Izai's steely gray eyes twinkled as he stared into the flickering silver flame resting in his palm. The power that existed in that small ember was enough to send waves of energy through him every time it licked at his skin. Nearly everyone else stared at the silver blazing in his hand, but a few hadn't made it that far.
"Kia..." Natsu mumbled his sister's name as his eyes began to sting. The fresh smell of her blood was cutting through the thick stench of sulphur that had been overpowering his nose since he had set foot inside the dormant volcano. A crimson pool had formed under Kia, slowly expanding. Natsu's heart raced faster and faster. "Kia! Sis! KIA!"
His fists bounced off the barrier that still rose from the edges of the magic circle that covered the platform. Lucy stood frozen, tears spilling from her eyes as her hands covered her open mouth. Erza had managed a few steps closer to the center of the open area, forcing herself to look away from the man and the stolen flame as she tried to find a kink in the barrier. They needed to get Wendy into Kia immediately. She silently prayed that the pair of Exceeds were on their way back with Levy.
Gray unknowingly tightened his grip on Amber's shoulder as the dark-haired mage held his other wrist tightly, both glued to the scene before them. Wendy had even paused in her exam of the Blood mage as she tried to remember what breathing was. Like Natsu, she and Laxus were picking up whiffs of Kia's blood on the air. The Lightning Dragon Slayer's fists were clenched at his side as he gauged where the barrier ended above them. He squinted, trying to figure out if it stopped at the opening of the crater or it was really stretching all the way to the aligned bodies in the sky like it appeared.
Pure wonder and triumph shone on Izai's face as he tilted his head back, lifting his hands to the sky, presenting the flame to the solar eclipse itself.
"From the flame I hold,
Bring forth the majesty of rebirth,
The master of life and death,
Of the pure inferno of reincarnation."
His voice rang out, the excitement slipping into his tone. The flame itself grew as the magic from the ritual fueled the mythical force of life he held. His eyes remained glued to it, the beating of his own heart synchronizing with its flickers. This was it.
"May the silver ignite life,
In this castle of ashes,
Where the legend began,
And shall rise again."
||~x~||
Everything was blurry, the light from the magic circle under her making it even harder to focus. The world had gone silent around her. Kia couldn't even hear Natsu's frantic yelling or his fists trying to break down the magic that was keeping him away from her.
It all felt so... peaceful.
Her body ached for the relaxation, for that release.
"What do you think you're doing just lying there?" The deep voice broke through her silence, "I don't remember raising any quitters."
Through the haze, Kia could have sworn she saw a large red mass sitting up on the other end of the courtyard. She couldn't make out any details, but there was no mistaking that voice.
"I'm not quitting," a young girl answered directly in her ear. "I'm just catching my breath."
"Could have fooled me."
Kia felt the urge to jump to her feet as she had all those years ago, "And I don't remember my dad being a pushy jerk."
A smirk had crept across Igneel's face, "But it got you off the grass, didn't it?"
Young Kia blinked a few times, her gaze snapping back and forth between the dragon and the spot she had just been sprawled out in.
"Damn it, Dad." She crossed her arms over her chest, "You know it wouldn't kill you to grow a little patience."
"Sorry kiddo, your little brother used up most of those this morning."
She mumbled under her breath with a sigh, "He always does."
Even speaking that softly, her words couldn't hide from his superior senses. The Fire Dragon King leaned down, nudging his snout into Kia's back gently. She bit the inside of her cheek, trying not to respond to the action.
"You can't keep ignoring me," Igneel nudged her again, putting a hair more force behind it this time.
The nine-year-old dropped to the grass so that she would be harder to push over. Though the thought was admirable, it was useless against a dragon. He exhaled out his nostrils, sending her hair forward into her face before she felt the strong push against her back. Kia tumbled forward, completing four full somersaults before landing face up in the grass again.
Igneel stretched his neck so that he could look down at his adoptive daughter, "If you want to get frustrated, then come and get me." A challenging grin graced his features.
