Hello everyone and welcome back to Messenger of Ash! I'm very sorry I left this for more than half a year! I don't really have a specific reason as to why this happened, I guess life just moved on and unconsciously I left this behind. Don't worry though I decided to sit down and write the chapter I had in mind. I have no intention of discontinuing this fanfic but I don't know if I will be consistent will updates but I will try. I do apologize if this chapter seems short but I just wanted to get this other half of chapter four out there! Anyway, let's get to the reviews!

Zapper3000380: You're pretty neat as well. ;)

curious guest: Well u-h this is a bit awkward. I don't intend to ship The Ashen One with any of the RWBY characters but things may change as this moves forward. Sorry for making you look forward to something that took seven months.

themaskedswordsman: You're pretty good! ;)

Guest: I mean, do you want him to have an Estoc instead?

Ryoji Mochizuki: Me too! Once they find out, things are definitely going to be interesting.

That is it! Here is Chapter 5: Fault

The ground rumbles as the pack of Beowolves charge towards them in unison. Howls and growls become louder and louder with each step they take. They are at least fifteen to sixteen of them running in the pack.

Ashlan draws his sword and presses the extend button mid-draw. He was about rush forward until Ruby and Yang stepped in front of him. Yang grins at the Ashen One and cocks her gauntlets. "We got this Mr. Amnesia!" Yang leaps and uses the shotgun blasts to propel herself forward. Ruby follows and gives the peace sign to Ashlan while smiling.

Yang jumps in with a superman punch on the pack leader, at the same time; she fires the shotgun shells in her gauntlets. With the momentum of moving forward and then meeting Yang's punch, the pack leader's skull cracks and he's launched back at neck-breaking speeds. Yang laughs maniacally and meets the pack head-on. She gives a flurry of blows while the pack lunges at her. Yang manages to split the pack in half by sheer force and she shouts to Ruby. "I will take this side!" The older sister shifts to the left and charges in.

Ruby unsheathes Crescent Rose and runs at inhuman speeds. She runs towards the right side of the pack and spins with her scythe. During the spin, she uses the fires bullets from her scythe and that makes her spin even faster. She cuts through half of the group and stops. Ruby holds her scythe with two hands while three Beowolves surround her. She hears the one behind her lunge, and Ruby steps to the side and slashes the downward. The other two react and lunge at her at the same time. Ruby has taken down the first one but she hasn't realized the other two lunging at her.

Ashlan slices the two Beowolves in half as he came forward to help the two girls. Ashlan looks at Ruby. "Stay alert!" Ruby jerks her head at Ashlan, she did not know he was there. Ruby nods her head. "Sorry!" Ashlan and Ruby look to the left and see Yang destroying the other group.

Yang uppercuts, jabs, and straights her way through her group. All of the beowolves surround her and goes into a prowling stance. Yang smirks and shrugs. "Is that all you got?" She goes back into her orthodox form and that's when the Beowolves pounce at the same time. They pile on Yang only for them to recoil back. The blonde girl stomps the ground with one foot and shouts. Yang's aura forces them back and she was able to grab one Beowolf and slam his head to the asphalt. She then tosses it to left, hitting one other Beowolf on its way. Two Beowolves come to her sides and slash downward. Yang blocks it with both of her gauntlets and the other two take this opportunity and strike. She holds her block and braces for the incoming attack.

Ruby and Ashlan jump into the fray. Ruby plants her scythe to the ground and shoots the Beowolf in front of Yang. Ashlan leaps forward and slashes downward, chopping the Beowolf's head off. Yang rotates her body counter-clockwise and the Beowolves slash the ground. She jumps off one foot and meets one of them eye to eye. She gives a right hook and then lands. She then uses that momentum and uses her right leg to kick the Beowolf's head. Both Beowolves are launched in opposite direction and lay lifeless on the road.

The panting Yang dust herself off and looks at Ashlan and Ruby. "I totally had that." Ruby laughs. "You totally did!" Yang leans on one foot and puts her hand on her hips. "What'cha think of that Mr. Amnesia?" She then drops the gesture after seeing the worried face of The Ashen One. He was beyond worried. He was scared that the first decent people he has met in a long time could have died. His eyes seem so distant and hurt at the same time. Yang does not miss a beat and leans forward. "Yo-u okay there? It seems like you just a met a Grimm for the first time." Ruby's face has changed from happiness to concern. She frowns. "You fought those Beowolves right? I hope you're alright." Both sisters anxiously wait for a response from Ashlan.

