Here's the next chapter!

I'm a little late for saying this, but Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to you all you readers out there!

Enjoy the chapter!

Italic's stand for flashbacks, Italics and bold stand for speaking during the flashback, and bold, italic, and underline stand for thoughts during the flashback.

Chapter 131

A Ninja's Resolve

WILLY'S POV

Master Tu-Chi stood before me, smiling gently. "Willy. So the rumors were true after all," she said. "I had a feeling you'd still be alive. Although, I wish we'd reunite under better circumstances."

"So you were the one who sent me that message and map," I spoke, keeping a neutral expression. "I should have guessed you'd call me all the way out here. The only thing I'm wondering about this was why and what reason?"

At that moment, I started getting an idea as to why Tu-Chi wanted to meet me here in this graveyard, and the thought alone made my skin crawl.

"With all due respect, Master, if you brought me here to see Finn's grave, I don't want to see it," I said, my voice inadvertently cold. "In fact, that's the last thing I want to see right now."

Tu-Chi stared at me, her face remaining neutral. "Don't believe everything that you see," she said. "This place is indeed a graveyard, but I apologize when I say Finn is not buried here. If I wanted to show you where Finn was laid to rest, we would have gone to Osia."

"Then why did you have me come here?" I asked, losing a bit of patience. "If this is supposed to be some kind of reunion, then this is quite a creepy and depressing one."

"Believe me, this meeting of ours has a lot more significance than you realize," Tu-Chi said. "Something of great importance." She paused for a brief moment. "Firstly, I take it that Jura has told you what had transpired in what was Finn's last battle, I presume?"

I didn't answer, but Tu-Chi could tell by looking at me that she didn't need to get a response to know the answer to that question.

"Then I suppose I should spare you from having to hear what had happened again," said Tu-Chi. "Is there anything else that he told you?"

"He told me about Jellal breaking out, as well as the Oracion Seis," I said. "And he told me about how you and Finn went on a mission searching for me, only to end up getting attacked by an unknown enemy."

Tu-Chi hummed. "I see. So you know everything," she said. "Well, not entirely everything."

"Master Tu-Chi, what happened?" I asked, tentatively. "I've only heard the particulars from Jura, but I want to know from your perspective. Please. Tell me everything."

There was a long pause as Tu-Chi and I stood there in silence with nothing but the wind whistling through the trees. Until at last, Tu-Chi broke the silence, wearing a neutral expression still, but now had some sadness hidden within it.

"Very well. You do have a right to now since he was like a father to you," Tu-Chi spoke quietly. "But before I tell you, you should know that what you're about to hear is considered to be confidential by the Magic Council, and what I experienced, is something that not even I couldn't have expected to happen."

It happened during the seven-year period that Willy and along with Fairy Tail disappeared. When Tu-Chi, Finn, and Sieri found out about the event and naturally joined in the search with Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale. Finn, especially, worked as hard as he could to try and find you all. He would spend many days trying to get whatever info he could find, but always came up short or couldn't find anything. The same thing went with Tu-Chi, Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, and the rest of Fairy Tail. Sieri also wanted to join the search, but was left behind for safety reasons. The search continued for many weeks, until many months had passed. Then one day, they got word from an anonymous tip that someone that looked just like Willy had been seen somewhere in an abandoned location close to a canyon and a wasteland. Naturally, Tu-Chi thought something was suspicious about this tip, but Finn insisted that they'd look into it.

"It's worth checking out, Master. We haven't had any luck in finding them so far, and this is the only sighting we've had!" Finn said. "If this is Willy, then we've got to find him! He and his friends could be in a lot of trouble! I'm going to check it out!"

"Hold on, Finn. I'm not entirely sure that this information we found isn't sound," Tu-Chi warned. "There's also the possibility that this info could be false."

"But what if it isn't, Master? What if someone's actually found Willy, and he along with the rest of Fairy Tail could be in big trouble?" insisted Finn. "We can't let this chance slip by! Even if it is a trap, we've got to take the risk. I owe it to Willy as his dad! I'll go by myself if I have to!"

Tu-Chi knew that there was no talking him out of this and couldn't be persuaded, so the two of them agreed to go check out this lead for ourselves. They soon arrived at the location in question, which was a town located in a location where a rocky wasteland met a forest. When they got there, they were surprised to see that there was no one around. No man, woman, or even a child could be seen anywhere.

