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

[MissingMandible]

Elyssa:

What Adjutor was saying was true, but it was so hard to override years of indoctrination. The Helkan Empire was one of the single most important things to her, and not knowing what was happening in the battle for the capital was gnawing away at her. She doesn't know if the Black Knight's charge was halted, if Duke Alberton was confirmed KIA, the status of her battlegroup, or if Queen Eleanor was safe...

"I appreciate an optimistic sentiment, but I can not share that view," Elyssa began while looking up into the night sky, "The civil war has been going on for the last five years. Best Case Scenario for it now is the Helkan Empire not being able to keep its colonies. Worst Case Scenario is that, if the Queen and the majority if the nobility are dead while the military completely exhausted, the neighboring countries would invade Helka itself and divide it up among each other. That is why I am so eager to get back, to insure the former is more likely than the latter."

The warmonger than looked back down to Xarrest's huddling form, her thoughts turning to concern (and more than a little exasperation) . "You'd rather freeze to death out here rather than being in shelter of this building?"

[Arch-Magos Winter]

Archer

There were certain constants in the multiverse. The first, was that nothing in the end was created or destroyed. The second, was that in general it wasn't the best place to live.

The third is that somehow, through any probability, Heroic Spirit EMIYA will crashland on furniture in some manner in a reclining pose.

The fact that it happened on Forest's broken table was one of those more random instances of these constants coming into play. Archer blinked, taking in his unfamiliar surroundings. "...Uh... the table was broken before I got here."

[Elf]

Forest

Forest jumped back as something big and red fell head first into the ruins of the table.  She blinked as the figure somehow landed in a reclining pose and blinked.

"...Uh... the table was broken before I got here."

He spoke in Japanese.  Of course he did, for whatever reason Nexus likes grabbing people from Japan, she thought to herself until she got a good look at him.

And stared.

It was Emiya Shirou, except he wasn't calico and was sporting a very Angel-like hair do.  His hair was completely white, both eyes were that odd steely gray, and his skin was a uniform bronze color.  He was dressed in red and black.  Oh wow, those pants are really suggestive . . .

He was also about ten to twenty pounds heavier than Calico Shirou, and all of that was muscle.  For an Asian, he was a giant, with wide shoulders and long limbs.  He was exotic, rugged, and lying on the remains of her kitchen table.

"Archer, I take it?" she asked, looking away from those broad shoulders and those pants. 

[Ivan The Mouse]

"Aye, I see... I will gladly accept this parting present.", he cheered. Taking his sword and other possessions, he patted Yukina's head before waving.

And like the fleeting winds of the sea, Lorenzo marched forward to the endless horizon.
"Farewell, me hearties."

"See you soon, Remei-san!" Yukina kept her smile and waved at him goodbye. It seems as if the pirate is now ready to face the world again, and she was glad to help, whatever she did.

However, as Lorenzo disappeared from sight, Yukina blushed to herself. Aside from seeing the guest's naked body, she was embarrassed with the thought of her getting a gift from a man she just met on this day, in the form of a magical flameborn bird. It seemed to her that she will have, at least, a fondness for this creature as much as the bird likes her back.

She then closed and the door and went back to playing more Animal Crossing, happier than ever with her strange encounter.

[Panda]

Adjutor lifts his head up enough for his speech to be audible, somewhat annoyed himself.

"Okay, first off, the situation might not be as bad as you think," Adjutor says, "I've got a bit of experience with traveling between dimensions myself, and I can tell you that time doesn't always flow the same way between dimensions. It may very well be that you take three years or something finding a way back, and then you arrive only to find a few days or hours have passed back in Helka. Of course, it may very well be the other way around, that in those same three years spent here, three thousand may have passed where you're from."

With that, Adjutor sighs and waits a moment, trying to regain his composure.

"As for me freezing to death," Adjutor continues, "This here," he indicates the sword stabbed into the ground before him, "Isn't just a sword. It's a physical manifestation of a Fire Elemental, a piece of the forces that created my dimension. Literally a fragment of Creation itself. If I end up freezing to death with him right here, then I really should be dead anyway. Regardless, I can understand your desire for shelter, but this is someone else's-"

With that, Adjutor freezes at the sound of a car driving up close to the building, likely from the other side, judging by the sound.

"See, this is someone else's home," he says, "And people don't tend to react well to other people breaking- oh shit that table's still broken."

Taking a moment to weigh the consequences of simply staying out here against the consequences of leaving the table broken without any attempt at proper compensation, Adjutor gets up, makes his way up to the nearest door, taking note of the light streaming out from under the door, and knocks on the door.

[Alice]

Rin

“Hmm, is that so…” She hummed in reply to Rin, obvious doubt on her face.

Rin suppressed a sigh. It was obvious the girl wasn't going to buy anything she said, even if it was the truth. Though the girl's gaze seemed to suddenly grow more... distant, which probably meant her focus had already gone elsewhere. It might well have had to do with what Saber said next.

