ABAS hovered above East City, listening to the song of the wind.

It was an odd experience for the bio-android. So much of his existence had been spent fighting, learning, and pushing himself harder and harder to meet the highest of hurdles. He had never taken the time to simply sit and be. ABAS was ambivalent about the whole thing: on the one hand, it felt.....good to relax, to remove himself from the constant pain and forward drive of the Crane School. On the other (stronger) hand, it felt like this whole thing was a waste of time. There were so many more productive things he could be doing than wasting his time high above a city of humans, simply meditating.

However, the Crane Hermit had insisted he work in multiple hours of such practice each day. Shen had been horrified and enraged that despite being so powerful, ABAS didn't know the first thing about sensing another's ki. He could understand why in hindsight: he had muddled along fairly well just by judging the pressure others exerted on him. On the whole, everyone had been so much stronger than him that it ultimately didn't matter the depth of their ki. Despite this, ABAS couldn't deny that acquiring such a skill would be useful, especially as he grew stronger.

And so he meditated, stretching out his perceptions towards the numerous miniature ki signatures below. ABAS could feel their life energies brushing up against one another, twinkling and mixing as they moved to and fro. He brushed across the surfaces of their minds, listening to their thoughts of stress, anxiety and worry. His charges felt so....delicate. So blissfully unconcerned about the threats that circled before their gates with hungry glances. But then again, why would they be concerned?

They had people like him to deal with the mess.

ABAS' darkening thoughts were broken by the arrival of a new ki, far stronger than the rest and approaching the city quickly from the South East. It was weak enough to not be anything terribly serious, but ABAS figured he might as well check it out on the off chance it was some PTO soldier looking for a quick buck.

---

Liek would feel a woosh of displaced air as the wind kicked up, as if disturbed by some giant hand. ABAS, containment suit and all, would practically materialize out of nothing from Liek's perspective, arms held limply at his sides.

"Greetings young Sayian, might I ask of your purpose with this city?"

---

Weighted PL: 15,805
Larval Form [x5]: 79.027

Suppressed to 20,000

WC: 422
TWC: 422

East City was the first city young Liek had ever seen. As he had approached initially he had felt like his heart was migrating up into his throat even as his chest tightened and his fingers got cold and shivered. His knowledge about cities was limited entirely to a few books and the stories his Grandmother had told him of her life before…

But seeing it for himself…

Great towers of concrete, steel and glass looming like mountains gathered together in the middle of a sprawl that spread out for kilometres in all directions. The buildings where in all shapes and sizes, ranging from tall, uniform rectangles, stacking rectangles with pyramids on top and even some that appeared to be spindly tubes with spheres and saucers on top of them. As the buildings got further out they shapes became more like boxes and domes. And the range of colours! Sure, most of the buildings had a white-grey exterior, but many had coloured roofs. Those that did ran the whole spectrum of the rainbow in terms of selections, yellows, blues, reds, greens, if your could imagine a colour a building had it for a roof. A few didn’t even choose just one and just painted the entire rainbow.

And then there was the sounds drifting up from the streets below. Liek may not have had any kind of super hearing, but he could still hear the cacophony of the myriad voices from below mixed in with the sounds of animals, dogs barking, birds chirping and the like along with the blaring of horns and sirens.

But that wasn’t all, strange new smells assaulted his nostrils. For boy raised in the woods the smells of a city where pungent and thick. The acrid scratching of carbon fuels, the lingering traces of rotting trash and worse in the forgotten and ignored alleys.

It was all so… much!

It was overwhelming it blinded his ki sense. He knew there was life down there, so, so much life. But he couldn’t muster even the little bit of focus needed to feel it as all the new things assaulted his senses and mind. Like a fog, thick and impenetrable, all the new things clouded his mind, practically blinding him.

Until a strange voice, clear and concise, cut through it and snapped him back to the moment.

It caused the teen to stop dead in his tracks as his lagging mind took a moment to process what it had just heard. Eventually he concluded he’d heard a greeting and a question about why he was in the city? If so then fair and reasonable.

“Oh, uh… Hi I’m Liek and-” The boy cut himself off as he looked at the person who had addressed him.

His eyes widened as his mouth ran dry, his heart hammering in his chest as he remembered stories from his Grandmother. Tales of her youth. The boy dropped into a defensive stance on reflex as his mind tried to process what it was seeing.

“A Fury?!” He half-whispered with a trembling voice. Then realisation clicked, “No… that can’t be right… they’re all…” He shook his head and dropped his stance.

