Can You Feel Life, Movin' Through Your Mind?
Chapter 6
Boss: Suitable Opponent (Round 1)
(Uploaded on January 26, 2021)
Summary: Sonic and Shadow; Tails and Eggman.
Shirou and Illya; Rin and Caster.
Two worlds worth of heroes and villains—
—how will they mix, in this brand-new paradigm?
Notes: Light spoilers for Sonic Adventure below, in the Tails vs. Eggman section.
Team Sonic / Team Shadow
June 19, 2001 – 10:32 PM
Central City
Parking Lot
After a hard-fought battle, the F-6t BIG FOOT finally crashed onto the ground.
Sonic, Shirou, and Saber stood in front of the mech, watching as its G.U.N. pilot scrambled away from the cockpit. Sirens echoed from far away, indicating the impending arrival of reinforcements.
"That was… harder than I expected," Saber stated, returning to a semi-relaxed stance. "Modern-day technology should be weaker than Heroic Spirits on average, and yet…"
"It's gotta be 'cause of those new Chaos Drives, plus Eggman forcing them to up their game," Sonic figured, crossing his arms. "Man, what a total pain in the butt!"
Shirou slouched, sweating profusely from the amount of dodging he'd had to do.
"No kidding…" he said. "If the military's got this type of firepower, then we'd better get the heck outta here. I don't want to be facing more of them, if that's what they're willing to do."
"That'd be a wise decision, I feel," Saber agreed.
Sonic frowned.
…I don't get this.
Even putting aside their dislike of me, there's gotta be a reason why G.U.N.'s so bent on pinning me for this crime.
It can't be Metal Sonic behind this—Eggman hasn't sent him out in years, and everyone would be able to see his robotic nature. So, who…?
Just then, the hedgehog noticed something odd out of the corner of his eye. He glanced back toward the fallen mech—
—and what he saw shocked him beyond belief.
"What…!?"
Shirou and Saber followed his gaze.
"N-No way…!"
"An enemy…!?"
Standing atop the F-6t BIG FOOT was a brand new face: a black hedgehog who looked almost identical to Sonic. He sported red stripes, sharply-curved spines, rocket-powered shoes…
…and most importantly, he was holding up a green gem to the sky, sparkling beneath the city lights.
"It all starts with this," he said—"a jewel containing the ultimate power…"
"That's the—Chaos Emerald!" Sonic exclaimed, jaw dropping.
All this time… it was him who framed me!
That faker…!
"So… this is the imposter behind Sonic's arrest," Saber said. She couldn't help but clench her fists, memories of a familiar knight sprouting in her mind. "I must say, it's uncanny how truly similar in appearance they are."
"And that Chaos Emerald…" Shirou gulped.
Even from here, the Master-Servant duo could sense its limitless energy, emanating at a level the two had scarcely ever seen.
"…calling it a 'miracle gem' is a huge understatement. No wonder everyone wants it so bad…!"
Sonic started to walk forward, raising his voice.
"Now I know what's going on," he declared, locking gazes with his dark counterpart. "The military has mistaken me for the likes of you! So, where do you think you're going with that Emerald?"
He broke into a run, determination present in his glare.
"Say something, you fake hedgehog!"
The black hedgehog spun the Chaos Emerald once in the air, catching it with a dramatic grace.
Two words exited his mouth:
"Chaos Control!"
Streaks of light picked up from around the area and swiftly coalesced toward the gem, forming an enormous green glow that was blinding to look at. Rings of energy circled around the sphere, spinning and spinning until—
—in a bright flash, the hedgehog disappeared.
Shirou and Saber's eyes went wide.
"He's—gone!?" they cried together.
But no, he wasn't.
They quickly whirled to face Sonic, and as it turned out, he was still there—
—he was simply speeding by Sonic's position, the Blue Blur himself barely able to spot this through his enhanced reflexes.
"Wow… he's fast!" Sonic said. And then he noticed his doppelganger standing atop a building—which, while not impossible to reach with speed alone, wasn't exactly an easy feat to accomplish. Unless… "Hey, it's not his speed; he must be using the Chaos Emerald to warp!"
"You can do that!?" Shirou asked, incredulously.
"I guess so—it's news to me, too!"
