Chapter 26: Mastering New Powers
Last Time our heroes arrived in Atlas meeting Pietro Polendina giving them access to the new Ki weapons. Meanwhile, Talon has made Cooler his new body, and the two are planning their revenge on Jason! What happens next now!
Atlas…
In a specialized Atlas training room, Teams RWBY, JNPR, and the remaining members of Team JAD and co were practicing with their new Ki weapons as Elias gave them pointers on how to properly use them.
"Like any other weapon, your footwork is most important. You need to keep a firm position so that you don't get blasted away from the power like Yang did." Elias explained to them as everyone practiced with their weapons.
"This is so much fun. I just can't wait to fully test my baby on the field!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Calm down, Ruby, you're acting like a child," Weiss commented.
"Come on, Weiss, you can't deny that this is fun," Ruby argued.
"I still think you're being childish," Weiss replied, giving her a small grin.
"Thanks to Elias, we almost have them mastered too!" Jaune chimed in.
"Though I do wish Jason would help, but I guess he's got other things on his mind," Pyrrha added as everyone turned to take a quick glance at Jason.
The Saiyan was sitting across the room cross-legged meditating, trying to tap into the Super Saiyan transformation once more. He ignored them, focusing on his Ki control, trying to remember how he managed to transform the first time. When he transformed, he felt pure rage. He wanted to kill Cooler for what he'd done. With that rage came the rush of the power that flowed through his body.
"I should do what I did with the Primal State and focus on those feelings and bring them out." Jason thought. So he focused on the rage, on the grief, and the feeling of his power that day as golden energy slowly surrounded him.
The image of Evan dying came into his mind, and soon his hair began to stand up becoming spikier and slowly turned golden in color until the transformation was complete. Jason stood up now in the Super Saiyan form feeling its incredible power flow through him.
"You did it!" Nora announced, causing everyone to notice that Jason had transformed.
"Wow, being this close to you like this is really menacing," Blake commented.
"Yeah, your presence feels almost suffocating from your power," Yang added.
"I like you like this." Neo teased, inspecting Jason up close with a sultry smile and a bit of blood coming from her nose.
"Thanks," Jason replied.
"You're going to want to back up though I'm going to start practicing with this power," Jason advised with Neo obliging. He began to train with the Super Saiyan power flying around and shadow boxing to get a feel for the power.
"Maybe we should move away a little," Blake suggested.
"Yeah, being this close is kinda uncomfortable." Weiss agreed. After an hour, everyone save Jason took a break from training, and the remaining members of Team JAD and Co decided to teach everyone how to sense energy.
"So now we can feel how strong you guys are, right?" Ruby questioned.
"Yeah, when you master the technique, at least," Elias answered.
"It didn't take us too long to master, so I think it won't take you guys any longer, either," Damian added.
"Is Jason going to help?" Pyrrha asked.
"He seems busy with his training at the moment, and I think it's important that he increases his power with this form," Elias answered as everyone looked at Jason, who continued to train.
"He also seems more aggressive while he's a Super Saiyan, and to be honest, I'd rather not approach him in that form," Alex added.
They began to teach them how to sense energy, which many began to pick up very quick when General Ironwood and Professor Ozpin came into the training room with a group of huntsmen and huntresses.
"Good evening, children." Ozpin greeted.
"Hello, Professor, General what brings you both here?" Weiss asked.
"We're here on business," Ozpin answered.
"Ever since the events of the Vytal Festival and Haven, you all have shown a high degree of both strength and bravery much more than any normal huntsman or huntress." Ironwood continued.
"So from today onwards, each one of you are official huntsman and huntresses even miss Neopolitan who's past criminal record for the moment has been waved," Ozpin announced.
"Really?!" Ruby asked, getting into their faces with stars in her eyes.
"That's right, and as huntsman and huntresses, you are to help the people and complete missions," Ozpin explained.
"These are the Atlas Ace Operatives, the best huntsman and huntresses in the kingdom, and they will help you further your training with the Ki weapons and starting out as huntsman and huntresses." Ironwood introduced gesturing to the team behind him.
"Nice to meet you, kids, my names Clover Ebi and this is the rest of the Ace Ops." Clover greeted as the other Ace Ops introduced themselves.
"I'm Vine Zeki," Vine introduced himself.
"I am Elm Ederne." Elm greeted.
"I'm Harriet Bree, nice to meet you." Harriet introduced herself.
"And I'm Marrow Amin." Marrow finished the introductions.
"It's nice to meet you all," Blake replied.
"So, what do you guys think of the Ki weapons?" Marrow asked.
"They're pretty cool, but the real thing is way better," Yang answered.
"True from what we heard, the real thing is awe-inspiring," Vine commented.
"If you ask me, I'd say Ki weapons got it beat with it, and our semblances combined nothing can beat it." Harriet bragged.
"That's not true. If you can't use it properly, your weapons are useless and have severe limitations compared to a natural Ki user like Jason or me." Elias argued.
"Have you seen the full extent of the Ki weapons powers?" Elm questioned.
"No, but to be fair, you've never seen the full power of real Ki, which I can already tell you that it dwarfs the power your weapons could make," Elias answered.
"Oh please, with these weapons, we could've taken those freaks from the Vytal Festival and those guys who showed up at Haven easily." Harriet bragged. This comment did not make anyone happy, especially Yang, who was about to say something until Jason appeared in front of her with a gust of wind blowing by everyone.
"Want to test that theory?" Jason questioned, glaring at Harriet.
"Is that a challenge?" Harriet questioned back with a smug smile.
"Now, Harriet, he's one of our new allies. We don't want to hurt him." Clover consoled.
