Chapter 28: Pride of the Warrior King
Figuring out how the teleporter worked was easy, borderline simplistic. It helped that the actual transport button was big, red, and had "SEND TO EGG SAUCER" printed in bright letters. The rest of the controls were about sending emails, surfing the internet, and choosing what music track the operator could listen to.
Actually being teleported was an entirely different matter. There were no words or metaphors that could describe having every molecule instantly disassembled, transmitted at the speed of a high-speed internet connection, and instantly reassembled at a new location. It made Shirou's Mage Circuits, as well as his other, more mundane nerves, tingle.
"Well, that wasn't so bad," Assassin commented, wiping his brow. "For a moment, I thought we weren't going to make it."
Shirou was about to deliver a witty retort, but noticed that the normally unflappable Servant seemed a bit…off. There was a slight hue to his checks, as if he had been jogging hard. "Are you all right?"
"I'm just not used to being outside of the city's leylines, that's all," Assassin assured him, composing himself. "I'll be fine. Besides, you should be more worried about…them."
Shirou whirled about, and saw what looked like some sort of giant, toy pig standing in the corner. The robot's eyes were opened all the way, and its body shook. Clearly Shirou and Assassin's abrupt appearance caught it by surprise. The Ball Hog recovered quickly enough, and fired something out of its belly. Shirou and Assassin jumped aside, and the projectile bounced across the floor, crashing into and destroying the teleporter. Shirou Projected a sledgehammer and slammed it into the Ball Hog, breaking it into pieces. As a little squirrel scampered out of the wreckage, Shirou gave Assassin a Look for not helping.
"You looked liked you had it taken care of." Assassin said.
Before Shirou could give his witty retorted, the remains of the teleporter gave off a spark, drawing his attention. At first, Shirou thought that maybe the device could be repaired. A second explosion, caused by the damaged parts overheating, put a damper on that notion. The teleporter had gone from "Busted but maybe serviceable" to "Just buy another one".
"We're not going back the way we came in," Shirou remarked, and turned towards the door. "We might as well keep going forward. And hope…" Hope we don't need saving ourselves…
Well, perhaps to no one's surprise, Agent Stuart had no idea where Shirou was. So, back at the Emiya living room, Rin, Sakura and Bazett tried to determine the young man's whereabouts. Rin called up several independent air and boat services that she could find in the phone book. Sakura used Bazett's cell phone to call their classmates, on the slim chance that Shirou gone to one of them for a visit.
Therefore none of them were prepared for the abrupt entrance of Fujimura Taiga.
"SHIIIROOUUU!" The Tiger of Fuyuki shrieked as she literally broke through the door to the living room. The ladies jumped in surprise, Rin reflexively breaking her phone as she slammed it down on its cradle.
"S-sensei?" Sakura gasped, trying to control her beating heart. "Is something the matter?"
"Have- Huff -haven't you heard?" Taiga panted, "There's some sort of battleship or whatever heading towards Fuyuki! The military can't stop it, and an evacuation order was just announced! Do you know where Shirou…"
That was as far as Taiga got, because in the time she was talking, Rin had stood, walked over, and cast a hypnosis spell on her English teacher. Taiga's eyes glazed over, and her posture seemed to become limp.
"Emiya-kun already knows, he is already helping other people evacuate," Rin instructed in a clipped tone, "Go help the rest of the neighborhood."
Nodding dully, Taiga walked out with the grace and poise of a wind-up toy. Once she was gone, Sakura and Bazett looked at Rin. Sakura appeared stunned at Rin's decision, while Bazett had a calculating expression on. They both made Rin uncomfortable.
"Don't look at me like that," Rin said, with a stubborn awkwardness. "There's no point in making Taiga more worried than she already is."
"From the sound of things, Eggman is going to attack Fuyuki again," Bazett said, "But why? He already has Illya to power his machines…" She narrowed her eyes as she contacted Lancer telepathically.
Sakura gasped as she made the connection. "But Illya's the Grail as well. And the Grail won't manifest…"
"…Unless the container is at a nexus point for the Fuyuki Leylines!" Rin finished as she came to the same conclusion. "Damn it!" Shirou, wherever you are, I hope you're safe!
As he and Assassin continued to explore the inner recesses of Eggman's lab, Shirou began to feel a sense of foreboding. Besides the few robots that had been stationed in the teleporter room, the entire complex was utterly devoid of guards. He guessed that majority of Eggman's forces were outside dealing with both Team Sonic & the Servants or the military, the former more likely. His unease was not helped by the…less standard functions of certain rooms.
An arcade, a food court, indoor swimming pool… Shirou thought as they checked each door they came across, If I didn't know better, I'd swear this was a hotel!
There were rooms that were more suitable to an evil scientist, of course. There was an observation deck for the assembly line, one for testing larger robots (Along with a popcorn dispenser), and a room to observe captured specimens. Shirou hoped to find Illya there, but the room was empty.
"Damn it!" Shirou swore, and slammed his fist into the wall.
Boom
Stunned, Shirou looked at his fist with wonder.
"That sounded like it came from another room." Assassin pointed out helpfully.
More blasts were heard, making it easy to figure out which door they were coming from. As they entered, Shirou heard something like a crazed giggling. The room looked very much like an indoor shooting range, with torn and beaten dolls made in the likeness of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. Standing before these plush effigies a person Shirou never expected to see.
"Shinji?!" Shirou exclaimed before he could stop himself.
"I know what to do!" Shinji declared as he was brought into the lab.
"What do you mean by that?" Eggman asked, "You said you had important information, so Let's have it."
"Not so fast," Shinji retorted, "It's time you held up your end if our bargain."
Eggman cocked his head. "How's that?"
"I want to be a mage," Shinji demanded. He knew he was taking a risk, that he was more powerless in the Egg Saucers than he had ever been in the Matou household, but he had to press what little advantage he held. "You promised me that your ray gun thing can give me active Mage Circuits, so you won't get anything until that happens!"
Eggman stroked his mustache in thought. He had said that, and the math seemed sound enough to try. However, he wasn't sure if the power they drained from the Shadow was enough to affect anything larger than that houseplant. Then again, Shinji seemed really confident about what he knew, and Eggman wanted someone other than Gilgamesh to talk to…
Taking out a coin, Eggman gave it a flip, caught it, checked which side it landed on, and then threw his hands up in the air. "Fine, fine," He said, "Let's get this over with. But this better be good!"
On their way down to the Genesis Ray prototype's testing room, Shinji told Eggman, "Berserker is dead. That albino loli Master doesn't have any other protection. And all of them, she and the remaining Masters, are planning some kind of ridiculous picnic tomorrow at her castle."
Eggman's mustache perked as he grinned. "That is good!"
Inside the demo room, Eggman had his robots get ready. Orbot, who had a better understanding of Magecraft thanks to reviewing the Matou grimoires, typed the specifications into the Ray's settings. As he did, Cubot cleared up the target point, putting the table and a potted plant off into the corner.
As the Ray's cannon powered up, Shinji began to feel apprehensive. "Erm, will this hurt?"
Eggman and Orbot exchanged looks. Orbot shrugged. Looking back at Shinji, Eggman said, "We'll be fine." And threw the switch.
At Shirou's exclamation, Shinji whirled about. His shocked expression grew even more so when he saw who it was. Shirou, while stunned and confused about Shinji's presence, began to grow angry. His first instinct would have been to assume that Shinji had been taken prisoner, but if that was so, why wasn't Shinji locked up?
