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 57: Falling

Vegeta:

Shit.

There was enough reason to be worried. Vegeta was prideful, but he was far from stupid. This planet just saw the death of the Legendary Super Saiyan, to something he didn't even know existed until today. Which meant now was the time to get off this planet. It was staggering to imagine that Kakarot… KAKAROT had been killed. The Super Saiyan of legend, the strongest being in the universe… it… it couldn't be. There was no way that had been his end. Vegeta didn't want to even believe it.

But he felt Kakarot's power go out, and he sensed the monster now dwelling in the north. There was more than enough power there to destroy Kakarot twice over. What could even be done about that? That didn't even count the other major powers he sensed there. Raditz being killed was not only not a surprise, it was notably worth while even. The Namekian also biting it had hardly been a big problem, of course the Namekian getting killed was obvious. Everyone save Kakarot, and his twin were nothing to him. Well, that was how it'd been up until this latest turn of events.

He knew right now he was the last warrior on the planet that he could sense had any kind of strength behind them. If they were smart, they'd be coming here next. Storming out of the training facility in the space ship, Vegeta had already secured gloves to his hand and a new suit, as well as armour. Walking briskly into the Capsule Corporation, he now needed to start making decisions. There were only so many opportunities to escape. If he were guessing, they'd start sweeping through to the cities in a few hours, if they were anything like the Planet Trade Organization. He'd lead enough kill team operations to know the procedure.

He needed to get the lock off the ship itself, and get it ready for flight. There was only one small anchor in the back of his mind, dragging his whole process. What to do about the woman? That was the question wasn't it? Though useful, and certainly able to use her intellect to assist him, he doubted she'd be overly willing to leave. It was very probably he was going to need to drop the dead weight.

Opening the door to her lab, Vegeta found Bulma leaning against a counter with a circuit board in her hand, clearly repairing some of his training equipment. It felt so strange that this woman seemed to believe he was, or could, protect her. Better yet, she was so trusting and naïve that she believed he'd stick his neck out for her. Fighting Turles had been a calculation. That's what he told himself, anyway.

When she looked up at him, there was a look of exasperation.

"Vegeta, I told you, it's going to be hours before I get this fixed. Just do some flips or something while I'm working. Do x100 gravity Yoga, okay?" she asked, but even she could pick up that something was wrong. "… Wh… what's wrong?"

It was better to get this out of the way now.

"I'm leaving," he told her bluntly. "You can come with me, or stay here. But I'm leaving this planet, today."

She seemed stunned.

"What? No, you're not! I am not going into Space, Vegeta! Look, I don't know where you get the idea that you can just order me to do things, but I'm the one who builds the training equipment for you. I repair the gravity system, for you. Remember?" she shot back at him. "Our deal had you staying here to protect me."

"The deal's over," Vegeta said. "Your world is doomed, and won't last more than a few days. Kakarot, Raditz, and Piccolo were just killed in the artic-"

Her face turned white, the blood draining out of it as he spoke. Instinctively he stopped as she reached out for something, a chair found her hand, but she just slid down the side of the counter. The tears hadn't formed yet, probably due to shock.

"Goku? He's gone?" she almost whispered. "But. With… we can't just go. Chi-Chi, Gohan-"

"They've been killed as well," Vegeta said bluntly. "As of right now, I am the last fighter on the planet of any note. Turles might be alive, but I have my doubts."

There wasn't a response as she started to tremble for a moment. Telling her everyone she knew was dead, not counting Yamcha in how he'd phrased the remark, had led to the response he'd been hoping to avoid by just telling her it was time to go. A choked sob escaped before she just looked down.

"Aren't you supposed to be the strongest?" she almost challenged him, her voice cracking even as she spoke. "Don't you think you can win?"

"You're mad if you think I can defeat something which killed a Super Saiyan, in its full power," he told her bluntly. "Woman, if you want to live, now's the time to come with me."

There was a long pause, her legs pushed together while she just sat there, smiling after she did, moving her hand up to brush away her tears. There was pain there with every word he'd said to her. She hadn't even seemed able to respond to him, but her smile cracked, warping as she tried to hold in her grief before she was finally able to speak.

