( just an fyi, due to a lack of proper fanart or gifs, most of these chapters will have little to no images. the first chapter, i was just lucky to have it close enough to canon.

alright, enough with that. enjoy the chapter.)

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'Well...this is definitely a sight.'

King Kai had been keeping a close eyes on Frieza ever since he had returned to his homeworld, unable to believe what he was seeing. After Goku had landed on Yardrat, he had been a bit wary, but...he was stunned.

He initially assumed Frieza would be going to Earth to enact his revenge, but...he wasn't going much of anywhere in particular...and nor was he in his mothership. He was in a small ship, meant for a few people at most.

'Hey, Goku! You're not gonna believe what I'm receiving here!' He said excitedly to the Saiyan on the planet, before explaining what he saw to him.

'Hm...King Kai, does he pose any threat to the others on Earth right now?' Goku asked, before King Kai hummed. 'Mmm, hard to say...but from the way he's piloting that ship, and from what I can sense from his energy, he's in no condition to go for a challenge. I'll keep an eye on him and let you know.'

Goku lets out a small sigh of relief. Good...that means he won't need to step in anytime soon...

"Goku? You've gotten distracted again." The larger Yardratian nearby spoke up. "You must have full control over your energy if you wish to use our Instant Transmission technique."

Goku sheepishly laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Whoops, sorry bout that, Master Pybara! Had to answer someone for a sec! All good now!" He says before shutting his eyes again, going back to his mediation.

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'Blast it, why are these so complex?'

Frieza cursed under his breath, standing at the controls at the bridge. He had stopped looking back a few hours ago. He had gotten far enough away from his former home to be able to breathe just that slightest bit easier.

The life he had lived from the day he was born was just...ruined. Nothing left to his name, he was left flying aimlessly in space. He didn't know where he was going. He didn't want to go anywhere just yet. The only things drifting through his mind being how he will do on his own, and what in the hell just happened.

His robotic arm—or what was left of it—is crushed, and in desperate need of repairs too. His empire, stolen from him, and he can't be sure whether or not he would be ratted out to his father if he landed on a planet that was...formerly controlled by him, now by his father.

'Damn it...I can't just drift like this forever...This ship already wasn't fueled properly, I'll need to stop for fuel, and supplies necessary to last...' he thought, sighing. He may be mostly robotic, but he does miss the simple pleasures. 'What I wouldn't do for a simple glass of wine at this moment...'

He taps on a screen on the controls, pulling up a list of planets in the ship's database that are under the empire's control, and he stops upon seeing a planet listed towards the bottom. This planet was meant as a dumping ground for old robotic parts and old technology.

'Hm...such a place could prove useful to me...perhaps there's a person there who can build me a new arm.' He thought, and he selects the planet, the ship changing course, as he moves to the ship quarters to rest.

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Soon enough, the ships lands onto the planet's surface, the uneven landing stirring Frieza from his slumber before he rose to his feet, now moving to step out of the ship as he glanced around.

To call the place a dumping ground was an understatement. As far as he could see, there was piles and piles of rubbish and broken technology littered around the entire area.

Just as he was prepared to search for components, and a person well versed in reparations, a deep voice rang out through the air. "And just what do you want, Droidy Boy?"

Frieza physically twitched, immediately turning to see who it was that spoke up. "M-My apologies, my ears must be acting up...what did you just call me?"

"Droidy Boy...on the account that you're a droid..." The man spoke calmly, crossing his arms as he looked the Frost Demon up and down.

Frieza gripped his fists, scowling at him as he snapped at him. "Don't you know who I am?! How dare you talk that way to your superior!?" he sputtered out before he stood straight, biting his tongue. The last thing he needed was to dig himself into a hole.

The man leans in, glaring at him. "No...I don't...If you don't treat me right, then our little transaction will be terminated." he spat, snapping his fingers as Frieza grit his teeth before he perked up, smirking.