"Hmph," the black hedgehog hummed. "When I heard there was another hedgehog running around, I just had to come look. I gotta say, you definitely do resemble me—like a reflection of a shadow. Unfortunately… I'm not impressed."
"You fiend…!" Saber readied her invisible blade and attempted a leap toward Sonic's imposter. "You won't get away with this!"
Shirou reached out a hand. "Saber, wait—!"
The other hedgehog smirked, and snapped his fingers.
"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAR!"
A large shadow fell over the swordswoman, and down came a massive gray titan, bearing an equally-massive axe-blade to use against her. Only her long-honed instincts allowed her to block the ambush, sparks flying from the impact.
Her breath hitched. "Berserker…!"
Now it was Sonic's turn to be utterly flabbergasted. He pointed a shaky finger at the Servant, eyes unconsciously drawn to his sheer size and insane amount of muscles.
"B-B-B-Berserker!? You mean, that big guy's a Servant from your world!?"
"Yep," Shirou gulped. "And if he's here, then that means…"
Berserker tore himself away from the arrangement, leaping away to land on the same rooftop Sonic's imposter was on. Coming up from behind him was another face Shirou and Saber knew: a little girl in a violet winter coat, blessed with long white hair and brilliant red eyes.
He took a step back. "…Illya is, too…"
"You curs…" Saber ground out. "Working together to wreak havoc… have you no shame!?"
Illya smiled dissonantly at him. "Hello there, onii-chan. So, this is who you ended up with." She gave Sonic a long lookover. "He's cute, but he's nowhere near as cool as Shadow here."
Sonic growled.
"Let us reintroduce ourselves," she continued, curtsying elegantly. "My name is Illyasviel von Einzbern, Master of Berserker."
"And I'm Shadow the Hedgehog, the world's one and only Ultimate Lifeform."
The child-esque Master tilted her head. "I'd love to stick around and have fun with you three, but we're in a bit of a hurry. So we'll just have to save it for another time!"
Shadow nodded, holding up his Chaos Emerald tauntingly. "There's no time to play games. Farewell!"
In another flash of light, the three rogues disappeared from the scene. The heroes brought up their arms in response, shielding their eyes from the brightness.
"Gah—!" Sonic grunted.
Those two… who are they?
Before he could ruminate on their counterparts more, a series of spotlights proceeded to shine down on them.
"Don't move! Stay where you are! Keep your hands raised above your head, or else!"
"Oh, not again…!" he groaned.
An army of G.U.N. soldiers was surrounding the trio, accompanied by G.U.N. Hunters and Beetles alike—the latter of which were the source of the spotlights. They were armed with guns and riot shields, too—and Sonic knew that they couldn't escape this time.
"There's too many of them," Shirou said, nervously. "Any wrong move, and that's it for us!"
"If only we hadn't gotten sidetracked by Shadow and Illya's appearance," Saber cursed—"then we might've been able to get away in time! As it is now…!"
Sonic shook his head, before reluctantly holding up his hands. "No use crying over spilled milk," he said. "Tails… it's all up to you now."
His two companions followed suit, letting the military squad come closer to take them in. As handcuffs were placed over their wrists, Sonic vowed this—
Shadow… Illya… Berserker…
Next time, we'll get you for sure!
On the outskirts of Central City, three villainous figures warped into an abandoned alleyway.
"Hahahahahahahaha!" Illya was laughing joyously, her spirits lifted as high as could be. "That was amazing! Did ya see the look on everyone's faces? Did ya, did ya?"
"Hmph." Shadow crossed his arms and smirked. "I did. It's hard to forget, given what a spectacle we made."
He wasn't typically one for excessive theatrics, but he did have to admit—there was a bit of amusement to be had, over taunting his duplicate's party so.
They had been thoroughly trounced, humiliated before the fight could even begin. He couldn't have asked for a better result.
"I wish I could've spent more time playing with onii-chan," the homunculus sighed—"but we do have a mission to finish, first." She brought her hands together, and smiled menacingly. "Oh well. I'll get him, sooner or later. Prison won't keep him away from me for long."
Berserker nodded in agreement. If ordered to, there really would be nothing to stop him from going after Shirou.
That was… admittedly a little creepy, but it's not like Shadow particularly cared one way or the other what happened to him.
