The next morning, Gray Fullbuster chopped the leaves blocking the entrance to a dirt path, obscured by a garden of bushes in an unspecified location. It wasn't long before Lucy, Happy, Wendy, Erza, Gajeel, and Levy kept up with the Space Hero action figure, exhausted and overcome with exertion after crossing through the whole night, without stopping to take a rest. The Celestial Treasure Hunter doll's encouragement must've pushed the rescue party a bit too far.

"Phew…" Lucy wheezed. "Well, that was productive. The gang's confidence was upped to eleventy one night, and the next morning, we're as tired as Taurus."

"How reckless of us to have marched in the middle of the night," Erza sweated. "We should've taken a break first."

"Well, you did tell us that we won't rest until we make it to Konishi's Toy Dojo," Levy reminded. "Really, Lucy, what were you thinking?"

"Oops," Lucy chuckled awkwardly. "I'm sorry. I should be careful what to say."

"No need to apologize," Levy smiled weakly. "We've crossed a lot of blocks to make it to the city. And we did it together. That's what friends are for."

Mustering her remaining strength, Lucy gave her thumb a raise and winked her eye. "Thanks, Levy."

"We're tired. And our legs hurt," Wendy whined, before she collapsed into the dirt. "I don't wanna walk anymore. Can we stop?"

"Can we slow down, man?" Gajeel groaned, his arms slumping. "Do I have to remind you that some of us are carrying over six dollars in change?"

"Losing health units…" Happy panted, pushed to the point of exhaustion. "Must rest…"

"Is everyone present and accounted for?" Gray checked the count number of the rescue party while observing the map.

"Not quite everyone," Lucy responded.

"Who's behind?" Gray asked.

"Wendy," Happy answered weakly, gesturing to the Sky Priestess doll, who lacked the strength to push herself up. Erza and Lucy, taking pity on her awful state, came over to her and helped her stand on her feet.

"We've got you," Erza encouraged. "It's all right."

"We wouldn't leave a friend behind, would we?" Lucy grinned. "Take a break. You've earned it."

"Thank you…" Wendy breathed happily.

Levy stated, "On the bright side, every one of us is still active. We took the sidewalks without even bothering taking the road or coming into contact with humans. If one of us did, we'd lose a member. Heck, he or she would've been lost toys."

Lucy added, "Like the Zodiac Planet incident."

Gray corrected, "The gasoline station, you mean. It's the time Ken took Natsu with him in my place after he…" He cleared his throat, "…pushed me out the window."

Erza sighed, "Do we have to bring up that unfortunate accident again?"

Gray shrugged, "I'm just remembering."

"Hey, guys!" Gajeel called out, and the others saw the Iron Dragon Slayer action figure standing near a particular bush. "Why did the toys cross the road?"

"Not now, Gajeel," Lucy rolled her eyes, as she and the others walked over. "Can't you see we're talking a break?"

"I don't know, Gajeel," Wendy replied, having gathered enough energy to walk again. "Why did the toys cross the road?"

"To get to the sushi… on the other side!" Gajeel laughed triumphantly as the others joined him, revealing they had reached their destination. Konishi's Toy Dojo was right across the road! Immediately, everyone's spirits picked up, and they started cheering, victorious and happy that they found the toy store after a long night. They were a lot closer to finding Natsu, now if they could only…

A car rolled down the street, followed by several others. The sudden motion caused an empty soda to fly in front of the group. The realization sunk in, and the rescue party's spirits instantly plummeted down.

Happy and Wendy began to cry. The Exceed plush toy screamed hopelessly, "WE'LL NEVER MAKE IT THERE!"

The Sky Priestess doll sobbed, "I DON'T WANNA GO! I DON'T WANNA!"

"Happy, Wendy, please!" Erza hugged Happy and Wendy's bodies, trying to stop their incessant whining. "Calm down!"

Lucy bit her lip, analyzing the situation. "Now what?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Gray crossed his arms, smirking cockily. "We cross."

"WHAT?!" Erza and Gajeel gasped at the idea.

"You're not turnin' me into a hunk of steel!" Gajeel protested.

