Chapter 24: Flow of Cause and Effect

Bazett ran. She ran without paying mind to the people out on the sidewalks. She ran with such a gait that an Olympic athlete would be jealous. And she ran without realizing that an unmarked van was trying very hard to follow her through the streets. Only the fear of drawing unwanted attention kept her from strengthening her legs for greater speed.

When Amy had called Sonic and Shirou about Kirei, she and Bazett learned from Shirou that the Master of Archer had been summoned to the church. Justifiably worried, Bazett had taken off for the church herself. Shirou and Saber had agreed to meet up with her, while Sonic didn't even bother to say anything. He hung up and it was assumed he'd already be there to help Rin and Archer against Kirei and Lancer.

When she got to the church, she saw that inside the Boundary Field that the building was completely covered. Once she got closer, she that it was chains. Every wall, every window, and every possible doorway was covered by a layer of chains, each link with two small spikes sticking out.

"Bazett!"

Bazett turned and saw Shirou and Saber running up towards her. While Shirou looked a bit winded from sprinting, Saber showed no sign of fatigue. Looking up, Shirou gasped when he saw the amount of metal wrapped around the church.

"It was like this when I got here," Bazett explained, "I have no idea what these are. They definitely feel like Magecraft, but I haven't been able to examine it further."

"Let me," Shirou offered, stepping forward.

Shirou went up to the building and held out his hand towards the chains. He took a deep breath to compose himself, and then touched a link. He immediately repositioned his hand so it wasn't near one of the spikes.

"Trace On. Structural Analysis."

Information flowed into his mind, but it was too much. Shirou gasped at what he learned, and backed away from the chains. His body shook, the hand he touched the chain with shook even more.

"What is it, Shirou?" Saber asked.

"It...the chain is called Enkidu," Shirou explained, forcing himself to speak. "It's a Noble Phantasm...summoned by Gilgamesh," He looked at Saber, his eyes wide. "That Servant who appeared in Mt Ryuudou is Gilgamesh."

Saber gasped, and after a moment, so did Bazett. The "Epic of Gilgamesh" was one of the oldest myths in human, reaching descending from ancient Babylonia. For Servants, their overall strength was based in how far back the legends they were based on go. The implications were obvious; The Archer from the Fourth War was one of the strongest Servants in the War.

And he was in the church while Rin and Archer were dealing with Kotomine.

"Do you think Sonic got in before Gilgamesh did?" Shirou asked, desperate for a sense of hope.

"I know he did," Saber responded resolutely, "If he's not out here, then he's in there," She nodded at the contained church. "I can hear them fighting from hear. Such movements can only be caused by someone with either Sonic or Lancer's speed."

Shirou Reinforced his ears. He could hear noises, although they were too frantic and mixed to pick apart.

"Well, that doesn't do us any good," Bazett said, "We need a way to get in here too!"

Shirou looked about. "Maybe…maybe there's a secret passage. It would explain how Kotomine escaped when Caster attacked him."

"There's no time for that." Saber declared, and unsheathed her sword. She dispersed with the Invisible Air. She needed to conserve her Prana, and Bazett had already seen the sword's complete form. "Shirou. Can your Structural Analysis tell us how strong that chain?"

Shirou tried to sort out the rush of information that had invaded his mind. It was if the chains themselves had been bragging about their strength and history. He then realized what Saber was getting at. "Saber, no! You'll destroy the entire building!"

"I am not planning to invoke my Noble Phantasm," Saber assured him, raising her sword over her head. "However, I feel we have no time for subtleties. Shirou! Tell me how much force I should use to destroy this obstacle!"

Seeing the seriousness in her eyes, Shirou nodded and took hold of the chain. Invoking his magecraft once again, he searched for the knowledge he and Saber needed.

"It's the chain that Gilgamesh once used to corral the 'Bull of Heaven' that caused a famine in Uruk for seven years."

"It's indestructible?!" Saber asked worriedly.

Shirou paused as he Analyzed the chain. "...I think so, but only to those with Divine origins. To anyone else, it would just be a strong chain."

Nodding, Saber raised her sword over her head. Shirou and Bazett ran back so as not to get in her way. With a yell, Saber brought her sword down and chopped at the chains barring the doors. Ethereal sparks flew as Excalibur met Enkidu, but the links would not yeild to Saber's strike. Behind the chains, the force of Saber's attack demolished the doors to the church, which was little good as there were still ropes of linked metal barring the way. Gritting her teeth, Saber pushed pushed further. Although Enkidu did not break, force of the sword began to push the chains down, creating a gap.

"Just...a little...further..." Saber grunted. Sweat began to

Saber can't do it... Shirou realized, Because she's linked to me! If only I had a way of to help...and while I'm at it, I wish I had Berserker's strength, too...

An idea came to Shirou, and he held out his hand. I am the _ of my sword...

The image of a familiar stone sword appeared in Shirou's hand. Shirou knew it well, having almost died by it several days ago. (It felt like it had been longer.) As the weapon wielded by Herakles began to materialize, Shirou already knew that its weight would overwhelm him. He raised it over his head and charged at the church's door.

Inside the church, the battle had turned towards the direction expected with Gilgamesh's presence. Terrible. Archer and Lancer were still locked in combat and Sonic was running everywhere to dodge Gilgamesh's attacks, the sacred swords being fired from his Gate of Babylon were always just one step behind. Once in a while, Sonic would find an opening and land a hit on Gilgamesh, but these were far and few between. If there was a upside, it was that the ever-shifting battles made it difficult for Kirei to get reach Rin, who recovered enough to keep moving herself. It was frustrating for the Fake Priest, who was both forced to wait on the sidelines for a chance to move, while also watching his church be slowly destroyed.

