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

Act IV:

Chapter 47: Ying and Yang

Trunks:

"And that's it. You died in front of me, and Bulma sent me back here to fix this world."

How did you handle knowing that you get killed? It was something he never thought he'd have to ask himself, and something he almost failed to realize Goku and his friends would have had to go through themselves. But the look on Gohan's face right now made told him that it'd happened. This wasn't a dream. In another world identical to his own it'd not been Gohan who'd died... it'd been him. It was a strange mix of grief for his mother, and relief for Gohan. It wasn't how he wanted Gohan to survive... but... but it was something, wasn't it?

Slipping on a new shirt, Trunks noted how it was faded and kind of shabby looking. When he cast a glance towards Gohan over it, the only brother he ever knew shrugged.

"Donations, I think that Bulma provided it. Means Yamcha has probably worn it at least once. Don't worry, Vegeta got Yamcha hand-me-downs too as far as I can tell," Gohan joked. "This world is off, and I don't know what guided me here instead of a past which is more like my own. The same thing happened to you as well, which means something is dragging everyone to this timeline."

It made sense. Admittedly, his mom was always the real physicist. Right now he was willing to bet Gohan had a better understanding of what was happening than he did. Still, there was a series of big problems. The first and biggest one was that his jacket was destroyed, along with the medication-

And the time machine.

Something cold went through his blood when he realized it. No time machine, and no coordinates. His mom was the one who programmed it, he just followed the times she'd set out. Well, he'd made a few small course changes, but most of the addresses were predated and on a specific time rhythm that he could have never just remembered. It mean that he was trapped. Staring out the hospital window he felt his eyes widen before turning his head back to Gohan.

"How am I going to get home?" he asked.

"Maybe the Dragon has the power to do it," was all Gohan said in turn. "Maybe."

It only took him a second to grab Gohan by the shirt. A calm, stern look was still written on his friend's face.

Gohan didn't understand, if he didn't make it home, than the Androids would have a reign of terror that never ended. It'd mean he'd be leaving his world without anyone to defend it. His mom and everyone he knew would just be doomed. Worse, they'd never even know what happened to him. This couldn't stay like this. Already in his mind's eye he could see the androids as a pair walking down the ruined streets of West City. The buildings were in ruin, and the lead lay on the streets untouched from where they fell as the living stared helplessly from the shadows.

Doctor Gero's world, his world, wasn't too far gone to be saved. It deserved to be saved.

And now that looked so distant. It looked almost gone.

When he stared up at Gohan however, he realized he'd overstepped, even if he was understanding. A single hand came up, grasping his before pushing his hand away from his shirt.

"I understand how you feel... well, I almost understand," he admitted. "But right now we need to focus on doing what we can to save this world," Gohan admitted. "I've already told Goku, Piccolo, and your father about the impending Android's arrival. They're going to train to meet them when-"

"My father?"

"It seemed important to tell Vegeta to be ready. He was the first one killed by the Androids," Gohan lied. "Right now what matters is-"

His thoughts immediately shifted from the future, to his own past. The father he'd never met was here, and he was alive.

"I didn't have a chance to even really see him," Trunks realized. "Is he alright? Did he fight in the battle?"

"Yea, he's fine, and yea, he fought in the battle," Gohan replied with a stale tone.

It was impossible not to see the repressed disdain Gohan was emitting. It almost made him feel bad for bringing it up, but it also left him confused. Gohan, his mom, well... everyone who knew his father always told him the same thing. He was a strong fighter and proud warrior. It was almost a uniform response they all gave him. And now he found himself in the past talking to Gohan about the father he knew was out there. He could fly out of the window right now and go see him if he wanted.

And that was exhilarating and terrifying, but it didn't stop the nagging question in the back of his head. Why was Gohan acting so weird?

Oh no.

Something uncomfortable sat in his stomach.

"Does he know?" Trunks asked after the silence between them became overwhelming.

Gohan was terrible at keeping secrets. He could already see him internally scheming an answer that was meant to misdirect him. Just like he always misdirected him over his father.

He does know.

"H-he knows?" Trunks asked more directly, looking to confirm his fears.