"If any one of us is crossing that street, the cars will arrive within seconds and smash us to pieces," Erza reminded. "It would take a miracle to get to the other side."

"Hey, Levy?" Gajeel asked the light blue-haired Amiibo. "Since you're a computer toy and all, is there any intel on how we can get across? Like, you know…" He suddenly shouted in front of her face, "A WALKING PATH?!"

"There's a pedestrian sidewalk on the left," Levy answered. "But if we take it, people will easily find us, and they'll expose us." She sighed sadly, "I'm sorry, Gajeel. We can't risk showing ourselves in public. We have to keep it a secret."

"Darn," Gajeel snapped his fingers in disappointment.

"There's gotta be a safe way," Gray pondered.

"How about we use these?" Levy proposed, and the others turned their heads to where her finger pointed: a stash of traffic cones scrambled in one separate part of the street. "What if we use those traffic cones to get across and divert traffic? That way, the cars won't hit us. The law clearly states that vehicles must avoid traffic cones when placed."

"Great idea, Levy!" Lucy beamed, and she gave Levy a hi-five. "You're the best!"

Levy smiled back, "It's what I do best."

"It's risky, but it's worth a shot," Gray agreed with the idea.

"A high chance we get turned into roadkill… I like those odds," Lucy chuckled confidently. "What're we waiting for? Let's go!"

And so…

The traffic light turned from green to red.

"Okay, now's our chance," Gray announced from inside one of the cones. "Ready, set, go!"

The toys began their trek across the street from inside the traffic cones, keeping their ears open for any oncoming cars. Some were trying to remain focused, others like Wendy and Happy were heaving with worry of the possibility they might get run over. And despite himself, Gray couldn't help but recall how similar this was to when he and Natsu hid inside a couple of discarded food containers back at Zodiac Planet.

Soon, the traffic light turned green, and the Space Hero action figure heard a car driving up to them. "Drop!" In response to his signal, everyone dropped down, and the driver of the car had to turn the opposite way to avoid hitting the cones. The swerve unintentionally ran the vehicle over a section barricaded by spikes, popping its tires in the process. Another car drove the same direction and bumped into the first one's rear. "Go!"

The group moved again, and after about five seconds, cars were approaching again. "Drop!" Gajeel, who hadn't heard Gray's message, kept walking forward. "I said drop!" Gajeel dropped, and narrowly avoided getting hit by two cars, the sudden change of direction accidentally knocking over a tire cap. "Go!" The toys kept moving, and a monster truck went past Erza, causing the crimson-haired doll to twirl a bit. After recovering from her disorientation, she continued.

"Drop!" Gray ordered. The cones dropped, and a car swerved completely on the road, disrupting a truck that had been transporting a large metal tube with a loud screech. "Go!" Coincidentally, the moment the Space Hero action figure gave the signal, the chains that had been holding the tube broke apart, causing it to roll down the street in their direction. Unaware of the danger, Happy stepped on a small piece of chewing gum and fell, dethatching his left foot. The Exceed plush toy turned around, found his foot, and pulled it off moments before meeting his impending doom. Fortunately though, he was able to avoid getting flattened; he reattached his foot and finally finished crossing the street with his friends.

Once all the toys were safely across, they took off their traffic cones. "That went well," Happy sighed in relief. The honking of many car horns and the shouts of drivers and pedestrians resonated within the urban jungle. Upon coming into contact with the tube that disconnected from the truck, a lamppost broke and fell down onto the street, breaking the bulb.

"Good job, guys," Gray nodded in approval. "We're that much closer to Natsu." The rescue party continued their mission, completely unaware that the toy they were searching for was trapped in the apartment across the street.

