When Savanah finished speaking of Edolas, there was a long moment of silence as I slowly came to the realization that the Savanah beside me wasn't the Savanah I knew. It wasn't as heartbreaking as one would think; it's been 18 years since that day, I've long since come to terms with their death, but still, for my hope to be squashed didn't feel good.
'I want to punch something.' Growling softly, I tapped my fingers on the ground, just itching to break something to vent, though before I could, Savanah broke the silence. "You. You said I died in your world, Cooper." Glancing at Savanah, who kept her head down, I faintly nodded, the anger in my heart rapidly dispersing. "How did I die?"
Raising her head, she looked at me, causing me to look away as the memory of her being eaten overlapped. "The beasts. They. They ate you." "Ate me? At least, it was probably quick." As she muttered those words, I gritted my teeth. "I-I know I'm the Savanah you knew, but I'm sorry."
Seeing her smile, which was nearly identical to her younger version, I clenched my fist, slamming it against the wall, causing our cave-cell to shudder. "Sorry? SORRY!? IT SHOULD BE ME! I'M THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE APOLOGIZING! B-BECAUSE OF ME, YOU DIED! YOU SACRIFICED YOURSELF FOR ME! A-AND LIKE A COWARD I RAN; WHILE YOU WERE BEING EATEN, I RAN FOR MY LIFE!"
I shot to my feet and exploded in fury while glaring at Savanah, releasing all the self-hatred and self-loathing that had accumulated over the years. However, I ended up coughing blood and dropping to a knee; my injuries evidently didn't appreciate my actions.
"D-Do you know what it's like to live your life knowing you're nothing but a coward? I-I'm haunted nearly every night; nightmares of you, of that night." Wiping my mouth, I grabbed my head, the innumerable nightmares flashing through my mind, yet chaotic emotions seemed to freeze when Savanah enveloped me in a hug.
"You did what you were supposed to, Cooper; I'm the big sister. It's my job to be your shield and sword. I'm sure she died happily knowing her little brother safely escaped… You've been through a lot. I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you." Along with her soothing voice, she rubbed the back of my head, giving me a sense of security and comfort, causing me to inevitably cry.
As the tears rolled down my face, I stuffed my face into her chest, not wanting her to see me cry. "Your big sis is here, everything will be fine." Her words only prolonged the release of my accumulated emotions; by the end of it, her chest and shirt were thoroughly soaked with my tears.
"Aren't you going to move?" Savanah brushed aside my hair, looking down at me, causing me to faintly shake my head through my sniffles. "N-No." "Haa, since I never got to spoil you, I'll allow it." With an exasperated yet amused tone, Savanah continued to rub my back while I slowly regained my composure.
"W-What a-about me? H-How did I d-die?" Hesitantly, I looked up at Savanah, who briefly froze before continuing. "It was also during the beast horde. While escaping, I-I went to warn your family, but when I arrived, your house had already collapsed into flames." Savanah paused, closing her eyes as she controlled her breathing before continuing.
"When I returned days later, I searched through the debris and found your body. It was… Unrecoginzable. You were still clutching the rock I'd gifted you; it had my initials. It was supposed to be a testament that we'd always be together… Afterward, I buried your body." When she finished, I remained silent for some time, letting her sort out her emotions, as I know better than anyone how difficult it is to remember that.
"Why did you gift me a rock with your initials? That's dumb." At my words, Savanah promptly pulled my ear, nearly ripping it off my head. "You said the same thing! I had to basically force you to put your initials on a different rock and then gift it to me!" "S-Sorry! I-It hurts!" I grabbed her hand, wincing in pain while she glared at me, only for her to release it with a huff.
"Next time, don't call it dumb. I was only 8." "B-But I was 5. O-Ow! M-My ear!" Releasing my ear for my second time, I gently rubbed the tender skin before shooting Savanah a glare, though I ended up cowering at hers.
