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

[Umbra of Chaos]

Aisha

The progenitor napped a bit under the increasingly dense foliage until she suddenly awoke. Aisha did not necessarily tire but sometimes it was important to let the mind rest, especially after so many years awake. She felt better. Much better than she had in all of her time in this city. Aisha had needed time with her silent children. Exhaling life, breathing in life. A calming flow compared to this controlled chaos of the city.

She felt alive again. Roots and vines snapped off of her as she stood up and stared at the ocean. It was an incredibly beautiful sight and she took a moment to appreciate the glory of simply being. Of breathing in salty air and gazing at a sea that seemed to stretch on forever. The happiness found in simply being alive.

With that in mind she left the beach and simply began to walk. Her pace was not particularly fast but it was relentless as she walked through the city. Hard stone softened under her feet to ease her passing and she remained perfectly fine simply moving and watching. That is, until she found a park with a Child that was not quite her own. A blonde woman with golden lightning flickering around her body stared at her hand in a devastated area. Craters had marred the flesh of the earth and a tree had been toppled as well. Despite the danger of it all she walked towards the pseudo Child without a hint of fear. Stone grinded itself to dust instead of hurting her feet and when she was a few feet away Aisha looked at the stranger with an inquisitive look in her eyes.

"You are... not quite one of mine. Close, but not wholly born from my Children alone. What were your parents?"

[MissingMandible]

Lone Wanderer:

"I did say you could fight out your differences," Jeremy said with exasperation, "But over donuts? Really?"

Of all the things to fight over...War never changes. Despite how idiotic this was, he stood by. Of course, if things go too far, he'd step in, forcibly separate them, and apply medication if needed. This was bonding in the wasteland; he done this with Jericho, and since then they were friends, albeit friends who frequently called each other rather nasty names and often gave each other the birds. It was all in good nature, really!

[Elf]

Rin

Rin shook her head and said, "I really don't.  I mean, I have to get the Extra Large helmet when going to the batting cages . . ."

She tapped her lip and said, "I wonder if you have a compounding drug store around here too. An apothecary would work too."  She needed to make her anti-rejection concoction to keep the Crest from flaring up more than it did.


Forest

"Yeah! Want to crash at my place!?"

Forest blinked and then patted his shoulder.  She said, "I have a place though . . ."  It was a weird feeling though.  She got the feeling it was sexless; he just wanted friendly company.

"I just wanted to make sure you were safe," she said awkwardly. 

[SINIB]

Sakura

“No protesting!” Sakura silenced her woefully hatless sister’s complaints. “It’ll be great. And you don’t need to worry about that, we have plenty of stuff downstairs. Faust keeps...” Sakura’s voice trailed off as she began to think about it once again. After a long pause, “I-I have a large stockpile of various-of various stuff.”

[Elf]

Rin

Rin blinked as Sakura stopped as she mentioned Faust.  Losing Archer had been hard enough, but Rin had only known the bastard for a week.  Sakura had been with Faust for years.

Rin turned around and hugged her sister.  "You know, don't make the same mistake I did.  It's okay to mourn him."

[SINIB]

Sakura

Sakura shook her head and cleaned her face of tears. “No, no, I’m fine! Let’s go to buy makeup!” She said with a smile, entirely unforced. Everything about her body language was saying that she was truly okay.

[Elf]

Rin

"Are you sure?" Rin said in a soft voice, giving Sakura's hand a squeeze.  Despite Sakura's body language, Rin had a feeling that this version of her sister was very off.


Saber

This Mordred was still talking to her.  The brash girl had something she waned to say to Saber, but Saber knew if Lancelot woke up and saw "Mordred", even though her bearing and mien were completely different than the Mordred that shared Saber's blood, it would not go well.  Considering the episode in the sewers, she knew her friend's sanity at the moment was in tatters.

It would take little for him to go into a frenzy.

She faced this girl who looked like her and said, "Could you spare a few moments?  I need to make sure my friend is taken care of, and if he saw you it would not go well."

If she did indeed fought Lancelot earlier, she would know how mighty he is in battle, and how dangerous he is when he lets his rage take over.