"Emiya!" Shinji gasped. He seemed rather tired. "Wha- how did you get here?"
"That's my line." Shirou said evenly. He wasn't sure why, but he had some sneaking suspicion that Shinji had done something he wouldn't be proud of. Far off somewhere in the Egg Saucers inner workings, Archer found himself experiencing get déjà vu.
It was a tense standoff in the shooting gallery. Shirou and Shinji stared each other down. Off to the side, Assassin looked over at the targets. Even now, an Egg Pawn was replacing the destroyed dolls with in-tact versions.
Shirou spoke first. "Eggman kidnapped Illya. During the party. The one you didn't want to come to, but we told you all about."
Shinji gritted his teeth, but kept trying to appear friendly. "Oh? That…that's what happened to me, as well! I'm a prisoner too."
"So why aren't you in a jail?" Shirou asked dangerously. His mind was forming connections, and they were filling him with anger.
"Oh, I escaped-"
"I doubt that." Shirou knew Shinji, and a daring escape required more than whatever his classmate was capable of.
"Oh, are you?" Suddenly, Shinji seemed less nervous, and more angry. "Well, do you doubt…This?!"
Shinji thrust his palm forward. There was a crackling noise, and a spark of black lightning leapt from his hand and into Shirou's chest. Shirou buckled and fell onto one knee. Off to the side, Assassin looked from the pile of robot parts and the little sparrow that came out.
Shirou gasped, and forced himself to stand. The sparks didn't hurt much, but they did disrupt the feeling in his body. He tried to process the pain, push it out of his body, but his anger was making it hard to concentrate. He knew that Shinji shouldn't have active Mage Circuits from Rin, and there was only one way for that to change.
"Hurts, doesn't It?!" Shinji crowed, "Not being the only one with powers anymore must be such a blow! And that was just a taste of what I can do now!"
"Ugh...you let Eggman modify you with his Genesis Ray," Shirou guessed, standing up. "And in exchange, you traded him intel on what we would be doing!"
"COR-RECT! Give the man a prize!" Shinji whooped with malicious glee. He sent out more sparks, but Shirou was ready and jumped aside. "I was hoping to have the Holy Grail grant me powers, but you and that stupid Hedgehog ruined it!"
"What are you talking about?" Shirou asked, "We didn't do anything to you!"
"I lost control of Rider because of your fighting at the harbor!" Shinji yelled back, "As far as I'm concerned, you owe me this!"
"You betrayed us, you betrayed your entire country, the entire world..." Shirou growled, getting angrier. "...All because of your defecies as a Master!?"
"SHUT UP!" Shinja shrieked. Sweat was pouring from his brow, and his left eyebrow was twitching as he spoke. "You've always looked down on me! Always acting like your useless powers made you a hero!"
He's not used to using his new mage circuits, Shirou realized, And judging from those ruined targets, he used up most of his energy as is...
Indeed, as he was ranting, the sparks pouring from Shinji's hands suddnly gave out. Shinji bent over, panting heavily as exhaustion took over. Spotting his chance, Shirou leapt forward and slammed his fist into Shinji's jaw, sending the blue-haired teen flying. Shinji went into a tumble before crashing into the corner of the room. His expression was utterly ridiculous to look at, with his mouth agape and his eyes bugged out and unfocused. He was completely unconcious.
"Your grandfather was the same," Shirou said at his ex-friend. "Causing people pain just to feel good."
On the Egg Saucer's exterior, Team Sonic & Knuckles were approaching the entrance to the center building of the complex. As they got closer, they noticed that the area had golden Power Rings scattered about here and there. They snatched the Rings up as quickly as they could, while trying not to diverge from their path.
"How many do you have so far, Sonic?" Tails asked.
"About twenty," Sonic replied, "I think I can see more Rings in the distance, too."
"Should we go after them?" Amy asked, "We could all the Rings we can get," She then saw a glow from over her shoulders, "Especially now!"
Team Sonic & Knuckles, as one, dropped to the floor and just narrowly avoided being impaled by the Caladbolg, Dainsleif, Duranda, and Gram as shot at them from behind. The ancient swords obliterated the gates to the central building, as well as the Egg Pawn acting as security check-in.
"Aww, not the toll booth unit!" Cubot groaned. He and Orbot were watching the action from the main control room. "He owed me money!"
Getting up, Team Sonic & Knuckles turned about and saw none other than Gilgamesh. The King of Heroes' arrogant smirk seemed even more malevolent than before, as he looked down at the actual heroes.
"No, stay where you are," Gilgamesh said, "Prostrate enough, and I may forgive the many crimes you have committed."
"Nah, not our style," Sonic replied, "But I'm surprised a big shot like you would team up with the Eggster."
"You're nemesis is immensely flawed, but his skills are what I need to cleanse this dirty world," Gilgamesh stated, "So I will reward the work he has done for me by removing you."
The Gate of Babylon opened again, sending out another ancient weapon speeding at Sonic. Sonic darted to the left to avoid it, and then began to run around as Gilgamesh fired more Noble Phantasms at him. Rather than just play on the defensive, Sonic increased his speed and closed in Gilgamesh. But instead of attacking him head-on, Sonic grabbed the end of the Archer's cape. He then zipped around Gilgamesh, wrapping his head in his own mantle.
"You guys go!" Sonic ordered, "I'll keep Goldy here preoccupied!"
Gilgamesh let out a muffled, irate scream, and Tails, Knuckles and Amy ran into the building. Before disappearing into the darkness, Amy looked over her shoulder one last time. Meanwhile, Gilgamesh finally unwrapped himself from his cape. He would have done it sooner, but he wanted to take care not to rip or tear the exquisite stitching and craftsmanship. But once he was free, he gave Sonic a withering glare. It was the kind of disdainful expression you would give a roach that's been skittering over the floor for too long. He then put his hand through his hair, returning it to its original spiky appearance.
"Nice 'do," Sonic commented, "But y'know, I think I pull the spikey look better."
"I beg to disagree."
Behind Gilgamesh, several Gates of Babylon opened. The heads of many ancient swords, spears, and axes could be seen poking out. Then, they fired. Sonic zipped to the right, then the left, zigging and zagging to avoid certain death. Each weapon that failed to hit put a moderately-sized crater in the deck. Sonic tried to circle around Gilgamesh so as to take his back, but the Servant wasn't taking any chances. Gilgamesh seemed to be able to follow Sonic's movements with his eyes, and always made sure that there was a Gate of Babylon pointing directly at the Hedgehog.
On second, maybe I should have had Knuckles stay and help! Sonic thought, But if Gilgamesh is here, what happened with Saber and the others…?
Back at the main deck of the Egg Saucer, Saber and Lancer were almost done clearing out the Egg Pawn army. Although there were still a considerable amount of robots crawling around, their numbers significantly less than before.
I can actually see the floor, now, Saber thought as she bisected an Egg Hammer from the head down, and I can also see that we're missing someone. "Lancer!" She called out, "Have you seen Archer?"
"No!" Lancer's voice called out from the remains of a Flapper while he skewered three Egg Pawns. "He probably slinked off to do his own thing! What does it matter? This is a piece of cake!"
