"A-Are you seriously doing this?! You're going to take over Earth?!" Bulma hissed, walking behind me as I casually walked up to the entrance of 'King Castle,' a strew of unconscious guards in my wake.
The castle was less of a castle and more of a large, white, tower-like igloo. The bottom was round like an igloo, but then extended straight up numerous floors in the middle, looking not too dissimilar from a small lighthouse. Personally, I think Frieza Castle put it to shame, but I was a bit biased, considering I was Frieza.
"Yup," I answered easily and bluntly.
"Why?!"
"Because, why not?" I answered casually, smirking lightly at her, "Most of the strong martial artists here are training in Otherworld right now, and I just knocked out Goku. This is prime time to take over."
Of course, I could also just take over Earth whenever I wanted, regardless of whether the Z-Fighters were alive or not. It wasn't like any of them could really stop me, but having them out of the way was just making my job a bit easier, as they'd likely annoyingly continue to charge at me despite constantly losing to 'protect the Earth.'
"I like Earth, you like Earth, pretty much everyone likes Earth," I hummed, raising my hand as I flicked one finger into the door in front of me, sending it blowing off its hinges and slamming onto the floor, "I'm here, and I'm enjoying my time here, so why not take over it?"
In reality, I had planned to do this eventually, but decided to be a bit quicker after seeing Goku already had access to Super Saiyan 2. The emotional aspect of it was that Earth was still my home, no matter how long I was in Frieza's body, or if this Earth wasn't the one I knew. No other planet could hit the same, no matter how many I visited.
But, from a practical and planning aspect, it was also an important thing to do. Most of Universe 7's powerful fighters called this place home, and most major events took place here - ranging from Future Trunks coming back in time, Cell appearing, Buu being released, and potentially even Zamasu and Goku-black issues, depending on what timeline I was in.
Earth was the perfect planet to set up a base on, even if I wouldn't be entirely living here. I could leave subordinates behind to help the Z-Fighters train, clones to keep track of activities on here to report back to me, and overall keep a better eye on one of the Dragon Ball sets here. I could do whatever I wanted when I visited anyway, but having some structure in place would make life a lot easier.
This had always been the plan, but after seeing Goku reach Super Saiyan 2 already, I decided that having a more direct role in his growth was necessary. He was leagues above any of the other fighters on Earth, and even leagues above my expectations. As a result, he'd find it hard to grow without suitable training partners.
"And, it'll improve my Empire a lot," I told Bulma bluntly, who still didn't look all that happy about what I was doing.
"B-But, it's Earth!" She huffed, glaring lightly at me, "This is my home! Don't mess it up!"
"I'm not messing anything up," I countered, shaking my head lightly at her, "Just instilling a new leader, and maybe plastering my face on a couple of billboards."
That second part was for my own enjoyment - imagine the look on the Z-Fighters' faces when they come back to life only to see West City has become Frieza City! But it wasn't like I was going to turn Earth into a dystopian civilization or anything. I'd leave it about as I found it, but just set up a new hierarchy, and leave behind a bunch of soldiers to start training Earthlings with potential and maintain the new laws.
There was, of course, a lot more to do beyond that - like setting up trade routes from Earth with other planets under my rule, or optimizing the resource gathering from Earth, or improving the technology with Bulma's aid. But that was a long-term plan, so for right now, just instilling myself as the new overlord of the planet was the goal.
"Look, you can even still call it Earth if you want, alright?" I hummed as Bulma was pouting at me, "Deep down, we'll know it's Planet Frieza #2, but that name's technically already taken, so it can be Earth. Happy?"
"No, I'm not happy! You're invading King Castle right now!" Bulma didn't back down, though she did follow me as we stepped into the palace, and were instantly accosted by a flurry of guards.
"Halt! Who are you-" Unfortunately, the roughly two-dozen guards waiting for us were still just normal humans, and they 'mysteriously' fainted a second later.
"W-What did you do to them?! Are they dead?!" Launch yelped next to me as I continued to walk past the bodies casually.
"Nope, just unconscious," I assured her, "I just gave them all a light tap on the neck."
