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

[Knick]

Rebeca

Rebeca looked hesitant as her eyes met Aki’s, “It…it will only be for a second. Brace yourself, ok?” Her voice conveyed her worry, and slowly her arm was raised and her hand placed on Aki’s shoulder.

Then Aki could hear everything Rebeca could.

Rebeca’s brain has long since adapted, it has grown and developed while experiencing this ability. She could understand and comprehend the sounds it produced. It could withstand the strain and pain.

But other’s really could not.

And in that moment Aki experienced everything, foreign and alien sounds, sounds she could not comprehend filled her mind. The activity of the brain, every planned and triggered movement, even hormone and enzyme shift, ever thought thank and every word said, and every action taken by the soul.

For a moment, all these incomprehensible sounds smashed into Aki’s mind. For just a second, she experienced what Rebeca lived with. And there was nothing to mitigate it.

Suiren

“Oh, so they are kind of like peacekeepers?”  Suiren asked, “Guess I’ll go with them then, not like I did anything wrong” She finished while shrugging.

She respected peacekeepers; Lanya was the Justicar of the Demon Lands after all. So Suiren, who never had to face legal consequences for her actions because of her position, who has never had experienced what the law of this kind of world was like, so she would humor them for a bit.

“Take me away guys, feel free to ask me what ya want.” She said with a smile as she let herself be carted off by the officers, coming peacefully.

Well, at least after she broke the cuffs they tried to put on her. She wouldn’t be having any of that.

Mia

Mia saw the man run out of the room and try and break the floor. She frowned a bit in disappointment. But then the man jumped back to avoid PARIAH’s arms.

A brilliant smile appeared on her face, “So you do want to play!” She said as the man jumped backwards, and then with her inhuman speed and strength she grabbed the man and threw him back out of the room.

“PARIAH, CATCH!”

[SINIB]

Sakura
Sakura, do you not need me to take the Shirou you love home as soon as possible? She asked her master, confused at her master's prioritisation of the Shirou she had no connection to over the one who she loved dearly.

Sakura watched her walk somewhat slowly toward the edge. Rider, quickly! That's why I need you to get him, so I can take him home! She told her urgently.

[Elf]

Abigail

The redhead frowned and said, "This healed really fast . . ."  She bit her lip.  "This isn't vampire or werewolf fast, but this is faster than what I can heal something similiar."


Saber

The blond frowned.  From what she gathered from Archer and Shirou, Kiritsugu would have been dead for five, maybe six, years at the most.  And Irisviel died during the Fourth War, she thought, looking at Lancelot.  She knew her friend wouldn't be any help there.

She sighed, rubbed her forehead and said, "Irisviel, maybe you have me confused with . . . another version of me."

[Arch-Magos Winter]

Abigail

The redhead frowned and said, "This healed really fast . . ."  She bit her lip.  "This isn't vampire or werewolf fast, but this is faster than what I can heal something similiar."

"It's not really healed actually..." Law shrugged. "Look, it's complicated and I'll need a while to explain it but basically I have a crazy ghost in my soul who lets me do spooky ghost powers."

[Kaze]

EMIYA SHIROU

Shirou was preparing to land on the fast approaching rooftop when a purple blur flew past him like a falling comet and land at his destination. It was the voluptuous woman that had been with Sakura and smelled of blood. Unable to shift his fall, the freelance magus projected his twin swords Kanshou and Bakuya in preparation of an attack. His knees bent as he landed and he jumped backwards near the edge of the roof, holding his short swords out in front of him in a defensive stance.

Fortunately there seemed to have been no need. The woman wanted to talk, not fight. She politely requested that Shirou come with her back to Sakura, and Shirou dropped his stance but remained wary. There was also the mention that the young woman in question wasn’t mentally stable. For a brief moment he considered going back, but there was little he could do to assist with mental illness. Besides, Mia was capable of causing both herself and others significant harm without even realizing it. For the sake of her and other innocents, he had to find her.

“I’m sorry,” he said with a sigh, “but I’ve delayed too long. I have to find someone important before people get hurt. Tell Sakura I can take care of myself.”


