Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

A/N: A little flash-back of a chapter to give you guys some insight into why the Sweepstakes was arranged.

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Cana, the busty alcoholic-and fortune teller stared at the cards in front of her. "Everything looks fine!" she announced to no one in particular since everyone was holding their breath waiting for her to speak. A collective sigh of relief washed across the guild hall.

"You two really think this will work?" Lisanna's voice came from behind her sister. Surprisingly, there wasn't a hint of jealousy in her tone: just hope. For most of her life, Lisanna was sure she'd grow up and marry Natsu but her time in Edolas had changed that. Upon returning to Earthland she came to the conclusion that soul mates had to be inter dimensional. Alzack and Bisca. Gray and Juvia. And, to her sadness, Natsu and Lucy.

Though it had taken time, the takeover mage knew all she wanted was for her childhood friend to be happy. She saw the way Natsu's gaze always rested on Lucy. He loved the whole guild but he went to the greatest lengths to keep the celestial mage safe. It was a primal drive, an instinct that he didn't even realize he had. She had watched the fire ignite in his eyes whenever someone flirted with the blonde and he took great lengths to steer her away from relationships.

Natsu claimed it was because they were best friends; he hated seeing her heart break. Everyone except the duo knew differently though. Natsu had made his connection with the heiress, Lucy Heartfilia.

Lisanna wanted nothing more than to be supportive of them as they discovered what everyone else had seen from miles away.

"Indeed," Erza told the youngest of the Strauss siblings. She popped a cream puff into her mouth and chewed slowly, savoring the sweetness.

"Mm," Mira concurred and put an arm around her little sister. "I don't have any doubts." She smiled and her laugh lines danced across her face.

"Mmm," came a gruffer voice by the bar. The guild knew well enough who it was and silence fell out of respect of Makarov, the third master of Fairy Tail. "We can only hope. The warnings have been clear enough. Carla's vision mustn't come to fruition."

A fortnight prior the exceed had woken, terrified by a prophecy that had haunted her dreams. The images had been blurry but she had the words burned into her memory.

This is the fate when the dragon becomes the victim, though the voice was indistinguishable and could belong to anyone, the message was clear. In the fairy tales the dragon takes the princess and the prince saves her. This is not that type of tale. This is our reality and this is where we failed. A dragon scorned by a broken heart shall wreak havoc and destruction, completely obliterating everything in its path. Once friends become invisible to the blind misery that clouds their vision. Their instinct switches from protect to destroy when the dragon becomes the victim. The dragon's spark lives in the heart of his mate-his princess. That spark dies on the day the last leaf turns the gold of autumn. That is the day your world ends. The moment Carla woke she had confessed everything she had heard to Makarov. They had sought the help of the guild to decipher the meaning. At the time the Thunder God Tribe had been on a mission as had Lucy, Natsu, and Happy. Three days into their research Freed's team had returned and begun to help. One week into their research Carla had another vision and the voice had resumed from where it left off.

Your world dies because your dragon failed. He loses his Princess before he ever even had her. Perhaps, we would have saved her had he known the treasure she was. Perhaps your world wouldn't die if he does. The princess drew her last breath on the day the last leaf turned autumn gold. Exceed, my future failed. Change your present to change your future. This is all the warning I could give. The flames come for me. This is what happens when the dragon becomes the victim. Please Exceed.

It cut off abruptly and left the white feline with wide, dilated eyes. That wasn't her normal clairvoyance, she had never been talked to consciously before. It frightened her and before Carla knew what she was doing her vocal cords were tight and vibrating, "Wendy!"

The panic in her friend's voice sent the young sky dragon bolting to her side as if taken by wind. She listened, expression concerned as her exceed explained everything she had heard and seen. Wendy didn't hesitate, the moment Carla paused to let everything sink in, she stood and held her chin high. "Let's go. We need to get everyone together so they can hear this."

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Makarov pressed his fingers together and rested his elderly head on the tips of his nails. "Mm..." he made a sound but let it fade away as his mind wandered. The entire guild hall was silent. A sense of foreboding ate away the typically light air.

On the stool nearest the third master sat a youth named Romeo Conbolt. The fourth master, Macao, was his father. Romeo had always idolized the wizards of Fairy Tail and was growing his magic every day, playing with fire just like his dad-and his greatest idol, Natsu Dragneel. He'd always looked up to the dragon slayer as an elder brother. Suddenly he broke the silence by pounding his fist on the bar counter, earning him a disgruntled look from Makarov.

"Big brother Natsu is due back in a week, let's just tell him what Carla saw. He'll get with Lucy and that's the end of it."

In a far off corner a familiar geehee sounded. "Sure kid, let's just ensure Carla's vision comes true," Gajeel taunted. Romeo's muscles tensed as he glared at the iron dragon slayer.

"Gajeel!" the petite blue haired mage snapped beside him. "You need to be nicer. What does that even mean?" Levy scowled at him.

With a grunt he rolled his eyes as if he shouldn't need to explain. "You can't just force a dragon with a mate. It has to happen of their own free will or else the process is void," he enjoyed that word. "To avoid the void," Gajeel snickered at his own joke and looked around expectantly. No one else so much as smiled. "Eh, the dragon needs to discover his emotions on his own or else the relationship is doomed. Metalcana tried to explain it to me but I never much understood, ain't good with all this lovey dovey crap." He finished by stretching his arms behind his back and reclining against the wall.

"That gives us a week to come up with a plan," Makarov stated simply. That was all it took for the entire hall to explode in a multitude of voices. It would be five days later when Erza overheard Juvia and Gray spit balling ideas back and forth.

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A/N: So… Let me know what you think!