Blake had no idea what she was looking at.

As if turning her back on the Fang, and more importantly Adam, wasn't hard enough, now she was locked in a life-or-death clash with two red-hued assholes who were trying to kill not only her, but this other asshole who'd somehow found his way onto the train. The guy, and he was a he if the grunts and shouts of pain were anything to go by, looked weird, to say the least, clad in some ratty looking cloak over what looked to be a set of black platemail. His sword, an odd looking blue sword that shot friggin' lasers was paired with a parma of some sort, which had certainly seen better days.

Also, the guy was smouldering. Literally smouldering!

Still, their redish attackers were certainly not any less weird, one being clad in what looked like stone armor and wielding dual crossbows, and the other a man garbed in a pristine set of robes, utilized a sword that shot giant blue projectiles and a semi-standard shield.

All in all, this day had turned out pretty terrible.

Blake had the unfortunate luck of dealing with the crossbow toting maniac, who's dual bows shot three bolts at a time. All her attacks seemed to bounce right off its damned stone-plated armor, and she wondered how the things spine hadn't been crushed yet.

It clumsily rolled to dodge another strike, before firing at one of her many clones, this one exploding next to the stone monster, knocking it off its feet. As she moved in to deal the hopefully finishing blow, a panicked 'Duck!' was shouted from behind her, and she instinctively dropped to the floor. A split second later, a giant swirl of blue flew over Blake's head, taking it's time.

The stone-thing, however, wasn't so lucky. It happened to stand up at just the wrong time, and took the brunt of the blow. It staggered back a few feet…

...and right off the side of the train.

Blake hopped to her feet, and turned to face the other two. Cloak-Guy looked ready to dodge, and Robes glanced between his two opponents. His shield, dropped to the floor, and he grasped what appeared to be a crystal of some sort, colored black and white. It didn't exactly resemble dust, and the man's face lit up in frustration when he squeezed it, as if he was expecting something to happen.

Cloak-Guy was also somewhat surprised, and before he or Blake could react, Robes grabbed his shield and leapt off the train.

Blake had yet to relax, however. Cloak-Guy was a complete unknown, and she did technically just commit an act of terror with a known terrorist. Still though, he appeared relaxed. Relaxed enough to buckle his sword onto his back, and clip his shield next to it. She gave him the courtesy of not pointing the gun or sword part of her cleaver at him, but did not put Gambol Shroud away.

"Whew! What a fight, huh? I've never seen a sword that could cast spells before! Sheesh, glad that's over. And thanks for the assist!" He said. The man's voice was awkward and somewhat nervous, and made her think that he wasn't used to talking very much. Good. Neither was she.

"My name's Ward, by the way! Fallen Knight Ward!"

"Blake Bellodana."

X

Though Qrow had given Chosen an odd look when Solaire introduced the two, it didn't last. The road was long, and they simply didn't have the time or energy to debate why he had such an odd name. Besides, even Qrow could recognize that making fun of the man who'd done his job when he couldn't would be a dick move.

Eventually, they were forced to stop and make camp. The nearest village, according to both Amber and Qrow, was another five hours on foot. While the two Undead could theoretically go on forever, no matter how tired they might get, they still agreed to rest with their new companions. Solaire and Chosen weren't entirely sure if the others knew about their inflictions, but they decided that it wasn't relevant information.

The tensions were high, however. While the two duos weren't necessarily enemies, they certainly weren't friends. Solaire felt as though he'd made a rather rushed decision in helping the woman who was being 'ganked', though he didn't regret it. Something about that trio of attackers rubbed him the wrong way, and he felt as though this wasn't going to be the last time he'd see them.

While Qrow and Amber were discussing something that the two Undead didn't really care enough to listen to, Solaire once again tended to Chosen's various burns. The power of Miracles certainly helped with the pain and some of the weaker burns, but Chosen's skin was still fused to his armor, and his face still terribly burned. The Kiln left its mark on the young man, and it would likely remain there until he Hollowed and then slain. He didn't mind though. Appearances never meant much to him, and he rarely had time to gaze upon himself. Still, he felt stiff pretty much everywhere, and just like the Kiln, pain was a constant. It wasn't nearly as intense as the fires of old had been, but he could feel it nonetheless.

Grasping the remnants of his mask, Chosen sighed. He missed the old days, when all he had to worry about was slaying the next beast, or saving up for that cool piece of armor, or finding enough titanite to reinforce his Zweihander, or searching for the sinner to punish, or wondering if Gwyndolin could see him through the fog gate, or wondering if such thoughts about the 'Goddess' were considered heresy-

If it was possible, his face would've heated up. "Is everything alright, friend?" Solaire asked, sounding confused. His helmet had, for the first time in probably years, left his face. It sat on a rock, proudly displaying its feather and steel in all its glory. His face was Un-Hollowed, thankfully, as their 'comrades' might react poorly to a Hollow, and his jaw was lined with a fresh layer of stubble. Undead hair growth was always a strange subject, but it seemed like Solaire was one of the rare few who experienced some form of hair growth.

Chosen shook his head. Nothing was technically wrong, nothing that he would ever have to worry about. The fact that the moon was destroyed pretty much crushed any hope that remained in his system that they were anywhere close to Lordran, let alone the same world. His possible sexuality crisis could be avoided, thank the Gods, but he really had no idea what to do with his time anymore. Sure, he could assume that his time in the Kiln might affect the way he Hollows, possibly granting him more time, but what about Solaire? He'd certainly lose his mind soon enough, given how he gave up on his quest for his own sun. Did the Sunlight Warriors even have a presence here?

He didn't know. Honestly, Chosen didn't know what life was like outside of places like Lordran, Ariamis, or Oolacile. What if there were no giant, extremely scary and honestly somewhat ridiculous monsters to slay? The thought made him shudder. Fighting was the only thing he was good at.

Solaire seemed to pick up on what he was thinking, at least somewhat. "Don't worry, friend." he whispered, giving him a slight smile. "Warriors like us will always have a place. Even if there's nothing to fight, I'm sure both you and I have learned something about smithing after using those boxes for so long!" he said, laughing.

Chosen nodded, giving a smile of his own. They had plenty of time, regardless.

Or so they thought.

Solaire's chest exploded in a mess of blood, bone, and armor, as a claymore was shoved through the back and out the front. He was kicked off and landed on the ground, and Chosen leapt to his feet, eyeing the new opponent.

His heart, if it was even still beating, stopped in its tracks.

A blade of the Darkmoon, clad in the signature platemail worn by lowly knights, stood before him, flanked by an Easterner using a great club and a sorcerer of some sort.

None looked too happy to see their former comrade.

A/N: Sorry for the updates. I just realized that some of the things I do in Google Docs, like certain linebreaks and italicized text are carrying over when I upload the documents. I'm terrible sorry about this, and will be more conscious of it in the future.

Also, SolidShinji104, that's a pretty accurate statement. I'd like for there to be a healthy mix of serious themes and comedic moments for our cast to experience.

Next chapter will be soon. Peace!