Overdone plot is overdone. But, I wanted something fun where I could practice writing, and decided this would be relaxing. The timeline is sort of a mish-mash, and a lot of the characters currently aren't present, but that could change in the future. Anyway, don't take this too seriously, I just wanted to have a little fun.
The guild hall was full of children, and Makarov had no idea where they came from. Macao and Wakaba had called for his assistance after the first three had arrived, and there didn't seem to be an end to them. They ranged in age from five to fourteen, if he had to guess, and none of them seemed to know what they were doing there anymore than he did.
"What are we supposed to do with all of them?" Wakaba's question caught the attention of the kids closest to them; siblings, by the look of them. The one they assumed to be the oldest glared at them, keeping the other two behind her.
"Maybe we should wait until they stop showing up?" Macao suggested. "And then ask them how they got here."
Makarov nodded, and proceeded to climb onto a table. He cleared his throat, and more than a dozen sets of eyes focused on him. "I know you all must be confused, but let me assure you we will figure this out and have you returned to your parents as soon as we can."
The guild Master cast his eyes around the hall, taking in everyone's appearance. Most of them looked fine; a little scared and confused, maybe, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. They all tended to stick to themselves, avoiding eye contact and keeping as far away from anyone as was possible in the cramped hall. Two children caught his attention and caused him particular concern. A girl and boy stood huddled in a corner. They wore tattered clothes and had strange cuffs on their wrists. The boy had his arm around the girl, and was whispering in her ear while occasionally glancing around warily.
"While we get everything sorted," Makarov spoke again, wearing his least threatening smile, "You're all welcome to any food we have, and anything else you may need that we can provide." This caught the attention of several of the children, including the two in the corner, and Makarov turned to the only other two adults in the room. "Prepare some food. It looks like we'll be needing it."
The men grumbled, but did as they were told and took their places behind the bar.
"All right, kids." Wakaba drawled, slouched lazily with his hands in his pockets. "Come and place your orders."
No one moved, but then a pink haired boy wearing a scarf shot to his feet and raced over to the bar. He struggled a bit onto a bar stool, but managed it eventually and sat on his knees so he could lean over the bar to ask excitedly, "You mean I can eat whatever I want?"
"Sure, kid." Macao said. "Whatever you want as long as we have it in stock."
The response prompted a few others to wander over to the bar, including the youngest looking of the group; a blue haired girl who had to be helped onto a bar stool.
Makarov sat cross-legged on the table, and while he kept an eye on all the children, he noticed the two children remove themselves from the corner and cautiously cross the room. They came to stand in front of him, and he asked as delicately as he could, "What can I do for you?"
"Are you a wizard?" The boy asked, determination in his eyes.
"I am."
"See?" The girl whispered, clutching the boy's shirt imploringly. "He can help us."
"How do we know we can trust him?" He asked her, but never took his eyes off Makarov. "He said he would send us back where we came from."
The girl saddened, and turned watery eyes toward the old man on the table. "What if we don't want to go back?"
"I would never," He spoke, looking directly into their eyes so they knew he was telling the truth, "Make you do something you did not want to do."
They looked at each other, silently communicating, and it looked like the boy was going to say something, but he stopped short when the door to the guild hall burst open.
To Makarov's surprise, his grandson strolled through the doorway with a small brunette following behind him. "Laxus, I thought you were out on a job?"
"I thought I was, too." He gave the room a quick once-over, eyes never lingering too long on any one person. "What's with all the kids?"
"We're still trying to figure that out." Makarov stood once again. "What happened? Did something on the job go wrong?"
"Nah." He shrugged lazily. "I turned a corner in Hargeon, and then I was walking down Main Street in Magnolia."
Murmurs of agreement rippled through the children, and Makarov narrowed his eyes in contemplation. "What about you, Miss?" He directed to the girl who stood at Laxus' side. "Did you suddenly find yourself in Magnolia when you shouldn't be?"
"No." She shook her head for emphasis. "I meant to come here." She paused, as though thinking over how much she should say. Taking a deep breath, she plowed ahead. "I'm looking for someone, and he's a member of this guild."
The Master nodded, thankful someone was where they were supposed to be. He was still contemplating the situation when a little hand belonging to the smallest white-haired child pointed at the ceiling, and her small voice asked, "What's that?"
Simultaneously, everyone looked up, seeing a small ball of light hovering above them. The adults tensed, Macao coming out from behind the bar to shield the children as much as he could while some of the other children grouped closer to one another, forgetting their unease around the others as this unknown factor appeared.
The little ball floated down gently until it rested level with Makarov. "Do you want to see the future?" It asked, sounding like a child who had just asked if they wanted to play hide-and-go-seek.
"Are you the one who brought these children here?" Makarov asked.
The ball spun, and he assumed it was now facing his direction, meaning it had been addressing the children before. "They found their way here of their own free will, as they will always find their way to Fairy Tail."
The red-haired girl gasped at hearing the guild's name, and the small noise drew the light's attention back to the kids. "My question still stands. Do you want to see the future?"
They all looked around the room, waiting for someone to make a decision. After several silent moments, a dark-haired boy with no shirt on spoke up. "I want to see the future."
The ball of light seemed pleased with his answer, as pleased as a ball of light can look, anyway, but Makarov did not like the dark look in the boy's eyes. He looked haunted; angry, and such a look did not look right on a child's face.
"Speak up, speak up." The light chanted, bouncing playfully where it hovered. "Agree, and I will show you your futures."