[Knick]

Suiren

How could she have lost to him again… he was the one person, the one person she had to surpass, the one person she had to conquer, she had to…

Suiren sighed as she raised her hand, and stared into her palm. All around here the once pristine park was ruined, trees toppled, the earth with indents, and all the while golden light crackled like lightning along her form, filling the silence.

She had to be able to do more; she had to be able to raise herself higher. It wasn’t a question, she HAD to. Her strength was all surpassing, her might supreme. But yet that spear won; that spear of truth and light. Anger, anger and annoyance, that’s what she felt at first, but it has long since given way, given way to more drive.

That man’s power was greater than she thought; the might of the truth he carried surpassed her currently. But she would simply grow; grow enough to crush him one day.

One day she would be able to face him and…

A ghost of a smile appeared on her face at the mere thought of it.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by a voice calling though the clearing. "You are... not quite one of mine. Close, but not wholly born from my Children alone. What were your parents?"

Suiren turned, and what she saw amazed her. Old. Powerful. Ancient. Origin. Tale. Life. All those words assaulted her and in that moment she understood what this… thing was. It wasn’t a woman, it wasn’t even human. It was closest to a Demon, a representation, but it was distinctly different. Such a thing as what stood in front of her did not exist in her world, but there were beings on its level, beings like it.

But Suiren has only seen a few, and fewer still that could maintain a constant form. But the question, it annoyed her.

“That’s not any of your business, is it?” She responded sourly, not wanting to talk about that topic, lowering her hand and placing it on her hip, “You… what exactly is something like you doing here?”

[Umbra of Chaos]

Aisha

The wellspring of life didn't answer at first. Instead she moved even closer and simply sat right in front of the other woman. "Here? I came to this area of the city to observe my Children and their works. I'm here before you because it is rather rare to see a Child that is both mine and not mine, yet I do admit that the fact that you had pummeled the area is of interest to me. What angers one as strong as yourself?"

And she was certainly strong. The earth had been beaten out of shape quite deeply and while that might not be anywhere close to the power shown by the Firstborn Aisha had some hopes. Her Children, even the ones who were not her own, had the capacity to surprise her quite a bit. The girl being stronger than what this area showed was certainly a possibility.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Hyoudo Tenma

The mega bitch rushed at Tenma. Taken by surprise, she couldn't quite react, her body was sent plummeting to the ground. Then, she sat atop her with her fat ass, nearly crushing her with the weight. Then, she spoke with a sp00ky tone "You dare defy the donut gods foolish mortal, I will feed you so many donuts you turn into one, and then I'll eat it."

Blushing, Tenma tried to hold her anticipation back. To be taken and pinned down like that, to have all donuts in the world forced into her. Even she was a super mega bitch with weird powers she'd have to study later on, she had amazing ideas at times.

"N-no! Please! Anything but that!" She cried out in a mocking manner. "Please be gentle!"

Then, some random girl walked in on their donut loving session. Ignoring her, she then noticed Jerry was back.

"I did say you could fight out your differences," Jeremy said with exasperation, "But over donuts? Really?"

"Bitch, not just donuts! We're talking Original Glazed, Maple Iced, Glazed Cinnamon, Glazed Cruller, Glazed Blueberry Cake, Glazed Sour Cream, Glazed Devil's Food Cake, Chocolate Ice Glaze etcetera etcetera. Those wonderful things are not just donuts, they are filled whith humanity's hopes and dreams!!! All of them are shit, obviously, but still hopes and dreams! So please, whatever you do, don't make me eat them!"

[Thedoctor]

Shinobu 

Shinobu was just about to make real of her threat when she heard the newcomer. Her voice was light as if the speaker was young, more precisely it sounded like a girl. She turned and stared in shock, it was like time stood still, like an eternal moment of clarity, then it resumed and she realised what was infront of her. In but a heartbeat she executed a graceful back flip and landed on her two feets again.

Then it happened, her entire composure changed, gone was the donut craving fool, what had taken it's place was something otherworldly. It's presence terrifying yet beautiful at the same time, a presence that would invoke a state of awe in most mortals and keep them transfixed to every motion made by the majestic being, so overwhelming it was as she made her way over to the newcomer.

