Chapter 18: Stained Clouds

It was late morning by the time everyone woke up. They were all exhausted, physically and mentally, from the ordeal of the "Caster War", as historians would call it. Shirou was the first one up. His entire night had been filled with nightmares of being trapped in a speeding car while a madwoman pushed the limits of how fast around a mountain turnpike the driver could push the accelerator.

Not that the waking world was less stressful. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Illya had crawled into his bed and had become attached to his left side. But it was finding Saber on the right that was the real shocker. It took fifteen minutes of very careful squirming to pull himself out of their grips.

I knew Saber is still worried about Illya, but to think she'd sneak into my room! Shirou thought as he tried to pump blood back into his left arm. I'm just glad Tohsaka hadn't come in to wake us…

As he entered the kitchen Shirou got to work making breakfast. Doing basic housework was always a good way to relieve stress. As he worked, Knuckles wandered in, half-asleep. He went outside. Shirou heard the sound of the hose being turned on, followed by a splashing sound.

"GAH! COLD!" Knuckles was heard shouting. He sounded more awake.

He could have splashed water from the sink on his face, Shirou thought, Or does he enjoy doing things the hard way?

Knuckles, with water dripping off of his quills, entered the kitchen. While pouring himself a glass of juice, he noticed Shirou shooting him the occasional odd glance. After swallowing and pouring a refill, he said, "What? That girl's pet muscleman was hogging the bath and I gotta wash up somehow."

Muscleman? A horrified premonition struck Shirou. Oh no…don't tell me Berserker is in the bathroom!

Shirou's fears were abated when Archer came out. He wasn't wearing his overcoat, and had a towel wrapped around his head.

"Some of us have had that witch's energy piped right into our bodies," Archer said, taking off the towel and shaking his white hair. "You can't blame me for feeling a bit dirty."

"Yes I can," Shirou retorted, "You let her pipes in."

Knuckles grimaced, clearly getting the wrong idea.

"Why don't you wait until you get back to Tohsaka's to shower?" Shirou asked.

"I have a feeling that the minute I take off my clothes, Rin will replace them with a maid costume." Archer replied. Actually, before going to bed, Rin had clearly told him through their link that such a fate awaited him the minute they returned to the Mansion.

It didn't take long for everyone else to get up. The smell of Shirou's cooking was good enough to wake the dead. Saber, despite her exhaustion from the previous night's battle, was the first at the table, wearing a borrowed sleeping kimono and a hungry expression. Not long, everyone else showed up. Soon, they were all seated around the table, eating, chatting, and just getting along. It was heartwarming, but Shirou knew that this was only a brief reprieve. The War would was not over, it never would until the last Servant had been slain. And of course, they would have to take down Eggman and send Sonic's friends home.

I wish these sorts of times would last forever… Shirou thought sadly. But he knew they couldn't. Caster may have been dead, but there were still the other Servants to worry about. And of course, it was only a matter of time until Dr. Eggman launched another assault on the city. And then there was the matter of the person who attacked them after the battle…

It was Tails who brought it up. "Um, I'm not sure if this is a good time to ask, but, about last night…" He looked imploringly at Saber. "Who was guy with the spiky hair? He seemed to know you."

Rin nodded. "In fact, he seemed intimately familiar with you, Saber."

Saber grimaced. She knew that was going to come up, and would have preferred leaving such a history hidden by the sands of time. But Archer, the other Archer's appearance had ensured that playing dumb would not be productive. And sometimes the truth was like taking off a band-aid- it was better to get it over with. Everyone looked to Saber. Even Archer, who had already heard her story before, watched the King of Knights, if only to measure her expressions.

Saber began with, "The man who attacked us at Mt Ryuudou, was someone I met ten years ago…during the Fourth War for the Holy Grail."

Tails asked, "So, when you called him 'Archer'…"

Saber nodded. "Yes, he is a Heroic Spirit, summoned in the Archer class of Servant."

Illya frowned. "How could you remember that? Heroic Spirits shouldn't be able to remember what happened to the Servants created from them."

"My circumstances as a Heroic Spirit are different than most," Saber said. She then looked down sadly. "In fact, I have never truly been to the Throne of Heroes."

And so Saber told them of the Battle of Camlann, and how, before dying, she prayed to find the Holy Grail. In response to her desire, the Holy Grail itself pulled her mind centuries into the future, allowing her to appear in the modern era.

"So, you became a Servant without dying?" Tails clarified.

Saber nodded. "Correct," She looked to Rin. "Rin, you claimed that my inability to take Astral form was because of Shirou's inexperience and skill as a Mage. In truth, I would have this limitation even if a true Mage had summoned me."

As the group took that in, Knuckles raised his hand. "Okay, so You're not really a ghost. That's cool. But what about your boyfriend from Caster's?"

Saber grimaced, while the grips of both Archer and Shirou tightened considerably.

"That man was not, is not, and never will be someone I consider a romantic partner!" Saber said loudly. In a quieter tone, she continued. "As I have said, that Archer was someone I fought in the previous War. That is all."

"So, who was he?" Sonic asked, "I mean, I've been wracking my brain all night, and I can't think of any legends that include a guy with a bazillion sword-missiles."

