A/N: Episode 186.

Enjoy!

CHAPTER FORTY: THE FUTURE SPEEDING TOWARDS DESPAIR

Natsu and the others stopped in front of another door. "Another door? I thought the last one was the exit outta here." Natsu complained.

"I have a feeling we're going around in circles." Lucy commented.

"I feel a breeze here and there, so I can't figure out which one leads to the outside." Wendy stated.

"This is a problem, especially since we've got wounded." Loke informed.

"Anyway, we have to let everyone in the guild know we're safe." Carla said.

"That's right! So we've just gotta get outside!" Happy agreed.

"If we're lucky, this passage will lead us out." Mira reassured.

"And if we're not, we'll just waste more time wandering around." Lily added.

"I'm sorry. This wouldn't have happened if I knew more about the layout here." Yukino apologized.

"You have nothing to apologize for." Lucy told her.

"Whatever, let's just keep goin'. I'm curious about this Dusk, too." Akame said, referring to Future Dusk that was on his shoulder.

"Agreed." Wendy said.

"All right, then let's go!" Lucy exclaimed as the group carried on their way.

Inside Mercurius...

All of the current battles were shown on the Lacrima screen. "Certainly, it's only natural for you to be concerned. Deciding whether to use the Eclipse Gate based on the results of the game... If possible, I'd rather take measure of the situation more carefully, too. Especially since it's connected to the future of everyone who lives in this country." Hisui glanced at Darton. "But right now, there's nothing else I can base my judgment on. He told me the results of the Grand Magic Games. If he's right, it definitely proves that he has knowledge of the future. We'll have our conclusion shortly. To be honest, I don't want to believe it either. If the future he foretold comes to pass..."

Dusk peeks his head out from a hallway, looking around. "Well, Dusk-san?" Wendy asked.

"It looks like nobody is there. Let's go." Dusk replied.

"Right."

"I wonder what's going on with the Grand Magic Games." Chii wondered.

"I'm sure they're holdin' up their end." Akame answered. "Anyway, let's get the hell outta here and meet up with Master and everyone else."

Pillars fell from Ezekiel's attack as the audience cheered. "She's parried with Ezekiel!" Riku exclaimed in shock.

"No surprise there... She is his sister, after all." Atugia reminded.

Erza requipped into her Clear Heart Clothing Armor, pointing her blade at Ezekiel. "Giving up on this life... would be a sacriledge against those who went on that journey!" She exclaimed.

Ezekiel chuckled. "I see..." He mumbled, raising his sword up and charging forward at Erza, who stopped his sword with hers.

"You may be my brother... But I don't intend to lose!" She claimed.

Erza soon slashes at Ezekiel, landing on the ground and making Ezekiel collapse. The audience soon cheered.

"Amazing!"

"It's Erza! What a force of will! She was totally worn out, but pulled off a reversal!" Chapati said.

"I'm not surprised, though." Yajima stated.

Mato was jumping up and down. "I-Incredible-kabo!"

"Ezekiel... lost?" Ajar spoke in shock.

"And against his own damn sister? That's cold." Riku commented.

"Magnificent! Even my eyes couldn't follow that slash!" Makarov commented.

Ezekiel struggled to stand up. "Ezekiel is getting up! This isn't over yet!" Chapati announced.

Erza walked towards her brother with a frown on her face. Ezekiel chuckled to himself. "I guess this is over, huh? I'll let Fairy Tail have my 5 points... Sorry, Zack... Everyone..." He thought.

"Nee-chan, you won this fight fair and square." Ezekiel spoke, getting Erza's attention.

"I already know what you're going to do." Erza interrupted. "And I won't let you do it. I..."

Erza gets cut off as Minerva stabbed her, causing Fairy Tail to widen their eyes in shock and Erza to collapse on the ground. "The winner is Ezekiel. However, I get the points." Minerva claimed.

"Minerva took down Erza! Sabertooth gains points!" Chapati announced as Sabertooth's point count to 54. "Since the leader was defeated, that's 5 points! Sabertooth has bypassed Fairy Tail to become the current front-runner!"

Minerva drops the sword. "I told you, remember? I'm going to give you the battle worthy of a king." She said. "But the king only eats exquisite dishes. Such as a mermaid's head, a phoenix and fairy's flapping wings, and so on..."

Minerva laughed. "You...!" Ezekiel exclaimed in anger.

"You're next, Ezekiel." Minerva stated. "Although with those injuries, it's clear who's going to win."

"Zeke... You gotta help... Millianna..." Erza mumbled.

"I will. And Kagura, too." Ezekiel promised.

"Millianna and Kagura? That kitten and swordswoman?" Minerva asked.

Both Kagura and Millianna fell to the ground. "All the fight's out of them. I get the points!" Minerva shouted as Sabertooth's point count went up to 60. "Sabertooth gets more points!" Chapati announced.

"That widens the gap more with Twilight Phoenix-kabo!" Mato commented.

Ezekiel grabs onto Millianna and Kagura. "Millianna! Kagura!"

"Huh? Ezekiel-kun..." Millianna mumbled.

"Ezekiel..." Kagura muttered.

"Hang in there, both of you!" Ezekiel said.

He removed his hands, seeing dark red blood on coating both of his palms. He moves Millianna's cape aside, seeing multiple slash wounds. With Kagura, it seemed she was stabbed, like Erza.

"W-What's this?!"

"I was bored waiting for you, so I amused myself by hurting them." Minerva replied as Ezekiel's whole body shook. "They have such nice screams."

Ezekiel stood up, a dark look plastered on his face as he gritted his teeth. "Ezekiel!" Ajar exclaimed in shock.

