Who Needs a Princess, When You Can Have a Queen

Celestia193's Author's Note: Alright, so now that I'm not seething about irritating reviews so much that I can't write this story, let's get back to our irregularly scheduled ass-kicking, shall we? The real battle is about to begin, and the no holds barred brawling is about to kick off. Which means…power-ups are coming in the near future, for those who can't survive (or stop complaining) without their super S-Class Uchihas.

Silver's Author's Note: This chapter is the beginning of the battle chapters. It's more to serve as an introduction to the battle with some fighting thrown in to show what the dragons are capable of. Next chapter is most likely where the more intensive fighting will begin and you will see even more characters face off against the dragons. Happy reading.

Chapter 25

Well…shit. They were really in the doghouse now. "Dragons." Hibiki couldn't believe it. "Ten thousand dragons." The king couldn't possibly be serious. He hadn't picked up anything like that on his Archive, and wouldn't something in the atmosphere change if there were a thunder of ten thousand dragons heading right for the capital? Wait, would he even be able to tell what sort of readings dragons gave off when they appeared?

How big were dragons, anyway? The size of a house? A ship? Acnologia had apparently been enormous enough to almost destroy Tenrou Island with one attack. Would they be able to land in such a crowded city, or were their guilds going to have to fight them from the ground? The buildings were going to get destroyed. Well, if Fairy Tail didn't do it first.

And then there were the dragon slayers, who, after their moment of stunned silence, were looking way too eager to fight dragons. Hibiki particularly didn't like the way that Gajeel was smiling. It was an eager smile that preluded many structures getting mowed down by a magical chainsaw. "We…are so screwed." This repair bill was going to be big enough to bankrupt all of the guilds in the country.

Aiya shakes her head as she looks around. "One never wins a battle by going in with the assumption they will lose." Honestly, she understood that a guild named after flying horses was likely not going to be the most aggressive one, but the boy looked far too terrified for her liking. "We've got dragons and we've got dragon slayers." Wasn't it the dragon slayer's job to kill dragons?! Did no one speak English in this world?!

Eve laughs awkwardly from next to Master Bob. "Ah…that's kind of part of the problem." He knew Hibiki's mind as well as he did his own. "By the time the battle is over, the city is probably going to be flattened. And usually, if our guilds destroy anything, we're the ones who have to pay for it. And…there's kind of a lot of stuff here to destroy. Including a royal palace."

"If they prefer, I suppose that the dragon slayers and our guild could just leave them all to die and then they wouldn't have to worry about the expenses." She rolls her eyes at such an announcement. "Honestly, whatever happened to common sense?"

Kenji sighs as he hears the sounds of the many guilds dispersing. "It was never all that common to begin with, but let's try not to die before the sun rises, and worry about the expenses later." That seemed the more practical solution in his mind.

"Right, and we'll just let Fairy Tail cover the bills, since they've got four dragon slayers, and are definitely going to do the most damage." Ren rolls his eyes. "Like usual. Remember Nirvana?"

Hibiki sighs. "They destroy ancient walking cities and airships."

"Don't forget entire ports and landmark cathedrals." Eve smiles wryly. "And conference halls, train stations, mansions…"

"Part of one of the biggest forests in the kingdom, entire city blocks, markets, magic coliseums…" Ren ticks items off the list on his fingers, until he runs out, and starts over. "Giant towers made of magical crystal, casinos, bars, hotels, taverns, pubs, and of course their own guild hall."

"Don't forget mountains…" Hibiki sweatdrops. "They're probably going to cause more damage to this city than the dragons."

Mikoto shakes her head. "Is now really the time to be reminiscing?" She'd never fought a dragon before, but it looked like none of them were really going to have a choice. "Their bellies and genitals are probably the weakest regions. That and their eyes." She nods thoughtfully.

"Theoretically, anyway." Hibiki types possible scenarios and variables into his Archive. "But no one's seen a dragon in four hundred years, except for Natsu and the others. And then…Acnologia…" But that was a whole different ball game altogether. "Let's hope he's not leading the horde." That would go very badly. "But anyway, you're right. In theory, the weak spots should be the eyes, the inside of the mouth, the belly, provided that they don't have scales or thick hide there, the joints, and the wings, as well as the places between the fingers and toes, again, assuming that the space is actually there. But since the descriptions I've gotten of dragons from the dragon slayers are all different…there's no way to know for sure."

Fugaku didn't find that particularly comforting. "Well seeing as we don't have anything particularly concrete to go on, the theory will just have to do." That and they'd have to make it up as they went along.

