Cross Effects- The RP

[OPOI]

As he fired, Shirou suddenly heard an ear-splitting screeching noise echo throughout the building, some form of warning system. He winced as the soundwave crashed into his eardrums, filling his ears and reverbating through his head like a jackhammer. His vision wavered momentarily, but enough to affect his aim. The bullets he had fired whipped to the side of the intruder, one passing close enough to part the man's hair as if disturbed by a strong breeze.

Snarling, Shirou resteadied his aim. The man was closing in now, Shirou only had precious miliseconds left to fire again before he was forced into close quarter combat, something he didn't think was a great idea based on the opponent's determination to get close.

Suddenly, his nose filled with the scent of ozone, a definite sign of some powerful spell being activated in close proximity, most likely a binding spell of some form. In any case, it meant he should most definitely put some distance between him and the intruder. Reinforcing his legs, Shirou threw himself backwards,flying backwards like some bizarre human rocket until he landed at a safe distance from the intruder. Crouching down to ease the strain in his legs, he watched with narrowed eyes as the spell began to activate.

[Daiki]

Vanessa was done looking for the kid Familiar. While she was indeed responsible for it running away, she didn't expect to have to search for so long. Giving up, after checking behind a bush, she decided to make her way back inside.

That's when she noticed that suspicious guy. Brown hair, wearing a black coat and apparently having an interest in the compound. She missed an heartbeat when she saw him enter the building with all the subtlety you could find in a bulldozer.

She frowned, and ran after him.

---

Shuya dropped his cigarette butt when he spotted the guy approaching the place. He had been fed up with the constant complaints and arguments. He growled, his instincts reacting to the annoyance he felt. Weighing his options for an instant, he scowled.

He could just leave right now.

Or go back inside and deal with the fucker.

Leaving meant giving up on any pretense he had concerning a battle with Rider. At least, for a while. He could wait a bit for it but, he doubted she would ever accept something she didn't want to take part in. Worst case scenario, he could always attack her straight. No. She probably won't even accept it. The only option he had would be to blackmail her with Kiyoshi's life. That would surely motivate her. But he couldn't do that. Besides the fact he was just a kid, he sort of a liked the boy. He was stubborn and quick to judge but he was skilled and fun to mess with.

His eyes drifted to the sword by his waist.

Should he just abandon them with that newcomer? After all, he didn't owe them anything.

Besides a ridiculous hawaiian shirt and a shot of booze.

He smirked, thinking about every one of the people he had met that night. Perhaps there was some worth in companionship after all. His decision made, he unsheathed his katana once again.

"Alright, after that fucker's dead, I'm gone."

With that, he went back inside.

---

"Not this one either," declared Isa with a sigh as she inspected the room.

Ruu closed the door and turned to the magus. She didn't seem happy but suggested something. "Searching like that is a waste of time, Ruu. It would be wise to ask the others if they saw her?"

The Familiar didn't answer. He could feel something approaching. It was like a part of nature itself moving around. A chill ran through his whole body as ancient protocols implemented since his conception awakened. His sentient mind overrode by the surge of priorities taking over his body.

Prioritize survival.

Protection by prevention.

Eliminate threats.

Isabella, approached the kid-looking creature with worry on her face. "Ruu, are you okay?"

The Familiar ignored the magus and started walking away. From the stairs, Shuya appeared and took a quick glance at the improbable couple.

"What are you doing here," he questioned as if annoyed. "Find somewhere t-..."

He was interrupted by the wards triggering noisily all over the place. The magus covered her ears with a gasp and the mixed blood gave her a stare. "Go back to your room." He ordered.

She replied with a frown. "What are you going to do?" He showed her his blade with a disturbing smile as a response.

Isabella was about to yell something back but she didn't. Before she could even formulate a complaint about the way he was willing to deal with the matter at hand, the Familiar was by the half-demon's side. With a movement too quick for her to see, Ruu jumped and hit the man in the face. The body of the swordsman fell with a thud, a large puddle of blood spilling from the emplacement where Shuya's skull used to be. It was like his whole head had burst like a balloon. Scattered in all directions were teeth fragments, bone shards, brain matters and dark blood.

