Cross Effects- The RP

[Daiki]

She watched as Shirou killed her brethren. Others were about to get in close too, that white haired guy and the girl he had with him reaching ground level. She didn't feel anything see her own kind getting slaughtered in such a violent display. She sensed some more joining the battles, . Emerging from the dark alleys, the roofs and even vehicles. Probably reinforcement in order to stall the group until they send one of the big guys. It was the best option to get away now but...

Olga felt conflicted on this. She had no place to go anymore, she would be considered as a traitor if she went back after her failure. Valken wasn't exactly the forgiving kind, even if being considered the nice guy of the organization. She closed her eyes and sent Shirou her thoughts.

Why didn't you kill me? Don't you dare if I hurt innocent people?

She rubbed her temples with a groan. Her options were limited now. Fighting with the humans and become a traitor. Or go try to find a place to hide. Deciding to go for the later, she walked away discreetly. Well, she could at least send something for the magus in exchange of him sparing her life.

Word of advice, I suggest you move from here, before they send you a walking disaster.

With that, she was gone.

[Elf]

Lancer eyed the young man before Archer sighed and took the key from Finn's hand.

"Of course an idiot wouldn't know and use that sort of rifle," the corrupted Servant said with a sigh before pressing the button on the tiny pad on the key chain.  Lights half way down the garage flashed as a tiny beep echoed out from a black BMW M5.  Archer sighed again and pressed the keys back into Finn's hand.

He said, "Mystery solved."

Lancer didn't say anything before taking out of the garage at a dead run, leaving the others in his wake.  As he ran, the force generated a sharp breeze, hard enough to ruffle hair, skirts, and dusters.  A few of the cars shook, and outside a boom was heard as the Celt broke the sound barrier on foot one the less.

Archer swept Rin into his arms and said, "Let's not be the last ones there."

******

Forest felt the Faerie's blood start to heat up, almost boiling hot.  She pulled her fangs out and shoved the girl hard away.  I failed, Master. Was the Faerie's thought  that echoed through the vampire's mind as she broke the connection and dove behind a car for cover.

She didn't completely get clear when the Faerie literally exploded in a flare of blue-white light, like the heart of the star.  Heat washed over the area as sound was deafened by the roar of the explosion.  Forest's retinas flashed with white light despite having her eyes closed.  There was a moment of pain, and the force of the explosion sent her flying back.

A beat up old Cadillac stopped her flight and the force of the crash shook her body.  She was dimly aware that her clothing was smoldering hot and flaming lightly, so automatically she shed the duster and started pulling off the burning remnants of clothing.  Spurred by the powerful Faerie blood, her wounds were healing almost instantaneously. 

She looked up to see even more vampires swarming the fray, and noted that Shirou was getting a little slower.  Cursing, the vampire pulled out her beloved Magnum and aimed at the head of one going for Shirou's back.  Fire exploded from the barrel and the vampire's head exploded in a fount of gore before he crumbled to ashes.  She cocked the hammer back and slid the gun back into her holster before ripping the door off the poor Cadillac. Using it like a shield and a bludgeon, she rushed to helped the white haired Japanese man.

Her hands and feet moved in a blur, her hand to hand combat a mixture of various martial arts styles.  The car door was also used as a makeshift crudgel, and the two vampires she was facing both lost their heads to it.  She sent to the white haired young man, Beheading works too. How are you holding up?

[Alice]

Finn blushed a little, embarrassed. "Must've been a long night. Didn't think I'd forget about something like the lock button."

Mille crossed her arms. "No, you're just an idiot."

Lancer didn't say anything before taking out of the garage at a dead run, leaving the others in his wake.  As he ran, the force generated a sharp breeze, hard enough to ruffle hair, skirts, and dusters.  A few of the cars shook, and outside a boom was heard as the Celt broke the sound barrier on foot one the less.

Mille looked on sadly after the Demigod. Secretly she'd hoped she'd take her with him. Now she was stuck with her moron of a brother. The two got into the BMW, Mille glaring at her sibling as she fastened her seatbelt.

"If you wreck this thing, I swear I'll find a way to haunt you well beyond the grave."

"No need to worry sis. Got this well under control."

"Like with the keys?"

Finn shrugged. "Eh, everyone has brain farts sometimes."

"Let's just hope for your sake that it's only 'sometimes.'"

Finn set up the GPS before he went, and the car took off, smooth as silk. Contrary to his sister's fears, Finn was actually an excellent driver, and the car travelled smoothly throughout the darkened streets, hurrying towards it's destination just a touch above the designated speed limits.

Meanwhile, Rin could not help but blush a little as Archer swept her up into his arms. "Let's not be the last ones there."

Rin gave him a determined nod and a smile as the two took off into the night.

---

Despite being on a rooftop out of range of the blast, Archer grabbed Hakuno and held her tightly in his arms, facing away from the bright explosion. Hakuno's heart was filled with dread, worrying if Forest had made it through alright. Archer released Hakuno, and the pair turned to look at the damage below. To their relief, her clothes weren't in good shape, and she'd been forced to shed her duster, but Forest herself seemed to be healing up rather quickly.

But the relief was short lived. Vampires crawled seemingly out of the woodwork, surrounding them from every which way. Thankfully, Hakuno and Archer's rooftop seemed to be relatively clear of the things, but that didn't change the fact that now everyone was in grave danger, including them.

