Come here boy, I haven't long now.. I need to tell you something, some would call it a story, but it's very real. Yes you guessed it, we see it all around us. The cause of our suffering, the reason for our pain and sorrow. Why we're the last one's left, the last wizards. Back when my father was still a young man, back when using magic didn't burn your very lifeforce. The world was full of magic, full of life and happy people, much different than today.
There were great guilds all over the world! They were full of powerful wizards, much stronger than you or I, boy. They would embark on great quests to help others, no matter the task. Be it slaying monsters or investigating phenomena, they would accept it. One of these great guilds was Fairy Tail, my fathers teacher came from this guild, I heard many stories about it, like you are now. Though I have never seen the place myself. I was always told that fairy Tail was a place of friends, where people could drink merrily, or spar with eachother over petty problems, heheh that sure would be a breath of fresh air in this world don't you think? Ah, I've done it again haven't I? Gotten myself distracted in my own memories, I should be telling you the story, not reliving those I was told.
Anyways, there were a great many guilds, with Fairy Tail being one of them. The world was bright and happy though not without strife, some of the worlds greatest evils had been brought low and everything was bright and warm, until one day something terrible happened. A being of pure magical energy was born into the world, it wrought destruction and ruin upon all that it saw, sucking the magic and life out of all who resisted it until it was unchallenged for its rule. It believed that we humans had no right to use magic, it saw us battling with it, using it to gain riches or power. So it went on a crusade to steal the life of all people and enslave them to its will. The great guilds rose up to defeat it, but how could they defeat something that could take your very life away as you fought? So they fell, one by one, and with nothing to hold off the wrath of this being, the world fell to shambles, now there are no happy children running through the streets, there are no guilds to take work or for friends to gather in. For there are no wizards left to do such things.
I wish you could have experienced that world, ah no, not me. It's too late for me now, the more magic I cast the more frail I become. I merely wish you, who is immune to such issues, could have relayed to me if these stories were more than just stories. Ah but that's not possible, so instead let us get some rest, I will train you until there's hope once more. For what else can humanity do?
Failures of the Future-Past Chapter One
Lancer awoke with the roosters as the sun shattered the dimly lit sky, he had stayed the night with a family of three on the outskirts of Magnolia. He combed his hair with his fingers before grabbing his sparsely packed bag. He rolled his shoulders before opening the door and tentatively taking a few steps. "Ah, you're awake Lancer! Though unfortunately we don't have any breakfast prepared for you, my wife will cook us up something here in a bit. Need to feed the daughter too!" The man laughed while rubbing the back of his head.
"No, it's fine. I wouldn't want to put anything else on you. I'm just glad you helped me when you did, I had no where to go. I swear I'll pay you back in some way for this" Lancer quickly replied
"Well that's good to hear, because I had every intention of working you as much as I can." The man said chuckling again. "It looks like some rest did wonders for you. You were in a right state when you stumbled over here, but a mans affairs are his own." He stated suddenly turning serious, "I'll tell you what. After we do some work in the fields you can grab some grub, and bathe yourself. Get that sweat and grime off of you" the man added
"I-, alright. I can't just go around smelling awful now could I?" Lancer replied while laughing nervously.
"Don't forget why you're here. If you fail, all these people... well they won't have a future. However, I know this is all new to you. Just make sure that you aren't too caught up, in such a bright and happy world..."
"Hah! You said it not me! Now first things first, see all those weeds?" The man said while pointing out the window. "Those have to go, they're a blight. They steal all the sun and water, and we can't have that! Now get to it, I'll be nearby working on the gourds, so just give me a holler if you need something alright?" The man stretched for just a moment before descending the stairs, then he turned and looked up. "Well what are you waiting for? Those weeds won't pull themselves!" Then he went out the back door while happily whistling a tune.
Lancer sighed and followed. "I haven't ever done any sort of farm work, though I can't imagine it'll be too hard, right?" He muttered to himself. Lancer grasped the cold knob of the back door and pulled. Cool and wet air washed over. The air was misty and the sun was starting to fully reveal it's majesty over the landscape. "How refreshing, I'm already loving this" He thought to himself, but quickly the bleak future grasped his heart causing him to halt. "I can't spend too much time doing this, I need to finish this quickly..." He turned to his right and saw the vast weed ridden field before him, "dear god..."
"What? Are a few plants going to stop you? I've never heard of a wizard having been defeated by plants..."
