Chapter 19:Throw It All Away
"I think I've got it." Rin said.
In the living room of the Tohsaka Mansion, Rin was doing an inventory check of her resources. Archer, meanwhile, was not only giving the house a good cleaning, but Rin had also instructed him to make sure the Ring Forge and Tornado were in good condition. It felt good to get back into the groove, even if he had to do it while wearing a frilly apron. Thankfully, a full maid's outfit was more costly than his frugal Master was willing to bend for.
"Got what?" Archer asked, leaning against a doorway.
"I think I've figured out how the Fourth Archer managed to survive until the Fifth War," Rin said, and held up one of her Gandre gems. "Take this gemstone. I've planted a spell within it."
"Yeah, so?" Archer asked, if only out of respect. He already knew how Gilgamesh lasted until the Fifth War, even though that memory sickened him. But, he also wanted to hear what Rin had thought up.
"So, you could call the jewel a container for its power," Rin explained, "Breaking its physical form would release that power.
"According to Saber, at the end of the Fourth War, the Grail's container was broken. I think that in doing so, it released a huge wave of it's power- not enough to grant a wish, but probably enough to sustain Goldy for a while."
"You think the power of that incomplete Grail could keep that Archer alive until now? All on it's own?" Archer asked, deliberately feeding Rin a chance to keep talking.
"Well, that would depend on whether or not his Master survived," Rin admitted, rubbing her chin in thought. "If they did, that Master could just keep supplying him with Prana. If not, well, he could just be feeding off the town. He wouldn't even have to attack many people, or even kill them. Just enough to stay in the physical world until the next War began."
By Jove, she got it, Archer thought, Mostly.
Archer's honed senses alerted him to the intruder almost as their crossing the Boundary Field alerted Rin. She stood up and looked to Archer, who Projected his swords in preparation. A series of sharp rapping came from the door.
"Rin! Open up! It's Tails! We've got a problem!"
"What have those three gotten themselves into now?" Rin moaned, and headed towards the entrance. She undid the main look and flung the door open.
"All right, if one of you has gotten arrested, there's no way I'm helping with a jailbreak…" Rin trailed off at the scene before her.
Tails in front of course, hovering the air with a worried expression. The Fox looked behind to indicate that Sonic should step forward, which he did, with care. Held in his arms was a person who hadn't been near the mansion in years.
Sakura.
"Eggman tried to kidnap this girl," Tails explained, "Then, well, things got weird. Can you look at her?"
Stunned, Rin nodded slowly, and stepped aside. Sonic zipped in, but not as quickly as he always did. Rin could actually see him step cautiously to get Sakura through the door without hitting something.
"Hey, nice apron."
"You think so? I always thought of myself as more a summer."
After the death of Rider, Amy and Bazett had journeyed back to the hotel to think about their next move, and secure the Chaos Emerald they had found. Bazett used some runes that she hoped would prevent other Mages from sensing the power. This was after she tried to absorb a small bit of its power "just to see" and nearly burned her Mage Circuits. Thankfully, Amy had been there to help stabilize her condition and Bazett recovered soon enough. Now, the two were resting as much they felt they could afford to. Bazett was sending out familiars to scout the city, while Amy…
"Bazett!" Amy shouted, making the Enforcer jump. "I just saw Knuckles!"
"Who?" Bazett took note of the binoculars Amy was holding.
"Another of my friends, besides Sonic," Amy gestured out the window. "I was watching the skies in case something attacked the hotel, when I saw Knuckles gliding through the air! We have to go find him!"
"Now?" The timing couldn't have been worse. "One of my familiars just found another Servant and Master team."
"Who cares?" Amy threw her hands up in frustrations. "You're the one who keeps saying that we can't trust any of these Servants or Masters."
"This Master is from the Einzbern Family," Bazett explained, "They're one of the founders of the Holy Grail War. If anyone can help us deal with that Shadow man, it's the Einzberns. Plus, I think her Servant is the one that fought with Sonic when Eggman attacked the school."
"Sonic!?" Amy's eyes lit up momentarily, and then she out the window in thought. "Okay…you talk to this…eye-zen-burn person and get them to pass on a message to Sonic. I'll go see if I track Knuckles down and get him on board. Deal?"
Bazett nodded, as that seemed to be an decent compromise. Due to the frequency in Eggman's attacks, people were staying off the streets. Therefore, Amy should be able to find her friend without attracting too much attention. And it would be better if the Pink Hedgehog had something to do that kept her away while Bazett tried to negotiate with the Einzbern Master. Bazett still hadn't explained what exactly Enforcers did for the Mage Association, and the last thing she needed was for Einzbern to 'accidentally' reveal it to Amy during their talk. It would tear their friendship apart.
"Let's meet back here at sunset," Bazett decided, "We've got to get a handle on the situation, one way or another."
Following the directions set by Tails' radar and the instincts honed from years of treasure hunting, Knuckles found himself in the sewers. While Knuckles hadn't been in many sewers, there was something about the ones underneath that set his fur on end.
It's like that temple in Sandopolis, Knuckles thought, Only wetter and smellier.