"Hey, I don't suppose either of you genius' are aware," Sonic called out at one point, "But if the Grail destroys the world, you'll go with it!"

But Gilgamesh just laughed. "You underestimate me, rodent. The King can survive anything. And if you are trying to move my servant with some droll speech…well, if even his own father could not understand him, how could you?"

Great, it's bad enough he's trying to kill me, but he's gotta bore me to death with a monologue too, Sonic thought as he did a somersault over a cursed battle axe, or something. (It was hard to tell when they were flying at you in a burst of golden light). Can't these guys just write an autobiography and be done with it?

Sonic ran along the walls as sacred blades, famous spears, and other legendary weapons impacted the space just behind him. Sonic then saw Kirei make his way towards Rin, and changed his direction. Kicking off of the wall, Sonic raced in between the two Masters, which caused both of them to be separated by the line of fire that happened seconds later. The force of the blasts knocked both of the humans back. As Rin righted herself, her face suddenly scrunched up in thought as she received a telepathic message from Archer. She glared intently at the Overseer.

"You get off on causing people pain!?" Rin shouted accusingly at Kirei.

Kirei frowned, both in confusion at Rin's suddenly understanding of his core self, and also at how coarsely it was expressed. And how did she figure it out? So far, Kirei had not mentioned anything that could lead to such a conclusion.

"I suppose that is one way to define it," Kirei said, trying to get back into his usual mode. "For as long as I can remember, my life has been empty, and without meaning. Only one thing gave me a sense of fulfillment…the pain and deaths of others. Isn't it strange? I know it to be wrong, but it felt so right. Such a contradictory existence is…confusing, though. How can I love causing suffering, and yet have the self-awareness of its immorality? Eventually, I came to the conclusion that the Holy Grail would have the answer. It is of divine nature, yet exists to bring suffering. Perhaps that will solve the riddle of-"

Kirei didn't get much further, as Sonic (Who had been racing around the church during all of this) bounced off his head. The Hedgehog's momentum slammed the priest face-first into the floor, ironically saving Kirei from being obliterated by one of Gilgamesh's swords.

"Serious!?" Sonic shouted as he zigged and zagged, "You're messed up, you know you're messed up, and your plan to deal with that is to hijack some kind of magical contest to destroy the world?" He paused to slide under a pew that had been overturned. Said pew was instantly vaporized by sword impact. "And you really think that's easier…than going to a shrink?"

Rin watched as Kirei slowly lifted his head off of the ground. The expression on his face was not remotely pleasant. Clearly, having his grand motivation dismissed so readily was not something Kirei appreciated…and being used as a stepping-stone didn't help, either. If the situation wasn't so dire, Rin would have laughed at the sour exasperation evident on the priest's face. Instead, Rin decided that to take what chance they had of surviving and charged. Archer and Lancer were still fighting, but if Lancer's Master were to die.

Meanwhile, Gilgamesh frowned as he watched Sonic narrowly dodge and evade his attacks. Clearly, he had underestimated the off-worlder's speed and agility. It was plain to see that clearly more effort would be required if he wanted Sonic brought down quickly. And as humiliating putting such work in for someone as lowbrow as Sonic, the time of a king were better spent on other ventures, not wasted on mongrels like the Hedgehog.

But before Gilgamesh could put in that effort, the doors to the church suddenly exploded open. Links of chain scattered onto the floor and mixed with the debris. Gilgamesh felt his ire rise from the destruction of his sacred chain, and he forgot about Sonic for a moment. The three figures that rushed in quickly took his interest.

Two of them were Saber, and her half-assed mage of a Master. But the third he did not recognize. It was a woman, but she was dressed in a man's suit so Gilgamesh almost mistook her for the wrong gender. Her short, red hair also didn't help in that regard. On her ear (And Gilgamesh didn't pick up on this until much later) was an earring that was identical to the one Lancer wore.

Off to the side, his spear locked with Archer's swords, Lancer gaped at the newcomer. Only the power of Kirei's Command Seal kept his body fighting. His head, however, was bug-eyed and stammering.

"B-B-B-Bazett!?" Lancer cried in shock.

Bazett looked towards Lancer, and smiled in relief at seeing her former Servant. A cry of pain drew her attention, however. Rin's attempt to finish off Kirei had failed, and she was now lying on the floor while he stood over her. A Black Key could be seen sticking out of her thigh. Bazett's eyes narrowed and she tore at the priest with a fierce expression.

"Kotomine!" She yelled, her speed enhanced by rune-empowered legs.

Gilgamesh rolled his eyes. "Let us use our indoor voices, please." He said, and fired a sword at Bazett from the Gate of Babylon. Before it was halfway across, Saber was already in front, smacking it aside with her own sword. She fixed Gilgamesh with a glare that caused him to smile as he enjoyed the defiant look in her eyes. Shirou, meanwhile, ran to help Sonic, who was now standing awkwardly upside-down against a wall while a bunch of swords were pinned around him in an outline.

"Are you all right?" Shirou asked, concerned. He began to help Sonic right-side up.

"Just my pride," Sonic grunted, "Plus, blood's starting to go in my head. How's Rin?"

"You tell me," Sonic said, pointing shakily.