"Yes, he knows," Gohan answered after a few moments. "And that's something you'll have to deal with later. He knows you're a Super Saiyan. Vegeta isn't going to act rationally towards you until he does the same. Everything is a competition to him, and right now you're stronger than he is. It's something Vegeta won't accept right now."

It was impossible to not immediately dwell on it, especially with everything else that was happening. His father knew and wasn't here. That said enough. Gohan's explanation made sense... he knew that Vegeta detested Goku for being stronger than he was. It didn't make the sense of unease go away at all however. Worse, if he knew about him, there was no promise his parents would get together even. And now there was no way for him to get home beyond a long shot wish from the Eternal Dragon-

"Trunks," Gohan's voice snapped him out of it. "I think it's best if we don't take the whole journey with them. Training with them might help a bit, but I'm honestly not that worried on that front. Piccolo, Goku, and Vegeta are going to train hard over the next couple years, they're going to be at peak performance when the androids show up. Our being here is going to be disruptive, and we've both got our lives to get back to when this is all over."

It was impossible not to nod, but-

"Take a trip with me in my time machine. We'll head back to my timeline for a few days, plan out what we're going to do, and then we'll get the drop on the androids with everyone else," Gohan said as his smile came back. "Besides, maybe the Bulma in my world can help you get home. She made a time machine for me after all."

Looking over at the bed he'd been confined to until Goku gave him the Senzu bean, Trunks looked back at Gohan before nodding.

"Was it just me, or was Goku waiting with the other fighters to see how I did against Frieza and his family?" Trunks asked openly. "Or is that another strange thing in this timeline?"

That made Gohan just sigh before opening the door.

"Ugh, don't even remind me. I never knew I had two crazy uncles," Gohan commented. "And the one that looks like my dad is the worst."

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Vegeta:

This place was adequate.

Walking through the doors to the space ship again for another day's worth of training, Vegeta moved to the command console. It'd taken a few minutes to understand the Earthling's characters, but now that he'd come to understand their numbers and letters, or at least the subset's numbers and letter's that ran the gravity machine, it was easy to command the ship to do as he wanted. Immediately he set the gravity to x100 Earth's gravity for his warmup. The world shifted to red as he immediately felt the pressure on his muscles.

He sensed the boy's energy from the hospital, meaning he'd survived. It was more a testament to his own blood than anything. Even now as Kakarot's future son and his future son's powers disappeared, likely going back to where they came from, it did little to impact his mood. The fact that there were three Super Saiyans on the planet, meant the goal could be achieved. And he needed to be the next one to achieve it, his pride, and his survival depended on it. He would become the first among his race once again.

He had been humiliated, multiple times. Frieza, Turles, Kakarot becoming the first Super Saiyan, the boy, and Kakarot's boy doing the same. It was too many insults. But in all of this there was one thing which remained true, his destiny. It was simple enough to ignore the warnings from the boy and his three demons. These android machines being constructed by some human madman meant nothing to him either. He would surpass and destroy all his rivals and enemies. Once he stood atop their broken bodies, he could assert himself as the strongest being alive.

And then I'm coming for you, Cooler and Cold. I'll destroy you and your entire race as you did mine. I'll annihilate every trace of your existence-

Before he knew it, he'd been training feverishly for an hour. Every punch was aimed with determined anger at creatures like Kakarot, or any of the others. The hybrid mistake that he'd made in another life apparently, and others. He could heard them all mocking him as he pushed himself further and further forward.

"What's wrong, Vegeta? Can't keep up?"

Snarling like an angry dog, Vegeta's leg snapped out, catching his 'target' in the side of the head as it vanished from his mind's eye.

"I told him you were a proud warrior, Vegeta! Vegeta get back here! VEGETA!"

After that one he stopped, his legs finding the ground as a smirk came up across his lip. What was so shameful about that one? The older version of Kakarot's boy tried to strike a nerve and completely missed. If anything it showed him how pathetic these people were. That was why they were going to fail. They would die to these androids, or to any other threat which stolled onto this planet. Kakarot being the Super Saiyan was such a joke. He didn't kill Cooler, and he sincerely doubted he'd kill any of their nemesis. Just as he failed to kill the Ginyu Force, or even Frieza.

