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

[Panda]

Guts

Were some poor shmuck to ask Guts why he was pissed today, they would receive a glare at best, a fist at worst. The reason, however, was fairly simple. Those damned werewolf punks had spray-painted all over his gym again, which meant people were going to be hesitant to come in, which he'd rather not have to deal with after paying that hospital bill.

He was now resigned to the fact that he would have to clean that mess up later, keyword there being later. He could afford a few days at least before he absolutely had to take care of that mess. Maybe pay those punks a visit while he was at it. The idea grew more appealing as he thought about it, but Guts soon realized that it would be pointless. No need to throw himself head-long into that mess like he might have a few years ago. Besides, smacking them down when they got uppity enough to actually try to start something would suffice.

And then there was the matter of that strange set of instructions he'd found in the hospital.

Regardless, the Black Swordsman now found himself wandering the streets, not bothering to conceal his armor or his weapons, lacking much to do.

...perhaps I drop by a tavern or- wait they don't have those here. Damn.

His introspection is sharply cut off when he bumps into some random blond. A moment of horror at the thought that he hasn't shaken that kid from last night passes when he realizes that it's a girl who's apparently incapable of moving out of the way.

"Oi, careful," Guts says, continuing on his way.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Vanguard

The metal behemoth was now walking alone once more, his thoughts focused solely on what to do of Caster. For one, he needed to find him, but he had no idea where he was. Knowing the man was a magician, it would be best to attack him before he could react, so letting him know he searched for him would be most unwise. There was no need to display honor to curs after all.

Then he saw what appeared to be a woman of small stature, bumped by a much larger man. Then he complained at the lady, stating that she should have been careful despite the fact he was none the wiser. But that woman... she was not human, he could tell that much. But what he could also tell was that there was a faint trace of magic, a magic that was not too unfamiliar to Vanguard.

...Caster.

"Oh? I'd think you ought be careful, to bump into another like that." Said Vanguard, speaking to the black armored man with a monotone voice. Looking down upon the two, he nodded nonchalantly.

"You should at least admit to your own mistakes, to put the blame upon another is unsighty."

[Cherry Lover]

Rider smiled as Sakura's lover tried to talk her down once more, pointing out that this Shirou could not be dissuaded. Unfortunately, though, Sakura simply frowned, and denied his right to live his own life.

Rider looked at Sakura sternly. Whilst she understood Sakura's protectiveness, Shirou was very stubborn. There was no way he would simply accept being told not to protect people. Further, she was highly confused. Her Sakura had never been this controlling, demanding or greedy. Of course she wanted Shirou to be safe, but she would never try to take control of his life in that manner.

Fortunately, though, as he left, the other Shirou responded affirmatively to her question about contact details, telling them that they could find him in the North Western area of the Nexus.

Hopefully, that should calm her down a bit.

“Rider, go get him! Get him and bring him back!”

Or, maybe not....

Instead of reacting as Sakura had ordered, Rider simply glared at her obviously-insane master.

What the hell is she thinking? Has she forgotten the other Shirou?

"No", Rider said, simply. "Sakura, have you gone mad? The man you love, and who loves you, just collapsed in front of you from prana deprivation, and you ask me to-" Rider said, clearly angry, before she was rudely cut off.

[SINIB]

Sakura

"No,” Rider said, simply. "Sakura, have you gone mad? The man you love, and who loves you, just collapsed in front of you from prana deprivation, and you ask me to-” Rider began to say when Sakura interrupted her, aghast.

Caster, go get Shirou
“Rider! I gave you an order-” Sakura had barely begun when When Rider interrupted her once again.

[Arch-Magos Winter]

Forest and Abigail

"Well, fine, then do you want a contract Irishy McIrish? I could use someone to help me from getting raped."

Abigail raised her hand and said, "I could so do that.  I mean, I kept my half-sister from raping me.  I think I could protect you from getting raped."

"I don't know what he's talking about. I died - sort of - for my Master. He tried to kill mine."

Abigail waved her hand dismissively at Archer and said, "He just said it was a war.  Trying to kill your enemy in a war is one thing, but back stabbing two of your masters is something else!"

Forest rubbed her forehead and said, "You know you two are from separate world lines right?  You're not his Archer, Archer, and Lancer your not his Lancer."

"--Even though he used a Command Seal for me to kill myself."

Forest blinked at the thought and then sent back to Lancer, Then he was a cowardly get and may the crows feast on his eyes.

