Darkness surrounded. Claws, bullets, and red eyes were giving chase. Fear so tangible it smelled like burning oil and gunpowder. Her feet weren't touching the ground but when the ground shook, she fell.

Awareness dawned on Naomi as her sleep addled brain booted itself up. Her eyes remained closed as her last memories creeped back into her consciousness. She hadn't expected to wake up again.

Her head laid against a soft pillow and sheets draped over her body. Her fingers flinched in a misfire of nerves. Her eyes shot open and burned under the sunlight coming through a window.

Her body felt heavy and her head was pounding with pressure like she had a bad cold. She stared at the dimly lit ceiling. She gingerly flipped to her side to get more comfortable. Being asleep on her back wasn't like her. The door to the bedroom was shut. Just how she liked it when she slept. But the bathroom door was ajar. She didn't like any open doors in the room. She willed the offensive door shut with her mind but of course it didn't move.

God she felt like trash. And needed to use the bathroom. Naomi shimmied out of bed and immediately wanted to lay down on the floor. Her limbs were as shaky as the time she was prescribed too strong a dose of muscle relaxers. Her heartbeat like a running rabbit to catch up with the change in gravity and getting up again seemed like a bad idea. But she had to get up.

Naomi struggled to the bathroom and cleaned herself up. Even managing a shower though it took every ounce of her willpower to make it through the routine steps. Her hair felt grungy and it was a relief to wash it and the warm water gave her back some energy. Her face still had remnants of makeup since it hadn't been properly removed. That wasn't like her. She always removed her makeup before sleeping.

The vain part of her reapplied moisturizer and a base but that was all the energy she had to spare on beauty. Her hair would air dry into its natural puff of unruliness instead of being tamed. It made her contemplate, for the first time, to get a a permeant straightener job.

She bent over the sink and her eyes glazed over instead of seeing herself in the mirror. She glared at her hair in annoyance that it didn't automatically fix itself, but she couldn't even focus on that.

Memories of the theme park invaded like light after a flipped switch. Memories she was trying not to let flood in, but it was too late. Her mind started churning over like a dog on a digging frenzy. Archer. He was one of the Servants that hadn't been accounted for in the Church's files. There was no telling who was his Master.

Lancer had no problem with the crossbow or traps. But she did. That was her own stupidity. Yep. It had been stupid to go. Damn it. Lancer could have handled himself just fine without her there.

Naomi stumbled back to bed, and it was a relief to fall onto the disarrayed sheets. She had planned to get up but that wasn't an inviting thought. She closed her eyes and relived the fight yesterday, or last night. Whenever it was. Archer had poisoned her, and Saber whisked her away while Lancer was in the middle of a fight. He was holding off Joan and her Servants. Naomi opened her eyes. She wasn't sure if Lancer had been injured. He had been cornered and she didn't know the result of that other than she wasn't dead.

With a shuffle of her limbs, she freed the back of her hand from the sheets and saw Lancer's two gleaming seals. He was still alive but that didn't mean he wasn't injured. If he was it was her responsibility to fix him. Her stomach twisted at the thought of him being skewered with scalpels or his face caved in by the Red Servant. Saber had said his name, but Naomi couldn't remember what it was.

Her slow minded musing was cut off when the door creaked open. A small figure clothed in white stood in the doorframe like an apparition. The False Saber.

"It's good to see you are up. The poison has diluted and broken apart," Saber said straitlaced and mechanical. "You are not fully recovered but well on the mend."

"You fixed it?" Naomi asked. Her verbal ability felt slow, and speech was difficult with her painful throat.

"The poison. Yes. I neutralized the toxic compound. It was composed of magic by nature so a bit tricker than normal poison."

Again, Naomi wasn't dead. That's all she cared to know about the poison.

"Where's Lancer?" Naomi asked. She didn't think he would let her be alone with a potential enemy Servant. Saber must have explained their deal to him and Lancer trusted Saber to not attack.

"On the roof. He has been there for a long time." She paused before adding. "I believe he is…not angry. Perturbed. Pouting?"

It took effort for Naomi to sit up. A pouting Lancer. Somehow, she could imagine it. Her guess was that he was unhappy about Saber. Or how poorly the fight went. She wondered if he killed any of the Servants. That was important to find out. "Can you take me up there? I don't know how to get on the roof."

"I would not advise it with your health."

Naomi sighed and was about to tell her to forget it, but then Saber continued, "but I am not your advisor."

