Cross Effects 3.0 - June 23, 2016—April 02, 2018

[SINIB]

Mordred

Five months later

And so a whole season passed. She juggled her time between assignments for the law enforcement and her training. Michael was not someone with a compelling enough personality that she would treat as a role model or her true teacher. More like a hired specialist for the sake of managing and supervising her training. If it wasn't for the company of Breeze she wouldn't even consider that option no matter what result it yielded. Paying bills of that shady dojo wasn't a sign of gratitude but more like financial compensation for services rendered.

As for her times with Elites, it seems like Noel transferred to the police force due to her personal preferences. Seeing that just doing assignments for Elites wouldn't help much her secret goal, she transfered to Enforcers herself hopefully to get some more say and influence in the law enforcement. After few months of largely impeccable service and impressive achievements like melting faces off skulls of troublemaking vampire trash by decking them right in the face (honestly, the rung bottom of the vampire scum was unimpressive enough that she really didn't bother to try hard. How pathetic they must have been considering her own track record, indeed.), she gained a rank of a junior officer within Enforcers which meant better pay and authority to order around even weaker people than herself. Well, she figured out that in a need she could always use help of Breeze  if the situation demanded so as long as she didn't reveal anything confidential to her.

Sitting on a bench and waiting for her appointed meeting with Breeze while smoking cigarettes idly,
she noticed a familiar looking woman coming over and getting on nearby swings. Where she saw her last time? Oh, those three Stooges! But maybe that was just a coincidence. "Hey, you look familiar. I feel like I've saw you somewhere before..." She tried to strike a conversation while Breeze seemed to had been delayed by something.

IRON=SAKURA

Sakura smiled cheerily at the newcomer and waved hello as she continued swinging, getting to more and more absurd heights. She was being careful though. She wasn't going to break the swingset again.

"Hulloooo!" She said to the blond. "I don't think we've met before, but that doesn't mean we can't now!" Sakura suddenly let go of the chains at the zenith of her swing, sending her sailing over Mordred's head and landing behind her. She offered out her hand to the taller girl. "I'm Sakura, nice to meet you."

[Thedoctor]

Jeanne

Sakura called her bluff marvelously and responded with a veiled threat in turn after which her mood suddenly changed and the purple haired woman pulled her into a hug. Shirou was noticeably annoyed by their secret conversation. Not wanting to annoy him to much she responded to the threat with a serious look. "If you expect me to properly train him, I can't gurantee he'll be entirely unharmed."

She then answered Sakura's question. Do you really want me to join that badly master? You might not be able to keep up~" she teased the lust filled woman.

[Kat]

Mordred

Yup, she was likely wrong. That other Sakura didn't seem so eccentric and hyperactive in her memory. As far as she remembered. That was ages ago. Months felt like years for her as if her time was compressed from, as she guessed, living too dangerous and intense life.

"Oh, hello, I'm Mordred, but just call me Mord" She shook the hand of the shorter girl. She didn't mind some company to pass the time.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Vanguard

Vanguard nodded and averted his eyes to the blue spring sky. Something about the gleam in his azure gaze commanded, nay, imposed it's will. Like an ancient relic, mighty and unshakable.

"I see. That is unfortunate. I was hoping to assess your capabilities while in top condition."

With an absent sigh, he took off the recorder from his pocket and played it. A dull, almost robotic voice of what seemed to be a young woman could be heard, but the interlocutor's voice was distorted, unrecognizable.

"I have an small favor to ask you, if you have the skills and time to accomplish the task. Surely it will prove to be a trifling affair of little consequence, but I would like to make sure that you are... adequate, before divulging further information."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Legion

Its numbers kept decreasing over and over, but as much as the swarm's numbers seemed to decrease, the end was nowhere near. Then, something happened. The girl picked up speed and almost automatically, the fiery insects followed along, seemingly compressing while gaining more speed and power, drawing more and more of its numbers on the girl with furious abandon.

It almost didn't seem like a swarm of insects anymore, but a gigantic beast striking furiously with  tendrils made of its own body

[SINIB]

Mordred

Yup, she was likely wrong. That other Sakura didn't seem so eccentric and hyperactive in her memory. As far as she remembered. That was ages ago. Months felt like years for her as if her time was compressed from, as she guessed, living too dangerous and intense life.

