Chapter 31: Birth of a Monster
Last Time our heroes defeated Cooler with the help of the Z-Fighters stopping his attack on Atlas. Meanwhile, Jason learns how to sense the energy of everyone on Remnant thanks to Goku and finds out the location of Salem. The witch herself is preparing to finalize her creation named Coda. How long will it take, and how strong will it be? Find out now!
Atlas…
A week had passed since the battle with Cooler and Talon, and the repairs on Atlas were well underway. Most homes were already rebuilt, with the rest of the repairs, it's estimated to take at least a month. Especially since Jason often helped with the repairs still feeling slightly guilty about what happened.
During this time, Jason expanded his senses to find the Earth to check up on his new friends. Once he found it very far away from Remnant, he was able to, in a sense, spectate the fight with Cell that Goku had told him about.
Needless to say, Jason was shocked at what he sensed when Gohan Goku's eleven-year-old son seemed to have ascended the level of a Super Saiyan. He could feel the sheer power emanating from there as Goku passed on, and Gohan eliminated Cell for what seemed to be the second time.
"They do have those Dragon Ball things, so it shouldn't be a problem if Goku is dead since they can bring him back, but still, it is sad that he died rest in peace, my friend." Jason thought.
"The sheer power Gohan had in this ascended form though if I had that I would have beaten Cooler easily, I must continue to train more so that I too can reach that level," Jason added.
"Be well, my friends," Jason said as he went to train.
Jason decided to spend most of his time training for after gauging his power with Goku's first when he realized the gap between their power. While they both managed to obtain the same form, Goku had much more time to train, so Jason dedicated his time to training to become stronger and fully realized the power of a Super Saiyan so that he could catch up with Gohan once he ascended.
But Jason didn't just train all the time he knew that he had to let his body rest, so during that time, he spent it with Neo and his friends. Though when he did always make sure that when he was with Neo, they spent a good amount of time alone with one another on dates.
After the week had passed, the repairs on Asher's body were finished, and when they were, he decided to leave and travel around Remnant. He decided to search for his own path and what he will do next and to make up for what he has done.
Elias began training to master his new form as well though he still was trying to decide a name on it. Originally he was going to call it his Pride Form, but just like when they were discussing names at the party, he decided on True Tuffle. Though at the moment, he knew he had better things to do than to focus on that like continuing his training.
He trained with Jason in the mountains and high in the sky where they could fight all out against one another. Just like how it was after the Vytal Festival, this training helped them grow immensely in power, with Elias slowly reaching to Jason's level once more.
Jason began to grow as well, though not as fast as Elias did, he still could notice the increase of power. One day they decided to have a full-on spar while the others watched from below adjusting their weapon designs to give to Penny's father so that they could fight better.
They watched as best as they could as Jason and Elias clashed several times in the sky above. Jason spun several times in the sky, building up momentum to kick Elias with a large amount of force. However, Elias flipped over and blasted Jason in the back, sending him towards the ground.
Chasing after him, Elias went to follow up on his attack but was blindsided by a point-blank Ki blast to the face. Jason shot up and punched Elias in the gut then followed it up with several blows all over his body.
Elias countered by charging a ball of Ki at the bottom of his foot then flipped over to hit Jason in the chin with it. The ball exploded on impact, sending Jason away as Elias charged a large amount of Ki to blast at Jason with.
He fired a Torrential Flash towards Jason and went it reached him, Jason crossed his arms to block the attack. Jason was being pushed back from the force of the attack but quickly dropped down by cutting off the Ki he used to fly.
Once away, he flew back up and reengaged Elias clashing several times with him across the sky too fast for everyone below to see. On the ground, everyone was watching and training, respectively.
"Alright, place your bets, everyone! Who's going to win who can say, but whoever does someone gets a payday!" Nora announced from the top of a small box the group brought with them.
"Nora, is this really something you need to be doing?" Ren questioned as Neo handed five hundred lien to bet on Jason.
"Thank you, Neo, now who else?" Nora asked, ignoring Ren.
