Chapter 26: Vegeta Stakes his Pride as a Saiyan! Truths Revealed for Everyone!

A blanket of tension coats everyone on the beach. You, however, still floating over the water, are out of the blanket's cover. You're more confused than anything else.

"Fight you? Why?" You fly towards the beach and land, just out of the range of the tense cover. "I think it would be a lot more fun if you tried-"

Vegeta raises his hand towards the group, unleashing a Ki blast that purposefully weaves through them and connects in the forest, shaking the island and eradicating a small section of its forest.

"HEY!" Yang hollers.

The other members of RWBY get into a fighting stance, putting themselves between Vegeta and their friends. Sure, the team isn't even the slightest match for the Saiyan Prince, but they have a lot more of a chance at surviving an attack than the others

Crystal's confusion is displayed by her eye movements. The defensive stance RWBY takes, the cruel nature of Vegeta, your calm manner... it's all so perplexing.

"Isn't he your friend? Why would you want to fight him?" Crystal, having not gotten an answer, looks to the prince. "Why would you hurt us?"

"Silence, insect," Vegeta coldly replies, not even looking at her. "I will defeat this low-class wretch and prove that I am the strongest Saiyan."

"Don't talk to her that way!" Weiss barks. "You have no right to be this rude to people who helped you.

Vegeta momentarily looks at Weiss, the woman who dares backtalk him. But she's so insignificant that he doesn't deem her worthy of argument.

"Saiyan?" Crystal repeats. "What is that? Your team?" She focuses on you, who's still deadlocked on Vegeta.

"He's an alien, remember?" Jaune answers.

"An... a what? Alien?" Crystal shows a little frustration at that claim. "That's mean, he's a Faunus!"

Jaune looks back at her, quickly piecing together that she doesn't know anything about what's happened recently. He's aware that she perished and was brought back by wish-granting balls – a story Ruby told very eagerly – but had no idea your very nature was hidden from her.

"Why would you say something so mean to your friend? Is that... just a joke? Cause he's a little silly," Crystal half-heartedly smiles, attempting to remain cheery in this situation.

"Now fight me, Kail. I won't miss next time."

You frown at Vegeta, though not viewing his threat as anything serious. "That's not a very nice way to ask, Vegeta. You know I'm always up for a good spar," you switch to a smile. "Besides, you should know you wouldn't land a real hit on them."

Vegeta frowns at the remark that you're just so much stronger that you render his threat mute. But... "This isn't sparring. I want you to fight me with everything you have. Fight me with all that power you fought Frieza with!"

"Frieza?" Crystal repeats, her head tilting to anyone who could answer her. "Wait, who is that? Someone at Beacon? But what's with this alien stuff? Nobody answered me," she looks to Jaune first, then the others. None of them answer her, but the look in their eyes make her question everything. "An alien... is a joke."

"Don't worry, Vegeta's just a big ol' grouch," you smile at your dear friend. "Nothing to worry about."

"I'm right here," Vegeta snarls.

"Right, right," you return your attention to him. "So... a real fight, huh? We haven't gone one-on-one in a while. Okay, let's go!" You end with a smirk, blasting off into the sky and far away from the island and towards the sea.

"Tsk," Vegeta takes off after you. His eyes are locked on you, ready to attack the second you stop. Vegeta winds up a punch and throws it, only for you to casually catch it the moment you turn around. The wind pressure blasts by you, but you're firm and calm.

"We're getting right into it, huh? Come on, you said it was a serious fight. Use your full," you casually push his fist back then slam your own into his gut. "POWER!" You shout, then hammerfist him down into the water.

You watch Vegeta helplessly plummet into the ocean, the water erupting upon his contact with it. You have some idea why Vegeta is so dead set on fighting you. From what you've gathered from the other Saiyans, and even what Vegeta told you himself before you fought Frieza, defeating that man was Vegeta's dream. It's likely he never expected to come back to life after that, so now he has to live with the fact that you're the strongest Saiyan, that you defeated Frieza, and that you're the pinnacle of his proud warrior race. You don't really understand it, but it's probably tearing him apart from the inside. Holding back on him, letting him win, that's disrespectful to Vegeta; you know that. If you fight him, beat him, with your full power against his then perhaps he'll experience what you do – that drive to become stronger in the face of someone else who has great power.

You roll your shoulders then pat your cheeks. "I have to get serious, serious, serious. Vegeta deserves it. Serious!" You end with a nod, then zoom down into the water to meet your opponent, who you sense is already on the way.

You both wind your punches and connect them right at the recently settled water's surface. Once again, the ocean parts in wake of you overwhelming Saiyans. You both push as hard as you can before zooming past one another. You turn around, seeing Vegeta swooping around and throwing a roundhouse. You duck under it, quickly turning around as Vegeta does the same, eying each other for a mere moment. With your turning momentum, you throw a right hook. Vegeta blocks it with his arm then attempts a knee, which you handily catch in your other palm.

