision that she was smirking at the nickname's use, though only for a moment. Why didn't she revel longer than that? Secondly, he found himself grateful that he was focused more on the pain and making sure he had sufficient blood to give. It meant he didn't have to try and struggle for an answer.

He heard Ryoko of all people give a response.

"Oh, he's just sort of a neat freak. He likes smelling pretty, you know? So Forest helped him out, and now he smells pretty." Even through the pain he could see she was grinning at him. "You like smelling pretty, don't you."

He didn't know whether to be grateful or to wince at that. He decided on both. The latter he hoped they would assume was from being drained. He would have also vowed to take some small revenge on Ryoko as well, but what he had subjected her to earlier made him too guilty to consider the prospect.

He took his draining well, all things considered. He had to use Recover at least twice, but he made it.

When it was finished, he uneasily made his way over to the nearest wall so he could lean against it. He felt a bit... dizzy. He found himself grateful to be able to sweat, to not have to pant like some sort of pathetic canine. As a cat, he was far too dignified for that, even with the awareness that most of his "kind" didn't possess sweat glands.

It.. it is done.

Faintly, he heard Jack speak to Nessa in the background.

"Hey, girl. We'll be going somewhere else for this next bit. Some things ain't for polite company to see or hear."

He suspected that Jack likely meant his new protege no harm, but the comment unnerved him none the less. But there was little he could do about it now. First he had to get himself back in order...

***
Rin noticed Hakuno looking a bit... uneasy, as Kitty-kun was drained. She walked over and put her hands on her fellow teen's shoulders.

"Why don't you get some rest. You look tired, and it's been a rough day on all of us. I can get you a room next to mine if you want."

Hakuno shook her head. "I know I should, but..."

Something in Hakuno's eyes cued Rin onto the rest. She doesn't want to be alone. 

Rin wasn't sure what to do. She needed to start working on the wards soon. She wouldn't be able to keep a very good eye on Hakuno, nor could she spare the time to carry Hakuno upstairs.

She turned towards Ryoko. She had said she'd needed something to do. Plus this would hopefully keep her out of trouble.

Her daughter responded with a sigh. "I'm guessing you want me to keep her company?"

"You've inherited your mother's quick perception~"

"Or Dad's knowledge of how your mind works," Ryoko said with another sigh. She turned to Hakuno with a smile.

"Alright then, why don't you come with-"

But before Ryoko could finish her sentence, an explosion went off outside. It was enough to rattle the complex a bit.

The three girls looked at each other. They had a pretty good feeling about the source.

Rin in particular was rather anxious. She trusted Archer to take care of himself, but...

But before she could so much as make a dash for the door, she found an arm barring her way.

Ryoko gave her a grin. "Leave it to me."

Rin shook her head. "After what you woke up from? Besides, he's my... he's my... look, it's my responsibility!"

"Forest asked you to reinforce the wards on this place, right? I can't do that, not like you can. Besides, I'm not in too bad of shape. I'm sure the old man's fine, I'll just run out and check on him. Easy peasy, I'll be back inside in no time flat."

Rin crossed her arms. "You'd better. If something happens to Archer, I'm going to have a busy enough time haunting him. I don't need to have to haunt you too."

Ryoko looked back at her mother's younger self with a huge grin. "All the more reason to come back in one piece, right?" With a wave, she started to head out after her father, confident that he was alright, but not certain of what she would find. Whatever it was though, it wasn't anything she couldn't punch in the face.

[Lycodrake]

Lycodrake Aptera
Krokodil Factory


While his new companion rained down hellish fire burning these wicked fools in an instant, cauterizing death moved among the others in the form of the wingless dragon. Where others of his kind would have sought a bloody and burning solution, Lycodrake monopolized on his heat magic, dealing out mortal wounds with as little bloodshed as possible. Heavy slashes cleaved through armor and clothing, skin and sinew - burning gaping wounds before blood could be let.

