Summary: In a digital sea, one AI realizes how much a Master can devote themselves to a Servant. Even in another timeline, there are just some things that don't change, even if the center of attention is someone else. A flower can't bloom without a tree to support it.

Note: Inspired by two stories written by TheMaw on AO3/lunarimpact on Tumblr, specifically (1) I Know I've Been Gone, You've Been All Alone and (2) Promise Not To Promise Anymore, and some of my own feelings going into the Fate/Extra CCC event rerun in FGO. I do recommend reading the named stories before reading this chapter, for a refresher. The events featured in those stories are, in my honest opinion, canon to Passing Days.

As of this writing, Robin Hood's been at Bond 11 for me in-game, halfway to Bond 12, and considering some new changes in my life, I wanted to revisit him, albeit through another Servant's eyes, as a way of processing how much things have changed.

He's still my favorite Servant, don't get me wrong. I just wanted to visit a recent addition to my Chaldea in this past year, to look at how things are in her eyes when seeing him.

The theme for this chapter is Cocoa Channel's cover of Gyakkou no Flugel, or "Backlit Wings," from the original first season of Symphogear. Even though I have yet to see more than a few minutes of Symphogear, the song was fitting enough for me when writing this.

Please enjoy! :)

Day 21: Devotion

"You look better, Albrecht." Meltryllis meant the words in their entirety even if it sounded uncharacteristic coming from her. In spite of that, she managed to hide her honest delight behind a careful smirk when Vy raised her head from her task of lacing her boots to blush at Melt. Her pallor didn't look sickly for once and her dark brown hair was no longer looking black in the colors of the digital world. It was… nice. Like the first time. "Did something happen in the past few hours?"

Vy blinked, pink still coloring her cheeks, but she nodded with more vigor compared to the first day in SERAPH, a warm smile forming on her face. "…Yeah," she said softly, giggling to herself. "I had a nice talk with a big green Archer, so I'm feeling a lot better than I was yesterday. Thankie for asking, Melt-san."

Robin Hood, the useless Archer in question, proceeded to cough into his fist, his cheeks strangely pink as he turned away from looking at the entrance (where Vy was, funny enough) from his corner of the chapel.

Hm. Meltryllis clamped down on the urge to click her tongue, instead turning towards Gawain and Tristan as she tapped one stiletto heel against the chapel floor. What Vy saw in that "Matcha" trash was beyond Melt at the moment. He didn't even show up the first time around. Why now?

"...I will be staying here in the chapel," Tristan said with a quiet strum of his harp, unknowingly interrupting Melt's thoughts. "Vlad and I will defend it and Ms. Mable. Is that fine with you, Gawain?"

Gawain, the "prince" he was, merely smiled, nodding his head. "Yes, it's no problem, Tristan. I'm looking forward to hearing good news." Without a moment's hesitation, he then added with a fierce expression, "I'll be sure to protect Lady Vy in yours and our King's place."

Tristan nodded back dutifully, his relaxed expression tensing just a moment with it. "Be sure to make due on that promise, else we dishonor our King."

"Of course!"

Lady, huh? Meltryllis found herself huffing a breath, moving her arm towards her hip. The tinge of her broken fingers didn't exude pain anymore, allowing her to rest them against herself as she muttered, "They get along so well they call each other by name. What are they, best friends?"

"Well," Vy interjected with another giggle, having stood up from the pews in the small interval of time Melt wasn't looking at her, "it's because they're both Knights of the Round Table. Considering how they served the same King, I wouldn't be surprised if they were brothers in all but name." To Melt's surprise, Vy's smile dimmed a little as she let out a breath, shaking her head. "I just wish Art-san were here, she would've liked to see this…"

Meltryllis could not miss how Robin Hood stood up to attention almost immediately after Vy said those words, his one visible green eye open and focused on Vy and Vy alone. Hm.

"To me," EMIYA Alter interjected from his own place leaning against one of the chapel's walls, arms crossed while verbally preventing Vy from going wherever her brain was taking her, "it's just the way knights are. If there's a really dangerous job, they won't show off." To Vy, he said in a quieter yet still cold voice, "Don't think about the what-if's, Master. Just focus on what you have to do."

