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

[Milbunk]

Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald

'The contamination is spreading far too fast.'

The dead bodies were evidence enough, he couldn't fight this monster and he did not have enough knowledge to properly react to this massacre. His options were slim, but he was not about to give up.

"You wish to play a game? Isn't it far too late for a little girl such as yourself to be out on your own?"

Various spells flicked through his head, various methods that could lead to his escape, no mater where he moved in this world he was trapped, the magical energy in the air was going haywire, it was as if the construct wasn't magical at all.

Then perhaps it was best to do some tests live in the field?

As he ran back into the hallway and away from the girl he shouted into the air.

"Tremebundus!"

From within his pant leg the silvery liquid shot out and shaped into the head of a hammer before slamming straight into the ground.

He needed to test the strength of this bounded field, a simple attack, using pure force would serve just that purpose.

[SINIB]

Irisviel

Irisviel observed the subtle changes in expressions on Mordred’s face as she took in the information and digested it. The cocktail of emotion played its symphony across her face and in her body language. Confusion, shock, anger, longing, and who knows what else swirled in a noticeable manner as Irisviel looked on with concern. Finally, she began to speak in a sad voice.

"Sorry, but I don't think it's a good idea for me to meet your friend. It would just too awkward for someone who took the name of her killer to replace the one she lost. I don't bear her any ill will, but such a meeting can only end in sorrow. Especially if it's Kingmaker that she is wielding as a sword." She said with downcast eyes. "I can still call you if I learn anything about her by chance, though. I haven't introduced myself properly though. I'm Mordred, this is a name I took until I recover my lost one. I'm also named after another knight, but that name I would rather not use even if it fits me in some way better as a knight of the summer and sun. I will defy the one who gave that other name even if I cannot fully escape my destiny. What's your name then, the lady who reminds me of winter?"


Irisviel didn’t really know how to respond to this. She’d never heard of Kingmaker, maybe she meant Excalibur? And this girl had turned out to be named after the Mordred of legend, who had brought her love’s kingdom to crashing ruin. She didn’t seem to be a servant however, nor could she sense any prana from within her. It seemed like this Mordred was from an entirely different world than she had come from herself. In the end, Irisviel ended up just telling her her name and giving her phone number.

“Oh-My name is Irisviel, this is my number,” She said, scribbling it on a piece of paper. “If you find her, please tell me if you can, Mordred.” She said, attempting to put a smile on her face. “I’m sorry, but I really need to get this man to a place where he convalesce comfortably.” Irisviel said to Mordred. She finally turned back to Sakura and began to speak. “Excuse me Sakura, I’m sorry about ignoring you like that, I happen to be looking for someone I love as well. Could you help me get this man into my car, and if you don’t mind, I’d really like to talk with you some more. Maybe we could search together?” She inquired as she extended her hand.

[Kaze]

EMIYA SHIROU

It seemed that Sakura and her Shirou had a far deeper connection than he had with his kohai. The freelance magus wanted to get back to finding Mia, but his curiosity about his other self had gotten the better of him, and so continued to observe their exchange for a few moments longer. When Sakura started begging Shirou to stay safe, however, it was difficult to tell which one of them she was referring to - perhaps both.

“I’m sorry Sakura. I can’t make that promise,” the archer said bluntly. “It was good to see you, but I have to be on my way now.” With those words he turned to make his way to the edge of the building, preparing to jump away and resume his search.

[Kat]

Mordred

She put the note in her pockets. She didn't really want to search for Saber anymore, but she accepted the phone number out of courtesy.

"Hey, Sakura, I will drag his sorry ass to the car. He might be pretty heavy in that armor of his." she said, picking up Adjutor's leg and dragging him across the sidewalk. If he survived car crash like that, such rough treatment would not endanger him in anyway. She threw the boy into the car, Adjutor now seated in the backseat in an awkward position. To her surprise, he was not that heavy.

"Alright, I wish you good journey. Farewell." she said, about to leave the place.

Gintoki

"Nah, I'm not striking a deal with such a shifty person. I don't need to. All have to is..." Gintoki prepared to strike down his opponent in a right moment "... strike your guts so hard you will puke them out all, shitty bastard." Without any hint of hesitation, he attacked the man, aiming at his stomach. It was a feint though, as he actually planned to shatter his jaw with the first strike, then hit the stomach.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Tohuw Balagan

“My, my. Those are mighty strong words for an ant like you.”

But before the wooden sword could reach him, something burst from the earth, not unlike a fish erupting from the ocean. Or a whale. This whale was none other than Cole, who protected the adorable demon from the mean samurai with his body.

“Whoops, I wonder where that came from.” The demon sighed before chuckling. With a single leap, he rose high up the ground, only to land on a floating couch that poofed into the sky just as he landed.

Then, a silver platter with all kinds of cookies and sweets appeared, one which the demon greedily munched on in delight.

