Summary: Arthur Pendragon always felt out of place at Chaldea, no thanks to coming from another world, chasing a Beast that could possibly arise with Goetia's fall. It didn't help that there were already many other 'hims' present in humanity's last bastion of battle, but he finds himself pausing when the single Master there still reaches out to him.

Note: Inspired by, in order, (a) Prototype Arthur's interlude that I finished as of the start of writing this chapter (11/13/2021), and (b) the feelings I felt when starting the series known as Komi Can't Communicate. It's been a struggle with life lately, more so with some readers asking requests for Servants that I honestly don't have the energy to honor these days (more so when this is still ultimately a story of my own self-exploration with the many FGO Servants), so Komi coming into my days helped.

Naturally, the theme for this chapter is jacob dekob's piano cover of the song that plays during what is simply known as the "Chalkboard Scene" from Episode 1 of Komi's anime adaptation. I found the piece really resonated with me and my own thoughts when it came to Prototype Arthur coming to my Chaldea when he did. For those curious, feel free to listen to the original version as well, composed by Yukari Hashimoto.

Otherwise, please enjoy.

Day 25: Key in Communication

"What's the matter, Princess?"

Vy didn't flinch at the sound of Achilles' voice over her shoulder, merely turning her head to blink up at him as he stared back at her in curiosity. What do you mean by that?

Achilles blinked at her "reply", giving her a funny face before a glint of realization shined in his yellow eyes. "Low energy again?"

Instead of voicing her thoughts through their bond, Vy opted to nod, resting her hands against the table she chose in the Novum Chaldea Dining Hall while ducking her head to let her hair flow freely. Even with no food, the scent of it lingered in the room enough for her to feel hungry, but the weight on her brain made her not want to act on it. "Low energy" was probably a good way of describing her current state.

Achilles thankfully made an understanding noise via the back of his throat as he crossed his arms over his chest, nodding his head for a moment before opening one yellow eye to look at her with concern. "Still, you didn't answer my question, Princess."

Um. Vy paused. I don't think there's anything wrong with me, per say, Achi…

"Not that," Achilles interrupted quietly with a raised hand in her direction, shaking his head this time. "You've been staring at the same guy with the same face for the past ten minutes, Princess. If that doesn't say, 'you're thinking of something,' I honestly don't know what will."

Vy blinked at his words, heat slowly climbing up her cheeks at being caught. You saw?

"I've been with you for a while now, Princess," Achilles retorted with barely any venom, the glint in his eye soft as he waggled a raised index finger at her. "It'd be hard for me not to notice anything you're doing. But why stare at—" he moved his index finger to then point at the other King of Knights eating in a lone corner of the Dining Hall, accompanied by no one else but Bedivere, finishing with a thoughtful, "—that guy? Isn't he just another version of the Saber we both know?"

He is, Vy conceded sheepishly, rocking her head back and forth to think on it while trying not to aggravate her already drained social battery, but he's not talking as much as Art-san does.

"I mean, I know Saber isn't the most social of Heroic Spirits, even on my standards," Achilles humored her with a raised eyebrow, retracting his hand to cross his arms again, "but what's gotten you so concerned about the other guy?"

He… Vy paused, glancing back over in that corner's direction and noting Arthur's emerald green eyes before turning back to look up into Achilles' yellow ones. He doesn't talk to anyone else but Bedi-san from what I can see, Achi. He doesn't even talk to Mash, and she's beloved kouhai.

Achilles stilled at that, his shoulders tensing enough for Vy alone to see as he glanced past her head to look in that direction too. Sure enough, Bedivere was exchanging quiet words with the other King Arthur, quiet enough for no one but them to hear, and a frown immediately covered Achilles' normally unfazed features. "…You're worried about him, Princess?"

Vy chose to reach out with one hand to gently tug at one of Achilles' own, nodding her head as an answer. Once Achilles turned his attention back to her, she smiled weakly. He feels like Skadi-san and Shiki-san from before everything, Achi, she said, tugging at his fingers. And after everything with them, not to mention Art-san with Mo-san— Vy did her best not to recoil at the grimace that proceeded to show up on Achilles' face at the mention of the Saber of Red, finishing with a hasty, I wanna do something for him.

Thankfully, Vy's efforts in diverting Achilles' attention paid off, because the Rider's grimace almost immediately transformed into a familiar fond yet exasperated look as he returned her stare with a wry smile. "Okay then, Vy," he said quietly, kneeling a little to meet her sitting height. It was hard to miss how his gloved hand immediately clasped Vy's own tiny one, squeezing softly to facilitate mana flow between them. "What do you have planned? And don't say supervise another fight."