Eventually, Knuckles came upon a door. Knuckles' gut feeling told him there was something on the other side, but he wasn't sure what. Taking a deep breath, Knuckles slammed his fist against the door. It didn't budge. Frowning, Knuckles punched it again, and again, and again. After a moment, the door gently swung forward. Knuckles slapped his forehead in exasperation, and peered in. In the dark gloom, hundreds of misshapen eyes stared back at him.
"Uh, sorry for intruding." Knuckles apologized, and shut the door. He shivered. That was creepy. He then realized that he wasn't shivering, the entire sewer was shaking!
The door burst open, and dozens of hideous creatures flooded out of the room. With a yelp, Knuckles began to punch every beast that got close enough. Which was all of them. Each beast that came into contact with his fists exploded into a gooey mess that afterwards disintegrated, but for every creature that Knuckles killed, more took their place. Realizing that he was going to be overwhelmed if he didn't change tactics, Knuckles crouched down and went into a Spin Dash, grinding away at the creatures. Once he felt he had built up enough speed, Knuckles released himself, shooting forward and plowing through dozens of distorted cephalopods and into the chamber. As the creatures tried to surround Knuckles, the Echidna leapt up and began to crawl up a wall. The room wasn't a very tall one, but Knuckles was able to jump off and slam agains the ground with enough force to create a mild shockwave, blasting away a dozen more creatures. Once he was on the ground, Knuckles resumed punching everything that got close enough. It was dark, but he could see that the melee wasn't going to end anytime soon. But rather than intimidated by their onslaught, Knuckles bit down and continued to swing. He knew that in the end, the only one remaining would be him.
That knowledge was challenged when Knuckles accidentally stuck his fist into something's mouth. Knuckles yelled in alarm and began to shake his arm frantically as the creature made horribly slobbering sounds. Putting his foot against the oversized starfish, Knuckles tried to pry his hand free. In doing so, more creatures began to close in on the Echidna.
"KNUCKLES!"
A second figure burst in, knocking creatures left and right with a…hammer?
Knuckles blinked, and almost stopped punching. "Amy? Is that you?"
"God, this place is disgusting," Amy shouted, "I can't believe those things- you've got one on your hand!" She raised her hammer up
"Yeah, I know," Knuckles grumbled, "Where the heck have you been? We've- YEOW!"
Both Knuckles and the offending creature made painful noises as Amy brought her hammer down on the creature. It dissolved from the force, leaving Knuckles' hand to take the remaining pressure from the blow.
"Oops, my bad. But it's off, right?" Amy apologized.
Knuckles groaned, blowing on his hand. He shot Amy a look that would have melted glass. As he did, a large creature loomed from behind, it's tentacles ready to ensnare the Echidna. Knuckles, without even looking, just swung his good fist back and gave the creature a spiked backhand.
After that little debacle, red echidna and pink Hedgehog worked together, smashing and bashing the monstrosities with aplomb. It took about ten minutes, but soon the room was cleared. Panting, Knuckles leaned against a wall, while Amy rested on her hammer.
"So,- HUFF -where's Sonic?" Amy asked as casually as she could.
"Haven't seen- HOOF -him," Knuckles replied, wiping his brow. "We split up when Eggman attacked the city again. But I know where he and Tails have been staying, if that helps."
"That actually does," Amy brightened up considerably, and then looked around. "But what are you doing here, in this creepy place? It looks like the hideout for a serial killer."
"There's a Chaos Emerald nearby," Knuckles said, getting up. "I'll bet these things are drawn to it."
Amy suddenly looked squeamish, as if she just remembered something important and terrifying. "…That's about right, only in reverse."
"What?"
Amy stood up. "These things aren't looking for a Chaos Emerald…they were made by one."
"What do you mean?" Knuckles asked, "Are these things another of Eggman's experiments? They look like Dark Gaia monsters."
Amy nodded. "Yeah, let's be careful. There's a good chance their maker might be nearby…"
"No, not a good chance, Pink Outsider," A hissing voice from the shadows said, "A guaranteed fact!"
Knuckles and Amy whirled about. While the room had previously been empty (As far as they could tell), now there was a third occupant. To Knuckles, he looked familiar. But to Amy, it was the being she and Bazett had been tracking for several nights.
Knuckles instantly put his dukes up. The newcomer was giving off the same creepy vibes he had been getting ever since entering the sewers. At the same time, his "Chaos Emerald" senses were also flickering. The two sensations combined gave Knuckles a chill that not only ran up his spine, but did so while singing.
"I see you've found my little home sweet home," Avenger said, looking them over. "Quite nice, isn't it? I think the previous Caster had little parties here all the time, with his Master gathering guests during the daylight…
"Let's bring back the tradition."
Avenger shot his arm forward, and it stretched out, writhing like an angry snake towards the off-worlders. Knuckles countered by running forward, first punching the arm away and then continuing to deliver a powerful uppercut sent Avenger flying…leaving the rest of his body from the neck down behind.
"Gah!" Knuckles gagged, jumping back in disgust.
Without missing a beat, the head in the air dissolved into nothingness, while a new head sprouted from the neck of Avenger's body.
"Now, that was uncalled for." Avenger grumbled, rubbing his new head.
"Oh, spare me!" Amy shouted, "What was 'uncalled for' was stealing our Chaos Emerald and using it to create a bunch of freaks and attack people!"
"What?" Knuckles looked from Amy to Avenger and back again. "This clown has a Chaos Emerald!?"