"I'm staying," she said, a warm looking tear rolling down her cheek. "This is my home."

Did she not just hear what I said?

An irritated Vegeta almost sneered at her. For a brief moment he almost thought to walk over and grab her arm, but he held himself in check. This woman didn't mean anything to him, at the end of the day. They'd had sex a half dozen times, and she built things for him while complaining. The last thing he needed was this burden coming back with him. In space, he'd achieve the goal of becoming a true Super Saiyan. Perhaps after that was done and he knew his strength, he'd come back here to fight a new challenge.

Foolish woman. You'll be long dead by then.

Preparing to leave, he heard something, a noise at the door. Bulma turned, her own body language became frantic as she jumped to her feet and began backing away, her eyes bulging.

Shit, are they already here?

Turning his head sharply, standing in the doorway was a battered, torn, and bloodied figure. For a brief second, he almost thought it was Kakarot. Narrowing his eyes on him, Vegeta could have almost spit the name. What was he even doing here?

"Hello Bulma," Turles breathed in and out heavily as he took several steps forward, smirking like the devil himself. "Did you miss me?"

But Turles was clearly sweating. His skin looked cold and clammy. He had the look of a dying man, and there was something almost feverish about him. Vegeta then noticed the red crimson pouring down the side of his right torso, all the way down his leg. Turles survived his fight only in the broadest terms, and had nowhere left to go, it looked like.

Before he could say anything else, his body went limp, collapsing to the ground, red beginning to leak out onto the floor.

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Gohan:

"I don't need one," Krillin insisted as they bolted ahead. "Me and Tien took a lot less damage than you and Chi-Chi, you two needed them most."

On Krillin's back, a small furry cat clung on for dear life, as they bolted past the street lights and buildings in West City. They'd not even made it to Korin's tower before Mister Popo had met them, mentioning that the Guardian of the Earth had warned him to flee before disappearing. Kami was in big trouble apparently, but the Lookout was too dangerous to go to without someone like Goku. That made everything even more dangerous.

His father was missing… Gohan didn't believe for a second that he was dead. It wasn't possible, not after what he'd seen on Namek when he fought Frieza. Krillin and Tien weren't counting him out yet either. Not until everyone got killed, would he believe his dad was just gone like that, and the same things applied to his uncle Raditz and Piccolo too. He'd died before himself… but he wasn't them. He doubted he'd ever be as great as them either. Things looked bad right now, but this wasn't over yet.

"Gohan, watch out for traffic," his mother scolded.

Clinging onto his back for dear life, she looked as they passed by cars, both flying and on the ground. She didn't get it of course, they were in no real danger at all. They needed to get to Capsule Corporation together to get everything figured out. They had to find some way to find his dad and the others, and they were going to need to ask Vegeta and Bulma for help. After that, they could track his uncle Turles down and then they could save the planet. They'd had the odds stacked against them before…

It was strange that even in the city right now, in the middle of the day, it was getting darker… and it was getting cold.

When they landed at Capsule Corporation, Tien immediately stepped out, scanning with his eyes. Korin and Chi-Chi hopped off as they started to dust themselves off.

"You go in, I'm going to keep watch out here. I don't sense them, but I don't trust a single thing out there right now. It's completely insane… What happened to Kami? Why would anyone attack the Lookout? It doesn't make any sense, he's no threat to these guys, they've already used the Dragon."

"I don't get it either," Krillin sighed. "But we both know what kind of monster he was. I just don't get how he could be back."

"But Kami is gone, we checked before we left," Tien followed up. "This is a problem. Even when we were at Goku's house… After one of them hit me. I could swear I saw another one of those monsters, Krillin, in the trees, before I went out."

It was hard to have a point of reference for just who this guy was. He understood they were talking about Piccolo's dad, or who Piccolo used to be in a previous life. He was told once by Piccolo that it could put him in real danger.

"I'll go get Vegeta," Krillin remarked, walking past Gohan and Chi-Chi, heading towards the space ship just parked on the lot.

