Cross Effects- The RP

[lantzblades]

Satoshi shook his head "The only thing you might legally have me on is squatting and since this is a demolition site and I over saw the demo of the condemned apartments on this block that's not the case. Leave, now." Satoshi replied sending a message to Angra.

"Ryan, get the others" he shouted. The Knight shook startled and nodded running off into the castle.

Angra shivered "Well there goes our fun, Satoshi needs us outside, we need to bring Alter as well" she told Rider.

[Arch-Magos Winter]

"Ryan, get the others" he shouted. The Knight shook startled and nodded running off into the castle.

Or at least, it tried to. The Angel never made it to the door, Raul dropping on it like a bolt of lightning from above, blades impaling it before rending it into scrap metal with the ease one might find in cutting butter with a red hot knife. The Demon rose up from his kill, his blades all extended, wings unfurled. The eerie metallic body barely reflected in the moonlight, each aspect of its form unmistakably inhuman, from the eyeless smooth face to the odd wings and limbs. That kill had been far easier than he had expected. Oddly, the one Angel hadn't left its Cover yet. And addressing the uncovered as its covered name? Interesting, though not unusual. This Angel was an odd one, one that needed to die.

The Decent demanded it.

"I aM A mOnuMent to aLL yOUr sINs..."

The warbling mechanical voice that eminated from Raul's 'mouth' was in no way comforting or human. It was a Cacophony.

[KAIZA]

ALL SYSTEMS...ONLINE. UNIT I.D. R31-N4: ACTIVATED.

Two silver eyes opened as the unit awakened. She was lying down on what appeared to be a rooftop in an unknown location. Nobody knew how she had found herself in this place, and there was no one around either.

“Internal systems: working properly. Damage: none. Connection with HQ...failed. Attempting back-up connection...failed.”

Finding herself unable to contact to base, the unit stood up and gazed upon her surroundings. What she saw was an unfamiliar skyline, a city that looked like the ones from centuries past. Not wasting any time, the unit tried figuring out her current location.

“Processing...processing...” she said, her eyes giving a slight glow.

Unfortunately, none of her surroundings matched any location registered in her databanks. To her, this could only mean she was outside the Order's territory.

“Location: unknown. Activating Scan Mode.”

The glow in her eyes returned once more, as her internal systems began a complete mapping of her surroundings. It was not perfect; she could only make out the general shape and outline of most of the buildings, but it would be enough for her to travel and guide herself safely.

“Mapping completed. Downloading information into data banks.”

However, her scan also brought something else to her attention: the amount of Mist in the air. Normally, the atmosphere would be reeking of the substance. However...Mist was severely lacking in this place, almost non-existent compared to her usual levels. In order for her systems to work properly in this place, she had to adjust them to be lower.

“Atmospheric Mist levels decreased by 96%. Recalibrating...recalibrating...Recalibration complete. Data banks updated.”

Having completed her check-up, she followed her programming and looked for the next course of action. Seeing as she was unable to communicate with HQ or the other units, she decided the best thing to do was to search for any contact within this new location.
 
“Directive accepted. Beginning search. Activating detector.”

Greenish light erupted from the thrusters in her back, wings wide open, as the unit took flight and made her way through the skies of Nexus City. As she made her way towards the city center, her Mist detector picked up a rather strong signature, which only became stronger the closer she approached.

“Energy surge detected: traces of Mist found.”

Suddenly, she stopped. Programming clearly dictated that any unusual Mist signature was to be investigated at once, and if it was the work of a magic-user, to execute them. Such was the Order's will. Calculating the source of the energy signature, the unit shot itself through the air with unnatural speed in the direction of the energy.

Not too long after, she reached an apartment complex, and on its rooftop, the unit could see the source of the energy spike: a fully powered magic circle, which was currently absorbing all the energy it could from its surroundings. There was no doubt this was the work of a sorcerer, and a powerful one at that.

“Magic signature detected: acquiring target.”

In an instant, she summoned her Battle Armor and her Artificial Concept. She could not take this enemy lightly. With the powerful scythe Harvester in hand, the unit gave one last quick assessment of the situation, before launching herself towards the rooftop at full speed.

“Commencing execution.”

[Alice]

Forest gave Finn a wan smile at his kind words.  The kid had heart, that was for sure.  And from the look of it, the beginnings of a crush, she thought to herself.  She rested her chin on her knees and studied him.

"Thank you," she said before shaking her head, "For the offer."

