Can You Feel Life, Movin' Through Your Mind?
Chapter 4
There Goes Hawaii (the island is gone)
(Uploaded on January 17, 2021)
Summary: The detonation of Prison Island, and its immediate aftermath.
Notes: This chapter is set immediately after the previous one.
Some inspiration taken from Chapter 8 of Child at Heart Forever's SA2 adaptation, Live and Learn.
June 20, 2001 – 12:09 PM (T-0:06)
Prison Island
Green Forest
If one were to look at Prison Island from above, they might be able to catch a glimpse of a blue blur, speeding through the dense forest.
Now, while this wasn't an unusual sight—Sonic was known for his love of adventure, high-profile military hideouts or not—the circumstances this time were far more dire than most people would realize.
Like, say, having only eight minutes (well, six now) to get him and his friends off the island before Eggman blew it up.
Yeah, that was definitely a mood-killer.
"Don't stop, just go; don't stop, just go," Sonic was rapidly muttering. In a way, he was in his element: boosting through groups of G.U.N. robots, Light Dashing through trails of Rings; this forest had all the makings of his usual playgrounds.
Behind him, Shirou and Saber were desperately trying to keep up—though they had their own means of getting around (Shirou through Reinforcement, Saber through her own natural ability), they were only barely able to match his impeccable reflexes; such was the disparity between the three of them.
"Agh—! My feet feel like they're going to fall apart…!" Shirou said, sweating as he pushed himself as hard as he could go. "Hopefully, we'll reach the end of this road soon…!"
Internally, Saber shared the same sentiment, though she didn't express it. "Hold on just a little bit longer, Shirou," she pleaded—"though our situation is far from ideal, we mustn't give up yet! We cannot allow the enemy a total victory by falling here!"
As they continued their course, Sonic couldn't help but think—
These last few days have been chaotic, even more so than our last adventure…!
Mages and Servants; G.U.N. and Eggman—there's barely been a moment to rest, between all the new stuff being tossed over my head!
And then there's that faker and his psycho sidekick.
He's so much like me, speed and spines and all—
—and she's so far into hating us, it's not even funny.
What's their deal…? Why are they fighting us…?
His determined frown became tighter.
…whatever's going on here, I can't just look past it.
Me, Shirou, and Saber… we have to find out what they're hiding!
The trio came across a series of elevated platforms, located high above a fast-flowing river. Immediately as they arrived, the entire collection began to shake and descend, falling one by one in a precarious domino effect.
"Tch—! Another obstacle…!" Saber muttered. At this point, the exhaustion from both this and the earlier fight with Illya and Berserker had taken its toll. She and Shirou did their best to hop up the ever-dropping staircase, but it was being too harshly affected by gravity—and the exit kept slipping out of view.
"We can't make it," Shirou realized—"it's going down too fast!"
Sonic snapped his fingers.
Darn! I can make that just fine, but Shirou and Saber need help!
Is there anything I can do to get us outta this…?
…
An idea popped into his head.
A crazy one, even for him.
…I've never done this before, but—now's a good time as any to give it a shot!
He started charging up a Spin Dash, streaks of light coalescing from nowhere and going straight into his body. A few seconds later, he let himself uncurl, his whole self now covered in a cyan glow.
"Shirou! Saber! Grab my hands!" he told them.
"Wh-What? Are—Are you sure?" the redhead replied.
He nodded. "Trust me—I've got a plan!"
The two Grail War contestants looked at each other for a split second, before taking hold of their teammate's hands.
"I hope you know what you're doing…" Saber said.
"It'll be over in a flash," he assured her. "Okay, then. Ready…"
He aimed at his target, carefully stepping into a ready stance—
"Go!"
—and then he cut loose, using all of his pent-up energy.
Containment Facility – Exterior
"What do you mean you lost Sonic and Emiya-kun!?"
Just outside of the forest, and right behind the prison complex Sonic, Shirou, and Saber had been locked up in, Rin was tearing Amy Rose a new one.
"Hey, I tried to keep up with them," Amy protested, "but you know how Sonic is! He never likes staying still!"
"Understatement of the century…" Archer quietly snarked.
The teenage Magus groaned, loudly. "Oh, that's just great…! Our allies are gone, I'm tired as hell, and the military's probably gonna be out to get us! What else can go wrong!?"
"Look on the bright side, Rin!" the pink hedgehog said. "At least I got 'em out of jail! That counts for something, right?"
"It would, if you didn't also let them run off!"
Tails let out a quiet hum. Some things never change.
"I can't say I'm surprised by this," he admitted. "Once he sets his mind on something, he's not gonna let anyone stop him."
