tvklogs | Dark Hour Log

[Magecraft? ... magic? If he hadn't just seen those creatures -- fought them -- Ainosuke would have doubted what the other was saying to him. But he had seen them, touched them, and now he was becoming more and more convinced that what he was experiencing wasn't a dream. Though... there was no way to explain what was going on, especially concerning the mechanics of his world. He'd heard ghost stories, of course, but none of those reached this sort of magnitude.

There had to be an explanation, somewhere...

Turning to look over at Lancer, Ainosuke pressed his lips together, a look of near-despair still on his face, though he forced himself to smile just a bit in response. He really did trust this person, even though he wondered if he should.]

Thank you. I'm... sorry. [He raised his hand, wiping his sleeve across his eyes and then taking another deep breath, trying to calm himself.]

... we should probably keep going.

[No, Lancer was sure by now--this was no dream or hallucination. But he still didn't understand what could turn a Servant human. Could the Holy Grail have done something? If that was the case, how--no, why had this been the result?]

Right. It would be better to keep moving in case anything else shows itself.

[One thing at a time. Priority was making sure they both got through this alive--then they could worry about the details.]

[Ainosuke started leading the way again, but he was significantly more reluctant now that he had seen the creatures in action and knew there was something out there. He stayed within a few feet of Lancer, checking every once in awhile over his shoulder to make sure the other was there. It wasn't that he thought the other would leave him, but more of his concern that something would come up behind them or grab the other without him realizing it. If he got too far ahead, he was also sure to slow his steps and come back to Lancer's side.

When he reached the front of the police station, he looked up at the sign and studied it for a few moments, looking confused. The buildings and the surrounding area clearly was not Japan, but the words read much easier than he expected them to. He doubted his English was that good, but pushed the thought aside for the time being.

Ainosuke shuffled forward a few more steps, pushing the door open and heading inside. There were coffins inside the police station as well, but being indoors may have been a better choice than being outside. He hoped.]

[Lancer was far calmer than most would be in that situation, on guard and yet remaining composed. Panic would do nothing, especially if Caster was somehow to blame for this.]

[The door shut behind him, Lancer feeling only marginally more secure than he had outside--the moonlight through the windows only provided so much light, but hopefully he could find something to use as a weapon here.]

[Moving to put his back against the wall, Ainosuke hugged his arms to his chest and sank down a bit. The rooms were far too dark, especially if they were going to move past the front area. For now, he stared out at the street, watching the shadows and expecting them to start shifting again at any moment. He had hoped this would be one of his brother's plans, but it certainly didn't seem like it now. There was no way his brother, as genius as he was, could orchestrate something like this.

Without looking back at Lancer, he spoke again. Ainosuke didn't like following what other people said, but he'd make an exception in times like this and follow someone else's lead.]

Now what?

Survive long enough to figure out what's happened here. Then worry about where we are and how we arrived.

[Easier said than done. But Lancer had survived worse, and he was confident in his abilities to guard Ainosuke if necessary.]

[This seemed remarkably like a Reality Marble--a land manifested through magecraft that was separate and closed off from reality. And even though that might have made logical sense, there were no signs of actual magecraft as far as he could tell. Would a human body even be able to sense it? Lancer honestly wasn't sure.]

[Survive. That was a great thing to hear, especially when he was already feeling like this. Ainosuke didn't like knowing there were more of those things out there, ready to attack. Or that there were shadows out there strong enough to potentially kill him. If there were small creatures like that, then there had to be other things, right?

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, then pushed himself away from the wall and walked closer to Lancer.]

I want to try something. ... could you hit me now? [He tapped the left side of his head, giving a nervous smile as he did.] Just... not really hard, if you can help it.

...forgive me for being difficult, Ainosuke, but I don't believe I understand your reasoning.

[Ainosuke pressed his lips together, turning his head away. He'd thought a bit about how to explain it, but the shadows had distracted him from working out the details. He supposed he would just have to stumble through it.]

You probably won't believe me, but...

[No... He couldn't say anything about Yumehito. Even in a place like this, he wasn't brave enough to challenge his brother's words. "I'll kill anyone you tell about me." Yumehito had proved himself with that before, when Ainosuke least expected it. So he had to find a way to work around that, too.]

I might be able to figure out what's going on, if it works.

...

[A sigh. Though he didn't know what exactly Ainosuke was talking about, Lancer had seen enough unusual things in his lifetime to go along with it for now.]

I'll just apologize for this ahead of time. [Even without knowing his name, who honestly walked up to the first Knight of Fianna and flat-out said 'please hit me'? It was so absurd Lancer almost wanted to see where this would lead.]

[So he gave Ainosuke a light slap upside the head--feeling quite guilty about the situation, honestly.]

[After Lancer hit him, Ainosuke stood there for a moment, then made a face at him. He knew he had told the other to go easy on him, but they wouldn't get anywhere like this. For the first time, the tone of his voice was a bit challenging.]

Harder than that.

[... it really did make him seem crazy, but if it worked and his brother was somehow involved at all, then he'd start to see the answers. He prayed for the best result, though it didn't seem likely.]

...Ainosuke, I really feel I should warn you that you may not be sure of what you're getting into.

But if you're certain, I'm considerably sorry for this and would like to ask you to brace yourself.

[WHACK.]

[. . .

ow

Ainosuke immediately hit the floor, laying still for a few moments before he rolled onto his back. He spread his arms out, staring up at the ceiling and waiting.

Nothing came. There was no pressure, just the throbbing pain in the side of his head which he knew would go away soon enough. He received enough strikes to his head on a regular basis that he had gained a good recovery time.

