Can You Feel Life, Movin' Through Your Mind?

Chapter 3
Boss: Shut Up, Faker!

(Uploaded on January 15, 2021)


Summary: In the forest, two teams of foils run into one another.

Two fakers; two step-siblings; two wildly different Servants.

What could go wrong?


June 20, 2001 – 12:05 PM (T-0:10)

Prison Island
Green Forest

"Where is that faker? He's gotta be around here somewhere…!"

As the clock ticked on over Prison Island, a blue blur and his two companions made their way through the incredibly forested jungle.

Sonic was flinging himself from place to place, past the grassy terrain and even into the trees. Shirou and Saber weren't too far away, sticking to ground level and keeping their instincts sharp.

They may have escaped captivity, in part thanks to their friends' efforts—but they weren't out of the woods yet.

"Sonic, don't you think we should meet back up with Tails and Rin?" Shirou asked, nervously shuffling his feet. "I've got a bad feeling about this place… we should really go, before we get caught again."

"I can't just leave yet, though," Sonic replied, one hand hovering over his forehead—"not without figuring out what that black hedgehog's up to! He's already stolen one Chaos Emerald; Chaos knows what'll happen if he gets his hands on the rest!"

He leaped from his lookout point and touched down on the ground, taking care to dust off his shoes. "And then there's his two sidekicks…"

Saber frowned.

"…Illyasviel and Berserker," she recalled.

One of the deadliest Master-Servant pairs in the Holy Grail War.

To say they were uncontested in strength would be an understatement—not only was Berserker strong as steel, but he could resurrect a dozen times over, too.

With Illyasviel powering him, he was an absolute beast without rival.

With Shadow and the Chaos Emeralds thrown into the equation…

"I must say," the swordswoman admitted, "the idea of the three of them being loose together… it's unsettling, especially in a world lacking the veil of secrecy. Without that to keep them in check… we're the only ones with even a chance at subduing them."

"You said it, sister," Sonic chimed in. "Now—c'mon, you two! We're wasting daylight!"

The trio soon arrived at a clearing, trees expectantly surrounding them on all sides. "Phew… so far, so good," announced the cobalt hedgehog.

They would have continued on from there, but unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), they never got the chance. For—wouldn't you know it?—Saber suddenly sensed the intrusion of a dreadful aura.

She startled. "This presence…! Sonic, Shirou! On guard! A Servant is here!"

The other two immediately tensed up, the redhead's hands twitching to hold something unconsciously. Sonic glanced around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the spectral warrior—

—and then he noticed a familiar figure sitting on a nearby branch; a hedgehog as black as he was blue.

"Hey, that's…!"


At the same time, a black blur was cutting a similar route closer to the heroic trio's position.

"We're almost there," the black hedgehog muttered. "I can sense it."

Against all that his ingrained instincts were telling him, Shadow had one singular mission: get to Rouge and Sakura, at any cost. They were in locked in the Security Hall, three Chaos Emeralds in hand—

—and the high-grade explosive he had planted was only minutes away from going off.

Trailing behind him was Illyasviel and Berserker—confused by their ally's inexplicable detour, but going along with it anyway.

"Hey, Shadow—why are we headed this way, again?" the white-haired mage called out, perched atop Berserker's shoulder. "That Servant of theirs—Rider—she's strong enough to get 'em outta that vault, probably! Won't they be fine without us?"

Under normal circumstances, the black hedgehog would agree. It wasn't like Rouge or her companions were of any real importance; even if the island blew up with them, all they'd need to do is fish out the Chaos Emeralds from the wreckage.

But for as clinical as those logistics were…

'Please, do it for me…! For all of the people who live on that planet…'

…Shadow just couldn't bring himself to accept them.

He shook his head. "We can't take that risk," he said. "We need those Emeralds to power the Eclipse Cannon. We may have Caster, but she's no substitute."

She was quite the force to be reckoned with, though, Shadow would admit that.

Magic from her time period—the 'Age of the Gods'—was certainly no joke.

"I guess that's not wrong…" Illya bit her lip. "Ugh, why is this so hard a decision? I wish I could just go bash onii-chan's head or something—that'd be so much easier…!"

(She still stayed with Shadow, though.

He understood her better than most.

She didn't want to lose him, too.)

Berserker grunted. That seemed similarly appealing to him; if it made his Master happy, he was all for it.

Whatever their motivations, this didn't stop the trio from arriving a nearby clearing.