"I'll bet five hundred on Elias," Amber spoke up.
"Five hundred on unrequited love!" Nora replied.
"Wait, what?!" Amber questioned, blushing, and going wide-eyed.
"I…I don't…I mean…it's not like that!" Amber stuttered.
"Nora stop trying to create drama." Ren insisted as everyone began to place bets on the spar.
Once the bets were placed, everyone went back to training this time, leaving out the Ki function of their weapons. They wanted to increase their strength without the weapons at the suggestion of Jason saying that the stronger they are without it, the stronger they will be with it.
There was one person, however, who was not present for the spar. Ruby was still in Atlas with her Uncle Qrow and Ozpin, who was talking via scroll. Both were instructing Ruby to the best of their ability on how to use her silver eyes.
Without much to go on, she did receive some advice from Jason just before the others had left. "Try to remember how it felt the first time you used it both physically and mentally and if that doesn't work, then try to meditate and think back on that time and the conditions you were in," Jason advised.
Ruby tried her best, but it seemed nothing was working, almost like something was missing. She couldn't figure it out as Ozpin had to hang up to plan some more, and Qrow was going to see if he could find any information on the powers of the silver-eyed warriors.
Sighing in defeat, Ruby laid down on to the ground staring at the ceiling. She wondered how everyone else was doing in their training while at the same time trying to find out what was currently missing.
"Uhh, what is it?! Last time it just happened, and I didn't even know what I was doing. I mean, I just saw everyone hurt on the ground, then the giant Grimm dragon thing was about to kill Yang and…wait, could it be that I can only do it when a Grimm is around!" Ruby realized.
As that happened, Jason and Elias flew around the sky in streaks of golden and white energy. The two threw various blasts of energy at one another, causing several explosions on impact. Using the resulting smoke, Elias blindsided Jason by elbowing him in the face.
This attack sent Jason into a nearby mountain top as Elias followed the attack up by punching the Super Saiyan through the other side. Quickly recovering, Jason was ready for Elias's next attack as the kick passed right through Jason's body as his body disappeared.
Jason reappeared above Elias, kicking him with both feet towards the ground shattering the ground as he made impact. Then Jason charged up a large ball of Ki and tossed it down upon Elias, who raised his hands to stop the attack.
The Tuffle tore the ball in half then flew straight towards Jason as the two locked in the air holding each other in place. Their energy clashed as the two held each other in place, destroying the surrounding area as everyone was watching from afar.
Once the two separated, they landed onto two separate mountaintops staring at one another. Both smiled as they began to charge their respective attacks to hit each other with.
"Kaiser Flash!" Elias yelled as he shot the large red beam.
"Armageddon Blast!" Jason shouted as he blasted the yellow energy.
The two attacks collided, and the resulting beam struggle destroying the mountaintops they were on and shaking the area they were in. The others were holding onto anything they could as the shockwave of the beam struggle threatened to push them off the mountain.
"I wish they wouldn't forget that we are here," Yang complained as she held onto a rock.
Soon both fighters stopped their attacks and sped right at one another, engaging in a cross counter punching each other in the face. Jason and Elias recoiled from each other's attack and looked at one another from a distance before smiling.
"That was a great spar your really strong now, Elias." Jason complimented.
"Thanks, though. I can still tell that you are above me." Elias replied as they flew back towards the others.
"So who won?" Nora questioned as she got into both their faces.
"Neither it was just a spar. We weren't fighting to win exactly." Jason answered.
"Also, if it was, I'd say that the result was a draw," Elias added as he returned to his base form.
"That means no one wins." Nora pouted as everyone took back their bets.
"Should have guessed you guys would have made bets." Jason sighed.
"So, how's everyone's training going?" Elias asked.
"It's going pretty good. We're all slowly improving, even Jaune." Yang answered.
"Hey, well, I guess you're not wrong," Jaune commented as Pyrrha patted him on the back.
"That's great to hear I just hope we can attack Salem now and get this over with," Jason replied.