"You and I are seeing very different things, I'd say that's a bit more than a few" Lancer replied sighing as he looked across the vast field. The dirt had been turned but the weeds were still firmly rooted in the soil
"If you keep replying to me out loud people will start to think you're crazy"
"Maybe I am? I still don't know who or what you are, that seems like a pretty solid sign to me" Lancer replied chuckling
"Nonsense, wouldn't you know who I was if you were crazy?"
"Hah, that's wishful thinking, but I need to get started or I'm never getting that bath" Lancer chuckled to himself and set to work. Using his hands and nails to dig the weeds out. The soil was already quite loose, dirt flew everywhere as the weeds loosened and came free. "Yeesh, I'm glad didn't wear my whole outfit, it's hot as hell out here. Or maybe I'm just working hard, yeah.. probably that..." Lancer thought to himself. Every once in awhile the weed he was tugging on would snap near the base and leave him with a handful of plant matter.
"I can never tell if you're speaking to me or if you truly are crazy.."
"Thanks" Lancer grumbled in response. "This is way harder than I thought it was going to be, I take back my earlier statement, not to mention THESE FUCKING WEEDS!" a vein bulged on Lancers forehead as his temper flew out the window, similar to the dirt as he pulled.
"May I make a suggestion? Perhaps you should pull lower down, or use that trick of yours to make a trowel, or a shovel of some sort. Instead of going at it like a barbarian. Or you could simply keep yanking and make it harder for yourself, it really is quite entertaining"
Lancer facepalmed, sighed, and then wiped his face with his hands. "Why the hell didn't I think of that. Well.. I'm glad this is entertaining to you, then his eyes widened and he groaned, AND NOW MY FACE IS COVERED WITH DIRT!"
"You're a damned mess aren't you? How about some encouragement and motivation next? Just think about a uh, nice COOL bath after all this hard work, and now for a little song to get you revved up! Go Lancer! Kill those weeds, kill those weeds so you can go feed!"
"That was truly awful, I really hope you put almost no thought into that" Lancer chuckled a little before grabbing the steel cylinder out of his pouch, he pictured a trowel and quickly the metal began to warp and extend into the stark visage of a steel trowel. "Perfect" He thought, then he began to dig with renewed vigor.
"Oh now don't worry, there was almost no effort in that one. How about this one? Go Lancer tear up that dirt! Fling that dirt and put on the hurt! ..That one took a bit more effort so you'd better be happy with it"
"That was... even worse. It's a good thing you're stuck in my head and not a songwriter"
"Now that was uncalled for, and rather rude too. I put my heart in soul into that, truly"
Lancer chuckled, "No you didn't, I could make a better song than that in five minutes"
"Oh yeah? Then do it"
"Ahhh, but this labor is more important, maybe some other time" Lancer grinned and then grabbed his mouth and sputtered out a few curse words. "I think I just swallowed some dirt"
"Mhm, serves you right"
Lancer turned back to the weeds and gripped his transforming trowel harder, his resolve had strengthened. A few hours passed as Lancer finally finished weeding the field. He stood up fully for the first time in several hours and yawned while stretching his back before setting off towards the farmers house. "You weren't thinking of walking into my house with those filthy boots on were you?"
Lancer froze as his face went pale, "no of course not hahah. I was just well, uh."
"Just leave them out here, you worked pretty hard out there. So go wash up and grab a bite to eat, we completely missed breakfast, but there should still be some rolls out on the counter."
The farmer took his wide-brimmed hat off before untying his boots and walking inside. Lancer followed the man inside and watched him grab a mug of some hot beverage along with a roll before leaning against the nearby counter. "I'll need to wash my clothes too, is that alright?" Lancer asked while fiddling with his bag
The farmer nodded without looking up. There was a paper of some sort in his hand. "So they're back huh? This town sure was quiet without the lot of them. Too quiet really..."
Lancer turned back towards the farmer, "Who's back? A family member or something?"
"No, no. Several years ago Magnolias biggest guild, Fairy Tail, had a fall from grace. Supposedly all of their biggest members were wiped out by some dragon. At least that's what we were told, I never believed it though. Dragons don't exist anymore. I heard that all the reportedly missing members came back to Magnolia nearly a week ago. Maybe I should stop by, tell them not to make too much of a racket. It's not good for my cattle ya'see, stresses them out. Anyways, go wash up. You look like you rolled in the weeds rather than pulling them" The farmer chuckled at his own comment, "Oh right, the wash room is near the barn. Don't worry, you're not going free johnson with the animals. Now go on, can't have my daughter see you looking like this. She'd think there's a monster in the house, and leave your clothes on the counter right there, my wife will give them a good cleaning." He chuckled yet again before turning back to his paper.
