Chapter 9: Fly In The Freedom
Archer stared down Dr. Eggman. Behind him, on her hands and knees, was Rin. He didn't have to turn around to see the chagrined expression on her face. He knew that the only time Rin would use a Command Seal to summon him would be if she gotten into a situation she couldn't spell cast or argue out of. And the only way someone as headstrong as Rin would realize she was in over her head would be a total defeat. He glanced behind back to confirm that, yes, Rin definitely looked chagrined.
"Rin, you should have contacted me the minute Eggman showed up," Archer chided softly, "That was the reason we camped out here."
"Where the heck did you come from!?" Eggman demanded, "What was that, Chaos Control?"
"Sure, I'm going to explain how all of my cool powers work," Archer said sarcastically, "That works out all the time in anime."
Eggman snarled, and the drill-bits on the Eggm Cracker lunged at Archer. Instead of running or even fighting back, the bowman just held out his hand.
"Rio Aias."
The air before Archer shimmered, and a light shaped like a flower in full bloom appeared, followed by an transparent shield in front of it. The drill-bits collided with the shield, hammering it endlessly and without any effect.
"Gah! What is that, a magic forcefield?!" Eggman shouted, frustrated.
"Kinda," Archer replied, thinking, Judging from the rate those arms strike, not to mention the pattern, the ideal moment to fight back should be...
Archer Projected Kanshou and Bakuya, and let the shield vanish. Seeing what appeared to be an opening, Eggman pressed his attack. Rather than use the drill bits, he fired his spikeball cannon. As Archer batted the balls away, the drill-bits shot forward. Having anticipated this, Archer was all ready to slice each drill piece off.
"Fair warning," Archer said, "The Bug Queen couldn't fight to her fullest because she wanted to prevent civilian causalities. Here, though…"
Archer's arms became blurs and the Egg Cracker's drills fell to the ground. Eggman made a noise of shock and surprise at what had happened. The doctor pulled at his yoke to direct the Egg Cracker away, but Archer was already on the move for his follow-up assault. He charged at the Egg Cracker, shifting his footing just enough to avoid the spring-loaded punching glove. As the comical bludgeon harmlessly passed by his head, Archer whipped out his swords and sliced the legs of the Egg Cracker to pieces. The pod fell to the ground with a crash, ending up lopsided.
Eggman looked about frantically. "Wha- How did you!?"
"Sonic's a bit too careless," Was Archer's explanation. "He doesn't have an eye for weaknesses like I do."
Archer strode over to Eggman's cockpit, and held up his swords. The mad doctor's eyes widened when he realized just what the white-haired man was planning.
"Whoa! Hold on, there!" Eggman shouted, "Aren't you going to take me to jail?! That's what you heroic-types do, don't you?"
"Sorry, you must have me confused for someone else," Archer said coldly, "I stopped playing nice years ago."
Eggman gritted his teeth, and flipped a switch. All over the warehouse, the spike balls strewn about by the battle began to explode. For a brief moment, Archer's ironclad control slipped as he tried to figure out if the Badniks were attacking or this was some trick of Eggman.
And in battle, a brief moment is all it takes to decide the outcome.
"Yo! Where'd Archer go?!" Sonic yelled, speeding up the Shirou. "He just vanished!"
Shirou felt a cold feeling in his gut. "Archer's not someone who retreats. If he disappeared, something must have happened to Rin!"
Sonic's quills went stiff. "Wait, where is Rin? I haven't seen her…"
"Guys!" Tails landed next to Sonic and Shirou and pointed. "Check out that warehouse!"
With the Badnik horde thinning, the three heroes could hear the sounds of multiple blasts going off from within the building. A piece of the roof exploded, and something flew out from the smoke. Shirou's heart leapt into his throat when he saw what it was. Dr. Eggman's Egg Mobile, and it had an reluctant passenger; Rin, held to the side by a robotic tentacle!
Meanwhile, Saber was unaware of any of this. She had abandoned the battle on the dock to tackle the enemy head-on. Running across the sea with the Lady of the Lake's blessing, she gathered her Prana, preparing to eliminate the Egg Marine. Before she could get within minimum required distance to use her Noble Phantasm, the ocean began to rock. The submarine was rising out of the water!
It can fly too!? The blond Servant thought, half-shocked and half-amazed.
Archer leapt out of warehouse, and Projected a bow and sword to fire from it. As he aimed, he realized that even if he shot down Eggman, there was no guarantee that he would be able to save Rin from falling into the churning water.
Sonic elbowed Tails and jerked a thumb towards the city. "Let's get the Tornado!"
Tails nodded. "Right!"
Sonic took hold of Tails by the hand and raced off. Shirou made to follow them, but he could only take two steps before the off-worlders were out of sight. Distraught, the ginger Mage turned back to the ocean to command Saber, but saw that his Servant was already a dot on the horizon, chasing after the now-airborn submarine. Archer landed besides him, and the two men were then in full-emotional sync; Each hating himself for his inability to save someone. For Archer, the pain and self-fury was doubly so.
I spent years honing my Magecraft, became a Counter Guardian, made a slave to the will of the World…and I'm still the wannabe hero stuck on the sidelines! Archer thought, the gritting of his teeth the only sign of his emotions.
Shirou was far less reserved. Falling down onto his knees, the young man angrily punched the pavement. Looking at the sky, he let out an anguished scream.
Sakura wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to let her feelings loose onto the world. But she wouldn't. She couldn't. She dared not to. After everything that was happening, she feared it would simply draw more and more to her.
It began not long ago. While out on an errand for Shirou (She knew that he would be busy with the Holy Grail War), Sakura felt a slight tremor on her body. She instantly knew what it was.
Her Command Seals, her link to Rider, returning.
For Sakura, this was the worst feeling ever in a long line of worst feelings. Not only would she have to cope with the terrible nightmares that plagued her sleep, or the unsettling tingling that began to occur recently, the 16-year-old now had to fight in the Holy Grail War- against both her sister and her senpai! She had given control of Rider to Shinji in the hopes of avoiding such a confrontation, but it appeared that her 'brother' was incapable of retaining that obedience…or, just as likely, their grandfather decided Rider was better off with her original Master.
And so there Sakura was, standing in an alley, shivering like it was the coldest day in winter. She was frozen, paralyzed with fear. Her mind was no longer in the present. It was back at that day before the Great Fire…
Uncle Kariya, lying there on the stairs, dead…
"…hey! Hey! Are you listening!?"
The voice shook Sakura out of her thoughts. Looking around, her gaze was drawn deeper into the alley.
There, his head sticking out of a dumpster, was another tanuki. Unlike the creature hiding at Shirou's house, this one was red, with spikes dropping down around his head. There were spikes coming out of his mittens.
