Cross Effects- The RP

[OPOI]

Range: 500m
Targets: 3 humanoids, all of them female, based on their profiles. From the amount of prana he could feel despite the long distance, one of them was undoubtedly a Servant whilst the woman wearing the black duster was most likely a Dead Apostle of some kind. The girl pinned underneath the Servant was simply an ordinary, albeit unlucky girl.

Standing silently on the deserted rooftop, the tails of his coat and scarf flaring wildly in the wind and the draft generated by the grimy air-conditioner unit nearby; Shirou adjusted the zoom of the scope attached to his DSR-50 antimaterial rifle, bringing the figures into sharp relief. He took a quick scan of the area, eyes like a hawk as they surveyed all possible hiding places for assailants, before placing his eye against the scope once more, to monitor the potentially dangerous situation. He scanned the features of each individual, before letting out a quick gasp, the sights shaking slightly on one particular person.

He knew that Servant.

The Servant was a statesque stunner, sleek purple hair spilling over her smooth back as she pinned down the brown haired girl, a black one-piece mini-dress leaving little to imagination. A small purple mask-like object was perched on her face, completely obscuring the eyes, yet she was staring at the Dead Apostle as if it wasn't even there. In her hands were giant nails, attached to each other with gun-metal grey chains; completely unwieldy weapons for most, but he knew that she could wield them with deadly skill, weaving around like a snake whilst keeping the enemy at bay.  For a second, a purple-haired girl flashed before his eyes, before he brutally crushed that all too familiar line of thought. It couldn't be possible. That Rider had faded away with Sakura. This was simply another Medusa, summoned yet again, but with no memory of his War. "It had to be," he muttered softly to himself, steeling his mind once more. To think further would be an insult to her memory. 

He re-focused on the task at hand. The two creatures had tensed up, as if preparing to fight to the death over the brown-haired girl, though neither were willing to make a move yet. Judging by how tightly she was holding onto the girl, Rider was most likely depleted of mana, probably due to a bad Master as he had not heard of any unexpected explosions in the city which indicated the use of a Noble Phantasm; and had been about to feed when she was interrupted. The vampire appeared to be negotiating, but who knew what could happen? If a fight between the two broke out, the chances of which were increasing drastically; the damage and loss of life would be extreme, as they were practically in the centre of the city.

Unacceptable. There was only one feasible option.

Narrowing his eyes, Shirou set his sights on the brown-haired girl. If he took out the source of food and drew their attention, he would be able to lure them away from the nearby civilians. He could trace out Hrunting or Caladbolg, but the resulting explosion would cause unacceptable losses, and the targets would be alerted beforehand by his use of prana. He would have to settle things with his rifle. Fighting against vampires wasn't exactly his strong point, nor against Servants, but if he adopted a hit-and-run tactic using his Noble Phantasms, in an area with plentiful amounts of cover, he could win. He smiled wryly. If Tohsaka was alive, she would have walloped him for such a stupid plan.

Shirou breathed out, blanking his mind. He detached his sense of self. There was nothing but his target and his rifle. In his mind's eye, he could see the path of the bullet, and adjusted until he visualised the bullet striking the girl between the eyes, killing her quickly and painlessly. As another victim of his ideal, he owed her that much.

No more distractions. His mind was made of iron.
Breathe in
Breathe out
Breathe in
Breathe out
Fire 

[Cherry Lover]

As Rider lay on top of her captive awaiting a response, she felt her futile struggles give in to resigned acceptance. The first reply was from Saber.

"But you aren't safe Rider, you can't fight me and keep ahold of the girl, much less now if you need prana, and I'm no longer a servant, so Saber is wrong as I'm very much alive"

That was true, of course, but it somewhat missed the point. Rider might not be able to fight Saber, but unless Saber wanted to stab straight through the girl, she couldn't do much to Rider either. Annoyed at Saber's beligerence, Rider prepared to reply, but was pre-empted by the response from the other blonde, first attempting to calm Saber, then responding to her directly.

"Hey, Walking Sex Offense, if you let the girl go, I'll donate.  I might not be alive, but I have prana", the woman said, followed by a laugh from her rather unwise captive.

Whilst the blonde woman's deliberately offensive nickname for her was somewhat irritating, particularly given her past, her offer was still highly tempting. After all, she didn't want to harm people if she could avoid it and, besides, if there was one thing she had learnt from Shirou during the Grail war and over the subsequent 30 years it was that having allies around to help you made things a lot easier. Even if she still had issues trusting strangers, she couldn't afford to let those issues get in the way of keeping Kiyoshi safe.

Plus, she is rather hot..., Rider thought, licking her lips as she recalled the most effective way of transferring prana.

Yes, this would prove most beneficial to her. Not only could she get more prana out of a willing donor who she had time to prepare with, but she would also have a hot woman willing to do almost anything she desired, as long as it meant protecting the girl currently writhing beneath her. Of course, she would have to punish her for the dig at her appearance, but it's not like Rider minded the thought of doing that one bit.

Thinking of the beautiful blonde bound before her, obeying every command, Rider started to find herself getting rather turned on. Yes, this would be great fun. All she had to do was massage the details of the prana transfer ritual somewhat. Or, just use the leverage she currently had over the woman to extract a concession....

Still, before she could let the other girl go, she had to be sure that her Archer would not enact retribution for her attack on his master. But, before she could ask, her blonde soon-to-be sex-toy asked on her behalf.

"Poppet, when the Walking Sex Offense lets you go, get out of here and please have your Servant decide to not to come kill us all.  If you're going to rough house, do it in an abandoned part of town. Please."

Wow, she really is a hero, isn't she?

Rider usually wasn't fond of heroes. In her experience, they tended to be more interested in killing "monsters" than in actually saving lives. But, she did have respect for people like Shirou and this woman, who just genuinely cared about others. Plus, of course, people like that were very easy to manipulate into doing things you want, as long as you don't mean any real harm to anyone.

Determined but scared, the girl accepted the terms laid out to her by Rider and by the blonde woman.

"You're worried about Archer attacking you, aren't you? Please, if you let me go and promise not to hurt this lady, I promise that he won't attack you. I'm not looking for a fight."

Hearing those words, Rider saw no further reason to detain the girl. However, the "Walking Sex Offense" jibe did still rankle with her somewhat and, further, she was highly aroused from her thoughts of the blonde. So, before letting the girl go, she demonstrated her displeasure at the jibe by leaning down, taking a firm hold of her captive's breasts and squeezing hard, before giving her nipple a sharp twist through the fabric of her clothes. And, since she seemed to hold all the cards here, she decided to add a bit to the deal, so she could properly enjoy the prana transfer.

"OK, I accept your offer, provided you agree to do whatever I say during the ritual. I don't have time to mess around. And, in future, I would appreciate it if you would not use that insulting nickname".