A few of the humans close to the factory entrance bombarded him with small explosives, thinking him an easy, large target. Rather than taking the risk of being blinded by one, Lycodrake closed his eyes and allowed his other senses to guide him in his path of heat-death. He knew they would be hard pressed to pierce his hide with explosions and he wouldn't give them false hope by getting dazed by a flash.

He reached the entrance, a trail of bodies left in the wake of his assault, and debated whether he should smash the doors down or wait; Lycodrake worried for Tywin.

[Cherry Lover]

Rider finished speaking, and waited for a response. But, when it came, it was not quite what she expected.

"You lying, manipulative bitch", Mille said.

What?

"What someone is doesn't dictate who they are.  Magi might be murderous monsters in general, but it's a bit off putting to associate an individual with a whole.  When dealing with people, judge how the person is by their own actions, not by what they are.  Doing so may surprise you", Gabriel said.

Rider frowned. Gabriel had clearly misinterpreted her somewhat, and was obviously not happy with what she had said. At the same time, though, Mille's words made it clear that she had also seen it that way, and she was obviously upset.

Did I really come across like that?

Before she could say anything to rectify the situation and defend herself, though, Lancer spoke up.

"You.  Quit being a judgmental bitch to impress the Faerie.  You know nothing about Millie, and considering what I've seen of your 'family' from that brat you're so protective of, I wouldn't be casting too many stones, you ken?"

Rider stared at him angrily.

How dare he insult Kiyoshi like that.

"Hey, Kiyoshi is not a 'brat'", Rider said angrily. "He's just a nice kid who wants to be a hero like his father, stuck in a dangerous world without his parents. Don't you dare judge him like that just because he is willing to fight to protect the people he cares about."

As she spoke, she noticed Mille looked rather upset, and seemed to be getting angrier and angrier. She turned to respond to Gabriel's words and placate the girl somewhat, but before she could, Mille spoke once more.

"You... it was you...", said Mille.

What was me? Rider thought, puzzled.

She could see Mille staring at her, shaking, tears pouring down her face. Obviously what she had said had upset the girl a lot more than she had expected. Was she genuinely unaware of the true nature of the Association?

Otherwise, Rider couldn't see why she would be so offended. Whilst she knew that there were some good apples amongst the generally-rotten bunch, and could admit that Mille had shown some signs of being one of them, the fact that magi in general were simply untrustworthy was not something that could really be disputed.

The girl, however, continued to shake, before losing control totally.

"You MURDERER! You and Rin both, MURDERERS!" the girl shouted, angrily, letting go of Gabriel's hand.

What the hell?

Rider was utterly confused. She hadn't murdered anyone, and she couldn't understand why the girl seemed to believe otherwise. Before she could defend herself verbally, though, the girl called for Ruby. After a brief argument with the sentient stick, it flew down into her hands.

She's going to attack me!

As Mille transformed, Rider summoned her nails and crouched down, ready to jump out of the way of any attack. She knew that she could almost certainly defeat the girl even with the power boost Ruby gave her, her strength, Magic Resistance and, if necessary, Noble Phantasms should make sure of that, but killing her, even in self-defence, would seriously upset everyone else present, and therefore endanger Kiyoshi. Plus, the girl didn't deserve to die, so Rider didn't want to kill her if she could avoid it.

Fortunately, though, whilst Mille had lost sight of reality, Ruby had not. Unwilling to let her wielder effectively commit suicide by charging at Rider as she had intended, she instead threw her back towards the three men, before floating up into the sky, out of Mille's reach.

"What are you doing?! Are you on her side too?! She's connected to the killings, we have to stop her!" Mille shouted.

What kill... wait, does she think I killed Isa?

Rider scowled. Isa's death still upset her somewhat, and to be accused of responsibility in it was something she wasn't remotely happy about. But, at the same time, she could tell that the girl was upset, so she didn't really hold it against her.

Meanwhile, Lancer had grabbed hold of Mille, and Angel moved between the two of them.

"Millie, Rider is a right bitch, but she didn't kill those people," Lancer said, "She's not worth your time and effort, Lass."

Rider wasn't too impressed with his choice of words, but at least he knew she was innocent of the crime Mille was accusing her of. Angel too backed her up, using his vampiric senses as evidence of her innocence.

