Summary: Even in a new Lostbelt, with so much on the line, one Greek hero stares at his Master and decides something for himself in spite of the risks. After all, who said heroes couldn't love?

Note: This is the Bond 10 story for the last member of my original Big 3, Achilles, that he should've gotten a long time ago. Inspired by my feelings playing through LB5.1 in Atlantis, where I saw his NPC counterpart and decided to address some things in the story with it. Of course, beware of massive Atlantis spoilers in this chapter, because they are here. You have been forewarned.

The theme for this chapter is the song titled Treasure from the RWBY Volume 8 soundtrack. The full version of the song helped me with the mood of this chapter.

Please enjoy!

Day 28: Greek Heroes Love Too

"At present, there is no weaponry on Earth capable of destroying Artemis. Calculating amount of Theos Klironomia required to reinforce base power to sufficient levels: calculation error." The yellow rock that made up what remained of the mechanical Lostbelt version of Hephaestus "blinked" with its flickering lights underneath the surface, almost pausing in its narration. "Calculation error," the god finished.

"As expected," Holmes stated quietly over the intercom on Vy's right wrist, the holographic image frowning as he held his pipe. "So not even the nanomachines will be enough… Are you saying there is no substance in this world capable of destroying Artemis?"

"Affirmative," Hephaestus answered quietly.

Achilles wasn't surprised to see Vy wilt in spite of her efforts to hide it in front of Mandricardo and Corday, her shoulders quietly slumping enough for Robin to gently touch the small of her back with one hand in support. The mechanical Artemis that roamed the skies above this Lostbelt was large — far larger than any other threat Vy and the rest of Chaldea had fought up till now, so to find out the current methods they were using wouldn't help did wonders for morale. Still, Achilles could feel the former Olympian God of the Forge's power surge through the temple, almost as if it — no, he — still had something to say, instead ignoring the urge to slam the tip of his spear against the floor in impatience as he waited with the others.

"I request that you search for an object. Designation: Divine Construct." Hephaestus' gold tips gleamed in what felt like consideration. "Only a weapon that has been imbued with a conceptually high-ranking Divine Spirit can destroy Artemis."

Of course Hephaestus would ask for something like that considering their shared enemy. To beat a god, you needed the power of a god.

"We… really need something like that?" Vy said softly, leaning into Robin's hand as she exhaled shakily. "We can't just… well, use something like Excalibur to hit outside the atmosphere?"

"Princess, as much as I appreciate the faith you have in me, I am…" Arturia paused, visibly flushing a little with the light pink to her cheeks as she carefully lowered her metal-gauntleted hand. "In all honesty, I am not sure I can hit a moving Goddess with my sword out in the stars. More so with a mechanical Goddess as our enemy."

Ouch, Achilles thought to himself.

"Oh," Vy said softly, squinting her eyes shut in shame. "I-I'm sorry, Art-san."

"Don't be, Princess." The King of Knights gently raised a hand of her own to rest it on top of Vy's hair, patting as comfortingly as she could. "The apology is all mine."

"Suffice to say, Ms. Vy," Holmes interrupted gently over the comms, almost mournfully as his expression morphed to one of sympathy as he met Vy's eyes, "Divine Constructs are incredibly rare, incredibly powerful things, which leads me to the conclusion that we have little hope of readily finding any Servants who possess—"

"Just what hogwash are you spouting, Administrative Advisor?!" Goredolf cut in, making Vy jump as both Robin and Achilles narrowed their eyes at the communicator sitting on Vy's right wrist. Arturia noticeably kept her hand on top of Vy's head, her gaze focused on the damn device too as the Director went on with an angrier, "We have a Servant who could provide just that in Vy's Rider familiar, don't we?!"

Achilles felt an irritated sigh leave his nose once everyone turned to look at him, from Jason and the new Argonauts to even the little Princess of his Master. Vy blinked up at him, hesitation in her eyes as she brought her hands close to her chest, her mouth already moving as if to say "Achi…" in that quiet high-pitched voice of hers.

