*/*/*

"We found you!" Two identical voices greeted Hakuno at too early in the morning. Venturing out to get breakfast today had apparently been a mistake. The twin Alices were waiting on her on the first floor. Just being in their presence struck her dumb, no thoughts of what to do or how to respond forming in her mind.

There was the sensation of a gentle pat pat on her shoulders, snapping Hakuno back into focus. At least they're not doing some creepy rhyme? Lancer attempted to cheer her up.

"Let's play! And this time there won't be a grinning cat to help you because it's a whole new game! Let's meet in the Arena!" Not giving Hakuno time to answer, the two little girls raced away.

Those kids really just assume people will do as they say.

We've no real choice but to go along Lancer. We still need to find out more about the Caster. At least enough to convince the Moon Cell we've earned that question mark taken off. It was really bothering Hakuno with its continued presence.

Lancer gave a chuckle. A perfectionist, aren't you Master? There was a beep from Hakuno's terminal, a notification that that the second trigger had been generated. And we've got a whole new floor of the Arena to explore too. That's likely where those two will be.

They can wait a moment. I want to see what we can get out of a visit to the Chapel after facing the Jabberwocky. Hakuno didn't think indulging the Alices too much was a wise idea.

Works for me, lass. Their visit to the Chapel didn't provide any stats this round, but it did awaken a skill instead. ABILITY REACTIVATED – OFFENSIVE RUNE SPELLS: NORDIC RUNEWORK THAT PROVIDES VERSATILE ATTACKS. Hakuno for her part was wondering if fighting a Caster had helped to prompt this growth. Lancer looked smug in a way that made her think of a canine which had retrieved a large bone. Perhaps Hakuno should call him a good boy? No! No, that was not a good idea!

Something wrong Master? And now he was a sad puppy!

Nothing's wrong! You're awesome, they'll never see it coming! Quick! Praise the good dog!

Of course I'm awesome, Master, they'll never see my Rune magic coming! Hakuno could almost see the tail wagging. Best to not say anything and get to the Arena.

*/*/*

COLD! The sensation against her skin shocked Hakuno to full wakefulness. A sea of floating ice greeted them. And in the distance, like out of some fairy-tale was a whole castle made of the same ice. This was the first time the Arena had changed temperatures on them. Hakuno had not been expecting it. The twin Alices were standing there expectantly, even as Lancer manifested. "You came to play big sister!"

"You're so nice big sister!"

"Alice will create a whole new playground! One moment!" Blue Alice smiled brightly. Hakuno had to wonder why the fantasy winter sea was not enough of a scene change for whatever was planned. Then the two Alices started moving together, almost dancing in sync. Then they started to speak in unison.

"Birds are just birds here. People are just people here."

Lancer's spear was ready in an instant. "That's the start of a Noble Phantasm!" No Servant wouldn't recognize the chant that preceded the unleashing of their enemies' attack. The world around them altered in the same moment. Colors inverted. Blues and purples were now orange and pinks. "A reality marble?!" Just being in one set Lancer further on edge. He felt like he'd had bad experiences with them before. The reason behind this sensation was lost to the memories of past Summonings.

"Welcome to Alice's tea party!" Blue Alice's greeting was cheerful, ignoring Lancer's hostility. "At the tea party, no one can remember their name except Alice! However, you won't remember anyone's name soon big sister! You'll see soon."

"It goes like this. First you forget your name, then you forget who you are and then it's the end! You won't have to be a Master anymore!" The Dark Alice gave a Fae's smile. Too wide. Too many teeth. The sight managed to startle Lancer so much that he was thrown off from his initial plan outright attacking.

"It's such fun! Now let's play tag! You're 'it' big sister! Ready, set, go!" The two girls raced away, vanishing into nothing as they teleported away into the arena.

Lancer snarled hands gripping his spear so hard his knuckles were turning white. He forced his hands to loosen. "An attack that erases ego to dismantle a person. That's just fucked up. This reality marble's probably not going anywhere unless we catch them. We can't even trust the timer here. Some Reality Marbles can even distort time within them. Two minutes outside could be an hour in." Lancer looked over at her concerned. "You good Master?"

"I'm alright for now." Hakuno didn't want to gamble on staying too long though, especially not with Lancer's ominous warnings about the Moon Cell's possible rescue coming too late. "Let's catch them."

"Those brats won't escape me." At Lancer's firm nod, they were off into Arena and the Reality Marble. The two little girls proved elusive prey, able to teleport away if Lancer or Hakuno got too close. They had to work to corner them into dead end passages of the Arena. Hakuno was having to not think about how long this might be taking. At long last, the Alices were cornered into a dead-end passage. "Playtime's over."

"We got caught! You're really fast big sister!" Blue Alice smiled.

