Jamal still had his hands around Ula and sound asleep, until she sighed softly, loud enough to wake him up. Removing his hands, he checked the time as it read 5:50 a.m. He didn't even know what time they were supposed to leave, and they didn't even bother packing up yet.
"Morning Jamal," she muttered, dragging him closer to kiss him.
"We reached the day. But how was last night?" he asked, once he backed away.
"Felt so good, we got to do it again. You made yesterday the best birthday ever." she grinned, slowly collecting her thoughts.
"Heh, we had some fun, didn't we? But I'll go talk to Hops, see when we're leaving here." he fumbled out the bed and opened the door.
Looking outside, it was still quiet, except for an occasional power being used, perhaps the war getting closer to the city. Knocking loudly, he waited until Hops was dressed in some casual wear, quickly closing the door behind him.
"Before you ask, I know you did it, as I heard everything sadly. My powers, was that awful to hear. I made sure to cover Fonda's and Brat's ears from that and please, put some clothes on. But anyway, we got to leave within the next hour or we'll be late. So get ready." Hops said.
"Yeah, sorry about that, but I guess it was in the moment." he began to say before Hops went back inside and closed the door.
"What did he say?" Ula asked, putting clothes on when he came back in.
"He said we're leaving in an hour. And unsurprisingly that we were too loud, but it was good so I can't complain." he laughed off.
Ula laughed as well, as he went to clean himself up and put on something causal just in case they would have to move quickly, before helping her pack the things up to let her clean up as well. Still thinking about the night before, he chuckled to himself, until he heard several loud explosions, rocking the entire hotel, causing him to fall.
"What was that!" Ula cried out, coming out of the bathroom.
"I don't know, but it doesn't sound good. We need to leave." Jamal pressured her to hurry.
Not wasting a second, while they finished packing their last belongings, Jamal rushed back to the room with Hops, only to see them all outside.
"Why did Hops shove something in our ears?" Brat begins to ask before Hops shushed him.
"No time to explain, but let's just say there was some construction going on. Really loud construction." Jamal said, trying not to laugh, Hops covering his face as well.
"Anyway, we need to go now. I think the war is here, and it's only a matter of time before we're too late for the ride." Hops added as soon as he controlled himself, with Ula coming out.
With everyone done, they rushed out of the hotel, to see soldiers moving towards the blast of the explosion, powers being used in the distance, and loud booms erupting in the distance. Not wasting a second, they scurried through the streets until they saw a carriage with a driver waiting nervously, that looked like it was dropping off some goods.
"That's the ride, get in!" Hops said, opening the door, then handing several wads of cash in the man's hands.
Fonda and Brat were already inside with Ula hopping in as well, but Jamal caught a glance of a bright object and fired a fireball in its direction. The fireball quickly dissipated, leaving a molten piece of metal on the ground. Turning around, he cursed himself immediately. Standing on the rooftop of a worn-out building, were four people, and one of them was Chenji.
"Not him again," he grunted.
"Who are they?" Ula asked, before Jamal quickly kissed her with sincerity.
"Y'all got to go, now. If your pregnant or anything, tell the baby I will always love them or something like that no matter what. Just get out of here now!" he shouted, turning his back around, entering a dangerous sparking form.
"Jamal, you can't leave us here. We can help!" she cried, with tears of worry.
"Go now, before I lose you or anyone else! I'll find y'all if I live! I love you!" he yelled, pushing her in the carriage, before closing the door, and telling the driver to go.
Hops was already seated next to the driver and just nodded good luck for him. If he died, it was so they could live. Jamal had to close his eyes as the driver drove away, and he could hear Ula banging on the door if it wasn't for Fonda and Brat holding her back. Continuing to face the threats, he created a large fireball and fired it towards them.
One of the fighters got in front of them, and it was as if he took the blast as his skin was hardened and pushed back slightly. The rest of the threats hopped down, with Chenji rushing to him from above. Blocking in time, he shoved him out the way, only for another one of them with a mask, punching at a speed so fast, Jamal couldn't even block, before he got kicked through an old wall, leaving dust in the air.
