Before long, the nine toms arrived in the lifeboat bay, which was still wide open. Victor remained in his seat, holding a blade in his only front paw.
The eight toms broke off into their four pairs. Placondgo and Dominev advanced first while the others remained in the lifeboat bay. They waited for the two of them to secure the deck before they advanced further into the ship.
Soon enough, Placondgo and Dominev arrived in the engine room. There, they found that the engines had been sabotaged. They also found George and Carbucketty's corpses there.
Placondgo held his walkie-talkie up to his mouth and said quietly into it "Placondgo to Grumbuskin. Come in, sir."
Grumbuskin spoke into his walkie-talkie "What is it?"
"Sir, Dominev and I just arrived in the engine room," reported the Tactical Officer, "I have some terrible news. Carbucketty and George are dead."
Grumbuskin almost dropped his walkie-talkie, he was so shocked. Earlier, he was certain that at least one of those two toms would have survived the battle. But instead, they were both found dead in the deck of the ship they typically worked on.
"How can they be dead?" Grumbuskin asked aloud, but to no one in particular.
"I can answer that, sir," Farios replied, "They were killed shortly before the battle was even started. There was also more damage done to the engines than before. Growltiger sent me down to the lower decks to look for any Siamese boarders. Sure enough, I found two of them trying to attack Griddlebone. But I killed both of them before they could do her any harm."
"Well, I'm glad to hear that," stated Grumbuskin.
"But sir, there's more bad news," Victor called out from the lifeboat, "Bill Bailey's dead, too. He died in my arms during the battle."
Grumbuskin was now even more shocked than before. He was almost certain that Bill Bailey would have survived the attack, but to discover that he, Carbucketty, and George were all dead… that was almost unbelievable to him. But he was determined not to let the Siamese get away with this crime.
There was a little silence for a moment. Then Grumbuskin signaled to everyone else to move forward. He spoke into his walkie-talkie to Placondgo and Dominev "Keep an eye on the engine room. Make sure no one gets in there. We'll contact you when the self-destruct device is ready."
A few decks above, Ralpharite and Farios came to the brig. There was only one guard; they easily overpowered him and slit his throat before he even noticed they were there. Then they broke the lock to the door using a spear. They released Quaftil, Najalim, and the other two crewmembers. Ralpharite informed the Science Officer and Medical Officer of Grumbuskin's orders, and the two of them made their way down to the lifeboat bay to help Victor.
After being filled in on the plan, the other two crewmembers went with Ralpharite and Farios. They met up with Coricopat and Roshedam a few minutes later, after the latter two had finished searching the lower decks of the ship for other survivors or Siamese guards. They found none of either.
In actuality, Unbedim and his group were still in the lower decks. But Grumbuskin and the others had managed to miss them because the Siamese searchers were busy raiding the cargo bay for anything of value. This was what they liked to refer to as "standard procedure" when they seized control of a ship.
Meanwhile, on Deck 2, Corciopat, Roshedam, Farios, Ralpharite, and the other two crewmembers had met up with Grumbuskin and Tumblebrutus. The eight of them started making their way up the stairwell. Ralpharite peaked over the last step and looked out into the bridge. Then he ducked down and whispered to Grumbuskin "There's only a little over two dozen Siamese up there, sir. If we all move in on opposite directions and Tumblebrutus runs fast enough, he should make it safely to the navigations room."
"Okay, did you get that, Tumble?" asked Grumbuskin.
"Yes, sir," nodded Tumble, "I'll let you know as soon as I've accessed the self-destruct sequence."
"Alright then," Grumbuskin muttered under his breath. He and the others all got into position. They each focused on a different part of the bridge. After about thirty seconds of mentally preparing themselves, Grumbuskin gave them the signal.
All of them except Tumblebrutus charged onto the bridge. Grumbuskin, Ralpharite, Farios, and the two unidentified crewmen all gave out battle cries as they advanced.
The Siamese boarder that was unfortunate enough to be standing closest to the stairwell had his neck sliced open when Grumbuskin took him by surprise.
At that moment, Genghis had been overseeing the transfer of the camera and its equipment onto one of the sampans in the water below. He turned around and saw the seven toms spreading out along the deck.
"Eliminate them!" he shouted to his soldiers.
