~~000~~
Tales of the Multiverse Bit 244
"Thank you very much! Thank you very much! Thank you very much!
After helping getting Owen Brannons down from a tree, Crusher the Highland Goat, Kouta Fujiki, Marcus Reservoir, Sharpshooter Jane, Soaphie Lapislazuli and Sora Aozora watches as Owen bowed in head in gratitude over and over again, much to their amusement and Sora's disgust.
~~000~~
In Lovebloom City, at a cafe later that evening, the DAN Army members, along with Chrys Heart and Romance Detective, are assembled around a table. All eyes are fixed on Romance Detective, who is holding a sizable net.
"Ah, excellent." Romance Detective cheered, "It is gratifying to see you all gathered here." she expressed.
"Y-Yes..." Chrys responded with her expression uncertain.
"Is there an issue?" Romance Detective inquired.
"Indeed, a significant one!" Dan Mandel interjected, "What is the purpose of the big ass net?!" he exclaimed rather rudely.
"Are we planning to capture butterflies?" Honne Nohotoke asked with enthusiasm.
"It is intended to ensnare the individual we need to converse with." Romance Detective clarified.
"Are we attempting to capture the Monarch Butterfly?" Denton "16-Years Old" Gibson asked with sarcasm, "Otherwise, we might as well have utilized a tranquilizer or something." he remarked with a blank expression.
Disregarding Denton's comment, Chrys turned to the Detective, "You have yet to inform us who this individual might be." she noted.
"Yes!" Dan yelped, "Reveal it!" he demanded, "So we can apprehend this dipshit and conclude this matter!" he insisted.
"Cupid." Romance Detective answered.
"What?" Trixie Lulamoon responded in astonishment.
"Oh, I understand now." Chrys remarked, "What sort of individual is this Cupid?" she inquired.
"Romance Cop, have you never heard of the God of Desire?" Romance Detective questioned.
The DAN Army quickly grasped her meaning but Chrys remained doubtful, "So..." the blue-haired cop trailed, "... your acquaintance operates in some sort of brothel?" she asked with a perplexed expression.
"Absolutely not!" Romance Detective dismissed, "I will need to provide you with a comprehensive lesson on Roman Mythology later, but for now, let me be direct." she asserted, "We are going to locate Cupid and ascertain the cause of this peculiar phenomenon." she stated, "Naturally, I have not dismissed the possibility that he may be the source of it himself." she added.
"I understand." Elise Pearson replied while crossing her arms.
"Thus, it appears a formidable entity may be involved here." Mandy Rosal pondered.
"My goodness, a God." Brick McArthur muttered.
"W-Wait, are you referring to a cherubic figure with a bow and arrow, Cupid?" Chrys interjected, "Are you serious?" she asked bluntly.
"I am always serious." Romance Detective replied.
"R-Right, so, have you encountered Cupid before?" Chrys queried.
"Do not be absurd." Romance Detective chastised, "I have certainly not." she responded.
"T-Then how can you be certain we will even locate him?" Mandy asked.
"Because, I am, Romance Detective." Romance Detective claimed proudly.
Trixie places a palm on her face, "Oh, dear Celestia." she sighed in exasperation.
"I have never failed to solve a case." Romance Detective asserted.
"Very professional of you." Chris Pearson remarked.
"What do you mean by 'professional'?" Dan questioned while making air quotes with his fingers.
"Questionable at best." Shuuhei Shinozaki quipped.
"Yep." Isamu Oohori chirped in agreement.
Chrys sighed in response, "Fine, you win." she conceded, "Let's go find Cupid." she beckoned.
"It's good that you have faith in your team." Romance Detective complimented, "Our search starts at the park!" she announced.
The group then exited the cafe and headed towards the park, and on the way, Trixie had a conversation with Chrys.
"I don't mean to be harsh but you should try to stand up for yourself sometimes." Trixie advised.
Chrys sighed in response, "I would love to but with the Detective around, it seems impossible." she replied while receiving a sympathetic nod from the silver-haired magician.
The group reached Lovebloom Park later that evening which is a city park abundant with roses.
"Here we are and not a single angel baby in sight." Chrys snarked with a blank look.
"We'll need to do an extensive search of the park grounds." Romance Detective suggested.
"Why are you so convinced that he's here?" Chrys asked.
"I can feel it." Romance Detective replied.
"I can feel it." Dan repeated, "I can feel my blood boiling right at this instant!" he exclaimed in irritation.
