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

[Aiden]

Gadreel - Timeskip

Many events took place during the first few months of the exiled angel's durance in the urbane prison-realm of the Nexus. He spent the first score of days and nights alternating between the somewhat palatial estate of Forest, with whom he still maintained a friendship despite his reluctant to engage with her romantically, and the shifting residences of his apparent niece who referred to herself as Lucy. It was an interesting set of experiences in both regards, not the least of which was the effort involved in fending off the advances of his brother Lucifer's issue without offending her.

It was not for lack of interest in either woman, but a simple realization on his part that Gadreel needed the time to adjust to his apparently permanent new home. The city was full of monsters the like of which he had scarcely seen before, and others which he had known in his own world and yet were so functionally dissimilar as to be something else altogether. But that was merely a curiosity; more important was the realization that Gadreel was alone. He was, in this place, the first and last of the Watchers.

That final realization only truly settled in once he had acquired, through bounties and looting, the financial means to provide for his own shelter and clothing. With basic needs met there was little to prevent him from introspection. Well, little except for company "crashing" at his place without any sort of forewarning. Or respect for the art of locksmithing.

Now he felt positively Byronic as he sat upon a bench by a tree, brooding over the options and opportunities that presented themselves to him. Such as they were. "Why put me here, in this place," he asked himself aloud with some frustration.

[Aiden]

Super-William

The fabulous man could only stare incredulously at this tall woman's attempt to trick him. Did she really believe he'd fall for something like that? On a closer look she did appear fairly strong, not that he'd ever let that dissuade him. "That's not a real drink, do you take me for a fool?" Her companion was even offering to buy him this imaginary drink, so they were at least somewhat decent when it came to pulling ruses.

"And you..." He turned to the blonde woman as he spoke once more. "...Already offering to buy drinks to a strange man who walks into a restaurant shouting about how he's gonna destroy it, you're truly a loser."

Auspicious Breeze

... what did he just call Mordred? Breeze's eyes narrowed, and her fingers clenched up into fists. Her knuckles cracked so loud people could hear it all over, and her mouth thinned out into a line. She was glaring at him so hard that he could probably feel it from there. That was no small thing.

There was not a single thing in any world that wouldn't feel afraid if Auspicious Breeze, Chosen of the Dawn, was doing something scary like that. Even the mindless, heartless walls, the dead wood of chairs and tables, trembled a little in the presence of her disapproval.

It only lasted a moment. Mordred and Sakura were being too nice about it after that, so Breeze let her fists uncurl and and lightened up. The world stopped being scared of her.

[Aiden]

Relius Clover

Relius ignored the question, instead still fixated on the blade.  It seemed to be running some sort of impulse into the assassin. 

How facinating.  The soul can generate a current of some sort.  He thought.  His piercing gaze sharpened to the point that the blade would be able to feel his presence even if he were a mile away. "Before we get down to business, may I give the blade a quick examination?" he asked, maintaining his polite tone.

Muramasa Katase

His scrutiny was impossible to ignore. It made the chorus of souls that gave form to the mind of the demon Katase churn in discomfort and irritation. What manner of monster was this, that she could feel so ill from that? Is this how human women felt when a man eyed them up like a steak? She didn't like it.

he knows we are here

[Aiden]

Forest of Old-er

"I was hoping that Goons 1 and 2 would have ran like Goon 3 did," Forest said in a quiet voice as she gestured out the window.  "I mean, when I did it in the past they ran . . . This place is completely buggered up."

She didn't agree with cutting the enforcers off.  Goons were a dime a dozen.  Flash enough money then more dangerous goons would show up.  To really stop this, it would be better to just the chop the head off the snake.

She bit her lip with a frown and said, "Well, let's get this over with."

Liam

"Well, they're definitely running off now." He nodded and started heading down the hall. "So I guess we can handle the fellas across the street and at least make sure they can't walk away from this lookin' spit shined."

Those deaths didn't really bother him any. He'd sacrificed those qualms to the monster coiled up in his chest that, by the grace of God, was there to nudge him to eat and hurt people so the rest would keep in line. It was easier this way. Not that he went around slaughtering folk or anything; kneecaps were a fine enough lesson most of the time.

The other goons had run off too once it was clear their buddy wasn't getting up. They just left the corpse in the gutter, which in any other city would be pretty sloppy. The front door to the building, a clean brick thing taller than the others by a few floors, was locked up tight. So he unlocked it. They were gonna need a new doorknob.

[Thedoctor]

Neptune

"Waaahhhhhh...." Bang "Urgghhh....."

"This is why I shouldnt try late night gaming when Histy tells me to work" What happened one moment she was bolting out through the window and the next she hits something soft? or is it hard?