Vy's shoulders still slumped enough for some of her brown hair to flop past her ears and neck, shading part of her face until she raised a hand to push it away. She didn't move once Robin Hood approached her from behind, in fact staying perfectly still once one of his arms reached out to instinctively brush her hair back to sit behind her head. "I know, I know, Shirou—Alter, but thankie." Whether or not Vy noticed EMIYA Alter's minute flinch at her correction, she didn't show it. Instead, to Robin, Vy said in a warmer voice (just for him, it seemed, Melt didn't know what to make of it), "Thankie, Big Robin, but I have a hair tie."

"Could you hand it over then, little sparrow?" Robin didn't stop in his ministrations, now using both hands to brush through Vy's long brown hair, a frown on his face. "The last thing we all could use is our tactician getting blindsided when we're out on the run for more clues as to how to fix this Singularity."

"Okay, okay, I get the point, Big Robin." Vy rummaged around with the sleeves of her Mystic Code while keeping her head still, eventually pulling out a small blue band from them to offer over her shoulder. "Here you go."

"Why not green?" was the passing mutter, but Robin still nodded in Vy's direction, taking the offered band with one hand while continuing the brushing of her hair with the other, easing out tangles from the previous night to start making a ponytail. "Just hold still, little sparrow."

"'Kaaaaay…" Vy then yawned and Meltryllis didn't even have to read Robin's face to know what he was thinking.

When did he get so close to my Albrecht? Shouldn't I be enough for our Master? I should've been her only Servant.

"Just hurry it up, useless Archer," Meltryllis said instinctively, crossing her arms over her chest and turning her head away. "Even if time moves slower in this SERAPH, Mother could show up at any moment and we still have to handle her 'schedule.'"

Before Robin could say anything with the newfound glare in his eye, Vy startled once. "And if BB does decide to show her not-so-pretty mug around here," Vy suddenly interrupted, opening her previously drowsy brown eyes to scowl, "I'll hit her in the face with a giant metal baseball bat." Without a single beat in-between sentences, she then added, "Also, Melt-san, Big Robin isn't useless! Don't call him that, please!"

Robin, mid-tie of Vy's hair, froze almost immediately and no one missed how Tristan choked. The only one out of the group who didn't seem fazed was Gawain, merely fixing Vy with an approving look. "Just like the Princess our King loves," he seemed to mouth to himself.

It took a moment for Melt to realize she was just as speechless as the rest of them, hiding her shock with a cough. "Hm," she said instead, shaking her head. "Wh-When I feel like it."

Just like that, the determination in Vy's face faded for a kind smile. A familiar smile. "Thankie, Melt-san!"

"H-Hm. I said when I feel like it!"

"Aye!"

Was Vy always like this? There were moments where Melt remembered another Vy, the original Albrecht, who constantly smiled at Melt and offered unrelenting kindness to no end, even in those last few moments, but she was never so fiercely determined for someone. Sure, she could bite back for Lip and Melt in times of danger, even in front of that last boss, but not like this.

"…Vy," Robin said in a softer tone (another inflection between him and the Albrecht, it seemed), just as he finished the ponytail he was working on with a small snap of the hair tie between his fingers, "little sparrow, you didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to do that," Vy said, smile dropping in favor of an offended pout as she proceeded to lean back and bump Robin's shoulder with her head. "Ever since yesterday, actually. And screw BB and what she says, anyways! You're my best Archer, so there's no way you're useless!" Before Robin could put in his five pieces of Sakura Chips (after a telling wince from Vy's head bump, no less), Vy turned around on the heels of her boots to wrap her arms around his waist in a tight hug, hiding her face away from Melt's view. "…I wouldn't have used a Grail on you if I didn't like you, Big Robin. You've saved me plenty of times. So just—" Vy shook her head vigorously, pressing herself further into Robin's chest. "Just let me defend you when you're the greatest Archer I could ever have, even outside Shirou."

Robin Hood proceeded to turn a light pink, not even getting the chance to hide it from view via the No Face May King thanks to Vy populating his front. Quickly swiveling his head between all the Servants present, Melt did her best to hide her discontent as Robin proceeded to look back down at the little Master still hugging his middle. EMIYA Alter tellingly said nothing in the time it took Robin to tentatively rest his arms around Vy's shoulders in return as he hugged her back. "…You really are bad at cutting your losses, little sparrow," he said, but there was no venom in the words as he pressed his cheek into the top of her hair, being careful to not jostle her new ponytail. "We still have to get going to the other side of SERAPH, though."