Shirou looked and felt a jolt of fear. Kotomine was standing over Rin, and moving in for the killing blow! He quickly Projected a bow and let an arrow flew, but it did not good. Kirei easily blocked it with some sort of black key. Shirou gritted his teeth. He needed to use something stronger, but by the time it reached it would be too late for Rin. Sonic could make that distance, but he was still a bit dizzy from blood rush.

Archer, still trapped in his duel with Lancer, could only watch in horror as Kirei brought his weapon down onto Rin. He let out a cry of anguish as he watched the black key reach the forehead.

"Fragarach!"

Shirou saw it. Archer saw it. Sonic saw it. Lancer saw it. There was no way for anyone to reach Kirei in time to save Rin. Her time had run out. But the tool Bazett wielded, the ancient Noble Phantasm called "The Retaliator", could cross that distance. In fact, when Bazett unleashed it, Kirei had already killed Rin. But when the Fragarach had been released, it crossed time, to the moment before the key had struck.

Kirei only had enough time to look at the stunned expression on Rin's face, feel a great pain where most of his chest used to be, and then register the chill in his body before everything went dark for him. Rin watched as Kotomine Kirei's body just collapsed. Shaking, she reached up to touch her forehead. For some reason, she had this sneaking suspicion that there should have been something sharp jammed into it. It was an uneasy feeling. She looked down at Kirei's corpse. He, the man who looked after her following her family's death, the man who caused her family's death (She couldn't prove anything, but she bet her mother's demise was linked to him, she just knew it), was now dead on the floor. It happened so suddenly that she had trouble comprehending it.

"Are you all right- Yah!" Bazett didn't have time to finish her question, as Lancer had scooped her up in his arms and was immediately carrying her out of the church. With Kirei's death, the Command Seal's power had vanished as well.

"I can't believe you're alive!" Lancer said as he ran, "I thought Kirei killed you for certain!"

"Lancer-! Put me down!" Bazett briefly squirmed, but then realized A) it felt pretty good and B) if she fell out of his grip the momentum would bring her closer to death than amputation nearly did.

"Not a chance!" Lancer said, "I'll explain later! Right now, we need to get as far away from that building!" He glanced back, "When Kotomine died, the Boundary Field went with him, and it's not going to be long until that church gets visitors…and they won't be looking for a sermon…"

Whatever warm fuzzy feeling Bazett got in Lancer's arms, it was replaced by confusion as she regarded her Servant suspiciously. "What are you getting at…"

Back at the church, Shirou was quick to go to Rin's aid. As he did, Saber, Archer, and Sonic quickly formed a wall, ready to counter anything Gilgamesh would throw their way. Who knew how the living Servant would respond to having one of his allies killed?

But the King of Heroes did not seem entirely bothered by Kirei's death. Or, more accurately, he regarded Kirei's death with the same amount of bother he gave anything that bothered him. At most, all he did was narrow his red eyes and frowned. It was hard to tell if he was truly upset at the death of a decade-long cohort, or just annoyed at the loss of a minion.

"Well, this is rather inconvenient," Gilgamesh remarked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I planned to have Kirei officiate my wedding, but now I'll need to find a replacement, thanks to that woman. And Lancer has gone rogue as well, like the stray dog that he is."

No one said anything. Once he was sure that Rin wasn't seriously harmed, Shirou Projected a pair of swords identical to Archer's. But Gilgamesh just laughed.

"Ahh, it is adorable that you mongrels still think your paltry resistance means anything against my power," Gilgamesh said, "But I think we will have to delay our conflict. These ruins are not worthy of such a finale."

"You are leaving?" Saber asked, keeping a firm grip on her sword.

"Consider yourselves lucky that Kirei's death means I will have to alter my plans," Gilgamesh replied smoothly, "In any case, I have a feeling that this place will become too crowded. But before I go, I have one last thing to say…" He fixed Sonic with a fearsome glare. "Your presence in my world was something I tolerated for the entertainment your provided. But never forget…this is my world, and I decide what little time you have left to live."

Gilgamesh turned, and strode off into the shadows of the church's inner sanctum.

"Where's he going?" Shirou asked, "Do you think he has a secret passage?"

"Probably. Should we go after him?" Sonic asked, glancing at the Servants.

"That depends," Archer said, looking at Saber. "Saber, did you bring Avalon?"

Saber shook her head. She had left it inside of Sakura, and she hadn't planned on retrieving it until the girl's recovery had completed.

"We should thank our luck that he decided to leave." Rin said, still looking pained. She was using her own Mana to heal her wounds, but it wasn't going easy. She looked back at Kirei's corpse. Still dead. She looked away.

Shirou also looked at Kirei. It was strange. He had only learned that Kirei really was evil, not just a jerk, a short time ago. But he had always had this strange inclination to dislike him. There was something about Kirei's disposition that made Shirou want to oppose him. Well, the priest wouldn't be anyone's worry now. Except maybe God's.

Archer wasn't bothering with Kirei's corpse. Instead, he walked over to a spot on the church floor. Saber and Sonic watched him move, interested. Archer Projected a shovel and began to dig at the floor. The battle had shook the floor's integrity, and Archer was able to push aside the tiles with ease. Frowning, he reached into the hole and pulled out some sort of machine.

"What is that?" Saber asked.

"And how'd ya know it was there?" Sonic added, curious.

"Lancer kept talking about how I should watch what I say while we were fighting," Archer explained, "He kept glancing at this spot, too." Is this what I think it is? "Hey, Shirou, make yourself useful and try analyzing this."

Shirou, already on his way over to see what the matter was with Rin, took the device away from Archer and performed his spell. As he did, his eyes widened and his skin paled.

