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Chapter 67

Team Wendy's First Job Part 2

I was in a deep and peaceful sleep along with the others. Everything was peaceful and there was not a sound to be heard. Then something wafted into my nose. At first, I didn't know what it was, but then my eyes opened as I slowly sat up.

"This scent... what is that?" I wondered to myself. "I smell something, but... I can't tell what it is."

I then placed my hand on the ground using my Aqua Sense to try and sense what I was smelling. In my mind, I could sense the animals, but I couldn't detect anything else. This was to be expected. After all, my Aqua Sense could only cover so far. However, this didn't ease my sense of danger. That was when I decided to head to the river. If I could get to that river, my Aqua Sense would be a lot stronger than before and I would be able to detect the enemy if there was one.

I looked over to Happy and Wendy making sure that they were still asleep. Thankfully they were sleeping peacefully. I then looked over at Fried and I saw that he was fast asleep as well. I slowly stood up and quietly walked out of the cave, so I wouldn't wake anyone up. Then once I made sure that I was out of the cave and far enough away from the three, I then took off running at full speed.

"If there is an enemy around here," I thought to myself. "I gotta see that it's not a total threat. If it is, I have to make sure I handle it, so that Wendy and the others will be safe."

I soon reached the river which was gurgling and babbling like it was before. I looked around keeping an eye out for anything suspicious, but there wasn't anything to be seen. Not only that, but the scent that I smelled from before was completely gone. The only scent that I could smell was the water in the river.

"That's weird," I thought to myself. "I thought for sure I smelled something. I couldn't have imagined it."

I warily continued to look around checking all of my surroundings. I slowly walked up to the river just getting close to its edge. I bent over and was just about to dip my hand into the water so I could use it to extend my Aqua Sense, but then I stopped. I was sensing something. Something was here and it was coming from one location. Right behind me. I stood motionless like a statue for a few seconds and then I created a water shuriken with my hands and immediately flung it behind me. The water shuriken shot through the air disappearing into the bushes. I heard something hit with a thunk as a startled scream came from the bushes.

"Who's there?! Come out and show yourself!" I yelled. "Or the next one's gonna hit something else other than a tree!"

Then a man stepped out of the bushes. He wore a shirt that was white with a blue jacket and a pair of jeans that were grey with simple brown shoes. He was a bit tan skinned with bushy eyebrows and beady eyes.

"Hey! What the hell's your problem your bastard?!" he snapped at me. "You could have killed me you know!"

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have snuck up on me," I shot back. "Now who are you? What are you doing here and what do you want?"

"It doesn't matter who I am," smirked the man. "The only thing you need to know is that my friends and I are hunting for a shark and you just so happen to be the shark that we're looking for!"

"What do you mean by that?" I demanded.

Just then, the sounds of chuckling could be heard. Then from the bushes, a mob of people emerged from the trees and the bushes surrounding me. Some of them were carrying weapons in the form of swords and club while some others were radiating with magic power from their hands meaning they were wizards. I also happened to notice that all of them had a weird symbol that was some kind of paw holding a head of a cat.

"So I take it all of you guys are a part of a guild huh?" I said. "And I get the feeling it's not one of those legal guilds."

"That's right punk," said Bushy Brows. "We're the members of the dark guild known as the Black Tiger!"

"Black Tiger? I must say I've never heard of that guild," I said. "So what does a dark guild want with me?"

"Isn't it obvious? We've come here because we're hunting for a shark," said Bushy Brows. "And that shark happens to be you. If you know what's good for you, you'd better come with us otherwise we're gonna have to rough you up a bit."

"And why would I come with a bunch of thugs like you?" I asked. "Surely you realize I can beat all of you in a couple of minutes?"

Bushy Brows stared at me. Then he along with all of his friends laughed.

"Give me a break! Do you really think you can take us on by yourself?" he asked scornfully. "You don't stand a chance! In fact, the best thing to do for you to do is surrender now!"

I looked around at the circle of Black Tiger members that surrounded me. From the looks of things, I'd say that there was a total of over at least thirty of them. They didn't look very strong and didn't seem that much of a threat to me. However, there was the issue of us being a few miles away from the cave. I then made a plan.

"I can take these guys," I thought to myself. "But I have to lure them away from the cave, so I don't wake up Wendy and the others. And I know just the way to do it."

