"Natsu!" Happy's head popped outside the open exterior of the cardboard box alongside Gajeel and Lyon. "Hey, buddy, are you in here?"

"Nah, this one's empty too," Gajeel brushed off.

"Your friend couldn't have gone that far. Let's keep looking," Lyon suggested.

The group had reached the main office of Konishi's Toy Dojo after a long exhibition throughout the store, courtesy of Tour Guide Jenny Realight. Gajeel, Happy, and Lyon had rummaged the cardboard boxes on the floor, Erza, Yuka, and Toby scouted the desk, Wendy, Sherry, Sherria, and Utility Belt Gray examined the various drawers and materials, and Lucy and Levy were checking the desktop computer for any information on Natsu's whereabouts. All members of the party had gathered for the purpose of finding their missing friend, calling out his name as they searched.

"We're searched every file in Konishi's documents, and it has no mention of Natsu," Lucy typed the buttons on the keyboard, and so far, according to analysis, no progress was made. The Celestial Treasure Hunter doll crossed her arms, "That guy's a real genius when it comes to top secret plans."

Levy confirmed, "Even the Internet didn't provide us any intel. I'm beginning to wonder what Konishi wants with Natsu."

Lucy shrugged, "Who cares? All I know is that he kidnapped my boyfriend to add him to his collection of toys and sell him for money. If we don't bring Natsu back to Ken's room, something bad is gonna happen to him. And something dirty."

While rummaging an open drawer in Konishi's desk, Yuka asked, "So why did your Natsu friend disappear from home?"

Erza explained, "Konishi found Natsu after he successfully rescued another toy from a yard sale, and he stole him away from us. We formed a rescue party in order to bring him back home. And we won't stop until we do."

Toby nodded, "That explains your reason for coming all this way to Konishi's Toy Dojo."

Erza smiled, "I would like to thank you and your Lamia Scale group for contributing to our mission. Your assistance is most appreciated."

Toby grinned, "And we'd like to thank you for asking us. Helping others is what makes us Lamia Scale. Anything in the line of duty for brave toys like us."

Yuka shrugged, "Well, anything is fine, better than sitting around with a delusional Space Hero action figure all day."

Erza raised an eyebrow, "Are you referring to Gray?"

Yuka scratched his head, "Um, how should we put this?"

Toby chuckled nervously, "It's a pretty long explanation…"

Meanwhile, Sherry came across a small boxing ring where two Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Combatant toys named Bacchus Groh and Warcry stood poised to fight. She asked, "Excuse me, kind gentlemen, but have either of you seen a Natsu Dragneel? My friends mentioned that he has salmon hair, wears a dragon scarf with scales and a black one-sleeved waistcoat, and he has an broken arm. They're very desperate to find Natsu. They want to find him... in the name of love."

"Nope, never heard of that guy," Bacchus shook his head. "I haven't seen anyone that looks like him."

"Hey!" Warcry interrupted, shouting at Bacchus. "He was talkin' to ME!"

"NO, HE WAS TALKIN' TO ME!" Bacchus roared.

"WHY, YOU! I'LL…" Warcry growled. The two Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Combatants started duking it out, until Bacchus dealt an uppercut to Warcry's chin, popping up his head and ending the duel with the ding of a bell.

Sherry rolled her eyes, "Oh, dear. I asked a question, and all they had to do was duke it out? A strong and capable person with no love in his heart is not strong and capable man at all."

Sherria shrugged, "Why bother with them, Cousin Sherry? They're a bunch of blockheads." She added with a playful giggle, "In a funny way!"

Gajeel looked up from another empty cardboard box he analyzed. He questioned, "Who invited those Space Hero rejects?"

Sherria answered, "Nobody! We just joined in!"

Sherry added, "It's no fun being just a backdrop in a Lamia Scale display stand. We want to go outside. We want to do something, and have lots of fun."

Lucy exclaimed, "All of you wanted to go outside?"

Sherry nodded, "That's right! Life in the toy store is boring, and we have nothing better to do. We're toys, aren't we? We're built for the purpose of making children happy. All we ever wanted was to do something useful with our lives, to make a difference that'll change things for the better."