"Dan, Dan, calm down!" Chris Pearson pleaded in panic.
Chrys facefaulted, "In other words, you have no real reason for this wild goose chase...'' she stated.
"Cupid is no goose." Romance Detective argued.
"All right, well, lead the way, Detective." Chrys beckoned, "Even if I can't understand any of this, I'm sure you know what you're doing." she reminded.
"Indeed." Romance Detective replied, "Follow me, Romance Cop and companions." she gestured while leading them towards the left side of the park, only to discover nothing, "Hmm, not here, let's attempt this direction next." she proposed as she, along with the DAN Army, proceeded towards the right side of the park, with Chrys remaining behind.
"This is completely ridiculous, how long are we going to wander around this park?" Chrys thought, "I trust the detective and all, but I just don't see the point in this." she furthered, "My head's is starting to feel kinda, foggy, ohh..." she trailed.
Trixie then came back to her, "Aren't you coming?" she asked.
Chrys suddenly came back to reality, "Apologies, I was lost in my own thoughts." she confessed.
Romance Detective and the rest of the group then approached, and to her surprise, she overheard her saying, "Regarding this peculiar phenomenon?" the shades-wearing woman assumed, "I'm all ears." she beckoned.
"I-It's nothing, really." Chrys reassured, "By the way, everyone, isn't this park lovely?" she inquired.
"Oh?" Romance Detective uttered, "Indeed, it appears they have added more rose bushes since I was last here." she observed, "A wonderful enhancement to this park." she remarked.
"Yeah and it makes me nauseous." Dan grumbled in disgust.
"Dan, you're always nauseous." Kafuu Kalawaiʻa pointed out.
"But I had to admit that I really like this park." Elise admitted.
"They're really pretty too." Chrys added, "We should come back again in daytime." she suggested.
All eyes were fixed on Chrys for a moment until Romance Detective interjected, "What has come over you, Romance Cop?" the enigmatic woman asked, "We must concentrate on our investigation." she remarked.
Chrys shook her head, "R-Right, sorry...'' she apologized, "She's right, what am I doing?" she thought, "I can't lose sight of our goal now, we have to find Cupid, or else the case isn't truly solved!" she declared.
Brick scanned the area and caught sight of an individual across the park, "It appears we have company." he remarked.
All heads swiveled in the direction of Brick's gaze as Romance Detective gasped, "We've found him!" she declared.
The crowd gaped at the figure in astonishment, "Wait, Cupid is a teenage Emo-Kid?!" Denton blurted out.
"What the fuck?!" Ninja Dave Bauza exclaimed.
"The person at the bench over there?" Chrys pointed out, "Yeah, he definitely has wings but I think it's just a costume." she commented.
"No way, he's the real deal!" Romance Detective insisted, "I'm positive!" she added, "Cover me!" she beckoned.
"Cover you?" Chrys squawked, "What do you mean?" she asked with a puzzled expression.
And without any hesitation, Romance Detective charged forward and caught the person with her big net.
"Take this!" Romance Detective yelled.
"Hey!" the person exclaimed in shock, "What are you fucking doing?" they asked, "Fucking let me go!" they demanded.
"Well, that was easy." Chris commented while scratching his head.
"Not until you answer our questions, you scoundrel!" Romance Detective retorted.
"You're the fucking scoundrel!" the person argued, "Who the fucking hell goes around catching people in fucking oversized nets?!" they exclaimed.
"Dan for one and so does the detective." Elise quipped with a dry look.
Dan chuckled in response, "Fucking straight!'' he admitted with a proud grin.
"I believe you've laced your arrows with a certain potent toxin, am I wrong, Cupid?!" Romance Detective accused.
"What in the fucking world are you fucking talking about?" the person questioned, "Get this fucking net off me!" they demanded.
"Detective, you've gone too far this time!" Chrys scolded, "Let the poor guy go!" she beckoned.
"Sorry, Romance Cop, but I won't allow him to escape." Romance Detective replied.
"Okay, look, I fucking promise I won't fucking run away or anything!" the person shouted, "Just get this fucking net off me!" he demanded.
"Scout's honor?" Honne asked.
"Scout's honor." the person replied.
The detective then removed the net from the person, causing an awkward silence to fall over everyone. Chrys then spoke up, "I apologize for my partner's behavior, sir, she's..." but before she could finish, she was cut off.