"Threat eliminated."

His statement empty of emotion made her shake to the core. The adolescent girl raised her eyes to Ruu only to see him watch her back. Too shocked to speak, her confused mind ran rampant, trying to make sense of the scenery. She stepped back utterly baffled by the random reaction.

"W-why did you..?"

No answer, the Familiar walked away. She shook her head, horrified by what she thought was an amusing fellow few seconds earlier, and raised an arm.

"Stop right there!!"

She couldn't let him go, he could attack anyone. She wouldn't allow that. Whether her call reached him or failed because of the wards still echoing through the hallfway, she didn't know. She reacted by instinct and tried gathering prana in order to seal the Familiar but, it was a mistake. She sensed a horrible pain going through her sternum. When she blinked, Ruu was looking at her, his left forearm plunged his her chest cavity. "...why?" No answer came to her, only the cold and inhuman look of a puppet.

"Hindrance eliminated," he said with a monotonic voice.

 With a disgusting sound, the Familiar ripped the warm heart from her chest. Covered in the girl's blood, what once was Ruu turned back and walked to the stairs.

---

The pain ran through Vanessa like a thunderbolt and she fell face first. She didn't even have the time to question what happened, nor could she worry over her sister. It only took an instant of dreadful agony before her own life stopped.

---

 She had pledged herself to a King she thought was a God. She had vowed to demonstrate her worth to a distant Father. She battled many a man and, through her resolve and guts alone, won on countless battlefields in His name. Working on being the perfect knight, she never let her pride dictacte her conduct.

 She pushed aside the venomous glares and whisper on her path to the Throne. She ignored the temptations from her mother. She burred her doubts and angst in a Heart of Steel.  She had decided to devote herself to the King.

Yet, all for nothing. The Father she sought for so long wouldn't acknowledge her. The King she thought so mighty rejected her legitimate claims. The blood of Morgan le Fay was the reason. Even though she also had His genes, Arthur would never accept her as a successor.
 
With bitterness shattering the Heart of Steel, she lead the rebellion against Him. As they finally met each other, both Father and Son exchanged blows. Mortally wounded, she attempted to reach the King but, it was not bound to happen. Instead, a sword pierced this Fathers of hers, as she finally met her end on this hill covered in corpses.

She gasped when she felt her body once more. As her entity manifested through the container of a Servant, informations were inserted forcefully in her mind. She had been called beyond time in order to fight again. Being given another chance to shine. To prove her worth.

In the Nexus, as two men entered the third circle, the magic construction emitted a faint glow, a strong pulse accompanied with a flash.  As the summoning ended, a swirl of energy gathered around a sole figure clad in silver and red armor.

The Servant didn't move for a moment, examining the vampire and hybrid. Mordred stared intently through her helmet at the two individuals. Both seemed to be more than humans, but none was exuding the prana a magus should have been. And to make it even more confusing, she didn't feel a connection with any of them. In fact, she had no anchor at all.

Something was wrong with her summoning. She checked her surroundings and confirmed quickly that the magic circle used to bring her here had the necessary energy to do so. However, there were no apparent traces of it disappearing after the deed. Things were awkwardly complicated but, it would take far more than that to shake the Knight of the Round. Still, as powerful as she could be, without an anchor she couldn't sustain herself for long. Determining her Master's identity and why her contract wasn't complete was essential right now.

She walked slowly in the direction of the two unknown individuals. One of them had a strange and disturbing face, with pointy teeth, no fangs would fit better her. A Dead Apostle? This one didn't possess the characteristic red irises, but it wasn't uncommon for them to possess a set of Mystic Eyes. He didn't look like a magus at all, more like a fighter. However, his companion radiated a certain charisma she didn't see often. He was also attractive and had a peculiar aura. If anyone around here could be her Master, surely someone like him would match her perfectly.

She stopped a few meters away from them. With a simple gesture, her adorned silver sword, about as long as her own height, was planted in the ground. She watched the Dead Apostle, and then, his attractive partner. With her voice distorted by her helmet, as another measure to conceal her identity, she spoke to Gabriel.

