"That must be what's left of Kotomine's servant from the last War." Rin whispered to Shirou from their hiding place as the cybernetic monstrosity heaved itself towards Rider.
"Whatever it is, I've never seen it before." Shirou whispered back. "I know that I'm project Omega and I'd heard him reference project Alpha several times, but this is the first I've ever seen of it."
In front of them the fight began to form, both servants maneuvering for positioning. Rider stood proud and tall, his golden fleece thrown over his arm and his shortsword hanging easily from his other hand. Alpha limped forwards, his form hunched and twisted by the modifications that Kotomine had made to his body. What was the purpose? Rin wondered. Why mar the perfect Servant's form with crude steel?
Rider circled slowly, here and there ducking in to make an easy feint or launch an attack that Alpha offhandedly deflected, batting his sword away with a mechanical arm. They danced around each other for a couple of moments before the fight began in earnest. Rider struck first, dashing forward with a low strike angled to take Alpha's flesh and bone leg off at the knee. Alpha danced around the blow and then lashed out with a bare hand. Rin was confused for a moment but his seemingly ineffectual gesture was followed an instant later by a shimmer in the air behind him. With a ripple like a fish bursting through the surface of a smooth lake the air shattered and a long, slender blade shot forward. Rider quickly backpedaled and the sword slammed into the concrete floor at his feet.
Rider quickly opened some distance between himself and Alpha. The twisted former servant didn't bother giving chase. His soulless eyes fixated on Rider and he swept his arm forward again. Two more distortions appeared in the air above his shoulder and two more weapons leaped forwards, each a unique and ornate blade. Rider swept the golden fleece in front of him and there was a sound like shattering ice as he deflected both attacks. A confident smile returned to his features and Rin suspected that he had been more nervous about the attack then he let on.
Alpha's frown deepened and he spread both his hands. The dark machinery integrated into his flesh began to blink and cycle. Rin detected a faint flow of mana that deepened as Alpha drew on it. She felt around with her third eye in confusion, trying to pinpoint the source of the energy. It wasn't until she saw the lights on the nearby pods blinking in time that she realized what was going on. Alpha was drawing obscene amounts of magical energy from the dormant clones, and the modifications that Kotomine had made to his body were enabling the transfer.
"He's a seed!" She said in horrified awe as the full import of Kotomine's plan dawned on her.
Shirou quirked an eyebrow and she quickly explained.
"Servants can pull prana from anywhere, but mainly their supply comes from the grail. In a pinch they can pull from other sources, like humans. But that isn't very efficient. A regular human doesn't have enough prana to feed a being like a Servant, and even draining mana from a group of humans over a long period of time would take years and be very inefficient." She said.
Shirou's mouth drew into a grim line.
"But if he were pulling prana from a being like me..." He said, quickly catching on to what Rin was saying.
"Exactly. Kotomine used a bit of Alpha like a seed to grow hundreds of powerful half Servant hybrids. Now he's funneling all of their energy back into Alpha at once. He's taking a bit of Alpha to act as a seed, growing a crop that isn't as powerful as him but is far more numerous, then combining all of their energies back into Alpha himself." She said.
"And he has access to all the prana in the clones, plus all the prana that their remaining lifespan can be converted into. That's why my powers are fueled by my soul instead of my prana." Shirou finished grimly.
It was monstrous and brilliant. By using Alpha as the template to create Shirou and all of his fellow clones the transfer of prana between them would be much easier. And not only did the clones have an expanded prana reserve, they had a way of converting the energy of their own souls, their own lifespan, into even more magical energy.
"Alpha has to be the most powerful Servant ever to exist. I doubt that even Berserker could do anything against him with that much power at his disposal." She said.
"And that isn't the worst of it. This isn't Kotomine's only cloning facility. He has laboratories in Brazil, Canada, Russia, the Caymans, and god knows how many I don't even know about." Shirou added.
"We need to get out of here. Now." He said, grabbing Rin by the hand and sneaking away through the rows of glowing pods.
Behind them the sounds of battle began to echo throughout the cavernous lab complex. Rin could see flashes of energy and detect a steadily growing mass of prana that could only be Alpha. He dwarfed Rider's prana signature. Any other Servant would be obliterated nearly instantly. Only Rider's impenetrable defense let him hold Alpha off as long as he had. But he wouldn't be able to keep it up for long. Rider had to perfectly deflect every blow, dodge every blade. Alpha only had to nick him to begin slowly wearing him down.
