Cooper POV
Snapping my eyes open, I yawned and rolled onto my side on the couch, attempting to fall asleep, though I knew it was unlikely, as I wasn't the type who could return to sleep after just waking up. After spending ten minutes resting, I reluctantly saved my sleep for later tonight and used the bathroom before returning to the couch. 'Something's off.' Rubbing my head, I looked around the living room, trying to discern what my instincts warned me of, though I ended up empty-handed, which only confused me. 'I didn't have a bad sleep, right?' Glancing at the couch, I shook my head and sighed.
"Haa, whatever, I'll keep an eye out." Keeping my guard up, I spent the next couple of minutes stretching while constantly wincing as I was still decently injured. "Urgh, that fight really took a lot out of me… It's been a while since it's taken me this long to heal." Given how I was still injured despite three days having passed, it would probably be another three days before I was fully healed, which was fine as I didn't intend to take any quests for a while, not after what happened with our guild. "Tsk, I'm not leaving until I kill whoever attacked our guild." Just as I finished speaking, Lucy suddenly exited her room wearing nothing but panties and a bra while yawning. "Ahh, g-good morning, big bro."
Nodding at Lucy, who entered the kitchen to grab a cup of morning coffee while I plopped onto the couch. "Are you better?" Asked Lucy as she sat beside me while sipping a mug of coffee, causing me to raise an eyebrow before nodding with a grunt. "I'm still pissed." "Ah, everything will be fine, big bro." Lucy offered a charming smile while patting my thigh, causing me to silently nod. "Oh, by the way, did you want coffee?" Grabbing Lucy's mug, I took a sip, only to groan in disgust while handing it back to her. "No." "O-Okay."
After Lucy finished drinking her morning coffee, she got dressed and we left for the guild, arriving an hour later; we would've gotten there earlier but we stopped at a clothes store since Lucy had some extra cash on hand, though in the end, she didn't buy anything. When we arrived at our guild, I clicked my tongue when I saw its state; nonetheless, I entered the building, where everyone was happily laughing and drinking like usual, a sight that soothed my anger. Just as I sat down, I raised my hand, I grabbed Nab's leg as I blankly stared at his failed sneak attack before tossing him at the request board. "Hmph, take a job, Nab, or I'll have Erza lecture you again."
Seeing Nab rapidly nod while leaping onto his feet, I folded my arms and closed my eyes, though I ended up talking with Alzack and Bisca since they were curious about my injuries. "Deliora must've been extremely strong to have injured you to such an extent, big bro." "Yeah, it's been a while since I'd seen you so injured." Said Bisca as she gently touched the bandages covering my body while I shrugged my shoulders. "It was fun, though." "Of course you'd say that, big bro." Smirking at Alzack, I playfully rubbed their head while Max suddenly burst into the guild with a distraught expression.
"S-Shadow Gear was attacked! Quickly! Come to the park! It's an emergency." Yelled Max, his loud, anxious voice garnering everyone's attention, though before anyone could question him, he turned around and dashed out of the guild, prompting me to glance at Bisca and Alzack in confusion; however, after a brief moment, I stood up and exited the guild, following Max. I wasn't the only one who listened to Max; nearly everyone, including Gramps, also headed to Magnolia's park, which took only but a few minutes.
"What do you think would attack Levy, Jet, and Droy?" Erza asked with a hardened gaze as she caught up to me while walking with one hand on her hilt, causing me to narrow my eyes. "Same people who attacked our guild… And I'll kill them for it." "Big bro, depending on who our enemies are, you can't just ki-" Erza was forced to stop as we'd stepped into the park and spotted Max standing beside a large tree, though when I glanced at the tree, I briefly felt as if my heart stopped beating at what I witnessed. Jet, Droy, and Levy were severely beaten, stripped naked, grievously injured, and crucified to the tree, though worst of all, there was a symbol of the Phantom Lord Guild on each of their stomachs.
