Chapter 8: Whirlpool of Fate
Whack! Pow!
"Uhh!"
"Do you yield?"
Gasping, and his body sore, Shirou looked up at his opponent. Saber stood above him, a kendo tool in her hand. Off to the side, Sonic absentmindedly made another mark on a small chalkboard. The mark was the 33rd under the word 'Saber' that had been written on the top-left portion of the board. On the right was 'Shirou' under which had no lines. Instead, some deft hand (Connected to a set of blue quills) had drawn a not-too-flattering doodle of a face making a pained expression.
Nonetheless, Shirou stood up, gripping own training sword. "I'm not beaten yet." He said in a challenging voice.
Saber sighed. "Shirou, the point of these sessions is to instill you with proper battle instincts- One such instinct is knowing that a tactical retreat may be in order. Fighting until the bitter end may be romantic, but needlessly getting yourself killed, or even just mortally wounded, will not accomplish anything."
"If I'm going to get killed anyway, It wouldn't matter if I'm standing or running, would it?" Shirou asked as a counter.
"What you gotta think about is, 'where am I standing or running to?'" Sonic put in helpfully.
After dinner last night, Illya had thanked 'Onii-chan' for his hospitality, and even invited him to visit her private castle. And while Shirou wanted to believe his attempt at a ceasefire between his own alliance and the little Master had at least, the other girls and Archer were very vocal (After Illya was no longer in earshot) in their own collective theory that if Shirou did make such a trip, he would probably never return- at least, not with the same number of limbs he started out with. That, in turn, evolved into a discussion on how serious Shirou was taking the dangers of the Holy War. Saber concluded that her Master needed more training- which meant that sparring sessions happened after dinner as well as before breakfast.
Which led to the present. While Team Archer and Tails had returned to the Tohsaka Mansion, Sonic elected to once more stay behind and 'supervise' Team Shirou. And with that same cheeky smile, asked Tails to do the same, turning Rin's cheeks red.
Once morning came around, so did another training session. In another universe, these periods would be terse occasions. With Sonic, however, the lessons came with a color commentary, and they were not soothing colors, either. And while Saber's patience for jokes and quirky comments, as befitting a hero of legend, was high, Shirou was only a human. And therefore, he couldn't stop himself from retorting;
"If it's as easy as that, why don't you show me how it's done." And with that, Shirou tossed his training sword.
"Sure, I'm game."
Shirou hadn't really been surprised to hear Sonic accept the challenge. After all, this was the same Hedgehog who had thrown himself into duels with the likes of Lancer, Rider, and even Berserker. What the ginger mage hadn't been expected was for Sonic to expertly swing the sword around in a few practice chops that no rookie could do.
Saber was just as surprised as her Master. "Sonic…you know how to use a sword?"
"Oh, sure," Sonic replied, "It's not my style, but I once got sucked into a storybook and became King Arthur."
"What?!" Saber almost dropped her own sword in shock. Composing herself, she asked, "Sonic, are you saying that you are the King Arthur of your world?"
Sonic shrugged. "Eh, it was a one-time deal," At both Saber and Shirou's odd looks, he said, "Look, weird stuff happens to me. You think this is the first time I've been punted into another world? I once took a nap under a tree, and when I woke up, I was in this inter-dimensional tournament thing," He tapped his head thoughtfully with the shina. "I think that happened twice."
Shirou got over his stupor rather quickly. "So I guess the Holy War is nothing special to you, huh, Sonic?"
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to make light of your problems," Sonic said, "It's just, if you're a hero long enough, you become a magnet for all kinds of crazy things. You either learn to deal with it, or…"
…Or you die a hero's death, Shirou finished mentally, No, not even that. If you die, you can't help anyone… -An image of adult staring up at the night sky flashed through his mind- …and you're no hero.
Shirou looked into Sonic's eyes, and in that moment felt something. Truth be told, he had no idea of what age Sonic was supposed to be at. He had built up this image that the Hedgehog was roughly around his age, the way he acted like a rowdy teenager. But looking into those green eyes, and Shirou suddenly felt that there was a gap between them…one that could only be built by years.
"Okay, enough nostalgia," Sonic decided, and took a dueling stance, directed at Saber. "En guard, mon cherie!"
A King Arthur using French…I feel betrayed, Thought Saber as she took her normal stance, But if he really did hold the title of King Arthur at least once…Her eyes briefly met Shirou's. That would explain a great deal.
Misinterpreting Saber's gaze, Shirou took it upon himself to act as the match's referee. He lifted one hand. "Ready…" He began to swing it down. "Begi-!"
"Senpai?"
Shirou jumped. Sakura!
Shirou rushed for the door of the training hall. He saw the purple-topped figure approaching, and felt a rush of worry. He had to get out and intercept his underclassman, otherwise she might see Sonic!
Shirou turned around to tell Sonic to stay in the hall, only to see that the Blue Blur had vanished. Saber pointed up, and upon looking, did a double-take. Sonic was up on the ceiling, using two shina to prop himself.
"Good morning, Senpai," Sakura greeted, almost tripping over her feet as she arrived. "Wha…what are you and Saber-san doing?"
"Just a morning workout," Shirou said, positioning his body to better block the door. The less Sakura saw of the training hall's interior, the less likely she would discover Sonic. "Are you doing all right?"
"O-oh, yes, I'm fine," Sakura said, and Shirou knew that was a lie. "I've just been having some trouble sleeping, that's all."
"Shirou," Saber said, walking up besides him. "I believe we have trained enough. Please clean yourself up, and we'll have breakfast."
"…All right." Shirou knew he had to move quickly. "Sakura, give me a few minutes."
It was probably the fastest Shirou had ever taken to get bathed and dried. He rushed it simply because he wanted to get to the kitchen and help out with breakfast before Sakura could do all of the work. Saber was equally fast, though he suspected it wasn't to help set up. Unsurprisingly, Taiga showed up as well as soon as preparations were finished and the rather unorthodox family was eating. As the meal went on, Shirou took a moment to privately reflect that his bruises from training weren't healing as fast as they were during the spars. He noted that there seemed to be an inconsistency with how quickly his body healed…
"…So, you know that robot that was supposed to have attacked the neighborhood last night?" Taiga was asking in between bites.
"Yes." I've got parts of it in my storage shed. Maybe I'll make a bird-feeder out of them.
"What about it?" Saber asked.
"Well, it never showed up, right?" Taiga went on, "Don't you think that's a bit weird?"
"Er, ah, yeah, that is strange!" Shirou agreed desperately. It didn't occur to him until then that wiping out Humpty so completely within Boundary Field would cause more questions than letting it rampage in public. The lack of public closer might lead people to notice Magecraft…
"Well, that's because it did a U-turn and attacked the church!" Taiga proclaimed.
"What?" Taiga's words got the attention of both Master and Servant.
Taiga nodded. "Mm-hmm! I heard all about it from one of Grandpa's men! In fact, they might be talking it about right now…"
Taiga switched on on the TV. After a few minutes of surfing the channels, she found the news station. As a news reporter blathered on, workers could be see in the background either dismantling the robot, checking the damaged church-wall, or just keeping bystanders from getting too close and interfering. From the gist of the report, no one was hurt by the attack, though what destroyed the robot was unknown.