“Sorry about that. I mistook you for someone.” He apologised before taking another look at the armoured creature before him. With his earlier concerns dismissed a sense of childlike wonder, partially fueled by the adrenaline kick he’d just received, overtook the young man, “But, wow! You look really cool in that gear! Like… what are they called? A Super Hero! Or something?”

It was then another person appeared. And it was also at this moment that Liek’s ki senses kicked back in and HOLY NOODLE. The half-breed Saiyan began involuntarily shaking, his breath becoming shallow as his skin became coated in a cold sweat. The powers before him pressed down on his senses like he was pebble pressed between two continental plates during a tectonic event.

The newcomer was a girl with animal ears and a tail. This was the first time he was meeting a girl, heck this was the first time he was meeting anyone really. He’d never spoken to anyone other then his Grandmother before, so this was all very new to him. Not that he wasn’t entirely unprepared to see a girl closer to his own age, his Grandmother had shown him photos of herself and her friends from her younger years.

Even so, nerves and the power he felt slamming down on his caused his mouth to run dry as he managed to gasp out, “H-hello… I’m Liek...”

---

Word Count: 761
TWC: 996

Opherla looked at the two and eyed them up and down. Liek was clearly scared despite his attempts to hide it, as Opherla caught on to that immediately. Given his Power Level, Opherla clearly understood he needed some help in the world, given the fact he did truly look confused and was just starting out. She had to admit, he had a lot of potential, he felt similar to what Zaks did, a Demonic yet Saiyan presence about him. Opherla could definitely help him out.

Now for the android, at first glance, he looked like something that was a bit menacing at first, however, given his stature, and, more importantly, the tone he approached the situation in, he seemed like he was a decent droid, not truly out for blood like the androids from legends before had told. Opherla was pretty sure she didn't have to ditch her super weights to assert her dominance, she had two figures trying to make heads or tails of the situation they found themselves in. For Liek, it was getting used to his surroundings. For ABAS, it was figuring out why Liek was here. Easy peasy for Opherla today!

"Well, gentlemen, it's nice to meet the both of you. My name is Opherla, I'm originally from West City and I'm training to become a defender of the planet, so you and I share common goals, ABAS." Opherla stated calmly as she folded her arms, the tension now fading to a friendly environment. "Why don't the two of you tell me about yourselves? Let's start there, shall we? I don't see a reason why the three of us couldn't be friends, after all." Opherla remarked. And why couldn't they? They all seemed to have the same mindset about them, at least, not a dangerous mindset, she deduced. It was probably the start of a beautiful friendship between the three of them! Well, that might be going too fast, but hey, it pays to be optimistic, right?

WC: 331
TWC: 562

ABAS cocked his head in confusion, "Why would you call me Abe? My name is ABAS. It may be a name given to me rather than one I choose myself, but it describes me rather well don't you think?" He asked, curious. Of course, ABAS didn't really care what other people chose to call him. Getting offended over such minor things was a foolish indulgence, an imperfection of the standard mind. However, as always, the burning curiosity at his core had to be satisfied.

Despite this question, ABAS' attention was soon drawn to the Beastfolk known as 'Opherla', who was also apparently training to defend Earth. ABAS dipped his head in respect, "I am glad to have such a powerful ally then Ms. Opherla. Perhaps we can spar sometime? I feel like we can both gain much from the experience." He questioned. The bio-android had, after all, been forced to leash and contain his power for the last few weeks under Shen, and even he wasn't sure what he was capable of anymore if he unleashed his true power. If his suspicions of the Beastfolk's hidden depths were correct, then perhaps she would be a good metric for him to test himself.

"Sadly I cannot tell you much about myself other than my name. Most important parts about me are classified and I am under orders to protect that secrecy at all costs. However, I can tell you that I am utterly devoted to protecting Earth and its natural residents, and I am dedicated to growing strong enough to achieve that goal. At any cost."

ABAS's brow wrinkled in thought, scanning through his mental lexicon of human culture. The concept of "friends" was mentioned many times, but it seemed so routine to humans and other species that a definition was never given. Before he agreed to such a compact, he would need to learn more. "What does being a friend entail? I have never had one of these 'friends' before, so I would like to know what I am getting myself into." He asked politely, turning to Liek. Perhaps the young Sayian could fill him in?