Yes, it was easy, and that set Saber's nerves on end. She knew that Gilgamesh was lurking around the Egg Saucer somewhere, but so far he had not revealed himself. Was he waiting for the Badniks to wear the two of them out? Or had Archer found Gilgamesh was challenging him on his own? Either were possible. Gilgamesh, for all of his cocky demeanor, was more tactful and pragmatic than Saber wanted to admit. Archer…she didn't understand Archer. He joined Caster at the drop of a hat, but then rejoined the group just as quickly. It was hard to tell what direction he was going in.
Going… Saber felt a groan as she quickly figured it out. "Of course he went ahead! He's a bad as Shirou! Lancer! We're moving forward!"
Whatever reply Lancer had was cut off as something landed onto the battlefield. Egg Pawns were blasted out of the way as what seemed to be a glowing ball of energy hurtled towards the two Servants. Saber moved to intercept the object, but Lancer was faster. His spear and the sphere met with a crack of force that blew away they scrap metal. Lancer and the ball leapt away, and the the energy faded to show their attacker's true form.
"Metal Sonic!" Sonic cried when Sakura told them what happened to Illya.
"What?" Rin asked, "What is that? A robot that looks like Sonic?"
"Exactly," Tails nodded, "He's one of Eggman's most dangerous weapons. He's just as fast as Sonic, but nowhere as nice."
"And he kidnapped Illya," Shirou's fist shook in rage. It was an emotion they were all feeling, fury at being played so easily.
"I'm…I'm sorry." Sakura whispered, covering her eyes in shame.
"Don't worry about it," Knuckles told her, "If Eggman's letting Metal out, it just means he's getting serious. We should, too."
Lancer gaped at the robot. "That's Metal Sonic? It just looks like someone put Sonic's head on a jet engine!"
As it happened, the jet engine part of Metal Sonic powered up, and the duplicate charged at Lancer. Lancer spun his spear about to impale Metal, but before they could meet, Metal Sonic shot upwards, going into a spin before plummeting down onto the spearman. Lancer back away and Metal Sonic ended up tearing that part of the deck into pieces. Metal didn't stick to the crater for long, and in a second was already rocketing at Lancer, who had begun darting to the left while setting up a series of Runes. But rather than charging into them, Metal Sonic blasted up into the air to glare down at the Servants.
"Saber! Go on by yourself!" Lancer called to his fellow Servant, "I'll catch up as soon as I'm done with this discount action figure!"
Metal Sonic's eyes flashed, clearly displeased with Lancer's words. Surrounding himself with a forcefield, the robot blasted down at Lancer. Lancer waited until the last minute, then shifted out of the way so that Metal Sonic narrowly missed him. He then circled around Metal to stab the robot in the back, only for Metal to zoom away and avoid it. Metal then zipped around to attack Lancer, who circled around to block Metal's assault.
Although Saber was tempted to stay and assist Lancer in his fight, she knew it would only insult his warrior spirit. Turning, she began to run towards the central building.
Archer didn't know how long the tunnel he was in would go on. However, he knew that wherever he was going would lead him directly to the center of the Egg Saucer. It was also leading him to a never-ending line of Egg Pawns, Egg Robos, and other miscelanious robots with an 'Egg' prefix.
I was right, Archer fought as he jogged down the hall. He delivered a kick at a Badnik, smashing it and releasing a sea gull. This area acts a transport line from the main manufacturing plant to the deck. Following it should lead me to the center of Eggman's operations.
Archer Projected his bow and fired an arrow that punctured a line of Egg Robos, freeing a rabbit, a cat, and several squirrels. He briefly wondered where they were scampering off to, but chose not to pursue that line of thought. Nature would find a way, after all.
Soon, Archer found himself in a large chamber, a dome-shaped room that was probably as big as the warehouse he had fought Eggman in at the harbor.
Speaking of big yolks... Archer thought, as he glared down at the obstacle between him and the door.
It was another Egg Mobile, similar to the Egg Walker Eggman rode at the Harbor. Only this time, it was standing on four legs, like a cross between a crab and a spider. These were no doubt to handle the weight from its additional armaments; A missile launcher on the back, two robotic arms, one with a spiked club, and the other with a round shield. And in the middle of it was Dr. Eggman, seated firmly in the cockpit like a chick in an egg.
"So, Servant Archer!" Eggman proclaimed, "We meet again! Only this time, I don't see events unfolding as they did before!"
"You certainly enjoy to hear yourself talk," Archer snorted, "So I'll make this simple. Tell me where Illya is and let me pass, or I cut out your tongue."
"Illya? You mean my new battery? Forget it!" Eggman retorted, "The enegy she's outputting is incredible! And it's getting stronger the closer we get to Japan!"
Archer gritted his teeth and let a Broken Phantasm fly from his bow. But before the attack could strike, the Egg Brawler's shield moved in front to block, spinning to aid in deflecting the Phantasm. Archer was more annoyed than impressed, but then he took a closer look at the shield and club.
Wait a minute...it's been painted over and had a stupid Eggface stamped on, but that looks like the mirror shield Gilgamesh summoned in my time! Archer realized, And that club... It's probably another Noble Phantasm from the Gate of Babylon!
The Egg Brawler fired a slew of missiles at Archer, who darted around them while Projecting the Stone Axe of Herakles. But just as he was swinging it to take out the Egg Brawler's main cockpit, the entire thing swung around so that the club would meet the axe. The air shook from the impact, and both Archer and the Egg Brawler were pushed away from each other by the opposing forces. Once the Egg Brawler corrected its stance, it fired another bunch of missiles at Archer. Instead of dodging, Archer Projected an equal amount of arrows to blast them out of the sky.
"Those armaments on your mech...you didn't make them yourself," Archer said accusingly, "Those are gifts from the 'King of Heroes', aren't they?!"
"Very astute," Eggman retorted as he jerked the yoke and flipped switches on his console. "Since I'm letting him tag along on my project, the least he could do was give something up in return." Eggman chose to not to recollect how smug and annoying Gilgamesh had been when he did so. The Archer Servant had made it clear that the act wasn't so much considered an equal exchange in goods and services, but a lord bestowing a trifle to his poor worker the tools to do his bidding. It was humiliating, but Eggman
Damn it! His weapons were annoying enough on their own, but now that Gilgamesh's given him an upgrade, this fight could go in either direction! Archer thought as he ducked under the swing of the club. He Projected Kansho and Bakuya and threw them at the Egg Brawler, only for the two to be deflected by the mirror shield. Another burst of missiles was met with a slew of Projected arrows. Archer Projected his swords again, and willed them into their Overdrive states. But Eggman just laughed and sent the Egg Brawler into a spin, extending his arms out like fans with shooting his back-launcher again, this time grenades. Archer weaved in and out of the bombs as they exploded, feeling the heat of the blasts but never being burnt.
I can't waste my time playing around with this cracked madman, Archer thought, striking the Egg Brawler's body with Kansho, before jumping away to avoid being cut by the shield. I'm going to end this...now!
Once he was a fair distance from the Egg Brawler, Archer despelled his swords and relaxed his stance. Closing his eyes, he focused on an image in his mind and began to speak. But as he did, his voice carried an ominous undertone.
"I Am The Bone Of My Sword"
Eggman raised an eyebrow. "What? What was that?"
Archer continued to speak. "Steel Is My Breath And Fire Is My Blood"
"Is...is that supposed to be directed at me?" Eggman asked, confused.