 "I ask of you, are you my Master?"

[lantzblades]

Satoshi shook his head and put his against the door "Someone kicking down your door is more than likely looking for you, going out there is painting a target on your chest. I'll deal with this, you stay here and here the rest of the details, Rider could you help me with this?"

Connor, Rin, Taiga and Tsukasa turned to Jack "You should leave with him" Rin told the hiding vampire as Satoshi opened the door.

[Arch-Magos Winter]

Blood. I smelled blood as that door opened. I smelled so much blood.

I smelled it moving.

I smelled it pouring itself out on the floors.

I smelled the one who caused it.

Obsfucate was still working. Claws sprouted from my fingers and knuckles. Eyes narrowed. Kill. I wanted to KILL SOMETHING. The noise of the Wards going active. So much. So much. I needed to kill EVERYTHING. The Beast wanted out. The Beast wanted to kill. So. I let the chains slip enough - just enough. Just enough to let the Beast's strength augment my own. Whatever that thing that was covered in blood was, was going to die. It was going to die. It was going to die. It was so close. So close, within reach. It wouldn't be able to see me. It was going to die. I was going to kill it.


I was going to kill it or I was going to kill everyone in this room. The choice was obvious. I'm sorry, whoever you are. I won't ever know your name. But you'll die. I promise you. You will die.

Leaving the room, I smelled him upstairs. Actually. I could see him right in front of me. Sorry Friend. YOu DiE. NoW. Kid couldn't see me. Fangs out. Claws out. Jugular targeted. Knock him down. Use weight to rip throat out as he falls, drink the blood as he bleeds to death. His arm is covered in blood. I'd lick that off his corpse.

There was a split second, between my attack, and when Obsfucate came off. If he could die now, that'd be nice.

[Daiki]

Knocked down, Ruu rolled with his unexpected aggressor.

Another hindrance to dispose of.

He was strong enough to make it lose its balance but not enough to overpower it that easily.

It saw the predatory look in his eyes but didn't show any emotion as the Kindred attempted to kill it. The puppet raised its left arm and placed it inside the monstrous jaw in order to stuff it. Without a care to what would happen to its limb, the  Familiar smashed the beast against the nearby wall with enough force behind so that both would end up in the adjacent bedroom, making short work of the wall in between.

It repeated the process. A bathroom. Again. A silent and empty room. Again. Broom closet. And Again. A library. They went through the last wall and both ended up falling outside the building.

[Arch-Magos Winter]

One of the things Resilience is great at is keeping you alive. Keeping you moving. Keeping you killing.

Even as he tried to smash me to death, I was gnawing through his arm, fangs slicing through tendons and my own strength allowing me to start draining him of his energy. This things blood was fucking pure energy. Bone crunched in my mouth as I finally severed his hand, after being smashed through a bathroom. I kept my arms tight and closer to my body. It was strong. Not a Kid. It was still going to die.  I shifted my grip. CLaws started to impale the things throat from underneath and from above with claws digging into the top of its skull. Fuck. This. Thing.

I felt the blood within start shifting as the moonlight struck my back. There was a boiling in my blood. A boiling in it, sparked by the blood of fae and vampire.  Sparked by frenzy, sparked by the weight of ages, sparked by the machinations of the Beast itself.  So. My claws changed. I willed it. They changed. Sharper now. Stronger. Flesh rotted from around them, exposing this things skeleton. Its skull was cracking, the claws cutting through this false bone with a strength unmatched. It was bleeding from the now gaping and necrotic wounds in its throat. I could kill it.

And as we fell, as I sunk my fangs deep into the arm, as I rotated the pair of us into mid air so he'd land below me. I knew.

I knew that I would kill him.


And you know what? I couldn't give a fuck about it.

[Daiki]

They fell, the puppet unable to gain the upper hand in mid-air, didn't fight to get above his opponent. It wasn't possible with such aggravated wounds. They hit the ground with a strange sound, their weights creaking the asphalt. The puppet blinked, its opponent was getting stronger as time went on and the regenerative powers embedded in its body couldn't sustain such high damage rate. The beast proved to be extremely durable and battled with frenzy, with enough power to be able to cut off a limb with only its jaw. In fact, it looked like it got stronger with time.