However, when ABAS turned to ask the boy for help, he stopped. The slight flush on his cheeks, the quickening of his breath to allow for more oxygen and most of all, the laser sharp focus on Opherla. That must mean....

"Do you require assistance Liek? You seem to be in a state of emotional arousal. Whether it is hatred or something else, I am sure we can work something out." ABAS asked calmly, reaching out to pat the young Sayian on the back with one massive metal gauntlet. "Either way, I still commend your courage Liek. Not many civilians would leave behind everything they are comfortable with in order to pursue their goals. Overcoming that simple animal instinct requires great presence of mind. Still, I must ask you something." ABAS said, his expression inscrutable behind his visor.

"Is this conviction of yours, that power is only meant to help others, your own philosophy? Or one that you merely inherited from your Grandmother? It is important for humans to develop their own outlook on life rather than simple go along with the viewpoint of others."

---

Weighted PL: 15,805
Larval Form [x5]: 79.027

Suppressed to 20,000

WC: 492
TWC: 1456

“Yeah, but ABAS isn’t a name. It sounds like someone stuck the words Abs and ass together, and you don’t have one and aren’t acting like the other. So it doesn’t suit you.” Liek ‘logicked’ his response back at the bio-android. He was not letting the name thing go. Everyone deserved a proper, real, name, no matter how ‘fitting’ of an acronym may be.

Surprisingly this was not Liek’s first encounter with what was considered classified information. Technically he wasn’t even supposed to know about the one piece of classified information he did know about, but his Grandmother had twisted a few arms, and possibly other appendages, to get him the clearance. What was this piece of information? It was about an attack on an Earth military base on the Northern Continent a hundred years ago. That bases destruction marked the first, and only, open conflict between Earth and the Fury. Shortly after the base’s destruction Liek’s Grandmother and her group managed to turn the tide against the Fury. The story told to the public was that there had been a catastrophic accident during a training exercise and the base was then abandoned. The sole survivor of the attack became a member of Liek’s Grandmother’s group shortly after.

“Friends are…” Liek wasn’t as well versed on the topic as he would like, but he did have his own interpretation of what the concept was, “People who you can trust and rely on. You can tell them your deepest secrets, count on them in your moments of need and just know they’ll have your back no matter what.” he explained, “A true friend will support their friends to the best of their abilities… and should be supported by their friends just as readily.”

“Huh?” Liek gulped as the bio-android called him out on having feelings, even if the android was wrong about exactly what feelings they where, “NoO! EveRytHing is jUst fInE!!”

Was his conviction his own philosophy? This bio-android sure didn’t pull punches with his questions, that’s for sure. But really, it was a fair question. After all, someone who didn’t actually believe in the convictions they espoused couldn’t be trusted.

He looked the taller bio-android in the eye and replied, “I don’t know how to express it in my own words as well as Grandma did. But I do know that I hate the idea of hurting people, even hunting for food wasn’t something I did for fun. I enjoyed the tracking the target, but I never enjoyed the killing part. It always made me feel sad and guilty, even though it was the only way to get food. On the other hand I always enjoyed the feeling of helping the creatures of home. I’ve nursed a lot of animals back to health after they where injured in accidents, and seeing them return to the wild was always…” He touched his chest and smiled, “It was a great feeling. Same as when I stopped them from getting hurt in the first place.” with a tilt of his head he asked, “Does that answer your question?”

---

WC: 516
TWC: 1,858

Opherla was glad to hear that ABAS would be willing to spar with her today. It was important that Earth had capable defenders to make sure it was safe from every evil that roamed the planet and roamed outside of the planet, so getting some training in with ABAS as soon as possible was definitely something Opherla would habe on her list of things to do for today. She was honestly very excited about this, having not sparred with someone for a while, not since she got knocked out by Athren months ago. That was a thing of the past now, since she was finding many more fighters that were around her level of skill and power she could safely spar with, without risk of injury too much for her, or them.

Opherla then heard ABAS' counter argument to the points she had brought up, as at first, her gaze narrowed a bit, as if studying ABAS' every word to know if he was truly worthy of being a defender of Earth, or if he was going to have to be put down here and now, but as his explanation began drawing to a close, Opherla's gaze turned from stern discernment to relieved understanding. She had completely misjudged what he had meant in his earlier statement. He wasn't about to go on a senseless killing spree just to get himself more power, he just wanted to get strength by any means necessary within reason, and knowing that there were some risks and sacrifices needed to be taken in order to move forward. Opherla rested easy, knowing that, while he might be a bit crueller than her in the sense of knowing people had to die and not letting that affect him in his path of strength, he still had Earth's best interests in mind, and that definitely put Opherla's mind at ease.

