Cross Effects- The RP

[Elf]

Lancer grinned at Rin and then bowed slightly to her, not letting go of Ruu's hand.  Besides, the Celt mused, I may not be able to pry the lad's grip off if I tried.  Sacthcach spoke of familiars made to look and act like people, but with complete obedience to their master.  They were crafted of something like flesh and blood, but they didn't age and had other oddities about them.  Lancer cursed the bastard who made an eternal child before smiling at Rin.

"Well, let's get a move on then.  Sooner we're settled, the sooner we all can have a bit of fun," he said, casting a mocking smirk both Archer and Rider's way.  He held out his free hand to the young lady, noting she was slightly older than she was when he last saw her.  She was really growing into quite the remarkable young woman, and she still reminded him of his teacher, but nicer.

They shared the same uncanny aquamarine gaze though.

******

Forest nodded and said, "Yeah, by the time we all get back to my car and then to the hotel, we could have walked to the hotel, gotten the kid and gone back.  So, Rider, lead the way."

She did chuckle at Hakuno's jab about Archer being muscular.  The blond grinned and looked at Archer.  She mused, "I don't know, warm muscle is something that can be quite pleasant to cuddle against."

[Alice]

Hakuno found herself blushing just a bit at Rider's offer. Still, it was nice of her to offer, regardless of her intentions, so it got a tiny smile out of Hakuno as well. She couldn't help but feel like she was somewhat of a burden, though. Even though everyone didn't seem to mind too much, the fact that she was relatively helpless still bothered her. She did notice though that even that feeling felt numbed, just like pretty much all her emotions at the moment. Really, the strongest thing she felt at the moment was the urge to fall asleep. The sooner she was able to get some rest, the better.

Hakuno was at least able to pay attention to the brief discussion between Forest and Rider. It was going to be a walk to the hotel, and then a walk back to Forest's car. Hakuno felt a bit of displeasure at the thought of walking, but if that's what she had to do, that's what she had to do. Fighting off her lack of energy and attempting to steel herself, she started walking.

The attempt did not go unnoticed. Archer was quick to note the sudden lack of pressure on his side, and noticed his Master shuffling off, her exhaustion clear in her movements. The Servant sighed. "Not thinking things through again, are we? Come here." Archer scooped up Hakuno into his arms before she could get much farther. Even though she was tired, the girl still managed to blush.

Hakuno's current condition was evident in her voice as she protested. "Archer, I'm fine. Put me down."

The Servant's expression was a combination of exasperation and amusement. "And let you fall asleep on your feet? I'd be a poor Servant if I did that. I'm normally quite obedient of course, but this is for your own good."

Rin, who had been pointedly focusing on accepting Lancer's offer to avoid having to look at that scene for any longer than she had to, raised an eyebrow at that last statement.

"Ooooh? That's funny, when you were with me, I had to use a Command Seal just to keep you from blowing me off, Mr. Just-listen-to-me-while-I-make-all-the-plans."
 
Archer shrugged at that. "Your summoning was botched, so I made some incorrect assumptions about your abilities as a Master. I still would have listened to you where it counted. It's not so different with my current Master."

Rin looked over at Hakuno. "We'll see about that. So, Kishinami-chan, is it true that he's been as obedient as he says he's been?"

Hakuno shrugged. "Well, he usually does what I ask, but he isn't shy about bringing up his opinion about it either."

"And has he made any snarky comments about your ability as a Master?"

"More than once."

 Rin gave Archer a dry look. "The more that changes, the more that stays the same."

Archer looked between the two girls. "You're too cruel. Both of you."

As that particular conversation wound to a close, the gears started turning in Hakuno's head, as gummed up as they were by her lack of energy. Then, it hit her. "Wait a minute... you two were Master and Servant?"

Rin casually placed a lock of hair behind her ear. "I'm not surprised that you didn't know. The Holy Grail War I fought with my Archer took place over a year ago in my world. I'm actually a bit surprised your Archer remembers being my Servant before, but whatever the reason is, it worked out in my favor, that's for sure." Rin's pose became a bit more awkward. "But we can talk about that more later. We've waited here for more than long enough." With that, she turned back to Lancer, taking the Irish Servant's hand. "Sorry for getting distracted. I'm ready when you are~"

Archer raised an eyebrow at Rin's overeagerness to go with Lancer, but he shrugged it off. That reminded him though... He turned to Rider and Forest. "Do you want us to come with you to the hotel, or do you want us to follow Lancer? To be honest, I'd rather we go in the car, but I can carry Hakuno to the apartments if need be."

[Cherry Lover]

Rider laughed slightly as Hakuno blushed at her offer and gave her a kind smile, which Rider returned, before she heard Lancer speak. 

