What's the first thing that comes to your mind if I mention the Oración Seis? A group of dark mages seeking to flip the world inside out? Perhaps, but I don't see it that way. To me, I see a group of mages who did not deserve the life which they received, led astray by the whims of an old man.

Perhaps they could have been led down a different path, had things played out differently. Or here's a proposition, how would the world of Fairy Tail change, if Erza was a part of the Oración Seis? The theory holds some merit, being that both Erza and the members of that guild came from the Tower of Heaven. Only 1 thing would have to change, in my belief, for it to be a plausible scenario. Instead of Jellal kicking her out of the tower when he did. She is chosen alongside the others to join that guild.

What do you all think? Would it be worth exploring in the future? Assuming everything else to be constant.

Disclaimer: we don't own Fairy Tail, we only own OUR OCs.

Enjoy chapter 21!

(Worth Woodsea)

Eren had been walking this path for hours. The question of where he was going was ever-present but never answered. He felt like a wanderer. A wayfarer, a migrant—whatever you wanted to call it. He felt aimless, like a sword without a purpose, stuck within its sheath.

His mind was racing faster than he would like to admit. He tried desperately to determine if he should just accept the ever-growing feelings in the back of his mind. More specifically, if he should listen to them. Should he cast aside and reject the world because of its flaws?

He paused every once in a while, perhaps in vain, trying to find an answer.

"I don't want this world to end," he breathed out into the cold evening air, his breath coming out invisible plumes. "I don't want these emotions. I don't want to accept them." He stopped again.

In front of him was the base of a waterfall. Chilled droplets splashed onto him as they made contact with the mass of water below. Perhaps this was the only perfect thing he'd seen in a while...

His hands balled into fists. "Erza, I'm scared. I don't know what to do anymore." He suddenly felt so small. Small and vulnerable. He craved the warmth of a fuzzy blanket or a comforting hug. He wanted to be patted on the head, be told he was doing well, be assured that everything would be okay. It was silly, really. That hadn't been a reality since he was very, very young. The biggest desire he felt, was to have his sister by his side. To explore the world together, just like they promised each other all those years ago.

He sighed. "Why am I agonizing over every little thing?" he muttered, though he really knew the answer already. Somehow, deep down, he always knew. He gave the sky a rueful look. "It's because of you, isn't it?" Of course, it was rhetorical. "Why do you want to ruin this beautiful world? Our world. My world."

In Eren's point of view, he needed a direct answer. Why would she ruin everything she worked so hard to create all those millennia ago?

He wouldn't get a response—that was obvious enough.

After a while of contemplation, the pressure at the back of his mind grew. It was a burning sensation that hit him in a sudden wave. It cracked his skull without any physical damage; it drove him to madness in a fraction of a second.

It was a pain, unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. It was indescribable, the emotions that followed, but what he knew for sure was that they filled him with hate. Whatever it was, it took all that he had to resist it.

He gripped his hair tightly. His knees buckled and he fell to the ground, curling up into a rather pathetic-looking ball. "No!" Eren cried, his voice echoing in the darkness of night. "I won't do it! I won't!"

His cries of agony went unanswered. No one was in the vicinity to hear him, at least that's what it felt like. The massive, endless moon reflecting on the water below was a painfully accurate depiction of his heart.

Lonely and cold.

He craved companionship; he craved warmth. He didn't want to be the blurry reflection of the moon anymore. He didn't want to be 238,900 miles away from his life anymore. He wanted to be close. To be loved.

Had he been alone for too long, pushing everyone away? Perhaps. He wanted companionship, someone who would understand him far more than he understood himself.

He grit his teeth and shut his eyes tightly. A hiss leaving his mouth. A searing pain, like a needle stabbed through the brain, hit him in five quick jabs. He desperately reached out for anything to make him feel centered.

Eventually, his hand managed to clasp around the charm that was on his necklace.

Ah, yes...

He reminded himself, that necklace wasn't just a necklace. It held memories, value. Things he had created. It was part of his impact on the world. He breathed deeply, slowly calming down.