Gohan knew exactly why. The last time Gohan had seen Vegeta outside of their fight against Frieza, which had been frantic, was when it happened. The betrayal was very real for him. Vegeta nearly killed him, and the boy had no doubt he would have killed him if Piccolo, Raditz, and Turles hadn't intervened. Everyone always seemed so worried about his Uncle Turles, but honestly, he was more worried about Vegeta, than he was about Turles.

He felt tense as Krillin approached the vessel. It was hard not to let some of his power come up just to defend himself, or everyone else, if Vegeta decided to turn on them. But that would be like lighting a candle in the darkness, luring those things back to them.

Looking up at his mom she just looked back at him, trying to appear reassuring.

"Let's go inside. I'm sure Bulma can get us something to eat while Tien and Krillin try to figure out how to save the world," she offered, walking towards the door and opening it.

It was uncomfortable, even after she'd gotten the Senzu Bean, seeing the patches of blood stains on her clothes and Turles's coat. What was equally uncomfortable was the fact that she hadn't even equated that he was going to have to help them save the world. Right now, he knew full well that the whole planet was in danger, and that meant he was in danger no matter what. Even when Frieza had killed him… it'd been scary, terrifying, but someone had to stop Frieza. Death terrified him, the unknown of what was going to happen, even after his dad reassured him it wasn't so bad… that'd not been his experience.

Following after his mother, Gohan looked up at her again before looking ahead. It was easier to avoid eye contact when these kinds of things came up.

"Mom, you know I'm going to need to fight too, right?"

"After what just happened at our home? Gohan, you were bleeding everywhere! I saw them holding you… like…" her breathing became erratic for a moment, he could see real pain forming behind her eyes. "No, you are not going to fight."

"Mom, I'll die anyway if-"

"No, Gohan!"

Before he could respond, ahead there was another argument taking place.

"You are not going to do anything, Vegeta! We don't even know what he's going to do!" Bulma almost screamed.

"Fine, then we'll leave," Vegeta's voice fired back. "I don't need him alive if we leave. You realize this, don't you? But if you want me to stay, which you've been on about for the last half an hour, then I need this idiot to stay alive!"

Moving forward, ahead of his mother, he pushed the large button near the heavy door, causing it start sliding open. Behind it, he saw the source of one of the voices. Hearing his mother's footsteps running behind him, Gohan stared at Vegeta, who turned and stared right back at him. For a brief moment Vegeta was surprised, before smirking at him.

"Well, it looks like someone survived," he observed.

His mother's hands coming onto his shoulders, he could sense her tension upon seeing Vegeta, her hands were stiff on his shoulders. Behind them, Bulma was pacing around, looking half frantic, half furious… and uhh… half something else. When she looked up, she looked relieved.

"Oh, thank Kami."

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Turles:

… Where am I?

Drifting through the air, he felt like he was falling into darkness. He'd felt his body grow heavy before he fell forward, plunging into an ocean, it felt like it saturated his body, washing the blood from his body as he descended further and further. He was falling like he was weighed down, behind him there was a trail of blood following after him, slowly disappearing into the depths as the light was drowned out by the sea of… he didn't even know. He could breathe… it didn't make any sense.

As he fell, it just became easier and easier to let it happen. It felt more like… drifting… it was easier somehow than standing, or fighting, or anything. It was just… falling, where he didn't know. Was he falling up? Was he falling down?

In his mind's eyes, he could see himself standing there, smirking devilishly. He could look into his own eyes like they were reflecting pools of the life he'd lived, even as he fell. In each eye, he could see… death.

The first image he saw was of him ripping an alien's arm away, before blasting another in two. There was the first time he'd crushed a creature's head in his hand. He couldn't hear anything, the familiar pop it'd made was lost to him, only the image of the creature's face coming undone as his head ceased to have structure. Whole worlds burned before him, he could see the dead and the dying, and they were all screaming, many of them flailing as they ran on fire, and for the first time he could see himself standing in front of the fires he'd lit, casting a shadow from him which stretched further than the surface of the planet.

Violence. He could see the violence of his life surrounding him on all sides.

