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

[SINIB]

Wormy

Wormy looked at Rider, chittering to himself softly, in a way only Oka could understand. The lavender-haired woman named Rider seemed harmless, even if it was an alias. He hadn't sensed anything particularly terrible about her, even if she did smell weird.

So he moved slightly closer to her and chittered at her softly, inviting her to pet him.

[SINIB]

Sakura Matou

Sakura nodded with a smile, looking unbelievably happy to have him here. "Yeah, he's a servant, but he's also Shirou too. I don't really know the specifics, but he's a Shirou who somehow became a heroic spirit. I don't think he wants to talk about it, though."

"Power like that comes with a high cost, after all." She said quietly.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Count Greyskull

The skeletal tree lord nodded in agreement. He truly had come across a wonderful vassal. He would make sure to repay her properly for her efforts with wholesome gratitude. But for now, he had work to do.

"Very well. I, the great count Greyskull, shall keep that in mind! Now then, let's go...!" He replied with absolute joy and an adorably candid tone. What a huge nerd.

General Alarice tried to open the door without much success, to which she responded by tearing the gates apart with claws of bone. M-myah! He yelped, the display sending shivers down his skeletal spine. Honestly, he rather have her as a friend than an enemy. She was scary!

But despite his shivering legs and trembling breathing, the invincible dark lord would not show his fear or worry. His mind and heart were calm and decisive, so he puffed his ribs with pride and stepped forward. Just as he neared the door, blue lightning cracked around his fingertips only to dance around the shattered splinters of wood and metal that were once a mighty gate.

The debris glowed blue with an enchanting luminsecent hue before floating back into place where they belonged. It was as if time was rewinding as he repaired the door effortlessly in mere instants.

Once that was taken care of, he stepped into the palace along Alarice and gazed at its interiors with marvel and awe.

"NYEHYEHYEHYEHYEH!! I LOVE THIS PLACE ALREADY! Erm, I mean, it is suitable yes. Not bad, not bad at all. It's alright. Oh, by the way, I have a very important inquiry to ask of you. What sounds better? Shadow Dragon General Alarice the Destroyer, Miasma of the Void Dark Matter Countess Alarice or Blood Red Baroness Alarice the Annihalator?"

[yinsukin]

Relius

Ignis released Relius and then she disappeared in a bright flash of purple.  However, Relius used his ars to float in order to avoid unessisary stress on his joints.  He focused the efforts of the healing ars on his leg, allowing the deep cuts to slowly close to form small to moderate cuts.  His right leg, which he had turned into a puppet leg, was unaffected.

Relius shook his head.  "No, no.  You have it all wrong.  Its not related to human connection.  The strength of a soul is raw passion.  For most people that is hate, anger, even ambition. Its such a shame.  I had two children, a son and a daughter.  They both had such promise.  But the boy.  He was so,,,,, boring. Even with my... tutoring, he still couldn't understand the true strength of the soul."

Dr. Bill

The large man in front of him flew into the air as the young vampire connected her fist with his chin.

Shit!  She wasn't bluffing!  Ok got to move. I can use the shadow of this hulking man to reduce her reaction time.  I... JUST....HAVE....TO...MOVE!  He thought as he charged forward and attempted to stab Shinobu in the torso.

[SINIB]

Shiro

Shiro smiled sympathetically, and rubbed her face against Breeze's comfortingly. "It's ok. You'll get used to it."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Theodore

The demon seemed to have relaxed as a glimpse of a smile appeared on his lips.

"Lol. That's just sad, what about the daughter?"

[Thedoctor]

Shinobu

Contrary to his belief Dr. Bill wasn't hidden at all, she could see him clear as day, not that she chose to do anything about it. Instead Shinobu kept talking, her grin never leaving her face. "This outcome was inevitable after all. Humans merely hold on to the foolish notion of hope." The disinterist in her voice was almost mocking, like she was looking down on them from an unreachable heigt.

[yinsukin]

Relius Clover

"My daughter?  Well, she was transformed into the lovely prototype to my dear Ignis."  He said, his head pointed to the distance as if recalling a fond memory.  He then shifted it back to Theodore.  Even with the mask on, you could tell he was looking into his very soul.  "Why the sudden interest?  Just a few minutes before, you claimed ignorance over knowledge of the soul."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Sakagami Kenzo

The oni sighed and looked down on the table. Immediately, the tension dropped and everything seemed to have gone back to normal. Kenzo pondered for a while before closing his russet eyes. Then, he bowed his head apologetically.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have let it get over my head like that." He said calmly. "Yeah, I met him before. I fought him yesterday actually, but I wasn't able to land a decisive blow. I guess I was too soft, I couldn't bring myself to..."