Saber let Naomi climb on her back though the situation was awkward. They were around the same size and Saber didn't seem to have an ounce of muscle or fat on her. Saber was in a body that looked deceptively weak and boney. Saber walked through the apartment to outside the front door and crouched. She jumped onto the roof with one swift leap.

"We have arrived," Saber announced.

Naomi opened her eyes that she had closed from the sudden ascension. Lancer sitting on the edge of the roof with his legs crossed. He was looking back at them with a frown.

"What are you doing up here?" he asked in a 'you're crazy' tone.

Naomi let go of Saber and slid onto the shingled roof. Her feet slipped on the sloped surface that was slicker than it looked. The lack of fortitude in her recovering limbs left her staggering. Her heart leapt into her throat as she thought she was going to fall back off the roof.

She hadn't notice Lancer moving but he was suddenly at her side with an arm wrapped around her back to steady her feet. Naomi leaned heavily into him and grabbed his forearm tight to anchor herself. She was quickly breathing in the stinging cold air and feeling lightheaded. Her limbs felt incredibly weak as if they could barely support her weight. Lancer grabbed her more firmly with his other hand.

"Ah," he tutted in annoyance. "You're a right mess. What were you thinking coming up here?"

"Are you…" Naomi swallowed hard to force mucus down her swollen throat. The outside cold air went down uncomfortably. "Nagging me?"

He was silent for a moment before bursting out laughing with a genuine smile. "Yeah, because you look awful."

"I feel like shit," she admitted.

Lancer sobered and sighed in annoyance. "That you're admitting it isn't a good sign."

"Saber said you're pouting. I had to see that for myself." She wanted to poke his side to lighten the mood further but didn't dare let go. For some reason when he laughed or smiled it made her feel better.

Lancer prickled and tilted his head at Saber. "Is that so?"

"Perhaps sulking was the better term?" Saber offered.

Lancer scowled. "I was on lookout before you dragged my Master up here for no good reason. Excuse me Master." He bent down and scooped up Naomi.

"Master Naomi requested I bring her to the roof."

"Yeah, yeah." Lancer dismissed Saber as he jumped off the roof.

Lancer landed at the doorstep to the apartment and went inside. Naomi grabbed his arm as he passed the kitchen when she realized he was carrying her all the way to her room. She absolutely didn't want that much help and she didn't want to go back into the bedroom yet.

"Let me down."

"You could have called me down. What's the deal?"

It hadn't even crossed her mind to call him. She blamed feeling sick. "Oh. I guess I could have."

"Oh? You really shouldn't be going up on roofs right now."

He set her down and she staggered to the couch. Naomi almost thought she wasn't going to make it but blessedly plopped down on the cushion. She leaned against the back of the couch and felt her head pounding.

"What happened?" She finally asked. "Not the poisoning part or how I got back here. I can guess that part. How did you get back? Did you kill any of the Servants?"

Lancer sat on the couch next to Naomi and she could hear Saber entering the apartment.

"Nah. I wish I could say I did. I fought Joan's Servants to keep them from following Saber when she took off with ya. Then I left to find where she went. She found me first. Was waiting for me to pass by."

"You don't seem to mind Saber. Did she tell you about our deal?" Naomi finally asked.

Lancer hummed. "Yeah I heard about it. I don't like it but she is the reason you aren't dead right now." His brow pinched at the end of sentence.

"Lancer was hostile at first," Saber said. "It took some convincing even after I treated your affliction." Saber sat down in the armchair across from the couch. The coffee table sat between them to provide a respectable distance.

Naomi thought she needed that distance for Lancer to stay calm right now. He was still tense despite his voice sounding light and unbothered.

"Since we cannot make a Master-Servant pack I wish to give you my true name. It is a token of good faith along with curing your poison. I am Altera though you may know me better by my historic title: Atilla the Hun."

Naomi wracked her brain from her college world history class. Atilla the Hun was a king or something who had contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire. He was a conqueror whose campaign ended with his death.

Naomi's brow furrowed. "I thought Atilla the Hun was a guy?" She could have sworn the history books said he was male. The name certainly didn't sound feminine.

"I was a male in life but the Holy Grail saw fit to materialize my body in this form. My gender is of little consequence. It will not affect my powers."

Naomi cocked her head questionably at Lancer. "The Grail can do that?"

He held up his hands. "I've been a man since the day I was born." He then rubbed his chin. "Though I wouldn't complain if I turned into a pretty girl."

Naomi pursed her lips. "That's not what I asked." She didn't like the idea as much as he did.