"Oh, hello, I'm Mordred, but just call me Mord" She shook the hand of the shorter girl. She didn't mind some company to pass the time.

IRON=SAKURA

Sakura shook Mordred's hand enthusiastically, accidentally using too much strength as she did so. "Well, hello Mord, nice to meet you. How are you this fine day?" Sakura began looking over Mordred, clearly interested in... something... as she spoke.

[Thedoctor]

William

If this goes as planned I'll be one step closer.

Thus the  mage in dark robes found himself walking into a gothic looking mask store. It was hideous. The interior design was nothing short of a catastrophe, the vibrant pink of the walls mixed with the fancy mask that were hung up, it was just horrible.

It's here

The mage took a stroll around the shop making a lot of noise as his suprisingly heavy footsteps hit the floor. The owner appeared to be absent, appearances could be deceving however.

He spotted a an empty chair and quickly took seat, waiting for something. It won't be long now.

[yinsukin]

Relius Clover

The doll left shortly after that line, off to do whatever Vanguard does. Figuring it was time to start his day as well, Relius left the lab, leaving from the secret entrance in the shed.  From there, he calmly walked to the backdoor of the shop.  Once he opened the door and went inside, he found a customer sitting on one of the chairs in the store.

"Ah.  Your here early. How may I help you?"  Relius said politely.

[SINIB]

Jeanne

Sakura called her bluff marvelously and responded with a veiled threat in turn after which her mood suddenly changed and the purple haired woman pulled her into a hug. Shirou was noticeably annoyed by their secret conversation. Not wanting to annoy him to much she responded to the threat with a serious look. "If you expect me to properly train him, I can't gurantee he'll be entirely unharmed."

She then answered Sakura's question. Do you really want me to join that badly master? You might not be able to keep up~" she teased the lust filled woman.

Sakura Matou

"Hurting him while training is fine. It's inevitable." Sakura responded simply. "You agree, right Senpai?"

Shirou nodded at her. "Of course. I don't want you pulling any punches while you train me, Ruler." He told her seriously.

Hahaha, if anything, that should be what I'm asking you. Sakura teased. After all, I'm the more sexually experienced of anyone here.

As she teased Jeanne, Shirou finally reached the door and Sakura reached over and opened it for him.

So? What do you say~ Sakura asked once again for the final time.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Hazama

A man was walking down an alley, his steps calm and collected despite the fact he was lost. If he had just arrived in this Nexus, he certainly didn't show it. A stray cat jumped out of a nearby window, crossing his path and rubbing it's soft furry face on his leg.

Without any regard, Hazama kicked the cat with a vicious blow straight into a trash can, sending it hissing and crawling away in agony. That felt good, stupid cats. Without even turning around, he just spoke nonchalantly. "Whoopsie!"

His expression was a calm and slimy, like a snake. He put a hand on his chest and sighed.

Tch, damn. The life-link's been corrupted. And it looks like heads has become tails, while tails has become heads. More importantly, where am I? This doesn't look like Kagutsuchi...

After a while, he turned around and observed his surroundings some more. Wasn't this a sorry thing. If he wasn't standing in this mishmash heap of garbage, he'd be dying of laughter by now. It was like someone decided to shove all those different cities and parts together and make something out of it, kinda like a kid drawing. It almost made him feel sorry he'd have to break it.

Almost.

Then, he looked up and smiled widely, opening his eyes for the first time to reveal golden serpentine eyes. He laughed a bit, as if it had all been a really funny joke. And it was. After all, the best jokes are the cruel ones.

"Well well then, Master Unit, Amaterasu. What wonderful surprises have you got stored up this time?"

[YOLF]

Henry Barthow

This was one of those days where Henry thought life was out to get him [more so than the usual, and more than his paranoia did to impale him in a cage of uselessness], and he did not think that simply because of a chain of unfortunate accidents. No, it wasn't just that Rick had barreled against him at the start of a late and rushed morning, nearly spilling all of the six lattes he was carrying over him, it wasn't that he had nearly gotten bodily intercepted by a truck swerved off-course in the process of a criminal disagreement that he then had to pay attention to, it wasn't that pipes were leaking down on his connections room [and though it was rationally very low priority, the unseen verisimilitude of his identity demanded his concern], and it wasn't that the fuel prices in his district were fluctuating wildly again.

