Cross Effects- The RP

[Arch-Magos Winter]

How am I meant to know what you will see as dangerous? We're not from your world, we don't know how your magic works.

And, you threatened my friends, that is no different from threatening me personally. Like Forest said, any true hero would do the same to protect those they care for.

"Hey, kid - consider yourself lucky you can't see the shit I do. Sorry about snapping like that. It's been a rough rough day all around. Thanks for the patch job."

It was a cop out apology but Lawrence at least needed to pay lip service to the concept of politeness here.

So are you going to haunt him?

'Nah, he's just a stupid kid. He'll learn, or he'll break. No two ways around it.'

Lawrence made his way back upstairs. The plasm situation would be resolved someway, somehow. With three spiritual entities here, at least one would might be willing to let him harvest some of their power. And if he needed to, he could just steal it. Then again, maybe the pawn shop owner would know of a Haunt or Gate nearby that he could get  a quick fix off of.

[The Man With All The Cute Boats]

Doomrider saluted, text book. "On it boss. Inferno Cop, hop on my bike!"

Gunning the engine of the Harley of Hell, Doomrider prepared to take off. That castle was a buzzkill that didn't have any cocaine. The fireball would be far better to investigate. "We're gonna RIDE BITCHES!"

Inferno Cop hopped up on his bike, eager to get on another vehicle of the flaming variety. He tried to wave back at Axe Cop, but kept his hands respectively on his gun and holding on to the bike instead.

"Yeah! Let's fuxxing ride this shit into town!" Inferno Cop said after his once-rival's similar outburst. "I'll take the castle, I have experience!"

Because Pyramids were egyptian castles, Inferno Cop was completely correct.

[Arch-Magos Winter]

"Yeah! Let's fuxxing ride this shit into town!" Inferno Cop said after his once-rival's similar outburst. "I'll take the castle, I have experience!"

The bike roared into the sky as Inferno Cop called dibs on the not party castle. Doomrider had no idea why.

"Are you sure? They don't like COCAAAAINE there. And it isn't a party castle. Buncha stuck up morons. Why can't it be a party castle?!"

Doomrider's bike roared its firey cocaine fueled path across the sky at near mach speeds, as the castle came up underneath.

"Have fun storming the castle, I'm going to go get some co- I mean investigate that fireball. And not do all the cocaine there."

[The Man With All The Cute Boats]

Inferno Cop didn't catch the first part. Instead, he could only reply to the second.

"Sounds good!" he said before jumping off the bike. While falling, he chuckled to himself. "Doomcop, what a great cop."

He landed on the street with a tap, and a giant castle stood before him. The gate was a big thing made of materials best not thought of, and surrounding the gate were some onlookers and some cops who couldn't handle the situation.

Which was rather normal, considering a medieval castle had suddenly appeared in an urban area.

A small part of Inferno Cop considered talking to his fellow cops, getting a feel for the situation and working together to work towards their common goal: to investigate the castle. But this was an incredibly small part of him, one that never went heeded.

"Hey, open up this gate!" Inferno Cop yelled at the building, before walking up to the gate and whacking at it with some of his strength. Let nobody say that Inferno Cop was incapable of knocking at a door like a normal person.

Well, apart for the "yelling at it first" part.

[Alice]

Archer smiled at Rin's words and said, "Indeed we do."  He reached for the shampoo and asked, "May I?"

Rin smiled up at him and nodded.

***

Shirou's silver eyes bored into Archer as he said, "I'm not doing it for her. It's for all the victims and possible victims of this Don. But..." Shirou sighed, eyes reverting to gold, "My cover's blown, and if I attack now, he'd blame this household. Not to mention you'd stop me before I could fire. Let's go back."

Archer looked back at him and shrugged. "I never said you were. Glad you're at least showing some sense."

He frowned at Shirou's choice of rentry, but followed him nonetheless.