There were hundreds of wizards in the city, but they were still outnumbered twenty to one. And even if they managed to thin the numbers down to less than a thousand, they were still fighting two to one odds, and only a handful of people were even trained to fight dragons. "I hope Natsu comes back soon." Hibiki sighs, trying to formulate a plan for maybe getting the dragons to start attacking each other. "But we're going to have to hold out for as long as we can, and try to take down a few dragons while the specialists go to work."

"So, what's the plan, Hibiki." Ren's dark eyes grow cold and serious. "Fairy Tail and Sabertooth have their own dragon slayers, but the rest of the guilds need a plan other than Fairy Tail's loose cannon blitz approach."

"I'm working on it…" Though Hibiki was still thinking about something he'd heard Gajeel muttering about. "Apparently, a long time ago, the dragons were at war with each other. So maybe, if we can turn some of them against each other, it might cut their numbers down." It might also destroy the city faster. "Other than that, I'd suggest elemental attacks like water or ice. But all of the dragon slayers were trained by dragons with different elemental specializations, so I think it's all about matching up people with the right abilities, against dragons that they could fight. Water specialists against fire dragons, lightning wizards against the ones with a thick skin, and anyone who can breathe fire against whatever dragons DON'T breathe fire. Groups are better than trying out single combat. And we should have spotters so that no one gets eaten."

Mikoto blinks at that. "I suppose that's logical enough." Even if it was headache inducing. "Well we're fire." She glances at her family. "Our family specializes in that kind of magic so to speak." So hopefully there was a snow or ice dragon lurking around. They could probably take that one out.

Hibiki blinks. Well, that was good to know. "Alright, then if you see any firebreathers, run in the opposite direction. The dragon slayers can all eat their own elements. I don't know if dragons can do it too, but I'd run on the assumption that they can, or that they're immune, or at least highly resistant to it."

"Very well." Fugaku sighs as he looks around. "Well there's nothing to be gained from just standing here." That was pointless. It would only increase everyone's anxiety and leave them even more vulnerable to attack.

"You're right." Hibiki brings up a map, glancing around at the street signs. "There's a main street not far from here that's pretty side. We could use it to lure a dragon down and pin it in place while we attack from the ground and the rooftops."

"That sounds like a good idea." Better than waiting around, in Aiya's mind anyway.

Dragons, it just had to be fucking dragons. "You have got to be KIDDING me!" Cana wanted to bang her head against a brick wall. "Acnologia was bad enough, and now there are MORE dragons!?" If this was some sort of cosmic joke, then she was going to go see that Celestial Spirit King, and shove a foot, right up his-

"I wish that everyone was joking." Shisui shakes his head as he places his hand on her shoulder. "Though it appears that there are really dragons and that means you should get your Glitter Cannon ready." Because they were going to be needing it.

Never mind, she was going to shove her foot up THIS idiot's ass first! "It's not called Glitter Cannon, it's Fairy Glitter!" And she didn't even know if that was going to work! Did fairy magic work on dragons?

Shisui sincerely did not see a difference, but decides not to mention that. "Well you had best be prepared to use your Fairy Glitter then." He shakes his head in disbelief.

"…Yeah…" She glances at her arm uncertainly. "If it recharges in time." It took a lot out of her the last time she used it, and the first time, it hadn't even worked. "It's not something I can just…use over and over again." If she could, she'd just aim into the sky and start blasting as soon as they showed their ugly faces.

"Right. Got it." Itachi sighs at that and looks around on full alert. "That is a spell you only cast as a last resort." Well that wasn't particularly helpful, unless they got desperate, but they'd keep that in reserve.

"Well, yeah, that's kind of how ultimate spells work. The more powerful the magic, the harder it is to use." Cana thought that was pretty obvious. "I've still got these, though." She pulls out a deck of tarot cards, thumbing through them anxiously. "That's why we need high ground." Her magic worked best where she could get a clear shot at an opponent. And confined spaces involved the risk of hitting herself as well.

Which is why she'd insisted on climbing up onto the roof of one of the buildings not far from the places that Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, and the other finals teams and their guilds were setting themselves up. The rest of the kingdom's guilds, here to watch the matches after getting dropped during the preliminaries, had spread out through the rest of the city.

The two Uchiha quickly follow her up to the top to serve as backup. "We'll cover you." Well as much as they could cover anyone against dragons, Shisui thinks to himself.

"Thanks. I'll make sure to cover you two as well." Cana flips through her deck, organizing her cards for the eighth time. "We're all in this together, right?"

"Of course." They both nod in agreement.