Slowly, agreements began to fill the guild hall. Wakaba had wandered over to Makarov while the light danced around, and leaned down to whisper, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"No." He answered immediately. "But have you looked at all of them?" Wakaba nodded, prompting him to continue. "They all look miserable, and if allowing them to see the future will keep them here a little longer; if it will make them happier, then I say we let things progress."
"Wonderful, wonderful!" The ball's cheers brought their attention back to the matter at hand. "What you desire, you will see. Introductions are to be had, and then the future will begin!"
The light expanded, filling the room. Everyone shielded their eyes, and when the light faded, all that was left was a large lacrima floating where the ball of light had been.
"I believe," Makarov started, "That you all will be staying with us for a while. As is the case, before we begin watching, we should all eat and get changed into something a little more comfortable." He figured it might be better to bestow new clothes to all the children, rather than singling out the few that were in desperate need of them.
Makarov sent Laxus to fetch clothes, and although met with annoyed reluctance, chose that task over preparing food for the horde of children. Soon enough, everyone who wanted to be fed had been filled, and Laxus returned, dumping the pile of clothes he managed to find on one of the tables.
"Help yourselves to whatever you like." Makarov instructed, watching as many of the children, even those who didn't need them, picked out a new attire. Macao and Wakaba showed them to various rooms where they were able to change, and eventually everyone was seated back in the main room.
"I suppose introductions are in order." Makarov began when everyone was mostly settled at the tables. "Don't feel the need to tell us something you don't want to; just a name will work. As such," He paused for dramatic effect. "I am Makarov, and I am the Master of this guild."
He received a few incredulous whispers, and a soft-spoken, "He must be really strong," from the red-head.
Macao stepped forward next, throwing out a cheerful, "I'm Macao."
"And I'm Wakaba."
A nudge from his grandfather was necessary for a grunted, "Laxus."
None of the children seemed to want to go first, so Makarov made an executive decision, turning to the table nearest him and pointing at the pink-haired boy. "We'll start with you and go around the room."
"Okay!" The boy stood on his chair and pointed at himself. "I'm Natsu, and I'm a dragon slayer!"
Silence met his words.
"Yeah, right." The shirtless boy scoffed, and Natsu spun to face him, nearly tipping the chair over in the process.
"What's that?" He demanded, glaring daggers at the kid.
"Are you deaf and a liar? There's no way someone like you is a dragon slayer."
"Oh, yeah? I'll show you!" He leaned back, taking in a big breath of air as he did so.
Sensing imminent destruction, Makarov interrupted with a quick, "Enough!" Both boys snapped their heads in his direction. "There is no reason for Natsu to lie about something like that. Besides, I'm sure we'll see it for ourselves very soon." Natsu returned to his seat, grinning in triumph. "Now, let's continue."
Beside Natsu sat the red-haired girl, and she introduced herself with a timid, "I'm Erza. Erza Scarlet."
The boy beside her grinned as she mentioned her last name, and then introduced himself. "I'm Jellal Fernandes."
The brunette who had come in with Laxus was the last one at the table. "My name's Cana."
The next table held the three white-haired siblings and the boy who was apparently allergic to clothes, as he was now sitting in just his boxers.
"I'm Mirajane." The oldest said, and then pointed to her siblings. "That's Elfman, and that's Lisanna."
"Gray." The boy stated simply when it was his turn.
"Hey, Gray?" Cana asked, and he grunted his acknowledgement. "Why aren't you wearing clothes?"
Her question seemed to catch him off guard, as he looked down at himself and shouted in surprise. Blushing, he gathered the clothes he had discarded and quickly pulled them back on. Makarov was not sure if he had done it on purpose, but his antics relieved some of the discomfort that comes from being around people you've never met.
A table full of girls was next, and Makarov was startled to notice three of the four had blue hair. The first to introduce herself did so while looking down at the table, her hands clutching a little white doll nervously.
"J-Juvia." She stuttered out.
The youngest of the bunch sat next to Juvia, and she smiled as she introduced herself. "I'm Wendy." She was sitting on her knees in order to see over the edge of the table. "And, um, I'm also a dragon slayer." She muttered quietly.
Natsu straightened in his seat, an excited grin overtaking his face. "Really?" At Wendy's nod, he bounced in his seat. He had so many questions he wanted to ask, but the old guild Master gave him a look that said he could ask questions later.
Wendy turned to the blonde next to her. She also held something in her hands, and it took some squinting for Makarov to see it was a golden key. 'I wonder…' He mused to himself.
"My name's Lucy." She sat stiffly in her chair, more composed than any child had a right to be, and the only thing that gave away her unease was the iron-grip she had on the key.
"Hi." The final blue-haired girl at the table waved. "I'm Levy."
The final two tables, which were the farthest back, only had three people sat at each of them. The first had two boys and a girl. The girl had her honey-blonde hair in a pony-tail, and a pair of glasses sat on her nose.
"I'm Evergreen."
The boy beside her had a wide smile and a crude helmet covering the top half of his face. "And I'm Bickslow!"
The final boy, whose green hair shielded one side of his face, introduced himself with a simple, "Freed."
If Makarov had to guess, he would say they were the oldest, and probably sat together because of that fact.
The final table held three boys, and the first introduced himself as Droy. The boy who sat in the middle had orange hair, and he introduced himself with an enthusiastic, "I'm Sarusuke."
The last child had black hair and brown clothes, and he ignored everyone when they looked his way.
"Would you like to introduce yourself?" Makarov prompted, but the boy just scoffed and turned his head away. "Well, I did say you only had to say as much as you wanted. Surely the lacrima won't force you to give us your name."
Everyone looked to the lacrima when mentioned, and, sure enough, it began to glow, colors swirling until a picture formed.