Vy considered, looking into Achilles' yellow eyes before smiling back. I wasn't going to ask for any fights because I know you and Big Robin wouldn't like it. Just, um. Could you get my whiteboard and marker for me, Achi? I have an idea.

Nudge nudge.

It took a moment for Arthur to realize someone was poking him. His armor was still armor in spite of how Chaldea had, well, "softened" him over his few days of residence since being summoned, so the sensation of a tiny finger poking him through the metal was rather eerie at worst. At best? Odd. Still, if his instincts were right—

Arthur merely turned his head and blinked once he found Vy staring up at him through rounded glasses, brown eyes wide and shining in his direction once it became obvious he noticed her. The white dress and black waist ribbon on her person made her look all the more, well, innocent. Was her new Mystic Code a gift from the two Da Vincis, perhaps? The simple flip-flop sandals seemed like a touch from the younger one, at least. And with the simple pink lotus bud hair clip keeping some stray strands away from her forehead, Vy really did look more like a regular girl than the Chaldean Master who once saved the world before. "…Master?" he said softly, quickly concealing his surprise with a smile. "What is it?"

To his surprise, Vy didn't immediately open her mouth, eyebrows furrowing against her exposed forehead as she then extended her other fingers to gently pinch and tug at a portion of his clothes not covered by armor. As if not minding Arthur's bewildered expression, she then raised a small board (a "whiteboard" was what the modern folk called it?) up towards him with her other hand, continuing to tug at his clothes. In careful writing, the board read, Could you sit with me?

"Of… of course, Master," Arthur said with a pause, blinking at the smaller woman. Vy proceeded to smile up at him in return, her nonverbal "Thank you" most likely, before proceeding to use her grip on his clothes to lead him towards the nearest bench in the hallway they could find, sitting down on it once they came close and tugging on him to do the same. With nothing else to do, Arthur obliged her, sitting next to her as he tilted his head back towards her. "Is there something troubling you?"

Vy tilted her head at him in response, blinking back at him before startling, immediately taking the whiteboard to rest it on her lap. She then proceeded to take out what looked like a marker from one of her dress pockets, uncapping it to erase what was previously on the white surface. Arthur waited patiently for Vy to finish, and once she started scribbling on it with the exposed marker tip, he watched her slowly write out what she had to say. His patience paid off about a minute later, since she then raised her whiteboard up for him to read.

It's not really something troubling me, Vy pointed at the underlined "me" for extra emphasis, shaking her head before lowering the hand that wasn't holding the whiteboard to point at the next few words, but I was worried about you, Arthur. Couldn't voice it through the bond from lack of energy.

"Me?" Arthur wasn't expecting to read that. "Have I done something to warrant your concern, Master?"

Vy shook her head again, this time with a bit more pep in her motions since it made her hair tumble around her shoulders before settling rather messily against the collar of her dress. It's not really something you've done, Vy eventually "said" to him with a pout, but something I've noticed. You haven't been talking to a lot of the other Servants, and aside from the occasional conversation with Bedivere, it's been hard to find you.

"If you require my assistance at all, Master," Arthur said, softer in a not-apology, "you could easily use your Command Spells."

Once more, Vy shook her head. Those are absolute orders, she wrote to him, pout deepening against her cheeks as she kept her chin up high to look him in the eyes. And those are for battle, not for helping someone close to me.

This girl is—

"I… I see," Arthur said wisely, barely able to catch himself from blushing in time with a curt nod as a smile played at the edges of his lips. No wonder that other self of mine in Arturia grew to love this Master. "But I can sense there is more you want to say?"

His guess was quickly proven to be the correct one with Vy's vigorous nodding, and she proceeded to turn back to her whiteboard to erase and scribble over the surface again. Arthur waited, and did his best not to recoil at the answer that came when Vy finally turned the whiteboard back towards him to read.

Is there anything I can do to help you feel more comfortable here, Arthur?

"More… comfortable?" Arthur wasn't sure if anyone had ever asked him that kind of question. Saijou Ayaka, perhaps, but that was another lifetime ago, in a Holy Grail War that never came to be in this world. For someone like Vy to ask of his wellbeing… "Master, you do not have to worry so much about that. I am fine."

Still, Vy's pout remained on her face. You don't look fine to me, was her eventual answer, the writing looking a bit more curved thanks to how hastily Vy tried to put her thoughts down onto the board. You look kinda sad to me, actually, Arthur, no offense intended. Vy proceeded to point at the "no offense" part of her response with a few extra taps of her index finger, her eyebrows furrowing against her forehead enough for the smallest of wrinkles to show on her skin. If it's something I can do, I'll do my best to help.

