A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to another chapter!

Enjoy!

CHAPTER FORTY: CHANGE

Palace dining hall...

"And until that time came, we were in a prison." Future Lucas was saying.

"'That time'?" Happy quoted.

"Um, why did you come from the future, Lucas-san?" Fera asked.

"In order to change a terrible future..."

"A terrible future?" Sting repeated.

"What happened in your future?" Yukino questioned.

"Despair awaits in the very near future. A swarm of more than 10,000 dragons will attack this country. The city is burned down. The palace is destroyed. Many lives are lost." Future Lucas responded, leaving everyone in shock.

"What... the hell... is that?!" Natsu screamed.

"Use your indoor voice!" Lily scolded.

"Over 10,000 dragons..."

"Why would that happen?" Yukino asked.

"Oh my gosh!" Happy shrieked.

"Maybe it has something to do with the dragon graveyard?" Wendy guessed.

"I don't know." Carla said.

"It's unfathomable." Lily added.

"Oh my gosh!" Happy continued to freak out.

"That's annoying!" Lily told him in irritation.

"I wonder where they'll come from." Lucy said.

"Is it even possible for them to be lying in wait without being discovered?" Loke questioned.

Natsu had a bunch of spears ready. "Anyway, we gotta stop wastin' time here and prepare for war!"

"We're going to fight?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"That'd be impossible!" Happy shouted.

"Everyone... You believe me?" Future Lucas said in shock.

"Is it a lie?!" Natsu accused.

"No! But..." Future Lucas paused. "I didn't think anyone would believe something like this."

"Why would we doubt your words, Luke?" Sting asked.

Future Lucas glanced down and smiled slightly. "You're my future self, but that's pathetic! Have more trust in your friends!" Lucas scolded.

"I'm scolding myself?!" Future Lucas exclaimed. "Come to think of it, it does sound like something I would do. But you're right..."

Carla walked up to Future Lucas. "Hey, what happened to us in the palace when the dragons came?"

Future Lucas glanced down. "Let's just say... Everyone in this room - with the exception of myself and Lucy - are all dead." He replied, shocking everyone.

"...d-dead?"

"No..."

"We... died?" Happy teared up.

"Because I was with you? Bringing bad luck..." Yukino thinks to herself.

"I don't remember how many days passed. When I came to, I remembered Eclipse. I didn't know how to activate it, but Lucy opened the Gate by instinct. We both had faith in the possibility of going back in time. And then we really did go back to the past. July 4th, 791." Future Lucas explained.

"That's... so recent." Loke commented.

"With Eclipse, can you only go back to the recent past?" Mira asked.

"But the plan was to go back 400 years in the past and defeat Zeref..." Wendy reminded.

"I don't know. Part of it was broken, so maybe that's why." Future Lucas stated.

Arcadios was on a wall, now conscious. "I see. He's the mysterious person from the future who advised the princess. But something's bothering me..." He thought.

"There are Lacrimas placed all throughout the city to film the Grand Magic Game. I want you to go underground to meet up with Jellal and his comrades." Future Lucas instructed.

"Jellal?" Natsu repeated.

"I told him everything. I'm sure he's developing a strategy right now."

"Developing a strategy?" Lucas quoted. "Isn't that kind of our thing?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't come from the future with an answer. I don't know how to keep all of this from happening." Future Lucas confessed, shocking his present self, Sting, Drake, Fera, and Ace.

"As I thought..." Arcadios noted, thinking back to his conversation with Hisui. "Why? You're the one who sold your sister on Eclipse 2. And you arriving on the 4th is a lie, too. Why are you lying to your comrades?"

"I'm really sorry. It's like, why did I even come here in the first place? Until today, I didn't know what to do, so I just wandered around the city." Future Lucas said.

"Nah. We'll do somethin'." Sting promised, making Future Lucas glance up.

Sting kneeled down, embracing him tightly and taking Future Lucas by surprise. "Thank you. You're doin' this for our future." He thanked him as Future Lucas recalled what had happened to his boyfriend.

"Sting!"

Sting collapses to the ground after the blade had struck him. "No... No!" Lucas shouted. "Sting! Hey, Sting!"

But it was too late. Sting was gone.

Future Lucas began sobbing as he hugs Sting tightly. "I swear we'll change the future." Sting stated, making Future Lucas clench his fists.

"It's not all necessarily true?" Ultear quoted.

"You mean the Future Lucas is lying?" Meredy asked.

"Why go to all that trouble?" Ultear questioned.

"More than 10,000 dragons... Eclipse... Magic power... It just doesn't add up." Jellal explained.

"Then..." Meredy started to say.

"...he's purposely giving misinformation about the future?" Ultear finished.

"Are Lucas's words lies? Or is his entire existence a fiction?" Jellal asked.

Future Lucas currently had his hood up as the group was following him. "This way!" He instructed.

"I'm surprised you know the way!" Natsu confessed.

"Actually, you can thank Lucy's future counterpart for that. We wanted to at least avoid a future where everyone is captured by the imperial army." Future Lucas explained.

"Makes sense." Lily stated.

"You two must have studied the underground passages, huh?" Happy asked.