Tumblebrutus watched as a series of skirmishes began all over the bridge. He knew that he needed to wait until all the Siamese were too preoccupied to notice him, but soon it became obvious that that would take too long.
Tumble jumped onto the bridge and ran as fast as he could to the navigations room.
On his way there, another of the Siamese toms was killed. But shortly after that, one of the two identified crewmen of the Demagogue was also killed.
That was when Tumblebrutus was spotted by another of the Siamese warriors. That tom focused his attention on Tumble and chased after him to the navigations room. Tumble noticed this and swiftly locked the door behind him when he ran inside. But the Siamese warrior did not give up yet; he tried to break the door open using his weapons.
Working quickly, Tumblebrutus made his way over to one of the stations and used it to access the self-destruct program. After giving the computer his voiceprint and passcode, he transferred control of the self-destruct sequence to the engine room.
His job done, Tumblebrutus picked up his walkie-talkie to notify Grumbuskin of his success. But that was when his Siamese pursuer managed to break the door down. Tumble promptly turned his attention back to the opposite end of the room. He watched as the Siamese warrior approached him slowly with a look of malice in his eyes.
Tumblebrutus nervously backed into the wall, holding his blade in both hands. The Siamese tom had an almost psychotic look in his eyes, as if he had an insatiable desire to kill. But just before he could move in, he was impaled from behind by a figure with a javelin.
This took both Tumble and the Siamese tom by surprise. After a moment, the latter dropped dead. Right then, Tumblebrutus could see who had killed the Siamese attacker.
It was Farios! The black and brown striped tom withdrew his javelin out of the Siamese corpse and looked over at Tumblebrutus, smirking cockily.
Tumblebrutus was speechless. He found himself in a most awkward position. Just around an hour earlier, he had only known Farios as the tom that tried to rape Jemima. Less than an hour earlier, he felt that he had simply misjudged him for his actions. Now, he saw him as a lifesaver.
"Thank… thanks for that," he told the black and brown striped tom.
Farios continued smirking and remarked slyly "Don't mention it; I didn't like him anyway."
Tumble scoffed and said "Right."
Farios looked at the computer panel to his left and noticed that the self-destruct sequence had been activated. He turned to Tumblebrutus and told him "We'd better let Grumbuskin know about this."
Tumblebrutus nodded and held his walkie-talkie up to his lips. He said into it "Tumblebrutus to Grumbuskin. Sir, we've successfully activated the self-destruct sequence."
Grumbuskin soon responded. His voice sounded somewhat full of energy and vigor. In the background, Tumblebrutus could hear the sounds of a deadly scuffle. Grumbuskin said "Good work, Tumblebrutus. I want you to contact Dominev and Placondgo and have them set the auto-destruct timer to five minutes. Then tell them to wait for my orders to initiate the program."
"Yes, sir," said Tumble. The brown and white patched tom did this exactly. Using his walkie-talkie, he contacted Dominev and Placondgo and repeated those commands. Once the Strategic Operations Officer and the Tactical Officer informed him that the timer had been set properly, Tumblebrutus notified Grumbuskin.
"Alright then," Grumbuskin replied, "Now, I need you to round up everybody else out here and get down to the lifeboat bay."
"What about you, sir?" inquired Tumble.
"I still have to deal with Genghis," replied the black and grey striped tom, "Don't worry about me. I can handle it."
"Alright," Tumble responded. He looked up at Farios and told him "Let's get the others and get ready to depart."
Farios nodded and turned to the door; Tumblebrutus stood at his side. But right then, another Siamese warrior appeared at the door armed with a multitude of knives. One of them he held as if he was going to throw it. Without warning, Farios pushed Tumblebrutus away from the door and shouted "Look out!"
Tumble rebounded on the ground as the Siamese soldier flung a knife towards Farios. It struck him directly in the top of his chest. Farios gasped in pain and shock and collapsed onto his back.
"Farios!" shouted Tumble in concern. He was about to go to the black and brown tom's aid with the Siamese warrior drew another knife from his belt and took aim. Tumblebrutus ducked behind a computer console as the knife struck a part of the wall.
The Siamese soldier took out another knife and slowly approached the computer console, saying menacingly "Come on out… you can't hide from me."
