Cross Effects 3.0 - April 13, 2015—June 23, 2016

[Kat]

Richard's smile didn't fade to Rikuyo's words. Instead, he rubbed his chin and thought for a second. Then, he spoke up with a cheerful tone.

"If I was to put it in simple terms... she's a good hearted one. The type who would let someone eat at her table knowing he would have killed her. Thing is, she's also an idiot. And don't get me wrong, I don't mean it in a bad way. But of all the idiots in this city, she's the biggest idiot I've ever met."

Giggling, he scratched his head and smiled in a relaxed way. Unnerving, that smile of his was, but that was a thing he knew already.

"Basically, think a wolf trying to live among sheep and trying not to eat any. If that is not stupid, I don't know what it is. Not that it's a bad way of thinking mind you, but there's no way she's going to keep it up. With that in mind, I rather not take the risk of her having to betray herself, so I'll give her a helping hand. After all, a friend in need is a friend indeed."

Rikuyo

"Wolf that doesn't hunt simply starves and dies. She's a moron then if she needs to eat humans, yet she doesn't." Rikuyo agreed with Richard's assessment in her own skewed way.

[SINIB]

Noel?

Noel automatically threw up a barrier in front of her to block the incoming projectiles, the few that got past Saber’s defense glanced off it harmlessly. She was--quite surprised--to look over at Mata and see a collapsed wall. Before she could ask, however, Henry barked out an order to get one of it’s legs, and both Saber and Lancalot ran off after it. Noel looked at Henry, extremely confused.

“Um...why did they both go?” She asked him timidly.

[SINIB]

Faust

I got tangled into something that's out of my league. Some ridiculously strong woman stalked me and if not for the fact that a walking armor guy interfered I wouldn't have been able to escape. Well, I don't know if that guy survived, he got torn into pieces as he bought time. I'm pretty ashamed that I couldn't be of any help to him... I hate to be an inconvenience, but I need to change place where I live because I fear they could have tracked my apartment.

Faust listened to Mordred avidly, she’d mentioned something about a-talking armor. And the only one he’d seen was Vanguard. Whom he had found in a pile of heaping scrap metal. ”Wait, you met a suit of walking armor? Were you in a par-”

Faust cut himself off midsentence. A pit of dread filled his being. Something very strong, and very evil, it was coming closer and closer to them. This was bad. This was really, really, really bad! “Shit!” He exclaimed out loud as it got closer and closer. He tried to hide, but it was too late: it had apparently noticed them and had moved nearly instantaniously to intercept them, and now was floating directly in front of him.

Faust stood up, straightened himself, and looked at it directly in the eyes. After taking a moment to steady himself, he spoke up, in a perfectly clear and unafraid voice, masking his utter terror. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, my name is Caster.” He bowed. “What brings you here tonight?” Internally, he was saying something completely different. Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit!!!

[Kotomine_Rin]

Richard Maxwell

Six hundred. Six hundred mineral water bottles hidden and set up evenly over six floors of the Starside Hotel. From all sight, those water containers are dissimulated and full the liter each. Not a single droplet is wasted, not one drop of water is missing. This shall be Richard’s hunting ground, a six floor hotel of death.

The windows are barricaded, breaking trough would take time even for a stronger opponent, that and the explosives. Set up on the main pillars maintaining the whole structure, they are installed in a way that will guarantee the whole place to collapse.

Of course, everyone has been thoroughly evacuated. There should not be any interferences, hopefully.

The explosives will detonate manually, the remote to be handled by Michael. If the situation seems hopeless and Richard is in a losing situation, he is to flatten the whole hotel to kingdom come. He must also observe the surveilance cameras and report any abnormalities.

As for Rikuyo, she is to keep watch of the hunting grounds. No one is to interfere, no intruder is allowed to enter the hotel aside Forest. However, if she comes with others and he has to fight against multile opponents, she may leave her guard post and involve herself in the fight directly.

The three have managed to snatch walkie talkies. That way, they can keep in touch if the need arise.

« Basically, just keep them busy and make sure that they don’t get in my way. Michael can assist you if the situation is too dire, but don’t forget: after my target gets in, no one gets in and no one gets out. At least, until I am finished. Any questions? »

[Kat]

Rikuyo

The girl raised her hand as if prompted by his question. "Then, how you will lure this woman here?" Whatever he planned, this would be useless if Forest never appeared there.

