"Cooper, be careful! You can't just do that, you could've died!" Heaving a sigh of relief that Cooper was alive, I stormed my way to him, gently hitting the back of his head, yet he just chuckled. "Hehe, it's fine, a little wound like that won't kill me." "You're barely alive as is! C'mon, let's go while Erza is still down!" Scoffing at how reckless this version of Cooper was, I grabbed his hand, trying to lead him past Erza.
However, I was forced to leap back while dragging Cooper, narrowly evading a burst of wind, causing me to click my tongue as I glared at Erza, who was wiping blood from her mouth. "No one is allowed to leave!" Spitting a clump of blood onto the ground, she pointed her spear at us while the whole place shook.
"Tch, do you think you're enough to stop me, Erza?" "Without Crimson Ruin, you're nothing special Savanah." Glaring intensely at me, I snorted, finding her words arrogant, though before I could take her up on that challenge, Cooper placed a hand on my chest, stopping me while he stepped forward. "Heh, go get your weapon, I've got this."
"What are you talking about? You'll die! Let me deal with her, you go get my weapon!" I grabbed Cooper's hand, refusing his suicidal plan; I'd already lost my little brother once, and I wouldn't allow it to happen a second time. "Hehe, die? She's not strong enough. Besides, I don't know what your weapon looks like." Chuckling, Cooper ignored me, cracking his fingers while meeting Erza's glare, causing me to gnash my teeth at his sheer stupidity.
"Stop being hard-headed! Just listen to me!" Latching onto his shoulder, I forced him to face me, only for his fist crash into my face, causing me to take several steps back. Grabbing my nose, I looked at my bloody hand in a daze before eyeing Cooper, who was confidently grinning.
"Savanah, I ain't the Cooper you knew; just like you said, my life was hard, but do you think someone weak would've survived such a life? You don't need to worry so much, I'm strong. Stronger than you could imagine. Your little brother won't die." Slicking his hair back, Cooper flashed a smirk before turning around, facing Erza. "Are you done?" "Yep."
Without waiting, Cooper lunged at Erza, who did the same; when the two collided, it wasn't the utter defeat I'd been worried he'd face, no, it was quite the opposite. Erza was the one being suppressed.
As I watched the two fight, I was slightly taken aback at how he fought; Cooper was incredibly skilled, how he retaliated, how he attacked, and the way he moved as if he could see everything was honestly enviable. However, what truly shocked me was how much he resembled a beast; he didn't try to dodge attacks; if anything, he gladly welcomed them, tanking a hit from Erza's spear and using that chance to attack her.
He was skilled, but where he truly shone was the sheer violence he embodied; he was akin to a beast in human skin. "Faster! Swing faster! You can't kill me like this!" Grinning like a maniac, Cooper tilted his head, dodging Erza's spear before punching her face, forcing her back.
'What a crazy little brother I have.' Faintly smiling, I shook my head, trusting Cooper to handle Erza while I left, heading to the treasury. Along the way, I encountered numerous guards, and I discovered the place was under attack. Looking out the window, I saw three people fighting a giant robotic magic weapon. 'Eh, isn't that Natsu!?'
Although it looked exactly like him, as I watched, I realized it wasn't my Natsu. "Must be Cooper's Natsu, my Natsu's a timid boy." Scratching my head, I continued onwards, taking down whatever soldiers I found along the way before finally arriving at the royal treasury.
"Finally." Heaving a sigh, I kicked open the doors; stepping inside, I walked down the middle, ignoring the piles of gold before arriving at the other side, where another set of doors was. Kicking those open, I entered a much smaller room, but this room was filled with lacrima and magic weapons, which were more important than mere gold.
"Laxus." Stopping beside a weapon in the shape of a lightning bolt, I softly sighed; as much as we fought, that bastard was my best friend. Grabbing the weapon, I attached it to my hip before heading to the very back, where a large, reddish-black double-headed hammer rested atop a pedestal.
"Crimson Ruin… Great to hold you again." Wrapping my hand around that familiar shaft, I gripped it tightly and lifted it, smirking in satisfaction. "Good. Oh, let's go crazy."
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Cooper POV
Coughing blood between my gasps for breath, I slowly stood up, trying to rise to my feet, though I ended up just dropping to my knee; fighting Erza, while so heavily injured and without magic, was an impossibility. I had merely been putting on a strong front when Savanah was watching.