"That's odd. This place seems deserted," said Finn. "There's not a soul to be found anywhere. Where are all the people?"

Tu-Chi then placed her hand on the ground using her Aqua Sense. "I do not know. I can't sense any magic power, but stay on guard. I feel something ominous about this place."

Finn then noticed something on the ground that caught his eye. He knelt down and picked up something while inspecting it. It was like paper, was in the shape of a stick figure, and was colored black.

"How odd," murmured Finn. "What is this thing? Some kind of paper doll?"

It wasn't the only one either. There were numerous paper dolls scattered all around the town, which made Tu-Chi feel all the more suspicious and worried.

"Finn, stay on guard," Tu-Chi warned. "I'm starting to think that the tip we received was nothing more, but a fool's errand. Something doesn't feel right."

The two then resumed walking, looking around for any clues as to what had happened to this town. Then Tu-Chi stopped raising a hand, which in turn caused Finn to stop. Tu-Chi remained motionless for a brief few seconds, then she held out her hand and made her spear of water materialize from her hand took a stance. Finn followed suit by summoning forth his short sword and took a stance as well.

Then suddenly, someone came shooting out from the darkness, going several feet in the air while flipping and then landed on the ground before Finn and Tu-Chi. The stranger was wearing an outfit with slacks, a sweater, a vest on top of the sweater, knee pads, shoulder pads, and a mask that his face. From the looks of it, it was an outfit made for stealth. The moment the stranger saw them, it clenched its fists, which became shrouded in a strange black ooze and extended into sharp blades and moved faster than the normal eye could see. The only one who saw it was Tu-Chi who looked back in time to see the stranger appear right behind Finn.

"Finn!" Tu-Chi yelled. "Behind you!"

Tu-Chi immediately thrust her spear at Finn, who tilted his head to the right to dodge the incoming spear just in time as did their unknown assailant. Finn then swung his blade at his enemy only for it to jump up and kick upside his head, stunning him and blowing him back a great distance away.

Tu-Chi joined the fray, giving the unknown fighter a few quick jabs of her spear, but the stranger dodged and parried the incoming blows and then countered with a roundhouse kick of which Tu-Chi blocked.

As Finn flipped slowing himself down, he looked up in time to see the assailant coming attacking his master. It swiped and it sliced with its blades threatening to cut off any part of her body, but Finn conjured a pair of water stars and threw them both at once, forcing the person to jump up to dodge and as it was in the air, the black blade changed shape and suddenly shot out going incredibly large turning into a large hand. Finn eyes widened in surprise and took flight spreading his wings as the black ooze hand slammed the ground where he once was.

"What the hell?!" Finn exclaimed. "What is that stuff?!"

With a slam of her hand on the ground, Tu-Chi conjured forth a dragon made of water. "WATER DRAGON!"

The ground erupted with water and formed a long Chinese-style dragon, which roared as it shot straight toward's its target. However, the assailant dodged the watery beast retracting its black fist, and turning it back into a sword. With a mighty swing of both its arms, while making an X, it sliced the water dragon in seconds making it turn into harmless water.

Finn then waved his hands conjuring numerous drops of water from the air. "AQUA BULLETS!"

He swung his hand forward and the drops of water shot forward and rained down upon the attacker. The attack brought his hands to its chest crossing them, and the black ooze swords changed again. This time, the strange substance surrounded the man in a spherical shell, shielding it from Finn's attack. Finn and Tu-Chi then regrouped as the attacker remained unclosed inside of its barrier.

"It appears that we have a strange yet capable opponent on our hands," said Tu-Chi. "I've never seen anything like this before."

"Who are you?!" demanded Finn. "We're not looking for a fight! If you talk to us, we won't harm you."

The bubble of ooze then unfurled and for the first time ever, the stranger spoke in a male voice. "Who I am doesn't matter to either one of you. The only thing that matters right now is that the two of you witnessed something you shouldn't have, and for that, you both need to be eliminated, by order of my mistress."

"So much for the friendly approach," Finn muttered. "What should we do, Master?"

