"What do you mean you're in love with Salamondra?!" Erza and Levy said as they were in complete shock. After a sleepover, Lucy told them both that they found shocking and perplexing. Lucy is claiming she's starting to fall for Salamondra.
"You don't have to sound like it's a huge problem." Lucy said.
"How can you be in love with Salamondra when you're in love with Natsu?!" Erza said as she pointed to the photos of Natsu Lucy kept by her bed.
"Maybe, but it always went bad." Lucy said. "Sting helped me realized something I should have a long time ago." She claimed, but neither of them were buying it. "Think about it. Because of my blind devotion to Natsu, Dark Emperor managed to steal the miraculous from me. It wasn't the first time I got distracted like that either. I nearly surrendered to Corva, chose Natsu for the tiger miraculous when Sting was the better choice, and a few other times I can think of. Salamondra is another matter. He's cute, cool, I admire how confident he is, and I now see he understands me better than anyone. The best part is that he's already in love with me!"
"Except that he's in love with Celestria, you can't tell him it's you, and it sounds like he's finally moving on just like you always wanted." Levy listed and shattered Lucy's little fantasy.
"Lucy, you find yourself a new crush just when it seems like Natsu is finally returning the feelings to you. That can't be a coincidence. Don't you think maybe you're running away from your real feelings?" Erza said.
"I'm not running away! I'm just realizing the truth!" Lucy said. "Besides, we should get to school. You'll see. A new love means new start. This is an example of that." She said as she gathered her stuff and went on out.
"She left in her pajamas." Erza said as she and Levy had their doubts about this.
...
Natsu
As Natsu was waking up himself, he felt like a brand new man. Just as Lucy is starting to fall in love with Salamondra, Natsu is starting to fall in love with Lucy. As he got himself ready for the day, he kept thinking about her and kept staring at an image of her.
"You've really fallen hard for her, but what about Celestria?" Igneel questioned.
"Celestria is great, but she's not in love with me." Natsu said. "I'm starting to see how special Lucy is, and feels like she really understands me."
"And what are you planning on doing if she's not in love with you either?" Igneel questioned.
"I guess we'll find out." Natsu claimed. After that, he went down to the kitchen to meet with his brother. Zeref was actually making pancakes for Natsu and continued his act.
"Morning, Natsu! Would you like chocolate chips in your pancakes?" Zeref asked.
"Sure, Zeref." Natsu said as he sat for breakfast. As for Invel, he was on his way up to Natsu's room.
"Natsu, it's time to get ready." Invel said as he went in, but there was no sign of him. When he realized where he might be, Invel hurried down to the kitchen as fast as he could to see the Dragneel brothers in the kitchen with Natsu a little distracted. "Sir, if you spent a little more time with your brother, you would know he prefers his pancakes plain."
"Why didn't you just say so, Natsu?" Zeref said.
"They're fine. I'm just a little distracted." Natsu said.
"Natsu, don't force yourself to eat them for your brother's sake." Invel said.
"Invel, it's fine. Why don't you tell me how you like yours? It's usually with blueberries, right?" Zeref asked.
"Uh... Yes..." Invel admitted.
"Why don't you join us, Invel? You and Zeref have been friends for a long time." Natsu said. "You basically fit in around here." Invel was touched that Natsu would think like that.
"Very well." Invel said as he sat down. "I will eat your pancakes for your brother, sir." He said as he tried to act casual, but he was still upset with Zeref over what happened the last time.
"You can just call me Zeref since we are friends." Zeref teased, but Invel tried to keep his cool.
"Natsu, you should hurry or else you're going to be late for school." Invel informed.
"Oh! You're right! I got to get my bag!" Natsu said as he took a few bites and hurried to get his bag. When Natsu was gone, Invel dropped the act and marched right over to Zeref.
"You don't fool me with this act." Invel confronted. "Natsu's too kindhearted and believes in his brother's "good" side to see the whole thing is an act from letting power go to your head. We were friends once before, I became your assistant, your bodyguard, and your right hand man in you sinister plots. You claim you do this for your family, but now you're just obsessed with defeating Celestria and Salamondra. The only reason I am still here is to protect Natsu from you!"
"But it is all for my family. I am trying to bring my parents back." Zeref said.