"15 more seconds," Vy said childishly, shaking her head again. "I missed this, silly Robin. And I think I can ask for this after everything yesterday!"

"...Fine. 15 seconds it is." A hopelessly fond yet exasperated smile covered Robin's face at that point, and Melt held back the urge to retort.

What can I do to get love like that again? Meltryllis made sure to stomp her heels on that thought, counting the seconds in an attempt to distract herself from the melancholy that followed.

"BB Channel~! BB Channel~! Senpai, I have another announcement for you!"

Meltryllis was not surprised, though, to hear Mother's voice through another intercom in the digital world that was once the Seraphix oil rig. That was how Mother — how BB — was. Vy's mana unsurprisingly dipped from sheer irritation at BB's voice, leaking through their bond in the contract and washing over Melt like a heat wave once a screen blinked into view in front of their group.

"Not this again," Robin muttered lowly to himself, barely twitching when Gawain rested a heavy hand on his shoulder in sympathy as the screen focused onto a familiar, unwelcome face.

"BB Channel, Update Edition! You've achieved 400 bills of Sakura Money~! Yay~! Congratulations on achieving the hardworking hamster life, Senpai!" BB cheered with her instructor's baton, waving it in the air like how a schoolgirl — or, well, a good "kouhai" would. "With those tickets, you can buy the Tickling Arm from the BB Diner if you want to go over to the other side of SERAPH!" In spite of the cheery tone, BB dropped her facade almost immediately as the screen zoomed over to face Vy, her purple eyes turning red. "I wouldn't recommend it if you want to get on my good side, though, Sen-pai~! Especially after you stole Meltryllis away from me!"

Okay, what was that—

"Lady Vy—?" was all Gawain got to say before Vy stoically raised a single hand in Gawain's direction, stopping him.

The red lotus on the back of Vy's left hand merely glowed an angry hue as Vy raised it in the air in BB's direction, fingers clenched in a fist. Then, to Melt's surprise, Vy raised her other hand, having it hover close to her left before slowly moving it in circles. It took Melt a microsecond to realize Vy was having her right hand mimic the motions of holding a spinning crank handle, and with each forward circle, her left middle finger slowly raised itself in the air until it was standing taut and tall in BB's face.

Go fuck yourself, Vy was spelling out with her hands. The residual thoughts leaking into their bond merely reinforced the message, contrasting the stoic expression that was covering Vy's normally expressive face. You're shit, BB.

Robin Hood choked.

BB turned a dark pink, the darkest flush of pink Meltryllis had ever seen her take since her creation, before her eyes had reverted from red back to the original purple from the shock. "S-Senpai, are you kidding me? After all the good things this kouhai has done for you, you give me the bird?!"

Without even a single twitch, Vy lowered her left hand, Command Spells still glowing the entire time, to raise her right one instead towards BB's screen. Using her left hand as the "crank", she merely did the same thing, turning the "crank" enough until her right hand was extending the same gesture.

Don't care, echoed through their bond, enough to make Melt tempted to laugh. You've messed up enough shit. Now go away and shove it up your ass.

BB was turning red now. "But senpai—"

"I never agreed to be your 'senpai,' BB," Vy interjected quietly, her stony face and extended right middle finger expressing everything else. The fact that her ponytail seemed to be standing up somewhat on end added to the almost-terrifying image. Emphasis on "almost," though — Meltryllis knew from experience and their bond, somehow, that Vy would never turn on her like how she was currently with Mother. Meltryllis didn't even have to have Vy's eyes to know BB had made a fatal mistake. "The only kouhai I'll ever acknowledge is Mash Kyrielight, my honorary little sister and the most helpful and beautiful kouhai I could have in my life. She asked if I could be her senpai first, unlike you. And I'm not going to be the senpai to someone who's going to treat me like a motherfucking replacement goldfish."

