It had been several weeks since the destruction of the multiverse that Jahleel and Infinity inhabited had been wiped away from existence. All past events and memories within it were wiped away. Flame hadn't gotten any good rest in the time since then, hopping from world to world, their power being nullified by the blast. With no other life to be found, their strength was nowhere near what it once was.
One day, while Flame was asleep, Crash discovered a new world they never witnessed before. He explores this universe's planet, which turns out to be bigger than their earth, a new history will be recorded and it will be like no other before. A new history is part of a new journey, the journey to the infinite paths that leads to their destiny.
In the morning, Flame woke up, yawning as he adjusted to his surroundings. The place he saw was unfamiliar to him. After getting up, he stretched and saw Crash, the ultimate lifeform, leaning against a tall tree, crossing his arms and enjoying the great day. The sun was shining, bits of clouds in the sky, and it was overall a peaceful, wonderful day. He asked, "C-Crash? Where are we?"
"Don't worry about it. This world should be good enough to live in, not that I can promise anything," Crash said as an answer.
"Right. Uhhh, if I may ask, where exactly are we?" Flame repeated.
"Well, during my exploration, this universe has... magic," Crash said, looking out into the distance.
"Magic?" Flame asked, sounding curious.
"Yes, magic I say. Although, the magic here acts different from the magic we are familiar with."
What Crash said essentially meant that he and Flame had encountered past enemies with a range of magical abilities. The spectrum of magic they had faced was vast, varying from basic abilities to those that made them close to their full strength. However, the imagination and creation of new forms of magic was practically limitless. They had witnessed various forms of magic throughout their world, from the known to the yet-to-be-discovered.
"Okay, uhh, so we're still going with the plan." Flame asked.
"Yes, Flame, our world has been erased from existence. All past memories and events were removed from everyone who was erased, including us, but it doesn't seem to have affected us." Crash explained.
Flame noded, "That's right, it's just us left. It's going to be quite difficult to regain our original strength."
"You're right. However, we need to assess our opponents' abilities and determine their level of strength. If we don't, we may waste too much of our own energy for nothing."
"Basically, we need to be cautious and hold back... a lot. So, uhhh, you found somewhere we can stay at?"
Crash nods slightly, as if implying he has found a suitable place to stay, "Correct, it's called Fairy Tail, a guild of some repute. I also heard some things about the guild."
With curiosity, this got Flame's attention, "Fairy Tail? That sounds interesting. Well, I suppose we should stay there for now."
Crash thought for a couple moments before coming to a conclusion. With their multiverse being erased, he and Flame had limited options of where to go. After considering Flame's suggestion, Crash realized that joining Fairy Tail was, perhaps, their best option.
"I suppose you are right." Crash said with a slight smile.
"Now we're talking! But, how do we-" Before Flame could finish his question, Crash answered. "I know someone in Fairy Tail that can help us."
"Wait a minute, how long since you've met this guy?" Flame asked, surprised by what Crash had said.
"Just three hours ago," Crash answered, sounding confident.
"Three hours ago?! How do you know that he can get us that fast? That's just not possible!" Flame was shocked by what Crash had told him. The speed that he had acquired a connection in the Fairy Tail guild seemed unnaturally quick to him.
"Stay put Flame, I'll be back. Just rest there for a moment," said Crash, leaving Flame alone for the time being.
He darts off with his rocket sneakers in tow to head straight to town, to the location of the Fairy Tail guild. Flame was eagerly looking forward to getting to know the guild and joining their ranks, though when he realized that no one in this world matched their level of power, he knew he'd have to exercise restraint in using his abilities. Flame turned his gaze up to the sky, relishing memories of previous adventures, though his smile faded after a few moments, realizing that things weren't the same without Crash at his side.
"I can't be sure if me and Crash are the only ones who survived that... There's Solaris, he's pretty strong. I could see why Infinity chose him as his final combatant for the tournament," Flame muttered to himself. He then let out a sigh of boredom and relaxed on the tall tree, closing his eyes.
After thirty minutes, Crash returned to where Flame was, accompanied by a seemingly friendly man with white hair, "So you must be Flame?" Elfman asks.
"Bingo." Flame opens his eyelids as he replies.
"Crash was right; that's one manly name." Elfman observes, impressed by Flame's very gifted nature just by looking at him.
"So this is the guy you met three hours ago?" Flame raises an eyebrow at Crash's comment.
"That's right." Crash nods, confirming Elfman's comment and adding, "He said he'll take you two to the Guild."
Flame nods, enthusiastic about the opportunity. "Sounds great!"
After stretching and warming up with quick one-arm push-ups, Flame follows Elfman, and Crash follows behind. They walk through the city known as Magnolia and eventually arrive at the Fairy Tail Guild. Flame stares in awe at the size of the guild building, its towering structure and majestic appearance.
"This is the Fairy Tail Guild," Elfman says, gesturing towards the massive building.
"Woah, it's so huge!" Flame exclaims in awe.
As Elfman opens the door, Flame and Crash are greeted by the sight of numerous Fairy Tail members fighting each other. Elfman leads them inside, and all the members pause to stare at the two new visitors, their eyes locked on Flame and Crash. Flame is aware that the staring is most likely due to their appearance, which is a humanoid hedgehog. He leans over to Crash and whispers, "They are staring at us."