There's but a second pause in combat where your tension rises, along with your power levels. Clouds start to form, lightning crashes into the clear waters, waves wash outwards from your location.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Your voices echo beyond the planet itself as a massive yellow flash erupts from between you.

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It's not long after both you and Vegeta disappear from view that the shockwaves of your attacks ripple in the sky. It's loudly heard across Patch, and lightly felt. For RWBY, it's normal. For JNPR, it's surprising but familiar. For Crystal, this is beyond anything she's ever known.

The girl starts pacing, scratching her head, rubbing her arms, unsure how to process everything. "It's not true, right? An alien? He was always a little different, but... but he's just a Faunus. A kind, silly... childish Faunus, in the best way!"

"Silly... yeah," Yang nods. "But a lot has happened."

"A lot has happened? What do you mean? He would tell me if a lot had happened!" Her frustration born from confusion reveals itself for a moment before she sighs, staring at the sand around her toes. "He would tell me..."

The group feel for Crystal, leading to Pyrrha and Ruby coming to her side for support – a hand on her shoulder, smiles to comfort her. They can imagine how shocking this is for her, considering it wasn't the greatest pill to swallow when it was revealed last year. But she has a deeper connection to why she's perplexed. While in this deep thought, this contemplative state, the immense power surging out from your battle doesn't even phase her.

"Then... what happened? I want to know about my friend," Crystal weakly speaks

So distracted with your battle and Crystal's dismay, the girls fail to notice the incoming powers from behind them.

"Looks like he finally got fed up," Turles says as he lands on the beach, crossing his arms and staring out towards the battle.

Raditz, Kakarot, and Nappa land sequentially, all making a jagged line in the sand.

"It's about time. Our royal highness has been too stubborn to get stronger. He was once the driving force of strength," Nappa starts speaking.

Their presence is surprising to most, but Crystal is the one who takes more notice. All of them have brown tails like you did. All of them are strong, chiseled, and, for the most part, have wild jet-black hair. She never thought anything of it before, when she first saw them.

"You... aren't his friends," she finally realizes. "But you look just like him."

The Saiyans turn around, revealing their pure black eyes; another trait that links you to them.

"What is this woman blabbering about?" Raditz cruelly speaks.

"Hey, leave her alone!" Nora comes to her defense.

Turles, the more observant of the group, can see that the one who spoke has support around her. "Like him? Heh..." The Saiyan chuckles. "Did you just learn he's a Saiyan?"

"A Saiyan... Saiyan... an alien."

"A member of the greatest fighters in all the universe!" Nappa proudly broadcasts. "And he's the strongest one."

"What does it matter if he's the strongest?" Crystal's emotions burst to the surface. "He's... he's..."

"It means everything," Kakarot replies, breaking off from the line and approaching Crystal. "We fight. We're made to fight. Even Kail, as much of a bastard as he is, has the true Saiyan nature to fight," he stops before Crystal, Ruby, and Pyrrha.

"He... does like fighting," Crystal's eyes droop.

"Kakarot, she's hurting! Be nicer!" Ruby chastises.

"Wha- I'm just telling her the truth!"

"Well tell it nicer!" Ruby replies.

"I... tsk..." Kakarot angrily snarls. "... Fine," he crosses his arms.

"Hahahahaha," Raditz cuts in. "Being bossed around, Kakarot? Poor baby brother."

"You want to take that back, Raditz?" Kakarot turns around, ready to fight.

"Enough," both Nappa and Turles say, though their unison is unintentional.

"This is important for Vegeta," Nappa keeps talking. "We're going to stay and watch without making any problems. Besides, I have kids to whip into shape."

"What now?" Weiss quickly questions.

"Don't worry about it, child," the brute lazily waves off.

Crystal returns to her inner thoughts, unsure how to process this. Everyone knows, everyone is okay with it... there are aliens, YOU are an alien, and that's supposed to be okay? It's something she has to just brush under the rug? This isn't some small lie, some omission of the truth, this is a complete reality shattering revelation. Aliens... you're one of them... you're fighting aliens... what has happened to that kid she met? What's happened? Why haven't you told her?

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Your fists keep moving at light speed, colliding, parrying, or hitting Vegeta. It's a near invisible battle where neither of you has stopped throwing attacks. To Vegeta's dismay, few of his hits are landing while a plethora of your punches has made contact. But, as you both know, the more Vegeta is beaten against someone who's stronger than him, the more his power will grow. He never managed to exploit this against Frieza, as it was barely a fight to begin with.

Over and over, your attacks manage to overwhelm Vegeta until you send him seering over the water with a powerful haymaker. Vegeta shakes his head while being pushed back, trying his best to recover from the attack. You charge after Vegeta, flying in small spirals as you reach him and slam your knee into his stomach, then flick your leg up to launch Vegeta into the air.