"Well, let's get a move on then.  Sooner we're settled, the sooner we all can have a bit of fun", he said, smirking at the two servants.

Whilst Rider still didn't particularly trust the Irish hero, she also knew he wasn't going to attack someone who was a guest of Forest. Further, whilst his likely attempts to hit on her wouldn't exactly be welcome, she could easily deal with them. Plus, after what she'd just been through, the idea of letting off a little steam sounded good, even if her preferred method for doing so involved a bound, naked Rin and various tools for inflicting erotic punishments....

Next, Forest responded to her earlier statement, confirming that she too felt it would be best to walk to the hotel, and asking Rider to lead them there. However, whilst she, Archer and Forest all seemed fine with this, she could tell from the unsteady way that Hakuno was attempting to follow them that she was not. Rider was about to speak up and suggest that she and Archer wait here for them to bring the car when, suddenly, her servant swept her up in his arms.

The girl protested that she was fine, and that Archer should put her down, but the unsteady way that she had been walking and the obvious tiredness in her voice demonstrated otherwise. Archer, of course, was having none of it and, much as she would have done for her own master in such a situation, blatantly ignored her orders for her own good.

But, even if she felt he was entirely justified in his actions, his assertion that he was an "obedient servant" was still one that she found rather laughable, having heard from Rin what had happened during his summoning. And, as Rider had expected, the girl in question gave a somewhat indignant response to that assertion.

This then led to an extremely amusing discussion between his former master (who, oddly, he seemed to remember serving) and current master about Archer's snarkiness and disobedience, which the servant responded to with "You're too cruel. Both of you", before the rather tired schoolgirl finally made the connection.

"Wait a minute... you two were Master and Servant?", she said, surprised.

Rin's response showed that she too was surprised that Archer could remember serving her, although she was clearly very pleased with this development. Her statement also gave Rider a clear indication of her age. Apparently she was only around 18, still young, nubile and innocent, at least as far as Tohsaka Rin had ever been innocent. That also meant that, most likely, Emiya Shirou had not-long-ago returned to normal.

Rin then reached out and accepted the hand offered her to Lancer, saying she was ready to leave.

Then, Archer turned to her and Forest and asked "Do you want us to come with you to the hotel, or do you want us to follow Lancer? To be honest, I'd rather we go in the car, but I can carry Hakuno to the apartments if need be."

"Well, I have no objection either way. There is plenty of room in the car, and Kiyoshi can sit on my lap if necessary. It's up to you, and Forest I guess."

Then, she turned to Forest.

"OK, follow me. And you, Archer, if you're coming", she said, before walking off in the direction of the hotel, making sure to give the others plenty of time to follow.


---------------

Kiyoshi listened to the girl's reply with interest, as well as a certain amount of amusement at the way she considered his piano playing ability to be worth mentioning. Clearly, she had a very high opinion of her big brother.

But, even taking that into account, her reply pretty much confirmed his suspicions that she was not as normal as she made out. He knew that with the sort of supernatural beings that populated his world, any ordinary person who could legitimately be called a "hero" would have a very short life expectancy. Conversely, someone who was born with sufficient power and the right mindset could easily become known as a hero, at least to people who knew the true nature of their accomplishments. Indeed, he would class his own parents in that category, given the number of times they'd protected the residents of the city from some unseen danger.

Of course, it was not inconceiveable that the girl was from a world very different from his own, as this one was, and that said world did not have magic in the same way as his. However, even if that were true, the modern world was such that a normal person could not simply become a hero in that way, not without some magical power or access to unusual secret technology.

Before he could question the girl further, though, her phone rang.

"big brother! Um, I'm. A bit lost can you come get me?", she said, her face brightening in response to what was evidentially her big brother on the other end of the line, although he could not make out what he was saying.

Kiyoshi had a nagging feeling that something odd was going on here.

He heard a mumbling coming from the phone, and to which the girl replied with "I'm in a hotel somewhere, I dunno how. I got here"

Wait. How does he know she's here?

The girl's previous words and actions had made it clear that she had suddenly appeared in this hotel, alone and without any idea of where she was. And, further, unless she were also lying to her brother, her words now backed up this statement. But, in that case, her brother should not be aware of her presence. even if he had somehow been summoned here entirely independently of her.

Of course, it was possible that her phone had some sort of tracking device, but even if that were the case why would it be activated? Even his mother, as protective as she was, didn't keep track of his every movement, although she did admittedly possess the capacity to do so, thanks to Kuro. And, she did insist on having the ability to contact her at all times when Kuro was not around.

The girl nodded in response to her brother's statement which, once again, he could not hear, before saying "I met a boy named Kiyoshi".