Konishi paced back and forth in his room, anxiously waiting for the man he contacted last night. His long wait came to an end when he heard the doorbell ringing, and driven by anticipation, he raced to the door and swung it open to reveal an old man with neatly trimmed white hair, wearing a white long-sleeved polo shirt with a tie, black pants, and black shoes, and holding a large tool kit in his hand. His name was Yuuki Sato, a cleaner representing the Yoshi Toy Cleaning Company dedicated to make repairs to toys that owners and collectors alone found hard to fix. Whenever a toy was damaged beyond repair, Sato made it his clear duty to refashion that toy back to its original form, or mold it into something new and entirely different… but only at a substantial price. Unlike most employees, Sato is stoic and ill-tempered towards anyone he had the slightest disagreement with. And apparently, he was an adamant toy enthusiast, who believed that toys should be treated with the utmost care.

"Oh, Sato-san!" Konishi breathed. "Thank goodness you're here."

Sato stared with an expressionless look, but his eyes harbored intent. He asked, "Is the specimen ready for cleaning?"

Once Konishi gave him a nod, Sato set his tool kit down on the table and opened every compartment, making it resemble the setting of a barber shop; for instance, the small barber chair was meant for the specimen Konishi asked him to clean. Sato retrieved Natsu from the glass case and set him in the chair, attached a bib around his neck, and put on his glasses, which had been equipped with a small flashlight.

"So, Sato-san, how long is this going to take?" Konishi asked curiously.

"You can't rush art," Sato said disdainfully, and he turned on the flashlight to begin his work.

A field of cherry blossoms rose from the landscape, the trees blanketed by beautiful petals of pink. In the midst of this seemingly peaceful façade, a lone shopping cart with the head of a sushi slowly rolled its way, revealing the cherry blossom field to be a painted backdrop in an empty parking lot. The cart was operated by seven of Ken's toys, leading straight to the entrance of Konishi's Toy Dojo. But by the time they reached the doors, they were sealed tight, and the sign read 'Sorry, We're CLOSED.'

Happy pouted, "Oh, no. It's closed."

Gajeel pointed out, "We're not preschool toys, Happy. We can read."

Lucy assumed, "Maybe the store is closed because it's too early to open."

Erza added, "Or an accident must've happened. The store must be under repair."

Wendy wondered, "How are we supposed to get inside?"

Levy analyzed, "If the doors are automatically locked, we'll have to find another way in and bypass security measures."

Gajeel asked, "Are you sayin' Konishi's Toy Dojo has top-notch security?"

Levy shrugged, "Who knows?" She then pressed her fingers around her forehead, as if she was sensing something. "Hold on, I'm getting something…"

Lucy asked, "What's up?"

Levy reported, "I'm detecting an Internet connection inside the store, but it's too faint. I have to get inside first, so that I can make a strong connection."

Lucy confirmed, "So we'll just have to find another way in, won't we? Celestial Treasure Hunter Lesson #15: When there's a will, there's a way."

At that moment, the toys' attention shifted to a man dressed in a red uniform drinking a cup of coffee; an employee working within the seams of Konishi's Toy Dojo. They watched the man pressing his feet under the black mat, the pressure detected by the motion sensors and allowing the doors to slide on both sides. He entered the store, only to get yelled at by the voice of another employee. "Hey, Sugiyama! You're late! We've got a lot of toys to unload!"

"Alright, alright," the employee replied, holding up his hand to calm down his upset co-worker. "I'm comin', I'm comin'." The glass doors shut themselves afterwards.

Lucy beamed in realization, "Of course! The workers are busy unloading the toys. This is exactly what we need!"

Gray affirmed, "All right, problem solved. Let's go!" He waved the others forward, and they ran towards the doors.

Wendy asked, "How can we open the doors?"

Levy explained, "The motion sensors detect the weight of any human who passes by. If we can apply enough weight with us combined, that should do the trick!"

Lucy grinned, "Then it's time we play a little game of hopscotch."

Upon reaching the mat, the seven toys continuously jumped up and down, attempting to activate the motion sensors. Unfortunately, their jumping combinations seemed to be out of sync.

"No, no, no, no!" Levy interrupted the group. "All together! NOW!" They all jumped as one, and the automatic doors slid open, the combined weight of seven toys proving to be a worthy challenge for the sensors.

Lucy smirked, "Once again, Levy, you've exposed your brilliance."

Levy giggled, "Aw, Lucy. You're making me blush!"