"I hate to break it to you, but I'm not the type who would just automatically surrender just for being overwhelmed by numbers," I spoke. "Besides, you're the ones who should be surrendering right now. In fact, I'm gonna give you all a chance to walk away to save yourselves the shame of getting beaten up, by 'one guy.' Give up and tell me why you know so much about me and are after me and maybe I'll let you go."

Bushy Brows was now scowling with anger. "What'd you say?!" he growled. "Who the hell do you think you are making demands?! We're the ones in control here!"

"Sorry about that. I just wanted to be nice and have you people leave with some shred of dignity left," I smirked. "I don't want to hurt anyone. Physically and mentally."

"Who does this guy think he is?!"

"Arrogant little punk!"

"Is he messing with us?!"

The people that surrounded me were now getting really cross. Bushy Brows especially was madder than before. So much so that I could see the veins popping out of forehead.

"OK! That's it!" yelled Bushy Brows angrily. "Now you've gone and pissed us off! We'll teach you not to mess with Black Tiger! Let's get him, boys! Charge!"

At his command, Bushy Brows and his army came running straight at me from all sides. I cracked my knuckles and waited for them to get close. As soon as they were, I jumped into the air and then landed just behind him and took off running and jumping into the trees.

"Hey! The coward's running away!" Bushy Brows yelled. "After him!"

The mob of Black Tiger members than chased after me in hot pursuit. As they chased me, I hopped from tree branch to tree branch making sure that they had me in their sights. Some of the members began firing arrows and beams of magic power, but I was able to dodge them all with ease. The chase continued until I could see an open area just ahead. I took a giant leap into the air and landed in the middle of the area just as Bushy Brows and the others caught up with me. Some of them were a bit out of breath and were huffing and puffing gulping some air. Bushy Brows was a bit out of breath himself.

"So... you gave up huh?" he panted. "Did you really think that you could run from us? Well, think again! Because now we got you right where we want you!"

"On the contrary," I said now cracking my knuckles. "It is I that has you right where I want you. You see, now that we're in this open area here, I can cut loose and kick your sorry butts to hell."

"Go ahead and try!" scoffed Bushy Brows. "You're just bluffing! Get em, boys!"

The mob of wizards once again charged straight at me, but this time I stayed put. Everything was going exactly as I planned. First, I had to lead them away from the cave were Wendy and the others were, so they couldn't hear the sounds of the fight. Second, have these Black Tiger guys chase me, so they could get a little tired from the running. It was a bit of a simple tactic, but it was somewhat effective. But now, I could focus on taking out these Black Tiger wizards.

A few of the wizards raised their weapons while jumping into the air, dive-bombing straight at me. I summoned my water blades twirling them a little and with them poised, I dashed straight at them and then went on the attack. I rapidly slashed at them cutting at their bodies and their swords at the same time. Eight bodies then fell to the ground stunned and knocked out.

"You bastard!" I heard someone yell. "Let's see if you can handle this! Blast him!"

I looked to my side in time to see a few more members unleash powerful blasts of magic aimed for me. I immediately spread my water wings and took off into the air dodging the blasts. I then swooped down and in a flurry of swipes from my swords took out another seven members.

"What the hell is with this guy?!" I heard a member say. "He took out a little than half of our members in an instant!"

"Come on you morons!" Bushy Brows yelled. "Someone get him!"

A couple more wizards then unleashed blasts of magic power. I jumped back dodging the attacks causing the attacks to hit the ground. Dust kicked up billowing everywhere. I looked around through the dust trying to see where I was, but then suddenly I felt something wrap around my wrist tightly. Then my other wrist was wrapped by something, then both of my legs, and then my neck. Then the dust cleared and I saw that some of the Black Tiger wizards were using magic to make some kind of ropes to hold me.

Bushy Brows laughed with triumph. "Finally! Now we've got you! Get em! Before he breaks free!"

Three men who still had their swords then ran straight towards me with their weapons aimed to stab me.

"Oh crap! I gotta get away before...!"

NO POV

But it was too late. One of the men slashed at Willy right at his midsection. Willy staggered causing him to step back until another sword user sliced him in the back. Willy screamed in pain as he stumbled, his blood spewing slightly as he became disoriented in pain. Then a Black Tiger member seized his chance and then tackled Willy to the ground.