"Right, and he's using it to create those monsters we just fought," Amy explained, "We need to take him down!"
"Don't have to tell me twice!" Knuckles declared, running at Avenger. Knuckles swung another punch at the abomination, but Avenger just shrank into the shadows, narrowly dodging. Knuckles looked around frantically, but couldn't see anything. The room was dark enough as it was, and Avenger's gloomy color scheme was impossible to pick out. Knuckles closed his eyes, hoping his 'Treasure Sense' would let him pick out the enemy's location. As it happened, the fur on the back of his neck began to tingle quite a bit…
"Knuckles, behind you!" Amy shouted, charging.
Knuckles whirled around, swinging his fist out. The back end of his fist managed to strike a wrist, causing Avenger to cry out in pain.
"OW! Those spikes are sharp!" Avenger grumbled, backing away from Knuckles. In his hands were a pair of weapons that looked like a cross between talons and fangs. After Knuckles struck him, he dropped one and it dissolved into nothingness.
Amy gave a shout and charged, hammer raised. Rather than take another hit, Avenger once again shrank away into the shadows. Knuckles darted back as well to avoid the hammer, and the head hit the floor with a thud. Knuckles and Amy then put their backs against each other, not wanting to be taken by surprise again.
"Where did he go now?" Amy asked.
"How should I know?" Knuckles grunted, glaring every which-way. "He turns into a puddle every time we get him, it's like fighting Chaos, but worse!"
And so it went on, with Avenger only emerging from the shadows to attack. Sometimes, he would send more of his grotesque summons to do the attacking for him. Luckily, both Knuckles and Amy had fast enough reflexes to ward off or dodge any assault. However, it was a major strain on their nerves. Amy found herself gripping her hammer so hard her that it was shaking.
"Knuckles, does your communicator work?" She asked.
"We don't need Sonic's help, I've got this!" Knuckles protested irritably.
"That's not what I meant. I lent my communicator to a friend I met," Amy explained, "She's magic, and…"
"There!" Knuckles shouted, charging off. Avenger had stepped out out of the shadows to face him. In the back of his mind, Knuckles wondered why the dark man wasn't moving to block or even fight back.
as Knuckles' fist slammed into Avenger's gut, the Shadow's body seemed to exploded in a black-and-red liquid. When some of the 'drops' landed on Knuckles head-
Paindeathwarfamineholocaustslaverygaschambersguillotineswitchtrialscelebritytrialsstoningswhipsplagueracismcrucifixestitanic
Knuckles fell back howling in pain, desperately trying to whip the poison off. As he did, Avenger raised his hand, it dripping with more of the foul formula. With a yell, Amy leapt and tackled Knuckles out of the way, just barely avoiding Avenger's touch.
"You could have mentioned that he bled nightmares!" Knuckles cried, getting up.
"He couldn't before!" Amy replied, giving Avenger a wild stare. "It's like every time we find this guy, he has some new trick up his sleeve!"
Avenger spoke, but his voice had none of the mocking humor it normally had. It was cold and hollow, like an abandoned crypt. "I am Angra Maiyuu. I am all of the world's evils. These little games are nothing more than a way to pass time…yours is running out.
"My Master is ready. Farewell…"
Avenger faded back into the shadows. Knuckles and Amy looked at each other.
"So, what, did Eggman blow apart this planet too?" Knuckles asked.
Rather than taking her into the living room, Rin had Archer carry Sakura upstairs into an unused bedroom. As Rin examined Sakura, Sonic and Tails were telling her and Archer (Who had changed out of his apron) about the latest incident with Eggman. Well, Sonic was. Tails was staring at Sakura's face, squinting as he examined her features. There was something familiar about Rin's underclassman, but he couldn't make the connection as to why.
"…And after the weird black stuff wrecked his mech, Eggman high-tailed it outta there," Sonic continued, "And when we checked the Egg Pod, all we found was Sakura."
"And you're sure it was Magecraft?" Archer asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
Sonic shrugged. "Dunno about magic, but Tails' radar was definitely picking up some crazy mojo. Right, buddy?"
"Huh?" Tails looked up, distracted. "Uh, yeah, yeah." Getting up, Tails left the room, causing Archer and Sonic to exchange looks.
"O-kay…" Sonic said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. He looked at Rin, who was still kneeled in front of Sakura. "So, what's the prognosis, Dr. Rin?"
Rin was frowning as she continued to work. "Her Mage Circuits are a complete mess. It's like she's sending out and drawing in Prana at the same time. And there's…traces…"
"Traces of what?" Archer asked, although he had his suspicions.
"I- I could be wrong, but this…it feels like…" Rin stalled for a moment, "It's like those strange monsters we've been spotting all over the city."
"You think there's a connection?" Sonic asked, walking over. He found himself thinking about the time he became a Were-hog because of Dark Gaia. The image of Sakura, pure, sweet Sakura, inexplicably growing fur and muscles made him shudder.
"Possibly…" Rin stated. "You didn't saw Sakura herself break Eggman's vehicle, did you?"
"I told you," Sonic began to wave his hands and wiggle his fingers. "Buncha black stuff, like living mud."
"I was afraid of that..." Rin scrunched up her face. What did Zouken do to you, Sakura? And what I going to do?