Kiyoshi brightened up slightly at that. At least she felt comfortable enough to mention him to her brother.

"ok, I'll see you soon", the girl said, finally, before putting down the phone.

Then, she turned to him.

"my brother Satoshi will be here shortly, you may want to stay away from the window".

I see....

He wasn't entirely sure why her brother couldn't just use the door like normal people, but it did confirm somewhat his suspicions that her brother was a real hero, and not just someone who she idolised. Normal people didn't use windows as entry points to rooms.

"OK. I look forward to meeting him. By the way, where are you from? I know you're Japanese, but whereabouts do you live?" he said, attempting to make some small talk before her brother arrived and took her to safety.

Kiyoshi felt slightly sad at that thought. He had only just met this girl, and now she was most likely going to be heading off into the distance, and he most likely wouldn't see her again.

Hey, perhaps they can stay here.

"Hmm, if you want, I can talk to the hotel owner on your behalf. I'm sure he'd happily have a hero like your brother helping protect the hotel, and I'd love it if you could stay here too."

[lantzblades]

Satoshi reinforced himself and counted off the natures he'd need to line up to cast the next three spells, first a sneaking spell, next one for invisibility and lastly to move through sand or in this case glass without damaging it. Coming to hotel he leapt up into the room and sat on the bed hearing the end of Kiyoshi's statement.

"a hotel isn't secure enough with just one person" he told the boy breaking the former two spells.

"hello big brother" Taiga greeted him.

Satoshi ruffled her hair with a smile "sorry I'm late" he joked

[Elf]

"So says the man who's between a beautiful woman and a cute girl," Lancer said with a snort before taking Rin's hand.

Sweeping her up into one arm was easy; she barely weighed anything.  However, having her up close like this gave Lancer a greater appreciation of those legs of hers.  While they lacked the sheer length of Forest or Rider's due to both women being tall, they were still rather stunning. The stockings also make things a bit nice too, Lancer reasoned before nodding at Ruu.

He threw a smirk over his shoulder at Rider and Archer and said, "Don't worry, I'll keep her warm for you."  Then he took off towards the stronghold at a strong clip.

******

Forest almost chuckled at Lancer prodding both Rider and Archer for Rin's favor.  She had heard tales of Rin before the young woman had arrived.  Lancer had seemed rather fond of her, to the point that he died saving her.  The romantic in Forest adored that, but she was also jealous.

She got offers, but no one would die to save her she was sure.

She was sure that no one would even attempt to save her if she ever needed it again.  No one had the first time; she had to save herself.  Now she was the one who saved others and all she had to show for it was an adoptive godson who had grown up, a great deal of wealth, and an empty bed.

Then poor Hakuno looked as if she was going to fall asleep on her feet.  Luckily, Archer was there to lift his master and carry her princess style to Rider's current domain.  She wondered if maybe her getting the car, picking up Hakuno and Archer before fetching Rider and her ward would have been a good idea.  Even though this was faster, Hakuno looked as if she was going to drop at any moment.

She followed Rider, with Archer carrying Hakuno at her side.  There was another pang there too.  No one had ever carried her, it was always her pulling herself out of danger despite losing a limb or whatnot.

And all I get is women who hit on me, she thought as she looked at Rider.  Due to her condition, she realized things would have been a lot easier if she liked girls or liked girls as well.  Just another woman literally did nothing for her.  She could astetically admit that one was pretty, feed off one and give them a very good time in the process, but nothing sexual, much to her best friend's dismay.

To try to be conversational, she asked, "So, how old is Kiyoshi?"

******

Lancer was keeping up a good pace with Ruu and Rin in his arm when something dark descended  from above right in front of him.  A curse in Irish Gaelic spilled from Lancer's lips as he tilted to a stop, putting himself in front of Ruu and letting Rin to the ground.  He stood to his full height and said, "Now whoever the bloody hell do you think you are, watch where the fuck you're going."

Eyes like gunmetal met Lancer's, and the look in them wasn't evil, but it wasn't exactly sane either.  There was something calculating there as well, and disturbingly familiar.  The man in front of them was the Bowman, but yet not.

He was the same height and build as Archer.  However the dusky brown skin was an ashen pale color, and Lancer noticed the eerie crimson pattern on the side of the man's face and right hand.  The white hair wasn't spiked, but fell in his face, giving him a rakish air.  The facial features were the same, but the smirk wasn't exactly the confidant and sardonic smirk that Archer normally sported.  This sort of smirk was worn by one who defied the Morrigan after fucking her.

"Ah, how nice to see you alive again, Lancer."  The voice was mostly the same, but Archer normally didn't sound so amused.  There was a devil-may-care quality to his voice that was at odds with Archer's normal sarcastic tone.

