Disclaimer, in case it wasn't obvious. I don't own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, or really any other property. Thank you.

The Catalyst

Chapter 46: Awake

Son Goku:

This was so weird.

It was just really, really, really weird. Because he knew Gohan, and this was just totally out of left field. Then there was the fact that this was Vegeta's son. That was even crazier. But the worst part of course, is the fact that the kid was now dying there. It was his fault too. He wanted to see what the other power he sensed there could do, and knew he'd step in. But by not coming in and saving Trunks sooner, his injuries were much worse. If he died, the blood would be on his hands, just as much as they were on Cooler's. With a deep frown on his face, he looked over to Gohan who stood just close to the bed, now that Vegeta had left.

Vegeta, you really are cold, aren't you?

"He's like the little brother I never had," Gohan admitted after a few moments. "Losing him in my time was... hard. But it was even harder on Bulma."

Even harder on Bulma? Why would it... oooooooohhhh... Vegeta and Bulma?! That's crazy!... Oh... her son died. He's dead over there too. This isn't right.

"He'll pull through without Vegeta," Goku then commented. "And if he doesn't, the Dragon Balls-... Holy smokes! The Dragon Balls!"

There was a pause on the other side before Gohan's eyes widened.

"Th-that's right! The Dragon Balls are still here in this world! We can use them to save him. Dad, you're a genius," Gohan complimented with a real, full smile.

It was so strange to stare back at him, and in a lot of ways it was just more and more uncomfortable.

"Before I forget, by the way," Gohan started, before pulling out a single bottle from his fighting gi. "This is some heart medication. The thing that took you out before the Androids got here, was a heart virus. This medicine will cure you if you get sick. Oh, and when the Androids get to South City, they're going to be looking specifically for you. If you aren't there, they're going to go on a complete rampage."

Catching the bottle out of the air, Goku looked down at it before looking directly back to Gohan, nodding slowly as he did.

"So, the Androids are out to kill Goku almost exclusively?" Piccolo enquired as he stepped into the room. "Why?"

"Remnants of the old Red Ribbon Army made them, a crazy doctor named Gero," Gohan immediately answered. "And Piccolo, it's great to see you. Really. It's been... it's been really-"

"You don't need to get into further detail, Gohan. I can imagine it's been hard. But the fact that your here, just shows me that all that training paid off. You'll find a way to win eventually," Piccolo said with a small, knowing smile.

"Hell, I should have just come here for the moral boost, let alone trying to stop the androids in this time," Gohan laughed after a moment.

It was enough to make Goku laugh as well, and even Piccolo, before the older Saiyan looked past Gohan to the bandaged form next to all of them. Now what they really needed to do was start collecting the Dragon Balls and-

There was something angry coming this way. In fact, if Goku didn't know any better...

Turles.

The brother he knew the least about. With Raditz, they'd at least had some time to talk. He would even go as far as to say he trusted his elder brother in a lot of things. Turles on the other hand? He barely knew anything about his twin. The only things he knew about him were things like, he was really strong. Of everyone on Earth, he would be the second strongest being on the planet from this time line, right now. He also knew that Turles was a control freak, and vicious. And if he wasn't mistaken, he'd wanted eternal life from the Dragon Balls, just like Raditz and Vegeta.

Of course, his current spout of rage was likely linked to Gohan's... encouraged attack.

"Does that idiot really want more?" Gohan asked looking up and over towards the window in the direction Turles was coming from.

"I'll take care of this," Goku said, before placing two fingers to his forehead. "I'll calm him down."

The look Piccolo gave him, was less than encouraging.

"Uhm... I'll stop him from killing anyone?"

"That kind of wording is much better. I doubt Turles is thinking very clearly right now. He's been running the show since you've been in space, and he's been throwing his weight around. Now that he can't, I bet that he's lashing out," Piccolo said, before nodding.

"Thanks."

With that, the world disappeared in a blur of speed.

The last thing he heard, was Gohan asking Piccolo a question.

"Who the Hell is this Turles guy, anyway?"

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Turles:

They took a no count like Vegeta along with them, and left me eating the dirt back there? How dare they disrespect me? I should pull their eyes out of their skulls for this. I am Turles, and I am going to rule the entire universe. Even if I don't have the strength right now, they should recognize that I will.

A city slowly started to come into view, before it rapidly approached him. Tense fingers ground into his palm as he sneered even more violently.

I will become a Super Saiyan, and then we'll see just how strong these fools think they are. They rally around Kakarot as if he's the strongest being in the universe, but they have no idea what I can do. The world will shake with my power when I achieve my dream. I will be far past Kakarot, and these two impotent leeches.

