Chapter 24: Pushing Back the Tides of War!

Arlic sat upon his throne, Daiz and Cacao kneeling before him. The video transmission had ended nearly one minute ago. "Would their requests get in the way of our plans?" Looking at Daiz, Arlic posed a question. Shaking his head, Daiz responded. "No, my lord!" Running his right hand through his recently cut hair, Arlic sighed. He had three requests asked of him, atop the assistance he had already promised. Arlic found that he despised playing the hero, carrying the hopes of others had never been his strong suit, after all. Still, if a little acting could achieve what Daiz claimed, then he was all for it.

Empires needed people and this world's, would be an excellent addition to his own. Besides, Daiz also stated that he didn't have to come of as a saint, he just had to step up when others wouldn't. That, he could do! "Cacao! Take a squad of [Mechanical Combat Troopers] and begin pushing back the enemy. Make sure to equip yourself with the [Anti-Parasitic Band] I gave you." Nodding, Cacao rose to his feet and saluted. "I will not fail you, my lord!" Before Cacao could even turn to leave, Arlic continued with his orders. "Daiz! Take a squad of [Mechanical Rescue Troopers] and begin saving as many lives as you can. Be certain to equip your [Anti- Parasitic Band] as well." Daiz rose to his feet and responded.

"I will not fail you either, my lord!" Turning on his heels, Daiz soon caught up with Cacao, who had already reached the [Transport Gate]. The gate was the only way that others could enter or exit the throne room. He was working on a larger version, but it would take time to complete. He was to busy, right now. Tapping his finger on his throne, Arlic wondered how Broly was doing. Closing his eyes, he sensed for Broly's [Ki]. When he felt his [Ki], Arlic vanished. He reappeared behind Paragus, who struck at him as he appeared. Arlic didn't even flinch, he simply stopped Paragus from moving with [Telekinesis] before the blow could connect.

"It looks as if you're training with Cacao and Daiz paid off. It seems to have reawakened your instincts, Paragus." Chuckling as he walked towards the pod, Arlic slowly allowed Paragus to move again. The old Saiyan dropped to his knees in apology. "Please forgive me, Lord Arlic! I… I didn't realize that it was you!" Arlic wasn't angry, no, he was elated. "You needn't apologize. I am quite happy that your time on [Planet Vampa] has made your instincts so sharp." Reaching the console that monitored Broly, Arlic nodded to Rasin before he continued speaking to Paragus.

"You have no ability to sense [Ki], yet you instinctively knew, that someone appeared behind you." Arlic was now reading through Broly's data, finishing, he turned to Paragus and smiled. "I would say that such an ability is a worthwhile skill. Wouldn't you?" Paragus was stunned, he thought that attacking the boy would get him killed. Instead, the boy was smiling at him. Even Rasin was grinning, the scene raised a question in his mind. "Why…would that be worthwhile?" Arlic smiled even brighter at his question. "Because, if your fighting instincts are that strong, after allowing them to degrade." Arlic turned to look at the pod behind him. "Then, how incredible would you say his are?" Paragus flinched at Arlic's words.

Paragus walked up to the pod. Placing his hand on the glass, he turned. "My son has always had strong instincts. His instincts could even be considered as being too strong…" Arlic spoke when he saw Paragus hesitate to continue. "You mean that he would often become ruled by them. Similar to when an untrained Saiyan assumes [Great Ape] form." Paragus flinched again. Yes…but how would you know that?" As Paragus turned to face Arlic, the latter answered. "Broly is as different from us as we are from Rasin here." Motioning at Rasin, Arlic continued. "That's not to say that Broly is a different species. No, it would be more accurate to call Broly a pure Saiyan. Or rather, a true Saiyan." Paragus was confused by the explanation.

Shaking his head, Paragus inquired further. "What do you mean, true Saiyan?" Motioning to both Arlic and himself, Paragus continued. "What would that make us?" Smiling, Arlic answered. "That would make us mutations. That is what evolution entails, after all." Holding his hand up, Arlic motioned for silence. Seeing the gesture, Paragus, who wanted to ask more questions, listened instead. "Broly is what might be considered a genetic throwback. He has somehow inherited the blood of our ancestors in its purest form." Arlic paused to pull up a display on Broly's pod. Pointing at certain images, he continued.

"This enables him to access near inexhaustible amounts of power. Unfortunately, Broly's body seems to only be able to handle so much of that power. As a result, his [Ki] or [Battle Power] enhances his body in order to safely contain it." Pulling up a string of red geometrical figures, Arlic pointed at the figures before continuing. "It does so, however, in a way that is all to familiar. As I mentioned, it is akin to becoming a [Great Ape]. His power increases drastically, but he loses all reason in the process." Arlic paused again, turning toward Paragus, he looked into the old Saiyan's eyes with a solemn expression before continuing.

