Summary: In the days leading up to an apology, the surrounding Servants make a decision with their Master's mental health in mind. Passionlip, meanwhile, has to decide for herself whether to stick to BB's programming or try to be a better person.

Note: This is a direct sequel to Day 55, and I have my real life Robin to thank for it, because he was the one to propose the idea of exploring the days leading up to Lip's apology, and how the other Servants would take to that. Thankie, honey.

A small dedication to GlyphArchive/partialdignity/Carim as well here, because they helped me with the writing of a certain AUO in the latter half. Thankie, beloved friend. Thankie so much for your support. I love you so much platonically.

So, everybody, here we go. Exploring the aftermath of Day 55. Taking inspiration from some of the tough love and experiences I've had with others calling me out over the years.

Content warning for discussion of past abuse, sexual assault, and trauma.

The theme for this chapter is the piano version of Lightning's Theme — Blinded by Light from the official Final Fantasy XIII Piano Collections. Because even though I didn't play through the full game (I actually watched most of it through my brother playing it), the song stuck with me. For lyric specific songs, I'll point you to the first ending to the Spy x Family anime, being Comedy by Kigeki, as well as the first opening to Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, being Innocent Starter by Nana Mizuki.

Please enjoy.

Day 56: Second Chances

"…This show really is all guns, boobs, panty shots, and gore," Achilles deadpanned, not even flinching when the next victim got chewed on with loud screams to accompany it through the TV screen from his place on the floor of the Grail Lounge. "I can see why your past self hated this, Princess. There's barely any plot to this show aside from the characters trying to survive and look cool while doing it."

"...Mm," Vy said from her bundle of the No Face May King and other blankets the Servants found throughout the Wandering Sea. Her gaze, even without her glasses sitting on her nose, seemed dazed and blank. Not even the people dying en masse on the TV screen seemed to faze her, the light in her brown eyes faded to match the red rims still sticking to them. It didn't help that the popcorn bowl left near her feet was still tellingly untouched, despite being covered with the soft glistening of extra butter.

"Rider," Skadi put in, sharing a concerned glance with the other Grailed over Vy's head and hunched back, "As much as your curiosity is getting sated, I believe you should turn off the TV."

"Why did you put on Highschool of the Dead anyway?" Robin deadpans, sitting down and reaching over to wrap an arm around Vy's shoulders. "Didn't the little sparrow say she hated it?"

"True that, but I do remember her also saying earlier she wanted to try it again with us in the room—" Achilles proceeded to dodge an incoming cuff to the head from Arturia, shaking his head. "Alright, alright, I'm turning it off!"

Robin's touch, combined with Achilles hastily fumbling with the remote to turn off the TV screen, seemed to be enough to bring some light back into Vy's eyes as she blinked. With a soft Ah noise, her mouth opened, then closed.

"…Back with us now, little sparrow?" Robin reached over with his free hand to stroke Vy's cheek, brushing some stray hairs out of her face and behind her ear. Over his shoulder, the other Grailed loomed with concerned looks of their own, waiting with baited breath. "Not lost in there anymore?"

"…No," is what eventually leaves Vy's lips, and with a slow blink, she leaned into Robin's chest, slumping against him once he initiated a hug. "Was never truly… lost. Could still… hear things." A shudder rang through her frame nonetheless, something that wasn't lost on any of the Servants present in the room with her. "Still… here."

But still not okay yet, was left unsaid but acknowledged in Vy's voice, something that left everyone around her uneasy. Whether she noticed it or not was unclear.

"Spacing out instead?" Shiki supplied from her place in the kitchenette of the Grail Lounge, peeking out from past the refrigerator door to make a face. "You didn't even move at the zombie bites, Vy, and it's zombies."

"In my defense…" Vy closed her eyes, slumping against Robin even more — enough for him to raise his other arm in the hug just to support her posture in keeping her upright. "After the Lahmu in Uruk… ghosts in the Ooku and Shinjuku… ghouls in Salem… walking wolves in Russia… mecha gods in Olympus… and walking sentient mercury in Trimmau from Sima Yi's vessel in Rei-san… the zombies in the previous year's summer camp seem more scary…"

"That doesn't make your lack of reaction any less concerning, Princess," Arturia interjected, moving past Achilles to take a seat at Vy's other side. It didn't take long for the Saber to reach over to take one of Vy's hands to squeeze. "You're still thinking about something, aren't you?"

Without opening her eyes, Vy merely nodded her head in Arturia's general direction with a soft "Mm."

The atmosphere in the Grail Lounge changed within a second, turning tense with foreboding and concern thanks to Vy's answer. "Is it about Passionlip?" Robin said softly over Vy's head.

Despite a significant pause, Vy opened her eyes to glance up at Robin with a wry smile. "…Was it obvious, Big Robin?"

"Even from here," Meltryllis interrupted from her place lounging on the only bed in the lounge, uncrossing her metal legs to give Vy a look, "it was obvious, Albrecht."

"What Meltryllis said," Robin added, raising one hand to gently pat Vy's head. "So I gotta ask: was what Lip said bad enough to strike a nerve, little sparrow?"

"…Aye." Vy proceeded to let out a soft, long sigh, clenching and unclenching the fingers of her free hand as if to try to ground herself. "I… I had a feeling Lip was uneasy about something, but… but…" A sniffle cut her off and she raised said free hand to swipe at her eyes via her sleeve.