It was hardly this planet's well being he was thinking about of course, but the writing was on the wall. Use up this planet for its training resources, achieve a new more powerful form, become the true legendary Super Saiyan, and then assert himself on anyone foolish enough to have ever stood in his path. A sinister smile was on his features as he walked towards the training console, intent on increasing the gravity even further.

The light came back on however as Vegeta stared around the room, noticing the gravity drop back to human levels. When the door hissed open a second later Vegeta rolled his eyes before the woman walked in, her eyes steeled and irritated.

"You," she said, pointing at him. "Who said you could continue to use this? Frieza and his family are gone, Goku's back, and your arm doesn't exactly seem to be broken anymore. And that ship doesn't belong to you."

A warning eye was cast towards the woman. It'd be easy enough to simply open his palm and vaporize her, but that would lead to a series of events which would play out very poorly for him. Namely Kakarot, despite his soft heart would beat him to within an inch of his life he suspected. And even if he didn't finish him off, Raditz would take any opportunity to kill him. Turles might even decide to finish him in such a weakened state. It meant he was going to be more diplomatic with her for the moment. And of course the machine would need maintenance for the moment.

"What's your point, woman?" Vegeta responded bluntly. "If you have the strength to take it back, you're more than welcome to try."

There was an immediate shift from her look of irritation to one of simmering anger. Vegeta's smile didn't disappear before he walked back to the command console, looking down at it and expecting the controls to be responsive. As soon as he pressed one of the buttons on it to resume, it sat there dumbly. Looking up from the console for several seconds, Vegeta's eyes scanned the room waiting for the procedure to resume. Instead it was just silence. The gravity was unchanged and he could hear a distinct tap on rhythm behind him.

Turning around, the source of the tap was the woman, her hands on her hips as her foot tapped against the ground.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Aren't you strong enough to turn it on?"

Immediately the machine vibrated around them as Vegeta clenched his teeth together furiously, his eyes narrowing on the woman with a sneer. How dare she interrupt his training? This ship, and the facilities it stood on, would serve his purposes until he achieved his new form, and this woman was now making herself a target for his anger, regardless of the consequences.

"You will reactivate my gravity program immediately," Vegeta demanded, his tone short on patience. "You do not want to cross me right now, woman. I have important things to deal with right now. I don't have time for your interference or drivel."

"Well then you don't have time to use the space ship's gravity machine either," the witch responded in turn, giving him a cruel smile in turn.

Immediately he closed the distance between the two of them, a cold look crossing over his own. The sinister smirk he'd possessed not long ago had completely vanished.

"This is my last warning-"

"You're living here," Bulma started. "You use the equipment here. I fixed your arm after that jerk broke it, and I'm expecting some gratitude. No, wait, even better, I'm expecting some respect. So I'm going to tell you how this is going to go-"

When she pointed his finger into his chest, that was it.

Grabbing her hand immediately, Vegeta squeezed and she immediately fell to one knee, her face twisting into pain.

"Is that all?" Vegeta demanded from above, his eyes locked onto her expression. "I am in no mood for this. I have far more important things to do. I told you."

There was a struggle to pull her hand away, but despite the pain she stared defiantly back at him. That was enough to almost give him pause.

"And I told you," she managed to grind out, trying to, poorly, mask the pain she was in. "I'm telling you how this is going to go."

There was an odd mirroring to when he'd first seen Turles. This woman was at his mercy, struggling against him. It was even odd that at that time it bothered him to see. He even knew that in a round about way, he'd saved her. Looking at her struggling for her hand back, defying him like this, put a bad taste in even his mouth, despite how angry he was.

I'm wasting time right now with this. I need to train.

Releasing her hand, Bulma was relieved as she clutched it defensively for a second before standing back up.

"Do not touch me without my express permission," Vegeta warned her in a dangerous tone.

At eye level with one another, the shaken woman nodded, but still kept herself on task. He could tell from her hesitation she was rethinking what she was going to say to him. Whatever she was doing, it was delaying his training. It was impossible not to hide his annoyed growl before she finally spoke.

"You will never hurt me like that again," she informed him, her features turning to furious ones.

He didn't answer her, instead continuing to stare directly at her, waiting for whatever terms she was going to give.