Then the other man's expression softened as he looked at Rin.  "Hello Rin."

[Alice]

Archer found himself giving Lancer a quick glare before the Irishman took off with Rin in tow. He wasn't entirely sure why, but something about Lancer's comment rubbed him the wrong way.

Shrugging off his speculations, Archer turned to follow Forest and Rider. He felt a change in Hakuno's position. Curious, he looked down at his Master. In spite of her playful jab earlier about him being uncomfortable to sit on, she hadn't taken long at all to fall asleep in his arms. Unconsciously, a small smile crossed his face as he positioned her so she'd be a bit more comfortable.

Taking care to jostle the sleeping girl too much, the Servant kept pace with Forest, focusing on the road ahead as the two women made conversation.

***

As gently as Lancer had put Rin down on the ground, the young magus couldn't help be feel a bit of a shock regardless. It wasn't the fact that there was another Archer. No, it was the fact that this Archer had either been tainted by the Shadow or by the corrupted grail. The sight of him made her feel as if ice was flowing through her veins. But at the same time.... something about him sent an entirely different type of chill down her spine. She nearly blushed at the sensation. Maybe it was all of Rider's innuendos finally getting to her, she didn't know. 

His eyes cold as steel, the tainted Servant addressed Lancer, his tone lacking the dryness and self mocking that Rin was so used to hearing. "Ah, how nice to see you alive again, Lancer."

Then he turned to her. Rin froze, his gaze holding her own, and she found herself powerless to look away. She noticed his eyes softened noticeably when he looked at her. "Hello Rin."

Really, much of his previous demeanor seemed to have changed in those few minutes. He seemed to regard her with a great deal of affection, far more so than even the Archer she had left behind in the alleyway. It was something not even the Archer under her command had time to show her. It was what Hakuno had that she did not.

Rin became overwhelmed with a variety of emotions. Her fear was still quite present, but everything she had been suppressing ever since she'd seen Archer and Hakuno interacting with one another came rushing back. As much of a threat as he likely was... Rin found what he potentially had to offer her a tempting prospect.

Rin tried to say something, anything, but the words seemed stuck in her throat. She found herself unable to escape his gaze. With no more than a look and a few simple words, this man had managed to paralyze one of the greatest young magi in the Association. With trepidation, Rin found herself unable to do much more than to await Archer Alter's next move.

[Daiki]

"Mister Eagle?"

Words pronounced with confusion. The man standing before him, Lancer and Rin was, without a doubt, similar in appearance to Archer. Although he had strange markings and a dark complexion, it wasn't difficult to recognize him, even for Ruu. However, he was different. His smell was one of corruption. Something abnormal happened to this person, and his behavior reflected it.

Ah, how nice to see you alive again, Lancer.

Ruu glanced at his left arm. Outer layer healed already but for the internal tissues to be fully restored, time would be required. In short, he couldn't use that arm. If there were to fight, the familiar wouldn't be at his best but he would do what he can.

Hello Rin.

Lancer was clearly tense and the strange stupor Rin succumbed to didn't put Ruu at ease. If they fought now, things would be complicated. He wanted to rest, have a meal and more than anything, take a shower. Wasting time wouldn't be productive. That's why the familiar decided another approach. Letting go of Lancer's hand, he walked to Archer, his gaze locked with metal gray orbs.

Showing once more his unpredictability, he spoke aloud, the tone serious.

"Ruu asks a duel in arm-wrestling." Fumbling in his backpack, the familiar produced a golden trinket, a magical artifact of great value inherited from his Master. "You can have this if you win." The familiar crossed his arms in a ridiculous manner, his left arm limp. "If you lose, you become Ruu's servant."

The difference in size, body build and sheer reach was as unbalanced as it could be, yet Ruu didn't falter. Ruu knew that men, sometimes liked to confront their strength in a aggressive way. That's why he decided this would be the best option. The familiar often used it in the past and never lost once. No reason for it being different this time.

[Cherry Lover]

Kiyoshi jumped slightly as a blonde man suddenly appeared on bed in front of him, instantly shattering any remaining doubts he had about whether the girl's family was involved in magecraft. The sudden appearance of the man wasn't entirely shocking to Kiyoshi. After all, his mother had the ability to appear in front of him through Kuro, and even to speak through the shadow familiar if she felt it necessary. But, nevertheless, it did surprise him, and he took a moment to recover.

"a hotel isn't secure enough with just one person", the man said to him, before exchanging greetings with his little sister and jokingly apologising for his lateness.

