We depart from our regularly scheduled programming of Turbulence to bring you a special chapter. This is a tale that will reveal a perspective previously unseen regarding Piccolo's seizure of the throne and a tale that shows that one man's rise is another's downfall. While the nature of this chapter will include context clues that will ultimately lead to many examples of dramatic irony, the story of vengeance must be told nonetheless.

Vengeance Special - Part 1: Downfall

Age 753

Being that the Red Ribbon Army was one of the largest global powers in the world, it was only natural that they were one of the first to learn about the return of the Demon King Piccolo and his overtaking of the Earth's throne. It had caused an uproar within the army's ranks, panic and fright overwashing the bulk of them before it had even reached Commander Red's office.

Needless to say, when he'd been notified of this by one of his top officials, it irritated him greatly. Just when his army was hitting his stride, an even greater entity had come along and snatched any chance they had at being the dominant superpower in the world.

Grounding his teeth, the midget growled, "and you're sure this information is factual, Staff Officer Black?" He already knew, of course, but something within him needed to hear it again. 'Of all the times he could've picked to rise up again… he chooses now?!"

"T-There's no way this can be mistaken, Commander." The official never missed a beat in his response despite clearly being shaken up by the news himself. His cowering, trembling form proved as much. "The Demon King has definitely returned, and he's already forced King Furry into renouncing himself as king."

Red clenched his fist and slammed it roughly on the desk, the sudden impact whirlwinding his papers all over the room. "We're going to have to concentrate all our efforts on taking him down. As much as I don't like to admit it, this guy's the real deal." He spat out the cigar he had between his lips and, immediately, Black handed him another one which he promptly lit. As he exhaled the smoke, it was almost as if he was shuddering in anticipation. "I take it that everyone else knows too?"

Black nodded. "Afraid so, sir. Someone was watching the news and shouted that out blindly without even having any regard for what that'd do to our morale. I came up here as fast as I could to tell you about this."

"First things first," started Red as he stood up, "we kill the poor bastard who said anything in the first place. Don't have time to deal with blathering fools like him, and I'll bet that the sniveling loser won't even be able to fight efficiently anyway."

"I'll take care of that as soon as you dismiss me, sir," affirmed the second-in-command. "Is there anything else you'll need me to carry out?"

"Yeah…" Red murmured, exhaling another patch of smoke. "Do me a favor and round up our forces for an assembly. We gotta deal with this demon king before he deals with us…"

"Understood, sir. I'll get right on it." Staff Officer Black made his way out of Red's main office without missing a beat.

The diminutive commander let out a heaving sigh before inhaling another lungful of smoke as he followed suit. 'This sure isn't gonna be an easy speech… but it's one that may be the most important to the Red Ribbon Army's future.'

Within the span of a half-hour, the Red Ribbon Army's full roster had filed into seats that sat just below a stage that featured Commander Red's podium. Commanders were present, as were the newest recruits; even the scientists had been called down for this important message. None of them were the slightest privy to the news they were about to be relayed, but the general murmurs and whispers that were pinballing all around the room indicated concern, doubt, and fear had taken the army hostage.

That was what Doctor Gero thought, at least.

'This tardiness on the part of Commander Red won't be helping out our forces any time soon,' thought the scientist with a scowl playing across his bearded lips. 'Is even he so concerned about this assembly that he's being forced to think about how to address his announcement? If that's the case, this doesn't bode well...'

Deciding to investigate, the doctor glanced from side to side. Either of the obsidian-painted walls bore the Red Ribbon Army's insignia in standout red and white paint, and, upon observation, the bottom of each black-colored chair had the logo imprinted onto it as well. 'It seems foolish to think we're running low on expenses considering how new this room looks… but at the same time, it's been practically eons since I've ever taken time out of my day to go down here.'

He was suddenly jerked out of his thoughts by the sudden noise of Commander Red clearing his throat, prompting the doctor to turn forward and present his overseer with his full attention. The ginger-haired commander – with Staff Officer Black to Red's right – was standing on that obscenely large podium of his in an attempt to look taller, which would've normally sparked a laugh or two by the newbies. But even they recognized the severity of this situation if their absolute silence was anything to go by.

"First and foremost," the cigar-bearing commander started, "what you saw on the news is the real deal. Piccolo's loose again, and he's taken the throne from King Furry. That means, officially, he's the new king of Earth."

A collective outbreak of shouts and cries immediately erupted from all around Doctor Gero, almost forcing him to cover his ears. 'These damn imbeciles… don't they realize that panicking is what he would want? Crying about this won't garner any results!'

"I realize that this isn't optimal for our plans," continued the patch-adorning figurehead, evidently attempting to mask any emotion from showing on his face, "but it is something we will have to work with nonetheless. Piccolo is a monster… a demon king. And he will destroy us if we don't mount some sort of resistance on the sooner side."