"If that's true, focus on being Natsu's brother. You'll never be able to bring your parents back at this rate, and it's time to accept that." Invel claimed. "Your mother accepted it when she knew her time was coming to an end form using the damaged unicorn miraculous. They would never allow this!"
"You don't know what you're talking about!" Zeref said. "The recordings Mother left behind is what drove Father to make the decision he made." He said with some despair, but quickly got ahold of himself. "It doesn't matter. It's too late to turn back now." He said as he showed his damaged arm from Salamondra's Dragon Fire...and it was spreading. "Salamondra's Dragon Fire already got me."
"No!" Invel said as he was shocked to see that.
"If I don't get the miraculous, Natsu won't have any parents or a brother." Zeref said as that was the last thing he wanted for his little brother. Meanwhile, Natsu was getting ready for school.
"I hope everything is okay between Zeref and Invel. Something seemed off there." Natsu said as he packed his bag. "Anyway, what am I going to do about Lucy? Should I get her a ring?"
"A ring?! Uh... That's a little premature." Igneel said.
"What should I do?" Natsu questioned.
"I can't really help you because kwamis don't fall in love." Igneel claimed.
"Fine, but I need some advice." Natsu said. Meanwhile, Invel retreated to his room. He couldn't fathom the depths of how far this has gotten. He has been friends with Zeref for years, worked for him, and now it's all come down to this. Thinking like this, he walked over to a safe he kept in his room. He opened it up and pulled out a phone with him going to the last recorded video...of Mrs. Dragneel.
"I fear I don't have much time left..." Mrs. Dragneel said on the video and coughed as she grew weak. Just like Invel, she used the unicorn miraculous while it was damaged, only she used it until she couldn't anymore. "I wish I didn't have to come to this, but I suppose I was too stubborn to walk away. Honey... Zeref... Natsu... I love you all. Invel... If you ever see this, thank you for being a friend to Zeref. Your his closest friend, so he'll need you in his darkest time." She knew her end was coming and even left something for him. It moved Invel to tears, but he couldn't do what she said.
"Forgive me... I failed..." Invel cried, but tried to turn it into strength. "I won't let Zeref reshape the world while he's under this madness. I have to get the miraculous before he does." He claimed as he now has a new purpose to keep going. Just then, he heard someone knocking on the door. "Come in."
"Hey, Invel." Natsu said as he came in, but soon noticed he was crying. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Invel said as he cleared away the tears. "What's going on, Natsu?" He asked as Natsu sat with him.
"Well... There's this girl. I don't know if I should just tell her I like her or do something special? What did you do when you fell in love?" Natsu asked.
"Me?" Invel questioned. "Well, I devoted my time to my studies and aiding your brother when he needed it. I don't think I ever really fell in love." He claimed as he was starting to see regrets in his life. Suddenly, he started coughing from his ill condition and Natsu started to get worried.
"Invel... Is what happened to my mother...happening to you?" Natsu questioned out of fear.
"No. I'll be fine, Natsu." Invel assured. "You better get going or you'll be late." He claimed and ushered Natsu out, but Natsu was still greatly scared for Invel. Despite everything, Invel must do something.
...
Zeref
"I'm sorry, Mother and Father." Zeref said as he spoke with his parents. "I've done all that I could, but I'm alone now and has become more difficult."
"You're not alone." Zeref was surprised as he looked behind him and saw Invel coming towards him. "I made a promise to stay by your side. You were right. We've passed the point of no return. Etheriouize me and I will bring the miraculous."
"No, Invel! It's too risky in your condition!" Zeref said.
"It's all or nothing at this point." Invel said as he's willing to risk everything now.
...
Natsu
As for Natsu, he was greatly concerned for Invel. He was so distracted by it that he wasn't watching where he was going and bumped into Lucy.
"Lucy! Sorry." Natsu said.
"You're fine. I mean you're not fine. I mean you look and act fine, but I mean..." Lucy was stuttering around with her words again, but then she saw something was actually wrong with Natsu. "Is everything okay, Natsu?"
"Yeah... Actually, no." Natsu admitted. "Someone I care for is sick and there's nothing I can do to help them. That's just what happened to my parents and I fear history is repeating itself." He claimed with Lucy feeling so bad for him.
"Natsu, even if it seems like that, sometimes just being there for a person is all they need." Lucy said to assure him. With her words, his frustration quickly turned to hope.