"We got him! We got him!" he yelled.

"I can't believe it! We were able to get him!" said another. "Now let's finish the job!"

A few Black Tiger members rushed towards the downed water mage and raised their swords ready to deliver the finishing blow, but then Bushy Brows their leader stopped them.

"Hold it! Don't kill him you idiots!" he yelled. "Or did you guys forget already? We were supposed to keep him alive! Unless you want Don Ghira to get mad?!"

The members then paled with fear and immediately stopped lowering their weapons. Bushy Brows then walked over to Willy and inspected the damage done to his body.

"Well... he's a bit bloody, but I'm sure that Don Ghira won't mind," he thought to himself. "I mean, after all, he did tell me to use whatever force was necessary."

He then smiled and then lifted up Willy's chin chuckling darkly. "What was that you were saying about ending this in few minutes?" he asked. "This is what you get for being too arrogant, you troublesome bastard," He then slapped Willy across his face mocking him snapping Willy's face to the side. "But don't worry. Don Ghira wants you alive, so we won't kill you. You're much too valuable."

"Don... Ghira? Who's... that?" Willy choked.

"If you must know, he's our guild master," said Bushy Brows. "He's the most powerful master we have in the Black Tiger guild. By the way, those wounds look pretty bad. We can take of them if you want but before that... I want you to tell us you're sorry. If you apologize for being an arrogant bastard, my men and I will treat your wounds and that'll ease your pain."

Willy looked up at Bushy Brows as he struggled trying to say something. Bushy Brows smiled thinking that Willy was going to apologize, but then he noticed something

strange. Willy began to gurgle and his body began to liquify.

"What the hell?!" exclaimed Bushy Brows.

WILLY'S POV

I jumped into the air cloaking my hands with water and creating a pair of shurikens and flung them with all of my strength.

"WATER DRAGON DOUBLE STAR!"

The shurikens zipped through the air and they both hit the wizards that were holding my clone. Bushy Brows gawked at me with surprise as I landed in front of them with a smirk on my face.

"Impossible! You can't be there!" he cried. "How can you be there when you're there?! I saw it! You were trapped and you were cut and everything!"

I then walked over to my clone. "What? This little thing? That's my Water Dragon Clone." I then placed my hand on the clone and it turned into a puddle of water causing Bushy Brows and his other colleagues' jaws to drop in surprise.

"So wait, that was a fake the whole time?!" exclaimed a member.

"That's right," I said. "And that's not the only spell I can use. WATER DRAGON WING ATTACK!"

Giant torrents of water then gushed from my hands as I flung them at my enemies. The shockwave of water that I unleashed slammed into multiple enemies at once sending flying and hitting the ground. Bushy Brows was the only one that was left standing and he was now trembling in fear.

"N-no way... you took them all out with one spell..." he squeaked. "Just... what the hell are you?"

"I'm a dragon slayer from Fairy Tail," I said. "But to you, I'm just an arrogant bastard. Remember?"

Bushy Brows stared at me for a couple of seconds and then he turned tail and started to run. "Retreat! All those who can run, retreat!"

Sensing that they were in trouble, every one of the other members that were able to move took off running too. At first, I was going to let them go, but I wanted to be sure that they would never come back. So I chuffed my cheeks and took aim.

"WATER DRAGON ROAR!"

A giant blue torrent of water gushed forth from my mouth shooting straight towards Bushy Brows and his goons. The attack hit its mark and Bushy Brows and his friends were swept away by my breath attack sending them high into the air and disappearing into the sea of trees in the distance.

I wiped the sweat from my brow and let out a breath. "Whew. That takes care of that," I said to myself. "Although... I may have overdone it a little."

I then took notice of the sky. It was still dark, but I had a feeling that it was going to be morning soon, so I had to hurry back to the cave before Wendy and the others woke up. I then spread my wings and with took off into the air. Then using Aqua Jet, I rocketed all the way back to the cave as fast as I could.

Soon enough after a few minutes, I could see the cave in sight. I lowered towards the ground until I touched down gently dispersing my wings.

"I really hope Wendy and the others aren't awake yet," I thought. "The last thing I want is to make the others worry. Especially since it's my problem."

I then quietly tip-toed into the cave. Wendy, Happy, and Fried were still asleep.