It was that all of these things bore down on his mind [and his perfectly simulated biological seeming, which was yet constrained by human limits], and that he was currently racing in the direction of a terror alert with confirmed damages, where he knew his new partner had also been headed before she shut comms off. But where he was, racing through the streets deprived of more updated information, he could see thinning billows of smoke rise, and he did not plan on heading in blind. Or not knowing if she was currently engaged with the troublemakers.

"Vermillion, do you copy? What's going on at your end?" He barked at his earpiece mic.

[Panda]

Annabeth

Though she did what she could to maintain her composure, as the man looked to the sky, the Hunter could practically feel his very presence weighing down on her, enduring and unshakable. Was this how those Archaeology Hunters felt at the end of one of their grander hunts? Shaking her head, Annabeth watched as he produced a recorder and started it up, the device playing back a dull voice that sounded almost...robotic? Putting aside her curiosity, the Hunter focused on the tape, figuring that the man had finally tired of beating around the bush.

"Doesn't sound so simple when you put it like that, but okay, I'll bite," Annabeth said after a moment's consideration, "And how were you planning on finding out?"

[Thedoctor]

William

It felt like an eternity. Logically it wasn't one, but it sure felt like it. The owner did arrive eventually, from the back of the shop he came, with a cape adorning him and a mask on his face. He supposed it fit with the pretense of being a mask shop owner, but those weren't real costumers anyway.

"You know the saying, the early bird gets the worm and there's a rather tasty one to get here." He maintained his seating as his gaze lowered to the floor. The aura he normally restrained was set free somewhat, enough for the masked man to notice it.

"I'm not here for masks, but you know that already don't you?"

[MissingMandible]

Lone Wanderer:

Another job done, another check into his bank account. Jeremy's life in the city had certainly improved over the last few months, doing odd jobs across the city and earning a rather decent amount of money. Power Armor allowed him to do a forklift's job at various sites while his electrical and pipe expertise made him both a electrician and plumber - being an independent worker was really turning out.

Despite how the last few months' been relatively smooth, Jeremy couldn't help but feel a bit restless. Like he didn't belong here...

It's not like he didn't belong in the physical city - that's true as well! - it's that Jeremy couldn't call the idea of the city "home." No, it is small settlements with expansive wilderness that he belonged. Making camp under the stars, roasting a Molerat in a fire, that's home.


Currently, the armored man was heading to the grocery store. Down to the last pound of beef and a few potatoes, it was time to restock his apartment's fridge. And, if there were a few donuts there as well, one or two boxes of them wouldn't hurt...

[SINIB]

Henry Barthow

This was one of those days where Henry thought life was out to get him [more so than the usual, and more than his paranoia did to impale him in a cage of uselessness], and he did not think that simply because of a chain of unfortunate accidents. No, it wasn't just that Rick had barreled against him at the start of a late and rushed morning, nearly spilling all of the six lattes he was carrying over him, it wasn't that he had nearly gotten bodily intercepted by a truck swerved off-course in the process of a criminal disagreement that he then had to pay attention to, it wasn't that pipes were leaking down on his connections room [and though it was rationally very low priority, the unseen verisimilitude of his identity demanded his concern], and it wasn't that the fuel prices in his district were fluctuating wildly again.

It was that all of these things bore down on his mind [and his perfectly simulated biological seeming, which was yet constrained by human limits], and that he was currently racing in the direction of a terror alert with confirmed damages, where he knew his new partner had also been headed before she shut comms off. But where he was, racing through the streets deprived of more updated information, he could see thinning billows of smoke rise, and he did not plan on heading in blind. Or not knowing if she was currently engaged with the troublemakers.

"Vermillion, do you copy? What's going on at your end?" He barked at his earpiece mic.

Noel Vermillion

Noel had just finished dealing with the unconscious, barely alive idiot who had apparently tried to fight the monster and was undressing in the bathroom, putting on a fresh set of clothes, when she got a call from Detective Barthow.

Noel sighed audible as she heard what he was asking. "Nothing anymore..." She admitted sadly. "I was forced to retreat. Whomever he was, he's a monster. He's ridiculously powerful." Noel hadn't bothered to untransform, and had simply taken off what was easy for her to take off, leaving her floating off the ground in a police uniform with metal sticking out from the bottom of her pants.

"Heh, I look ridiculous." She said to herself, forgetting to mute the call.