Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? The Velvet Room (NSFW version)

[Panda]

Adjutor stops completely at Abigail's words, hand going slack as a sudden chill steals over him.

Well...we just got friend-zoned...

For a few moments, Adjutor sits there, doing his best to not lose his composure completely and, by some miracle, succeeding. He then takes another moment to be certain that he's collected himself before speaking, ever so slightly frustrated that he can't seem to wipe the simple sadness from his expression and settling for not meeting her eyes.

"Of course," he says, sounding like a machine with a more than a few gears slipping, "My apologies for that, I suppose I misunderstood a bit back at the bar. Thank you for clearing that up."

The room was suddenly suffocating, the walls feeling like they were pressing in around him, throat constricting as he tried to hold back...hold back...He needed to separate himself, need to isolate himself, needed a moment to think.

"Armos," Adjutor whispers, mana flooding the Armogarians as the metal pours out, encasing him in a paper-thin shell of unbreakable metal that did nothing to hide what his demeanor already betrayed. Even with the helmet concealing his face completely he remained hunched over, the very image of someone defeated so soundly that their will to stand again had been broken.

...I suppose it can't be helped. I mean...fuck. Look at us. I'm honestly surprised she didn't just run when she saw the eyes. Hell, I'm-

Oh goddammit don't you start this shit again.

Xarrest, look at us. An amalgam of two souls of beings from entirely different dimensions contained within a single body. Souls that have been further warped by soul-bonds with two Elementals. These damned tattoos, these unnatural eyes, do I need to continue? We're an academic curiosity for her, not even-

Okay, let me just say that if we weren't stuck in the same body right now, you'd already be on the floor, bleeding from the where I slugged you harder than that pirate. How fucking dense can you get?! Has it never occurred to you that maybe you just don't happen to be her type, or maybe your little story time killed the mood?! Pantheon's sake, for all the crazy shit we've done over the years, I suppose I've forgotten how much of a coward you can be sometimes. You got friend-zoned, so what?! Now you're just giving up?! Just going to write yourself off as a fucking sideshow freak?! Get over it. You met a cute girl, had a few drinks, things didn't work out. Things don't always work out, dammit, so get over yourself and look on the bright side. We have a proper friend now, and not just someone who likes us for our ability to enact her twisted-ass torture fantasies.

What evidence do you have that I'm-

A coward? Let's see, I'm basically having to force you to introduce yourself to other people, and you've been putting yourself down at every opportunity. Hell, it's like you're trying to push them away! You're afraid to get close to someone!

Can you blame me?

Yes, I can. Because you weren't alone in that room on that night. They might not have been my family by blood, but I cared about them, dammit. I cared about them as much as I care about my folks back in Orthos. So you'd rather live out your life by yourself than try to move on and find other people to care about?!

So you'd rather risk killing more people who did nothing to deserve it than ensure that no one else will be in danger?!

No one else is in danger! We know that it can happen now and we can stop it. Look, why won't you just...just...dammit, Adjutor. Take off the damn armor. Talk to her. If you can't fix this, you can at least not be alone. That much she's offering us freely.

After a long pause, the teen dismisses the Armor, letting it melt back into the Armogarians as he takes a moment to try to regain his composure before giving up on it with a sigh.

"Thank you for your offer, though. If you wish, we could move back to the bar."

Then the wall that held the door promptly stopped existing. Looking up, the sight that greets Adjutor snaps him out of the sorrow and replaces it with horror as a familiar voice echoes out.

...the hell?

Then the booze flooded forth, an impossible torrent of alcohol without end. There wasn't enough time to call up a Shield, not enough time to burn it with Fire, not enough time to summon Rahab to freeze it, not enough time to even react before-

The booze crashed down on the two, soaking them, the bed, and their clothes in the curious liquid. It seemed like alcohol but...

...Oh wow...

He hadn't even drunk anything, yet Adjutor was already feeling a more than a little tipsy just from the fumes. The world seemed to slow to a crawl around him as a strange yet wonderful warmth flooded through him. He looked around for a moment, mystified by how different the room seems now, before his eyes settle on the fae, the previous expression of sorrow replaced by curiosity.

"Ah...ah...Abby?" he barely manages to get out, voice slurring uncontrollably as he struggles to piece together something approaching coherent speech.

...We just got surprised-flooded...with booze...

...by Lorenzo? Who is somehow...a ghost?

...why do you...sound...drunk?

No clue...All I know is that this is some good stuff! ...Hell, feels like this stuff is soaking into my very soul~!

This possibility gets a laugh from the teen, and further contemplation only serves to amuse him further leaving Adjutor gasping for breath as he flops back against the bed, staring at the ceiling above him. The sight bores him, so he focuses his attention on much more appealing sight of the sweater-less fae...

