Cross Effects 3.0 - October 21, 2015—June 23, 2016

[Aiden]

Annabeth

The Hunter sat there in silence, waiting as she focused on the flow of her aura. From Ron's silence, he seemed to at least have some idea about how meditation went. As the seconds ticked on, Annabeth found herself wondering if Ron was starting to figure it out after all. The more time passed the more certain it seemed until finally Annabeth was sure that he'd reached some inner epiphany regarding the nature of his-

"Any advice?" he finally asked after a few minutes of that, eye still shut. "Talk me through it or, something? Cause I can't seem to turn it off."

...fuck.

Restraining the urge to sigh, the Hunter pondered the matter for a bit before an idea occurred to her seemingly out of nowhere. Granted, it was an idea formed under the assumption that his power was anything like Nen, which could very well be entirely wrong. Then there was the slight matter of the possibility of injury if her control slipped for even a moment, if not from her own Nen, then from the rebound of whatever power he was trying to wrangle.

...No progress without risk, it seems.

"Okay, I have a slightly risky idea," Annabeth said, "Just hold still."

With that, the Hunter focused in on herself for all of an instant before Annabeth let the aura flow from her, gently enveloping an area around her encompassing everything within a ten-meter radius, with the Hunter at the center. Enveloping Ron, the Hunter focused herself into complete and utter calmness, letting the emotion filter into her Nen and flow through the air around her, reducing the distractions outside with the feeling of the gentle warmth enveloping all within the confines of Annabeth's En.

"Okay, there we go," the Hunter said at last, "That's my aura surrounding you. A little technique of mine. If your power is anything like mine, which it might be, given that I was able to see it, you should be able to feel it more clearly now. Try to find the core of it."

Ron

She smells like frustration, the werewolf note to himself with a frown as he felt something strange wash over him. It was a delicious smell, mind you, despite the frustration. Possibly because of it; winding Annabeth up was much too amusing for safety's sake. Still, he decides not to push his luck on that this time. Despite the smell.

The frustration part of it went away soon enough, and all that was left was the reminder of her taste, a strange calm that he had never quite felt even before the whole werewolf thing. The tension of being ready to fight or flee or something else that started with an f was seeping away... okay not the last thing. Honestly, he was heating up a little bit despite his overall relaxation. He felt a redness to his face right now.

Ron tried to do what Annabeth was saying and follow her instructions, separate the feeling of her around him from himself within him. There wasn't really a core to it, though, he noticed as he instead recognized the hunger-power surging through his muscles from their spar before. Further out he recognized the feeling of killing-fury from the moonlight hitting the warehouse, prevented from reaching him only by thin walls and his refusal to look up to the sky even if they weren't there.

His skin, his muscle, his bone, it was everywhere inside. He just... he wasn't sure what to actually do with it! What could he even do with it? How could he use it, consciously, besides the ways he already had, like changing his shape - the ways that were still active, like his little boost in strength?

That's when he felt the wolf inside - and flinched quite visibly. It almost felt like looking at the moon.

He shook his head to dismiss the thought. "Well, uh.. there isn't really a core to it. It seems to be everywhere in my body," Ron said, sounding a little wary now. Then he turned his head aside. "I did sorta feel the... thing I became, back in the kitchen. It felt like being angry. Or looking at the moon. Or both - looking at the moon is like being angry."

[The Man With All The Cute Boats]

Sakagami Kenzo

Kenzo smiled earnestly, genuinely touched by her praise. Perhaps it was because of his craving, or the fact that she reminded him of her, but the child had already grown on him. There was only one thing left to settle.

“What will you do now, Akatsuki?” He asked calmly, but with a carefree tone.

AKATSUKI

As soon as he asked the question, her expression returned to seriousness. Rather, it went from being bright to being glum. She looked at the ground, at Kenzo's feet, unwilling to look him in the eye.

That's right, she reminded herself, she wasn't here to admire a sword or look up to Kenzo. Her purpose here was far less lighthearted.

Kenzo had killed a person.

He wasn't in control when he did, but the blood was still on his hands. Left unchecked, there would only be more, and more... just like that mangled victim she found upstairs. And if she sat her, indecisive, incapable of making a decision as to how to best handle the problem... That blood would be on her hands too. A long chain of murder that would lead back to the weakness of not one person, but two.

She understood the logic behind it. She was a navy destroyer, a soldier of metal, fuel and ammunition, before she was anything else.