Archer grimly assessed their situation. He quickly surveyed the rooftops surrounding theirs, noticing that things continued to remain clear. Archer debated the best course of action. If he stayed here, he could protect Hakuno and continue to attack the vampires at a distance. If he went below though, he could possibly help Forest a bit more, at the price of risking his Master's safety and losing his height advantage. Plus he would likely have to stick with his swords. However, if he stayed on the rooftops, they may not fall fast enough unless he used something heavy duty like Caladbolg II, which risked harming Forest in the process and causing massive collateral damage.

Archer sighed. He decided to take advantage of possessing the high ground for now and continue to snipe at the vampires from a distance. Once they started converging around Forest and Shirou, he'd possibly drop down and switch to melee. He resumed sniping at the vampires with his shinai arrows, mainly focusing on the ones plaguing Forest and Shirou.

"Master, listen to me. There's an RTU not that far behind us. I want you to go hide behind it. If you have a vampire come after you, I want you to contact me via telepathy immediately, understand?"

Hakuno looked Archer with uncertainty, but nodded and did as ordered. She crouched down behind the air handling unit, hugging her legs with her arms. She frowned a bit, her concern for her Servant beginning to swell. Softly, she whispered, "I hate this. Before at least I could back him up, but now... now all I can do is hide. I hate being nothing but a burden. If only there was a way I could help..."

And that's my cue~ Hakuno had to stifle a surprised yelp as the wand zoomed down in front of her, ruby eyes glittering with raw enthusiasm. "Hello there! I'm the magical stick of love and justice, Magical Ruby-"

"Keep it down, someone could hear you!" Hakuno hissed. She bowed her head in apology. "Sorry, I just don't to draw the vampire's attention."

Ruby lowered her voice so she was a bit more quiet. "You're fine, just fine~ Not being ripped apart by creatures of the night takes priority after all~ Speaking of which, you wouldn't mind blasting away those baddies to kingdom come, would you?"

Hakuno shrugged. "Well, they're after my friends. If it meant I could keep them from getting hurt, I'd do it in a heartbeat." She lowered her eyes. "But I can't. Not like I am right now."

"I have good news then~ Today's your lucky day!  ❤ Just form a contract with me, and all your problems are solved~  ❤"

Hakuno regarded the wand with suspicion. "That's a lot to offer. How do I know I can trust you?"

"Aww, come on, don't these rubies of mine radiate nothing but trustworthiness and sincerity?  ❤"

Not really, thought Hakuno.

"Trustworthy or not though, think about it. Your friends are in danger. You're tired of being helpless and vulnerable. There's vampires at every turn. All these things I can help you solve~" Ruby leaned in a bit closer. "Maybe even winning over that special someone~ Don't you want to keep him safe?"

"What do you mean, 'special someone?'" Hakuno said, her voice hushed.

"Oh come on~ I saw you making googly eyes at that hunk before you came over here~ You love him, don't you?"

She did. Completely and utterly. There was a part of her that wouldn't entirely admit it yet, but without question, she cared about him with everything she had. He'd always been there for her, through thick and thin, no matter how many mistakes she'd made, no matter how grim things had gotten. He'd never left her side, and when he was forced away from it, he always found a way back to her.

...She would risk it. She was tired of not being able to fight back, and the possibility of being able to protect Archer for a change instead of the other way around was an attractive possibility. Her eyes glittering with determination, Hakuno stared into those glistening rubies and their sinister glow.

"...Alright. I'll do it. I'll do whatever it takes to help keep my friends safe."

"Yippee~! Now stick your finger out~"

Hakuno complied, and winced as she felt a tiny prick on her finger. A droplet of blood formed on her fingertip, ominously reflected in those shimmering gemstone eyes.

"Now grab on~"

Hakuno hesitated, but obeyed, feeling something surge through her arm not unlike what she'd felt when she had made her contract with Archer. There was a bright burst of light, and Hakuno felt herself being surrounded by magical energy.

She emerged from the prismatic swirl of light and color with her wardrobe entirely changed, and, to her amazement, she felt prana surging through her at an astounding rate. It seemed Ruby had been telling the truth.

"New master, registered~ Congratulations, Kishinami Hakuno-chan, you are now a magical girl~  ❤"

[OPOI]

Beheading works too. How are you holding up?

"Really annoyed with myself right now," Shirou grunted, quickly changing tactics from projecting shinais to simply swinging Durandal in long arcs, effectively beheading a few vampires. He had another enormous bang, and turned just in time to watch another vampire's head literally explode. Forest carried some serious fire-power.

"I've been too lax with my prana, so that's been making me a bit slower" he continued, dodging under a vampire's wild swing before blasting its head off with two shots from his Glock, "And just then in a moment of lightheadedness from prana exhaustion, I somehow persuaded myself that letting an extremely dangerous vampire live would be a great idea. An extremely dangerous hazard to the populace is now running around scot-free because I couldn't think straight. So yep, annoyed would be the correct word."