(He hurt Illya, knowingly or otherwise.
She wouldn't deny him her revenge.)
She turned to Shadow, curiosity glimmering in her eyes. "Say, by the way—what was with that hedgehog? He looks so much like you…"
The aforementioned hedgehog hummed.
It really was odd. There were countless Mobians on the planet, with quite a number of shared appearance and abilities between some of them—and yet, as far as he could tell, Sonic was the only hedgehog of his type: faster than the speed of sound, and seeming like a distortion of the Ultimate Lifeform.
It can't be coincidence that he exists alongside me – especially with what I've heard of him.
He had said he wasn't impressed by him, but still… something about the hedgehog bothered him.
"It might be a coincidence. It might not be. It doesn't matter." Shadow leaned back, putting it out of his mind. "We have our Chaos Emerald, and if G.U.N. wishes to pin Sonic down instead of us, then that's fine by me."
He cast Illya an oddly warm smile. "Now, it's time to get to our next destination. Remember how I mentioned the Space Colony ARK?"
"Space Colony…" Her eyes instantly lit up. "Wait, don't tell me—! We're actually gonna get to see a real, actually-functioning space station!?"
Shadow chuckled.
For all that she acted like a grown-up… her sense of childish wonder hadn't left her yet.
She really is like Maria, deep down.
Berserker seemed pleased by this development, too—Shadow thought it heartwarming, knowing that she had at least one ally on her side beyond him.
"With the power of Chaos Control, there's no limits to where we can go. Even space is nothing on my reserves. Shall I prove it to you?"
Her sparkling visage told him her answer. "Yes, please!"
"Very well. You're in for a treat."
He held the Chaos Emerald up, called out "Chaos Control!" as usual—and just like that, the trio had completely vanished, as if they had never even been in the alleyway.
Team Tails / Team Eggman
June 20, 2001 – 11:56 AM
Prison Island
Weapons Bed – Aircraft Carrier
Mayhem was erupting from all over the Weapons Bed.
Several of the aircraft carriers were on fire, explosions ringing out from just about everywhere. A lot of the G.U.N. robots—be them Hunters or Hornets or whatever else—were laying destroyed on the runways, causing no shortage of panic to whichever personnel had the misfortune to be present on this day.
"Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho ho!" Eggman cackled in delight, his glasses glinting as he basked in his hard work. "And there goes the neighborhood! Those G.U.N. soldiers will be too distracted to detect our presence now."
"That's… certainly not wrong," Caster said.
She would've expected this level of destruction from Berserker and her Master, but… most of this had come from the doctor in his miniature mech alone.
Caster and Assassin had barely needed to help.
If nothing else, his dedication to his goals are something worth appreciating, she thought. I just hope he doesn't turn that dedication back on me.
"Wow, you're really good at this, Dr. Eggman!" Illya beamed. "Don't get me wrong, Berserker can do better any day—but it's a good effort either way!"
Eggman preened. "Hmph! When you've been in this business for as long as I have, destruction like this becomes second nature." (In the background, Sakura shifted uncomfortably.) "But enough of that!"
He turned to face the crowd in front of him, all of whom were split up into three groups: Shadow, Illya, and Berserker; Rouge, Sakura, and Rider—and finally, there was him, Caster and Assassin.
This would be his greatest operation yet—and he wouldn't get any second chances if they failed now.
"Shadow, Rouge, all of you!" he called. "Are you ready for this?"
Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Of course."
"Do you have to ask?" Illya laughed.
Berserker growled gutturally.
Rouge winked. "Ready when you are, doctor."
Sakura took in a breath. "Y-Yeah. We sure are…"
Rider frowned, barely bothering with a grunt.
"As if I could back out at this stage," Caster said.
"I'm bound by her law," Assassin shrugged, "so whatever."
Eggman grinned.
"Excellent! It's time to get on with the show. All units, move ou—!"
"Sonic!"
And then, a pink blur abruptly slammed into Shadow.
The black hedgehog froze, two arms wrapping around him in an affectionate hug.
What the—?
"Oh, Sonic! I thought I'd never see you again! I'm so glad you're okay!"
That was—a voice. A girl's voice.
Giving him a hug for the first time since Maria.
What—What do I do? Do I even say anything?