Tu-Chi didn't say a word as she tried to get a read on this mysterious assailant. Then the man seemed to squint, reappearing to recognize the two.

"Hold on a minute. Well, what do you know? If it isn't Master Tu-Chi of the Ten Wizard Saints," the stranger spoke. "This certainly is a surprise yet something that could work in my favor. Here's an idea, instead of killing you two, how about you two help a guy out and I won't kill you?"

"And what would you need help with, stranger?" asked Tu-Chi.

"You see, I'm looking for a certain person my mistress is looking for," the stranger said. "Maybe you two have heard of him. He goes by the name of Willy Falconer."

Finn then flinched instinctively, as did Tu-Chi.

"So, you two do know him," the stranger spoke sounding pleased, as the ooze once again covered his fingers. "In that case, let me make you two an offer. I would very much appreciate it if you would tell me where he is. Do that, and I won't kill you guys. Sound fair?"

"First of all, that sounds more like an ultimatum rather than an offer," Finn scowled. "Secondly, we have no idea where he is ourselves, but even if we did, there's no way that we'd tell you that."

"Easy, Finn," warned Tu-Chi. "He's only trying to provoke you. And why pray tell would you be after him? Planning to get rich on the bounty on his head perhaps?"

The stranger then laughed. "I could care less about money, which might I add is just an object," he said. "My assignment from my mistress is to find that boy, capture him, and bring him to her, dead or alive. And I can't afford to disappoint her, so I think I question you two for answers. If you don't answer what I want to know, then I'll have to kill you both, so be prepared."

The ooze in the man's hands once again was turned into blades, but a few additional blades sprouted out from the sides of his arms, each one being in various different sizes.

"Are you the one responsible for what happened to this village?" Finn asked.

"And if I did, what are you going to do about it?" the stranger asked back, taking a stance, pointing his blades. "Not that there's anything you can do against me."

Finn bravely stepped forward and then conjured a pair of swords using his water magic, his face in a grim expression and raring for a fight.

"Finn! I said to calm yourself!" Tu-Chi said. "He's only baiting you!"

But Finn didn't listen as he dashed forward, his swords poised and aimed, as he went on the attack.

"We engaged our unknown enemy in battle," Tu-Chi went on. "But whoever our enemy was, stopped our attacks with that strange ooze he was secreting, no matter what spells we used. Not only that, but whatever damage we inflicted on it, our opponent didn't seem to feel it, completely invulnerable to pain. And that ooze he was using, I wasn't sure if it was magic or something else entirely."

I remained silent, listening to everything that Tu-Chi was telling me, visualizing the battle in my mind as she continued her story.

"Meanwhile, the two of us were unable to counter and ended up being overwhelmed," Tu-Chi continued. "The two of us were at a major disadvantage, and it only grew worse from there."

The battle had been going one way, and it wasn't on Finn and Tu-Chi's side. The assailant had hardly taken any damage, while Finn and Tu-Chi had taken significant damage and were low on magic. Tu-Chi's right arm covered in blood, as she tried her best to heal herself. Finn was also in a bad state, but he was still ready and able to fight, as well as protect Tu-Chi.

The stranger with the black ooze cackled maliciously as he extended his blades raring for another go, when he suddenly stopped. Despite his face being hidden under a mask, Tu-Chi could see that based on his body language, he was shocked as well as slightly frightened.

"M-Mistress! I wasn't expecting you!" the stranger stammered. "I have the situation under control, so if you'll give me just a few more minutes-"

Then Finn and Tu-Chi heard the sound of strange footsteps coming from behind them, nor sooner than they did, both of them felt an overwhelming and evil presence. A presence that was so great, that even Tu-Chi felt a chill go down her spine.

The two of them looked behind them and saw someone coming towards them. This newcomer appeared to be female, wore a dark cloak which covered her body up her feet,, and her feet were scaly and sharp like talons on a bird.

The woman looked across to the two. "It seems that we have some uninvited guests, that have been stirring up quite a bit of trouble," she said as she looked across to the assailant. "And you let them in here?"

Tu-Chi felt her blood run cold, as she stared at the woman, feeling a dark and unsettling feeling in her stomach. She had met her fair share of enemies, but even she couldn't help feeling unnerved as a trickle of sweat went down her face.

