As Evan entered Cordovin's office, the teen saw the officer sitting down with an irritated look on her face.
"Thank you again, sir, for setting this meeting up on such short notice." Evan said aloud.
"Be grateful I even considered it." Cordovin replied with an irritated look on her face.
Checking the time from a digital clock on her desk, Cordovin turned back toward the teen.
"I'm very busy today, so whatever you wish to say, do it quickly." Cordovin stated.
"I wanted to discuss the situation with Weiss Schnee's escort." Evan began.
"From what I heard about your conversation with her, you said that you'd be willing to supply Weiss with the means to travel to Atlas, right?" Evan questioned, causing Cordovin to nod in agreement.
"Well, I've been chatting with her, and she thinks that after what happened with the whole train crash situation, she wishes to have some extra air support to protect her on her trip back home." Evan continued, which made Cordovin to straighten her posture.
"Do you think that my own men aren't competent enough to carry out such a simple task?!" Cordovin claimed with a sense of bewilderment on her face.
"A mission as simple as that would need no more than a single small aircraft's worth of soldiers to complete." Cordovin stated.
"But she is the daughter of Jacques Schnee, right? Owner of the most successful dust company on the globe? The same company that provides us our dust. Surely such an important individual should warrant a larger…" Evan started to explain.
"Absolutely preposterous! Atlesian soldiers are the best in the world! They, along with you, are stationed here to protect the city against the Grimm. Considering how more Grimm have been encroaching on this city than ever before, I'd say that I'm being more than generous to allow Miss Schnee the chance to return back to Atlas!" Cordovin shouted out as she cut off Evan.
"Cordovin, you can't be…" Evan said, his voice rising in pitch, only for the clock to ring out.
"Your time is up. Now I better see you out of my office in the next 5 seconds, or I'll have you fly 50 laps around this city! Do I make myself clear!?" Cordovin exclaimed.
Turning around, Evan reached for the door handle, trying his best not to crush it out of anger.
"Sure do." Evan muttered under his breath.
As he left the room, Evan clutched his head in pain. While the feeling wasn't intense, it just lingered in the front of his skull, refusing to go away as he walked down the corridor.
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At the sound of a clinking bell, Joe looked up to see Evan stumbled into the shop.
Practically slumping the upper half of his body on the countertop, Evan raised his helmet covered face up toward Joe.
"Rough day already?" Joe questioned.
"Well it's …yeah." Evan mumbled out.
"One double espresso coming up." Joe replied as he turned around and started working.
"You know what, make it a triple instead." Evan said aloud.
"Are you sure about that? If you thought that the double tasted bad…" Joe began to say.
"At this point, it doesn't matter. Not only did Cordovin pack my schedule today, but I got some really bad news to share with Ruby and her whole team." Evan added, interrupting Joe.
"Alright, I'm just giving you a fair warning. This stuff's really strong, and I'd hate to see my favorite customer give my business a negative review." Joe joked with a slight smile on his face.
"I don't even pay you anything." Evan stated as he removed his helmet.
"Hey, you've at least made my morning shifts much more interesting than they normally are. That's more than I can say about you than half of the people that come through those doors." Joe announced confidently.
"Thanks, Joe." Evan replied as his tired expression shifted to a more peaceful one.
Quickly, as the machines were turned off, Joe passed a particularly small cup of coffee to Evan.
"What's with this?" Evan asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"If you're going to be drinking something with that much caffeine, I'm going to have to start limiting the quantity that you're getting. You can grab one cup now, and another around 4pm." Joe explained.
"You really can't give me more than this?" Evan inquired, shaking the cup slightly as he spoke.
"I'm just trying to look out for you, that's all." Joe stated with a concerned look on his face.
"*Sigh* Ok. I'll see you around." Evan added before taking the drink and leaving the building.
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Taking a sip from the drink, Evan almost flinched as he felt it touch his taste buds.
"Ughh…It's almost like tasting acid at this point." Evan thought to himself as he clutched his head in pain for a moment.
Regardless, Evan flew through the air and arrived at the front door of Saphron's home. Giving a knock on the door, Evan waited a moment until Jaune opened the door.
Stepping inside, Evan saw Team Ruby lounging in the living room. Upon seeing him, they looked toward him with an optimistic look on their faces.
"How did it go?" Weiss asked.
"Not well." Evan said with his voice lowered.
Walking into the living room, Evan placed his helmet on a nearby end table as sat down next to Blake as he stared down at his drink.
"Cordovin doesn't think that Weiss's transport needs any more assistance than what is already being provided." Evan elaborated.
"So we're back at square one." Ruby added, with a downtrodden look on her face.
"Are we though? We're forgetting one thing." Blake inquired.
"What's that?" Ruby asked.
"You." Blake stated as she gestured toward him.
"Come again?" Evan said with a confused look.
"Evan can fly and move really fast, right? So what's stopping him from just taking the lamp and traveling straight to Atlas." Blake continued on.