You sure you didn't actually drink anything?

Nope! Probably! No clue! Feels like I drank the bar dry! HAH!


"Velvet Room, eh?" Michael muses to himself as he makes his way inside, "Sounds like an interesting place, or at the very least a unique one."

Upon entering, the first thing that catches the immortal's eye is the fully stocked bar. The second is that there are two people, both of whom look fairly strong, working their way through some punch. Third is that two more people are having sex on that same bar. Fourth is the three-way going on on a bed that looks like someone pulled it straight out of either a courtesan's chambers or a brothel.

Booze, people who look like they'd be fun to fight, and sex, Michael counts off in his head, Now all we need is decent food, and this place will be perfect.

Unfortunately, nobody seems to be staffing the bar. Fortunately, they seem to have left a mixing book behind.

Might as well get something to drink, and drinking alone while surrounded by all these people would just be ridiculous, so...

With this in mind, Michael takes a seat at the bar, snatching up a nearby bottle of liquor and pouring himself a glass before downing it, feeling the liquid burn on its way down as he surveys the room.

[Kaze]

Saber moved her hips to make it easier for Shirou to remove the white, lacy panties that preserved the last of her modesty. His eyes widened slightly as he gazed at her fully revealed body. His erection throbbed, his body desiring the same pleasure he had just given to the former king.

Shirou leaned in, stopping just above his lover's womanhood, close enough for her to feel his breath on her skin. A sudden memory of the last time he was in this position coming to the forefront. Suddenly angry, Shirou closed the last of the distance between him and Saber, giving her entire slit, from the bottom up to the clitoris, a slow lick.

[Panda]

Finding himself thoroughly bored of the whole situation, Michael takes another swallow of the liquor before making his way over to the two strong looking people. One of them a tall violet-haired man who was looking altogether far too depressed, considering where he was, and the other a woman with shoulder-length raven hair and minimal face-paint. Tuning out the couple screwing each others' brains out on the bar, approaches the two.

"Mind if I join you?" he asks, glass and bottle in one hand, "Just being able to enjoy some proper company would be nice."

[Elf]

Abigail

Abigail winched as she felt the overwhelming surge of depression and despair come from Adjutor.  It gnawed at her, screamed in her head, and she automatically rubbed her temples.  Then she watched as Adjutor hid himself in some helmet and scowled.

"You just met me . . . I do want to be your friend and . . ."

Then the booze deluge happened and she was soaked.  The redhead cried out as she suddenly smelled like a frat house and drenched.  Then Adjutor started to giggle as he looked at her. 

Her sweater was soaked too and she stood up, shook off, and said, "What in the name of Zeus's horny butthole happened?"


Saber


Saber gasped at Shirou's hot breath tickling her.  He was so close and he was watching her so intently.  He was looking at somewhere she'd never let anyone else look before and she could see the need in his mismatched eyes.

Heat filled her cheeks as she looked away at the sight of him, the sight of him so large and male while she was suddenly aware of how small she was despite all of her power.

Then he lowered his head, suddenly close and his tongue was on her wet, swollen flesh.  A cry tore from her lips as she arched her hips towards him as his tongue teased that point again.  She was on fire, she wanted more of this and her hands were entangled in her lover's hair as she urged him for more.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Puffing his chest in pride, the fiery god of... whatever you fancy him being god of roared in delight, taking his time to be aspompous as you can possibly get.

 "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA, I happened, of course!", Lorenzo spoke in a theatrical exxagerated tone, the alcohol of the divine gods overflowing and bathing all in it's greatness. "I am, no, WAS Lorenzo. But NO MORE! From now, you shall call me Supreme Emperor of the Universe and All other Nice Things!"

"By my divine powers I command you, fall before true greatness!", and as he spoke, blindinglight plunged the room with incandescent brightness, his body glowing like a thousand stars. The air shifted as the space they stood in twisted and bent to his whim. As the light faded, it seemed they were transported...somewhere.

It was a beautiful ship, dign of the richest and whealtiest cruises a man could ever dream. Flying over the earth, a beautiful starry sky watched over the ship. "Now, let's make of this night..."

A pose, what appeared to be a pirate dressed as a butler with a funny pirate hat pointed to the bright moon as he laid his body back, yelling in pure glory as he announced his gospel of amazing delight.

"A night to shame all nights!! Now, do as you please, we have all the time in the worrrrrrrrrld!!!"

[Panda]

Laivatain came back to awareness to find himself...somewhere...

