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

The Cataylst

Act IV

Chapter 53: The Catalysts…

Lord Slug:

The decay of time had left him withered. An angry eye was cast at almost everything around him. The grim formalities of rule had left him with a bitter taste. What little time he had left would be consumed with drudgery, wouldn't it? The one opponent he could never defeat, the passage of time, would claim his body and send him, one of the greatest beings this galaxy had ever known, into an endless slumber.

Upon his throne, Slug's hand delved into a bowl of pills, all of them designed by his doctors to reduce his aging. As he placed them in his mouth and began to swallow, his physiology always made him almost gag at their intake. The meaning of life itself, began to pester at his mind. What did it even mean to be alive? What was the point of this journey he'd been placed on, upon the hatching from his egg?

Perhaps it was to pass on who you were to another generation? His successors were his students, in a way, as well as his slaves in another. But all of them were hollow copies of a greatness they could never hope to achieve. Even now, in his advanced age, he was leaps and bounds stronger than his underlings. So, did he fail? Or had they been born into such failure. The Super Namekians had been the greatest force in the universe. Now… now it was just this…

When I die, my legacy dies with me.

Behind his eyes, he could see a thousand worlds left in flames, and then left behind in an empty void. His legacy on this galaxy was one of destruction. And it was something he was proud of. It started with his lashing out against the world that had discarded him and his clan. And now? Now who was the last one standing. Namek no longer existed. Frieza, an upstart if he'd ever seen one, had destroyed his former home.

A mixture of hatred and longing had overcome him since the news had emerged. Onboard this ship, were not only the last of his clan, perhaps they were the last of their species. Wandering nomads left in a galaxy with no true home. The four below him would just whither and die, wouldn't they? Much like himself.

How… pitiful. To die with a whimper.

A figure stepped in behind him, he could sense its energy behind his throne, an all too familiar source.

"Shel," he grumbled, looking ahead with irritation.

"Forgive me, Lord Slug, but there is someone here to see you. We discovered him on a lower deck. We aren't sure how he came aboard…"

This was of supreme indifference to him. A stow away undoubtably from a dead world. Here to assassinate him? Why would his minion want to even bring this up? This was a complete waste of his precious time.

"You already know what to do with stowaways from dead worlds. Deal with it," Slug grumbled, his eyes turning back towards the throne-room before him, his fingers slowly tracing cover the arms on his throne.

"I would have, and will as you command. But this one is unique. It appears to… it appears to be a Namekian, Lord Slug."

That was enough to catch his attention. Turning his black eyes to Shel as his chair turned, the other Super Namekian just stood there, his posture unchanging.

"Bring him."

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Cooler:

It was a strange thing. To be an only child, that was. For close to a century, he'd lived in the shadow of his naturally gifted brother. This had been the first extended period since before Frieza's maturity where he was… he was the centre of it all. With his father's advanced age, the galaxy was in the palm of his hands, not in Frieza's clutches. Really, it couldn't have gone more perfectly if he'd planned it. Certainly, his brother's demise was unfortunate, and he'd rather Frieza acknowledge his superiority… but the outcome was not too different from what he'd wanted. He had wanted to be the most powerful in his family, and was now firmly in that role. He wanted to be once again his father's successor, and found himself once again stepping back into the light.

His own power hadn't been enough however. And he was not as gifted as Frieza. The real question would become where to acquire power from here, or how at the rate which he could overcome the problem which he'd agreed to help deal with on the Earth.

There was still the nagging issue of the Saiyans themselves. The creatures which only seemed to increase in power. Even the one he'd nearly killed would be coming back only stronger than he'd been before, knowing their power. Which meant that despite his new form, he wouldn't be a match for any of them at this point. Destroying the planet itself was always an option, but he'd been warned by his associates that doing so would only bring his own doom.

Because the Earth contained the monster known as Majin Buu. Buu, being one of the only creatures his father truly feared. It left the Earth as a… conundrum.

The cloaked figure he'd initially met walked into his view as Salza stood up from his work station, his own stance prepared to intervene.

"What do you want, Garlic?" Cooler remarked, providing all the respect the imp was deserving with the inflection of his tone. The other one, the Namekian, was far more interesting of an ally to possess.

And of course, once they'd done away with their mutual enemies, and once they'd achieved all new levels of power, he would see just how useful all of these allies of his were. But for the moment, he needed to tolerate them. They'd proven useful so far. In truth, he knew his father lived due to their intervention. Had his father gone to Earth with just Frieza, Cooler would be the last of his clan remaining.