Rin didn't want to say it, but it was becoming more and more likely that Sakura wasn't merely 'connected' to the monsters. Judging from her diminishing health happening in time with the monsters appearance...
...She was the source.
Rin felt her heart being pulled in two directions as she tried to cope with this revelation. The creatures were creations of Prana, just like the Servants. They needed an influx of Mana in order to keep existing. If their creator couldn't provide it, then that was why they kept attacking people, to feed and maintain themselves. So, the most straight forward solution to destroying before they overwhelmed the city was to destroy that maker. If Sakura was causing the "Black Prana Monsters" (Her chosen name for the creatures) then...she would have...to...
Tails came back in, carrying a book. He flipped through the pages for a bit, pausing now and again to glance at Sakura. After about two minutes of this, he said, "I thought so!"
Confused, Rin looked to see what was in the book. She let out a strangled cry when she saw the photos.
"You-!" She hissed, and grabbed Tails by the cuff of his neck. Ignoring his or Sonic's cries, she dragged the Fox out of the room.
Sonic and Archer exchanged odd looks. They followed after Rin, leaving Sakura on their own. As such, neither of them noticed Sakura stirring. The two men didn't have far to go, as Rin was berating Tails no more than three feet away from the door to the bedroom. She held the book in her hand and was waving it like a battle axe.
"…You had no right going through someone's private things!" Rin hissed, her cheeks flushing.
"But you said it was okay if I stayed away from the magic stuff," Tails protested, "It's just a photo album, what's the big deal?"
"Yeah, what is the big deal?" Sonic asked, walking over. "Why's Rin looking like you read her diary and posted it online?"
Rin flushed even deeper, because she had once mistaken a social media website for a computer diary once. The debacle still haunted her. Archer took her silence as opportunity to remove the book and see what was inside that set his Master off…more than usual, today.
The pages were full of photos. Some whole, most clippings, but they all featured a little girl with a ribbon in her hair…
Oh.
Ohhhhh.
Tails would find this, wouldn't he? Archer sighed mentally. He wondered if he should Project some body armor to withstand the inevitable implosion.
"Hey, who's the girl in the pictures?" Sonic asked, taking the book for his own look. "She looks familiar." Although he didn't see it, Rin flinched.
"That's what I thought," Tails answered, "Check out the ribbon in her hair. Looks like the one Sakura's wearing in her hair."
Sonic squinted at one picture, then zipped to and from Sakura's room. "That it does, bro," He flipped through the pages, glancing at Rin now and then. "Huh, and this other girl with pigtails, is this you, Rin?"
Rin sourly looked at the floor. "...Yes."
Sonic looked back into the book. They were quite a few of young Rin and the other girl laughing and playing together. "Man, looks like you two were pretty close."
"...We were."
"So, who's the mystery girl?" Tails asked, "Why does she look kinda like Sakura?"
"...Because she is Sakura." Rin said finally. She was now staring pointedly at a picture on the wall.
"For real?" Sonic smiled, "I didn't know you two were friends."
"We're not," Rin's bottom lip trembled, "We're...were sisters."
"What?"
Annnd here we go, Archer thought as Rin went into her family's sordid recent history. This is going to end in tears.
"So your dad just kicked your own sister out because he didn't want to teach two kids magic?" Tails exclaimed once Rin was finished, "That's horrible!"
"He didn't 'kick her out'!" Rin insisted, "And it wasn't because he didn't want Sakura to learn how to use Magecraft! But the head of a Mage Clan can only pass their Family Crest to a single person."
"Annnnd what's a Mage Crest?" Sonic asked, unconvinced. "Some kind of heirloom?"
"It's more than just that," Rin explained, a bit mollified to be talking about something closer to home. "The Family's Mage Crest acts a container for all of their Magecraft. Each Family head adds to it so their work can be granted to their successor. And the further back a Mage Family line goes, the more powerful that Crest becomes."
"So, what? You can't share?" Sonic asked cynically.
"No, we can't," Rin snapped, "The Crest isn't something you can put on and take off willy-nilly. It's literally grafted onto our bodies. Whole Mage Families have destroyed themselves over the right to bear their Crest. Father didn't want that to happen to us, so he transferred Sakura to the Matou Clan to take care of her training."
"And you're okay with that?" Tails asked, "You're own little sister being pawned off like an extra shoe?"
Rin gritted her teeth. "It doesn't matter. It was a decision made by the head of the Family, and we have to stand by it."
"What 'we'?" Sonic raised an eyebrow, "Weren't you living alone before Tails moved in?"
Rin shot Sonic a dark look. Archer secretly Projected some earplugs so as to shield himself from the inevitable outburst. Sonic did have a knack for pushing buttons.
Not that Tails was going to make things any easier, for he then said, "Sonic's got a point, Rin. Where's your mom and dad? They should know what's going on."
"They won't," Rin said quietly, and Archer became very scared. "They're dead."
"...What?" Sonic and Tails asked at the same time.
"Father was a casuality of the Fourth Grail War," Rin said, looking down at her feet. "And mother died a little afterwards. Happy?"
Sonic sighed, "Not really. Sorry about your loss, uh, losses."
"How did Sakura take it?" Tails asked, "Losing her mom and dad, I mean?"
Rin turned away. "...I don't know."
"What do you mean?" Tails persisted, "Was she angry, sad, did you two not talk about it?"
