Can You Feel Life, Movin' Through Your Mind?
Chapter 2
Event: Conquest …for Hero Story
(Uploaded on January 13, 2021)
Summary: Dr. Eggman makes an announcement.
The heroes watch in horror, and react accordingly.
Notes: Light implied spoilers for Fate/stay night and Fate/Zero below.
June 20, 2001 – 5:55 PM
Central City
Mission Street
It had been a… very exciting day for Team Emiya, as they were colloquially called.
Few things could describe just how much they defied death by the end. Escaping an exploding island was something Shirou and Rin would preferably never like to repeat.
But now they were back in Central City—and unfortunately, due to how unsubtle Tails' break-in had been, his face was now plastered on wanted screens all over the capital.
And since Rin and Archer had been by his side the entire time…
"This sucks," Rin grouched, tearing off a poster with her own visage on it. "This sucks so much."
The entire team of six—plus Amy Rose—were hiding away in one of the backstreets, which was thankfully isolated. Given how undeniably distinctive they all were, it was a struggle to keep abreast of the police while they figured out what to do next.
"Tell me about it," Sonic agreed. "That faker's still running about and not cutting me any slack! Who does he think he is, impersonating me like that…?"
A vein showed up on the teenage Magus' forehead.
"Sonic, this is serious!" she shouted. "Who cares if someone's copying you; we're all wanted by the entire country!"
"Hey, I am being serious!" the hedgehog replied—"we can't exactly do anything about being labeled criminals, but Shadow is still out there—and he's working with Eggman, to boot! That's the more important issue to worry about, in my opinion!"
"I concur," Saber said. "Those villains blew up an entire island, just to cover their tracks. Whatever they have planned, we must be on our guard!"
Personally, Rin wasn't sure if that was the right reasoning to take—but she'd already come this far, and it wasn't like she could get out of it now.
"So we'll just have to deal with two factions trying to kill us, then," Rin sighed. "Great."
Archer, please tell me we're still in the clear, she begged.
The police are still scouring the street several blocks away, her Servant mentally informed her from up on the nearby rooftop. We should be fine for another few minutes at least.
That's… not great, but it's better than nothing, I suppose.
While those four had a quite lively discussion, Tails was diving into the research end of things.
"Man, Eggman's really been hidden these last few months," the kitsune remarked, eyes locked on his Cyclone's built-in computer. "I can't find any leads on his whereabouts at all. G.U.N. can't find any either, and they've been looking everywhere."
Shirou frowned, looking over his shoulder at the map on-screen. Several potential locations had been marked out as points of interest, though an equal amount of them were crossed out upon further inspection.
"He's gotta be close to Prison Island, at least," he muttered. "He and his allies would need some place to rest after what they just did. Maybe—Maybe that desert has a clue…?"
"That desert…? You mean—Sand Ocean?"
Tails zoomed in toward the aforementioned area, curious as to what may lay hidden there.
"Well," he muttered, "this place is famous for its pyramids. I wouldn't put it past Eggman to break into one and—renovate it, let's call it that."
"No kidding," Amy crossed her arms. "He's practically everywhere! It feels like you can't go five feet without seeing another of his Badniks, tromping around like they own the world!"
Shirou's hands clenched into fists—he could feel a pair of blades itching to be Projected into existence, much like they had back during the three-on-three with Shadow's group. "If that's the case, then we've got a lot of work to do. He can't run free forever…"
All of a sudden, one of the electronic billboards atop the buildings went static. In fact, every monitor, regardless of origin (with the sole exception of Tails', unconnected from the network) was going haywire, catching the heroes' attention.
They turned to look, and lo and behold…
…who should be on camera but the mad scientist himself?
"Citizens of Mobius, lend me your ears and listen to me very carefully!"
Sonic growled. "Eggman!"
Saber glared at the doctor's visage. "So, this is the much-maligned Dr. Eggman…"
"My name is Dr. Eggman, the world's greatest scientist—and soon to be the world's greatest ruler."
"Grrrrr…!" Rin grit her teeth. "Look at him, showing himself so blatantly… who does he think he is!?"
Streams of words, proclaiming his greatness in every language, were streaking behind him as well. 'I AM GENIUS'; 'I AM GREAT'. 'I AM BRILLIANT'; 'I AM SMART'—etc.