"Affirmative," Hephaestus added in the same dull tone, the reflective surfaces of his remaining brain shining all the more in the temple's light. "There is one Servant in Atlantis who matches those criteria. True Name: Achilles." The mechanical god then paused, "blinking" again before finishing with, "There are two Servants in Atlantis with that name at present. One here, the other on another island."

Of fucking course. This time, Achilles could hear Vy say his nickname as he closed his eyes for a brief moment of levity from his thoughts running rampant in his mind. He understood more than anyone else what Hephaestus wanted — it made sense, after all. His divine armor and shield requested by his mother in another life could easily save so many others if he gave them up now for this Hephaestus to reforge them. Even the other Servants from this Lostbelt were looking at him, Mandricardo in particular zooming in on him with his gaze as his eyebrows furrowed.

"Do you have some on you, Achilles?" Mandricardo said quietly, flanking Vy's side past Robin and Arturia as his wooden sword rested against his shoulder. "Divine Constructs, I mean?"

"He should!" Goredolf interrupted again, this time making Vy squeak as his voice roared from the intercom. "His armor and the Akhilleus Kosmos should be plenty enough to take down Artemis!"

"Director, that's enough," Mash cut in with a face, stepping closer to gently rest a hand on Vy's shoulder to calm whatever nerves the Master was experiencing at that moment. The Demi-Servant then looked up at Achilles too, a tentative smile on her face. "What do you say, Achilles?"

Achilles took a breath, shouldering his spear against his armor as he closed his eyes again. He could hear Vy's voice saying his name (why sound so hesitant, they had been together as Master and Servant for so long, there was no need to be so scared), not to mention the comforting mana of the other Servants that made up his long-time allies, and considered for a single second.

"…I could fork them over, yeah," he muttered, shaking his head. "But I'm not going to."

Achilles could hear a full-on outburst of voices after that, ranging from plain outrage on the New Director's part (screw him, he was part of the reason why the original Chaldea fell with bringing in that fox bitch) to sheer surprise leaking into his thoughts from a certain connection (Vy and Mash, no doubt). The only comfort he had past his spear was the vague sense of mutual understanding he could parse out in his mind from the others of Vy's "Big Seven", Robin and Arturia in particular feeling significantly warm through their shared Holy Grail bond.

"Well, that's reassuring," Jason put in with a grimace, glaring at Achilles once he opened his eyes to the world. "Why the fuck not?"

Instead of answering, Achilles turned his head away to look into the brown eyes of one little girl still doing her best to hold up everything. Vy stared back at him with those wide brown eyes of hers past her glasses, her ponytail barely adding to the illusion of her being a seasoned adult, and Achilles smiled softly. "There's a little Princess I have to protect no matter what."

Vy gaped wordlessly, "Achi" clearly stuck on her tongue.

"For… for our Princess?" Arturia filled in just as Ereshkigal, Skadi, Musashi, and Shiki all stood still in place, Robin being the only one from the Big Seven smirking underneath his hand as the Saber met Achilles' gaze. "You… you are doing this for Vy, Rider?"

"Who else would I be so selfish for?" Achilles nonchalantly shrugged, stepping closer to stand by Vy's side, as he should've been this entire time. "As much as I get what Hephaestus is saying, Saber, this is the one thing I can't give up as a hero, even if it could help us out in the long run." Even if it's Vy asking me to give them up, was left unsaid. Achilles glanced down at the shield still attached to the back of his waist, memorizing the contours of its metal and the shine of the old Greek symbols before shaking his head again. "My shield, even if I didn't have much use for it before, helped save Princess and the Nautilus from Artemis when we got here. Sure, it didn't stop Captain from going into a coma for a while and us getting separated, but it still made a difference."

Achilles still couldn't forget how his inner world had shattered from Artemis' arrow in that first collision, but that didn't mean it hadn't bought Chaldea time. That it hadn't kept Vy and Mash safe.

