Tossing his goggles, scroll, and gauntlets aside, Evan gazed upon the white orb's surface. Feeling pure power surge within himself, Evan began to increase in size. The girl with the umbrella rushed forward, pulling out a sword from the tool. As she brought it down, the weapon barely cut his skin as he continued to grow. His clothes ripping apart as fur coated his skin, Ruby and Weiss watched on in shock while Roman had the mech step backwards out of fear. His jaw extending outward, Evan's brown eyes were replaced with two large red ones. Standing tall, Evan turned toward the Paladin as he charged ahead, concrete getting crushed under his feet.
"Move!" Evan yelled out.
Quickly, the two standing students came to their senses as they grabbed their friends. Ruby grabbed Yang as she used her super speed to have the two of them avoid Evan's attack. Meanwhile, Weiss placed a glyph under herself and Blake as they were launched to the side as well. Roman launched an armada of missiles at Evan, only for Evan to power through them and launched himself at the machine.
The two giants falling to the ground, Evan stood on the robot's legs as he grabbed and pulled on the left arm of the mech. As sparks and wires began to show, Roman responded as he pulled back a punch with the right arm of the machine. Launching it at Evan's monstrous face, Evan took the punch as he snarled at Roman. Ripping the arm out of its socket, he tossed it aside as he threw a punch at the other arm. Muscle meeting metal, the arm collapsed and was quickly reduced to a useless collection of scrap metal.
"I can't stay transformed for long. The longer I do so, the more likely more people are going to see me! Without that mech, Roman's finished, and the five of us can take him down easily." Evan thought to himself.
Standing back up, he held his arm out as he held his hand upwards toward the white ball. Quickly, the orb shrank and grew smaller until it dissipated and vanished. Bit by bit, Evan began to decrease in size. As he did so, he watched as the cockpit of the mech opened up. Scrambling out of the machine, he jumped down to the ground as the girl with the parasol approached him.
"*Gasp* Was NOT expecting that today…*Gasp* Thanks for the help back there, Neo!" Roman said as he breathed heavily.
"Without that mech, we can take Torchwick! Come on! Let's finish this!" Ruby exclaimed as she rallied her team. Ruby and Weiss rushed over to Evan's side. Blake and Yang approached as well, injured but still ready to fight."
As the fur began to recede back into his body, Evan called out, "Blake! I need your coat!"
Glancing at his ripped clothes on the ground, and realizing what's to come, Blake tossed it over. Wrapping and tying it below his waist like a loincloth, Evan was brought back to his normal size, keeling over on the ground once it occurred. Propping himself back up, he steadied himself and got into a fighting stance, his legs shaking as he did so. The four teens stood by him as they pulled out their weapons.
"This is not my day! Sorry, but I'm not getting brought to the cops by a bunch of kids! Neo, if you would please!" Roman stated.
As Neo bowed to the group, Yang fired a shot at the two criminals, only for them to shatter into glass. In the distance, the duo stood on a Bullhead as they flew away.
Seeing them flee, Evan collapsed to the ground, his whole body weak after the tiring day and the harrowing transformation. Immediately, the group turned to face him as they bombarded him with numerous questions.
"Are you alright?!" Ruby inquired.
"How on Remnant did you do that!?" Weiss asked.
"What was that white orb that you made? Did that make you transform?" Yang questioned.
"I thought your semblance was flight? What was that, then?"
Standing back up he turned away from the group. Walking over to his tossed aside equipment, he slipped on his gauntlets.
"I don't want to talk about it." Evan quietly replied as he grabbed his goggles and placed them on his head. Leaning down once more, he grabbed and held his scroll in his left hand.
"What?! But after all that, you expect us to just ignore what we saw!?" Yang asserted.
"I really can't tell you about it." Evan said, raising his voice.
"Please Evan, you can trust me. Just tell us what's-" Ruby pleaded.
"I'm serious!" Evan shouted out as he turned toward the group, anger filling his eyes briefly. The four teens stood up straight as he did so.
As anger shifted to exhaustion he let out a big sigh. "I-I'm sorry for yelling. Look. I was brought here to Vale because Ironwood trusted that I wouldn't do what I just did! The whole reason that I wear these is so I don't accidentally transform when the moon is out at night!" Evan explained as he pointed at his goggles.
"Hold on! That could happen any night?! How did Ironwood-" Weiss interjected, worry consuming her voice.