Wherever it was, it was full of fire. But there was something different about this fire. Something...off. This wasn't Adjutor's fire, and that spirit he'd been tormenting not too long ago didn't even have a fire. Laivatain stirred about, pushing at the walls of that which contained only to find that the walls, while pliant, didn't give way and didn't let him pass through them. There seemed to be two openings, however. One above him, and one below. Figuring that the opening above would be the safest way to go, the Fire Elemental tried to make its way up, only to be pulled back by...something.

...I'm bound?

Sure enough, some pliant fleshy matter was restraining the being. Further movement revealed that some of the matter had even penetrated him, and was now feeding his power to the being that held him.

...You bind me. You restrain me, and you have the gall to try to steal my power?!

Enraged beyond human comprehension, the being tore free of its restraints with just a bare modicum of actual effort and burst from the upper passageway, up through a tunnel that tried to crush him repeatedly, and past the unbreakable white gates to enter the world once more with an all-consuming blaze as-

Adjutor looked on in horror as Laivatain burst from the Lorenzo's mouth. The reason for said horror was that the ship had just vanished, and they were still miles above the earth. Base instincts compelled him to grab on to Abigail while they hurtled towards harsh, unforgiving earth.

You know, this is the perfect opportunity to get at least one good squeeze in before we're splattered.

Shut up, Xarrest!

[Elf]

Abigail

Abigail looked around the lavish pirate ship and managed to whisper, "Holy Captain Jack Sparrow . . ."

Then a being of fire erupted from the pirate's mouth.  The ship was destroyed in it's wake and Adjutor's arms wrapped around her as they were miles above the earth.  Abby instinctively twisted, knowing that she couldn't call her broom in time, but she could do something else.

The young Faerie witch began to chant rapidly.  It wasn't Gaelic, German, French or Latin, common languages that the Fae used for their spells.  The thing about spells was that it was a group of words that helped the caster focus and gather their will.  She held a quartz point in her hand and rapidly chanted,

"The Dread Pirate Roberts
Was Wesley the Farm Boy,
And he would always utter,
'As you wish!' every time
Buttercup requested something of him . . .
Then she shouted out to him, 'Fly, Wesley, fly!'
And her hero shouted in return, 'AS YOU WISH!'"

Air swept up around them and they stabilized, literally flying in the air.  Abigail sighed in relief as she kept them a lot and whispered, "Go Wesley."


Another Forest

The thing about the Velvet Room, much like the Nexus itself, was that it could pull different versions of the same person from different dimensions.  While one version of the vampire known as Forest was off with the being known as Thomas Hale in a private room, another found herself walking through the door.  This one wasn't dressed like a cheer leader, but she was dressed up.

See this Forest had  planned to blow off some steam by going dancing at a Goth club and looked the part.   She wore a violet corset top, fingerless lace gloves, a black pleated skirt that was sinfully short, and knee high boots.  Her lipstick was a bright violet, her eyes were lined with dark eyeliner and a little lavender shadow with shimmer.  It made her eyes look large and violet.  She even had her hair piled in one of those messy, but artful buns with some of the blond locks colored the same purple as the lipstick and the top.  She'd even put a bit of an iridescent lotion on the parts of her skin that could be seen, giving her a sheen like a Fae.  (She was not going to sparkle like goddamn Edward Cullen.)

The vampire walked in, saw the people talking to each other and others shagging their brains out.  She blinked, put a hand to her lips and muttered aloud, "Well, I'm certainly not in Kansas anymore."

[Panda]

Adjutor glances about as the very pissed Fire Elemental vanishes, likely going back to the Velvet Room, leaving him and Abby stranded miles above the earth.

"...I think I'll just get us down to ground level," Adjutor says, mentally summoning Tyrfing to him.

The teen reaches out a hand, keeping the other one looped securely around Abigail as he touches the Shadow Elemental, pulling both of them into the shadow, which promptly starts dropping towards where ground level would be in the real like a sped up elevator, with Adjutor still holding on to the fae unconsciously. Coming to a smooth stop, the Elemental brings them in under the club, with plenty of other shadows for them to choose from regarding where they decide to come out. Taking none of these choices, Adjutor simply hops out of the Elemental, taking Abby with him as they emerge off to the side in the main room.

"...Perhaps we could grab a drink?"

[Elf]

Abigail

She frowned at Adjutor; she'd been pleased with the flying spell but then he had to pull an Umbra.  Once they were safe in the club again she said, "I know a Faerie Lady who would have a word with you about doing that."

She did laugh, shook her self and said, "We could, after I get a shower and a change of clothing.  I'm still soaked and just in my bra."

[Panda]

Adjutor shrugs, "I'm sure she'll be fine talking to Tyrfing."

Then the fae's second statement registers, forcing the teen to blush a shade of red that should probably be unhealthy.