Tumblebrutus then noticed that they was a drinking glass lying at his hind feet. It was the same glass Victor had been drinking from earlier. Looking at it gave Tumble an idea. He picked up the glass and quickly rolled out into the open. The Siamese tom flung his third knife at him, but missed. Tumble stopped on his knees and chucked the glass towards the Siamese soldier. It struck him directly in the face, shattering into dozens of shards. The Siamese tom shrieked in pain and dropped to the ground, covering his bleeding face with his front paws.
Tumblebrutus ran over to the Siamese soldier and kicked him in the head to make sure he would stay down. Then he went to Farios' aid. The brown and black striped tom was losing a lot of blood, but he was still alive. Tumble slowly and carefully extracted the knife from his chest cavity.
"Hang in there, Farios," Tumblebrutus told his friend as he gave him a helping hand, "We'll get you some help. Najalim and Quaftil should be able to help you."
All Farios could do was smile sadly at Tumble; at that moment, he did not even have the strength to talk.
Tumblebrutus walked out of the navigations room and looked around the bridge. A lot of small fights were still happening all over the deck. Coricopat was fighting off three Siamese toms with a single blade. For some reason, the three of them seemed somewhat timid to approach him.
Eventually, he managed to push them back. Once that happened, Tumblebrutus called out "Cori, I need your help here!"
The black, white, and orange psychic tom turned around and ran over to the white and brown tom. He asked him "What do you need, Tumble?"
Tumblebrutus gestured to the tom he was giving a helping hand to and replied "Farios is badly wounded. I need you to get him down to the lifeboat bay while I gather everybody else up together."
"Alright, I will," Coricopat agreed. He was about to take over giving Farios a helping hand when he noticed something coming up from behind Tumblebrutus. "Get down!"
Tumblebrutus quickly lowered himself to the ground while Coricopat glared hostilely at something behind him and Farios. Tumble looked over his shoulder and saw the Siamese tom he had just fought emerge from the navigations room. The tom's face was bleeding in several places, and it was contorted into an expression of rage. He had drawn another knife from his belt and had it aimed directly at Tumble.
Coricopat stepped forward and grabbed the Siamese tom by his throat. The Siamese tom dropped his blade and tried to free himself from Coricopat's grasp. The psychic tom simply brought the tom closer and glared him directly in the eye. Then, something happened that words could not explain.
Coricopat's green eyes stared into the Siamese's tom's bright blue orbs for over a minute. Neither of them blinked once in that interval. Coricopat's facial expression remained incredulous in all that time, but for some reason, a visible look of fear started to spread on the Siamese's tom's face.
He tried to look away from Coricopat's eyes, but he found he had no control over them. Something unnatural was forcing his eyes to remain focused on the psychic tom. Every second that passed by, the Siamese cat felt like he was going to lose his breath or that his heart would stop beating. Before long, all he wanted was for Coricopat to stop. For the first time in that tom's life, he knew what fear actually meant.
After over a minute of that mysterious connection, Coricopat dropped the tom onto the ground. The soldier was too terrified to attack Coricopat, so he darted away from him as quickly as possible.
Tumblebrutus was flabbergasted; he had no idea what had just happened. He looked up at his psychic friend and asked him "Cori… what… what did you just do?"
"The Mystical Divinity can give us the power to harness fear itself," Coricopat explained, "That tom will never again endure a more traumatic experience than what I just did to him."
Tumblebrutus scoffed and remarked "Remind me never to get on your bad side."
Coricopat lightheartedly nodded and picked Farios up off the ground. As he escorted the black and brown striped tom towards the stairwell, Cori said to Tumblebrutus "I'll see you in the lifeboat bay. But please; do not take too long."
Tumblebrutus nodded and saluted him. Once Coricopat and Farios were down the stairwell, Tumble scurried around the deck to inform Ralpharite and Roshedam about Grumbuskin's latest orders. Once those two toms were off the bridge, that left only Tumblebrutus, Grumbuskin, and the other unidentified crewmember.
Before long, the unidentified crewmember was killed by Nihaar. Tumblebrutus remained at the entrance to the stairwell to survey all the action undetected.
Grumbuskin was fighting with three Siamese soldiers. Even with their combined force, they were no match for him. The first was stabbed through the heart, the second had her throat cut open, and the third had his neck broken.
At that moment, Grumbuskin and Genghis happened to notice each other from across the deck. They focused their attention almost exclusively on each other. Slowly, they approached each other until they were standing about ten feet apart.