"Let's head back to the Garage. I think I heard Kiyoshi yelling."
While Archer thought Forest would likely have the situation in hand, he had resolved himself to keeping Shirou from doing anything stupid, so with a sigh, he nodded and, yet again, followed after.

***

Ruu stared in Finn's eyes, with a trembling voice he asked;

"Can it really have friends?"

Finn nodded, a warm smile on his face as he gently closed his hand around the little familiar's own. "As many as you want, little buddy." He grinned. "You can even refer to yourself as 'I' if ya want."

***

Hakuno was in a bit of a predicament. Her beat up school uniform sat on the bathroom floor in a heap, waiting to be repaired and washed. The problem? Hakuno still didn't have any other clothes.

She had sat in the tub for awhile to try to get around the issue, but now she was all pruney, and she finally had to get out. Her body was wrapped within a towel, providing her with her only source of cover. Ruby bounced and wiggled in front of her.

"Aww, come on, you sure you don't just want to go out like this?~"

"I'm sure. Well, what am I supposed to do?"

"Well, I could go get someone of course. Then check on Finn and that little familar to see how they're doing~"

"I'd rather have some clothes first, thanks."

"Well, I can transform you temorarily and we can get clothes from there~"

"I suppose that works." Hakuno raised an eyebrow. "There isn't a catch, is there?"

"Of course not~ Now hold still~"

One elaborate transformation sequence and flash of light later, Hakuno was off to the TV room. The newly transformed magical girl wanted some clothes, but Ruby had taken the liberty of controlling her movements, and was now forcing her to walk in that direction.

No catch, huh?

[Mordalfus Grea]

“Thanks, Forest. I know being a hero is difficult, and I know that I can't do it on my own. But, I am not going to take that idiot's advice over my own father, and I will never abandon my friends and family like he seems to expect. And, really, I don't understand why Shuya thinks can lecture me about this, because he is certainly no hero. His idea of a hero is someone who stands there and watches whilst he murders random people....”

"To tell the truth runt, where I came from we had quite a few heroes like that" Joe spoke up from behind the runt, Kiyoshi, he might have been a hulk but he could be fast and quiet when he needed to be "I think Girly here knows of a few like that as well, Castle would be a good example for the Runt" Joe stated

"Frank Castle was a Hero in the loosest sense of the term, he was known as the Punisher after all and left plenty of bodies as he went along his way. A good example of true hero would be Captain America, the leader of the Avengers and Super Soldier of World War II or even that damned Spider-Man." Joe spoke with a hint of a growl at the thought of Spider-Man "damned webs" he muttered a little too loudly

[Daiki]

Shuya gave Forest a bewildered look when Lancer went about rocks.

You didn't even teach him poker?? What kind of cruel Landlady are you???

He sighed and shook his head, before facing his Irish buddy.

"Nah man, you play it with cards. Requires skill and a bit of luck too. Granted, that might be probably boring compared to rock throwing sessions."

----

"I?" Ruu frowned before nodding. "It... No, Ruu... will try."

That probably will take a bit to adjust.

"Thank you."

[Alice]

Finn gave Ruu a cheerful nod. "Hey, no problem at all. That's what friends are for, right?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I figure it'll take a little bit to get used to sayin' it, but once you say it enough, it should come more easily for ya."

"We're here~"

Finn turned around to see Hakuno and Ruby walking up to the couch, the teenager occasionally fretting with her magical girl skirt, a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Well hey there, Miss Haku! Come and join us, we found a marathon for ya!"

Hakuno was a bit less enthusiastic about it, given her current circumstances, but Ruby forced her to walk the rest of the way and plopped down on the couch. Clearly, there was one course of action left...

Archer, you there?

There was a moment of silence before the Servant responded.

I'm here. Is something wrong?

Um... well... I-is it possible for you to wash and repair my uniform right now?

Did you really have to contact me via our ley line just to ask for some clothes? ....Are you naked right now?

Of course not! I'm transformed right now because I don't have any other choice.