"You don't have to worry none of you can even touch me," Jason claimed.
"Now that's a bold claim care to back it up?" Elm asked.
"Come on, he's just a kid. We can't fight him." Marrow argued.
"I'm not just some kid, I'm stronger than all of you combined," Jason replied.
"Now, making false claims won't help the situation." Clover asserted.
"He's not making it up the alien that attacked Haven claimed to be the strongest in the universe, and he had the power to back that claim up. Trust me, you don't want to fight him." Elias explained.
"Is that so." Vine murmured.
"Enough, there is no need for a fight. His claims are true. I, for one, have seen his power from a distance." Ironwood ordered.
"It's true Mr. Shin here makes Ki weapons meaningless against him." Ozpin agreed.
"I'll believe it when I see it," Harriet replied. Ironwood sighed, knowing that they weren't going to back down.
"Make it quick and don't hurt each other too bad." Ironwood relented.
"Don't worry, I'll pull my punches," Jason replied.
"Ha, that's funny!" Harriet laughed, not believing his claims.
"Here, let me help you in this fight." Marrow offered.
"No thanks, I don't need it." Harriet declined.
"If I were you, I would accept his offer. In fact, you stand a better of a chance if you all fight me together." Jason advised.
"Like I said, I won't need it," Harriet replied as she equipped her weapons, which encompassed her arms.
"Are you going to go all out?" Elias asked.
"No, I will hold back at least enough to show my point, plus I don't want to kill her," Jason answered as he turned off Super Saiyan.
Jason just crossed his arms and stood there, waiting for her to make the first move. This annoyed Harriet, and in response, she blasted several balls of Ki at Jason, but he simply smacked each one away to her surprise.
"Is that it? Well, I am disappointed." Jason mocked. In response, she used her semblance to run circles around Jason, thinking that she could confuse him.
"Wow, her semblance is speed like mine." Ruby pointed out.
"Ruby less focus on that fight and more focus on trying to sense energy," Elias instructed.
"But I also want to see the fight," Ruby complained.
"You already know the result, so why bother watching," Alex argued as Ruby sighed in defeat.
"They talking as if the fight's already over what's their problem?" Marrow questioned.
"They're just kids, Marrow just ignore it." Vine consoled. Harriet threw several punches at Jason, who easily dodged each attack without much effort.
"What's wrong too scared of what will happen if you get hit?" Harriet mocked.
"No, not really," Jason replied, disinterested as he stopped dodging.
Once he stopped, Harriet landed a direct hit on Jason pushing him back then followed it up with a series of punches. Afterward, Jason was now standing far from Harriet as she had a smug smile on her face.
"How's that?" Harriet questioned.
"Mediocre at best from what I know about these weapons if you want to do serious damage to me then at least charge it up. If you want to try it, I'll wait." Jason answered, unfazed by Harriet's attacks. This angered Harriet more as she began charging power in her right fist, obliging his taunt.
"Fine," Harriet replied.
"Wait, Harriet, you don't need to go that far!" Marrow yelled, but he was motioned by Clover to stand down.
"Just keep watching Marrow. You might learn a thing or two by Harriet's performance once she finishes charging victory is as good as hers." Clover said.
"Having any second thoughts?" Harriet asked.
"Nope, but let's hope that speed of yours get you an actual hit on me," Jason responded.
"I just hit you several times a minute ago what would you call that?" Harriet questioned.
"I'd call that letting you hit me to show those love taps are ineffective," Jason answered. When she was done charging, Harriet sped right at Jason through a punch at his face, and once it landed the ground beneath them crack sending a shockwave throughout the room.
"How's that for a love tap?" Harriet questioned.
But as soon as she said that, she went wide-eyed at what she saw, seeing that she did not, in fact, punch Jason in the face, but instead, he had caught the attack with his right hand. The Saiyan then pulled her arm away from his face keeping her in one place.
"Better than the others but not good enough," Jason answered.
"This is a real punch!" Jason declared, throwing a punch with his free hand. Though they couldn't sense energy, every one of the Ace Ops could tell the sheer strength of the punch Jason was going to throw.
"STAY!" Marrow shouted, pointing at Jason, causing him to slow down with his semblance.
"MARROW!" Harriet yelled.
"What you felt it, too, the strength of that attack was going to cause some damage." Marrow defended.
"He's right though I planned on breaking your aura completely." Jason agreed as he kneed Harriet in the gut, breaking her aura.
"Like that," Jason added as Harriet was sent flying towards the rest of the Ace Ops.
"But how I was using my semblance?" Marrow questioned.
"Yeah, I know it slowed me down, but I'm very fast, so it doesn't do much against me," Jason explained.
"Let this be a lesson just because you have Ki weapons doesn't mean you can take on anyone there is always someone stronger than you. If you were fighting against the Tuffles, especially if you fought against Cooler." Jason began.
"You. Would. Have. Died." Jason finished as he turned around.
"I'm going back to training," Jason said as he turned back into a Super Saiyan and left not looking anyone in the eye.
"You okay?" Vine asked as he helped Harriet up.
"I just got beaten by a kid like it was nothing how do you think I'm doing?!" Harriet shot back.
"If you'd ever like to train alongside us, we would be willing. We have vast knowledge of how to use Ki and how to fight against Ki." Elias offered.
"No, thanks." Harriet declined as she walked away.
"We may consider, but whenever you are ready to begin working as huntsmen and huntresses, just give us a call to run you through the process," Clover replied as he and the rest of the Ace Ops left the room.
"That was eventful," Winter commented as she entered the room.