"Thank goodness," I whispered. "Hopefully, there won't be another attack."

I then let out a tiny yawn as I lied down on the ground feeling pretty tired. I had just closed my eyes hoping to get some sleep. However, it wasn't for very long. Right then, the morning sun's ray began to shine on the outside of the cave and Wendy and Happy were the first to wake up and Fried followed soon after.

Wendy stretched her limbs letting out a satisfying sigh. "What a beautiful morning," she said happily.

"Speak for yourself," groaned Happy who was holding his back like an old man. "That cave floor was hard."

Fried then stood up now fully awake as well. "As long as we got plenty of rest from our shelter," he said, "Any sleeping place will do. For now, we must resume our journey.

"Oh come on! You want us to start walking first thing in the morning?!" complained Happy. "Couldn't we at least get some breakfast first?!"

"No. Fried's right happy," said Wendy. "We should get going as soon as possible. We're still a long way from Onibas and we should start walking as soon as possible."

Happy groaned while I sat up still feeling a little tired myself due to the fight I just had.

"Oh well. No rest for the weary, Happy," I said. "We'll just have to try and tough it out."

"But I don't want to!" whined Happy.

But however much he complained, there was no helping it. Once we were all set to go, Team Wendy resumed walking again with Wendy, Fried and I walking and Happy using his wings.

The four of us walked on through the forest going over a few miles. Everything was going smoothly until we eventually came to a desert. The sun had suddenly grown hot and there were hot banks of sand as far as the eye could see. It was so hot that I was beginning to feel a bit thirsty. Not to mention I was still feeling a bit tired from lack of sleep, but I continued on not saying anything.

"Geez. This is just great," groaned Happy. "One minute, we're walking on mountain trails and now we're walking across a desert."

"Just hang in there, Happy," I said. "We'll be out of this dessert soon. Just try to keep flying."

"You seem to be handling the heat pretty well, Mr. Fried," spoke Wendy. "Aren't you hot?"

"Doubtful," Happy said enviously. "He's probably using some kind of enchantment to cool himself down."

"No. I would never deny my comrades comfort to claim it for my own," said Fried. "It's simply mind over matter."

I then looked over at Fried curious to see how he was handling it. I would have thought that he'd be sweating buckets considering the fact that he was wearing that large coat of his, but I could see that he was hardly sweating at all. Guess he was doing something right after all. Then Happy slowly drifted to the ground delirious and weak from heat exhaustion.

"So hot... so very hot..." he moaned weakly.

Me and Wendy immediately rushed to Happy's side feeling concerned about the blue feline.

"Happy! Are you OK?" I asked worriedly. "Hang in there."

"Don't worry. I can make him better using my healing magic," said Wendy as she hovered her hands over him making them glow in a green light.

"Wendy are you sure?" I asked. "I don't mind using my healing magic."

"It's OK. I got this," said Wendy. "Just leave it to me."

She then started healing Happy using her Sky Dragon Magic. Then Fried placed a hand on her shoulder stopping her.

"Please stop Wendy," he said. "You and Willy needn't deplete your magic like this. Allow me to handle this."

"What are you going to do, Fried?" I asked.

"Do you know some healing magic?" wondered Wendy.

Fried smiled and pointed to a rock next to us. "Just place him on that flat rock over there and I'll show you," he said.

Wendy and I did so. Then Fried then unsheathed his sword.

"Now that he's been placed on the rock, I will now inscribe the enchantment," he said as he pointed his sword to the ground making a square of purple runes appear around Happy. "Those within the bounds of this enchantment shall not feel heat!" he proclaimed.

The enchantment was now set and I was hoping Happy would feel a lot better, but I was wrong. Happy now looked hotter than before and I also began to hear a sizzling noise like something was being grilled. Me and Wendy gasped in shock as Happy was now practically being cooked on the rock.

"Guys... the rock's so hot, I'm being cooked alive," groaned Happy weakly. "I was hoping I'd never have this happen to me again."

"Gah! Happy!" I cried as I immediately chuffed my cheeks and let out a blast of water from my mouth.

The water splashed all over Happy and the rock immediately cooling them down with a hiss. I also scooped up Happy off of the rock not wanting him to go through that again.