LANCELOT

The dark knight silently observed the exchange between the former Master and Servant pair, with Saber understandably embarrassed and sporting quite the blush. It was still strange at times, to see Arturia as a woman - and a cute one at that - but over the past couple of months Lancelot had grown accustomed to the fact that the former King of Knights now embraced the gender she had once despised.

The former Knight of the Lake was broken from his reverie by Irisviel taking a step towards Saber. He reached out with his left arm and placed his hand firmly on her shoulder, holding her in place.

“Remain still,” the dark knight said bluntly. He was not going to allow a repeat of what had just occurred moments before.


AKIHOLARME

Sensory input is processed into actual perception by the brain. However, the ability to transform sensation into perception is something that must be learned over time. Should the brain receive stimulus that it has no ability to process, it defaults to pain.

Akiholarme was in a world of pain. An ocean of unknowable things touched her mind all at once, and it hurt so much. She sucked in a breath as her eyes grew wide.

And then, just as quickly as the pain had come, it was gone again. There hadn’t even been enough time to scream. Her chest tightened and she shakily reached up to touch her head, getting as close as she could to nursing her brain directly. She realized she was holding her breath and let it out in a puff of air.

Anyone would be driven mad by a lifetime of such agony. How can this girl stand it?

[Kat]

“Don’t lie to me. I have spoken my name with sincerity, I expected better from you. You do no not make a suitable whelp who adepts to treacherous ways, so cease this foolishness.” said Vanguard with a dull echoing tone. He was now seemingly displeased, almost annoyed.

For one, her expression, while seemingly stoic, betrayed her for even a fraction of a second. Instincts did not lie, and her sudden change in voice and stance told him enough to tell she was being untruthful.

He did not take kindly to deceit, although he knew full well he was the last person who could complain of such a thing. 

“I know Caster has been with you, you have certainly at least seen him. His magical residues would certainly not deceive me, and I know how they resemble. If he has not revealed his name, he has at least cast a spell in your vicinity. I will ask once again, what do you know of that man? Do not make me repeat myself, would you kindly.”

Mordred

"You are not my boss. Yes, I do know him, but do you think I will tell a stranger anything that might jeopardize the man to whom I'm in debt? Indeed, deceit does not suit me. In spite of my name I'm not someone who betrays trust of those who helped her out without demanding anything in return. So, I refuse." she bluntly replied, seemingly without flinching. She expected to get into trouble, being low on Glamour and only reliant on her mundane skill. But she couldn't betray Faust to somebody she did not know. "The one thing I, Mordred, enjoy more than anything else is to tell people who think they can order me around for no reason straight "No" to their faces." She declared, pointing at Vanguard. That was foolish of her, but she regretted nothing.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lorenzo Remei

« I've told you already. I'm not foolish, I am Lorenzo. » Lorenzo responded with a cold glare of his own, grabbing the hand that tore his hair earlier and squeezing it uncomfortably. Then, without warning, his dirty look shifted into a cheeky grin, his tongue pulled in a playful tone and the hand that was holding her own now giving her a light tap on the head, all coronated with a glamorous twirl.

Standing  up to the tanned woman in defiance, he pointed to his own heart with his thumb, nodding with assurance and confidence.

“ Look, I don't care about what you think about what I've done, I had no regrets about it myself, so why does it even matter? It's not like I wanted to die or anything, I still have much to live for and all the good stuff. But you know, when you live next to death's door for so many years, old lady doesn't look so scary any more. Besides, I should know more than anyone here. Already died once, you see?” he rebutted, his earlier jokingly tone switched into a grave, more serious one.

Trust me, there are things worse than death in the world, and leaving someone I hold dear bare in the cold is one of them.”

[Panda]

Guts

The former demon hunter makes his way along, now wandering aimlessly in an attempt to stave off the unappealing task that lay before him, when he feels a familiar prickling sensation. Reaching up to his neck out of long habit, the probing finger comes away with a single drop of blood. Looking around for a moment, he finds quite possibly the strangest sight he's seen in a while.

