"Good afternoon, Chaldea! Are you ready for the first ever episode of the BB Channel~!? Of course you are~!"
A tongue clicked almost silently. "Not like you give anyone a choice…"
"My companion Shuten and I will be starting this off with an interview with one lucky guest~! We'll save the fun gags for later~! Promise~!" With a playful wink, the cocky, smiling moon cancer flashed a peace sign to the unseen audience; Many were watching alright. Their eyes remained enquiringly glued to Club Cove's flat screens as the battle-clad duo continued their introduction routine. BB waved her finger at the camera. "Uh, uh! No need to rush! We've got plenty of time to introduce our first lucky guest… which would have been Meeelt if she wasn't being such a sour lemon."
Several patrons enjoying lunch at the cove, turned their eyes to the aforementioned alter ego. Sitting at the bar alone, the scantily dressed servant glared lightly at the screen where a smirking BB stood proudly beside a giggling Shuten. Still and dead silent, Meltryllis' sleeved arms shook gently with mounting tension. A few whispers rang out, but a quick glance at the other eating occupants smothered the wicks before any embers could grow.
…Not that Meltryllis actually cared what they thought, or even cared about any of them for that matter.
If she cared about anything right now, it was the need to wipe that cocky smirk off her origin's face. Whether she made her or not, BB was not someone the alter ego could trust completely; Some in Chaldea were stupid enough to do so. The masters were likely the dumbest for even letting her into this ridiculous tech-reliant sanctuary of humans playing community utopia.
Chaldea's wieldable might was undisputed; The social jungle gym within was another story. Many said one thing, others did another. There was a strict order of peace to be upheld yet how many played chicken with the fine line and got away with it? Hypocrisy. Lunacy. Complacency. Arrogance. Self-righteousness… The list could go on forever, but Meltryllis had stopped paying attention shortly after she was summoned.
To even try to list how infuriating and incomprehensible this little world was… No. That was far more than just a headache.
"Are you sure you wouldn't like anything, Miss Meltryllis?" Her eyes narrowed slightly and tilted towards Lex. The hovering robot, unfazed and patient, floated on the other side of the bar politely while polishing a glass. The alter ego could see herself glaring within it, and even the few faces glancing curiously from behind as BB yammered on from her studio. If those were all stares of lust and yearning, she would've been content.
Unfortunately she wasn't: They were stares pondering silence that grated her nerves more than she'd like to admit- "Miss Meltryllis? Are you alright?"
She clicked her tongue again and levelled a flat stare to the robot. "Leave me be."
"Should you require anything, feel free to ask!" Its chipper response was a gut punch that didn't show. Floating off to serve a new staff member who'd just walked up, it left Meltryllis alone to fume.
'Are you sure you don't want anything…' she repeated in her head. Unlike the others, she'd only sampled a few foods here and there out of curiosity. Of all Chaldea offered, she abstained from nearly all. She'd observed, questioned, and wandered around wondering the multifaceted silliness of what she was summoned to. No doubt, part of her measured the open offer that she may break the contract and leave at any point she feels unsatisfied: An option all servants have.
…So then, why didn't she take it yet? What stopped her from leaving all these pathetic humans and servants reveling in their own blanket of blinding comfort? Why had she remained after over a week of investigating this place? Most importantly, why had the real her in the throne of heroes, who somehow wound up there, accept the clarion call to safeguard humanity… the very thing her heart and mind felt indifferent too?
"…Are you sure you don't want anything, Miss Meltryllis…?"
…If nothing else, answers would be a good start.
¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨
Fragment 104: Blooming Pirouette
¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨
'Thirty minutes until deployment…' She'd rather spend that time away from anyone else.
The door to her room shut, and the alter ego gazed within. Her sharpened heels clacked against the tiled floor, uncaring of the scuff marks she left despite the reinforced material. The video intercom was completely off, leaving only her gentle breaths to tangle with the stillness. Birch walls remained unfinished and blank, but the natural scent tried to tickle her mind onto a pillow of ease; They faired decently.
Despite lacking everything but the stock bed, chairs, and table, Meltryllis found the furnishings… more than necessary. Servants didn't need this. They didn't need anything. Even sleeping was just a convenient way of passing the time while conserving magical energy, so she'd always scoff when a servant said they enjoyed bedtime because of the occasional happy dreams that came to them…
'Servants can't dream… Who are they trying to fool?' She shook her head as she walked to her bed. She'd been here all of a week, and if these dreams manifested as often as some proclaimed, how come she never saw one yet? Because servants don't dream, obviously. Perhaps the sanity of some Chaldeans should be questioned.
Still, she couldn't help but keep biting at the irrationalities, which she found herself doing far more than she'd naturally wish to. "This air is getting to me…"
She sat on the edge of her bed, letting the springs gently squeak with enticing beckons; They didn't entice her at all. She never slept. If her room was convenient for anything, it was escaping the hustle and bustle of the hallways and rooms so no one would bother her. The invasion of someone else's room was often done only by friends or emergencies, and she had yet to experience either.
Therefore, she was guaranteed not to be bothered by anyone… Not curious servants. Not the working robotic workforce... the brainwashed soldiers, the arrogantly dumb mages, the new wonder-filled staff… And especially not those overly accepting, nosy, far-too-kind, naïve masters. Their attitudes, no matter how different, irked her and even reminded the alter ego of another master who she actually held some recollections about.
Needless to say, she liked that rather blank slate yet sarcastic girl better than this happy-go-lucky lot, who still completely insisted on acting like they knew her. Especially Gabrielle. Metryllis thought that little firecracker would be fun to toy with, but her overbearing nature was really rubbing her the wrong way. At least Gudao kept a respectful distance and Anishka was often too polite and accommodating, even if they were both still relatively annoying…
…No. She wasn't going to harp on them again. That was an endless, daily cycle that only grew a headache… Yet, how ironic that one of the easiest ways to calm that was to listen to a gift from all three of them. After reaching over to the center of the bed, she fumbled to grasp the room's sole decoration with clumsy fingers. It was even more difficult through her sleeved, numbed hands, but she cradled the little box like a melting snowflake.
She couldn't help but ask the same question as her glare lightened to view the opened music box. 'Why…'
She glanced around and sensed her surroundings through hazy walls; No one would bother her, but she had to check. She couldn't give several servants any more ammo to be so strangely considerate and nice to her. Catching her handling an item so delicately and carefully would drive miles in the wrong direction.
That much was obvious. She was Meltryllis, Alter Ego of the End of Pleasure, and the far more assertive counterpart of the present Sakura Five. With every meeting and encounter, she often left a sour taste in the minds of many, knowing full well many of the humans would reach for her anyway by virtue of her presence's allure. There was only one way any could see her, so the number of sympathetic and considerate stares was both infuriating and… completely confounding.
Try as she might, Meltryllis couldn't understand. She couldn't even comprehend why she found this dumb little music box, complete with a perfect crystal ballerina, so very calm and mesmerizing. She didn't even huff as fumbling fingers tried to carefully wind it up. 'Dance for me.'
An eternity later, she'd finished winding, but the ballerina had long begun her gently spin within. Every gentle chime from whirling, soothing gears led the tiny figure forward on an endless waltz. The tune had embedded itself so well in her mind, that she could hear the song and see it spin in the eye of her mind. And, without fail, before it would run out of breath, Meltryllis would struggle to wind it up again just to hear it whisper more.
It soothed her, yet she couldn't understand. 'Why do you remain, Meltryllis? What else do you desire?'
¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ III ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨
Bridges were symbolic architecture, creating a path over what was once impassable. For its day, Ponte Milvio, over the beautiful Tiber, was a magnificent example. Day in and day out, it was a daily gift for the Roman Empire since its construction. Glistening with its polished stone and opus caementicium, it remained beautifully defiant even as battle roared around it.
Like shooting stars, several arrows from a Chaldean archer soared through the sky. They rained down swiftly like missiles, ramming hard into an unholy fusion of war elephant and lion. Sickly black blood spewed from its bushy hide, spraying its gore over the undead infantry who persisted uncaring. Shambling and groaning, the skeletonized warriors, mockeries of fallen and once-proud legionnaires, lurched across the bridge and frozen river towards the armies of Constantine.
Far from alone, but shaken, the Emperor's forces locked the battle line as Meltryllis charged past. Across the thick ice that crippled the late-spring river, she glided perfectly. The alter ego was a beautiful streak, and were the enemies human, they'd have no doubt been mesmerized by the bold smirk that shined as she flew into the thick of them. Amidst rot and decay, she was a beautiful flower, defiantly dancing within the storm.
"Fall for me." She whispered, to no one and everyone. As she skated past one a phalanx of warriors, she laughed as her quick twirl, near discernible to the human eye, cleaved them like a sword through fresh fruit. Her speed never fell. Neither did her smirk. "Dance if you can."
Her moves were chaotic loveliness. She knew this without doubt. A pirouette. A grande jeté. A fabulous tour en l'air that severed the head of a weaker phantasmal. Every move was spontaneous, but her transitions were swift. Her dance was the purest elegance of battle. Above all, she was untouchable, and she knew it- "Please duck."
Her eyes flashed faster than the warning. Midair, before her next spin, her instincts screamed a second warning. She arched her back and forced her momentum to mar her grace as an indiscernible projectile flew above her. It rippled the air and detonated into a flurry of slashes, like a ghostly tiger clawing the air fanatically. With a shimmer, a wounded servant appeared, cloaked in black and a thick mist. As she sailed to the ground, Meltryllis glared in recognition of a familiar cowl.
Gudao's words echoed in. "Thanks for catch, Enkidu! All servants south of the bridge! Please prioritize neutralizing the shadow Hassan! He's closest to Meltryllis!"
"Trying to interrupt my ballet…?" Meltryllies huffed as she glared at the fleeing servant. "How rude. My encore will be your last."
