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

[YOLF]

Shendu

The demon sorceror of fire glowered with instant and righteous outrage. Fire welled up in his gut, and he rumbled like a volcano about to erupt at Caster.

Shendu's eyes lit up in intense yellow, and fired the very next second. Visible heat blasts capable of vaporizing most materials in an instant were shot at the puny wizard's face, accompanied by a faint distorted sound.

[SINIB]

Sakura

Rin asked, "Sakura, can you hear me?"

"Don't leave. Don't leave. Don't leave." She whimpered almost inaudibly. That had been terrifying. She held her eyes firmly shut and thought about a repetitive song she'd knows since she was a child. Anything to keep that away.

"Senpai..." She whispered, her face distorting in fear. "Where's Senpai!?" She exclaimed, trying to get up, absolutely intent on finding him.

[Elf]

Rin

Rin blinked and gave her sister a small squeeze.  She said, "I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

Still, this was very odd.  One moment she was fine and then the next she completely breaks down.  This Sakura might be mentally unbalanced, but not to this extent.  Something happened to her.  This almost seems like a curse, Rin thought as Sakura began to panic again.

Shirou stepped up behind her, his arms wrapping around Sakura, effectively pinning her between the two of them.  Sudden heat filled Rin's cheeks at being so physically close to Shirou, but she said nothing as he kissed Sakura's cheek and the back of her head.  "I'm right here, Sakura.  I'm not going anywhere.  See, Tohsaka and I are right here."

Rin bit her lip, wondering if there was any way to see if something had attacked Sakura, with maybe a mental spell or the like.


Forest

Alone again, alone again, jigity jig, the blond vampire thought as she traveled the city.  Lancer was off with the crow familiar, trying to find Shirou and she heard a cry for help.  She'd chased down the cry to find some Halloweeners picking on a young man in a Quicky Mart uniform that was making his way home.  She'd taken out the literal trolls and made sure a squad car help get the young man home.

She found herself wondering how Saber's expedition in the sewers was going.  She also found that her "dark humor" was returning too.  Part of her wanted to find the twit like Saber who decided she was going to play Buffy, not the vampire one, but the Vampire Slayer one, and decided, for whatever reason, that Forest had to die.

[SINIB]

Sakura

Sakura settled down as Shirou sandwiched her between himself and her sister. Her breathing slowed down to an even pace, and the glazing over her eyes slowly began to return to normal. As she sat there and processed the attack, surrounded by her family, she began to worry. She hadn't wanted to show Rin this side of her, she'd thought that she would be able to control this, but now...

"Nee-San, I'm sorry..." She wrapped her cold, sweaty arms around her sister's waist.

[Elf]

Rin

"Hey, there's nothing to be sorry about.  Something's wrong and we just need to figure out what it is and how to fix it," Rin said with a smile.  "So, do you have panic attacks often, or is this something new?"

[SINIB]

Sakura

"I don't know..." She said, seeming to try to avoid the subject. She didn't want to be thinking about it right now, not with her sister. "I guess it's old..." She murmured after a minute.

[Elf]

Rin

Rin bit her lip and said, "Sakura, I want to help you, but you gotta be honest with me.  Have you had something like this ever happen to you?"

[Kat]

Emily

Waiting for Mordred to enter the shower and for the water to start running, Emily left the motel room at the first opportunity. One of the criteria she'd decided on when choosing out motels was the presence of a nearby liquor store. After all the near misses today, to say nothing of whatever Mordred had gone through before Emily had arrived, the former Spring Queen felt quite justified in deciding that a good hard drink was in order. Perhaps even several.

That aside, Emily was all too aware of the attention her condition drew to her, and that her only choice was to move as quickly as she could. With that in mind, Emily soon left the liquor store with her prize tucked away under her jacket.

Thankfully, the trip hadn't taken too long, as evidenced by the sound of the water still running in the shower. Even with the need for some kind of relief from the tension they'd been through, Emily would rather not have given her fellow Changeling unnecessary cause for worry. Retrieving her prize, Emily set the bottles of liquor down on the nightstand before looking around for something to pour the alcohol into.

Frowning at the plastic cups that were all the changeling could manage to find, Emily resigned herself to the reality of this still being a cheap motel room and quickly poured out two glasses of liquor before setting them on the nightstand, next to the bottles. With that, Emily resigns herself to wait for Mordred.

After what feels like an eternity, Emily checked the nearby wall-clock to find that all of a minute has passed. Frowning, the Changeling looks first at the door, then at the glasses, then back at the door.

...Well, we've got plenty here for both of us, so there shouldn't be any harm if I have some now... Just one glass should help pass the time well enough.