"I Have Created Over A Thousand Blades." As Archer spoke, the air began to shimmer.
"All right, this is getting weird," Eggman decided, and pushed a button. "Get a load of this!"
"Unknown To Death," Archer was already on the other side of the room when the missiles struck his previous position. "Nor Known To Life."
Eggman's console beeped frantically, and the doctor gasped as the empty bay they were in somehow transformed into a desolate wasteland.
"Have Withstood Pain To Create Many Weapons."
The wasteland's sky was filled with giant, rusty, turning gears.
"Yet Those Hands Will Never Hold Anything."
And into the ground, hundreds of swords appeared, like the markers for countless warriors' graves.
"So As I Pray-" Archer took one sword, and pointed directly at the Egg Brawler. "-Unlimited Blade Works."
Eggman gaped at the changed surroundings. "Did- did you just create a Special Zone!?"
Archer didn't respond. Instead, he grabbed the nearest sword and flung it directly at the Egg Brawler. The shield arm moved to block it, but in the time it took for the throw sword to collide with anything, Archer was already on the move, circling around the mech as he threw more swords. The Egg Brawler spun to try and keep track of Archer, but as it did, the swords seemed to unearth themselves, as if pulled out by invisible hands. These swords would then fly at the Egg Brawler, dissipating on impact, but still causing considerable damage to the vehicle. As this happened, Eggman tried to fire missiles at Archer, on for more swords to shoot the ballistics out of the air.
Eggman came to our universe hoping to exploit our magecraft for his own twisted designs, Archer thought, But the only reason he lasted this long was because he was fighting soft-hearted heroes like Sonic and Shirou, and in public where we couldn't use our full powers.
Archer continued to run, and fall back to slide as the club swung at him. As he was moving, he threw another sword, this one aimed at the mechanical arm's joint. Sparks began to fly as the weapon connected.
I went easy on him last time because I didn't want Rin to get caught in the crossfire, and I wanted to conserve my Mana for the rest of the War, Archer mused, This time...this time I can cut loose and keep this maniac from hurting anyone else!
Archer threw a sword that struck the Egg Brawler's cockpit. While annoyed that he missed Eggman, the satisfying sparks and explosions that began to erupt were more than an equal trade off. He watched as Eggman vehicle self-destructed as the damage from Archer's relentless assault took their toll. Archer felt the urge to Project a pair of sunglasses, but instead he covered his eyes to shield them from the glare of the final, greatest explosion. As the glare faded, Archer felt something bump into his feet.
It was Eggman's head. Only instead of blood, was falling out were nuts, bolts, and wiring.
Archer looked back at the wreckage, and saw a little bird flying out from it. After a moment, a more comical version of Eggman's head popped out on a spring, like the world's most annoying jack-in-the-box.
"Ho-ho! Nice try!" The Egg-on-a-spring gloated over and over in a poorly recorded voice.
Archer groaned and dispelled the Unlimited Blade Works. He couldn't believe that he wasted his trump card on a decoy. What a waste! As he ran out the room's exit, he wondered what exactly else Eggman had set up...especially if he was given access to the Gate of Babylon.
"Ho-kay!" Tails yelled as the Miles Electric gave him a reading. All around him were the broken pieces of destroyed Badniks, with Knuckles and Amy watching his progress.
"You know where she it?" Knuckles asked, casually kicking the head of an Egg Pawn away.
"Yup," Tails memorized the data readout, which changed into a layout of the Egg Saucer's inner sanctum. "We've gotta go down," Tails put away his handheld and gestured. "Follow me!"
With Tails taking the lead, the rest of Team Sonic & Knuckles continued their trek into the Egg Saucer's interior. Their progress was complicated not just by the usual onslaught of Badniks, but other obstacles Eggman had seen fit to put in their way.
There were conveyor belts that moved people backwards, forcing the three of them to move through the air. It wasn't a problem for Tails and Knuckles, but Amy, lacking an additional tail for coptering or the kind of quills that for gliding, wasn't so fortunate. So, she compensated by using her hammer to launch herself forward by slamming it on the belt. Once they were through, they came upon an elevator shaft- only no elevator. While the smart option would have been for Tails to slowly lower his friends, what they actually did was just dive down. Thankfully, their descent was slowed by Flappers that were using the shaft to ascend, and the collision not only destroyed a few more of Eggman's robots, but also allowed them to safely land at the bottom. Once there, they encountered a series of incomplete pathways, pits with spikes at the bottom, and mounted turrets that shot lasers.
After navigating through these dangers, the trio came into a large, seemingly empty room. "Seemingly" being the operative word, as all three of them had more than enough experience with Eggman's bases to know that an unused room was anything but.
Amy took a quick look around. "So, what do you think Eggman put in here?"
Tails was busy double-checking his Miles Electric. "I don't know. But we're getting close to where Illya is being held, so we're on the right track."
Knuckles then pointed. "There!"
A trap door had opened up in the middle of the floor, and they could the tell-tale grind and wind of an elevator lifting up. But before they could see what was being raised, Team Sonic & Knuckles heard the bang of a gun being fired. Out from the hole a missile flew, going up, into a curve, and then coming down at where the trio stood. The three dove for cover, thankfully avoiding the ballistic as it exploded onto the ground.
The figure that rose into the room was man-shaped, much like Sir Pfuzzy-Logik. Unlike Sir Pfuzzy-Logik, this robot was built with a more imposing frame, with long spikes on its shoulders and in two lines down its chest, like a vest. It didn't hold any weapons in its hands, but its head was built a manner reminiscent of some sort of primeval lizard. A trail of smoke from the hole where the mouth should be explained where the missile came from.
E-9023: "Dragon Breath"
"Looks like we've got a tough customer," Knuckles said, and smacked his fist into his palm. "Okay, you two go ahead! I can take him."
"Ohhh, no! We are not splitting up again!" Amy protested, "I'm tired of always being separated!"
"Right," Tails agreed, putting away the ME. "It's just another one of Eggman's robots, not a magic ghost like Gilgamesh. It shouldn't be too hard if we work together!"
In any case, Dragon Breath wasn't going to wait for them to wrap up their discussion. The robot charged at Tails, its fist pulled back. It swung its arm in a mighty punch, but Tails used a Spin Dash to rush out of it's way. And from behind, Amy leapt at Dragon Breath and slammed her hammer into its back. Dragon Breath didn't seem to be affected from the blow, but it turned around and glared down at Amy. The pink hedgehog grinned sheepishly, and then bolted as Dragon Breath tried to squash her beneath its left foot. The floor shook as the robot stomped after Amy, but it was so focused on Sonic's self-proclaimed girlfriend that it didn't see Tails slam into its head as a Spinball. Dragon Breath's head spun about to fire a missile from its mouth, forcing the fox to retreat. While the robot's attention was drawn, Knuckles leapt up and delivered three powerful punches directly to Dragon Breath's chest. Dragon Breath stumbled back a step, but clapped its hands around Knuckles, almost crushing him. The Echidna pushed back with his arms and legs, refusing to let himself be squashed. While Dragon Breath was focused on changing Knuckles' form from three-dimensional to two, Tails had picked up Amy and was lifting her up into the air. Once he was high enough, Tails swung around and threw Amy at the back of Dragon Breath's head. As Dragon Breath stumbled from the blow, Knuckles freed himself and gave the robot an uppercut which sent him falling onto his back. And Amy.
