"I'm sorry, but it seems that I have hit some setbacks." Zeref said as he was speaking to both of his parents. "Something is different. I tried my etherious, but Celestria has figured out a way to block them. I'm losing more and more people that can help me gain the miraculous, but fear not." He said as he held on to one of the family rings. Ever since he had the other one stolen by his cousin, he's been keeping an eye on it since they were the same rings his parents once had. "Tonight, the two rings will be brought back together. Uncle Atlas and Alexander will be here and I shall reclaim what he stole."
...
Alexander
Alexander might be Natsu's cousin and looks like Natsu, but he's very different from him since he caused deceptive acts and stole Zeref's ring. During that time, it would seem that Alexander has been doing his research.
"The miraculous are magical jewels that can grant a person powers." Levy said as he was watching a video of her blog on a tablet. "For example, we have Celestria with her earrings or Salamondra with his ring. However, the villain known as Black Knight has miraculous himself. He's taken two of them and combined their powers to become the villain that he is. It all really comes down to who holds the miraculous. That is why they must not fall into the wrong hands."
"These miraculous and heroes sound rather interesting, Father." Alexander said as the two of them were on their way to their relatives. "Do you think we might be able to see them?"
"I don't know, but it would be rather exciting." Atlas claimed.
...
Dragneel Manor
Meanwhile, Invel was at work. Despite him losing much of his life force and such from using the unicorn miraculous while it was damaged, he continues to do what he can for this family. He was at work right now until he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in." Invel said. Natsu came in with him bringing a meal to Invel. "Thank you, Natsu." He said as he took the meal.
"I just talked to my brother." Natsu said as he sounded upset. "None of my friends are coming."
"But there will be Taylor, Sorano, and Yukino. I believe he also invited Mrs. Mikazuchi, the mother of Kagura, for a business opportunity." Invel said. "You'll also have your cousin."
"Yeah, but they're only coming because of their parents." Natsu said.
"They are all influential people in Paris, Natsu. These connections are important to your brother." Invel said.
"But my friends are important to me." Natsu said as he was upset none of them were coming. Just then, Zeref came in the room.
"Natsu, could you leave us for a moment. I need to talk to Invel in private." Zeref said. Natsu just did what his brother said and left the two alone. "This is harder than I thought without your help. I don't know how you do it, Invel."
"You're not thinking of canceling the party, are you?" Invel questioned.
"I can't do that. They wouldn't understand. Besides, Alexander will be here with Uncle Atlas." Zeref claimed. "It's a good chance to get my ring back, my father's ring."
"Luckily, I planned ahead." Invel said as he handed him a tablet. "I made a to-do list with instructions. Just simply follow what it tells you. I placed the more important matters on top. Make sure the robots are programmed properly, the staff's identities, and activate the cellphone scrambler so that the party stays private. By the way, have you eaten yet?" He asked as he handed him half of his sandwich.
"Thank you." Zeref said as he really doesn't know what he would do without Invel.
...
Lucy's Friends
"Okay, Lucy. You've tried coming up with your own plans to be with Natsu and they all end up being overly complicated and don't really work." Erza said as the girls were all gathered in the art room of their school. "That's why we're going with a different kind of planner. That's why we asked the help of Loke and Ashely to help." She said as she brought both of them in the classroom.
"Loke knows how to win hearts, and with my writing, we can come up with a plan that will help you be with Natsu." Ashely said.
"What?!" Lucy said as she was getting nervous. "You mean... You told them!"
"Lucy, everyone knows how you feel about Natsu at this point." Levy said.
"Natsu is really the only one that doesn't." Loke said.
"but that can change thanks to our help." Ashely said.
"They did make a great story of Celestria and Salamondra together." Lisanna said. "Might I also add that you were the one that brought these two together, so they are like repaying the favor."
"Your love story about Natsu might seem complicated, but that's because you have tons of conflicting ideas and can't get a story that makes sense." Ashely said.
