Chapter 36
Sang Rouge : Ombres

Torsten and Roux arrived at the fourth floor of the office building exhausted. Breaking open the door, they found themselves in an open planned office, with low cubicles and tables upon which rested computers, papers and the belongings of employees. Navy blue carpeted floors spread across the entire room, with almost all furniture and stationary a pristine white in colour.

"Shit." Torsten ran into the office, breathing hard and dearly wishing he could just collapse to the floor. "I was hoping we'd have more cover than these things." He made sure Roux was at his side.

Also gasping for breath, Roux was a step behind him. "Why? What was your plan?"

"Well, I had the idea when I ran to the building we could use the cubicles to hide ourselves. If that guy can keep Berserker in check, he's no pushover of a Master." Torsten noticed multiple enclosed personal offices on one side of the room, away from massive glass windows that looked out onto the street. Moonlight and lamplight flooded the entire floor, creating long, black shadows that crisscrossed the lines of cubicles and created pools of deepened blue on the carpet. "I don't think we can take him head on. I'd say he killed that Master you were fighting with in the park where I saved you incredibly easily. He did not look like a pushover himself."

Roux snorted. "If he had not been so arrogant and self-absorbed, Breno Da Rocha may have given me a fair challenge." Pausing for a second, she slapped her own forehead. "We don't have time for this, listen to downstairs!"

Both Master froze and went silent, listening to the clattering of metal on metal and the deep thumps of metal on wood. "It's started," Torsten said, beginning to move once again. The impact of the chariot on the inside walls of the building had reverberated up the stairs as they had climbed them, but not it was clear battle between the Servants had begun. "We need to find somewhere to hide ourselves."

"One of the offices will do," Roux said, following quickly behind.

"That's too obvious. We may need to stash ourselves underneath desks out in the open." Torsten weaved between the aisles, looking for an optimum place to hide themselves.

Roux tugged on his arm. "You can't hide that scythe lying on the ground under a desk. We need to hole up in one of the rooms!"

"Shit, you're right."

Roux looked at the individual offices that covered one wall of the floor. All of them were individually glass walled with glass doors. "But none of them seem very secure…" She looked to the other side of the room and found a single box of a room that lay before the windows to the outside. "Except that."

"Which means he'll go there first if he's a smart one," Torsten said, striding to the little room, weaving between aisles of desks. Peering in the glass door to the box he found it was a small kitchenette. "But it's an option."

"Shhh!" Roux hissed, Torsten obeying immediately. It had gotten quiet downstairs, save for the odd clatter and bang of weapons and shields. However, it was the distinct and rhythmic tapping of feet on the steel staircase that made both Master's skin crawl. "He's coming!"

"Shit," Torsten cursed, looking around the open plan office once more, trying to find something to hide them. He came up with nothing. Wait. "Okay, I'll hide in here," he said, gesturing to the kitchenette. "Find somewhere you can stash yourself. He can only attack one of us at a time right? Whoever is found first holds him off until the other can get him while he isn't prepared for a second attacker!"

"That's so dangerous…" Roux said, grabbing at Torsten's arm as he turned to conceal himself in the kitchenette. "What if…" As much as the inevitability of being found was clear to her, Roux held reservation about Torsten hiding himself in such an obvious location.

"We don't have time!" Torsten listened closely to hear the footsteps coming closer. "Find somewhere to hide! If he finds you, I'll protect you, just hide! Now!" He planted a disarming kiss on her lips before quickly diving into the kitchenette and closing the door behind him.

"Augh!" Roux growled in frustration, spinning around to find a proper hiding place. This is utter insanity. She ran to a glass walled office, which she could see housed a larger desk than the others. Manager's office probably. Entering, and then shutting the door behind her, she ducked underneath the desk. It had a backboard, letting her curl up underneath the desk to become almost invisible. But I need to see if he's coming or not… She flattened herself out, lying on her stomach, and used the small gap between the backboard and floor to keep an eye out for the Master of Berserker. "I hope this works, Torsten…"

The faint glow of moonlight floated through the stairwell door as Takeo Kinjo approached it. He took his time, walking at a steady and comfortable pace so as to keep himself in-check until he could unleash himself up the pair of Masters. His knuckles tightened in anticipation of the bloodbath he was sure he would unleash. Two versus one! What a rarity. I shall have to savour it.