This doesn't feel that bad, but—
Maria, help me—!
Much of the gathered cast looked at the pink intruder—Amy Rose—with one of three emotions: confusion, annoyance, or amusement.
"My, my—how interesting," Rouge said, stifling her laughter.
"Ooh, who's this?" Illya piped up. "Another nuisance we have to get rid of?"
Caster brought out her arms, hands glowing with magic. "A cute hedgehog, hmm…? I think I've found myself a nice doll to dress."
Amy broke out of her trance, catching a glimpse of who exactly she was embracing.
Wait a minute… black spines…?
She jumped away, startled by Shadow's appearance. "Hey, you're not Sonic! Who are you!?"
Eggman stepped menacingly toward her.
"I'm the one who should be asking the questions here!"
"D-Dr. Eggman!?"
It was then that Amy realized what kind of predicament she was in. She looked up and spotted nine pairs of eyes on her, each with a different kind of expression.
Illyasviel's innocent sadism—
Berserker's red-hot glare and bulk—
Caster's mystical menace—
Rider's silent, but deadly beauty—
Shadow and Sakura's confusion—
And most dangerous of all, Eggman's merciless aura, radiating a level of callousness that was as frightening as ever.
To say any of these faces were even close to being on her side would be… extremely disingenuous, at best.
And she knew it.
"Why, hello there!" Assassin waved.
"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!"
In panic, the pink hedgehog backed away and took off in the opposite direction from them.
"Hey, don't run!" Illya pouted—"We're not ruffians or anything!"
"Grrrr…! What terrible timing!" Eggman groused. He briefly turned toward his allies. "Leave her to me and Caster! You six go on ahead! Remember your mission!"
Shadow shook his head, bringing himself to his senses.
"Come on, Illya," he said, "we have to get going."
"Fine… but we're heading to find onii-chan soon after!"
The two squadrons disassembled and broke toward their respective destinations, leaving Eggman, Caster, and Assassin behind to take care of the unexpected gatecrasher.
I can't believe this! Amy was thinking, running toward the edge of the airstrip. Dr. Eggman, here!? And working together with so many people!?
I can't handle them all alone…! I've gotta get out of here and find Sonic!
But she soon found her escape cut off by an impassible ocean, wherein the next visible piece of terrain was a fair distance away.
"Oh no…" she muttered. This is bad!
She nervously turned around to see Eggman stomping toward her, tailed by two of his newest associates.
"Prepare yourself, Amy!" he declared, aiming his Volkan Cannon at her.
"You're quite the stellar catch," Caster said, a sinister smile on her lips. "I'm gonna have a lot of fun with you after we capture you."
"Don't take it too hard," Assassin quipped—"we don't have anything against you! You're just in the way."
Amy got out her Piko-Piko Hammer, holding it defensively against the trio of diabolical masterminds (well, duo plus a lackey).
"S-Stay back!" she said. "I'm warning you!"
Close by in the air, Team Tails had caught sight of the villainous trio approaching on Amy.
"That's Amy," Tails noted—"and Eggman, too! What's she doing here!?"
Rin's breath hitched. "It's not just him…! Look! That's Caster and Assassin, standing by his side!"
"That's strange," Archer said—"a Servant like her shouldn't be taking such a course…"
As far as the bowman remembered, Caster preferred to stick around her established playfield—back in Fuyuki, that was Ryuudou Temple. And Assassin wasn't supposed to be able to leave the temple's gates, either.
So for the both of them to be out here like this…
…I don't like this. We have to act, fast!
He stood up. "Tails! I think we need to make an intervention!"
"Gotcha!" The kitsune pressed a few buttons on his control panel, a determined look on his face. "You might went get off, Archer—I won't be able to carry you after this!"
The Servant acquiesced, leaping of the platform he was on and landing comfortably on the aircraft carrier.
Rin looked at Tails, unsure of what he was planning. "Tails, what do you mean by that? Are—Aren't we gonna land and help him?"
"I'll do you one better: we're gonna take the fight to them ourselves! Watch this! Activating Cyclone mode… now!"
"Wh-Whoa!"
The monoplane began to transform before Rin's eyes. She watched in awe as its rear and wings were retracted, as was the 'passenger seat' that Archer had been using. A short time later, the aircraft had become a bipedal mech, sporting an engine beneath its two cockpits.
