Back in the gallery, the Muses resumed their roles as narrators of the story. They presented a picture of Natsu defeating Ophiuchus, on the day his career as a hero began. Ultear narrated, "From that day forward, our boy Natsu Dragneel could do no wrong. He was so hot, steam looked cool." The Muses then began their song number, dancing as the background changed color.
Ultear: Oh yeah!
The Muses danced around a disc of Natsu's image. When Brandish bumped into it, it rolled along and made it look like the image was running.
Bless my soul,
Nat was on a roll!
Brandish held a scroll that pictured Natsu's appearance in every opinion poll on Earth-land.
Brandish: Person of the week in every big opinion poll
Meredy: What a pro!
When Meredy pulled down a curtain, the background shifted to Natsu signing autographs for his fans.
Ultear: Nat could stop a show
Mard Geer, in his conference room, set up a collection of miniature statues representing the Underworld's ferocious demons in his mad attempts to get rid of Natsu. He placed the statue of Azuma the Great Tree against the statue of Natsu.
Point him at a monster and you're talkin' S.R.O.
The scene shifted to Azuma rampaging all over Crocus with his long, powerful roots.
Muses: He was a no one
Éclair and Zera: A zero, zero
Casting Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade, Natsu unleashed exploding torrents of flame against Azuma, who was horrified of the incoming attack.
Muses: Now he's a honcho
He's a hero!
A vase depicted the remains of a destroyed Azuma, whose roots were used by Natsu and his friends as a fireplace to cook lots of food. Next, Natsu, Wendy, Romeo, and Happy gave hi-fives to each other.
Ultear: Here was a kid with his act-down pat
The Muses danced on top of the word Zero, in which the first letter changed to "H," making it Hero.
Muses: Zero to hero in no time flat!
Mard Geer knocked away his miniature demon statues in a fit of rage.
Zero to hero
Ultear: Just like that!
Ultear snapped her fingers, and the scene shifted to Natsu, accompanied by his friends, giving a dashing smile to thousands of screaming fangirls.
Muses: When he smiled
The girls went wild
With oohs and aahs
The scene changed to Brandish slapping Natsu's face on a vase.
Brandish: And they slapped his face
On every vase
Zera bonked Brandish on the head, trying to correct her.
Zera: On every 'vahse!'
Brandish got back at Zera by slamming the vase on top of her head. The next scene detailed the citizens of Crocus tossing coins, cash, and money to Natsu and his friends as a token of respect. During the song number, the Muses' faces appeared in some pieces of money.
Muses: From appearance fees and royalties
Our Nat had cash to burn
The next scene detailed Happy removing the covers to present a huge statue of Natsu, Wendy, and Romeo to commemorate their heroism. After all, Wendy and Romeo played their own part in saving Crocus from disaster and chaos, so Natsu's not the only hero. Natsu, Wendy, and Romeo were an unstoppable team of heroes, and they've been fighting the forces of evil together ever since.
Now nouveau riche and famous
He could tell you what's an Earth-land urn!
A credit card named "Fiore Express" was seen with Natsu's face on it, and a lot of artists painted Natsu's face on every urn.
Say Amen,
There he goes again!
Natsu was seen fighting against Lullaby, another demon sent by Mard Geer. At the end of the fight, Natsu crushed Lullaby's stony body into pieces, with Wendy and Romeo tossing the demon's head out of the stadium. Yajima did a victory touchdown pose.
Éclair and Zera: Sweet and undefeated
Meredy posed as the Muses pulled out scoring cards, giving a perfect ten.
Meredy: And an awesome ten for ten!
The next scene shifted to the Natsu Dragneel Store, where people lined up to buy some Natsu-related merchandise.
Muses: Folks lined up
Just to watch him flex
The customers grabbed every Natsu action figure from the shelves. Brandish was lucky to get one of them, and she squeezed the muscles to make Natsu's abs grow bigger.
Brandish: And this perfect package packed a pair of pretty pecs!
The next scene showed Natsu, Wendy, Romeo, Happy, and Carla flying against Erigor the Hurricane, accompanied by Motherglare and the Six Eclipse Dragons. But thanks to the heroes' incredible teamwork and quick strategy, the monsters were easily defeated and vanquished.
Muses: Natsu, he comes, he sees, he conquers
The scene shifted to the citizens and the Fairy Tail wizards cheering and screaming for Natsu, especially the ones who used to mock him.
Honey, the crowds were goin' bonkers!
In the next scene, Natsu sailed the dark waters with Wendy and Romeo. A sea monster named Yakdoriga attempted to attack, but Natsu grabbed him by the neck.
He showed the moxie, brains, and spunk! (Yeah!)
A vase depicted Natsu hanging Yakdoriga's head on a wall, with his friends smiling proudly at his work.