As Illya and Berserker clung onto a large tree trunk, advertising their presence through a loud creak, Shadow landed onto a lengthy branch. He took a moment to catch his breath—We're getting closer to the facility, but I can't let my guard down yet. G.U.N.'s still around, and if they catch wind of this—

A voice interrupted him.

"Hey, that's…!"

Wh-What?

His ears twitched, and he turned his head to see—

"That blue hedgehog again, of all places…!"


The two parties glared daggers into each other's eyes.

At last, they had reunited, and the fated confrontation was set to occur.

"Well, well, well," Illyasviel sang, "would you look who it is! Nice to see you again, onii-chan~"

Shirou took a step back. "Illya…! Shadow…!"

"Berserker, too…" Saber added, holding her invisible sword tightly in her grasp.

The dark-skinned titan rumbled, summoning his own heavy axe-blade and swinging it.

This is bad, the redhead thought—we barely held out against him last time; how are we supposed to fare without Rin and Archer available to help…!?

Sonic, meanwhile, had eyes for only one hedgehog.

Finally, I've got him! He won't escape me this time!

"There you are! I found you," he pointed a finger at Shadow, "faker!"

"Faker?" Shadow scoffed.

What right does he have to call me a fake?

"I think you're the fake hedgehog around here," he replied to him. "You're comparing yourself to me? Ha!"

He levied a smug smile at his counterpart.

"You're not even good enough to be my fake."

The Blue Blur growled, recklessly vaulting toward his imposter.

"I'll make you eat those words!"

Shadow returned in kind, fists already clenched in preparation.

"You won't even get the chance!"

"I guess that means that it's time to play," the Einzbern Master said. "That's fine by me! It's more fun to see my prey squirming like worms, anyway. Berserker? Crush them."

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAR!"

The Hero of Greece bounded into action, raising his blade high in the air—

"Shirou, look out!"

—but before he could turn Shirou into pulp, Saber managed to intercept him. As the King of Knights led her opponent away, Illya elegantly leaped off his shoulder, striking a perfect landing right in front of the wannabe Hero of Justice.

"It's just you and me, now," she smiled, cutting off some of her hair strands. "Shall we started, onii-chan?"

Shirou gulped.

And just like that, the battle began.


Being hedgehogs of identical make, Sonic and Shadow were more than evenly matched.

Punches and kicks and haymakers were being thrown in rapid succession, each being countered with a similarly speedy attack.

"You can't get away this time!" Sonic declared. "There's only one—real—Sonic!"

He dove toward Shadow with a charged-up Spin Dash, only for his doppelganger to dodge effortlessly and kick him in the back of the head. He got up and backflipped over a follow-up swipe, bouncing off of Shadow with a well-timed stomp.

"Oof!"

He skid to a stop, watching as the black hedgehog shook his disorientation away.

"'Only one real Sonic'…? How egotistical of you," he said. "You're nothing more than another black mark on the wall!"

Shadow started hovering above the ground, producing spears of yellow energy in his clenched hand.

"VANISH!"

"Oh, crud!" The phantom projectiles were sent Sonic's way, five of them forming a row of singed stains right as the Blue Blur spun out of the way.

The Ultimate Lifeform didn't stop, forming a new Chaos Spear after every one and hurling them at his spiky-born foe. Sonic danced around them, keeping his distance from Shadow even as he continued his assault.

He whirled about his fake in a wide circle, eventually speeding up to the point where a blue tornado was ripping through the arena. Streaks of wind picked up and knocked Shadow out of the air, giving Sonic the opportunity to rush in and kick him away.

"Argh—!"

The black hedgehog curled up and brought himself to a stop.

Oh… I see. So he's not just a hedgehog…

"Is that really what you think of me?" he laughed, flashing him one of his signature smirks. "Buddy, do you even know who I am?"

Shadow scowled. "No—and it doesn't matter to me. I don't have time to hang out with the likes of you. I have a mission to fulfill, and I won't let you get in the way of that. Step aside!"

"No way! I don't know about you, but it doesn't matter now what happens—I will never give up the fight!" Sonic narrowed his eyes. "And there's no way I'll ever run away from all of my frights!"

"Hmph." The red-striped shade crossed his arms. "You haven't yet seen what dozes in the dusk… if this is your choice, then so be it. I will take you down!"

"Bring it on, Shadow!"

The two blasted off at one another at full velocity—and as they fought on, the clock ticked ever downward.


A jump; a roll; a dive into infinity—

Shirou was being forced onto the defensive here, and Illya very much knew it.