"So, we simplify it. We turned it into a fairy tale." Loke said as he pulled out a book that he and Ashely made together of Lucy and Natsu. "Normally, the knight prince comes to rescue the princess from her prison, but we switched things around."
"In our story, you are the brave, noble, kindhearted princess who is trying to free the knight, who is Natsu, from his prison, his home, after he was thrown in there by the tyrannical king, his brother." Ashely said.
"Yeah because his brother is so controlling." Cana said.
"But there's one thing he didn't think of." Loke said. "He allows the knight to go to school. That's where the fairies, which would be us, to spread some magic. You see, this book doesn't have an ending just yet. That is why we'll be planning everything we can, write down ideas and such until we find something that works, to get happily ever after."
"And the best part is that it all takes place in the once place the king can't reach." Ashely said.
"The school!" Lucy said as she was catching it all and thought this could actually work. However, just like any fairy tale, there's always a witch or something to try and ruin everything. That would be Taylor as she and Samantha dropped down from the ceiling.
"Aha! I've got you!" Taylor said as she held out her phone. "I caught everything you losers said on video! Once I show this to Zeref, he'll see you're trying to take his beloved brother away from him and trying to set him up with someone who is clearly beneath him! He'll take Natsu out of school and you'll never see him again, and you will never get your happily ever after! Natsu will never see you again! It's not like you ever had a chance with him in the first place."
"Why do you care, Taylor? I thought after that whole thing with the movie, you were done with Natsu. You wanted nothing to do with him." Lucy said.
"That was before I realized that what he really needs is to get away from all you losers." Taylor said. "Once he does that, he'll go back to being my Natsu, who I always adored."
"He's the same Natsu he's always been." Erza said. "You're just naïve to think he's like you."
"We'll see about that. Smokescreen!" Taylor ordered Samantha as they tried to make one for a cool escape, but it didn't really look that good. However, Taylor's threat could be a problem in this story.
"She's not going to do anything. Zeref won't see it because he never lets anyone in his house." Lucy said.
"Actually... I overheard Gray and Lyon talk." Juvia said. "Lyon says that Zeref is hosting a party for big and important people with their children invited. Taylor will be there since her parents were invited. She's even allowing him to use some of the people that works for her."
"But won't Lyon be there, too? He can help us stop her." Lucy said.
"You know Taylor doesn't really like her cousin. She thinks even he is beneath her. You really think Taylor is going to allow Lyon to go?" Loke said.
"Just think of it as another part of the story, a part of the plot that you must overcome." Ashely said.
"But how is she going to get into that party when she isn't invited?" Cana questioned.
"I think I know. We'll just need a little help." Lucy said as she knows someone who can help them out.
...
Lyon
Lucy went to Lyon for a little help to get to that party. They filled him in on what was going on and he was glad to help them and stop Taylor. He waited outside the kitchen and saw the family butler about to come out.
"Excuse me." Lyon said as he got his attention.
"Yes?" The butler asked.
"My aunt wanted me to let you know that she no longer needs your service at that party being held at the Dragneel's." Lyon said.
"Really? Why not?" The butler asked.
"She... She said they have more than enough servants. She said that having anymore would just mean more room for them to mess everything up." Lyon lied to tried to convince him not to go. It seemed to have worked as the butler actually seemed relieved that he doesn't have to go. Once Lyon did that, he alerted the girls that everything was good to go.
...
Lucy's Room
"Just one more little touch and there!" Levy said as they finished a disguise for Lucy. It was a perfect one as she looks just like a waitress with an ash blonde wig.
"Perfect. Looks just like magic." Ashely said as another part in a fairy tale came true. Now, the brave princess just needs to infiltrate the castle.
...
Zeref
Zeref was adding finishing touches as he was getting his house ready for the party and making sure he followed all of Invel's instructions.
"Office locked. Dining room secured. Catering arriving." Zeref said as he checked off everything on the list and it seems like everything was going well. "All that is left is the phone scrambler."