Rin's silence created a void, and that void was filled by Sonic's realization. "You two haven't spoken to each other at all, have you? Not since she got kicked out."
"She wasn't kicked out," Rin insisted bitterly, glaring at Sonic. "I told you, in order to prevent a fight for the Tohsaka Mage Crest, Sakura was transferred to become the Matou Clan's heir and receive their Crest."
Although none of them realized it, Sakura awoke with a start. A throbbing in her chest had been strong enough to shake her from her stupor. It wasn't her heart, though. In fact, what caused the throbbing had so little heart as was possible in a living being.
...If you could call Matou Zouken alive, of course.
"Yeah, yeah, and a cup of sugar can cure cancer," Sakura heard Sonic talking outside, "But are you seriously telling me that you haven't even spoken with your sister since then?"
"She's not my sister!" Rin could be heard almost-yelling, "That was over the minute she left this household. She and I mean nothing to each other. Nothing."
"So why did you keep these pictures?" Another voice- the Fox that was spotted at the school?- demanded, "If she doesn't mean anything to you..."
Pictures?
"Shut up!" Rin shouted, "You two...outsiders have no right to criticize how a Mage Clan works! You don't belong here! I have nothing to prove to you!"
"Yeah, you've got no-" Sonic's voice was cut off by a beeping. "Hello? Uh-huh. Yup. You're kidding!"
"What is it?" Tails asked.
"Knuckles! He found Amy, they're going to Shirou's house."
"That's great!"
"You sure? I was kinda enjoying the peace and quiet..."
"Sonic!"
There were some laughs. Weak ones. Almost desperate. Sakura was tempted to get up and join them. But she felt so weak, and the pain in her chest wasn't getting better...
Sonic sighed. "Look...Rin? We gotta go and catch up with our buds. But, that girl in there is one of Shirou's friends. Just...remember that."
There was a sound like a rush of air, accompanied by a rapid footsteps. Sonic must have run off. After a moment, there was a whirring sound.
"Rin, Sonic and I weren't trying to...look," Tails said, "I get you have your own way of doing things...but it seems like you're going out of your way to stay hurt, just to please some people that...that aren't around anymore. So...yeah."
The whirring faded. Sakura stared at the ceiling. On the other side of the door, Rn stared at the floor. And a few feet away, Archer stared at Rin.
"Archer," Rin said at last, "Keep an eye on Sakura. If anything happens, tell me." And with that, she walked down the hall, clearly about to bury herself in Magecraft research all over again.
So close. Archer thought sadly, and went into astral form.
After leaving Taiga at the hospital, Shirou, Saber and Illya made an immediate beeline towards the site of Sonic and Eggman's latest tussle. Of course, by the time they had arrived, police and military were already at the scene, cordoning the area off from civilians. Fortunately, the barriers were still close enough to the remains of Eggman's vehicle so that the three could get a better stock of the situation. And while there was the usual shrapnel, soldiers, workers and on-lookers around, Shirou felt something…different…in the air. It was strange, it was foreboding-
-And it was familiar.
"Saber, do you sense anything…unusual?" Shirou asked tentatively.
Saber nodded. "Yes. Magecraft. There are…traces of it in the air."
"Maybe it was Sonic," Illya said, "I still can't believe that someone can move as fast as him without some sort of Magecraft." She didn't sound very convinced of this theory, though.
"No, it can't have been Sonic," Saber replied, "Even if he was capable of Magecraft, this sensation is far more toxic than anything I've sensed from him."
She's right, Shirou thought to himself. And more to the point, it feels like something I've sensed before...
"Well, it looks like Sonic already took care of everything," Illya commented, "So, we should go home."
"Does that mean you'll be going back to your castle, Illyasviel?" Saber asked, her eyes narrowing.
Illya just sniffed. "No, why should I? It's still a wreck, and I'd be all alone. I'm staying right here with Onii-chan. Don't worry, Saber, I'll take good care of him after Berserker grinds you into a pulp."
I'll win that fight just to spite you. Saber thought annoyedly as Shirou gave his Servant a helpless smile. While the alliance with Illya had progressed somewhat without incident, Saber was still suspicious of the little homunculus. She knew that of all of the Mage families, the Einzberns were the ones most determined to obtain the Grail. She wished Shirou would stop enabling this "Little sister" act.
"Look, let's just get back to the grocer shopping," Shirou said, trying to play the peacemaker. "Taiga is being released by the end of the day, and I know she'll want a feast to celebrate. We'll be having dinner with the rest of her family as well, so let's just be on our best behavi...or..."
Shirou trailed off as something caught his eye. It was a small bird, but it wasn't acting naturally. Instead of flying naturally, it seemed to be doing loop-de-loops in the air. So far, nobody else had noticed, except for him, Saber, and Illya. The bird also smelled like Magecraft.
"Saber? Illya? What do you make of that?" Shirou said quietly, gesturing towards the bird.
Glancing at it, Illya shrugged. "It's a Familiar. Someone wants our attention."
The bird stopped looping about and began to fly towards an alley. Exchanging nods, Shirou, Saber, and Illya followed after it. The Familiar led them through several alleys, taking them further from the crowd. Saber and Shirou tensed slightly, worried that they were being led into a trap. It would be so easy to cause a ruckus and cast blame on Eggman... Illya, on the other hand, just hummed. As the Master of the Strongest Servant (in her opinion), Illya was quite confident that any attempt at an ambush was doomed to failure.