From zero to hero
Brandish was carving a statue of Natsu.
Brandish: A major hunk!
Upset of another loss, Mard melted Yakdoriga's miniature statue in his hand.
Muses: Zero to hero
Ultear: And who'd have thunk?
Soon, the song got wilder as the Muses danced and marched. Ultear held a dragon-headed shield and a sword.
Who put the glad in gladiator?
The stills of warriors turned their shields, showing each letter to spell "Natsu Dragneel."
Chorus: Natsu Dragneel!
Holding a theater mask, Brandish moved away to present a reenactment of Natsu's battle with Ophiuchus in the Grand Crocus Theater. Natsu, Wendy, Romeo, Yajima, Happy, Carla, and the rest of the audience applauded the theater's outstanding performance.
Brandish: Whose darin' deeds are great theatre?
Chorus: Natsu Dragneel!
Éclair posed on top of a stone carving.
Éclair: Is he bold?
The paintings on the stone carving came to life and sang.
Stone Carving Paintings: No one braver!
Zera: Is he sweet?
The next scene presented the advertisement of "Natsuade," a quality soft drink named after the Fire Dragon Slayer himself. Natsu happily drank the bottle, with swimmers seen dancing in the background.
Chorus: Our favorite flavor!
Natsu Dragneel! (My man!)
Natsu Dragneel! (Natsu Dragneel)
Meanwhile, Makarov and Porlyusica beamed happily as they held tons of merchandise, and they gave an excited hi-five. Behind their household was a very enormous mansion. As a gift of love and gratitude to his adoptive parents, Natsu invested a large fortune to make them filthy rich. Boy, were the locals who rejected Natsu jealous now!
Natsu Dragneel! (Ooh)
Natsu Dragneel! (Look at my Natsu)
The Muses played their instruments, and the next scene shifted to children wearing Air Natsu, the brand new performance footwear based on their greatest hero.
Natsu Dragneel! (Yeah)
Natsu Dragneel! (Yeah, yeah, yeah)
Muses and Chorus: Bless my soul,
Nat was on a roll!
Mard Geer sent Trinity Raven (Vidaldus Taka, Fukuro, and Ikaruga) against Natsu in the hopes of destroying Natsu. Fortunately, the Fire Dragon Slayer unleashed a Fire Dragon's Iron Fist 3-Hit Combo to take them all out at once, sending each Trinity Raven member on top of one another.
Muses: Undefeated!
Muses and Chorus: Riding high!
Ultear: And the nicest guy
Other Muses: Not conceited!
The next scene depicted the rampaging Phoenix, scorching all in its path with solar flames.
Muses: He was a nothing! (Zero, zero!)
Fortunately, Natsu arrived, and he destroyed the Phoenix by piercing the Arrow of Haja through its eye.
Now he's a honcho! (He's our hero!)
The scene shifted to Natsu, Wendy, and Romeo flown by Happy and Carla through the starry sky. They went under the dress of Mavis's constellation, causing her to hold her dress down with a blush.
He hit the heights at breakneck speed!
From zero to hero!
Mard Geer slammed his head against the table of his conference room in frustration. Nothing he had done against Natsu was ever working!
Natsu's a hero!
Natsu, Wendy, Romeo, Happy, and Carla placed their hands on the cement to make a permanent mark of their heroism.
Now he's a hero!
A montage of earlier clips from the song was presented. The song came to an end with the Muses standing beside a huge vase depicting Natsu standing on a footstool proudly, with Ultear winking her eye with a smile.
Ultear: Yes, indeed!
The rocky walls within the mountain vibrated with explosions as Mard Geer, shaking with rage and fury, practiced shooting at Natsu-related merchandise to vent his frustration over his previous failures. He hatched every scheme, every plot, and every trap in a desperate attempt to get rid of Natsu. None had succeeded. No matter how many times he tried, Mard could not destroy his nephew. And even worse, there were only a few days remaining before the Eight Demon Gates were released from their prison in the ocean. At any rate, Mard's hostile takeover of Olympus would collapse. Kain, Rustyrose, and Lucy were there with him, watching his erratic behavior come to play.
"Pull!" Mard growled, ordering his next target. Kain and Rustyrose threw a vase with Natsu's face on it, and Mard swung his hand, creating a white rose-shaped explosion that blasted the vase into pieces.
"Wow, you look upset," Lucy chuckled amusingly.
"Oh, you think?!" Mard snapped at Lucy, before he turned away and groaned in irritation. "Ugh! I can't believe this! I've thrown everything I've got at him, I've sent every vicious demon in the Underworld, I've hatched every ingenious plan, and it doesn't even—" He stopped when he noticed something on Kain's feet: a pair of Air Natsu shoes. "What… are… those?" Mard asked, gritting his teeth.