Meanwhile, Mille continued to berate Ruby for refusing to help and Ruby, in turn, telling her she was clearly not sane, and asking the others to restrain her. Rider couldn't help but be a little amused at the way the stick acted, even waggling a wing at the girl as if she were a parent waggling a finger whilst lecturing a naughty child. She even produced a sedative as an option to calm the girl down, but didn't use it just yet.

Finally, with Mille securely restrained by Lancer, Ruby turned to Rider, and started to berate her for her actions.

"Congratulations~! You'd make a great villain~", she began. "I mean, points off for doing it in front of someone who can vouch for her, but hey, still, great job!~ I should have Haku-chan practice becoming a Magical Girl by trying to take you out sometime~ Now, you and I both know that you weren't the one that set that little familiar on those unfortunate two in the building like you've just been accused, nor was it the Hag, but you sure did a great job of making yourself look suspect~"

Rider couldn't care less about the villain jibes, she was used to it, and she was glad that even Ruby was aware that she had not harmed Isa. But, the threat to have Hakuno use her as "practice" was not one she could so easily ignore. She liked Hakuno, she didn't want to fight her, and nor did she particularly like the idea of dying.

Rider glared angrily at the stick, feeling the desire to snap it in half. It was a nuisance, with no redeeming features whatsoever.

But, Ruby simply continued talking, pointing out the things Rider had forgotten.

"I mean, ouch, even after she saved your skin from all those vampires that were trying to kill everyone, even that Kiyo-whatshisface, and after seeing her throw up after seeing those bodies, and after her clearly being on the same side as you even in spite of the objections she has about you, that's cold~ But that's what a villain does, right? Tears the group apart by making them suspicious of each other~", she added.

Oh, I didn't think of that..., thought Rider.

In her anger, Rider had failed to consider the clear signs that Mille was not a typical magus. Killing the vampires was not in itself much of an indication, it was something any magus would have done, even Rin's father. But, Mille's reaction to seeing the bodies definitely did indicate that she was no hardened magus. Indeed, it was the sort of thing she'd have expected to see in the younger Rin. That did not, of course, mean that she was necessarily a good person, but she certainly wasn't someone who tortured children for fun. And, whilst Rider had not accused her of directly carrying out such acts, it was clear that her words had been more upsetting than she had expected.

As for the "villain" thing, though, that seemed awfully like what Ruby was doing right now....

The accursed stick continued mocking her, this time bringing up Rin, and how Mille would likely distrust her now.

"And oh boy, you mentioning the Hag? I bet now Miss Nothing-But-Fire here isn't going to trust her one bit now. Considering that she's Miss Hag's apprentice now and the Association wants her to keep an eye on Miss Temperamental... Whelp, I'm betting Miss Hag's going to be pleased as punch with you, isn't she?~", she said.

Oh....

Rider had certainly not intended to ruin Rin's plans. Whilst Rin was not her primary worry, she still wanted Sakura's family to be happy, and stopping her fulfilling her mission would affect her status and, potentially, her ability to visit her sister. Plus, Rin was a friend of hers, and she wanted to remain on good terms with her, even if the possibility of getting her into bed was much lower now that the darkened Archer had claimed her.

Then, the stick turned to Lancer, getting into a discussion with him about why he hadn't fucked Mille. Not that Rider particularly cared about the details of the idiot ex-servant's sex life.

Finally, after more guilt-tripping from Ruby, she finally stopped speaking. Before Rider could speak up, though, Lancer responded to Ruby's jibes.

"Anyway, you shut your fucking whatever passes as a mouth or I'll blow you straight to the Morrigan, and then she can use you on her withered bits!" he said.

"Yes, I will not be threatened by a sentient flying stick that seems to exist only to cause trouble. I know what I said to Mille was unfair, but if you use me as target practice and force me to hurt Hakuno then I will snap you in half and throw the pieces on a bonfire.", she said.

Then, she turned towards Gabriel and Mille.