For a moment, he seemed sad. Something was clearly troubling him, but he shook his head and smiled the same friendly smile from before.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you with my stupidity. What's your name?"


Theodore

"Wow. That's actually hilarious. Besides, we both know neither of us is that gullible." He said, despite his unnaturally deadpan tone it was difficult to tell if he was serious or not.

The demon rubbed his temple as if to rid himself of a terrible headache before letting out a tired sigh.

"Look, you probably think I betrayed you or somerhing, but I didn't. I told you I needed that girl for something, so I let her go so she could accomplish that for me. I was intending to collaborate with you, but then you had to try to attack me like that. I guess I wanted to kill you a few times to show you who's in charge, but that doesn't seem to be working out. Whelp, seems like once again, I just can't win."

[yinsukin]

Dr. Bill

The scalpel connected to Shinobu's stomach.  Both his hand and the scalpel emitted a faint glow as it pierced her flesh.  A wave of relief overcame the doctor as he began laughing hysterically.  "Muhahahahaha! I won!  You see, I may not be much of a fighter, but I managed to get this job thanks to my special power.  I can create and cure diseases!  Now within your body lies a poison that cannot be detected or cured by modern medicine!  Even if you defeat me, you still lose!  The girl will die within a day but you my dear will pass within a few hours."

He turned his attention to the last large man.  He would have to silence him.

Relius Clover

"Come now Theodore  You cannot be betrayed someone whom never had your trust to start with.  After all, why should I trust some random mage who rushed here while I was acquiring a doll?  Furthermore, you seemed adamant on claiming ignorance when you clearly knew more.  What use would I have for a business partner who cannot serve my interests?  If you wish to collaborate then drop the act.  Otherwise, I am taking the woman."  He said simply, lacking his usual theatrical show.  He had grown bored with the game."

[Cherry Lover]

Rider

Rider smiled as the creature chittered to himself for a few moments, before moving towards her and chittering softly. Rider, taking that as permission to stroke him, reached out and began to gently rub the top of his head.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Theodore

"Infrastructure, defense, test subjects, information, protection, connections, raw materials. Do you need anything else?" He asked flatly.

[Thedoctor]

Shinobu

Shinobu looked bored as his scalpel emitted a faint glow while cutting her. His victory speech didn't impress her either. The Vampire seemingly ignored him and instead moved, still appearing fine for some reason, she moved past the crazed doctor and over to where the downed Medaka was. She took hold of the arm with the infected wound and bit down on it, draining both Medaka's blood and the disease with it.

She finished the draining a moment later and turned around. "The reason I didn't kill you immediately is because I wanted to know what you had done. You played along quite nicely I must say."

[Kaze]

EMIYA SHIROU

Shirou had initially intended to find a good spot on a tall building and observe Darcy from afar, but the discovery of flying dragon patrols around Shendu’s headquarters forced them to find a new strategy. So here he was, in a hoodie, following Darcy as covertly as he could from a distance. He wished once again that he had Saber’s support available should a physical confrontation arise, but the blond priest had been right: she was ill-suited for this sort of task.

The freelancer did his best to maintain his composed demeanor, but it was difficult. In close quarters like this, he was out of his element. A pit of worry was gradually digging itself in his gut. He could not afford to be caught, for Mia’s sake. Darcy, on the other hand, seemed perfectly at ease. If the man was as terrified as Shirou was, he hid it exceptionally well.

There were a lot of men and women in suits who Shirou suspected were agents of some kind or another, but they all appeared to be keeping tabs on the dragons and the palace, rather than protecting it from intruders. Perhaps there were other organizations in the Nexus that were wary of Shendu. Still, he did his best to avoid them. Better safe than sorry.

Darcy, fearless fool that he apparently was, strolled right up to the massive dragon guarding the entrance and cheerfully got his attention with a discussion about Jesus. Shirou nearly sighed in relief when the scaly orange beast didn’t vaporize him on the spot. For a brief moment, the archer debated shooting the dragon with Gram, but decided against it. Even if he could kill the dragon with one shot, the body would be discovered quickly.

Shirou carefully circled around the outer edge of the courtyard, doing his best to keep something between him and line of sight with the guard. With the orange dragon distracted, he could probably sneak in through a window, if he was careful.

[SINIB]

Oka Kurosawa

Oka nodded at Rider determinatively. If Wormy had deemed her trustworthy, then Oka could too.

But first she would have to order, as a waitress had just arrived, seemingly ignoring the fact she had her Pokemon as if they were normal.

Oka liked that.

"Hmmmm... what's the sweetest wine you have? I'll have that in the largest glass you have." She said, passing her an ID. "And can I have a meat-lover's pizza with olives and onions?"

After the woman nodded and left, Oka smiled and turned back to rider. Sorry about that. Wormy's his name because I was three when I named him. That's all."