Then she spoke, her voice charming or was it commanding? It couldn't really be defined as either, the only thing you could tell was that it couldn't be ignored. "Please enlighten me as to why there is a vampire here, what is your goal hunter of the night?"

[Emperor's Hammer]

Victoria Ashworth

It seemed that there was another here, a man in a suit of strange platemail, seemingly too heavy for any man to wear it by my estimate. Perhaps it was mechanically assisted. I would have to ask him about that. The Blonde girl on top of the other girl, now that I had more time to notice my surroundings, was stark naked. Given the outdoor location of the area, it struck me odd that she was totally naked as she was.

However, she was the first to notice me and react, looking at me strangely before doing a backflip and landing on her feet, with an inhuman grace that made me suspect of whether she was human. She then changed her demeanour entirely, seeming to put on a presence that would seem otherworldly to a mortal, but just seemed like the posturing of a Ventrue or a Toreador to me as she walked over to me.

She then, again, spoke in a tone that made me think of the Ventrue, if she was not so strangely naked I might have mistaken her for one.

"Please enlighten me as to why there is a vampire here, what is your goal hunter of the night?"

I twitched a bit at being called a vampire, partially because she could tell my vampiric nature by sight, and partially because she had not called me by the proper terminology. Before responding, I activated Aura Sight to confirm that she was one of the Kindred before responding. Her aura was a mix of pale and dark blue, and had a vampiric paleness to it, though it was a bit strange and I could not put my finger on it. She was indeed a member of the Kindred, though I was unsure what clan she was from, given her very strange mixture of behaviour. Perhaps she was one of the Malkavians? Though one did not have to be a Malkavian to be crazy among the Kindred, it was an indication.

Deciding to respond, I sighed and said, "Did your sire not teach you manners? It is quite impolite to call a fellow Kindred such a base term as 'vampire'." After doing so, I did a curtsy and began to introduce myself, "I am Victoria Ashcroft, High Regent of the London Chantry and Elder of House Tremere. I assume that the two humans with you are members of the initiated. And regarding my presence here, I wish to know that myself. I ended up here after a botched transference  by a Mage on my way to a conference. May I perhaps inquire into your name, fellow Kindred?"

After finishing speaking I waited for my fellow Kindred's response and kept an eye on my environment, just in case something else unexpected happens.

[MissingMandible]

Lone Wanderer:

Great, more self-proclaimed vampires. At least Vance had a head on his shoulders, even though he was a bit eccentric. What this Victoria is saying is outright nonsense. Mages are in Grognak comics, not real life. Even Krivbeknih can be explained rationally...still trying to figure how to do that, but things like magic and actual vampires are just myths regardless.

He then turned to Tenma and offered a hand to pull her back up. "I've only seen pictures of donuts. Most of what you just said flew over my head."

[Kat]

Rikuyo

She was about to leave the site where she buried her former companion, when the soil stirred, a hand breaking through the thin sheet of dirt. She knew that smell. Foul odor of spirits that used to haunt her until they learned their place. Unforgivable. Whichever accursed ghost desecrated his body like that, she would make it pay. Rip its guts if it had any! Any bystander could see the cold fury in her eyes as she slowly walked towards Richard's rising body.

[Fel]

Kihara Kagun

The man fell from the giant pile of containers. He had lost his left arm, his upper body was stained with blood, and his skin wasn't intact. Truthfully, there should have been no way of saving him. But that was fine, for he had accomplished his goals. And thus with his death the incident shall be brought to a close, and his perfect revenge completed. He could feel his back falling onto the soft -20°C snow. And in his final moments he bore the smile of a victor-

Or at least that's where it should have ended. He could faintly feel a hard and solid floor, as in if it were one of a castle, and it was suddenly also somewhat warmer. But the man was too exhausted to question the change that had overcome the environment. At most he could barely open his eyes. And for a moment he did open those eyes. He could hazily see a woman with long silver hair, and he also made out the silhouettes of a few other people. But that was his limit. The thoughts that he had presumptuously presumed to be his last were, "Is this hell? Is this warmth the flames of the purgatory? Not too terrible of a place..."