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

[Panda]

"Nothin' ventured, nothin' gained, mofo!" He said as he entered the car park. He then obviously found lots of cars in the area, and approached a red Third Generation Honda Legend KA9 nearby, despite the park having more expensive and luxurious choices.

He then pointed at the tinted windows on the car's driver seat and told the mercenary, "I'mma need yo' help here, I'm too fucked up to break this window righ' 'ere. Punch it wit' ya' metal hand, man."

"Since when did you get so- ah fuck it," Guts decides to drop that train of thought as his metal hand crashes through the window. Miraculously, no car alarms go off.

Taking a moment to consider the height of the car's roof, Guts sighs, muttering something about 'compact car bullshit', as he draws Dragonslayer one-handed and shears the roof off the car in a single smooth motion.

"Now that this damn thing is civilized," Guts says, replacing Dragonslayer on his back, "Go ahead and do...whatever it is you're going to do."

[Ivan The Mouse]

"Since when did you get so- ah fuck it," Guts decides to drop that train of thought as his metal hand crashes through the window. Miraculously, no car alarms go off.

Taking a moment to consider the height of the car's roof, Guts sighs, muttering something about 'compact car bullshit', as he draws Dragonslayer one-handed and shears the roof off the car in a single smooth motion.

"Now that this damn thing is civilized," Guts says, replacing Dragonslayer on his back, "Go ahead and do...whatever it is you're going to do."

Neo laughed as he went into the car and started to hotwire it, with the help of his butterfly knife. "Get the fuck in." He said to the man with the giant sword.

The blonde punk was looking at his surroundings often while in the process of fiddling with the wires of the car's ignition. After a few minutes of doing so, the car finally started. "Okay, let's hit the road!"

[Panda]

Neo laughed as he went into the car and started to hotwire it, with the help of his butterfly knife. "Get the fuck in." He said to the man with the giant sword.

The blonde punk was looking at his surroundings often while in the process of fiddling with the wires of the car's ignition. After a few minutes of doing so, the car finally started. "Okay, let's hit the road!"

Guts doesn't bother with a door, vaulting over what's left of what used to be the rear windows, unclipping Dragonslayer, and stepping into the front seat before sitting down and realizing something else that this car had nowhere near enough legroom. With this in mind, Guts lays Dragonslayer down in the back seats, bracing himself in preparation for the likely horrifying experience that will ensue.

[Ivan The Mouse]

Guts doesn't bother with a door, vaulting over what's left of what used to be the rear windows, unclipping Dragonslayer, and stepping into the front seat before sitting down and realizing something else that this car had nowhere near enough legroom. With this in mind, Guts lays Dragonslayer down in the back seats, bracing himself in preparation for the likely horrifying experience that will ensue.

"Vroom vroom, motha'fucka'." Neo then fiddles with the gear stick and steps on the gas pedal, as the car accelerates and starts going out of the parking lot. The automobile was going so fast that if Neo had any less control on the vehicle, they would crash in an instant. The alchemist was howling in joy while he was on the wheel, despite being shot twice in the torso. He coughed out some more of his own blood while driving and, while he was beginning to feel a little sick, he kept on driving mad through the streets of Nexus, just almost hitting the speed limit.

After the much-unneeded joyride, the car finally stopped somewhere isolated, near a suburban residential subdivision part of the city. Neo then steps out of the car and begins walking in a direction in the sidewalk. "Let's go, mang." Neo said to the battle-hardened man. "Just a cuppa blocks 'way and we there, nigga."

[Panda]

"Vroom vroom, motha'fucka'." Neo then fiddles with the gear stick and steps on the gas pedal, as the car accelerates and starts going out of the parking lot. The automobile was going so fast that if Neo had any less control on the vehicle, they would crash in an instant. The alchemist was howling in joy while he was on the wheel, despite being shot twice in the torso. He coughed out some more of his own blood while driving and, while he was beginning to feel a little sick, he kept on driving mad through the streets of Nexus, just almost hitting the speed limit.

After the much-unneeded joyride, the car finally stopped somewhere isolated, near a suburban residential subdivision part of the city. Neo then steps out of the car and begins walking in a direction in the sidewalk. "Let's go, mang." Neo said to the battle-hardened man. "Just a cuppa blocks 'way and we there, nigga."

Guts, who found no shame in freezing up during that insane ride, quickly leaps out of the car as quickly as possible, tempted to destroy this demonic vehicle once and for all before he manages to master himself. Settling instead for taking up Dragonslayer and mounting it on his back once more, he leaves that cursed vehicle behind with two words.

"Never again."