"What's wrong, onii-chan? Don't you want to play with me?" Her smile was vindictive as all hell; in Shirou's opinion, such an expression had no business being on an innocent face like hers. "C'mon, just stay still! This'll only hurt… a lot!"

Crystallized birds were blasting lasers at him, aiming to cripple him by any means necessary. They weren't slow-firing, either, which gave him an absolutely pitiful margin for error.

"Why are you… doing this…!?" he got out between attacks. "Why are you trying so hard to kill me!? I—I've never done anything to you!"

From the moment he first met her, he had been her sole target. Even the Holy Grail War seemed only an excuse to get at him—so why…!? What does she have against me…!?

Illya grit her teeth.

All of her joy disappeared in that instant.

You've 'never done anything to me'…? Is—Is he serious…?

Are you telling me… he doesn't even know what he's done wrong…!?

"How—How can you say that…?" she whispered, her entire body trembling. "That's a lie, and you know it!"

Her familiars became blades, swinging down at Shirou with a renewed fury. His eyes widened, and he quickly started rolling again, barely fast enough to avoid the Degens.

"You stole everything from me!" she screamed, her blades acting in tune with her voice.

"You stole my happy life!"

CRASH!

"You stole my family's love!"

CRASH!

"You even stole their old Servant!"

CRASH!

"But… But that's not the reason why I hate you so much," she admitted, tears now flowing down her cheeks. "You did something even worse than that. Because… Because…!

"You're the reason why Kiritsugu never came back for me!"

Shirou's eyes widened.

The gears in his brain trickled to a halt.

"Wh-What did you just say…?" He got back up, staring at Illya in disbelief. "How—How do you know Kiritsugu…?"

"…isn't it obvious?" she replied. "It's because he's my father. The 'winner' of the Fourth Holy Grail War. And you're my brother."

Time seemed to slow down as Shirou took in this revelation. His father's life prior to his adoption had been a total mystery to him—his marriage, his existing children, any knowledge of the Holy Grail War…

"I—I can't believe this," he said, almost shell-shocked. "He never said anything about you, or any of this…!"

"…he should have. Maybe then, it would've saved you." She looked at him coldly, like the long-spurned teenager she truly was. "He's gone, so I'll have to take my revenge out on you. But don't feel bad—I'll make sure you won't forget me, forever and ever and ever."

She raised her four crystal swords, intending to bring them down all at once.

"Hope you're ready, onii-chan."

I can't go out like this, Shirou thought—but I can't do anything about it! I'm only a third-rate Magus; none of my skills can match up to a first-class Magus like her!

except… maybe…

This was a desperate long shot, but his skills always lied in the art of Projection. If he could Project a weapon and use it to stall for time… then he might just have a chance to survive.

(In that moment, Archer's signature swords came to mind.)

"Trace on."

Right as Illya's familiars were about to strike, Shirou batted them back with twin black-and-white blades—Kanshou and Bakuya, he instinctively recognized. He got into a stance resembling that of the red-clad Servant's; it was amateurish in every way possible, but it would have to be enough.

"Sorry, Illya—but I can't let you do this. Please, we don't have to be enemies!"

Illya, for her part, looked a little conflicted—but ultimately, she blinked away her tears and steeled her eyes.

"…it's too late for that, onii-chan," she said.

"This is all I have left."


Beads of sweat trickled down Saber's head as she locked blades with her foe.

Ngh…! This is—an extremely disadvantageous position!

Berserker growled, putting in a greater amount of force than she could ever hope to match.

She broke off the gridlock, desperate to put some space between her and the hulking monstrosity. She may had some of her energy replenished, in part thanks to the Rings scattered about the island, but that didn't make him any less ludicrously dangerous to face.

Plus, her Master was still in the vicinity—and while she desperately wanted to go and defend him against Illya's rage—

(She looked so much like Irisviel, so much like Kiritsugu's daughter—

But that couldn't be right; for if that was the case, shouldn't she be much older—?)

—she knew she couldn't have Berserker's attention on anyone other than her.

One stray swing at Shirou, and it'd all be over.

Once more, the Greek titan sprang into action, bearing down his mighty axe-blade on Saber. Her invisible sword clanged repeatedly against his glorified club, both their owners moving with the speed and grace comparable to Sonic and Shadow.

Again and again, they clashed, matching each other blow for blow. Backflips and lunges and all sorts of techniques were being traded, none of which was enough to break either side's defense. Neither one was able to get an lead in edgewise, but neither one was willing to walk away with anything less than absolute victory.