"Officer Riggs made an uncouth comment about Forest's lack of attire, which she presumably lost when she fought you, Shirou.  Not to mention she lacks body heat and it is a very frigid night.  Also, any establishment that we would have taken her to in that state would have turned us away.  Knowing her, she left for our benefit and to hunt the monster who slaughtered that family."

Rin nodded. "Yeah, that'd do it. Can't exactly blame her being grouchy after all that." Rin gave the group a wan smile. "Let's give her some time alone. She'll probably feel a bit better if she has time to sort things out. We can check on her later. For now, we should get that food."

The magus nearly jumped as she finally noticed the officer that'd snuck up behind them. Did he need something? He certainly hadn't said anything.

[YOLF]

Sarse

The angel stared tensely as the man of bronze slowly collapsed and turned to liquid. First its legs bubbled and burst, and the slowly the light from its eyes vanished as the rest of its body fell into a puddle. The explosion had hit it much more strongly than him, it would appear. And so Sarse released a sigh and relaxed slightly - only enough to relieve himself before he realized its symphony wasn't gone. Muddled and inactive, but it had not died.

"You can't be serious...?" He said aloud, more to himself than his (apparently) disabled foe. Scowling in consideration, he bit back pain and stored his sword for the moment, dispelling the blade.

In hurried steps he doubled back to the sleeping Ann and Than'Sanel, silently reprimanding himself for the destruction around him.

[Kaze]

AKIHOLARME

The last dragonborn frowned inside her helmet, feeling a little insulted that Rebeca didn’t think she was capable of defending herself from these monsters of the night. Surely they had nothing on the dragons she had fought before. The way the snowy-haired girl spoke about herself seemed odd as well, as if to imply she possessed some form of precognition.

Aki’s retort died on her tongue as Rebeca asked again for her to stay the night. She suddenly realized that the girl was desperate to be helpful, but too shy to say so. The Imperial still wanted to refuse, but she owed Rebeca a debt now. If it would soothe her, Aki would allow this much as payment.

“Very well, lead the way,” the dragonborn said with a cluck of her tongue.

[Arch-Magos Winter]

Forest

Forest jumped back as something big and red fell head first into the ruins of the table.  She blinked as the figure somehow landed in a reclining pose and blinked.

"...Uh... the table was broken before I got here."

He spoke in Japanese.  Of course he did, for whatever reason Nexus likes grabbing people from Japan, she thought to herself until she got a good look at him.

And stared.

It was Emiya Shirou, except he wasn't calico and was sporting a very Angel-like hair do.  His hair was completely white, both eyes were that odd steely gray, and his skin was a uniform bronze color.  He was dressed in red and black.  Oh wow, those pants are really suggestive . . .

He was also about ten to twenty pounds heavier than Calico Shirou, and all of that was muscle.  For an Asian, he was a giant, with wide shoulders and long limbs.  He was exotic, rugged, and lying on the remains of her kitchen table.

"Archer, I take it?" she asked, looking away from those broad shoulders and those pants.

Archer frowned, shifting his weight slightly so a rather sharp piece of wood wasn't digging into his back as much anymore. "Well, I suppose someone could call me that, if they summoned me for a certain task. Are you my master? You certainly look less the part than the last woman to declare that. She didn't stare at my crotch for starters."

He smirked. "Though really, I don't think it matters right now if you are my Master or not; I didn't expect to get clobbered by a giant with a stone to suddenly pop up here. There's only so much chance in the world that I'd be summoned by someone else."

[Elf]

Saber

The former king said, "Henry, is something amiss?  Did Forest give you any information that we had not discovered?"


The Fanged Foursome

"Talk talk talk," Angelus said, rolling his eyes as he shook his head while Drusilla dodged the lance.  "God, I'm going to really enjoy breaking him."

Spike eyed him as he moved in front of Drusilla and attempted to throw a punch at the spearman.  Buffy was watching the proceedings, her keen green eyes watching the spearman's movements towards Spike and Drusilla.  Drusilla wasn't exactly built for contact, but Buffy knew about her other talents all too well.  And he shrugged off Dru's hypnosis, not cool, Buffy thought, moving back to her lover-sire's side.

Angelus eyed her and asked, "What's your take on this, Buff?"

"That spear gives me a wiggins," she admitted with a shrug, "But not the worse vampire hunter we've killed so far."


Forest

Forest felt her cheeks heat up ever so slightly with the remainder of Shirou's blood at Archer's smirk and teasing.  She gestured and said, "I wasn't staring at your crotch.  You wish I was staring at your dangly bits.  And I didn't summon you."

She frowned and said, "I lack that mojo."

Then there was a knock on her door and she sighed.  "If this is the person that broke my table, I'm going to pummel them."

[Mooncake]

Ezra Longinia


The female vampire dodged the Lance, which was fine, because that's what he had planned for. The spear flicked back almost lazily as Ezra pivoted, his stance shifting as Spike's fist went towards his face. It was almost sad, really. They weren't as strong as the vampires he had fought before, and he was about to teach them a valuable lesson.

