In the middle of the night, a strange creature was climbing in through a window of a jewelry store. This fiend was dressed like a cross between a sorcerer and a jester. The jacket and mantle he wore was purple with red pants, white shirt, and had pointy shoes. He also had a purple witch-like hat with bat wings on his back. The scariest part was that his face didn't even look human with him having pointy ears and razor-sharp teeth. He smashed opened a glass case that had a necklace and snatched it. It did cause the alarm to go off. When officers bust the door down, they saw who it was.
"It's the Fiend Hatter!" This villain named the Fiend Hatter just laughed sinisterly and eerie as he climbed out the window and made a run for it with the necklace.
...
A Restaurant
The Fiend Hatter ran all the way until he hit a restaurant and climbed into a certain van for cover. Meanwhile, the owners of that van were inside and enjoyed a nice meal.
"We better wrap it up here. It's starting to get late." Gray said.
"Yeah. I told my parents I'd be home soon." Lucy said.
"Hang on. Just let me finish my soda." Natsu said, but while he wasn't looking, Happy took a straw and sucked up all that was left of the soda. "Hey!" He complained as Happy burped.
"Well, you finished your soda. It's time we better get going." Erza said. All of them paid for their food and hopped into their van. They drove down the road, but Lucy was feeling a little chilly from the ride.
"It's a bit cold in here." Lucy said.
"Happy, I think there's a blanket in the back. Can you grab it?" Natsu asked. Happy did just what Natsu asked as he moved to the back. He grabbed the blanket, but he spotted the Fiend Hatter hiding underneath there. When he showed off his creepy smirk, Happy got scared and jumped right on Natsu's head. "Ow! Nails, Happy! What's got you scared?" Happy pointed to the back with his tail and that was when the Fiend Hatter showed himself with his laugh and him holding the necklace.
"A ghost!" All of them shouted as they pulled over and ran out of the van. The Fiend Hatter just kept laughing as he ran off and headed straight for the woods.
"Did you see his face?" Lucy questioned.
"Yeah! He can easily break a mirror!" Natsu said.
"That was the Fiend Hatter. He's been going around robbing banks and stores." Lucy said. "I bet that's how he got that necklace. What was he doing in the back of the Myster-V?"
"Looks like we might have another mystery." Erza said.
"He ran for the woods. Let's see if we can follow him." Gray said. Smelling another mystery, the five of them decided to follow after the Fiend Hatter and find out what he's really up to.
...
The Woods
The five of them followed the Fiend Hatter into the woods. Once they found his footprints, they followed them to find where he was heading.
"Why would the Fiend Hatter run out here?" Erza questioned.
"Maybe his hideout is somewhere around here." Lucy said.
"I think you're right, Lucy. Look up ahead." Gray said. They saw the tracks lead up to a massive house in the middle of the woods, but it looked like no one has lived in it for years. "What's that house doing in the middle of nowhere?"
"Décor for the woods?" Natsu joked.
"Well, the tracks lead right to that house. Let's see what the Fiend Hatter is doing in there." Erza said. They all moved closer to investigate the house. Once they arrived, they went right in through the front door and saw it looked like it was abandoned.
"Keep your guard up. He could anywhere." Gray said. They all tread carefully through the house until they heard a door creaking and heard someone coming.
"It's him!" Natsu called as Happy jumped right on Natsu in fear, but it wasn't the Fiend Hatter. It was a man dressed like a doctor with dark red hair tied back and a thin mustache. "Or not..."
"What are you kids doing in my house?"
"Would you believe we're looking for a ghost?" Lucy asked. They all took a moment and explained to the man what happened.
"The Fiend Hatter?! In my house?! Oh my!"
"We're sorry we snuck into your house, Mr..." Lucy said, but didn't really know his name.
"I'm Dr. Jason Lapro. I understand why you're here, but I didn't hear anything earlier. I surely hope that fiend isn't in my house."
"Well, we certainly want you to feel safe in your own house. Do you mind if we look around?" Erza asked.
"Hmm... I suppose not. I was about to step outside to do some important work." Jason said. "I guess it would be okay, but you kids better be careful if that freak really is around here. He's dangerous."
"Don't worry. We'll be careful." Gray said. Once the good doctor gave them permission to look around their house, he left them there with all of them hoping they could find something to solve this mystery.
"Well, we're now in the same house as the Fiend Hatter, but are we sure he's really here if even Dr. Lapro didn't see him?" Natsu questioned.
"The tracks brought us here. He's got to be around here somewhere, but this place is huge. Lots of places for him to hide." Erza said.
"We might something faster if we split-up. Natsu, you and Happy search upstairs. The rest of us will search down here." Gray said.
"Why does going up suddenly seem creepier than staying down here?" Natsu questioned as he and Happy had a bad feeling about this.
...
Upstairs
Natsu and Happy went straight upstairs like Gray suggested. They looked around for anything, but there was no sign of the Fiend Hatter. They stepped inside a room and it ended up being the library to the house.