"W-Who did this!?" "Whose the fucking bastards!?" "They went too fucking far!" "What are you doing!? Help me get them down!" Listening to my little sibling's unbridled fury at the sight of Shadow Gear, everyone suddenly went silent from a powerful burst of magic power that was stronger than mine; looking to left, I glanced at Gramps, whose furious expression mirrored my own. "Phantom Lord… How dare they do this, my children… This is no longer a mere guild rivalry… This is war!" Said Gramps coldly as he crushed his staff and reigned in his magic power while Laki, Max, Alzack, Bisca, Cana, and Warren helped Shadow Gear down.
Despite the fury and rage that was pumping through my veins, I cared more for the well-being of my siblings than enacting revenge, so once Shadow Gear was placed upon the makeshift stretcher, the whole guild walked with them as we returned to the guild. "Cooper. Get Porlyusica." There wasn't an ounce of that fatherly tone in Gramps' voice, letting me know just how furious he was; the only time I've ever seen him drop his father persona was when Lisanna died, but it was merely a brief moment. Nodding at Gramps, I left the guild and dashed through the city before leaping over the wall, though while doing so, I couldn't help but gaze in the direction of Oak Town, where Phantom Lord resided.
Gnashing my teeth, I landed on the ground and dashed into the east forest until I arrived at Porlyusica's cabin; busting through without a care in the world, I saw the old woman quickly exit her office, and before she could even question me, I picked her up into my arms and swiftly sprinted out the cabin, heading for Magnolia. "W-What are you doing, Cooper!? P-Put me down this instant!" Stated Porlyusica coldly as she pulled my hair, though I cared little for her words as I neared Magnolia before leaping over the wall and landing inside, taking not even ten minutes to do everything.
"I got her." Arriving at the guild, I set Porlyusica down near Levy, Jet, and Droy within the infirmary, and once again, before she could complain and refuse to help us, Gramps suddenly bowed to Porlyusica. "I apologize for Cooper's actions, but it was an emergency. Please help them, Porlyusica." Stated Gramps earnestly as he bowed to Porlyusica, who folded her arms and scoffed, but nonetheless she agreed to help. "Tsk, fine, you old fool." Following her words, Porlyusica began treating the three while everyone who could fit inside the infirmary surrounded her, watching with bated breath. Minutes felt like hours as she switched from Levy to Droy, and then to Jet.
"How are they!?" Leaning forward over the bed, I was hit in the head with a scalpel, though I didn't even register it as my focus was on Porlyusica, despite her being the one who threw it. "They're in a stable condition, now back off, you annoying brat!" Said Porlyusica lightly as she glanced at me in anger, causing me to nod lightly as I stood from my seat with several of my siblings looking at me since they knew I was about to do something.
"Gramps–" "No need to ask Cooper… Show them the might of Fairy Tail." Said Gramps solemnly, causing me to nod as I promptly turned around, leaving the infirmary while nearly everyone followed. "Lucy, you coming?" Asked Natsu as he and I glanced at Lucy, who sat beside Gramps while shaking her head. "I'll stay behind with them. Besides, I don't think you'll need me anyway." Said Lucy with a slightly forced smile as she glanced at everyone following me before looking at me, while I nodded. Natsu didn't try to pressure her and simply nodded as he quickly caught up to me, while I, along with nearly everyone else, left the guild, heading towards Oak Town to wage war.
"Will you be okay with those injuries, big bro?" Asked Loke as he gestured to the numerous bandages wrapped around my body. "Yes, maybe you should sit this one out, big bro." With a twitching expression, I gently grabbed Erza's shoulder, silencing her. "Do not worry, Erza… There isn't a single person in Phantom Lord capable of stopping me right now." Eyeing Erza, I released her shoulder and faced forward as we approached the train station, intending to use the train to get to Oak Town, which should take less than an hour.
"I want to get to Oak Town as quickly as possible, Big bro, but there might not be a train–" "If there isn't one, I'll make one." Raising my leg, I kicked the doors to the train station open and stepped inside, heading directly for the train docked at the station.