"Sir, your guests are arriving." Jacob informed.
"Jacob, take care of the scrambler for me. I'll greet the guests." Zeref said as he went to the door while Jacob tried to activate the scrambler. "Mrs. Mikazuchi, glad you could make it." He said as he welcomed Kagura's mother. "Wait. Where is your daughter?
"My daughter had no interest in attending this party. I agreed for she needed to focus on her studies and sharpen her skills." Mrs. Mikazuchi claimed.
"Very well." Zeref said as he allowed it. First, he had her scan her hand for identification. Then, he handed her a mask for her to wear.
"Masks... How festive." Mrs. Mikazuchi said as she took one and wore it. As everyone was coming in, Lucy spotted the catering service and knew she could use that as she approached the one in charge.
"I'm going in." Lucy said as she had an earpiece on her to speak with the others and approached the catering service. "Hi. I'm...Rebecca. I was called in for this at the last minute since the original butler couldn't make it. He had a bit of an emergency."
"Oh! Nice to meet you." The caterer said. "Let me make something clear. This is a private party with important people. We must be invisible. Do not talk to them, only serve them. The only contact we're allowed to have is with Mr. Dragneel when he checks our fingerprints for identification." That could be a problem for her. "In fact, we are to only remain in the kitchen or serve the children since they will be separated from the party. The adults will be served by robots."
"Lucy, you better think of something fast to get pass that identification." Ashely told her in the earpiece. She tried to think of something, but she already got it. She grabbed as many boxes as she could and tried to carry them all at once to have her hands full. She followed the caterer inside the building as more and more people were arriving.
"Thank you for coming." Zeref said as he greeted his guests. He scanned the caterer's fingerprint for her, but he noticed that Lucy had her hands full and just let her go.
"I'm in!" Lucy whispered.
"Great. Good luck, Lucy." Levy told her.
"Honestly, Zeref, I was more than willing to lend you my servants. You don't really need to do anything." Janet said as Taylor's family arrived.
"And miss on seeing you myself? Never." Zeref said.
"Oh, Mr. Dragneel! I have something you like to see!" Taylor said as she wanted to show that video right there and Lucy had to do something fast.
"I don't have time right now." Zeref said as he easily turned her away.
"But it's something important." Taylor insisted.
"Taylor, we are the guests here. Please try to behave and not bother Zeref." Aidan said as they ushered her not to bother Zeref while the party is going on.
"There is one other thing." Zeref said as he snapped his fingers and a robot came sliding over to her. "I like to respect the privacy of this party. All cellphones will be safely secured until the end." That didn't go the way Taylor wanted, but she wasn't giving up as she just took the memory card out of her phone before dropping it in the robot. As more people arrived, Zeref noticed his Uncle Atlas and Alexander arriving. Zeref tried to hide his miraculous, but Alexander did notice them.
"Zeref! Thank you for inviting me and Alexander!" Atlas said. "I also want to thank you for changing your mind and giving your father's ring to Alexander."
"That was surprisingly thoughtful of you, Zeref." Natsu said.
"Yes..." Zeref said as he tried to hide the truth, but he and Alexander both know what is really going on. Lots of big people are coming in with Lucy feeling a little overwhelmed with so many big and important people here.
"Rebecca!" The caterer said and got her attention. "It's time to get to work."
"Oh! Well, one of the children asked me to stay close to them and tend to their services." Lucy said.
"Oh! Very well. Just stay clear of the adults." The caterer said as she let Lucy have her way. So far, things were going as planned.
"Well, well... If it isn't the fake, Natsu." Taylor mocked at Alexander.
"Taylor, it's me. I'm Natsu. I'm only looking like this to please my brother." Alexander said.
"What?! I'm so sorry!" Taylor said, but Alexander laughed at her.