Law just pinched the bridge of his nose, trying not to lose his calm. God knew who was lying and who was telling the truth here. "OK, so, your Archer was a prick, and this Archer wasn't a prick and was loyal. Can we at least all agree on this?"

"I was loyal to the end. I can't say much about Lancer here in that regard." Archer's tone grew grim. The tension in the room was rising. High.

Law simply decided then, that was good enough. Fuck the consequences at this point. Time to go for broke. "Archer. Just cut your hand and mine. We've got a deal." A simple projected knife appeared in Archer's hand, Law grasping it, palm slit open. Archer followed suit, and with a simple handshake as the blood mixed, the contract was sealed.

[SINIB]

Faust
After Mordred told him about the other Sakura and the identity of Saber, Faust returned to idly standing around. After a short while, he suddenly felt that the familar he had sent to tail vanguard was in combat and was subsequently executed. Shit. He thought to himself.
Before he could think much about it though, Sakura ordered him to capture Shirou after Rider refused to.
Why does that woman have to be such an idiot. All of this could have been dealt with fairly easily.

As soon as Faust received Sakura’s mental command he began to act. He said several arcane words and brought forth a large creature concealed in shadows. “Get that man and bring him here to me. Now.” Faust ordered the creature, which seemed to nod. The Shadows surrounding it whipped forth and slid along the walls towards Shirou.

[Puck-Chan]

Cu Chulainn

Forest rubbed her forehead and said, "You know you two are from separate world lines right?  You're not his Archer, Archer, and Lancer your not his Lancer."

"Eh?"

Cu stared dumbfoundedly at the vampire as if she mentioned a plethora of indiscernible jargon at him. Different world lines? He looked back at Archer, to see if there's anything visibly and conspicuously different about him. There wasn't. "You're shitting me? Right?"

Now this is more headache-inducing. Stuck in the middle of some random city, it's connected to all sorts of other worlds?

Law just pinched the bridge of his nose, trying not to lose his calm. God knew who was lying and who was telling the truth here. "OK, so, your Archer was a prick, and this Archer wasn't a prick and was loyal. Can we at least all agree on this?"

"I was loyal to the end. I can't say much about Lancer here in that regard." Archer's tone grew grim. The tension in the room was rising. High.

He glared back at the bow-using Servant with a glare. Different worlds or not, he seemed to be the same as the Archer back in Fuyuki. "Loyal? Betraying your little Master for Caster and then backstabbing her says otherwise, Archer."

Law simply decided then, that was good enough. Fuck the consequences at this point. Time to go for broke. "Archer. Just cut your hand and mine. We've got a deal." A simple projected knife appeared in Archer's hand, Law grasping it, palm slit open. Archer followed suit, and with a simple handshake as the blood mixed, the contract was sealed.

Cu dropped his jaw at the suddenness of it all. Did this guy just contract with him anyway? Even though he has quite questionable loyalty? He grit his teeth. This was enough. Whatever. If the guy didn't want his help, so be it. Lancer turned away from them and reached for the tarp.

"Oi, lass," he called to Forest, "Let's go. Show me the way."

[Elf]

Abigail and Forest

Forest watched as Abigail's face fell as Law and Archer's bloody palms met before those peridot green eyes narrowed.  The vampire on the other hand could smell the coppery tang of blood in the air and her nostrils flared.  Her fangs throbbed for a moment, but no red entered her vision. 

Abby shook her head and said, "No . . ."

Then she walked over to Archer and said, "If you do anything to hurt him in any way, I swear my vengeance will bring you suffering you have never encountered."

Forest watched as Lancer seethed at Law and Archer making the contract and bit her lip. 

"Oi, lass," he called to Forest, "Let's go. Show me the way."

She walked over to the Lancer and said, "Ah, yeah, right.  To the roof."  She pointed as she left the three alone, and gave Lancer a sympathetic look.


Saber

Saber's eyes widened as Irisviel's lips met her own, stealing the king's first kiss.  Iri's lips were soft and warm against hers, but it felt so odd so she stepped back, her cheeks aflame as she stared at her true master of the 4th War.

She shook her head and asked, "Irisviel, what is the meaning of this?  Why are you being so forward?"

[Arch-Magos Winter]

Abigail and Forest

Forest watched as Abigail's face fell as Law and Archer's bloody palms met before those peridot green eyes narrowed.  The vampire on the other hand could smell the coppery tang of blood in the air and her nostrils flared.  Her fangs throbbed for a moment, but no red entered her vision. 

