As Evan sat at the dining table, scarfing down another plate of bacon and eggs, he heard Ruby calling out to him. Turning his head, he saw Ruby light up.
"What's up?" Evan asked as he scooped up some more eggs.
"It's just that Yang bought this really cool video game the other day, and I thought that it would be really cool if we all could play it together after breakfast." Ruby explained.
"Is it a fighting game? If so, I'm probably going to have to decline. I don't think I'm any good at those types of games." Evan said aloud.
"What?! No, it's nothing like that. It's…It's…Well it's really hard to describe, you'll just have to see it for yourself. Come on, please?" Ruby pleaded as she looked at him with big puppy dog eyes.
"Sure, just let me finish eating." Evan replied.
"Awesome!" Ruby exclaimed.
Eating the last few strips of bacon on his plate, Evan walked down the school corridors alongside Ruby and the rest of her team. As the group entered the dorm room, Evan looked around and saw Yang close and lock the door. What surprised him more was Penny stepping out of the bathroom, who proceeded to stare at him with a look of anxiety.
"I didn't know Penny was going to be here too. That's cool. So, how are we doing…this…" Evan's voice trailed off as he saw the other girls looking at him with various expressions.
"What…What's going on?" Evan questioned as Penny stepped forward.
"After what occurred yesterday, I told Ironwood that I would be the one to advance into the next round. Then, late last night, I filled Ruby in about everything that's been going on with you. Ruby was the one who helped to set this all up." Penny elaborated.
"Penny, why did you volunteer yourself? I told you that I'm fine. I can do it." Evan questioned.
"You're not fine. After the Grimm attack on Vale, you've just been…off, for lack of a better word." Weiss pointed out.
"We just want to know what's wrong." Ruby added as she stepped forward.
"So that's it, huh. This is an intervention. You all want me to spill the beans, is that it? I don't have time for this." Evan said as he approached the door, only for Yang to step in front of it.
"Yang, please move." Evan told the taller student.
"Yeah, no. We're solving this now, Sparkler Hands. And if you leave this room before we do so, I might be inclined to inform Ozpin and the others about what's been happening with you. I'm sure they wouldn't mind learning about what you've been hiding." Yang informed Evan as she crossed her arms.
"You've trusted us before, back with the fight against Torchwick. We promise to do the same here." Blake stated.
"Will you though? After what I tell you all?" Evan said as he raised his voice toward her. The group stood in silence before Evan began to speak.
"There really is no way out of this for me. Fine…You all want to know the truth that badly. You'll get it, alright." Evan stated.
"First off, I'm…I'm an alien. A Saiyan to be specific, although that probably doesn't mean anything to you guys. My real name is Mato, and I grew up on Planet Vegeta." Evan continued.
"An alien? That's utterly ridiculous, next you're going to tell me that magic exists." Weiss said as she brushed off Evan's words.
"Yeah, I'm with Weiss. Aliens are just fiction. I mean the concept of aliens existing somewhere in space has always been around, but you don't look any different from a normal faunus." Blake added.
"You want proof, here." Evan replied as he held his palm up toward the ceiling. In his hand, he charged up a ki blast, much to the surprise of everyone else, excluding Penny.
"What!? H-How are you doing that?! I-I thought you…" Ruby began to say.
"Needed those gauntlets to shoot energy. No, the gauntlets give me a slight boost, but I can do this all on my own." Evan interjected with a neutral tone in his voice as he made the ki blast dissipate and vanish.
"There has to be another explanation for this. Maybe it's just part of his semblance?" Weiss suggested.
"What other proof do you want? You've seen me in action before! Think about it. I can fly, shoot energy, I don't have an aura, and that whole thing about flight being my semblance, that's a lie." Evan continued.
"But aura is a manifestation of our souls! All living beings have to have one." Yang pointed out.
"Your race has only known that people from your planet have aura. You've always just assumed that everyone has an aura, since you've had no evidence that disputes that claim. From what I know, I don't think I have a semblance or an aura. Whatever those things are, that's something exclusive to your race. From my time living in this massive universe that we all call home, I haven't seen a single creature have anything resembling an aura or a semblance." Evan explained.
