Celestria has found holders for the miraculous and have made a great and powerful team. However, all these new members is a problem for Natsu. It means that Salamondra isn't needed as much as he liked. Feeling left out like this is having him feeling he's not important to Celestria anymore. It's been going on like this for days and now she doesn't seem to need him as much At the moment, Natsu just remained in his room and watched the news that Celestria and her team handle Titan Toddler. They were able to beat the giant baby without his help.
"Thank you again, Celestria." Bisca said. "However, I've noticed that you have been saving the city without Salamondra lately. He hasn't been showing up lately. Did you two have a fight or something?"
"Of course not. He's a partner just like any other." Celestria said, but those words actually hurt Natsu because he thought they were actually friends. "What matters more is that Paris is safe with or without Salamondra. Plus, with the team we have, he gets more time off. He's not really needed as much anymore." Natsu couldn't hear this anymore as he just turned off the television.
"I can't believe she thinks I'm not really needed anymore." Natsu said feeling miserable. ""A partner like any other"? I've been fighting by her side for all this time. I get she doesn't feel the same about me as I do about her, but I thought I was more than that to her."
"You are. She just needs to be reminded of that." Igneel assured, but Igneel wasn't so sure. That was when he heard a commotion outside and saw Rune Knight trying to fight off Celestria with Count, Oceana, Dark Wolf, and Undine. "Here's your chance! You can prove that you're the top dragon!"
"Why bother?" Natsu questioned.
"Come on! Show Celestria that you really are irreplaceable!" Igneel said. Igneel talked Natsu into it and he decided to try it. Natsu transformed into Salamondra and hurried. He tried to find where the others were, but it's too late.
"Miraculous Starlight!" He saw that everything was handled as the magic stars fixed everything.
"Pound it!" All five of the heroes celebrated their victory, but it was without Salamondra.
"Hello, Salamondra!" Undine greeted with all of them noticing and greeting him.
"Yeah... Hi..." Salamondra said.
"No time for greetings. All of you better hurry to the rendezvous points before you all change back." Celestria said as she was in a hurry. The other heroes scattered and just left the two of them.
"Uh... How's it going? I haven't seen you for a while." Salamondra said.
"Great, but we can talk later." Celestria said as she looked ready to leave. "I need to get the miraculous back."
"Can I lend a helping claw? I do know the identities of some of them." Salamondra offered.
"Thanks, but I got it." Celestria said as she was about to leave.
"Wait. Come on. I came all this way, so I can help you out." Salamondra said.
"That's nice, but you don't know where they are heading, and it's my responsibility." Celestria said as she kept trying to leave, but Salamondra grabbed her by the arm.
"Come on. You need your lucky dragon to..." "If you really want to help, stop wasting my time!" Celestria said with annoyance. Those words really hurt Salamondra as she finally left. Salamondra just couldn't take it and how she just acted was the final straw.
"Just come and get miraculous while you're at it!" Salamondra called.
"Fine, I'll see you later!" Celestria called back as she didn't really pay attention. Salamondra just couldn't take it anymore. If Celestria doesn't need or want him around anymore, he doesn't want to be around.
"Fire Out..." Salamondra turned back to Natsu. Igneel flew out and saw that Natsu was about to take his ring off.
"Wait! Let's calm down for a minute!" Igneel said as he didn't want Natsu to give up.
"I'm sorry, Igneel. I can't go on like this anymore." Natsu said as he slipped his ring off his finger.
...
Celestria
"Here you go." Gajeel said as he gave his miraculous back to her, but Celestria seemed puzzled about something. "Something wrong?"
"Just thinking about what Salamondra said. What did he mean by getting his miraculous?" Celestria questioned.
"Hold on. You take his miraculous back like you do with ours?" Gajeel questioned.
"Of course not. I..." Celestria gasped as she realized what Salamondra really meant. "No! He wouldn't!" She said as she hurried as fast as she could to where she last saw Salamondra. "Salamondra! Salamondra!" She called when she got back, but saw no sign of him. She looked around until she spotted his ring, but not Salamondra anywhere. She reached down for it and couldn't believe it. He really quits. She had to do something about this.