"I…I'm sorry, did you say something?" Sakura asked, her mind in something of a daze. The lack of sleep, combined with her worry, had put her out of sorts.
Knuckles sighed, and climbed out of the dumpster. "I said, have you found any jewels, like this one here?" He held up a scrap of paper with a crude drawing of a gem.
Sakura shook her head. She remembered hearing Dr. Eggman demand an emerald of some kind back when he attacked the school…were the tanukis looking for them as well?
Knuckles narrowed his eyes. "You sure about that?" He had sensed a strange power about the girl, which was why he confronted her. But at the same time, it didn't seem like she was lying.
Sakura suddenly realized something. Everything that had happened recently, it had all began when the tanukis had appeared.
Including Avenger.
"I'm sure, but…" Sakura gathered her meager amounts of strength. If the tanuki got violent, she could always summon Rider, but that was a small consolation. "What is the Chaos Emerald?"
Knuckles blinked, and folded the paper and stuck it in his glove. He then resumed his suspicious glare, which nearly caused Sakura to faint.
But she wouldn't. So much was happening, she had to get answers. Where did Zouken's plots begin, and how were the tanukis tied into it?
Knuckles sighed. Crossing his arms, he said, "Listen, the Chaos Emeralds are the most powerful objects in the entire universe. If you get all seven, it's possible to create miracles..."
The Echidna already had Sakura's attention, but his words had caused her to become entirely focused on their conversation. Seven? Miracles? It sounded so familiar to a child of the Holy War's Founding Families. Everything else faded away as Sakura poured every ounce of her being into taking in Knuckles. So much that she didn't realize…
…That there were two eavesdroppers on their conversation.
Up on the rooftop, Rider turned and leapt away. While she had wanted to greet Sakura immediately, she couldn't take the chance of anyone figuring out their connection. And that connection was in danger. Ever since their bond had been restored, Rider could feel that something had disrupted her Master's flow of Prana. She couldn't just heedlessly absorb Sakura's Mana. She had to find a way to give some back. The most obvious solution would be to continue to stealing Mana from civilians, but Rider had a feeling that Sakura would not approve. But, if these Chaos Emeralds were on par with the Holy Grail's power, at least one of them could supply Rider with the Prana she needed to fight.
&BReak&
Somewhere underneath the city, Avenger smiled. Although there was no one to see it, it was a terrible sight. All around him…things pulsated, several dozen new organisms that shared a single mind. Or soul. And they trembled as the self-proclaimed Servant worked the muscles necessary to twist his facial features into that expression.
A miracle, huh…?
Deep within, the Chaos Emerald throbbed.
"…So, she's not here?" Mr. Stuart asked innocently.
Souichirou Kazuki nodded. As usual, the man's expression was unreadable. Even a rock that looked like a face would be easier to gauge. "Yes. She went out to do a few errands. Preparations for our wedding."
Stuart nodded, pretending to care. "I imagine a lot of things will need to be done. So, are you going to do a western-style ceremony?"
After arriving, Stuart learned that Issei was not at the temple. That said, the special agent had no intention of letting his trip go to waste. After talking a bit with that strange man at the gate (What kind of name was Asassin? Was he connected to Emiya's companion, Saber?), he entered the temple grounds ostensibly to visit Kazuki. The truth of the matter was that he intended to plant a few listening devices. The fact that the rest of the monks had been sent away not long after the various murders and other incidents began was too suspicious. Unfortunately Kazuki had been there, and Stuart had to feign an interest in the temple's layout and structure. As they talked, Stuart made numerous attempts to discern the identity, the basic appearence, anything about of the stoic man's mysterious fiancee. However, Kazuki was a former assassin (Though unproven this little fact was), and very good at answering questions without revealing any information. Combined with his near-inability to display any emotion, it took all of Stuart's self-control not to rip out his own hair.
And he still hadn't been able to plant a bug!
"We may not go through with an actual ceremony," Kazuki commented, "Neither one of us have any family members still alive."
"Oh, that's a shame," Stuart said, "Wait...if you're not going to have a wedding ceremony, what kind of preparations need to be done?"
Kazuki then looked away. "That's for...things that require no audience."
Stuart had to squint, but he could just barely seen a smidgeon of red appearing on a cheek. With a start, he realized that the impossible was happening; Souichirou Kazuki was blushing! And with that tidbit, Stuart's brain made another connection. And that caused a far less subtle blush to appear on his face. Now the all special agent really wanted was an excuse to escape this conversation, or a legitimate means of changing the subject.
Stuart got his wish when his cell phone rang. The caller ID told Stuart that it was from headquarters. Bowing his head, the blond said, "I'm sorry, Kazuki-san, but I need to take this. It's from someone that I've trying to get in touch with all day."
Kazuki shrugged. "That is all right. Go talk with your friend."
Stuart half-ran away from the shrine, nearly tripping over Asassin as he hurried past the gate and down the stairs. He was in such a rush that he didn't notice that something had fallen out of his jacket pocket.
Once he felt he was far enough, Stuart answered his phone. "What's going on?"
"There's been some kind of massacre at the harbor! The area is littered with robot parts and the security is missing!" Pierceman's voice hissed through the speaker.
"What?! Is there anybody there?" Stuart asked.
"No. Our field agents claimed to have seen Emiya Shirou running away from the area, but it hasn't been confirmed if he was actually there."
"What happened to Saber? Wasn't she supposed to be with him?"
"She's missing too. There's something else."
"Now what?"
"We've picked up some intel from the Air Defense Force; they've got two UFOs leaving Japan. One is some kind of, I dunno, a airship that's shaped like a submarine."
A flying sub?
"The other is that fox-boy's plane they spotted the other day. And Sonic is with him! What should we do?"
Stuart slowed down. Forcing his heart rate to calm down as well, he leaned against a lamp post. He thought for a moment. Then he said, "Right now, we can't do anything about the flying sub or the plane. Try to get as much data as you can from the left-over robots. Keep monitoring everything that's happening in the city.
"And hope we catch a break."
High the air, the Tornado flew. Stationed impeccably on the wings was Sonic. The Hedgehog shielded his eyes with his hand as he glared at the horizon. He glanced back at Tails.
"So, not to sound like a little kid on a car ride, but how much further?" Sonic asked his sidekick and pilot. "Are we even going the right way?"
"I've been tapping into calls between the nation's air defense and scanning the area with the Miles Electric," Tails replied, "According to their data and ours, we should be seeing Eggman's sub…ship…thingy any minute," There was a beep. "Wait, there's a huge energy signature right now!"