...Well, I know she just friend-zoned us, but I'm going to be enjoying this mental image.

GODDAMMIT XARREST!

"...I should probably do the same," Adjutor decides, making a point of heading in the opposite direction as Abby.

One quick shower and change of clothes into another of those bartender outfits that had appeared out of nowhere later, Adjutor finds himself behind the bar once more as a curiously dressed vampire walks in.

...Do you think she's the same person?

Don't see why not. This place could very well draw in alternate versions of the same people.

Well, let's find out.

Not sure why he's doing it, Adjutor quickly takes a moment to compose himself, then goes about the task of mixing another Pissed Off Japanese Minnow Farmer, unaware that the ingredients are still Reinforced.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," he says, a tendril bursting out of the Armogarians to extend the drink to what is likely an alternate version of Forest, "Adjutor Xarrest, at your service. May I ask who it is I'm serving?"

[Elf]

Forest Not With Tom

Forest raised an eyebrow as she saw something that looked like metal tendrils help a guy who looked her physical age mix a drink.  The fruity smell was enticing and he extended the drink to her with a greeting of, "Adjutor Xarrest, at your service. May I ask who it is I'm serving?"

The blond took the drink and said, "Forest, even though I didn't ask for anything but . . . I'm not going to turn down something absurdly fruity."

[Panda]

Adjutor allows a smile as Forest takes the drink, then shrugs, "I had a lot of drinks lined up here a while ago, but I leave for a bit and they're all gone. I mean, the pirate tore through most of them earlier, but I wasn't expecting the punch to be gone when I got back," Adjutor shakes his head with a rueful chuckle, "Pissed off Japanese Minnow Farmers are the hardest to make, so I figured I might as well get that done first. Besides, you don't quite seem the type for hard flavorless drinks, though I'm certain that there are exceptions."

With that, Adjutor flips through the book once more, landing on a random drink and starting to mix...a Scotch Sour? Adjutor offers the drink in his hand a brief glare before setting it off to the side.

...Why, Lady Luck? Why do you desert me now?

Have we ever really been favored by her?

"Anyway," the teen says, "Might I ask what brings you to the Velvet Room? If it's simply company, you'll find plenty, and I could say the same for the drinks."

Deciding to take on a bit of a mental exercise, Adjutor starts mixing another Japanese Minnow Farmer with a set of tendrils in coming out of one hand while another set from his other hand starts to mix a Zombie Killer. The exercise turns out to be fairly easy, ending with Adjutor setting the new Minnow Farmer in front of him and taking a sip of the Zombie Killer.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lorenzo Remei

Wake up, you still have much to accomplish.

A sudden burst of fire erupted from a nearby seat, blazing glory engulfing all in it's path as a tremendous laugh shook the very room.
"Yo-ho-ho!!! I am back, I am eternal!", a joyful pirate roared, wearing all sorts of pirate cloth and a funny pirate hat.

"Yes, thanks to your friend's magic, I have been resurrected. I am free again! Yo-ho-ho!!!"

Glancing nearby, Lorenzo looked upon a charming lady. Fearlessly, he proceeded to approach her.
"Ya-hoo, let us celebrate with fine drinks my good hearty!"

[Elf]

Forest That Is Not With Tom

Forest eyed the mauve drink and picked the cherry out of it.  She answered, "I'm taking some of my Godson's advice.  I mean, honestly I wasn't heading for this place, looking for a goth club I could do some dancing to some good trance to but . . . Looking for a bit of fun I suppose."

The air was rich with the smell of spirits, lust, and maiden's blood.  Her nostrils flared for a moment as she looked over at the source.  If she'd recently fed she would have been twenty shades of pink as she watched the large (and absurdly attractive) white haired Asian man make love to what Forest's senses was telling her was some sort of magic user, and a powerful one at that.  She quickly looked away when a booming voice proclaimed, "Ya-hoo, let us celebrate with fine drinks my good hearty!"

She chuckled at the sight of an almost stereotypical pirate and lifted her glass to him.  "At least you don't look like you're cosplaying Captain Jack."

[Panda]

"Fair enough," Adjutor says, "If there's anything I can help with in that regard, you need only ask."

Well that didn't come off as being creepy at all.

Hey, I'm trying.

That you are, and it's better than the emo bullshit you were hiding behind earlier.

Then Lorenzo appeared, once more among the living, and still as over-the-top as ever.

"..." Adjutor simply sighs and extends a massive glass filled with ale towards the pirate, "I would say you've had enough, but considering that you can literally burn off the excess, it would be rather pointless."

With that, Adjutor decides he needs a drink and takes another drink of the Zombie Killer.