As Evan blasted the last Beowolf away, he let out a sigh of relief as a huntress with orange pigtails and a cat tail quickly approached him.
"Wow! Thanks again for helping us out, Evan. You know…I think you looked better when you weren't wearing that tin can of yours…" The huntress said aloud as she repeatedly knocked her fist against his metal suit.
"Like, at least I think you did back when I saw you fight in the tournament. What do you think, Flynt?" The huntress questioned as she turned toward a huntsman with dark skin, black glasses, and a blue and black hat.
Tuning out the conversation, Evan stared on in silence as he gazed at the fading remains of the Grimm he killed. Lost in his mind, one thought kept coming up.
"Why couldn't I sense the Grimm's Ki?"
Shaking his head, Evan recollected himself as the memories of his early morning mission faded away and shifted back to reality. Back in the gravity room, Evan turned toward Clover who was doing some light training with Vine.
"Hey Clover, can I ask you something?" Evan asked.
"Sure. What is it?" The tall leader inquired.
"When I went on my mission today, I was fighting some Grimm. Everything went fine, but for some reason, I wasn't able to sense the Grimm. I could sense the Ki of the other huntsmen there, even a nearby penguin, so it makes me question what the Grimm even…are. Like they're clearly alive, but they don't have life energy? What do you think?" Evan replied as he shared a confused look.
Putting a hand to his chin, Clover began to ponder the young Saiyan's question.
"Some people believe that there were two Gods way back when Remnant was new. The God of Darkness made creatures to destroy the God of Light's creations, those creatures being the Grimm. Of course that's only a Legend, but after everything we've learned, who knows what's fact and what's merely fiction. If the Grimm are made by the God of Darkness, maybe they're lack of Ki comes from them not being physically born into the world, like how animals and humans are. Whatever the reason, it doesn't matter too much. The Grimm threaten the lives of the public, and it's our job to deal with them. Isn't that right?" Clover stated with a smirk.
"Yeah!" Evan exclaimed as he nodded his head.
"Good. So let's get back to work." Clover added as he turned back toward Vine and the two began to spar against each other.
Stepping away from the others, Evan began to strike the air as he punched and kicked it repeatedly. As he felt his muscles tighten and strain against him, Evan pushed through the pain. Sweating profusely, the teen charged up his Ki and fired off a Crimson Cannon, only to curve the beam and had it turn around back toward himself. As the attack approached ever closer, Evan got into a defensive stance and braced himself. As a bright red light filled the room, Evan exhaled heavily as he began to fall toward the ground.
"Evan!" Elm exclaimed as she sprinted toward him with a look of concern.
Standing next to him, Elm watched as Evan tried to pull himself back up, his arms shaking wildly as he did so.
"Kid, are you sure you're alright? You've been pushing yourself a lot more these past few days. Seeing you like this doesn't do my heart any favors." Elm explained with worry as she held her hand out to help Evan up.
"It's ok, Elm. I…I told you, I can…handle it. Us Saiyans…thrive off of hard training regimes. Plus, this is only two times Remnant's gravity. You think I can't handle…something as easy as this?" Evan replied back as he managed to pull himself back up.
"It's not about I think you can handle mentally, it's your physical limits that have me worried. Sooner or later, our bodies need rest. If they don't, we crash…and we crash hard. Doesn't matter if you're a human or an alien, you need to take time off." Elm continued.
Pulling out his scroll, Evan checked the time.
"Look, I'll cut my training session with you guys short today. I need to be over at Pietro's place anyway. How's that sound?" Evan elaborated as he brushed the comment aside.
Turning away from her, waving toward Marrow, the young Saiyan signaled him to open the metal shudder on the training room entrance.
"It's a start, but you need to do more than…" Elm began to say with an unconvinced look upon her face.
"Cool! In that case, I gotta get going. See ya around." Evan interjected as he turned toward the exit.
"Wait, Evan!" Elm yelled out with an arm outstretched, but the teen had already vanished from her sight.
Letting her body relax, Elm let out a long sigh of frustration. Approaching the female soldier, Clover put a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey don't sweat it, Evan will come around." Clover said aloud.
"Yeah, but I'm more concerned about when that's going to happen. It'll be either when some sense starts sticking in that head of his, or when his body gives out on him. And given his current state, I'm worried that it might not be the former." Elm added as she continued looking out the door.
