Cross Effects- The RP

[Arch-Magos Winter]

Rider licked her lips at the thought of Forest being tied up.

No, this is not the time for fantasies..., she thought.

"Well, I think me and him had better have a little chat", she added, glancing menacingly at Jack. "I won't condemn him for being what he is, but nor I will not allow anyone to harm my master's family, however hungry they are...."

"OK, well, then, let's have that talk. I would like to hear your explanation for why you attacked Sakura...."

Its a creepy thing when one of our kind licks their lips... especially like that. With her eyes on you, in that specific way. This is one of those times I'm glad I don't need to shiver. I have bad memories of eyes like that. Very bad memories.

There was a basement room, Forest's apparent office. I'd planned on using that room, she wouldn't grudge me for that, I think.

"Yes I do, and I'd rather discuss that fact in private Rider."

Long hair, smelling of blood and sweat and oozing sex. Memories. So many memories. I don't want to drag them up, not now. The Beast remembers though. And so do I.

"There's a room we can talk in without being disturbed. Forest won't mind if I use it I think. Come on."

Turning my back on her was the hardest thing I'd done all night. Every instinct screamed to not let her out of my sight.

Connor nodded as Satoshi, Tsukasa and Kiyoshi appeared suddenly.

"That's why, because I have all of mama's powers" Tsukasa answered Kiyoshi.

Satoshi patted Taiga on the head and for the first time in hours she smiled "Big brother!" she exclaimed.

Satoshi lifted her out of the chair into a big hug "Sorry I was away for so long, won't do it again I promise." he replied.

Connor raised his hand and Satoshi instinctively high fived him "Sup dude?"

"Nothing big, cept this arse tried ta eat your sister" The red head replied.

"Makes sense with aunty's call, ok fangs, now I've been to a vampire dimension and I have a number of vampire friends, so I won't hold the whole blood to live thing against you. However that doesn't mean I will overlook any attack from this point on. Touch my family or my friends and I will make certain you go away permanently" Satoshi replied staring at Jack.

And then there was this asshole.

"I have a name prickhead," was all I said. I'd deal with him later. And seriously vampire dimension? What a fucking joke.

[lantzblades]

Connor laughed "I don'na think that Alex will be letting you talk privately about why you attacked his sister without him being there Jack."

Satoshi nodded as he put Taiga down "Right, not a chance I'm missing this fangs," he stated firmly.

[Bloble]

Hopping across rooftops while dressed in his night sneaking gear, Axe Cop paused to let a lady riding a pegasus roll past him. He didn't spare her a second glance as he continued his exploration, other than to note that said pegasus didn't have a registration number and could be counted as an illegal vehicle.

The night was getting strange. He'd seen explosions all around the city, far too distant and numerous for him to get there in any reasonable time frame. On top of that, portals had opened in the sky, disgorging crazy amounts of lizard men and monsters. He could still hear their screams as his axe cut through their necks, but there were far too many for him to handle by himself.

"Team, report," he said on his police radio. "Check in. Inferno, Doom, what happened with the castle investigation? Gun Cop, how are the prisoners? Oh, and if any of you meet some monsters during patrols, make sure to note down how many you destroy for the report later."

He replaced the radio on his belt and looked up, sniffing the air. All he got was a comforting whiff of mustache, along with the smell of blood. Hm. Vampires. According to a few civilians he'd grilled, the city was crawling with 'em, and most weren't of the nice variety. Axe Cop growled lightly. Vampire infestations were tricky. Almost as tricky as chihuahua infestations. If this didn't let up... Forest would be answering some questions.

[Cherry Lover]

Kiyoshi was momentarily shocked and disoriented as the world suddenly plunged into blackness.

Mummy usually asks first... he thought as he recognised where he was.

As the shock passed, though, Kioyshi found the sensation oddly comforting. All-too-quickly, the light reappeared, and Kiyoshi found himself in the house, still hugging Tsukasa.

Odd, she didn't have a familiar in here, Kiyoshi thought.

