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

[YOLF]

Butler

Butler offered only a quiet chuckle, raising his gaze towards Suiren's.

"It is for my own satisfaction that I seek a master, my lady. All those I have truly served, I chose to do so of my own will. That isn't about to change," he said. "It is my selfish way of life to offer my services to those that strike me as worthy of them."

Straightening his back, he picked up the tea pot and looked upon her with the mirth only a servant can. "The contract is sealed then. More tea?"

[Cherry Lover]

"Yes, I have met her, she was my husband's servant in the Fifth Grail War. But, she... died", Sakura replied, the last words tinged with sadness and regret at what had really happened to Shirou's servant.

Even though Sakura knew that it had not been her fault, she still couldn't help blaming herself for what had happened. She had corrupted Shirou's servant, used her against him and, ultimately, forced him to kill her. Talking about her was painful for Sakura even now, it reminded her of all the bad things that had happened.

"I think we must be from different timelines, though. In my world, I think you died in the Fourth War. Shirou never met you, and he was adopted by your husband", she continued.

[Panda]

The fact that the Shadowkhan hadn't dissipated from taking a blow far stronger than the ones that had laid its fellows low told Michael everything he needed to know. Thankfully, taking that shot hadn't required him to stop. Not even bothering to see what sort of effect the corruption had on the Shadowkhan, the immortal retracted the staff completely, shoved the stick in his pocket before scooping Natara up in the closest approximation to a bridal carry he could manage, doing his best to ensure that she doesn't spill that corruption again while moving as fast as possible

My body is steel.

One step, the Shadowkhan around them, all struck by the corruption, were changing, rippling, bulging as the taint overtook them.

My movements, of the wind.

Two steps, the Shadowkhan, now large dangerous looking masses of strength and malice, start to rise, red eyes burning with cold malice all around the two. Michael maneuvers through them before they can get up, moving at speeds that would barely be within human perception as the Enhancement floods him.

My strength, of granite.

Practically kicking off the ground, Michael makes it through the maze of corrupted, barely avoiding further injury, just in time to find himself facing down...water pikes? It isn't thought that guides his movements as he weaves through the water pikes, dashing past the newcomer and trying to put as much distance between him and those beings as possible

[SINIB]

Irisviel

"I–see..." Irisviel said. "I-guess... I guess it's not surprising that I died, huh? Ehehe..." Irisviel laughed uncomfortably. "That was the entire reason I was grown, after all... And Saber was summoned in the fifth war and ended up dying, huh?" Her voice trailed off as she tried to keep it from cracking, leaving silence to reign supreme for a few seconds.

Iri then attempted to adopt a cheerful expression and tone and changed the topic. "So, Kiritsugu lived in your world, is he doing well?" She asked in an attempt to find a silver lining. "Wait, you said your name was Emiya. So this Shirow, he was adopted by Kiritsugu, and you must have married him, so I guess that would make me your-mother in law? I-I can't say I expected to ever be able to say that to anyone." She said in a somewhat forced voice.

[Kat]

Mordred

Only after she walked away, Mordred realized that this "Sakura" is probably not the same as the one for whom Faust worked. She overheard details such as that she had a husband. But as Mordred had a "twin" herself, it was nothing suprising. Still, certain someone could be interested in such information.

Do you hear me, Faust? she concentrated on contacting the mage, hoping that he would hear her Changes in plans on my part, I'm not looking for Saber anymore. But there is something that might interest you. There is another Sakura in this city. I also know of Saber's identity if that interests you. Oh, well, I will tell you anyway, I owe you. She's King Arthur. I'm not joking, I swear

Gintoki

That was a dirty move. That shoddy Majin Buu wannabe was nothing but a coward, and likely that lightning bastard was in cahoots with him. Gintoki tumbled on instinct to avoid the lightning, but it was naturally faster than his own movement. Reaching his left leg, the pain wracked him. He beared it with his willpower, but his such damage slowed him down surely. This was bad, two of his limbs out of commission. He needed outside help badly.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Tohuw Balagan

"Who told you to do that, you cur?" the demon snarled, his eyes reddening with a scarlet tint and narrowing as if to pierce Cole. That filth had no right to touch his toys. To do it once was grave enough, but to do so a second time was unforgivable. The air froze with a terrifying chill, a rumbling came from beneath the earth as if to devour all of them. There was no mistake, the demon was furious. A loud snapping noise broke all sound and overruled it, the demon clicking his tongue and baring his fang.

