"Okay! Bring it in and let's get ready to tear this place down!" Silver Fullbuster called. Gray's father works in construction and his crew are working on bringing a small restaurant down. A wrecking ball was being pulled in and was going to get to wrecking. "Give it a nice good swing!" The operator for that heavy machine was going to do just that as the ball was being pulled back.
"Hang on! What's that?!" The operator said as he spotted something on the roof. All the workers looked and couldn't believe what they saw. It looked like a purple and black spider, but it was standing on two legs like a person. It was part man, part spider. It jumped right off the building and started attacking the crew.
"Move away! Move away!" Silver called as he tried to help his crew escape from the monster. The spider continued to attack as it flipped over everything. One construction worker tripped and Silver went to help him, but he was right in the spider's sight and it went to attack him.
...
Hours Later
Word of the attack already got out. When Gray heard about it, he got his friends and they all hurried over to him. Gray was really worried about his father and needed to know he was okay.
"Calm down, Gray. I'm sure your father is fine. He's a tough guy." Lucy assured, but that didn't make Gray feel anymore at ease. Once they reached the crowd, Gray pulled over the van and hurried out.
"Dad!" Gray called as he and his friends hurried over to find him. "Dad! Dad!" He wanted to reach his dad, but a couple officers held them back from going anywhere. "Let me through! My father is in there!"
"It's okay!" Silver called. "That's my son and his friends! I asked them to come!" Silver confirmed the story and all of them were allowed through.
"Dad! Are you okay?!" Gray asked.
"I'm fine, Gray. Luckily, no one was hurt when we were attacked." Silver said.
"That's good to know." Erza said
"Mr. Fullbuster, what happened? What attacked you?" Lucy questioned.
"I almost don't believe it myself, but my crew and I were attacked by a...Spider-Man." Silver said. When he said that, that instantly sounded weird to them for a variety of reasons.
"I'm sorry. Did you just say you were attacked by Spider-Man?" Natsu questioned.
"That probably did sound weird. I'm not talking about the comic hero. It was more like a...Man-Spider." Silver clarified. "A spider-like creature that could actually walk like a man. Just as we were about to demolished the old Pompeii's Haven restaurant, it showed up and started attacking."
"This could be a problem." They all turned around and were met with two people. One was middle-aged man in a blue suit, but the other was another person they all knew.
"Mom!" Erza said as she was surprised to see her. "What are you doing here?"
"Magnolia University has gone into the business with the restaurant that's going to be placed here." Irene said as she works at the university as a professor. "I was overseeing this project when I heard about what happened."
"I tried to warn you all about it, but none of you listened." The man said.
"I'm sorry. Who are you?" Lucy said.
"My name is Nick DiNardo. I was once the owner of this restaurant. Named it after a city of my proud country that went down in history for being destroyed. I wanted to share some Italian history and exquisiteness with this country. What I did not expect was to see that thing."
"Do you know something about this Man-Spider, Mr. DiNardo?" Gray asked.
"I most do. My business wasn't doing well and you see can see what happened." Nick said. "When I heard about what was going to happen to it, I went in one last time to take in the memories. That was when I saw it." He said as he remembered him walking into his old restaurant and he encountered the monster himself. "I don't know where that beast came from, but perhaps it's a sign this place shouldn't be torn down for a different restaurant."
"You're taking it down for another restaurant? Wouldn't it make more sense just to remodel it?" Natsu asked.
"It doesn't work like that. The building isn't exactly structurally sound." Silver said. "The whole place has to come down, but that thing inside is going to set back our plans, schedule, and could cause a problem with the budget. We can't afford this to last for long. That's also another reason I called you here, Gray. Since this seems like something you and your friends could handle."
"Don't worry, Dad. We'll take care of this Man-Spider." Gray said. "You hear that, gang? We've got another mystery on our hands."
"I don't know." Irene said as she wasn't sure about this. "Erza, I'm not sure how I feel about you and your friends going into a building that's meant to come down, especially if there's some giant spider in there."
"Don't worry, Mom. We'll be careful." Erza said. "You know we do this sort of stuff all the time."