Erza confirmed, "I see… That would explain why you're eager to find Natsu as much as we are."

Gajeel complained, "Why'd we have to bring in those astro-nuts? They're tryin' to slow us down. We don't need them."

Lucy answered, "Because those 'astro-nuts' wanted to, that's why. They've been stuck in that Lamia Scale display stand for so long, they wanted a taste of freedom. They asked us to let them come, and we didn't hesitate to say 'yes.' Besides, an adventure's no fun without a big circle of friends."

Sherria beamed, "Really? You consider us friends?"

Wendy giggled, "That's right! You agreed to help us, so that makes you our friends!"

Levy agreed, "After all, Gray found you and set you free from the display stand, and got you into joining us."

Sherria extended her hand to Wendy, "I think we haven't introduced. I'm Sherria, in case you haven't heard."

Wendy shook it, "I'm Wendy. It's nice to meet you."

Sherry admired the scene, "Aw, look at those two! This is the symbol of newfound friendship. Wendy and Sherria are getting together!" The two aforementioned toys kept on shaking hands and giggling with each other.

Lucy stated, "Celestial Treasure Hunter #61: Even the most strangest of people can be your friend."

Erza chuckled, "I was about to say that."

Utility Belt Gray interjected, "So, your name is Wendy, right?"

Wendy nodded, "Uh-huh."

Utility Belt Gray replied, "You said something about a strategy guide that tells you how to defeat Silver. Let me ask you something; is there any possible entrance to Tartaros's fortress?"

Wendy recalled what she read from the Lamia Scale: Attack on Tartaros strategy guide, "You see, all this time, we thought the way into Tartaros's fortress was through the main gate. But in fact, the secret entrance is to the left, hidden in the shadows."

"To the left, hidden in the shadows," Utility Belt Gray opened his wrist communicator and tapped on it as if saving the info. "Got it."

Sherry questioned, "Aren't we supposed to tell everyone he's not their Gray?"

Sherria sighed, "Everyone's led to think that he's their Gray. Sometimes it's hard to convince them…"

Utility Belt Gray said confidently, "With this information, we will destroy the Tartaros Empire once and for all."

Lyon muttered to himself, "Memory-programmed nutcase."

Sherria turned to Wendy, "Since when did you become such a Lamia Scale know-it-all?"

Wendy explained, "Lamia Scale is the best! I watch the anime on TV, and I play the video games, like Lamia Scale: Attack on Tartaros."

Sherria beamed, "You play video games, too? So did I! Whenever the store's closed and everyone's asleep, I snuck into the arcade and played some of the games without waking up the neighborhood!"

Sherry added, "I personally object of my cousin going to the arcade without me, but whatever. She figured that the store's arcade could do something about her boredom. Whenever Sherria is happy, I'm happy as well."

Wendy exclaimed happily, "Wow! Konishi's Toy Dojo has an arcade?! Really?"

Sherria smiled back, "It's an awesome arcade! Wait till you see it!"

Gajeel snapped, "Hold on! This ain't the time for games, girlies!"

Wendy widened her eyes, "Huh?"

Sherria asked, "Why not?"

Gajeel frowned, "We're in the middle of an operation!"

Erza agreed, "Gajeel's right. We have to focus on finding Natsu."

Sherry chuckled, "Looks like the arcade's gonna have to wait."

Sherria giggled blushingly, "Oh, yeah. That's right. Your friend's still out there."

Wendy affirmed, "Natsu's counting on us. We have to find him, and fast."

Sherry cleared her throat, "Okay, now that everything's cleared up, it's time I'll tell you the truth about Gray." Wendy and Sherria turned their heads in curiosity. "You see…"

She was interrupted by the voice of a man, and everyone stopped to turn to the source coming from the door.

Erza gasped, "Someone's coming!"

Lyon recognized, "It's Konishi!"

Toby shouted, "Hide!"

Utility Belt Gray instructed, "Everybody, take cover!"