Rider stayed on top of the girl, awaiting a response. But, before she recieved one, she heard a loud "bang", followed by the unmistakable sound of a bullet whizzing in the direction of the girl's head. As quick as a flash, Rider grabbed the girl and rolled to her side, mere milliseconds before the bullet impacted in the exact spot where the girl's head had been, exploding violently. They rolled through a 360 degree turn, in less than a second coming back to the position they had been in before, only a metre or so to the side.

What the hell?

She couldn't understand why anyone would take a pre-meditated shot at a random girl. She was no threat, indeed she was in danger herself. There were only two options, neither of which were good. Either it was a psychopath or, worse, it was a "hero" who felt that the best way to deal with vampires and the like was to kill their food source. She did understand the mentality of those who put killing monsters over protecting innocents, even Kiyoshi was sometimes like that. But, Kiyoshi was a child, this was an adult, and that attitude was not one she could forgive, not after seeing Sakura's sister and even Shirou himself nearly kill her innocent master on that basis.

Ignoring her captive for the moment, Rider jumped up and changed back into her casual clothes, including her glasses, before looking in the direction the bullet had came from to pinpoint the location of the shooter.

Pointing in the general direction, she called out to the others.

"The shooter is somewhere over there. We have to deal with him, people like that can't be trusted".

After all, if he was willing to kill a helpless schoolgirl, he might also be willing to kill Kiyoshi....

[lantzblades]

Alter shrugged walking into the street  "goodbye Rider, oh, miss you need not have sex to transfer prana." she stated proceeding away from the alley and into the night

[Elf]

Lancer's vision flashed red at Archer flippantly calling him a dog as an insult.  However he only smirked and replied, "What, you gonna tie some other poor girl up to a chair to be raped?"

Still, the Bowman did look rather anxious, and Lancer noticed those steel gray eyes darting about. And what the bloody hell is up with that outfit? His eyes fixated on the collar and the tag around Archer's neck.  Laughter bubbled up from the Celt's lips and exploded into the air as Lancer pointed at the tag.  "Oh, that's just priceless!  Someone made you their pet, didn't they, Archer? Your master beckoning?  Need you to clean his house and fix him a spot of tea?"

He then winked at Archer, his eyes raking over the suggestive outfit he was wearing.  "Then once you've served him dinner, is he going to make his Servant 'serve' him?  Participate in some Tantric Rites?"

******

Forest cursed and went low as she heard the gunshot ring out.  She didn't get a chance to respond to Rider's "preposition", then to make things worse she openly fondled the poor girl she was using as leverage.  The vampire had a sinking feeling that she was going to have to do some negotiating of her own.

Right now, they had other fish to fry.

Their sniper hadn't been aiming at Saber who was now leaving the scene after she said something about not having sex to get prana, or Rider who was now dressed in something more sensible.  With the glasses and jeans on, she looked less like a Walking Sex Offense and became just classically beautiful.  Just the sort of impossible beauty that made its owners a little self conscious that they had it.

Forest looked at the school girl and assessed that her condition was fine if a little confused and majorly terrified.   The poor girl had been the shooter's target, not the three women in the Mexican Standoff.  Kill the victim, and it doesn't give us any reason to fight, the blond thought grimly as she looked to the direction that Rider pointed.

"The shooter is somewhere over there. We have to deal with him, people like that can't be trusted."

Forest nodded and replied, "And they might hurt someone else."  She scowled, knowing that she couldn't leave Rider with the Girl, and the shooter could easily pick them off.

So the vampire searched with her mind, and felt her's brush across someone's mind who had steeled themselves for things like this.  The desolation, emptiness, and calculating nature she was reading left her cold.  She saw glimpses of dashed hopes, a beautiful but impossible dream, and how that dream had been crushed.

She sent to that mind, putting her will power behind it, You sodding coward.  If you have a pair, then come down and face us like a real man, or I'll let the Walking Sex Offense gleefully murder you.

Next move was the sniper's, and Forest sent to Rider's mind.  Charging after this tosser is only going to give at least one of us a good case of Dead.  I'm going to get him to come down here.  If that doesn't work, we'll try to flush the cowardly wanker out.

[OPOI]

Damn.

He had forgotten to account for the muzzle flash and the noise. It had been far too long since he had fought Servants or creatures equivalent to it.

Rider had noticed the loud noise produced by his weapon, and reacted with inhuman speed, twisting the girl away from the path of the bullet an instant before it struck. The other woman was instantly on the alert, eyes scanning in his general direction, evidently tracing out the path of the bullet, as well as keeping a lookout for further muzzle flashes. Her hands were clenching as if preparing to reach for her weapon. Rider had also stood, checking over the condition of the girl. There were definitely no more opportunities to euthanize the girl. He would have to change to Plan B.

Quickly ejecting the round from the chamber, sliding the bolt of the rifle in a well-practised motion, Shirou regained his composure, flushing away his hot-headed indignation and worry for the victim, and replacing it with the cold indifference and resolve he had come to associate as his 'Mind of Steel', his resolve to sacrifice the few to save many. He prepared to fire on the two now-standing women, intending to lure them away from the area. as he aimed at the vampire's head, their eyes met for a split second. Suddenly, an unfamiliar sensation filled his head.

It was difficult to describe. It was so incredibly vast, complex and above all, ancient, an entity far beyond that of a normal human. He was an ant standing before a giant, powerless to fo anything. The sheer volume of information from the mental link threatened to bury him completely, leaving only a husk behind. As he reeled from the intrusion, he felt, no, heard a distinctly female voice echo within his head, clipped and undoubtedly filled with anger: "You sodding coward.  If you have a pair, then come down and face us like a real man, or I'll let the Walking Sex Offense gleefully murder you."

The vampire then. Medusa would never label people like that. As the presence withdrew, he considered his options. Firing Caladbolg was definitely out of the question, they would definitely dodge or stop it from causing damage. On one hand he could continue with his original plan, but considering the new circumstances, this would cause much more harm than good, as the two could end up fighting over who would go, and who got the girl. Not to mention the chance that only one would rise to the bait, judging by the message, leaving the other free to roam the city.

 The other option, do as the vampire asked, was equally bad. To face a Servant and a mind reading vampire alone without the element of surprise, was akin to suicide. Whilst he wasn't particularly concerned at the notion of death, the thought if leaving the city vulnerable was anathema to him. But at the same time, there was a chance he could negotiate for the girl's life if nothing else. Few deserved being left to the whims of a vampire and a Gorgon. The vampire, based on his glimpse, was an not unreasonable person, afar cry from his usual encounters with Dead apostles. And there was a chance he could win. It wouldn't be the first time. He ignored the small voice in his head which said that he was curious about Rider.