She knew his strength, his speed. She had no real way of incarcerating him, and knew no one capable of such. Any bonds she would make would be torn apart once he used his full power.

He couldn't be left in such a way.

For a moment, Akatsuki's face brightened. If she couldn't leave him be in such a way, then she could stay with him! Take him down by force if he were to hurt another person, and make sure nobody got hurt.

A whisper from inside killed the thought. The fight they had, the fight she won... his greatest asset, that gave him the drop on her many times, was his speed. He was beyond what she was capable of. If he truly went mad, and tried to attack a person, she wouldn't be fast enough to stop him. Likewise if he tried to run away.

...Then what? She could try to help him find a way to calm the bloodlust, but... he'd been trying for years. How could she help fix it before the next time he was hungry? She didn't know a single person in this town, other than the people she met at the hot spring. If she tried to find someone who could incarcerate him, the same problem came up: She didn't know where to start, she didn't know if he'd sit there and accept it, she didn't know anything remotely capable of holding him back, unless it was something ridiculous like abyssalized steel, or chains the likes of which should have been used on Yamato's anchors.

When was he even going to lose control again? Was it tomorrow, or a month from now?

Akatsuki bit back tears. This was too hard for her. She wished Nagato were here, to make the big decisions for her.

Instead, it was just her.

Akatsuki backed up a little, forced a sniffle away and looked up, her chin and back straight, right at Kenzo himself.

"Kenzo, before I answer... I have to ask, what would you do if I wasn't here?" Akatsuki grabbed onto her skirt with both little fists. "If you were alone, after... what just happened, what would you have done next?"

She wasn't sure how his answer would help, solely that it would. It would help her decide to go down a dangerous path, or go down the safe, assured path that used to be demanded, expected of her.

She wasn't sure how, but it would help.

She had to believe it would help.

[SINIB]

Shiro

"Why thank you~" Shiro's tail wagged happily as she let go of this interesting, strange, woman. She sniffed at her as she did. "Huh, I guess you weren't lying…" She sighed as her stomach growled. "I really am hungry though, I could really go for some fried tofu…" She thought out loud, salivating at the thought of it.

"Oh! Sorry about that! I just got a bit distracted! My name's Shiro." She said with an awkwardly quick bow. I need to be more polite! I'm such a klutz! She wanted to smack herself, but that would just make things even more awkwardly tense.

"What's your name?" She shyly asked.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Sakagami Kenzo

Kenzo kept smiling gently, almost as if oblivious to the child’s tears. It was anything but that. They say that dogs only smile when under extremely stressful situations, and that could not hold any truer at this moment. It hurt, breathing, looking at her, speaking…

And yet, he answered calmly, completely detaching himself from the situation in order to make the pain stop.

"I would have eaten her and let her become one with me. That way, her death would not have been a meaningless act of violence, and perhaps that way I could buy a little more time. Then, I would have taken her soul and impregnated a sword with it. That way, she would not have to suffer the loneliness of Tasogare even in death. As for her bones, I would have given them a proper burial under a peach tree. Does that answer satisfy you, Akatsuki?”

[Thedoctor]

Shinobu

The vampire stood up from her sitting position and brushed some dust off her legs. It was starting to get a bit dull, perhaps these elites know more about this strange city. Wel lthey aren't around here so there wasn't much point in staying. With that the vampire began leaving before she stopped to do something.

Rikuyo was suddenly hit by something light right in her face, upon closer look it would appear to be a whole set of clothes, more precisely an exact copy of what she had worn before the battle only not completely torn apart like the ones she was currently wearing. "I think you need these." She could hear the vampire tell her  from a distance, the blonde kept walking away as she said so.


Jin

Haunter really looked creepy as he was floating around and that mischeivous smile of his promised trouble, Jin just had to make sure it was directed at him and all would be good. "So you said you had some more?"


Jeanne

"That looked pretty amazing...all the lights and the machines and...." Jeanne trailed commenting on what she had seen in the trailer. She finally stopped after a while having to catch her breathe. "So where can we see it?" The saint asked curious about the place that would show it. Then something that Shirou said grabbed her attention. "Wait...Episode 1? There's more of them?"

[SINIB]

Jin

Haunter really looked creepy as he was floating around and that mischeivous smile of his promised trouble, Jin just had to make sure it was directed at him and all would be good. "So you said you had some more?"