"Winter! What brings you here?" Weiss asked, happy to see her sister.
"Well, I didn't get to see you too much on the way here, so I came to congratulate you on becoming an official huntress," Winter answered.
"Thank you." Weiss thanked. The two sisters began to converse with one another in private as the others continued their practice to sense energy.
"So should we talk to Jason on how aggressive he was in that fight?" Jaune asked.
"No, I think he knows it and will apologize appropriately when he's in a better mood. I think he didn't appreciate their goading, especially at what happened during the fight at Haven, it's just the type of guy he is," Elias answered.
"I guess you're right," Jaune replied. With Jason, he was back to training with the power of Super Saiyan, but he knew that he couldn't get the full potential of training as long as he was in here.
"I need a more open space to train." Jason thought as he landed and turned off Super Saiyan.
"That was impressive seeing you use that power like that." Neo complimented as she approached Jason.
"Were you watching me the whole time?" Jason asked.
"Yeah, is it so wrong for me to watch my boyfriend while he trains?" Neo questioned, giving Jason a kiss on the cheek.
Jason blushed, rubbing the spot on his cheek where she had kissed him. It still felt odd and surreal to him that he and Neo were in a relationship even though it was only a couple of days old he felt very happy to be with her. This was the first time he had ever felt this way about a girl, and it explained why he enjoyed spending lots of time with her.
"Guess not. Let's go check on the others." Jason answered as they went to join everyone.
"By the way, why aren't you trying to help the others sense energy?" Jason asked.
"You do realize you're the only one who can hear my thoughts, right?" Neo reminded Jason.
"Oh right, we do it so often now I don't think about it as reading your thoughts." Jason laughed.
"You done with your training?" Elias asked.
"Yeah I need to find a more open area to fully train with the power of Super Saiyan if I stay here, I won't be able to go all out," Jason explained.
"Alright, well mind helping us with teaching them how to sense life energy?" Alex asked.
"Sure," Jason answered as he sat down with the rest with Neo sitting next to him.
"So how much progress have you guys made?" Jason asked.
"I think I can sense everyone here, but it's kinda hard to tell," Blake answered.
"Yeah, I think I can feel the energy around me, but it's like one big blip on a map, and I can't tell who's who though I could tell who you were Jason before you turned off Super Saiyan," Ren said.
"That's normal. Just keep focusing until you can separate the energy signatures and tell who's who and eventually, you'll be able to do it naturally." Jason explained.
"Also, don't rush with this. It's okay to take your time. In fact, it took me nearly a month to fully master it." Jason added, deciding to exclude Evan in his explanation, knowing it was still a sensitive topic.
"By the way, what should we do to celebrate our promotion?" Ruby asked.
"Oh yeah, we were just promoted to official huntsman and huntresses, weren't we. Honestly, I was only half paying attention to Ironwood and Ozpin. I think I may be a bit more aggressive in Super Saiyan and it lingers a little afterward, I should work on that." Jason replied.
"I'm just glad you had enough self-control not to seriously injure that Atlas special operative," Damian said.
"I thought they were just a special team of huntsmen," Jason replied.
"Same difference," Damian stated.
"By the way, where's your uncle?" Jason asked.
"He's probably at the nearest bar," Ruby answered, disappointed.
"I think my mother's death is hitting him pretty hard who knows what Dad's going to be like when he finds out," Yang added.
"Need any help with him?" Jaune asked.
"No, we can handle this ourselves, thanks," Ruby answered.
"So, how are the new weapons?" Jason asked.
"They're so cool! Now my Crescent Rose is even better than before shooting bullets and lasers and cutting through boulders like butter!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Though that little performance of yours against that girl kind of still shows the power gap," Weiss replied as she and winter rejoined the group.
"So she's her sister. I definitely see the resemblance," Alex whispered.
"Yeah, with the hair and the eyes and the sense of superiority." Damian agreed, chuckling a little.
"Would you like to join us in training Winter we can help you with your Ki weapons?" Weiss offered.
"Thank you for the offer, but I have business to attend to. I'll see you for training tomorrow Weiss." Winter declined as she left.
"Well, now at that's left is to plan the party!" Nora exclaimed, jumping up.
Unknown Location…
"Focus on your new limbs, boy! If you wish to even match up to your enemies, then you must first take the initiative!" Talon ordered. Adam tried his hardest to move his new body off the ground now that most of him was now robotic and not organic.
"I'm trying!" Adam stuttered as he struggled to get up.
"I thought you took pride in being superior to humans, yet the human I had recruited before you has already begun to move and now is sparring with Cooler! If you cannot move within the next hour, I will dispose of you accordingly!" Talon demanded.
"SPEAKING OF!" Cooler yelled as the wall behind them shattered with Asher falling through.
"WHERE DID YOU FIND THIS TRASH?" Cooler questioned as he stepped out of the smoke and planted his left foot on top of Asher's head, gripping it tightly.
"I got those who showed the greatest potential," Talon answered.
"If this is all this planet has to offer, then I should have obliterated it when I first arrived!" Cooler complained as he tossed Asher away.
"Has this one still not managed to move his body?" Cooler questioned.
"No, he is still unable to do so," Talon answered.
"Then, it is another pathetic failure." Cooler said as he raised his hand, pointing at Adam. The end of his finger slowly lit up as Cooler prepared to kill Adam, but Adam was not going to sit and take it.
"No….I…..I will…..not die yet!" Adam declared as he slowly stood up with all his strength.
"He's finally done it. Have patience, Cooler, we'll make our move soon." Talon advised.
"I'll have patience when the Saiyan is dead!" Cooler replied as he left the room.