"Who the hell is this? It's like every bit of her being is filled with malice and death, like she's evil itself! Just being close to her is enough to make me feel nauseated!"

The assailant then kneeled putting one hand on the ground in a fist. "I'm so sorry, Mistress. I tried my best to eliminate these intruders, and I know that I let them see too much, but I fully intend to take responsibility."

The woman then smiled. "I'm sure that you will, but it's fine," she said. "You've found two others who could be worthy of my enhancements unlike the people of this village."

Tu-Chi then realized, remembering the paper dolls that were littered around. "Those dolls... those were people?!" she thought. "And it seems that she was the one responsible."

"So those paper dolls we saw were people?" Finn spoke, clenching his fists in anger. "Then you're the one responsible for them!"

The woman then glanced over at Finn and Tu-Chi. "So, which one of you two would like to receive my enhancement? Can't really say that you'll fare well with them, old woman, but perhaps the boy might have a chance. The young have proven to be a bit stronger than the elderly. Then again, every human being is fragile no matter how strong in magic or in physical prowess."

The mysterious woman then began to radiate in an ominous emerald green aura as a sadistic, slasher-like smile crept on her lips. Finn and Tu-Chi could feel how murderous and malevolent her aura was as she took a step toward them.

"When that woman showed up, something within me felt terribly wrong, enough to make me feel afraid," Tu-Chi said, gravely. "So, the two of us tried to flee, but we were pursued relentlessly. Knowing that neither one of us could get away, Finn made a decision that would cost him his life."

She then turned away, gazing towards the sky pausing for a brief moment before continuing.

"He placed my own life above his, and chose to help me get away while he fought them off," Tu-Chi resumed. "I was against it the whole time, and I told him that I should have been the one to risk my life, because he was so young, but Finn went anyway and sent me out of harm's way via a spell. Even though he knew he had no chance of defeating that woman, and would most likely die, he courageously continued to fight, while I escaped. However, as his magic carried me away, that man with that strange ooze followed me and attempted to take advantage of my current state, but I managed to put him down before he had a chance to kill me."

Tu-Chi then looked back towards me. "Ever since then, I've been investigating who this mysterious woman was, but so far, I haven't been able to find any leads other than rumors and speculations. And, that's everything I know about Finn's efforts before he died."

All I could do was remain silent as I stood there, my fists clenched tightly as emotion went through my body, until I mustered up the nerve to speak.

"You let him go, didn't you, Master?" I asked quietly. "And even though you knew it would be a bogus lead, you let him go?"

"Yes. I did," Tu-Chi replied.

At that moment, anger surged through my body. I walked straight up to Tu-Chi and grabbed her by the scruff of her cloak and pulled her close to my face as I scowled.

"How could you let him take such a risk?!" I demanded. "Why weren't you more forceful with him?! You knew Finn more than anyone and yet you still let him go despite the danger! And why didn't you go back to help him?!"

Tu-Chi stared at me, retaining her calm demeanor, not even bothering to pry me off as she spoke calmly to me. "Willy, you know as well as I do that there was nothing I could do nor could I have done when it came to Finn. You know that. And believe me, I wanted more than anything to save him, but it was already too late. I'm sorry."

My hands tightened around the scruff of her cloak as I growled hotly, my eyes boring holes in hers, raring to take out my frustrations. However, some part of me in the back of my mind told me to let her go. There was no need to take my anger out on her. So with a disgruntled grunt, I let Tu-Chi go and turned away from her, taking a few steps forward.

"If Finn was in your position, he would have never let you take a risk like that," I spoke bitterly. "Ever."

And not wanting to be there, any more than I had to, I spread my water wings and took the sky wanting to get away as soon as possible.

NO POV

Tu-Chi could only stand there and watch as Willy took off into the air disappearing into the sky until he was out of sight. Jade then came flying down and landed on Tu-Chi's shoulder and nuzzled her beak on her cheek, providing her some comfort. Tu-Chi looked at her feathered friend and stroked her head affectionately.

"Oh, Jade, my dear," Tu-Chi sighed sadly. "I'm afraid it's one of those things. What makes it truly sad, is that Finn never got the chance to see Willy's face before he died. And while I have seen this over dozens of times, I can see that Willy truly loved and admired Finn as a teacher and as a father."

