Chapter 29: Dream of an Absolution

"Where am I?"

Illya looked around her surroundings in confusion. It was a forest, very much like the one Papa would takes with her through. And yet, something was off. Even though there was a layer of snow that covered the ground and treetops, even though she was wearing her casual skirt and shirt, she didn't feel cold.

In fact, she didn't feel anything. It was if she was walking through an illusion. Illya reached out to touch a tree. As she did, she heard the crunching sound of footsteps on frost approaching from behind. Illya didn't turn her head, but for some reason the world seemed to rotate around her, so she was looking behind.

"Mama?" Illya gasped.

Irisviel smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Illyasviel."

Forgetting herself, Illya ran towards the taller woman in front of her. But as she threw her arms around Irisviel's waist, all the girl felt was air. Illya looked about in confusion, distraught. There was no one there but her.

"Mama! Where are you? Mama!" Illya cried out, "Mama!"

But the lost daughter's cries just echoed out into nothingness. Even the winter forest was gone…

Floating listlessly in a glass tube, Illya shed a tear.

The inner workings of the Egg Tower's lower levels were more complex and dangerous than anything that could be found in the rest of the craft. There were no walkways, just convenient platforms that moved about erratically. Giant gears turned slowly, massive turbines buzzed and gave off inhuman amounts of heat. And there was no floor. A fall would take one down and out of the Egg Saucer completely…if they survived going through the exhaust vents at all, that is.

Archer navigated these treacherous surroundings with his usual poise and calculated movements. He knew he only had a second to move from one obstacle to the next before being crushed, burned, and dropped away. A wrong turn would mean certain death for a normal, even abnormal man.

I know these areas are manned by robots and not people, but this is too much! Archer thought as he jumped from a platform to a giant set of gears. Sometimes I wonder if Eggman made these places just for pure aesthetics!

Archer saw a nearby pillar rotating, and leapt from the gears towards it. Grasping the studs along the pillars surface, Archer swung around and leapt towards another giant gear. He waited as the turning gear lifted him higher, and then jumped up on the next gear so he wouldn't be crushed between the studs. Once he was high enough, Archer leapt to a floating platform. Once he landed, he saw a group of robots flying towards him. Projecting his bow, Archer shot down the Flapper's before they could get within the needed range to use their own guns.

Archer, what are you doing?!

Rin's telepathic demand nearly took Archer by surprised. He had forgotten that to conserve Mana, he hadn't been using his Independent Action skill. It was a good thing he had already found stable footing on the platform. Composing himself, Archer took a leap that carried to a door for service robots.

I'm making my way through the Egg Saucer, Rin, Archer assured his Master, I'm sorry I had to abandon our original plan, but…

Rin cut off his excuses. Do you have any idea what's happening right now!?

Fuyuki was in a state of panic. But, unlike before, the fear had been from an unexplained order to evacuate the city to escape from a mysterious threat. Now, the mystery had been solved. The giant flying saucer could be seen on the horizon, getting slightly larger as time went on. Not since the original broadcast of Orson Wells' War of the Worlds radio broadcast in 1938 was a populace given such a scare. But it wasn't a show this time. It was for real.

At the temple gate of the Ryuudou Shrine, Rin, Sakura and Bazett watched as Eggman's flying base approached the city. They could tell, by some inborn mage's instinct, that the Egg Saucer was on a direct course for them. Although they knew that Team Sonic and the Servants were working to stop Eggman's plot, their apprehension grew with every passing moment.

Bazett found herself staring at her hand, where her Command Seals used to be. Kirei had used them up during his time as Lancer's 2nd Master, but she and Lancer had such a bond that she didn't need to use Absolute Orders. She had wanted to give Lancer, the hero she admired another chance at life, only to lose it again to Gilgamesh. She wondered just how far they would have gone in the Holy Grail War if it hadn't been for Kotomine and Gilgamesh's machinations.

Rin then said, "Sakura, you should go evacuate," Although she tried to speak evenly, the anxiety in Rin's voice was evident. "It may not be too late. Y-you can get out before..." She trailed off.

Sakura watched the sky, almost listless. She didn't fear whatever disaster Eggman's weapon would bring to the world. She had been living as if her death would come at any day. But she also knew that the people who saved her, were working to thwart his plans. But more than that…

"You asked me where I wanted to be, Nee-san," Sakura answered, "And, I want to be here. With you."

Rin, who had been stubbornly standing while Rin and Bazett sat on the steps, sat down. She had tried to look strong for her sister, but as usual, Sakura had been the better of the two. Looking back, Rin realized that she would never have been able to withstand the Zouken's cruel tortures, while Sakura had endured it for over a decade.

"I hate this…" Rin said at last, "I hate having nothing to do, while everyone else is working so hard."

"But it was your idea to come here," Sakura pointed out, "Surely that's helping, isn't it?"

Seeing Sakura's point, Rin nodded, smiling.You got that, Archer? I'll be giving you Mana, so you better not screw this up!

Archer sent back, You can count on me, Rin, always…

Gunfire filled the air as Shirou jumped over and ducked under conveyor belts. He briefly left his cover to throw a Projection of Kanshou to destroy a Snail Blaster on the wall, before doing a roll behind crate of spare Egg Pawn heads. Once he was there, he Projected a Bakuya to destroy a Technosqueek that was getting too close for comfort. A fair distance away, Assassin was practically a blur, beheading the more humanoid Badniks such as the Egg Pawns and Egg Robos were around.

Shirou and Assassin, after taking down Shinji, followed the doorway to where they hoped would lead them to Illya. Instead, they wandered right into the main manufacturing plant of the Egg Saucer. While most of Eggman's robots had been sent up top to deal with the other heroes, there were still enough stationed to give the two a bit of trouble.

"If we stay together, they'll only have to concentrate their firepower onto a single point," Assassin advised, "Let's split up and divide their attention."

Shirou nodded, agreeing to his proposal, and added, "Don't bother to use your Presence Concealment. These aren't living things that your Servant abilities can fool. Robots have machines for eyes."

"That goes without saying." Assassin agreed.

Shirou released his Projection of Bakuya and Projected a bow. He began to fire Projected arrows at as many Badniks as he could. As he did, he leapt from his hiding place and broke out into a mad dash towards the exit. Thanks to Shirou's arrows and Assassin's fast swordplay, the robots were in a madcap frenzy. Shirou's arrows struck vital joints, throwing off their ability to function and causing some of them to shoot each other by accident. Meanwhile, because Assassin had executed their fellows with insane speed and finesse, the survivors were panicking at the idea of going the same way. As such, none of them were able to stop the two Japanese men from escaping the room.

But the next chamber was just as bad. Besides a small walkway that led to an observation platform, it was just a giant conveyor belt over a massive pit. There was no floor to speak of. Up above there was a giant robot arm that seemed to serve no tangible purpose aside from grabbing anything that was on the belt, while at the end of th beltway was the entrance to what looked like a furnace. And what was worse, the only other door was on the opposite side of the room.

"Do you need my help for this one?" Assassin asked.

"Give me a moment," Shirou replied, breathing heavily. He wasn't really tired as he was trying to keep the adrenaline rush from overriding his thought processes. If this was what Sonic had to deal with, then it was no wonder why he and his friends were so excitable!

I can't rush this, Shirou thought, I need to plan out what I'm going to do very carefully...

Just Reinforce his legs and jump? He would probably fall and die, dying the bottom with his blood. Try to use the crane to swing across the distance? That would require very precise luck, and if it failed, either Shirou would be crushed in its grip, or be flung against the wall, and then fall into the pit.

I just wish I could Project a tool that could help, Shirou thought, Like a rope, or a harpoon-

A strange, and possibly crazy idea came to him. It was risky, reckless, and if it failed, might get two men killed. But Shirou couldn't dislodge the thought from his head.

"Go ahead without me," Shirou told Assassin, "I'll be across in a minute. But, um, please get ready to defend, will you?"

While Assassin leapt across the pit, Shirou held out his hand and focused. He thought about that moment, when he first became a Master. He thought about the first time he was killed in the War, even though he did not die. And he thought about the common element in both those events. And as he thought, the crimson spear appeared in his hands.

"Gae Bolg!"

There was a rush of air, and Shirou was across the chamber. There was a clash of blades, and the thud of a body hitting the floor. Shirou looked up at Assassin, who looked a bit shaken, having narrowly blocked and parried the spear that would have otherwise pierced his heart if it had been in more skilled hands. He also seemed a bit angry, but given the circumstances, who wouldn't?

"Does Saber know how reckless you are?" Assassin asked, "Or were you hiding it up until now?"

"Well," Shirou let the fake-Gae Bolg fade away, "I think she'd be happier I risked someone else's life instead of mine."

Assassin couldn't help but laugh.

After beating Dragon Breath, Team Knuckles (He insisted on changing the name), were on a fast-track to the Egg Saucer's main generator. Unfortunately, that track led them to a corridor full of giant pistons, which caused huge amounts of steam to vent out each time one slammed down. Crossing the pistons meant not just waiting for one to push, but also being careful not to get burned by the vents when they blew out steam. Thankfully, there were no Badniks in sight within the corridor. Unfortunately for Knuckles, there was a giant red spring hidden under the floor, and it sent him flying backwards when he ran into it by mistake. The Echidna was nearly thrown back into the piston hall, but thankfully Tails and Amy were right behind, and managed to catch him.

"Whoa!" Tails cried, "That was close!"

"Eggman's really improved his traps," Amy commented as she and Tails set Knuckles on his feet. "In the old days, that probably would have been just a bunch of spikes."

"Yeah, well," Knuckles grunted, a little embarrassed. "Thanks for- Bwa ha ha!"

Tails and Amy looked on uncomprehendingly as Knuckles suddenly doubled over in laughter.

"Your- your fur!" Knuckles choked, "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't, but...hahaha!"

"Our fur?" Amy asked, "What about your fur?"

All three of them had developed the worst, full-body perms ever seen. It looked like someone had put them in a tumble clothes dryer without something to deal with the static. It had been a side effect of the steam.

After patting themselves down and smoothing at their fur, the trio moved on. Soon, they upon a large room, which had three Egg Hammers guarding a archway which had a forcefield in place of a door. Seeing the heroes, the Egg Hammers went on the assault, lumbering towards Team Knuckles with intent to squash.