Now with his hands towards you, he unleashes a purple volley toward you and the planet. Without hesitation, you charge forward, swirling around to knock away every blast right into the sky so the planet isn't damaged. Vegeta is frustrated that you're able to counter and knock away everything he has without even tapping into your full power.. You follow through, coming up with an uppercut that Vegeta barely dodges, flipping backwards while getting some distance from you. As he returns to normal orientation, you surprise him with a right hook wound to pummel him down into the sea. The water explodes as Vegeta's body penetrates its surface, erupting over the area like a harsh storm. You fly directly down to follow Vegeta, but are surprised when the Prince is already coming back at you. His fists lodges into your stomach, holding you in place as he pulls back his left arm and starts punching you upwards, hit after hit, as the water fills the area around you.

His speed and strength just increased. Whoa, it's weird to see it from the other side. Let's see how high we can take you, Vegeta!

You catch his left fist, then right, then headbutt the Saiyan back to the bowels of the ocean. You dive in, traversing the deep blue waters to close in on your opponent. A few purple beams appear from the dark depths, swirling around you to attack in intervals. You knock away the first, intercept the other with your own blue blast, then catch the last and crush it. That moment where you stop the last is when Vegeta speeds in with a kick. You catch it with ease, surprising the Prince and allowing you to pull Vegeta's leg past you, bringing his body closer so you can raise your arm and punch him even deeper into the ocean.

As Vegeta descends, darkness surrounding him, his eyes are lock on you. You're looking down on him, almost a little sad that he's performing subpar. That disappointing glare, the growing darkness; Vegeta's final moments on Namek return to him. He cried in front of you, begged you to defeat Frieza. With all Vegeta's heart, he thought it was the end. He truly believed you were going to be the final Saiyan for the rest of time, and needed the pride Vegeta held dear to defeat Frieza. But now Vegeta has to continue to live in that world, and in the shadow of your victory. You, the Saiyan who defeated Frieza. You, a low-class warrior who's surpassed him, who carries the fire of the Saiyan Warrior Race. You... are a Super Saiyan. A shining Saiyan that's blinding the Prince... and yet he knows you're not even going all out against him.

Bubbles spiral around the prince as the Ki surging in his body forms heat. His frustration and anger explode outwards as he charges towards you. You're surprised by this sudden boost in power and react accordingly – shifting to the defensive. Vegeta slugs you, one after another, but you manage to block each attack. The force of them pushes you higher and higher, eventually leaving the ocean altogether. He goes for another hook, but you seemingly teleport below him and completely shatter his world with an uppercut. You immediately burst upward, following and passing by Vegeta's body to sledgehammer him back towards the planet.

Vegeta manages to recover just before his body is fully submerged in the water once more. He lifts himself up, looking up at you with growing irritation. You're holding back...

"You're insulting me, Kail!" Vegeta howls. "This isn't the power you used against Frieza! SHOW ME YOUR SUPER SAIYAN POWER!"

Super Saiyan? That again? I don't even know what that is, but Vegeta can't handle the 20x Kaioken. I don't really think I can handle it very well... but out of respect to Vegeta.

"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Your massive red influx of Ki washes over the battlefield, tinting everything in the Kaioken's red. You're only using 10x, but it's still far more than you know Vegeta can handle.

The Prince smiles, despite his body faltering under the pressure of your power. You both charge at each other, but Vegeta barely moves before your fist is buried in his stomach, nearly pushing through it completely. Vegeta exerts blood from his mouth, landing on your bare chest, before you pull back your other hand and drive your fist into his cheek. Vegeta wasn't keeping pace before, but with your power multiplying by ten, it's nearly impossible to even react to your speed. It's exactly like when he combatted Frieza.

Over and over you chase Vegeta down, knocking him further and further away from Patch and towards Vacuo. The more humid weather, the dryer air, it all signals this region. You soar over Vegeta and hammerfist him towards the sandy, unoccupied beach, then circle around right before he hits the ground and kick him back to the sky. You release the Kaioken and place your fingers against your head, trying to use this moment to practice Instant Transmission. You lock onto his moving Ki, trying to relocate yourself behind him but to no avail.

"Darn it, why am I bad at this? Oh, hey," you look around. "Oh, hey, I'm still in my swim trunks at another beach. How nice!"

"KAIL!" Vegeta huffs and puffs, battered and bruised by your attacks. Even still, you can feel his Ki is larger than when the fight started. Not nearly enough to close the distance, but its still there. However, his frustration has also swelled beyond belief. "YOU BETTER NOT GET COMPLACENT! I AM VEGETA, PRINCE OF ALL SAIYANS, AND THAT INCLUDES YOU! I AM THE STRONGEST, AND I WILL DEFEAT YOU AND BECOME A SUPER SAIYAN!" His body is surrounded by purple Ki as he puts one hand against another and lifts it up. "NOW FACE MY GALICK GUN!"

"Heh," you power up and shift to the Kamehameha stance. "Whatever you say, Vegeta. But you'll have to work for it!" You keep your cheer up. "Cause I'll keep training too!"

With both your attacks growing in power, the entire western side of Sanus is quaking. The sand around you is swirling, the water is crashing against itself, unsure how to react to the pressure exerting from both you and Vegeta. Your beams, blue and purple, surge in your hands to their peaks before you throw then at each other, unleashing attacks with planetary destructiveness. The beams zoom toward each other, but suddenly dissipate the moment they make contact.