In the back of his mind, he could hear Bardock's words resonating with him. That he'd be nothing, and that everything was on Kakarot's shoulders. It was as if he saw him as a parasite, trying to steal Kakarot's glory. How was it his glory? He was the one who had conquered worlds and consumed their life essence. Up until Kakarot surpassed Frieza, he had been the strongest Saiyan to ever live. Kakarot was given the Super Saiyan mantle so easily. All it took were the deaths of a few of his pitiful friends... and his son.

Well, I can see how the boy dying would-

All of his thoughts were cut off as a figure appeared seemingly out of nowhere in the air a few hundred metres in front of him. Blinking strongly several times, Turles barely had time to loop his body around the figure. It was like looking into a mirror. There he was, Kakarot himself. The one he supposedly wasn't entitled to steal any glory from. Already he could almost smell the stink of weakness off of him. This was the man who had just spared Cooler. Hell, this was the one who despite being stronger than Frieza, couldn't go all out and finish the job. He may say otherwise, but his softness spared Frieza. You guarantee important kills.

"Turles," Kakarot started. "I know that you're heading down there. There isn't any need. You couldn't hurt either of them if you had the-"

"Maybe I'll just hurt you instead then, Kakarot?" Turles hissed in turn, narrowing his eyes dangerously.

The idea of course, was a fantasy as it stood right now. Kakarot could defeat him even more quickly than Trunks did, unless the fool dragged it out. It could give him time to discover what Kakarot had to transform. It wasn't just training, that would be a foolish idea. Kakarot had changed because he'd discovered something. It was a technique. It had to be a technique. Once he learned it for himself, he would be dramatically in the superior, in his own mind.

"We both know that's not going to happen," his twin responded, just standing there, his form relaxed. "So why don't you calm down, and we can talk about what happened?"

He thinks treating my like a child will help?

"Calm down?" Turles seethed. "You must think I'm as stupid as you are, Kakarot. I don't need to calm down."

"I think you do."

There was that voice again. He was in his head, again. For what? Just so he could watch someone who was alive?

Stay out of my head, Bardock. I don't need you spreading anymore of your lies or-

"Hey, are you alright? You look kinda zoned out," Kakarot remarked, his eyebrows raised.

Immediately Turles returned to the real world, glaring back at his twin. Inside of himself he could already feel resentment boiling again.

"I'm fine."

"Well, okay then. So I was going to tell you what was going on. It involves robots. Scary killer robots from the sounds of things."

... Is he retarded-? AHHHHH!

Blood leaked down his right nostril as he felt the world beginning to float away from him. The current of the wind picked up as he felt his body almost fall away, awaiting to land with a splash into some ethereal ocean.

BARDOCK!

It was like being a prisoner in his own body...

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Turles:

"You're really tough to talk to when you're awake and angry up there," Bardock remarked bluntly.

Not again. Not this dead old idiot again. This fool was an embarrassment to the Saiyans. He'd lured him to his death just to benefit Kakarot. Now what was he trying to do? Was this another one of his games where he tried to play him off the others? Right now he wouldn't have any of it. With a cruel glint in his eyes, Turles just spat, before trying to pull himself up.

But he was face first in the first before he could even move. It was hot outside and the wind was blistering his skin. Barely able to pull himself up, he looked around the landscape around him. They were dead, all of them. Kakarot was dead, laying there in the dirt in front of him, and he could feel blood trickling down his own lip. But compared to Kakarot, he was very well. The other Saiyan's head was half split open and his eye was hanging out, his hair black instead of gold. The entirety of his fighting gi was wrecked as well.

"..." Not saying a word, not looking to even begin the discussion with Bardock, he stepped over the body, continuing to walk. The next corpse in his path was one which hit closer to home, even if he hated to admit it. Raditz was missing his lower body, blown away, his innards splayed out behind him, trailing along with his long hair. His last few moments of horror were written across his face. Raditz was hardly the strongest, but of all these meat-bags, his elder brother was the one he was... most... least likely to kill.

Looking up from him, he saw the Namekian, Vegeta, his nephew, and an assortment of others, all of them winding down the desert pathway.

Tightening his jaw, the Saiyan just gave a hardened look. This wasn't his problem at all.

"Are you done showing off yet, old man?"

"You wonder what did them in?"

"Do I care?" Turles quipped immediately.

"You should," Bardock remarked grimly from behind him. "Because if they die, you die."