This guy has no idea who he is! He has charisma. he can charm his way into getting himself a new arm in no time! His father wouldn't find out a thing, and this guy doesn't seem all too smart.

"Oh, I apologize. I'm acting on behalf of Lord Frieza. I would like to request a new arm be constructed for me, seeing as my own is not in very good shape after all this work. Now be a dear and patch me up, will you? You wouldn't want to upset the big man upstairs, would you?" Frieza asked, hoping that news of his loss of status hadn't travelled far yet, and to his luck, it hadn't.

The man tensed a bit, clearing it throat lightly. "Oh, uh, yes, of course...you, uh...got any credits...?" he asked slowly.

Frieza momentarily seemed perplexed, clearing his throat lightly. "Credits, I—ahem, I'm sorry, what?"

Then the man paused, raising an eyebrow. "If Lord Frieza sent you, he would've sent a credit chip with ya for the materials..."

Frieza seemed...confused, pointing around at all the piles of scrap and whatnot. "B—But—But you've got the materials already! The whole planet is made of the materials already, you buffoon!!"

The man scoffed slightly. "Frieza or no Frieza, credits are how we do business here. If you are indeed who you say you are, then you'd know you don't get anything in this empire for free. So, no credits, no patchin' up." He spat before pointing his thumb to his ship. "Now scram...unless you wanna work for it."

The former emperor jolted at that, his robotic eye twitching a bit. Work? Him? Singing for his supper?! Never! 'Where else would I find someone adept in working to fix me without knowing who I am? I'm already lucky he hasn't reported me to my father...yet...' He swallowed the bile in his throat from the thought as he sighed. "Alright, fine, I'll....work." he spat, feeling slightly disgusted at the thought.

Then the man chuckled, smirking again. "Glad ya came around, Droidy Boy. Now you better get started. You're gonna be working for a looooong time..."

Frieza glanced over to the pile of metal, already several hundred feet high. He was already regretting his decision just looking at it. The mechanic walked off to his home, leaving Frieza there as he floated up. This was going to take a while...

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Hey, this wasn't as difficult as he had assumed. In only a few hours, he had managed to get everything taken out of the piles and assorted into several smaller areas, all sorted by type and what part it was.

The mechanic stepped out and over to where the pile had been, initially expecting Frieza to have given up and left, but he was astonished to see the pile just...gone! And there was Frieza, sat on the ground with an impatient look. "Well, finally!"

"I...I don't believe it...this should have taken you weeks to shift, if at all!" The mechanic sputtered, before looking down to Frieza. "How did you do that?"

Frieza stood up, cracking his neck a bit as he lazily waves his hand. "It's not that difficult...I'm no weakling, you know, nor am I a simpleton. Big stuff goes there, small stuff goes there, wires and cables and circuits go there, and whatnot! You'd have to be a filthy monkey to not understand that!" He scoffed.

The mechanic chuckled slightly. "Not bad, Droidy Boy...not bad...I'll get you your arm...and the name's Cuit, by the way." He says, walking back to his home as Frieza follows, soon sitting down to have his new arm fitted. "Finally! About time I can get some service around here..."

Cuit sits down at his workbench, beginning to fix up a spare robotic arm that was worse for wear, but he could fix it up in no time. "You know that pile'd been there for three years, right? I've had a bunch of suckers try and clear it out to get some free fixing, and no one's managed to do it. Usually they just give up or...pass out from exhaustion." He says before chuckling. "I'm grateful for that, buddy...not everyday you come across a superpowered drifter...actually, there's never been a day this happened! But, thank you." he says, his tone being genuine.

Frieza slightly clicked his tongue, glancing away, unresponsive. He didn't want to respond to this gratitude...no one ever said thank you to him before, not with any sort of sincerity or lack of fear. "I'll get my arm and then I'll be off of this dump, whatever...Just hurry up so I can leave."

