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

[Thedoctor]

Shinobu

The blonde vampire was utterly unimpressed by Tenma's childish antics. Using one of these machines as a a high speed projectile battering ram looked like an exceptionally poor choice to her, especially considering that their original purpose seemed to be reconnaissance. She gave  the "mad" scientist a hard look and asked "Are you done with these foolish things? It would be great if you could take this a bit more seriously and do please inform us before you do anything that may be risky or else I will make my earlier threat real". After she finished her lecture she decided to take a closer look at how much damage the explosion had caused.

As she closed in on the door at a walking pace she noticed the charred remains of the poor thing Tenma had launched, well calling it remains would be putting it nicely, barely a speck of it remained and even with her enhanced senses Shinobu only saw small fragments of it on the floor, she doubted a human would be able to spot them. She looked at the door, it had barely been dented by the awesome force that had struck it making the situation seem hopeless.

"Hmm, I wonder if...." She mumbled barely audible as tried opening the door. 

[Kat]

Gintoki - Viper's Den

One of the sources of the unnatural light seemed to be underground, in an abandoned night club. There had to be an entrance somewhere. Then heard sounds of explosions echoing from somewhere. Following his sense of hearing, he looked for the entrance. There must have been some fight going on, maybe between people pissed off like him at this deal with artificial suns spoiling the nighttime and retards responsible for that. If there were people as willing as him to shut down this place, he would step into even a den of a fiercest dragon. So he did.

(OOC: I'm legitimately tired after a long trip, so short post will be short. Just making sure he is at the site, Knick is welcome to post if Gin encounters any traps.)

[SINIB]

Rachel

Rachel sighed, and spoke up before Noel. She wished she never had to meet this kind of person; that never seemed to say anything worthwhile. And this one was so exceptionally long winded, on top of that!

"You've truly impressed me." Rachel said without an ounce of sarcasm. "I don't think I've ever met anyone who says more pointless drivel to get across a simple idea before. Your sheer pointlessness is something that should be lauded, it's something that only comes once in a generation, nay, perhaps even less frequently than that. Bravo. I don't often meet people who lack the understanding that brevity is a virtue very often to this extent."

Meanwhile, Noel just glared at her.

[Panda]

Seras

It didn't take them long to find Vanguard once more. Even without Seras's enhanced perception, it wouldn't have been too difficult, really. Between cape and the odd glow, amongst a fair few other things, he kinda stuck out like a sore metal thumb. Quickly making their way over, Seras couldn't help but stare a bit at Vanguard, curious and slightly concerned.

"Umm...where'd that cape come from?" Seras asked, the shadows from her now torn sleeve curling around her placidly.

[Kat]

Noriko

"Hello, Mr. Armor, I'm still interested in that offer of yours. I guess Seras passed the interview?" she asked rhetorically. "So, what I should do myself to prove my services are of use?"

[Kotomine_Rin]

Hyoudo Tenma

No. No god please no. No! No!

Tenma's eyes widened in horror. While the almost therapeutic action of blowing things up would've usually made her feel much better, all that was left was bitter regret. The door was intact. Standing there. Mocking her by not having a single scratch. Why? How!? A metal door. It was just a metal door. No, it clearly wasn't. But it looked just like one! Her C.A.T was built for two things: reconnaissance and demolition. So how could it fail in the latter!? While her anger was now gone, courtesy of the explosion, it all felt so empty...

And then, she spoke up, berating her for her action. Tenma immediately felt her heart crash. It was all her fault, but admitting that would make things worse. Tenma looked at Shinobu and Jerry and laughed nervously, trying to dig herself out of the hole she had dug herself into. She had to find something, anything....

"Haha... this was all, uh, part of my plan. Yes, my plan! My plan to, ummm, well, the plan, the plan the plan..."

And then, eureka!

"Yes, the plan! You see, remember when the first trap blew on us and damaged my tarantula? Well, erm, it shouldn't have been. Yes. Because you see, they are actually really tough! I built them, no way in hell two explosions would make them give in, my baby could take five missiles before giving in. It was really that amazing, I know, keep your applauses for later."

Truthfully, she had no idea what she was saying. She just had to find a way to save herself, to save her face!

_{Daga Shikashi!}
"BUT! If they were truly hot enough to melt trough the metal so easily, I would have been at the very least singed. Simply put, the damage dealt to my machine isn't proportional to the heat or force of the explosion. An explosion that did not damage our surroundings in any remarkable way! I knew, I knew from that moment on that we weren't dealing with anything normal. The light from above is just as abnormal, not even MY science could pull it off! There is no such thing! But what if the light and the explosions and this whole place were somehow related? And so I planned, my great plan to figure out what the hell is wrong with this place!"

Please believe it, please believe it, please believe it...

