Incarcerated Innocence, a Fairy Tail fanfic by Tsunami Storm
Chapter 7: Inconsolable
(set just after Jellal's 'death')
Fairy Tail was never the same after that terrible day, almost exactly a year ago. Most of their family and friends had disappeared from this world, leaving no trace of their existence or even the island that they had been training on for the S-Class trials.
Jellal sighed heavily as he stood outside the Fairy Tail Guild Hall, storm clouds hanging over the town of Magnolia and rain pouring down as if the heavens themselves were in mourning for the absent Fairies. This was going to be uncomfortable if anyone spotted him. However, if he managed to pull it off, it just might relieve some of the tension that had been building inside them all ever since their mutual loved ones all disappeared from the face of Earthland. Or at the very least, provide an outlet for all the pent-up grief they were all trying their best to internalize and hide from everyone else.
Steeling his nerves, Jellal silently activated Meteor and rocketed up to one of the second-story windows of the hall, perching lithely on the sill like a graceful feline. Then he quietly dove behind the stage curtain with barely a ripple to the fabric to indicate his entrance. Fortunately for the masked mage, no one was paying much attention to the auditorium portion of the structure, preferring instead to focus on their drinks in which they were attempting to drown their sorrows on this dreary day.
Laki, unable to stand the melancholy mood any longer, carefully got up from her seat at one of the picnic tables set up in the Hall and made her way to the stage, a shabby-looking acoustic guitar hanging from one shoulder. No one looked up from their drinks until she began carefully tuning the instrument, and to everyone's surprise, Vijeeter joined her on stage as well, prepared to accompany her music with an interpretive dance.
As the opening notes rang out around the Guild Hall, Jellal physically felt his mood souring to match those of the rest of his comrades in the guild. A melancholy cloud of loneliness and despair hung over all of them as they recalled their long-gone loved ones.
"Rain is pourin' down like the heavens are hurtin'.
Seems like it's been dark since the Devil knows when.
How do you go on, when you don't know for certain-
Will the sun ever shine again?
Feels like it's been years since it started to thunder.
Clouds are campin' out in the valley and glen.
How do you go on, when you can't help but wonder-
Will the sun ever shine again?
What if the rain keeps fallin'?
What if the sky stays gray?
What if the winds keep squallin',
And never go away?"
Maybe soon the storm will be tired of blowin',
Maybe soon it all will be over, amen!
How do you go on, when there's no way of knowin'-
Will the sun ever shine? Wish I could say.
Send me a sign, one little ray.
Lord, if you're listenin', how long until then?
Will the sun ever shine- again?"
Sniffles and sighs echoed through the Guild Hall after Laki's mournful dirge, the atmosphere permeating every corner of the building and every crack in the human spirit as Fairy Tail mourned the losses of almost all of their promising young wizards. Even Jellal felt his energy draining away in the gloom that had gripped Fairy Tail as of late.
Shaking his head sharply to erase his feelings that were depressing even by his standards, Jellal quickly borrowed Mira's old electric guitar and checked if it was still in tune. It was, so Jellal breathed a quiet sigh of relief as he strummed a few opening notes. Through the somewhat transparent curtain, he could see Fairy Tail looking around curiously for the source of the music. Tapping into the powers of one of the magical staves strapped to his back, Jellal projected images straight from his mind onto the backdrop curtain, catching the attention of the mages and transferring it off of himself as he began to add lyrics to the music he was composing on the spot.
"Long ago,
But not so very long ago.
The world was different,
Oh yes it was.
You settled down,
And you built a town
And made it there.
And you watched it grow,
It was your town."
On the 'screen', images of Fairy Tail in its earlier years flashed by, causing the remaining mages to tear up at the nostalgia. Everyone was gathered there, from the younger versions of the S-class five to the child versions of Team Natsu, minus Lucy. Lisanna, Elfman and Mirajane Strauss sat together at a table, Mira glaring daggers at Erza sitting at the next table over. Natsu sat grinning next to a huge plate of barbecued meats, a kitten version of Happy sleeping on his head.
"Time goes by,
Time brings changes,
You change too.
Nothin' comes that you can't handle,
So on you go."
At the next verse, the images shifted to reveal a clip show of some of Fairy Tail's highlights, mostly Team Natsu's adventures with Eisenwald, Galuna Island, the incident with Phantom Lord, the Tower of Heaven, Fantasia, Nirvana, and the journey to Edolas. The clips described with pictures how Fairy Tail had grown so much over a relatively short period of time, once again bringing tears to everyone's eyes.
"You never see it comin',
When the world caves in on you,
On your town.
There's nothin' you can do."
Then, an image of Acnologia attacking and destroying a city within seconds flashed before the Guild's eyes, bringing up painful memories. It wasn't exactly what happened to the Tenrou Team, but it was close enough to tug at everyone's heartstrings. The next few clips showed a virtually empty Magnolia, and a declining Fairy Tail Guild hall, its proud flag hanging by a single cord instead of a hook at both ends.
"Main street isn't main street anymore.
Lights don't shine as brightly as they shone before.
Tell the truth,
Lights don't shine at all,
In our town..."
The slideshow faded just as the final notes of the mystery song echoed in the sparsely-occupied Hall, accompanied by several sniffles and shakily-concealed sobs. After the Illusion magic faded from the visible spectrum, the curtain parted slightly in the center to reveal a figure stepping out from behind it, his long dark cape billowing behind him and full mask covering most of his face except for his dark hazel eyes. As one, the entire guild gasped in shock at the sudden appearance of their sole remaining S-class wizard, whom they thought had left this world years ago, never to return.
Putting a gloved hand to his mouth, Jellal softly kissed his fingertips and stretched out his arm to the direction of the sea, where almost all of his friends and comrades had disappeared beyond the horizon. "I'll never forget you." He muttered quietly, but everyone still heard the heartfelt vow as the sniffling slowly petered out. They would have happy days again, someday. One day, the sun and their absent friends would return. They just had to be patient.
End of Chapter 7
God Bless!
Tsunami Storm