The group was quickly on the move, but Wendy stopped and turned to a stack of books and comics next to a nearby counter. Her eye fell on a video game strategy guide labeled Lamia Scale: Attack on Tartaros, the name of the same game Ken purchased for his PlayStation 4. The Sky Priestess doll realized that this book was the key to every secret in the game… including how to defeat the final boss, Evil Emperor Silver! Wendy squealed excitedly; this was her chance to finally learn how to win the game she played.

"Wendy!" Levy's voice called out. "You coming?"

"Um, in a minute, Levy," Wendy replied. "I'm picking up something." She grabbed the strategy guide and raced off to rejoin the others.

Later…

Gray, Lucy, Happy, Wendy, Erza, Gajeel, and Levy were blown away by how huge Konishi's Toy Dojo really was. Endless stocks fill the aisles, the wide collections symbolizing the height of every franchise's achievement. In between ran ribbons of boxes, where endless toys were frozen and sound asleep, waiting for owners to purchase them and take them to the world of playtime, to be embraced in a child's arms. The store hummed to a frequency, and it harmonized with a random tune playing through the loudspeakers. The daily clockwork of the store was a marvel to anyone who took it upon themselves to witness it.

Happy remarked, "This place is super-huge!"

Levy rubbed her forehead again, instantly picking up a large scale of activity. She cried, "I got it! I've successfully made a Wi-Fi connection around Konishi's Toy Dojo. I've accessed the internal system in the toy store, including the cameras. Luckily, all the employees are outside, and they're busy unloading the toys in the storage room."

Lucy grinned, "Sweet! This'll make it a lot easier to find Natsu."

Erza rubbed her chin, "But considering how large this place is, how are we going to find him?"

Gray advised, "Plain and simple. We look for Gouma Konishi. If we find him, we'll find Natsu."

Lucy suggested, "Let's spilt up into teams. I'll go with Levy to the far left, Wendy and Happy down the middle, and Gajeel and Erza to the right." She turned to Gray, "Will you be fine on your own?"

Gray smiled confidently, "I've been through worse. At least, that's what's according to my Lamia Scale background." He gave a thumbs up, "Don't worry, Lucy. I'll be okay."

Lucy chuckled, "I know you will."

Gajeel grumbled, "Who does she think she is, ordering us around? I'm Black Steel Gajeel, and nobody tells me what to do, especially a girl!"

Erza interjected, "Nonsense! Lucy has the same leadership skills as Natsu. She is wise in every decision she makes."

Happy promised, "We won't give up. We'll find Natsu, even if we have to search every aisle in the toy store."

Gray agreed, "You got that right." He turned to the rest of his friends, "Move out!"

With that, the toys split in groups: Lucy and Levy took the far left, Happy and Wendy (who was still reading the manual) took the center left, Gray took the center right, and Erza and Gajeel took the far right, all of them calling Natsu's name.

Meanwhile, Natsu was still getting looked over by Yuuki Sato. The cleaner used a cotton swab of fresh fluid to clean every layer of dust from the pull-string Dragon Slayer's eyes, making them shine like they hadn't in years. Next, he cleaned out the ears, liberating even the tiniest space from the dirt. Thirdly, Sato activated a paint-spraying mechanism, and by holding the handle and pressing the button, he brightened the glow on Natsu's cheeks, then repainted his salmon hair. Fourthly, with a magnifying glass attached to his glasses, Sato examined the small tear in Natsu's right arm. He took a needle, secured the thread, and stitched the arm back on, sealing the fabric tightly. Finally, the cleaner polished the salmon-haired toy's sandals, and used a paintbrush. Dipping it with paint, he lifted the foot labeled with Ken's name and covered it, the kanji no longer seen against the plastic. No one could ever tell that the toy belonged to someone else.

"There we go," Sato placed Natsu back in his case, chuckling proudly of his work. He closed the hatch and turned to Konishi with a serious look, "He's for display only. You handle him too much, he's not gonna last."

Konishi ignored Sato and shoved him aside, examining the fully-cleaned pull-string Dragon Slayer doll with an excited expression. He shouted, "He's amazing! You're a genius! He's just like new!"