3rd POV
It was a bustling morning in Magnolia as civilians filled the streets, opening their shops and businesses, while others set up posts for the upcoming Fantasia parade. Just like the rest of Magnolia, Fairy Tail, the heart of the city, was also alive, mages coming in and out with quests in hand as they headed off in search of challenges, battles, and wealth.
Among the Fairy Tail mages, one of them, Gajeel, was calmly sitting in the park, which was relatively empty given how early it was, and writing in his notebook, continuing his song from the previous day, which Cooper had gotten a sneak peek of. While deeply engrossed in his writing, he failed to notice the trio standing far off in the distance, two of them looking at him in deep-seated fury.
"Guys, w-what if he attacks back? Y-Y know what happened last time…" Levy, both worried and scared, grabs Droy and Jet, stopping them, though the latter merely grins. "That's perfect then; we can use that as an excuse to kick him out of Fairy Tail." "Yeah, I refuse to be in the same guild as this bastard. We've let him stay because of Master and Big bro, but I can't anymore." Droy, his voice laced with venom, points at Gajeel while eyeing Levy.
Unable to refute them, as deep down, she felt the same as them, the two of them effortlessly broke free from her grasp and stormed towards Gajeel with clenched fists. "Hey, bastard!" Shouting at him, Jet's angry voice snapped him out of his focus, causing him to raise his head while quickly stuffing the notebook into his clothes, hiding it. "What?"
Hearing his calm, almost indifferent response, Jet clenches his fist tighter before pointing a trembling finger at him. "Get on your feet! We're fighting! We refuse to allow a sadistic fucker like you into our guild!" At Jet's words, Gajeel furrows his brows and stands up, prompting him to speedily blitz him, kicking his chest and sending him flying over the bench.
As Gajeel slowly stands back up, Jet is quickly on him, hammering his body with fast punches thanks to his magic, yet Gajeel just stands there, taking his attacks. Not wanting to be outdone, Droy reaches into his satchel and throws seeds onto the ground, causing numerous vines to emerge from the earth, punching Gajeel all over his over. Neither Jet nor Droy gives Gajeel a chance to retaliate, though both failed to notice he wasn't even trying to.
Levy, watching everything from behind a tree, nervously gulps before opening her mouth, unaccustomed to such brutal violence. "G-Guys, I-I think that's enough." However, Levy's warning falls on deaf ears as the duo continues to attack; though after nearly a minute, their vigor begins to de-escalate as they finally start realizing Gajeel hadn't retaliated once.
Landing a final punch into his jaw, Jet and Droy glared at Gajeel, who stumbled back, regaining his balance after a few steps. "Hey! Why aren't you attacking back!?" Receiving no answer from Gajeel, who just stood there, staring at them silently with bruises covering his body, Jet and Droy gritted their teeth.
However, before anyone could react, a crackle of energy was heard, followed by a thick bolt of lightning striking Gajeel from the sky, causing him to scream in pain. "Arghh!" Seeing Gajeel, who hadn't so much as groaned from their collective attacks, scream in agony, the duo turns around, tracing the magic power to Laxus, who was walking towards them with his hands in his pockets.
"L-Laxus!" The duo faintly smiled at Laxus's arrival, yet he paid them no heed and glared at Gajeel while briefly stopping his attack. "So you're the fucker who destroyed our base. Die." Not hesitating, Laxus attacked Gajeel once more, his agonizing screams filling the park, causing Jet and Droy's smiles to quickly vanish as they realized Laxus didn't just want to hurt him; he intended to kill him.
"H-Hey, Laxus, I think that's enough, man. I-I think he's got the message." "Y-Yeah, anymore and you might actually kill him." Jet and Droy were promptly ignored; Laxus didn't even pay them a glance as he continued to attack Gajeel.
"L-Laxus, please stop." Levy, approaching from behind, grabbed his arm, causing him to click his tongue as he momentarily stopped attacking Gajeel and grabbed Levy before throwing her at Gajeel, who was barely remaining upright as is.
Catching Levy, who was thrown at him, Gajeel suddenly morphs his arm into an iron shield, protecting Levy from a lightning bolt aimed directly at her. "Levy!" Yelling in worry, Jet and Droy run towards the smoke, though once it cleared, they stopped in place when they saw Gajeel protecting Levy.
