So, uh... hi.

Thought I can give a shot to a new fic. The idea I was thinking about is, put simply, Fate/Zero crossed over with various From Soft games. Well, "various" is probably stretching it, nevertheless I've been excited about the idea for a moment now and thought I might as well try and write something up before my excitement wanes away.

Hope you can put up with my shitty characterization. ^_^;

Disclaimer: decided to put it in a crossover with Dark Souls specifically because we have four Servants from there compared to two from Bloodborne and one from Demon's Souls.

FATE/FROM SOFT

Sometimes things don't go as according to plan, particularly when you can't afford to have them not go right.

This, however? This was an outrage and Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi II would bet his position in Clock Tower that there was no other person in this town as enraged as him.

It started off bad enough already: that insolent little rat Welvet stole his catalyst required for summoning a Servant Kayneth desired, likely out of spite for being proven wrong on his inane theory. Well, that wasn't all that bad in itself, since he would have a chance to teach him a proper lesson. Public condemnation of his ridiculous thesis didn't seem to be enough.

He would have to do away with something summoned on the fly, but that was alright: he was an esteemed Magus, someone of great power and renown. Adding to that, he was able to exploit a loophole in the summoning ritual and have his Servant be supplied from prana storage of his fiancee, Sola-Ui. That way, he had both full control of the summoned warrior and full magical ability.

But then, as it turned out, his Servant proved... unremarkable.

Well, "unremarkable" was probably a kind word: he was given a decreipt old man, bound to a wheelchair and missing a foot. A Heroic Spirit, great figure of yore... an he got a disabled, to put it bluntly, geezer? He was better than that! He was one of the most renowned Magi to ever set foot in Mage's Association; a shining beacon of this era, for God's sake! Maybe these just were these inferior Japanese leylines? Something about the air? Kayneth couldn't figure it out.

Of course, even after seeing his Servant's form he tried to remain optimistic. Perhaps this ancient specimen was a Caster? That would seem alright. He would be able to identify at least a few physically challenged spellcasters and-

"I am of the Lancer Class, here to do your bidding, Master." And as Lancer spoke, Kayneth's hopes and dreams went down the drain as his expression shifted from cautiously hopeful to completely disgusted. A legless Lancer. It's like fate itself wanted to laugh at him. Lancers far and wide were depicted as a Servant Class putting most emphasis on speed, being unrivaled in that department... and his just so happened to have no leg.

Some Fast Wheels I have acquired, El-Melloi thought with a soundless groan. Well, no matter. Even with this laughable excuse for a Servant he had to make do. He still had his own magical prowess, unrivaled by anyone amongst his enemies. Some "enemies" these were. Only Tohsaka was of any real threat, being a Magus almost as good as himself. The others... well, such motley crew hasn't been assembled ever since Fuyuki Grail Wars began.

Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi planned to educate and school them all.

Waver Velvet wasn't exactly sure what to expect of the summoning ritual. The piece of cloth he'd stolen from Kayneth supposedly belonged to Alexander the Great, a powerful figure of ancient Macedonia who united the world against Persians and created a giant empire that vanished the very moment he ceased to be.

Even someone like him however could tell that something went wrong.

The figure that stood before him was enormous, easily dwarfing him in size. That wouldn't be a problem for any grown man, but this knight was at least twice as tall as Waver stood. Armed with a halberd and a giant shield, his face was hidden behind the helmet.

Giant knight kneeled on one knee in front of his Master, acknowledging their pact. Heavy plates creaked, the armor speaking for its owner. Waver noticed rather bitterly that even with his Servant kneeling he was still taller than him standing.

"My liege." The giant spoke, his tone surprisingly soft for someone of this posture. "I, Dragonrider, offer my services in the coming War." Dragonrider? Waver couldn't think of any heroes that rode dragons off the top of his head, but that could probably be solved with just asking Rider for his name.

"Thank you, Rider." He replied, somewhat awkwardly. Man, this was different than what he expected. Then again, he just jumped at the call here and had no proper preparation, so... well, too late to back down. He had to prove something to that arrogant buffoon, that even someone like him could do it.

What now?

Kirei Kotomine wasn't sure what to make of the situation.

He was to summon an Assassin-class Servant. In that regard everything went correctly... and yet, it was not quite correct regardless.

The warrior in front of him was fully clad in dark blue armor, completely unbefitting of someone who'd call himself Assassin. The face has been obscured by a porcelain mask and a helmet in a strange shape, quite like an insect's body. The priest also caught a glimpse of a blond braid.

"You must be my Master." The masked warrior nodded in a greeting, her tone having some sort of odd quality to it. "I am Servant Assassin, here at your disposal." Kirei replied with his own nod, briefly glancing up at the ceiling. Merely a story higher his superior and mentor was summoning Archer as he spoke with his Servant. Here was hoping that no problems would present themselves.

Was Tokiomi Tohsaka angry? No, not really. Just... disappointed.

He went to great lengths to secure his win in 4th Holy Grail War before it properly begun. Acquiring the catalyst wasn't the easiest of tasks, performing the ritual just right was equally challenging. To get the timing, say the incantation with a tone that is just right... and yet it felt all this work went for naught.

The man before him was almost certainly not Gilgamesh, The King of Heroes. For starters, he was absolutely massive, just barely fitting in the room. In fact, the giant was sitting rather than standing when summoned and yet he still dwarfed Tokiomi by an order of magnitude. Dressed in old, crude armor; his main distinguishing feature was the helmet, shaped a little like a hawk's head.

