Summary: Izcalli was expecting Proper Human History to be full of dirty, incomprehensible humans. Why else would they fly into a graveyard of their own allies and ship, with a tiny noncombatant in tow, just to fight the ocelomeh?

They didn't need to mourn the useless. But apparently they thought otherwise.

Saito Hajime was the first one to prove him wrong. Other Sabers didn't help.

Note: Marine no. 4 deserved better. That was my first thought when finishing Section 7 of Lostbelt 7.

And when playing through Valentines 2025 and seeing the Servants work together, I got the idea.

Spoiler warning for the story up to Section 7 of Lostbelt 7, with content warning for graphic gun violence and death. You've been warned.

The theme for this chapter is Rightfully by Mili, the first opening to Goblin Slayer. For an alternative, I'll point you to the following: (1) the 2.5 Remix remastered version of Vim and Vigor from Kingdom Hearts 2: Final Mix, (2) also from the 2.5 Remix remaster, the song titled The 13th Reflection from Kingdom Hearts 2: Final Mix; and (3) Priestess and her Profound Mercy from the Goblin Slayer soundtrack.

Here we go.

Day 91: One Marine, Many Lives

"Hey, are you sure we should run this fast? The plains are plenty big for us to see!" For Wak Chan's defense — meager as it was to hear it coming from a T-Rex who was maw over stubby legs in love with U-Olga of all people — Saito knew the warrior meant well with his quip. In any other circumstance, the overstretching horizon of the grassy plains in front of them could've been an easy trip. More so with his help carrying most of them over.

But Saito didn't need the two Holy Grails freshly imbued in his Spirit Origin to know that Vy — his Master-chan — was unhappy. The jetpack on her back was hissing to match the minute twitches of her arms as she clenched and unclenched her fists at her sides. The other flyers in their Grailed party — Medea, Space Ishtar, Ereshkigal, Oei, Skadi, even Nezha with the fiery wheels on their legs — they all were only keeping pace with the sudden rush to the Storm Border's last known location. Everyone present knew they could go faster, could leave them behind to be a forward scouting group, but none of them were flying any further because they could see it too.

(Saito knew he wasn't counting the newcomers in Kukulcán and "Tlaloc" as part of their ranks just yet. While they were keeping pace as much as the Saber version of Miyamoto Musashi and the former Grand Assassin in the First Hassan, Saito couldn't trust them. He knew he wouldn't be able to right now, what with their blasé introductions and complete lack of explaining afterwards.)

(Sure, knowledge about the future wasn't always the best thing, but hearing it from two supposedly "Aztec" gods who were summoned looking weirdly Caucasian, Saito could only trust them so far as he could stab them if they looked at Vy the wrong way.)

(It was one more thing he knew he couldn't tell his dear Master-chan about. More so with how protective their Leader was over her already. He could at least rest knowing Archer would agree with his idea if he asked.)

Mash had tears in her eyes while resting her legs against her dinosaur of a borrowed mount (despite Mata Hari resting a gentle hand on her back), and even as the Big Three were huddling close to their shared Master for comfort, Vy was still breathing hard. Not hyperventilating, per say, but definitely close.

"We're almost there." U-Olga said, promptly ignoring her butler of a "priest" running to match her sideways glance at Marine. Saito tried not to think about how her gaze — creepy orange diamond pupils and all — had lingered on Vy with what looked like the barest hint of pity before refocusing back on the horizon in front of them. "I can fly ahead and check on your ship if you Earthlings are so anxious about it."

"Young Miss," Kotomine interrupted, the stern look on his features softening for what seemed like a second before Saito could see him wipe it away. "As your butler, I don't believe—"

"I appreciate the effort, U-Olga, but no." Vy's voice is cold despite its subdued nature, a shake of her head revealing how steely her eyes had turned past her foggy glasses. Kotomine shuts his mouth almost immediately, and all the saliva dries out from the back of Saito's throat. "Just no. We can't leave each other alone at this point, with what this Lostbelt has. Earthling or not, a former representative knows when it's dangerous. Especially when she was sheltered once upon a time. So don't even think about it."

"Senpai…" Mash whispers in a cracking voice, more tears filling her eyes. U-Olga bristles, but shakes her head, ultimately leaving the decision unquestioned. (It was almost a relief. Emphasis on almost.)

Saito tried not to think about the thinly veiled smirk on Kotomine's face, turning his head to look at his fellow Servants instead. Billy and Archer EMIYA give him steely nods of their own from their shared dinosaur ride, and Saito looks back towards the horizon.

Whatever happens… he closed his eyes. I hope I don't have to smell Vy's blood. I can already smell burning metal and someone else's blood out there.

