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

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lorenzo Remei

"Huh? Awesome, great! I'm counting on that." He said with a huge grin plastered on his face. The fire around the forest started to dwindle and fade, and eventually the scenery became less hellish. Phew, he had actually pushed himself a bit too much there.

The fire behind them had disappeared, but it was a ruse! The smoke cleared, and as they raced it was revealed that for some reason, the pirate's hand was missing. "And now that he's not here, I guess it's not a problem if I do this."

He held out his arms aside and posed fabulously, and on that moment a dozen of fiery birds emerged from the clouds. They were no mere tools or familiars, but living beings infused with life and fire, and each of them plunged down to grab his body parts one by one, splitting him off into a bunch of bones swiftly.

"Bwahahaha! So long, pretty lady!!" He roared laughing as he soared the heavens as a bunch of pieces converging into one fireball and shooting down quite literally like a giant fireball straight at Joe.

"VICTORY IS MIINE, MY MANLY SPIRIT SHALL PREVAIL!!!"

[Elf]

Rin

As if the pirate couldn't get more absurd, Rin noted that the forest fire was now gone.  She frowned at his little proclamation before he threw out his arms and posed.  Birds crafted of pure flame emerged from the clouds to gather around him.

She felt her jaw literally drop as the birds picked him up literally one bone at a time before a giant fireball went hurdling towards her date.

The young mage jumped forward, her crest activated again.  It was a spell that Roderick had taught her, and it was so useful she loaded it into the crest.  Roderick came from a line of warrior mage-craft users who literally used their magic to make them better on the battlefield, the root be damned.  That also meant they had developed some nifty defensive spells.

"Shield On!" she shouted as a force shield of energy wrapped around Joe to take most of the blow.

[yinsukin]

Lazy ass teenager

Jacob groaned as he sat in his seat in the booth.  He had just clocked in to work and he really wasn't happy about it.  He would rather just go home and play video games or something but his manager said that the sky turning dark was not a legitimate excuse to miss work.  He looked in the distance, only to see a fireball coming down on some poor sap who was screaming like a maniac.

"Damn it.  Why while im working?  Im not paid enough for this shit."  He groaned before making his way over to a walkie talkie.  "We have a situation."

Joe

Joe's breath became heavy as he got closer to the docks.  He wasn't in the best shape.  I mean, its not like he had time to workout in between his job and all that tv he watched.  At least he was young.  His stamina would hold up his speed until he got to the docks.

All the sudden, he felt a bit of heat coming from the sky.  He looked up, only to see a gaint fireball descending from the sky, with Lorenzo's stupid voice cheering in victory.  "Oh crap!"  he shouted, closing his eyes and bracing for impact.  When he opened them, he found he was still alive, surrounded by a barrier that probably protected him.  He raised his fists like an old man trying to get kids off his lawn.  "Godamn it you stupid pirate!  That could have killed me!"  He yelled as he went into an angry sprint.

It probably wouldn't last too long.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lorenzo Remei

His super attack clashed with a barrier, and even with all his power put behind it he couldn't break it easily. Knocked back and landing on the ground, he staggered and felt his own flames flicker. He nearly fell over his knee, but managed to keep uptight and stared at Joe.

"Idiot. A real man... never dies."

Crap, his whole body felt like it was flooded in pain, his spirit had been overworked from the start. At this rate, he wouldn't finish this race, but he couldn't stop. He was so close, even if letting him win was part of the plan, it didn't mean it was a reason not to give his all.  His feet sank in the ground, and his nearly dying flames cracked once more, as large as before but ten times more vibrant.

With a single stomp, he made his final charge to catch up using the remainder of his magic energy, managing to catch up but slowing down due to exertion to the point the two were now equal. No, he'd definitely lose, even if he won. But he didn't give a crap, because in his mind losing to a winner was no different than being a winner, not that he intended on losing.

"I won't lose.... to anyone... never. Giving up now... THAT WOULDN'T BE MANLY AT ALL, WOULD IT!?" He cried out, weaker words than usual yet fiercer than ever. They were the words of a man who'd give everything he'd got, even in such a race, even if it meant extinguishing his own flame.

Because he, Lorenzo Remei, had a dream!

[yinsukin]

Joe

That pirate was still a complete mystery.  After all those crazy stunts, it looked like he was just as tired as he was.  No he was definitely more exhausted.  Still, the man's spirit was still strong and he roared as he pushed the last of his energy to the brink.

He couldn't give up either.

Joe screamed within his own mind, begging his out of shape body to move faster. Damn it!  I can't let him show me up here!  Not in front of Rin!  I may be completely normal but im not worthless!

Somehow, his body moved just a tad bit faster.  With each loud clack on the ground, his breathing became heavier and heavier, his breath suffocating him.  Still, he did not weaver.  "Nnnnaaaaagh!"  He screamed, reaching out for the booth to claim his victory.

[Panda]

Annabeth

Allowing a glance towards her next glass of brandy as it came sliding across the bar into her waiting hand, the Hunter's slight pout deepened at his reply.

"Well I don't know yet," Annabeth noted, remembering how he'd 'read' her earlier, "Don't suppose you'd have a way of figuring that out too, would you?"