Sonic looked about. He didn't see anything. Grasping the edge of the wings, he pointed his gaze downward. Very faintly, he could see a dot that was both yellow and blue. Or, mostly blue topped off with yellow.
"It's Saber!" Sonic exclaimed, "Quick, bring us down!"
Tails did so. However, they had only descended a few meters down when Saber shot up and grabbed hold of the landing gear. With a flip that would make an Olympic gymnast green with envy, she flipped herself onto the Tornado's wings, joining Sonic.
"Did you run out here all on your own, Saber?" Tails asked, amazed.
"During my lifetime, I was given a blessing," Saber explained, "This gift allows me to walk the waters as if they were the land itself," She gave Sonic a slight smile. "Besides, haven't you then the same thing? Or were you just exaggerating that time?"
"I runso fast that I don't give my feet time to sink," Sonic replied, "You were basically jogging. Still, pretty useful, as superpowers go. Not very flashy, but, eh. Can you also turn water into wine?"
Saber was about launch a scathing reply about Christianity when a beeping from the Tornado's on-board computer cut into her dialogue. The three heroes looked up and saw Dr. Eggman's flying submarine. On it's side, they could see the words Flying Torpedo printed in giant letters.
"There it is!" Sonic commented, "Think we're coming up on their radar? Or maybe we can take Eggman by surprise?"
Sonic got his answer when the Flying Torpedo unleashed a fleet of flying Badniks. They bore down on the Tornado, but were handily dispatched by Sonic and Saber.
"Yeah, dunno why I asked," Sonic replied, "Tails! Let's go give Eggman a welcome present of our own! Bring us in!"
"That's gonna be harder than we thought, Sonic," Tails admitted, "I can't do the usual routine with two people on the wings! And if we don't get to the Flying Torpedo soon, the Tornado won't have enough power to make it back to Fuyuki!"
Saber thought about their situation. While her honor as a knight (And perhaps a small amount of pride and desire to personally storm the enemy's base) compelled her to attack her world's invader head-on and defeat him with her own sword, she recalled her life as a king. A leader was more than someone who rode in front of the charge. A leader had to be someone who could assess the problem and come up with the best solution. Saber considered everything she had learned about the other-worlders, and compared that with her own abilities. She came up with a plan and shared it.
"That sounds pretty awesome," Tails conceded, "But do you really think you can make the shot?"
Saber's face was the very epitome of kingliness; No arrogance, no finality, just confidence and the determination to do the duty. "Try me."
"Hey, I'm game, sounds like fun!" Sonic grinned, and hopped into the air.
Saber held up one arm and caught Sonic's curled-up body in her hand. She pulled back and summoned her reserves of Prana. Thanks to the Power Rings Shirou had gathered, the lady knight had plenty of stamina for this feat.
"Okay, hold on until I say so…" Sonic cautioned. "Wait…wait…wait…now!"
"Prana Burst!" Everything she had went into her arms. Saber hurled Sonic forward and upward, a spinning blue cannon ball shot from the most powerful of siege weapons. Normally, one would need to aim a little higher in order to account for their projectile's eventual descent. But for Sonic, there was no arc- His speed and Saber's power combined to ensure that. instead, it was all one straight line. And at the end of it was Eggman.
Rin made another attempt to break the glass. All she did was hurt her foot a bit.
After boarding the Flying Torpedo, Dr. Eggman quickly deposited his captive in a special holding pen. It was essentially four giant, metal prongs surrounding her, with glass all around. Capping the cage was a giant metal disc, underneath and pointing at her were a collection of spotlights. They were currently off, but when the lights were on, Rin had felt her strength- all of the Prana she had saved up -leave her. Siphoned away. It was clearly a device designed to drain the Mana of its target, much like a Servant could. Such a thing would have been impossible to do without Magecraft. But in Sonic's world, she was forced to acknowledge, the distance between conventional science and Magecraft was a lot closer than she was comfortable with.
Dr. Eggman grinned nastily as he watched Rin rub her leg. "I wouldn't do that, if I were you. You might smudge the glass," He reached into his pocket and pulled out Rin's bag of Gems. He fingered a Gandre. "I have more than a few questions about you…starting with how you made these," An alert sounded. "Now what?"
Eggman stomped over to a computer terminal. The screen showed large hole in the hull. Frowning, Eggman had the security footage play back in slow motion. Then, super slow-mo. Finally, at slow-motion x5. He managed to retrieve an image of a very familiar blue and spiky figure flashing the camera the peace sign.
Eggman slapped his forehead in frustration. "I don't even know why I asked," He pointed at Rin. "I'll deal with you later! Right now, I've got a Hedgehog to catch!"
Eggman ran over to an elevator. In a minute, the doors shut and hissed as he left the floor. With the doctor no longer around to gloat and distract, Rin's mind was free, even if her body wasn't. She was tempted, sorely tempted, to use her Command Seal to summon Archer and have him free her…but there was no telling what would happen if Eggman's…magecraft drainer kicked in while she invoked the Seal's power. And it had already drained her Circuits before hand. Giving it a reason to take more would be risky…and perhaps fatal. And even if she could break free, she had no idea where she was in the ship. As much as Rin hated to admit it, right now the best thing was to wait until a better opportunity came around. She took a deep breath, and straightened herself.
Always be composed and graceful… Rin reminded herself, That is the Tohsaka way. If I keep my head level, I'll find an ideal solution to this mess.
For Sonic, it was business as usual. He had broken into so many of Eggman's bases and battleships that even not knowing where Rin was being bothered him. It was just a minor problem that would solve itself.
…Okay, in truth, the reason he wasn't worried about finding Rin because he was more concerned with keeping his balance while doing a rail grind with nothing but the sky and ocean waiting if he fell.
Okay, why does Eggman put so many pitfalls in his stuff? Sonic thought as he reached the other side. Hopping off, he dodged an Orbinaut's spike balls and smashed it to pieces. Does he just run out of building materials, or something?
Now back on solid ground, Sonic continued his high-velocity exploration. He ran up walls, ducked into crevices when needed (Mostly to wipe some oil off of his shoes), and continued to smash away at any robots that crossed his path. Stopping at one point to wipe some more oil off, an idea occurred to him.
Activating his communicator, Sonic said into the receiver, "Rin? Rin, are you there? Do you copy?"
For a few minutes, Sonic didn't get any response. Then, he heard, "… ate this stupid thing, I can never be sure when it's on…!"
"Oh, cool!" Sonic grinned, nonplussed by Rin's technology-induced aggravation. "Don't hang up, I'm gonna see if I can use the GPS in our comms to find your location."
Sonic entered a few more commands. The little screen flashed red, and the words ERROR appeared.
