The life of a superhero is always a constant challenge in many ways. It was the middle of the night, but baby Austin has turned into Titan Toddler. Acting like the fussy baby he is, he went through town. However, it was causing trouble everywhere. Titan Toddler made his way to the Heartfilia bakery. Jude Heartfilia, being the family-loving father he is, stepped out and looked ready to defend his family with his life.

"No one is hurting my pastries or my family!" Jude claimed.

"Jude, don't!" Layla called for her husband. Celestria and Salamondra arrived, but Celestria could see her family in trouble.

"Da...Mr. Heartfilia, move!" Celestria called.

"I got this!" Salamondra said as he moved fast and got in front of Titan Toddler. "Hey! Down here! Look at me!" He tried getting the giant baby's attention and moved around in a silly manner.

"Cake! Want Cake!" Titan Toddler cried as he was ignoring Salamondra. Celestria stepped in as she threw her whip and got it around Titan Toddler's giant hands, but the giant baby used his massive strange and tossed her right into a billboard of Natsu.

"Natsu..." Celestria said in her daze. Not the best time. Her way of thinking can cause some real problems.

"Cake!" Titan Toddler cried as he reached for the roof of the building and tried pulling it open.

"No! Bad baby! Bad baby!" Salamondra said as he extended his staff and tried pushing Titan Toddler away from the building. The two heroes continued to fend off Titan Toddler, but Jude Heartfilia was concerned about one thing.

"Lucy is in her room!" Jude said. Thinking his daughter is in danger, Jude hurried back inside and ran up to his daughter's room. While the heroes were fighting the giant baby, Jude made it into his apartment and tried getting the doorway to Lucy's room open. "Lucy! Lucy, are you okay?!" He tried getting it open, but it was being blocked from the rubble.

"Miraculous Starlight!" The fight sounded over as Celestria used her powers and repaired all the damage. That allowed Jude to get into Lucy's room.

"Lucy!" Jude called as he went up to her bed, but he saw that she was gone and there wasn't her. "Lucy!" While Jude was freaking out that his daughter was missing, Titan Toddler turned back into Austin with him landing in Celestria's arms.

"It looks like someone had a bad case of the munchies tonight." Celestria said. Austin, being the adorable baby he is, handed his pacifier over to Celestria for whatever silly reason. "For me? How sweet."

"Looks like I got some competition." Salamondra said.

"Not really when you're not even in the same league." Celestria said as she passed Austin to him. "I'll leave you to take him home. I'll see you later." She said as she swung off and went over the building. When she believed she was in the clear, she changed back into Lucy.

"She loves me. She just doesn't know it yet." Salamondra said as his love for Celestria knows no limits. As for Austin, he was acting all fussy again. "What? Miss her already?"

"Gummy." Austin said. That was when Salamondra remembered she didn't return Austin's pacifier.

"Oh! You want your gift back. Silly baby." Salamondra said. Thinking he could still catch her, Salamondra chased after Celestria. Lucy was about to go back in her room until she realized she still had the pacifier.

"Oops. I forgot to..." "Lucy Heartfilia?" Lucy was surprised as she looked and saw Salamondra there with Austin.

"Weird. This isn't the first time I've seen you when Celestria isn't around." Salamondra said as he seemed suspicious and Lucy felt like she was about to be busted. "Are you..." "In love with you, Salamondra!" Lucy decleared without even thinking as she hugged him out of nowhere.

"Lucy?" Salamondra questioned as the whole thing has him baffled. What neither of them noticed was that Jude just witnessed the whole thing.

"Well, I'll be." Jude said with Lucy being alerted of her father's presence. "My daughter in love with a superhero."

"What's going on?" Layla questioned as she joined everyone outside.

"Our daughter seems to have a boyfriend, and it's Salamondra. Can you imagine that?" Jude said. Neither of them really knew what to say at this point. "Well, Salamondra, how about you join us for brunch tomorrow?"

"Dad, I'm not sure that's a good idea." Lucy said.

"Nonsense. I insist." Jude said as he seemed really happy for his daughter.

"Well... I guess I could swing by for a quick visit." Salamondra said as he didn't want to be rude. "Either way, I should probably get this little guy home." Not exactly sure what else to do, Salamondra hurried off to take Austin home. Lucy can just see this is going to be trouble. As for Salamondra, he's still trying to put the whole thing together in his head. "Lucy is in love with me. I'm not really sure what to think of that. No girl has ever said she's in love with me before. What do you think?" He was actually asking a baby what he thought about love. He really is baffled by the whole thing.

