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

[Kotomine_Rin]

"Oh!", Vanguard spoke in slight surprise. "I had not noticed this man, it would seem your servant is skilled in the art of camouflage.", he added.

With a slight bow, he faced the second servant, gazing at him. "I ask of you, why have you not introduced yourself as of now? It is of poor taste to hide in such manner, name yourself."

[SINIB]

Caster bowed flamboyantly at Vanguard, releasing his offensive preparations and ordering his legion to stand down.

“We seem to have a misunderstanding, good sir. I wasn’t hiding my presence in the slightest. On the contrary, I have been clearly broadcasting my presence since before you even were summoned. I’m sorry to say, but I think the problem is on your end.” Faust responded in a jovial tone and expression.

“I am servant Caster, and I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Vanguard. I have protected Sakura for the past three years; I expect you to serve her faithfully as well.” Faust finished his sentence with a slight smirk.

[Mooncake]

Wanderer

Wanderer very quietly looked down, and then up at the sky, spreading his hands as if to say 'why?'. There was, of course, no answer, and the eternal cowboy focused his attention back on PARIAH before shaking his head.

His patience could only last so long, but for now, he would wander as he always had.

"Let us go, PARIAH."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Vanguard

"Oh, perhaps you are right, sir Caster. Although I rather humour this incident to a faulty summoning, or perhaps my mind has yet to get used to this... environment.", Vanguard spoke.

Looking at the man who called himself Caster, he could assess he was a mage of sorts, he didn't look like one who would fight head on, and the name itself implied spell-casting.

"It is an honour to make acquaintance with a magician such as yourself, it will be a pleasure to serve alongside you and Rider...", he declared valiantly before turning his colossal body towards Sakura.

"Master, I would understand if you had any doubts on the subject of my abilities, but be at ease. My combat prowess is easily unmatched, if necessary I would be glad to prove myself trough a demonstration."

[YOLF]

Sarse

Than'Sanel kept most of his attention and energy focused upon keeping the floors above them all aloft through his Green-White magically crafted pillars. They weren't the perfect fix, especially given the nature of the collapse. He doubted that he could see something like it on Ravnica, outside of Simic. While he didn't appreciate Ann taking a nap, he supposed that it made sense for her to do so, given the apparent value he and Sarse shared in preserving innocent life - such strong Black magic as Ann's would have surely killed without discretion.

"Sarse, do you mind making sure all innocents are gone from this floor? Keeping this steady is not an easy task alone."

The angel of choice didn't need to be told that.

"Keep holding it for as long as you can," he retorted, running past Than'Sanel.

People were scrambling to get out of the mall, yells and expressions of panic echoing in the air. Sarse could hear sirens approaching, and the distortion of mortal deaths filling the air. And he could still perceive the twisted chime of the bronze man in the puddle that remained of it. He ignored all of those sounds without hesitation, and instead followed the ones that resounded with the need for aid.

[SINIB]

“Caster, there is no need to be rude. Please try and get along with him and Rider for me, all right? I don’t like seeing how you and Rider have gotten off on the wrong foot, please don’t do intentionally. Now why don’t we go upstairs, this room makes me feel uncomfortable.”

Turning to face Vanguard, she followed up to his inquiry. "No, I don't think a demonstration will be needed right now."

With that, Sakura turned and walked up the stairs, expecting the three to follow.

[Ivan The Mouse]

Guts sits there for a moment, highly tempted to just slug the kid right here and now and wondering why he hasn't already done so. However, he figures that it wouldn't quite be worth the effort to get up from this rather comfortable couch to do so. With this in mind, he drops the hand on his artificial arm, pulls out a powder charge, loads it in with a ramrod, then pulls out a cannonball and loads it in as well, saying nothing as he goes about this.

Neo noticed the mercenary was loading his arm cannon, signifying that the man had enough of his attitude and is now using the ultimate argument of force. But he wouldn't have any of it, so he pulled out his handgun and pointed it at the mercenary. "Back the fuck up, bitch." Neo warned him.