"A dog should stay down like a dog and not interfere unless told to. Here, go fetch a bone and disappear."

As soon as he spoke with an unnaturally cold voice, he snapped one of the cookies he was holding between his fingers. The earlier boxes simply disappeared before bright light shone down the floor Cole stood next to, and before one could even notice, the asphalt ground began to bubble.

"Tsk, what a shame. It seems you just can't have nice things... oh well." he sighed, lowering his hat and restraining a bitter chuckle.

[SINIB]

Faust

Faust had been silently watching the situation unfold on the rooftop around him for quite some time when he received a telepathic communication from Mordred.

Do you hear me, Faust? she concentrated on contacting the mage, hoping that he would hear her Changes in plans on my part, I'm not looking for Saber anymore. But there is something that might interest you. There is another Sakura in this city. I also know of Saber's identity if that interests you. Oh, well, I will tell you anyway, I owe you. She's King Arthur. I'm not joking, I swear

“She’s King Arthur? She’s that Saber? Surprising. More importantly, you found another Sakura? I can’t say I’m surprised, there are two versions of her lover standing in front of me right now. Thank you for the heads up, and I hope you sorted out your problems with her.”

Demon

The demon chittered in amusement, chortling profusely as Vanguard clawed at the ground beneath him. It found his request enormously funny, it had no motivation or compulsion to obey the armored one, so it continued to watch.

[yinsukin]

Medaka

As Medaka scanned her environment for a possible hospital, she noticed a woman walking around, perhaps lost in thought.  The woman glanced over at her and Lorenzo and began walking towards them.  As she came, Medaka got ready to react.  As she approached them, she keeled down by Lorenzo.  Then, the woman turned to face Medaka.

"I wouldn't interfere, Child. Not unless you want your friends to die like a whelp."

While that comment was a bit rude, it did suggest the woman was here to help.  Plus, even though the dark man had changed her perception of her self a bit, she still happily trusted others, even in this dire situation.  The woman took out a knife and stabbed her hand.  She held out her now bleeding hand over Lorenzo's body.  It looked like her blood was white, glistening even.  Was this another kind of magic?  Medaka watched, confident that this woman was here to help them.

[Panda]

Cole

The samurai wannabe, somehow, managed to avoid a direct hit from melee range. He couldn't quite dodge completely, though, and ended up going down with a shot to the leg. Had he not been interrupted by a small earthquake, he might have maintained the arc lightning, but instead his attention was torn away to the being floating above them. Then the air snapped before he began to speak.

"A dog should stay down like a dog and not interfere unless told to," it said, "Here, go fetch a bone and disappear."

Unfortunately for it, Cole was firmly of the opinion that talking wasn't a free action.

Before the being could finish, black lightning surged through Cole's arms as he raised them up and brought them down in one swift motion just as the asphalt beside him began to glow.

Without warning, without time to even question what Cole had just done, black lightning pours down from the sky as if to bring to mind the wrath of Zeus, countless massive bolts of lightning striking down upon and around the being.

[yinsukin]

Roxas

Roxas stood in awe as Vanguard looked upon his own shadow and challenged their stalker to come out into the open.  Roxas wasn't even aware that they were being watched.  However, it was clear that whatever was hiding from them was not going to reveal itself.  Roxas looked at Vanguard.

"What do we do now?  I don't think its going to come out.  We could try searching for it."

[Arch-Magos Winter]

"Huh. Good to know I don't like that old man either," Cu snorted at the sight.

Forest chuckled and said, "He doesn't look overly old, but he does seem to be a bit of a curmudgeon."

She frowned at Abigail, even tough she was Seelie Forest knew that didn't make her dangerous.  Everyone thought the Seelie was the court of Light, Summer, and Flowers, which wasn't wrong per say, but wrote them off as the cute, cuddly faeries of children's stories.  New children's stories and not the Brothers Grimm stories.  However, most people were wrong. 

