Chapter 175

A Proper Punishment

For the next few minutes, I told everyone about what had been going on with me during the Infinity Clock events while they kept silent, listening to everything I said. When I finished telling them, Lisanna was the first to speak up.

"So, you didn't say anything about Finn because you were scared we would blame you?" she asked. "And you wanted to avenge his death by yourself? That doesn't begin to describe how reckless that is."

"I know," I said. "I learned that the hard way, didn't I?"

"Still, I didn't think that you would be the kind of person to go on a manhunt for your old man's killer," said Gajeel. "Gotta say I respect that."

Levy then nudged him hard in the abs with her elbow.

"And to add to that, for some reason, you got a bounty on your head," said Macao. "Makes me surprised that it's been around for this long, considering everyone disappeared on Tenrou Island seven years ago."

"But there's still one thing bugging me," Gray said. "What about this Satoshi guy? I know that he was the guy who kidnapped you way back when, but what's his deal? Why is he so obsessed with you?"

The mere thought of the name made me tense as I remembered what he said before I went berserk. But I took a deep breath and slowly let it out, calming myself down. Then, I started undoing the bandages on my wrists.

"Willy, what are you doing?" asked Elfman.

"If I'm going to tell you about Silver Beard, or rather... Satoshi, as he's known now, I have to tell you everything," I said. "And I also have to show you the scars I've kept hidden for so long."

I took off the wrappings that covered my wrists. Then I removed my sandals, the bandages wrapped around my ankles, and the bandages wrapped around my neck, tossing them over to the side. With my scars exposed, most of the guild naturally gasped with shock while others stared, unnerved.

"Willy... those scars..." murmured Wendy.

"Yeah. I know," I said quietly. "Honestly, I haven't shown these to anyone, not even... my closest friends. Also, remember how I told you I was kidnapped all those years ago? Well, there's more to that story than I've told you."

I took another deep breath, feeling shame and self-loathing, but I pushed those feelings away as I resumed speaking.

"You see, I wasn't just kidnapped for no reason. Satoshi took me to be a test subject for his experiments, probably because he was in the early stages of making that drug and wanted a subject to please Brain and for his own sick amusement." I bit my lip as I squeezed my arm, feeling angry and disgusted by the memory. "I was experimented on constantly, day after day, by that sick bastard over and over again. After I was saved from being controlled, he's been stalking me this whole time, too. But... I was so scared about what he would do and was too stupid to ask for help, so I didn't say anything. Then, I heard the news about Finn through Jura and Master Tu-Chi. Hearing about what happened tore me apart. I couldn't help but think that it was my fault that he died, so I continued to bottle up everything, but it didn't make things easier, especially when Éclair came along. It got harder and harder to tell any of you what I was going through because of those things. But then..."

I bit my lip and clenched my fists in anger and sorrow, but then I felt a hand touch my own as it gave a comforting squeeze. I calmed down without bothering to look up as I resumed speaking again.

"Satoshi came back, and when I saw him, and after he talked to me the way he did, I saw red and completely lost it. I wanted nothing more than to make him pay for what he did. And since I was told I was better off without involving you guys, I went to kill Silver Beard alone. But in the end, I was ambushed, and I ended up repeating what happened to me six... well, fourteen years ago, if you include the years of being on Tenrou Island. When I came to, I was horrified having to be going through the same thing again, and to add to that..." I swallowed a lump in my throat. "that bastard was the one responsible for killing my parents and destroying my village."

There was the sound of several gasps.

"Do you mean... your parents that raised you when you were living in Nomekop?" asked Elfman.

I could only stand there as I tried my best not to yell. "Yes. The destruction of my village. The murder of my parents. Everything. All because of some petty grudge! And he took pleasure in it!" I snapped bitterly as my vision went blurry with water. "At that moment, I couldn't take it anymore. I was just so angry that I wanted to kill him. But then..."

"You turned into a berserk-crazed monster and then started attacking anything that moved?" said Happy.

Lucy bopped the feline on the head with her fist. "Can you be any blunter?!" she snapped.