Abby shook her head and said, "No . . ."

Then she walked over to Archer and said, "If you do anything to hurt him in any way, I swear my vengeance will bring you suffering you have never encountered."

Forest watched as Lancer seethed at Law and Archer making the contract and bit her lip. 

"Oi, lass," he called to Forest, "Let's go. Show me the way."

She walked over to the Lancer and said, "Ah, yeah, right.  To the roof."  She pointed as she left the three alone, and gave Lancer a sympathetic look.

Archer could feel the faint trickle of a contract being forged, then a steady stream of energy flowing into him through the blood. The symbolic binding of the two fully establishing the Contract as Law pulled his hand away, the line on his hand whisping up white as the bleeding slowed down. Then the fierce little redhead stormed over to him, her voice raised and almost reminding Archer of an angry kitten puffed up and confronting a larger cat.

"If you do anything to hurt him in any way, I swear my vengeance will bring you suffering you have never encountered." Abigail's voice left Archer split between a smile and a frown, as Law rubbed his hand.

"I can promise you I'll try my best to keep him safe." The bowman started to fade into his spiritual form after that, a small smile twitching at his lips. Now, he had all the time he needed.

Meanwhile, Law was left alone with his own thoughts, even as he sensed Archer fading into the Twilight.

Do you think we did the right thing?

I think you made a choice. Though upsetting our future host seems like a mistake.

She's pretty cute when she's angry though.

Quit thinking with your dick.

"Ah, Abby? Should we get going then?"

[Elf]

Abigail

The redhead sighed as Archer made his promise.  She still didn't trust him as far as she could throw him, but she had other concerns.  She turned towards Law and took the cut hand. "Before anywhere I need to get this cut and dressed."

[Umbra of Chaos]

Caedia

The monster slayer gave her companion one more sour look before strapping the now useless bow onto her back. "You're right. It is just a thing, but it was my thing. Don't break another one. Now we should get going. There's no point in wasting any more time here.


Natara

As the ninjas began to shift the warden's eyes widened in something akin to horror right as she was carefully swept into the hold of her protector. Unlike last time her grip was solid and her reaction was practiced as she shifted The Chalice so that its taint would not spill. She let out a small squeak as he sped up dramatically and soon the guttural sound of prayer exited her mouth to keep the abyssal liquid in place.


Aisha

The tanned woman showed no surprise at the man's sudden awakening and pulled her blade back. Her wound vanished in a blink of an eye and then she spoke. "I am the one that healed you."

Her tone then shifted into pure disapproval. "You should not have given up your clothing in the state that you were in. Charity should be reserved until you are in the state to give it. Dying on the ground is not the time to give away your source of warmth."

[Cherry Lover]

Sakura heard Irisviel's firm denial and, for a moment, she was almost willing to believe it. Perhaps Zouken was different in that universe, perhaps her alternate self had found a better home. Ultimately, though, she dismissed the idea. It simply wasn't plausible. And, seemingly, so did Irisviel, as she finally admitted that Zouken really was the monster Sakura had claimed and, seemingly, was about to apologise for not helping her alternate self.

But, before she could finish, she yelled "Saber!" and ran towards the blonde servant. Sakura simply stayed where she was. Saber brought back bad memories for her, she was not someone Sakura wished to confront. And, besides, someone had to stay and look after the man Irisviel had run over....

[yinsukin]

Medaka

Lorenzo woke up.  Not only that, he seemed to be back to his usual self.  He was making wise cracks and vulgar comments.  At that moment, Medaka cried.  She completely ignored the conversation going on between the two.  She was aware they were talking so she tried not to wail uncontrollably.  Instead, her voice came out like a puppy having a nightmare, occasionally whimpering in between tears.  She grabbed Lorenzo and held him tight.

[Knick]

Suiren

“Haha, this arrangement is already working out.” came Suiren’s joyous response. However before she could even take a sip a loud voice called out over the devastation surrounding her and Butler.

“STOP RIGHT THERE! YOUR UNDER ARREST!” Called out the voice, prompting Suiren to turn to the source, somewhat bewildered.

“Huh?”

“You heard me!” It was a man in a suit, with a golden badge pined to the front of the shit. Behind him were multiple others, some with magical formulas glowing in their hands as they pointed it at her and others with a small metal tool pointed right at her.

But why was that guy in front so familiar…

Then her palm hit her fist as she remembered, “Oh ya, you’re the guy who helped me out a bit.” She then gave him a grin, “So, what ya need?” She said oblivious to their intentions.