...

Lucy

"What did I do?!" Lucy complained when she was alone. She practically smashed herself against the bed and was beating herself up over what she just did.

"You shouldn't have lied about your feelings, Lucy." Stella said.

"He was about to find out I was Celestria. I had to come up with something." Lucy said. "Out of all the lies, why did I say that of all things?" Lucy thought it was a problem, but she began to try and rationalize things. "What am I freaking out about? There's no way he's coming tomorrow."

"Why not?" Stella said.

"Salamondra is in love with Celestria, not me. There's nothing to worry about." Lucy claimed as she believed that, but Stella wasn't so sure about that.

...

Salamondra

After dropping Austin back at home, Salamondra made it home himself. When he got back, he transformed back to normal with Igneel being happy for Natsu.

"How about that? You got a girl that's interested in you." Igneel teased. "A baker's daughter is pretty good. I can just imagine all the great food we can have. I think this one might be a keeper."

"Come on, Igneel. You know Celestria is the one I love." Natsu said as he went to the bathroom.

"It's not a bad idea to try something different." Igneel called. "Especially when they're really one in the same." He whispered that last part. Natsu looked at himself in the mirror and reminded himself on what he had to do. It's not right for him to toy with Lucy's feelings while he's in love with Celestria.

"I'm gonna have to turn her down. It's going to be so hard since Lucy's one of the nicest people I know, but I have to do it." Natsu said.

"Why must this all be so complicated?" Igneel said as he does feel bad for both of them. Two people in love with the other, but is not aware of it can be so tough and difficult.

...

The Next Day

"I'm quite pleased that Lucy has a superhero boyfriend." Jude said as he was making everything needed for brunch. "She'll be safe and treated right with that."

"Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself, Jude?" Layla said as she was acting the reasonable one. "This has to work both ways and we don't know how Salamondra feels. We don't know if he feels the same."

"Of course he does. Who wouldn't love my daughter?" Jude said. He really believes Lucy found a great guy and is actually happy for his daughter. He believes Lucy will be treated right with Salamondra. Layla isn't so sure about this, and she's keeping things in perspective. Meanwhile, Lucy kept her eyes out for Salamondra up on the roof, but saw no sign of him.

"He's not coming." Lucy said as she was sure she was in the clear for the lie.

"I don't know..." Stella said.

"He's in love with Celestria. Why come here?" Lucy said.

"He's been rejected by Celestria so many times. Maybe this will help him move on." Stella said. The one time Lucy would want that and it could cause trouble for her and him.

...

Natsu

Natsu was planning to go to that brunch, but he needed to time this right and act like everything was normal for him. That meant he waited at his dining table and waited for his brother to join him.

"There's no point in waiting, Natsu. Your brother is working." Invel said. "You better finish your breakfast soon as well."

"If that's the case, I think I'll eat in my room." Natsu said as he got annoyed his brother didn't show again. Natsu went back up to his room and handed the sausage over to Igneel for him to eat while setting up a recording of him playing the piano. With a deep breath, Natsu readied himself for what he needed to do.

"You sure you want to do this?" Igneel asked.

"I've got to." Natsu said. He looked over to the trey and spotted a pink rose was there. He thought that might soften the blow. He can only hope the best from here.

...

The Heartfilias

"I knew he wasn't coming." Lucy said as she still saw no sign of Salamondra and thought he wasn't going to show. She turned around and was heading in, thinking she was in the clear. However, Stella did spot him.

"I guess you don't know him as well as you think." Stella said as she pointed to Salamondra heading his way. Lucy couldn't believe this.

"Are you serious?! One fake declaration of love is all it takes for him to get over Celestria?!" Lucy said. "I don't know if I should be offended or baffled." Salamondra soon arrived at the apartment and readied himself for what he has to do. With a knock to the door, Jude opened up the door for him with excitement.

"Salamondra! I'm glad you could make it. Come on in." Jude said as he allowed Salamondra inside.

"Well, I didn't want to be rude." Salamondra claimed as he tried putting on a brave face.

"Lucy, Salamondra is here!" Layla called. Lucy readied herself for the act she has to put on. She'll have to figure out some way out of this.

