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

[Panda]

Michael

Even by the immortal's standards, watching someone cut the head off their own body was still a tiny bit surreal, prompting a blink from the man before he followed them in. As they arrived in the massive chamber, obviously designed with testing one's capabilities in mind, Michael had to hold back a sigh at how silly the place looked. A simple dojo of a fraction of this size would work better, and it would enable better use of space to move the battle along different angles. Well, he supposed this had its own uses if you were testing raw capabilities, which seemed to be the case here. All the same, there was still an opportunity to be had here, but it wasn't likely to be one he'd have while she was preoccupied with fighting Vanguard.

"If you wouldn't mind," Michael started, not particularly caring if they minded or not, "I'd like to be the one to take care of it. It's one thing to watch her in action, but I'd imagine it would be quite another to be on the receiving end."

[Umbra of Chaos]

Lucy

The girl's eyes actually opened up fully as she saw William for the first time in a while. Well, how to... Her Messengers reached out and plucked the memory linked to the recognition that Emily had and showed it to her. That could work.

It was time to be stealthy. Touch up a few memories here and there, make William seem more handsome and pleasing to her in hindsight, and just overall making him seem a more attractive person than usual. Now just the push. "I'd just been trying to find someone else to have in your employ. I'm offering her a few lessons in 'desire' if she'll work for me. Isn't that right, Emily?"

[Kotomine_Rin]

Vanguard

Vanguard grunted at the girl's sudden and incredibly pointless action, wondering if she realized someone would have to clean up all the blood.  Luckily, Michael proposed to take care of the girl's education, otherwise he would have probably punished her seriously for the inconvenience.

Vanguard raised an eyebrow, but ultimately shrugged at the man's proposal. This could be interesting in its own right, he supposed. Besides, this opened a door to other possibilities, advantageous ones at that.

"Receiving? You have a weird sense of humor, boy. But very well, I don't mind."


Malcolm Kimberlee

D-damn! Why the heck was she so eager in the first place? Would she really eat that just in order to spite him? He was supposed to be the hero of this story dammit! And that look, she was definitely looking down on him, that bitch...

Fine! He could play that game too if she wanted.

He took a hearty slice of pigeon pie and stared at it like it was his worse enemy, but without hesitation he munched a huge chunk of it in one go. But suddenly, something happened, something he could've never imagined. The moment the pigeon pie made contact with his mouth, he felt an indescribable sensation. If he didn't know any better, he could've sworn his clothes had dissappeared, his body became hot and sweaty as more bites slid down his throat voluptuously. On that moment, he felt bliss!

This sensation, even marching through the desert for weeks only to find the promised well of fresh water paled in comparison to the joy this pie brought to his taste buds.This was way better than the usual canned meatloaf!

" *Munch* Mhhh, you were right Annie! *gulp* This is really *chomp* delichious!" He suddenly munched more and more of the pie, completely forgetting the fear he felt just a few seconds ago.

How could a disgusting, terrible bird pest like that make such a tasty dish!?

[Umbra of Chaos]

Meti

Since she didn't care much about the conversation the two were having Meti didn't have much input. She just changed her target. So all she did was turn around and unsheathe her sword. Her movements were a mystery, her strikes unreadable, and with a single smooth movement her blade flicked out to cut Michael in two from hip to shoulder.

[Panda]

Michael

The movement was all the warning he needed, though to his minor surprise, he found that he couldn't quite tell how the strike would be coming in. Instinct honed by millennia of life screamed at him to pull back, but something else won out. This kind of skill from one so young, to see it from afar was one thing, but to experience it for himself was truly another. Michael's presence was practically non-existent in this moment, but just by looking at him, one might think he was praying in that moment. A small step back was all it took, the blackened staff already in Michael's hands as he thrust straight into the girl's sternum with immaculate fluidity and impossible speed.

A true testament to the girl's skill, however, was that Michael almost felt as if he'd been cut even though he'd moved out of the blade's range.

[Umbra of Chaos]

Meti

The air in her lungs spilled out as the flawless strike slipped past her guard and struck her in the chest. Meti breathed in. The air was so sharp as she breathed in. Her hands twitched in excitement.

She leaned back into the force and flipped, her second sword flashing out like a sliver of moonlight to bisect the man. Her first blade followed, but then it change direction entirely without notice or any diminishing in speed to remove Michael's hand from his body.

[Panda]

Michael

Resisting the temptation to follow in afterwards, Michael soon found that decision made for him as her blades flashed out, managing to parry that first lethal flash only for a second to follow up. Even if reading her was out of the question for now, the immortal didn't need to read her to guess that she would attack his hand. Opting not to try for a harried defense, Michael instead let go of his staff altogether, all but dancing past the strike with that same fluid grace before reaching out to grab hold of the blades by their flats and sling her into the floor, angling it so she'd end up sliding away. Attacking from such a position so effectively, while admirable, was just another piece in confirming more and more about this girl.

Well, it was already obvious I could make good use of someone like her, but she's certainly doing quite well for herself.

[SINIB]

Shirou

Shirou smiled at the excited squeal his new pet emitted in response to his statement, happy that he seemed to approve of Shirou's idea. Continuing to stroke him lovingly, Shirou addressed the girl once more.

"So, how does he fight?" Shirou asked, uncertain how Pokemon worked. "Would we just ask him to attack something, or does he need more instructions?"

Oka Kurosawa

You ask him to attack stuff, yes. Just command him to use an attack, and he will." Oka said. "Now um, I have to get going now, if you have any questions, just send me an email, and I'll respond to you promptly." Oka said as she began to leave.

