Chapter 91

Eight Dragons

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Magic"

Flashback you

Location / Date / Time Skip

The town bell rang out as everyone stared to where the Eclipse would fire. "July 7th... Gajeel mumbled, confusing Levy. "It's the same day the dragons disappeared. And now they're coming back..."

"Fairy Tail will protect the central park." Makarov declared. "The other guilds will handle the rest of the town."

"You should rest with that wound, Erza." Cana told the red head.

"Don't worry, we're fine." She replied.

"Thanks to that girl from Lamia Scale and the kingdom's healers, we can still move." Gray chuckled.

"Though if Wendy was here, it would have been better." Juvia confessed.

"Still, the moon creeps me out." Freed said, staring up at the Eclipse.

Mercusius

The bell echoed in the hall as Natsu glanced to the side. "What's that sound?"

"Eclipse is opening." Rogue declared, charging forward and blasting Natsu with shadows. "The Gate could still open even without her death. But that girl will definitely interfere. She will close the door."

"Lucy wouldn't do that!" Natsu countered with an uppercut. "She would never crush the future!"

"Stand aside!" Rogue growled, blasting shadows out of the ground. "I will kill Lucy!"

"I won't let you!" Natsu jumped out of the darkness and flipped off the wall. "Lightning Flame Dragon Mode!" Fire and lightning arced off his body, shocking Rogue before the attack hit, destroying the ground before a bolt of lightning cracked down.

"Is this the power you hid seven years ago?" Rogue asked as Natsu roared with a punch aimed at him. A blinding light filled Natsu's eyes as Rogue's hair stood up, revealing a massive scar over his right eye. "White Shadow Dragon Mode."

Natsu couldn't even react as he was sliced on his side, making him gasp in pain. "This is the power of both light and darkness." He waved his hands and lines of white and black surrounded Natsu before slicing against him. "White Shadow Dragon Rough Silk!" Natsu stumbled backwards before falling over, making Rogue smirk. "This is the power I stole by killing Rogue, though it hasn't happened yet."

Natsu pushed his head up, glaring at the time traveler. "Were you really someone who never cared about life at all?"

Rogue stared down at him and smiled. "Yes, and I will kill you too." He pulled his head back and puffed his checks out. "White Shadow Dragon-"

He froze as his eyes caught a hundred glass orbs surrounded him. "Flash Forward!" The orbs bombarded Rogue and before one flew into Ultear's open palm.

"He ran away!" Meredy called out as she and her 'mother' raced over to Natsu.

"Natsu, get a hood of yourself!" Ultear shouted as she kneeled beside him. "Meredy! The medicine, fast!"

"Here!" The empath spun the box around and handed Ultear the medicine, sparing a glance at the deceased Laki.

"What is this!?" Ultear asked as a black void started pulling Natsu into it. "Natsu, snap out of it! Don't let the shadows take you!" The ground started shaking as the two looked around in horror. "Hold on! What should I do?"

A hand suddenly gripped her shoulder, making her look down. "I have… to go…" Natsu groaned as he pushed himself up. "I promised that… I will protect the future."

The Eclipse Cannon

Every soldier stared in amazement as the massive doors opened. "What magic power..." Happy mumbled.

"Indeed..." Carla agreed. "With this, we might be able to wipe out the dragons."

"With this, we'll be able to save the future." Wendy smiled. "The Laki from the future will be happy too." She glanced over to Lucy, only to find the blonde walking forward. "Lucy...?

"We can't open the door." The blonde said, shocking Wendy. "We need to close it now."

"What are you saying?" Arcadios asked in surprise.

"CLOSE THE GATE!" Lucy shouted. "You can't open that door! Close it now!"

"You can't!" Hisui shouted back. "This is the only weapon we have against the swarm of dragons! If you close this Gate, the Eclipse Cannon cannot fire!"

"There's no such thing as the Eclipse Cannon!" The blonde shouted in the princess' face. "The Eclipse is nothing but a door that connects time! It can't be used as a weapon!"

"Lucy, you're going against the princess of this country." Arcadios said, stepping forward.

"Don't you get it, that door is connected to 400 years ago!" Lucy shouted back.