"…Yeah, this is gonna take a bit longer than I thought," He admitted, "Just hang tight, and if you manage to bust yourself out of where Eggman stuck you, try and follow your comm''s GPS to meet up with me."
Without bothering to wait for a reply, Sonic shot down a hall, dodging claws and blasts from robots. He reached a shaft leading upwards. Rather than waiting for an elevator, he began to parkour up the shaft. After going an estimated three stories, Sonic ducked into an open air vent. He built up a Spin Dash and shot down the vent's path, smashing a van to pieces and coming out into a large area with a staircase. Looking up, Sonic spotted a sign pointing upwards labeled "Restrooms"
Hmm, where there's toilets, there's people! He thought, began to run up, and then stopped. Wait, Eggman's never been that nice to prisoners.
Turning on his heels, Sonic hopped onto the stair railing and began his slid towards the bottom.
When Rin realized that her hi-tech cage didn't have a toilet, or access to a bathroom, her haste to escape confinement hastened. Luckily, she had one trump card left at her disposal. While Eggman had taken her bag of Gems, she had one extra stored in her shoe, just in case. A quick check revealed that the capsule's Prana-drain hadn't effected it (A lead-lined secret pocket really was a good investment) too much, but she would have to move quickly. Her plan was to use the Gem to break the drainer, then shatter the glass container with her Reinforced martial arts before Eggman or a robot showed up to either fix it or recapture her. Personally, she hoped she would run into Eggman again. She really wanted another shot at taking him down.
Rin focused her thoughts. She had to build up as much of her own Prana if this was going to work. But she couldn't be too obvious and activate the drainer's functions. She heard a familiar hum and knew that it was time. She pointed directly upwards.
"Gandre!"
Like a bullet from pistol, the jewel went from Rin's fingertip to the center of the drainer. There were sparks and a small explosion as the curse hit. Knowing that she only had a short time until someone came a guard came around. She activated her Mage Circuits (Never had such a routine process felt so good until that point!), and swung her leg out. She was pleased to feel the wind as her Magecraft accelerated the speed.
Crack!
She wasn't pleased to feel her hell make contact with the glass. Despite putting a being allowed to access her Magecraft uninhibited, Rin had failed to break the container's walls. The most she had accomplished was causing a vary long hairline crack.
Still, it was more than anything she had done beforehand. Before Rin could take another crack at the crack, she heard a door open up behind her. Turning around, she saw Sonic zip into the room.
"And once again, mindlessly running around solves all of my problems!" The Hedgehog declared, before turning his attention. "Hey, Rin, how're you doing? Eggman treating you right?"
Rin turned away, a little annoyed, but trying not to show it. "I'm fine. The old geezer ran off for some reason."
"Yeah, 'for some reason'," Sonic grinned, "I bet Eggman's not gonna let us jump ship without a fight! Speaking of which…stand back!"
Rin barely had time to react when Sonic shot at her. Or rather, at her container. In a second, the floor was littered with pieces of glass. Landing back on the floor, Sonic brushed his fur and causally swept some of the tiny shards aside with his foot.
"Personally, I think the damsel in distress bit doesn't suit you." Sonic said conversely.
"How nice of you to say so," Rin replied. So far, it didn't seem like Sonic was going to make fun of her. Apparently even showboaters like him had some manners. "Where did Tails land that plane?"
Sonic laughed, "Land? We weren't even in jumping range! Saber chucked me here."
Rin blinked. "Then what are we going to do?" She rubbed her chin in thought. So, they brought Saber…that's a relief. "I suppose we can find a safe place until Tails gets here…"
"Nah, that'll take too long," Sonic grabbed Rin by the hand. "We just need to find a good spot to jump ship and he'll catch us."
"WHAT!?"
Rin was so stunned by Sonic's casual admittance to such a daredevil, life-threatening, and overall stupid plan that she didn't resist when Sonic began to pull. And in the 1.4 seconds it took for her brain to reboot, he was already pulling her out and they were going down an elevator shaft. By running along the wall.
With little regard as to where they going and what was happening, Sonic led Rin down a harrowing series of halls, chambers, and storage facilities. All of them had robots, which proved to be of little consequence. Sonic had to put Rin down so he could fight without endangering her even more so, and the Tohsaka Master took out her frustrations with everything on the Badniks. But the minute a room was clear of enemies, Sonic would scoop her up again and resumed running. Though she wisely choose not kick or struggle out of his arms, Rin made her displeasure with this chivalry well known.
"You don't have to carry me!" She yelled as Sonic rocketed over some pipes. "I can move on my own!"
"As fast as me?" Sonic asked rhetorically. He already knew the answer to that.
"Do you even know where we're going?" Rin demanded.
Sonic shrugged. "Eh, I figure if we just keep going forward and not in circles, we'll find a way out. Loop!"
Before Rin could ask what Sonic meant, their path began to curve. Upwards. Rin gasped, clung to Sonic, and did her very best not to let the contents of her stomach jump ship as well. Though successful, it took several minutes after they were back on the floor for her complexion remove the viridian hue it had taken.
"Why…" Rin moaned, "Why would he put in a loop-de-loop?"
"Mystery of the universe." Sonic replied, grinning from the adrenaline.
As they continued on, the ship suddenly shook as if something heavy from the outside struck it. Sonic's communicator suddenly beeped, and although it wasn't his style, the Hedgehog stopped to put Rin down to respond. Tails' voice began to speak from it.
"Sonic! Have you found Rin yet?!" The fox sounded a little frantic.
"She's right here," Sonic held his wrist up to Rin. "Say 'Hi', Rin."
"Tails, what's going on?" Rin asked, "We heard something hit the ship."
"We've got bogies! And not the ones Eggman made!"
"What, you mean the air force caught up with us?" Sonic asked, taking his wrist back.
"Yes! There are jets trying to shoot the Flying Torpedo down!"
"Have they gone after you?"
"No, the jets are focused on the airship. They've avoided Eggman's return-fire so far, but Saber and I can't protect them without doing something that could expose Magecraft.
Sonic nodded, his expression becoming more serious. "Got it. See if you can tell them to break off their attack. I doubt they've got anything that could do any damage," He glanced up at Rin. "No offense."
Rin sniffed, her way of assuring that no offense had been taken.
"Roger. I'll get under the airship to catch you. Just give me a heads-up when you get ready to bail. Over and out!"
The jets soared around the Flying Torpedo, trying to take potshots while dodging missiles and missile-like robots. There were only four planes, but reinforcements were already on the way. The air was full of tension, adrenaline, and this radio chatter.
"This is Falcon-1 to base. We have located the UFO and are engaging. Sending our coordinates, over!"
"Falcon-2 here. Falcon-1, what about the red bi-plane following? Over."