So for now, he continued to lay there, hoping that persistence would help.]

... it didn't work.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit you that hard--

[...wait, what didn't work? Lancer extended a hand to help Ainosuke up, looking confused.]

What exactly were you expecting?

It's okay! I asked you to. I'll be fine...

[He reached out, tightly grasping Lancer's wrist and letting the other help him up. Once he was upright, Ainosuke released his hold and settled back against the wall again. Raising his hand to his face, he held it in a position he had been doing out of habit already a few times that night.]

I see things, sometimes. Usually, I can feel when I'm about to, but... I was trying to force it.

See things? Do you mean some kind of...precognition?

It's...

[Oh, god. How did he even begin to explain this gently? He had to choose his description carefully, since he couldn't exactly say "I see things my older brother has seen because I have his cornea", which would be inferring a whole other line of questions he couldn't handle.]

It's not things that are going to happen. I... see bits and pieces of things that have already happened, but it usually ties in whenever something strange goes on. I thought I could get a hint about who brought me here and how they did it.

...I see. [And while that made shockingly little sense, it was still more easy to follow than Lancer's own story.]

I'm sure we'll figure this out one way or another.

I'm sorry. There's a lot about it that I can't talk about.

[Ainosuke decided to leave the topic there for now, opening his mouth to change the topic when everything seemed to change in an instant. He had to blink his eyes a few times, then rubbed his sleeve across his eyes again to focus now that the lights had come back on. It also made him realize how silent their surroundings had been, now that all the noises were back. The coffins were gone, and people were wandering around inside the station acting as though nothing had happened.

A girl at the front desk was watching the pair while Ainosuke stared back at her, equally as shocked at seeing someone who hadn't been there moments before.

He jumped nearly a foot in the air when his pocket vibrated and he dug for the cell phone, bringing it out and flipping it open. His hands were visibly shaking as he did so, checking the time on it and surprised to see it suddenly working. 00:00.

What just happened?

[Lancer nearly punched out the nearest person as a reflex when his own phone vibrated; he must have been a little more on edge than he thought. He ignored the strange looks he was getting--he was in armor, of course he was going to get stared at--in favor of first checking the phone for the time and looking around himself.]

[No coffins, no discolored surroundings, the lights were back on...everything was back to normal. It would have been like a Reality Marble had deactivated, if the two worlds weren't nearly identical. They didn't work like that, as far as Lancer knew.]

[He opened his mouth to reply, but almost immediately closed it. He had no answer for this. Caster wouldn't have simply given up, and lancer seriously doubted he was the one responsible anyway. It was almost safe to say it wasn't a Reality Marble, and what magus could have possibly sustained one for so long if it was?]

I...I'm not sure.

[And for the first time there was a look of honest uncertainty on his face.]

[Ainosuke turned the phone over, examining it, then started back outside before he did anything else, waving for the other to follow. He noticed the way the other was getting stared at and didn't want to worry about unnecessary attention while they were trying to get their bearings. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the outdoors, much brighter than he remembered with the street lights and cars now active again.

Moving off to the side of the door, Ainosuke kept trying to take deep breaths, shaking his free hand out. His body was still far too tense. The fact that he seemed to have received a text message did nothing to make him feel better, especially when it didn't come with a name or number attached.

He read it out loud, slightly muttering the words.]

'Welcome to Prospero. Please enjoy your stay at the Bayview Hotel.' ...

[Ainosuke didn't have a response to that. He just stared at it, trying to wrap his head around the message.]

[Lancer followed, in the back of his mind cursing the fact that he couldn't revert to spirit form. Hiding out was a simple matter for a Servant, but notably difficult in a physical body.

He looked over Ainosuke's shoulder at the message rather than check his own--because while he had a vague understanding of what its function was, Lancer was a couple millenia too early to know how to use it.]

Prospero? Where on earth...?

[It was nowhere he knew of in Japan or Ireland, which was admittedly the extent of his geographical knowledge.]

I'm not sure...

[Ainosuke clicked down further in the message, which listed various directions depending on the direction the receiver of the message was coming from. It listed a lot of street names. Realizing they were close to a major road, Ainosuke jogged a bit away to the corner, looking up and reading the street signs. He checked the phone again, looked back up to confirm, and then headed back to Lancer.]

I guess we're checking this place out first then. Follow me.

[He looked a little displeased by that. It was probably whoever had brought them there, moving them around and forcing them in specific directions. Though if they were going to get out of there, they had to start somewhere.]

I suppose there are few preferable options--better to have even something small to work with for now.

[He followed without complaint, though the whole thing confused him considerably.]

...I wonder if such a drastic change is standard for a place like this. Those people, the ones that the coffins changed into? They didn't seem too disturbed by it.

[Ainosuke hadn't consciously realized the point Lancer was making until the other said it out loud. He had been too focused on the mysterious message and his suspicions about trying to figure out who was behind it. It was true... The people inside didn't seem to have noticed anything at all. It was as though they'd thought nothing had happened, or at least that they were used to it. Or maybe it was some weird kind of mass hallucination.

For now, he kept walking as he spoke, checking street signs as they went to make sure they were heading in the right direction. Walking this late at night didn't leave him all that comfortable either, but he trusted Lancer to protect him.]

You're right. I'm still... not sure it was real, you know? But I can still feel what it's like to hit one of those things. ... if it was real... do you think they even know it's happening? I guess the only way to find out is to ask someone, but I doubt they'd tell a stranger.

[More and more, the longer he was here and experiencing things, the more Ainosuke started to realize that this wasn't a dream. Now he definitely was somewhere that was most certainly not home.]

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