Fate/Dark Reflection

[X] Prepare yourself.

Your magic circuits open at a thought, and you lower yourself, eyes peeled as the feeling reaches its apex. For a moment, nothing. You stay tensed, mana buzzing, then-

"What are you doing?" Makoto stares at you with a confused look on her face. You scramble for an explanation, anything that doesn't involve the Not-Magical-Energy that she can't feel.

"...Where did all of the other students go?" It's early, but there were still some people in the Shujin uniform around. Now, however, the street is ominously empty. The ambient sounds of the city have been silenced as well.

"Well, there aren't many around at this time anyway…"

"The rain stopped, too. " From downpour to not a raindrop in sight.

"So it has. Are you… okay?" She sounds very concerned about your mental state for some reason.

'Yeah, you sound insane.'

'Don't you start.'

"Look, Shirou. It's normal to get nervous about things like this, but it will be fine! I'm sure you'll adapt quickly, it's just a normal school… after… all…" Her sentence trails off as she stops walking, staring ahead. As you look away from her, you understand immediately.

A massive castle lies before you, looking absolutely out of place in the middle of modern buildings, like a slice out of time. A plaque nearby reads 'Shujin Academy', and banners adorning the walls boast about winning a recent tournament. As you take in the sight the clouds clear, revealing a sky marked in ominous purple.

'That's… not what I was expecting.'

'What were you expecting?'

'Based on the smell? Aphrodisiac.'

'Wouldn't it be more your style to not have me throw it, then?'

'Well, I was planning to tense up your hand so you'd just drop it on the ground."

'...'

'Y'know, so you'd have both a broken libido and a broken phone.'

'...'

'Or if that didn't work I at least hoped a suddenly appearing group of like, nuns or something, showed up where you threw it.'

'You are absolutely disgusting.'

'Thanks!'

"What is…? Why is there a castle here?"

"I… don't know." You can only reply rather dully, as even with your (admittedly limited) mystical knowledge, this is a new one.

"Am I still asleep? Is this a dream?" It makes sense that would be the first conclusion she'd reach. She proves her theory false after pinching herself and lightly flinching. "No, I'm not. Then what is happening here?"

The two of you don't say a word for a while, staring at the anomaly. After an amount of time shorter than most sane people would take, you make your decision and walk forward onto the castle's drawbridge.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going in."

"Is that really wise?"

"...No." You can't lie about that. "But I can't think of any other way to go from here. Can you?" You still haven't seen a soul other than the two of you, and you doubt that will change if you keep wandering.

Makoto hesitates before saying, "I can't, unfortunately. It seems we have nowhere else to search." She steps up to stand next to you.

"We? No, you should stay out here. It could be dangerous in there."

"What? That's exactly why we should stick together."

"I'm uniquely qualified for this, alright?"

"Are you now?" She doesn't believe you. You didn't want to have to play this card, knowing the dangers behind it, but…

"...I'm a mage. I can handle whatever is in there." The truth sits heavy in the air. You don't know if something like the Mage's Association exists in this new world but if it does it could be lethal for her to find out. However…

"Really, Shirou?" She gives you the blankest stare you've ever seen before striding ahead without another word.

"Makoto, wait!" She doesn't. If only your magecraft was quick to cast you could prove it here-!

'The master conversationalist strikes again!'

You once again ignore his goading and run after your wayward companion. Over the drawbridge, through the gate, and into the suspiciously wide-open front doors.

The inside is just as extravagant as the outside. Chandeliers hang above you and a copious amount of gold ornamentation in every direction. There's a grand staircase leading to other rooms lying on the opposite side of the entryway, and what looks to be a painting at the top, though it's currently covered in a covering of red velvet.

"About what I expected…" She's right, it's pretty stereotypically castle-like. Rather gaudy, overly showy.

"You're really calm about this." The normal reaction would be to freak out. You're even a little off-balance yourself.

"What good would panicking do? Besides, so are you." She drags a finger against the stone wall and hums to herself. "Is there any chance we're hallucinating?"

"Well, I don't know how likely it would be for both of us to see the same thing if that was the case. Also, there wasn't much of an opportunity for us to get drugged or anything."

