Everything was still when Yunara climbed aboard. Valentini's crew and Youssef's were mixed up now, no longer fighting each other, but watching their common enemy with fear in their eyes. Yunara had no idea what they could have been seeing, but they looked like they were witnessing their worst nightmare. She crouched down as her eyes laid on Marcello and the three other men that looked devilish under the red light of the torches that were lit beside them. They stood by Krileon in front of Valentini's office, monitoring the crowd of shadowy forms in the darkness. Only the sea spoke above the dead silence on the Fantasma. All eyes were on them as Krileon went pounding at something silently, but it was impossible to see above all the heads standing around.
She didn't think the crew of either side would care if they saw her sneaking about. Their main problem was Krileon just as much as it was hers. But Krileon had those four watching the crowd. How would she get close enough to Krileon?
Then she remembered her handkerchief. She still had it in her bag. She fumbled with the soaking wet material with shaking hands, hoping that nothing happened to it while she was drifting in the water.
"You think that shield will keep you away from me forever?" Yunara felt Krileon say, his voice reaching her mind again. For a moment, she was afraid he'd seen her somehow, freezing her where she stood. Then she realized it was just the effects of him speaking. He wasn't talking to her.
"You're only prolonging the inevitable. I always get my kill. Always."
She found it. It was soaking wet, but she fastened it around her face anyway. She didn't have any way of making sure it was working, but she was just going to have to trust that it was. Under her camouflage, she slipped through the crowd, making sure not to touch anyone as she went. No one turned their head as she passed. Hopefully that meant they couldn't see her.
She got to the front of the crowd, and finally understood what Krileon was talking about. Valentini and Kailu crouched behind Manuel as he held up the shield for the three of them. Krileon stood over them with his chest heaving from the effort of trying to get through. His blue eyes glowed with rage as they darted about them, as if searching for a crack in their defence.
"Very well then," he continued. "I suppose I'll have to force you out, then."
Yunara's heart stopped as Krileon directed his eyes in her direction. "Marcello, take him," he said.
At first she didn't understand. Only then did she notice that his eyes weren't focused on her, but on someone behind her. Yunara scrambled as Marcello came to take the man Krileon had indicated towards him, making sure she didn't brush against either of them.
"Valentini..." Krileon growled lowly. "Let's make a deal. For every minute you stay behind that shield...." In a swift motion before anyone could react, Krileon plunged his sword into the chest of the man kneeled before him. "Another one of your men dies."
"NO!" Valentini cried.
Krileon pointed to another crewmember, and Marcello went to work. Yunara wondered why they didn't resist, but realized that there was no point. Marcello and the men with them had Krileon on their side. Their weapons could do nothing to him. For as much as they fought him, it would do them no good. They looked on in obvious agony as they could nothing while Marcello brought Krileon's next victim before him.
She needed to act quickly. Yunara just needed to get a current of water into Krileon's mouth. She was invisible, she could take as much time as she needed to concentrate and transform the water into a weapon once it was inside of him. By the time they figured out what was going on, it would be too late. She moved the water slowly out of its canteen, not sure if it was invisible along with her. She didn't know the limits of the handkerchief, and she wasn't about to take any chances. She had to plan this out just right.
Krileon considered Valentini and a smile pulled at his lips. He waited a moment, watching Valentini's anguish-filled face. "Nothing? Very well then."
Krileon pulled his sword back to strike, and everything moved too quickly for Yunara to stop. Valentini came out from behind the shield, and all of Yunara's plans crumbled before she could react.
"Stop!" the pirate captain shouted.
Krileon stopped before sinking his blade into the man as Valentini came behind him. The Dark One spun, fast as a blur, coming on Valentini and slicing his midsection in a fluid swipe, Yunara's scream breaking the silence of the night as Valentini fell to the floor. He landed with a thud, his blood soaking into the rotting wood boards beneath him.
Yunara wailed, all eyes turning to her, the noise breaking the invisibility of the handkerchief. Krileon looked on at her with hatred in his gaze, but she didn't care. She didn't know if it would do anything at this point, but it was all she had left to do. Her hand went to the necklace at her chest, ripping it off her neck, her tears blinding her. The necklace seemed to sense her intentions. One of the emerald stones glowed brightly, the necklace warming in her hand. Her finger touched the gem, the necklace coming to life. The greenish glow left the emerald, leaving a gray stone in its place. The orb of light pushed itself into a shocked Krileon's chest, Krileon freezing where he stood like a statue.
Krileon's chest glowed green where the orb had entered him, Krileon wailing in protest, clawing at it in vain. Chains erupted from his chest, the ringing of metal filling the air as the chains wrapped around him over and over, his body being engulfed in its bondage. The chains came to a stop at his center, a silver padlock flashing into existence to lock them in place.
"NOOOO!" Krileon cried. "Not the abyss!"