Electricity crackled from the broken parts of the Storm Border. Previously pristine white was now caked in dirt and grime. Surrounding it were broken trees, pools of blood, and—

Saito didn't need his Grails to know his Master was close to breaking. What with the corpses of the remaining Chaldean staff littering the ground of the Storm Border.

Director Goredolf, Meunière, Slyvia, Dustin, Kawata, Octavia, Tomlin, Chin, Elron, Cayenne, Marcus—

All of their bodies were battered, bloodied, scattered, and in no way alive.

And for once, I wanted to hope for something better. Guess I was proven wrong. Again.

…Goddammit.

Chaldea didn't need to lose another home.

"H-How—?" Mash's voice audibly cracks, and Saito forces himself not to turn around. He already knew his heart couldn't take it, what with her close to sobbing out, "Everyone is—!"

Tlaloc immediately turned her head away. Saito doesn't miss how her hands clenched into tight fists against her sides, blood slowly starting to seep out from the cracks between her red gloves and white knuckles.

U-Olga's darkened face didn't help anything either. Kirei's new silence at her side just made things feel worse, and Saito already wanted to throw up from seeing the whole goddamn thing . "...This is why I offered to go out and scout first," the amnesiac eventually admitted, in a quiet uncharacteristic voice too, glancing at her butler before shutting her eyes. It was rich to hear that kind of thing coming from one of the two sources that partially caused their current mess, but Saito kept his mouth shut.

(He already knew Vy was hurt. The last thing he wanted was to dredge up more bad memories. Especially with the source of some of them currently being in their party, having no idea about any of it.)

(Bitch.)

The unknowing Foreign God merely lowered her gaze, horns barely brushing some leaves up above as she slowly sighed. "I can't feel any life force from them."

"…Oh," is all Kukulcán said for her bit, breaking the silence with her next exhale, and her pointing a shaky finger towards some of the surrounding bushes is what makes Mash stifle her first sniffle. It's not exactly a good thing, more so with the obvious lack of self-confidence coming off of Kukulcán's next quip. "A-As much as I'm feeling bad right now, a-and I really am, honest, we kinda aren't alone here!"

…The fuck.

Saito glances at the Grailed Leader, and there's no mistaking how Robin gently reaches out to pat Vy's head, shocking their shared Master out of her frozen state as the Yew Bow materializes on his other hand. "The newbie goddess is right," he states the words matter-of-factly, a bolt already loading itself into the string of his Noble Phantasm. "Even if this looks like hell now, and believe me, it is—" the last part comes out in a growl, "—something's up here. Be on your guard."

Vy audibly swallowed, slowly extending her wings as Robin took his hand back, her bo staff lengthening itself into her open palm. The other Grailed were already summoning their weapons of choice as Saito slowly put a hand on one katana pommel.

It wasn't the time to think about the what-ifs. Hell — it didn't take long for a leopard mask to emerge from the nearby bushes.

No. It wasn't just any leopard mask.

Their new guest had blood on their masked face.

" &$!?" The newly identified ocelomeh shouted more garbled words at the sight of them, hastily trying to grab their sub-machine gun. In response, Billy acted first, pulling out his pistol and shooting a bullet at the exact same time Robin shot an arrow. Both projectiles proceeded to shatter that infuriating mask right in the forehead, cutting off more of the ocolemeh's nonsense in favor of a death cry as the monster fell back into a cloud of dark smoke.

"…Were you two really trying to compete for the headshot?" EMIYA deadpans in the resulting dust cloud, waving a hand in front of his face with his sword-less hand. "Because that was already excessive."

"Like you're one to talk, Red," Robin shot back with no heat attached to the words, keeping the Yew Bow notched just in case. "I know you had your chant down, so put a sock on it."

There was a dry yet warm giggle somewhere behind him after that quip. Thanks to his nerves, Saito couldn't tell if it was one of the other Grailed, Mash, or even Vy. (Despite it all, he wanted to hope it was Vy, what with how small she looked with the metallic gold and white wings dwarfing her back.)

Billy smirked, wordlessly (and exaggeratedly) blowing the smoke off the barrel of his gun for his speaking bit, and Saito tore his gaze away.

"$ $?!" More ocelomeh were popping up from the bloodied forest around them, and Saito knew he didn't have to wait. He could already see some of Ereshkigal's spears materialize behind him from out of the corner of his eye, and a blink revealed Shiki's red jacket fluttering up ahead as she ran at the first ocelomeh to emerge with a nasty grin on her face.

…Saito-san, please? Battle routine, set?

Saito pretended to crack his neck, unsheathing both katanas along the way. The tiny high pitch voice in the back of his mind wasn't really needed, what with the shared blood boiling between them, but he still had to say something.