"I suppose..." Irene said as she took a closer look at the building. "Still, that building does not look like it's in great shape. it sort of reminds me of when I went to see a heavy metal band called Thrashers. They completely demolished a building during a concert."
"Excuse me, Mrs. Scarlet. Did I just hear you were a fan of the Thrashers?" Silver asked.
"Yes, but that was back when I was a teenager going through a rebellious stage." Irene said.
"I rather enjoyed that band myself when I was younger." Silver said with her surprised to hear that. "I listened to it when I was in the middle of my boxing practice."
"You were a boxer?" Irene questioned. "You might find this hard to believe, but I was always quite a fan of the more extreme sports."
"Is that so? I never would have guessed, Mrs. Scarlet." Silver said.
"Please, Silver... I haven't been Mrs. Scarlet since my husbands left me. You know you can call me Irene." She said.
"Of course. Honestly, I always found that name of yours to be quite...exotic." Silver said as it seemed like some connection was forming between the two of them. Gray and Erza noticed that and they couldn't believe.
"Are they...flirting?!" Gray said.
"Our parents flirting with each other?!" Erza said as neither of them were sure they liked that idea.
"Uh... Don't we have a mystery to solve?" Lucy said as she, Happy, and Natsu were ready to get to work, but those two might be a little distracted as to what might be happening now.
...
Later
Everyone else cleared away from the place and the gang stayed as they went inside the old restaurant. As it was getting darker, they could see the place was rather creepy with how old and abandoned was.
"Sheesh. No wonder this place is about to be demolished. It gives me the creeps." Lucy said.
"What gives me the creeps seeing my old man flirt with Erza's mom." Gray complained.
"Ooh! what a tangle web we've weaved." Natsu joked, but no one was really laughing. "What? You've got to admit that someone was bound to say it. We're dealing with a spider monster this time."
"How about we split-up already?" Gray said as he wasn't in the mood for this sort of thing now.
"Split-up where? It's a restaurant. There aren't exactly a lot of places to look." Lucy said.
"Here's something." Erza said as she aimed a flashlight at a door. "This place actually has a basement."
"Okay. Lucy, take Natsu and Happy and check it out. Erza and I will have a look around up here." Gray said. "Remember to be careful where you step. Dad says this place isn't structurally sound. The last thing we need is for this place to come down right on our heads." They all agreed to the plan as they went in different directions and had a look.
...
The Basement
Lucy and the boys looked around the basement. They made their way around the steps, but the creaking coming from the stairs didn't exactly made them feel secure as they made their way down.
"Careful, guys. These steps sound like could come apart at any moment." Lucy said.
"Maybe we should lay off the chocolate." Natsu joked again, but Lucy glared right at him for that one. "Okay. No more jokes. Sorry." He claimed. They kept making their way down and soon reached the bottom. "Any idea what restaurant would need a basement for?"
"They probably just use it for storage or something." Lucy said as they shined their flashlights and had a look around. "Basements are a good place for spiders. If there really is a Man-Spider around here, it could be down here."
"That's reassuring." Natsu said as Happy didn't like the sound of that. "Is there really anything to be afraid of since we're dealing with a spider? You find them everywhere."
"They're normally tiny and don't walk like a man." Lucy said. "Everyone had a fear of spiders at one point, especially when you're a kid. Don't act like you didn't."
"I didn't." Natsu said and kept searching. Then, Natsu spotted another door down in the basement. "I wonder what could be in there." Natsu opened up the door to see what was in there, but that was when he saw it. The Man-Spider was standing right before him and was giving off a hissing-like sound. "On second thought, spiders can be a little scary."
...
Gray and Erza
Gray and Erza were searching around the restaurant and were unaware their friends are in trouble now. They soon found an office and decided to have a look around there.
"This must have been Mr. DiNardo's office." Gray said. "Maybe there's some paperwork or something we can find that can tell us about this Man-Spider, or at least give us a clue as to who could be behind it." The two of them had a look around the office to try and find something, but it looks like all the paperwork has been taken out. "Nothing. It's like everything has been cleared out. What about the computer?"
