#fatedeath

She hadn’t much time to brace herself before the chain came for her neck, clamping down tight enough to bruise as it forcefully yanked her away from the rest of her classmates. Those with quick enough eyes would spot the way her eyes bulged open and her mouth opened in a mute shriek, but she was gone within the second, leaving only… a very large clump of white hair in her wake. Further squinting identifies it as a wig, although you hardly have time to focus upon that as a sudden ring of fire not five feet from you and your classmates surrounds you, obscuring your view from whatever is to come.

From the middle circle of the courtroom, a great cylindrical tower raises, obscuring your view of the classmates across from you in favour of shoving a massive television screen in your faces. Retro arcade music slowly begins to build in volume as they flicker to life.

[♪]

Before you upon the screen, you see FATE standing in a dimly lit room, fire surging in the background. Had you not known better, it would have just seemed as though she was only dragged a short ways out of the ring of fire and friendship you and the rest of your class have found yourselves placed in. Within a few minutes, a masked figure clad in the same costume FATE is typically partial to falls from above, screaming as they tumble onto the floor of the opposite end of the room, skidding a short ways upon the floor. They struggle a bit to get back to their feet to get back to their feet, a few darker spots becoming visible upon their pantlegs, just above their boots. A few old wounds reopened upon impact, perhaps?

A helpful textbox appears at the bottom of the screen as the camera wanders over the… uh, level.

THE STORY SO FAR…

STRIPPED OF HER HONOUR AS A SWORDSMASTER, FATE STRIFEBRINGER HAS FOUND HERSELF BANISHED TO THE NEATHERREALMS.

Neatherrealms?.. No, wait, hold on. That IS the court room! Talk about cheap effects!.. Oh, hold on, there’s more text.

SEEKING REDEMPTION FOR HER ACTIONS, SHE HAS TRAVELLED FAR, BUT A FINAL OBSTACLE STANDS IN HER WAY…  

The camera eventually comes to rest on the combatants solely, which based on height, appears to be FATE and… herself? Lips are moving now; you can’t hear what either party is saying very clearly over the music, but the ever-helpful textbox provides you with dialogue and a small portrait alongside their words to help you identify who is speaking.

[ FATE ]

So it has come to this. I am to face myself if I am to find refuge from this hell?.. So be it. If you are a being of honor, draw steel and engage me. Know I shall not falter easily, doppleganger.

[ MASKED WOMAN ] Wh-What?! What kind of… farce is this? Th-This isn’t even in character! My FATE would never immediately resort to violence when diplomacy was potentially an option, and…

The masked woman, arguably the less mechanical sounding of the two, continues to lecture an increasingly irate looking FATE, trapped in the social confines of the villainous monologue. The longer she goes on, the more impassioned she becomes and— yeah, that’s one mystery solved. Is she trying to stall for time? 

[ MASKED WOMAN ]

And… her eyes are cadmium red, not that nasty shade of maroon. Did you even do your research? I-I-If you’re going to steal my character, do it properly, you.. you fake FATE! FATEKER!

[ FATE ]

…Are you though?

It isn’t until FATE draws her weapon upon the Masked Woman that she falls silent, the steel shining in the firelight as the white hot walls draw up around the pair. The masked woman shifts back. That isn’t a boffer weapon.

[ MASKED WOMAN ]

…Yeah I… I-I-I’m good.

[ FATE ]

Then enough of your poisons! You dishonor us both with your nattering, False One. May your masters have mercy upon your soul, demon, for you will find none here.

[ MASKED WOMAN ]

C-Come get some, then!

[♫]

FATE moves to lash out only to meet the remains of the masked woman’s blade, which is all but sliced in half upon impact as the blade rends the foam and rattles against the plastic tube inside. All too aware of her disadvantage now, she disengages FATE’s blade, narrowly avoiding the slash that follows as she struggles to stand her ground against a fearsome adversary. Another blow and her weapon is gone, thrown to the flames in favor of utilizing the wooden mask as a shield instead. The blade drives through one of the eye holes and becomes stuck. As FATE attempts to remove the sword, Haruna takes full advantage of the moment to aim a kick at her gut, staggering FATE and allowing the LARPer to claim the weapon for herself.

… Only for her opponent to produce a new weapon, a katana that seems to simply pop out of her opponent’s sheath, blade first, as though it were a toaster. The sight of a sharp projectile flying towards her causes a very audible shriek of surprise from Haruna as she rushes to knock the blade away. FATE instead grabs it before it can be sent astray, and the ring of metal on metal piercing the courtroom as the real fight begins. 

It goes back and forth for a while; FATE very pointedly on the offensive, Haruna taking the blows in stride and taking what free milliseconds she has to search for an out. When she turns to face the camera, wide-eyed with horror on apparent remembrance that she is presently being filmed, her opponent takes her distraction as an opportunity. Haruna’s snaps away fairly quickly the moment she’s realized the blade has penetrated the chainmail and sunk into her shoulder. The weapon drops. A second slash hits the unarmored upper portion of her thigh, causing her to sink down with it, teeth clenched and eyes shut tight in an evidently concentrated effort not to cry out from pain.

She struggles to stand once again, but the blood loss has caused her to pale and weaken, leaving her in an uncomfortable kneeling position. The false emissary stands over her, drawing black to sheath her weapon directly through the girl’s chest.

A final text-box helpfully appears upon the screen.

[ FATE ]

If the weapon is left piercing through your opponent… it should hold the blood in longer, yes?

The android allows it to linger for a moment longer before shrugging and moving the weapon back to tear the young woman’s chest completely open, leaving her organs to spill out as she crumples to the ground in a heap. With that single movement, the once self-proclaimed holy knight breathes her last as the victor departs into places unknown.

The flames recede and the courtroom itself is slowly allowed to lower into place again, but the bloody corpse that remains leaves little room doubt in your mind.

Haruna Himura, Super High School Level Live Action Role Player, has been executed.