Floating there high above the blue trees of this planets forest, Arlicks chest rises and falls with heavy beats of his determination to remain alive.
His armor cracked and chipping, entire parts missing.
His hair was stained with dirt and blood, his under layers were torn to ribbons and his flesh was cut, bruised, and burned.
One eye was swollen shut, the other saw the world through a red tint, his scouter was cracked and it's already faint beeping was beginning to add to his headache.
Looking around he saw four new opponents rising up to his level in the sky, the others had switched out. Not that they'd be alive much longer with the wound he gave them mind you.
He looked around, these furry bastards encircled him, the rest of his team were being slaughtered and all he could do was try and stay alive while he waited for their leader Kakarot to arrive and put an end to this.
The Fox people tended to each other as one of the new fighters opened his mouth to speak.
"You've killed enough of our people today monster! I Kizaruh and my team will be the ones who shall eliminate you!" Kizaruh, apparently, called out to him as he and his goons rushed in on Arlick who smirked and flashed behind one of his assailants.
His hands gripped the top of his head and chin before harshly pulling right and with a tough snap his body went limp and the Fox plummeted toward the ground.
"No! Maru!" Cried Kizaruh as he threw a punch that grazed Arlicks cheek, only for Arlick to then jam his hand through the chest of Kizaruh, the bloody fist gripped the fox-mans still beating heart on the other side. Quickly Arlick used his body as a shield from the incoming ki blast. The fur on his back became singed and blood gushed from his nostrils, eyes, and mouth.
Pulling hard to the right Kizaruh's body shifted before slipping off Arlicks arm and falling to the earth. His fingers laxed as he let the heart fall as well.
Two were left. All he had to do was hold out. They dropped the distance and rushed in and threw flurries of punches and kicks that Arlick barely blocked or had to take head on.
A fur covered fist hit his side and he heard another snap in his side.
'And that makes seven broken ribs.' Arlick thought as he brought a hand up and unleashed a massive ki bomb right in the face of some unnamed fox that had just broken his rib.
And that left only one, a Fox that looked significantly older than the rest with his reddish gray fur and many gold rings adorning his body.
"You have fought well. Allow me to give you a death befitting of a warrior of your caliber." Said the elder fox removing several of his gold rings and a paper tag from his sash.
His once yellow aura flared before it took on a heinous red and radiated immense heat.
"No elder Maki that form is forbidden!" Shouted a squeaky voice from below.
The elder said no words, and Arlick felt no will left to attempt to interfere with the transformation.
The once scrawny elder Maki put on immense muscle in seconds as several tails sprouted from his back, nine in total, and his reddish gray fur became a pure gold with black accents.
Floating across from Arlick was no average warrior, this was a true fighter. This elder who had to use a forbidden form in order to beat him.
"I can take a guess what you and your people must think of me. But just know I'll take pride in knowing it took a forbidden technique to kill me." Arlick announced shrugging off the remnants of his armor and charging up his signature attack in his left palm.
He felt his purple aura flare around him, his long spiky hair that normally would be slicked back ending at the nape of his neck stood up completely in the pressure kicked up by his aura.
"I'm gonna give you everything I have left gramps! So you'd better return the favor!" Arlick roared as the ball of ki in his left palm took shape of a crazy spiraling shower of green energy.
The elder finished powering up, along with the golden fire and nine tails he now had four ears and arms along with a massive halo at his back.
"I will gladly take death if it means bringing salvation to my people." His voice came with a legion effect and Arlick smirked at this.
"Couldn't have said it better myself."
They locked glares as Arlick prepped to launch his attack, Maki did the same.
"Spiral Destruction Wave!" Roared Arlick as the green ball let loose a spiraling wave of energy.
"Great Beast Canon!" Snarled Maki as the ember beam shot from all nine tails conjoining into one massive ray that collided with Arlicks attack.
The struggle lasted for all of two seconds before Arlick was overpowered and the ember colored energy wave took him. The seering pain made him shout in agony, it passed him by in seconds that felt like eternity, and even after it was done he felt the pain still. He was done.
No longer able to hold himself up he began to fall. But before he moved on to join his brothers in hell he saw the glint of their leader Kakarot's pod entering the atmosphere.
And so Arlicks last action in this miserable, pathetic, excuse for life was an insidious laugh that shook his once opponents to the core.
Finally his body his the floor and all life dissipated from his body. He was moving on.
Arlick awoke once more to his surprise, even more surprising was the painless feeling he had all over.
But he was not in the familiar green fluid of the healing pods. No he stood before a massive red skinned demon that sat behind a desk with a notebook open in front of him. His blue, black and yellow armor now replaced with a white yukata. His slicked back, black spiky that ended just above the nape of his neck was pristine once more, and both his grey eyes had returned to normal. He started momentarily at his reflection in the giant polished tile.