"Yeah, if Evan were to do that, then we wouldn't need to worry about rushing to…" Weiss began to say.
"No." Evan replied back with a stern look on his face.
"What?" Weiss questioned the teen.
"I'm not leaving Argus. Especially not now with so many lives in danger from the Grimm." Evan announced.
"Evan, this situation clearly takes priority over what you're doing right now." Weiss argued.
"Does it?" Evan asked.
"Salem's already attacked two of the four main kingdoms already, Mistral and Vale. The kingdom of Atlas is on the continent of Solitas, seperated from all other continents by the sea. Argus is not only one of the closest cities geographically to the continent, but it's also isolated as well. The closet settlement is miles upon miles away from here. What if Salem plans on destroying this city and using it as a base of operations for traveling across the ocean to Solitas? That might explain why there's been so much Grimm activity around here." Evan elaborated.
"We can't confirm that to be true. No one knows what her plans are." Blake stated.
"But you can't deny the possibility either. Most of Salem's minions got away during the attack on Haven Academy, so they're all still a factor at play too. And what if Salem does show up while I'm gone? Without my help, you wouldn't be able to kill her." Evan continued.
"Yeah, as if you actually could." Yang muttered out.
"I know that for a fact." Evan proudly argued as he turned toward Yang.
"Be real for a second, I doubt you'll last the rest of the week working here, let alone being somehow a match for Salem right now." Yang said as she pointed toward him angrily.
"Well someone has to do it!" Evan shouted as he got up from the couch. As he did so, he could feel his head throbbing with even more pain than before while legs started to shake.
"I was given all this power for a reason, therefore it's my responsibility to use it to fight against those that no one else can deal with!" Evan continued as he pushed through the pain, raising his voice further.
"Are you insane?! You can barely stand as you are now!" Yang replied back.
"And I'll keep standing until I keel over and die if I have to! Whatever it takes to get the job done, I'll…" Evan yelled out at the top of his lungs as his vision began to get blurry.
As the room began to spin, Evan let the coffee cup slip from his grasp, causing it to spill out onto the carpet.
"I'll…I…" Evan said as he tried to get the words out.
Taking a step forward, as his legs failed him, the teen watched as the floor rapidly approached his face.
"Evan!" Ruby cried out as everything then went dark for the young Saiyan.
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Waking up, Evan finds himself resting on the couch, his full-face helmet still on the end table.
"Ehhhh…What?" Evan says as he clutches his aching head.
"He's waking up." Yang says from a nearby chair as Ruby and company enter the room.
"Thank goodness you're ok!" Ruby exclaims as Evan looks around the room.
"W-What…What time is it?" Evan asks as he turns toward Blake.
"It's about a quarter pass two." Blake explains.
"A quarter past…Damn it! Where's my…" Evan replies back, his voice filled with worry as he looks around in a hurry before finding and reaching for his helmet.
Evan turns and begins to pull himself off the couch.
"Hey, wait. Where are you going?!" Ruby sputtered out in confusion.
"The forests southeast of the border. Cordovin ordered me to go and exterminate the Grimm accumulating in the area this morning, and I'm not going to just sit here and let them fester. Who knows how many have shown up while I've been gone!" Evan explains as he stands up, his legs still weak causing him to hard focus on just keeping himself standing upward.
"I don't understand. Why are you doing this?" Ruby asks, a look of concern clear on her face.
"Ruby, you know exactly why I'm doing this. I've told you all this already." Evan said.
"No…that's…that's not what I…" Ruby attempted to explain, but was unable to articulate her thoughts as Weiss stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on Ruby's shoulder.
"She means why are you so dead focused on doing whatever Cordovin tells you to do." Weiss stated.
"Yeah. Just look at yourself! You got bags under your eyes, you're slick with sweat, and you can hardly keep yourself on your own two feet. You're clearly pushing yourself beyond what your body can handle." Yang argued.
"I told you guys, I'm fine." Evan replied back with a mixture of annoyance and exhaustion in his voice..
"Oh for fucks sake! You literally just passed out!" Yang yelled out.
"I know that your job is important, but if you could just relax for a bit, I'm sure that you'll be feeling…" Ruby began to say.
"Relax?" Evan questioned, his voice now shifted to an exasperated tone.
"No…No, no, no! I can't relax. Heroes don't get too relax!" Evan stated as he shook his head fervorously.
"I've wasted too much time here, knocked out. I have to leave now!" Evan said as he hobbled away from the couch, only to be stopped by Blake standing in between him and the front door.
"What's really going on Evan? I understand that you want to make up for what you did in the past. But at the rate you're going, you're gonna to get yourself killed out there! If not by exhaustion, then by the Grimm! Why are you so adamant in doing all this?" Blake questioned.
As the two locked eyes, both with a determined look on their faces, Evan stepped back toward the window facing the group.
"You want to know why I'm doing all this?" Evan questioned them all.
"I may have told about all the horrible things that I did working under Frieza, but you don't seem to understand the scale of how much evil I've done." Evan proclaimed.