With a lazy wave of his hand, a dozen boxes fell from the sky, about as large as a head. They had whacky motifs and bright colored wrappings, giving them a harmless look. But as the boxes fell near the samurai, the wrapping burst to reveal boxing gloves sent flying straight at the man with a powerful spring mechanism.

[Panda]

Cole

The Conduit was beginning to consider blasting his way out of his kinda-watery tomb when he felt movement and found himself being forced out of the earth...right in front of the samurai wannabe from earlier, just in time to take headshot from...a piece of wood? Whatever it was, it hurt. But the Conduit had walked off far worse than a piece of wood, even if the wielder was freakishly strong, and there would be no dodging at this range.

Damage aside, the hit wasn't enough to stun the Conduit. Black lightning coursed through his arm, shooting forth in a continuous stream as it crossed the distance between the Conduit and the Samurai all but instantly.

[yinsukin]

Urthemiel

"The Old God's androgynous face twisted into a small frown as the duo denied his request. It was times like this that made him miss the Imperium. He would have had legions of worshipers thanking him for such a gracious offer and probably would have had the children dedicated to him as priest. Now he saves people's lives and receives nothing but words. How he had fallen.

His purple, slitted eyes stared at the two for a moment before he spoke. "Whether or not you acknowledge and fulfill your debt to me is irrelevant. You owe me two lives, and sooner or later I will have my due."

With that said Urthemiel glowed brightly again before returning to his draconic shape. With a flap of his wings mighty enough to send the duo flying away he ascended and left them without another word."

Medaka


Medaka was tired and worn out from the battle but she was able to hold her ground against the powerful wind by taking a low stance and adjusting her body to the pressure.  However, Lorenzo was sent flying by the pressure.  Her body still covered in burns from Lorenzo's final attack, Medaka painfully rushed over to catch the pirate.  She managed to catch him and set him down gently on the ground in front of her.

As she looked down, she noticed for the first time that her cute little pirate outfit had been more or less destroyed.  Her sleeves had been completely disintegrated by fire.  Her top had been chard black.  Her arms and legs were covered with third degree burns.  Her pants were more or less completely burned making it look like she was wearing booty shorts.  She didn't care, she was more happy that Lorenzo was safe from harm.  She leaned over the pirate, examining his body for damage.  In the process, her top disintegrated, revealing her j-cup breasts.

"Lorenzo the pirate, are you ok?  Say something if you are conscious."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lorenzo Remei

"...yeah." Lorenzo groaned in pain, his eyes blanking out from the sheer pain. His arm hurt, his head hurt and every fiber of his being hurt. The pirate

"Sorry for hurting you. I... didn't mean it."

Still bleeding, the pirate choked under his breath and coughed heavily, but even so he tried his best to keep himself conscious. The pain was chilling, screaming inside him as if to eat away at him. There was no mistake, he was going to lose consciousness at this rate, he could already feel the heat from his body seeping away. By now, he had stopped trembling and stood on the ground, inert. He could only see a blurry figure, but he could make out what was happening before him.

"Don't... worry about... me. You are h...hurt too... and it's so... so cold..." said Lorenzo with a pathetic whimper, his voice weakening and shaking like bristling leaves under the wind. Holding her hand, he tried to find the little warmth he could seek, trying to keep himself present.

 By now, his lips were quivering. He was turning pale, his supple lips drying and mecoming blue, as if to kiss death.

"I'm cold Medaka, it's freezing. But... you are bare. It's my fault, and you are much colder, so please..."

But even so, she was bare, and it was so cold. He did not want to have her suffer because of him, he did not want to burden her. And it was so cold. Using what little strength, what little will he had, the pirate rose and hugged Medaka weakly, trying to restrain his bleeding innards from spilling and staining her. Looking at her, he whispered, mustering a feeble smile as he removed his shirt and vest and covered Medaka with the cloth, to keep her as warm as he could.

"Take this, to cover... it will..."

But he could not finish his sentence, for a sudden chilling pain shot down his heart, and with a grisly cry, he groaned in pain before falling on Medaka, laying on her shoulder with his broken arm dangling in an unsightly manner.

[Cherry Lover]

Oh, I see. She meant an artificial Grail.

"Ah, I see...", she said. "Sorry for misunderstanding you. As for how...".

Sakura stalled for a moment, wondering how to explain, and how much she wanted to tell, frowning at being forced to recall her painful past. Before she could think of anything to say, though, the newcomer spoke, mentioning Saber once more. This seemed to catch Irisviel's attention, and she quickly responded, getting into a discussion about how to find Saber.

She seems rather interested in her, Sakura thought. I wonder how she knows her. Did they fight together in the Grail War or something?

The two continued to talk about finding Saber, before Iri finally turned to Sakura and spoke, extending her hand.

