Disclaimer: I do not own/am not affiliated with DBZ in any way

Goku's brow furrowed, "oh no, Piccolo!" He whispered to himself as he closed his eyes and concentrated more, trying to hone in on Piccolo's wavering energy. He stood up, slowly opened the window to the upstairs room in Kame House where him and Krillin were staying and loudly whispered, "Nimbus!" as he jumped out and landed on Nimbus a few feet from the ground as it took off near Piccolo's faint energy signal as well as the other two evil powers, Tien and Yamcha.

A few minutes into his journey, Goku felt himself gaining on the powers when all of a sudden, the powers just vanished. "Whoa!" Goku said aloud, "where'd they go? What is this?" He said as he slowly drifted across the dark sky that was becoming more pale, signaling the very early hours of the morning. "Well, I've come this far, I might as well keep going. I'll figure it out," Goku said as he shrugged and instructed Nimbus to keep going, figuring that eventually he would be able to sense where they were.

Gero's laughter boomed in his laboratory as Yamcha and Tien, with Piccolo in hand came up behind him. Paying them no attention he said, "that fool, he'll never find us, but we will find him!" Gero laughed as he turned around in his seat and saw the unconscious Piccolo and he smiled thinking of how easily they'd be able to destroy Goku now, "good, very good!" He said as he rubbed his hands together. Like he had done with Yamcha and Tien, he commanded that Piccolo be placed on his "testing table" and as soon as he was on the table, Gero placed his third and final mind controlling device on Piccolo as he thought to himself, I'll need to make more of these if I want to overtake the world... and then another thought occurred to him, what if... what if I take over Goku's mind, surely that would be a lot more productive than just destroying him, wouldn't it? As he worked on Piccolo, he continued the conversation with himself, with Goku under my control, absolutely nobody would be able to withstand any of these fighters. Gero savagely smiled as he thought more about it, so it's settled then, I'll take Goku over instead of just destroying him! And this will be more revenge as well, the person that ruined my plans all those years ago is now going to be my slave! As Gero finished testing and analyzing Piccolo and putting the device on him, he laughed aloud.

"Tien, Yamcha!" He called as he turned from the table and awaited for Piccolo to awaken, "I have a new plan..." Gero said as he told them of the plan to control Goku and not to kill him.

After the two heard of Gero's plan, they were slightly less eager than him but their objections were met by anger from Gero, "enough!" he said sternly as his brow furrowed, "I didn't expect either of you two to understand this decision, neither of you know the torture that that fool has put me through. He deserves something much worse than death - something like mind control slavery!" Gero jubilantly exclaimed, as Tien and Yamcha seemed dumbfounded. "Don't worry, only the genius minds such as mine own will understand it." Gero said angrily.

Behind him, there was a deep grunt, "I understand your plot of revenge, for I myself know the will, the want for vengeance." Gero turned around to see his newest member, Piccolo, sitting up on his table. Piccolo cracked his neck as he leapt from the table and landed next to Gero, "I am ready to serve you, Doctor," he said as he saluted Gero, who smiled at Piccolo's eagerness to help his cause.

"Piccolo, I have noticed your stubbornness with your previous fights with Goku as well as my tabs on you. I didn't expect you to be so eager to join my efforts," Gero said to Piccolo.

Piccolo's eyes remained their solemn black, perhaps retaining a sense of freedom, "if anyone would be eager or understand, it is I for I have never truly defeated Goku or his spirit. I think it is finally time for us to exact our revenge," Piccolo said as Gero nodded approvingly.

Gero put an arm around Piccolo's shoulder in a fatherly fashion, "yes, I believe it is time we exact our revenge."

"Somewhere around here is where the powers vanished," Goku said, only a few miles from Gero's laboratory. Goku closed his eyes and tried using his inner sense to try and find out where he should go next. A few minutes after closing his eyes, he turned in the direction of the lab and felt a masked, dark presence, "there!" he said as he hurried over there as fast as Nimbus could take him. Within a short amount of time, he was in sight of the laboratory and he took in the lab.

The lab seemed like literally a hole in the wall on the side of a mountain with a huge metallic door. The shiny silver metal door contrasted with the dank look of the mountain. The surreal look of the lab and the mountain coupled with the cold temperature of the mountain's location chilled Goku slightly. He didn't have long to look at the door to the laboratory for long before the door slowly opened as dirt and dust crumbled from the top of the door to the ground.

Goku saw one shadow followed by three more as Gero stepped into the light alone, "it's been awhile hasn't it, Goku?" He asked in a mocking tone while he smirked slyly.

Goku stood dumbfounded for a moment and as he remembered his face, he took a step aback, "is that you, Gero? I defeated you!" Goku's voice echoed throughout the mountains as he clenched his fist and his forearm muscles rippled. Goku slowly began to move toward Gero on Nimbus until the three shadows revealed themselves. Goku gasped as he fell back off of Nimbus but managed to stop himself in midair, "Tien!" He said as he scanned the three while still floating in the air, "Yamcha!" Goku then looked over at Piccolo who looked as menacing as evil as his father, "Piccolo!" Goku then tooked towards Gero, who was smiling, "what did you do to them, you monster!" Goku asked as Gero started to laugh.