"What the heck Fried?!" I spoke a little cross. "I thought you said that your enchantment wouldn't allow Happy to feel heat!"

"The results such as an enchantment such as this are not immediate," explained Fried calmly. "So it will take some time to take effect."

"And... I just realized something else," said Wendy. "Even if it takes effect, once Happy leaves it, isn't he just gonna feel hot again?"

I couldn't help, but face-palm myself in annoyance. "Good grief. We were better off with Wendy using her magic to help him," I sighed. "What was even the point?" I then placed Happy on my shoulder. "Alright Happy. You stay on my shoulder and rest while we keep walking."

"Aye..." mumbled Happy.

We soon set off again. It was still feeling a bit hot, but after a while, Happy was starting to recover and soon felt better. However, there was now another member of our party who was starting to feel a bit unwell. That person was me. Due to the dryness and the heat of the sun and lack of sleep, I was starting to feel a little bit dehydrated. My throat and mouth felt dry and I was now starting to feel a little weak, but I didn't show it. Even if I did tell anyone, there wasn't any water to be seen in this desert which meant that my only hope was to wait until we got to Onibas. So, I kept on walking with Happy on my shoulder not wanting to worry anyone.

"Hey, Willy. Are you alright?" I heard Wendy ask me. "You look weak."

I jumped a little having to been noticed by Wendy. I looked at the bluenette and gave her my best smile. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine," I said. "I'm just feeling a bit hot is all. As Fried said, it's mind over matter."

"Willy is right. We can't lose heart," said Fried. "We must keep on persevering. We shouldn't have that much far to go now."

Then suddenly Wendy stopped, her eyes going wide. Fried and I then stopped as well looking at the bluenette.

"What is it, Wendy?" I asked. "Is something the matter?"

"There's a storm coming!" Wendy spoke looking up at the sky. "I can sense it!"

"Wait! You mean as in a sandstorm?!" exclaimed Happy.

Then in the distance, I saw something that made my eyes widen. Ahead of us several meters away, was a tornado of sand whipping and lashing across the sand and it was heading right for us.

"Oh no! She's right! I can see it over there!" I cried.

"It's the type of storm this dessert is known for, The cursed sandstorm!" exclaimed Fried. "It will continue to pursue us until it catches us its clutches!"

"You're kidding me?!" cried Happy fearfully. "If that's the case then we need to find a place to hide!"

"There is nowhere to hide, Happy!" I yelled. "There's nothing, but sand for miles around!"

"Then we have no choice!" spoke Fried urgently. "We must run!"

The four of us took off running trying to get away from the sand as fast as we could. However, the sandstorm was getting closer and closer to us making us hear the rushing winds in the distance. Then suddenly, we saw something in front of us as we ran. Or a better way to put it, we saw some people. In front of us was a certain blonde girl that was my roommate and a white cat who were looking down in a pit looking worried.

"You gotta be kidding me!" cried Lucy. "Not even a celestial spirit can do it?!"

"Can't you do something?!" called out Carla.

"I'm afraid I can't," I heard a voice say in the pit. "Ms. Erza is way too heavy to move."

"I am not!" I heard Erza say inside the pit. "How rude!

"Lucy! Carla!" Wendy called out happily. "You're both here!"

We soon came up to them and I looked down in the pit. There in the middle of it was Erza who was stuck inside the sand along with a girl with pink hair in a maid outfit who was trying to get her out as the two of them began to sink deeper into the sand. Wendy was happy to see Carla, but Carla looked away from the girl with a huff as if she was trying not to be happy.

"So what are you guys doing here?" I asked. "And how the heck did Erza get stuck in that pit?"

"Long story short, we came because we were worried about you guys, but you seem alright," said Lucy. "And as for Erza, she fell down there and got herself stuck."

"This is quite troublesome," said Fried worriedly. "Not only is that the case, but the Cursed Sandstorm continues to bear down on us and will soon swallow this area!"

"Huh?! What do you mean Cursed Sandstorm?!" exclaimed Lucy fearfully.

Sure enough, we heard the sound of howling wind. The tornado of sand was now closer to us and if we didn't rescue Erza soon, we would be caught up in it.

"Go on without me!" called out Erza. "Save yourselves!"

"No way! We're not leaving you behind!" I yelled as I spread my water wings. "I'll help you with my Water Dragon Wings and pull you both out!"

