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

[Elf]

Rin

"Only the best Master could have summoned the best Servant."

Rin folded her arms around her and said, "I knew someone who told me he was the best once, and he really was.  He was able to tread where others were caught and corrupted, and he managed to save her Shirou, his sister and myself against all odds.  He was a bit of an ass, okay, he was a giant jerk and he knew how to press all of my buttons, but he made the best cup of tea that I've ever had."

She laughed, shook her head and said, "I live in England now, the tea capital of the world and no one has been able to match his tea.  He also made sure that my house was warm."

"And he died protecting me.  He threw himself in the way for a hit meant for me.  Made himself a living shield, and dying he made sure we all were safe.  Hell, even made plans to make sure that Ilya and I would survive as long as possible.  And then that asshole died." 

She looked at Vanguard and said, "You maybe very strong and very powerful, but in the end everyone can get overwhelmed."

[MissingMandible]

Lone Wanderer:

Tenma merely voiced what Jeremy already knew: The sound of footsteps was something he learned to listen for on a subconscious level. It was a necessary skill for those who wander the wasteland. The Lone Wanderer gripped his railway rifle tightly, ready to fire if the visitor turned out to be someone less than friendly...

"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?"

"Both, actually." Jeremy called back, relaxing his grip somewhat to appear more friendly yet maintaining the 'Don't Fuck with me' vibe.

Keeping the newcomer in sight, he asked "Who are you supposed to be?"

[Kotomine_Rin]

Vanguard

Vanguard listened to Rin’s passionate words on her now deceased servant, growing more annoyed by the second. It was clear that she was fond of him, perhaps even grew to love him. Her words and her voice told him that much. Whether she was aware of that fact, he did not care a bit.

Honestly, he agreed with her. He had witnessed such stories unfold many times, over and over again, to the point it would make one sick. He knew that strength meant little. One needed more, so much more than that. He needed more. Strength alone cannot beat them; he knew that fact very well. He knew that he had not been strong enough. But despite that, her words were furstrating, annoying.

Could it be he felt envious? No matter how you look at it, to die protecting those you care about, dying with a noble purpose, dying fulfillng something of value…

It’s not a bad way to die.

Yes, it was jealousy that he felt. An annoying emotion he thought forgotten long ago. That was troublesome, he should forget of it once more.

Vanguard turned to Rin and scuffed coldly. “What of it? If he could not protect both himself and you, then he was simply too weak to fulfill his oath. If that is the case, I simply need to become stronger than him, stronger than anything in existence.”

Then, he noticed Seras had come back, presumably with her friend. Great, more annoyances to deal with. At the very least they were useful.

"Oh, this is simply a mane of cloth I grow to shield myself from the cold. As for the interview, let us say I might consider it. There are other matters to discuss for now, your eventual employment might have to wait. For one, you need to discuss the details with my manager."

[Kat]

Noriko

"Huh, your manager? Let me guess, they are in the charge?" She already met the two girls accompanying "Mr. Armor". This could be awkward. One of them didn't took kindly to her intruding on them before. She had to be tactful when dealing with them. "Sorry for being a bother back then." she apologized, hoping that would smooth things. "Mr. Armor wanted to hire me and my roommate, but you are his employers. If I don't intrude on your precious time, I would like to discuss the details of the employment." she smiled, acting as politely as she could. And making sure no one of mundanes bystanders were eavesdropping on them with her spell.

[SINIB]

Sakura

Rin folded her arms around her and said, "I knew someone who told me he was the best once, and he really was.  He was able to tread where others were caught and corrupted, and he managed to save her Shirou, his sister and myself against all odds.  He was a bit of an ass, okay, he was a giant jerk and he knew how to press all of my buttons, but he made the best cup of tea that I've ever had."

Sakura flinched. Nee-san why. . . That’s not fair. . . That’s not fair at all. . . Why are you bringing that up?

