"Well, this is bringing back bad memories". Sonic tried to quip, but it felt like ash in his mouth. "...Its to late to save them, isn't it?".
"...Their lifeforce is completely drained, even if we could reverse the petrification process, they'd just fall over as lifeless corpses, their souls already moved on". Olga swallowed thickly, staring at the dozens of stone statues, petrified humans, across the area. "Kyrielight, chances of a Servant doing this are-".
"95% percent, petrification on this scale, there's only one figure I can think of who can do this". Mash looked nervous, her grip on her shield tight as she looked around. "Medusa, the fallen goddess who became a monster".
"Of all the Heroic Spirits... We'll have to move quickly, if we get caught we're dead". Olga was cursing her luck mentally, and before that blasted Hedgehog could say anything, she quickly began to explain. "Medusa has the Mystic Eyes Cybele, which allow her to petrify anything she looks at. Add onto that, she's a slayer of heroes, a goddess who fed on the blood of mortals and became a demonic beast".
"A god huh... And me without the Chaos Emeralds". Sonic tsked, he had no idea how powerful gods were here, sure he could fight a rampaging Perfect Chaos, but he didn't like his chances against something like Dark Gaia or... Solaris. "Considering the city isn't completely destroyed, I'm guessing she's on the lower end?".
"Unsure, the fact a Holy Grail War is still ongoing is disturbing enough, we have no idea if the Servants have been changed or what class we're dealing with...". Mash looked nervous, they had no chance against a genuine Divine Spirit.
Sonic nodded, taking in the information. Looking across the stone statues, his frown remained, and...
That feeling of being watched was getting worst.
"Classes? Roman explained what Servants are, but he never mentioned classes". Sonic asked, causing both girls to frown and Fou to let out an annoyed 'Kyu!'.
"Summoning a full Heroic Spirit is impossible, instead a Servant is only a piece of their legend, placed into a Cass container. In a Holy Grail War, there are seven ordinary Classes: Saber, the Heroic Spirit of the sword. Lancer, Heroic Spirit of polearms. Archer, Heroic Spirit of the bow. Rider, Heroic Spirit of the mount. Caster, Heroic Spirit of magecraft. And finally, Berserker, Heroic Spirit of Madness". Olga explained, hoping this information would make the hedgehog actually LISTEN to her.
"The Extra Classes are mostly unknown, Chaldea only has two on file, Avenger, Heroic Spirit of revenge, and Ruler, Heroic Spirit of arbitration... And I suppose Shielder now as well". Mash frowned, worried about her unknown Class. "There are likely more, but these are the only ones Chaldea is aware of".
"So ten classes... Heh, wonder how many I qualify for?". Sonic mused, happy to change the topic as he noticed his companions relaxing, sending less fearful glances to the statues they were passing by. "Saber and Rider for sure, never done any magic myself so-".
"Can you please stop calling it magic!? Its magecraft!". Olga's eye was twitching, but the hedgehog just steam-rolled past her.
"-I could probably qualify for Archer if any range attack counts... Berserker and Avenger seem more Shadow's thing then mine". Sonic frowned again, a certain memory coming to mind. "...No, there is a way I could qualify for Avenger or Berserker as well, but I'll be happy to never see those World Rings again...".
"World Rings, Senpai?". Mash was curious about the unknown term, and as Sonic opened his mouth to reply-
A shooting star was unleashed.
What happened next was a blur of movement to anyone else, but to Sonic? The world became crystal clear. A red blur crossed the sky, and he moved. Grabbing onto Mash and Olga's hands, he shot to the left, he had no idea how devastating this attack would be, so he only stopped once he was a few streets away and-
BOOOM!
"W-what the hell was that?!". Olga shook from both the sudden movement and explosion, staring in horror at the crater in the distance.
"An Archer! Senpai more attacks will be coming!". Mash was tensed, looking around for where more attacks could come from.
"No". Sonic rejected the Shielder's thoughts calmly, he already knew what that arrow really was for. "It wasn't an attack...
It was a beacon for our location".
Scrrrrrkkkk...
