Summary: Taking a Servant to Level 120 is a long journey. Peeking at a little sparrow and her Big Robin along the way means reflecting on what's past and what's to come.

Note: From June 22, 2022 to December 11, 2023 — that was the time it took to take Robin Hood from Level 100 to 120. There was a lot that happened in that time, from losing two family members, sharing Grails between him and Arturia and Achilles, and going from one job to the next. But the entire time?

Robin was a comfort to see. He always was, and still is. And the least I can do to honor him is write for him again. Especially when he helped me get closer to my partner.

Content warning for general spoilers to America in Part 1 and SERAPH in Part 1.5, by the way. Because when re-exploring old memories, it means going beyond Part 2. Into both good and bad points.

The theme for this chapter is Ozone by vistlip, the third ending theme to Yugioh 5ds. Since I grew up with this song, I wanted to revisit it. Especially when the translated lyrics matched with the feelings I wanted to write. For those of you looking for an alternative, I'll point you to (1) Teardrop by BOWL, the third opening to Yugioh GX, my childhood Yugioh series; and (2) the track titled Reminiscence from the original Fate/Extra CCC game. Since the fan-made English patch of the game is out now.

Here we go.

Day 74: Merry May

The earliest memory he could recall of Vy — his little sparrow — came from his first and only time being summoned as a Rogue Servant against Goetia. It was a bit of a mess (or more like a giant shitstorm of a mess), hearing about the Incineration of Humanity and the remaining Singularities to resolve, but what mattered was that Geronimo had mentioned reliable reinforcements and he and Billy would have to hold the fort for the time being. Guard duty was better than playing knight, so he could afford that much.

Plus the introduction was simple enough. The motley party arrived before Nero and Elisabeth could start singing (thank god for that), so he had to say his lines. Plus there was no way the wannabe idols were going to steal his thunder. "Hey, are you guys the reinforcements old man Geronimo talked about?"

"Y-Yes," Mash had spoken up back then, looking awkward in spite of her smiling around her giant shield, relief shining in her violet eyes. "You must be the ones he spoke about… um…"

Robin put on a smile. It wasn't his best, thanks to the desert and the ghost town around them, but it was something. Plus Billy was still around — he wasn't alone this time. "Yep, we're the pair in a solitary struggle. My True Name is…" Unconscious hesitation made a lump form in his throat before he could voice his name, but there was still a mission to take up, so he made himself swallow it. The party in front of him were supposed to be allies, not enemies. "I'll just tell you since it's too troublesome otherwise."

Mash's eyes widened, and Robin knew without turning around that Billy was staring shocked holes into his back too. "A-Are you sure? Aren't True Names—"

"Mash, considering you're traveling all of America to resolve this war, I think we can drop some Names!" Dr. Roman had almost screamed the words over the comms at that time, and as much as Robin found it rude, he went with it. "More help, the better!"

"Yep. Whatever that faraway mage is getting at, the point is still there. So it's fine. Too troublesome to hide names, as I said." With a wave of his hand, Robin made sure to turn his gaze towards every new face. A Berserker, a Lancer that looked surprisingly like one of the Celts that were on the enemy side, a princess of a Rider, and Mash hiding… someone else? The Master, maybe? "I'm Robin Hood, Archer class. And this guy with me is—"

"Wait, wait, Robin, what the heck?" Billy was still just as surprised as everyone else, apparently, because the grip he had on the gun he had slung over his shoulder visibly loosened up from the shock. "Ya just blurted it out? No pretenses?" His fellow Archer proceeded to whistle, twirling his gun before putting it back into the holster on his waist. "Well, now that's just unfair. Guess there's no reason I should keep mine a secret." Billy huffed through his nose. "I'm William Henry McCarthy, Jr. Although, for you Chaldeans…" Robin didn't have to turn around to know Billy was grinning. "You'd know me by Billy the Kid! Also an Archer, just like the ol' fox Robin!"

"Oi. I'm not that old."

"No fighting, no fighting." Geronimo still comes between them both with a smile, placing a hand on both of their shoulders to stop any further banter. "I'm just glad you two are safe and sound. So without further ado, I'll introduce you to the Chaldeans." With a sweeping gesture of his arm, Geronimo beamed. "For you both, this is the Demi-Servant, Mash Kyrielight, with allied Servants Lancer, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, and Rider, Marie Antoinette, all accompanied by their shared Master, Vy Duong."

"H-Hello," Mash supplied, while Marie smiled (her little "W-Wassup, homies!" was kinda cute, even if it was out of place for a French Queen of all people to say). Diarmuid was the only one to nod curtly as a greeting, which, considering the surrounding ghost town, was better than nothing.

But it was only thanks to the circumstances of his summoning that had Robin register the one foreign name out of the rest, because aside from his hackles rising at the name Diarmuid — because wasn't there a Servant in Medb's army that went by that exact name?! — his eye ended up catching hers once Mash dispelled her shield.

The glasses covering her big brown eyes did nothing to conceal the bright stars shining in those irises as Vy stepped out from the shadow of Mash's fading weapon. Both hands were clasped in front of her chest, her mouth opening and closing slowly as a few strands of her long brown hair fell past her shoulders to frame the surprise on her face. "R…" Her voice came out tinkly even back then, filling the air with hope and — and was that awe? The stars in her brown eyes were reflecting just him — not Billy, not old man Geronimo, but him — as she said in a higher pitch, "Did you say 'Robin Hood'?" She takes a breath, her white blouse and black skirt combo of a Mystic Code barely keeping her from jumping up a few feet in the air, clapping her hands together with a bright smile. Even the red light from her lotus-shaped Command Seals seemed to make her face glow as she exhaled, "A-As in, Sherwood Forest's Robin Hood? The May King, Robin Hood?!"