With its remaining arm already being drained, the childlike creature circled the vampire's waist and started compressing it with all its might. Its head collided violently with Jack's, trying to free itself from the inhuman grasp. Understanding it could very well meet its end here, it hit him again, and again, and again. While it had been created to be resilient to most damage, the Kindred fought up close, something the puppet wasn't used to. It had underestimated this opponent and was now paying the full price for it. In order to even out its chance, it had to take desperate measures. Since the vampire was draining its essence through the bite, there was only one thing to do. Dislocating its own jaw, it bite the vampire by the jugular, trying to tear it off.

It seemed this power struggle would be the determinant point in this battle.

[Arch-Magos Winter]

The Vitae was running out. It was trying to crush me. If my internal organs hadn't have already been practically liquefied the impacts earlier, that might have been dangerous. As is, I was slowly dying, liquid organs and dead inert blood being squeezed out of ruptures in my abdomen.  I was stealing some strength from it but it wasn't pure wasn't good wasn't delicious. At this rate, I'd lose without killing it. Then. It made its mistake. It tried to bite my throat through. It gave me an option, and one that was as simple as it was effective.

I couldn't gnaw through thick bone like this - the bones of the wrist and its tendons? I'd chewed through stuff like that before. But a fullblown arm? No way. Not when the little bastard was trying the same trick I tried to use.

But I knew where its head was now, and I had an arm free. Its throat was reduced to just bone and some muscle now. I was on top. I had the claws. And I knew just where to slash. Instinct. One to hold the head in place. One to sever the spinal cord. Then PULL.

The first punch impaled the head claws digging in through. Not good enough. Other arm trapped in hold, to escape it meant breaking it and possibly with it my chance of survivial.I broke my arm, and with the last bit of enhanced strength I could muster, drove the claws through his neck. The crushing stopped. The bloodlust faded. Its head was ripped from its shoulders, slack jaws falling from my neck.

And for the first time in my Requiem. I had killed.

And for the second time that night. All I wanted was blood.

[lantzblades]

James had found it, an area perfectly spaced from all the necessities and the book stores. He bought it for the next three years and a mountain of books to go with all the food he'd bought. He'd spent a good two hours shelving books and then nested in a sheet under the large coffee table with a head lamp for light.

he was content despite the fact that all his spending meant he would have to work again soon. In truth an apartment building would cost quite the penny to fill so he would have to work regardless.

[Mooncake]

Lucas



Dodge the bullets (barely), drop, move forward ready to-

"Ghk!"

A screaming, piercing noise erupts from the walls of the compound, reverberating in my ears. It hurts like red-hot needles being hammered into my skull. Frenzied, I move forward towards the man with the rifle, until suddenly, I can't move anymore. Something's stopped me, as what sounds like sirens wail throughout the compound. I can barely move even with the amplification that I've given myself; I might have to use "that".

Using it in such an enclosed space is dangerous, but I won't get another chance like this again. Even as my movement slows to a crawl, even as I strain my powers against this strange binding magic, I know I can do this. Everything slows for just one second, as they residents of this house react, and that's all I need. That I would need to use it against them angers me, but I don't have a choice. Here we go-

The binding that held me becomes inconsequential. Everything inside this house is inconsequential. They will not harm me. They cannot harm me. Throwing back my head, I howl inhumanely loud, louder than the wailing of the alarms. The weeds in the sidewalk outside, the trees, the flowers, any plants in the house; they all begin to grow incredibly fast, surpassing their normal sizes in a heartbeat. Long, thick vines begin to crash through the house as I scream, my body reverting to its true power, beyond the limits that this city has imposed on me. My eyes begin to glow, burning gold as I focus on my opponent.

I can't think of anything else right now other than crushing the vampire and her allies. My mission dominates my mind, the last thing that I thought of before entering this state. Shrieking louder than the alarms, I spring forward at full speed as the rifleman lands after his jump. Drawing an arm back as my hand curls into a claw, I shoot it towards his face, aiming to smash him through the wall so I can focus on the vampire.