The sound of something metal scraping against the floor reached their ears, and Sonic suddenly blurred in front of Olga to kick a chain out of the way. More launched forward, but with hyper-speed Sonic kicked and punched each of them away, dropping to the ground before Olga as the chains retracted.
Jumping down from a nearby building, Sonic finally got a look at a true Servant.
He hadn't expected her to look so... Human. Wearing a black cloak that was torn at the edges, pale skin, yellow eyes, and long pale purple hair. She was wearing what seem to be some kind of bodysuit over her stomach and chest, but left her legs completely bare, with red tattoos going up her left leg.
...And a part of her hair was shifted into the chains that had just tried to kill Olga, reverting to ordinary hair.
Medusa Alter, a corrupted form of the Rider Servant Medusa. Her stoic nature has been replaced by sadism and bloodlust, fitting of a monster of legend.
Her Mystic Eyes of Petrification can turn anything organic to stone, and anything non-organic into sludge. She wields the scythe Harpe, able to kill even immortals.
"Fresh blood... Two girls and a chimera". The woman who could only be Medusa licked her lips. "Archer was so cruel, destroying my statues, but he also led me to some lovely new ones".
"...You are sick lady". Sonic began to stretch, a cocky grin on his face compared to the terrified looks on Olga and Mash's. "Hey girls, let me deal with this!".
"ARE YOU INSANE! SHE'S A GODDESS!". Olga screamed at the hedgehog. "Mash! Even if its dangerous, you have to fight!".
"Y-yes Director! I'll fight with you, Senpai!". Mash was scared, the skeletons were nothing compared to a genuine Heroic Spirit. She was pale as she stared at Medusa, the bloodlust coming off her was insane!
"Hey, it'll be alright...". The Shielder blinked as Sonic turned to face her, a confident grin on his face and his green eyes filled with life. "Give me three minutes and she'll be down".
The hedgehog gave her a thumps up, and suddenly Mash fell to her knees in both relief and disgust. She... She was scared, she had never been in a serious fight to the death before, the skeletons had been easily dealt with, but an actual Servant?
It was to much, to much for her to handle.
"Your actually going try fighting me yourself? If you want to die...". Medusa's eyes began to glow, screams forming in Mash and Olga's throat for Sonic to dodge. "I'll gladly help you-".
THUMP!
Eyes widened in shock as Sonic's foot slammed into Medusa's chin, sending her flying into the air before he curled into a ball and shot at her! She regained herself quickly, trying to swipe Harpe at the incoming hedgehog only for him to uncurl and deliver a kick that sent her slamming into the ground.
Shooting out of the smoke as a blur Medusa swiped her scythe at Sonic, but the speedster danced around her attack, kicking her scythe away and delivering a punch to her stomach that had her coughing up spite. Growling she tried activating her Mystic Eyes, confident she'd turn this annoyance into dust-
Only for her eyes to be worthless on the afterimage and for Sonic to be behind her in the air, kicking repeatedly and sending blue blades of Chaos Energy and wind towards the Rider. Medusa's eyes widened and chains emerged from her hair to take the brunt of the damage, but a few got through and left her with wounds across her body.
Growling she rushed at Sonic, she just needed to hit him yet he somehow kept avoiding her!
"HOW THE HELL AREN'T YOU TURNING TO STONE?!". Medusa let out a roar as she swung her scythe down again, Sonic rolling to the side to dodge it and ending with Harpe stuck in the ground. "Even if you have Magic Resistance, you should be showing some effects! A slow down of speed at least!".
"Guess I'm just to incredible for ya, huh snaky?". Sonic gave a mocking grin, the fallen goddess let out another roar and rushed at him- "Sonic Boom!".
Curling into a ball and glowing with a blue aura of Chaos Energy, Sonic shot forward and slammed into Medusa's stomach, pushing back and eventually slamming into and through a building! Leaping back as the building collapsed, he waited to see if she'd get back up.
He blinked in confusion when golden sparks rose from the rubble before floating over to him, before a green glow came from under his glove, he pulled it back to see the orb on Chip's Bracelet was glowing, and the golden sparks were then absorbed into it, the glow dying down.