Something worthy of the history of the Shinsengumi, what with his being their main Grailed representative.

So—

My answer's gonna be the same as everyone else. The battle routine will be executed, hime-chan.

The first leopard mask in his sight cut like butter under his blade once he ran forward and slashed. He had to bet on his own makoto on how Shiki wouldn't beat him for the third kill of the day.

Otherwise? He could apologize to Okita for stealing her nickname for their Master later.

All he was doing, in the end, with each swing of his sword, was in the name of their Princess and their shared home.

"Even when your battle prowess proves your worth, you're still such ugly humans. Why else would you dive into battle without looking past your tunnel vision? And here I was expecting more from a Master who had felled six Lostbelts. You're lucky your Servants covered your back, you complete fool."

Saito already knew he didn't like their newest guest just from the sound of their voice, and judging by Tepeu's curious tilt of his maw past everyone around them, it wasn't good either.

"...Marine?" Tepeu said softly to break the silence. "What are you doing over there?"

"When did—" Space Ishtar gaped, tendrils of other galaxies twitching under her cloak as she stared in the direction of their newest enemy. The stars in her eyes were swirling with anger and indignation, and for once, Saito was there with her on that one. "You dare go after Marine?!"

"I-I'm sorry, Ash, they grabbed me as soon as I left U-Olga!" Marine whines, trying not to struggle once his new masked assailant puts a gun to his head, tears in his eyes. "I-I wasn't trying to leave the group, I swear!"

"M-Marine…!" U-Olga actually stammers for the first time Saito's seen her, the black holes at her fingertips faltering to match her "loyal butler" in Kotomine going still. The ocelomeh seem to leer at all of them through their leopard masks, just to match the nasty sneer of their new apparent ringleader who was continuing to hold Marine at gunpoint. "Can't you—" U-Olga glances at Vy, at the other Grailed, then at Saito, and Saito feels himself pause. There was actual panic in those diamond pupils now. Human panic. "Can't you all do something?! That is my representative who is being put into danger!"

"Young Miss…" Kotomine said quietly.

"Do something, she says…" Saito hears Robin mumble dryly then, sounding stressed despite the easy sarcasm easily covering it up towards their guests. "As if hostage situations weren't bad enough, and when was he ever hers …"

"Heh." Marine's kidnapper smirked triumphantly, continuing to press his gun to Marine's head while roughly holding Marine's hands behind his back in a prisoner kind of hold. "You all should just shut up, else I'll kill him just like I killed everyone else on this ship. He's just a tool I'm using to torment the one true bitch of your group, so you all don't need to talk for me to accomplish that."

Marine's eyes filled with tears.

"..." Mash lowered her shield, but it was obvious from the soft hum of her leg boosters that she wanted to run. Saito knew he wanted to do the same, what with the righteous fury starting to flood the back of his mind from one specific bond keeping him tethered to the world, but instinct kept his mouth closed.

"Don't even try it, Shielder. None of you almighty 'Grailed' or the fake goddesses should move either." Kuku and Tlaloc's silent bristling didn't make Marine's assailant budge. "One more step from anyone, and I'll kill him and everyone else here since you set yourselves up oh so nicely as target practice for me." With a shake of his head, their new enemy smirked, just as more ocelomeh took up arms at his side. "Luckily for you, I'm willing to talk, so listen up." White teeth exposed themselves in a new nasty smile past the black leopard mask concealing his forehead and eyes. "I'm Izcalli, the leader of the ocelomeh and king of Mexico City. To you, Master of Chaldea, what's your name? Go on."

Vy said nothing. Saito knew she wouldn't, and allowed himself to feel the singular surge of pride rushing through his blood at taking it in.

Tears started streaming down Marine's face as Izcalli pressed the barrel to his ear. "What's wrong, Master? Go on and say your name. I want to hear it before I kill you with him. I'll even give you the honor of inscribing it into Mictlan's chronicles as the last pathetic cry of your Proper Human History."

Master… Saito knew he could only think of the center of their group. She already was so close to hyperventilating before, so now—

Vy took a breath. Her jetpack of wings hissed as she eventually said, "...I'm not telling you a damn thing."

For the first time since showing up, Izcalli dropped his smirk in favor of a quiet frown. "...You are refusing?"

Marine sniffled, cheeks red.

"Master…" Saito's not sure who said it in the end. It was just that — a call of her title. Of her job description.

Of the part of her that—

"What else would it be, asshole?" And yet Vy was standing tall, wings folding against her arms as she glared at Izcalli. "My name is something my parents gave me out of love. And I do not approve of your dirty bastard tongue using it. So shut up if you don't want me to cut the slimy appendage out for you to die yourself."