Excitement grew within. If there was one thing Chaldea offered that she relished, it was the thrill of battle. The chance to dance before the enemy, massacring as she pleased and unopposed, was almost intoxicating. It was the case for the other alter egos too, no doubt; BB designed them for this purpose, after all. Which is why it was infuriating when anything dared to interrupt Meltryllis' waltz, no matter how questionable her partners seemed to be.
With perfected strides, she skated across the ice, dodging arrow and blade with ease while offing undead at a whim. Her quarry continued to flee down the war-torn river, but her focus was split. She growled telepathically, "You've got a lot to answer for too… I thought knights were supposed to be chivalrous."
"We are. I'm sad you misinterpret my shielding song as a churlish gesture." Tristan's annoying, near-stoic voice made the alter ego roll her eyes. She can practically see him bowing for pardon in her mind. "You'll have to forgive me, but I wasn't about to let the enemy ambush you."
"Because I don't have combat instincts? You forget who you're talking to," Meltryllis shot back with a huff. "Next time you're going to assist me? Do us both the favor. Don't."
As she'd come to expect, Tristan's reply was neither offended nor disappointed. It was stoic, with just a squeeze of apology. "I'm sorry, Lady Meltryllis. I don't know if I'll be able to grant your request."
Already, her mind pictured her shoe silencing him. It soothed her mind… at least a little bit. Still, between the offending shadow servant and that Chaldean archer, her irritation remained. She was far from pleased, but she could still take steps to remedy that. On the other hand, no matter how many steps she took, some servants, like Sir Tristan of the Round Table, insisted with their endless consideration… her belligerent brashness be damned.
Why? Was he some sort of masochist like his legend may hint? Were some others too, like Gawain or Tamacat? Then again, that latter one was probably just insane and stupid… but what did that matter right now? She was in battle. She wasn't about to fish for questions when she should be enjoying her ballet.
"Melt! Please hold up and wait for reinforcements! It's probably a trap!" Gabrielle asserted, but to no avail.
She mulled for a moment, then hummed to herself. "Mmm, no thanks. And if he does, then he's the one who's going to be trapped with an angry alter ego."
With one beautiful northward leap after another, she continued to close the gap with the fleeing Hassan. She smirked, "Why are you running? I thought you wanted to dance."
Her smirk faltered slightly only when the Hassan stopped… then Gudao's words screamed into her mind. "Meltryllis! An unknown servant is rocketing your way!"
Whatever it was, it was faster than she anticipated… To the point it slammed into her with the force of a freight train. Though it shattered the ice beneath her feet, whatever had come down like a comet sent her flying elsewhere. Away from the freezing plume of water, she skidded across the ice and slammed into her shoulder with enough force it registered past her numbed nerves. With a wince, she growled and forced herself upright as she skidded beneath the large stone bridge.
After an angered twirl, whose tornado force sundered the undead warriors from around her, Meltryllis gazed to her shoulder. The pain was like a throbbing papercut, yet the blood that seeped down her battered sleeve proved it was far worse than she could rightfully feel. It still wasn't pleasant, and she was supposed to be enjoying herself until yet another enemy decided to crash the ball.
Glaring and annoyed, she noticed the presence of other servants on the bridge above her. As shouts and calls echoed beneath its tremendous arches, Meltryllis skated to the side and glided gracefully towards the top. With a twirl, she landed at the top, where the Chaldeans had secured the bridge, letting Constantine's forces cross in their attempt to secure more of their corrupted capital. Many passing legionnaires stared at her exposed form, and she only smirked at them with a tempting and taunting glint.
"Are you alright, Lady Meltryllis?" Her smirk was quickly lost.
"Don't patronize me, Knight. Obviously I'm pissed," she laid out quickly as she stepped to the edge of the bridge. Tota silently stepped out of her way, and thankfully didn't say anything. Even better, he quickly clamped his hand over Xuanzang's mouth to prevent her from saying anything, much to the travelling caster's disbelief.
Nonetheless, Tristan stood at Meltryllis' side, bow at the ready, but stared towards her wound. Even as she watched as Li, Beowulf, and Penthesilea tangled with that sudden arrival, fighting further and further down the river… she could still feel the heat of Tristan's unseen stare glancing into her tingling shoulder. As if the new shadowy offender being taken wasn't annoying enough, a quick glance proved the Hassan had fled into hiding again too.
Her scowl was inevitable. "I guess I'll have to settle for dancing with these pushovers…"
"You should ask Irisviel for assistance first," Tristan offered gently, but cut her retort off momentarily with a quick strum of his harp.
It tore straight towards the distant battle with perfect precision, but she didn't care to see the results. She glared at him. "You should leave me alone. Like I keep telling you to do."
"He's only being considerate," Xuanzang murmured, buying Meltryllis' glare for a fleeting moment. She huffed again, then-
"RETREAT! RETREA-!" Their growing scuffle was thrown aside as a Roman Legionnaire's corpse was tossed further. Like a ball, it and several more poor souls tumbled across the bridge in crumpled forms, bowling down other soldiers and sending horses rearing with shock. Their neighs and clattering iron were drowned out by a large explosion that erupted from the unsecured end of the bridge. Crumbling stone and a shaking foundation screamed the structure's injuring groans.
Sandwiched between two summoning circles that appeared from nowhere, a blackened behemoth frothed beneath the overcast, smoke-choked skies of a frozen Rome. With the body of a lion, but with six scaly legs, it clambered across the dust-shrouded bridge with eyes redder than the bloodied battlefield. Steam hissed from its bull-like snout and ears as its legs tensed for a charge. Over the screams of terrified Romans, its howl sundered a fissure in the clouds as a gale swirled around it.
"What happened!? Does anyone have visual on what just appeared!?" Gabrielle cried out. "Tristan, Tota! You're closest! Can you take care of whatever it is!?"
Meltryllis shot her wounded arm in front of Tristan as he raised his bow. "Hands off. That's my prey."
"At least allow me to assis-!"
"My prey, knight. Help someone who wants it, like these weak humans." In a blink, she was off. She didn't care what he felt or thought. She didn't care about these brave humans, who now ran for their lives as she skated across the bridge towards the growing vortex. All she cared about was satisfying her infuriation, and a convenient punching bag with a commendable amount of magical energy just happened to take the stage. There was likely an enemy caster, but she didn't care about that right now.
"Dance with me," she growled towards the enemy, then rocketed forth. The trail of light that chased her was like a shower of spring petals. The screech of her honed boots against shuddering stone was the ballet's choir. The monstrosity roared again and brought a sickly claw down, sending part of the bridge crumbling to the icy banks below.
Meltryllis didn't care. She didn't even care her quick evasion caused her heels to damage the bridge too. The once polished stone and ancient cement was ruptured in a wave beneath her. The foundation trembled to match her excitement, and smirked eagerly to the musty beast. "A bit crude, aren't you?"
"Lady Meltryllis! Let us assist so we may keep the bridge from further damage!"
"I don't care about the humans' worthless bridge. And I don't care about what you want!" she roared to the skies as she burst forth in an explosion of released prana. The shockwave of her leaping step crumpled the weakened bridge where she once stood. With the new hole, more of the furthest archway succumbed to its injured as the bridge continued to burn.
But Meltryllis didn't care. "Stay out of my way and leave me be!"
A moment later, she drowned out every other sound save for the pained noise of her dance partner. Her ballet continued.
¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ IV ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨
Gudao's team leyshifted back beneath the steady gaze of Chaldeas. Nero's mix of complaints and cheer reverberated into the room as a toga-wearing Caligula raced down the aisle to greet them. Many of the servants from Gabrielle's team had already parted for comfy showers or other planned activities, not that many had them. Supposedly, most didn't actually plan anything for a few hours after a malignant singularity just in case it dragged on.
Today's didn't.
Despite the severity of the singularity, they'd solved it in record time. Apparently the enemy force holding the grail wasn't one to sit back patiently after nearly twisting Emperor Constantine's famous battle into an orgy of carnage… Meltryllis still didn't understand how history supposedly fixed the singularities after the matter, but that was a pointless thought.
She got her dance. She got her satisfaction and pleasure, and now the last lingering annoyance was gone too. The tingling in her arm had long since vanished, but the even she could feel her numbed arm was healed. "There. You're all better now!"
"…Well? Aren't you going to thank her?" For once, Gabrielle's tone was a lot sharper when addressing her. It almost made Meltryllis smirk as they stood on the Deployment Room walkway, half-way between Chaldeas and the exit. Instead, Meltryllis just stared blankly to the battlesuit-wearing master.
"Thank her for what? She's a Chaldean servant assisting another Chaldean servant. Is that not the job we're supposed to do here?"
Usually Gabrielle, like the other masters, would be acting overly considerate to her. They'd be treating her kindly, asking daily if she needed anything despite her answer never changing. She'd even outright treat the alter ego as a friend despite the constant hints that she should feel privileged she's even giving her the time of day on a whim. This glare she was currently receiving was a nice change of pace, and finally roused some pleasure.
"It's what allies do for each other, obviously, but that doesn't mean that a thank you or you're too kind to me or something wouldn't be nice, you know?"
Meltryllis' smirk quickly faded. "You're too kind to me? Do you honestly believe I'd ever be caught dead saying something that ridiculous?"
"Uh-yea? We've, like, seen it before." Meltryllis' glare quickly shifted to Suzuka, who stood cross armed very closely beside the master. Instead of outright angry, the schoolgirl saber just appeared skeptical and irritated as her tail flicked gently. Her stare challenged Meltryllis into action. She glared back at Gabrielle instead.
"Gabby, please, it's okay. I'm more than happy just to help others. No thanks are necessary!" Irisviel insisted. Meltryllis didn't even pass a glance to the usually calm and happy caster. "Now, if no one minds, I've got to go check up on my girls' cooking lesson~! Oh, but before I go, you're welcome, Meltryllis. I'm glad I could help ease any pain."