"We have orders not to concern ourselves with the bi-plane, Falcon 2, over."
"It's just…it looks like it's being flown by a kitsune, and there's this girl standing on the wings…"
"Let it be, Falcon-2. Over."
"This is Falcon-3, the UFO is releasing bogies, over!"
"Falcon-3, this is Falcon-2, what do you- Are those turtles?!"
"Falcon-4 here! The target has missile-launchers on both starboard and port!"
"Helloooo? Is this the right frequency?"
Captain Reiji looked suddenly at his radio. That sounded like a child! "Who the hell is this!?" Reiji's eyes slowly turned outside his cockpit. They were directed towards the red biplane. "Are you…is this the bi-plane?!"
"That's right!" Reiji could almost imagine an eager face nodding. "You can call me Tails. Listen, you have to withdraw! Eggman's only getting started! And even if you could take fight him, you might end up hurting…uh, someone."
"That's the point!" Falcon-3 half-shouted, "We're trying to hurt him!"
"No, that's not my point!" Tails retorted, "Eggman's kidnapped a girl! I don't who she is, but Sonic's on-board the Flying Torpedo rescuing her!"
"What!?"
"Hey…isn't Sonic that tanuki that helped the Bug Queen save the school a few days ago?" Falcon-2 asked.
"He's a hedgehog. And yes!"
"…Your orders, Falcon-1?" That was Falcon-4.
Reiji gritted his teeth. This was absolutely inane. It felt like real-life had been supplanted by one of his kids' anime. That said, his older daughter had sent an email about being saved by kitsune. As much as his training told him otherwise, Reiji had a gut feeling that 'Tails' was being legitimate. However, they couldn't let a chance to take down a dangerous terrorist slip away. All attempts to locate Eggman's base so far had failed. The airship was the best lead they had. And so, he made a compromise.
"Tails…san, we're giving your friend Sonic five minutes to rescue the hostage," Capt. Reiji radioed back, "That's the ETA we have for reinforcements. During that time, Falcon-2 through 4, I want you to focus on taking down those bogies and the turrets. Do you copy?"
"Copy that, over!" Three voices Reiji recognized replied. There was also a fourth voice that Reiji had never heard before this day.
"Thank you, sir. And don't worry, five minutes is plenty of time for Sonic," Tails replied, "He should be out of there in half of that!"
He sounds pretty confident…wish I had something to feel confident about! Reiji thought.
By that time, Sonic and taken Rin to a large hanger bay. At least, Rin assumed it was a hanger bay. However, there were no vehicles of any kind in sight. It was just a large, empty chamber with enough space to fit several jets.
"I don't like this," RIn said, "Why isn't there anything here?"
"Easy," Sonic said, setting Rin down. "This is where Eggman's gonna sick a giant robot on us."
"What?"
"Or, he's gonna take us on himself," Sonic continued nonchalantly, "Trust me, I've done this song and dance before. Empty room always means a big fight's coming."
"You're very laid-back for someone who's expecting a battle." Rin noted. Even the calm of Saber or Archer was laced with an edge. Sonic looked like he was about to take a walk on the beach.
"First rule of adventures," Sonic said, "Always keep a level head."
"I see," Rin looked around the area. The stillness was getting to her. "So, what should we expect?"
Sonic grinned, "That's the second rule; Don't expect anything. Just learn to roll with it."
Before Rin could further question Sonic, a horrible laughter filled the room. It was Eggman. Lights that were once dimmed turned to full brightness, and Rin could see Dr. Eggman, piloting that accursed Egg Cracker that had humiliated her back in Fuyuki. Behind him, however, was a new threat. A giant robot, easily twice the Egg Cracker's size was there. Looking at it, Rin was vaguely reminded of a pig's head. On its left and right were gigantic wheels, like the kind used by monster trucks seen on insipid TV shows. (Rin only later made the comparison was after relating her experience to Archer. She had never seen a monster truck rally before) The two holes in the "snout" glowed ominously. On its back, a pair of giant exhaust pipes puffed smog as an engine within revved up.
E-6791: Skweel
Sonic grinned. "Gee, Eggman. With those jets buzzing this ship, I didn't think you'd have time to see us off! What a sweet guy."
"Hah!" Eggman snorted derisively, "If the standard military of our couldn't stop me, there's no way the sub-standard military of this world could!"
As a Mage, Rin had no problem with Eggman's demeaning the level of her country's technological development. But as a citizen of Japan, she felt that she had a duty to defend her nation's honor. To compromise between these two mentalities, Rin's frown deepened and she clenched her fist. Stepping closer to Sonic, she whispered, "Be careful, Sonic. Eggman's weird machine has some kind of punching device if you get to close, hidden in a compartment at the front."
Sonic nodded, and whispered back, "Thanks for the tip," Louder, he said to Eggman, "I'd love to stay here and shoot the breeze with ya, Eggers, but I've gotta get the little lady home. Her parents don't like it when she's out too late, you understand."
"Goodness, I had no idea I was being so thoughtless!" Eggman gasped with mock-worry. Sneering, he pointed at the two. "Run 'em down, Skweel!"
The pig-robot's giant tires screeched against the floor as Skweel charged at Sonic and Rin. The Sonic rushed towards Skweel, but easily hopped over him to go at Eggman. Rin, Reinforcing her body, leapt to the side to avoid being run down. Meanwhile, Eggman attempted to crush Sonic with the Egg Cracker's drill-bits, but the Hedgehog dodged the attack and hit the vehicle with a Homing Shot. Yelling in alarm, Eggman shot both a glare and several spike balls at Sonic- and missed. Sonic effortlessly ducked and weaved around the shots, and the spike balls either landed harmlessly on the floor or imbedded themselves in the wall.
"Hey! Would it help if I put a bullseye on my tummy?" Sonic taunted, giving one spike ball a sidelong glance.
"Don't get near those things, Sonic!" Rin yelled as she dodged another charge from Skweel. "They explode!"
"They do?" Sonic eyes widened slightly and he put some distance between himself and the spike balls. "Thanks for the heads-up!"
As Sonic hopped back, he heard a screech of tires and realized that Skweel was making an attempt to run him over. He jumped into the air as Skweel roared under him, then landed a Homing Shot on the robot's back. Rather than acting hurt, Skweel whirled about in a desperate attempt to counterattack, but Sonic nimbly bounced away.
