Subject 7 had learned quite a bit about Remnant since his first encounter with Ironwood and Winter. Apparently there were four major kingdoms: Vale, Vacuo, Mistral, and Atlas, with Atlas being the kingdom he was currently in right now. In addition, there seemed to be a smaller fifth island nation consisting primarily of faunus: normal people that happened to be born with various animal extremities like claws, ears, and tails. The doctors had told him that he looked a lot like one of them, despite not meeting one face to face.
The young man searched through those history books, in hopes of sparking any memories at all, even the most insignificant ones could give him SOMETHING to latch onto. Not even his "dreams" offered him anything of substance. They were mostly just white noise and darkness. He had asked the doctors about it, and they seemed to say that what he was experiencing was a fairly common occurrence in sleeping.
When he wasn't sleeping, Subject 7 returned to his books. The world of Remnant seemed to operate a lot on "dust". Whatever it was, these crystals were incredibly versatile in their use and function. Not only were they some sort of power source, but they could be used for ammunition as well. Humanity had used dust to fight the forces of Grimm, vicious monsters of all shapes and sizes, for generations. Not only that, but the Grimm seemed to have some sort of innate ability to track humans by sensing their negative emotions. For some reason, the Grimm population had always stayed consistently high to rival humanity's growing civilizations. Thanks to their powerful souls however, humanity had things known as "aura" and "semblances" to keep the Grimm population in check. From what he read, aura was a protective, usually invisible, barrier that protected those who had it from harm along with healing minor injuries. If an aura was damaged enough, the individual could then be open up to receive real physical damage. Given enough time, the body can regenerate the aura back to normal levels. Semblances were amazing abilities that tended to be entirely unique to the individual, ranging anywhere from enhanced physical traits, like super speed, to borderline superpowers, like telekinesis.
Subject 7 had asked another doctor if he had a semblance, but the doctor had told him that his aura was currently sealed and with no aura, he couldn't use a semblance. The young man wondered to himself: If he had his aura unlocked beforehand, maybe he wouldn't have suffered such a crippling head injury when his ship had crashed. The books said there was some sort of ritual that could be done to awaken ones aura. However, the doctors shot down the idea as they attempted to do so already when he was first brought to Atlas. The doctors said that the only other way to unlock one's semblance, was to undergo a life or death situation. Obviously, he didn't want to willingly put himself through an experience like that if possible, so he continued his reading.
On occasion, the doctors would perform a basic checkup on him, making sure his vitals were stable and that he was healthy enough for the physical trials ahead. He always got a little nervous whenever a doctor had to reach toward a nearby medical tray to grab a tool. Just seeing that dastardly needle sitting upon the tray amongst the other tools made him quite squeamish.
Meal time was always a wondrous experience for him. The food that was brought to him was always so savory and delicious. On the first night after his discussion with Ironwood and Winter, he was brought a scrumptious plate. The silver platter contained a medium rare steak with mashed potatoes, green beans, and garlic bread. As he tore through the meal, he couldn't help but still feel hungry afterwards. He asked if he could get a second portion, and he was soon given another helping of the amazing food. But even after that, he still hungered. At this point, the doctors were getting extremely confused at the scene that was unfolding before them, as Subject 7 requested a third portion of food.
It was only after he had eaten a fourth helping of dinner that he was finally SOMEWHAT satiated. After that day, it was quickly determined by the doctors that his portions needed to be substantially larger, despite his small stature. Apparently the doctors said that most people are full after eating only ONE serving. The young man and his stomach could barely grasp that horrific reality. How could someone only need a single helping of food for a meal. That seemed utterly ridiculous to him.
As the days came and went, one of the doctors had notified him that today would be the day the physical trials would commence. Subject 7 was fairly anxious, but hopeful that he could make Ironwood pleased by his performance. Eventually a new person had shown up to his room that fateful afternoon. She was a tall woman with brown hair and brown-tan skin. Her outfit looked similar to that of Winter's attire. On her back was some sort of large hammer, although it seemed as if the weight of the massive thing didn't hinder her at all. With a smile on her face, she said aloud, "Hey there! I was told to escort you to the training room today. If you come with me, I'll bring you right to it!"
