Cross Effects 3.0 - November 16, 2014—April 13, 2015

[theunknownhero]

Shirou (HF)

The Nexus

Finding himself in unknown location the young man wakes up to find in self in what appears to be Tokyo Tower, but... different somehow.

"Ugh, ... where am I?"
As my mind and body return to consciousness, I have a hard time at first remembering how I got here. ...
I then remember the faint image I saw, right before I dashed head first in to the mysterious portal.
... Sakura it's been nearly three years since the battle we fought with in the 5th Holy Grail War ended. I thought we'd be able to live a peaceful life together, and we did for a while. But soon after our peaceful life together, you vanished. I swore I'd be able to protect you yet, for all this time you've been without me, in this strange place. Even so, I made a promise to you, and I won't let anything get in my way.
"Ugh..."
I try to get up with all my might. But my is stiff at first. Damn it, perhaps I really should have taken Tohsaka up on her offer. No it would have been unfaithful to Sakura if I did so. Even so I might not be able to protect it at all with my body in this condition. Looking deep within my misaligned magic circuits I use them to temporarily reinforce my body giving me enough control over my body to get up. Shit, if I don't find Sakura quickly things could get really bad for me. But, I guess it can't be helped this is the path I chose, so no matter what happens it's on me. I get up and take a quick look around the surroundings, ... what the? At first glance everything seems to be in order with the streets resembling what they would look like in Tokyo Japan, but... an examination of other things the sky, the inhabitants,  and even the feel of the air all tell a different story. Sakura are you really okay in this place. I've no time to lose, I have to keep moving if I'm to find her... But where exactly am I? I don't even have the slightest clue where she is, or even where I am for that matter.
I let out a deep sigh.
I can't let that stop me. I'm closer to finding her than I have been in the last three years. I'll just to hope we'll cross paths before this body of mine gives up. I then head to what appears to be location of Tokyo Tower to try to get answers.

[Umbra of Chaos]

Alvis

"Every day of the week for as long as I'm needed. Why are you here?" The confused look and tilted head had been replaced with a straight face as his mind focused on the individual before him to pick out any stray thoughts.

[Panda]

The confused look quickly disappears, replaced by the child staring at the teen with a straight face.

...Okay, now this is getting a little creepy.

"...I just wanted to become a consultant for the police," Adjutor says, "It seemed like the easiest way to apply my abilities to help people, even if my normal methods are a bit...different, for lack of a better term, than what you'd expect."

...You feel that?

Feels...prickly...like someone's poking at us or something

Probably nothing, but...

Adjutor considers unsealing his eyes, but decides to hold off on it for now.


"Showoff," Michael mutters as about a dozen skeletons explode and more fall to the pirate's weapons, with that, he allows a moment for a quick warmup, nimble hands turning the staff into a nigh-invisible blur that sets the air around him abuzz just before he launches into the horde with inhuman speed, inhuman strength, and god-like skill, each of the dozens of swings of the staff shattering multiple skeletons at a time before they can even react to his presence. At least, the unarmored ones are dealt with in this way. The first armored skeleton Michael encounters finds itself suffering a different fate.

The immortal extends the staff back out to the twelve-foot form and, after taking a moment to pulverize most of the skeletons within reach, hooks the staff into the armor before swinging the weapon around like a flail, the armored skeleton smashing into dozens of its fellows before Michael launches it out of sight, the staff returning to its eight foot long version as Michael continues to tear through their ranks.

"I'll take that bet!" Michael roars, laughing  as still more skeletons pour in, "And I'll win it, too!"

[Umbra of Chaos]

Alvis

The Elite raised an eyebrow at the second voice that had popped up in the stranger's head. Perhaps multiple personalities? A fragmented soul? Another entity's mind trapped within the tattooed man's head? If it wasn't for the fact that this Adjutor had pulled his sleeves to hide the tattoos Alvis may not have noticed them at all.

"So what are your normal methods?" The tone in his voice carried a seriousness generally unknown to children his age as he moved over to the other side of the sofa and sat down. His mental testing became slightly more abrasive as he tested the man's experience with telepaths. Tendrils of mental willpower subtly pushed into Adjutor's mind carrying the emotions of trust and curiosity. There was more than one way to pull out what he wanted to know and if the stranger would not submit to this gentle approach then magic would be next.