Let's just hope Ruby doesn't "conveniently" decide to stop the transformation then. There's been an incident, so I'm going to help with that first. Forest seems to have it in hand, but I'm just checking to make sure. Then I'll get to your uniform.

Thank you. Just be careful though.

I've got it under control.

Doesn't mean I can't still worry about you.

I'm not sure why you're worried.

...For someone so smart, you're sure an idiot sometimes. Just be careful, OK?

Finn gave Hakuno an appraising look. "Hey, Miss Haku, you OK? You look a little unhappy there."

She looked at the freelancer in confusion before shaking her head slightly. "It's nothing. Just was thinking a little, that's all."

"If you say so. If ya wanna talk about it at all, just say something, alright?"

Hakuno nodded before turning to look at the television screen. If Ruby was going to force her to watch these things, she might as well start now.

***

Slivers of moonlight escaped to earth from cloudy skies. It did little to illuminate the haze which covered the city like a fetid shroud, and even though it was not time for the air to develop a deathly chill, warmth seemed to leech away from the air.

Below, working his way through the maze of lighted monoliths that stood testament to humanity's vain attempts to defy the heavens, was a young man, bespectacled and cloaked in a coat that reached his ankles. He pulled the covering around himself more tightly, more out of distaste for the foul atmosphere than the sudden nip in the air. Frowning up at the odd structure that now managed to tower over all the other buildings in its own sort of willful arrogance, the traveler continued on into the night, hoping that this evening would remain uneventful. Knowing what he did of this strange City though, he somehow doubted it.

***

So, this is the place huh?
The young woman gazed at the large, brick building with rather intense interest before her attention was directed below. It was a scene that was far too common in movies, TV shows, and comics. A young woman, out of breath, panicked, fled through the dark, twisting alleyways away from a somewhat thuggish, unpleasant looking sort of fellow that menaced her every footstep. Doubtless, his intentions for her were not good at all.

A bit cliche, unfortunately. Ah well, regardless, it's showtime~  The girl reinforced her legs before jumping down behind the bad man.

"Hey, mister!"

Mr. Generic Thug Assailant Guy turned around to face the newcomer. "The hell you come from?"

"Around. Whatcha doin'?"

"None of your damn buisness. Although..." He gave her a rather nasty leer. "We could have some reeeeal fun times if you just stand still there for me."

The other woman stopped, looking back behind her.

"Oh yeah, sure thing." The girl approached the man, innocently enough, casually enough. He hardly got any time to process the fist that flew straight into his face before he crumpled unconscious to the ground, and with a broken nose to boot.

"That's what you get for bein' a creeper!" The strange girl was about to walk off, but instead found herself face to face with the woman she had just rescued.

"You know, I should really thank you. Really, I wanted to toy with him some more before I ate him, but you saved me the trouble of knocking him out myself. I prefer my prey conscious and squirming, but the occasional fast food doesn't hurt." The woman's fangs gleamed as she smiled. "But he'll just be the main course. I can still get the blood out of you kicking and squirming."

The vampire lunged at the girl, but the undead only grabbed at air as her quarry barely managed to dodge. The girl flipped towards a dumpster, quickly taking a survey of its contents. Sitting on top of the rubbish was a broken chair. Before she could make a reach for it though, the vampire lunged at her again, fangs bared. The girl dodged again, but it was an even closer call than last time.

"Three strikes and you're out, honey." Before the vampire could charge again, the girl jumped up on top of the dumpster and retrieved the chair before jumping right back off.

"Name's Rebecca Kururugi." A huge grin crossed her face as she broke off a chair leg to use as a stake. "And I've always wanted to slay a vampire."

The vampire hissed at her before lunging at her one last time. ...Running straight into the stake. The vampire gurgled before collapsing on the ground. She tried to retaliate one last time, but Rebecca quickly grabbed the stake and, reinforcing her arms, shoved it straight through the creature's heart.