"Celestria, where are you?"
"I'm about to change back. Are you on your way?" Celestria wanted to go and find Salamondra, but there were other matters she needed to attend to. That's why she took the ring back with her with her now having another miraculous to guard, but she can't with this one.
...
Lucy's Room
"I don't understand." Lucy said as she stared down at Salamondra's ring with the kwamis, now joined by Igneel, surrounding her. "Why would he just quit?"
"Are you serious?!" Igneel said as he was upset. "He feels neglected! He feels like you don't really need him anymore! You've been calling other heroes for help lately and acted like he isn't important to you! It broke his heart!"
"But Salamondra should be happy. He gets more time off." Celestria said.
"He doesn't want more time off!" Igneel claimed. "Some of his happiest moments is when he's Salamondra! When he's with you! Even though you don't feel the same way about him that he feels towards you, he thought you were more than just partners! He thought you were friends, and you don't treat your friends like this! You have to admit, you haven't been a good friend to him lately." Igneel has a point. She's been neglecting how he feels, keeping him at a distance, and acted like he isn't really that important. Look, just give me back the miraculous. You promise you'll make more of an effort to treat him better and everything should be back to normal." Celestria was tempted to hand over the miraculous, but something else stopped her from doing so.
"Actually, maybe this is for the best." Lucy said with the kwamis gasping. "As long as Salamondra is in love with me, his heart will keep breaking. That isn't fair to him, but I can't do anything about it. Perhaps Salamondra has the right idea."
"But you need him! Your powers compliment each other!" Igneel said.
"I need a holder for your miraculous." Lucy said. "I'll just have to find a new Salamondra, one who won't be in love with me and there won't be any complications."
"A new Salamondra?! What are you talking about?!" Igneel said as he didn't like the sound of that.
"Just what I said. I'll just find a new Salamondra, and since I'll know who he is, I can contact him." Lucy claimed.
"But that will mean you'll know his secret identity!" Igneel claimed.
"Aw! You're right!" Lucy said as she realizes that would be a huge mistake. "If I know who he is, Black Knight would just need to capture or etheriouize me to get his hands on both of our miraculous and merge them together! On the other hand, it's too dangerous to leave it here! I'll have to really think this over." Lucy might have her work cutout for her. She needs to find a new holder for the dragon miraculous without knowing the person's identity.
...
The Next Day
This hasn't been easy for either of them. Now that Natsu has decided to quit being Salamondra, he's decided to get rid of everything that makes him think of Celestria. Every photo he had of her was trashed, but now he feels like there's no joy in his life. As for Lucy, she stayed up all night to try and find a safe way to give the dragon miraculous to a new holder.
"I've got it!" Lucy said with her looking exhausted. "I anonymously meet someone who is already in a relationship and will only think of Celestria as a friend. I'll mail him the miraculous and... No! That doesn't work! I would still need to know where he lives and I would still know who it is! Why couldn't Salamondra just stop loving me!"
"This is hard to watch." Igneel said as he and Stella watched from her bed. "This is ridiculous because they're in love with each other."
"But they don't know it yet." Stella said.
"There has to be a way to fix all of this." Igneel said. He thought over what he was going to do until an idea came to him.
...
Natsu
"Natsu, you're late for breakfast." Invel said as he came in. During Invel's rest, he was given a special bionic device that helps him move around better. He still fulfilled his duties as Zeref's assistant, but he noticed Natsu looked miserable. "Natsu? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I just... I just don't feel like going anywhere." Natsu said as he just wanted to stay in bed all day. Invel respected his wishes and left him alone, informing Zeref of the matter.
"When is his next photoshoot?" Zeref asked as he was working.
"In three days." Invel said.
"I'll give him until then, but I'm sure this is nothing." Zeref said, but he has no idea what's going on with his own brother.
...
Lucy's Room
"I don't know about this, Igneel." Stella said.
"It will all be fine. You don't even have to do anything." Igneel assured. "Just let me do all the talking." Igneel had a way to fix everything as he flew down to Lucy as she still struggled to find a new Salamondra. "I take it that it's not going well."
