Cross Effects 3.0 - November 16, 2014—April 13, 2015

[YOLF]

Tar

"These gashes on the wa - " Henry started, before his words were crudely ran over by the screeching of tires.

He grumbled under his breath. The rest of the cops could handle it, he was sure. Certainly. They'd been kept from this crime scene long enough. He was speaking again, "Whatever made a hole like that through the body, it was probably the same thing that left these marks on the walls."

He approached one of said marks, gesturing to it. "It flailed through the air and at the structure here...", and he pointed at the ground and another wall, before continuing, "And there. I don't know what was the purpose of that, but if the victim was tossed at the wall after being impaled maybe it was to... get him off."

Henry frowned. It was so easy making his voice remain level when he talked about these things. Sometimes he worried he did it too well.

"I'm not certain what kind of thing could have a natural weapon like that, however." The Unchained added. There was a moment of introspection as he slowly crouched and looked at the disposition of the blood on the room.

Scratching his chin, he turned his head back to Saber and said "This blood can't all have been from the kid. But there are no more corpses here. You don't think whatever it was, it dragged them away?"

But there had been no blood trails leading to or from the place. So the only other option was...

"Or maybe it ate them?" He purposefully asked aloud, expression twisting as he allowed himself to grind his teeth.

[SINIB]

As the beam of light approached the diving Pegasus, Rider pulled up on the reins, causing Pegasus to level off from the diving position, presenting its stomach to the incoming beam and, therefore, protecting its more-vulnerable master.

Pegasus is pretty much immune to magic, it can take this hit, but I'm not sure that I can, she thought.

Realising that she couldn't risk letting any part of the beam hit her, Rider leapt off the horse in the direction of the hospital just as the beam approached. The beam smashed into the flying Pesasus to no effect as Rider headed for the side of the building. Its purpose served, Pegasus de-materialised, whilst Rider changed into spiritual form just before hitting the side of the building, intending to pass straight through the wall.

Faust watched in shock as his beam slammed into the horse and dissipated with no effect. It can shrug off that level of damage!?How powerful is that thing? He watched in anger as the mangenta woman lept off the horse and phased through the building. He broke off into a sprint; a mad dash towards the hospital lobby.

[Cherry Lover]

Remaining in spirit mode, Rider moved towards the large, familiar prana signature that must surely be Sakura. However, as she did, she felt the other servant heading towards Sakura's location.

Oh, no! He's going towards Sakura!

Rider rushed down into the lobby, placing herself as close to the doorway as possible along his path to Sakura, preventing him reaching her master without making it obvious who she was protecting.

I can't let him know that Sakura is my master, otherwise he might kill her after I'm defeated. Or worse....

"Run, everyone! There's a lunatic summoning demons outside!" she shouted, hoping Sakura would get the hint.

I'm sorry, Sakura, but it looks like I'm going to die here, she thought, sadly.

But, if she was going to die, she wasn't going down without a fight, and she certainly wasn't going to allow a Sakura to share that fate, even if it might not be her own Sakura.

[Knick]

Mia

“Hey there, ojou-san. You don’t have to worry about the meanies, Forest has it taken care of.” Not that he actually trusted the vampire, but it seemed like the best thing to say to placate her. “Can you tell me your name? Do you know where your parents are?”

Mia focus left the meanies and refocused on the nice man in front of her, she gave a bright smile, “My name is Mia mister, my parents are…” She trailed off. She then started blinking, almost as if remembering something important.

There was something wrong, it was obvious as her eyes widened and she began to lightly shake. She began to look around, almost as if realizing that there was not something there that should be there.

“Mama? Papa?” She whispered, almost as if realizing for the first time she was without parents. She began to walk away from the man, like she was in a daze.  Her head swiveled around, desperately searching for something that could not be found, as tear finally started to spill from her eyes.

Mia was a demon, a demon child that consumed the existence of both her parents when she entered the world. Her base, the stories most at her core, where of lost and lonely children, with no one to love them.

She was always alone, and was locked into that fate. She would never have parents, for she would outlive them, she would never be raised by someone, because she never changed. Even before any of the other stories that made her were brought into the equation this is what was the truth.