"This place even has a library? Maybe the Fiend Hatter went mad from reading all these books." Natsu joked with Happy chuckling. "Well, might as well look around. If the movies are any reference, one of these books might be a switch or something to a hidden room." The two of them had a look around and just pulled out random books to see if a passage would open up or anything, but nothing really happened. "Huh... Maybe life isn't like the movies."
"Meow!"
"What are you meowing about?" Natsu asked. He spotted Happy with a book and was getting the wrong idea. "Happy! Are you looking at photos of...fish..." He said when he saw what the book was about. "Of course it's fish." Ignoring what he just did, Natsu just went back to looking through the books. "What a bunch of weird titles. This one is called 100 Ways to Skip. How many ways of skipping can there really be?" He grabbed the book, but that's when it all started.
"Hahahahhahah!" The Fiend Hatter popped his face out of the bookshelf.
"It's him!" Natsu shouted. He smashed the book against the Fiend Hatter's face and ran for it with Happy. The Fiend Hatter pushed the shelf out of the way and chased after them. Natsu and Happy ran down the hall and straight into another room. The Fiend Hatter ran after them, but lost sight of them. He wondered where they go until he spotted Happy's tail by the T.V.
"Ha!" He walked right over and turned the television on to get them to come out.
"Hi, kids! Give a big hand for Happy the Clown!" Natsu said as they tried acting like a show with Happy dancing around. Thinking that was weird, the Fiend Hatter changed the channel. "I'm broadcasting the fierce lion himself." They tried to keep up the act with Happy acting like a lion. Getting fed up with the shows, the Fiend Hatter just grabbed the T.V. and lifted it up to reveal the two of them. "I guess he doesn't like the show."
"Hahahahahahah!"
"Hold this other stuff while you're at it." Natsu said as he and Happy passed some other stuff to him until he couldn't hold it anymore and it all collapsed on him. That gave Natsu and Happy the chance to escape.
...
Gray and the Girls
While Happy and Natsu were running for their lives, the others were searching around for clues. However, they had no luck on finding anything.
"This place is filthy. Dr. Lapro really needs to hire a housekeeper." Lucy said as she examined everything she could.
"It is rather strange." Gray said as he felt something wasn't right. "Why would Dr. Lapro live here? This place looks like no one has lived here for years."
"I'm wondering if Natsu and Happy are okay. We haven't heard from them in a while." Erza said as she was starting to get concerned.
"Gain way!" Natsu shouted as he and Happy were sliding down the stair railing. They ended up crashing down on Lucy with Natsu's and Lucy's faces close to each other. "Uh... Sorry, Lucy." He said, but he rather enjoyed the position.
"You can get up now." Lucy said.
"Oh! Right!" Natsu said as he and Happy got back up.
"What happened to you two?" Gray asked.
"The Fiend Hatter! He's really here!" Natsu said.
"You saw him?" Erza said with Natsu and Happy confirming it. "Well, we know he's here, but what are we going to do now?"
"We keep looking for clues. I think we should check the master bedroom." Gray said. "I have a feeling Dr. Lapro hasn't told us everything." They were all fine with going, but Happy seemed resistant.
"Come on, Happy." Natsu said, but Happy refused to move. "Fine, Happy. Stay here, but I hate to be alone if the Fiend Hatter shows up." That surely convinced Happy to go.
...
The Master Bedroom
"Here it is." Gray said as they all stood just outside the door. "Someone should stay out here in case someone or something shows up."
"I'll do it. Just make it fast" Lucy said. The rest of them went inside and had a look around the place. However, they weren't having much luck on finding anything in there either.
"Everything looks normal in here." Natsu said.
"A little too normal." Erza said as she was starting to get suspicious herself. "If this is where Dr. Lapro sleeps, he hasn't done a good job cleaning it like the rest of this house."
"Help me move this mattress. Maybe there's something under there." Gray said. He and Erza grabbed the mattress and lifted it. Gray was right because there was something under there.
"Look at this!" Erza said as she grabbed that something. "This is the same necklace that the Fiend Hatter had when we ran into him earlier. Sure seems suspicious we would find it here of all places."
"Hey, guys!" Lucy called. "I did a little searching outside and I think I found something." She was about to show them, but that was right when the Fiend Hatter showed up. He covered her mouth and pulled Lucy out of the room with his sinister laughter echoing.
"The Fiend Hatter!" Erza said.
"And he's got Lucy!" Gray said.
"Lucy!" Natsu called as all of them hurried out of the room, but they were already gone. "They're not here!"
"Spread out. We better find her and fast." Gray said. All of them took off in hopes of finding Lucy before it's too late to save her.
...
Lucy
When Lucy was taken by Fiend Hatter, he brought her to a room and had her strapped down.
"What are you going to do to me, creep?" Lucy said as she tried to get free. All the Fiend Hatter did was tilt her head and gave off his signature laugh. "I don't like the sound of that. If anyone can hear me, help!" Luckily, her prayers were answered when Natsu and Happy came in through a door.
"Lucy!" Natsu called and they both hurried to help her.
...
Chase Scene
The Fiend Hatter chased them around and tried to grab them.