"Yes, Gabriel, you are right that it is wrong to judge people by what they are. But, being a magus means making an active choice to join the Magic Association and follow their rules and culture, and that culture is fundamentally selfish and evil in nature. What happened to my master is proof of that.

Still, I guess the way Mille has acted until now shows she is not a typical magus, and I know that not all magi are bad, so I should have given her the benefit of the doubt", she said.

Then, she addressed the still-angry Mille, feeling rather bad at how she had upset the girl, and annoyed that she had most likely caused problems for herself and Rin in doing so.

"Mille, I'm sorry if I upset you and made out that you were something you are not. Many magi do do what I said, yes, and the Association itself is fundamentally bad, but what I've seen of you should have told me that you were not a typical magus. In fact, you seem a bit like Rin was once, a good person who is just not yet aware of what magi are truly like.

I just got angry at what you said and the way you seemed to be attempting to make be look bad, and I lashed-out, and I'm sorry for that. It was wrong of me to assume you were just like the typical, uncaring Association magus, and to imply that you should be distrusted because of that", she continued.

"And, I had nothing to do with what happened to Isa, as the others have said. She was a genuinely kind, sweet girl, and her death truly upset me. I would have done everything I could to protect her", she finished, the sadness clear in her voice.

Finally, she turned back to Ruby.

"As for you, though, Ruby, you are nothing but a hypocrite. You talk about villains trying to tear the group apart, and yet that is exactly that you are doing. I know your tricks all-too-well, I've fought alongside you before, and seen how unpredictable you are. Rin avoids using you whenever possible for a damn good reason, and you have seriously endangered my master's family by your acts multiple times. I would gladly turn you into firewood if I could.

I honestly don't care if you or anyone else thinks I am a villain. Most of the world already sees me as one, thanks to the selfishness, lies and trickery of the gods, and humanity's amazing ability to jump through hoops to justify any action they take. Ultimately, the villain is just the person who the author of the story decides is in the wrong. But, to accuse me of trying to split up the group when you are desperately trying to discredit me and make everyone distrust me is outright hypocricy. Frankly, you are more trouble than the power you give is worth, and I would advise everyone here to hand you over to Gabriel and let him dispose of you."

As she finished speaking, she heard a loud explosion, as the arrow Archer had fired reached its target. Looking up at the roof, she could see the bowman (thank God it's Archer and not that asshole version of Shirou) preparing to shoot again. The way he was acting, he could easily kill someone with his exploding arrows. That wasn't something Rider wanted to see, especially with Kiyoshi around.

"Damn, you guys need to deal with that golem, before Archer destroys half the neighbourhood. I'll take the vampire back, if you still want me to. I promise I won't hurt her."

[Alice]

Mille found herself quickly restrained by Lancer, his muscular arms tight around her body. Normally she wouldn't have minded one bit, but as it was, her mind unclear and unfocused except with thoughts of enacting violence against her enemy, they were nothing but obstacles. Obstacles she couldn't overcome, not in her current state, not with as little prana as she had left. Even if she risked frying her magic circuits reinforcing her arms in an effort to escape, she couldn't hope to overpower a Servant, not on her own. 

"Millie, Rider is a right bitch, but she didn't kill those people," Lancer said, "She's not worth your time and effort, Lass."

Angel nodded and moved between her and Rider, acting as a shield between the two women.  He said, "She's clean.  There's no fresh blood on her hands.  Whoever was killed, she didn't do it.  If she had, I would have been able to smell it.  Listen, I know we just met, but I really don't think you're the murdering type."

It.. It wasn't her? So then what caused this? And why? Why did she?

Her struggles lessened. For the first time, she realized that she was crying, and felt ashamed to be so weak. Knowing Rider and Rin were innocent didn't solve much of anything for her. If anything, it made things even more confusing. It was starting to get to the point where she couldn't feel anything. Just numb. And that scared her. She'd always felt something before. Sad, angry, confused, something. But not now.

She remained silent and unmoving in Lancer's arms as Ruby continued conversing with her various antagonees.