BB gaped at her. If not for her broken hands, Meltryllis was tempted to applaud. Gawain seemed to share the same sentiment as her if his stage whisper of, "You are very blessed to have her as your Master, green Archer," to Robin was any indication. Robin Hood was probably the only one out of their group (well, aside from EMIYA Alter who said nothing as usual, the oddball) who didn't partake in the sadistic joy Melt was having, looking more and more like a fish out of water with each passing second as he glanced between the hologram BB and Vy.

"Also," Vy said, her voice slowly rising from the heat and anger rippling through their bond, "you call all the things you've done 'good'? Don't fuck with me, BB. You whisk away Shirou and Tama-san because I was 'breaking your rules,' call Big Robin 'Matcha' and 'thieving wastrel' to his face because I used a Grail on him when I wanted to, not because of 'cost,' and then try to claim you've 'helped' by having us collect Sakurament just to progress in this digital hellhole? Not to mention suggest I stole Melt-san when she decided to come here of her own will?" Vy shook her head, lowering her hands before raising them both to extend the bird twice over to BB's digital reflection, deep scowl on her face. "Fuck you and everything you stand for, bitch. I'll take the Tickling Arm if it means making you go away."

Before BB could even open her mouth to reply, Vy proceeded to gently take the bag of Sakura Money that Gawain was holding onto to roughly toss it into BB's screen like a piece of unwanted luggage. The square display proceeded to shatter into tiny triangular fragments from the force it "received" from the bag of Sakura Money, breaking up BB's face all the while. The only odd thing was how the bag of Sakurament in question immediately disappeared once the display fragments hit the floor of SERAPH, and a few microseconds was all Meltryllis counted before a loud DING rang through the area.

Without warning, a stick fell to the ground with an equally loud CLATTER noise in front of Vy where the screen once was, a tickling hand attached to one end and all. Above the hand fluttered a simple bold note holding the message of, "Have it your way, Senpai!" with a small and angry image of BB accompanying it.

Vy just stared at the note for about a second before grabbing it and crumpling it into a paper ball, tossing it over her shoulder and at a nearby Digital Beast for good measure. The Digital Beast in question barely had time to chomp down on the new plaything before Vy was already picking up the Tickling Arm and stomping away from the center of the group, looking very much fed-up. "Stop calling me 'senpai,' Not-My-Kouhai," was the passing mutter. "That title is reserved for Mash, so shut your pothole before I cover it with duct-tape for you."

"That," EMIYA Alter said suddenly for all the Servants, a small twitch to his brow, "was unexpected."

"Vy—!" Robin got out of his funk as soon as Vy moved away from them, jogging after her until he could gently grasp her free hand, worry clear in his tall frame. "Little sparrow, did you really mean—"

"Yes, yes, I meant every single fucking word," Vy growled out, the heat still evident in her voice in spite of it slowly reverting back to that soft high-pitch Melt remembered from the first time. Probably for Robin, no doubt. The thought didn't hurt Melt as much for some reason. "BB doesn't get to say shit like the cheater she is if I have any say in the matter. Plus I'd like to give her more pieces of my mind if we didn't have a mission to settle, Big Robin. She deserves jack shit of my attention if she's going to keep bad mouthing you and Melt-san and everyone else like how she's been doing, the bitch." Vy inhaled a long, deep breath, shaking her head before raising her hand holding the Tickling Arm to wipe — to wipe at her face, and Melt tried not to pause at the sight of Vy's sleeve coming back slightly wet. "Can we just go now? I hate being vindictive."

Robin gave Vy a soft smile at that point, squeezing her hand just as the tension fell away from Vy's shoulders for her to reciprocate the gesture. "Of course, little sparrow," he said honestly. After a short pause, he ducked his head to gently bump it with hers, adding in an uncharacteristically heartfelt voice, "Thank you."

"Eh?" Vy turned to him at that point, blinking enough for Melt to see the remnants of moisture in her brown eyes past her glasses as she said, "For what?"

Typical Vy. Meltryllis forced energy into her tired legs to keep moving forward, making sure to bump Vy's other hand with one of hers. "For chasing away Mother? You even stood up for me. And with that lecture stuck in Mother's head, we can at least get to the Flank Separator without any interruptions now." She gave herself a single smirk while leaning over to meet Vy's gaze. "Well done, Albrecht. That was a worthy enough performance deserving of an encore."

