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

[Thedoctor]

Shinobu

She pushed through it all, through the pain and through the burns and she finally had him in her grasp again. This time she wouldn't let go so easily. This time she would do it properly. There would be no unnecessary theatrics this time. Just one final strike to decidedly end it.

"Hahh...haha...hahahahahahahahaha!!!!"

The skeleton was obviously trying to do the same thing, but it was already too late. Far too late for him to do anything about it. She wasn't playing around anymore.

"No."

A single word to deny him. It was only one word but it carried the finality of a death sentence. It was all useless now, the blonde had already made sure of that. She hadn't used this ability until now because it would take all fun of it, but her patience had finally run out.

She wasn't just grabbing him to carry him around. There was another purpose to it. The purpose pf draining him, draining him completely dry. To deprive him of all his energy. That was the true purpose of her hold and that was why it was too late for him.

It had already begun.

[Aiden]

Sakura Matou

"So, uh, if you don't mind me asking, of course, um, what do you think of your girlfriend?" Sakura asked awkwardly, blushing a bit. "I've only ever been in one relationship before, you see. And my circumstances have been highly unusual, so I'm curious, you know?"

Ron

"Just the one, huh? Let me guess: first love, high school sweetheart?" He grinned to Sakura with a knowing look. Unless he was totally off about her age then she was certainly young enough for him to believe that. "Yeah, I can see why you wouldn't have a lot of experience with variety then."

Not that there was anything wrong with that, though as Ron had figured out today in practice it was pretty hard to stick with. His grin disappeared into a thoughtful look as he tried to figure out how to explain it. He wasn't entirely sure himself right now. "Well, I guess it all started when I stumbled onto her and she'd just arrived here. Nowhere to go, no idea where anything was...  I felt bad. So I showed her around some, we got some drinks, next thing I know things just happened and she was staying over at my place for lack of other options. And beating me up until I learned how to fight better, I guess."

Not that he particularly minded the violence; it was in his blood, it was instinct, that he was a fighter. But then there was the thing with his landlady and pointing a gun at the door and that was taking things too far. "Still can beat me up, though. Let's see... I don't think we actually said we were boyfriend and girlfriend until this morning? Well, it was mostly her saying we were while I was helping some other new girl who didn't now much about society in general, let alone this place."

[Thedoctor]

Neptune

The purple haired goddess stopped mid bite as she heard his response. A look of shock briefly crossed her crossed her face before it turned into a friendly grin. "Oh you got me there Gaddy, I'd love to ride my trusty steed all day long and enojoy all the wonderful places he'd bring me to." She started eating her pudding again much slower this time, as she was busy observing the tall angel.

[SINIB]

Sakura Matou

"So, uh, if you don't mind me asking, of course, um, what do you think of your girlfriend?" Sakura asked awkwardly, blushing a bit. "I've only ever been in one relationship before, you see. And my circumstances have been highly unusual, so I'm curious, you know?"

Ron

"Just the one, huh? Let me guess: first love, high school sweetheart?" He grinned to Sakura with a knowing look. Unless he was totally off about her age then she was certainly young enough for him to believe that. "Yeah, I can see why you wouldn't have a lot of experience with variety then."

Not that there was anything wrong with that, though as Ron had figured out today in practice it was pretty hard to stick with. His grin disappeared into a thoughtful look as he tried to figure out how to explain it. He wasn't entirely sure himself right now. "Well, I guess it all started when I stumbled onto her and she'd just arrived here. Nowhere to go, no idea where anything was...  I felt bad. So I showed her around some, we got some drinks, next thing I know things just happened and she was staying over at my place for lack of other options. And beating me up until I learned how to fight better, I guess."

Not that he particularly minded the violence; it was in his blood, it was instinct, that he was a fighter. But then there was the thing with his landlady and pointing a gun at the door and that was taking things too far. "Still can beat me up, though. Let's see... I don't think we actually said we were boyfriend and girlfriend until this morning? Well, it was mostly her saying we were while I was helping some other new girl who didn't now much about society in general, let alone this place."

Sakura Matou

Sakura listened to his story attentively and silently, nodding occasionally throughout it, right up until the point where he got to the part where he said they'd just become boyfriend and girlfriend today, apparently. After having lived together for months.

"Wait, you were together for months, and you just now are calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend?" Sakura asked in disbelief. "Wow, normal relationships are weirder than I thought!" She told him jokingly, hiding her dislike at the part where she was beating him up. She knew it was just training, but it still always rubbed her the wrong way.