He tapped the Cyclone's computer screen a few times, bringing up a map of the entire island—plus the locations of several security cameras.
"I'm pretty good at hacking," the kitsune said, "so if I tap into the security system around the island, I might be able to find where Sonic and Shirou are at this moment. We've already combed the prison, so all that's left is the forest. If we're lucky, it shouldn't take too long—"
Suddenly, a loud 'BOOM!' was blasted into everyone's ears. All eyes shot over toward the edge of the Green Forest—and to their surprise, a slightly-winded Sonic stood by the opening, joined by a definitely out-of-breath Shirou and Saber.
("About time," Archer snarked.)
Shirou and Saber, meanwhile, were practically dead on their feet.
"Wh-Whoa… I think my head's spinning…"
"Today," Saber said, using her invisible sword to straighten out her stance, "I've learned something new: there's such a thing as too fast, and this is it. Oh, god…"
Sonic exhaled in relief. "Phew… just made it!" He waved a hand at the gathered party, giving them another one of his trademark smiles. "Yo—Tails, Amy, Rin! Long time no see!"
"Sonic!" Tails cried happily.
"Oh, Sonic!" Amy wasted no time in giving him a massive hug. "I knew you'd come back! You could never leave us behind for long~!"
"Hey, chill out, Amy!" the hedgehog said, shaking her off. "It's not like I was dead or anything. Seriously, I'm not that reckless."
"I dunno," Tails said, "you do tend to put yourself in a lot of crazy stunts. Windy Valley and Ice Cap come to mind…"
He shook his head.
"Where've you been, anyway?" he asked. "For a minute, we were worried you might've gotten captured again!"
"That's… kind of a long story," Sonic replied, "and I can't really explain it right now. Listen, we need to get going!"
Amy looked concerned. "Huh? Wh-Why's that?"
While that was going on, Rin was stomping her way toward Shirou and Saber, her expression sporting this strange combination of relief and frustration.
"You've got some nerve running off, Emiya-kun!" she barked, snapping Shirou out of his trance.
"T-Tohsaka…!"
"Do you know how long I—we spent panicking over you and Sonic get imprisoned!? We came all the way here to bust you out, and then you decide to run off without us!?" Her whole face was flushed red, herself seconds away from decking the Fake Janitor with her fists. "You could've died out there, you know!"
Shirou flinched, unconsciously scratching the back of his head.
"S-Sorry, Tohsaka… I know it was dangerous and all—but I couldn't leave Sonic to go after Eggman's allies alone."
"The fault lies with both of us," Saber confessed. "We only did what we felt was right. I—I apologize for making you worry."
She sighed.
I can't say no to you two…
"I'll forgive you two this once," she deflated—"but don't expect me to make a habit of it! You've got a responsibility to others too, Emiya-kun!"
(In the background, Archer uncomfortably averted his eyes.
Please, don't remind me…)
"Heh heh… I'll try to remember that."
"Wait, what!? Say that again!?"
The four out-of-worlders turned back toward their colorful companions, Tails and Amy's eyes now impossibly wide.
Rin and Archer, curious, started paying closer attention to them—
—and what they were discussing proceeded to blow them away.
"Eggman's rigged this place to blow up," Sonic repeated his explanation, "and we've only got a few minutes left before the explosions go off! We gotta get off this soon-to-be deathtrap, and fast!"
"The island's gonna explode!?" Rin screamed, reeling back hard.
You've got to be kidding me! Is Dr. Eggman really willing to go to such lengths, just to do—whatever it is he and Caster are trying to do…!?
Her red-clad Servant was similarly in shock, images of a nuclear meltdown flashing through his mind.
Ugh, and we've only just gotten back together, too…! At this point, there's nothing we can do to stop this.
Like that hedgehog said, we have to go!
"Rin, now would be a good time to get on Tails' mech!" he yelled, gritting his teeth.
"I'm—I'm on it!" she scrambled into the second cockpit, strapping on the seat belt right as Tails set the Cyclone to transform back into the Tornado III. Archer's platform jutted out of its rear, too, and everyone prepared to grab their seat and flee the military base.
And then they ran into a critical problem:
"Wait, how are we all supposed to fit on the Tornado?" Shirou asked.
Everyone's brains blanked for a second as they tried to puzzle out a solution.
"Shirou, Rin! You two sit together!" Sonic suggested, thinking fast. "Saber, Archer, you both take that mini-aircraft—and me and Amy can sit on the wings!"
"Wha—Wha—What!?" the two Masters spluttered, cheeks glowing luminously.
The resident knight took in a breath. "This sounds risky," she said, hopping on her designated vehicle, "but I can tell we don't have a choice."
"I'm having regrets about this already," Archer deadpanned—but he went along with the plan anyway.