Suddenly, he felt a burning heat shoot into his spine, temporarily whiting out his vision. In that brief moment, he was crash-tackled to the ground, dropping his Glock and Durandal; regaining his vision just in time to see a vampire lunging its head down to bite into his neck. He quickly gathered a fistful of his cloak, and shoved it into the vampire's mouth. Pushing off with his legs, he managed to roll them so he ended up on top, reaching into his coat to retrieve a small revolver which he promptly used to blast 2 holes in the vampire's head. Sensing rather than seeing another vampire swinging something towards him, he quickly rolled under the dying vampire, letting it take the hit. As the body disintegrated, he fired wildly in every direction, before quickly springing to his feet, withdrawing a knife in the process. He took stop of the situation.

Nearby, Forest was a whirlwind of destruction, beheading vampires with...a car door. Archer's covering fire had stopped briefly, before returning in full force; the Servant had probably been moving his Master to a safer spot. Right now, Shirou was the one dragging them down, and he hated it.

His prana levels were dangerously low now, probably enough for one more projection. He quickly threw his knife at a vampire charging towards him, the weapon sinking hilt-deep into its head. Shirou focused, and Traced Kanshou and Bakuya one last time, then finished the job with a quick slash, sending the vampire's head flying into the air.

Shirou felt a large pulse of prana nearby. He spun around, and was completely shocked to find Hakuno emerging from an RTU, dressed like...a magical girl. Well...that was new.

[Milbunk]

Downy Reed


Downy Reed was many things, a teacher, a schemer, a general, and the offspring of a line of necromancers that stretched a thousand years into the past, but if there was one thing he was most of all it was a sore loser.

“General watch out!”

“Damn it! Even now the Barnfriets interfere with Gods plans!?”

A flash of light and the roar of the Barnfriets Mystic Cannon were the last things he heard before he was swamped in darkness and swept into the void. 

His body wrecked with pain he awoke with a start, a quick look around was all it took to realize he was no longer in the command room of the Gargantua rather it appeared he was in the alleyway of some forsaken city far away from the current battle going on in his time.

“Imnity respond!”

“G… al  … yo..r  c..nn..n  …ak…”

“Damn it Imnity!  I don’t have time for this!”

It was apparent to Downy that he was no longer on Avatar that’s the only explanation he could find for his sudden weak connection to the White Book, but if he wasn’t on Avatar then where was he?

“Did I land in some backwater branch world then?”

This time he looked around in more detail, the brick buildings and concrete ground was clearly much different than the dirt and wooden city walls he had grown used to.

He needed to find his way back to Avatar asap but he couldn’t do it alone, no that would take too long, for the moment perhaps the best plan of action would be to create enough interference so that he could be found by the White book, yes that would be much faster.

Hmm in that case perpetual gates are the choice of action.

Best to get started then.

Sensing that the mana forces were strong enough in this area he quickly summoned up the writing apparatus used for drawing the necessary summoning circle required in such a complex gate, one of the perks of having dimensional capabilities.

**********

Although he had knowledge of creating the gates and even assisted in making the main one in Avatar it was still a grand task for him to overtake even after several hours of work all he could manage was a gate not even on the same scale as the one in Avatar, but it would do for the moment at least.

Making one last run through to double check his work he made a quick glance at the sky making note that it was much darker than before.

Again another wave of his hand and the circle began to glow.

“הקסם חבוי בכל הדברים שסביבנו האנרגיה הנשימה שלך לתת למעגל החיים הזה מחדש”

Brighter and brighter still the light came forth as if to bring the fires of destruction to this world, his mark would be the sign of the end, because to the man known as Downy Reed this world was only a speck of dust in the grand scheme of things, yes to him only one world mattered, the Root World known as Avatar.

The ground began to rumble and the light from the circle crackled in energy before finally letting out a loud hiss returning to a low glow, a cloaked figure emerged and with it Downy knew that his attempt had been a success.

‘Hmm not bad for my first try.’

“You there, keep this circle operational send any more of your kind to me and the rest to guard yourself, I have much to do before tomorrow.”

A silent nod was all that was needed before the shadowy figure turned and began its own casting rites, continuing the ritual.

The troublesome thing about these perpetual gates is that they required constant maintenance in order to maintain operation, but on a plus side to that and depending on the size, the gates can easily summon a battalion of monsters all ready to bring chaos and destruction to the world, something the White book would eventually be able to locate.

However Downy was still rather new to the art of summoning and, while the feat he had just performed was by no means small, it would still take a good amount of time for it to make any amount of difference, until then he need only to wait in the shadows expelling any threat that may come across his plan.

As he left the alleyway and emerged into the decaying streets of the city a second flash and hiss sounded off as a reptilian figure emerged into view sword and shield in hand already standing guard around the circle.

Yes the force known as ruin had come to this city and with it the man known as Downy Reed.

[Elf]

Lancer ran past cars, setting off a few alarms in his wake and breaking a few windows.  Not intentionally, he was just running so fast that his speed was bringing up a massive force with him.  He knew the area where Forest had told them their location. 

He also knew she would be having fits because innocent people were being put at risk.

However, his whole body was filled with a charge and the Hound of Ulster was smiling.  He was already craving a large battle, something to sate his bloodlust. 

Then he saw the large flare of light in the direction he was going.

