Rider scans the area, having already finished her second bottle of beer. Just where was that master and servant hiding? They were taking their sweet time to reappear before them, that's for sure. She was almost getting bored waiting for them herself. Perhaps it was due to the wounds they sustained before they escaped earlier.
If that were the case, then even those two must be running out of tricks themselves. She wondered how much longer she would have to wait around for them. Maybe she really should go find them after all? Sighing, she crosses her arms over her chest. Nah, she'll wait a little longer. They couldn't hide in the shadows forever even if they wanted to.
"What the hell is taking that moron so long?! This is ridiculous!" Rider arches her eyebrows towards his master who had been yelling for the past few minutes. Gee, he must have some good ol' vocal chords on him to be able to yell that long without feeling tired. Did his throat never hurt? She was getting tired of listening him yell about too.
The blue-haired master pulls at his hair, letting out a cry of frustration before he points his finger at her, enraged. "I'm sick of waiting around for them! We're just wasting our time here! Go find them and take them down now!" Yeah, she figured he would say that. Rider lets out a yawn, waving a hand at him dismissively.
"Relax Master, they'll be coming any minute now-" "That's what you told me earlier you lazy servant! I don't see any sign of either of the two, and we've just been waiting since forever! I'll grow old with wrinkles and white hair at this point!"
Hmm, actually, the sight of Shinji as an old man seemed quite amusing for Rider. That being said, she couldn't quite understand why he was getting all angry when she was clearly doing most of the work; he'd better compensate her properly after the fight.
Seeing that his servant was unwilling to budge made Shinji even more furious as he stomps over towards his servant. "Rider, are you even listening to me?!" She cocks her head at him, chugging down on her third bottle of beer. "Well yes...I am, kinda. Though I thought you knew that listening and obeying are two different things, Master." "What?! Are you going against my orders now?!"
Ugh, so what if she was? It wasn't as if she was giving up on fighting; she was merely waiting for their enemies. This fool of a master she had was so cowardly that he wouldn't be able to do anything without ordering his servant around anyway. Rider was getting tired of the whole ordeal herself.
Her eyes drift over the Coliseum; still no sign of the two huh? She wondered what were they trying to achieve by keeping her waiting like this? In the state they were both in, they were most likely just buying time.
At this point, Shinji's already super thin patience had clearly worn off. He begins stomping on the ground in a childish manner, flailing his arms around wildly like a kid. "Rider! You better listen to my orders and go after them now, or I'll-" Ah, there he goes again...acting all high and mighty. "Oh? Threatening me now, are we? How brave of you. And tell me...what exactly would you do then?"
She looks at him with a challenging glint in her eyes as Shinji bares his teeth, trying to appear menacing. "D-Don't you dare make me use a command seal against you!" he barks out, obviously not thinking much less caring too much of the consequences of his words or actions.
Hearing that statement momentarily perked her interest as she smirks tauntingly at him. "Hoh? So you'll actually use a command seal to make me go after them? I'd like to see you try, though if anything...I should remind you that we're only in the first round...but you do what you see fit." Her warning seems to have thrown Shinji off his high horse as he shuts up and begins cursing to himself under his breath.
Meanwhile, Archer watches the exchange from afar, shaking his head. Even during the Elimination Battle, the two were still bickering like a pair of siblings fighting over some food. Then again, these two still made a chaotically powerful team when they actually worked together. Whatever it was, Archer had a bone to pick with Rider...and he was going to make sure that he returned the favour for her nice little canon attack earlier.
It was then that the servant saw a tiny glint in the corner of his vision. Turning his attention to a particular warship in the distance, he could see Hakuno waving one of the gemstones around. That must be the signal then.
Adjusting his position accordingly, he summons a sleek black bow into his hand, an arrow in the other as he pulled back on the string and aimed, steadying himself. Good, Rider doesn't seemed to have noticed where he was standing yet. Narrowing his eyes, his eyes are fixed onto the target, focusing prana onto the tip of the arrow.