Saber sighed. "Unfortunately, I was never able to determine his true identity. All I can say for certain is that he is immensely powerful…as last night proved," With a firm look, she said, "When we fought in the Fourth War, I was completely unable to attain a victory over him. And in my current state…"

The sheer weight of what Saber said was on everyone's shoulders, but it was felt especially by the groups Mages. The strength of a Servant was proportionate to the magical abilities of their Master. There was no doubt that Saber's then-Master was a Mage with genuine skill and power, unlike the weak novice Shirou. Which meant that even with the power of a fully-realized Mage supplying her Prana, Saber was incapable of overcoming the golden man's power.

"But how could a Servant from a past War still exist?" Rin asked, crossing her arms in thought. "Without the power of the Grail, there's no way he could maintain his physical form for a decade."

"No, there's a way," Illya interrupted, "As you said, Tohsaka, he used the power of the Holy Grail."

"Huh?" Was the word that came out of almost everyone's mouths.

"Have you all forgotten what the War is about?" Illya asked, "Whoever attains the Grail's power can have any wish they desire. My grandfather says that virtually all Servants want is to be reborn completely into our world. Whoever Goldy is, he must have won the Fourth War and used it to make a flesh and blood body for himself."

"Normally, that might be the case," Saber said, "But the Fourth Holy Grail was destroyed before it could fully realize."

"You mean someone broke it?" Sonic blurted out, "How could anyone do that?"

Saber looked pained. "It's possible if one destroys the vessel that was prepared to contain it." It was brief, but her eyes flickered towards Illya.

Rin hummed in thought. "How do you know this Saber?"

Saber sighed. "I saw it happen. I and that Archer were the last Servants remaining in the War before the Grail's destruction."

And it was her blade that did the deed. And it was on Kiritsugu's orders she was forced to do it. Saber would never forget just how close to victory she had been when her so-called 'Master' had ripped it away from her. And what happened afterwards…

"Well, it probably doesn't matter anymore," Knuckles said, "If a guy that dangerous is gonna be wandering around the city, we'll just have to be on our toes until we find the Emeralds."

Tails smiled. "Yeah, we're already two down."

"And once we have the other five…" Sonic snapped his fingers, "It'll be a real party!"

Tails and Knuckles exchanged knowing looks, although Knuckles had his accompanied by a roll of the eyes. The looks exchanged by the Masters and Servants were more quizzical, by comparison. Shirou was about to ask what exactly Sonic meant when the Hedgehog stood up.

"Well, it looks it's gonna be a beautiful day, and there's no way I'm gonna spend it inside," He announced, "Team Sonic, we've got more Emeralds and one more friend to find. Let's motor!"

Sonic was away from the table in an instant, and a clatter announced that his dishes had been deposited into the sink. The doors to the backyard had also been left open. Tails gave off a cheer and copter-ed after him, while Knuckles just got up, wiped his mitts, and strode after the pair. Not long after…

"Hey, why is it, 'Team Sonic'?"

"What's wrong with Team Sonic?"

"It's not cool."

"It's totally cool!"

"Says Who?!"

"I think it's cool."

"See?"

"He's biased, so his opinion doesn't count."

"Anyway, it's my team, so we use my name."

"This is my team, too, y'know!"

"So, What? We call this team, 'Team Knuckles'?"

"Why not?"

"Everything hear of pots calling kettles black?"

"What does cookware have to do with this?"

"I know! We could call ourselves 'Team Sonic…& Knuckles!"

Then again, Shirou thought, grimacing. Maybe it's a good thing these days won't last… Listening to these off the wall conversations was in a way more exhausting than any battle had been.

"So, we're just going to let them go out?" Illya asked, confused.

"Thanks to Eggman's assault on our school, keeping those guys under wraps is no longer a priority," Rin said, resting her head on the table. "Now, I just want to make sure they don't lead the cops to our doorstep. We've had too many close calls on that front as it is…"

"-And our tests clearly show that the bodies, whoever they came from, were originally human." Dr. Pierceman finished his report.

Agent Stuart wondered, as he fought to keep the bile from erupting, if somewhere in the multiverse there was a different him. A version of Agent Stuart whose missions involved less confusing and far less nauseating events. A Stuart whose exploits could be rated "E For Everyone."

Late last night, the police had received reports of loud noises- Crashes, and other cacophony- coming from the Fuyuki Church. Since the area was a confirmed danger zone thanks to the X energy field, the military had been sent to investigate. When they arrived at the church, they had found it in shambles. The amount of damage to the building, while not on the level of what happened when Eggman's robot attacked it, was more than could be done by a disgruntled churchgoer. However, they could find no traces of any of Eggman's smaller robots. It was if a giant monster attacked the place.

But the more shocking had been the squad's discovery of the church's hidden chambers. Areas that had been unnoticed during the first reconstruction. It was like someone had put the map of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign underneath the church. And 'dungeon' was more appropriate a moniker than anyone would have wanted to believe. In one of the sealed, cold rooms, were bodies. Hideously malformed, rotting corpses. But even more disturbing was the revelation was that up until a few days ago (a rough guess at that), these putrid masses of flesh had been alive, meaning that A) whoever killed them was extremely violent and vindictive in the act, B) these poor souls had been rotting before they were murdered. A preliminary check indicated that the number of bodies were equal to the headcount of the orphans who survived the Fire of Fuyuki. The ones who supposedly died of "Natural Causes"

Well, now we know what happened to them, Stuart thought, his stomach still sick. And, surprise, surprise, Father Kirie is nowhere to be found.