"Greetings, Master." He spoke, his tone loud and booming. For a small moment, Tokiomi feared for the various delicate items stored inside the room, as if Archer's voice was to shatter them all effortlessly. "Thou have summoned me, and I have answered. As an Archer, I shall aid you in your conflict." During his little introduction, the red-clad man has found something odd in Archer himself.

Namely, he did not look at him... or at anything else.

Tokiomi's ever unflappable calmness shivered dangerously. Yes, this War was going to be much harder than he anticipated.

The ritual went wrong, Zouken Matou was certain of that.

The Berserker Kariya was supposed to summon... well, he seemed unusually calm for a mad warrior, but that wasn't what bothered the Matou patriarch.

That was not the Servant the catalyst was supposed to summon in the first place.

Frankly, it was the first time he had seen such an odd figure. Imposingly tall, with long gray hair and short beard and perhaps most importantly, blindfolded with a bandage; Berserker did have an air of madness around him, as should be... but at the same time something didn't seem right. He lacked the feral aura, the scrambled mind. He did reek of blood, but... but this blood seemed different as well. It belonged to something else, something from beyond that not even Zouken - a man old enough to remember the first Grail War - could decipher.

The gray-haired Servant didn't speak, but his face was turned towards Kariya, as if seeing him even without vision. The pact has been made.

Ryuunosuke Uryuu has never felt more thrilled.

Ever since he acquired that strange book his thoughts were almost solely focused on summoning a demon that he could talk with. Wouldn't that be cool, to see what lied in the deepest paths of Hell and converse with the devils? The ritual described in the grimoire seemed easy enough to do.

He had it all ready this time. It took a couple of attempts - the news stations were talking only about tha, it made him blush from all the attention he was getting - but this time he came prepared. The pentagram was drawn correctly, filled five times and all that and he even got himself a small sacrifice for the demon, too.

Imagine his ecstasy when not one, but two demons came out of the summoning circle! It was literally Christmas!

Admiteddly, he didn't think them for demons first. There was a man and a woman. She had pure white robes, their bottom stained by blood; he was fully armored with a hammer as big as Ryuunosuke was tall. His helmet was kinda silly, but hey, demons had their own fashion sense, he was sure of it.

But then he took a breath and was almost overwhelmed with how the woman reeked of evil energy, if one could possibly smell that. Ryuunosuke couldn't really explain it, but he just knew he's dealing with a rather nasty pair.

"..." The demon knight looked over at the bound child in the corner. Seeing that, the red-haired serial killer didn't waste time, pushing the kid closer.

"Straight to the point, Mr. Demon?" He grinned at the knight, presenting his sacrifice. "Here, please, got him specially prepared for you. Just, sheesh, didn't know there will be both you and Miss Demon, I'd have another one ready." He smiled bashfully, scratching the back of his head.

"...show me your hand." The woman said, gesturing towards the sign inscribed on Ryuunosuke's hand.

"Oh? Er, sure. Is it about this funny thing?" He asked, presenting it proudly. Caster's eyes narrowed. Yes, these were Command Signs.

...she was not summoned into this war alongside her loyal sentinel to do evil however. Could this man be convinced to change his ways? Could she manage such a feat?

"Er, so..." Ryuunosuke shifted a little nervously. The suspense was killing him plus he was growing a little impatient. Was the demon pair just teasing him or could they possibly not have an intention of killing the kid? Well, that would have been disappointing... but hey, he summoned two demons. How cool was that?

"...Astraea?" The knight spoke towards the woman, his tone the very ice itself. Ah, so that's what her name was. Kinda funny, European maybe?

"...we accept the sacrifice." Caster nodded slowly, replying her royal knight, Garl Vinland, with her own gaze.

"Cool!" Ryuunosuke grinned, happy that the uncertainty's been lifted away. "For a moment I thought you don't wanna kill the kid."

"We do not." The woman shook her head slowly, causing Ryuunosuke's to tilt to the side in confusion.

"Huuh? But you said you accept the sacrifice. Who are you gon-" A feeling of extremely sharp pain in his chest snapped his mouth shut as his eyes widened, trying to desperately grasp for breath. Looking down revealed a rather unpleasant sight, namely Caster's arm plunged deep down his chest, easily piercing through the clothing, skin and muscle as they were but a wet tissue. "T-that's... pretty cool too..." The red-haired man smiled weakly, the metallic taste of blood gathering up in his mouth.

Caster didn't smile back. With a single movement her slender hand crushed his beating heart with an awful squish, turning it into a pulp of blood and muscle.

"I ask of you. Are you my Master?" The woman before Kiritsugu Emiya was a Saber, he had no doubt about it.

However, it was not the Saber he expected.

She wore no armor beyond the jacket made of tough, hard leather. Although her face was obscured by a mask depicting a bearded man, it did little to hide her voice. She also wore a rather peculiar hat, its tip so sharp it could very well be a weapon itself.

She had her own scabbard with her. It was completely mismatched compared to the one that has been used as a catalyst.

Put short, Saber was not Arthur Pendragon or anyone Kiritsugu recognized.

Somewhere far away Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg smiled a little.

Yes, things were going just as he planned. This will be entertaining to watch.

And with these small introductions and perhaps an unexpected first victim of the 4th Grail War we can proceed. '3' Tell me what you think.