"We're right outside were Illya is!" Tails announced as he flew away from one hammer. Once he was high enough, and slammed into the Egg Hammer's head in Spinball form, stunning it briefly.

"So, are these guys the last line of defense?" Amy asked as she ran around the legs of another Egg Hammer, "I was expecting another Sub-Boss."

Knuckles landed a triple-punch in the chest of the third Egg Hammer. Jumping out of the way of its counterattack, Knuckles went into a Spin Dash to cannonball at the Egg Hammer's legs.

"We probably destroyed all of the Sub-Bosses," Knuckles remarked, "We've definitely got Eggman on the ropes."

"Or, since we're so close to the power room, Eggman didn't want to risk a massive battle wrecking his equipment." Tails said as he stationed himself on Egg Hammer #1's head.

Meanwhile, Amy had managed to get atop #2's head as well, and was giving it a beatdown with her own hammer. As she did, #2 saw Tails atop #1, and #1 took notice of Amy. The two robots faced each other down and raised their massive mallets.

"Amy, jump!" Tails cried.

"Right!" Amy agreed.

The two animals bailed just as the Egg Hammers swung their hammers. Naturally, they ended up destroying each other, sending their shattered parts flying as the air screeched with the noise. One piece of shrapnel nailed Knuckles in the back, as he had been too preoccupied with the third Egg Hammer. Rings fell from Knuckles as he stumbled forward, and the Echidna just barely managed to scoop some back up before #3 lumbered at him. Knuckles went into a Spin Dash and sped between the Egg Hammer's legs. Then, he rebounded off of the wall rammed into #3's back. The force caused the Egg Hammer to fall forward and crash into pieces. Getting up, Knuckles dusted himself off.

"Anything else?" He asked.

Tails was already at the electric barrier, typing on Miles Electric. "Just gotta open this door. I think I've figured out which algorithm to input..."

But Knuckles was in no mood to hear any more of Tails' overly-technical jargon. Walking up to the archway, he rubbed his right fist with his left palm before punching the wall with all his might. Nothing happened. Knuckles frowned, and began to punch it again, and again.

Amy shook her head as she watched the boys work. Looking about the room, she found that the center of the floor gave off a hollow sound compared to the rest of the room. Using her hammer carefully, she lifted the lid up and found a big, green button with the words, "DO NOT PUSH WITHOUT DR. EGGMAN'S PERMISSION. WE REALLY MEAN IT!" Amy struck the button, and the forcefield shut off.

"I did it!" Tails and Knuckles declared.

"Suuure you did," Amy said patronizingly, "Now, let's go!"

Moving ahead, they came found poor Illya, trapped in her glass tube at the end of the hall.

"Stand back!" Knuckles ordered, and punched the glass.

The floor was littered with little beads (Eggman must have used easy-break glass for safety reasons), and Illya fell right into Amy's arms. The homunculus had stilted, uneven breaths, but otherwise did not react. And she didn't wake up.

"How could Eggman out such a sweet, innocent child through all this?" Amy demanded.

Tails briefly recalled how the 'Sweet, innocent child' had once set her pet monster onto him and Sonic. After shaking away the bad memory, he said, "We've got to find Saber. Avalon is our best bet to help Illya recover."

"Well, we can't go the way we came in," Knuckles said, "Time to make our own exit!"

Knuckles walked up to a part of the wall with the words "Danger! Do not punch" printed in large, helpful letters and slugged it. The metal gave away showing a passage on the other side.

Eggman watched on a security monitor as Team Knuckles took Illya away. For what it mattered. He had drained plenty of energy from the albino girl. And it just so happened that there was another source of power currently on the Egg Saucer's topside. Eggman pushed a button so the main screen showed Gilgamesh's location. What he saw was a grown man in golden armor being knocked about by what looked like a shiny, bright ping-pong ball.

"Is it ready?" Eggman asked Orbot.

"Yes, it's all set," Orbot reported from his own console, "But, how are we going to-?"

"You leave that to me." Eggman interrupted smugly, stroking his mustache.

Cubot spoke up. "Hey, not to be a buzzkill, but what are we going to do about Saber?" He pointed at a screen to show her running up a stairway on the outside. "She's getting really close to the central command."

Eggman snickered. "Ha! We'll see about that. Get a load of this!"

Saber was now on top of a catwalk, making her way towards the Egg Tower's top. She hoped that was where Eggman was hiding; If she could take him down, it would hinder his scheme for the world. As she ran, she saw, much to her surprise, a trio of golden rings floating in a line in the air. Without thinking, she jumped and ran her hand though the hoops. The energy of the Rings entered her body, replenishing the Mana she had spent in her duel with Metal Sonic.

Power Rings here as well! But why? We're not in a Special Zone or Reality Marbel! Saber thought.

A loud explosion caught her ears, and she turned her eyes towards it. In the distance, she saw what was unmistakably Gilgamesh...but something was off. Instead of arrogantly looking down on people as he normally did, the King of Heroes was hunched over, and shaking. Why became obvious a second later, as something bright and fast slammed into him. Saber was mesmirized by the sight of Gilgamesh, the Archer of the Fourth War, flying away and off of the building. She wreched her eyes away from the man in gold as his assailent stopped moving for Saber to make out its form.

Sonic! She realized, Is that what he looks like when her calls upon the power of all seven Emeralds?

This must be why Power Rings are appearing. It's the energy of the Chaos Emeralds that causes the Rings to manifest, and there were now seven all over the Egg Saucer. But Saber was even more surprised to see, from what she could tell, that Gilgamesh was struggling. But maybe that wasn't surprising. Gilgamesh had always been the most powerful Servant in both Wars...but now he was fighting someone who could match his power, and had the skills to use it effectively. His arrogance meant he had never considered anyone could be his equal, and grew complacent.

And Sonic is always fighting, living as if he was on the edge, Saber affirmed, He may get cocky now and then, but he's never taken things easy...with his grit and the Emeralds, he's also went to the extreme!

But she also saw that no matter how many times Gilgamesh went down, he would get back up, more furious than ever. This was truly a battle of titans. Saber could see that their battle was slowly destroying the Egg Saucer, and if the damage became went too far, it would have a bad effect on the land below. Saber also saw that some of Eggman's robots were gathering towards the battle. Frowning, she set off to for a closer look.

She barely went three steps when she felt the world turn.

Not the entire world, of course. But, the top of the Egg Saucer, the buildings, the walkways...they began to shift. Like a sliding puzzle, the layout of the topside changed, switching around the placement of the facilities. This had the end result sending Saber back to the edge of the Egg Saucer. However, she could still the flashes of light and sound of forces clashing to know what direction to go in.

Gilgamesh leapt through the sky, wearing the same winged shoes Persues wore when he went to slay Medusa. A vein on his forehead was highly visible, showing the world just how angry he was. It galled him to have to dip so far into his Gate of Babylon, to take an opponent seriously. But he was determined to win, at any cost. He heard the rush of air and swung his out, just in time to punch Super Sonic away. Sonic bounced off of a building, but instead of going back at Gilgamesh, went down to the floor. Confused, Gilgamesh lowered himself to better see what he was planning. He soon regretted it. Super Sonic had gone into a loop, running in circles so quickly that he created a ring of light. This had the effect of creating a powerful cyclone that sent Gilgamesh spinning, throwing him off-balance. Sonic immediately broke away from his circle, leapt up to rebound off of a wall, nailing Gilgamesh right in the stomach.

This is absurd! Gilgamesh thought as he flew through the air. Nothing I do seems to even phase him! Is he invincible!?

That idea that, yes, he was no longer the more powerful fighter in a duel, was so abhorrent to Gilgamesh that it actually allowed him to ignore the sheer pain in his gut and recover in the air. But, his three-point landing was interrupted when an obstacle suddenly came from behind.

PING!

Gilgamesh once again went flying, but not by Sonic's hand. Instead, he had collided with a giant bumper, about the size of a car tire. and painted red with a white in the center. It was held up by rockets, and was angled in way that sent Gilgamesh away not towards Sonic, but further away. Super Sonic blinked in confusion, but he realized that he was running low on Rings. He would have to have to gather more if he wanted to finish his fight with Gilgamesh.

Meanwhile, Gilgamesh righted himself on a platform. He was already angry at Sonic, but that bumper had widened his rage at the world in general. When Super Sonic didn't zip out of nowhere to bash into his side again, Gilgamesh took a deep breath, trying to quell the fire that was burning in his brain. It was curious that a mongrel with speed as his main ability be late for anything.

Gilgamesh spotted a cluster of Power Rings off in the distance- more and more were appearing as he and Sonic fought- only to vanish as Super Sonic leapt through the bunch of them. This confused Gilgamesh.

Why would he need more of those? He's already...aha! The King of Heroes smiled evilly as the answer came to him, He needs those Rings to maintain his new form! All I need to do is block him from replenishing.

Gilgamesh leapt off, intent on doing Super Sonic harm- and then another rocket-bumper flew into his path. Gilgamesh was bounced away, but as he went, he destroyed the in an instant, swearing profusely.

Curious, Saber thought. What are they up to?

While Saber had wanted to leap in and support Sonic, the movements of Eggman's robots bothered her. So, getting up on top of the tallest antenna she could find, Saber gave herself a bird's-eye view of the action. The widened perspective allowed her to try and determine the flow of the battle. And she didn't like what she saw. Everytime Super Sonic managed to land a solid hit on Gilgamesh, one of those stranger Bumper-bots would fly up and bounce Gilgamesh in a different direction. But every now and then, they would try to get in the way of Super Sonic. The more Saber observed, she began to see a pattern. It almost looked like the robots were trying to herd Sonic and Gilgamesh in a specific direction. Suspicious and concerned, Saber set off in that direction to see if there was anything they should be worried about.

As she ran across the walkways, fuel lines, and railings, Saber ran into a few robots that made a token attempt to attack her. She didn't even bother using her sword and stomped them under her feet as she ran, freeing a few birds along the way.

Saber stopped on the curve of one fuel line. A fair distance away, she could see one smaller tower was topped by a flat platform. While the other buildings were either pointed or rounded (The round ones, for reasons, also had glasses and mustaches…), this specific tower looked like it had been cut with a fine blade. Saber's curiosity piqued, she went in for a closer look. She soon found a vantage point from a floating platform that seemed to be going around in a loop. From that platform, Saber saw that the top of the tower had several circular grooves on the flat top.