"It's quite simple really. By firing that drone at high speed, I, Hyoudo Tenma, would be able to confirm my hypothesis. And clearly as you can see, the door is completely unharmed. Such an explosion would have blasted a bank vault open. Clearly we are dealing with something far beyond mundane traps. We must remain vigilant! Only by being careful and planning our steps ahead will we be able to get out of this bizarre den alive."

Walking up to Shinobu, she handed her her P.H.D, handling it like a delicate work of art. She was almost hesitant at first, but it was for the best.

"Listen, you're quick, so you can use it better than I would. This fires portals so we can escape or to travel more quickly. It can also displace things that go trough. Orange button makes orange portal, blue button makes blue portal. And no matter what you do, don't press the red button."

Then, she quickly turned to look behind her. SHe heard footsteps, something else was coming for them.

"Careful." She whispered.

[Knick]

Suiren

Suiren roared, her golden might flaring, greater, it needs to be greater, the power of the earth flowed into her, her pulse harmonized, and she became the greatest of the Earth. And with it her cocked back fist flew.

And flash and strike. The fist struck the stomach with a shovel hook punch, and Golden light exploded from it. The wave of force rippled through the woman, pulverizing the bones, breaking the flesh, and with it a massive shockwave ripped out into the world behind her. It ripped of stone and broke down the trees. And with this might, the woman’s body ruptured and her torso seemingly exploded, allowing the limbs and head of the woman to fall to the ground.

Just

He looked at the ghost child with analytical eyes for a moment longer before speaking once again. “Perhaps that is enough stories for now. Perhaps I can tell you the rest at a later date, but for now I feel you should run along.”

He did not want to keep this thing here, it was hard to read and difficult to predict, its usage of powers showed it was dangerous, and there was no telling about what else he could do. 

Crest

As she began to speak again, Crest simply glared at her coldly. Then for a moment they sat in silence. “You seem to not understand.” And the moment he was done one of the ribbons withdrew itself from Emily, darting yet flowing, sudden yet slow, movement indescribable, alian and yet familiar at the same time, like it awoken some primordial fear that was long since buried.

And then it slashed at the floor of the shower. It did not make a sound, it did not rip up the tile, it simply passed through it, and in its wake a gash could be seen, a thin but obvious gash of empty space.

“So, how about now?” He asked her with a kind voice, giving her a smile as his mismatched eyes gleamed. He didn't like it, that she felt the confidence to ask him about what he wanted. That confidence, whether it spoke from her knowledge in her abilities, or in ignorance of his own, it implied she thought she had some ability to control the situation, some ability to try and find a way out of it. 

She didn't, and Crest was not going to entertain that fantasy.

[Kat]

KOTOMINE KIREI

Both newcomers had evaded his sweep, much to the priest’s irritation. He relaxed the muscles in his arms, which shrank back to their normal size, and carefully gauged his enemies as they charged at him. Bone-like spikes burst out of the woman, who attacked from the front, while the other man shifted around to the side, preparing to flank him. Smart… too bad what they didn’t know would get them killed.

Kotomine didn’t even try to defend against Valerie’s attack. Her knee and her elbow struck true, the bone-spike protrusions digging partway into his flesh. Michael came up from behind, about to attack with his staff, when the priest rotated.

It was an unnatural movement. In the blink of an eye, Kotomine’s entire upper body turned 180 degrees, while his legs didn’t appear move at all. The bone woman, brought along for the ride, suddenly found herself between Michael and his target. Whether he hit Valerie or aborted the strike didn’t much matter. The priest reached around and grabbed her by the back of her neck and pulled her away, her bone spikes seeming to just slide right out of him. The priest’s knee came up and his leg extended in a devastating snap kick to Michael’s midsection, strong enough to fracture his ribs.

Holding Valerie by the throat in front of him Kotomine Kirei narrowed his eyes and pulled back his fist, ready to deliver the killing blow.

Rikuyo

Still in bloody bad mood, Rikuyo prepared for the counterattack. Unfortunately for her, the priest seemed to have more skill on his side, and the situation was too incensing for her to think coldly about the fight. She wanted to act, she had to act anyway. Anger mixed with primal impulses drove her into an assault. Like a wild animal, she leaped at the priest who was holding some woman she didn't give slightest damn about, Rikuyo's talons crackling with chi,  wishing nothing more but to drive them through his body and explode his guts into bloody chunks.

(OOC: RIP, I don't think it will end up well...)

[Panda]

Emily

Emily watched with no small amount of curiosity as the ribbon sliced a gash into the shower floor. More concerning than the damage as the fact that that was all there was. No sound, no shavings or splinters of tile of any sort. And that was what he'd nicked her with.

Well, that's going to be a pain to patch up.

