Hi guys! before I start the next chapter, there is something I have to say first. If most haven't heard one of my favorite writers named Cardboard Pixie, has passed away earlier this month. I may not have known her well, but her work she has put forth here on this site and her will to keep writing even in the darkest of times has given me inspiration and hope. I am really happy this writer liked my story before she passed, and it has given me more motivation to finish this trilogy. We only have one life guys live it to the fullest because we do regret things. This entire story is now dedicated to you Pixie, and may you have the happily ever after you rightfully deserve.

Now onto Chapter 7 of Flames!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail!


Chapter 7: Captured!?


"Who would have thought we would find a town in the middle of the desert." After travelling from the cave for three hours, Natsu Wendy Carla and Happy manage to get to the town they spotted from the cavern's entrance. The land's terrain was desert with sand dancing around them due to the winds.

"Natsu we should get some food or shelter for the night. The sun is setting." Wendy says to Natsu. "We have a lot of travelling tomorrow and we'll need all the strength we can."

"Hey guys look over there a place to trade money!" Happy points out

"I wonder if they can take Jewles here as well." Wendy says to herself.

Wendy spots Natsu talking to the currency handler and Natsu asks him "You take paper money here too?"

"Absolutely sir we are the most versatile currency handling organization in Paradisium." The handler says proudly. "We just need the type of currency you use and we'll take care of the rest."

Natsu looks at the handler noticing that his ears looked just like the first guild master Mavis Vermillion's ears. The only difference is that hers looked more unrealistic and that these ears looked more like mini wings. His height is similar to Wendy's but had the aura of an adult with many years of experience in his eyes.

"What are you exactly?" Natsu asks the handler as he examines the jewles in his hand.

"I am a Faerie. Have you not seen one before sir?" The handler proclaims to the unknowing mage.

"No I haven't it's my first time here in this town." Natsu says to the Faerie.

The Faerie continued his work as his hands begins to glow green. "Ah I see now. It's not far off from the currency we use. I think a reasonable trade is in order here"

"What kind of magic are you using?" Natsu asks the Handler again.

"It's a magic that we developed to trade currency accurately without falling short or getting duped. Each currency used by each race has different values and we want to match the value close to the original value of the currency given and traded."

"Meaning" Natsu asks another question to better understand it.

"What he means Natsu is that if there are any inaccuracies or fake money this form of magic will detect it." Wendy adds in to simplify the explanation. She walks up to the handler and hears most of the explanation; realizing Natsu's cluelessness aids him in understanding the handler

"Very astute young one" The handler praises Wendy's observation. "I see you have a knack for noticing different types of magic."

"Thank you very much sir." Wendy bows again to the handler.

"You are welcome." The handler says as he gives Natsu the currency used for Paradisium.

"The currency mostly used here is Drakengems they are the primary currency used around Paradisium, and other minor races as well. There are certain races that don't use Drakengems primarily the elves and faeries. So I will also give you the Elvish Tarf and the Faerie Pixinet." The Drakengems look like ordinary gems; what gives them their attractive appearance is their color which is blood red in appearance. The elvish tarf is a hybrid gold coin with traces of silver along its edge while Pixinet looked like a square gem with a bluish glow radiating from the inside.

"Your currency was enough to divide them into three and give you each of the three currencies. Is there any other assistance I can provide you with today?"

"Could you tell us where there is a good place to stay? We don't know where to go. "Wendy says to the handler "we're very tired and have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow."

"There is a small inn not too far from here. The name is the Keepsake Inn." The handler points to a huge building in the center of town. "Their prices are pretty reasonable even for the load of money you have. May you have a pleasant stay here in Shimen-Ammuma." The Handler bows to them.

"Oh and you might need this." The handler gives them an updated map of Paradisium "You might be able to get a better sense of where you need to go next."

"Thank you very much sir." Wendy returns the bow; and they quickly leave as soon as they came.

"So what did you find out about the town?" Natsu says to the Happy and Carla.

"Not much we scoured the place in five minutes and we found a big building that looks like an inn." Carla says to their partners.

"That must be the inn the handler spoke of." Wendy says to Natsu. "We should get going."