"Next." Said the giant startling Arlick who looked up in immense confusion before realization hit him.
He laughed, a sick laugh of a man whose mind was no longer whole.
The red skinned giant started down waiting for Arlick to complete his fit of laughter.
"I-I get it, I've finally reached he'll right?" Arlick es laughed as he bent over feeling his chest tighten from the hilarity of this situation.
The red skinned giant flipped through his pages before looking down once more and tapping his lower lip with his pencil.
"Hell? No not quite, in fact you'll probably wish for hell sooner or later. Anyway you've been randomly selected to assist 'The Supreme Kai of Time'," the title was spoken with a hint of malice, "with a very important project she's been working on. Enjoy the afterlife." Said the red skinned manned before stamping something in the notebook causing the floor beneath Arlicks feet to open and send him spiraling down into the black abyss.
Arlick fell for what felt like hours before finally exiting the black void and entering a world with purple skies and several moons with wide green fields.
'The warriors paradise?' He thought as he quickly approached the ground, stopping himself inches before impact by initiating flight, the whole thing made him feel nostalgic reminding him of the day his father taught him to fly.
"Ah perfect you're finally here." Said the cheery yet demanding voice of someone whose ki he could not sense.
He continued floating there now upside down as he twisted in mid-air looking around curiously.
"Over here." The voice said again as he turned once more, this time noticing the pale pink skin and fiery orange head of head on the little girl whose ki he still couldn't sense.
Fighting himself before landing he looked on confused.
"Why have I been spared the inferno of Hades?And what did the giant demon speak of?" Arlick asked walking over to the girl.
"Funny you should ask really." She chuckled before placing both hands on her hips. "You see there are different number of universes, we reside in universe seven. You come from branch 37C of universe seven, not a half bad branch by any means but certainly not the best." The girl explained making Arlick irk as his brow twitched.
She coughed, "My point, I've started an organization called the time patrol, we right errors in time. Problem is I can only place you in the time stream where the error occurs and not much else." The girl smiled sticking her tongue out.
"So...I will live again. To save life?" Arlick asked seemingly confused.
"Such is the will of Chrona the Supreme Kai of Time."
With a shrug Arlick let the upper half of his Yukata fall to his waist as he looked down to his scarred form, the defined muscles, the years of hard work and effort.
"Will I retain the body I have now or shall I be starting over from scratch?" Asked Arlick as he stared intently at Chrona.
"Unfortunately as a side effect of time insertion your body will become that of what is was when you were and infant, though your mind shall remain that of what it is now." Chrona explained and Arlick sighed.
"I expect I have Lettie choice in all this fine, send me off so that I may suffer through life again." Arlick said approaching Chrona.
"Life isn't so bad, you just had a ruff time living under a hard dictator. I can almost guarantee you this one isn't half as bad." Chrona explained as her hands rose up and a white portal opened up mere feet from them.
Arlick starred once more at the girl. He patted her head before turning to step through the portal.
In flash of brilliant white light Arlick was gone, and Chrona was alone once again. Until a giant white owl landed on her head with an obnoxious little loud "TOKI!"
I drifted through the rift with each passing second my body shrunk and I felt years vanish from me as I grew smaller and smaller, my tail unraveled from its place on around my waist as did my yukata it floated off before vanishing completely. Now no larger than a year old infant I drifted until the world constructed itself around me.
This body felt numb, and I couldn't move at least not significantly. All I could really tell was that I was being shifted violently, and that whoever was carrying me was huffing heavily.
My infant eyes were shut tight and no matter how much I willed it they refused to open.
"Oh, Bardock there you are! Do you have Kakrot!?" Asked a feminine voice, most likely the one carrying me. The name made me tense and my body shifted.
"I do. Quickly you must take them and flee. I must go and confront Freeza." Another bundle was passed over nudging me slightly.
"Be safe my sons, for you carry upon your shoulder the blood of our race. Survive like other who have been sent away. Survive and should we fail, surpass us someday." We're the words of this Bardock before his footfalls carried him off, and the woman was carrying us away once more.
A loud crash was heard and both me and Kakarot began to cry. The jostling finally stopped as the woman placed us into a familiar feeling chair of what had to be a space pod.
A sniffle was heard just outside the pod as the door slowly began to hiss closed.
"Goodbye my sons. Just know that for every second I have left I'll spend it giving you all my love and devotion.
The pod finally closed and my eyes opened in Tien to sneak a peek at a petite saiyan woman with long spiky hair reminiscent of my own as tears streamed down her face, the pod launched and ins esconda we were past the atmosphere.
My last sight was seeing a giant ball of ki come forward and consume what must've been my home world.
This new life already seemed so promising...
