The kiss of pure moonlight peered up over the hills, and sent its rays into the Temple of Igneel. Once again, the consciousness of the God of Fire possessed the temple's giant statue. He listened to Natsu, who explained everything that happened to him over the years— defeating dozens of Underworld demons, saving many innocent lives, and gaining the greatest recognition a hero deserved. Natsu performed several reenactments of his best fights, with Happy as his supporting actor. With every explanation, Igneel's interest was piqued with excitement and curiosity.
"Ha-ha! You should've been there, Dad! I was amazing!" Natsu laughed excitedly. He wrestled with Happy, who had been playing the part of the monsters he fought. "I grappled Arlock the Avatar, mangled with God Serena the Hybrid Theory! Just like Yaj told me, I analyzed the situation, controlled my strength, and KICKED!" He threw a pretend punch at Happy.
"Ooooh! You got me!" Happy winced, pretending to die, before he fell into a trough of water. "I am the bad guy, and I've been defeated!"
"The crowds went wild!" Natsu made cheering and whistling sounds, with Happy swimming in the trough and spitting water while holding a flag spelling Natsu's name. The Fire Dragon Slayer then bowed, "Thank you, thank you."
"Ha!" Igneel laughed, remarking his son's success. "You're doing great, son! You're doing your old man proud."
"That's right, Lord Igneel. But Wendy and Romeo kicked butt too, you know," Happy reminded Igneel of Wendy and Romeo's role in helping Natsu in his endeavors. He then smiled, "After everything Natsu's been through, and all the things he's done, I think he's ready."
"Ready?" Igneel raised an eyebrow.
"I'm more ready than I've ever been, Dad," Natsu smiled. "I've been waiting for this day for a long time."
"Oh, really?" Igneel wondered. "What day is that, son?"
Natsu explained, brimming with hope and confidence, "The day I rejoined the gods."
Happy agreed, "Aye. He deserved to come home to Olympus again."
Igneel chuckled slightly and responded, "You've done wonderfully. You really have, my boy." His joyful expression turned sad, "But unfortunately, you're just not there yet. You haven't proven yourself a true hero."
"Wait, what?" Natsu exclaimed in disbelief. "After everything I've done, I'm not a true hero?"
"Sad as it is, yes," Igneel sighed deeply. "Which comes with a question: do you think that being a hero means that you enjoy fighting? That you live a life of luxury? That you like putting yourself and others into dangerous situations? Being a hero doesn't mean you go looking for trouble or seeking glory. It's being able to handle trouble when it comes to you. And when all is said and done, the only thing you lack is something that doesn't measure a true hero." He paused to let it sink in, "Yourself."
"W-W-What?" Natsu stammered, feeling himself tearing up. "B-B-But Dad, I… I… I did my best…"
Igneel admitted sadly, "I'm sorry, Natsu. You just haven't done enough. You're not a true hero."
"But Dad, I've beaten every single monster I've come up against," Natsu gave every bit of detail in his prestigious hero career, trying his best to fight back his emotional breakdown. "I've saved millions of innocent lives dozens of times over. I've done more than three hours a day worth of charity work. I stopped natural disasters, reduced damages…" His heart weighed with anguish, and his voice began to crack, "I'm… I'm… I'm the most famous person in all of Fiore! I'm… I'm…" His voice rose to a loud scream, "I'M AN ACTION FIGURE!" To emphasize his point, Natsu took out an action figure based on himself and gave it a squeeze.
Igneel shook his head solemnly, "I'm afraid being famous isn't the same as being a true hero."
"What more can I do?" Natsu asked, desperate to know the answer.
"It's something you have to discover for yourself," Igneel replied, extending his hand and touching his son's cheek.
"But how can I—"
"Look inside your heart."
With a boom, the Statue of Igneel became inanimate again, extinguishing the braziers' fire, much to Natsu's dismay.
"Dad, wait!"
Natsu's cry of protest didn't reach his father. The statue remained lifeless and refused to move. And the temple was swallowed in complete darkness. He sank to his knees, clenched his fists, and cried out with a long inarticulate scream, slamming the floor in tremendous fits of rage. He pounded the floor repeatedly, the loud noises accompanied by his cries of frustration, until finally, the earth cracked beneath him.
Seconds later, the rage gave way to sorrow, and Natsu's voice changed from a tone of frustration to a heavy sob. Happy went over to his weeping friend and wrapped his paws around him, doing the very best he can to cheer him up.
Natsu did everything he could. He saved innocent lives. He fought evil beings. He gave service to the community. Yet it had not been enough.
And now, he felt more lost than before.
The next day at Crocus, a tour guide named Jason was leading a group of tourists, passing by a set of elaborate golden gates. "On your left is the Fire Dragon Mansion, home of the world's number one super-cool hero, Natsu Dragneel! The next stop is the Pecs and Flex Gift Shop, where you can pick the great hero's 30-minute workout DVD, Burnin' Buns. Workout DVDs are SO COOL!"
Inside the mansion, Natsu posed for a picture being painted on a vase by Reedus Jonah, a wizard from Fairy Tail, wearing armor forged from Lullaby's remains. Yajima paced around, reading a schedule of today's events.
Yajima informed, "At 1:00, you have a meeting with Shonen Magazine Studios, where they'll discuss producing a movie based on your adventures. I heard Mr. Haru Glory wanted to co-star with you."
"Yaj…" Natsu groaned, slightly moving his body. What Igneel told him last night started to eat at him again.