Eventually, the Familiar landed on top of a garbage can. There was a note taped to the lid, which read, "Lady Einzbern- We must meet to discuss a threat to the Holy Grail War and the secrecy of Magecraft. Please bring your Servant Saber and Sonic to this location so we can talk privately."
After reading the note, Shirou turned to the girls. "What do you think? Are you going to check it out?"
Illya sniffed. "I could. Or I could talk to the person who left this right now."
Saber marched over to the door of an empty building. With all the ease of opening a really stubborn jar of pickles, she forced it open. A moment later, an adult woman with short pink hair came out. She was wearing a suit and an annoyed expression.
"If you want to send a secret message, it's usually a good idea to not wait for a response less than a meter away." Illya pointed out smugly.
Bazett grimaced. Her initial waiting spot had been the roof of the building, but she had to duck into the skylight to avoid being spotted by some kind of surveillance drone. While she had never given much concern to machines before, the events of Fuyuki had instilled in Bazett a new respect (And probably mild terror) in the wonders of technology.
Shirou, on the other hand, had one question. "Why do you want to see Sonic?"
Bazett looked firmly at Shirou, and then looked away in shock. After a moment, she turned back to the high school Mage, her expression blank.
Why did she act like she's seen me before? Shirou thought.
"Because I'm friends with Amy Rose." Was Bazett's reply.
And with that, she had their attention.
"So, this is where you guys have been staying since we got stuck in this universe?" Amy asked as Knuckles let her into the Emiya Estate.
"Yeah," Knuckles explained, wiping his feet. "The owner's some kind of part-time wizard, but he's okay. Kinda boring, but not bad. Could be worse."
"I'm sure Shirou will take that as compliment." Sonic remarked, seated at the kitchen table with Tails.
"Oh Sonic!" Amy squealed, and knocked Knuckles aside to charge properly.
Sonic rolled his eyes, but chose to let Amy throw herself on him. However, he was sure to adjust his head properly whenever she tried to plant a kiss. Once he felt that he had allowed Amy to express the necessary amount (according to him) of affection, Sonic pried himself loose of the spiny pink death grip.
"Sorry if I'm a little clingy today," Amy apologized, "But I was so worried about you guys. Things have been crazy in this universe!"
Tails sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Tell us about it."
"Well, there's this crazy mud-guy creating Dark Gaia monsters running, for one thing..."
"What?!" Sonic and Tails exclaimed.
Amy quickly gave a brief run down of her encounters with the Shadow man.
"I've been seeing these things whenever I got out at night," Sonic mused, scratching behind his left ear. "I had no idea that there was a person responsible."
"Rin said that a Servant in the previous War could summon these things," Tails pointed out, "But that Servant wasn't summoned for this War."
"Well, it must be a pretty easy spell to do," Knuckles commented, crossing his arms. "The guy I found in the sewers looked like someone colored Shirou black and covered in tribal tattoos."
"Did you beat him?" Sonic asked.
"No, he pulled a Chaos and slipped away." Knuckles grumbled, recalling the water-monster Eggman once let loose on Station Square. He rubbed his forehead.
"You okay?" Tails asked.
"When we were fighting, some of that Angra guy's blood got on me," Knuckles said, "It still itches."
"Still itches?" Sonic asked, "Since when does blood itch?"
"It's not normal blood," Knuckles said, "When it first got on me, I started… I don't know, seeing things."
Tails got up for a closer look at Knuckles. Pulling out his Miles Electic, he held the device over Knuckles' head.
"Hey, watch where you're pointing that!" Knuckles protested, "I don't need a brain scan, I'm fine!"
Tails ignored him, and focused on the data. Walking away from Knuckles, he sat back down at the table and inputted commands into the computer. Sonic, well-versed with Tails' technical mojo, didn't need an explanation. He knew his trusty partner would use that stain to track down the Shadow Man. As Tails worked, Amy went to retreive a first-aid kit to better tend to Knuckles.
"Let me see if we can get that stuff out, Knux." Amy offered, spraying disinfectant into a rag.
"Hey, it's fine, you don't have to- Mmph!" Knuckles' protests were cut off by Amy's poor aim.
"Hey, could you guys keep it down? I'm trying to work here," Tails protested, and after a few more minutes, whooped. "Jackpot!"
"Nice job, Captain Super Fox-Man," Sonic said, scratching behind Tails' ears. "So, where's Shadow the Not-Hedgehog?"
"Ahhhh- Huh? No idea, still analyzing," Tails shrugged, "But a video I posted on social media just got its millionth like!"
Sonic rubbed his forehead.
"So, Rider's movements were inhibited by the Shadow's attack?" Saber questioned Bazett.
They were walking back to the Emiya Estate. The trip was taking a bit longer than necessary, as Bazett wanted to avoid the more populated streets. As they walked, the irishwoman told them about her encounters with the Shadow. Saber was most interested in the second battle, and the weapon the Shadow had demonstrated.
"It was hard for me to tell," Bazett confessed, "It was night, and we were distracted by the summon that was trying to steal the Emerald. But the wound didn't close up, even though Rider should have had enough Prana to heal it, I'm sure of it," Her eyes drifted briefly. "It mentioned Lancer breaking his spear, afterwards, however..."
