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

[Kat]

Mordred

Mordred running as fast she could, finally reaching her destination, quite exhausted after the run.

Then, she saw what she saw.

The man she knew as Faustus in the hospital lobby, with a stranger blocking him from his 'master'. Jeez, this might be an actual kidnapper this time. This woman surely looks suspicious. Is that BDSM get-up. Disgusting.

Drawing out her spear, she walked slowly towards those three. "You know, I don't know what you are scheming, weird woman, but it looks suspicious. I'm a knight, I know, but it has been a while since I got to rescue a lady from distress. I hope I have not become rusty at saving them." Mordred snarked "Now, better explain yourself"

(OOC: For Rider Mordred would look like Saber, but two centimeters taller than Rider, with a spear instead of a sword, in civvies (jeans, red jacket, white shirt), if she can pierce strong illusions then she can see her in her white-red armor)

Then, the mage apparently did not need assistance in saving Sakura, whatever happened it happened so quickly it left Mordred confused.

"What."

Only the weird woman remained. As Mordred recovered, she thought it might not be good idea linger around too long as she did not want to run into the police again.

[Panda]

"The only location we want to get to right now is the Manor." Rattus said, pondering. "So far, we have no planned engagements yet and my latest appointment will be next week, so our current course of action right now would be to just rest and recreate ourselves. Why did you ask, Mister Henderson?"

"Because you kids can't even go to a hospital without getting involved in some kind of trouble, if this is anything to go by," Henderson notes, "And I've nothing better to do right now."

"Eh, I really want to buy the latest volume of that BL manga I am still following right now." Yukina coyly said. "Yukito-san is so cute!" She squealed out enthusiastically.

"I dunno, I think I need a fuckin' drink." Neo complained. "So much shit happenin' right now, but I'm being pissed off. I'ma get myself some pussy to fuck right now."

Henderson shrugs, "Your choices, not mine."

"So, I guess that settles it." Rattus decisively said. "We need head back to the Manor right now."

"Again, I've got nothing better to do right now."

[Ivan The Mouse]

"Because you kids can't even go to a hospital without getting involved in some kind of trouble, if this is anything to go by," Henderson notes, "And I've nothing better to do right now."

Henderson shrugs, "Your choices, not mine."

"Again, I've got nothing better to do right now."

"Okay, I'm getting outta here. Go home if you guys want to, but I need some Hennessy and pussy right now, on the fuckin' rocks." Neo threw his hands up as he began walk away from them. "Don't got fuckin' lookin' for me, and I don't wanna see yo' nasty-ass faces. See y'all later, bitches."

Rattus and Yukina just looked at Neo as he walked away to get himself some private recreation. Rattus then looked back at Yukina and said, "Just give me the keys to the car, Schwesterchen. I think I'm at optimal condition to drive now."

"Are you sure, onii-chan?" Yukina asked, even as she handed the keys to him.

"Yes." he replied. "Don't worry anymore, alright?"

"Alright." she nodded cheerfully.

"We will head off the Manor, Mister Henderson." The German said to the old man. "Please join us and follow our vehicle, so you will know where to go if you need us."

Then the two of them headed off to the Kubelwagen, in order to ride it and lead Henderson to the Manor.

[Arch-Magos Winter]

Lawrence

Law had to resist the urge to fucking kick the wall, or the idiot. He wanted to take her with them!? The man was either suicidal, or couldn't help but want to help little girls who somehow magically appeared on rooftops. Either way his idiocy wasn't his problem.

"Well, she said Saber and 'Help with investigation' so yeah, I'd assume she's on the police force Calico. Why don't we go. Like right now. Mia will be fine inside, I'm sure there's some kindly old grandma who'll watch her for an hour or so."

He fidgeted. Lawrence hated this situation. He still hadn't dropped the Shroud, the Driver's protection and bleeding hands still visible to him in the Twilight. It didn't help he felt a phantom warmth trickling over his palms.

[Kat]

Deborah

She simply eavesdropped, in order to not expose her presence too quickly. What she had heard so far was a man mentioning something about a police investigation and police force. And he quarrelled with somebody over someone. Without clear context Deb could not comprehend fully what was happening there, though.

(OOC: Still others can detect her presence, just reminding. Magos apparently did not chose to do so)

[Cherry Lover]

Rider stood in front of Sakura defensively, waiting for her to get the hint and start running.

Instead, though, she spoke up once more.

"Rider, what are you doing here? How are you in the Nexus? Where's... Where is Shirou?", she said.

Rider had intended to ignore her. It was important that her enemy not know of their connection. But, the final sentence, and the clear sense of longing in Sakura's words, broke Rider's heart.

Poor Sakura, she really needs a friend right now....