"You are to avoid the Earth for the time being. Our mutual friend is enacting one of his contingency plans," the imp commented, sounding unimpressed at the prospects of the plans. "And in the meantime, I am here to tell you that I've looked into another timeline, where there is a very effective plan for increasing all of our powers, including that of your men. Which will be very necessary if we are to kill our enemies."

Of the fragmented grid of billions of timelines, Cooler had gleaned knowledge from a dozen. He'd seen his own death… he'd seen Frieza kill him long before he'd gone to Namek, and long before the destruction of Planet Vegeta. The spreading network of billions of worlds had more information than he could have imagined on his own. From his chair, he hovered closer to the immortal, a being he knew was truly Immortal and stared down at the imp dispassionately.

"And where did you come across this information?" Cooler asked. "I will take it under consideration."

"I've seen a world where you are given-"

A huge figure stepped onto the bridge from behind.

"Oh. The disgusting imp has returned to our vessel," King Cold's voice, his father, couldn't hide his revulsion as well as his own. "What is it you want, creature?"

Any politeness normally afforded a guest, or even an enemy, was rebuked in the presence of a creature even they found foul. Shifting his eyes back to his father, cautioning him. Despite the imp not being very powerful at all, it was unwise to alienate their allies in the quest for their revenge.

"I only came here," Garlic's voice was now grated. "To tell you to find the wreckage of Planet Namek, and get to the other Ship that survived its explosion. Find its cargo and bring it back here. I will show you what we can use to our advantage. Because you've used it to your advantage already in a thousand other times."

Father and son shared a look, and neither believed very much in the Earthling's little schemes. The Namekian was far more interesting.

"If you need it so badly, Garlic, go find it yourself," Cooler commented, hovering out of his chair and drifting over the surface of the bridge before landing on his feet next to his father. "We have more tangible concerns than finding the cargo of a washed up Saiyan's vessel."

A sneer emerged on the Catalyst's face across from them as he was clearly angry enough to start trembling over it.

"Fine," Garlic snapped. "I'll do it myself, and when I'm the most powerful amongst us, I'll remember the disrespect you've repeatedly shown me here!"

Short and vengeful. He was like a more annoying version of Frieza.

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Lord Slug:

Five Namekians filed into the room. Four of them he recognized as his wards. Shel, Colchico, Staff, and his right hand Achatin stood in their armour as one Namekian, dressed in traditional attire walked into the room in front of them. Something was off about him, yet strangely familiar. It was the first Namekian he'd met not from the tribe of…

No. No I can sense it…

His free right hand dug into the bowl of pills next to him, before beginning to eat them quietly while staring at his counterpart. A youthful, yet wise face stared back at him with a confidence his power didn't seem to reflect. This creature was a gnat in comparison to himself. The difference in their power was enormous. Perhaps he could defeat some of his primitive foot soldiers. But there was something uncomfortable about him. And something far too familiar. It wasn't even like staring into a reflection, as reflections were mirrored in response. This creature had all the same intentions as himself.

"Lord Slug," the figure remarked, before kneeling with false humility before him. "I have come to ask for your aid."

"You," Slug grumbled. "Want my aid? To kill Frieza?"

There was almost a joke on the edge of his voice. Even if he desired to kill Frieza, and he could, what benefit would it do him now? Especially at the risk? Undoubtably, Frieza had destroyed Namek in a desperate fight. Slug knew of Frieza's species, and their ability to survive in the vacuum of space. He'd fought one of those creatures centuries ago. What would he even get in return for such a suicide venture? He'd have to be mad to participate in that.

"Frieza? Hardly," the figure responded, smirking almost at the idea. "I require your aid in conquering the world of my birth. I seek only to copy your example, Lord Slug. Frieza was killed on my world not one year ago, by the same figures who've foiled my attempt to control this world. I have an oath of vengeance against them all."

The elder Namekian just gave a grim look at him. Personal ambition and little else. His cares of concerns on this matter were nonexistent. Who was this to ask him for anything? Or worse, to ask him to spare his precious time. That was a finite resource quickly draining through his fingers like sand. What grains remained, he clutched to desperately. Time may soon take him.

"Consider yourself lucky that I don't kill you here and now for having the nerve to ask this of me," Slug almost rasped, more than spoke. "Your world is insignificant to me."

Something shined back at him though, a knowing look. It betrayed something far older about this young Namekian, he could tell now. There was apart of this offer he'd not been given yet.

"I think not, Lord Slug. Because I am living proof you will wish to set foot on my world, and conquer it. I too once suffered from the ailment of age, as you do now-"

"Watch your tongue," Achatin's voice rumbled. "Lord Slug's age is never to be referenced."