A bellowing roar echoed throughout the city, scaring everyone as they turned to the Gate. The ground itself began shaking as the people were pushed back from the wind. As the eclipse hit its peak, everyone stared in shock and horror as a massive, thick-skinned dragon walked through the Gate.

"A… a dragon came through…" Hisui mumbled in horror as Arcadios clutched her in defense. The winged beast marched completely out of the portal and unleashed another roar, tearing up the ground before it swung its claw. Troops flew into the air and the attack cut through several buildings in town from the shockwave alone.

As the creature walked forward, a second dragon marched out. This one made entirely of sun-bleached bones and tanned leather for wings."W-why is this happening?" Hisui mumbled in horror as a third flaming beast stepped out.

"How do we close the Gate!?" Lucy asked, shaking the royal. "Hurry!"

"T-the pedestal… over there." She mumbled, pointing to a device next to the Gate.

Lucy sprinted forward as a fourth dragon came out, this one fish-like. It roared and pushed Lucy back, sending her crashing into Wendy. A fifth dragon with a massive protrusion on the head came out as Lucy race forward, finally reaching the pedestal. "I need to close door!"

"Ten thousand dragons… will come through that door…" Hisui mumbled as tears fell from her eyes.

"How did you know about this, Lucy?" Wendy asked.

"I didn't know anything! Crux told me!" The blonde shouted, pulling on the machine. "He researched the Gate all this time! He just finished analyzing it and sent it to me via telepathy! This is a device that puts together magic from the Book of Zeref and the Spirit World! Normally, you input the time coordinates so you can travel, but the Eclipse is corrupting the magic!

"Right now, we can't put in any coordinates! It's stuck at a time four hundred years ago! A time when Dragons still lived!" A sixth dragon made of stone marched out before a red and black one followed. "Why isn't the door closing!?"

"Because of me…" Hisui mumbled in horror. "Because of my mistake, the world will end. The world will be stepped in dragon's hatred."

The stone dragon stopped its foot and the shockwave launched Lucy back. "Lucy!" Rose shouted as the blonde sprinted back up.

"I won't let that happen!" She shouted, running back to the device. "I want this world to live on! And I won't let it end like this! I will protect the future!"

The dragons roared as Lucy pulled on the handle, trying to close it. "Her Celestial Spirit magic isn't enough." Arcadios mumbled in horror.

"Don't forget about me!" The humans turned over and saw Yukino and Laki running over. "Lucy, we need to combine our Celestial Spirit magic! With all twelve keys, we can close the Gate."

"Right!" The two pulled out their good keys and threw them into the air, causing them to glow. "Please! We need your help! Close the Gate!" A blinding light emanated from the keys as all twelve spirits appeared behind their respective key. Instantly, the Spirits took off and crashed into the portal doors, pushing on it with all their might.

A dragon roared as it tried to escape from its time era, but Loke smirked as the Gate shut in its face.

"They did it!" Wendy cheered as Laki smiled and the soldiers raised their spears in triumph.

"It's far to early to celebrate!" Arcadios shouted, killing the mood. "Do we know how many dragons made it through?"

"Only eight, sir!" A soldier reported.

Footsteps caught everyones attention as Future Rogue marched forward. "You had to stick your nose where it doesn't belong, didn't you, Lucy…" He declared, his face shocking Yukino. "However, it hardly matters. Eight dragons will be more than enough. Truthfully, controlling ten thousand would be nothing short of a nightmare."

"He's the one who told me about the future!" Hisui shouted.

"You dare deceive the princess!?" Arcadios asked in anger.

"This was your plan all along, wasn't it?" Lucy asked, earning a smirk from Rogue.

"Listen well, one and all!" He shouted as the dragons flew up behind him. "As of this moment, the human race is doomed to extinction. Now dawns the era of dragons!" Rogue looked up and at the circling creatures with a smile. "Find the mages in the town and kill them all."

The reptilians roared before flying into the city, shocking the people before him. "They're actually listening to him?" Rose asked.

"He said something about controlling them, but I thought he was just bluffing." Pantherlily confessed.

"The secret art of dominating dragons, Dragon Command Magic." The time traveler replied as the first dragon to escape landed behind him. Rogue jumped onto its head and glanced at Yukino before turning away in disgust.

"What does he want?" Laki asked.

"I don't know…" Yukino replied. "I thought I knew Rogue better than anyone else."