Resolving to apologize to Mordred for her impatience later, Emily quickly downs the contents of one plastic cup, sighing as the sweet burn caresses her throat on the way down before lighting a fire in her to chase away the chill from her brief excursion.

Yeah, I probably should get my hands on some proper winter clothes...sweaters are nice and all but-

It was at this point that Emily realized that she'd actually emptied the glass completely. The amber liquid in the other glass sparkles innocently at the Changeling, as if to tempt her.

...well...there's still plenty for both of us.


Six more cups of liquor passed the Changeling's lips before she realized that Mordred was still in the shower. Emily, now feeling a warming buzz reverberating through her body, decided that if Mordred wouldn't be coming out to enjoy a decent drink, then she'd bring the alcohol to Mordred.

With that in mind, Emily took up the opened bottle, still a bit less than half full, and made her way over to the bathroom, slightly amused by how the floor seemed to slip under her feet, but managing to cross the distance with a strange, drunken grace regardless. Opening the door, Emily sighed at the hot, steamy air of the bathroom as she made her way in, closing the door behind her to block out the sudden draft.

"Mordred~" she called, in an almost sing-song tone, bottle in hand, "Are you okay in there?"

Mordred

She was still in her shower cabin when Emily barged into the bathroom, the scent of alcohol reaching Mordred's nostrils in spite of the fragrance of soap she used to wash herself. Mordred cringed. In hindsight, maybe she should really have locked the door. A sure precaution against people under the influence. But, she still felt like asking that rhetorical question. "Are you drunk? Go back to your room, when I'm finished I'll come out. Have some manners." And to be honest, drinking booze was bad idea considering she didn't feel secure about the place. If they had to escape from an enemy, her drunken companion could have been a hindrance, slowing down their flight.
A warrior of the Summer Court like her valued the virtue of moderation, but something like that could be seldom said about those of the Spring, unfortunately.

Aisha

The progenitor hummed at the question. The invading foliage had firmly pushed its way into the area directly around her and was beginning to wrap around her legs and waist. "It was a long time ago. You Children can barely even imagine it. The elementals were first. Forces of nature held together with life and will. The next would come with water. It was... perfect."

Aisha paused for a moment and her gaze drifted to the sea. Her eyes nearly glowed as they gazed upon the endless water. "There was nothing quite like it, and while the elementals were company they were not enough. I wanted more. I needed more. My bones and spirit ached for it. So I spilled my blood in the water and waited. You started off small but all of my Children did. There was a lot of waiting. I didn't have the fortune to watch all of you mature and spread out but there were some."

Noriko

Noriko thought it could be either a metaphor, as the being could think that humans were not ready to accept the truth in other form than veiled in a parable (a notion that she found ridiculous. Humans, especially Awakened ones, were perfectly capable of comprehending the mysteries of the universe), or it happened exactly as she told her. However, the literal truth was also somewhat hard to accept. Mundane scientists have discovered basic components of life in the outer space and they proved they could be spontaneously synthesized in young Earth's atmosphere. So, what she considered was that over the eons her memories have become discrepant with the actual account of the events, or that she was a Supernal symbol representing the concept of a progenitor goddess brought to the life by beliefs of early humans. In Noriko's view that hypothesis of hers was pretty solid. "Huh, you mean you didn't have opportunity to see the whole process unfolding? Just started it up and then left it alone?" She asked further. 

Forest

Alone again, alone again, jigity jig, the blond vampire thought as she traveled the city.  Lancer was off with the crow familiar, trying to find Shirou and she heard a cry for help.  She'd chased down the cry to find some Halloweeners picking on a young man in a Quicky Mart uniform that was making his way home.  She'd taken out the literal trolls and made sure a squad car help get the young man home.

She found herself wondering how Saber's expedition in the sewers was going.  She also found that her "dark humor" was returning too.  Part of her wanted to find the twit like Saber who decided she was going to play Buffy, not the vampire one, but the Vampire Slayer one, and decided, for whatever reason, that Forest had to die.

Gintoki

Another person too wandered the streets of the city alone, having parted with Sarse and his pointy eared companion. Unfortunately he had no money to fulfill his promise, so he set out on finding a place to sleep. He kept the bike that he "borrowed", riding slowly, obeying traffic laws as he was in no hurry. In fact he could be infuriatingly slow for less patient drivers.

He saw a lone woman walking around, her attire suggesting she was a Westerner. It was Western style city after all, so she could be one of locals. And the pale skin and blonde hair surely gave away she was a Westerner.  "Hey, do you know where is a cheap place to crash by? I'm new to this city, don't you mind helping out a tourist from the East?" she called out her, waving his hand to catch her attention.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Richard Maxwell

Richard's eyes widened in surprize as some black thing, the only description he could muster at the time, covered the area the lot was going to enter. A shiver ran down his spine, cool sweat covered his face.