Kirie Kotomine's background was both very telling, and obnoxiously ambiguous. Although he was a devout member of the Catholic Church for many years, as had every member of his family, it was unclear what position held within the organization before becoming head of the Fuyuki Church. In school, he had shown signs of easily learning almost any discipline, any subject, but before completing a course, he would cut it short it. He'd strive to be the ideal student, but never bothered with becoming a Master. The only psychiatric report Stuart could obtain would describe Kotomine as "Troubled, but detached." He had been married for a time, but his wife had committed suicide, and Kotomine had left their child with his in-laws. A few years afterwards, the Great Fire occurred, during or shortly before which, his father Kotomine Risei had also been murdered, leaving Kotomine to take over the Fuyuki Church. A Kenneth Archibald from England had been suspected, but the man and his own fiancé were murdered as well before they could be found and questioned. Tragedy seemed to indirectly follow the man, but always hit those just within his reach…But it never physically affected him.

"Have an APB put out for Kirie Kotomine," Stuart ordered another agent, "But don't allow anyone but our black ops soldiers approach him. He's dangerous, and knows an obscure from of martial arts. Keep me posted."

As the agent left, Twice continued speaking. "There's something else you should know. That energy spike we detected at the mountain shrine? It's gone."

Stuart looked back Twice. "Gone? What do you mean?"

"I mean there's no energy anymore. It's gone," Twice answered, "Whatever was generating that spike has stopped. The good news is that that same field was what was keeping our agents from investigating. With it gone, I've sent a team to check out the area," Was his smile a smirk? "Sorry for not asking permission."

Stuart waved him off. "Don't be. I'm just glad you're helping. Anything else?"

Twice looked more lucid. "Actually, yes. We've located Bazett McRemitz. She's hiding out in a motel in the red light district. The pink creature, Amy Rose, is still with her."

"Keep the two of them under observation for now," Stuart ordered, "But finding Kotomine is our top priority. Whatever else happens, he's the key to figuring out what's happening in this city."

This investigation was going in so many directions that it would send Detective Cohen into a mental spin. However, the bug planted in the Fuyuki Church had picked up numerous conversations between Kotomine and another man called Gil-something. (Occasionally, Kotomine would call the other man Archer, but that was clearly a nickname.) The dialogue was vague, and possibly intentionally misleading, but frequent referrals to a "grail" and a "war" were recorded. Nothing substantial enough to justify a direct interrogation, but with the discovery of the bodies…

Let's just hope we can solve this before Eggman launches another attack… Stuart thought.

Dr. Eggman was finishing another session of Puyo Puyo (He lost) when a loud beeping sounded off. The image on his computer screen was replaced by a yellow background with little Egg insignias dancing around the borders. The words "EMERALD ALERT!" appeared, and a radar map of Fuyuki, showing several flashing dots over the city.

"At last!" Eggman chuckled, rubbing his hands together. "These readings are undoubtedly the kind you would get from a Chaos Emerald!"

"Oh my, what a brilliant deduction," an electronic voice sneered, "And you only had to look at the computers giant capital letters only once to do so."

Eggman shot a dirty look at the robot attached to the far left corner of his desk. "Shut up, Proto-Orbot, or I'll junk you like I did with Scratch and Grounder!"

The robot, which resembled Orbot but had tarnished, grey casing, just rolled its eyes. "Oh no, please excuse me, I completely forgot about your childish temper tantrums."

Eggman's fist slammed down on the robot, crushing it completely. The robots arms twitched and convulsed.

"Now I remember…"

Turning on his heels, Eggman strode towards the elevator and took the lift down. He then boarded a conveyor belt that carried him through a wide expanse full of turning gears and pistons. Once he reached the end of the belt, he took a door and entered a wide hallway. Eggman stuck out his thumb, and a taxi cab, driven by an Egg Pawn wearing a chauffer's hat, pulled. Eggman got in the back, and with a screech the cab drove off. Eggman calmly twiddle his thumbs as they passed several doors.

"Here's my stop, you can let me out." Eggman said, And got out when the car halted.

Eggman entered a door and was quickly pulled down a pneumatic tube designed to carry his considerable girth. The tube deposited Eggman into a large bay, and as he stepped out the mad doctor sighed and stretched, working some kinks out of his back.

"Oh, why did I put my office so far from the hanger?" Eggman groaned.

The lights came on, and on both sides were long lineups of Eggmobiles. Although fundamentally the same design at their core, each Eggmobile had a powerful weapon attached. Further down the line were larger vehicles and weapons, all with a special port for an Eggmobile to dock into and control.

Eggman looked down at all of them. Nodding, he walked over to the side where a slot machine was. Instead of the traditional symbols, such as pictures of Rings, Sonic, Tails, or himself, the slots shown were that of the numerous vehicles that life the bay.

"Decisions, decisions…" Eggman sighed, and then grinned. "But I'm feeling lucky tonight!"

He pulled the lever, and slots began to spin.

The first thing Sakura became aware of was the ringing in her ears. It was faint, but she heard it. It was the only thing that penetrated the darkness that surrounded herself. Sakura then opened her eyes and realized that she wasn't in any darkness. Just her room in the Matou Manor. And the ringing she heard wasn't tinitus, but the telephone.

