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

[Panda]

"That's stupid idea, old man. He is most likely lurking there along with his followers. I'm not taking chances" Mordred was pretty adamant about not going there where Hamara could be. "If you want to take him there, good luck. I'll reach my destination on my own"

Henderson, faced with the prospect of losing a partner in his search for his gnomes, quickly makes a prioritizes and moves back to the passenger seat, "You make a fair point. Could we drop him off near a cabbie tomorrow, then?"


Immediately after sitting down Grendel finds himself assaulted by the smell of some strange strange smell, completely unlike any combat drug he'd had to use during the course of his career as an Inquisitor.

A recreational drug, perhaps? Grendel wonders before another realization hits him as he realizes why he didn't figure this out earlier.

Grendel clears his throat and decides to try Low Gothic this time.

"My apologies for the misunderstanding earlier. I am Inquisitor Castus Grendel, and I require transportation to the local Arbites department."

[Arch-Magos Winter]

Lawrence

'Archer' was acting like a total idiot. But, Forest wasn't wrong here. Law could tell the... monster... had some type of attraction to anyone who paid her any attention. And was, in some way, very, very dangerous. Killing 'Archer' might set her off on the "meanies", specifically himself. So, sighing, he once again lowered the hammer.

The creepy little girl had won this round. But he'd figure out a way to get rid of her sometime.

You really just want to shoot someone don't you?

I'm really motherfucking frustrated, I think one of my ear drums almost popped from that fucking handcannon going off, and 'Archer' is acting like a fucking idiot or a pedophile here. Or both. So yes, I do want to shoot someone because it might somehow make me feel better. It kinda sucks I can't shoot you.

"'Archer', don't. Let's just go. You can play with your oujuwhatsits later, alright?" Law said. Moving back towards the door at an angle that allowed him to keep an eye on the girl, he shot a look towards Forest, that pretty much said 'He's screwed, let's get out of here.'

[Kat]

Mordred

She started to get annoyed by the fact another person could have followed her back to Hedge if she fucked up. She needed to find an excuse to leave badly. "You can drop him off tonight, I have something urgent to do alone. Good night" She started to walk away, intent on taking another path in order to mislead them if they wanted to shadow her.

[NinjaQ]

The sound of wind rushing past the drunken girl's head was the only thing she could hear as her right hand clutched the half full bottle of. Had she fallen? Or maybe she had been pushed by that guy who claimed to know a warm spot to sleep. Either way, it wasn't of any concern as she plummeted downwards towards fate... Fate can be cruel, unyielding, and even ironic; however, fate can also be kind. At least, that's what it seems like as the girl vanishes from her world in mid fall.

The first thing Earleen becomes aware of is the pain that suddenly strikes her left arm. She's hit the ground, but instead of slamming into it, she's rolling across it. The first thing she hears is the almost heart breaking sound of the bottle in her right hand shattering. The roll doesn't stop though, but at least her drunkenness is keeping her injuries to a minimum for the time being. After about three seconds, she's finally resting on the ground, flat on her back and in a complete daze. The sky is spread out above her. At least she doesn't appear to be in the midst of any confrontation and this.. wherever she is should be safe enough for the time being.. but why is there a large statue of a green lady holding a torch in the distance? For now, Earleen chalks that up to some drunk hallucination as she scoots closer to a wall, watching the myriad of people pass by in the streets. With a slow movement, she tries to take a drink from the former bottle which is now just the neck of the bottle. “... Oh right, it broke.” She said, tossing the fragment of the bottle aside with a giggle. “Oh well, it happens I guess.” With that, she pulled the makeshift cloak around her, hiding the red and black stripped shirt and blue jeans from the world; however, she neglects pulling the hood on up since it isn't too cold to her drunken mind.

[Panda]

She started to get annoyed by the fact another person could have followed her back to Hedge if she fucked up. She needed to find an excuse to leave badly. "You can drop him off tonight, I have something urgent to do alone. Good night" She started to walk away, intent on taking another path in order to mislead them if they wanted to shadow her.

Henderson considers this for a moment, then decides to leave Mordred to it.

"Do you have anywhere you want to meet tomorrow?" he asks, while the strange man with the strange robes shifts around in his seat, looking rather uncomfortable.