Tracing out his bow and Caladbolg, Shirou leaped down from the building, reinforcing his legs to take the impact. As he approached the area, he began preparing himself for combat, bringing the images of Kanshou and Bakuya to the forefront if his mind, ready to trace out. Time to begin the next phase

[Alice]

Archer's jab at Lancer did its work as he spotted as the Demigod's red eyes seemed to burn, so quickly that few would ever even notice it. In retrospect, it wasn't  the wisest move Archer could have made, but then, the bowman wasn't exactly in the best of moods himself. This man was the one thing currently standing between him and Hakuno, and thus Archer wasn't inclined to do him any favors.

Blowing off the insult, Lancer smirked as he replied, "What, you gonna tie some other poor girl up to a chair to be raped?" Archer's brows furrowed just a bit. Something in Archer's memory poked at him, but it seemed blurry and intangible. And something told him that Lancer wouldn't hurl that particular insult at him without reason.

"What are you talk-"

Archer was cut off though by the Irishman's burst of laughter, which caught him off guard. He was momentarily confused about the sudden outburst of merriment until he realized he was still in that damn biker jacket. He'd been so intent on finding Hakuno that he'd forgotten to change into his usual battle armor.

Archer suppressed a groan of exasperation as Lancer pointed at his tag, now laughing so hard that tears were nearly streaming down his face.  "Oh, that's just priceless!  Someone made you their pet, didn't they, Archer? Your master beckoning?  Need you to clean his house and fix him a spot of tea?"

Archer winced a bit at the "pet" comment, but since he actually enjoyed housework and fixing tea, the rest didn't really phase him. However, the master mention did remind Archer of his main objective. His focus was regained, his expression back to being calm and collected as ever. 

...but only for a moment, as before he could reply, Lancer winked at him while visibly giving his exposed chest and abdomen an extensive lookover. "Then once you've served him dinner, is he going to make his Servant 'serve' him?  Participate in some Tantric Rites?"

Archer almost blushed in embarrassment from Lancer's gaze, but was initially unphased by what the other man had to say. ...Then he processed the bit about "Tantric Rites" and what Lancer truly meant by "serving" his master.

Archer had a habit of keeping himself cool and collected always, even if only on the surface, his calculating mind always thinking, processing, scheming, allowing him to gaze at his opponents unflinching and unperturbed. But the moment Lancer had mentioned doing that with Hakuno, his carefully maintained demeanor faded within seconds.

"Tantric Rites?! Even if she knew how the Rites were performed, my Master's not ready for that!" Archer mentally cursed at his own outburst- besides being rather uncharacteristic of him, it was quite embarrassing as well. Still, now that Lancer knew his master's gender, he could possibly get him to cooperate. Desperately recollecting himself and trying to stop blushing, Archer looked firmly into Lancer's eyes. "And you're right, she is beckoning. She's "beckoning" for help. If I delay any longer, she could die." Embarrassment or not, Archer stood firm before his adversary- he had more important concerns than the few remaining fragments of his pride.

***

Hakuno lay trembling in the arms of the woman who had once been threatening to kill her. This just wasn't her day. First Rider had groped her and twisted her nipple, which just about had made her cry, and then there'd been a gunshot, clearly aimed at her head. Her skin paled, a feeling of lightheadedness overwhelming her thanks to this particular brush with death. Rider released her, switching to the clothes she'd been wearing at the beginning as she stood up.

Still trembling, Hakuno attempted to stand as she saw Rider point in the direction of the shot.

"The shooter is somewhere over there. We have to deal with him, people like that can't be trusted."

Hakuno felt dizzy as she continued to rise, but still heard the blonde woman's reply. "And they might hurt someone else."

Uneasily, Hakuno attempted to steady herself. An unfamiliar feeling began to manifest itself within the girl. She had faced a number of life and death situations before- she'd had Servants attempt to kill her in various ways, seen other Masters having their circuits being painfully removed, been threatened to be trapped into a tiny box of data forever, been forced to remove her panties and Archer's just so she could get through a door!

But something about tonight... maybe it was the how quickly everything had happened, or how much had happened, or even that nipple squeeze. But something about this latest attempt on her life made something within her snap. This feeling... was anger.

Hakuno felt a strange flow of energy throughout her body- the same energy she'd felt when using a Code Cast. Hakuno allowed the feeling to engulf her, falling into a trance. She muttered something, and the energy manifested around her, like a shield.

As Hakuno regained some awareness, her eyes widened. H-how did I?! This... this isn't as strong as the Code Cast I used against Passion Lip, but other than that-

But as she pondered this new development, Hakuno felt the shield begin to vanish and fade. Hakuno panicked as she attempted to regain it, struggling to retain the one thing that could finally free her from her helplessness. 

[Xamusel]

Sephiroth was just getting back to his apartment in this expansive city when he saw something out of the corner of his right eye. Turning his head to face what he was looking at, he saw....

"Is that a Black Materia? What's the Meteor Materia doing in a world like this, anyway?"

Indeed, Sephiroth had found something extremely dangerous in any world, one that he didn't want showing up anywhere near a magically oriented person like those that knew how to use Materia. Seeing that this was a situation where he needed to keep people safe, he walked over to the Materia and picked it up, before it decided that it wanted to bond with his flesh and blood body.

In short, Sephiroth let loose a howl of pain, one that would wake the dead and give the undead splitting migraines.

XxX

Sephiroth finally got control of his body's functions after about forty-five minutes of excruciating pain, and when he did, he saw that he was back in his apartment. He got out of his stupor and decided to look for anyone that could give him answers as to how he got there again, but before he could, he felt his stomach rumble.

That was when he walked over to the kitchen and pulled out a hidden stash of pocky. He nearly instantly devoured a whole box worth of the stuff, though when he finished the box, he set about to make a more healthy meal. It took him around five minutes to put everything together, but when it was, he sat down to eat--

*KA-BOOOOOOOOOOM*

--only for most of the neighborhood to be blown to smithereens somehow. After eating the rest of his food, he got out of the apartment, Masamune in hand, and searched for the source of the problem, unaware of what it was he would end up facing off against.

[Daiki]

Standing on the border of a roof, allowing view right above the curious event going, Shuya tilted his head.

The whole day had been nothing but a bloody headache, trying to figure out a way through the maze that was this place. He was bored to death when he heard an argument not too far. His curiosity eventually lead him here but even now, he had trouble understanding what was going on. A purple-haired woman took a girl hostage. Two other chicks did their best to avoid any harm on the brown-haired one. Then the lolita in black just left for some reason, leaving the blond to deal with the situation. That's about when he heard an annoying noise. Gunfire, just like that. Someone tried to shoot either purple or brownhead. A man then walked to them, apparently on guard.