Ruby found herself delighted by Lancer's reaction, but before she could respond to him, Rider responded to her words with her own words. Many. Many. Many. Many. Words. But not before trying to make some sort of amends.

"Yes, Gabriel, you are right that it is wrong to judge people by what they are. But, being a magus means making an active choice to join the Magic Association and follow their rules and culture, and that culture is fundamentally selfish and evil in nature. What happened to my master is proof of that.

Mille's brain told her that she should be upset at this. Ashamed maybe. Guilty, perhaps? Sad? Confused? But she felt nothing. Nothing. She was crying, oh she was crying, harder than she had before. She was almost sobbing even. Maybe she was sobbing. But she felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. Just the numbness. And she hated it. Oh she hated it.

Rider continued on with an apology and an assurance that she had misjudged Mille's character and she was a good person after all. For many, perhaps, that would have been enough. But for Mille, numb and confused and... dare she even think it? Frightened, as she was? No. She didn't know what to feel towards it. How to react. Because she didn't know anything at all anymore. Everything she had known was now a nonsensical mess. All the pillars of her psyche had crumbled, had turned to rubble, and with little to stand on, what could she do?

So she stood there, trembling, not knowing what to say, not knowing what to do, not even thinking to be ashamed anymore. Because there was only nothing.

Rider turned to Ruby then, who seemed to not be paying too much attention to her temporary wielder's turn for the worse, but instead focused on the Servant's rather wordy response.

"In other words, blah blah blah, you're still sort of missing the point~ At least you made up somewhat, that's a start, but that doesn't solve everything, now does it?~ After all, you can't unsay what's been said~ As for discrediting you, that's hard to do when you already did that to yourself~ You inflicted your own wounds, I'm just pouring salt into them~ And as for the villain bit... well, you know what they say, don't you?~ It takes one to know one~ It's a shame that you do need me, huh~ Haku-chan can't really fight right now otherwise, and neither can Miss Temperamental over here, not with that little prana~"

Suddenly, the earth shook as an explosion went off entirely too close nearby. Mille didn't even turn to look. The golem hardly existed to her now. Just the emptiness. Just the overwhelming unknown.

Ruby, conversely, very much noticed. "Welp, we just wasted a whole bunch of time, now didn't we?~ Time to actually do what we were supposed to do in the first place~"

She spotted Mille and seemed to tilt a bit. "Huh, does Mille look a bit pale to you guys, or is it just me?"

[Elf]

Archer heard the elder Rin's voice yell at him as he began to head towards the golum.  He sighed to himself as he bounded from roof top to rooftop, getting closer to his target.

******

Angel looked between Rider, Lancer, Millie, and then at the remains of the giant explosion that happened a few moments ago. Its like Sunnydale all over again, he thought, remembering simpler days dealing with emotional teenagers.  The scent of dawn was thick upon the air; he didn't have much time to be outside left without major consequences.

"Damn, you guys need to deal with that golem, before Archer destroys half the neighbourhood. I'll take the vampire back, if you still want me to. I promise I won't hurt her."

Angel looked up and asked, "So you know the guy in bondage pants doing hardcore parcore on the rooftops then?"

"I may not agree with his methods, but at least he's doing something about it," Gabriel said before grabbing Angel's arm.  He let go of the girl, who wasn't looking too good.  "Too many unknown variables.  I think we were doing better with just the two of us, don't you?"

Angel nodded taking the other man's arm.  "Too much drama, besides, sun's going to be up soon."

"Which means we have to act quickly," Gabriel said before pulling them into the shadows.

******

"What the goatfucking hell?" Lancer shouted as his Landlady's godson and that guy with the large forehead vanished into the shadows.  Literally.  Without them.

And Archer was currently heading towards their target.  Rider's words meant nothing to him.  At this rate, that asshole was going to get there first and then steal his kill.  However there was Millie looking pale and wan in his arms.  He wondered if this was from prana drain, but she was trembling in his arms.

"Lass," he said in a low voice, "I need you to snap out of this.  We need you to get the girl inside and we'll take care of this.  Once that's done we can sort everything out."