"No cage for you. Today you die." Feeling her spear rest on my shoulder, I raised my head, glancing at Erza, cracking a grin. "H-Hehe, as if. Y-You're too w-weak to kill me." She didn't respond and merely raised her spear, intending to slash at my neck.
"Grow! Crimson Ruin!" I heard Savanah's shout, and the next thing I knew, Erza was nowhere to be seen; instead, there was just a wall of red and black where she had been standing. "H-Huh?" When the wall receded, what replaced it was the absence of a hallway, just an empty space, air, that was it.
"Cooper!" "Big bro!" As Savanah landed in front of me, her face a mask of concern, a reddish-black hammer resting on her shoulder, I heard Erza's voice from behind. "E-Erza? T-That's the real you, right?" Groaning in pain as Savanah helped me stand, we turned around, looking at Erza, my Erza, running towards me.
"Yes, it's me! You look terrible, big bro." Calming to a halt, Erza looked at me, not nearly as concerned as Savanah, as this was a pretty familiar sight for her. "Who is she?" As Erza gestured to Savanah, I wryly smiled. "She's Savanah. Anyway, why are you here?" "To stop Faust's plan." "Who the hell is Faust?" "Ugh." "I already told you about him!"
Erza groaned, and Savanah gently slapped the back of my head, causing me to smirk, only to suddenly vomit blood. "A-Anyone else feeling light-headed?" "D-Dammit, you've lost too much blood! Don't fall asleep, stay awake, Cooper!" Savannah proceeded to shake me, ensuring I didn't fall asleep, though honestly, it was doing the opposite.
"Big bro, quickly, eat this." Looking at her with my blurry vision, I saw a brown pebble in her hand. "W-What is it?" "Mystogan gave it to us; it allows us to use our magic. Quickly, just eat it!" Without waiting for my response, Erza shoved it into my mouth, pushing me to the ground, causing my vision to fade into black. 'Man, I'm tired–'
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3rd POV
As Cooper lay unconscious on the ground, Erza and Savanah closely surrounded him, the latter growing exceedingly worried. "Why isn't he waking up!? Is he dead!? No, he can't be dead!" While Savanah looked as if she were about to have a mental breakdown, Erza cleared her throat and, with a bit of a blush, shouted like a damsel in distress.
"B-Big bro! Help! Please help me, big bro!" While Savanah looked at Erza, who sounded small, weak, and afraid, in confusion, Cooper, who had been silently asleep, suddenly reacted. First was his face contorting into fury, then it was the violent eruption of magic power, forcing the two back, and lastly, he snapped his eyes open.
"WHO DARES HARM ERZA!?" His voice full of fury, Cooper rose to his feet, his body enveloped within a golden aura formed from the release of dense magic power, causing the heavily damaged spire to violently tremble.
"Big bro, I'm fine." Cooper snapped his gaze at Erza, who was straightening out her armor, and after giving her a once-over, he rapidly calmed down. "Oh, must've been a dream then. Tch, fucking bastard, who gave me that dream?" Reining in his magic power, Cooper scratched his head while glancing at Erza, who nodded while Savanah just stared at him.
"By the way, how the hell am I using my magic?" "Ask Mystogan, I don't know the details." Seemingly satisfied with her response, Cooper approached Savanah, helping her onto her feet. "C'mon, let's go beat up that fucker Faust." "You don't even know who Faust is, big bro." "Don't care. My instincts are buzzing that he needs to get beaten the hell up." "Well, you're not wrong."
Seeing Cooper and Erza casually chatting, Savannah softly sighed before nodding, regaining her composure. "Yep, you're right, that fucker needs to get flattened." "So where is he?" As if to answer Cooper's question, the spire shook, causing them to look out through the destruction Savanah's earlier attack had caused.
There, they saw a large, robotic magic-weapon fighting Gajeel, Wendy, and Natsu. "Die Faust!" Cooper, hearing Gajeel's faint roar, folded his arms. "Hmm, I think Faust is that robotic thing." "Faust is a human, so he's probably inside it." "Anyway, I don't like how he's beating on Natsu and Gajee– FUCKER! DID HE JUST HIT MY ANGEL!?"
Seeing Wendy get attacked, Cooper erupted into blind rage before dashing towards the enemy, leaving Savanah and Erza behind.
"Cooper, is he always that aggressive?" Leaning towards Erza, Savanah pointed at Cooper. "Sometimes more."