Fairy Tail: Null Infinite

Chapter 1: The Village That Loves Mages

The sound of rapid panting echoes as a young boy, no older than 5, runs as fast as his small legs will carry him. His every step resounding throughout the tight cave as a group of mages chase him, blasting all kinds of magic his way. The boy reaches a light at the end of the tunnel and without a second thought, he leaps through the gap.

His grey hair sways in the wind as he plummets down from the raised cave exit, down into the river below. The water stings his grey, fearful eyes as he comes up for air. Unable to stop and take a breath, the boy swims to the riverside, coughing and spluttering the water he inhaled before taking off again, away from the mages that followed him out. "Get back here!" "Stop running you freak!" The mages all shout out towards the terrified boy. He doesn't stop, instead, opting to make his way into a thick forest. The boy trips, stumbles and scratches himself on branches as he runs, his clothes being torn by the sharp brush.

A fire mage launches a stream of fire towards the boy, barely missing him and setting the forest alight. The mages pause for a moment, contemplating whether to continue chasing or to let the flames do the work for them. In the end, the villagers choose to do the latter and exit the forest as the flames rapidly spread and burn the surroundings.

The boys eyes are filled with the image of the blazing forest. The nearby animals abandon their homes and race out to protect their own lives. As the boy frantically searches for a way out himself, he hears a small, weak cry. Searching for it, the boy eventually spies a young, wounded deer with singed skin. The boy runs over to it, slowly putting his hand out to it. After a while, the deer stops being cautious and accepts the child's help. The boy helps the deer to its feet and carries it a small distance before he sees a tiny gap in the flames quickly being sealed off by the raging fire. The boy rushes, however, he realises that he has reached his limit. His stamina has run dry, his legs are shaking and his adrenaline has all but completely faded.

Using the last of his strength, the boy gives a weak, warm smile to the deer before throwing it through the gap and out the forest just as the flames enclose around him. The boy sees the deer through the flames, standing weakly, looking at him for barely a second before limping off in the other direction. Tears begin to fall down the boys cheeks as the last of his strength fails him. His legs give way and he collapses to the ground, barely breathing as the flames encroach upon his position. The flames reach him, burning his clothes to ashes, but leaving his body unscathed as the night falls upon him.

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"Uuuuuuu...." The sound of a sick young dragon slayer can be heard as the train reaches the station. "Come on dragon breath, we'll leave you here at this rate." A boy with dark hair and no shirt on tells the salmon haired boy. "Gray! Clothes!" The blonde girl yells towards the naked boy called Gray. "Ah! Where'd they go?!" Gray frantically searches for his clothes as the others; a sick Natsu being supported by the blonde named Lucy, followed by a red headed girl clad in silver armour called Erza, a small girl with blue ponytails named Wendy and the two exceed Happy and Carla.

The group make their way out of the station, finding that they still had a long way to travel if they are to ever reach the location of their 100 year quest. Erza pulls a large map out of one of nowhere and begins trying to find where they should be going. "It would seem that there's a small village to the east of here." The scarlet haired girl states with utter confidence. "Um, Erza? You're holding the map upside down." Wendy tells Erza, questioning why her directionally challenged compatriot was the one to hold the map. "Ah! So it is. In that case, the village is to the west. Thank you Wendy." Erza thanks the small girl. "N-no problem."

"So what's this place called anyway?" Natsu asks curiously. "It says in the guide for this area that the village is called Uppruna. It's famous for the festival it holds once every year where they apparently give thanks to an ancient god they believe to be the ancestor of all magic" Carla answers whilst holding a book barely smaller than her body. "Ancestor of magic huh? Sounds like a bunch of idiots if you ask me" Gray says, disbelieving the villages superstition. "Aww, come on Gray, how amazing would it be to find out what the origin of magic truly was?" Lucy says, her eyes sparkling at the idea. "If it had any facts to back it up then don't you think that information would be more widely known?" Gray replies with skepticism evident in his tone. "I-I suppose you're right..." Lucy becomes downtrodden at the surprisingly fully clothed boys answer.

After about three hours of nonstop walking, the group finally arrived at the village. Preparations for the festival have already begun with decorations and banners hung across the entryways and various people scattered around with bags full of shopping. "Wow, this place sure is busy!" The flying, small, blue cat chimes up from beside Natsu. "Like I said earlier, it's the festival. We've arrived a day or two early though." Carla responds to her fellow exceed. "Do you think any of these people would like some help setting up?" Lucy asks curiously. "Sorry to say, but you'd probably just get in the way little lady." An unfamiliar, male voice answers from behind the group. Everyone turns to face the source of the voice, finding a relatively tall man with mid-length black hair and reading glasses. His clothes look tidy with a neatly buttoned, long white coat with yellow patterns , black pants and black dress shoes.

"O-oh, um, who...are you?" Lucy asks the tidy scholar. "Ah! Where are my manners. My name is Turra Lerant. A pleasure to meet such fine Fairy Tail mages." The man, now revealed to be named Turra introduces himself politely. "How did you know we're Fairy Tail mages?" Wendy asks curiously. "Hm? Well, I can see the half naked boys guild mark." Turra replies. "Ah! Where'd my shirt go?!" Gray, once again searches for his clothing. "Gray, please, at least until we leave this village, get your stripping habit under control." Lucy asks while sighing. "Yeah, don't want to scar some unsuspecting little kid." Natsu adds on. "What was that, flame brain?!" As the two are about to go at each other, Ezra steps in between them. "That's enough of that." The two boys freeze in their tracks before squeaking out an answer. "Aye sir..."

"Haha, well, now that that's sorted. How would you all like to come to my residence for some food?" Natsu's face lights up at Turra's mentioning of the delicious substance known as food. "I'll take that as a yes?" Turra adds on worriedly, not knowing just how much the hungry mage might end up eating.

The group, now with Turra as their guide, walk through the village until they reach a lone building made of stone. It looks like any other inn with a sign atop the front door that reads 'Mama Bears'. "That's...an interesting name." Lucy says with partial curiosity. "You'll understand once you see the owner." Turra answers the girls statement.

When the group walks in, the sound of happy drinking fills their ears and the rather plump woman behind the counter calls out to them. "Oi! Turra! Ya brought a couple o' young ones back didja?" The lady at the counter yells, surprisingly avoiding attracting the attention of any of the other patrons. "Haha, these guys and girls are Fairy Tail mages that happened to arrive not to long ago. I'm just showing them a place that they can stay for awhile." Turra exclaims back to the woman. With the mention of the group being Fairy Tail mages, the entire building suddenly becomes silent. Everyone's eyes land upon the group making Lucy and Wendy feel uncomfortable, Gray feel creeped out, Natsu doesn't seem to really notice and Erza seems to simply ignore the attention. "This could be troublesome..." Carla states with concern.

The silence is almost immediately replaced with an eruption of applause and cheers. "U-um, what?" Lucy asks, bewildered by the cheers they are receiving. "The people here are celebrating magic. What did you think would happen when mages as powerful as you guys showed up." Turra explains. "Ehehe...well, this should be interesting at least." Wendy adds wearily.