Somewhat surprised by her upbeat nature, the young man stammered out, "S-sure."
As the two left the room and continued down the white and black halls, moving past other medical rooms, Elm questioned the young man.
"From what I've heard from Ironwood, Winter and I will be helping you through the trials. Since we're going to be with each other for a bit, I suppose we should get to know each other. The name's Elm Ederne. What's yours?"
Disheartened upon hearing those last words, the young man quietly stated, "I don't remember my name. So I've decided to call myself Subject 7 for now. It's what all the doctors have been calling me."
Her cheerful demeanor lowering into a frown, the halls seemed to have become deafening silent, with only the clattering of their shoes to break it. Subject 7 kept his Tapping her fingers against her cheek, she thought to herself as they continued forward.
"Darn it, I didn't know the kid had amnesia! I don't want to keep calling him "Subject 7". That just makes him sound like a lab rat! What should I call him instead? Hmmm…..Oh! I got it!"
Her grin reappearing once more, she turned to speak to the downtrodden teen. "Well, Subject 7 is too long and formal for my liking so how about I call you Evan!"
Raising his head to look at Elm, he asked, "Evan? Why that?" Continuing on, she replied, "Weelllll, the word seven sounds pretty close to it, so I thought it would work as a shorthand for Subject 7. Plus I think it could be like your nickname or something like that. Do you not like it?" Her frown briefly crossing her face as finished speaking.
The young man starting to smile at the idea spoke back to Elm, "No, I think it works. I quite like it! Thanks, Elm!"
Hearing the teen's response, a large smile began to grow across Elm's face. As she slapped her hand across Evan's back, almost sending him careening into the floor below, she said with a great mighty voice, "Splendid! I'm glad to hear it, kid! It's nice to meet you, Evan!"
As the two continued down winding halls, eventually they arrived at the training room. The room was incredibly expansive with the walls covered in black, with white stripes traveling across them. Along the walls was the symbol of Atlas, two white circles with a spear hanging in the middle. The floor itself was also black. However, blue lines split the floor into hundreds, if not thousands of perfectly identical squares. Evan turned his head around, grasping the sheer size of the place.
Awaiting the two of them was Winter herself. Her attire was the same as before, but her expression was much more calm compared to when they first met. Standing straight with her arms behind her, she called out to the young man, "It is good to see you again, Subject 7. I hope that you have been well fed. I've heard from the doctors that your appetite is insatiable." Her voice echoed and bounced throughout the large room.
Stepping forward, Evan held his arm behind his head. Embarrassed, he replied, "Y-yeah. I apologize for that. It's just that all of the food here is so great! My stomach just won't stop. Although, I would prefer it if you called me Evan."
Gesturing one arm towards Elm, he continued, "She was the one who thought of it. General Ironwood said that I could change my name if I wanted, so I think I'll stick with Evan for now!" Squinting his eyes, he noticed a change on Winter's face. Could he see a small smile forming?
Speaking aloud, Winter said, "Well Evan, I hope you're ready for your examination. These tests are for us to examine and gauge your physical abilities. Your performance will be recorded by the security cameras placed around the room. In addition, I shall oversee and explain the tests you must perform. To start off, we shall test your speed and stamina. I want you to do two laps around the room. There is no time limit, just go as fast as you can."
Upon hearing this, Evan nodded, beginning to jog across the entire room. At first, it let as if his heart going to burst out of his chest. But as he continued onward, his body started to fill with newfound energy. Before, he felt like an old clock, with all of its gears stuck in cobwebs. But now, it was like someone had cleaned the cobwebs out, allowing the gears to finally start moving again.
As he finished the first lap, he looked over to Elm, who was cheering him on.
"Come on! You can do it Evan! Give it everything you got!"
Now in a full out sprint, he zoomed across the expansive room in half the time it took him to complete the first lap. As Evan finished his running, he slowly lowered himself onto the ground, taking in deep breaths. Tossing a thermos over to the young man, Elm exclaimed, "Man, I didn't know you had that much energy in you! That second lap looked pretty close to some of my current times!"