Excusing herself, Irisviel walked between her and Gabrielle. She shimmered for a moment, then her strange heavenly attire was replaced with a beautiful burgundy strapless. Gabrielle had turned to look, but Meltryllis said nothing. She only narrowed her eyes at the leaving caster- "Seriously, Melt!? You can't give one word of thanks?"
"Why do you insist I be so courteous? Is this some unwritten law of Chaldea?" Meltryllis countered easily as Irisiviel stopped out of growing concern. "Did you not hear her? No thanks is necessary."
"It'd still be nice instead of being so cold and bitchy!" By now the Deployment Room had grown awkwardly quiet as the two women glared at each other.
"Me being cold is natural, but should you really be calling me bitchy when that's what you're doing? What happened to letting me be who I want and always treating me nice, hm?"
"I want to, Melt! I really do!" Gabrielle shot back as her fists remained curled at her side. "I've tried to be patient with this attitude of yours, but I'm not Gudao or Annie! I can't just tolerate this!"
"Don't think I'm going to change for you." The alter ego's warning was laced with threat, but she meant it. Despite what many have said, even these masters, she couldn't grasp what that 'other her' had supposedly appreciated about them. She couldn't understand why they acted the way they did, or what they supposedly felt. She only cared about it enough because they were so persistent, like lingering pigeons around a house, and that the only thing worse was being treated like slime under a boot.
"I'm not asking you to change who you are. When did I say that!?" the female master asserted back. "All I ever said was I know what you're hiding in your heart! We know it! We know how beautiful you can really be which is why it pisses me the fuck off to see you acting so coldly to everyon-!"
"Gabby!" Gudao's simple shout interrupted her, but the approaching uniformed master didn't sway his best friend's storm.
"No, Gudao! I'm not yielding on this! I can't stand seeing Melt the way she is!"
"Stop calling me by that name," Meltryllis fumed lightly, and resparked the lion's roar.
"I won't! Because you're not listening to us either!" Gabrielle countered flatly. "Going off against orders! Not listening to our requests to heal you! Heal! Heal! Like stop you from being in pain and dying heal!?"
The alter ego huffed. "I don't feel pain. My sensations are dull, or did you forget? And if you really wanted to stop me, then you could've used one of those command seals."
"We don't just waste command seals like that! But don't think I wasn't about to if Tristan and the others hadn't come to your aid! I…! Oh for!" Gabrielle let out a hiss of infuriation. Meltryllis only waited curiously. Was she going to yell more? Maybe she'd try to force her to do something? "Forget it… Forget it! I need a shower. Netflix. Something! Let's go, Suzi."
Gudao, blank faced and quiet, watched as Gabrielle stormed off down the walkway while Meltryllis glared after her. As the fiery master passed Irisviel, she whispered with lingering irritation. "Thanks for healing Melt. I hope she thanks you herself later."
Irisviel presented a soft, apologetic smile to the fuming master, but Gudao's small sigh drew the alter ego's stare. "Sorry. We told you Gabby can be a bit temperamental, but that's only because she's worried about you."
"So now you're apologizing for her?" Meltryllis scoffed and nearly rolled her eyes. "I never asked for anyone's consideration."
"That doesn't mean we won't keep giving it, nor treating you fairly." There it was again. That self-righteous, overly accepting, and ridiculous stance of theirs. It was annoying an incomprehensible, yet it persisted like a stain on marble. "I understand you find it annoying, but we can't help it. You really did save us in that singularity. Your kindness was…"
Gudao trailed off, but she wasn't about to listen to it any further either. With a dismissive stare into the distance, Meltryllis signaled her disinterest. Gudao, quiet but observant, nodded quietly only seconds later. "Have a good day, Meltryllis."
He walked off, and slowly, more servants began to pass. Thankfully, none said anything more, though she didn't know why she stayed idle to even give them that possibility. She should just go back to her room and listen to that music box… straighten out the convoluted thoughts of her mind. She was supposed to be looking for answers to her own continued presence, yet she got sidetracked rather easily with the singularity.
"Are you alright?" It wasn't until Irisviel's voice echoed in her mind that she realized the motherly caster was still present. Nearly everyone had left, but here she was, still gazing worried for her…
'Marvelous. Another unsolicited opinion.' Meltryllis' glare had lightening a fair amount, but her irritation remained thickly coated. "I'm fine."
Irisviel's smile wavered just a bit, but her attitude remained sunny. "I see… If you need anything, I could try and help. Many would. All you need to do is ask."
With that, thankfully the caster turned away. The alter ego, irate and dubious, stood mostly alone as the gentle clicks of Irisviel's heels signaled her departure. Like a metronome, each click fell faded, but it echoed like the water dripping from a faucet. Amid the settling haze in her mind, something blinked and sparked. A thought raced among the many for her attention, and grew to a fleeting whim.
Moments passed, but before Irisviel reached the door, Meltryllis called out mentally. "Irisviel. Can I ask you a few questions? There's some… things I want to know more about."
The caster placed a finger to her chin in thought. "Oh? So like an interview?"
"I'd rather not relate it to whatever BB does…" Meltryllis stated swiftly. "They're just a few curiosities about the Memorial Essences some keep talking about. I don't understand."
Irisviel was silent for but a moment. "Hmm… I think I see then. Okay. But it will probably be a long talk, so would you mind waiting until after I check on my daughters?"
"After?" Nero and Caligula passed, unaware of the silent conversation between them; The saber still passed a curious, partially guarded stare to Meltryllis, just like the alter ego often caught her doing. "Is asking telepathically not more suitable? We waste no one's time."
"Fair, but I always prefer face to face. It feels proper for more delicate conversations," Irisviel commented, then smiled gently with a tinge of surprising slyness. "Plus, it would make a great way for you to thank me so Gabby doesn't stay upset about it. You're not interested in thanking me, so would this request be preferable?"
Meltryllis narrowed her eyes slightly and pondered a few moments longer. With a gentle click of her tongue, she let out a long breath. "…Fine. We'll do it your way, but only if it's in private. My quarters would suffice."
She didn't like the arrangements… but Meltryllis would be lying if she said she wasn't invested in answers.
¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ V ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨
Meltryllis didn't have to wait very long for the caster to arrive. She had to wait far less for her to start commenting unnecessarily on her room. "No furniture either? Not even a nice little Sunscape Window? Serenity's paintings…?"
"I don't need any of that," she finalized, but Irisviel looked unperturbed by the flat dismissal. Meltryllis motioned to one of the chairs, and Irisviel graciously took the offer. The alter ego chose the bed instead, but it didn't stop Irisviel from pulling the chair over to be more personal about this. "Let's not waste any time. I'd just like to know more about these Memorial Essences."
"The masters never told you about them? I figured they would-"
"They've told me about that other me plenty of times, but I don't believe them." Meltryllis interrupted. Irisviel blinked, but then smiled lightly. The growing pause was starting to irk the lithe dancer, especially considering the caster's questioning glint. Before she could even pry, which she may just, Meltryllis scowled. "No. I wouldn't act like that. There's no way, but I won't lie and say I'm not curious about all these stories of others getting memories from a… very different timeline, was it?"
"I see… So then that's why you decided to call out to me instead of the masters." Irisviel may look sweet and elegant, but she sure was surprisingly quick on the uptake. More than Meltryllis originally believed at least. That kind smile was still irritating though. "Then would you like to know what it's like to accept a very… hm, stark, set of memories?"
Meltryllis nodded a bit impatiently. Not a second later, Irisviel complied. "As you know, I was a different person when I first arrived, as some describe it. I'd say it's an apt description, yes… I was only a pseudo-servant homunculus back then. No knowledge that I lived such a beautifully short life as a mother. I never thought another me could be so… blessed with something I never even thought I should enjoy."
Though she wanted to tell her to move on from the sappy story, this past glimpse of this caster definitely drew her attention. She decided it may be better not to skip right to the flat points, but rather humor her… and herself. "Then you got that Memorial Essence?"
"I did. But it wasn't like the ones that often arrive," Irisviel began, and Meltryllis' curiosity was finally snagged tight when the caster's smile turned… unsettled. Difficult. "I don't really like thinking about the moments after you touch it. Most of the time, I've heard a Memorial Essence will be accepted rather smoothly, followed by a day of occasionally jarring memory overlaps. Episodic blackouts due to overwhelming mental stimuli, as Gale loves to note them. But the ones that make you see how a different you feels…"
Though blank faced, Meltryllis had become patient. Irisviel paused to breathe, then locked eyes with her. The smile had vanished. "It felt like I was being possessed. My husband said the same… The memories didn't feel like mine at first. The emotions, feelings, sights… It was overwhelming. The blackouts were constant. I was crippled for a day, and it took much longer to sort everything out. It was as if another person had merged with me, screaming to convince me that every memory I couldn't believe was true. They were vivid. They weren't lies, but I felt like my mind was tearing apart."
Part of Meltryllis was too skeptical. Much of her was only curious, but undecided. She couldn't read or understand the emotions of humans, so the genuine glints of troubled memory in Irisviel's eyes remained lost. The tone was just as persuasive, yet unpersuasive to her.
But the words caught Meltryllis. Like compiled data, she took them in. Logged them. There were too many talking about Memorial Essences and the changes they can inflict to pass it off as a well-coordinated prank. The information would be useful, and though skeptical of that other self, she acknowledged she may receive one too… should another master have been lucky or crazy enough to summon an alter ego.
"Sorry…" Irisviel smiled sheepishly. "That's not what you wanted to know about, was it? What did you wish to…?"
"Go on." Meltryllis offered calmly, making Irisviel blink. "You had me curious. What made you accept that other you as real? Do you ever think it was a lie?"
"…I never thought it was a lie, but I sometimes questioned if I deserved any of this," the caster admitted, but her smile was soft again. "But making so many new memories with my family… I love it. I love every moment, just like that other me savored every fleeting second in her short life. Had I not been thrown to the forest to prove a point, I may have never… The emotions that came after were to powerful. So very powerful. They felt so lovable, my heart couldn't help but envy that other me. I wanted to be like her, and feel and experience what she did."