"She's the fucking famous Romance Detective, I know." the person replied, "I just didn't fucking expect her to use such fucking straightforward methods of catching me.'' he grumbled.
"You know of me?" Romance Detective asked.
"So, you're really...'' Chrys muttered.
"Yeah, I'm Cupid." the person confirmed.
God of Desire
Cupid
Cupid is young man with a tall stature, he had a slender build and a pale complexion, he has a short blonde hair with his bangs parted to the side and he has pink-colored tareme eyes. He wears a light pink hoodie jacket with a heart logo over a red pink shirt, white trousers and white sneakers. He sports a pair of large white wings behind his back.
"B-But you're nothing like I imagined!" Chrys squawked in shock.
"Everyone fucking grows up, okay?" Cupid replied, "Sure I was a fucking baby once but no one fucking stays like that forever." he pointed out, "Get with the fucking times already.'' he beckoned.
"He has a point." Denton replied in agreement.
"I can't believe it..." Chrys uttered in awe.
"And yes, I know Romance Detective, who fucking hasn't." Cupid replied before turning to Dan's group, "I've also heard a lot of fucking things about you guys.'' he added.
"You know that we're from the Heroes Coalitions?" Elise asked in surprise.
"Only those from fucking Neo-City." Cupid clarified, "The fucking president there is a fucking good friend of mine and I'm also a fucking acquaintance with a certain fucking disheveled God." he stated.
"Louie..." the DAN Army grumbled.
"Cupid, I'm sure you're aware of whatever force is driving the people of this city to commit crimes in the name of love." Romance Detective pointed out, "Are you the one behind this?" she asked.
"Nope, fucking not me." Cupid answered, "I came here to fucking look into it myself." he revealed.
"So we're on the same boat then." Mandy pondered.
"So, you weren't the cause..." Romance Detective muttered.
"Of course not, why would I fucking be?" Cupid questioned, "My fucking aim might not always be fucking perfect but it's not like I'm trying to be a fucking bad guy." he stated.
"Then what do you know about the case?" Brick asked.
"From what I fucking understand." Cupid began, "There's fucking something influencing people to be more fucking impulsive when it comes to fucking love." he explained, "I just can't fucking figure out the fucking source of the fucking problem." he admitted.
"That would certainly clarify the Romance Thief incident." Ninja Dave pondered.
"Then the voice in her head was...'' Chrys trailed.
"As I thought." Romance Detective uttered out loud, "There was another force at work." she exclaimed.
"Well, let me fucking know if you fucking find anything." Cupid beckoned, "I've got a fucking feeling about this fucking place, so I'll be fucking sticking around all fucking night." he stated.
"Thanks." Romance Detective expressed in gratitude, "And sorry about before." she apologized.
"Nah, coulda been fucking worse." Cupid reassured, "At least you didn't use a fucking oversized jar." he jested.
"Next time, I might consider it." Romance Detective thought out loud, "This net has proven itself rather flimsy." she commented.
"You just had to give her an idea." Trixie grumbled in disbelief.
"I'm sticking with the oversized net." Dan quipped.
Cupid chuckled lightly, "Haha, but in all fucking seriousness, please don't." he added, "I will see you all fucking later and fucking best of luck to you two." he encouraged while referring to Romance Detective and Chrys before he turned and walked away.
"Huh, did he just wink at me?" Chrys thought in confusion, "What's that about?" she questioned.
"Romance Cop." Romance Detective called.
"Hm?" Chrys hummed in response.
"We need to figure out what the source of the problem could be." Romance Detective beckoned, "What's influencing this city." she uttered out loud, "We'll regroup at my private residence." she declared.
"Your home?" Chrys squawked in surprise, "Okay, l-let's go then...'' she stammered.
"You two go on ahead, me and the rest, we'll catch up with you later." Dan beckoned.
"What are you going to do?" Chrys asked.
"Grab some snacks." Chris replied while scratching the back of his head, "We thought, why not." he uttered sheepishly.
"Okay then." Romance Detective said while jotting something down on a notepad, she then tore off a page and handed it to Elise, "Here's the directions to my place." she presented.
"Got it." Elise accepted.
"We'll catch up with you later." Kafuu mused.
And with that, Romance Detective and Chrys headed to the former's home while the DAN Army made their way to the nearest convenience store.
A/N: Inspired from someonestupED, damnlastwords, Jamesdean5842, Hope the Victor and Ace Neptune. All OCs and concepts not created by moi were given permission for me to use by it's respected creators.