"Great. Now we just need to know what the hell happened to the rescue team. Natsu, Wendy, and Mira should be back with Lucy by now." She hated it, having to sit around and wait, not just for the dragons, but also for her missing guildmates. "The soldiers said that they were okay, but…" Until she saw them with her own eyes, Cana wouldn't believe it.

Shisui sighs unhappily. "I understand that you want to see your comrades. Let's just make sure you're in one piece and the dragons are not by the time we find them." He smiles at Cana encouragingly.

She takes a deep breath and glances up at him, almost smirking. "Well, let's try and keep you in one piece too, then. It'd be a shame if after all this, all the pretty boys got knocked off."

"Yes, I do prefer all my pieces attached." He chuckles at that. "I'm also sure that Itachi feels the same way regarding this particular matter."

"Yeah, I'll bet." Cana laughs, it's strained, but in Fairy Tail, no matter how bad things got, you were supposed to pick yourself back up and smile. And then kick some dragon ass!

"Cana!" A figure with a pair of wings, and a slightly distorted female voice zips through the air towards them.

"Is that…?" Cana's eyes widen. "Mira!"

Well that was good news. Itachi smiles when he sees the She-Devil. The woman certainly had a lot of power which was something they desperately needed in this circumstance.

The pink and black-clad takeover wizard lands on their rooftop, her wild white hair standing straight up, as it was wont to do in this particular Satan Soul. "How are things looking over here?"

"We're alright for now." Itachi shakes his head and sighs. "Though we don't really know where everyone else is."

"Well, from what I saw, all of the other guilds have spread out across the city." Mira pulls her wings in close to her body, approaching the group of three. "Lucy and Yukino are with Princess Hisui at the Eclipse Gate now, and Natsu…the last time I saw him, he was fighting in the palace with someone who was trying to kill Lucy."

"Why is everyone always trying to torture and kill Lucy?" Itachi and Shisui's voices ring in perfect unison.

Cana shrugs. "Yeah, we're still trying to figure that part out. It's happened at least a dozen times since she joined."

"Maybe it's because she's pretty?" Mira smiles, trying to lighten the mood.

Itachi shakes his head. "I doubt that, if that happened it'd happen to every woman in Fairy Tail." He had yet to see one unfortunate looking female member of that guild. "Especially you."

Mira smiles widely. "You're so sweet."

"It also explains why people try to kill us all the time." Cana rolls her eyes at the thought. "Jose, Hades, those animal guys from Grimoire Heart, that Caprico guy, Azuma, Sol, basically every dark guild that gets within a mile of us…" Again with the fingers. "We've had the Magic Council after us, and Acnologia too…not to mention where all of us got frozen during the beauty pageant for the harvest festival."

"Ah…probably best not to mention all that." Mira laughs softly, very conscious of the fact that being a wizard was not for the faint of heart. "We always come out of it okay."

"We're not strangers to danger ourselves." Shisui nods reassuringly at Cana. He didn't want her to get the wrong idea. "Before we came here, we lived a much harsher lifestyle. Well more myself and Itachi than Sasuke. He was so young at the time..." Ridiculously so and yet, he had clung the most to the old world.

"Well, good job surviving that." She looks to the sky as it starts growing thicker, unusually so. "Let's try and get through tonight in one piece. Because that blood moon looks like a bad omen."

"I don't really believe in omens." If he did, Shisui doubted they would be here. "Let's see if these dragons live up to their name."

For a moment, all is silent, the calm before the storm. But the thickening air begins to feel heavy on the shoulders of the wizards across the city, as unfamiliar magic power coalesces around the palace. The cannon, their best hope at survival.

Only for that assumption to be proven dead wrong as the first bellowing roar sends a shockwave ripping through the city.

"They're here!" Cana raises her cards, taking three between her fingers as her other hand presses to one of her ears.

"Right!" Both Uchiha immediately take a defensive position and activate their Sharingan.

It was time to tackle this disaster head-on.

It was complete and utter chaos in this city. Apparently, real dragons had been unleashed on the populace, and most people were being evacuated, while those with magic were staying behind to fight. So Akane was now doing perhaps the stupidest thing that she had ever done in her life, she was seeking out Rogue.

"He's got to be here somewhere." The man was a Dragon Slayer. Obviously, he had stayed behind to fight dragons. "I should have memorized his chakra signature better." She sighs to herself as she gingerly makes her way throughout the city.

Akane had snuck off from her family and Blue Pegasus to find him. After all, surely their chances of survival would go up, if they had a Dragon Slayer in their group. That and as strange as it might sound, she actually missed him. Besides, Fro would be absolutely devastated if the man died during this attack. That poor little cat.