Meltryllis raised an eyebrow. "So you changed who you were? Just like that, you abandoned the original you?"
"When did I say that?" the caster smiled confidently. "It's where I came from. A homunculus, born for war. That other me was too. I'm not the Irisviel who fell in love and gave birth to Illya, but I'm not the Irisviel who remained ignorant of family and hope. I have both memories as my past, and I hold them close so I don't forget what helped me become who I am today."
"Then who are you, caster?" Meltryllis questioned dubiously.
"I'm who I want to be," she giggled contently. "I'm me. I'm Irisviel von Einzbern, proud mother and happy pseudo-servant of Chaldea."
Meltryllis blinked, but remained silent. Everything sank in, but it was barely comprehensible. What was she going on about when the answer was clear: She's the homunculus who didn't know of love before. How could you not be one or the other? Meltryllis thought homunculi might see things differently due to order and designed purpose, but clearly this caster threw most of that stigma out the window with a cheerful smile to join the ranks of absurdly blissful souls.
Unfortunately, though Meltryllis got some curiosities answered, it sprouted countless more. The alter ego's mouth twitched to a frown. "I see. I guess I'll never understand humans and their semantics…"
Instead of being offended or confused, Irisviel giggled again. "Maybe one day you will?"
"Not you too…" Meltryllis narrowed her eyes. The last thing she needed was another saying she might remember. What was wrong with this place? Were they so tied to that other her that they would readily lay that impression over the current her rather than treat her as… How gruff and unfair for an organization that held itself as polite and accepting.
These thoughts were throwing Meltryllis for a loop. A headache was mounting, and her eyes rolled. "I'm not that other me. I'll never be."
"I know. The masters know too, but please don't mind them," the caster offered reassuringly, and though the motherly woman naturally reached to hold the other servant's hand, she stopped herself. Thankfully. Instead, she did glance to the music box that rested on her mostly preserved beddings. She smiled back to her. "I was there too. I saw what happened, or, well… just a little glimpse of what that other you did for them. I can't blame them for missing her. You danced so beautifully."
"Then they can miss her without imprinting the expectations of that other me on me," she managed to spit out without tripping. With narrowed eyes, Meltryllis stood up to signal they were done. "You have my thanks for telling me what you did."
"You're welcome. I'm glad I can help you twice in such a short time," Irisviel smiled, then stood to smooth her dress. "I'm also happy you're more accepting of the idea that other you really did exist."
Meltryllis narrowed her eyes. "What are you…"
The alter ego recalled what she said just moments before. Irisviel giggled apologetically, but Meltryllis groaned out, "So she possibly existed. Fine. That doesn't mean I'll ever be her. BB said it herself. Anything from that singularity was lost because of what it was."
"Except everyone we managed to bring home with us," Irisviel corrected lightly as she walked to the door. Meltryllis narrowed her eyes, but the caster said no more. She exited, but before stepping far enough away for the door to close, she paused. The alter ego braced for more annoyance, but paused when Irisviel's worried smile flew her way. "And Meltryllis? Should it happen. Should you ever get those memories, I hope it's not as painful as it was for my husband and I. I hope it's better than you imagined."
"Probably not," she shrugged, yet the caster still giggled. The door closed, leaving Meltryllis alone again. She let out a sigh as she walked back to her bed. "That was more tedious than I liked…"
She did get a fair amount of answers though. Even if she won't admit it, unless she was lying, Memorial Essences could contain the experiences of a different way someone lived. She supposed that wasn't such a ludicrous improbability: The butterfly effect declared how dramatic a few little decisions can be. But for her, an alter ego, to shift her perspective and opinion in what the masters roughly inferred to as… a few days?
No, there were limits to improbability and needle threading. Logic and reason dictated such. Fate was only a human concept used to describe circumstance and probability. Maybe if there were a million different renditions of the save event, she might have over the course of months. A naturally sadistic and selfish alter ego wouldn't have been moved for less.
Yet, how honest was she truly being to herself? If she truly hated everything the masters and others did, she could have left Chaldea, or been far more hostile than a few barbed words off a sharp tongue. On some level, she did respect them for their actions and stances. Part of her could accept that, but that wouldn't mean she'd act unlike herself just to please them. 'So they lost the other me they grew attached to… Pity, but that's life. With every meeting there is a parting.'
Despite the little wonderings circling her mind like buzzing flies, she cast her thoughts aside. There were still other answers to find. Many found hobbies to pass the time, but she still hadn't found a definitive reason to stay besides settling her own inquiries. She also had to figure out why she agreed to the summoning too…
'…Or maybe you know that answer and you refuse to admit it…?' one logical branch thought to question.
She ignored it, or so she adamantly believed as she picked up her music box to play with again. She needed to soothe this headache.
¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ VI ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨
Dinner arrived. Though she didn't eat, she made it a habit to linger in the area if only to keep an eye on BB. That AI acted too freely, and would likely try and drag her into something if she wasn't present to deny the facts. She did have this awful habit of shooting her mouth off. Thankfully, most tended to leave the alter ego alone as she watched from the sidelines, though some often tried to infer she lingered because she secretly wanted to join in.
It was ridiculous to think she wanted to be part of the occasional house play or anarchy… yet the other alter ego was a different story.
"Hi, Melt." As usual, the soft and hopeful voice of her counterpart greeted her. It was only routine. Passionlip was always at dinner, and she always approached to try and talk. The keyword was try. "How are you? I heard you got hurt on deployment."
"Nothing that would slow me down," she pushed aside easily. Meltryllis finally turned to address the alter ego who stood carefully at the boardwalk railing beside her. It was surprising how much more aware she became of her clawed hands: She shouldn't have been. Meltryllis just chalked it up to being around Tamacat, Parvati, and Anishka all the time.
In the growing pause, Passionlip shifted on her hands a bit uncomfortably. Her little blue dress glowed by the setting sun and colorful lights of the nearby Christmas tree. Overcautious and nervous, she glanced at her fingers to ensure she wasn't brushing against the decorations. It was likely to hide the growing discomfort for Meltryllis' usual disinterest in talking.
It was nothing against Passionlip, really, just that Meltryllis wanted to be left alone. Though, she'd admit, this alter ego was one of the few she didn't mind being around. Well, so long as she didn't bring up one topic again. Seeing Passionlip struggling to find a way to continue the conversation, Meltryllis chose to humor the kind, rather innocent soul. "You're not learning how to cook tonight, Lip?"
"I am!" she cheered up quickly. "Tamacat is warming a new grill. I'm going to learn how to make pastries! Would you want to try one Melt?"
"I'll pass. They're wasted on me." Food couldn't entice her, no matter how admittedly tasty. Not even the smell wafting from the smokers and grills, nor the happy conversations that overflowed from the nearby cabana. "I'm just here to keep an eye on BB."
"There are Peacekeepers for that," Lip commented with a little giggle. "But… as long as you're enjoying yourself. I'll save some treats in case you change your mind."
"I won't," she insisted calmly. As the new pause grew, she realized she didn't quite dispute the idea she was enjoying herself… but was there a need? She wasn't content or satisfied. If she wanted to enjoy herself, she'd go toy with an employee, operator, or magus. Just being near the mirth did nothing; The festive cheer added nothing either.
But after so many days here, and so many insistences from others, invasive thoughts had become common. Questions that made her wonder if there could be more. If she would inevitably be part of this community to some extent, or if she already was in some ridiculously loose way… And now, if that other her would have joined freely and preposterously. 'What a strange thought…'
Yet, one that could feasibly be answered. The awkward pauses between Passionlip's attempts to keep her company when she can were commonplace, but this time it gave Meltryllis a chance to glance over to the uncertain counterpart. As much as she hated whenever she, or anyone else, brought up that singularity, they'd made their annoying impact. She had been growing curious. "…Lip."
"Hmm?" she pepped up eagerly, but Meltryllis' stare remained a pondering canvas.
"You said the other me showed you her memories, didn't you?" Passionlip's eyes were now wider with shock, but before she could release a swarm of questions, the curious woman continued. "No. I still don't want to share memories. I don't want to see any of that. I just want to know if you were kidding or not."
"No! I wasn't kidding! She really did, and and… and it was all so…" Passionlip's insistence, lingering concern, and vivid appreciation mixed in her lively, almost childish expressions. "…You hate talking about it, but if only you could see and feel it. They were… so, so beautiful."
Meltryllis said nothing. In truth, all the alter egos needed to do was touch their foreheads, accept the mental prompt to share, and she would see for herself. It was a beneficial quirk added by BB, perfect to get the answers she wanted, but… She still didn't want to know.
Well, she did, but she didn't. Curiosity was a terrible roommate, and it only held its grip because of the thought of the feelings of pleasure and satisfaction that other her supposedly felt. Yet, did she really not want to know? Why did she suddenly question what the other her felt when she was so content not knowing just a day before?
"Melt…? Are you okay?"
Before she could answer, another voice called out for her companion. "Lip? Tamacat has the grill ready. Ready to make some snowmen cookies?"
"Oh! Yes please!" Passionlip happily called back.
Meltryllis turned to Parvati, who radiated brilliance in the sunset light. Ever smiling and cheerful, not even her vibrant cerulean dress and glistening Indian jewelry could rival her shine. That blossoming aura fell upon her, but Meltryllis' distanced shelter remained strong. The lancer still nodded to her in greeting. "Hello, Meltryllis. Lovely evening, isn't it?"
"I suppose," she answered plainly, and Parvati ended it there.
Turning back to Passionlip, she gently reached a hand out to place on her arm, then carefully walked with her towards the grills. Passionlip glanced back with an apologetic smile and mentally mailed wish. "Bye, Melt. If you ever want to know, tell me. I won't bring it up to you again… promise!"
