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

[Kotomine_Rin]

Vanguard

Vanguard's eyes narrowed at the girl, glaring at her as if trying to dig past the veneer that made Medaka who she was. He smiled and shook his head, rubbing the side of his head.

"You really are a fool."

Indeed, how could she speak of him with such certainty, even attempt to save him, when she did not even know him. It was absurd, illogical, and perhaps even beautiful. But there was no place for beauty in this world, he'd make sure to carve such lessons into her bones if he must. However...

"Sorry, but I have no interest in fighting you in this particular moment. This whole mall might just fall apart, and besides I am a little tired. This would be the third, no, fourth fight I'd have in a single day. Besides, I believe he would have thought the same, rushing such a development immediately would only cheapen its dramatic value. If you cared for him that much, and if you'd even go as far as to avenge him, keep such words to heart. Perhaps later today, you may face me wherever you choose. A phone call will do, I believe you have my number."

[SINIB]

Rider

Rider nodded with a smile, eagerly anticipating her delicious meal. Noticing that the man appeared to be looking towards an empty table in the corner, Rider headed towards it.

"Yes, I think this would be a good table", she said, pointing towards it.

Sakura Matou

Sakura flashed a smile at Rider and Ron and then turned back to the cashier to order. "I'll have the lettuce, tomato, onion with the barbeque sauce. Hot sauce hasn't been agreeing with me lately."

The cashier nodded politely and then turned to Ron. "And what would you like, then?"

Ron

After a moment of thought the werewolf nodded. "I'll get the same thing, without the onions." He would have kept he onions, but those made him pretty sick if he turned into a wolf while they were still being digested. He learned that the hard way since it wasn't as common a bit of info as dogs not being able to handle chocolate.

The cashier nodded and gave them a receipt with their order number on it. "It should not take too long. We'll bring it out."

With that, Ron motioned to somewhere in the back. "All right, let's get a table then shall we?" He had his eye on a nice table by the corner where it was easy to see anyone else approaching. It wasn't a large restaurant, so they could see pretty much everything out in the open from there.

Sakura Matou

Sakura looked at the table, examining its location in the restaurant. Good lighting, a secluded location, and most importantly, a booth. Sakura liked booths alot more than chairs. They were just more comfortable with their cushioned seats. So Sakura walked over to the table, releasing some small bugs to form a perimeter and set up a temporary defense.

It never hurt to be careful, after all.

[SINIB]

Erica

Red crept into the blue haired girl's cheeks. It was a nice, deep color that contrasted pleasantly with the rest of her appearance. She liked hearing her laugh. "For the most part my time has been spent well. I was recently cajoled by a man into spending most of money on food that would only last one meal. My funds have diminished significantly as a result." She glanced at her own cart which only had a loaf of bread and cheese.

"But I am incredibly glad that you are well."

Noel Vermillion

Noel shook her head. "Now why would you let someone use your money to buy a bunch of gourmet stuff? You need to think before you act."

Noel glanced at her cart and sighed. "I can help you with your groceries, if you want." She said, kinda regretting her generosity. She wasn't strapped for cash anymore, but she still wasn't exactly wealthy.

[Umbra of Chaos]

Erica

She lowered her head in shame. "Yes. It was my fault. I had engaged him previously but I failed to defeat him and only left superficial injuries. I survived at his leisure, and I was forced to repair all my limbs afterwards. Resistance following that would have been foolish. I should have defeated him the first time. Or tried in spite of the inevitability of it."

Erica's voice was filled with self-loathing. As if her failure was a personal issue unaffected by the circumstances and ability of her opponent. If Noel had thought such a thing then surely she should have struggled afterwards, if not win the first time! But the blonde's offer quickly brought her out of her thinking.

"No! I- I cannot accept that. I am undeserving of your kindness."


Liseth

Wow. That... She didn't really know what to say to that. It was like some generic one-liner that some crappy generic anime villain would say. Was he gonna say that he was the 'pinnacle of evolution' or the 'most powerful being ever made' next? And she thought she was pretty bad.

Instead of replying she just looked at Emily and smiled a bit. "Let's go then. Wanna Door there?" Door, admittedly, wasn't the most creative name for that power but she liked it.

[Cherry Lover]

Shirou

Confusion came over Shirou's face once more at the girl's words. He was supposed to have realised that the creature's scream was a "hello"?

"Sorry, it sounded like a scream of distress. I've never seen one of those creatures before", he said. "It's very unusual, I've never seen anything like it."

Then, noticing the girl scanning the area, he wondered what she was doing. Had she lost something?

"Oh, are you looking for something?" he asked. "Do you want some help?"