"You're right." Natsu said. "It's just like right now, Lucy. Just you being here makes me feel better. You're... You're really something amazing." He said as he felt like this was the moment, but Lucy freaked and backed away.
"What?! Me?! No, I'm not that special." Lucy said as she rambled on about how ordinary she was and just backed away...in a clumsy way.
"That was some declaration of love just now." Igneel said.
"Just you wait." Natsu said as he was still sure about his feelings, but the truth was that Igneel didn't like where this was going at all.
...
Stella
"Twinkles, we have a problem!" Igneel called. He told Stella they needed to talk and found a place they could talk in private. They were both in the art room and Igneel needed to discuss this. "My holder has fallen in love with your holder!"
"That's not a problem! That's wonderful because she feels the same!" Stella said.
"It's not wonderful! If they feel the same, they'll get all lovey-dovey, soon will be kissy-kissy, and how long will it take for them to tell each other they're Celestria and Salamondra when they're not suppose to!" Igneel called.
"Don't worry, Igneel. That's not going to happen." Stella said. "My holder has decided to pursue Salamondra instead of your holder."
"You are aware Salamondra and my holder are one in the same, right?" Igneel questioned.
"Yeah, but my holder doesn't know that." Stella said. "Truth is that I think she's just running away from her real feelings towards your holder."
"But they can't know each other's identities as long as Dark Emperor is out there." Igneel said. "It doesn't matter if she's in love with my holder or Salamondra. She'll find out they're the same person eventually. Then, he'll know who she is. After that, Dark Emperor might soon find out."
"You have nothing to fear, Igneel. When my holder is in love, she doesn't get anywhere." Stella said. "She overthinks things and comes up with complicated plans that lead to nowhere. There's nothing to worry about." She didn't think so, but Igneel wasn't.
"I don't know, Stella. I think either way they're playing with fire." Igneel said as he doesn't like how things are unfolding, and we all know what happens when someone plays with fire.
...
Invel
Invel has decided to take matters into his own hands. That is why he is ready for him becoming a villain once again. He focused on the emotions he needed and gave Dark Emperor the power he needs. As for Dark Emperor, he was in his lair and was ready for this. He took an etherious into his hands and turned it into a mega etherious.
"Christina, Unify!" Christina's power was added to his own now. "Voyage, my mega etherious!" He released his eitherious and made it's way to Invel. Invel held up the phone he had and the etherious went into it.
"Dark Emperor, I am now Upgrade." Invel said as he was in the driver's seat. "I haven't been able to do much because of my crippled state, but that's about to change. Give me the power of modification."
"It shall be done." Dark Emperor said as Invel willingly transformed into Upgrade. Upgrade bright blue like it was digital with his hair loose and flowing as well as it being aquamarine. As for his suit, it was completely robotic. "With your powers, you can modify any weapon that you hold."
"And they won't be able to stop me as long as I don't have this on me." Upgrade said as he placed his phone on the bed. "Now, give me the powers of the knight."
"Right. Steel! Unify!" Dark Emperor added Steel to his power now. "Transfer!" Using the rings, he transferred the power of the knight over to Upgrade now. "Remember that without multiple rings, I can't give you other powers."
"I won't need them." Upgrade said as he opened up his window and was ready to go. "They won't know what hit them Requip!" He already made use of the knight's powers and got himself a crossbow. Once he got a hold of it, he used his powers to modify it so it wasn't a regular crossbow anymore. "These magic arrows will allow me to always hit my target, but now they can create life-like illusions!" He already set his plan into motion as he fired an arrow into the city. When it landed down, it created an illusion of Chronope and already caused a panic.
...
The School
As everyone was trying to study for their class, they were getting alerts about another attack going on. They turned on the news and all believed that Chronope was back.
"Celestria and Salamondra, surrender your miraculous or Paris is going to lose all of it's famous monuments!" Chronope said as he tagged all the monuments with the threat to send them back in time. They all even saw him appear right out the window and he tagged the school as well.
"He's going to send even the school back in time!" Hibiki said.
"Remain calm and exit the building!" Porlyusica said with everyone evacuating the building.
"There is no way I'm going to be lost in time because of that Celestria!" Taylor complained as everyone ran out, but Lucy ran in the opposite direction so that she could transform in the bathroom.