"Damn it." She immediately darts behind a nearby building as a shockwave rockets through the city, accompanied by a ferocious roar. Dragons. Clearly, this was why there had been such a panic, and why all of the wizards had been gathered together like that. A defense needed to be mounted against these dragons, but she had a feeling that they wouldn't be easy to kill. Which only made her more determined to find Rogue.

Dark shadows rise into the air, flying beneath the light of the blood moon, far above their heads. The eerie glow cast a dim light on the many colossal misshapen forms in the sky. One…two…three…four…five…six…seven…eight…nine…nearly a dozen of them flying about above their heads.

Great. She could see nine massive shadows overhead. "Nine shadows." For nine dragons. Akane didn't know much about dragons, but she was pretty damn sure that nine of them wasn't a good thing. "Definitely need to find Rogue." Him or at least another Dragon Slayer.

She had nine dragons nearby and no Slayers. That wasn't a good combination. Akane was a medic. Her healing skills were far superior to her combat skills. Which were to be fair enough to make her a Jonin, but against a dragon? Well she didn't think her ninjutsu would stack up very well.

So she does her best to stay out of sight of the dragons as she continues searching for him. Him or maybe Fro or even Sting. Where there was Fro and Sting, there was usually Rogue.

Searching however, was going to be difficult with nine dragons roaring, and eight of them raining down beams of colored magic on the city. All around, buildings were vaporized, exploded, or toppled. Though it was not the ten thousand dragons prophesied by the king, it was more than enough to begin tearing the city apart.

"Thank goodness, it's nine and not as many as the king was expecting." Akane's eyes widen at the carnage. She was also very grateful for her Sharingan as she manages to dodge the worst of the damage. "People are going to be crushed to death before the dragons ever see them." Falling buildings, beams, and bridges were probably going to kill even more people than the actual dragons themselves at this rate. Luckily, they had evacuated the civilians, but they had to stop this and they had to stop this now.

After another round of bellowing roars, the dragons slowly begin to descend towards the ground, most of them crushing buildings, and creating earthquakes as they touch down. The once beautiful capital city was already falling, and the sounds of spells being shot off all across Crocus were only just now being heard. Including… "Shadow Dragon's ROAR!"

"White Dragon's ROAR!" Two beams of light and darkness, ripping through the sky as one of the dragons lands nearby.

Yep. She was definitely right about the Sting and Rogue theory. "Well that solves that question." She takes cover. After all, Akane was just as likely to get hit by their attacks as the dragons, if they didn't see her first.

There was something beautiful about the sheer force behind their strange Ninjutsu though. "Beautiful as long as I don't get crushed under a beam or something." The medic shakes her head at the thought as she watches them battle. Akane was trying to see if there was an opening for her to help them somehow, even if she didn't have quite their level of raw power, she did have excellent chakra control and even better aim.

The large purple dragon takes a step back as black lightning and gouts of fire blast through the air, crushing a building and revealing the battlefield. Sabertooth, some of their strongest members grouped together, shooting everything they had in combination attacks against the enormous dragon that towered over them by at least five stories.

Akane sees the the dragon stagger back and decides to take her chance. It might be a dragon, but it's eyes should still be vulnerable. So she expels a giant fireball from her mouth while trying to remain hidden behind a building. Aiming it for the beast's left eye.

If she could partially blind it, that might help. "It will be in enough pain they can get a betters hot in." That and if Akane could completely blind it, well that would be even better.

The dragon turns its head towards the human, swatting the fireball to the side, only for it to explode right next to its eye. It snorts loudly, shaking its head vigorously to clear away the smoke and residual embers from its eye, and from the claw-like protrusions above and below its face.

"Now!" Smaller beams and blades of light and darkness erupt from the wizards on the ground, pelting the dragon in a fast and furious barrage of magic that aggravates the dragon further, but leaves no more than superficial stains and minute scratches on its hide.

Akane curses in a rather unbecoming manner under her breath. Great. Now, the dragons' face was protected and at best, they were giving it the dragon version of a scrapped knee, she supposed. It was annoyed, but not seriously wounded.

"Do dragons even have chakra points?" She could try targeting those, but Akane had no idea where they were. "There has to be something." At least she had damaged it at least a little, or distracted it so that the dragon slayers could strike it, but it was a far cry from a mortal wound.

As the dragon turns towards the new human on the battlefield, it sneers at her. "Well, well…a woman. I'm sure that you'll taste delicious."

"..." She had no idea how to respond to that. "No, I'm quite certain that I wouldn't taste delicious and that I would give you heartburn." By burning his heart with a Fireball Jutsu. Hmm. That might work.

