Heading back to base, Evan managed to find his way to his living quarters with some assistance from one of the soldiers. Situated inside the military barracks, the young Saiyan's room was small and cramped, with the only things inside the space being his bed, a lone fluorescent light on the ceiling, and his suitcase. After such a long day though, Evan didn't care about his accommodations as he took off his metal suit and laid down in the comfortable bedding. Before long, the Saiyan was sound asleep.
However, just as the quietness of slumber started to rejuvenate him, a new noise emerged. At the sound of a loud trumpet, Evan jolted forward in his bed, his eyes still heavy and tired from a lack of sleep. Pulling his scroll out, Evan looked at the time to see that it was just turning five in the morning.
"Damn, it's already time to get up…Six hours of sleep isn't exactly great, but I need to set an example for everyone else. The great hero of Atlas doesn't get to sleep in." Evan thought to himself.
Rubbing his head, the young Saiyan pulled himself from underneath his covers and re-entered his metal suit, despite his sore body yelling out in refusal. Exiting the room and walking down the corridor, he saw a good number of the soldiers turn toward him out of amazement. With hushed whispers and occasional glances, Evan continued on.
Close to the barracks was a sizable mess hall, in which was where most of the soldiers were heading toward. Grabbing a tray, Evan stood in line and grabbed a decent amount of food, primarily sausage and eggs. Finding a place to sit, Evan removed his helmet and proceeded to quietly munch on his meal. As breakfast carried on, Evan noticed that none of the other soldiers came to sit next to him. At the long cafeteria table, a good chunk of the seating next to him was left bare, and those that had sat further down the table were constantly looking at him with a look of surprise and shock on their faces.
"I wonder how much these guys know about me with them being stationed all the way out here…Maybe they've gotten some new soldiers that told them the whole thing…Regardless, it doesn't look like they dislike me or anything. Fine by me. At least I can eat in peace." Evan contemplated.
Rather quickly, when breakfast had ended, Evan felt his scroll vibrate. Seeing that it was from Cordovin, the teen opened the message which revealed his schedule.
"Let's see…in about 30 minutes, I'm set to scout out the open sea for any new Grimm sightings and exterminate them until about 4 in the afternoon. Then it's a quick meal before proceeding to head back to the areas I was at yesterday in order to check for any remaining Grimm all the way until 10 at night…I might as well head into the city for a bit. Maybe a walk will help and get all of this drowsiness out of my system." Evan decided.
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Strolling down the street with his helmet removed, Evan breathed in the cool morning air. As he did so, he looked all around the city streets. With the sun beginning to rise in the horizon, most of the street lamps were already turned off. Casting large shadows across the large streets, Evan saw practically no one else up and about, with the exception of a lone jogger or cyclist. However, despite his many attempts to truly wake up, the claws of sleep refused to let him go.
"*Yawn* This is going to be…*Yawn*…a long day." Evan said as he closed his eyes and stretched his arms out. His legs moving autonomously, the Saiyan turned a corner as he felt himself bump into someone.
Opening his eyes in surprise, Evan stepped away from the individual out of embarrassment.
"Oh! I'm so sorry! I was just so tired and my feet had a mind of their own..." The teen quickly muttered out.
"Don't worry about it! I know the feeling." The female voice happily explained.
Wearing a white sleeveless top and beige vest, alongside brown pants and boots, the lady had navy blue eyes and long dirty blonde hair.
"Thank you. What's your name by the way?" Evan questioned.
"The name's Saphron. And you're that hero who just arrived yesterday, right?" Saphron asked.
"Yeah. Although you can just call me Evan. Sorry about all that again. For some reason, my body just doesn't want to "wake up", if that makes any sense." Evan explained.
"I think I know the perfect thing that'll get you up and moving. There's this coffee shop close by. It's the best stuff you'll find for miles on end. I was actually heading there this morning. Just grabbing something for myself and my wife. Taking care of a baby is a 24/7 type of job if you know what I mean. How about you come with me and give it a shot?" Saphron questioned.
"Ehhhh…I don't know, I'm not really a coffee kind of person." Evan continued.