…Too bright.

The memory him back then had to look away, scratching his cheek for some semblance of composure because when was the last time a young maiden looked at him with actual awe? "Uh… yeah… do you know of me?"

"I-I do, Ireallyreallydo!" Vy clapped her hands a few more times, bouncing up and down in place before catching herself and pinching her cheek. Now when was the last time a petite girl like her could jump so high? "Waaaah, I-I know Servants were embodiments of human history, but to meet Robin Hood…!" As soon as she stopped pinching herself, she smiled bright enough to show white teeth. "I-I grew up with your stories, so um, excuse me for getting excited when we still have work to do, this is just…" Pressing both hands to her cheeks, pink started spreading out across her nose to match her happy little squeal of, "You're just really really cool!"

…Yep. Too bright.

Not even Billy or Geronimo were immune to the incoming shower of sparkles, barely stifled laughter echoing behind him as his chest tightened from the shock. Nero and Elisabeth jumping down from their unique stages to see what was going on didn't snap him out of it either, because once Vy giggled softly to herself, murmuring under her breath, "Gotta be respectful, people are always different from the stories, but still, I'm meeting Robin Hood, the real Robin Hood, waaaaah…" while lightly smacking her cheeks for some composure — perhaps it was then.

Watching Vy try to smile at him with such honesty and pure sincerity past her trembling hands — yeah. It was probably right then and there that Robin fell in love.

It took a while to admit it. America had that failed assassination attempt towards Cu Chulainn Alter, not to mention the barrage of Demon God Pillars Medb decided to unleash in the aftermath, but once it was all over, he wasn't expecting to be summoned again.

At least this time, he was sort of prepared for the sparkle shower. Emphasis on "sort of," because all it took was feeling that familiar warm rush of mana through his veins and blinking his eyes open to eventually see her past the new white walls of what would soon become home.

With the way she was looking at him, it was almost like he never left her. Bright stars illuminated her brown eyes to reflect his image, her face glowing like a radiant sun thanks to the pretty pink flush of her cheeks and the happy smile on her lips. And even when wearing a different Mystic Code of a small black mantle, matching black shorts and leggings accentuated by the one orange blouse, she immediately threw her hands up in the air once the Summoning Circle dimmed, nearly knocking off her own glasses as she squealed, "Waaaaaaah, Robin! Welcome back!"

At the time, all he could do was sigh. Because this was starting to get embarrassing, even if a part of him was relishing the attention. "Yes, yes, Master, I'm back." The No Face May King felt itchy against the back of his head thanks to the new Summoning, and he ignored the urge to chew on the new cigarette he was summoned with between his teeth. Some things had to be addressed before the embarrassment won out. "Now that I'm here, I'll make sure to do my fair share of the work."

Yet even back then, he could still remember the surprise that bubbled through his veins when Vy's smile disappeared as quickly as it arrived, being replaced by a pout as she vigorously shook her head. "Now that's a 'no' on the work first! You just got here, Robin, I'm not gonna ask you to work! That's my job!" She went on to fumble with her mantle, apparently trying to rummage around for something, leaving him with nothing else to do but blink owlishly at her. "Besides…"

"Besides…?" Robin had a bad feeling.

And, sure enough, Vy proceeded to pull out a small bag from her pockets, turning it inside out to reveal a giant pile of bright gold embers close to spilling out. From the looks of it, she was holding a magic bag, stuffed full enough for the contents to even slightly scratch the inside of Vy's palms. The proud smile on her face didn't help his growing unease as she said, "I already got the first and second Ascension materials for you all covered! So there!"

…What.

His memory self had to rub at his eyes. Just to confirm they weren't playing tricks on him. "…I'm sorry, you have what covered, Master?"

"Your first and second Ascension material mats, Robin!" She chirped without hesitation. "We can get you to Level 50 right about now!"

What.

Even with the growing exasperation on the horizon, Robin could do nothing but smile wryly. Because this was his new Master. Such a different person from Sir, and yet— "…What's an old vagabond supposed to do with you…? How long were you waiting for me, Master?"

"Um…" Despite losing some of the sparkles in her eyes, Vy still stood firm, offering the bag of Embers to him with a raised brow. "For what you could do, maybe, uh, hopefully not kill me and just get along with me…?" she said quietly, hesitation seeping into her voice for the first time since some of their introductory battles in America. Vy even ducks her head too. "And… and I admit I've been waiting to meet you for a long time, Robin. Maybe… maybe since I was little, if not longer." But in spite of the lowered volume of her words, the same honesty and sincerity from their first meeting rings clearly throughout the Summoning Room, her glasses accentuating the glow of the remaining starlight in her brown eyes once she looked up and carefully smiled at him. "So the least I could do was give you a warm welcome. And I mean that."

This new Master of mine…

With another sigh, Robin gave in and reached over to pat her head. Vy made a soft Muu sound of protest at the gesture (probably the first one he ever heard), but thankfully didn't refuse it, even leaning into his palm once he got a good enough feel of where to pat. It was enough to make his lips twitch from the growing urge to chuckle. "Then I'm not going to kill you, Master," he said in good-natured humor, taking the offered Ember bag off of Vy's hands. "With a welcome like this, killing's the last thing on my mind now. Fair compensation is more up my alley, anyways."