Shirou had mixed feelings on the event. While it was unsettling that Dr. Eggman had attacked the neutral zone for the Grail War, the truth was…he didn't really like Kotomine. There was simply something deeply unsettling about the priest. It was a bit petty, but the sneering way Kotomine talked about all of the death and destruction caused by the Grail Wars set Shirou on edge. And Shirou felt this strange emptiness whenever he was in the Father's presence, something that was both repulsive and yet distantly familiar…
"Why do you think it went to the church?" Sakura asked.
"Dunno," Taiga admitted, crossing her arms in thought. "I figured one would come here because of Grandpa's connections, but it's not like that creepy priest guy has anything worth taking."
Shirou and Saber's eyes met. A moment later, Saber's eyes briefly glanced at Shirou's hand, where his Command Seals were. Somewhere in the inner recesses of his mind, Shirou's brain processed the faint sound of little feet rapidly running off. Sonic was on the move, possibly to investigate. By now, Shirou was no longer worried about the Hedgehog being spotted. As Rin had said last night, there wasn't much a second sighting would do.
I wonder if Tohsaka has heard about the church. Shirou thought.
Rin did know about it.
Even though there was no cable service, or even a television at the Tohsaka Mansion, she heard about it. In an attempt to better locate Dr. Eggman's base of operations, Tails had begun to use his Miles Electric to tap into local news feeds in hopes of getting information that might help in the search. That's how they learned about the incident at the Church.
Rin found this very unsettling. Especially since the news had interrupted an thaumaturgical experiment she was doing with the Power Rings Shirou had found. Still, she decided that it was best, as the Mage's Association's representative in Fuyuki, that she should check up on the situation. And since Kotomine was technically her legal guardian (She would never use the term 'step-father'), no one would find her coming to the church remotely suspicious.
When she arrived, most of the robot had been taken away, but the church was still crawling with workers. Local police and military had arrived, and were working together to keep civilians away from the scene. Inside the church, she could hear sounds like power-tools and other movements.
Archer, can you tell what's going on in there? Rin asked her Servant.
Give me a minute, Archer replied, invisible to all but her. He moved towards the church, and after a few minutes returned. From what I can tell, the workers are both checking on how to go about the repairs, as well as searching the church.
Searching… Rin mused, They must think that a Chaos Emerald is there, even if they don't know what it is.
That was my thought, Archer agreed, Eggman basically announced to the world that he's looking for one.
How's Kotomine?
Archer thought about his answer. As far as I can tell, he's got the situation under control. Keeping people away from the more obscure parts of the building is a bit of a hassle, apparently.
Archer was tempted- and not for the first time- to just warn Rin then and there about Kotomine's true nature, and the evil he was planning to do. He especially wanted to do something about those miserable, malformed prisoners Kotomine kept to refuel Gilgamesh's Prana. But doing so would mean revealing his own identity, as well as his true nature as a Heroic Spirit. And that was a can of worms that Archer didn't have time to deal with, not with someone like Dr Eggman on the loose.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something blue on a rooftop. For a moment, he thought it was Lancer and instantly dissuaded that notion. If the spearman was watching, he would be doing it in his astral form. Instead, he realized that it was none other than Sonic The Hedgehog, no doubt having heard about this incident himself. Archer decided not to tell Rin, she had too many other things to worry about as it was. Besides, getting her riled up was losing its thrill.
While Archer mused, Rin marched right up to the church grounds. Before she could even take four more steps, a construction worker put himself between Rin and the building.
"I'm sorry, miss, but this area is off-limits for today. All unauthorized personal must leave."
"Father Kirie happens to be a member of my family," Rin said, sounding as innocent as possible. "Can't I go and see if he's okay?"
"Ah, the Father is fine, he's just being questioned by the investigators," The worker explained, "But no one else is allowed in until we've determined that the area is safe."
"What are you looking for?" Rin asked, using some hypnosis.
The man's eyes glazed over. "We're searching for the source of the abnormal energy this area is saturated in."
Rin's eyes widened for a moment, then she resumed her controlled expression. "All right, sorry for taking your time."
After taking a moment to modify the worker's memories so he wouldn't remember their little conversation, Rin walked away. Archer wondered how she would respond to this intel. He saw Rin push up her sleeve, revealing the communicator she had gotten from Tails. She began to fiddle with the controls, and quietly began to curse from an apparent failure to achieve her intentions.
What are you doing?
Gah, stupid…I'm trying to call Tails on this idiotic thing, but it won't do anything! Technology is so worthless…
Archer tried to keep his message as free from snark as possible. It might work if you turned it on. That switch on the side. He added helpfully.
Rin shot Archer an annoyed look, and continued to fiddle with the watch-like device. After a few minutes of watching her struggle, Archer helpfully gave her a step-by-step tutorial on how to make a call.
"Tails, here."
"Tails, it's Rin. Call Emiya and Sonic and relay this message."
"What message? What's going on?"
"I've got a plan to take care of Eggman once and for all. I need all of you to meet me and Archer at the following location…"
As Rin spoke, Archer glanced back at the church. He wondered where Lancer was…
Lancer was bored out of his mind. Rather than having him go about and continue his observation of the Holy War-slash-hunt for Sonic, Kotomine had called Lancer back to the church in order to help keep the government squads from discovering the church's hidden chambers. While Lancer wasn't sure what Kotomine had that was so important to hide (Heck, he didn't even know the church had hidden rooms!), he still did his duty by telepathically alerting his Master whenever a worker got to close.
At this moment, Lancer wasn't really paying attention to his post. Like every other watchman in a dull place, he quickly became distracted. Luckily, Kotomine didn't notice, as he was still arguing with the insurance contractor whether or not the robot crashing into the church was covered by the policy. Drifting about, Lancer saw one worker hunched over on the floor. Curious, Lancer, invisible to all, looked over the man's shoulder. The worker had pulled a tile loose and put a hole in the floor. Now, he was fiddling with some kind of high-tech device. Although the Holy Grail had granted Lancer a decent summery of things within the current era, the Servant didn't recognize the machine. He could only guess that it was some kind of radio, judging from the speakers on its side.
What the heck is that? Lancer wondered. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted another investigator on a cell phone. The answer came to him in an instant.
Whenever something outlandish and Magecraft-related happened in Fuyuki, Kotomine would be one of the ones going out to hypnotize officials to report the events as a hallucination or mundane accident. But even if you convinced the public, there would always be one person who would be suspicious. But even if they had suspicions, without solid proof, it wouldn't matter what they thought. And so the cycle had gone on. Things happen, Church and Association cover them up, and suspicious people would grumble.
And then Sonic and Dr. Eggman happened. They were loud, in-your-face, and most of all, blatant. The only way to cover them up would be to cast a memory spell over the entire city, and no Mage alive today had that kind of power. And even if they did, the news feeds had already ready been posted online by dozens of eager nerds. Their very presence had viewers questioning everything they thought they knew about their world. Although no one really understood it yet, the veil of secrecy was gone. The old excuses were no longer holding water. The people wanted real answers.
And so, it came as no surprise to Lancer that some official decided now was the perfect time to go to the home of the ominous, shifty-looking priest and plant a monitoring device.
But after all of his recent troubles and humiliations, Lancer was in no hurry to tell Kotomine.
After receiving Rin's message from Tails, Shirou and Saber were quick to excuse themselves from the Emiya home. Shirou felt bad about leaving the dishes to Sakura, but recent events had convinced him that staying in one place without backup might prove disastrous. It would be a nightmare if a robot attacked the neighborhood again. He couldn't take the risk of Sakura getting hurt.
