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Chapter 94
A Bounty Cash In
The first thing I felt was pain. A dull aching pain throughout my body as I opened my eyes. My vision was at first a bit blurry, but after a few seconds and a couple of blinks, I was able to see and looked around to see where I was.
I was in an open room with a hard floor of dirt and rock and steel bars. They appeared to be new with a little bit of rust and there was some dust here giving it an old appearance.
As I sat up, I felt something wet and warm around my mouth on my upper lip. I then wiped my lip wincing as my nose ached and inspected my hand only to see that it was smeared with blood. I touched the bottom of my nose to see if my nose was the source of the bleeding only to feel a sharp stinging pain that went throughout my nose. I had to assume that Satoshi must have given me a broken nose when he kicked me to knock me out.
Speaking of Satoshi, I was more confused rather than shocked for what he just did to me.
"Ugh. What the heck's going on here? And how long was I out?" I spoke to myself.
"Well. Looks like someone's finally awake," said a voice. "You have a good sleep?"
The sound of that voice caused me to look up towards the bars to find Mami standing there along with Bradley. Mami now had her down completely down without her hat and wore an outfit comprised of a one-shoulder black tank top with latex pants and a pair of high heeled boots. The two both had smirks on their faces as they stared at me as I stared back at them in surprise.
"Mami... what the heck's going on here?!" I demanded. "And why is Bradley here?! I thought you two were enemies!"
"Oh? Was he?" Mami spoke. "Hmm... I wonder why Bradley would be here?" She hummed pretending to think then she gasped dramatically. "Oh yes! That's because he and I were working to together the whole time or were you not aware of that?"
"Say what?!"
"That's right. In fact, it was all a part of the plan," said Bradley. "And by the way, it's pretty good to see you again, kid. Glad to see you're getting your just deserts."
"What are you talking about? I don't even know you," I said to Bradley.
"Oh yeah. That's right. You don't recognize me," Bradley spoke as he turned to Mami. "Mami, you mind if..."
"Oh no. I don't mind at all," Mami smiled.
She then snapped her fingers. At that moment, Bradley's face began to glow as it changed. When it finished, my faces widened as I saw Bradley's true face and a pair of large and familiar eyebrows.
"Hey! I know you!" I gasped. "You're that Bushy Brows guy I fought the other day with that mob!"
At that moment, Mami burst into a fit of laughter while Bushy Brows scowled in annoyance.
"Bushy Brows! That's a good one!" Mami giggled. "I'm definitely gonna be calling you that from now on!"
"Shut it, Mami!" snapped Bushy Brows. Then he turned back to me. "Anyway, that's right, kid! It's me! I've been hoping to see your sorry face again, so I can get some good old fashioned payback!"
"Cool it with the revenge, Bushy Brows," Mami spoke. "The boss said to leave him be, so try to keep your emotions in check."
Bushy Brows growled at Mami. "I told you not to call me that!"
Then there was the sound of the door opening and footsteps coming towards us. Upon hearing those footsteps, Mami and Bushy Brows immediately stopped talking and stood at attention.
"D-Don Ghira, sir!" Bushy Brows stammered. "What are you doing back here?"
"I just came to see how our visitor is doing," said a voice. "After all, he is gonna my ticket to cashing in the jewel."
At that moment, someone walked in front of the bars. That, someone, was Satoshi.
I immediately stood up and stomped towards the bars where he stood, but then I felt something preventing me from getting any closer. I looked behind me and I saw that I was chained to the wall with shackles around my wrists and my ankles.
"Hello there, Mr. Falconer," he said. "How good that you finally regained conscious."
"Satoshi. What is the meaning of this?!" I demanded. "Why are you keeping me here and why is a member of the Black Tiger guild here?!
"Oh. You don't have the slightest clue at all, do you, boy?" Satoshi spoke feigning surprise. "Although, I suppose that is natural since you and your friends don't know what's really going here in Naoko. I guess I do owe you an explanation since you won't be going anywhere till later. But first, let me introduce myself. My name is Don Ghira, the guild master of the dark guild known as Black Tiger."
He then pulled up the sleeve on his left shoulder revealing a guild mark which was black and a pawprint with the two characters at the center of the pad. Bushy Brows and Mami also revealed their marks, Mami having hers on her neck and Bushy Brows having it on his right ab.