******

The corrupted Servant was leaping from rooftop to rooftop with his precious cargo in his arms.  He also knew the area fairly well and knew the hotel area they were heading too.  He asked Rin, "So, do we have a plan?  Do we know anything other than 'Good Guys vs Bad Guys'?"

******

Forest frowned at Shirou's words and saw him get tackled.  She moved in a graceful arch, using her car door to slam into a vampire's kneecaps at just the right angle to smash it, bringing them down.  Then with a snap kick to the back of their neck, she sent them crashing all the way to the pavement.  The piece of spare steel, already soaked in gore, went up before crashing down on flesh and bone, crushing through it.  Then with a twist of her upper body, she effectively beheaded that vampire leaving ash in her wake.

He was upon his feet again, but she could see he was utterly exhausted.  She moved to his side, handed him the .44 and said, "Headshots."

[Alice]

Rin shook her head. "Forest didn't tell me much other than that we may need to form search parties. From what I was hearing in the background though, I think it's safe to assume that we can possibly expect worse. For now, we should probably be ready for anything." She gestured back to her backpack. "I have my gems with me in here, so if worse comes to worse, I'll be ready. I think when we get there though, we should use one of the rooftops to survey the area, get an idea of what we're getting into before we decide on a plan of attack."

Just like when it all began, Rin thought to herself. She settled comfortably into Archer's muscular arms as they continued on towards their destination.

***

Archer noticed a surge of prana through his end of the leyline and could see parts of the brightly colored light that had flashed behind him. Once more, he stopped his assault on the vampires to try and see what had happened. Hakuno had stepped out from behind the RTU, now wearing what appeared to be some sort of magical girl outfit, holding what appeared to be a Kaleidostick.

Archer stood there in stunned silence. He had a variety of reasons for this, a couple he wasn't exactly willing to confess to. But he quickly snapped himself back together.

"Ta dah~ Well, big guy, what do you think~" Ruby bounced around in Hakuno's hand, pleased with his reaction. She'd seen something in Archer's reaction to his Master's new ensemble that could prove very useful later for getting ~certain things~ to happen... 

"As much as I'd love to give you my opinion, we have bigger things to worry about," Archer said, gesturing down at the vampires. A part of him was grateful for the present infestation.

"Awwww, that's too bad. I want to hear it later though~"

Archer winced at that. He turned back around to look at the events transpiring below. Things didn't seem to be improving. At least his Master could defend herself now, that was a plus. It also gave him more mobility, since he didn't have to watch after Hakuno quite so carefully. The Servant turned back to Hakuno. "I want you to stay up here for now. I'm glad you can defend yourself now, but even with the power of the Kaleidostick, you could still get overwhelmed."

Hakuno frowned. "But shouldn't I be able to fight them off just as well as you can now? ...and how do you know what Ruby is?"

Ruby wiggled her feathers. "Oh, I've been many places, many worlds, many time periods~ I wouldn't be surprised if he saw me someplace before~"

"You just acquired the wand, so you don't know how to use it yet. You may or may not be able to figure out how to use it quickly, but as it is, I don't want to risk you getting torn apart by vampires."

Hakuno crossed her arms, glaring at her Servant. He sighed. "If you want to help me though, practice some up here, where it's a bit safer. When you think you're ready, follow me down. Just make sure not to jump the gun."

Hakuno brightened up at that, and nodded. Archer then turned back to look at the chaos below, dismissing his bow.

"Trace... Overedge!" Kanshou and Bakuya materialized in Archer's hands, only larger and covered in metal scales. Now properly armed, he jumped into the fray below, beheading vampires right and left, making his way towards Shirou and Forest.  He could feel the warm blood splash on him with each beheading, but he had learned long ago not to let it bother him.

He withheld from chanting to summon Unlimited Blade Works just yet, trying to wait for the correct timing. If something stronger than these vampires appeared, he wanted to still have his trump card handy. For now, they seemed to fall easily enough to the twin blades, and he continued to behead vampire after vampire after vampire, hoping to take some of the pressure off of the other already exhausted combatants.

Hakuno fretted as she watched Archer fight. She turned Ruby so that they were looking at each other face to face. "So how do I even use you? I'm not any more useful than before if I don't even know how to attack."

"That's easy~ Just use your imagination~"

Hakuno gave the wand an exasperated look.

"No, really, use your imagination~ Just imagine the blasts being fired at the enemy and go from there~"

Hakuno frowned a little at that, but decided to try it out. She concentrated, imagining a small barrage of blasts hitting the vampires. Hoping for the best, she waved Ruby forward. To her surprise, a group of small spherical orbs formed around Ruby's head, and launched rapidly at the vampires. Several of the creatures cried out as the bright projectiles slammed into them with considerable force.

"I did it..."

"You did it! Yay~ Now let's try something more advanced~"

Hakuno nodded. She allowed her mind to be less narrowed in terms of what she could imagine, and with a bit of a frow, addressed her Servant mentally. Archer, besides stakes and beheadings, what else are vampires traditionally weak against?

The Servant kicked a vampire down and relieved it of it's head before answering. Holy water and crosses are also pretty common in vampire lore. Assuming these vampires have those weaknesses, you should be able to defeat the vampires easily enough if you manage to somehow incorporate one of those into your attacks.

Thank you, Archer. Be careful down there!

