A/N: Episode 186.

Enjoy!

edited on december 20th, 2024 @ 8:52pm

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𝓒𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚁𝚃𝚈-𝚃𝙷𝚁𝙴𝙴,
𝓣𝙷𝙴 𝙵𝚄𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙴 𝚂𝙿𝙴𝙴𝙳𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚃𝙾𝚆𝙰𝚁𝙳𝚂 𝙳𝙴𝚂𝙿𝙰𝙸𝚁.

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𝗔𝗦 𝗞𝗔𝗚𝗨𝗥𝗔 𝗨𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗦 𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗, everyone was in shock. "I can feel the thirst for blood even from here..." Makarov thought.

However, Kagura pauses, causing a huge explosion to erupt and destroying half of Crocus. Erza had blocked Kagura's sword just in time.

"I can't afford to die!" Erza claimed.

Meanwhile, 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 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 said.

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

"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 reassured.

"Whatever, let's just keep goin'. I'm curious about this Lucy and Samuel too." Natsu said, referring to the Future Lucy and Samuel on his shoulders.

"Agreed." Wendy said.

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

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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 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. They told me the results of the Grand Magic Games. If they're right, it definitely proves that they both have knowledge of the future. We'll have our conclusion shortly. To be honest, I don't want to believe it either. If the future they foretold comes to pass..."

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

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

"Right."

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

"I'm sure they're holdin' up their end." Natsu responded. "Anyway, let's get the hell outta here and meet up with Gramps and everyone."

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Pillars fell from Kagura's attack as the audience cheered. "She parried Kagura's Archenemy!" Risley exclaimed.

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

"Kagura-chan!" Beth spoke worriedly.

"I'm alive because of Simon..." Erza claimed as she began to glow and a flash of Simon appeared. "I'm alive because of old Rob..." A flash of Rob defending a younger Erza appeared. "I'm alive because of my comrades."

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

Kagura gritted her teeth. "I'll kill both you and Jellal!" She declared, raising her sword up.

Kagura charged forward as Erza stopped her sword with hers. "If that's what drives you, that's fine." Erza leaped into the air. "I don't intend to ignore that feeling... but I don't intend to lose either!"

Erza soon slashes at Kagura, landing on the ground and making Kagura 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 claimed.

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

"She unsheathed Archenemy..." Arana started to say.

"Kagura... lost?" Risley questioned in disbelief.

"Unbelievable..." Beth muttered.

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

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

"I... I..." Kagura started to say.

Erza looked up, seeing that debris was about to fall on Kagura. "Look out!" Erza warned as debris fell down.

"Erza..." Makarov mumbled.

The dust cleared, showing Kagura was fine and that Erza's leg was crushed under the debris. "Why...?" Kagura questioned.

"I... know... you." Erza confessed. "Or, no. I should say I remember you. I just... remember... Simon's little sister."

Kagura was now standing up. "Y-You mean..."

"That's right. I'm from Rosemary Village, too." Erza revealed. "Same as you... and Simon..."

Kagura widened her eyes, recalling the child hunt and villagers running.

"Take the children! Kill all the adults!"

A younger Kagura was surrounded by flames. "Big brother... where are you?!" She called out as a younger Erza grabbed her wrist.

"They'll find you if you stand here!" Erza said as she took off running, pulling Kagura behind her.

"But my brother is..."

"I heard a child's voice over there!"

"Hide in here!" Erza ordered as Kagura was in a crate.

"What about you?" Kagura asked.

"Don't worry. I'll find another place!" Erza responded. "Live!"

Erza closes the crate shut before running out of the alley.

"I found a kid!"

"Grab her!"

Erza began running before getting pinned down by the child hunters.

Kagura was in tears as she had her hand covering her mouth in shock. "I remember..."

"Simon often talked about you. I was worried all that time, too. I prayed for your safety." Erza said. "I still do."

Kagura soon lifted up the debris off of Erza's leg. "I don't have a sense of closure yet." She released the slab of debris. "But... as for this fight, I..."

Kagura's sentence gets cut off as Minerva stabbed her, causing her to collapse to the ground. "The winner is Erza. However, I get the points." Minerva claimed.

"Minerva took down Kagura! Sabertooth gains points!" Chapati announced as Sabertooth's point count went up to 54, leaving Fairy Tail in second place. "Since the leader was defeated, that's 5 points! Sabertooth bypassed Fairy Tail to become the current front-runner!"

Minerva drops the sword. "I told you, remember? I'm going to give you a 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 as Erza gritted her teeth. "Wench!" She exclaimed in anger.

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

"Millia... Please... help Millianna..." Kagura managed to get out.