But every child wanted a family. And so, upon being reminded of that, she was wracked with that feeling, and the despair that came with not having one.

She turned back to the man, she had somehow moved rather far, almost on the other end of the roof, “H-hey mister, I-I can’t find my parents.” Her voice cracked.

There was only pure despair and sadness in her soft voice.  Not even the most cynical of men could deny that sincerity.

[SINIB]

Sakura sat in the lobby, feeling the intense amounts of prana being thrown around by her servant. I hope he's ok... "No! He promised me that he'd win. He wouldn't break his promise! I know it!" She shook her head, trying to dispell her worries. "I'm sure of it." He's not going to leave me. "He wouldn't..." She muttered to herself. She looked down, oblivious to the great clash going on outside. Her eyes were unfocused, a vapid expression on her face.

Rider rushed down into the lobby, placing herself close to the doorway, preventing him reaching her master without making it obvious who she was protecting.

I can't let him know that Sakura is my master, otherwise he might kill her after I'm defeated. Or worse....

"Run, everyone! There's a lunatic summoning demons outside!" she shouted, hoping Sakura would get the hint.

I'm sorry, Sakura, but it looks like I'm going to die here, she thought, sadly.

But, if she was going to die, she wasn't going down without a fight, and she certainly wasn't going to allow a Sakura to share that fate, even if it might not be her own Sakura.

Sakura was startled to attention, and looked confusedly at Rider. "R-rider?" She asked in a soft and confused voice.
------------------------------------------------
Faust ran towards the door, but stopped several meters away, as the magenta woman materialized to block his path of advance. He clicked his tongue rapidly, quickly stopping and throwing up a defensive shielding spell.Well, shit.

[Cherry Lover]

Rider stood in between Sakura and the attacker, poised and ready to attack or throw her body in the way if he made any kind of offensive movement. Instead, though, he summoned up a shield spell.

Why is he not attacking? Does he think I can defeat him at this range? Can I break through the barrier?

Before she could act, though, Rider heard Sakura's confused voice come from behind her.

"R-rider?" she said.

Rider desperately wanted to turn around and acknowledge the girl as her master, but to do so would put her in danger of attack, so she remained silent, although she couldn't help but smile slightly on hearing her master's voice. Still, hearing Sakura's voice had focussed Rider's mind on her true mission. Protecting Sakura was more important than killing the attacker, and if she attacked right now he may go back on the offensive. And, whilst she could probably tank one of his less powerful attacks without too much difficulty, she suspected that the same attack would blow Sakura to pieces.

"I won't let you harm these people!" she shouted at the assailant.

"Everyone else, RUN, this man s dangerous. I'll hold him off whilst you escape."

Once more, she desperately hoped Sakura would get the message.

[Panda]

Driving away after leaving the strange man with the police officers, Henderson pulls over for a moment, feeling the familiar pangs that come with not having had a good smoke in a while. Henderson reaches for the pouch that he keeps stocked with passable weed, just for occasions like these, only to find it...empty?!

"What?!" Henderson reaches around the pouch, horrified, "Why's all the weed gone?!"

After a short while spent fumbling around, Henderson returns to the wheel and makes his way to the nearest pharmacy with all possible haste.

One payment with a Necronomicon page and about five unconscious pharmacists later, Henderson is making his way back to his car, his pouch and a few more reserve pouches filled to the brim with medical marijuana. Taking a moment to roll a quick blunt, Henderson lights up as he re-enters his car, takes a drag, and sighs, "That's better," he says as the weed smoke begins to fill the car again, somehow not obscuring his vision as he meanders through town.

[SINIB]

Rider stood in between Sakura and the attacker, poised and ready to attack or throw her body in the way if he made any kind of offensive movement. Instead, though, he summoned up a shield spell.

Why is he not attacking? Does he know I can defeat him at this range?

"R-rider?" she heard Sakura's confused voice say behind her.

She desperately wanted to turn around and acknowledge the girl as her master, but to do so would put her in danger of attack, so she remained silent, although she couldn't help but smile slightly on hearing her master's voice.

"I won't let you harm these people!" she shouted at the assailant.

"Everyone else, RUN, this man s dangerous. I'll hold him off whilst you escape."