The Tree of Might then loomed over him and all the chaos he'd created, hovering in place above his life. Its branches and the shadows they cast contained the flashes of his life, as his vision only could see himself now, standing in front of the tree. The fire of dying worlds cutting through the shadows. In the heart of all of it… he could see people he knew, all emerging from behind him. Kakarot… Raditz… Bardock… Gohan… Chi-Chi… Vegeta… they all stood at his back, all of them staring at him with disdain. Their hatred written across their features.

Beneath his father, he could see an image of a crying infant with his hair… and a woman laying there, blood drenching her legs. The image slowly faded as Bardock fell from his view, disappearing into the shadow of the tree. He reached out even as he fell, not for Bardock, but for the bloodied woman. It was someone he'd never met, he didn't understand, but it was a reflect. The lifeless body laying there had dead eyes staring at him, and he wanted so much to take her hand, even as it lay next to her, lifeless. Before his fingers could reach, just as it came into his reach even as he fell, she disappeared into the darkness. It felt like something was ripped away from him, like someone had pulled his heart out.

And it felt normal. Like it'd been missing the whole time. It felt good it was never there …

When he looked towards Raditz, he saw his brother laying there on the ground, a hole in his chest. It was as if someone had drilled through him. He lay there dead, with a smile on his face. It was as if he'd achieved something… it was pathetic. He winced at the sight of it. All he could feel was… guilt… the hole there somehow felt like he'd put it there, or hadn't stopped it from happening. The smile was the part that left him the most… wounded. It was as if Raditz had done something he could never achieve. Perhaps he'd found… peace…

When Raditz slipped from his view into the shadows, Turles almost wanted to lash out, he reached for Raditz, not to hold him, but to grab at him. His hands were claws as he raked at him, trying his best to grasp at his brother's vissage as Raditz disappeared into the darkness…

Beneath Kakarot, he could only see him standing there, ready to fight him. But there were two of him, as if they were mirrors. One had the look of confidence and anticipation… the other had the look of rage, a hatred which Turles couldn't have mirrored himself. And as he stared into his hate filled eyes… Turles felt his own hatred. He felt a hatred so pure he could have never let it go. As Kakarot fell into the shadows beneath the tree, Turles felt only… rage… and envy.

Vegeta's ghostly figure had a series of motions beneath it, seeing the Prince staring down at him, with pity… In those eyes he saw something worse than just pity… he saw concern. It was the look of a comrade who thought… less of him. And he knew it was of him. It stung even more knowing the source of it. He couldn't even continue looking as Vegeta faded from his view, feeling something close to… shame… for the first time.

Gohan stood there, where he could see him saving the boy on Namek, twice. He could see the image of him saving him from Vegeta. He could see him saving the boy only an hour ago… and he could see a series of events beyond that. But they were fuzzy, each one blurred, if they could have made a noise in this silence there would have been perhaps clarity. But he could sense what was there… the only thing here which gave him hope. Even as he fell, Gohan was the only one who reached out, as if he was trying to catch him, and not the other way around. Even as Turles himself reached as well… he saw Gohan's hand simply pass through his own, unable to grasp it. He wanted to take hold of his hand. And he knew why.

He wanted him to save him. It was then that he realized it wasn't that they were falling away. He was falling away from them. They had been leaving his sight, passing away from the light. Something shivered through his body as his nephew disappeared, seeing the desperate look in his eyes.

When he turned to look at Chi-Chi… he could sound out her apology to him in his head. But beneath her silhouette he saw her sitting there. Her eyes looked… disgraced, damaged. Something wrenched at his chest, prying it open, looking for the heart he'd lost. He reached out, and for the first time he felt something warm under his fingers. His hand on her shoulder. When she looked at him, he saw the look of betrayal in her eyes. She reached up, pushing his fingers away one by one, before shamefully turning her eyes away from him, before her eyes shut with a pain he couldn't bear to see. For a moment, it felt as though he could feel his heart in his chest for the first time in his life.

He felt a force ripping over his body as he fell further and further away. The Tree of Might which hung over everything, seemingly grew smaller and smaller, with only himself left beneath it, staring back at him. When he dared to look again, he didn't see himself… he didn't see signs of anything. The only thing he saw beneath himself… the only things he saw in the shadow he cast were pain and misery.