Jade cooed sympathetically as she continued to nuzzle against her master affectionately, while she petted her head.

"He's not wrong, Jade," Tu-Chi went on. "Maybe if I was a bit more forceful, he would still be alive, but there's no changing what happened in the past if it already happened. I only wish I can quell the turmoil in Willy's heart as well as mine."

As Tu-Chi sat there with Jade perched on her shoulder, she gazed up towards the sky once again, her face filled with sorrow as well remorse.

WILLY'S POV

I didn't stop flying until I was all the way back to Magnolia. By the time I got back, it was already sunset. However, I hardly cared about how late it was getting. All I wanted to do was walk around. I wandered through the streets silently as the civilians of Magnolia went about their day without a care in the world. Then I familiar scent wafted into my nostrils which made me stop and glance to my right. The smell was coming from a food stand where a man and his daughter were standing by. The man was giving his little girl a steaming bowl of noodles. The two looked so happy together, I couldn't help but feel envious and nostalgic.

It made me remember how Finn used to take me to Sid's to eat after a training session when I was little. Memories of back when I used to train with Finn also came bubbling up in my mind. Those memories alone were enough to make me smile a bit, but not feel any less sad. I then kept on walking not wanting to stick around nor stare any longer. I kept on walking not really caring where I went.

Soon enough, I found myself in South Gate Park. Feeling tired of walking around, I decided to sit on the bench and just do nothing. As I sat there, the memories of myself and Finn continued to play out inside of my head, making me feel all the more depressed. To make things worse, not too far away, I heard a mother holding her son in her arms, the two of them laughing from just being together. It made me want to yell at them to stop being so happy, but I kept my mouth shut.

Then I heard the strange sound of thundering footsteps coming towards me as a shadow seemed to loom over me. I glanced over to my left as saw a familiar pair of brown boots and a blue skirt belonging to a certain blonde I knew.

"Lucy, I apologize, but leave me alone," I said immediately. "I'm not in the mood to-"

But as I looked up, I saw something that made my eyes go wide with a surprise. As I predicted, the outfit did belong to Lucy, but the person that was wearing it, wasn't Lucy at all. She was stout, the outfit barely being able to contain that stoutness, and she had a familiar style of short purple hair. It was then that I recognized her.

"L-Landlady?" I spoke with a hint of surprise. "Wh-What are you doing here?"

The landlady didn't say anything. Instead, she grabbed me by the scruff of my shirt and before I realized it, I was being dragged away. Feeling completely off guard, I tried to get free, but the landlady's hand was like an iron grip refusing to let go. Eventually, after a few minutes of dragging, the landlady finally let go plopping me to the floor.

As I sat back up, I glared crossly at the Landlady. "Hey! What's the big idea, Landlady? You don't have the right to go and... do..."

I then took notice of my surroundings and was surprised to see that I found myself in my apartment room. Everything was exactly the same as it was before I left for Tenrou Island from my bed to my desk.

"L-Landlady. I don't understand," I murmured. "How is... I thought that you-"

"I've been keeping it clean every week," the landlady said. "Other than a few clothes, everything's held up fine over the years. And if you're concerned about the debt you owe, don't worry about that either. It's been paid for."

"Wait, what do you mean it's been paid for?!" I exclaimed. "Who could afford to pay five million eight hundred and eighty-eight thousand jewel?!"

"Apparently someone who's got a lot of jewel," the landlady said. "I just got a letter that came with the amount of jewel you owe, though I have no idea who sent it."

This made me go silent as I stared at the landlady in surprise as she left the room, but before she shut the door, she looked back at me.

"By the way, don't worry about Lucy either, her father paid off her debt so she's back in her apartment too," the landlady said. "You know, it never ceases to amaze me how parents are willing to do anything to support their children, blood-related or not. It makes me wish that my parents were still around."

She then quietly shut the door as she left the room leaving me alone as I sat there processing about what she just said.

"Someone had already paid off of my rent already? But who?"

There were a few names that came to mind, but the biggest two were either Finn or Master Tu-Chi, however, I decided not to dwell on it. At least I had a place to live again and I didn't need to impose on the Strauss siblings anymore. Especially given how depressed I felt right now.

