Trial Quest - Scathach: I

Ash's eyes darted to his side as he followed the blur closing in on him, he swung his sword upwards as it halted for a split second. His effort was rewarded with a clang as he parried the red spear into the air, the wielder merely smirking at him before leaning his body to the side and swinging a leg out.

Ash frowned, raising his free arm in front of him and grimacing as the heel made contact with his guard. The force behind the kick sent him skating backwards along the ground, the mud underneath his feet grinding further downwards as he carved a small valley through the filth. Lowering the sword arm, Ash swiftly pocketed the weapon into his box and rushed forwards.

Red eyes briefly widened in surprise at the sudden move before they narrowed. His opponent charged him with speed he could only dream of, closing the distance between the pair of them in a split second. Emerald coloured eyes moved upwards as he watched the crimson lance fall down through the air towards him like a hammer. His expression remained steeled as his next weapon flew from his box and into his hands.

The attack was halted when the spear slammed into the crossguard of another lance. The blue haired man's smirk merely crew when he saw the new weapon his opponent had pulled out. The spear was deftly pulled back and then twirled around his body as nothing more than a spinning blur of red before it abruptly halted and thrust towards him.

Ash grasped his spear with both hands, allowing the memories of the previous wielders to flow into him. He thrust upwards at the same time, both spears ground against their opposite as they rushed towards their targets. Ash winced slightly as the crimson spear nicked a shallow cut in his shoulder as it was redirected. His opponent turned their body at the last moment to avoid the cross spear striking them, the crossguard in a vertical direction as it slid just past the right shoulder.

Green eyes narrowed slightly before Ash rolled the weapon in his grasp before he pulled back. The crossguard turned horizontal and struck the back of the right pauldron, the spear wielder stumbled forwards as he was jerked in the direction of Ash. The unkindled threw his body forwards, twisting himself and slamming his shoulder into his attacker and found himself rewarded with a gasp as the blow shunted his attacker away from him.

The blue armoured man allowed the momentum of the blow to allow him to roll back before he then fell onto his front, swiftly altering his stance to appear more like a beast and sending a challenging smirk towards the Saber. The man rushed forwards, Ash's instincts screamed at him to dodge. He stepped to the side, just narrowly avoiding being run through as the Lancer shot past him like a crossbow bolt, time seemed to slow down as the pair made eye contact with each other before time resumed as Cu blew past him with a rush of wind.

Ash turned on his heel and charged after the Lancer, kicking off the ground he jumped into the air and raised the spear above his head, tightly gripping it with both hands before thrusting it downwards as he approached the ground. Cu span around, looking up and noticing the attack, he jumped back to avoid it as Ash slammed into the dirt, kicking up a small explosion of soil before he rushed out of the cloud before it even had a chance to fall.

Cu swung his spear out across him, meeting the thrust head on and swiping it away from his person. He altered his footing and pulled the length of the spear back up his hand before grasping the butt of the weapon with his free hand and swinging it upwards into the charging attacker.

The spear slammed against his attackers jaw with a thud, they stepped back before Cu rushed forwards, thrusting forwards nearly a dozen times in under a half a dozen seconds. Eyes snapped down to him as the Saber worked furiously to block and redirect all of the attacks, the spearwork in his hands was certainly skilled but it was unpolished. Missing something, as if being repeated as nothing more than a memory.

Cu's lip curled in disgust as he found himself being reminded of a certain Archer who also used weapons not traditionally belonging to his class. Although at the very least he could say that Ash took his job very seriously so he had some pride in his work. That was always a plus.

Taking the spear into both hands, Cu swung it across himself in a wide arc, forcing Ash to lean backwards to avoid being struck with it. The Lancer took advantage of the opening and swung his leg out to the side as he allowed the momentum of the swing to carry him, his boot collided with Ash's ribs and sent the Saber sprawling along the ground for a few metres. Cu rushed after him in a blur, thrusting down towards him as he rolled back up to his feet.

He noticed a split second before he made contact with the Saber that the weapon in his hands had changed again, as he thrust towards him he found his attack being redirected upwards by a short dark spear in the Ash's left hand. Then he had to lean back to avoid a longer spear - the same length as his own - from running through his face. He watched as the spear passed just in front of his eyes before he kicked off the ground and flipped away, making sure to catch the spear with his feet as he did so and force Ash to stagger away to assume his own stance once again.

"What is it with me and dual wielders?" Cu asked as he landed on his feet, scoffing to himself as he rested the spear on his right shoulder and staring at the Saber with a slasher grin "Two spears as well? May as well call yourself a Lancer."

"It would be strange, I am more used to wielding swords." Ash admitted without much hesitation as he returned to his feet, holding both weapons out in front of him, the shortspear held in the middle of its grip and turned sideways to him while the longspear was cocked back in preparation to thrust. "Although I have wielded spears on occasion."

"I can tell." Cu snorted as he shook his head "Ain't got a single style of your own, do you?"

Ash raised an eyebrow at him "...You noticed?"

"Meh, they're all incomplete." Cu waved his hand dismissively "Lacking a certain polish to them. You ain't bad but you ain't great either. Sort of average…" he paused, then shook his head "Although at least you won all those weapons in combat, right?"

Ash nodded his head "The more powerful ones I earned through battle, yes."

"...Back to it then!" Cu snorted and charged forwards "That old hag would have my head if she found out I lost to an undead while wielding this spear!" He chuckled as he collided with Ash, locking Gae Bolg against the two spears caught in a cross guard and focing the Saber backwards. Ash narrowed his eyes as his feet dug into the ground, eventually sliding to a halt.

"Your teacher who slew undead, yes?"