"Wah!" The pink hedgehog shrieked as she dove out of the way. "Watch out!"
Amy recovered quickly, but so did Dragon Breath. The robot began to stomp around the room again, trying and failing to squash one of the three. When it became apparent that Tails, Knuckles, and Amy were too slippery to catch underfoot, Dragon Breath resorted to firing missiles at them. Even as the sound of explosions echoed off of the walls, the heroes were able to evade the ballistics.
"Jeez, how can Eggman stuff so many missiles into one robot?" Knuckles groused as he leapfrogged over one shell.
Of course, with their 3-on-1 advantage, it was easy for the Team to attack Dragon Breath, slamming into its back while the robot was trying to attack someone else. At one point, as Knuckles was tackling Dragon Breath in the chest, Tails threw Amy at the back of its head. Instead of just hitting it, Amy smacked the head with a sideways. A bolt came loose, causing the head to spin around out of control. As it did, missiles began to launch out of the mouth erratically. Thankfully, the three were able to avoid the missiles by hiding directly on Dragon Breath's feet.
"Looks like we've got him on the ropes," Tails said, "Let's get him at once!"
Running a small distance to build up momentum, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy rammed into Dragon Breath from three different directions. Dragon Breath stopped firing missiles, and strange, crackling, crunching noises began to emanate from its chest. Smoke poured out of it's mouth, before the robot exploded.
"Pretty weird that Eggman's robots blow up if you hit them enough times." Amy commented.
Dammit! Why won't this thing let me hit him! Lancer thought as Metal Sonic rocketed away from yet another jab.
The Servant and robot had been fighting each other at a breakneck pace, running and flying around each other at speeds that created gusts in their wake. While this had the side effect of wrecking several buildings around the Egg Saucer, Lancer didn't want to let the battle drag out any longer than he had to. Gilgamesh was still out there, and Lancer didn't want to spend his Mana in yet another game of cat-and-mouse. While Bazett could provide more Prana than Kotomine could, he didn't want to drain her in a spat with Sonic's evil twin.
Metal Sonic didn't seem to share Lancer's irritation. He just kept flying around, trying to find an opening and rushing at Lancer when he thought he found one. Luckily, Lancer's reactions were fast enough to either block or dodge Metal's attacks. But through it all, Metal gave no indication of being bothered by the standoff. Granted, the lack of mouth made it hard to determine Metal's emotions, but that only served to annoy Lancer more.
I think it's high-time I put an end to this, Lancer thought, This thing doesn't look like it's carrying any of those Rings, so… "Gae Bolg!"
Lancer shot at Metal Sonic. But even though he was moving at speeds that would be impossible for a lesser man, before he had even completed the first syllable, a green sphere appeared and surrounded Metal Sonic's body, formed from energy projected by the robot. When Lancer's spear collided with forcefield, causing sparks to fly as magic and science collided in the air. Metal Sonic then rocketed away as Lancer fell back onto the ground, landing on his feet.
What the Hell! Why didn't it work!? Lancer thought as he resumed running, I'm way stronger now that Bazett's my Master, I should have gone straight for his heart- Lancer slapped his forehead in disgust. It's a robot. It doesn't have a heart! Doy!
As Lancer chased at Metal Sonic, the durasteel doppleganger shut off his forcefield and likewise rocketed towards Lancer. Once he was close enough, Metal went into a spin to deliver a kick. Lancer spun on his heels to avoid, and swung his spear down to take off the robot's head. Metal brought up his hands and caught the attack, and after a moment of struggle pushed the Servant away, before rocking out of reach. But while his body was focused on the battle, the mind was elsewhere.
SUBJECT: LANCER_
"GAE BOLG" DATA HAS BEEN COPIED_
ANALYSIS: TIME-MANIPULATION ABILITY HAS A 75% COMPATABILITY WITH CHAOS CONTROL_
WARNING: ESTIMATED ENERGY OUTPUT REQUIREMENTS EXCEED CURRENT PARAMETERS_
CALCULATING ALTERNATIVE MEASURES_
WARNING!
SUBJECT: SABER IS APPROACHING EGG TOWER_
NEW OBJECTIVE: INTERCEPT_
Without another word, Metal Sonic suddenly turned about and rocketed off. Lancer, who had been preparing for yet another clash, stared uncomprehendingly.
"What..." Lancer blinked, "Hey! Get back here, we weren't done yet!" Lancer was about to race after Metal Sonic when a loud crash caught his attention. His Protection From Arrows Skill kicked in as his arm, heedless of his own conscious thoughts, spun his spear about to deflect what seemed to be a saw sword coated in a golden aura that had come flying out of sight from the left. Looking, Lancer saw what seemed to be steady blue dot constantly bouncing between a group of flickering yellow lights. The ground underneath the blue dot exploding, sending it flying back towards Lancer, revealing himself to be Sonic as he bounced onto his feet.
"Great, took me forever to get those Rings..." Sonic groaned, and then noticed Lancer's presence. "What are you doing here?"
"I was dealing with a friend of yours," Lancer replied, "But it looks like- Look out!"
A barrage of flying, sacred weapons were already on their way. While Lancer dodged and blocked them all without breaking his stance, Sonic dove into a roll that took out and around the area. As he did, who should come before the two but Gilgamesh? The gold-clad Servant had his eyes fixated on Lancer as he strode forward.
"Well, the Hound," Gilgamesh stated, "You seem to be in higher spirits since your leash was taken by that woman. Have you come to resume your service to me? If you beg enough, I might-"
Sonic rammed into Gilgamesh's side, and the Archer nearly fell over. But a proud king did not bend his knee so easily, and Gilgamesh recovered and grabbed Sonic by the throat before the Hedgehog could get away.
"I am tired-"Gilgamesh hissed, "-of being interrupted!"
Before Gilgamesh could do anything to Sonic, Lancer invoked "Gae Bolg!" and was about to pierce the King of Heroes' heart. But Gilgamesh had already reached into the Gate of Babylon and pulled out another sword to parry Lancer's spear. But, getting all-too-used to people blocking his allegedly unstoppable attack, Lancer was already making his next move. He swung around his spear and kicked at Gilgamesh's other arm, causing the king to release Sonic. The two quickly moved away to avoid another onslaught from the Gate of Babylon.
"You were saying something about Rings?" Lancer asked Sonic.
"I need fifty so I can use the Chaos Emeralds," Sonic said, "I've been spotting them around here, but I don't have time to play scavenger hunt."
"In that case..." Lancer swung around, and caught Sonic's belly with the handle of his spear. The Hedgehog went flying into the air, disappearing between another set of buildings. Once Sonic was out sight, Lancer turned back to Gilgamesh, who had watched the event with a look of bemusement.
"Were you trying to help, acting like that?" Gilgamesh asked, as the heads of more weapons slowly appeared from the Gate of Babylon. "Or did you not want him to see you die so pitifully?"
Lancer laughed. "Yeah, right! That guy's a pain in the neck, always making a joke of a decent fight...I got him out of the way of what may the best fight of my life!" Bazett, don't worry about me...this is what I've always wanted...a battle with no limits!
As the Gate of Babylon released its contents, Lancer charged.
Bazett stopped. She and the sisters were on their way to Mt Ryuudou. All around them, the city was in chaos. Throngs of people were fleeing as fast as their legs could carry them. The city's police, firemen, and other officials were doing their best to keep things managable, but even so, one out of ten got stepped on. Unaware of Bazett, Rin and Sakura continued on, before Sakura suddenly went down on one knee.