"Comp…" Past his fingers, Vy gently bumped the inside of his palm with her head from honest confusion. It was honestly funny how even his memory self found the motion cute. Vy was never actively trying, either. "Compensation? For what?"

"You'll see~"

And even if his throat closed up a little from the sheer unfamiliarity of the words, he knew he meant them in their entirety. Because it was the least he could do for Vy. He didn't want to think about how heavy the Ember bag felt in his other hand, nor how long it might've taken Vy to gather it all in the first place. All he knew was that he had a lot to pay back in good time.

Otherwise? The cigarette would probably have to go, though. The sight of Vy's wrinkled nose was one he was quickly finding himself not liking.

If there was one thing he had come to realize since officially becoming Vy's Servant, it was how emotive she could be. And it wasn't just the warm sparkle shower she could muster up whenever something she truly enjoyed caught her attention. (Though sometimes, every now and then, he had to check his cheeks and the back of his neck to make sure he wasn't blushing because Holy Virgin, that cute face might eventually become the death of him. And it was taking longer than usual to calculate whether or not he would be fine with that kind of sweet death. Now that was new.)

It was from how pouty she could get when someone said something she didn't like (sometimes he wanted to pinch her cheeks, just to see how squishy they were), how quiet she could become when something serious had happened (almost like she could blend into the white walls of home base without a Noble Phantasm). How she could easily throw herself into farming for materials and barely notice others calling her name because she was that focused on trying to help Chaldea (how her footsteps could mirror his when under the No Face May King was something he didn't want to think too hard about).

But even with all of his social experiences with humans — nobles, young maids, children, everyone — nothing truly matched Vy when she was angry.

Because Vy was a kind person. A little sparrow who would flit between all the people around her if she could, smiling and offering her help even if it hurt, all because she wanted to. (And said little sparrow chose him to be her Grailed Archer. He still reeled from that, every now and then.) If not for their mental bond, Robin could've been fooled into thinking she had a distinct lack of a mean bone in her whole body.

But at the same time, he and his memory self could agree that BB had a distinct taste for pushing others' buttons like they were nothing. And even Vy wasn't a saint to have the patience to deal with her antics. (Even when she tried. It honestly made it harder to look away from her when she did.) Other folks, more so.

It was why the memories he had of the long (yet short) journey through the transformed Seraphix oil rig all blurred together sometimes in his mind. (Maybe it was from how BB later tried to claim he shouldn't remember anything while stuck in her Novum Chaldea jail, even when Beni-Emma and XX tried stabbing her for more answers. Still, whether it was out of love or not, the power of the Holy Grails in his Saint Graph seemed to always have the ability to subvert the "shoulds" into making "coulds." Maybe that power was for love for once. This time.) The messed-up Rayshift, reuniting during a battle with a doppelgänger of himself and another Elisabeth, and everything after in the chapel.

Vy had cried more than she had in the aftermath of Agartha back then, stifling the noise of her sobs throughout the night only by burying her face into his shirt. Hugging her felt like a privilege simply allowed due to the circumstances at that point. As much as he hated it, the betrayal of trust that permeated his initial decision to investigate solo was still echoing strongly through their bond despite his best intentions. (The last thing he wanted back then and even in the present was for BB to get ideas regarding his little sparrow, but life was never so easy.)

It was why he honestly wasn't expecting Vy to just… react when it came to Arnold Beckman.

Now Robin knew he was a cynical person. The realist who had to keep Vy's sparkles tethered to the ground so that she wouldn't get hurt. (He never wanted to see her hurt. Ever.) It was why he knew Beckman was bad news, the records of past staff members and lingering memories he heard about from the other Meltryllis just extra evidence to an already foregone conclusion. And considering the state of Seraphix's remaining staff (or the skeleton that they made anyway), it made sense everything fell apart with his so-called "leadership."

Hell, if not for Vy's mission to investigate everything at Seraphix and rescue any possible survivors, Robin had a feeling he would've poisoned the former secretary to death where he stood. With how he only seemed to care about his job in the face of certain death, no one would have missed him, and he didn't deserve Vy's sympathy. Trying to add commentary through the communicator on Vy's right wrist didn't help, even if Beckman claimed he knew better. Because Robin knew that wasn't true. Hell, he always had a feeling only he, Cat, and Meltryllis knew the extent of Vy's stress exploring the digital space that was formerly another Chaldean base, not to mention the number of records she accessed via her mind alone for answers. Beckman wouldn't know. He was too much of an asshole to truly know.

But it took one of Beckman's last requests, just before Meltryllis fell down the metaphorical "Trash Chute" of Seraphix from a stray Demon God Pillar remnant, for Robin to see the unthinkable.

"Alright, Vy, those Digital Beasts roaming about there in front of you should be enough resources to make some food out of." At the time, Beckman huffed and puffed over the speakers like he had done some kind of great achievement (when Robin could guess all he had done this time was take the fake "Mable's" calculations for his own benefit again) over the comms system. "Eating nothing but BB's spicy mapo tofu can get so tedious, don't you think? We all need some good food outside of BB's shop junk! So I'm sure if you can get those beasts to cooperate, we can have a better meal tonight before the digitization starts up again!"

It was definitely a lie Beckman was spouting to waste their time. With the rate at which Seraphix was falling into the Mariana Trench, they didn't even have the time to worry about dinner — this entire effort with the Digital Beasts was just for his dinner, not Vy's. Hell, Robin didn't even have to look at Vy's face to know she was frowning, discontent rippling throughout their bond. The others in their party weren't immune either, Cat beginning to grind her teeth while Lip scraped quietly at the glass floors of the digitized SERAPH with a pout. The darkened EMIYA Alter, a downer as he was, looked even more put off than usual the longer Beckman stayed on the line, tapping his thumb against the trigger of one of his guns. And Meltryllis? That Alter Ego would've been crossing her arms (and her broken hands) over her chest, and Robin wouldn't have blamed her for it.

