Cross Effects 3.0 - June 23, 2016—April 02, 2018

[Umbra of Chaos]

Erica

Was he happy? How odd. Erica was not sure if she was happy, and although she could examine the Spirit Vessel to determine if that was truly what she was feeling the girl refrained from that course of action. Did it matter what it was? It was something. And sometimes that is enough. 

The Mantle settled back into its neutral state and billowed calmly as if blown by an unseen wind. Aura stores were diminished but far from depleted. She was not dead and that <impossible> enemy had been defeated. That which she could touch was no longer beyond her reach. She had won.

"I am Erica. What name do you go by now, wayward spirit?" For what could you call one as him? Long dead but still clinging to this world, attached to it by artificial means. The resemblance was uncanny.


Liseth

"It's not that great. Really. It's just not that hard for me to make money." The house wasn't overly luxurious, but it gave off a quaint, homely feel that made it stand out in its own way. Soft blues for the walls and a setup of comfortable furniture. Some were nice and firm while others all but devoured you with how squishy they were.

Liseth slipped off her shoes and peeled off her socks before tossing them in an almost embarrassingly full to bursting bag of laundry. She stretched her toes and her arms out a bit before realizing that she had been asked a question. "Oh, and, uhh, the kitchen is to the right. Just follow me." And she walked over to one of the hallways, the sound of her feet slapping against the wood flooring clearly audible in the house.

Then there was the kitchen. Rather big all things considered. With a rack of all kinds of knives that were almost assuredly new and drawers filled with utensils. The fridge was also full of fresh ingredients that hadn't been touched before. It was a den of culinary potential.

Liseth wrung her hands a bit, as if afraid that it wouldn't match up to Emily's expectations, whatever they may be. "So is this all fine?"

[Elf]

Forest

Forest inwardly groaned as this Vermilion girl dismissed her.  Part of her rankled at being told to stay here, and that defiant part of hers that she could never really quell thought about escaping.  Which could put Gadreel in a spot, she thought to herself.

Sighing she said, "I'll be out here then."

She looked over at the guard and asked, "May I at least put my hands down and maybe sit down, please?"

She did send to Gadreel, Good luck, and be careful.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Vanguard

Vanguard let her words sink in and nodded curtly. Erica... I will remember that. No, nothing had changed. He still hadn't lost, as long as he drew breath he was still fighting, and if he was still fighting he could not lose. He wouldn't be defeated, not yet, not ever. Until he reached his dream, he would never think of that word as more than a shadow of bitter memories.

"Vanguard."

For a moment, there was silence. Was he satisfied by this battle? No, not yet. He could never be satisfied. In this case, what was this feeling? Vanguard searched long in his heart to find an answer, and perhaps there was none. Perhaps this moment was enough.

"Well, I suppose this was a good way to blow some steam. Let's eat, then we shall talk. You have yet to fulfill either part of our bargain."


Hazama

"I see." He said calmly. "Do you know anything else about this place? Knowledge is half the battle, and I have a feeling I'll need a whole lot of it."

[SINIB]

IRON=SAKURA

Sakura laughed at Mord's comment.

"Me? A luddite? That's not something I've heard before." She said as she explosively launched herself off a platform she created in midair. "This is just way faster than the bus, and way more fun. I think Breeze agrees with me here." She said.

[Umbra of Chaos]

Erica

She shifted a bit at the word' eat'. Erica had never been one to turn down an excuse to eat. It was one of the view delights of freedom that she could experience whenever she wished. "That is an acceptable result. Although it is not strange to wonder if Vanguard is Theo."

After all, had not Vanguard been naught but a single, albeit mighty, soul in the focused collective that was Theo? Ultimately she was not that concerned. Refusing now would be foolish. This fight had already shown the difference in physical strength between them.

[yinsukin]

Relius Clover

The scientist raised an eyebrow once more at the man who seemed to have gotten caught up at his own pace.  "After offering this proposal, you would delegate me to the role of a mere janitor?"  He said almost teasingly. 

Then he walked around the bloody mess in the room, softly gazing into the puddle as he thought.  "Well as much as it hurts my pride, I think this role would fit my purposes quite well."  He finally said, stopping at where he had started before.  "I assume I can keep whatever "trash" I manage to pick up correct?"

[Panda]

Emily

The changeling followed Liseth's lead as they entered, setting down the bags for a moment to slip out of her shoes and peel her socks off, though she left hers stuffed into her shoes instead of in Liseth's laundry pile. Allowing a moment to stretch out a little as well, Emily was about to follow Liseth along before the laundry basket she'd flung the socks into caught her eye. Aside from the surprising pile of socks, there were also outfits representing various professions. Police, chefs, even an idol outfit were all there in various states of disarray.

Cosplay? Curious. Maybe I'll ask her about it later...

Putting that thought aside for now, the changeling followed Liseth down the hall, her footsteps all but silenced by the other girl's as they made their way to the kitchen. As they arrived, however, the redhead's eyebrow's shot up, unable to help taking a moment to look over the place, part of her wondering if other girl had a hobby in cooking as well that she hadn't told Emily about. Or maybe this had something to do with the outfits. Perhaps she had some kind of interrogation room tucked away elsewhere in the house? Stopping the oncoming snicker with a supreme show of willpower, Emily instead broke out into an eager grin.