"Are you all right?" Rin asked, and then reconsidered. "You're not fully recovered!"
"I'm fine, Nee-san, I just tripped." Sakura replied, getting up.
Rin stared at her sister, unconvinced. "Are you sure?"
"I'm through the worst of it, Nee-san." Rin assured, steadying herself. "Besides, it belonged to Saber first..."
Saber was almost to the central building when she heard the screech of a jet from above her. She dove to the side, just in time to avoid Metal Sonic as he slammed down. The force of his landing created a small imprint onto the floor.
Saber did not bother to wonder what happened to Lancer. She knew this creation was as fast Sonic, and did not want spend precious milliseconds pondering on unimportant matters. If Lancer was still alive, he would come. If not, she would fight alone. That was all to be said.
Saber charged, swinging her sword in a chop that would have beheaded a lesser opponent. Metal Sonic rocketed up and away from the blade, but he was only a foot in the air when he swung his leg around to kick at Saber's head. Saber brought up the hilt to block the kick, and the two separated. Metal Sonic formed his forcefield and charged at Saber, who chopped her sword at him to create a mighty shriek as the two forces collided. The two were thrown back from each other, and upon recovering, they glared.
"So, you aren't going to let me into that building?" Saber asked.
Metal Sonic nodded. He crossed his arms in a way that reminded Saber of a moody teenager.
"Is that where Illya is?" Saber asked.
Metal nodded.
"That is all I needed to hear!" Saber declared, and held out her hand. "Avalon!" And in a flash, in her hand, appeared her sheath.
Metal Sonic's jets powered to life, and her blasted at the Servant.
Sonic was no stranger to the idea of a 'strategic retreat'. In fact, a majority of his battles involved keeping a good distance away from his opponents while preparing to strike back. Therefore, he was able to keep his head clear and cool as he raced around the Egg Saucers various structures as Gilgamesh took potshots with the Gate of Babylon.
"What's the matter, Sonic?" Gilgamesh crowed as Sonic narrowly avoided being skewered by another ancient sword. "I thought those magic Rings of yours protected you from Noble Phantasm? Or is the quality of my treasures far greater than that of the Hounds?"
Sure wish he'd shut up, Sonic thought as he slid underneath an archway. It exploded spectacularly thanks to the Gate of Babylon. Once I hit fifty, he'll be singing a different tune.
Truthfully, Sonic knew his Power Rings would offer ample protection from Gilgamesh ' s weapons. The problem was, Sonic only had 31 Rings so far, and the so-called King of Heroes seemed to have a never-ending supply of magic swords, Spears, and other sacred weapons. Even if his Ring collection shielded him from one hit, the next ten would obliterate him.
As he ran, Sonic spotted a gleam of gold in the distance. Rings! Doing some parkour off a few walls, Sonic leapt up and snagged about five Power Rings. Up in the air, Sonic heard the talented rush of air that did a Homing Shot to parkour of another wall, narrowly avoiding another blitz of swords. Glancing over his shoulder, Sonic saw that Gilgamesh was chasing on what like some sort of hi-tech flying vehicle, and it didn't look like anything Dr. Eggman could build. It was a gold craft with glowing green wings, and where the cockpit should've been, Gilgamesh sat in a throne. Sonic briefly wondered what culture in ancient times had spaceship technology before he darted to the side to avoid yet more 'Gate-Shots'.
Maybe aliens built the pyramids and left one of the shop's for Golden Boy to claim. Sonic thought.
"What do you think of my vessel, the Vimana?" Gilgamesh called out, "You should honored I have graced you by bringing it out. In the last War, that vile Berserker had the nerve to attack it with a plane from Japanese air force."
Sonic ignored Gilgamesh, leaping into the air at a line of Rings. Just as Gilgamesh fired another Salvo from the Gate if Babylon, Sonic did a Homing Shot at the Rings. His energy connected to the Rings, carrying him across the line. Sonic then fell towards a horizontal flagpole (Bearing Eggman's classic smirk), grabbing ahold of the bar. After swinging around faster than an Olympic gymnast, Sonic let go and his momentum carried him towards the nearest wall, which he began running along at maximum speed. Far behind, the flagpole exploded as another one of Gate of Babylon's treasures struck it. As Sonic ran along the wall, he chanced to left and saw roads and fields- the Egg Saucers was already in Japanese airspace. Tilting his head back, Sonic saw the Vimana hovering above him. It was keeping the pace, and Sonic see the Gate of Babylon opening AR it's underbelly. Over the years, Sonic had developed a sixth sense when it came to projectile weapons, and it was telling him he had to shift gears- now!
Sonic leapt, and the explosion from the Gate of Babylon's shots pushed towards a rail. Catching the rail with his hand, Sonic swung himself up and began to grind along. He could hear the Vimana fly after him, and once he came upon an adjacent rail, hopped onto it to avoid another barrage of ancient weapons. As he slid along the metal, Sonic came along another group of Rings. Before he could grab them, the Gate of Babylon opened again, and Sonic had to jump and Homing Shot away from the rail to avoid being skewered by what looked like a shiner version of Lancer's spear.
Sonic landed back onto a catwalk and took off. He heard the a rush of jets and saw the Vimana pass overhead. Now directly in front of him, the Vimana turned about to face Sonic directly. The Gate of Babylon opened, sending yet more barrage of sacred weapons hurtling towards Sonic. The Hedgehog easily sidestepped around them, shifting his position to keep out of the Gates line of fire.
Same old, same old, Sonic thought, don't be in front of the death machine when it fires. Wonder why he doesn't make more of those portals- multiple glowing green holes of light appeared. One of these days, I'm gonna keep my mouth shut.
Sonic spent the following thirteen seconds ducking, weaving, and rolling under, around and over a barrage of legendary weapons to avoid certain death. At the fourteenth second, Sonic spotted a turnoff coming up and gladly took it, putting himself away from the hail of death determined to pour on him. Another set of rails came up, and Sonic hopped on to grind. As he slid down the railing, he realized that he could not hear the roar of the Vimana anymore. That was unsettling.
Where the heck did he go? Sonic thought, his eyes darting. No way I lost him that easily…
Sonic saw a rush of movement out of the corner of his eyes, and jumped just in time to avoid being ensnared by several meters of chain. The air became a web of metal links that Sonic had to twist his body to dodge. Curling up, Sonic launched a Homing Shot through the largest gap in the array of chains towards freedom. Just before he could make it, yet another line of chain appeared, catching Sonic and ensnaring him. Thankfully, Sonic didn't hit the links with spikes, but immediately after his collision, the entire Web rearranged that each of Sonic's limbs had a chain wrapped around him. They pulled his arms and legs out so he looked like a Hedgehog version of the Vitruvian Man. A corky laugh filled the air, and Gilgamesh flew the Vimana so that it was directly in front of his foe. While still looking down a on him, of course.
"And so the rodent's road runs out," The King of Heroes chortled, "You made an impressive effort in your retreat- Of course you would understand the futility in fighting me. -But when the King decrees that you would die, your own life becomes forfeit."
As Gilgamesh spoke, golden portals began to open all round him. Sonic stopped struggling to watch them. By his count, there were at least ten. And all pointed at him.