"You sound very confident." Blake pointed out.
"Well, how bad could she be compared to Cooler though after what Ozpin theorized I am a tad bit concerned." Jason clarified.
Ozpin had told them that it was highly possible that Salem got her hands-on Jason and other extraordinary fighters' blood. He explained that it was highly possible that she was using the blood to create the new special Grimm and is using it to create an even stronger creature.
"Well, it's been a long time since she's made any more special Grimm, and we haven't seen any sign of this other creation she's been making," Weiss said.
"True, but that doesn't mean it won't happen," Elias commented.
"Let's head back. I think we could all use a break." Pyrrha suggested as they started to make way to Atlas.
When they got back, they regrouped with Ruby, who finished practicing with her power. She was still unable to use the power of her silver eyes, but she felt like she was close. Afterward, everyone went to relax for the rest of the day, with Neo taking Jason to have some quality time. Hours later, once Neo and Jason were done with their quality time with one another, Neo was approached by Pyrrha outside her room.
"Hello, Neo." Pyrrha greeted, seeming nervous.
"Hello," Neo replied by writing on a piece of paper.
"I had a quick question for you," Pyrrha said.
"What is it?" Neo questioned.
"Well, you and Jason have been well very intimate as of late…" Pyrrha began.
"We're not being too loud again, are we?" Neo asked, getting a little embarrassed.
"No, no, you're fine. We've learned to ignore it with soundproofing." Pyrrha answered, not wanting to get into that part of the subject.
"You see, I actually wanted your advice on the topic." Pyrrha clarified as Neo let out a sly smile.
"I see, so you want to do it with Jaune." Neo wrote.
"…Yes," Pyrrha replied, her face red of embarrassment.
"So how did you know convince Jason?" Pyrrha asked.
"I just told him that I was giving him a lesson on the talk," Neo answered.
"That's it?" Pyrrha questioned.
"Yes, that's it, but that probably won't work for you, so my suggestion is just to get him alone in your room and ask him to do it," Neo responded, filling up an entire page.
"But that….that's really…" Pyrrha began before she was interrupted.
"Hey, you two, what are you doing?" Jaune asked as he joined the two. In a panic, Pyrrha quickly took the paper Neo was writing on tore them up and threw it out the window.
"Nothing just talking about girl stuff," Pyrrha answered flustered.
"What are you doing?" Pyrrha asked.
"Didn't you say you wanted to see a movie today?" Jaune questioned.
"Oh right, yes, let's go," Pyrrha responded, locking arms with Jaune and leaving.
"She's probably not ready yet." Neo thought as she went into her room.
Salem's Domain…
In the vast wastelands of Salem's domain Watts, Hazel and Mercury sat alone in the throne room. The room was silent as the three patiently waited for Salem's return. She had said that her creation would be done today, but it seemed no less done than before.
"How much longer do you think it will take?" Mercury asked.
"Will you stop asking we don't know that's the seventh time you asked!" Watts demanded.
"What it's not like we have anything else to do here or talk about if you haven't noticed after Cooler came here and killed Tyrian. We are three in number now!" Mercury replied.
"That's no excuse for that kid though I am happy for the peace and quiet from Tyrian's absence," Hazel commented.
"There is no way to tell how long this will take like she said that thing is the first of its kind," Watts stated.
"She wants us to call it by its name Coda." Hazel asserted.
"Who cares at this point we're in the endgame," Watts replied.
"That's not the right attitude I'd like from you, Watts," Salem stated as she walked into the room, surprising everyone there.
"Is it ready?" Hazel questioned.
"Yes, Coda is ready to hatch now come and witness my greatest creation," Salem ordered as she turned around and left.
The others followed her down into her secret chamber beneath the castle, where Coda's cocoon enveloped over half the room. Said cocoon was glowing rapidly and seemed to be expanding and contracting.
"Is it safe to be standing here?" Mercury questioned.
"Yes, I put up a barrier to make sure that we will be unharmed by its birth," Salem answered as the cocoon began to expand faster.
