Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.
This Cannot End Well
Chapter 4
"A shame you can't just teleport us to the airport." Rin remarked as they strode out of the Tohsaka mansion, bounded fields slamming shut and priming defensive protocols in their wake.
"You know as well as I do that while I make short-range teleportation look easy," Sakura replied. "That's only the end result of over a decade of work, plus a few clues from seeing Caster teleport around back during the Grail war. Not to mention without Imaginary Numbers, I wouldn't be able to pull it off as a single-action spell, maybe not even as a single-line spell."
"True," Rin agreed with a nod. "Long-range teleportation is just too energy-intensive, not to mention faces issues in maintaining subject cohesion over extended distances."
"Mind you," Sakura pointed out. "Our little stunt in Romania has pointed me in the right direction to efficiently solving the latter issues, so thanks. Without you and the Jeweled Sword, I'd still be stuck."
"You're welcome then." Rin graciously said. "Of course, power is still an issue, right?"
"I have some ideas on how to solve that." Sakura admitted. "Unfortunately, I haven't had the time to finish much less fine-tune any of those solutions. Not without effectively nuking the target site, like we did Forvedge and Icecolle at Trifas."
"Well, that's not an option here." Rin said with a sigh.
"A shame…" Sakura said, as they stepped into the open, before closing and locking the doors behind them. Rin patiently waited as Sakura finished locking down the mansion's magical defenses, making sure no one – Shinji, especially – could just walk in and loot the place while they were gone. For all her issues with their ancestors, Sakura paradoxically valued all the accumulated knowledge and other magical resources they'd left behind.
One of the few things with real value they left behind for us.
Once that was done, the sisters proceeded to the front of the property, where Tom was waiting for them with an up-armored Toyota SUV (courtesy of the Fujimura Group). Nagato was already inside, the young boy cautiously looking out a backseat window at them.
"This is going to be messy, no way around it." Tom began without preamble. "Mister Matou left us alone last night, but I'd be very surprised if he didn't have eyes on us."
"Shinji's an idiot." Rin bluntly said, before tilting her head. "But not that much of an idiot. I agree, he probably had eyes on us last night, and still does right now."
"In short," Sakura concluded. "He knows we're headed out, and he'll make his move on the way."
"Then again, it's not like we have much of a choice." Rin said while kicking at the ground. "We can't just bunker down here, and wait for him to come to us. It gives him way too much of an advantage."
"Then we charge in, spring their trap, and punch them in the nose just when they think they've won." Sakura said before chuckling. "I really do love doing that, you know. Making the bad guys think they're so clever, that they've got me – us – where they want, and all they have to do is pick up the pieces…only to find their hearts cut out, or their throats slit."
"Let's not get careless either." Rin said. "Even if we take the expressway, it's still an hour's ride to the airport. A lot of things can happen in that time, to say nothing of whatever Shinji has up his sleeve. And don't forget, we've got to keep Nagato alive and out of Shinji's hands. Nothing we do will matter if we fail to meet those conditions."
"Point." Sakura said, Tom nodding his agreement as well.
"Shall we get moving then?" he asked.
"One more thing." Sakura said, stepping up to the SUV, and then clambering up, attached a mystic code to the roof. A trio of wedge-shaped legs clamped onto the metal, before the red gem in the mystic code's heart flashed. "There, that should distort light around the vehicle. Not enough to make us invisible, but it should keep anyone from seeing and recording details about us, including the plate number."
"Good idea." Rin agreed. "That should help keep us out of the complications, once Shinji makes his move."
"That's the idea." Sakura said with nod. "Now then, shall we?"
Rin nodded, getting into the backseat next to Nagato, while Sakura took the driver's side seat. Tom, naturally, got into the driver's seat, and turning the key, started the six-cylinder engine with a loud roar. "Here we go." He said, as he buckled himself in, and then drove off.
"Vnimaniye! Vnimaniye! Vse boyevyye chasti gotovy k razvertyvaniyu. Eto boyevaya trevoga. Vnimaniye! Vnimaniye!"
