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 59: He Who Dares

Lord Slug:

The throne-room which he sat within danced with lights as a half dozen orbs of his creation shot through the air around him. He was titillated with what he found himself in now. A body without the pains of old age, revitalized, powerful. This was everything he imagined it'd be… it was Lord Slug in his prime, the true master of the universe. But more than that, he had his purpose… With Namek destroyed… and with his eternal youth returned to him, he was the last, greatest hope for the species which had turned its back on him, and his clan. His charges were lost when he found them, born outside of their home world. A world which sought balance, and found only grief.

This world would be transformed to better. It would be remade first by ice, and then by fire. This "Earth" would become what Namek should have been. It, and its Dragon Balls, would be used to restore that which Frieza destroyed, and he, Lord Slug, would stand tall above all those who came to live under his new order. Lord Slug would be the name of a great saviour, the man who restored the Namekian species, and the one who would conquer the galaxy. The old ways of peace and non-violence would be discarded in favour of power, and strength. But most of all, his worlds would discard the notion of good and embrace the darker nature of what truly made up true beings.

And that would mean discarding his agreement with the ever-helpful King Piccolo. Though the other Namekian had proven truly valuable, and thus he wouldn't kill him. Lord Slug had no intention of keeping someone in power on this world who was not him when it was far too valuable. A perfect gem of a world. What people and creatures survived its transformation into a New Namek, would be allowed to be slaves.

With Frieza destroyed, the vacuum could easily be filled by him. Frieza would be lost to the sands of time, his name barely whispered. It would be Lord Slug on the lips of every living thing in the galaxy and beyond.

Without the need for pills, or other life preserving elements to his existence, Slug could digest only water, as Namekians were always meant to do.

When the door to his throne room breached open slowly, Slug saw a single figure emerge, walking with the light at its back. King Piccolo, the one he'd summoned for not several minutes earlier. The energy bolts flying around the room deliberately missed Piccolo as he walked up to the base of the throne, looking around and taking in the scenery before turning his gaze to him. It was impossible for Slug to hide the grin of malice which was across his lips.

"Lord Slug," King Piccolo nodded in recognition, before staring back up at him. "You summoned my presence?"

"I have," Slug replied, rising from his throne, standing a full head above Piccolo and twice as thick. "We are to renegotiate our agreement."

There was a visible discomfort from his very compliant ally.

"In recognition of your contributions to my restored Youth, I am going to allow you to live to see this brave, new world. Do not question my generosity. But in exchange for this token, your dreams of ruling this world, my new world, are forfeit," Slug said, his voice containing the pride of having outdone his ally. "Do you have an issue with this arrangement, Piccolo?"

The name was delivered without his title, something he didn't think the creature deserved any longer. The response would determine how long his comrade would live beyond this throne room.

The face staring back at him was more than disappointed and irritated. But he could see what he believed was a broken man. There were no options for him to persist beyond this realm without his help. He'd taken this world for his own, he was the strongest being in the universe, and he was now without age.

"I understand, Lord Slug," Piccolo finally said coolly. "But you must still kill the remainder of my enemies, as per our agreement. They are not all dead yet. Son Goku's family still yet lives, as does the Saiyan Warrior Vegeta. There is also another like me here, your men ran into him before… I require him to not be killed."

Crossing his arms, Slug just smirked back at him without a shred of care about his further demands or plights.

"The family you spoke of won't survive the terraforming process, and neither will this Saiyan Warrior. As for this other Namekian, he's already been killed-"

"No, he hasn't. I would know if he died, he is still alive."

"Well, I would recommend going for a swim beneath the ice flows and finding him," Slug scoffed before stepping backwards and resting on his throne.

"If he lived, there is also the chance Son Goku lives, the Super Saiyan whom you fought before. He is not to be underestimated, even now he remains a threat to you, mighty Lord Slug."

All of these warnings about weaklings he didn't care for. If anything, Piccolo should have been warning Achatin and the others, this was hardly going to be his problem at all. He was above such concerns.

"I have grown tired of your demands, Piccolo. I have more important things to do than track down some Saiyan. Tell Achatin to deal with it, with my consent."

Something suddenly felt off. A power spiked, and nearby. Looking at the direction it was, he couldn't see through walls by any means, but something was wrong. One of his scientists almost screamed in shock a moment later.

"L-Lord Slug! Something has happened to the Terraforming satellite. It's no longer responding. But… but tracking can't be right."

"What is it Cathuja?"

"The satellite is returning to base without a command. It's picking up speed!"

Suddenly there was chatter over the communications equipment as he heard soldiers beginning to scream.

What is going on out there?

