Summary: Arturia may not have been in Chaldea for as long as some of the other Servants, but she finally felt like she was getting used to the atmosphere. The number of Servants present in the building was enough to become accustomed to. And then it was her turn to help their petite Master to bed for some well-needed sleep.

Note: Roughly inspired by the fatigue I usually feel after a long bike ride and the scene of Arturia playing baseball from Ufotable's adaptation of Unlimited Blade Works. My own Art-san has been with me in Chaldea for about four months before this chapter was written (as of the original writing in July 2020), but she feels as close to me as the Servants that have been with me since the very beginning of the game, so this is my way of honoring her, even if I'm still out of it as a result of exercise-induced exhaustion.

This entry serves as a distant sequel to the previous two chapters, taking place during my time starting the Pseudo Singularities in Epic of Remnant.

Just beware of light spoilers for the Final Singularity, the beginnings of the Epic of Remnant, and a Servant's presence in Cosmos in the Lostbelt.

The only theme I'll recommend is a piano track from Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun, which can be found in the story's YouTube OST playlist, since it provided the right mood when I was writing this.

Day 3: A King's Care

Even after the threat of Goetia had faded, none of the Servants felt like going back to the Throne of Heroes. After so long, Chaldea had become home, and even if their enemy had disappeared, the aftermath left in his wake was one they did not want to leave their only Master and Mash alone to handle. Once the Pseudo-Singularities had formed, it gave them more of an "excuse" to stay.

Arturia Pendragon was one of many who, in spite of not being at Chaldea as long as some of her comrades, decided to rise and fight.

Vy, even when crying at the loss of Dr. Roman and Mash, stood up to Goetia, commanding Achilles, Marie Antoinette, Astolfo, and so many Servants to defend Humanity. And now, with the last Demon God Pillars roaming free, she stubbornly took on the mantle of fighter yet again, even with the Mages Association breathing down everyone's necks.

If anyone in Chaldea's remaining staff and the Servants could all agree on something, it was that their single Master had a stubborn and caring streak almost a galaxy wide.

Inwardly, despite Excalibur at her side, Arturia knew that the fighting would end eventually. It was how things had always gone. But for now, with Dr. Roman absent, Mash monitoring the computers and other vital functions, and Da Vinci busy monitoring Chaldeas, she found herself informally inducted into a group that only the oldest residents of Chaldea seemed to be involved in.

Marie Antoinette had gently pushed at Arturia's shoulder with a giggle on the day it happened (coincidentally taking Arturia's attention away from the strange sight of her darker self chewing on yet another hamburger), beaming from ear to ear. "Welcome to Chaldea, Arturia-san~!" Marie had said brightly at the time, tilting her head at Arturia with that smile that could've fooled her into thinking she was looking at Irisviel. "Please keep an eye on Vy during the month of July, will you?"

"P-Pardon?"

"July!" Marie repeated, not even fazed at Arturia's slow response, patting her shoulder through Arturia's mantle. "Please remember that!"

It was only when the specified month had begun that Arturia understood why.

For some reason, whether it was out of good will or some other reasoning, every month had an assigned Servant that would go about convincing Vy to go to bed. It was not as if Vy was horrible at losing sleep, no. The problem came down to how she would consume one too many Golden Apples just to keep farming quests.

Poking some of the former front-liners had given Arturia a vague idea of what to expect. In the four months since she had been summoned, Dr. Roman had been Vy's original caretaker, pushing her to the infirmary for daily check-ups and the like, but now with no one to fill that role, the oldest Servants present took it up. Because as much as Vy was kind in her intentions, the amount of times she stumbled back from the simulator and/or a Rayshift exhausted and barely able to form a word was concerning.

Diarmuid had sighed softly when Arturia had first questioned him, a sad look in his eye before he spoke up in a fonder voice. "Vy had been there for all of us, even when we were weak and unable to do much in the face of Goetia's first appearance in London. Now, with a new threat and the lack of the good Doctor, we may as well do what we can for a girl that loves all of us." He had shouldered his spears, looking elsewhere. "As fragile of a Master she is, she is still our Master."

Considering who Diarmuid was and their shared past in the Fourth Fuyuki Holy Grail War, Arturia could not find it in herself to argue.

Hence, her current dilemma.

"Master? Master?"