"So you're the guild master of Black Tiger? Didn't expect you to make an appearance," I spoke. "So what does the leader of Black Tiger want with me and why does he have me in here?"
"Well, let me start from the beginning. You see, most of what I said was true about the ethernano being mined in the mountain, however, what I said about the Crimson Devils and Harpy Orb guilds feuding with each other, that was just an act."
"An act? You mean you staged the whole thing?" I asked.
"That's right. I mean we had to. We couldn't let the Magic Council find out that a dark guild like us was doing such a business," went on Satoshi. "So we took to the liberty to impersonate two normal guilds that had a grudge with each other with each of my elite members leading them which would be these two. Ever since then, we've been going about our business making jewel and making slaves. However, like any other person who's ambitious for money, it wasn't enough. And that's where you come in. You wanted to know the reason why you're here? This is why."
Satoshi then dug into his shirt and took out a piece of paper and slipped it through the bars letting it drop to the floor. I picked up the paper and looked at it and what I saw made my eyes wide with shock.
The paper showed a picture of me and also had big bold letters.
WILLY FALCONER
AKA THE TRAITOR OF THE BAREM ALLIANCE
WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE
1,000,000 JEWEL
It didn't take someone shy of brains to know what this paper was.
"This... this is..."
"It's a wanted poster, specifically for your capture or your death for one million jewel," Satoshi went on as he paced in front of the bars. "You know, I'm surprised that you didn't know how much of a celebrity you are. I mean, after all, you've become quite well known in Fiore. Most especially that of the Barem Alliance."
"What are you talking about?" I demanded.
Satoshi then sighed. "Oh dear. I didn't realize how naive you are. Then again, you are just a boy. I guess you need the full explanation. You see everyone in the Barem Alliance heard about the fall of the Oración Seis and about how you were set free by the Magic Council. When that happened, it was decided that you were deemed a traitor and those wanted posters were sent to every dark guild throughout the Alliance."
It was then that I thought back to when I went out on that job with Erza when we encountered Duke Everlue.
"That explains it," I thought. "That's why that Everlue guy was so desperate to capture me and why he wanted to take me on himself. He must have seen the wanted poster too!"
"Truth be told, I had my doubts about you which is why I sent some of my members to see if you were worth the million jewel. But after hearing your strength first hand from my other members, you seem to be worth capturing," continued Don Ghira. "So that's why I set up a trap to lure you here. All I needed was a good pawn to go toe to toe with you in strength not only to weaken you and so you wouldn't be able to put up a fight. A simple yet effective trap."
"You're talking about Sasuke," I spoke. "What did you do to him anyway?"
"The boy? Oh, he's working in the mines as we speak," said Don Ghira smirking. "I mean he did lose the fight after all, so that's his punishment. I do somewhat pity the poor fool. He did have a lot of strength. I might have chosen him to be one of my troops."
I clenched my fists in anger. "He would never work with a bunch of lowlifes like you!" I snapped.
Don Ghira then laughed. "So you say. Actually, now that I think about it, he would have been better as an appetizer," he said licking his lips. "I best be going. In the meantime, why don't you enjoy your stay?"
"Forget that! If you think I'm just gonna sit here then you got another thing coming!" I growled.
I then clenched my fists charging them with magic power preparing to use my magic to break free of these chains.
At that moment, I heard a rapid beeping noise coming from my chest causing me to look down. Then next minute, a powerful shock went through my body causing me to scream in pain and surprise as my body shook and jolted from the electricity. The shocking soon stopped and I fell to the ground my body slightly smoking from the recent shock.
"Oh. And by the way, try not to use any magic or that collar you have around your neck will give you quite the nasty shock," Don Ghira added. "I would have told you before, but... I guess you learned the hard way."
Mami and Bushy Brows sniggered as I shakily tried to push myself back up. However, due to the recent shock, my arms gave out and I ended up on the ground flat on my face.
"How do you like them apples, kid?" sneered Bushy Brows. "Looks like you were put in your place like the dog you are!"
"Shut it, Bushy Brows," said Mami. "I know you have a hate boner for this kid, but try to chill out. Besides, we gotta check back in on this guy's group of friends."
I looked up from where I laid upon hearing that immediately knowing what she meant. Mami then smirked at me.
