Jamal studied the night sky, from the small balcony the cabin had. The work from the last few days wasn't difficult, as many weapons were salvaged for the Defense Core's use. Jamal refused to use weapons created by monsters like Youden, but it didn't bother him as much it seemed to be, as he was more worried about other things. This would be the night, and he was jittery, not knowing the exact reaction to occur. Looking above, he could see a small object flying in the sky, but it seemed it was probably a meteor of such. Working up his confidence, he called out Ula, as he heard her come his way. He eyed Heskins, who was hidden in the snow as he gave him a thumbs up.
"Jamal, you needed me for something?" she said, getting outdoors.
"Um, yeah, I did." he began to say.
"What is it?"
He took a deep breath and looked into her eyes.
"Ula, after everything we've been through I just want to say what's been on my mind. All these years you've been the love of my life, and I don't want to be with anyone but you." he began to say, as he got on his knee.
"Jamal, are you really?" she began to tear up.
"I want to say if you will marr-" he began to ask, taking out the ring.
.....
Meanwhile, the coated personnel Youden called for, watched as the gates of the Ariocaster opened, bringing in snowflakes from the outdoors. Not hesitating, they leaped out, as the main guy who spoke to Youden went first and dived straight down. The fall was quick, as they began to manifest their powers to begin to search for Jamal in the town below.
.....
"I want to say if you will marry me, Ula." Jamal finished.
For a moment, he just stared at her face, before she just nodded her head. Jamal couldn't believe it. He did it.
"Yes." was all she managed to say, as they embraced and kissed deeply, as Jamal put on the ring.
"Yo!" Heskins began to congratulate, before quickly getting shoved back into the ground.
Jamal quickly let go, as he heard a sound and looked over the edge to see several people in cloaks appear behind him.
"That was not apart of this. Ula, watch Laken, I'll take care of this," he said, going over the edge, and Ula rushing back inside.
"Sorry to interrupt, but you're coming with us. We can ask peacefully, or the hard way." the main guy said, pulling out a small revolver of a taboon.
"Who are you guys?" Jamal asked, getting into a stance.
"You know a guy named Jamal?" another person asked, "This could be the wrong person."
"Yeah, that's me."
"Oh, nevermind then. Kind of dumb to ask thinking about it now. Pretty lucky we landed right here to find him, honestly."
"Anyway, you have five seconds for you to surrender and let us return you to Youden or we'll take you out with us." Kurt injected again.
"I don't know what to tell you, but I'm definitely not going back to him, and I don't even know who you are."
"It seems that this will be harder than it has to. But I will say, we're The Keepers Of Darkness."
This caused Jamal to stifle a laugh, reminding him the times of the weird nicknames back home, until he heard a shot and glass break behind him and a scream. He quickly looked back at the coated figures, with the revolver smoking from being fired, before it being pointed at him.
"You just tried to kill my family!"
"Oh, in that case, we better tell Youden the news. It appears all that's left of the Academy fighters are here. And Jamal's produced some offspring."
"You guys are on some things, so I'm asking you to leave now!" he said, steam rising around him.
They didn't budge, and so Jamal would just try to scare them off. He quickly formed a fireball in their direction and fired it above their heads, but it didn't even make them flinch.
"We know who you are. Keepers, take him out. We got a deadline to meet." the man said, as they all rushed to him.
Jamal began to back up, as multiple people were on top of him, trying to do who knows what. He attempted to shake them off, but they weren't letting go. Caring for his family, he let his body be engulfed in his own flames, causing them to leap off in pain if they were on him. He looked around, to see the man with the revolver shoot him, causing a piercing pain in his left arm. He could feel it slowly lose strength as he watched the fire dissipate slowly.
Realizing that they were really serious, and not some low-level thieves, Jamal quickly moved around them, dodging what ever attack they sent at him, even shots being fired. But they didn't even try as they were just letting him get the effects of the shots to work. By now, his power was waning away, and he attempted to fire multiple fire balls, to which they dodged with ease.
Instantly, Hops appeared in front of him, with Brat next to him, protecting him.
"We got this," he told him, until they were both shoved out the way.
Jamal could barely move as he collapsed on the snow, and felt some type of cuffs be put on him.
"Pa!" he could hear his child cry.
No, not like this. He felt himself creating a burst of energy, as he slowly pushed himself back up, despite his hand beginning tied. Before he could do anything, he felt a bubble of pain surround his entire body, putting him back down.
"Jamal!" he could hear Ula calling out from inside, wanting to help, but possibly putting their child in danger.
He could feel someone grab his feet, as they put a white bag over his head, able to hear the clashing around him, as he attempted to free himself before everything instantly going dark.