Jamal watched Laken with great interest. Most of the group except for Hops and Alice was out by the stolen carr in the outskirts of some random town only ten miles away from the capital itself. Turns out staying in the metro area wasn't that bad, at least for now. Every once and awhile, sections of the army would pass through, however they were well-hidden behind an abandoned alley they had found in this dull part of town.
At the moment though, Laken was attempting to utilize his power with some guidance, as Jamal watched the darkness swirl around his arm and hands. Where was Ula when he needed her the most, as several of them were gathering groceries and food for the trip ahead. It was finalized that traveling to Port-O-Bea would be their best option, as Jamal's presence there would sure win over many of the civilians to stand up against Youden. The only issue would likely be the presence of the local army in the area, but he could deal with it, right?
"Pa, I want to be like you." Jamal heard his son ask him, breaking his focus.
"You will be, but right now we're waiting for Ma to come back."
"You and Ma okay?" Laken was curious.
Thinking about it now, Jamal didn't have much to say about that. Ula's memory wasn't fully back yet, and even when it hopefully did return, he was sure it wouldn't be the same as before. Which he had to be fine with, although he didn't wish for that to happen.
Hearing some noise, he moved in front of the carr to see the rest of the group, excluding Hops and Alice, returning with bags of groceries in hand. How have they not noticed them out and about, Jamal had no idea, as he helped them store the goods inside.
"Any news on Hops or Alice?" Fonda has asked Jamal.
"I hadn't seen him since I left the hospital after my recovery. I'm sure they will be fine."
Nodding, Fonda continued to help him, as the afternoon went by. Nothing major had really occurred, since everyone was just awaiting for Alice and Hops to still return. Jamal himself didn't wait with them inside, as he continued to practice perfecting his fighting outside within the alley. Even though he technically didn't lose to Youden, he still almost lost his powers, and without them, he would be nothing. He would have returned to his high school days, a worthless chump with nothing of value. There would be no love, no respect, no purpose to live, it would just be suffering. And even once he lost it, Youden was still going to kill him anyway, so there was that.
The thought pushed him harder, even though he couldn't go all out. He had to master that fiery blue state, or else he would die without it against Youden. Even Calwort's lessons were starting to come back, as he recalled the effect of just grazing one of the inaction points. He had to use every trick as possible in order to win this fight against him, or it would have all been for nothing.
.....
Jamal blew steam out of his nose, as nightfall had finally approached the area. His training regiment didn't do much but ensured that he wasn't hurt or weakened that bad from the exchange. Approaching back to the carr, he noted two shadows coming into the alley. It was a bit worrying since they made sure that no one was even living in this section of town, let alone be in the open.
"Jamal!" he heard only one man's voice ring out.
"Hops? Back already?" Jamal illuminated the alley with his own fire.
It sure was actually Hops, although the other person looked better than the last time Jamal had saw her. Alice was actually walking towards them, although she was holding tightly onto Hops, who helped her with each step. At least they were getting out of here at last.
"Sorry about all that." Alice lightly grinned towards him.
"No worries, none at all. It's been nice being here, but we can finally make our move. We're going to bring Saputa back at long last." Jamal grinned towards the pair, who looked at each other with glee. Let the actual work begin here and now.