[Panda]

Michael

Michael was not amused.

Sentry duty.

In fact, he was in a state of silent outrage.

This Pantheon-damned hydromancer has me on sentry duty.

This was not a pleasant turn of events in any way, shape, or form. Even if the plan allows him to enter the fray if things go south, it only allows him to do so to assist the woman. As it stands, there's no way for him to get involved in the actual fight against...whatever this person was...

Of course, none of this showed on Michael's face, which remained an impassive mask as the plan was explained and questions were asked. Then something occurred.

"If you're going to have me watching the surveillance cameras," Michael started, "Then you're probably aware that the security room where I'd have access to all those video feeds would actually be inside the hotel, right? That would leave me in a better position to assist you than her, in theory, but it's your plan."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Richard Maxwell

"Yes, but she's stronger than you and I need someone to watch the cameras. Besides, knowing her she'd probably doze off in less than a minute. Right now, we're one lion. A team! Can a lion live if you split him in three and mash him back up? Nope, so quit bitching and do the thing. I'm counting on you, Michael."

Then, he grabbed him on the shoulder and looked right at him, smiling. His look told him all he needed to know. It was the don't mess this up boy or I'll mess you up look.

Then, he turned to Rikuyo and grinned confidently. "As for getting her here, don't worry about that. I got it covered." He giggled.

Then, he took a cellphone out of his pocket. It wasn't his, of course. Not that he stole it, of course. After all, he was going to return it as soon as he finished this hunt. That isn't stealing, just borrowing. And luckily he had managed to find Forest's number on the yellow pages. So he dialed the number he remembered, unaware it was the wrong one, and called.

"Hello? Hello? It's Ricchy, your favourite vampire hunter. Are you there Forest? Can you answer? Pleaaaase? Cmooon. I know you're thereee."

[Kat]

Faust

I got tangled into something that's out of my league. Some ridiculously strong woman stalked me and if not for the fact that a walking armor guy interfered I wouldn't have been able to escape. Well, I don't know if that guy survived, he got torn into pieces as he bought time. I'm pretty ashamed that I couldn't be of any help to him... I hate to be an inconvenience, but I need to change place where I live because I fear they could have tracked my apartment.

Faust listened to Mordred avidly, she’d mentioned something about a-talking armor. And the only one he’d seen was Vanguard. Whom he had found in a pile of heaping scrap metal. ”Wait, you met a suit of walking armor? Were you in a par-”

Faust cut himself off midsentence. A pit of dread filled his being. Something very strong, and very evil, it was coming closer and closer to them. This was bad. This was really, really, really bad! “Shit!” He exclaimed out loud as it got closer and closer. He tried to hide, but it was too late: it had apparently noticed them and had moved nearly instantaniously to intercept them, and now was floating directly in front of him.

Faust stood up, straightened himself, and looked at it directly in the eyes. After taking a moment to steady himself, he spoke up, in a perfectly clear and unafraid voice, masking his utter terror. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, my name is Caster.” He bowed. “What brings you here tonight?” Internally, he was saying something completely different. Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit!!!

Mordred

The conversation abruptly ended as Faust cut off it mid-sentence. From what she heard from him he knew about the park and the armor guy. Why he got interrupted? If he was acquaintance with that guy, maybe he got now attacked by the same enemy that tried to track her? Shit! She was visibly worried about her new friend's fate, but she didn't know where he was, otherwise she would rush to help him even if it put her in danger again. She was indebted to him after all, and she always paid her debts. Then, the cellphone in her pocket rang. Having worst expectations, she answered the call. Maybe someone enough powerful to held Faust hostage wanted to demand something of her in exchange for his security.

"Hello? Hello? It's Ricchy, your favourite vampire hunter. Are you there Forest? Can you answer? Pleaaaase? Cmooon. I know you're thereee."

"Where the fuck you hold Fau-" she almost roared out, but abruptly paused once she realized it's not a call that she expected. Forest? "W-wait a s-second, you are looking for Forest? Don't disconnect, please!" She was worried about Faust, yes, but before here appeared someone who knew where someone whom she vowed to kill could be. And he claimed to be a vampire hunter. Torn, she prayed that Faust would turn out to be safe while she would try to pursue Forest. That could be her only chance to find her.