"Yeah we should." Natsu and Wendy continue on their path leaving only Carla and Happy to themselves as they flew to them

"She'll do anything for him won't she Carla?" Happy says to her

"I guess Happy. I can't really blame her though. That partner of yours always seems to bring out the best in her." Carla muses about the change she has underwent in the time she has been in Fairy Tail. "It's something I always hoped to see ever since I first met her."

"She's definitely came out of her shell when we first met her. She was really shy. She still has her shyness, but she's doing better and becoming a true mage in her own right." Happy noticed her change from the time they first met and he couldn't be any more proud of her accomplishments in Fairy Tail. It's A lot more than he can say for a certain blonde mage.

"Who knows she might become another Natsu."

"Please don't say that Happy. I don't think we need another Natsu running around the guild hall." Carla could only see trouble and misfortune if Wendy emulated Natsu…. a little too much.

"What about you Carla?" Happy suddenly asks about her transformation since joining Fairy Tail "You think you changed?"

Carla only sighs in her usual levelheadedness. "I don't know myself Happy. I usually go because it's to keep Wendy safe but now-"

"You don't want to see us get hurt out there do you?" Happy finishes her answer "I'm glad you came with us Carla." Happy could only smile. Despite his sense of humor, Carla rarely ever sees Happy serious about anything.

"Yes I suppose I can say I changed." Carla smiles back at Happy giving her an affirmative answer. They see Natsu and Wendy walk further ahead from them and they both flew to the side of their masters

'Yes I can say I don't want Natsu to die either. I want to help them see this through.' Carla thinks to herself giving Natsu the true respect he deserves.


"Hello? Is anyone here? We need a place to stay for the night." Natsu asks the empty room aloud.

"Unfortunately all our rooms are occupied. You must come again later." The curtains ruffle and reveals a face; one that has dark red eyes pointy ears and a dark yellow complexion. "Ah it's been awhile since I've seen humans."

"Sorry for troubling you sir." Wendy says to the man. "We were looking for a place to stay as we don't have a place to go."

"We just offered the last empty room today." The humanoid Elvish creature said.

"Well where the hell are we supposed to stay at then?" Natsu became more frustrated as he couldn't think of anywhere else to stay.

"Sorry kid not my problem." This man couldn't really do anything about their situation but tries to change the subject "What brings you humans to the surface world?"

"Surface world? What are you talking about?" Natsu asks the person.

"You're kidding right? Humans went underground 300 years ago. Guess you're not from the underground kid." The man only served to befuddle Natsu and Wendy as he continued to clean his countertop.

"We aren't people from underground but it is our first time travelling to this part of Paradisium." Wendy interrupts the conversation and covering for Natsu's ignorance and their mission.

"Ah I see now. You must have been pretty powerful humans to make it to the southern part of Paradisium."

"Of course we're Dragon sl-"Happy quickly moves to silence Natsu before he could utter the word Slayers.

"Sorry about my friend he's a little crazy." Wendy tries to cover again, but it only serves to piss Natsu off even further.

"We're just travelers passing through here. We got lost and we have no sense of direction." Wendy says to the man.

"I see." The innkeeper is catching on to their lies as he continues to interrogate them further.

"What part of Paradisium do you hail from if not from the undercities?" He continued to ask them questions to keep the pressure on Wendy. Natsu smelled danger from this guy despite what the handler said about him.

'This guy doesn't take a damn liking to humans. I don't like this guy and Wendy looks like she's about to crack.'Natsu keeps giving him the stare as he says:

"We don't belong anywhere Innkeeper man. We've been on the road for most of our lives." Natsu saves her in time as the sweat continued to flow from her face. "Anyway are you going to help us find a room or not? It's getting late and we need sleep."

'Leave it to Natsu to get to the point.' Carla says to herself.

"Very well then; there are three other inns in the city and one more if you're willing to fight for a room." The innkeeper says to Natsu. "I would suggest checking the three inns before you go to that particular one with the brawling. They are most uncivilized."

"Thanks inn-guy." He takes Wendy out as quickly as he could before anymore trouble could start.

"Those two are the most interesting humans I've seen. I'm sure they would go great for General Barktus's collection."


"Why did we get out of there so quickly Natsu" Happy asked the mage for his unusual behavior.

"That guy smelled funny to me. It's like he hated us despite his "kindness". Not to mention he was pressuring Wendy to drop the act after I almost blew it."