"Okaaay? Not sure what that was, but I'm taking that as she's returned to that Throne of Heroes thing". And he now had a LOT of questions for why Chip's Bracelet had done that. Putting on a grin, he began to approach Mash and Olga. "So ladies, what'dya think? Did I blow your socks off?".
"Y-you, how... She was a Servant, a goddess...". Olga was stuttering, her beliefs had been completely shattered. Sonic was meant to just be a cocky creature, he wasn't meant to be someone that could fight Servants!
"A-amazing Senpai, I could barely move from her aura and you toyed with Medusa...". Mash was amazed, her Senpai really was amazing! "But, what's that bracelet? Why did it absorb mana from Medusa?".
Sonic opened his mouth to respond, but someone beat him to it.
"A Divine Construct, can't say I expected to see a Phantasmal running around with one of them". An unknown male voice spoke, and the hedgehog instantly turned around to face the approaching figure, red eyes meeting green, one with a barely restrained battle hunger and the other with tension and excitement. "Seeing you defeat Rider like that... Honestly, I want to take a crack at you myself".
"Why can't we have a moment of peace?". Olga bemoaned, shuddering from the tension and bloodlust in the air.
A bow was aimed, ready to fire, yet...
He lowered his bow, remembering the Phantasmal's speed. It had reacted to his arrow with ease, Hrunting could work, but his instincts were screaming it was a bad idea.
"Who is that Phantasmal...?". He asked himself, it had looked like a humanoid hedgehog, but he had never heard of something like that. And its speed. "Medusa had A Rank Agility, but that thing was running circles around her, she was berserk sure but even so her speed shouldn't have been that outmatched".
Archer frowned, he didn't know who these intruders were, but it didn't matter.
For Saber, he had to stop them.
The human girl wasn't a threat, the Shielder seemed completely unused to combat even with that shield... But the hedgehog was dangerous, he'd never lost control over the situation, and with Lancer (Or rather, Caster now) likely joining up with them, that was two opponents of great skill he'd need to face.
Still...
"What the hell happened with Medusa and that bracelet?". He cursed the fact he was to far away to analyze whatever that bracelet was, but it was clearly more then a fashion accessory. "A Noble Phantasm? Mystic Code? What is it?".
He didn't know, and that worried him more then anything. A lack of information was a greater killer then any poison.
Sonic took in the new Servant, at least he was fairly certain the guy was a Servant. He didn't really pay attention to it before but Servants had a sort of presence to them.
He had blue hair that got longer in the back, pale skin, red eyes, and wore a sky-blue cloak over a gray skintight suit that covered his chest and arms, his lower body near completely covered by the white and sky-blue cloak. In his hand he carried a wooden staff.
It wasn't his appearance that had Sonic expecting a fight, it was the sheer bloodlust coming off him.
Cu Chulainn, Irelands Child of Light and legendary slayer of armies. Usually he would manifest as a Lancer class Servant with his spear Gae Bulg, but here he has manifested as a Caster.
His speciality is his Rune magecraft, which many call the codes to reality.
"You wanna go as well? I'm always up for some more fun". Sonic grinned, and the Servant's bloodlust spiked for a moment, causing his companions to flinch back. "But I'm warning ya, that stick won't last long".
"Oh you really are a cocky bastard, in any other situation I'd take you up on that offer... But currently, city's a bit to fucked up for that". Cu looked annoyed as his aura of bloodlust faded away. "That was pretty impressive, Rider may have gone mad but she was still a powerful Servant, yet you toyed with her like she was an amateur".
"I've fought way worst then her, and those eyes really weren't as effective as everyone kept saying". Sonic taped his foot against the ground, looking bored. "I'm just gonna skip all this smack talk, you an enemy or an ally?".
Sonic himself would love to keep bantering, but Olga and Mash weren't looking great.
"If your trying to resolve this distortion, then ally". The Servant introduced himself. "Servant Caster, Cu Chulainn, Ireland's Child of Light".