"By the way, what happened to you? I mean, us?" Lucas asked his future counterpart, causing him to hum. "You look..."

"Dragonization. It's a side effect of Dragon Slayer Magic." Future Lucas explained, shocking his present self, Natsu, Sting, and Wendy. "I kept overusing it after... Wait, sorry. You're not at that yet. I keep forgetting it happened after the Grand Magic Games."

The group finally made their way into the palace halls, the sound of royal guards were coming their way.

"There they are! The fugitives!"

"Capture them!"

"The imperial army? They were stationed here?!" Future Lucas exclaimed.

"How...?!" Lucas questioned.

Natsu cracked his knuckles. "Don't worry! If I can use magic, we won't get caught."

"That's right." Loke agreed.

"Alright, Natsu-san! Let's get to work!" Sting grinned.

"E-Excuse me!" Wendy shouted. "Arcadios-san isn't here!"

"Neither is Yukino!" Mira added.

"What?!"

"Why would they go off on their own?!" Lucy asked as Future Lucas had a dark shadow casted on his face.

"I don't care about the knight, but I can't leave Yukino behind. I'll go back!" Mira claimed.

"I'll come with you! Two eyes are better than one!" Drake informed, following Mira.

"Mira!"

"Drake!"

"Don't! We'll get separated!" Lucy shouted.

"Everyone, be careful!" Mira warned.

"They'll be fine, Mira. They got Natsu, Lucas, and Sting with them." Drake reassured.

Mira nodded. "You're right!"

"Leave it to us. We're gonna..." Natsu started to say.

"Yeah." Loke and Sting agreed.

"...run through these guys!" Natsu, Sting, and Loke spoke in unison as they got into a fighting stance.

"Get them!"

Natsu leaped into the air with a fist covered in flames, attacking some of the guards as Loke attacked some more.

"Never thought I'd get into a battle with the royal army, but..." Sting paused as he struck some royal guards with holy light. "...there's a first time for everything!"

"Mira-san..." Wendy thought.

"Drake-san..." Fera thinks to himself in worry.

"Yukino..." Lucy thought.

"I'll protect you, Carla." Happy claimed, holding up a stick.

"This uneasy feeling..." Carla had her paws to her head. "What should we do?!"

Jellal raised his head as him, Ultear, and Meredy all sensed it. "This magic..." Ultear muttered.

"I'm sure of it!" Meredy added.

"In the city..."

"Calm down. The Future Lucas has become caught up in a battle. If Natsu and the others are with him, there's no need to panic." Jellal informed.

"Get back, Lucas!" Ace warned as he was in his Battle Form.

"I'm fine!" Lucas reassured.

Wendy threw some wind up in the air, attacking the guards.

"Come on, come on! Let's have some fun with this! Fang Magic: Bottom Jaw!" Fera shouted, summoning beast fangs from the ground as it came up like spikes and attacked some more guards.

"Even though they're just kids, they're damn strong!"

"Call the anti-magic unit!"

"You're not getting past us!" Loke claimed, kicking one of the guards as both Natsu and Sting threw back more royal guards.

Natsu suddenly got blasted by something. "Direct hit! Ready waves two and three!"

"Was that magic?" Carla asked.

"Who are those guys?" Happy questioned. "Natsu!"

"The kingdom has a magic unit, too..." Carla muttered.

Natsu pats his back. "That's a surprise." He turns around. "You guys actually make a living with magic like that?"

"It didn't work!"

"Is that kid a monster?!"

"What should we do?!"

Sting chuckled to himself. "Yeah... I already tried an attack like that. It doesn't work." He informed.

"Hi! Sorry I took so long!"

"Don't!"

"We weren't waiting for you!"

"Don't just come out on your own!"

"Who the hell are you?!" Natsu asked.

"Sorry, sorry!" The dolphin spoke.

"Me? I'm the kingdom of Fiore's strongest magic soldier."

"That's going too far!" The dolphin exclaimed.

"What is this guy?" Lily questioned. "A wizard? Not a Celestial Spirit?"

"They don't have people like him." Lucy replied.

"Time for punishment, isn't it, Princess?" Virgo asked.

"I'm gonna go all out for the lovely Princess Hisui."

"Ball! Get it!" The dolphin said, moving through the guards.

"He's bowling over his allies?" Wendy questioned.

"That guy's scary!" Happy exclaimed.

"In more ways than one..." Carla commented.

The dolphin guy crashed into Natsu. "You got some power there!" He said.

"I've got confidence in my physical strength!" The dolphin said.

"Your man there's exhausted!" Natsu pointed out.

"Sorry! I can't..."

"You can't?!"

"All right!" Natsu lit his fist on fire. "If you claim to be the strongest, then I'm gonna do my worst!"

"Okay! I'm waiting for it with open arms..." The guy was sweating.

"All that sweat!" The dolphin exclaimed.

"Fire Dragon's Fist!" Natsu called out, punching the man-dolphin away.

"We tried!"

A/N: Sorry for such a short chapter! And in case you didn't notice, Future Lucas was foreshadowing the Tartaros Arc when the dragons had arrived to destroy Face :)

Thanks for reading!

~ Kaleb.