Lancer pulled his outfit out of his bag and set them in a neat pile on the counter before leaving the way he had came in. He spotted the barn to his left, the opposite direction of the field he had been working in. "The farmer said the washroom was near it, not in it." He looked around for a moment before deciding on which direction to take. "If what he said about Fairy Tail was true then the plan worked almost perfectly. I just need to clean up so I can make a good first impression. I only have one shot at this, I can't mess it up." he thought to himself
"It's not like you to get so worried, I'm sure you'll be fine. Just try to keep your cool, and don't reveal everything to them all at once. Or they really will think you're crazy."
"Hah, they wouldn't be far off the mark" Lancer replied, he turned the corner around the barn and saw a small shack, it was pretty bland looking. Had sturdy wooden planks and a stone brick floor and foundation. He knocked on the door and waited a moment before entering. There was a fire lacrima underneath a very large basin of water. He cautiously tested the temperature of the water, and sighed. He locked the door and quickly stripped before hopping in. There was an assortment of soap on a wooden counter just to his left. Lancer let out a sigh of relief as he washed away all the dirt and grime.
He was forced to use a water pump to refill the basin every once in awhile, but a bath is a bath. Right as Lancer finished up his face went pale and he facepalmed. "I didn't bring any extra clothes, I'm a damned mess. He looked over at his filthy T-shirt and linen pants. He angrily grabbed them and got to scrubbing the dirt out. When he had finally finished he took them over to the fire lacrima and let them dry for a moment. Then he saw it, a closet in the corner. In perfectly plain sight, yet somehow he had overlooked it. "No, there's no way. He slowly walked over to it before tensing up and pulling it open. He gave a sigh of relief, there were only towels. "Thank god, I don't know what I would've done if there were fresh clothes in there for me.
*Knock-knock-knock* "Lancer? Are you in there? I'm leaving your clothes on the steps outside, they're freshly cleaned and dried. I've also heated up some rolls for you when you're finished"
"Thank you ma'am, I appreciate what you and your husband have done for me. I'll be out in just a moment."
"Okay, take your time. Just don't get all wrinkly, it's not good for your skin!"
Lancer heard her footsteps disapear as he looked over at the clothes he had washed and sighed. "Well, at least I have clothes one way or the other." He dried off with one of the towels and wrapped it around his waist before opening the door and grabbing his clothes. He slowly wrapped a thin copper wire around his body before sliding on his skin tight black T-shirt and dropping the towel. Then he followed with his undergarments and pants. His pants were a dark shade of blue, they grew baggier near the ankles but were tight near his waist. He followed by wrapping bandages along his ankles to tighten his pants, then he wrapped the rest around his feet and then lower arms and hands. He took his dark blue robe and threw it over his shoulders, before tying it together so it would stay in place. He then slid on his light leather boots, before finishing with a dark blue turban. He was careful to cover as much of his body as he could, "Just in case, I have to make sure they won't recognize anything about me..." The bridge of his nose was still showing along with his eyes and the top of his hair. After all, a small turban can only cover so much.
He looked in the nearby mirror to make sure everything was properly secured. Lancer had covered as much as he could but his eyes and hair would surely not go unnoticed. His eyes were a dark shade of Violet and his hair was very dark red, almost burgundy. He sighed, "it is what it is."
"You worry too much, it'll be fine. Take a deep breath"
"Yeah.. You're right." Lancer took a deep breath ad exhaled lowly as he felt his nerves calm. Then he grabbed his leather belt and looped it around his waist before sliding his trowel out. He focused his mind and it quickly snapped back into it's original form as a metal cylinder. "Such a useful magic...I really should use it more" Lancer unscrewed the cylinder, revealing a copper wire tightly wrapped inside. He willed the copper wire to fuse with that of the one surrounding his body before grabbing the damp towel and old clothes. He stretched quickly before walking back to the house. He opened the front door prepared to say his goodbyes.
The farmer inside froze before slowly reaching for a nearby knife "Don't worry, it's just me, Lancer."
He visibly relaxed before sighing. "You almost gave me a heart attack boy, you should've announced it was you before coming in. You know, you look a lot like one of Fairy Tails old members. Though I can't seem to remember his name, it's the outfit though. He was a mysterious one, that's for sure."
"The outfit huh? I imagine the reasons for wearing something like this are similar, don't worry though. I'm not up to anything troublesome. I appreciate you all for helping me out, I won't forget it." Lancer paused as the rolls caught his eye. *Ahem* "Do you, uh, mind if I grab one of those before I go? He said embarrassed as his face slightly reddened, not that it was visible. "I haven't had a chance to eat yet.."