Those lines almost make that structure look like a bulls-eye… Saber determined, feeling uneasy. It's painfully obvious that this is what Eggman is trying to bring Sonic and Gilgamesh to…but why?

She heard a loud cacophony, and knew that the battle was approaching. She knew that she had no time to dither on the subject. If Eggman wanted Sonic over here, then that was all the reason she needed to destroy the premises!

Saber unsheathed her sword. Raising the blade up in the air, Saber willed the power into the blade's tip. It would be too dangerous to use Excalibur's full power, with the Egg Saucer being over Fuyuki (She could feel the leylines of the region), but she could limit the Noble Phantasm's radius of destruction.

Unfortunately, Saber was so focused on the task ahead of her, that she forgot to watch her back. Gilgamesh, fresh from being sent flying again by Super Sonic, spotted Saber at work.

"Oh, no you don't!" Gilgamesh yelled, and opened the Gate of Babylon. A battle axe came flying out, and Saber just barely dodged it. "I'm sorry, Saber, but I can't have you damage this facility. I have need of..."

POW!

Once again, Super Sonic can flying out of nowhere and cannonballed directly into Gilgamesh's stomach. Gilgamesh gagged, but managed to catch himself and retaliated by firing a slew of sacred swords at the glowing Hedgehog. Super Sonic weaved in between the barrage, but Gilgamesh pulled out a ornate shield to block him, and then delivered a punch to the jaw. Sonic fell back, and as he stood up, saw that multiple Gates of Babylon were opening all around him.

"No escape this time," Gilgamesh hissed with unnatural viciousness. "Die!"

The Gates released their contents. They bombared Sonic, but Sonic didn't run. Super Sonic went into a Super Spin Dash, and the force of his rotation deflected the barrage of sacred weapons. After a few seconds, Sonic released his spin, but he didn't hit Gilgamesh in the stomach.

This time, it was the head.

Instead of flying backwards, Gilgamesh just...fell. His body, completely stiff, leaned backwards until he was flat on his back. Besides the red mark on his forehead where Sonic struck him, his face was completely blank. Sonic and Saber stared at his prone form in confusion.

&Break&

Archer felt good about his progress. Even though he had wasted precious Mana on that robo-Eggman, he found plenty of Power Rings floating about the interior tunnels to help recharge.

"AARRRRRGGGGHHH!"

Archer stopped. He looked around. Whatever that anguished howl of fury was, it was like no other he had ever felt before. And yet, it filled him with joy for some reason...

"I have had enough this!" Gilgamesh was practically spitting as he unleashed his fury. "This has to be some sort of nightmare...I ate some of Kirei's Mapo Tofu before bed, that's what this is causing this!"

Gilgamesh stood up, and then leapt to the top of the building Saber had been seeking to destroy. Sonic had gone back a bit to gather a few extra Rings, so Saber ran to face him. She prepared to unleash her Noble Phantasm once more, but Gilgamesh fired several swords at her, forcing the knight to retreat. When Sonic came shooting back, Gilgamesh reached into his Gate and pulled out none other than Lancer's Gae Bolge and lobbed it. The spear shot through time and space and struck Sonic directly in the chest, knocking him to the floor.

"Unbelievable...you won't die no matter which I treasure I pull out..." Gilgamesh had a mad gleam in his eye as he glared down at his opponents, "What can I possibly do to change that...?"

"You can try asking nicely," Sonic replied, "Maybe, 'Pretty please with sugar on top'?"

"Oh, no...that won't satisfy me..." Gilgamesh reached into his Gate once more, "But this will!"

The weapon Gilgamesh had pulled out was like neither Saber or Sonic had ever seen. It had a golden hilt very similar to the armor the King of Heroes wore. But the sword itself...the blade gave off a red and black light, like a forge of the gods had hammered the dawn and dusk into a single piece of steel.

Seeing it, Saber had a premonition; If he swings that sword, everyone will die.

Even Sonic, who almost never hesitated to throw himself into danger, found himself unable to move. The aura of Gilgamesh's sword was so powerful that his enhanced senses could feel its threat.

"This is Ea, my most valuable treasure," Gilgamesh said, drunk on the fear in their eyes. "Consider yourselves lucky, mongrels. Very few are deemed worthy of dying by it."

Saber and Sonic tensed up, both preparing to move. They knew that they would only have barely a second to act. Luckily, Gilgamesh was still inclined to brag, which bought them some time.

Stepping close, Saber whispered to Sonic, "Keep him from swinging his weapon down. I'll follow up with a clean hit that should finish this..."

"...You've shown me the greatest power of your world," Gilgamesh was finishing up his spiel, "So let me show you the greatest of mine!"

Gilgamesh raised Ea into the air. Before anyone could do anything, however, there came a loud click and whirr. A set of metal rings suddenly rose up around Gilgamesh, held by two steel poles. The rings began to glow, and released powerful bolts of electricity that caused Gilgamesh to cry out in alarm and pain. Saber and Sonic watched in morbid fascination as Gilgamesh's pallow grew paler, and paler, and his armor began to rust and decay. When Ea vanished, the two realized what was happening.

"That thing is draining Gilgamesh of his energy!" Sonic exclaimed. He had experienced something similar when Eggman tried to harness the power of Dark Gaia.

"Exactly what happened to Rin when she was captured." Saber noted. So that had been Eggman's plan. He had manipulated Sonic and Gilgamesh's battle to steal their power for himself.

But they could see that what Rin experienced was but a tickle, compared to Gilgamesh's tortures. When the energy siphon finally shut off, there was no sign of the Fourth Archer. Sonic felt the energy of the Chaos Emeralds run out, his quills drooped and normal color returned, as he and Saber went to the platform for a closer look. Neither wanted to get too close to the device, not wanting to suffer a similar fate. All they could see was a pile of rubble, like dried mud that had crumbled in the sun.

Saber had very mixed feelings about this. As much as she disliked Gilgamesh's arrogance and supreme apathy towards anything that wasn't him, as dangerous as he was to everyone, he was still a Spirit from the Throne of Heroes. For his final fate to be that, though...it was not an end she had wanted to wish on him. It was so ignoble.

Sonic, on the other hand, had a different concern. Why, exactly, would Eggman willingly destroy what was probably one of his most powerful partners to date?

&Break&

The answer, of course, was that Eggman simply had no need for partners at this date. Thanks to the energy his external, top-deck siphon had drained from Gilgamesh, his Egg Grail (Patent Pending) was at maximum power. And the act of doing so had felt so good for Eggman. Too many times had he been double-crossed by what he thought were reliable allies. He enjoyed being the betrayer for once. He only wished he could have been present so as to deliver a grand speech, to better twist the knife. Well, you couldn't have everything.

And speaking of everything… Eggman's eyes lit up as he saw the numbers on the Energy core rise to 100%. "Bingo!" He looked down at his robots. "How close are we to Fuyuki?"

"We're just above Mt. Ryuudou," Cubot announced, "The military tried to intervene, but our automated defenses took care of them."

"I'm doing a preliminary check on the Genesis Ray Cannon." Orbot stated.

"And everything's in order?" Eggman demanded, "I don't want a repeat of the Wisp plan!"

There came a beep and Orbot's screen showed a thumb's-up. "Everything checks out, boss." Orbot reported.

"Good," Eggman purred, and then gestured dramatically. "Open the Big Hatch!"

Archer was beginning to feel a little desperate. He had just gotten a message from Rin that the Egg Saucer was directly on top of the Temple. Still aloft, but if it fell, it would take out the entire city and a piece of the mountain. And he still had found no trace of Illya.

Archer kicked open one last door, and came upon a giant, empty space. There were other walkways and doors, but the main feature of the area was a large tube-like structure in the center of the ceiling, capped by a red dome that seemed built to split into four sections. Archer was about to take a closer look when he heard more doors opening. Getting on his guard, Archer relaxed when he saw that it was Tails, Knuckles, and Amy. And on Amy's back…

Illya!

Archer went over to the outsiders as quick as he could, which meant Amy almost dropped Illya in shock. Archer caught the homunculus, stunned at how still she was.

"Whoa!" Amy gasped, "Where'd you come from?"

Archer ignored Amy's question to ask his own. "What happened to her?"

"Eggman was draining her energy," Tails explained, "So, she's probably just tired from the ordeal. I hope…"

That "I hope" bothered Archer quite a bit. But just then he heard another door opening. This time, the next round of intruders were none other than Shirou and Assassin.

"You guys!" Shirou cried when he saw the group. He ran over to them, while Assassin stayed back. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Okay, how the heck did you get up here?" Knuckles demanded.

Shirou ignored Knuckles to take Illya from Archer. He didn't even deign to acknowledge the Servant's presence, his focus entirely on his sister's health. She was breathing...but when she didn't react to his presence at all.

"Eggman drained her magic power," Tails explained, "She'll wake up after a while...I hope..."

Before either Shirou or Archer could react poorly to that 'I hope', a loud noise caught everyone's attention. The floor beneath the walkways was not a floor, but a gigantic hatch that was opening up. As it did, the large dome on the ceiling split apart, showing what looked like a large tesla coil that was crackling with electricity. The device lowered down towards the opening in the floor, but stopped about halfway.

"What is that thing?" Amy asked, and then gasped. "Is that the Genesis Ray?!"

Archer Projected his bow and fired several arrows. They flew at the Ray's cannon, but instead of destroying the weapon, they impacted an energy field that flickered into existence around the cannon. Clearly, Eggman was taking no chances with his doomsday device.

Tails whipped out the Miles Electric. With a remote access, he scrolled his way through the system, trying to figure out what was happening. "It's protected by a forcefield...but there's no way to deactivate it."

"But, how can he use his Ray if he can't turn off the field?" Shirou asked, "Won't it block the cannon from it's target?"

"Uh, it's programmed to go down the instant the cannon fires," Tails gulped, "And we can't punch through it because the Ray and the forcefield have the same power source. If we try, the entire place might blow up and take us and Fuyuki out at the same time."

"So what do we do?!" Knuckles demanded.

Amy turned on her communicator. "Sonic! We've got a problem! Eggman's going to fire his Genesis Ray! Can you get down here to help?"

"Sorry, Amy," Sonic replied, "I used up all of my Rings fighting Gilgamesh...I'm grabbing as many as I can, but I'm not sure if we have enough time..."

