Chapter 61: Unwelcome Commands

The hustle and bustle of Pirates moving about on deck did little to Ash, in actuality it meant very little to him. He'd never scrubbed a deck before now. He'd never cleaned anything except the blood from off swords and armour and there was very little difference.

At least he figured that would be the case.

So when Drake had ordered him to clean the deck, Ash had obeyed.

He obeyed because he was used to performing tasks he was told to do, his own personal feelings on the matter aside. He was told to clean the deck, so he would clean it.

"When you've done that section you need to head into the Crew Quarters." Drake commanded as she walked past him, barely passing him a glance "They're startin' to stink something nasty."

"Hm." Ash grunted in response, he didn't look at her and she barely looked at him. Although Drake paused in her movements at the complete lack of a response, a frown came to her face as she turned down to stare at the Saber cleaning the decks. It didn't make sense to her, up until a few hours ago he'd been giving her the stink eye but the second he was commanded to do anything the attitude dropped and he was away to perform the duties.

Either he was very good at burying his feelings about her – which he obviously hadn't been – or he had completely ignored them the second he was ordered to do anything.

She shrugged her shoulders, the other two had been like that as well. No one liked cleaning the Captain's Cabin but they still did it after a little bit of grumbling.

The real problem she'd found, however, was the big guy.

"Come on now." David tried his best to calm the large Berserker "It's not that bad, everyone had to do it...even me." he paused "I mean, it was horrible, disgusting and not something I would ever want to do again but I still did it."

Havel looked as though he was about crush the chamber pot in his hands. The sheer rage which seemed to pour out of the man had long since scared away anyone else from that particular area of the ship.

"Alright...I can understand how you might be a little offended-"

"I...killed...Dragons…" Havel menacingly growled "I...was...General...in..army...of...Gods…" his fingers began to tighten as a creaking sound alerted David to the metal bending under his grip "I...will...not...clean...shit…"

"..Okay." David nodded his head slowly "What about cleaning the armoury?" he offered "Got plenty of swords and that which need a polish?"

Havel paused, his fingers slowly uncoiled themselves from around the pot in his hands to reveal dent marks in the shape of his large hands in it. David winced, he knew that the Captain would be less than pleased about it but he figured that if she had an issue with it, she could try and take it up with the Berserker herself. Captain's orders were one thing but he wasn't going to risk dying over a chamber pot. That would be terribly embarrassing for him.

He could just hope that Oscar would understand why he was no longer on weapon cleaning duty, although the man's sense of smell wasn't that good to begin with so he had never complained about cleaning out the chamber pots. So it was a win-win for everyone. Especially for David, considering he wasn't about to die or get beaten up.

Archer stared at the sorry state of the 'Kitchen' with a grimace, it wasn't a very clean place in the least. Scratch that, it wasn't a hospitable place either. It was terribly managed. One would think that Pirates would have had better sense with taking care of their food and organising everything so that they wouldn't run the risk of losing anything. Mainly because of how valuable preserved food was when out on long voyages.

But apparently just asking Drake to give them food and water had made them slightly indolent.

He let out a heavy sigh as he tied the apron around himself and moved into the Kitchen, he'd have his work cut out for him with trying to turn this place into something manageable.

"Do you want to organise the shelves or clean up the counter?" He looked over his shoulder to see Boudica similarly preparing herself "Because this looks like it might be a two person job. Even for a Servant."

"Hmph." Archer grunted in amusement, shaking his head and staring at the mess in front of him "I'll be sure to clean it thoroughly, you can organise the foodstuff they have on hand. See if we can't make some manner of organisation from this."

"Hmm." Boudica hummed in affirmation as she made her way towards the 'pantry', opening up the door and clicking her tongue at the lack of organisation "Reminds me of home."

"That doesn't sound like a compliment." Archer grunted as he moved to try and find some water to wash everything down, the one advantage to Drake having a Grail was they at least had some on hand for drinking and cleaning. That didn't mean they did that latter often, he wouldn't have been surprised if the whole ship had smelt the Captain's cabin the second the woman had flung it open and shoved both his Master and Mash – along with Fou, being an unfortunate tag along – inside and told them to clean it.

"It isn't." Boudica blandly replied "I did love the Iceni but they were terribly messy. Couldn't keep anything clean for more than an hour and to say nothing of their food preparations." she sighed "There's a reason I'm as good as I am...I got a lot of practice in."

"I can imagine." Archer dampened the cleaning cloth and brought it up to the side, soon wiping down the side of the counter top "I feel as though I should point out that a perhaps we have taken the title of 'Servant' too literally as of late."

"Don't pretend it bothers you." Boudica's voice was tinged with barely concealed amusement at his remark "You took to that kitchen quite quickly."

"It needed help." Archer responded with a shrug "Talented as Siegward is, he can't be expected to cook alone for the eventual number of Servants the Master is likely to have at some point. It was necessary to establish an early work relation."

"Uh huh." The Rider retorted in a droll voice indicating how little she believed him "Well if I'm being honest, I wouldn't mind having Siegward here right now. If only because he'd be able to help us."

"Summoning a Servant from Chaldea just to help stack shelves is an exorbitant waste of resources." Archer sighed "For the time being we shall make do with what we have, it is not as though we are the only ones in need of help." he let out a faint chuckle "And I suspect Master would be more demanding of help than either of us."

Boudica gave an honest laugh at that "Most likely."

"This is something foul…" Ritsuka cringed, wiping water away from his eyes as he prepared to move another sack of rubbish "Why does it burn my eyes?"