"Well you've never had coffee like the kind that he makes, trust me!" Saphron said enthusiastically.
Evan didn't know if it was the infectious personality of Saphron, the desire to make amends with her, or simply because he was too tired to refuse her offer, but Evan agreed to accompany her.
Following behind Saphron, the two navigated the city streets until they reached the building. While the shop wasn't very big, it had about a dozen or so tables from what the teen could see through the large glass windows that encompassed a good amount of the building's walls. Above the door to the shop was a simple sign that showed the business's name: The Jumping Bean.
Entering through the main entrance, Evan heard the sound of a bell ringing right above them when they opened the door. Squinting his eyes as he adjusted to the bright light shining through the windows, the teen smelled the familiar scent of coffee lingering through the air.
"Just give me one moment…I'll be out before you know it!" A voice rang out from a nearby room.
"Hey Joe, how have you been today?" Saphron inquired.
Coming from a backroom connected to the other side of the bar was an older individual with a receding black hairline and a well groomed mustache. Wearing a black and white ensemble with a blue apron the man had brown eyes and a smile on his face.
"Oh, you know, same old, same…Oh my! I-I didn't know y-you were bringing any special visitors with you..." The man's cheerful attitude was quickly replaced by surprised bewilderment, almost causing him to drop a can of whipped cream in the process.
"Well we happened to bump into each other in the street, and he needs a bit of a pick-me-up. Although, I was expecting a response like that…Are you nervous about him? I can assure you that he's pretty nice…" Saphron began to elaborate.
"No no no, it's not that! Quite the opposite actually!" Joe stated as he furiously shook his head before turning to look at Evan fully.
"You see, I got a niece and nephew up in Atlas Academy: Jill and Jack Evergreen. I got a letter from Jack telling me all about how this hero showed up and saved them when this big Grimm invasion came and attacked the borders of Mantle. I love those two more than you can imagine. I can never thank you enough for doing something like that, to know that they're alright." Joe explained as he wiped away the beginnings of tears forming in the corners of his eyes.
"So, what can Joe Evergreen do for you today?" The man asked as he placed his hands on the smooth, black countertop of the bar.
"I guess…can you try and make something that doesn't taste like coffee, but it will still get me energized?" Evan questioned.
"I know just the thing! And I imagine that you'll want your usual for both you and Terra?" Joe asked as he turned a nearby coffee machine on.
"Yeah! And could you also include one of those blueberry muffins with my order as well?" Saphron replied back.
"Of course!" Joe said enthusiastically.
As the room filled with the sound of numerous machines blending, bubbling, and mixing the different drinks, Joe poured two drinks into paper cups before proceeding to place them into a drink carrier. Alongside grabbing a muffin and placing it on the counter, Joe spun back around to the machines and grabbed a tall plastic cup.
Filling the transparent container with black liquid, Joe added a variety of things into the drink before stirring additional ingredients into it, causing the drink to take on a more brownish hue. Spraying the top off with some whipped cream, the man placed a straw into the cup itself before putting it on the countertop.
"Oh, this all smells so good! Thank you so much!" Saphron said as she pulled out some lien from her wallet and handed it over to Joe.
"And how much is Evan's drink?" Saphron questioned as she reached into her wallet once more.
"No need. It's on the house." Joe simply stated.
"What?" Evan asked confusingly.
"After all you've done, it's the least I can do. Anytime you want to come on by and get something for yourself, I'll do it free of charge."
"Are you sure?" Evan asked hesitantly.
"I'm not exactly struggling for cash or anything. There's a reason that this is one of the best coffee shops in the city. Besides, the lives of my family are worth a lot more to me than a couple of extra lien here and there." Joe explained.
"Thank you." Evan replied with a nod as he took the warm drink in his hands.
"See you around Joe!" Saphron exclaimed as she took the muffin and placed it into the drink carrier as she waved him goodbye.
"Same here!" Joe responded back as Evan and Saphron left the building.
Walking across the sidewalk, Evan held the drink in his metal hand.
"Well, here goes nothing…" Evan thought to himself as he took a sip from the drink.