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As Evan weaved through the hallways, the young Saiyan soon found himself in front of Pietro's workshop.
"Hey Doc, sorry if I'm a little early. Is it alright if you could let me chill for a bit in your office until our scheduled meeting?" Evan questioned as he cracked the door open slightly.
"Oh, why certainly, come in, come in." Pietro replied back.
Entering the room, Evan situated himself on one of the stools as he watched Pietro work on a circuit board.
"So, how have things been? Anything exciting happen lately?" Evan questioned.
"Aside from a talk with the General, it's business as usual. Just the usual repairs and modifications." Pietro replied back
"Come on, you got to have built something amazing as of late." Evan argued as he looked over to a workstation with a red tarp over it.
Getting up from his seat, Evan walked over to it.
"Like what's under here? I bet this was really something…" Evan said as he reached his hand toward the cover.
"No wait!" Pietro called out, causing Evan to stop in his tracks.
Turning his head around to face Pietro, the older man stumbled over his words before somewhat collecting himself.
"T-There's…some unstable equipment under there, yes, very unstable. I'm still working out the finishing touches on it." Pietro explained.
"What is it?" Evan asked curiously.
"Oh, it's just… a prototype for…another huntsman's weapon. His designs were very elaborate. Although it's nothing special when compared to your gauntlets. Speaking of, how about we get started on that, shall we?" Pietro elaborated as he started to sweat and gestured Evan toward another workstation.
"Alright, if you say so. Better to let sleeping dogs lie and all that..." Evan replied back as he shrugged his shoulders and moved away from the covered workstation.
Reaching down and opening a large case, Pietro pulled out a seemingly identical copy of Evan's gauntlets, alongside a holographic tablet, and placed both of them on the desk.
"Now, I remember that you mentioned something about how your gauntlets were destroyed when you had put too much power into them. Am I correct?" Pietro inquired.
"Yeah. When I first transformed into a Super Saiyan, the gauntlets just…broke apart." Evan affirmed as he nodded his head.
"In that case, then the base design of the gauntlets shouldn't need to be altered too much. We just need to focus on making it more durable and resilient. Try this gauntlet on and use some of that same power again. This tablet will record what systems are causing the machine to fail, which we'll allow me a place to start working on a newer, tougher model of the gauntlets." Pietro explained as he picked up the tablet.
"Ok." Evan added as he slipped the gauntlet on and concentrated.
"Haaaaahhhh!" Evan yelled out as he transformed into a Super Saiyan.
"Interesting…I'm already getting readings that the gauntlet's internal cooling systems are failing. Now then, I want you to slowly use some of your energy."
"Gotcha." Evan said aloud.
Holding out his gauntlet covered hand, Evan carefully charged up a singular Ki blast. As he did so, Pietro's tablet started to blare as smoke started to rise from the gauntlet itself.
"Looks like the motherboard's getting fried quite considerably, resulting in a system shutdown across the board. If I were to…No, I'd need to reinforce the protective layers around the casing…Maybe if I used…" Pietro explained as he started to think out loud.
"This has given me a lot to think about. I should have some working models fairly soon. I'll send you a message on your scroll when I manage to finish them. For now, I'd say that wraps up our time today." Pietro said with an intrigued look on his face.
"Thank you for your assistance Evan." Pietro continued as his expression changed to a more pleased one.
"Anytime Doc. I'll see you then." Evan said as returned back to normal and proceeded to walk out of the room.
As the door closed, Pietro used his handkerchief to wipe away the sweat that was accumulating on his hands. Gazing back over at the tarp covered table, Pietro turned around and proceeded to continue working.
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Strolling through the corridors, Evan continued on.
"I get where Elm is coming from, but doesn't she get that we need to be at the top of our game when Ironwood starts his plan with Amity and all that. We need to be ready for the absolute worst. All of this training is something that I have to do. Although…she's certainly right about one thing, my everything is killing me. I know the whole "no pain, no gain" thing, but all of this gravity training is making me hurt in places I didn't know I could get hurt in. Maybe a day off wouldn't be so bad after all…" Evan thought to himself.
Lost in thought, Evan turned a corner and bumped into the back of another person.
"I'm sorry, I was…Oh, hey Winter." Evan began to say before realizing who the person was.
"Huh…Oh, hello Evan. It's nice to see you again." Winter said, her voice barely audible.