With a pleased look on her face, Winter told the young man, "Good job, Evan. I hope you're ready for the next test."
The walls vibrating, hidden compartments started to jet out of them. Within them, numerous collections of workout machines, weights, and other gym equipment could be seen. The floor vibrates as well, with two of the squares rising to create a bench of sorts. As Winter walked over to the compartment, with Evan and Elm in tow, she pulled out a barbell and some small weights.
"For this next trial, we shall test your physical strength. I want you to do some bench presses, starting with 20 lbs on each end of the bar. If you are able to lift that much, we will move on to a set of even heavier weights. This will continue until we've reached your current limit. To make sure that you don't overexert yourself and drop the bar, Specialist Ederne will act as your spotter."
As Evan lays flat on the makeshift bench, he holds out his hands and receives the barbell. The barbell and weights didn't feel heavy to him at all. Looking straight up, he sees Elm next to him, her arms at the ready. As Evan pulls the barbell up and down, he looks over to Winter and says, "This is pretty light to me, I think we need to move up to the next one."
Winter, looking back at the young man, replies, "I expected as much, but I didn't want to assume anything and act foolishly." She turns to look at Elm and continues on, "Elm, could you add another 15 lbs to each end."
Nodding in response to the Specialist, Elm quickly grabbed the barbell from Evan and proceeded to add the correct weights onto the bar before giving the barbell back to Evan once more. This continued over and over as Evan did more and more reps, requesting more weight to be added, and Elm congratulating and cheering him.
At one point, as Evan reached 125 lbs on both ends, Elm exclaimed, "You're doing amazing! Keep going! Give it 110%!" Confused, Evan responded, "That doesn't make any sense!" Dismissing his comment, Elm replied, "It totally does! I always do everything with 110% of my strength!" Eventually, they finally reached his limit of 165 lbs on each end of the barbell.
At this point, Evan had to focus heavily on the bench press he was completing, so as to not let the bar slip from his sweat covered hands. With Elm at the ready to assist him, Evan successfully completed the 330 lb bench press. Cheerful at his performance, Elm yelled out, "Great job kid! Man, your lifting way outside your weight class! How much muscle do you have?"
Standing to the side of Evan, Winter said, "Your performance today has been admirable. You should be proud of yourself. But, we still have to complete one more test."
Striding over to the middle of the room, Evan followed along. As the floors and walls vibrated, the compartments collapsed back into the wall, and the cubes that made up his workout bench receded back into the floor.
Looking towards Evan, she explains, "For this last test, you will be fighting against specialist Ederne. Since this is just a test, she will make sure that her attacks don't injure you to a significant degree. She will also not use her semblance or weapon during the fight. However, that does not mean you should be relaxed as you fight. You should put everything you have into winning. The victor will be decided when Evan declares a forfeit, or Elm's aura has been depleted to 95%."
Suddenly a large screen appeared on one of the walls, displaying a large image of Elm upon it, below showing a number and meter displaying her currently maxed out aura.
As Elm gets into a battle stance, Evan attempts to mimic hers in kind. Elm looks to Evan with a smile and says, "Don't hold anything back kid, I have years of experience behind me. I can take a hit or two and keep on swinging. You don't need to worry about hurting me. I'll even let you get the first hit off!" As Winter stands away from the two fighters, she proclaims, "Begin."
Evan rushed up to his opponent, proceeding to launch a body blow at her with his right fist. Upon landing it, Elm's body begins to glow and shimmer, absorbing the impact of the teen's punch. The screen shows her aura going from 100% to 99%. Elm takes the hit in stride, barely moving at all from the punch.
Evan crouches down to the floor before launching into the air. Evan tries to launch an uppercut towards her jaw, but Elm moves back in response. Leaving Evan to punch nothing but the air itself, Elm grabs Evan's arm midair. Evan looks towards Elm in shock. Frowning at Evan, she says, "You shouldn't telegraph your attacks like that. You'll only leave yourself wide open."