"Either way we should be careful with who we speak to in this town. Something tells me they don't look upon humans fondly here." Carla says with suspicion

"In the mean time we should go and check out those three inns he mentioned." Wendy says to the group.

"Right!"


Though their enthusiasm was outstanding, their results weren't as promising. With Natsu destroying the first inn and Happy eating all of the fish supply in the second, They come to the third inn; which so far looks like they are going to be given a rejection yet again.

"I'm sorry my friends but due to certain events with one of the Inns I'm afraid we're booked." The innkeeper said to the group.

The group was quick to groan and plead but the innkeeper kept on talking about another inn. "You can try the Brawler's Hideout."

Natsu says "Is this the one where you have to fight for a room?"

"Yes though I wouldn't try it unless you want to get beat up pretty bad. It's known for its top fighters and no one shows mercy."

"I guess we could try it." Wendy was already worn down and tired. Though she hated fighting it was the only choice they had.

Natsu received the directions and proceeded to the brawler's hideout. After getting lost along the way they finally reach their destination…. with a less than stellar impression.

"The innkeeper wasn't kidding Wendy. It does look like bad guy hideout." Natsu says to the tired sky maiden.

"Let's just get this over with." Carla interrupts the conversation. "I'm already tired of this blue tomcat sleeping on me."

"I'll keep an eye on the Exceed. Just do your best Natsu!" Wendy gives him thumbs up.

"Got ya covered Wendy I'll be sure to give you a bed tonight!" Natsu returns the thumbs up and goes inside the damaged inn.

"Sometimes I wonder if he's only good at beating things up." Carla says to the group.

"Alright, who's the guy I need to beat up to get a room for the night?" Natsu crunches his knuckles as all the "guests" gather their attention to him. There was no formal "front lobby" for this "inn" it just

"Kid do you have any idea what you just walked into" one of the employees just finished cleaning one of the beer mugs and puts it away behind the bar counter. "A room only goes to the strongest fighter here at the Brawler's Hideout."

"That's fine by me I'm going to make sure none of you are left standing after this is over!" Natsu's bold declaration only serves to fire up the patrons even more as their eyes lock on to the dragon slayer.

"Then prove your worth Kid!" Was all the man shouted before the bar erupted into total chaos! Natsu's smug grin only served to add more enemies as each patron threw their fist at Natsu, only to counter and throw his attacker into another patron with extreme force. He punches the next patron in the stomach and goes down without a fuss.

"If this is all you guys got then that room is a piece of cake!" Natsu continues to stoke the fires of the patrons to get them to be a challenge but it only served to make things easier for the dragon slayer to defeat them. It wasn't long before he made quick work of the patrons, as they all groan on the floor with tables overturned, beer and ale spilt all over the floor.

Natsu achieved an easy victory despite the efforts of all the patrons ganging up on him.

"Come on guys give me a real challenge here." Natsu says to the beaten patrons. "I think I'll be taking that

"Oh I think this will even the odds human." Natsu sees balls roll around him and releases a gas around the room. "Damn you using cheap tricks you bastard!" Natsu realizes the gas has a strong effect on his sense of smell and it is numbing his senses little by little. The gas is also affecting his alertness and is fighting the urge to fall asleep. He tries to break for the door with what little willpower he has left but vaguely sees Wendy and the two exceeds slung on their captive's back.

"What have you done to them!?" Natsu is infuriated at their unconscious state and runs at the person to set them free. His attempts to do so fail as he is kicked in the face by the person holding Wendy and is sent flying into a table. He could only glimpse a shadow coming towards him as he falls unconscious to the gas's effects.


"Where- where am I?" Natsu slowly comes back to consciousness when he hears a voice that utters his name. Natsu discovers that he is tied up to a mast feeling drained as he

"Natsu! Natsu are you okay?" Wendy utters into the night.

"Yeah just a damn headache" Natsu says to her. "Where are we Wendy?"

"I don't know Natsu." Wendy says to him sadly. "It looks like we're on a ship."

"Wait did you just say a ship?" Natsu asks her as he remembers that he has motion sickness. "That's odd how come I'm not affected by it? Nevermind that, where's Carla and Happy?"

"They must be somewhere else." Wendy keeps looking around with whatever limited mobility she has to scan her surroundings. "They weren't tied up with us."