On their way to the pre-determined meeting point, the Master-Servant team took a mild detour. It was towards the movie theater Shirou had taken Illya to the previous day, though more specifically, the alleyway near it.
And there it was, just it had been yesterday. The entrance to the Special Zone, floating and spinning in the air like a wind chime in a lazy breeze.
"It's back, just like Sonic said," Saber noted, looking at her Master. "But we can't leave it like this."
"Yeah. Even if robots can't enter the Special Zone, real people can," Shirou agreed, "Worse, if a Servant or a Master were to find this, they might be able to use its power to get an advantage in the War." No point in putting it off. "I'm going in."
"Wait, Shirou," Saber said, holding out her hand. "Perhaps I should go in. As a Servant, I'll have a better chance of navigating the Special Zone..."
"...Than I would?" Shirou finished, a trace of bitterness in his voice. "That's why I have to be the one to go in."
"...Shirou?"
"Look, I know I'm the weakest member of our alliance," Shirou said, "If it hadn't been for you, Sonic, and the others, I would have been killed even before this War began. You guys do so much...please, Saber. Give me the chance to make a contribution on my own."
Saber did not look particular moved by Shirou's words, but after a moment, she relented. "...All right, if it's that important to you, Shirou. I will wait here for your return."
Shirou smiled, and nodded. Turning back to the giant ring, the red-haired Mage took a running start and dove right into the golden loop. It vanished, and Saber was left alone.
Minutes passed. During that time, Saber found herself wondering at the way her Master went through life. It was so forward and open. A far cry from the way traditional duplicity of hereditary Mages, especially Kiritsugu. If it had been him, that assassin would have tricked someone else to enter the Special, while waiting in the shadows to kill and rob them when they returned. Shirou, on the other hand, was a welcome breath of fresh air with his sincere honesty. While he had a slight density towards the capricious nature of Mages, it was more out of a hope for their better natures- even if they did not exist.
Shirou wishes he could be a hero, Saber thought, If it were not for my duty to my kingdom, I would gladly hand him the Grail's wish.
Saber's musings were interrupted by a flash of light, during which there came the sound of a body hitting the street. The Servant wasn't too worried, as she had experienced something similar the day before. Once the light faded, she saw Shirou sitting despondently on the pavement. He had a look of disappointment on his face, but no Emerald in his hand.
"I couldn't make it to the end." Her Master grumbled, bunching his fists. Saber could see something glittering between his fingers.
"You managed to retrieve more Rings for us to use, Shirou," Saber said encouragingly, "And by entering the Special Zone today, it'll prevent anyone else from finding a Chaos Emerald."
"I suppose that's something…" Shirou sighed, standing up. He dusted himself off and pocketed the Rings. "I think I got at least twenty this time, though," He handed a few to Saber. "Here, take them. At least I can supply you with Prana this way. I only need one for my protection."
Taking hold of the Rings, Saber concentrated. She felt their power enter her body, and her own Mana increase. Each Ring only added a small amount, but it was more Prana than Shirou would be able to give her on his own. Normally, the bond between Master and Servant allowed the Master to supply their Servant with the Mana they need to exist in the world. Unfortunately, Shirou's skills as a Mage were so minuscule that Saber was forced to fight with her own personal reserves. The Rings would prove to be a useful asset. However, she saved a few Rings just in case of an emergency…
"We should go meet up with Rin." Saber said.
The Fuyuki harbor in Shinto was the place Rin chose for the alliance to meet up.
Sonic was the first to arrive. To his surprise, the entire place was completely empty. He had expected to see at least one or two boats, but the waters were free of vessels. Several crates that had been unloaded from previous shipments dotted the surroundings. The Hedgehog zipped around, taking care not to be spotted by harbor security. He spotted a crane and sprouted a smile. A desire to swing around by its chain had swelled up within. He heard someone coming and ducked into a warehouse.
There was an Egg Pod. Plain as the day outside, an Egg Pod was sitting in the center of the warehouse. A fence consisting of police tape surrounded it. Suddenly, Sonic knew why the harbor had been abandoned. Investigators wanted the area off-limits until they could figure out how an Egg Pod had been placed.
However, it irritated Sonic to realize that the Egg Pod was still closed. I mean, I can hear the critters crawling around in there! Sonic was about to hit the button on the top when his communicator beeped. "Yo."
"Hey, Sonic!" Tails' voiced chirped, "We're all here at the docks. Where are you?"
"I'm in one of the warehouses," Sonic replied, "Just watch for the critters."
"Critters?"
Sonic jumped up and pressed down on the Egg Pod's button. The container opened up, and several dogs, cats, and other small animals flooded out of the machine. The warehouse was briefly filled with a mild cacophony of barks, yowls, and other noises. Sonic watched it all impassively. Eventually, they realized that the door was open and left, after which Saber entered.
"You were right, Tails, he is in this one!" The Servant called out, and approached Sonic. "May I ask what that was all about?"
"Just doing my part to keep the peace," Sonic said, hopping down. "Oh, and, uh, watch your step. I don't think some of those critters were housebroken."
Saber blinked, and proceeded to look at the floor very carefully. After the rest of the team showed up, Sonic filled them in on the Egg Pod and its purpose.
"So, the Badniks were putting the animals they took from all over the city in this thing," Shirou concluded, "But why put it here? Wouldn't make more sense to hide it to keep someone from messing with it."
Sonic shrugged, "Hey, I'm not complaining. Makes it easier for me, that's for sure."
"I don't think we should expect sensible actions from a man who tries to conquer the world by sticking animals in robots." Archer remarked.
"The fact that there was something like this here actually works in our favor." Rin stated.
"What do you mean, Tohsaka-san?" Shirou asked.
Rin nodded and pointed dramatically into the air. "We're going to take down Eggman once and for all!"
While Rin wasn't expecting a lot of fanfare for her proactive declaration, the blanks looks she got in return was too subdued a reaction. Her mood soured even moreso when Sonic began to tap his foot at sonic-speed, and the noise began to bounce off of the warehouse walls.
"Annnd we're going to do that, how?" The Hedgehog asked, "What, you expect to Eggman to come here and let that happen?"
"Yes, actually," Rin said peevishly, "Look, we all know that Eggman is attacking every place that has a sufficiently large amount of Prana around it- mostly those were more than one Servant is residing -so, we can set a trap for him."
"But why here?" Tails asked.
"There are several reasons," Rin explained, calming down. "One, the harbor is mostly isolated point compared to the rest of the city. I've already hypnotized the staff here to keep them away from the site. It'll take a little bit, but after I've set up a Boundary Field, we'll be cut off from the city. We can crush Eggman without any interference from the military."
"And even if Eggman doesn't show up himself, by having the battle at the shoreline, we limit how far his forces enter Fuyuki," Saber guessed, "This is the foothold we need to guard in order to protect Fuyuki."
"Precisely!" Rin smiled.
"Better hope a ship doesn't come in." Sonic pointed out.
"There won't be," Rin assured, "I already checked the shipping schedules. Nothing is due to come in today or tonight. We've got the whole day to ourselves."
"So you're big plan is to just wait for Eggman to show up?" Sonic asked, "Sounds boring, if you ask me."
"And what about the other Servants and Masters?" Tails put in, "Shouldn't we get their help, like from Illya and that Shinji guy?"