Another dragon marched forward from behind, droll escaping from its lips. "Do as you please, Zirconis." The diamond skinned dragon took to the sky and carried Rogue over the city. No matter what any of the wizards tried, the attacks had no effect on the beasts. "That's it, run rampant! Show them the very power of a dragon's wrath!"

A scent caught his attention and he turned to a tall building to see a battered and bloody Natsu standing. "Natsu Dragneel…" The two stared at each other before a smirk crossed the time traveler's face. "You're still alive… Kill him."

The dragon roared and dived at the building, only for Natsu to jump. The stone crumbled in the dragons jaw as Natsu landed on Motherglare's head. Instantly he charged at Rogue, only to hit shadows as Rogue moved around him. The pinkette turned and blasted him with a roar. The attack scorched his clothing as the dragon tilted to the side from the extra force.

"Look down, you fool!" Rogue shouted, forcing Natsu to look at the battle in the city. "No matter what you do, it's too late!"

"Why are you doing this?" Natsu asked as he hung onto the underbelly, only to meet with a smug smirk.

With Fairy Tail

The burning dragon roared and forced the Wizards back, the sheer hear pushing them back. "We need ti regain our stance!" Erza shouted.

"What is this thing? It's no different from Acnologia." Elfman mumbled in fear.

"No, this one is not as bad." Gray replied.

"You're still alive even after I, Atlas Flame, have attacked?" The dragon asked. "Are you wizards?"

"We are not simple wizards." Makarov declared as he grew in size. "We are a family who protect each other!" He slammed his fist forward and hit the creature, only for the flames to burn his hand.

"No matter what power you use, as long as your humans, you won't be able to defeat a dragon!" The monster declared as he spun, blasting them all back and destroying the ground.

With Sabertooth

The crested dragon roared as he swatted away an icy attack from Rufus. "According to my memories, both Sting and Rogue have killed a dragon when they were kids."

The Twin Dragons lowered their eyes as Sting let out a sigh. "It's only half true…" Sting confessed. "Weisslogia let me kill him. We didn't actually fight."

"Skaldrum was ill." Rogue added. "I just put him out of his misery."

"Tomato, tamato, just use your magic on this thing!" Ogra shouted as he blasted it with lightning.

"Starting to see what Natsu and Laki were talking about." Sting declared.

"Doesn't matter." Rogue replied. "I have to protect my friends."

With Natsu

"Do you remember when I said seven years from now, the world would be dominated by dragon?" The time traveler asked as the dragon straightened out. "Those dragons didn't come from the Gate. The ruler is Acnologia, a single dragon dominates the world." Natsu went wide eyed at the mention of that monster.

"There are no wizards or guilds left to fight him. The humans that remain spend their days in fear. I created this Magic to control dragons, but it didn't work on Acnologia. Only dragons can defeat that thing."

"Is that why you did this?" Natsu asked, throwing a punch that Rogue swatted away.

"No, I did this so I could become king of dragons." He replied. "I will be the one who dominates the world. That's quite thrilling. And with these eight dragons, I will rule the world."

Natsu smirked as he ignited his fist, confusing the time traveler. "You have really rotten luck." The pinkette slammed his fist into the dragons back, making it cry out in pain as and buckle. "CAN YOU HEAR HEAR ME!?" Natsu shouted as loud as he could, letting the whole city hear him. "LEAVE THE EIGHT DRAGONS TO US DRAGON SLAYERS! OUR MAGIC WAS MADE FOR THIS DAY! LET'S GO, LET'S HUNT THESE EIGHT DRAGONS!"

Even in the city, he could feel the others smiling in agreement. "Eight? Are you sure you counted right?" Rogue teased, only to find the smirk still on Natsu's face.

"I can hear number eight right now." He chuckled.

Outside the City

"Sorry for having you go so faraway." Lahar told his panting friend before looking up. "The dragons are attacking the city. We're forced to ask for your help."

"Think nothing of it…" Cobra chuckled, looking into the city. "I can hear everything, Natsu."

Yep, I added an extra dragon to coincide with the extra Dragon Slayer in this story. In this story, I made it a smoke dragon and boy is it gonna be fun to write when it fights Laki. And this is going to be a whole lot DARKER than what was in the show. I look for to that, see ya then.

Beta read by General Feng Xiang