Several of the Siamese were about to move in on Grumbuskin, but Genghis held his paw up in the air and told them "Stay back. He's mine."
Genghis drew his sword from his belt and held the hilt tightly in both his front paws. Grumbuskin held his sword at the same level and eyed his opponent closely.
"You just had to come back, didn't you?" commented Genghis dryly, "Haven't enough people died tonight?"
"Oh, no," Grumbuskin slyly replied, "By no means have enough died tonight. At least one more must die. Preferably you…"
As Grumbuskin's countenance tensed up, Genghis stated "Originally, I was going to have you and the other survivors spared. But now, you will die. It is time for you to realize who the real 'Terror of the Thames' is."
Grumbuskin smirked and remarked "Indeed I shall."
Then he charged forward with his blade raised in the air. Genghis jumped forward and their blades clashed. The two of them fought using only their swords. Every now and then, they both tried to exploit one of their opponent's weaknesses, but failed. All around them, the Siamese cats cheered for their Captain.
Tumblebrutus was the only one on the bridge that was holding out hope that Grumbuskin would emerge victorious. But he could not even cheer for him, as doing so would reveal his position to the other Siamese. He just frequently thought things like Come on, Grumbs. You can do it. You can teach this maggot a lesson or two.
The duel went on for over five minutes. Both of the toms had acquired a few cuts and bruises, but no significant damage had been dealt to either of them.
Finally, during the sixth minute of fighting, Genghis kicked Grumbuskin in the side with his left hind foot. Then he struck him on the thigh with his sword. Grumbuskin stumbled and dropped to his knees, continuing to fight Genghis. But then Genghis struck him on the shoulder and soon knocked his sword out of his paws.
Grumbuskin collapsed onto the ground. He quickly made a move to reach for his sword, but Genghis kicked it away. Then he kicked Grumbuskin in the head, making him temporarily lose his focus.
As Grumbuskin lay on the ground lightly moaning, Genghis smirked down at him and lined up the final blow.
Tumblebrutus was shocked at that sight. Grumbuskin – Growltiger's best friend and the Demagogue's longtime First Officer – was about to die at the paws of Genghis. Tumble could not bring himself to just let that happen. He had to intervene.
After all, the first night Tumblebrutus had gone to Westminster, Grumbuskin had caused him to fall into the Thames. But it was thanks to Grumbuskin that he did not drown. Grumbuskin had saved his life once; now Tumble felt it was time to return the favor.
First, Tumble took all his fear and put it to the side. Then, he drew his sword and started running towards the center of the bridge.
Genghis raised his sword in the air, preparing to deliver the killing blow. At that very moment, Tumblebrutus pushed through the surrounding Siamese bystanders and lunged forward. Just as Genghis' sword came down, Tumblebrutus held his sword directly above Grumbuskin and blocked the Siamese Captain's blade. Tumble found that Genghis' blows packed a great deal of force, but he gave enough resistance to save Grumbuskin.
After ten seconds, Genghis slowly turned his head towards the white and brown tom. Tumblebrutus glared back at him, showing his teeth.
Genghis soon started chuckling and took one step back. He looked down at Grumbuskin and said "This is who you have to come to your aid, Grumbuskin? A kitten?"
The surrounding Siamese soldiers burst out laughing at their Captain's statement. Tumblebrutus paid no heed to them; his focus was solely on protecting Grumbuskin and stopping Genghis. He sharply remarked "You will find I am a little different from the average kitten."
Genghis held his sword in the air and said "We'll just see about that."
Tumblebrutus held his sword in the air and prepared himself for what was sure to be the fight of his life. He had heard from many sources that Genghis' skills with a blade were legendary. Grumbuskin and a few other members of the crew had given Tumble some lessons in melee combat and swordsmanship during the war. He had mastered the basics and the advanced moves in under a week. This was partly because he had a lot of free time during the day to practice at the junkyard. Whenever he was not spending time with Jemima or his friends, he was practicing fighting with a blade or another sharp object. By the time he had gotten to studying the most expert moves in swordsmanship, the war had ended, and Grumbuskin had decided that his lessons could be put off. However, Tumble still practiced his training every once in a while during the day when he was alone. He even developed a few moves of his own.
Now, all those hours of training were about to pay off…
Tumble held his sword in one paw and held out his other one to Genghis. He gestured to him to come forward to make the first move.
