Cross Effects 3.0 - October 21, 2015—June 23, 2016

[SINIB]

Oka Kurosawa

Oka ran up to wormy, who lowered his heat down to that of a nice heated blanket at her approach, and she grabbed him in a hug, tears in her eyes. Wormy chittered at her softly, worried about her being upset. “Don’t mess with Wormy!!! Why would you do something like that?” She asked angrily, furiously even.

“All right, I’m ready. I’ll meet you two crazy bullies in battle head on! I’ll show you what it means to mess with Oka Kurosawa, the future champion and owner of seven gym badges!” She then pressed the button on her pokeball, releasing Haunter, who laughed manically with an evil grin at the two, dancing around Oka's head, standing over her face until she shooed him away.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Sakagami Kenzo

Kenzo looked at the girl and her wormy with a look of utter shock. She was yelling at him angrily, holding the little creature affectionately. He didn’t understand it, why was she so mad? He was trying to be nice, he was just trying to be like the humans. He just wanted to pat it, so why did she hate him? He didn't want to fight, he just wanted to be nice, because he was sure she would be nice to him. He didn’t, he didn’t h…

Everything that you love, you destroy.

Kenzo’s look shifted into a sad one. He looked down for a second, and his hair hid his eyes. Shaking, he tried to look back at the girl, and noticed she had summoned another creature. A spirit…

He didn’t care. But he didn’t mean to do it, he didn’t mean to hurt it. It wasn’t fair, why did everything break like that? Why? He just wanted to hold it for a bit, he just wanted to be nice. He didn’t want to hurt anyone, so why? Why, oh just why can’t it withstand it? Why is it breaking from a gentle touch on its soft skin, let alone a hug? All creations, because this world was too delicate overall. So he had to brea-

He had to be more delicate, more gentle than anything else. He had to stop it, stop hurting others. That is why he stopped thinking, that is why he imprisoned him, chained him and kept him away from his mind. But it hurt, it hurt because even if he was doing all he could, it wasn’t him that was loving.

His love had always been affection trough destruction.

Kenzo looked up sadly, and with a calm voice, he spoke, trying his best not to let his sadness come trough.

“Please stop. I'm... I'm sorry.”

[Cherry Lover]

Rider

Rider continued to relax in Sakura's arms, her anxiety about the future overridden by the joy she felt at being able to make Sakura feel so blissfully happy. Life had been extremely cruel to the poor girl. She had finally been freed from Zouken's abuse and begun to make a life with the man she loved, only to be cruelly torn away from him and dumped into this place, alone. The happiness she was feeling now was something she utterly deserved, and something Rider would never willingly allow to be lost. So, she simply continued to hold onto the girl, a bright smile on her face, her worries almost forgotten.

Finally, after a few minutes of bliss, Sakura looked up to her.

“I wanna go home", she said.

Rider smiled at her.

"Yes, let's get back. Shirou will be waiting for you", she said with a bright smile.

[SINIB]

Rachel Alucard

Rachel nodded, acknowledging his request almost as an afterthought. She would have taken him anyway. At least he was okay with it. That made it less annoying. Suddenly, a black portal enveloped them both, and as soon as they could see again the scene was drastically different. They were near one of the suns, and rachel casually took out her umbrella, shielding herself from the light.

[SINIB]

Sakura Matou

“Yeah. Let’s go to Shirou.” She said with a huge smile. “Nee-san!” She yelled, calling her sister over and waving her arm in the air. “Nee-san!” She yelled once again, cupping her hands over her mouth to amplify the sound before returning to waving them.

[Elf]

Forest

Forest blinked as Kenzo went up to pet the creature only to get burned.  Which he nonchalantly laughed off before asking her what she was doing here.  Then the young lady started cuddling the chittering creature and said, “Don’t mess with Wormy!!! Why would you do something like that?”

“All right, I’m ready. I’ll meet you two crazy bullies in battle head on! I’ll show you what it means to mess with Oka Kurosawa, the future champion and owner of seven gym badges!”

Then she pressed a button on a white, black, and red ball and some sort of floating creature came out.  It started laughing and floating around the girl's head, a wicked gleam in its eyes.

Kenzo's face fell and he said, “Please stop. I'm... I'm sorry.”