"I don't think it'd be a good idea to trust them," Rin said, "Remember, the Fake Priest just put a reward Eggman's and your heads. We can't take the chance if either one turning on us at the last minute to get it."
Are you that's because you want to claim those Command Seals? Archer asked, and was promptly ignored.
"I'm going to set up that Boundary Field," Rin announced, "Everyone, go outside and keep an eye out for or either Eggman's forces, I need a few minutes alone to set up the Boundary Field.
"And then, all we need to do is wait."
"I'm done waiting!" Dr. Eggman snarled, jumping out of his chair.
Cubot held up his hands imploringly, "Just a few more minutes, doc! And then…"
"No! That's what you said a few minutes ago!" Eggman stomped over to where Cubot was. "I want my breakfast burrito now!"
"But…"
Ignoring the yellow robots protests, Eggman snatched the aforementioned pastry off of the still-warm plate and stuffed into his mouth. With speed that would make Sonic green instead of blue, he chewed and swallowed his meal, then smiled with satisfaction. The smile dropped and his mustache drooped as Eggman's cheeks turned red. He began to wave frantically.
"Hot! Hot! Hoottt!" Eggman shrieked.
"I toldya it still needed to cool off s'more." Cubot said, and got cuffed in return.
A computer began to beep, and Orbot reported, "There's been an energy spike, sir."
Eggman inhaled a pitcher of ice-water, which lowered the raging heat wave in his mouth only slightly. "What?"
"The sensors are picking up a surge in abnormal energy on a coast of that city," Orbot explained, "It could be a Chaos Emerald reacting…or one of those super-powered kids we've been finding."
"Hmm," Eggman sat back in his chair. "Better check it out either way."
"All right, which sub-boss do you wanna send?" Cubot asked, and began to shuffle a deck of cards. "Or how about we let fate decide?"
Eggman smacked the cards out of Cubot's hands. "Would you cut that out? I'm going by myself on this one. Can't throw a giant robot at every problem!"
Cubot stared at Eggman in shock. "…Who are you and what have you done with Dr. Eggman?!"
"I concur," Orbot said, "Are you sure it's wise to go unattended?"
Eggman smirked, "Oh, don't worry. I'll be bringing plenty of Badniks to make. But a Sub-boss would attract too much attention. I'll think I'll go with something a bit more…subdued."
As it turned out, the Waiting Game was nothing when you had a portable computer with games uploaded onto it. And so, to Rin's deep frustration, the men of the group were hunched over the Miles Electric (Currently used by Tails) as melodious background music blared over its speakers.
"I can't believe you have your own video game." Archer deadpanned, watching the familiar blue figure bounce around on the screen, collecting rings.
"What, this? Just a little leftover from Sonic-mania," Sonic shrugged, "After I saved the world the first time, everyone wanted a piece of my pie."
"I still have the lunchbox and thermos set," Tails remarked as his fingers danced over the buttons, "It's in my workshop back home."
Saber stood off to the side with Rin, excluding herself so the pigtailed Mage wouldn't be completely isolated. She could tell that the Master of Archer constant state of aggregation was caused in part to how quickly her own Master, as well as her Servant, had gotten along with the outsiders. Besides, she had to talk to Rin about something.
"Rin, may I ask you a question?" Saber began.
Rin glanced Saber out of the corner of her eye. "Hmm? What is it, Saber?"
Saber paused, taking a moment to choose her words carefully. "…We know because of Sonic that other worlds exist. What I would like to know is… What if the same person from two worlds existed in the same one?"
Rin looked at Saber the way you would a man who just grew a second head. "…What?"
Saber decided to try another tack. "Let us assume, for example, that there is a Shirou in Sonic's world. And it was that Shirou who came to this, our world, not Sonic. What do you think would that result in?"
Saber's revised question did not alleviate Rin's confusion much. The effects of inter-dimensional travel…as much as Rin prided herself on her skill and knowledge of Magecraft, that was something beyond her reckoning. In truth, the only one who could provide an answer with even a semblance of accuracy would be the famous ancestor, Zelretch, who supervised the formation of the Heaven's Feel. But contacting the Master of Second Magic was nigh impossible…
But it wasn't Zelretch Saber had asked. It was Rin. And so, the young Tohsaka Master steeled her resolve to provide the best answer she had available.
"…If two of the same person appeared in the world at the same time, it would be seen as giant paradox," Rin said at last, "The world they're in would try to eliminate correct, and both of their abilities may be…wait." Rin's voiced dropped to a whisper.
"What is it?" Saber whispered back, A paradox...
"Someone just entered the Boundary Field," Rin said in hushed tones, and sent the same message telepathically to Archer.
Nodding, Archer bent down and said quietly to Tails, "Pause the game and switch to the radar. We might have company."
"Okay," Tails did so and the screen on the ME switched to…static. "Gimme a minute, I think being inside the Boundary Field is messing with the radar," He made a few adjustments and the image focused onto a map of the dock. "Okay, lemme widen the view…"
The screen zoomed out. The entire dock area was surrounded by a circle, which was apparently the Boundary Field.. Several several dots were on one end of the dock, which was supposed to be the group. At the edge of the Boundary Field on the other side of the dock, two dots had just crossed over.
"Race ya." Sonic said and was off in a shot.
Rin buried her face in her hand. "I hate that Hedgehog."
The team moved quickly to the site of the intrusion. With Sonic and Tails hiding nearby, and Archer in astral form, Shirou, Saber and Run went to confront the newcomer. Saber changed into her armor, Shirou had Projected a sword (It looked a bit like Archer's, hmm) and Rin had a finger extended to cast a spell. Shirou noticed that instead of a jewel like the one she used during the battle against Arms, there was a gold Ring. Shirou wanted to ask her about it, but decided to wait until after the enemy had been dealt with.
Presently, the enemy had a mop of blue hair that made him look like a wakame. When Shinji saw the trio heading towards him, he was quick to put on a desperate smile.
"E-emiya!" Shinji said tightly. It was clear that the Matou Master hadn't expected to be discovered so suddenly. He glanced at Rin and his expression darkened slightly. "And Tohsaska, too..." It was unclear if it was Rin's presence he disliked, or the fact that it was accompanying Shirou's.
"Shinji, what are you doing here?" Shirou asked. He didn't see Rider anywhere, but that didn't mean she wasn't there. The purple-haired Servant could have been in astral form herself.
"I was just checking this place out," Shinji replied, his eyes darting every which way. Shirou wondered if he was looking for someone in particular. "There was a Boundary Field, y'know..." That's when someone tapped his leg.
"So YOU'RE Shinji!" Said Sonic, who could move very quietly for someone who thrived in spectacle.
"Gah!" Shinji yelled, jumping. Rin clutched her forehead for the second time in ten minutes.
"So, where's Rider?" Sonic asked, completely unpertubed by either reaction. "I've got a PSA on personal space she needs to hear."
Shinji looked back and forth between Sonic and the other Masters, making noises like a clogged pipe trying to flow water. Shirou realized that if he didn't act quickly, any civility that could be had would be lost. Maybe a display of proper manners would help prevent a fight.
"Sonic, this is Matou Shinji, my classmate," Shirou introduced, "Shinji, I'd like you to meet Sonic the Hedgehog," He then added, "He's from another world."
"Uh…nice to meet you." Shinji replied, giving Sonic an uneasy look. He then looked back at Shirou and hissed, "Another world?!"