"Allow me to apologize, ABAS." Opherla stated as she gently bowed before the Bio-Android Sentry. "I misunderstood what you had meant by your previous statement. I was under the impression you would go to such lengths as to kill people senselessly in order to get stronger. I was clearly mistaken, you understand that there has to be some sacrifices made in order for people like you and I to become stronger. On a surface level, I don't like it one bit. On a deeper level however, I know I can't save everyone." Opherla declared to ABAS as she nodded while continuing her statement. "To answer your question, I have two sides to that answer."

"On one side, the emotional side of me would act impulsively and save those people without a second thought. This would save their lives and allow them to live happy for the rest of their days on this beautiful planet, and in return, they would greet me with gratitude and goodwill in thanks that I saved them. In the short term, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, in long term, it could set me back on training I desperately need to get in order to become strong enough to save the planet later down the line. I could fail, and the world could die. And the one regret I might have is the fact of leaving those people so I was more prepared." Opherla answered on the one side of her coin.

"Now we flip to the other side, the reality check me. In reality, I need to leave those people to die. Because if I lose any precious moments in order to become stronger, knowing later down the line I need that strength to save Earth, I can't let the lives of a few dictate to me what to do with control of the fates over the lives of many. If I fail down the line, I fail those few people just as I'll fail the world, so every moment I can get stronger, I take it, and I use it to the best efficiency possible." Opherla answered with a hardened gaze to show the other end of the coin.

"It isn't pretty, you're very much right, ABAS. This world, I mean." Opherla declared. "People can't just sit on their laurels and expect the world to be safe anymore. We need to be prepared at all times for the worst of the worst. It's times like these I need to hide away my emotions, and only work in the reality of the moment, knowing if I lose focus for even a second, it will cost the lives of many more that I could have saved." Opherla added as she sighed. "The universe is cruel, forcing us to maintain such a delicate balance of emotional attachment and physical focus on our training, but it's what we have to do in order to make sure the Earth is safe from any and all dangers that are coming for it. And I, for one, am glad we see eye to eye on this topic, even if you're a little harsher than I am." Opherla told ABAS.

Meanwhile, she turned to Liek and smiled brightly at him. "Liek, you and I think a lot alike, as I can see. You care for the world, but you understand there needs to be a balance of protecting it, and unfortunately, letting some people die. It's a sad truth, but it's no different than the mix of emotions on a hunt, as you described them." Opherla explained as she smiled firmly. "I think you have a bright future ahead of you if you keep that outlook. Help whoever you can, but don't linger too long. You need to be ready at all times, for anything, Liek." Opherla said with a smile as she knew that Liek's heart was in the right place. He just needed some help getting enough strength so he could help Opherla and ABAS to defend the earth so there wouldn't have to be people dying for absolutely no reason.

WC: 994
TWC: 2,440

"I see. Nevertheless, I feel as though my point stands. Your judgment on Opherla's muscle structure is most acute Mr. Liek" ABAS said almost absently, still focused on Opherla as she ruminated on his words. In truth, he had had precious little experience actually debating with sapients in situations where they couldn't simply order him to stop arguing. It was a crying shame in his opinion: he quite enjoyed the clash of word against word and wit against wit. Many a time after his "training" in the Blacksite, he would lay quietly in his healing tank and consume philosophical treatises and spirited debates like a Sayian did food. Now that he actually had the chance to test his particular spin on human philosophy, there was almost nothing that could hold him back.

Liek's complaints about his definition of friendship, however, needed to be addressed. ABAS turned his head, light reflecting off his mirrored visor as he stared at the annoyed Sayian youngling. "I apologize if my comment was offensive Mr. Liek. Both of your descriptions of this 'friendship' seemed to center on the services each member provided for one another, so I assumed that was the practice's purpose." ABAS said.

Honestly, he was still pretty convinced that was exactly what friendship was. This seemed to be one of those cases in which humans attached labels to simple concepts in order to make themselves feel good about themselves. In ABAS' opinion, companionship was only another example of the mutual benefit that was the bedrock of these friendships. Honestly, he wasn't interested in trying to convince Liek of this, so he let the matter drop.