Finn returned Forest's wan smile with a warm one. "No problem at all. It's the least I can do for ya."

She pushed a braid back and said, "However, since you've had a good life, find some nice girl, settle down and have a family.  Not all of us have that option."

"I'm plannin' on it, sooner or later. Maybe save up for some land and farm once I'm ready to settle down and stuff." He rubbed the back of his head. "Gotta find the right girl first though. I'm sure I'll find her though, it's only a matter of time."

***

"No-one seems to listen to me", he said, his face brightening slightly at the girl's obvious concern.

"I offered to cook, and you all just ignored me. I thought it would be fun for us to both cook together, to get to know each other better and have some family bonding time, and you all carried on ordering the pizza without even noticing me."

So he felt left out and just wanted to help. I can understand that. Ryoko kneeled down so she could look Kiyoshi in the eyes. "I'm sorry everyone ignored you. It definitely wasn't on purpose, I can tell you that much. Sometimes grown ups get caught in their own stuff and the kids get lost in the shuffle. It's not great that adults do it, but it happens. I had it happen to me a few times when I was a kid. But no one meant to hurt you."

Ryoko was hit with a wave of nausea, and an unpleasant chill ran through her. Even though the taint was gone, the effects of fighting it off remained. Just like in the alleyway... But at least this will be the last time I have to suffer through that crap. She sighed. "As for the cooking thing... trust me, my... Not Dad wasn't exactly happy to be taken away from his cooking either. He loves to cook, even if he won't openly admit it. But... well, trust me, normally I would just cook in Dad's stead, but..."

Exasperation tinged her voice. "I really hate to admit this, but the whole being taken over thing wore me out quite a bit. And when I cook, I want to make as few mistakes as possible. And cooking for that many people is a lot of effort, believe me. Trust me, I wouldn't want to burden you with that, I've done it before and it's a lot of responsibility to just toss onto one kid. So I stooped to take out. Plus I feel like I owe everyone here. So buying pizza is my way of showing my appreciation since I can't really cook properly right now."

She gave him a winning smile. "However, I'll still make it up to you. Tomorrow, after I've had some rest, we'll bake some cookies. You get to pick the flavor and everything." She grinned. "You even get to lick off the batters, plus you'll get a spoonful of cookie dough to eat depending on what we make. Or maybe two. Or maybe several. We'll see how it goes."

Suddenly, there was some guy coming down the stairs. He addressed Kiyoshi.

"Hey boyo, Sakura needs some water, I can get it for her but I ain't great in the kitchen, you mind making her some chicken soup?" he asked.

What the hell? Even if this guy somehow knows Kiyoshi, what the hell is he doing ordering a kid around like that? And boyo? Seriously?

She was about to tell the guy off for being an asshole, but-

Kiyoshi smiled.

"Sure, I'll make the best chicken soup she's ever tasted", Kiyoshi said enthusiastically. Erm... well, OK, maybe not, but it'll be damn good", he said with a smile.

-she relented. She didn't want to burst the kid's bubble. ...No way she was letting the jerk off that easily, though. She made a mental note to tell him off should they even end up alone together.

"Hey, Ryoko-nee, would you like to help me? We can make some soup or something for everyone else, too", he said, turning and walking towards the kitchen.

"Well-" unfortunately, the fact that he was already turning towards the kitchen made this difficult. She was forced to shout after him."I'm going to finish up with Lancer and then I'll see if I can help, alright?"

"But forget that. Did you say you're cooking? Mind cooking me something as well?" Shirou said, noticing how happy the boy was to help. "I haven't eaten anything for ages."

Not another one... Noticing that the boy was already gone, Ryoko whirled on the newcomer. "Listen, you shouldn't order around kids like that, you know? That goes for that Connor guy too-" she stopped when the young man's features registered. So then... this is the weird version of Uncle Shirou that I was told about.

He turned to the girl, "Ryoko was it? Nice to meet you, I'm Shirou."

She blinked before responding, somewhat bemused. "Yeah, that's right. Nice to meet you too." Her brows furrowed. "Why did you tell Kiyoshi to make you something? He's technically your son from another reality, sure, but... wouldn't you normally cook something for yourself?"

***

Tom gazed up at the apartment complex and sighed. This complex is full of people. My only hope is that I only have to deal with a few of them. He quickly found the entrance by skimming a few people's thoughts and let himself inside. He made his way in further, not entirely sure what he would find... or who.