"And by the way, don't expect a rescue from your friends," she said. "I personally made sure of that. Thanks to my knowledge of Enchantments and knowing about your little plan to save that poor boy, they won't be going anywhere for a while. And by the time they realize it, you'll be long gone. It's a shame. I actually kind of liked you."
"Alright. I think that's enough chit-chat," said Don Ghira. "We do have a business to run and I have to contact my client that we got what we came for. Until then, sit here like a good boy, Falconer otherwise you'll just hurt yourself even more."
The three then left leaving me alone lying in agony in my cell.
NO POV
After he left Willy in his prison cell, Don Ghira made his way to an open area further in the caves. It was a large brightly lit area with a converter belt carrying away large rocks with some ethernano inside. Far below, there were numerous people, men, and women alike slaving away digging that ethernano with some other members of his guilds watched over them making sure that they didn't rest. No matter how exhausted or how sickly they looked.
The evil guild master smirked as he watched his workers mine all the ethernano they could, pleased with how everything was going.
Then a young man came up to him.
"Don Ghira, sir. Everything is progressing smoothly," he said. "The ethernano is being shipped out to be sold to the highest bidder as we speak."
"Very good," Don Ghira spoke without turning. "And how is our newest worker doing? And what about... her?"
"He's a strong one, sir. He's working hard and mining the ethernano as you ordered," the young man went on. "And as for who you're talking about, she's safe and sound, out of the way."
"Excellent."
"In addition sir, there's someone trying to contact you on the communication lacrima," said the young man. "Do you want to-"
"Yes. Put him through," interrupted Don Ghira. "I think I have a good feeling who it is."
The subordinate then handed Don Ghira a small lacrima and he activated the magic within it. At that moment, a shadow yet familiar face with glasses appeared inside of it.
"So it's you again," said Don Ghira. "What do you want?"
"You know why I'm contacting you," the man said. "Did you capture the boy?"
"Yes. I did," replied Don Ghira. "He's sitting in a nice and comfy cell wearing some chains and a nice new choker."
"Good," said the man. "Very good indeed."
"Now that I've upheld my end of the bargain," said Don Ghira. "When are you gonna uphold yours? That is what you promised me."
"Patience, Ghira. Patience," the shadowy face said. "I'll be over there as we speak. When I get there, I'll arrange to send you the reward."
"Come on. You know what I really want," Don Ghira growled. "I haven't been able to cut loose in a long time. Can't I just rough him up just a smidge? I promise I won't kill him."
"I told you before, you won't lay a hand on him nor will you engage him in battle," the shadowy face spoke. "You'll get your chance. And if I was you, I would keep a close eye on that boy."
"What for? He's not going anywhere as long as he's chained and collared," spoke Don Ghira confidently. "There's no reason to even think about worrying about him."
"It wouldn't be wise underestimate that boy," the shadowy face said. "He was under the tutelage Tu Chi, one of the Ten Wizard Saints. He's resilient as he is skilled."
"Like it matters. Every wizard that I've captured in this mountain to work has lost any hope of escaping and the boy won't be any different," said Don Ghira. "Just leave him to me. Now if you don't mind, I've got a business to run."
He then crushed the communication lacrima in his hand grinding it into rubble. He then looked back towards his slaves working below him.
"With the boy locked up and those other wizards from Fairy Tail trapped in Mami's enchantment, there's no one left to get in my way," he said to himself. "And if the boy even thinks about escaping..."
He then clenched his hand popping the bones in his hand as he did. Then he clenched his hand extending his sharpened and sharp nails which glinted in the darkness.
"... I'll just take my sweet time feasting on his body till he breaks."
WILLY'S POV
I was still lying on the floor in agony. Everywhere throughout my body, I felt pain. However, I managed to regain my strength. I sat up and then felt my neck only to feel something metallic and hard around it.
"Guess he wasn't kidding about the choker," I thought. "Kinda brings back bad memories, now that I think about it."
To say that this was a predicament in of itself was an understatement. Not only did I just practically walk into a trap, but now I find out that I'm a wanted man throughout the Balam Alliance. Not only that, but Natsu and the others were trapped somewhere and Sasuke was somewhere being put to work as a slave and it was all my fault.
In fact, I felt that this whole entire mess was my fault. I was the one that allowed everyone to come with me on this job unaware that this was some sort of trap. Not only that, but Naoko and its people were suffering all because of my bounty.
"How did not foresee this?" I asked myself. "How did I not see this coming?! The last thing I wanted to do was cause everyone trouble again."