Yesterday I got to dreaming
About a recipe for my love
Took all the things I was feeling
Things around there's just not enough of
Once they got Fiend Hatter to move away from Lucy, they hurried back to her. Happy jumped on Natsu's shoulder and Natsu started pushing the table. They head for the door, but the Fiend Hatter stood in the way. They ended up crashing into him and were going for a ride
I tried and tried to find out the secret to my recipe
But all these things couldn't make up my baby
And what my baby means to mean
The table just kept wheeling around with Fiend Hatter and Natsu holding on. They even passed by Erza and Gray with Happy waving at them.
I took a cup full of sunshine
Added a touch of the rainbow
Sprinkled some happiness around it
And a little bit from a song that I know
They kept moving form one room to the next. Somehow in the craziness, Lucy and the Fiend Hatter switched places with her free and the Fiend Hatter was the one strapped down.
One smile and a whole lot of loving in my recipe
All that couldn't make up my baby
And what my baby means to me
They soon crashed into a closet with the three of them running out of there and shutting the door. Happy even put a sign that told people not to open it. When they ran off, Fiend Hatter busted the door down and chased after them. All of them kept running until they went in different directions with Fiend Hatter going after Natsu and Happy
Yes, I've done a whole lot of dreaming
But its no fun when things aren't what they seeming
I love my baby and my baby loves me
Then why can't I find my recipe
Happy and Natsu ended up running out of the house, but Fiend Hatter wasn't done. He chased after them into the woods as well.
Painted me a face like Mona Lisa
Put some magic in the smile
I used all the colors of the rainbow
Natsu and Happy disguised themselves as trees while the Fiend Hatter was looking for them. They did point on what direction they went. Fiend Hatter believed that until he realized he was just tricked and chased after them again with them running back to the house.
Artists around the world started copying my style
But it still doesn't look like my baby
And what she means to me
I guess I'll never find the secret to my recipe
Natsu and Happy got back in the house and closed the door, but the Fiend Hatter bashed against it to open. When it wouldn't, he tried ramming it down. However, Natsu and Happy opened it at the last second and caused the Fiend Hatter to crash.
...
The Gang
After loosing the Fiend Hatter, the gang regrouped. Erza and Gray were glad to see that Lucy was safe.
"Thank goodness you're safe, Lucy." Erza said.
"Yeah, thanks to Natsu and Happy." Lucy said.
"But I still don't get why the Fiend Hatter took you in the first place." Gray said.
"I think he was trying to stop me from showing you guys this." Lucy said as she took out a piece of paper and handed it to Gray.
"It's a piece of an article about a man named Jose Porla." Gray said as he read it. "It says here that he was notorious criminal that robbed banks and other stores. According to this, he attempted to escape from the police over rooftops, but an incident happened and he fell to his demise. His body was never found, but he hasn't been seen since."
"Why would the Fiend Hatter care about something like that?" Natsu questioned. Erza looked over at the article and started to see it herself.
"I think I know. We just need to catch him now." Erza said.
"And I know how we can do that." Gray said as he had a plan.
...
The Fiend Hatter
The Fiend Hatter wasn't giving up yet. He kept trying to hunt the gang down around the house.
"For he's an ugly fellow. For he's an ugly fellow. For he's an ugly fellow, that nobody can deny!" Natsu sang as he and Happy managed to get his attention. When the Fiend Hatter spotted them, he chased after them and that is exactly what they wanted. Happy and Natsu kept running until they made it outside with the others ready. "Get ready! He's right behind us!" Gray and the girls pulled a wire and it caused the Fiend Hatter to trip as he was sent flying through the air and crashed against a tree.
"We got him!" Lucy cheered.
"Now let's see who's really under this hat." Gray said as he grabbed the Fiend Hatter's mask and pulled it right off for them to see his real face.
"James Lapro!" All of them said. Once they unmasked him, they call the sheriff over and got James arrested.
"I've got to hand it to you kids, you really are something special." Sheriff said. "We've been after the Fiend Hatter for a while, but he always gave us the slip."
"Well, he didn't expect us to follow after him in the woods." Gray said.
"He already undressed when we showed up and tried to make himself look innocent, but did a bad job of it." Erza said. "He tried to scare us away, but we knew something was wrong he claimed he lived here and didn't notice the Fiend Hatter in his place. We also noticed that no one lived in that house for years."
"But the biggest clue was when he attempted to stop Lucy from telling us about the article she found about Jose Porla." Gray said.
"I still don't get why that was so important." Natsu said.
"It's simple." Lucy said as she held up the article. "Rearrange the letters in Lapro and you get Porla!"
"James Lapro is really Jose Porla. He survived his fall, and when it was believed he perished, he took on the persona of the Fiend Hatter." Gray said.
"Well, thanks to you kids, his robbing days are over." Sheriff said.
"Blasted meddling kids." Jose complained.
"By the way, where's Happy?" Natsu questioned as he didn't see him anywhere. Suddenly, they all heard sinister laughter and a shadow against the wall with a pointy hat. They got scared for a moment until Happy came out and was wearing the hat. They all couldn't help but laugh from seeing Happy's little prank.