"I'm not sure Sen-" Mash coughed into her hand, her face morphed into an ugly grimace "-Senpai. Perhaps it is because of the lack of laundry products they had back in the sixteenth Century."

"Y-yeah." Ritsuka coughed "That's probably it…" he sighed raising his head away from the old clothes "...Never thought being a Pirate would be like this."

"Technically we're only temporary Pirates, Senpai." Mash helpfully pointed out with a strained smile "A-although I do not believe this is what we were sent here for…"

"Sorry Mash." Romani's voice came through the communicator "There's not a lot we can do for you back here." he paused "Although the good news is that Da Vinci was working with the summoning system that Ash and the others from his world use so we might get another quick type summoning that doesn't use your shield."

"We're still working on the details." Olga quickly added on before they could get too enthusiastic "And we will likely need the aid of a Caster from the other world if we hope to make rapid progress. Although it is still within acceptable rates of assimilation, considering it is an entirely new system Da Vinci is trying to understand."

"She is a genius at the end of the day." Romani sighed "And she'll take every opportunity to remind you of it."

"Anything happen in Chaldea while we've been here?" Ritsuka asked with an overly enthused voice "Trying to distract myself from…" his voice suddenly trailed off before he spoke again with a noticeably crack in his tone "Mash?"

"Yes, Senpai?" The shielder asked with concern at the way the boy was frozen hunched over another pile of clothes "What's wrong?"

"...Are...a-are old clothes normally…" The boy sounded very tired all of a sudden "Do they normally have...pulpous material in them?"

"Pulpous?" Romani muttered to himself before his eyes widened and his face screwed up in disgust. Olga released a gasp and covered her mouth while looking away. Much of the command room did the same, Maxwell pinched the bridge of his nose while Kerry openly heaved in disgust. Meuniere's head fell into his hands.

"No Senpai…" Mash answered slowly with a growing look of horror coming onto her face "T-they don't…"

Fou waddled up next to Ritsuka and took a single sniff of the clothes he was near. The white animal then looked away from the pile with a frozen look on their little animal face, ever so slightly backing away from the boy.

Ritsuka eventually released a sigh which seemed to take his soul with it "Yeah...That's what I thought…"

"T-tell Markus to…" Olga pat Romani's shoulder repeatedly with the disgust still on her face "Tell him to prepare some cleaning materials to send them...and some soap."

"R-right…" Romani nodded his head and tapped on the tablet next to him, sending the message to the supplies officer.

"Director?" Ritsuka's broken voice came through the screen "Thank you...Really." his genuine gratitude had the woman slowly nod her head in response while maintaining her cringed look. She was grateful she was being thanked but she'd rather it wasn't due to something like this.

No one deserved this and it was her role as Director to ensure the Staff were presented with the utmost dignity to befit their organisation.

This wasn't it.

"S-strike that from the log." She hurriedly told Romani, the man blinked before looking at her in surprise.

"Really? But I thought we were supposed to note down everything-"

"Do you want to write this down?" She voiced in a hushed whisper, Romani stared into her eyes and slowly shook his head in response. "Good...Me neither."

By the time Ritsuka and Mash had managed to clean up the last of the mess within the Cabin, it had already turned to sun down. At which point the general feeling was that the situation the boy had found himself in would never be brought up again by anyone in the control room or by Mash.

Ritsuka was very grateful for that kindness.

"Dinner!" Drake exclaimed as she burst into the mess hall "I'm starving!"

"Settle down then and wait." Archer replied without missing a beat as he stirred the stew in front of him, Boudica already preparing bowls for the other members of the crew that had come in. The woman held a patient smile on her face as she dealt out equal servings amongst the members.

"Hey…" Drake frowned "Doesn't being Captain let me cut in line?"

"No." Archer's instant denial had the woman deflate and slowly make her way over to a table where she began to watch the queue slowly shorten. The thumps of footsteps heralded the arrival of Havel with David trailing just after him.

Boudica looked up from her spot with a raised eyebrow "Where's Ritsuka and Mash?"

Havel stared at her for barely half a second before releasing a dismissive grunt which indicated just how little he actually cared. David was more helpful however, flashing her a trademark smile "I believe they are recovering from their clean-up of the Captain's Cabin."

"Hmph." Archer grunted "As long as they don't miss dinner and clean themselves up properly. The places where people eat should be kept clean."

"I feel called out." Drake rubbed her forehead "What is it with all you guys and laying into me for the littlest of things?"

The door to the mess room opened up once again, this time Ash's blank face entered and was soon followed by Oscar. The second arrival held a far more cordial look compared to Ash's one of ice. Drake stared at the second man with no small amount of confusion "I thought you didn't eat food?"

"I cannot, I am afraid." Oscar affirmed "However I find that there is little substitute for sane company and should be enjoyed as often as possible."

"Didn't you spend most of your time at the docks?" David pointed out, Oscar nodded immediately.

"I did not say that it was your company I was after." The man's answered back without missing a beat as he followed Ash to the corner of the room "I find the new arrivals much more agreeable." he voiced as he and the Unkindled sat down away from everyone else.

Drake huffed "I'm agreeable...Right?"

David looked away from her and scratched behind his ear, Havel slowly turned his head towards her in response. Helmet glaring down at her.

"Comma..nd...me...to...clean...shi...t...agai..n…" The Berserker growled with a restrained anger in his voice "And...I'll...brea...k...every….bone...you...have…" with his warning delivered, he turned away from her and made towards the queue, several men ducked out of his way as he approached Boudica "Stew...ple...ase…"

The woman in question blinked in surprise "Please?" she repeated the word with no small degree of shock, considering who it was who had asked she felt it was justified.