No way…! A plane that can become a walker!? That's—
…as much as I hate to admit it, that's not a bad idea.
I can still totally do better than that…
The newly-identified Cyclone crashed onto the ground, standing squarely against Eggman's little entourage.
Amy looked visibly relieved. "Tails! Boy, am I glad to see you!"
"Get down, Amy! We've got this!" Tails told her.
"We?" Amy repeated, eyes darting back and forth between the girl in his spare cockpit and the red-clad guardian beside them. "Hey, who are those two?"
Naturally, Eggman wasn't pleased by this turn of events.
"You…!" he snarled. "Trying to get in my way again, Tails!?"
"I knew you were up to something bad, Eggman!" Tails said. "You're the one who framed Sonic for all those crimes, aren't you!?"
"Framed him? Ha! I didn't need to do a thing to get that pesky rodent out of the way!" he boasted. "G.U.N. was all too happy to do that themselves!"
Rin slammed a palm on her fist, clearly incensed. "And I bet the fact that it obfuscated your movements was just a convenient side-effect, wasn't it?" she rhetorically stated.
The mad scientist raised an eyebrow at her presence, before sharply grinning in recognition. "What's this? A little girl come out to play—and with a babysitter, too?" Rin and Archer narrowed their eyes, the former in agitation. "Ha! You should just go home—it's dangerous outside of your parents' house, you know."
He sneered.
"I'll give you three one chance to surrender before things get dicey. You don't want to cross me now, Tails, not when I've got—"
"—Mages and Servants on your side, right?" the kitsune finished, rhetorically. "Yeah, I think I can tell."
"We're not gonna listen to someone like you!" Rin shouted. "You think just 'cause you've got Servants means that you're invincible…!? Fat chance!"
"So be it. Caster! Assassin! Take care of the rabble!" Eggman put on his goggles, Volkan Cannon ready to fire. "I'll deal with Tails."
"It'll be my pleasure," Caster crooned.
"If our esteemed leader insists," Assassin chimed.
The two split from the doctor's side; Caster immediately targeting Amy, Assassin happily prancing toward Archer. Rin swore under her breath, her hands moving to unlatch her seatbelt.
"Tails, I'm going to help that pink girl!" she said. "You can handle this madman, right?"
"No worries. My Cyclone's built for all kinds of things. I'll be fine with just me!"
"Good." The Tohsaka heir took in a breath before taking off. "Alright, Caster… I'm coming for you!"
With their allies divided into dueling sub-groups, Archer engaging Assassin as per his request, Tails and Eggman were left alone to clash in the middle of the aircraft carrier.
"I won't let you get away, Eggman!" Tails asserted. "You're going down!"
"Give it your best shot, fox boy," Eggman retorted. "Killing you will be my pleasure!"
Rin skid to a stop in front of Amy, naturally putting herself right inside Caster's line of sight.
"So nice to see you again, Master of Archer," the ancient mage drawled. "I see we're not the only ones who've partnered up with this planet's natives. Needed a replacement for that naïve boyfriend of yours?"
"Caster," Rin growled, cheeks flushed thoroughly red. "I should've known it was too much to expect you to be gone. Where's your Master? Don't tell me you've gotten rid of him already for Eggman?"
A vein popped on Caster's head.
"Don't you dare insinuate that I'd do such a thing to him!" she suddenly hissed. "He's just—he's simply not here right now, th-that's all!"
…hmm? the Magus blinked. She's more defensive about that than I expected.
They must've gotten separated during the warp to Mobius somehow—but then, how is she still…?
"Hey, can somebody tell me what's going on here!?" Amy cut in, hopelessly lost. "Who are you!? Where'd you all come from!?"
Rin turned to her and gave the simplest explanation she could muster. "I'm Rin Tohsaka, that's Caster, we're both magic-users from another world, and I'm helping Tails break Sonic out of prison."
Thankfully, it seemed that was enough to pacify the pink hedgehog. "Wait—magic-users? You mean, like tarot cards, spells, familiars, rituals—"
"Everything except tarot cards, yes," the Magus swiftly interjected. Why is that her first guess—?