[Kat]

Mordred

"If the Fate makes us cross paths again, then maybe. I have my own personal matters to deal with" Mordred replied and left the old man to his own devices.

[Panda]

"If the Fate makes us cross paths again, then maybe. I have my own personal matters to deal with" Mordred replied and left the old man to his own devices.

Henderson nods, then guns the engine before roaring around in a sharp turn and making his way back to where he first picked Mordred up.


Grendel watches the woman go, finding it curious that the man would leave his companion to go by herself, when he's suddenly jerked to the side by the force of vehicle's sudden acceleration. Bracing himself against whatever he can, the Inquisitor looks around desperately for some kind of restraint. Thankfully, he soon finds the seatbelt and pulls it over himself, fastening it in place as the man tears through the city with complete disregard for any traffic laws. Quickly evaluating his situation, Grendel bows his head and starts praying.


"They should be around here somewhere..." Then Henderson spots a familiar vehicle, screaming past before quickly bringing the Buick around a hand-brake assisted U-turn, tires screaming against the asphalt, to face the cruiser like a knight bringing his horse around for the next pass at a jousting tournament, before driving up to the cop car at a leisurely pace in comparison with his previous speed. Upon bringing the Buick alongside the cruiser, Henderson turns to the now pale Inquisitor.

"Here you are," he says, "There should be some nice people who can help you somewhere around here."

Muttering a shaky thanks, Grendel quickly opens the door, steps out, and closes it just in time for Henderson to speed off.


Either that man is insane, Grendel notes, Or the light of the Emperor shines upon him as well. There is no other way we could have gotten this far into the city without dying.

With that, Grendel takes a moment to compose himself, straightening out his robes before making his way into the alleyway, looking for a familiar face as he makes the sign of the Aquila and says, "Greetings, Arbites. I am Inquisitor Castus Grendel. I wish to know where amongst the Emperor's worlds I have landed."

[SINIB]

Just as they were leaving the hospital, Faust detected the presence of a servant rapidly approaching them. He stopped suddenly, and extended his arm blocking Sakura's path. "Stop, there is an enemy servant approaching."

"Eh? A servant here?"

"Yes, Find a safe place to hide."

Sakura nodded, and ran back inside the hospital. As she reached the doors, she turned around and looked directly at Faust. "Don't die."

Faust turned around, and returned her steadfast gaze. "Is that an order?"

"Sakura nodded. "Yes. I'm ordering you not to die no matter what, Caster!"

"Hah, well, if it's an order from my cute master, I have to obey! I shall not die. I shall come out victorious, by any means necesarry!"

Sakura nodded one final time, and turned around, running inside the hospital.

"Well then, I cannot disappoint her, let's pull out the big guns." Faust chuckled to himself, making a quick series of gestures with his hands. A black summoning circle appeared in the ground. Faust began mumbling in an evil sounding language, his eyes closed. The circle lit up with a black, unholy light, bathing the area in an unholy radience. As his changing reached a cresando, the grew brighter, and finally the light exploded, blinding any onlookers. As the light cleared, three large black dog-like creatures emerged. They had hooves instead of paws, and were the size of large ponys. They growled menacingly, waiting for their master's orders.

[Kat]

Deborah

Time passed, and Deb could not find any sign of... unlife in local area. She wondered if the city was "Kindred-free" and she would be one day forced to 'make' more, for fulfilling duties of her Covenant in such city could be more than one vampire could handle.  But that was a concern for the future, now the present mattered more. Finding a shelter was of priority.

However, as she passed by, she noticed leftovers of blood splattered around. And signs left by explosion. Obviously, such unusual scene only piqued her curiosity. First she sampled the blood. A Kindred like her could discern potentially useful information merely from tasting.

Huh? That Vitae does not fit with any of the Five Clans... The blood belonged to a vampire, but Deborah could not figure out from what Clan said vampire hailed. Puzzlement quickly changed into a realization that she could be onto something not previously discovered. Strange lands, strange tribes? My peers would be jealous if they knew I could have discovered something of such caliber she smirked.

As for the blast marks. Deb at first guessed it could have been fired from some high caliber weapon with explosive rounds, but she could not find any remnants of the rounds. Maybe this place developed some kind of energy weapon? Fuck if I know, it does not fit anything I know. She suspected it could have been fired from one of skyscrapers 2km away from that place. Certainly, it would be worth her time to investigate it further.