"Why can't we get out of here? This rope should be burned off right now, but I can't…. get any flames out!"

"It's the rope Natsu! The rope is cancelling out our magic abilities!"

"Damn they made something like this?" Natsu tried to force himself free using his strength but Wendy stays still keeping her head afloat and collected

"Natsu please save your strength. We can't get out of these ropes." She calmly advises Natsu as she even tried to break them free of the ropes that bind them. "We shouldn't try to break free…..not just yet anyways."

Natsu and Wendy stop talking as their hearing picks up footsteps coming from stairs of their prison.

"Nhi-han ungulioth shien anitha." A man speaks in his native tongue to the befuddled dragon slayers. He stands above them from the bridge of the ship his face obscured by the darkness with little light shown by the moon.

"We can't understand what you're saying." Natsu angrily says to the figure as still struggles to get out of his wrappings

"I'm sorry I am so used to speaking in the Faeric tongue that I forgot you are human."

He shows himself to the dragon slayers showing his small stature and winged ears. His only difference is that instead of white they are black.

"How do you know we're human?"

"If you're trying to feign stupidity with me human it isn't working. If the ears didn't say much about you then the way you give off the energy inside you is another indicator of your humanity."

"You can see energy?" Natsu asks the Faerie.

"Of course we can human. Unlike the Elves who are in tune with nature, we're in tune with the soul and the energy inside it; which gives way to magic cancelling items like the rope you are tied up with." The man gives a simple explanation on the rope and his species' power.

"Who are you sir?" Wendy asks the person.

"I am just a simple captain of a simple ship. He remains focused on the task at hand of interrogating Natsu and Wendy. "What I want to ask you is how come over half of my crew is severely wounded in your brawl?"

"I have a name Faerie." Natsu says to the Faerie bluntly. "Second I heard that you had to fight to get a room, and we needed a place to bunk in. I won and then I get backstabbed for only following the damn terms!"

Natsu is suddenly slapped and punched in the face by two arms connected to one side. The being was taller than the Faerie Captain and from Natsu could see that he was faerie captain's first mate. "You sure have a lot of nerve talking to the captain like that, human."

"Why don't you untie me and find what I can really do you four-armed freak." Natsu smirked at the first mate. If there is anything that Natsu would be good at is knowing how to piss people off.

"Why You-"

"ENOUGH!" the Faeric captain says aloud. "What you were led to believe was a misconception we created." The captain says to Natsu and Wendy. "We use it as a form of recruiting to my crew. The fighters you saw in the bar were members and we are now short on manpower because of you!" He points to Natsu as he vents his anger and frustration.

Wendy decides to take advantage of the situation in order to keep Natsu calm and awake. "Please we just needed a place to stay. We just arrived in town, and we don't have anywhere else to go." Wendy pleaded with the captain to let them slide.

"I have no problem with letting it slide as it was a misunderstanding on your part. We would have whipped you both for your insubordination. " The Faerie says to Wendy. "However we do have rules and both you and the idiot are officially apart of the crew now."

Wendy and Natsu were crestfallen at the idea of being forced into a crew. They look at the Faerie captain and he smiles at them. "I will give you a small test to prove that you can leave. It is a tradition we do as a form of celebration." He walks around the mast and looks at Natsu and Wendy "You must defeat me and four of my strongest warriors in battle. If you win then you are well of course free to go. Should you lose you and your partners must serve must serve me forever."

He snaps his finger and to their surprise Happy and Carla are tied on a rope beneath Natsu and Wendy.

Natsu's rage seeped through the anti-magic ropes as his flames start to burn away the ropes little by little.

"I'll do it." Natsu says to him. "I'll fight you for our freedom." Natsu says to the man.

"Good. As of now I welcome you aboard The Vermillion." He turns to his first mate and says to him "Akripha make sure our competitors and their pets have a suitable place to stay for the next 2 nights."

"Yes captain" Akripha says to his captain.

"Hey I'm ready to fight you right now!" Natsu squirms around as he continues to break free from the ropes.

"I wouldn't say that since you are tied up at the moment." The Faeric Pirate continued his explanation. "It gives you time to mentally and physically prepare yourself. On the third day the challenge will begin. By then I would expect you to be at your best."