He gave her a mental nod. Hakuno was about to think of what to try next when one of the vampires lept down in front of her. The thing looked ravenous, looking rather fixedly at her throat.

Hakuno tried not to panic and thought back to what Archer had just told her. She didn't know for sure if the water in her attack would have holy properties or not, but she had to try. She imagined a large blast of holy water engulfing the vampire. A magic circle materialized below her as a shimmering ball of water appeared and quickly launched itself at the vampire, trapping the thing inside. She watched as the vampire screamed in agony, it's flesh burning away, exposing muscle and bone until it crumbled into ash.

Hakuno looked down at the mess before her feeling a bit lightheaded. Ruby spoke up. "Perhaps we should go with a cross based attack next time, huh? May be a bit less messy~"

[lantzblades]

Taiga smiled "Come on, let's go" she said turning around and wheeling toward the entrance.

Satoshi completed the foundation and then began to chant, after a few moments the castle came to be, a massive black imposing structure dwarfing all the building around it. It could clearly be seen from anywhere in the city. Sighing Satoshi chanted sealing the entrance as he stepped inside.

Sakura leapt through the portal, the city was dark and dank in general and a castle loomed in the distance "this place is ugly, monster den at least" she muttered moving to find her prey

[Milbunk]

Downy Reed

The preparations were going along smoothly, after the first circle had been created he left for a new area searching for the correct coordinates for the second and third ones, in his mind, though the circle had begun it's duty he knew that there was still much to be done.

He was already wasting enough time as it was, best not to dawdle too long, the gate was hidden in the alley and guarded by his troops for now but it was only a matter of time before some lucky mage noticed the disturbance in the area, something Downy was hoping to avoid for the meantime.

**********

“W-what! That's impossible!”  The man shouted, he had expected this to just be another easy target but the second he approached the scrawny looking man turning into the alleyway he simply vanished as if he hadn't been there in the first place.

“Really now, you thought you could surprise me?  I'm afraid you're sorely mistaken, but you're lucky none the less...”

*Swhing!*

With a flash of light the thugs head was cleanly separated from his body leaving it to fall to the ground in a crumpled heap.

“If I had more time your death would not have been so clean, now where was I... Ah of course.”

Not far away from his first location again Downy began his work, the quicker he created these disturbances the quicker he could get out of this God forsaken city.

“I believe right here is acceptable... you shall begin at once.”

The figures simply nodded before getting to work, leaving Downy alone once more in the run down alleyway, and Downy was not one to waste time leaving them to their preparations and returning the streets searching once more for suitable locations that could be used.

**********

After the second circle came the third and the instant the now familiar flash of light appeared a monstrous figure emerged from the circle Downy knew his plan was nearly in place.

'Very well then for for the central tower, this certainly turned out to be easier than I thought.'

He had already come across the central point for the circles it was the roof of a small apartment complex.

Rather then disturbing the people inside in the dead of night Downy much preferred to simply warp himself up onto the roof of the building, he had to admit that while he was still fairly new to his dimensional capabilities he was really starting to get the hang of it.
 
However now came the tricky part.

“Dispaia! Your master calls!”

With a shout his familiar blade returned to him it, the cold steel as soothing as a nice cup of tea.

Then without a moments delay he began the next part of his ritual, while he was by no means a weak magician he would need the enhancing effects of his Aether Relic if he wanted this to go off without a hitch.

**********

Daylight had long returned as Downy continued his monotonous chanting, the glowing hum of the central circle now no longer needed.

“O המרכזי מגדל, מבט עיניך מאיר פחות מזל אלה.

תן לכוחות מלמעלה גבוה ייתן אליך הדרישה העניקה לי על ידי אלוהים! “

A second hum only slightly louder than the first arose from the circle the energies began to gather and converge.

Now came the frustrating part, the 8 hour wait as the circle began to stabilize itself, if there was one thing Downy was glad about it was the fact that this part no longer needed the constant chanting.

'Phew now to rest for a bit.'

Crossing his legs Downy drifted off into a light slumber, the rough rocky roof of the worn down apartment complex mattered little to him, he'd slept in much worse conditions that this for now he needed to regain his energy, the final and most nerve wracking part of the ritual would begin in a few hours.

[Cherry Lover]

"Looking for someone to take care of her. Attacked 'cause I needed to check if you got back some prana. Thought I could let you have the girl if you did, you didn't. Chances you'd get prana off of her were too high. Was about to leave before being stopped by the girl."

Rider was a little offended by Shuya's assumption that she would feed off Isa if she needed prana, especially when she was in a state when doing so would likely kill her. Such a kind girl deserved better treatment than that. Still, she could understand his reasoning. After all, she had attacked Hakuno out of nowhere.

However, whilst Rider was somewhat offended by the comment, Kiyoshi was outraged. He knew his aunt would never attack innocents in that way.

"Hey, stop insulting my aunt. She'd never attack an innocent like that", he said, angrily.

Rider looked guiltily in Kiyoshi's direction. Whilst he was right that she would not attack Isa, she had no doubt that he would also be very surprised and saddened to hear that his beloved aunt had attempted to feed off another innocent girl. And, she doubted that Shuya would tell the story in a sympathetic manner, either. But, before she could speak up, Shuya continued, making her an offer.