Shirou led them deeper and deeper into the laboratory complex. At first Rin thought he was disoriented but they weren't far enough away from the elevator shaft to the surface for him to have lost his way.
"Where are we going?" She asked in a whisper as Shirou cautiously pushed through a nearby doorway that led away from the central storage area that they were in.
"There's something I have to do." He answered cryptically.
The passageway they found themselves in was a narrow hallway branching out into a labyrinth of rooms, holding cells, and laboratories. Most of the rooms were unlabeled and they moved through the deserted hallways quickly. Nobody stopped them and the dark passageways lit by flickering florescent lights seemed totally deserted. After several minutes they came to an unmarked intersection and Shirou hesitated.
"Kotomine uses similar floor plans in most of his outposts, but I don't recognize this place." He said, his brow furrowing in concentration. He looked nervously down both corridors, wavering for a moment before making up his mind with a nod.
"This way." He said.
Rin didn't ask where they were going but Shirou grew more and more nervous and restless as they approached their destination. Rin knew what this sort of agitation meant but didn't press him. He had enough difficulty opening up to her without her hounding him. Still, her curiosity was piqued when they came to a door at the end of an otherwise unremarkable hallway. All of the doors they had passed were labeled Laboratory 2-C or Holding Cell 18. This door was simply labeled EMIYA.
Shirou stood in silence for a moment, hesitation plain on his features. Rin laid a comforting hand on his shoulder and he placed his hand over hers. Then, with a deep breath, he tried the door. It was locked and before Rin could stop him a surge of power ran through Shirou and he kicked it off its hinges. Somewhere deep within the complex an alarm began to blare.
Shirou walked in slowly. He felt around for a light switch and Rin took a curious step in after him as he flicked it on. The room was empty except for a massive metal pod dominating the center of the floor. It was larger than the others that had contained the clones, with a dense bank of blinking medical equipment occupying the wall behind it. The same word, EMIYA, was stenciled across the front. Shirou approached tentatively and hit a control near the side of the pod.
There was the all too familiar hiss of escaping air as the hatch slid upwards and Rin prepared herself to cast a spell. The mist billowed away and Rin clapped a horrified hand to her mouth.
The figure nestled in the coffin was a dark, twisted mirror of Alpha. He was atrophied and desiccated, pale skin stretched over a bony frame punctuated with tubes and wires. Large sections of flesh had been peeled away as tissue samples, exposed muscles twitching and clenching feebly. Although he was missing an arm and both legs at the knee he was strapped into the bed, an immobile picture of mute suffering. The figures sunken eyes fixated on them and it opened its jaws, a nearly inaudible groan the only sound it could muster.
Rin's eyes darted back and forth between the pitiful husk in the pod and Shirou. He leaned forwards tentatively, his eyes flickering back and forth between the pitiful figure's. It took her a moment but suddenly Rin saw something mirrored in their faces. Although the figure called Emiya was emaciated and atrophied he had the same jaw line, the same cheekbones. Their eyes were twins of deep brown.
"This is..." She said, the horror of the situation stilling the words in her throat.
Shirou nodded, not taking his eyes off the coffin.
"I guess you could call him my genetic father. This is the original Shirou." He said.
"Oh god. Kotomine must have kept him locked up in here since he found him all those years ago. We have to help him!" Rin said. She was having trouble keeping track of the pronouns in her head but she clutched at 'her' Shirou's arm. He put an arm around her and pulled her close.
"You're right. There's...there's just one thing we can do for him." He said, moving towards the medical equipment hooked up to the pod.
Rin understood and nodded, tears welling in her eyes. Shirou quickly began switching machinery off, yanking cables and cracking panels whenever he came to a piece without an obvious switch. Without the benefit of life support Emiya's breathing became rapid and shallow. His eyelids fluttered and his cracked lips pulled up into a weak half smile of gratitude. His one remaining arm lifted and Shirou reached forward to take his hand.
He died.
Rin cried quietly into Shirou's shoulder for a moment and he held her close, staring over her head darkly at the still figure. Whatever violent, brooding thoughts were gathering in his mind he shook them off when he looked down at Rin. He kissed her quickly and they both backed away from the medical suite that was now a tomb.