A man, on his knees and clawing at the ground, literally crying himself a river, or at the very least an appreciable stream. Stepping around the advancing water, Guts makes his way towards the being when he realizes that the flow from the Brand has increased, blood now trickling from the mark in a steady stream. Weighing his options for a moment, Guts decides that he has no real stake in this matter and simply walks away.

"Now that's just pathetic," the mercenary notes, more to himself than the demon.


Cole

Good god this place smells like shit, even by the standards of normal sewers.

Tolerating it, and resigning himself to the likely drastic measures that he will have to take if he ever wants to be able to go out and about without attracting pretty much all of the undue attention a single person can attract, he makes his way along, unaffected by the noxious blend of gasses thanks to some unknown dint of his Conduit biology that neither he nor Zeke really bothered to question.

I suppose I've put enough distance between us now...so where's the next exit?

And then someone shines a damned flashlight in his face and asks who he is. The former forces him to shield his eyes and the latter to frown somewhat.

"Just some guy who is really starting to hate these sewers," the Conduit replies, "Do you know a way out?"

[Kotomine_Rin]

Vanguard

“Very well, I understand. It seems you will not heed my request peacefully. At the very least I can see you are a good hearted fool. A quality in its own way, some would say.” Said Vanguard, his dull echoing voice resonating throughout the area.

“Your loyalty is admirable, but your self-preservation is lacking. No, it’s not that. You do not value your life at all would be a more appropriate statement. You would rather throw your life away than to betray one’s trust. Honour and loyalty, beautiful qualities.  A child would commend such a thing as heroic, but I am no child. So tell me, Mordred. If I was to tear you limb from limb, would you talk then? Or perhaps I ought to slay those you hold dear before your eyes, maybe then you would talk. But I digress, such a thing would be most distasteful. Besides, there is no pleasure in beating children.”

"I will not lay a hand on you, consider this your reward for displaying such loyalty to a fiend."

And as soon as he spoke, his core glowed of a bright silver blue, the very space surrounding the two becoming thicker as an invisible force pushed all downwards as if to crush it. Needless to say, the woman would feel a force equivalent to about fourto five times her own weight slowly crushing her.

[SINIB]

Irisviel

When Irisviel tried to move towards Saber again, the black night firmly grabbed her shoulder and held her in place.

"Remain still." He bluntly told her. His stern face broached no room for disobedience from her.

Irisviel jerked herself free of his grip and angrily turned to face him. She glared up at the man with great hostility, unfazed by the disparity in their heights or his larger form.

"Who do you presume yourself to be to so rudely interfere with our reunion? Have you not known what it is to feel love, to be reunited with your lover after a long time apart!" She said, stomping her foot at the end to emphasize her point.

Saber sighed, rubbed her forehead and said, "Irisviel, maybe you have me confused with . . . another version of me."

Irisviel turned her head to look at Saber, surprise on her face, as if she hadn't considered that possibility. "Eh?" She simply responded, a bright red blush quickly forming on her face as she realized the implications. "Wh-what?"

[yinsukin]

Medaka

Medaka was touched by the pirates words.  Once again, his stubborn pride and unrelenting desire to take care for her reminded her of Zenchichi.  She always loved how he would continue to follow her, dispute her stubborn nature.  He did his best to protect her and had a straight forward, honorable spirit, much like Lorenzo.  Although, a bit less vulgar.  Still, she can't dwell on the past, only move forward.

Medaka turned to Lorenzo.  As he finished his speech, she gracefully placed his top on his shoulder.  "Yes, well said Lorenzo the pirate.  Still, I cannot allow you to disrespect the person who just brought you back from death's door." she said, assertively.  She looked him dead in the eye, with a look that was part parent, teacher and wife.  "If she doesn't want to be touched, please refrain from touching her.  However, what you said was not wrong at all."  Then she turned to the girl.  "I know you consider such conversations pointless but do not misunderstand him, he was simply looking out for me." said Medaka, with a calm, confident tone of voice.