Seelie was the court of illusion.  They would be all smiles and sweetness on the forefront, but in their minds  they were wondering how to take everything you have or manipulate you into their service.  They also liked to manipulate with sex quite a bit.

Forest thought of poor Saul Mason, a Faerie Slave made immortal by his mistress and fucked with Faerie magic, figuratively and literally, so much that he became addicted to his mistress's touch while she manipulated him to be a sex addict. 

At least the Unseelie are upfront about most things, Forest thought.  Wynn's advances weren't subtle, if anything they were the complete opposite of subtle.  And Wynn was up front about most things she planned to do with someone.  It was more than just Faeries couldn't lie; it was more like Wynn, and a lot of the Unseelie she'd met, thought it was a lot of needless work.

While Abigail was adorable, bouncy, and somewhat flighty, Forest knew that there was more to the girl than that.  Abigail had already threatened Archer once and she did not like what was going on right now.  The blond focused on the girl's mind, knowing despite being a Changling her mind was going to be more open to read than Law and his Driver or Archer, who just spurted white noise and swords when Forest attempted to read him.

When Forest read the girl, she got: Fudge bunnies.  Why are men such IDIOTS?!

I tell Law not to make a deal with this guy, and he does!  Look at him, he's so not trustworthy and . . . someone's reading me.  Oh, hi Forest.  Um, why are you reading me?

Forest resisted the urge to chuckle and replied, You seemed upset about something and your mind is less terrifying than Law's.

What about Archer?  Why aren't you peeking into his head?

Because when I do, all I see is swords, gears and white noise.

"I know a few ways to seal a contract like this," Archer said, taking himself out of his cocky little lean and instead standing tall, ignoring the distraction of the two newcomers. "A certain way to get this sealed would be tantric rites."

Lawrence looked confused. Sighing, Archer continued. "Sexual activites."

"Oh FUCK NO." The sheer volume of Law's outburst surprised even himself. "That's worse than what death tried to pull!"

"Well, it's either that or some sort of binding spellcraft using seals, or maybe a blood ritual." Archer didn't look too happy about the prospect of his Rho Aias being violated either. "And I don't know how to do the binding."

"Fuck. Fuck. Blood then. Anyone got a knife?"

"I don't think that - " Archer was cut off by Law. "It'll work Captain Leatherpants, trust me."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Vanguard

"It's not, unfortunately. For him." Vanguard muttered as he walked away from the scene. That foul beast was quite skilled in the art of concealing his foulness, but it would take much more than a few petty tricks to hide from him. But to ignore his call, and to mock it with such a vile and pestilent voice...

"I'll just have to pull him out by force."

The knight swiftly turned around, a ray of light twirling before his hand as he used all his undivided might into a single action. Spinning, he swung his arm with all the weight and strength his body could provide, the air twisting and bursting as a shockwave cast webbed cracks upon the ground the giant stood upon.

A weapon, long and mighty with sturdiness unmatchable by none shot trough like a deadly bullet and crashed in the shadowed area where the filth hid it's unsighty form. The thrown poleaxe had been cast far too fast, far too mightly to be dodged or avoided by mundane means, and if the whelp truly hid where the sickening laugh came from, it would surely be wounded by the weapon, which was now deeply dug into the ground.

"If you can hear me, know that I chose to spare you not due to any kindness, fiend. But even a whelp can be of use. Listen well, for I shall not repeat myself once. You will contact Caster, and you will get me to communicate with him. You may choose to leave and save your hide, but know that once you do so, your life will be forfeit. I will seek you, I will tear this whole city if necessary, and once I find you I will destroy what little life the filth that you are possesses. If I made myself clear, show yourself." said Vanguard, turning his back once more on the fiend.

Wether his blow had landed completely or not, it did not matter. The point was made, and if he was not met with a proper response, he would slay the demon there and now.

[Puck-Chan]

Forest chuckled and said, "He doesn't look overly old, but he does seem to be a bit of a curmudgeon."

Cu shrugged at this. Any more discussion about that rusty old blade brought him distaste.