The man’s eyebrow just twitched as he held his gun tighter as it pointed the crazy woman’s chest, “Like. I. Said. You’re being put under arrest! Now come peacefully!”

Suiren blinked and stared at him before turning to Butler, “Hey, what is being put ‘under arrest’ mean?” She asked legitimate confusion on her face.

Crest

‘But you’re the one who made me try and use it’ Crest almost yelled out in protest before sighing. There was no issue, and he would prefer to just let it die rather then making a bigger mess out of it.

“Alright, let’s just head out.” He grumbled, making sure he had everything.

Maybe he could find somewhere to blow of some steam; he was kind of annoyed right now.

[Kat]

Guts

Were some poor shmuck to ask Guts why he was pissed today, they would receive a glare at best, a fist at worst. The reason, however, was fairly simple. Those damned werewolf punks had spray-painted all over his gym again, which meant people were going to be hesitant to come in, which he'd rather not have to deal with after paying that hospital bill.

He was now resigned to the fact that he would have to clean that mess up later, keyword there being later. He could afford a few days at least before he absolutely had to take care of that mess. Maybe pay those punks a visit while he was at it. The idea grew more appealing as he thought about it, but Guts soon realized that it would be pointless. No need to throw himself head-long into that mess like he might have a few years ago. Besides, smacking them down when they got uppity enough to actually try to start something would suffice.

And then there was the matter of that strange set of instructions he'd found in the hospital.

Regardless, the Black Swordsman now found himself wandering the streets, not bothering to conceal his armor or his weapons, lacking much to do.

...perhaps I drop by a tavern or- wait they don't have those here. Damn.

His introspection is sharply cut off when he bumps into some random blond. A moment of horror at the thought that he hasn't shaken that kid from last night passes when he realizes that it's a girl who's apparently incapable of moving out of the way.

"Oi, careful," Guts says, continuing on his way.

Vanguard

The metal behemoth was now walking alone once more, his thoughts focused solely on what to do of Caster. For one, he needed to find him, but he had no idea where he was. Knowing the man was a magician, it would be best to attack him before he could react, so letting him know he searched for him would be most unwise. There was no need to display honor to curs after all.

Then he saw what appeared to be a woman of small stature, bumped by a much larger man. Then he complained at the lady, stating that she should have been careful despite the fact he was none the wiser. But that woman... she was not human, he could tell that much. But what he could also tell was that there was a faint trace of magic, a magic that was not too unfamiliar to Vanguard.

...Caster.

"Oh? I'd think you ought be careful, to bump into another like that." Said Vanguard, speaking to the black armored man with a monotone voice. Looking down upon the two, he nodded nonchalantly.

"You should at least admit to your own mistakes, to put the blame upon another is unsighty."

Mordred

As Mordred walked through the streets of Nexus City, she indulged a bit in window shopping.

"Whoa, whoa, shops here have more merchandise than back in old good Britain!" she exclaimed, staring amazed at the window of manga store "No, no, I must restrain themselves! I haven't been able to work much since this bloody city got so chaotic, I'm using up my savings now to survive" she sighed, knowing well she was on a verge of becoming a pauper if the clusterfuck lasted more than a month. A bit disappointed, she walked away distracted by her thoughts, bumping into something giant.

"Eh?" she fell on the ground, a giant swordsman and a someone in a giant suit of armor looming over her. "S-sorry, I don't want any trouble, I'm just passing by!"

It has been already one helluva night after the magus and vampire incident. Trucks and explosions, that was one dramatic way to end it. But that didn't make this winter cold any warmer. And the morning had an awfully nice surprise on him as he had to be laid off. In all respects, it shouldn't be with the store lacking many customers. But, this was too soon. Way too soon. Now how the hell is he going to pay off the rent?

A flash of light and cacophonous noise of thunder caught his attention. More of the Nexus' shenanigans. Something Time wouldn't involve himself with. But who cares? He's fired and what else does he have to do? The swordsman trotted off to see what's been going on. Only to see some grand display of what seemed like magic going on. He clicked his tongue at distaste for it and soon saw someone was pretty disheveled. Screwed up. Fucked up.

"Oi, let's get you out of here," he offered a hand towards some silverhead with a kimono.

Gintoki

"Heh, I would let those two monsters fight out each other, but I have too good heart of my own good. If you can help me out taking them down, I will stay here. If they are out of your league, then I will back off. I don't feel fighting it alone with only half my limbs working"