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

[yinsukin]

Joe

“Oh yeah.  Cause you're pretty standoffish like a Cat!”  He laughed after he spoke, his body relaxing as he grew more comfortable.  He stretched the arm facing away from Rin out across the bench and opened his body up a bit.

“Nope.  I live alone.  Completely and utterly alone.”  He said bitterly, albeit half jokingly.  But hey, I make decent money at least. I have my own place, very comfy.  Ive thought about getting a pet but because I work so much I worry about the poor guy developing anxiety issues cat or dog. “  He continued in a casual tone.

[Umbra of Chaos]

Lucy

The girl hit the ground as an ungraceful lump before standing up. Hmph. She'd make sure that Asmodeus notified the police of some kidnapping skeleton. That would be a fine interpretation of this whole mess. Now then... Lucy waved at the redhead with a perfect amount of charm.

Her Messengers spoke to him for her. "So, we're not usually on the same side but I'd really appreciate some help. This guy is kind of annoying. And a kidnapper. And dead."

[Elf]

Rin

Rin raised her eyebrows at Joe before taking another sip of her water.  It tasted too much like charcoal and she checked the label to make sure never to buy that brand again.  Her nose curled up ever so slightly before she lowered the bottle again.

She eyed him and replied, "You know, telling someone they're pretty standoffish isn't the best way to break the ice.  Also, if you want a pet that will tolerate you being away at work get some fish."

[Kat]

Rikuyo

"Uhh, somewhere on a table in the room over there? Go look, I'll keep myself busy with this." Rikuyo nonchalantly retorted, laying on a coach, flipping through channels and eating dog biscuits that to her disappointment didn't taste like a dog meat. But hey, they didn't taste too bad either! Maybe that was because she was a half wolf and wolves liked what dogs ate too.

[Aiden]

IRON=SAKURA

"Oh, um... Thanks... I guess." Sakura said awkwardly, averting her eyes. She'd never really considered herself cute, really. She didn't really see how any man would consider a several-ton superhuman monstrosity like herself cute. Other than Tager, but her dad didn't really count. He was even bigger and more ridiculous than her, after all. She could get cool, maybe, but cute?

Tears began to stream out of her eyes, and she didn't understand why.

Auspicious Breeze

"You're welcome!" She said it with a big smile, but then something went wrong.

Oh. Oh crap, did I just make a girl cry?! No no no no, this isn't right! Auspicious Breeze did not make girls cry, that was the worst possible thing she could do right now. Something was very wrong here if just that was enough to make Sakura get upset, and here and now wasn't a good place to ask. So before it could get worse Breeze just moved her chair and sat it down next to Sakura and put a friendly arm around her.

IRON=SAKURA

Sakura appreciated Breeze's show of comfort, but she wasn't really feeling sad at all. She had a warm fuzzy feeling in her heart. A good feeling.

"I'm cute, huh?" Sakura muttered. She didn't really believe that it could be true, but if Breeze said so, it must be true. She didn't seem like the sort who would lie.

Knowing it was true made her feel really good, though.

Suddenly, Sakura grabbed Breeze in a hug, and pulled her close with strength that may or may not have been a bit excessive. "Thanks." She said with a smile, still crying.

Auspicious Breeze

The return hug almost caught her off guard and choked her out, but Breeze was prepared! She had a keen instinct for potential danger, so she made sure to reinforce herself as best she could right before Sakura did that. That way it was just a regular tight squeezy hug and not a 'ow my ribs got crushed' hug!

"Ah, hehe, you're welcome!" She patted Sakura on the back a couple times.

And then dessert showed up. Chocolate cake ice-creamy dessert goodness.

[Aiden]

Gadreel

Normally the exile would have fought harder to keep the lilliputian demons away from his thoughts, but in this case permitting just enough to allow for communication was acceptable. He was uncertain what to make of the girl herself in light of this. Was she some form of warlock whose powers came from a contract with one of his infernal kin, or perhaps one of the Qliphonim - damned humans who received a form of relief from the Pit in exchange for transformation into a demon who would haunt and corrupt others? Such operatives were far from unheard of.

Very well. We will discuss the particulars of your presence after.

One of his hands tightened into a fist. "My name is Gadreel.  I would like to discuss your inappropriate handling of this woman. It is clear she does not wish to be in your presence, and yet you force the matter. Will you release her?"

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lorenzo Remei

If the pirate still had eyelids, he would've blinked right now. Something out this smelled fishy, he didn't even need a nose to tell that much. If she had something to complain about, she should've just said something.

"Huh? Why? I haven't hurt her or done anything wrong, just taking something that's mine around my city. If there was any issue with how I was handling her, lass could've brought it up to me. Ain't that right sweetcheeks?" He asked, finally turning towards the cute little girl.

[Kat]

Julius

"Are you an exorcist, then? I have to admit that I'm not as capable as some of magi and priests that I've had pleasure to meet. I can only banish unclean spirits of demonic nature, but wandering souls are someone I cannot banish back to the afterlife." These were his limitations that he had accepted. Then he turned to Paladin and inquired about his status as a knight "You are serving a knightly order, am I right? Knights are a thing of the past in my age, but learned people and common folk alike know tales of noble deeds of your generation. It is a honor to aid you, Sir."

[Umbra of Chaos]

Lucy

"Ah, right. The silence means consent type. Bleh. You're really bad at this whole charm thing. It's exceptional, really!" Then she stopped smiling. "But I don't belong to you. I have only ever belonged to one person, and I will always belong to that person. I won't tell you a second time."