[SINIB]

Sakura hid behind the door and cracked it open so she could hear the exchange and listened intently.

”--if you would consider me worthy, but I would be glad for you to serve me. However, I myself serve another person, and I will use everything I can to protect her. To become my servant is to become her servant also.”

Sakura listened to Rider talking to the enormous white man kneeling before her, saying something about him serving her, and how Rider served another.
Should I show myself? If he’s serving me, I’m supposed to form a contract or something, right? I should at least reveal myself if he accepts, right? But what should I say?

"Yes, if there is a need for me to serve someone else, I shall do so.", he responded in a fierce tone, an echoing voice that wouldn't shatter even if the heavens were to fall.

"However, do not take me lightly. I am no mere familiar or servant you can cast away to do your bidding. As I said, my blade will gladly serve you and your master, but unless you require of my assistance I shall act on my own accord. Is that clear?"

The white man spoke with a majestic voice that almost made Sakura flinch from its serenity, it came from a being far far greater than her. However after listening to his response, her indecision came to an abrupt conclusion.

I have to step up, it’s what I should do as a magus! Faust has taught me about stuff like this, hasn’t he?

Sakura stepped forward and pushed open the door, swallowing her fear. She began walking down the stairs and started speaking in a steady and deliberate voice, but only a slight trembling betrayed her agitation.

“I am Sakura Matou, the mistress of this house.” She took a short but deep breath and continued on. “I am the master of these two servants, and on Rider’s behalf, I graciously accept your offer of servitude. Will you serve me loyally?”

[SINIB]

Noel walked closely behind the nurses pushing Mathew through the hallway, smiling in sympathy at his obvious distress at losing his weaponry.

“You don’t like being away from your weapons either, huh? I know that feeling, they make you feel safe. I’ll make sure they take good care of them, ok?”

At that point, an attendant turned and said to the two following “You two can’t follow any further, you’ll both need to return to the waiting room.”

[Ivan The Mouse]

Guts, who found no shame in freezing up during that insane ride, quickly leaps out of the car as quickly as possible, tempted to destroy this demonic vehicle once and for all before he manages to master himself. Settling instead for taking up Dragonslayer and mounting it on his back once more, he leaves that cursed vehicle behind with two words.

"Never again."

Neo kept walking towards their destination, even when he was beginning to weaken due to blood loss. In fact, this only pushed him to keep walking faster, since he knew that he might not make it anymore if he goes anymore slower. A block later, he was beginning to white-out. He was just struggling not to lose consciousness, as he kept his devilish grin throughout the seemingly long journey. He coughed out blood once more, but he kept going. He has to make it, he said to himself, for he knows he could. He had that much pride in himself as a man.

And a block more of walking and he finally could see his destination, even if barely due to his diminishing sight resulting from massive blood loss. "We're... here." he said, obviously struggling even to speak clearly. The place was a two-story residence that had a red brick and mortar exterior. It was apparent that the house wasn't modern in design, if the wrought iron and dark wood parts were an indication.  "C'mon, nigga! Keep goin'!" Neo yelled out to his companion as he walked towards the double door.

And when he finally manages to enter through the door, he finally whispered, with the last of his apparent breath, "Fuckin' finally." He then collapses on his feet on the floor, as he finally have mustered all his remaining energy to get to the manor. At that time, the punk was already so pale, it looked like death already, if it wasn't for his subdued but steady breathing.

This was seen by Yukina, who was playing on her 3DS in the living room during that time. "Neo-san, what happened to you?!" She asked in terror as she quickly noticed her companion collapsing, along with approaching him and checking on his condition as she paused her game and sat beside him to check on his condition.

She then noticed the mercenary accompanying him and hurriedly said, "Please watch over him for a bit, I will get something." with a short bow. The Japanese woman then headed off upstairs to quickly get something to aid Neo.

[Kaze]

EMIYA SHIROU

Shirou gave a nod at Saber and Rin’s inquiry, a quick burst of wind ruffling his messy white and red hair.

“A meal would be appreciated,” he said to Saber. And quite the turn-around from when I was emptying my pocketbook to feed you.


AKIHOLARME

Just like everything else she had seen in the Nexus so far, the apartment was rather strange. To Aki’s eyes, the place seemed like a symbol of extremely high status, with opaque walls that looked more like stone than planks of wood, a fuzzy rug that covered the majority of the floor, and lanterns – magical lanterns – that shone from the ceiling. And yet it was small, almost as small as Hemskir’s cabin in Whiterun, and lacked the splendor and grandeur nature of the homes of the wealthy, with almost no decorations to be found. She wasn’t sure what to make of it.