"I was going to let you use the training facilities, and the compound, in exchange for protection, but after that I'm pretty sure I'm going to shut down the space ship-"

"Protection from what?" Vegeta asked coldly. "Don't you have that idiot human male to protect you? The fighter?"

There was a silence on the other end as Bulma didn't answer before rubbing her hand, looking at it. When she looked back up at Vegeta she just seemed to be hurt by something, what he didn't know.

"Yamcha isn't exactly strong enough to stop things like you or Turles."

Ah, there it was. She was looking for an exchange. She was placing her bets. Kakarot might not always be reliable to protect her, she wanted someone nearby. This was almost childishly easy to fulfil. This room would be his home more than any bed was, and he would have a reliable source of food. What else could he ask for? This was going to be a simple job at best. Hell, he wouldn't even need to do anything other than maybe ward off Turles.

And with this room in his possession for a few months, surpassing Turles's power would be child's play.

"I agree to your terms," Vegeta responded bluntly. "In exchange for the facilities, I'll prevent any harm from coming to you."

An outraged look appeared on her features however.

"What makes you think I'm going to agree to that after what you just did to my hand?!" she demanded. "And after you thought you could just bully me into doing what you wanted!"

Negotiating with this harpy was pitiful. Pettiness governed her decision making process. There was no point in her rescinding her terms, because he knew she had no other options, especially if her own protection was her chief concern.

"Woman," Vegeta blew off, turning around. "Be glad I'm giving you that. Besides, you don't have any other options. Unless you think that pitiful human is going to keep you safe from things like the Big Bad Saiyan Turles."

He gave a small laugh before returning to the console. When he looked up at her, he pressed the console's begin process. Staring down at it, waiting to see if an indicator came up, he looked back towards her. There was a battle going on behind her eyes as she held her still sore hand. He gave no indication as to his mood any further, but he knew he had her. It took only a few seconds before she closed her eyes almost painfully before stepping out the automated door. As soon as it closed again Vegeta looked around the room for any sign of responsiveness.

Several seconds later, the system powered up and the lights flashed red.

Weaklings.

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Turles:

To become a Super Saiyan. That is the power I need to achieve my dreams. The whole universe will bow before it's master. They will fear the name Turles throughout the ages. All I need is that next step. Then it will be Kakarot who will come to heel, not me.

Floating in the air, his power reached out, sensing the other major player's on the planet. Kakarot, the Namekian, Raditz, and of course Vegeta, were all immediately obvious. This was where his dilemma came from. Their powers would soon be increasing, whether he liked that fact or not. This meant that he either needed to participate in that process with them and keep any edge he could, as well as find a way to match Kakarot, or he needed to find some means of doing so on his own. The problem with the latter was that it seemed highly unlikely that this planet was going to divulge the kinds of facilities he'd need for that.

I'm going to need to find a way to manipulate Kakarot. Raditz can be utilized for this. Kakarot trusts our elder brother. If I can get him to vouch for me...

It wasn't immediately apparent to his intermediate ability to sense power levels, but he did notice a series of strong powers training near one another. So it'd already begun, the preparations for these Androids. And Kakarot was in the middle of the largest powers on the planet sans Vegeta and himself. Subtly would need to vacate itself. What was going to be the best means of approach? Wait for Kakarot and his body independently? Interject himself into the training space without permission? The typical means of bullying and intimidation wouldn't work because of Kakarot's power. It was infuriating that he was playing second fiddle to that simpleton.

The only problem was he didn't have a clue as to how long this could continue. How long could it take to achieve the dream? The dream of becoming a Legendary Super Saiyan? There was no bar. Worse, Kakarot had achieved it in a way he didn't know or understand. Self doubt rarely came into his mind, but for the moment there was genuine concern. It was rapidly overridden by something far more powerful.

There is no chance that I will live my life in Kakarot's shadow. Bardock's favoured little bastard is getting a one up on me? I'm the one who bled in the trenches. I'm the one who found the tree of might. I'm the one who fought Frieza to a stand still before he became a Super Saiyan. I fought the Ginyus before he did! I am the future of our race! A thousand years from now, my descendents will still cheer my name.