"C-cu Chulainn!? As in the same legendary warrior who trained under Scáthach, the Queen of Shadows!? Son of the god Lugh?". Mash seemed amazed to be meeting such a legendary warrior, but to Sonic she was just throwing names around.
"You got that right missy!... Although, I'm not much of a warrior right now, freaking Caster class". Cu took in Mash, his face gaining a smirk as he admired her. "Very nice, great tits and ass".
"B-buh!?". A crimson Mash appeared!
Sonic tossed a stone at Cu's leg, the Caster barely avoiding it and giving him a glare.
"C-caster! If your really a Servant of this Holy Grail War, what happened? How did the city end up like this?". Olga demanded, finally shaking out of her shock.
"Hmmm... Well, I suppose it all started pretty normal. Fights were happening, but we had avoided any mass destruction... Then something went wrong, the Holy Grail manifested and began leaking out this black mud, Saber got consumed by it and came out...". Cu paused for a moment, trying to think of a way to describe the changed Servant. "Different, corrupted. She started fighting everyone else, and as they fell they got corrupted to, some of them reduced to mere shadows of what they were, while some like Rider and Archer became like Saber. I'm the last surviving Servant who's not been corrupted".
"Corruption huh... This is really reminding me of a past adventure now". Sonic looked to his wrist with Chip's Bracelet, reaching down to pull it out from under his glove and rest on his wrist, eyes drawn to it.
"And you! What the hell is that bracelet?! Is... Is it really a Divine Construct?". Olga couldn't believe it, surely Caster must have been joking, she couldn't feel anything from the strange looking accessory.
"No idea what those are so can't tell you". Sonic replied, and Mash spoke up to explain.
"Divine Constructs are weapons or objects created by gods, Senpai".
"Gods huh... I guess Chip could be considered a god? I honestly just consider him a friend but there are a few religions based around him". Sonic had never really considered Chip a god, but he supposed the positive side of the planet could be called a god. "No idea what it did with Medusa though, its not done anything since Chip left it to me before falling back to sleep".
"Can't help you there, I can only tell its a Divine Construct, its got a lot of energy in there but that's about it". Cu scratched as his chin, trying to figure it out. "I'm a Caster sure, but I'm a warrior first and a druid second".
"Senpai is friends with a god... That's really incredible". Mash could hardly believe it, she had accepted Sonic's worlds was vastly different, but to be friends with a god?
Olga sighed, rubbing her hand across her face. Why couldn't things go back to making sense? She'd even take Wodime and Romani at this point! Still, getting Da Vinci to study a genuine divine artifact could give her more information she could trade with the Clocktower.
"We'll discuss this more later...". Olga gave a glare to Sonic, before shifting her eyes to Cu. "Caster, if Saber fought so much, have you seen her Noble Phantasm?".
"Aye, no mistaking it, especially after she used it to wipe out Berserker".
"Who is she then, Cu?". Mash asked, curiosity and a bit of dread in her voice.
"The wielder of the Sacred Sword of the planet". Cu's tone was utterly serious as he spoke. "The King of Knights, Arthur Pendragon-".
"WHO?!". Sonic's sudden interruption caused everyone to switch their gazes to him. "I mean, King Arthur exists here to!?".
"...The legend of King Arthur exists in your world to, Senpai?". Mash was surprised... That she wasn't surprised. Why did it feel so natural that her Senpai knew of King Arthur?
"Y-yea just... Guess that's another thing our worlds share beyond language". Sonic was rubbing the back of his head, not missing the suspicious looks both Cu and Olga sent him.
But seriously, he was going to have to fight another King Arthur?...
And why had Cu called Arthur a she?
For those feeling Mash being so scared of Medusa was off, I'm trying to include more character here (Like seriously, Mash can't even do a push up properly before becoming a Demi-Servant? I call bullshit). Mash WILL become the shield wielding badass we all know she can be, but she's also a scared sheltered girl, instincts from Galahad or not.
Early FGO was kind of a boring story, so I'm trying to make things better while keeping it similar to the story we recognize.