He reached the door to the fourth floor, poking his head around its frame. Inside the office that was lightly bathed in soft light from the outside he could see nothing in the way of traps or opponents. So this is the game they want to play? Fine.

Disregarding any attempt at checking for further magecraft snares, he confidently walked into the office and observed every nook and cranny of it he could from his standing position. He couldn't help but scowl, even if no one was there to see it. "So you intend to hide yourselves? Unless you show your faces, what little mercy I, Takeo Kinjo, have, will not benefit you." He paused, hoping his words would reach his prey. After a period of nothing but the climatic sound of battle four floors below, he lost his composure. Through tightly clenched teeth, he growled. "Fine. If you wish your deaths to be as slow and painful as I can make them, then so be it!"

Torsten slumped against the wall of the kitchenette next to the door. He had frozen in place as Kinjo had entered the room and made his presence known. The relief that his opponent was brash enough to reveal his presence paled in comparison to the pure fear that now threatened to eat away at his insides. Hiding was a bad idea. And now I've just put Jo in more danger by pissing him off.

Focusing as hard as possible, Torsten attempted to listen for any more sounds from Takeo Kinjo. Try as he might, he couldn't make out anything. The floor outside the kitchenette being carpeted made footsteps impossible to hear through walls. This is so ba-

Suddenly, there was a massive splintering crack from outside the glass door. Torsten jumped, his scythe flying out of his already sweaty grip. Before there was a chance to think about the cause of the noise, Torsten shot out both hands to catch his weapon before it clattered to the linoleum floor of the kitchenette. He caught the handle cleanly in one hand, but ran the side of the other hand against the vicious inner side of the scythe's blade. He bit his lip hard to stop himself from making any more than a restrained groan from the pain. The scythe rested atop his right hand, the blade still dug into the flesh, when blood began to drip from the cut.

Then another loud noise, this time terrifyingly close; the harsh crackling of plastic and shattering of glass exploded from the other side of the kitchenette wall, just above where Torsten sat slumped. Instead of letting fly his limbs, he curled up as he jolted in fear, refusing to let the scythe in his hands go. He's trying to scare us into making a stupid mistake!

From the opposite side of the room, hiding under the desk, Roux looked on as Takeo Kinjo obliterated a table with an earth shattering axe kick before tossing a computer monitor at the wall of the kitchenette. Don't move, Torsten! She pleaded to herself. Don't move a muscle!

For a tense number of seconds, Kinjo stood eerily silent, his back to Roux and facing the kitchenette. Sure that someone would have hidden themselves in the kitchenette, he wished to lure them out without risking himself. Roux saw him flex his free hand, clenching and unclenching it into and out of a fist. In his other hand he held his sword, still in its scabbard.

Now what do we do… I can't talk to Torsten, and I'm too far away to ambush him without using… Roux snapped shut her eyes. No… Not yet. She dug her fingers into her crossed arms. The thought of using either one of her eyes at the point was premature, but the fear that she couldn't when the time comes loomed in the corners of her mind.

Kinjo swung around on the spot peered in Roux's direction, observing the glassed walled individual offices. His face was devoid of any emotion. Somehow, this was more petrifying than the sick face he had when he walked into the room. "The pair of you are trying my patience." His voice was as equally chilling, only carrying across a complete lack of empathy. "Both of you have no backbones. Pathetic."