...NOW!
Seeing his chance, the servant fired the shot. With a snap, the arrow goes flying towards Rider's direction with a small burst of prana, surging through the air at the speed of light. He couldn't miss this shot with Rider's back turned to him, but knew better than to celebrate just yet.
Almost as if Rider had possessed a sixth sense, the servant side steps to the side at the very last second, the arrow swooping in and landing onto the deck instead, making an impressive large dent onto the floor for a sneak shot. The enemy master lets out a yelp, the shot barely missing his feet as he quickly backed away, almost tripping and falling over his own two feet. "W-What?!"
"Haha, seems that the servant finally decided to make his appearance! What did I tell ya Shinji?!" Turning her head, Rider smiles maniacally at Archer from where the man stood. The tanned servant clicks his tongue, grip tightening around his bow. "Now then, I don't suppose you wanna come down here instead? Or do I have to make you by force?" Rider smiles, hollering at him from her own spot.
Wow, what a great plan his master gave indeed. The continuation of the fight was already off to a fantastic start. He was already beginning to regret this.
Hakuno watched from her own spot on the warship, eyes wide in disbelief. No way, Rider managed to dodge that?! But she was certain that Rider wasn't aware of Archer's whereabouts the whole time! The master didn't have time to worry about the failed surprise attack however, as it seems that now a direct confrontation between the two servants was inevitable.
"C'mon pretty boy, get your ass down here and let's continue where we left off!" Rider chuckles darkly, an excited expression on her features. Archer frowns, unaffected by her taunts as he summons a few arrows. Well, he was already somewhat expecting that plan to not work. At the very least, it doesn't seem like Rider was coming up to where he was.
Without an ounce of hesitation, the Archer-class servant immediately begins firing more arrows at her. "Hmph, so it seems that you wanna play with those arrows of yours huh? Fine by me!" Summoning her twin pistols, she discards her beer bottle and continues to dodge some of the arrows, while deflecting the others using her guns. The arrows managed to nick her here and there, but didn't deal any substantial damage. "How much longer do you intend to stall pretty boy? You know a few shots ain't enough to kill me off!"
She had a point, but that wasn't Archer's goal. "So she can deflect individual shots, huh? Alright then." If Rider could play with canons, he supposed he could try something similar. Summoning a couple more arrows, he places them onto his bow and sends a hail of them raining down onto the enemy servant.
"Oh? Is this a fancy trick of yours? When you fire them this way, I guess I can't deflect all of them." Dashing to the side, the servant rolls away to the far end of the ship, the arrows penetrating into the floor before they exploded and burst into flame. Whistling, Rider looks at the aftermath of the attack, twirling the pistols in her hands. "Jeez, you really wanna finish me off that quickly, huh?"
Turning her attention back towards the enemy servant, she starts firing several shots at where he stood. Archer quickly leaps down from the mast, swords already summoned as he deflects the bullets. The servant comes crashing down, intercepting Rider as their weapons clashed. "That's more like it! Now then, amuse me!"
The two servants began to duke it out directly, with Archer attacking in her direction continuously as Rider fired at him. The female servant wasn't even concerned over the scratches that she accumulated from Archer's blows, instead relishing in the battle as her eyes crinkled with excitement.
"What's the matter, pretty boy?! Surely you have more power than that! I'm not nearly satisfied just yet!" Archer fended off a few more of her bullets before he dives in and attempts to slash at her shoulders. She seemed to have gotten even more battle-hungry compared to earlier. Her movements seemed to have gotten faster and more erratic as well. Was it because they managed to survive her Noble Phantasm's attack?
Archer didn't have time to even breathe as he let's out a gasp, the air being knocked out of his lungs as he felt Rider's foot connect with his side. Thrown to the other end of the ship, Archer ducks and swerves his body to the right, narrowly avoiding Rider's shots. Picking himself up, he dives in and slams the blunt end of his blades against her arm, hoping to discard Rider of her pesky weapons.