"What? Is it a bomb?" Sonic asked.

"...It's a listening device."

"Huh?" Rin and Saber exchanged odd looks. Rin looked concerned, but Saber was confused...for a moment.

"This machine was installed after the robot attacked the church the first time," Shirou explained, "It's been monitoring everything that's happened inside here since then."

"Which means...depending on whatever Kirei was talking about...that gadget probably has more than enough info to someone everything about the Holy Grail War." Rin realized, covering her mouth with concern. Her words caught up with her brain, and she instinctively shot her remaining Gandre at the device. Shirou dove away from the explosion to avoid getting hurt.

"Whoa!" Sonic cried, jumping.

"Was that necessary, Rin?" Saber asked.

"We can't take the risk of that information falling into the hands of whoever planted that device," Rin said, "This is the best way to be sure. Now we don't have to worry about whoever recorded our conversations being able to know about the Heaven's Feel." She crossed her arms, a triumphant smile on her face.

"But, Tohsaka..." Shirou said awkwardly, "They probably already know."

Rin blinked. "Huh?"

Sonic reached into the shattered remains of the device and held up a piece. "I'm no electrician, but I'm pretty sure this used to be an antenna."

"Huh?"

Shirou nodded sadly. "That's what I was going to say. There was a transmitter installed into the device as well."

"Huh?!"

"That's why Lancer took Bazett," Saber realized, "He knew that the church was being monitored, and so he drew her away from the battlefield..."

"While leaving us to take the brunt of it," Archer growled, a headache forming. "This could only happen to us."

"So, what are we going to do?" Shirou asked, still uncertain.

"We're going to leave," Rin declared, "And we're going to track down whoever made that device, find out how much they know, and..."

It was at that moment that dozens of armed soldiers suddenly rushed into the church. Before long, the five of them were surrounded by guns

Rather than just waiting at the motel for Bazett or Sonic to get back to her, Amy decided to take her Chaos Emerald to the mansion Sonic had described so that it could be secured. When she got there, she found that it was anything but secure. At least, that's what Knuckles was saying as he forcebly loaded the Tornado.

"That creep from the Temple knows we're here," He was saying as he tossed a dufflebag into the baggage compartment. "We gotta move before he attacks."

From what Amy had heard, "That creep" was the same man who had accosted Bazett and herself when they tried to attack Kirei at the church.

"But how could he have found out?" Tails asked, "We've done a pretty good job of hiding...haven't we?"

"Well, he is magic," Amy considered thoughtfully, "Maybe he used a crystal ball?"

"I don't that matters at this point," Knuckles decided, throwing the case with the Chaos Emeralds into the plane. "We can't take the risk of the Chaos Emeralds falling into his hands. Look at the damage they've caused because of this world's wizards and monsters."

"True," Tails agreed, "Maybe we could go to Illya's Castle for now. That's a secure location, and a ways from the city."

"Hold on, isn't that the same castle Eggman wrecked?" Knuckles asked, raising an eyebrow. "What makes it secure?"

"It's not," Tails admitted, "But Illya's family can afford to fix it if there's another attack."

That was accepted as good a reason as any. From what they had all heard, not only did the Einzbern Family have money to burn, but they probably didn't deserve the money that they had. Illya briefly mentioned in passing what growing up in that household had been like, and her words did not give them a pleasant outlook.

"Shouldn't we wait until Sonic gets back?" Amy asked.

"We'll tell him what's happening with our comms," Tails answered, "He can meet up with us once he's done with that evil priest."

Tails flew into the Tornado's cockpit and began to do a pre-flight check of the bi-plane's systems. Amy went to help Knuckles load the baggage compartment by tactfully explaining that punching the bags wouldn't make them fit easier. Once all systems checked out, Tails reached for his communicator to make the call.

Still, we've been so busy dealing with all of this magic stuff, I can't but wonder what Eggman is up to, Tails thought, He's been pretty quiet lately.

As it turned out, Eggman was currently up to figuring out what exactly he had captured the previous night. After bringing it to the Egg Saucer, Eggman had the Shadow placed in a special confinement cell and was scanning it endlessly. From what he could tell, it was mostly liquid, but the substance it was made of matched that of the creatures brought to him in the Egg Pods. He theorized that it was the source of the vile abominations. But it was no longer generating new creatures at the time. Further scans indicated that it had traces of energy from a Chaos Emerald, which Eggman wonder if he was dealing with this reality's version of Chaos Zero.

"Warning: Subject's projected energy levels are dropping. Physical stability is losing cohesion." The computer reported.

Eggman pushed a button on his console, and a panel opened up on the inside of the container. A single Power Ring came out of it and landed next to the thing. Eggman's Badniks had discovered an entrance to a Special Zone recently, but so far none of the machines that managed to reemerge intact had been able to capture the Emerald. A claw-like hand protruded from the black entity, and it snagged the Power Ring. As it did, it's body shuddered, and a second report came from the computer.

"Update: Energy levels rising. Physical cohesion is stabilizing."

"So, it needs energy to survive," Eggman mused, twirling his mustache in thought. "I wonder if this is another one of those Servants Shinji mentioned. Didn't he mention something about them needing a Master...?"

Eggman pulled out a tablet and began to open a direct line to Shinji. "Shinji, this is Dr. Eggman. Come in, Shinji!"

After a few minutes of a static, a voice replied to Eggman. It was Orbot. "This is Orbit. Shinji isn't able to come to the phone right now. Would you like to leave a message?"

"What? Why not?" Eggman asked, aggrivated. "What's he doing now? Is he still showering?"