Shirou shrugged. At this point, he didn't care if no one else believed it.
"Shinji," Saber said, "Have Rider present herself. We are not here to have a battle."
"O…only if Tohsaka has her Servant appear too!" Shinji insisted, "How do I know that Archer isn't somewhere planning to snipe me?"
"That is totally something he would do," Sonic agreed, "But I doubt it. Not any building tops to look cool on."
Archer materialized. "That's not true. I look cool wherever I am."
Rin shot looks of annoyance at both Sonic and Archer before leveling her gaze at Shinji. "Happy, Matou? Now it's your turn."
As if by Rin's command, Rider resumed physical form. She stood next to Shinji, looking just as aloof but stoic as she had during Shirou and Shinji's meeting at the school. An ominous wind blew, causing Rider's purple hair to sway slightly but sexily.
Damn it, she's really hot. Rin thought, annoyed that her own sex appeal had been outdone. Aloud, she said, "So, are you going to answer Emiya-kun's question, Shinji?"
"I told you, we were here to check out the Boundary Field!" Shinji said. Sonic was now zipping all around his body, giving the blue-haired teenager a stink-eye. It made him nervous and irritated. "After all, that priest said we weren't supposed to fight until this Eggman thing blows over, and- What!? What is it!?" This last part was directed towards Sonic.
Sonic held up a hand to block a drop of spit. "You're Rider's Master, right?"
"Yeah…" Shinji replied, taking the time to glare at Shirou for not keeping a secret.
"So, where's your Command Seals?"
"Huh?"
"Yeah, I don't see them either," That came from Tails, who was now copter-ing towards the group from his hiding space. "Shirou and Rin's have their Seals on their hands. But you're hands don't have any."
Shinji opened his mouth, but no sounds came out. Either it was due to Tails' question, or the fact that a fox-boy had what looked like a furry helicopter on his butt.
"They…didn't appear on my hands," He said at last, speaking slowly. "I can't show you where they are," He shot Rin what he thought was a suave smile. "At least, not until the fourth date."
"Ugh." As one, Saber, Rin, Rider, and even Sonic shuddered at this remark. Shirou resisted the urge to roll his eyes, a reflex Archer indulged in, while Tails looked utterly clueless.
Annoyed at the response he got, Shinji said, "Anyway, don't change the subject! If there's not a fight going on, then what are you doing? Didn't Emiya say that Eggman's got this weird magic-radar?"
"That's what we're counting on," Shirou explained, "This is a trap. We'll be ready when Eggman comes."
"Oh…I get it," Shinji said, his usual smug smile returning to his face. "Yeah, all right. I'm in."
"What?"
"I'm going to help you guys out," Shinji went on, "In case you haven't noticed, Eggman nearly destroyed your Servant, Emiya. From where I stand, you guys would benefit from having me and Rider along for the ride."
Shirou wasn't sure how to respond. While he was a bit happy that
"Hmph," Rin said, crossing her arms and regarding Shinji through half-closed lids. "That won't be necessary. We're more than enough to take down that crazy geezer."
"What's the matter, Tohsaka? Afraid I'll steal your thunder?" Shinji asked, smirking.
"More like getting in our way," Rin said, turning up her nose. "This is going to be a serious campaign. I'm letting Emiya help out because he can use some Magecraft, but that's more than I've seen you do."
Shinji's expression darkened. "I think I might surprise you, Tohsaka." He unconsciously reached into the inside of his uniform.
As the two Masters bickered and exchange barbs, Shirou took that moment to take Sonic aside.
"Sonic, you're the one with the most experience fighting Eggman," The red-haired Master said, "Do you think Tohsaka's plan will really work?"
Sonic shrugged. "Eh. Could go either way, but don't get your hopes up. Baldy McNosehair's real good at the 'Exit Stage Left' villain thing."
Shirou didn't respond. And while he didn't see their expressions or postures change, he could tell that the discussion had drawn the ears of the Servants.
Sonic put his hands behind his head. "Besides, it's way too early for a final showdown. We've only trashed three of Robuttnik's big robots, and haven't even found his secret hideout."
"So this is all pointless." Shirou summarized.
Sonic gave Shirou a friendly pat on the leg. "Hey, if this works, it'll be keeping Eggman from hitting the rest of the city. You think that's pointless?"
Shirou nodded, feeling a bit of a smile. It was a philosophy he had lived by, ever since Kiritsugu died…no, before even that. Since the Fire, Shirou had always believed that if it was done to help other people, nothing he did was meaningless.
"So, after Fuyuki is saved from Eggman and this Grail War, what are you gonna do next?" Sonic asked.
"…Huh?"
"Any big plans?" Sonic went on, "Like, gonna have a 'We just saved the world' party? Or a beach trip?"
"I…I was just planning to go back to school," Shirou said, blinking confusedly. "I mean, when they repair the damages from Eggman's attack…"
Sonic raised an eyebrow. "That's it? No self-appointed reward? You're just gonna go back to normal, like that?" He snapped his fingers. "Dull, man."
"What do you mean…?" Shirou asked, "What's wrong with a little normalcy?"
Sonic looked Shirou in the eye. "I've noticed that you do a lot for other people…but what have you done for yourself?"
Shirou had no answer. Sonic's words had struck a chord. If it was someone like Tohsaka, or even Taiga saying them, he might have been able to ignore them. In fact, he had ignored them…
Shirou, you work too hard.
Why don't you relax?
Shirou, I'm worried for you.
And why not? They said those things, and yet had no issues with asking for his help anyway!
So why, now that they were coming out of Sonic's mouth, did they have such an impact?
"Something's coming!" Saber's voiced knocked Shirou out of his thoughts. He noticed that his Servant was staring out at the sea. Everyone was looking out in the same direction. Even with Reinforced eyes, Shirou couldn't see anything.
"How in the world can you tell?" Rin asked, "I can't see any boats or planes, or whatever."
"Instinct," Saber replied, "In my time, the sea was the place were our enemies came from. I've developed a nack."
"I hear something," Rider said, "A churning."
Archer Reinforced his eyes and focused on the horizon. He couldn't see anything on the water's surface, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw- Aha, that's clever.
"I think I see it," the Bowman reported, "Something under the water's surface. It's big, and it's getting closer."
It took a few minutes of staring, but soon even those who couldn't Reinforce their eyes saw the huge shape, blurred by the waves. This excluded Rider, although the churning noise she mentioned before was now audible to everyone, even Shinji.
Incidentally, the wannabe Master no longer had the confidence or dark fury from before. He looked rather like that kid who walked into a board meeting because he thought the door led to the rec room.
"Wha- what is it?" He asked, trying to hide his fear. He fooled no one.
"Betcha that it's a robot sea monster," Sonic said.
"No way," Tails said, "from here it looks more like an underwater attack carrier."
Shirou had the distinct feeling neither of the two Animals were taking things seriously. Rin's eye began to twitch.
"Monster-bot." Sonic insisted.
"Sea-carrier." Tails insisted back.
"'Bot."
"Carrier."
"It's coming up!" Saber yelled, taking out her sword. She materialized her armor.
There was a massive explosion of water as the giant thing broke out from the depths and onto the surface. Luckily, it was far enough from the dock that the gang was able to avoid the waves it created. Except for Shinji, who was standing too close to the edge.