[Aiden]

Neptune

The purple haired goddess stopped mid bite as she heard his response. A look of shock briefly crossed her crossed her face before it turned into a friendly grin. "Oh you got me there Gaddy, I'd love to ride my trusty steed all day long and enojoy all the wonderful places he'd bring me to." She started eating her pudding again much slower this time, as she was busy observing the tall angel.

Gadreel

"You would find I have been to a great many places over the years. Some more wonderful than others." He inclined his head to Neptune, acknowledging the double meaning behind her choice in words. Of course he had to incline his head to properly observe her face to begin with, so the gesture had little meaning in its own right to an onlooker. "And what of you? Surely one of your experience...?"

The fallen angel wondered where his leading question would take the self-proclaimed goddess with whom he now bantered. How old was she, really? Where did she come from? And rather most importantly, what had she done already?

[Aiden]

Sakura Matou

Sakura listened to his story attentively and silently, nodding occasionally throughout it, right up until the point where he got to the part where he said they'd just become boyfriend and girlfriend today, apparently. After having lived together for months.

"Wait, you were together for months, and you just now are calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend?" Sakura asked in disbelief. "Wow, normal relationships are weirder than I thought!" She told him jokingly, hiding her dislike at the part where she was beating him up. She knew it was just training, but it still always rubbed her the wrong way.

Ron

"I guess it just never came up? It's not really normal, actually. People will call each other boyfriend and girlfriend at the drop of a hat." Ron shrugged at the thought of it. "It just kind of happened. And you know, Anne is pretty scary. I didn't want to just assume."

[SINIB]

Sakura Matou

Sakura listened to his story attentively and silently, nodding occasionally throughout it, right up until the point where he got to the part where he said they'd just become boyfriend and girlfriend today, apparently. After having lived together for months.

"Wait, you were together for months, and you just now are calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend?" Sakura asked in disbelief. "Wow, normal relationships are weirder than I thought!" She told him jokingly, hiding her dislike at the part where she was beating him up. She knew it was just training, but it still always rubbed her the wrong way.

Ron

"I guess it just never came up? It's not really normal, actually. People will call each other boyfriend and girlfriend at the drop of a hat." Ron shrugged at the thought of it. "It just kind of happened. And you know, Anne is pretty scary. I didn't want to just assume."

Sakura Matou

"Hah, of course not, that'd be silly." Sakura chuckled again, still hiding the fact she was deeply uncomfortable with the fact he seemed to be scared of his girlfriend.

To her, that just seemed...

Wrong. It felt completely alien. Like something that shouldn't exist. The entire idea that it did made her feel physically ill.

Or maybe it was the pregnancy.

Probably both.

She still didn't know how to deal with this. Maybe she'd recommend him a relationship councilor. Counseling was helpful in her experience.

Sakura fell silent for a bit, just fidgeting in her seat, playing idly with her belly button through her clothes.

[yinsukin]

Medaka+Stadium

Even Medaka seemed to quiet as the two engaged in combat.  Most of the audience sat comfortably in their seats, quiet but attuned to the battle.  The silence broke the moment Shinobu took Lorenzo into the air.

Most of the crowd stood up.  "FINISH HIM OFF!" said several voices in unison.

Medaka perked her head up.  "Is this it!  Is this the end of the match?!" she announced.

Even so, all the pirate did was laugh.  "Hahh...haha...hahahahahahahahaha!!!!" He shot forth a powerful flame from his fingers.  However, the blond managed to take it, enduring the pain to secure the win.

Medaka walked forward, slowly stepping toward the center of the ring.  "It seems Shinobu is done playing games!  What will break first, his body or his spirit!?" she announced.  Somehow, her voice was becoming more vibrant, more energetic.

Meanwhile, in the audience, the man in the blue T shirt stood up.  He looked at the ring intently, as if he wanted to say something.  Instead, he simply stood with a blank expression, his attention split between observation and thought.

[yinsukin]

Relius Clover

Relius scowled. It appears that even if I can bypass her guard, the blade will protect her.

Relius launched himself forward the second the assassin turned towards Ignis, ignoring the pain in his belly.  His goal was to close the distance between them, landing right in front of them.

Meanwhile, Ignis vanished, causing the blast to hit the wall behind her.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lorry

The fire barely struck the vampire’s face, not even a tenth of its intended strength. Damn, it was almost like his strength was fading away.

Was this the end?

His flames were finally waning; he didn’t even have enough strength to sustain his fire anymore. The bones of his legs scattered away, and soon the fire sustaining him became nothing more than a smoking blaze.

“Heh. Looks like it’s my loss…” He chuckled weakly, realizing his situation. It seemed for as much as he liked to play tough, the game was rigged from the start.  He gave her a thumbs up before even his other arm’s bones scattered away. “You’re pretty good.”