Yukina saw that the argument had escalated into almost blows right now, so she panicked and wanted to intervene. She then hurriedly went between the two men and pleaded, "Neo-san, please, I beg of you two! Please stop fighting and put away your weapons! This is not right anymore! Please!"

[Cherry Lover]

Rider smiled as Vanguard acknowledged their alliance. Before she could respond, though, he addressed Sakura, asking about her other servant.

Odd, he's stood right there....

Rider stood and listened to Caster's conversation with Vanguard, frowning somewhat at Caster's rudeness towards their new ally. She considered speaking up, but Sakura got there first.

“Caster, there is no need to be rude. Please try and get along with him and Rider for me, all right? I don’t like seeing how you and Rider have gotten off on the wrong foot, please don’t do intentionally. Now why don’t we go upstairs, this room makes me feel uncomfortable”, she said.

Yeah, that figures....

"Yes, let's get out of here. This room holds ...unpleasant memories for Sakura. We should move upstairs and talk further", she said as she turned to follow Sakura out of the room.

As she did, she pondered the idea of a "demonstration".

It would be interesting to have a practice fight, to see what he is capable of. It could be useful when it comes to real combat.

"As for a 'demonstration', whilst there is no need for you to demonstrate your prowess, it may be worthwhile having a sparring match, to allow us to understand each others' fighting styles. That could be beneficial in combat situations and, besides, it would be fun. However, for me and Caster to fight, we require magical energy from Sakura, so if she does not wish for us to do so then I shall refrain", she added as she walked up the stairs.

[Panda]

Neo noticed the mercenary was loading his arm cannon, signifying that the man had enough of his attitude and is now using the ultimate argument of force. But he wouldn't have any of it, so he pulled out his handgun and pointed it at the mercenary. "Back the fuck up, bitch." Neo warned him.

Yukina saw that the argument had escalated into almost blows right now, so she panicked and wanted to intervene. She then hurriedly went between the two men and pleaded, "Neo-san, please, I beg of you two! Please stop fighting and put away your weapons! This is not right anymore! Please!"

"Not wasting a shot on you," Guts says, getting up and 'accidentally' knocking Dragonslayer directly onto Neo's gun arm, "But I've got to load this thing whenever I get the chance. I'm leaving anyway, and if this goes on any longer, one of us going to end up covering the walls."

With that, he shoves Yukina out of the way, cannon arm already leveled at Neo's general waist area with the lanyard already in his teeth.

"Be that as it may," Guts says through the lanyard in his mouth, "Either you put the gun down, or you get unmanned. I'm leaving anyway, how many pieces you're in before I do so is entirely up to you."

[Ivan The Mouse]

"Not wasting a shot on you," Guts says, getting up and 'accidentally' knocking Dragonslayer directly onto Neo's gun arm, "But I've got to load this thing whenever I get the chance. I'm leaving anyway, and if this goes on any longer, one of us going to end up covering the walls."

With that, he shoves Yukina out of the way, cannon arm already leveled at Neo's general waist area with the lanyard already in his teeth.

"Be that as it may," Guts says through the lanyard in his mouth, "Either you put the gun down, or you get unmanned. I'm leaving anyway, how many pieces you're in before I do so is entirely up to you."

Yukina, already terrified of the situation, only got more nervous when the mercenary threatened to blast away her colleague with his arm-cannon. Neo, on the other hand, only looked defiant against armored man, as if he doesn't care if the predicament tears him into pieces.

But the Japanese lady wouldn't have any of it.

She then forcefully slid herself between the cannon and the blonde. Her eyes were pleading and tearful, as she said "Please..." She then sniffled. "Do not hurt Neo-san! Do not fight each other like this! Please!"

"Goddamn it, let 'im pull that fuc-" Neo said, until she intervened.

"Neo-san, please! Save yourself! Just put your weapons down!" Yukina tearfully pleaded some more, still horrified at the prospect of blood and gore. She was hugging Neo tightly, not intending to let go and let him die over an altercation like this.

Neo saw everything that was happening in the living room, so he was annoyed. He then told the mercenary, "G'yeah..." He scoffed. "If it was me, I would be pulling shit righ' now, 'cause I ain't no moralistic faggot."