"Good...cook…" Havel replied as if that were the only answer necessary, the Rider looked to the Archer for support. The tanned man offering nothing but a slight shrug in response before he went back to cooking. Boudica turned her attention back to Havel before pursing her lips.

"Alright...But not cutting in line next time!" She brandished the spoon at him as if it were a weapon. The Berserker stared at her in complete silence before she released a sigh "Honestly." she half-heartedly grumbled to herself as she handed the bowl to Archer who filled it up with the stew before handing it back to Boudica. Havel took the bowl and spoon with a surprising degree of gentleness before he stomped away to another corner of the room and sat down.

The chair he was on creaked menacingly and for a few moments the attention of everyone in the room fell upon the wooden chair which looked as though it was a drop of water away from shattering. Somehow – and rather miraculously – the chair managed to hold its shape as the Berserker began to shovel soup into his mouth through the visor of his helmet.

A creaking turned the attention of the room back to the entrance of the mess hall, Ritsuka dragged himself into the room with a complete look of defeat in his eyes. Mash was staring at his back with a look of grief while Fou sat on her shoulder sporting one of pity. The boy's expression made it perfectly clear that something had happened but Ritsuka wasn't going to talk about it.

He'd decided it was best that no one ever mention it ever again and everyone agreed. The good news was that it hadn't been what he suspected it was. The bad news was that it was still vomit. Which was disgusting in its own right.

"So you clean up my Cabin?" Drake asked with a raised eyebrow, Ritsuka paused in his walk before slowly turning his attention to Drake and giving her an empty smile.

"Y-yeah...we cleaned it up." He looked to the Shielder "Right Mash?"

"Yes, Senpai." Mash nodded her head behind him "We cleaned everything up...We even got Chaldea to send us some cleaning supplies."

"Huh?" Archer blinked in surprise while Boudica flashed him a victorious smile "Wouldn't that be a waste of resources?"

"No…" Ritsuka shook his head, his eyes holding no life in them "No it wouldn't." he paused when he noticed the pair in the kitchen "Can I get food?"

"No cutting in line!" Drake shouted out from where she was sat, soon scrambling to get up and rush towards the counter.

"They seem lively." Oscar chuckled as he watched the Captain barge past Ritsuka and Mash to get to the stew "Certainly more-so than I am used to, I admit."

"I doubt that is difficult for us." Ash replied, the Astoran shrugged and turned back to the Saber.

"Perhaps, but I grew up in a small fishing village." Oscar recounted with a wistful smile "We very rarely got visitors to my Father's house unless it was for the market trade."

"...I've never heard about life from before." Ash admitted with a small look of curiosity "What was it like?"

"Very different from here." Oscar replied "Although I cannot comment for all of Astora and certainly not for the lands beyond." he chuckled to himself "But...it was a peaceful life. I learned how to fish from my father, all to help for the trade."

Ash titled his head as he pointedly looked at the armour, Oscar gave a gentle huff of amusement.

"Yes...Well." He shrugged "I wanted to explore more of the world...well, more of Astora really." his expression flattened out "I wanted to find my duty. My purpose in the world so I joined the order of Knights."

"Did you find it?"

"Did I?" Oscar frowned "I wonder...Perhaps I did find it." he admitted after a few moments "But I did not complete it, I passed it onto another who carried it with him until the very end and saw it through." a dry huff passed through his lips "More the fool I am. Even before I became undead I was always a step too short."

Ash didn't reply to the man as he stared him up and down, Oscar blinked and looked back up at the unkindled with a slightly sheepish look.

"Forgive me, I have allowed my musings to wander." He spoke in a distant tone "I have not heard of Lothric before, perhaps you could tell me of it?"

"There is little to tell." Ash shrugged "It is a Kingdom that fell to ruin, perhaps I lived there when I was still alive but perhaps not. I am an Unkindled...I was raised by the flame itself after I had already perished."

"I see…" Oscar quietly looked down "Perhaps the fate of the undead was always known...a death that can never truly come even after Hollowing."

"...Did you-"

"I did." Oscar nodded, looking down at his hands "It is a strange thing to be back having remembered losing yourself...I do not know if it can be repeated and I fear the answer would only cause me grief...but I suspect I know it." an empty smile came to him "I sense you know as well...given that neither of us are capable of taste I should think."

"...I do not know if I can go Hollow." Ash replied "Perhaps I cannot or perhaps I can...I believe that it is my connection with Ritsuka that keeps me sane. As a Servant I am bound in my duty to serve him so I cannot lose sight of that goal."

"I am envious then." Oscar spoke honestly "To have a duty you know you can fulfil and never lose sight of."

"I do not know if it is something to envy." Ash frowned, looking down at the table "...We unkindled are different from you undead. We know our purpose from the very moment we are risen. We all have a shared goal that we must fulfil and if we turn away from it, we will become Hollows."

"It does not sound dissimilar to being an undead."

"No...but imagine being told from the moment you awaken you already know that your best wasn't enough to begin with." Ash exhaled "And that ahead of you lies a more daunting task to complete than when you lived. Not that I had much of a choice anyway, I would either fulfil my duty and find some way to return the Lords of Cinder to their thrones or I would lose myself to Hollowing."

"...What kept you going?" Oscar asked "I do not believe I would have the strength for such a task."

"Strength?" Ash frowned "It was not strength it was simply that...I was asked to do it." he shrugged "So...I did. It does not matter how invested I might have become afterwards, it will always be because someone asked me to do it." he looked into Oscar's eyes "I was told from the very beginning what my duty would be so who am I to question it?"