"No! I can't figure out how to give this miraculous to someone without knowing their identity, but I can't leave the miraculous here! It's too dangerous if Black Knight ever captures me!" Lucy said.
"Have no fear because I believe I have the answer." Igneel claimed. "Just like Stella does with you, I know about Salamondra's friends in his normal life. Of course, none of them know about me. There was one who caught my attention. I think he might be the ideal Salamondra you're looking for. He's catnip to the ladies, but doesn't enjoy it as most guys would. No way he would be in love with you. So, just give the ring to me, and I'll take care of the rest."
"I don't know, Igneel. It seems kind of risky to let you loose when you don't have a holder." Lucy said as she was hesitant to do that.
"Black Knight doesn't even know that Salamondra gave up his miraculous. There's nothing to worry about." Igneel assured, but Lucy still wasn't certain about this. "Lucy, face it. There's no way you can give the ring away without knowing their identity. You're just gonna have to trust me." Igneel brought up a point. There's no way for Lucy to do this without knowing the new holder's identity and that's too big of a risk.
"Fine, but he has to be the perfect partner. He has to be up to the task." Lucy said as she was being strict about this now.
"Okay. Just tell me what you're looking for." Igneel said as this was going just as he planned.
...
Natsu's Room
Natsu just remained in his room and was still feeling miserable and depressed. He tried playing a video game to get his mind off his problems, but that didn't work as he just kept running into a wall again again. Just then, he heard a knock on the window and saw it was Igneel with his ring.
"Igneel?!" Natsu said as he walked over and opened it. "What are you doing here? Did you come for the meat?" He said as he let Igneel in.
"No, but we'll talk about that later. I hope you didn't throw any away. I've got a plan." Igneel said. "You see, I have Celestria convinced I found a new holder to be her new partner. That new holder is you!"
"I can't, Igneel." Natsu said. "She'll know it's me and I'll just keep getting rejected. She made it clear she doesn't want me around anymore."
"But it's too dangerous for her to hold my miraculous, and she can't give it away without knowing that person's identity." Igneel said. "Luckily, I know what Celestria is looking for, her idea of the perfect partner. If you become that, there'll be less problems between you."
"But if I transform into Salamondra, she'll know it's still me." Natsu said.
"Wrong." Igneel said. "When you transform into Salamondra, you didn't really think about it. You just transformed without thinking about it. However, if you concentrate hard enough, you can change your entire appearance. If you can pull that off, she'll never know a thing. Once you change how you look, you'll just need to change how you act. You can become the ideal partner she's looking for."
"You really think so?" Natsu questioned.
"I do. You just need to focus. Change the look completely." Igneel said. Natsu liked how this sounded and it was starting to give him hope again. Natsu just had to try it as he put the ring back on and was ready to assume a new identity. He tried to focus on a brand new look for him.
"Igneel, Fire Up!" Natsu transformed and was ready to see his knew look, but it didn't go the way he thought because he was just Salamondra again. "Fire Out..." He groaned and changed back.
"Okay... This might be harder than I thought." Igneel said as they have their work cutout for them. From there, Igneel and Natsu got to work on a new look for him. To pull it off, he needs a different perspective of things and become more accustomed to a more serious persona. Natsu tried a couple poses to be seen as serious, but they were still fun and spontaneous. Still, Igneel turned them all down.
"I don't know about this, Igneel. I don't even feel like myself." Natsu said.
"But that's the point. She can't know you're secretly Salamondra, so you need to be the opposite of how you act." Igneel said, but Natsu wasn't sure he could do this. "You know how to be serious with your brother and Invel. Just be the same with Celestria."
"That sounds as hot as me." Natsu joked.
"No more jokes!" Igneel shouted to make that firm. It also wasn't easy to picture a new look, so the two tried using a whiteboard to help them put together a new look for him to think about it. They were even trying new names for him to use. It took up most of the day, but the two of them found something they could agree on and be Celestria's perfect partner. "I think we got it. Now, just think of all that we talked about."
"Igneel, Fire Up!" Natsu transformed and was ready to try his new form.
...
Celestria
As it was night, Celestria was getting herself ready to meet her new partner. Since she has a new partner, they'll be making some adjustments to all of this.