"A couple Gods too!" Cu turned to the side as Ash pulled back the short spear and thrust towards his body, the spear sailing past him before he pushed the longspear back and twirled the weapon in his grasp again. Ash stepped back and raised the shortspear in a guard as he advanced on him, his spear crashing against the weapon repeatedly in a shower of sparks "She might like you!" Cu paused before he broke through the guard and kicked Ash in the chest, sending him flying head over heels and rolling across the ground "...Actually, she might also hate you too. Depends on which comes first."

Ash stabbed the shortspear into the ground, slowing himself to a halt and snapping his head up before he narrowed his eyes.

Kicking off the ground, he charged towards the Lancer, the man shifted his stance in preparation for Ash to close the distance between the two of them. The long spear came down first, striking at his side, Cu turned the spear over his side, halting the strike and leaning back. The shortspear was swung up at his neck, prompting the Lancer to raise his forearm, blocking the attack and locking the offending limb in his own.

The pair stared at each other before Cu raised his spear up, flipping the other longspear over the top of his head and spinning Ash in the direction of the weapon, Ash reversed the grip on the shortspear as he turned, spinning on his heel and thrusting it towards the Lancer's ribs. Cu jumped back as the spear sailed towards him, sliding the length of his spear back up his hand and swinging out at Ash as he did so.

The pair winced as Ash managed to score a shallow cut along Cu's side with the shortspear as he turned back around. He similarly winced as Cu managed to cut along the top of his head with the crimson spear. The pair threw themselves away from the other to gain distance.

Cu stared at him for a few moments before his eyes trailed down to the small cut in his bodysuit, giving it a raised eyebrow before raising his head and looking at Ash. The Saber had a cut just above his right eye, already starting to leak dark liquid down his face.

"...Hmmmm." Cu hummed as he idly twirled the spear in his hands, watching as the Saber followed his movements with a critical eye before he paused, halting the turning of the spear and sweeping it out in front of him. Ash hurled the shortspear towards him, the Lancer effortlessly deflected the flying spear with a hint of amusement in his eyes as Ash rushed in.

Then found himself blinking in surprise as the Saber - instead of going for a normal thrust - instead stabbed his longspear into the ground as he ran and used it as a jumping point, pole vaulting himself into the air and spinning around before swinging the spear down towards him. The Lancer was left dumbfounded by the blatant theft of one his moves before he thinned his lips and raised his own spear sideways and caught the attack against the pole of his weapon.

The pair struggled against each other for a few moments before Cu roughly pushed the Saber back through the air then kicked off the ground after him. Appearing in the air above the Saber, he shot straight down and collided with the Servants guard and sent them both rocketing into the dirt. Soil exploded again when the pair went flying out of the cloud, Ash stepping backwards with Cu chasing him down like a wolf.

Ash grit his teeth as the Lancer's attacks fell on him in a furious barrage, so he did the only thing he could think of.

He set his spear on fire, the sudden burst of heat exploding out from the spear caused Cu to briefly halt his attack and wince as the two weapons clashed against each other again. Sparks of embers flying from the weapon and washing over the two of them. Ash's left hand exploded in a ball of flame, consuming the pair of them.

Ash knew for a fact his Pyromancy wasn't strong enough to get past Lancer's magic resistance. However, that didn't mean that the explosion didn't serve a purpose. The bright flash of light temporarily blinded the Lancer and caused him to swing out through the cloud on reflex. Ash caught the spear with his left forearm, wincing as the bladed edge of the weapon dug through his gauntlet with a screech before it halted. Ash's right hand thrust his spear forwards through the cloud.

He felt the weapon violently jerk upwards as the smoke cleared, revealing that Cu had parried the blow away with a backhand of his own aimed skywards. Cu smirked at him before swinging his leg towards Ash, the Saber met the kick with one of his own. The two legs bashed against each other like hammers, producing a small shockwave as the force behind them blasted the other away. As Ash rolled away, he raised his left hand and slammed the burning palm into his own chest.

Wisps of flame washed over his body, clinging to him in burning orange lines before he hunched his body. Already feeling the spell boost his strength. At the same time the pressure around the Irish Lancer exploded, the air visibly shifted as his body moved.

Ash swung to the side as he came flying at him from the right, the two clashed as Lancer flew past him, the blow sent him staggering back and already turning to the left as the next attack flew in. He managed to keep his feet on the ground when the Lancer collided with him again, gritting his teeth as he found himself skating along the ground by the force of the attack. Red eyes met green as they shoved against each other.

Ash purposefully fell backwards, kicking upwards and throwing the Irish Lancer over the top of him. Cu crashed into the dirt in a roll before carrying himself back into his feet and turning around, this time finding himself on the defensive from Ash who charged him down with the burning spear still in hand. There was hardly a comparison between the two of them, Cu had strength, speed and technique. Ash had brute force and an inkling of skill with a weapon but nothing masterful.

However, as he swung the spear around Cu narrowed his eyes the longer they fought. Noticing that bit by bit he could see parts of his own style being reflected in the Saber's attacks being mixed with whoever had wielded the spear before him. His moves becoming fiercer and more coordinated. That being said it was still a clumsy mimicry, nothing more than surface level, akin to a child repeating an action he had been shown.

His eyes narrowed slightly at the movements, watching the technique of himself and his teacher get used so clumsily was a bit irritating. He blocked the next strike by the burning spear, the moment Ash pulled it back to resume his attack. Cu launched forwards, thrusting his spear down and through the Saber's thigh, the spear burst through his limb and nailed him to the ground.

He swung upwards, catching the Saber with an uppercut and causing his body to fall backwards. As Ash fell he let go of his spear, the weapon clattering to the ground. Cu made to advance before he noticed the eyes snapped down towards him and narrowed. His instincts warned him immediately, his hand grasped the spear in Ash's leg and ripped it out with a spurt of blood.

Ash swung his body back upwards, sweeping Galvatyne through the air and unleashing a wave of demonic fire from the blade. Cu lowered his body to the ground as the heat rushed over him before he rolled to the side as the blade struck the dirt, chaos flames washed across the surface as Ash yanked the sword back and sent a spray of burning soil towards the Lancer.