"I told you, don't move!" Reedus snapped, forcing Natsu to resume his pose. "How I am supposed to make a picture of you if you keep moving around?"
Yajima kept on reading the schedule, "At 2:00, the Magic Council requested you to thaw out the Sun Giants' village with your flames…"
"Yaj…" Natsu gritted his teeth, trying not to lose his cool.
"…and at 3:00, you'll get a girdle from Dimaria Yesta of the Alvarez Empire," Yajima concluded.
"Yaj, what's the point?!" Natsu screamed angrily, finally breaking his pose and throwing his Lullaby-crafted sword and shield down.
The Fire Dragon Slayer's movement caused Reedus to swipe a straight line over the vase, ruining the painting. Frustrated, the artist scribbled on the portrait and yelled, "THAT'S IT!"
Before Reedus could storm out, Yajima blocked his path. "W-Wait! Don't leave!" The artist responded by dumping his palate on the old man's face, painting clown makeup all over it. When Reedus left, Yajima took a napkin and cleaned his face up. He turned to Natsu, "What do you mean, 'what's the point?' You wanted to go home to Olympus, don't you?"
"Well, yeah…" Natsu replied irritably, removing the Lullaby armor and throwing it away. "But this stuff doesn't seem to be getting me anywhere."
"You can't give up now," Yajima argued. "Everyone's counting on you. Wendy, Romeo, and Happy are counting on you. I'm counting on you."
"I gave this everything I had," Natsu sighed sadly, sitting down on a sofa. "How am I ever gonna go home now?"
Yajima sat beside Natsu, lifting his chin. He sympathized, "Listen to me, Natsu. I'm seen it all. And I'm telling the truth; you've got something I've never seen before."
"Really?" Natsu asked hopefully. "Is there anything else I can do?"
"Would I ever lie to the best student I ever had since Gildarts?" Yajima chuckled. "You can still make it there. There's always another chance to be a true hero. There is nothing you can't do, kid."
Suddenly, the mansion's front doors slammed open, and in came a bunch of crazy, screaming fangirls. "It's him!" They rushed in and crowded Natsu, screaming and pulling some of his clothes and body parts. "I touched his elbow! I touched his hair! I got his scarf!" They collapsed on top of Natsu in hopes of kissing or hugging him, even getting some of his memorabilia. The Fire Dragon Slayer was freaked out; monsters and villains were one thing. Crazy fangirls were another!
"Yaj, help!" Natsu wheezed, pressured by the fangirls' excessive hyperactivity.
Yajima nodded, "Okay. Time for Escape Plan Beta."
Natsu complied, "Gotcha."
Yajima gave a loud whistle, causing the fangirls to cease their activity. To their surprise and confusion, Natsu disappeared. "Hey! Where is he?"
"There he goes! On the verandah!" Yajima pointed out the front door. The fangirls didn't waste any time as they dashed outside, going after Natsu in a screaming frenzy. Yajima gave a devilish smirk, laughing as he followed the fangirls to ensure that they've disappeared from Natsu's sight.
When the mansion was empty, the door appeared to be closing all by itself. In reality, Lucy Heartfilia was behind it, as she pushed the door closed. With a cautious smile, she looked around to see that the coast was clear, and began searching the room for Natsu, who found a place to hide from those crazy fangirls.
Her fortunes were answered when she saw two familiar sandals under a curtain. Grabbing a cord, she said, "Let's see, what could be behind curtain number one?" She pulled it, revealing a surprised and nearly messy Natsu behind the curtain.
"Lucy!" the salmon-haired youth yelped.
"Looks like somebody's got a group of admirers," Lucy admired with a giggle, pointing at Natsu's lipstick-marked cheek. "It's alright, Natsu. The sea of crazy fangirls has ebbed."
"Thanks," Natsu laughed sheepishly, wiping the lipstick off his cheek. "Gee, i-i-it's great to see you again after that giant snake affair. I-I-I-I missed you."
Lucy sat down on the couch and asked, "So, this is what heroes do when they take a vacation?"
"Who, me?" Natsu blushed. "Oh, no, no, no, no. I'm no hero."
"Sure you are," Lucy smiled slyly. "I mean, everybody in Fiore thinks you're the greatest thing since the first Dragon Slayer was born."
Natsu chuckled at Lucy's statement, "I know, it's crazy. Y'know, I can't go anywhere without being mobbed. I'm so fabulously heroic that a bunch of fans tried to ambush me. So it's hard for me to go on vacation."
"How about now?" Lucy suggested. "You think your grandpa would go…" She picked up a rubber toy of Yajima and squeezed its eyes out, making a squeak. "…berserk if you took the rest of the day off? Same goes for Wendy and Romeo."
"Speaking of Wendy and Romeo, I haven't seen them in a while," Natsu rubbed his chin. "Where are they?"
"They took a vacation to Extalia. They'll be back first thing in the morning," Lucy replied. Natsu was completely unaware that Wendy, Romeo, Carla, and Gajeel were locked away in a hidden storage room in Domus Flau, far from the watchful eyes of the gods of Olympus. Lucy knew of the capture of Natsu's friends, considering she's been following Mard Geer's schemes since day one.
"Gee, I don't know," Natsu rubbed his head nervously. "Yaj's got the rest of the day pretty much booked…"
"Yaj, Schmaj," Lucy scoffed. "Just follow me, cut the window, round the dumbbells, you lift up the back wall, and we're gone."
Natsu paused in deep thought, before he smiled. Lucy had a point; he needed a day off.