This doesn't seem to have much effect on Rider however, as she merely shoves him away and continues shooting at him. The enemy servant didn't even seem the least bit tired...or was it because she was constantly being buffed and supported by Shinji? Even with the buffs coming from Hakuno, the male servant was starting to wonder how much longer he could keep it up.
He needed an opening...something to catch Rider off guard. But what could he do? His arrows had already failed...and his swords weren't really helping him at the moment either. A lightbulb flashes in the servant's head as he analysed his enemy's movements. He didn't know if it would work but...it was worth trying. The man himself couldn't believe that he was actually considering this but...a weird idea was still an idea after all.
Swooping in, the Archer prepares to attack once again, but let's go of one of his blades at the very last second. This obviously catches Rider by surprise before she feels the force of his fist ram straight into her face. The tanned male takes the opportunity to stab her in the shoulder with his other blade before the punch sends her flying with her back smacking against soundly against the pillar. Whoa...ok, he did not expect that to actually work. Seems that using a move from his master earlier did the trick.
However, just before he could run in and attack Rider any further, Archer feels a strong force tugging at his legs. Looking down, Archer sees the all too familiar chains binding his legs to the floor. Cursing aloud, Archer begins to cut at the chains, but not before several more appeared and binded themselves around his arms as well, causing him to drop his blades. Dang it, of course Shinji's code casts had to interfere now of all times!
The enemy master walks out from behind his hiding spot, the shaky smirk doing little to hide the poorly concealed relief he was showing unconsciously. "Hahaha, serves you right you cocky servant! You were so focused in getting rid of Rider that you fell into my trap once again! How pathetic can you even get?!"
Ok...now Archer was beyond pissed. Surely the Moon Cell and the rest of this stupid virtual world was playing some sick joke with him right now. If only Shinji was within range, he would've surely given the dang bastard a good headbutt that would knock him out cold. 'Fell into my trap'? Please, this was clearly just a convenient, desperate resort of keeping him pinned in place so his servant wouldn't die just yet. If looks could kill, then the deathly glare he was shooting Shinji right now would have the enemy master dead in a heartbeat.
Shinji hastily runs over towards where his servant lay, yelling at her to get up. She does so after a moment, still somewhat disoriented from the blow as she let's out a pained gasp, her pink jacket now being dyed red around the area that Archer had stabbed her; it seems that the attack was pretty hard and deep.
"Ugh...that hurt. Phew, you got me good with that attack pretty boy, I'll give you that." She walks over towards Archer, taking out her pistol and aiming it at his head. How the tables have turned, much to Archer's displeasure. "But...looks like it's still game over for you." Just as she was about to pull on the trigger however, Shinji's shrill voice intervened.
"What are you doing Rider?! Stop it, we can't finish this servant off just yet!" Rider looks bewildered at her master's order as she withdraws the gun momentarily, now also glaring at him. "And why the hell not? I suggest we do it and get this fight over it." It seemed that all the bloodlust she was emitting previously was now gone, replaced with a tired yet frustrated expression that Archer was finding it difficult to believe that this was the same person he was fighting against just minutes ago.
"We can't kill him now! Hakuno's still hiding somewhere! We have to find that damn bitch and bring her out first!" Ah, Shinji must still be super pissed over Hakuno defying him and punching him earlier. Now that he took a closer look, Shinji's face now had a large, dark purple bruise across his cheek, and his nose also looked to be in pretty bad shape too. He should applaud his master for that at least.
Rider facepalms, looking at her master with a deadpan expression."Seriously?! You're still hung up over getting revenge on that girl?!" Shinji looks offended as if Rider had just asked a dumb question, pointing at his face repeatedly. "Of course you idiot! Hakuno dared to raise her hand against me, and to top it off, she gave me this stupid bruise and ruined my perfect features! She has to pay!"