Cu rolled back onto his feet and swung his lance through the air, the force behind the sweep bringing with it a gust of wind which sent the shrapnel flying away from him. Ash hobbled slightly on his wounded leg, the greatsword in his hand still burning bright with vicious orange flames which flickered erratically.

The two charged at each other again.

Ash lay on the ground, staring up with a flat expression before he pulled himself up and stared at the Lancer with a raised eyebrow "That seemed more violent than usual."

Cu sniffed "...Sort of pissed me off there." He wasn't too far from the Saber, propped up against the burning remains of a simulated tree as the area around them had been scorched. Ash's rather cavalier use of flames had done most of the damage, swapping out skill for keeping him distracted and not giving him a chance to use his speed. He certainly used a lot of tricks. "Namely you stealing my moves and making them shit."

Ash tilted his head slightly before he understood, nodding slowly. "Your spear moves, yes I did attempt to copy them as well."

"You ain't built for that and you remind me of that red Archer bastard."

"...Really?" Ash furrowed his brows slightly, pursing his lips and looking away as he climbed back onto his feet, making sure not to put pressure on the leg that had been skewered. "He seems to hold some resentment towards me."

"Good to know, then you can't be all that bad." Cu snorted, grunting as he used his own spear to hoist himself back up before dissipating it and crossing his arms "You've never been taught by anyone, have you? Just learn by watching or fighting? I can tell."

Ash nodded once.

"...Fair enough." Cu shrugged, rubbing his forehead "Can't fault that…still though." the man sighed "But yeah, if my Teacher caught you swinging your spear like that she'd probably break every bone in your body. She's very proud of her skill."

"The…old hag, yes?"

"...I'm really hoping she never finds out I called her that." Cu whispered to himself with a grimace, shivering slightly and looking around suspiciously "I have a feeling it wouldn't be all that pleasant for me." sniffing once, he shook his head and clapped his hand "Anyway…not bad I guess." he shrugged at the Saber "Still won though."

"So it seems." Ash replied without much of a care before leaning down and picking up the longspear from off the ground and resting it on his shoulders "Your Magic resistance is troublesome. Most opponents I fought did not have that."

"From what you're telling me, most guys you fought were also batshit crazy."

"The exception of Prince Lorian, however, he was crippled."

"How bad did he kick your ass?"

"...I died frequently to him, yes." Ash nodded his head once "He had no use for his legs and - like me - could be revived."

"A man who couldn't use his legs killed you?" Cu raised an eyebrow at him, creasing his brows "...What the fuck could he have done if he had legs then?"

Ash scratched the back of his neck "I am…certain it would have taken longer to defeat him if he were capable of walking."

"Well, at least you're honest about it." Cu shrugged, his expression then shifted into a more cheerful one "And still willing to say you'd win, eh? Good on you!"

"Ash, can you come to the command room please." The intercom chimed above the pairs heads, both looked upwards as Romani's voice rang out again "I repeat, Ash can you come to the command room. Thank you."

"Huh." Cu blinked before he gave a frown "I bet this is going to be something good…I'm probably going to miss out on it too." clicking his tongue, he crossed his arms and shook his head "Bah. I'll have to get Master to make it up to me somehow…"

Ash raised an eyebrow at him in a questioning fashion before he shrugged his shoulders and turned away from the Lancer, limping away and towards the door as the simulation shut down, the room reverting to its usual blank self and the burned remains of trees and charred patches of grass vanishing into nothing.

The door to the command room hissed open as Ash stepped inside, Ritsuka, Mash, Romani and Olga were already present in the room huddled around a screen.

"Hey Ash, thanks for coming-what the heck?" Ritsuka welcomed, turning around to face the Saber only to baulk at the state of him. Cuts across his face and a large puncture wound in his leg "What did-" he paused, a resigned look flashing across his face "You were sparring with Cu again, weren't you?"

"...Yes." Ash nodded in response, noticing how everyone else merely stared at him with exhausted features. Except Romani, who looked somewhat panicked by his appearance "He is one of the few Servants who does not attempt to hold back against me."

"Because Celts are bloodthirsty." Olga bluntly commented as she looked over her shoulder at him with a noticeable frown "Much as I might commend you for keeping yourself in a state of readiness, it shouldn't come at the expense of your own wellbeing. Especially if you're going to show up looking like that."

"Are you alright, Ash-san?" Mash asked, the only one to do so thus far, giving his wounds a rather concerned glance "Is it bad?"

"I have had worse." Ash replied with a stone-faced expression as he walked closer, the Shielder's eyes noticeably drifting to his wounded leg where her concerned look seemed to intensify slightly. "A healing spell will abate the damage in short order." he assured her with a curt nod before turning to the others "Was there something you needed?"

Romani stared at him for a few moments before turning around and pointing to the screen "It's Singularity F. The one you were first summoned into."

Ash raised an eyebrow at him "Is there something wrong with it?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Romani replied with a thoughtful frown "Most other Singularities we solved disappeared after we finished. Sure we get a few miniscule events happening in or around the time but nothing so damaging as the Singularity itself." he turned around and cupped his chin "Singularity F however…"

"However, the Singularity in Fuyuki remains ongoing." Olga carried on, biting her thumb as she glared at the screen "Disturbances are still ongoing in this Singularity and even with the Holy Grail no longer present, it shows no signs of stopping. For the time being this Singularity does not seem to be able to disappear." the woman paused before removing her thumb from between her teeth and giving a thinking pose "Perhaps because it was unrelated to the Holy Grail or perhaps the Holy Grail made the problem worse?"

Ritsuka blinked before he looked back at the screen "So the original problem is still there but the Grail just made it…bigger?"