Distraight, Shirou looked to Archer for an idea. The Heroic Spirit of the Knight Class seemed to be staring out, not really looking at anything. Archer then looked at Illya, and then Shirou. He held out his hand.

"Give her to me," Archer said. His voice did not hold the usual tone of jeering mockery it normally held. It was the voice of a man who once bore the weight of the world, and was weary of it. "Please...let me hold her once last time."

"What-" Shirou could not articulate a response, and found himself unable to stop Archer from taking Illya from his arms.

Archer hugged Illya closely, his eyes shut tight. Finally, he set Illya down and brushed his hand through his hair. His action undid his usual coiffure. It was now messy...and familiar.

"Tails," Archer said, "How long until the Ray fires?"

"We've got less than a minute!" Tails gulped, reading his gadget's screen.

"That'll do," Archer looked at Shirou, "I'll create what we need to fix this...but you're going to have fire it."

Archer closed his eyes and held out his hand, the palm up. "Trace On."

All of Fuyuki was watching as the Egg Saucer hovered imperiously over Mt. Ryuudou. From his bunker, Mr. Stuart watched in despair the events on a monitor. The military force dispatched to stop Eggman's invasion had been completely routed. All of Japan watched as various news stations covered the story.

But none of them had as good a view of the events as the three ladies at the Ryuudou Temple gate. They stood in the shadow of the Egg Saucer, watching as the flying craft opened its bottom. They could see the flickering light from within the craft. They had been told fleeting stories, vague accounts, of the weapon Eggman built in his plot to take over the world. And now, they were about to get a first-hand look at its fruition.

Rin glared up at the UFO, trying to make it go away by sheer will power. As she did, she heard Archer's voice in her head.

Rin, Archer said, I need your help.

What is it?

I'm going to Project something powerful…something I can't re-create on my own.

And Rin understood. No more words were needed to be said. The tone and emotion from Archer's thoughts told her everything. She reached up towards the Egg Saucer, her Command Seals visible on the back of her right hand. They began to glow

"Servant Archer, by the power of my Command Seal- by the power of All of my Command Seals," Rin's eyes seemed to become aflame as she spoke, "Save the world!"

Archer felt the power flow into him. It was far more than he had expected. But he also knew it wouldn't be enough. But that was okay. He still had everything- or rather, everyone he needed. As Archer concentrated on his Projection, he wondered if he should say something to Shirou. If he should warn him.

No, Archer realized, You'll learn everything I could say once this is over. But, even if you don't, I think it'll be fine. You're not going to become me, after all.

A vein on Archer's forehead pulsed, and his brow soon became soaked with sweat. This is was harder than anything he had even done before. It was beyond even his Unlimited Blade Works. Over his hand, the outline of a round object began to form, light gathering to take shape.

"Tails," Archer gasped, "For all the trouble you guys brought along, I'm glad you came. It was fun."

"Archer...?" Tails stepped forwards, but found himself being held back by Knuckles.

The countdown to the Genesis Ray's firing sequence was nearing the end, but so was the formation of Archer's Projection...and his life. The weapon he was bringing into existence was more than his own meager existence. But even as his body became more transparent, the Projection became more solid, more real. And as it appeared, Shirou suddenly realized what Archer's plan was.

"Don't...let this go to...waste..." Were Archer's last words as he began to fade away.

Nodding slowly, Shirou reached out and took the Projection. And when he did, he found himself taking more than just the weapon.

Seeing his little sister alive for the last time...

Being given a red long coat from an Executor...

Making a pact to fight for Alya for all time, just to save a relatively few people...

Being tried and executed for a crime he did not commit...

Killing far more than he had ever saved, within multiple lifetimes...

Tails stared at the spot where Archer used to be standing. He knew Knuckles had his mitts on his shoulders, but couldn't feel it. Archer was gone...

A beep from the Miles Electric brought Tails out of his stupor. Checking the readings, he cried, "The Ray's about to fire!"

Shirou fought down the influx of memories that were and weren't his, and turned towards the Ray's cannon. He forced out everything around him. All that mattered was his target.

The Genesis Ray Cannon fired.

It was too late. When the Genesis Ray struck the leylines of Mt. Ryuudou, the result was a full thaumatisurgical transformation. Fuyuki was gone, replaced by a distorted metropolis of factories and neon lights.

"Fragarach!"

And then it was a few seconds ago. The world had not been changed. The shield was up.

But the Genesis Ray Cannon was destroyed. Gasping, Shirou fell to his knees, the arm he used to fire the Gouging Sword of the War God falling limply at his side. Amy watched him in wonder.

"That was Bazett's weapon..." She murmured, amazed.

"Huh?" Knuckles let go of Tails and clutched. "What just happened? I feel like deja vu, only I don't know what I'm repeating!"

"Hey!" Amy walked over to Shirou, and helped him up. "What kind of spell did you use?"

"It...it was Projection," Shirou explained, "Archer re-created the only weapon that could destroy the Genesis Ray, even at the cost of his life."

"But what exactle does it do?" Knuckles demanded, now carrying Illya in his arms.

"It's like Lancer's spear, sort of," Shirou continued, "Only instead of space, the Fragarach goes through time to before its target strikes."

"Ohhh...so it's like a form of reversed causality," Tails mused, "It went back to the point in time before the Ray fired, bypassing the forcefield entirely."

"But I remember it happening," Knuckles protested, "And then it didn't happen! How does that work?"

"Well," Tails scratched his head, "Well, maybe the retroactive effect only works on a metaphysical level-"

"Tails, are you doing this so you don't have to think about Archer?" Amy interrupted.

Tails paused, and then looked down. "Yeah…" Amy reached over to pat his shoulders. Archer had been a good friend, and losing him was hard to accept.

"Guys?" Sonic spoke up over the communicator, "What's happening down there?"

Knuckles answered, "We're fine, Sonic. Archer used up all of his power to destroy the Ray. We're saved, but he's gone…"

"Oh, man…" Sonic sighed, his voice heavy. "I wonder who he really was…"

"I know who he was," Shirou said, softly. "Me."

ERROR

DAMAGE DETECTED

FIRING SEQUENCE CANCELLED

Eggman stared at the bright red letters that flashed over every screen in the command chamber. His jaw hung open as he tried to rein in his shock. Internally, he had this sensation of knowing the Genesis Ray fired, but he also had no memory of it happening.

"Wha-What's going on?" Eggman sputtered, "The Ray's not…. No! This can't be happening again!"

Off to the side, Orbot and Cubot checked the Egg Saucers and Genesis Ray's functions. While they were used to dealing with the fallout of a plot going awry yet again, it was a bit harder for them to concentrate this time around.

"Uh, is there a word for déjà vu when you think you haven't experienced déjà vu?" Cubot asked, his eyes and head rotating. "'Cause, whatever it's called, I think I've got it."

Orbot hummed. "There does seem to be a discrepancy in my memory banks as well… Oh!" Orbot pretended to forget about the strange feeling as he checked the read out. "On the good side, the failsafe are keeping the cannons main power battery from self-destructing. That's-" A beep got his attention. "-Looks like we're starting to lose altitude. Never mind."

Eggman growled, and kicked a nearby waste basket. The basket went flying, spilled a few empty cans of Chao Cola, and landed right over Cubot ' s head. Still boiling, Eggman pointed dramatically.

"I'm not going to let it end like this!" He declared, "Prepare the Final Mech! I'll show those heroes exactly what I'm made of!"

It took some time for Shirou's group to meet up with Sonic and Saber. But eventually they found each other on the upper decks. Shirou had been carrying Illya, still unconscious on her back, but he smiled when he saw the two King Arthur's approach. The sentiment was not shared by his Servant.

"Shirou!" Saber cried out, "How did you get here?" She was so stupefied by Shirou's ability to find danger that she briefly forgot about Illya. "Never mind, lay Illyasviel here!"

Shirou did as Saber asked, and Saber plunged Avalon into Illya's body. She worked slowly, to avoid causing Illya undue stress and pain. As Saber did, Shirou explained how he and Assassin came to the Egg Saucer.

"But where did Assassin go?" Knuckles asked.

"I'm not sure," Shirou admitted, "He snuck away while we were concerned about the Genesis Ray's cannon…"

Sonic waved dismissively. "Forget him. What was all that stuff you were saying about Archer?"

And Shirou told them. It was hard, recounting memories that you never experienced but still belonged to you because they came from your future self. But Shirou managed to get the gist of it out with only a minor headache. The others weren't so lucky.

"Wait, I thought this magic ghost system only summoned people from the past," Knuckles commented, scratching his head. "How could someone from the future show up?"

"Well…" Tails opened his mouth to give his opinion, but Knuckles put his hand over it before he could go any further.

"Never mind," The Echidna interrupted, "Archer was magic, from the future, and that's all she wrote!"

Shirou nodded dully. The how's didn't matter at that point. He looked over at Illya's still form. They had saved her, but it felt hollow. Illya would die within a year. And that happened in the timeline where she hadn't been used as a living battery.

Amy, meanwhile, looked at her feet sadly. "I feel bad for Archer. Now he's got to go back to being a…Counter Guardian. Unless…" She looked Shirou thoughtfully. "Maybe if you don't do what he did, that future won't happen?" She scrunched her face up she thought about it. "Wait, if you do that, Rin wouldn't be able to summon him, so you would have to do what he did…"

Saber looked to Sonic and asked, "Has this ever happened to you?"

Sonic had been staring at the sky during the conversation. At Saber's question, he returned her gaze. "Meeting a jerk version of my future self?" He looked down in thought. "Dunno. Time travel's…wonky. And I've never really thought about changing history. Always just let things be…" He trailed off. "How's Illya? Is she going to be okay?"

"I don't think her life is in danger now, but…" Saber sighed, "We need to get her to Rin, as soon as possible." She graced Sonic with a rare smile. "And you need to get home. We will figure out how to solve our own problems."

"DON'T THINK THIS IS OVER YET!"

That eardrums rattling declaration was followed the roar rockets blazing. The view of the sun was blocked as a new shaped entered the sky. It was a machine, one whose like hadn't been seen on this or Sonic's world.

It might have started out as a lunar lander unit. Then, the designer decided to scale the up by three, while turning it upside down. Along the sides were at least four large cannons, set at the ends of mechanical tentacles. The entire craft was topped off by a dome with giant red scopes for eyes, similar to the Egg-Robos, only with a large fin on the center.