Archer awkwardly watched as the two began bickering once again from a distance. Well this was certainly a random turn of events; the timing of this comedic exchange was a little too coincidental in his favour.
At any rate however, it doesn't seem that he'll be able to easily get himself out of his restraints. He needed the chains to loosen themselves up at least a little bit more it he wanted to break himself free, but it doesn't seem to be the case.
That, and he was technically still within range to be shot by Rider before he could safely grab his blades and back away from her. Trying to escape now would be dangerous, the man slowly wiggling himself through the chains being the only thing he could currently do without either one of them noticing.
One thing's for sure, he needed a distraction to get away, something to once again throw both Rider and Shinji off guard. But what could he possibly do while being bound up like this?
He internally sighs. Well, there was always the other option...though he wouldn't know how exactly his master would go about contributing towards releasing him from the chains.
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Meanwhile, Hakuno was watching the entire fight and series of events unfold before her eyes from where she was hiding on the ship. Even with the surprise attack failing, Archer still did a great job in handling himself against Rider even while technically still being injured.
In fact, she was very impressed at Archer being able to quickly adapt to the fast-changing circumstances while he fought her, even managing to land a hard blow on the enemy servant after he had punched her. She was glad that her idea of staying on the ship was helpful in that aspect; Archer was definitely fighting with more ease than he was previously.
The major problem now though, was that he was now stuck and unable to move. It didn't seem like Archer would be able to get out of Shinji's code cast all on his own either. The female master was beginning to worry as she bit down on her thumb. What was she going to do?! She had to help Archer out, or he might die by Rider's hands soon enough if she kept stalling!
Should she climb onto the Golden Hind and try to help him out? She could try and sneak in and...no, that would be too dangerous, especially now that Shinji was trying to locate her whereabouts.
She would get found out in no time, and with Archer bounded in place, there wouldn't be anyone to defend her this time if Rider decided to kill her there and then. She certainly couldn't move from the warship she was currently on, that's for sure.
What then?! What else could she possibly do?! As much as she hated to admit it, there was no way she could disable the code cast from this distance; she was already low on mana to begin with. The brown-haired female gritted her teeth. Dang it, was there nothing she could do in this situation?! Archer clearly needed her help, and yet here she was standing around and unable to do anything!
"Master, are you there?" Hakuno paused, eyebrows furrowing together. Hang on, was it just her imagination, or did she hear her servant's voice? But...that's not possible, he was still stuck on the Golden Hind. A hallucination then? Her ears must be playing tricks on her. Was she beginning to hear things and turn crazy?
"Master, can you hear me?" There it was again! OK, surely Hakuno wasn't imagining things now, right? But...how? "Archer?" she slowly croaks out, utterly confused as she her pupils begin darting around the warship. Was there some sorta clone of him hiding somewhere on this ship? It sounded like he was literally standing next to her and talking!
"Good. I was beginning to wonder why you weren't responding." No, he didn't seem to be lurking around the warship. In fact, Hakuno could still see him being bound by the code cast's effects up on the Golden Hind. ...Or maybe she was really starting to turn insane after all. This whole fight and the loss of blood must have made her insane if she could hear Archer's voice coming from nowhere.
"In case you're wondering, I'm currently communicating with you through telepathy." Ah, that made more sense; so he was now communicating with her telepathically. How nice of him to do so. No wonder she could hear him talk just fine despite being miles away on another ship...wait, what?!
"You could communicate with me telepathically...and yet you never bothered to tell me this entire time?! Nevermind that, but you didn't even try to use it earlier either!" Such a convenient ability he possessed and he didn't even bother disclosing it to her before the Elimination Battle?!
As much as Hakuno wanted to yell at him, she needed to keep her voice low in order to not give out her hiding spot to the enemy, her voice coming out as a hushed whisper instead. She could almost hear Archer smirking as he went on. This dang man...even at a time of crisis, he still enjoyed pushing her buttons!