Once more, she desperately hoped Sakura would get the message.

Sakura looked confusedly at Rider. Why is she here? How did she? When? Why? Her thoughts were a jumbled mess. She slowly stood up, trying to take in the situation. Finally, she spoke. "Rider, what are you doing here? How are you in the Nexus? Where's... Where is Shirou?"
----------
The Magenta woman just stood still, blocking his path. Why isn't she attacking? Whatever the reason is, I can take advantage of her indecisiveness. He ignored the three buffons and the old crazy man making a break for it, and clapped his hands once. The air around the woman suddenly solidified, making movement almost impossible. He clapped again, and increased the gravity of her by twentyfold. I'd be surprised if this lasted for more than a minute, but that's more than enough! Faust charged at the wall, and turned into spirit form quickly moving to grab Sakura.

[Kaze]

DAVID ARCHER

Damn it, there was nothing left. The former SAS officer walked away from the wreck that used to be what looked like a space ship, empty handed. The signal of one of the largest openings in space-time that he had seen yet had drawn him to the crash site, hoping to find something of worth. In this particular instance that would have been the technology on that ship, some kind of warp drive maybe, but the only thing salvageable were a few “corpses.” Robots with brains inside of them, more like. While many scientists would kill for such technology, he had no use for such things.

David adjusted his coat slightly as he made his way back to the sidewalk, where a small crowd of curious humans – and a few things less human – had gathered out of curiosity. It was mostly for show however, the jacket would do him little good. The wind brought a numbing chill and dark clouds obscured the unearthly constellations in the sky, indicating snowfall to be likely in the near future. Hopefully he would be back inside before that happened, he may be no stranger to the cold but warmth was far more preferable.


SHIROU EMIYA

Oh no.

Please don’t. Please don’t start crying, I can’t take it.

If there was something that never sat well with Shirou no matter how many times he saw it, it was people crying. To his continued horror, that’s exactly what Mia was doing. The sorrow on her face and despair in her tone were so intense that had it not sounded so sincere and been coming from someone older it would have seemed exaggerated.

With a quick glance at Forest and Law to make sure they hadn’t whipped out their weapons again, the archer stood up and slowly walked over to the despondent young girl, hoping that he didn’t seem threatening. Upon coming near he held out his hand to her.

“I’ll do my best to find them, Mia. Until then let’s see if we can get you someplace warmer.”

Not that there’s a good chance of success, Shirou thought bitterly. The Nexus seemed completely unpredictable in whom and what it chose to drag into its bowels. It was likely that Mia’s parents hadn’t come with her and she was permanently separated from her family, another victim of circumstance. Still, he would do as much as he could to keep her from crying. The police were probably overtaxed trying to keep this hellhole of a city safe for the run of the mill citizens, but… perhaps he had one lucky connection to exploit.

“Vampire, is Saber on the Nexus police force?”

[Kat]

Mordred

Flash of explosion. Again. "Come on, what is going on in this bloody city!" she yelled out, gritting her teeth. The explosion apparently happened this time somewhere where civilians were bound to be. Mordred was a bit hesitant at first because if such thing happened there again she could die herself, but there could be still survivors. She overcome fear and rushed in the general direction of the blast site. She ran there, so it could have been too late when she would reach the destination, but she got to try.

Deborah

During the walk she figured out from which building that shot of energy was fired. Using Obfuscate to become less noticeable for any mundane mortal that could be there, as well to supress her predatory aura, she entered the building and decided to use the stairs to reach the roof. Even if whoever attacked the vampire was not there anymore, she could gather more clues.

[Panda]

Wandering around the city aimlessly, Henderson finds himself being drawn back to the Hospital, the Necronomicon once more detecting a large outpouring of prana and guiding Henderson towards it. Pulling up to the thing, Henderson quickly notices something out of place. Specifically that the entrance seemed to have been destroyed, the doors blown inwards as if struck by an explosive, and that not-quite-a-cultist guy standing just outside. The front of the building in general seemed to have suffered a fair bit of damage, but nothing critical.

"And those brats are still in there..." Henderson mutters to himself, remembering the card and realizing that they could be a ready source of information about any new information about either his gnomes or that muckle-darmed cult.