The Matou FOB bustled with activity, alarms screaming while men rushed to and fro. Armor was put on, weapons loaded, and then the men were getting into up-armored SUVs of their own. Shinji was no exception, wearing as he did a flight suit, which looked rather incongruous as he was also wearing a neck brace, courtesy of Sakura roughing him up the previous day.
Shinji swore he'd rape her for that, until she begged for mercy, before raping her some more.
That was all she was ever good for, after all.
"You are sure?" he asked in Russian.
"As per the report from the recon force, yes." The man he was talking to replied. "We've also discovered they've chartered a flight on a private jet, already waiting for them in a private airport just outside the city." The man continued. "Also, it's been arranged for them by a certain…Caren Ortensia."
Shinji snorted and then spat. "Typical for a priestess," he said. "Not knowing when to butt out and mind their own business…we'll have to find a way to send a message to the Church on that note. Although…now that I think about it…Ortensia is fairly good looking…I suppose teaching her that her place is to lie on her back and spread her legs for her betters would send just the message we want…"
Shinji licked his lips lasciviously, while his subordinate silently waited for orders. "The quick response force is on the move?" Shinji asked.
"As per the pre-determined plan, yes." The man replied. "That said, I must warn you about the danger of drawing too much attention, but then again we aren't staying here long-term, so we could probably dismiss it as of no concern."
"Quite right." Shinji said with a nod. "I'll meet up with the quick response force on the field, and bring reinforcements with me."
"The airborne squadron is ready and awaits your command." The man said.
"As they should." Shinji said, gesturing sharply and causing the three squads of the airborne squadron to begin boarding their Mil-555 Sova Gunships. Shinji himself jumped into the cockpit, and strapping himself in, began pre-flight diagnostics. It took a few minutes, but once it was done, the canopy was coming down, even as engines roared to life, jet fuel burning a brilliant blue from his gunship's swing-jets.
"Time to learn your places, Tohsaka whores." Shinji thought with a smug grin, even as he took off followed by the other gunships.
Tom turned off the radio before reinforcing his body. "We're being followed." He said.
"Really?" Sakura asked.
"Those SUVs behind us have been keeping a uniform distance for the past ten minutes," Tom replied. "And past the last three intersections. It could just be a coincidence, but I don't think so."
"Any way to be sure?" Sakura asked.
"One way to find out." Tom said, before glancing at Sakura, and then at Rin and Nagato behind him. "Buckle up."
The women did as they were told, Rin helping Nagato into his seatbelt. Once they'd buckled up, Tom switched to a higher gear, and then increased speed, all the way to the maximum speed limit. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the rearview mirror, and nodded grimly as the SUVs from before increased their speed to match.
"Oh yeah, they're definitely following us." He said.
A moment later and a pair of motorbikes roared past, one on each side, overtaking them and moving far ahead. "What are the chances those guys were with the bad guys?" Sakura asked.
"Too high." Tom said. "They had guns."
"Crazy bastards…!" Sakura began only to abruptly break off as the SUV shook, as one of the pursuing SUVs bumped into them from the rear. And then again, and again, for a total of three times. "We've got to get these guys off our asses!"
"Preferably permanently too…" Tom said, trailing off as the SUV behind them bumped them again. "…alright then, let's see if you bastards can reach 120…"
Switching to high gear, Tom accelerated past the 80 kph speed limit, and reaching 100 kph in the next few seconds, before inching past 110 kph a few seconds after that. Unsurprisingly, the pursuing SUVs quickly caught up, then Rin was ducking and holding Nagato protectively as gunfire erupted from behind them. Spiderwebs spread across the rear window, but the bulletproof glass held, and the armor plating was easily proof against 9 mm rounds.
"These guys are crazy!" Sakura shouted.
"Yeah, no surprise there!" Tom shouted back, before growling as the SUV bumped them in the back again. "Alright, let's see how you guys like a taste of your own medicine."
Slowing down by just a bit, Tom allowed one of the SUVs to slip past and move up next to the driver's side of their vehicle. They both opened their windows, harsh-faced and hard-eyed men pulling up their weapons in the other SUV.