E.G.G* ROBO

(*Egg Grail Gear)

"YOU MAY HAVE DESTROYED MY GENESIS RAY, BUT I'M NOT THROUGH!" Eggman announced over a loudspeaker, "IF I CAN'T CONQUER THE WORLD INSTANTLY, THEN I'LL DO IT ONE STEP AT A TIME! STARTING WITH…" One of the mech's cannons swiveled about to point at the heroes. "YOU!"

Saber and Shirou felt it. The sheer force coming from the E.G.G Robo wasn't merely the heat of a war machine running. There was a taint of malice mixed with it all, something the Master and Servant only felt once ten years ago…

"Shirou…" Saber began, but she could tell from the look in his eyes, words were not necessary.

Looking grim, Shirou nodded. "The Holy Grail…it's inside of the machine."

But, Shirou swallowed, and weight in his eyes seemed to lighten. Both he and Saber turned. And there was Sonic, holding out the seven Chaos Emeralds in his arms.

"You guys ready?" He asked, and the Emeralds began to float out into the air.

Shirou and Saber watched the jewels with wonder. They could feel the tingles of power as the Emeralds' energy entered their bodies.

Saber said, "Are you sure we can use their power safely? Before, anyone who tapped into the Emeralds suffered…"

"Not as long as you use Power Rings!" Tails cried, and handed something to Saber. "Here, take mine."

Knuckles and Amy likewise gave up their Power Rings to the three.

Knuckles said, "Eggman's using the greatest power in your world, so you should use the greatest power in ours."

"And best of all, you're already magic!" Amy squealed, her eyes shining. "Just imagine what the Chaos Emeralds will let you do!"

Sonic held out his hand, palm-down. With minimal hesitation, Shirou and Saber stacked their hands on top of his.

Shirou thought about the lesson Archer tried to impress on him. Think about what you need, and let it take form…

As the Emerald spun around the three, the light of the gems began to grow brighter and brighter until they unleashed a shine that was blinding. But only for a moment.

When the light receded, the three heroes stood before all transformed. Sonic, of course, had become a pure white light Hedgehog with his quills now pointing directly up toward the sky. He was once again Super Sonic.

Saber's hair and eye color did not change, but the power flowing through her was expressed in a different way. Her armor and dress, which was once blue and conservative, altered. The dress became shorter, stopping at the knees, and changed to white. The skin of the back and shoulders became exposed. Instead if hiding it, the armor and clothes altogether accented her feminine figure. Rather than tied in a bun, her hair became a ponytail that was allowed flow freely. She had become a flower that blossomed on the battlefield, Saber Lily.

Shirou once felt the power of a Chaos Emerald explode within him once, but what happened now was far different. Not only was the unlimited power tempered by the fifty Power Rings, but Shirou knew how to use it. It wasn't enough to merely have power, he had to give it form.

I am the bone of my sword

Steel is my body and fire is my blood

Shirou's left arm began to darken, as if it had been cooked under a tanning lamp for hours…or forged in the fires of war. The rest of his skin followed suit, and his hair turned white as snow…or silver as steel.

I have created over a thousand blades

To better handle the power, Shirou instinctively began to Project new clothing as armor.

Unaware of loss, with an open heart

His jeans were overshadowed by the kind of traditional war pants worn by warriors during days of ancient Japan, tied by a white belt.

Withstood pain to create weapons, reaching for the stars

The darkened arm became covered by a red igote that went up to his shoulder and part of his chest. The fabric had black patterns for decoration.

I have no regrets. It doesn't matter

And hanging by his shoulders like a cape was a kimono. It was white on the outside, but the inside had an image of flowers and grass weaved into the fabric. Channeling the legendary Demon Blacksmith, he had become Muramasa Shirou.

My whole life is Unlimited Blade Works

With their transformations, the three heroes turned to face their distant enemy, who apparently was waiting patiently for them to get started. There was a burst of light, and Super Sonic, Saber Lily, and Shirou took to the air.

Down at Mt. Ryuudou, Rin, Sakura and Bazett could only stare in confusion as what seemed like a giant ball of fog encased the Egg Saucer. They had no idea what was going on. They saw the giant robot Eggman had unleashed from a distance, and heard his bellowing. But after that, a gigantic blur had overtaken the entire aircraft, like a snowglobe in a perpetual shake.

They were so busy trying to figure out what was happening that none of them notice Assassin, lurking just behind the gate, who was also staring at the fog. He was a bit annoyed that he couldn't see the action anymore.

Damn it, he thought, I knew I shouldn't have come down.

As the three Super Heroes charged at the E.G.G Robo, the massive machine responded by firing several bursts of energy from the beam cannons on its shoulders. The heroes split apart to dodge it. Falling back, Shirou fired several Broken Phantasms to counter the beams.

Amid the explosions that shook the air, Saber and Sonic shot forward before splitting apart for a pincer attack. The tentacle-blasters fired off to try and stop the two Supers, but they failed. Sonic easily weaved around the shots, and Saber swatted them aside with her sword.

Meanwhile, Shirou was also on the move, but instead of going at the hull like Sonic and Saber were, he was moving up towards the top where the eyes were. Seeing him coming, the eyes began to glow before firing twin beams at Shirou. Shirou held up both hands and the Rho Aias appeared, blocking the beams. Meanwhile, Super Sonic slammed into the hull of E.G.G Robo, causing the machine to rock. As Sonic bounced off of the mech, Saber took advantage of its disrupted balance to go at one of the E.G.G Robo's arm-cannons. As much as she wanted to use her Noble Phantasm to destroy the mech, she had no idea how devestating the explosive attack would be while amplified by the Chaos Emeralds. It would be too risky to the city below. So instead, she cut through the joint of the tentacle, slicing the cannon clean off. The E.G.G Robo spun about and tried to blast Saber with one of the other cannons. Saber broke away from the Robo to avoid being blasted, while Shirou fired off another broken Phantasm to block the shots. Meanwhile, Super Sonic rammed into the E.G.G Robo's hull again.

"Arrgh!" Eggman shouted over the speakers, "Think you're so smart, huh!? Well, let's see you handle THIS!"

The E.G.G Robo began to spin around, releasing dozens of shots at random. the three Supers seperated and flew about and between the scatter-fire. Shirou Projected a duplicate of the Gae Bolg, looked for a gap between the blasts, and threw it as hard as he could. It struck the E.G.G Robo, causing the mech to stop.

Taking advantage of the brief lull, the three shot forward to wreak more havoc on the machine. Sonic went into a long spiral as he flew, dodging more blaster fire. Saber and Shirou split apart, circling around to take the E.G.G. Robo from the sides. As they did, missile launchers unfolded from the back and let loose a dozen or so ballistics. The missiles had homing functions, and swerved wildly in the air to catch their targets. Saber and Sonic managed to avoid being blasted with some work, but Shirou wasn't so fortunate. Being unused to flying, his movements in the air were not agile enough to dodge all of the rockets. One missile brushed against him and the explosion sent him flying.

"Shirou!" Saber cried out in alarm.

But amazingly, Shirou felt no pain. The force of the impact rocked him, but he didn't feel anything. He recovered quickly enough and resumed his attack.

The E.G.G Robo closed its missile launcher and tried to blast at the three with its cannons, but they managed to avoid the shots. In desperation, the E.G.G Robo rocketed up and away, and flipped over to try and blast them with it's lasers.

"Persistent, isn't he?" Sonic shouted as he and Team Saber zigged and zagged.

"Sonic, come here!" Saber shouted.

Super Sonic did as he was told, and once he was close enough, Saber swung up with the flat side of her sword. Sonic was flipped towards the E.G.G Robo, spinning faster than he would have otherwise. The rotations were strong enough to deflect the laserfire. Seeing him coming, the E.G.G Robo rocketed away to avoid being hit. Sonic flew up and past the mech, but high above was Shirou, who had Projected another Rho Aias. Sonic bounced off of the shield, and slammed right down onto the E.G.G Robo's back. While Eggman was caught off-guard, Saber flew up to attack one of the other cannons, and sliced it clean off of its tentacle. The E.G.G Robo tried to fire another slew of missiles. In response, Shirou Projected dozens of swords and threw them at the barrage, destroying each missile before they could hit their target. He then followed up by throwing a Kanshou to impale on the launcher, with Bakuya close behind. The E.G.G Robo tried to fly away from the weapon, but the two swords' magnetic connection brought Bakuya into the launcher, destroying it entirely.

As this happened, Saber and Sonic launched a pincer manuever on the mech. Super Sonic launched a Super Homing Shot from the left, slamming and Spin Dashing into the machinery. As the E.G.G. Robo shook from the impact, Saber Lily came at him from the right, slicing her sword across. Her blade connected, but before she could cut all the way through the machinery to the core, one of the tentacle-cannons aimed and fired at Saber, sending her flying away. Once she recovered, Saber flew back at the cannon. It tried to shoot her again, but Saber swung her sword like a baseball bat, swatting the bolt of energy back at it, causing the weapon to be destroyed. Satisfied, Saber flew back to collect some Rings to recharge her power.

But as she did, something unexpected happened. The large gash her direct assault on the hull made began to emit a strange sound. And then it began to leak.

And the leak became a flood.

Mud poured out of the E.G.G. Robo, but it didn't rain down below. Instead, it went up, and wrapped itself around the mech. It coated the machine, drying out and hardening. It was like a suit of armor. At the top, a line of jagged spikes began to surround the eyes, making it look like the E.G.G. Robo was wearing some sort of twisted crown.

"What's happening?" Shirou asked as he and Sonic regrouped with Saber. They could only watch in shock at the mechanical metamorphosis.

"Avenger…he's starting take control of the machine!" Saber realized, "We have to destroy It!"

"Will that be enough?" Sonic asked, "Even if we take down Avenger here, he's still part of the Holy Grail! He'll just come back in the next War!"

Shirou, staring at his hand, spoke up. "I…I have an idea."

Meanwhile, the eruption of black mud had stabilized, forming a sort of crown and armor around the E.G.G Robo. The cannons were still capable of movement, but the mud was covering the barrels completely. They shouldn't be able to fire anything.

Shouldn't.