[Thedoctor]

Shinobu

Already determined to save him. Medaka's hero complex was quite large, so it wasn't too hard predicting that she would take the suggestion, and the man just wanted a fight, or so she thought. Not that it mattered since he had accepted in the end. Satisfied with the result, she genlty took hold of the younger vampire's hand and tried pulling her away. "Come now like he said the fighting can wait until later, look at how many people there is here. Besides, you still have yet to fulfill that promise Medaka~"

[YOLF]

Methuselah

The dark god of the eternal abyss met her stare with pulsating white eyes filled with the glaring suns of nuclear doom and the eternal death of the universe, and he gulped. Honestly, being stared at like this was a tad bit uncomfortable. But right now, he wasn't focusing on the awkward or downright creepy atmosphere. Listening to her words, he managed to mutter but one word.

"Eh?"

Rafalia Tredecim

"Haven't you ever heard 'clothes make the man', you silly fowl of eternal night?" She said, brows angling unforgivingly while she poked his robes. "Are you even trying? Cause the personal style is great, trust me I know, but you need to have some civvies if you really want to fit in."

Rafalia didn't let him say anything before she spun on her heel, a leaf on the wind where any would catch her, and grabbed his arm. The snacks were gone and she didn't have anything else to do today, so she crumpled the chip bag and tossed it in the trash before she started pulling at him. In her next exclamation was purely the thought of amusing herself with a gullible piece of divinity, and not even the endless Outside would allow Methuselah shelter from her whim.

"Let's go then!"


In the time it would've taken a person to lose and catch their breath, the avatar of darkness and the rider of the void had found themselves respectively forced into a dressing room (out of a selection of six, which had all emptied out since they arrived, how curious), and floatily galavanting around the shop gathering up a pile of colorful and stylish clothes. Of which the first to be tossed over the curtain were a set of a checkered pink and brown shirt and a pair of slim denim jeans.

She rang out, "Okay, first set! Show me what you're made of!"

[yinsukin]

Medaka

He was right.  There were far too many people for a safe fight.  She let Shinobu pull her away by the ear.  "Hmm?"

[Kotomine_Rin]

Methuselah

"S-sure. Thanks..." He mumbled shyly. Did she just call his style great? W-wow, no one ever called it that. It felt nice that someone in this world could recognize his awesome Gothic style for the contemporary fashion statement it was. At the very least, he was glad she of all people could appreciate it, really, after all he did knit the cloak himself.

But he didn't have time to dwell on that, because before he knew it, his hand was grabbed and the poor dark overlord was dragged away mercilessly. He yelped, but there was no escape from the evil witch's grasp. And so, he was abducted, dragged away into the unknown, dragged away by the dastardly whims of the evil woman who would play with a dark avatar's heart so.


Faster than he could cry for help, he was already in a dressing room. How deplorable, but he had little choice but to obey. The evil ominous grin of hers was creepy, and the way she stared at him only spelled bad news for his fragile ego. Still, it was fortunate that no one was around for some reason, and even more fortunate that she could not see him blush!

Was he to wear such things? How... how scandalous! Besides, how would they ever fit? Thankfully, she wasn't inside the changing room with him-

Methuselah turned red. Absolutely red. Damn, no good, a god must always be composed and calm. Such thoughts would only fluster him further! He took a deep breath, stripped from his garnishments and looked down on his feet. D-damn, did he gain some weight? He could've sworn he didn't look this large the last time he undressed. Then again, it must've been what, two decades ago?

Methuselah shook his head. No, he couldn't back down now. She had gone all this way for him, the least he could do was repay her by humoring her suggestion. Who knows, they might not look so bad on him if they fit.

"Mhhh....nnnnnh....just a sec..." He grunted and mumbled, trying to shove himself in the pants. Truly humans were bizarre folk, even the XXL sizes barely fit on him! What kind of dwarf was supposed to go inside such kiddy clothes? Damn, just a little push...

"There." He whimpered, feeling his loins crush under the pressure of his garments, along with his entire body. It looked like his muscles would rip out any second now, if an abrupt movement didn't rip the clothes instead. Was he actually supposed to move in that thing? He could barely breathe. Still, he couldn't help but glance at the mirror, and-

He would have liked what he saw, if he had any reflection. So he took a deep breath and decided to put his trust on her judgement. He opened the curtains and revealed his fabulous self, sparkles of pure darkness shining all over as he made his entrance, or rather his exit.

It was honestly shocking, just how different he appeared. Beneath his cloak, it was hard to tell, but Methuselah was practically all muscles! You could tell from every inch of his body exposed and stretching the fabric, that one did not call oneself a god without looking like one. Even the very manifestation of all evils in this world looked quite... good.

If it wasn't for his terrifying voice and face, one could even say his physique was extremely attractive, perfectly proportioned like a Greek statue. No mortal could ever achieve such perfect biceps, they were simply... divine.

"Hey, um, how do I look?" He asked shyly, but trying to sound a little cheerful.

