Falling out of bed, Evan clutched his head as he yelled out in pain. From outside his room, he heard the stationed guards scrambling around before opening the door. Coming inside, one of the guards stepped forward hesitantly.
"Is everything alright?! Did somebody-" The guard questioned.
"No. I-I…I fell out of bed. I fell out of bed and landed on my face. I'll…I'll be fine. You can go." Evan lied as he continued to hold onto his head.
"B-But…Are you sure you don't need any hel-" The other guard asked.
"I said I'm fine!" Evan yelled out as the guards left the room in a hurry.
Groaning in pain, Evan began to feel everything come back. If his mind was like a dam and each of his previous dreams were small cracks in the dam's surface, then last night's dream was a massive hole in the dam, causing all of his memories to come flooding out and back into him. Evan recalled it all:
His life as a Saiyan, his connections with his brother Toma, his time working as a part of Toma's squadron, conquering planets, Frieza, Planet Vegeta and its destruction, and Toma's death.
All of it was there, in his mind, and it would not stop coming! As Evan began to hyperventilate, he heard the soldiers outside respond to someone as he heard them marching away from his room. Even standing back up caused pain to ring out from his head. Opening the doors, he leaned out and saw the guards running down the hall.
"That's weird. Normally they stick around for another hour or so." Evan thought to himself.
Pursuing the guards, Evan chased after them, each step feeling as if his brain was slamming into his skull. Quickly, he was able to catch up with the two guards.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Evan asked aloud.
"We're under direct orders from General Ironwood! There's been a breach in Vale's defenses and Grimm are inside the city! He wants all soldiers available to mobilize and head out to the landing docks, in case the situation worsens!"
"What?! Grimm are attacking the city!? I need to get down there!" Evan said in shock.
"Negative. You are under direct orders to not leave Beacon-"
"I know what Ironwood said! Where is he?" Evan questioned as he put on his gauntlets.
"He's currently heading out toward the flagshi-" The guard announced as Evan sprinted past them.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" The guard questioned furiously as Evan zoomed way ahead of them. Navigating through the halls, he pushed himself out into the main lobby before heading outside. Looking around, he saw dozens, if not hundreds of soldiers standing at the ready next to numerous Atlesian airships. In the distance, he could see large smoke clouds emerging from within the city. Squinting his eyes he saw the General approaching the main flagship that he and Evan had flown into Beacon on. Kicking up dust, Evan closed the distance as he approached the tall figure.
"General! General!" Evan called out, almost tripping over himself, as he stood next to the General, who watched the scene unfold in surprise.
"Evan! Didn't I tell you that…" Ironwood said in a confused tone.
"I…I heard…what's happening. You…You got to let me go to Vale!" Evan continued as he exhaled heavily.
"Evan, I don't have time to talk, people's lives are at stake!" Ironwood yelled out as he walked up the ramp, into the ship. Evan grabbed his hand as Ironwood turned back toward him.
"All the more reason for me to help! Isn't hunting Grimm something that all huntsmen are trained for? You've seen what I can do. I can take the Grimm down easily, and I can get there faster than you and your troops can mobilize. Just give me a chance! I can do this! Please…" Evan pleaded as the two stared at each other.
" *Sigh* Alright. You have one chance. I'll call off the order regarding your guarded stay at Beacon, for now. Please don't make me regret this." Ironwood declared.
"Thank you. I won't let you down!" Evan exclaimed as he ran toward the edge of Beacon Academy.
Jumping off the ledge, Evan began to fall toward the ground before quickly flying upward and blasting off toward the city.
"Regardless of everything that's happened, I can't just sit back and do nothing! I need to push all these new memories aside and focus on this!" Evan thought to himself.
Consumed in a white aura, Evan maneuvered himself around the many tall buildings of the city, heading toward the smoke. As he approached, Evan saw a few figures, surrounded by legions of Grimm. As they became easily visible, he saw it was Team RWBY and JNPR fighting off the massive horde of monsters.
"What are they doing here?! I thought they were all off on their missions already, outside of Vale? Why are-Forget it, I need to help them!" Evan thought to himself.
Quickly landing with a loud *Slam, Evan created a small crater as the ground shook from his arrival. Multiple Grimm turned their attention toward the young Saiyan as they charged at him. Flying toward them, Evan punched the first Beowolf that leaped at him, watching as its body crumpled under the force of the punch. Despite the quick destruction of the first creature, the Grimm continued their charge. Killing Beowolf after Beowolf, Evan watched as an enormous Ursa Major tried to bring its jaws down on the young student's head. However, Evan held up his hands and easily pushed back against the attack. In one swift motion, Evan grabbed the creature, by its large jaws, and proceeded to turn and slam its body into the ground. Charging up a ki blast, he vaporized the beast. As more Grimm descended upon him, while his body was on autopilot, Evan couldn't stop himself from rethinking about all of his regained memories.
