I had planned on getting this out yesterday, but unforeseen circumstances kept me from posting. To those who celebrate it, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas. To some parts of the world, I may be late, others may be celebrating it. but still, may your days be merry and bright.
To everyone though, Happy Holidays. Make sure you spend this time with family and enjoy everyone's presence. It's unknown how long you'll have them, so make the most out of any opportunity you can to be with them.
This special Holiday chapter is not a continuation of this story, that is the sequel story Scarlet: Dreams of the Throne. This is a special chapter which explores the what-if scenario of Eren leaving the Tower of Heaven alongside Erza all those years ago. What would happen differently should things play out that way and how would Fairy Tail have changed? This doesn't go into specifics, that may be a separate thing altogether.
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, I only own my OCs
Once again, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!
(Fairy Tail)
The cold breeze of a young winter's morning spreads throughout the city of Magnolia. Many citizens are out and about preparing the city for the holiday's many cheers and celebrations. Light posts are wrapped in garland and each tree was covered in just the right amount of tinsel and lights. Truly the city itself was in a joyous mood, one which couldn't be broken no matter how adamant the weather wished to say otherwise.
Even Fairy Tail was participating in the celebrations. Granted they did so in their unique way, it was a celebratory mindset nonetheless. Erza and Mira went about getting the decorations in place, giving orders and directions to almost everyone in the guild. Those that weren't helping to decorate the guild were either away on a job or decorating their own homes for the festivities. Truly it was a spectacle to behold in of itself. There was garland running all across the bar and the numerous railings. Magic lights of various colors dangled from the ceiling, giving the illusion of snowfall in the guild.
The tree that was to be the centerpiece of the celebrations was carefully decorated; each member was allowed to place one ornament on the tree. Symbolizing their everlasting commitment to the endless journey that was Fairy Tail. The everlasting search to find out if Fairies did, in fact, have tails. Alzack and Bisca decorated the tree with models of their weapons, Laki used her magic to create a wooden mockup of Fairy Tail's symbol. Cana's ornament was a card decorated with a snowflake on a blue background. The Strauss siblings worked together on their ornament, gathering their funds together to purchase a special lacrima that replayed the most comforting memory the mage using it had. Their life was full of tragic moments, as were most others in the guild, so it was only fair that they had something to remember the happy moments.
Gray decided not to put anything on the tree itself, instead, deciding to create a little toy train to go around the tree's base using his ice magic. Lucy hung a group photo of all of her spirits, wanting something that they all could smile about together. Natsu created a small fire to be the star on top of the tree, it wasn't bright, yet it felt comforting to look at and gave a nice warm glow.
The only one who didn't add anything to the tree was Erza, she wanted to do something special with her touch. She wanted her sibling to be there with her, to also take part in the festivities. Ever since they escaped to Tower of Heaven together, the two of them were pretty much inseparable. They were the Titania and Oberon of Fairy Tail. Together they were the strongest team in Fairy Tail, Team Scarlet.
(Magnolia)
Eren was currently milling about the town, browsing various shops. He had been wanting to give something special to everyone in the guild. To thank them for taking Ezzie and him in all those years ago. Every year it was the same, he would browse around town but would never find exactly what he was looking for. There were times he got close to finding the perfect thing, but something didn't seem right about them. It was either the wrong color or would have been easily destroyed or damaged during the guild's numerous brawls. So, he wouldn't get them and kept looking elsewhere.
Emily was right there alongside him; it was obvious to anyone watching that the two would end up together. It was something that both of them wanted as well, but neither of them could summon the willpower to make it official, much less ask the other how they felt.
"I still remember your reaction to when Master freed you from that spell." The pair had taken a random turn and wound up on a bridge overlooking the river that flowed through the city. With the snow falling from the clouds above, it was itself a beautiful sight to behold.
"Those tears you shed when everything was done, it's one of the many moments I'll never forget." The river was beginning to freeze over, little bits of ice could be seen floating on the surface. Combined with all of the lights glowing around the city, it set an ambiance of comfort and joy.
"Why wouldn't I cry, you idiot!" Emily's cheeks puffed up. "I was scared that I would remain an animal for the rest of my life!" playfully hitting him on the shoulder, the two continued to laugh and talk about anything that came to mind.
"But I wanted to ask you about something." She began, "What was it like? Fighting the Oración Seis?" Eren closed his eyes in remembrance, bringing up a time he'd rather forget.