Tom was faster though. He pulled out a bulky pistol, with radiator fins on its sides through which glowed a faint blue. Aiming by instinct, he pointed the pistol sideways, and pulled the trigger.
There was a thunderclap of displaced air, a bloom of hot air that caused Sakura to break out into a sweat, and a flash of actinic light, almost like from a camera, even. Meanwhile the Matou SUV's engine section simply blew apart, the rest of the vehicle tumbling and then rolling to pieces, other cars and vehicles driving wildly to avoid collisions or worse.
This included the other SUV, which quickly fell into the distance behind them.
"Is that a laser gun or something?" Sakura asked in amazement, causing Tom to look ever so offended, though he quickly smiled to take the edge off.
"Lasers are so 19th Century." He said. "Plasma is the way of the future."
"Huh…plasma…okay, yeah, that makes sense."
"Not my personal opinion, mind you," Rin began. "But you know firearms of any kind are frowned upon by orthodox magi, right?"
"And you're a beacon of orthodoxy?" Tom asked with a knowing tone.
"…fair."
Tom laughed. "Besides, I'm American." He said, winking at both Sakura and Rin. "You know how we are, we just love our guns."
"Hey, it's your country." Sakura said, and Tom laughed.
"And what a country it is…!" he said, before abruptly breaking off as a helicopter flew past, before falling into pace overhead.
"This is the police!" an angry voice shouted over a loudspeaker, as though it wasn't obvious they were the police, considering the badges printed on the sides of the helicopter. "Pull over! I repeat, this is the police! Pull over!"
"Great, just great…" Sakura muttered before punching the dashboard. "…it's the fucking police…!
Before either Rin or Tom could respond, a missile streaked in on a plume of smoke, before turning the police helicopter into a fireball that sent debris flying across the cityscape of Fuyuki. "WHAT?" Sakura shouted, before giving a wordless cry as a trio of what looked like jets soared past and into the distance. "WHAT. THE. HELL?"
"VTOL gunships…" Tom muttered in disbelief. "…Mister Matou has VTOL gunships…and he is not with the military…"
"What does that mean?" Sakura and Rin shouted.
"Ever watched war movies?" Tom asked back.
"Yes." The Tohsaka sisters chorused again.
"Gunships are basically attack helicopters, but can also carry men into battle." Tom explained. "If I had to guess…those were Russian Mil-555 Hornets – I can't remember the Russian name – and they'll be dropping off men ahead of us."
Sakura blinked, and then narrowed her eyes as she quickly grasped the tactical implications. "Those men will be on rooftops, won't they?" she asked.
"The better to shoot at us from, yes." Tom answered.
"Sakura…!" Rin shouted, having come to the same conclusion.
"Already on it!" Sakura shouted back. "Little big sister, take them out! Counterattack!"
"Leave it to me!" Little Rin replied, ghosting out of the SUV and shooting across the skyline like a meteor, headed for the radio tower that was the highest point in the city.
"Let's hope she takes those gunships out quickly, or…!" Tom began only to break off as their SUV shook again, as the other Matou SUV from earlier managed to catch up, and bumped them in the back. "These guys are just pissing me off!"
Flooring the accelerator, Tom sped off, redlining the speedometer…
…and heading straight for a lumbering 16-wheeler in the distance. "H-h-h-hey…Tom, what are you…?" Sakura began.
"Let's…play…chicken…!" Tom said, eyes quickly flicking back and forth between the windshield and the rearview mirror, through which he could see the last pursuing SUV. Then at the last minute, he swerved hard, their SUV's tires screaming in angry protest, foul-smelling smoke going up from where the rubber was pushed past its limit against the ground.
But it worked. Their SUV avoided hitting the 16-wheeler by the narrowest of margins, while the pursuing SUV wasn't so lucky. Both Rin and Sakura looked back at the loud crash, clouds of steam, and spraying metal, before looking forward with looks of awe on their face.
"…nice driving." Rin eventually said.
Tom shrugged. "Thanks." He modestly said, as he sped forward.