"Achi, but… but…"

Nonetheless, Achilles could feel his heart creak in pain at hearing Vy say his nickname that way, but he still turned to her with the same smile as he reached over to rest a hand on the back of her hair, pulling her away from the others and towards him. In spite of the squeak that echoed between them, he leaned down and gently bumped his forehead with hers, opening his eyes to look into hers. So pained, but still so kind. Just like Vy. Just like a Princess he should've met sooner. "Sorry about this. You'll just have to use a Command Seal to force me, Princess," he whispered to her, smoothing a stray lock of brown hair back into her ponytail. "Because once I started caring about you in Chaldea, I knew I could never give up my armor and shield even if it was for you. Not when I could be there for you with them."

Not when I can protect someone I love instead of killing them for once. Not when it could help me stay by your side for a while longer. Not when I started loving you, Princess. He knew he couldn't say it, not here where the enemy could attack at any moment. Still, he meant it. Achilles knew he meant it.

"Do it, Vy!" loudly broke through the quiet that had settled between them, and Achilles held back the instinctive scowl that covered his face as Goredolf's hologram popped up from the communicator on Vy's wrist. "As your Director, I order you to use a Command Seal! We need all the power we can get if we want to get to the Tree of Emptiness!"

Vy's gaze flickered between Achilles' own and the communicator, her eyebrows furrowing enough to create visible wrinkles on her exposed forehead before shaking her head. "…I'm sorry, Director Goredolf," was the gentle yet firm whisper that was Vy's response. "But I'm not going to force Achi to do it. I don't want to, even if you order me, because Achi isn't a 'familiar.'" With that said, Vy raised her head from her communicator to meet Achilles' eyes again, a troubled yet relieved smile playing with her lips as she nodded. "We'll keep Achi's weapons as a last resort, just in case we can't find the other Achi and Artemis fires at the Shadow Border again. Otherwise, we'll look for the other Achi on the other islands."

Thankie for caring about me. I'd like you to stay with me too, Achi, echoed through their bond not even a second after, cutting off whatever Goredolf was screaming about this time in Achilles' mind.

"Senpai…" Mash said softly from over Vy's shoulder. Past her shield, Achilles could see Saber and Archer nod reassuringly at him.

Achilles turned his head back, grinned at Vy, and let his restraint go a little bit.

Vy let out a rather cute squeal once he succeeded in ruffling her hair, cheeks flushing that same unfair pink as she looked up at him. "A-Achi?"

"Thank you, Master." There was not much else he could say past that. He couldn't steal more of Robin's thunder in loving their Master, after all, especially with all the Ooku ribbing in mind. "Let's go find this other me now, shall we?"

Achilles chose to ignore Jason's gagging in the background.

"Hey, other me."

"Hm?"

The other Achilles didn't even seem downtrodden at the workout they had earlier on top of the former Nautilus, cracking his neck with a stretch of his arms as he rubbed at the back of his head. Apparently this other version of himself wasn't fazed by Hydras either. Good to know. His spear dragged behind his feet, his heel still bleeding a little in spite of his best efforts and Vy's previous healing (Achilles himself still wanted to wince in sympathy at that part) as he opened his mouth. "I got a question for you. Do you have a moment?"

"Sure," Achilles accommodated, tilting his head towards the nearest entrance of the Shadow Border. The other him merely grinned wryly back, stepping inside in time for Achilles himself to close the door behind them both. "What's up?"

"It's just a nagging feeling, really," the other him waved it off with a raised hand, rocking his head back and forth. "But humor me."

Achilles rolled his eyes. "Okay then, other me, shoot the question."

"What makes Master so worth protecting to you?"

Achilles wasn't expecting that question. Still, he did his best to school his face, giving his other self a look instead. "What brought this on?"

"Don't give me that crap," the other him retorted, crossing his arms while letting his spear disappear. "We both know you're the better one out of the two of us, yet I heard from the other Servants you wanted Master to find me anyways. So," he tapped his foot against the Shadow Border's metal floors. "What's the big deal?"

Achilles didn't know how to respond to that.

Almost as if sensing the hesitation, the other him shrugged his shoulders while wearing that same wry smile. "This isn't meant to lay you out bare, man, I'm just curious. You're the one with the armor and the shield from Mother, not to mention the untouched heel, yet you hold onto all of it like it's something precious to you. Jason — I mean, Captain — said it was because of Master, so I wanted to know. I mean," the other Achilles let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head. "Vy is cute, but there has to be more to your hanging onto Mother's old gifts than just utility, right?"