"Well...the thought of telling my clueless master never occurred to me until now. That, and I haven't used it before because it does consume a considerable amount of mana, at least with you still being a weak magus and having lower mana reserves. In fact, I'm verbally voicing out my thoughts to save some of your already depleting mana right now." Ugh, so that was the reason why? Somehow, Hakuno couldn't think up of any witty retort to fire back at that. "I mean...even so..."
"Anyway, the reason I've contacted you is because I need you to help with disabling Shinji's code cast. Can you do that?" Now that she heard it properly, Archer's voice sounded rather soft and impatient, most likely because he was trying not to get noticed by Rider too.
Biting down on her lower lip, Hakuno looks over towards the large ship. "I...want to say I can but...it's as you said, I'm running low on mana." She had indeed expended quite a bit of mana for buffing Archer and healing the two of them.
There was a brief pause on the other end, almost as if Archer was thinking to himself on the next course of action. "...I see. In that case, do you think you can come up with a distraction at least?" Hakuno perks up at that suggestion, suddenly at attention for what he has to say. What was he talking about? "A distraction? What do you mean?"
She could hear the sound of clinking chains with Archer letting out a grunt, as if he was busy struggling against the code cast as he talked. "I'm gonna get out of these restraints myself. However, I'll need you to draw Rider and Shinji's attention away temporarily for me to do that, so that I can break free and get away safely. Surely you can do that." Wait, did he mean provide a distraction like...right now?! But how?!
She was stuck on his warship, and she doubted that she could get on board the Golden Hind right now either! Was it even possible to actually break out of the code cast restraints by himself too?! He couldn't be serious!
Hakuno looks down at her hands that were still grasping the two gemstones. Or maybe...could she use these? She wasn't 100% sure if the other two gemstones worked the same way as the one she used earlier...but...if it was just for a brief distraction then perhaps...
Almost as if her servant could read her mind, Archer goes on. "I know what you're thinking, but trust me, I can handle Shinji's code cast myself. The distraction part though...I'll leave it in your hands. Ah, but don't use Rin's gemstones; the flashing lights would make it difficult for me to see properly and actually get away from the two of them." Hakuno visibly deflated at that; he had to be kidding her, right?
Hakuno massages the bridge of her nose, already going through her terminal to see if she had any Mystic codes she could use. Great, so he takes away the only idea she has so far. He says it so confidently, and yet Hakuno is still worrying and trying to think up of a possible way to even distract the two to begin with! "I...and how do you suppose I do that?? You told me not to use the gemstones...and I can't get onto the Golden Hind either can I?!"
"Master...calm down. I never said anything about actually boarding the Golden Hind to act as a diversion. All I need you to do is to come up with something that will bring their attention away from me for just a moment. I'll handle the rest." Ok...except Rin's gemstones weren't part of this equation! This was way too reckless! Even with how confident Archer sounded, the fact that he claimed that he can handle the rest himself is...!
"You say that...but how else may I suppose to distract them if I don't use the gemstones or head onto the Golden Hind myself??" This was ridiculous! It was as if Archer wanted her to crack an egg without using her hands! She didn't wanna sound overly reliant on the jewels, but they were the only foolproof item she had on her that could act as a distraction under short notice to begin with.
She also hated to ask so many questions when she knew Archer was probably dealing with a more problematic dilemma right now as well, but really, there was very little she could work with, and it didn't help that Archer was being extremely vague on the details of how he was going to 'handle the rest'. She was practically going into this plan of his blind!
"You still have a functioning brain yes? So use it to figure that out yourself." Why of course he chooses to insult her even at a crucial time like this! He was definitely not aiding her growing frustration!
Archer's voice drops lower to a point where Hakuno had to strain her ears to listen to what he had to say next. "Look around you, there must be at least something you can use on the warship to distract them." Yeah, easy for him to say! For one thing, the distraction needed to be big and loud enough if it was going to be effective! As if there was anything else apart from her healing supplies and-
Hakuno pauses, her eyes slowly trailing towards the large wooden helm of the ship a few metres away from her. Wait a second. She had been focusing on finding a particular item to cause a distraction, but maybe...