"Sure hope this all works. This time, I'll be firm and make the rules clear right from the start." Celestria as she paced around on a rooftop. Just then, a new figure jumped out from hiding and landed right next to her. It gave her a scare, but she was met with her new partner.
"Good evening, Celestria." The new guy wore a red suit and mask with it having a scale-pattern on his arms and legs with a dragon logo right on his chest. He still kept his tail-like piece, but his hair was actually red and looked like flames. "I'm your new partner. You can just simply call me Dragon."
"Dragon? That's it?" Celestria questioned.
"I'm sorry if my name disappoints you, but it's simple." Dragon claimed.
"Okay..." Celestria said as he seemed like the kind of partner she wanted so far. "So, tell me about yourself, Dragon. How old are you? What's your family like? Where do you go to school?"
"Answering your questions could risk exposing my secret identity." Dragon answered.
"Wow. That's good." Celestria said as she was getting impressed. "Let's try this. Let's say there's a supervillain you know nothing about. What is the first thing you do?" She was seeing if he really was the ideal partner, but he noticed something.
"I'm sorry, Celestria, but I'm afraid your questions will have to wait. In fact, I say this situation fits with what you were just asking." Dragon said as he pointed to a situation going on. She looked and saw an orange-lizard like creature with sharp claws and wings scratching against a building.
"I guess actual action is a good way to see how you handle these situations!" Celestria said as she hurried off to face this new threat with Dragon following after. The two of them landed down on a nearby building, but Celestria spotted something that made her think she knows who that it is. She saw a giant ring-like piece around one of the claws. "Salamondra! No!"
"You think that's Salamondra?" Dragon questioned.
"It has to be him! He must have been hurt more than I thought!" Celestria said as she feels so guilty, but Dragon had his doubts for obvious reasons. "Stay here, Dragon! Maybe I can reason with him!" She threw her whip and swung right over thinking that's her friend and she could reason with it. When the creature noticed her, it tried biting her and swinging its claws at her. "Salamondra, stop!" She called as she hung near the building, but the monster wasn't listening as it swung its claw at her and tried to crush her, but she tried to keep it back. "I'm sorry, Salamondra! I didn't realize how hurt you were!"
...
Black Knight
"Salamondra? What is she talking about?" Black Knight questioned since he knows it's not Salamondra he's controlling. "Salamander, I don't know what she's talking about. Just get her miraculous and the city is yours to play with!"
...
Celestria
Celestria tried to hold the claw back, but Dragon stepped in and helped as he pushed her out of there before she got crushed by the monster known as Salamander.
"Celestria, that can't be Salamondra. It doesn't even look anything like him." Dragon claimed.
"It has to be him. Who else could it be?" Celestria said. "Use your Dragon Fire on the ring. I'm sure that's where the etherious is. It's the only thing on him."
"But what if you're wrong? What if it's really an embodimonster? If I use my Dragon Fire, it will go out of control and become even more dangerous." Dragon claimed. Celestria looked at him like she was surprised he knows that, and that meant he nearly blew his cover. "Igneel told me about that."
"You're right, but I'm sure that's Salamondra. Move!" Celestria said as Salamander charged right at the two of them. Both of them moved out of the way with Salamander causing a rampage.
"Salamondra, stop!" Celestria called as she chased after him. Fearing her jumping to conclusions, Dragon hurried after her. Salamander made its way to a park with Celestria landing on a building. She was convinced that was her old partner and was going to try and save him, but Dragon caught her before she could do anything.
"Celestria, wait a minute. Think about this." Dragon said. "We don't know if that's an embodimonster or an etheriouized villain, but that can't be Salamondra. How would Black Knight know Salamondra gave up his miraculous? How would he know he etheriouized Salamondra without knowing his secret identity? Wouldn't he at least talk to you?" Celestria took a moment to think about what Dragon just said. Once she took a moment to calm down, she began to see it herself because she knows Salamondra.
"You're right." Celestria said as she now sees how foolish she was acting. "We don't know if that is Salamondra, but I was just as acting as brash and reckless as he would have."