The intruding thing was a submarine, but only in the loosest sense of the word. All along its sides and top were turrets that were probably supposed to launch missiles. The top of the sail had a pair of circular spotlights that eerily resembled a pair of glasses, which had what looked like a giant metallic mustache propped underneath. On the very front was the insignia of the Eggman Empire. But most painful was all was the gaudy yellow color that the entire craft was painted in. It was like the evil twin of a Beetles reference.
Unseen by all, a tiny periscope popped out of the top of the submarine and swiveled towards the group on the dock. The eye using it narrowed.
They all heard the groan of metal. And then they the missiles being fired into the air.
Archer didn't even bother waiting for an order. Projecting a bow, he began to fire at the incoming barrage. His shots hit their mark, filling the air with explosions. However, he couldn't fire in time to hit all of them, and several missiles broke through the clouds of smoke. Leaping up, both Rider, Saber, and Sonic attacked a missile. While Saber sliced hers in half, both Sonic and Rider re-directed theirs away from the harbor, sending the ballistics back into the water. Afterwards, Rider flipped elegantly (And perhaps sensually) back onto the dock end, while Tails flew up and caught Sonic. Saber, meanwhile, just landed on the water, which caused those still on the dock to gawk; the blond Servant wasn't sinking! Instead, she was standing on the water surface itself, as it was canvas!
"Spread out!" Saber ordered, jumping back up onto the dock. "You are sitting ducks if you remain stuck together!"
Meanwhile, the submarine continued its approach towards the shore. Hatches along the sides of the submarine opened up, and out from those ports Badniks of every shape and size shot out and and at the harbor. Those that didn't have aerial components just tumbled through the air, and amazingly enough, landed on their feet (Or, in some cases, treads). Before long the entire harbor was swarming with Badniks.
Sonic launched himself from Tails and took a moment to blast a Buzzbomber out of the sky. As the Hedgehog landed on the dock, the rest of the team did as Saber asked and split up, for what little good it did; The robots were everywhere, and for each one that was destroyed, one or two more took its place. While Sonic and Tails zipped around trashing every Badnik in their path, the Servants stuck with their respective Masters, acting as a partner (Saber), back-up (Archer), or living shield (Rider).
"So," Sonic said as he zipped past Shirou, "Are we just gonna smash 'bots," zip "At random, or-" zip "-we gonna pretend-" zip "-to have a plan?"
"We can't let these things invade the city!" Saber yelled. the battle was causing flashbacks to the constant attacks on her kingdom. "We must route them at all costs!"
"Aye-aye, mon capitan!" Sonic flashed a salute and was off in another flash.
Archer, meanwhile, had a different approach to victory, or at least maintaining a stalemate. As he sliced through several Splats, he told Rin, "Rin, find a safe place to hide!"
"Are you crazy!?" Rin yelled, ducking as an Orbinaut shot its spike balls at her. She kicked it away. "Where do you expect me to hide in this crowd?"
"Just find someplace!" Archer retorted, "If you get knocked out or killed, the Boundary Field goes down and eventually the police or military will start to wonder why there's a war being waged at the docks!"
"Agent Stuart!" A man in a suit with sunglasses saluted, "We just picked up a message from Japan's navy; They've detected a large UFO heading towards Fuyuki."
Stuart rubbed his forehead. "Don't tell me. It's going to land at the harbor, where that abnormal energy field appeared."
"That's what they suspect, sir."
"…And what happened to the team that's supposed to scout out the situation?"
The agent looked uncomfortable, even with the sunglasses. "Um, I'm not sure how to explain this…but, every time they've approached the edge of the field, they've been compelled to leave it. In fact, if it wasn't for the automated reminder you programmed into their vehicle, they would have just come back instead of returning…fifteen times."
Stuart sighed. Somehow, he wasn't too surprised. It was already a proven fact that whatever was going on, a form of hypnosis was involved. The fact that the location of the current crisis had been the sight of two separate events in the days before the Great Fire. In the latter one, pilots reported seeing an enormous thing that would be more at home in a kaiju film, followed by what seemed like an alien flying craft.
"Is the bug I asked for ready?" Stuart asked.
"Yes, sir. The listening device has been installed and is working perfectly."
"Good. Have the squad send in a drone from a distance and scope out the situation remotely," Stuart ordered, "And then monitor and record everything you hear at the church."
"Yes, sir," The agent saluted, "May I ask what your actions will be?"
Stuart stood up. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of car keys. The key chain was a charm sold at the Ryuudou Temple.
"Let's just say that a good teacher likes to stay in touch with his students." Stuart said, giving the keys a jangle.
The air at the harbor was filled with robots, explosions, or exploding robots. And Shinji hated every last moment of it. Luckily, the sounds of the explosions and crashing metal drowned out his hysterical, girlish shrieks of terror almost perfectly. Rider's superior hearing being the 'almost', causing her to curse the gods- probably Zeus or Athena -who saw fit to pair her with such a spineless worm of a Master.
For Shinji, the day had gone to the dogs. His initial plan- to spy on Shirou and Rin, and possibly take advantage of whatever they were doing- had been derailed when they caught him. Luckily, Shirou had handed him the opportunity of the lifetime- an invitation to join in on their trap for Eggman. Shinji hoped that while his so-called allies were busy with the giant robot Eggman was supposed to bring, Rider would take care of the mad doctor and secure the Command Seals from Kotomine.
The giant army caught him by surprise, and as such, Shinji changed his priorities to "Escape and with his life". As such, instead of helping with fight, Shinji was putting all of his energy into running while Rider destroyed every Badnik that got near him. Which seemed to be every one, which was more than even Rider's impressive abilities could handle.
"Ahh! Dammit!" Shinji pulled out a book began to flip through the pages. He pointed his free hand at a Coconuts. His shadow shot out and struck the robot, knocking it over. And then Tails bounced off it, breaking the thing, and flew off. From the wreckage came a cat, which ran out between Shinji's legs and almost tripped him up.
"Whoa!" Shinji gasped, desperately fumbling to avoid dropping the book. He actually fell over catching it, but managed to keep the tome in his hands. Shinji exhaled a sigh of relief.
The book he carried was more than a mere tome. It was a magical artifact called the Book of False Attendant; it contained Rider's Command Seals, and allowed Shinji to access Rider's mana for spells. It was Sakura who summoned Rider, forced by their grandfather Zouken. But Sakura couldn't bring herself to put herself in the line of fire, leading Shinji to shoehorn himself in. Zouken didn't care which of his grandchildren secured the Grail, and allowed Shinji to use the Book to gain Rider's Command Seals. Rin was right about Shinji, he wasn't a proper Master, or even a Mage. But as long as Shinji had the Book, he could fake it.
And then a Newtron, a robot built like a chameleon with invisibility functions, appeared out of nowhere and snatched the Book out of Shinji's hands.
"Gah!" Shinji yelled, and tried to take the Book back. "No! Bad robot! Give- Uh! It! Back!"
The Newtron just hissed, and proved to have a stronger grip than such a cartoonish-looking thing appeared to have.
"Rider!" Shinji called out, "Help!"
Why doesn't he just use the Book's power to blast it? Rider thought as she threw one of her metal stakes at the robot. From the wreckage came a
The sudden destruction of the Newtron took Shinji by surprise. He hadn't expected Rider's response to be that swift, and when the robot blew up, he ended up falling over…inadvertently losing his grip on the tome.