"Huh?"

"What!"

Where the beams would've collided, Ozpin stands with his cane angled to have been between both blasts. He returns the accessory to his side and fixes his glasses.

"This isn't the time to cause havoc on our planet. Please, show some restraint."

"Ozpin?" You say, surprised. "You... stopped those?"

"How could a pathetic human nullify my Galick Gun?"

Ozpin slowly glides down to the beach, landing beside you. "Having an eventful weekend?"

"Yeah, actually! I went surfing!"

"Oh, that must've been exciting."

"Mhm! Lots of fun! But, Ozpin, when did you have that power? You stopped my attack!"

"Oh, it's not my power," Ozpin humbly chuckles. "I just know a few techniques."

"Know a few techniques my ass," Vegeta soars down, marching up to Ozpin the second he touches the ground. "Your power level is nothing! No technique you have could conjure-"

"When it comes to protecting this planet, I shall do whatever it takes," Ozpin quickly corrects. "You Saiyans becoming stronger is all well and good. I like it. But, please, control yourselves.."

"Hehe," you rub the back of your bushy hair. "Sorry about that. We got carried away."

"Tsk," Vegeta bursts off into the sky without another word.

"Hey, Vegeta!" You shout for him.

"Don't worry," Ozpin casually says. "He won't do anything rash. I believe the Saiyans will calm themselves."

"Really?"

"You did."

"Didn't I hit my head?"

"You hit Vegeta's head," the Headmaster jokes.

"Hehehe, that's true. I guess. I should get back to everyone. Have... uh... fun here!" You wave and take off.

"Of course!" Ozpin calmly waves. As you disappear from view, Ozpin's scroll rings. "Oh?" He slips it out of his pocket and answers. "Hello, Professor Briefs. What can I do for you today? Oh, yes, the ship. Of course, I'm sorry for the delay. I'll bring that to you immediately." Ozpin follows up his words by tapping his cane twice.

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"He's leaving?" Turles raises a brow, still standing on the beach.

"Their battle wasn't finished yet," Raditz points out.

"It was over when it started," Nappa cracks his neck. "But I don't know why he just left. Maybe he just knows now."

As the Saiyans speak, the residents of Remnant are uneasy just by their presence. This is supposed to be a vacation, a relaxing time, and here are these space warriors talking about a fight with their friend. Let alone Crystal still coming to terms with aliens existing and you being one of them. She's unsure what exactly she's going to say to you, or even how you'll react to her distress. You care, but your emotional maturity and capability to process other's distresses are less than optimal. But she's still getting support from Ruby and Pyrrha, exactly as she needs.

"Do you have to be here?" Yang asks. "We'd rather be alone."

The Saiyans turn around to acknowledge the brash blonde.

"I suppose there's no point in us being here. I'd like to pursue Vegeta," Turles plans.

"Or leave him alone until he calms down," Kakarot pipes up. "You know how Vegeta can be."

"Then let's leave these kids to their games. Nothing more for us here," Nappa takes off.

The other Saiyans follow, save for Turles, who bows his head to the girls. "Enjoy your time," he says before departing.

It's not even a few seconds after the warriors take off when you return, a big smile on your face despite your trunks being a little scuffed.

"Heya!" You cheerily wave. "I'm sad the others didn't stay. Did they know why Vegeta came around?" You soon come to lay eyes on Crystal, who seems extremely distressed. At least, a normal person would think that. She just looks a little confused to you. "Are you okay, Crystal? You don't have to worry," you wave off. "They're actually kinda nice in their own way."

"(Y/N)... what's a Saiyan?" Crystal asks, barely louder than a whisper.

You become perplexed, not really wanting to explain it to her. But you're not much of a liar, especially when directly asked about something.

"Well... Saiyans are... are... um..." You rub the back of your head as you come up witha response. "People! People from not around here. Not much different from us here on Remnant."

"They're aliens," she clarifies.

"Yeah!" You reply.

"Are you a Saiyan?"

"Well..." The others remain silent, knowing this is a conversation you have to have. Nobody is giving you support here, even if you want it. "Yeah!"

"How long have you known that?"

"Um... how long has it been? A year? Yeah, cause I trained with King-"

"A year?" She blurts out in surprise. "You knew that for a year and you never told me?" Her voice is a little shaky at this point, making everyone unsure if she's going to lash out in anger or burst into tears. "Why... why wouldn't you tell me? These friends knew... but I couldn't? I just..." She shakes her head, still not looking you in the eyes. "Why?"

This one is hard to answer, and everyone knows it. To her knowledge, thanks to the Dragon Ball's wish, everyone involved in the Great Ape incident has no recollectio and believe that the village continued on peacefully for the year that it was gone. Revealing that would bring up another batch of problems that even you don't think is a good idea.

"Well... I was busy. I got to train with King Kai in the Otherworld and-"

"Otherworld?" She repeats, almost laughing at a new place she's never heard of. "What's that?"