"If there's anything that would connect someone to their "soul", then it would have to be ki." Evan said, much to the confusion of everyone else.
"Ki?" Penny inquired as she tilted her head in confusion.
"Yeah, ki. Ki is the life force of everything. It lives in me, you, plants, animals, pretty much everything that exists that isn't an object of some sort. Different people have differing amounts of ki. Being able to harness it allows me to do pretty much all of the stuff that I can do. Increased strength, speed, durability, flight, and firing off energy attacks. All of it is made possible through ki. The amount of ki someone has is usually tied to a person's power level." Evan elaborated.
"What's a power level?" Ruby asked.
"Power levels are a number that represents a person's ki. Most races have power levels in the single or double digit range. You guys are probably somewhere in that single digit range, maybe double digits if you're lucky. Honesty, I'm not sure since most races, like me, need a device such as a scouter to figure out exact power levels of individuals. Each race usually has a few special individuals whose power levels reach into the thousands and beyond. The Saiyan race in particular is special as most Saiyans have a knack for ki manipulation. For instance, my power level is somewhere in the low 400 range last I remember." Evan said.
"I guess that explains why you're so durable and how you can pack a punch." Yang mentioned.
"Yeah, that's just Saiyan power right there. Saiyans have a couple of other unique abilities and traits. Pretty much all Saiyans have an unquenchable thirst for battle. We love to train, fight, and become stronger. Most races typically fall into one of two categories, either the power level that they get from birth is essentially their maximum output, or their power level will increase over time, through training, until it…plateaus. At that point, pure strength training really doesn't do all that much moving forward. Some races decide to put their efforts into perfecting their use of ki manipulation, their own race's unique abilities, or just their raw physical traits like stamina and so on. For Saiyans, there really doesn't seem to be a limit on our power levels. We just keep getting stronger over time." Evan stated.
"Another prominent ability is the ability to transform into a giant ape or, as us Saiyans know it as, an Oozaru. When a Saiyan stares at a moon, or some other orbiting body, that reflects enough blutz waves, we can transform into an Oozaru. In this form, our strength is increased ten fold. If there is no moon, we can create artificial moons through miniature blutz wave balls." Evan said.
"Is that what you did when we were fighting Torchwick?" Ruby asked.
"You did what?! Evan, why would you-" Penny started to say.
"It was a do-or-die situation, and lives were at stake. I transformed for only a minute or two in an isolated area in order to save Ruby and her team. If people had found out, I think Ironwood would have already talked to me about it." Evan interrupted Penny.
"The point is that this transformation was an ace in the hole for us Saiyans. Such an increase in power gave Saiyans an edge in combat. The last thing unique to the Saiyans is that whenever we get close to death, if we survive the experience, we get a surge in our power level. These boosts can be rather small, or they can increase our power multiple times over! These increases vary from Saiyan to Saiyan. Some Saiyan scientists tried to do a few studies as to how the specifics of all of it worked, but they couldn't find anything definitive. All of this being said, the Saiyans were a powerful race of people. And that type of power doesn't go unnoticed by those in charge." Evan explained.
"So what happened?" Blake inquired with a look of intrigue on her face.
"They showed up. A powerful organization known as the Cold Force, lead by King Cold, showed up quite some time before I was born. They had seen our work, and they had decided to…recruit us into their ranks. For a long time, we served under their thumb. Neither side really liked the other, but I heard it was better before Lord Frieza took over and renamed the group as the Frieza Force." Evan said with a scowl.
"Heh heh, hold on, their names were Cold and Frieza. That's kinda funny." Yang replied with a chuckle.