"I have in my possession a weapon of ultimate power, one that can devastate your pitiful world as you know it. If you wish to continue with your lives, then heed my words. From this moment forward, you are all citizens of the great Eggman Empire!"
"I'm getting a bad feeling about this…!" Tails muttered, bringing his hands close to his mouth. "He wouldn't be broadcasting himself like this if he wasn't so confident in his chances!"
"But what could that be?" Shirou asked. "What makes this any different than any other time he's done this?"
"And if you doubt my claims… then allow me to show you the error of your ways.
"Now, witness the beginning of the greatest empire of all time!"
From a point in the sky, far from the city the heroes were in, a blue light coalesced into being—bright enough that anyone could see it, even from this distance. It ebbed and flowed, growing bigger and bigger with every passing second.
"What's going on!?" Amy shouted, taking a step back. "Wh-What's that light…!?"
Archer's eyes widened. This is insane…! A 'weapon of ultimate power'—what the hell kind of threat are we even facing!?
It held in place for a couple seconds more—and then, it shot across the sky, bathing the city below in a cyan aura. As it continued unabated and just barely skated by Mobius, all eyes realized just what the hitherto unseen Eclipse Cannon's real target was:
The moon.
KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The laser struck true.
The moon's surface broke apart.
A large chunk of the crust went flying off in pieces, some of them moving to hover around the satellite instead—
And visible to every individual within the city was the moon's molten core, exposed out in the open for the first time.
Shirou had been stabbed, scrambled, and nearly killed more than once.
He'd seen magic beyond anything he was capable of; strength and skills that could only belong to the greatest of heroes.
But this surpassed even all of that.
What Eggman had shown was nothing short of a total game-changer, for Mobians and Earthlings alike.
Even Berserker would be hard-pressed to survive that, he gulped.
How are we supposed to save the world when Eggman has that up his arsenal…?
Saber, for a moment, felt like she was back on the precipice of the Fourth Holy Grail War.
Facing a horde of devastatingly powerful foes, feeling as if her entire world was crumbling apart in her hands.
I'm almost not sure what's worse, she mused—this, or… everything correlating to my previous master. Kiritsugu Emiya.
But for as bad as she thought Kiritsugu was… even he'd take a step back at what Dr. Eggman was demanding.
Is this why we were called into this world? To stop this threat, before it's too late to set things right…?
Rin couldn't believe her eyes. She couldn't believe anything she had just witnessed.
No way, she thought—there's no way that kind of power can be real! It just can't!
But as much as she wanted to dismiss it—as much as she wanted to keep believing in the superiority of Magecraft—
Against a showing such as this, there was no way she could deny just how dire the situation had gotten.
Eggman…! You—You insane madman…!
Archer, for once in his life, wished that he was dealing with a certain gold-haired prick instead of this.
At least I have a method of dealing with his madness! he thought. No matter what I can pull out of my Reality Marble, it'll never be able to contend with this!
It took a lot to catch the worn-out guardian completely flatfooted, but this… was an exception. An absolutely, positively irreplicable exception.
Damn it… is there nothing I can do to stop this!?
To save the world, regardless of the cost…!?
As all parties reacted in shock, there was one more thing that needed to be pointed out:
On all monitors, Eggman's figure was replaced with a simple numerical reading.
It wasn't very complex, nor did it speak of any stipulations outright.
But the message it sent, to everyone across the globe…
23:58:19:13
23:58:18:46
23:58:17:33
…it was nothing short of utterly diabolical.
"Bwahahahahahaha… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
A couple of minutes passed in complete silence.
Screams and shouts were echoing across the city, fight-or-flight instincts taking over all rational thought.
No one was really sure what to say.
What was there that could be, given the scope of what they'd just seen…?
"Look!" Amy pointed up at the sky, jaw open in horror. "Half of the moon—it's gone!"
"So this is what Eggman's got up his sleeve…!" Sonic cast a hand to his side in frustration. "Argh, that creep never gives up!"
"Tell me about it…" Shirou breathed. "With a weapon like that, no one will be able to resist him without getting blown up!"
Archer shook his head, materializing with the other six. "But there's gotta be a catch. To use that kind of firepower, Eggman must be harnessing a truly unspeakable amount of energy."
"But how would they be able to do that!?" Amy cried.
The answer to that conundrum came to Sonic's mind almost instantly. "It's gotta be the Chaos Emeralds…!" he realized. "Shadow stole the one from the Federal Bank—and that trip to Prison Island, it must've been to get the rest! Yeah, that's the reason they were looking for them!"