"W-What? You didn't even move…" Launch muttered, and I just chuckled. It was a bit ironic that Vegeta and Launch, of all people, could track my movements to the same level, which was to say, they couldn't at all.
"Once I've set up a more permanent base here, I'll leave a Zarbon here to teleport back to," I ignored Launch's question, continuing to convince Bulma, "Then, I can take you back here whenever you want."
"Planet Frieza #2 sounds good to me! It sounds perfect, even!" Bulma's attitude did a complete 180 as she pressed up into my side, suddenly smiling and humming happily as her massive breasts wrapped around my arm.
I grinned lightly as I figured that would work. I could actually just use Instant Transmission to come here pretty much whenever I wanted, as the distance that I could sense energy from was pretty far at this point. Unless we were far outside the galaxy Earth sat in, or in a different one entirely, I could probably track down an energy as strong as Goku's and teleport here. But, I wasn't going to tell Bulma that, because you know what they say: happy thick gigagenius scientist, happy life. Or, something like that.
"W-What are you saying, Bulma?! He can't take over the Earth!" Launch huffed, trying her best to look tough despite the fact that she was in her blue-hair form, and practically cowering as she kept a fair distance between us.
"Eh, he's not all that bad," Bulma assured Launch with a shrug, glancing away as she blushed lightly, "He's a bit scary when you don't know him, but he's a pretty good person…"
'Pretty good person' was probably pushing it a bit, as I was still actively conquering Earth as we spoke, even if I had good intentions behind it. Launch still looked doubtful, but I didn't pay her any mind as we ventured deeper into the caste. After a couple more 'fights' with guards, where I just knocked them out before they even knew what was happening, and a lot of twisting hallways, we arrived at our destination.
Which was to say, we arrived at King Furry. As I barged into the final 'throne room' - which was much less grand than the one in Frieza Castle back on Planet Frieza, as it was more like a 'desk room,' since the dog-ruler was just staring fearfully at me behind a work desk - I knocked the doors off their hinges again for dramatic effect. I glanced around the room, which was mostly empty aside from the desk, a lamp, and various pictures of dogs on the wall.
King Furry looked about how you'd expect a talking dog in this world to look - he was a human-sized dog wearing a dress shirt and tie, along with dress pants. His fur was all blue, there were two floppy ears on his head, and he had a long gray mustache that gave him the vibe of an old man.
"W-Who are you?" King Furry stammered out, looking at me with fear in his eyes, but I just smirked back.
"My name is Frieza, but you can call me Lord Frieza," I hummed, locking eyes with the dog-man, "And, as of right now, you're released from your duties, King Furry."
"W-What? What are you talking about?" King Furry shot back, leaning back in his chair as I strode towards him, and he cowered in return.
"You don't seem to understand, so I'll speak bluntly," I hummed, vanishing to his eyes as I suddenly appeared in front of him, my finger pressed into his forehead, "Your time as king is over, and mine has just begun."
My finger glowed, and a moment later, King Furry slumped down into his chair. His rule over the Earth had ended, and it was time for a new King to be crowned.
…
…
…
"Ugh, did you really have to kill him? I was just saying you were a good guy, and you go kill a dog!" Bulma huffed, crossing her arms at me angrily.
"I didn't kill him," I said defensively, stepping aside to show her that King Furry was definitely unconscious, but not dead, as I'd just essentially poked his head really hard.
"I'm a ruthless intergalactic dictator, but he's just a talking dog, y'know? I'm not a monster!"
On that day, the rule of Lord Frieza began on Earth.
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"And the West City Titans lose again! Ever since the disappearance of their star player, Yamcha, the team has taken a complete nosedive! The coach confirmed that there hasn't been any word from the former batting average league leader, who left the team without a word roughly-"
"Eh?" Roshi blinked, staring at the TV as the screen became filled with static, and the view of a baseball field disappeared. A moment later, a new video appeared in its place.
"Welcome back to Z-TV! We're reporting live from Studio B for this exclusive global broadcast!" A blonde woman in a dress-suit said cheerfully, holding up a microphone as she stared down the lens of a camera, "Sorry for interrupting the regularly scheduled broadcast, but there's breaking news happening right now! We have an exclusive interview with King Furry!"