"One could only imagine what kind of creature will come out of this!" Watts commented as the cocoon inflated to its greatest size and exploded.
The entire area shook as it exploded, and everyone was covered by thick black smoke. As the smoke cleared, the cocoon was destroyed. Its remnants splattered against the back wall, and nothing laid within.
"There's…there's nothing there." Hazel pointed out as Salem stared wide-eyed.
"All of that for nothing! What now? If they find out where we are, what are we going to do?!" Watts questioned as Salem remained silent.
"How? It was self-sustaining. It was alive, and I gave it some of my own magic. It should have worked!" Salem questioned.
"Um, everyone," Mercury called, having turned around.
"Not now, boy, we need to think about our options!" Watts yelled.
"You're going to want to turn around!" Mercury shouted, causing everyone to turn around.
Everyone went wide-eyed at what they saw what stood there a six-foot-tall creature with dark black fur save for its head, chest and hands, and a long tail. It had short spiky white hair and grey skin as it turned around to them, looking at its hands with its yellow eyes with four red lines coming from the edges touching its pupil.
"It moved behind us without us noticing." Hazel gasped.
"Can…can it understand us?" Watts questioned as they got closer towards it.
That proved to be a mistake as when Watts got close to it, its hand extended in a flash punching Watts so hard his head spun three-sixty degrees killing him instantly. As it pulled its arm back, it looked over at Watts's dead body then at the others who stood away from it.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to do that I am not used to moving around in this body just yet." Coda apologized.
"Do you know what you are?" Salem asked, slowly approaching Coda but stopping out of his reach.
"I am your weapon, Mistress," Coda answered.
"Yes, and what is your name?" Salem questioned a sinister smile forming on her face.
"My name is…Coda," Coda responded.
"Perfect now, Coda, here are your first orders master your own body and power and prepare to kill a boy named Jason Shin," Salem ordered.
"I understand I believe I am stronger than him, but with his potential for growth, he may surpass me soon, Mistress," Coda replied.
"How do you know of his potential?" Salem questioned.
"His DNA is a part of me. I understand its capabilities. His species the Saiyans have what seems to be infinite potential and a lust for battle." Coda explained.
"I see I know that lust for battle won't be a problem for you." Salem asserted.
"No, I have no need for such feelings," Coda replied, having the instructions made by Salem already in his mind.
"Excellent go and practice outside in the wilderness," Salem ordered. Coda nodded and shot upwards through the ceiling and into the sky to test his power.
"I'll have to get some Grimm to repair that damage." Salem sighed as she walked towards the exit.
"What should we do with Watts's body?" Hazel asked.
"Feed it to the Grimm pools just like with Tyrian's body. I need to construct the army." Salem answered, leaving the room.
Coda, in the meantime, landed from his jump to the sky a good distance from the castle. He looked from where he was then back to the castle then back to where he landed once more.
"I must have put too much power into that jump." Coda murmured.
He began to move his body little by little, figuring out how it works and how to move his body. Coda threw a couple of punches and kicks in the air sending shockwaves throughout the area, destroying the land around him.
Then he began to listen to the DNA inside of him to how to use the power which he held. Coda held out both of his arms as he unleashed his energy obliterating the surrounding area in an immense aura of orange energy.
Atlas…
Jason jumped up from his bed as he sensed the sudden spike in energy from around Salem's location. This energy was foreign and unknown to Jason, but he could tell that it was easily as strong if not stronger than Cooler was or even Jason currently.
"What in the hell is that?" Jason questioned as his door burst open.
"Do you sense that?!" Elias asked as the others slowly grouped in the doorway.
"Yeah, I think it would be impossible to not notice that power," Jason answered, sweating a little.
"I think it's safe to say Salem finished her creation." Ruby pointed out as she and the others joined them.
"What now?" Yang asked.
"We train like we've never trained before," Jason responded.
Salem's Domain…
Coda powered down and studied his body as he looked over towards several mountains that scattered the area. Raising his hand, he blasted several balls of energy, destroying each one until all that was left was large craters.