The punk then continued, "But look at ya'. You get fuckin' told in an argument and yo' first reaction is to load up yo' compensator, threaten my ass with it and actually shove away the only person 'ere who's not thinking wit' her fists. An' look, you're actually making her cry and all she did is to try and make this shit stop."

"I mean, you're actually making a woman cry right now, man." He said, without any hint of his usual smugness, but only sincerity. "You think Casca's gonna enjoy seeing this right here? What kind of man are you, huh?"

[Panda]

Yukina, already terrified of the situation, only got more nervous when the mercenary threatened to blast away her colleague with his arm-cannon. Neo, on the other hand, only looked defiant against armored man, as if he doesn't care if the predicament tears him into pieces.

But the Japanese lady wouldn't have any of it.

She then forcefully slid herself between the cannon and the blonde. Her eyes were pleading and tearful, as she said "Please..." She then sniffled. "Do not hurt Neo-san! Do not fight each other like this! Please!"

"Goddamn it, let 'im pull that fuc-" Neo said, until she intervened.

"Neo-san, please! Save yourself! Just put your weapons down!" Yukina tearfully pleaded some more, still horrified at the prospect of blood and gore. She was hugging Neo tightly, not intending to let go and let him die over an altercation like this.

Neo saw everything that was happening in the living room, so he was annoyed. He then told the mercenary, "G'yeah..." He scoffed. "If it was me, I would be pulling shit righ' now, 'cause I ain't no moralistic faggot."

The punk then continued, "But look at ya'. You get fuckin' told in an argument and yo' first reaction is to load up yo' compensator, threaten my ass with it and actually shove away the only person 'ere who's not thinking wit' her fists. An' look, you're actually making her cry and all she did is to try and make this shit stop."

"I mean, you're actually making a woman cry right now, man." He said, without any hint of his usual smugness, but only sincerity. "You think Casca's gonna enjoy seeing this right here? What kind of man are you, huh?"

"I don't recall being 'told' in an argument, whatever that means, and I don't recall getting in an argument in the first place," Guts says, growing frustrated with how the lanyard is interfering with his speech before letting it go and using the metal arm to retrieve Dragonslayer, "All I did was offer some honest advice to try to avoid the first part of tonight's mess, that werewolf. You decided to take it as...whatever you took it as."

"And I wasn't loading this thing up to 'compensate'," Guts continues, "I was loading it up because I'm going to be leaving soon, I could end up in a fight at any time after leaving, and I usually can't load this thing in the middle of a fight. It was your decision to pull a gun on me and rather stupid of you not to think I would just let you without trying to even the playing field."

"And if Casca were here and not the way she is right now," Guts finishes, the temptation to just say the hell with it and shoot them both rising again, "She would beat your ass into the ground for being an unrepentant asshole, and then do the same to me for shoving the girl out of the way. However, neither of those conditions apply, so it would be best if you didn't try to use her as a shield."

[Ivan The Mouse]

"I don't recall being 'told' in an argument, whatever that means, and I don't recall getting in an argument in the first place," Guts says, growing frustrated with how the lanyard is interfering with his speech before letting it go and using the metal arm to retrieve Dragonslayer, "All I did was offer some honest advice to try to avoid the first part of tonight's mess, that werewolf. You decided to take it as...whatever you took it as."

"And I wasn't loading this thing up to 'compensate'," Guts continues, "I was loading it up because I'm going to be leaving soon, I could end up in a fight at any time after leaving, and I usually can't load this thing in the middle of a fight. It was your decision to pull a gun on me and rather stupid of you not to think I would just let you without trying to even the playing field."

"And if Casca were here and not the way she is right now," Guts finishes, the temptation to just say the hell with it and shoot them both rising again, "She would beat your ass into the ground for being an unrepentant asshole, and then do the same to me for shoving the girl out of the way. However, neither of those conditions apply, so it would be best if you didn't try to use her as a shield."