Crash whispers back to Flame with a slight tone of humor, "I know."
As Flame and Crash stare at the short, old man walking towards them, Crash can sense a significant amount of energy emanating from the man. It's Makarov, the leader of the Fairy Tail Guild. Makarov approaches and addresses Flame and Crash, asking, "Hello you two. What brings you here to the Fairy Tail Guild?"
"We came here from a pretty far away place, traveling for weeks to find a place to stay," Crash explains.
"Is that so? What are your names?"
"I'm Flame, Flame the Hedgehog. World's fastest hedgehog and incredibly handsome looking," Flame answers, saying with an air of confidence and self-conceit.
"The names Crash, Flame's ultimate rival," Crash interjects.
Makarov responds to this with a friendly expression and tone, "Well, Flame and Crash, I am Makarov. I am the leader of the Fairy Tail Guild." He gestures to the other Fairy Tail members nearby.
"The pleasure is all mine!"
Crash crossing his arms, Flame has to explain what Crash meant by somewhere pretty far, "When Crash said we came somewhere pretty far, what he means is that we came from another universe."
As the Fairy Tail members rush over to Flame and Crash, with tons of questions and reactions, Makarov quickly intervenes.
"ENOUGH! Give Flame and Crash some space!" he shouts, raising his voice above the chaos around them.
"Hehe, don't worry about it," Flame replies with a friendly and slightly cocky expression, "Crash and I can handle it, we're used to this."
"What he said," Crash mutters, rolling his eyes in a humorous manner.
"Now, ahem, to explain how we ended up here, well..." Flame says as he tries to gather his thoughts. His expression reflects his sadness when speaking of the events that led to their current situation.
Crash interjects with an expansion of this, providing the backstory behind their arrival. "We came from another multiverse, in the middle of a tournament between two multiverses to determine who is the superior multiverse with a superior ruler. Turns out, this whole tournament was just a set-up for the other god, a plan for revenge. After our team loses, it becomes clear what he's planning to do. He wants to eliminate all of us. That is until Flame's father steps in and stops him, using a powerful energy to weaken him, which results in the two multiverses being erased."
Flame adds his view of the situation, "The worst part is, I don't even know if my father is alive, even my older brother! But we managed to survive, but since we're not sure if anyone else survived, 95% of anyone we knew has been reduced to nothingness in our multiverse. We went looking for some place to visit, but so far it was nothing but wasted, with no lifeforms in many of the world's we tried visiting."
"My least favorite has to be the desert world."
Crash responses with agreement, finishing up the overall explanation. "Hmph, couldn't agree more."
Flame follows this up with a recap of their experience before wrapping up with the key point that brought them to this conversation.
"I guess from there, uhhh yea, that's how we ended up here in the first place. Does it wrap everything, Crash?"
The fairy tail members seem shocked by Flame and Crash's stories, letting out exclamations of awe and disbelief. Makarov is the only one to remain composed, though his own thoughts are deep and reflective on their stories.
"I am sorry to hear your loss, Flame and Crash," Makarov says with empathy, giving a sincere expression.
"It's fine, Makarov," Crash responds with a soft and reassuring tone, "Stuff like this we get over with in the end. Even though it'll be hard to cope with."
Flame also acknowledges the difficulty of overcoming this experience, but echoes the sentiment that they'll recover, though it will be arduous. Gray asks Flame and Crash to showcase their capabilities, and they both are eager to demonstrate their abilities. Crash begins by providing details of their capabilities, emphasizing their strength, speed, and predictive senses, which stem from their hedgehog abilities.
Happy asks for clarification, wondering, "What's Chaos Energy?"
Flame provides an in-depth description of what Chaos Energy can do, giving an explanation of its origins, applications, and its limitless power. He mentions that the creation of the seven chaos emeralds and the master emeralds was done by his grandfather, Uros. He continues to state it can be used for a variety of applications, ranging from powering equipment to empowering beings and warping space and time.
Lucy and Happy are awed by the details Flame and Crash share. Crash confirms this by stating they may get into more detail on things about them later on.
Makarov follows this by asking, "So are you two a wizard or a mage?"
Flame replies, "A mage, hmm," considering Makarov's question before thinking aloud and adding in a whisper to Crash, "My stomach is telling me I am hungry..."
"And my stomach is telling me you have to wait," Crash whispers back in response.
Makarov asks, "Flame and Crash, would you two like joining Fairy Tail as a member?"
Crash is astonished by this offer and asks, "Really? I...I don't know about this..."
Flame replies, "Look Crash, it can't be that bad. It's just a guild after all, this will give us a new adventure, with our world's been reduced. Just imagine the possibility out there, waiting to just be challenged! That's something you can't miss out on, so what do ya say?."
Flame is well aware that Crash can be slightly hesitant, Crash sighs and agrees to this request, acknowledging that they could use a fresh start after everything they've been through.
Natsu is enthusiastic about this development and responds with passion and excitement, exclaiming "ALRIGHT! I'M ALL FIRED UP!"
Makarov shakes hands with Flame and Crash, welcoming them to Fairy Tail as the two hedgehogs are officially members, this is just the beginning of their new era.