"Aaaarrgghh! Nonononono!" Shinji wailed, and scrambled after the Book. Showing a level of agility and coordination not displayed before, he and darted around robots, gunfire, and occasionally, a speeding animal-person in pursuit of the tumbling tome as it bounced and slid across the pavement. Much to Shinji's horror, it landed at the edge of the pier, precariously balanced between land and sea. Shinji's horror increased when a Crabmeat walked up and picked the Book up. It regarded the abnormal tome with inquisitive, robotic eyes.
"Boom! Headshot!" Sonic yelled as he zipped by and rendered the Badnik into shrapnel, freeing a parrot. The Book fell to the ground, landing a step and a half away from the flaming wreckage. Shinji let out a sigh of relief.
And then another piece of flaming shrapnel fell out of the sky, the remains of a Buzzbomber, and landed directly on the Book. The tome was set on in and became ashes in seconds. Shinji felt a tear well appear in his eye. His jaw began to tremble.
At the Ryuudou Temple Gate, Asassin looked up from his magazine. After a moment, he resumed reading. It was probably nothing.
"Whoa! Keep the language PG, pal!" Sonic yelled, rushing by and pulling Shinji away from danger. "There are kids in the audience!"
"I hate you, Hedgehog!" Shinji hollered, trying and failing to throttle Sonic.
"Oh, relax," Sonic said dismissively, "(Hey, you're pretty lite) You can get another book off the internet. By the way, where'd Rider go? She just vanished!"
Rider, with whatever ties she had with Shinji incinerated, had chosen to take her leave. After all, it wasn't like she was actually his Servant. As robots exploded all around them, Sonic carried Shinji into one of the warehouses. He deposited the now ex-faux-Master onto the floor and glanced out a window. At that moment, an Egg Pawn came crashing through the glass and landed right in front of them. Just as the oval-shaped thing struggled to its feet, Sonic shattered it with a Homing Shot. A baby deer ran off.
"Nara Park is that way, little fella!" Sonic yelled helpefully to the departing doe. He turned to Shinji. "Look, I dunno why Rider just bailed on us- Well, you, really. -but why not just hang here until every calms down?" Before Shinji could respond with some profanity, he raced off. "Just stay away from the Egg Pod!"
"...#%$& you!" Shinji yelled after a moment. He turned around bitterly. "What the Hell's a Egg Pod...?"
He got his answer when he saw the oversized, empty container lying in the middle of the warehouse. The police tape had been torn down by the released animals, and there were a few wet spots on the floor around it. Curiosity overtook fear and rage, and so Shinji approached the device. Walking past the police tape, he peered into the empty space.
"Why does it smell like a pet store...?" He muttered, leaning in.
Shinji was also stepping on a wet spot. He slipped, tumbled into the Egg Pod, and hit his head on the central pillar.
And then fate stepped in.
The doors to Egg Pod slammed shut. Panicking, Shinji began to bang on the metal, a feat made difficult due to his lack of room.
And then Orbot and Cubot floated in.
"I don't see why we have to go on collection duty now," Cubot griped, "I mean, how are are we gonna get this thing into the sub without anyone noticing? It's a madhouse out there!"
"We'll just send it through the pad we set up earlier," Orbot replied, and pushed a button on the Egg Pod's side. "I'm sure if we're quite, we can leave this harbor uninhibited."
The Egg Pod hummed, and its stands retracted. A quartet of jets unfolded from other areas of the Pod's bottom. The Egg Pod hovered in the air.
"Boy, I'm sure glad the doc started making these things float!" Cubot chirped as he and Orbot led the Egg Pod away. He guided it on its left.
"Yes, the repulsers certainly make our job easier, don't they?" Orbot replied, pushing on the right. "And thanks to the sound-proof metal, we don't have to hear any noises the critters might make!"
Inside the Egg Pod, Shinji began to cry.
Outside, the submarine launched another slew of missiles. Archer shot every one down, and then kicked at a Grounder that was rolling up to him. The Badniks had noticed that Archer was the one blasting the salvos out of the sky, and were occasionally making an attempt to stop him. The fact that Archer could kick one with enough force to break a robot apart was one of the reasons why they weren't making a greater effort. The other reason was that the rest of the heroes were able to hold their own against the Badniks, even Shirou. (Rider and Shinji, unsurprisingly, had gone MIA.)
But Archer felt that the battle had reached a stalemate. While all of them were able to fight off the attacking robots, there seemed to be no end to the Badniks. Every time they managed to thin the throng just a little bit, another horde of robots appeared to take their place.
"How many robots does this guy have!?" Archer yelled to Tails, "I feel like we're going to be here until nightfall!"
"Just keep an eye out for Eggman!" Tails replied, swinging around to catch a Crabmeat by his namesakes. "He should be making his appearance sooner or later! Where's Rin?"
"I had her go into hiding," Archer explained, "If something happens to her, the Boundary Field will go down, we'll have another media circus on our hands, and Saber forgot to bring her mask."
"But where is she?" Tails asked, "I don't think it's a good idea for her to be alone!"
Archer paused to shoot down another missile. "I had her hide in the nearby warehouse. She should be fine there!"
"I am not fine with this." Rin muttered.
After being forcibly relocated into the warehouse, Rin gone into what was know as The Funk. While intellectually, she knew that it was more pragmatic to avoid a direct confrontation and let everyone else handle the hard stuff. After all, the general tactic for Masters was to allow their Servants take the lead in battles, supporting only from a distance. That was how her father fought in the Fourth War (She assumed).
But huddling in some hidey-hole was not something she approved of. The fact that it was something Shinji would do only served to increase her irritation. And if there was one thing Tohsaka prided herself on, it was not being like Shinji. She had felt a presence leave the Boundary Field, which she assumed was the seaweed-headed twerp fleeing the battle like the coward he was. That alleviated her despondent attitude somewhat- while Shinji was clearing bailing, Archer had forced Rin to go into hiding. However, the small guilt she felt, for being on the sidelines while her friends- allies, the mage within her whispered assertedly, they were only allies of convenience -fought with all of their might, did not deminish. Besides, it was a bit creepy listening to all of the explosions and not seeing what was causing them.
Rin then realized that her fists weren't shaking because of any guilt or anger. They were shaking because the floor was shaking!
The ground erupted, and Rin just barely jumped back in time to avoid being hit by the pieces. What looked like a gigantic drill was poking out of the bottom, and it rose, revealing that it was on top of some metal sphere with robotic legs, which clambered out of the hole like some sort of spider that evolved to mine instead spin webs. The drill split apart, manipulated by smaller arms. They spun around sphere, revealing that it was in fact a vehicle- driven by none other than Dr. Eggman!
"Heh heh heh...According to my sensors, the source of the the energy field is around here somewhere..." Eggman muttered, typing away at his console. "In fact..."
Eggman glanced up, and even from a distance Rin could see his eyes narrow underneath those glasses.
Uh-oh. It didn't take a genius to figure out where this was going. Rin's first instinct was to call for Archer. But Archer was the only one protecting the harbor from the submarine's missiles (Seriously, who put gun turrets and rocket launchers on a vehicle designed for underwater travel?!), if she called him in, however briefly, may be too long before another salvo was unleashed.