"What she said still hurt?" Arturia picked up for her in a softer voice, squeezing Vy's hand reassuringly.

"…Aye. As… As bad as… as my ex-friend's words, actually," Vy confessed while lowering her free hand, the statement enough to make Robin, Arturia, and Achilles in particular flinch as she slumped into the arms surrounding her. "Couldn't help but… but remember him. How much he was hurt… even when lashing out at me. More so because…" A tiny sigh left Vy's lips as she hunched into herself some. "I don't ever remember Lip being that… that resentful before." Without even turning her head, a sad sarcastic laugh left her mouth. "First time I've ever gotten compared to BB… that's for sure. Guess I'll have sweet dreams tonight with… with that."

"Lip is just a pain in the ass like that, Albrecht." Meltryllis interrupted again, this time sitting up from her place on the one bed in the Grail Lounge to cross her arms over her chest. If no one knew any better, it would've sounded like the AI was actively scorning her little sister. "Being as sensitive as she is and still wanting love without seeing the full picture, holding grudges when she doesn't get what she wants." With a tiny huff, she turned her head away once Vy and the other Grailed were glancing in her direction, pointedly keeping her gaze on the ceiling. "Normally I would say she has a good enough heart to recognize when she's done something wrong, more so with the one function of self-reflection Mother did give her, but this time she's gone too far." It still takes a second for her to glance back at Vy and add in a quieter voice, "…Don't take it personally when she's like that to everyone, Vy."

"Still sounds like you have a grudge against your own kin, Meltryllis," Shiki concluded, closing the refrigerator door with a quiet thud to break the ice in the atmosphere. She apparently found a nice big tub of Haagen-Dazs strawberry ice cream to add to the center of the lounge. "Did Passionlip ruffle your feathers too?"

Instead of a worded response, all the Grailed Alter Ego did was sigh a long, deep sigh, slumping in place at the bed. "Don't put it like that, Assassin, or else I'd be tempted to vomit."

"Hm…" Shiki seemed unconvinced, but busied herself with grabbing 10 spoons from the kitchenette for the ice cream instead. "If you say so."

"No vomit in the Lounge," Astarte interjected suddenly from her place in the one Lounge-owned hammock. "It's gross."

The sudden quip was enough to make Meltryllis sit up straight in her spot, most likely from exasperation. "I wasn't going to, Avenger!"

"You two calm yourselves," Ereshkigal put in quietly before either could add anything else, plenty of authority filling her tone despite her sipping a cup of tea. "The argument is not helping."

"In the end, it all doesn't change the fact that what the Alter Ego of Love said still hurt you, Vy," Skadi interjects, walking over to sit down in front of the Chaldean Master with a face. "Yet you're still thinking about her?"

All Vy had in response was another "Mm." She ducked her head, barely meeting anyone's eyes.

In response, Robin pats Vy's head again, scooting over just a bit to let Achilles come in and reach over to do the same. "You're not blaming yourself, are you, Vy?" Robin said softly, stroking the Master's hair just as Achilles decided to poke her cheek after a few more headpats. "Because you had no idea that Lip would burst like that. You shouldn't have to hold yourself up to the idea that you should've known."

"I-I know that, but…" Vy sighed, reaching up to gently bat Achilles' poking hand away, closing her eyes to keep the beginning of a new set of tears back. "Freezing up from an old traumatic memory wasn't the best way to go, Big Robin. Even if I didn't know she would hit me that personally with her grievances." Another quiet sniffle escaped her control. "I… I hate crying so much."

"There's nothing wrong with crying, little riceball," Berserker Musashi put in suddenly, walking over to take Skadi's immediate side in front of the teary Master when sitting down. She went on to cross her legs, putting her hands on her knees as if to start spouting off some philosophical lesson to match the quiet smile on her face. "Even the best of swordsmen have had to cry every now and then, and they're the ones who trained to be on the battlefield. There's no shame in crying, especially when it relieves your stress and gets you onto the road of feeling better."

All Vy does is sigh softly. "Aye," she says. "It's just easier said than done after what happened with Lip, Shii-chan, no offense." With a tiny shake of her head, more light came back into her eyes, just in time for her to admit in a shakier voice, "If not for Lip making me doubt why I Grailed everyone here, I'd be tempted to apologize to her. I…" Vy gulped. "I still feel that way, just a little bit, to be honest."

Musashi and the other Grailed (excluding Meltryllis) proceeded to shoot Robin a concerned glance, making the Archer tighten his grip on their shared Master from concern. "Do you want to apologize, little sparrow?"

To no one's surprise, Vy paused, ducking her head again. "…Not sure," is what eventually leaves her lips, a crack emerging in her voice to match. "I know now Lip was hurt when I didn't give her a Grail, but…"

"But?" Robin said softly.

Arturia made it a point to reach over with her other hand to clasp Vy's tiny one between both palms, not wanting to miss anything.