"So boring." He whispered.

Shuya exhaled smoke and threw the cig butt down the street.

"Ain't gonna fight, huh?" He growled, clearly unsatisfied.

Without any added words, he grabbed the scabbard hanging by his waist and leaped off the building. The fall did last less than a few seconds, yet he still had time to unsheathe the bone bladed katana and slash right down, exactly above purplehead. Of course, the attack would have beheaded a normal human without time to react. Yet he somehow knew that the woman could avoid his little "greeting".

Didn't care about the blond chick. Didn't give a damn about the whitehead approaching carefully. And sure didn't give a fuck about the hostage. Only purpose was to kill boredom here.

With a laughing tone he addressed his future victim right before striking.

"Yo."

Then his sword descended with such force the ground would be shattered to pieces by the sheer strength behind it.

[Cherry Lover]

As she waited for a reply from the blonde woman, Rider noticed out of the corner of her eye that Saber was leaving the area. As she did so, though, she made a parting comment.

"goodbye Rider, oh, miss you need not have sex to transfer prana."

You petty little bitch.

Rider had never been overly fond of Saber, and even more so her darkened form. They had, after all, never been anything other than enemies, despite the fact that they had spent much of the war serving under the same master. Even so, though, she was surprised and annoyed that Saber would put ruining her fun above dealing with a threat to the life of the girl she had only seconds earlier been willing to fight her over.

Thinking back, Rider looked down at the petrified girl, who had seconds earlier been trembling in her arms. Seeing her like that made Rider feel a strange mixture of sympathy and arousal. She didn't really like seeing people suffer like that, especially sweet young girls. It reminded her too much of the condition her beloved master had been in when they had first me, although she had never shown fear in the way this girl did.

But, at the same time, the girl was really quite hot. Her breasts were firm, and her reaction to Rider's nipple tweak had been delightful. Unlike with Sakura, her feelings towards this girl were definitely not platonic.

Yes, I'd definitely like to get to know her a little better, Rider thought, smirking to herself.

She saw the blonde woman nod, and reply to her with "And they might hurt someone else."

Yes, like Kiyo....

Whilst she found this girl rather intriguing, the blonde woman's words reminded her not to lose focus of her main goal. Having fun and wooing this girl could wait until she could be sure that Sakura's beloved little boy was safe and not in danger.

Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have left Kiyoshi alone in the hotel....

Still, remaining with this group seemed like a wise move, especially now Saber had gone. The blonde woman seemed like the sort of person who would protect Kiyoshi out of general principle. And, Rider couldn't watch over Kiyoshi all the time. Having someone else around who she could leave him with would be helpful, even if only for a short time.

Plus, she's damn hot and offering herself to me on a plate.

Rider shook her head violently, reminding herself not to let her libido take over. Sakura's well-being had to come first. Then, she heard a voice in her head, much harsher and less polite than the sound of her master that she had grown used to over the last thirty years.

Charging after this tosser is only going to give at least one of us a good case of Dead.  I'm going to get him to come down here.  If that doesn't work, we'll try to flush the cowardly wanker out, the blonde woman said.

It felt odd to have such a different voice in her mind, and the way she spoke was also unusual. Plus, of course, it was weird that she could even do this in the first place. With Sakura she had the mental connection of a master and servant, but this woman did not possess that, which meant she must have some sort of telepathic ability. Which, honestly, was a little disturbing.

But, honestly, this wasn't the time to worry about the blonde woman's telepathy. She could ask that later. Right now, all that mattered was the situation at hand, and her plan was perfectly sensible. There was no reason to fight on his terms if they could avoid it. Not wanting to respond verbally, but unable to reply mentally, Rider simply nodded to affirm her acceptance of the woman's plan.

In the distance, she saw the shooter leap from the top of the building he had been positioned on and begin walking in their direction. Clearly, the plan had worked, although she was unsure of his intentions. Whilst he appeared to be ready for battle, he wasn't approaching in an aggressive manner. Surely he didn't intend to negotiate after just trying to murder the girl....

What the...?

Suddenly, Rider noticed a spike of prana eminiating from the girl, who had risen to her feet whilst Rider's attention was elsewhere. Then, suddenly, the girl manifested a shield around her body for a brief moment, before it again collapsed.

So, she really is a magus. Although, apparently, not a particularly well-trained one.

The more Rider saw of this girl, the more intrigued she became. She clearly wasn't particularly competent, given the difficulty she was having maintaining the shield. But, at the same time, Rider could see determination in the girl's eyes. Clearly she had had enough of being a helpless victim, and had decided to find a way to defend herself.

I really like this girl....

Looking at the girl, Rider couldn't help but imagine what she'd be like in bed or, better, chained up, naked and helpless before her new "master". Rider had no desire to harm the girl, she had too much respect for her determination for that, but she certainly would enjoy seducing her, dominating her and then making her beg for release.

No, this isn't th...

Suddenly, Rider's thought process was interrupted by a loud explosion in the distance.

What the hell? This place is even more dangerous than I thought.

The explosion focussed her mind on the situation at hand. Kiyoshi was simply not safe alone in this town. The hotel he was staying in could be attacked at any time and, without Rider there to help defend it, it would likely be a massacre. Plus, the explosion would certainly have awoken him if the previous events had not. And, given his nature, she knew he would be unlikely to just remain in bed when she found that he was missing.

At this point, Rider felt that her only option was to return to the hotel, to reassure Kiyoshi and ensure he was safely in bed. As much as she would like to remain friendly with these people, Kiyoshi's safety was her immediate priority. The blonde woman could surely deal with the shooter herself. And, if not, then she would simply be another person who needed to be sacrificed to ensure Sakura's happiness. But, as she turned to leave, she heard the faint sound of someone speaking on the rooftop above her, followed by a much louder and clearer statement.

"Ain't gonna fight, huh?"

What?

Then, she heard the sound of someone jumping from the roof, seemingly aiming straight at her. Clearly whoever had been watching them had got bored of the lack of action and decided to intervene.

Oh for fuck's sake, not another psychopath, Rider thought, angrily.

Her day had just gone from bad to worse, and Kiyoshi was still alone in the hotel room. Reacting quickly, Rider jumped backwards, just in time to see her would-be assailant land directly in front of her, his sword shattering the ground where it hit. Rider couldn't help but notice how attractive he was, and licked her lips at the thought of what she might do to him later. Then, whilst he was recovering from the blow, she threw her nails, grinning evilly. One was aimed at his right elbow, the other at his left thigh. Neither were intended to be fatal, but rather to incapacitate the bastard so she could do with him as she wished.