"Hi, Salamondra." Lucy said.

"Hey." Salamondra said as he was so stiff, both a little nervous about this whole thing. "Uh... Here." He said as he handed her the rose.

"How romantic of him bringing a rose, the symbol of love." Jude said.

"Maybe, if it was a red rose, but this one is pink." Lucy said. She just knows her father is going to take this harder than she is.

"Why don't we all sit down." Layla said as she tried to move things along. The whole situation was rather awkward for Lucy and Salamondra, but they both powered through it. As they all sat on the table and tried to enjoy some brunch, neither of them were really sure what to say.

"So, Salamondra, what's it like being a superhero?" Jude asked as he was getting the conversation started.

"A good question, Dad!" Lucy said as she was looking for ways to get out of this. "It's probably too dangerous for me to be dating a superhero."

"Well, it isn't so bad. After all, Celestria does have my back." Salamondra said.

"Exactly. They're quite the team." Jude said. Neither of the girls were liking where this was going.

"Still, he'll have to take off to save Paris." Lucy said. "Being a superhero must be something that happens all the time, have to be on high alert, and be ready for action all the time. Salamondra probably has devoted himself to keeping Paris safe."

"Well, it shouldn't be much of a problem once he defeats Black Wizard." Jude said. "After that, he'll probably retire from being a superhero. If you want, I can show you a few things about running this place, Salamondra. I intend for this bakery to go on for a long time. I overheard how Lucy wishes to have a daughter one day. I can just picture all of it now." Jude is thinking big for the future. Lucy was getting embarrassed, Salamondra was getting uncomfortable, and Jude is getting too ahead of himself. Anyone else see disaster there?

"I'm sorry, Salamondra. My husband is getting too ahead of himself." Layla said as she felt bad for him. "Dear, maybe we should let Salamondra tell us what he wants."

"What? What's wrong with what I'm seeing?" Jude said.

"Uh... That all sounds nice, Mr. Heartfilia, but I'm afraid it won't be happening any time soon." Salamondra said as he time to get it off his chest. "Lucy, you seem like a really nice girl. Mr. and Mrs. Heartfilia, you seem like nice folks. It all sounds great, but my heart belongs to Celestria. Those feelings haven't change and I'm not giving up on her. I think she's the most amazing person ever. Even if she's in love with someone else, even if she rejects me hundreds of times, I'm following my heart and my heart wants to be with her." Lucy almost couldn't believe it. She was aware of those feelings, but she wasn't aware of how deep those feelings go. "I'm really sorry, Lucy. I just can't help how I feel and it wouldn't be right knowing I'm in love with Celestria.

"That's..." Lucy sounded relieved and excited, but she thought her family would seem suspicious if she sounded like that. "I understand. I'll try my best to hold strong." She tried her best to put on an act that she looked sad but brave. She just went up into her room. The moment she was alone, she danced around in joy as she was able to get out of this with no harm.

"I think I should go. Thanks for the food." Salamondra said as he showed himself out. Sadly, Jude was taking this harder than Lucy. He took the rose Salamondra brought and gripped it in anger.

...

Black Wizard

"A father who wants nothing more than happiness and protection for his daughter, and will do anything to make it so." Black Wizard claimed as he could feel the anger. "I can relate. So, let's give him the power he needs to do that." He took one of his etherious in his hands and gave it some dark power. "Flyaway, my evil etherious, and evillize him!" With an etherious going out, this mad dad will go bad.

...

The Heartfilias

"How could he not love, Lucy?! How could anyone not love my daughter?!" Jude said.

"Lucy will find someone someday." Layla said as she tried to assure her husband. "When she does, she'll..." "Just get her heartbroken again! I won't allow that! Ever!" Jude was one mad dad and acting like a real protective father. That anger drew the etherious in.

"Jude, I really think you're over..." Lalya tried to get him to calm down, but she saw the etherious fly into the rose with Jude falling under Black Wizard's power.

"Guard Dad, I'm Black Wizard. You want to protect your daughter from everything? I'm giving you the power to do so. You also want to make Salamondra pay for hurting her? Bring me his and Celestria's miraculous."

"I'll beat him down like any pastry." Jude accepted the power. Not only did he transform, but the whole house was affected. Lucy was just relaxing until she saw the dark power coursing through her room.