"I simply gave them the instrument to carry out their objectives," Gero said, and he pointed to the bland copper crowns on their heads, "using those mind control devices."

Goku's mouth opened, "mind control? What does that mean!"

Gero continued to laugh, "you never were the smart one were you, Goku?"

"I've always used my head in other ways," Goku said, knowing full well that Gero's plans were all foiled when Goku used his head to pound through Gero's last robot.

Gero's jubilant manner faded, remembering the previous folly, "this time won't be similar!" Gero signaled for the three to fight Goku. Obliging, the three began to move toward Goku before Goku lowered himself to the ground, knowing that he was a much better fighter from the ground. The three quickly followed suit as they jumped to the ground and landed gracefully on the ground.

The three warriors under Gero's control had their own telepathic communication of sorts as they looked to each other and nodded before the fight began. Once they looked back at Goku, Tien and Yamcha got in their fighting poses while Piccolo crossed his arms and looked on. Tien and Yamcha slowly moved in on Goku, who got into his fighting stance as well.

"I don't want to do this!" Goku said, although full well knowing that at this point, none of the three were in complete or even minor control of themselves. I cannot kill them! Goku thought as Tien and Yamcha unleashed a quick flurry of blows that Goku fended off, no matter what, I cannot kill them! Goku thought to himself as he continued to block the kicks and punches that Tien and Yamcha sent at him.

"Stop this!" Goku yelled at the two of them as they continued the onslaught, although Goku continued to block all of their blows. Finally, Goku gave up the hope that he would be able to end this ordeal peacefully enough to the point where he wouldn't have to attack his friends. "Fine then!" He said defiantly as he threw one punch at Yamcha that sent him stumbling backward as he focused on Tien, who he could sense was stronger than Yamcha.

Tien and Goku blocked each other's flurries of punches for a few seconds as the clashes sent dirt and rocks skidding across the ground from the power that the two were exuding but after a half dozen of flurries, Goku was able to get the upperhand as he blocked Tien's kick with his knee and sent a punch at Tien's jaw that glanced off but hit Tien enough to knock him back and after the glancing blow, Goku was able to forearm Tien in the jaw a Tien hit the ground, but before Goku could continue any further, Yamcha came up from behind him and suplexed him into the ground, creating a miniscule crater.

Goku was up quickly though and managed to blow Yamcha off of him by channeling his energy into his hands and shoving Yamcha upwards. Yamcha managed to keep his balance and landed gracefully on the ground while Goku back-flipped out of the crater. Yamcha, who was fighting on rabid instinct more than fighting prowess lunged in with a right jab that Goku ducked and Goku shot upward with an uppercut that made Yamcha fall back to the Earth, lifelessly.

Goku knowing that Yamcha wouldn't be getting up for awhile, focused on Tien. Tien was rearranging his dislocated jaw and as soon as he was done, he strode to Goku. "You're much stronger than the last time I faced you, Goku," Tien said as he smirked. "Though Dr. Gero did say that you would be a good test of how strong our new powers are. I think that even he underestimated your power. But it won't matter, you can't win!" Tien, also now similarly fighting on instinct rather than his martial art skill, sprinted after Goku who avoided Tien's barrage and managed to trip him, causing Tien to have to roll on the ground to catch his balance.

Tien came back for more but was unable to hit Goku before he was sent flying back by Goku, who again channeled his energy to force Tien back. Tien yelled in frustration as he got back to his feet, clearly irritated that he couldn't mount any offense on Goku, even though by Gero's estimates, Tien should be at least Goku's equal. As if reading his mind Goku said, "Tien, your power as grown a lot as well but the Tien that I knew would have easily defeated you by now. You fight with instinct but before you fought with much more than instinct. You were a true master, but not anymore." Goku said sternly, still unhappy that he had to fight with his friends at all.

But with the explanation, Tien was even more furious, "don't tell me how to fight!" Tien raged as he again began to sprint at Goku, but was stopped by a punch to the cheek that stopped him cold in his tracks as he fell to the ground, not unlike Yamcha's lifeless fall. Goku gasped as he saw Piccolo's fist connect with Tien and saw Tien crumple to the ground.

"What?" Piccolo asked as he saw Goku's expression, "you knew as well as I that the fight was over. He had lost it, it wasn't going to return." Piccolo removed is weighted clothing, "I'm afraid that you're going to have to go all out if you hope to beat me. You can't hold back like you did with these fools."

Goku scratched his head, "so you knew that I was holding back and not trying to seriously injure them?" Goku asked Piccolo.

"Oh yes," Piccolo said as he smirked, "I'm a lot smarter and perceptive than the two you just fought. I don't fight like a novice that fights on pure hatred and instinct. Oh no, I channel that anger into my own strength. Prepare to suffer the wrath, Goku!" Piccolo grunted as he got into his fighting stance as did Goku.

The two smirked at each other, both knowing that even before Piccolo was born and Goku defeated King Piccolo, that the offspring of the demon king would have to fight the one that killed his father. Goku knew full well as well that once King Piccolo had spat out the egg that contained Piccolo, he would have to fight him. And even though that in their first encounter, Goku had come out the victor, they both knew that their paths would cross again; their intertwined future was far from over.

They circled each other for another few moments before they both lunged at each other while screaming...