'If we trim the fat from our soldiers, I could guarantee otherwise,' internally fired back Doctor Gero. 'He's speaking as if every single one of us are valuable, and that's far from the truth. I can hand him a list full of hundreds of incompetent workers that'll lead to us becoming much more mobile as a unit. Then we wouldn't have to charge Piccolo like a bunch of idiots and could actually think before we act...'

"I believe that we are more powerful in a unit than we are apart." Commander Red paused to discard his current cigar, Black instinctually handing his boss another. "As such, we have no greater opportunity to both beat Piccolo and accomplish our goal of ruling the world. Now is our opportune time to strike; if we beat Piccolo, we not only eliminate the biggest threat to our army, but we also have the royal palace in the palm of our hands."

The cries and shrieks of panic seemed to be fading down in favor of the same quiet murmurs and whispers that Gero had picked up on his way here. It irritated him that these people were so easily persuaded by what was one of the simplest speeches he'd ever heard from his commander, but he certainly wasn't in a position to speak against his overseer.

'The more power to him if he can control these bumbling nitwits… but we have to hope that our weaponry far exceeds that of our soldiers' brainpower,' Gero internally noted. 'Otherwise, we'll stand absolutely no chance against this demon king. And even then, I have my doubts that we'll all escape this unscathed...'

"We won't be leaving immediately, of course. The commanders and I will need a bit of time to work out our strategy... but I strongly believe in this army's power, and I know we have the means to take down Piccolo in a full-out attack!" Red raised a clenched fist into the air, shouting, "now, who's with me?!"

A violent eruption of cheers burst forth and overtook the assembly room within a matter of moments, flooding Gero's eardrums and this time forcing him to slap his palms over his ears in an attempt to block this absolutely obstreperous noise. '...we'll need a miracle to survive this one...!'

Not long after that, everyone had dispersed back to their various activities. The soldiers were waiting in their bunkers, the scientists and additional workers were fine-tuning the weaponry, and the commanders had begun to confer on their battle strategy.

Yet one man was not preparing for the battle. And that man was none other than one of the most refined and revered scientists in Doctor Gero.

The man was currently holed up in his office, pacing back and forth vigorously as his hands trembled in trepidation. He had never been one to allow himself to relax or dispel his fears; his head-on approach to most situations was what made the doctor such an effective worker to this day.

But even the strongest-willed man had a breaking point, and for Gero, the mere thought of the Red Ribbon Army being pitted against King Piccolo was enough to send him over the edge.

"There isn't much time," he thought aloud, murmuring to himself. "These idiots… they're truly going to be so blind as to head into battle with the biggest threat that the world has ever known. Those fumes must've somehow gotten from his lungs into his head for him to think of attempting a full-out attack!" He balled a fist in frustration, nearly having half a mind to slam it into the walls of his study, but his intellectual mind thought better against it. There was no need for him to cause another uproar when there were more rational options to consider.

"I… I have to survive… if the army is not able to do away with Piccolo, I have to do it myself." Almost as if driven by an unseen force, the good doctor looked toward his desk and immediately advanced upon it, going to the bottom left compartment and inputting a small code upon one of the locks. It clicked in approval, immediately unfastening and allowing Gero to open it up.

Inside was the file he'd been looking for. 'It's a little worrying to place all my eggs into one basket with this project, yet at the same time it's my only option if our fighters fail.' There were so many unanswered questions as to whether or not his gamble would pay off or if the experiment would even succeed to begin with, yet Doctor Gero knew that time was against him at the moment. It wouldn't be long now before everyone was assembled to begin their assault on Daimao Castle, which meant that the good doctor had the clock as his adversary as he racked his brain for potential ideas.

'Commander Red may be the figurehead of the world's best army, but he's a dunce when it comes to actual military fighting. What would be the point of bringing along your entire army if only your soldiers know how to fight?' Doctor Gero scowled. The thought of being forced along on this battle for his 'scientific value' was idiotic, yet he couldn't put it past his commander to pull such a thing. 'I have my own life to worry about, not those of some simple-brained morons… yet, unless I think of something, I won't have a choice.'

As he continued to assess his current situation, the scientist's bushy lips contorted into a frown. 'Refusal to comply wouldn't make much sense; I'd be shot without hesitation under the guise that I'd gone mad.' He paused for a beat. 'But the idea of death doesn't sound like too far of a stretch… hmmm…

'I think I may have just gotten my ticket out of this war.'