A purple aura surrounded his form as his body launched through the skies. Mountains passed beneath him as the sun's position in the sky shifted further away from him as he circumvented the globe, following the power levels he sensed to the best of his abilities. When he stopped in the air finally, his eyes turned down towards an opening in an ocean of forest. There they were, he could see the Namekian, Raditz, his nephew, Kakarot, and a pair of bald humans. They noticed him immediately, as the Namekian stopped in the air while clashing with Kakarot.

The humans were of little interest to him. The Namekian and Raditz were heavily overmatched against him, meaning they could offer him little. The only one there who could truly unlock what he needed was Kakarot. To become a Super Saiyan as he did was his driving goal. Lowering himself in the air towards his brothers and their compatriots, the dark eyed Saiyan stared at everyone else.

"Well well, if it isn't the King of the World," Three eyes mocked.

I'm going to remember that. I'll call myself the King of the World when I crush the life out of you.

A sharp glance was all he offered the green clad warrior before turning his attention back to Kakarot as he landed on the surface. A smile was on his brother's face to see him. Why there was a smile he couldn't understand given every other interaction they had.

"So, you've lowered yourself to come train with us, have you Turles?" Piccolo's voice remarked. "Feh. You're not even worth it. Ignore him unless he causes trouble."

Casting a glance to the side, the Saiyan could almost spit at the Namek but held his tongue before turning his attention back to Kakarot. That was the only opinion who mattered here.

"I was worried you were going to start training with Vegeta," Kakarot remarked before grinning. "If you're here to train, we'll have you."

"Uhhhh, Goku?" another bald human... Krillin, was it? Chimed in from the side. "Are we sure we want this guy around?"

"He'll be fine," Raditz's voice cut in. "As his brother I can vouch for him. Besides, I think Kakarot has made up his mind, haven't you Kakarot?"

Turning his head and brushing his finger under his nose in a gesture towards Raditz, Kakarot just seemed delighted.

What's he so happy about?

"Man, this is going to be great! I've not had a chance to fight you yet. I wanna see how strong you are. I saw a couple of those moves against Frieza, it was something else!"

The contagious optimism didn't spread to Turles, or any of Kakarot's friends. Everyone seemed to be tense as the Saiyan Warrior stood among them. Making eye contact with Raditz briefly just left Turles smirking before he stepped forward.

"Well then, which one of you cowards wants a chance to fight the most powerful warrior on this planet?" Turles chuckled, raising his hand as a gesture for them to come at him. "Would three eyes like to go first? Or no nose?"

It was an obvious prod as he looked at them arrogantly before he heard someone's throat clear. That someone was obviously Kakarot.

"Oh, I forgot to mention one thing. We don't hurt each other that badly turning training, Turles. And if someone calls it, training stops immediately. And if you break this rule and hurt any of my friends, we're going to have a problem."

There was something stern about the way Kakarot said all this. He could sense his resolve, and it was obvious that he was implying that not only would his own participation end, but he would likely suffer physically for any such transgressions. Training in such a soft way would be a hindrance to him, but there was one advantage. He knew every time he fought Kakarot he could go at him as hard and fast as he could, and that was where he would learn what he needed to achieve the form which he desired so deeply.

That was how he would become a Super Saiyan.

"Oh?" Turles asked in mock shock. "Is that all? Well..."

A dark smile pulled up from his lips as he stared directly at Kakarot.

"Let's get started then."

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Raditz:

It's strange to see Turles here. Not that I'm complaining, I just know the man for who he is. If I were to bet he's trying to surpass Kakarot, or at the very least achieve Super Saiyan. Given the state he was in a few days ago, I'm surprised he's keeping his composure.

It didn't stop him from vouching for him of course. They were brothers, the three of them were bound in blood, and the last of their people. Even if their people had partially dug their own graves. Of the Seven Saiyans alive, four of them were of their family. They were the last vestiges of their people. And according to Turles, he was the last 'real' Saiyan, as of a few weeks ago before Frieza and his family returned. The last real Saiyan was himself.