"No, he's right, Lucy. That's basically what happened," I said. "But that's my fault too. Because of the drugs Satoshi injected into me, I thought I could take advantage of the effects they yielded and use them to make me stronger, but I was wrong. No matter how much I wanted to deny it, I couldn't control it, and look where that got me. I've caused you all trouble, hurt many of you, and kept many things from you." I looked over at Lisanna. "Physically and emotionally. I don't expect you guys to forgive me for what happened or what I've done, but I'm hoping that showing you my scars and telling you all of this will show my trust in you all. However, if it's one thing I've learned, hate and distrust are two emotions not to be forgotten just like that, and I know that I quit the guild, but..."

I clenched my fists and then bowed before everyone while shutting my eyes.

"I want to stay with Fairy Tail! I can't imagine a world without you guys, and I don't want to! I know I've harmed your guild greatly, and I'm sure you won't want someone like me to tarnish your good name, but please, let me stay! But if you still want me to be held accountable, I'll take whatever form of punishment you see fit! And if you want me to leave, I will do so, and you'll never see me again!"

There was a long silence as I kept my head low, waiting for anyone to respond. Then, I heard footsteps coming toward me until they stopped. As soon as they stopped, I heard Natsu's voice.

"Do you plan on taking your punishment as Elfman says, like a real man?" he asked.

"Natsu, please wait!" I heard Lisanna say. "I understand that Willy has to be held accountable, but it wasn't his fault! All he was trying to do was protect us!"

"Yeah! And besides, if anything, Satoshi's the one to blame here!" cried Lucy.

"That doesn't change the fact that Willy should still be held accountable," said Elfman. "Therefore, I'll be joining in as well."

"Elfman! You too?!" I heard Wendy exclaim. "Please reconsider! Hasn't Willy been through enough already?"

"Don't you worry," said Natsu. "We'll make this quick and painless."

"Master, say something!" objected Lucy.

But I didn't hear Makarov say anything. Based on their voices, I could sense that Elfman and Natsu had something terrible planned for my punishment. I was expecting this, but I promised myself I wouldn't run away no matter what they intended to do.

"Are you ready, Willy?" I heard Elfman say. "Natsu and I going to exact your punishment. Make sure not to move a muscle, okay?"

"Do your worst, Elfman," I managed to say. "I'm ready."

Then, as I stood still, bracing myself for any punch or blow to hit me, but instead, I felt something tracing and touching my face from both sides, along with the sounds of snickers. This puzzled me, wondering what they were up to. After a few seconds, the feeling stopped.

"Okay, Willy. Raise your head," said Natsu.

I then opened my eyes, looked up, and saw myself staring at a hand mirror that Natsu held up. What I saw staring back at me almost made my eyes pop out of my sockets. I now had black swirls on my cheeks, a mustache on my upper lip in curls, a pair of glasses around my eyes, and a small dot on my nose. I was so surprised that my wings couldn't help but sprout forth from my back.

"Wh-What the hell is this?!" I couldn't help but shout.

"It's your punishment," said Elfman. "Leave that graffiti on your face for a whole week."

I whipped my head towards Elfman and Natsu, snickering and trying to keep straight faces. "Wait... That's it?!" I cried out again. "That's all I have to do?!"

"That's right!" grinned Natsu. "And you can't take it off until the week's over. Once you do that, everything will be cool!"

"I think it's a fitting punishment," said Gray with a chuckle. "Besides, you look good like that. "

The other guild members began to snicker as I stared dumbly at myself in the mirror and then back at them. Then, I felt my heart grow warm with happiness as my eyes began to fill with tears of joy, as a smile tugged at my cheeks.

"Come on now, Willy. Don't cry," Mira chided while smiling. "If you do, then the ink will run."

"I can't help it," I said while wiping away a tear. "How... can you all forgive me so easily? I thought you'd all be angry with me."

Makarov then came up. "It's like I told you before, boy, you're part of the Fairy Tail family whether you bear our guild's symbol or not," he said with a grin. "We're not always perfect. We argue and fight, but we're still one at the end of the day, and the love and feelings we share will always remain." Then, he looked up at me and couldn't help but snicker. "I'm sorry, I can't take you seriously when you look like that!" he chortled, covering his mouth. "You do look kinda silly."

As everyone else burst into laughter, I couldn't help but let my smile grow, despite the humility I would have to suffer. But that didn't matter to me because I was happy. I was where I belonged with my friends and my family, and I would never leave them again.

Somewhere in a faraway town, a bar was ablaze with lights, filled to the brim with patrons, all either talking, playing cards, or enjoying their drinks. But then, a female stranger came walking in. The stranger wore a gray robe with a hood, a black shirt and pants, and a skirt, sash, and shawl matching dark gray.