A grand total of forty minutes later, Doctor Gero had been pronounced dead. A brief examination later revealed the catalyst behind his death as a case of heart failure. His fellow workers who had watched as the mustached scientist had collapsed to the floor were reported to have absolutely no involvement in the matter; it'd seemed as if his heart had just went and gone out on him for no apparent reason. It wasn't long before someone threw out the possible idea of the stress having been too much for him, and those who had known the good doctor had settled on such a cause being a reasonable conclusion.

Of course, the death of one of the army's own did not impede their plans in the slightest. The loss and execution of workers was an extremely common occurrence within the Red Ribbon Army; so much so, in fact, that they'd had a storage room prepared for all these dead bodies that they expunged monthly. Doctor Gero's body had been tossed in there as carelessly as a sack of potatoes, his lifeless carcass diving into a sea of executed and dismembered bodies. With that matter over and done with, the Red Ribbon Army set out to challenge the Demon King Piccolo and end his reign…

...but little did they know, Doctor Gero's legacy was far from over.

He awoke in a sea of deceased bodies, immediately shoving a headless soldier off of his aching body and proceeding to do the same to countless others, all of varying build and structure. His arms ached from the sudden activity, wading through these dead corpses in what was a painfully dull white room, but the doctor had more important priorities to consider. 'I should've expected to be thrown in here after my sudden 'heart failure...' ah, well, it makes no difference to me. What matters now is that, for better or worse, I've survived this whole endeavor.

'Now I just need to act upon the opportunity I've been given.'

It wasn't long before he reached the door, gripping the handle and turning it to the side with all his might. It was ever-so-fortunate for him that the Red Ribbon Army had never bothered with a lock on this makeshift cemetery, allowing him to make an escape with practically no effort at all.

He soon found himself in one of the corridors of the army's base, the tower eerily reticent. What was normally a complex full of bustling activity and obstreperous chatter had been transformed into a structure of absolute silence. From the looks of things in the most public of areas, such as the mess hall and the barracks, there had been no stone left unturned. As Gero snooped around, he'd found that every single weapon had been picked clean by the army's massive horde of soldiers, every single possession had been accounted for, and even everyone's offices had been specifically organized.

It was almost as if they knew they were going to die.

But the good doctor still had a sliver of faith in his people. Though the odds were unlikely, a small part of Gero prayed that his army had survived for the better. He kept repeating this to himself over and over as he walked over to a large monitor, flicking it on and watching with bated breath. 'According to Piccolo's new regime, he'll be hosting a televised broadcast every day around six in the evening. There's no way he would allow the destruction of the Red Ribbon Army to not be leaked to the world; he would want as much attention and fame as possible.'

He glanced at the ticking clock on the wall. Much to his annoyance, it was only a quarter to six. There was still a fair amount of time before he would be able to accurately confirm the outcome of this battle, which Gero simply loathed. If there was one thing the doctor disliked, it was undeniably the virtue of patience. 'Fifteen minutes… until I know the truth. Fifteen minutes… before I can confirm the Earth's state. If they survived, then I'll have to work out a plan to reintroduce myself… the army certainly wouldn't be happy if I were to have admitted I skipped out on this battle.'

He somehow doubted he would need to do such a thing, however. As seconds turned into minutes, the doctor couldn't shake this feeling of dread and worry that something had gone awry. He suspected that his inner conscience knew the truth yet was keeping it sealed away from him for reasons unknown, making him snarl. The sound reverberated around the empty room, reminding the good doctor that he was in complete and utter solitude. Aside from the television's faint chatter, there was absolute dead silence.

And then he did a double take, realizing that the program had indeed started. A vulgar maelstrom of choice words streamed out of his bushy lips before he watched the monitor with transfixed eyes...

...and was immediately brought into reality.

"So… you think you can find your way out of imprisonment and just reclaim your position as the world's ruler? I'm afraid that I can't stand for that, demon king. We at the Red Ribbon Army had one driving goal… to pave the way to a superior future. You have not only stripped us of our power, but also our dignity.

"I will not rest until I repay you with interest. You and your children. They will all suffer for having taken the Red Ribbon Army's future away from us. I will make you feel the pain of having your destiny as a leader shattered into a million pieces, and I will revel in your despair as I watch you go onto the next world.

"I swear this, Piccolo… there will be vengeance. I will live until I find the means to rip you limb from limb, and I will watch and enjoy it as you suffer through pain even you find unimaginable."

Gero stood, his cold, icy eyes wandering over to the sight of the Red Ribbon Army logo and all that it had represented. A fire was lit in him like never before, a hatred so fervent rising within him that burned with the heat of a thousand suns. Somehow, someway, he would make the monster that had taken his plans away from him pay by returning the favor. He would be the lone survivor that rose above the ashes to conquer what was rightfully his to begin with.