Each end of the blocked-up cannons began to glow, and then shattered as cannons went off. The shards transformed into starfish, purple, vile starfish with reptilian eyes in the center. The swarm of starfish charged at the heroes, forcing the three to separate. While Saber Lily and Super Sonic weaved in between the horde to get through, Shirou hung back and Projected a bow. His arms becoming a blur, Shirou fired a hundred or so Broken Phantasms, striking each starfish and causing them to explode.

Meanwhile, Saber and Sonic had reached the E.G.G Robo. Having lost a bit of his momentum getting around the swarm of abominations, Sonic began to circle around the mech with increasing velocity. Saber found herself dueling with one of the tentacles. The limbs movements were more erratic and less predictable than before, but she was able to block and parry it's attempts to club her away. Once she knocked the cannon off course far enough, Saber took at the opportunity to swing her sword into its joint. The blade cut into the mud and metal, taking the cannon off of the tentacle completely. As the cannon exploded (Because, why not?), Sonic broke out of his high-speed orbit and rimmed himself as hard as he could into the E.G.G Robo's head. The mech shook from the impacts, and then rocketed away from the two heroes, only to be intercepted by Shirou, who had Projected Herakles' stone axe.

"Nine Lives Blade Works!" Shirou delivered a series of powerful slices at the E.G.G Robo's body, trying to cut through and carve through the mud that was covering the hull. Although he caused incredible damage to the mud, the E.G.G Robo spun about and knocked Shirou away.

Super Sonic then came speeding towards the mech, and slammed as hard as he could into the chipped point, large cracks to spread out. The machine flipped over from the impact, coincidentally throwing Sonic off of it. With its remaining cannons, the Egg Robo fired a trio of energy bolts at Sonic. Before they could hit, Saber Lily was on a course to intercept. She flew between Sonic and the shots and swatted the energy away from him.

Were those shots wearing helmets? Saber wondered. And it almost looked like they had faces…

Behind Saber, Sonic recovered and began another charge at the EGG Robo. He zigged and zagged around the firepower unleashed, and successfully slammed himself into the crack Shirou caused earlier. As he rebounded off, two starfish were fired by the other cannon and latched onto Sonic. Sonic struggled to push them off, but Saber and Shirou had to come and slice the abominations to pieces.

"Thanks!" Sonic said as he zipped away. Those creatures had drained a bit of his energy, and he needed to replenish his Rings.

Seeing Sonic's movements, the E.G.G. Robo rocketed towards the Hedgehog. Energy poured out of one cannon, taking shape in the form if a giant red spear.

Saber Lily got a bad feeling from that spear. She shouted, "Sonic, look out!" and flew to intercept.

Thanks to Saber's warning, Super Sonic ducked down just as the giant spear was thrust at him. Sonic went into a loop around the spear before kicking off the side and scoring some Rings. Meanwhile, Saber came in from behind to block the spear as the EGG Robo tried to swing about to catch Sonic from behind. Shirou then came down from above with a Projection of Assassin's sword, the Monohoshi Zao and cut through the cannon part. Although it was still intact, the cannon was clearly just barely hanging on. Super Sonic circled back and struck the cannon with a Homing Shot, destroying it completely.

With the spear disappating from the cannon's destruction, Saber Lily broke away and charged at the E.G.G. Robo. The E.G.G. Robo responded to her assault by firing lasers from its eyes, but Saber effortlessly dodged the beams. Once she was close enough, she swung her sword into the mud, striking the exact point Shirou had damaged with Berserker's sword. When her blade connected, there came a bright flash of white light, and noise like a scream, and there was a huge hole in the mud-armor. It began to reform, but slowly than it had first appeared. Saber prepared to strike harder, but the E.G.G Robo rocketed away before she could. The force of its acceleration blew Saber back, but she was quick to follow. Up above, the E.G.G. Robo pivoted so that it could zap Saber with its eyes. But because its focus was on her, it didn't see Sonic and Shirou fly up from behind. Shirou stabbed the machine with the Monohoshi Zao and Sonic rammed down onto the hilt, jamming the sword even further down. The E.G.G. Robo spun around to fend them off, releasing a salvo of laser blasts.

Saber met up to where the boys had been. "Shirou, the mud is vulnerable to holy swords! Can you Project swords like that?"

Shirou thought for a moment. Within that moment, he remembered a vision, of a sword in a stone. "I think so."

In a flash, that sword appeared in Shirou's hand. Saber couldn't believe it. She had once used that sword long, long ago. Before she was granted Excaliber.

"Not bad!" Sonic cheered, "But, can it talk?"

Shirou blinked in confusion. "No...?"

Sonic nodded solemnly. "Even better."

Great, now I'm never going to stop thinking about it, Shirou thought, What kind of journey did you go on? What kind of enemy were you fighting? Why do you need to know if a sword can talk?

Knowing that there was no time to get an explanation, (and that the answer would never be as fantastic as what his imagination could cook up) Shirou went with Saber and Sonic to face off against the E.G.G. Robo for the last time. With most of its external weapons destroyed, the automated abomination ceased any sort of lucid action. Instead, it began to spin about erratically, firing the lasers from its eyes. And more mud was pouring out, flying out and hardening into spikes.

"We can no longer afford to hold back," Saber determined, "We need to end this in one blow!"

"Then we better make sure this one hits!" Shirou agreed, "Sonic! Get in front! We'll support you!"

Super Sonic floated before Saber Lily and Muramasa Shirou. Curling up, he began to spin rapidly as he went into an airborn Spin Dash. In the back, on the left and the right, Saber and Shirou pulled their swords back, preparing to strike as hard as they could.

"Ex..." Saber swung. "-Caliber!"

And so did Shirou. "Caliburn!"

And Super Sonic shot forward, carried not just by his own power, but the power of both swords. The flashes of energy they unleashed left behind a trail of light, making it look like a shooting star was fast on the approach. Super Sonic burned past the mud, deflected the lasers, and smashed into E.G.G Robo...

...Burrowing all the way down...

Sonic found himself standing in an empty room. Only, it was a room in the loosest of senses. It didn't have floors, walls, or ceilings. In fact, it didn't even have light, but it also didn't have darkness. It was a solid emptiness that defined and encompassed every variation of the term "Void".

It's like someone started to make a Special Zone and gave up. Sonic thought. Cupping his hands over his mouth, he called out, "Helloooooo?"

"Welcome."

Sonic turned around. Precisely two meters away, a figure…a being that was like a solid silhouette…was sitting on the floor. It's left leg was splayed out, while the right leg was partially propped up. It's left arm was resting on the right knee, and the right arm hung limply by the being's side. That right arm rose to beckon Sonic forward.

"I bid you welcome, and congratulate you for winning the War, Noble Warrior." The Shadow said. It's voice sounded too familiar to be comforting. It sounded too much like Avenger's.

Sonic caught on instantly. "Am I in the Holy Grail?"

The Shadow bobbed its head forward. "You are correct. It is here that you will receive the wish..." It grew a blood red smile. "All you must do is state it."

But Sonic was no longer paying attention to the Shadow. Instead, he had taken off the glove of his right hand, and was examining that hand's back.

On it were Saber's Command Seals.

"The Holy Grail's power can only be used by a Servant," Sonic remarked, looking back with a sly smile. "And a Master can control a Servant with these Command Seals…right, Avenger?"

Avenger's smile twisted into a fierce set of fangs. "You are no Master of mine!"

That sly smile had evolved into a full-on smirk. "Wanna bet?" Sonic asked, putting his glove back on. "You're the only Servant here, and I'm the guy with Command Seals. Let's see whose Absolute Orders are obeyed."

Sonic turned to face Avenger fully. Pointing, the light of the Seal could be seen from within the glove. Light shot from the tip of Sonic's finger as the Command Seal became a sword.

"My first wish-" Sonic began, "-Is for you to give Illya her energy, so she can have the life of a normal human being!"

The sword flew forward and impaled Avenger's left shoulder, knocking the Servant back. Avenger gasped in pain as he struggled to remove the blade. But it would not give.

But Sonic wasn't finished yet. A new sword formed. "My second wish is for Archer to be freed from his contract with the World, and be allowed to pass on!"

The sword struck Avenger's right shoulder. The corrupted Servant let out a howl. "Stop!"

"And my last wish," Sonic said firmly, "Angra Maiyu! You will return to the Throne of Heroes, and never again be summoned by the Holy Grail!"

The third and final sword went directly into Avenger's chest. The Servant fell to his knees. Then, the swords dissolved, becoming dozens of gold rings. The Rings linked together to become chains, and each chain wrapped around Avenger's wrists and neck, pulling him down and into oblivion. But the Shadow struggled to stand, and stalked towards Sonic. The pull of the chains forced him into an almost-crawl. In desperation, Avenger's form began change. It was still an shadowy outline, but the shape looked more like a titanic Warrior with wild hair. However, the chains still held him down.

"I hate you, Hedgehog," Avenger hissed, its eyes blazing. His form changed again, this time into a woman with hair like angry snakes. "I hate you…" And then the woman was clad in a cloak and hood, "Hate you…" His voice began to rise with each word, until he was basically screaming. And with each word, his form would change again, into a giant, a samurai, and so forth. "Hhhhate…hate… Hate! Hate! Hate! HATE!"

Sonic, who was walking away, stopped and sighed. Turning back, he began to wind up.

Avenger's fangs rearranged into an open mouth. "SONIC-!"

Sonic's fist made contact with Avenger's head. The Servant's body crumbled away, the pieces fading into oblivion. As they vanished, the world started fill with light and color.

Sonic shook his head. "What a sore loser." He said as everything began to vanish.

On the outside, barely a second passed when Super Sonic smashed into the Holy Egg Grail before he blasted his way out of the other side. The entire mech shook as sparks of electricity danced about. Inside the cockpit, every computer display and console beeped and made noises of alarm. Dr. Eggman rapidly punched in command after command in a futile attempt to regain control or at least shut off the noise. Eventually, almost unwillingly, his eyes took in the words displayed on the screen directly in front of him.

GAME OVER

YOU LOSE

Eggman groaned and slumped in his seat. He then stuck both fingers in his ears and clenched his teeth.

"I hate those heroes." The doctor muttered.

The Holy Egg Grail exploded. The blast was both mundane and supernatural in force, and anyone with ears and active Mage Circuits could hear and feel the blast. The Egg Mobile, still attached at part of the cockpit, went flying back at the Egg Saucer, crashing into the part of the building with Eggman's face painted on, knocking out the mouth.