As much as Kia wanted to keep trying to ignore him, her own expression shifted to mirror his. "You're on!"
The pink-haired girl jumped to her feet, fire licking up her arms as she got into her fighting stance.
Igneel readied himself for the flames he had been watching grow stronger and more precise over the years. He didn't have a doubt in his mind that Kia would continue to grow stronger than anyone would ever realize. He couldn't help the proud look that sparkled in his amber eyes.
"That's my girl."
The faint tricklings of Izai's voice reached her ears as those last three words echoed in her mind.
||~x~||
The Fairy Tail members gaped as the silver flame continued to grow exponentially bigger with each passing second. Now at least twice the size of the man who was holding it, it began to change its shape. What looked like wings were slowly expanding past the sides, the top sharpening itself like the beak of a giant bird. The flame just kept growing, not showing any sign of stopping until it had created the full image and scale of the phoenix.
Their attention was pulled away as the ash around their feet began to surge upward, swirling toward the silver inferno. Izai's excitement was clear on his face as the tentacles of ash slipped past the barrier to create the foundation for the firebird to rise from.
This was it. He had succeeded.
But his expression suddenly shifted to one of shock. For the first time since he began the ritual, Izai looked away from his prize. His eyes landing on the hand that had wrapped around his ankle.
"You didn't...do...very good...research..." Kia's grip tightened as she reached out with her very essence.
"Kia!" Natsu cried out in shock and hope, following Izai's gaze to see his sister moving. His forearms and fists rested against the barrier from where he had been trying with all his might to get through it.
No one else really had time to see why he had yelled his sister's name.
The silver flame surged outward uncontrollably. The sudden fluctuation took the dark guild master by surprise. He tried to re-contain the blaze, but found his link being disturbed. It felt the same as when he had first started experimenting with the ethereal chains that he used in the ritual. Before he finished connecting those dots, Kia was able to reconnect her flow to that mythical fire.
Izai's eyes widened as the flame shot upward out of his hand, soaring on its newly formed wings before diving to engulf the mage that laid at his feet. Bathing in the fire, Kia felt the comfortable warmth re-enter her body as she pushed herself to her feet. The wound in her abdomen sizzled as her magic returned, both healing and burning the hole so that it couldn't bleed any longer.
Strength flowed through her veins as her onyx eyes snapped open to lock with Izai's gray ones. Confusion and rage danced in his irises.
"You won't stop me!" He growled the words, "The eclipse is still happening! This isn't over!"
"It is over." Kia's half-hearted chuckle only fueled his anger, "Phoenix flames cannot be taken by force." Her explanation cut straight through him, "The silver flame can only be given."
"Lies!" Dark gray magic circles appeared in his palms as he raised his arms. The ash around the platform came to life, swirling around the older wizard. He threw his hands forward, "Ashen Falls!"
The volcanic dust swelled to resemble a tsunami, planning to come crashing down on her head. Flames licked at Kia's feet and ankles as she leapt up, her wings appearing seconds later. "Are you honestly using ash against a phoenix?!"
Izai had already thought that through as he clenched his hands into fists. The particles around him clumped toward as they moved, hardening into what looked like pieces of glass. "Shards of Cinder!"
Kia danced through the air, most of the glass splinters soared past her, only creating momentary holes in the two flames that were keeping her aloft. She ignored the few that nicked her arms as she turned back to face him. "Phoenix Cry."
The spiral of fire crashed into a wall of ash that Izai created in front of him. The wall shifted and shot back along the previous spell's path, small embers glowing throughout it. He was going to use her own power to boost his own. His magic was the byproduct of hers after all. "Raging Ash!"
Kia pulled in her wings as she dropped from the sky, teetering some when her feet touched the ground. She slammed a hand down, "Phoenix Slayer Secret Arts: Living Chains!"