He was the only one old enough to know how things were supposed to work, and even he didn't know everything. When their race died, he wasn't even an adolescent. Nappa had passed on some more information to himself and Vegeta of course. Turles was a brute who was only kept in control by his ambitions and the power of others. Kakarot was a human, and a socially dim one at that. He barely understood human customs, let alone Saiyan ones. Prince Vegeta and Turles had an uncomfortable amount in common, with the Prince seeing his title as little more than something to brag over in Raditz's eyes.

Revenge against Vegeta was still high on his agenda. If anything his own desire for power wasn't to fight these androids Kakarot and the Namek had told him about. The wanting to train and achieve new strength, to reach a new plateau, was still centred around that. Now that Kakarot was here however, that dream seemed ever more distant. Nothing he told his brother would make the difference. Without Kakarot here, he had to worry about Turles becoming too full of himself and destroying the world. With Kakarot here, he now had his own ambitions leashed. The world was a cruel place for putting him in such a predicament.

There was a series of things he'd come to accept.

Violet was dead. The one kindred spirit he'd had from this world felt truly gone at this point, because she was. And her death would be avenged. Nappa had just been the instrument of Vegeta's orders. The Prince would pay, no matter what the cost was. Even if that cost was everything around him. There was a price to be paid, and eventually the Prince was going to pay it. Saiyan tradition demanded it. A tail for a tail, as it was said.

His nephew, Gohan, was the future of his species. Not just himself personally of course, but the obvious future. Even if Turles or himself didn't produce any offspring, which he ranked as very likely to not happen, their nephew would pass on the legacy of their race to this world. It meant not only did he like his nephew, it meant that protecting him and training him was a top priority.

And the finaly thing he'd come to accept was that this world was going to need to become his home, especially once Vegeta was dealt with.

Whoever these Androids were, they were just going to be a speedbump. Even if they supposedly killed Kakarot and his friends in another time... They didn't kill him, according to Kakarot and Piccolo. They had no idea what they were in for.

The training all around them had ceased as Raditz was lost in his own thoughts, almost ignoring the others for several moments as he saw out of the corner of his eye Kakarot and Turles take their places at the centre of the clearing they were in.

"Well, it looks like we're going to have to put up with this guy until he slips up," Tien remarked. "It's a shame. Maybe when I get my shot at him I'll be sure to push the right buttons-"

"Tien, don't be crazy please-" Krillin almost begged.

"No, this guy is serious trouble," Tien commented. "Him and Vegeta need to go. And I don't just mean out of our little fighter's group. I mean off the planet-"

Raditz almost laughed before casting the two a glance.

"You two can barely fight me, in fact, you can't fight me," Raditz scoffed. "Get some perspective on who would end up in exile, idiots."

The two sneered back at him, knowing he'd just gotten himself included into the infamous Saiyan club. His bigger problem was they hadn't included him to begin with.

"Dad's going to win," Gohan remarked from the side, watching intently.

"That's not the point," Piccolo chimed in. "Watch them both, learn to follow them. See what they do. We'll start sparring once they're done. For now, this is important."

The Namek was right to provide that advice to his nephew. Hell, they should all be listening to it. And Raditz peered at the two as they stood opposite to one another. It was hard to imagine how much more opposite they could appear. Kakarot was in his orange fighting gi and weighted clothing. Turles was taking off a grew human suit-jacket and undoing a black tie. One of them was bright and eager, the other was cold and dark. Seeing the two of them opposite one another made Raditz immediately think of what Piccolo had informed him before about the human concept of Ying-Yang.

"Kaio-KEN!"

Red covered Kakarot's body as Turles's own form began to become saturated in a dark purple aura.

In a strange way, Raditz only saw one of them for a brief second before the two rushed together. It was a strange, brief epiphany that was lost on him as soon as it arrived, dashed from his mind by the colossal wave of force that blasted past them. The trees around the opening almost tore out of the soil from the force of the concussion from one impact. Raising his arm to block his eyes from the light, the elder Saiyan could only watch as the two most powerful beings in the world began.

Twins separated at birth, who would have spent decades fighting one another on their home planet of Vegeta, were locked together for the first time. And despite the circumstances, despite the differences between them, despite being left here with his hair blowing in the force waves from his younger siblings, Raditz couldn't help but feel like it was his role to be proud of what was unfolding in front of him.