"I'm not entirely sure how I got here. One of your sister's experiments backfired, I think. I saw you, and thought you might need help.

As for Shirou... I...."

Rider stalled for a moment, unsure what to say to the obviously-distraught girl. Rider knew that Shirou was a large part of Sakura's life, and that losing him would hurt her. And, worse, from what she had seen and heard, this version of Sakura was somewhat younger. Whilst her Sakura could probably bounce back from losing Shirou, she knew that her younger self likely could not have.

As she did, she noticed a new person run through the door.

Saber?

It undoubtedly looked like her. Rider could only vaguely remember Shirou's former servant from their few battles, but she definitely looked very similar. There were, however, a few differences, most noticably the height, and the spear she carried rather than her usual invisible sword.

"You know, I don't know what you are scheming, weird woman, but it looks suspicious. I'm a knight, I know, but it has been a while since I got to rescue a lady from distress. I hope I have not become rusty at saving them." Mordred snarked "Now, better explain yourself", she said.

Rider stared at her angrily.

How dare she accuse me of intending to kidnap my own master.

Before she could respond, though, her adversary made his move. He clapped his hands, and the air surrounding Rider suddenly became much thicker. It was as if she was moving through treacle. As fast as she was able, Rider started to move backwards, trying to get out of the area covered by the spell. But, as she did so, he clapped his hands once more. Suddenly, her entire body felt much heavier. In this state, even a normal human could probably outpace her.

And, then, he charged towards the wall, before turning into spirit mode and heading straight for Sakura.

No!

"I will NOT let you hurt her!" Rider shouted, enraged, as her monstrous strength activated.

Then, with that, she turned herself into spirit form, and headed to intercept the maniac going for her master. But, with the added gravitational force still weighing her down, she didn't think she could make it in time.

"Sakura! Watch out!" she shouted as the maniac approached her master, hoping Sakura could hold him off for long enough for her to intervene.

[Kat]

Mordred

Ghost? thought Mordred as the woman dematerialized into air. "Yikes, that magus is haunted by an obsessive phantom like that!" However, she recognized opportunity to harvest some Glamour she could needly bad in the future. Feeding on Rider's strong emotions, she gained a little of Glamour.

And then braced herself for any upcoming attack in case the ghost felt frustrated with Sakura's escape and lashed out at surroundings.

[SINIB]

Rider stood in front of Sakura defensively, waiting for her to get the hint and start running.

Instead, though, she spoke up once more.

"Rider, what are you doing here? How are you in the Nexus? Where's... Where is Shirou?", she said.

Rider had intended to ignore her. It was important that her enemy not know of their connection. But, the final sentence, and the clear sense of longing in Sakura's words, broke Rider's heart.

Poor Sakura, she really needs a friend right now....

"I'm not entirely sure how I got here. One of your sister's experiments backfired, I think. I saw you, and thought you might need help.

As for Shirou... I...."

Rider stalled for a moment, unsure what to say to the obviously-distraught girl. Rider knew that Shirou was a large part of Sakura's life, and that losing him would hurt her. And, worse, from what she had seen and heard, this version of Sakura was somewhat younger. Whilst her Sakura could probably bounce back from losing Shirou, she knew that her younger self likely could not have.

As she did, she noticed a new person run through the door.

Saber?

It undoubtedly looked like her. Rider could only vaguely remember Shirou's former servant from their few battles, but she definitely looked very similar. There were, however, a few differences, most noticeably the height, and the spear she carried rather than her usual invisible sword.

"You know, I don't know what you are scheming, weird woman, but it looks suspicious. I'm a knight, I know, but it has been a while since I got to rescue a lady from distress. I hope I have not become rusty at saving them." Mordred snarked "Now, better explain yourself", she said.

Rider stared at her angrily.

How dare she accuse me of intending to kidnap my own master.

Before she could respond, though, her adversary made his move. He clapped his hands, and the air surrounding Rider suddenly became much thicker. It was as if she was moving through treacle. As fast as she was able, Rider started to move backwards, trying to get out of the area covered by the spell. But, as she did so, he clapped his hands once more. Suddenly, her entire body felt much heavier. In this state, even a normal human could probably outpace her.

And, then, he charged towards the wall, before turning into spirit mode and heading straight for Sakura.

No!

"I will NOT let you hurt her!" Rider shouted, enraged, as her monstrous strength activated.

Then, with that, she turned herself into spirit form, and headed to intercept the maniac going for her master. But, with the added gravitational force still weighing her down, she didn't think she could make it in time.

"Sakura! Watch out!" she shouted as the maniac approached her master, hoping Sakura could hold him off for long enough for her to intervene.