Vy raised her head from Robin's chest just to shake it vigorously, angrily slapping her cheek with her free hand, much to the surrounding Servants' shock. "Just because she didn't get a Grail like all of you doesn't mean I care about her any less. Holy Grails aren't… aren't everything here. It's just…" Vy inhaled deeply, resting her hand against her slapped cheek as if to ease the sting. "What she said to me still hurts right now and I don't know what to do with it. I… I don't know if I even want to see her from here on out either, and I don't like it. Even thinking about it." Slowly lowering her hand, Vy rested her chin into the collar of the No Face May King still wrapped around her alongside the rest of the blanket pile, closing her eyes. "I don't want to hate Lip, but I'm also starting to… It all just feels kinda icky, really. Thinking over what I could've done, what Lip really wanted. Like…" Vy shook her head. "Like she hoped I wouldn't love you all the way I do, and that I should've been paying more attention to Lip when I know I'm not perfect and can only do so much with my energy the way it is…"

I chose you all to be my Grailed because I love you. I don't know what to do when someone else tries to tell me otherwise. When someone tries to tell me I'm wrong in who I should love.

Robin looked up to meet the gazes of his fellow Grailed, holding eye contact for a moment before turning his focus back to the girl half sitting, half leaning into him. "…You don't have to overthink it now," he whispers, ducking his head to press what he hoped was a reassuring kiss into the top of her hair. "You cried a lot about it and even went into space for it, little sparrow. I think it's about time you stop pushing yourself and give yourself a break."

Vy slowly opened her eyes, turning her head up so that she'd be meeting Robin's own with a hesitant face. "…You sure?"

After sharing a brief look with Arturia and Achilles in particular, Robin put on his best smile. "Of course. We can start that by watching a movie you actually want to see, outside of gore and zombies."

We'll make sure of it. Until you're ready to go out there and face her, she will never hurt you again. We won't ever leave you alone.

Whether Vy noticed her Grailed's new conviction, she didn't give off any sign of it. Instead, her gaze searched Robin's own for a few moments, her mouth opening and closing quietly before she ducked her head, ears turning pink. "…Then, if it's okay… do we have The Cat Returns? Or Kiki's Delivery Service?"

The smile the Grailed shared amongst themselves over Vy's hair was a lot more relieved afterwards.

Lip knew even before the next morning dawned on the Wandering Sea that nothing had been truly resolved. No one was in the hallways she walked through, the few Servants she did see actively refused to meet her gaze, Director Goredolf and BB were apparently sharing observed confinement — something about taking required "communication" classes — and… And…

Protea didn't have to make a camping spot of the hallway that connected Novum Chaldea to Vy's room, but there she was anyway, hugging her knees to her chest while sitting in front of the door. Even with the fuzzy green fur and the budding protea flower in her hair, the larger than life Alter Ego was menacing when looking down at anyone who approached. Lip included.

"…What are you doing, Protea?" Lip said softly, sitting back on her claws while tilting her head upwards. "Why are you sitting here?"

"What it looks like, Lip," Protea said with no expression, hugging her knees while staring down at Lip. "I'm guarding the entrance to Master's room."

"From…" Lip gulped. "From who?"

Protea didn't even open her mouth. She merely stared at Lip for a long time. It was enough to make Lip feel uncomfortable.

She didn't want to admit it, but Lip felt her heart start to sink the longer she kept eye contact. "From… from me?"

"Melt and the other Grailed specifically gave me the order to not let you in, Lip," Protea said in the same deadpan tone, shaking her head once Lip took an unsteady step forward. "As of yesterday evening, it is a current standing order throughout the Wandering Sea. Everyone in the staff outside of Vy agreed."

Lip forced herself to take a steadying breath. Yes, Protea was another Servant, not just her sister. If she wanted to, Lip could easily use her claws to move Protea out of the way. But with the current situation… "Did they… did they say why?" she tried instead.

"…Really? You're asking that?" Protea merely blinked her mismatched lavender and red eyes, enough for Lip to see herself reflected in the irises. "Why are you asking me to spell out your mistakes, Lip?"

Lip found nothing leaving her throat.

Protea sighed, slowly leaning back so that she wasn't curled up into a giant ball, tilting her head up towards the ceiling with a pout. "Between us Alter Ego sisters, Lip, I can give you a hint."

"Hint…?"

"Something that Melt wants you to understand if you ever want the chance to see Master again," Protea continued, placing her hands behind her as she leaned back some more. Not enough to lie down on the floor, but she was still facing the ceiling and not meeting Lip's eyes. "Why do you think you're so important here?"

Just like with Robin, Lip had no answer. Instead, something snapped inside her chest, leaving her woozy and close to tears. All she could do was turn her head and run away, claws dragging behind her to hide the sudden incoming urge to scream.

She never knew if Protea ever looked at her back when she ran.

"You didn't know what to do after Protea said that and ran to me, woof?" Cat stirred the soup she was boiling in front of her with a ladle, furry ears twitching. Even in her usual maid outfit, the Berserker seemed… odd today. Odder than usual with how quiet her voice was when wafting out of the kitchen in the Novum Chaldea Dining Hall. "Did I get that right, woof?"

"…Yeah." There wasn't anything Lip could do to deny it, hunching in on herself while keeping her claws folded behind the chair she chose in the Dining Hall. "Protea and Melt won't talk to me anymore, so I could only think of you, Cat…!"

Please help, Cat, please! Lip couldn't voice the plea, but she knew she meant it nonetheless. There's no one else for me now!

Yet to Lip's surprise, all Cat did was put down her ladle against a nearby plate with a huff, her tail standing up on end. "Lip. What I'm about to say is out of the goodness of my heart, woof. So listen up, okay?"