When she entered, the people in the bar looked up. Some paid no mind returning to whatever they were doing, while others watched her closely with dirty looks. The girl ignored them as she went to a table and sat down.

No sooner than she did, a bar waiter came up to her.

"What's your pleasure, girlie?" he asked.

"Scotch on the rocks," said the girl. "And leave the bottle."

The bar waiter then left to get the girl's request. As she waited for her drink, some of the customers in the bar were still giving her the stink eye, but she paid no attention as she continued to wait. The waiter soon returned with a glass of scotch with ice and left the bottle. The girl took a drink from her glass, gulping it down with one swing and slamming the cup on the table. As she poured herself another cup, a man approached her.

He wore dark purple slacks and a blue jacket with purple designs on top of a light green t-shirt. He also was tan-skinned, had his hair in a buzzcut, and had a scar that ran across his cheek diagonally.

"Is this seat taken?" he asked.

The girl didn't respond as she started drinking her second cup of scotch. However, the man sat down anyway.

"You know, you should be careful with how much scotch you should drink," the man pointed out. "A young girl like yourself might get a little buzzed."

"Shut the hell up," the girl huffed curtly. "I'm not in the mood to get lectured."

"My, my. Clearly, something's got you angry," said the man. "You want to talk about it? It'll make you feel better."

The girl growled with annoyance as she moved on to her third drink. The man went on egging her.

"I know. I'll try to take a guess, and if I'm right, tell me," said the man. "Now, let me see... what could be the reason for you to be angry?" He took a few seconds to think until he had an idea. "Oh, yes. You let yourself get beaten up by someone from a light guild and failed to kill your enemies, right?"

The girl slammed her cup to the table harder than usual, causing the glass to crack slightly. She then gave the man a glare filled with malice and hate as she grabbed him by the scruff of his collar while pulling him close to her face.

"Do you want me to kill you?" she spoke coldly and threateningly. "Because I've got no problems taking your life here and now."

But the man was surprisingly calm. "My, my, what a scary face you're making, Amina," he said with a grin. "I suppose I guessed correctly, but you should calm down. After all, I didn't come all this way to pick a fight with you, so could you find it in your heart to let me go? I'm sorry for touching a nerve."

The girl growled aggressively but let him go as she poured herself another drink. "So what are you doing here, Fuzen?" she asked curtly. "Did you come here just to piss me off?"

"Not exactly," replied the man. "I've just received word that the mistress wants us to meet her back at the base. Apparently, she's got the announcement to make."

"Well, I'm not interested," huffed Amina as she gulped another bottle of scotch. "It's got nothing to do with me, so why should I give a damn?"

"Now, Amina, don't be like that," said Fuzen. "It could be important, you know."

"The only thing that matters to me is getting payback!" snarled Amina. "I was pissed off enough at that bastard Willy Falconer, but now that bitch of a devil made the top of my list of people I'm gonna kill! Once I see her face, I'll mess her up so bad; no one will even recognize her body! I'll turn it into a pile of meat and bones!"

"That seems a bit excessive, even for you," said Fuzen, cringing a little. "Then again, I can't really blame you. I'm surprised you were easily overwhelmed, even with the drug Satoshi gave you. But I wouldn't be worried. I have a feeling that you'll get your revenge soon enough. Knowing that old coot, I'm willing to bet he's found a way to make his little drug stronger than before, and he'll be testing it on a few lab rats."

"Works for me," said Amina as she took another swing of scotch. "If he's looking for a test subject, then you can bet I'll be the first in line. I'll do whatever it takes to get my revenge, even if it kills me!"

"Well, you're certainly braver than any other girl I've seen and apparently a better drinker, too," said Fuzen. A dark look crossed his face as he smiled. "But I feel the same sentiments as you do. If we can take advantage of this opportunity, we'll grow even stronger and surpass the power of a Wizard Saint."

Fuzen dug into his jacket pocket, took out a mask that appeared like a clown, and stared at it, remembering when he encountered a particular Wizard Saint and her follower many years ago. The memory alone made him smile as he played with the mask in his hand.

"One thing's for sure; it's about to get interesting in this country," he said. "And I'm looking forward to seeing what will happen."

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Dragomaster, signing off!