"Considering how I gave up my shield in another war, I don't blame you for wondering," Achilles deadpanned, exhaling his next breath in a sigh. "It's complicated."

This time, it was his other self's turn to smirk. "Try me."

Achilles sighed again, rubbing the back of his neck. "…I love the Princess, okay?"

"…Yeah, try again," his other self retorted dryly. "Because with what we've seen so far in the Trojan War, that's hard to believe."

"You might not be able to believe it, but I do." Achilles put a fist to his chest, bumping it with his knuckles while lowering his head. "I thought being a hero meant going out like a shooting star. Fighting for what I wanted to do. Not with her. Not with someone like Vy as my Master." Even when closing his eyes, he could still remember the look those bespectacled brown eyes gave him when he first arrived in Chaldea two years ago. Shock, awe, and hope. There was so much Vy had when they first met, and Vy just kept giving to him. She just kept smiling at him, calling him "Achi" like he meant something. Even then, Achilles wasn't sure what to make of it, his next words tasting like iron in his mouth as he finally admitted in a quieter voice, "It took me being Unsummoned from her side for me to realize I loved her as much as Atalante-ane-san. Maybe even more than that. I don't know yet."

His other self fell silent, the only sign he was listening being the light tapping of his foot against the Shadow Border's floors.

"You can call my reasons for falling back on you whatever the heck you want, but don't take it out on the Princess. She's had to shoulder enough on her own before I arrived. Even after I was Unsummoned and brought back with the rest." Achilles turned his back to the other him, shouldering his spear while keeping his throat tight and to the point. "She wasn't meant to be a hero, Achilles. She didn't choose to be the last Master for Proper Human History. But she's here and she called for me. I had to hold onto my armor if it meant she could stay away from the fighting a little while longer." His next breath felt like choking smoke as he finished with a softer, "Sorry I had to push the armor-giving to you this time. I couldn't afford it when she still needs me."

When I know she'll cry if I die because she loves me. Just like Mother.

If there was one thing Achilles knew he was still weak to, it was the influence of another woman. And Vy's tears were the last thing he ever wanted to see again, especially after coming to the Wandering Sea and reuniting with her with the pruning of three Lostbelts.

Finally, his other self broke the silence with a soft chuckle like before. It started off barely audible, and once Achilles turned, he saw the other version of him bend over from full-on guffawing, tears in his eyes as he laughed. In spite of the irritation starting to tighten his chest, Achilles waited and thankfully, said patience paid off once his other self straightened himself with a pronounced bump to his own chest with a fist and a cough. "H-Hey, I wasn't laughing out of spite or to make fun of you or anything," he eventually got out past the last few snickers, shaking his head. "I-If anything, it's almost… almost funny how your life played out like a romance story that doesn't go to waste because of the gods."

"Hey," Achilles allowed himself to mutter in discontent, crossing his arms over his chest. "The Princess already has a hero she has her heart set on, and the May King loves her more than me."

"I can see that much," his other self pointed out with a raised index finger, giving him an amused look past the fringe of his hair. "But it's still nice to know why things turned out this way. Makes my efforts feel more worthwhile." The other Achilles then paused, his mouth frozen in an open smile for about a second or two before he closed it to glance away. "I… I kinda wish I got to meet a Princess like that sooner."

Achilles felt his nerves stand on end at that statement, suddenly glimpsing the memory of another green Archer in another doomed world behind his eyelids as he blinked. Oh. Achilles swallowed quietly. This is how Archer felt in that mockery of the Moon Cell Holy Grail War, huh?

"…Huh, why am I getting sentimental all of a sudden?" The other Achilles snubbed at his nose, turning back to him with a large grin. "Forget that, will you? We'll just be fighting together for as long Master needs us, so let's just make this water under the bridge, yeah?"

"…Maybe," Achilles humored his other self, giving the Greek hero a look once he blinked owlishly back. "But hey, Rider."

"What's up?"

Achilles offered an open hand to his other self with a grin of his own. "You at least got to meet the Princess today! Take some pride in that!"