A/N: Been... quite a while. Sorry bout that. I got a paper cut and had to let it heal.
Blood.
There was always blood, no matter how he chose to do it.
Maybe it was a fact of life? Or rather, a fact of death? Perhaps, in his mighty strength, there was a lack of something more humane, something crucial to the human being.
Always violence, always pain, no matter how good his intentions. He knew this. The others did not. No, he kept it from them. Swords were not made to spare lives, after all. But his pain... he would let it be his alone.
Was it wrong then? To weigh two lives against so many more? Did he even care? A small part of him, forged long after the fires had faded, thanks to his father, reminded him of a promise so long ago, a reminder that perhaps, even a hero could be selfish once in a while. A much larger part of him twisted in agony, his actions reflecting the opposite of what his soul screamed at him to do. A hero saved lives, didnt they? Was it perhaps his numbness to the situation which let him continue, regardless of the agony he felt internally? Yes, that seemed right. Nothing felt solid now, only his physical movements felt real, not his actions, nor their consequences...
It was a cold, efficient method of dealing with vast numbers. There was no fighting, only slaughter. His boast had certainly thrown Shinji off, if the silence were anything to go by. A true boast, but not one he had ever hoped to prove correct. It seemed this war brought nothing but pain. He had not been really taking it seriously until now, when he came face to face with his own internal conflict. Sure, he had fought against the servants, and he had not really held back in physicality, but... mentally, part of him always kept from using the more efficient, if brutal, methods. True, each attack against Berserker had been deliberate and planned, even brutal, but he could have dealt with him so much better. So what was holding him back?
Did his belief make him weak? No, that wasnt it. Insecurities? No, he was essentially steel when it came to who he was and what he wanted to do. If it was not any of those... was it perhaps his indecision? The conflict within his soul, between the conflicting desires to be selfish, and to be a hero?
"To be a hero... is not a fate I wish upon anyone"
He recalled his father's quote about his past, about how he had slaughtered hundreds for the sake of millions, and he had to wonder... would it be so bad to be selfish? Just for them? Just for the only two real friends he had? A hero... he remembered all the villains and heroes, and the psychology behind each one. A hero was never alone, for if they stayed alone, they strayed from their path and slowly became a villain, their beliefs so embedded in their souls that they simply lost themselves to it. Hitler had considered himself a hero, hadnt he? In a situation where it was to be selfish, or to potentially fall to some twisted form of himself...
Archer. That was why. He saw Archer when he thought of that possible future, that twisted apocalypse, all brought about by his own hand. Had Archer truly done this? It did not matter. Perhaps Archer was from a brighter future. It mattered little. He saw a few memories of Archer, and they were enough. That monster had started that path for the same reason as Shirou. Memories had been slowly trickling in ever since their first clash. Not as strongly, but enough to let Shirou know what kind of monster Archer was.
What if that heroic path led to the same fate as Archer? Would he be able to do that? To kill all those innocents, simply because Alaya demanded it? More than that, could he weigh the lives of all those people against the lives of these prisoners?
His mind spun, grasping at every neuron to find his answer, but the moment he saw a memory of Sakura and Rin sitting with him, the decision was made.
Yes, he could.
"So you really think your plan will work?" Rin spat at Shinji, though only in the verbal manner.
"Given what I know, and what you do not... I fully expect everything will go according to plan. See, you only know the surface of this farce. Your arrogance knows no bounds, Tohsaka." Shinji smirked, amused at the rage Rin displayed against him and what she knew of his plan.
"Arrogance? You challenge the strongest mage in the city, and the only human I know of that can match servants, as well as two actual servants by kidnapping one of the few people with connections to all of them, and you call me arrogant? You idiot! You are going to die here, you know that? When all is said and done, even if you kill myself and Sakura, you will be the one lying dead in the dirt, with only yourself and your ambitions to blame!" Rin shouted, her visage twisting into an unfathomable rage. If she were not bound by the strange golem she had fought, she would have ripped his throat out, for Sakura as well as Shirou.