"It also makes him far more dangerous than any [Great Ape]. Do not misunderstand, Broly has amazing potential. Anyone that met him would know that, however, having strength without wisdom to guide it, is meaningless. That would make him nothing more than a beast." Paragus shook his head, clearly upset. No! My son is no beast!" With his fists clenched, Paragus continued screaming. "He can control it! He will become the strongest of all Saiyan's! You'll see!" Paragus snarled that last sentence. Shaking his head, Arlic sighed. He really didn't enjoy speaking with this man. "If that were the case Paragus, then why did you place a [Shock Collar] around his neck?!" Paragus went still upon hearing Arlic's words.

Paragus knew in his heart that the young boy standing in front of him was right. His son was dangerous, when he lost himself to his instincts, Broly could not distinguish between friend or foe. If it had been anyone else to ask him such a question, Paragus would have likely denied it. Arlic had done nothing but help them, even now, just by speaking truth to his own obstinance. Paragus let loose a deep shaking breath. "Your right! I tried, but I knew nothing about being a parent. His mother was always so much better at such things." Seeming to calm down somewhat, Paragus continued. "She would be furious at how I have raised our son." Arlic walked up to Paragus, placing a hand on the old Saiyan's arm, he spoke. "Why not join me for some tea, you can tell me about her." Paragus hesitated before nodding, he had not spoken of such things in a long time.

*************************************************************************************

After the conversation with Paragus had ended, Arlic went to his quarters to bath. Arlic dried himself off and donned his armor. Looking at his new armor, Arlic thought about how much of an improvement it was compared to the [Battle Armor] used by the [Planet Trade Organization]. Arlic called it [Exo-Armor Type-01], he had designed it after armor he saw in video games in his former reality. It consisted of a thin layered [Hard Suit] overlay, with an [Exo-Suit] underlay. The overlay consisted of [Nano-Woven] metal of varying types, coated in a turn by self-repairing [Nanoparticles]. The underlaying [Exo-Suit] gave its wearer greatly enhanced resistance to extreme temperatures. Arlic also gave it a list of [Magical] upgrades to further enhance its overall functionality, including a magical script etched into the lining of the underlay, which granted its wearer the ability to breathe in a vacuum. All in all, the suit was a marvel, which was capable of withstanding a [Full-Power Kamehameha] from Goku himself and still not have a scratch on it.

To top it all off, he added a series of [Hard-Light Projectors] into the armor. In an emergency, this could project a shield around its wearer, potentially saving their life. Aside from his suit, Arlic also added further enhancements to his [Hard-Light Scouter]. It could now pick-up readings from [Magic Power] and [Psychic Power], this enhancement wasn't perfected yet, but it was getting closer. He even made improvements to his new circlet, he gave it the ability to repel any form of outside influence, mental or otherwise and act as a focus for [Ki Sense] in order to perform [Instant Transmission]. Gone were the days he had to place two fingers to his brow. Most importantly of any of his upgrades, however, were the ones he had performed on himself.

Arlic had been researching cybernetic enhancement. He used it to enhance his optic relay and reinforce his nervous system. This enhanced his reflexes to frightening levels and when partnered with the cognitive enhancements the pod had given him, he became capable of reacting on par against someone far faster than he was. That made Arlic incredibly happy, it meant he could at least escape an opponent that he wasn't capable of defeating. He had tested it on a few of the [Saibamen] first, after multiple successes, he authorized Rasin and Lakasai to enhance the rest. [Project Rebirth] was also nearing completion.

Arlic had taken Beets body from [Planet Vampa], using it he had already determined that the dead could be brought back. The only problems he noted, were that the longer the individual had been deceased, the longer resurrecting them took. Secondly, it could only be done once, after which, the magic he currently had access to, would no longer allow for it. Resurrecting the dead would assuredly get him noticed, but with his magical wards, Arlic was confident that the gods wouldn't find him. Not without making a wish, anyways, and all this universe's known [Dragon Balls] were being closely monitored.

With his armor now donned and his thoughts in order, Arlic made his way towards the [Transport Disc] platform. Once there he waved his right hand, space began to distort and soon, two [Elite Mechanical Guard]s took their place behind him. These where the units he designed to act as his royal guard, for the time being, at any rate. They had white armor with red capes hanging over their left shoulders. They both were outfitted with large, advanced repeating [Ray Gun] rifles and [Hard-Light] shields. Each unit was capable of combat against dozens of Frieza's elite soldiers. They would serve him well in his mission. He had a meeting to go attend, down on [Planet M-2]. That was the first request from the Magistrates, a face-to-face meeting to publicly demonstrate all party's willingness to cooperate. Of course, Arlic planned to do a bit more than just cooperate. He had realized, that was where his journey truly began.