The toys all gathered and hid behind the desk, with Lucy and Levy quickly shutting down the computer. Konishi walked in, talking to Mr. Diamanté, the curator of the toy museum named after him, on the phone. "No, it was a big pile-up, but I don't want to bore you with the details." He dropped his bag to the floor and went over to his fax machine, "Now, let me confirm your fax number." He pressed the buttons, "011… Wait, that's a lot of numbers. No, I got it."

The owner of Konishi's Toy Dojo was completely unaware that he was being observed by the group of toys hot on his trail to find their salmon-haired friend. Erza whispered, "It's him!"

Lucy gritted her teeth at the one who kidnapped her boyfriend. She snarled, "Gouma Konishi…"

Gajeel narrowed his eyes, "The sushi man."

Utility Belt Gray raised his eyebrow, "Funny, he doesn't look like a deported fish snack."

Yuka stated, "FYI, he's dressed in a sushi suit."

Lyon said dryly, "Forget it, Yuka. He's dense."

Toby yelped, "Be careful what you say to him! Remember what he did to the other Gray?"

Lyon rolled his eyes, "Well, it's not my fault Utility Belt Gray tried to attack Gray when he asked us for help!"

Sherry pointed out, "Actually, you, Yuka, and Toby helped him capture the other Gray. Remember, Lyon?"

Lyon chuckled nervously, "Oh, right. I forgot. I'm as guilty as they are. I got carried away."

Sherria asked Wendy, "You know this guy?"

Wendy answered, "He's the one who kidnapped Natsu."

Utility Belt Gray's eyes widened, "A kidnapper! An agent of Tartaros if I ever saw one!"

Levy raised an eyebrow, "An agent of Tartaros? But Konishi's a human!"

Lucy rubbed her chin, "Now this is really starting to get strange. All of a sudden, Gray's acting like he's a real Space Hero again. It's almost like he's turned into something else. Or maybe…"

At the Lamia Scale aisle…

The real Gray was still trying to get out of his box. Finally, he hopped off and kicked the box open. He now had to focus on the wires that restrained him…

At Konishi's office…

"And finally, the pièce de résistance!" Konishi faxed over the picture of Natsu, a wide smile on his face. "I promise you, the collection will be the crown jewel of your museum. Natsu Dragneel will be the main attraction of your Fantasy Toy Exhibit." The picture fluttered to the ground, and the group of toys widened their eyes at what they saw. But that wasn't the most disturbing news…

Happy cried in disbelief, "Konishi's gonna sell Natsu to a museum?!"

Erza gasped, "So that's why he was after him the whole time!"

Levy dreaded, "This is not good. If Konishi sells him to the museum, he'll definitely disappear."

Wendy worried, "We'll never see him again! He'll be lost forever!"

Lucy whispered sadly, "He'll be taken away from us…" Her hands slightly trembled, "Away from me."

Lyon stated, "That's what Gouma Konishi does; he's a renowned toy collector who travelled the nation in search of rare toys. Natsu Dragneel is no exception."

Gajeel asked, "You know Natsu?"

Lyon explained, "Your friend is a rare Natsu Dragneel hand-me-down doll, based on the star of a fantasy anime that debuted in 1995, Natsu's Roundup. After approximately sixty-five episodes, the show was cancelled in favor of Lamia Scale."

Sherry smiled affectionately, "Ah, thank you, Lyon, my love. Now I remember how Lamia Scale is popular than Natsu."

Lyon blushed, "Um…"

"Sweet mother of Aquarius…" Lucy gasped, as she started to piece the puzzle together. "Natsu's the final piece in Konishi's collection! He searching for a Natsu Dragneel doll so that he'll trade the whole set!"

Erza growled, "That fiend!"

Lyon pointed out, "I haven't experienced it myself, but I knew of Konishi's intentions with the Natsu's Roundup toy collection. Every store in Japan hasn't sold or bought any Natsu Dragneel doll for five years. Your friend is the last Natsu Dragneel ever sold. It became the very object of Konishi's obsession."

Most of the toys gasped at this shocking revelation. The greedy toy collector had stolen the last Natsu Dragneel ever purchased to trade him to a toy museum for cash. It was something destined to haunt Ken and his entire toy collection for the rest of their lives.