Kiyoshi knew, of course, that it was possible that the girl genuinely did not know of magecraft. Magus families usually only trained the eldest child, after all. However, the way that the girl referred to her brother as a "hero" suggested that he was no ordinary magus, and that plus the fact that she didn't bat an eyelid at him suddenly appearing in front of them without making a sound suggested that she was well aware of his abilities. Even he could usually hear when someone had opened the door, and blind people usually had much better hearing than sighted people, to compensate for their inability to detect danger through sight. Indeed, he knew his Aunt Rider was so proficient in this that she could fight whilst blindfolded almost as well as she could fight with vision, and would happily change into her battle outfit and blindfold to do so even when she had alternatives like her mystic eye killer contact lenses and glasses.

But, still, either the girl genuinely didn't know, in which case the close and friendly bond she had with her brother implied that he could trust that their family had her best interests at heart, or else she was trying to hide that she did, in which case he felt it was best not to pry too deeply. So, he decided to drop the subject for now.

Instead, he turned to Satoshi and spoke.

"Hi, You must be Satoshi. I'm Emiya Kiyoshi, and I'm pleased to meet you.

As for the hotel, my Aunt Rider promised to protect it too, and she's really awesome. I can fight a bit if necessary, too, using these", he said, summoning up the twin swords that he used as his standard weapons. "Although Aunt Rider would throw a fit if I put myself in any danger...."

The swords he summoned were the dark brown natural colour of the Ether clumps from which they were formed, with some black lines from the shadow magic which was infused into them. Kiyoshi did not see the need to waste effort in making them look pretty. However, in structure they were almost exact copies of the dual swords Kansho and Bakuya that his father fought with.

"I'm a magus, just like you. Don't worry, though, I'm not like most magi. I use my magic to protect people, not for my own selfish ends. Magic is just a means to an end for me, as much as that irritates my Aunty Rin", he said with a laugh, before desummoning the swords.

"Oh, by the way, in case you're wondering, this here is my pet shadow, Kuro. My mother made him for me. Say hi, Kuro!", he said.

In response, the little shadow giant perched on his shoulder gave Satoshi a cute little wave.


Their dicussions finally over, Lancer picked up Rin and headed for the stronghold. As he did so, though, he couldn't resist one final teasing jab.

"Don't worry, I'll keep her warm for you", he said, smirking.

Rider scowled slightly. Whilst the Irishman didn't mean any harm, Rider wanted Rin for herself. She wouldn't mind sharing with a hot girl like Forest, or even a nice guy like Archer, but Lancer wasn't someone she was particularly interested in ending up in bed with, at least not right now.

Seeing that both Forest and Archer were now following her, Rider sped up somewhat. However, she was careful not to move too fast, so as to assist Archer in keeping his now-fast-asleep master comfortable in his arms. After all, Rider knew she was responsible for putting the girl in this situation in the first place.

Then, as they got gradually closer to the hotel, Forest piped up, clearly trying to strike up a conversation.

"So, how old is Kiyoshi?"

"He's eleven. My master has three older children, though. They're all really nice kids, as I'd expect given their parents.

What about you? Do you have an... Oh, right, sorry...", Rider said, realising half-way through her sentence that asking a vampire if she had any children was probably about as sensible as asking her the same question would be.

[lantzblades]

Satoshi chuckled snapping his fingers and causing the arm our to dissolve being replaced with his usual attire of black jeans and his father's hand me down shirt. The shirt was slightly different as the sleeves were black for the right arm and white for the left.

"I'm nothing of the sort, further those things are a dead giveaway what your power source is, you ought to disguise them." he remarked  moving to the back of Taiga's wheel chair pulling out a brush and then sitting her down on the bed in his lap.

"As for Kuro, it's not an insult but I see the problems Sakura had in creating it. Although I might be a bit biased. I know of your aunt, she's nice enough but even with the two of us the hotel isn't secure." he remarked starting to brush Taiga's hair.

"As for heroes and magic, heroes cannot succeed by being selfless and magic is not to be used by anyone with a brain unless they use it for party tricks." he stated flaty.

[Alice]

Ruu's brave attempt to try and challenge the darkened Servant snapped Rin out of her paralysis. She couldn't see it ending well for the poor little familiar, so the magus took matters into her own hands.

"It's alright, Kitty can settle this without you having to risk your trinket. I'll talk with Mr. Eagle." Even with the regain in control, Rin's fear had not completely dissipated. Still, with the way he had softened upon looking at her, maybe there was a chance she was the key to keeping things from becoming violent. Shooting Lancer a nervous glance, Rin steeled herself and walked over to the corrupted bowman.

Rin hesitated. She swallowed before reaching for his right hand, her own trembling as she reached out. It probably wasn't the best idea to take his hand, but if she was right about how he felt about her, Archer Alter or no, it could help prevent him from becoming aggressive. Besides, assuming the worst case scenario, she could probably get him away from her with a Gandr or her gems. Plus she had Lancer and Ruu as backup.