For the first time since finding the Storm Border, Saito could've sworn Kukulcán was smiling. Huh?

"So you refuse to tell me your name… I see." Izcalli doesn't lower the gun hand he is using to threaten Marine, but he exposes his teeth in another slow, nasty smirk. "I am… incredibly, incredibly thrilled to hear that! Truth be told, I didn't care one bit about your name! Tezcatlipoca said we should pay our respects to warriors willing to risk their own lives, but you're the exception! Why should I owe any respect to Proper Human History savages who came to destroy my world?!"

Tlaloc was freezing, but Saito barely paused once he felt it. Two new Grail signatures, but familiar nonetheless, slowly emerging from the center of the Storm Border's wreck. Judging by the minute twitches of his Grailed allies, he knew the others could feel it too.

And if they could move, that meant—

"Coming from someone who can only threaten a child to prove their point, that's definitely hypocritical." Vy shot back at Izcalli, a wing flapping towards him angrily. Showingly too, as if to keep up a facade, to hide—

"This is war, Master of Chaldea! Children or not, it doesn't matter!" Izcalli held Marine in a tighter hold, much to the tiny Nemo's sobbing protests. "Listen up, bruja. Summon one Servant, have any of your current Servants move, and I kill him. But if you stand there, do nothing, and let us kill you, then he goes free."

Marine's aquamarine eyes flew open to expose the new red rims around them to match his newest gasp.

"I'm a man of my word. Once I make a promise, I always keep it. But the choice is yours." Izcalli dug his gun further into Marine's head, making the tiny Rider yelp. "You die by our hand either way. Now will you do it with that mockery of a weapon in your hand, or no? It doesn't matter to me — the only thing that changes is how painful your death will be."

Vy clenched her bo staff, and Saito closed his eyes. The ocelomeh were raising their guns, Izcalli was definitely sneering at him since he was one of the Servants standing closest to Vy, but Kukulcán wasn't lowering her smile and—

"Now, let's begin, Master of Proper Human History. Or, no. Bruja is a better title for you." Yep. Izcalli was still smiling all nasty like. "I look forward to seeing you reveal what kind of monster you are by throwing your comrade's life away—"

Vy shortened her staff and Saito felt himself smile in triumph when hearing her audibly scoff. "Monster and witch, huh? How about I toss out both your monstrous choices and substitute my own?"

"What—?!"

Light was bursting out from the Storm Border behind her. Behind everyone.

It was why Saito didn't have to open his eyes to know two other Sabers were running out towards him. All to face the new enemy they all had.

Or, no. Maybe three Sabers was a better number, even if two were a package kind of deal.

Because with their Grailed debut from the Storm Border's wrecked image, Saito knew Novum Chaldea hadn't thrown in the towel. Vy hadn't given up either. Not by a long shot.

"CHARLIE! CHỊ TRẰC AND CHỊ NHỊ! I'M BACK NOW, SO AS YOUR MASTER, I SAY YOU CAN FINALLY GO HAM!"

An elephant was suddenly roaring when bursting out past the smoke and blood to start running through the bloodied grass, cluing Saito in to duck out of the way of a myriad of rainbow lights suddenly darting out past his head. Ocelomeh were screaming, being tossed up into the air like gnats swatted by a fly swatter thanks to said war elephant's stomping. But in the end, what really mattered to Saito was a rough armored hand clasping his shoulder from behind in a "tag, you're it" motion before wind blew past his wavy hair.

"ROGER THAT, PRINCESS! TAGGING IN NOW!"

The twelve lights of the leader of Charlemagne's Twelve Paladins immediately struck down Izcalli's first wave of ocelomeh, just as the man himself drew his sword.

Just from that, from feeling the windy impact of Charlemagne's Mana Burst of Light, Saito wanted to hope Marine's next scream was that of relief like from the first time they all were falling into another battle.

Despite it all, Trắc already knew that there was a low chance of one of them specifically coming out of this new battle alive. Her life as a queen of Vietnam, brief as it was, proved that. The other Grailed were already trying to work off the massive dogpile of new ocelomeh shooting everywhere and everything, and despite her own reservations about the newest additions to their side — because when did the Foreign God fight for Proper Human History? — Izcalli still had his finger on the trigger of his gun.

"It is so not cool to take hostages, you jerk!" Charlemagne, the good man, was quipping even when swinging his sword at Izcalli, lights nearly blinding Trắc from directing her elephants — small and large — in helping Nhị keep up the assault. "Besides, Marine is with us! So give him back!"