"You wouldn't say that if you were face to face with them. While I've never met Cold or Frieza myself, some of the older Saiyans say that Cold usually played things up, appearing as an amicable guy, but he's got a mountain of arrogance and ego behind that mask of his. Cold somewhat hid his disdain for us Saiyans, although that was probably more of an attempt to keep relations between both groups stable-ish. Frieza however, wore his hatred for our race on his sleeve. He may act like a gentleman and talk all eloquently, but he's a monster through and through. He hated us, and we hated him right back. Both of them wouldn't hesitate to torture or kill someone who spoke out against them, or dared to actually fight them. No one ever tried to rebel because their power was just on a completely different level compared to us. We just kind of had to accept it." Evan stated, causing the others to become a little uneasy.
"That's all well and good, but none of this sounds like something to be upset over. What exactly are you afraid to tell us, Evan?" Ruby questioned, causing the young teen to squirm a little.
"*Sigh* I guess there's no point beating around the bush anymore. I've told you what Saiyans are, but I've not mentioned what us Saiyans are known for. The line of "work" that Saiyans perform is…extermination, and it's not exterminating monsters like Grimm. To be blunt, a normal Saiyan, or group of Saiyans, would travel to an inhabited planet and kill the primary race of sapient intelligent life that lived there." Evan finished, resulting in various reactions from everyone.
"WHAT?! That's…That's-" Weiss sputtered out as she placed her hands on her forehead, trying to comprehend what Evan just said.
"Insane! That's beyond horrible!" Yang yelled out.
"Why…why would they do that?" Blake questioned hesitantly.
Ruby and Penny simply listened and stared on in stunned silence.
"The universe, despite its incalculable size, only has so many liveable planets to go around. The Saiyans, even before Frieza and Cold came along, would wipe out all life on the planet and sell the planet to the highest bidder. Usually, the bidders were other races on other planets that needed more space for their race to thrive and continue growing. All that Cold and Frieza did was essentially take the credit for what we were already during, alongside further expanding their empire." Evan explained.
"But why would any of you Saiyans just…willingly do something so horrible?!" Weiss frustratingly questioned.
"Why did any of you want to become huntresses? It was probably an enviable career path that gave you certain opportunities and freedoms where other jobs wouldn't have given you that. That's how it's like for those wanting to become a Saiyan warrior. Being a Saiyan warrior allowed you to truly quench your own desire for battle and combat, to have your life constantly be decided by your skill and your skill alone. Practically everyone I knew on Vegeta wanted to be a warrior growing up. So long as you had a sufficient power level and the ability to carry your weight around, then you were allowed to join. Of course, we had those who eventually pursued other paths like scientists, butchers, pilots, and so on, but Saiyans were known for their terrifying warriors and planetary conquerors." Evan continued.
"I wanted to be one myself, but I was always looked down on because I was a low class warrior with a small power level. I thought that I would never be able to join, that was until my brother Toma started training me." Evan stated as he began to smile.
"Toma was quite a few years older than me. His power level made him a decently respectable figure in the Saiyan ranks. He trained me day and night in order to help me become strong enough to join the Saiyan ranks. He was always telling me that he "saw" something in me, but I think he just said that to help motivate me whenever I was doubting myself. Most of the power that I now wield is thanks to his constant support and training. Eventually, Toma rose to the position of Captain, and he was allowed to lead a team of Saiyans. I was allowed to join his team eventually and, alongside three other Saiyans, the five of us were known as Team Toma." Evan said as he remembered those nostalgic days before switching back to a more somber tone.
"There was Pappor, Gingal, and Rota. We would all travel to new planets and conquer them in Frieza's name. We wiped out many planets together, so many lives were lost in our takeovers. And that's how it was for a while at least. One day, Frieza sent out an order to all Saiyans, telling them all to return to Planet Vegeta immediately. After Toma and I arrived, my brother had me meet up with him at our usual training spot. He told me that he was sitting in a bar for a while, until he saw a Saiyan named Bardock arrive. Bardock claimed that Frieza was going to destroy the planet, but everyone laughed him off. Everyone except Toma, that is. Toma started asking around, and he found out Frieza's soldiers were questioning people regarding the legend of the Super Saiyan." Evan explained.
"The Super Saiyan?" Ruby muttered out briefly as she looked away from Evan, stewing in her thoughts.