[theunknownhero]

Shirou (HF)

The other me bides Sakura farewell, and tell us the location of where he leaves so we can visit. Not that the location he gave makes any sense to me, I only just came here, but hopefully Sakura and Rider know where it is he's talking about. Just as the other me is almost out of sight, Sakura does something expected. She orders Rider to bring the other me back. ... I want to tell her to stop, to ask her why she's going to such lengths, but a chill down my spine stops me. Just what exactly has gotten into Sakura, the only thing I can think of is...

"Angry Mainyu..."

As a whisper these words I see an obedient yet hesitant Rider leap forward and follow the other me in pursuit. At this point, I have to ask what's wrong and why it is she's doing this. This has gone way to far, I have to stop her just like I did back then.

"Sakura, what are you doing?! I know we've been separated for a long time, but you haven't acted like this since the Holy Grail War. What exactly... is wrong. You have to let this other me go! ... And tell me what's wrong."

I say these words pleading Sakura to come back to her senses. What happened to her to make her so different from when I last remember?

[Kotomine_Rin]

Richard Maxwell

They were quite crafty, he had to admit. The monsters had managed to defend themselves from that attack and were now going at him. The two bystanders had left, but Richard cared not. If they were safe or if they died, it did not concern him. But these beasts...

There was simply no way to get to him in an environment filled with so much snow. Every inch, every particle of snow was not unlike his sword, a bullet to the gun that was Richard himself. And the rats stood all over these bullets, scrambling about like filth to be stepped underfoot.

Quite resilient for mere thrash...

The snow, all of it crawled around Richard, not a trace of it remaining on his entourage. By now, the snow had melted and turned into a coiling ensemble of serpentine currents, water flowing freely around the man and twisting about. The snakes were now circling madly, contorting to his will alone. As the beasts approached the formation standing at the end of the alleyway, he said but a simple word.

"Ouroboros."

Instantly, a great wave of water shot trough the alleyway, water drilling trough far too fast and far too wide to be avoided trough mundane means. Fast enough to shoot trough a stone wall, the  torrential burst of water shot trough the man, avoiding him but slowly shredding trough the alleyway's foundations. Each and every one of these abominations would be shot trough the walls with full force, torn and ground by the water's absurdly violent current.

[Umbra of Chaos]

Destroyer Shadowkhan

The shadowkhan on the ground continued to run in an attempt to rush the opponent before he completed his attack but the others on the walls simply climbed up the rest of the way and sat patiently on the roof for the hydromancer to make his move. They watched with smoldering red eyes as their brethren were just a bit too slow and were shredded to pieces by the water. If they were capable of it the tainted creatures would have smiled.

AS the water tore into the twisted beings below the Taint eagerly mixed with the water. Bodies were unimportant at this stage. All that these beings were lay within the Taint and the liquid would only aid them. The darkness claimed absolute authority over the water that had assaulted the shadowkhan and the clear liquid shifted into a dark grey color and slowly came to a halt.

The shredded bits of the shadowkhan floated in the murky water before merging with it. Hands, heads, torsos, and limbs were all connected by the tainted liquid and it wasn't long before the ground of shadowkhan stood upright again. They were larger now and the corrupted water that connected their severed pieces together made them more fluid, but the angry red in their eyes stayed the same. With a soundless cry they charged once more as their kin leaped from the rooftops intent on striking down the water user.


Aisha

The gaze of the robust woman was filled with uninhibited ire as the Child continued to speak. "You say that you do not wish to die, yet you accept the end instead of struggling to live. One would wonder if you wished to live at all considering your actions."

She rose from her position and her piercing gaze examined him and measured his worth. Then she spoke in the First Tongue. From her mouth came a sea of sound. Bestial roars, the chirping of insects, the call of birds, and all the languages of man carried the same meaning. "Worthless."

With that said she turned her back on the two and gracefully walked away.


Mata Boyd

The sewage worker gave the man another look before grabbing her spare flashlight and tossing it at him. "Sure, I'll tell you how to get out. All you have to do is tell me why you're here and I'll give you the directions. I'll even draw you a pretty picture if the directions are too long for you to follow."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lorenzo Remei

"...What did you say?" The pirate muttered, a weak yet audible growl. Clenching his fists, the pirate looked down and gritted his teeth.

"Take it back."