Cooper POV
Watching Jose enter the room, returning after practically forcing my siblings to flee, I glared at him with a nearly uncontrollable amount of fury and hatred; if it weren't for my situation, I would've torn him apart and feasted upon his flesh like the beast I was. "Hehehe, your little guild was so terrified of my mere presence… It truly pisses me of that such a pathetic guild is spoken in the same breath as Phantom Lord!" Said Jose lightly as he quickly descended into anger while staring at me, though I couldn't care less about his reasons for doing this.
While Jose walked up the steps and sat on his throne, four people suddenly entered the room, though I paid them no heed; my sole focus remained fixed on Jose. "Hoho, looks like you've tamed 'The Beast' Master." Said a man with white and black hair in amusement as he manifested bluish fire and threw it at me, though, just like when the four had entered, I ignored his pathetic attack that did nothing but warm me. "Heh, seems the plan worked wonders, Master. You should've sent me to deal with those weak Fairy Tail mages earlier, Master." Hearing such words, I snapped my head to the right, intensely eyeing a man with long black hair standing on the magic circle's edge.
Lunging forward, I grabbed the man's neck and lifted him into the air while he violently attacked me by transforming his arm into a metal pole, though he only ended up hurting himself. "You're the one who harmed my little siblings?" His whole body turned into iron, but it did nothing in preventing me from squeezing his neck and digging my nails into his skin. "Put Gajeel down!" Side-glancing the blindfolded man who attacked me with wind, I ignored his petty attacks and further squeezed Gajeel's neck, seeking to tear his throat out, though just before I could, I heard Lucy, causing me to drop Gajeel.
"Urgh, b-big bro!" Said Lucy weakly with a collar attached to her neck as she stood beside Jose, who held her by a chain. "Hehe, surprised to see her?" Said Jose with a wicked smirk while yanking the chain, forcing Lucy to the ground. "S-Sorry, urgh, b-big bro." Weakly and apologetically, Lucy offered me a forced smile, though I simply shook my head, while shifting my eyes to Jose; this magic circle must've had a limited range, and once my siblings left Oak Town, I intended to kill everyone, but now, with Lucy present, I couldn't. "Don't worry, Lucy." "Tsk, f-freaking bastard! Y-You nearly killed me!" Yelled Gajeel angrily while backing away from the magic circle, though I ignored him and looked at Jose, both furious and confused, as to why he'd capture Lucy. "Why the fuck did you capture her!?" Jose simply chuckled at my words before sporting a wicked grin.
"Curious? Well, you see, an incredibly wealthy man offered Phantom Lord a large sum of money to capture Lucy Heartfilia, who just so happens to be a part of your guild. It also just so happens I hate Makarov and Fairy Tail, so how could I refuse?" Said Jose with a nasty smirk while tightly pulling the chain, practically dragging Lucy across the ground. "Stop it fucker!" "Hehe, make me, brat? Oh, wait, you can't! Hahaha!" Watching Jose taunt me with laughter while yanking Lucy around by the chain, I could do nothing but gnash my teeth while bound to the area of this magic circle. However, suddenly, Jose tossed two cuffs at my feet, causing me to narrow my eyes as I could tell those were magic sealing cuffs; raising my head, I eyed Jose, whose magic power manifested into purple tendrils and slithered across Lucy's body while he smiled.
Even without saying anything, I knew he was threatening me with Lucy's life, and while I could gamble on whether he'd give up the quest he'd accepted for capturing Lucy, I refused to take that risk, just as I refused to risk my siblings' lives by stepping out of this magic circle. With great reluctance, I grabbed the two cuffs, causing my magic power to be promptly sealed as I snapped them onto my arms before glancing at Jose, who grinned like a madman, which he was. However, to my surprise, he suddenly threw Lucy towards me, prompting me to quickly catch her in my arms, though before I could check her condition, I was forced to turn around, using my back to block a punch from Gajeel, who had attempted to attack Lucy. Even without my magic, I was still a force to be reckoned with, but my injuries weren't helping my situation. 'Tsk, freaking bastard!'