Izai jumped back, trying to avoid the redhot chains that erupted around his feet. The pink-haired girl bit the inside of her cheek as she pushed her hand down again, recasting the spell. Her renewal of strength was beginning to wane.
"I don't remember raising any quitters."
"I'm not quitting," she mumbled to herself as she pushed both palms into the platform, simultaneously casting her spell twice. "Phoenix Slayer Secret Arts: Living Chains!"
Without wings, Izai had no hope of escaping the dozens of molten chains that came for him. They singed his clothes into his flesh as he tried to jerk free. He pulled at his magic, sending another Ashen Fall at the Phoenix Slayer in order to break her concentration. But Kia didn't pay the attack any mind. She just forced herself up to her feet, clapping her hands together out in front of her.
"Phoenix Tornado."
His steely gray eyes widened as the gigantic fiery disaster churned to fill the area within the ritual's barrier. There was nowhere he could run, even if he wasn't tethered to the platform. Voices played through his head as it grew closer.
"What happened to the good phoenixes, Mom? Will they ever come back?"
"Who knows, Izai? The great Fire Birds were a wonder that left the world in awe. They will return when they are ready."
A faint smile flashed in front of him with the younger voice of the woman who had been at his side all these years. "Don't worry, Izai. We'll still make your mom proud."
His shoulders relaxed. 'It's alright, Demi. Everything-'
But that was as far as his thoughts could go before he was consumed by the flaming tornado.
||~x~||
Natsu and the others stared, waiting for Kia's last spell to dissipate. The glow from the fire died down but the inside of the volcano didn't fade back into dim light. The sun shone down through the opening of the crater as the moon shifted out of its way. It only made the shimmering from the fading barrier seem more magical. A ray of sunshine falling directly onto the platform, acting as a spotlight for the pink-haired female that stood tall, her gaze toward the body that laid across from her.
Her little brother's eyes were full of awe as Kia seemed to glow while her wings flickered away into nothing. The fight hadn't been the greatest thing he had ever seen, but seeing her standing and alive was. Natsu had been terrified when she had faceplanted the platform. The way she hadn't moved or responded to anything he had been yelling made him fear that he had lost her. They hadn't gotten there in time.
Kia finally pulled her eyes away from Izai's body, still panting as she turned to look at her family and friends. A faint smile crossed her lips as she saw the happiness in her brother's face. Everyone else displayed their own looks of happiness or relief. Behind them, a full-sized Pantherlily landed with Levy and Juvia under his arms, followed closely by Happy with Gajeel and Carla with Cana.
Seeing everyone safe, Kia let herself fall to her knees.
"Kia!" Natsu was at her side in an instant, some of the others not far behind. One of his hands rested on her shoulder, but hers landed on his right after.
"I'm fine, Natsu." Kia leaned over into him to rest, "Just a little tired."
A soft green glow came from the small hands that were suddenly against her back. Wendy's voice was calm, "I'll treat the poison Amber said was in her system, but you'll have to take it easy."
The Phoenix Slayer nodded, not having any problem with following the little Slayer's words. Gray had helped Amber to her feet, keeping one of her arms around his shoulders to guide her over to the group.
Kia peeked through her lashes at the approaching footsteps. "How are you doing, Amber?"
"How about not scaring the shit out of me for a while?" The Blood mage shook her head. She sat down in front of Kia, Gray crouching down with her.
Cana and the others walked up with Erza and Laxus, stopping behind the dark-haired duo as Lucy moved to stand near Natsu and Wendy. The Card mage looked between the pink-haired siblings.
"Which one of you tried to reignite the volcano with their magic?"
Natsu blinked at her a few times in confusion as a light chuckle escaped his sister. "Sorry about that."
"At least, you both are alright." Erza crossed her arms with a smile, "That's what matters."
||~x~||
One more chapter and the filler arc will be coming to a close. The girls will have to deal with a bit of the aftermath and then we are one to Tartaros.
Hope you guys are enjoying it! See ya Thursday!