“Excuse me Sakura, I’m sorry about ignoring you like that, I happen to be looking for someone I love as well. Could you help me get this man into my car, and if you don’t mind, I’d really like to talk with you some more. Maybe we could search together?”

She loves Saber? Does she mean like a friend? It sounded like it could be something more. Then again, I guess Nee-san does kind-of like Rider in that way, so..., Sakura thought as she extended her hand and, with a smile, took hold of the other woman's hand and shook it.

Before she could respond and agree to assist with transporting her victim to the car, though, Mordred turned and addressed her, offering to do it herself. Then, before Sakura could even reply, she grabbed the guy's leg, and dragged him roughly across the pavement before throwing him into the back seat of the car.

Sakura winced, and looked at the woman with some annoyance, but did not say anything as she walked away. Instead, she turned back to Irisviel.

"Well, it will be easier for us to find them if we search together, and I have nowhere to stay in any case so, of course, I would gladly assist you", she said.

Then, she turned to walk toward the car. As she did, she addressed Iri once more.

"So, the woman you are looking for looks like her", she said, pointing at Mordred, "but shorter, right?"

[YOLF]

Shadowkhan

The staff flashed as it struck its target straight in the chest. The shadowkhan crashed against the side of the alley with a loud, cracking smack.

But it was too late. The mud of the chalice, the black blood of that malevolent presence trapped within, had already touched them - and so sealed their inevitable and unstoppable corruption. Ordinarly, a blow like that would've banished the oni instantly, making it dissipate into smoke. But the mud it was drenched on solified it. It seeped through its black vests and its flesh, branching through its essence. Pieces of concrete fell off the wall as the shadowkhan twitched and swelled in an instant, darkness enveloping it even faster as it poured through the damage it had taken.

There was no screaming this time. Groans that were more like a man came from the being as it picked itself up from the imprint it had left on the wall. Its red eyes opened again, burning with cold malice. It rose with a much larger upper body, taut with visible muscles, wide shoulders and long arms. The others who had been hit with the mud got up similarly, massive forms with heavy steps towards Natara and Michael.

Almost as if in reaction, the assassin melted back into smoke and shadow, disappearing once more. Unlike it, these were not beasts of stealth. They were brutal, merciless weapons - destroyers. The first one snapped its right arm, extending it into thick black blade and stepped forward to strike the man who had presumed to injure it so.


"I didn't ask for this", Rachel mouthed to herself as she looked through the scope of her semi-auto at the scene, attaching the suppressor to the barrel. The situation was starting to turn into a mess, and she doubted the rather intimidating shadowkhan that had now formed out of contact with the black liquid were going to be any less trouble than the beastly one.

She clicked her tongue as she pondered her options. What now?

[yinsukin]

Medaka

"Sorry for hurting you. I... didn't mean it."

Medaka's eyes dilated.  He felt guilty?  No matter how you look at it, its her fault.  She challenged the dark man, leading to this horrible situation.  Lorenzo was hurt and on the verge of death.  She was greatly injured able to stand but unable to fight.

Lorenzo held onto her hand and she squeezed it tight.  "Don't... worry about... me. You are h...hurt too... and it's so... so cold..."  He whimpered.  With that, the pirate rose up and hugged Medaka weakly.  He removed his shirt and vest and wrapped it around her.  In some ways he reminded her of Zenchichi, always going along with her whims and always thinking of her.  She gripped the shirt around her, accepting his gift.

"No im fine! We need to get you to the hospital!" She said, tears in her eyes at this point.  She didn't hear what he said next.  She picked him up once again, scanning the environment, looking for somewhere to take Lorenzo.  If she could find a first aid kit, she could stabilize him. 

With that thought, Lorenzo went limp.  He had fallen unconscious in her arms.  However, she was focused now and couldn't let that bother her. If she were to take time to give in to her emotions, she would waste precious time.  All that mattered was keeping him alive.

[Umbra of Chaos]

Aisha

The eternal one walked the streets of the sickening city dressed in a loose, white robe to follow the path of destruction that had been brought to its people. As the Child of Pride laid waste to the city with dark fire in pursuit of the smaller one Aisha dutifully followed, dripping droplets of blood onto those who had been injured by the conflict.

Then the dead child had been struck down as a second sun enveloped it in its entirety but Aisha continued to walk. The other Child of Pride may have been harmed, and regardless of the harm it had indirectly caused to its siblings it was still her's. To deny it would be the greatest sin.

So she walked until she lost track of it only to find it burst into the skies from the streets near it. From where she stood she could see it looked fine. It was beautiful beyond compare as it flew and the mother felt some joy in that beauty. Something natural. Forged of flesh and blood and bone. It was reassuring in more ways than one and she raised a hand in greeting as it passed by, but as it left a strange sadness overtook her features as it departed.

