As Evan left behind an afterimage, he watched as the seconds dragged on before his phantom copy finally proceeded to explode.
"It's good, but…" Evan thought to himself as he looked around at the purple tint in the air, a look of dissatisfaction covering his face.
Feeling the gravity push down on his body, Evan stopped for a moment as he stared at the display which showed the symbols: "12g"
"It's not good enough. I need to be at my absolute best if I'm going to take down Salem one day. Anything less, and I would be letting everyone down." Evan continued as he typed a new number into the console.
Watching as the symbols changed from "12g" to 14g", Evan leaped about the room and continued to punch and kick at the air repeatedly. Despite his body beginning to struggle and strain against the more intense gravity, the young Saiyan refused to relent.
"It's not enough. I have to keep going." Evan contemplated as he typed into the console once again.
"I have no hope of beating Frieza if I'm not even strong enough to defeat Salem. Both of them will pay for the people they took from me. Whatever it takes to be the strongest, I have to strive and train to achieve that level of power…" Evan thought to himself as the symbols changed again from "14g" to "15g".
As the room filled with an intense purple hue, Evan pushed the pain as he continued to exercise and train his body. After another couple of minutes, the young teen began to sweat profusely as he decided to approach the machine.
"I think that should be good enough for today. Considering what I'll be teaching the Ace Ops, I don't want to push myself too far. I'll need to save some strength to get through this session." Evan concluded internally while he physically started to inhale and exhale heavily.
Turning the gravity machine off, Evan's body slumped forward, forcing himself to stop his body from collapsing to the ground. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Evan composed himself and walked out of the room. Leaning against the wall of the hallway for support, Evan pulled his scroll out to see that it was 0958 military time.
Looking back up, the young Saiyan saw the Ace Ops as they turned a corner of the hallway and entered his vision. Smiling, Evan gave them a friendly wave.
"Hey there! You guys ready for today's lesson?" Evan asked as he forced himself to straighten up.
"Considering how you've been hyping up this next technique, I would say I am!" Marrow replied.
As the Ace Ops entered the training room, Evan slouched and walked behind them as he rubbed his back.
/-/
Sitting in the chair on the other side of the General's desk, Pietro accepted the offered mug of coffee from Ironwood.
"I wanted to thank you again for arriving in such a timely manner, Pietro. It does my heart good to see you in such high spirits once more." James explained.
"Of course. I certainly needed the exercise, heh heh. Our bodies don't enjoy being inactive and stationary for too long." Pietro added as he took a long sip from his mug before placing it back on the desk.
"Now, I imagine you read up on the two projects that I gave you the other day? I want to hear your honest thoughts regarding them." Ironwood asked.
"Yes, and personally while I believe both projects can be built, one of them…concerns me. The Amity Project to reestablish global communications is something that I'm fully on board to help contribute to. This other plan though, this Project Gjallarhorn, the more I read about it, the more questions get raised in my head. While Atlas's military power is obvious to the general public, the scale of this…weapon makes me wonder, what would you even need a weapon of such sheer strength for?! I've done the calculations, and this machine could easily wipe out any of the other kingdoms! By the gods, if the other kingdoms knew about this, there would be another Great War on our hands! And then there's the situation regarding the device's power source! I know that you aren't power hungry, so please tell me why you would wish to have a weapon like this constructed?!" Pietro questioned with a look of both confusion and seriousness.
Staring back at Pietro, the General's neutral expression did not waver.
"I expected you would say something like this. Take a good look into my eyes, Pietro. I would never use Project Gjallarhorn on any of the kingdoms and that includes Menagerie. I can promise you that. All I need is a few moments of your time, and I'll explain everything…" Ironwood replied back.
/-/
"Hey Evan, how's the…Hey, are you ok?" Harriet asked as she turned around to see the tired young Saiyan dragging himself forward, causing the other Ace Ops to turn toward and share similar looks of concern.
"Huh, oh…oh yeah, I'm fine." Evan responded back.
"You don't look fine." Clover argued.
"Yeah, we can call off today's session if you're not feeling up to it, kid." Elm added.
"I told you I'm fine, I just went a little too hard during time in the gravity chamber today, that's all. Now what was it that you were saying?" Evan said as he tried switching to a more energetic tone while turning to look at Harriet.
"If you say so…I was just wondering how progress was going for that afterimage explosion thing?" Harriet asked as she turned toward him.
"Oh, well I'd say things are going well enough. I've managed to prevent my afterimages from exploding as I move out of harm's way, but I still need more practice before I can start to reliably use it in battle." Evan explained as he turned back toward the rest of the Ace Ops.
"Alright, now today you're going to learn the ultimate technique, unleashing a condensed and powerful Ki beam. While most people have their own original unique version, it'll be easier if you all start off with learning the same one. That's why I'm going to teach you how to do…The Crimson Cannon!" Evan declared.