"Wh-What is it, Cat?" Lip could guess her friend had something on her mind. It would certainly explain the terse look on her normally cheerful face.

It didn't prepare Lip for what she heard next.

"Have you ever talked to someone outside of me, Myaster, BB, and your sisters?"

"…What?" Unlike with Protea, Lip could feel nothing but confusion. "Huh? Wh-Where did this come from?"

"From the goodness of my heart, really. Just answer the question, mroof," Cat said, her tail sagging behind her skirt. "Have you?"

"Um…" Lip closed her eyes. Had she? "I… I talked with some others."

Why did it sound like a lie, then?

"Who?" Cat prodded, carefully reaching over to another part of the kitchenette to pull out a pot lid.

"Um…" Lip could feel the beginnings of a flush start to climb up her neck. "Robin-san? The servers in the kitchen?"

All Cat did was let out a soft and disbelieving "Mu-mu-mu" noise. "If you're including the simulator and what happened after, I don't think that counts, mroof. The kitchen staff don't count either." Cat's ears started to droop to match her low-hanging tail. "I meant a positive conversation, Lip. Who have you had a positive, non-yelling conversation with?"

The saliva was slowly drying up in Lip's mouth. "I-I… I don't think I've had that kind of thing with… with anyone. Outside of Master, you, Melt, and Protea." In a tinier voice, she admitted, "Besides, Mother never has been good, no matter what she says otherwise."

Cat's ears flattened against her hair just as she put a paw to her face. "I was afraid of this, woof."

"S-So what about it?" Lip felt her hackles start to rise. "Everyone else is so mean to me! I'm always trying to be conscious of my strength, where my claws go, but once I say something, they start insulting me! They start hating me!" It was all their fault anyway. How could the others act the way they do when she didn't do anything? When she was trying to be the good girl? "With all the weird punishments and angry yelling, it's like nothing's changed from the Moon Cell whenever Master's not around!"

SLAM.

It took Lip a moment too long to realize Cat — her best friend Cat — was the source of the new noise, having smacked the underside of her paw against the kitchen counter. What?

"Lip." Cat let out a noise caught between a sad meow and a distressed yowl, shaking her head as she raised her paw off the counter. "You're going in the wrong direction with this, woof. You're making the same mistakes."

"Huh…?" The rage and anger bubbling up in her veins was starting to mix with the confusion that erupted from Cat's words, leaving Lip dizzy. "What are you talking about, Cat?"

"You're being oblivious to the main problem here, mroof." While shaking the paw she used to slam the counter with a wince, Cat sighed. "Your claws aren't the issue here anymore, woof. Your attitude is."

Lip felt herself take a step back. "My… my attitude?"

The look in Cat's yellow eyes turned mournful and sympathetic. Not even the soft thunk of the pot lid meeting the pot on the stove to cover whatever was cooking inside eased Lip's worries. "Do you not even hear yourself before you start talking, Lip? Have you ever tried to think outside of your head? Have you ever considered, just once, why everyone ends up reacting the way they do?"

"B-But that's…" Lip could feel the gears in her head start to turn, leaving her stomach to start sprouting butterflies. "Everyone else starts it—"

"And how do they start it, Lip, woof?" Cat cuts her off, her voice firm in spite of the quiet solemnity permeating her tone. "Do all of them start with insulting you from the get go?"

Lip found her tongue dry as her programming churned inside her mind. "…No," leaves her in a cough that does nothing to alleviate the sudden weight on her already heavy chest. "They… they don't. They…" she choked. "They all greet me first, and then…"

"You say something and they react, don't they?"

Nothing left Lip's mouth.

Cat sighed again, turning off the stovetop and walking over to Lip's side. "BB really gave you too many things to work through without help," she growled, the undercurrent of protective anger there doing nothing but evoke surprise in Lip's chest once the Berserker reached out with both paws in her direction. "I'd beat her up if it meant you wouldn't go through this, Lip. Her idea of 'strengths' makes even onions seem friendly, woof."

The back of Lip's eyes were starting to itch as she blinked. "Cat…"

"This Cat loves you, Lip, with all of her heart, woof." Cat's paws were warm against her head once the Berserker initiated a hug, Lip's face pressed into her neck as her claws were frozen against the floor. "And I can tell you from that place of love that you're going about this all wrong. It's not about everyone else wanting to hurt you. It's not about you being a 'good girl' anymore, mroof."

"Th-Then…" Lip wasn't sure if she was begging or close to crying. "What is it…? What am I doing wrong…?"

"Have to spell it out, huh… this Cat is so gonna roast BB over a stove later, woof." The Berserker sighs again, tightening the hug while being careful of the trash compartment in Lip's chest, favoring a paw pad to pat the back of Lip's head. "…It's coming back to what makes you who you are, Lip, the programming BB put into you."

"My… my programming? From Mother?"

The same paw starts to make careful strokes of Lip's long hair, claws slowly easing out tangles as Cat sighs again. "Just because you're one of BB's 'High Servants' and an Alter Ego, Lip, it doesn't mean you're on top of the world. Not out in the real world, and not here in Chaldea. You've never been on the top, mroof, even if I love you enough to put you on top of my world. But in the end, your acting like you are the top dog to everyone else is what led to you hurting Myaster."