She wasn't going to kill this guy quickly, he'd pissed her off too much for that and, besides, he was too attractive to waste. No, he was going to suffer. Plus, she was horny and she needed prana. A hot guy who she could torture to her heart's content without feeling any remorse was the perfect resolution for both of those issues. After all, he was the one who had attacked her for no reason, why should she feel bad about it?

[Elf]

Lancer stared for a moment at Archer, simply stared with unblinking crimson eyes.  Then he lightly poked the Servant's chest with the blunt end of Gae Bolg.  "Yeah, you're real," the Celt said with frown as he leaned forward and sniffed Archer.

"You smell like him too," Lancer said with a tilt of his head, "Men shouldn't smell like tea and cleaning products."

Lancer scowled and said, "But you're not acting like the Bowman I know."

He heard an explosion across the city, shook his head, and said, "Oy, this is going to put Fore in an even fouler mood."  He sighed, shook his head, pointed to the direction that both of them had been heading and said, "Knowing my new landlady, she's probably in the thick of it with your Master, so our interests coincide.  For now."

Then he smirked and said, "Oh, and don't slow me down, you arse."  And the former Servant took off at a dead run.

******

Forest smirked slightly as the young woman summoned magic to form a shield around herself.  Good, you gotta take up for yourself, Forest thought to the girl right before the poor thing's shield started to falter.  The vampire winched at the girl's hard work going down the drain, but there was hope, and the shield hadn't gone down yet either.  With a little training, that magical power could be formidable. 

Just Forest knew nothing of training someone in the mystic arts; sure she could teach the girl how to kill someone with her pinky, but that wouldn't work in the current situation that she was in.  She steeled herself to deal with the shooter and was surprised at the young man who was approaching.  Tall for an Asian, white hair, and dressed in a trench coat made to hide weapons.  His eyes seem sad, she thought to herself as she got a better look at him as he approached.

Broad shouldered and carrying himself like he obviously knew how to fight, Forest reasoned that he was actually quite attractive.  Then I sort of have a yen for Asians, don't I, she thought, remembering the dearly departed Bruce Lee.  As he approached, she moved forward as well, holding out her hands to show she wasn't going to attack him.

She called out, "I'm Law Unto Herself, but if things go well, you can call me Forest.  So, tell me why you're going all Punisher on a rooftop in my town?"

And then Rider was attacked by a wildly attractive man, but Rider seemed to have a handle on it.  Maybe too good of a handle, she thought with a sigh.  The guy had attacked Rider because he was bored, which meant he was probably a crazy person she was going to have to deal with.

"Bloody hell," she groused to herself at the clusterfuck around her.

[lantzblades]

Taiga appeared suddenly in the hallway of a hotel her wheel chair clattering loudly. After a few moments Taiga righted herself and straightened out her soft white dress as best she could.

"Big brother, mama and papa aren't here" she muttered staring at the world in her odd way, Taiga was blind in the traditional sense but her magic made her see auras of colour giving her a sort of Radar sense as compensation for her otherwise crippled form. Tracking the auras she found the first one close to her and knocked on the door of the room, the aura was small and therefore not likely a danger.

Satoshi smiled finishing a cookie as he tracked the disturbance of mana To a group of people  two of which he recognized immediately as Rider and a version of shirou his father. He took a seat on the roof top and chuckled "this will be interesting" he remarked thumb drawing across the rider belt.

[OPOI]

And yet this was still not as bad as Tunisia...

Shirou stared dumbfounded into the alleyway, mouth slightly open as his answer died in his throat; eyebrows twitching rapidly as he tried to make sense of the situation in a reasonable and straightforward manner. It was serving only to give him a giant headache.

A clusterfuck. There. Nice, simple, gets to the point.

What had originally been a confrontation between a prana-hungry Servant and a possibly blood-thirsty vampire over a seemingly ordinary brown haired schoolgirl, had somehow turned into an insane five way confrontation between a prana-hungry servant who may or may not be Rider, the servant of...Sakura; an ancient, mind-reading vampire with unknown powers; the ordinary school-girl who had literally just pushed the Servant away with a prana barrier of unknown design; and now he had of all people, one of his mercenary nemesis in the situation: the demonic bloodthirsty mercenary Touzaki Shuya, attacking Rider for reasons which Shirou highly suspected were no more complicated than that he was bored.

And this was happening in an alleyway practically next to a major civilian area.

For a second, Shirou was tempted to leave. He really was. But, he wasn't known as the second Magus Killer because he ran away whenever things became complicated, and ignored an opportunity like this.

He steadied his nerves. If someone close to him had seen him, they would have been shocked at the change from his usual friendly, if a little depressed, self; into an ice-cold killer, his eyes seemingly changing colour as if to reflect his transition into his Mind of Steel.

Number of Targets: 3 humanoids, two female, one male. One was the purple-haired Servant, Rider, formerly the Servant of Sakura, now possibly reduced to surviving by stealing prana from innocent people. Abilities will be hampered by this lack of prana, she'll be unable to access her Noble Phantasm.
The male was Touzaki Shuya. Mixed Blood Demon. Blood-thirsty and wild. A skilled mercenary highly capable in the fields of swordplay, greatly enhanced by his demonic nature. Has not inverted yet based on hair colour, must take down before that happens.
Final female is a blond vampire. Abilities mostly unknown, except for the ability to read minds. A wild card

Number of bystands: numerous. The brown haired girl is still within the barrier, but judging by its state, is very close to running out of mana, and thus will be suffering from prana exhaustion. This may need to be treated if she survives. The targets are near a major intersection, there will likely be unavoidable casualties.

Shirou slowly pulled back the 'gun hammer' within his head, and quickly felt the familiar burn in his bodies as his 27 magic circuits channeled his od. In his mind's eye, the gears of Unlimited Blade Works turned slowly.
   

Judging the concept of creation
Hypothesizing the basic structure
Duplicating the composition material
Imitating the skill of its making
Sympathizing with the experience of its growth
Reproducing the accumulated years
Excelling every manufacturing process

He mentally recited the old formula, eyes closed. Behind him, a number of swords began solidifying into existence, growing golden as the desired features of the swords they imitated were burned into them. They would be completed with one simple phrase, one which defined his very existence.

"I am the bone of my sword"

He reopened his eyes and crossed his arms, in a pose highly reminiscent of Gilgamesh.

Plan: Intimidation. At the very least, he would force this fight elsewhere.

"If this fails?" Tohsaka, Saber, and Sakura's voices echoed within his head, all melded into one.

Eliminate all targets in one decisive sweep

[Daiki]

Shuya couldn't help but grin slightly. Purplehead had very good reflexes. Not only did she avoid his attack faster than expected but, she also counter-attacked with excellent timing. Yet, he was disappointed by it. As naturally as it came to his mind, a fluid move of his sword repelled both projectiles, the two nails digging in ground at Rider's feet. He had done so as if the katana didn't get stuck in the ground previously. With an annoyed expression he pointed his blade towards his target.