He looked to one side to find another computer monitor. Tearing it from its cabling, he tossed it across the room, directly at the glassed walled office Roux had hidden herself in. Time slowed as Roux observed the monitor arc through the air and crash through the glass before the desk as if it were nothing. The monitor began to fall quickly, slamming into the desk above Roux, skidding to the back edge of the desk and threatening to fall off to the floor. To her own dismay she let out a small yelp of surprise. As soon as she had, she slapped both hands on her mouth as if to try and recapture the sound she just made.

Kinjo's eyes widened as the sickest smile Roux had ever seen began to form on his face. She couldn't help herself say it. "Shit!"

Kinjo took off from a complete standstill to a full speed sprint in a single instant, utilising an almost inhuman burst of raw energy. Now that he had cornered his prey, he was not letting it escape. "Like I said!" He roared, bounding towards the broken window like a man possessed. "Pathetic!"

Roux desperately tried to wriggle back from out of the desk, however, she quickly realised that by the time she stood up it would be too late: Kinjo would be upon her. Instead, she threw herself up and forward at the desk, toppling it over as she stood tall. The monitor that hand landed on the desk was catapulted into the air once again, returning to its sender as he reached the broken glass of the office wall.

In one lightning fast motion, Kinjo drew his sword. Losing no speed, he unleashed an upward slash as follow through from unsheathing his blade. As the monitor made to obliterate his face, his sword flew through it like it was nothing, cleaving into two halves that separated and barrelled past either side of his head.

Jumping back, slamming into the office wall behind her, Roux found herself trapped with no escape and the maddened Takeo Kinjo leaping straight for her. She flung herself to one side as he brought down his sword, its tip slicing through the thin plaster wall. As Kinjo twisted himself around to let loose a horizontal swipe to take off her head, Roux ducked low and delivered a vicious punch into his side.

Despite aiming for the soft area of the kidneys, she found her fist colliding with what may as well have been steel. His abs were strong enough to give her more pain than she could impart upon him. She retracted her arm fast enough to avoid a blow from Kinjo's scabbard that would have surely broken her arm. Roux leapt back entirely, just in time to avoid him follow through with his sword.

"You really should have just come out when I told you to." Kinjo cracked his neck as he spoke, twitching and jerking as if he was holding back the incredible urge to gut the girl standing before right then and there. "You've made it much harder for me to resist simply outright murdering the pair of you. Where is your little friend, by the way?" He licked his lips. "It won't do to kill either of you without the other here to watch."

As Roux took a faltering step back, there was a clatter from just outside the office. Both combatants turned their heads to see Torsten take a flying leap through the air, scythe aloft and screaming bloody murder. Kinjo smirked. "Speak of the de-" Interrupted mid-sentence from a full force kick to the stomach from Roux, Kinjo made a small gasp and blanched. Roux backed off just in time for Torsten swing his scythe directly at the Master of Berserker.

The razor sharp blade of the scythe drove through Kinjo's back, tearing through his right lung. The force behind the blow was such that the very end of the scythe protruded from his chest, blood quickly trickling down to the tip and spilling to the floor. Gasping desperately for air, he looked at Torsten with his head cocked to one side as blood began to pour out of his mouth. On his face was a mix of horror and hatred, his features contorting and twitching erratically.

"He's done…" Torsten sighed, keeping his eyes on Kinjo. The impaled Master tried to lift his arms, tried to take a swing with his blade, but he struggled to even keep his grip on it. Torsten held his scythe firm in any case, hoping Kinjo would pass quickly. However, Torsten had the feeling something was wrong. "Wait… You look different…" As Torsten tried to think back to the more decrepit and worn looking Takeo Kinjo he saw in the moonlight of the park when he saved Roux, Kinjo suddenly coughed a gout of blood over the young Master's face.

Looking away with eyes snapped shut as the thick red liquid splattered across his features, Takeo Kinjo became once again animated, wrapping an arm around the handle of the scythe embedded in his chest. He pivoted his body at the hips, stealing away Torsten's solid footing as he jerked it and swung himself around violently. Torsten was pulled by his very own scythe into a collision course with the wall behind Kinjo. He hit hard on his shoulder, jarring his grip on his weapon.