Rebecca sighed and shook her head. "My first vampire, and it's one that's real bad at fighting. That sucks. Ah well, this city's crawling with 'em, I'm sure I'll have a second chance at a proper fight with one."

Leaving the assailant she had decked faintly groaning and prone on the ground as he slowly started to regain consciousness, Rebecca began to make her way towards the brick compound, not for certain what awaited her there, but her curiosity still peaked. 

[Elf]

Forest grinned at Kioyshi and said, "Of course you shouldn't listen to that git, but that's beyond the point."  She bent her knees so she was on the boy's level and said, "Mayhap, if you want, I can show you a few things where you can disarm someone without equipping your swords sometime in the near future.  Right now though, I think your Aunt Rider would like it if you got yourself some supper and then to bed."

She rose to her full height, and heard Shuya's thought towards her.  She replied, Yes, I've had to teach him about cars, electricity, and the like.  Card games weren't even on my list of priorities.

Then she nodded at Joe's words, translated in Japanese to Kiyoshi, and said, "Mr. Fixit is right.  Batman's like that too.  You know Batman doesn't have any super powers but he can take out Superman, who can punch bloody planets out of alignment.  Well, at least Pre-Crisis Superman could, and that was ridiculous, but I'm going off on a tangent here.  Vengeance is well and good, but it just makes you alone at night and kills you from the inside out."

She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and said, "Lancer you got things here?"

"I think so.  Go clean up and take a break before you go punching some other man in their boys,"  Lancer said with a grin. 

The blond nodded and looked at Angrea still there.  She pointed at the dark haired woman and said, "And you'd better get the sodding hell out of my house, you tattooed up tart or I'll throw you out myself."

******

Lancer enjoyed the sight of Forest leaving.  The lass may have been slender and muscular, but her ass was perfectly sculpted, and the baggy clothing she wore couldn't quite help that.  He turned back to his two comrades and said, "So, teach me this Texas Hold Up thing then.  And I'll drink the both of you under the table."

******

Archer began the lengthy task of lathering up Rin's hair.  He gently massaged her scalp with his fingers, enjoying the feel of her hair against his hands.  He smirked to himself, not wanting Rin to see how much he was enjoying this task.

[Alice]

Rin sighed with contentment as Archer's fingers worked their way through her hair and scalp, and quickly relaxed against him. While the raw excitement and pleasure of their bodies intertwining only moments before had been one of the best moments of her life, simple and relaxing moments like these were quite nice as well.

[Cherry Lover]

Kiyoshi smiled at the man's apology, although he wasn't sure what he meant about seeing things.

"That's OK", he said as the man walked away. "I did hurt you pretty badly, I understand you being annoyed".

As the man left, Forest grinned at Kiyoshi.

"Of course you shouldn't listen to that git, but that's beyond the point", she said.

Then, bending down so she was on his level, she continued "Mayhap, if you want, I can show you a few things where you can disarm someone without equipping your swords sometime in the near future.  Right now though, I think your Aunt Rider would like it if you got yourself some supper and then to bed."

Kiyoshi felt his stomach rumble at the mention of food, and also felt himself stifling a yawn. Forest was right, he was hungry and it was well past his bedtime. Food and sleep were what he needed right now. He was definitely grateful for her offer, though, even if he wasn't so sure it would work for someone who lacked her physical strength.

Before he could reply, though the huge man at the door turned and addressed Kiyoshi.

Unfortunately, the man only spoke English and, whilst Kiyoshi's English was good for an eleven-year-old Japanese kid, he was far from fluent, and the man's method of speaking was very different from both the standard American English he had been taught in school and the Cornish-accented British English of his brother's fiancee.

He said something about heroes, plus something about America, something military I think. Oh, and Spider Man. He's a good hero, I like his stories.

He mentioned a castle, too, maybe he was talking about Satoshi. I don't recall Toshi knowing a "Frank", though. Maybe that's one of his familiars or something.

I really don't get what he was talking about, it makes no sense....