Even more oddly, he noticed that Kuro had grown significantly, and no longer fit into his pocket. Seemingly he had absorbed energy from Tsukasa's shadow dimension. The little familiar moved and sat on his shoulders.

Tsukasa spoke up.

"That's why, because I have all of mama's powers", she said.

"That doesn't explain why you look like her, though. Mummy would never put you through whatever that monster did to make her look that way", Kiyoshi said calmly.

Then, Kiyoshi pulled back from his hug to give a demonstration. The little crest on Kiyoshi's arm glowed green, and a couple of small shadow tentacles popped-out and waved at her.

"Plus, as you can see, I can use mummy's powers too, and Aoi-nee can do so far better than me, so that doesn't really explain it", he continued.

"Also, how did you get us in here, anyway? There aren't any of your familiars around...."

Whilst he was waiting for an answer, Kiyoshi looked at Taiga and smiled. He was glad that her brother had returned.


Rider listened to the others speaking. Apparently Kiyoshi had adopted yet another member into his rapidly-growing family. Not that she minded, though, if it made him happy. Plus, this was Sakura's daughter, so Rider also felt protective of her.

Meanwhile. Satoshi backed up Rider's threat with one of his own. He seemed to share her sentiment about the vampire.

"Yes I do, and I'd rather discuss that fact in private Rider", Jack said.

"There's a room we can talk in without being disturbed. Forest won't mind if I use it I think. Come on", he added, before turning to walk out.

Rider felt somewhat unsure of his motives but, even with Satoshi around to add support, she felt it was better to go with him and keep Kiyoshi out of it. Even if he was somehow powerful enough to defeat and kill her, she would rather that happen than Kiyoshi get himself killed defending her.

Doesn't Satoshi deserve an explanation, though? she thought.

Even so, she saw no reason not to come. If Satoshi wanted to know then he could always ask himself. She was about to follow Jack when Connor spoke up.

"I don'na think that Alex will be letting you talk privately about why you attacked his sister without him being there Jack", he said.

"Right, not a chance I'm missing this fangs", Satoshi said, placing Taiga back down on the floor.

"Yeah, sorry, Jack, but he does have a right to hear this. It is his sister, after all...."

[Alice]

Meanwhile, Ryoko oddly decided to lie flat on the ground. He raised and eyebrow unable to fathom what could have triggered this. "I don't think you should let her drink again." He declared to her parents.

"I think I'm inclined to agree with you," said Rin, rubbing her temple.

Archer nodded to Rin and whispered back, "I think you're right."  He did lean forward and add, "Rin, you can't ask her too many questions.  If you do, you might endanger her existence.  The chance of a Paradox is slim to none, but it is still probable."

Rin nodded in agreement. "Right. The less we know, the better." She then pouted a bit. "You do know that I'd know that, don't you? I am studying the Second, after all." She glared in the direction of Lin and the portal. "Enough to know a waste of it when I see it."

He moved over to Ryoko, lifted her up and said, "Apparently you're a lightweight like your old man is.  Come on, let's get you to bed before you do something stupid."

"Heh, who says I haven't already?" said Ryoko, a somewhat lopsided grin on her face. It didn't quite reach her eyes. Shortly after, she passed out in her father's arms.

Rin looked after her daughter with concern. "I'll go with you upstai-"

The sound of paper crackled around in Rin's hand, and she remembered the pizzas. With a huge sigh, Rin turned to her lover.

"No, never mind, I'd better stay here. Someone has to pay for the pizza. I'll wait here for you."

She gave him a look that clearly said, "please hurry back" before giving her daughter once last worried glance.

***

Forest cried as Tom held her, his fingers tenderly stroking his hair.  She calmed herself down to wipe her own bloody tears away with her towel, glad that it was black and would hide the blood stains.  She gave him a wan smile as she rested against him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to become such a girl just then, but . . . No one's really offered me what you just did and thank you," she said in a weak but happy voice.

He continued to stroke her hair as he replied to her gently. "I can understand all too well. It's alright. And it's no trouble at all. It's the least I can do."