Just in case, she collected whatever was left of the blood into a test-tube she carried around in her travelling bag.

[Cherry Lover]

As Rider approached the building, she felt the presence of a nearby servant. Instinctively, she tensed up and looked in the direction of the potential threat.

Sakura? she thought as she saw a girl with familiar purple hair by the hospital door.

Rider was confused. Why was Sakura here? And where was Shirou? She had to make sure she was OK. Rider turned towards the hospital, walking somewhat faster than before, but not currently beyond normal human speed.

However, before she could get close, the girl who appeared to be her master talked to the servant she had detected, before turning and running back into the hospital.

What's going on? What's that servant doing with Sakura?

Rider broke into a run, although still just about within normal human speed. After all, Sakura would not appreciate it if she gave away the existence of magic to the mundane population of wherever-she-was. Indeed, doing so would likely result in Sakura being killed or, worse, tortured in the name of "magecraft" by Clock Tower researchers.

However, before she could even get a few metres, the servant started to act. Rider noticed a large, black, evil-looking magic circle appear on the ground.

What the hell is that idiot doing? she thought.

Her horror increased as the light grew brighter and brighter. He was clearly summoning something, and it did not look like it would be friendly.

Sakura might be in danger! she thought.

Quickly, Rider changed into her battle outfit, and charged in the direction of the hospital. As she approached closer, she sensed three new, powerful demonic creatures, seemingly some sort of weird cross between a dog and a pony.

Doesn't seem like they can fly, though....

[SINIB]

As Rider approached the building, she felt the presence of a nearby servant. Instinctively, she tensed up and looked in the direction of the potential threat.

Sakura? she thought as she saw a girl with familiar purple hair by the hospital door.

Rider was confused. Why was Sakura here? And where was Shirou? She had to make sure she was OK. Rider turned towards the hospital, walking somewhat faster than before, but not currently beyond normal human speed.

However, before she could get close, the girl who appeared to be her master talked to the servant she had detected, before turning and running back into the hospital.

What's going on? What's that servant doing with Sakura?

Rider broke into a run, although still just about within normal human speed. After all, Sakura would not appreciate it if she gave away the existence of magic to the mundane population of wherever-she-was. Indeed, doing so would likely result in Sakura being killed or, worse, tortured in the name of "magecraft" by Clock Tower researchers.

However, before she could even get a few metres, the servant started to act. Rider noticed a large, black, evil-looking magic circle appear on the ground.

What the hell is that idiot doing? she thought.

Her horror increased as the light grew brighter and brighter. He was clearly summoning something, and it did not look like it would be friendly.

Sakura might be in danger! she thought.

Quickly, Rider changed into her battle outfit, and charged in the direction of the hospital. As she approached closer, she sensed three new, powerful demonic creatures, seemingly some sort of weird cross between a dog and a pony.

Doesn't seem like they can fly, though...

Faust watched as the servant with the magenta hair ran towards the hospital. I can't let her get to Sakura! A look of anger crossed his face. "I won't let you hurt my master!" He snarled out, and snapped his fingers. A large black beam of light flew into the sky, before splitting into smaller beans and raining down randomly on the ground.

As Faust preformed his magic, the three dogs charged at the woman. They were hit by the black magical lights, but showed no signs of even noticing the attack, single-mindedly charging at the woman, snarling. The first one neared her and lept at her back.

[Cherry Lover]

As the dogs charged in Rider's direction, she brought her nail to her neck and sliced her own throat. As soon as she did so, there was a bright white flash, and a white winged horse appeared next to her. Rider jumped on the back of the horse just as the first dog approached. As she did so, one of the beams of light hit her. To her surprise, she felt pain from the impact. Not much, true, but for an instant attack like that to bypass her Magic Resistance, this servant had to be very powerful indeed.

I need to be careful here, he's a very powerful servant. I have to get Sakura out of here now. But, I can't alert him to my true goal until she is safe, otherwise he might attack her or use her as a hostage.

Rider took to the air just as one of the dogs leaped towards her back. She threw her nail towards it to fend it off and dodged in the opposite direction, before flying up and out of their reach.