Oka

"Yeah!" Oka exclaimed, calling Haunter back into his nice cozy pokeball, redigitalizing him. She then proceeded to take out another one and smile at it lovingly. "This guy was the first pokemon I ever caught." She turned to look at Jin, nostalgia all over her face. "My brother used to bully me alot, and this guy in here bullies bad children." Oka took a breath before continuing.                                                                             
                                                                                                       _terrible
"So he came and started bullying my brother, Shinji, doing absolutely wonderful things to him, really showed him who was boss." She threw out her pokeball. "And that's why his name is Little Bully, Jin!" She exclaimed as her dusclops burst out of the pokeball.

[Kat]

Rikuyo

That was pretty thoughtful of her friend, but damn, she didn't even have a chance to thank her or something. Well, whatever, she had to dress again and continue her journey. Maybe she couldn't fight for now, but could kill her time some other way. She had enough fun with Shinobu anyway, she could take a break.

In high spirits, she nonchalantly walked away from the crater, ignoring exhaustion and marching at slow pace towards nearest populated place.

***

As ever, the city was brimming with masses of mundane folks she gave no shits about. As well they could be faceless for her. She looked around with bored expression, for anything that would catch her eye. And there she caught an interesting sight.

A woman whose skin was painted weirdly, and actual honest to god kitsune. "Whoa!" She watched the fox girl amazed, as she has never seen one yet herself. She liked foxes, their fur was pretty and were little adorable killers. Much respect for those fellows even if they were in lighter weight. Also a snowfox, a rare sight!

"Howdy, nice to meetchya! Wow, wow, ya are legit, right? Ya so cool~"

[Thedoctor]

Jin

"He...he's not that that little." Jin got out as he saw the form of the latest Pokemon Oka had pulled out. Those balls were rather intruiging, they must have been utilizing some pretty advanced space-time Ars to work. He wondered for a moment what a place with the capacity to mass produce something like that would look like. "Those pokeballs sure are advanced, being able to store something bigger than them inside."


Archer

"Make a contract with me you say Rin." Archer said with a smirk. "I'll accept if you manage to cook something better than me, after all a good master should be able to supply their servant right?" He then started pacing the room, thinking about something. "The real answer to that is that I don't trust you enough yet."

[SINIB]

Jin

"He...he's not that that little." Jin got out as he saw the form of the latest Pokemon Oka had pulled out. Those balls were rather intruiging, they must have been utilizing some pretty advanced space-time Ars to work. He wondered for a moment what a place with the capacity to mass produce something like that would look like. "Those pokeballs sure are advanced, being able to store something bigger than them inside.

Oka

Oka shrugged nonchalantly. "Well he used to be, then he evolved. I used to be able to run around and hold him in my arms. Same with Wormy and Haunter, actually." And the pokeballs are really neat, I have about nine hundred or so of them in my bag, if you want some? I could even catch you a pokemon and help you train it!" Oka said excitedly. "I think that would be fun."

[SINIB]

Jeanne

"That looked pretty amazing...all the lights and the machines and...." Jeanne trailed commenting on what she had seen in the trailer. She finally stopped after a while having to catch her breathe. "So where can we see it?" The saint asked curious about the place that would show it. Then something that Shirou said grabbed her attention. "Wait...Episode 1? There's more of them?"

Sakura Matou

Sakura nodded at Jeanne. "Yeah, there's six of them. They're all really really cool." Sakura paused. "Huh... I've never seen it in english before, this will be interesting."

[Umbra of Chaos]

Lumen

"I'm Lumen and if you want to get something to eat I-" The Patchwork was interrupted by the arrival of a redhead who had a lot more energy than she had the ability to deal with. She fell silent and tossed the chunk of flesh away instead of saying or doing anything and hoped the stranger would leave soon. At least the fox girl was somewhat polite. This new person was just too loud and direct. Like a more obtrusive Greyskull.

[Panda]

Annabeth

The Hunter considered his response for a moment, holding on to the feeling of calmness even as she saw the flickers in his aura.

"Hmm..." the Hunter pursed her lips in contemplation, weighing the possible benefits of blindly pursuing a lead like that against the possible consequences before deciding that it would probably be worth it, "Well...try focusing on that feeling again. Take it, let it flow through you, but don't let it overwhelm you. Fair warning, this might be a bit hard. It's fine if you don't get it right the first time around."

