A story loved by many but plagued by an author's ill experience is now back! Welcome to the official rewrite of The Big Bang!

The white city gleamed in the afternoon sun. The ground was white marble, engraved with etchings and brick patterns. Sidewalks adorned the entire city square, bridges spanned calm canals that sparkled in the broad sunlight, and gondola's guided young couples along what was surely a beautiful date.

Mason sat in a square stone island isolated by the canals; two of the majestic bridges attached the tiny park to the rest of Magnolia Town. He had somewhere to go, but couldn't help himself; he had dug his hands in his pockets and sat there, staring in awe.

Lush blooming flowers decorated hedges and potted plants. With the help of large maple trees, they added a natural and sweet-smelling aura to the city. Mothers played with little girls in the green grass of the park. Singing birds he couldn't recognize topped it all off, adding a pristine chorus to the beautiful scene.

Bells rang from somewhere else in the city, reminding Mason that he was on a schedule. He folded the flyer that had been in his hand and put it away, remembering what he had come to Magnolia for. He left behind the picturesque park, albeit with a heavy heart.

The directions left on the flyer were obscure at best; the building was said to be in Magnolia Town but the map suggested it was just outside the city. Mason had made his way to the center hoping he would catch sight of the buildings, now he could do little more than guess a direction. He chose North, opposite the coastline, and set out.

He wanted to get there with plenty of time before dinner, so he could finish his business with them and have time to get something to eat in town. He also didn't want to rudely intrude during a meal. Despite this, he could not tear his eyes away from the sign of a small magic shop.

It seemed as if the building was a regular size at one point, but the adjacent shops squished it to half its regular width and twice its former height. Though it's selection was most likely humble, Mason figured it would suit his needs perfectly. A bell chimed as Mason entered.

"Hello dearie," an old woman greeted just as mechanically as the bell. Mason regarded her politely and moved to one of the displays in the shop.

"Is there anything you're looking for, dearie?"

"I'm looking for a gift for my mother." Mason poked a floating hand that made up a magic clock. "Something that's not too hard to handle that she could make use of."

"How about this?" The old woman had somehow already protruded the object, holding it out to show Mason. It was a small box with an open top, big enough to fit his hand inside. "This will make all of her kitchen duties a breeze! Put in any food and it'll dice it right up, instantly! Chop chop!"

"My grandma has one of these and she loves it." Mason took it from her to study, considering the buy. "It would lighten her load…"

"I have one of my own, I can chop up all the ingredients for stew in a minute!"

"Alright, I'll take it. How much?"

"4,000 Jewels."

Mason bit his lip, it was a high price but he felt rude haggling with the kind old lady.

"Could 3,500 Jewels work instead?" He asked hesitantly.

"I guess that could work, darling." Mason breathed a sigh of relief. He worked hard for his money and wished he could have saved more of it, but he didn't want to risk treating the cashier rudely.

Mason had barely handed over the money when he heard a commotion from outside.

"I'll look after it." He promised the cashier with a quick nod, then ran out to find whatever was the issue. Mason ran down the street and ducked into an alley to reach an open area behind the lines of buildings. Inside was a strange sight was to be seen.

A tall man with indigo hair faced away from him. He wore a white overcoat and held two revolvers, pointed at two of three other armed men. All three of the other men wore threadbare poncho's and mustaches of varying style and intensity. The four of them barked at each other in different language, a language barrier clearly adding confusion to the exchange.

"Tu engañando bastardo!" One man snarled behind a three-pound mustache.

"Vamos a atarlo detrás de los caballos," another told the first.

"I! Do! Not! Know! What! You! Are! Say-ing! Right! Now!" The man in the white coat said, shifting one of his guns to a man that had spoke. Even though he held two, each mustached man carried two revolvers and they were all focused on him.

"Eres una serpiente en un traje," the last man said, gesturing with a pistol to the man in white.

"Horseshoe over there had cards up his sleeve," The well dressed man explained. "How do you think he had more chips than you two put together?"

"Et tu, Felipe?" One man, who would have likely been called Handlebar turned to Horseshoe, his face covered with hurt.

"Yeah! What an ettu!" The local joined in without any understanding of what was actually said. Handlebar moved one of his guns from the white clad man to Horseshoe.

"Traidor!"

"Trader?"

"Nō," Handlebar annunciated the word to the local. "Traidor."

"If he's a trader, I bet he sells fakes!" The one who spoke common now pointed both of his revolvers to the trader. The other two mustaches pointed the rest of their guns the same way.

"El mentiroso!" The horseshoe trader hissed at the one with indigo hair. The poncho'd men turned their back to the other and began to yell amongst themselves, their guns all pointing at each other now.