"I don't even know how to respond to that," Forest said before rubbing her head and pulling out the pocket knife she kept in her duster.  "Look love, Kenzo just wanted to pet your little pet.  We don't want to hurt you or your little creatures, but before you go rushing off into battle . . ."  She snapped the blade open and then showed her empty palm to the girl before slicing the blade deep into it, making sure the girl saw the whole thing.

She hissed at the fresh pain as blood welled up, dripping into the snow. 

Sighing, she pulled a tissue out of her pocket and wiped the blood away.  The wound tingled as it mended back together, leaving pristine white flesh in its wake.

"Know who you're fighting.  If you'd let me, I can explain what this place is."


Rin

Rin sighed as Sakura called her over before walking over to her and Rider.  She walked over, forced a smile and asked, "So are we ready to go?"

[SINIB]

Oka

“Wait!” She yelled as the crazy woman cut her own freaking hand, only for it to knit up seconds later. Oka blinked. She felt like a fool. “Well then...” She began. “If you’re just going to try to fool me with parlor tricks and be rude, you’re not going to succeed! Send out your pokemon and stop messing around! You can’t scare me!”

She really hoped that the man was alright, though. He seemed harmlessish, in retrospect.

[SINIB]

Sakura

"Yeah, we are. I think. Vanguard seems to be doing something or other, so he can find his way home, I'll tell him what's going on somehow or other, let's just get going." Sakura said to Rin, ignoring the forced nature of her smile.


"Rider.
No.
Ogling.
Rin."

[Elf]

Forest

"I . . . don't have a poke-a-thingie.  I don't even have a dog . . ." Forest said as she gestured to the floating thing.  "And you're breaking the rules of physics with that ball thing and you call my regeneration a parlor trick . . ."

She looked at Kenzo, sighed, and said, "Come on, let's go inside and I can take care of your hand and your head."


Rin

Rin shrugged and said, "He's interviewing members of his harem.  For someone who's lacking working parts, he sure is popular.  Hey Rider."

[Kat]

Vanguard

Vanguard was taken aback by the magician's sudden... eagerness. If she had at first nothing but his faint curiosity, now she had his attention. It seemed they did, after all, speak a common tongue. But her choice of place and time to discuss such matters told him she was still inexperienced, naive. While she was a sheep, she could perhaps be of some use after all.

And he intended to make use of her to the limits of her endurance.

Vanguard scuffed at her words before allowing himself a bemused internal chuckle. Then, he lowered himself to the girl's ear, holding her beautiful delicate hand and letting his cold metal fingers run trough hers, and whispered lowly, low enough to avoid even the most furtive meddlesome ears.

"Of course."

Noriko

To be honest, she didn't fancy how familiar he got with her all of sudden, but her poker face didn't show any discomfort. But surely she would prefer cooperating with his 'manager', if she could help that. The woman wasn't so intrusive of personal space like the walking armor. "Okay, I think I've got the first mark. A sample from early medieval age, undead, nothing too special though, her age aside. Also not that bright as she sounds, in my opinion. But will do as starters."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Sakagami Kenzo

Kenzo frowned at the two making a scene. Why were they fighting, why? He didn’t want this, he just wanted to go home. It was his fault, but it didn’t mean he liked it. For a moment, his hair stood and glowed red along with his eyes. Something was different, wrong. So very wrong. Trembling, he glared at the two silently.

The animals nearby instinctively ran, birds flew away in terror. Else a monster would devour them. Aye, monster, for between the three creatures, the only true monster was Kenzo. Glaring at the two, he spoke coldly, without a shred of his original persona, or rather, his third.

“I said stop.”

Taking a deep breath, the oppressive tension immediately vanished and the mood calmed down a bit. He had to calm down, being angry would get him nowhere. He didn't mean to scare, intimidate or hurt anyone. Not now, not anymore. His hair and eyes took their original shape and color, and he sighed before speaking calmly to the blonde.

“Forest, I am not helpless. I said it was fine, so please stop treating me like a kid who can’t take care of himself. There’s a thin line between being nice and being condescending and you are crossing it.”

Then, he turned to the purplehead and frowned again before taking a deep breath and speaking once more.

“As for you, Kurosawa, stop it. I'm sorry for unsettling you earlier, but we don’t want to fight anyone, so you can stand there with those two pals of yours doing nothing like an annoying idiot or you can leave. If you follow the road, you shouldn’t get lost, killed or eaten. Alternatively, you can come in eat with us and rest. If you’re lost, its not like you’ll have anywhere to stay for a while. Either way, I don't really care."