"Oh, I dunno…" Kain shrugged, looking at the Natsu-endorsed sneakers. "I though they look kinda dashin'."
Mard's rage rose to higher levels. If there's one thing he despised more than Natsu, it's his minions using stuff related to his most loathsome enemy. He began, "I've got less than a week to get rid of this bozo…" On 'bozo,' his dark aura nearly erupted. "…or the entire scheme I've been setting up for seventeen years goes up in smoke…" His dark aura erupted ferociously, and his voice rose to a murderous note, "…AND YOU ARE WEARING HIS MERCHANDISE?!"
Mard was about to rage when he heard a slurp, instantly extinguishing his dark aura. He turned to Rustyrose, who was drinking from a bottle of Natsuade, another trademark product endorsed by the Fire Dragon Slayer. Noticing the Lord of the Dead's furious expression, Rustyrose chuckled nervously and held the bottle to him. "Thirsty?"
Mard's voice exploded to a loud, berserk, destructive roar.
Below the mountain…
At the Royal Castle of Mercurius, many citizens gathered in a large decorated podium to attend a ceremony held by Princess Hisui E. Fiore to honor the heroism of Natsu and his friends. Natsu, Wendy, and Romeo stood in front of the audience, met by their cheers. Gesturing to the young heroes, Hisui announced, "Natsu Dragneel, Wendy Marvell, and Romeo Conbolt, on behalf of the Royal Family, I present to you these medals of honor for all the heroic deeds you have done for the Kingdom of Fiore—"
A loud explosion erupted from the mountain, nearly startling everyone present. Wendy wondered, "Hey, did you hear something?"
Romeo shook his head, "Nope."
Natsu shrugged, "Not a clue."
Back at the mountain…
The whole area was burned to a crisp, along with Kain and Rustyrose. Lucy was fortunate enough to survive Mard's temper outburst. With a smirk, she taunted, "Looks like your game is over, Mard. Natsu's hitting every curve you've thrown at him."
Mard felt some consideration of Lucy's words. Staring at the blonde-haired girl overlooking a ledge, a small smirk crossed his lips. This could work to his advantage…
"Oh, yes," Mard chuckled, creeping behind Lucy with an idea on his mind. "I wonder if maybe I haven't been throwing the right curves at him, Lucy, my dear."
"Don't even go there," Lucy frowned. By the look on his face, she knew exactly what he had in mind.
"Please, Lucy, you must understand," Mard reasoned. "Natsu must have a weakness, because everybody has one. For instance, Zeref had trouble with the magic he inherited from Anhkseram, the God of Death. And as for the Alvarez Empire, they bet on the wrong Lumen Histoire. All we need to do is to simply find out what made Natsu weak."
"I've done my part," Lucy glared. "Can't your stupid minions get the job done better than anyone else?"
Mard commented, "Those two stooges couldn't handle him as a baby. I need someone who can…" He added in a seductive flare, "…handle him as a man."
Crossing her arms sternly, Lucy pointed out, "Not a chance, Mard. I've sworn off man-handling."
"Well, of course, that's great, because that's what got you into this mess in the first place, isn't it?" Mard reminded. Flicking his hands, he projected a holographic memory of a past Lucy holding a handsome man in her arms. "You sold your soul to me to save the life of your dying boyfriend, Loke. That's funny, because he strongly resembles Leo, the Messenger God. And how did this ungrateful cretin repay you?" The image of another female passed by, and in response, Loke sped away from Lucy and rushed after the female, making his former girlfriend sob bitterly. "By running off with some other girl. He hurt you real bad, didn't he, Lucy?"
"Look, I've learned my lesson, okay?" Lucy snapped, shooing away the holographic memory. She was hurt by the memory she was forced to replay, and preferred not to remember it again.
Mard smiled, "I figured you'd say that, which is exactly why I've got a feeling you're going to leap for joy at my new offer." He gave Lucy a vase painted with Natsu's face, "You give me the key to bringing down the child of my deranged brother, and in return, I will give you the thing that you crave most in the entire cosmos:" He then inched his lips closer to Lucy's ear and whispered, "Your freedom."
Lucy gasped, dropping the vase she was holding with a shatter. Just then, from a wisp of shadows, an armored demon soldier from the Underworld came in. He asked, "Lord Mard Geer?"
"What is it?" Mard turned to his demonic advisor.
The soldier answered, "There are guests waiting for you in the Conference Room."
"Guests?" Mard raised an eyebrow, before he complied. "Very well, then. I'm on my way. If the Fates show up in my doorstep again, I'll never hear the end of it."
He and the demon soldier disappeared into darkness, leaving Lucy behind. Mard's new offer was a great opportunity to pass up… but would it mean betraying Natsu to get it?