Atlas…
A week has passed since everyone had arrived in Atlas, and other than training and fine-tuning their new weapons, everyone was working jobs as huntsman and huntresses with the Ace Ops. After their first interaction with them, everyone began to warm up to each other though Jason was still apprehensive, especially as a Super Saiyan.
Qrow was still going from bar to bar, killing brain cells trying to get over the death of his sister. Ruby and Yang had told everyone not to worry, for they had a plan for him, but they have yet to disclose any of it with anyone. That is until the day they went to initiate their plan to help their uncle.
"You're going to place your uncle under house arrest?" Weiss questioned.
"Well, it's technically room arrest, but yeah, basically," Ruby answered.
"We are going to keep him in there with no alcohol and talk things out with him," Yang added.
"Are you sure this will work?" Alex questioned.
"We'll make it work." Yang asserted with confidence.
"Okay, so what do you want us to do?" Pyrrha asked.
"All you guys need to do is help us get him into the room and barricade the door," Ruby answered.
"This sounds unsafe, locking yourself in a room like that," Elias commented.
"It'll be fine," Ruby replied.
"Alright, let's do this!" Nora exclaimed. The plan soon went into action with Yang and Ruby ambushing their uncle, who was on his way to a bar.
"What are you two doing?" Qrow questioned.
"We're placing you under house arrest for the night, Uncle Qrow," Ruby answered.
"Excuse me?" Qrow questioned, confused on what she meant.
"We aren't letting you go out drinking tonight." Yang clarified.
"Listen, kids, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but this isn't necessary," Qrow argued.
But Ruby and Yang weren't going to take no for an answer as Yang grabbed onto Qrow and dragged him into their room with Ruby locking the door. Once the door was locked, everyone blocked the door with various items to further prevent Qrow from leaving.
"You're really going to do this, aren't you?" Qrow asked.
"Yep," Yang answered.
"And I assume that you're not letting me out," Qrow said.
"Nope," Ruby replied.
"Listen, I know you kids are concerned, but I'm fine, really." Qrow tried to reassure the two.
"Sorry, Uncle Qrow, but that's not true ever since Haven you've been drinking way more than normal," Ruby argued.
"I know my mom's death hit you hard, and it hurt me as well." Yang began as she approached Qrow.
"But doing what you're doing isn't helping anyone, and it hurts Ruby and me to watch you like that." Yang continued.
"So, for the two of us, please let us help you feel better." Ruby finished for her sister joining her side.
"I…thanks kids." Qrow smiled as the two hugged him, and he returned it. After that night, Qrow got better and even stopped drinking but refused any Ki weapon upgrades stating that it wasn't for him.
With Jason…
The Saiyan warrior preferred to use all of his time training, knowing that his friends could handle things as they were without him. Jason spent nearly all-day training with the Super Saiyan transformation in the nearby mountains so much so that he barely came back to eat. Even when he did come in to eat, he was in Super Saiyan, saying that he was trying to extend the time he could spend in the transformation.
"You know you can relax when you're here being around you like that is…a bit uncomfortable." Yang pointed out.
"Sorry, I just want to fully master this form's potential before I work to the next level," Jason replied.
"Next level? What do you mean next level aren't you already at the peak?" Weiss questioned.
"I can feel it. I know it's possible to ascend this power somehow deep down. I know there is more to grow." Jason answered.
"So why not just find out how to ascend then now? No point in waiting, right?" Jaune asked.
"Because there is more to this power that I haven't mastered yet. If I were to just hurry and find the next level, then I'd be wasting the potential of this form and further wasting the potential of the next level." Jason explained.
Soon after eating, Jason would go back to training his only reprieve from training other than eating was his "dates" with Neo. Though they couldn't go anywhere far from the house provided to them by Ironwood for Jason would cause people to panic. Neo seemed to be the only thing that kept Jason in check and in a somewhat balance in his life, keeping him from training too much and overexerting himself.
Thanks to being outside the city, Jason was able to use his full power unrestrained though it did cause the surrounding area to shake he made sure to keep some distance between him and Mantle. During his training, Elias would join him from time to time to fight him at full power in order to become stronger as well. He, too, wanted to make himself stronger so that the events of Haven wouldn't repeat again.
At first, he had some difficulty with keeping up with Jason, but slowly he got used to it as both grew stronger though his strength still paled in comparison to Jason's. One day Jason decided to take a break from training for a little bit to check up on how his hometown was doing. So while still a Super Saiyan, he sped straight from Atlas to Saiyatown, and thanks to the high-speed Super Saiyan allowed him, it took him no time at all to arrive.
Jason turned off Super Saiyan so he could talk to the mayor on the current situation without confusion. After a quick talk with him, he turned back into Super Saiyan and went to take care of every single Grimm the mayor reported to him and everyone he could find in the area. Once done, he reported back to the mayor and went to Kai's mountain to visit Evan's grave before he went back to Atlas.
"Sup maggot nice hair." Kai greeted as Jason landed.
"Hey, Kai," Jason replied.
"Where's Evan and Mura's grave?" Jason asked.
"Over here, follow me," Kai answered as he led Jason to the two graves. Once there, Kai left him alone as Jason sat down, staring at the two graves in front of him.
"I'm sorry you two. I just wish I was stronger so that you both didn't have to die, but I promise that I will become stronger so that nothing like what happened with you guys can happen again." Jason promised, wiping some tears.
"So I started dating Neo, and I keep thinking about what you would say, Evan, I don't know why but I always think that you would have seen it coming somehow," Jason said as he talked to the grave.
"I'll come by again sometime, but I can't say when with my training and helping everyone with the new Ki weapons, I'm pretty busy," Jason added.