Releasing his arm, Elm backs away from Elm as she prepares to charge at him. Running up to the young man, Elm moves her right arm and sends a punch flying towards Evan's body. Evan backs away and leans his body the opposite direction. Feinting the attack however, Elm launches her left fish towards Evan, hitting him square in the lungs. Falling flat on his back, Evan attempts to regain his breath.
Evan regains his footing and gets ready to fight once more. Elm sends another punch, this time toward his face. Evan holds up his hands and blocks the hit, only for her to send a kick to his side. Dropping to the ground he holds his arms out to brace himself for the fall. Glancing over to Winter, he sees her watch on, her mouth remaining neutral, but her eyes filled with melancholy.
Leaning his head up, he sees Elm walk towards him, her frown still remaining upon her face. She quietly tells him, "You can forfeit at any time, kid. Just say it and it'll all be over. It's not bad to run away from a fight you can't beat."
In an instant, Evan's brain begins to throb. Holding his hands up to his forehead and eyes, he begins to yell out in pain.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!"
Unbeknownst to him, his body began to glow and pulse with yellow energy. In the background, he can faintly hear Elm and Winter call out to him.
"Kid! Are you ok?!"
"Evan! What's wrong!?"
Suddenly, in a flash of light, Evan closes his eyes. When he opens them however, he sees not the training room before him, but a vast rocky landscape. In the distance he can see a city of some kind. The air shakes as circular flying machines soar through the sky. The sky is painted with yellows, reds, and purples as the sun sets in the background.
In front of him is another man standing against a cliff's edge, facing away from him. He wears a set of yellow and black armor, shoulder pads, and blue pants. He widens his eyes as he sees the man with a monkey tail, just like him. In an instant, his hand begins to glow yellow as he points it towards a large rock in the distance. In a flash, a glowing projectile shoots out and blasts the rock apart.
The mysterious man says aloud, "No matter what happens, you should never surrender in a fight. As long as there is a breath in your body and blood flowing through your veins, you should keep on fighting! Show everyone your fighting spirit! I won't always be around to watch your back. You need to learn how to fight on your own. You're a warrior after all. You get what I mean?"
Confused, Evan reaches his hand out and tries to ask him, "Who are you?" But, in an instant, another flash of light consumes him. When he opens his eyes, he sees the training room once more. To his left, he sees Elm kneeling down next to him as Winter is already mid spirit, heading towards him.
Concerned, Elm asks, "Are you alright, kid?! You're starting to glow!" Confused, he looks down and sees his body pulsing with energy. In an instant, the energy begins to move, coalesce, and radiate around his fists. Moving his head to face Elm once more he hears he say, "I'm really sorry if I hit you too hard! I'm so stupid! I should've known my own strength!" Standing back up, Evan responds back, "No no. I'm good. It wasn't your fault. It's just that I think I saw something from my past. Like a memory, I guess?"
Winter finally reaching the two asks, "What was it that you saw?"
Looking towards her, he responds, "I'm not sure. I saw a guy with a tail like mine, a rocky landscape, a city, and these weird flying pod things. I'm so sorry for making you guys worry about me. Could we keep the fight going?"
Questioning the young man, Winter asks, "Are you sure Evan? We can always resume the test another time."
Shaking his head, he responds, "Yeah. I'm not sure why, but I want to continue this fight. I'm actually kind of pumped up."
Exhaling, Winter replies, "Very well. The same rules mentioned beforehand still apply. BUT if something like that happens again Evan, I WILL end the match. Do you understand?"
As Elm gets into her battle stance, keeping her arms close to protect her body, Evan says aloud, "Understood." As he gets into his own stance, he places one foot in front of the other, his hands still glowing as he extends them forward. He looks over to Elm, her expression neutral if somewhat sad. With a smile, Evan says aloud, "Don't hold anything back Elm. I'm going to give this fight my 110%!" Surprised at his response, Elm begins to smile once more.
Raising her right hand upward, Winter announced, "The fight shall continue…now!" She says as her hand falls back down to her side.