[SINIB]

Meti

"Huh? Well okay." Seemed pretty weird but first... One of her blades slid out and her other body's head rolled away in a neat movement. Meti was fascinated for a moment. Watching what it would be like to have her own head cut off in such a neat and polite fashion.

Then she got a move on. But not before giving Michael a look as if asking him if he was coming.


Erica

The blue haired girl smiled as she received the food. All of her senses told her that this was incredibly unappetizing and most certainly toxic in some fashion, but it was Noel's cooking so it was wonderful. She took a deep whiff of it, luxuriating in the smell, and then she began to eat.

Everything went down terribly. The sludge was awful and clung to her throat when she swallowed while the slices were either too hard or too soft. That didn't stop her from eating the obviously delicious food at a slow pace, savoring every bit of it.

Erica finished the entire thing. The bowl was completely, utterly spotless. Then she smiled up at the blonde. "That was delicious. Thank you for the meal, Noel."

Noel Vermillion

Noel's eyes sparkled as she watched Erica eat. As soon as she finished, Noel ran into the kitchen and brought out a huge pot full of the stuff. "Would you like more?"

[Panda]

Emily

The changeling couldn't help a pout at the other woman's declaration, though she couldn't exactly challenge it, and was about to reply when a familiar voice rang out. Looking up to see that odd man from earlier, Emily couldn't help but wonder for a moment why he seemed better looking back then than he did now, putting aside the outfit he was wearing. She couldn't ponder this for long, however, as the other woman, apparently Lucy, started talking, Emily recognizing the cover almost instantly and deciding to go along with it. Now that she was here, she figured she might as well see where this went.

"Yeah," the changeling said, relaxing a bit as she picked up after the taller woman, "Turns out I still have a fair bit to learn."

[Thedoctor]

William

He moved ever closer to them nodding slightly as he heard his servants explenation. It made enough sense, however it seems he needed to remind her of her station. "It seems more like your indulging in your own desires."

He stopped right inffront of them and reached out with his right hand to grasp Lucy's chin softly, turning her face to look at him. He leaned closer until their lips almost touched and spoke once more. "Just because you're my cutest servant doesn't mean you can get away with anything . But I'll let it slide in this case since I'm in a good mood and I want to see how the uniform fits you."

As finished speaking he pulled out a black gothic lolita maid uniform that looked like it might be a size too small for her. "This took some time to find but I think you'll like it has to offer after you tried it out."

[Umbra of Chaos]

Meti

Trying to remove her swords from her hands was a fools bet. Even if severed they would cling to the hilt of the blade unless pried off finger by finger. Instead she hung onto the swords and tugged on them with all her might, trying to pull them back and cut the man's hands.


Erica

Erica's nonexistent heart beat rapidly at Noel's expression. This was without a doubt the greatest idea she had ever had in her life. With a pleased expression on her face and her hands clasped together the blue haired girl smiled. "Yes please!"

This food was the greatest she had ever had in her life. Just because of this moment.


Lucy

If anything she relished in the attention. It was just dangerous enough to be exciting! She gave the sorcerer a wink before nodding; however, she did give Emily a lead of sorts. "Sorry about that. He can have some effects on people when he gets serious."

Then she stood up and began to strip. And that's when it was revealed that under her short shorts and shirt she was wearing absolutely nothing. Then Lucy accepted her uniform and slipped the surprisingly comfortable clothing on. Despite the fact that it was a bit too small, fit far too well, and just barely managed to cover her rear she was rather pleased. The Messengers could all but taste the magic that had been put into this. She liked expensive gifts.

So she turned to and gave William a deep curtsy. "My thanks, master."

[Panda]

Michael

All things considered, had she been a bit more experienced, Michael might have been surprised by her insistence on holding onto her weapons, but that inexperience showed clearly here, and it proved to be something he could count on. Keeping his grip on the flats of her blades solid, Michael didn't resist her pull, letting her pull him forward while adding an upwards vector to his motion, a quick jump sending him up and over Meti, still holding onto her blades, before using his momentum to heave her clean off of her feet by the swords she held onto so firmly. There was something reminiscent of a sword swing in how he brought her arcing her up over his head before bringing her down hard, similar to those training exercises he'd devised for training swordsmen, only instead of a heavy wooden sword, it was a not as heavy young girl, and he wasn't stopping short of hitting the floor.

[Kotomine_Rin]

RED

"Cute?" She asked her, looking at the weird lady quizzically. How, no, why was she turning into all these shapes and sizes all of a sudden? It was pretty weird, like, really weird! Besides, no one ever called her cute.

Hmmm, now that she thought about it, she was pretty suspicious she guessed. Everyone knows bad guys have antlers, yep! But even if she was shady or possibly evil, she only had one thing to say.

"Who cares?! Just call me whatever with a capital W or something, jeez! Besides, it's not like a name changes who I am. From now on, I will name you... um... ehhh... hrm..."

She thought for a while, then just decided to go for the first thing that came in her mind.

"Oh I know, I will call you Wolfiedeer!"

And she felt great, like a genius. Except less dead.

[Cherry Lover]

Shirou

Shirou smiled at the girl as she left.

"OK, thank you", he said as he turned to walk away, still holding his new pet in his arms lovingly. "I promise that he'll be well-treated and loved."

He felt like he should add the last part. After all, surely she would worry about the creatures which had been in her care, and would want them to have a loving home.

As he walked away, though, another thing came to mind. The Pokemon from earlier had been following the girl without a leash. Would this one do the same, or would he need to collar him like you would a pet dog?

"Oh, excuse me, one more thing", he said. "Does he need a collar and leash, or will he just follow after me and my wife if we take him for walks?"