Arnold Beckman, even to his memory self, was someone he never wanted to work with. He was too much of a prick to stomach in the first place, let alone deal with the regime he apparently created with the Seraphix skeleton crew before Chaldea arrived. He was only lucky he was still around when Vy (his little sparrow) cared enough to try to help him, because otherwise Robin would've whisked her away from this hell with the No Face May King. (Even if such an action would never see Vy forgive him. She deserved more than another person trying to put her down.)

"And what was that dish you folk like again? Fo? Pho? Those rice noodles soaked in the brown slop you call good broth you were talking about with Robin?" The almost mocking tone of his pleasantries specifically made Vy flinch this time. Seeing that made Robin suddenly feel the need to go throw something, the backhanded suggestion barely covered up by another lie as Beckman went on to obliviously say a second later, "The Digital Beasts there should be better than the pork and MSG real life could offer! And if you could cook it once you're back from the underarm of SERAPH, Vy, it'll surely make up for how long the rescue effort is taking! How about it? It'll be the perfect way to cap off saving your superior officer—!"

Yet to his relief, the Digital Beasts, who were lounging about only a few seconds ago despite being the unknowing targets of the previous conversation, suddenly started moving as if on cue. And in stark contrast to them, Vy had gone stock still.

"Albrecht…?" Meltryllis said softly.

There was a soft inhale. "…Mr. Beckman, please excuse me." Vy raised her right wrist to her mouth for the first time, sounding eerily gentle when addressing the Seraphix staff member. "The Beasts you were referring to are now moving about and I have some clean-up to do."

"Wait, Vy, what do you mean by—?" Beckman couldn't even get another word in once Vy harshly slammed her palm against the "mute" button of her wristband, ending the call without actually ending it. Robin could hear Beckman start to belt out curses in response, something along the lines of, "Did you just mute me?! I'm your superior officer, Vy, don't you dare mute me—!", but Vy didn't even move. All she did was turn to him with a sad smile.

"I'm sorry, Big Robin." It was such a Vy thing to say with that smile on her face, but once her bo staff extended itself into view from her left sleeve, Robin felt the blood in his veins freeze. "Is it okay if you could stay back with the others? I need to work off some bad feelings with the clean-up."

"Vy—" Robin couldn't even remember if that other Meltryllis tried calling Vy "Albrecht" again. Hell, it wasn't like Vy to leave things unsaid.

But her apology was all the warning anyone got before Vy turned her head towards the awakening Digital Beasts (and away from him) to suddenly run, her bo staff being the one and only point of leverage she gave herself to catapult forward into the start of the incoming battle. Beckman's so-called "orders" notwithstanding, Vy was never this reckless. Most shocking of all, she didn't even wait for an answer.

…She didn't even wait for his answer, even when she called him by his nickname. (Like she always did. Like she always loved him, right from the beginning to then and now.) It was like there was no hesitation.

Vy (his little sparrow) just ran towards the enemy with staff in hand, without looking back. And from the looks of things, the damn monsters didn't know what hit them by the time Vy reached them via bo staff vaulting to stab them with deadly accuracy. Fragments of data spurted out from where she had hit them on their heads (a brutally efficient way of dealing with beasts without a knife, that was for sure, Cu Chulainn Caster and Diarmuid must have been training her more lately), and had there been blood, it would've looked more gruesome. And even judging by Beckman's continued screaming from the comms (something something, "Listen to your superiors if you know what's good for you, Vy, I'm the one who's going to be reporting your performance to Chaldea!", something), he had no idea of what was going on.

Only the Servants present could see Vy railing on BB's offense programs like she had been trained to take monsters like them down. And Robin couldn't look away.

(He had no idea what compelled EMIYA Alter to smirk proudly like it was his birthday. He didn't want to think about it.)

Sure, it would've been more poetic justice had it been Beckman himself Vy was hitting with her bo staff, but there was something oddly… satisfying about seeing the Digital Beasts open their black maws and screech as Vy weaved in and out of their bites with the occasional twirl and bo staff lashing in return. From the way the scene was turning out, Beckman's shouting could've been easily mistaken for unintelligible background noise to Vy's continuous assault on the monsters, the erratic sweeps and stabs of her staff making the Beasts in front of her continue screeching to match the former Seraphix secretary.

Cat nearby was hissing under her breath, yowling something like, "Too many voices in the kitchen, not enough blood, woof!", but Robin couldn't find it in himself to look away. He knew he couldn't look away.

Her shoulders were trembling, the hem of her skirt was ripped, the lenses of her glasses were foggy, and strands of long brown hair were falling out of her ponytail thanks to the sweat of combat, but Vy in that moment was unforgettable.

Beautiful, a small part of him whispered at the time, a thought he stomped on as soon as it surfaced in the edges of his mind. It wasn't the time and place to entertain that sort of idea, and once his eyes focused on her hands, Robin felt the blood in his veins unfreeze itself.

