As the eve of the attack was soon to commence, Jamal couldn't help but feel weary of home. The latest reports showed a slowdown of the invading forces but were likely drying up supplies that their army could not afford to provide at the latest. The dwindling boxes of ammo and limited production due to the aerial campaigns were not adequate enough to replenish those losses in a timely manner. Still, the man held high hopes for their defense and soon have a solution set to break Youden's marines down.
"Everyone is set?" Heskins called to the group, as they were all packing the last of their belongings.
Giving some nods, they soon exited the tent they rested at one last time, as the camp was buzzing with activity and final preparations. In one corner, one could see the setup of their current artillery and depots, while on the road was the long conveys of carrs and troops moving in different directions and already towards the city. This was really going to be it, and everyone had to give it their all if they wanted to succeed.
"Anyone seen Alice?" Hops looked behind him not seeing her anywhere in sight. "She was just with us."
"I'm not sure, I could have sworn the same thing." Sera turned in all directions, "She'll find us for sure regardless."
Jamal couldn't help but agree. One of them was always doing another favor or helping out others when needed, so he knew that the woman would have little difficulty finding them again. They had more important locations to be at, as they could see two black carrs waiting for them ahead.
"It's nice to see the Viligantes all together!" the driver in the front shouted with pleasure.
"Same to you." Leon was grateful they wouldn't have to walk the several miles, as he opened the door for the women to settle inside.
"Guys, wait up! I have something to ask!" the group could hear a female voice call towards them, as they turned to the source.
Rushing towards them was Alice, and a few paces behind was one of the younger, but out-of-shape, advisors of their army. It must have clearly been important as anyone in the pair's way promptly moved out the way until Alice was able to slow down near the carrs.
"You good?" Hops was the first to say.
"Hold on Ryan, does anyone want to go back to Port-O-Bea right now?" Alice huffed out.
Without anyone even saying a word, just about everyone in the group glanced toward Jamal, who was quick to see the opportunity presenting itself.
"Wait, before I ask for more, how?" he simply had to learn more.
"To sum it up, I've saved enough energy for someone to go back to the city for thirty minutes. In theory, you should be able to come back to this exact same spot when the time runs out." Alice was quick to pull her book out and start flipping pages, "As for the reason-."
"That would be due to the latest request we've received from the city and are in urgent need of one of your team members. Although, it seems that you all have decided as to who that will be." the advisor interrupted the woman, who was eager to catch a few breaths in. "We have to do this now then, so everyone for the battle ahead will be on site."
"So what do I need to do?" Jamal didn't want to waste any more of their time, as the advisor pulled out a watch.
"Do you see this red line?" the advisor pointed out, to which Jamal could follow, "Once you reach the city, immediately press the third button and your time remaining will begin. Just remember, it is only thirty minutes, so you have little time to waste away. The watch should also be able to withstand your full power, so you don't need to worry about that."
"Sounds good to me." the man set it around his wrist, as Alice started chanting her incantation. "Well, I'll see you all very soon then."
"One last thing Jamal. When you do teleport or whatever Alice actually does, everything's going to be a blur and you might be a bit dizzy, so you've been warned." Hops was quick to inform, "But good luck since we all know how bad you want to head back."
"Appreciate it, everyone," Jamal raised his hand to wave back one last time, before out of nowhere his entire body disappeared.
Even after seeing it done a few times, it still surprised the group with such fast travel being accessible through a person's powers or at least alongside the utilization of other items. That made it all more impressive.
"Okay everyone, he has thirty minutes to weaken Youden's offense and inflict some serious damage before he comes back. It's time for us to move out and assist in the final preparations." Alice closed her book with a bit of force, as she was somewhat slow getting up.
"You alright?" Leon raised a brow, as Hops was already by her side.
"I've kept that energy pent up for several hours, it's very difficult to hold and focus on other things at the same time. It's like using the bathroom, the more you hold your bla-." she was attempting to explain.
"Okay, we definitely get it now." Heskins was the only person inside the carr, as he spoke loud enough for them to all hear. "Let's just finally move out of here, we actually got things to do that we all know of."
.....
The view of the city was much worse than Jamal was expecting, as plumes of smoke and fires raged around the entire area. The gates were still standing strong, as it provided Jamal the much-needed height to see the warships off in the distance, occasionally firing a large caliber shell near the beach. Maybe it would have been smart to ask for a quick rundown or briefing on the situation, but he had no chance now. He could not afford to waste any more of the valuable time he had left. But there was someone he wanted to see first before he got to work.
"Here we go!" Jamal yelled with excitement, as sparks of fire flung around him, before he paced quickly towards the complex once back on the ground.