[Elf]

Gabriel

Gabriel looked at the newest glass of brandy wit a cant of his head.  He then looked at her, and decided he liked the pout on her face.

"I do, and if circumstances were different I would probably pursue it," he answered with a smile.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lorenzo Remei

The pirate was using all his energy to run, the fire inside him outmatched the fire around him. There was no way he'd lose, with a defiant roar he ran faster, and faster, and a final step sealed his victory. He had managed to outpace him by a foot, waving his arm forward to seize his victory. He was faster, he had won, he-

He had not noticed, but there was a rock lying in his path. How could he, when he was so focused on reaching the door. He tripped, lost his balance, and time seemed to slow down. In what seemed like an eternity, his life flashed before his eyes, his comrades, his loves, and even her.

He had failed her completely and utterly as well, hadn't he?

But it didn't matter, even if he was worthless, he would survive. But it seemed it was too bad, that man, victory was indeed his.

"You really are... a cool guy."

And with these final words he slammed straight on the ground with his face right in it. That was too bad, he really wanted to win.

[Elf]

Rin

Rin came charging forward and she slowly dropped her reinforcement once she saw Joe touch the rental booth.  A sigh left her as she jogged up the rest of the way, her muscles now burning in the aftermath of reinforcement.  She pushed her sweaty hair from her face and smiled at Joe.

"Good, you won.  Are you okay?" she asked, only breathing slightly harder than normal.

[yinsukin]

Lazy ass teenager

The teen walked over to the edge of the booth, squinting his eyes to see into the distance. The security was on the way and just in case, they alerted the police that the situation may involve supernaturals.  Jacob was instructed just to watch the situation from his position and describe the events to the security officer.  Of course, he was allowed to run if he thought his life was in danger but supposedly they give him a bonus for this kind of thing.

Somehow, the fireball did almost nothing to the crazy dude and he started running straight towards the booth.  Then, a skeleton man popped up beside him and started running as well.  It looked like they were racing.  It was actually pretty intense, especially when he got a look at their faces.  They looked like they were running like their lives depended on it.

The undead thingy got a burst of speed and headed streight towards the booth, only to trip on a rock, falling flat on his face.  "You really are... a cool guy."  The skeleton muttered before collapsing.

Wait.  Did the undead thingy just die?  But....  He thought as he ran over to the creature.  He picked up a stick and poked him with it.  "You dead bro?"

[Aiden]

Mordred

"Yes, though I'd like to still talk with Breeze about something before I go investigate what happened." Mordred explained. The sort of talk she wanted to have with Breeze was about something for her ears only.

Auspicious Breeze

She pointed to herself with a blink. "Me? Well, alright! What did you want to talk about, Mordred?" Of course she would listen to whatever Mordred wanted to say; she was always up for talking with cute girls, especially ones who were her friends. Even if she didn't really understand the topic she could ask questions or something.

She kinda missed the implication about this being a private conversation.

[Cherry Lover]

Rider

Rider smiled as Sakura looked down at her stomach with a smile on her face. She knew how much it meant to Sakura to be carrying Shirou's child, and it made her feel so happy to see that Sakura's wish had come true.

[SINIB]

Jin

After a few beeps his wonderful girlfriend finally picked up the phone. She usually responded quicker than this, she might be doing something. Pushing those thoughts aside he tried to respond with his most cheerful voice. "Hey Oka, I got this great idea. You know where there's more pokémon to catch right? I thought about getting some useful ones to act as support. Think you could help me with that?"

Oka Kurosawa

Oka was surprised. She knew Jin wasn't really interested in training up a pokemon to a super high level, and that he was quite strong on his own.

He probably wants something. She thought about it. Or maybe he just wants an excuse to hang out with me and make me happy!

Oka liked this explanation much better than the alternative. It was probably some of both was what she ended up deciding. Playing along would also get her some time with him and hunting pokemon, which was always a plus. Playing along would be the best course of action.

"Hmmmm..." Oka said, tapping her foot on the ground. "Of course I can help with that, I'd love to, but what pokemon would be good for supporting you in battle?" Oka wondered aloud, before redirecting her focus on him. "What kind of role do you have in mind, Jin?"

[yinsukin]

Joe

Joe looked back as he touched the booth.  The pirate was somehow lying face first on the ground and Rin had jogged over to congratulate him.  Her glittering sweaty hair was only outmatched by her smile.

He took his hands away from the booth and rested them on his knees.  His heart was suffocating him with each beat, his lungs screamed at him with each exhale.  Yet at the same time, his brain tickled by feelings of victory, only enhanced by the endorphin's buzzing through his brain.

He started laughing. "heheh... hahaha!"  Then, he grabbed Rin and gave her a big hug, wrapping his arms around her back and squeezing as tightly as he could with the last of his strength.  "RIN WE WON!  I don't know how we did it, but we WON!"  He yelled, completely forgetting that the whole point of the race.

[Aiden]

Ron

It was one of those quiet moments that, Ron hoped, made people remember that just because they were stranded in his home city that life didn't have to end. They could still make something of themselves and be happy. Not that he knew all the particulars of course. "So, how long have you two been in the city?"

Before they could answer that, the food arrived. Chicken dishes all around smelling of faint spices, soft and tender after being scraped to be put into the kebab. The man who brought it smiled an asked, "There anything else you'd like now?"