Why do we have a telephone? Sakura thought, pulling herself out of bed. She wasn't aware that she had stumbled back to her…well, calling her abode a home would never be accurate. Although her room was prettily decorated in all things typical of a teen girl, it was only in case guests visited the Manor, to keep up appearances. It was just another cell in the prison she had been sold to so many years ago…

Eventually, Sakura found the only working telephone in the entire Manor. It was a testament to the caller's persistence that they did not give up.

"He…hello, Matou residence," Sakura said weakly into the receiver. "Sakura speaking."

"Finally!" Shinji's irritated (Or perhaps just irritating) voice came out from the speaker. "I've been trying to get in touch with you forever! I tried calling Shirou, but no one picked up! And…"

Sakura briefly tuned out Shinji's rants. Her dreams had been different that night. Instead of merely physical tortures, different memories played by in her mind. Being abandoned by their lord, forcing an army across the world…there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the dreams that night. The only true pattern was that the visions involved suffering and unrewarded labor…nothing she was unfamiliar with, really.

Shinji eventually got back to the point at hand. "…so I want you meet me at the Ahnenerbe."

"Th-the what?" Sakura asked. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place it.

Shinji made an irritated noise. "That weird restaurant downtown. Go there and look for me. Don't tell anyone and come alone. And be sure to bring Rider with you!"

"Okay, but…" Shinji hung up. "Rider's dead…" Sakura finished listlessly.

Then, silence, with the exception of the phone's dial tone. Sakura looked up out a window, at the clear blue sky. Unlike her, the open blue space was clearly in peace.

Now what…?

She hadn't really spoken to Shinji at all since Eggman's attack on the school. He had just packed up and left for a hotel. When Rider returned to her, she had half-expected Shinji to come by and demand control over the Servant again.

But he didn't. Even when he returned to the Manor for a brief time. So what had changed?

Sakura found herself turning her head out towards a nearby window. The sky was so blue…

Zouken frowned as he stared up at the sky. The sheer beauty of the day felt like a slap in the face. It was as if the entire world was mocking his existence by showing how great life could be, when his life has been a constant torment.

Or maybe I'm just grumpy from not getting the Assassin I wanted. the Matou Mage thought as he glared at a conspicuously empty space.

No sooner had he had the samurai bound to him, Zouken instantly developed a dislike for the false Assassin. There was something about the psuedo-Servant's false humility that grated on Zouken's nerves. Actually, it was everything about his false humility. Zouken had been sorely tempted to use Sasaki as a catalyst to summon the actual Servant Assassin, but with so many warped changes and aberrations to the course of the Grail War, he couldn't risk it.

(In an alternate timeline, he did risk it. Instead of Hassan-i-Sabban, he got Segata Sanshirou…but that's a story for another time.)

Having taken control of the wayward samurai, Zouken's first order was to obtain a Chaos Emerald. After seeing how powerful Caster had become from harnessing the energies of one, he needed those gems now more than ever. The stress of welding its energies might cause his current body to break down sooner than it normally would, but if his plans succeeded that wouldn't be a problem.

Of course, that's only if my useless Fake Assassin can actually get a Chaos Emerald before the War ends… Zouken thought, shooting another contemptuous at the empty space. He was currently on the roof of an office building that was in-between owners. Before, there had been a giant, golden ring floating in the air, spinning. Zouken knew from his observations that such things were gateways to where a Chaos Emerald lay. He had sent the Fake Assassin into the ring, with explicit instructions to not return until he had retrieved the Emerald, and as many of those Power Rings as he could.

That had been a half-hour ago. Either something had gone terribly wrong, or the Fake Assassin was purposely taking an extended sojourn into the Special Zone (A ridiculous name…or perhaps very fitting, given the idiotic direction the War was taking) as a show of defiance. The worse part, was that while Fake Assassin was in the Special Zone, the telepathic link between Master and Servant seemed to be blocked, which prevented Zouken from keeping track of Fake Assassin's movements. For a man who prided himself on keeping control over his pawns, this was the biggest insult he could receive. Especially since the Command Seals were his idea, so long ago, back when she was alive-

No, don't think about, Zouken told himself, There's too much at stake here to distract yourself by reminiscence.

Zouken's bitter musings were interrupted by a flash of light, and there stood the Fake Assassin. Much to Zouken's frustration, that irritating smile was still on his face.

"I have returned, Master," Fake Assassin greeted with his false cheer. "And I bring good tidings!"

"You had better have something more than tidings, you pretense of a Heroic Spirit," Zouken growled, "What took you so long?"

"The area within the Ring was nothing this world could ever equal, Master," Fake Assassin said, "It was if the world was a giant chessboard, and there were these bright spheres, some blue, most red. Navigating it to find the Chaos Emerald was a great hassal."

"So, you found it." Zouken's words were not a question. They were a threat, along the lines of, Because if you didn't, you're worm food.

the Fake Assassin reached into his robes and produced the jewel. It was a vibrant green stone that hummed with a force that called to Zouken's worms like a siren song. However, Zouken had more than enough self control to stop himself from greedily snatching it up. He had been monitoring the War, and through his gleanings that Chaos Emerald energy was almost too potent. If he wasn't careful, he would destroy himself. Luckily, Caster had already shown a decent way to siphon the Emerald's Prana while minimizing the damage it would cause.

"We're going back to the Manor," Zouken ordered his Servant, "Do not lose that, or I shall be very upset."

As they walked home, already Zouken's mind was buzzing with possibilities...

