Summary: One Witch of Betrayal watches a little Master waddle through her usual routine during the Incineration of Humanity. She wasn't expecting said Master to fall towards the last person she was expecting. At least it wasn't Jason, she thinks. This is the start of the daily naps.

Note: This is inspired by three things: (1) the sleepy hugs I often give my dad when I wake up from my own nap; (2) the many times I've been with my real life Robin in my boyfriend of 7 years, where he just leans against me sometimes and naps away; and (3) the friends I know as Lucien and Carim, who helped with the concept of this chapter.

Daily naps have long been established in my life, might as well give the reason why it happens in the story proper!

The themes of this chapter are (1) the second opening from Komi Can't Communicate, being Ao 100 Shoku by Miku Itou, and (2) Bmblb from RWBY Volume 4's Soundtrack.

Please enjoy!

Day 43: Violet Shades

"…" Dr. Roman squinted at the security camera footage in front of him with a face, a hand lingering on his chin.

"…" Over Dr. Roman's shoulders, both Medea and Da Vinci watched with similar faces.

Unbeknownst to all the staring from the cameras, the only Chaldean Master left in the entirety of humanity simply wobbled back and forth on her boots, barely even walking through the hallway she was in as whatever strength was left in her tiny body had seemingly disappeared a long time ago. Even her own boots were dragging behind her every step as Vy kept two shaky arms in close reach of the nearest wall, her petulant expression being the only sign of life on her aside from the soft heaves of her shoulders through her Standard Chaldean Uniform from every breath she took.

"She's waddling again," Da Vinci deadpanned after a long moment of consideration, putting a single finger to her forehead as she closed her eyes to the footage. "How many quests has she taken by now, Romani?"

"Don't ask me that, Leonardo, I might lose the cake I ate a few hours ago," Dr. Roman replied with no heat, lowering his head into a circle made by his arms on his desk at the Command Room with a loud sigh. "How is it not even dinner time yet?"

"Forget about dinner, shouldn't you two do something?" Medea snapped, crossing her arms over her chest while keeping an eye on the fatigued Master still waddling through the security camera's view without even noticing. "Won't humanity be in a state of crisis if she keeps going on like this?"

"Note that I tried," Dr. Roman whined from his arms, head further sinking into them as he sighed again. "Doctor's appointments and all. She just keeps farming and I don't know what else to tell her when she keeps insisting we need the materials."

Medea glared at Da Vinci instead of responding to that remark, making Da Vinci raise both hands in the air with a wry laugh of her own. "Note that mia bella's logic isn't wrong," she added, "Flauros taking over Lev Lainur threw a giant wrench into our plans, not helped by his wiping out the other Masters we had on standby with the Command Room explosion, so I don't blame Vy for working as hard as she does. This is just… a bit much."

Medea narrowed her eyes. "A bit."

Da Vinci closed her eyes and put her hands together in front of her mouth, hiding the incoming sigh. "What else should I say, Medea? No matter what we think, it doesn't change our current situation. What really boils down to it is that Vy is overworking to compensate for our lack of personnel and she's made it personal."

This time, Medea could feel the horror flood her veins as she closed her own eyes and uncrossed her arms, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose instead. In the darkness of her thoughts, she could still recall the bright face of the girl she now called Master, smiling behind those glasses while extending a kind hand like she always did. Even with her skin pale and limbs shaking over the security cameras, Vy's fundamental attitude just hadn't changed. Just like—

Try not to disturb my current life, a man she once knew had said without looking at her. Tell me when you need help.

I'm sorry to ask so much of you when we just met, Caster, Vy had said with a wry smile when they met in those flames. Had that man still been around, maybe things would have been different. But Vy nonetheless smiled, extending that open hand without hesitation. But once this Singularity is resolved, feel free to tell me when you need help too, okay? It's the least I can do after you helped me.

"…She is a very unusual person, isn't she?"

Looking up revealed Dr. Roman and Da Vinci exchanging a loaded look of some kind before they turned to return Medea's gaze with warm, exasperated grins. "Don't we know it," they said in unison.

Medea turned on her heels to manifest her robes from Circe and Hecate, tracing spells with her fingers. "Then I'll go to attend to our little workaholic of a Master. Even with this dire situation, there needs to be someone to remind her that she can't die."

Not like what happened with Souichirou.

Trying to get Vy's attention was the hard part. Despite Medea using the weakest version of invisibility available in her arsenal, there was something about following Vy around that revealed how vulnerable the young woman was. Just like in the security camera footage, Vy kept stumbling from room to room, checking on the Servants while being shockingly unaware of Medea's presence. A quiet wave to Sasaki Kojirou one moment (how Vy found worth in that ghost of an Assassin was beyond Medea), giving a soft nudge to Medusa's shoulder (the fact that she didn't mind that Gorgon's height complex was odd too), then nodding her head towards Diarmuid Ua Duibhne (how did she not even mind that cursed mole) the next when he passed by. The checked-on Servants most certainly noticed Medea hovering over Vy's shoulders, shooting her the same worried looks Da Vinci and Dr. Roman had, but Medea did her best to ignore them.