With that, he turned away from the two absently, walked up to the door of his hot springs, opened it and stepped inside.

[Umbra of Chaos]

Urthemiel

The Old God laughed. If there was a note of mockery in the sound it could not be heard over the rapturous noise that left her mouth. There was a hint of a song in it. A melody that tugged at the senses and ensnared the mind with its haunting beauty. Then it stopped, and the world was left all the more dull because of it.

His attempt to control his flushed face and his accent was all quite enjoyable. She could see why Adjutor had kept him around. "There is nothing I require of you, Emiya Shirou. I was simply curious of what kind of lover my apprentice has chosen. You are suitable."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Vanguard

Vanguard backed off and laid a hand on his hip, tilting his head in expectation. "Before bringing any materials, wouldn't you need a laboratory?"

[yinsukin]

Relius Clover

Relius left the both the store and Ignis behind.  Before he left, he gave Ignis instructions on transforming the old shop into a makeshift lab and safehouse.  It wasn’t the NOL, but it would have to do for now.  In the meantime, the now “crippled” puppeteer limped through the streets of this new city, looking for data on its very nature and inhabitants.  He would have prefered to fix his leg but at the moment, he considered it more beneficial to stay in a seemingly crippled state, even if it hurt his pride a bit.


After a while, something caught his attention.  It was a a large piece of armor, moving around with a red haired girl.  Following his curiosity, Relius wondered into the store.  As he got closer, he noticed something.  The armor had a soul inside it.  He stood in a nearby section, pretending to examine the contents of the store.  In reality, he was listening in on their conversation.

"I know, I know. I'm a tool, and whatnot. That's how the capitalism works anyway. But, would I get a 'premium' for acquiring 'research' materials? I know where to 'find' one, even if it's not particularly unique one, but a good start, I guess?"

The armor responded in a low tone, a tone too low for him to hear from that distance.

I see. "research" materials huh?  Perhaps......

Even though, he could not hear the armor, he was able to pick up on his nonverbal cues.  The armor reached out and touched the red haired girl, as if he knew her.  Then, with a bland face, the girl responded.

"Okay, I think I've got the first mark. A sample from early medieval age, undead, nothing too special though, her age aside. Also not that bright as she sounds, in my opinion. But will do as starters."

So this woman is a mage.  Experimentation in magic perhaps?  I need more information.

The armor then backed off and tilted his head, as if expecting something or curious about something.  It was a bit of a gamble, but Relius limped forward, being sure to display his crippled nature in his movements.

"I am sorry.  I seem to have overheard your conversation and you were talking about magic and the undead? How fascinating!"  He said in a somewhat oblivious but polite tone.

[Cherry Lover]

Rider

Rider smiled back as Sakura as she responded, before turning to call out to her sister. Rider could see that Rin was obviously not overly happy, sighing and putting on an obviously-fake smile, but Sakura either didn't notice or just ignored it, responding to her question with confirmation that they were going to head home, and a mention of Vanguard being busy and able to find his own way back.

At the same time, Sakura sent her a message through their mental link.

Rider.
No.
Ogling.
Rin, she said.

In response, Rider frowned slightly. Rin was an extremely attractive woman. Rider would never harm her in any way, of course, but she saw no reason not to look her over from time to time. At the same time, though, she could understand Sakura being protective of her big sister. This version of Rin seemed rather more sensitive and less receptive to her interests than the one from her world. Plus, she seemed to have eyes in the back of her head at times, picking up even the most subtle of glances, and it seemed like it upset her a lot. Given that, and the fact that upsetting her would naturally upset Sakura, Rider was quite willing to follow this instruction to the best of her ability.

OK, I promise, she responded, as cheerfully as she could manage.

As she was sending the reply, Rin too responded.

"He's interviewing members of his harem.  For someone who's lacking working parts, he sure is popular.  Hey Rider", she said.

In response, Rider smiled back at her.

"Hi Rin. How are you doing?" she said, careful to obey Sakura's instructions.

Then, she turned to her master.

"OK, should we get going? You don't need me to carry you, do you?" she asked, kindly, unsure how tired Sakura might be.