Squeeze

It was definitely soft but also hard, kinda meaty. At least the thing that her hand was on. Her head on the other hand was decidedly on something hard. Giving a nervous chuckle the purple haired girl opened her eyes to the painful sunlight. A bench. She was on a bunch. Or rather, she was partially on top of a person who was on the bench. And the meaty thing she had been squuezing was a thigh. A very muscular male thigh. While making a sound like a dying beaver, because beavers are cool ya! The girl dolted up, ironically placing her even more this strangers lap.

"Wow you're really tall." Indeed he was, tall as a house, a really tall house that's tall.

Heyyy, my name is Neptune. Sorry for landing on you and all. Man this totally happen every time." She sheepishly scratched the back of her head. Maybe it was embarassment or just pure reflex. She didn't appear to actually be embarrassed after all.

[Aiden]

Sakura Matou

Sakura's ears twitched at the hesitation she detected in his voice at saying the word girlfriend. That could mean soooo many things. Many of them bad. Some good. Best not to draw unwarranted conclusions just yet.

"Why the hesitation, Ron?" She asked in her usual quiet manner after she swallowed her food, silently casting a spell from her crest that could detect lies.

Ron

Whoa. Okay, she's a perceptive lady.

Why did he hesitate to call Annabeth that, exactly? Guilt from what he did with Medaka and Shinobu earlier? Maybe a little bit of that. Looking back on it he would have still done it. He liked to think he made some friends there; he hoped Medaka was alright (Shinobu didn't need his well-wishing).

Because she was the one who'd called herself his girlfriend first earlier today, and she'd done it with that scary possessiveness that felt like something out of a comic? A bit of that, too. With that in mind, and what he'd done earlier, he shuddered in fear. "Well, um, how do I put this...?"

He frowned. "She's my girlfriend in the sense that we live together, and we've done things in bed, and she said I'm her boyfriend. But the arrangement started because I was letting her stay at my place until she found her own once she got stuck here. Only, she didn't find her own."

[SINIB]

Sakura Matou

Sakura's ears twitched at the hesitation she detected in his voice at saying the word girlfriend. That could mean soooo many things. Many of them bad. Some good. Best not to draw unwarranted conclusions just yet.

"Why the hesitation, Ron?" She asked in her usual quiet manner after she swallowed her food, silently casting a spell from her crest that could detect lies.

Ron

Whoa. Okay, she's a perceptive lady.

Why did he hesitate to call Annabeth that, exactly? Guilt from what he did with Medaka and Shinobu earlier? Maybe a little bit of that. Looking back on it he would have still done it. He liked to think he made some friends there; he hoped Medaka was alright (Shinobu didn't need his well-wishing).

Because she was the one who'd called herself his girlfriend first earlier today, and she'd done it with that scary possessiveness that felt like something out of a comic? A bit of that, too. With that in mind, and what he'd done earlier, he shuddered in fear. "Well, um, how do I put this...?"

He frowned. "She's my girlfriend in the sense that we live together, and we've done things in bed, and she said I'm her boyfriend. But the arrangement started because I was letting her stay at my place until she found her own once she got stuck here. Only, she didn't find her own."

Sakura Matou

"Mhmm, I see." Sakura said, putting her fork down on her empty plate. "That sounds rough. If you're not comfortable living together, it might be good for one of you to move out, couples need their space." Sakura suggested. She could tell there was more to it, but he hadn't lied. He was just telling only part of the truth, she guessed.

[Aiden]

Neptune

"Waaahhhhhh...." Bang "Urgghhh....."

"This is why I shouldnt try late night gaming when Histy tells me to work" What happened one moment she was bolting out through the window and the next she hits something soft? or is it hard?

Squeeze

It was definitely soft but also hard, kinda meaty. At least the thing that her hand was on. Her head on the other hand was decidedly on something hard. Giving a nervous chuckle the purple haired girl opened her eyes to the painful sunlight. A bench. She was on a bunch. Or rather, she was partially on top of a person who was on the bench. And the meaty thing she had been squuezing was a thigh. A very muscular male thigh. While making a sound like a dying beaver, because beavers are cool ya! The girl dolted up, ironically placing her even more this strangers lap.

"Wow you're really tall." Indeed he was, tall as a house, a really tall house that's tall.

Heyyy, my name is Neptune. Sorry for landing on you and all. Man this totally happen every time." She sheepishly scratched the back of her head. Maybe it was embarassment or just pure reflex. She didn't appear to actually be embarrassed after all.

Gadreel

Something impacted on him, making him jolt and lean back on the bench to put a small amount of distance between his torso and whatever it was. Whomever, actually, he realized as he took in the strange sight now making herself comfortable on top of him. How fortunate for him, that he was so durable the impact was only a momentary discomfort. One of his arms went around her to prevent the girl from falling off of him and onto the hard ground.