To the humans, that sounded like an unlikely scenario. No Servant would willingly break their Noble Phantasm. Saber, however, knew of one Servant, a Lancer, who did just that. And combined with the revelation of the Shadow Man created the Fourth Caster's monsters...
This Shadow is channeling- or just emulating- the abilities of the Fourth Holy War's Servants, Saber considered, and said so.
"How could you possibly know that?" Bazett asked, "How could you know what kind of Servants fought in the Fourth War?"
"Because I fought in that War myself, ten years ago," Saber replied, "To explain further would reveal my identity."
Bazett narrowed her eyes and looked away in frustration. She had been hoping for some intel once this situation with the Shadow was resolved, and Lancer had become her Servant again. While she hadn't told the others about her previous status as a Master, no doubt they already suspected her.
Shirou spoke up. "...Bazett. According to Rider, the Shadow is connected to her Master, right?"
Bazett nodded. "She wouldn't give many specifics, but she did claim that the Shadow was feeding off of the Master."
That was a new one. Rider's Master was Shinji, but there was no way he could have the Mana to supply both Rider and the Shadow. Then again, they haven't really seen Shinji since the Battle at the Harbor...could something have happened to him? Shirou knew they had to find Shinji to get down to the bottom of it.
"We know the identity of Rider's Master," Saber said, "So it should be easy to find him."
"And then what?" Illya asked, "Are we going to kill him? Cut off the Shadow's power source and hope it withers away like a normal Servant?"
Shirou was aghast. "No, we're not killing anyone. We're better than that," Illya gave him a blank stare. "Well, we should be."
"Rider seemed to think that Caster had the means of seperating The Shadow from her Master without fatality," Bazett put in, "We were working out a plan to negotiate with Caster when the Shadow attacked us."
She's probably referring to Caster's Rule Breaker, Shirou thought, Rider must have witnessed Caster using it to steal Saber's Command Seals.
"Caster's dead, so that's out," Illya said, "We'll need to figure out another way to deal with the Shadow."
"Instead of bothering with the Master, we should focus on the Shadow itself," Saber decided, "Even if we break contract is binding them- However we do it, -That won't stop the Shadow from latching onto another Mage."
As they walked, discussed, and debated, the talk turned to Bazett's relationship with Amy Rose.
"We assumed that Amy had gone into hiding with another Mage," Shirou said, "How have you two been working together?"
"She's a bit too fixated on Sonic, if you ask me," Bazett confessed, "It can get a bit annoying. But she has a good heart, and she saved my life for what it's worth."
That definitely sounded like the Amy Rose Sonic and his friends described. Still, Shirou had to be sure that Bazett wasn't pulling their leg. Or worse, that she wasn't holding Amy hostage. And while people from Sonic's dimension had proven to be surprisingly resilient against direct mind control, Knuckles' interactions with Caster had proven they weren't completely immune to Magecraft entirely. He unconsciously reached for his communicator, planning to slip away to call Sonic and update him. A loud beeping came from the communicator, causing the girls to look at him. With a sigh, Shirou activated it.
"Hey, Shirou! It's Sonic! How're you doing?" Came from the speaker, "We're not interrupting anything?"
"It's all right, Sonic, it's safe for us to talk." Shirou replied, "What do you need?"
"Well, just wanted to give you a few updates. First off, did you hear about Eggman's road rage?"
"Yes." The girls began to gather around as Shirou slipped into an alley.
"Well, don't panic, but your friend Sakura was a little involved in that."
"What do you mean?" Saber asked.
"Dunno why, but Eggman tried to kidnap her. She's fine for now, but something inside the prison pod ripped Eggman's car to pieces. We took her to Rin's house for a check-up. From what she says, Sakura's got some kind of magic disease."
A disease. Shirou remembered all the other times he saw Sakura. How listless and tired she would be whenever she thought no one was watching. At first Shirou thought she was just upset about the killings and Eggman, but...wait. Did Sonic mean a curse?
"Got some good news, though. We found Amy! Well, more like she found us. She's been staying with this Mage from England."
Out of the corner of his eye, Bazett flashed a smirk that said, "I told you so" with big neon letters. Illya, who had been a bit suspicious of Bazett herself, rolled her eyes. A loud clang sounded from the speaker.
"What was that?" Shirou asked, "And where are you right now?"
"Back at your place, to answer the second question. As to the first...uh..."
"Hey, Sonic!" A female voice called out from the speaker. Shirou assumed that was Amy. "Ask if you're friend is going to be around for lunch!"
"Lunch?" Saber asked, her eyes meeting Shirou's sharply. Bazett just put her palm against her face.
"Yeah...Amy's decided to make a meal to celebrate our reunion," Sonic admitted awkwardly, "She's not a bad cook, but usually she works in kitchens built to her size..."
Shirou broke into a run.
In the Matou Manor, dirty deeds were afoot. Of course, techincally they had been afoot ever since the property had been established, all those centuries ago. To ensure that his clan would have the power to remain part of the Grail Wars, Matou Zouken sank deeper and deeper in depravity. And any time his concience tried to speak up, he would squash it with the insistance that such acts were necessary to obtain the Holy Grail. In time, the conscience would cease speaking at all.