"Don't play with your food-!"

The Lance moved so fast it blurred, the spearman kicking himself into gear as the shaft absorbed the power of Spike's fist, letting the vampire's strength combine with Ezra's own to whip upwards. The vampire had tried to dodge backwards, but the blade could not be avoided, and with a clean stroke – it severed his arm from his body, ripping through flesh, carving through bone with its miraculous power, a power that had defended humanity since the time of Christ.

And then, as Spike recoiled in pain, Ezra's eyes found the female vampire.

The spear point halted and blurred into motion again, pointing itself at Drusillia before Ezra let it fly, the shaft sliding through his hands in a controlled stab, which she promptly dodged. But then, the hands grabbing the Lance tightened, and pulled, and the ancient spearhead swung through the air in a deadly arc... aiming right for Drusillia's unprotected body.

[Milbunk]

Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald

Kayeth's eyebrows furrowed from Grenth's comments about nobles but he held his peace. He was more curious about the circumstances leading to his sudden relocation.

Looking at his freshly poured drink he sniffed it sensing the strong alcoholic scent. Showing courtesy he took a tiny sip of the Brandy before stopping. Any more and his judgement might be clouded.

If everything that this man called Grenth was telling him was true then he had fallen into an application of the second. As for how or why it happened Kayneth still had no idea even with that explosion.

As for impossibilities.

'Impossible to escape? Nonsense... Even if this might be an accident of the second. I know it's possible to replicate. The Wizard Marshall himself has mastered such techniques and as such proven just how possible dimensional travel is.'

Nevertheless he was apparently still far from home and as such he needed to find some residence to stay at. Even though an emergency shelter could be brought up on the fly it was by no means a more permanent residence. And if Kayneth wanted any shot at developing a means to get back home he'd need to do do so quickly.

"Very well then, though I am still dubious towards your words Grenth, I will accept them as truth for now. If I am so very far away from home then measures must be taken in order to relocate to a more suitable residence. Do you have any such place in mind? I don't suppose you wouldn't mind sharing your humble abode, would you? As for payment, my research is leagues ahead most of the peasants in the Association. And so long as I can acquire the materials for materialization almost any of my tools can be recreated here. But if money is your thing, I can easily create such wealth to suit any man's thirst."

[Panda]

Adjutor notes that he can hear voices coming from inside, but decides not to try to figure out what they're saying. Then the door opens to reveal a rather pale blonde girl with what looked like the beginnings of exasperation written all over her face, though the shredded clothes might have something to do with that as well. That and she actually was rather pretty. It was at this point that the seal dropped from his eyes and he noticed that she also had some magical talent, nothing to write home about, but...

What, no comment about her having a nice-

Shut up, Xarrest.

Let us take a moment, however, to note the state of what's left of her clothing, falling in just the right places to preserve some degree of modesty, but at the same time-

Goddammit, Xarrest!

...Hmm...violet eyes...possibly possessing psychic abilities?

Wait what?

Isn't violet the color of the Third Eye?

Hold up, the Ajna Chakra is usually separate from the other two eyes.

You doubt the existence of psychics in this world?

I doubt that you're able to pick them out by eye color!

"Truly sorry about the table," Adjutor says quickly, lest the nice person who'd just opened the door suddenly become not-nice, "It wasn't me, by the way. It was the homesick War Golem who found me while I was camping out here, long story about that. Now it knows as much as I know about this dimensional melting pot. But that's all besides the point. And the point is," he allows a moment to take a quick breath, "That I can fix the table."

[MissingMandible]

Elyssa:

When Adjutor started knocking on the door, Elyssa took a readied stance just in case the owner would become a little hostile. The Warmonger switched from standard to thermal vision to try to get a look at whoever was inside. What she saw was...disturbing and terrifying.

The woman (judging from her profile) was far too cold to be a human. Out of the seven races of Man, there was only one who's body temperature is that low...

The owner of the building already opened the door when Elyssa called out "We're leaving, Adjutor."

[YOLF]

Butler

Butler listened attentively to the wizard's words. It was remarkable how much his theory on short notice resembled the way immortal servant perceived his own ability. And the possibility of verification Wiseman offered made his own heart tingle with curiosity.

"Let's. You have sparked my academical interest," Butler answered with a chuckle in his voice.


Tar

Henry removed his hands from his pockets as the chatter in the oddly diverse group finally died down enough for them to notice him. About time.

"Yeah, seems we have a monster stalking the sewers," he said, gesturing down. "She recommended putting people on watch and looking for more traces down there, while she does it her own way."

With a sigh, the detective reached into his pockets for his cigarettes and lighter, taking a long look at the gathering as he continued.

"I've already sent forensics in, but I'm not feeling the idea of letting just anyone look down there. Set up groups watching likely entrances and exits yeah, but we should be careful with actually following whatever was responsible for this."

Slowly he lifted a cigarette to his mouth and lit it before packing the rest of them away and asking, "What do you think? Up for a sewer trek tomorrow?"