"So what's your power exactly?" Tren asked Jamal, with two others in the conversation as the cool night keep them focused ahead on top of the gate.
"I told you guys already, I can manipulate fire," Jamal said, creating a fireball.
"So how come you get special privileges then? Namo calls you his favorite guard out of everyone here." Swern, a guard who was only in for the fame, also questioned.
"I don't know exactly, but it's probably due to my training. Nothing's happened yet to exactly show you guys so I don't know what else to say. Plus I don't have privileges he just greets me every once and a while," he said, sitting on a bench and taking out a photo from his pocket.
"What's that?" Zim asked the final guy who didn't speak yet.
"My girl and two other kids with us. We're going to leave here once a boat arrives in a month or so hopefully" Jamal looking at the photo taken a week ago.
There was everyone smiling in the black and white photo, Ula standing proud, a slight bump beginning to form. He would cherish the photo for years to come.
"Why is she fat?" Swern laughed, the others joining in.
"She's not fat, she's pregnant," he commented, still looking at the picture.
"Your child? Someone's been having a lot of free time, have they?" Tren snickered, the others adding in.
Before Jamal could comment, he saw one of the guards outside the gates approach him quickly from the ground.
"Guys! They're here! They're here!" he cried out, pointing behind him.
Jamal put the photo back in the pocket and stared at where the soldier was pointing at. Sure enough, one could see lights in the distance where there wasn't a town or building and could make the shape out of people. Oh no, Jamal knew as he got up quickly. As soon as he saw the troops, he could hear three loud explosions from that direction. Looking back at the town, he knew that they would be aiming for the town, and he would have to figure something out quickly.
With all the other guards in a panic, Jamal could hear a faint whistle getting louder from above and looked at the sky. There, he figured out. He quickly aimed his hands towards that direction and began firing multiple fireballs. There was one large explosion, quickly followed by two more. The sky was lit from the assault, and Jamal took a deep breath.
"Welp looks like you'll see what I mean now." he told the shocked guards as he entered his "sparking" form.
"What the heck is that?" one of the guards that reached them asked before Jamal jumped off the gate and stood in front of the gates.
Jamal quickly-paced himself towards the lights, watching them carefully. Suddenly, multiple powers were being directed upon him as he quickly moved out the way, laughing.
"Is he treating it like a joke?" Zim wondered, watching Jamal move around with ease.
Jamal launched himself into the sky and quickly formed a large fireball in his hands. Let's see what this army has in store, he was intrigued, as he fired the ball towards them. The powers didn't do much to it, and it seemed like it would hit them until it stopped. Jamal was confused, was that someone's power being taken into effect?
Instantly, Jamal could feel the ball he formed zoom right past his head, and explode behind him. As he landed down, he stared in front of the army that approached them. There were strange carriages that had tubes into them, and plenty of them holding long skinny wooden sticks in their hands that didn't quite look like clubs or any melee weapon he recognized.
"Yo, that's Youden's army. He's going to get himself killed!" Tren cried out, although he was too far to hear him, with all the other guards watching, including Namo to see the commotion.
"Is that boy crazy?" Namo asked them, "What is he thinking?"
Jamal continued to stare down at them, as they quickly aimed everything they had at him. He stared down at a large bulky man and grinned. He found the man that started this mess.
"You must be what I think you are, Youden." he grinned.
"Ah yes, if it isn't the child Jamal. I've heard about you." Youden stepped up, putting his hand up for them to stop aiming at them.
"Don't move," Jamal called out, instantly creating a fireball.
"You don't really think that's going to work, do you? After all, that last fireball of yours was quite weak. Such a shame Boom couldn't see his apprentice or whatever he called you guys, but maybe he's watching in the afterlife." Youden chuckled.
"You killed him, didn't you?"
"I took him out of his misery was all."
"You killed your only friend."
"At this point in life, I don't need friends to get what I want," he said, approaching him.
"Move one more step, and I'll kill everyone behind you."
"You don't say. Do it then." Youden smiled, getting out the way.
Jamal just stood there in shock. Was he really going to let him kill this many people?
"Sir, are we really-" a soldier asked from within.
"Silence! Not a word!" Youden replied, and silence returned, "Now go ahead."
Jamal looked at the soldiers, then came up with an idea. He let the fireball get bigger, just around the size of a one-story house, and fired it towards Youden.
"Of course you would," Youden said, holding the attack back with one hand.
But quickly Jamal took advantage of this and managed to kick him into one of those strange vehicles, causing the tube to snap in half. Youden groaned lightly in pain, as he got out the heap of metal, before pushing it off the cliff to his right, probably killing the people inside.
"Now look at what you made me do." he snickered, quickly forming a small, colorful ball of energy high above him.
"What are you doing?" Jamal said, backing up.
"What I didn't ask for. I'll let you watch the destruction of this city." he pointed it right towards the gate.
"Wait, no, I have people I care for in there!"
"Oh boy, I'm so sorry! I really don't care." Youden laughed, firing the ball anyway.
Jamal began to rush towards the gates, as the ball of energy quickly expanded higher than the gates, then the cliff, before reaching a height near low-flying clouds. No, Jamal cried out, as he quickly felt himself getting engulfed in flames. No one's dying today.
The men on the gate only watched in shock as others quickly tried using their powers to slow it down to no avail. Ula was barely awake herself at home when the sky was slowly getting bright as she shuffled to a window to see the large ball of light coming their way and quickly rushed to check on Fonda and Brat, who were already up watching the spectacle. The city people got out of their houses and watched in surprise as people began saying their goodbyes. It seemed as if the end was near for all of them.
....
Suddenly, a large explosion ripped through the entire city causing everyone to duck for cover as windows were being blown out across the entire area. Ula grabbed them both under the table as broken glass scattered everywhere inside the place and the wind ripped through the entire building. A few moments later, it began to calm and she got up to see Jamal completely on fire, looking straight at them.
"You guys okay?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"Be careful and don't go outside. Youden's here and I'm going to slow him down a bit." he announced, before quickly disappearing leaving behind a wisp of fire before it dissipated.