Genghis smirked, raised his sword in the air, and ran forward.
As he swung the blade, Tumblebrutus jumped out of the way and somersaulted on the ground, holding his sword in his left paw. When he got back to his hind feet, he kicked Genghis behind the right knee.
Genghis almost tripped over himself, but remained on his feet. He waved his sword wildly at Tumblebrutus. But Tumble managed to parry, counter, and dodge his blows at every turn.
Tumblebrutus soon realized that while Genghis was definitely the superior swordsman, the Siamese tom was nowhere near as agile or quick as the young white and brown tom was. Both had their own strengths and weaknesses.
Before long, Mouveilyr was about to draw his blade and step forward to assist his Captain. But Nihaar held him back and told him "No, let's let the Captain handle this on his own. I'm pretty sure he can handle one mere kitten."
Mouveilyr agreed and the two of them had everyone else stand back to give Genghis and Tumblebrutus some room to fight.
Over the course of five minutes, both of the toms got a few scratches on their bodies, but neither of them had suffered any major damage.
Genghis found Tumblebrutus' persistence to be rather annoying after a while. At one point, he tried utilizing his famous "Screwdriver" tactic. This was when he took his sword in both handles and twirled it so fast that it confused his opponents, giving him the opportunity to take them down. It had never failed him in the past.
However, Tumblebrutus was also well-educated in Siamese tactics, thanks to the training and knowledge he had gotten from Bill Bailey and Ralpharite.
When Genghis started twirling his sword with his front paws, Tumble tossed his sword in the air. Then he did a back handspring, grabbed his sword when it came back down, and lunged forward. He knocked Genghis' blade out of his paws, taking him completely by surprise.
Genghis quickly recovered his sword and watched Tumblebrutus closely. He was actually impressed by the young tom's skills. He asked him quietly "Who… who… who are you?"
Tumblebrutus was not expecting to hear that question from a Siamese sailor. But he knew exactly how to respond. He answered with a note of deepness in his voice: "They call me… 'The Boatswain.'"
A few of the Siamese standing along the sides scoffed, but Genghis was only interested in what Tumble had just done. He lowered his sword a little, put on a more genial countenance, and said "You know, perhaps we have gotten off on the wrong paw."
"That's what Growltiger said to me when he and I first met over a month ago," Tumblebrutus replied, keeping his sword in one paw and his attention focused on Genghis.
"I can see why he added you to his crew," Genghis went on, "You have a remarkable number of skills. Some of these skills would take grown toms months to learn. But you seem to be gifted with them."
"What's your point?" growled Tumble.
"You are young," Genghis responded, "Your entire future is on the line right now. While the rest of the crew on this ship has no alternative other than fight, flee, or die, I'll give you another option."
"What?" Tumblebrutus spat.
Genghis smirked and told him "Turn away from Growltiger's crew. Join the Siamese instead. Your skills could serve us better than them."
Tumblebrutus was astounded by those words. He said quietly "You are offering me an opportunity to join your crew?"
"Yes, I am," Genghis nodded, "It is rare that we come across cats as skilled as you at this age. Those types of cats make some of the finest soldiers."
Tumblebrutus did not know how to respond. He knew for sure that he was not going make a decision to please Genghis, if anything. Obviously, this meant that accepting his offer was absolutely out of the question. Not that he would have accepted it anyway. But then he got an idea. He looked up at Genghis and stated "If you're offering me a position on your ship while you were ready to kill Grumbuskin, then that can only mean one thing: you're too damn scared to see the end of this duel!"
Genghis was shocked by that remark. His genial expression tensed up and he said "You have the gall to call me a coward?"
Tumblebrutus nodded and went on with a very dark tone in his voice "You'd have good reason to be, as well. I have never killed one of your soldiers, but I've helped this crew kill scores of them. For example, you know the hundred-plus units you had stationed at Chelsea? It was thanks to me that the outpost was destroyed in the first place. Oh, what a night that was. I particularly enjoyed myself when the building was set on fire. You know, their screams filled the area around me. And I actually took pleasure in their torture. The damn bastards deserved to die…"
With every sentence Tumblebrutus said, Genghis found himself becoming progressively angrier. Tumble could determine this by the change of expression on the Siamese Captain's face. This pleased him, as it signified that his plan was working.