Vy's hands were tiny compared to everyone else in this messed up parody of SERAPH. Slender and barely scarred compared to whoever else was left thanks to previous self-care and lack of a violent lifestyle from before Chaldea, but—

Once the Demonic Beasts were subjugated underneath the heel of her white Chaldean boots, disappearing into data, those hands were shaking against the slightly dented metal of her bo staff. Vy was even huffing for breath, clutching onto the staff like it was a cane or pillar instead of a weapon. Beckman was still ignorantly screaming in the background, spouting something along the lines of "Vy, are you listening to me?! I know we're still connected!", before Vy shook her head and disconnected the communicator entirely from her wrist with a telling snap. Tucking the wristband into the pocket of her skirt barely muffled his subsequent shouts as she slowly stood up.

"…Huh," was all the little sparrow said at first, shaking her head again. The hairband keeping her ponytail together sagged against her neck, more strands falling out to stick to her face and make the smile on her cheeks appear all the more eerie. "I guess… we can't make pho out of data, huh? I suppose Mr. Beckman… was wrong, then."

"...Master?" Lip ventured first, unknowingly beating Robin and Meltryllis to the punch while taking a dainty step forward in their temporarily shared Master's direction, claws screeching behind her feet. "Are you—"

"BB Channel~! BB CHANNEL~!"

Yet all it took was for that sickeningly sweet voice to interject with extra bright flashes of neon pink light for Robin's mood to plummet. And just when it couldn't get any worse, sure enough, a giant holographic screen popped up in front of everyone — the Servants, the remaining Digital Beasts who chose to stay far away from the spectacle, and Vy herself. BB looked obliviously cheery as she always did once she winked herself into existence with an extra wave of her baton over the hologram feed, the proud flash of teeth in her smile promising nothing good. (Even Meltryllis muttered, "Not this again," and Robin couldn't help but sympathize.)

"Hi~" BB hummed while tapping the business end of her baton against her gloved palm. "Your ever trusty kouhai is here to inform you that your recent defeat of those nasty beasties earned you lots of Sakurament, Senpai! Sure, it may not be the food Arnie was asking for, but it's still something you can spend at my lovely BB Diner for dinner after you deal with my Sentinels! Because that's just like you to be the hardworking hamster, right?"

All Vy did was twitch with the hologram screen floating closer to her eye-level, BB smiling like nothing was wrong. With the way her falling ponytail of hair was hiding her face away, Robin couldn't tell what Vy was exactly thinking, a single twinge of hurt echoing through their bond for a hint as BB continued.

"But really, Senpai, hiding a staff like that from your kouhai? That's so mean~ but so cool too~" BB's not-so-pretty mug continued to try to get a look at Vy's face, the hologram screen actually circling around Vy's head. "I would've called it rule-breaking if not for you being such a good Senpai! You made it this far after all, so this kouhai of yours can proudly say—"

"...BB," Vy interrupted for the first time, her grip tightening on her bo staff to match the sudden darkness of her voice. "If you know what's good for you, stop calling me your 'Senpai' and just fuck the hell off."

Robin couldn't even move, his jaw unable to do anything but drop to the metaphorical floor once Vy raised her staff hand to stab at BB's screen, shattering the hologram into a thousand tiny pieces of data glass and leftover Spiritrons. BB didn't even get a chance to scream her signature, "Senpai, no~", before the screen feed disappeared with one more outward sweep of Vy's bo staff for good measure. The defeated Digital Beasts had all but vanished underneath Vy's boots by that point, allowing her to straighten her back and take one single step forward.

Am I… Am I even needed here? A traitorous part of him thought. It didn't help how EMIYA Alter whistled appreciatively.

"Myaster?" Cat tried, raising one hesitant paw.

"Booooo! Senpai, no breaking my TVs! That's just mean and any more vandalism could warrant a punishment~" With that said with the same bright pink fanfare, BB (as expected) proceeded to generate another screen, popping up right in front of Vy's shadowed face without warning. Robin would've been tempted to sigh if not for feeling another, sharper twinge of hurt echo in the bond connecting him to Vy. "And really! No matter what you say, you're still my Senpai! That's how the fairy tales put it! Besides, you haven't heard all my—!"

"All your what, BB?" Even with the devilish AI looming in front of her, Vy merely huffed and walked through the new hologram screen, sweeping her staff arm behind her a moment later to mercilessly shatter it just like she did the first one. "With how you've been acting, I don't have the time or energy to listen to you, 'mean' or not."

"But Senpai—!" A third screen popping up into existence in front of Vy was all it took for BB's face to contort into an entirely new expression, and Robin, even back then with his growing headache, could tell something was wrong. Because BB was in her element. Usually nothing would faze her. Yet the third rendition of BB's signature channel screen was showing off what looked like… like actual surprise and growing regret on the AI's features as it lingered around the one Master left in this mess. Because when did an overpowered AI like BB face regret? "Senpai…?" But amazingly, all trademark confidence had suddenly left her voice, just like water would've evaporated from a desert, as she went on to say in a softer tone, "Are you—?"

"BB, I'm not going to repeat myself." And this time, the bond between Robin and Vy was screaming, a single crack in his little sparrow's voice being all the adrenaline injection he needed for his legs to finally move. Because this was bad. "So if it isn't clear enough, take this damn hint: Get the fuck out of my sight before I make you."

BB promptly made herself scarce with a hasty wave of her baton, closing the screen out by the time Robin reached Vy's side, but he didn't need his enhanced vision to see the thick pearly tears threatening to fall past her glasses and streak her cheeks. It was painfully obvious that the psychological warfare had gone on for too long, and back then (to even now) he wanted to curse himself for it. Because he was Vy's Robin Hood. Not BB's, not Sir's, but hers. So why couldn't he have stepped in sooner? It wasn't just about taking in how much of a vision she was. It wasn't just about trusting her in handling herself.