"Oh, it's where dead people go, I think. But I never went to the other-"

"You went to the afterlife?" Ren pipes up, speaking for some others who didn't even know that.

"(Y/N)," she almost seems frustrated now, as if you're lying to her. "I know you. I know how fast you are, I know that you could drop by and talk with me whenever you want. But... but you haven't. You didn't even drop by for your first year! I wanted to know all the wonderful things you were doing at Beacon and hear about your friends. But you never came by, you never even wrote me a letter... I get that you might have been busy but now... aliens, afterlife, Saiyans, Frieza, all of this just doesn't make any sense! You're my best friend, (Y/N), and it's like you just totally shut me out to all of this! Just..." Her tears are streaming down her face at this point. She doesn't want to be like this - frustrated - but it's just her human reaction. "I just want to know... why? We always told each other everything..."

You're in a losing battle since Crystal was already dead when you learned about Saiyans. You could have told her after she was revived, and it would've gone smoother, most likely, if she didn't know that everyone else was already aware. Yang can understand her, to a degree. To her, you're the closest person in her life. It'd be like if Ruby kept something so important a secret. She'd feel hurt, for sure, but probably not react to this degree. Or maybe Yang is just giving herself more credit than she should. It's easy to think of how one would react when they're not in the situation, hazy from emotion.

"Well, they were just around when everything was happening. A lot of people know I'm a Saiyan. I remember they tried to keep me up in Altus."

"Atlas," Weiss corrects.

"Yeah, that."

Crystal remains silent, her mind flooded with emotions and thoughts and... she can't right now. She doesn't want to be angry at you, she wants to understand where you're coming from and she's certain that almost anything you say right now would upset her. She knows, or at least wants to believe, that you would never intentionally lie to her. There has to be a reason, and she just won't listen to it right now. She needs to cool off.

"I'd like to go back to the house, please."

"But I-"

"We'll... we'll talk about it later, okay?" She sternly reiterates.

"I'll walk her back," Yang quickly comes to her side and turns her towards the path. "Come on, we'll get you all warmed up and cheery," she says with a reassuring smile. As your trusty blonde friend takes the reins she turns her head and gives you an "okay" hand sign.

You're just gonna have to leave it to Yang, for now. But... that doesn't really bother you as much as it should. You turn around, take a deep breath, then run towards the surfboard. "So, anyone else wanna do it? It's honestly a lot of fun!"

"Really?" Ruby raises an eyebrow. "You're just gonna go back to normal?"

"That does seem kinda mean," Jaune adds in.

"This is kind of your fault though, Jaune," Blake comes to your defense.

"I... well, I didn't mean to," Jaune sighs. "I didn't know she... didn't know."

"That's okay!" You jump over and pat Jaune's back. "Crystal's always been my best friend. She'll come around."

"That's it?" Weiss comments. "You're just going to leave it cause she'll understand eventually?" She crosses her arms and leans forward. Sure, she has a ton of respect for you, but that doesn't mean she won't criticize you.

"Well, yeah. Honestly," you rub the back of your head and chuckle. "I don't know what else to do. Plus, Yang is with her! She's a lot better at explaining stuff than I am," you say with confidence.

While that may be an excuse for most, there's something about your tone of voice, your face tells everyone its genuine. It's hard to be angry at someone who is wholeheartedly unsure of how to press on, yet so trusting in another friend to help them. It is a lesson at Beacon to trust in your team, and your friends, especially when all of them are aware of your massive ineptitude at social cues. But perhaps that's the trade off for now. You're immensely strong and can protect everyone from threats they couldn't comprehend, and they help you out when you can't explain yourself or say something stupid.

Either way, they do realize that it's out of their hands for now. Everyone should be focusing on the fun, like you are.

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Yang and Crystal walk for a short while, not a word uttered by either. Yang is very casual, strutting through the forest in an exposed bikini with no weapons at all, while Crystal has her arms crossed, slouched a bit, barely paying attention to the steps she's taking.

Yang's keeping a subtle eye on her, checking if Crystal has any tells of wanting to talk. But she's drowning in her thoughts, not focusing. Yang rolls her shoulders and decides to intervene. After all, she's better with words than you are.

"So... you really mad at him?" She takes a step into the issue.

"Mm..." Crystal bites her thumbnail. "I want to be."

"So you're not?"

"You know him," the powerless woman slightly shifts to meet Yang's gaze. "He doesn't even know how to really hurt someone like this."

"He's a little slow in that regard, but he has a good heart. Everyone at Beacon knows that."

"That makes it hard to be mad at him a lot. He flies into my room while I'm changing and doesn't understand the boundary, he struggles to figure out the difference between men and women's bathrooms."

"They both have toilets! How am I supposed to know," Yang mocks your tone.