Faust successfully reached Sakura, and turned to face Mordred. “Mordred, can you stop the enemy!? She’s trying to harm Sakura, I’ll pay you good money!” Faust waved his arm at Mordred, strengthening her.
------------------------------------------------
Sakura watched with a blank stare, muttering to herself. “Where’s senpai, Rider? Where is he?”

[Kat]

Mordred

"I'm not into it for money, but thanks in advance" Mordred did not know what kind of opponent she was about to face. She was ready to skewer the ghost when it was about to materialize. Not that she had any particular bias against wandering dead, but ghosts too obsessed for their own good should go back to Twilight.

(Bdoom PMed me that it temporarily elevates me into Supernatural in all three stats, and it's Superhuman for Agility when I activate Dawnspear)

[Panda]

While the sounds of battle rage outside, someone lies inside a janitor's closet, finally feeling the headache receding as his vision returns to him. White gloves press against aching temples, massaging them for a moment before the silver pupil-less eyes open with a groan.

"That," Adjutor Xarrest says, as much to himself as to Xarrest, "Is the last fucking time we leave our eyes unsealed just because there's nobody around."

After the crazy old man drove up, nearly crashing through the doors and coming even closer to giving Dirk a heart attack, Adjutor had waited until the crazy old man and his strange looking friend (Definitely not human) had left and offered to take what was left of Dirk's shift. Just to give him some time to recover from that old man (smells like marijuana) and his friend (nice ass, I suppose, but something fundamentally off about her).

Having gotten bored, Adjutor took a look at the two newcomers who hadn't left immediately.

Strange way to channel magical energy, but we get all kinds around here, don't we, Adjutor?

Fair enough, Adjutor said at the time, allowing a quiet sigh, Just try not to ogle the girl.

Hah! You've got no room to lecture me after staring at that girl's ass.

At least I'm not staring at every single pretty woman we come across, Adjutor shoots back.

Considering that that's all I can do while you refuse to even introduce yourself to any of them, I am perfectly justified in enjoying the view.

Lech.

Closet perv.

Adjutor was about to come up with a witty retort to this when, after the two make as if to leave, the girl comes back in. The question that might have been asked died on Adjutor's lips as a massive flash of mana blinded him, sending him fumbling backwards until he found his way into a janitor's closet, as luck would have it.

From the sounds outside, those two, whoever they were, were really going at it. A series of impacts against the building itself left Adjutor feeling thankful that the crazy old man had emptied out the lobby. His vision started to return to him as the fighting started to die down a bit, only to be replaced by a lot of somewhat obnoxious shouting in a tone that sounded as if the speaker thought the person they were speaking to was unable to understand some kind of basic truth of life.

Then someone else seems to enter the scene, giving the hunter a fair bit more information regarding the scene outside. And apparently that one of the combatants was wearing BDSM gear.

Great. Just fucking great.

At least she'll be nice to look at.

She may very well try to kill us!

And this has stopped you from getting involved in a fight when?

...I walked right into that one.

So let's walk right out of this closet.

Adjutor steps outside, not bothering to seal his eyes, to find the strangest sight before him.

Two beings, seemingly made entirely of mana, except for a central core of some kind, facing each other down. One of them seems to have thrown up a Shield spell, which Adjutor takes a moment to analyze, storing it for later use.

One of the beings was, indeed, wearing an outfit that wouldn't be out of place in a BDSM scenario. Lavender hair flows down to the floor; Rather impractical in a fight.

The other being was the strange man sitting next to the girl from earlier.

There is a third being, that strange person from earlier, only now with a spear and...armor? Where the hell did she get that from?

The girl was asking about some 'Sempai' person, someone special to her, judging by her tone.

Then the mage cast some kind of form of Enhancement type magic on the non-human.

Adjutor, having already applied the Concept of Reinforcement to himself while in the closet, takes an instant to evaluate the magic before deciding to leave that spell be.

No weapons, no bullets, no explosives. My opponents are two beings likely beyond the scope of my abilities. I've still got the Armogarians. Judging by their shouting, they're both fighting over that girl...

Adjutor Xarrest takes a moment to consider his next move.

[Umbra of Chaos]

Ann

On one the relatively quiet sidewalks of the Nexus a young woman dressed in a black cloak stood with a mug of hot cocoa. It was peaceful here and Ann relished in that fact. It was the proclamation that the duty that had bound her for uncountable years had been lifted for however long she was in this city. She finished the rest of her drink and warmth filled her. She clutched the mug in her hands and it quickly crumbled to dust.

