Natsu woke up when a bucket of water splashed on him. He felt disoriented. That horrible powder had caused him to choke and go unconscious. He studied his surroundings, hoping to find anything recognizable. He heard, "Natsu?" Following the sound, he turned his head to see Sting and Rogue sitting in a cage with him. Natsu asked, "How long was I out?" Rogue said, "We don't know for sure, but you've been unconscious in our cage for 2 days. Whatever the put in that powder they blow in our face, it's powerful. Have some water." Natsu frantically drank it down.
He asked Sting, "How long have you guys been here?" Sting stated, "We've been here for a few days. I don't know what they want with us. They keep talking about some sort of ritual. I can tell you we've been seeing other guys in cages, too. You know how Laxus is a second generation dragon slayer? We've seen 8 men undergoing the process, for some reason. They're making those poor guys go through the painful transformation in fucking cages! I don't know what the hell is going on, but we've been dragged a few places, too. I guess they were going to do this ritual in that cave you were captured in, but they figured it was too dangerous there." Natsu shuddered. He heard how painful it was supposed to be from Laxus.
Natsu examined the bars. He said, "This'll be a cinch to get outta here. I just have to melt the bars." He commanded, "Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame." Nothing happened. "Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame," he repeated. Still nothing happened. "What the hell?" he yelled. Rogue calmly said, "They put these magic depleting cuffs on us. Trust me, we've been trying for days." Natsu banged on the bars in frustration.
Sting and Rogue looked exhausted. They hadn't been eating much since their capture. Sting cautioned, "Fair warning, Natsu. Those bastards know about our weakness to transportation." Natsu looked alarmed. He complained, "They're using our motion sickness against us?" Rogue nodded and added, "Yeah. They occasionally move the cage on purpose to punish us." Clanking sounds came from underneath the cage. Sting's and Rogue's faces expressed dread, because they knew what was to come. Natsu looked confused, then angry, and then sick, as the cage violently moved back and forth. After ten minutes, the cage went back to position. The robed group sprayed the cage of the vomit. Natsu recovered enough to yell, "Let us go, you fuckers! What's the big idea?" A robed man's smirk was seen under his hood. That enraged Natsu further. He snarled, "LET US GO!" The robed men left without saying a word.
As they sat in the cage, Natsu asked, "Have you guys seen Happy?" Sting and Rogue shook their heads no. Natsu looked anxious. He said, "I was with Happy! I have no idea where he is. The last thing I knew, he dropped me and was falling down a chasm..." His face was distraught. He wailed, "Happy! He might be..." Rogue put his hand on Natsu's shoulder and gave a sympathetic look. He said, "Sting and I are just as worried for our little guys too. While we were choking, Frosch and Lector tried to help us, too. We couldn't do anything as those monsters beat them. The last we saw, those bastards left our exceeds to die by the road. We have no idea if they're alive or not. I can still see my little Frosch. They beat him so badly." Sting angrily promised, "If I get out of here, I swear I'll kill anyone who killed my Lector."
Wails of pain were heard further in the cave. Natsu wondered, "What the hell is that?" Sting answered, "Those are the poor bastards going through the transformation. We haven't figured out why they're doing that. They keep mentioning a ritual, so it's maybe a religious ceremony." Natsu looked confused. He asked, "What's that supposed to do?" Rogue offered, "Maybe these people believe dragon slayers or dragons are gods. I'm not sure, but they sure seem to want to appease their gods with a ceremony or something." Sting grimaced, "Yeah, but these people don't seem like the type to gently go to a temple to sit in a service and go back home for a special meal. I have a bad feeling these are the 'let's sacrifice a person' type." Natsu lividly maintained, "Whatever these fuckers believe, I don't care. I just want to get out of here to find Happy." Sting glumly added, "If we survive that long."