"You're just as pathetic as always, Taylor." Alexander said as he walked passed her. Yukino and her family were the last to arrive as they showed up and Zeref locked the door. Zeref gave Jacob the signal to activate the scrambler. Jacob turned it on and then Lucy suddenly had a sharp pain in her ear and had to remove the piece. She now has no way of contacting her friends.
"Natsu, take your friends up to your room." Zeref said with all of them heading on up. "Alexander, wait just a moment. I want to speak with you in private." Alexander went along with it and the two of them went to speak in his office with it just being the two of them. "Why did you steal my father's ring?!" He said as he jumped straight to it.
"My father wanted me to have it. Too bad I didn't get the other one." Alexander said. "You know these rings have been in our family for years. He just wanted me to be a part of our legacy."
"Yes, but both rings belonged to my father since he got married before yours. Those were the wedding rings they used." Zeref said. "I would very much like to have it back."
"Calm down, Zeref." Alexander said as he removed the ring and was handing it over. "It's yours."
"Why would you just return it to me?" Zeref questioned.
"I needed it to make a copy. This way, we both get what we want." Alexander said as a negotiation. He placed it right in Zeref's hands. "See? All is well." He claimed and was leaving the room, but Zeref knew better to trust him.
"Excuse me for a moment. There's just one last detail I must attend to." Zeref said as he made his way up to Invel's room. Of course, Alexander didn't trust Zeref either and tried to eavesdrop on his conversation. "Does he take me for a fool?! I've taken good care of my parents' rings! I can tell it's a fake!" Zeref sounded greatly angry and Alexander enjoyed that.
"Alexander, let's go!" Natsu called with Alexander following with Zeref trying to figure out what he's going to do to get the real ring back.
"Etheriouize him. You can make him tell you where the ring is." Invel suggested.
"If I do that, he'll know who I really am." Zeref said. "Who else would want to know where the ring is?"
"Not if you create a clone of yourself with the unicorn miraculous." Invel said. "Use your rage towards Alexander to create one, rouse him to form the negative emotions you need. If he's facing the clone, he'll think differently. You can even tell him to head to where the ring is to keep it safe."
"Brilliant, Invel!" Zeref said as he reached for both miraculous with Anka and Uniss coming out. He also took his pendent off so he could use it. "Anka! Uniss! Unify!" He called on both of them and became Black Knight. Once he transformed, he took a spiria and filled it with dark power.
"No one tricks Zeref Dragneel." Black Knight claimed. "Take my rage, my spiria, and give it form!" He put the spiria in his pendent and was able to form a copy of himself. With it, he's hoping to get back what is his.
...
Natsu's Room
"I need to show your brother my video! He has to see what's on it!" Taylor demanded as she was still insistent on showing her video while the others just remained out of this.
"You heard my brother, Taylor. You can show it to him when the party is over." Natsu said.
"He needs to see it now, and he'll thank me for it." Taylor said as she wasn't going to give this up and hurried out of the room.
"Taylor!" Natsu called to get her to come back, but she just kept going.
"Allow me. I'll take care of her." Lucy said as she hurried after Taylor to try and stop her. This gave Alexander an opening he needs to do a little snooping.
"Excuse me. I need to speak with my father about something." Alexander said as he showed himself out. Natsu and the girls were wondering what they should do, but Sorano told them not to get involved.
...
Lucy
Lucy looked around to try and find Taylor before Taylor can show that video. She looked around and spotted one of the robots, but it had human feet. She knew that it had to be Taylor trying to get to a phone to show the video.
"I don't think so, Taylor." Lucy said as she had to try and stop her, but she couldn't be spotted and disturbed the party. For once, Taylor had a smart idea that Lucy copied it. She took some cardboard and put it over her to make it look like she was one of the robots. With her looking like that, she snuck her way inside the party and looked around for Taylor, but Taylor already took someone's phone and input her memory card so the video could be played.
...
Alexander
Meanwhile, Alexander was looking for more that he could use against his cousin. He went into Zeref's office and had a look around until he saw the portrait of his aunt and uncle. Seeing that just filled him with some joy.