Shinji chuckled lightly, turning back to the screen displaying the young Emiya's brutality. "Is that what you think? Well, let me tell you the grand secret that should make you see what I truly intend to happen." Shinji opened his shirt, allowing Rin to see the mutated flesh that used to be his chest. The entire structure was constantly shifting, with some sort of serpent-like creature, no doubt Crest Worms, writhing underneath it. "Did you know that the secret behind the Crest Worms, behind the entire Matou family magecraft, is soul binding? To bind our souls into another object. Grandfather used worms. I used his worms and became strong through the sacrifice of others, but I am not bound to them, so I am able to bind my soul to something different." He had to laugh outright at Rin's horrified face. She was beginning to piece things together. "Yes, exactly! How torn up will Shirou be, to cause your death? Sakura's? Or perhaps both? Ha!" Shinji's face morphed almost instantly into a very focused expression, completely void of emotion, yet eyes filled with determination. "I could even make Shirou take his own life, you know. Its not hard to imagine, is it? I went to school with him, I could easily collect a few blood samples, and I am quite sure you know what I can do with blood."
Shinji grinned maniacally, turning to face Rin once more. "Make no mistake. I fully intend to die today, but I shall not die alone. I will take that bastard with me."
Rin had never felt such heart gripping terror, save for when her parents died. She knew quite well what a mage could do with blood, particularly if any of what Shinji said is true. His plan made sense now. He wanted Shirou dead, but not easily. He had kidnapped Sakura, as well as Rin, to let Shirou follow him. The room trap that Shirou was in, it was to build up a blinding rage, to make him choose unwisely and take his rage out by killing Shinji. Shirou had killed before, it was no secret, but this... Shirou would murder Shinji for this, for everything. And that was exactly what Shinji wanted. It made sense. Taking that much prana into the body artificially would no doubt damage the body beyond repair, shortening Shinji's lifespan to mere months, maybe a year if he was lucky. There was only one question that really remained, in her mind.
Why Shirou?
Saber had long abandoned using Excalibur to kill Berserker, realizing it was pointless to use the weapon, and that it weighed her down somewhat. She was far more used to a sword, but she could certainly hold her own in hand to hand, and while Berserker had died from hand to hand before, she knew, as any fighter did, there were many ways to kill a man with your bare hands. Her strength was certainly high enough to bypass his ridiculous immunity to damage, but her skill was not at the level required to be able to keep up with this level of fighting for too long. Berserker had an almost limitless supply of Mana at his disposal, but Saber's supply was no joke, Rin being alive and well, if a bit physically exhausted. That heart-trick she used did not take much Prana so much as it took physical stamina. Should she start using it more frequently, she would likely have to consume vast amounts of food to compensate for the burned calories.
Still, that was of little consequence. So long as she could grab Berserker, she could kill him before he could swing the massive excuse for a sword anywhere near her. In a way, this type of fighting favored her, since she was smaller and could attack far closer than Berserker could. However, it would be over for whoever was grabbed first, and she knew it. Berserker was not coherent, but he did not seem foolish in his attacks either. He was far more skilled than a Berserker had any right to be. He only wielded the axe-sword with one hand, so he could still use that other hand to fight her off. He was stronger and more durable than her, but she was certainly smarter and, while not exactly faster, much more mobile. Though his dexterity was ridiculous, Berserker was still a Berserker, and that gave her the advantage in ranges of movement.
Berserker had not paused in his assault, swinging his absurd axe rapidly, hoping to crush Saber beneath its weight. It was not working well, more due to her casual use of Prana Burst as a speed enhancement than anything.
Undamaged as she was, all things considered, she was not too keen on letting this fight last any longer. According to what she knew, Shirou had killed it four times, and herself twice now, once during this fight with Excalibur stabbing him in the heart. That was six lives down, right? It was possible he had less, if he had fought another servant, but it was not worth speculating in the middle of a fight.
