I'm sorry it took me so long to publish a new chapter. I spent all my time playing Pragmata haha
I dedicate this chapter to Hugh Williams~
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The constant noise of West City was deafening compared to the tranquility of New Namek or Planet Vampa.
Neon lights, huge holographic screens, and crowds of humans walked back and forth.
Both Broly and Paragus felt overwhelmed.
Even so, that lasted a short time.
"THIS IS INCREDIBLY GOOD!" Broly exclaimed, yelling at the top of her lungs, causing dozens of heads to turn and look at them in surprise.
She held a large chocolate ice cream cone in her free hand.
She had taken a huge bite of the frozen scoop, getting a little on her nose and cheeks, making a slight grimace as she felt her brain freeze, and now she looked at Zaiko with actual little stars shining in her eyes, completely fascinated.
As she hopped slightly with excitement, her other hand tightly squeezed Zaiko's hand, intertwining her fingers with his without any intention of letting go.
Zaiko simply smiled, looking at her in amusement.
Walking exactly two steps behind, Paragus kept his arms firmly crossed over his chest.
He looked at his daughter's ridiculous and cheerful behavior for a second before snorting and averting his gaze toward the crowds of humans moving out of his way.
"Hmpf..." Paragus muttered to himself, frowning. "They are a technologically underdeveloped race and complete weaklings... but I suppose they at least have decent food."
About two hours had passed since Zaiko had used Kai-Kai and they had crossed the universe to arrive on Earth.
From the precise moment they arrived, all they had done was walk aimlessly through West City.
Of course, that little sightseeing tour had required some improvised funding.
Zaiko slid his free hand into his inner chest pocket, touching a wad of bills.
He had "borrowed" money from the wallet of a man in a suit who walked past him.
It was something his past self would never have imagined doing...
Committing petty theft was definitely not in his plans, but the situation had required it.
Broly had seen the colorful ice cream stand in the distance, pulled his arm hard, and dragged him over there.
When she turned to him with an expression of pure curiosity and longing, Zaiko simply couldn't refuse to buy her one.
Zaiko let out a long, soft sigh, stopping his reminiscing, feeling Broly's firm hand squeeze his as she happily devoured the rest of her chocolate ice cream.
«Ahh~», Zaiko thought, letting out a small sigh and forming a defeated but undeniably pleased smile. «The things a man does for a woman...»
Only then, Zaiko looked away from Broly and looked at Paragus for a few moments.
The old man walked reluctantly, carrying slung over his shoulder Bah's enormous, furry ear, the very same one Broly used to wear tied around her waist like a skirt.
Paragus was also dressed in his classic impeccable combat armor, a white breastplate and boots from Frieza's Army, with green shoulder guards along with white gloves, wearing a light purple skirt that reached his feet.
From time to time, while savoring her ice cream, Broly looked at him out of the corner of her eye over her shoulder to make sure he hadn't lost—or "accidentally thrown away"—the only thing that reminded her of her friend Bah.
She clearly distrusted her father and thought the grumpy old man would get rid of it the first moment she stopped paying attention to him.
As for Broly...
Her appearance had taken a radical turn.
She now wore baggy white pants with a split red skirt, an exact replica of the clothes worn by the original Broly from Dragon Ball Z, only adapted to be much more feminine and stylized.
On top, she wore a white top tied firmly at her back and pulled tight to support and slightly conceal the volume of her breasts.
Zaiko had to admit that she had really large breasts...
Ahem...
Zaiko coughed and left those thoughts behind.
Broly also now had her hair completely clean, untangled, and elegantly tied up.
Zaiko had personally made sure she looked like a true princess by adding all kinds of jewelry to her...
A bit excessive, actually, but Paragus agreed as well, saying his daughter deserved no less.
On her forehead rested a gold crown with a bright blue jewel carved in the center.
In addition, Broly now wore a matching gold necklace, boots, thick bracelets, and a belt whose jewels were all that same sapphire blue.
To complete the outfit, she wore gold hoop earrings in both ears, along with metallic bands on her biceps and neck.
And to avoid accidents, Zaiko had made sure all the fabric was woven with the same ultra-elastic and resistant material as the combat armors.
Of course, he had created all these clothes and jewelry out of nowhere using Magic Materialization.
Initially, Zaiko had created the same Frieza Force combat armor that Broly would wear in the movie, shortly after being found by Cheelai and Lemo.
However, after giving her the two options and showing her the designs, she had chosen her current outfit herself, feeling much more comfortable and free without the heavy shoulder pads.
As they kept walking, something caught Broly's attention.
She suddenly let go of Zaiko's hand and walked at a fast pace, almost trotting, toward a large nearby display window belonging to an electronics store.
There, Broly froze, staring intently at a large metallic box with a bright screen...
She was seeing a television for the first time in her entire life.
"Zaiko, look!" Broly exclaimed, pointing at the metallic box with her free hand and turning to him with a slight frown, genuinely confused. "How is it possible that such tiny people are inside there?"
Zaiko stopped by her side and, seeing her bewildered expression, burst out laughing.
Before Zaiko could answer, too busy laughing out loud holding his stomach, Paragus approached from behind and snorted.
"Don't be an idiot," Paragus scolded her with his usual severe tone. "That box doesn't have miniature people inside. It's simply projecting an image of something happening in real-time on another part of the planet."
Broly blinked a couple of times and then nodded slowly, understanding.