I got up from the floor and then went over to my bed, and then fell right on top of it letting myself sink into the softness and burying my head in the pillow. As I lied there, I wallowed in my memories of Finn in sadness. They made me want to start crying, but for some reason, the tears just wouldn't come out, like something was blocking them. As I continued to lie there, memories of Finn and I once again began to play out in my mind. I wanted those memories to stop because of the hurt and agony they were causing me, but they wouldn't.

"Well, now. It seems you're in quite a sorry state, aren't you?"

My eyes then opened as a switch seemed to click in my mind, finding myself in the last place I wanted to be once again.

The blue and green striped room.

I found myself sitting on the couch and to my right was the girl that dwelled in it. However, I've noticed that the girl looked a bit different. She looked a bit older as well as taller, and she was also a bit curvier. However, I wasn't all too pleased to see her.

"Not you again," I sighed. "If you're looking to mess with my head again, I'm not in the mood, and why am I even here anyway?"

"Aww. Come now. I only called you here because you're grieving," the girl said. "Being the kind girl that I am, I figured that you could use some advice to help ease your grief. A pep talk if you will."

"And what advice you could ever offer me?" I wondered with a hint of sarcasm. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly in the mood to talk to anyone, much less you."

"Just hear me out for a minute, dear, Willy," the girl spoke as she walked over to the tank. "Finn was like a father and a teacher to you, and he deserves every and all respect. However, as I told you before, this world can a harsh reality, and in order to survive, you're going to have to let go of all petty emotions. Not just kindness but also grief."

She then started to feed the fish as she continued.

"And being the person of your circumstances, you're going to need to let go of those things more than ever now that Finn's gone. You want the pain to go away, do you not? Then I have the perfect solution for you."

She paused impressively, as she looked back at me, a strange smile turning her cheeks.

"Revenge."

That word alone made me flinch a little as she turned around walking towards me.

"That's right. As a wise man once said; "An eye for an eye." If you want the pain to go away, if you want to the despair in your heart to fade, then take vengeance is the best course of action you can take." the girl went on as she now stood in front of me. "Avenge your dear old father's death. Devote yourself to killing the person responsible. You'll feel so much better that way."

"Take... revenge?" I repeated. "But... there's no way I could do that. To take revenge is like ingesting a poisonous nectar. Sure, it's sweet, but the poison will still corrupt your body until the person you are is gone. That's what Master Tu-Chi taught me."

"Do you honestly think that woman's advice should mean anything at this point?" the girl asked, leaning in close. "After all, you did blame her for what happened to Finn. Not to mention, you also promised yourself that you wouldn't allow anyone to get involved in your problems anymore, and look where that got Finn. He just couldn't stay away."

I couldn't say anything more, knowing that she did have a point. The girl then cupped my chin in her hand, and tilted my head up so I was looking at her in the eyes.

"Come on, Willy. This isn't the time for you to mourn. You're allowed to take revenge. Whoever killed Finn deserves to pay with their life," the girl spoke in a tempting tone. "Get justice for your father, get closure for his murder, and take your vengeance on the person who took your loved one away. I can see in your heart how much you're suffering. Give in to your hatred and vengeance for the one who stole from you. Only then will your pain and despair go away."

As I listened to her entrancing words, my mind began to drift away as I fell under her spell the more I stared at her eyes. The girl smiled at me and leaned in close to my face, while I let her. From the looks of things, it seemed like she was going to kiss me, but I didn't seem to mind nor could I process that, as I accepted what was coming, my eyes closing shut.

My eyes slowly opened finding myself lying on my bed, my face still buried in my pillow. I sat up and glanced over at the window, seeing that orange evening glow of the sky had been replaced by the black-blue darkness of night. It was then that I remembered the words from the girl that I saw in the space. As much as I didn't want to admit it, she was right. This wasn't the time for mourning. As I clenched my fists tightly, I made myself a promise.

"Finn, I swear to you. I'm going to get justice. I'm going to find the person who took you from me, and them pay with their life! That's a promise!"

NO POV

As Willy made his promise for revenge, his eyes with burning in anger, so much so that they started to glow in a bright green color, the pupils becoming slightly slitted.

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