"Kagura! Millianna!" Arana shouted.

"This isn't about winning anymore!" Risley claimed as she rushed off to help her guildmates, Beth and Arana following in suit.

"With this, all the Mermaid Heel participants and Fairy Tail's leader are out! So now it's just down to Ezekiel and Minerva!" Chapati said.

"But Ezekiel has already been through the wringer-kabo!" Mato reminded.

"Minerva, on the other hand, doesn't have a scratch on her." Yajima added.

"Does the fallen phoenix have any chances at victory?!" Chapati questioned.

Meanwhile, Laxus, Orga, and Nero were staring at each other. "You're Orga, the Lightning God Slayer, right?" Laxus asked.

Orga laughed. "You remembered my name, Laxus?"

"Of course he does. You're not that hard to forget." Nero scoffed. "Unfortunately, you'll always be stuck at rock bottom."

"Big talk. Are you saying your puny guild is number one?"

Nero tilted his head up. "There's always somebody above you. Ain't that right, Laxus?" He asked, glancing at the Lightning Dragon Slayer who had a blank expression.

Nero, Laxus, and Orga all joined their attacks as footsteps were soon heard. "Well, well..." A voice spoke up, revealing Jura. "I've come across a couple of strong wizards."

"Jura of the Ten Wizard Saints!" Orga exclaimed.

"You appeared at last, monster." Laxus said.

"About time." Nero added as he smirked.

Juvia and Sherria continued bickering. "You're leading Lyon astray!" Sherria shouted.

"Juvia is devoted to Gray-sama!" Juvia claimed.

"This is a tough fight for Sherria. Then again, her opponent is Juvia." Lyon spoke up, getting Sherria's attention.

"Dammit. I feel like I'm getting deja vu right about now." Julian sighed.

"What's wrong, Julian? Looking a little rough there."

Julian turned, seeing Loji had arrived. "Let's just say Gray-san was one major tough bastard. But I managed to take him down." He said.

His statement caused both Juvia and Lyon to widen their eyes. "Gray-sama was defeated?" Juvia exclaimed.

"That's impossible! Gray wouldn't be defeated so easily by some kid!" Lyon stated.

"I'm sixteen, asshole!" Julian shouted, making Loji roll his eyes. "Will you be the second ice wizard I take down, Lyon-san? We'll just have to wait and find out."

Mercurius...

"Un-friggin'-believable." Natsu commented as the group made it to the palace dining hall. Arcadios and Future Dusk were on the ground, still unconscious.

"Who figured we'd get lost after all that?" Loke questioned.

"This is a real pickle." Mira stated.

"I just don't have enough knowledge of the castle-sama's structure..." Yukino said.

"Castle-sama?" Wendy quoted.

"We've got a lot to tell everyone, so we'd better get out of here soon." Jim informed.

"Like about Eclipse and Future Dusk..." Bruno mumbled.

"This is a pain in the ass, so let's just plow through some soldiers." Akame suggested.

"Forget it! We've got injured people here!" Chii rejected.

"Maybe we could handle them with our numbers." Happy suggested.

"No, that's not all. Both of our guilds are also fighting in the Grand Magic Games, right? It's a kingdom-sponsored tournament. I don't think we can afford to make a bad impression on the imperial forces." Zack pointed out.

"Well, we did beat up the executioners, so it may be too late." Wendy sweat dropped.

"Maybe we should have gone a little easier on them." Happy claimed. "If you think about it, it's not like they're especially bad people."

"They were only doing their jobs after all." Bruno agreed.

"Well, we couldn't afford the luxury of saying that at the time." Carla claimed.

"We didn't put anyone out of commission permanently." Lily pointed out.

"Lily's right. They'll probably be waking up any time now." Jim agreed.

Dusk glanced down at his future counterpart. "Dusk, you don't need to worry much." Akame reassured.

"Yeah."

Future Dusk soon began to stir. "Are you okay, Future Dusk?" Bruno asked.

Future Dusk sat up. "Where am I?"

"We don't know." Lily replied.

"It looks like the palace dining hall."

"So we're still in the palace..." Future Dusk mumbled, placing his head on his head. "According to my memory... after escaping from Hell Palace, we're all captured by imperial soldiers. Lucy and I came rushing back here so that we could warn us beforehand... but all I can say is, we were unlucky. And until that time came, we were in a prison."

"'That time'?" Happy repeated.

Future Dusk stayed silent. "You're talking about the reality that you experienced, Future Dusk?" Lily asked.

"What are you talkin' about? Those guys could never capture us!" Akame declared.

"True. I don't feel like they could take us." Zack agreed.

"We get close to Eclipse while we're on the run. Because of that, we can't use our magic and all get thrown into the dungeon." Future Dusk elaborated.

"Our future selves sure are careless, huh?" Akame questioned.

"Of course we were. We have you and Natsu with us." Zack replied, irritating both Akame and Natsu.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Akame and Natsu shouted, making Zack sigh.

"Um, how did you come from the future, Dusk-san?" Wendy asked.

"Good question. You haven't told us the important stuff yet." Loke said.

Future Dusk's whole body began to shake uncontrollably, getting Akame's attention. "In order to change a terrible future..."

"A terrible future?" Akame quoted.

"What happened in your future?" Yukino questioned.

"Actually..." Future Dusk started to say.

"He told me... what lies ahead." Hisui claimed. "Despair... A swarm more than 10,000 dragons attacks this country. The city burned down. The palace is destroyed. Many lives are lost. Are those words true or false? He entrusted me with the answer. The result of the Grand Magic Games... will guide my decision."

A/N: Another chapter is finished!

Thanks for reading!

~ Kaleb.