However, before Kiyoshi could attempt to inform the man, in somewhat broken English, that he could not understand him, Forest picked up on this, and provided a translation on his behalf, before adding some words of her own.

"Mr. Fixit is right. Batman's like that too. You know Batman doesn't have any super powers but he can take out Superman, who can punch bloody planets out of alignment. Well, at least Pre-Crisis Superman could, and that was ridiculous, but I'm going off on a tangent here. Vengeance is well and good, but it just makes you alone at night and kills you from the inside out".

Now that it had been translated for him, Kiyoshi could understand what he was saying, and he certainly had no interest in becoming a hero who just murdered anyone in his way. He didn't know who Captain America was, although he guessed that the designation of "World War II Super Soldier" probably had something to do with his lack of popularity in Kiyoshi's homeland, but he certainly was aware of Spiderman. He was a true hero.

And, even more so, he could identify with Batman, mainly because he could see traits of the Dark Knight in his own father. Like Batman, Kiyoshi's father used technology and clever tactics to defeat more powerful foes, although he was of course aided by Kiyoshi's mother and Aunt Rider, who Kiyoshi couldn't help but compare to Spiderman, perhaps because of the way in which she fought.

"Yeah, I understand what you're saying. My father is like Batman, he uses technology and his particular type of magic to defeat Dead Apostles and other entities far stronger than him. Although I guess Aunty Rider does help him quite a bit, and mummy too. Aoi-nee too, sometimes, although mummy hates seeing her in danger.

I understand that vengeance isn't good, but some people are just too evil to live, like Zouken. I would prefer not to kill, though, killing is not good. And, I can use some of my mother's magic to defend myself less lethally. But, I am only a child, I don't have the strength to fight without my swords as easily. I would like to learn if you can teach me, though.

And, yeah, I am hungry and tired. Where's the kitchen? I can go make food if you want. Oh, also, where can I sleep? I don't have a room yet."

He awaited her reply but, before it came, he thought of something else.

"Oh, by the way, where is Aunty Rin? I'd like to say goodnight to her before I go to bed."

[Daiki]

The familiar took the words from Finn with a nod when he realized the arrival of a pair entering the room. He was surprised by the flashy outfit Hakuno was wearing, but didn't comment on it. The flying stick was there too for some reason.

"You came to watch with too?"

----

Shuya gave the Irish hero a smile.

Texas Hold Up, really?

"Alright. Lead on, let's go find a room where we won't be interrupted every five minutes."

[Elf]

Forest listened to Kioyshi before tilting her head thoughtfully.

"Well, it seems like you have a good start.  I can show you where your Aunt Rider is sleeping and there's a room near that for you to stay in.  Then I can take you to the kitchen," Forest said with a grin.

Then she chuckled and said, "Also, your Aunt Rin is a bit busy right now."

Before she ushered the boy out, she pointed to Angra and said, "You had better be gone by the time I get back."

She proceeded to show the boy to Rider's room and showed him a nice room that he could stay.  It was done in subtle blues and there was a framed poster from Batman: The Animated Series in it.  She'd bought the poster on a whim and figured this could be a child's room if ever needed.  Gabriel had grown up in a time where pop culture like this didn't exist.  She gestured and said, "This would be your room.  Just let Lancer or me know if you need anything."

Then she showed him to the kitchen and stared at the miracle that Archer and Shirou had proceeded to put on it.   And then she noticed that both men were gone.  The boy had said he could fix himself something, and he seemed a bit more capable than poor Ruu. 

She looked at him and asked, "Can you handle yourself in here for a couple of minutes?  I would love to take a quick shower and put on some clothing."

******

"There, I think I have it," Archer said with a smile before propelling Rin under the spray to get rinsed off.

******

Lancer chuckled and said, "I think I know the place."  Then he looked at Joe and asked, "You coming with?"

[Cherry Lover]

Kiyoshi smiled as Forest talked about where he would sleep, and taking him to the kitchen. Then, she moved onto the current whereabouts of his Aunty Rin.