"Oh, no, sir. He stopped doing that a while ago. Actually, there's been a bit of an update on the situation in Fuyuki…"

"What kind of update?"

The next reply came from Cubot. "His house exploded."

"…What?"

Shinji, as he knew it, was at Rock Bottom. He had no Servant. And he couldn't get a Servant because the only person who could have given him one had lost her Servant. And there was no way to summon his own because, not only did was he no Mage, but all of the Servants had already been summoned. It wouldn't matter if Eggman's doomsday device or whatever destroyed the other Servants and Masters; Without a Servant, there was no way to get the Holy Grail's wish.

And his home was wiped out too, somehow. That didn't bother him, when he thought about it. Or rather, parts of it did, when he thought about how all of his possessions had been blown up. That bothered him greatly, and caused his mind to heat up like a tea kettle on the stove. But then, those thoughts would be followed by the realization that Zouken had been wiped out as well. Zouken, the grimoires full of spells that Shinji couldn't do, and those horrible bug pits. Especially those horrible bug pits. The thought that he was still alive and his hated ancestor wasn't, it was a soothing concept, and more or less countered the rage and impotence he felt in the face of the other bad turns. But not by much.

And so, Shinji was now lying facedown on his motel room bed, his spirit spent on conflicting feelings and telling the police that no, he wasn't aware if there had been explosives somewhere on the former property. Next to him, Cubot watched Shinji with an expression that was either confusion or concern. Previously every 8.8 seconds he would poke Shinji in the back, specifically where it met the shoulders. Further off to the side, Orbot was making a report to Dr. Eggman.

"…And so the estate has been completely vaporized." Orbot explained.

"By what?" Eggman asked.

"I haven't the foggiest. But in any case, it's gone, along with the library," Orbot paused, "On the plus side, I was able to scan most the grimoires beforehand into the Eggman Electric, as well as a few of the grandfather's magic bugs, so I guess we've already gotten whatever we could from that angle. From what we've heard, authorities are blaming it on you."

"They can't do that! They can only blame me for things I've actually done!"

"s'prob'ly the Mages Asso'ation," Shinji mumbled, his voice muffled by the covers. "They blame ev'rythin' on other thin's."

"What was that?"

"Shinji, sir," Orbot answered, "He's been a little depressed since his house blew up."

"Crybaby," Eggman sneered, "I've had plenty of bases blow up, and you never see me whining about it."

"What about the time you broke down in tears after Sonic brought down your prison complex?" Orbot asked. There was a noise at the door, but no one noticed.

"I did not! Who told you that?!"

"Saw in the archived security files, sir."

"There's no such file! What is it called?"

Orbot relayed a series of numbers and letters, and the line went silent. Eggman was cleaely checking it out. At this point, both Shinji (still lying on the bed) and Cubot (still poking Shinji's back) were now watching Orbot ' s conversation with Eggman via the Eggman Electric. Because of this, no one noticed the door was opening very slowly.

"You lousy… You knew there was footage of that and you didn't tell me?!" Eggman screamed, causing Orbot to hastily turn down the speakers volume. "When I get my hands on you-"

Orbot quickly broke the connection. "Well, I suppose we're free for the day. What should we do now?"

"Well, I have a few suggestions on our next move."

Shinji, Orbot, and Cubot turned suddenly.

As it turned out, the minute Lancer began shouting about Kirei killing Rin, those in charge of monitoring the listening device had immediately responded by contacting their superiors. Those superiors went above and beyond the call of duty by contacting their superiors, as well as local law enforcement. At the same time, the first set of superiors decided to go even further beyond the call of duty and requisitioned the use of a task force to help apprehend Kotomine and deal with the media fallout from arresting a priest.

The second problem lay in the fact that, when arriving at the sight, the forces dispensed to capture Kirei and save Rin from an unpleasant death would inexplicably decide that, there was nothing wrong and they could go home. Naturally, when they were told there that it still sounded like a war was being fought inside the church. So, the attack squad would return to the church, be compelled to leave, only to be told to go back. This went one several times, until eventually the inexplicable compulsion ceased. Once it did, the special forces were able to storm the church just a few minutes after all of the action had ended, along with Kotomine's life.

In hindsight, perhaps killing the guy who maintained the Boundary Field surrounding the church was a bad idea. Archer thought. When the police and military had arrived, things happened very quickly. Archer just barely had enough time to slip away and take astral form. Saber, lacking that power, was forced to be arrested along with Shirou, Rin, and Sonic. With Rin being too exhausted to cast any hypnosis, the four of them were soundly taken in for questioning. As he watched the proceedings, Archer realized that this was not going to be a normal police investigation. He watched as they were loaded into a truck, and that truck did not take them to a police station. It followed a complex route of backroads, turnoffs, and finally ended at a building that, according to the sign, was condemned.

Archer did a sweep of the area. Far from being unused and near destruction, it was a cunningly disguised military complex. There were examination rooms, labs, and communication terminals that would look more at home at the Pentagon. Shirou, Saber, Rin and Sonic were taken to seperate quarters and different sections, far away from each other. Archer kept in contact with Rin the entire time, the two of them comparing notes. Being the most injured, Rin was taken to what was clearly a medical bay. The doctor patching her up kept offering her 'painkillers' which Rin tactfully pretended to swallow with some sleight of hand and a little mystical misdirection.

Rin, do I even need to suggest that these people might be the ones spying on the church. Archer reported.