This city was almost a place she could be truly free. Almost. For an instant she focused on shattering her Shell and her form shook. The sounds of bone snapping and the cacophony of souls within her becoming even louder could be heard by those who had senses keen enough to hear it. Reality shuddered and then squeezed. The souls grew silent and docile while her bones reset themselves and healed. With a frown she began to repair the ruined organs within her Shell. Almost free.

[Cherry Lover]

As Faust re-materialised and grabbed hold of Sakura, Rider also re-materialised, throwing her nail at him before dashing to also grab hold of Sakura, and prevent her enemy escaping with his captive.

"Get away from my master!" Rider shouted, angrily.

As she did so, though, the enemy turned to face Saber.

“Mordred, can you stop the enemy!? She’s trying to harm Sakura, I’ll pay you good money!” he said.

Mordred? Really? She doesn't seem like she'd fit Shirou's personality....

Rider practically growled.

"I am not! I would never harm Sakura! He's the one trying to harm her!" she shouted.

Meanwhile, she heard Sakura muttering.

“Where’s senpai, Rider? Where is he?”

"I... I don't know....

Last time I saw him, he was heading off for a holiday with you. I don't think I'm from your universe, though, you're a lot younger than the Sakura I know".

[Kaze]

LANCELOT

The former Knight of the Lake finished his final jump, landing on the sidewalk right next to the Nexus hospital, his long purple hair trailing behind him. It was unusual for him to be outside of the former King’s apartment at all, let alone by himself, but he was sure a large conflict was taking place here and he knew that Arturia was probably too busy to come in immediately. It was a good thing the apartment was close by, otherwise he might have missed the surge of magical energy so intense that even his relatively weak senses could pick up on it.

The front doors were blown out by… he honestly couldn’t tell what. Some kind of explosion, or maybe magic? Whoever did it was probably still nearby. Lancelot dashed through the ruined doorway and promptly found himself facing a shitstorm.

Servants. He could tell that much, at least. As a former Berserker class himself, he knew instinctively what they were. A tall, vulptuous woman with incredibly long lilac hair wearing a blindfold, and a man wearing old-fasioned clothes who’s appearance could only be described as dark. They seemed to be fighting frantically over a young girl with purple hair, and standing off to the side was a blonde woman who looked all too familiar.

The dark servant then spoke the words of her damnation: “Mordred, can you stop the enemy!?”

KILL DEATH PUNISHMENT SUFFERING ATONEMENT VIOLENCE MURDER BLOOD WAR CRIME BETRAYAL TREASON TRAITOR TRAITOR TRAITOR TRAITOR

The one who betrayed King Arthur and brought about her ruin was here, now.

ATONE ATONE ATONE ATONE EVERY VIOLENCE EVERY CRIME EVERY VICTIM

Black armor materialized over Lancelot’s plainclothes, and a seeping aura of inky darkness flowed over him, warping and twisting his features until he was unrecognizable. The visor in the helmet began to glow red as the Mad Enhancement took hold, and he hunched over, shuddering violently.

With a sudden lurch, the Berserker threw his head back and screamed, a horrible sound of madness, rage and betrayal. The aura created by For Another’s Glory flared, and within an instant the former Servant had grabbed two of the largest shards of glass from the ruined doors off of the floor and charged full speed at Mordred. He could vaguely comprehend that the two servants posed a significant threat, but this one would be dealt with first.

[Panda]

Adjutor, having by now had enough of these people being in the hospital, takes a moment to focus.

Fire. Warmth. Healing. Destruction. Death. Cleansing. Purging.

Gathering the requisite mana in his hand, Adjutor holds his palm out, hiding behind the lavender-haired woman as he prepares the Base Concept. Just a little something to catch their attention. Intended target is the mana making up the grav spell.

Then an enraged roar catches Adjutor's attention. A quick glance at the black cloud makes up Adjutor's mind for him.

Expanding targets to the walls of the entire lobby.

Repainting those is going to be a bitch.

With that, Adjutor lets loose, the Concept quickly burning away the mana powering the spell of the first being before spreading to the walls, turning the whole area into a scene straight out of a painting of Hell before Adjutor quickly cuts the Concept out, leaving the lobby a scorched mess.

"Would it be too much to ask you to take this else where?!" he asks, "It's going to be enough of a pain to clean up after you already."

[Kat]

Mordred

She had no luxury to fight against two opponents. Or hold back. The figure clad in black armor seethed with fury and malice, charging at her with incredible speed. For the first time since she last time encountered her Keeper she felt such hatred directed at her. However, Mordred managed in desperation activate her triumph card.

Dawnspear.

The spear visibily changed. The old tip charged was coated in green colored aura, reminding more of a jousting lance than a spear. Combined with Faustus' reinforcement, she was enough fast to brace herself for a charge of the mad warrior.

Any cost she would have to pay was more worth than losing her own life.