"Fine, either way I'm still kickin your butt in the end captain!" Natsu affirms this to him.

"Oh? Well then I'll be looking forward to it human." He waves his hand to signal his release to the release of Natsu and Wendy. His impulsivity kicking in, Natsu punches Akripha and staggers him only for Akripha to retaliate and knock Natsu unconscious again.

"Natsu!" Wendy runs to his side to check if he's okay.

"May I remind you that my rules WILL be respected on this ship." The captain sternly addresses his men before returning his attention to the two dragon slayers. "Now you must get some sleep and rest. You must be tired from your travelling. When 3 days comes I will face you once more."

Natsu Wendy Happy and Carla we're thrown into the brig of the ship. It was the only brig cell they had as they reserved the one across from them for crew members who were insubordinate to the first mate. Natsu is sitting down alongside Wendy while Carla and Happy went to bed early due to exhaustion.


"Damn I can't believe that guy. His first mate is pretty damn strong." Natsu says while talking to Wendy. "He's gonna be one hell of a fun fight. I'm all fired up now!"

"Yeah!" Wendy says out loud much to the disturbance of the crew upstairs. They stomped their foot on the floor to tell them to quiet down. Both Natsu and Wendy started chuckling to themselves as their exceed companions slept quietly across from them. She goes over to Natsu to heal the bruise that is on his eye out of habit that she developed over the past few weeks.

"Natsu" Wendy looks at Natsu wondering how he feels on the inside about the whole situation.

"Yeah Wendy" Natsu replies back as he can feel her magic heal his bruise.

"How do you feel about this whole journey were on?" Wendy asks Natsu "I mean I know why I-I just want to"

"I understand… I think?" Natsu tries to force the words to come out of his mouth. "You want to know my feelings about what we're doin right?"

"Yes exactly." She continues to heal the bruise and continues her job as Natsu's healer.

"Honestly it's somethin that gotta be done. I can't really complain cause it's something I chose to do." Natsu continues to let the words roll off his tongue as he said what was on his mind having a steady flow to his reason. "Igneel asked this from me so I gotta do what he tells me to do. He's my dad after all."

"Hmm" Wendy continues to look at him as if she was trying to figure out the underlying meaning in his straightforward response.

"Come on Wendy I know you're looking at me like I got some kind of hidden feeling about it, but I don't have anything to hide especially not from you." Natsu says to her calmly. "We're in this together right? So we gotta trust each other."

"I see now." Wendy says to him, but her relief doesn't belay the growing nervousness of Natsu's safety nor her feelings that he feels like he made a mistake.

"Do you regret-"Wendy tries to ask the question that has long been on her mind as she stops healing Natsu letting his body do the rest.

"Regret what?"- Natsu asks what the next part of her sentence was.

"It's nothing. We should really get some sleep. Goodnight Natsu." She lies down and sleeps on the other side of Natsu.

"Goodnight Wendy." Natsu Smiles and for the rest of the night their cell remained quiet and peaceful.


After three days of rest and recovery, Natsu and Wendy stand aboard the deck of the Vermillion with determined looks in their eyes.

"So you going to honor what you said?" Natsu asks the captain one more time. "It will save us from having to ram your ship into the ground."

The captain laughs heartily and says "I would love to see you try. It will give me great entertainment. I always honor my word Natsu."

"You better Faerie."

"So who do I presume is going first, you?" He points at Natsu.

"Yeah I'm going first."

"No captain, I will be going first." Wendy suddenly speaks up and says what's on her mind. "I have decided to help fight with Natsu. So I will take your first opponent."

"Such bravado Miss Wendy but are you so sure you can handle the fights to come?"

"I'm a mage of Fairy Tail so I have to give it my all. I won't lose to the likes of you!" Her fierce determination is shown in her fighting stance. Her chocolate eyes narrowed as she prepares for her opponent to come into the ring

"Don't fight Wendy!" Carla yells at her as she walks into the circle "I need you to heal when the fighting gets bad!"

"Carla don't try to stop me." Wendy looks at Carla and says to her "I can still heal and fight."

"She's right Wendy don't do it. We need you as a healer in case if Natsu is severely injured." Happy adds to the conversation

"Natsu needs to save his strength. I'll handle a few battles until he's ready."

"Don't child we need you on the sidelines. You can't fight!"