Elm runs up to Evan attempting to punch him in the stomach. Almost out of instinct, Evan leans back and side steps the attack. Evan gets up even closer to Elm as she goes for another punch, only for it to be blocked and pushed away by Evan. The teen gets in two quick punches to her chest before Elm backs away in response, her aura sparking against the residual energy left behind from the punches. Both Winter and Elm seemed shocked at the sight unfolding before them.
With the screen showing Elm's aura at 96%, Evan quickly looks to his glowing hands, recalling his memory from earlier.
"As long as there is a breath in your body and blood flowing through your veins, you should keep on fighting!"
Extending his left hand forward, he felt the energy collect and charge in his palm. Elm, looking at the display, began to cross her arms to defend. Evan thought to himself, "You told me to give it my all, Elm! I'll show you, Winter, Ironwood, and everyone else that I can fight! I won't surrender! And that's why..I..won't..LOSE!"
In a blinding burst of speed the projectile blasted forward, colliding with Elm as she is launched backwards. Landing on the floor, she looks up to the screen, her aura now at 93%. Turning her head to face Evan, a smile crosses her face. Picking herself off the floor she gives a thumbs up to Evan. She says aloud, "Good job kid! That semblance of yours certainly packs a punch!"
Evan giving a thumbs up back to Elm, turns to face Winter. Winter faces him with a pleasant look and replies, "You certainly proved yourself today. I imagine General Ironwood thinks so as well."
Approaching Evan, she continues, "For the next couple of days, we'll bring you back here to do some more training. If you do well enough, we'll consider bringing you out onto the field, perhaps alongside Elm and her team. But for now, specialist Ederne will escort you back to your room. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day, you've earned it!"
Smiling, Evan replies, "I can't wait, Specialist! I promise I'll do whatever I can to help out!"
—
As the sun was setting in the sky, Winter entered the General's office once more. Once again, Ironwood was in the middle of filling out more paperwork. Standing at attention, she saluted the General. "I've arrived as you've requested. I hope I'm not interrupting anything important, sir!"
Facing the specialist, Ironwood smiled at her and said, "At ease Winter. I'm just completing some forms for the upcoming Vytal festival."
Standing up from his desk, he grabbed a file from it before walking towards Winter. Ironwood explained, "I called you here to discuss Evan. After reviewing the footage, I had the doctors check up on Evan and his aura after he fought with Elm. However, the doctors alerted me that his aura was still sealed."
Winter stood there baffled. She replied, "But that doesn't make any sense! He clearly used a semblance of some kind! No one can use their semblance of their aura is still locked!"
Ironwood turned away from the specialist as he faced the mirror wall at the end of his office. Ironwood continued, "I thought the same thing, but after considering everything: the advanced technology from Evan's ship, his armor being constructed from unknown materials not found on Remnant, his bizarre blood, his lack of an aura of semblance, him lacking any records on the CCT. I know it seems ridiculous, but there is a real possibility that Evan may not be from Remnant at all."
Stunned, Winter stuttered out, "A-Are you implying that he's an ALIEN General?"
With his back still turned, Ironwood quietly nodded at the question asked at him.
Winter continued, "I-It just seems so ridiculous. If he is, what should we do now?"
Ironwood turned to face Winter and spoke, "We continue as we were before. Evan has clearly shown he is willing to work with Atlas. If anything, getting his memories back is more important than ever as it would allow us to know why he was sent here in the first place. To think there could be dozens, if not hundreds, of planets out there, filled with intelligent life. It is likely that there are planets out there that see Remnant as a threat or something to be sought after. If so, we have to prepare, if they ever do come. I'm telling you this because I can trust you. Until I say otherwise, you will not mention any of this to anyone else. You are excused, Winter."
As Winter salutes the General and leaves the room, Ironwood thinks to himself, "It seems I'll need to give Ozpin a call."
—-
And that concludes Chapter 3! For those of you reading this, please let me know your thoughts on the story so far. This is the first story I've posted online, so I'm curious to hear your thoughts! Due to the length of this chapter, I might split it into two smaller ones. Let me know if I should leave this chapter as it is right now, or split it in two. I'll try to have the next chapter released later this week/weekend.
Thanks for reading everyone! I hope to see you all in Chapter 4!