"Torsten!" Roux yelled, attempting to unleash another kick upon Kinjo. Her attack was thwarted by a precise counter blow by Kinjo's scabbard. Roux's foot collided with the rock hard scabbard and was stopped dead in its tracks. Kinjo quickly withdrew it, all of Roux's momentum now gone, and swept low with it, tripping her over.

As Roux fell to the ground, Kinjo repeatedly slammed Torsten against the wall until the young Master totally lost grip of the scythe, slumping to the floor in massive pain. He looked up to see Kinjo use his arm wrapped around the scythe to act as leverage to pull the scythe out of his back with a slick, sickening sound and the harsh crackling of broken ribs.

Torsten looked Roux and found her staring at Kinjo from the front in disgust, scrambling backwards on the floor to get away from him. As Kinjo finally wrenched the scythe clear of his back, tossing it out of the office with one tight throw, Torsten saw what had Roux so disturbed. Almost as soon as Kinjo had torn the scythe from his own body, the gaping hole in his back began to stitch itself together, as if his body was rebuilding automatically.

"Good. It seems the pair of you are ready to stop hiding like children and fight like adults," Kinjo said, his voice oozing with ecstasy. He turned to Torsten, still floored and looking up at the Master of Berserker. "Two against one." He quivered with joy at the very thought. "The final battle that will decide my Queen's victory over all shall be a thrilling one indeed."

Sent flying through the air, Saber was catapulted onto the streets of Lyon once more. During his flight, caused by a sweep of Berserker's spear that came close to bifurcating him, he collided into a street lamp. As his armoured body crumpled the metal trunk of the light, the bulb fell out its socket and exploded into thousands of tiny glass shards upon hitting the road.

As Saber slumped to the pavement, he twisted himself to land on his hands and knees, trying to avoid skewering himself on his own enormous blade. Quickly raising himself to his feet, he ran back into the office building, witnessing Lancer's attempts to out manoeuvre Berserker as he rushed in.

Lancer was clearly the lithest of the pair, but Berserker had the instincts of an animal, pre-empting many of Lancer's evasive tactics and forcing the golden haired Servant to shed any hope of counterattacking and concentrate solely on avoiding a fatal blow. As Saber charged back into the foyer, Lancer caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye. "I could use some assistance!"

"Clearly!" Saber bellowed as he lunged at Berserker from behind. The behemoth failed to relent her attack upon Lancer and instead, without even glancing once at Saber, swept out her shield behind herself. It deflected the Saber's sword, allowing Berserker to let loose a mighty spin with her spear at both Servants.

Lancer jumped back to avoid the deadly tip of Berserker's spear, while Saber made to block the blow. Raising his Claidheamh Mòr, Saber braced himself. The very spearhead of Berserker's weapon slammed hard into the Scottish Servant's Noble Phantasm. Saber was almost blown over, his armoured feet grinding against the floor as the sheer force behind Berserker's attack pushed him against his will.

As Berserker began to refocus on the Servant that had dared to block her spear, Lancer made to launch her own counterattack. However, she caught a sight of Saber's strained face. He was staring straight at her. He gave a small but clear shake of his head that seemed to say 'Wait'. Before Berserker had a chance to continue her assault with her shield, Saber, letting loose a might roar, wrenched his sword down on the spear. He forced the massive spearhead down and into the ground, shattering the tiles that made up the floor. Saber kept his blade locked over the spear, restricting it's movement. Berserker tried to tug at it to no avail. Looking to Lancer, Saber bellowed. "Now! Attack now!"

With no hesitation, Lancer made a deft thrust with Gungnir. Berserker, attempting to bat away Odin's Spear, flailed out with her shield. However, Lancer was too smart for that to work. Before the shield made contact with Gungnir, she retracted it. Berserker's wild swing went too far, exposing herself again to Lancer's fury. "I have you!"