"Also, your Aunt Rin is a bit busy right now", she said, chuckling.

"Oh, OK", Kiyoshi replied, somewhat disappointed.

I'd like to say goodnight to her before I go to bed. She or Aunty Rider usually do that before I go to sleep if mummy's not there....

Before he could say anything more, though, Forest ushered him out of the room and up the stairs. She showed him the room his Aunty Rider had chosen, before showing him a nearby room that had clearly been designed with a young boy in mind, complete with a Batman poster on the wall. Kiyoshi did like Batman as a hero, he reminded him of his father. So, he was pleased to hear Forest offer him the room to sleep in.

"Thank you", he said, smiling. "I really like it. The Batman poster makes me think of my dad."

He followed her down to the kitchen, where she stopped.

"Can you handle yourself in here for a couple of minutes?  I would love to take a quick shower and put on some clothing", she asked.

"Yeah, sure. I'm nothing like as good a cook as mummy and daddy, but I do enjoy doing it, and they've taught me the basics at least", he said, modestly.

In truth, Kiyoshi was actually an outstanding cook for his age, and certainly better than the average adult. The love of cooking that his parents both shared had been obvious to him from an early age, and the happiness they showed in the kitchen had definitely rubbed-off on him. And, of course, once he started showing an interest in cooking himself, they were not going to refuse their beloved little boy lessons. Indeed, they were far more inclined to share the kitchen with him than they were with each other.

Before Forest left, though, Kiyoshi had a few more things he wanted to ask. Whilst the house and the room were nice, and he certainly felt that he was safe here, without any of his family around he felt a little lonely. And, whilst he wouldn't admit it, he did sometimes have difficulty sleeping without someone tucking him in and saying goodnight. Usually it was his mother or father, but if they weren't around then his Aunty Rin or Aunty Rider would usually do it, or else one of his siblings. It was extremely rare for none of them to be around. And, whilst Forest had said that Rin was busy, he couldn't see why she would be unable to even say goodnight.

"What is Aunty Rin doing?" he asked, curiously. "I'd like to say goodnight to her. Surely it won't disturb her too much if I just pop in quickly."

[Elf]

Forest could read that the little boy was lonely.  His beloved aunt Rider was doing only the Morrigan knew what and Rin was currently with that corrupted asshole upstairs.  The noises had died off, but her keen senses let her know that the shower was on.

She studied the redheaded boy, wondering how to answer his question without traumatizing him.  At his age he had to have known about "the birds and the bees", but saying, "Rin's off having sex!" was blunt even by her standards. 

Her first instinct was to offer her services tucking the boy in.  After all, she had plenty of practice with Gabriel.  Then there was the fact that she couldn't replace a beloved parent or aunt.  In fact, the kid had known her for maybe an hour at tops.  He might be warming up to her, but she wasn't a suitable replacement by any stretch of the imagination.

She bent to his level and said, "Well, right now Rin's having some alone time with her Archer.  However, maybe she can take a break long enough to come tuck you in.  I'll be back in a few though, so go ahead and make yourself at home."  She winked at the kid, gave him a wave and headed towards the room where Rin was staying.

It was one of the ones with the best view, and considering she was sleeping with a magical sniper with magical trick arrows that would make Oliver Queen green with envy it wasn't a big surprise.  She rapped the door with her knuckles and called out, "Rin, if you can tear yourself away for a little while, Kiyoshi would sleep a lot better if someone he knew tucked him in."

With that, she moved to go to her own quarters to clean up.

******

The corrupted Archer chuckled as he heard their Landlady's accented Japanese shout at him.  He looked at Rin and asked, "Do you want to play Auntie after we get done here?"  He bent forward and kissed the side of her neck.  "Not that we're going to rush to get to the kid though."

******

Lancer sighed at the knocking, looked at his new friends and said, "I'll be back mates."

He walked up to the door, opened it and asked, "What?"