Rin laughed, shook her head and said, "I live in England now, the tea capital of the world and no one has been able to match his tea.  He also made sure that my house was warm. And he died protecting me.  He threw himself in the way for a hit meant for me.  Made himself a living shield, and dying he made sure we all were safe.  Hell, even made plans to make sure that Ilya and I would survive as long as possible.  And then that asshole died." 

She looked at Vanguard and said, "You maybe very strong and very powerful, but in the end everyone can get overwhelmed."

Vanguard turned to Rin and scuffed coldly. “What of it? If he could not protect both himself and you, then he was simply too weak to fulfill his oath. If that is the case, I simply need to become stronger than him, stronger than anything in existence.”

Sakura turned away from Rin and Vanguard. She walked towards Noriko and grabbed her arm, walking away with her. She didn’t want Rin to see her tearing up.

“What do you want to talk about?” She asked Noriko flatly.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Sakagami Kenzo

Kenzo blushed shyly before relaxing, slowly, until he snorted a joyful chuckle. Oh, she probably didn’t know how right she was. But he wouldn’t give in like that! He’d fluster her until she became red like a tomato!

“Yep, and I also tend to do this!”

And without letting the poor Fore as much as register what he just said, his eyes glowed with a red hue. Immediately, his legs exploded with power and he shot out  with speed unlike anything he showed her, gracefully dashing and avoiding whatever obstacle he would've crashed into.. It was like a freight train, no, much faster.

Opening the door with the speed and precision of a heat seeking bullet, he exited the shop and began to run  along the street, meaning to arrive at his place like a sonic red ferrari, only said ferrari was holding a poor girl and jumping from car to car nimbly without so much as damaging them whenever there was traffic.

[Kat]

Sakura turned away from Rin and Vanguard. She walked towards Noriko and grabbed her arm, walking away with her. She didn’t want Rin to see her tearing up.

“What do you want to talk about?” She asked Noriko flatly.

"I need a job, and I'm willing to work for anyone who needs services of a mage. I'm quite young, I know, but I think I'm fairly versatile and I don't shy from hard work.", said Noriko. Seeking job was not her only motivation, but she kept to herself that she was interested why the woman seemed to brim with Mana. If she was the employer of Mr. Armor, who knew, she could be quite a potent mage. Maybe she could learn from her a thing or two. If she was willing to take apprentices, that is.

[Thedoctor]

Shinobu

As she accepted the peculiar gun from Tenma, she noticed the newcomer. He was silver haired and appeared to be wearing traditional Japanese clothes.

"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.

"It appears we're here for the same reason, if that's truly why you're here" The vampire stated a bit suspicously. She continued "Beware, this place is full of traps, explosive traps to be more precise or at least that's what we've encountered so far". Shinobu gave him a closer look as he got near them "You're human aren't you?" she asked flatly.   

[Kat]

"It appears we're here for the same reason, if that's truly why you're here" The vampire stated a bit suspicously. She continued "Beware, this place is full of traps, explosive traps to be more precise or at least that's what we've encountered so far". Shinobu gave him a closer look as he got near them "You're human aren't you?" she asked flatly.   

"Oi, don't ask such silly questions. Of course I'm a human. Just one unlucky to be born with a natural perm.", he answered Shinobu's question. "Who the hell scratched those signs? Honestly, if they think this sounds cool, they must have a junior high schooler syndrome.", the silver haired man nonchalantly commented on the signs left on the walls.

Keeping the newcomer in sight, he asked "Who are you supposed to be?"

"Just a samurai who couldn't just ignore those suns fucking up the sky. If we don't remove them, I guess we can say goodbye to getting smashed while moongazing."

[Emperor's Hammer]

Brunhilde Furst

"You didn't do that. But she is bothered by your presence, and I'm not surprised. Anyone would be suspicious a stranger hiding her face." She turned to the two. "I apologize on behalf of my associate. I don't know what has happened between you two, but I don't blame you. Emily's a drunk who has loose self-control. I talked with Saber and she sneaked out without my knowledge." Mordred sighed. She had to get back to the apartment. "Can you help me find her if she's not in her apartment? She can be bothersome, but still it's a dangerous place and I cannot leave her like that. But first..." She looked at the black knight. "Remove your helmet and introduce yourself. You will look more trustworthy without that piece of metal on your head."