After a few moments or perhaps even many moments more of sweet, contented silence, the psychic lifted a hand from her long enough to lift his glasses so they levitated onto him. "Let's go and get dressed then. That way you can check in on everyone, and then come back down here to relax." He blushed yet again. "Or wherever you wish to relax, I just thought of this place first because it seemed the most comfortable for you." 

[Elf]

Archer frowned at Ryoko's words before nodding at Rin.

"It shouldn't take too long.  Then I can be here and look intimidating for you."

With that, he gathered his future daughter in his arms and headed to one of the spare rooms.

******

Lancer watched wide eyed as Millie downed the medicinal tea then clapped his hands.

"Nicely done.  I couldn't have drank it like that without puking all over the place," he said with a grin.

Then he sighed, shook his head and said, "It's been a night, Millie."

******

"No, I'd definitely need to relax here.  With this many people it gets loud," Forest replied as she tapped the side of her head to show him exactly how got loud.

She grinned at the glasses and said, "I have to ask, do you even need those? Or are they just for The Pretty?"

[Alice]

Lancer watched wide eyed as Millie downed the medicinal tea then clapped his hands.

Mille's eyes brightened, and a nice pink flush was on her cheeks. "R-really? I-I'm honored, thank you." In spite of the horrid tea that still plagued her tastebuds even now, she could already feel herself feeling far better than she was before, in more ways than one.

Then he sighed, shook his head and said, "It's been a night, Millie."

Her entusiasm faded a little. She sat there for a moment before her cheeks flushed again. "Umm... w-well, would it help if you took a break in here for a bit? E-even a great hero like you n-needs a bit of rest at times."

***

"No, I'd definitely need to relax here.  With this many people it gets loud," Forest replied as she tapped the side of her head to show him exactly how got loud.

Tom understood immediately what Forest meant. He'd had trouble with that a few times himself. He was quite good at filtering out the white noise at this point, to the point where he no longer heard it at all, but he could sympathize with her entirely.

She grinned at the glasses and said, "I have to ask, do you even need those? Or are they just for The Pretty?"

"Oh, I don't need them to see or anything. I'm just fond of how they look." He frowned slightly. "Not entirely sure why, to be honest. I apparently just like the look."

[Elf]

Lancer grinned at Millie's flustered words.  He said, "Well, this bed is big and comfy enough for two."

With that, he swung his legs up so he was laying beside her and wiggled his eyebrows at her with a grin.  He folded his hands behind his head and looked up at the ceiling before looking back at her.  He asked, "Do you feel any better?"

******

"Ah, so it is a bit of vanity," Forest said with a giggle as she lead him out of the bathroom and back into her bedroom.  She picked up a brush and started to work through the tangled mess that her hair had become with a grimace. 

"So, would you like pajamas or real clothes for now?"

[Alice]

Mille's face was practically on fire as she turned to look at him and nodded. "Much better, I think. My headache already seems to be gone, and I'm already feeling less sick and weak than I was before."

***

The psychic considered for a moment. Before he hadn't planned on staying, let alone living in the Complex, but now that his priorities had shifted, perhaps...

"Perhaps the pajamas? The regular clothing would be more practical, but I would hope things would be dying down upstairs by now. After all, I would imagine most of your guests are not as nocturnal as we are."

He looked over to see her struggling through her hair. "Would you like any assistance with that?" he asked politely.

[Arch-Magos Winter]

"Yeah, sorry, Jack, but he does have a right to hear this. It is his sister, after all...."

I gave Rider a Look. The capitals are necessary. "He doesn't have the right. This isn't his world, or things for him to know. Quite frankly, it isn't Sakura I want to talk to you about, because that's merely a coincidence."

The crazy aspect of this was the fact that this 'Alex' was apparently looked up to by Rider. Sweet Jesus, Apostles really were chumps. And really, anyone that McDickless liked was obviously someone who couldn't have an actual brain. "Besides, he'll probably try to poison whatever I say with extreme prejudice."

[lantzblades]

Satoshi raised an eyebrow. "Not my world? Just what exactly do you think my world is vampire? You supposedly tried to eat my sister, no matter what you think it's my business. So get to the explanations and if you lie I'll know" he snapped.