"See you later," Jason said as he flew off towards Atlas.
Atlas Training Room…
"Just relax and breathe slowly, feel the magic flow through your veins, and spread throughout your body," Amber instructed as he helped Yang train with her maiden powers. Yang focused on the energy she inside her. Thanks to the energy-sensing technique, it was easy for her to pinpoint the power.
"Then once you have found it concentrate on the power and increase the speed of how it flowed through the body and command it to come out when needed," Amber explained. Once again, Yang picked up what she was told very fast, getting a small flame to appear in her hand.
"I did it!" Yang exclaimed.
"Great job. Just keep practicing like this, and you'll be able to move on to higher levels of magical use." Amber complimented.
Ozpin looked at the two from afar, smiling. This was the first time any maiden has been with one another for an extended period of time, especially to train the other it made him happy to see such a thing.
Days Later…
One day during training, Jason was called to Ironwood's office in Atlas Academy for a meeting. He met up with his friends, and they all traveled towards Ironwood's office. Once they arrived, they were met in the office by Ironwood, Ozpin, Qrow, Winter, Penny, and the Ace Ops who were waiting for them inside.
"So, what's going on?" Jason asked.
"Oz and I have been talking since Oz has to leave soon to return to oversee Vale's reconstruction. With our new weapons and with you all, we think we're ready to bring the fight to Salem." Ironwood answered.
"Really, we're going to bring the fight to her?" Ruby questioned.
"When we find her yes," Ozpin answered.
"Wait, does everyone here know about Salem?" Blake questioned.
"Yes, they do," Ironwood answered.
"Cool, so we find her blow wherever she is up to kill her, then go home satisfied," Jason commented.
"Well, it won't be so simple, and we still need to find her," Ozpin said, hiding the fact that Salem could not be killed like that.
"So, what are we going to do in the meantime?" Ren asked.
"Train for every possibility and prepare for the war though compared to the other battles you've had recently, this may seem less dangerous but still take this situation very seriously." Ironwood instructed.
"Of course," Ruby replied as they were dismissed.
"I trust that you will take care of them with their training James?" Ozpin asked.
"Of course, Oz, you can count on me, and I've also made sure that the relic of knowledge has been stored in a safe place here in Atlas so that Salem can't get her hands on it," Ironwood answered.
"That's good to hear. Till we next meet James." Ozpin replied, shaking Ironwood's hand as he left.
"So how are we going to find Salem anyway it's not like we can use the relic?" Qrow asked.
"We are currently in the process of developing some drones to scour the planet for her, for due to the new Ki tech, they'll be faster than ever." Ironwood explained.
"Then what are we going to do after that because you can't just take the army without telling the council what you're using it for?" Qrow questioned. The room went silent, as everyone knew what was going to have to happen to convince everyone.
"We will have to reveal everything to the public Salem, The Tuffles, and Cooler, but I hope that the two alien threats which have already been defeated will turn people's feelings away from fear," Ironwood answered.
"We can only hope sir." Winter agreed.
"Sir, if I can ask, may I join Team RWBY and the rest in their training?" Penny requested.
"Of course," Ironwood answered. Penny hopped in place happy as she ran after her friends as the Ace Ops went up to Ironwood.
"Sir, we will also take our leave for our own training," Clover informed as he and the rest of the Ace Ops left the room.
"I haven't seen them training ever since they were put on a team together. It's very odd to see." Winter commented.
"It seems like the kid's show of power showed them that they are not the best out there," Qrow replied.
"Yes, it does seem like it." Winter agreed.
"So how long until you suppose we find Salem?" Qrow asked.
"First, we must finish the drones, which will take a while with trial and error after that I'd assume it will take a few days at most until they have located Salem." Ironwood explained.
"Guess we're just going to have to be patient," Qrow said.
After the meeting, everyone went to training accompanied by Penny, and for once, instead of going to train alone, Jason opted to help everyone for a while until he went to help Neo alone. "I still can't believe they added Ki tech to your Hush, and it hasn't increased in size or width." Jason pointed out.
"You're not using your semblance to change its appearance, are you?" Jason asked.
"Nope," Neo answered. They trained together for the rest of the day as Jason went to bed early to wake up early for his own training the next day.
Three Months Later…
Three months have passed since then, and everyone has been training long and hard. Though not as hard as Jason. He trained every day and some of the night with Super Saiyan to fully master its power. Elias was the one who trained the second most with Jason and managed to be able to fight against him just above half of his full power.
Everyone else trained very hard in mastering their new weapons and becoming overall stronger than they were before in preparation to attack Salem, but one thing concerned them, Jason. He trained too much and too often with little breaks even when he was with Neo, it didn't last too long.
"I think we should do something about Jason. He hasn't been taking any breaks at all." Ruby pointed out concerned.
"She's right whenever we see him. He's in Super Saiyan." Pyrrha agreed.
"So should we force him into taking a day off?" Damian asked.
"Yep, it'll be just like when I got Blake to go to the dance," Yang answered.
"I wouldn't say that, Yang," Blake commented.
"Still, though, we need to keep him from overexerting himself," Yang replied.
"So, what's the plan?" Ren asked. The sound of writing caught everyone's attention as Neo wrote on a pad to communicate. Leave it to me, she wrote.
"Okay, what are you going to do?" Elias questioned.
Neo just turned and walked towards Jason's room in the house Ironwood had given them to live in during their time in Atlas since their presence. Specifically, Jason's, wouldn't be too welcome in Atlas Academy. The others followed her to his room as she knocked on his door loudly to get his attention.
