Pomp and Circuitry [SPLIT]

Not too long after sending him straight towards the city, and while he had hoped the cyborg would catch himself before he landed down in it, the arcosian emperor had to improvise with what he had at hands. With a single, controlled jump, he would land on the street that K4 had crashed into, seeing a couple of broken storefronts, he sighed to himself, reaching for his communication device before saying.

'' Trace down the owners of these shops, and offer reparation for any damage this fight might cause... the last thing we want is to have a bunch of angry Tuffles claiming their financial situation were destroyed by the Arcosian Emperor.''

Then, his new 'Friend' got back up, and did not waste any time going around with accusations... wait, HIS kid? Which kid was he talking about? Ise perhaps? The emperor looked legitimately confused, until the rest of it came, and confirmed that he was talking about Ise... so this android was one probably owned by the late Hibernal... it weird... nothing in any documents he had to file up to about the late conqueror said anything about an android like this... probably some secret project he kept hidden from public eyes.

Nevertheless, Azoth had brought the android away to talk, and even though it seemed like it would go the same way it went with Vocado, he was compelled to try. Discarding the pavement that was thrown at him, he started to talk.

'' Look, I have no idea what you are talking about for the most part. I am on Plant right now because I was called to help by one of its citizens, and I was on Earth just then because of the construction of the first Arcosian Embassy. You are right though, I don't want Ise dead, but I don't want her to serve me either... I just want her not to fall into a spiral of endless vengeance-seeking and to destroy her life full of potential. If you are a half-decent person and want Ise's well-being, you know that Hibernal left her a legacy that will only lead to her suffering.''

The Emperor said, allowing himself to show his true colors to this unknown android, just to reach to him, hopefully.

'' But right now, I am not here for Ise. So if your only concern is about me, move out of my way. There is a planetary conflict here, I have no time to waste on some late Hibernal goon.''

With that, Azoth flared his energy around. A clear threat, and while he could not sense the android's ki, he had a feeling that this random android could not best him. Confidence slew gods, but he was not divine, just an Emperor with an ideal to defend.

---

Listening to this android was tiring on the long-term, and it only had been a few minutes even. This sort of know-it-all person, who kept talking like they knew the truth absolute, only to get the 'ah ah, got you' moment they oh so desire. Azoth did not care for that, and he was done trying to talk sense into people who would never hear it. He just kept nodding to whatever the android was seeing. The qualities of an Emperor would also need to be not triggering to the frustrated minds of those who knew nothing but themselves, after all.

The whole reverse psychology of 'you are the Hibernal Goon' did get a chuckle out of the Emperor. This whole situation was absurd, and the mental gymnastic of this android was impressive, to say the least. Did he really believe himself to be right? Of course, he did, that was the most absurbing thing about this whole moment.

'' You know, I could point out the dozen of things that are blatantly wrong about whatever you just spewed out of some strange desire to 'roast' me, but I do have casualties to prevent. Sadly, both our destinations are about in the same direction, so I can't really not 'come with' or take orders from you, for that matter.''

The Arcosian would simply say before lunging at the android at full speed. Well, in this form at least. His fist began to glow with energy, as he prepared his opening move against this robot. There was a detail kept in mind, one that would perhaps betray him, if K4 believed that the Emperor really cared.

Just when he was in range to fire his attack, he would slide to the ground, using his tail for direction, and go in between K4's legs. Once there, he would unleash his attack upward, trying to shoot the android in the air once more. The least amount of damage to the city, he was there to protect it after all.

If his attack went through, he would then jump towards the android that was presumably pushed upward and would attempt to knee him while rising, pushing him ever so higher.

---

Azoth's assault was met with fairly equal power from the cyborg, it seemed that this opponent was not all talk after all, but judging by the flux of energy in the air, that must have been all that he was capable of. The unfortunate part was that his opponent was still firmly on the ground... a pity really, Azoth would have to keep his fighting held back as to not blow up shops and buildings... at least his opponent was weak enough that he could manage to contain most of the damage to a minimum between the two of them... still... he was losing valuable time.

'' I was willing to let you go, but then you gave me a condition that I could not accept. Besides, I'm not an idiot, your plan was to join up with Ise and come back to me. There is no way that she would have fled with you. ''

Azoth simply answered to his opponent's unending quips. Since he was going to last for more than a blow, might as well exchange some information, it always paced the fights better to have a little discussion.

'' Not that you care, but you're an android, you don't have... fragile parts in that region, I was merely trying to get you into the air, away from the fragile buildings... not that someone like you would care.''

He let out, sighting to himself and waving with his hand before another surge of power came to him. His opponent was presumable open, it was time to slap some sense into the android.

'' You really know nothing about me, and here I thought you were that one android that seemed to have everything planned... so our first meeting really was just some failed attempts, wasn't it?''

The emperor was shooting in the dark here, he had no idea if this android was the same that he met back then, on Arcose, but things were looking increasingly similar.