A slow smirk crossed the other Saiyan's face before he slowly turned to Bardock, amused by the remark. As if he was worried about his life? He'd faced death before. In fact, he only died because he'd listened to his old man's lies.

"Well, at least I'll have the comfort of knowing Kakarot died along with me. Are you trying to turn me into a coward next?"

"Turles," Bardock commented dimly back to him. "You're as stupid as Kakarot, only twice as incompetent. Let me make this very clear for you, I'll speak slow. There are going to be androids coming, and a big pissed off Namekian before that. In the regular time line, Kakarot stops them. Here, well, things may turn out differently unless you can pull your weight."

"I will become a Super Saiyan-"

"Not without my help," Bardock answered bluntly. "And turning you into a Super Saiyan is the worst idea I've ever heard of. You're everything I'm ashamed of."

It was impossible to stop his grin from turning into a scowl, returning a cold gaze to his father.

"But you'll help me transform to stop these... Androids and this Namekian, won't you?"

"So, when the Namekian kills your nephew and sister-in-law, you're not going to listen to me to go save them?"

What the Hell was that supposed to mean? Licking his front teeth dangerously, Turles took a few steps forward, his posture as deadly as ever.

"Isn't that Kakarot's job?"

"I can't talk to Kakarot, remember? I can only talk to you. For all the worthless, mercenary-pirate scum that you are."

That was it. He was tired of dealing with this old fool. Opening his palms, Turles began to prepare to gather enough energy to launch an assault, only to find his hands couldn't conjure any power of any sort.

"Just remember, that the only reason I'm going to signal you is to save Kakarot's family. When you drop dead fighting the Androids later on, you won't be coming back."

The words echoed past him as they were spoken, making Bardock just cross his arms as he stared back down at him.

Drop dead?

Before he could even ask, Turles felt the grip of reality take him back like a cold hand grabbing his heart and yanking violently.

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Son Goku:

So, bleeding and falling in front of him, hey? That was definitely a new tactic he'd not seen before.

He seems to be falling a lot longer than if it was a ploy. What's that thing Chi-Chi always talks to me about? Heart attack? No... Stroke! Did he just have one of those in front of me? No. Way.

Seeing his twin's body fade further and further towards the Earth, suddenly Goku realized that it very well may be some kind of stroke.

... Uh oh.

Within a second, he'd shifted gears. From confrontation everything moved towards concern. Blasting off after his twin, Goku could only watch as the body fell further and further, before in a blur of motion the still conscious Saiyan caught his double with one arm, before skidding against the surface of the Earth, mud building up below him from the momentum as his feet ploughed into the ground.

Immediately, he dropped his brother to the ground, looking at him, seeing a dead look in his sibling's eyes.

What just happened?

Out of nowhere, life came back to him as Turles breathed in and out sharply, before his eyes flashed towards him. Gasping for several seconds more, the other Saiyan slowly sat up, holding his chest for a second before breathing in and out deeply, sweat beading on the edges of his noise, brow and cheeks as he just took in the world around him.

"How long was I out?" he asked, seemingly already aware that he was zoned out.

"A minute maybe," Goku responded. "Are you sick or something?"

There was no response as his brother stared back at him bitterly. Months of built up disdain was evident in his look, and it answered nothing for Goku. The best solution was the one he always gave, he grinned back at his brother before scratching the back of his head.

"Well, that was some fall. You had me worried for a second. But you know what? There isn't any reason we should fight-"

"Kais I can't believe he likes you more than me," his brother almost snarled as he pulled himself up, and really it just left Goku all the more... confused.

Who was he talking about?

"Uhm, who're you-?"

Ignoring him again, his brother stood his full height as a purple aura swirled around him a moment later.

"I have things to do," he sneered, before as quickly as he'd arrived, he'd left.

What a weird day.

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Trunks: Two Days Later

Everything hurt.

There was a haze over everything, but he felt... well, he felt. It was enough to make him whimper. Trying to roll over, he realized his arm felt broken. When he tried to sit up, he felt his ribs immediately protest. Worse yet, as he opened his eyes, he realized he was so weak he could barely move. It wasn't just the pain that stopped him by any means. It was the fact that his entire body felt drained. There was an oxygen mask on his face that he'd not even realized. When his lungs filled up with air, he knew it was with the assistance of a machine.