"In layman's terms, yes." Olga nodded her head "However, as it stands this Singularity is low on the list of dangers. It is limited to a single city in 2004 and does not seem to do any damage on the whole of Human History." she paused before turning around to face the group "That said, I am allowing the formation of teams to try and understand the root cause of the Singularity and deal with it. As this is the initial scouting mission, I'm sending in the Servants who were originally present." she looked around. "Namely you three."

Ash nodded his head but said nothing more as the Director turned to Ritsuka and pointed at him "You're going to simply take a quick scout of the city while we analyse the readings. They seem to have spiked in the last twelve hours but since then they've stabilised. Find out what caused the spike."

"Yes, Director." Ritsuka and Mash nodded their heads before moving towards the door, Ash remained behind for a moment longer as he stared down at the Director with an indiscernible expression.

The woman stared up at him for a few seconds before she frowned "What? What are you looking at?"

"...You seem more comfortable than you did before." Ash bluntly commented, his lip twitching slightly "...Which is good."

Olga stared at him in silence before she waved in the direction of the door "Just go and follow them. Get yourself cleaned up too. You're hardly going to be any help if you can't walk straight."

She received a curt nod of the head from the Saber before he turned away and limped back towards the direction of the door, she crossed her arms and watched him depart with a scowl before shaking her head and turning back around, seeing Romani glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. "...What now?"

"...He's right, you know." Romani replied with a gentle tone as he went back to the monitor "You seem to be a bit more comfortable than you did before."

She scoffed at him, "Be quiet."

Romani sighed "Yes, Director." leaning over the desk, he called out to the operator below him "Meuniere, prepare the chamber for departure." he looked to another "Maxwell, look for a suitable landing spot, Kerry-"

"Prepare some banging tunes?" The woman asked with a smirk, it faltered slightly when Romani sent her a flat look and the Director's eyes narrowed, coughing into her hand the woman turned back to her own screen "I'll monitor any fluctuations in the Singularity."

"...Good." Olga grunted and stared down at the Rayshift chamber through the window "Perhaps we might be able to finally manage a single smooth operation."

"Well not if you say that we won't." Kerry muttered under her breath.

There were few moments in his life where Ash would find himself resigned to something. Yet this was one of those times, the Rayshift had seemingly gone according to plan up until the point they arrived in the era.

And he suddenly found himself hurtling towards the ground from high enough that he couldn't make out any individual structures. The entire city looked like a sea of flames and blocks of rock from where he had arrived. His eyes scanned left and right as he fell through the sky, not seeing any sign of either Mash nor of Ritsuka which was some small comfort that they were not also about to become as intimate with the ground as he was.

He turned his head back towards the ground and watched himself race towards it, frowning he then raised his left hand and pointed downwards. Either releasing a jet of fire from his palm would slow his descent ever so slightly or it would send him into a mad spiral where he would then crash into the ground. Then again, he didn't have much in the way of a choice with his current predicament.

Not doing anything was bound to kill him just as likely as doing something and it going wrong. His mind made up, he thrust his hand downwards and channelled as much magical energy as he physically could into his pyromancy flame. The hand flickered with the orange light for a few moments before it positively exploded, his body jerking at the sudden momentum pushing against him as he fell, Ash grit his teeth and moved his right arm to support his left to try and keep it steady as he fell.

The flames continued to jet out from his hand, he could feel himself slowing down - bit by bit - although it was more a case of instead of dying on impact he was more liable to break his legs this time. He paused when he recalled what Mash had done in this previous situation, using her shield to absorb the impact. He didn't have many shields that were quite as large as hers however and the only one he could think of was rather cumbersome.

Cutting off the flame, he felt himself begin to speed up as he reached into his body and flipped the lid open, his hands grasping at the handles before swinging out the paired greatshields. The twin doors reinforced with metal slammed together in front of him. Shutting closed as he grit his feet and felt the Noble Phantasm activate. The shield was good for protecting him.

It wasn't good for protecting anyone else.

His eyes tightly shut themselves as he felt his body crash into something. Whatever he struck gave way and he felt himself fall again, debris falling down around him as he felt his body violently jerk around and his arms scream in protest as impact after impact assailed his body.

He was jerked to the side rather roughly as something crashed into his back - likely a piece of falling debris - and he was sent rolling away and crashing through another stone construct. He felt his body go weightless and briefly caught himself staring up at the pitch black sky and before his eyes locked onto the remains of the tower block he had struck. The ruins - which had already been crumbling from the flames - had given way to his body and now brought the entire building crumbling down before him, vanishing into a cloud of dust as he rolled through the air before crashing into the street. Metal groaned and screamed behind him as he landed on the ruins of a burnt out car and bent its body to suit him.

He lay there for a few moments before letting out a long groan, parting the closed shields in front of him and undoing their protection from his body. Staring up at the sky, he could hear only the crackle of flames intermittent with the crashing sound of the apartment building collapsing into dust. Eventually, he managed to will his body to straighten up, the car beneath him groaned in protest as he crumpled the doors and roof everytime he shifted his body before he jumped onto his feet.

Turning his head left and right, he frowned at the complete lack of any sort of company he found himself with. He allowed the shields to return to their previous form, their bodies flowing back into the bottomless box and Galvatyne flowing out to replace them. The greatsword comfortably fitted inside his grasp as he raised it up and rested it upon his right shoulder.

Now he just had to find Ritsuka and Mash.

Utterly unaware of the pair of red eyes watching him intently, having seen his fall and subsequent landing. Not to mention having seen through his undead nature. The eyes narrowed as their owner rose up from a crouch.

The crimson spear in their hand flashed with energy before they kicked off the ground and into the air, leaping from the building they had been perched upon and moving through the sky like a blur as they closed in on their prey.

Ritsuka snapped his head as the echoing crash echoed out just above the roar of flames, the Master narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brows as he listened out for any other sounds. "...Did you hear that?" he asked Mash, the Shielder girl to his left paused for a moment before she slowly nodded her head.