"Ah," Vy said in understanding, blinking a bit more to get the moisture out of her eyes before nudging Melt's hand and beaming. "That's fair. Thankie to you too, Melt-san. The whole telling was inspired by you, by the way."

Meltryllis allowed herself to preen a little. Just a little. Even if that green Archer had a majority of Vy's attention now, comments like this weren't so bad.

The white walls of Novum Chaldea were still boring to Meltryllis whenever she woke up. Even if they replicated the original Chaldea's atmosphere almost perfectly, there was still some eeriness that came with being thousands of meters under the sea. It didn't help that the scenes from that digital sea were foreign yet so familiar too when bogging down Melt's dreams, almost like that "déjà vu" Melt vaguely remembered from her initial programming. Was it from the FATE system or something else? Still, they were odd, consisting of moments with another Vy, another Master, who smiled just like the Vy Duong who summoned her. Meltryllis didn't know what to make of it. Memories? Fragments? What were they in the end? Did it really matter? Why did they have to play out like a choppy, half-assed movie whenever she shut down for the day? Why did they have to exist?

"Melt-san! Melt-saaaan!"

Meltryllis pushed back her usual confusion to turn around on her stiletto heels, pausing to let Vy run up to her. "What is it, Master? It shouldn't be time for another mission, so why have you come?"

"I-I wanted to see you, Melt-san!" Vy puffed, resting her hands on her knees for a moment before raising her head to look up at Meltryllis with bright, hopeful eyes. "Could you come with me for a moment?"

"Hm," Meltryllis made a show of pretending to think on it, counting off about two minutes before offering one white-sleeved hand, opening one feigned irritated eye at the little Master. "I suppose I can make the time for you since you raised Lip and me so well, Master." After all, taking an entire day just to get the Embers to fully Ascend both Meltryllis and Passionlip was something not even BB could laugh at. That wasn't even factoring how Vy constantly monitored Kingprotea enough for the giant sibling to be cooing at the little Master even when BB was around to make the day sour. It was honest, well-done work that deserved a response in return. "What do you have in mind?"

Meltryllis was not expecting Vy's hand to be so warm once Vy took a hold of Meltryllis' sleeve, tugging at it gently. It was almost like a little furnace, scalding enough for even Melt's liquid body to make sense of it if not for how careful Vy's grip was. "A gift!" Vy chirped, sounding more and more like the little sparrow that green Archer kept referring to her as, a smile bright against her cheeks. "Just follow me, Melt-san!"

"Fine, fine, but do not tug at me so hard, Master. I'm coming…!" Meltryllis hid her curiosity behind a casual smirk, stomping her blue stiletto heels just to keep up with Vy's jogging pace.

"…You are kidding me."

"Nope!"

"You are pulling my legs, Master!"

In the face of the very mechanical yet human-like prosthetics (was it made out of automail?) sitting on the table behind her, Vy gave Meltryllis a bright smile. "Nope, and no pun intended! These legs are for you, Melt-san!"

Working joints, human-like toes, even the knees were missing the spikes that could possibly lead to unintentional poisoning by her nectar—! Meltryllis openly gaped, glancing between Vy and the prosthetics a few times before turning onto the two Da Vincis with an open glare. "Did you two plan this?!"

"Well…" The smaller Da Vinci started first, whistling while rocking back and forth on her white ice skates. "Not exactly~!"

"As the younger, cuter me can attest to," the older Da Vinci put in, grinning impishly while placing a finger to her lips, "it wasn't exactly all us. Ever since you were summoned, Vy had me work on artificial limbs for you and Passionlip that you could use in the real world once this 'fighting to save Humanity' business is all over. BB 'said' that they could be interchangeable as long as we were careful with your Saint Graphs, so it was a fun experiment back when I started it in the original Chaldea! It took a bit too long, sure, with all the hiccups and the Foreign God that decided to show up…" Da Vinci proceeded to ignore Vy's light cough of "The Mages' Association are jerks and BB should've coughed up solutions sooner for you two," instead finishing with a lighter, "but my younger self was able to finish your part of the request just yesterday with Sion's and my help!"

"I'm estimating," the little Da Vinci piped up, leaning against her older self's side with an equally bright grin, "that your sister's full-metal hands should be finished in the next month or so! We used Fullmetal Alchemist as a reference when making your limbs, Meltryllis, just fine-tuned them to your Spirit Origin! So you should be able to switch between your blades and your legs easy lemon-squeezy!"