"Your greetings lacks both power and class." He said, as if either of these mattered.

His eyes focused on the woman, he couldn't help but feel her excitement. She looked like a predator, not a prey, and Shuya let out a joyous laugh.

"In the mood to play I see, why don't you toss that garbage over there and come at me?" He taunted, clearly talking about the teenager as if she was nothing more than trash. Then his attention turned to blondie and his "boyfriend", his murderous intent filtering in his tone. "Feel free to join but don't even try something funny." There is no mistaking, he will go after you without a second thought were you to get in the way. His attention returning to his designated opponent he smiled widely.

The next instant, he was in Rider's range, his right arm cutting horizontally in order to split her in equal two pieces.

----

Uuoruuocon was lost. It was not something so unusual for the familiar, yet, this time, there was a reason. In past days, he had run into strange people and creatures. Some were hostile, some wary but most of them seemed not oblivious to the child-looking figure. As far as he could tell, this place was different from the others he visited during his long life.

The day had started peacefully though. He even met a cat. Ruu followed the animal until he lost sight of it when he heard a powerful noise coming from far away. When he looked back, the kitty had disappeared. That's when he began to search for it, looking everywhere, including under a taxi full of people he was still carrying with his tiny fists above his head as he made his way on the street. How troubling, he had expected the feline pet to lead him to the place with beds and showers. He clearly needed to clean himself after days wandering across the place.

Without even paying attention to crying coming from inside the vehicle he brought with him, he turned towards two men. One had barely started running but Ruu followed without a care in the word. He had blue hairs and had a smell reminiscent of a beast. The familiar was close to nature so normally, the man should help him. Or so he thought.

Running as fast as the Servant, he called as he reached his level. "Hi mister wolf, did you see a black kitty?" The sight was extraordinary, a child able to run on par with Lancer, but more importantly, he was holding a car with people screaming to anyone to save them from this demon.

His round eyes full of hope, Ruu waited for an answer.

[Alice]

Archer's earnesty seemed to catch the Irishman entirely off guard. While still somewhat on edge, Archer saw a glimmer of hope in the Demigod's reaction. Then to Archer's own surprise, Lancer flipped around Gae Bolg so the blunt end was facing him and... lightly poked him with it, seemingly perplexed.

"Yeah, you're real," said Lancer with a confused frown. He leaned forward and gave Archer a good sniff. This made Archer feel a bit... awkward, and so the bowman took a bit of a step backwards as Lancer continued speaking. "You smell like him too. Men shouldn't smell like tea and cleaning products."

Archer shrugged at that, his reply tinged with a dose of self mockery. "I'm not most men. But then, you could say I'm so much of a man that I'm not phased by such things."

But the Celt continued on, ignoring the reponse, still scowling. "But you're not acting like the Bowman I know."

Archer stood there in silence. What Lancer had said about leaving girls to be raped... There was no doubt, the copy of EMIYA that this Lancer had encountered had done exactly that. The thought embittered him further, though he suspected that he wouldn't have done something that questionable without purpose.

Still... while Archer was not afraid to admit in the slightest that he'd done some terrible things for the sake of Justice, he couldn't help but suspect he had gone even farther than usual to have Lancer view him with such ill regard. If Lancer saw fit to see the Archer he had encountered as a different person, so be it.

With a bit of a smirk, Archer at last responded. "Then perhaps you don't know me as well as you think. Or maybe..." Steel grey met with blood red as the bowman looked up. "I'm not the Bowman you met after all."

But the moment was cut short as the sound of an enormous explosion rang through the air. Archer's heart leapt into his throat, but only for an instant, as it didn't' take him long to realize that it was a good ways away from the direction he was heading. Still, I can imagine I'll have to investigate eventually. Probably a good number of casualties, and there's always a chance there'll be another one, which isn't good for anyone. Normally he would have gone straight for the source of the explosion. But not even his most natural of instincts could override his loyalty to his current Master.

Even at the price of breaking the Moon Cell's cardinal rule for Servants and risking punishment, Archer had privately decided to put his Master's well being over that of the Moon Cell itself. It had ate at him, and he knew that he'd have to tell Hakuno some time should they ever return to normal Moon Cell, but it did not change how he felt. This situation was no different. Explosion or no explosion, as far as Archer was concerned, Hakuno's safety was  the number one priority.

Lancer had heard the explosion as well. The Demigod shook his head with exasperation. "Oy, this is going to put Fore in an even fouler mood." With a sigh, the Celt pointed towards Hakuno's current location. "Knowing my new landlady, she's probably in the thick of it with your Master, so our interests coincide.  For now."

Archer couldn't help but feel a bit of relief. Something resembling a genuine smile crept on the Blacksmith Hero's lips as he gave his temporary ally a firm nod. Archer was about to take off, but got cut off as Lancer addressed him one last time with a smirk. "Oh, and don't slow me down, you arse."

As Lancer took off at full speed, the smile that'd been forming on Archer's lips turned into a smirk. He took after the figure in blue, and gave his reply just before he began to run at full speed. "Not a problem, just try not to get in my way if we encounter any fighting." Archer followed the blue blur, as closely as possible, hoping now that there would be nothing else interrupting his attempts to reach Hakuno.

***

 

Hakuno desperately attempted to keep her shield intact, her full concentration going into trying to keep it from dying amongst the chaos. But as the explosion rang through the air, her concentration was disrupted, and the shield vanished in an instant. From what she could tell, it was a long ways off, but still... the more time Hakuno spent here, the less she liked this place.

Frustrated that her shield was gone, Hakuno turned to try and get a look at the shooter from before. Hakuno's eyes widened. This young man... no, no, he couldn't be. Resemblance or not resemblance, there was no way this was Archer's younger self. For one thing, it just wasn't possible. For another... from everything she knew about Archer, even if he hadn't of known her, there was no way he would have shot at her like he did. No way, no how! Still, minus the skin color, height, and age, there was a good amount of resemblance...

Maybe I should ask Archer later if he has a brother. Because how else do you explain this?

Hakuno's thoughts were interrupted however by the voice of the blonde woman, who called out to the strangely familiar figure. "I'm Law Unto Herself, but if things go well, you can call me Forest.  So, tell me why you're going all Punisher on a rooftop in my town?"
Hakuno felt like some sort of reference just flew over her head. Still, at least now the blonde woman had a name. Forest, huh? That's a pretty name.

Then things got worse. She heard a voice, and then saw a man with a katana try to attack Rider. Rider jumped backwards to evade the attack, and the blow caused the concrete to fragment and shatter as it landed, forcing Hakuno to dodge to avoid being hit by the pieces. Hakuno managed to get a look at Rider's face- she was licking her lips and all and all looked just a tad bit frightening.