But it wasn't the pain and misery of others. It was his own. Even now as he fell, he felt it beginning to drown him. The tree fell from his view, and all he was left with was himself. For a brief second all the others flashed before his eyes. Each one of them mixed into his pain. At its core though, he saw Bardock standing over the dead woman's body, as she clutched onto something. Somehow, he knew what it was, but he was too afraid to peer at it to confirm it. But he could sense something from her, it was drawing him closer.

She'd loved him. It was an emotional he didn't understand, but somehow, he realized it without knowing why.

The pain was agony. He felt his heart beating outside of his body, held in pieces all around him. It was something he never had… it was something he didn't even want. But each one of these things around him, each one of these people, all of these images of what he saw, of what he'd done or he'd imagined. They all beat with the rhythm of his heart. It was the only sound he could now hear. When he finally turned to look at the woman, the one whose blood drenched her legs, he felt the pain and loneliness she'd exuded… it… it matched his own. In her hands he expected to see a child, her motherly appearance giving it away.

She was humming. It was beautiful… somehow as she did, his heartbeat soothed. The pain subsided, but only for a moment. When he looked in her hands though, he didn't find the image of himself as a child. He saw the thing he never possessed.

He looked at his heart, beating in her hands.

Desperation kicked in as he started to fall faster and faster. Air somehow became scarce, his arms flailed, grabbing at everything beneath his own shadow as he started to fall from view. And his heartbeat became slower the further away he became. The further away she became. The more distant it became, the more he didn't want it to go.

No. Please.

Don't go.

The last words when he was falling from it all were directed towards the two figures in the centre of it all. The ones that networked him with everything else in his life. Bardock, his father, and the woman he saw holding onto the piece of him he'd never had. The sensation, the feeling of guilt and loss though felt more and more distant as he fell away from it.

When he disappeared from his own view, the heartbeat stopped, and so did the pain. The fall… the slip from everything… the darkness around him. It was welcoming. The last thing he could see in the distance, was his own body laying in the shadow, before the woman who held his heart walked over, kneeling down, and putting it on him.

And then, he hit the ground.

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Chi-Chi:

Only a few hours ago, her son had been hanging upside down in front of her, bleeding from his mouth, ears, nose and eyes. The look of unconsciousness on his face. The limp way he was kicked in front of her while they'd been slowly killing her. It was impossible to keep her thoughts away from it. All she wanted was to get Goku home, and be safe with her family. That was all she wanted. It was hard to quantify it in any other way. Even if the world seemed to be at risk, she just wanted her family safe.

Everything always seemed like an obstacle to that. The look that thug Vegeta was giving Gohan was enough to make her skin crawl. She tried holding him in place, but Gohan stepped forward, just like his father would have. The difference was that Gohan wasn't Goku, and even she could see that. He didn't take fighting in the same playful way that his father always had, especially after everything that happened with the Saiyans… Namek… and Vegeta. It was enough to make her skin itch.

Krillin burst in after them.

"Hey, he's not in the- Uh oh," Krillin stuttered. "Hey! Hey Vegeta! Buddy ol' pal. Remember me? I was-"

"Unfortunately, I do remember you, moron, you're that idiot who hangs around Kakarot all the time. Stupidity and weakness all in one package."

"Heh, yea, that's me alright. Say, would you mind you know… uhm… maybe helping us? And could you and Gohan just kinda not have this whole tension thing going-"

"Quiet!" Vegeta shouted. "I sensed your powers disappear. How did you all survive?"

Walking over to Bulma, Chi-Chi moved past a counter to where she'd been pacing frantically. It was upsetting to watch. When she looked over what she was pacing, Chi-Chi's breath caught as her eyes widened.

G-GOK… Turles.

The same grey suit clad figure she'd seen only a couple hours ago was laying on the floor with stuttering motions moving through its chest, and a pool of blood forming around him. She couldn't help it, she gave a small cry before Gohan and Krillin came to her side.

"Mom what-… Oh no," Gohan breathed. "Oh no."

Rushing forward, Krillin knelt down, pulling out a senzu bean.

"Is he dead?" Chi-Chi asked, her eyes staring up in shock towards Bulma, who shook her head.