[YOLF]

Shendu

Shendu fixated on the man - no, the sorceror - when he met his gaze and then introduced himself. Rumbling in approval of his deference, the dragon nodded. It was the acknowledgement of a superior, earned by the recognition he had sensed in 'Caster'. Though what he had given sounded much like an alias, to look him in the eye and know they were a lesser before him deserved at least some praise.

"I am Shendu, the great demon sorceror of fire, once absolute ruler of ancient China," the demon sorceror declared, in his deep, potent voice. His neck stretched as he tilted his head to look past Caster, at the two remaining passengers of the bird. A strangely tanned man, as though his skin had been burnt in disjointed flakes, but overall an unremarkable man, for Shendu sensed little power in him; and a child of ethereal, ragged features, who looked in truth less of a child, and more of a wraith.

Shendu's neck relaxed back to place, and his blood red eyes narrowed at Caster as he addressed him. "I see you are coming from the direction of that foul disaster. You wouldn't happen to know who caused it, would you?"

[Kotomine_Rin]

Richard Maxwell

A smug smile grew on RIchard's lips. It seemed he got the wrong number, which normally would have warranted him immediately hanging up. But that lady sounded so desperate, he couldn't really say no could he? After all, he felt like such a nice guy at the moment.

"Eeeeeeh? Which Forest? There are plenty forests in this city, how do you know I am looking for the same Forest you are thinking of? You're really shady you know? And how do I know you aren't trying to pull one on me? I'm not sure if you DO know my Forest, but you seem to know A Forest. Even so, you should watch that mouth of yours. I don't know who you are, but I do know you just said fuck on the phone and I don't appreciate it. You  could have really hurt my feelings there, but I am a generous person. In fact, I am so generous I will not hang up, just as you asked me. But what can you do to repay my generosity? Mhhhh, mhhhhh...."

Thinking about it, his smile grew even larger. By now, the mere smug smile  had matured into a full shit eating grin. Chuckling, he resumed.

"Well, start with a good hearted apology. Something like Oh, please forgive me oh great Richard Maxwell, I did not mean to sully your ears with my filthy mouth. Something like that, please. Then we can talk business."

[Kat]

Richard Maxwell

A smug smile grew on RIchard's lips. It seemed he got the wrong number, which normally would have warranted him immediately hanging up. But that lady sounded so desperate, he couldn't really say no could he? After all, he felt like such a nice guy at the moment.

"Eeeeeeh? Which Forest? There are plenty forests in this city, how do you know I am looking for the same Forest you are thinking of? You're really shady you know? And how do I know you aren't trying to pull one on me? I'm not sure if you DO know my Forest, but you seem to know A Forest. Even so, you should watch that mouth of yours. I don't know who you are, but I do know you just said fuck on the phone and I don't appreciate it. You  could have really hurt my feelings there, but I am a generous person. In fact, I am so generous I will not hang up, just as you asked me. But what can you do to repay my generosity? Mhhhh, mhhhhh...."

Thinking about it, his smile grew even larger. By now, the mere smug smile  had matured into a full shit eating grin. Chuckling, he resumed.

"Well, start with a good hearted apology. Something like Oh, please forgive me oh great Richard Maxwell, I did not mean to sully your ears with my filthy mouth. Something like that, please. Then we can talk business."

Oh god, I want to stick his phone up his ass so much now! Mordred thought, her right eye twitching as she was  slowly boiling over as he kept ranting at her in such smug manner. "Don't screw around, we know whose Forest is. The vampiric bint with King Arthur as her girltoy." she almost hissed at him, trying to keep her calm as best as she could.

[Panda]

Emily

The sudden phone call was turning out to be an interesting one, no doubt. Even if the person on the other end had apparently dialed the wrong number, from what she could hear. A smug voice, muffled as it was, was still barely audible to the Changeling as the person on the other end, apparently one Richard Maxwell, made his demands.

That aside, Mordred seemed to be close to boiling over at the stranger. Deciding that this would be something she'd rather avoid, Emily rested her hand on Mordred's placatingly while she swiftly slipped the phone from Mordred's hand and held it to her own ear.

"I'm certain we could do much better than a simple apology," Emily said, unable to, "But wouldn't our business be better conducted face to face?"