Shakily, he turned his head to one side, seeing someone he never expected to see again. The last time he'd last seen Gohan with his face in a puddle, dead by the Androids hands. It was the night he'd first transformed into a Super Saiyan. The other day came rushing back to him, with Frieza's family and Cooler. He'd thought for sure they were dead, but Gohan must have stopped them. It wasn't shocking in the slightest, Gohan had always had it in him to stop anything if he put himself into it. It was his fault Gohan lost to the Androids, in his view, for his own world.

This wasn't the Gohan he knew, even if he looked exactly the same. With a tremble, he looked down at his own body and just winced, seeing the extent of the bandages covering his body, some of them still bloody. Barely looking left with his eyes, he saw the medical equipment monitoring him. Breathing in and out, feeling the machine helping him do so, Trunks tried to speak for a second, but nothing came out.

Opening his mouth again, still nothing, but this time there was a pain in his chest.

... That was the worst beating I've ever taken. Even the Androids haven't beaten me up this badly.

How close had he come to death? Even now he was very faint. Even tilting his head from side to side took an immense effort. His hair was matted to his scalp and forehead with sweat and blood. Something had to give.

"Hey you person," another familiar voice came in. "I think Goku will have the Dragon Balls any second now and-... Oh, you fell asleep."

It was his mother walking in, holding a bag full of food. Apples could be seen through the plastic in the bag, as well as some bananas. But it wasn't his mother. Well, it was, but she wasn't. This was his mother before she'd become his mother. She had features not withered by age, or by a lifetime of stress and distress. How many nights had they spent in shelters beneath Capsule Corporation, trembling and hoping the monsters that had killed his father, didn't come to collect them next? It was like hiding from death... and he was tired of hiding.

Even now he was tired of it.

With a struggling noise, he tried to speak again, but nothing came out in any words.

Mom. I missed you. There is so much I wish I could tell you. There is so much you need to know if you're going to get through all of this.

"..." she paused, as Gohan lay there sleeping. "You're out like a light hey? You really seem to care about..."

There was a long, drawn stare, brought over to him. It wasn't one of fear, but one of genuine surprise. He just wanted to say hello, Hell, he wanted to do anything except lay here and feel... this. The dull ache that covered his entire body was almost overwhelming.

"Wow. You're... awake."

Rustling next to him, Gohan's face pulled up from where it was hanging as he was, blinking several times.

"Huh?... I... yea, I'm awake," he managed to yawn, trying to keep himself up. "Is Goku back with the Dragon-"

Stopping, he looked where Bulma was staring, looking as if he was expecting to see the worst. Instead, he just felt his mouth drop slowly.

"Trunks! You're alive!-" Getting up, he almost seemed ready to grab him, but stopped himself at the last second.

This was so much like being home it was terrifying. It was like reliving a piece of his past right in front of him with both Gohan and his mom there. Only this time it wasn't in a bombed out building. For a second, he almost didn't want to go home. This place was going to be a paradise by comparison to the nightmare he'd left behind. But part of that also meant that he needed to go home, as soon as he was able. Not just because he didn't want to get attached, that was hardly it, but because he wanted to save his own world from the monsters which had ruined it, and were continuing to pillage the empty husk they'd made.

Unable to respond verbally, he managed to shakily nod his head, and tried to force a smile. The smile hurt just to form, it even hurt his eyes as bruised flesh pushed up against his eyes.

"You did really good out there Trunks, man, compared to the Trunks I know... knew... you're... you're amazing," Gohan finally said, he could see his pride showing through even.

But there was something else behind it. Knew was the word he used, and it was easy to imagine why. In their worlds, they'd switched places, hadn't they? Even in his tired, worn state, it wasn't impossible to imagine. It almost made him want to sink into the bed when he realized exactly what it meant. His mother would have been devastated. A lot of the time, he thought the biggest thing that kept her going was him, and now he was gone in the world where his friend came from.

Man, how do you just pick up where you left off with someone you saw die?

"Trunks, that's a really familiar name," Bulma said from behind, sounding confused as she said it. "Weird. I think I've heard that somewhere before."

Panic immediately set in as Trunks realized what she'd said. Eye contact was made with Gohan as the two of them had the same realization. Without saying a word to one another, they both could read the other without problem.

"Yea, weird," Gohan responded, trying not to sound awkward.

He knew when his mom was on to something, and he knew when she was just confused, and thankfully right now she just seemed confused. If she caught on, there was a good chance that he'd never be born in this world.

"I wonder what's taking Goku so long with the Dragon Balls," Bulma then said, changing the subject. "I mean, we were worried we'd have to wish your friend Trunks back, but-"

"It is weird," Gohan remarked, before looking back towards Bulma. "I can still sense F-Goku on the planet, but he's just... travelling. I wonder why, I mean, it can't be that hard to collect the Dragon Balls-"

Dragon Balls?... They must have thought that I was going to die.