"Ooh! An interview with King Furry?! Did you finally turn off that stupid sport?" Chi-Chi said excitedly, quickly walking over to the long couch in Kame House and sitting down in front of the TV, even as she was still nursing her bruised foot from many hours earlier.
"I still don't know how a dog got to become the king," Roshi chuckled, leaning forward a bit as he stared at the TV, "But, there's something about him, isn't there?"
"Everyone loves him, so it makes sense! He's a talking dog!" Chi-Chi said loudly, also leaning forward. Whenever there was an interview with the strangely adored King Furry, pretty much every person on Earth with a TV was tuned in.
"Here he is! Thank you for joining us today, King Furry!" The woman said, gesturing as King Furry walked into frame. As he did, a clapping and cheering track played.
"Ah, thank you," King Furry nodded, his face looking a bit uncertain, twisted in nervousness.
"Why does he look like that?" Chi-Chi asked curiously, tilting her head at the image of the sweating, nervous King Furry, "Is there some kind of problem he's going to tell us about? Ugh, of all the times for Goku to be missing! Why can't he just give up on fighting?!"
"N-Now that I think about it, she looks nervous too," Roshi stuttered slightly at Chi-Chi's words, as he was the one who taught Goku how to fight in the first place, but pushed through as he looked at the TV, "It's like someone's holding a gun to her head!"
True to Roshi's thoughts, the reporting woman, despite her cheerful demeanor, was shaking lightly, and her eyes kept darting off to the side nervously.
"Today, I have a… very important announcement to make," King Furry stated, turning to the camera with hard eyes, looking down slightly as he spoke, "I… have decided to resign as king!"
A 'gasp track' played through the screen as Chi-Chi literally gasped, her eyes going wide, "King Furry is stepping down?! But he's my favorite talking dog! He was so polite when me and Goku met him! This is awful!"
He was also one of only two talking dogs that Chi-Chi knew, with the other being Shu, who was definitely not on friendly terms with her or Goku, but that wasn't the point.
"Oh, my! What a surprise!" The reporter said in what was obviously fake excitement, trying her best to keep her face straight, "W-What could've brought about this change, King Furry?"
"Please, just call me Furry now. I'm… no longer the king," Furry grunted, then steeled his gaze as he looked back at the camera, staring straight at the audience, "I have ruled this world for a great many years, and I have loved my time as the King. However, just as everyone must retire, it has become time for me to retire from the throne and hand it down to a successor."
"A successor?" The reporter asked again in mock shock, "And who would that be, Furry?!"
Furry was silent for a moment, his face set in stone as he looked down, staring at the floor. He was conflicted for a second, then his head abruptly snapped up as he flinched, glancing off camera, and then back into the lens again.
"I-I can think of no better successor than a good friend of mine," Furry gestured to his side, making a 'come here' gesture, "This man is someone whom I trust more than anyone in the world, and who I think will lead this world into a new era of prosperity. I hope that you'll treat him just as respectfully as you treated me! I thank you all for your support over these years, but I believe it's time to hand the reins over to…"
There was a pause as a slow clap of footsteps resounded out of the television, and a moment later, a familiar face came into view.
"W-What?! It's him! You have to be kidding me!" Chi-Chi shouted, staring with wide, shocked eyes as a familiar figure with pure-white skin came into view.
"N-No way…" Roshi agreed, staring in horror.
"King Frieza."
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"W-What's all this?" Android 18 asked, looking around a bit skeptically as she stood by my side.
"Ah, just a bit of remodeling to the city. It used to be West City, but now, it's Frieza City," I hummed, and we watched as a pair of Zarbon's ripped a statue of King Furry out of the ground, and then another flew over with a massive, thousand-foot-tall statue of myself, which would tower over the entire city.
"...And you're doing this, because…?" 18 trailed off, looking at me doubtfully.
"Because I can," I told her bluntly, smirking lightly.
I was only being half-honest to her - I was definitely doing this partially just because I could, and after being what I considered a good and fair tyrant towards the rest of the planets over the past year, a bit of power-abuse here and there would be fine. But, more so, it was to keep my presence looming over the Z-Fighters, and all the Earthlings - literally, because this big-ass statue would be looming over everyone for hundreds of miles around!