Getting up quickly, Jamal climbed up the side of a two-story home, before running across carefully on its tiles. Another one of the masked people there fired a green liquid and Jamal moved quicker, barely avoiding it, as it seeped into the tiles and causing them to erode and break apart. Sliding to the other side, he landed on a smaller roof, as he leaped back onto the road, avoiding a bolt of lighting on where he was just standing. These people were out to kill, not to let him live.
Taking a deep breath, he slowed down, as he turned around to face the adversities. They were all wearing masks, except for Chenji, who was taking out knives from his pockets.
"You're about to take my life and everything I care for, huh? You probably know who I am since you're working with Chenji, so I'll cut to the chase. If you want to kill me or anyone I love, you'll have to get through me, and pay!" he howled, a large plume of fire rising in the air, creating a strong wind on the road, forcing the fighters to keep a stance to not get blown down.
Ula, I will return, he believed, as the fire died down, and he was completely on fire. Not wasting time, he first rushed to Chenji, where he punched him dead in the face, causing him to go through three blocks of buildings, before slamming into a thick concrete wall, knocking him out unconscious and with severe damage.
"Who's next?" he asked with seriousness, two of the fighters backing up a bit, except for one of them.
"You guys aren't scared, are you?" the masked fighter asked, without looking back.
But by then they were already running away in the other direction. With a sigh, he turned around and quickly struck them both down with lightning, not killing them, but close.
"I'll let Youden deal with you two. Now, let's see what you got." the raspy voice called out.
But Jamal was nowhere to be seen. Looking above, for a brief moment, he could see how serious Jamal was, as he had a blast the size of a house as he was several feet above him.
"You die now!" Jamal cried out, as he fired the blast.
The masked man quickly dashed, as the blast followed suit, barely out of it, as it left a deep burn despite this. Coughing in pain, he let the electricity inside him flow, as several large sparks surrounded him, his eyes gleaming with his lightning. Forming his hands into blades of the discharge, he rushed quicker than Jamal anticipated, collapsing any weak buildings in the area from the speed alone. Jamal as well creating his hands into swords, began slicing in his direction, sending streaks of his fire towards him. The masked fighter just flew through it carefully, as he was prepared to stab him with this power.
Jamal, already frustrated, cried out in rage, as his aura grew even bigger, causing the fighter to slow down.
"This is for trying to kill me!" he bellowed, as he appeared instantly in front of him, before kicking him into the clouds.
The attack was so quick, that it had begun to drizzle earlier, only for the weather to change briefly to a sunny day, as he kicked the fighter out to the horizon, and to who knows where. Jamal just watched as the figure disappeared in the sky, as the clouds began to return, and it began to drizzle again. Floating back down, he instantly got out of his form, before falling onto the ground. He almost collapsed on the ground, but steadied himself and looked around at the destruction in his wake.
With a deep breath, he began to walk towards the direction the carriage was going, but realized he wasn't going to make it in this form. He realized that he was close to the hospital that he was at only a year ago, and perhaps he could reach there just in time. The only thing keeping him awake right now was to get back to Ula. I will find you guys, he promised, as he continued his walk to the building, only a block away.
.....
Meanwhile, while Youden has just sliced the chest of a soldier inside the trench, he noticed a large plume of fire in the sky. That Jamal kid is here, he knew, narrowly dodging a slice for his head, before blasting the person with a light attack, flinging him across the trench. He could see he and the lightning fighter battling it out, as Jamal had fired a deep blast, the rumble could even have been felt here, and a burst of electricity, no doubt the man using his abilities to his fullest. Suddenly, it had stopped drizzling, and he looked around, to see most of the clouds over the city disappear as a powerful wind forced him to crouch down in the trench.
Lifting his head, he could see his fighter being flung away from the city, as the clouds were returning, as well as the drizzle.
"Well, looks like Boom trained well." he grinned, stabbing a person approaching him from behind who tried to ambush him.
This boy was a real threat, and Youden knew it.