After he didn't answer, she knocked again this time even harder, and once she did, they heard Jason move inside. Soon the door opened, and Jason answered her knocks, wiping his eyes, indicating that he had just woken up, but even so, he was still in the Super Saiyan transformation. While the others were a tad apprehensive at interacting with Jason as a Super Saiyan, Neo had no problem dealing with her boyfriend like that.
"Hey, guys, what's up?" Jason questioned normally.
"Did you just wake up?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, why what time is it?" Jason questioned, concerned that he overslept.
"It's nearly noon," Ruby answered.
"REALLY!? I overslept that usually doesn't happen!" Jason replied.
"You have been training a bit too much, dude, so I guess your body gave up for a rest," Elias suggested.
"That is why I am taking you out on a date today." Neo asserted.
"Okay, if you insist," Jason said.
"Alright, today is a day of relaxation, so no training and no Super Saiyan, so just turn it off, please." Ruby requested.
"What do you mean?" Jason asked.
"Turn off Super Saiyan." Amber clarified.
"But, I'm not using Super Saiyan," Jason replied.
"Yeah, dude, you are," Damian said.
"I am?" Jason asked.
"Are…are you serious right now?" Yang questioned.
"Yes," Jason answered.
"You've been in Super Saiyan the whole time we've been talking," Elias stated.
"REALLY!" Jason shouted as he quickly got a mirror and looked at himself.
"Wow, I really am in Super Saiyan, but I don't feel like I am, I just feel normal," Jason said.
"Okay, think what have you been doing with your training?" Elias asked.
"Well, I was just training with Super Saiyan, bringing out its full power and getting used to how it felt so that I could use it without anything restraining me or it." Jason began.
"To do so, I wanted to get used to what it felt like to be in Super Saiyan to fully master its power, so I stayed in Super Saiyan all day long and sometimes in the night only stopping if I ran low on Ki or went to bed." Jason finished.
"So from what I can assume you've been using Super Saiyan so much that you've adjusted to its power now your able to power down to nothing like in your base mode while still being in the Super Saiyan form," Elias explained.
"That makes sense since I didn't notice I was even in it, and I always keep my energy level to a minimum so that I don't break anything," Jason replied.
"Yeah, I don't even sense your energy." Alex pointed out.
"Neither do I, but I'm still a novice at energy-sensing compared to you guys." Ruby agreed.
"I don't mind it. I think you look really nice like this." Neo complimented as she locked arms with Jason.
"Now come on. People won't recognize you like this, so let's go on a proper date." Neo smiled as she dragged Jason away after he put clothes on.
"Wait, we're not going to do anything together?" Ruby questioned, disappointed.
"Don't worry, little sis, we'll just do something without them!" Yang exclaimed to cheer up her sister.
Jason was a little nervous being out and about Atlas, but thankfully thanks to him being somewhat stuck in Super Saiyan, he was not recognized as he and Neo explored the city. Neo had also dawned her usual disguise now with a ponytail. Even though she had no need to anymore since her past crimes were erased.
"So why are you using your disguise? It's not like you need to anymore?" Jason asked.
"I thought about joining you in disguising so that you wouldn't feel alone," Neo answered.
"Thanks, I guess, so what do you want to do first?" Jason asked.
"Let's go here!" Neo exclaimed as she pulled Jason over to a shop.
They browsed its stock for a while until Neo dragged him to another store. This continued for a while until Neo spotted a jewelry store. Once inside, the icecream-colored girl looked wide-eyed at some of the jewelry.
"Looking for a gift for your girlfriend, young man?" The Woman behind the desk asked. Jason was taken by surprise by her question as he wasn't paying attention to the jewelry in the store.
"Oh, uh, I don't know she just led me in here I don't really know what girls like when it comes to this stuff," Jason answered sheepishly.
"Well, if you want an opinion, I'd recommend a diamond necklace. I think it would make your girlfriend very happy." The Woman suggested.
Jason thought on what she said, then looked at Neo, who was looking at everything in the store, and if she was still a criminal, she would definitely consider stealing some. He studied several necklaces until he found one with a pink crystal and a brown chain that reminded him of her.
"Can I get this one, please?" Jason asked.
"That's a great choice!" The Woman exclaimed as she rang him up, and he hid the necklace to surprise her.
After they left the store, they decided to get something to eat as they went into a nearby restaurant, one that would serve Jason since people believed him to be a faunus. Once they found one, they had a large meal, of which Jason ate most of it, then shared some Ice cream for dessert much to Neo's delight.
"You know I had fun today, spending time with you, Neo." Jason smiled as they held hands, walking back to the house Ironwood gave them.
"I did too, and if you think about it, this is our first official date since we never got to go out before." Neo agreed.
"By the way, I got you a little gift from that jewelry store," Jason said.
Neo blushed, perking up at the unexpected turn of events. Jason brought out the necklace and handed it to Neo, who smiled at the gesture putting it on. Neo jumped and gave him a hug and a kiss. She was the happiest she has ever been in her life being with him.
"So when we get home, want to have some fun?" Neo questioned.
"Like what?" Jason asked.
"I'm going to give you a little lesson on the talk," Neo answered, giving Jason a wink.
"Uh, okay," Jason replied, not understanding what that meant.
Several Hours Later….
"OH GODS…!" Jason yelled, which could be heard from just outside the house as well as squeaks from his bed.
"OH MAN…" Jason shouted as Neo gave him a thorough lesson in the talk.
"BU…U…ST…TER…FLARE!" Jason yelled as a blue laser fired out of the top of the house and disappeared.
"Wow, …*Heavy Breathing*…that was…*Heavy Breathing*…a really good lesson," Jason commented as he breathed heavily.