Though Akane wasn't really in the mood to test that theory. What if it could create armor internally. She really didn't know. Was this dragon being sexist by implying women tasted better than men or was it some sort of compliment. Maybe, she should aim a fireball at his dragonhood and see if that worked. That might be universal.

"Damn it!" This was not the kind of shit that Rogue needed to deal with right now. Why wasn't Akane with her family and Blue Pegasus? "What are you doing here!?"

Looking for him, obviously. "Trying to help you!" She had damaged its eye which was more than they had been able to manage previously. Honestly, he should be thanking her...

Unamused by the humans, the dragon's spiked tail sweeps like a flash of lightning across the battlefield, aiming straight for Akane as Rogue disappears into the shadows.

"Damn it!" She does a roll into the air to try to evade the dragon's attack. "This isn't normal." These dragons were worse than any Summons she had ever encountered. If Rogue and Sting couldn't take them out and they were Dragon Slayers, they might all very well be doomed.

Shadows grab her out of the air, pulling her inside as they sink back into the ground before the dragon's tail comes back around for a second pass. A pass that, like the first, would have leveled a couple of buildings in the process. Pulled away into a world of floating nothingness, where the senses sharpened to their absolute peak.

She looks around in confusion. "W-Where are we ?" Was this where he went when he traveled between shadows? Was this normal for Rogue or had she actually died during the fighting?

"Safe, for a moment or two." Warm, shadowy limbs wrap around her from below or…behind, there was no up or down in this place. "You're in my shadow. I had to pull you in, or Scissor Runner's second pass would have impaled you."

"That thing has a name?" She blinks at that. "Never mind. Its name isn't important now." What was important was that she was apparently still alive and so was Rogue. "Thank you." He probably thought she was a complete fool for interfering.

"Thank me when this is over, and we're all still alive." His voice was a little bitter as the shadows began to lighten, spitting the two of them back out in the midst of Sabertooth's four strongest wizards, now relocated a bit further down the street. "Alright, she's safe." Rogue grimaces at the sight of the dragon. "The question is, how the hell do we bring that thing down…?"

Sting grins back at his partner, excitement and apprehension alike dancing in his eyes. "Well, I've got one idea. I'm still charged up enough for it, and you've been guzzling shadows ever since the sun went down. We've got enough magic to pull it off."

She wiggles out of Rogue's arms. "Good luck." Maybe, she should lend them chakra? She could do that, but Akane wasn't really sure how compatible chakra was with magic, especially Dragon Slayer magic.

"Yeah…we're going to need it." Rogue's ruby gaze glitters darkly. "Ready." Ready for the shadows to creep up his body, staining his skin black with their power. Black crescent moons litter the skin of his arms, twirling and twisting together over his shoulders and across his back and chest, some hidden by cloak and bandages, some not, and ending in the drak scales that flare up in spikes around his face.

Similarly, Sting's skin is stained white, the skin on the sides of his face bubbling with white scales, extending under his clothes and down his exposed abdominals, to his hips, and back under his clothes. More scales, done in opposition to Rogue's swirls of black, and with a distinctly spikier and more jagged pattern. "Time to show your little girlfriend what happens when the Twin Dragons go all out!"

She was too transfixed by the transformations to debate the label. "That's...new." Akane whispers to herself as she prepares to watch the battle. This was just a type of Jutsu she wasn't able to do. A bloodline of sorts, Akane supposed. One that she simply didn't have and didn't for the life of her understand.

"Not to us." Rogue's dark hair sticks up in all directions, revealing the matching ruby eye, usually left hidden behind his bangs. "This is Dragon Force…" An ultimate form, and usually a last resort.

"Hey, watch out, we've got incoming!" Orga points to the sky, where a multitude of round objects are falling from overhead, from there there's still one dragon aloft, alight with flames on it's back.

"Rogue!" Sting takes a deep breath, turning his gaze towards the sky.

Rogue does the same, breathing deeply, before letting shadows spill from his lips, and erupt into the sky in a roar twice as powerful as the one before, twining itself with the bright roar fired from right beside him. The two beams twist and turn about each other, racing into the sky, and slamming into the objects, scattering them across the sky.

"Dragon Force." Akane would ask about it later. That was of course, assuming they survived. "What are those things?" She watches as round objects fall from the sky. That probably wasn't good. No. She was quite certain that it was the opposite of good really. Though it might not matter. This dragon had to be taken care of before the objects came into play. Whatever they were.

But as Sting and Rogue turned their eyes back on the advancing dragon, the first of the objects began to crack. Eggs. And from them, spilled a miniature horde of snarling, metallic dragon-like creatures. An entire army of them, falling right out of the sky.