"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Mental link"

*Soundeffects*

"Noble Phantasms"

POV

Chapter 2: Back into the Fire

The Trio stood in stock silence following the mysterious servant's declaration, they maintained that way for a considerable length of time until the point where the knight in blue and silver amour slightly tilted his head.

"Have I...said something wrong?" He spoke in a genuinely confused tone.

""EH!?"" The trio in front of him exclaimed at the same time before the Olga began hurtling questions his way.

"You mean to say you're his servant!?"

"That is what I declared yes...Is there an issue?" he turned to her, his confused voice never leaving him in fact it only grew.

"B-but you can't be! All the servants for the Grail War should already have been summoned!" A man from a holographic blue square appeared and shouted at the knight in disbelief.

"I was not summoned by your 'Divine Chalice' rather I was sent here by an Old man." The servant spoke as if that sentence made any sense to the individuals in front of him, who at this point where looking less alarmed at the presence of a new servant and more confused.

"Old man?" the Director said while tilting her head and raising an eyebrow "What old man?"

"Some elevated sorcerer with a bizarre name...what was it?" He looked up and assumed a thoughtful pose as he began to quietly list names "Zelda, Zardos, Zeltrench…" he was however completely oblivious to the gradually paling faces of the individuals in front of him who at this point guessed who had summoned him.

"Ummm...do you perchance mean...Zelretch?" Dr Roman said, his prayers that he was wrong were never answered as the knight turned to him and nodded "Yes. That was his name Zelretch! I was summoned her by the Sorcerer Marshall Zelretch!"

"But...Why?" Ritsuka spoke out for the first time since the knights appearance and the servant turned to him and spoke again "He enlisted my help after spirits from the 'Throne of Heroes'? I believe he called it, were summoned to these Singularities as he called them." he then turned and scanned the burning city and spoke again in a questioning tone "I assume that this...mockery of Smouldering lake is one such singularity?"

"Uh, Yes!" Mash said rather loudly and the knight turned to her, looking her up and down in an appraising manner before turning back to the other two.

"In that case it seems that my task has already begun." He then looked down and clicked his tongue as he feet began to turn transparent "It seems I have used up what little magic I had left with that last attack. Thus I ask you again. Are thou my Master?" he turned back to Ritsuka and reached a hand out to him.

"Ummm Yes?" Ritsuka reached and clasped the hand, the familiar feeling of a contract with another servant pulsating through his body.

"Then our pact is completed. I shall endeavour to assist you in your quest master."

"What are you doing!?" Olga shouted at Ritsuka which caused him to startle slightly "You can't go around making pacts with stray Servants! What if yo-"

"As much as I'm sure you would like to berate my Master, sorcerer…" The knights stern tone broke her out of her rage and she turned back to the Saber Servant "I would suggest that we seek shelter. This area is too exposed for my liking." he said as he scanned nearby rooftops seemingly looking for something.

"Hmph" she scoffed and turned back Ritsuka and pointed at him "Don't think that we're done yet!"

The group made their way through the ruins of Fuyuki city, however there was an eery silence about the area. The only noise that could be heard was the crackle of fire and the occasional clatter of rubble.

Ashen One POV

'This place is certainly impressive for a city, if it weren't currently in ruin I suspect it could rival Anor Londo'

"Umm...Saber-san?" I hear a voice behind me and turn to see who spoke its the small girl with the tower shield, I give her a nod and she continues "Don't take this the wrong way but earlier you said your Throne of Heroes, what did you mean by that?"

"Ah, the Old Sorcerer, Zelretch, was apparently experimenting with his magic that allows him to travel between worlds. From what I understood he was trying to summon the souls of fallen heroes from my world, however they were drawn to these 'singularities' as you call them." I explain to her as we continue on, I continue scanning the nearby rooftops.

'I don't like this, feels like we're being watched'

"So...we'll be dealing with heroic spirits we know nothing about?"

I shake my head at her "I may have only been alive for around a week but I have a basic knowledge that should allow me to recognise the spirits of my world we'll encounter."

"I see, that's good…" she smiles and then nods her head, before suddenly jerking it up and staring at me wide eyed "A week!? What does that mean?"

I stop and stare at her, I notice the other two are staring at me with an equal level of shock "I see...I suppose you wouldn't know would you…" I mumble to myself before turning away from them and continuing on "I shall explain it when we are at a point of relative safety. For no-"

I'm interrupted by a sudden scream, I turn my head to the source of the sound and spot them. Skeletons, although these are a far cry from those which inhabit Carthus. They lack any of the skills and speed of their brethren, actually I feel they have more in common with the hollows who wander the graves.