"This power is interesting, but it is just a portion of my full potential I can tell. However, there is nothing I can test my full strength around anywhere." Coda thought.
Suddenly he felt a feeling from deep down an urge to use his power to test its full capabilities. He ignored it and flew back to the castle, having figured it out during his test of his body. Coda could feel the power inside him and wondered why he felt the need to rest it.
"Why did I want to test my full power more? Is this the lust for battle that all Saiyans feel?" Coda questioned as he landed.
"If so, then I must keep it in check. It shouldn't be a problem." Coda thought as he entered the throne room.
"Welcome back, Coda. How did your practice go?" Salem asked.
"It went well I now have efficient control over my body. However, I was unable to release my full power here without someone or something to practice on." Coda answered.
"I see well I believe that once you fight with Jason Shin, he will be able to allow you to test your full power once you kill him," Salem replied.
"I see I eagerly await the time when I can fight him, then in the meantime, what shall I do, Mistress?" Coda questioned.
"Continue to practice with your body until you have mastered it and wait patiently and make sure that you have no stray feelings like that lust for battle you spoke of earlier," Salem ordered.
"Understood," Coda replied, leaving.
"What shall we do, ma'am?" Hazel asked.
"Train and prepare yourselves for in one-month time whether we are attacked, or we attack the kingdoms we are at war," Salem answered.
One Day Later Ironwood's Office…
"So she's finally done with that creation of hers," Ozpin muttered, having traveled to Atlas.
"This has just gotten much worse." Ironwood sighed, putting his head in his hands.
"Let's hope it doesn't get any worse," Qrow complained.
"Uncle Qrow, you're going to jinx it!" Ruby commented.
"There's no such thing," Qrow replied.
"It's time they knew." Ozpin thought as he looked at everyone with dread.
"There's something you all need to know that I haven't told you," Ozpin spoke up, looking away from everyone.
"See Uncle Qrow!" Ruby shouted.
"It's just a coincidence," Qrow replied.
"That being said, what's this about Oz?" Qrow questioned.
"I haven't been fully truthful with you all about who Salem is and who I am," Ozpin responded.
"What do you mean?" Ironwood asked, standing up from his desk.
Ozpin then told everyone present the tale of his and Salem's lives centuries ago. He explained that after his death, Salem was distraught and wanted the gods to bring him back, but they refused.
This resulted in Salem rebelling against the Twin Gods. Further resulting in her immortality and the death of that version of humanity. Finally, he finished off by explaining the mission the gods had given him when they brought him back.
"That's almost as crazy as learning about aliens," Pyrrha commented.
"She's immortal. How? How could you hide this from us?" Ironwood questioned.
"I'm sorry I knew that if I told you all none of you would have listened to me." Ozpin apologized.
"SORRY?! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO IF WE CAN'T KILL HER?" Ironwood shouted.
"Do we need to kill her?" Jason asked, getting their attention.
"I mean sure she's immortal, but that doesn't mean she's all-powerful as we are now the only real threat is that creation of hers, which means that we can still beat her." Jason clarified.
"Plus, worst-case scenario, we can kick her into space, and you know she's done gone for good," Elias added.
"Why is it that you two seem to have the answer to everything?" Qrow asked.
"We don't have the answer to everything," Jason responded.
"Sure, whatever," Qrow replied.
"I guess you have a point I…I just need some time to think." Ironwood sighed. Everyone exited his office and began to talk to one another about what their next course of action will be.
"I guess its back to training," Yang said.
"That's all we can do, but still, how are we supposed to beat someone who's immortal?" Jaune questioned.
"Well, while her body may be immortal, she doesn't have infinite power or stamina, so eventually she will run out of power, and with all, we've got that shouldn't take much," Elias explained.
"He's right even if she's immortal. She's not unbeatable." Amber agreed.
"So we can't give up. We need to keep going and keep getting stronger to protect the world." Ruby replied.