Little Rin latched onto the antenna, before turning her head to look into the distance. There, gunships were dropping off men, who formed up firing lines and set up machine guns and sniper rifles. A low growl rose in her throat.
Little Rin looked up into the sky, and held up a hand. At the same time, she reached out across the intervening distance, to the Tohsaka Crest. The circuits she had possessed as a Human being answered her call, as did the circuits of her father, his crimes against her and her sister notwithstanding. So did the circuits of his father and mother, and that of every Tohsaka magus before them both.
Sakura's circuits lent their aid without prompting, for Little Rin was calling on more than just the accumulated mystery of their family. No, she called to their bond to the land, the land their ancestors had settled and looked after long before any of them had first sought to unlock the mysteries of the World.
The land they were buried in. The land she and her sister had grown up on.
The land Little Rin's ashes had been buried in, and in time, Sakura's ashes as well.
"I am the Earth that nurtures the beasts of the forest and field," Little Rin chanted, thunderclouds gathering overhead as the leylines, those vessels of natural power, shifted at the call of the land's children. "I am the wind that lifts the birds of the sky, the one born of the land, who died and returned to its embrace, and whose voice echoes in all its places…"
Thunder boomed as lightning flashed and flickered through the clouds, before lashing out to strike at the antenna. Electricity coursed through its frame, down rods meant to channel the fury of the storm safely away from the building and its interior…
…and through Little Rin, who screamed as she fought to control such near-limitless power. Thunder boomed in counterpoint to her screams, before lightning branched out, lancing across the skies at speeds faster than the eye could follow.
The Matou men died screaming, their flesh left raw and smoking as their nerves were burned out by the power that touched them for an instant. Weapons flew apart as gunpowder exploded in their cartridges, their broken fragments joining the corpses on the ground, the men's eyes ruined masses of burnt flesh and boiling blood, more of the latter oozing out of their mouth, ears, and nostrils, to pool in stinking masses around their bodies.
The lightning also struck the gunships, but between EMP shielding, hardened electronics, and all-metal construction, it did no damage beyond leaving the outer armor smoking. They were as Faraday Cages, after all, and electricity could not enter their interiors.
It didn't stop Shinji from flying into a rage, however, as his ambush was ruined even before it could spring. "CUNTS!" he roared, punching at the bulletproof glass of his canopy. "WHORES! BITCHES!"
It wasn't fair. The Tohsaka had magic. They had power over the land. They had friends, relatives, and connections overseas.
Shinji didn't even have magic. Whenever people heard his name, they whispered and murmured behind his back. A nobody, that's what they called him. The just desserts of an outcast lineage. An upstart lowlife who needed to learn his place. He had money, yes, but even that wouldn't stop the upturned noses, the judging looks, the curled lips…
…he'd show them all. He would.
"FOLLOW MY LEAD!" he screamed over the radio, and piloting his gunship to intercept.
The motorbikes abruptly decelerated, causing Tom to overshoot them. "Shit!" he cursed. "They got by me! Hang on!"
At that, he floored the brakes, causing their SUV to come to an abrupt and violent stop. One of the motorbikes managed to get out of the way in time, driving past, but the other wasn't so lucky. Nagato screamed as the motorbike smashed into the rear of their SUV, and sending its driver flying through the rear window in a spray of broken glass.
Amazingly, he was still alive, groaning and bleeding onto the backseat…
…only for Rin to quickly correct that, reaching over to twist his neck a full one-eighty degrees. "DRIVE!" she shouted as she tossed the lifeless corpse out the way it came.
Tom floored the accelerator while switching to low gear, and going up to 60 kph in a few seconds. Then he switched to high gear, accelerating to 100 kph in several more seconds. As they caught up to the last motorbike, the rider pulled out a SMG, and opened fire on full auto. Spiderwebs spread across the side windows, while sparks flew from the armor plating.
Then they were driving past…
…and leaving them exposed from the back. "Oh shit!" Tom cursed again as he saw the rider aiming his gun through the broken window.