"I know a few ways to seal a contract like this," Archer said, taking himself out of his cocky little lean and instead standing tall, ignoring the distraction of the two newcomers. "A certain way to get this sealed would be tantric rites."

Lawrence looked confused. Sighing, Archer continued. "Sexual activites."

Ok, there's something that Cu felt like he knew where this was going. And knowing Archer's nature, this isn't going to go well for this Law dude. Just as he was going to interject and inform Law of what kind of person the Servant was, a scream caused him to jolt and stare at the source of the cacophony.

"Oh FUCK NO." The sheer volume of Law's outburst surprised even himself. "That's worse than what death tried to pull!"

"Well, it's either that or some sort of binding spellcraft using seals, or maybe a blood ritual." Archer didn't look too happy about the prospect of his Rho Aias being violated either. "And I don't know how to do the binding."

"Fuck. Fuck. Blood then. Anyone got a knife?"

"I don't think that - " Archer was cut off by Law. "It'll work Captain Leatherpants, trust me."

"Oi, lad. Ya sure ya wanna hook up with him?" Cu spoke with a look of concern, "I wouldn't trust him. Believe me, I've seen what he's done."

[Cherry Lover]

Sakura could tell that Iri was disturbed by the idea of her own death and, even more, by the death of her servant. She couldn't say she was surprised, though, Iri was evidentially very close to Saber, much like she was to Rider, and she knew that Rider's death would hurt her a lot, so it figured that she might feel the same for Saber.

After a few moments, the woman attempted to get the conversation going again, mentioning Kiritsugu, and talking about how he has lived in her world. Which was odd, because she knew that he had died not long after the Fourth War.

Hmm, I guess she must have outlived him somehow.

"Wait, you said your name was Emiya. So this Shirow, he was adopted by Kiritsugu, and you must have married him, so I guess that would make me your-mother in law? I-I can't say I expected to ever be able to say that to anyone", Iri continued.

Sakura smiled.

"Yes, Shirou was adopted by Kiritsugu so, yes, you would be my mother-in-law. He died when I was still a child, though, before I met Shirou", she said.

Then, suddenly, she came to a disturbing realisation.

Wait, if she doesn't know who Shirou is, then Kiritsugu couldn't have adopted him. Which means her version of me wouldn't have met him. The poor girl....

Sakura looked down at the floor, sadness clear on her face. After a moment, she addressed Iri once again.

"Irisviel, did you ever meet Matou Zouken? Or any of his family?" she asked, the worry for her alternate self clear in her voice.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lorenzo Remei

The world had turned dark, a cold piercing sensation filled the pirate's very being. Unable to move, breathe or even speak, all turned into a cold black.

Damn, this is a shitter. To die from this, must be some cruel joke...

But suddenly, a warm sensation filled the pirate, as if welcoming him to a bonfire. Yes, the pirate understood what this warmth meant, and he would accept it. But in a strange twist of fate, instead of going up the marshmallow clouds and marmelade skies, Lorenzo simply blinked, a gasp escaping his throat. It took him far too long to collect what little thoughts he could muster from what just happened.

"Surrounded by two charming ladies under a pretty sky. Is this heaven?" Lorenzo groaned, his vision hazy but definetely returning along with his senses. Then the mubness stopped, and he twitched slightly. Finally aware of his surroundings, he gazed upon what appeared to be Medaka and another woman, finely tanned skin and a rich complexion that was quite pleasant to look at. The pirate chuckled with a grin before giving the two a thumbs up.

"Heh, blast me, just the same old place. Death's just too good for me it seems..." said the pirate before rising, wiping dust off his pants. What happened was nothing short than a miracle, not a single trace of unease or injury was left on his body. No, even more, he felt rejuvinated, as if reborn. Whatever had happened, Lorenzo knew that had the circumstances not tipped to his favor, he would've been a goner.

"I guess it's going to take a  whole lotta more cannon than that to kick a dog like me to the bucket. Not that I mind." the pirate cheered, a toothy grin crawling up his face as he patted Medaka's shoulder. Then he turned to the other woman.

"You, did you heal me?"