"Are you kidding?" Erza said as she tried turning it on and nothing. "This thing is as old as a fossil. No way it still works."
"I just don't get it." Gray said. "What would anyone have to gain by trying to keep this old place from being demolished?"
"I don't get why our parents were flirting." Erza said. Clearly they're both distracted about what they saw. "Sorry. I'm sure what we saw was meaningless, but still..."
"Your mom and my dad? Not that there's anything wrong with your mom." Gray claimed.
"Or your dad, but still..." Erza said as they couldn't wrapped their heads around the idea of their parents dating each other.
"Even so, we need to focus on this... Whoa!" Gray called as he felt his foot fall from a piece of the floor breaking.
"Are you okay?" Erza asked.
"Yeah, but I feel something underneath the floorboard." Gray said. He pulled out his foot and the two them moved some pieces aside and they found something rather strange.
...
The Basement
As for the others, they might be in trouble as they were now faced with the Man-Spider.
"Anyone got any ideas before we become spider food?" Natsu said. Happy actually tried something as he took a flyswatter and swatter the monster's head, but all that did was make the monster angry. "I think we're going to need a big squash the bug with something much bigger, Happy."
"That's actually a common misconception. Spiders are arachnids, so they're technically not bugs." Lucy corrected.
"Technically, does it matter?! Run!" Natsu shouted as they ran straight for the stairs. They were able to reach the door, but they saw the Man-Spider coming at them. Happy quickly shut the door with Natsu and Lucy using everything they could to barricade it and keep that spider out.
"What did I say about being careful?" All of them looked and saw Gray and Erza came back.
"What's wrong?" Erza questioned.
"It was the Man-Spider! We saw him right down in the basement!" Lucy said.
"I think we got it trapped...for now at least." Natsu said.
"That should give us time. Come with us and look at what we found in the office." Erza said. All of them moved away from the basement and into the office. Once there, Erza and Gray showed the others what they found. "Look at this stuff." She said as she pointed right to the floor. The others took a look and saw paintings, bags of money, and other stuff that looked expensive.
"What is all this stuff?!" Lucy said.
"My question exactly. What's it all doing here?" Gray said.
"This stuff looks expensive." Natsu said as he and Happy took a look. Happy even used a magnify glass to examine the value.
"Hang on a second." Lucy said as she took a closer look. "I've read a few articles about this. This stuff was considered stolen and never found."
"Stolen?! That still doesn't explain what it's doing here." Erza said.
"Hang on. This is Mr. DiNardo's office. I wonder if he..." Gray wondered about this, but then they all heard a commotion coming from the kitchen. All of them went to check it out. They all went into the kitchen and could see the back door was opened with the Man-Spider inside.
"It's the monster! It found a way out of the basement!" Lucy said.
"Pretty smart for a spider." Natsu said.
"Hold on." Gray said. He waited until the spider moved away from the door. When it did, he and the others took a closer look at the door. "Look!" He said as he pointed to a key in the lock. "If he's a spider, how could he have a key to this place?"
"I think I know what's going on." Lucy said as the pieces were all starting to come together. That was when they heard the monster and it was coming for them. All of them ran for it with the monster chasing them into the city.
...
Chase Scene
He's got his eye on you
You can't run away from a one eye
He's got his eye on you
Don't try to hide from a one eye
He's got his eye on you
There's nothing he can't see
The gang ran from the Man-Spider as he chased them into the streets of the city. They all ran full burst, but they did have to stop for a moment to catch their breath, but started chasing them again.
Oh, you hide here and he hides there
Here you hide
There he hides
Everywhere you hide
He's there
He's got his eye on you
The gang kept on running. They tried opening a door, but the Man-Spider was there waiting for them. Gray slammed the door right in front of it as they ran off again.
One eye
You can't get away from a one eye
He's got his eye on you
Man-Spider chased them into an alleyway. They all dived into some trash cans for hiding. When one stuck their head out, they ducked down. The Man-Spider checked, but it was empty. Then, one of the others popped their head out in a different one. The pattern went on like that until they could run off again.