"It's not a conversation for the youngsters to hear. I could tell you that I'm not the one who hurt her, but I suppose you wouldn't trust a word about it." His tone was awfully calm, now that you paid attention to it. "Know what? Lead me to the vampire and I'll explain on the way. Even willing to let you carry my katana." He suggested seriously. "What you say?"

However, Rider began by replying to his previous statement, and Kiyoshi's comment.

"I would never harm a sweet girl like Isa, especially not when she's in a state like that. Feeding off her now would kill her, and that is not something I wish to occur, especially after she was so nice to me. Oh, and, by the way, my name is Rider, not 'eyepatch'".

Then, she approached Shuya more closely and, speaking quietly enough that Kiyoshi could not hear it, she said "Even if I wanted to, I would never do so in front of Kiyoshi. It would break his heart."

"Know what? Lead me to the vampire and I'll explain on the way. Even willing to let you carry my katana." He suggested seriously. "What you say?"

Rider considered her next move carefully. She did indeed not trust Shuya's statement of innocence, although she was willing to admit that he seemed to have slightly more morals than she had first thought. Even so, she saw no reason not to accept his offer, particularly since Forest was waiting right outside. He had no way to harm them without his weapon and, even better, if he did not regain her trust he would be weaponless. Plus, even if he could attack them, they were safer with Forest, Archer and Hakuno around to help.

Before she could answer, Taiga spoke up.

"Come on, let's go" she said, smiling, before starting to move towards the entrance. Kiyoshi followed her.

"Well, OK, I accept your offer, provided you hand over your weapon", she said, before turning to follow Taiga.

[Milbunk]

Downy Reed

It was time, as the sun rose high into the sky the nearby circle’s hum had finally changed into a low roar awakening Downy from his rest.

Dispaia in hand Downy shook off the drowsiness and glanced into the sky, with the energies in place he’d be out of here in no time, as for what happened to this city once he was gone he didn’t care, Ruin would find it’s way here one way or another, he was just merely rushing the process a bit.

“חוגים שלפרוח וליצור, ירשו לעצמכם להצטרף בהרמוניה תחת החסד האלוהי של אלוהים,

הנשימה שלך תהיה האור הביא אל האנשים אומללים האלה!”

A magnificent light burst into the sky, the magic circle now a grand roaring storm it shot up and up before splitting into three distinct directions and returning to the ground in a glorious fashion right to the locations of the perpetual gates.

“Now this world shall see the glorious gift of God’s reckoning, HAhahahahah! Let the slaughter commence!”

The gates now fueled with the intense energies from the central circle they rapidly pulsated and glowed consuming the mages around them, brighter and brighter still they grew in energies as monster after monster poured out.

Now that the gates had been completed and their energies combined the process was complete, with it they would continue to shoot out monster after monster at least one per second until they had completely consumed the magical and life energies of the surrounding areas. 

The only way to stop them now, would be to destroy the circles directly with a highly concentrated magical attack, but Downy doubted that would ever happen. After all he could already hear the screams of people and roars of the monsters as they began their murderous rampage.

Now he need only wait a good three days for the circles to finish consuming the surrounding area and for them to go into an overloaded state completely annihilating everything in the area. 

This will be the perfect beacon for Imnity to detect and with it his ticket home.

[Daiki]

Hey, stop insulting my aunt. She'd never attack an innocent like that

Shuya raised eyebrows before the kid's rebuttal. Was he left in the dark about what his guardian did earlier? A look in the woman's direction confirmed it. He smiled for himself before such innocent behavior. No doubt the boy meant a lot for her. Shuya opened his mouth but the woman cut him before he could formulate an answer.

I would never harm a sweet girl like Isa, especially not when she's in a state like that. Feeding off her now would kill her, and that is not something I wish to occur, especially after she was so nice to me.Oh, and, by the way, my name is Rider, not 'eyepatch'".

The mixed blood stared at her as she came closer.

Even if I wanted to, I would never do so in front of Kiyoshi. It would break his heart.

Did she just try to appeal for his kind side in order to avoid hurting the boy's feelings? Shuya was more surprised than offended but, in the end,  he simply chased her potential worry with a shrug. Showing more tact that you could expect, he retorted.

"Well, how would have I known? Can't blame me for being careful, can you?" His brown eyes slightly shut, he glared at Rider. "Trusting people has the side effect to bite you in the ass when you expect it the least.  I don't place my faith in people easily. It's better to expect the worst from them."

He addressed a wink to Kiyoshi. "That's just how the baddies are, after all." His usual grin came back as he turned to Rider."So, don't expect us to become best pals, Rider." He added almost mockingly. Nor like there was a chance for that. "I wouldn't mind a dance or two however." Whether it was an allusion for another battle, a sexual innuendo or a proposition for a real dance, he didn't precise it.

Come on, let's go.

The girl in the wheelchair led the way without losing time. Shuya waited for Rider's answer.

Well, OK, I accept your offer, provided you hand over your weapon.

He walked besides her as they followed the girl and dropped his heavy weapon still in the scabbard in Rider's hands. Normal humans would have trouble to even lift it, but Rider was definitively much more than a human. He grimaced now that he was separated from his weapon. He had, after all, no way to know if Rider or another would attack him later on.

