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

[Umbra of Chaos]

Erica

The Spirit Vessel had silently followed the man in search of food. It wasn't long before they found a place that would be... suitable for their tastes. Currently they were seated at a table with menus detailing a variety of fantastic beasts and creatures to slay and later have cooked. Erica, along with many other who had been seated around the arena at the top of the building, watched with some interest as a man was torn apart by the chimera he had chosen for dinner. It was not the creature's strength but instead the poison of its serpent tail that had killed him in the end.

She shifted her gaze back over to Vanguard as she sipped her water. There was no particular preference for her. Even the larger meals did not seem out of their capacity to defeat. "Do you have any preferences for the meal? None stand out to me."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Vanguard

Vanguard's mind was absent from such culinary intrigues. Solely focusing on the fight down in the arena, he did not even pay mind to the menu.

"I do not."

To eat a beast, a man has the duty to take its live himself before consuming it. Doing so is a sign of respect towards the gods, a rite of passage from boyhood to manhood called the first meal. That is, at least, what his ancestors believed. To witness such a scene with his very own eyes, it was like witnessing the past once more. For a second, Vanguard felt at home.

Even surrounded by the clamorous noises of the arena, Vanguard could feel steps approaching him. Perhaps this was another byproduct of his experience, his attention to detail was simply inhuman. He could tell from the gait that seemed to approach them that the person in question was no mere onlooker. There was a confidence and certainty to its stride, likely that of a male, that told him everything he needed to know about the individual without even turning to see him.

He rose from his table, menu in hand, and turned for the first time to look at the man who had indeed approached their table.

"Are you the master of this place?"

[Aiden]

Muramasa Katase

Months Later

Things had become strange for Katase in the months that followed. She remained in one place, a single city, and made residence for herself. She could not leave, and her agreement with her current wielder was something she felt uncomfortable violating. 'Minato,' as Mitsuba insisted the new identity made from one of the demon weapon's many souls should be called, had yet to do anything to betray her end of it and was not a deceptive human in any case.

Mating with Minato was not so much of a tribulation a full week after her beloved Kenzo's death, as opposed to the evening of. The demon sword kept up her end of the arrangement for now, and watched with a sort of distant curiosity as her current wielder exhibited all sorts of bizarre symptoms. Katase had never actually taken the time to examine a human woman through the full course of pregnancy, so this was all quite strange for her to see. Did all women go through such things when creating more humans to pollute the world with? Were their offspring even human? It seemed very unlikely in light of what the Muramasa and the... whatever Minato was, really were. She was starting to feel a little eager to find out.

In the meantime she spent that time reading to catch up on what the humans had learned of their 'material sciences' and such. She had a feeling she might soon be able to replicate their so-called firearms, or recreate her own blade from materials that would not be so easily magnetized. Still, the learning was a slow process - experimentation was still necessary. Focusing on something for long stretches of time was also new for her. There was also the time Katase had to spend getting accustomed to being a 'Mifune', her new primary puppet's surname. This meant she had to spend time working at Minato's new business when they were not killing things.

Or, as it were, walking along with her and pretending to be human with her. It was not an objectionable use of time. The day was pleasant enough, and Minato had thoughtfully remanded custody of her true form to her current puppet so she could experience it properly. It was a good time to practice her... facade.

"How much longer will this last for, Minato-chan? You move so sluggishly this way," she said with a smirk, and a pointed look to the belly of her 'cousin,' right before catching sight of yet another pregnant woman. Her voice lowered, and a hand went to cover her mouth. "Oh my~. It seems you were not the only one to spend time in another's arms beneath the sheets on a cold winter night."

[YOLF]

Noel Vermillion

"Well, I'll do my best." Noel said without a huge amount of enthusiasm. She wasn't sure she'd be able to give more than his basic appearance, but she was the best lead they had, other than the unconscious man in the hospital. They'd need to send an officer over to bring him in for questioning once he was stabilized.

"We'll need to send some junior cop to collect the civilian I rescued for questioning once he's released from the hospital, too." Noel added, unsure of what to talk about. She was never good at small talking under pressure.

Henry Barthow

The detective's throat rumbled in acknowledgement. "He's lucky you were there," he said, wanting to defuse the trepidation in the air. And there was no lie in it. She'd rescued someone, she should be glad for it. She should remember that it meant something, even if she had been forced to retreat. "We'll arrange for that when we get to the station. It's going to get busy."

They made an easy turn to a side street and then entered a descending avenue to head the opposite direction. Settling at a moderately high speed though the bustling traffick lanes and keeping his eyes on the road, Henry turned the radio back on and set a connection to report to headquarters.

[Kat]

the hospital

If Gadreel inspected the source of corruption that he was meant to track down more closely, he could notice something interesting indeed. There wasn't a single source. It seemed like many smaller signatures were scattered in the hospital, the concentration highest in one of wards. Yet, there was no chaos in the hospital yet. If the enemy was numerous, why this building didn't turn yet into a pandemonium not unlike the mall?

Maybe this was just a peace before the storm.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Methuselah

The dark avatar scratched his red mop of hair and looked at the girl with confusion. Finally, he knelt so he would be on even level with her and copped her shoulder firmly with his massive clawed hand. Blood red eyes met her indigo, and he spoke in a fair and calm tone, the sort of gentle tone you'd expect from a parent trying to teach a child a very important life lesson.