"Whatever ya say, Droidy Boy." Cuit says with a chuckle, as Frieza huffed.

"I have a name..." He spat out, as Cuit hummed. "Oh? Well I don't care. Not one for names, none 'cept my own. 'Sides, I like Droidy Boy enough that calling ya anything else would be kinda weird right now." he says, soon finishing up the arm as he walked over, getting it attached onto Frieza. "Alright, give it a whirl." he says calmly, as the Frost Demon raised the arm, making a fist, then moving each finger one by own, then punching forward. "Hm...It's not too shabby. Impressive, even." He says calmly. "I...ahem, I'll be on my way now." He stood up, moving to step out.

"Don't go breakin' your arm again, Droidy Boy! Or if ya do, make sure you come here again...I could use the helpin' hand." Cuit said with a hearty laugh, as Frieza rolled his eyes, getting onto his ship and taking off.

He walked to the window peering out into space, looking down to his new arm. He felt refreshed...of course, he didn't have a broken arm, so it was expected...but he did some work...and he got rewarded for it. Actual genuine kindness...

'I suppose getting everything I wanted had been getting quite stale...Having to put in effort was a needed change of pace...' he thought lightly, before sighing. 'I suppose I need to work on finding another place...preferably with supplies...or food.' And he made his way to the controls, searching for another planet to try and make his way to.

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Back on Earth, in a barren part of the world, a large flash of light suddenly filled the sky, a large machine landing on the ground. The glass dome at the top opens, as a purple haired man jumps out and hits the ground.

'Huh...Now this is strange...Where's Frieza and Cold...? Actually...where is everybody else?' The man thought in confusion. This wasn't supposed to happen. 'Mom definitely said that they were supposed to show up...and Goku was meant to arrive...'

However, soon enough, he could spot multiple people approaching in the distance. Oh good. At least everyone was showing up.

"Hey! Everyone, Goku will be arriving soon! Come with me to wait for him!" He shouted, quickly flying off, hoping they'd follow, and to his relief, they did.

However, when they did start to wait, it slowly began to become evident that...Goku wasn't coming! He tried to explain himself, explain what should happen, but...it just doesn't make sense. This person was just...seemingly making things up, saying that things will happen and they don't end up happening.

Vegeta grit his teeth as he stood up, stomping over to the man. "Either you tell us why you're here, or get back to your supposed future, brat! 'Fess up!" He spat in irritation.

The time traveler blinked in confusion, looking forward. "I don't understand! Goku's supposed to be here! And—And so's Frieza!" He sputtered out, getting Gohan's attention.

"W-Wait! Frieza's still alive!?" he sputtered as the time traveler looked over. "Yeah...he's meant to be this weird...cyborg version of himself...his dad was supposed to be here too...that's what my m—" he stopped, clearing his throat. "What I was told..."

Vegeta scoffed, rolling his eyes. "So Kakarot failed to finish him off, is that it? I knew he'd blow it! That Super Saiyan power should have been mine..."

The time traveler slowly comes to realize that his information may have been wrong...but he can't leave without explaining the threat. So he sighed, turning to warn the group about a threat that will come in three years time. Androids meant to massacre the entire human race. And before he left, he walked up to Gohan, kneeling down and handing him a capsule. "Here. Give this medicine to your father when he returns. Cause he's gonna need it by the time the three years are up..." he says before going back to his time machine, and returning to the future.

Now the rest of the team had to make a plan, come up with a way to handle the upcoming threat without Goku there.

Great.

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King Cold let out a small sigh, walking through the laboratory, seeing the top scientists hard at work on an advanced project he had ordered...all of his attention and resources are being poured into it. He hadn't left its side since Day 1, the day Frieza had run away.

Project files on the screens nearby contain similar details to that of Frieza's, and that of his first son, Cooler...

The similar adaptability, the similar powers, all of it.

A file blinks onto the screen, opening to reveal the title, Project Trogen.