"Girl!" I call out to the child with the tower shield next to me as I draw my sword "Protect the mages!"

"Yes!"

We both charge the skeletons, there's only a dozen of them.

'This won't take long'

I shoot forward towards the closest skeleton, it barely has time to raise its sword before my fist surges forward and destroys its skull. Another difference between these and those of Carthus, these don't return once destroyed.

I turn my attention to my next target, I swing my sword in a horizontal strike and the skeleton raises it own sword to defend itself. Not that it does them any good, my Onyx Blade simply cuts through their weapon and shatters their body, just as they collapse I lean back to avoid a thrust by another skeleton I respond with a kick which breaks them apart.

I quickly turn my attention to the shield girl, she's coping but only just. She appears to have to real combat experience and is just relying on her strength and the weakness of her opponents to win.

'Just like myself then…'

She'll be able to manage her opponents just fine, I've still got to deal with mine. I notice that they've grouped themselves together.

'Fools.'

I lower my sword and raise my left hand at them before making a flicking motion with my wrist, seconds later a ball of fire explodes from the centre of the group destroying the remaining skeletons.

I return my attention back to my compatriot she's handled a majority of her foes but is unaware of the one sneaking up behind her. I waste no time in rushing forward and gripping the back of its head and raising it off the ground, it begins to claw at my hands and thrash around in vain.

The tower girl turns around to see what all the commotion is behind her and widens her eyes in surprise as she realises I probably just saved her life.

"The necromancer who created these must be an amateur..." I say with an unfamiliar tone of smugness in my voice before I let out a small explosion in the hand gripping the skeleton and the remains fall to the floor.

I look up to find the rest of my companions staring at me with varying levels of shock, I tilt my head slightly and speak out to them "Is something the matter?"

"You! You're a magus!" The white haired woman screams and points at me in an accusing manner.

"Magus? I am no Mage, girl. I am a pyromancer. I suspect the mages from Vinheim would have my head if I tried to pass off my manipulation of fire as a sorcery" I finish with a slight chuckle, however she appears to show no sign of understanding "Perhaps we shall simply refer to it as a difference in magic until a better opportunity for discussion arrives?" she looks as though she wants to continue but acquiesces and I turn to the shield bearer.

"You have little combat experience don't you?" I say while looking at her, she appears startled and then lowers her head in shame.

"Sorry…" she begins in a small voice full of guilt "I know how to use my weapon, however when it comes to the actual fighting…"

"There is no shame in being a novice girl." I begin and she looks up at me with wide eyes "You're skill will grow with each battle you fight. Seek strength girl…" I turn away from her "The rest...will follow."

"You can talk later!" The transparent man, Roman I believe his name was, shouts to us in alarm "You four need to get out of there now!"

"What is it Doctor?" My master replies to him but I already know the answer, I can sense it closing in on us. I turn to the direction of the oncoming presence and raise my sword in preparation.

A shadowed figure lands in front of us, his right arm is covered in a thick wrapping and his white skull mask locks onto my steel helmet.

'He's quite tall'

Height however appears to be his only advantage, he's remarkable malnourished. If I didn't know better I would suspect he was a hollow given how skeletal he looks, however his presence is completely different from the mindless skeletons we fought earlier. My instincts are screaming at me that this foe is not to be underestimated.

"Wha-! That's a...!" the white haired mage exclaims behind me and I hear Roman's voice finish her sentence "That's a Servant!"

"So this is a Hero of Legend?" I find myself saying out loud however the next events occur in the blink of an eye.

He throws something at me, too unprepared for projectiles I try to avoid it but something hits me in the shoulder and I'm aware of a muted sense of numbness in my left shoulder. I slightly turn my head to see what hits me when the wrappings around the Servants arm come undone to reveal a long and gangly limb.

I turn my head back to the servant just as the elongated limb starts to glow a brilliant red, the masked man draws the arm back over his head while locking onto me.

I make out a rather sickly voice calling out "Zabaniya!" before the hand is thrust towards me at extreme speeds. I can't dodge it fast enough and two fingers make contact with my chest before the hand returns back to the attacker. He holds his palm out and lets out a disturbing cackle before he flexes his fingers as if trying to crush something.

When nothing happens his posture immediately changes to one of shock as he turns away from me and focuses on his hand and shouts in disbelief.