"Yeah, let's make this three for three for saving the planet!" Nora exclaimed.
"Actually, I think this is four for four technically." Jason pointed out.
"Yeah, but Cooler was two of those, so does that count?" Nora asked.
"Yes, it was two separate times," Elias answered.
"However, there is one thing about Ozpin's story that doesn't make sense to me," Jason said.
"What would that be?" Ren asked.
"He said that those gods created humanity, but when Goku and the others came to help us, they said that there were other humans on Earth, so how could they have created humanity only here," Jason explained.
"Maybe they visited Earth and created it there as well," Ruby suggested.
"Maybe, but I don't think that's the case," Jason replied.
"Well, at the moment, it doesn't matter. We've got no time to waste. We need to train!" Damian declared.
"Let's go!" Ruby exclaimed, rushing towards the training room.
Just as they had said, everyone began to train much harder than ever before, with Ruby concentrating on the power of her silver eyes. Everyone else worked on their physical strength and other aspects of training beyond their weapons, especially with their semblances.
Weiss was able to summon several summons at once though the stronger the summon, the less she can bring out. While Ruby wasn't training to use her eye powers, she trained with her semblance increasing her speed, and now her petals were able to cut through metal.
Jaune managed to make a small sphere out of his aura that was able to increase the aura of everyone inside and heal them. Everyone else just further increased the power their semblances already had.
Jason and Elias continued their training sparing in the mountains and meditating, increasing their strength and Ki control. Eventually, three weeks had passed, and after Ironwood finally announced the truth behind the Vytal Festival attack along with Cooler and Salem to the people.
Needless to say, the people around the world was shocked at the sudden knowledge, but Ironwood assured them that Salem was soon going to meet her end. The only thing he left out was Jason and his origins. However, he did say that he was going to help them.
People were hesitant at first, but soon people came around though not many for people were scared. There was only one way to bring people together is to encourage them to support each other and have faith that they will win. They must work together to survive.
Once the three weeks passed, Atlas was fully repaired, and the army was ready to attack Salem. Everyone assembled into Ironwood's office for the battle plan once they entered her domain.
"When we enter her domain, Salem will no doubt respond with heavy resistance, so the main force shall take that on as the core group engages Salem herself." Ironwood began.
"Mr. Shin and Mr. Plant, however, will take on Salem's new creation so that it cannot make a move on anyone else." Ozpin finished.
"So this is it once we're done here. A battle that has lasted centuries is about to end." Jason said.
"You kinda sound a bit corny when you say it like that," Alex commented.
"I wonder though, if we do this will the world still need huntsman and huntresses." Ruby pointed out.
"There will always be a need for them, Miss Rose. Even when Salem is gone, the Grimm will still be here just not as coordinated if you can call them that." Ozpin replied.
"Alright, let's do this I want to kick some butt!" Yang exclaimed.
Salem's Domain…
"They're coming just as I thought," Salem stated as she sat on her throne with Coda standing next to her.
"But we are prepared for them when they come they will fail. Ozpin and his army and the boy and his power." Salem added as she stood up and looked out the window to see a large army of huge creatures of Grimm consisting of giant whales, dragons, bats, and more.
Evil takes on a new form as Coda is born! How strong is this monster and what will it do with the Saiyan DNA that screams within him and will our heroes be able to defeat him? Find out Next Time!
Author's Note:
Sorry for the wait, everyone hope you enjoyed! The reason this came out late was because I had a little bit of writer's block when I was working with this chapter, which may be obvious since I decided to skip over Ozpin's origins.
However, the other reason was because you guys should already know it and have heard it so many times I decided not to bore you with the same story since I am not changing anything with it.
As for the answer to Jason's question, you'll have to wait for the next arc to see that. Now, like I said before, this arc is going to be relatively short compared to the others, so it should be over in a couple of chapters.
Also, to reiterate once more, Neo is not pregnant in this timeline, I just wanted to say that one more time so that there is no confusion about it just in case. Once again, I hope you all enjoyed, and I will see you next time!