"...Who indeed." Oscar hummed in response "Perhaps it was simple perseverance that saw you through, either way it was a quality I lacked." he looked back towards the others in the room "It does not get any less strange to see them with such notions about them...self indulgence was not something I practised even before I became undead."

"It is strange and I will tolerate it if I am forced to." Ash pursed his lips "...But that does not mean I will ever understand it. Although I have never attempted to indulge myself and whenever the notion came to me it was swiftly stamped out."

"Why?"

Ash gave him a knowing look which caused Oscar to nod his head in understanding "Nevermind, I believe I understand the issue's that presented themselves."

"Quite frequently too." Ash exhaled "...Do you think it is somehow rewarding for them?"

"I do not know." The Knight answered honestly while shrugging his shoulders "I cannot imagine how it would be, but I have never put much stock in material gains before."

"Me neither." Ash admitted "I collected many trinkets but they were all useful, at least in some capacity."

"A Bottomless Box?" Oscar inquired, Ash let out a hum of affirmation "I see, I only ever acquired a small one in the past. Although it saw me through many troubles." a sheepish look came to his face "I will admit that I never acquired much for it and aside from my equipment it was not used often."

"That's not much to be ashamed of, I found that I had specific equipment I would frequently use." He winced "I have forgone my usual sword for its ability to catch fire."

Oscar stared at him and then looked around the wooden room they were in "Yes...I can see why you would." he chuckled "That would present quite the issue if you were to swing it in the wrong direction. I can already tell that I would be quite clumsy in regards to such a weapon."

"I am a pyromancer as well, I know very little other magic." Ash admitted "It has limited me to my other tools at hand." he paused before adding on "Not that I am incapable with and in truth I only used the Onyx blade because I would not have to set it alight myself. The blade was enchanted with a flame of its own."

"It is often wise for Undead such as ourselves to be partial to more than one variety of weapon." Oscar nodded his head in approval "I admit I have some passing skill with a bow but it is nothing extraordinary."

"My own skill with a bow is likely nothing amazing either." Ash huffed "Although when compared to Arash or Gough that is understandable."

Oscar stared at him for several seconds, blinking repeatedly before he spoke again "When you refer to Gough...do you perchance mean the Giant Archer of Gwyn's legendary Knights?"

"I do." Ash nodded his head "We met him in our previous outing. As an Archer I doubt there are many who could compare."

"Perhaps Pharis." Oscar offered with an almost giddy expression "His was always a favourite tale of mine when growing up. My father managed to purchase a hat made in the shape of his." the expression turned wistful "It is what inspired me to become a Knight. Hearing of the tale of just an ordinary man who could compete with the Gods themselves."

"Hmm." Ash hummed in response "It does sound most interesting and having seen the Giant's skill first hand it would take someone of great ability to equal him."

"Perhaps." Oscar's smile turned slightly empty "...And they are far more fitting to be here than one such as I." he muttered in a quiet tone.

"So…" David smiled as he slid down into a chair next to Havel, the large Berserker paused for barely half a moment before the spoon disappeared into the helmet ports, replaced by a quiet slurping noise before the spoon re-emerged "How are you finding life on the ocean?"

"Not...great…" Havel grunted in response "Not...terrible…"

"That's alright." David nodded his head "I suppose it might not be for everyone, you ever been on the ocean before?"

"Ye..s.." The Berserker nodded as he moved another spoonful of food up to his helmet "Many..tim..es…"

"Oh." David blinked in response "Well…" he moved his own spoon through his stew and towards his mouth "What was your ocean like in comparison to this?"

"It's...oce..an…" Havel's helmet tilted slightly "Seen...one...Seen...all…"

"Feel like someone just said something that sounded wrong." Drake scratched the back of her head as she looked around the room "...Probably nothing." turning her attention back to the stew, she stared at it for a few more moments before she craned her head over to where Archer and Boudica were "Don't suppose I could convince you to become permanent crewmembers, could I?"

Boudica released a good natured chuckle at the request, Archer grunted in response and said nothing more. "I'm afraid we have prior engagements." Boudica offered with an appreciative smile "But I'm at least glad you enjoyed the food that much."

"Better than something I've eaten in a long time." Drake huffed "Normally fish and birds just appear but we can't make them taste good."

"Sounds as though it is the work of the Grail, Senpai." Mash nodded her head in affirmation "Drake-san must have made some manner of wish to provide her crew with supplies."

"Really?" Ritsuka blinked "Could it not also be the ocean itself?"

"It's possible." Romani's face appeared over Ritsuka's shoulder wearing a thoughtful look "But...Excuse me, Captain Drake?"

"Huh?" Drake looked over to Romani and squinted her eyes at him "Hmm...You have a shallow look about you sir." she drawled out with a frown "Cowardly, gutless and pessimistic to boot. A good man though...Yeah, I hate people like you the most."

Romani blinked once before his head fell into his hands "One of these days we're going to meet a Servant who doesn't insult me to my face."

"I don't think Ash-san insulted you, Doctor." Mash offered, Romani looked up and blinked once before a hopeful look came to him.

"He didn't!" He cheered "Hey! Ash!"

"Huh?" The Unkindled looked towards them from across the room, Oscar doing so as well "Yes?"

"Thanks for not insulting me!"

"...Your welcome?" Ash blinked and looked to Oscar, the man shrugged in response, before turning back to him "Was I supposed to? I've noticed most of the other Servants we encountered seem to do so."

"Why?" Oscar scrunched up his face "Is there some issue about him that seems irritate the eye?"