"We were talking about what to do… He came here and passed out," she tried to explain, but Chi-Chi felt she understood exactly what was being discussed. They had been talking about if they were just going to let him die on the floor or not. Even she'd caught the tail end of the very loud conversation, and it made her stomach flip.

She knew Turles wasn't… well received… here. As in, well, anywhere. But letting him die on the floor.

Walking over, she moved past Krillin and knelt down, Gohan coming with her as she looked at his face, half soaked in his own blood, still pooling around his head. The bean had been given to him only a second ago as she looked on in near horror. His face was so much like Goku's. Especially when he'd been unmoving, unfazed by the world. It was something which made her uncomfortable, but she couldn't deny the fact he'd just saved her, and her son. When his eyes flashed open, she could see the real difference between her husband and this man.

Goku's eyes were filled with a kind of innocence, or adventure. Turles's eyes were just… cold… They scanned the room from where he was before he seemed to even start to move. They caught only briefly on Gohan, and then on her, and for some reason she saw something akin to warmth bleed into their view, but only for a brief second. As he started to pull himself up, his blood drenched clothes dripped with the liquid as she saw Bulma backing away, instinctively moving behind Vegeta as it all happened.

Wiping his face, leaving a smear of his own blood across his features, Turles flicked his hand away, specking blood all over the floor and counters. There was a silence there that she didn't understand, or expect. He wasn't speaking. He seemed almost lost, or confused as he looked around, trying to re-establish where he was, but not saying or asking anyone anything.

"Are you alright?" Chi-Chi was the only one that asked, she noticed.

He looked back at her, as if he was afraid to talk for a moment before turning his attention to Vegeta and Bulma.

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Author's Notes:

If Turles found out that Bardock had accidentally given him some of the "gift" the Kanasans had given him, I suspect that there might be a blood bath, lol. I wanted to give him kind of a taste of what I've got planned and how it affects him, without actually revealing too much. But who knows how much of it could come true, or how it could come to pass?

Still, I enjoyed writing this. I think we've got one more chapter before things hit the fan. Chapter 59 I think has one of my favourite Vegeta scenes in it, though I won't spoil :P

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Reviewers:

Super Mystic Gohan: Piccolo knows the kind of people he's dealing with.

Perfect Carnage: Answered by PM.

Thomas-The-TMC: Huzzah! Objective achieved.

Ssj1998: Answered by PM.

Luke: It is not bad to like King Piccolo, he's got some great moments still. Easily the most nefarious bastard of this story. And if he absorbed a living being (or even a dead one) it'd give him a soul again, yes. (The latter just giving him a dead soul, keeping him… well… dead)

Guest1: I can't spoil for you how King Piccolo didn't interfere earlier. Despite the power level of "15,000" at the beginning of the story, King Piccolo's power Level was probably only around 300… All shall be explained in due time! TLR's next chapter has started, but it's been slow going (I work a lot) I'm hoping to get it out this month or next month.

PetrusMagnus: I don't feel the struggle, I embrace the struggle! And Vegeta's got a different path than the Canon, but I dunno if I'd call him an outcast. Hell, Turles is an outcast right now… and Raditz? Well… There is gonna be a LOT of things going on. I wouldn't expect a stable happy place on Earth anytime soon :P

AquarianKing: Slug's really strong atm. I believe we start seeing his real power in Chapter 63.

Proman1398: Answered by PM.

DarkFalconZ: King Piccolo's a crafty one…

MaxRideLover: Thanks!

MaximuSSJ: I cannot answer any of the things you brought up, but I can say it'll be a fun ride. :P

Karina: Thanks!

Cam: Garlic and King Piccolo made the most sense to me when I started the story. I always imagined King Piccolo as being the literal evil that was lost when he moved his essence into the new Piccolo's body. It all came together in my fullest idea back during the chapter where Trunks first speaks to Vegeta years ago, but I always knew it was gonna be King Piccolo. Basically, seeing how things turned out while this "thing" drfted in the space between times and universes, fed it into assuming a new form… And Garlic, well… he's alive bruh! Can't kill him, he's immortal! :P