"Let's go." Was all he said, but Rin could hear the anguish in his words. He had just killed the closest thing he had to a father. She nodded mutely and followed him as he once again led her through the twisting, turning labyrinth that was the underground complex.
At last they reached a rough cut section seemingly carved out of the unfinished rock and Shirou cast around until he found a small grate set into the floor. He wrenched it open and slipped through, holding out a hand for Rin to follow her. She found herself in a tunnel large enough to stand in but pitch black. She quickly summoned a small hovering light in the palm of her hand. The walls of the tunnel were corrugated circular piping. A thin stream of brackish water lay stagnant in the center of the pipe.
"Kotomine's outposts always have a drainage system. We're lucky he tied into the city storm drains and not the sewer." Shirou said. Rin could tell that he was trying to keep up a brave face. He wasn't doing a very good job.
"Wait. Just wait a moment." She said, leaving the ball of light hovering over her shoulder as she cupped his face in her hands.
"Talk to me. Tell me what just happened." She coaxed.
He reached up and rubbed a calloused thumb against the back of her hand as he held it to his cheek. His eyes closed as he gathered himself.
"I...I knew there was something different at this complex. Something that Kotomine was trying to keep secret from me. I just...I didn't...I mean he's me. Well, a version of me. What I might have been. I'm half Emiya, half Alpha, with Kotomine's twisted meddling grasping at my mind like..." He said, his voice rising in anger.
Rin silenced him with a kiss, pulling his lips down to hers. The storm drains were hardly the most romantic venue but he returned her kiss passionately.
"You're you. Nobody else." She said when they broke apart, reaching up to stroke a hand through his short hair.
"Now lets get out of here."
He smiled at her and took her hand. Together they set off through the tunnels.
As they traveled they discussed the war and Kotomine's plans in short whispers. With Alpha fully active and out collecting other Servants the war had taken on a new dimension of danger. Shirou suggested the possibility of recruiting all of the other masters to fight Alpha together but Rin thought that wouldn't be such a good idea. Saber, Lancer, and Rider were dead or captured. Shirou raised the half hearted suggestion that Rider might beat Alpha by himself and save them the trouble but they both discounted that out of hand. Berserker was missing, they had no idea who Assassin's master was, and Archer's master Sakura had some unknown grudge against Rin.
"Looks like we need to go have a chat with Ilya." Shirou said.
Rin blanched but covered her nervousness.
"Can we trust her? Her family told her to eliminate us. Well, eliminate me. I don't know if walking back into her fortress is such a good idea."
"Awww, c'mon. She's your friend, isn't she? Have a little faith. Now that she's had some time to simmer down I'm sure she'll give us a hand. Plus there's the whole 'end of the world' thing to deal with. Nothing brings people together like a world domination obsessed maniac." Shirou said, giving her a joking nudge.
Rin nudged him back and nodded.
"Maybe we could find Berserker too. If we could just talk to him maybe we could find out what's going on and convince him to help us." She said.
Shirou's face grew tense.
"Maybe sooner than later." He said.
Rin quirked an alarmed eyebrow.
"Didn't wanna worry you. But somebody's been following us for about half an hour, and I don't think it's sewer crocodiles." He said.
Rin stopped dead in her tracks.
"What?!" She hissed.
"Keep your voice down. There's somebody down here with us. Remember when we stopped back at that intersection? They stopped too, and they took the same turn as us. So they're obviously following us. But if they wanted to catch us they could have done that a while ago, so I don't think it's Kotomine or any of his goons. 'Sides, a big boy like Berserker makes kind of a ruckus when he clomps around. I'm pretty sure it's him." He said.
"We should confront him." She said, tapping a finger against her chin. "This may be our only chance."
"I dunno about that. What if he freaks out? Not a lot of room to run down here. Let's wait til we're closer to wherever this lets out, then jump him."
"Talk to him." Rin corrected firmly.
Shirou shrugged sheepishly and continued on. But a small thread of fear planted itself in Rin's mind. What would happen when they confronted Berserker? She knew that even with both of them they couldn't hope to best him. Even another Servant would have trouble with him alone, with the exception being Alpha.
As they walked Rin's fears began to mount, clawing at her and increasing upon themselves as the waiting began to gnaw on her nerves. The fear even manifested itself in her casting as the light she held dimmed imperceptibly. The corridor they walked through grew darker and darker as Rin's fear mounted, trying to escape her control like a massive skittering spider scrabbling at her mind.