Deciding that there wouldn't be much reasoning with the man at this point, Emily simply nodded to the man.

"Yes, I understand," she said simply.

[Knick]

Viper’s Den

As the blond girl reached for the door and turned the handle, a sharp squeaking of metal echoed though the hall as it turned with slight difficulty. Then it was pulled back, opening with the same creak, slowly due to the massive size. Then there was a soft click, but nothing happened.

If they had examined the doorway they would have noticed an incredibly thing wire, a wire from the door into the wall. But no trap went off, it seemed that the trap accidently set off before was one and the same as this one.

But surly the door opened, and the room beyond was revealed. It was fairly large, it had some benches scattered throughout, and to the back sides of the rooms there were two pathways, each hallway only two people across if they stood shoulder to shoulder. Toppled club bounders were near both entrances, and blood stains could be seen on the floor all around.

The most disconcerting thing was the words carved into the walls.  Scratched into the concreate that made them were deep gashes, phrases like “YOU WILL DIE ALONE!”, “THERE IS NO HOPE BEYOND HERE!”, “FEAR THE DARKNESS!”, “TURN BACK NOW!” and finally, the centerpiece "THE SNAKE HUNTS!".

[Kat]

Gintoki

He made his way through the corridor, recognizing a familiar smell of gunpowder and fire. A fight happened? But there were no corpses around. It would be far fetched to assume someone cleaned up them already that fast. It could be that whoever stormed this place, could encounter some traps rather than armed resistance. If so, he could still meet them on the way. Focused, he made his way carefully, bracing himself for any sign of impeding danger.

Then, she quickly turned to look behind her. SHe heard footsteps, something else was coming for them.

"Careful." She whispered.

So far, nothing dangerous happened to him. Quite disturbing in fact, he kinda didn't like the silence of the place. As he made his way, he noticed a group of people ahead of him. A nerdy looking girl, a blonde teenage girl and a guy that looked like straight out of some sci-fi movie. Seemed like an odd bunch to meet in what could be a deathtrap, but crazy people like him attracted other crazies.

"Oi, what you are doing in this place? The light from here spoiled my mood, so I come to shut it down. Are you here to do the same or just like crawling through such suspicious places?" he called out them. Better they were allies, not foes. Or he would have to fight his way through them.

[Panda]

Adjutor

Even through the dull ache throbbing in his back, Adjutor could clearly see that the man was probably in even worse shape than him. Even ignoring the fact that his conduits looked pretty shot, he seemed to be having a hard time walking.

Oh no, I did not save your ass only for you to go walking off by yourself when you're barely capable of even that.

With that in mind, Adjutor moved quickly, easily catching up to the youth with Reinforced speed, grabbing an arm, and putting it over his own shoulders, letting the man rest at least some of his weight on the teen.

"And you are way too beat up to be heading out by yourself at this point, even if your conduits weren't shot," Adjutor said, "So where's home for you? Least I can do is make sure you get there in one piece."

[Panda]

Michael

In an almost disturbing fashion, the priest grabbed Valerie and outright rotated in place, like some kind of automaton. Quickly aborting his attack, the immortal let the staff slide freely down to the ground, knowing that a counter-attack of some sort wouldn't be long in coming. With that in mind, Michael hopped up, staff still planted in the ground, and lengthened the staff out to its 12-foot form, pushing the immortal further up as the expected kick slammed into the staff instead of Michael's midsection.

Holding himself stiff, the immortal let the sheer power in the kick striking the staff flip him flip him mid-air, Michael loosening up and adding his own strength to the blow that he sent crashing down on the priest's head from above.

[Umbra of Chaos]

Aisha

Even as her head fell to the ground flesh and bone had already begun to grow and rapidly regenerate to the point where it was almost disconcerting to watch. By the time it had got close to the ground the neck and torso were complete and half formed arms structured around developing bones managed to hold Aisha up as her bottom half was restored. In the slightest of moments she was already completely fine. There wasn't even a trace of damage. It was meaningless agony, and her face remained more unchanging then stone. "What are you waiting for? Surpass me."


Ghost Child

The spirit's bottom lip quivered but it only took him a moment to realize that this wouldn't work. Instead he smiled and formed a bunch of ethereal squares on the ground and hopscotched all the way from the ground floor up to the stage. Then he simply raised a pinkie finger to the old man and almost looked every bit the child he seemed to be. "Promise?"

[SINIB]

Sakura

Sakura shook her head. “No, we’re not in our home world anymore. Vampires are a menace here, I’ve never met any good ones. And I’m sure Vanguard could deal with them both easily. He’s strong. Stronger than you can imagine. It’s just a hunch, but I believe it.”

She watched Vanguard do his thing with a smile. “See, Nee-san? He even says so himself.”