Zaiko, deciding that enough was enough, stopped suppressing his ki and adjusting his power level to Broly's.
In a simple blink, he suddenly appeared behind her back.
Without giving her the slightest chance to react or defend herself, he raised his hand and delivered a swift, precise blow straight to the back of her neck.
The impact was sharp and forceful, and Broly's eyes, which until that moment had remained blank after having completely lost her mind, blinked and returned to normal.
A soft sigh escaped her lips before her eyelids closed heavily and her body gave way, falling to the ground completely unconscious.
Almost immediately, her aura vanished into the air, and Broly's bulging muscles began to relax, returning to normal as her enormous body quickly shrank back to its usual appearance.
Zaiko observed her from above, analyzing the incredible contrast.
If during the fight, under the effects of Ikari Mode, she was almost two heads taller than him due to the massive increase in muscle mass, now, in her base state, she turned out to be at least a head and a half shorter than him in stature.
Her physical change when she lost her sanity and let herself be consumed by her wild instincts was, without a doubt, far too drastic.
Crouching slowly, he slid one arm under Broly's knees and the other behind her back, lifting her off the ground with ease to carry her princess-style.
Despite being deeply unconscious, Broly's body instinctively sought warmth, snuggling up and hiding her face against his chest.
Noticing the tender gesture, Zaiko couldn't help but let out a laugh, genuinely amused.
«If this were a scene from those generic fanfics I used to read in my past life», he thought to himself with an ironic smile «Without a doubt this would be the exact moment I would fall madly in love with her».
Initially, he thought about hoisting her over his shoulder and carrying her as if she were a simple sack of potatoes.
However, seeing her so strangely peaceful and nestled against him, Zaiko sighed and decided to leave her in that position.
After all, she weighed absolutely nothing.
Only then, he turned his head with the intention of going to look for Paragus, but there was no need.
The old man was already there.
Completely out of his mind, Paragus was running towards him, stumbling over the rocks, with his only healthy arm raised in a clenched fist, ready to strike him.
Zaiko looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
What the hell was he trying to do? Broly hadn't been able to leave a single scratch on him, and this decrepit old man thought a punch from him would achieve something? Had desperation finally driven him completely mad?
Unfazed, Zaiko simply took a step to the side at the last second.
He let Paragus's clumsy punch sail past, and before the old man could regain his balance, he stuck his foot out and gave him a direct kick to the rear.
The blow destabilized Paragus, making him stumble and fall face-first against the hard ground with a pathetic groan.
Paragus rolled over and stayed on the ground, looking up to glare at him with hatred, feeling powerless.
Never in his life had he felt so humiliated. Not even the day King Vegeta, consumed by envy and fear of his daughter's latent power, decided to exile Broly to this hell.
"Stay on the ground if you don't want me to break both your legs," Zaiko warned him, his tone of voice turning cold and sharp.
Paragus, who was already leaning on his healthy hand to try and get up again, stopped dead in his tracks.
He gritted his teeth, letting out a muffled growl of rage, and looked away to the side.
However, he obeyed the order, staying on the ground.
For a few seconds, a tense and uncomfortable silence took over the place.
"What... what do you plan to do to my daughter?" Paragus finally asked, his voice hoarse.
Zaiko noticed a small trace of concern in the old man's tone.
Although, knowing him, it was most likely that this "concern" wasn't genuine paternal love, but the pure and absolute terror at the possibility of being left completely alone.
Being trapped on Vampa for the rest of his life, without Broly to help him survive, was a guaranteed death sentence for him.
Despite having a decent power level for a Saiyan, Paragus was still much weaker than the worst beasts that inhabited this planet.
Zaiko decided to simply ignore the question.
Just because the old man opened his mouth didn't mean he had an obligation to answer his questions.
Instead, he decided to steer the conversation in his favor.
"Hand your daughter over to me," Zaiko suddenly demanded.
A small malicious smile formed on his face, knowing exactly how his words sounded and the connotation they implied.
"Don't even think about it!" Paragus burst out immediately, glaring at him with fury. "I won't let you take Broly!"
Zaiko clicked his tongue, a bit disappointed.
He had hoped Paragus would misinterpret his words, which would have been quite funny to witness.
"Calm down, old man," Zaiko sighed, cutting to the chase. "I can get you off this miserable planet right now. But my condition is very simple, you hand Broly over to me and give me the device you use to activate her collar."
The words hit Paragus like a bucket of cold water.
The old man clenched his jaw and looked down, thinking it over carefully.
On one hand, Broly was his ultimate weapon, the central and indispensable piece to carry out his grand plan of revenge against King Vegeta.
With her, he could annihilate them and claim his place as the new Supreme King of the entire Saiyan race.
But, on the other hand, he could never achieve such a thing, nor take revenge on anyone, if he stayed rotting on this sad planet for the rest of his days.
Without a ship, his revenge was just a fever dream.
Seeing Paragus remain silent, seriously evaluating the offer, Zaiko looked at him with profound disgust.
«What a piece of scum...», he thought to himself.
He knew exactly what was going through his head.
He was a terrible father, the worst trash that could exist.
What kind of father would coldly consider handing his own daughter over to a complete stranger, someone incredibly powerful, dangerous, and extremely attractive like him?
"Umu," Zaiko nodded to himself, thinking his description of himself was accurate.
Sure, he knew that in certain parts of the world he came from, on Earth—in some shitty countries, to be exact—things like this still happened.
Fathers selling their daughters, marriages arranged out of convenience... but he wanted to think it wasn't the norm.
He decided to cut that line of thought right there.
Whenever he reflected on those kinds of injustices and cruelties, he felt his blood boil in a dangerous way, and right now he needed to keep a cool head.
Pushing the disgust from his mind, he focused all his attention back on the old man.
"Broly will be in good hands," Zaiko told him, breaking the tense silence with an unusually sincere tone. "I don't plan to hurt her or use her as a weapon. The only thing I want from her is her help to train and make myself even stronger... although, of course, that will have to wait until she can control that wild temper of hers."
Paragus looked up slowly.
His tired, defeated eyes traveled from Zaiko's face to the figure of his daughter, peacefully asleep and snuggled against the chest of that incomprehensibly powerful guy.
The usual harshness on Paragus's face seemed to crack for a split second.
To Zaiko's absolute surprise, the old man swallowed hard and asked a question in a hoarse, hesitant voice.
"But... will she be happy?"
Zaiko blinked, genuinely baffled.
He remained silent for a couple of seconds, taking in the words.
However, seeing the fleeting but undeniable vulnerability in Paragus's eyes, Zaiko nodded.
His expression turned serious, and he nodded.
"She will be," he replied with absolute firmness. "I will personally make sure she has a happy life from now on."
Honestly, Zaiko didn't expect a question like this coming from Paragus, much less a glimmer of genuine paternal concern that wasn't completely tainted by ambition or selfishness.
«I guess not everything is black and white», he thought to himself, slightly adjusting his grip on Broly so she would be more comfortable.
But, as he had already repeated to himself a couple of times since discovering this dysfunctional father-and-daughter family, the way Saiyans loved and related to each other was simply too complex, twisted, and contradictory for him to ever fully understand.
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I'm trying to make Broly and Paragus two more complex characters than their canonical counterparts.
Do you think it's a good idea or unnecessary?