His skin was a different temperature than what she had expected. The Archer she had remembered and had just left behind had been pleasantly warm, almost hot even. The temperature of this Archer's hand was also pleasant, but in a way that was alien, as his skin was almost cool to the touch. It both fascinated her and unnerved her at the same time, much like how she seemed to feel about the man himself.

Forcing her attention away from the strange sensation, Rin looked up at Archer, forcing herself to look into those eyes of molten steel once more. Once more her voice caught in her throat, but she willed herself past it. "I-it's good to see you again, Archer. So then, what are you up to? And more importantly..." Her voice softened. "What happened to you?" 

[Elf]

Forest bit her lip at Rider's slip as she folded her hands in her duster.  Forcing a smile on her face, she said, "Well, I do have a Faerie Godson that I raised, but he's the ripe old age of 124.  His name's Gabriel."

She chuckled and said, "Honestly, I wouldn't be overly surprised if he popped up."  Then she eyed Rider and said, "But no, I don't have any biological children of my own."

She looked away, her indigo gaze infinately sad before looking at the pavement as she walked.  "Life can't come from death."

******

"Promise me this.  Promise that you'll try your best.  Second chances like this aren't granted often, and I'm ordering you to be happy, damn it."

"You're not my Master anymore, Rin."

"I don't care. You're still my Archer, so I'm ordering you to be happy."

Archer found himself looking into a pair of all too familiar aquamarine eyes.  Time seemed to stop for him, he shouldn't have been surprised to meet another Tohsaka Rin here, but the shock was still the same.  The sight of her cut through the indifference that had overtaken him as a sort of side effect of being bathed in All the World's Evil.  It was as if one of the swords within him had decided to cut its way into his heart.

He almost laughed at the poetic turn his thoughts were taken as she just stared up at him.

He could almost hear Lancer growling at him, and was about to ask him if the Celt was going to piss on Rin's leg to mark his territory when the little boy holding his hand stepped forward.

The child's left arm, even though Archer reasoned that he was as much of a child as Ilya was, hung limply at his side, and his eyes were bright with determination. 

"Ruu asks a duel in arm-wrestling." The child, Ruu, fumbled through his backpack, before producing a golden trinket, a magical artifact that Archer could sense even from where he was standing.  "You can have this if you win." The child crossed his arms in a ridiculous manner, his left arm limp. "If you lose, you become Ruu's servant."

Archer blinked before a crooked smile crossed his lips.  He was about to respond to the boy when that familiar, high girlish voice said, "It's alright, Kitty can settle this without you having to risk your trinket. I'll talk with Mr. Eagle."

He did smile at that, the cold cruelty of it washed away, as Rin stepped forward, a determined tilt to her chin as those gorgeous eyes met his directly.  She paused for a moment before swallowing and reaching out her hand.  He noticed the tremors in it before she took his right hand.  Her skin was warm against his, and he could feel the tiny caluses there.  Automatically he turned his hand so he could hold hers as well, intertwining their fingers together.

Her voice caught as she said, "I-it's good to see you again, Archer. So then, what are you up to? And more importantly..."  Then her voice softened before she asked, "What happened to you?"

"Your sister chose the wrong Servant to corrupt.  Sakura has issues," Archer said, forcing amusement in his voice, "So I was thrust into All the World's Evil, after the Shadow stripped me mind you, and well, my Grail War was interesting."

Lancer finally stepped forward and he said, "Well, that's all well and good, but why the hell are you here?"

"Because Rin's here," Archer answered with a shrug, pulling the girl towards him, and smirking at the sight of crimson eyes narrowing at him.

Lancer sighed and said, "I swear, all this alternate reality bullocks is going to make my head hurt."

Archer smirked and replied, "I'm not surprised."  Then he looked at Rin and smiled.  "I'm glad you're looking well."

He wasn't surprised that there was part of him shouting to just grab her, get her away from these two idiots and make up for lost time.  Possibly starting with his head between her thighs.  Then the part of him that was still Emiya Shirou warned that if he wanted Rin, which he truly did, then he couldn't just go ravage her on the nearest rooftop.

Even though he wanted to revel in her warmth and feel every inch of her fair skin and raven hair against his body.

[Alice]

"Your sister chose the wrong Servant to corrupt.  Sakura has issues." There was amusement in Archer's voice, but from what Rin could tell, it sounded just a bit forced.  "So I was thrust into All the World's Evil, after the Shadow stripped me mind you, and well, my Grail War was interesting."