"This really is everything I feared, but so much worse!" Evan exclaimed to himself as he flattened a Beowolf.
"I'm a…a monster! The worst of the worst scum imaginable in the galaxy! A conqueror of planets, feared by practically anyone who isn't a Saiyan!" Evan continued in his mind.
"What would Ruby think of me if she knew who I really was?! Or Penny?! Damn it, what would Ironwood think!?" Evan thought as he blasted a small group of Beowolves to pieces.
Feeling the ground shake and the air vibrate, he looked to the sky as Ironwood's flagship arrived, alongside many smaller ships. Descending from the sky were numerous Atlesian knights as they began to unload their weaponry onto the nearby Grimm. Turning his attention back to the fight, Evan zipped ahead obliterating Grimm after Grimm. Seeing an Ursa next to Ruby, Evan leaped forward and crushed the beast in one swift attack to the face. Hearing the screeching of Nevermores flying in the sky, Evan flew into the sky tearing through the Nevermores with a barrage of precise ki blasts. Ruby stood in awe at the brutal scene. Continuing the onslaught on the ground, Evan plowed through the ever decreasing hordes of Grimm. Tuning everything else out, Evan wiped out the Grimm with the proficiency of a trained Saiyan warrior. In the distance, he saw large pieces of rubble shift and fly through the air as they began to reassemble and move themselves back into place. Turning around, he saw Glynda patch up the large hole in the ground that the Grimm were emerging from.
With no method of entry into the city remaining, the army of Grimm was whittled down to practically nothing, as another Bullhead arrived. Leaping out of the vehicle was a lady with black sunglasses, a guy with dark skin and copper hair, a huge man with green armor, a lady with long brown hair and large rabbit ears, and an old man with a big mustache and a red outfit.
"Huh, and here I thought we were actually going to start fighting some Grimm." The lady with the sunglasses said as she walked around.
"I wish I got to use my new weapon though…" The brown-haired lady replied as her voice trailed off.
"Hey, you!" The shade wearing woman responded as she pointed toward Evan. Looking around, he watched as she walked up to him.
"While we were flying in, I saw you wiping out those Grimm. That was some pretty good fighting back there. What's your name, anyway?" She questioned.
"It's Evan." The young student replied back.
"Well good job, Evan. The name's Coco. I'm the leader of Team CFVY." Coco explained as she gestured toward her teammates. At the same time, the old man stepped forward.
"Ho ho ho! Indeed, that was some splendid work that you've just done! Oh, imagine the stories you'll tell of this rousing spectacle!" The old man laughed as he slapped Evan in the back.
As a smaller airship landed on the ground, two older teenagers, a guy with silver hair and a girl with green hair, escorted Roman Torchwick toward the ship.
"Congrats, you arrested little old me. I promise I'll be good for the rest of my days, if you let me go..." Roman sarcastically claimed as one of the robotic Atlesian knights grabbed him by the arm.
"Right...I forgot I was talking to a toaster." Roman muttered out as he was pushed inside.
As multiple bullheads landed nearby, Evan and Team RWBY entered and sat inside the back of one of the machines. While the vehicle rocked back and forth as it rose into the air, Evan held onto one of the handles on the side of the Bullhead for support. Staring off into the open sky, Evan began to tightly grip one of the metal handles as it started to get crushed under Evan's force.
"Hey Evan!" Ruby called out as Evan shook his head and faced the young teen.
"W-What?" Evan questioned as he let go of the handle and refocused on the conversation.
"Remember that bet we made? Y'know about the Beowolves? I cut down 67 of them." Ruby said as she smiled toward him.
"O-Oh. That's…That's right. I guess you win…" Evan replied as he gave a fake smile before trailing off.
"Is…Is something wrong?" Ruby questioned as she tilted her head to the side, her eyes filled with concern.
"…It…It's…nothing. I just fell out of bed this morning. My head's been hurting for a bit, that's all." Evan elaborated.
"Come on! You can walk it off! Are you not gonna mention that great fight back there!? You annihilated the Grimm like it was nothing! I knew you were pretty good at fighting one on one, but I didn't expect you to also kick ass against Grimm too, Sparkler Hands! Where did you train before going to Beacon, anyway?" Yang cheered as the Bullhead landed at Beacon Academy.
As the group piled out of the ship, Evan began walking back toward the school. Grabbing his shoulder, Evan turned to face Ruby.
"That was a pretty tough fight! You want to come sit and relax with us as the sun comes up?" Ruby asked with a kind tone.
"No…I think…I need some time alone." Evan said in a downtrodden mood. Ruby stared back as her joyful mood deflated slightly.