"I don't really know either." Romani sighed, shaking his head "Anyway, back to what I was going to ask. Did you begin encountering supplies for your crew before or after you acquired the Grail?"

"After." Drake nodded her head "Why?"

"That settles it." Romani nodded his head "Would you ever wish for treasure?"

"What?" Drake looked as though she sucked a lemon "What's the point of having treasure if you don't put work into getting it?"

Romani hummed in response "That means your first priority would have been for food and shelter for your crew, basic essentials so that you could live out here." he sent Ritsuka and Mash a knowing smile "Which means that her wish was probably for bountiful seas and water that she could exploit."

"Huh." Ritsuka blinked once "Well, that makes sense. So we don't need to worry about resupply?"

"It would be practical to take advantage of the current situation." Olga's voice appeared behind Romani, the man turned his chair to the side and pushed it back to allow her to appear in the frame "That fiasco with the Goddess Artemis-"

"The wha-" Drake sputtered.

"Managed to lose us nearly twenty-percent of our food reserves." She paused before cringing "Given that the servants have also taken to eating some of the food it would be best that we continually stock up per Singularity we visit."

"So...grab some fish or something while we're here?" Ritsuka guessed, the Director nodded her head in response before looking to Drake "If you have no problems?"

"As long as you catch it." Drake crossed her arms "Whole point of it. You help catch it you can do what you like with your share."

"Fair enough." Ritsuka nodded to himself "Gonna have to be a lot of fish."

"Eh, sometimes we get big ones." Drake replied with an amused smile, Ritsuka and Mash froze while Olga blinked several times.

"Big ones?" The Director repeated with a hint of dread "What do you mean 'big ones'?"

"I mean big ones." Drake looked at her as if she'd said something stupid "Biggest one we caught was...um…" she furrowed her brows in thought before looking across the room "Hey! What was the biggest fish we caught?"

"Half the size of the Golden Hind." One of the pirates answered back "Although apparently there's a big fish with loads of heads living out near where the big city used to be." he shrugged "Although that's what Pete says and Pete is an idiot."

Drake frowned "We talking Patchy Pete or Pete with one leg?"

"One leg."

Drake clicked her tongue "Yeah, surprised he's still alive."

"C-can we just go back a second?" Mash stuttered "Do you mean there's a Hydra living in the ocean?"

A clunk of wood turned everyone's attention over to Havel, the Berserker's helmet was facing them fully "Hy...dra…?" he growled out in a menacing tone.

"It's a sea monster with loads of-" Romani offered before Havel cut him off with a growl.

"I...know...what…Hydra...is…" The Berserker slammed his hand onto the table and rose to his feet, spinning around and marching towards the exit onto the deck "I'm...going…"

"Going?" Ritsuka blinked at him "Going where?"

"Hun..ting…" Havel answered immediately, it took Ritsuka barely a second to infer the meaning behind the statement before he quickly shot to his feet with a panicked look.

"Wait, wait!" He rushed to block the door, spreading his arms wide "You want us to drop everything and rush off to kill a Hydra?"

"Yes." Was the immediate answer he received "Mo..ve.."

"H-hang on here!" Romani's face appeared behind the Master "A Hydra is a high level phantasmal beast! They have poison that would instantly kill a normal human being and would probably cause even a Servant to suffer-"

"And?" Havel tilted his head "All...more...reason...to...kill."

"We're not going monster hunting on my ship." Drake called out from where she was sat "Damn if I'm going anywhere near something like that."

"She beats up Poseidon but decides a Hydra is too much for her?" David gave a wry smile "That's fair enough, even I'm feeling a bit anxious about doing something like that. It took the likes of Heracles to kill one of their more notable members."

"See?" Ritsuka pointed over to David "We don't have Heracles!"

"I didn't know Hydra breathed poison." Oscar whispered to Ash "I thought they spat water?"

"I don't even know what a Hydra is." Ash whispered back "Some sort of sea creature?"

"Think of a Dragon without wings and multiple heads that lives in the water."

Ash thought for a moment, then his lips thinned "...I see. Did you ever encounter one?"

"Thankfully no." Oscar shook his head "I...happened to hear of it from a travelling companion." he replied, eyes shifting away slightly "He killed two I believe. Apparently they are also larger than most Dragons as well."

Ash nodded his head, turning towards the others "I concur. Until we have reason to seek out and slay such a beast, it is best we continue on our current course." he paused for a few moments before he looked to Ritsuka "Although I will support whatever choice you make."

"Right…" Ritsuka pinched the bridge of his nose before giving Havel a steady look "We're still searching for clues to the Grail and we don't know if there even is a Hydra about to begin with. It was apparently a rumour from a…" he looked to Drake "How credible is the source?"

"Pete once told everyone he could walk on water." Drake replied with a bland look "Problem is he once tried this when there were sharks about the ship. Reason we call him Peg-leg Pete."

"Okay, the source comes from an idiot." Ritsuka affirmed to himself.

"That's a bit mean, Senpai." Mash gave him a slightly chiding look, Ritsuka only shrugged in response.

"It's also accurate." Boudica voiced out "Probably should consider himself lucky he didn't end up dead."

"Regardless, even if there is a Hydra there its not like we can...you know...fight it all that well." Ritsuka went on "If it breaks the ship we're all going into the water and some of us aren't as good at floating as others." he pointedly looked at Havel's armour and then back to the Berserker's head.

Havel remained silent for a few moments before they grumbled "Fi..ne…" the Berserker turned around, moving back towards his table before pausing and looking over his shoulder "Will...wait…" were his parting words before he placed himself back where he was originally sat. David remained in front of him with a blank look before shifting his gaze over to the others and offering a supportive smile.