The hair color momentarily made him believe this was Lucy or one of her Messengers catching him by surprise again, but everything else about her dispelled the notion from his thoughts. What were the odds that a young woman such as this would just happen to fall on top of him as she entered the Nexus? If, indeed, she was arriving from without? Those were his thoughts in the instant between his initial response and taking his first look down at the girl in his lap.

"So I am," he said in agreement with her. His lips turned up into a smile. "My name is Gadreel, young Neptune. Just feel fortunate that you landed on me, and not someone more fragile. Or irritable. Or, indeed, on my pizza."

Beside him was, indeed, an open box of half-eaten Pizza Hut pizza, his lunch for the day. He did not strictly speaking require food, but it was enjoyable.

[Kat]

Julius

The monster's power seemed to rise the more time passed, but the hero just needed to muster more of his determination to keep it up. No matter how obscene and blasphemous this creature was, he had a faith on his side, the faith that with the blessing of the Lord of All on his side he would overcome this adversity.

Meanwhile the skillful knight did well defending against the onslaught of the monster. He took a gamble and pushed the monster closer to Julius.

This demon probably would expect him use his whip again, but Julius had something other in mind. He took out a rosary that he used for prayers, clutched it tight with his fist and attempted  to punch the grip of the sword to embed it deeper in its body. If that made the demon lose his balance then he would follow with another lash of the whip, this time more thorough.

[Kat]

Anastasia

What she would like? That was a good question. While she could always insist on something familiar, frankly she suspected that maybe this club or how the pale skinned woman called the tavern did not have any brands familiar to Anastasia. "I'm a foreigner, so unfortunately I'm not too familiar with brands served in this city. But if you happen to have Dwarven beer in your stock, I'll be most grateful for that."

[Thedoctor]

Jin

"I'll see about it when I get there." He told her earnestly. There wan't much point in trying to determine this over the phone. She did provide him with another bit info that made him feek somewhat relieved. "That's great Oka, you know I'm not made of money." The woods were a bit away however but he could probably reach them fairly quikly. "Ok I'll be there in 15 minutes or so, bye." He hung up as he started to make his way over.



Super-William

The most fabulous of all the mages was about to respond to the girls who were still trying to trick him when he felt it. It was a shift in the air like something raw, something primal had awoken. His sharp senses quickly detected the source. It was coming from a woman standing a bit further back who he'd noticed as part of this group but had seemingly mistakingly written off after she hadn't approached. He saw her clenching her fist in barely restrained rage, how curious. She was brave but... She had made a mistake though, a very grave mistake, gaining his attention.

He kept silent as he leveled his gaze at her meeting her challange head on.

[Thedoctor]

Neptune

This guy was amazing. Not only wasn't he angry that he landed on her, he was even concerned for her going by the arm supporting her back. And it didn't end there He could say her name, her actual name. But that wasn't all, he had PIZZA. "You must be a good guy, no one bad can be this nice, yeah you definitely aren't sitting here waiting to kidnap little girls. Nope, not a chance." The purple haired girl said  with much excitement as she settled down more comfortably on his lap, leaning forward so that he wouldn't need to hold her.

"That pizza does look delicious can I have some? Can I?.... Please~" Weird she wasn't usually this polite.

[Aiden]

Gadreel

"Define little." Then he chuckled, and used his free hand to hold up the box of pizza to this new associate who happened to land on him. "I'm kidding, of course. I have no desire to kidnap anyone. By all means, help yourself."

He would make her comfortable before the reality of being trapped sunk in for her. Hopefully, Gadreel thought, it would lighten the blow for her. Unless she did happen to have a way out, which would be quite fortunate for her. Still, better not to make assumptions of the sort.

[Thedoctor]

Neptune

"I'd say girls like me, but I'm not so little anymore, right? Yeah Neptune comes in a big package now for you all to enjoy!" She cheerfully anounced all of a sudden, despite there not being an audience. her actions though they may seem weird were genuine, spoken without a trace of irony in them.

Her reaction to the offered pizza was just as odd, instead of reaching she remained as only her mouth opened slightly. Her eyes however were a different story. They were looking at him expactantly.

[Aiden]

Gadreel

His eyes drank in the sight once more to confirm her statement. Well, she certainly failed to live up to the descriptor of 'little' in that sense. And her sudden, shameless cheer was quite refreshing even as she left him curious with regard to its providence. He couldn't stop his chuckling at he sight an sound of this Neptune.

"Well, if you insist..."

He picked up a slice of the pizza and placed the tip of it into her mouth. It was still warm enough in the end for this, and as an angel he did not have human shame about such things.