Donkey had nothing to say on the matter either, and went straight for the furry bench against the wall. Aki took off her helmet and set it down on the table, before removing her armored gauntlets as well so she could comb through her long dark hair. Her mouth twisted into a resigned frown upon finding her hair to be a tangled mess.

“For such a young girl on your own, you are doing very well for yourself,” the dragonborn said. Certainly, she was better off than the orphaned children in Riften. “Where would you have me place my armor?”


ANATU

The ancient Babylonian stared at the man’s outstretched hand with wide eyes. The man had already been extremely gracious to allow her to touch him, especially after saving her life. Now here he was, offering for her to join him. In Uruk she wasn’t even allowed to communicate with the men and women of high status unless they addressed her first. This was so unexpected that she was rendered speechless.

However, Anatu was hesitant to agree, and not just because she knew her status was unworthy. She turned back to the stable she had constructed, where her horses were loudly whinnying in terror. She understood from the bottom of her heart that caring for animals was her purpose, the reason she existed in this world. And yet, this was not Uruk. She couldn’t be sure that her purpose held any meaning in this place.

But even so…

The blond looked into the eyes of the man who felt so much like her King, and realized the answer was obvious.

…I want to go with this man.

As the snow fell around them and the first hints of light peeked out over the horizon, a lonely young girl found companionship again.


SAMUEL IBARRA

Ibarra took the glowing rock from the clawed woman, albeit very carefully. He found himself jealous of the Scholarly, and David by extension. His magic was quite useful, to put it mildly.

“Hey, thanks man. I’m gonna head back to base, gotta do a bunch of paperwork before I can go home. I’ll talk with the big cheese about what you said,” he said while pocketing the stone, its light blue glow disappearing from sight.

Having said his piece, the soldier gave David a nod and spun on his heel, walking off the plaza and into the lights of the Nexus city as snow crunched beneath his boots.

[Panda]

Neo kept walking towards their destination, even when he was beginning to weaken due to blood loss. In fact, this only pushed him to keep walking faster, since he knew that he might not make it anymore if he goes anymore slower. A block later, he was beginning to white-out. He was just struggling not to lose consciousness, as he kept his devilish grin throughout the seemingly long journey. He coughed out blood once more, but he kept going. He has to make it, he said to himself, for he knows he could. He had that much pride in himself as a man.

And a block more of walking and he finally could see his destination, even if barely due to his diminishing sight resulting from massive blood loss. "We're... here." he said, obviously struggling even to speak clearly. The place was a two-story residence that had a red brick and mortar exterior. It was apparent that the house wasn't modern in design, if the wrought iron and dark wood parts were an indication.  "C'mon, nigga! Keep goin'!" Neo yelled out to his companion as he walked towards the double door.

And when he finally manages to enter through the door, he finally whispered, with the last of his apparent breath, "Fuckin' finally." He then collapses on his feet on the floor, as he finally have mustered all his remaining energy to get to the manor. At that time, the punk was already so pale, it looked like death already, if it wasn't for his subdued but steady breathing.

This was seen by Yukina, who was playing on her 3DS in the living room during that time. "Neo-san, what happened to you?!" She asked in terror as she quickly noticed her companion collapsing, along with approaching him and checking on his condition as she paused her game and sat beside him to check on his condition.

She then noticed the mercenary accompanying him and hurriedly said, "Please watch over him for a bit, I will get something." with a short bow. The Japanese woman then headed off upstairs to quickly get something to aid Neo.

Guts raises an inquisitive eyebrow at the strange woman's attire before filing it away for later consideration.

Kinda reminds me of those fancy-ass dress...things...Only even more difficult to fight in...

Shoving that memory aside, Guts unclips Dragonslayer, leaning the bloody sword up against the nearest piece of furniture, a decently sized couch, as he crouches down, looking the kid over. Satisfied with what he finds, he moves over to the couch, taking a seat at the couch and feeling thankful that said seat isn't moving at speeds that would make those foreign guys with the weird weapons look sluggish by comparison.

"Ah well, he'll live," he notes as he leans back in the couch.

[Ivan The Mouse]

Guts raises an inquisitive eyebrow at the strange woman's attire before filing it away for later consideration.

Kinda reminds me of those fancy-ass dress...things...Only even more difficult to fight in...

Shoving that memory aside, Guts unclips Dragonslayer, leaning the bloody sword up against the nearest piece of furniture, a decently sized couch, as he crouches down, looking the kid over. Satisfied with what he finds, he moves over to the couch, taking a seat at the couch and feeling thankful that said seat isn't moving at speeds that would make those foreign guys with the weird weapons look sluggish by comparison.

