Chapter 5
Rise Of The Phoenix
"Loyal Subjects! Tonight, let us make merry! To commemorate this occasion, I have gathered the phoenix stones!" Cream announced from the dais.
"Stop this! You cannot let those stones make contact!" cried Eclair.
"Know your place," remarked Sephiroth, and blasted her with Heartless Angel.
Suddenly, Dyst arrived, as he did so. He announced the return of the phoenix, but Eclair still chose to protest. Cream soon began to chant, until the guard lit the fire beneath her. Finally the two stones united, as Lucy and Cody arrived, but Dyst blast them all back. Were they too late to save her?
"Natsu, everyone, thanks for all you've done. It's time for me to save Eclair like I promised," said Momon, and he flew towards Eclair.
He whooshed into the fire, and despite the burning sensation, the little bird managed to break her free, but was soon turned to ashes.
"Mighty phoenix, come to me now! Bless me with the blood that grants life eternal! Your blood and mine!" cried Cream.
"What a wretched thought, to imagine a child of such ignorant thought so full of vanity, such as yourself being granted immortality," scoffed Dyst.
"Dyst is right, fool. You were never worthy of being a god. The one who's truly worthy of that title, goes to Dyst. Soon he will destroy the old gods, and become one himself," added Sephiroth.
"He's right, you little whelp. This is the power I've waited for my entire life," he agreed.
Cream wasn't sure what he meant, until he was blasted back to the roof, and hung by his cape.
"Now gaze upon your rightful god! One who's reign shall endure forevermore!" cried Dyst, his true nature unveiled.
All the guild members along with TEam SKYYYLAARC watched in horror, as the now complete phoenix stone began to glow.
"The light of the phoenix revival," said Makarov, as he appeared with a box.
"Master Makarov, what is that you're carrying?" Erza and Asuna asked.
"Our upper hand," he replied.
"The magic Council's given their permission to use it?" the requip mage wondered.
Makarov's ally shook his head slowly.
"Let the council be damned," the guild master said.
Suddenly, the stone began to radiate with power, then exploded to reveal the very bird before them, as Dyst blasted several more guards to nothing.
"All mighty phoenix! Bless me with the blood that grants life eternal!" he shouted.
But the creature that appeared wasn't the phoenix, it was something worse. Dyst was confused, but he hoped that it still had blood in its veins, and he would have it.
"Now, Black Materia. Our time has come. Should Dyst fail, Veronica will be reduced to dust and ashes, thanks to a new calamity," declared Sephiroth, and he held the black orb high above his head.
The dark bird unleashed a burst of power that caused a shockwave in the distance. Everyone was shocked. Quickly, Natsu, Cody, Lucy, and Sora rushed to Eclair's side. They were relieved to see that she was still alive, but now she was changed forever.
"Is Momon here?" she asked them.
Suddenly, Happy began to sob.
"He flew into the fire to save you. He tried so hard," he said.
"No way," Sora murmured, knowing that his friend was gone.
But now wasn't the time to mourn. They still had a job to do, and that was to stop the rampaging bird from destroying everything. Natsu quickly told Lucy to get the others to safety.
"There is no safe place anymore! And unless we can stop the phoenix, there's no hope for anyone we hold dear. They'll die!" cried Eclair.
"You're wrong, Eclair! There's always hope! If we give up now, then all this is well and truly over!" countered Cody.
"Cody's right! We have a job to do!" agreed Natsu.
"Aye Sir!" added Happy.
He inhaled the flames, then lunged towards Dyst with Sora at his side, as the devastation continued around them.
"Almighty Phoenix! Now bless me with life eternal! Your blood in MINE!" he cried.
Below, Lucy, Cody, and Eclair quickly hurried away from the destruction and devastation, despite the maiden's belief that everything was doomed.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Natsu and Sora cried out, and struck at him.
"Don't interfere!" barked Dyst.
"Are you doing this so that more people can die!?" questioned the dragon slayer.
The dark bird continued to unleash destruction everywhere, while Cream watched in dismay at what was going on, while Sephiroth stood with the Black Materia in his hand. The guards tried everything they could to contain the panic, but suddenly, the Heartless began appearing and taking their hearts, just as the other members of Fairy Tail arrived to try and stop the creature. In an alleyway, Cody and Lucy tended to Eclair's wounds.
"Don't worry, we just need Wendy to come and heal you," she assured her.
"Don't bother," sighed Eclair.
"Eclair, please, don't talk like that," begged Cody.
"I'm fine, and I remember everything. All that happened," she said.
"What?" they asked.
"Veronica was built on top of the ruins of Fire Village. That was where I lived long ago," explained the maiden.