"Eeek! I get to see Salamondra again!" Lucy said.
"You should be more concerned that Chronope is back." Stella reminded.
"Right! Sorry." Lucy said as she got serious. "Stella, Twinkle!"
...
Upgrade
Upgrade kept himself hidden like a hunter. He kept himself hidden and soon saw the two heroes. They fell right into his trap as he could see them chasing after his illusion of Chronope.
"They've taken the bait." Upgrade said and then modified the crossbow again. "They won't be able to escape if they can't even move." He used his powers again and began to modify the bows to have a different affect. As for the two heroes, they chased them down until they reached an alleyway and saw him vanish.
"He's gone!" Salamondra said.
"Remember that he travels through time itself." Celestria said as they kept their guard up. "Speaking of time, if we have some when we're done, you want to catch a movie?"
"What? A movie?" Salamondra questioned. Celestria surprised even herself when she asked that.
"Did I say that? No..." Celestria said. "What is wrong with me?" She asked herself. Suddenly, an arrow came right at her and hit her with her suddenly immobolize and is unable to move.
"Celestria?!" Salamondra called. "What just happened?!" He then spotted another arrow coming right for him. "Dragon Fire!" He used his powers and burned it, but another instantly came after him. "No fair!" He quickly grabbed Celestria and made a run for it, but there was no running form that arrow. It was homing in on him as he carried Celestria and he couldn't shake it. "What's the deal with this arrow?! Why is it following me?! I'm not an influencer!" He tried moving his way through various obstacles, but he still couldn't shake it. "Is it following me because it loves me? Sorry, but my heart is taken!" He said as he used his staff and extended it. He shot himself in the air to avoid the arrow, but it still chased after him. He landed down near the movie theater with the arrow coming at him, but it ended up hitting a statue of him instead. "And that's why movie stars have stunt doubles. Turns out going to the movies was a good idea."
"It's pointless to run, Salamondra." Salamondra soon saw Upgrade himself as he landed down. "These arrows are designed to never miss their target."
"Invel?!" Salamondra mumbled.
"Run all you like, but there's nowhere to escape." Upgrade said. He proved his point by firing arrows straight up and the arrows came right at him. Salamondra started running again and tried to shake them, but he was running out of time. He tried to dive into the sewers, but the arrows were still able to follow him. He was running out of time and could tell he was about to change back any second.
"Oh no." Salamondra complained as he didn't like this. It looked even worse when he saw it was the end of the line. "I'm sorry Celestria, but it looks like I let you down." Salamondra ran out of time and he instantly transformed back into Natsu. He braced himself, but nothing happened. The arrows suddenly stopped and just disappeared. That was un expected.
"What happened?" Igneel questioned.
"I... I don't know." Natsu said. "Right when I changed back, they disappeared."
"They must have set to target Salamondra specifically." Igneel said.
"Now what? Celestria is still paralyzed." Natsu said. "If I can't turn into Salamondra without risk of getting caught, how are we going to save Invel?" He wondered how he was going to get out of this one until he looked down at Celestria's earrings and got the idea. "That's it! I got an idea!" Once he told Igneel the idea, he placed Celestria against the wall and hurried over to a separate passage. "Now, Igneel!" Igneel removed Celestria's earrings and she became Lucy again with Igneel giving Natsu her earrings.
"Huh?" Lucy didn't know what just happened and searched around for her miraculous. "My earrings!" She said in a panic.
"I've got them, Celestria!" Natsu said. "Igneel swiped them so I didn't see anything."
"Salamondra? What happened with Chronope?" Lucy asked.
"Forget him. He was never really there." Natsu said. "The real villain is some sort of tech-themed villain that has these arrows that can track us. However, when I changed back to my normal self, the arrows vanished. I think they can only track Salamondra and Celestria."
"So we switch miraculous and take the villain by surprise." Lucy said as she was beginning to understand. "We need Lady Dragon and Mr. Star."
"That's why I have your miraculous." Natsu said.
"Now you're the one amazing me." Lucy flirted. Natsu was ready to switch miraculous, but held both and thought of something. Invel is sick and he thinks that's why he's in this mess. The miraculous could fix all of this.