The pain dulled down, fading itself into a low buzz. The voices weren't screaming at him anymore. They whispered, but he couldn't make them out. They were white-noise.

He opened his eyes. He hadn't even noticed that he'd teared up.

He wiped his eyes and sat up, not yet finding the strength to stand. He chuckled, a smirk finding its way onto his chapped lips. "I won," he whispered. He looked up to the sky, taking a deep breath. "You hear that, woman? I won!" It was a scream sent into the starry, black sky and due to the sudden darkening of the moon's brightness…

He quite wondered if she'd heard him.

"Erza, thank you. Thank you for helping me survive that." he would express a small smile. "Yes, a trip to the beach would be welcome right about now."

(Magnolia)

Erza slipped through the crowd and into the back streets of Magnolia, blank and nearly abandoned. She was desperate to get away from everything. All the imperfections, all the distractions. She couldn't concentrate on anything—not even her work.

Though… With the job she'd been tasked with, she didn't particularly want to.

Swiftly, she twisted and turned throughout the street, finally returning to Fairy Hills. She didn't greet anyone, nor spare them a passing glance. She didn't want anyone to see her troubled expression.

Her room was perhaps the only place she could get away from those feelings. The thought of ending the imperfect world she lived in. This was the only place she could truly see anything resembling perfection. Something that gave her calm. It was the place that the voices finally quieted down, keeping at a low whisper, easily ignored.

Erza flopped onto her bed with little grace, letting out a huff. "I wonder…" she muttered, looking out her window. "What do you plan on doing with us? Once you've had your way and destroyed our world, that is." She fiddled with her locket again, desperate not to lose the only thing that kept her going for those eight long years. "Will we get the chance to live again? To make our new lives in your new world?"

Her gaze darkened. "Or will you drive us away into the ether of your mind?"

People had tried to enter her room, but she wouldn't let them. No one had to see her in this mindset. No one would be allowed to witness her fight, her struggle to maintain her very sense of self.

But shortly after, she didn't feel like she was in her room anymore. She felt like she was floating, empty, nothing. The only thing she could see was a dark space, devoid of anything

Across from her stood Eren. He wasn't the free, loveable kid she remembered him as, but an older, more mature version. His face was thinner, his jawline sharper, just a hint of stubble on his handsome face. His face was etched with pain, deep-set and irreversible. His eyes were begging to receive any sort of assistance. A way out of his darkness. He was reaching for something, anything that would help ease the apparent pain he was feeling.

Without thinking, Erza reached out for him, trying to hold on to him, comfort him, ease his pain. Her fingers almost brushed him, but each time she got closer, he got further away. Each time she called for him, he screamed in pain. It was a deafening, terrible screech. Each time he screamed, it tore away at her soul, bringing back memories of when the two of them were small, frail and helpless.

Tears pricked her eyes. She tried harder and harder.

Eventually, she managed to reach him. She reached the scared, fearful, child she loved with all her being. She hugged him, she held him close, she rested her forehead against his and breathed in his scent.

"It's okay, Eren," she said. She spoke with the type of comfort that only true care could emulate. She smoothed his hair, gently undoing some of the tangles in the longer strands of his hair. "I'm here for you," she whispered. "I always will be."

When she made contact with him, part of his pain was transferred to her. The fight to maintain her mind against the flood of hateful, world-ending thoughts was something she would endure, even though the pain was unreal. But she would go through the pain, not only for her sake. But for Eren's as well.

She bit her lip so hard it bled. Her fingers wrapped tighter into his scarlet locks. "We'll survive this," she struggled to say, "together." It felt like millions of tiny needles were poking at the edges of her mind, fighting to reach her soul and corrupt her true emotions.

She offered a weak, pained smile. "I still have to take you to the beach. Just like we used to." Eventually—after what felt like too many terrible, terrible hours—the pain subsided.

There was silence. The twins held each other close, without a word.