"Hadron Formation: Erebus and Nyx!" Sakura cast her aria, forming a singularity between her fingers. Then she tossed it out the window, opening up an event horizon that sucked up the rider and motorbike both in a split-second before imploding into nothing.
"Couldn't you have done that sooner?" Tom asked crossly. "Like when they first appeared?"
"Too risky." Sakura said. "The gunmen, to say nothing of whole vehicles, just disappearing into thin air out in the open is just too suspicious. Once could be shrugged off, but too many times…? Damn Matou for attacking out in the open."
"Yeah, no argument there." Tom said, before pounding the wheel angrily. "Shit, the Wizard Marshal and the College of Law are not going to like this."
An explosion erupted in the distance ahead of them, and looking ahead, they spotted the gunships just holding position. "What the hell did they do?" Tom asked, before his eyes widened. "Oh no…they didn't…they blew up the flyover…didn't they?"
"They did." Sakura growled as Little Rin telepathically confirmed it. "Shit, we have to find an alternate route."
"Like hell we do." Tom snapped. "Hold onto your butts, because this is going to be a blast!"
"What?" Sakura gasped. "You can't be…Tom, you…no, stop! AAAAAAAAAAAAA-!"
With a grin on his face, Tom again redlined their vehicle, and then drove clean off the broken flyover. Despite the screaming of his passengers, Tom's smile never once wavered, if anything it grew wider as they flew past the gunships, Tom turning his head to meet Shinji's shocked look. Shock turned to rage as Tom gave him a jaunty, mocking salute, and then they were landing on the other side with a powerful jolt.
"You're crazy!" Rin and Sakura shouted, causing Tom to laugh.
"No, just American." He said, before driving off.
"MOVE!" Shinji screamed, already banking and turning to bring his gunship around. "GO AFTER THEM!"
The other gunships moved to follow…
…and then one of their pilots was screaming, as Little Rin phased through the gunship, eyes red and fangs bared. They sank into the pilot's neck, tearing his throat and blood vessels out, blood spraying out in crimson fountains, the man going into a death rattle as Little Rin fed on him hungrily.
Alarms screamed as the gunship stalled, spiraling down to crash into the ground. A few moments later, and jet fuel ignited before munitions exploded in a massive fireball that shattered windows and shook vehicles for dozens of meters around.
An unearthly scream filled the air, and Little Rin blurred through the air in pursuit of the other gunships. Shinji was already hightailing it, spitting out curses in six different languages while trying to get his personal cloak to work not just on his person, but the gunship he was piloting as well. His choice of subject matter was surprisingly varied, ranging from the parentage of not just the Tohsaka sisters but also their ancestors, to the sexual proclivities of the sisters, their parents, ancestors, and even their friends and other relatives.
This left the other gunship pilot to Little Rin's mercy, the man trying to escape by ejecting from his gunship.
It didn't save him, the man screaming and howling as Little Rin drained him dry even as he floated down on a parachute, as his gunship exploded against a gas station below, setting off an even bigger explosion and fire. By the time the man's body reached the ground, he was nothing more than skin and bones.
"Sakura!" Little Rin shouted through their link as she tried and failed to find Shinji. "I've taken down the two flying small-fries, but that worm Shinji got away! I can't find him for some reason!"
"…he must have used that personal cloak of his." Sakura responded after a moment. "Come back for now, we'll need you with us in case he gets the drop on us."
"I'm on my way." Little Rin said, before giving a regretful look at the panicked crowds on the ground, as well as the emergency services rushing to contain the situation. "This is all his fault…all this trouble…everyone who got hurt…"
"…no argument there." Sakura replied with a sigh of regret. "But we've got to make all those sacrifices worth something, and that means keeping Nagato out of Shinji's hands…
"…just promise me we'll kill him before this is all over." Little Rin interrupted.
"It's the least that he deserves." Sakura agreed.
"Good." Little Rin responded, before heading off to rejoin Sakura.
A/N
I've always wanted to write a totally-original-not-inspired-by-Michael-Bay car chase and action sequence.
Sova (Сова) means 'owl' in Russian, but Hornet is the name given by NATO for the next-generation VTOL gunship.