Crystal chuckles a bit, relating to those very words. "He was always different... but he lived alone for most of his life. I understood him not grasping basic customs. But we've been friends for so long... something like this just... it's not like him. I just can't understand why he didn't tell me anything." She looks ahead again. "I try to think of some excuse for him, but I can't... he doesn't even drop by for a whole year, then he's showing up almost every day, and now he's an alien? A-And other people knew? Why did Atlas know? Why do all you know? Does my dad know? I just..." She raises her hands, slightly making a fist as if the point is lost to her. "It doesn't add up."

And now it's up to Yang to figure out a way to explain it without having to say Crystal died. A lie of omission, but only on that part. As crazy as it all sounds, if Crystal can accept that you're an alien then perhaps she'll believe the rest of it.

"You know, he's been fighting real hard for everyone," Yang says with a slight chuckle. "One of those guys you saw, the other Saiyans, they showed up at Beacon one day. Nearly killed innocent people," another lie. "And almost killed (Y/N). That's when he was told he was a Saiyan."

"They... attacked? But what about the Huntsmen?"

"Heh," Yang rubs her nose. "I'm telling you, the Saiyans are much stronger than you think. (Y/N) was probably the strongest guy I knew, but Kakarot was beating him. And then, after a miracle, we're told that more of them are on the way, all stronger than Kakarot."

"Kakarot... so those other guys?"

"Yeah, they all were coming to take over Remnant. So, for a year, (Y/N) went off and trained somewhere special. I guess in the afterlife," she looks up at the sky with a bewildered smile. "Crazy to think about, yet it totally sounds like him. None of us saw him for a whole year. He didn't just leave you behind, Crystal. He left everyone so he could defend us."

"Did... did he?" Crystal's voice is a little shaky.

"Yeah... and, if you can't tell, he did manage to repel them. But, not long after, he had to go defend another planet."

"What?" Crystal finally gives Yang her full attention. "Another planet? He went into space?"

"Yep," Yang chuckles. "Me and my team went too."

"Space... space, I can barely believe it."

"You kind of have to with (Y/N)," Yang keeps the tone light. "We had to. But, you know," Yang places a hand on Crystal's shoulder, offering support. "(Y/N) protected another planet. He saved them. I saw him fight with everything he had against someone who was way stronger than him."

"Mm..." Crystal stops moving, looking up at the sky. "He's been... helping people."

"Yeah, he's got a good heart," Yang stops a few steps ahead, looking back at the girl. "And, you know what? He was always thinking about you."

"Are... you just saying that?"

"No, he talked about you a lot... look," Yang saunters towards Crystal. "He... missed you. Missed you more than you could know," she speaks truth, even if Crystal's view of it isn't whole. "So, I wouldn't get too angry at him. My guess? He's just been so happy to spend time with you that he forgot."

"Ha," Crystal unintentionally chuckles. "Darn it, he's always hard to be mad at. I hate it."

Yang laughs. "Not the worst quality a guy can have. So," Yang crosses her arms, lifting up her assets a bit as a result. "Do you want to the house? You seem cooled off now."

"Mm... no, I'd like to go back. Honestly, I still can't believe there are aliens. And what was a Frieza?"

"Oh..." Yang shakes her head, leading the way once more. "I'll let you know all about Namek."

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It's practically guaranteed that any confrontation you have on Remnant is recorded and documented by Dr. Gero. He already has 11 Androids created, but none of them are truly what Gero wants. Especially after watching this new display from you. Your power, along with the other Saiyans, are astronomically stronger than they were before. It's infuriating to the doctor, who thought he was making progress.

Sure, his orders from Ironwood is to create such a powerful defender for the planet that will establish Atlas as the only one who has the proper tools to protect Remnant. There's always been the outlier, the Turtle School, but they have never come to the defense of the Kingdoms as Atlas has. But now with your presence known to the Kingdoms' councils and Headmasters, and even partly to the public thanks to Merlot's stunt, it's critical to show that Atlas is still in control. But that's not possible anymore.

But that's just the surface. It's Gero's reputation on the line too. General Ironwood knows the state of Gero's Androids, and was very interested in the battle that just took place. The cold-hearted General's words still linger in Gero's mind.

"If you're incapable of the job, then maybe Pietro will be. He's been creating fighters of his own..."

Gero's hands clench to a fist atop his keyboard. The thought that his genius would be replaced by an inept fool like Pietro Polendina is maddening. He already saw Arthur Watts' downfall, and he shall not be following him. But Gero's hit a wall. Even if he takes this data, creates beings just as strong, the evidence shows how much a Saiyan can grow in mere days. He needs an edge. A way to make his Androids already leaps and bounds beyond you and your kind. But how...

"Still confused, dear?" The soothing voice of Gero's wife bounces off the laboratory walls.

Gero doesn't even look back, already seeing the shadow of his wife posed at the door.

"Confused is not the correct term."

"Then how about an outside perspective?" She partly teases.

From anyone else, it would infuriate the doctor. But she knows he doesn't see it like that from her. She's a scientist too, who wants to push this project beyond anything Atlas has done before. Her husband needs to be challenged, teased, so he can spit in the notion's face and push beyond. That fire she sees when he's invigorated.... It excites her.