It was his destiny to take the mantle of the Red Ribbon Army and make it his own. There was nothing left to do. He would either adapt or he would perish. But there was still one contributing factor to all of this, something the good doctor had recognized just as soon as his eyes had depicted the sight of that clock.

"All I need… is time."

Hello, everyone, and thank you for reading Turbulence's first ever special! This special(the first of a few) chronicled just how the Red Ribbon Army reacted to the news of Piccolo returning to terrorize Earth, and just as you might've guessed… things didn't go well for them. If you thought that they were significantly outmatched by Goku… well, King Piccolo's demons likely managed to do that much worse. From there, it only made sense to give Gero an obsession with destroying Piccolo like he did with Goku in canon. However, there still remain roads for our favorite mad scientist to travel before he can even begin his plans to fell him… and those roads will be walked upon later down the line. We will soon learn of a man who desires to avenge his army(despite having technically abandoned them in their time of need) and just how he will do it.

Speaking of that whole abandonment plot point: I don't see it as anything major considering shows like Nikita have faked deaths, and I figure if Gero was a scientist then he could conceivably do it. Is it a little on the unbelievable side? Eh... maybe a little. But I don't think it's anything too drastic.

Anyway, due to this being a special, there will be no Q&A for this chapter. The previous chapter(Chapter 11)'s Q&A will be directly replied to in the next main chapter of the story. You will not have to wait long for these answers, however, seeing as how the next chapter is already well over halfway done and should be up by my birthday, the first of December. I've already said how I enjoy uploading chapters on my birthday, but in addition to that annual hobby of mine, my schoolwork has been kicked up a notch as has a few other enjoyments of mine. It's not unreasonable to say that it could take me until then to finish the chapter(despite it being half done already), but even if I do finish it quickly, I'd like to have some breathing room. Nevertheless, expect some exciting content in the next chapter!

Now, I know you may be thinking about how short of a chapter this was(by my standards, at least) and why I decided to write it out instead of mentioning it in passing… especially when you consider that I barely showed anything exciting. Truth be told, I decided to write it out in full because while it may not be super duper special, this'll actually manage to prove fairly informative in the future for the second and final part of this special that will likely be published far into the future. As for why it won't be written consecutively? Well... I can't say one of my reasons due to spoilers, but the other is that I didn't want to avoid the question of "where is Gero?" for quite a while. There are some things readers need to be kept in the dark about, and then there's others that deserve a fair teaser. I would ultimately consider this chapter just that, in fact: a teaser. The second part of the Vengeance special will launch much later in the story, but it promises to follow up on this narrative with a truly interesting tale.

In other news, I have still not heard back quite yet from Shadowblade217 regarding the progress of Turbulence Abridged, but I am strongly confident that the project will be released for your reading pleasure sometime before the end of this year. I'll be sure to keep you posted regarding this and more on my blog, Rott's Reviews, and likely in chapters to come as well. However, I have other news that will certainly prove intriguing: in addition to bits and pieces of fanart I've received for this story, Supersaiyaninfinitygohan has been in the process of drawing me a cover page for Turbulence! While upon seeing the finished product you may internally groan at what could be potentially perceived as a spoiler... I would not be so quick to judge upon that. Do recall that my current cover has a very telling image as well, but that I am far from an orthodox writer. As we transition into one of the more predictable arcs of the DBZ storyline soon enough, be prepared for my best efforts at livening it up. I am not certain of when this image will be finished, but it will likely become the cover image of this story for the foreseeable future.

Now, finally... given that this is the one year anniversary special of this story, I have a few words I need to say. I don't want to take up too much space considering that this chapter was fairly short and that I would not want the length of it to eclipse the actual story, but they are words that must be said nonetheless:

Readers, thank you so much for a year of absolutely epic proportions. Though this story has gone through its bursts of inspiration, inconsistent updates and all the like, it is ultimately the satisfaction that I derive in knowing that I am providing you with the best product possible that I can manage. I never quite expected this story to take off as it did, and while I did start this story an entire year ago with a naive mind in thinking that this would be my newest cool idea that would last for a little while, it has been an utter shock to me how well both my audience and myself have received this fanfic. It has officially taken its place as my signature story in both my heart and in that of my readers' brains, and once my first surge of inspiration arose with this story, I just kept drafting more and more until I had an epic tale on my hands. The main plot has undergone many a revision since then, but throughout it all I finally discovered that this was the fic I was meant to carry out on this site. It's been a year, but I'm still raring for more, and I hope you are as well. Here's to another year of excellence and many more to come, not just in FanFiction, but in each of our respective lives.

In the next chapter, the Z-Fighters will finally go head-to-head with Piccolo one last time. But can they survive his onslaught? Will their plan even work? Stay tuned to find out, as well as to learn about a shocking new announcement that will be implemented in Turbulence for the chapters that follow!