Lucy gasped as the man in front of her and the guild hall disappeared. She closed her eyes as the colors swirled, then opened them to find a much younger Fairy Tail. Lucy gasped and put both hands over her mouth to hold back her panicked scream. Everyone around her reflected her shock.

"Who are you?! How did you get here?!" a much younger Mirajane questioned as she launched herself at her.

"Mira! Calm down! I'm not the enemy!" Lucy responded, barely dodging her attacks.

"How do you know my name?!"

"If you would stop for a moment, I would tell you!"

Mira paused. Lucy held up her guild mark. Everyone that could see gasped and an uproar of confusion filled the hall. Crash from the bar broke the noise. Natsu shot up from where he had landed and charged Lucy.

"Lucy," he shouted as he grabbed her and swung her around in a hug. Lucy couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips.

"I'm fine, Natsu."

"Where are we?" Natsu asked as he sent her down to take in his surroundings.

"The past," Lucy answered softly.

"What do you mean 'the past'?" Young Erza asked standing up.

"Our past. Your future," Gray responded from where he landed a few feet away.

"Oi! I bet I can beat Erza!" Natsu shouted, charging the little girl.

"Natsu! Don't pick fights against girls half your age!" Lucy scolded.

"But why?" Natsu whined.

He held Erza by her braid as she thrashed, trying to get free or strike a blow.

"Put me down!" she shouted.

"Nah!" he responded with a cocky grin.

"Natsu! You wouldn't happen to be bullying the younger me, would you?" Erza asked threateningly as she emerged from the crowd of that had gathered around them.

"No! Just saying 'hey'," Natsu insisted, quickly releasing the girl.

Young Gray barked out a laugh then said, "Still a pansy as an adult!"; which quickly caused a fight.

Jellal walked up behind Erza rubbing the new bump on his head from the fall with a groan. His eyes met Young Erza's as she picked herself up. Her eyes widened in fear. Jellal looked away ashamedly as his hair shadowed his eyes. Erza stepped between the two and met her younger self's eyes instead. She offered a reassuring smile. A younger Makorov stepped forward.

"Do any of you know why you're here?" he asked.

"Not a clue," Gray answered.

Makorov pointed to Lucy.

"Your name?"

"Lucy."

He then pointed to Jellal.

"Jellal."

Another crash resounded near the back of the guild as the rest of the future members appeared. Chaos erupted from the confusion. Both Makorovs heaved deep sighs and climbed up to the second level.

"Oi! Brats! Listen up!" they shouted in unison.

Everyone paused.

"My children on the left," Makorov said.

"And mine on the right," the younger Makorov said.

They obeyed.

Makorov looked to those on the left.

"No one is to tell their younger counterparts anything that happens in the future under any circumstances. We already know how it ends when your future is revealed and altered. We are going to find who is behind all this and stop him just as Fairy Tail always has."

Cheers erupted around the room.

"Wait! What about us?" Young Natsu shouted.

It was Erza who responded. "If we allow you to fight and you get injured, it affects the future; but, if something happens to the future the past can alter it. Beside, this is probably just another time stream."

"Another?" Young Erza asked.

"That is quite enough. We can tell you no more." Makorov interrupted.

"Wait, there's something I want to check," Lucy said stepping forward. "Erza pull back the hair from your eye, please."

The girl only glared back at her defiantly.
"Just do as she says," the younger Makorov said.

The girl obeyed. No eye patch. Lucy nodded, then turned to Young Gray.

"Gray, has Natsu made a promise to the shadows yet?"

"Yes, but-"

Lucy had already moved on to little Natsu.

"Natsu, can you please take off your scarf?"

"No way!" he protested clutching it in his small fists.

Lucy walked over to him and bent to look him in the eyes.

"Please," she asked offering small smile.

The boy begrudgingly agreed. A small scar was revealed on the side of his neck. She nodded and thanked him with a ruffle of his hair before returning to her group.