"Stella!" Lucy called.

"Lucy!" Stella called back. She tried to reach Lucy, but was cut off from her.

"I hate this." Salamondra moped as he walked out of there, feeling bad for Lucy. That was when he heard something smash through the roof of the building and saw a giant stem with thorns grow all the way up to the sky. "Now I really hate this! Lucy!" He called as he raced back inside, thinking it was Lucy that got etheriouzied. It was looking good. It was like a giant flower of evil grew right in the apartment.

"Oh dear..." Layla said as she was worried on what might have happened to her husband and daughter.

"I'm so sorry!" Salamondra said as he came bursting in.

"It's not your fault, Salamondra. I warned Jude not to get too ahead of himself." Layla said.

"Your husband?" Salamondra questioned, a little relieved since he thought it was Lucy. "Don't worry. I'll bring them both back."

"Shouldn't you wait for Celestria?" Layla said.

"I know she's on her way. I'm sure she'll make it in time." Salamondra said.

"You really love her, don't you?" Layla asked as she could see it.

"Yeah... Uh... I mean, Lucy is a great girl too." Salamondra claimed in defense.

"You're a good person, Salamondra. Don't apologize for your feelings." Layla said. That made Salamondra feel a little better. Now he can focus as he started to climb the massive plant and made his way up. Salamondra kept climbing and climbing. It looked like it went on for miles. Salamondra couldn't believe how far this massive piece of briar went. All he could do was just keep going until he soon saw the top: a massive ball of it at the top.

"Lucy!" Salamondra called as he hurried on up.

...

Lucy

"Stella! Stella! Where are you?!" Lucy called as she tried to find her way around the place. "How do I get out of here?"

"Lucy!" She could hear Stella calling for her, but she didn't see her anywhere.

"Stella! I'm here, Stella! Try to follow my voice!" Lucy called out as she got moving and tried to find Stella. Unless she can find Stella, she can't transform and get herself out of this.

...

Salamondra

Salamondra kept on going up until he finally reached the top. When he got to the top, he couldn't believe how massive the briar was. Putting that aside, he looked around for Lucy and her father.

"Lucy?! Mr. Heartfilia?! Where are you?!" Salamondra called out.

"You! How dare you come back here!" He was now faced with Guard Dad. He looked just like a blonde werewolf with green torn trunks on him.

"Mr. Heartfilia?!" Salamonda said as he didn't like the looks of this. "Let's be a nice doggie and just calm down."

"I don't think so. You'll pay for breaking my daughter's heart!" Guard Dad claimed as he pounced at him like a beast, but Salamondra rolled out of the way.

"I didn't mean to break her heart!" Salamondra said. Guard Dad didn't want to hear it. He pounced at him again, but he used his staff to keep him back. "I'm sorry about what happened, but how is any of this suppose to help her?"

"I am going to protect her from all heartbreak and sadness. No one will ever hurt her again!" Guard Dad claimed. He was able to punch him hard and Salamondra was thrown against the briar. Guard Dad went at him again, but Salamondra rolled out of the way.

"I get that, but I can't let you do this. She won't be happy like this." Salamondra said. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you do this to her." Knowing what this kind of protection is like, he fought as hard as he could. Salamondra swung his staff at him, but Guard Dog blocked it and knocked him him back.

"You're not going to do anything!" Guard Dog claimed. "You are not worthy of my daughter or her love!"

"Even if that's true, I'm still going to save her!" Salamondra declared.

"I forbid it!" Guard Dog shouted as he leaped at him. Salamondra moved out of the way in time, but Guard Dog grabbed him by the leg and smashed him down. He tossed him away and Salamondra nearly went over the edge, but he was able to grab on and save himself.

"Where are you, Celestria?" Salamondra questioned as he could sure use her help. He pulled himself back up and readied for another round. "You may not like it, but I'm going to save her. You can't protect her like this. You might want to protect her from sadness and heartbreak, but you can't protect from everything."

"Watch me!" Guard Dog snarled as he tried to attack him again while Salamondra tried to stay out of his reach.

"You can't protect her from something that really hurts." Salamondra said.

"You mean my punches?" Guard Dog question as he tried using that on him, but Salamondra flipped over him and tried using his staff to restraing him.

"No. Isolation, solitude." Salamondra said as he knows what he's talking about. "She'll be sad and miserable when she's all alone. Is that what you want? Don't you want her to find love and happiness rather than being alone.