[Panda]

...Well this is awkward.

I mean, he doesn't really sound like a kid. Just looks like one right now.

Just to add on to all the confusion, something else, not quite his intuition was nudging him to indulge the kid's curiosity. I mean, not like he couldn't trust him or any-

Adjutor's brow furrowed as he clamped down on that train of thought.

Okay, now that's a little weird, given that we've just met the kid and have no reason to form an opinion on him in either direction. Way too soon to be trusting him.

Probably wants answers. Well, I don't see why we can't tell him. Not like he's asking us about Darius's procedure.

"Well, normally I observe whatever prey my attention has been drawn to, to determine if they really are what I hunt. If they are, then I hunt them down and, well, you know what a Hunter does with their prey," Adjutor explains, "Though, the beings I hunt deserve the fate that I bring them, almost always due to their own actions."

[MissingMandible]

Corporal Mathew Blackburn:

"...That's good, then." Mathew said.

He caught Noel's Thousand Yard Stare - it was an all too common ordeal for many soldiers in the 833rd who served before he joined - but he figured that she would tell him when she wanted to. She said she was a soldier, and there were things one doesn't ask. That, and he didn't even know how to approach the issue with her anyways...

And so, he picked up the final piece of armor and began scrubbing it down. "So, can you tell me a bit about these Heroes?" Mathew asked, steering the conversation away.

[Kat]

David

The living dream pouted at the fact that he was so easily dismissed. "Well the one with four arms is exactly what he looks like. An otherwise normal human with four arms."

Then he pointed to the smiling woman leaning on him. "She on the other hand is probably one of a kind. There isn't really anything around here that quite matches her physical or mental state."

"Interesting. If he you are not lying to me, then I guess my predictions were wrong. You are neither magus nor they are familiars. You are maybe a scientist who dabbled in arts that normal men shy away from?" she speculated about the man and his companions "Well, enough about you. It is your turn to guess about who I am, and then I will let you know if you are off or not."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Skeleton Crew Army

"Kyahahaha, let's bone them!", a skeleton cackled as he readied twin blades, smiling wildly as if his whole unlife was for this very moment. "Kekekeke, you always tickle me funny bone.", a ladybo- um, excuse me...

A seemingly female skeleton shrieked in delight, the whole army of undead laughed in unison. DOzens of archers drew their bows, a rain of arrows to turn the bunch into swiss cheese.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA, they do not know this yet, but they are in grave danger.", roared a skeleton spider armed with lots and lots of skullcannons. "Let's dig in! The one who gets em first gets a promotion! Free food for everyone"

With that, hundreds of skeletons laughed even harder, except Timmy the tin bone.

"But sir, I don't have the stomach for it..."

A dead silence now filled the bar.

"Well, you sir, are FIRED!", yelled the spiderskeleton just as a bird of fire came crashing on poor Timmy.
As the skeletons laughed harder and harder, they barely noticed their companions were getting handled like ragdolls, bones flying everywhere.


Lorenzo Remei


Seeing the rain of arrows coming down on him, the pirate wasted no breath, flipping the table in order to shield him from the projectiles. Behind the table, he chuckled before snapping his fingers.

Suddenly, flames all over burst around the two men, causing countless explosions as the fire spread further. Numerous skeletons were now flying every direction as they burned into a crisp.

"Take that ye cheap scoundrels!", Lorenzo roared as he took yet another bottle, ready to drink it before an arow came crashing on it.

"Why you..."

[Panda]

As a good portion of the rain of arrows fell towards the immortal like a gentle rain from the heavens, he allows a moment of respite, which he spends clearing out the skeletons around him with wide swings of the twelve-foot long staff before hooking an armored skeleton and pulling it to him, offhandedly smashing its head off while he claims ownership of two more suits of armor before taking cover under them arrows thudding against the impromptu shields above the crouching fighter endlessly. After a minute, the rain ends, and Michael allows another moment of respite to collect himself.

Then he hears one of the skeletons making a joke. A really bad joke.

The armors and all the arrows buried in them are blasted outwards in all directions as Michael charges forth, heading straight for the skeleton who made that joke.