[SINIB]

Shiro

Shiro turned to face the newcomer. "Yes, I'm real, thanks." Shiro nodded sarcastically at the newcomer. "Quite the discerning eye you've got there." She gave her a bit of applause and turned back to Lumen. "I'd love to get something to eat!" She smiled at Lumen, trying to restore the nice woman's cheer.

[Cherry Lover]

Rider

Rider could tell from Shirou's tone that he was not at-all enthusiastic about the movie. Nevertheless, and much to Rider's relief, he provided no objection to the choice. Jeanne, meanwhile, was obivously entranced by the setting, babbling on about how amazing it had looked. Eventually, she stopped for a moment and composed herself, before asking where they could go to watch the film, obviously still not used to the wonders of the modern era.

Then, picking up on something Shirou had said, she asked about the series of movies, and how many there were. Rider was about to answer but, before she could, Sakura spoke up, giving an unfortunately-outdated answer.

"Yeah, there's six of them. They're all really really cool", she said, demonstrating her enthusaism for the series, before continuing to point out that watching the movie in English would be a new experience for her.

Despite Sakura's enthusiasm, Rider couldn't help but feel obliged to correct her on the number of movies. Of course, not wanting to upset her master, she was as gentle about it as possible.

"Actually, Sakura, Disney bought Lucasfilm and they made three sequels. So, there were nine movies made eventually. Plus another three spin-offs. I don't know if they'd have them here, though, I'm not sure exactly how the Nexus even gets films from our world...", she said, gently and with a smile on her face.

"And, hmm, I've never seen the film in English either, so it'll be a new experience for me too, to watch it in the original language. We've always watched the Japanese version before", she continued, clearly enthusiastic about the film.

[Aiden]

Forest

Forest had her large Classic Orange Julius and she sipped on the contents in the cup that was possibly the size of a Star Destroyer. It was almost sickly sweet, but they had been a guilty pleasure for the blond vampire since the 80's when she had first come across one in California on a job.  Given her love for citrus, she couldn't resist trying one.  Of course, the recipes and ownership had changed over the decades, and even though they weren't the same like they were over thirty years ago, she still enjoyed them.

Part of her nagged that she should have waited for Petra.  Or given her a cell phone number or something, but the girl had ran off without saying why she had ran off.

Which means, I get to talk to Gadreel first.

"So, I take it this 'Nexus' is a locale where the appearance of someone unfamiliar with it is... well, familiar? I confess, I had not heard of it until my arrival."

Forest sighed and said, "Yes, but it's a lot more complicated than that.  My explanation is probably going to be super Cliff Note's edition and of the suck, but I'll try."

She grabbed a napkin and folded it until it formed a pocket and sat it up right at their table.  She grabbed a few more napkins and put them around the pocket she had formed.  "Okay, let's say this pocket is Nexus and these other napkins are other dimensions or world lines if you will.  Every so often someone or something will," she reached over and tore a piece off one of the napkins and put it in the pocket, "Get separated from it's dimension and sucked to the Nexus.  No one knows how or why, but it's completely at random."

She tore more bits from each napkin and put them in the pocket.  "So this Nexus of worlds, hence the name Nexus City, has a menagerie of inhabitants from creatures that would give Lovecraft sweats to vampires that sparkle from that bloody teen romance series.  This also means everything that you ever read or heard about, within reason, I've never seen a xenomorph or anything not from 'Earth' here mind you, lives here."

She fold the pocket shut and sighed.  "Also Nexus is apparently like Hotel California, once you enter you can never leave, and believe me I've tried.  What's really weird is what people are brought with when they're sucked here.  Some poor blokes only have the clothing on their back; at least I got lucky and had all of my assets and home leave with me.

"Just this place is rather merciless.  That's all.  And I didn't mean to get so maudlin."

Gadreel

Ah, ice cream. One of the finest culinary creations of the human species! Let it stand among the greats as clear evidence of the righteousness of their existence and freedom as a people. These were the thoughts that raced through his mind faster than the humans ever could in their current state of exploratory youthfulness, all the while Gadreel sipped the frozen confection through a straw and listened to the metaphor of the napkins.

He could appreciate the metaphor's creativity, but the message it was mean to convey was most... disturbing.

"And you have," he started to say, sounding uncertain and just a touch nervous, "tried multiple times, from the sound of it. Did you have access to some form of sorcery when you tried? Did you attempt to access other realms, the kingdoms of the dead, the land of dreams or pantheons? Or is it all just... a trap?"

If he was trapped here then his duty to his home had been abdicated by no fault of his own. The thought still burned.