"Vy…" left Arthur's lips before he could stop them, and the response was enough to spark a soft smile on Vy's own as she stared up at him. "I…"

Vy tilted her head at him again, blinking slowly. Her eyes conveyed the quiet "Yes?" so much more than her quivering hand still holding her marker against the whiteboard.

Arthur considered his options in the face of those brown eyes. Those big, honest brown eyes. "…Master, you are aware that I come from another world, yes?"

Looking utterly confused at the apparent change in subject, Vy still nodded her head, carefully writing out to him, Did something happen there that made you so anxious, even when being in Chaldea?

Arthur did his best not to suck in his next breath, carefully hiding it with an inhale through his nose as he nodded. "Yes. I… I am pursuing a dark evil, Master," he admitted slowly, shaking his head. "A Beast on the same level as Goetia, perhaps even rivaling the Foreign God that is plaguing the world right now." Arthur carefully noted Vy's wide eyes, continuing with a solemn note in his voice in spite of the dread starting to flood his veins, choosing to lower his head instead. Looking into her eyes would most certainly mean losing whatever resolve he had left in staying where he was. "Beast VI, known only as the Beast of Revelations. I was able to successfully defeat it in battle two times before in my world, but both times it has shown signs of coming back with more strength than before. And after everything you have done with Goetia and from what I heard of the situation that occurred in the Digital Sea and that false Ooku, I have concerns that Beast VI will come to hunt down Chaldea one day." Arthur took another breath before raising his chin to look Vy in the eyes. "It is why I have made a contract with you."

At that very moment, Arthur wasn't sure of what to make of Vy's expression. Her normally kind and honest face was carefully blank when he finally made eye contact, the only visible sign that she was processing the information being how wide her brown irises grew when taking in his image. Her eyebrows then furrowed against her forehead, creating wrinkles in the visible skin before she turned back to her whiteboard, uncapping her marker. Arthur didn't have to wait as long this time, as Vy quickly wrote out whatever she wanted to say before raising the board up towards him, apparently not minding her slightly crooked writing.

Is Beast VI why you haven't been talking to the other Servants? Because you're worried about involving them in a tough battle?

"As… as much as it embarrasses me to admit it, yes," Arthur said, lowering his gaze once it became obvious Vy was staring at him past her whiteboard. "I am not saying I am underestimating yours or Chaldea's strength, Master, nothing like that. However, Beast VI was an enemy that took all my power to fell in those previous battles, and I cannot guarantee I can do that again. I came to this world to defeat it, nothing more, nothing less. Involving you and the other Servants in a battle of my own choosing would be selfish of me, more so with my previous allies and enemies being among those you contracted with."

By 'previous allies and enemies'... Vy blinked again, tilting her head at him once she wrote out her answer for him to read, Do you mean Arash, Serenity, Jekyll, and Ozymandias?

Instead of answering her question with words, Arthur found himself nodding, closing his eyes to the world. He couldn't find the words to express even more than that — there was no excuse for his actions.

He had hurt all of them. To ask for their help, to even try to interact with the alternate versions of his Knights and old arms — it was too selfish of him. Not after everything Manaka had ordered him to do. Not after all that.

He didn't deserve—

Tug.

Arthur found himself startling once he could feel that pinch of his clothes past his armor, and when opening his eyes, all he could see was brown.

"D-Don't—" Vy coughed, drawing back as she put her hand to her throat from the inevitable wince that followed. "Don't… isolate yourself… Saber."

"Vy, you don't—" Arthur could feel his heart fall through his chest at the sound of Vy's voice, feeling the mana flicker in the air as he instinctively reached out to support her in case she coughed again. Even the most inexperienced of Servants knew what was going on when seeing Vy like this. It was natural because all personnel were taught to see the effects of mana exhaustion, and to witness Vy push herself past that… "You don't have to force yourself to speak—"

"N-No!" left Vy's lips in a vehement whisper before Arthur could finish, making him draw back as she raised her head to look at him with teary eyes. In spite of the hand on her throat, she still moved her lips. "I… I want to, Saber."

"But your energy—"

"S-Screw that," Vy interrupted again, determination clear enough in her figure through her tense shoulders and the tight grip she had on her whiteboard. In spite of the sweat budding her visible brow, she soldiered on with a quieter, "D-Don't… don't say you're being selfish. Not… Not with me."

"Vy…" left Arthur's lips in a huff of a breath, and past her long hair, he could see Vy smile weakly at him. From the way she looked, it was almost as if she was happy to hear him call out her name. It was a comforting thought compared to everything else lingering in Arthur's mind.