"S-So, how do we escape from here?" Scooting beside Savanah, I glanced at her, hoping she had a plan, which she thankfully did. "When the soldiers come to give us food, they carry a key with them." "Is that so? When will they return?" "Probably in two days." "Two days? And all they give is a single loaf of bread?" "Yep." "I should kill them all, just given the lack of food."
Since we had plenty of time left before breaking out of our cells, we spent it sharing our life stories. Funnily enough, we both ended up joining Fairy Tail.
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Savanah POV
"Alright, any moment now they should be coming." Stretching slightly, I glanced at Cooper, who was sprawled on the ground, his frame slightly thinner than when he first arrived. "I'm hungry." "Oh, don't be a baby." "You ate my food." "Well, you should've been awake." "You knocked me out." "Should've been stronger than." Cooper didn't respond and merely groaned, unable to refute my words.
Slowly, he sat upright, leaning against the wall while I sat in the corner, my usual spot, as we waited for the soldier. Minutes flashed by, and when nearly an hour had passed, Cooper suddenly moved. "They're coming." "Huh, you weren't joking, you've got great senses." "Would've died without them."
Yawning, Cooper slicked his hair back while we looked down the long hall; soon, I began to hear the faint hum of the elevator. When the Elevator stopped, there was silence for a long while, until I began to hear faint footsteps that grew louder.
After a while, a figure appeared on the other side of the cell, the single torch illuminating the figure just enough that I was able to see the soldier. Just as he opened the slot to slide the food in, I lunged forth, sticking my arm through and grabbed his waist before slamming him into the cell, knocking him unconscious.
Dropping him to the ground, I pulled him close before grabbing the keys off him and unlocking the cell, allowing us to freely exit. "That was easy. Why haven't you escaped yet?" Grabbing the loaf from the ground, Cooper rapidly devoured it before looking at me, causing me to wave my hand. "Blackmail, we can talk about it later. Anyway, let's go." Kicking the guard into the cell, I ran down the hall while Cooper followed.
"Remember the plan?" "Yep. We sneak to the armory to get your weapon." "Treasury." "Treasury, armory, same thing." "Haa, it's not, but okay."
When we arrived at the elevator, I tried activating it, but I quickly realized that without a key, it wouldn't work. "Are you kidding me? I don't want to run back." "What? The elevator won't work?" "It will, I just need to grab a key from the soldier." "Oh, forget that, just get on my back, I'll climb us out." Dissmissively waving his hand, Cooper gestured to his back, causing me to raise an eyebrow.
"Are you sure? You're still injured." "Oh, I'm fine." Glancing at his confident smirk, I looked down at his numerous injuries that had barely healed before hesitantly nodding. "Don't push yourself." Climbing onto his back, my grip was hesitant, so as not to aggravate his injuries further, he suddenly leaped onto the wall, latching onto it by digging his nails into the earth.
Cooper proceeded to climb up the wall; actually, rather than climb, it was like he was running side-ways on all-fours, and he was fast. 'Huh, that's cool.'
When we arrived at the top, we landed on the floor while I hopped off his back. "You okay?" "No, I need a battle." "Not yet, let's be quiet…" I wasn't able to finish as sirens suddenly started going off, causing me to freeze. 'HOW!?' Inwardly cursing at how they somehow found out about our escape, I had to scrap our plan.
"New plan, follow me!" I exploded into a sprint, leaving the elevator behind as I dashed through the hallways, ignoring the several soldiers that tried and failed to stop us. However, our luck ran out when we ran into Erza.
"Explode!" She thrust her spear at us, causing me to click my tongue as I dodged, only for my eyes to widen in horror when I saw Cooper running right toward the spear. "COOPER!"
Not even a moment later, the spear exploded, enveloping the two in a thick, black smoke that obscured my view. However, just as I dashed towards it, my heart hammering against my chest in worry, Cooper was thrown out of the smoke.
'Eh, wait, that's not the right direction.' Stopping, I glanced in the distance, only for the cloud of smoke to be dispersed, revealing Cooper, who had a gash across his chest, but he was grinning. "Heh, not much without the three others, are you?"