"We need to infuse our Androids with Ki, like the Saiyans."

"I know," Gero frustratedly barks. "It amplifies their power beyond what our technology can produce. I don't know how-"

"Then don't create Ki. Adapt Ki."

Gero pauses, soon turning around on his spinning chair with a brow raised. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying we shouldn't be trying to create something new," the woman confidently approaches, hips swaying with each step. "We should take our technology and put it..." She stops before Gero, gesturing to her body. "In ourselves."

"You're... we make cyborgs," the gears start turning. "Take our technology and implement it within people who can already harness Ki," he stands up, pacing as everything pieces together. It puts a wide smile on his wife's face. "That would allow us to perhaps manipulate Ki with our technology, learn about it more, harness it."

"I love it when you show off your genius."

"But we need volunteers. There aren't any in Atlas who-"

"I know a few," the woman clicks her scroll, presenting the profiles of a Beacon team: TREE. "These folks know our friend, (Y/N). Their leader seems to have a grudge against him, for whatever pathetic, teenage reason. But we can use that."

"You can use that."

"Yes," she snickers. "I am the more persuasive one of us. Especially with poor young men."

"Very well," the doctor doesn't seem to care about the physical manipulation his wife is willing to put out. Seduction? It's part of getting the job done. That's all that matters. "I'll start looking into implementing our technology with a human body."

"And I'll get the human bodies," she says with excitement. "Oh, isn't this just fun?"

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Elsewhere in Atlas, Ozpin and Dr. Brief stand before the circular spaceship. It has a few dents, paint scratches, and is soaked inside and out. Ozpin can only assume that Frieza's goons found it and tossed it in the water. They very well could've outright destroyed it.

"Well," Brief huffs his cigarette. "Better wet than busted. I can work on this."

"I know you can. I must say, your gravity chamber is astounding."

"Isn't it, eh?" Brief chuckles. "I dare say there's little Gero and I can manage when we put our minds to it. I've even been thinking of making an entire room for this. I'm sure the General would approve of usage in his school."

Ozpin's fingers dance upon the top of his cane as he thinks. "That would be quite the asset. Have you already started?"

"Not quite. Gero has some of the blueprints set up. He wants to adjust the gravity to beyond one hundred, but that's not very useful for anyone besides those Saiyans. I doubt most students could handle more than three times," he ends with a chuckle.

"Indeed," Ozpin smiles. "Well, I'll let you get to it, doctor. Thank you again for all your support," he turns and bows his head.

"Not at all. I say, it's a blast helping you. Always something fun."

Ozpin's smile fades as his scroll buzzes. He swiftly takes it out of his pocket and looks over it. It's a message from Glynda, the woman who took part in the council meetings for him today. Not that the council was very happy about it, but they are mostly bark. However...

"They're after the Saiyans again."

With that sentence, a file is attached with a recording of the scuffle you and Vegeta got into. The file continues, showing a brief moment of conversation during the meeting.

"Once again, these creatures terrorize our world! Houses were knocked over, entire stocks of food destroyed! And who pays for this?"

"And what does Ozpin have to say about this, Ms. Goodwitch? Does he not take responsibility?"

"There is no responsibility to take! These are otherworldly invaders! We should be focusing on getting them off our planet!"

Ozpin shuts off his scroll, taking a moment to ponder this development. He has responsibility over you, yes, but the other Saiyans are still an outlier. The Kingdoms' leaders already have distrust towards you, but now that there's more... The bigger problem is, unlike you, the others won't be so easily adopted into Beacon. It's the only way Ozpin can have some sort of control over their actions and protect them. Last thing he wants is a war between Remnant and the Saiyans. You and Nappa are already quite calm, but the others...

Ozpin turns around, gazing at the ship which Briefs is now inside, examining any damage.

"May I make one more request of you, dear friend?" Ozpin speaks up.

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"And a one," you flip down the dirt road, landing on one hand. "And a seven!" You throw yourself a dozen feet forward, landing on the other arm. "Come on! You're behind!" You shout to your friends, who're slowly following along.

They're all walking normally, except for Nora who's skipping along happily. Most of them are just worried about what the conversation will be when you return, and others are trying to come up with an excuse for you. Ruby hopes that Yang has managed to mitigate the situation to a degree. After all, there's no way her older sister would just randomly walk Crystal home without some sort of plan. At least, she hopes not. Yang is generally smarter, at least in a people sense, than people give her credit for.

The uncertainty leads Pyrrha to speak up, not wanting to see a continuing conflict between friends.

"Have you thought of what you're going to say?" Her voice stretches out to you.

"Huh?" You are upside down again, this time holding yourself up with your right hand. "Oh, not really. I'm sure Crystal will be fine," without even pushing up, you flip around and land on your feet, facing your friends. "She's really cool like that."

"She was pretty mad," Jaune adds.

"She was mad when I walked in on her without clothes the first time, too."

"First time," Blake picks out the wording.

"But she cooled off."

"The fact he thinks those are on the same level," Weiss pinches the bridge of her nose. "Lord, help us."