Memories of my time back when I was being experimented on floated in my head. Those memories alone were enough to make me shudder with disgust and fear. Then I quickly shook my head trying to get those memories out of my mind.
"Alright, Willy. This isn't the time to be thinking about that right now. You need to find a way out of here," I said to myself. "Not only that, but this is your issue now. Since you're the reason why this is all happening, it's up to you to fix it and you can start with getting yourself out of here. Now... how are you gonna do that?"
I looked around as I assessed the situation. I was chained to the wall by the ankles and the wrists with a choker around my neck that would shock me if I ever tried to use magic, and inside of a prison that was steel barred.
From the looks of things, there wasn't anything I could use to my advantage. If I had something long and medal, I could probably pick the locks on the shackles, but sadly there none to be found. Which left me with one option.
My magic.
I could easily slice my way through the bars and these shackles no problem, but the issue that remained was that I would get shocked as soon as I used it and if I could barely remain standing when I was shocked before, who knew what state I would be in if I tried using it this time.
"It's worth a try," I said to myself. "I've got to get out of here and find Sasuke. Not to mention, I have to find Sasuke and find a way to contact Natsu and the others. Until then, I better get busy getting out of here."
I then clasped my hands together and concentrated my magic power flaring. At that moment, the collar let out a beeping noise as I once again my electricity shoot through my body forcing me to grit my teeth while groaning in agony, but I ignored the pain and electricity as best I could as I continued to concentrate.
"Come on... Come on... Come on..." I thought to myself. "Ignore the pain and concentrate. Ignore the pain and concentrate! Ignore the pain and concentrate!"
"WATER... DRAGON... CLONE!"
With a loud scream and with a lot of effort, a single clone appeared in front of me and I collapsed to the floor my body twitching, jolting, and smoking all over. The clone immediately rushed over to me.
"Hey! Are you OK?!" the clone asked.
"I'm... fine," I spoke weakly. "Just... get me out of these chains and take this collar off... with Water Dragon Sword and... cut the lock... off the bars too."
The clone not wasting any time, summoned forth a water sword and with a few quick swipes managed to cut the chains that held me and also cut the lock of the bars too. He then helped me to my feet as I breathed deeply trying to ease the pain my body was going through.
"Can you stand up?" my clone asked. "You got shocked pretty badly."
"I... I think so..." I spoke as I stood up on my feet.
"I'm going to cut off the choker now," my clone went on as he poised his sword. "I need you to stay still, so I won't cut you."
I then straightened up as best as could shaking a bit. The clone aiming carefully gave one more swipe of his sword and the choker around my neck snapped in two falling to the floor with a clank.
"Whew... that's a lot better," I spoke as I rubbed my neck. "Thank you."
"No problem," said the clone as he gave me a thumbs up.
Then since his time was up, the clone disappeared and became nothing but a puddle of water. I then went over to the bars making sure that no one was around. Then I took a look at the wanted poster on the ground. I picked it up and took one last look at it.
"I better keep this quiet too," I thought to myself. "The last thing I want is everyone finding out about this lousy bounty. Not only that, but I better conserve my magic for the time being until I can find some water to restore my strength."
I then tore up the poster until it was in millions of pieces. When I was sure that the coast as clear, I slowly opened the bars and I stepped out of the cell. I carefully shut the door and then took off running down the hall.
"Alright. Now that I'm free, I need to figure out where the exit is in this place, so I can go help the others," I thought to myself. "Hopefully, they're all OK."
I soon was out of the prisons and I was carefully navigated my way through the stony tunnels behind careful not to be seen. There were a couple of Black Tiger members that came walking by a couple of times, but I managed to slip away keeping out of sight. Eventually, I came to a tunnel which was dark with no light what so ever making me more on my guard than ever. Then I heard a breeze whistling through the tunnel.
"A breeze! That means there's a way out!"
I then raced towards the end of the tunnel the breeze getting stronger. Then I saw the opening at the end of the tunnel and raced out from it.
I was finally outside welcoming the fresh air. The sky had now turned into a dark blue with stars and the moon shining brightly. I also found myself high above the ground with the town of Naoko far below making it seem like a toy town.
"Looks like I'm at the mountain from where I'm standing," I thought to myself. "They must have dragged me and Sasuke here after they knocked us out. In the meantime, I better see if I can find the others and see how they're doing. Hopefully, they're alright."