Rin, meanwhile, kept her distance from both robot and mad scientist. This was something she and Sonic had discussed during their brief journey through the airship. If and when the two of them would run into either Eggman or one of his sub-bosses (And Sonic was pretty insistent that it would happen), the key to victory was patience. Despite his eagerness to rush into danger, Sonic made it clear that blindly charging at an enemy would be suicidal; the best tactic was to wait for an opening, then charge in. As Rin ducked, weaved, and leapt away from Eggman's weapons and Skweel's rushes, she realized that this strategy worked best for Sonic, whose reaction time was superior to even Lancer. He could be on the other side of the room and make it in time to capitalize on a moment of weakness. Rin, on the other, was still human, even with Reinforcement enhancing her abilities. And the one time she was able to land a hit on Skweel, there seemed to be no effect. It was so frustrating! How could she tell if it was damaged if it didn't have any mana? Sonic had assured her that if they just kept at it, the damage would take effect soon enough, but Rin wasn't too confident with that.
There has to be something more I can do! Rin thought furiously, Running around and randomly hitting things are for…neanderthals!
Luckily, and perhaps insulting, neither Eggman nor Skweel were particularly keen on keeping track of Rin. If she wanted to be generous, Rin would believe that it was due to Eggman's longstanding grudge against Sonic that compelled him to target the Hedgehog. It was better than the assumption that, having already defeated her previously, Eggman decided Rin was not worth his effort.
At one point, Sonic seemed to be cornered by both Eggman and Skweel. As the two enemies closed in, Sonic ran up the wall, and once he was high enough, shot over Eggman's head. Once he was down on the other side, he took the chance to Homing Shot the Egg Cracker again.
"Argh!" Eggman exclaimed as his cockpit was jostled. He turned the craft around and began to fire spike balls. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"
Crap! Those stupid bombs! Rin thought, dodging the projectiles. Inspiration then struck. Wait…bombs! What if I…?
With a look of determination that would have impressed Shirou, Rin began to run towards the nearest bomb. As she did, she began to focus all of Mage Circuits in her leg.
The bombs were on timers, but they also could be detonated remotely. Luckily, Eggman was more focused on Sonic than her. Furthermore, they were clearly designed not to explode on impact, as none detonated after slamming to walls.
With that in mind, Rin swept her leg out at the spike ball, and in a move that wouldd have made high school soccer captains the world over green with envy, kicked it! The spike ball soared across the and slammed into Skweel's left wheel. This had numerous effects; One, impact of the bomb disrupted the robot's path, nearly knocking it off on its side. That's when the bomb went off. While the spike ball was designed to resist the force of most impacts, Rin's kick had jammed the circuitry, causing it to explode preemptively. The force of the blast was enough to completely knock Skweel on its side, and the porcine robot spun around aimlessly in a like, making whining noises that sounded very similar to a certain breed of farm livestock.
Sonic laughed, "Nice one, Rin! You play soccer, or are you just on reserve?"
Eggman wasn't nearly as amused. "That does it! Now I'm setting these to go off on impact!"
The Egg Cracker's cannon fired another slew of spike balls, this time aimed at Rin. Before they reached her, Sonic made a move of his own. Getting between Mage and bomb, he ran around in a tight circle, creating a miniature whirlwind. This caught the spike balls and sent them high into the air. The bombs collided with each other and created a massive explosion that almost knocked Rin off of her feet. But just as she was regaining her balance, Sonic scooped her up and made a mad dash away from the blast.
"I'd say we've worn out our welcome," Sonic told her, "Besides, I think I found a way out of here!"
Sonic stopped, and Rin saw that they were standing in front of a large, egg-shaped hatch labeled, 'Emergency Exit: Use Only In Case Of Emergencies'. There was also a smaller label, reading, 'WARNING! Do Not Use Unless Flying Torpedo is on Water Surface!'
Horror flowed into Rin's features as she realized where the hatch led- and what Sonic was about to do. "No! No! We're not…"
Sonic had already forced the hatch open. "Toolatethisway'smorefun!"
Rin's terrified shrieks bounced up and out of the chute as she and Sonic fell down it. Eggman punched his console in frustration. As the pair continued their high-speed descent, Sonic activated his communicator.
"Tails, get ready to catch us! we're about to- Rin, stop screaming, I can't hear myself- come out of the airship!" Sonic yelled into the speaker, "Track us with the GPS!"
"Okay, Sonic, leave it to me!" Tails replied, and the ME's screen turned black, with a red arrow spinning around. "Do you see them, Saber?"
"Not- Wait, there!" Saber pointed. In the distance, she could see a dot falling from the airship. She could also a faint screaming.
"I see 'em!" Tails twisted the yoke, "Hang on!"
Saber bent down and held on to the wing as the Tornado curved and shot towards the falling pair. Once they were close enough, the biplane went into a nosedive. While Tails had down this sort of thing dozens of times with Sonic, he was worried that Rin's inexperience with these high velocity might hurt her. Therefore, he had to make the catch at a curve in order to invert her inertia and hopefully keep her guts from spilling out.
Reaching out with one hand, Saber took hold of Rin and pulled her from Sonic's arms and into her own grip. The Hedgehog took this moment to grab hold of the Tornado's wings. Once everyone was aboard, Tails began to level out the plane. Once this action was complete, Saber deposited Rin into the back seat.
"You okay, Rin?" Tails asked.
Instead of answering, Rin forced her head over the side. A hideous retching noise was lost in the wind.
Tails winced. Great…I just got this thing waxed…
Standing up, Sonic brushed himself off. "Well, I'd call that a Rank-A success. Wanna stop by a Denny's on our way back?"
"Not yet," Saber said, drawing her sword. Sonic that there was a steel in her eyes and voice stronger than the one in her hands. "It is time we put an end to this."
There was a brilliant flash of light. Saber had removed Invisible Air from her sword. Without the spell to bend the air currents, there was nothing to hide the true form of Saber's blade.
And it was a sword Sonic had seen before.
It was in a different place. A different story. But Sonic could recognize that weapon anywhere.
Light began to gather around the metal. Saber lifted the sword over her head. She stared resolutely at the departing airship.
Eggman furrowed his brow as he stared at his console's screen. Smack dab in the center of the footage was Saber and her glowing sword.
"What's going on now?" He asked aloud. A red light began to flash, and a series of numbers flashed by. "Uh oh."
"EX…"
There were different types of Noble Phantasms. Lancer's Gae Bolge could pierce through time in order to reach his victim's heart without fail. And while he could do it multiple times at once, it was still a weapon that could only strike a single opponent. Saber's, however, was of an entire different nature. It wasn't one she could freely use in Fuyuki. Not because of the minimal Prana she received from Shirou (Although that was certainly an unavoidable factor). Her Noble Phantasm was one that affected everyone and everything within its radius. It was an ability-type called anti-fortress. Unleashing it within the city was unthinkable. Even if she could bury her own honor down deep enough to forego the safety of the citizens, her Master would never agree to such a pyhrric victory. But out in over the ocean, with the sky as a backdrop…
...She swung the sword down…
"…CALIBER!"