Looking closer, Evan saw Winter wearing a conflicted look across her face.
"You good? You seem a little out of it." Evan questioned.
"It's nothing, I'm just…processing a lot of things right now." Winter stated.
Squinting his eyes, Evan had an unsure look on his face.
"Would you like to talk about it?" Evan suggested.
"I'm not sure. I don't wish to impose. I'm certain that you're quite busy currently." Winter argued.
"Nonsense. I always have time for a friend. If you want to discuss it somewhere more private, the gravity room should be empty right about now. I find strength training to be a great way to vent and get things off my chest." Evan explained, although Winter still looked uncertain.
"Plus, I haven't seen you use the gravity room yet. It'll be a blast. What do you say?" Evan questioned as he extended his hand out.
"Very well, I'll come with." Winter confirmed.
"Awesome! You just shot up on my list of favorite Specialists." Evan said as he smiled and pointed toward her.
As the two walked into the gravity room, Evan pulled out his key and turned on the machine.
"I'll start us off with two times gravity, just to be safe." Evan explained as the machine turned on and the metal shudder came down. As the room started to turn a purple tint, Evan watched as Winter began to adjust to the new gravity. As the minutes passed, the two soldiers began to train until they both finally relaxed.
"So…what exactly is going on?" Evan questioned the Specialist as he hovered in the air.
Catching her breath, Winter composed herself.
"Essentially, the other day, General Ironwood introduced me to the current Winter Maiden, Fria. He explained that for years, Ironwood was looking for someone who would be the best candidate to take on the Winter Maiden's power when she eventually passes away. He told me that I was the best person to carry on this mantle. While I at first accepted the responsibility, my mind just keeps coming back to the same few things. Was my life always going to lead back to this? Did I even have a choice in the matter? Were all of my accomplishments, my rising through the ranks, my promotion to Specialist, for show? Was all of it orchestrated by the General? Did he choose me just because of my Schnee heritage and nothing else? I-I just don't know." Winter stated as she shook her head.
Lending a comforting hand on the shoulder, Evan approached the Specialist.
"When the public gave me the name "The Skyward Savior", I didn't choose to be this…hero for the people. All I was focused on, at the time, was trying to do the right thing and help defend Mantle from the Grimm invasion. That title was only given to me because of my actions, and I then accepted that title in order to better protect the world in a way that I didn't think I could do before by just punching Grimm. I've seen how I've helped to inspire others and be this symbol of hope, whether I realized it or not at the time." Evan explained.
"The way I see it, this whole Winter Maiden thing is kind of like that. The General could have picked anyone for the role, but he chose you. You've always been by his side, because he trusts you and your abilities. Because of your own strength of character, determination, and resilience, you made it to where you are by your own two hands, no one else's. He's offering you this role because he respects and believes in you, not because you happen to be a Schnee. Sometimes the paths that we forge in life lead us to unexpected places that we didn't choose to go down, but we just have to take it in stride and continue on in order to make it our own. Destiny can only hold us down if we let it. I'd say that by taking on this mantle, you'd be able to do more for the world in new ways that you'd never thought were possible. I certainly was able to…" Evan continued.
As the room soon filled with silence, Winter raised her voice.
"You're right. Thank you, Evan." Winter said with a smile of gratitude forming on her face.
"Anytime for one of my favorite Specialists." Evan added.
As Evan approached the machine and turned it off, the metal shudder rose back into the ceiling.
"Heh. And where exactly am I on that list of yours?" Winter questioned as she let out a light chuckle.
"Uhhh, you're kind of putting me on the spot here…" Evan replied back as he started to sweat.
"Well, I'm certain that you'll be able to figure out when I join you all for breakfast tomorrow. I'm sure they'd all be curious regarding the exact placements on your list." Winter said as she started casually walking out of the room.
"Come on, it was just a figure of speech!" Evan yelled out as he rushed toward the exit.
"Winter!" Evan called out into the hallway, but she was already long gone.
As Evan prepared to leave the room, he stopped himself and reflected on everything.
"It's moments like that, which help keep me going. To have that peace of mind knowing that my friends are safe and able to live their lives to the fullest. I don't ever want to lose anyone else. I have to do whatever it takes to protect them…" Evan thought to himself as he turned back toward the gravity machine.
"Maybe one more training session today wouldn't be so bad. It's just one more…" Evan contemplated.
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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.
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