Make a quick decision, Henderson pops open what used to be the sunglasses holder and pulls out a flare gun, already loaded, before driving to the back of the hospital and firing the flare up into the sky, hoping to catch their attention, before getting out of the Buick, opening the trunk, and opening up the floor panels, looking for something very specific.

Meanwhile, the pages of the Necronomicon have begun pulsing once more, drawing upon the prana in the air as it continues to regenerate itself, now freed from the confines of Henderson's wallet as he simply stuffed it in his pocket earlier.

[Kat]

Mordred

Mordred kept on running in hurry, so she wouldn't be too late this time. However, she still have not reached her destination.

Deborah

She heard a group of people, located on the rooftop. Climbing the stairs further, she tried to eavesdrop on what they were talking about, but unfortunately stairs creaking could have gave out her presence.

(OOC: Characters on the rooftop should feel free to detect 'the spy')

[Ivan The Mouse]

Wandering around the city aimlessly, Henderson finds himself being drawn back to the Hospital, the Necronomicon once more detecting a large outpouring of prana and guiding Henderson towards it. Pulling up to the thing, Henderson quickly notices something out of place. Specifically that the entrance seemed to have been destroyed, the doors blown inwards as if struck by an explosive, and that not-quite-a-cultist guy standing just outside.

"And those brats are still in there..." Henderson mutters to himself, remembering the card and realizing that they could be a ready source of information about any new information about either his gnomes or that muckle-darmed cult.

Make a quick decision, Henderson pops open what used to be the sunglasses holder and pulls out a flare gun, already loaded, before driving to the back of the hospital and firing the flare up into the sky, hoping to catch their attention, before getting out of the Buick, opening the trunk, and opening up the floor panels, looking for something very specific.

Meanwhile, the pages of the Necronomicon have begun pulsing once more, drawing upon the prana in the air as it continues to regenerate itself, now freed from the confines of Henderson's wallet as he simply stuffed it in his pocket earlier.

Rattus/Neo/Yukina

"Neo, this wasn't the first time this has happened to us." Rattus scolded the alchemist, still resting on a bed in the emergency room on a nearby window. "If you want to show your vulgar personality like that, then at least do it in moderation."

"Fuck you, Ratt." Neo quipped as leaned beside his bed. "If she doesn't change that shit, I'm not the only one who she will piss off, man. I mean, think for one fuckin' second. There are other people in this backwater bullshit of a city that can kick her ass eighteen ways 'til Sunday next fucking week. I'm just doing her a fuckin' favor."

"And a disservice to us." Rattus interpolated. "Fortunately, you and I were the only ones injured by the encounter. If it so happens that Yukina was hurt too, I don't think we can make it to the hospital."

"We could, onii-chan." Yukina argued. "But...Neo-san will have to sit on your lap, then."

"Yeah, yeah." Neo just nodded. "But I dunno what's on that little bitch's mind. Refusing fucking help? I mean, c'mon, you have to be some kind of a fucking idiot to refu-"

And then, a loud crash interrupts them. Neo already felt a surge of prana from the hospital, but it didn't really matter to him until he heard the crash. "What the fuck was that?!"

Yukina looked outside the window and noticed two figures battling outside the emergency room. "Look, onii-chan!" she pointed out the Servant they met earlier, as well as this new Servant who was a female figure with a long lavender hair.

"Damn, she's hot." Neo commented to the female Servant, as if it was the only thing he could say right now. Soon enough, the entrance of the hospital was wrecked, but not enough for it to be unstable and cause collapse of the hospital.

Rattus, seeing this as an ill sign of things yet to come, decidedly said. "Alright, let's get out of here." He then stood up from the bed, his posture now infinitely better than when he was first brought to the hospital. "To the fire exit! Now!"

Aside from the three, other people hear them and quickly followed suit. Once they were out of the hospital, Neo noticed something in the air. "What the fuck...?"

It didn't take long before Rattus noticed it too and again decided, "I have a feeling about that flare. Yukina, go get the car and drive towards where the flare came from! We are leaving!"