"Dr. Roman… would've said the same thing," she croaked out from around the visible lump in her throat, her fingers massaging the skin there as she attempted to speak. Arthur felt the saliva dry up in the back of his mouth as Vy continued to look up at him. Dr. Roman. Vy had rarely mentioned his name since what had happened at the Temple of Time. To mention him— "That… that it's not good… to be alone." With an audible gulp, Vy took in a deep breath, exerting visible effort just to stay with him in conversation. "You… you don't have to… do everything… alone. Dr. Roman… taught me that. Big Robin… Art-san… Achi… Da Vinci… Mash… everybody taught me that too. All I can do…" Arthur tried not to flinch once Vy removed the hand lingering on her neck to take one of his armored ones in a tight squeeze. "Is to do the same… for you. You're… not alone anymore… Arthur. Don't—" Vy coughed, hastily turning her head away to cover it with the shoulder of her dress, but still did her best to face him honestly as she finished with a tinier and higher-pitched, "Don't say you're selfish. You're… just as deserving of… help and kindness… as anyone else… Arthur."

Before Arthur could respond to that heartfelt statement, Vy coughed again, breaking up the moment as her hand on his withdrew to handle the new situation. In spite of the worry flooding his veins, he did his best not to fret once she took out a handkerchief from her other dress pocket to cover her mouth. Thankfully, nothing bloody showed on the cloth once she pulled it back, and Vy glanced at Arthur with the same weak smile before turning back to her whiteboard. Carefully folding the handkerchief into her left fist, she took her marker up in her right, writing as quickly as she could on the whiteboard to eventually push it back into Arthur's direction.

Don't stay by yourself, Saber, the board read. Chaldea's handled Beasts before and you have friends you can rely on now. When Arthur raised his head from the words, Vy smiled at him again. With her right index finger, she then pointed at the last sentence on the whiteboard, tapping the top of the first word a few times for extra emphasis. You deserve breaks too.

It took a moment for Arthur to realize he was holding his breath, and he exhaled it as calmly as he could. "…Coming from the princess who struggles to rest herself?"

As expected, the nickname sparked a dark pink flush to start spreading across Vy's cheeks, illuminating the light in her brown eyes past her glasses. With a puff of her cheeks, Vy squinted her eyes closed in unsaid protest, nodding anyways. "I… try to rest," she croaked, pout obvious even in her exhausted voice. "A-And because I work… a lot… I can say it."

Arthur couldn't help but smile back at her.

No wonder my other self appears more human with you, Master. Why this world's Mordred calls you the closest thing to a Princess. You truly are…

"I… I surrender to you, Milady."

"Eh?" was all that left Vy's chapped lips before Arthur stood up from his seat, and he could feel the ache in his legs once he walked over to stand in front of her, getting to one knee.

"I swear to you, Master — no, Lady Vy," Arthur took Vy's left hand in both of his, absently tracing the lotus shape of her Command Spells on the back of her knuckles with his thumbs as he kneeled. "I swear to be your shield and protect you. I entrust my skill, my soul, and my life to you. That no matter the enemy, no matter the obstacle, my sword is yours to command. It will always shine for you and you alone." Raising his head to look into those big bespectacled brown eyes, Arthur smiled again. "If… If that is enough for you?"

Vy blinked at him, her mouth open in a quiet gasp as her whiteboard lay limp against her lap. A second passed, and then another two. Arthur tilted his head at her to look closer, and he inevitably found himself watching the pink on Vy's face grow to a soft embarrassed red on her cheeks, enough to highlight the tips of her visible ears past her hair. With a soft "Uuu" noise, Vy then ducked her head, leaning forward to gently bump it with his. "Always…" was the eventual croak he could make out. "Just… take care… of yourself too… Arthur… Don't… Don't be alone anymore…"

Don't be like me, he could hear through their bond. Don't lose yourself.

Arthur's smile widened in time with the mana flow starting to pick up in color. "With you as my Master, Milady," he carefully raised her left hand to press a kiss to the shivering fingers there, "I don't think I will be."

With my sword, I will ensure you won't lose anymore.

Nearby, Mordred kept tapping his boot against the floor, half-tempted to glare at the person keeping his attention if not for the green-tipped spear left raised in front of him. "So, Rider of Red," he growled out past gritted teeth, "why can't I go see Mom and my other Father right now?"

"Because, Saber of Red," Achilles rolled his eyes to mask his own irritation, "the Princess is having a moment with your dad. Just let it happen before you go waltzing in." With a half-hearted whistle, he then finished with a quieter, "Vy wanted this, so don't ruin it."

"Tch." Mordred clicked his tongue anyways (no bullshit as to what he was feeling there), crossing his arms over his chest and letting his armor dematerialize for a simple red jacket and shorts. "Fine. Considering that other old man of mine has issues, I guess I'll give you the point for that. But you owe me a spar, Rider."

"Don't go spamming red beams of light like they're candy and I'm in."