***

Archer held Rin after she lost herself to bliss.  He guided her under the spray before starting to gently wash her water warmed skin.  "After this, maybe we should rejoin the other idiots," he said with a grin.

Rin's body relaxed as Archer washed her, enjoying the feeling of his calloused fingers against her skin. "I suppose we should. It's a shame, but we've probably kept them waiting long enough." She sighed. "I just hope no one's done anything stupid."

[lantzblades]

Connor having gotten the water moved past with no intention of stopping and replied"I didna tell him, I asked him" he said hurrying to the stairs.

[Aiden]

One moment she was sitting in her office at the law firm and leaning back in her chair eating her second lunch: a nice foot long sandwich with the works. It was something to tide her over until she could arrange the funds to get away from this simple, mortal life and begin her search for completion. Plus, it was simply delicious. Anything large and filling like that was worth ingesting, savoring, and burning up in the unceasing furnace of her being. It was never quite enough, not like mana was when gifted to her by willing sacrifice, but any substitute was better than nothing.

The next moment? She found herself in an alley, flat on her bum in a puddle of stagnant water. It took her a full minute to overcome her disorientation enough to recognize it, looking down at the wetness she felt soaking into the expensive dress pants she wore.

"... this irritates me," Valda concluded out loud, before taking full stock of her situation.

Okay, first, she had to find her glasses... there. They were right next to her, a little wet but no worse for wear. She grabbed those between manicured fingers and placed them neatly back on her face.

Then she had to find her sandwich.

...

...

There was no sandwich. Her magnificent sandwich, not even a quarter of the way finished, was gone.

Valda clenched her fists and trembled in an unpleasant physiological reaction- anger. Yes, it was anger. Some force had torn her from the center of her admittedly meager influence and deprived her of her direly craved sustenance. This was a worthy cause for such a response.

A snarl escaped her throat, and she stood up from the puddle to begin stalking out of the alley. She could figure out a plan later, because right now she needed power. Power enough to find and punish the insignificant ember of consciousness that dared to take from her and send her about without her permission!

Then she paused and considered her backside. 'A new pair of pants might help, too.'

[Bloble]

The boy stumbled out of the narrow alley into another, slightly less narrow alley. The water was stagnant, the air polluted by mixtures of gases and minute amounts of magic, and the earth and fire had been twisted into man made shapes so much so that the original land was almost completely gone underneath. It made him slightly ill, and he resisted the urge to add another pool of unidentified mush to the others lining the walls and ground.

He spotted a rather dressed up, but angry looking lady, and stumbled in her direction with weakened limbs.

"Hey, wait up," Salamander said in his mind. "There's something off about her. You should stay back."

He ignored her. This person was human, and he couldn't sense and unnatural energy from her body. The spirits were just restless from the strange new environment. As was he. That, and the pounding headache he'd suddenly acquired led to Luka ignoring the spirit's counsel.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he began, focusing on not slurring the words. "Would you happen to know where this town's inn is? A tavern, perhaps?"

He hoped she didn't ask for money. Some part of him said that cooking utensils wouldn't be accepted as currency in this place.

[Aiden]

The boy stumbled out of the narrow alley into another, slightly less narrow alley. The water was stagnant, the air polluted by mixtures of gases and minute amounts of magic, and the earth and fire had been twisted into man made shapes so much so that the original land was almost completely gone underneath. It made him slightly ill, and he resisted the urge to add another pool of unidentified mush to the others lining the walls and ground.

He spotted a rather dressed up, but angry looking lady, and stumbled in her direction with weakened limbs.

"Hey, wait up," Salamander said in his mind. "There's something off about her. You should stay back."

He ignored her. This person was human, and he couldn't sense and unnatural energy from her body. The spirits were just restless from the strange new environment. As was he. That, and the pounding headache he'd suddenly acquired led to Luka ignoring the spirit's counsel.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he began, focusing on not slurring the words. "Would you happen to know where this town's inn is? A tavern, perhaps?"

He hoped she didn't ask for money. Some part of him said that cooking utensils wouldn't be accepted as currency in this place.

She felt it before she saw it. Behind her, just where she was before, was something powerful. Something with vast energies of its own locked away, swirling in patterns that were almost... familiar. It was only this proximity that allowed her to recognize that much beyond a little shiver and a general sense of direction, but she was getting that 'general sense' everywhere in the most worthless way possible from this city. If only she had her phone- no, focus.