"According to the legend, the last Super Saiyan had appeared over a thousand years ago. His power was unrivaled throughout the whole universe. However, he was too primitive to control such power, and ultimately, his rage consumed him. He ended up destroying himself, along with the planet he was on in one fell swoop. Most Saiyans simply viewed this as merely a legend, but Frieza did not. For all of the malice that Frieza showed us Saiyans, he was afraid of us. He believed that the legend was true, and that us Saiyans would soon become powerful enough to overthrow and defeat him. Not taking any chances, Frieza planned on destroying the entire planet once all of the Saiyans had arrived. Putting all of the pieces together, Toma told me this, and the two of us decided to flee from the planet before it was too late. Under the cover of darkness, we stole two space pods and prepped a third one as a decoy. The plan was to return to our training spot, far off from the main city, and prepare our ships for launch. Toma had decided on a planet so far off from Frieza's sphere of influence, that we would never have to worry about Frieza or his men ever finding us. And that planet was-" Evan said.
"Remnant." Penny interjected.
"Yeah. From Remnant, the two of us would train there until we were strong enough to beat Frieza, and at that point we would finally be able to take him down. Anyway, once we prepped the ships for launch at the training spot, we would launch the decoy to distract the patrolling troops, allowing us to make our getaway. However, a group of Frieza soldiers found us, and we killed them before they could tell anyone else what was going on. Unfortunately, one of the soldiers had destroyed one of the space pods, and we didn't have much time left considering that we wiped out one of their squads. I wasn't willing to leave without Toma, so I told him that the two of us would take the fight to Frieza instead. Toma agreed and the two of us were seemingly ready to go face him. I should've realized what he was doing…" Evan stated as he started to tear up.
"Not wanting to let me die, Toma grabbed my tail, paralyzing me. He then practically knocked me out and placed me in the last remaining pod. As the pod was preparing for launch, he sent the decoy off and said his final goodbyes. As the pod soared into space, I saw a massive ball of ki being charged up and launched at the planet. In front of my eyes, I watched as that bastard Frieza destroyed my home planet. For all I know, I'm one of, if not, the only remaining Saiyans left alive in this whole universe." Evan finished as he clenched his fists in anger.
"Afterwards, my ship's computer let out some sedatives and I fell asleep as the ship flew toward your planet. When I crashed, I suffered a big head injury where I forgot practically everything I've just mentioned. For the past few months, I've been training in Atlas, until I was allowed to come to Beacon and participate in the Vytal Festival Tournament. On occasion, I would get these glimpses of my past life, but it wasn't until right when the Grimm attacked Vale that I finally remembered everything." Evan continued to say toward the small group.
"After that happened, I felt so horrible. I've been given so much: your time, your friendship, your trust, gifts, and numerous opportunities that others could only wish they had. All of it for someone who has done so much harm to the universe. The reason that I've been acting the way I have as of late, is because I didn't want any of you to find out about my past. The things I've done, the people I've hurt, the people I've killed…" Evan said, his voice trailing off momentarily.
"I'm not proud of what I have done, and I know I can't take back what I did. If…If you don't want to associate yourself with me anymore, then…then I understand. Now that you know the truth, I imagine none of you want to stick around a murderer like me. Honestly, in the eyes of everyone else in this universe, the only "gift" that I deserve is a shallow grave in the middle of-" Evan began to say before Penny rushed forward and embraced the teen in a tight hug.
"Penny?! What-" Evan questioned, a look of surprise on his face.
"Don't say that. Don't even joke about it! Your life matters! You have helped so many people and have made so many friends both here and in Atlas. They gave you those gifts because they believed in you. They had faith that you would become a great huntsman! I don't even know how my life would have gone if it weren't for you becoming my very first friend! For helping me feel like a real girl! You deserve to live just as much as any of us do! I understand what you've done, and I don't care! Do you remember what I said back at the library? I will always be there for you! I will always be your friend, even if the whole world says you're a monster!" Penny exclaimed, her eyes full of both concern and appreciation as she hugged him even tighter.
"Penny, I-" Evan began to say before Ruby quickly joined the warm embrace as well.