Wendy protested, "But Natsu's already a rare and valuable toy! He's Ken's favorite, the heart and soul of our family!"

Lucy cried vigorously, "You think we're just gonna give up after coming this far? I don't think so. There's no way we're gonna let that happen! I made a vow to save the man I love, and I won't break it!"

Erza agreed, "That's right! Even if the odds are stacked against us, we can still make a difference!"

Happy nodded, "Aye! We'll save Natsu before he gets to that museum! And we'll do it together!"

Lyon admired, "You certainly have a lot of conviction."

Toby smiled, "You're tough as plastic, just like us on the TV!"

Yuka remarked, "We're glad to hear you're still not giving up on your friend."

Gajeel nodded, "Yep. After we save Salamander, I'll personally mash that sushi man into fish paste."

Levy chuckled, "Very colorful, Gajeel. Save the mashing after the rescuing."

Gajeel scoffed, "Please. That was just practice."

Just then, the voice of Mr. Diamanté responded at the end of Konishi's phone with joyous laughter and the rising of his voice. "Natsu Dragneel! Ha-Ha! The star of the most popular anime in the 90's in the palm of my hand! Just think of all the ratings my museum will get!"

Sherria analyzed the photo, "So this is your friend, right?" Her new friend, Wendy, responded with a nod.

"Now that I have your attention, imagine we added another zero to the price, hmm?" Konishi bargained slyly.

"I don't care how many zeroes, Gouma! I'll take the full collection!" Mr. Diamanté responded on the other line. "I'll pay anything you want! Anything you want!"

"YATTA ZE!" Konishi screamed in utter joy, hearing that the toy museum curator would pay a larger sum, just to get the whole Natsu's Roundup collection. All that effort had finally paid off. "YES, YES, YES! You've got yourself a deal! I can assure you, I'll be on the next flight to New York!"

"Quick, into the fish man's cargo unit!" Utility Belt Gray held Konishi's bag open. "He'll lead us to Tartaros! Move, move, move!" The rest of the toys rushed inside, and the man picked the bag up as he was still on the phone.

"A pleasure doing business with you!" Konishi hung up, and he performed a happy dance. It this whole thing worked out, he was about to become the richest man in Japan.

At the Lamia Scale aisle…

Gray had gotten free from the last of the wires when he suddenly heard Konishi's cries of happiness. "I knew it! I'm going to be rich! Rich! RICH! RIIIIICCCCCCH!"

Gray spotted Gajeel's leg sticking out of the bag, and he perceived that the rest of his friends were inside. The Space Hero action figure ran after Konishi, who walked out of his office, humming cheerily to himself for his inevitable big break. In a nearby toy shelf, Gray caught some pegs and maneuvered his way to a trampoline next to the store exit. He bounced up, grabbed a wheelie overhead, and slid down the glass doors about to close in a matter of seconds. Gray took a huge leap towards the doors… only for them to shut, causing him to land face-first against the glass.

The Space Hero action figure slid down and tried bouncing on the mat, but of course, the door didn't open, and he was forced to watch Konishi drive away. Fortunately, he saw that he didn't have far to go, as the owner of the Toy Dojo drove to the apartment across the street. Realizing that a lot of weight was required for the motion sensors to pick up, Gray ran over to a large stack nearby, composed of various board games and toy boxes. He pushed one of the supporting boxes with his bare feet, allowing the stack to tumble over and collapse on the mat, creating a huge pileup. That did the trick in getting the door open, and Gray ran outside to catch up with the others.

Unfortunately, one of the boxes Gray knocked down housed the toy version of his and Lamia Scale's sworn enemy, the leader of the Tartaros Empire— Evil Emperor Silver! An armored fist punched through the plastic of the box, and the action figure of the Evil Emperor pulled himself up, locking the lens of his demonic mask on the figure of the dark blue-haired toy running down the road. His response…

"Gray Fullbuster…" Silver purred, a vicious growl emanating under his mask. "It's time to be destroyed once and for all!" In determination, he chased after Gray, who had no idea of his presence.