"You don't have any right to make demands, you shining white fool!" Despite the vitriol, Marine was screaming thanks to Izcalli stubbornly holding onto his hands while effortlessly dodging left and right, just out of Charlemagne's reach. Izcalli hadn't dropped the bloodthirsty look he was wearing the entire time he was avoiding Charlemagne's sword swings, but his face was minutely twitching past his leopard mask once Hephaestion and Achilles were tossing their weapons as pot shots into the fray too. "I gave your Master a choice, you foolish Servant! And if you mean to die with her—!" Izcalli's back hit a tree just as the ocelomeh around him started to turn to dust.

Trắc felt her heart drop in her chest as Izcalli's index finger pressed the trigger.

"I'm acting on my word and killing this one first!"

The gasp was stuck in Trắc's throat, just when she heard it.

A command that would've been more request than anything else, had it not been for the current circumstances.

"CHARLIE, ACHI, DEFEND MARINE! CHỊ TRẰC, BACK THEM UP!"

Mana was flooding Trắc's veins, just to match how Charlemagne and Achilles were advancing at almost the same speed. Trắc bit down on the side of her tongue, summoning a flower blade to her hand while reaching out mentally to her sister.

Even if one bullet couldn't be dodged—

Marine cried as soon as the gun against his head fired, but much to Izcalli's visible shock, the bullet had ricocheted off the glowing white shield that had suddenly manifested between his hair and Izcalli's firearm, flying right towards Trắc.

No wonder Charlemagne was a celebrated king. Trắc held back a smile.

"Nhị! With me!"

"I'm coming, Sister!"

The lotus petals and leaves of their respective weapons easily made quick work of the bullet, slicing the metal into two mid-air once they slash together. (Maybe that was one reason why Vy Grailed them. Trắc would have to ask later.) Izcalli falters as soon as his projectile falls to the ground behind them, and Trắc for once advances with Nhị holding her hand the whole way through.

"It can't be—!" Izcalli trips, trying to keep a grip on Marine past the white shield blocking his gun and pressing the trigger again. The next bullet comes out with another loud clang noise as it hits the white shield again, giving plenty of time for Charlemagne and Achilles both to storm up against him, using their weapons to slice the projectile up and cut Marine free respectively. "Get back here!"

"That'll be in Tartarus, bastard!" Achilles growls, tugging the crying Marine by the hand as Charlemagne ducks into the newly offered opening, thrusting his sword up to deter more potential gunfire. "So fuck off!"

"Grrr…" The nearest (soon-to-be-dying, if Billy the Kid's newest shot was any indication) ocelomeh voiced the growl Izcalli clearly had on his lips, sharp shark-like teeth drawn back in a sneer. "Fine then. Why don't you go and do the same?"

The last thing Trắc expected to see past Nhị's hand was for Izcalli to dodge Charlemagne's next swing and then point his gun past them all.

Right at an exposed Vy , who was holding off two ocelomeh all by herself from afar, bo staff in hand. It was obvious that she hadn't noticed the imminent threat, focusing on the ocelomeh that were flanking her at both sides, and with her wings folded back into her jetpack, that meant—

Trắc felt her jaw drop once Izcalli pressed the trigger for the third time of the day.

He wasn't just aiming for Marine.

He was still trying to go for—

Achilles swore loudly just as Charlemagne charged.

"PRINCESS!"

A single person beat them to the punch, throwing himself out of their shared reach and towards their shared Master, even with his white shield from Charlemagne breaking apart from the impact.

Somewhere, Mash gasps.

Marine screams once he gets between the fighting Vy and the third bullet, his white sailor outfit quickly being dyed with red as the projectile meets a mark. This time, it didn't go through his head like Izcalli originally intended, but judging by the gaping hole left in Marine's chest, it was enough for their enemy.

Marine was falling to match the ocelomeh around Vy fading into dust, and Vy was screaming.

"MARINE!"

Izcalli throws his head back to laugh — no, cackle was the better word for it — finally taking some kind of joy from the look on Vy's face, but Trắc knows it won't last long. Not with Vy running to catch the falling Marine in her arms for one last hug, and a single sweep of a green cloak towards Trắc and Nhị in one final signal for the battle.

Take him down.

Robin's mental command technically wasn't needed thanks to their shared rage, but Nhị was holding her hand to summon their water spouts anyway.

(And that wasn't even counting the angry mana that was coming off of Charlemagne and Achilles in waves, not to mention the other Grailed, who were finally catching wind of the new situation.)

(U-Olga was moving too, another black hole like the one that nearly enveloped the Wandering Sea per the records now forming at her fingertips, but she didn't matter. She didn't know Marine like they did.)

(U-Olga never knew Vy like they did.)

Because this effort was all for Vy, their darling Master, and the brave, brave Marine who was safely passing away in her embrace from protecting her, faint tears in his eyes the entire time.