"But she probably can't remember her name anymore. You can't can you big sister?" Dark Alice tilted her head.

The Nameless Master attempted to retrieve her name and prove the girls wrong. But such information was lost to her mind, just like her past. Did she have a name? What about those girls in front of her? The blue man beside her? The Nameless Master's body flickered in and out of reality. Like static on a TV screen.

"-!" Lancer made a choked noise, attempting to say something, but failing. "Master!" he finally managed "I can't say your name!"

"Mr. Blue can't help you either!" The two Alices giggled. "Better hurry and catch us or your body will go bye-bye next!"

"Slippery little pests" he snarled. Then turned to the Nameless Master as she solidified again. "Come on, you have to keep going. Pushing forward's what you do best right?"

For some reason, those words rang true to something in the Nameless Master. She nodded at the strange blue man. They would keep chasing the mystery girls. They raced through the orange and pink hallways, Mr. Blue's spear occasionally having to come up and block ranged attacks from the girl in black. They once more cornered the mystery duo in another dead end.

"We've got you now" Mr. Blue snarled, sounding more beast than person.

"Why are you being so scary? Are you mad at me?" Girl in Blue asked.

"Are you mad because your body's going away? All you have to do is remember your name. But then no one besides Alice can." Girl in Black tilted her head again.

Once more the Nameless Master's form flickered in and out of existence. "My Master has worked her ass off to get me back in shape. I didn't want to take a stat penalty to respect that effort" Mr. Blue's spear gleamed in the distorted light as he readied himself "But her life is more important than some damn stats."

"I'm scared! We were only playing!" Girl in Blue whined and sniffled.

"It's not safe, Alice. We'd better go away," Girl in Black made the duo vanish out of the arena.

Mr. Blue all but howled in rage "You damn brats!" Then he turned to the Nameless Master. "We need to get out of here Master. You won't last much longer. I know you packed one of those emergency exit codes".

Even without her name, the Nameless Master remembered the Return Crystals. Items sold in the Commissary that could get anyone instantly out of the arena. A return(); code cast with admin rights given physical shape. She showed Mr. Blue one from her inventory. This? "Yes, use the damn thing before you vanish!" The Nameless Master obeyed without further hesitation, and the world warped around them. The school hallway came into focus. Mr. Blue vanished but the unseen hands on the Nameless Master's shoulder firmly guided her into a room labeled 2-B. He reappeared, searching the Nameless Master's eyes for any sign of recovery, but didn't find what he was looking for. Her name rose in his throat, and this time, there was nothing stopping him.

"Hakuno" Lancer gripped her shoulders tightly once more, bringing himself to her eye level. "Hakuno Kishinami. That's your name. You are my Master in this Holy Grail war, and you're not about to let some trick by snotty brats beat you."

Hakuno outright gasped as she returned to being herself once more. The last chunk of the Reality Marble was fuzzy and distant like a dream of an incident happening to someone else. "Lancer".

"There you are." Lancer gave a relieved sigh, his gaze softening. "Welcome back. Please don't do that again. I prefer my Master not be vanishing into the ether." The fact he had yet to release Hakuno from the hold on her shoulders belayed his worry.

"I almost died." Hakuno couldn't deny this fact or put it off for later. "I almost faded out of existence because I was forgetting myself!" She felt the hands on her shoulders gently pull and she did not fight them. This was the second time Lancer had hugged her. Some part of her mind noted just how warm the man was. A living space heater. She let his warmth sink into her, the feeling relaxing her even as she processed what had almost occurred.

"I am sorry I could not do more. My hesitation almost got you killed."

"No. I appreciate what you were trying to do." The fact that Lancer had wanted to preserve the hard work they'd put in together meant more than Hakuno could properly express.

"I cannot imagine forgetting myself. That very notion scares me." Lancer's hand pet Hakuno's hair as he hugged. It seemed an idle motion, something he didn't notice himself doing, even as it helped to calm her further. "I was so frightened of being forgotten when I was young that it led to me becoming a Heroic Spirit."

Hakuno looked up in surprise. "You didn't strike me as someone that got scared."

"It's true. I saw a shooting star when I was a boy. I wanted to be just like it. Something that shined so brightly it would always be in mind, even if the moment it existed was brief. I chose a prophecy that said I would be doomed to die young, but in return I would lead a life full of such glory I would never be forgotten. A man became a legend. And a legend became a Heroic Spirit. So, in the end, I got exactly what I wanted."

"Was it worth it?"

"Yes. I knew what I was getting into when I chose my path. I do not regret my death. I only regret what happened with those I cared about. Things I wish I could say. Or things I wish I could do differently."

Hakuno gave a soft hum of acknowledgement. "It sounds like you do have a wish for the Grail then Lancer."