"It's not every night. It only happens when the moon is at its largest phase, which only occurs like once or twice a month at most. The point is that the amount of fear and terror that my gigantic presence would create would have hordes of Grimm running to Vale in an instant! If people knew about what happened, I would probably get sent on a one-way trip back to Atlas, permanently! And that's the best case scenario." Evan continued as he cut off Weiss.
"But that doesn't explain why you can do that in the first place." Blake stated.
"This is something I've seemingly always been able to do. I lost my memory some time ago, so I'm not even sure about all of the details, to be honest." Evan replied.
"The important thing is that no one from Beacon can know what I did here, let alone Ironwood. Please! That's all I'm asking!" Evan pleaded with the group as looked towards Ruby.
Ruby stared back at Evan, empathy in her eyes, as the two looked on in silence.
"I won't tell anyone, Evan." Ruby decided.
"What!? But Ruby, something like this-" Weiss pointed out.
"It's the least we can do, Weiss. He saved us back there from that Paladin. We probably won't have survived if Evan didn't do that." Blake claimed.
"I feel mixed on this whole thing, Weiss, but if Ruby thinks it's the right idea, then I'll stick by my sis. Don't worry Sparkler Hands, your secret's safe with me." Yang stated as she gave a thumbs up to the young teen.
"Alright, fine, I won't tell anyone, but you better not come asking for any more favors from me." Weiss declared.
"Thank you, I mean it, thank you! I don't know how I can repay you all!"
"First off, how about you help us pick up those bits of your clothes before the wind carries them away? I doubt you want anyone, especially Ironwood, to start speculating about what happened here." Weiss pointed out.
"Oh yeah, sure!" Evan confirmed as he and Team RWBY began to pick up the tatters of cloth.
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Opening the door to his room, Evan could not be more relieved. It felt like all of his muscles were yelling out for a chance to rest. So, as he saw the ordinary looking mattress, Evan practically leaped onto it as he bounced slightly upon landing.
Pushing himself under the covers, he was knocked out before he could even realize it. Once again, Evan entered the realm of sleep. In his dreams, Evan watched as he stood on top of a small pile of rubble. As the sun laid low in the open blue sky, the entire surrounding area was filled with ruined buildings, craters of varying sizes, destroyed vehicles, along with the remnants of existing roads and paths. All around him were older teenagers just like him, people with spiky hair and furry brown monkey tails. All of them wore the same multi-colored armor that he had, with the exception of one individual. This figure was wearing an outfit of the same design, but its colors were exclusively black and yellow. In addition, he was considerably taller in comparison to the others. The figure was facing away from everyone else as he looked around. The rest of the group, along with Evan, sat around in a circle as they chatted with each other.
"You know, for a second, I thought we were actually screwed back there. But, we sure showed them!" One of the teens announced.
"Well, we would've been done faster if we had some else on the team to help other than the shrimp over there." Another teen added as he pointed towards Evan.
"Does your asshole get jealous of all the shit that comes out of your mouth? You can't fight you're way out of a paper bag. I can guarantee that you found some rock to hide under as soon as the moon got blown up." Evan replied back, his mouth moving without his input, as the teen shrank in his seat as he looked away.
"Hah! He's got you there, Rota!" A muscle bound teen responded as he tossed over a clump of food for Evan to eat.
"Oh, go shove it, Pappor! I totally could've beaten all those weaklings without any of your help!" Rota replied back.
"Oh ho ho! Someone's being ballsy! With that kind of attitude, how about you go start your own crew? If you can't even manage that, I bet that waste of skin Turles is still looking for new members." Pappor joked out loud.
"What ever happened to him anyway, y'know, after he found that seed?" A lankier teen questioned.
"From what I heard, Turles was determined to take down Frieza, but he knew that he wasn't a match for him…yet. So, he retreated to the furthest depths of the universe, places so remote that not even the Emperor's name was known there. And like an omen of death, he descended on those unsuspecting worlds, slowly building his Crusher Corps from planets he either invaded or planted the seed with. Either way, he's built up a fearsome group wanted by both the Frieza Force and the Galactic Patrol! I'd hate to be the poor soul that bumps into him, accidentally." Pappor elaborated.
"Alright, Pappor, I think that's enough. Not everything is as dramatic and foreboding as you make things out to be. We accomplished the mission that was set out for us, so I suppose we can stop by the tavern for a few drinks to celebrate. I'll pay for-" The tall figure called out before he was cut off by an unseen energy blast that cut clean through his left shoulder.
Falling to the ground, Evan stood, holding his hand outwards, and yelled out in fear, "Toma!"
Close by, emerging from a pile of rubble was one of the green aliens from before. This alien in particular was incredibly bruised with three of its four eyes swollen up as he was clutching his chest with his lower set of arms. His upper left arm was gripping the upper right arm as smoke trailed off it.