"It was hard, perhaps the hardest fight of my entire life." Eren would respond, his voice choking out the words as he spoke. "I remember the looks in their faces as we stood face to face in that clearing. The betrayal, heartbreak, and anger. I felt their emotions, all of them; and it hurt, more than you can imagine. They're sights that I never will forget for the rest of my life." It was true, all of it. Eren never did want to fight his friends, the ones that he had spent his time in the Tower of Heaven with. He had contemplated surrendering to them, allowing them to take all the anger they had out on him. But Erza managed to snap him out of it, convincing him that they freely chose to become dark mages.
"It's funny in a way; here we are enjoying the holiday season. Yet they're stuck inside jail cells, just like all of us were back then." He would pause for a moment, collecting his thoughts on the issue. "I'm going to go visit them. I have to, it's the only way I can make it up for abandoning them all those years ago." Emily took his hand, wanting to let him know that it wasn't his fault they turned out that way. That it never was his fault, to begin with.
"If you do go," she began, "I want to go with you."
Erza's voice could be heard in the distance, calling out to the two of them. It seems as though the celebrations at the guild were starting sooner than expected. Together the two crystal mages meet with Erza and returned to the guild. With the celebrations close at hand, everyone should be at the guild. Even Guildarts Clive was present, which by itself was a rare occurrence.
(Fairy Tail)
The holiday festivities were in full swing, everyone who was currently working the bar was happily milling about the guild giving out and taking the various orders that the numerous guild members wanted. One of the more popular things on the menu was one of the many seasonal alcoholic beverages on the menu. Makarov was sitting on the bar watching as the numerous guild members took part in the festivities. Truly this was one of the moments he enjoyed, watching over his so-called "brats" as they enjoyed themselves.
Emily, along with the twins, has recently come back, and already there was another ornament on the tree. A small red and blue crystal shaped like a rosemary leaf. Symbolizing Erza and Eren's home village, as well as the new relationship that was formed. Eren and Emily, both users of Crystal magic and former cellmates who managed to escape the Tower of Heaven.
Natsu and Gray managed to somehow got into another brawl, although Erza quickly put a stop to it to keep the decorations intact. After all the work that went into getting the guild ready for the holidays, it would be a pain to have to redo it all because of a simple guild brawl.
Finishing his drink and meal, Eren left the guildhall. Afterall there were still some friends of his that he needed to pay a visit to. Having noticed this, Emily followed not long after. He would need her support; it was likely that it would be a highly emotional visit for all parties involved.
(Magic Council Prison)
There wasn't much in the way of decoration, the Magic Council wouldn't want to waste unnecessary resources on putting decorations in a prison of all places. There were better places to be decorated, more elaborate places that garner far more attention than a mere prison. The main buildings and branches being examples of such buildings.
But this was where Eren and Emily went, there were people here they wanted, no needed, to visit. A group of five mages who Eren still believed to be close friends of his. Despite everything that happened eight years ago, when both of them left the Tower of Heaven after being reunited with Erza. He never forgot the friends he made during his imprisonment, the good times they had together despite being confined to a single cell. They never forgot the numerous stories that were told in an attempt to maintain a positive atmosphere.
The first cell the two of them visited was Hoteye's, or as he called himself now, Richard Buchanan. After being brought back to reason and seeing the light due to nirvana's influence. The conversation between the three of them was nice and pleasant, Richard himself no longer carrying any hard feelings about the confrontation nor and hatred for Eren's 'abandoning' of them.
Sawyer was in a similar mindset to Richard. While openly hostile at first upon seeing Eren again, said anger was quickly dispelled when he realized that Eren took no joy during their confrontation. That each blow hurt him just as much as it hurt them. That deep down, neither one of them could truly commit to the confrontation.
Midnight was still asleep, completely unlike how he was back then. The two just let him be, Macbeth needed the rest, he went far too long without it. They would reconcile once he was fully awake and consciousness, it was too early to talk with him now.
Cobra was next, this was a conversation that needed to happen, no matter what the result of it may be. While the two never went up against one another, their tension between them was palpable. Able to be cut by nothing more than a butter knife.
"So…" Cobra began, "Have you come to assert your dominance over me? To rub our defeat in my face?" Erik didn't even bother looking at the two who came to visit him, already know exactly who they were by their sounds alone.
"No, nothing of the sorts Erik." Eren's tone was soft, if not a little somber. "I have no reason to do so. I already lost that battle before it even began." Emily was there beside him. Providing any sort of comfort, she could. It hurt her just as much as him. seeing their cellmates once again locked up behind bars. It was ironic in a sense, she surmised. While the two of them were free, able to go where they pleased. Their companions and friends were once against prisoners, locked behind bars with little chance for getting out.