On the top of a building, Sonic, Tails, & Knuckles were eating some takeout (Purchased from a very surprised vendor) when a beeping interrupted the sound of chewing. Tails put down his wrap and checked the Miles Electric.

"This is interesting." Tails murmured, fiddling with the device.

"What is it?" Knuckles asked, swallowing his fruit smoothie. "Status update on your blog?"

"Knuckles, my blog is in a separate universe," Tails said, "How could I get updates while we're in this universe?"

"Hey, I don't know how half your stuff works," Knuckles defended, "For I all, you did and you're keeping it secret!"

Sonic peered over Tails' shoulder at the screen. It showed a map of the city, with a flashing dot going down the streets.

"Is that a Chaos Emerald, or a Servant?" Sonic asked.

"I think it's an Emerald," Tails said, "The signal didn't appear until a minute ago. Servant signals are constant. Someone must have gotten a Chaos Emerald out of a Special Zone!"

"Then let's get going," Knuckles said, standing up. "If it's another witch like Caster, we could be in big trouble."

"What if it's just a normal person who got lucky?" Tails asked, tucking away the Miles Electric.

Knuckles grinned, and smacked his fists together. "Then they're in trouble."

"Better let me do the negotiating, if that's the case, Knux," Sonic said, grinning. "You've never been the best when it comes first impressions- and I've got the chin injury to prove it."

Knuckles was about to retort when a loud explosion caught their attention. Three fuzzy heads turned to see a small plum of smoke rising up from another part of the city. They could hear the faint sound of sirens in the distance…

…along with the sounds of maniacal laughter.

"Oh no, is that Eggman?" Sonic groaned.

Tails cupped his hands over his eyes and squinted. "Looks like," He pulled out the Miles Electric. "Huh, that's weird. He's not going towards the Chaos Emerald's signal…"

"Good for us," Knuckles said, and jumped off the building. "You two go see what Eggman's cooking up! I'm going after that Emerald!"

Knuckles spread out his quils, catching the air and glided away. Exchanging looks, (and wry grins) Sonic and Tails turned their attention towards the ruckus Eggman was undoubtably causing. They both began charging up a Spin Dash, and shot off into the city.

Somewhere within downtown Fuyuki was a certain restaurant. It was a small café, a bit gloomy in aesthetics, but still a generally decent place to get a meal. This eatery was infamous, among those who knew about it, for being a place of impossible meetings.

None of that concerned Shinji as he took his seat. He didn't care about the name of the place, or its history. All that mattered was that there was a decent throng so he and Sakura could talk and very few could overhear. A nagging voice in the back of his mind told him that the appearance of the diminutive staff should be concerning him, but Shinji forced it quiet. He sat at a table in the corner, his posture set to subtly intimidate.

(Neko Arc nudged Neko Arc Chaos. "That boy in the corner. Is he constipated, nya?"

Neko Arc Chaos took a draft of his cigarette and blew out some smoke. "The inner turmoil of a child entering adulthood…such a dangerous mystery!"

Neko Arc Bubbles nodded, grunting.)

Shinji waited. He ordered an iced tea. He pulled out a laptop and set it on the table and drank the entire glass. When returned from the bathroom, he saw Sakura was waiting for him, sitting across from his chair. Horrible, horrible memories bubbled up, and so did his breakfast. Shinji retreated back into the restroom, and once he was done, returned to the table and glared at his sis- step-sister. (That made it less nauseating.)

"Hello, big brother," Sakura greeted politely, "I…I haven't seen you since you moved out. Are you well?"

Shinji didn't answer. Instead, he booted up his laptop. He selected the only file on the desktop. As the video loaded, he turned the computer around so that the screen was facing Sakura.

Sakura stared in confusion. "What is this supposed…"

She gasped in horror as the image of herself, lying naked in a pit of Zouken's filthy worms, appeared. Somehow, Shinji managed to sneak a camera into the pit and caught everything on video. She looked at stepbrother, her face going pale as he glowed at her.

"That's right," Shinji said darkly, "I know everything. At least..." He closed the laptop. "As much as I could learn from this one show."

Sakura shivered as the full impact of what was happening struck. But what Shinji said next nearly stopped her heart.

"I wonder what Emiya would learn if he saw it."

He would call her a freak. A deviant. A perverse, sick, weirdo. Such scenarios whirled through Sakura's mind at such speed they made her dizzy. But they all ended with Shirou turning his back on her, forever.

No…No, I can't lose Shirou! She thought feverishly.

"But, I don't really want to show him, or anyone, this movie," Shinji continued, "And I won't. But in return, I want you to make me another Book of False Atonement. So I can resume being Rider's Master."

So that was it. It would be so simple. Give up Rider, and save herself. There was just one problem…

"I…can't." Sakura said faintly.

"What?"

"I said I can't."

Shinji didn't respond. At least, not with words. Instead, he stood up, grabbed Sakura by the wrist, and dragged out to the alley.

"Let's try this again," Shinji snarled, pushing Sakura against the wall. "I want to be Rider's Master. You are going to make that happen. Because if you don't, the whole world will see what Matou Sakura does before bedtime!"

"But I can't!" Sakura screamed, and began to cry. "Rider's dead."

"What?"

"She was killed a few nights ago," Sakura explained, sobbing. "I don't know how, but she did. I'm not a Master either."

As the sheer futility of their situation, the unfairness of their lives, and every other rotten thing they experienced took hold, Sakura found herself looking up at the sky. Such a clear, blue, sky….