[Alice]

"You're in love with Apostle-chan," Archer said with a shrug, "It's pretty obvious.  Your reluctance to let her in a potentially dangerous situation.  That look in your eyes when she was holding your hand.  Let me guess, you're feeling a whirlwind of emotion and it's brutal and amazing all at once."

He smirked and said, "Lancer is going to adore this."

Am... Am I really? I... I suppose it makes sense, but...

Tom looked at the Servant in bemusement. "I suppose I did, but..."

The last statement snapped Tom back to attention. He raised an eyebrow. "The Hound? Considering how he was barking at me earlier, I suppose it's not entirely shocking that he'd absolutely loathe this. But what is your interest with-"

The psychic was cut off as the atmosphere completely changed. The door burst open as the intruder quickly made his way inside.

The man's primary thoughts were as visible to Tom as a neon sign- capture or kill Forest. And this was far from being any ordinary man.

...I have no choice.

The intruder was quickly stopped by a young man with a shotgun who looked suspiciously similar to Archer. That was all the time Tom needed.

Tom quickly stripped of everything and sent all his clothing to sit on a clean chair nearby in the kitchen, but before Rin could even protest or get much of a chance to admire those perfectly sculpted muscles, his form swiftly began to change.

Bile began to raise in Rin's throat as she caught sight of bits and pieces of the transformation. She had to look away, which was rather timely of her considering the flash of light that soon followed. She turned to look... and her eyes widened.

Tom was no longer a man. Far from it. The feline creature that stood in his place towered over even Archer, the sleek, alien form visibly tensed, the long, purple tail lashing about like a whip.

What... what the...

But Rin was given very little time to adjust. The wards went off and suddenly there was a cacophony of sound assaulting her ears, and she was forced to cover them.

Tom- or rather, the thing that was Tom, visibly winced at the noise, but the increase in power that accompanied the assailant breaking free of whatever force field that had come down to contain him seemed to shift his focus.

It seems I made the right decision... Tom thought to himself, and as the inhuman man made to swipe at the young gunman, the psychic grabbed him in a vice-like telekinetic grip. The things this creature was thinking... What he wanted to do to Forest... The scent of blood. It took every ounce of willpower for Tom not to twist the intruder's head off like a bottle cap, or snap him in half like a twig.

Frantically, Tom cast his mind out further like a net, searching for Forest. To his relief, he could feel her still.

Forest, I have the intruder. ...Though I must warn you, once you get down here, you may be in for a bit of a shock. He didn't want to reveal this part of himself to Forest so soon. For once in his life... He found himself ashamed of his truest self. But what alternative was there? To have this creature try and tear the woman he loved limb from limb?

He turned to face Rin and Archer. While the eyes were still most assuredly Tom's, their piercing gaze combined with the new, distinctly more terrifying form made Rin wince a bit.

Get Forest, and bring reinforcements. I have contacted her myself already, but I wish to be certain she arrives down here safely. I should be able to contain him for quite some time, but the faster we deal with this threat, the better. I would rather simply kill him, but I suspect Forest wants answers. Despite the fact that he had aimed that command mainly at Rin and Archer, he allowed the gunman to hear it too.

Rin would have normally objected to being ordered around like this. But given the circumstances and the source of the order, she simply nodded, albeit somewhat bemused. She had no idea he could talk in this form, even if it was via telepathy.

She looked at Archer, signaling him to follow as she made her way up the stairs, her worry increasing as the metallic scent of blood and death began to subtly pervade the air...

***

Lancer perked up, gently squeezed Millie's hand - after all the girl couldn't take the punishment that Forest could shrug off and retaliate- and said, "Wicked.  You've gotta try this stuff Millie.  It's crafted by the fae of Mag Mell themselves!"

Mille nodded absently. His explanation for the creepy group's actions made sense, but... Even so, Forest was still obviously bothered by it, and the way they went about it seemed... Off. Very off. Even knowing full well that Forest could handle herself, Mille was having reservations.