"Don't drop it." He asked politely. "It's the only thing I have left." The half demon kept silent for a moment, checking on Isa. After few seconds, apparently satisfied, he eyed Rider. "Ask away." He said, giving you the chance to finally get some answers.

[Cherry Lover]

The words of the man Kiyoshi had been fighting made it clear that he wanted to talk to his Aunt alone. Whilst he normally wouldn't feel comfortable leaving her alone like that, in case he needed to help her fight, he knew that Taiga's words would prevent any such act. Besides, the guy didn't seem overly intent on continuing the fight anyway.

But, most importantly, he had more important things to do. Like asking Taiga what gave her the right to violate his mind and body in that way....

So, once he regained control of his body, he followed after the smiling girl, the anger clear on his face. But, even despite that anger, he couldn't quite bring himself to shout at her, not after she had just lost her brother. Even so, though, he still felt the need to question her. As they reached the door, he spoke up.

"Taiga, do you know what it's like not to be able to control your own body? To have someone else's words controlling them? I feel naseous, dizzy and, most of all, violated. You took control of my body, I was completely helpless. It's a very uncomfortable feeling, to know someone can just control you like that.

Why did you do that to me? I'm not your enemy. I had no intention of harming you, and nor were you in any immediate danger", he said, softly but with clear annoyance in his voice.

Truthfully, Kiyoshi found it rather worrying. Whilst the girl was generally friendly, to have someone around who could just control him and, seemingly, even his Aunty Rider was extremely disconcerting. What stopped her from ordering him to do something that went against his morals?

He didn't want to just tell the girl to leave, that wouldn't be fair on her and, besides, she could always just force them to bring her along anyway. But, at the same time, he felt uncomfortable around her.


Whilst she fully expected Shuya to inform Kiyoshi of her actions, she hoped that he would understand from her words that, as long as Kiyoshi was around, she would never attack an innocent, except if the alternative was harm coming to Kiyoshi himself. As he shrugged his shoulders in response to her comments and prepared to speak, she braced herself for Kiyoshi's response when he found out what she had done. She desperately tried to think of a way she could explain her actions to the boy, but she knew that nothing she could say would satisfy his idealistic mind, although he would perhaps be reassured that she didn't intend to kill the girl, at least.

To her surprise, though, Shuya did not say anything about her previous actions, instead acknowledging her intentions towards Isa.

"Well, how would have I known? Can't blame me for being careful, can you?" he said.

Then, glaring in her direction, he continued. "Trusting people has the side effect to bite you in the ass when you expect it the least.  I don't place my faith in people easily. It's better to expect the worst from them."

Surprisingly, Rider found that she could relate to Shuya's feelings in that regard. She too found it difficult to trust people, at least until she had firm evidence of their trustworthiness.

But, at the same time, she knew how big a mistake not trusting Shirou sooner had been, and how close Sakura had come to paying the ultimate price for that lack of trust. Had Shirou been even slightly less trusting himself, or had Sakura not awoken her to how important he was to her with her last command spell, Sakura would likely have never been brought back from the darkness, and Rider herself would probably have joined her.

Shuya continued to speak, his usual arrogant grin on his face.

"So, don't expect us to become best pals, Rider", he added, almost mockingly. "I wouldn't mind a dance or two however."

Whilst his recent actions and the intentions behind them meant that Shuya was no longer someone Rider would happily kill if given the chance, she was still definitely in agreement with him that they were unlikely to ever be friends. His comment about wanting to "dance" was unclear, although he presumably didn't mean it literally. Most likely he meant a battle, although there were also sexual undertones there. Despite her mostly-lesbian nature, Rider couldn't help but find the guy strangely attractive. The idea of defeating him in a battle and then doing whatever she liked to him was rather appealing, even if she no longer felt much malice towards him.

Then, accepting her terms, Shuya handed his surprisingly heavy sword over to her, politely asking her to not drop it and informing her that it was the "only thing he had left", in a way that made it seem like it had value to him beyond merely that of a weapon. She could tell that he was putting quite a lot of trust in her here, and she didn't feel inclined to break that trust by not returning the weapon later, at least as long as he was being reasonable.

Then, he checked on Isa, before turning to Rider and speaking.

"Ask away", he said.

Rider checked that Kiyoshi, who had followed Taiga towards the door, was out of earshot before responding.

"I understand you not trusting me. I too find it hard to trust people.

However, sometimes, you really do need to just trust someone, when they seem to have good intentions. My unwillingness to trust my master's husband when we first met nearly cost her any chance of living a happy life. Were it not for her actions and for his obvious kind-heartedness, I would never have come to trust him and my master would have never been saved.

As for 'dancing', I am not sure what you mean. If you want a fight, I would be happy to spar with you once I no longer need to worry about prana, but I will not risk death unnecessarily, not when my master needs me. If you mean more horizontal dancing then, well, once I have you at my mercy I will gladly 'punish' you for your failure...", she said, suggestively.

"Still, you seem less bad than I first thought. You do at least seem to have some morals, judging by your refusal to harm Kiyoshi. So, what happened to Isa? If you did not do that to her, who did?" Rider said, before following Kiyoshi towards the door, gesturing for Shuya to follow her.

[Daiki]

I  understand you not trusting me. I too find it hard to trust people.