"It's understandable. You probably feel bad about how things ended between the two of you, but we need to focus." Dragon said as he stood up. "This time...you've got me." He said as he held out his hand for her with Celestria admired at how...perfect he seems. As he helped her back up and got to work. Dragon started as he jumped in the air and extended his staff to attack, but Salamander flew out of the way. Celestria tried throwing her whip right at it, but Salamander caught it with its teeth and threw her away as hard as it could. Luckily for her, Dragon extended his staff and launched himself in the air to catch her.
"Thanks. You're charming. I mean...!" Celestria said as she wasn't sure why she said that.
"Do you mean your powers? Isn't this a good time to use it?" Dragon asked as he put her down.
"Yeah. You might be right. Open the Celestial Gate!" Celestria called on her powers and it ended up being a giant rolled-up sheet with the Aries sign on it. "A giant sheet? Okay... I... I..." She looked around as to how she can use it, but she didn't spot anything that could help.
"Is something wrong?" Dragon questioned.
"No... I... I got it! We'll use this to blind the creature and then try to break the ring!" Celestria said. "If it does hold an etherious, the ring is the only thing it has that it could be in."
"Brace yourself!" Dragon said as Salamander came at them again. Dragon grabbed the sheet and tried using it to blind the monster, but it easily blew it away and kept attacking. Both of them moved out of the way of the charging monster, but it still trashed through the streets.
"No worries. I probably just made a mistake." Celestria said as she kept looking to see how she could use it, but she still couldn't find anything. At the same time, she didn't want to look bad in front of her new partner. "I got another idea!"
...
The Eiffel Tower
"Over here! Come and get us!" Dragon called to try and get Salamander's attention.
"Here's the plan. I'll keep it distracted while you use the sheet to parachute straight down." Celestria said. "That way, you won't miss the ring and use your Dragon Fire on it. Make sure you aim only for the ring." Dragon just went with it. The monster made it under the tower and Celestria kept jumping around to keep the monster's eyes on her. While she kept it distracted, Dragon jumped down and tried to glide straight down to the ring on the monster.
"Dragon Fire!" He called on his powers, but he ended up falling as the sheet made a lousy parachute. He ended up plummeting once he let go of the sheet and accidentally touched his Dragon Fire against the monster. Once that happened, cracks began to form around the monster and it went on a rampage.
"Black Knight, my new toy is now broken! This isn't what your promised me!" They both could hear the voice of a child and it was coming from inside the monster.
"It really is an embodimonster!" Celestria said as the two regrouped on the tower.
"And it sounds like there's a child inside. The inside must be hollow." Dragon said. "What now?" Celestria tried to figure that out, but she couldn't think of anything. Her thoughts were getting all jumbled together.
"I... I... I don't know!" Celestria said as she dropped to her knees.
"What's wrong?" Dragon asked.
"Everything is wrong!" Celestria said. "I actually thought that thing was my old partner, but maybe that's because I feel so guilty about about how we left things." She said as it was all starting to get to her now. "This is all my fault to begin with. I didn't even realize how much I was hurting Salamondra. He acts like a clown and irresponsible, but he's got a good heart. He might not take this as serious as I do, but he's always been there to help me. I just got tired of people thinking we were a couple. I wish he act a little more serious. I tried to focus on my responsibilities of protecting the miraculous. Despite all that, I still drove him away. I thought I was doing the right thing at the time, but it ended up costing me a member of the team. Even though I've been adding more members, I didn't realize how left out he was feeling. I acted like the mission was more important than his feelings. That's not the type of person I want to be. I... I don't know why, but maybe I can't do this without him. I can't think clearly." Dragon was beginning to feel bad as he didn't want him to beat herself up like that.