"We don't understand," replied Lucy.
"It was burnt to the ground 400 years ago, the night I was given eternal life," she continued.
She then remembered what the priest had told her those four hundred years ago, about how he had been a fool to worship the stones, resulting in total destruction, and that the stone had to be destroyed for good, if such a calamity were to happen.
"Perhaps as a result from the blood of the phoenix, my memory had been wiped clean. I carried the stone with me, not knowing why. While wandering aimlessly throughout the countryside. I drifted for what seemed like an eternity. Time held close by the graves of those I held close to my heart, an ocean of tears between us. 400 years, an expanse of time no one should endure," she finished.
"Then that means that this kind of magic is the kind that only brings shame and darkness," replied Cody.
"I just can't believe that you were right all along," added Lucy, who was shocked by what happened.
"This curse that I carry was brought about by magic, and it's cause me nothing but pain," Ecialr said sadly.
Lucy hugged her tightly as the chaos continued.
"We're gonna end this curse for good, even if it kills us. We never leave a comrade behind, even one who's lived for hundreds of years," declared the Son of Xehanort.
"Cody's right. If we chose to leave you behind, only then would it cause even greater pain than what you're feeling. We're ending this right now!" added the celestial mage.
Right as she said it, Sora and Natsu continued to clash with Dyst, with everyone else providing back up. Everyone except Erza, who saw that the box contained an arrow.
"Wait here until I give the signal. I will go and search for Eclair," said Makarov.
Erza nodded, just as Sora and Natsu engaged him in close quarters combat. Dyst blasted them back, but Happy recovered them, and they tried again.
"Why won't you die?" he demanded.
He still tried everything to get the phoenix blood, even though his enemies persisted, no matter how they tried. Natsu then bluffed him, then managed to grab him. Dyst was enraged. He tried to blast him off, but Natsu still clung to him.
"We'll never understand people like you! People who only wanna spread fear!" he shouted.
"You've forsaken your humanity, just as Dio Brando did, Dyst," added Sora, who was still in Dark Form, and they continued to strike.
Suddenly, as Lucy, Eclair, and Cody tried to hurry, the ground heaved, and they almost fell to their deaths, but Geese had come to the rescue.
"Hey there," he greeted, and pulled them to safety.
"Thank you, Geese," replied Cody, feeling somewhat relieved.
"We meet again," said the former bandit leader.
"What the heck are you doing here?" Lucy asked.
"Word on the street was this duke had some kind of special stones, thought they'd be worth a bundle, so I came to check it out. But I don't think I'll be getting my hands on them after all," explained Geese.
Despite their surprise, Gesse saw that the world was rather odd at times, but he assured them that if he was captured, he wouldn't save anyone from death, and he hurried away, but not before telling Lucy that she owed him one for saving her life.
"You're quite special. You make a connection with every person that you meet. Just as you did with me," said Eclair.
"You don't have what it takes inside to be a ruler!" cried Sora and Natsu.
"The only thing you need to rule is power, and I will possess absolute power when I'm granted eternal life! I will be an immortal god among men and will rule over the entire world!" barked Dyst, as he struggled with his enemies.
"It'll be wasted on you, because you don't know the first thing about life!" shouted the dragon slayer.
"I know to end this!" screamed the monster, and blasted Natsu back.
"YOU WILL END NOTHING!" howled Sora, and he assumed his Divine Saiyan Soul.
"And now, you will pay with your life!" he added firmly, after attaining Super Saiyan Blue.
"What are you doing?" Dyst asked.
"We're gonna make sure you never harm another innocent life anymore!" declared Natsu.
As they clashed, Sora knew what he had to do.
"KA…ME…HA…ME…HA!" he roared.
Everyone knew what that was, as the other mages fought against the phoenix. Even as Dyst tried to stop them, Natsu decided that enough was enough.
"YOU DON'T HAVE ANY RESPECT FOR HUMAN LIFE!" they shouted.
With Happy's encouragement, Natsu managed to strike him, sending him into the blue beam he was holding back.
"KAIO-KEN TIMES 80!" screamed Sora.
Both attacks enveloped Dyst, and all that remained of him was dust and ashes. Luckily, Happy was able to catch Natsu, and Ruby did as well with Sora. They carried their exhausted comrades to safety.
"They beat him," grinned Gray.
"Yeah, but it ain't over," remarked Gajeel.
"They may have been able to take down Dyst, but we've still got the phoenix on our hands," added Panther Lily.
Wendy was about to ask what they'd do next, when Cana assured her that they'd work together as they always did. The whole of Fairy Tail was there to assist in the final battle.