"Well of course! My wife heated them up for you so take them all! They won't be good by tomorrow so help yourself! There's no need to get embarrassed boy!"
"One last thing before I leave, do you happen to know where this guild is, Fairy Tail?"
"Hmm, if you're thinking of joining a guild I would honestly suggest Twilight Ogre, it's in better straits at the moment, though..." The farmer paused, if you truly want to join Fairy Tail, it's current location is nearly opposite of of this farm. You might be able to find a taxi in the main portion of the town, but I wouldn't count on it. Wizard taxi's aren't exactly common. The guild is about a seven hour walk from here, so you'd best be going. Don't forget the rolls and your bag! Sherra! Lancer's leaving!"
Lancer heard a door open and footsteps as the farmers wife appeared at the top of the stairs. "You're leaving? Well, have a good trip to wherever life leads you! Next time you're nearby don't forget to stop and say hello!"
Lancer smiled, though it was hidden under his turban. "I'll be sure to stop and say hello, thank you for everything you've done to me. Goodluck on your farm!"
After saying goodbye Lancer grabbed some rolls, and them some-more at the behest of the farmer before grabbing his bag and heading out the door. It was around noon and the sun was at it's highest. He peered down the hill and stretched his sides. "This is going to be a long walk isn't it?"
"Oh, are you talking to me?"
"Of course I am, who else would I be talking to?"
"Excellent question, I wonder the same thing all the time. Is he talking to me? Or is he crazy? Or am I the crazy one and you don't actually exist?"
"We've been over this, I'm only slightly crazy"
"Well if you don't watch where you're walking you'll end up much more crazy from bumping your head!"
Lancer snapped back into focus right before his foot left the edge, he had missed the natural decline of the hill and had nearly walked off one of the steepest edges. "Oh my, I see what you mean. I suppose I should just walk in silence then.
"I'd have to agree with that"
Lancer sighed and continued walking, taking extra care not to go gallivanting off any steep hills or cliffs. The city grew larger and larger and the sounds of crickets and birds was replaced by that of trains, people, and music. Lancer looked around for this so called taxi but he saw nothing, "I should've asked him what they look like, it's too late now though" he muttered to himself. As the hours passed the sun grew lower and lower in the sky, now being hidden by the surrounding buildings and mountains in the distance. Soon the town grew smaller and smaller as the distance between grew conversely. Lancer had asked several people for any less vague directions, but most had just given him a look when he mentioned Fairy Tail, which was not a good sign. Only a couple people actually helped and it was just as helpful as the farmers directions. " Maybe guilds are typically on the outskirts of town, though that Twilight Ogre place was definitely centralized. I have a bad feeling about this..."
Don't worry, I'm sure it'll turn out alright. Maybe Fairy Tail is just so popular that they have their guild on the edges so that people don't bother them"
"Hah, well here I go doing exactly the opposite of that. Though the expressions of those I asked about directions are also concerning..."
"Well we won't know until we get there. That's for certain, so keep chugging along. Like those trains back at the station we passed!"
"Again, you're right. Besides Master told me so many good things about this guild!" Lancer grinned slightly and started walking faster, though the massive hill in front of him was rather daunting. He walked for a nearly another hour before he finally saw it.
"This? This is it? This can't be... I was told that Fairy Tail was one of, if not, THE greatest guild!" Lancers shoulders fell as he peered at the gardens surrounding the run down building. "Hell even the sign is falling apart!"
"The paper, the paper the farmer was reading. Remember? He said something about fairy Tails members going missing only to recently show up."
"Yes, perhaps the guild fell out of favor with the town and Twilight Ogre took their place. That would explain the distaste for Fairy Tail shown by some of the populace, but now that their members have returned that'll change. Right?"
"Go in and find out, we've come all this way. Well, you have at least."
"Right again, let's do this. Let's prevent the future"
"Are you ready? This won't be easy, especially if some dirt and plants almost took you out"
Lancer rubbed his shoulder as his face turned red again, th-that was my first time doing any weed pulling, and it didn't almost take me out. I was fine, albeit a little angry"
"And this will be your first time saving lives, keep that in mind. Now get in there and get started, just don't be yourself and everything will be fine!"
"Thanks, that truly made me feel better" He replied chuckling, With that the voice grew silent and Lancer gripped his bag and metal rod tighter before walking towards the entrance of the dilapidated guild.
He passed by a woman with short silver hair and an innocent expression, she gave him a glance and said "Welcome back!" and then did a double take right as Lancer pushed open the large double doors and took his first step in.