There was a brilliant flash of light, so great that it briefly eclipsed the sun. And when it faded, there was no sign of the Flying Torpedo. The Tornado did a U-turn and flew back to Fuyuki.
The Japanese Air Defense jets also returned to base. Captain Reiji's formal report on the mission had to undergo numerous re-writes, before it was decided that his cockpit had been low on oxygen, and he had hallucinated the 'giant sword beam of certain death' while Eggman's ship self-destructed due to some unforeseen accident.
By the time Kotomine got home, he was stressed from arranging all of those memory alterations. But, he was pleased with his work.
Zouken Matou was also pleased. Thanks to Sakura, that stupid tanuki had given all of the information he needed to make some sense of the current situation.
He didn't care about Dr. Eggman. Not at all. Even the idea, laughable as it was, that Eggman could track Magecraft with his technology.
But the Emeralds…these Chaos Emeralds, could be what he needed to achieve his wish, after all of these years.
No Servants, no Command Seals, the wizened mummy of a Mage thought greedily, Just power to whomever can gather them.
And gather them he will. Or wait for someone else to gather them…
Caster was pleased. While her first foray in the Special Zone had not yielded a Chaos Emerald, the Power Rings she gathered during her time there were a worthwhile consolation prize. Even without her sixth sense, she could feel the energy they radiated. With them, she could bolster her Magecraft without taking Mana from the citizens of Fuyuki. From what she had gleaned from her scrying, Special Zones reappeared after a certain amount of time. She would make another attempt to take the Chaos Emerald at a later date. For now, she would experiment, and prepare her spells. Maybe she would be able to send Assassin off as something more than a gatekeeper.
And next time, Caster thought, holding one ring to her eye. I'll be prepared for those stupid spike balls…
As Caster teleported into the Ryuudou Shrine, she didn't notice a blinking light from one of the statues…
When the Tornado landed at the Tohsaka Mansion, Shirou and Archer were already there to greet the crew. They had been there since the battle at the harbor, waiting for everyone to come home.
Seeing both Saber on the wing and Rin in the back seat brought a relieved smile to Shirou's face. And while Archer's face was as stoic as ever, his heart shared Shirou's sentiments. Having mostly gotten over her nausea, Rin flashed the two boys a shaky thumbs-up. Tails laughed, and Sonic grinned.
And then Saber fell off.
"Saber!" Shirou cried, rushing over. Reinforcing his legs without even realizing, he managed to catch his Servant before she hit the ground. "Saber, are you alright?!"
"This is…nothing, Shirou," Saber assured faintly, "I am merely…tired…from using my Noble Phantasm."
"You what?" Shirou asked, and behind him, Archer's eyes widened.
She used Excalibur? The bowman wondered, What kind of battle did she experience to resort to that?
That's why she's like this…using a Noble Phantasm requires an enormous amount of Prana, Shirou realized, More than a second-rate Mage like me can supply. Wait, that's it! He dug into his pockets, and brought out a handful of Power Rings. "Saber, take these! Use them to restore yourself! That's an order!"
Saber glanced up at Shirou's determined eyes, and then reached out for his hand. The Rings glowed even brighter, and one by one, they floated off of Shirou's palm and into her body. Once the glowed subsided, the knight's pallor returned, and she stood up, though still clearly tired.
"Thank you, Shirou." Saber said, smiling.
"You shoulda seen it, man," Sonic said, hopping off of the biplane's wing. "Saber blew up Eggman's airship single-handedly!"
"What?" Shirou asked, looking at the Hedgehog.
"Here, watch this," Tails said, flying out of the cockpit with the Miles Electric. "I managed to get it on camera. Check out this action!"
Shirou gaped at the recorded footage of Saber swinging down her sword, which was followed by a blinding light.
"Yeah, Eggman wishes he could build a death ray like that!" Sonic laughed, "Oh, I wish I could've seen the look on his face."
At hearing Eggman's name, Rin allowed herself a smile of her own. "That's one less thing for us to worry about. It didn't exactly go as I wanted, but the plan worked, at least. Mission accomplished."
"What do you mean?" Tails asked.
"I mean he's dead," Rin answered. A bit more thoughtfully, she added, "Look, I imagine you guys have some code of honor against killing, but this is serious. The longer Eggman kept attacking the city, the more likely the Mage's Association will take drastic action. We had to finish Eggman off."
"That's what I mean," Tails replied, "What makes you think Eggman's dead?"
"You think he could have survived Saber's Noble Phantasm?" Archer asked.
"Hey, this wouldn't be the first time someone shot a death ray through his ship with him on it." Sonic commented.
"But…But…that's impossible!" Rin shouted, "How could anyone survive what Saber did?!"
"Look, the last time we foiled Eggman's schemes, it resulted in a black hole sucking up his space station," Tails explained, "If you can explain that one, I'd love to hear it."
"I…I wouldn't even know where to begin…" Rin said helplessly. Once more she felt a huge gap between her own skills and experiences and that of Tails'. It took the wind out of her metaphorical 'victory balloon.'
"So everything that happened today was completely pointless…" Shirou groaned.
"Jeez, you guys are depressing. No wonder ya'll suck at this hero thing," Sonic sighed, on his way to a tree to sit under. He rested his head against the trunk. "Look, we took out one of Eggman's battleships, and every weapon on it. That's less weapons Eggy's gonna throw at us next time."
"He's right, Shirou," Saber piped up, "The War may not be over, but for now…we have achieved a victory. That is something to take pride in."
Shirou exhaled. Saber had a point. Eggman had used up a lot of robots at the harbor. And with the destruction of his airship- which could go underwater- it would be a while before he could launch another attack. That gave them some time before he could try again.
Dr. Eggman staggered into the factory section of the Egg Saucer. The ends of his mustache were so frayed that it looked like someone had attacked him with a jagged, bent comb. When his instruments detected the energy output from Sabers sword, Eggman immediately evacuated the Flying Torpedo. The power stones he had taken from Rin allowed him to bolster the Egg Mobiles shields enough to survive the blast, and then limp back into his base. The minute he touched down in the launch bay, his hovercraft had fallen to pieces.
Orbot and Cubot looked up from a Egg Pod. Seeing Eggman, Orbot hovered over. Clasping his hands together, the red round robot said, "Welcome back, Dr. Eggman!"
Cubot followed suit. "So, how did it go?"
Eggman glared at the yellow, blocky robot, pulled his foot back, and kicked Cubot. The Robot soared magnificently in the air , bounced off of a conveyor belt, and landed into a bin labeled, "BROKEN PARTS WITH SHARP EDGES".