"I-I h-have w-work to d-do." Gently setting Levy down, his arm returns to normal, displaying a deep blistering scar as Gajeel turns around, slowly shuffling off into the distance, causing Shadow Gear to stare at him with a complicated expression.
"Tch, fucking bastard. Fucking weak old man, your reign is over!" Gnashing his teeth, Laxus aggressively cursed before sharply turning around, walking away, and leaving.
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It was the next day, the day of the Fantasia parade; currently, the city was filled with excitement and enthusiasm, including Fairy Tail. With the parade occurring later tonight, Fairy Tail members were dealing with the finishing touches on various floats and other costumes.
"Master, doesn't that piece go right there?" Mirajane, working with Makarov, points at a different part of the costume, causing him to gently hit his head while nodding. "Old age must be affecting my eyes." Mirajane, chuckling, continues working on the costume alongside Makarov.
"I wish Laxus were hear." Muttering softly, Makarov grabbed another fluff of feathers, gluing it to the costume, while Mirajane faintly nodded. "I heard from Levy yesterday that he's in town." "He is? How come he didn't visit us?" "I can't read his mind, Master. You should ask Warren for those kinds of things." Faintly smiling at her words, Makarov lowers his head, deeply sighing.
"Haa, you know, before you joined, when Laxus was younger, he used to be a kind boy." "Fufu, are you sure about that, Master?" "Heh, I won't deny he's always had a tough exterior, but he was always kind. He used to be proud to be my grandson, and he'd always claim he'd raise Fairy Tail to new heights when he joined… I really wonder where I went wrong."
"Probably my fault, Gramps. He got upset, he got a rival, and couldn't handle it." Lightening the atmosphere, Cooper walked by with a faint smirk while flexing his muscles, earning a whistle from Mirajane while Gramps faintly chuckled.
"Hehe, maybe I should kick you out of the guild then." "Too late for that, Gramps, I'm too strong." "Just because I'm old, I'm not weak; it's called old man strength for a reason, you brat." "Yeah, yeah, sure. I'm so scared of your oldman strength." Mocking Makarov, Cooper quickly ran away, evading punishment from him while Mirajane chuckled.
"That brat aside, you're participating in the Miss Fairy Tail pageant, right? We can't have the fan favorite not participating." "Fufu, you just want to see me in a bikini, Master." "Hmm, what was that, Natsu? Yes, I'll come help." Leaving Mirajane, Makarov heads into the chaotic guild hall, causing Mirajane to chuckle in amusement as she works on the costume by herself while humming.
However, while everyone was having a good time, the doors suddenly burst open as Gray and Juvia quickly entered, rushing towards Gramps with a lacrima in hand. "Gramps! Big bro! You guys have to see this!?" Hearing Gray's anxious voice containing hints of fear, everyone slowly calmed down, shifting their focus to him while Cooper and Makarov came together.
"Gray, calm down. What happened?" While Cooper stood off to the side, his brows furrowed and his arms folded, Makarov tried to calm Gray down, though a lacrima was shoved into his arms. "Quickly, just watch." Sensing something amiss, Makarov faintly frowned and infused his magic power, causing a hologram to be projected a few feet above them, letting everyone see, though their expression quickly turned ugly.
Projected in the air was the figure of a large man in a plaid shirt with an afro, holding an injured, tied-up, and gagged Vijeeter by the head. "You Fairy Tail punks watching, I'm Zatto of Naked Mummy! I've got one of you bastards right here! If you know what's good for you, Cooper is to come alone! Otherwise, I'll cut off his head and send it in a box!" Laughing, Zatto points a magic gun at Vijeeter, who spits on his shoe, causing him to be hit in the back of his head.
"You've got two days! Meet at Acalypha Town!" Grinning, the hologram promptly vanishes, filling the guild in silence, only for the lacrima to be crushed within Makarov's hand.
"You guys continue with the festival… I'll return by tonight." Cooper's every word was laced with fury and the promise of untold destruction as he glanced between everyone before exiting the guild.
Stepping out of the guild, Cooper enhanced his body to the limit and dashed down the street, leaping over the walls of Magnolia a second later while his figure blurred off into the distance, leaving behind a trail of deep footprints.
However, during all this, Cooper failed to notice four figures standing atop a nearby roof.
"Good. With Cooper gone, no one will interfere."