"All clear," she said to Natsu, Erza, and Gray.

Young Makorov cleared his throat.

"May I ask what that was about?"

"Yes, I was just getting a reference of time and making sure we wouldn't run into another set of ourselves," Lucy responded with a smile.

"Another set?!" both Makorovs shouted.

"Remember that time you had us clean out the guild library 'cause flame-brain wrecked some sacred temple?" Gray asked.

"Oi! You're the one that knocked over the idol, stripper!" Natsu protested.

"Oudasai!" Erza shouted silencing them with a glare.

Lucy sweat dropped.

"Well, Natsu opened a weird book and we were transported to the day Natsu got the scar on his neck."

Makorov shook his head as his younger self's eyes widened.

"Bunny girl!" he proclaimed.

Lucy hung her head.

"Aye…," she muttered weakly. "Erza made me do it."

"I didn't know you performed for them, too, Bunny Girl." Gajeel teased.

"I only did that because we lost to you guys!" Lucy protested.

"Then why did you perform for them?" he countered.

"Master made me…"

"Geehee."

"I see a lot of new faces in the future," Young Makorov said.

"Shall I introduce them?" Makorov asked.

The younger man nodded.

"Step forward when I call your name. Lucy, Gajeel, Kinana, Laki, Juvia, Romeo, Wendy, Carla, Happy, Lily, Alzack, Bisca, Asuka, Freed, Evergreen, Bixlow, of Mermaid Heel: Kagura and Millianna-"

"What about Simon? Where are Sho and Wally?" little Erza asked.

Kagura's hair shadowed her eyes. Jellal gritted his teeth and looked away.

"We cannot say," Millianna said slowly.

"But-"

"Leave it," Erza said.

Young Erza hair shadowed her face and her fists trembled at her side.

"Knowing your future does nothing but haunt your every move and terrify you." Lucy said softly. "Be it preventable or not."

Natsu put a comforting arm around her shoulders and leaned into him. Gray took Juvia's hand as her shoulders started to shake. Young Makorov took note of this.

"You seem to speak from experience," Young Makorov thought aloud. "No one is to ask or tell of the future."

"Unless you ask for a reading from me!" a suddenly sober-sounding Cana interjected.

Makorov just shook his head.

"Gajeel. You're the best spy we've got. I want you, Lily, and Jellal to snoop around and see what you can dig up," Makorov instructed.

"Oi, why does Star-Boy have to come?" Gajeel questioned.

"Because he has been evading the Council and gathering information for almost eight years now."

Gajeel opened his mouth to protest.

"And I think back up wouldn't hurt."

"Fine," Gajeel grumbled. He turned to Jellal. "You better find something less conspicuous than what you wore to Daimatou Enbou."

"Shouldn't be too hard." Jellal responded with a small smile.

The two changed into plain clothes and found cloaks. Just as Jellal was about to follow Gajeel and Lily out the back door, Erza grabbed his hand from the shadows of the back hallway.

"Stay away from me-both mes-for now. I don't think it'd be a good idea to rewrite history," she whispered.

"Would rewriting history be so bad?" Jellal asked. "If you had known the others and I were alive, you wouldn't have shed so many tears. And Simon would still be alive."

"You don't know that for sure."

"Yes I do." Jellal put a careful hand on her cheek and leaned his forehead against hers. "You would have realized I wasn't worth saving and killed me when you had the chance," Jellal responded with a sad smile.

Erza eyes glistened and Jellal began to regret his honesty. He sighed and started to draw away. Erza had on his wrist stopped him.

"You will always be worth saving to me."

His heart did flips in his chest and he smiled.

"Our love will kill us one day," he sighed then kissed her forehead. "I promise to stay away from the two of you until this thing is over."

"Thank you," she breathed before kissing his palm.

He drew away then followed Gajeel and Lily into the foreboding night. Erza turned away as they disappeared from view and retreated upstairs; not realizing that her younger self had seen the whole encounter.