Wiping blood from my mouth, I glared at Gajeel, who retracted his metal-pole-arm with a feral grin while stepping into the magic circle. "Hehe, let me return the favor earlier!" "Gajeel, go ahead and kill Lucy; we do not need her." Said Jose lightly with a faint grin as he stood up and walked away, causing Lucy to eye him. "Eh, D-Don't you need me alive!?" "I never intended to keep my end of the deal in the first place; after destroying Fairy Tail, I'll then kill that man and take everything he owns; your life means nothing." Sadistically smiling, Jose left the room, leaving Lucy and I alone with Gajeel while the other three watched from a safe distance.
"Tsk, stay close, Lucy." "N-No need to tell me twice, big bro." Said Lucy as she leaned against my back while I eyed Gajeel."
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Makarov POV
"Dammit! Lucy and big bro!?" Yelled Natsu furiously as she smashed his hand through the table, destroying it. "We can't sit around and do nothing!" "Natsu! Most of us are injured, attacking now would be stupid." Said Erza as she spoke in my stead, attempting to calm Natsu, though given his fiery personality, she was subjected to his anger. "So we just remain here, and twiddle our thumbs!?" "Tsk, do you think we want to sit around, Natsu? Erza's right, we're too injured to stage a rescue operation." Stated Cana as she stepped towards Natsu, who wasn't the least bit keen on backing down.
"Hmph, then I'll go instead!" Watching Natsu storm his way to the front door, I extended my arm and blocked the door. "Natsu, stop it." "Gra-" "NATSU! Behave yourself; you'll only get yourself captured." Yelled Erza as she aggressively slapped some sense into Natsu, who lowered his head and clenched his teeth while I retracted my arm. "Natsu… Everyone. Do you trust, Cooper?" Standing upon the desk, I looked at all of my children, which was a painful sight as most were injured and wrapped in bandages; however, none of them hesitated to firmly nod.
"Then in two days, we'll attack!" With enthusiastic nods, everyone quickly scattered, looking to rest and heal their injuries as soon as possible, though while doing so, Erza approached. "Master, two days, are you sure?" "You trust, Cooper, don't you?" "Of course, Master, but-" "No buts, Erza; no matter what Cooper is experiencing, he'll keep Lucy safe and himself alive." Although I was just as worried as Erza, I knew that boys' strength, ferocity, determination, and selflessness regarding Fairy Tail. Till this day, not once has anyone who has gone with him returned injured, and I was confident he would ensure it remained the same.
"For now, heal, Erza; without Cooper, we'll need you at your strongest." With a reassuring smile, I gently patted Erza's shoulder, causing her to softly nod before walking away, while I heaved a soft sigh. 'Ha, two days. Surely you can handle just two days, Cooper.'
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Lucy POV
"I'm sorry, big bro." Lowering my head, I wiped my tears and used my shirt to clean the blood on Cooper's face while he lay atop my lap. It's been roughly two days since my capture, and during this time, Gajeel has been nonstop trying to kill me, forcing Cooper to constantly protect me. In the beginning, Cooper could match Gajeel's strength even while protecting me, though unlike Cooper, when Gajeel exhausted his magic power, he'd take a break outside the magic circle and eat iron to replenish his magic power and injuries.
Gajeel repeated this constantly, and although for the first several hours Cooper was fine, his injuries and exhaustion grew to the point where he could hardly stand. "S-Stop apologizing, Lucy." Said Cooper softly as he weakly slapped my face, leaving behind a bloody handprint, while I shook my head. "W-Why, Big bro? You haven't even known me for a month, w-why go so far for me?" Despite my words, I already knew what Cooper would say, and hearing him say it caused me to shed a tear. "Hmph, s-such a d-dumb l-little sister I h-have."
Tenderly rubbing Cooper's cheek, I raised my head when I heard footsteps approaching and eyed Gajeel, causing Cooper to slowly stand up while raising his fists; though, despite his resolve, it was clear that he couldn't fight. "Am I interrupting?" Asked Gajeel with a wicked grin, only to raise his arms, blocking a punch from Cooper. "Your death!"