"Don't try to conflate my magic with your degraded variant," Caster sneered. "I am a stronger sorcerer than you will ever be. If you believe your skills are in any way a match for mine…"
She leaped backward and raised her hand, bringing forth a horde of Dragon Tooth Warriors to surround Rin and Amy. They jumped in from all about, making both heroes sweat as they gripped their respective tools—a series of gems for Rin, a Piko-Piko Hammer for Amy.
"…then let's see if you can handle this!"
"Wah!? These aren't anything like Badniks!" Amy yelped.
Rin scoffed at the sight.
"Hmph! I may not be a Magus from the Age of the Gods, but I'm not about to get brought down by a bunch of familiars!" She pointed a finger at the Servant with her other hand. "Bring it on!"
"Overconfident, are we? I'll make sure to break that spirit before long!"
The resident hammer wielder sweatdropped.
Mages…? Eggman? Skeletons?
This is not what I expected when I got 'you'll meet some very interesting people' in my reading today!
On the other end of the spectrum, there was Archer and Assassin.
Their blades sang in the daylight, a hurricane of battle erupting on the airstrip.
"Long time no see, Archer," the samurai jovially stated. "It's been a while since our last meeting."
"Assassin," Archer said. "You're a sight for sore eyes." He swiveled Kanshou and Bakuya around, stoically baring into his opponent. "How are you here? I was under the impression you were bound to a single location."
"Beats me," Assassin nonchalantly replied. "Last thing I remember was a flash of light, and then we were just dropped in front of Dr. Eggman, myself free to move without any mana." He let loose another flurry of strikes, forcing the red-clad Servant on the backfoot.
"I don't mind too much, so far. I've got the chance to stretch my legs, and even fight a few more Servants. All I need's Saber, and then I'll be golden."
"She's in jail right now, but I don't think she'd be too remiss to you showing up," Archer deadpanned.
Damn… of course my foe is the one Servant I barely got to face beforehand.
Unbound from his previous restrictions, and working alongside both Caster and Eggman—
Why does life have to get harder every time I think I've got a handle on things?
His task for this summons should've been simple: fight as Rin's Servant, and win her the Holy Grail.
It shouldn't have involved mascot heroes, or insane scientists, or military conspiracies—and certainly not Masters and Servants existing in tandem in said insane scientist!
At this point, their little impromptu battlefield had become extremely crowded. Skeletal creatures were roaming the runway; Tails and Eggman were firing volleys of stray shots; there was Rin and Amy and Caster to think about—
The longer this goes on, the more we run at risk of wearing ourselves out before we can break our allies out.
I'm gonna need to pull out a few stops for this…
He clipped his lip, and broke away from his and Assassin's arrangement. A bow was traced into his hand, followed by him putting a twisted spiral sword into its string.
"Oh?" Assassin raised his eyebrow. "That's a rather strange bow and sword. What does it do, I wonder?"
He reeled it back, aiming toward the horde surrounding his Master and her current ally.
"My core is twisted in madness."
Explosions lit up the carrier, blowing back several of the Dragon Tooth Warriors.
The arena had gotten more chaotic than ever—but that was of no consequence to Tails and Eggman.
Both of their respective walkers ran about on the airstrip, Volkan Cannons firing almost non-stop at one another.
They were determined to stop the other from interfering, however they had to go about doing that.
Plasma balls soared through the air.
Some shots hit; others didn't.
Some shots were dodged; others were tanked.
The fight wore on and on, seconds ticking away and feeling like minutes.
Eventually, a realization hit:
They were too evenly matched, and they both knew it.
"Stand still and give up already, you little fox!"
"No way! I'm not gonna lose here—not to you!"
Eggman got in close and hit Tails with his spring-loaded Boxing Glove, sending the Cyclone gliding back a couple yards.
"You're just a kid!" he growled. "You couldn't beat me in a million years, even if I let my guard down!"
"Oh yeah?" Tails glared, taking aim and striking him with another Homing Shot. "If that's the case, then how did I stop you from detonating that missile in Station Square?"
The doctor banged his control panel at that unpleasant reminder.
Grrrr…! You win once as a fluke, and you think that makes you worthy to face me…!?
You're nothing to me, Tails. Nothing!
He looked down at his watch.