"…I'll assume it went badly." Orbot guessed, wisely hovering out of legs length.
"It was a total disaster!" Eggman shouted, waving his arms in frustration. "I almost got killed, and I lost the Flying Torpedo in one fell swoop!"
"Maybe you shouldn't leave the self-destruct where Sonic'll find it." Cubot suggested, pulling himself out of the bin. There was small bits of shrapnel stuck in his joints.
Eggman huffed. "It wasn't Sonic this time…not completely, anyway. How can I conquer a world if it's full of super-powered kids?"
"Aww, don't be like that, doc," Cubot said, removing shards with Orbot help. "Maybe somethin'll turn up!"
Cubot tossed one metal piece absent-mindedly into the air. It landed on the Egg Pod's top button, pushing it down. The Pod's doors opened up, and a teenaged boy with blue hair not unlike wakame tumbled out. Gasping, Shining Matou looked up at his new surroundings, his face equal parts confused and frightened.
Eggman was also confused, but far less frightened. "What the- how'd he get in there?" the doctor demanded, stomping over to Shinji.
Hearing Eggman's shout, Shinji turned around. The sight of the madman approaching caused a very feminine shriek to spill out of his mouth. His instinct bade him to flee, so Shinji turned away. This put him faced to face with Cubot- who was holding a piece of jagged metal. A second shriek followed.
"Ahhh!" Cubot reeled back. "Right in my ear-part!"
"That's strange," Orbot murmured, putting the shards he had taken off Cubot back in the bin. "I wonder how he got in there."
"Well, never mind how he got here, get rid of him!" Eggman ordered, "I don't have time for this!"
"Get rid of me?" Shinji gasped, struggling to stand up. "Wha…what are you going to do?"
"Sir?" Orbot asked, turning to his master.
Eggman waved a dismissive hand. "Just toss him overboard. Let the ocean do the work for us."
"Wait," Cubot raised a hand, "What if he's one of those kids with superpowers?"
Orbot took out the Eggman Electric and scanned Shinji. A beeped a few times before giving off an obnoxious buzz.
"Not according to this," Orbot reported, "He's completely clean of Chaos energy."
"Oh, never mind," Cubot shrugged, "Let's get 'im."
The two robots advanced on Shinji. The powerless Matou quaked in fear at their approach.
"Wa…wait!" Shinji cried out, holding out his hands. "Don't do this! You don't want to do this!"
"Oh, and why not?" Eggman asked sarcastically.
There were moments when inspiration struck. An idea would just make itself known with the force and suddenness of a bolt of lightning. The same thing happened to Shinji.
And with the same amount of collateral damage.
"Because I can tell you about those super powered kids!" Shinji shouted.
The robots stopped. Eggman smoothed out his mustache. Shinji felt a grin forming on his face as an idea formed in his head.
"Go on…" Eggman offered, rubbing his chin.
He remembered what Rider told him about the robot Saber thought during the night. He remember how difficult Saber had it during the daytime attack. Shinji realized that the key to victory was right in front of him.
And unfortunately, so did Eggman.
"So, tell me," Shinji began, "What do you know about the Holy Grail War…?"
TO BE CONTINUED
Tiger Dojo
Taiga: When there is no more room in Hell, the Tiger Dojo shall walk the Earth! This is your instructor, Fujimura Taiga!
Illya: And Illya, the Number 1 student, is also here!
Taiga: It's finally happened! The event we hoped would never pass! Eggman knows about the Holy Grail War!
Illya: That stupid Shinji, what's he doing? You'd think even the most useless member of one of the Holy War's founding families would have more pride than that.
Taiga: As one of Shinji's teachers, and the supervisor of the archery club he's part of, I can explain Shinji's actions. He's very greedy, and very shortsighted. I think it's a Matou thing. I once met his grandfather for a parent-teacher conference, and he seemed to act the same way.
Illya: Figures.
Taiga: Anyway, this puts an end to the first arc, "Sonic in Fuyuki". To celebrate, we will allow a cameo of the first reviewer who guessed this plot twist was coming!
Illya: What twist? It was obvious that Shinji would rat us out.
Taiga: Pipe down! (Whacks Illya)
Thunder Dragon: Hey.
Taiga: Okay, you can leave, now.
Thunder Dragon: But-
Taiga: Out! (Punts Thunder Dragon out)
Illya: You're so mean.
Taiga: It's important to set boundaries. Otherwise, they'll walk all over- Hey, what are those papers you're holding?
Illya: That Stuart guy was snooping around the castle, so I had Sella steal some files from as revenge.
Taiga: Young lady! Stealing from a government official is a felony! …Can I see?
Illya: No, they're mine.
Taiga: Hand those over, you little brat! I'm confiscating them!
Illya: Hey, leggo! Don't make me call in Berserker! Wait, you're gonna hit the-
Klckgrrrfzzz
From the files of Agent Stuart_
The following individuals are hereby listed as suspect for the Fuyuki case_
Please place them under Level 1 monitoring_
[Sonic]
Notable features: Blue quills coming from his head, red and white sneakers.
Special skills: super human running speed estimated to reach 650 mph.
Description: this strange creature was sighted a day or so before the high school attack. The first eyewitness claimed to have been saved from a serial killer. Since then, there have been numerous reports of a 'blue streak' speeding by throughout the city. Though superficially obnoxious, the creature seems benign in nature. He has been also sighted in the vicinity of...
[Emiya Shirou]
Notable features: red hair, gold eyes.
Special skills: repairing appliances, cooking, archery.
Description: a survivor of the Great Fire of Fuyuki, Shirou was adopted and raised Emiya Kiritsugu following the disaster. Due to the trauma, he has no memories of his previous family. Though functional, Shirou seems to suffer from a form of survivors guilt where he does not turn down any request asked of him. Furthermore, scanners salvaged from robots indicate that his body contains a small amount of X energy, the amount of which fluctuates depending on his proximity with...
[Saber]
Notable features: blond hair tied in a bun, with a single strand loose on her forehead.
Special skills: swordsmanship, eating three times her body weight, motorcycle riding.
Description: Kiritsugu's former subordinate from 10 years ago, Saber vanished from the public eye following the Great Fire. Strangely enough, she seems to have not aged during that time! The large amounts of X energy inside her may be a factor in her apparent agelessness. Wherever she was, she has reappeared to act as Shirou's bodyguard during this period mysterious deaths and mass fainting. She has a very stoic behavior, but so far has not shown any hostile activity.
Fzzzzzzzip!
Taiga: Oh, good. We're back. You should be more careful, Illya-chan.
Illya: You're the one who knocked the camera over!
Taiga: That's all the time we have left! We'll see you at the next practice!
Illya: We'll be seeing you! Roll the credits!