"… I suppose I do when you put it that way lass." Lancer finally released her from his hold and stepped back. "Well, now I have to make extra sure that you find yourself a wish for when we win. I'm not one to leave a debt unpaid."

"I look forward to the attempt." Hakuno could not promise she'd ever find one with being barely a person as she was. But she would not stop Lancer from helping her in this quest. A frown formed as Hakuno sighed. There was still the looming threat that needed to be addressed, even if she'd have rather stayed in the moment of care and camaraderie.

"Back to business then Master" Lancer just nodded, even as he sat on his hammock. "That Marble needs to go." They both knew enough to realize the easiest route to getting rid of a Marble was to kill the creator. But Hakuno refused to even entertain that idea. It would be difficult enough to face the girls when forced to fight or die later.

"Caster Alice said all I needed to do was remember my name." Hakuno considered. If Lancer could not tell her, then she had to figure out a way to remember for herself.

"Still can't believe those two think erasing someone is a 'game'. Merely playing my ass" Lancer grumbled to himself.

Hakuno's brow furrowed. "Game…" Hide and Seek. Tag. Treasure hunting. Games a child might play. A child like Alice. Hakuno looked at her hand, the skin of her palm. "Playground rules." Secrets written on the hand. Could it be so simple?

"Master?" Lancer seemed unsure if he wanted to know what she was thinking.

This was either brilliant or stupid. Possibly both. "I think I have a solution."

"Somehow that fails to fill me with confidence. Shall I pack more Return Crystals?"

"... yes please."

*/*/*

With no small amount of trepidation, Hakuno returned to the Arena the next day. Sure enough, the Reality Marble was still there. "Well, Master? Say your name and break this twisted bubble" Lancer glared at the sky as if he found it personally offensive. After yesterday, he probably did and Hakuno seconded the notion. She already felt the Marble erasing her very self once again.

"Hakuno Kishinami!" the no longer Nameless Master shouted into the air. There was a cracking sound. Like thin ice breaking. Then the Marble shattered, disappearing into dust. The Arena was just the Arena once more. Before she could even process the relief flooding her system the Alices appeared in the corridor ahead of them.

"The Nameless Forest is gone" Blue Alice frowned. Seems they'd come in response to the Marble breaking. Lancer stepped towards the two girls.

"It will be ok" Dark Alice had the Fae smile again. "We do need to save the best fun for later."

"You're right," Blue Alice nodded, cheering up. "The clock will chime soon. We'll see you soon big sister!" Then they were gone. Dark Alice was not going to let them stick around long. Not with Lancer weighing his options. It was only Hakuno's bleeding heart that stilled the red spear in his hands. He was not a man that wished to kill children. But children ceased to be children when they became threats and warriors. Plus, the one in the black dress was certainly not as human as she looked. At least the black dress didn't ask for our Names. I don't think this 'Forest' of hers counts, and she's no Power to take just by knowing. Otherwise Hakuno would be cursed by now.

Hakuno's terminal beeped after a moment, breaking the silence that had fallen. MATRIX LEVEL 2 UNLOCKED it declared. At long last the dreaded question mark was removed, leaving only 'Caster' as the class. There was also the new addition of 'Nameless Forest' to the keyword section. Not the Caster's Noble Phantasm's name then, but rather a part of it. "At least the Moon Cell finally recognizes our effort" a swipe of Hakuno's fingers dismissed the screen.

Lancer huffed, dissatisfaction oozing out of the single noise. It carried into his voice as he spoke, "Took it long enough to admit that we were right". He shifted his spear from one hand to another, gaze sweeping over the icy sea and castle before them.

"We have a lot of ground to make up for." Hakuno echoed Lancer's unspoken thoughts. His eyes went over to her. Probably looking for signs that she wasn't about to start vanishing again. "Ice for Taiga's booze has to be in here somewhere. She needed it for 'something only an adult would understand' after all".

"Wonder if the Moon Cell censors its AIs. No reason for her not to just admit she wants her whiskey on the rocks" the tension in Lancer's body drained as they talked and started in on the Arena.

"Or because I'm baby faced and forced into a school uniform Taiga just assumes I'm a delicate youth who mustn't be corrupted with such thoughts" Hakuno drawled even as Master and Servant moved into the familiar patterns of defeating programs together.

"Why not get yourself some clothes like you got me the cards?" Lancer's spear impaled another program, causing the creation to disappear.

"I don't want to attract attention any more than I already do." Hakuno's weird ability to gain the notice of more powerful Wizards was bad enough as it was.

"Aye, I can understand that. Sometimes you just want certain eyes elsewhere." A shudder passed through his body as Lancer recalled something or someone unpleasant. Hakuno did not press. He would tell her when he was ready.