Even if Vy was like a dream, like Maid—

"Vy…" his voice came out soft and raw (just like their time together in the chapel), instinct making him reach out to take her bo staff hand in his to shorten the weapon. "Hey."

At that very moment, Vy was still a little sparrow who was pushed too far and now looking like she was about to cry.

"Robin, I…" A hastily hidden sniffle cut off Vy's attempt at a reply, and she tried to duck her head away as soon as the first tear fell and hit the glass floor of SERAPH, fading into Spiritrons not a second after. "I hate this." It was such a simple sentence, but the weight of the words couldn't be ignored once another sniffle echoed between them. Vy immediately tried to wipe at her face with her free hand, but more tears dripped past her fingers and to the floor to fade into data, her shoulders trembling to match. Looking at it all made Robin's heart tighten in his chest. "I… I was trying to hold it in, I-I really was trying, b-but I just hate all of this."

"…Yeah," he said softly. Because what else could he say? By striking it off alone to try to tip off BB from Vy, he had essentially left his little sparrow alone and scared until Meltryllis found her. And had it not been this Meltryllis, the Alter Ego he knew from the original Moon Cell would've melted her into EXP just for the hell of it. It was why he carefully reached for her discarded wristband from where it stuck out from her skirt pocket, discreetly pressing the "End Call" button while wrapping his other arm around Vy's waist. Beckman didn't deserve her attention. Maybe he himself didn't either. Her shortened bo staff lightly poked him in the stomach once he got a good grip on her whitened knuckles, but it didn't matter. Beckham was gone for now. And— "…I know. I'm still here, little sparrow. It's okay."

I'm not going to leave you again. I swear.

With a muffled Muu, Vy sniffled again, not quite rejecting his touch but not leaning into it either. "I-I would've been okay with just investigating. T-Trying to help because it's… i-it's part of the job description. Because I-I wanted to." A watery cough cuts off her next attempt at words, more tears dripping to the glass floor of the digitized oil rig as silence reigned for the first time around them. "But it's… it's just been totally fucked here and I-I hate it, Robin."

"Yeah," he said, tugging her closer to him and closing his eyes. She's warm against him once he gets a good grip, but who knows how long that would last? "I know."

More than you think, was left unsaid.

"Uuuu…" A wet patch was starting to form in the middle of his mantle collar as pent-up frustration bubbled up in Vy's high-pitched voice. "…F-First it was a crappy AI who makes me wanna hate pink with her bitchy attitude, th-then it's being tossed here without anyone I know, then it's just… j-just the people! Even mispronouncing pho like it's nothing! Killing each other for spilling water or something! Who does that?!" Raising her head, Vy proceeded to angrily bump it against Robin's shoulder, flickers of tear-converted-Spiritrons sparkling in and out of view between them as she rocked back and forth on her boot heels from the amount of emotion consuming her tiny frame. Rambling the words out into the stale digitized air barely seemed to help her once she nearly shouted, "I-I just don't get them!"

"And there's nothing wrong with that, Vy." Robin forced his voice to stay soft and gentle when saying the words, ignoring the pain and the unconscious urge to flick his hood up and hide them both from view. Because as much as he wanted to keep Vy to himself (as selfish as he wanted to truly be with his little sparrow), the others were still present and he could hear the telltale screech noises of Meltryllis' unique ballet shoes and Lip's claws scratching the floor of Seraphix's underarm. All out of their sheer, shared worry, trying to get closer. So Robin gently crosses his arms over Vy's back and starts rocking them both, just to keep some kind of easy grip. "There's plenty of messed-up things that happened here, no one's denying that. And you don't have to understand someone just to want to help them."

Because you tried to help me. Even when you didn't know me. You helped me become Robin. You made me into your Robin. So why wouldn't I know?

"B-But I…" A long, long moment of shaking is all it takes for Vy to give up all pretenses of composure and then bury her face into his chest, her shortened bo staff nearly falling out of her hands thanks to her grabbing fistfuls of the No Face May King to pull him closer. Whether to hide or to cry — either or could be up to his little sparrow as she hung on for what felt like dear life, returning the embrace he started. Trusting him with her weakness. "I-I can still hear them, Robin. These people on Seraphix… they… th-they died and… and they're still here, Robin. Begging. Screaming." Her breath hitches on the words, an all-encompassing, keening sob cutting through her voice. "A-And with Mr. Beckman, I… I just can't help but hate all of them. Mr. Beckman, BB — I-I just hate 'em. I just… I just hate people like them."

I hate them because I don't know what I can do to help them when they couldn't even help themselves. When they still can't help themselves, even after death.

"...I know." Frustration, exasperation, sadness — so many emotions (that his past self left behind when he was alive) were flooding the back of Robin's mind through their bond, so all he could do in turn was hug Vy tighter, breathing in through his nose to keep the image of the hero Vy looked up to. To be that anchor she needed — the hero she loved long before meeting him— as she continued to cry into his chest, venting out her stress from Beckman, BB, from everyone at that point. Even Cat hadn't opted to meow a Woof of interruption, and it was something Robin would have to thank her for later. And really. Cat could handle keeping Meltryllis and her childish, large-breasted sister back from getting too close and possibly aggravating the situation. Instead…

Raising a hand to gently stroke Vy's hair like how Da Vinci Caster might've in his position, Robin whispered softly, "But I'm still here, little sparrow. I'm not leaving you. So it's going to be okay. I'm not going anywhere."

I promise.