Maybe we should stay. I mean, if anything goes wrong, we could always serve as a back-

Her thoughts were cut off by the sound of her stomach growling. The young magus's cheeks flushed bright red.

"W-well, if you say it's good, it must be worth a try. I guess then we should head down-"

Suddenly a horribly loud, shrieking noise came out of nowhere. Mille made a small cry as the sound threatened to pierce holes in her eardrums.

Lancer yelped as the loud, shrill sound filled his ears and almost doubled over and howled.  It felt as if thousands of needles were being pushed and dug into his ears and his vision blurred.  Forest had warned him that the wards were loud, but this was insane.

He also sensed a gathered spell being forced into effect and looked at Millie.  "Someone's decided to make their way in," he said, trying not to wince as he let go of her hand.

Mille merely winced in reply. But all of a sudden, there was a cacophony. Cries, shrieks and shouts... and then, the scent of death and blood. Mille's body tensed as she felt Ruby tap her hand, now back to her normal form.

"Uh oh, this looks bad... I'll let you use me again just this once, this is quite the emergency~"

Mille didn't argue. Instead she took hold of Ruby, and within moments, she was ready for battle. Suddenly, there was the sound of crashing walls and general destruction. Mille turned to Lancer, a grim expression on her face. "Should we go upstairs, then?"

[OPOI]

Tumbling through the air, Shirou watched in satisfaction as the intruder was slowed to a halt, arcane symbols wrapping around his body like a chain. The infernal noise continued echoing throughout the house, grating on his senses; though this was nothing compared to its effect on his enemy. He was howling like a wounded animal, eyes becoming bloodshot, clearly being driven into a frenzy by the noise.

Shirou landed with a thump at the end of his arc, quickly reloading his revolver. To his horror however, the intruder began screaming even louder, straining the bonds through sheer physical strength. Snapping the revolver back together, he quickly aimed at the enemy's head, trying to end the fight as quickly as possible. As he fired however, giant weeds smashed through the windows and walls as effortlessly as a knife cutting through butter, deflecting each bullet. He was quickly forced to use Kanshou to cut away some of the rapidly growing weeds, lest it immobilised him.

Clearly this enemy had some sort of connection to nature, enough to influence the plants around him. No doubt he also had some form of rapid regeneration or invulnerability when conneted to the Earth, or a similar power. Shirou was snapped out of his musings by a blur of motion in thecorner of his eyes. He turned in time to meet the crazed eyes of his opponent, speeding like a rocket towards him, clearly about to thrust his claw-like hand through Shirou.

Instincts took over.

"Rho Aias!" he screamed, the petal-like shield snapping into existence just in time to intercept the fist. Shirou groaned at the force behind the punch, then screamed as two petals broke. Quicly pushing away, he threw two grenades and a flashbang at his foe. Jumping away as it exploded, he somersaulted through the air, retrieving his MP7 in the process.

"I am the bone of my sword," he gritted out, a stream of blood trickling out of his mouth. A wall of swords appeared behind him, many of them possessing fire abilities. He quickly loaded incendiary bullets he kept handy on his person, Precautions against magi or Dead Apostles who made use of plants to fight.

"Full Trace, Continuous Fire!" he yelled, the swords flying forward like missiles at his foe. He opened fire at the same time with his weapons, hoping to at least incapacitate his foe until more capable allies arrived.

[Cherry Lover]

Rider took the box happily and smiled back at Tsukasa, before opening it.

Mmm, delicious, she thought.

As she was listening to Satoshi speak, Rider started to tuck into the bento, savouring each bite. Kiyoshi, meanwhile, was still somewhat upset at Satoshi's revelation about Archer. He heard Satoshi's explanation, and frowned once more. He hated the thought of his dad being tricked into such a thing.

"Don't worry, it won't happen to your dad, he cares too much for you and mummy to do anything like that", Rider said between mouthfuls of the delicious food.

"Yeah, I guess...", said Kiyoshi, sadly.

Then, Rider turned to Satoshi.