The huge Namek stepped forward, grabbing this newcomer by the shoulder roughly before Slug gestured his hand, implying for it to cease.

Angry eyes and a sneering expressing were still locked on his guest before he turned back towards him, pulling his shoulder away from his Captain's grip.

"On my world, we possess an active set of Dragon Balls. They can provide you with something your wealth and power cannot afford you. Your ailment, your aging, will be alleviated by the Eternal Dragon. Eternal Young and Strength can be yours once more, Lord Slug."

There was a sharp intake in air into his chest as the Namekian listened, slowly rising from his seat of power and stepping down from his throne towards this creature. Conquer his world, and kill his enemies… and in exchange, he would obtain that which he desired. He would restore a legacy of his tribe, people… and himself. An eternity of strength and vitality, unchallenged by any source in the universe. A grin broke out across his lips, even if it was cautious.

"What is your name, Namekian?"

"Piccolo, King Piccolo. Ruler of the Earth."

Examining the creature's features, only now did he notice the halo hanging over his head, before looking back at his questioningly as the other Namekian started to chuckle darkly.

"I can tell you everything you need to know before we get there."

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King Piccolo: Age 753, May 9th

"It's time for your terror to end!"

The words barely registered before the flash of light passed through him. He felt the boy not only puncture through his chest, but his entire midsection was torn open and then expanded. His spine, his organs… his everything. It was all gone… all taken from him by… by…. By a child.

"I don't believe it, he flew right through me… … how… how could… he defeat me like that?" Piccolo choked, his body convulsing while he floated in the air as his hands came up in front of him. "So… I've underestimated his strength…"

Inside what was left of his torso and throat, Piccolo gathered together his strength, beginning to transfer what was left of his soul into a new form. A new form that would be more powerful than his last. It would be stripped of so much of what made him… him… but it would be his soul. It would be imbued with his memories, and have the one goal of wreaking his vengeance upon the boy… Son Goku… and everything he held dear. Already in his mind's eye, he could see the future. He could see a future where his last offspring, his new form… would slay this creature and bring ten thousand years of darkness to the Earth.

"He's won," he wheezed. "For now. But my legacy on this planet will survive."

A massive bulge appeared in his throat as his soul pooled into the form of this egg, combining with the matter of his physical being. His jaw broke loose for a moment as the egg pushed its way past his lips before he ejected it from his face, launching it as far as he could. It would be the blackened bolt of darkness, corrupting the light.

His very soul had been emptied from him, but still he persisted, as the last of the life force itself began to leave his body. Only the spite and hatred remained.

"Good luck… my son," he wheezed, pointing his finger after the departing form of his offspring's shell. "Get revenge for my demise. Destroy all of my enemies."

The darkness within him began to coalesce inside his body, his face twisted with pain as power surged through him, escaping his dying form seemingly all at once. His outer form's shell combusted in under a second before the blast burst out all around him.

And then there was darkness…

… … …

There was only darkness. He was alone. He had no form. It felt like he was tumbling into a nothingness without end, falling away from everything that was into everything that had never been. And he fell for an eternity. Time long ago ceased to provide any meaning. There was no soul here… there was nothing… all that he was, all that he could be… was the Evil and Hatred which had been discarded from his life. Memories ceased to hold meaning, life ceased to hold function… even an idea of self was lost.

The darkness almost became an ocean, an ocean that had swallowed him, and now he was lost in its tides.

… … …

… … …

But in that tide, in all that darkness… even after everything he was had been lost, there was a pin prick of light around him. Without a physical form, that light came from neither up, nor down. It came from nowhere. But he could… see it. Without a limb, he could almost reach out and touch it. From within it, there were whispers from a thousand voices and he could hear something which sparked his hatred once again. It was the sound of a voice he'd forgotten in the eternal of his drifting. It was something which grounded whatever was left of what he was.

He could hear Son Goku.

Whatever he was… he drifted towards the light as the voice grew lighter. And then another point of light appeared. Another small hole in the fabric of the ocean of where he was. And then there was another. And there was another. In all of this he could hear voices… he could almost see in them. And the voice of the source of everything he hated spoke, giving him his name back… and betraying everything he'd left behind.

"It's great to see you again, Piccolo, I can tell you're a lot stronger now, and not just physically."

"NO!" King Piccolo's voice erupted through the darkness. "NO! He's supposed to kill him!"