Charlemagne knew death was never easy. It was an undeniable fact for every living thing, but for the living to go about processing it was a whole other situation altogether.

Even though, technically, and he meant technically, Novum Chaldea still got off easy, what with their crash landing in Mictlan and hasty reassessment of priorities. If not for Tezcatlipoca, Izcalli, and even that "Tlaloc" who had ambushed them at the Storm Border's crash site, he even had a feeling they could've regrouped with Vy a lot faster. Meunière's gunshot wounds technically could've been avoided too, had their enemy decided not to be so gun-hungry.

(He knew he couldn't deny feeling a bit put off at how Vy had mentally given him and the Trưng Sisters the order to stay back and protect the remaining staff. Even if he was a paladin, someone who was obligated to protect everyone around him, he was still a newly minted Grailed, one of many Servants who got a chance to be closer to their Master as a result of the Holy Grails that were forever burned into their Spirit Origins, and now—)

(Now that Master had lost someone else, someone he meant to protect for her, and she was already shutting down before. Just from taking in the illusion the new Director Goredolf had set up, just to push Tezcatlipoca and the others away.)

(The last thing he ever wanted as one of her knights was to see her cry over an illusion of her home being lost again. Over another death he could've prevented.)

It was why Charlemagne wasn't surprised to find Saito, Sanson, Holmes, Billy, EMIYA, Achilles, and Robin all lingering outside of the door leading to Vy's room in the Storm Border. The stray bits of rubble dotting the floors outside where they stood didn't seem to bother them all that much, but judging by the shared shadows on their faces, they all were thinking the same thing.

She's hurt and one of us has to go in there to make sure she won't be hurt more.

Not even the Charles the Great in him could deny the tiny whimpers of stifled breath leaking out past the cracks in the door, and Charlemagne considered.

The others of their Grailed group were fixing up the Storm Border and trying to keep U-Olga (not to mention the stowaway Koyansakaya of "Light") busy, and with the rest of them here and not with Vy in that room, that meant—

"…Hey, Robin? Guys?"

Everyone in the near vicinity turned to him. Charlemagne could feel the burst of confusion and intrigue they all were going through thanks to their shared Grailed bond, and he put on his best grin.

Despite the dried blood on his armor, the lead taste permeating the back of his tongue, and the weight of his own thoughts, he still opened his mouth to keep smiling.

"How about I go in there to check on our Princess? Give you all the signal to come in once the coast's all clear?"

To make up for my failure, was left unsaid. For letting my shield break during Marine's last moment.

The look in Robin's exposed eye through his hair proved he at least got it.

"…Sure," he eventually said, waving off Achilles' sideways look of surprise with one hand. "Call us in when you think you need us, Charlie. We'll be on standby."

Charlemagne could do nothing but beam brighter.

Vy's huddled in a dark corner of the formerly pristine room that made up her personal space of the Storm Border once Charlemagne quietly closes the door behind him. The hiss of the airlock doesn't do much for his nerves, nor does it make Vy look up at him. All his Master — his newly adopted Princess — does in response to his presence is curl up tighter on herself, her knees turning white against the grip she has on them through her gloves. She doesn't move her face away from her legs either, looking very much like a human-shaped ball in spite of her Decisive Battle Mystic Code and the winged jetpack that sits folded against her back. In spite of the obvious shivering of her shoulders, and the muted whimpers that belly the sobs she wasn't letting herself have.

Like a chick who doesn't want to see anyone.

Like a kid who lost their—

Charlemagne took a breath, swallowing the lump threatening to form in his throat. Okay. Okay. This wasn't the time for bad-world-ending comparisons. She was at least here. She wasn't kicking him out yet. So—

As one of her Servants, he had to help, right? Even when his voice broke a little when attempting to say, "…Hey, Princess."

Cheeriness was the last thing on his mind after seeing Marine disappear right in front of him, but he wanted to try. For the girl still huddled up in front of him, still wearing that pink lotus ribbon clip from Robin faintly glowing from her ponytail — just like it did back in that Revenge Realm prison cell when they met — from what felt like a lifetime ago.

Yet unlike back then, this time, Vy doesn't move at the sound of his voice. She just curls up tighter into herself, as if to pretend she didn't hear him.

Charlemagne swallowed again, taking a few more steps to close the distance between him and her. Even when making his footsteps audibly obvious, taking cues from his fools of paladins in Astolfo and Roland's own footfalls with some extra stomping, Vy only twitches by the time he can touch one of her boots with the tip of his own.

Compared to the plucky girl he met back in the Revenge Realm, trying to hold up the semblance of being 'okay' while tied up in chains to wait for an inevitable rescue, the young woman in front of him now, curled up and huddled in the darkness, was no way okay.