"You mean the crash, Senpai?" At his nod, she gave an affirmation "I did. Do you think-?"

"Ash makes up for in destruction what he lacks in subtlety." Ritsuka sagely replied to her as he scanned his surroundings "...Anything from Chaldea yet?"

"No, Senpai." Mash shook her head with a troubled frown "Still haven't been able to establish contact with Chaldea. Which means that neither Doctor Roman nor the Director will be able to speak with us, nor will they get readings from our position." she paused, looking around and frowning intently "It…might have something to do with our situation."

"You can feel that as well?"

"You can, Senpai?" Mash asked in surprise before quickly schooling her features "The weird feeling that something is wrong here?"

"Yeah…" Ritsuka nodded his head with a grim expression "It feels different to the last time we were here. The Director said something about these flames being cursed but it feels like its way more than that." he rubbed his forehead in exasperation as he failed to find the right words "It…It sort of reminds me of that Halloween forest."

"With the spirits?" Mash inquired, at his nod she gave a more troubled frown "That was two days ago…do you think it has anything to do with that actual Samhain event?"

"You meet the spirit world crossing over into the normal world?" He asked, turning to her and then blanching "I hope not. That would be terrifying. With magic and that being real, Halloween sounds like a horror story waiting to happen." he paused "But if it were the case, wouldn't it make more sense for that to occur on the actual Halloween?"

"The Fuyuki Singularity is strange." Mash shrugged her shoulders and pursed her lips "The influx of Curses and the destabilisation of normal history - combined with the Grail that had been here - might mean that the boundary between worlds is naturally weak." she paused "This was where the first Servants from Ash-san's world were summoned."

Ritsuka scratched his chin in thought "So…expect Singularity F to be a hotspot for all sorts of weird goings on for the time being and see-" he paused "...You don't suppose that all the Samhain is the reason that the readings spiked, do you?" He turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

Mash blinked at him in surprise before she furrowed her brows "...An increase in the number of spirits here would be consistent with a jump in reading intensity." she muttered with a thoughtful expression before looking back up at him "That might be it, Senpai!" she paused again "B-but we would have to get back to Chaldea and get readings to find out…"

"And we're cut off from Chaldea." A beat "Again." sighing to himself, he reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose "Why does this sort of thing always happen?" he lamented with a shake of the head "Oh, we're just going on a scouting mission. Perfectly routine. Next thing you know I'm face down in the street and Ash is nowhere to be seen and probably already getting into trouble." stepping down the rubble, he frowned to himself "Honestly, sometimes it's weird to think that Ash is younger than me and then other times he does real childish stuff."

Mash blinked at him "...Is it?" she asked, tilting her head and following after him "I'm younger than you though, Senpai."

"Yeah, but you aren't six foot." Ritsuka replied back with a chuckle "Nor do you look a bit older than me." he paused at the base of the rubble, then turned around to face Mash as she was still stepping down "Can you just stay still a second?" he asked.

"Senpai?" Mash furrowed her brows in confusion but acquiesced to the suggestion and paused, staring down at Ritsuka as he stepped closer to her and looked up. Mash felt herself heat up ever so slightly as she looked at him while he stared up with a certain intensity "I-is something wrong, Senpai?"

"Hm?" Blinking, he shook his head and stepped away from her "No. I was just wondering how it would feel to have you look down on me." he explained as he placed his hands on his hips and thinned his lips, giving her a blank expression "...I think I've found out something about myself though." he quietly muttered to himself before turning around "Come on then…we've got a Saber to find, then we can work out if the ghosts are invading or not."

"I don't think ghosts can invade, Senpai!" Mash called out as she chased after him "They can get drawn to places of strong-" she paused before an expression of understanding hit her "Ah! That was a joke, wasn't it Senpai!"

"Yep."

"Senpai?"

"Yes, Mash?"

"Why don't you call Ash-san with the Servant link?"

"...I forgot I could do that." Ritsuka replied after a moment of silence, slapping himself on the forehead and flashing the Shielder a smile "Thanks."

"Ash?"

He paused as Ritsuka's voice reverberated through his head, the Saber looked up "Yes, Ritsuka? You are safe?"

"Me and Mash are fine." Ritsuka replied back through the link "What about you? We heard a crash a few moments ago and you weren't with us when we came down."

"You also fell?"

"...What do you mean 'also'?"

Ash blinked once before he spoke back through the link "You said you also came down, did you not?" he asked through the link "I manifested in the air once again and fell through some sort of tower. Were you not also teleported into the air?"

There was silence from the other end before Ritsuka replied to him "No…We Rayshifted at ground level, did you seriously-what the heck is wrong with this equipment?" the Master asked rhetorically through the link in an irritated tone "Most advanced piece of engineering on the planet and they keep managing to mess up basic altitude."

"While Chaldea and Rayshifting is very advanced, Senpai." Mash's voice filtered through the link "Doctor Roman said that items crafted by Atlas are much more advanced."

"Atla-what the Titan?"

"Huh? O-oh no! The Institute! Atlas Institute. It's one of the three major branches in the Mages association. You have the Clocktower, Atlas and the Wandering Sea."

"That last one sounds like a pretty badass title." Ritsuka admitted "Wandering Sea…Anyway, so these guys make more advanced stuff?"

"Apparently. Although information regarding them is very difficult to come by, especially for the Wandering Sea."

"Shame." Ritsuka replied with a tone of audible disappointment "Where was I? Ah, right. Me and Mash landed safely and we heard the explosion so we're going to make our way in that general direction. Can you shoot off a signal or something?"

Ash remained silent before he looked at his sword "I can fire a beam of light into the sky. Look for the white light and I will remain put here." he raised his sword and pointed it upwards, the platinum blade danced with power as the centre of it began to lighten up and rush towards the tip of the sword.