His aura surged once again, and he would push his palm towards K4 once again. This time, a focused shockwave would come for the android, precise enough not to destroy anything else on its path, and strong enough to deal some real damage to his opponent.

'' You assume things about me. Accuse me of things that never crossed my mind, propose evidence for events you did not even witness yourself. I'm sure you think you're very smart, that you had all of this figured out... but the truth is, you're even more of a fool than I am, and I'm quite the fool, you would know.''

Azoth showed a smile. His optimism made him a fool in everybody's eyes, but only a fool with insane ideas could achieve what he wanted. Some form of unity, against all the evil in the world... it would all start with a fool's hope.

---

It seemed like the android was just as open to listening and actual conversation as the Arcosian initially believed. He was wasting precious time with this opponent, while the whole war was going on. The mention that he could be self-aware, after the moment where he admit he was a fool, has him nod to himself. Yeah, he was just looking for more points to belittle him and was taking interest in absolutely nothing else. The only remaining question was, should Azoth still bother, or should he just beat this thing to a pulp and be done with it?

Then, as the emperor had to follow him around a building that now had a K4-shaped hole in it, nothing too dramatic still, the android began to show some more true colors, ending with a reference to a 'Chat', which connected the dots in Azoth's mind. The android was not only recording but streaming their fight to a live audience... did he want to use this as his will or something? Too bad, Cheri had been clear on the matter, albeit a little late, that it was all a play. Besides, that would just be another of Ise's companions he would beat up, and next to Hibernal or Vocado, this one was pretty tame.

'' Mmhmm, so you're not just trying to roast me, you're trying to create polemic? I guess I did underestimate you on that point. Too bad you can't prove any of these accusations, and I've done quite the job at proving the contrary already.''

He said before being hit by a wave of... well... debris. It hit him in the back, with the arcosian being none the wiser. He had not seen it coming in the slightest, but it was also... well... kind of weak. He merely lost balance for a few instants, and while he did feel it, he only raised an eyebrow.

'' And now you're attacking me with the mess you're making... what a joke. You know Tuffles's livelihood depends on these things, right? Or do you just not care?''

Azoth would say before launching towards the Android and attempting to punch him away again. He knew that this opponent had a bad habit of using the terrain to his advantage, memories of their first meeting was pretty clear about that, so he wanted to bring the fight higher and higher, until the city was no longer at the mercy of this mad android.

---

Hearing the rambling of an angry android was becoming tiring for the Emperor. There he was again, imitating his voice and saying insane shit like he was collecting children... just because he helped one young Saiyan girl find her way in the galaxy, without ever restraining her in any way... besides, how did he know about that? It's not like Zuqetta was always with him, they did not even get here together... this android seemed to know so much, but also ignore a plethora of details... maybe it was malfunctioning? Thinking about that made Azoth feel kind of bad that he was about to beat it up.

'' As an Emperor, it is part of my duty to explain myself on any behavior I might have had, but someone like you probably doesn't understand the concept of duty. I must be transparent to my people, and I cannot afford defamation being thrown at me without reacting. And yes, lost children are the affairs of the state, and as such, mine. But I guess empathy might be lost on someone who blows up buildings just to hurt someone. ''

Azoth attacked, even though he knew that it wouldn't change the android's mind, or probably not affect him either, since he was so shameless as to use false facts against him just to set him off. It just felt good for a while to vent about those made-up facts.

When he heard that the android was nuclear-powered, Azoth raised an eyebrow. His communication device blared in recognition and gave Azoth a quick scan of the area, which did seem to be having some harmless radiation... for now.

'' Really, Nuclear? Man, with your appearance, I could not have guessed you were such an old model. Weren't you built on Arcose? Did you never trust your cover with me enough to have you upgraded? A plasma core would provide you with much more energy and uh... less murder cloud and big boom, as you so elegantly put it.''

Azoth shouted as he followed upward, accepting without a word to go into space, as he could survive there with relative ease. The perks of being an Arcosian, he supposed. Once they were close to exiting orbit, Azoth would look at the barrier surrounding the android. Too strong for him to easily break into with a simple technique, he would have to save his energy for a bit.

'' I can see that you are stalling, but I'm having a hard time figuring out if it is to keep me out of the conflict down there or to get something incriminating out of me... you of all people should know that there is nothing aside from baseless accusation that could be gotten on me, so I'd assume the former. But then, why live stream it? You're just giving people proof of what they already know.''

And it's not like Azoth would destroy K4 anyway, even if doing so would bring a certain amount of satisfaction, now that he connected the dots on who he was, and the multiple betrayals he comitted.

---

Azoth listened to the over-burdened explanation of K414 on what his obsolete technology was made of, even claiming that it was Arcosian in the first place... oh yeah, if it was, then it was literally so old, he probably never came into contact with it. And for a good reason too, why would they settle for a technology that could actually blow up a city if it malfunctioned? Let alone whole colonization ships. The android got done after talking about a few other topics, mainly why he live-streamed this event, again mentioning the 'Silver-spooned' thing, and to finish with the demand of his audience.