He's obviously stronger than me, and if I attack him Sakura might get caught up in it, plus he'll probably have a counter to my attack. I need to get to Sakura as soon as possible, and get her away from this madman. I have to use my speed to my advantage.

Once she had gained enough height to be safely out of range of the dogs and any other non-airbourne enemies, she used Bellerophon to order Pegasus to dive towards the front of the hospital, intending to smash through the doors and rescue Sakura.

[SINIB]

As the dogs charged in Rider's direction, she brought her nail to her neck and sliced her own throat. As soon as she did so, there was a bright white flash, and a white winged horse appeared next to her. Rider jumped on the back of the horse just as the first dog approached. As she did so, one of the beams of light hit her. To her surprise, she felt pain from the impact. Not much, true, but for an instant attack like that to bypass her Magic Resistance, this servant had to be very powerful indeed.

I need to be careful here, he's a very powerful servant. I have to get Sakura out of here now. But, I can't alert him to my true goal until she is safe, otherwise he might attack her or use her as a hostage.

Rider took to the air just as one of the dogs leaped towards her back. She threw her nail towards it to fend it off and dodged in the opposite direction, before flying up and out of their reach.

He's obviously stronger than me, and if I attack him Sakura might get caught up in it, plus he'll probably have a counter to my attack. I need to get to Sakura as soon as possible, and get her away from this madman.

Once she had gained enough height to be safely out of range of the dogs and any other non-airbourne enemies, she used Bellerophon to order Pegasus to dive towards the front of the hospital, intending to smash through the doors and rescue her master.

Faust saw the woman slash her own neck, and a blinding flash. Shit, she's using a Noble Phantasm! He clicked his tongue, and snapped his fingers three times. The dogs disappeared, and instead a large magic circle appeared behind him, slightly behind his head. The six component parts began spinning rapidly in alternating directions. As the woman hovered in the air on her horse, he clicked his tongue once more. "Die." Faust snapped his fingers once more.

The circle stopped spinning instantly, and the inner circles pulled back like a slingshot. A large pulsating beam shot forth from the circle, aimed directly at the brilliant white horse.

[Elf]

Forest

“Hey there, ojou-san. You don’t have to worry about the meanies, Forest has it taken care of. Can you tell me your name? Do you know where your parents are?”

Forest raised her eyebrow as she folded her arms around herself, the warmth of Calico Archer's blood starting to slowly dissipate.  She holstered her gun and wrapped the remnants of her duster around her, watching the distant hunter's nature completely change.  Someone knows their way around kids, she thought, But this girl isn't a normal child.

There was something off about the girl; she was too eager to commit violence against "meanies". From Law's reaction, he noticed that too.  Calico Archer on the other, despite his ability to pull magic swords from his cute ass, didn't notice the "little girl's" strangeness.

This could be an Elena all over again, she thought with a shiver, tightening her arms around her form.

"'Archer', don't. Let's just go. You can play with your oujuwhatsits later, alright?" Law said.  He was moving back to the door in way that let him keep an eye on the girl, but his eyes met Forest's.

He's screwed, let's get out of here.

Forest bit her lip, not wanting to leave Calico Archer with a potential child monster, but the mother in her didn't want to leave a potential lost child either.  She said, "If I don't get there soon, Saber's just going to keep calling non stop and be like, 'Forest, this is an urgent matter.  Why have you not arrived?' over and over and text messages with her super proper grammar and bloody hell."

She winked at the girl and said, "Being an adult sucks.  Responsibilities and all that."

Saber

"What are your thoughts on this Henry?" the petite blond asked after swallowing a bite of doughnut.

She sighed as she heard more squealing tires outside.

[Cherry Lover]

As the beam of light approached the diving Pegasus, Rider pulled up on the reins, causing Pegasus to level off from the diving position, presenting its stomach to the incoming beam and, therefore, protecting its more-vulnerable master.

Pegasus is pretty much immune to magic, it can take this hit, but I'm not sure that I can, she thought.

Realising that she couldn't risk letting any part of the beam hit her, Rider leapt off the horse in the direction of the hospital just as the beam approached. The beam smashed into the flying Pesasus to no effect as Rider headed for the side of the building. Its purpose served, Pegasus de-materialised, whilst Rider changed into spiritual form just before hitting the side of the building, intending to pass straight through the wall.