"Seeing as you three are all busy, I'll take my leave..." The man wearing white began to back up slowly. He wiped his fingerprints off the revolvers with his sleeve before setting them down on the marble, dusty and dirty in this part of town. A mark on the back of his lowered hand seemed to be shining to Mason's watching gaze, a symbol Mason had seen many times recently. He never had the chance to speak up, for Mason already couldn't spot the sly man. It seemed he already had an escape route in mind before making his getaway.

Mason yelled after him, picking an alleyway closest to the arguing gunslingers and racing down it. His form changed as he ran, his feet barely found the ground before pushing off and he took long, surprisingly graceful strides. Despite all of this he ran faster than the average man and in less than a minute he could spot the retreating man, white coat flailing behind him like a flag in the wind. It took three strides for Mason to place a hand on his shoulder. He whirled around in surprise, expecting one of the fooled mustaches from before to have caught up with him. His hand flew to his white sleeve with startling finesse and retrieved a single playing card, held between his index and middle finger. He held the card as if wielding a knife. It glowed a dull blue as he spoke.

"Come to accuse me of cheating or theft?" His eyes scanned the alley behind Mason.

"Neither, though I don't know think I'd be that far off." Mason smiled, a twinkle in his eye to best show this stranger he meant no harm. Thankfully, a sly smile spread on his face.

"The best cheaters and thieves are all innocent, and I intend to stay that way." The man's card disappeared up his sleeve and he lifted his stance. Mason saw the man's face fully for the first time; his eyes twinkled in two different colours. One was a brilliant blue, while the other was a dazzling green. The combination looked strange, if they so much as landed upon you they looked as if he was studying you intensely. They always seemed to be jumping around, even when they were still. It was an eerie combination. "I can tell you're smarter than the others back there, my name's Dante Atene. That's At-een."

"Mason. Mason Marcotte."

"Mason, what a peculiar name," Dante pondered, "how can my services be of service to you?"

Mason pulled the flyer out of his pocket and held it out for Dante. A smile spread over his face.

"That means you're with me. I'll take you there. Come on, before those ponchos realize I pointed their guns the wrong way."

Mason dropped the flyer, now with no need for it, and let it drift to the ground.

Help Wanted!

General worker for the mage guild Fairy Tail.

Magnolia Town, inquire within Guild Hall.

000

Dante took Mason through Magnolia with many times the skill Mason traversed it prior. If anything, the alleyways Dante took to avoid the mustaches from before shortened the trip and avoided any civilian traffic.

The air was hot and stuffy in the tall dark alleyways. If anything Mason would have guessed the opposite would be true, since sunlight couldn't reach them now, but the heat seemed to follow the air and there was now no wind to provide any relief. It made him wonder how Dante kept his coat on. He was sure Dante was the only one that truly knew how heavy the coat was, with all of the different things Mason's hadn't ruled out as being hidden up Dante's sleeves.

They left the city entirely to get to the guild. West of town, down a gravel road, and into a forested area was where the hall resided. Atop a hill, accessible by worn, mossy, stone steps stood the proud guild hall of Fairy Tail.

Mason was not one who quickly judged a situation, yet even he could not help but criticize the guild immediately upon seeing the guild hall. He had grown up to stories of mighty heroes: Natsu Dragneel, whose flames burned hotter than the sun; Erza Scarlet, beautiful as she was dangerous; Gray Fullbuster, calm, collected, and stronger than anyone knew. He couldn't imagine these heroes residing in such a place as this. The guild hall was quaint at best, a height that was barely two stories composed from crumbling stone and cracked wood. The crested roof above the door had a slant to it that translated onto the sign it held: Fairy Tail. The building looked like a farm house or tavern, not a place that housed heroes. Mason held his tongue for now, deciding to hold any further judgement until he actually met the guild members.

One guy had a buzz cut, a gold chain, and a black shirt with a large silver S on it. He was talking with a guy who looked like his hair was reaching out to grab someone as he smoked heavily on his pipe, which emitted purple smoke. There was one man who wore a witch's hat and his body shape was that of a perfect sphere about the size of a minivan. Another guy wore a strange black suit and stood there, doing what looked like interpretive dance. There were people with bull cut's that should never see the light of day, a man racing back and forth around the guild at high speeds, one guy even had skulls dangling from his belt.

"And you called me peculiar." Mason forced a short laugh

"I said your name is peculiar, I find you to be interesting if anything." Dante waved to the few members milling around the guild.

"Dante, is this the main guild hall of Fairy Tail?" Mason was prudent in his choosing of a sentence, as to not suggest the wrong idea.

"Yeah, it is…" Dante's tone lowered a notch. Mason knew that he needed to deliberate further, realizing it alongside a gulp.

"I just mean… It doesn't seem like the guild is all that full," Mason's eyes flicked around, as if needing to affirm his statement, "I haven't seen any of the members I've heard of either. Where is Salamander? Or Titania?"

"Nobody knows…" Dante replied, turning away from Mason so he couldn't see his expression. "Why do you want to know about them? Is the guild not to your liking?"