The strategy he was using had been taught to him by Grumbuskin and Ralpharite. During a face-off in a duel, he would say remorseless things to provoke his opponent to attack. That sort of motivation destroyed the opponent's focus and tactical approach and instead made him attack like an unskilled brute.
Tumble went on: "I could actually smell them burning. It was a very unpleasant combination of methane, fumes, and cooking flesh. But I was so enticed by it that I cheered as I watched them die. And you want to know what I did next? I LAUGHED. That's right; I laughed. They never even saw it coming. Those of them that were not lucky enough to die instantly in the explosion were forced to endure what they deserved: a long, agonizing death."
Genghis snapped right then. He gripped his sword in both hands and snarled "And that is precisely how you shall go!"
Genghis ran forward and slashed at Tumblebrutus many times like a lunatic. He was not even focusing on strategy. He was just determined to put him in as much pain as possible.
Tumblebrutus just agilely maneuvered himself away from the Siamese Captain's sword. At the same time, he noticed a few weaknesses in his moves.
After about a minute, Tumble took his sword and slashed it at the back of Genghis' right hind foot. Genghis tripped to the ground, but quickly rose back to his feet. He noticed at a spear was lying on the ground from one of the three cats that Grumbuskin had killed more than ten minutes earlier. He picked up the spear and threatened Tumble with it.
Tumble still managed to dodge everything Genghis could throw at him. After another few moments, he slashed his hip, causing the Siamese tom to bleed slightly.
Another minute of intense fighting went by, and then Tumblebrutus grazed the side of Genghis' chest with his sword.
Before long, Genghis suffered a multitude of injuries while Tumble still had only a few mere scratches. Tumble knew at that moment that it was time for the fight to come to an end.
He brought one of his hind feet behind Genghis' hind feet and brought it forward, tripping him. Genghis landed flat on his back. Before he could get up, Tumble struck him on his left shoulder, wounding the joint. As a result, Genghis was temporarily unable to control his left arm. Subsequently, his left paw let go of his sword.
His right front paw had also let go of his spear. He reached out for it, but Tumblebrutus slammed his left hind foot on top of the Siamese's Captain's wrist, immobilizing his arm.
Tumblebrutus put away his sword and picked up the spear. Then he glared down at the Siamese Captain.
At that moment, Tumble experienced a type of self-conflict. He had Genghis – his Captain's most hated rival and executioner – at his mercy, but all his life, he had disliked the concept of killing anything on his own. Of course, killing some prey in a hunting trip like a bird, mouse, or rat was one thing, but to kill another cat was another thing entirely to him.
However, at that instant, the memories of everything Genghis had caused came to him. These included the murder of Baltrow, the destruction of the ships at Wandsworth, the massacre of the Demagogue, and – of course – Growltiger's execution.
At that moment, Tumblebrutus put aside his moral dilemma. For the first time in his life, the idea of killing another cat did not disgust him.
Without any further hesitation, Tumblebrutus looked down at Genghis and raised the spear high over his head.
But just before he could plunge it into the Siamese tom's body, he was struck from behind. Nihaar had come to his Captain's aid. He had snuck up on Tumblebrutus and whacked him as hard as he could on the back of his head with the hilt of his sword. Tumblebrutus dropped the spear and collapsed onto the ground. He was rendered unconscious almost immediately.
Nihaar looked over at some of his colleagues and ordered them "Get the Captain down to the medical frigate."
Mouveilyr and three others nodded. They came forward and each lifted Genghis up by one of his legs. While they carried him away, Nihaar turned his attention back to Tumblebrutus' unconscious form.
He took his sword and raised it high over his head. He commented "You should have accepted his offer, kid. Now you'll learn what happens to people that reject my Captain's courtesy."
A moment later, a flash of silver ran through the air – and Nihaar's head rolled across the deck. Soon, the rest of his body collapsed as well.
Grumbuskin had finally recovered from his minor injuries. He had decapitated Nihaar before he could do Tumblebrutus any harm.
Moving as quickly as possible, Grumbuskin returned his sword to its sheath, shouldered the spear, picked up Tumblebrutus, and carried him to the stairwell. Some of the other Siamese soldiers pursued him, but when he got to the stairwell, Grumbukin shut the door and wedged it close with the spear.
Then he started making his way down to the bottom deck. While moving through Deck 2, he contacted Placondgo and Dominev and gave them one order: "Begin the countdown."