Even if Vy was possibly the closest thing Proper Human History had to a living saint when it came to saving the world, she was still human. She was no proper Mage — in the end, Vy Duong was just one simple, lonely human being in a world that demanded too much of her. Of course a simple invisibility spell would be beyond her perception at the moment, fatigue worsening her already low magical capabilities. Not even the other few humans left in Chaldea's working staff could say the same.

And yet she is all we have, ran through Medea's head with a vengeance as she continued to follow Vy around. She was tempted to say something, anything to let Vy know it was time to go to her room and rest, but there was something about the image of Vy's back that made any words dry up on Medea's tongue. Despite how small Vy's back looked to Medea's eye, it still stood tall. With toned muscles, a straight spine, and barely trembling shoulders, Vy was walking forward with all the strength she could muster, her gait making it clear she didn't want to stop. Like she didn't want to give up.

This is for mom and dad, you Demon God bastards! Medea could remember Vy yelling during the Septem Singularity. Now go die and reflect on what wrongdoings you've done in reincarnation!

Was that what led to Vy's exhaustion in the end? That family-oriented mindset, the determination to not give up — was that all Chaldea was relying on to survive? Had Vy really decided to take this all on by herself, even if the Servants weren't there, just out of her own perception of love? Just because it was for her parents and Mash?

You did far more than I ever did when I went with Jason, Master, Medea let herself think mournfully. But why don't you do the same for yourself?

Still, Vy kept putting the next foot in front of her, walking shakily to her next destination while keeping a hand in close reach of the wall she was leaning against for balance. "Where to…?" Medea could hear Vy mutter under her breath, her legs trembling through her skirt and stockings. "Assassin, Rider, and Lancer are okay, so where…"

"Master? What are you doing?"

Medea paused at the same time Vy looked up, blinking as Hans Christian Andersen, Billy the Kid, and Robin Hood all walked forward to meet her. Medea kept her mouth closed once Andersen and Robin were staring up in her direction, suspicion clear in their eyes (darn men), instead choosing to focus on the young woman they all called Master.

Vy blinked blearily, slowly leaning away from the wall she was originally using for balance to brush some hair back from her face. "What… am I doing?"

"Not to be the rude one, but Vy, you don't look that good," Billy put in with a worried voice, a hand raised in her direction, but stopped mid-way before it could make contact with her shoulder. "When was your last break?"

Medea could see Vy's ears start to flush pink. "Um…"

Typical Vy.

"Little sparrow…" Robin started in disappointment, a hand on his hips. "Don't tell me you haven't."

One of Vy's hands went up to her chest. "But…"

"No 'buts.' If anything, it looks like you were going about farming again, Master," Andersen snapped, scoldingly raising one sleeve of his lab coat in Vy's direction. "Even a writer like me can get fatigued as a Servant, so there shouldn't be a need for you as a regular human to—"

Medea felt her heart jump anyways when Vy unexpectedly tripped forward on her attempt to take her next step, making Robin yelp as she fell into his chest as the nearest point of balance, deflating against him before he could raise his arms to support her weight. Andersen had stopped his tirade almost immediately, eyes going wide past his glasses at the same time Billy's jaw dropped. Both men seemed unable to do anything but watch as Robin slowly shifted himself, adjusting his grip so that he was holding up their Master properly. To his credit, Robin already won some of Medea's approval — the rogue was making sure Vy wasn't slumping awkwardly against him by changing his posture to embrace her like a loved one would.

"Little sparrow?" left Robin in a whoosh of a breath, his hands seemingly frozen against her shoulder blades.

No answer.

Andersen simply exhaled, muttering something like, "Typical Master." Great minds thought alike, it seemed.

After Billy got his bearings back too, reaching over to tap Robin on the shoulder, the May King paused, moving one hand to brush it against the small of Vy's back as something soft emerged in his one visible eye. "Vy?"

"'M sorry," echoed in the air, and Medea could've sworn some of the tension left the hallway as Vy exhaled. Her arms twitched in Robin's hold, almost as if she was tempted to raise them and wrap them around Robin in return, but the soles of her boots were barely touching the floor now. "Can't… move. Was trying to… check on the Servants… after farming…" A tiny yawn cut off her next attempt at words, making the young woman slowly shake her head and tangle up her hair from the contracting static electricity against Robin's chest as she did her best to keep her eyes open. "Sleepy… dunno why…"

Medea didn't know what it was. Frustration? Exasperation? She wasn't sure. But she knew she had enough of this whole farce of a watch, undoing her invisibility spell at the same time Robin further softened up his stance, taking off his mantle to wrap Vy up in it without hesitation. Billy and Andersen both stepped back to let Medea approach with her own cape, and once Vy was adequately scooped up into the safety of Robin's arms through a bridal carry, Medea extended her cape to tuck the young Master in it over the informal No Face May King burrito. She could see Vy blink at her with enough confusion to reflect Medea's image, and while ignoring Robin's questioning brow in her direction, Medea reached over to place a gentle hand over Vy's eyes.