Lancer shook his head with his palms up turned. "Even us Servants don't fully know how the Holy Grail works."

Altera drew back Naomi's attention. "While you have my true name I would prefer you continue to call me Saber."

Naomi nodded. "Sure." Revealing Saber's true name to others would expose her abilities and her weakness. She could easily research the Servant's true name and deduce a weak point. No matter how little she knew of the historical figure at first.

"What did you call that Assassin guy again?"

"Li Shuwen," Saber said smoothly. "He is a Chinese martial artists of Bajiquan. He is very good with a spear and usually kills his opponents with one strike. But he doesn't seem to have his spear."

"That's a shame," Lancer said. "That would make things more interesting."

Saber stood and walked around the coffee table to Naomi. Lancer shot up and put himself between them.

"What are you up to?" Lancer inquired. He stood ridged and his arm splayed out slightly at his sides.

He didn't fully trust Saber like Naomi had thought. She supposed his defensiveness was a good thing, especially while she was in this state. Not that it would matter if she was healthy. A Servant could snap her neck before she could even blink even on her best days.

"I mean to check Master's health status. I have yet to do so since she awoke."

Lancer angled himself so Naomi was open but didn't step away. "Don't try anything funny."

Saber stood before Naomi, unaffected by Lancer's distrust. "Please hold out your hand."

Lancer's caution had made Naomi a bit nervous. Heck Saber in general made her nervous.

Naomi hesitantly did as requested and Saber took Naomi's hand in both her hers. Lancer's Command Seals stared up at them. A green light emitted from Saber's hands and Naomi could feel her strength returning. Her head cleared by a small amount and wasn't throbbing as horribly.

"It was fortuitous that you accepted my alliance. I doubt you would have made it to a hospital and would likely be dead right now if not for my magic." Saber's monotone made it hard for Naomi to decide if Saber was stating a mere fact or being smug.

"Seems that way," Naomi said stilted while distracted by the sensation of Saber's magic.

"Indeed. The Grail saw fit to change more than my appearance. I have the ability to cleanse impurities of magical and physical nature."

Lancer crossed his arms. "That's awfully convenient."

Oh, oh! It dawned on Naomi why Lancer had his guard up. Her mind really wasn't firing correctly.

Saber gave him a cursory glance. "I dabbled in apothecary pursuits when I was alive so it is not so strange."

Naomi couldn't fault Lancer for his suspicions, but she was curious. "It wasn't a set up?" Naomi asked point blank.

"No. As convenient as the situation seems I was going to ask for your alliance regardless with my true name being my gift to you. I am aware Lancer does not trust me because of this. I would find it offensive if he did not have that thought and consider him a poor Servant."

Naomi thought she was the stupid one here.

"You say that like I care what you think of me. Lady you have a lot of opinions." Lancer scoffed.

Naomi asked, "You said you were looking for something spiritual. What is it exactly?"

Saber let go of her hand. "I want to try living a life other than that of a warrior. In life, I knew nothing but war, but I no longer belong as a warlord in this world."

Lancer pointed out the obvious. "If you stick around here that won't change. We're Servants in a war."

"I acknowledge I will have to fight in this Grail War and I will defend your Master when the time comes." Saber looked at Naomi. "This is my first time to see the world after my death and the first time I have no army to lead or be a part of. I can tell you are not used to war or the way of a warrior. My gut tells me I can learn much by integrating into your life."

Naomi was even less sure about taking in this Saber. "That sounds invasive."

"I will only remain until the war is over." That part wasn't a negotiation. It was a matter of fact since Saber would vanish with the Grail.

Naomi shrugged. "I guess there are worse things to ask for." Then she realized something. "How are you able to function without a Master?" You don't have a source of prana. You should have disappeared already."

Saber pulled a necklace out from under her shirt. A pink jewel emitting a soft, ethereal glow hung from a silver chain.

"Caster's master created these stones. He gave them to each False Servant upon their summoning. I am bound to it as my anchor like I would be to a Master. It supplies enough magic to sustain my physical form but I cannot enter an astral form. There is yet enough to draw upon my Noble Phantasm but doing so would likely drain the crystal of all its magic. I would disappear back to the Throne of Heroes if that happened."

"How long will it last?" Lancer asked.

"It could be days, weeks, or years depending on how much mana I draw from it. Even if I maximized its efficiency I cannot predict its lifespan. There are still other ways to obtain magic from living magi."

"Sorry but that's not going to happen," Lancer gave Saber a toothy grin that wasn't the least bit friendly.