He gently stroked her tears from her face.  "Now isn't the time to shed tears.  You can mourn later, but right now I need you sharp."

Then, he leaned forward and did what he would hope would snap her from her trance.  He gently pressed his lips against hers.

******

Forest reached out and took Tom's paw as Jack began to drink from him.  Apparently the vampire's sheer need made it so that the bite wasn't enjoyable.  Which also meant it was probably hurting like hell, but Tom was taking it. 

She squeezed his paw as she felt him shudder as the other vampire drank.  Considering his dislike for most other people, he was probably having an issue that it wasn't her touching him.  Honestly, she had no idea why out of all the people he'd probably met that he lowered his defenses for her. 

She looked over at Satoshi and her eyes narrowed at the mention that Angra needed sanctuary.  Her knee jerk reaction was to tell Satoshi that the bitch could go fuck herself.  However, that meant that potentially she would be out in the Wild to do whatever the spirit of evil wanted to do.  Probably be a giant ho-bag, she thought with a frown.

Then again, if Angra was here as a prisoner she couldn't do anything.  Literally.  Forest said, "That tart can stay here on one condition.  She's a prisoner.  She's not to leave her room unless she's supervised.  If I find out she does then deal's off. Got it?"

Then once Jack was finished, Tom ended up leaning against one of the walls, looking worse for well.  Forest went over to him, smoothing his damp fur.  "You need to get something to eat and drink.  Healing factors are great, but something needs to help replace that lost blood."

[Alice]

Tom nodded, taking the hand that was smoothing out his fur into one of his paws and giving it a gentle squeeze.

Yes, you are correct. There was a hint of exhaustion in his telepathic voice. Perhaps sitting down would be wise as well. Maybe the living room? Or would you prefer that I eat in the kitchen?

His vision was still a bit blurry, but he noticed that Ryoko was making her way out.

You're leaving?

She stopped. Yeah, going to check up on my dad. He could feel concern from her. You going to be okay? You look kinda shitty.

I will be fine. I have endured far worse. I... also wish to apologize for before. I still have a few... issues, with the way you approached the situation before, but... the way I reacted, it was wrong of me. Especially when it seems your intentions were ultimately for my benefit, even if the execution left something to be desired. So for the look I gave you before, and the consequences it has had on you... I am sorry.

Through his shaky vision he could still see her blink.

Nah, I'll live. And I'm sorry about the way that all got set up. That was my bad, I should have thought things through more. Though hey, it worked out for the best, didn't it?

He couldn't help but smile. Yes. Yes, it did. And for that I'm grateful. Though we can talk more at length later, I'm keeping you from your father.

Yeah, I'd better get going. Hang in there, big guy.

I will. Good luck.

Hey, thanks. She grinned again. Not that I'll need it or anything~

The delay gave her the chance to realize that she would get out faster if she left out the roof exit. It was a longer walk through the building, but it'd put her closer to the source of the explosion when she went out. So she hurried up the stairs and to the roof, climbing down the ladder and rushing towards the sound of the blast.

While that mental conversation was happening, and soon after Ryoko taking her leave, Rin approached Forest, Hakuno trailing behind her.

"Alright, now that things have settled down a bit, I'll start on the wards. Is there anything other security measures you want me to add to them, or do you just want the current wards strengthened?"

She looked over at Tom after Forest was given some time to respond to the first questions. "You took quite a bit of punishment there, Kitty-kun. Make sure to get some rest."

Hakuno behind her nodded in agreement.

Tom sighed at the accursed nickname, but couldn't help but look at them with... some confusion. With Ryoko and Forest, the concern made some sense. He seemed to have grown some on Ryoko, as she had on him, and thus they had the beginnings of a friendship, as rocky as those first days had been between them. And Forest was of course his lover, and a kind soul, so her concern was quite natural.

But then.... why Rin and Hakuno? For that matter, Jack had also seemed to feel regret for having to drain Tom like he did, despite the fact that he wasn't human. Why? Why did they care? After his experience in the lab it seemed so... strange.