But more importantly…Rin wanted to face Eggman on her own. Her ancestors were control the land that would become Fuyuki. The Heaven's Feel was only allowed to take part because of their permission. And even after the city was built, it was still considered their territory, by the Mage's Association, if not by Japan's government. And as the last of the Tohsakas (Save one, whispered a dark spot in her mind), Rin felt it was her responsibility to deal with any intruders that threatened it. And if she didn't do it herself…what kind of Mage would she be?
The dark spot in Rin's head raised its voice, pointing out that Eggman's vehicle was probably loaded with a plethora of futuristic weapons. Rin's pride as a mage, honed through years of training, countered with the rebuttal, so what, I've got Magecraft. Everyone knows that Magecraft trumps all.
But, the dark spot continued, what about the old reports of a someone killing Mages with guns-
Shut up! shouted the mage's pride, I'm about to be awesome!
During this mental debate, Eggman had pointed dramatically at Rin. "Unless my scanners are glitching- unlikely, given that they were made by the smartest being in the universe, IE, me- all of this energy is coming from you!" He declared, "You've got a Chaos, all right! hand it over!
"And what if I refuse?" Rin asked, reaching into her pouch. She fingered several gems, each loaded with a powerful spell. As far as she knew, mages weren't very commonplace in Sonic's world. It was possible that Eggman hadn't met one, even with his fancy-schmancy 'Magecraft radar'. If he believed that whatever was happening was due to the Emeralds, the better.
"Then I'll just take you with me," Eggman snarled, "And the passenger seat has a very tight harness!"
With speed and aim that would make the best in the Wild West green with envy, Rin pointed her finger at Eggman and fired a jewel loaded with a spell far more potent than Gandre. It was one of her more recent breakthroughs- combining the energy of the Power Rings with her own jewel Magecraft. One could argue (Like Archer had) that all Rin did was squeeze the gem into the Ring's hole, but Rin knew that it took very precise calculations to make sure that the gem's power would not cause the whole array to self-destruct from the contrast of abilities; Decay and protection did not normally go hand in hand. But Rin had pulled it off- and now it was time to see how well it would work on the field.
The explosion was pretty phenomenal, as far as Rin was concerned. There was no comparing a normal Gem to one imbued with Power Ring energy. But when the smoke cleared, it was revealed that one of the drill pieces had shielded the madman! and worse, the blasted thing only looked badly burnt!
"That was a pretty good trick, but not good enough," Eggman half-growled, half gloated. "Now it's my turn. Get a load of this!"
The 'Egg Cracker' thundered forward, and under less dangerous circumstances would have looked comical. Its spider-legs stamping about reminded Rin of footage she had seen about the probe the Americans had sent to Mars. But she also saw that if she didn't move, she would be trampled underneath, and so Reinforced her legs. With her Mage Circuits coursing with energy, Rin leapt high into the air, kicked off of the wall, and shot across the warehouse over Eggman. Once she landed, she fired a regular Gandre at Eggman's head. While the drill shields weren't fast enough to block the Gem, the glass dome covering the doctor's cockpit was protection enough. All her attack did was get Eggman's attention.
"Aha! There you are!" Eggman shouted, and redirected the Egg Cracker at her. But rather than just charging, a port opened up on it's front. There was a sound like a cannon being fired, and out from the port a small ball rocketed out. A ball with spikes. Rin had to jump to the side to avoid being hit, and kept jumping as Eggman fired more and more spike balls at her. But as she darted, one of the metal arms lunged forward and struck her dead-on. Rings fell from Rin's body as she was sent flying up into the air. Eggman horrible laughter was mixed in with the sound of Rin hitting the floor, and she slid against the wall.
Grimacing, Rin struggled to get up. Though undamaged, she felt the metal hitting her side. And if her brief flight hadn't broken a rib, she would be very surprised. She saw Eggman's mechs stomp over to her, the light shining creepily off of Eggman's glasses.
"Now, I'd like to keep having fun, but I've got a schedule to keep," Eggman said, "Either you give me the Chaos Emerald, or I start searching!" To illustrate this threat, extra robot tentacles, with metal claws and clamps like the ones Arms had, but smaller, extended from the Egg Cracker.
Rin gritted her teeth, and refused to be intimidated. "I don't have your stupid Emerald, you perverted old geezer!" She shouted, and fired another Ring-Gem at Eggman. She missed his head, but managed to blast off one of the claws.
"Whoa!" Eggman yelled, ducking out of reflex. Poking his head up, he muttered, "Note to self, leave the auto-shield on…huh? Where'd she go?"
"Orraaa!" Rin shouted, leaping up. Spinning in the air with all the grace and skill of a kung fu master, she spun a Reinforced leg with intent to kick off Eggman's bald head.
Sproing!
A punching glove on metal spring popped out and slammed into Rin's stomach. Rin felt the wind leave her, and she fell once more.
"Now, now!" The doctor chortled nastily, "Didn't you watch all of those PSAs on the danger of pretending to be Sonic?"
Dammit…dammit! Rin thought bitterly, punching the ground. She had never felt so humiliated before in her entire life.
For the past ten years, she had trained herself rigorously. She honed her Magecraft to the finest imaginable, preparing and empowering the highest-grade gems. Practiced martial arts with techniques impossible to finish without Reinforcing her body. And while she knew that it would be impossible for a mortal being to combat a Servant, that was why she summoned Archer. However, for all other dangers, she had felt that her abilities could handle anything.
But now, when she needed it the most, when it was time to solve the crumbling situation, her Magecraft failed her. Everything she had been taught to believe in…useless. She had been outdone, by cold machines…again.
Bitterly, she looked down at her floor. Her eyes focused on the Command Seals on the back of her hand. Gritting her teeth, she began to focus. The marks started to glow.
"What now?" Eggman grunted, before a massive flash of light filled the room.
When the shine faded, a tall, dark and handsome stranger stood between the evil scientist and the damsel in distress.
"Here I come, to save the day." Said Archer.
To be Continued
Tiger Dojo
Taiga: Down the winding hills and across the vast plains, Tiger Dojo has arrived! I am your instructor, Fujimura Taiga!
Illya: The Number 1 Student, presenting!
Taiga: What a long chapter this was! The author was originally going to make this the final chapter in the arc, but it was going so long that he decided to cut it here and complete the introduction arc in the next chapter.
Illya: What a lazy author.
Taiga: Silence!
(Whack!)
Illya: Gah! The damned Tora-shina! Let…let's just answer the questions!
Taiga: The first comes from Madonna-hime! She asks, "Where did Eggman get the animals for all of those robots?"
Illya: Eggman's been catching cute lil' critters from all over Japan. I even caught some robots wandering onto castle grounds, today. That's why I didn't show up at the harbor.
Taiga: This one is from ENDDRAGON369, "Can you PLEASE Sonic wield Caliburn (Excalibur)?" Hmm, I don't know…Saber isn't the kind of person to let anyone else have her sword…If Shirou masters Projection, he might be generous…
Illya: And our last question is from Neo-Devil: "I swear to god that Avenger gives me a similar vibe to Mephiles...is he Mephiles, or is he Angra Mainyu?"
Taiga: That's hard to say, the Author never played the 2006 Sonic The Hedgehog, so it'd be hard to make a comparison to our Avenger.
Illya: It's best to think Avenger as a mix between the Holy Grail that papa spoke to in Fate/Zero, and the Avenger that showed up in Fate/Hollow Ataraxia.
Taiga: That brings us to the end of this session! I will see you at the next practice!
Illya: Goodbye, everyone!