"Yes!" she nodded, heading out to get the Kubelwagen. Rattus and Neo then started their walk towards

Soon enough, they reached where the flare came from. It was from Henderson. Yukina got there first since she went to drive the car. Upon arriving there, Yukina asked Henderson. "What do you want from us, oji-san?"

[Panda]

"Neo, this wasn't the first time this has happened to us." Rattus scolded the alchemist, still resting on a bed in the emergency room on a nearby window. "If you want to show your vulgar personality like that, then at least do it in moderation."

"Fuck you, Ratt." Neo quipped as leaned beside his bed. "If she doesn't change that shit, I'm not the only one who she will piss off, man. I mean, think for one fuckin' second. There are other people in this backwater bullshit of a city that can kick her ass eighteen ways 'til Sunday next fucking week. I'm just doing her a fuckin' favor."

"And a disservice to us." Rattus interpolated. "Fortunately, you and I were the only ones injured by the encounter. If it so happens that Yukina was hurt too, I don't think we can make it to the hospital."

"We could, onii-chan." Yukina argued. "But...Neo-san will have to sit on your lap, then."

"Yeah, yeah." Neo just nodded. "But I dunno what's on that little bitch's mind. Refusing fucking help? I mean, c'mon, you have to be some kind of a fucking idiot to refu-"

And then, a loud crash interrupts them. Neo already felt a surge of prana from the hospital, but it didn't really matter to him until he heard the crash. "What the fuck was that?!"

Yukina looked outside the window and noticed two figures battling outside the emergency room. "Look, onii-chan!" she pointed out the Servant they met earlier, as well as this new Servant who was a female figure with a long lavender hair.

"Damn, she's hot." Neo commented to the female Servant, as if it was the only thing he could say right now. Soon enough, the entrance of the hospital was wrecked, but not enough for it to be unstable and cause collapse of the hospital.

Rattus, seeing this as an ill sign of things yet to come, decidedly said. "Alright, let's get out of here." He then stood up from the bed, his posture now infinitely better than when he was first brought to the hospital. "To the fire exit! Now!"

Aside from the three, other people hear them and quickly followed suit. Once they were out of the hospital, Neo noticed something in the air. "What the fuck...?"

It didn't take long before Rattus noticed it too and again decided, "I have a feeling about that flare. Yukina, go get the car and drive towards where the flare came from! We are leaving!"

"Yes!" she nodded, heading out to get the Kubelwagen. Rattus and Neo then started their walk towards

Soon enough, they reached where the flare came from. It was from Henderson. Yukina got there first since she went to drive the car. Upon arriving there, Yukina asked Henderson. "What do you want from us, oji-san?"

"Nothing yet," Henderson admits, closing the trunk and making his way back into his car, "But I was just wandering by and figured I should make sure you all got out okay."

Henderson takes another drag of the blunt, letting it go and allowing the weed smoke to drift about him as further sounds of conflict are heard.

"Do you have a place to go? I've got nothing better to do right now, so I might as well see that you get there in one piece."

Meanwhile, the Necronomicon continues pulsing, lapping up the prana in the air, regenerating page after page as it went.

[Ivan The Mouse]

"Nothing yet," Henderson admits, closing the trunk and making his way back into his car, "But I was just wandering by and figured I should make sure you all got out okay."

Henderson takes another drag of the blunt, letting it go and allowing the weed smoke to drift about him as further sounds of conflict are heard.

"Do you have a place to go? I've got nothing better to do right now, so I might as well see that you get there in one piece."

Meanwhile, the Necronomicon continues pulsing, lapping up the prana in the air, regenerating page after page as it went.

"The only location we want to get to right now is the Manor." Rattus said, pondering. "So far, we have no planned engagements yet and my latest appointment will be next week, so our current course of action right now would be to just rest and recreate ourselves. Why did you ask, Mister Henderson?"

"Eh, I really want to buy the latest volume of that BL manga I am still following right now." Yukina coyly said. "Yukito-san is so cute!" She squealed out enthusiastically.

"I dunno, I think I need a fuckin' drink." Neo complained. "So much shit happenin' right now, but I'm being pissed off. I'ma get myself some pussy to fuck right now."

"So, I guess that settles it." Rattus decisively said. "We need head back to the Manor right now."