"They did it!" Tails cheered, partially for the benefit of the ones in Fuyuki, but mostly because of his own exuberance.

High in the sky, Super Sonic returned to where Saber Lily and Muramasa Shirou were waiting. He gave the two of the a thumbs up.

"Mission accomplished!" Sonic said.

"And what of the Grail?" Saber asked, "Did you encounter Avenger?"

"He's taken care of," Sonic assured her, "Shirou's plan worked like a charm! Avenger won't be a problem anymore!"

Shirou thought about the manifestation of evil that had grown around Eggman's mech. He wondered if that had been a side-effect of Eggman's experiments to control the Holy Grail…or the natural result of Angra Maiyuu' s corruption affecting the machine.

"I don't think we could have pulled this off without you, Sonic," Shirou said, "You coming here saved us all."

"Ah, I'm sure you guys woulda done fine on your own," Sonic replied cheerfully, "You're too hard on yourselves."

Their discussion was cut short when a piece of the Egg Saucers exploded. From their gravity-defying vantage point, the three could see that Eggman's flying fortress had suffered severe damage from the battle. It was unlikely that would remain aloft for much longer.

"Looks we've gotta get going," Sonic decided, and said to Shirou, " Next time, Let's do this at my place!"

"'Next time'?" Shirou repeated.

"Sure!" Sonic winked, "The only thing that makes leaving somebody bearable...is knowing you'll meet up with them again."

Shirou and Saber exchanged looks, and then smiled at Sonic.

"Sure," Saber agreed, "Until next time."

Sonic then snapped his fingers. "Oh, right! One thing I forgot..."

Sonic threw something in the air, and flew around to put his arms around Saber and Shirou's shoulders. There was a click, and Sonic zipped back to catch the object before it fell away. He turned around and handed it to Shirou. It was the cell phone he took from Rin.

"Forgot to give this back to Rin," Sonic explained, "Little souviner for you guys. Precious memories, right?"

Saber smiled warmly. "I don't think I could ever forget any of this. Thank you."

It was the strangest phenomenon Fuyuki had ever witnessed, and after the past week or so, that was saying something. The massive flying saucer that flew in through the city's airspace, only to stop above the local mountain shrine. And then, a mysterious fog appeared around it, covering the entire structure. Only the briefest flashes of light gave any hint of what was occuring within. And then, like that, the fog vanished. And the Egg Saucer which was once a terrible threat to the country, and probably the would, was suddenly a wreck barely able to hold itself up. Only a handful of people in the entire world had even the slightest idea what it was all about.

And one them, a nameless samurai who called himself Sasaki Kojirou, could feel his life running out, even at the temple gate. The Holy War was over, and from the looks of things, the right side had won. With the Holy Grail's presence gone, there was nothing to keep him anchored to the world. He didn't mind. He had seen and done more than he had ever expected to. The last thing he saw, however, was twinkle of light in the distance, drifting away from the Egg Saucer, like a star falling with the speed and grace of a snowflake.

Right outside the training hall of the Emiya Estate, Shirou, Saber, and Illya landed. The tiny girl was being held up at each arm by her brother and his Servant. She looked a bit out of it, as would anyone who had just woken up from a terrible dream would be. Up above, the three of them watched as the Egg Saucer gave off one last burst of light- shaped like a hedgehog's head.

And then it was gone.

Six months later~

"…And then they were gone," Rin said, taking sip from her tea cup. "The rest of us met up with Shirou, Saber, and Illya later that day. The news media reported that Eggman's airship just vaporized, and after a month of cleanup, the matter was dropped."

Sitting across from her in the Tohsaka Mansion's living room was an English man with long dark hair. He was only a third generation Mage, which should have meant that he'd be doomed to a menial position. But, through virtue of his hard work, intelligence, and maybe blackmail, (nothing could be proven) he had earned the title of Lord, becoming the second man to bear the moniker El-Melloi. Being one of the only Masters to survive the Fourth Holy Grail War, he was something of a living legend among the students, particularly the female ones. And a few males.

Waver Velvet sighed, swirling his drink in the tea cup he held in his hand. On his shirt, the emblem of some video game franchise (Rin didn't know which one) had been printed on. "And I thought my War was convoluted. But I still have questions."

"Yes, I thought you would," Rin replied, "It's been half a year, and I'm still trying to figure out what happened."

Waver got up and walked over to the mantle. On it was some sort of odd toy, of a creature with drop-shaped head with a propellor on top. It looked completely out of place in a mage's estate, but for some reason it was clearly given a place of honor. In front of it, there was a little card reading "Do NOT Touch".

Waver asked, "First off, do you know what happened to Bazett? She sent in a letter of resignation months ago, and then went off the radar." He turned back to Rin, awaiting her answer.

Rin shook her head, thinking back to what the Enforcer- ex-Enforcer had said during their last meeting.

"I don't know if you're still Interested in joining the Clock Tower, but if you do, be sure to sign up for the 12th Modern Magical Theories Department." Bazett said, "The department head, Waver Velvet, will probably be your only ally there. I'm told he's something of a maverick among Mages…he likes video games.

"What about you?" Shirou asked, concerned. "Won't you be able to help Rin?"

But Bazett shook her head. "I'm leaving the Association. There's no way I can return to that lifestyle comfortably. Not after what I've experienced here."

"What are you going to do?" Sakura asked.

Bazett sighed, leaning back and stretching on her pillow. "I have no idea. I guess I'll go back to my family for a bit. And then- who knows? I'll go where the wind takes me."

Rin shook her head in annoyance. "First Shirou, and now you. Sonic's attitude is like a plague. You're just going about doing whatever you feel like."

Bazett smiled sadly. "Actually, I think I'll be following Amy's lead on this one." In her pocket, she could feel the tarot cards Amy used during their time in hiding. Perhaps she could consult them for ideas… "Thank you, though, for the nice compliment."

Rin smirked back.

"She's probably living a free life," Rin suggested, "Which isn't such a bad thing, I'd say."

"That depends on what you do with that freedom," Waver replied, and sat back down. "Which brings us to my question. Why do you want to enroll into Clock Tower?"

Rin didn't answer at first. She took a second sip of her tea. Then, she said, "Originally, I wanted to enroll just to learn more Magecraft, and improve my status as a mage. But after everything I've been through, that now seems immature."

Waver nodded. He had the same sort of epiphany after the Fourth War. He gestured for Rin to continue.

She said, "According to my research, the leylines in Fuyuki have been irreversibly disrupted. Without their normal function, the Holy Grail Wars can never resume in these lands.

"But the ritual still exists. There's nothing to stop another group of mages from starting another Grail War somewhere else. That's why I've decided to join Clock Tower, and sought you out," Rin looked determinedly at Waver. "I want to dismantle the Holy Grail War completely."

Waver sat back down in his chair. He rubbed his chin in thought. "You don't ask for much do you?" He remarked, "My own status won't be enough. You'll have to work your nose to the grindstone, and these fogies won't be keen on letting some rookie from Japan get any sort of prestige to pull that off. But I suppose if you get started now..."

"I'm not enrolling now," Rin interrupted, "Not until I graduate from high school, at least. I was just wondering if I could have something arranged for then?"

Waver raised an eyebrow. "Wait, wait, wait. So, not only are planning on upending one of the most infamous magical systems ever devised, not only do you want to sign up for my department, but you want a reservation?"

"Is that too much to ask?" Rin raised her own eyebrow, her face otherwise blank.

Waver rubbed the bridge between his eyes. He sighed. "I don't do reservations," He said, "But, if there's availability when you come to England, yes, by all means," I only came to Japan to get a limited edition copy of Admiral Great Tactics under the guise of investigating the Fifth War's events, how did we start talking about student enrollments? "But is there a reason for your delay?"

"Yes," And at this, Rin began to smile softly. "I need the time to catch up with my sister."

"All right, everyone!" The new captain of the Homurahara Academy Archery Club called, "That's enough for today. We'll see you tomorrow!"

Sakura smiled as the rest of the Archery club members began to help clean up the range and put away the equipment. Leaning up against the wall, she smiled contently as she looked up at the sky.

It was a habit she had developed in the weeks since the "Flying Saucer" incident (As the news called it). Some of her peers and teachers believed it was her way of coping with the sudden death of her grandfather, and disappearance of her brother. That by looking into the sky, she could see their faces in heaven. It was her way of dealing with her grief.

They were wrong. Sakura was having a great time. Not having to put up Shinji and Zouken's torment was a huge change, but one that she learned to love. Some of the others suspected that at the very least, the Matou home life was anything but happy, but didn't want to probe too deeply in case they triggered something. Either way, things were going just fine for once.

Although, every now and then, Sakura could have sworn that she saw her shadowing moving against the light...

But it was probably her imagination. Probably.

It was in an airport in Thailand did Bazett's journey take another sudden turn. Of course, legally speaking, she wasn't Bazett McRemitz at the time. After leaving The Mage's Association, she felt that an alias would probably behoove her. While there was no official policy about "sealing" deserters, Bazett did not want to tempt fate. Although her flight was scheduled to take her to the Americas, Bazett did not have a true destination in mind. She was just wandering, looking for a new purpose.

There came an announcement calling her to the front desk. It seemed that she had been bumped onto a different plane leaving from a different gate. Bazett was worried about possibly running into an agent of the Association, or but couldn't sense any magecraft being used on the gate or the plane.

However, she couldn't quite shake the feeling that something was on the way. Even as the flight was well up in the air, she had this strange sense of foreboding.

"Are you all right?"

The person who asked this was a blond man in glasses about Bazett's age, maybe a trifle older. It was hard to tell. He was sitting on the other side of the aisle right across from her.

"Just nerves," Bazett said with complete honesty, "I'm not used to being bumped."

"I understand gates being changed is rather normal." Her new associate remarked.

Bazett's eyes narrowed. "I never said my gate was changed."

She suddenly became aware that all of the other passengers were reaching into their handbags. That included men. Each bag was big enough to hold a pistol.

"I guess I walked into that one," Her new-friend-who-just-might-be-an-enemy said, "Look, before you do anything rash, Ms. McRemitz, please be aware that not only is everyone on this flight armed, but this plane is being monitored by anti-aircraft guns. If anything happens, they may blow us up."