Vy, for once, didn't say much, letting out a little "Mmm?" noise from her place in-between her arms. To rest was one thing. To hide away in a little corner of one of the relaxation rooms, hiding her face away from view while resting her back against the white walls, away from any people or bedding, was another thing entirely. A pause followed Arturia's observation, and then the head of long brown hair shifted in Arturia's direction, albeit slightly. "What's up, Arturia-san…?"

Arturia found herself frowning. Slurring. Vy never usually slurred her words, but here she was now, doing just that.

Lancer did say Vy reverted to simpler language when fatigued…

Arturia then coughed into her fist, kneeling to match Vy's sitting height. "How many Golden Apples did you have this time, Master?"

Instead of a verbal response, Vy lifted one shaky hand from her knees to make an "O" shape with her thumb and pointer finger.

No apples. We were running low on those. Then… Arturia gently shrugged off her mantle, doing her best to not make any noise while adding in a softer voice, "Let me rephrase my question. How many quests did you do today, Milady?"

This time, Vy made a vague noise of protest, raising both hands with palms splayed open.

More than ten, Arturia thought. Instead of voicing that, she reached over to gently place her mantle against Vy's knees. "Milady, you should get to bed."

Vy didn't look up from her arms, shaking her head like an otter. The gesture immediately rustled her usually neat brown hair, creating small tangles in the long straight strands. "Can't," was the little mumble. If Arturia didn't know any better, her Master sounded more dead than alive. "I'll see 'hings again."

"Nightmares?" Arturia prodded.

Vy still wasn't looking up to meet Arturia's eyes, a noise of some kind leaving her lap past the mantle. A possible affirmation, but— "Of everyone disappearing. Of," this time, Arturia could hear a faint sniffle. "Of everyone going away like Dr. Roman and Mash." The statement ended on a tiny, barely audible sob.

Oh. So this was why the other Servants did not include Mash in their little group. To know that Mash's death at the Temple of Time had caused this much damage— "Master," Arturia breathed.

Vy flinched once Arturia reached over with one hand, and Arturia considered.

"Master, the event has passed," Arturia said softly, gently pressing her fingers against Vy's shoulder. The gesture was enough to finally, finally get Vy to look up at her from her knees, her brown eyes red-rimmed and blotchy past the wet lenses of her glasses. "Those images that are haunting you are just dreams. You are safe. Mash is safe."

"Wh-What about all of you?" Vy sniveled suddenly, and this time, Arturia found her throat drying up at the clear bitterness in Vy's brown eyes. "What about the Servants? The staff, Chaldea, everyone? I-I'm trying, I'm trying…" More tears trickled past the corners of Vy's glasses, her nose seizing up as Vy shut her eyes, looking away yet again. "Skadi-sama still needs Giant's Rings too, a-and, and," Arturia did her best not to flinch once Vy let out a single loud and tired sob. "Th-There's Holmes and his skills needing to be leveled up, a-and D'eon-san needing more Embers, a-and the other Servants waiting on Ascensions—"

In any other situation, Vy would probably be the perfect Master.

How ironic to have the perfect, hardworking, respectable Master with a former perfect king.

Arturia took a page from Archer EMIYA's advice books, reaching over to pull her petite Master into a warm hug before Vy could sniffle anymore. "Master…" Arturia did her best to keep her composure, even if her words felt inadequate, "Master, the Servants, myself included, all know how you are. We know that you are trying. We can wait." She raised her other hand to rest on top of Vy's head, stroking her hair. Vy was shivering against Arturia's armor, hands weakly clutching at Arturia's sleeves, but she was there. She was awake. "Please, let me take you to bed. You need to rest before you can help us."

Vy still trembled. "Y-You won't…" there's another sniffle. "You won't leave?"

Arturia held back the feeling of her heart breaking to tuck Vy into her blue mantle, ignoring the sensation of her crown falling off her head as she did. When had her Master ever sounded so much like a lonely child? "I will not."

Another sniffle, this time mixed with a choked sob. "P-Promise?"

Arturia did not know if the gesture was futile or not, more so when the previously mentioned Scathach-Skadi had given their Master one look before going silent on these "Lostbelts" of Skadi's origin, but Arturia still nodded, wrapping Vy up tighter in the mantle. "I promise. Now to bed with you."

Another "Mm," noise, punctuated by a hiccup.

Inwardly, Arturia sighed. Chaldea had a lot of work to do, but for now, Arturia would content herself with carrying their only Master back. It was a small victory in this new day of discoveries.