The presence behind her needed addressing, especially once it used its words. 'Does it think we are in Ireland, or some other such place?'

Valda adjusted her glasses and turned her head to glance over her shoulder at its young, masculine voice and present her... answer to the...

Where was it, exactly? Her eyes flickered down, and she got to take stock of the absolutely most delicious boy-shaped vessel of elemental mana she had ever beheld before. A little smile overtook her face, as the desire to act pleasantly took her fancy.

"Why no, I can't say I do young man," Valda said with a gentle German accent to her words, "I'm rather new here myself, and quite thoroughly lost. But then, you seem to be much in the same straits."

She wondered how long she should keep him talking before she took advantage of the opportunity presented to her.

[Bloble]

"O-oh." Suddenly he was at a loss for words. His entire conversation plan hinged on him being the only one who had no idea where he was. But to find someone else also lost was almost too big a coincidence. "Well, yeah, I guess I am," he admitted. "I was on my way to Iliasburg when I blacked out. Did you suddenly wake up here, too?"

"Luka, she's bad news," the spirit of flame in his head spoke up again. "If she notices my presence, I won't be able to do anything to help you."

"Oho? Admitting defeat so easily?" Undine spoke up, the barest hint of a chuckle in her voice. "I didn't think your pride would be that flexible."

"There's a time for everything," Salamander admitted. "And now is the time to run. I feel strong flames lurking within that woman, boy, and I won't be able to blunt them if she proves to be an enemy."

This time he paid attention. Salamander was asking him to leave? After all he'd been through? That alone was strange.

Just in case, he asked the lady, just to make sure. "And... are you a monster taking human form, by any chance?"

With his luck, it was more probable than not, even if he couldn't sense anything from her.

[Aiden]

"O-oh." Suddenly he was at a loss for words. His entire conversation plan hinged on him being the only one who had no idea where he was. But to find someone else also lost was almost too big a coincidence. "Well, yeah, I guess I am," he admitted. "I was on my way to Iliasburg when I blacked out. Did you suddenly wake up here, too?"

"Luka, she's bad news," the spirit of flame in his head spoke up again. "If she notices my presence, I won't be able to do anything to help you."

"Oho? Admitting defeat so easily?" Undine spoke up, the barest hint of a chuckle in her voice. "I didn't think your pride would be that flexible."

"There's a time for everything," Salamander admitted. "And now is the time to run. I feel strong flames lurking within that woman, boy, and I won't be able to blunt them if she proves to be an enemy."

This time he paid attention. Salamander was asking him to leave? After all he'd been through? That alone was strange.

Just in case, he asked the lady, just to make sure. "And... are you a monster taking human form, by any chance?"

With his luck, it was more probable than not, even if he couldn't sense anything from her.

"A monster?"

The word struck, in a way. Was she so transparent that her true nature could be noted so easily? The mage who identified her for what she really was, unlocked her memories with his hapless tinkering, had only taken note of the unusual core of energy she had while attempting to remove her soul from this body. The ancients had buried her deep within it, and without any mana of her own this easy identification shouldn't have been possible.

Still, the shock on her face faded quickly, and she held her arms akimbo at rest while reconsidering whether this one would be easy prey. Brown eyes narrowed dangerously behind her glasses.

"I wouldn't use that word for it; this body is very much human, in every possible way. And the term 'monster' itself is so... degrading."

[Bloble]

"Sorry! I was just wondering, since I tend to run into a lot of-." In the middle of apologizing, Luka paused. Something was off about what she had said.

"Wait... degrading? That's not very nice. Monsters are people too! ...well, kinda."

"Never said she was a monster," Salamander piped up again.

"Well, that's Luka for you!" Sylph seemed to want in on the action, too. "Rushing into everything without thinking is his speciality!"

"Shut up," Salamander grumbled, casually setting the other spirit's hair on fire and watching as Sylph flailed wildly trying to put it out.

[Aiden]

"Sorry! I was just wondering, since I tend to run into a lot of-." In the middle of apologizing, Luka paused. Something was off about what she had said.

"Wait... degrading? That's not very nice. Monsters are people too! ...well, kinda."

"Never said she was a monster," Salamander piped up again.

"Well, that's Luka for you!" Sylph seemed to want in on the action, too. "Rushing into everything without thinking is his speciality!"

"Shut up," Salamander grumbled, casually setting the other spirit's hair on fire and watching as Sylph flailed wildly trying to put it out.