"How do you know my name?" Bazett asked, "And what exactly do you want?"

"We've been trying to catch up with you ever since you and your friend Amy Rose checked out of Dr. Pierceman's clinic. As for me, my name is Agent Stuart, from Special Forces. I was wondering if you would be interested in a job...?"

This must be that government agent Shirou and Rin alluded to, Bazett realized. That would explain why there was no magecraft being used in this ambush. "What exactly would this job entail?"

"We've recently picked up on some suspicious activity in Romania, around Trifas," Stuart explained, "The name..." He paused, squinting at the unfamliar word. "...Yggdmillennia...keeps popping up."

Yggdmillenial. That was an organization of mages that split apart from the Association. This was getting interesting. Bazett briefly glanced at the Tarot card she had unconsciously taken from her pocket. The Fool, upright.

GAME OVER

"Phooey!" Illya grumbled, throwing her controller down. "The buttons keep sticking!"

"Or, perhaps you are not as skilled as you think you are." Saber responded, pleased as punch.

Saber and Illya had become fixtures of the Emiya household. Illya was now a ward of the Fujimura Group, with Saber as her caretaker, a duty that was something of a full-time job depending on Illya's mood. Thanks to the energy of the Chaos Emeralds, Saber had managed to remain in the world without the Holy Grail's blessing, although she still had to watch her Mana levels. Illya, who still carried Avalon within herself, cast some Magecraft that would allow her to share her own Mana and take some of the burden off Shirou.

"I'm home," Shirou called out as he entered the house.

"Welcome back, Shirou," Saber returned warmly, "How was your job? Illya and I procured the tickets."

"Already?" Shirou raised an eyebrow, "I thought it would take longer to save up that sort of money..."

"Saber got a job of her own," Illya put in, smirking. "As a maid."

"I am not a maid!" Saber protested, her checks turning red. "It was just...a uniform they had at the restaurant. I didn't want to get the clothes Rin gave me dirty."

It was something Saber and Shirou decided while waiting for Rin, Sakura and Bazett to return. Although there was currently no sign of Avenger tainting the Grail's wishes, they couldn't take any chances. When the school semester ended, the three of them would go to Einzbern Clan in Germany for any information that could stabilize Illya's body. Then, they would go to England, to pay tribute to the nation Saber once ruled.

And then, who knew? The sky was the limit.

Maybe they would find a way to see Sonic again...

It was a clear blue sky above. Around him was a lush, green valley.

He didn't know how he got there. He had vague memories, phantom pains from events long since over with. For a moment, he didn't know what to do.

Then, he remembered; I have to find her.

And so, he walked. He didn't know how far, and for how long. His legs seemed to have infinite stamina. Time had no meaning. It could have been for an hour, or perhaps an eternity.

But he found her. There she was, standing at the back of a lake that seemed stretch on into forever. She was facing him, clearly having waited all this time for his arrival. And looking at her, he felt his heart, which had felt so hard and hollow, beat as his blood began to warm. He had experienced so much pain, and so little reward. and yet...

He said, "But I'm glad. And- I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long," and he smiled, like the boy he used to be. "I'm back, Saber."

And she stepped towards him, her smile soft and warm like the morning sun. And she said, "Yes- Welcome back, Shirou."

And they joined, the dream completed. Soon, they were lying together in the grass, staring up at the sky. One of the clouds looked like a hedgehog.

He didn't know why, but he liked that hedgehog.

Higher than the sky, far beyond the stars, through the veil of mystery of space and time, was a different land, a different life. That world was superficially similar to the world before it, but many differences.

And one of those differences was that it had Amy Rose paying a visit to her friends Cream the Rabbit, Cheese the Chao, and Blaze the Cat. Amy was telling them about her latest adventure, and the world of magic she had lived in for a time.

"So, these warriors, Lancer and Archer, died?" Blaze asked. Besides her, Cream and Cheese's eyes were tearing up.

"Yeah, according to Sonic and Shirou," Amy admitted, "I know they were already dead and stuff, but it's still too bad, especially Lancer. Bazett really loved him."

"Oh, that's so sad!" Cream sniffed, while Cheese began to cry. "Love stories should have happy endings."

"I know," Amy said, "But, at least they were able to beat that evil priest and get back together for a little while. That's better than it would have been otherwise. The Magic Ghosts would have gone back to the afterlife after the War ended, anyway." Amy looked up at the sky. A flock of Flicky birds were flying past the sun. "But, maybe Bazett and Rin will find a way to bring them back, without needing a war. Anything's possible..."

It took Knuckles quite a bit of time to reach Angel Island. A landmass that floated in the sky was not something you could reach by normal means. But Knuckles wasn't a normal guy.

As he approached the shrine of the Master Emerald, Knuckles stopped by a tree, which had an old-fashioned time clock fixed to the trunk. He put his card in the slot and punched in.

"Well! Here you are at last." A sultry voiced called out.

Knuckles looked up. Sitting on top of the Master Emerald was the shapely form of Rouge the Bat. She had her legs crossed as she looked down at Knuckles. He had mixed feelings about that, as he walked up the stairs

"What are you doing here?" Knuckles asked.

"Well, I figured since you were off dealing with Eggman's scheme, there'd be noone here to guard the Master Emerald," Rouge explained, assuming a reclining position. "So, I came here to fill in."

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right! You probably thought you could steal the Master Emerald scott-free," He glanced down at the shrine's base. "Didn't she?"

There was a sound like drop of water hitting a puddle, and a light blue liquid began to pour out of the shrine from the cracks. It began to pull together, taking form, like an over-sized jello mold. The result was something vaguely humanoid, with glowing green eyes, two spikes sticking out of the head, and a brain floating inside.

"Ugh, you've got a funny idea for a guard dog," Rouge grimaced, "Who or what is this thing?"

"Chaos is an old friend of the family, kinda," Knuckles said, giving the water creature a fist-bump. "He's been guarding the Master Emerald longer than I have."

Knuckles marched up the steps, and once he was at the top, sat on a pillow that had his name on it. ("KNUX", stitched in cursive) Once he was in a suitable sitting position, he leaned back and took in the view of the island's natural splendor.

Knuckles sighed, "It's good to be home."

In his workshop on the edge of the Mystic Ruins jungle, Tails was hard at work. When they returned from the Servant's world, he was still sad about Archer. Not wanting to be consumed by grief, Tails decided to deal with it the only way he knew how.

Tails was so focused on his current project that he almost didn't hear the doorbell over the soldering gun. Luckily, when he paused to wipe his brow, the tell-tale buzzer drew his attention to the red light above the door.

Tails pushed a button and spoke into the intercom. "Come in!"

The door swung open and Charmy the Bee flew in. The buzz from his wings flapping resonated quite nicely against the metal and glass in the workshop.

"I'm here to return the video game I borrowed, Tails!" Charmy announced, waving the cartridge over his head like a flag. "It was really fun- Hey, whatcha working on? A new gadget?"

"No, just this figurine," Tails replied, inspecting his work. It was just about done. "Could you get me the smaller paint kit, and some brushes? They're in the third shelf from the bottom."

Charmy, being the helpful little bug, gladly did so. As Tails got to work painting the figurine, Charmy buzzed about, watching the progress from the vincinity of the ceiling. He quickly got bored with that and flew down for a closer look, hovering just over Tails' shoulder.

"This guy looks pretty cool," Charmy commented, "I like his long red coat. And those swords are awesome. But why is his hair so messy? Wouldn't it be better if it was combed, or something?"

"Maybe" Tails replied, "But I think he'd prefer the messy look."

Charmy cocked his head. "Who's he supposed to be?"

Tails finished painting and sat back. "A hero."

Somewhere on South Island, was a beach. It was a very quiet beach. It had no lifeguards, there were no snack stands, and the only sign that anyone visited it was an umbrella jammed into the sand, casting shade over a beach lounger. Of course, there was also the remains of a jet airliner that had crashed into the adjacent forest, right along the edge. The main body of the plane was still intact, even though it was slowly being overtaken by the forests growth. Sonic sped across the beach and, in the blink of an eye, was at the door.

The interior of the plane held no resemblance to its past life as part of an airline. The seats had been taken out, and made into a glorified man-cave. There were shelves for comic books, an electronic entertainment system, and a hammock for sleeping in.

But deeper into the hideout were relics. Photographs. Trophies from old glories. Sonic walked past the photo of him from years ago, wagging a finger at the camera. And past a second photo, similar to the first, but with Tails included. On one table, there was an old jar labeled "Mushrooms from Angel Island", and a set of pressed feathers "From Flicky Island". On a wall, there was a sheet of paper with a list of arbituary numbers, titled, "Veg-O-Fortress High Score". Next to that paper, leaning against the wall, was a snowboard that used to be part of a chopper's wing. Sonic passed them all without a second thought. At one point, he put up a framed picture of him, Shirou and Saber, next to one of him and Chip.

Satisfied, Sonic turned and went towards an end table. On it was a cushion with a golden ring, and a book with a sword on the cover. Sonic paused to stroke the ring. It shimmered. He then picked up the book and went outside. Sitting in the recliner, Sonic flipped through the book. He soon stopped, and looked up at the sun.

Sonic said, "Saber's version was better."

END_

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"…And, after the Egg Saucers crashed into the ocean, I managed to get away by using an inner tube from the indoor pool's supply closet," Shinji finished, gesturing limply at the deflated hoop of rubber next to him. "Now, I'm stuck in this weird world with absolutely nothing. No social status, no bank accounts…and my new mage Circuits went dormant after Emiya punched me!"

Shinji fell back, and shrieked as a hidden spring popped out of the ground under his head, catapulting him forward and face first into the beach. Sputtering, Shinji pulled himself up and looked to his new companions for sympathy. Big the Cat had cast his line halfway through Shinji's ranting, while Foggy had taken to eating whatever mayfly that buzzed close enough to his perch between the Cats ears. Neither gave any impression that they had been listening to anything Shinji had said.

Until Big turned his head to Shinji. Although his expression didn't change, Big inwardly considered telling Shinji that from the sound of his story, his current predicament was no one's fault but his own. But he imagined that Shinji wasn't the kind of person who would understand that.

Finally, Big said, "You're scaring the fishes away." Foggy

Shinji groaned , sat on the beach, and buried his head in his hands. "I hate that Hedgehog."