"Who was it that saved me and my team from Torchwick?" Ruby whispered out, her head buried in the hug.
"Me, but-" Evan stated, but Ruby continued to speak.
"And who was it that had my back at the CCT Tower?" Ruby asked, her voice getting louder as she began to raise her head.
"Ruby, I know what you're-" Evan tried to get a word out, but Ruby continued on.
"And who was it that helped protect Vale from the Grimm?" Ruby questioned, as she raised her voice even further as she stared Evan down.
"It was me, but you do realize what I've done! I can't change! No one would ever trust me again, not if I told them the truth!" Evan exclaimed, sadness and anger filling his voice.
"Do you know that Ironwood, with 100% certainty, would hate you, if you told him the truth?" Penny questioned the young Saiyan.
"N-No, but-" Evan started to say.
"Trust is something that goes both ways. No one will trust you if you don't trust them back, and you aren't even willing to give them a chance. It's scary to not know what will happen, but I think that, deep down, people are good. They are willing to believe in you, trust in you, and offer a second chance to you, so long as you give them the ability to." Ruby proclaimed.
"You have crazy abilities, Evan! You're stronger than pretty much anyone else I know! You took down a giant robot with your bare hands! You fought countless Grimm and helped protect a city full of people. You can do so much good for the world if you're only willing to choose to do good! And I think that you can choose to become a better person! Don't you think so as well?" Ruby questioned as Blake stepped forward.
"Ruby's right. I worked with the White Fang for many years of my life, even after their methods turned violent. Ozpin knows this already, and despite that, he was willing to let me stay in Beacon and continue to be a part of this team. Maybe not everyone on Remnant would be willing to offer you another chance, but I think that people like Ozpin and Ironwood are willing to do so." Blake replied.
"While I still have my own grievances, I'm personally still grasping the fact that intelligent life actually exists out there in space, let alone all of this talk of ki, power levels, and Super Saiyans. But if Ruby believes in you, then I'm willing to stand by and support her decision." Weiss stated.
"Same here." Yang said with a neutral look.
Stepping out of the hug, Evan looked around the room and began to wipe away the tears that were forming in his eyes.
"I-I…Thank you…Just, thank you. I was just so nervous that…You don't understand how much weight has been removed off my shoulders. If you guys are choosing to stand by me, then…then I'll try my best moving forward. I'll take this one step at a time." Evan proclaimed.
"That's all we're asking." Ruby replied back with a warm smile.
"I…I think I need to sit down for a while, I'm feeling a little lightheaded." Evan said as he stumbled for a moment.
"Here, I'll help you back over to your room. Come on…" Yang stated as she put her arm around Evan as the two walked out of the room.
Entering Evan's room, Yang closed the door as she helped Evan over to one of the beds. After setting the teen down, she turned to face him with a conflicted and uneasy look on her face.
"Listen, don't get me wrong, I believe that what you said back there was genuine. But, I just want to let you know something. Ruby is my sister, and I would defend her with my life if I had to. And Ruby was right, you do have the choice to become a better person. But, the only one that truly decides how you will turn out, is you. So, if you ever try to hurt anyone I care about, let alone Ruby…" Yang solemnly stated as she closed her eyes.
"Then it doesn't matter how much stronger that you claim to be, I will strike you down, Evan." Yang stated as she opened her eyes, which shifted from their usual purple to a fiery red. And just as quickly, her eyes shifted back to normal as she walked toward the door.
"Like Ruby said, the choice is yours. Just know that I'll be watching closely as to what decision you'll make." Yang finished as she left the room and closed the door behind her. As Evan sat on the bed, he prepared himself for the untold future, uncertain but no longer alone.
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And that concludes this chapter. I had to be a bit careful with how I wrote this chapter specifically. I hope you all enjoyed it. I was hoping to get this out yesterday, but I was at a big barbecue for most of the day and I was unable to write anything. I'm sorry about that. The next chapter should be out either Wednesday or Thursday. Thanks again for sticking with my story and your constant support! See ya!