"What are you doing in here now?" He turned around and saw the clone of Zeref and believed he was the real one.
"I was looking for you. I was hoping we could grow closer, Zeref." Alexander claimed.
"It's true that you don't know me so well, like you didn't know that I could tell you gave me a fake ring." The clone claimed. "Where is my father's real ring?"
"It's safe." Alexander claimed.
"You will give it back to me." The clone insisted.
"Or what? You going to use your powers against me...Black Knight?" Alexander accused.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I do have power." The clone claimed. "I'll use any means at my disposal to get that ring back and make you pay for ever going against me."
"You're nothing but another tyrant that just abuses power, trying to control others." Alexander claimed. "You think you can push others around, but you can't do that to me."
"You might not be scared of me, but I assure you that I will make you miserable, Alexander. I won't let anyone stand in my way." The clone threatened. "I wonder how your father will feel once you just simply disappear."
"You wouldn't dare." Alexander said.
"Just try me. It doesn't matter to me that you and I are family. I won't allow anyone to stand in my way." The clone threatened more. "You might think you're safe from me, but I know how to hurt you. Whatever power you hold pales in comparison to mine." Alexander was starting to get uneasy. He wasn't afraid of Zeref, but he doesn't want his father to suffer as well. That was when an etherious came at him and into Alexander's tie.
"Alexander, I am the real Black Knight. Your own cousin threatens you, but I can give you more power than him."
"Impossible! I know you must be Black Knight! The charm bracelet and the pin on your collar are really your miraculous!" Alexander accused.
"What are you talking about?" The clone said as he showed he didn't have either with him.
"You think he's me? I am far more powerful than Zeref could ever be, and I'm offering you some of that power." Black Knight said.
"I'm not afraid of you Zeref, and I don't Black Knight's power!" Alexander said as he broke free from the hold and resisted Black Knight. When the etherious flew out, he moved quickly and pushed the clone back and took notice of a tear he caused before running out of there.
...
Black Knight
"That pest!" Black Knight complained.
"Don't give up. Use your etherious on the embodimonster. You can still pull out everything from him." Invel encouraged.
...
The Clone
The clone took out his own version of the pendent and held it out. The etherious entered the pendent and it was the same process with an actual embodimonster.
"Spriggan, you must obtain the secrets that Alexander holds. Use your pendent for now you will be able to reveal the secrets of those you captured." The embodimonster had no problem accepting the power as he turned into Spriggan himself.
...
Taylor
"Zeref Dragneel! You need to see this!" Taylor called as she came out to the main hall with her video ready.
"Stop!" Lucy called.
"Hey! That's my phone!" Robert called as he followed after her, but that was when Spriggan came busting through the door.
"I am Spriggan! Any caught in my locket will be forced to tell me their secrets!" He made a demonstration of his power and fired a beam from his locket that captured Taylor and locked her inside. With his new abilities, a projection of her came out of the locket and could speak about revealing the truth.
"I want to show Zeref my video so I can hurt Heartfilia and have Natsu all to myself!" Spriggan kept firing his beam and was capturing more and more people. Natsu came out of his room and saw what was going on.
"You two stay in here where it's safe." Natsu said as he hurried out of his room and went to find another safe spot to transform. "Igneel, Fire Up!" He isn't the only one. Lucy ducked inside another room and found a safe spot for her to transform.
"Stella, Twinkle!" As this was going on, Spriggan was capturing more and more people with their secrets possibly about to be revealed. He didn't stop until he spotted Alexander at the entrance and managed to get it open.
"Get back here, Alexander!" Spriggan called as he chased after him. Alexander hurried over to the streets, but Spriggan was chasing after him and fired another beam. He thought he had him, but Salamondra jumped in and pushed him out of the way. Celestria came in as she used her whip and pulled Spriggan by the arm.
"Careful, Salamondra! If we're caught, our identities could be exposed!" Celestria.