The look faded and she continued to drift towards the area where the dragon had ascended. Aisha gathered her thoughts as she moved. It would be unfair to call this place ugly for it had a sort of charm to it, but it was unnatural. It was in the nature of The Children of Rebellion to do this. To impose order upon chaos. They raged against the world and forced an unsafe world to change for them. To conform to their demands.

Aisha was distracted from her thoughts for a moment as she saw two of the Children. One nearly naked on another that looked on the verge of death. She shook her head disapprovingly as he surrendered his clothing to keep the other warm. How ridiculous. She began to walk towards the pair and kneeled down by the now unconscious one and turned her head to face the girl.

"I wouldn't interfere, Child. Not unless you want your friends to die like a whelp." With that said she held out her hand over the wounded one before taking out a knife and lodging it into her hand. It wasn't long before the pristine, white blood flowed and dribbled onto the man. The miraculous fluid immediately seeped into his skin and began its work.

Sometimes she wondered if they were a mistake. Times like this only enhanced these thoughts. There was no point in throwing away what little time he had with an act of charity. If she had truly needed the vestments to keep warm then she could have just stripped them from his corpse if he died. He needed them more yet he just gave it away. The absurdity of it all brought a small smirk to her face as her blood flowed.


PARIAH

The toy's actions were easily noted and tendrils shifted and changed. As the hammer descended a small hand burst from the ground and caught the construct with ease. The countless flailing arms from the walls then shifted into a sea of wagging fingers as the sound of childish laughter filled the hallway.

"You can't break the rules, Mr. Kayneth. That's baaaaaaaad! Rule number one: You're not allowed to leave until the game is over!" Right as they finished the arms within the walls pulled back and began to burst from the floor. The childish limbs filled with inhumane strength as they reached to grab the man's legs.

[SINIB]

Irisviel

“Goodbye!” Irisviel waved at Mordred happily after shaking Sakura’s hand. She began walking to the car with Sakura, who started to chat with her on the way.

"Well, it will be easier for us to find them if we search together, and I have nowhere to stay in any case so, of course, I would gladly assist you. So, the woman you are looking for looks like her,” she said, pointing at Mordred, "but shorter, right?"

Irisviel nodded, “Mph, yeah, have you met her? She goes by the name Saber; I’m sure you know why she goes by that, of course. I summoned her in the fourth Holy Grail War.”

[Kotomine_Rin]

Richard Maxwell

Well, this sure had been enjoyable for a ride. Walking down the streets, a man calmly walked along and thought about the hell just happened. That woman was a vampire, but was not bloodthirsty like most of their kin. The possibility she had been bitten was there, but even so, something did not add up.

She was definetely an ancient vampire, her powers and experience clearly came from that. If she was able to blend in to society in such a manner, surely she was accustomed to it's workings. But if that vampre was truly as old, there was another issue. Richard could understand her good heart, sympathise with her in a way. She was stripped of her humanity perhaps, but still tried to act as a human.

But it was stupid to do so, a vampire could never be a human. He thought of that not due to some ill viewed discrimination or enmity, but because a vampire living among men would not be unlike a wolf living among sheep. Eventually, she would give in to her bloodlust and kill. They all did, it was in their nature to devour.

Would she be able to live such a happy and peaceful life then, as she would struggle without end to keep her instincts contained? What would her friends say if they knew she took a life? That vampire's very existance could put an end to the fragile balance she valued. And of that, Richard felt sorry.

But if he was to kill her, would it truly be freeing her of this burden? When he confronted her, the man felt strange, almost happy. She felt warm, and was surely a kind being. Richard could not kill such a person, at least not yet.

Heh, am I becoming soft? Or perhaps I am still indebted to her...

Richard chuckled. Him, indebted to a vampire? What a sickening joke.

Then the man heard a noise. It was loud, somewhat, and it surely wasn't natural. His palm reaching his chest, he decreased his temperature and bloodflow in order to conceal his presence to a minimum. Dragging himself to the whereabouts of the noise, he stumbled upon the root of it all.

A man and a woman, surrounded by humanoid beasts. They reeked of filth far worse than a plague, and he could feel the tense call of their sickening hunger for destruction.

His cold glare pierced the creatures that were going for the two. He would not allow such filth to remain in this world.

"Dissappear, thrash." Richard spoke coldly, his eyes brimming with a tint of bloodlust befitting a demon. Suddenly, the snow covering the ground melted into water and shot trough the air with great speed, thorned pikes of water aiming for the monsters without mercy or discrimination and lunging with tremendous speed.

[Knick]

Rebeca

Rebeca shook her head, “It’s… it’s not that simple.” Rebeca mumbled softly.

Then she looked up at Aki, “You don’t believe me, not really.” She continued in the same voice, however she went silent for a moment as if contemplating something, “I can show you. Make you experience it, just for a second.” She paused again.

“It might hurt a little though…”