Paladin

"Ah, no. There's no need for that." The armored man almost seemed to be embarrassed? No, he was most definitely embarrassed. He rubbed the top of his helmet while waving off Julius with his other hand. "What I or anyone of my order does is nothing worthy of praise. All that we do is for peace, order, and our god."

He straightened a bit, and that previous bit of embarrassment faded in face of his purity of purpose and confidence. "It is simply what is expected from those that aspire to divine righteousness."

[Elf]

Forest - MidWinter

Why am I even bloody bothering with this?  What's the goddamned point?

After that little incident in the hospital, she was assigned a fine.  Which she paid in full and honestly, her bank account wasn't lacking to say the least.  However, as Gabriel pointed out, this wasn't home.  She wasn't Law Unto Herself here; she hadn't had over a millennia to build up her reputation here.

Not to mention there were many things here that made her look weak and pitiful in comparison.

A majority of the beings here already had protectors (even though they were very taxed) or didn't need protection, and as proven by Vermilion, no one wanted her help.

Again, no one wanted her.

Gadreel, while kind and considerate, made it kind of obvious that right now he just wanted to be friends.

Saber was MIA. 

She wished Gabriel never attempted to find her.  He could have lived back at home with Wynn, Ash, and Brenna without issue.  Even though he met a girl here, Forest gave the relationship three months tops.  Yet he was here, and despite the fact Forest wasn't overly joyed at his choice of profession, it was literally one step above "boy whore", he seemed happy.  Even somewhat thriving in the chaos that was Nexus.

After many weeks of prodding and her brooding and beating up human lowlifes, which really wasn't a challenge, Gabriel pointed out she still owned a sizeable building from one of those crime lords she took out and liquidated their assets.  She realized she never sold it or even put it up for market.  It was just kind of there in a choice place in town actually. 

He also pointed out that she had complained about the dance club scene here.  Which had lead to the natural evolution that she open up a nightclub herself.  She could hire staff to run the club and reap in the profits and just go there to blow off steam (and maybe meet someone had been Gabriel's not so subtle nudge).

When she went to go check on the building a few nights ago she had found some wankers peddling their poison on the corner. 

Which was something she did not want in her first foray into a respectable business.

So she tracked them to another part of town dressed somewhat differently than how she would normally dress.  With the duster's enchantments, she left it at home, not wanting to risk it getting torn.  She dressed for movement; black cargo pants and a heavy black fleece to sort of protect her from the cold and her hair in a high pony tail. 

Cracking her knuckles, she started to move towards the group of thugs. Maybe I should feed off of one.  It's been a while since I made a miscreant jizz himself . . .

[Panda]

Michael

The immortal frowned as the cracks ran out on his opponent's face. Had he put too much force into the blow? It would be rather regrettable if he killed Newface so soon. Not that his opponent was going to let the blow keep him down for long, launching numerous arms of that same darkness that had been launched in a wave at him earlier. Falling through the air like this, even an attack of this speed would have him as easy prey were he anyone else.

Hmm. I'll have to adjust the force a little next time. Ah well.

But he was Michael, and so this wasn't the case this time, though the effort as commendable. Looking through a gap in the coverage, Michael's staff flashed out, extending out to its full length, the hook catching a streetlamp before he used it to pull himself out of the enveloping darkness, neatly avoiding attack. Letting himself fall back down to the ground, the immortal stood his ground, staff flashing once to toss a singular wave forth from his staff directly at Newface, Michael curious to see how he'd deal with the attack.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lorenzo Remei

The pirate paused for a second and let her words register, the only words coming from him being the crackling of the flames. Then, he laughed.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!! Mighty mean tongue lashing, you've got some guts, woman! Bwahahahaha!!!" He roared, stepping forward to get up to level with the girl. There was a hint of fire in his eyes, he hadn't quite looked so tall until now. It was different, yet the same. If one had to describe the look of his hollow burning eye sockets, it was hunger, a scorching craving that dwarfed every greed and ambition known to man.

"I like ya. You are smart, brave, beautiful, and you're not scared to say what's on your mind. I want such a woman at my side, and whatever I want I take. It's how I have always lived, as a pirate, as a man."

She was free to do as she pleased, but it doesn't matter if she'd be his foe, his friend, or his queen. One might escape his grasp, but she would never escape my heart.The pirate then turned to the handsome redhead and roared joyfully.

"AIN'T THAT RIGHT!?"

[Aiden]

Gadreel

Gadreel's face descended into a disapproving frown. Such unadulterated avarice could lead only to sorrow, and this woman quite clearly wished for him to stop even before now. "That... is not for you to decide." The angel began to approach, enduring the corpse's palpable desire with nary a flinch of hesitation. "She has already said no. If you have any respect for her at all, you will listen."

[Aiden]

Ron

Well, that should keep Rikuyo out of trouble for a while. Based on the location of the cabin and the angle of the antenna she would get all kinds of interesting channels coming out of the city to distract herself with. Now it was just a matter of going in, finding the item she mentioned before, and taking it with him so he could get a good sniff of it. The place was a bit of a mess, of course.

It took a few minutes to find it for Medaka, but he found the phone soon enough. "Here we go," he told the young vampire with a grin. "Now you just need to take me to some part of the city this Theo guy would have gone to. I can pick up a trail from it if he's been there recently."

From there they could split up and search.

[Umbra of Chaos]

Lucy

God. Lucy clasped her hands and looked right up to the heavens. "I know I'm not a good person. I know. But why can't I get a good, charming one instead of a horde of two cent thugs that wouldn't even manage as a lesser demon combined? Is that too much to ask?"