"I-it's not that…" Mason said quickly, embarrassed at the response. Mason stayed quiet for a moment, trying to reason his words carefully this time around. "It just seems like I haven't heard about them for a long time. Especially because everyone talked about them when I was a kid."

"Relax, I'm just messing with you. Try not to take it personally." Dante turned back, showing a slight grin. "The thing is, nobody has heard from them for years now. It's like they just up and left.

"DANTE!" The words struck the fear of god into him. His mismatched eyes froze and he stiffened, looked truly scared. A girl blew open the guild doors, pink hair flailing.

"What do you think you're doing!?" She demanded. Her hazel eyes blazed at him, an action that didn't seem right for her face.

"I-"

"You know I'm the tour guide and show all the new members around!" She shook her head at him; the long pieces of pink hair that weren't tied with a ribbon shook.

"Is she really the tour guide?" Mason leaned towards Dante and asked.

"More of a self-appointed position, but don't tell her that," Dante advised.

"I CAN HEAR YOU!" The girl exclaimed, sticking her neck out. She grabbed Mason by the elbow and pulled him away from Dante. Her expression suddenly changed to bubbly and friendly, as if she was a whole new person.

I guess she is just protective of her unofficial position, Mason retorted.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail!" She squealed, interrupting his thoughts. "I'm Maryanna Lux!" She offered a small hand and Mason took it eagerly, being sure to remember the name. She continued to walk him to seemingly nowhere in particular.

"Well I'm Mason Marcotte aaand..." Mason looked at all the passing doors while he said the word, stretching it so the motion would fit. "Where are we going?" She laughed as if it was a stupid question.

"To meet everyone, of course!" She smiled and returned to her old course. She was in what seemed to be an ivory-colored school outfit. A blazer-type jacket and a frilly skirt, topped off with a plaid bow just below her cleavage. "There's no better person to introduce a new member than me!"

"Maryanna, you realize that I'm not actually a member right?" Mason chuckled. Maryanna skidded to a halt, her face still turned away from him. "I'm here to be a worker."

"Oh…" Maryanna whirled on him with a surprising face of joy. "That's wonderful! I work here after school, and Dante runs a game night! You'll be working with us!"

Mason laughed, he expected to be looked down on for not having a mark. "I'm not a worker yet, mind you. I hope to be one soon."

"Don't worry about becoming a member." A sly smile appeared on Maryanna's face and she turned away from him, walking away lightly. Dante reclaimed his place at Mason's side.

"What does she mean?" Mason asked. Dante simply pointed at Maryanna, who was speaking to the man with the oversized "S" necklace and slicked back hair. A scene unfolded before their eyes, too far away to hear. Maryanna said something to the man, pointing back at Mason as she spoke. The man looked skeptical, rubbing his chin stubble wordlessly. It was then that Maryanna turned back to the pair, speaking loud enough so they could hear.

"Hey Dante, did you know that Macao has a secret stash of -" The one she called Macao pounced into action, snapping his fingers and making a purple fire jump from his fingertips. It formed a hand that covered Maryanna's mouth, silencing her. She didn't seem scared of the fire, for it didn't seem to hurt her at all. The still frantic Macao crossed the distance between him and Mason in a few steps and eagerly shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you! Macao Conbolt, Guild Master! Glad to hire you!" He didn't stop shaking Mason's hand (or sweating) the entire time he spoke. Maryanna was a few steps behind him with a too-wide grin on her face.

"Awesome!" Mason exclaimed. "When do I get my mark?"

The others fell silent. None of them met Mason's eyes, but Macao spoke.

"Kid, only magic users can be members of the guild. Sorry…"

"Oh…" Mason bit his tongue, what a fool he was! It was a wizards guild, let alone Fairy Tail that he was working for, and he expected to be welcomed among veterans? He would have to wait if he wanted to become a member. "It is a mages guild after all." He let out a weak laugh.

"Burn the damn Magic Council and their rules." Dante slapped him on the back, startling him to full attention. "Don't let them tell you whether or not you are a member here. You'll be just as much one of us than any magic-user in no time."

"Thanks Dante." Mason was honest, he was truly thankful. The man stood up for him, showing the first real example of Fairy Tail's infamous bonds. Even if he wasn't a member, Dante refused to let him fall away from relevance.

"We can show him around from here, Macao." Dante nodded at the Master, who took his leave. Dante waited for him to leave before continuing. "Mason, what's your favorite color?"

"Green, why?" An object was pressed into his palm. Mason's eyes went wide when he saw a guild mark being stamped on by Dante. "Where did you-, it's against the rules!"

"If it's here you'll be able to hide it if you ever have to." Dante pulled off the stamp, leaving a green Fairy Tail mark on his palm. "Burn the rules. Mason, you're one of us."