A sword pierced through his ribs in an instant, passing through his opponent’s own chest and skewering them both. His arm had been severed from him, the fire wasn’t his fire anymore, so it didn’t fade along with his energy. It just took life and shot like a rocket while she was so busy on him.

Because the fire was a living thing, it was independent from him, it didn’t need to be fueled by his energy any longer. Her body shielded him from the final explosion, but the heavy damage meant she couldn’t hold him anymore. Thus, he was sent flying away by the blast.

There was nothing but smoke and ash coming from the last, most insignificant flames that anchored his spirit together. Damn, that probably didn’t work. She’d just regenerate again, acting out like this wouldn’t do him any good. But losing to such a pretty girl… it wasn’t so bad.

With a bitter chuckle, the fire took its last breath and was cruelly snatched away by the air. All that was left was silence and a broken corpse. There were only the slightest traces of blaze running across his bones, threatening to disappear and take his life with them.

[Thedoctor]

Neptune

One of her her experience? Was he asking how old she was? Couldn't he see she was in tip top shape? On the other hand, that was actually a good question. How old she was, Histy probably knew, too bad she wasn't here or rather good for her. Wouldn't want to get scolded again so soon.

"Hmmm... I dunno, It's sooooo long ago my memories just kinda blur at a certain point ya know. But I'm preeeetty sure I've never ridden a steed as great as you Gaddy!"

[Panda]

Emily

Before long, they'd arrived at their destination, a castle that could only be described as massive, though not one the changeling was surprised that William had gotten his hands on. The changeling gave the ill-maintained courtyard a strange look, however, wondering if she and Lucy were the only ones here aside from William himself. Her considerations were soon cut short, however, as William caught hold of her. The changeling's eyes widening as he pulled her close with a firm grip around her waist, unable to help a slight blush as she looked up at him, his question not helping matters.

"I've...never really had the chance to test them out for myself," Emily admitted before regaining her composure with a teasing little smirk, "I doubt that's all you brought me here for, though."

[Elf]

Gabriel

Gabriel continued to run his fingers up and down her spine as Annabeth pressed closer to him.  So he pressed his hand into her back and pulled her close.  His tongue swept through her mouth, teasing it.  The hand in her hair moved  to her back as well as he guided her to the nearest wall.

Once he had her there, he pressed into her, not giving her any room to escape as he kissed her even harder.


Rin

Rin felt her eyes widened at Joe's little plea.  She bit her lip and muttered, "Don't confuse me with some superhero.  I know from first hand that they generally don't have happy endings."

[YOLF]

Methuselah

Methuselah frowned. He really had no wish of having to deal with his, no, his retroposition's negligence. That aside, having to explain it would be more embarrassing. If there was a way to draw less attention to him, he would be mad not to take it. After all, even if his shadow shifted, he was still himself. His wish to sleep in a peaceful dream did not change.

Heh, how frustrating, how embarassing! Having to deal with all of these mundane problems was quite frustrating, but he supposed it was part of the package called mundane life.

"W-why would that be necessary? Hmph! Call it cowardly, but I would rather just wipe the slate clean. Besides, why should I pay for the mistakes of my past self, eh?"

Rafalia Tredecim

Well that was a perspective on his reincarnation, but existential questions aside Methuselah didn't seem to be taking this very well. "Ho-humm, but it's irresponsible all the same to not go in like a warrior and lay down your abandonement of the responsibility, yeah?"

Her mischievous smile stretched mercilessly for the dark avatar before she continued, her steps dancing around him and casting flickering shadows in the light of the conflagration, numb to the social bewilderment that surrounded them. "And you remember your past actions as your own, even if they were from another lifetime, do you not? You are the only target for the continuation of their consequences."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Methuselah

"Do I look like a warrior to you?? Tch, it's almost like you're enjoying my predicament, you sadistic fairy. I might just have to punish you later for insubordination..."

Methuselah pouted and flicked the foolish little one's forehead out of affectionate spite. He'd often have frolicked and dealt with her kind under different shapes and guises, though by now they were just faint memories of a story too disconnected from his own self. Still, he knew how troublesome they were better than anyone, and he disliked being teased.

Even if he knew better, he still wasn't fond of such...flustering moods, at least not now! The dark god crossed his arms and let out a deep huff, whispering to not be overheard.

"Now listen well, I don't care about honor or pride or any of that rabble. I just want to live peacefully, and I can't have that if word gets around. I'll humor any request, within reason, so quit looking at me like that. It's kinda creepy... So, can you do it? Pleease?"

And to think he was reduced to the point he'd have to beg, if word of this got to the other gods, he'd be the ultimate laughingstock. Why did she have to make this difficult, he was the dark god here!