"Interesting, is that your own personal Ki beam, kid?" Elm asked, causing Evan to shake his head in response.
"No, actually I learned it from my brother Toma. It's one of the only things that I have to remember him now that he's gone. So, in a way, it'll be nice to carry on his legacy by passing the technique down to you all." Evan said with a bittersweet look on his face.
"I'd be honored to carry it on." Vine said with a look of sympathy on his face.
"Thanks Vine." Evan added with a look of appreciation.
"Now what you're going to want to do is hold both of your arms out in front of you like this…" Evan explained as he held his arms straight out in front of his body.
"It's important that you keep your arms close together when you do this. It helps prevent any Ki from surging out. Then you need to concentrate your Ki into both hands. At first, the energy will take on the color of your own Ki. However, as you pump more and more energy into your hands, your Ki will begin to shift to look more red. While this is happening, make sure you keep your arms as still as you can get them. All of that Ki will no doubt have you start to shake wildly. Once the color of your Ki has changed to a crimson red, you must then force the energy forward from your hands. Like a fire, the Ki beam will keep going so long as you keep giving it more energy, and like regular Ki blasts, you can move the direction of the beam as you are firing it." Evan continued.
Casually, Evan began to walk toward the other side of the room.
"Now an important thing to know when using Ki beams, DON'T point them straight down at the ground. Unless you're an absolute master at Ki control, it's a horrible idea to do. Doing something like that could cause the planet's core to burst, killing everyone on this rock. Always fire them horizontally or in any upward direction, ok?" Evan concluded, as the Ace Ops nodded along.
"Good. Now I want you try out the Crimson Cannon on me, you're first few tries will be fairly weak, so I'll be able to take them on fairly easily. Who wants to go first?" Evan elaborated.
Stepping up ahead of the group was Vine. As he held his hands out in front of him, Evan watched as Vine narrowed his gaze as yellow Ki began to grow within his palms. As the energy grew more intense and began to change to a more red-ish hue, the older soldier had to widen his stance and keep his arms steady. Finally, as the Ki shifted to a crimson red, Vine unleashed the attack as a red beam.
"Crimson Cannon." Vine stated.
As the attack soared through the air, Evan planted one foot behind him as he crossed his arm in front of himself and took the attack head on.
As the room filled with a bright red light, the other Ace Ops averted their eyes away from the scene. As the light receded, the Ace Ops saw a large cloud of black smoke drifting off to show Evan, with black ash covering his uniform, but otherwise ok.
"Great job, Vine!" Evan exclaimed.
With excitement in his eyes, Marrow pushed ahead of the group.
"That was crazy! I want to try it next!" Marrow stated.
As Marrow followed the same steps as Vine and readied himself, his green Ki began to grow within his hands. However, as his energy changed colors, Marrow's arms began to shake and grow unsteady. Trying his best to control the attack, as the Ki changed fully to red, Marrow prepared to fire it.
"Crimson Cann-" Marrow began to yell out. However, before he could finish speaking, his arms jolted upward just as he launched the beam.
As the beam blasted up and toward the area above Evan, the young Saiyan leaped up and held his hands out to stop the attack, getting pushed back and slamming into the back wall as a result. Floating down to the ground, Evan approached the soldier.
"Oh crap! I'm sorry dude. I just-" Marrow began to blurt out as Evan put an arm around his shoulder.
"Don't sweat it man, you nailed the attack." Evan stated.
"Yeah, but I messed up my form...and you got hurt…" Marrow muttered out.
"Hey, things take time. You'll get the hang of it! Besides, it'll take more than that to put me down!" Evan said with a smile on his face.
"I guess you're right…Thanks dude." Marrow replied as he looked away from Evan out of embarrassment.
"I'm just curious as to why you both decided to yell out the name?" Harriet questioned.
"I thought that maybe that it was one of the steps of the attack. I mean Evan says it all the time when he does it. Plus, it sounds cool!" Marrow argued.
"I thought as much when I did it." Vine added.
"Actually, you don't have to yell it out when you do it. It's more of a war cry if anything." Evan elaborated.
"Whatever…Do what you want…I know that I'm not gonna shout it out when I do it." Harriet claimed.
"You say that now, but that's going to change when you're in the driver's seat! When the wind is flowing all around you and all of your energy is built up into one blast. It just makes you want to shout it out! " Marrow replied back.
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Harriet stated.
/-/
"…And that's why I need to build Project Gjallarhorn, to have a weapon at the ready when Salem inevitably comes to our doorstep with the Grimm at her side. Considering how Salem knows of Atlas's size and strength, she won't come unprepared. The amount of Grimm she would bring with her arrival would be incalculable. In combination with her powerful magic and regenerative capabilities, even Evan and the Ace Ops might not be able to slow down both the horde and Salem. This machine will help us keep the scales in our favor." Ironwood explained.