So then... Sakura managed to corrupt him in his world while she was under Angra Mainyu's influence. It doesn't seem like he's too fond of her, either, though I suppose that's understandable. Still... what exactly happened in his timeline? What happened to Emiya-kun, to Sakura, to Illya? ...and what happened to me? Something must have happened to Emiya-kun at least. M-my Archer... He died after giving Emiya-kun his arm. This Archer still has both arms intact. Either Sakura manged to restore his arm, Emiya-kun didn't lose his own arm, or... ...or...

As curious as she was, Rin decided to save the questions for later. Besides, some of her inquiries were more than a bit depressing for her to think about. All these bad things happening in other timelines... it made it easy to forget that things were just fine at home.

Thankfully, Lancer spoke up, interrupting her thoughts. "Well, that's all well and good, but why the hell are you here?" It was a good question, one that Rin herself wouldn't mind an answer to.

"Because Rin's here." As he replied, Archer pulled Rin closer to him. She had to fight back a blush earlier when he'd intertwined his hand with her own earlier, but now she couldn't fight it, and her cheeks lit up as if on fire. But it wasn't just the simple act of him pulling her closer, oh no. It was his words, his demeanor, even the look in his eyes.

The chills of fear Rin'd been feeling had slowly been replaced by chills of another kind. At this point, most of her fear was gone. This was in spite of the lust that she could faintly see in his eyes. No... maybe it was partially because of the lust in his eyes.

Even when Archer had been hers to command, as close of a companion as he had been, he had never been this open with his affections. Really, despite her common sense screaming for her to reconsider, despite the fact that it was likely motivated somewhat by her own jealousy, a quite vocal part of Rin's psyche wanted to let him act on that lust. She wanted him to be hers again. She wanted what they could never have in the 5th War.

W-what am I thinking?! I-it... it's Rider finally getting to me, yeah, that's it!

Her thoughts and emotions in conflict, Lancer once again provided a welcome diversion.

"I swear, all this alternate reality bullocks is going to make my head hurt."

"I'm not surprised," Archer replied, undoubtedly with a smirk.

The more that changes... Rin's thought was disrupted by Archer looking down at her again, the same tender affection still there as he regarded her. The rest of her thought vanished into the ether.

"I'm glad you're looking well." His smile was sincere, but the lust that it took effort for her to spot before now came more apparent. Rin's blush intensified, despite the simple words, and she was once again forced to swallow.

"Y-you're looking well too, all things considered."

Come on Rin, get it together! A Tohsaka is elegant, graceful. You can't keep stammering like this! Get it under control! Rin put all her focus on getting down to business, trying to keep her feelings in check. Lancer isn't going to like this...

"But I think it might be better if we continue talking someplace more comfortable. Lancer works for the landlady of the apartments I'm going to be staying at, and I'm sure there's room for you too, if you need a place to stay. Do you want to come with us?"

There was a method to Rin's madness. Having Archer Alter over at the apartments meant she could keep an eye on him, and if he was in fact hostile, the others would be coming back after picking up Kiyoshi. But despite his attitude towards anyone that wasn't her, for now he didn't come across as a threat. Either way, Rin was confident things would turn out fine. Aside from that though, the corrupted Servant intrigued her in more ways than one.

More eagerly than perhaps she should have, Rin awaited his response.

[Cherry Lover]

Kiyoshi looked on with surprise as the man changed out of the suit of armour he had been wearing and into a shirt that looked remarkably similar to one he had seen his father wearing in old family photos, although with the right sleeve black instead of white for some reason.

"I'm nothing of the sort, further those things are a dead giveaway what your power source is, you ought to disguise them", the man remarked as he removed his sister from the wheelchair and sat her in his lap on the bed.

Kiyoshi was somewhat confused at this statement. What did he mean by his "power source"? And, if he wasn't a magus then how the hell was he performing magical spells...?

For a moment, Kiyoshi even wondered if he was a heroic spirit, but the fact that he had a sister suggested otherwise. The man continued, sowing yet more confusion in his mind.

"As for Kuro, it's not an insult but I see the problems Sakura had in creating it. Although I might be a bit biased. I know of your aunt, she's nice enough but even with the two of us the hotel isn't secure."

What "problems"? Mum makes shadows like this all the time. Although I guess she did put a bit more care into Kuro....

He could perhaps understand what the man was saying about the hotel, though, although he seemed to be missing the point that it would at least deter more casual attacks. The man continued.

"As for heroes and magic, heroes cannot succeed by being selfless and magic is not to be used by anyone with a brain unless they use it for party tricks."

Hah, he sounds just like my dad, Kiyoshi thought, as the man gave the same words about heroism that he had all-too-often heard from his father.

Although, the idea of not using magic was bizarre, and one which the man himself seemed to disregard if his sister's claim that he was a "hero" was anything to go by. Why wouldn't you use whatever power you possessed to make a difference?