…What?

Lip's not sure when her knees finally give out from underneath her own weight, but her claws let her catch her balance just as Cat makes a distressed yowl noise near her ears. "I… I act like I'm on top of the world?" Inwardly, her programming is screaming. Everything hurts, even with Cat's paws pressing against her, and her head is swimming. "That can't be… That just can't… I was trying to be good…"

Wasn't it the truth, though? A dark part of Lip's mind echoed, sounding suspiciously like BB in how it laughed. Even then, its voice was weak. Weren't the Alter Egos supposed to be the best Servants the Moon Cell could yield?

Except—

Lip blinks, glimpsing another brunette behind her eyelids, just as her vision starts to blur. That's right. Back in the Moon Cell, that other brunette boy — or was it a girl? — with their Servant — was a gold king, a white bride, a fox like Cat, or the red Archer that followed Robin-san's lead? — had confronted Lip with the same words Cat was using now. Back then, even with her blurred memories from how Sessyoin Kiara had tampered with her programming to resummon her in the Seraphix oil rig, Lip could remember how they—

"...Those claws hurt people. Those claws hurt what they touch. Until you can acknowledge that, I can never see you as anything beyond an enemy."

Yes. Hakuno — Kishinami Hakuno — had said those words in regards to what Lip thought were her normal hands, hadn't they? Even when mercilessly defeating her with their Servant and spelling her own death in the Sakura Labyrinth. And now, with Hakuno gone—

It took Lip a moment too long to realize Cat had pulled away from the hug, putting both paws on Lip's shoulders while ducking her head. "Even if you know your claws hurt people, Passionlip, you need to understand your words have the same potential to hurt people too. Whether you like it or not. Because words have power, mroof." There's a sniffle and through the haze of Lip's realization, she could feel something wet falling onto her cheeks. Was she crying? Or was it Cat? "And with the other Servants, by talking and acting like you're all high and mighty, you still hurt them, woof. That's why they lashed out. That's why they alienated you, because you alienated them first. And to someone like Myaster, by doing what you've been doing, you inevitably hurt her too."

"I-I didn't…" Lip couldn't finish the sentence. It was starting to sound more and more like an excuse that no one would believe. "I didn't mean…"

This was all my fault from the beginning? Not being able to be with anyone outside of Cat and Melt and Protea? My voice was why I couldn't ever be normal? Because Mother made me this way?

Why, Mother? Why?

Whywhywhywhy, why?

Why wasn't I born a human?

"I know you didn't mean it, woof." Cat said softly, leaning in to bump foreheads with Lip just as more wet droplets started sliding down Lip's face. "I know you didn't. That doesn't change the fact that you've been made to be a bad girl, Lip, and you've gotta stop."

For the first time since seeing Vy disappear through that door exiting the simulator, Lip closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and bawled.

For the first time in a long time, Lip felt alone, even with Cat reaching over to hug her again.

"…Cat."

"Mm-mm-mu?"

"Why are we at… why are we at Goldie's room?!" Lip felt tempted to cry again in spite of the warm paw resting against the small of her back, staring up at the red curtains and gold-varnished entrance with what she could only call as growing fear. Red and gold. There was no other possibility. Why was Cat taking her to Gilgamesh? And his Archer version, no less?! "I-I thought you were taking me to a Servant who could help me!"

"And I am, mroof," Cat says without an inch of hesitation, pushing at Lip's back while reaching over with her other paw to press the doorbell. "Even if I don't like his guts, he's one of the best options outside of the original me who I still wanna kill every now and then."

"Cat—!"

"He's one of the veterans from the Moon Cell Holy Grail War, Lip," Cat interrupted, not minding the loud chime that echoes in the hallway once her paw leaves the door. "And from what little I remember from the original me, he's one of the Servants that was close to your first love in that other universe."

Lip lost the urge to respond as the memory of that other brunette flashed behind her eyelids. "That's…"

Glancing over her shoulder revealed Cat smiling enough to show white fangs in Lip's direction. "Just trust me, okay?" she purred, pointing Lip back towards the door with one extended claw. "He's a bit nicer now!"

A quiet whoosh was all Lip got before she heard it.

"WHO DARES DISTURB THE REST OF A KING!?"

"I do, woof!" Cat cried out happily, raised paw in the air and all. The taut fur of her tail barely hidden by the skirt of her maid uniform was the only indicator of the sarcasm running through Cat's statements. "Please let us in to partake your golden visage, Gilgamesh, O Great King of Heroes!"

The door opened with a loud whoosh.

Lip gulped.

It felt like an eternity, trying to explain to the King of Heroes what had happened. The entire time Lip talked (with Cat chiming in every now and then for additional commentary), Gilgamesh didn't move from his makeshift throne in the center of the room, lounging on it while keeping a hand to his cheek in apparent disinterest. If not for the searching, perceptive look in those red eyes, Lip would've been tempted to crush him within her claws or just run away to be done with the whole mess. It almost felt like he seemed… entertained. Amused. Was that it?

Still, her programming didn't prepare her for Gilgamesh sighing of all things.

