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." Sebastian 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." Raden 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 Lucy, too." Natsu said, referring to Future Lucy on his shoulder.

"Agreed." Wendy said.

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

"I wanna carry Lucy, too!" Loke commented.

Inside Mercurius...

All of the 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. She told me the results of the Grand Magic Games. If she's right, it definitely proves that she 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 she foretold comes to pass..."

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

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

"Right."

"I wonder what's going on with the Grand Magic Games." Raden wondered out loud.

Sebastian chuckled. "I'm sure they're doing fine and kicking some major ass." He said.

"I hope you know Orion's going to kick your ass when he finds out why you ditched the team."

Sebastian tensed. "D-Don't remind me..."

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

"I don't believe it!" Helena said.

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

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

"I don't intend to lose!" Erza claimed.

Erza soon slashes at Massorao, landing on the ground and making Massorao 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!"

"Massorao... lost?" Anna spoke in shock.

Zane flinched back. "That woman just took out one of the strongest wizards in our guild like it was nothing!" He exclaimed. "How scary!"

"She's quite powerful indeed... A duel with her would be amazing." Kross commented.

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

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

Erza glanced over at him as Massorao chuckled to himself. "I guess this is over. I'm sorry, everyone... I'll let Fairy Tail take my point." He thought.

"Titania, you won this fight." Massorao spoke, getting Erza's attention.

"I know what you're about to do." She interrupted. "I'll..."

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

"Minerva took down Erza! Sabertooth gains points!" Chapati announced as Sabertooth's point count went up 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 fairy's flapping wings, and so on..."

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

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

"Massorao... Please... help Millianna..." Erza mumbled.

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

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

Both Millianna and Kagura 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 Black Sun-kabo!" Mato commented.

Massorao grabs onto both Millianna and Kagura. "Millianna! Kagura!"

"...Massorao?" Kagura muttered while Millianna groaned.

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

He removed his hands, seeing dark red blood 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 responded as Massorao's whole body shook with rage. "They have such nice screams."

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

"Kagura! Millianna!" Arana shouted.

"This isn't about winning anymore." Risley claimed as she rushed off to help her guildmates.

"They need medical treatment and fast! Come on!" Beth added as her and Arana followed Risley.

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

"But Massorao 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 black sun have any chance at victory?!" Chapati questioned.

Meanwhile, Laxus, Orga, and Orion 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 stand out, even in Sabertooth." Orion spoke up, scoffing. "In the end, you'll always be stuck at number two."

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

Orion 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.

Orion, Laxus, and Orga 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.

"Did you get tired of hiding?" Orion questioned 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.

"God, this is so troublesome." Nox complained.

"What's wrong, Nox-san? Looking a little rough there."

Nox turned, seeing Aster had arrived. "I had a minor encounter with Fullbuster. For someone who has been 'dead' for seven years, he was one major tough bastard." He replied, making Aster hum.

His statement caused Juvia to widen her eyes. "Gray-sama was defeated?" She exclaimed.

"I'm not at all surprised, actually. You Assembly of Ash bastards are monsters." Lyon stated, narrowing his eyes.

"You're next, Ice Boy #2." Nox insulted. "Prepare yourself."

Mercurius...

"Un-friggin'-believable." Natsu complained as the group made it to what looked like the palace dining hall. Arcadios and Future Lucy were laying on the ground, still unconscious.

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

"This is a real pickle." Mira commented.

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

"Castle-sama?" Wendy quoted.

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

"Aye. Like about Eclipse and Future Lucy..." Happy said.

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

"I'm right with you there, cousin." Sebastian agreed.

"Forget it! We've got injured people here." Raden reminded them.

"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." Mira 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."

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

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

"Lily's right. They'll probably be waking up at any moment now." Raden agreed.

Lucy glanced down at her future counterpart as Loke kneeled down beside her. "Lucy, you needn't worry so much." He reassured.

"Yeah..."

"Because even if there are two of you, I've got enough love for you both!" Loke claimed.

"You know this isn't the right time or place?" Carla reminded him.

Future Lucy soon began to stir. "Are you okay, Future Lucy?" Happy asked.

Future Lucy 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 Lucy mumbled, placing a hand on her forehead. "According to my memory... after escaping Hell Palace, we're all captured by imperial soldiers. I came rushing back here so I 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 Lucy stayed silent. "You're talking about the reality that you experienced, Future Lucy?" Lily asked.

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

"True. I don't feel like they could take us." Mira 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 Lucy elaborated.

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

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

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" The two Fire Mages shouted in unison, making Raden sigh.

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

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

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

"A terrible future?" Natsu quoted.

"What happened in your future?" Yukino questioned.

"Actually..." Future Lucy started to say.

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

A/N: Another chapter is done!

Thanks for reading!

~ Kaleb.