The minute hand was rapidly approaching that of noontime.
I don't have time for this.
As much as I would love to get that fox and his new friends out of the way, the military will only be distracted for so long.
It's time to make a strategical retreat!
"Caster! Assassin! Call off the attack!" he barked. "We have other business to get to, and no time to waste!"
Tails' eyes widened a little, as did Rin's and Amy's.
Caster grunted and leaped away, her skeletal familiars following in her wake.
Assassin gave out an apologetic wave to Archer before doing the same.
Eggman levied a harsh look on his nemesis's sidekick.
"We'll call this a draw for now," he said, his tone low and deadly. "I'll let you go this time… but the next time we meet, you won't be so lucky!"
His Egg Walker stalked off after the two Servants, leaving the remaining heroes to regroup and recuperate from the encounter.
If Tails' glare could pierce hearts, Eggman would probably be blown to pieces right about now.
But alas, that's not what happened—
And now our plucky quartet had a new problem to contend with.
"That was… not at all what I expected," Rin panted, wiping her forehead. "I knew Caster was a bitch, but to team up with Dr. Eggman…"
"We're lucky they decided to leave first," Archer said. "We already have too much to deal with as it is."
"Tell me about it," Tails frowned.
I want to go and figure out what he's up to… but rescuing Sonic takes priority.
As soon as Sonic's out, all bets are off!
"Wow, you three were awesome!"
And then they remembered that Amy was on the aircraft carrier with them.
The trio turned to face the perky hedgehog, who was gleefully retelling their deeds in excitement.
"You had the exploding gems, he had the exploding sword, Tails had the destruction mech—you all really showed that mean Dr. Eggman who's boss!"
Rin grinned pridefully. She put her hands to her hips and said, "Well, I am a first-class Magus! Performing Jewelcraft like that is child's play to me."
"Why'd you come to this island, though?" Tails asked. "It's dangerous—and last I checked, you didn't have a walker or a stealth engine to protect you!"
She closed her hands and brought them together. "I came here to save my darling Sonic, of course!"
I dunno why I expected anything else, the kitsune internally sighed.
"And it's not like it was that hard to get here. I just grabbed a big balloon—y'know, like the ones from Twinkle Park—and floated all the way here!"
The three's jaws dropped like a stone. "What!?"
"But that doesn't make any sense," Archer complained. "The military would shoot you out of the sky long before you'd manage to land!"
"Like it or not, that's the way I got in," Amy affirmed. "The power of love knows no bounds!"
She slung her Piko-Piko Hammer over her shoulder. "You guys are here to save Sonic too, right? Lemme help! If Eggman's planning something, then you're gonna need all the help you can get!"
…do we have to? Archer internally communicated.
Shush, Archer! Rin replied. She's right. She is already here, so it's not like we can get rid of her.
A sigh. I suppose you have a point.
"You're not gonna say no, are you…?" Tails slouched. "Fine, you can follow us. Just don't get in our way!"
"Yay!" the pink hedgehog cheered. "I promise you guys—you won't regret this!"
"I hope you're right…" Rin stated. "I don't want Shirou and Saber to stay here any longer if I can help it. I hope your hammer's good enough to break through all the security!"
"Like Tails and I aren't?" her Servant snarked.
And here's the rest of the rival encounter snippets I was writing.
A few notes, for both sections:
Team Sonic vs. Team Shadow: Not a whole lot of tweaking was needed for this scene. All I had to do was retrofit the Fate characters in, and it basically wrote itself. I decided to take a few cues from Sonic X's version of it, too, just to add some more flavor. The scene also makes a little more sense this way, in my opinion (why does Shadow greet Sonic in canon, again?).
I also threw in an extra scene with Shadow and Illya. It's mostly here to fluff the word count, I'll admit, but it's fun either way.
Team Tails vs. Team Eggman: The dialogue for this scene was essentially written from whole cloth, given how abrupt the beginning of the first Tails vs. Eggman confrontation was. Which is fine by me; it's a good excuse to get some more practice writing everyone.
Seeing as how this chapter is already a bit longer than expected, I decided to cut back on the combat this time around. But don't worry… next chapter'll make up for it in spades.
Well, that's all for now – tune in next time for Tails & Rin vs. Eggman, round 2!