"You wake a king from his nap, you animal," the King of Heroes threw a glare in Cat's direction, who merely deflected it via a raised middle claw and a toothy grin, "just to bring this maid to me for advice? What do you take me for?" With a toss of his head, Gilgamesh rolled his eyes, placing a palm to his forehead. "There is a limit to such insolence, even if we all share the same Master…"

"M-Maid?!" The hackles in Lip's heart were already starting to rise, but a paw against Lip's back had her take a pause. "Wh-What do you mean by 'maid'?!"

"Exactly as it sounds like, maid," Gilgamesh barked, lowering his hand to narrow his eyes at Lip this time. "Even though you are an Alter Ego made by that AI from another Moon, you lower yourself to this state without any self-reflection? Has the fight between you, myself and Hakuno done nothing for you?"

All the saliva dried up in the back of Lip's mouth. Hakuno. Hakuno. The King of Heroes just said— "…You… you remember them?"

"Of course I do," Gilgamesh continued, a snappish tone creeping up into his voice as he reached over with one gold-gauntleted hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Even in Chaldea, my thoughts of them have not left my Saint Graph. And it's because of those thoughts that your current state is all the more unsatisfying, Alter Ego Passionlip."

"H-How dare you—" Lip was standing up, but the same paw from before was stopping her. "Cat—!"

Tamamo Cat merely shook her head from her place sitting on a cushion on the floor, yellow eyes flashing with warning and sympathy. Don't, her gaze seemed to spell out. You need to listen.

"Hmph," Gilgamesh shook his head, lowering his hand to rest it against one of the armrests of the throne underneath his figure. "To think you would have to be held back by a Berserker shows how you have yet to fully mature, Passionlip. My former Master should've scolded you more, but no matter. That is in the past now." Without warning, a golden portal proceeded to materialize over Gilgamesh's shoulder, allowing the Archer to pull a gold goblet out to sip at. "I will do so instead."

"Do… do what? What do you mean?"

Cat merely lowered her paw as Lip felt the fingertips of her claws scrape the floor.

"You ask? Now of all times?" Even after a long sip of what seemed to be Uruk's finest wine in both smell and taste, Gilgamesh looked at Lip over the goblet's rim with a raised brow. "I — a king — am willing to give you a lesson Hakuno should've nailed into your bloated skull of denial a long time ago, Alter Ego Passionlip. Listen carefully. The first king of Proper Human History will not repeat this twice." A single second was all it took for him to roughly toss his goblet away, the red wine splashing the tile behind it as it soared through the air of the room. "As a so-called High Servant, you should have known that the way you present yourself is a deciding factor in whether you're perceived as an ally or an enemy — a ruler or a mongrel. It is the presentation that decides whether you are worthy of love or hate." Once the goblet that came from Gilgamesh's treasury hit the wall and ricocheted off the tile to land on the floor with a loud CLANG, the golden Archer shook his head. "And the way you have been conducting yourself to this point — from the other Servants to even our own Master — shows me that you're still an inexperienced maid who chooses to bark and snap like a mongrel. A mere child throwing a tantrum behind false kindness because they didn't get what they wanted."

Lip found herself biting the inside of her cheek, her gaze falling to the discarded goblet that rolled around on the floor helplessly in front of her. It was the truth, she couldn't deny it anymore, especially after what happened with Vy, Robin-san, and Cat, but— "Wh-Which is it in the end, King of Heroes?"

"Hm?"

"Maid, child, or mongrel… which one are you trying to call me? I don't understand… I don't understand…" Frustrated tears started to bubble up in the back of Lip's eyes, even when every single gear and cog of her programming was trying to make it stop. "What is your point in the end?! Are you trying to make me feel worse?!"

"Lip…" Cat said softly.

"My point…" To Lip's surprise, the King of Heroes threw his head back and laughed, loud enough to make even Cat's ears and tail stand on end. "MUHAHAHAHA! Even now, you ask that!? You cannot see the point I am trying to make?! How naive of you, Passionlip! How obliviously naive to think I mean harm!" As quickly as the chortling began, it stopped, just in time for Gilgamesh to meet Lip's eyes with a blank expression. "But for that bit of entertainment, I'll tell you." A slow, careful smile formed on the King of Heroes' lips. "Just because you are an inexperienced maid who chooses to act like a mongrel, it does not mean you are eternally constricted to be that way."

Lip's nose itched as she blinked. "…Huh?"

"You are no longer merely 'BB's daughter,' nor are you bound to the Moon Cell anymore. You are the Alter Ego Passionlip, one of many Servants of Novum Chaldea." Gilgamesh's smile hadn't disappeared, his voice even filling with… with pride to match his words. "Have you not seen it?"

"I…" Lip ducked her head. "I don't…" Nothing was coming onto the tip of her tongue. From the corner of her eye, she could see Cat reach over to pat her shoulder with another fuzzy, supportive paw.