"Then why come here? There's nothing you would be here for, if not to hold our defeat over us." Erik would then ask, finally looking his supposedly former friend in the eyes. Noticing the sad look to them, but not bothering to question it further.
"There is a reason, and a personal one at that." Eren was nearly quiet, just loud enough for his friend to hear. "I wanted to apologize for abandoning you eight years ago. To this day I haven't stopped thinking about all of you."
"What is there to apologize for? You abandoned us and that's that." His tone was final, wanting an end to the supposed conversation. Eren could sense an end to it as well, all three of them could. It seems as if Erik wasn't in the mood for making amends. A mood that broke both Eren's and Emily's hearts.
"Erik," Emily tried to say, only to be waved off by the poison dragon. That all but confirmed what the two of them had been thinking. That Erik wasn't in a mood for conversation and was still angry about their defeat.
"I see," Eren would then get up to walk away. "I still think of you as a friend Erik, I will for the rest of my life. I hope you remember all of the good times we had with each other, I always will."
There was one last person they needed to go talk to. The one who got Eren to open up during their stay in the Tower. Sorano Agria, the spirit mage of the former Oración Seis. She was his first friend, yet when they met at Worth Woodsea, she was the one who held the greatest anger towards him. Even go so far as to prematurely engage him once the dust had settled after Christina's crash and the subsequent standoff between the two sides.
Sorano looked like she hadn't been taking care of herself, only eating the bare minimum to stay alive. She even appeared to be somewhat anorexic. it was simply a nature of her mindset; she lost her ability to find and care for her younger sister. What kind of a sibling would she be if she couldn't even do that? This, she felt, was her punishment for being a failure of a sister. Something she deserved for all the suffering she's both been through and caused throughout the years.
"You should eat something Sor," Eren's voice cut through the silence surrounding the two of them. "It's unhealthy, the way you're treating yourself." Initially, she wanted Eren to just leave her alone. That this was what she deserved and that he should just let her be.
"How would Yukino react if she saw you right now?" For the first time in a long while, tears began to emerge under Sorano's eyes. He unknowingly hit the sweet spot when it came to his first friend. Sorano cared a lot for her younger.
"She'd…" Sorano would try to say. "she would be disappointed, wouldn't she?" it was the first time Sorano spoke since arriving here. Something that the guards have failed at doing multiple times.
"No," Eren reached out across the bars, giving Sorano the biggest hug a friend could ever give. "You're wrong Sor. She would be happy that she has an older sister who cares for her." Despite the chill in the room and the lack of warmth that Sorano gave off. The area around the three of them never felt warmer.
"I know because that's how I'd feel." Eren eventually let her go, giving a glance towards Emily that it was time to go. They needed to return to Magnolia and fast. Otherwise, Erza would never let them hear the end of it.
"Never give up Sor, Neither Yukino nor I want to see you like that." Unknown to both Eren and Emily, Sorano had a small smile. Newfound confidence and desire burning within her. There was still more she needed to do. Yukino wouldn't wait forever after all.
(Outside the prison)
Erza, having quickly figured out what the two of them were up two, was already waiting by the main entrance. Having jumped to the conclusion that Eren was betraying Fairy Tail to bust his old friends out of prison and reform their old guild. What she saw, however, completely went against her earlier assumptions. It was just Eren and Emily walking out, smiling as best they could. Not even waiting for any sort of explanation, Erza quickly started to berate the two of them. Only stopping to catch her breath, before quickly going back to berating them.
Desperately, but yet to no avail, the two tried to defend themselves. Yet Erza had none of it, so sure was she of her quickly made an assumption. That she was nearly on the verge of dragging the two of them back to the guild herself. That way they could apologize to everyone for their supposed actions. The only thing which managed to stop her was the council official who had just walked out, catching everyone present off guard.
"Eren Scarlet and Emily Krauss" they began, "the Council has reviewed your request and after giving it some thought has decided to permit the release of the Oración Seis under the specified terms." Behind the official were the former members of the Oración Seis. Convicts who were recently allowed a second chance. A chance to redeem themselves and learn what true freedom is.
"Erry, what did you do?" Erza's stare was hard, sure to kill anyone of a weaker mindset.
"They were too much like me Ezzie," Eren finally explained. "Trapped in a cold cell, not knowing what freedom is like. I wanted, no I had to give them a taste at true freedom. If I could be free, then they should also be free." He then walked towards his friends; Erik was still uncaring about being released while the others were crying tears of joy.
"Besides, with this time of year, the freedom to make your own decisions is perhaps the greatest gift anyone can receive." With that being said, all nine of them begin the journey back to Magnolia. So that Fairy Tail could be introduced to six new members of their family.