'If I ever want to know…' her mind repeated. Her breathing turned slow, but her flat gaze remained cemented. She huffed with hidden consternation…
Was that really an answer she wanted?
¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ VII ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨
The covers were soft; The fact she sank told her as much. Anishka said the quilts have only gotten fluffier, but it's not like she could feel the true quality. The sensation of touch was lost on her, so then why after so long, was she finally lying down on the bed with flowing tresses splayed beneath her?
With her sharp legs dangling off the edge, she stared up as the thought bubbles formed and popped. Before her, the music box was gripped tightly in hand in an effort to keep it secure. Her delicate balance of exertion and force may break it at any second, but it held firm as it twirled and danced for her. Its soft chimes whispered its soothing aria by the second.
Meltryllis wondered if the other her found this toy just as mesmerizing.
It was strange, or maybe it wasn't. She still didn't accept the other her acted like that, but she no longer thought it impossible. Highly improbable, certainly, and still laughable…. But it could have happened, and by the insistence of others, it had. Another her had shown and felt emotion she thought herself incapable of.
And therein lied the reasoning. If she'd come to feel those emotions, would it have influenced the true self in the throne so greatly? Would it have made her wish at any summoning chance to meet them again and remember? It was difficult to impossible for her to understand the feelings of humans, but she could understand herself and the selfish pursuit of pleasure just fine.
If those times really did give her pleasure unfathomable, then it was no wonder she accepted the Chaldean summoning.
She narrowed her eyes. That point and reasoning were moot. If there existed as many branching possible timelines as a computer could fathom, then what were the odds it'd give her those memories? Slim to none. She wasn't supposed to be in the throne to begin with, yet BB supposedly summoned her directly based on her allocated variables.
But did that mean the string BB chose on a whim was simply not that other her? So she'd heard mentioned, many in Chaldea were summoned with memories of dealing with the masters, whether friend or foe. Logically, it was the Fate System's attempts to better tailor an effective, cooperative force. Then if BB had chosen a data string directly, did that mean if she was summoned naturally, it wouldn't have been her current self …
'But rather…' Meltryllis let out a deep breath.
Her feelings spun and danced with the glass ballerina.
¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ VIII ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨
Though the circle of thoughts plagued her throughout the night, like a morbid curiosity, she let them. She kept thinking until the first rays of sunlight attempted to pierce Mount Meru's reforming blizzard to no avail. The halls were filling with souls on their daily routines, and she soon walked amongst them too. It felt quieter that morning, or perhaps her thoughts had been that loud.
They remained that way, long after she'd come to accept the answers offered to her.
All of Meltryllis' curiosities fell silent but one, yet she was content to let that one sit unanswered. She didn't need to know how that other her felt. There was no point: She was the one in Chaldea. That other her was lost to the sea of Imaginary Numbers, and the chance of receiving that memorial essence was next to nothing. Everyone would just have to accept that she was not the Meltryllis they came to know, just as she'd been scolding them for all this time.
Still, walking through the hallway to breakfast, seeing the occasional pair of staff or servants conversing vibrantly, her mind imprinted her own image among them. Her distanced nature never bothered her before, and still didn't. That didn't keep the mind from wondering anew with presented stimuli. Once more, it questioned if she would have stayed as distant.
'Of course I would.' How many times would she have to answer that?
If she'd bonded with the masters, then they were the lucky privileged to enjoy her company. She still disliked, and was secretly unnerved by, humans. She'd still keep nearly all other servants at arm's length. At her core, that's how she was, and something like that doesn't just spin completely in a new direction- "Let's go, Momo!"
"I told you not to call me that!" Unbeknownst to Meltryllis, that snap lacked a lot more bark than it usually did. Slowing at the intersection by Salon de Marie, Lily appeared, sparkling like a royal with her cheery smile and white sundress. In her hand, she held Mordred's loosely as she pulled her out of the Camelot Room.
With an uncomfortable yet pleased expression that matched her tank top and matching gym shorts, the rebellious saber put up little to no resistance. "Lily, let go! I can walk on my own!"
"Oh don't be like that! Skip with me, Momo! It's a supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year!"
If not for their chivalrous auras, the content chuckles of the knights signaled their presence. Meltryllis fell both exasperated and guarded as Gawain and Tristan exited the Camelot Room; If only it was Arthur, Mashu, or Bedivere instead, who only offered pleasantries. Instead, these two knights, strangely in matching silver formal suits, offered a quick stare, righteous bows, and direct addresses. "Lady Meltryllis. A fine morning, is it not?"
"I didn't notice," she retorted plainly as she attempted to walk past dismissively. As expected, the two knights attempted to match her pace, and she secretly entertained the idea of slamming her heels into their heads. 'At least that would get through to them…'
Though not as bad as Tristan, Gawain had also been treating her far too kindly for her liking. At first, she thought it was because of his chivalrous and sometimes flirty nature. Apparently a version of him had been present in the singularity, and the Chaldean one and his archer companion had reviewed the recordings BB offered. If Meltryllis didn't know any better, BB did that just to toy with her alter ego. Whatever the case, these two often went a little out of their way to make her feel comfortable…
Which obviously only did the opposite.
Unfortunately, but anticipated, it wasn't long before their attempts bloomed anew like dandelions. "Have you tried any of the festive foods yet, Lady Meltryllis?"
"Why would I?" She glanced back to Gawain, who remained unperturbed with a tiny, noble smile. Her narrowed sight turned back forward with a huff. "It makes no difference to me what you humans want to enjoy. Just leave me out of it."
"Left out of it… How sad. Yet you remain so close and within sight of what you might grasp." Tristan's words were more irritating today thanks to an entire night of dwelling. "Our King's invitation is always extended. You're free to join us if you wish for any company."
"I don't wish for anything but to be left alone. Can you not respect that, knights?" To her surprise, a tiny pang within her contradicted her claim. It was more of a bolt of curiosity than anything, but it still rattled the gears of thought. "If I wish for any satisfaction, I'll toy with who I please."
"And should the time come, we will stop you if it crosses the lines of order," Gawain declared, yet it was far less of a threat than some sort of fleeting comment. How ridiculous. "But you still haven't. Mayhaps you're a better person than you try to appear to be."
"I'm no person, and you are mistaken," Meltryllis warned with a quickly snapped glare. "You are also harassing me, or is this allowed in your rules of order? Police yourselves and stop bothering me."
"Pardon us. We never mean any disrespect," Tristan reassured, and thankfully, the two sped up their pace to walk past her. Finally, she'd be left alone from the daily passes of the self-righteous knights. As they passed, the archer struck a new chord with an often-reiterated comment. "Many of us just wish to pay you thanks in some regard for what you shouldered for the sake of our masters."
Meltryllis' pace naturally slowed, but her narrowed gaze softened just a touch. "…Constantly pestering me to show gratitude… Did it really mean that much to you? What that other me did?"
The two knights stopped, turned to each other, then gazed back to her. There wasn't an ounce of hesitation or discomfort between them, no matter how many times she put up a cold, thorny wall. It was irritating… and just a little commendable. A little.
After a pause, Gawain nodded nobly. "Without question. We weren't personally there, but the recordings showed you were as noble as any knight. You saved our masters when they were at the mercy of the singularity. It was one of our darkest moments, yet you were a shining light."
"Save me the poetics," Meltryllis rolled her eyes. "I surely had my reasons for doing so, but I'm not her."
"No, you're not. But you did have your reasons," Tristan smiled lightly, then motioned for his companion to follow. He offered one last grateful glance, and had his eyes been opened, she probably would've seen a look of genuine appreciation she couldn't comprehend. "However you may act, and even if you aren't her, you have our highest gratitude, Lady Meltryllis."
They pulled further away from her, and she was left walking forward, uncaring of the other passing traffic that may have heard or gleamed. What did she care? She was annoyed, frustrated… even a bit satisfied she made such a potent impression. Besides harassing her again with unsolicited conversation, they'd sparked the last lone curiosity again.
'Her motivations… What did she feel? How did she act and why had she acted so vastly against my very core?' More than ever, she wished her diluted sense of touch and sensation applied to her thoughts too. At least then she wouldn't have as big of a headache.
Yet the easy way to settle it remained: Direct answers could be found. Still, she remained split. She didn't want to gleam it from Passionlip and show her hand. There was no way she was going to ask BB. However, there was another way to get her answer without anyone stretching her curiosity into a twisted rumor.
Breakfast could be skipped today; Not like she ever ate. 'Don't go and pull me into anything, BB…'
¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ IX ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨
It was her first time seeing the Strategy Room, and she was honestly surprised with how rather… disorderly it was. She'd expected the mages to be far more organized when it came to arranging the papers, but just seeing the stacks and recording files daunted her too. In the flickering light, they almost loomed like towering demons that conquered table, filing cabinets, and floor wholly.
When the door slid shut, the projector, the lone light of the room, paused. Apparently there was someone in the room, but normal humans were much harder for her to sense compared to all the distracting, prominent sources in these halls. Though she was about to leave to find a better time, she found herself meeting the curious stare of a Vigil operator. The uniformed man's only companion seemed to be a few cups of coffee and the playing singularity.
"Oh, hey. Meltryllis, right?" Skyler called out quietly as he sipped on his cup. "Need anything here?"
'Obviously,' she thought, but answered differently. "Is that any of your business, soldier?"
"Well, no, but if it means less wasted time, I might be able to point at something in this junkyard."
…He had a fair point, but she wasn't about to be honest. Even anything remotely direct may draw a swift conclusion; Though often aloof, this guy seemed fairly sharp. "I know what I'm looking for, but I'll come back for it later when it's here."
"Looking for a Clock Tower mage then? Lucky soul." She couldn't tell if it was sarcastic or not. She paid it no heed, and was about to turn to leave if it wasn't for her glancing to the projected image again.