You think? Rin replied, and yelped in pain. Ow! Stupid iodine! Anyway, see if you can find out where they took Shirou, Saber, and Sonic. Start with Sonic. We can trust Shirou and Saber not to start anything, but Sonic's a whole other story. He'd start a jailbreak for fun, and that's the last thing we need right now.

Archer, who had been drifting down a corridor in order to memorize the complex's floor plan, felt a rush of wind by his side. Archer's reflexes were just good enought to see a painfully-familiar pair of red sneakers as it darted around the corner. Moments later, a group of soldiers ran by. Judging from their heavy breathes, the chase had been going on for some time.

No doubts there. Archer thought, I'll get back to you, Rin.

Archer raced off, and ghosted past the soldiers. Catching up with Sonic was easier than he expected, as the Hedgehog wasn't running at top speed. It was plainly obvious that Sonic was just toying with the soldiers- He was moving fast enough to stay ahead of his pursuers, but slow enough that they could keep up. The real problem was that Archer needed Sonic to go to an isolated location so he could resume physical form and talk to him. Some planning would be rquired.

If I wasn't in a hurry, I'd take a few minutes to think. Archer thought, rematerializing. He made sure to place himself in a blind spot on the security cameras. Projecting a Bow, Archer fired a slew of arrows at the lights. As the hallway was filled with darkness, Archer raced ahead of the confused soldiers, grabbed Sonic by the arms ("Hey!") and whispered into his ear, "Ditch these guys and meet me in the bathroom down the hall!"

Sonic nodded, and Archer had to let go to avoid being yanked off his feet by Sonic's abrupt acceleration. He quickly shifted back into astral form and entered the aforementioned restroom. It was empty. He waited by the air dryer, and not for very long. Sonic zipped in, but before Archer could rematerialized and talk, he headed towards a stall. There was the sound of trickling, flushing, and Sonic zipped out to wash his hands. Archer became physical as Sonic went to the dryer.

"Don't tell me," Archer said blandly, causing Sonic to jump. "You were having so much fun you had to pee."

"Actually, I hadn't gone since this morning," Sonic said irritably, "Not all of us are magic ghosts. What's up?"

"Please tell me that there was a point to you leading those guards on a wild chase, besides your own amusement." Archer said bluntly.

Sonic shrugged as he dried his hands. "They took me to some empty room and a guy in a suit started asking me questions. Y'know, where I came from, why I came here, that sorta thing."

"And what did you tell them?" Archer asked.

"The truth," Sonic shrugged. Seeing the look in Archer's eyes, he added, "Don't worry! I didn't mention anything about magic, sheesh!"

"Did they ask anything about Shirou or Rin?"

"No, I left before they got that far."

"Right…" Archer sighed, "I'm going to keep looking around for something we can use to bust out. If you want to help, try to find Shirou and Saber and give them a message. At the very least, we need to get our stories straight."

"Y'know, if these guys were the ones spying on the church, they're pretty much going to know exactly what went on down there," Sonic pointed out, "I mean, at this point, why keep lying?"

Archer didn't have an answer for that.

Shirou was currently in an empty room. He was still handcuffed, sitting at a table. He had at first called out for anyone who might be listening, but his pleas had been ignored. Shirou had been tempted to try and use Reinforcement to increase his strength and break out of the handcuffs, but chose not to. Although he couldn't see any cameras, he had the feeling he was being watched.

I need to play it cool, Shirou thought, Not that there's anything else I can do, right now...

The door then opened, and what looked like an officer came in.

"Hello, Mr. Emiya," He greeted as he sat across from Shirou, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, but we wanted to make sure everything was arranged before your questioning."

Shirou's brain told him to say something along the lines of, "It's all right" or "Apology accepted," but by the time the words reached his mouth, it became, "Where are my friends?"

The officer adjusted his collar. "Your classmate Ms. Tohsaka is still in the medical ward. She seems to have suffered numerous injuries, and we want to make sure her life is in no immediate danger before we question her. Your...associate, Ms. Saber, is being questioned in another room."

"And what about...that creature?" Shirou almost referred to Sonic by name, but caught himself in time.

"That's none of your business," The officer grumbled, "And wipe that smile off your face!"

"I'm not smiling." Shirou lied, "But, who are you people? This doesn't seem like a normal police station." Shirou thought about what he just said. "Not that I spend a lot of time at police stations."

"I can't give you my name, but you can call me Osamu," The agent said, "But I suppose I should explain that the reason you were taken here instead of the police is due to the delicate nature of the incident. We don't want the death of a priest to be made public until we have all of the facts and made our conclusion. Our agency has been given permission to investigate this incident."

"And what agency is that?" Shirou asked.

"I know you'd rather be at home, so why don't we get right to it." Osamu said, purposely ignoring Shirou's question. Shirou chose not to press the subject. He had a feeling that he needed to proceed with care.

The first part of the questioning went off, in Shirou's mind, swimmingly. He wasn't sure what kind of stories Saber and Rin were telling, so he tried to vague as possible. The agent's face remained as stony as ever, so it was hard to tell whether or not he believed any of Shirou's words. So far, Shirou had not said anything that was technically untrue. He and Saber had heard word of Kirei's connection to the serial killer, and went to the church to help Rin. It had already been wrecked when they got there...

