Firefall || Fairy Tail

31 : t h e . g a t e s . h a v e . op e n e d

It was clear to Kia that Doranbolt didn't trust her in the slightest now. She had expected that as soon as the words left her mouth, but this was not the time to go into the gritty details of her life.

"Do you have a way to get in contact with Crime Sorciere?"

He blinked at her question, "I could find a way."

Kia nodded as she crossed her arms over her chest, "You should contact him and let them know what you just told us. He brought it up to me last we spoke."

"We should also find a lacrima to call Grandpa and the guild," Verani sighed. "He'll be having a heartache the minute he hears what happened here and we haven't checked in."

Kia nodded, "We'll find one after we find a hotel for the night."

"You want to investigate the wreckage some more?" Amber asked.

"I don't need to. I doubt it will tell us anything we don't already know." Kia's eyes were trained on the disaster around them, but they weren't seeing it. Her mind was filling in the blanks of what had happened. Doranbolt wouldn't have to use his magic to show them, even if he had offered. Her forearms began to itch, her memory recalling the tingling sensation that would run through her limbs before Jackal's curse would detonate. She clenched her jaw as she released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

"We need to figure out what they're after." Kia blinked a few times as she spoke, finally turning to face the others. "I hope you two don't mind skipping the trip home."

Amber shook her head as Verani shrugged, "I was expecting as much. Grandpa will understand."

"It can't be avoided," the Blood mage added, "Tartaros can't be allowed to run around unchecked."

"Wait a minute," Doranbolt pushed himself to his feet a little shakily. "You can't seriously be planning to go after them with just the three of you."

His turquoise iris landed on onyx ones. Kia's expression said enough.

"That's insane! You saw what one of them did to the entire Magic Council in a matter of seconds! This whole building was obliterated in the blink of an eye! It would be suicide!"

Amber sighed, "You're yelling at the wrong person." He turned his gaze toward her in confusion as she elaborated, "You're yelling at the person who shoulder-checked Acnologia on Tenrou."

Doranbolt's eyes widened, not fully comprehending what he was hearing. "You did what?!"

"He shouldn't have tried to attack my family," Kia shrugged as if sideswiping the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse was something she did everyday right after brushing her teeth in the morning. "Just because something is an overwhelming threat doesn't mean that I'll just run away. That just means there's even more reason to stand up and fight it. Tartaros is no different."

The Teleportation wizard remembered seeing the mysterious streaks of fire and lightning arriving on the island moments after he had first seen the legendary dragon. There had been speculation that it was the Mythics team arriving after they went missing with those that had been participating in the S-class trials, but he would have never imagined any of them going straight for the terrifying beast. Even seven years later, Doranbolt could see the devastating blast of its magic on the inside of his eyelids. His body remembered the feel of its shockwave as they followed Lahar's orders to retreat.

His eyes followed the pinkette as she looked out over the ruins one last time before turning back to her friends.

"Let's go."

||~x~||

It had been simple enough to find lodgings for the evening. Anyone not native to Era was trying to hurry through their business so they could leave the town. The fear was thick in the air, floating in a way that someone could almost try and bottle it.