"Indeed, when you tried to defy my will, all you've done is increase the measure of your execution," Gilgamesh continued, "I see you have been gathering those golden Rings. We're you hoping that they would defend you from my treasures? But you only need to be struck once before losing them all, don't You?" At those words, the tips of various swords and Spears began to appear from within the portals. "I wonder, which of the Gate of Babylon will be your…"
"Fifteen at the pipes, five along the wall…"
Gilgamesh trailed off. Much to added fury, Sonic wasn't even paying attention to Him! Instead, the Hedgehog was looking down, his eyes narrowed as he mulled over something.
"Hey! Have you even been listening to me?" Gilgamesh shouted, vexed.
"Huh?" Sonic looked at the Archer. "Yeah, yeah, 'Good is dumb' you're all-powerful, blah blah blah, got it, got it. Sorry, just a little preoccupied. Got more important stuff on my mind."
"You little…" A vein began to throb on Gilgamesh ' s forehead. "I have you captured and am about to execute you! What could possibly be more important than that?"
At this, Sonic smirked. "How about fifty Power Rings? And seven Chaos Emeralds?"
Light began to emit from Sonic's body. Around him, the Chaos Emeralds floated out, circling around the Hedgehog in a ring that changed angles at every second. The lights of the glowing jewels seemed to get bigger, as they moved faster and faster. Before long, they had become one continuous stream of color that surrounded Sonic.
FLASH!
The chains broke away. Although they had been forged to contain even the most stubborn and cantankerous of beasts, Enkidu was made only for the denizens of the present world. What Sonic had become was far beyond anything the founders of the Heaven's Feel could have expected.
Despite no longer being held by the chains, Sonic remained in the air. His quils did not droop, but stood upright. His fur, his skin, his entire body glowed with a light that, while appeared to be gold to a lesser eye, shined with every color in the universe. His eyes were no longer green as the clear grass, but red, like a sun about to go supernova.
He had become Super Sonic
Gilgamesh was briefly- very briefly! -awed by the force of Super Sonic's energy, but this feeling gave way to fury and outrage as he took in Sonic's new appearence.
"...And now you're copying my look!" Gilgamesh thundered in outrage.
But Super Sonic just laughed, "Don't flatter yourself. Though, speaking of your look..." In flash, Super Sonic was right in front Gilgamesh, "For a guy from ancient Mesopotamia, you're pretty blond and pale."
Enraged at Sonic's closeness, Gilgamesh opened the Gate of Babylon to obliterate the glowing Hedgehog. Super Sonic was then gone, and the force of his departure pushed the Vimana back, nearly causing Gilgamesh to fall out of his throne. As Gilgamesh recovered, he heard a rush of a wind just a split-second before something unspeakably fast slammed into his back. This happened again, from a different angle, and yet again, causing the Vimana to rock back and forth. Equal parts furious and flabbergasted, Gilgamesh reached into the Gate of Babylon and pulled out a sword and swung it just in time to strike the incoming Super Sonic. As he watched Sonic's form go flying back, Gilgamesh allowed him a nasty smirk. But his glee faded when he saw that instead of falling, Super Sonic went into a spin and flew further back, vanishing from sight.
Where is he going? Gilgamesh thought.
Gilgamesh got his answer when Super Sonic suddenly dropped down from above with the speed of a meteorite. Rather than hitting Gilgamesh, Sonic struck the end of the Vimana so hard that the craft went into a spin, flipping around and sending its rider flying!
"Aaarrgh!" Gilgamesh cried as he flew. He righted himself in the air, and fired more weapons from the Gate of Babylon, while standing on the flying carpet used by Aladdin. Super Sonic was already on his trail, and weaved between the shots before flying up at Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh pulled a sword out with one hand and brought it down on Sonic. Super Sonic clapped his hands together to catch the sword, but as he did, Gilgamesh was making his next move. With his free hand, the King of Heroes swung another sword horizontally, intent on cleaving Sonic across the middle. Instead of taking it, without letting go of the first sword, Sonic kicked back against Gilgamesh's arm and shot back down to the deck. He landed on a flagpole, which bent under his weight, before flinging him back at Gilgamesh. Before Gilgamesh could even react to this action, Super Sonic's Homing Shot nailed him right in the gut, knocking him out of the air. As they fell, Gilgamesh grabbed hold of Sonic and threw him away in frustration.
This is absurd! Gilgamesh thought in fury, How can I be struggling against this alien mongrel!? Even with his jewels, he should be no match for me!
Eggman watched the battle on his big screen in the Egg Saucer's main control room. He smirked. So far, things were progressing nicely. A bit more tweaking...
A crash caught his ear. Eggman pushed a button, and view on the screen changed to show another section of the Egg Saucer's deck. It featured Metal Sonic and Servant Saber in battle. Eggman frowned. This would require a bit more tweaking as well...
A thunderous crash filled the air as Metal Sonic and Excalibur collided once again. The force field that surrounded the robotic Hedgehog shimmered, gave off sparks, and buzzed as it tried to deflect the mystical aura of Saber's Noble Phantasm. Saber gritted her teeth as she tried to compete the chop, but instead both she and Metal were blasted away, flying in opposite directions. Saber recovered quickly enough, flipping onto her feet, while Metal did the opposite. Activating his thruster, he circled around in the air and used the momentum to shoot at Saber with his claws in front.
"Avalon!"
Saber's sheath appeared before her, and then dissolved into a countless mass of particles that encircled her. When Metal Sonic struck her, he found himself being pushed aside until he was right behind her. Confused, Metal twisted around to take Saber's back, only to see she was already moving to slice at him with her sword. Metal rocketed up, glaring down at his target.
SUBJECT: SABER_
NOW HAS FORCEFIELD CAPABILITIES_
INITIATE SCAN_
ERRORERRORERRORDOESNOTCOMPUTE
It's trying to scan and analyze Avalon, Saber deduced, A pity for him, my scabbard was forged by the fair folk, and is beyond human understanding!
Perhaps frustrated by his inability to fully copy the abilities of Avalon, Metal Sonic blasted towards Saber with his own forcefield energized. As usual, their collision sent the two flying back a step.
But… I can't leave things the way they are. I have to break this stalemate. Saber thought, If this becomes a battle of attrition, my Mana will run out long before Metal Sonic's fuel does. A light bulb turned on in her mind. That's it!
Metal Sonic rocketed at Saber, and they clashed. But instead of trying to match Metal Sonic's force, Saber twisted her sword parried his attack, knocking the robot aside. Just as Metal righted himself, Saber used her Mana Burst technique to shoot herself at the robot, swinging Excaliber. Rather than speeding away or activating his own shield, Metal shifted his body's position to dodge Saber's blade. As Metal spun about to strike Saber, the knight called upon Avalon to shield herself. As Metal was pushed around the barrier, Saber was already spinning about to chop him. This time, Metal wasn't able to bring up his forcefield in time.
ZANG!
That was the noise Excaliber made when it carved into Metal's arm. The robot was incapable of actually widening his eyes, but Saber swore that their increased brightness was to illustrate the surprise he was no doubt experiencing. But he got over it quickly, and retreated from Saber as quickly as his rockets could allow. Metal Sonic's cleaved arm fell to the deck with a clatter, but Saber was already pressing her attack, emboldened by the wound she gave the robot. Metal, for his part, had formed his shield and began to rocket back at Saber. But Saber could see that the forcefield was not as stable as it once had been.