"Damn it! I missed!" The creature said in frustration.
"You! You're going to pay for that!" Evan roared out as he flew forward at exceptional speeds. Closing the distance, he punched the alien in his face, injuring his last good eye in the process. Swiping wildly at Evan with his hands, Evan dodged past them and delivered a mighty kick to the stomach. His body colliding with the rocky terrain, he scraped against the hard ground as he laid flat on his back, letting out a pitiful groan of pain in the process. Walking forward, the alien barely lifted his head as he stated, "You…You monsters! One day, you'll get what you deserve!"
"The only monster that I see is right in front of me. And you'll get your just deserts, that's for certain." Evan growled as he extended his palm outwards.
"No! Please! Don't-" The alien pleaded as it held its hands out in a meager attempt to shield himself. But his words fell on deaf ears as Evan's palm generated a massive energy blast as the alien was fully consumed in the attack. The last thing Evan witnessed was the screams of the creature as it withered away into a cloud of ash as everything went white once more.
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Awaking from his slumber, Evan quickly rose from his bed as he looked around the room. Seeing the empty room, Evan wiped the sweat from his forehead. Gazing at the windows, he saw the sun shining through the curtains as he heard the muffled talking of students outside the room. Getting dressed, he heard a rapid knocking on the door. Opening it up, he saw Sun, full of energy, tossing an apple from one hand to the other.
"Hey Evan! I didn't see you at breakfast today, so I came by to see what was up!" Sun said, practically beaming as he talked.
"I missed breakfast? Uggghh…I guess I was a lot more exhausted than I realized." Evan replied.
"Well Goodwitch's class is starting up soon, come on! If there's one person here you don't want to get on their bad side, it's her! Here, I snagged this from the cafeteria before it closed. It looks like you need it." Sun explained as he tossed the apple over to Evan.
As the two students walked down the hallway, Evan turned toward the blonde teen.
"You seem unusually energetic. What's the occasion?" Evan inquired as he ate the fruit.
"Did you forget? The dance is coming up this weekend! It's going to be a blast! I have someone in mind already that I want to ask to come with me to it. How about you?" Sun questioned.
"I've never really been to a dance before. I'm not sure if I even know how to dance, let alone who to ask out!" Evan exclaimed as they approached the classroom.
"I'm sure you can think of somebody." Sun continued as they found their seats.
As the class progressed, Evan couldn't help but have this sense of unease and dread wash over him. After seeing what he did in that dream, he started to question himself.
"Was I even a good person before I lost my memory? That wasn't even a fight with that green alien, it was a massacre! No, maybe I just don't have the full picture. Yeah, that has to be it. Maybe me and those other guys were sent to attack some evil group, like the White Fang. But that doesn't explain the devastation that we did on the city. It's not like the whole place was filled with bad people. Maybe those green aliens were invading the city, and we were sent to stop them. They might've already destroyed most of the place, so anything else that we would've done was minor damage by comparison. Ugh! I know so much, but not enough to start putting things together! Regardless, whoever Toma is, he clearly is a significant person if I was that mad about him getting hurt." Evan pondered to himself.
Before he knew it, the class was over as he saw students begin to get up from their seats and leave the room. Tuning out Glynda, Evan walked out into the open courtyard outside the school building as he watched Sun approach Blake.
"Hey, Blake! You, uh, doing okay?" Sun questioned.
"I'm fine." Blake murmured.
"So I hear there's this dance going on this weekend… ah, sounds pretty lame, but you and me, I'm thinking, not as lame, huh?" Sun said as he struggled to announce his thoughts.
"What?" Blake replied, with a surprised look.
"The dance! This weekend! You wanna go, or what?" Sun blurted out.
"I don't have time for a stupid dance. I thought you of all people would get that." Blake stated as she walked away from the dejected teen.
Saddened by the scene, Evan walked forward and comforted the blonde student.
"It's alright Sun. Maybe she just has other plans or something." Evan added.
"Do you think l came on too strong? I was trying my best." Sun asked.
"Uhhhh…I don't know the first thing about dating. Perhaps Neptune would know a thing or two?" Evan admitted.
"That's not a bad idea. Thanks for the advice, Evan." Sun replied with a happier tone as walked over toward his team.
"Sure. I'm glad I could help…I guess?" Evan said as he walked down the sidewalk.