"Glad you liked it," Neo replied as they went to sleep.
Salem's Domain…
"Mistress, what did you need us for?" Hazel asked as he, Tyrian, and Watts entered the throne room.
"Soon, I am going to give Coda some magic to finish its creation and fully bringing it to life." Salem began.
"During this time, I will need absolute concentration, so I am not to be disturbed. This means each of you are to behave during my absence and take care of things on your own." Salem finished.
"What about the relics?" Watts asked.
"Once Coda is finished, it will make gathering the relics a simple task unlike before. No more theatrics, no more alliances, and no more full-on attacks on the academies Coda will level each one with ease and take the relics unopposed by anyone." Salem answered.
Soon their conversation was interrupted when they heard loud metallic sounds coming from outside the room. Not too long after Mercury came bursting through the door, slamming it shut battered and bruised.
"We have a problem!" Mercury yelled.
"That's right. You've entered here without the mistress's permission!" Tyrian shouted as he went to attack Mercury.
"TYRIAN!" Salem yelled, causing the maniac faunus to stop in his tracks.
"What's wrong?" Salem asked.
"That alien guy or whatever that attacked Haven after us is here, and he's…" But before he could finish, the two doors behind him exploded and sent him and themselves flying forward. When he landed with them on top of him, he was unconscious, and a similar metallic sound came from the entrance.
Cooler entered the room, and with every step of his metallic body filled the silent room with the sound of its feet as it made impact with the floor.
"Hello there, you are Salem? Isn't that right?" Cooler questioned as he stood in front of a shocked audience.
"That is correct, and who are you?" Salem asked.
"I think you already know who I am seeing as you stole my blood, you filth!" Cooler hissed.
"Either way, my name is Cooler. I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you, but it's not." Cooler introduced himself.
"How do you know that I took you blood?" Salem questioned.
"The same way I know about the abomination that sits underneath us right now, but that is none of your concern." Cooler began.
"The reason I am here is to give you a warning pest I don't know what you are planning with that disgusting creature, but it ends here!" Cooler continued.
"My associate and I are planning our revenge on the Saiyan, and you are to stay out of it, and once we're done killing him and leave this planet, you can have what's left of it." Cooler declared.
"What makes you think you can order me around?" Salem questioned.
"You don't have a choice in the matter. If you don't comply, I will kill you." Cooler declared. Salem began to laugh to herself, confusing Cooler greatly.
"What's so funny?" Cooler asked.
"You cannot kill me Cooler I am immortal I cannot die," Salem explained as she walked closer to him and the others walked away. Now it was time for Cooler to laugh amused that Salem had any advantage over him.
"You dare laugh at the goddess!?" Tyrian questioned as he went to attack Cooler. In response, he disappeared and reappeared behind Tyrian, grabbing his head and snapping it, killing him instantly.
"Now, then let us get back to business your immortality will not save you from my wrath." Cooler said.
"Do you know what happens to a living creature if it is tossed into space?" Cooler asked.
"No," Salem answered bluntly.
"Normally, due to the vacuum of space, your body would implode on itself instantly but with you…" Cooler began as he sped towards Salem, grabbing her by the neck and holding her off the ground.
"You would be frozen in ice due to your immortality and will drift endlessly in the infinite expanse of space for the rest of eternity, unable to move or free yourself a fate for some far worse than death!" Cooler explained as he let Salem go causing her to fall to the ground.
"So, if you want to avoid such a fate. Know your place, and don't try anything we're always watching." Cooler declared as he shot off through a window and away from the wastelands.
"What should we do, ma'am?" Hazel asked.
"Nothing…for now, we must be patient," Salem answered as she glared at where Cooler flew off to.
Atlas…
The next morning came, and as Jason and Elias quickly fixed the hole in the roof as everyone got ready to go on some missions. "So, what mission should we take on today?" Ruby asked as everyone arrived at the mission room.
"What do you guys usually do?" Jason asked.
"Oh yeah, this is your first time on a mission ever since we came to Atlas," Yang said.
"That's right. I've been training for the most part ever since we came here," Jason replied.
"Well, it seems like you finally calmed down enough to just live life," Nora commented.
"Yeah, especially after last night. Nice going Neo." Yang complimented, giving the girl a wink.
"I just wish you were a little quieter," Weiss complained with a faint blush. Just then she received a call on her scroll after seeing who it was she declined the call and looked back onto the board.
"Was that your dad again?" Ruby asked.
"Yes, he doesn't seem to get the point that I'm done with him. But he'll give up soon after a little while longer just like he did with my sister." Weiss explained.
"I'm glad you're standing your ground Weiss it's similar to how Alex and I stood up against our family." Damian congratulated.
"Thank you. I'd be lying if I said that didn't inspire me a little." Weiss replied.
"So, what mission are we picking?" Jason asked.
"I want something fun!" Nora exclaimed.
"Yeah, I am a little tired of Pyrrha and I having to help kids cross a road," Jaune commented.
"I quite enjoyed seeing you help those kids, Jaune." Pyrrha expressed.
"Though I wish those women didn't hit on you," Pyrrha added, not happy with all the women hitting on her boyfriend.
"Let's do this one then it in the mountains, and we have to investigate why a village communication went down," Ruby suggested.
"Will there be action?" Nora asked.
"Maybe," Ruby answered.
"Good enough for me!" Nora exclaimed as they began to head to the village. As they entered an airship to take them to the village, Neo laid on Jason's shoulder, looking tired.
"You okay, Neo, you look tired?" Jason asked.