Agent Stuart had wanted recommended Shirou being interrogated first for two reasons; One, during his time undercover at Homurahara Academy, he had gotten to know the young man a bit and found him to be a bit more honest than the average student. More specifically, he was considered by all to be a terrible liar. But the second, more important reason was that due to Sonic's breakout, there was a chance that their base might be exposed to the public…or worse, to whatever was disrupting past investigations. While they could hold both Saber and Rin due to their connection with suspected terrorists, Emiya Kiritsugu and Kotomine Kirei respectively, Shirou was a different story. Besides a relatively minor connection to the Fujimura Group, his record was clean. They needed to get whatever Shirou had as soon as possible.

So far, Shirou had been very cagey with answers. Very vague, but hard to dispute. Stuart turned on his microphone. Speaking very softly, he said, "Ask about Rin."

&BreaK&

"…So, what do you know about Miss Rin Tohsaka?" Osamu asked.

"…She's a good student and polite classmate," Shirou answered after a moment, "I…She can a bit mischievous at times, but I think she's a good person at heart."

Osamu drummed his fingers on the desk, clearly in thought. Then, he said, "Shirou, I'm going to share something with you. Not long after the attacks on Homurahara Academy by the terrorist calling himself Eggman, the church Kotomine Kirei maintains was attacked by a similar weapon."

"Really?" Shirou asked, hoping he didn't sound too fake.

Osamu nodded. "Coupled with some…incidents the late Kirei was associated with, we became concerned as to why the church was targeted. Since then we have been monitoring the church for any suspicious activity."

The door opened and a soldier came in, holding something in his hand. He placed it on the table, and Shirou saw that it had speakers and a play button. Osamu pressed the play button.

"This is just one of many conversations we've picked up," Osamu explained, "I normally wouldn't be sharing this with you, but some of the dialogue...could use some context."

The first voice from the recording was Kirei's. "Ahh, Rin, it is good to see you. For what do I owe this pleasure?"

The second voice was Rin's. "This isn't a social visit, Kirei. We've got a serious matter to discuss."

Kirei: "...How serious?"

Rin: "Holy War serious. I've learned some new information that changes everything."

Kirei: "...Rin, you know that we're supposed to wait until nightfall to speak of that."

Rin: "That was before our city was attacked enough times to justify a military presence. And in case you didn't notice, last night I ran into a bunch of soldiers who were camped right outside the edge of a battle."

Kirei: "Rin, I understand your concern. But don't worry. The Mage's Association and Holy Church are working to keep our activities from becoming known to the public. It's been a hard...very hard time, but we still have everything under control."

Rin: "It's not just the threat of exposure I'm worried about, Kirei. I've recently learned something about the Holy Grail that changes everything about the War. About its nature."

Kirei: "What do you mean?"

Rin: "It's a time bomb, Kirei. The Holy Grail isn't going to grant anyone's wish, no matter who wins it. Thanks to Avenger's influence from the Third War, the Grail will destroy the planet the minute it is completed. That's why the Grail from the previous War razed Fuyuki. And that was only with the substance of an incomplete Grail. If the current War's Grail reaches maximum power, it'll destroy the planet." She took a deep breath. "And so, that's why we need to put a stop to the War."

Osamu at that point stopped the recording. Looking at Shirou's stunned expression, he said, "Before that, we've had numerous recordings of Kotomine talking with an unidentified man, and frequent mentions of this 'War' and 'Grail', along with an organization that seems to be working outside the law. From what we gather, that same group has someone managed to infiltrate the government to obfuscate any mention of their activities. That's why our agency has to do its work in these secretive conditions. And furthermore, it sounds like whatever project they're working towards is going to cause a disaster on par with the Great Fire of Fuyuki. Now, I doubt you would..."

Shirou wasn't really paying attention anymore. The full scope of the issue was finally known to him. He had

They know, Shirou realized, they know practically everything. The only thing going they don't know is what it all means…

Shirou wracked his brain for idea, but none came. This was no longer a matter of keeping the big secret- for all intents and purposes, it had already been printed on a billboard, and the billboard itself had been erected on the side of a major roadway. The only reason there was even a questioning was that these agents had no understanding of the context. Holy Grail, Mage's Association… fancy words that meant nothing to them because they didn't know about magic.

But they know enough that they could arrest Rin as a co-conspirator of Kotomine. Shirou realized glumly. Thanks to the recordings of Rin's meetings with Kirei, it wouldn't be hard for them to legally put the screws to her. While the Mage's Association could arrange Rin's freedom, there was no telling how much death and property damage that would involve. And these agents, as far as Shirou could tell, were not bad guys. Just trying to figure out who the bad guys were.

Shirou wondered what his father would do. From what Saber had described, Kiritsugu would have easily, coldly, torn through the entire agency until the truth had been buried…not much different from the Mage's Association, really. But Shirou remembered how broken and indifferent Kiritsugu had been when his father had discussed his failure to become a hero. Such a ruthless method would have destroyed Shirou's soul if he had to do it.

Shirou then wondered what Sonic would do. The Hedgehog had made it perfectly clear he didn't think much of the rule of secrecy mages were supposed to follow. In fact, he didn't seem to think much of rules in general. He would have, and probably already had, escaped and leave the agents to scratch their heads, for one reason or another. But running away wouldn't solve the problem.

He then wondered what Saber would do. She had been a king, one who's ultra-pragmatic reign had led to a revolt against her...the Battle of Camlann. Her methods had been harsh, fighting to save the nation while ruling it without emotions. She had never hesitated to continue the wars until they ended in victory, no matter the cost. But Shirou didn't want a war.

So...what did he want to do?

"Mr. Emiya?" Osamu asked again, "Do you have anything to say?"

"I..." Shirou wanted to answer, but the words were caught in his throat.