As Gungnir's deadly tip closed in on Berserker's head, the behemoth's eyes went wide. In an absurd burst of speed, Berserker released the grip on her own spear and shield. As both her weapon and defence fell to the ground, she swept up a hand and swatted away Gungnir. Her blow diverted it, but the bladed tip cut a thin line of red across her cheek. Lancer, caught off guard, didn't notice that as Berserker smacked Gungnir to the side she had wrapped her hug hand around the spear shaft.

Saber kicked away Berserker's spear the moment she let it go, sending it flying across the foyer. Berserker, however, already had a firm grasp on Gungnir and quickly took advantage of the fact. She pulled at it sharply, ripping it upwards. Lancer held fast, but Berserker's strength was such that she easily wrenched Lancer off of the ground. Before Saber could help, Berserker had already begun to whip Gungnir around, Lancer still attached. "Oh shite."

In a smooth spinning motion, pivoting on her heels, Berserker swung Lancer around and right into Saber. The Servants violently collided, Lancer collecting up Saber into Berserker's spin. However, the extra weight only made Berserker speed up in her spin, accelerate through a full rotation then finally releasing Gungnir. The pair rocketed through the air, heading directly for the back wall of the foyer. Saber wrapped himself around Lancer's smaller frame, bracing the pair of them for impact. They hit the wall hard, the marble cracking and exploding underneath their combined weight. The impact was so hard, the pair were embedded in the wall for a second or two before falling to the fall in a limp heap.

Berserker took up the shield by her feet, before gazing around the room, looking for her spear while Saber and Lancer tried to regain their feet. Lancer, still holding onto Gungnir, clumsily rose to her feet first, shaken but almost completely unscathed. "Why…?" She gasped, taking up one of Saber's arm to help him to his feet. "You shouldn't have tried to take the force of that by yourself!"

Saber's efforts to endure the blow for the both of them had taken it's told on him, even when he was armoured. He could feel he had some broken ribs and his head was aching. "Like I was gonnae' let you take any o'that." With Lancer's help, he got to one knee before falling onto all fours as pain shot up his back. "I'm… too slow tae handle Berserker. You're much faster. We cannae have ye get injured."

Lancer, suddenly feeling a surge of anger, wrenched Saber to his feet as he howled in pain. "So that means you put yourself in harm's way on my account? I won't have it!" Lancer's unusually emphatic complaints drilled into Saber's already aching head.

Pushing Lancer away to test his own ability to stand, he lifted his sword and looked to Berserker. "Just… concentrate on the fight, alright? I'm fine. Donnae you worry about me." Berserker had reached her spear and picked it up, slowly turning to face her two combatants. "I think she's trying tae enjoy this fight. She's playing with us like toys." He turned to Lancer, who was still looking ready to bite his head off. "Listen, your Noble Phantasm is our ticket tae winning here, but it's only promised a sure hit, right? Not a guaranteed kill shot? I need tae get her in a position for ye tae use that Gungnir o' yours and get it right the first time." He cracked his neck and began a steady march towards Berserker. "Otherwise, we're not makin' it out o' this fight alive."

"What about your Noble Phantasm?" Lancer asked, quickly following.

Grimacing, Saber grumbled. "My Noble Phantasm gives us no guaranteed win. I can change the tide of a battle, I can protect us, but it's unlikely my armies or the bridge will dae us much good against this monster." He shook his head as if convincing himself as well as Lancer. "No, it has tae be yours."

As Berserker waited for her opponents to make the first move, Lancer grabbed Saber by the shoulder. "Promise me that you won't let Torsten down then, and we have a plan." Turning the Scottish Servant around, he met her piercing eyes. She was as serious as ever.

"Like I'd let him down by choice." Saber jerked her hand away from his shoulder and faced Berserker once more.

"So is that a promise?" Lancer insisted, catching up to walk side-by-side.

"Aye, it's a promise."

Author's Note:

Things are beginning to heat up! I hope this proved to be a good setup for the full on fight, because there's more to come.

I hope you all liked the chapter. ^^

Tune in next time!