"Celestria, our powers have the ability to reshape reality, any wish we want could be granted." Natsu said as he was tempted to do it. "We could fix all the problems and finally end this. No more illness... No more Dark Emperor... Maybe... Maybe we should try it."
"No. You know we can't." Lucy said. "The greater the wish, the greater a price must be paid. For someone to be cured, someone else would become ill. For a villain to vanish, something even more horrible will be formed. It's... It's too dangerous..." As easy as it would be, it's not worth using the combined miraculous powers.
"We better switch our miraculous." Natsu said as he agreed with her. Stella went over to Natsu and Igneel took the ring to Lucy.
"Igneel, Fire Up!" Lucy said.
"Stella, Twinkle!" Natsu said. With that, the two of them used each other's powers and became Lady Dragon and Mr. Star. Now to see if this will be enough to defeat the likes of Upgrade.
...
Upgrade
"Where are they? My arrows didn't make contact and my arrows aren't working." Upgrade said as he searched around for them, but saw no sign of them. What he didn't know was that he was looking for the wrong heroes.
"He hasn't noticed anything yet." Mr. Star said. "Now is our chance to get him while his guard is down." He said, but noticed Lady Dragon was just staring at him.
"I never noticed how good you look in blue." Lady Dragon said.
"That's because you only see me in my usual uniform." Mr. Star claimed. "Come on. We need to strike before we lose the element of surprise."
"Right! Right behind you!" Lady Dragon said with Mr. Star going on ahead. "What is with me?!" This is a reversal of roles. Upgrade searched around for the two heroes until his crossbow was pulled out of his hands by Mr. Star's whip and tossed over to Lady Dragon. "Dragon Fire!" She grabbed the crossbow and burned it to ashes. They thought that was that, but there was no etherious. "Nothing!"
"Fools! Destroying my weapons is pointless! Requip!" Upgrade got a different weapon this time and it ended up being his own whip.
"He's got the powers of the knight miraculous!" Mr. Star said as this didn't look good for them. He got the whip around Mr. Star and tried pulling him in closer, but Lady Dragon acted fast as she grabbed Mr. Star and used her staff to extend them to the sky and freed him from the whip.
"Hey! Hands off my partner's handsome face!" Lady Dragon called.
"Don't worry. I've got some for you!" Upgrade said as he had the whip stretch out to a chimney and broke it off so he could swing it right at them. The two heroes dived down to a roof, but the chimney came back around and almost smashed against them until they dived down to the streets with it smashing against the roof.
"Hey! That seemed almost too easy to swing back around!" Lady Dragon said.
"My true power is that I can modify weapons to my liking, such as giving this whip the ability to defy gravity and making it easier to swing things around." Upgrade said. "With the knight miraculous and my own powers, there's nothing I can't do!" He got his whip around a car and threw it at them. Both of them jumped out of the way, but the crashing car caused them to trip and fell back at the theater.
"Looks like we ended up here anyhow." Lady Dragon said.
"Are you okay? You've been acting weird today." Mr. Star said.
"Relinquish your miraculous!" Upgrade said as he chased after them.
"Dark Emperor wants them, but what about you? Is this what you want?" Lady Dragon asked.
"It is. I'm well aware of what happens when you combine your miraculous. I want a wish." Upgrade said.
"Upgrade, what are you doing?" Dark Emperor said through their link.
"Don't try to stop me, Dark Emperor, or I might say something you don't want them to know." Upgrade threatened. That got Dark Emperor to remain still. "Now, give me the miraculous so I can have a wish."
"But there would be a price to pay." Lady Dragon warned.
"A price I am willing to pay." Upgrade claimed. "That's what motivates Dark Emperor. He sees things of having nothing to lose and everything to gain. As do I."
"You're wrong. You have people that care about you, and I'm sure you care about them. Do you want to risk losing them?!" Mr. Star said as he doesn't want to hear Invel talk like that. "You do have something to lose! It doesn't matter who you are!" He said as he threw his whip, but Upgrade fought back as the two of them canceled each other's movements.
"I don't know what got you so emotional. You don't know anything about me." Upgrade claimed. The two kept fighting like that until Mr. Star jumped right at him and swiped the whip from Upgrade's hands with Lady Dragon extending her staff and knocking Upgrade away. Mr. Star broke the whip, but there was still nothing.