I must have damaged a crucial component in its machinery, Saber realized, Good! It should be easy to break through that field, now!
But it would not be that simple. Instead of striking at Saber, Metal Sonic suddenly curved his path upwards, taking an aerial position above the knight. The turbine in his chest began to glow, and then a bolt of yellow energy suddenly shot at Saber. Saber ducked around it, but as she did another bolt shot at her. As Metal flew around, he kept firing bolts of energy at Saber. Saber danced around all of them, and then leapt up to behead the robot. Metal quickly circled around Saber to kick her in the head, but she blocked with Avalon. As Saber landed on the floor, she heard a gun shot from behind her. Looking behind, she saw that a group of those Egg Pawns, armed with laser rifles, had gathered and were trying to shoot her. Annoyed, but not wanting even their minut efforts to interfer in her duel, Saber changed her attention from fighting Metal Sonic to destroying the Egg Pawns. They didn't last more then the second it took for Saber run over and slice the lot of them to pieces.
But why didn't Metal Sonic attack me while my attention was drawn? Saber thought.
When Saber looked back, she got her answer. While she had been distracted by the Egg Pawns, another flying robot -An Egg Robo -had hovered up to Metal Sonic and was inserting something inside his jet turbine stomach. Saber could see that it was a canister, with a glowing substance inside.
It's full of Rings! Saber realized, But how will that help? Can Power Rings give robots the same protection they give living beings?
Metal Sonic made a noise like VCR fast-forwarding, and the glow inside of the capsule began to permeate throughout his body. Metal then began to rocket at Saber twice as fast as before! Saber activated Avalon to shield herself, but as she chopped at Metal to counter, he was already moving around for a second attack, kicking at her. His foot connected with Saber's elbow, striking her funny bone and almost causing her to drop the sword. But, she held firm (In spite of the weird feeling in her arm) and continued to fight back.
He's trying to get me to lose my grip on Excaliber, Saber realized, But I've seen enough of his moves to understand his style now.
Saber and Metal continued to dance around each other, trying to create and opening and strike at the other. At one point, Metal caught the sword with his remaining hand, only to be sent flying when Saber kicked him. Metal Sonic recovered fast enough, and his eyes' red glow deepened.
INITIATING: GAE BOLG_
Saber felt it. That feeling in her bones and nerves and every other sensation, that the spinning record called reality was about to skip. She had felt this once before, while fighting Lancer. If Sonic had not told her about Metal Madness once before, she would have been caught off guard. But she knew that Metal Sonic had acquired the power to halt time, however briefly.
She had brought up her sword just in time to stop Metal's attempt to pierce her heart. The robot hedgehog made a series of angry and confused beeps, clearly unable to comprehend how Saber had blocked his attack.
"It seems that on top of being a poor copy of Sonic, you also make a poor Lancer," Saber taunted, "And that move didn't work when he tried it!"
Saber swung her sword down, and this time Metal wasn't able to get away in time. While he still had his remaining arm, Metal's clawed hand was ruined. Split down the middle, crackling with electricity. It throbbed for a second, before exploding, leaving Metal Sonic with a missing arm, and an arm that had no hand, only a socket with exposed, damaged wires dangling out. Metal rockted up into the air, and began to fire energy bursts down at Saber. The lady knight pressed her attack, weaving between blasterfire and leaping up to attack Metal again. Curling into a ball, Metal Sonic began to spin around and at light speed looped around under Saber and struck her in the back. Saber grunted as she hit the ground, but she recovered and rolled to the side in time to avoid being shredded as Metal's spinning form came down down. Metal Sonic continued to 'roll' at Saber, the heat from his thrusters exhaust acting as a stand-in for Sonic's sharp quills.
But as fast as Metal was, his movements were linear, easy to predict. Saber chose to avoid Metal, jumping out of the way to avoid his charges. As she dodged his attacks, she considered the best way to deal with the robot.
With his speed, it will be difficult to attack him, Saber considered, His speed means if I attack him head-on, he'll dodge...That's it!
As Metal's spinning form circled around to attack her again, Saber pulled her sword back, ready to stab. As Metal Sonic came at her, Saber tensed up. She could feel the wind kick up as he approached. Then, at the last minute, she stepped aside. To an outsider, it happened in an instant. But, when seen through a super-slow-motion playback, they would see Saber stepping aside to narrowly dodge Metal Sonic. At the same time, she thrust her sword forward, clearly intent on impaling Metal throught the side. As fast as it was, Metal still managed to change course fast enough to avoid being destroyed outright- but not enough to avoid damage. Metal Sonic spinning, but floated in the air, with his left leg twitching. It was the only limb he had left.
But Saber could see that the fight had not gone from Metal's eyes. But instead of charging at Saber, Metal Sonic flew up into the air and began to fire energy bolts at Saber. Once more on the defensive, Saber was amazed at how Metal could keep fighting even reduced to his current state. But she saw that his position in the sky was flimsy. Spotting a nearby building, Saber turned and ran towards. Intrigued by this apparent cowardice, Metal followed after Saber, his flight a bit wobbly from his lack of limbs. Reaching the building, Saber did not bother to search for an entrance. Instead, she ran up the wall. Shifting her footing ever-so-slightly avoid Metal Sonic's bursts. Once she was high enough, Saber kicked off, and did Prana Burst to project herself through the air. Metal Sonic, who had been rocketing at Saber as fast as it could, was caught off guard Saber's sudden aceleration, and floundered in the air. The delay was exactly what Saber needed. With one swing of her sword, Saber ended the fight. Metal Sonic's head fell onto the ground and rolled into a corner, while what was left of his body crashed.
Saber landed back down and looked at the head. She saw that the eyes, which once burned so fiercely, had gone out, and knew that the duel was over. Sighing, she turned towards the Egg Tower, the main headquarters of Doctor Eggman.
To be continued_
Einzbern Consulation Room
Irisviel: Hello, eveyone! And welcome to the Einzbern Consulation Room! I'm your host, Irisviel! Normally, I would be assisted by Zecchan, but she's busy helping people get ready in Fuyuki. (For all the good it will do...)
Lancer: Huh? What is this place?
Irisviel: Welcome, Lancer! This is our consulation room, where we help Servants who died in the War move on to join the Holy Grail.
Lancer: "We"? All I see here is you.
Irisviel: Illya's here, as well. She seemed sleepy, so I put here down on that mat over there. (She'll never wake up)
Illya: Zzzz...ugh...zzz
Lancer: Huh? Why's...oh, right. She's Grail container. So I'm in her mind, or something?
Irisviel: That's not important, Lancer. Is there anything you regret, now that you've died? (Again.)
Lancer: Not really.
Irisviel: Ehhh?!
Lancer: I got to have more cool fights than I thought I would, and Bazett's still alive now, and that priest is dead. Plus, it's nice to have my death taken seriously for once. What more could I ask for?
Irisviel: Uwaaa! I can't stand it! You're casual demeanor is such a pain! Shoo! Shoo!
Lancer: Whoa! What are you doing with that gatling gun! Where's my spear?
(Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!)
Irisviel: Oh no! Lancer died!
Illya: Zzzz- y'b'st- zzz...
Irisviel: Well, sorry that seemed short, but we're getting ready for the end! There won't be any questions answered! And for all those who think there are any errors from the source material, just remember, "The Chaos Emeralds are probably to blame." Byeee!