"Oh…Well, I doubt we're going to have any classes after what happened in Vale today. You're welcome to swing on by our room if you're feeling better." Ruby said aloud.
"Thanks." Evan stated as he walked away.
As Ruby sat on the edge with her friends, she looked uneasy as she faced them.
"I hope that he's alright. He seems a little off." Ruby said as a small frown formed on her face.
"Maybe he's not letting on how exhausted he is. That was a rather intense fight, down in the city. Perhaps he just needs some personal alone time to relax. Why do you think I enjoy reading so much?" Blake added as she stared outward, watching the sunrise.
"Oh really? And here I thought that you only did it to get your daily dose of romance novels, otherwise you'd cease to function. And don't think I don't know just what kind of novels they really are." Yang teased, while lying on the ground, causing Blake to blush from embarrassment.
"Regardless of…that, I'd say we did a good job. Because of our efforts, we were able to defend the city from Roman's onslaught of Grimm." Weiss stated.
"But we still don't even know why Torchwick did all of that in the first place, or who that lady from the CCT Tower was. Was she even connected with Torchwick and the White Fang at all? There's a bunch of things that we still don't know." Ruby pointed out.
"We'll figure it out in time. We did some real good today, and that's definitely not in doubt." Blake replied.
"Yeah! And if there is someone out there who's pulling the strings behind all of this, I'm sure we'll still come out on top. I mean, we got the greatest leader a team could have!" Yang declared as she got up and put an arm around Ruby.
"Thanks Yang." Ruby said as her frown began to shift back into a smile.
/-/
As Evan sat in his room, the afternoon sun burning away outside, he heard a gentle but firm knock on the door.
"Come in." Evan called out as he sat on the bed.
Stepping inside the room was General Ironwood who appeared slightly more cheerful than his usual more neutral mood.
"I must admit, you certainly did a good job out there on the field. You operated as well as any huntsman would have in the situation! Your efforts have not gone unnoticed. You've made me and all of Atlas proud for what you've accomplished today!" Ironwood said in a pleasant tone as he closed the door behind him.
Internally, Evan felt a pit of shame form inside of him. Each word of praise just made the young student more frustrated and upset. Here he was, an evil Saiyan, getting congratulated by a General that any other Saiyan would have long wiped out, alongside anyone else who stood in their way. As he kept his hands on his chin, he looked up at the General with a somber expression.
"Earlier today, the councils of both Atlas and Vale have decided to appoint me as head of security for the Vytal Festival. As such, in addition to your contributions on the field, I am removing your forced and extended stay at Beacon Academy. You are free to explore the city as you wish." Ironwood continued on.
"With the Vytal Festival Tournament coming up, I will be placing you and Penny on a team with two other individuals. I would recommend not discussing anything regarding your identity with them, although I imagine you probably weren't planning on doing so. As the tournament approaches, I'll give you time to train and work with them all so you're fully prepared for the main event. Moving forward, I'm going to be rather busy prepping security for the Festival, so if there's anything that you would wish to say, do so now."
As the two remained silent, Evan looked away from the General out of shame. Turning back toward the door, the General pulled the door open. But before the General stepped outside, Evan called out to him.
"Wait. T-There's something…I need to tell you." Evan stated as the General faced him.
"It..It's…Thank you…for giving me a chance today." Evan said hesitantly.
"Of course. Your instincts pushed you to try and do the right thing, and you used your abilities to see it through. It's qualities like that which make a good huntsman." Ironwood replied with a pleased expression, causing Evan to shrink on the inside.
"If that's all that you wished to discuss, then I hope you enjoy the rest of your time leading up to the Tournament. The competition this year is rather fierce from what I can see. You'll need to perform at your very best if you're going to come out victorious. But I suppose that is something for another day. Until we meet again, Evan." Ironwood finished as he left the room and closed the door behind him.
Moving his hands up to his head, Evan let out a long sigh.
"What am I going to do? Would Ironwood still trust me if he knew who I really was? Would he even give me a chance once he knew the truth? All of my Saiyan instincts are telling me that he'd throw everything he had at me if the roles were switched and I was sent to destroy this planet. I can't believe it. All of the gifts, time, and effort that everyone has offered me was to prop up some killer. Before I remembered everything, I could have been anyone, but the universe had to make me a Saiyan. I feel like garbage. I can't let Ironwood, or anyone else find out. If they did…they won't!" Evan thought to himself as he sat alone in his room.
/-/
And here marks the end of Volume 2! How are your thoughts on the story so far? Leave a review if you like. If any of you play Dokkan, I hope your summons for the 8th anniversary went well. Regardless, I hope you all have a good day and I'll see you either next Monday/Tuesday!