Author's notes: So it begins... If you've read some of my other stories like Laughter Of Yesterday or Activation Energy you'll know that I've been working towards this project for a few months now. Over the next month I hope to get one or two more chapters out and will probably be going back and redoing parts of these again and again until September, so that'll be fun.
I hope you guys enjoy and... yeah, I don't feel like overloding the ANs today so let's just get to it!
- Vex out.
Black Wings – Chapter 1: The Boy Without A Name
X-776
It had been a normal day in the research facility; everybody went about their daily activities making progress on whatever it was that they worked on. Due to their location being hidden deep within a rather expansive mountain range the personnel were able to get away with some quite shady stuff – perfect, given their agenda.
Unlike some of their sister facilities they were given free reign over what they chose to research by their superiors; test subjects, equipment, specialist help – whatever it was they wanted, they had to do with as they pleased. It was a good deal from their point of view... until now.
An explosion caused the entrance to the lobby to blow inwards. The noise echoed through the corridors making all within freeze in shock, confusion or a bit of both.
''Hey? What the devil's going on up here?'' yelled a rather disgruntled scientist who had been in the middle of organising his notes. He was quickly silenced by an electric-charged punch. From out of the dust two males walked out, one a man with reddish orange hair, the other a blonde teen.
''I still don't get why Gramps sent you with me. I can handle a job like this by myself!'' the boy in his mid teens complained, his hand still buzzing with electricity. His bright yellow hair was spiked back and a distinctive lightning bolt-shaped scar crossed over his right eye.
The middle-aged man accompanying him laughed. ''Sure you can, Master just wanted me to see how you were getting along.''
''What? Am I being put up for promotion?'' he asked excitedly.
This produced yet another laugh. ''Sorry Laxus, but you've still got a bit further to go until you're ready for that.''
The fifteen year-old sighed, then made a determined expression. ''It's only a matter of time now! Okay, let's split up and find those kids!''
They nodded before separating, moving deeper into the building through the winding corridors and knocking out any enemies they found on the way to their objective.
Just another day in the life of Guild Mages.
Elsewhere...
The professor took a sip of his coffee as he looked over his work, the regular beeping from the consoles attached to the container serving as a soothing metronome.
''Magic injectors one through four are running as normal sir,'' reported one of his subordinates.
''Very good, carry on,'' he said dismissively.
''Actually...''
''What is it?''
''Well sir, I just heard something from the others. Is it true that Subject 9 has been activated?''
''Yes, but don't get any ideas! It will take several months before 14 reaches full maturity. Until then we must remain diligent, even the smallest oversight could result in failure.'' It was a warning that he had given a hundred times before but he had to keep repeating it, it was important to remember just how badly things could go wrong.
The subordinate just nodded. ''Of course, just like 4 and 5... Thank you Sir, I'll be going now.'' With that he left.
'Good kid. He will go far if he keeps at it,' the professor mused, taking another sip. His focus returned to the large pod before him; it looked like a blue liquid yet was solid to the touch and had numerous tubes attached to it each performing different tasks. There were the Magic Injectors which were needed to mold the subject into the final product, life support, monitoring systems and so on.
Finally, there suspended in the pod was a black haired boy. He appeared to be sleeping, hanging there with his eyes closed – his young teenage body on show. His development was truly astonishing from a scientific perspective, but the professor couldn't shake the feeling that there was something off about the whole project.
Was what they were doing...?
'No, there's no place for doubt in this. I'm in for the long run now.'
He was broken from his thoughts by the shrill voice of his personal assistant. If he had the power to he would replace her in a heartbeat, but alas personnel assignments weren't up to him.
''Professor!'' she called, ''there's an incoming message from headquarters! They say it's urgent!''
He sighed before walking to his office, thanking her absent-mindedly, trying to block out her irritating voice. 'They say urgent but it'll be yet another report request.' Between failed subjects and other complications the higher-ups had become rather strict on regular reports. These weren't exactly the ideal conditions for a successful experiment but they had to work with what they had.
Once sat behind his desk and his mug had been set down he pressed a button, activating the communications lacrima. The screen that was static changed to one showing the image of his superior.