A loud roar preceded the shaking. Shinji let go of Sakura and looked out at the street as screaming filled the air.

Coming down the road was a monstrous vehicle, that looked more a giant, metal water-skimmer. Its body was held up by four long legs on tank treads that knocked over cars too big to be crushed underneath. Attached to the back of the main body was something that resembled one of those Egg Pods that typically housed animals captured by Eggman's robots.

So it was of no surprise that seated a bit too firmly in the cockpit was Dr. Eggman himself. With his goggles fitted over his glasses, the mustache-ed madman glanced over to the alley. According to his computer, there was a huge mass of energy building in there. With the push of a button, a metal tentacle popped out of his car's side and shot towards the alley. Shinji dove to the side to avoid being hit by incoming apparatus. Sakura wasn't so fortunate. The end of the tentacle split open into a clasp, which clamped around her waist. The metal tendril retracted, and faster than it would take for Sakura to scream, it unceremoniously dumped her into the Pod on its back. Once his computer told him that the lock was secure, Eggman drove his "Egg Skimmer" off, laughing madly.

Shinji stared in shock at what had happened. Eggman had kidnapped his sister! Clutching his forehead in frustration, Shinji realized that the doctor's computers must have confused the high Prana in her body for a Chaos Emerald, like he did at the school! He needed to get to a safe place so he could contact Eggman in secret.

Shinji ran back inside the restaurant to pay his check. When he got back to his table, he saw that something was missing.

"Hey!" He shouted a waitress, getting her attention. "What happened to my laptop?!"

The waitress shrugged. "What laptop?"

(Nero Arc presented the laptop to the clerk of a pawn shop. "How much for this, nya?")

After cleaning up breakfast and doing some training, Shirou decided that he needed to visit Taiga. With Saber and Illya in tow, the three went to the hospital wear Taiga was recovering from the wound she gotten when Shirou stabbed her with his Projected Rulebreaker.

"I'm doing fine, Shirou," Taiga said when they arrived at her room. Off to the side was a pile of flowers and get well cards from the Fujimura Group. "Grandpa's been taking care of me, and they're going to release me by the end of the day."

"That's good to know," Shirou replied, glad he hadn't hurt Taiga too badly. "Do you remember how it happened?" While Illya assured him that she altered Taiga's memories, it never hurt to check…

Taiga nodded, frowning. "That's right! I was on my way to see you when some dirty mugger tried to jump me!"

Shirou began to sweat. "Uh, whoever it was must have been gutsy to cause trouble in your grandfather's territory…" He should have warned Illya about Fujimura Raina, the head if the local yakuza…even if you had Magecraft, upsetting a gang lord was dangerous!

Taiga sighed, "Yeah, Grandpa had the entire searched, but nobody found him," She clenched her fist in frustration. "And the worst part was, I beat him off, but tripped and fell on his knife anyway!"

"Often, a warrior is most vulnerable after victory," Saber put in sagely, "For that is when they let their guard down the lowest."

Taiga nodded, apparently considering the blond girls advice. She then said, "Hey, Saber, you used to work for Kiritsugu, didn't you?"

"…Yes?" Saber replied slowly, unsure of what Taiga was getting at.

"Shirou said that little girl is one of Kiritsugu's relatives," Taiga said quietly, "I was wondering if you knew anything…"

"Hey!" Illya protested, "Don't talk about like I'm not here when I am! That's just rude!" She huffed, "And I am papa's daughter, which makes Shirou my Onii-chan!"

"Huh?!"

While Taiga and Illya bickered (with Shirou trying to mediate) Saber considered her next words. While it was true that Kiritsugu did marry into the Einzbern family and had a child, that child was already six years old when the Fourth Holy Grail War began. In the current day, that girl would have to be around Shirou's age. Of course, Illya did help Shirou and Sonic defeat Caster, so the Servant begrudgingly owed her that. Some middle ground would have to be reached.

Saber cleared her throat, catching everyone's attention. "Von Einzbern is the name of family Kiritsugu had married into when he first…contracted my services," She began, "He hired me to safeguard his wife while they did business in Japan. My time in Germany was brief, but before we left, I witnessed him playing a game with his daughter, on who could spot the most buds in the trees surrounding the Einzbern grounds."

Shirou saw that Saber had a far-off look in her eyes, and wondered once more what kind of man his foster father had been before the Fire. Glancing down, he saw that Illya was biting her lip, while her eyes wavered as if she was going to start crying.

It must be painful to remember, for someone if her age. Shirou thought.

Taiga frowned in thought. "So, that's the connection…but what happened to her? Why'd she and Kiritsugu split up?"

Saber looked downcast. "They didn't…not voluntarily. While I was out on a…separate errand…someone intruded in the safehouse we purchased- the very estate you live in now- and kidnapped Irisviel." She glanced at Illya. "I was unable to save her. She had already been murdered…by the one, I believe now, to have started the Great Fire.

"Kiritsugu and I split apart after that. Given what I've learned now, it's possible that the Einzberns blamed Kiritsugu for Irisviel's death, and forbid him from seeing his daughter."

As Taiga bawled over Illya's "Cruel fate" and pulled the child into a crushing hug, Shirou asked Saber in hushed tones, "Saber, is that true? Did Illya's mother come with you during the Fourth War?"