"Celestria, you didn't do anything wrong." Dragon claimed. "I don't think it was just about how Salamondra felt about you. You two always made a great team with or without that. Maybe the real problem was that he just feeling left out because it seemed like you didn't need him anymore. As for the whole couple thing, people are going to think what they're going to think. There's not much you can do about that, but as long as you and Salamondra know the truth, who really cares what others think. Sounds like you care a little too much about what others think of you when it's only your opinion that should matter. Sure, Salamondra might have acted like a clown and might act different form you, but maybe that's not a bad thing. Maybe that just shows how much faith he has in you. You're serious and use logic while he's a little silly and trusts his heart. You two seem so different, but that's what makes you a great team. You cover each other's weaknesses. You balance each other out." Celestria was amazed by what he just said and helped her see things she hasn't before. "I'm going to recharge my kwami. Whatever you're planning, you better do it fast. Sounds like we can't work the way you and Salamondra did." He said and took off.
"He really was perfect, but maybe he's right." Celestria said. Just then, she looked to the side and spotted the stadium. When she saw that, she knew now what she needed to do.
...
Dragon
Dragon found a safe spot to change back. He changed back to Natsu and tried feeding Igneel.
"That was quite a speech you gave." Igneel said.
"Igneel, this was a bad idea. We're not working like we did before." Natsu said.
"That's the point. You're not Salamondra anymore, you're Dragon. You can't work the same." Igneel said. Natsu is just hoping this all does work in the end.
...
Celestria
Just as the grass in the stadium was completely mowed, Celestria arrived and had to move fast as she didn't have much time left on her earrings.
"Hurry! Dump all the grass on here!" Celestria said as he laid out the sheet. The groundskeeper just did what she said and dumped all the grass on the sheet with Celestria tried holding it like a sac. Just as Salamander arrived, she threw as hard as she could. It smashed right into its face and the grass got all over it. Some of the grass got in its nose and it unleashed a mighty sneeze. A little boy came rolling out from the sneeze and landed near Celestria. She also saw the boy holding an action figure of Salamondra. "That's got to be where the spiria is!" She took the action figure and broke it to pieces with the spiria flying out. Once that happened, she took her whip and was able to purify it like before and caused Salamander to disappear. "Miraculous Starlight!" She threw the sheet in the air and unleashed the magic stars that fixed everything, even restore the broken toy. "There. That's taken care of, but what was that all about?" She asked as she handed the toy back to the kid.
"I was sad. Black Knight said he took my sadness and made that thing, promising me I would see the real Salamondra again." The boy said as he took it back. "Salamondra is my favorite out of everyone on your team, but he hasn't been around as much." Another thing Celestria didn't see. She didn't know how much Salamondra was loved. "Why? Why hasn't he been around."
"It's... It's my fault." Celestria admitted. "I haven't been a good friend to him lately." She finally admits that she hasn't been treating Salamondra well, but she's hoping to change that. Dragon showed up, but the situation was handled and she had little time left. "Dragon, I'm sorry. There's not much time, but..."
"You don't need to say anything. I'll take the kid home." Dragon said. "After that, I'll tell Igneel to go back to Salamondra. It's obvious he's better for you than I am."
"Thank you, and let Igneel tell him...I'm sorry." Celestria said.
...
Natsu's Room
After everything was done and over, Dragon returned to his home and turned back into Natsu.
"See? What did I tell you?" Igneel said.
"What are you talking about? That didn't go according to your plan?" Igneel said.
"Maybe, but everyone wins. I get to stay with you, the miraculous is in good hands, and Celestria realizes just how important Salamondra really is to her." Igneel said.
"But what if I can't be Salamondra again?" Natsu questioned.
"You can as long as you do what we talked about." Igneel said. "You just do what you do naturally. Just be like how you were before and everything will be fine." That sounded good to Natsu, and he does enjoy being Salamondra more than Dragon.
"I guess you're right." Natsu said.
"Truth be told, I don't want another holder as long as you're around, Natsu." Igneel said as he feels like he has the perfect holder right there.
...
The Next Day
Natsu was able to transform into Salamondra like before. Once he did, he had to talk to Celestria and bury the hatchet between them. He landed down on the roof and stood behind Celestria, trying to act like he knew nothing about before.
"Hey." Salamondra said. "Look, I know you're probably mad at me, but I was upset and..." He didn't finish explaining as Celestria surprised him and hugged him.
"Don't ever do that again. You really are irreplaceable." Celestria said. Salamondra might not be the perfect partner, but he is perfect for Celestria.