With each dark branching intersection that they passed her anxiety grew. What is wrong with me? She wondered, trying to get a grip on the fear shooting through her. It's Berserker, yes. And he's dangerous, yes. But we've faced danger like this before. And I know him. Why am I so scared?! Am I losing my grip on myself? She wondered.
Shirou motioned her to stop and she froze.
"There's something there." He whispered, moving forward stealthily.
Rin's fear peaked as he left her side and she reached out for him in a panic. But even as he crept forward the rational part of her mind spoke to her. You know what's happening. You recognize this feeling. It said. And she did.
"Shirou, look out!" She shrieked.
But it was too late.
The darkness in front of him resolved into a spindly figure in a Victorian cloak. Rin fell backwards, landing in the brackish water with a splash. Now that she could recognize what she was feeling as Assassin's supernatural fear aura she managed to master herself a bit. But that didn't help in the slightest.
Shirou instantly blazed with magical power and Assassin pounced with his slippery servant agility. Shirou feinted right and then dodged left, trying to close the distance between them without exposing himself to attack. With a flourish and a nightmarish grin Assassin pulled a slender knife from some hidden place like magic. Shirou raised a hand to block but Assassin was just too fast.
He pounced forward and rammed the blade into Shirou's left eye.
Shirou bellowed in agony as the blow forced him to his knees. Blood spurted and ran down his face. Rin wasn't able to keep herself from screaming even as her muscles galvanized into action.
"You're mine!" Assassin cackled. He tore his knife free and let it clatter to the ground. Shirou slumped forwards but Assassin seized his head, clamping two spindly hands on either side of his face.
"Hell awaits you!" He sneered.
"NO!" Rin cried, dashing forward.
Shirou bellowed a long, drawn out cry of agony as Assassin unleashed his noble phantasm. He began to convulse, his muscles clenching and unclenching helplessly as bolts of pure, weaponized murder shot through his body. All over his skin a thousand tiny cuts began to manifest and deepen, his blood misting into a haze as his body began to disintegrate.
Rin did the only thing she could think of. She may have been able to come up with a better plan if Assassin's fear aura wasn't clawing at her mind, if she had more than an instant to make a decision. But all she could do was grab Shirou from behind in a hug and channel as much healing energy as she could into him. Cuts opened and healed as quickly as they manifested. Wounds tore along his body and then healed themselves just as fast. Only Rin's healing magic prevented his death, prolonging his suffering as he began a looping cycle of torture and rejuvenation.
Rin felt a brief spark of hope. She could keep Shirou alive for as long as her prana held out, the next couple of seconds at least. But if she took her hands off him, if she diverted her attention even in the slightest, he would be lost. His life balanced on the edge of a knife. And so ultimately they were both dead. Once Assassin was finished with Shirou Rin would be at his mercy and completely without prana. If she let go, if she saved her mana, she could save herself. But Shirou would die.
"No. No. Nonononono." She began to chant.
Assassin cackled again.
And then, against all odds, Rin heard someone splashing through the tunnel behind them. She cracked an eye open and looked over her shoulder. Berserker stood silhouetted against the darkness of the tunnel, his massive form looking cramped in the tiny space.
"They're mine!" Assassin snarled.
"Berserker! Help us!" Rin cried in desperation.
Berserker stayed where he was, still as a statue.
"Leave him." Berserker said. "Leave him! Let him die, it's the only way!" He roared.
"No! I can't. I won't!" Rin cried.
"It's the only way! Come with me now. Leave this place! Please...Rin..." Berserker entreated her.
Rin buried her face in Shirou's back. She could feel his muscles writhing in agony. She knew she couldn't leave him.
"NO! Help us or get the hell out of here! I won't leave him!" She raged. She knew her anger was pointless. She was seconds away from losing the last of her prana and being sliced to pieces by Assassin. She knew she wasn't being rational. But she was beyond rationality. She was in love with Shirou and she wasn't leaving his side.
Berserker hesitated for a long moment, torn. If he did nothing Shirou would die and his goal would be complete. But Rin would die as well and, really, there was only one thing he could do.
