Isen watched in fascination as Adelaide weaved her magic. There was a graceful beauty about the way it moved through the air, snaring around the drones within reach before pulling them down out of the sky in a way that was anything but beautiful. It was, however, effective; she began snaring drones, smashing them together and destroying those who couldn't handle the magic being forced against their bodies. He had watched in awe but it was clear now that she needed him and so, he placed his hand over one of her own, squeezing it reassuringly as she continued her spell. He wasn't sure if it would do anything; maybe she could draw something from him, or just having him there would help her keep her composure long enough to take all of the damn things out of the sky. Either way, rather than simply wait and watch as the person he cared most about put her all into trying to save the city, he wanted to do something, anything to help ease her burden.
One by one, the drones began to fall. Isen heard crash after crash of metallic bodies smashing against the concrete below, or imploding upon themselves in an explosion that sent their parts careening in every direction. Leaving nothing remaining until all of the drones on their side of the neighborhood had finally sputtered out, Adelaide had managed to web her magic, and the magic stolen from Takami, through every single remaining drone until not a single one, gun nor orb, remained untouched by her spell or floating in the sky. He made sure to catch her if she would stagger back, he couldn't imagine how exhausting that could have been. Even though there were still more of them in the sky, the remaining half around the barrier, he had to make sure Adelaide was okay first, lest she immediately jump into another spell without properly assessing the damage the first one may have done to her.
Takami found himself leaning against one of the brick walls, barely catching his breath, his catalyst all but faded. He began to cough up blood, his eyes looking upwards as the final swarm closed in around them. Energy blasts hit Samara's barrier, causing it to buckle. The energy that had once been so solid began to ripple like a stone in a pool of water until it finally gave out. With a scream, the partition fell, leaving her and everybody inside exposed.
"Guess this is it, huh?" She asked her bird, leaning her head against Priscilla on her shoulder, nuzzling against her feathered face. "You're too stubborn to listen to me, aren't you? You won't leave me?" She asked and Priscilla shook her head, chirping into her mistress' ear. "Wait, what are you...?" She asked as her familiar began to flutter up and off of her shoulder and into the sky. For a moment, the tiny bird stood as the only division between Samara and the barrel of every drone that remained in the sky. "Priscilla...no....you can't..." Samara began to whimper, tears coming to her eyes as the drones trained on to the bird now. They seemed confused by the sudden fall of the barrier and now, the approach of a small magical bird, it had bought them time but it would only delay the inevitable. The drones were recalculating, they would fire towards Priscilla and then, through her, straight into Samara and her shop. "No!" She yelled a second time, her hand wrapped around her mother's pendant and her voice a blood-curdling scream that Adelaide and Isen would easily hear from the other side of the neighborhood. The barrel of each drone igniting as they launched a volley directed towards the witch and her faithful companion.
And then, the sky ignited.
Samara couldn't believe what she was seeing and, from the bright light and wave of heat, she could barely see anything to begin with. Her scream and touch had ignited the pendant once more, exhausting every last bit of residual magic still inside of her mother's keepsake but that magic did not move through Samara's body. It hadn't given the witch a third chance at taking down the drones, it didn't cast a spell to protect her or give her any sort of way out; the magic had drawn directly into Priscilla. Much like Ember before her, who looked on in the same shock as Samara did, Priscilla had changed. Samara hadn't figured out how to do it. It was a spell that had alluded her for years, she was so surprised and happy that Adelaide had done so and she had traced it down to a very volatile variable; emotion. Adelaide's distress and sadness had transformed Ember into a larger, ferocious cat, and her comfort and care for Isen had reverted Ember back to normal. In this moment, the only emotions Samara must have felt were concern, and perhaps fear. Concern for her beloved friend, not herself, and fear of what her life would be without her if she had somehow survived that blast.
She had given Priscilla everything she needed to find a higher form, with an assist from what was left behind by her mother, of course.
Black wings were replaced with golden red and orange, the air around her blazing hot from the flames that burned so bright, Samara had to lift her free hand to block it out as though she were staring directly into the heart of a sun. When the initial flash had faded, she could see with clear eyes what had become of her precious friend. Priscilla had changed form into a brilliant, burning bird, and the blasts that were aimed towards her had melted away from the heat of her body like they were nothing. Taking one last look back at Samara, Priscilla's wings flapped and with it, she ascended, crossing distance left between mistress and metal and cleaving through the drones, melting them away until they were nothing. More blasts were aimed towards the burning familiar, most of which were melted though some began to land, causing the bird to shriek in pain but continue on, chaining through each drone until they were all reduced to molten metal.
Priscilla's body was steaming as she came back down towards Samara, a job well done but at a great cost. Her body transformed back into it's smaller form but it remained golden and orange as she landed in Samara's hands. She was burning hot but Samara didn't feel a thing as she cradled her best friend within her arms and watched her tiny eyes close for the final time. The tears flowed freely, dropping from her eyes and sizzling against feathers beneath, boiling away water and salt into vapor. "No...how could you..." She whimpered into Priscilla's body, holding her close in her arms one last time. "So stubborn, so..." This wasn't the way she wanted her future to change. Priscilla was supposed to out live her, to go with Adelaide and Isen, to live a life after Samara was gone and now, she was left to mourn the one true friend who had carried her through the darkest moments of her life.
A light against the dark. A Phoenix.
"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry. Please, don't go..."
The sound of magic fizzling out came first, then footsteps broke through the quiet reverberation of a tearful woman's cries. Samara looked up from the source of her pain, expecting to see Adelaide and Isen coming towards her but it wasn't them. Of course, it couldn't be them. This man looked at her with pure rage in his eyes. This man was armored from head to toe, weapon drawn as he approached the powerful witch before him without a sense of fear. This man was General Orion Van Dyne, murderer of her mother.
"Mourning your mother, still, or are those tears for your weak, little familiar? They keep sacrificing themselves for you, it really doesn't make sense, does it? You're so far from worth it."
Samara carefully laid Priscilla's body down onto the concrete and pulled herself up to her feet, as desperately as she could. Every inch of her body ached, every part of her soul stung with a pain worse than anything physical. She looked upon the man who had ruined her life and heard him taunt her, making light of the sacrifices made to keep her safe. Samara's hand curled into a fist, magic swirling around it, though weakly. She brought it into the man's chest but his armor absorbed the shock and he pushed her back against the wall with one arm, knocking the wind out of her. Her outfit protected her from the impact, but not the after shock.
"I should have never let you live. You've been nothing but a thorn in my side for years, years! And now look what you've done. You've ruined everything I've worked for, everything we've worked for. You've doomed this city, these people. We'll need to start from the beginning, but now they'll see it coming, it will never work again." He was rambling like a man possessed, mad and crazed with thirst for power. The manipulative man who had ensnared her mother's heart stood over her with utter disdain etched into his face as he rose his weapon heartlessly above the fallen, defeated witch with intent to strike.
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