"No Willy! Don't!" cried Fried. "If the weight is too much for you to handle, you could get dragged in with them!"

"Come on, Virgo! Don't give up!" called Lucy. "Keep trying to pull her out!"

The girl who was addressed as Virgo tried her best to pull her up, but Erza still wouldn't budge an inch. "This weight is quite perplexing," she grunted. "It's like that of a giant hunk of iron."

"A hunk of iron?" puzzled Wendy. "Do you think that it could be her armor weighing her down or something?"

"I doubt that. If it was Erza's armor, she would have sunk a long time ago," I spoke. "It has to be something she's carrying."

Erza's face turned blue with embarrassment. "I've been holding onto the theater props and costumes this entire time," she said. "I suppose... that's probably why..."

"What?!" Me and Happy screamed together.

"Well it's no wonder you're so freaking heavy!" exclaimed Lucy. "That stuff must weight a freaking ton!"

"Yes... I know," said Erza now looking sorrowful. "But... the show can't go on without them..."

"We're not even supposed to be putting on a play this time!" cried Lucy.

"Erza! I don't mean to lecture you, but wouldn't the sensible thing to do is to let them go?!" I shouted. "I mean come on! What's more important, some lousy props or your life?!"

Erza was still reluctant, so much so that she began to cry, but she had no choice. "Farewell my dear friends," she wept. "I will always treasure our time together."

Then suddenly, Virgo and Erza both shot out of the pit with Virgo carrying Erza in her arms thanks to Erza letting go of her access weight. Erza was still upset having to let go of her possessions, but at least she was free. However, we weren't out of the woods yet for right then the sandstorm was now closer than before whipping sand and wind all around.

"We're too late to escape now!" cried Carla. "The storm's right over us!"

"If we get caught in its grip, we'll never escape!" cried Fried.

Just when it seemed that all hope was lost, an unlikely hero rushed forward just a few meters away from the storm. That unlikely hero was Wendy.

"Don't be afraid!" she said bravely. "I'll take care of it somehow!"

"Wendy no!" cried Carla. "It's too dangerous!"

She was about to rush forward to her to try and stop her, but then I stopped her barring her way with my arm.

"Just stay back and watch Carla," I spoke to her. "Wendy's got this. You should have a little faith in her."

Wendy then puffed up her cheeks as her magic power flared.

"SKY DRAGON ROAR!"

A huge green hurricane erupted from her mouth and blasted the tornado of sand destroying it completely. Other than me who was smiling and Erza who was still feeling depressed about her precious props and costumes, everyone was amazed and impressed by what the little girl just did.

"She did it..." murmured Fried. "The Cursed Sandstorm's disappeared."

"Nicely done, Wendy!" I called out. "I knew you had it in ya!"

"That was totally awesome!" cheered Lucy. "You're amazing!"

"Aye, sir!" agreed Happy.

Wendy blushed and giggled with embarrassment. And Carla couldn't help but smile too feeling a little proud of Wendy.

Eventually, after getting our bearings and digging out Erza's props and costumes, we all resumed our journey and soon made it to Onibas and arrived at the theater. However, we would soon find an unexpected surprise awaiting us. There was a long line leading outside of the theater with Rabian, a short man with purple hair with two small round ponytails, the man that was supposed to be 'in dire need of a wizard to soothe his heart' was all smiles, grinning from ear to ear as he hid behind a pillar.

"Oh thank you! Thank you so very much!" he said. "The actors and I have all kissed and made up and the play has even opened up to a sold out audience!"

"Are you kidding me?!" yelled Lucy indignantly. "We all risked of lives to get here and you're telling us that you don't need us?!"

"That pretty much seems the sum of it," I said simply.

"And I worked like a dog to dig these up," sobbed Erza.

"That's it... I give up," groaned Happy. "I just can't take it anymore..."

He along with Erza and Lucy fell to the ground in exhaustion and depression. Then Fried suddenly clasped his hands over his mouth looking to be very pale and about to puke.

"Fried, are you OK?" I asked.

"It... it must have been those wingfish I ate," he choked. "I think... I'm going to be sick... I... can't stand anymore..." He then fell to the ground passing out completely.

"Oh no! Mr. Fried!" cried Wendy.