''Hello Director,'' he greeted. ''What can I do for yo-''
''No time for pleasantries, we have little time. You are to gather all research materials and documents before evacuating. We are abandoning Laboratory 14.''
''What?! Why? Subject 14 is progressing as planned. There have been no problems with-''
''That is unimportant. Not too long ago we lost contact with one of our facilities – the fools there were too careless and exposed themselves again.''
''Oh good grief...'' the professor didn't need to be told which one it was, there had been issues regarding that place before. It wasn't too far from where they were currently stationed either; if they were found, it wouldn't be too long until they were discovered too.
''It appears they really screwed up this time. Their last transmission reported Mages from one of the Legal guilds attacking.''
''I understand... what do we do about 14?''
''We can't risk taking the time to transfer it, the subjects are expendable anyway-''
''Wait! Were these the Master's orders? If we slip up it'll be our heads you know!''
''There's no time! You must leave ASAP! We will arrange a replacement once you are relocated. Now get to work!'' With that final order given, the connection was shut off and the screen returned to static.
He sighed and massaged his temple. 'Well and order is an order...' he thought getting up and leaving his office. ''Everyone,'' he called, getting the attention of all in the room, ''I want you to remain calm. We are evacuating this facility, you have five minutes to gather all vital data we have. Subject 14 is to be left behind but make sure nothing else valuable is forgotten.''
Say what you like about Dark Guilds but when they were discovered they certainly knew how to get the job done quickly. He had given them five minutes but they were done in little more than three. With that there was only one thing left to do. He felt sorry to leave 14 but there was no helping it. He gave the boy one last look before turning away.
''All personnel are to prepare for spacial extraction.'' Said the female automated voice. ''Countdown begin: 10, 9...''
At the other facility...
''Now then kid, you don't want to do anything rash. It'd be a shame if something were to happen to this sweet little girl, wouldn't it?''
''Tch, you coward...''
Laxus had defeated all in his way until he had finally found the stolen children from the nearby village. Unfortunately one was being held captive one of the enemy. There was nothing he could do without risking the girl's safety, leaving him powerless. The man edged his way along the far wall of the room.
''So here's how it's gonna go: you are going to stand there while I walk out to freedom. You won't do anything or else you know what will happen and you don't want that.'' The mocking smirk on the man's face made Laxus sick.
Suddenly a hand burst through the wall and grasped the man's shoulder and in his fright he released the girl.
''You're coming with me,'' said a voice on the other side of the wall before the man was pulled through screaming. A few seconds later the screaming stopped and Laxus' companion walked through the wall... literally. ''Well that was fun. How are the kids?'' He wore a dark cape and matching pants along with armoured shoulder and waist plates. In one hand he held a bundle of papers that he had found in his little explore of the facility.
''With this they're all safe. Thanks for the help,'' Laxus said gratefully.
''Good work. Now all that's left to do is get these kids back home, I'll leave that to you okay?''
''And what will you be doing?''
''I found out that these guys have got some friends nearby. I was thinking about paying them a little visit,'' he explained, passing over one of the sheets.
''Black Chimera? Wait... these guys are a Dark guild?!''
''No I think they're just a side branch. The main base is somewhere else.'' The other documents he found had given him a pretty damn good idea where that might be. That was something for the master to handle later though. ''Mke sure those kids get home safely, that's your job!''
''All right, give'em hell Gildarts.''
''You bet,'' he said as he left, cape billowing behind him.
It didn't take long to reach the other facility although the fact that the entrance was hidden in one of the many caves made it a nuisance to find. He wasted no time in obliterating the door and strolled on in, expecting a fight. He was disappointed when nobody arrived. Room by room he searched and not a single person.
'Walking door to door is such a pain...' Usually he would just destroy the place and be done with it but he had to make sure that no innocents were still inside...
The place was much smaller than what they had just swept through but he should have bumped into at least someone by now. Instead all he heard was the steady beat of his footsteps.
Beep.
''Huh...? What was that just now?'' Gildarts froze and listened intently.
Beep. Beep.
It was definitely faint but there was something out there. The closer he got the louder the beeping became, a mysterious excitement building as though he were on the verge of some great discovery.
''Hm? What's this?''