Blink.

"I... have a feeling you're using a much different definition of 'monster' than I am," Valda admits, ducking her head just a little now as her own game got thrown off too. "Where I'm from the word is synonymous with 'villain', or other nasty things. But... that isn't so wherever you're from, is it?"

She leans in a little more, partly just to enjoy the smell as the hunger began churning again.

[The Man With All The Cute Boats]

Satoshi shook his head "The only thing you might legally have me on is squatting and since this is a demolition site and I over saw the demo of the condemned apartments on this block that's not the case. Leave, now." Satoshi replied sending a message to Angra.

"Get me a copy of the contract signed by the owners of those buildings, or you're in for extensive property damage too!" Inferno Cop bellowed, starting to lose his patience. "You can tell the rest to a fuxxing judge, see how he likes it!"

"Ryan, get the others" he shouted. The Knight shook startled and nodded running off into the castle.

Inferno Cop spun to fire at the knight, but just as he did some guy with four arms dropped from somewhere or other, cut the guy up and growled something. A benevolent citizen, Inferno Cop's mind concluded. One who shared his notion of how a criminal's pawns should be handled, as well. Had he noticed the criminal start resisting arrest and decided he should help?

Inferno Cop disregarded the thought and concentrated on the criminal.

"This is your last warning, citizen!" Inferno Cop yelled at the parking violator. "Stop attempting to resist arrest immediately, or I will use infernal force to take you with me!"

[Bloble]

"W-well, a monster is, um..." It was honestly a tough question. Luka had never really thought about it. A monster girl was... well a monster girl! It was like asking what grass was, or trying to describe bread to someone who had no concept of cooking. Sure, you could tell them it was yeast combined with ground up wheat and cooked at a temperature, but that wouldn't really explain bread at all.

"I guess... someone who isn't human," he eventually said. "But still has intelligence. Like, a bird wouldn't be a monster, but a harpy would, because she can talk and think and... stuff. They used to be thought of as evil, but that's changed recently, and... well, it's history!" Sure, some people still viewed them as villains, but the majority were well on their way to accepting monsters living alongside them.

"She isn't from our world, Luka," Undine said. "That much should be obvious."

"There are other worlds?"

"Either that, or she's from a really, really remote island."

Suddenly, he realized that the lady was leaning in towards him, uncomfortably close. The light was reflecting off of her glasses in a way that made them shine pure white, giving off an unsettling vibe. The expression on her face was... familiar. Too familiar.

"Not a monster," Luka told himself. "Not a monster."

"Are... are you okay?"

[Aiden]

"W-well, a monster is, um..." It was honestly a tough question. Luka had never really thought about it. A monster girl was... well a monster girl! It was like asking what grass was, or trying to describe bread to someone who had no concept of cooking. Sure, you could tell them it was yeast combined with ground up wheat and cooked at a temperature, but that wouldn't really explain bread at all.

"I guess... someone who isn't human," he eventually said. "But still has intelligence. Like, a bird wouldn't be a monster, but a harpy would, because she can talk and think and... stuff. They used to be thought of as evil, but that's changed recently, and... well, it's history!" Sure, some people still viewed them as villains, but the majority were well on their way to accepting monsters living alongside them.

"She isn't from our world, Luka," Undine said. "That much should be obvious."

"There are other worlds?"

"Either that, or she's from a really, really remote island."

Suddenly, he realized that the lady was leaning in towards him, uncomfortably close. The light was reflecting off of her glasses in a way that made them shine pure white, giving off an unsettling vibe. The expression on her face was... familiar. Too familiar.

"Not a monster," Luka told himself. "Not a monster."

"Are... are you okay?"

"Hm..."

She supposed she was human enough to not fall into that definition, by the strictest of technicalities. Fortunately for her, technicalities were her secondary life's blood. Her primary life's blood was actual blood, that flowed through veins, which was really a fascinating concept she needed to speculate on later when her stomach wasn't making her contemplate the flavor of the human liver.

Valda pulled back, her glasses stopped gleaming, and she showed him her gentlest smile. "Then I definitely apologize for the way I reacted before. Since we're both lost, how about I make it up to you by helping you out here? Your clothes are not exactly.. fitting, for the time we find ourselves in. And I'm sorry, I'm quite frankly starving."

Then a thought occurred.

"Unless you know a way for us to go back to our homes; that would be even better."