If anything, the faded glow of her Command Seals and the tight grip she had on her knees and legs made it all the more obvious how much she was lying to herself. How much she was trying to keep away from everyone around her to stay strong, to finish the mission, even when all the Grailed outside knew she couldn't do it for long by herself.

When Vy could get lonely and want to cry just as much as anyone else out there in Proper Human History.

Charlemagne's next words come out stilted as a result, all his energy going into making his voice not leak pity as he said, "...Could I sit next to you, Vy?"

The Chaldean princess barely twitches again, not enough for him to find it as a truly satisfactory answer, but he forces himself to settle with the smallest nod Vy eventually gives him past her hair and her knees seconds later. There's a quiet muffled Uuu to match it too.

"Thank you." The gratitude in his voice is, at least, no way forced as he dispels his armor, settling for the undershirt and pants beneath as he sits down at her side, clamping down on the immediate urge to reach out for her. Robin would probably have a better idea of what to do to help her, what with his being the only Bond 15 Servant so far in Chaldea's roster. But Robin let him come here to help Vy instead, to help their little sparrow, and that meant—

"I…" Charlemagne is quickly snapped out of his thoughts once he hears that soft high pitch of a voice, watery and on the verge of snapping despite being muffled into skin and clothes. "I… I'm sorry, Charlie. I failed you. A-And Marine, a-and everyone else out there."

"...What makes you say that, Vy?" The question comes out of his mouth before he can stop it, and Charlemagne soldiers on, even when a teary brown eye peeks out at him angrily past a curtain of messy long brown hair and tight arms. It's why he tries to smile. "Did you force Marine to go out onto the field?"

There's a whimper. "N… No."

Charlemagne pulls from the Charles part of him to keep going. "Did you leak any information on him out to Izcalli and the ocelomeh?"

"N-No." Two brown eyes are peeking out at him now. The round-rimmed glasses that normally help her see the world better are surprisingly missing from the brief view Charlemagne gets of her face, exposing the red rims lining them before Vy ducks away again to hide a sniffle.

Charlemagne feels the mana behind his eyes shift as he asks for one last nail in the coffin, "...Did you command him to go out and fight for you? To be a decoy for you?"

"No." Finally, finally Charlemagne can see through Charles' red eyes how Vy eventually uncurls herself from her self-made ball, leaning weakly against the corner of the wall she chose to instead stare at him with new, fresh tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. "I-I could never. Never ever. But…" her voice hitches, coming out in partial cough, partial sob as she shakes her head, rejuvenated misery filling that soft high-pitch with nothing but what Charlemagne could call 'despair.' Lonely despair at that. "But I-I promised him he would get out of here okay, b-back at the camp we had at the start of this, but… but Marine's still…"

He's still not here and I miss him.

Charlemagne let the Charles part of him fade in favor of a weaker smile. "...I know. And that's on me too, Princess. You asked me to defend him, and I couldn't do that."

Vy frowns at him, just as the first tear slips down her red cheeks to fall to the lap of her Mystic Code. "I-I… I'm not gonna blame you, Charlie. You were… you were fighting too. I-I should've noticed. I should've seen how Izcalli was trying to get me away from you a-and everyone else."

"I wasn't asking you to blame me when you were fighting just as hard too, Vy." And that was the crux of the matter, wasn't it? Why Vy was isolating herself, only letting him come close and reach out with one hand to gently hold hers right now. "And there's nothing wrong with that. Even if Chaldea's super cool in having so many Servants around, from adventurers like me to the goddesses that love you, we're all just people. Servants, people — that sort of category thing doesn't really matter when we're all living. We're not perfect, and I know none of us wanted you to try to be either. You shouldn't beat yourself up for it."

Especially when I know what that's like, seeing the me that became an over-controlling King over being a hero.

"I-I know that, I know, but… but Charlie…" Vy struggled to breathe between words, the first sign of snot definitely starting to build up in her nose if her next sniffle was any indication. "I still… I still hate me. The me who couldn't even move when… when Marine was dying, who couldn't even put a bullet through Izcalli's skull because I was too s-scared to pick up a real gun like he did." She shakes her head more vigorously, angrily, regretfully, stopping only when Charlemagne reaches over with his other hand to rest his palm against the top of her hair. "I… I can't be cool like you think I am. I-I can't always look towards the future when…"

"When what?" He said it softly. It was the least he could do, saying it all gently. She deserved that much, more so with the hints of Marine's blood still clinging to the front of her Mystic Code.