"Lancer," Naomi said quietly in a chiding tone. If Saber needed some mana then she could provide some if it was an emergency. There was no need for him to raise his hackles at Saber over it.

A zing of pain shot up her arm like a pinched nerve and Naomi went stiff.

Lancer twitched. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Naomi said and flexed her hand to get rid of the tingling sensation.

"Damaged magic circuits are quite painful. You have my sympathies. I might be able to speed up the healing process if you allow me to help," Saber said.

"Damaged?" Naomi parroted stupidly. She may have done worse to her body than she thought. "How long will it take without your help?"

"It depends on how extensive the trauma is. Some may never recover. I didn't take a good look at them when removing the poison since they weren't my focus at that time. Please take a seat."

Naomi backed up and sat back on the couch. Lancer remained standing and Naomi wished he would relax.

Saber took Naomi following her request as acceptance and walked around the back of the couch.

Saber gently pushed Naomi's back until she bent forward. Saber closed her eyes and palpated around Naomi's spine. "Your circuits are strained, but they are not damaged like I thought. Or shut off. In fact, you have many circuits that aren't connected. The ones you have access to are forming new pathways to unused circuits. Like how the brain makes connections when learning something new. This is unusual. Your magic circuits are very high quality and quantity. I can accelerate the connection process. But that would lead to more pain and potential irreversible damage. I sense it would not be wise."

Saber's hands glowed violet. "For now I will sooth your discomfort. I'm sorry I cannot do more."

True to her word, Naomi felt the ache of her circuits dulling. Her shoulders sagged from the relief. She hadn't realized how tight she felt from the pain. "Thanks. I don't expect you to be a miracle worker." She sat back up and Saber came around to the front of the couch and stood there like a sentry.

Maybe the Grail broke something in Saber.

Naomi latched onto the idea of circuit quality. That was news to her. "What do you mean by high quality circuits? There are bad ones?"

"Correct," Saber stated. "You have quality and quantity which is not usually the case. Yours are very strange. I have seen broken pathways before, but never ones that begin to connect. If they all connected with the same quality, you will have access to a potent amount of magic. They have a strangeness to them as well. I could sense your body generating more and more prana like a hole in a dam that is eager to fill new rivers."

Naomi wouldn't piece together what Saber meant. "Can you put that into layman's terms?"

"You have volumes of magic pouring into your circuits from an unknown source."

"Oh," was all Naomi could muster. That made no sense and she didn't want to admit how little she knew about how magic circuits worked. Saber had stuffed her brain with more information on in five minutes them than she had received in her whole lifetime.

Lancer standing with his leg nearly touching the couch he was beginning to annoy her. Naomi patted the spot next to her and attempted to divert his attention. "Will you watch some TV with me?" She asked Lancer.

"Yeah, sure." He sat down with his arms crossed. Naomi concluded he was definitely sulking. The fight hadn't gone his way and now they had another Servant orbiting around them.

"Do you know about magic circuits?" She asked him.

Lancer shrugged. "They store fuel for spells and act like a second nervous system. There's not much to them."

Naomi was disappointed that he didn't have more to add.

"I will join you." Saber sat next to Lancer so he was sandwiched between her and Naomi. She sat proper with her knees closed and her hands resting on them. She stared intently ahead.

"Oh that's great," Lancer muttered.

"What is a TV?" Saber asked?

Naomi couldn't see Saber on the other side of Lancer. "Uh, a box that receives picture and sound signals."

"That sounds advantageous for information gathering."

Naomi took a glance at Saber with a brow raised.

She wondered why Saber would need explanations. Lancer knew how to use a full modern kitchen and was well aware of how a TV and every other modern electronic worked.

Naomi turned on the TV and after flipping through the channels for a bit. Lancer was still in the same hunched position. Naomi could feel his coiled tension and wished Saber would go sit back on the chair. But Saber was watching the TV with rapt intent. She didn't look like she would pay much attention if Naomi said anything to her. Him, technically. But a her. Naomi concluded the Grail made no sense sometimes.

Naomi leaned against Lancer and felt him start to relax a bit under her weight. "Sorry," she thought to him.

"What are you going and being sorry about?" Lancer threw an arm across the back of the couch behind Naomi.

"You were right. I should have stayed behind. I couldn't defend myself without magic and it was stupid to go. Now Saber is here because of that."

"Yeah well. Heh. You being a scaredy cat the whole time didn't help. But you've got guts."

Naomi wanted to bury her head in the sand in embarrassment. She wished Lancer would call her stupid directly.