"Dozens of worlds brought to ruin by my hands! Entire civilizations and cultures wiped off the map, like they never even existed!" Evan yelled out.
"I am truly grateful and blessed to be around people who actually are willing to give me a second chance, but if I'm to make the most out of it, I have to devote everything if I'm to redeem myself." Evan continued.
"You have to remember: One of the world's main Huntsmen Academies, an absolute beacon of safety and strength, was brought to ruin in a single night. Global communications got cut off. Grimm terrorized the streets of Vale. We were lucky to have enough help to quell the chaos before the city fell along with the Academy." Evan explained.
"People are terrified as to whether or not the same thing could happen to their city. They don't know who to trust! During my time up in Atlas, I became more than just another huntsman. Whether I liked it or not, I became a symbol. A symbol of hope, that things could get better!" Evan said, his voice rising as he spoke.
"I was given a task from Ironwood, to deal with the Grimm infestation here in Argus, and to make sure that what happened in Vale, doesn't happen here!" Evan elaborated.
"For the record, I couldn't care less about what Cordovin thinks about me, or vice versa. I only do as she says, because if I don't, lives could be on the line." Evan said, his voice dead serious.
"The way I see it: All this anguish and suffering that Cordovin is putting me through is just a part of my long journey to atone. At this point, I wouldn't be shocked if it's either fate or karma coming to get its dues. Regardless, this is what I have to bear if I'm to be worthy of this title that everyone's given onto me!" Evan stated.
"That's why I have to keep going. I have to maintain this grand image that everyone has of me. To keep being the "Skyward Savior" that everyone expects me to be." Evan said his voice and body shaking in frustration.
"In these hard times, hope is a hard thing to come by. But when the people of this city look to the sky and see me up there, they got hope!" Evan shouted out.
"It's because of all that, that is exactly why I can't take it easy. Because if I stop for even a second, then…then…" Evan said as fell to his knees.
"Then what is it all for?" Evan asked, his voice barely audible.
His body shaking, Evan struggled to pick himself back up.
"I got a mission to complete, and I'm going to get done whether you like it or not." Evan stated as he limped toward the edge of the living room.
As he did so, his left leg gave out underneath him causing the teen to grab the railing of the staircase to keep himself from falling. Picking himself up, Evan angrily placed the helmet back on his head and walked out the front door, soaring into the air.
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As the sun started to set through the windows of the room, Ruby paced around the room.
"What if we tried just sending Weiss back home to Atlas without the Lamp? She could get in touch with Ironwood and he'd be able to send enough air support to help all of us deliver the Lamp safely to Atlas." Ruby proposed.
"I don't think that would work Ruby." Weiss argued.
"If I was brought back to Atlas, I would almost certainly be brought back to my father, and then there's the fact of how I disobeyed him and fled from home to reunite with you all. I doubt that I would ever see the world beyond the walls of his estate again, let alone be able to talk privately with the General of Atlas." Weiss continued.
"We obviously can't just send this thing through the mail. We'd be facing the same issues involved with sending Weiss with the Lamp." Yang stated.
"So what are we supposed to do?! We can't stay here with it, since it'll just keep attracting Grimm to the city." Blake added.
"Actually, there…might be a way we could get it to Atlas." Ozpin announced as all eyes turned toward him.
"What is it?" Jaune asked.
"We could procure an airship." Ozpin continued.
"We already tried doing that, and Cordovin isn't budging." Blake said aloud.
"What I mean, Miss Belladona, is obtaining one through less…legitimate means." Ozpin elaborated.
"You want us to steal an Atlesian Airship?" Jaune questioned hesitantly, only for Ozpin's face to remain resolute.
"You can't be serious." Nora added.
"I assure you, I am." Ozpin stated as he turned toward Nora.
"Getting the Lamp to Atlas is our top priority. By stealing an Atlesian airship, we would all be able to travel to Atlas together. If Miss Rose were to use her Silver Eyes during the voyage, then any hordes of Grimm we might encounter would be easily dealt with." Ozpin explained.
"But Ozpin, stealing an airship…" Ruby said with a nervous look on her face.
"Is required if we are to safeguard humanity's future." Ozpin interjected.
"I'd hate to say it, but Ozpin might be right. The sooner we leave Argus, the better." Qrow argued.
"What do you think Yang?" Ruby asked as she turned toward her.
"We're all out of options sis. However, whatever you decide on, I'll be right behind you. That's a promise." Yang stated confidently.
As the moments lingered on, the room filled with silence.
"What is your response, Miss Rose?" Ozpin inquired.
"…O-Ok. We'll…we'll do it." Ruby stuttered out, with an unsure expression clear on her face.
"Good. Now we'll need to plan this carefully, since we'll only have one shot to do it. We'll begin setting up this operation first thing tomorrow morning." Ozpin said aloud as Ruby looked out the window and toward the Atlesian military base.
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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 the weekend of the 15th of March.
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