A soft noise of a muffled sob answered him at first, and then Vy slowly shifted in his arms, gently bonking his shoulder with her cheek as she eventually wrapped her arms around his middle to promptly slump against him. "Aye… aye…" Her eyes are red from what he can see, with her glasses not faring much better with all the tear streaks and sweat smudges, but the line of tension in his shoulders loosens up once he hears, "Thankie, Big Robin… I… I don't hate you..."

"...I know." He can't help but feel the relief nonetheless. (Because even after he caused her so much hurt, she would still take his hand and let him embrace her like a real man would've done. He can't stop being grateful for that fact.) The grandiose amount of warmth behind the sensation is enough to make Robin duck his head and gently nuzzle the top of Vy's ruffled hair, pressing his mouth against the crown of her brown strands without actively making it a kiss, else she'd notice. Else he'd might have to admit something he wasn't sure he wanted anyone in SERAPH to know just yet, her included. (Even if he wanted to hold her close for the rest of time. For the rest of whatever life was going to give him in this second attempt.) "I don't hate you too."

Because even for his memory self back then, it was the closest he could ever get to saying, "I love you."

It takes a long while for the other Servants to join in for some commentary, Robin vaguely recalls. Meltryllis didn't look particularly happy about the moment he and his little sparrow had (she still seemed to be as selfish as he remembered, despite how gentle she had shown herself to be with their shared Master — it was a strange mix of disconcerting and relieving), but even she didn't seem to have the heart to pull Vy away before the sobbing dies down to whimpers and quiet sniffles.

There was really no easy solution to frustrated tears aside from someone else's warmth. Especially when it was something he could give for once.

In the end, all the Alter Ego does is merely reach out with one broken-hand-sleeve, patting Vy's head with it with a conflicted face. Lip lingered behind her sister, her pout all but reading, I want to help, but I don't know how, before Cat cuts them both off by raising a paw to howl, "Woof woof, Robin!"

The long-suffering sigh that left his lips was in no way directed towards one of the few Chaldean Servants that came to this mess of an oil rig (especially when he knows his little sparrow loves the giant dog-barking Cat), but Robin really couldn't stop himself from asking dryly, "…What is it, Cat?"

"As much as the snuggles do look nice and romantic, woof, can this Cat say something?" Speaking in the third person didn't seem to be much of a bother to Cat, as she quickly bounced over to them at the first questioning little Muu noise Vy made since crying. "I think Myaster might've lost a lot of salt with those tears, so this Cat can confidently offer some complimentary sugar with these stress-free toe beans!"

Robin blinked, unconsciously loosening his grip on Vy's tiny frame before he realized he was doing it. "…I'm sorry, toe what?"

"Toe beans!" Cat immediately extended one giant paw to expose her paw pads. "Mine! They're soft!"

…It was one thing for the original Tamamo-no-Mae to be a freaking fox girl back when they fought in the original Moon Cell Holy Grail War. It was another thing for her Berserker Alter Ego to be offering her paws for pokes and pets like she was a dog. (Weren't cats not supposed to like their paws being touched?)

But Vy sniffled, slowly pulling her face out of Robin's collar to reveal barely dried tear tracks to everyone else as she attempted wiping at her eyes via taking off her smudged glasses. "Beans…?" comes out in a weaker, higher-pitched voice than usual, as if she had finished screaming instead of sobbing in his chest as her hands shakily reached into her pockets to both put away her forgotten bo staff and pull out her microfiber cleaning cloth. "What beans…?"

Cat merely purrs, bouncing a few steps closer to rest her head on Vy's shoulder, her cat ears (or would it be more accurate to say fox ears?) flicking towards their shared Master in content. "My beans, Myaster! My beans! This maid Cat does a very good job of keeping the blood from her claws out of them!" Both paws were immediately shoved into Vy's face for emphasis — not enough to smush, but plenty close for the girl to lose focus on cleaning her glasses. "Wanna pet 'em? They're soft and squishy! With a Jaguar stamp of approval!"

Robin could still remember feeling himself hold onto Vy's waist for composure. It wasn't enough to keep her back from the giant furry paws, but it helped him feel slightly better as Vy considered the giant fur hands in front of her with a squint.

"Woof!" Cat added after a second, just for extra encouragement.

Thus everything could've frozen in the amount of time it took for Vy to reach past her personal space bubble and press her palm against Cat's obviously larger one. One second, two — and then her fingers slowly spread themselves out over the paw pads. "…Oh." Yet to Robin's relief, she finally smiled, pressing her hand deeper into Cat's paw but not pulling away from him. "They are soft." She curls her fingers, poking each individual "bean" for a good minute before—

Oh.

Vy was leaning her head onto his shoulder again. (Trusting him again.) Sure, she hadn't stopped poking Cat's proud "toe beans", but judging by the tired smile on her face, it looked like she didn't want to leave him either. "I think… in a little bit, we can keep going." Starlight was starting to resurge back into the brown irises of her eyes, faint but hopeful as she slowly blinked the wetness away. "I'm… I'm just sorry I cried, Big Robin, Cat. I wasted… I wasted our time."

"What are you talking about, Myaster? Beckman was harassing you over dinner you shouldn't have to cook, woof! And I'm the 'iron chef' of the kitchen outside of red Archer EMIYA, mroof!" Cat's tail proceeded to bristle behind her maid uniform, the hint of sharp teeth in her next Woof clearly displaying her discontent as she shook her head. "BB may have given me a home for a bit, but even she's had one too many onions, and I hate onions, woof! Time, mime, lime, we can still do this, Beckman yowling like a bad critic or not!"