[Cherry Lover]

Rider and Shirou

Rider frowned at Rin's response to her comment about Sakura worrying. It was clear from how she spoke that she was not pleased with her sister's concern, and likely intended to go out regardless. And, with Sakura in her current state, she was sure that that would create conflict.

She was interested, however, in the mention of the alternate Shirou, and attempting to "save" him.

Hmm, Sakura might not be so upset by that concept....

Shirou, meanwhile, was listening to Rin and Rider talking, still feeling somewhat uncomfortable about the presence of his alternate self. He was also intrigued, and rather surprised, by the mention of yet another version of him.

Before he could say anything, though, he heard a familiar, cheerful voice that brought a smile to his face.

“Senpai--”, she started, before abruptly stopping.

Shirou looked up and saw that Sakura was hiding behind the other Shirou, clearly upset at his presence. Shirou's heart broke at the thought that Sakura seemingly hated him. Even if she wasn't his Sakura, Shirou still cared for her and wanted her to be happy, and the fact that his very presence had caused the exact opposite was very difficult for him to take.

Before Shirou could say anything, his alternate self spoke up.

"He's not going to be here for long, and then we can cook together. I promise", he said.

Oh, I see..., Shirou thought.

Now he understood why she was so upset that he was here. Cooking with him was Sakura's favourite pasttime, and he was in the way of that.

Shirou was about to excuse himself, when Rin approached him and Rider, putting her hands around their arms.

"Come on you two", she said with a forced smile on her face. "From what I've gathered your Sakura might be here too. If you have something of hers, I might be able to scry to find her. How's that sound?"

Shirou nodded in agreement, as did Rider.

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea", he said.

He wasn't sure if it would work, but he needed to get out of here. Being around a version of his wife who hated him this much was heart-breaking.

As Rin led him past Sakura, he turned to address her, a sad smile on his face.

"Sakura, I'm sorry for getting in your way. I just wanted to cook you a nice meal to apologise for what I did before. If you want me to leave then I will", he said.

He didn't particularly want to go out into an unfamiliar town on his own, particularly when he needed to keep track of Rider, but that was preferable to hurting Sakura like this over and over.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Richard Maxwell

King Arthur? What the-

Richard's eyes narrowed at the bint part. He thought he was very clear about the not sullying his ears part. Still, he'd feel bad if he hanged up on a girl like that. Because he was such a nice guy after all.

"That was strike two. I'd really watch my mouth if I were you. Now, I've met a loot of bints in this city, but vampiric? Nope, that doesn't ring a bell. Oh, wait! There is... Oh wow. Oho, I see, I see. You are talking about that Forest! That changes everything!"

At this point, Richard was laughing his heart out, clearly amused by the situation. Not even trying to conceal his cheerfulness, he smiled and laid back on the floor, his phone dangling lazily over his ear.

"My, my. It seems you won't have to apologize yet. This is important for me too. Come to the Sta-"

But before he could finish his sentence, another voice came from the phone. It seemed that woman was not alone, but-

If she wasn't alone, maybe Forest was nearby. What if this was a trap, one to discover RIchard's trap? What if Forest knew all along and was trying to lure him into her own ploy? No, that would be too logical. If she knew of his plan, she would have known he would have known that she knew of his plan. Unless she knew that he knew that she knew that he knew of his plan. If that was the case, he couldn't make any careless mistakes.

"...who. Are you?" said Richard, his tone now fully serious and tinging with suspicion.

[Kat]

The sudden phone call was turning out to be an interesting one, no doubt. Even if the person on the other end had apparently dialed the wrong number, from what she could hear. A smug voice, muffled as it was, was still barely audible to the Changeling as the person on the other end, apparently one Richard Maxwell, made his demands.

That aside, Mordred seemed to be close to boiling over at the stranger. Deciding that this would be something she'd rather avoid, Emily rested her hand on Mordred's placatingly while she swiftly slipped the phone from Mordred's hand and held it to her own ear.

"I'm certain we could do much better than a simple apology," Emily said, unable to, "But wouldn't our business be better conducted face to face?"

"Hey, gimme back my phone!" Mordred roared out, catching Emily's arm in hurry trying to snatch back the phone. However, in a moment of clumsiness she tripped, pining Emily down under body, her other hand accidentally touching Emily's breasts. "Er, I-", realizing how they ended up, her face flushed red.