Before anything more could be said, the doors burst open. There was a rush of wind and suddenly Sonic was in the room. More specifically, multiple Sonic's were in the room. They were all blurry, and each one was doing a different thing. One Sonic was standing on the end of the table, wobbling precariously. One Sonic was flipping through Osamu's papers at lightning speed. Another was fiddling with the recorder. And at least two were playing Cat and Mouse with Osamu and the two soldiers that managed to get in.

This was impossible, of course. But it didn't take a genius to realize that the duplicates were just a visual illusion caused by Sonic high speed and stopping just enough for one image to take hold in Shirou's mind. It did take Shirou a moment to realize that something had been pressed into his hand. As all kinds of super-speed shenanigans were being done around him, Shirou saw that it was a piece of note paper. On it was written, "Shirou, I suppose I don't need to tell you this, but watch what you say. From what Archer tells me, Rin and Saber are going to try and be honest about everything, but they're avoiding any talk about magic. This isn't my world, so I honestly don't know what's the right thing to do here. But I hope whatever you choose to do, it's something you can live with."

Unfortunately, the ink hadn't had time to dry before the paper was folded up, so most of the message became smudged. In fact, it looked less like a message and more like a Rorschach test that to Shirou resembled a twisted picture of Saturn.

And the minute Shirou lowered the paper, Sonic was out of the room, leaving behind one very flustered agent as the soldiers regained their bearings and chased him out. It could have been Shirou's imagination, but he thought he saw Sonic wink at him, faint image fading from his eyes.

And Shirou realized, I live in a world where that happened. He came to a decision.

"God, I think it's toying with us, why do I even bother…" Osamu was muttered as he tried to gather up everything.

"Mr. Osamu…" Shirou began, catching the agent's attention. "There's something I want you to see. Trace On."

Stuart stood up suddenly. A sword had suddenly appeared in Shirou's hand.

Eggman sighed. He had spent his entire day studying, analyzing, and experimenting on the creature. And he was starting to have a good feeling about it. From what he could tell, the creature seemed to have space-time properties. If fed enough energy, he could generate a force equal to Chaos Control. The real question was where to get the power...

Eggman leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms. "Oh, this is exhausting! I need a break."

Eggman stood, and pushed a button. The speakers on his computer began to play music.

"The story begins with who's gonna win

"Knowin' the danger that lies within

"Aboard the ARK a genius at heart

"Who wanted to unlock the mysteries of life"

Like all terrible dancers, Eggman thought he was a terrific dancer. And he danced withoutSo any attempt to describe his movements would be an utter crime against humanity that even Angra Maiyu would hesitate to commit.

"I am the Eggman, that's what I am

"I am the Eggman, I got the master plan

"I am the Eggman, that's what I am

"I am the Eggman, with the master plan"

Eggman sashayed, boogied, and hustled. His movements were uncoordinated, lacking in rhythm or timing.

"I'm plotting my schemes wherever I go

"They're perfect in every way

"I'd love to destroy the blue one you know

"He's an obstacle that always gets in my way"

And then Eggman began to moonwalk. Or at least, his mocking attempt to do a moonwalk. And he was really getting into the swing of things when he felt a finger poke him in the side.

"Sir?" Orbot asked.

"Gah!" Eggman yelped, and the music cut off. He glared down at the spherical robot. "What do you want?! I'm busy!"

"Yes, you certainly look like it," Orbot said diplomatically, "But, I'm afraid to say that you have a visitor who wishes to speak with you."

"I'm busy!" Eggman snapped, before realizing what exactly Orbot had said. "Visitor? What are you talking about?"

Before Orbot could speak, a new figure stepped through the doorway. In one hand he held Shinji, his finger clasped firmly around the teenager's neck. Shinji, for his part, was starting to turn as blue as his hair, and his feet were awkwardly dangling a foot off the ground. Further back, Cubot was watching from behind a corner, shaking.

Gilgamesh said, "I have come to see if your quaint innovations are truly worthy of the king's endorsement.

To be continued_

Tiger Dojo

Taiga: Aloha, all children under the sun! Answering your questions by moonlight, it's the Tiger Dojo! I am your instructor, Fujimura Taiga, and here is my Number One Assistant, Illya-chan!

Illya: Onee-chan, what are you doing? Don't you know that snitches get stitches? I'll have to really reprogram you when you get home!

Taiga: Shirou is a very ernest boy. He just can't lie to the police. What bothers me more is that GIlgamesh and Eggman have had their fated meeting. Could an alliance of evil be in the works?

Illya: If they do team-up, it won't end well for Eggman. His past partners have always betrayed him.

Taiga: Let us get down to the brass tacks! What is our first question, Assistant Number One?

Illya: The first query comes from Lucklash. "Will there be any Servants from other animes appearing?"

Taiga: I hope not! This story has too many characters as it is!

Illya: And there are too many heroines! I haven't had many scenes with Oni-chan.

Taiga: Just relax, jealosy does not become a young lady. Our next question comes from Ina, who asks, "Will Sonic meet Merlin?"

Illya: Who knows? It's hard to keep track of what such a trickster will do.

Taiga: Our last question comes from Doortolight47; "What's Sasaki going to do now?" You mean, the Assassin Caster summond?

Illya: That's something to think about. He has no interest in the Grail, and some energy to spend time away from Ryuudou Temple. I think he might just wander erratically until his Mana runs out. Who knows if he'll show up again. Oh, well. If he dies, I'll be the first to know.

Taiga: And that concludes our lesson for today! We will see you at the next practice!

Illya: Goodbye, everybody!