ABAS shook his head almost disapprovingly at Opherla's words and bow. "Your apologies are entirely unneeded Ms. Opherla. It was a reasonable assumption given my statement, and I will try my best to be clearer in the future." Despite how utilitarian the bio-android considered himself to be, ultimately there needed to be an end to justify the mean in his opinion. Slaughtering senselessly had no purpose except stroking one's ego, and was, therefore, the height of stupidity.

He would listen quietly and attentively to Opherla's response, unmoved by the gusts of wind currently buffeting his airborne form. He was glad Opherla was not like one of those ki-wielders that thought they were in some kind of comic book, and actually had the self-knowledge necessary to reflect on her philosophy. Surprisingly, she not only agreed with ABAS' rather brutal views, but even went so far as to paint a nearly identical picture to his own!

ABAS let loose a pleased few clicks of his beak, "It seems we are in agreement then Opherla. If I may, I would like to extend my sincere apologies as well. I momentarily thought you rather foolish for not seeing the truth of the matter and focusing on the moment rather than the entire picture." He said, extending Opherla a gentle bow of his own. The effect was slightly ruined by the metallic groaning of ABAS's Super Heavy Armor, but it was the thought that counted right?

"If I may raise one point of objection, however, it is not the universe that is cruel. One does not blame gravity for prejudice any more than one would lecture a pulsar for inventing murder. It is the sapient individuals that surround us that change society from a utopia of pure logic and reason to one where physical might and selfishness are not only a necessity but a way of life. In a perfect world, there would be no need for such things, but to exert our will, to be free, it is necessary to be strong."

After all, it was not like ABAS saw fighting and training as something enjoyable. His true joy was in more intellectual pursuits, to learning more about himself and the world around him. However, he had never been given a choice in that regard. Power was his birthright after all, and without his constant striving for perfection and martial strength, it was very likely that the Blacksite would just kill him on the spot if someone else didn't get him first. Ever since his encounter with Athren, he had had no illusions about how the general world likely regarded him. If he wanted freedom, if he wanted the opportunity to search for his own reason for existing, he needed to be strong. Currently, that was the only reason he existed in the first place.

ABAS was snapped out of his reverie by Liek's outburst. It seemed that his advice had pushed the young Sayian a little over the edge, and he was making his ire known. The bio-android internally sighed. Had he tempted fate by being grateful that Opherla wasn't completely naive?

"If you truly believe that, then you have no place on a battlefield Mr. Liek." ABAS said bluntly. "I don't mean to insult you, but that is the honest truth. As much as you might wish it, life is not a storybook. If you are truly dedicated to saving people, then you should be dedicated to saving as many as possible. I'm sure it will probably feel very nice at the moment to have the moral high ground. But-and I apologize if this is harsh-if you are unwilling to sacrifice the few to save the many, then all that means is that your morality matters more to you than the lives you claim to treasure. The feeling is small benefit to be sure, but it disregards the larger one." He said.

Of course, ABAS was fully aware of the hypocrisy he was spouting. In the end, human life was only sacrosanct to him due to the Blacksite's programming. Without it, he would gladly sacrifice the whole lot of them for a large enough reward. But while he was bound to save them, ABAS figured he might as well try to maximize the amount he kept alive. That way, he acquired the most benefit.

As another example of his point, ABAS raised his arms, pointing one at the city and one at Liek. "Suppose, for instance, I told you to go down and kill one person right now or I would kill you and slaughter a hundred in the next ten minutes. As you are now, you can’t overcome me. If you can’t reason with me or change my mind, what would you do?" He said, lowering his arms to his sides once again.

"As for your points against killing, well I won't deny they are factors. But if you want to be a fighter instead of a paramedic or emergency worker, then you must weigh how important and pressing such factors are against your overall goals. However, if you are willing to risk lives on the mere chance that a villain will be redeemed, then that is your decision." ABAS finished, crossing his arms.

This conversation was beginning to wear on him. Surprisingly, Liek's foolish adherence to "morality" and black-and-white was beginning to irritate the bio-android. He had tried to guide the boy on the correct path to being a "hero" on a whim in the first place. ABAS respected the boy's courage and determination to accomplish his goals and genuinely desired to give him the push toward greatness if that was what he wanted. But, as always, ABAS could not abide inefficiency. If he let such a half-assed philosophy pass him by, it would irritate him to no end!

"Anyways, it seems all three of us desire to grow stronger. Shall we move this discussion to the training field?"

---

Weighted PL: 15,805
Larval Form [x5]: 79.027

Suppressed to 20,000

WC: 1255
TWC: 3640