"Look, when Rin made that comparison, she wasn't talking about Gilgamesh. Neither I nor Rin have ever met him. I'm sure he was just the typical ancient hero, so I'm not surprised you hate him, but Rin had no way to know that.

The comparison might seem bad to you, given the sort of as..jerks that usually become servants, but in our Grail War most of the servants died early on. Rin's only real interaction was with me, Saber and Archer, all of whom I am sure you would not mind being compared to. That's the comparison she was making, not to people like Gilgamesh, or Perseus", she said, practically hissing the name of her killer.

Before Satoshi could reply, though, he turned to the apparently-empty corner of the room and spoke.

"Sup fangs, you can leave now", he said.

Eh, what? Why is he talking to that... wait, what is that?

For a moment, Rider wondered why Satoshi was talking at that weird unimportant thing in the corner that something was telling her wasn't important.

But if he's talking to it, then it must be important, she thought.

Ignoring the thing in her mind telling her to just ignore it, she looked more closely. As she did, she could see that it was, in fact, Jack.

How the hell did he do that?

Kiyoshi, on the other hand, was just confused. His mental defences were not quite as strong as Rider's and, consequentially, he was torn between the logically obvious fact that Satoshi was talking to something and the strong compulsion he felt not to look.

Finally, he managed to overcome the compulsion somewhat, and looked in the direction where Satoshi had been looking. He could make out some sort of vague shadowy person-like figure, but he couldn't quite bring himself to look at it for long enough to tell what it was.

It's probably nothing....

But, still, he couldn't quite shake the lingering doubt, and the feeling remained until Forest's words jolted him out of his thoughts.

"Bloody hell, we've got a bit of a problem", she said, before heading towards the door.

Before she could leave, though, Satoshi spoke up.

"Someone kicking down your door is more than likely looking for you, going out there is painting a target on your chest. I'll deal with this, you stay here and here the rest of the details, Rider could you help me with this?" he said, as Rin turned to Jack.

"You should leave with him", she said, as Satoshi opened the door.

As soon as the door was opened, the vampire ran out as fast as he could. Rider could smell the blood.

God, what's happening?

Rider briefly considered whether she should accept Satoshi's request, quickly determining that she should. Whilst she had no particular interest in risking her life to protect random people, there were several people out there who she considered to be friends. Further, even if she had not been inclined to help, with Kiyoshi around doing nothing was not an option. And, even if that were not the case, it would be better to keep Satoshi's family on her side.

"Yes, let's get going, quickly", Rider said, sadly putting down her bento.

Kiyoshi, having also put his bento down, summoned up his swords and prepared to follow.

"No, Kiyo, whatever is out there could bypass us and come here. You need to stay here and protect everyone else", Rider said, pointing at the others in the room.

She knew, of course, that that was a complete lie, they could quite easily protect theirselves. However, if Kiyoshi came with them, he would be in danger, and their attempts to deal with whatever the problem was would be compromised by trying to protect him.

Kiyoshi wavered. He wanted to help Aunty Rider, but he didn't want to abandon his family.

"Kiyo, you wouldn't want Tsukasa-nee, Aunty Rin or Taiga to get hurt, would you?" Rider said, softly.

Kiyoshi looked around the room at his family, at Tsukasa-nee, Taiga and the alternate Rin. There was no way he could abandon them. Sometimes, being a hero meant you had to just stay back and protect everyone.

Kiyoshi sighed.

"OK, Aunty Rider, I'll stay here and protect my family", he said, desummoning his swords and returning to the bento.

[Arch-Magos Winter]

Legs were broken, but the muscles were intact. I moved through, the pain, Resiliance keeping my body together as I moved forward, into the busted down door. There was a corpse in front of me. A girl. No heartbeat. Glassy eyes. No breathing.

Still warm.

Someone, someone up above me, was looking out for me. I didn't question this gift, simply collapsing over her and drinking deeply of her blood. Fresh. Fresh blood. All mine. And even as I fully drained her, I knew I'd need more. Even as my flesh knit itself back together, I knew I'd need more. I could walk now though. And that, that was worth more than anyone would ever guess.