 It was like that black filth from earlier. He'd have none of it.

"Stand back."

Instinctively, he waved his hand to command tendrils of water to shoot forward, frozen claws thick and fast enough to pierce trough a car.

[Panda]

Emily

The Spring Courtier giggled at Mordred's response, leaving the bottle on the vanity as she approached the shower cabin with an amused smile.

"Come on," Emily said, "Don't be so stiff. It's our room, anyway, and you've been in there for a while, so of course I'm a little worried."

"Besides," she continued, "I'd rather not be drinking alone..."

With that, an idea occurred to the Changeling.

"Actually," she started with an impish smile, "If we're both going to have to take a shower anyway, why not take one together?"

[Umbra of Chaos]

Aisha

"I began the creation of the first and guided the multitude once they had arisen but there were complications. The world required a greater force to cultivate it and make it possible for the Children to spread and thrive. While I directly intervened with the speed of growth for the world I left the Firstborn to guide the rest of you."

The ancient pulled out her dagger and pressed the blade against her thumb. Beads of white blood spilled out and landed on the plant life that practically exploded in growth. It began to spread out to other areas of the beach and grow vines thicker than a man's torso. The surge of flora began to overtake the sand and cover it. "There had to be a balance. A more subtle hand was needed so I left and allowed you to grow without more interference as I cultivated the rest of the planet."

The stopped pressing the blade against her flesh and the moment she did the wound closed night instantly. She wiped away the last of the blood and placed the dagger back in her robes as the growth of the plants began to slow.

[SINIB]

Sakura Matou

Sakura was forlorn as she looked down at the ground. She bit down on her lower lip hard enough to draw blood, which trickled down her chin.

She was torn. She didn't want to admit it to anyone, especially her lover or her sister. She just wanted to be happy, joyful and fun around them.

Just once... Just once, I wanted a break... Was that too much to ask? She wanted to scream these thoughts out loud. But, for the sake of her family, she didn't. Instead, she continued to miserably stare at the floor for several minutes, content to allow herself to wallow and mope in between Shirou and Rin.

But finally, she spoke up. It was a quiet, single, softly spoken word, nearly inaudible, a murmur really. "Yes." She took a long pause before she uttered another word. "But—but..."

[yinsukin]

Medaka Kurokami

Medaka stopped screaming and looked blankly into the distance.  Guts was a brave soldier who was freinds with Lorenzo and fought along side her.  Yet she was so busy she did not even notice his death and once again she was powerless to save him.  How could she help anyone when she was so powerless?  What good was she as a person?

Medaka faced the officer, trying her best to collect herself.  She managed to alter her expression from a broken child to a heartless authority figure, void of all emotion.  However, when she spoke tears endlessly rolled down her face.

She restarted the story, explaining her relationship with Lorenzo. When she described him, she characterized him only by his good points, as if the other side of him never existed.  Even when she talked about their interaction with Surien, she only talked about how brave and powerful he was and how he always had her best interests at heart.  Then, she told the officer about how he wanted to join the cops.  As she continued to describe the events at the station, her tears rolled down her face even faster than before.  Yet, her expression never changed.  When she finished she immediately got up and turned to leave the room.

With her back to officer Coombs she spoke in a weak but serious voice.  "I hope you got what you were looking for.  If can excuse me, there is something I need to do."

[SINIB]

Irisviel Von Einzbern

Irisviel marched up to Towuh and smacked him. It wasn't a particularly hard smack, but it left a slight sting on her hand. Her red eyes glared at him angrily. "Please, would you stop playing so many mean pranks on her? I know you two have some bad blood, but please Togan." Her stern gaze softened with her voice. "Please don't torment her like this, she made an absolutely stupid mistake. But please..." She paused. "Please forgive her. I'll make it worth your while."

[Elf]

Rin

Rin frowned as Sakura bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.  Gnashing her teeth, she grabbed a tissue from the desk and used it to gently wipe Sakura's chin.  She sighed, shook her head as Shirou asked, "Why didn't you tell anyone, Sakura?  Why didn't you tell me?"

Rin nodded and said, "We could have gotten you help."

And when I get home this means I have to try get my Sakura some help.


Forest

"Hey, do you know where is a cheap place to crash by? I'm new to this city, don't you mind helping out a tourist from the East?"

Forest saw an Asian man, with eyes like a dead fish and silvery hair waving at her.  Tilting her head, she walked over to the man on the bike, pulling out her phone as she did.  She asked, "How cheap are we talking about here?"