"I notice he said he'd wait rather than he'd drop it." Romani whispered to Ritsuka, the dark haired boy gave a small sigh of acknowledgement.

"I noticed that as well…" Lowering his arms back to his side, he moved back over to where Mash was "We'll probably be made to go Hydra hunting or something, won't we?"

"It isn't as though its not necessary…" Romani cringed as he spoke "A phantasmal of that level would have been extinct by now and while without the Grail it wouldn't normally be able to manifest at all and be forced out of the World...it's presence could lead to a minor disturbance in the timeline."

"So a tiny Singularity?" Ritsuka guessed, Romani nodded his head in affirmation which caused the boy to release a groan. "That's typical...Although Havel will be pleased, won't he?"

"Looks as though he will." Romani frowned "Although he referred to the Hydra as a Dragon which is odd considering they are only similar in the sense that they are both Phantasmals, unless Hydra and Dragons are different where they come from."

"As long as we're not being immediately dragged off to go completing Herculean labours." Ritsuka joked with a wry smile "Still...would be a heck of a boast, wouldn't it?"

"You want to complete the other eleven labours then?" Romani raised an eyebrow at him, Ritsuka paused and slowly shook his head.

"Leave it at just the one." He exhaled, running a hand through his hair "Probably for the best, besides. I don't think that the Director would approve of me doing something like that."

"Depends on if its necessary." Olga's voice called out, sounding more dispassionate than anything else "Also materials acquired from Phantasmal beasts are quite rare and would no doubt be useful to some of those in the Clocktower. It might be able to by us a small bit of leeway in the inevitable inquiry that will be launched."

"You want us to bribe the Clocktower lords?"

"I said incentive, not bribe." Olga dryly retorted "You can't bribe them but we could at least make it look as though we were able to exploit our poor situation to some benefit, otherwise we're all going to be lynched." her eyes darted to the side as she nervously played with her hair "Not that they'll give me much leeway…"

"Director." Mash whispered to the hologram, the woman jolted and turned her attention to the Shielder "It might be best we don't mention the Clocktower around Havel-san. He might get...annoyed."

Olga paused, then cringed when the thought came to her head about how Havel would respond to the knowledge of the Clocktower's existence. Especially the knowledge of how many of them behaved. Havel had already shown himself to be barely tolerant of some of the more benign members of Magi society.

Ash stared up at the night sky, it had already passed the point where most of the crewmembers had retreated to their own quarters and gone to bed with only a few still awake. One of those being Oscar, considering the undead Saber couldn't sleep to begin with.

Although there were the other Servants – with the exception of Mash and David, the latter because he just wanted to sleep and felt he had worked enough during the day – who were also awake and moving about the ship as well. Drake had described them as the 'night crew' not that Ash cared what she called it. He wouldn't call his current position demeaning but it was slightly beneath his skill-set.

Moving towards the bow of the ship, Ash placed his hands on the railing and looked across the ocean with an indiscernible expression on his face.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" His expression twitched when he heard Drake's voice behind him, the Unkindled looked over his shoulder to see her stop a few metres behind him with a faint smile on her face as she directed her eyes upwards "Rarely get tired looking at the night sky."

"Hmph." Ash grunted in response, turning his attention away from her and back out across the ocean.

"You don't like me much, do ya?"

"No."

"At least you won't deny it." Drake snorted to herself "Hate people like that, smile one moment and then the next they slip a dagger in your back. Although I suppose that's just how people can be."

"I know." He had enough experience with Patches to know that not ever smile directed at you was genuine. Despite it all, the man had still been something of a consistent source of both aid and problems. However, that was simply how it worked with Patches. He lived for the next day and that was it. It wasn't grand, it wasn't glamorous but it was simple.

And it had worked for him for a long time.

"Really?" Drake didn't sound as though she believed him "You seemed pretty vocal about how you expected me to act."

"Differing circumstances." Ash replied back "They all had duties of their own to fulfil, how should I care how they go about it?"

"That's a pretty crappy lie." Drake scoffed "You're not much good at hiding how you feel. Wear your heart on your sleeve."

Ash looked down at his arm, frowning before turning his attention back to Drake with a confused look. The woman blankly stared at him for a few moments before she cackled "Shit, you're terrible ain't ya?"

Ash clicked his tongue and looked away "Fine. I disliked some of their duties or they way they carried them out but that does not take away from their devotion. At the very end, at least they believed in something."

"Sounds like that got them dead."

"It got everyone 'dead' as you put it." Ash huffed "It kept them sane for the most part. That was more important than being alive."

"Really?"

"If your sane you can at least come back." Ash glanced over his shoulder at Drake "You lose sight of that and you slowly lose your sanity. Chasing after trinkets or treasures only to lose them."

Drake rolled her eyes "Oh boy...so now me being a treasure hunter bothers you?"

"Its the fact you live for nothing besides your treasure that bothers me." Ash replied without missing a beat "It's...wrong."

"Wrong?"

"Wrong." Ash nodded "It's unnatural and will only lead to ruin. There is nothing to be gained from it."

"Except Treasure." Drake wryly pointed out "You gain that."

"And only that." Ash turned to face her "If you are nothing without your treasure then you are nothing worth mentioning." he grimaced "You exist to be a problem for someone else and that is all that can be said about you. Someone who hopes to achieve something greater will inevitably stand in your way and all you can offer as your counterpoint to them is 'because I felt like it'." his lip curled in disgust "What manner of life is that?"