A few seconds later, the light rushed away from the blade and shot upwards into the sky.

"Aha! We see it now!" Ritsuka called through the link a moment later as the light started to vanish away "We're on our way now. Oh, watch out for skeletons or ghosts or something. We think the readings might be because of the spirits or something."

Ash frowned "The boundary between worlds breaking down? I am familiar with the process."

"Really? You are, Ash-san?" Mash asked in surprise through the link.

"I am. It is what allowed the fluid motion between time and worlds via summoning. The boundaries which separated the mirror worlds start to weaken when the Flame dies down making it possible to cross over with ease whereas before it was only accomplished with great difficulty." He paused. "Or so I was told."

"Sounds lovely." Ritsuka spoke through the link.

"It was not." Ash replied, completely missing the sarcasm in the voice. He continued to look around "I will stay vigilant until you arrive. I trust in Mash to keep you-" he cut himself off and snapped his head to the side as clang echoed out through the street. Ash narrowed his eyes as he watched rubble fall down from one of the highrise buildings, his eyes snapped up just in time to see the dust blow in a direction as if something had moved through it.

"Ash? What's wrong?"

"...I believe there may be someone here." Ash replied as he lowered his sword back to his side and grabbed the handle with his other hand, tensing his body and looking around for any sign of movement. "However, I cannot see them."

"Hang on, we're on our way. We'll be with you as fast as we can but let us know if the situation changes. I'll call you back with a command seal if I have to."

Ash continued to scan the surrounding buildings with a frown as he turned in a circle, occasionally looking over his shoulder as if hearing some phantom sound in the wind. "You should save those for an emergency." Ash replied through the link, tightening his grip on his sword and steadying his breathing, channelling his mana through the weapon, the sword burst into flames. "I should be sufficient to last long enough. As I have yet to sense them, I can assume they are an Assassin of sorts."

"You think?"

"I assume." Ash corrected, then paused at another cracking sound before he darted his eyes in that direction and once again saw dust become displaced as if something moved through it. "However, I might be mistaken."

"Watch out either way. If recent events have taught us anything, it's that you shouldn't underestimate a Servant based on their-Mash behind!" Ritsuka's voice echoed through the link before it was abruptly cut off. Ash widened his eyes and tensed his body.

"Ritsuka? Ritsuka!?" He called out through the link before gritting his teeth and focusing his mind on the link. His head snapped in the vague direction he had sensed his Master. If he ran, he would probably catch sight of them.

Turning in the direction of the link, he took a single step forwards-

'I'm going to die.'

The single thought instantly ran through his mind, that single instinct drove him to spin on his heel and swing his sword upwards, making sure to slash the tip of the weapon against the ground as he did so. The fire on the blade lashed out and washed across the surface of the street, producing a small wave of flames which burnt away everything in front of them.

Except the one thing they had been aiming for. Ash widened his eyes, already bringing the flat of his sword back down to act as a shield as something burst through the tsunami of flames and rushed towards him. He could barely make out a flash of crimson and a colour of purple before something struck his hastily made guard and he found himself hurtling through the air. His eyes danced around as he tried to figure out which way was up or down.

Then the flash of crimson returned and he felt something slam into the side of his ribs before he was redirected away from the direction he had been flying and sent rocketing through the air for a few moments before his back collided with something, bricks shattered and wood splintered as he was thrown through the entrance of a ruined shop and crashed through the shelves, scattering what few remnants of goods they had left on them across the floor.

Ash blinked furiously as he tried to re-orientate himself from his dazed state. His eyes drifted to the hole in the wall where he had made his entrance. He briefly caught sight of a shadow moving through the air towards him before he threw his body to the side, not a moment later the shadow smashed into the spot where he had been sitting and released a burst of crimson light which caused his roll to turn into another short flight before he landed roughly on his back. Already scrambling to get on his feet before the cloud of dust swung out at him, he managed to raise his sword and block the strike but the force behind it caused him to skate backwards along the tiles.

Ceramic crunched under his feet as he slowed himself to a halt and lowered his greatsword, eyes fixated in the smoke as a familiar crimson spear protruded from it. He furrowed his brows as he stared at it before looking back to the dust as it started to settle down.

"...You are not Cu." He bluntly stated as the figure became fully visible, a woman wearing a skintight purple bodysuit with dark highlights, silver armour plates rested upon her shoulders and a transparent veil rested over the top of her head. Long plum coloured hair freely flowed down her back and to her hips, ruby red eyes flashed in recognition at the name before they narrowed and the woman's lips drew themselves into an intrigued curl.

"Ho?" Her voice was tinged with interest as she twirled the red lance in her hands and rested the tip against the floor, she took slow steady steps as the spear grated along the ground, leaving a thin cut through the floor as she advanced.

Ash's eyes danced between the spear and the woman as he tensed himself, every single one of the instincts he had honed over his journey was telling him that the best thing he could do was to run and hope that he was faster than her. Their encounter just now showed that it was nothing but a fantasy, he was going to have to fight her.

"So you know Setanta do you?" She continued on with a tilt of the head "I wonder…I don't recognise you, but I know your kind." her eyes narrowed and Ash felt his undead heart stop at the pressure she suddenly exuded "So what are you doing free of the Land of Shadows?" raising her spear, she pointed it towards him "Are you another remnant unable to die or…perhaps something different?" She lowered the spear again.

Ash narrowed his eyes, the woman's way of speaking in regards to Cu Chulainn and her spear left him with one guess "...Are you his teacher?"

The woman stared at him, something passing through her eyes "And if I were?"

Ash stared blankly at her "...You don't look like an old hag."

"..."

"..."

"...Ah, so you wish to die then." The woman merely commented as though she was talking about the weather before she vanished in a blur of movement. Ash widened his eyes as she reappeared in front of him, swinging the spear through the air and cutting through the wall to his left as though it didn't even exist for her. He swung his sword to the side to block the strike.