[Elf]

Satoshi shook his head and put his hand against the door.  "Someone kicking down your door is more than likely looking for you, going out there is painting a target on your chest. I'll deal with this, you stay here and hear the rest of the details, Rider could you help me with this?"

Forest's eyes narrowed as she moved towards the door.  She said, "If some wanker has the stones to attack me in my own home, then the least I can do is face them." 

That's when she noticed the smell of fresh blood in the air.  Isa's.  After helping tending to the poor girl's injuries tonight, Forest was quite aware of what the younger twin smelled like.  Then she smelled two other blood sources, neither of which was human and one was undead.  Considering the only other undead person here was Jack, he must have used his Invisible Man ability to get the hell out of here when the wards started to scream. 

However, Isa was in trouble, and Forest wasn't about to let her get hurt again.  Indigo eyes met green and the vampire said, "I'm going.  Bugger off."

She moved to the opened door when she heard a very familiar voice in her head.  Forest, I have the intruder. ...Though I must warn you, once you get down here, you may be in for a bit of a shock.

The blond blinked.  Tom sounded okay, but there was an undercurrent of rage and she swore shame in his sending.  Concerned not just for her charge, but her lover, she moved past Satoshi and out the door. I'm on my way, she said, taking off in a run to find her lover.

******

"The Hound? Considering how he was barking at me earlier, I suppose it's not entirely shocking that he'd absolutely loathe this. But what is your interest with-"

Before Tom could finish, the other man's demeanor changed.  Archer scowled, wondering why he stopped.  He lacked the instincts of Lancer and Saber.  He also lacked their sense of hearing; his intensified vision was his sight.  However, he had been in enough situations to sense danger.

The other man started to strip in front of them and Archer blinked and was about to say something when a loud squealing sound filled the compound, like an alarm.  The air reeked of ozone and even Archer could feel the power growing.  The wards were beyond those guarding the Tohsaka house and made the wards protecting the Emiya home look like a pathetic tin can alarm.

While this was happening, Tom started to change, his body twisting into something else.  There was a bright flash of light, Archer had to look away, and when he looked back he saw first the terrified look on Rin's face.  The pretty man was gone, and what was standing before them was some giant, bipedal cat-like creature who's tail was angrily slashing the air. 

Somewhere in the house, Archer heard the familiar sound of traced swords being launched in machine gun speed.  Which means that idiot found our intruder first, he thought.

Get Forest, and bring reinforcements. I have contacted her myself already, but I wish to be certain she arrives down here safely. I should be able to contain him for quite some time, but the faster we deal with this threat, the better. I would rather simply kill him, but I suspect Forest wants answers.

Archer raised his eyebrows at the feline-Tom's confession.  He looked at Rin and said, "Come on, let's get Apostle-chan."

******

Lancer nodded at Millie and said, "Aye, let's go!"

He looked at the stick and said, "Can you reinforce her to keep up?"

Without waiting for an answer, the Hound of Ulster took off to where the sounds of battle were ringing out.

******

Angel stared as the petite and fully armored knight dressed in red appeared before them.  The gaze under the helm raked over both of them before looking towards Gabriel.  The voice coming forth was distorted and wrong, and made that way by magic.  Something he knew all too well; he had Amy distort his voice why he had been "Twilight" so Buffy and the others wouldn't recognize him.

She, because Angel knew exactly what a girl smelled like even beneath layers of steel armor, asked, "I ask of you, are you my Master?"

Gabriel stared at her from where he was digging fingers into his still open wound. There was something off about the other man's blood, but considering he wasn't human Angel wasn't surprised.  It wasn't as if it smelled bad; if anything Angel got the impulse to bury his fangs into the other man's neck while he buried . . .

Okay, just stop it.  Yeah, so, Spike and I experimented, but this is like some compulsion or something, Angel thought, mentally shaking himself.

Gabriel answered, "The only Master I am of is of myself."

"You sure?  I mean, you look like you could be into some kinky stuff," Angel said with a shrug, his voice slightly distorted by his fangs.

Gabriel sighed and said, "She's a familiar of some sort.  A very powerful one, aren't you love?"