"You know, you sound just like my father when you talk about heroism. And you're dressed like him too...

I really don't know what you mean by my 'power source', though, and you certainly look like a magus. And, what is so wrong about using magic? If you've got the power why waste it?

Oh, and you know nothing about my mother's abilities. She makes entities like Kuro all.. the..."

Wait, hang on, he didn't say "your mother", he said "Sakura".

"Wait, how do you know my mother's name? I never told Taiga, and I certainly didn't mention it to you...."

Plus, the way he referred to her so casually makes it sound like he knows her. And, he's wearing a shirt a lot like dad wears.

Who is this guy?


Rider listened as Forest informed her of the Godson who she had raised, happy that the woman at least had someone she could care for and call her "family".

Even so, though, Rider couldn't miss the sadness in her eyes as she continued to speak, or the way that she looked down at the pavement as she spoke the final line.

"But no, I don't have any biological children of my own. Life can't come from death."

Rider understood her feelings somewhat. After all, she was much the same.

"I understand, Forest. I too cannot have children.

I am merely a spiritual entity summoned to serve my master. I do not age, develop or change in any way. I will remain just as I am now until my master's death, when I will either run out of prana and fade into nothingness or need to find an alternate source.

Still, I am fortunate to have found a master who treats me as a person rather than a mere tool to be used for the war and then thrown away afterwards. She has accepted me into her family and sustains me so I do not fade away. You are equally fortunate to have found some family of your own, people you care for and who care for you. You shouldn't feel sad at what you cannot have, you should be glad of what you do have."

[lantzblades]

Satoshi chuckled "the idea that not using your power is a waste is the most popular logic for evil men to enact terrible things. The better question a person should ask is do I need to use my powers and why. As for your mother, to be honest there are far too many answers I have to give, you'll have to be more specific." he remarked continuing to brush Taiga's hair.

Taiga sat quietly seemingly ignoring the conversation

[Elf]

"Y-you're looking well too, all things considered."

Archer smiled at the stammer in her voice, and the increasing rosiness that was appearing in her cheeks.  Her hand was heating up against his, and with a subtle press of his thumb on her delicate wrist, he could feel the racing of her pulse.  Then there was the fact she wasn't fighting him, or telling him to let her go.  Which reasoned something had gone wrong with him in her timeline.

He wanted to ask if he was an idiot, dying to save that idiot or did he do the proper thing and sacrifice himself to save his Master.

"But I think it might be better if we continue talking someplace more comfortable. Lancer works for the landlady of the apartments I'm going to be staying at, and I'm sure there's room for you too, if you need a place to stay. Do you want to come with us?"

Archer tilted his head at Rin's question and his smile widened.  He chuckled and asked, "Isn't that being a bit presumptuous, Rin?  This Landlady doesn't even know who I am."

"No.  I'm not letting this wanker anywhere near Forest," Lancer said moving to grab Rin, "Or you for that matter.  I'll turn my back and then I'll find you both being tied up in chairs about to be raped by some unsavory sort because he had a tantrum."

Archer snorted, shook his head, ignored Lancer, and said, "I could use a place to stay.  Besides, its your style to make sure there's a place for me, Rin."  He grinned at her.

Lancer on the other hand was fuming as he looked at Rin, "Lass, you'd better know what the hell you're doing."

"It's obvious.  If I'm a danger, she's herding me to a place where I can be dealt with if needed," Archer said with a sigh before shaking his head, "I'm sorry you have to put up with idiots all the time."

******

"I understand, Forest. I too cannot have children.

I am merely a spiritual entity summoned to serve my master. I do not age, develop or change in any way. I will remain just as I am now until my master's death, when I will either run out of prana and fade into nothingness or need to find an alternate source.

Still, I am fortunate to have found a master who treats me as a person rather than a mere tool to be used for the war and then thrown away afterwards. She has accepted me into her family and sustains me so I do not fade away. You are equally fortunate to have found some family of your own, people you care for and who care for you. You shouldn't feel sad at what you cannot have, you should be glad of what you do have."

Forest almost laughed at Rider's words, but understood why she said them.  Rider did have a family that cared for her, and people for her to protect.  Not to mention someone to go to for comfort if her thoughts about the Tohsaka Rin in her reality was any indication. 

While Forest did have Gabriel, he was grown, even for Faerie standards.  He had his own life, and while he still made time for her, she knew he could do very well without her.  She wanted someone who was there, that she could rely on.

And maybe for once someone take care of her for a little while instead of her running ragged to save the day.

So, Forest forced a smile and said, "Well, I do have an awesome car collection and an absurd amount of money.  Those are nice things to have."