I am, after all, regarded as a monster, as frightening, as inhuman. So then... why are these people that have only known me for a matter of minutes so concerned for me? I should hardly be complaining, but... It just doesn't make sense.

He turned to the pair below him. He noticed that he towered over the pair of them even more than he did Forest, and yet they didn't even flinch when his gaze fell upon them.

I will be quite fine. I have experienced worse, so this is hardly a concern for me. Also, please stop calling me Kitty-kun.

"You're the stubborn type when it comes to this sort of thing, aren't you? You don't have to be Mr. Tough Guy on our account you know. Just make sure you rest up."

He sighed as Rin turned to Hakuno. "I'm going to work on the wards now, so I can't stay with you. Are you going to be okay on your own?"

Hakuno nodded, but she looked uncertain. Even Tom could see it.

With yet another sigh, Tom addressed Forest privately.

What do you wish to do about the girl? It is somewhat bothersome, and I am perhaps not the best choice for the task, but keeping her company would not be much of an issue for me, since I will likely need to sit down for the next two hours. But if you wish to spend some time alone with me, we can figure out an alternate solution. In the end, I leave it up to you.

***

Ryoko ran towards the series of buildings, reinforcing her legs so she ran much faster, towards the source of the blasts, only to see a small group waiting there. She noticed a couple of men vanish into the shadows. With a shudder, she noticed Aunty Rider was there too. Lancer was holding onto who she guessed was Millie Garrison, who even from this distance she could tell wasn't in the best shape. Ruby was there too, arguing with Rider.

As she got closer, trying to sneak past them, she saw Lancer kiss Mille.

Ryoko was more surprised than bothered. Not because of Lancer, but because of Mille. Still, the girl looked like she needed it, Ryoko knew of Lancer's polyamorous tendencies already, and she also knew she didn't have time to waste on petty jealousies, so instead she snuck to a set of stairs on the side of one of the buildings and made her way to the rooftops.

There she saw that her old man was making his way towards some sort of junk golem. Smoke rose up from below, implying that... no way...

Dad missed? At the rate that thing is moving? Something's up...

Normally Ryoko would have gone back for Ruby, but the way she was fighting with Rider, that'd take up too much time. Besides, the damn stick had a way of heading towards trouble. So hopefully she'd get her mitts on the obnoxious Mystic Code soon enough. For now though, there was no time to lose. Quickly as she could, she also made her way towards the golem, careful not to slip on the rooftops or draw too much attention to herself.

[lantzblades]

Satoshi nodded "Ok, and Mewtwo, sorry, but my psychic spell is garbling your transmissions, I understood you were trying to communicate but I can't actually hear it properly" he said before moving away and back towards the door to the garage.

Rin reinforced herself and chased Archer 'That ass! Teamwork, why does no one learn it?!' she thought trailing the blackened servant.

[Bloble]

The only thing that managed to stop the golem's laughter was another one of those arrows. With a screeching halt, the once again premature explosion only blasted the various pieces apart, and it pulled itself together again, though several pieces now resembled little more than scrap metal.

With a metallic growl, the creature accepted the warrior's challenge.

It wasn't as if he liked fighting. Far from it. The closest the soul controlling the manufactured monster had ever been to a real fight was an incident involving him, a policeman, a young girl, and the unfamiliar gun in his shaking hands. He'd been terrified then, but the years had washed away such reservations easily enough. Spend enough time without a real body to lose, and you'll also end up forgetting the survival instincts ingrained into the human psyche.

However, he had yet to forget annoyance.

A hand came up. Only it wasn't a hand, but an industrial grade minigun, floating with no one to hold it up but his will. With a whirr, the barrels spun and warmed up for a few seconds. When it fired, the monster's laugh was drowned out by the sound of dozens of bullets being ejected from the gun in less than a second.

He had no sense of aim, but that was fine. Even a child could aim in a video game, and this was the same thing. His enemy was getting closer rather than fleeing, so targeting wasn't a problem. Even if only one in ten bullets were actually on target, that still left more than enough to kill anything that moved.