"Yeah. That's a little obvious." Salamondra said. Spriggan tried pulling Celestria towards him and fired another beam at her, but she jumped out of the way. "What does he want with you?"
"My cousin thinks I stole the family ring when it originally belonged to me." Alexander claimed, but hearing that was confusing towards Salamondra.
"Stole? I thought Zeref willingly gave it to him." Salamondra mumbled. Spriggan kept trying to capture both heroes, but they kept dodging his attempts while keeping Alexander safe. "Doesn't he ever run out of space in that locket?"
"I don't think so, but doesn't mean we can't break it." Celestria said as she had to move fast. "Open the Celestial Gate!" She called on her powers and ended up getting a bag of Gemini marbles. "I sure hope this doesn't mean we're losing our marbles." She looked around to see how she can use it until she spotted the catering van with tons of plates. "Help me set the table, Salamondra?"
"With pleasure." Salamondra said as the two of them worked together. Both of them hurried over to the van and grabbed a hold of all the plates they could. Once they grabbed them, they started throwing all the plates at him, but he used nimble and agile movements to avoid them.
"Is that really the best you two can do?" Spriggan taunted, but it was actually the diversion as Celestria threw the marbles out to his feet. When they came at him, he stepped on them and ended up slipping on them. Once he hit the ground, Celestria went right for the locket and crushed it with her foot and had the etherious fly out of it.
"No more evildoing for you, little etherious." Celestria activated her whip and began twirling it. "Time to de-evillize!" She tossed the whip and was able to catch the etherious with it. "Gotcha! Bye-Bye, little guy." She said once she purified it. "Miraculous Starlight!" She tossed the marbles in the air and used the magic stars to bring everyone and everything back to where it was and the embodimonster taking Zeref's form again.
"Pound it!" Both heroes said as they celebrated. Now that they believed they saved Zeref, Celestria formed a charm that was as white as Spriggan himself.
"Zeref, keep this charm with you. Use it to remind you that no matter how bad things are, family is more important than anything." Celestria said.
"Thank you, Celestria." The clone said, but she didn't realize she just gave the key to her new powers.
"Zeref! You need to see this!" Taylor called as she wanted to show that video.
"Not with my phone!" Robert said as he took it from her.
"But my video is on it!" Taylor said as she tried to take it back, but Robert just carelessly deleted it.
"Now it's just my phone." Robert said with Taylor disappointed her plans were ruined again.
...
Zeref
"So this is what's different." Zeref said as he managed to get the charm. "This is how Celestria is keeping me from etheriouizing people again. I don't remember seeing anything like this in the grimoire. Celestria must have made it herself somehow."
"There are some blank pages in it." Invel said as he showed those pages in the book. "What if this is only what has been learned so far about the miraculous? What if there's more to be discovered?"
"Meaning that Celestria and Salamondra can grow stronger." Zeref said.
"And so can you." Invel said as Zeref now has a way to use what he was given to his advantage without Celestria suspecting a thing. After that whole ordeal, the party was coming to a close. Zeref stepped out to see his guests off, but Alexander spotted something. There was no tear in Zeref's coat like he put earlier. That proved to Alexander what he needed. He now knows his cousin is Black Knight.
...
Lucy
"What a day!" Lucy complained as she enjoyed being home and could just relax with her friends.
"Don't worry. We'll come up with another story to help you be with your prince." Ashely assured.
"Not today. This Sleeping Beauty actually needs to get some sleep." Lucy as she was so tired and it sounded good to her. Every story needs some conflict, rising action, and falling action. All the great stories face many triumph, but hopefully this one will have a happy ending.
...
Zeref
Zeref is well aware that Alexander is not someone to trust. Whatever it is he's after, he'll be after it again. Since he's also suspicious of Zeref being Black Knight now, he needs to handle this carefully. He took a couple fake miraculous and placed them in his safe.
"This isn't over, Alexander." Zeref said as he'll be ready for the next time Alexander shows his face.