Then she leaned back and kicked up, her armoured boot crashed against his chin with the result being that he was sent punching through the floor above, the purple haired woman chasing after him a split second later.

"Ha!" Mash let out a cry as she parried away the scythe moving through the air towards her, the red spirit stumbled back from the movement as the Shielder charged in. Mash ducked down as the scythe flipped and came back through the air, the weapon passed just above her head before she moved into the guard of the attacker.

The red spirit turned its hood to stare down at her before the glowing orbs behind its veil widened as she struck upwards against its chest. The spirit released a howl as they were sent rocketing away from the girl. Mash turned and raised her shield as a sword clanged against its surface, the girl twisted the shield and pushed the sword to the side, flipping the shield and swinging the butt of it downwards into the top of the wraith's head.

A growl responded to her as she ducked back around and swung her leg around, striking the wraith in the ankles and sweeping its feet out from underneath it. The wraith fell sideways as Mash swung back around and thrust her shield upwards into their side, the wraith released a cry of pain as they were thrown through the air. Mash looked left and right as she saw more of the red spirits start to appear, as if phasing into the world and all brandishing some manner of weapon as they approached.

A ring of light flew through the air, striking one of the wraiths in the side and burning through their body. The spirit released a cry of pain before it vanished into dust. The others seemingly paused and snapped their heads towards the direction the attack had come from.

Mash and Ritsuka similarly followed them as a figure came charging through the flames towards the wraiths. Dirty steel armour with a ragged red cloak covering their head and shoulders being the only distinguishing features about them, the man jumped into the thick of the fighting. Rolling under a swipe from a greatsword before unsheathing his own weapon and swinging back, cleaving through the arm with ease before spinning on their heel and cutting the body in half.

The man turned back around as the wraiths rushed in, raising the flat of his greatsword he blocked the first strike and countered with an elbow to the face and a kick to the knee which sent them to the ground. As the next attacker ran in, he swung back and smashed the pommel of the greatsword into the side of their head, following the attack by cutting their head off.

He turned back to the downed wraith as they attempted to get up, raising his greatsword above his head and bringing it down in a single strike. He turned to the final wraith and charged towards them, bringing his greatsword back up and meeting their first blow head on. He then pushed past their guard and unleashed a series of simple swings towards them. Mash watched with intrigued eyes as the servant attacked the wraith.

There wasn't any wasted effort in the moves and they weren't particularly flashy either. Despite that, the red cloaked servant showed a deadly amount of skill as they knocked the greatsword out of the hands of the spirit and then swung down through their collarbone and dissipated them into nothing.

Content that the danger had passed, the red cloaked Servant straightened themselves out with a grumble before turning in the direction of Mash and Ritsuka.

It was only when they turned to face them that the pair found the Servant's person familiar, recalling having met them before. The ragged red cloak which covered their shoulders and the hood hiding away their face, the long grey beard spilling down from their chin, to the dirty steel armour and old looking sword. Mash's eyes widened before she assumed a defensive position in front of Ritsuka and narrowed her eyes at the Servant.

Although the Servant looked very, very different to the last time she remembered seeing them. Their body was no longer absurdly giant, now standing perhaps a little taller than Ash and thoroughly lacking in the same presence. In fact, there was hardly a comparison to be made between the two of them. The Berserker they fought was physically imposing and brutally destructive in their attacks.

This was an old man in armour, and yet Servants were supposed to be summoned in the prime of their skill in accordance with the class.

The old servant stared at them before raising up their greatsword, Mash already tensed herself for combat, watching as the sword was raised up. Then blinked as the old man slowly sheathed it back into the scabbard on his back.

"...A poor place for young ones to be." The old voice called out to them, sounding grizzled yet holding a very gentle tone to it. "What brings you here amongst the dark wraiths and remnants of the undead?"

"Wait a second…" Ritsuka peaked out from behind Mash "You…I know you, you're…" he snapped his fingers repeatedly as he tried to remember the name before it clicked and he pointed at the man "You're…Gael, right?"

The old man straightened out in surprise "Oh? You know of me…and we have met before?" the man paused for a moment, his right gauntlet rose up and scratched his beard in a thoughtful manner "I recall no such instance of meeting either of you…perhaps after I had died, yes?" he asked himself before he looked around "...This is a poor place for conversation. Come, children. We should make haste from here-"

"We can't." Mash blurted out before she could help it, watching as the old man paused and turned to her in a questioning manner "We need to find another Servant who came with us."

Gael stared at her for a few moments in silence before he looked to Ritsuka, the Master gave a single nod of the head in response.

Gael hummed before a grim chuckle emerged from the hood. "Then let us depart for your missing friend." he turned around and started to wander down the streets "I know the burden of being left alone, let us see your comrade returned to you."

Ritsuka and Mash looked at each other before nodding their heads and following after him, easily catching up to him and directing his attention to the location Ash had pointed them in.

AN: Trial Quest time and it is a little different from Canon but that's fine with me.

Also…Genuine Gael! Scathach gets to meet one of the few humans who can call her 'Young lady' and mean it.

Anyway…Stats!

Slave Knight Gael

Servant: Saber

Strength: C

Endurance: C

Agility: C

Mana: C

Luck: C

Noble Phantasm: C

Wisdom of the Old Warrior - 'I see avenues of combat': C (Anti-Unit) Max Target: 1, Max Range: 0

It is not an offensive skill but can be used as such. The ultimate in his personal skill and above the likes of Minds Eye. When activated, the Noble Phantasm allows him to instantly determine the best course of action needed to win an engagement or how best to flee. It is not like Mind's Eye where the conclusion is built, it is an instantaneous response.

As expected of one who survived until the end of the World to be aware of how to best achieve victory or avoid dying.