"The etherious wouldn't be in the weapons. That's from the powers of the knight miraculous." Lady Dragon said. "I don't see anything the etherious could be in either. Maybe his glasses?"
"No... He's smart. I don't think he would have it on him." Mr. Star figured.
"But we don't even know who he really is." Lady Dragon said. Mr. Star does, but how does he use it without revealing anything?
"Requip!" Upgrade used the powers again and ended up getting a sword that he modified. He jumped at the two of them, but they both moved out of the way with the sword causing an explosion upon impact. The two heroes made their way up to the rooftops.
"Here goes nothing. Open the Celestial Gate!" Mr. Star used his powers and ended up getting a bottle of cologne with the Taurus sign on it. Mr. Star recognized it as a brand from his brother's work. "It's got to be at Dragneel Manor."
"What? How do you know that?" Lady Dragon said.
"Doesn't this look like a brand from Zeref Dragneel?" Mr. Star questioned, but Lady Dragon wasn't convinced. "Look, I trust you all the time when you get something random. I'm just asking you do the same for me."
"Of course. Go! I'll hold him back." Lady Dragon said. With that, he took off with Lady Dragon gazing at him. "He really is hot stuff. Aw! What's with me?!" She complained, but then noticed Upgrade going after him. "Hey!" She called and made her move as she tackled Upgrade and held him down. "He's for my claws only!"
...
Dragneel Manor
Mr. Star hurried home to get the etheriouized object. He jumped into Invel's room through the window and instantly spotted the phone. Upgrade managed to get around Lady Dragon, but he was too late as Mr. Star took the phone and smashed it against the ground with the etherious flying out.
"No more evildoing for you. Time to de-evillize!" Mr. Star said as he did what Celestria always did. "Gotcha! Bye-Bye, little guy. Miraculous Starlight!" He tossed the cologne and unleashed the magic stars that fixed everything. As for Upgrade, he turned back into Invel and nearly collapsed with the heroes catching him and acted like he didn't know what happened.
"Invel!" Zeref called as he barged in. "What happened?" He asked as they all moved Invel to his bed.
"He was etherouized." Lady Dragon said.
"Forcing an ill person to do his dirty work... Dark Emperor has gone too far and will pay!" Mr. Star said with much conviction and Lady Dragon loved it. "Are you going to be okay?"
"Yes. Thank you." Invel said. The two heroes left, but they still had no idea they were standing in front of their enemies the whole time.
...
The Heroes
"Pound it?" Lady Dragon asked as she held up her fist with Mr. Star bumping it.
"Uh... Aren't you forgetting something?" Mr. Star said.
"A kiss goodbye?" Lady Dragon said.
"To switch our miraculous back." Mr. Star pointed out.
"Yeah! Of course!" Lady Dragon said with her acting innocent.
...
Lucy's Room
"And then what?" Erza asked. Lucy returned home and was telling Erza and Levy all that happened.
"And we just switched our miraculous and everything was over." Lucy finished.
"Not that! What really happened with Salamondra, or Mr. Star as he was called?" Levy asked.
"It was incredible! He was just as amazing!" Lucy said as she was getting all giddy. "I actually asked him to the movies and tried flirting with him, and I didn't stuttered, stammered, or anything! The timing might have been bad, but it all went better than it ever did with Natsu!" She said as she fell back on her bed. "Everything really is easier with Salamondra. I can say things to him I couldn't with Natsu." It did seem like that, but Levy, Stella, and Erza still weren't sure about this.
...
Invel
Invel's plan might have failed, but he won't give up. Now that he's made his choice, he plans to standby it and he will fight to prevent Zeref from getting his way so easily. At least Invel saw the error of his way. Just then, he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in." Invel said with Natsu walking in. "Something wrong, Natsu?"
"I'm sorry. It's all my fault you got etherouized." Natsu said as he sat with Invel. "I asked you about your illness and then..."
"No, Natsu. None of it was your fault." Invel said as he didn't want Natsu to think like that. "It's difficult to explain, but you had nothing to do with what happened." That was reassuring, but Natsu still felt bad and actually hugged Invel to Invel's surprise.
"You're like part of the family, so I want to be there for you." Natsu admitted with Invel amazed Natsu felt that way.
"As will I." Invel said. "Now, why don't you tell me about this girl?" He might have failed Zeref, but he won't fail Natsu.