He'd heard stories from his mother about the Dragon Balls, and what they did. He who collected the seven Dragon Balls would be granted a single wish by the Eternal Dragon. It could do things like give someone immortality, or return the dead to the living. They were sorely lacking in his own world, which meant that no one the Androids killed could come back.

"Well, we should tell Goku we don't need them anymore anyway," Bulma said with a big smile. "Don't want to waste them after all. But, I just wanted to drop by and thank you for saving all of us from Frieza and-"

There was a blur of motion in front of all of them as Goku seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Hey, has anyone seen the Seven Star Dragon Ball? It's kinda weird, I can't find it," Goku remarked, his arms full of Dragon Balls.

"Oh neat, you're awake. Hey Trunks!" Goku announced with a huge grin. "My name is Goku, but you probably already know that, right? Hey, we're going to get you fixed up, alright? No need to worry."

Pulling out of his sash, an all too familiar bean, Goku just grinned excitedly.

A wave of relief washed over the time traveller at its very sight.

Awesome. This means I'll be back in action.

Pulling up his oxygen mask a second later, Goku placed the bean in his mouth. As soon as it entered, he weakly chewed it before swallowing.

All of the pain vanished in the blink of an eye.

"Neat, now we've got a lot of stuff to go over I'm pretty sure," Goku announced. "Because I'm pretty sure at least one of you aren't supposed to actually be here."

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Author's Notes:

Bit of a shorter chapter this time around, but it gets done what needs getting done. Expect more Trunks and Gohan next chapter, with a bit of what's going on with Raditz. After the next chapter we'll be moving full bore into the next saga, though there may be a bit of a skip in time, told through snapshots in what's been happening.

Hopefully everyone will enjoy it. Thank you everyone whose read and reviewed so far. I'm glad to see there is still some interest in this story.

Also, for those who read TLR, a reasonably large chapter is coming this Saturday.

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Reviewers

Super Mystic Gohan: Everyone seemed to enjoy Turles getting KO'ed. I didn't anticipate that would be that popular :P

wheathermangohanssj4: I'd have loved for Cold to transform and the like, but I think that if he could, he may have been a bit too old to do it. Remember how stressful transformations were to Frieza as he cycled through them on Namek.

Tomorrow4eva: Goku and Turles will come to real blows, it's all been planned out. Their first real encounter, I hope, will take place at a high peak in the story.

Landser03: Thanks a bunch. I hope you're still interested moving forward.

Gwynipig: I genuinely try to treat my fanfiction stories as seriously as I would any other story I would write. It's not fair to the reader to do anything but.

Anonymous: Everyone needs to fall off their high horse sometime, and I suspect that they all will :D

Jason9000: The Jason9000 lives! :O

Pyromania101: Not next chapter, but the Chapter after that, is going to have a very familiar name in this story. Chapter 48: The Catalyst. You wanna see Frieza clanners? You'll see them there.

Enarmonios: The Original Catalysts will be revealed by the end of this particular Saga.

Richardc269: I hope this was soon enough.

Jaymunoz90: Cooler will be just as important as the original Catalysts, as will King Cold. They're two major players in that stable now.

Perfect Carnage: This story isn't nearly as dark as The Long Road. :\... But if you give me a chance, I can make it just as dark :D

RedHunter87: Catalyst chapters tend to be shorter than TLR chapters right now, and they aren't as detailed, not because I don't like them, but because I'm writing them in a bit more of a traditional way. If I can keep that up, Chapters will come a bit quicker.

Darknessrising1: My stories will tie in together. If there is going to be a crossover? That won't happen for a long time. But they are all connected, yes.

Masenko56: I'm indifferent to it. It's an idea I'd not really run with to be quite honest. But if you do want to see some more expanded universe stuff, The Long Road does have cameos from Beerus and Whis.

Scandalist: I don't think Gohan would do that, even as he currently is. TLR Gohan would, but not canon future Gohan. I had to establish him as being truly distinct from the protagonist in my other story, lol.

Dead Survivor: I suspect that you will see that, and more! :O

The Dark Wizard: It's been updated.

LeneyPoo: They are now that Frieza's dead :P

Peter1398: Turles does not have the Tree of Might Fruit. As for Turles being paired with himself? We'll see :P

Blades of Fury: I don't think we'd see Frieza in a relevant period of time.

Sakuraus: More trolling incoming :P

Demod20: I think I answered by PM.