…Odd choice of words, but coming from an Alter Ego of a Berserker like Cat, Robin couldn't refute the point she was making. It was why he raised his hand to gently pat Vy's head, slowly slipping the sagging blue hair band out of her falling ponytail to brush her hair. "What Cat said, little sparrow. You obviously needed the break, and if I can help, then that's enough for me."

Vy sniffled again, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hands but not refusing his careful dabbing of her cheeks with the No Face May King. "You…" she coughed, lips trembling as hair stuck to her cheeks. "You sure?"

Robin didn't have to see Cat's expression to know she was grinning, so he ducked his head to press his mouth to the crown of Vy's hair again. To his little sparrow's hair. "Yeah." Injecting some humor into his voice for good measure, he added, "At least it's better than any so-called 'mapo tofu ramen' BB could offer us."

To his relief, another laugh left Vy's mouth at his joke, sounding tinkly (and so so cute) again as she slowly eased her glasses back onto her nose. "T-True. I-I think I'd rather… rather take Shirou or Cat's cooking of ramen or, or maybe even a good bánh mì over mapo tofu."

Yet in spite of the good mood going on, even Robin's memory self jumped when Meltryllis half-heartedly bumped both him and Vy on the top of the head with her sleeve. "You two spoke too soon," was the sudden bark of a retort she had to offer. "Because saying things like that can give Mother ideas." She swept her arm backwards soon after, a cough echoing between them all (as uncharacteristic as it was to hear, looking back, it might've been her way of hiding her broken hand). "Just look for yourselves."

"Look at what, Ego—"

Still, all attention, his own included, had to look up from Vy at that time, exposing a smaller food stand having manifested itself in the middle of the area of Seraphix's underarm. It was honestly hard to think about how Robin could've missed the dimmed pink lights and the giant red "BB's Diner" sign hanging over it — although in his defense, Vy was just… Vy — but the one counter of the stand strangely had no one manning it.

At least the chapel's stand had a weird priest and that other Elisabeth Bathory as clerks. This one? Empty. Just stuffed with display cases of—

"…Why do I see bánh mì over there, Big Robin? W-With… with chả too? I haven't seen those since… since before Chaldea…" Vy said first, tugging at his arm when her glasses reflected the nearest glass display case coincidentally sitting in front of the diner's cash register. The rows of sandwiches inside seemed to bring more life into her voice once she added, "Um… wasn't it only mapo tofu ramen and Elly's Dracula Dinners on the menu here in Seraphix? How…?"

Before anyone could speak up for speculations, EMIYA Alter stalked over to the unoperated counter with exactly no fanfare, pulling out a barely-hidden note stuck to the cash register's monitor to skim it with a business face. Then, with the same curt manners he had from before, he folded the note up into quarters and tossed it Cat's way, making the Berserker yowl in her subsequent attempts to catch the shrunken paper with her paws. "For the record? BB's bonkers," the Archer concluded darkly, reaching over to the first case in his arm's way to take out a carefully wrapped sandwich. "Apparently tears can earn you things per her rules now." In a quieter voice to Vy, he said, "Try not to remember this, Master. This is just ridiculous."

"A-Aye?"

"Wh-What does the note say, Cat?" Lip said instead, promptly ignoring the dark Alter's warning in favor of running over to the other Tamamo. "I-Is it really Mother?"

Meltryllis crossed her arms, Robin held Vy close in his, and one-two swipes of paws later, Cat straightened out the paper Alter tossed her way to… to pout. And the paper? It didn't even explode in Cat's paws. It just… stayed paper.

"'To make up for over-excessive harassment, because the nurse in me hates seeing patients cry.'" Cat huffed after a moment, staring at the note for a few seconds before extending one claw from her left paw to stab the note with. "She even put a heart and everything. How boring! This cat prefers birds to have hearts, not kouhai AIs, woof!"

"...Huh." With nowhere else to be, Vy had tugged at Robin's arm again, leaning forward to rest against his chest from her knees shaking. "...Big Robin?"

And even back then, Robin had looked into her red-rimmed eyes and found his lips twitching upwards into a wry smile. "Well," he said in good-natured humor, leaning down to press his mouth against the crown of her hair again, exhaling softly, "I suppose Beckman can take all the jalapenos from tonight's BB-themed dinner then. We'll just take the bánh mì with chả and run."

Death by spice certainly seemed better than poison, anyway. Besides, Vy's shy giggles were definitely worth the jab. Even with his weak Vietnamese accent.

Henceforth in Novum Chaldea, Robin could promptly sum up his relationship with Vy in a few words.

Sparkles. Emotion. Kindness. Bánh mì with the pork Vy knew as chả.

His Maid Marian.

His little sparrow.

When opening his eyes to find her sleeping face a few inches away from his shoulder, peaceful and flushed enough to be healthy, Robin couldn't help but prop his chin up in his free hand to smile. Her cheeks were squishy (just like he imagined), her lips were soft and pink (just like the brightness of her smile), and her breaths were gentle against his arm even through his tank top (just like her words that she always used carefully and respectfully, even to a former rogue like him). The blankets around them were messy thanks to a whole night of tossing and turning (for once void of nightmares of worlds lost beyond Robin's imagination), but the room was at least warm, filled to the brim with the mana of their shared bond and all the memories and feelings that came with it.

It was why he could safely conclude one thing in the face of the Crypters and Lostbelts who tried to stone his little sparrow dead: it was only with Vy that Robin felt real. And no one could ever tear that away from him.

It was why he could gently whisper those three words into her ear and barely feel shame saying them because he actually had hands to hold them in for once.

"I love you."

Seeing her smile in her sleep was enough for him to know she was thinking the exact same words in her dreams.