"If I can't fight this battle how can I keep my promise to help protect him?"

Carla becomes more frustrated at her lack of thinking. She turns her attention towards Natsu thinking he could get her to back out of the fight.

"Do something Natsu!" Carla says "She's going to get herself hurt out there!"

Natsu felt her determination as he watched her prepare herself for battle. In his mind he doesn't want her to fight, but after seeing Wendy do his best for him he made up his mind on how to proceed on his course of action.

"Wendy!" Natsu yells out to the young dragon slayer as she turns her attention to him.

"Yes Natsu?"

"Kick his ass."

Wendy smiles at him and gives him thumbs up with Natsu returning the gesture.

"Natsu what are you saying?" Carla asks why Natsu chose to let her fight when hours ago he was willing to put her on the ark to go back home.

"Ya know I don't like this either Carla, but look at her." Natsu points at Wendy. "She's willing to fight. I can't deny her the right."

"But Natsu she's-"

"I don't want her to get hurt! You think I want her to fight?" Natsu whispers to the female exceed retaining his frustration and anger at her decision. "She means a lot to me and I want to keep her safe, but right now? Right now she needs us to believe in her; to believe that she can win. She may believe in herself now but what good is that gonna do if were worried about her?"

"Alright idiot you win, but don't you dare complain about how you'll be sore after this is all said and done."

"I won't, and I'll guarantee you that I won't moan about my pain Carla." Natsu smiles at her

"Tch whatever" Carla coldly looks away from Natsu. Her demeanor secretly hides her true support for Wendy's battle.

'I know she can win, but I can't help but be reasonable about how to play things out with this captain.' Carla thinks to herself yet again trying to figure out the motives of their "captive". 'I don't exactly trust what he says considering our circumstances. Something about the captain doesn't feel right. Why go through all this trouble just to free us? He wants something that can only be revealed through fighting.'

"Natsu we should be careful of how we fight." Carla says to him casually

"Why the hell not; we're fighting for our freedom here!"

"Think about it Natsu. Why else would he stage a tournament other than to fight for our freedom? The reason why he handpicked his strongest fighters is because he's testing us. If we reveal our full power he'll do something to make us lose or find a way to manipulate us. "

"How do you know all that?" Natsu asks the exceed for more answers regarding her plan.

"I once knew a guild hall that uses this "test" in order to leave the guild. No mage save for one has failed this challenge because the opponents who were stopping them from leaving we're S-class mages." Carla continued her explanation. "He's also a pirate and you shouldn't trust their word. I bet he's coming up with a way to counter our magic and control it."

"So what do we do? Hold back?"

"You're Fairy Tail mages; you have more than enough power to beat these flunkies." Carla smiles at Natsu as he looks at the female exceed. "Just be tactful and use your basic attacks nothing else that reveals what your power truly is."

"And what about Wendy; does she know?"

"Who's to say she doesn't know already? I have a feeling she's already ahead of us." Carla's serious look returns as she sees the first opponent step into the ring.

"The first match of today's test of freedom begins!" the captain says with a grandiose tone. His voice echoes throughout the ship as he stands on the rail where the helm is. "The first match is Wendy Vs Leas."

The two combatants stare each other down with fierceness in their eyes as they wait for the match to start.

'I have to prove myself to Natsu I can do this.' Wendy says to herself. 'I need to win this fight.

"Begin!"


A/N: That's it for chapter 7! Sorry if it feels a little short! Anyway here are some foot notes for anyone who doesn't understand the setting or the races that are here.

Paradisium: The fabled lost continent of Earth-Land. Many legends told of it's existence but none we're able to find proof it exists. Legends also told of a war that supposedly destroyed the continent and all inhabitants leaving refugees to migrate to earth-land both man and creature alike.

Elves: One of the primary races of Paradisium. They are servants of nature and utilize magic to help the land. Their battle tactics rely more on augmenting their strength and using Sword and Bows as their primary attack.

Faeries: Another primary race of Paradisium. Their magic combines intelligence and magical energy to create skills need to help run a city. their size usually ranges from 4 ft to 4 ft 11, but what they make up for in size they utilize it in technological advancement made to their cities.

Please also check out Cardboard Pixie's completed works as well! Until the next chapter please keep on reading!

RIP Cardboard Pixie