With a bellow of frustration he charged forward. Assassin hissed in surprise and rage. He tried to disentangle himself from Shirou but he wasn't fast enough. Like a striking viper Berserker's hand jumped forward and seized Assassin by the throat before he could retreat into the shadows. His eyes lolled and his tongue bulged from his mouth as Berserker squeezed. He scrabbled at the massive forearm pinning him down ineffectually.
Berserker gritted his teeth and gave an Assassin a shake like someone wringing out a wash rag. Rin could hear his neck snap like a bundle of twigs. But Berserker didn't know his own strength, and when he dropped Assassin's corpse it rolled away in two separate directions, the jaw flapping open and shut in a look of complete surprise as it rolled into the darkness.
Shirou collapsed into a boneless heap and Rin hurriedly turned him onto his back. He was unconscious but still alive. She gasped. His handsome face had been ravaged. Every square inch of his skin had been lacerated and re-healed instantly, over and over and over again. There wasn't one square inch of his skin that wasn't plastered with ropey scar tissue. But that wasn't why Rin gasped. The pattern of scarring roped over noble features, the strong jaw and heavy brow marred by angry red welts, the healed patch of twisted skin where his left eye had been. She was looking down into the face of Berserker.
She sat in shocked, mute confusion, cradling Shirou's head and looking back and forth between him and Berserker.
"You're...him." She said dumbly.
"Yes." Was all Berserker said. He sounded said, like he had failed at some task. And she supposed that he had, given that he had just saved Shirou's life, a man that he had been trying to kill up until moments ago.
Berserker turned and began to trudge into the darkness. Rin's head spun. Berserker was Shirou? How? Was he one of the clones? No, he couldn't be. The reason she recognized him was the identical scar patterns that they now shared. Not something that one of Kotomine's clones would have.
"Wai...Wait!" She called. Berserker paused and looked over his shoulder at her. His eyes looked tortured, hunted.
She gently slid Shirou's unconscious form to the ground and ran to Berserker. She spun him around to face her and he let her, dropping his eyes as she stared up into his face. Her eyes were questing, picking out the similarities between the two men. How could she have missed it before? He had the same intense look in his eyes, the same deep brow, the same square jaw. They were both men of honor, and duty. They both, she suddenly realized, had strong feelings for her.
"How?" She asked, her voice tremulous.
Berserker gave a chuckle that sounded more like a sob of despair.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He said, turning away. Rin's grip on his arm tightened.
"You are the cloned hybrid of an ethereal spirit made flesh by a locus of magical power crossed via cloning and magic with a young human boy by a crazy mage bent on world domination. There really isn't a limit on what I'll believe about you." She said. She put as much steel as she could into her voice. Berserker hesitated. The gesture was so human. So like Shirou.
"I'm...from the future." He said matter of factly.
Rin gaped. Her first impulse was to challenge him, to disbelieve him. But she remembered what she had just said and she resolved to hear him out.
"So you know what's going to happen? You can help us! Why fight us?" She demanded.
"I can't tell you."
"Why try to kill Shirou?"
"I can't tell you."
"What is Kotomine planning?"
"I can't tell you."
"Why can't you tell me?"
"I can't tell you! I just...I can't! I don't know what would happen. What would be changed. I can't risk it. I can't lose you again!" Berserker burst out, gesturing wildly and pacing in the tunnel.
"I wish that I could tell you. I wish that everything would be okay. I wish that you and I could just...I just...Aaargh!" He threw his hands up in frustration.
"You don't know what it's been like. Being so close to you. Not knowing. Not being able to..." He stopped himself, leaning a hand against the tunnel wall and breathing heavily.
When he turned back to Rin all of his gentleness and restraint had returned. The sadness in his eyes seemed like it had been multiplied.
"Rin, please. I...we..." He paused, his words hesitant. His fingers fiddled and he broke her gaze, looking down at his hands.
"He's in love with you." He said haltingly, and Rin couldn't tell through the scar tissue if he was blushing or not.
"Just...just take Shirou and go. Leave this place. Live your life. Staying here, staying to fight, it isn't worth it. I promise." He said sadly.
And then he was gone, ducked around the corner and running out of sight. Rin could hear his rapidly retreating footsteps. She felt emotionally drained. The terror and the sudden revelations were taking their toll on her. She knelt down beside Shirou again and gently lifted him, using the last of her magic to lighten his body so that she could carry him. His wounds were horrific but he would survive them. She hoped.