"Erza," Eren began, his voice shaking, "I don't want this life anymore. I don't want to be alone anymore." He held her close, clinging onto her for dear life. "Erza, please…" His voice sounded more like a whimper than anything else. "Please! Save me from my own nightmare." He looked up at her, his eyes damp. "I don't want to be Scarlet—not anymore."

(Waterfall)

"Um, excuse me?" A voice drove him from his thoughts. It was a sweet, caring voice. One befitting of a child. And that's exactly who he saw asking him. A girl no older than fifteen, by the looks of her. "You were screaming pretty loud." Her large brown eyes look concerned. "Is everything all right?"

Eren felt himself brighten. Finally! Someone heard his calls. They heard him and came to him. He couldn't get any happier.

He nodded. "Yes, everything's okay. Just something I was dealing with in my head is all." He offered the girl a seat beside him, a chance to relax her feet. He didn't have any ill-will toward her, but she was clearly intelligent enough to not be so easily trusting.

She stood where she was, giving him a curious look. A light breeze brushed past, buffeting her dark hair. "Why do you smell like a dragon, mister?" she asked.

The question caught him off guard. He cleared his throat. "I could ask you the same thing, you know."

She shrugged. "I know. But really, this is the first time I've met anyone who has that kind of scent before."

"Is it now?" He let out a huff. "Well, to be fair, this is kind of a first for me, too."

She smiled a little. It was a refreshing kind of grin. "Really? That's amazing!" she cheered. "I'm Wendy, by the way." She shoved out a hand in greeting. "Wendy Marvell. I'm a Sky Dragon Slayer."

Hesitantly, he shook her hand, so much smaller and more delicate than his. "Eren," he said. "Eren Dragnae. I'm a Crystal Dragonslayer."

She quirked a brow. "Crystal Dragonslayer? Grandine never told me about people like you."

He didn't quite know why, but he wanted to tell her his story. Maybe it was the fact that he'd finally gotten the recognition he desired. His wish for his struggles to be noticed first. For someone to acknowledge his pain.

"Well, there's an interesting story behind that, actually," he said. He felt himself about to get carried away, but he bit his tongue, holding back. "Unfortunately, I don't have time to explain even a portion of it."His mind traveled back to the bitter chill of the Crystal Plains. The talk of dragons brought back memories of his own adoptive mother, the one he cared for dearly.

(Crystal Plains)

"I'm surprised, Eren. You seem to be adapting to the cold much better than I thought you would."

That voice was Sapphira, his mother. Well, adoptive, but he considered her to be his mother nonetheless. After all, out of everyone he'd met, she was the only one who'd showed him any sort of maternal-like care. He felt protected when he was close to her.

Back in his hometown, the two of them only had each other to rely on—no one else. Even in the Oración Seis, the only person he could truly trust was himself. Brain wouldn't offer any paternalistic advice. All he managed to do was berate him and his friends for their seemingly endless amount of failures.

"The cold doesn't affect me too much nowadays," he replied. "I think it's safe to say that I've adapted to the cold well enough." He was sitting cross-legged on the ground, the frost melting around his legs. He breathed deeply, meditating, trying to control the flow of the magic around him.

She gave him a gentle, toothy smile. "You're getting better at that," she said. "Keep that up and you'll be able to do it without even thinking."

"I already can," he chuckled. "I was just doing this until you came back." His response was gentle, spoken with a smile. It was in moments like this that he was the happiest. There was nothing to taint it; it just existed in the purest way.

It existed to make him have the slight upturn on his lips, for him to look up at her with admiring eyes, for her to chuckle at him and call him silly. For them to be happy.

What a shame that was all in the past now. Stuck with within the confines of his memory. But that was a happy spot for it to be.

Slow chapter this time around, but character development is always a good thing no? We'll start getting into the meat of the arc soon, just trust us. We're just setting the scene a little here, along with more insight into the main players.

Before we go, I would like to leave you with a couple of quotes from Fairy Tail.

"People cry not because they're weak. Its because they have been strong for too long."

-Mirajane

"Moving on doesn't mean you forget about things. It just means you have to accept what happened and continue living."

-Erza to Wendy