He stepped into a large circular room in the centre sat a large blue pod hooked up to numerous machines. Within floated a young teen-aged boy. He had short black hair. His body looked to be of average height if a bit thin; the skin was an unnaturally pale colour, the kind you'd see on someone who had never seen the light of day.
''Good thing I didn't smash this place up...'' he said to himself. ''Hey! Can you hear me in there?'' The lack of response was worrying, but he couldn't waste time, setting to work finding a way to free the trapped boy. No matter how long he looked at the consoles he couldn't begin to interpret the information displayed. The beeping was getting a bit annoying too.
''Well, only one thing to do...'' He walked up to the pod grinning and tapped it a few times. It felt like glass but was extremely thick – nothing that couldn't be dealt with of course. Just one pulse of magic energy from his hand and a multitude of cracks appeared, spreading and then shattering the pod into thousands of pieces. Before the boy fell to the floor, Gildarts reached out and plucked him from the air, knelt down and lay him down to rest.
The many shards hit the ground oddly enough with a splat. In the few seconds they were in mid-air they had changed into a liquid, then solidifying on the ground just as quickly. 'Interesting... looks like I'll have a lot to talk to the master about when we get back to the guild.'
The boy was peaceful for a few seconds before retching violently, coughing up more of the blue substance. ''Easy there. You'll be okay, just get it all up.'' he said patting the boys back comfortingly.
Once done clearing his body of... whatever it was, the boy wearily raised his head and looked the mage in the face.
''Who... wh-what... I... ugh...'' That was all he managed before his eyes rolled into the back of his head, passing out. In those few seconds Gildarts had seen something disturbing: the boys eyes. They were a deep, bloody crimson...
Later...
''Thank you both so much! I dread to think what may have happened had you not responded to the request as quickly as you did.'' The Village Elder shuddered at the thought.
''Don't worry about it, we're just glad it all ended as well as it did,'' said Laxus.
''You and me both young man.''
''What about the boy?'' Gildarts asked. He had turned up around an hour after Laxus did with the boy in his arms, his cape wrapped around him to hide his nakedness. The boy was then passed off to rest while they looked for his family.
''Unfortunately nobody knows who he is, there's not been any reports of a missing person matching his description either...''
''Hmm...'' Gildarts hummed thoughtfully. ''I'm going to go talk with him,'' he decided.
''Very well, he woke up not too long ago. Just to warn you: it appears he has no memory of anything regarding his past.''
''I see.''
…
Gildarts slouched into a chair at the end of the bed while Laxus chose to lean against the wall, arms crossed. The nameless boy sat upright in bed with his hands clasped together. He wore a plain white shirt and a pair of shorts that someone must have found for him. In such a normal environment he looked like a patient in a hospital, although a doctor who had looked at him had said he was as healthy as can be.
''Hey there kid. How're you doing?''
He turned his gaze to meet Gildarts. His face gave away nothing as to what his mind was thinking but his eyes... those eyes... Two black dots floating in a sea of crimson. They were uncertain, confused, lost, but there was no hint of fear. Impressive...
''Oh. You're the guy from before.''
''That's right, my name's Gildarts Clive. Standing over there is Laxus Dreyar.'' he introduced. Laxus just nodded.
''Gildarts... and Laxus? Right. My name's... my name is...''
''Don't worry about it, we already know that you can't remember anything.''
'' Still it's strange that nobody's come for you. I'd have thought that someone around here would have known you. I guess there's no guarantee that you're even from here...''
''Actually there is something...'' his words were slow, as if trying to piece them together was as difficult as whatever he was remembering. ''There were people... in white coats running around. I could see them... hear them. Emergency spacial... something... and the next moment, they were gone. I was alone. Then you came...''
''They must have used a teleportation spell. It's the only way they could have escaped so quickly.''
''Guess we spooked them after the first hit.''
''Well that answers one question, now what to do with you?'' It was an issue that had to be dealt with.
The boy didn't have much in the way of helpful responses. ''I don't know... What do I do now?''
''We could leave you here – I'm sure you could find a peaceful life here or... hmm...''
''Gildarts? What're you thinking?'' Laxus sounded slightly worried.
He chuckled, ''I think I know just the place for you. But first, you need a name...''
The Next Day.
''We're almost there.''
''It sucks that we couldn't just take the train.''
''Oh don't start that again!''