Beside her, Zaiko finally managed to stop laughing, wiping away a small tear that had escaped his right eye.
At that precise moment, all the images on the televisions in the display window changed abruptly.
The regular programming was cut off.
There, in high definition, a strange humanoid creature was shown, with spotted green skin and features reminiscent of an insect, standing with its arms crossed.
Around him, all the workers at the television network were lying on the studio floor, terrified, scared, and looking at him with a mixture of surprise and shock.
Clearly, this being had forced his way into the recording studio to make an announcement.
Then, the being smiled and began to speak with a sophisticated and chilling voice...
"Attention, inhabitants of this world!"
"My name is Cell. As you can see, I have taken over the facilities of this television station. I am speaking to you to inform you about an event I have decided to organize, a martial arts tournament I have named 'The Cell Games'."
"A similar tournament was held not too long ago, but this one will be much more exciting. The rules are simple... if you lose or surrender, I will be the winner. If all participants are defeated, then... I will proceed to eliminate every single inhabitant of this planet, and then I will destroy it."
"The tournament will take place in nine days, on an arena I have built myself. You have that time to train and choose your best warriors. I will be waiting for you to provide me with a little fun. That is all."
The broadcast cut off abruptly.
Silence reigned for a few seconds before panic broke out among the humans around them.
Paragus, watching the black screens with his arms crossed, let out a mocking and amused snort.
"Hmpf! Who does that insignificant creature think he is to make such a declaration?" Paragus said aloud, clearly underestimating him. "Threatening to destroy the planet with such a weak power level... what a pathetic bluff."
Clearly, Paragus, accustomed to the power level of humans since they had arrived, thought Cell couldn't have a much higher power level.
Broly didn't even seem fazed by the threat; she simply kept looking at the television, which now displayed a "No Signal" message, and gave her chocolate ice cream another lick.
Only then, Zaiko tilted his head and looked at Paragus.
"You can't call him insignificant, old man," Zaiko warned him with a casual but serious tone. "That guy named Cell is far more powerful than Frieza himself."
Paragus's eyes opened wide upon hearing that, and he gritted his teeth so hard they almost broke.
He had just realized that he had insulted a being that far surpassed the one who destroyed his planet and his race.
A wave of frustration washed over him, getting angry with himself for remaining so weak, despite being a proud Saiyan warrior.
Unable to deal with his own impotence, he quickly turned to his daughter.
"Broly!" Paragus yelled at her, pointing at the screen. "I order you to participate in these so-called Cell Games and finish off that bastard!"
If his daughter was capable of killing Cell—a monster stronger than Frieza—and he was sure she would be, then finishing off Frieza when the time came would be a piece of cake.
Zaiko had already told him that Frieza had been defeated not too long ago by Bardock's youngest son, Kakarot, who now called himself Son Goku, Zaiko's own father, and had subsequently been killed on Earth by a Human/Saiyan hybrid named Trunks.
It was surprising that Bardock's youngest son, a Low-Class Saiyan, had achieved such a feat.
Furthermore, he had been wondering how it was that Kakarot had a son like Zaiko, who claimed to be a God-Saiyan.
But putting all this aside...
Zaiko had assured him that, in the future, there would be more opportunities to take revenge on Frieza!
Paragus had no idea how the hell Frieza would return to life, nor did he know how it was that Zaiko seemed to know this would happen, but he didn't care at all.
His daughter was the Legendary Super Saiyan, the most powerful being of their race, and she alone would finish off all their enemies to restore their honor!
"I don't want to."
Was all Broly said.
Unfazed by her father's yelling, she licked her chocolate ice cream again, grabbed Zaiko's hand firmly, and turned her back on Paragus.
As his daughter slowly walked away, ignoring his words and leaving him completely dumbfounded in the middle of the street, she turned her head slightly and continued speaking, with a soft but firm voice:
"You don't give me orders anymore, father."
For a moment, Paragus felt the blood rush to his head.
He was sure his face was turning completely red with anger at his daughter's insubordination.
His own tool of revenge was turning her back on him!
But then, he saw Zaiko's look.
He was looking at him out of the corner of his eye, with his face completely and absolutely serious, as a warning.
Almost at the same time, Paragus noticed his daughter raising her hand and touching her neck for a few moments, the exact spot where the electric collar with which he controlled her when she got out of hand had previously been.
The anger on Paragus's face vanished, replaced by a resigned sigh.
He clicked his tongue and decided not to speak anymore.
His daughter was already grown and, as frustrating as it was to lose control over her, deep down in his heart, he felt strangely happy and proud that she was finally making her own decisions and not letting anyone walk all over her, not even him.
Only then, he heard Zaiko's words, breaking the tension.
"Instead..." Zaiko said, with a sharp smile appearing on his lips. "I will participate in these Cell Games."
Broly stopped dead in her tracks and turned to him, tilting her head with curiosity, with a slight pout.
"Why?" she asked him, squeezing his hand a little. "Better forget about that weird bug and let's go have fun together."
Zaiko smiled warmly.
He raised his free hand and gently stroked her hair, ruffling it a bit.
"Don't worry, we'll be able to have all the fun we want," he assured her. "It won't take me long anyway."
Broly, hearing this, took it as a promise, and feeling the comforting caress on her head, seemed satisfied.
She nodded with a big smile and, letting go of his hand, decided to completely hug his entire right arm, pressing it against her as they continued walking, now entering a shopping mall.
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