"Yeah, you're right. Still, it's quiet… wouldn't there normally be some soldiers here, or maybe royalty?" Well, yes, if it was a real castle it would surely have-

A clunking sound of steel resounds from a corridor to your left, and soon after a retinue of knights come rushing forth.

'Probably should have expected that one. Never tempt Fate, man, from personal experience.'

Ignoring his 'helpful' commentary, you quickly try to observe the assumedly hostile entities. You're fairly sure they aren't human. The proportions are off, and the way they move is weirdly exaggerated... Some form of familiar, maybe? Their magical signature is almost the same as the castle itself, too, so they evaded your notice…

You won't miss them the next time, though.

'If there is a next time.'

"Oh? It seems our dear student council president has decided to present herself to me!" A smarmy voice comes from above, and at the sound of it, the knights stop their approach and take a knee in reverence.

"Mr. Kamoshida?" Makoto says quietly with a stunned look.

That's the name you heard earlier. A coincidence, or something else?

Out of the shadows at the top of the stairs comes a man wearing… something absurd. What looks to be a red bathrobe as well as bright pink underwear. That's it.

And a crown. Can't forget the crown.

Him wearing that irks you a bit.

'...huh…'

'Is that all you have to say about this?'

You figured he would be a bit more witty about this, some insults, some jokes, or maybe-

'HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-'

-that, he could do that.

"I knew it was only a matter of time. Though I had expected I would need to seek you out to claim you, you saw fit to come see to me of your own volition! I do admire your directness."

"What are you talking about!?"

"Oh come now, no need to play dumb about it. I know you're smarter than that, student council president and all." This guy reminds you a bit too much of a certain Master of Rider…

As they're talking, you try to carefully start up the Reinforcement process, desperately trying not to overdo it.


Nothing goes terribly wrong, at least. Magical energy starts to slowly strengthen you, preparing for the likely conflict. You decided to focus your efforts on…

[ ][Reinforce] Strength
A classic. Will help break through the plate armor the knights are wearing.

[ ][Reinforce] Agility
Not your strong suit, but maybe that's why you should buff it. Especially if you're planning to make a quick getaway.

[ ][Reinforce] Endurance
Considering the noncombatant, you may need to tank some hits, here.

"Still though, I can't blame you. Your type always seems to find older men irresistible. Not to mention one with such a… royal visage." His ever-present lecherous smirk grows.

'-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-'

"You're insane… What is wrong with you?" He didn't like that. His smile drops a bit and his eyes turn colder. You move to block his vision of her and feel his revolting gaze focus on you.

"Oh? It seems one of the slaves has crawled his way from the dungeon! Or perhaps you're just a filthy vagrant who's wormed his way into MY castle. Either way, the only punishment allowed for trespassing is death."

He dramatically flicks a hand in your direction, and every knight in the room turns towards you, swords drawn and intent clear. The action also has the hopefully unintended side effect of flashing you as the bathrobe flings open.

'-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-'

'Could you stop laughing?!'

'-HA.. ha.. okay… okay… I'm good… I'm good. Can we kill him now? Something's telling me he's like the god of this place and that's pissing me off.' You haven't heard such actual anger from him before, just a general tone of malice.

Weapon blueprints flash through your mind as the encircling knights get closer. You can admit that Saber's sword is far beyond you -for now- but that doesn't mean you're out of options. Some blades, a bow you don't recognize but seems to force itself to the forefront of your thought.

Of course, the question is: how are you going to use them?

[ ][Plan]Fight the knights.
No need to hesitate, you're certain they're not living beings.

[ ][Plan]Escape.
Cut a path for the two of you to get away from here. You won't get any answers, but it's the safest option.

[ ][Plan](0.5) Go for the king.
Not to kill him, but if you have him as a hostage the knights should stay back, right? However, it will leave Makoto unprotected…

'She'll be fine, man, as long as you just fuckin kill him from here! Arrow through the eye, done and done!'


Author's Note: Silly Shirou, basing your normal cast time on what it takes to project Caliburn. You could've just done like, a knife or something.

I watched back the start of Kaneshiro's Palace to see how Makoto reacted to the Metaverse to find that she really did not care, like a surprisingly little amount. Two sentences of 'Wow this is impossible.' and then she was totally chill.

Also is there any possibility you guys speed-blitz this Palace? Writing this guy's lines is so very revolting.