Saber nodded sadly, and Shirou's mind began race. According to Rin, her own family had been sent away so her father could take part in the Holy War without having to worry about their safety. So why would Illya's mother come along? To ensure that Kiritsugu would use the Wish for the Einzbern Clan? That was possible, but something didn't fit. Shirou could feel a nagging at the back of his mind. He could distantly recall something about unbreakable agreements fashioned with Magecraft.

Shirou decided that once they left the hospital, he would have to ask Saber. But for now, he had a job to do. He held up a box. "Well, I doubt hospital food has improved since I stayed in one, so we brought you a little treat, Fuji-nee."

Taiga dropped Illya and gasped melodramatically. "Oh! A box lunch by Shirou! Gimme!" Taiga yanked the box out of Shirou's hands, tossed the lid out the window, and began to guzzle down the meal. Illya, with color returning to her cheeks, staggered over to Shirou.

"She doesn't act like she needs to rest, does she?" She gasped.

Shirou grinned. Taiga was an erratic character, all right. He glanced at Saber (She had been especially upset to learn that the meal was being prepared for Taiga, but accepted that the teacher would need the nourishment), and saw that the Servant was now starting out the room window.

"What is it, Saber?" Shirou asked. He looked as well, but couldn't see anything. He silently Reinforced his eyes for a better look, he saw a column of smoke rising in the distance.

Several columns of smoke.

Shirou's eyes widened. Eggman!

Sakura was frightened beyond anything she had felt before. Even the first time Zouken had sent into the Worms was a mild terror in comparison. Back then, while as grotesque as Zouken's familiars had been, they were a recognizable menace. She had known, even as a child, what that pit would do to her.

So what is Eggman going to do me? Sakura thought. He had abducted her off the street with his latest death machine, locked in a box on the back of his vehicle, and now she could feel every turn and jostle.

You'd think he'd install seatbelts for his kidnapees. Whispered a voice that was not hers.

Avenger! Sakura realized, What are-!? When did you come back?

Oh, Master, I am never truly gone, Avenger replied, And I will always be here to help...

...All you have to do is ask.

Ask? Ask Avenger for help? Better to call for a nuclear strike than rely on such a deviant being. With Rider dead, there was nothing to stop Sakura from seeing Avenger's memories in her slumber. And no matter how much she tried to stay awake, sleep would claim her, and the nightmares would begin anew. And Sakura knew that if given clearance, Avenger would make those dreams a reality.

Another sharp turn nearly gave Sakura a concussion. She tried to steady herself, but she had become so weak in the days since Avenger appeared that it was a wasted effort.

I just…I just want to escape… Sakura thought as darkness claimed her.

People screamed as engines roared, all as a result of Eggman's joyride around the streets of Fuyuki. The Egg Skimmer either leaped over vehicles not fast enough to get clear, or knocked them over. Not helping matters was the novelty car horn Eggman himself seemed insistent on blowing at every possible moment. It said something about human nature that some drivers tried to honk him back.

"I have the right of way!" Eggman yelled when he heard his phone ring. According to the caller ID, it was Shinji. He turned on the speaker. "Hello?"

"What the Hell are you doing?!" Shinji's voice shrieked from the device. "Why did you kidnap my sister?!"

"Oh, you're related?" Eggman asked with passive interest, "According to my radar, this girl is positively brimming with Chaos energy, more so than that first girl!"

"Sakura's more powerful than Tohsaka?"

"She probably has a Chaos Emerald on her person," Eggman theorized, "Or at least access to one. Oh, well, I can figure that part out when we get back to my lab. Hope she's not a screamer."

"Wha- Nononono! Listen, I know how to get her to do what you need! Just…don't do anything until I get back to your base!"

Shinji hung up, leaving Eggman perplexed. He shrugged it off, and focused back on his driving. At this time, the roads had been cleared, giving the Egg Skimmer free rein, it seemed. However, up ahead a large blockade had been set up by a combination of police and military forces.

"Dr. Eggman! This is your first and last warning! Halt your vehicle and surrender!" An officer shouted over a megaphone. When he saw that the Egg Skimmer wasn't slowing down, he tried again. "Please?"

Eggman thought it over. I could just hop over them…nah, I haven't blown something up yet today!

With one push of the button, the Egg Skimmer fired a missile, blowing the blockade apart. The Egg Skimmer then hopped over the explosion, continuing on its way. As it drove, Eggman's console beeped. The radar was detecting power fluctuations from another point in the city.

Eggman twirled his mustache in thought. A second Chaos Emerald must have turned up. He twisted the yoke and turned right. Eggman reprogrammed the autopilot to hone on the new signature and grinned evilly.

Two for the price of one! Eggman thought, Nothing could possibly ruin this happy feeling!

The Egg Skimmer's main body suddenly rocked as something rammed into it from behind. Eggman spun the cockpit around and saw none other than Sonic and Tails running after him!

"Hate to be a buzzkill, but one of your backlights is busted!" Sonic called out playfully.

"Driving with a broken light is against the law, you should pull over!" Tails added eagerly.

"Sonic!" Eggman snarled, and gripped his throttle.

The back-left leg of the Egg Skimmer rose up, and then descended down onto Sonic, who rolled to the side to avoid it. After that, the back-right leg rose and came down, also missing. Growling, Eggman tugged at his yoke, causing the Egg Skimmer to hop up and down, trying to squash Sonic underneath it's treads. This damaged the pavement, kicking up lots of dust and debries until Eggman stopped the jumping. Once the dust settled down, the doctor could see plenty of potholes, cracks, but no squashed Hedgehogs and Foxes.