"Crystal's a really understanding person. I know she'll get it."

"It's not good to rely on someone's understanding, (Y/N)," Blake says as they catch up with you, now all walking together. "That makes them have to just agree instead of getting to the heart of the issue."

"What does that even mean?" You scratch your head.

"You're not telling her the truth," Ruby clarifies.

"You know the truth is that I turned into a giant ape and destroyed the village, killing everyone," you blatantly say. "I don't know how well that would go over."

"You know..." Jaune raises a finger. "He's got a point."

"Besides, even if she was alive I wouldn't have seen her much. I WAS gone for a year, if you remember," you mimic Jaune's intelligent finger raise, lifting your chin to establish a look of superiority. "And then went to Namek not long after. I was kinda busy," having not been far away from the Xiao Long homestead, your group comes within eyesight of it. "So, you know, I wouldn't have seen her anyway."

"A lie of omission. I honestly thought that was beyond you," Weiss casually insults.

"Nothing is beyond me!"

"Except the meaning," Weiss giggles.

"What... what does that mean?"

Your words are met with a mix of short chuckles and annoyed moans, but it's all in good fun. Your group approaches and opens the door, Ruby being the leader as this is her house. As the confines of the house are let outside, a wonderful smell spirals around all of you.

Your nose lifts in the air, almost making you fly as you sniff and sniff.

"That. Smells. AMAZING!" You exclaim, quickly darting to the kitchen where Crystal and Yang have come up with yet another large feast for everyone.

"Thought you'd be hungry after all that," Yang remarks, grabbing a sandwich and salad for herself and sitting down. "Hey, Rubes, you're gonna be the one to tell dad we have no food, right?"

"What?" Ruby enters the room with everyone behind, though the young leader is more focused on her sister than the food. "Why do I have to? YOU COOKED!"

"It's the job of a little sister to take the fall."

"NOooooooooOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"How did you even make all this so quickly?" Ren raises a brow, taking in the variety of food. It's not as large of a quantity as breakfast, but its certainly a lot considering the short time allotted to them.

"Yang is very fast," Crystal puts some plates of food down for everyone, making it very clear which seat is yours with about four plates at one seat. "I told her what to do and she prepped everything. I just made sure it had a special touch."

"You do have a special touch," you nod, admiring all the food. "So," you move in front of her, honest eyes gazing into hers. "Does that mea-"

"I'll let you go this once," she cheekily replies. "Yang here told me some stories, and I'd like to hear them from you."

"Really?"

She only replies with a joyful nod. The fact she isn't upset, angry, anything like that just fills you with a glee you can't describe. You pull the girl into a warm hug right away, which surprises her for a moment but she does hug you back.

"I'm happy you're not mad."

"Me too," she rubs your back. "Now," she pulls back then knocks on your stomach. "Lets get your belly filled!"

"YEAH!" You instantly shift to your chair and start eating the food placed down for you.

Everyone else grabs plates and gets into place, but Yang's eyes keep switching between you and Crystal. She talked to your friend a lot, learned a lot about her perspective, not only about you being an alien but you in general. It's... interesting for her. The way you two hugged in front of everyone tightens her stomach just a bit.

Yang looks down at her food then shakes her head, waving her wild hair around. She quietly chuckles, well aware of what this feeling is. She isn't Ruby, she isn't Weiss, she isn't emotionally ignorant.

"Darn..."

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The Saiyans have yet to speak with their prince, even hours after his battle with you. Instead, they remain at a distance, now making a temporary home of one of Mistral's great mountains. Vegeta is on his own, staring up at the sky as rain pours down upon him. He cares little for the damp state of his body; his mind needs the cooling of this overcast. Your power being so much greater than his, Piccolo's mysterious power, and even Ozpin's ability to nullify both his attack and yours, there's so much around the Saiyan Prince and it's weighing on him. He has to surpass everyone. He MUST be the strongest warrior in the universe. The strongest Saiyan in the universe.

While the others wait, either for them to get bored or Vegeta to acknowledge them, Kakarot and Raditz, who've commandeered a massive stick, play tic-tac-toe in the dirt while Turles keeps himself sheltered from the storm. Nappa has taken a temporary absence from the group, explaining he "Has something to do." None of them argued, and, even if they have the means to track him, they don't bother. They're more focused on Vegeta, though that endeavor has been useless since his state of mind is unknown to them. Is he going to train to beat you? Is he just going to blow up the planet? Vegeta was never the greatest leader ever, but he kept everyone in line and on track. Reeled them in if they got rowdy. But now, with Vegeta so uncertain, the team is lost – purposeless.

And purpose is one man's expertise. A set of shoes and a cane clack against the stone as Ozpin arrives. The three follower Saiyans look to him right away, Turles being the only one curious as to why the rain isn't touching him. The Saiyan pushes off the wall and approaches.

"What are you doing here, human?"

"I'm here with an offer," Ozpin calmly explains. "For all of you," his voice being loud enough for Vegeta to hear.