"Ah well, he'll live," he notes as he leans back in the couch.

After a few short moments, Yukina finally went back to the living room, carrying glass bottle of green liquid with her. She then came back to attend Neo, lying on the floor with his eyes wide open and struggling to breathe. She then made him drink the liquid in the bottle, saying "Here it is, Neo-san."

The blonde punk heard her implicit request to drink the potion, so he opened his mouth a bit and drank it as Yukina assisted him in doing so. After a few gulps and half of the bottle consumed, Neo finally got himself to relax regarding his current condition, if his sigh of relief is any indication, as well as his breathing slowly going back to normal. He sniggered weakly and uttered "G'yeah.", as if the whole thing was simply a funny repertoire to him.

Yukina saw that the condition of her colleague had began to stabilize itself, so she stood up and approached the armored man in the couch, saying "Thank you for saving Neo-san, stranger.", again with a bow towards him.

[Panda]

After a few short moments, Yukina finally went back to the living room, carrying glass bottle of green liquid with her. She then came back to attend Neo, lying on the floor with his eyes wide open and struggling to breathe. She then made him drink the liquid in the bottle, saying "Here it is, Neo-san."

The blonde punk heard her implicit request to drink the potion, so he opened his mouth a bit and drank it as Yukina assisted him in doing so. After a few gulps and half of the bottle consumed, Neo finally got himself to relax regarding his current condition, if his sigh of relief is any indication, as well as his breathing slowly going back to normal. He sniggered weakly and uttered "G'yeah.", as if the whole thing was simply a funny repertoire to him.

Yukina saw that the condition of her colleague had began to stabilize itself, so she stood up and approached the armored man in the couch, saying "Thank you for saving Neo-san, stranger.", again with a bow towards him.

"Don't thank me," he says, looking around the room for a bit before settling his gaze on the woman bowing to him, "Remind him to carry some silver next time he goes out by himself on a full moon."

"Anyway," Guts says, stretching out a bit, "The punk's probably going to tell you when he wakes up, but the city guard is going to be after us now."

[Cherry Lover]

Rider listened to Vanguard's reply and nodded in response. As far as she was concerned, as long as he protected Sakura whenever she was in need, he could do whatever he liked with the rest of his time.

Before she could reply, though, Sakura stepped in and took charge of the situation.

“I am Sakura Matou, the mistress of this house", she said. “I am the master of these two servants, and on Rider’s behalf, I graciously accept your offer of servitude. Will you serve me loyally?”

Rider looked on with mixed feelings. On one hand, it was nice to see that this Sakura acting in a strong and assertive manner, much like her own Sakura would have. But, on the other hand, she would have preferred it if he were to serve Sakura indirectly, through her, rather than directly. Not because Rider had any ill-intentions towards her master, of course, but because she knew that there were situations in which protecting Sakura's long-term welfare might mean going against her short-term wishes. Particularly if her worst fears about Faust ended up being confirmed....

Still, now that Sakura had spoken up, there was no reason for her to continue to pursue that path. Even if she could succeed, attempting to do so would hurt Sakura. Instead, she would just give her master her full support in taking control.

"As Sakura says, she is my master, you should pledge your allegance to her, not to me. As far as I am concerned, as long as you promise to protect her when she is in need of it, I do not mind how you wish to spend the rest of your time", Rider said.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Vanguard

Vanguard listened carefully to both, his body inert and unmoving as he looked right at the girl who called herself Sakura. Marching towards her, he let out a pleased laugh as if amused by the newcomer.

Although her body was shaking, he could very well see a certain strength of spirit in her fierce purple eyes.
"Mhhh... Sakura Matou.", he softly spoke, holding his hand out towards the girl before nodding in approval.

"My name is Vanguard. As your protector I shall tear the heavens if that is what you desire. Your will will be my blade and my body will be your shield until I draw my very last breath in this world.", said Vanguard with a clear voice, his immense metal body alike a great monument.

[SINIB]

Sakura watched the giant armored man slowly approach her perch on the stairs, and stood around a meter away and looked over her. After a short time he let out a hearty laugh and began to address her.

"Mhhh... Sakura Matou.", he softly spoke, holding his hand out towards the girl before nodding in approval.

"My name is Vanguard. As your protector I shall tear the heavens if that is what you desire. Your will will be my blade and my body will be your shield until I draw my very last breath in this world.", said Vanguard with a clear voice, his immense metal body alike a great monument.

Sakura steeled herself and began to respond. “Thank you very much, Vanguard. I-I expect you to live up to your name.” She extended her hand and accepted the shake, responding in turn.