''Well it's true that it is your fault we can't!''
''What do you mean by that?''
''Don't worry, you'll see what I mean in a few minutes.'
The three had been walking all day and were finally about to reach their destination. There was a curious ringing sound coming from the direction in which they were walking. Once they reached the end of the path Magnolia came into sight. Yet another amazed gasp.
The large town stretched from the base of the hill on which they stood right to the edge of the lake beyond, surrounded by forests on both sides.
There were several large streets in addition to the many smaller alleys all over the place; the central – and largest – street lead directly to a cathedral located right in the centre of town. A river flowed with many bridges constructed to allow speedy movement across. The scale of it all was far beyond that of the village they had left behind.
He had been gasping non-stop at all the new things that he had seen on the short journey from the mountains; it turned out that the world was so much bigger than the pod he had known.
''Attention all citizens of Magnolia, we are now entering the Gildarts shift! Please move to the designated areas!'' someone announced.
''Uhh... Gildarts Shift?''
''Just watch,'' said Laxus.
With little more than a small rumble as a warning, the whole town suddenly burst into life. Whole areas were being moved around in various directions like the plates of the earth: up, down, left, right. All the changes finally stopped when a long, deep walkway was made running straight through to a building on the far side of town.
Before them the floor opened up and a large staircase shot out of the ground.
''What... what just happened?!''
''That was the Gildarts Shift,'' said man stated simply.
''How detailed. Can you explain Laxus?'' It turned out sarcasm was something that came naturally to him.
''All right: the Gildarts Shift was designed to stop this guy from destroying half the homes in Magnolia whenever he cam back from a job. Let's say he can be a bit... clumsy sometimes...''
''You're that strong?''
''Well everyone wouldn't have agreed to this plan if he wasn't. I don't remember what it was like during construction but I definitely envy them,'' Laxus sighed. ''Insanely strong, master of Crush magic and an infamous womanizer: that is the ace of our guild, Gildarts.''
''Pretty much – just don't tell the other kids about that last part.''
''So you can see why he isn't allowed on the trains anymore...''
Together they descended to the walkway. It was so long that it took the better half of ten minutes to cross the distance – not surprising considering they were crossing the entire town! They ascended to stand in front of the guild hall. It was much larger than it had seemed before: three floors sat on top of each other like a pagoda, each one smaller than the next. Each floor had a roof of curved red tiles, enhancing the pagoda image. The middle floor bore a flag of the guild which occupied the building.
They had told him about it but nothing could compare to seeing it in person. He turned to Gildarts, eyes full of wonder.
''So this is...''
''Yup! Welcome to Fairy Tail, Shinn.''
Shinn smiled and was about to say something when the red doors to the guild opened. A girl with long brown hair ran out, a cheerful look on her face. ''Welcome back you guys!''
''Hey Cana, good to be back!'' Gildarts grinned.
''I don't know why you're so excited, we were only gone a couple of days.'' Laxus said to the younger girl who just poked out her tongue in response.
''Now now Laxus no need to be like that. It's good to be happy when your friends return home, regardless of how long they've been gone.'' The speaker was an old man who was, for lack of a better description, tiny! He was certainly shorter than Shinn and Cana who stood smaller than Laxus. ''It's good to see you both back safely.''
''It's good to be back Master.'' Gildarts responded.
''Hang on... Master? This old man is your master?!''
''That's right. Master, this is Shinn. We... found him while on the job and thought it would be best to bring him here for the time being.''
Makarov walked up to Shinn and looked him over, as though evaluating the boy. His gaze lingered for a while on Shinn's face before he turned back to Gildarts. ''I see. It looks like we have quite a few things to discuss. Come on in and you guys can tell me all about it.'' he said, walking back inside, followed closely by Gildarts and Laxus.
''Hey, aren't you going with them?'' Shinn looked at Cana who was still standing outside with him, her face one of bemusement. The expression was erased a second later when she sidled up beside him. ''By the way I'm Cana. Cana Alberona. It's nice to meet you Shinn. You're gonna love it here.'' As she said that she got a firm grip on his arm.
''Hey wait! What're you...?''
''C'mon, let's go!'' she exclaimed, dragging him into the guild. And over the threshold into his new home.