"But, also, because I need the humans to know who their new ruler is," My smirk lightened as I became a bit more serious, "I'll be leaving a lot of soldiers here for various purposes, and it'd be annoying if they rebelled against them."
I didn't think the Z-Fighters would just take the Friezaification of their planet lying down once they came back to life, and there was a pretty good chance that they'd try to fight all the soldiers I left here. They didn't see the bigger picture, where I was aiming to improve the overall strength and condition of Earth and the Earthlings, so I needed to set up a strict rule of law before they were wished back.
That meant making it known worldwide that Frieza was the new boss, and that I was a damn good one! I already had a flurry of plans in mind - I'd develop the numerous barren lands throughout the world to house the homeless, introduce the 5-star cooking that me and Bulma had been exclusively enjoying for the past year, get rid of taxes, and even give out free money!
Literally - I was just going to send every Earthling a bunch of Zeni as a 'Welcome Lord Frieza' gift. Not enough to completely ruin the world's economy or anything, but just enough for them to go, 'Wow! This Lord Frieza guy is pretty great! King Furry never did this for me!'
Essentially, I'd turn the current Earth into a bit of a utopia, and it wouldn't even be that difficult. Damn-near any problem could be solved if you had an intelligent person overseeing it - in this case, Bulma - and if you had enough money to chuck at it. And, considering I owned most of the planets in this galaxy, and thus all the resources on them, money was no problem. Not to mention, I could just wish for a gazillion Zeni with the Dragon Balls if I ever needed to. Even beyond that, I had a ton of free manpower with the Zarbons and Dodorias, who could pretty easily build whatever I wanted with their supernatural strength.
Even then, that was me being generous and playing by the Earth-rules so the Earthlings would like me. I could just threaten construction companies with death to do my bidding, but I was trying to paint myself as a generous ruler. If I were beloved by the humans on Earth, then the Z-Fighters couldn't do anything to get rid of me, even if they knew that I wasn't nearly as nice or generous as I seemed.
"Well… fair enough," 18 sighed, just shrugging, and I looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"What's got you so down?" I hummed curiously, "How is your brother?"
Ever since I had met up with Android 18 earlier this day, she'd been in a bit of a down mood. She wasn't overly sad or anything, but her lack of excitement compared to when we had arrived on Earth was apparent, and she seemed a bit bored, if anything.
"He's fine. He was upset about losing to Son Goku, but he seems to mostly be over it," 18 answered with a shrug, "But, I think you were right. I've been looking forward to coming back here for months, but it's a bit… bland."
It had been a few days since we arrived on Earth, and I had beaten Goku, but I hadn't seen the woman throughout the entire time. I assumed she was hanging out with her Android 17, and probably doing a lot of what they would be doing when given free rein on Earth in the original timeline - robbing malls, trying on various clothes, and going on joyrides in cars.
But, after experiencing traveling around the entire universe, there was only so much fun that could be had in driving fast cars. I had assumed this would happen - for people like us and the Z-Fighters, who had abilities far above normal humans, and who surpassed the laws of nature as we lived by fighting, staying on one planet meant either throwing yourself into training, starting a family to live a typical life, or being bored.
And, since 18 probably didn't want to do the first two, she was suffering the third one already.
"We'll be leaving soon," I told her bluntly, causing her face to brighten slightly, "It'll only take another couple of days, as there's only a few more things I need to do. Mostly, there's just one last thing I need to set up."
"One last thing?" 18 asked, tilting her head at me curiously, and my lips twitched up into a mischievous grin.
"Just a little… welcoming party," I said a bit ominously. I had tracked down the exact spot where I believed Trunks would arrive in the future, and while that was still a couple of years down the line, I was preparing in advance.
When Trunks came from the future, and when the Z-Fighter's came back to life, they definitely wouldn't be happy about how the new Earth looked.
Earth was about to experience the consequences of the Industrial Revolution.
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AN: Thank you for reading! The next chapter will be posted… whenever it's finished lol, probably within a weekish.
But, as always, there's 20 more chapters posted on Patreon.com/Koyon !