"Can't say I didn't try to warn him," I sighed. "I guess those wingfish will get to anybody, no matter how much of an iron stomach you have."

Just then, we heard a familiar voice calling out to us.

"Hey, you guys... I'm finally here..."

We then saw someone staggering towards us looking to be more exhausted and sick than everyone else combined. It didn't take us long to recognize the person coming due to his pink hair.

"It's Natsu!" said Wendy a bit bewildered.

"What the heck happened to you?" I asked. "You're looking sicker than Fried."

"I... I was trying to get to Onibas by riding the dang train..." Natsu groaned. "But I didn't know... that train was out of order... so I must have ridden that thing back and forth a million times..." Then Natsu fell down to the ground passed out too.

Then suddenly Rabian came out from behind his pillar looking very cross. "Hey! Loitering in front of my theater is bad for business!" he barked. Then he looked at me and Wendy. "You two! Please remove these vagrants from my property. It's a big job I know, but I'll gladly pay you both for it."

"Huh?!"

Wendy and I were surprised, but before we could say anything more, Rabian was already walking back inside of the theater. "Please get to it. Remove these people and you'll get paid," he said. "Thank you so very much." And with that, he was gone. Wendy and I looked at each other and we both let out exhausted and depressed sighs.

"So... my first big job is kicking out our friends..." Wendy said dejectedly feeling a bit disappointed.

"There's no shame in it, Child," reassured Carla. "Besides, their intentions were good. They came here wanting to help you and in a roundabout way you're simply returning the favor."

"Carla's right," I agreed. "It is a respectable job, so you should at least carry it out with pride."

"You really think so?" puzzled Wendy as she along with me and Carla looked at our friends.

"We know so," I said putting a hand on her shoulder. "If you think about it, think of it as an experience. An unexpected one, but something you can learn from."

Carla nodded in agreement. A smile then slowly worked its way to Wendy's lips.

"You're right," she said. "I should do the job I was given. Even though I may not like it. Besides, they'll be others."

I smiled back at the bluenette. "Atta girl. Now let's get to it. We got a lot of bodies to move."

"Right," nodded Wendy.

And so, we set to work picking up all of our friends moving them away from the theater.

Meanwhile back in the forest, the squad led by Bushy Brows made its way back to the camp. Every single one of them was a wet and soggy mess. Bushy Brows was making his way to the tent where Don Ghira was and he was more nervous than a rabbit making his way to a bear cave. He took a few deep breaths and then he went inside where Don Ghira was sitting waiting for him.

"Um... Don Ghira, I'm afraid... that I have a bit of bad news," said Bushy Brows. "We... we weren't able to complete the mission. He... was too strong for us. He blew us away in an instant... I'm so sorry."

Bushy Brows then shut his eyes expecting for Don Ghira to be angry and punish him, but the blow never came. He then opened his eyes and looked at his guild master and was surprised to see that Don Ghira remained neutral.

"Um... Don Ghira? Did... you not hear me?" he asked.

"Yes. I heard you," replied Don Ghira.

"Then... what's up?" asked Bushy Brows.

"It's simple. I already knew that the boy would defeat you and your squad," said Don Ghira. "That was nothing more but a test."

"A test?" puzzled Bushy Brows. "For what?"

"A test to see how strong the boy was," said Don Ghira. "If he was defeated, then there would be no need to collect the bounty on someone so weak. But since the opposite happened, I now see that this boy possesses strength. A strength that now has me intrigued." Don Ghira then turned around towards Bushy Brows. "Tell all of our members to pack up camp. We're heading back to the guild hall. Once we make it back, we'll resume our mission in taking the boy."

"Understood sir," said Bushy Brows. "I'll let them know right away."

Bushy Brows was just about to leave when Don Ghira placed a hand on Bushy Brow's shoulder stopping him. Bushy Brows looked up at the man and saw that he was leering dangerously at him with his eyes glowing.

"Not just yet," said Don Ghira. "First, you have to be punished for failing me."

"B-but I thought you weren't mad!" squeaked Bushy Brows.

Don Ghira then flashed an evil smile with teeth glinting. "Who said I wasn't mad?"

A few moments later, Don Ghira's tent was filled with the sounds of agonized screams that echoed through the night making all of the other members of the Black Tiger guild tremble in fear.

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Dragoman out!