The master rises to her feet, storing all her healing supplies back into her terminal before she shoves the device into her pocket. The girl swiftly moves across the ship and quickly making her way towards the object as she grips her hands around it. Just as she had suspected, she could turn the helm.
Even while Rider did summon the Invincible Armada to attack alongside the Golden Hind, she only controlled the canons, and not each individual ship. The most she did was maintain the Noble Phantasm's full form to be able to use it more than once if necessary. Then if that's the case...
Careful not to make it too obvious, Hakuno turns the helm slightly to the left. The ship begins creaking, making a slight shift in direction accordingly. The master gulps; well...this distraction was certainly going to be a pretty risky one indeed, even if it technically would work.
Taking in a deep breath, her eyes are now focused on the Golden Hind. No...she shouldn't hesitate and keep her servant waiting; Archer needed her help. She knew what she needed to do now; she had to get this right.
"...I've got it. A few seconds should be good enough, right? Leave the distraction to me...but you better be right about this Archer." As scary as it seemed, Hakuno had no other option but to put her faith in her servant and trust in his words.
After all, he had already done his part and took part in her plans as well...and there was also nothing else she could offer to help with at the moment. "Alright, I'm counting on you Master. Don't do anything stupid." Yeah um...on the contrary, she was about to do something incredibly stupid and reckless that had her questioning her sanity.
Hakuno could feel the telepathy connection cut off as she took another deep breath, her fingers curling around the helm. Closing her eyes, she offers a silent apology to Archer. He would surely get mad at her later, no doubt about it. "Never maneuvered a ship before but...there's a first time for everything," she mutters under her breath. With her eyes snapping open, Hakuno grabbed onto the helm tightly and turned it anticlockwise in one swift motion.
The warship followed suit and immediately jerked itself forward, making an abrupt sharp turn and swerving to the left before colliding and ramming itself straight into the Golden Hind with a loud crash. The master was not prepared for the sudden impact of the collision at all as her head slammed straight into the helm. Stars began dotting her vision as she quickly shakes her head and blinks them away. Ok...that hurt a ton!
That was the least of her concerns, as the girl would've been thrown off the warship herself if not for how tight she had been gripping onto the object for dear life until her knuckles shone white. The brown-haired female releases a cry of pain, but didn't have the time to worry about her forehead as she braced herself.
She could feel the wound in her side reopening and tearing even further, but ignored the burning pain. Gritting her teeth, she ducks her head as low as she could and uses the helm as a shield to avoid the splinters and debris being chucked at and coming her way, forcing herself to drive the warship into the Golden Hind even more until the larger ship almost tore in half.
At last, the warship stops, unable to go any further into the larger vehicle. The master releases a shaky breath, heart thumping wildly in her chest as she slowly slumps to her knees, taking out her terminal a moment later. That was...indeed an exhilarating yet terrifying experience. Of course, she never pictured that her first time moving a ship around would be to drive it into another one. All the damages on it aside, she was surprised how sturdy and resistant the warship could be.
Hakuno slowly looks back up towards the Golden Hind, hoping that this would be good enough as a distraction, and that Archer by then had already freed himself. In the meantime, she would use her remaining mana to buff him. The brown-eyed student could already hear the sounds of clashing metal a moment later, confirming her suspicions as she got back her feet, dusting her skirt off. She sends a few buffs towards Archer's way for good measure, before figuring out what she should do next.
With her eyes trailing along the ship, she catches sight of the Golden Hind's anchor and a few other ropes attached to the side of the vehicle, all within her reach. Sighing, Hakuno begins running over, taking a hold of the ropes with a firm grip.
Well then...time to start climbing and get back up there to assist her servant.