It seemed that the newcomer was an associate of the drunk, whose name apparently was Emily. It also was apparent that this Emily was a habitual drunk who lacked self control, and the woman seemed to pin blame on the drunk. She also seemed to be rather worried about the girl, so they likely were more than just acquaintances as well. She then said that I should take off my helmet as it would make me seem more trustworthy. It was not like I was wearing this to conceal my identity, I was wearing it because I was in possibly hostile territory, as the suns above me could be hostile and I had walked into an unknown situation, which could have easily turned sour. However, now that the immediate threat was over, I decided to comply and introduce myself.

Taking off the helmet, I let my long blonde hair fall out from underneath the helmet, and revealed my face to them, and held my helmet under my right arm, before beginning to speak. "I am Brunhilde Furst, and before coming here I was a Knight of the Holy Roman Empire in Germany. Please excuse the fact I had not taken off my helm earlier, as it would not have been prudent of me to do so. I was walking into a situation that could have turned hostile, and I was not aware of your intentions, not to mention the fact that the city could be hostile territory now," I said to the blonde haired woman who had just arrived, gesturing to one of the strange sun like entities in the sky. "As for finding your confederate, I would not mind helping, after all, she did seem like she might run into trouble with how inebriated she seemed when I encountered her, and as a knight I would be remiss if I did not attempt to aid someone in need," I finished, before turning to listen to the child who was with the hysterical woman, who was glaring at me after my admonition.

Rachel

"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."

It seemed that the girl had taken issue to my manner of speech, and was quite childishly rebuking it. A childish answer for a girl with the body of a child, who was trying to act more mature than she appeared. "And you, girl, should know that being laconic is not a virtue. I simply was explaining my point thoroughly, neither being too brief nor too long winded," I said, before turning away from her and returning my attention to the newcomer. "I was heading out to see if I could track down what exactly was causing this light and see if it is hostile, so if you would lik to join me after we find your confederate, your help would be much appreciated," I finished.

With my piece said, I simply sat back and waited for the newcomer's response.

[yinsukin]

Urthemiel

The Old God raised an eyebrow at the girl's state and gently patted her head. Her face and eyes softened so that they could even be mistaken for having a bit of true pity. One could call it overly sympathetic but one did not become important by using cold reasoning. Emotions were a key part of manipulation as well. "No tears. Crying won't solve anything, and I need you to be coherent if we want to figure out what happened to your friend. Now, while magic can do so it certainly doesn't grant people powers from nothing. Most likely your friend is possessed by a demon or is a powerful demon in disguise. Both are equally likely. Can you think of anything that might reveal which one it is?"

Medaka calmly but quickly wiped the tears from her eyes as soon as she was caught.  The movement was quick and swift but not graceful.  Someone with keen eyes could tell she was a bit embarrassed. Her face became calm with her facial expression hiding a wide variety of emotions, with fear, uncertainty and determination fighting for the top spot.  Her voice reflected her calm exterior when she spoke.

"Well, my companion Lorenzo was supposed to be dead.  You see, supposedly he died a little while ago."  Her eyes lowered for a second, and her heart was hit with a pang of guilt, reflected in her eyes as she met his once more. 

"I want to believe he is alive.  Yet, even if he is, its almost like he is a different person."  Her guilty eyes faded, now replaced with determination.  "As much as I hate to admit it, he acts more like this man I met before, a guy named Tohuw.  If it is him, I cannot track him.  Unlike Lorenzo he likely wont leave as much evidence behind.  And in this city, he could die before I have a chance to confront him."