Soon enough, the whole crew had found a spot on the plane. It was awkward, sure, and Rin was decidedly not thinking about having to sit on top of Shirou's lap—but it was better than nothing!
"Alright," Sonic said—"hit it, Tails!"
"Hang on tight!"
The engines burst to life, and the Tornado miraculously took off into the sky.
Security Hall – Vault
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Inside a high-security vault, a series of loud impacts bounced off the tightly-sealed entrance.
"Come on…" Rouge hissed—"open up already!"
Being locked in the Security Hall with three of the seven Chaos Emeralds… wasn't exactly the bat girl's idea of a good time.
Alas, G.U.N. had gotten wise to her and Rider's little heist—and now they were stuck inside, waiting for Eggman's bomb to take them and Sakura out. They struggled against the barricade, flinging kicks and chains with everything they had—
—but it was useless.
The door refused to budge a single inch.
The Servant brought her arms down.
"…nothing's working," she said. "This vault's stronger than anything I can throw at it."
"That's just great…!" The jewel thief threw her hands up in the air. "And we've only got one minute left, too!"
She'd tried to radio Shadow again earlier, but she hadn't been able to garner a single reply. At this point, it was safe to say that the trio were screwed—epically so.
With her back to the wall literally and metaphorically, Sakura could no longer hold it in anymore.
"I… I…! I can't do this anymore!" she cried, voice rising hysterically. She closed her eyes and clutched her hand to her heads. "We're going to die! We're going to die here, all alone, and there's nothing we can do! It's over!"
Rouge and Rider looked at the poor girl, concern written all over their faces.
Is this really it…? the seductive duo thought. Is this… all we can do?
Neither of them could muster up an answer.
Luckily, though… they didn't need to.
The vault door was abruptly torn off its hinges, creating this shrill roar that echoed into the trio's ears. They jolted up to see Shadow rushing into the room, joined by Illyasviel and Berserker (the latter of whom was carrying the door in the first place).
00:04:56
"Shadow…!" Rouge called.
"You—You actually came…?" Rider breathed.
00:03:25
There was no more time to lose. The black hedgehog grabbed the Chaos Emeralds off of Rouge and raised one into the air.
00:02:87
"Chaos… CONTROL!"
00:01:71
A bright light picked up within the room. It coalesced into a sphere of energy, growing to surround the six rogues until finally letting loose into a mighty explosion. The six disappeared from the vault—
00:00:00
—and not a moment sooner, the timer finally hit zero.
June 20, 2001 – 12:15 PM
Prison Island
Airspace
Above Prison Island, the air was still.
The sky was blue, the sun was shining; all seemed well.
And then, a loud boom proceeded to rock the isle.
Explosions went off all throughout the military installation, catching all the personnel off-guard. Some were vaporized instantly, others made a valiant attempt at getting away—but ultimately, they all fell victim to the same thing.
From the Iron Gate to the Metal Harbor, no place was safe from Eggman's absurdly powerful payload. Detonation after detonation disrupted the peace—
—and it all culminated in one humongous eruption, engulfing the entire island and sending a shockwave rippling across the ocean.
Barely a few miles out was the Tornado III, flying as fast as it could away from the devastation that had just ensued. The heroes onboard sweated heavily, having escaped by the skin of their teeth.
"Is it… Is it over…?" Rin asked, once everything was quiet for long enough.
"I—I think so…" Amy trailed off.
Everyone—barring Tails, who was still flying the Tornado—turned their heads to look at the remnants of Prison Island. Smoke was covering the entire area, and much of the forest had been scorched away by the fire. Acid was even starting to flow from the facilities, harming whatever was left of the ruined environment.
Sonic grimaced. "Dang… There goes the ecosystem… and everyone on the island…"
"I can't believe this…" Shirou said, his heart clenching. "So much death, so much damage… and for what? What is all this for…?"
And Illya… my sister…
…she's involved in this.
She's willingly involved in this.
She's working with Shadow to cause all this destruction.
And this is worth it, to her.
…why?
Why is she doing this?
Why is she so mad at me and Kiritsugu?
…how can I save her from all the suffering she went through…?
Saber sensed his distress.
"Shirou… Are you…?"
He briefly averted his eyes, before returning his gaze back toward the horizon. "…I'll be fine," he said. "We'll—talk about it later."
"…if you insist."
Archer glanced at both them, then Rin.
She wasn't feeling too hot, either—an abject sense of failure was hovering around her at the sight of the destroyed isle.
…we'll get them, Rin, he assured her. Caster and Eggman—they won't get away with this.
Rin pursed her lips, and nodded.
…thank you, Archer.