"What!? How di-" In the instant he's pre-occupied with why his attack failed I charge him and close the distance in an instant, he turns back to me being only a few feet from him. Acting too late to avoid me he can only watch helplessly as I thrust my sword forward and through his chest. He releases a rather nasty gasp and chokes up blood which drips down his chin. I pull my sword upwards and split him in two vertically as his body begins to disappear.

Satisfied that the enemy is dead I turn back to my companions who are staring at me wide eyed. The white haired mage, Olga, is the first to speak in a stuttering manner "How did...He used...you just…!"

"Is there a problem?" I tilt my head slightly, I grip the small blade sticking out of my shoulder and yank it out, I fail to see the issue. The enemy seemed to abandon his throwing knives in favour of trying to touch me with a few fingers in a rather bizarre move.

"He just used his Noble Phantasm!" She shouts at me as if I said something stupid "And you just shrugged it off!"

"A Noble what?"

"A Noble Phantasm is the crystallisation of a Heroes legend" Romans blue visage appears again, although maintaining a calm tone I can clearly see the shock on his face "They are the legendary weapons or abilities of Heroic Spirits as recorded in History." His tone shifts again to a more thoughtful one "Judging from the Servant you just fought I'd say he was Hassan of the Cursed arm. His Noble Phantasm was Zabaniya Delusional Heartbeat, it allows him to create a facsimile of his opponents heart in his hand and crush it in order to quickly kill them, so how are you still...well…"

"Alive?" I finish his sentence before turning back to where my would be killers body disappeared "It is no wonder his attack failed then. I was never alive to begin with."

"…"

"…"

""Eh!?"" they all shout out in alarm at the same time before the shield bearer steps forward with a slightly concerned tone "What do you mean Saber-san?"

"I am undead Ash. He could not crush my heart for I never had one to begin with." I raise my hand to cut off anyone before they can ask me something "I will answer all of your questions in due time, for now we must go. I suspect the other Servants will not be so easily dispatched."

Third Person POV

The group continued on their trek through Fuyuki city, occasionally running into skeletons which were swiftly dealt with.

"Master..." The Ashen One turned back to the trio behind him and focused on Ristuka "Forgive my bluntness but this had been on my mind for a while now" he pointed at the small white fluffy animal on Ritsuka's shoulder, the animal in question tilted its head at the knight having been called out "What is that...animal that you own?"

Ritsuka and Mash looked at the white squirrel and then back at the Knight before Mash replied "That's Fou."

"I see…" The knight nodded "What is it?"

"Fou is...Fou?"

"It's fine if you have no answer…" The knight waved them off and then turned away "I was simply concerned we were being plagued by some form of Rodent."

"Fou! Grrrrr!" He turned back around when the small animal seemed insulted by his remark and narrowed its eyes at him while growling, the Knight simply shook his head at the bizarre display.

The group continued on after the brief conversation, the Ashen One would occasionally stop and stare at distant buildings but when questioned about it he would reply with "It's just a strange feeling" before turning away.

However it wasn't until they approached the remains of a nearby school that the tone of the Saber servant suddenly shifted dramatically. Where he had been somewhat relaxed when dealing with the skeletons like it was an everyday chore, he was now tense. He held up his hand signalling those behind him to stop as he saw something which made him freeze.

Swiftly moving to join him the trio stopped and stared wide eyed at the display. Around the school were lifelike statues in varying poses all however had a singular aspect that they each shared with each other.

A look of pure fear.

"Petrification…" the blue knight almost spat out the word with a venomous tone as he began to scan the environment looking for the cause of this.

Confirming their fears on what this place actually was Olga and Ritsuka paled when they saw the display while Mash tensed up and frantically darted her in a similar manner to the Saber servant.

Ritsuka noticed something strange however around the statues he slowly approached one and held out a hand to it "Are those...chains?"

The ashen one saw it first however and instantly grabbed the boys collar and pulled him back just as the chains lashed out at him "Careful Master!" he parried the chains away with his sword as he threw the boy behind him "This entire place is a death trap!"

"Oh my…" A condescending voice called out from nearby which instantly put the everyone on alert "It seems that my prey has escaped…" a hooded woman with long purple hair wielding a hooked spear materialised in the centre of the mass statues, she sported a sinister smile aimed at the group.