"This is a fight!" he shouts as he tears through the skeletons like a starving man will tear through a multinational buffet, "Unless you're making a joke about your opponent's defeat or casting a spell, you do not talk!"

[Umbra of Chaos]

Alvis

The telepath hummed as the emotions of trust were withdrawn and replaced with more curiosity. Just a bit for now. Nothing too overt. He scooted over closer to Adjutor and conspiratorially whispered "I can help you get the job."

He nodded sagaciously and looked every bit the child he appeared to be. "But it's a secret. I have to whisper it or we could both get into big trouble."


David

"Scientist? Now that's just silly." The redhead went over what little he knew a few times before making his guesses. "Considering you're here at this hour you're either some sort of possessed being, a very low tier darkness spirit, or a vampire."

[Panda]

Okay, now this is suspicious. Something is definitely messing with us. Feels...different, somehow.

You sure? I'm not really feeling much of anything...

Curious...But...hmm...mental influence of some sort. He's wanting us to get closer so that-

Adjutor returns the smile, nodding.

Let's try a little experiment, shall we?

"Okay, then," Adjutor says, leaning in closer to listen to the child as he focuses his thoughts completely on the Concept of Fire, filling his mind with the images, memories, and ideas all associated with the Concept. The only thing separating this from an actualization is the fact that he's not gathering mana to do so. Quickly catching on, Xarrest does the same, only instead of Fire, Xarrest focuses on Concept: Soundproofing, filling his mind with the soundless void brought about by the Concept.

[Umbra of Chaos]

Alvis

The content look on Alvis' face hadn't faded at all. He could hear their plans and suspicions and while such concentration and focus was to be applauded there are blunt ways of dealing with that. The child rolled over on the cough until he was leaning against the hunter. Then he got up on his knees and poked Adjutor right between the eyes.

Then the world broke. Fractures in reality as it fell apart like glass until all that was left was a white abyss. It took a second before Alvis and his newest victim began to fall into the white void below with the addition of one new person. The second mind looked curiously similar to Adjutor except he looked insubstantial and dark. As if the man's shadow had been detached from him and had joined him in the endless free fall.

Alvis pondered this a bit as he giggled and enjoyed the rushed descent.

[Panda]

"...Well now," Adjutor observes after the shock of what just happened passes, "This is certainly unexpected."

"Quite the talented little telepath," Xarrest says from besides him, "Though I must admit to having something to say about this particular venue."

Surprised, Adjutor turns to see Xarrest as...

"...Is that really what you looked like?"

"No, I forgot what I looked like back when we met. This is what you would have looked like if you were a Darkling...Seriously need to find a better translation for that."

"Why the hell didn't you tell me?!"

"Thought I did."

"Either you did, or I forgot."

"In any case," Xarrest turns to face the kid, "Any particular reason for this, or are you just having some fun?"

[Umbra of Chaos]

Alvis

"Mostly the latter, although I am a little disappointed at how you aren't surprised at all." Alvis pouted a bit and crossed his arms before he decided to stop with this. It got old rather quickly. He snapped his fingers and a platform of earth formed a few dozen feet below them. A platform covered in long, sharp spikes.

He plummeted down faster than his compatriots and was ran straight through by a few of them. But pain was merely a choice here. Something to allow or dismiss at will. so as he bled liters of red fluid all over the floor he cheerily waved at the two others coming down. Alvis was laughing a bit on the inside. The opportunities to use his abilities for such a unprofessional reason were few and he would enjoy this one.

[Panda]

"In all honesty," Adjutor admits as he falls upon the spikes, feeling something hollow pushing more hollow things aside as his blood poured out in copious amounts, far too much for this to be real, "We've gone through worse pain than this, but that's besides the point."

Meanwhile, the sight of the spikes does get a yell of surprise from Xarrest.

"Xarrest," Adjutor says irritably over the sound of Xarrest screaming, "Shut up, you're not in any actual pain, and this is a dream-scape anyway."

The Darkling stops screaming for a moment, looks around curiously, then down at the spikes he's impaled on, then realizes that he's having no trouble breathing, which shouldn't be the case.

"Anyway," Adjutor continues, "You mentioned something about the Elites? I mean, I'm trying to join as a consultant, but I'm guessing you're one of them, though that doesn't explain your reluctance to discuss it in the break room."