Now, as Assassin stared at the glass case in lower levels of the Manor, he understood that all of Zouken's past trangressions were nothing more than a prelude to the horror that was sure to begin. The case had been placed in the very center of the properties leylines, with specialized runes on and surrounding it. Various Crest Worms were crawling about it, making horrible, high-pitched noises.
"Yes...this should do very well..." Zouken could be heard murmuring. His voice echoed off of the dungeons walls. "It's time I regained control of this idiotic War."
Assassin shook his head mournfully. Whatever happened next, he knew it would only end in tears.
Sakura woke up with a shock. She could feel Zouken's presence. It was stronger than usual. And...there was something else. The terrible feeling that had been simmering in her body, ever since Avenger appeared, seemed to have doubled. She could hear both their voices, not really as words, but as feelings, throb throughout her being- one demanding total obedience, the other urging her to release her smothered pain onto the world.
...obey...
...release...
...Obey...
...Release...
...OBEY...!
...RELEASE...!
Sakura couldn't take it anymore. She pulled herself out of the bed- A bed, when was she in a bed? -and lurched into the hallway. She didn't recognize her surroundings, but it almost looked like the Tohsakah mansion. But this was impossible, she was banished from the Mansion. Sakura staggered about, trying to get her bearings. Her sixth sense was being overloaded, inhibiting her other five senses.
The...the sky... Sakura thought feverishly, I have to find the sky...no one can take the sky...
Somehow, Sakura made her way downstairs without causing an accident. And even more remarkable was that she managed to find her way outside. But instead of clear blue skies, grey clouds covered everything. A short distance away, there was a tarp covering something.
"I don't like this, Archer."
Sakura froze. That was Rin's voice!
Sakura wandered towards an open window. She could see Rin sitting in a chair, with her back to the window. She didn't see Rin's Servant, but knew he was probably around somewhere, perhaps in astral form.
"I mean, Sakura's Mage Circuits weren't just out of whack, there's something else, too." Rin suddenly said. Sakura guessed that Archer was communicating with his Master telepathically.
Should I listen in…? This is a private conversation… Sakura wondered. But she felt too exhausted to , hearing Rin's voice helped distract her from the other voices.
"There are traces of a different Prana there as well.
"It's like those creatures that have been spotted all over Fuyuki. There's a definite connection.
"It's like…she's the source…"
Sakura froze. Oh no. It couldn't be. But Rin was an excellent Mage for her age. It was why Father kept her. She would figure something out.
Desperately, Sakura looked upwards. Just barely, she could see a figure on the Mansion's roof. Was it Archer, keeping a look out? But why? Any intruder would trigger the Boundary Field.
"I know what that means, Archer." Rin continued.
Sakura didn't know why Rin was talking out loud, but she knew what it meant to be the source of a dangerous menace. Where creations of Magecraft were concerned, they could only exist due to a constant influx of Prana. If you removed the source of that Prana, the Creation would cease to function.
And Sakura was the source.
But Nee-san wouldn't due that, she cares… Sakura thought feverishly, She kept those pictures, that means she cares…!
"I don't care if she's my sister!" Rin suddenly shouted bitterly, "We're not just talking about a threat to the secrecy, but maybe all of Japan!
"It would have been better if Eggman took her after all."
Sakura fell back against the house. She slid down and into the ground. Rin's cold words had taken the feeling from her body. She couldn't even hear the urgings from Zouken and Avenger. An emptiness had consumed her heart and mind.
And it was sure to be filled.
To be continued
Tiger Dojo
Taiga: Strike the band! Strike the match! Strike OUT! It's the Tiger Dojo, with your Instructor, Fujimura Taiga!
Illya: And the Number 1 Student, Illya! Because it took so long for this chapter to get out, we're going right into the Q/A, with our first question from Hiro. He asks, "What happens when Sonic wields Saber's Excalibur when Arturia herself can't fight. Like would the abilities of Sonic's Excalibur combine with Saber's?"
Taiga: Certainly not! Saber's Excalibur would allow Sonic to wield it, but Sonic wouldn't be able to use it's Noble Phantasm. The two King's are separate people, and so are their swords! The next question comes from Edgar Black, "Does Avenger have access to the Noble Phantasms of Iskandar's and Lancelot's?" Number One Student, answer this!
Illya: He does. He used the Fourth Lancer's spear during his fight with Rider, and it's been established that he can use the abilities of any Servant who died during the Fourth War before Kiritsugu destroyed the Grail. Of course, Avenger isn't much of a fighter, so he wouldn't be able to bring out their full potential.
Taiga: And now for our last question, from Easley, "The souls of the Servants Avenger absorbed the 4th Grail War are conscious? How in self-aware?" Well, obviously, they, uh…Hmm…Welllll, Saber was turned evil when she got absorbed in Heaven's Feel, so...
Illya: Right now, they are not. Remember, in the canon Heaven's Feel storyline, the Shadow corrupted Saber, but completely digested Gilgamesh. Ergo, the latter is what happened to the Fourth War's Servants when they entered the Grail. However, if Avenger attains enough, it's possible that he could summon those Servants…Wait…
Taiga: No spoilers! (Whacks Illya) That concludes our lesson! I will see you at the next practice!
Illya: Argh….see you then!