"Hm, still struggling, I see." There was a deep breath. "Then take that green rat for example, the one our Master chose to Grail first out of all the Servants here." Gilgamesh closed his eyes, leaning back to rest his head against the throne behind him as a hand came up to rest underneath his chin. Whether or not he noticed Lip flinching at the mention of Robin's presence, he didn't say. "Although I personally saw him as a disgrace to the great Archer class back in the Moon Cell, the way he is here has proven to me beyond a doubt that he has changed since then. That he deserves the Archer name." With the same proud smile, Gilgamesh chuckled — a warmer, surprised chuckle. Lip couldn't recall a single moment from the Moon Cell of the King of Heroes ever making that kind of sound. "Just by finding a girl who looked up to him, a single 'little sparrow' who understood him — saw him as the knight he wanted to be and desired to help him — he refined his methods and words to become that knight. He took off his hood, interacted with others beyond his comfort of the Sherwood Forest, and worked himself to the limits. All to regain his own face and become human again. All for returning the love of that little fool of a girl who never truly grew up… even going about sharing a team with my unobtainable King of Knights just to protect her…" Gilgamesh shook his head. "It's rather beautiful if not for how sickeningly sweet it is. If not for it being our current reality, I would've asked Andersen or even that bumbling buffoon Shakespeare to make a love story out of it."

"Then…"

Without dropping his smile, Gilgamesh gave Lip a look. "A nameless Heroic Spirit was able to embody the title of 'Robin Hood' over all the odds working against him because he knew he needed to change. Because he desired that change, and he worked towards making that change, never taking second chances for granted. For you, Alter Ego Passionlip, what do you plan to do if you want to change? If you truly want to see Vy again?"

Lip inhaled. If her claws could only hurt people, if her voice would only work towards scarring people, then—

Even after a few days of not seeing each other, Vy's gaze was the same. Despite the lack of glasses, despite the squinting in Lip's direction, there was no mistaking the kind brown irises that belonged to Chaldea's only Master. "…Lip?" her voice came out faint and wispy, any prior sleepiness in her tone quickly fading in time with her eyes widening. "What—"

"H-Hi, Master." Lip gulped down the butterflies starting to surface in her throat, ignoring the painful ringing of her head as she nodded in Vy's direction. Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to use her head to knock on Vy's door, but it was the only option she could come up with when finding Protea not in the hallway leading to Vy's room for once. There was only one chance, and she had to take it now, claws and all. Hands missing and all. "Could I come in?"

Vy hesitated, her hands lingering on the doorframe as her gaze darted between Lip and the hallway behind her. "Lip, this is…"

"P-Please?" Lip did her best to soften her voice, ignoring the urge to clench her hands because she knew her claws would make marks on the floor from the size difference. "There's something important I have to tell you."

Vy closed her eyes, inhaling deeply through her nose, before pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear and meeting Lip's gaze with a wry smile. "…Okay," she relented after a terse pause, stepping back to give Lip space. "You can come in to talk. As long as it's not too long." With a weak smile, she finished with a smaller, "Mash might worry if we're not in the Dining Hall by 9 the latest for breakfast."

Who cares, would've been something Lip might've said in the past from temptation, but she held it back, crushing it as best as she could to toss it into the furthermost part of her brain. She couldn't risk saying more when Vy was already letting her back in. When Protea and the other Servants seemingly were giving her the chance to come back in. "Alright. Thank you, Master."

A quiet "Aye" was all Lip heard in return before a whoosh echoed behind her, announcing the closing of the door. One soft beep later confirmed Vy locking it, and Lip stayed very still as the Chaldean Master walked around her, smoothing out her half-brushed hair as best as she could with her own fingers while sitting down on her newly made bed. "What did you want to talk about, Lip?"

Lip felt her mouth open on instinct, but forced herself to close it, opting to take a few more steps into the room before choosing a far corner of the bed to sit down herself. "Before that, Master… um."

Vy blinked at her from what little Lip could see from the corner of her eye. "Yes?"

Lip ducked her head. "Could I… Could I borrow your whiteboard?"

All she could hear at first was a gasp of surprise, then the bed squeaked from losing some weight, followed by some footsteps. There was a door being opened — Vy's dresser, most likely. It didn't take long for Lip to make out Vy's voice past the new rustle noises of rummaging and searching. "I don't mind, Lip, but… why?"

"I-It's easier to talk with you if I'm writing it all down," Lip admitted, refusing to raise her head. "These past few days, I… I had to learn that the hard way. So… please."

"…"

The silence that followed was long, terse, and foreboding, but Lip felt her heart skip a beat it didn't need anyway once a familiar pink-backed whiteboard slowly slid its way onto her lap, pushed by a dainty hand with a pink-flower-shaped jewel ring adoring the middle finger. The lotus Command Seals were all restored there too, shining brightly against the white knuckles, and Lip smiled.

She's trusting me. With the board Dr. Roman and Da Vinci made for her, she's—

"Thank you, Master." It took effort, taking out the markers Cat helped her make from various farming trips around the simulator since their last meeting, but Lip angled her claws as gently as she could to uncap one. Red lettering stood out against the white surface as she took the time to write with her elongated claws, and once she finished, she pushed the board back in Vy's direction.

I wanted to apologize for what I said to you after we fought that simulator version of Sessyoin Kiara, Vy.

The Chaldean Master didn't say a word, her shocked gaze conveying everything as the mana in Lip's veins stalled.

Lip smiled wryly, tugging the board back with the least amount of force she could apply to start writing again.

You're not Mother, Vy, and I shouldn't have insinuated that you were. I shouldn't have said you were treating me, Melt, and Cat like we were game pieces either. Even if I wanted a Grail to be like Melt and Robin-san, it was wrong of me to demand it of you when it's your choice of who to give Grails to, not BB's. It was wrong of me to say all those things when it was so unfair to you.

Despite the additional statements, Vy stared at the board's surface with wide eyes, unmoving and unresponsive.