"She won't be alone!" Guard Dog shouted as he used his incredible strength and broke free. "I will always be with her, and the one who is worthy of her will pick the magic rose!" He tackled Salamondra like a football player and pinned him against the maze. "That person is clearly not you."

...

Lucy

Lucy continued to try and find Stella, but she was having no luck. She could also feel the place shaking. She's aware something bad is happening, but she can't do anything until she finds Stella.

"Stella! Where are you?!" Lucy called as she is failing to find her. It's like she's close, but still so far away.

"This is a magic prison, Lucy! It looks like it's trying to keep me from finding you!" Stella called.

"There must be a way out." Lucy said as she tried to find one, but she found something else instead. She saw a light shining down and saw a rose placed under it. "That's the rose Salamondra gave me!" Knowing that's got to be where the etherious is, she had to get to it to undo all of this. However when she ran to it, she tripped against a thorn and activated some sort of trap. Vines started swinging at her, but she was still pushing through.

...

Salamondra

Salamondra was beaten around pretty badly. He couldn't even hold himself up anymore. Salamondra dropped to down and was at Guard Dog's mercy, and he has none for Salamondra. He lifted Salamondra up and was ready to drop him hundreds of miles to the ground.

"I'm not giving up. I'll keep fighting." Salamondra said as he was trying to do his best to stay strong.

"You have no fight left." Guard Dog said as he was ready to drop him and finish him off.

"Guard Dog, take his ring before you finish him." Black Wizard ordered. Guard Dog reached for Salamondra's ring. It looked like it was all over for him. However, Lucy was able to reach the magic rose and pulled it out. When that happened, it disintegrated and the etherious flew out from it. When that happened, Guard Dad turned into Jude and the whole thing broke apart. Everything fell to pieces with all of it plummeting to the ground. This also allowed Stella to find Lucy.

"Lucy!" Stella said.

"Stella! Twinkle!" Lucy transformed and turned herself into Celestria with her spotting the etherious. She activated her whip and caught the etherious while she was falling. "Gotcha! Bye-Bye, little guy!" She purified and released the etherious, but she looked down and saw Salamondra and her father falling. "I'm coming!" She called and got their attention.

"Celestria! Worry about Lucy Heartfilia! She's around here!" Salamondra called.

"I already took her to safety!" Celestria said.

"Wow. She's really amazing." Salamondra said with love, but Jude didn't want to hear it. "Uh...but she does have her flaws." Celestria dived down until she was near them and had to act fast.

"Open the Celestial Gate!" She used her powers and it ended up forming a folded up Libra glider. "Grab on!" All of them reached down and grabbed the glider and opened it up for them to use. The three of them glided their way down and could see streets again. They flew down and was able to land in front of the bakery.

"Jude!" Layla called as she ran out into her husbands arms.

"Happy ending..." Salamondra said as he nearly collapsed with Celestria catching him. She felt bad he got hurt, but she's proud he fought so hard.

"Miraculous Starlight!" She tossed the glider into the air and restored everything. The briar disappeared with Salamondra being back to full strength.

"What about Lucy?!" Jude said as he, his wife, and Salamondra ran inside to check on her. Celestria moved fast as she went back in through the top. Once she got in her room, she changed back and acted normal.

"Lucy!" Jude called as he came running in and hugged his daughter. "I'm so sorry. I thought you were upset, and when that dragon said those things..." He glared right at Salamondra as he was still upset with him.

"Dad, it's okay." Lucy claimed as she was actually happy. "Salamondra can't help how he feels, and even though we aren't dating or anything, he's still a great guy." Salamondra was worried he hurt her, but it looks like she is doing just fine.

"Thanks, Lucy." Salamondra said. "Although, I didn't expect any of this. I thought the reason you were always around was because you were trying to get some big scoop for your friend, Levy, the one with the blog. Almost like some sneaky reporter." Not what Lucy was expecting as she now felt like a moron.

"See, Jude? I know you want what's best for our daughter, but it looks like she can handle herself just fine." Layla claimed.

"You're right." Jude said as he was letting his crazy ideas go. "I'm sure my daughter will have one great life." Everyone wanted what they thought was best for her, but Lucy has proven she can handle herself just fine. One thing is for sure is that she needs no man to take care of her.