Class Skills:

Riding: C

Magic Resistance: A

Dregs of the Dark Soul: E-

Even though the blood no longer dwells within him, the remnants of its pigment remain attached to his soul. It recognises its former carrier but he cannot wield it in an offensive manner. However, it has raised his Magic Resistance to A rank.

Personal Skills:

Miracles: B

Slave Knight: EX

A combination of Eternal Arms mastery and Battle continuation.

He is a Slave Knight who lasted until the end of the world, the will to hold off hollowing until the very end. He can suffer no end of horrific injuries that would kill a lesser spirit while his mind retains fortitude to fight even under mental interference.

Mystic Slayer: A+

Long, long life of many wars. He has slain many, many beings which has earned him this skill at this high level.

Mind's Eye (True): A++

Quickly able to discern the correct course of action to either fight or flee.

Reading through the patterns of an opponent becomes simple and weaknesses become visible.

Valor: A++

Summoning

"I am the Servant, Saber. Gael...I have come to act as your soldier."

Dialogue 1

"You may remain idle as long as you wish, Master. It is not my place to act."

Dialogue 2

"Master and Servant...Ha, ha, ha… It has been many years since I heard such titles… although back then it was Master and Slave..."

Dialogue 3

"I may be old, but I'm certainly more experienced than a great deal of other Servants here…Do not worry yourself, little harm shall come to you while I live."

Dialogue 4 (If you have Knights of the Round Table)

"Hmmm? Knights you say? And they are true ones too. Not like me… perhaps they would see it as an insult to bear the same title as them… Although… they seem good enough folk."

Dialogue 5 (If you have Ashen One)

"I owe him a debt I may never repay… He did as I asked and more. Hm? Perhaps a story for another time."

Dialogue 6 (If you have Artoria [After Completing Camelot])

"She came to me recently, you know? She said that she disliked the way I was referred to as a 'Slave Knight' and said it should only be a title given to those who are honourable. She said she would only refer to me as a proper knight should and declared me Sir Gael...it was… an unnecessary kindness...but appreciated."

Dialogue 7 (If you have Bedivere)

"To wander the sands of the time for so long for a purpose you believe in…You did a grand job, Knight Bedivere. A grand job indeed. It was my deepest honour to aid you in this task."

Dialogue 8 (If you have Ornstein)

"It is no surprise to see my former Master here… he was straightforward with his tactics. A rather 'by the books' commander as you would say...I lost many friends under him..."

Dialogue 9 (If you have Divine Spirits)

"I never encountered a true God before. Now they are everywhere, however these ones are different to those who resided in Anor Londo… They are far more involved in the affairs of humans...whether or not that is a welcome change… is yet to be decided."

Dialogue 10 (If you have Santa Lily's)

"They keep calling me 'Santa Claus'… I do not know who that is… They also seem to expect presents every time they see me… I give them wood carvings, they are often disappointed unless I give them what they want..."

Dialogue 11 (If you have Mordred)

"She is rather wilful...but there is talent there, its buried deep… I find her company to be a welcome change to the others… however I do wish she would stop calling me 'Gramps'."

Dialogue 12 (If you have Gwyndolin)

"There is nothing to be said. He will never acknowledge my existence because his father never did. Whether or not that is fine with me is irrelevant… I am used to it."

Dialogue 13 (If you have Nursery Rhyme)

"She's a rather soft spoken young girl… she reminds me so much of dear little Aria… She's even taken to calling me Uncle Gael… she's a fragile little thing..."

Dialogue 14 (If you have Jack the Ripper)

"An unfortunate soul… Perhaps a culmination of the unfairness of the young… It matters not to me. I shall care for her… she deserves that much at least."

Dialogue 15 (If you have Kiara Sessyoin)

"Refrain thyself from my presence…Harlot. Go bewitch some other poor soul, leave our Master be."

Dialogue 16 (If you have Senji Muramasa)

"I suppose we're both old men… Yes, the young are far too eager to run head first into trouble… Although I'm rather jealous of you… why? Look at you! I at least look my age!"

Dialogue 17 (If you have Yu Mei-ren)

"One who understands the burden of a long life, perhaps she may yet forget things but I was not afforded such luxury…However, I understand the pain of time more deeply than even you. I pray you find an end before you reach half my age…if not, then you have my sympathies, child."

Dialogue 18 (If you have Scathach)

"I am so very, very sorry…The burden of age is a curse on all. That you will never find freedom from it is…a fate even worse than death, some might say. That dream you hold of freedom from this life, I hope you might realise it…At the very least, I might offer you the knowledge that you are still younger than I."

Likes

"Likes? I don't particularly have any..."

Hates

"Things I hate? I gave up on hating long ago… I simply never ran out of things to despise so simply ignore them."

Wish for the Holy Grail

"Wishes? I...No, it's not important."

Bond Level 1

"You're doing well, however there is still much room to improve upon."

Blond Level 2

"You are quite the character for one so young...I shall do my best to aid you."

Blond Level 3

"My purpose in my last life was complete. I have no regrets, yet I thank you for giving me a new purpose."

Bond Level 4

"You are a good person… you have a kind soul and I will admit it is a kindness I am unused to."

Bond Level 5

"I am a Slave Knight. I was always meant to serve another… yet, to serve you… it is not a bad thing… I thank you for giving my title meaning beyond simple sacrifice."

Birthday

"A birthday? Ah, yes… those are supposed to be celebrated, aren't they? I offer my congratulations then."

During an Event

"Someone is kicking up a commotion outside… Perhaps we should investigate..."

1st Ascension

"Hm...I feel, perhaps younger? Maybe I am going hollow in my old age."

2nd Ascension

"No...I definitely feel younger, my thanks… I can move more freely now."

3rd Ascension

"Hmmm...I'm very close to being stronger still, perhaps you would find your time better served aiding the more talented servants than an old man such as I?"

4th Ascension

"So… you decided to do it, did you? Very well...I shall try to live up to your hopes..."