"I already told you, faggot. If I were you, I would pull the fuckin' lanyard and be done with it." Neo replied, still talking seriously. "And yet, Yukina here is trying at least go down with me, so who the fuck am I to refuse a free shield? 'Sides, if Ratt sees our blood splat on the floor, ya' sure should watch yo' ass out, because you might get sniped."

"And I'm telling you, don't ya' dare deny it, man: You're arguing that I ain't to talk because I got shot twice by them pigs, then I said that two shots ain't bringing me down, then you load up that fuckin' thing. How am I supposed to take that, huh? A compliment? Jesus tittyfuckin' Christ, that's like chambering a round in yo' piece when you're having an argument, man. Ain't no good message to send to the otha' talkin' party."

"And oh, speaking of round in the chamber, I honestly kinda lost track of myself..." The punk continued. "Did I fire six shots or seven? And this, being the M1911, which is an ol'-ass gun design in this world that only has seven shots in the mag, you gotta ask yourself: Do you feel lucky? Do you?!"

[Panda]

"I already told you, faggot. If I were you, I would pull the fuckin' lanyard and be done with it." Neo replied, still talking seriously. "And yet, Yukina here is trying at least go down with me, so who the fuck am I to refuse a free shield? 'Sides, if Ratt sees our blood splat on the floor, ya' sure should watch yo' ass out, because you might get sniped."

"And I'm telling you, don't ya' dare deny it, man: You're arguing that I ain't to talk because I got shot twice by them pigs, then I said that two shots ain't bringing me down, then you load up that fuckin' thing. How am I supposed to take that, huh? A compliment? Jesus tittyfuckin' Christ, that's like chambering a round in yo' piece when you're having an argument, man. Ain't no good message to send to the otha' talkin' party."

"And oh, speaking of round in the chamber, I honestly kinda lost track of myself..." The punk continued. "Did I fire six shots or seven? And this, being the M1911, which is an ol'-ass gun design in this world that only has seven shots in the mag, you gotta ask yourself: Do you feel lucky? Do you?!"

"Lucky?" Guts asks, "I've never considered myself lucky, and I don't need luck at this range. You were also on the ground, where they would have had no trouble shooting you some more. And if you thought I was going to go to the effort of loading up the cannon to make a point when you're within slugging range, then I have nothing more I can say."

With that, Guts simply leaves without even bothering to say farewell.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Vanguard

"Mph, Rider has a point. It would be beneficial to have an assessment of each other's abilities if we are to cooperate." Vanguard declared with a clear and powerful voice.

Walking up the stairs, his booming steps shook the stone ground with sheer might. The metal warrior feared the mansion would crumble under his weight, but to his surprise the stone stairs did not falter.

"Yes, Sakura, perhaps a sparring trial would be suitable in order to know each other's strength. A wise man said that to know of oneself and of the enemy assured victory, and besides... I have not had a bout in millennia."

Approaching his master, he lowered himself, bowing in submission. "I can manage my own reserves of aether, so what say you, Sakura?", he asked.

[SINIB]

"Yes, Sakura, perhaps a sparring trial would be suitable in order to know each other's strength. A wise man said that to know of oneself and of the enemy assured victory, and besides... I have not had a bout in millennia."

Approaching his master, he lowered himself, bowing in submission. "I can manage my own reserves of aether, so what say you, Sakura?", he asked.

When Vanguard bowed for her, Sakura became acutely aware of just how enormous the behemoth was. He still towered over her; his chin remained above her head even while it was lowered.

Wow, he’s... huge. Even bigger than I had originally thought. She quickly dispelled her thoughts from her mind, No, I need to get back to the matter at hand! She thought to herself and shook her head.

“I have to provide prana to Caster and Rider at all times to maintain their existence, and them fighting saps even more energy from me. If your looks match up to your strength, I have confidence in your skills.”

Sakura then turned to Rider with a somewhat exacerbated look on her face. “Rider, you should know better than suggest that right now. You drained me near dry less than a day ago, I couldn’t even walk a few hours ago. While I’m much better than before, I’m still somewhat exhausted. I still need some more time to recover my reserves.”