Drake's expression remained blank as she stared at him for a few moments before she looked away from him "What do you see when you look out there?"

Ash raised an eyebrow at her before following her gaze "...The Ocean."

"Anything else?"

"No."

"And that's how I can tell your life ain't worth it." Drake shrugged in response "You see nothing but a load of water. Me? I see possibility. It's not just the treasure that's out there, its the journey to get the treasure." she chuckled "If I saw just 'getting treasure' as my duty as you put it, I'd be a poor Captain. That's why I live for me. Otherwise I wouldn't be sailing the seas. I'd be a woman who captains a boat in the middle of an expanse of water."

"Those are the same thing."

"They aren't." Drake shook her head "But you can't see that...because you've never stopped to enjoy the moment, have you?"

Ash stared at her for a few moments before he looked away "...There was never anything to enjoy."

"Oh...I'm sure there was." Drake snorted "But you never had the opportunity to take advantage of it."

Ash said nothing in response, still staring at the Ocean. Eyes glinting as if he was searching for something upon the horizon. He saw nothing.

He couldn't decide if that made him feel better for not vindicating Drake or worse.

He moves without real passion. Everything he does is because he's been told. It's not as though he has a true will of his own.

It's all because he was told.

It's all because he was told.

Is that really something that could be called a life? It's without joy, sorrow or anger. It's just…

Nothing.

"What's that you do with your face whenever I come back?" He asks one day, its nothing important. He just catches it whenever he enters the Shrine.

The woman in black tilts her head.

"Does it offend you, Milord?"

"No…" He denies, but it troubles him greatly.

Because it doesn't make much sense to him. He knows what a smile is but he doesn't know why she keeps doing it.

He's only done what she has asked of him.

It's nothing special.

"I am gladdened to see you return, Milord."

He understands. He is one of the few unkindled who is still around willing to take up the duty. There are others. He's met some.

"So...you smile?"

"I do, Milord." She admits it without shame or guilt. "Thou art forever welcome home, Ashen One."

Home?

Is that what this place is now? Home?

He looks around, It's ashen, cold and uninviting.

Home?

"I...see…" He doesn't, but she thinks it is. It seems to bring some life into her being, more than his. So he'll allow her to think so. The smile he returns is one without emotion in it. She thinks its home for him.

So he'll think its home for himself as well, as long as that makes her comfortable.

"Rise and Shine!" Ritsuka let out a yelp as he flung himself from the bed, spinning around and getting into a rather awkward fighting stance. A snort had him pause and turn his attention towards the other people in the room, Drake regarded him with a marginally amused look before gesturing with her thumb "Get above deck lad, we've spotted some land."

Ritsuka flushed and nodded his head, moving to straighten out his Mystic uniform and make towards the ladder onto the deck. The others were already getting up and moving ahead of him. Although his mind still found itself falling back onto the dream he'd just had.

A frown made its way onto his face.

He recognised the woman, that was Cecilia. Which made it another of Ash's memories although this one had been different from the others. It was…

Colder, for lack of a better word.

Something landed on his shoulder, craning his neck to get a better look at it he instead found himself staring at a ball of white fur.

"Morning Fou." He chuckled to himself, reaching up and scratching behind the white animal's ear, the creature let out a pleased hum in response. "Think we've discovered anything interesting?"

Fou tilted their head at him letting out a small "Kyu" noise in response.

"Well...worth a shot at a guess anyway."

"Lower the Sails!" Drake shouted up "We'll take the row boat out there!" she marched through the deck before turning her attention to Oscar and David "You two stay with the ship."

"Alright then." David agreed almost instantly, Oscar nodded his head in response but said nothing.

"Right then." She turned her attention away from the duo and to the small gathering of Servants near the drop onto the row boat "Hope you lot know how to use an oar…" her eyes fell on Havel "Probably best you-"

The man faded away into motes of light, cutting off whatever she was going to say and causing her eyes to nearly bulge out of her skull and her jaw to snap shut.

"I think that means he'll travel with us." Boudica gave an amused laugh before looking down at the boat "Probably safer for all of us too."

"But he ain't gonna be doing any work?"

"Are you going to be helping?" Ash gave the woman a bland look, Drake opened her mouth to retort before she slowly closed it.

"...Fair enough." She replied with a small shrug before she looked over her shoulder "Bout time you two turned up."

"Sorry, Drake-san." Mash offered "I forgot to tell you Senpai was a heavy sleeper."

"I'm not that bad, am I?" Ritsuka let out an indignant groan as he jogged over to where the others had already gathered "Where's Havel anyway?"

"I believe only Siegward has you bested in sleeping." Ash replied with a faint smile "And Bishop Havel has returned to Spirit form so as to not weigh down the boat."

"Ah." Ritsuka nodded his head "Alright then."

Drake stared at Ash in a weird way "Bishop?"

"Yes." Ash affirmed "He is a Bishop."

"...I'd like to see someone try and tell him they won't go to his sermons." Drake snorted to herself as she climbed down the ladder "Hurry up then! Ain't got all day and there's probably treasure on that island."

Ritsuka waited for Ash to make a comment, when he didn't he looked over and just saw the Saber with an irritated look on his face before it shifted into an expressionless gaze. Ash soon began following after Drake in climbing down the ladder onto the boat.

"Have you ever used an oar to row a boat, Senpai?" Mash asked, Ritsuka shook his head.

"Nope, but it can't be that…" He trailed off "I didn't say it, so it doesn't count." he instantly whispered to himself "It doesn't count, right?"