[Arch-Magos Winter]

I had to grin at that. "Seriously. You don't even get the concept of vampire things being sorta well, only for vampires? Certain things aren't your business, and as I said, this isn't your world. The night isn't your world kid, it's my world. So shut up and leave me and Rider to our business."

[Cherry Lover]

Rider was utterly bemused at the man's words. Nothing he was saying made the slighest sense to her.

The right to what? she thought.

Rider considered asking him what he was talking about, but Satoshi beat her to it.

"Not my world? Just what exactly do you think my world is vampire? You supposedly tried to eat my sister, no matter what you think it's my business. So get to the explanations and if you lie I'll know", he snapped.

Rider could see that Satoshi was getting irritated, and she could understand why. And, behind her, she could also see Kiyoshi was looking at the vampire rather angrily. She really didn't want this to turn into a fight, not with Kiyoshi around.

Jack spoke once more.

"Seriously. You don't even get the concept of vampire things being sorta well, only for vampires? Certain things aren't your business, and as I said, this isn't your world. The night isn't your world kid, it's my world. So shut up and leave me and Rider to our business."

Oh, I see, thought Rider.

Apparently, the guy thought she was a vampire. And, honestly, that was not a particularly unreasonable conclusion to come to, given the information that he had. She did drink blood on occasion, after all, and she knew that she did also smell of blood, too.

Rider pondered her options for a moment. She could admit the truth, but if she did she suspected that the guy would clam up, and right now she needed more information. Whilst she had no fundamental issue with vampires, if the guy was anything like the Dead Apostles from her own universe, she wouldn't want him within ten miles of Kiyoshi. On the other hand, he could be like Forest, a nice, friendly vampire who she would happily trust to babysit her master's son. Or, more likely, he could be something in between. Without talking to him, she couldn't discover the truth.

So, she decided it was best if she let him keep assuming for now. He might be a little upset later, but without knowing the truth she couldn't allow him to remain anywhere close to Kiyoshi anyway. Plus, in a sense she was a vampire. After all, she did live off the energy of others, even if it was magical energy and not blood, and even if it was usually freely given by her beloved master. So, assuming the guy even cared about her omission, she did have an argument to justify herself, albeit a completely fabricated one.

"Toshi, I think it's best if I talk to him privately", she said, smiling.

Then, she turned to Jack. She hadn't completely discounted the possibility of a trap, but nothing in this guy's movements or words had made him seem like he was powerful enough to prevent her even calling for help or escaping, and she very much doubted he'd have been able to set up any equipment to trap her in Forest's house.

"OK, we can talk. If you try to attack me, though, I will make sure you regret it".

[Elf]

Lancer peered at the slight redhead - Even though she has the sort of curves made to pillow a man,- and said, "You sure about that?"

He placed the back of his hand on her forehead with a grin.  He asked in a lilting voice, "Sure you don't need any prana?"

******

Archer laid Ryoko on the bed and made sure she was tucked in.

******

Forest blinked at Tom's offer and handed him the brush.  She turned her back to him and said, "You know I don't trust just anyone with my hair."

She fidgeted slightly and said, "I mean, I'm not sleepy but I'm not planning on going out again, it's too close to sunrise."

[Arch-Magos Winter]

"Toshi, I think it's best if I talk to him privately", she said, smiling.

Then, she turned to Jack. She hadn't completely discounted the possibility of a trap, but nothing in this guy's movements or words had made him seem like he was powerful enough to prevent her even calling for help or escaping, and she very much doubted he'd have been able to set up any equipment to trap her in Forest's house.

"OK, we can talk. If you try to attack me, though, I will make sure you regret it".

I started heading down towards the stairs with that. "Good. I can say the same to you - attack me, and you will regret it just as much."

Posturing, on both our parts. Standard practice, especially here. But I'd dealt with that type of power before. Submitting totally to a human though, that was a new one. The office was nice though, some old movie posters.

Army of Darkness. Classic.