A moment passed, where Azoth silently picked up his communication device, and removed a small piece of it, revealing its core. A bright, glowing piece of tech that he was familiar with, since it also powered his ship, with a much larger piece, that is. He would wave it at K4, putting his hand behind as to allow the android to 'focus'.

'' This, is a 'Plasma Core'. We call it that, on Arcose. It is a super-battery, charged up by the whatever-it's-called we have around our star. We gather the dangerous energy of a star, then safely put it in small devices. It can last for centuries without needing a recharge, and the better part of it is...''

Azoth crushed it in his hand, and all that happened was a vague show of light. No radiation or harm came to them, only a vague change in temperature. The arcosian waved his hand around, letting the dust of the battery float away.

'' It doesn't make your city unhabitable when you destroy it. I might not understand HOW it works, but this technology is WIDESPREAD back home. So you might like archeology, I don't know, but this is a lot of knowledge about an obsolete piece of tech.''

The Emperor finally dropped, throwing his communication device away. He could replace it, it's not like he couldn't afford a simple piece of tech, he could even print one at the ship. Then, Azoth showed his hand with a single finger raised, as he counted down the claims of the android.

'' My 'Claimed' ideology is to unite the people of the universe against the evil that surrounds us. To create trade, cultural exchange, and strengthening of our bonds. This comes at the cost of murdering what's poisoning my own species, namely, General Hibernal, the genocidal conqueror. Even after giving him the chance of standing down. ''

He raised a second finger.

'' I was perhaps 'born' with a silver spoon in my mouth, but it was removed from me since before I can remember, as I was put through the tests and harsh performance-improving training of the Imperial Guard. I was raised a Warrior and did not have access to the wealth of my family until I was already a man. I worked for my money, as a low-life bodyguard, before I rose to the ranks and became Emperor. ''

He rose the third finger, throwing daggers at K4 with his eyes.

'' Ise's obsession with me had her board my ship in secret and try to assassinate me, while I did nothing to keep track of her location, monitor anything about her, or even try to make contact. You have access to that information, yet you keep going in the direction you would want things to go. Which leads me to...''

He finally rose the fourth finger.

'' 90%. That is my popularity over on Arcose last time we checked, a few months into my reign. Your chat might be composed of that 10%, and they are a necessary part of any state, opposition is important, but even if we voted a leader, I would come on top. I have narrowed the gap between the nobility and the population, we're seeing a distribution of wealth across Arcose never seen before. Luxury is finally landing in the hands of those who were unfortunate before. I am an Emperor of the people, not the nobility, or any fixed 'ideology' you want to pin on me. I also welcome anyone in your chat to form an official party and have their ideas shared with the world, instead of following a fool who did not even bother to keep track of energy technology in the last century.''

Azoth closed his hand into a fist. There, he wanted answers? Of course, he did not, but he would have them anyway. The arcosian then took a deep breath, in, and then out.

'' In conclusion, you either outright lie to everyone who follows you, Forkay... or you. know. nothing. ''

With those final words, Azoth would lunge at K414 with all of the speed his true form would allow him to, and would attempt to punch him square where his stomach would be. The goal was to, once again, drag him around for another trip, this time across the sky of Plant, as he would repeatedly punch him to go further until he crushed into some mountain, or the android caught himself back.

---

Once again, Azoth found himself listening to that android, kind of just bored of it all at this point. Yeah, he was using a reactor, something that was obsolete and dangerous, and pointing it out apparently wasn't going to go through the android's thick skull. In fact, anything he said wouldn't go through, and K4 seemed to be convinced that Azoth was just another incompetent ruler that would change nothing of his civilization. Breadcrumbs to millions? He quite literally disbanded the most unfair part of the wealth redistribution around the planet, and most of that money went into the salary of the lower class. He literally had to plan for help from the moons on construction new habitation district, since there was an increase in income so wide, people were improving their residence by the thousands at a time.

But this time, Azoth chose the high road. Even a fool like himself could recognize when the person in front of him had no intentions of giving away any square meter of ground. His face did not show any irritation anymore, he just went calm, serene, and nodded to him. The android had descended into mindless insults, the likes of which he wouldn't even try to disprove. He just nodded along, not even giving the slightest bit of satisfaction to K4, he simply did not care anymore.

After the android was done, Azoth would let a few seconds of silence go through, once again. Then, he opened his mouth, but instead of anything remotely resembling a counter-argument, or even a proper sentence, Azoth simply whispered to himself.

'' Nova Cannon.''

Before a massive beam of energy came out of his chest's bio-gem, and towards K414. Azoth's energy effortlessly fluctuated and roared towards the android. That shield would not protect him, in fact, nothing would. It was aimed slightly upward so that the android would be sent up, and not back down, towards the city.

---