"My brothers and I against the world," Raditz murmured an ancient proverb he'd almost forgotten long ago.

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Author's Notes:

Trying to keep people in character after two years of not writing them is god damn hard. I spent days rereading old chapters trying to capture the essence of the characters and it was hard. I'm still trying to not repeat my character's too much based off what came before, and also trying to reacquaint myself with them. It is not easy.

I generally think The Catalyst is a bit less grim than The Long Road. Part of that is probably the rated T rating, versus the rated M. It's still a bit on the bleak side, but I really wanted to write something a bit toned down to revitalize myself while writing TLR. So I've reopened The Catalyst, something I've been asked to by a lot of people in reviews, and in private messages. So some people are getting their wishes!

I'm also adding Goku and Vegeta to the story's character focuses. Because realistically they are major focuses of the story too. So is Piccolo and Gohan, but really the four Saiyans left over from Planet Vegeta are really the centres of the story.

I also feel I've got a bit of options I don't get to explore in The Long Road here. There is more venues for things like romance, and humour. Even though TLR's got a bit of humour coming up soon, it's really not quite the same.

I also would like to say that I did amalgamate a lot of plots from The Catalyst into The Long Road. So you may seem some repetition between the two if I get that far. I am going to try to mix it up. For those who remember Brass, Junia, and Taro, yes, they are still slated to appear here, and in a very different form, or at least quite different. No, they're not going to appear right away :P

Reviews will get this thing updated more quickly.

Also, for those of you who are surprised:

I update my user profile on with what I'm working on. I posted I was working on this a little while ago. If you're wondering what the status of things are, just check there. :)

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Reviews:

FROM TWO YEARS AGO! Lol

Pyromania101:

You've looked forward to dozens of TLR chapters since this was up, lol.

WheathermangohanSSJ4:

Humour is here. I promise. And no, the Catalyst isn't Goku :P

Perfect Carnage:

Gohan still has both his arms. Thank goodness.

Richardc269:

You had to wait a long, long time. Sorry. :\

Sakuraus:

Turles's connection with Bardock can definitely make him ill.

Tomorrow4eva:

I think that it couldn't get as dark as TLR. TLR's really a worst case scenario, lol

Anonymous:

I'm not the guy to talk to about power levels. I think they're pretty contrived :\...

Tearhart:

There is a 3 way rivalry. And Raditz is sadly in a rivalry with someone he's probably not gonna keep up with, lol

Super Mystic Gohan:

Yea. Bardock and Turles do not get along. I dunno how well Bardock's interference will go :\

RedHunter87:

Do they have a better chance against the Androids? Well, against 17 and 18 they'd definitely have better odds. ;)

Ki guy:

Frieza's never out of the picture. O.O

MalikJamalTimberlake:

Maybe not this one. But others will!

TheSkyBreakerV1:

Explanations to come as the story goes on.

Landser03:

Future Gohan and Raditz will have words. Just not yet ;)

Bella:

Thanks!

DarknessRising11:

Cooler and Cold are important plot characters now :)

Maximussj:

Dear god... that's a great idea! :P

G:

I didn't do that. At all. Lol

The Violent Tomboy:

Thanks

Anon:

I did not update soon. I just did not do that. But I'm glad you liked it :P

Max:

Gohan's not stronger than Goku. I actually think he was a pretty middling Super Saiyan in his time because no one was there to teach him. His learning from Piccolo and Goku was cut short, and he would have had to fill in a lot of gaps himself. I think he was a bit stronger than Mirai Trunks by the time Trunks came to the past (and got the Zenkai boost from being nearly killed by the Androids). But that's just my two cents :)

ShadowSaiyan316:

I got the defibrillator out.

Guest:

See above, lol

Thomastthetmc:

I really enjoyed the bravado and humour in The Catalyst. So I'm going to try and include that into my writing style for the relaunch here. Though I couldn't make a lot of that into this chapter, I really loved those cheeky interactions myself.

Guest16:

I concur XD

1iota:

I continued it.

Guest2:

Thanks.

DarkFalconZ:

Slow character transformations are genuine. Which is why I love them. :)

OuterSpaceHooker:

Yea... so about that...

Guest3:

Thanks.