Krileon glowed green through his entirety, light seeping through the chains, the brightness growing too strong to look at, and the boat started to rumble. In an instant, the flash faded, and Krileon was gone, the chains falling limply to the floor, and all fell still.
Yunara was vaguely aware of Youssef and his men appearing to detain Marcello and the other traitors as they watched on in shock. She was running to Valentini's side choking out sobs of agony, Manuel and Kailu beside her.
She was kicking herself mentally. This was her fault. It was all her fault.
Marcello's chuckle behind her brought her out from her self-loathing. "I don't know what you did to Krileon, but it doesn't matter. Luca is dead, and the next Dark General will shortly regain his freedom."
Yunara spun on him. She wanted to let it out. Let out all the pain, anger, and frustration she felt at that moment. But Manuel's hand held her back, gripping her shoulder gently. "Yunara, don't. He's not worth it."
She bit her tongue as hot tears streaked her face. Her furious comments held still on her tongue, and as much as she wanted to slap his smug face bloody, she realized Manuel was right. No amount of screaming at Valentini's disgusting brother was going to reverse anything.
"Hey!" Kailu called. "He's still breathing!"
Marello's face went pale.
Hope relighting itself in her heart, Yunara came back to Valentini's side. The whole crew crowded them. It was Youssef that shouted at them to back off. He said it in Arabic, but the pirates understood his body language and complied. Valentini was slurring senseless babble in Italian at barely a whisper, his eyes barely open at a crack.
Manuel tore off his shirt, clamping it over the wound. The blood lapped up the fabric like a wildfire. But there was a lot spilling everywhere. Yunara wasn't sure if they could do enough to help him in time.
Someone in the crowd started yelling, pleading with the Moroccan men to let him through. He was yelling to them in Italian, no one understood him. He looked desperate to get through.
"What does he want?" Manuel asked, though no one could really answer.
The man put his hands together in a pleading gesture. "Mio fratello è un medico." he said in Italian, gesturing to himself.
Manuel frowned, looking to Kailu and Yunara. "I don't speak Italian, but it's similar enough to Spanish. He said something about a doctor."
They exchanged glances, not sure what to do. Yunara didn't think it'd do any harm. "Let's let him pass."
Manuel gestured for him to come closer. The man rushed forward. He barked orders to the other Italians standing around, and they went to work. One came forward with water and some rum. Another lifted his head as they pushed a cup of the rum to his paled and chapped lips. They took control of the situation, the first one that came up taking charge and cleaning the wound gently, but quickly. The red of Valentini's lips started to come back as they treated him.
The first one conveyed something to one of the Italians, the latter addressing the three in slow, broken English. "He say that the cut is not deep." The first one said something else to him to interpret. "His brother is doctor. He can help."
"No!" yelled Marcello from behind. He tried to get free of the Moroccans, but they held him and the other three in place. With an order from Youssef, his men were grabbing the chains that came off of Krileon and wrapping them around their wrists, dragging them away to the brig below.
This was all on Valentini's crew now. Yunara, Manuel, and Kailu stood aside and waited anxiously as they worked under the orders of the one that seemed to know the most. Yunara could see Valentini's chest rise and fall weakly. She had no idea if he was doing better or worse.
Youssef came up behind Yunara and Kailu, placing a comforting, strong hand on their shoulders and pulling them to his chest, like a father. Yunara looked about the ship and felt something strange. Amongst the loss, betrayal, and madness, the two distinct crews who were hours ago at one another's throats, were now all together and concerned for Valentini, who was willing to lay down his life for his crew. She realized that in the most unlikeliest of places, she'd found something comforting and warm here. Though they were hours ago enemies, the shared anguish between the two crews had created something. Distress, yes, there was that. But it also turned them into a team that could even surpass language boundaries.
Something similar had happened when she was down in the brig, too. When she felt like she had hit rock bottom, something happened that united the three of them in a way that she never would have expected. She didn't know she had so many walls up that kept her isolated from the rest until she felt them fall away when Manuel and Kailu helped bring her out of her confusion. For the first time since she lost Cadri, she felt like she could trust someone, and she didn't know how much she needed to feel that.
"Y-y-you," came Valentini's voice weakly. He was pointing to Yunara with a shaking hand.
"Valentini!" Yunara cried. Valentini's men parted themselves as she bent down so he wouldn't have to strain himself. "Don't speak. Reserve your strength."
"Listen to me," he struggled to say anyway. "If you hadn't done what you did, that beast would have finished me off there where I stood. I'm going to live." he managed a faint smile. "Even if it's just to make my bastard brother pay for his betrayal myself, I'm going to live. I owe you my life. You have my word that I will fight by your side, whatever side that may be. All of you. My crew is your crew. If I wasn't sure about coming against the Aracs before, I sure as hell am now. We're going to send those devils back to the pit they came from, I promise you. I won't stop until they do."
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*squeals* Valentini's officially on board!!! <3 <3 <3