I was just about to use my wings to take off flying when I saw something in the darkness. A shadowy figure was making its way towards my location getting closer and closer.
I immediately looked around trying to find a place to hide. Since there was nowhere else to hide, I immediately ran back inside the cave using its darkness to hide me.
At that moment, the shadowy figure touched down on the ground. The figure appeared to be humanoid and also had wings. I didn't know what this thing was, but I was ready to fight.
"That's weird. I know that I saw someone around here."
"You sure you're not just seeing things, Natsu? Because I don't see anyone."
The two familiar voices my eyebrows rising in surprise. I then came out of the cave knowing who they were.
"Natsu? Happy? Is that you two?!"
Sure enough, as I ran up to them, I could see that it was indeed Natsu and Happy. Their faces immediately upon seeing me.
"Alright, Willy! You're alright!" said Natsu happily. "I had a feeling I saw someone. I'm glad that it's you."
"And you have no idea how glad I am to see you guys," I smiled. "How did you guys even get here? I was told you and the others were trapped by enchantments."
"We were, but we got out of the enchantment thanks to Lucy," said Natsu.
"Lucy?"
"Yeah. Turns out, Lucy's been studying enchantments with Levy," said Happy. "She was able to rewrite the enchantment, therefore, letting us out."
"I didn't know she could do that," I spoke with some slight amazement.
"Neither did she," said Happy. "Which is why I'm wondering what she did was luck or something else."
I was rather amazed by what I heard, but I quickly realized that this wasn't the time for this.
"Never mind that. What about the others?" I asked. "How are they holding up?"
"We're not really sure," said Natsu. "Lucy and Erza were heading for the base of the Crimson Devils to see if they could help them get out while we searched for you. They'll catch up with us pretty soon. By the way, do you know what's going on here?"
"Actually, I do," I said. "And you're not gonna believe what I found out."
I then explained to Natsu and Happy everything that Don Ghira told me excluding the part about the wanted poster about me. Needless to say, the two were pretty shocked.
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Natsu cried. "It was a trap set up by Satoshi?!"
"Of which turned out to be the guild master of a Dark Guild called Black Tiger?!" Happy squeaked.
"That's the whole story," I spoke. "And because of that, Sasuke's somewhere inside of the mountain being worked as a slave along with everyone else who was ensnarled in their sick plot."
"Those rotten bastards!" Natsu growled punching his hand into his palm. "Those punks are gonna pay! We gotta save those people! I say we get in there and show them what happens when they mess with our guild!"
"Aye, sir!" agreed Happy.
"Now hold on just a minute, you two," I spoke. "I understand how you both are feeling, but you guys can't go in there!"
"And why not?" growled Natsu.
"Because if you go charging in there, you're gonna be putting every person that's in there at risk," I said. "Especially since they'll most likely be rigged with collars around their necks. I need you two to head back to others and tell them what's going on."
"And what about you?" asked Happy. "Don't tell me you're gonna go back in there."
"I have to, Happy. Other than Erza who's with Lucy right now, I'm the only one who can cut the collars off their necks safely," I said looking towards the entrance to the cave. "And we need to save these people as soon as we can and stop Black Panther. So I want you two to go back to the others and give them the rundown while I go find Sasuke and free the people inside."
"Oh no. You are not doing this by yourself this time, Willy," Natsu growled. "We're coming with you."
"But Natsu-"
"No buts! You're gonna need all the help you can get if you're planning to free that Sasuke guy and the people inside," said Natsu. "And that's a pretty tall order for one guy to do by himself. So Happy and I are gonna help you whether you like it or not!"
"Natsu! Come on!"
But Natsu wouldn't budge. He just stood there defiantly staring at me with eyes that showed that he wasn't going to back down. I then looked at Happy hoping that he would help me talk some sense into him, but the blue cat just shook his head.
"Just give it up, Willy," he said. "Once Natsu's made up his mind about something, there's no talking him out of it, no matter what you do."
I then sighed. "Alright. Fine. But I'm in charge, you got that? We don't have time for any screwing around, so make sure you guys do whatever I say, got it?"
Natsu answered with a nod and a smirk and Happy nodded in agreement too. The three of us then entered the cave on a mission to find Sasuke and save him along with the other people inside the mountain.
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Dragoman signing off!