More tears drip down Vy's cheeks, falling down with soft plop plops against the back of his hand that he's using to hold hers. "Just…" Vy trailed off, voice falling to a whisper. A cry, almost like that of a lonely little girl's tone when punished by a parent. "Th-There's times, sometimes, I'm just running to not look back and fall. When I-I'm just trying to make sure no one else falls with me. That… that it's just me who's selfish and dies at the end because there's a part of me that thinks I deserve it, but recently, I-I just don't wanna die, Charlie. I-I wanna get married to Big Robin, I wanna hike with Mash out in the real world, I wanna bring you and everyone home with me, I just…" She shuddered, once, twice, thrice, before weakly leaning away from the wall. Slowly coming closer towards him, wet cheeks and all eventually bumping the front of his chest that felt exposed without his armor.

Charlemagne made sure not to move, just to give Vy the space to come closer if she wanted. Tears were still falling down her face, marring that cute expression she would have in any other situation, so all he could do was look at her.

Really look at her, into those brown eyes that had stars flickering in and out of life between the irises.

Her voice, hoarse through its signature high pitch, just adds to the weight of her final wish. "...I just wanna hug ba và mẹ again. E-Even when being a Master could mean I might not ever see them again. E-Even when it means saving the world could… could mean losing them. Losing Big Robin, Achi, Art-san, Mash, you. L-Losing everybody. A-And that scares me. More than anything else in the world." One final, weak whimper leaves her lips as she raises her left hand — faintly glowing lotus Command Seals and all — to clutch at the collar of his shirt. Wrinkling the fabric between her knuckles, just to keep what looked like a semblance of control. "S-So…" she sniveled. "I hide everything. I always have. I-I still do, a-and I don't know how to stop hiding. That… that's okay?"

…She admitted it.

It was why Charlemagne slowly smiled and nodded, acting on the instincts of his adventures and the combined feelings of the other Grailed to extend his arms and hug her close. "…Yeah. To me, that is okay, Princess. I wouldn't have accepted the Grails you gave me if I didn't think that it was."

"But…" Vy trembles in his arms, hesitation cutting through the warmth starting to wash over the room, "but it's not cool. A-And I know you always wanna be cool, Charlie."

"True, but…" Charlemagne knew he didn't need Charles' input to continue, shrugging weakly. "Hiding isn't always not cool, Vy. Not to me."

Not even to Charles the Great. That's one thing we both agree on.

A tiny "Huh?" is his answer, and Charlemagne smiles again.

"What I always found cool, from the beginning all the way to right now, was seeing one tiny Vietnamese sparrow, who in spite of struggling through chains and torture-inflicted pain, smiled when sharing stories of her Big Robin to a fake Teton." His hands are shaky, definitely nothing like Robin or even Astolfo when it came to comforting someone (or even brushing hair, maybe he would have to ask Marie or Mata Hari or even the Trưng Sisters for tips), but Vy doesn't push him away as he continues to hug her. "That sparrow's always flown higher than anyone else. Shined brighter than anyone else. And it's because of that sparrow I know that Marine's still flying with us. He had the spirit to keep you going. So it's about time to stop hiding, Princess. Yeah, if we beat Izcalli sooner, Marine would still be alive. But everyone else is still here."

We're not going to leave you. That's a fact.

"You gotta focus on what you can do, not what you couldn't do, Princess." Charlemagne slowly tightens the hug as soon as the first wet spots start forming on his shirt. "It's the least we all can do now. So let it out before it gets worse, okay? I've got you."

Just as much as everyone else.

Charlemagne does his best to ignore the sensation of his heart breaking once he hears the first loud, unfiltered sob leave Vy's lips as she buries herself into his chest, but judging by the hands shakily reaching past his own to clutch at his back, he knew she got him too.

"I'm here, Princess." Charlemagne whispered into that brown head of hair, exhaling the pent-up stress as quietly as he could. "I'm here now, so cry it all out. There's no need to hide it anymore. Once you're done, Robin and the others can take you from here."

The soft fwish of the door opening to let more footsteps in for what looked like the first group hug Charlemagne was ever going to see as a Grailed Servant was enough of a reward for him. Past the dried blood, tears, and all.

He wanted to think Hakuno would be proud of him by the time Robin and Achilles reach Vy first, leaning in past his own hands to create a circle he sincerely wanted for Vy to find as "safe" in this hell called Mictlan.

(Besides. Kukulcán and Tlaloc's pensively silent figures from the doorway could be handled later. Much later.)

Note (Mar. 5, 2025): A shoutout to Kani on Bluesky, because her artwork of Charlemagne helped me get the feelings I wanted to write for him down with the last section. Please give her likes and support too when you get the chance.

Otherwise, this is a tired, frustrated author checking out for bed on a work night.