"I'm fine after last night I just need a little more rest," Neo answered.
"What about last night would cause that?" Jason asked, confused.
"I'll tell you later," Neo replied as she took a quick nap on Jason.
"So how long has communication been down with this village?" Elias asked.
"The mission board said it's been at least a week, which begs the question on why they haven't investigated sooner," Weiss answered.
"Maybe they didn't think it was important," Alex suggested.
"He may be right, after all, it is a small village with a little population." Ren agreed.
"Well, it's a good thing we're here to help." Blake pointed out. Once the airship landed, everyone exited and looked at the village, it was small and seemed utterly abandoned.
"I'll check out their comm tower to see if it's still functional," Elias said.
"Alright, we'll look for any clues on where the people went," Jason replied as the group split up.
Jason and Neo looked through several houses but found no signs of life but plenty of signs of struggle. In fact, several houses lay in ruins as if a battle tore through the village.
"What could have happened here?" Jason questioned.
"Maybe a horde of Grimm attacked," Jaune suggested.
"No, the way this place is, there's no way it was Grimm because they would have left this place in ruins." Blake pointed out.
"Then, a person attacked this place," Jason said.
"Most likely." Blake agreed. Damian and Alex were looking on the opposite side of the village when they smelled a terribly pungent odor.
"Oh, what the hell is that!" Damian complained.
"Whatever it is, it's coming from there." Alex pointed out, pointing at a small cave.
The two stood at the entrance and were horrified at what they saw down in the cavern. Every last villager dead and decaying slowly due to the cold weather and whatever had killed them made quick work of them.
"Oh shit!" Damian shouted as he and Alex rejoined the others.
"I don't get it. Everything is functional in the tower, so where could have the villagers gone?" Elias questioned as he rejoined the group.
"There was a fight that happened here. Maybe they were captured by a radical group and taken away somewhere." Ruby suggested.
"That's not what happened!" Alex yelled as he and Damian rejoined everyone out of breath.
"What the hell happened, you two?" Jason asked.
"We…we found the villagers," Damian answered.
"That's great, where are they?" Pyrrha asked.
"They're dead all of them, and whoever killed them dumped their bodies in a nearby cave. Whoever killed them did it fast and easy because many didn't look like they were in a fight." Alex explained.
"Who could have done such an awful thing?" Weiss questioned.
Before anyone could guess, loud metallic steps could be heard throughout the village, and everyone looked around them to see where the source was. When the source revealed itself, everyone stood horrified at what they saw in front of them. Cooler stood in front of them, slamming his tail on the ground with a broad grin on his face.
"Hello Saiyan, it's been a while." Cooler greeted.
"H-how? I killed you! How are you alive?" Jason questioned.
"You should have double-tapped bitch!" Cooler responded, not revealing anything to Jason.
"Everyone contact Ironwood and get some reinforcements just in case I'll take him on alone!" Jason ordered as he powered up.
"I see that you've become even stronger since our first fight, but so have I!" Cooler declared as he dashed at Jason. Before he could reach him, however, Elias kicked him away through many houses.
"Sorry, Jason, but I'm not letting you fight alone I won't just sit by and do nothing." Elias apologized.
"Alright, then let's do this together!" Jason replied as he and Elias charged at Cooler.
Cooler has now engaged our heroes once more, but can he defeat Jason, who has now mastered the power of Super Saiyan and fighting alongside with Elias? Find out Next Time!
Author's Note:
Hey guys, I got an early chapter release for you to make up for the last one being a week late, and it's much longer too. I hope you enjoyed, and I hope you don't think I rushed Jason getting grade 4 I was planning on making it longer (Chapter wise) until he got it, but I couldn't think of anything for them to do in the meantime, so I decided to make the three month time skip instead.
So technically in-universe, it took him three months of training endlessly to get the full potential of the Super Saiyan form. That is how he got grade 4 since he didn't want to ascend in any way for he (meaning I) believed that it would waste the potential of the power he could have.
Plus, in Dragon Ball Z, they usually skim over parts when they are training anyway. Then on how he knew there was another level, I would say it's because he is a full-blooded Saiyan just like Goku and Vegeta who found out about it and not like Trunks and Gohan who didn't.
Now yes, I did do the whole TFS sex joke earlier, but unlike there when it happened, a baby was being made this time there was no baby made so Neo is not pregnant (In this timeline *Wink* *Wink*).
Now on some other things, firstly, about the Ace Ops, you won't be seeing much of them, especially since they basically only made a cameo in a sense in this chapter and were only there for one of them to have their ass handed to them.
This is because personally, I don't really care much about them though it was cool when Team RWBY kicked their ass at the end of Volume 7, but I just put them in here to add more characters in Atlas instead so it's not so empty in a sense because I didn't want to make any original characters to do the same.
This means I am mostly going to be using them as side characters, and they may or may not get a fight scene honestly. I don't care enough about them to do so, but we'll see as for Weiss's family problems I may focus more on that later on or just have it happen in the background that is still satisfying because screw her dad right.
Next about everyone's Ki weapons, the reason I did not explain who got what was because I think it was self-explanatory for those who had weapons that could shoot can now shoot lasers, and all that are blades can cut through nearly anything then, of course, they all get their strength boosted by Ki.
Now finally yes I know most of this is kinda like the start of Volume 7, but after this, it will go in a completely other direction for I'm basically ignoring the events of the remaining Volumes we have at this time and already have an ending ready for the RWBY story and ideas to go beyond it.
As always, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and I will see you next time coming at some point, so be patient! I'm sorry I know that joke is bad. I just found it funny how I unintentionally wrote everyone needing to be patient in this chapter.