With every step, Evan was consumed in thought, thinking about that same dream. Without realizing it, he bumped into someone as he stepped backwards on instinct.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't looking and-oh hey Pyrrha. Sorry about that." Evan responded as he saw the red-haired student looking downtrodden. As she turned toward him, she brightened up and smiled.
"Hello again, Evan. It's quite alright. I've just had some things on my mind recently and I wasn't aware of my surroundings. If anything, I should be apologizing to you." Pyrrha explained.
"Seems like you're not the only one. I had this…bad dream last night. I just can't stop thinking about it!" Evan replied as he shook his head.
"Maybe we both need some time to destress. After all, the Vytal Festival is coming up soon, and we all need to be at the top of our game. I suppose that since there aren't any classes for the rest of today, would you like to stop by my dorm later. I'm sure the rest of my team would be open to having you over for a while." Pyrrha stated.
"Sounds good." Evan nodded.
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As Evan mashed the buttons on the controller, his character on screen moved left and right as he awkwardly punched and kicked in the air. Quickly, the taller opponent he was facing on screen launched a devastating haymaker, ending the match. As the screen showed the words, "Victory! P2 wins!", Evan tossed the controller aside in frustration.
"This game is stupid. In an actual match, I could so easily sweep you off your feet. Why do I have to do some weird quarter circle forward movement with the A and B buttons simultaneously in order to do the same thing?!" Evan shouted out.
"You just have to focus and initiate the sequence at the appropriate time. It's not that difficult to do." Ren quietly stated.
"Well it wouldn't be so hard if you weren't constantly up in my face blasting wind discs throughout the screen. I can't focus on not dying and doing all that crazy combo stuff!" Evan replied back in an irritated tone.
"Sounds like someone's just angry that they lost again. Unsurprisingly, Ren wins again! Alright Jaune, let's see how you do." Nora teased Evan.
As Jaune sat down and picked up the controller, Evan got up and leaned against the wall as he looked away from the fight. Stepping forward from her bed, Pyrrha looked at Evan with concern.
"You seem rather upset, and it's not just the match that's bothering you, is it? You know, I usually like to unwind with some tea and a warm bath after a challenging fight. It really helps loosen out all the muscles. There's a small shop next to the library. I could pick up some of my personal favorite blends for you if you're interested. Or perhaps some coffee might help to snap you out of your mood if you don't prefer tea." Pyrrha suggested.
"Thanks for the suggestions, but I'm going to shoot that last idea down. I don't drink coffee personally. Honestly, I don't understand why people can like something so bitter and scalding hot!" Evan ranted aloud.
"Well, you're not the only one. Some people like to add spices, sugars, creams, different types of milk, sweeteners, and all sorts of other flavors to the drink to avoid and drown out the taste of the coffee beans themselves." Pyrrha elaborated.
"In that case, why do people even bother drinking coffee in the first place? At that point you're not even getting coffee, you're just ordering dessert! And if I wanted that, I would just grab some ice cream and save myself the trouble." Evan continued on.
"Heh heh. Most people usually drink coffee in order to get the caffeine it provides into their system. Caffeine can help energize and stimulate a person to help them get through the day. Ren, on occasion, gets some early in the morning. Although, he usually has to be cautious in order to not let Nora snatch it away from him. The last time Nora had a drink, she was permanently banned from entering any coffee shops this side of Vale!" Pyrrha explained further.
"Well I don't really need the energy, to be honest. And while this has been nice, this is something I can't really solve by just relaxing with friends. I need someone to talk with." Evan replied back.
"I mean, the two of us could talk up on the roof if you really need somewhere to talk." Pyrrha said.
"I appreciate the offer. I really do, but this is about something very…personal to me." Evan added as he looked down at the ground.
"Oh, I-I understand. Well, if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me." Pyrrha stated with a smile.
"Thank you." Evan said as he walked down the hall to his room.
Closing the door, Evan sighed as he paced around the room. "Who should I talk about this with? Team JNPR's out since they don't even know anything about my origins. I doubt that it would be good to inform even more people about my secret, yet alone my potential past! I can't tell General Ironwood. I'm already on thin ice, especially if he finds out what happened yesterday! I could tell Ruby and her friends, but they've already done so much for me already by not telling people about my secret. I wouldn't want to ask more out of them so soon after what's happened. Which leaves…"
Evan thought to himself.
Pulling out his scroll, he opened the messaging app. Selecting Penny's icon, Evan sent the following, "Hey Penny, can you meet me at the Beacon library this afternoon? I need to tell you something."
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And that's another chapter completed! I should have the next one released this Sunday/next Monday. As always let me know your thoughts in the reviews. Hope to hear from you all and I'll see you next time!