The paused screen was nothing she recognized, but it was war incarnate. An ancient city was in flames. Chaldeans stood circled in a defensive formation atop a tall monument as the skies glowed an angry red. Sickly, twisted figures covered the skies, and in the distance loomed an imposing silhouette of a bipedal, horned beast. Just the sight of it alone, standing tall about the flooded mess of a once proud capital, shook the alter ego.
"Watching past singularities? I thought that's the officers' jobs."
"It is," he replied calmly and pressed play. The battle was far more horrific and direr than the paused screen led it to believe. The beast's unholy scream resonated within her, like an ancient terror laced with torment, yearning, and frustration. It was a solemn cry of destruction, but it didn't seem to even faze the operator. "I got special permission to watch it too. Give the Captain details on what I saw and think of it. Different opinions help for accuracy."
If it was a lie or not, Meltryllis couldn't tell. She didn't care. She only stared as the servants fought hard to protect the masters at the center, yet from what she could gleam, this battle was already lost. What point was there to fight when the city's foot was in the grave? When such an impossible force stood ready to trample them? At least, their bravery and defiance were commendable, if not stupid.
Then again, they did supposedly save humanity from extinction.
A mild curiosity of what they'd been through bloomed, but was otherwise a sideshow. Making a note to return sometime later to look around privately, she left without another word. The hallways were mostly empty save for the robotic force catering to the halls. She passed many without greeting or interest, despite their own wishes to a good morning.
It was just another morning as far as she was concerned.
¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ X ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨
It's funny how an otherwise plain day could change so quickly. Only hours later, she'd been called to the Summoning Chamber by the masters. Though it could've been for anything, they'd been clear about it. Daily summonings attempts began again at Da Vinci's approval, which meant the flow of strange mystic codes and craft coins often joked about. For whatever reason, Chaldea was still recruiting for its present army, but they'd failed to get anyone this day.
Anyone new at least.
'There's no way,' she told herself again as she walked the final hall to the promised doors ahead. It happened. A Memorial Essence had arrived for her. In another time, someone or something had managed to summon an alter ego to fight, and now those memories had been delivered here.
Her thoughts were silent and loud, drowning out the opening of the double doors and the greetings of the chamber's occupants. The uniformed Gudao and Anishka went about setting new quartz on pedestals. Gabrielle sat by the console, casually dressed in ripped jeans and a green shirt with Celtic lettering drawn on the front. She looked far more pleased today; Just another testament to her often vibrant mood swings.
Tesla stood battle ready and proud as usual. Da Vinci stopped talking with Gabrielle by the council. Her burgundy Victorian dress swirled when she turned, but her smile faded with lacing concern. David was a bit more stoic nearby with his clipboard clutched against his medical staff uniform. She paid attention to none as she stared at the curious orb of light at the very center of the room.
All eyes had snapped to her, but hers couldn't be shaken. She came to a stop by the edge of the system's outer rings, partially mesmerized by the sphere. Her thoughts circled and whispered endlessly, and she might have even sworn the orb beckoned her to touch it. Swirling like a sun, it hovered gently, offering a presence of familiarity and concern wrapped into an unknown package.
"Melt… If it's what we think it is, we're here for you," Gabrielle quickly reassured. When had she walked up to her? The alter ego glanced beside her, but found any retort was locked in her throat, the key nowhere in reach. For once, she wasn't completely infuriated with the master's concern and worry. She still didn't care for it, but she didn't move to verbally distance the overbearing girl. "It might be painful. It could be worse, but I hope it doesn't go that far."
"You're blowing this out of proportion," she dismissed flatly, if in part to subdue the growing sense of anxiety at her core. Irisviel's words were not lost the whole trip here. She was worried, but like hell she would show it to anyone. The alter ego didn't need any sympathy. "I'm just getting this over with."
"I hope it's pleasant," Anishka reiterated, and though Gudao and Da Vinci said something too, they fell on deaf ears. The near-silent hum of the Memorial Sphere was all consuming. It cascaded like a waterfall as she stepped towards it, and its bright glow cooed like a motherly embrace. But a moment later, she stood within arm's reach as the others watched carefully, unbeknownst to her.
Again, their concern, and especially the tiny buds of her own, were ridiculous and unnecessary. The chances of it being that one were slim to none. The probability was infallible. Fate was a human construct forged to describe variables lining up coincidentally, when that's all it ever was: Coincidence. The whims of data variation which no divine entity or overwhelming, moving force could shift as it chooses.
Yet the slimmest part of her had thought to question otherwise. Wasting no further time, and to silence that absurd blossom, she raised her arm. The sleeve waved gently in the sphere's wafting breeze, and she felt a powerful tingling basking her hand in warmth. Unaccustomed to the sensation that invited her forth, she found her pleasure-seeking core could not resist.
With but a single touch of the condensed sphere, Meltryllis found out why the Throne of Heroes usually wiped the contradicting memories of any summoned spirit…
…Her intolerably loud scream cracked a glass panel on the console. "MELT!"
'It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!' Her once dull sensations were overwhelmed. Her skin felt alight, roasting from inside and out. She tried to grasp at her head less it split itself with the agonizing fissure within. Her muscles refused to listen as they spasmed and flared out of control. She didn't even feel herself collapse, nor the constant screams that flew from her wrenched-open mouth. Her eyes glanced around desperately, but her vision had fled in an instant.
Where once the Summoning Chamber and Memorial Essence filled her vision, there was only flickering white. Visions poured before her, one after the other. Indiscernibly fast, they came with a growing concert of voices, sounds, and sensations. One moment she saw a tall, beautiful woman cursing towards her. Another she was locked in combat with Suzuka. She felt the terrible wounds of battle, tasted the bitter iron in her mouth when she rocketed skyward at impossible speeds, heard the desperate calls of her name…
"Melt! Oh god, it's definitely that one!" "Please tell us you can do something, Annie! Please!" "Nightingale's on her way!" "Melt, hang on!"
She saw, heard, and felt nothing beyond the thundering fall of memories. They felt so real. So vivid. So undeniable, but they were foreign. She felt constricted and possessed. Her core naturally panicked, sending constant distress calls to her muscles and body just to breathe. She tried to break free as memory after memory bombarded her, resulting in only fluttering eyelids and violent seizures as she laid on the ground.
'Make it stop! Make it stop!' Her mind struggled to cry out among the endless voices. They were her own, yet they weren't. Her mind flailed against the invader, this unseen force violently ramming all these sensations into her mind against her will. It was like someone was trying to take over… Like someone else was in her head!
Yet, the seduction of the invader grew powerful. It offered calming visions like bait. She saw herself being healed by the masters… Enjoying a little dinner party with them while trying to push Tamacat away from her. Over the flashes of torment, pain, and strife, the sights of their genuine smiles of appreciation shined brightly to light the new, blazing fire in her heart. A pleasant heat flourished when she saw any of them hold her hand… but she couldn't grasp onto anything.
Everything hurt… The menagerie of agony was relentless! She couldn't think. Her mind was on the verge of rupturing, and she flailed desperately against her apparent death throes. 'Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop!'
Meltryllis let out the dozenth blood curdling scream as the adrenaline flowed through her. Her muscles constricted and acted in accordance. Da Vinci cried out, "Watch it! Get back!"
David leapt out of the way as her sharpened boot sailed dangerously to his head. Gabrielle acted fast, and tackled Gudao to the ground with one arm before he was struck. Unfortunately, Tesla couldn't act fast enough. Amid her own tormented constriction, almost like death throes, Meltryllis' flailing struck. Blood flashed in her vision for the hundredth time, but this was no memory. For but a moment, her mind took clarity at the heartbreaking crack of Anishka's voice.
Her eyes flashed wide, and though the bombardment of her mind continued, the flashes of white were replaced by the urgings of her heart's sudden panic. Crossed between the forced memories passing her eyes like a slideshow, she glimpsed Gabrielle and Gudao scrambling over to their fallen friend. With her hand clutched to a terrible bloodied arm, Anishka struggled to control her breathing as she kept a hard clamped on her limb.
"I wasn't fast enough!" Tesla cursed as many began yelling over each other. "Gabby! Stay calm! And- Is anyone coming to help restrain Meltryllis!?"
Though flailing and spasming against her will, her eyes remained locked on the masters. Gabrielle, though clearly stressed, was quickly working a healing spell on Anishka's arm. Gudao was trying to calm her while tossing concerned glanced to the alter ego. Da Vinci stood with staff at the ready, but her intent to guard was clear; No one looked at the alter ego angrily. No one forced blame.
Not even Anishka, clearly struggling to control her pain, stared to her with worry, rather than her own bloody wound.
The sensations were overwhelming, but the emotions that came with them grew like a wildfire. The chaos and anarchy in her mind doubled… tripled. Never before had such a sensation of horror and guilt wrenched their way to her heart; Her mind couldn't comprehend it, but it couldn't analyze. The visions continued unperturbed. The memories, noises… Even as she drowned in the overwhelming stimuli, a continuous voice, like a chant, grew in power to condemn her.
"You injured someone you love!" The message was clear. It was something she should have never believed. She couldn't accept it. Neither deny it. All she could do was spasm desperately as guilt drilled a hole into her scorching heart. "You injured someone you love! You injured someone you love!"
'No! No, no, no! Make it stop! Make it stop!' Desperation grew to rival it. It tried to seize control, to make everything stop, but her fate was sealed. She was trapped in this endless typhoon, yet the fringe of this storm was the strongest. She lashed out against everything and anything, desperate to do something. She wasn't even aware of the tears that were forming in her eyes as the remorselessly persistent visions tried to smother her mind into submission.
"Melt! Melt, it's going to be okay!" Gabrielle insisted as she held herself together. "It's not your fault!"
'Sorry! Make it stop! No! Someone help me!' Not even her own requests sounded like her anymore. Or were they her? With whatever blurry vision she had, she succumbed to the growing sensations that plagued every inch of her soul. She let out another scream as the tears streaked… and finally, her body answered. 'Make it stop! No! I didn't mean to! Someone help me! Someone save me!'