He's got his eye on you
He's got his eye on you
He's got his eye on you
You can run, you can hide
Just don't look in his eye
He's got his eye on you
They all ran back to the restaurant with the monster chasing them. Just then, they all ran back through the door and tried boarding up and hopefully losing it this time.
...
"That spider is really starting to bug me now." Natsu said.
"And we still don't know what it that spider really wants." Erza said.
"Wait a second." Erza said as she could see something going on through an opening. "It looks like that spider is taking the stolen stuff we found." She was right. She could see the Man-Spider trying to carry the stuff they found and take it away. "Looks like it's heading to the back."
"Let's go see." Gray said as they moved to investigate. They moved around back and could see it. They saw the spider was loading everything into the back of a truck. "A spider with a driver's license? This is getting nuts."
"It looks like it's trying to take all that stuff out of here." Erza said.
"I think I know what's going on. All that's left is for us to try and catch us a spider." Lucy said. "I also have a plan to catch it, but we're going to need Happy for this." Of course, Happy tried to denied that he was going to do it. That also meant Lucy had a way to do it with his favorite treat.
...
The Man-Spider
The monster continued to load up a truck. It grabbed another bag of money and threw it right on the truck. It was about to go back for the last of it, but that was when it noticed the bag was moving. It moved closer to look to see what was causing that. That was when Happy showed himself to the monster and jumped right on the head. The Man-Spider tried to shake Happy off.
"Now!" Gray called as he took a couple trash cans and smashed them together like cymbals. That scared the spider to go in one direction. Erza came out and did the same. The Man-Spider kept moving around and soon reached a dumpster. When it was near there, Natsu moved in and pushed the spider right in the dumpster with Happy jumping off. Once that happened, Lucy shut it and made sure it was locked.
"We got him now! This time the spider is the one that's been trapped!" Lucy said.
"Great. So, how many handcuffs are we going to need for this guy?" Natsu said.
...
Later
The gang called the police and the Man-Spider is in custody now. Even Gray's father and Irene's mother was there and continued to be amazed by the kids.
"I don't know how you all do it, but you kids always managed to catch the craziest of criminals." Silver said.
"I just hope the police have enough cuffs for this thing." Natsu said.
"They only need one since the Man-Spider is more man than spider." Lucy said. "In fact, the Man-Spider can only be one person. Wouldn't you agree, Mr. DiNardo?!" Lucy tore off the mask and showed that it really was him with some people gasping.
"How did you know?" Nice questioned.
"Next time, don't use your key." Lucy said.
"Of course! Mr. DiNardo is the only person that would have a key to this place! That's how he unlocked the backdoor." Gray said.
"But why?" Irene questioned.
"We found a bunch of stuff that was considered stolen." Lucy said. "Mr. DiNardo was the one who stole all that stuff, and he hid it all in his own restaurant because he didn't think anyone would think to look right under his own nose."
"I get it now. He just needed to scare people away long enough for him to get all that stolen stuff out of the restaurant." Erza said. "He was afraid all the construction would uncover everything that was stolen and he would have been exposed."
"And if you kids weren't so meddling, I would have had all my stuff cleared away and I would be in the clear." Nick said as the police took him away.
"What a dope." Natsu said. "Out of all the ghouls and goons, he went with a spider. Does he think everyone would be scared of a mere spider that can't even spin a web?" He claimed, but Happy climbed on his shoulder wearing the mask and did managed to scare Natsu. Happy couldn't stop laughing from that. "Happy!"
"You kids really are something amazing. Now we can get back to work." Silver said.
"I agree, and I was wondering if I could talk to you about a few ideas about the place." Irene said.
"I might be willing to listen...over dinner perhaps." Silver said as he actually asked her out by offering his hand.
"That would be lovely." Irene said as she took it and the two of them walked off with their children shocked.
"Is this really happening?!" Erza said.
"Your mom and my dad?! Not that there's anything wrong with your mom, but how can this be?" Gray said as neither of them could really make sense of the situation.
"I guess you two might want to start calling each other brother and sister." Natsu teased as even Lucy chuckled a bit from that. Seems like things might get a little spicy in Erza's and Gray's lives now.