Hakuno gulped. Rider had saved her life, but the girl couldn't help but still find the purple haired Servant kinda scary. Still, Hakuno was quite grateful, and decided to reserve her judgements some until the conflict was over.

But as an evil grin popped up on Rider's face and she threw a number of sharp, pointy projectiles at the strange new man, Hakuno decided that it was somewhat reasonable to be scared of her. Still, she had saved Hakuno's life, and so she still hoped that the somewhat sadistic Servant made it out alright.

Just as Hakuno thought things couldn't get any worse, however, her attention was forced back to the shooter as he began to utter an all too familiar chant. Hakuno looked at him in horror. Her brother hypothesis shot out of the water, Hakuno looked on at the figure that she now had the sinking feeling was indeed Archer's younger self. Still... It was strange, but, while he looked like a younger Archer, he didn't feel like a younger Archer. Something seemed more extreme in this young man than what she had gotten from Archer, and so Hakuno clung to the small hope that there was another explanation for who this person was.

Regardless of the explanation, it didn't change the danger that the chant could entail to everyone there. Hakuno shouted a warning, pointing towards the not-Archer; "I know that chant! Rider, Forest, he's about to use a Noble Phantasm! You have to stop him!"

Now would be a good time to get that shield back up... Hakuno did a quick glance over of everyone she could try and shield. Finally, she concluded that the best person to shield was herself again- she was the weakest one there, and that meant that Forest or Rider might risk their lives trying to protect her again. The more they could focus on what was going on and not on her, the better. With more determination now than ever before, Hakuno began to concentrate, attempting to resurrect the fallen shield. To her delight, the shield reappeared, and was stronger and more stable than ever.

In spite of her success though, Hakuno felt herself getting tired. But at this point, she had to hold out as long as she could. Hakuno threw her full concentration into the shield, hoping that this whole mess would end soon.

---

Serene and yet surreal was the feeling that permeated the Moors this night, a fog creeping over the grass and rocks as a lone figure quietly crept on through the night. The girl moved carefully, her eyes scanning the area frequently, her demeanor somewhat anxious. But she was close. Very close. So close that she could feel it.

Despite the seeming lack of human activity, the girl knew that the Association had placed various means to keep people from reaching this particular area, and had set up a few magi to keep an eye on things as well, but so far she'd successfully been able to evade all of it. Nothing would stop her from achieving tonight's goal.

At last, her eyes fell upon her destination, the sight of it filling her with both fear and excitement. The portal was difficult to see with the naked eye, but she could feel the disruption it caused as mana ebbed and flowed from it. The young magus took a deep breath. This was her chance to prove herself to the Association. It was quite possible that this could be a one way trip, or that she could die. But at this point, she was so desperate to try and show her potential as a Magus that she felt that it outweighed the risks. With some trepidation, she snuck up to the portal.

Carefully, she placed her hand through the disturbance. Her hand was unharmed, and she could feel air on the other side. The girl sighed with relief. Steeling herself for the trip, the girl went through the rest of the way, not knowing what awaited her beyond.

***The Next Day, At the Clock Tower***

The dimly lit office both seemed welcoming and intimidating at the same time. While she was quite excited for this little meeting, Rin couldn't help but be slightly nervous as well. This seemed important. Keeping herself tall and straight while still trying to hide her feelings under a mask of calm, she looked on at the older man who stood before her, the expression that his stern features conveyed somewhat grim. "Miss Tohsaka, I believe that you were briefed momentarily before you got here?"

Rin nodded. "Not extensively, but I was told it had to do with the dimensional rift that appeared in Dartmoor. Is this true?"

The man, none other than one Lord El-Melloi II, nodded in confirmation. "That is correct." He looked firmly into Rin's eyes. "While your master Zelrech thought that you were capable of carrying out this mission, it's also highly probable that you may be killed. Furthermore, you will not be able to return here easily if you need assistance. As of now, you will have no backup. Are you still interested in taking this assignment?"

From the way he spoke, Rin could tell that whatever this mission was involved going into the portal itself. Still, as risky as this mission was, she knew that it would not be assigned to her if the Association did not think she could handle it. Plus it was her chance to show her skills. Confident, Rin nodded.

Satisfied, Lord El-Melloi picked up a folder from his desk, and held it out for Rin to grab. She took the folder, and as she opened it to glance at it's contents, she saw that among the various documents was a photo of a girl.

"Do you recognize this girl, Miss Tohsaka?"

Rin looked closely at the photo. "A little bit. I've seen her around campus a few times I think." She looked back up at the elder magus. "Still, I don't really know much about her, to be honest."

Lord El-Melloi nodded once again. "Her name is Milletia Garrison. She went through the rift without authorization last night." He gently began to rub his forehead, seeming a bit exasperated. "While your master Zelretch himself has confirmed that the rift should not cause too much damage at this point, the fact that someone has gone through without supervision or authorization is problematic. Still, it confirmed that the portal is safe to traverse, if nothing else."

El-Melloi pointed back at the folder. "Your mission is to go back and retrieve her. While you are there, you are also to explore the region and, upon your return, report as much as you can back to us as to what you saw. Are you willing to accept?"

Rin desperately tried not to smile, as she was now brimming with excitement. This was a huge deal. A mission this big could only mean great things for her in terms of her career as a magus in the future. Calmly as she could, she gave her answer. "I accept." 

"Then there's one last thing that I need to impart to you before I let you go to start preparing." Lord El-Melloi pulled something from behind his desk. It was some sort of wand.

"Even with your level of talent, Miss Tohsaka, you will not be able to do this without help. Therefore, Master Zelrech instructed me to give this to you."

Rin took the wand from him. Looking down at it, the rubys imbedded into the circle at the top of the staff almost seemed like eyes... She looked back up at him quizzically. "What kind of wand is this?"

"It's a Kaleido stick. It will grant you access to infinite prana and enhance your abilities significantly. With this, you should be able to fulfill your mission with minimal problems. Now then, are there any additional questions?"

Rin shook her head. "I believe I know everything I need to." And with that, Rin was dismissed.

Rin was bubbling with excitement, though she would definitely have to prepare thoroughly and take care of any loose ends before she left. She felt a bit guilty for leaving Emiya-kun, Sakura, and the others behind for what was likely to be a long period of time, but an opportunity like this just didn't come by very often, so she needed to take advantage of it while she still could. She'd call them and explain what was going on, make any final arrangements, and then get going. But still, Rin was sure that everything would turn out just great. She'd grown as a magus, the Association had given their confidence in her, and besides, what's the worst that could happen? 