"We should reach Central City in about thirty minutes," Tails said, his own tone noticeably subdued. "We'll figure something out from there."
None of the others had anything else to say.
They just accepted the kitsune's words…
…and steeled themselves for the upcoming uphill battle.
Space Colony ARK
Hallway
A tear ripped through the air, and another explosion of light ensued.
And all of a sudden, the Space Colony ARK was no longer unpopulated.
Shadow spawned on the floor, Chaos Emeralds still in hand. He was entirely unfazed by the act of Chaos Control, being the most used to its idiosyncrasies.
Everyone else, on the other hand…
Sakura and Illya fell flat on their faces, as elegant as a flea. Rouge and Rider stumbled a bit, but otherwise managed to stay on their feet.
And then Berserker sent the whole place rumbling with his fall.
Shadow grimaced at the sound.
…I hope nothing came loose because of that.
Thankfully, that was it. The six rogues had made it out of Prison Island, completely unharmed.
Sakura opened her eyes, confused at the lack of fiery pain.
"We're… We're alive…?" she whispered. "We're not dead…?"
Rider went over to her side and helped her to stand up. "Yes, Sakura. We're safe."
A tear went down Sakura's cheek. "Thank… Thank goodness…"
Rouge was also pretty happy, though her nerves was still a fair bit frayed..
"That was quite the close call…" she said. "For a moment, I thought that was the end of us."
Illya laughed. "Gee, you three are hopeless. Getting trapped in a safe and needing us and Berserker to come help… and here I thought you were supposed to be the 'World's Greatest Thief'!"
Berserker grunted, seemingly in agreement.
"Hey, even us treasure hunters can get into trouble sometimes," the bat girl replied. "At least we're all safe and sound now. Right, Shadow—?"
But the aforementioned hedgehog was nowhere to be seen. She turned her head in confusion to see him walking down the hallway, not even courteous enough to hear their collective thanks.
She raised an eyebrow.
"What's up with him…?"
He brought his communicator to his face and activated it.
"This is Shadow speaking," he said. "We've arrived back on the ARK with the three Chaos Emeralds in tow. The mission was a success."
A burst of static came out of it.
"Great work, Shadow!" Eggman's voice crackled back. "Now we have six of the seven Chaos Emeralds! This will be more than enough for our little demonstration!"
Caster's groan flitted through the speaker. "That could've gone more smoothly," she said. "We nearly got held up by that twin-tailed Magus and her new companion. That fox and Archer packs some serious firepower…"
"Ha! They're just a nuisance at best," the mad scientist waved off. "They couldn't stop our plans if they tried." He cleared his throat. "Now, Shadow—Caster and I will be returning to the ARK in a few minutes. Don't go anywhere until then!"
The radio proceeded to cut off, leaving Shadow with only his thoughts.
The memory of Rouge's earlier call hit him again.
'This is Rouge. I've got a small problem—Sakura, Rider, and I got trapped inside the vault, and right after we got the Chaos Emeralds, too!'
She sighed.
'I guess I won't be able to call myself a treasure hunter anymore…'
Sakura's panicked voice had reached his ears then.
'No, no, this—this can't be happening! I—I still haven't—I still have to get back to Shirou—!'
…
…Maria… he thought. What would you have thought of these two? Of Rouge and Sakura?
Would you be proud of me…? That I went back to save them, despite everything…?
…
He kept walking, unsure of how to respond.
…it doesn't matter.
It was for the Chaos Emeralds.
That's why I saved them.
Nothing more, nothing less.
(Of course, he knew in his heart—
…that wasn't true.
Not in the slightest.)
Elsewhere…
Pumpkin Hill
Dilapidated Trail
Lancer frowned.
His gut was acting up for some reason, that familiar yearning for battle once more seeping into his soul.
"Hey, guys…" he began—"do you ever get the feeling that you're currently missing out on something really, really big?"
Knuckles blinked. "Not really, no."
"I… can't say I ever have," Bazett said, equally confused. "Are you… sensing a Servant or something, Lancer?"
"No, no," he replied, "it's just—I'm wondering what all the other Servants are doing while we're out here. I bet they've already gotten into some pretty cool fights…"
(Honestly, he has no idea…)
I was going to include this in the previous chapter, but it was lengthy enough that I'd felt it'd detract from the main draw. Hence, here it is standalone.
I don't have much else to say, aside from the fact that I love writing these characters interacting with one another. Seriously, seeing how they bounce off of each other and the insane things going on is a lot of fun. And I haven't even scratched the surface of Sonic Adventure 2's major plot beats…
(Also—poor Sakura. Nothing just ever goes right for her, huh?)
Well, that's all for now – see you around!