It happened rather quickly, the terrible shift of the battle. She had been holding her own for quite some time now, but it had to end. A single misstep. That was all it took, too. She simply did not move backwards fast enough, too slowly to dodge completely, but enough to make it not instantly fatal. It wasnt even truly fatal, given the nature of Servants. It would be healed by Avalon, given just a scant few seconds, but that was far more than Berserker needed.
It was, however, enough to shift the battle even more heavily into Berserker's favor.
With a suppressed scream of pain, Saber almost fell, stumbling backwards, knowing her fate. It always came down to fate, didnt it? It was her fate to suffer, after all.
Berserker launched forward with his usual incredible speed, swinging his blade down towards Saber, who could not dodge in time. Were she anyone else, she would have closed her eyes in acceptance, but she was the King of Knights! She would not go into the night with a whimper, but a ferocious roar! Her will hardened into a fine resolve, before she launched forward, using Prana Burst one last time. If she were going to die, she would at least take one more life from this beast!
Her fist, enhanced by the focused Prana Burst on her elbow, thrust forward with more force than any blow she had delivered so far, going straight through his skin, into his organs. Yes... Berserker would die at least once more. Her arm curved upward, finding his heart. She could barely move her hand, from the damage sustained by using a focused Prana burst to enhance the attack, though Avalon had already fixed her damage to her torso and chest, though sadly not her clothing or armor. She felt Avalon work just enough for her to be able to flex her hand at full strength once more, and crushed the heart in her hands. Still, she felt Berserker's massive frame shift, no doubt ready to crush her with his strength.
She felt like she had waited for a century, but it was only a single second before she looked upward, only to receive the most pleasant shock this battle had so far.
Rider had appeared, just in the nick of time. Her chains wrapped around Berserker's arms, only the surprise of the sudden restraints keeping him from completely ignoring them to kill Saber once and for all. "Finish him!" She shouted, her voice strained from the effort it was taking to hold Berserker in place, even for this short a time. She even had to use her Monstrous Strength...
Saber needed no further instruction, her hand reaching further into Berserker, finding his spine, then his lungs, then his neck, twisting each one into an incomparable mess of gore, though none of it visible due to the nature of her attacks. Her arm was deep into his body, having destroyed three vital points. Given Shirou had killed him four times, and she had killed him once with the Excaliblast, and once with the sword itself, then his heart, then spine, then lungs, then neck... He had a maximum of two lives left, and there were two servants ready to take those lives away. She only hoped Medusa had some way of finishing the job.
She felt the chains give, rather than see them, and jumped away as fast as she could. Berserker did not react slow, however, and rushed forward with his fist, which had escaped the chains first, punching her full force, easily snapping several of her bones and causing untold damage to her body. However, as she was flying away from Berserker, Avalon healed everything far before Berserker had a chance to attack again.
That did not lessen the pain however, as it seemed this fight was a testament to her will to endure any pains to win. Two Immortal legends, facing off. True, she was at a disadvantage a few moments ago, but with Rider here as backup, it seemed things were turning in her favor. Still, unless Rider had some way of killing Berserker twice more, the fight was just going to be another stalling match, rather than a deathmatch. She wasnt quite sure how to feel about that.
A/N: Short chapter, I know, but I wanted to update and I dont want to get to the end of this quite yet, because there are two major secrets I want to reveal in the next chapter, which should be sooner than this chapter was. Those two major secrets are the FULL plan that Shinji developed, and what happened the night previous to this one. I will say this once more. Each time I write, I use limited perspectives so they make very unreliable Narrators. That means no character is completely aware of everything going on. Shinji's plan is not quite what Rin thinks, nor is it what Shinji implied. Well, it is, but implications have a problem of being misinterpreted. The Saber-killing-Berserker was a bit bullshit, I wont lie, but I feel it could be done. Berserker has not been killed that way before, and with Prana Burst, I think Saber would be able to do it, albeit with considerable damage to her own body. Which... is what happened. I used the first part of the chapter to show the inner turmoil Shirou is going through, rather than him slaughtering a bunch of helpless prisoners, which I think was a good decision. Hopefully some of you understand why Shirou is showing no hesitation, but if not... Kiritsugu. That should explain everything. If not, oh well.