The drink was surprisingly sweet, with practically no taste of coffee to be found at all! Swallowing, Evan blinked in surprise as he looked back down at the cup.
"Soooo, what do you think?" Saphron questioned with a grin on her face.
"It's…actually pretty good." Evan said as he reached his mouth down for the straw once more.
"I knew that you'd like it!" Saphron exclaimed.
Reaching an intersection, Saphron turned toward Evan.
"Well, I need to get back home before these drinks freeze over. Maybe I'll see you again, same time tomorrow over at Joe's?" Saphron asked.
"Sure." Evan replied back.
"Nice. Best of luck out there heroing and all that stuff, Evan!" Saphron yelled out as she walked through the crosswalk and down another sidewalk.
"Will do!" Evan exclaimed as he waved goodbye before turning down a different crosswalk.
As the teen continued to slurp the drink up, Evan could feel the caffeine begin to energize him.
"What the heck did Joe put in this thing? This stuff's great!" Evan thought to himself as his body finally started to wake up properly.
Finishing the rest of the drink, Evan tossed the cup into a nearby garbage can.
"Alright! With all this energy, today's going to be a breeze!" Evan thought to himself.
As he continued down the street, he saw a hooded man rushing towards an older lady and grabbing her purse.
"Stop! Thief!" The woman exclaimed aloud as the man sprinted away with her belongings.
Moving at unseeable speeds, Evan practically teleported right in front of the hooded man.
"What the hell-" The man began to say as Evan brought a hand to the man's neck and knocked him unconscious.
Grabbing the purse, Evan walked toward the lady and returned the item.
"Here you go, ma'am. He should be out cold for an hour or two. I'd recommend calling up the local police before that happens." Evan stated.
"Oh! Thank you, sir! Thank you!" The lady exclaimed.
Reaching for his scroll, the teen looked at the time. Putting on his helmet, Evan hovered into the air and headed off toward the ocean.
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As the sun stood high in the sky, Evan continued his mission as he flew through the air.
"Ok, looks like I have one other area to search through before I'm done here." Evan thought to himself.
"Considering how I don't have a gravity chamber to help strengthen my abilities, I might as well focus on honing my other skills." Evan contemplated before transforming into a Super Saiyan.
"At least I can use these missions as a decent way to continue perfecting my stamina while I'm in the Super Saiyan state." Evan thought to himself.
Blasting ahead, Evan spotted a small group of giant Nevermores flying through the air. As the monsters spotted them, they let out a loud screech as they flew toward him.
Punching the first bird into bits with his first punch, Evan ducked under the second monster, avoiding its talons in the process. Flying up to the third beast, Evan charged up a Ki blast and eviscerated its left wing causing it to fall down into the ocean and desperately tried to stay afloat. Turning around to the second monster, Evan flew at immense speeds and hovered next to its talons. Grabbing the creature by the talons, Evan proceeded to spin the monster around and around rapidly before launching the beast into the ocean, right on top of the third Nevermore, killing both in the process.
As a large plume of water shot up into the sky from the force of the powerful attack, Evan looked down at his hand.
Taking his helmet off, Evan closed his eyes and took in the tranquil silence of the sea. Concentrating, Evan could tell that something was lingering deep in his body. As if his Saiyan cells were trying to desperately cling onto something just out of their grasp.
"What is this feeling?" Evan said aloud.
Powering up, the teen attempted to rid himself of this thing inside him, but even at his maximum strength, the feeling continued to remain.
"What could I be missing? I'm a Super Saiyan, what else could there be? Hmmm…" Evan continued.
"Could it even be possible that there are levels beyond that of a Super Saiyan?! Ones that the Legend never spoke of?" Evan pondered in his mind.
As the golden warrior stood in complete silence, Evan put his helmet back on.
"Whatever new peaks that reside within myself, I will strive to achieve them and make them my own. If I'm to take revenge on Frieza, then I must become the strongest Saiyan to ever exist! One way or another, I will reach this new level of power and ascend past my limits!" Evan declared to himself as he blasted onward to complete his mission.
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