"I will." Erza promised.

"Millianna? That kitten?" Minerva asked.

Millianna soon fell to the ground. "All the fight's out of her. I get the points!" Minerva shouted as Sabertooth's point count went up to 55.

"Sabertooth gets another point!" Chapati announced.

"That widens the gap even more with Fairy Tail-kabo!" Mato commented.

"Five points... That's pretty steep." Yajima added. 

Erza grabs onto Millianna. "Millianna!" She shouted.

Millianna opens her eyes. "Huh? Er-chan..."

"Hang in there, Millianna!" Erza told her.

Erza then removed her hand, seeing dark red blood coating her palm. She moves Millianna's cape aside, seeing multiple slash wounds.

"W-What's this?!"

"I was bored waiting for you, so I amused myself by hurting her." Minerva replied as Erza's whole body shook. "She had such a nice scream."

Erza stood up, a dark look plastered on her face as she gritted her teeth. "Erza!" Makarov 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 yelled as her and Arana followed Risley.

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

"But Erza 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 fairy with flapping wings have any chance at victory?!" Chapati questioned.

Rogue soon disappeared into a shadow, re-appearing behind Gajeel, who turned around and punched him in the stomach. He then sent his iron club at Rogue multiple times, sending him flying back. Rogue then skidded on the ground.

"You can't get up to my level in just a day or so." Gajeel claimed, turning around. "Give it up."

"You... aren't as strong as Natsu Dragneel!" Rogue stated.

This made Gajeel stop and turn as he had a dark look on his face. "What was that?!" He questioned.

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

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

"You stand out, even in Sabertooth. And sure, your lightning may be something to write home about. But in the end, you're stuck being number two." Laxus responded.

"Big talk. Are you trying to say you're number one?" Orga questioned.

Laxus tilted his head up. "There's always somebody above you. Losing once makes for good experience." He answered.

Orga smirked. "Interesting. Your lightning and my lightning." Black lightning soon formed around Orga's fist. "I wonder which one is stronger."

Orga fired his attack at Laxus, destroying a few buildings behind him. "What's wrong? Don't tell me you're frozen in fear." Orga taunted.

"Did you seriously intend to hit me or not? Did you really think I wouldn't be able to tell?" Laxus countered, his fist getting covered in yellow lightning before he aimed his attack behind Orga.

"You live up to your reputation, Laxus." Orga stated.

"Shall we get started?" Laxus suggested. "I don't have all the time in the world for this."

Laxus got covered in yellow lightning while Orga got covered in black lightning. The two of them slammed their fists against each other as yellow and black lightning shot up in the air. Laxus grinned 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.

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. We're back to this old crap again." Gray said, getting Juvia's attention.

"Lyon!"

"Gray-sama!"

"What's wrong, Gray? You're all beat up." Lyon noticed.

"I had some minor business to take care of." Gray replied. "Juvia!"

"Yes?" Juvia questioned.

"Let's take them out together." Gray suggested.

Juvia's imagination went wild.

"Let's take them out together."

"No matter where we go... our love is eternal."

Juvia clung onto Gray lovingly. "Where shall we go on our honeymoon, darling?" She questioned.

"What's going on in your head?!" Gray asked, freaked out.

"Oh, no! I've got to get Juvia to come to her senses!" Lyon exclaimed.

"You're the one who needs to come to his senses, Lyon!" Sherria told him.

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Mercurius . . .

"Un-friggin'-believable." Natsu complained as the group made it to what looked like the palace dining hall. Arcadios, Future Lucy, and Future Samuel 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 and Samuel..." Happy said.

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

"Forget it! We've got injured people here." Carla reminded him.

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

"No, that's not all. We're 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 armed 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. "They'll probably be waking up any time now."

Samuel was looking at his future counterpart with concern. "Wipe that worried look off your face, Samuel." Lucy did her best to reassure him.

"Yeah..."

Both Future Lucy and Future Samuel began to stir. "Are you okay, Future Lucy and Future Samuel?" Happy asked.

Future Samuel sat up. "Where are we?"

"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. Samuel and I came rushing back here so 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 Lucy and Future Samuel both stayed silent. "You're talking about the reality that you experienced, Future Lucy and Future Samuel?" 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 Samuel elaborated.

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

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

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

Both Future Lucy and Future Samuel's bodies began to shake uncontrollably, getting Natsu's attention. "In order to change a terrible future..." Future Lucy began.

"A terrible future?" Natsu quoted.

"What happened in your future?" Yukino questioned.

"Actually..." Future Samuel started to say.

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

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A/N: Another chapter is finished! Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 2392 words.