"Then go rest now, child," Medea found herself saying in a soft voice. "You've done enough today."

You sure… tickled the back of Medea's brain in response, question prominent even through the exhaustion flooding that voice, but all the Witch of Betrayal did was slowly reach over to take Vy's glasses off her face, keeping one hand over the girl's eyes all the while. Medea…

"As your own Witch of Betrayal, I'm sure, child," Medea whispered, carefully folding Vy's glasses in her palm to put away for later. "Now close your eyes and sleep. I'll make sure you have sweet dreams." The magic spell she cast would be more than enough, but Medea still checked for Vy's eyes to be closed when she took her hand away. After a second of observation, an involuntary sigh eventually left her lips as the realization Vy had willingly closed her eyes brushed the back of her thoughts. "Rest well."

I hope you never die like my brother did, Vy.

Robin exhaled softly as Vy's head lulled to the side to rest against the column of his neck. His brow creased some only when his gaze went to Medea, but this time, Medea was prepared for it. "How long were you watching her?" he whispered, adjusting his grip so that neither his mantle or Medea's cape would fall off their shared Master during her impromptu nap. "Was it before Andersen and I noticed you?"

"Almost all this time; something like that," Medea confessed, a part of her wondering why she was telling a man like Robin Hood for a moment. Was Chaldea making her soft? She still went on with a quieter, "That Dr. Roman fellow and Da Vinci were worried."

She reminds me of my little brother, though, was left unsaid. Medea would take that to her new grave if she had to.

"Hm," Andersen cut in with a smirk, "a witch like you, Medea, becoming sentimental? I should write a fairy tale about that."

Damn authors. No wonder her spine was prickling.

"Shut it, Andersen," Billy cut in before Medea or Robin could open their mouths, courteously tipping his hat in Robin's direction once Vy made a sleepy noise of protest. "Even Servants like us can have fond memories too." Medea did her best not to jump at the warm smile the gunslinging Archer sent in her direction, steel blue eyes sparkling with something that nearly made her think, Jason, if not for knowing better. "Thanks for convincing Master to take a nap, Caster."

"It's no big deal with my magic. She was stumbling around Chaldea for so long, it was almost sad," Medea said with a shake of her head. "I just hope the spell I used will help her with her fatigue."

To her surprise, Robin was the next one to give Medea a smile, this one being a bit more wry and contemplative, but still open to something. "Maybe we'll have to bring it up to the good ol' Doc and that Eternal Genius ourselves then, if you're up to it, Caster."

"Huh?"

"Daily naps," Robin continued, undeterred by Medea's growing shock. "I know Dr. Roman likes them, might as well bring them up for our little sparrow, right?"

As if agreeing with the suggestion, Vy proceeded to turn her head and further tuck herself into Robin's warmth with a small Muu noise, making all attention go to her again. A tiny hint of a smile was all Medea could see past her long brown hair, and without thinking, Medea raised a hand to brush some of it out of Vy's face and tuck it behind the girl's ear. As oxygen and carbon dioxide went in and out of Vy's mouth, Medea found herself smiling too.

"That would be a nice suggestion, Archer."

Medea chose to ignore Billy and Andersen exchanging smirks of some kind in the background.

"Daily… naps?" Dr. Roman repeated the phrase like it was something foreign to him later that day in the infirmary, his mouth open for a few seconds before realization shined in his eyes. "That's… actually a great idea! So good I wish I thought of it, to be honest!"

Medea allowed herself to preen some as Robin exchanged a look with Billy. "So?" Billy started first, crossing his arms over his chest. "We good with that, Doc?"

"Definitely!" Dr. Roman then pulled out a clipboard from behind his chair, most likely from his desk, as he started jotting down notes with a pen fast enough to put some of Chaldea's staff to shame. "A 45 minute nap minimum every day should help Vy's mana output, and if we let it go to an hour, it could definitely help her morale too! We just need someone to watch… her…" Dr. Roman then raised his head to give the equivalent of puppy dog eyes to Medea and Robin, a sheepish grin quirking at his lips. "Er. Medea, Robin, how do you two feel about first watch duty? Billy and Andersen could get the next one."

"Wait, why me?!" Andersen snapped.

"You need a break, Caster, and Billy can give you that much!" Dr. Roman retorted immediately, and all Billy had in response was an incredulous glance at Andersen and Dr. Roman's general directions. Hm.

Well. At least her partner was Robin and not Jason. Medea gave Robin a look, and when the Archer met her gaze with a level look of his own, she smiled.

"Of course."

There was no other answer than that.

Anything to keep my newest sibling safe.

Note: The original Fate/stay night Medea was my very first Caster I summoned from the tutorial multi that every FGO player gets when starting the game, so it feels good writing something for her. Especially after getting her to Bond 7 in game and watching Overly Sarcastic Productions' summary of her lore on YouTube. Let it be said Jason really should've treated her better.

I'm still wondering how Medea Lily works, even though Atlantis did a great job with her writing.

Ah well. I'll see you all in the next chapter.