As Pietro leaned back in the chair, taking in everything Ironwood had told him, he simply stared and continued to listen to the General.
"Considering your talents are second to none, I need you to be at the helm of both of these projects. Not only do I need your help with building both of these projects, but I need you to assist with the software of these machines as well. After my machines were taken control of during the Fall of Beacon, I need to be absolutely sure that both Amity Colosseum and Project Gjallarhorn can't be hacked into by Salem's forces." Ironwood elaborated.
"I can certainly see your perspective now, James. To think there's someone who actually can control the Grimm, not to mention all of this talk of magic and Maidens…" Pietro said as he put a hand to his forehead.
"Indeed, I was rather shocked as well when I learned all of this from Ozpin." James stated as he pulled out a bottle of whiskey.
"Would you care for some?" Ironwood asked as he gestured to the half drunken mug of coffee.
"Yes, yes I think I would." Pietro replied as the General poured some into both of their mugs.
Taking the drink in his hands, the older scientist proceeded to take a small sip from the mug.
"As for the power source of the weapon, I know you've constructed similar machines…" Ironwood added.
"Yes, but they were on a smaller scale. Also, I would need more time to create newer models that could properly handle and channel the levels of power that the blueprints require before we could move on to the actual construction of the machine." Pietro replied back as he placed the mug back on the table.
"Whatever resources you need to get started on making the prototypes, they're yours. Money is not a concern when it comes to a project this important for the protection of Atlas and its people." Ironwood claimed.
"Ok, but if I'm going to begin work on these projects, I will only do it on one condition." Pietro explained..
"And that is?" Ironwood inquired.
"I want to try and bring my daughter back." Pietro stated.
"Pietro…" Ironwood began to say, as a sympathetic look crossed his face.
"Just please listen, when Amity Colosseum was brought back to Solitas, they recovered the remains of Penny's body. Her core is still intact, and with it, her memories as well. If you could just let me try once more, I can bring her back." Pietro claimed as he leaned forward in his chair.
"Pietro, while I'm not against the idea of reuniting you with your daughter, please understand that, you are aware of the potential risks of this prospect. When you brought Penny to life, you separated part of your own soul to do so. After Penny came into existence, your aura has never risen above 65%. We don't know if the body could even sustain itself with less than 50% of one's total soul remaining. With how important these projects are, I can't risk losing you midway during their construction." Ironwood argued.
"James, please, Penny's life was taken away from her too soon. I just want to be able to see my daughter be able to live her life." Pietro sadly replied back.
"And what if you die in the process? How would Penny feel if she had to watch you die just for her to live? You deserve to live as much as she does!" Ironwood continued as he raised his voice.
"I would do anything to be able to bring my daughter back, even if I only got to see her for a single day. I would be content with that. Whatever it takes…" Pietro declared as he began to tear up.
As the General sat in silence, Pietro continued as he pulled out a pink handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his tears away.
"I would build her to be stronger, faster, better than how I built her first body. She would be able to help defend the kingdom at a moment's notice. The physical body would be of no issue to finish, it's only the soul transfer that would put me at risk. I can work overtime on both Amity and Gjallarhorn while I begin to build her body during my off hours. By the time I've finished building Penny, I promise that both projects would be either completed, or in a state where my help would no longer be needed. Once that happens, only then would I begin the soul transfer. You would get your machines, and I would get my daughter back. Do we have a deal?" Pietro asked as he tightly gripped the armrests of the chair.
As the moment seemed to drag on for an eternity, with both men staring each other down. Until the General broke the silence.
"Alright Pietro, you have a deal." Ironwood replied back.
As the older man almost collapsed into his chair, Pietro used the handkerchief to wipe away the sweat accumulating on his forehead.
"O-Ok then, it's…it's settled. Thank you, James. Thank you. I'll begin with work on the Gjallarhorn project right away, I'll inform you of any and all updates as I progress." Pietro explained as he moved to leave the room.
"I look forward to hearing from you. Will you be telling Evan about Penny? I feel that he deserves to know." Ironwood questioned.
"I'm not sure. Our knowledge of transferring souls is still so small. In case something goes wrong during the soul transfer and I'm unable to bring her back, I don't want to raise Evan's hopes up just to have them crushed just as fast." Pietro elaborated as he turned toward the General.
"Alright then. Best of luck to you. And Pietro, please take care." James added.
"Thank you, I will." Pietro said aloud as he left the room.
/-/
Hello! Thank you as always for reading. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on the chapter and the story so far. The next chapter should be released sometime next weekend.
If you wish to support me, then please go to
www . P a treon . com (slash) Alist0r
for more details. Even helping me out a little really goes a long way.
I also wanted to thank my patrons for donating and motivating me to continue posting these chapters:
Anonymous
Thank you for your donations, it really means a lot! As always, I'll see you all next time!