To say this was bad would be an understatement.
Such a showcase necessitated having multiple Chaos Emeralds at least.
If Eggman and his troupe already had all seven of them on hand, then—
—then there was no way they'd be able to find him and his new weapon in time—not before he fired that devastating laser again.
"And we have yet to come across any of the Chaos Emeralds ourselves," Saber grimly noted. "For all we know, they have six in their grasp… and the last one is likely not far behind."
"Is this it, then…?" Rin despaired. "Is this… the end…?"
…
…
…
"…no," Tails shook his head. "This isn't over yet. After all, we still have this!"
The gadgeteer genius reached into his hammerspace, pulling out a lead-lined box—one that the nearby Mages curiously could barely detect. He undid the locks and opened it up, revealing its contents to be a sparkling yellow gem—
The seventh Chaos Emerald.
Everyone reeled back in surprise.
"Tails—that's right!" Sonic lit up. "You've got an Emerald of your own!"
The kitsune beamed. "The Chaos Emeralds are like magnets," he exposited—"they have the power to attract each other, and that's why they're never far apart from one another. I got this one from Station Square when I saved them three years ago. If I can tap into its power, then we'll be able to find Eggman!"
Saber smiled.
"Good thinking, Tails," she complimented. "We still have one more hand to play, it seems."
Shirou pumped a fist into the air. "What are we waiting for, then?" he said. "We've gotta get busy! Eggman won't stop himself!"
Rin shook her head and rounded on the poor fox. "Jeez, you could've told us you had an Emerald before tonight happened! We've been rooming with you for almost a week!"
Tails rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Heh heh… well, it's not like it's something I can just spring on you. A Chaos Emerald's big news, y'know?"
The teenage Magus sighed. "I'll let it go this time, but—next time, give us a little head's up!"
But before our plucky protagonists could further plan out their next course of action, sirens and red lights began to go off from their surroundings.
"The seven of you, freeze! Put your hands up in the air and get on the ground!"
Archer cursed. "Shit! I forgot about the police! That little display of Eggman's distracted me for too long!"
"Looks like we've got to cut this little party short," Sonic remarked.
He turned to Tails, jabbing a thumb at the approaching officers. "Tails! I'll keep 'em busy with Shirou and Saber! You, Rin, and Archer need to get outta here and figure out where Eggman's hiding!"
"Got it!" Tails nodded.
"This isn't how I expected to face law enforcement," Saber admitted, "but needs must. We cannot allow them to apprehend us now."
"Then I guess it's a good thing the three of us are here to distract them," Shirou said. "Ready, Saber?"
"Whenever you are, Shirou."
The heroic trio proceeded to sprint away, leaving behind the remaining four sidekicks of sorts.
"Tch. Seems like I've got my work cut out for me." Archer projected a bow into his hands, fading away to move back toward the rooftops. "I'll be right behind you guys, so try not to take any unexpected detours."
"You can count on me," Tails replied. "C'mon, Rin!"
"R-Right!"
The Tohsaka heir jumped into the Cyclone's other cockpit, buckling up as fast as she could.
As the bipedal mech marched off toward the highway, a realization went through Amy's mind.
She counted off everyone on her fingers, slowly putting two and two together.
"The seven of you… that means me, too!" She dashed off after Tails and Rin, wielding a freshly-summoned Piko-Piko Hammer. "H-Hey, wait for me!"
Had a few plot bunnies left over, so I decided more of this couldn't hurt.
At the very least, I figured that it'd be fun to write Team Heroes' response to Eggman's iconic announcement (no, not that one!). The Fate cast may not be strangers to high-stakes situations, but – as demonstrated by Caster last chapter – even they would balk at seeing Eggman destroy half of the moon just to make a point.
As an aside, I have to say: I adore the way Sonic Adventure 2 sets its stakes. The music, the sound effects, the visuals… everything about the reveal of the Eclipse Cannon is chilling, in a way Forces' nonchalant illusionary sun could never, ever match. You know what you have to do, you know what'll happen if you fail—and you know that you can't let Eggman keep a hold over that kind of weapon.
For Team Emiya, that's all they need for motivation. This is so much bigger than the Holy Grail War now—and damn if they're just gonna let this go on under their watch.
Well, that's all for now – see you around!