Meltryllis glanced back at Vy again, and Vy smiled softly, pure — pure love in her eyes from what Meltryllis could see. "Everyone back in SERAPH kept claiming the Alter Egos were monsters," she said in lieu of an explanation, crossing her arms behind her back and humming in her breath. "But to be completely honest, you and Lip are just AIs with a few extra parts, that's all. Just like humans who need extra accommodations to live normal lives — not just weapons." Vy then pointed at her glasses, closing her eyes while smiling wider, happier. "I mean, Protea just needs a bigger room and more space to be herself — that's all. And if I can afford glasses and give her a bigger living space, I can also give two of my best Alter Ego friends limbs so that they can walk around like normal girls when there's no missions going on, right?"

Meltryllis felt herself inhale sharply, glancing back at the full-metal legs before slowly stumbling backwards to take a seat. The little Da Vinci proceeded to jump up from her place with her older self, taking one of the legs in her arms to skate over and offer it to Meltryllis, the same bright smile on her face. "Wanna try one on?"

Meltryllis hesitated for one microsecond before nodding her head. She proceeded to tug at one of her prized legs with the little Da Vinci's help, clenching her teeth to ignore the pain that came with essentially tearing off one of her most prized weapons past her thigh to let the ball that connected it to herself shine in the open light of the Da Vincis' shared workshop. The little Da Vinci then gently moved the prosthetic full-metal leg closer to the original connecting joint, letting out a small "Aha!" of triumph once sparks flew between the two parts to let them connect — almost like magnets.

In spite of the tingles of pain and phantom sensation that followed the motion of one of her prized heels being detached, the new leg raised itself in the air when Meltryllis willed it to. When Meltryllis urged it to move to the right, it moved to the right. When Meltryllis wanted it to kick itself in the air, the leg did just that, the toes wiggling with the gesture. Even — even the cold air of the workshop was brushing Meltryllis' mind now, grazing the full-metal kneecap and tickling the back of Meltryllis' brain.

"How… how does it feel, Melt-san?" Vy spoke up softly, and Meltryllis raised her head from her new limb to look up at the Master. Vy's long brown hair framed her face enough to highlight the concern and worry in her eyes past her glasses, and all Meltryllis could do was smile back.

I thought I hated all humans, but with you, Master —

"It feels like I'm alive, Albrecht." Meltryllis had no clue why that name came up now, but for a Master like her, it felt fitting. A Master that could defy Mother and provide something like this, to an AI that didn't understand love… "Could you come closer?"

Vy blinked owlishly, her eyes wide with curiosity, but she still nodded, walking closer just as the little Da Vinci moved out of the way to let Vy pass.

Once Vy was about a few centimeters away, Melt raised one hand up to tug at hers, making Vy yelp with the motion, but it allowed the Alter Ego to slowly get up from her seat, standing on one blue stiletto heel and one metal foot to bump Vy's forehead with hers.

"Melt...san?" Vy whispered softly, blinking her eyes open once they had settled into the forehead touch.

"How unpleasant, Albrecht, how utterly unpleasant," Meltryllis whispered back with a barely hidden grin, closing her eyes. "To change my perfect body, not lacking in any one aspect, in such a manner, with that pleased expression on your face—"

Don't change, my Albrecht. My Vy. My Master.

"Is that...a bad thing, Melt-san?"

"Don't make me spell it out for you, Albrecht," Meltryllis replied, bumping Vy's head with hers, taking the smallest bit of pleasure in hearing Vy yelp again. How helpless. How cute. How honest. "It'll take a while to learn how to walk with human feet. You're going to help take responsibility for this, aren't you?"

Meltryllis opened her eyes just in time to see Vy smile back, warmth shining in her bespectacled brown eyes. "Of course!"

Note: Written in honor of my maternal grandfather, who is slowly reaching a natural end to his life via age-related kidney failure in 6 months from this chapter's posting (10/5/2021), and of the love he gave me since I was little. Be Vy loves you, Ong Ngoai. I hope when you do go to your final rest, Buddha welcomes you.

For everyone else, I'll see you next time.