Only one year remained before the Saiyan invasion.
For the world, it was a silent countdown, but for Rudra, every day felt like a sharpened blade against his throat.
He had finally reached half of the First Stage's Of Chakra Core's power. His aura pulsed with a frightening rhythm, each heartbeat carrying enough force to level mountains. By his own estimate, he now stood equal to the final form of Frieza—the tyrant who would one day terrorize Namek.
Yet this terrifying leap in strength had not come cheaply.
It was the result of unrelenting training and brutal control over his hunger. Where once his body demanded food every few hours, now he could go an entire month without a single grain. His body had adapted, converting every shred of absorbed chakra into pure energy. This starvation technique was torture to most, but to Rudra it was liberation.
"One year… that's all I have. If I want to stand against Saiyans, I need more than raw strength. I need an army. A foundation. Something the Z Fighters can't predict."
And that's when his mind turned toward the remnants of the Red Ribbon Army.
---
The Plan Begins
The Red Ribbon Army was thought long dead, a broken dream crushed by Goku in his youth. But Rudra knew better. In the shadows, its ashes still smoldered. And in those ashes lived a single dangerous ember—Dr. Gero.
The brilliant but twisted scientist had already transformed his own brain into an android body, continuing his research in secret. He watched, observed, and waited, monitoring Goku and the other Z Fighters with ruthless patience.
"If I can bend him to my will," Rudra thought, "then I won't just control an army. I'll control the future."
But first, he had to find the elusive scientist.
---
The Hunt for Gero
Rudra soared through skies, crossing island chains, oceans, and unmarked territories. He scoured caves, jungles, and isolated plateaus where even birds feared to land. Yet every attempt ended in silence.
Days passed.
Weeks blurred into one another.
Frustration burned inside him like wildfire. His aura flared each time he landed on barren soil.
"Damn it…! Where are you hiding, old man?"
And then, in a quiet moment of reflection, his memory unlocked a crucial detail from the original timeline.
"Of course… the Northern Mountains near North City. That's where he built his secret base in the story I once knew. If I follow the shadow of history, I'll find him."
Without hesitation, Rudra turned north, cutting through biting winds and snow-laden skies.
---
The Northern Mountains
The mountains loomed like jagged titans, their peaks cloaked in white. Beneath that pristine blanket, however, lay secrets darker than blood.
Rudra descended into a narrow valley, his boots cracking ice beneath him. He inhaled deeply, then let his voice thunder across the peaks.
"Dr. Gero! Come out! Surrender, or face me!"
His words echoed through the frozen air.
Inside the hidden facility, red lights flickered as alarms sounded. Android sensors registered the intrusion. Deep underground, Dr. Gero stirred, his artificial mind calculating.
"So… the world government finally dares to interfere? Fools. They'll regret challenging me."
A hidden panel opened. From it emerged a pale figure with mechanical limbs and eyes glowing a faint red.
The android body of Dr. Gero stepped into the snow.
---
The Encounter
Dr. Gero's voice rasped, metallic and bitter.
"Who dares scream at my fortress? Another arrogant insect sent by the world police? Hmph. You'll die quickly."
Rudra stepped forward, his black aura crackling around him.
"I am no insect. I am the one who will decide the fate of this Earth. You, Gero, will work under me… or be destroyed."
The scientist chuckled coldly.
"Under you? Do you even understand who I am? I have built machines that can annihilate armies! I am the mind that will surpass human evolution itself!"
Rudra's eyes narrowed.
"And yet, you were beaten by a child once. Do not forget your shame."
The words struck like a dagger. Rage twisted Gero's face. With a snarl, he raised his mechanical arm, firing a concentrated energy beam.
The blast screamed through the air—only to be caught in Rudra's palm.
Snow melted in a circle around him, the sheer heat of his aura swallowing the attack whole.
Dr. Gero froze.
"This… impossible…"
Rudra's expression was cold, merciless.
"You have intelligence, Gero. That is your only worth. I do not seek to kill you. I seek to use you. Work for me, and your research will continue under my protection. Refuse…"
He crushed the energy blast into dust with his fingers.
"…and I will end you here."
Silence hung heavy. The scientist's mechanical mind whirred. He had survived decades by bending, adapting, deceiving. Against this monster, resistance was suicide.
Slowly, Dr. Gero lowered his arm.
"…Very well. I will listen."
---
The New Order
The underground base revealed itself to Rudra as he descended with Gero. Corridors of steel, humming generators, and half-completed android shells lay scattered like corpses in a graveyard of science.
Rows of computers flickered with lines of code. The place reeked of ambition and madness.
"This," Gero said with a twisted pride, "is the legacy of the Red Ribbon Army. From its ashes, I will create warriors stronger than gods themselves."
Rudra glanced around, unimpressed.
"Your legacy now belongs to me. From this moment, the Red Ribbon Army lives again—under my command."
He extended his aura, letting its oppressive weight flood the chamber. Metal walls groaned. Bolts rattled loose. Even machines seemed to cower.
Gero swallowed synthetic fear. For the first time, he truly understood—this man was no ordinary human. He was something else entirely.
---
The Rebirth
Rudra began construction of a new underground stronghold. With a single destructive blast, he hollowed a vast cavern beneath the mountains, then reshaped it with his energy.
He summoned loyal mercenaries and remnants of the old Red Ribbon scattered across the world—broken soldiers, bitter men, scientists abandoned by governments. He promised them power, wealth, and vengeance.
Under his command, they built.
New labs. Training facilities. Armories. Hangars for machines.
The Red Ribbon insignia once again gleamed on banners, but now it stood not for Gero's broken pride, but for Rudra's rising empire.
And Dr. Gero… for all his resentment, was forced to kneel to this new master.
---
A Dark Vision
Rudra gave his first order.
"You will not waste time with petty androids. Begin work directly on Cell. The ultimate being. You already have the blueprint inside your mind."
Gero's eyes widened.
"You… how do you—?"
"Do not ask. Simply obey."
Gero hesitated, then nodded reluctantly.
Cell… yes, the perfect lifeform. In his own timeline, Gero had intended to complete it far later. But Rudra was accelerating destiny itself.
"Alongside Cell," Rudra continued, "you will also prepare Android 17 and 18. This world will need them. But this time, they will not be mindless rebels. They will have a leader—me."
He stepped onto a raised platform, his aura cutting like a blade across the chamber.
"From this moment on, I am the Boss of the Red Ribbon Army. The age of weak men is over. The Saiyans will find Earth not a helpless target… but a fortress."
---
Foreshadowing
Deep within the labs, the whirring of machines began anew. Stasis chambers filled with bubbling liquid. DNA strands unraveled and recombined. Schematics of future androids flickered on monitors.
The soldiers whispered in awe and fear of their new master. Some called him a savior, others a devil.
But Rudra himself stood silent in the center of it all, watching.
"Let the Saiyans come," he thought. "When they arrive, they won't just face Goku and his friends. They'll face me… and an army forged from the ashes of history."
And thus, the Red Ribbon Army was reborn.