It was alien to him now, his own voice echoed throughout the darkness as the evil that he'd been began to take on almost a form on its own. More holes of light started to emerge around him, with more voices, and more events unfolding before his emerging eyes as he flowed through the space residing between time, space, and the afterlife. The very fabric of this space starting to split and shred in front of him as the punctures continued, picking up a pace. Soon, there was no darkness… only light, and it burned. And in this light, he saw a thousand lives, and they were all the object of his deepest hatred… and they all fed his Evil… and vengeance, nurturing what he into what he'd once been.

When his eyes fully reformed, they stared into these worlds for a thousand lifetimes, his hatred and fury growing with every second as he absorbed the seconds in these moments as the light became so overwhelming it started to rip itself apart in front of him. Every second of existence here in this… Light Zone… were torment to him. Every victory he witnessed. Every act of goodness or kindness… every betrayal his son made to what he'd been meant to be as well.

Until a hole of black darkness tore open behind him as this world began to reform, its dimensions seemingly changing at every step. The darkness sucked in the light, it was as if nothing could escape it. He roared in his fury as his body fell into the void, no longer simply a memory. He lashed out, his body throwing his limbs out trying to grab for something, anything as he raged against the light and the dark.

And in the darkness, he finally hit something, hard. His back landing on a torn-up piece of Earth… it was almost a… broken piece of castle. The shining light from a hole in the ceiling of this eternity of darkness still emanated the millions of voices, and the lives of all of those connected to the one who killed him. The evil that was King Piccolo rose up, forming energy in his hand and throwing it against the light, wanting to destroy it, to free himself. The energy bolt flew through the bright white energy, and was seemingly just lost in the ocean that now hovered above him.

Breathing in and our frantically, he fired again and again as he lashed out against eternity itself. Only when a voice interrupted him, did Piccolo stop.

It was… familiar.

"Kami?" A maddened voice whispered, sounding like a creature in disbelief. "Is that you, Kami?"

When his eyes turned back, one memory from before his split form came to life at the sight of the urchin before him.

"Garlic junior."

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Author's Notes:

I try to avoid asking for reviews now adays. But given that this was a pretty huge reveal this chapter, and it was built around it. Please, let me know what you think. I'm genuinely curious.

Whew! So, it's revealed on both fronts, and an abstract explanation as to how this all started has been revealed. I wasn't sure when I was going to pull the trigger on this, but I've decided now was the time. It's been 53 chapters, you guys really deserve to know who the Catalysts were, and how it all started. It's always been my vision that it started with the Evil and Hatred that King Piccolo's soul didn't pass on, becoming its own entity in the void between dimensions. The pricks of light opening up, are when people time travel, passing through that space, all of them tearing holes between these areas creating new worlds and new gateways, and each one divulging the secrets of that world.

The secrets of their time, to those who are in the Dead Zone, watching and listening to the new bright sky it has above it. And if people are worried Garlic's going to be as powerful or as useful as he was in The Long Road, I'd not be too worried. It's a fundamentally bit of a different take this time. TLR Garlic is an awesome character, but I don't like writing the same thing twice.

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Reviewers:

KagariAsuha: I think I answered this by PM.

Perfect Carnage: Answered by PM.

Blades of Fury: Answered by PM.

Guest1: I do this to relax. So. Uhm. Until it no longer relaxes me?

Thomas-The-TMC: I think I answered by PM.

Guest2: It's even better now. I'm up to 68 chapters ready to go. I'm currently working on Chapter 69. Lol. Vegeta doesn't give two shits if she has a child, because he just doesn't consider it something he'd care about. He's gotten over the fear of it happening by simply not caring. Apathy and hostility, all tightly wrapped in one. :|

Super Mystic Gohan: Answered by PM.

Landser03: Answered by PM.

Luke: Of course. As you know, I write my battle scenes more than anyone (literally, I think I have the single largest fight on the site with Taro vs. Everyone capping at what? 68k words?). But thanks! It's all about how the core cast get along with each other. It's important to me. :)

Transfers G1's-Prime: I think I answered this by PM. Oh! Did you guess right? :)

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Karina: Turles isn't TLR Gohan, he never raped Bulma. He just implied he might have. And threatened her life. And broke her arm. And has routinely be cruel towards her because he's a piece of garbage, as he knows it upsets her. Turles is not a nice man. Lol. But, he's got tons of character growth ahead.

Guest3: I'm actually super excited to write more of The Catalyst Vegeta, because he's so different then Long Road Vegeta, despite coming from the same core place as a character. Vegeta's wormed his way into have a very substancial role in the story, making it into the main x5 characters that the story revolves around. Originally, that wasn't part of the plan, but its definitely there now, just due to how he's going to evolve so differently. The ultimate Frenemy, lol. Saga's done, btw, I'm already working on the next Saga. :)

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