[MissingMandible]

Elyssa:

For a moment, Elyssa felt calm, that the winged being Veromiel in front of her only meant kindness. Then she realized that her emotions were being tugged by some unknown, foreign force.

All current-generation Warmongers have been trained to detect that sort of thing. They have to be on guard for being influenced by the likes of Vampires, who utilize arcane magic. They are the only Race of Man that can do that; everyone else's magic is of the more elemental variety. If this woman is a vampire, Elyssa won't be able to physically fend her off in her current state. Just need a bit more time for her body to re-calibrate...

"I'm...fine," Elyssa stated, "...Just...Give me some space."

The Warmonger would have to play along for now.

[yinsukin]

Roxas

This was easily the craziest most one sided fight he had ever seen.  Both Micheal and Rikuyo together were struggling against the priest.  He stopped moving, getting ready to attack the priest from a distance.  He pointed both of the keyblades at the priest, with the blades being adjacent to one another.  Pooling the light energy from the keyblades together, Roxas fired a concentrated blast of light, aimed straight at the head of the priest. 

[Elf]

Rin

“What of it? If he could not protect both himself and you, then he was simply too weak to fulfill his oath. If that is the case, I simply need to become stronger than him, stronger than anything in existence.”

Rin's hands dropped to her side and she felt them curving into fists as he turned towards the buxom blond and the Japanese redhead who introduced herself rather abruptly earlier.

"Oh, this is simply a mane of cloth I grow to shield myself from the cold. As for the interview, let us say I might consider it. There are other matters to discuss for now, your eventual employment might have to wait. For one, you need to discuss the details with my manager."

Rin bristled and said, "You're a tin man, who's just a soul and armor.  You don't get cold." 

She watched as Sakura led Noriko away and sighed.


Forest

Forest looked up to see Kenzo blushing before he said, “Yep, and I also tend to do this!”

Before she could say anything, he was off like a bolt of red lightning.  He carried her into the street, darting impossibly fast and nimble.  Even carrying her, he was managing to dodge and jump over obstacles as he ran.

Cold air rushed around them as Kenzo carried her to only Lord and Lady knew where.  Knowing that he'd have trouble hearing her over the sound of traffic and whatnot she resulted to nonverbal communication.

Kenzo, where are we going?

[Kotomine_Rin]

Vanguard

Help…

There was once a man who lived to protect others. That man, a man whose name would never be sung, was once a simple ordinary man.  And that ordinary man was truly a savior among saviors, a hero among heroes.

Stop it…

Even though he was born with nothing, possessing no extraordinary skill or talents, he possessed hope, a just heart, virtue and determination beyond ordinary men. And so he struggled, and struggled, and eventually his struggles would pay off. In the end, he became the heroic guardian he yearned to become.

Please let me out…

Yes, that man certainly saved many people. For countless generations he had lived to protect others, setting his eyes solely on the horizon beyond his reach. To become stronger, to better himself and reach beyond his limits. To reach the unreachable so he could save even those who were beyond his reach. Drunk on victory, he would guard the gates of the citadel for many more years.

Please…

But fate was ever so fickle. In the end, the lady of fortune took all it had given and left him with bitter defeat. In the end, he was even betrayed by that justice and strength he believed in. In the end, the one thing he had left was a freezing cold.

It’s cold…

Yes, it was not just that battle he had lost on that day. From that moment, all those things that had once made him a beautiful, wonderful human being were slowly picked at, robbed from him, untill there was nothing. All that was left was an empty body who would never feel warmth. Of all penances, to be made aware of one’s impotence is the cruelest of all. For what is a man without hope? Without warmth?

Help me…
Anyone...

Vanguard turned to Rin mechanically and looked at her silently. For a while, he simply stood there, unflinching. Then, his hand rushed for her head like a deadly spear and-

Patted her. And then, Vanguard laughed heartily. A laugh that seemed to bear no pain, no frustration, no joy...

“Haha, you’re right! Sorry, it was just a joke. Still, it’s a funny thought!”