[Aiden]

Rider

Rider nodded with a smile, eagerly anticipating her delicious meal. Noticing that the man appeared to be looking towards an empty table in the corner, Rider headed towards it.

"Yes, I think this would be a good table", she said, pointing towards it.

Sakura Matou

Sakura flashed a smile at Rider and Ron and then turned back to the cashier to order. "I'll have the lettuce, tomato, onion with the barbeque sauce. Hot sauce hasn't been agreeing with me lately."

The cashier nodded politely and then turned to Ron. "And what would you like, then?"

Ron

After a moment of thought the werewolf nodded. "I'll get the same thing, without the onions." He would have kept he onions, but those made him pretty sick if he turned into a wolf while they were still being digested. He learned that the hard way since it wasn't as common a bit of info as dogs not being able to handle chocolate.

The cashier nodded and gave them a receipt with their order number on it. "It should not take too long. We'll bring it out."

With that, Ron motioned to somewhere in the back. "All right, let's get a table then shall we?" He had his eye on a nice table by the corner where it was easy to see anyone else approaching. It wasn't a large restaurant, so they could see pretty much everything out in the open from there.

Sakura Matou

Sakura looked at the table, examining its location in the restaurant. Good lighting, a secluded location, and most importantly, a booth. Sakura liked booths alot more than chairs. They were just more comfortable with their cushioned seats. So Sakura walked over to the table, releasing some small bugs to form a perimeter and set up a temporary defense.

It never hurt to be careful, after all.

Ron

As Ron took his seat he subtly sniffed at the air, taking note of the strange musk of insects that hadn't been there before they sat. Still, it remained small and did not get all that much closer to them. He shrugged it off after a moment and grinned to Rider and Sakura once they settled in. "So, question, and let me know if I'm being too nosy: Are you two sisters?"

Maybe half-sisters. They definitely had similar hair, though that could just be a similar taste in dye colors. But he couldn't smell any dye, so either it was natural or his nose was on the fritz today. It wouldn't be the first time for the latter case.

[Kotomine_Rin]

RED

Ughhhh, boring! This place was sooo confusing, even for a big city. It's like someone mashed all these different bits and pieces together to make a bigger piece. Well, she did try that once, except it was a little messy at the end. Oh well!

Anyway, long story short, she was absolutely lost, probably walking in circles and starting to feel her stomach growl. Defeated, she crouched on a street corner and pouted.

"This sucks..."

Suddenly, she noticed something a little weird. It was like a dog, a really, really big dog. She was used to playing with them, so she'd know, and even weirder was that she didn't recognize it at all! It's it was a dog, but wasn't one at all. Weird.

"Wow, that's a big puppy!" She exclaimed, trying to catch its attention. "Hey, are you lost?"

[SINIB]

Erica

She lowered her head in shame. "Yes. It was my fault. I had engaged him previously but I failed to defeat him and only left superficial injuries. I survived at his leisure, and I was forced to repair all my limbs afterwards. Resistance following that would have been foolish. I should have defeated him the first time. Or tried in spite of the inevitability of it."

Erica's voice was filled with self-loathing. As if her failure was a personal issue unaffected by the circumstances and ability of her opponent. If Noel had thought such a thing then surely she should have struggled afterwards, if not win the first time! But the blonde's offer quickly brought her out of her thinking.

"No! I- I cannot accept that. I am undeserving of your kindness."

Noel Vermillion

"Um—erm..." Noel said, really unsure of how to respond. She was even worse than her, jeeze. "Comeon, you can't just eat bread. It's important to eat a balanced meal."

[Umbra of Chaos]

Erica

She shook her head again. Slower and less frantic than before. Her back was a bit straighter, and she was more confident this time. "This body does not require food to maintain itself. It is no trouble."

"...Do you require any help?" A slight burst of hesitation.

[Cherry Lover]

Rider

A whistful look came over Rider's face at Ron's question. Sakura was not, of course, her sister, although in many ways Rider treated her like one, protecting her just like she had tried to protect her little sisters in life. But, the comparison reminded her of them and, as such, brought back long-buried feelings of guilt, as well as reminding her of why she continued to loyally serve and protect Sakura, just like a sister, whilst also remaining vigilant to ensure she did not once more make the mistake Rider had made, and allow her desire to protect those she loved turn her into the very monster which would kill them.

"No, we're not related", Rider said with a slightly uneasy smile.

"She's like a sister to me, though", she added, looking at Sakura with a kind smile.

[Umbra of Chaos]

Oren

The Lycan turned to look at the person addressing her. She was small. Smol. Then the smol child started talking to her. She tilted her head at the girl and leaned in.

Oren opened her mouth and exhaled, it would be real simple to just snap and swallow. But instead she shut it and rubbed her head against the kid with enough force to nearly knock her over.