He opens his mouth as he was about to say something then bites his lower lip. He clenches both of his fists but his face relaxes. He tries to look relieved and he gives small smile. "Yes I am." He looks off to the side, not being able to look to them eye to eye. Yang's face becomes more serious and decides to stay silent. Ruby looks to the ground, still worried about Ashlan. Yang looks towards where Oobleck and the others should be. "Hey Ruby, let's check on the others." Ruby nods and looks at Ashlan. "Just stay behind us okay? This is our job after all!" The sentence becomes more hopeful towards the end. Ashlan nods and does not say anything. Ruby and Yang ready their weapons and move forward.

After two steps, Ashlan stops. "Dad! ********! Help us!" Ruby and Yang look back. "Mr. Amne-" The Ashen One is brought to his knees. The two sisters run over and kneel beside him. They both try to support him. "Ruby stay here! I'll call the others." Yang bolts as fast as she can towards the other group. Ruby shakes him. "Mr. Ashlan you okay?! Ashlan!" Her words cannot be heard. It's replaced by the deafening sounds of clanging steel and roaring fires. He opens his eyes to see monstrosities enter through a large gate. It slaughters everything in its way. The flames do nothing to illuminate these creatures. They are like shadows and move like them, moving swiftly and lethally to each bystander, cutting them down one by one.

******** looks at his himself. He is adorned in Plate Armor and wearing a familiar red cloak over the breastplate. His helmet is shattered beside a destroyed fountain. His shield and sword nowhere to be seen. He looks forward and the face of Ruby and this scene flickers in and out rapidly. It seemed like Ruby was saying something but he can't hear it. Finally, all he sees is the burning city he is in. The knight looks around like there is something he's supposed to find. Something so important, that he would die for it but what was it? Through the crowd, his eyes lock on to two people, a woman and a child. They reach their hands forward.

"Help us!"

He tries to stand up and sprint forward but his arms and legs are still. He keeps trying again and again but as if the more he wills to move forward the more these imaginary chains pull him down. ******** looks at them, and tries to shout but no words come out. Suddenly, a dark figure ten times larger than them looms over them. They stop where they are, the woman is hugging the child closely to her chest. The dark figure morphs into a gigantic Beowolf and he raises his claw and slashes downward. Time slows down, and as if time itself wanted to torture the Ashen One. He sees how slow these people are ripped apart, limb from limb. The blood splatters everywhere and even reaches where he was. He can't even see who they were but as their lives faded away, The Ashen One felt something was taken away from him. It was something essential and so dear to him but he can't put a name on them. He can't remember what or who they were. He can't remember their faces or the memories he spent with them. He doesn't know why it hurts. He doesn't know them.

To him, it hurts more that despite his best, he can't remember. It hurts that before he can properly identify them, they were taken away. The Ashen One can't hold it in. The thousands of deaths he experienced wouldn't compare to this. This pain was something different, like his soul was forcefully ripped out of his body. Tears run down his face, but why? He screams, but why? Why did it hurt so much?

"It was your fault."

"N-o no it wasn't!"

"It was your fault!"

"I tried! I tried my best!"

"Your best wasn't enough! We are dead!"

"You're a failure."

"A disgrace."

"You call yourself a knight?"

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

They all start blending all together and they replace the sounds of clanging steel and roaring fires. He tries to cover his ears and all he can do is sit there. He pushes his hands harder and harder to his ears but it becomes louder and louder. He tries to scream louder to deafen the whispers in his head. It doesn't stop.

"Please stop!"

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT."

"Why? Why are you doing this?"

"Ashlan!"

A young lady's voice pierces through the whispers and Ashlan now sees a crying Ruby beside him. The pain has stopped. He can move again and he can feel again. His right hand being held by Ruby and he can feel the running tears down his face. Ruby tightens her grip on his hand. "Are you okay?" Ashlan puts his hand near Ruby's face and wipes away her tears. "I'm sorry for scaring you Ruby, that's your name yes?" Ruby nods but her tears don't stop. "It looked like you were in so much pain and I couldn't do anything." The Ashen One frowns and looks at Ruby's eyes. "It's okay. Thank you for staying beside me. Where's your sister?" Ruby loosens her group and tilts her head towards where the others should be. "Yang went ahead and called for help." Ashlan sighs. "Is it alright for me to ask you if you could help me up?" Ruby nods and helps him up. The Ashen One can barely stand up on his own. He is completely drained from that vision. He keeps one arm over Ruby's shoulder. They walk in silence as they try to catch up to Yang and the others.

And that was Chapter 5 of Messenger of Ash! I hope you enjoyed it! Once again, I'm sorry that it is so short. You know when I said I was looking forward to Weiss and Ashlan interacting? I'm looking forward to all interactions with Ashlan at this point. I hope this fleshes out Ashlan a bit. I wanted him to feel real and be a character rather someone we can portray ourselves into. Next chapter will be about Oobleck's group's POV through out this entire thing. Anyway, remember to bash my writing and review! Thanks for reading and I hope you read the next chapter! (Whenever that will be released.)