"Two mysterious Servants and a mysterious Master? Ah...and the young ones look so fresh too…" Her sickeningly sweet voice taunted them as Mash and the Ashen one stood in front of the two magi, their weapons levelled at the new Servant.

"I assume this twisted display is your doing?" the Ashen one said in a steeled voice although it was clear to all that he already knew the answer.

"You like them?" The woman stepped forwards and began caressing a nearby statue "I had quite the exciting time collecting them…"

"Why…?" Ritsuka spoke in a shocked tone of voice "Why would you do this?"

"Oh?" The woman put on faux surprise at his question "You wander into my hunting grounds and ask such bold questions?" she gripped the statues head and pulled, the stone head was ripped from the shoulders and a small geyser of blood began pouring form the stone figure "The answer is fairly obvious. If people come here, I am free to treat them how I please am I not?" her smile almost reached her ears and she spoke again in a tone of reassurance "Ah, don't worry. While I may have lost one statue I can spy four more and most of them are so, so fresh…"

"Master…" Mash inched closer towards the Servant "we have no choice but to fight, let Saber-san and myself deal with her."

"Can you take her Mash?" Olga whispered, her eye's never leaving the woman.

"Yes."

"How bold, how fresh…" The lancer servant called out to them again as she shifted her posture and gripped her spear with two hands "I can tell that other Servant is experienced but this is your first time Fighting another Heroic Spirit isn't it girl?" she let out a small laugh "Don't worry...As your Senpai, I'll be sure to teach you!"

She charged and in an instant was in-between Mash and the Ashen one, the Shielder servant was barely able to bring her shield up to block a kick aimed at her while the Ashen one blocked the spear that had been thrust as his head.

The Saber servant knocked the spear away before going on the offensive, however he quickly found that this Servant had him beat in both skill and strength.

'She's better than me!' He thought as he was barely able to block a swipe at his chest 'But then again, so were all of the Lords of Cinder' when she pulled her spear back and thrust again this time he was ready. He manoeuvred his body so the spear just sailed past his torso before grabbing the handle with the left hand and swung his sword arm with the intent to remove her head, Lancer however saw the obviously telegraphed move and leant back so the sword glided just over her head. She kicked her legs up to perform a backflip while also striking the Ashen one in the chin with her legs, knocking him to the ground.

Before she could think about finishing him however she was forced to dodge again as mash swiped at her with her shield. "Your quite desperate aren't you? But that's good." Her voice showed a slight hint of amusement before she went on the offensive and delivered a series of strikes and stabs to Mash's shield "However my Lance is a Lance of immortal killing." she punctuated that with an overhead strike which staggered Mash back slightly.

"Any would I inflict with this Lance cannot be healed no matter what you try. Do you understand now?" She let out a cruel laugh "If you make the slightest mistake you'll be a failure of a servant for the rest of your life!"

She suddenly jumped away from Mash as a fireball flew through the air that she previously occupied, scowling and turning her attention to the direction it came from, she saw the Ashen one with his left hand left outstretched "I've been hit harder by tree's" he taunted her.

"Ha! You're a funny guy aren't you?" Another voice called out, this time male and one which sounded extremely amused by the situation "But more importantly having seen that little girls display of courage how could I possibly turn away?"

Another Servant materialised near the group, this time it was a man in pale blue robe wielding an elaborate wooden staff. His pulled his hood down to reveal short top blue hair with a pair of long streaks of hair going past his shoulders, his eyes opened to reveal a pair of blood red orbs glinting with amusement and he was sporting a rather bloodthirsty smile. In a rather simple tone which in no way represented the dire situation he was in he announced himself.

"Yo."

AN: Now we're onto Chapter 2 and you might be wondering.

Hey Author, where are the dark souls servants I was promised? I'll tell you this!

You have any idea how long it takes for rocks to get anywhere?

I've also decided to look at the Ashen Ones Stats again so here they are, revamped and all.

Ashen One

Servant: Saber

Strength: C+

Endurance: C

Agility: B

Mana: C

Luck: E

Noble Phantasm: Onyx Blade Sword Rank B+

"Elfreide" Releases a torrent of Flame towards an opponent Anti-Unit (Max Target 20) Range 20-25

Class Skills

Riding: E

Magic Resistance: B

Personal Skills:

Pyromancy: B

Battle Continuation: A

Disengage: C+

Mystic Slayer: A

(Gods, demons, dragons. Doesn't matter to me what I kill.)

The lands of Lothric are perilous and one doesn't survive without being able to slay the many monsters which inhabit the world.