***A good amount of time later, in the City.... ***
Rin mentally told herself to avoid asking herself "what's the worst that could happen?" ever again. She flew through the sprawling metropolis, on the other side of the portal, looking near and far for a good place to start searching for the missing Garrison girl. But that wasn't the problem. Oh no. The problem was Ruby. Turned out that the stupid stick was sentient. And from what she could tell, it fed off of her misery.

"Oh come on Rin, why such a grumpy, face? This is every girl's dream~ ♥ A magical girl is all smiles!~"

One day I'll find a way to destroy you, you stupid stick. Rin glared directly into Ruby's ruby eyes and started yelling at her. "Why wouldn't I be?! Thanks to you trying to show off, I nearly lost all my supplies!" Rin looked pensively at the beat up backpack. "Magical girl or not, I kind of need these things, you know?"

"But a magical girl should be good at improvisation~ Besides, a big part of being a proper magical girl is presentation~ ♥"

Rin glowered at the wand, continuing further as she talked. "Well maybe I don't care about being a magical girl, you ever think about that?! I just want to get this mission done and do it right, plain and simple!"

Rin was surprised as the wand turned to look at her again. For some reason, Rin had to suppress a shudder. "So then, I take it you don't want to be a magical girl?"

"Beyond completing the mission? No! I've never felt more embarassed in all my life!"

"Then I suppose you won't be needing me then~ ♥ ♥ ♥" Ruby forced herself out of Rin's grasp, the staff her head was attached to and her wings wiggling about.
"Have a nice fall~ ♥"

Rin realized in horror that she was no longer in the ridiculous looking magical girl outfit. It also meant that she could no longer fly.

"W-wait, what are you do-" but Rins question was cut off by her suddenly plummeting through the air, hanging on to her bag of possessions for dear life. She started to scream as she fell, not wanting something humiliating like this to be the cause of her demise. Looking below, she spotted a pair of familiar figures running across the rooftops. Lancer? A-archer?! What are they doing here?!
 
Rin squinted just a bit to get a better look at Archer. Despite her current dire sitation, Rin couldn't help but snicker a bit. And what's up with that outfit? Still, it meant there was hope, as one of them could maybe catch her. Now to just get their attention....

"Would one of you idiots catch me already?!"

Below, Archer heard Rin's loud shout. Startled at the familiar voice, he slowed down and looked up. He saw her falling, and reacting in an instant, he went back and prepared himself to jump. Quickly, he put the right amount of strength into his legs, pulling her into his arms and landing hard on top of a building. He didn't stop to check and see if Lancer had noticed, as either he'd continue ahead, or he would have stopped and stayed close by.

Rin was more than happy to see her old Servant, in more ways than one. She couldn't help but smile as she looked up at him, still held in his arms. "And here I thought I'd never see you again. You don't know how happy I am to have this little meeting with you, believe me."

Archer smiled right back, secretly quite happy to be reunited with her as well. "Nor did I. Still, I can't say I'm not entirely pleased with this little meeting of ours myself."

Rin nodded. "Oh, by the way...." A mischievous grin crossed Rin's face. "What's with the jacket and collar? Your new master got you on a tight leash?"

Archer's cheeks flushed slightly, embarrassed as he placed his former Master on the ground. "And I imagine there's quite the story to tell behind that little fall of yours. Must be embarrassing."
 
Rin lowered her eyes and voice. "It's a long story..." Rin attempted to distract herself by taking a thorough glance at Archer's new outfit. Certain details stuck out to her now, particularly his exposed abs.... Rin's cheeks went ablaze. "A-anyway, get a shirt on or something sometime would you? That outfit's embarrassing!"

Archer couldn't help a small smirk at that. At least this outfit has a few redeeming qualities, he thought to himself.

Thinking back to the mission at hand, his expression became more serious. "Anyway, if you want to come with me, you have to tell me now. I can't stay here much longer."

"You did seem in an awful hurry... What's going on, anyway?"

The bowman's eyes narrowed a bit. "It's my current master. She's in danger."

"Then let's go. May as well, because I need to get that stupid stick back before I carry out my mission proper anyway."

Archer made to ask what she meant about the "stupid stick", but the look in Rin's eyes stopped him. Mentally making a note to himself to ask later, he readied himself to take her into his arms. "Shall we go then?"

[Xamusel]

It took Sephiroth a few minutes to get to the source of the explosion, and when he did, it looked as if either Bahamut or Neo Bahamut took their flare abilities to the logical conclusion and turned it up to eleven. In his personal opinion, he felt it was on par with a ramped up Giga Flare, if not the Omega Flare that Bahamut Zero uses (though not nearly as powerful as a regular Omega Flare).

He was just fortunate that his apartment was undamaged in light of all this.

Bringing himself to look around for any clues as to why this place would be targeted, he began to walk around the crater, hoping that the remains of the neighborhood would be more than enough to help him pinpoint what he needed to know--

"Who the hell are you?! One of the Enforcers?!"

Sephiroth turned his attention to his left and saw someone that honestly made him confused. This person stood at 6' even, had spiky black hair that reminded him slightly of Zack Fair, Cobalt Blue eyes, a black business suit with a grey shirt underneath and a bright red tie, and he carried a sword that reminded Sephiroth of Zack's personal weapon. The fact was that this person, while he had white skin, had labelled him as one of these 'Enforcers' that Sephiroth had no idea who they were.

Before Sephiroth could get a chance to reply, the man continued, "Well, it's not like you'll be leaving this part of town alive, anyway! I, Gatou Nonji, will see to it myself!!" With that, Gatou flung himself at Sephiroth at such a high speed that only a true master of fighting could catch it, and even then only barely in most cases.

Sephiroth quickly drew the Masamune to deflect the attacks that were bound to come, but it would appear it wasn't quick enough, as Gatou was well within striking range for his fists by the time Sephiroth drew the Masamune from its scabbard. A fist soon found its way to Sephiroth's gut, causing him to double over in pain, followed by a round-house kick to the head that sent him flying a few feet backwards.

Sephiroth almost dropped the Masamune from the impacts that he had to deal with, but he eventually stood up, keeping himself healed with a potion that he had on hand. The potion worked its magic on him, and it also had the unknown effect of improving his ability to catch super high speeds, which was really useful as he saw Gatou Nonji move at a more reasonable pace for him to follow with his eyes.

Sephiroth swung his sword in the general direction of where he saw Gatou was headed for, though his swing was too slow for the mysterious opponent, as the man merely sidestepped the swing and did a scissor kick to Sephiroth's face. This time, though, Sephiroth dodged and immediately called upon a spell of Fire 3 to hit his foe.

Third time's the charm, as they say, because Gatou fell in excruciating pain upon being hit by an area-effect spell. Before either of the two could do anything else....

"This is the Enforcers! Gatou Nonji, come out with your hands up, you are under arrest for terrorism!"