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"Let's form an alliance."
"Hmm..."
Standing atop the gothic ramparts of Elizabeth Bathory's castle, surrounded by a churning, artificial ocean, Maverick and Daisy Daisy exchanged a grim look.
They had tried to kill each other. Maverick had tried to bean her with a bar of soap. She had tried to blow him up with a grenade. But now, with the city underwater and a pirate ship shelling them, petty grievances had to wait.
"Fine," Maverick grumbled, extending a hand. "Alliance. Until the water recedes."
Daisy shook it, her grip firm. "Deal. But if you try to steal my kill, I'm shooting you."
"Fair enough."
Just then, a small, slightly dirty hand reached out from behind Daisy's leg.
"Don't forget about me!" a muffled voice squeaked.
Maverick jumped. "Who said that?"
A small figure crawled out from under Daisy's trench coat (the male avatar was quite large). It was a tiny, hooded figure with a skull mask.
"Wait," Maverick blinked. "Is that... Hassan of the Hundred Faces?"
Daisy looked down. "Oh yeah. I forgot to mention. I found a stray."
The little Hassan (one of the hundred personas) pointed at the Golden Hind sailing in the distance.
"The enemy is strong," the Hassan whispered. "But he has made a mistake."
Streamer: CipherLocation: The Golden Hind (Deck)
Cipher stood on the deck of the pirate ship, looking like a mastermind. The wind whipped his hair, and the roar of the ocean filled his ears.
He turned to his chat, adjusting his glasses.
"I know what you're thinking," Cipher said calmly. "Making myself a raid boss puts a target on my back. Everyone is going to come for me."
He pointed to the flooded city.
"But that's exactly what I want. By flooding the city, I've forced everyone onto the rooftops. I've left only a few skyscrapers as footholds."
He smiled, a cold, calculating smile.
"Think about it. Will the other Servants bring their Masters onto my ship? No. It's too dangerous. They'll leave their Masters on the rooftops for safety while they board my vessel."
He gestured to the shadows.
"And who benefits from isolated, defenseless Masters? The Assassin."
"My natural ally is the Assassin player," Cipher explained. "Unless he's an idiot, he will use this chaos to harvest the other Masters while their Servants are busy fighting Drake. I create the distraction; he does the dirty work."
[Chat]:[Big_Brain]: HOLY COW! 5D CHESS!
[Tactician]: He's manipulating the meta! He's using the other players as pawns!
[Skeptic]: Great plan... but you're assuming the Assassin player isn't an idiot.
[Gambler]: My Douyu coins! I bet on Cipher! Don't let me down!
[Reality_Check]: Have you seen the other streamers? They are literal chaotic gremlins. "Strategic Alliance" isn't in their vocabulary.
"It's a solid plan," Cipher insisted. "The only variable is when the Assassin turns on me. But Drake can handle an Assassin."
Just then, Drake slammed the ship's wheel hard to the left.
"Whoa!" Cipher yelled, falling on his butt as the massive galleon tilted 90 degrees.
"Master!" Drake laughed, her voice booming over the wind. "Get your sea legs! We have company! Hard to port! FIRE!"
Location: The Open Sea (Formerly Main Street)
Charging across the water was a streak of red and gold.
It was Nero.
Normally, Servants can't walk on water unless they have a specific skill (like Artoria's Protection of the Lake). But Nero didn't care about rules.
[SKILL ACTIVE: IMPERIAL PRIVILEGE (EX)]
This skill allowed Nero to acquire skills she didn't actually have, simply by insisting that she should have them.
"I am the Emperor!" Nero shouted, her feet splashing on the surface. "Therefore, the ocean must support my weight! Umu!"
And reality, terrified of arguing with her, obeyed.
She ran across the waves at 100 meters per second, her red dress fluttering, her sword Aestus Estus glowing with mana.
"There!" Nero roared, spotting the Golden Hind. "The source of the noise! The rudeness! The wetness!"
"Fire!" Drake bellowed from the deck.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The ship's cannons unleashed a broadside. Magical cannonballs screamed through the air.
If Nero were swimming, she would be dead. But she was running. She zigzagged across the water, moving like a figure skater on caffeine.
CLANG.
She deflected a cannonball with her sword, slicing it in half.
SPLASH.
She leaped through the spray, soaring through the air.
"You are the culprit who ruined my concert!" Nero screamed, her eyes burning with the fury of a diva denied her encore. "Now, atone with your death!"
She landed on the deck of the Golden Hind with a crash that shook the timbers.
Drake drew her pistols. She grinned, a wild, piratical grin.
"A concert?" Drake laughed. "Sorry, love! The only music here is the sound of gunpowder! Welcome aboard!"
[Chat]:[Showdown]: PIRATE VS EMPEROR!
[Nero_Fan]: SHE'S WALKING ON WATER! IMPERIAL PRIVILEGE IS BROKEN!
[Drake_Fan]: GET HER, CAPTAIN!
[Physics]: Isaac Newton is rolling in his grave right now.
While Nero and Drake clashed on the deck, creating a spectacle of fire and steel, a silent observer watched from a distance.
Location: Fuyuki Tower (Rooftop)
Monkey (the FPS pro) lay prone on the edge of the skyscraper. He looked through the scope of a high-tech compound bow.
Next to him sat Robin Hood, cloaked in his No Face May King shroud.
"See?" Robin Hood whispered. "I told you camping was viable."
Monkey adjusted his aim. The crosshair settled on Cipher, who was scrambling to hide behind the ship's mast.
"The time isn't right," Monkey muttered, lowering the bow. "Killing the Master now is easy. But if I kill him, the water recedes, and everyone scatters."
He grinned.
"Let's wait until more rats board the ship. Then... we sink it."
"You have a wicked soul, Master," Robin chuckled. "I like it."
[Chat]:[Camper]: MANTIS STALKS THE CICADA!
[Sniper]: Monkey is playing the long game.
[Patient]: This is the real battle royale. Waiting. Watching. And then... headshot.
Back on the castle ramparts, Maverick watched the fireworks in the distance.
"Nero boarded the ship," Maverick noted. "She's fighting Drake."
"Good," Daisy said. "That buys us time."
She looked down at the little Hassan.
"Okay, tiny Assassin. Can you swim?"
The little Hassan shook its head frantically. "No swim! Bone heavy!"
"Great," Maverick sighed. "We're sieged by water, shelled by pirates, and our only backup is a hydrophobic skeleton."
He looked at Elizabeth Bathory.
"Hey, Idol," Maverick called out. "Can dragons fly?"
Elizabeth puffed out her chest. "Of course! I am a dragon!"
"Can you carry us?"
Elizabeth looked at Maverick, then at Daisy (who was heavy), then at the little Assassin.
"I am an Idol!" she scoffed. "Not a taxi!"
"I'll buy you a karaoke machine," Maverick bribed.
Elizabeth's eyes lit up. "Hop on, piggies! We're going to crash a boat party!"
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