"Yo, Eggman!"

Eggman spun his cockpit around and saw that somehow Sonic and Tails had gotten ahead of him. The scientist fumed as Tails cheerfully waved to him.

"You should go easier on the street, I don't think the city can afford to re-pave it!" Tails shouted.

Sonic and Tails exchanged hi-fives at the Fox's taunt. The Egg Skimmer squatted down, and shot out it's front-left leg at the pair in an awkward kick. The duo jumped to avoid it, and Tails took flight and Sonic's hand. The double-tailed Fox swung Sonic around and flung him at the Egg Skimmer, bouncing the spinning Hedgehog off of the weapon's main body.

"Argh! Stop that!" Eggman shouted as Sonic fell back behind them.

The Egg Skimmer sprang up and hopped after Tails, with Eggman even trying to reach out and grab the Fox with his gloved hands. But Tails hovered just out of reach, leaving Eggman to fall back down cursing. Once the Egg Skimmer landed back on the street, Sonic took the opportunity to deliver another Homing Shot, this time hitting the pod on the back.

(Inside, Sakura's breathing became rapid as blood rushed to her head…)

As the three of them fought, the battle reached a wide, multi-lane area. Knowing that he couldn't keep going with Sonic and Tails harassing him every step of the way, Eggman stopped the Egg Skimmer in the middle of the street. Flipping a switch, he had the Egg Skimmer begin to spin around, extending its legs out at several intervals in a bid to strike the duo. No such luck, as Tails just airlifted Sonic out of harms way, then throwing the Hedgehog at the Egg Skimmer's body. Eventually, Eggman had to top spinning as it was upsetting his stomach. And while the doctor fetched his barf bag, Sonic took the opportunity to strike the Egg Skimmer again. With a furious cry, (Muffled slightly by swallowing his own vomit) Eggman struck a big red button on the dashboard, causing each leg of the Egg Skimmer to hammer up and down, like a quadrapedic tap dance. Sonic and Tails had to move in order to avoid being trampled, and just barely stayed out of range. Once the Egg Skimmer slowed down, Sonic hit it again.

Although they didn't realize it, that was the last straw. Something black and tentacle-like erupted from the prison pod on the back. The 'Shadow-strands' began to tear at the Egg Skimmer, causing the machine to self-destruct from the stress.

"Whoa! What's up with that!?" Sonic gasped, pointing.

Tails whipped out his Mile Electric and began to take readings. "I don't know, but there's a huge amount energy being erratically released!"

Realizing that something was going wrong, Eggman detached his Egg Mobile from the Skimmer and flew away. Meanwhile, the pod from the wreckage and onto the ground, with the solid shadows retreating back inside. Motioning for Tails to keep his distance, Sonic ran up to inspect the pod. Peeking into the gashes, his eyes narrowed, then widened as he got a good look at whatever was inside. He rushed around and struck the button, opening the pod. A teenaged girl from out, saved from hitting the pavement by Sonic's quick feet.

Seeing that there was no apparent danger, Tails flew in for a closer look. "There was a girl in the pod? Is she a Servant?"

"No…she's a human," Sonic said, brushing the girl's hair to get a better look at her face. While he had only seen her a few times, there was no mistaking that purple hair. "She's a friend of Shirou's…Sakura."

To be continued

Tiger Dojo

Taiga: Back! Front! Up! Down! From all sides, it's the Tiger Dojo! I'm your instructor, Fujimura Taiga! Graow!

Illya: And I'm the Number One Student, Illyaseviel! We're back!

Taiga: And from such a long time! Why'd the author have to move into a new apartment now, and then sign up for a writer's workshop?

Illya: Perhaps he wanted to get tips on writing this story?

Taiga: If he needed lessons, why not take the class before writing this story? In any case, our first question comes from Serv, who asks, "Will Sonic fight with a sword?"

Illya: I think might once, if he and Saber ever fought together in tandem. But it won't be for very long. He'd probably get depressed that magic swords in our universe don't talk.

Taiga: If the Torashinai could talk, I wonder what it would say…?

Illya: Probably something like, "Don't hit your cute, marketable, student with me."

Taiga: Silence! (Whack!) Next question!

Illya: Ugh… next we have Morals, who says, "I just noticed how there's another character from Sonic X. It's Topaz right? She too, was supposed to be an agent from the GUN from the Sonic anime, like Stuart." Good eye, Morals!

Taiga: Topaz originally appeared in the anime, Sonic X, as a partner of Rouge the Bat, assigned by G.U.N. But since Neither G.U.N nor Rouge exist in the Nasuverse, no such luck. Here, she's just an ordinary officer in Japan's Special Forces.

Illya: Yukari Topaz was born to a Mexican father and a Japanese mother. After graduating from high school she entered the military, where she received several commendations for keeping a cool head under fire. This thing with Eggman is really testing her patience, though!

Taiga: We have time for one more question, this from Poe, who asks, "Is Merlin from the Nasuverse aware of Sonic and his friends appearance?" To that I say, yes! He, Wizard Marshal Zelrich and even Arcruied from Tsukihime are fully aware of what's happening, and are even taking bets on how it's going to end!

Illya: They're not going to help? What a bunch of jerks!

Taiga: That's the end of our session. I will see you at the next lesson!

Illya: Good bye!