However, sometimes, you really do need to just trust someone, when they seem to have good intentions. My unwillingness to trust my master's husband when we first met nearly cost her any chance of living a happy life. Were it not for her actions and for his obvious kind-heartedness, I would never have come to trust him and my master would have never been saved.

As he heard Rider explaining her views on it, Shuya's eyes wandered randomly on their surroundings, wary of a potential attack from Valken and his underlings. However, he was still focusing on her words.

"Your master and husband, eh? Are they the boy's parents? Seems like you got quite the cozy life together." He voiced, a bit of disappointment in his tone. There was no doubt the boy had her affection. And from what he heard, that "master" of hers and his husband, too. She had found a place where she enjoyed her daily life. Probably fits her better than fighting with thugs like him.

Shuya sighed before answering.

"You raise a valid point. People need to trust others to find happiness." He pulled a cigarette from his pack, bit on it and lighted it up. He extended his arm in case Rider would want to smoke and continued. "As you surely noted, I'm not really your average guy." Brown irises focused on Rider. "Half demon. My ancestors had fun with the Oni kind. Surprising guys these fellows." He said, jokingly. "To keep it short, the stronger your Oni blood, the more violent you are. You get that nice impulse messing with your mind. And if you don't satisfy that violent outburst, you get either insane or you die. Guess you get where I'm going with it." He exhaled smoke, and answered anyway. "So in order to keep it under control, I cut people down. Being a mercenary has this bonus that you rarely run out of strong guys." A lopsided grin showed on his face. "Yup, far from some shining heroes like the vampire girl, but that's the kind of monster I am. I won't hesitate to kill if it means I get to stay alive. Your first impression of me is probably the most accurate."

An insane war monger.

He decided to cut the story short. "Well, with my line of work and all, I can't allow to trust people. Not like the occasion shows up often." He looked at his own hand. "You're probably considering me a coward hiding behind my nature and stuff, but point is that I assume completely what defines me, and I take pleasure in doing it." He pulled on his shirt in order to show the impressive amount of tatoos on his muscular torso. In between, the scars, you can estimate an amount of about seventy names, classified like a list. "Here. All of them were great fighters, the three at the top almost killed me." It seemed that in his own clumsy way, Shuya honored his defeated opponents. "Betting my life and placing it others' hands, isn't something I do on a daily basis." He added, his eyes focused on Isa. "However, I understand that you're different and only targeted the other girl because you needn't it absolutely. According to me, there is no reason to justify that, whatever your reason might be."

As for 'dancing', I am not sure what you mean. If you want a fight, I would be happy to spar with you once I no longer need to worry about prana, but I will not risk death unnecessarily, not when my master needs me. If you mean more horizontal dancing then, well, once I have you at my mercy I will gladly 'punish' you for your failure..."

Shuya seemed really amused now. He addressed Rider a wink. "I'll leave it to your imagination then. Just don't get fooled though, one of the side effect of my blood is enhancing my attractiveness." He chuckled. "Just a bit though."

He entertained the thought to have some closer wrestling with Rider but let it slip out of his mind with another cloud of smoke.

Still, you seem less bad than I first thought. You do at least seem to have some morals, judging by your refusal to harm Kiyoshi. So, what happened to Isa? If you did not do that to her, who did?

"No offense Rider, but while I get that you probably do your best to be civil with me, I would rather you don't jump to conclusions. I just don't happen to attack kids ,is all. I would still cut you down if we get into another fight, regardless of the reasons. I'm not softening up because I spared the boy. Don't make that mistake or you might regret it." His words were harsh, showing no compassion, but it was better to stay honest and keep it simple.

With that out the way, he answered Rider's questions.

"To make it short, my next work was to abduct the teenager. Apparently there was some kind of deal between a certain client and the third hand man who employed my services." He paused. "My plan was to use her as a bait so that I can lure both men out. As you can imagine, those assholes rarely show up without numerous bodyguards. They would get away before I reach them." Without showing any remorse for trying to use the girl like a tool, he explained further. "Girl got unlucky though. I don't really know why but by the time I found her, some werewolves were already enjoying her." His face only betrayed disgust. "Cut the bastards down but her arm was already lost, so I cut it clean." He pointed at the missing limb. "Patched her up like I could and decided to drop her to the vampire. Figured she would need someone who can help her." He indicated the stairs. "When I searched around, I heard you screaming and you know the rest."

He leaned towards her and indicated the children.

"Probably better to reach blondie asap though. The scumbags probably sent people to repay me in kind."

His message is clear, better not waste time.

[lantzblades]

Satoshi sat down as the castle's insides formed around him, he was a blacksmith, unlike Archer he made weapons and he, as prince and king needed an army and that army needed weapons. He concentrated and drew a deep breath expelling fire from his lungs.the pit lit up as he threw his arm into the fire.

"it's painful" he muttered as his hand desolved into the steel his body was conceptually made of, the hot grey mess pooled at the bottom of the pit below the fire. He began to regenerate with a frown and repeated the process again and again forming an anvil then a bucket and the rest of his tools in turn.

Taiga looked at Kiyoshi, as much as one can do so with their eyes closed.

"Whining about the skills of others and how they affect you is pointless, that's all I have to say for the moment." she said offended  by his tone.