Panic and desperation were very powerful emotions, moreso when they danced together. Tripping and scrambling over herself, lost and without a plan, her mind screamed for comfort. Her body moved automatically. She raced away from the source of pain on instinct's demand, even as the masters yelled after her. Gudao's wasn't even a whisper in her assaulted mind, "Melt! Shit! David, can you-!?"
"Get… me up! We have… to follow her!" Anishka panted as she controlled her own breathing; She was even daring enough to try and help Gabrielle heal herself. "Melt… needs us!"
David was already chasing Meltryllis as she fumbled and struggled her way out of the Summoning Chamber door.
¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ XI ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨
"Hey! Get out of her way!" "Move away please! She's in a dangerous state!" "Helena is on her way! Where's Meltryllis heading!?"
Meltryllis remained unaware with the blinding sensations. Robots, staff, and servants moved and ducked out of the crying, screaming alter ego's path. Her body moved automatically at her pleas, scrambling down the path as her vision gave glimpses like a slideshow. Flashes of white were now joined by periods of blackness. The memories of her other self lay siege unabated. As desperation demanded, the few glimpses of the world, or what she felt it was, were enough to lead her forward.
She was suffocating. It was becoming harder to breathe, and more impossible to see as her true vision was burdened by a cascade of tears. Her heart was ripped apart by too many emotions to take; The grave injuries of the memories were more acceptable a thousand times over. Still, she scrambled forward desperately, often falling to her knees only to get up again. Some servants attempt to help pick her up, but her random flails and unpredictable movement kept nearly all at bay.
"Tristan! Gawain! Please get back!" "We know you want to help, but it's safer if a caster restrains her!"
It was a seeming eternity of endless wandering, but a frantic, weeping retreat that took less than a minute for everyone else. As her room flew open, her distress grew more deafening as it echoed within her room. She collapsed face first again, slamming into the floor. Her legs scraped and slashes at her scuffed floor, but what did she care? Her agony laughed with its control over her, and her desperate instinct's answer fell uncaring.
Her room would not give her the comfort, but then the sight of the music box was caught in a fleeting glimpse. She began scrambling desperately towards her bed as servants closed in from the halls. The tears fell like hot magma she could actually feel, and her blurred vision made out the little gift coming within reach. It was not to be.
By the time she reached her bed, an unseen memory forced itself and seized full control.
¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ XII ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨
When Meltryllis consciousness returned, the pain was overwhelming. For her to feel it to this extent… No doubt, her injuries were beyond grave. This was it. This was the end- 'No! not yet!'
Her weak eyes shot wide with horror. "What-!?"
"Melt!" "She's awake!" "Oh thank goodness! You scared all of us!" "Like, that was a hell of a move you pulled!"
Over the chorus of greetings, her shock faded away with realization. She was far too weak to move, but she found herself on her back staring to the amber lit ceiling of the hidden classroom. It looked so surreal, and only the pain grounded her from believing it was a dream. It wasn't. Her last, determined act wasn't the end.
Before she asked, she glanced around desperately to soothe the last of her gripping terror. Fatigued, nervous eyes relaxed upon landing on Anishka. Further more with Gabrielle. By the time she saw Gudao, just as pristine as his friends, she finally breathed a slow, pained breath. Their relieved smiles were refreshing, and told her nearly everything she needed to know.
…Except one. "You're all safe… but… What? What happened?"
"After I shot you, Tristan and Li dove after you." Meltryllis turned her broken, agonized head to stare towards Passionlip, even as Anishka tried to persuade her from doing so. While the Indian master continued trying to heal her, Meltryllis gazed upon the gently weeping alter ego. She looked fine… That was a happy sight. Great for her. "I don't know what they did… but they saved you."
"That knight did some trick with his weird arrows. Fished you up, then took a hit from Old Li to catapult you to safety. Gudao snagged you from afar." Now her gaze shifted to BB, who sat on a desk beside her counterpart. That annoying smirk was gone, replaced with a rather blank expression… save for the tiny glint of impressed approval. "Chaldea's mystic codes sure are handy… but you stole the whole show this time, Melt. Well done dooming that beast."
"Yea! Well done, Melt! You're awesome!" Gabrielle cried as she quickly reached out to hold her hand. Meltryllis could have sworn she felt her warmth beyond her agonizing pain… and it spread. Dancing with satisfaction as its partner, it spread to fill her body with a relaxing, soothing comfort. She felt so… warm. So very warm and light. Before she knew it, the first flakes of gold were already forming.
"Wait! Wait, no! NO!" Gabrielle's smile had quickly marred by dismay. "Don't die, Melt!"
"Hey, Anne! Can't you, like, stabilize her!?" Suzuka cried out from behind Gabrielle.
"I-I'm trying! But her core is…!" Anishka shot back quickly, but the desperation in her eyes betrayed her hopes. Meltryllis knew it well before any of them did. BB, the most unfazed in the growing panic aside from her, only stared stoically.
"Command seals gone! No apples!?" Tamacat questioned as she tried scrambling around the classroom, turning over desks and cabinets in search of some secret item. It was pathetic and ridiculous… but Meltryllis appreciated the sight. "Isn't there anything!? After all she's done, she deserves to come back with us! I want to have her and Lip as cooking pupils!"
"You mean after all that, we still couldn't…" Gudao's voice finally revealed his own mounting, mourning frustrations.
Meltryllis only smiled weakly. "You did all that for a servant who's at death's door... I'm as good as dead."
Gudao quickly snapped to BB, but the stoic AI only shook her head. "I'm doing all I can just to hold this point stable. Unless you want to risk never returning to Chaldea, I can't."
She then turned to Meltryllis. "You're right. If I hadn't exhausted all my energy, maaaybe I could have done something about that hopeless spirit core… but that knight and old man's early deaths meant something, you know?"
Among the sniffles, quieting pleas, and desperate actions, many including the few remaining Chaldean servants turned to BB. Her gaze remained solidly locked on the fading alter ego, but she finally smirked. "…Well? Aren't you going to say anything to the masters now that they gave you the chance? Better say it now. I can't hold this anchor point stable much longer, and the you now will cease to exist. You won't be seeing them again, even if you're resummoned."
'Make this count.' That was definitely BB's long-winded message, which only made the masters stagger further while some others tried to calm them. By now Anishka was sniffling, Gabrielle was on the border of tears and hysteria, and Gudao was struggling to withhold that silent, self-admonishing blame within himself.
Yet, among the growing shower of golden dust, Meltryllis mustered the last of her strength to hold herself together. "I'm sorry I lied to you, Annie."
Her first words stilled the room, and bought desperate gazes from the three she'd grown so close to. "…You were right. My arms were injured the first time I fought her… Kiara almost won. I couldn't bare to let her crush you… so I made that longshot with Passionlip... I forced back the clock in hopes I could save all of you."
"What do you mean…?" Anishka questioned, but Gabrielle's teary eyes lit up.
"W-What BB said? That shtick about s-speed and time!"
Meltryllis let out a pained laugh. "You beat Gudao to something… That. I injured myself doing that… but I did it. I traded places with the other me…. I… did everything I could to… save you all… just like you saved me the first time."
Talking became painful, but she pushed forward. She had to. If this was the last time, then she wasn't going to hold anything from them. She mustered the last of her strength, even as the shower of golden flakes whispered for her to sleep. "You were so overbearing, Gabby… Gudao was too neutral and boring… Annie, you're easy to walk all over… but it was fun. You appreciated me, saved me when many left me for dead… I was so abrasive… you were all so caring… I had to save you. I had to… protect you… my dream… the love I never knew before…"
Finally, she showed it to them. A genuine smile flowed from her heart as the first tears since witnessing their deaths formed in her eyes; They were tears of happiness. Gratitude. "It hurt to watch all of you die… So I'm sorry… Sorry if it's painful you're… seeing me go… in your place…"
"Melt, no! Please no!" Gudao's usually composed expression was cracked. To see even him cry was so heartwarming in her final moments.
"…Wow, Melt… I didn't think you'd say so much." BB's annoying callout wasn't as heartwarming… but she had a point, even as a weeping Passionlip turned to her. "I thought you'd just disappear without a word. This isn't really like you, you know? Not at all…"
"No… It's not like the old me… If they were unconscious, it… would've been better if I left without a word," Meltryllis agreed as her eyelids felt heavier. The golden shower surrounding her grew dense, like a beautiful snow globe. "…They're alive…. That's all that matters… I'm happy… I met… you…"
Gabrielle clutched her disappearing hand for dear life; She felt the warmth this time, if only through her yearning heart. "We can save you! Come back with us! Da Vinci! Can't we send someone over!? Nightingale! Irisviel! Bring Irisviel back here! Emergency Leyshift Melt! Anything!"
"…I'm sorry, Gabby…" Da Vinci's voice echoed from her wrist-mounted intercom. Meltryllis couldn't make out her crackling form past milky, fading vision. The inventor's solemn smile was the death sentence. "Her core is too damaged… She won't survive the Leyshift home."
"No! No, no, no!" Gabrielle panicked. "Don't go!"
"We'll save you, Melt! We'll bring you home with us!" Even Anishka's teary-eyed lies were a soothing parting.
Gudao threw his own adamant, reassuring lie, but it only made her close her eyes and smile. She didn't want the last memory to be of them crying. No, let it be the soothing amber that grew in her mind's eye. Let her bow to a finale of their desperate reassurance that she'll make it. That they care, more than anyone ever had before. "Even to the end… You want to save me… That's why… I loved…"
'…all you ridiculous masters…'
The golden flakes finally overcame her to the sound of a master's wails. Meltryllis disappeared, feeling not an ounce of pain above her satisfaction.
¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ XIII ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨
Meltryllis gasped. Her breathing was heavy, but her body felt so tight and unresponsive. Her eyelids felt terribly heavy, and her shaken orbs staggered. The aftershock of that first, prominent memory rattled her very being. Trapped in what felt like the eyes of another, feeling emotions she'd never felt before… Cracked, broken, agonized… but touched beyond measure. She tried to evict the foreign emotion and embrace it all the same.
"…Melt…?" "Melt… are… okay…?" "Is…"
Her senses returned, and she felt the confines of her dominating jail cell widen. Her vision grew clarity, and the sounds grew vibrant. She remained tense, as if the explosion of memories would return to haunt her again; No doubt they would, but in this brief respite, of sane mind, she tried to recompose herself-
"Melt? …You're okay. It's okay." Her senses finally came back in full, but the room was sideways. She stared forward, and Gabrielle was kneeling down clear in her sight. Worry etched her eyes, and trails of tears dried on her cheeks. Though sniffling, she still smiled with concern that filled her heart with that foreign, invading warmth. "…Are you okay, Melt?"
"What…?" For once since she arrived, she didn't immediately shrug off her sympathy. She winced as a few memories flashed before her, but her body held stiff. Then came that memory. Her eyes widened, and a panic she would have never felt before surged. "Annie! I struck her! What happened to Annie!?"
"A fairly incapacitating injury, but nothing our combined treatment can't handle in a timely manner." Surprised by the voice, Meltryllis tried to move her head; It was terribly stiff. In her peripherals, she managed to see the battleclad Nightingale sitting on one of her room's chairs, staring at her studiously. There wasn't an ounce of judgement in her flat expression. "Had Tesla not acted quicker, we may have lost her."
"But I'm alright. I'll just have to take it easy for a bit." Anishka's response was music to her ears; She was close. Much closer than she suspected. She glanced above her prone form, and recognized the black formal trouser of a master uniform. She then turned as much as she could to stare up.
There she met the smiling face of the Indian master, and to her guilt, a well-wrapped bandage covering most of her upper right arm. Guilt beat through her heart, even as much of her questioned the validity of that feeling. Meltryllis still felt stiff, but finally noticed the feint, unobtrusive glow of a faded magic circle around her. Guilt slowly mixed with frustration, amplified by the memories that still flashed in the eye of the storm. "…You've trapped me in my own room…?"
"I prefer to use the term subdued." Though out of sight, she recognized Helena's voice. She sat on the floor beside her in a black a-frame dress, but instead of anything scrutinizing, she only kept browsing and marking a stack of books she'd brought with her. "Please don't take it the wrong way. I only did it for the safety of yourself and others. You're the first servant to receive an aggressive Memorial Essence who just happened to have weapons attached to their body. It makes the memory seizures very dangerous."
"…I see…" So this was what Irisviel talked about. Now that the memories only trickled in during the current respite, she could actually think. It really did feel like she was being possessed… Like someone else was forcing them to believe this is how they should act and this is how they should live. But… it wasn't rewriting her other memories. It didn't tell her they were wrong, or that what she lived and believed was a lie. It was only forcing her to accept this other form was also her.
"How are you feeling?" Gabrielle asked quietly.
"…Terrible…" …It was agonizing, honestly. It was difficult. Her mind was a convoluted mess, and her heart a war-torn battlefield of sparring emotions. Yet, for all it hurt, there was that growing, foreign warmth so many insisted she had. And, in truth… pieces of her heart wished to embrace this warmth, whether it was that other her or… well, her. "…How long have I been blacked out?"
"Five minutes," Anishka offered, and Meltryllis nearly dry heaved. Five. Minutes. And these episodes were going to last for a day? Meltryllis was feeling sick, but Anishka smiled hopefully. "If you need any of us to be here with you, we can be. We won't leave you alone if you need anything, but we won't intrude if you feel we're being invasive."
'Invasive, huh…?' It would've been before. Now? She wasn't quite sure. As much as she wanted her privacy and to evict them, she was split. She'd gotten just a piece of the answer she didn't know if she wanted to feel, but now her hands were tied; Her body too. Nonetheless, she'd been through a lot, alone or not. She could bear this storm again, no matter how much she hurt. Alter egos were tough, but the pain… the memories… the warmth…
Suddenly, her own offered answers weren't so straightforward. She didn't know what to believe or do. "…I need time to think…"
Gabrielle nodded. "Then we'll leave so we don't-"
"…I didn't say you should go…" Part of Meltryllis stared sickened at those impulsively shot words. More of her than she thought possible voiced it truly, uncaring of that skeptical side. But it was the truth. She needed to think. She needed to comprehend what just happened, to understand who that other her was, and what she'd been through. The storm would be weathered one way or another… but, right now, her heart didn't want to do it alone. "Don't leave me, Annie… Gabby…"
Nightingale smiled warmly. "Gudao's here too. Just… busy. He's in the hallway reassuring others with Da Vinci. I'm sure he'll be back in soon enough."
Turning her head as much as she could, at the edge of her vision, she saw her door was open. Great. So a crowd was getting a peak, huh? Even worse, she recognized Gawain and Tristan at the forefront of the small crowd just past Da Vinci, David, and Gudao's backs. Yet, as aggravating as it was to see those two… it was a bit heartwarming to see that actual concern in those knightly eyes. It was more soothing water over the burning, aching pain that consumed her.
Then she spotted BB. The smirking AI was probably going to- "So it was that one, huh? Guess I was wrong…"
As expected. Annoy her. "You're wrong more than you'll ever admit."
"Not this time." Her smirk faded, and, to her utter disbelief, Meltryllis could have sworn BB actually sounded sincerely pleased. "…Good for you, Melt. I guess you'll have your happy ending too. Now I won't have any regrets teasing you too! Not that I ever would have~!"
As she disappeared into the crowd, memories flashed again, ramming them in her face in their forceful attempt at blunt acceptance. Meltryllis winced, and Anishka reached over hesitantly with her good arm. She stopped politely, but fell conflicted as Meltyllis struggled under her restraints; Even Helena was now staring in sympathy and worry. With labored breath, Meltryllis narrowed her eyes. "…This is ridiculous…"
"Now that she's awake, can we move her to make her more comfortable?" Gabrielle quickly asked the caster. "On her side isn't really… Maybe on her back? With a pillow?"
'Comfortable…' Meltryllis' mind echoed beyond the chorus of resurging noise. Her heart cried out, its voice louder with every second. It was so utterly… profound. This sense of yearning, satisfaction, and appreciation. As much as most of her denied it, the alter ego of pleasure couldn't hope to smother the feeling, one which threatened to overcome the unseen stalemate. It felt too reachable. Deserved. Perfect.
But that other her wasn't the Meltryllis now. No matter how beautiful that first full memory was, she didn't live it. She wasn't the one summoned to Chaldea… still, Irisviel's words echoed over the rising tide. It wasn't her, but was she truly herself anymore either? The way ahead was uncertain, but it wasn't entirely dark. The memories clashed and screamed, even though, maybe because of all this discomfort, she reached hastily towards whatever comfort she knew could soothe her current plight.
She glanced to Gabrielle, who looked back expectantly. "…If you'll really keep me company… then do me a favor…"
¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ XIV ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨
Over seven hours later, dinner had approached, but two men walked nowhere near the vicinity of delicious food. "Nah, Cuz. Was just curious. Hope the girl feels better. Those screams were bone chilling…"
"She will. I think they're getting easier but… Well, here's to hoping. Have fun at dinner!"
"I don't know if I should be having fun, rather than enjoying it? I'll tell the Romans you said hi." With a brief wave, the older cousin was jogging off, leaving the younger one alone before the resident's room.
A moment later, Meltryllis' door slid shut behind the black-haired master, but not before Fou managed to hop through by his feet. With a quick breath, his concern returned to his breath as he glanced to the bed. Gudao glanced at Meltryllis, who rested upon it while Anishka sat at the edge. Gabrielle had scooched a chair closer on the opposite side, and the alter ego now laid on her back comfortably.
Lying with her head gently on a pillow beside Anishka's lap, Meltryllis' eyes remained clamped shut. The new magic circle upon her beddings glowed vibrantly and pulsed as her muscles tensed, trying to force her to move; Helena's control was too strong. Still, the caster was confident enough to leave, as was Nightingale. Gudao quickly moved to join his two fellow masters. "…Another blackout?"
"Yea. It happened right after you left," Gabrielle answered. "Treats on the way?"
"Tamacat and Lip are delivering. They wanted to check on Melt too." Gudao sat down beside her, and Fou quickly popped into his lap with ears perked. Meltryllis made a brief, pained noise in her sleep, drawing the sympathy of the present masters. However, mixed among them were the lulls of peace; A new one took root.
"The last two were a little better. I hope I didn't jinx it." The orange-haired girl smiled. "She looks so peaceful right now."
"I hope they stay peaceful," Gudao nodded, then glanced just before Gabrielle's lap. At the edge of the bed, Gabrielle gently held Meltryllis' hand, even though she never requested it. Anishka did the same for her other; She didn't bat the gestures away when they offered but moments before he wandered away briefly. Gudao slowly reached over to rest his own on the loose sleeve to join his best friend's, then shared a hopeful smile with Gabrielle.
As Fou crawled over Gabrielle's jeans, Gudao's gaze finally turned to the treasure beside the alter ego's head. Still atop the black podium, the crystal dancer waited for its cue patiently. Gabrielle noticed, reached over, and plucked the item with her free hand. With her best friend's help, they winded it up gently, then placed it back within her sight. Without a bow, the dancer's ballet began in earnest, swooning the eyes as it chimed to the heart.
Moments after it began, a tiny smile graced Meltryllis' face. The dried streaks on her cheeks promised to reawaken with the lingering glints of tears forming in closed eyes. Still, she smiled gently.
"What's she dreaming about?" Anishka mused. "I hope it's nice."
The ballerina spun, again and again.