Saber was normally stoic as the land, a perfect knight to the end—but even she had her limits, and she was beginning to reach them.

"No one… should be able… to endure… for this long!" she ground out, frustration clear in her voice. "What… will it take… for you… to fall!?"

Should I team up with Archer and Lancer!? Do we need to throw in Rider, too, just to be thorough!?

It was unfortunate that, much like a certain other knight of his class, Berserker had the muscle memory to back up his insane power. The two of them were essentially locked in a stalemate—she refused to let him past her, and he refused to be anything more than a stone wall.

Something had to give.

And more likely than not, it wouldn't be him.

Last time, Archer used a Noble Phantasm to knock out one of his lives.

Last time, Shirou threw himself in harm's way, causing Illya to back off.

This time, she'd need a high-powered miracle—

—and in a way, that's exactly what she got.

Right before the two could resume their collision festival…

…two unstoppable blurs ripped through the arena, stopping them dead in their tracks.


Four figures proceeded to hold a ceasefire, in favor of gawking at the storm billowing around them.

Huh huh huh huh huh? Illya spluttered.

Sonic and Shadow were moving at the speed of sound, crashing into one another at a frightening pace – a pace that even Lancer would be hard-pressed to react to. A harsh wind was tearing across the air, plus a steady buildup of electricity from how fast they were going.

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

"Wh-Whoa!" Shirou yelped, taking Saber's side for safety—"Look at them go!"

Saber's eyes were as wide as everyone else's (except Berserker). "I knew Sonic was fast, but—this speed… it's truly unprecedented!"

The two hedgehogs kept rebounding and rebounding as a metronome would beat rhythmically, going at ever faster tempos until they began to reach a fever pitch. Eventually, they slowed down, gearing up for one last combo.

They Homing Attacked once—

They Homing Attacked twice—

They started to orbit around in a never-ending loop, the wind and electricity going absolutely wild—

—and then they bounced hard into opposite directions, said energy exploding outward in an uncontrollable fashion.

The final result: Sonic fell back face-first and ate floor, and Shadow's back flew down and hit fence.

Both parties rushed toward their ally, concern written all over their faces.

"Sonic!" Shirou and Saber called.

"Shadow!" Illya cried out.

Sonic groaned, the impact not entirely unfamiliar to him.

"Shoot…" he hissed, getting back on his feet.

"Not bad, for an imposter…" Shadow muttered, doing the same.

A low breeze fluttered past the arena.

Everyone was back where they had started: a three-on-three where each side was relatively equal.

Sonic closed his fists, while Shadow brought his wrist forward. Both of them traded glares, internally casting the other in a much more respectful light.

The tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

ZZZZT—!

And then, Shadow's radio communicator abruptly crackled to life.

He turned on the speaker.

"Shadow! Illyasviel! What are you doing!?" Eggman's voice shouted, audible to all parties in range. "Hurry up and get back here right now before the island blows up with you two on it!"

Sonic's eyes widened, as did Shirou's and Saber's.

"BLOWS UP!?" they cried in unison.

Shadow's irises shrunk, he and Illya looking like a deer in headlights.

"Sh-Shoot…!"

"Oh no…!"

The hedgehog jumped back and dashed away, followed by Berserker leaning over to let Illya scramble onto his back.

"We'll settle this later, onii-chan!" she promised, her Servant taking off after Shadow.

The three heroes were left to quickly digest their new dire predicament.

"When he says 'blows up', he means, like—bombing this island and everyone on it, right!?" Shirou asked, in a panic.

"Curses!" Saber said. "I should've known our foes would pull a dirty trick like this…!"

"No time to scold ourselves now!" Sonic said. "We gotta get out of here and find Amy, Tails, and Rin, right away!"

With no time to lose, the trio got up on their shoes and made a break for their friends, hopefully back at the prison they had just been in.

Hold on, everyone, the Blue Blur thought—we're coming!


Any Sonic fan worth their salt will be able to quote this exchange word-for-word.

It's such an iconic part of Sonic Adventure 2, I couldn't resist throwing in a version of it in for this fic.

With tons more additional angst, since Shirou and Illya both have their share of baggage to deal with—

and that's not even mentioning Saber's own collection, from her own past and onwards.

All in all, it's a fun time for everyone.

(How is Sonic the only one here without a ridiculously tragic backstory? Seriously, he got lucky as hell…)

Well, that's all for now – see you around!