Yusef scooped up Kalisha, gently putting her in the hammock, a smile curling his lips as the girls rallied around the one having problems. He gave Sajida a sad look, he'd love to include her, but she had chosen to exclude herself, and more importantly hurt Kalisha and that was not acceptable. He sighed as Kalisha started to lay into herself and he smirked,"Please, Kalisha, we're practically married at this point...he will have to go through me if he even thinks he's going to hurt you." He wasn't worried about her brother attacking him, but he was concerned about who the brother was, and what he represented but his choices were limited thanks to the Iron Commander's moves.
He nodded at Akari's words about fire slime,"Yes, I'm pretty sure between Chloe and Kalisha could turn that into something lethal." He chuckled at Chloe's exubarence and looked at Akari,"Kari....yes, that works, a pretty name for a pretty girl." He slid an arm around the thief's waist and gave her a squeeze. Of course Kalisha's request brought a smile to his face,"Of course, Kalisha, and you are anything but weak! You ate soul snakes in the desert while building your arm! You are strength incarnate."
Sliding into the hammock he curled around her protectively, his forehead pressed against hers as he the hammock rocked under their weight and between that and the motion of the plane the pair were soon drifting off to sleep together, the warmth of their bodies sending the Sultan of Midvadir into a deep, dream filled sleep and it wasn't a peaceful one.
Midvadir lay in a smoking wreck, flames burning from the domes of the golden topped towers, blimps dropping bombs and Hanuku's voice boomed in his ear,"Yusef, Yusef what have you done? You are weak, you are weak....." The scene shifted and he watched as Chloe, battered, bruised, scarlet blood leaking from her nose was stuck in a spiralling dive, the flying machine around her in flames as she shrieked the ground rushing up to meet her. Swirling smoke and chaos took her away from him and he screamed, soundlessly in the noise of battle Akari running as a Nightstalker breathed flames, engulfing the dancing thief as she leapt off of a roof, burning and shrieking out his name in horror as she felt into the streets of Midvadir.
Her flaming body landed on the ground, Sajida moving to her swiftly only to have a crash obscure her, splinters of stone flying everwhere, and smoke billowing from a massive Goliath, the leg of which was the cause of the noise, only Sajida's arm sticking out from beneath the massive clawed foot. Yusef howled in agony and the howl turned into a mob of people chasing Kalisha down, beating her to the ground one of them, a half machine half man with an axe for an arm sliced her good arm off and used it to beat her and she screamed,"My flesh is weak, weak, Yusef, you are weak!!!"
The agony shook Yusef's body as he shuddered only to have the Iron Commander's massive figure, towering above Midvadir lift Theo above the smoke and ashes and with a contemptuous sneer snap his neck,"You have failed, Yusef, you are naught but a weak, weak man who can barely understand his dreams....Weak, Yusef, the world has no use for the weak."
"You are but a man, destined for a man's failures!"
Cackling laughter chased Yusef from his dreams, a gasp tearing from his lips his body sweaty and his chest heaving. Thirst burned in his throat and he knew what he had to do, he couldn't just be a man, he had to be more than that. His fingers scrabbled at his belt, pulling a philter from his belt, thirst all but consuming him as he looked at the lightening bolt symbol on it. Just once more, just once more it would make him strong. Strong enough to keep them safe, yes, that would be it. Pulling the cork from the potion he drained it in a single drink, the power sliding into his body, the changes being made and he nodded this would help....yes...it would. He could feel it changing him, making him stronger, better...yes.
Sighing he pulled Kalisha closer, it was almost morning, he could hear Hopper working on flying the ship. Soon the girls would be awake and he'd be strong enough to take on the Iron Commander and his men...yes...it was better now. He wouldn't fail...he couldn't fail. His body calming he drifted back to sleep, a spark of electricity leaping between his fingers as he drifted off.