As nice and friendly as his words were, he couldn't help but sound patronizing.

"My heart grieves for you, but I'm not your lawyer. I'm afraid there is nothing I can do to help you out here. If what you say is true, you have done something very foolish. Knowing the hospital was under threat, your first action should have been to contact the administration and the authorities, not trespass with a weapon. Indeed, a very bad life choice, miss."

[Aiden]

Gadreel

"I am receiving a better sense for what we are up against, now that we walk through these corridors." Gadreel checked a corner, and then gently tapped one of the walls. "They're... scattered. There's more than one of them in here. They're small, easily hidden. I cannot be sure what, however, they are. Or what they intend to do... or have done already."

His face was drawn with the gravity of the discovery as he led Noel in the direction of the largest concentration he could recognize.

[MissingMandible]

Lone Wanderer:

"Well, first thing first: Never assume anything about anyone," Jeremy advised, raising a finger to form a teaching pose, "See a hobo? Could be a vampire. A classy business man? He's actually some sort of Necromancer."

[Elf]

Rin

"I didn't like Pride and Prejudice as well as this one," Rin said with a smile as she gave him the book.

Her face was still hot, damn it!  "Figured I could try to keep you on your toes at least."

[Kat]

Minato

"If you're so impatient about their arrival I guess you'll look forward to babysitting them. A busy woman like me have so much matters to handle." Minato retorted to the comment of her 'cousin'. She was also quick to notice a Japanese women dressed in Western clothing, also pregnant with a child, on a walk with a small mixbred dog who was apparently taking a rest sitting on a bench. To be fair, she also needed some break, so she approached the woman and greeted her.

"Hello, do you mind if I sit here?"

[Kat]

Mordred

Obviously Sakura evaded the question. From personal experience she knew that pushing further would be most impolite. So she leaned towards Breeze and told her quietly. "Let's not bring up this, okay? Touchy subjects like this won't lead to anything good."

Then after she finished giving a fair warning to Breeze out of concern, she also followed into the restaurant to take a seat.

[Thedoctor]

Shinobu

With Rikuyo all but claiming the werewolf for herself there wasn't much for them to do. No, there was one thing to do,t each her some manners. Giving Medaka a pat on her head for efforts, the elder vampire continued with the lesson.

"When the going gets rough, you have to resort to drastic measures. Make the best of it Medaka."

With that the blonde rushed as fast as she coulf at the redhead who was pushing down Ron. Tackling into her, she knocked the shapechanger, making the two of them tumble around on the floor.


William

The former saint nodded at the scientist's question, expressing his approval to the terms being set. His gaze flickered over the bloody mess on the floor as Relius walked around, undisturbed by what should have been a terrifying scene.

"Would you prefer Sanitary technician?" He teased the masked man back in turn. "As for the trash...you may do with them as you wish. If they can't prove themselves worthy I have no other uses for them anyway." 

[SINIB]

Shirou Emiya

Shirou laid on the ground, knocked down yet again by his teacher. He sighed. This always happened, no matter how much better he got, she always seemed to be just out of reach. For every step he'd taken forward, she seemed to be able to simply take another one back.

Shirou remained undaunted, however.

One of these days he'd win though. He had to get stronger. He would get stronger. He slowly stood back up, and shook himself off, re-summoning his swords in the process.

"Alright, are you ready?" The man asked Jeanne, a smile on his face, ready to get smacked down once again.

[SINIB]

Gadreel

"I am receiving a better sense for what we are up against, now that we walk through these corridors." Gadreel checked a corner, and then gently tapped one of the walls. "They're... scattered. There's more than one of them in here. They're small, easily hidden. I cannot be sure what, however, they are. Or what they intend to do... or have done already."

His face was drawn with the gravity of the discovery as he led Noel in the direction of the largest concentration he could recognize.

Hospit-Noel

The small elite frowned at this information. "Are you sure that they're there, then?" She asked him as she followed behind him, three feet back. "And if you are, lead me to the biggest one. Bolverk will be able to deal with it easily."

[SINIB]

Noel Vermillion

"Well, I'll do my best." Noel said without a huge amount of enthusiasm. She wasn't sure she'd be able to give more than his basic appearance, but she was the best lead they had, other than the unconscious man in the hospital. They'd need to send an officer over to bring him in for questioning once he was stabilized.

"We'll need to send some junior cop to collect the civilian I rescued for questioning once he's released from the hospital, too." Noel added, unsure of what to talk about. She was never good at small talking under pressure.

Henry Barthow

The detective's throat rumbled in acknowledgement. "He's lucky you were there," he said, wanting to defuse the trepidation in the air. And there was no lie in it. She'd rescued someone, she should be glad for it. She should remember that it meant something, even if she had been forced to retreat. "We'll arrange for that when we get to the station. It's going to get busy."

They made an easy turn to a side street and then entered a descending avenue to head the opposite direction. Settling at a moderately high speed though the bustling traffick lanes and keeping his eyes on the road, Henry turned the radio back on and set a connection to report to headquarters.

Noel Vermillion

Noel groaned and sank into the seat. "The work never lightens up, does it?" She knew the answer. She just didn't like it at all. "I'm glad I was able to save him though." She said quietly to herself and sat quietly on the rest of the way back, closing her eyes and resting while she was able to.