Lip gulped, then took the risk of bringing the board back to add two more sentences in a lighter red hue.

I'm sorry, Master. Will you forgive me?

But yet again, there was silence. Nothing. Even with the whiteboard nestled in Vy's lap, Vy's eyes flitted back and forth between each scrawled word of Lip's writing, freezing at the "I'm sorry" and lingering there before going backwards and rereading all over again. Lip could see past her hair how Vy thickly swallowed, a faint choking noise echoing from her throat as she carefully picked up the whiteboard to put it to the side, letting it sit between the two of them on the blankets.

"…I had a feeling you were going to say all that," is what eventually graces the air, Vy's soft high-pitched voice now uncharacteristically quiet and tense. With a bow of her head, she sighs. "And I… I want to forgive you. I really really want to. But there's a part of me right now that… that can't, Lip. I'm sorry."

Lip did her best not to lurch back, keeping her claws to herself as she waited. The mana in her veins was churning, butterflies starting to fly around in her stomach as she swallowed. The hurt and confused "why" was already sitting on the tip of her tongue, but she knew she couldn't say it. Not when said tongue had lashed out at Vy before, and in her current turmoil, could easily do so again.

"Even if you didn't mean to say those words the way you did, they still hurt, Lip. It… it hasn't stopped even after a few days of rest, actually." Vy reaches up with her left hand to grasp her right forearm, half-heartedly hugging herself as her shoulders slumped. "And I'm not okay with that. With… with being compared to someone I genuinely hate, with remembering ex-friends who hurt me with the same accusations, and with… with doubting why I Grailed everyone I did in the first place."

"Why you… Grailed everyone?" left Lip in a traitorous whisper, and Vy raised her head to look at Lip with the beginnings of tears in the corners of her eyes, slowly nodding her head. "Why…?"

"I trusted them, Lip." The smile that tugs at the corners of Vy's lips looks sad — fragile even — in spite of the warmth that shines in her brown irises. "I still do. With my heart, my soul, my life, and they've proven time and time again they can handle it. That they want to help me with it. Big Robin, Art-san, Achi, Ere-chan, Shiki-san, Skadi-san, Shii-chan, Ash, and even your sister, Melt-san — they all earned my trust. Just like Mash did when we first met." Vy turned her head away, breaking eye contact for a moment just to clasp her hands together and fiddle with her thumbs. Her still unbrushed brown hair hides part of her face away as she continues. "Whether it was through battle in the Singularities, Lostbelts, and other events, or, hell, just looking out for me, holding me through my darkest moments — even when I was crying and wanting to be alone…" Vy sucked in a breath. "They're the Servants I… I honestly wouldn't mind sacrificing my life for. Because I know they would do the same for me." The gravity of the words weren't lost on Lip, leaving her heart heavy in her chest and her stomach empty as she listened. "I Grailed them because they saved me. Because they saw the traumatized little girl stuck inside and loved her just as much as she loved them. Because they hugged that little girl and told her to live for herself." A soft sniffle echoes in the room and Lip could do nothing but watch as Vy raised an arm to swipe at her eyes with her sleeve. "And I… I hate admitting it, but I can't trust someone who just begs for a Grail after brazenly insulting everything that little girl's ever known."

Lip opened her mouth and found it dry, closing it instead from the futility of the effort.

Why couldn't I have seen that little girl too? Why couldn't I have met her sooner? Why did I have to just try to force you into being the prince I — the prince I wanted?

Whywhywhywhy, why—

"But…" Vy's next swallow is enough to snap Lip out of her self-deprecating thoughts, and looking up reveals the tiny Master lowering her hands to her lap to make fistfuls of her pajama leggings. "I-I want to trust you again, Lip. Even if I can't Grail you right now, it doesn't mean I don't care about you." Vy's voice cracks just in time for Lip to glimpse the first tear beginning to slide down Vy's cheek. The lone Chaldean Master raises her head to give Lip one last smile, cheeks reddening from the apparent whirlwind of emotion as she finishes with, "Y-You came all this way, and… and I want to try again with you. Fighting with you and… and trusting you."

She's giving me a second chance.

Lip blinks. "Vy…"

"Please?" With one more sniffle, Vy's smile wavers as she raises a hand to wipe at her face. "Can we… can we do that? Try again… I mean?"

It takes Lip a moment too long to realize her vision is blurring too as she shakily nods, leaning in to bump Vy's forehead with hers. "We can… we can…!"

Even with their shared tears starting to wet the blankets of Vy's bed underneath, it was the first time Lip found herself crying of relief.

Later that day, Lip took a breath. Then, by extending a smaller, fullmetal arm past her chest and outwards, she slowly and hesitantly tapped Robin's shoulder from behind.

Even though the Archer was walking somewhere with her sister, the May King still turned in response to the tapping, his single green eye widening enough to take in Lip's image (without her claws for once) once Melt paused mid-step.

"Lip…?"

Passionlip did her best to smile while slowly raising the front of her own personal magenta-backed whiteboard (with her smaller fullmetal hands and not her claws) in Robin and Melt's direction, hiding her eyes a second later with the thing from anxiety.

Hello, Robin-san, Melt. Could you two help me with training in the simulator? I need some honest feedback.

It was a new, rather innocent start to what Lip hoped to be better days to come.