"More than fine," Emily said, unable to help a chuckle as she set the grocery bags down on the nearest counter-top, and going about getting the needed ingredients and setting them out, "So, let's get started with something simple. Actual Ramen would probably be a good place to start, not the cup noodle stuff either."

With the preparations complete, the changeling went through the process of showing Liseth the ropes of preparing the dish. Of course, with the process of preparing the dish, Emily found herself having to provide a bit more supervision to the dark-haired girl than she had received in the process of trying her hand at video-games. With cutting vegetables, for example, while Emily of course had that healing Contract at her disposal, she wasn't about to pass up the opportunity it presented to her. The end result of that found her pressed up against Liseth's back, forced to stand up on tip-toes to look over Liseth's shoulder as she gently guided the other girl's hand with her own as they diced the vegetables and sliced up the meats.

Guiding her through the rest of the steps with a similarly personal touch proved to be quite a bit of fun in its own right, but the end result was probably the best part. The balance between the noodles, broth, seasonings, and toppings came together to create a delectable dish, served out perfectly in a pair of clean bowls.

[Umbra of Chaos]

Liseth

She'd had cup and instant ramen a lot. It was a nice and easy fix that took no skill at all, and she could always put rice into the broth if she needed it to be a bit more filling. But she couldn't really complain if she was getting help in making the actual dish. It would probably taste different (and better) too. So it would be fine.

Liseth only really started to have second thoughts once the other girl's figure was pushing up against her back. If that wasn't bad enough the redhead's arms were holding her own as she directed her, and there was something in her voice as she gave directions that made her face warm. Even though she was certain that the other girl was on her tip toes trying to do this it couldn't break the bit of embarrassment she was experiencing. It was still kind of nice.

Eventually they were done, and Liseth couldn't help but feel a slight pang of disappointment when Emily pulled back. Still, there was plenty of food for both of them, and it was delicious. They talked a bit. Conversations about small, meaningless things. Mundane topics that wouldn't be out of place in any average city. But it was still nice.

All good things came to an end in time, and after they had washed the dishes together Liseth was seeing Emily off at the door. "Thanks. This was really nice. Like it might be the most fun I've had all month." And god was that embarrassing to say, but she managed to keep her face from any redder. Probably.

"Uhh, do you want me to call a cab or something for you? It would be fine for me."

[Kat]

Mordred

"Maybe for you two, but not me. I appreciate if my legs are planted firmly on the ground." She wasn't someone who fought mid-air or in any absurd way like that. "I see a virtue in taking things calmly and slow. So I'd appreciate if you landed already and we went for a nice walk..."

She'd rather enjoy any moment of peace she could get rather than run headlong without care.

[SINIB]

Hospit-Noel

Noel nodded at Gadreel. "Well, lead the way, um…"

Noel stopped and blushed. She hadn't gotten his name yet! She was such a klutz! She shook her head and looked up at him.

"Ah, um, what's your name?" She asked as she entered the building with him.

[Kat]

Larry

"If we have a good view of your hands. Procedures." Larry explained firmly. The main danger that she could pose were her mind powers, but that didn't mean they also shouldn't watch out for any potential hidden weapons. The old guard was a thorough man who didn't allow any slip ups. That's how he still breathed and wasn't six feet under. "There's nowhere to sit anyway, so I'm afraid you will have to stand here waiting for her unless you don't mind sitting on the ground. Shouldn't take too long, officer Vermillion's track record is stellar so far."

[SINIB]

IRON=SAKURA

Sakura laughed. "But we're almost there, see?" Sakura motioned over to a small building fairly close to them. Nevertheless, after jumping one final time (to avoid crashing into an unstable looking roof), landed on the grass, about a block from their destination. She carefully placed the two down, and, after extracting her lower legs from inside the ground, stood up next to them. "Let's go there the quiet way, then." She said with her signature happy smile.

[Elf]

Forest

"I'm sure it is," Forest said in dry voice as she lowered her hands and folded them under her chest. 

And it's a dark day when I admit that I really wish Hawk was here . . . she thought.  The cosmic wanker would have probably had them in there in some over the top and insane plan that probably had already gotten them almost killed twenty times.  And it would have been, even though she didn't want to admit it to his grinning ginger face, fun.

I'm just going to get depressed again if I keep thinking about home.  With my luck though, I probably just blew my chances with Gadreel.  Story of my goddamn existence.

[Aiden]

Gadreel

He nodded to Forest before moving to keep pace with this Officer Noel. Her query about his name did make him feel slightly abashed for not volunteering his name before her, but it was nothing to rile himself up over. Gadreel smiled to the... well he was apparently going to be meeting quite a few comely blondes in this city, wasn't he?

"I am known as Gadreel," he said with a small bow to accompany the introduction. "At your service in this matter, Officer. May I arm myself?"

He took the lead, following the miasma of foulness that disrupted the pattern of his essence at the edge of awareness. The presence of the monstrosity within.

[Kat]

Petra

"Oh, that's kind of you. You look good." Petra responded to his complement, smiling. "And no, I didn't have to wait long. How was the day? Mine wasn't too eventful. I did some odd jobs here and there."