"It probably does, Fujimaru-kun." Romani's voice called out over his communicator, sounding genuinely sympathetic "Sorry to say."

"Damn it." Ritsuka clicked his tongue "Nevermind, lets just go then."

Mash was left bewildered as to what the problem was, still looking around in confusion at the exchange, only to see Archer slowly nod his head as if he had heard some universal truth while Boudica gave Ritsuka an encouraging smile.

"For first time oarsmen you weren't that bad." Drake complimented with a slight shrug "Not great but I'm sure you'll get better with time."

"Hmph." Havel grunted as he materialised, club resting on his shoulder and sideways towards them, helmet scanning the beach. "Something...strange…"

"Can't fault his instincts." Drake let out a small huff, taking a deep sniff of the air "Yep. Air is different here." her eyes narrowed "Way too different to other shores."

"Really?" Ritsuka blinked, taking a sniff of the air himself and frowning when he found nothing "It is?"

Drake waved his off "You tend to be able to tell these things when you sail long enough."

"Captain Drake is correct Fujimaru-kun." Romani's rather astounded voice came over the communicator "There are mild differential readings in the atmosphere where you are now than compared to Pirate island."

"Still...not...calling...it...that." Havel grunted from where he was, Drake sent him a raised eyebrow.

"What do you call it then?"

"Scums...re...treat…"

Drake remained silent for a few moments before she burst out laughing, clutching her belly and nearly doubling over "Hahahah! Hahahahaha! S-scums...Hahahahaha!" wiping away a tear from her eye, she sent Havel a deeply amused look "Y-yeah, that's pretty accurate."

"It must be a result of the Singularity." Romani cupped his chin "Perhaps it is merging different sea's together. If it is an assault on the 'Age of Exploration' itself then it would stand to reason that the entire period is being affected."

"That's a surprisingly intelligent deduction coming from you." Da Vinci's voice came from over the communicator.

"...Thanks for the vote of confidence, Leo." Romani's flat voice replied "Anyway, its still pretty impressive that Drake would be able to tell the difference, but I suppose that's just the le…..ary…...ncis….ujima….n?"

"Roman?" Ritsuka tapped his communicator repeatedly "You still there?"

"…"

He got only garbled static in response, a flat look came to his face as he turned to Mash "This is becoming common place, isn't it?"

"Unfortunately so, Senapi." Mash gave a grim nod of her head "Perhaps something on this island is causing interference?"

"Must be." Ritsuka nodded "Guess we'd have to get back to the Golden-"

A deep rumbling cut Ritsuka off as the ground suddenly shook beneath their feet, the Master's eyes went wide as they lost their footing and fell flat on their face into the sand, the Servants all assumed combat positions while Mash rushed over to Ritsuka.

"What was that?" Ash looked around, hand resting on Storm Ruler on his back.

"An Earthquake, perhaps?" Boudica frowned "No...that didn't feel like one."

Archer narrowed his eyes "It was the activation of a Bounded field." he replied, looking around "A strong one too."

"Really?" Mash looked over to Archer before squinting her eyes "I...yes. I can feel it as well! It's a subtle pressure on my back!"

"What's a Bounded Field?" Ritsuka asked as he pushed himself out of the sand, dusting himself off and wiping his eyes clean.

"It would take some time to explain it properly." Archer replied "Think of it as a spell which affects an area with a specific effect. In this instance…" he frowned "I'm not sure." he turned towards the row boat and slowly made his way over to it. He then raised his leg and gave the boat a light kick which normally would have been more than enough to push it off the shore.

The boat didn't so much as move an inch.

"In this case it seems we're stuck here." Boudica surmised "Do you think it covers this specific area or the whole island?"

"Impossible to tell from here." Archer frowned "You'd need a Caster for that…" his eyes turned to Havel "Can you dispel it?"

"...No…" Havel shook his head "Would...need...to...be...near...origin."

Archer slowly nodded his head "I thought as much."

"So...we're stuck here then?" Ritsuka guessed with an already knowing look on his face.

"Seems that's the case." Drake rolled her neck "Could try and get a message back to the Hind and see if they can-"

A blur crashed into the sand at the shoreline, soon revealing the form of David with a slightly troubled look on his face "So, I have some bad news." he started with "The ship is stuck."

"...Eh?" Drake blinked at him, then looked over his shoulder to see the Golden Hind with its sails raised but unmoving "What do you mean?"

"The ship itself is fine, but it appears as though we fixed in place. For the time being, we don't seem to be going anywhere." David replied in a patient tone "Sorry, Captain."

"Well, we're stuck here as well." She pointed towards the row boat "For now I suppose we'll have to search this island for clues. You stay here and watch the ship in case anyone tries to come around and take advantage of us."

"Will do." David nodded with a casual look before turning back in the direction of the ship and pulling out his sling, spinning it up he released several glowing green stones and hurled them across the water, jumping as they flew and seemingly riding them back towards the ship.

"...I didn't know David could do that." Ritsuka blinked in surprise at the display.

"I didn't know either." Drake shrugged "Oh well. Best prepare yourselves!" she whirled around to face the island with a grin "We're going exploring!"

"...Terrific." Ash marched past her with a note of resignation in his voice "Because that never ends poorly."

AN: We're onto the island of the Goddess and one Minotaur.

That's going to be fun...also a nice little mention of a Hydra lurking in the waters.

Is it one from Fate or Dark Souls? Who knows.

Well...I do but that's beside the point. Next chapter is obviously going to be some casual conversations as they explore and an encounter with a ruin.

Because all Dark Souls games inevitably involve someone skulking about a labyrinth.

Looking at you Sen!