When the ceiling and wall next to his throne room exploded inwards, with hundreds of tons of the satellite they'd deployed came crashing through, Slug raised his person shield just as the wall of shattered and destroyed metal came crashing down into his throne room. His throne was crushed beneath the scrap as Cathuja himself became little more than red paste beneath the steaming, burning metal. Fire broke out throughout the throne room as Slug felt his chest breathe in and out heavily.

Blasting straight through the top of his craft, he tore through several decks before emerging in the open air, looking at the ship itself, he could see it'd been badly mauled. The giant terraforming satellite had been thrown into the side of the ship, the speed of the impact making it collide with the force of an asteroid.

This was no mistake.

A volley of energy waves shot past him, blasting into the ground around his ship on the glacier, killing half of his army, before his vessel tipped to one side, sliding into the Earth's ocean and beginning its descent to the bottom. The gargantuan vessel's body made huge waves as it tipped and slid into a dark oblivion beneath the waves.

"Who DARES?" he shouted, turning his head up and seeing a lone, armoured Saiyan.

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Achatin:

Shell, Staff, and Colchico remained in the air as they plotted out their advance. Achatin had insisted that they begin the process of clearing the cities. The first was going to be something called "North City", a very creative civilization, the humans were. Still, this was going to be easy. Any of this planet's noteworthy defenders were dead, except for one mid tier warrior in the west, who would be easily dealt with. Achatin had little double about any confrontation he had with any of these fighters. The only one who could have defeated him, Lord Slug had killed, or wounded so badly he would never fight again.

Something seemed off however. The creatures on this planet clearly could sense power levels. It would be utterly suicide for the last remaining fighter to charge towards their space craft. They would know Lord Slug was there, and his power was near infinite.

"What the Hell is that?" Shell's voice emerged as he pointed towards the North. "Is that the Satellite?"

Achatin's jaw tightened as he felt adrenaline starting to inject itself into his body, turning his head northward, his eyes widened at the smoke billowing satellite, as "tiny" as it seemed in the distance, was large enough that they could see it from a significant distance across the world. It was bleeding atmosphere, and was burning red at the base from the speed it was moving through the atmosphere and its re-entry into the planet's atmosphere. It also only seemed to be accelerating.

No, no one could be that foolish…

When it collided with the ship below, a massive fireball exploded from the vessel they called home. Fire exploded as the sound metal on metal screeched all the way to where they stood. The sound of explosions rocked over where they floated as Achatin remained stunned at what he was seeing, his clanmates in the same position as they were left stunned.

A scattering of energy waves then blasted at the base of the titanic ice sheet and rock which their ship firmly rested on, before it began to slide into the sea.

"… That can't have just happened," Shell breathed. "That-"

Achatin had no more time to gawk. Lord Slug, and their home, had just been attacked without any warning. Lord Slug, their master, had been the target of an assassination by the last miserable warrior on this planet. All of their plans now lay in jeopardy due to their failure to track his power. These humans and saiyans had acted with subterfuge and deception as their main methods of attack. Even the pitiful creature, King Piccolo, had done the same. They never just confronted one another. They hid their powers even in battle, something he found even more disgusting. And now their two-faced tactics had destroyed their home.

He hadn't even realized he was growling like an animal as he blasted off from where he was, rapidly outpacing his brethren as he launched himself back towards their home. Floating above the sinking wreckage of their home, Lord Slug was breathing heavily as his eyes scanned over the ruins of where they'd touched down. Black smoke and atmosphere were bleeding out of the ship before it finished submerging the most ruined portions of their intergalactic vessel. His anger wouldn't stop growing.

Achatin was furious with the attacker, but equal parts himself. He should have anticipated that these creatures would fight this way. All he wanted to do right now was rip the face off the offender. Worse, he would skewer them on the wreckage of the ship, and then kill everything related to them. His breathing had become almost erratic with anger as his head turned swiftly, looking for any signs of the attacker.

"Where are you?" he spat.

"Achatin!" Slug's voice boomed.

Anger gave way to fear as the hulking Namekian turned his attention to the only thing he could have known to be a father. His own rage was mirrored in his master, who floated there with his hands clenched into fists.

"You are the head of my guard, and you let this happen?" Slug shouted furiously. "Have I not made enough examples of what happens to those who fail?"

Pointing his finger at him, Achatin's heart stopped as he realized what that meant. A faint glow of golden energy crackled at the edge of his finger tip. This was how his life ended? In complete failure to his duty? His breathing paused along with his heart as he stared into Slug's eyes as his master's open rage slowly took root in a calm fury. Reaching up, Achatin grabbed the sides of his helmet, popping it off before discarding it, letting his face be freed for the first time in atmosphere on this rock.

"I accept your judgement, Lord Slug," Achatin reluctantly admitted, lowering his head.

Waiting for death was something he'd not experienced since he was a child. Duty was the only thing which came before his own anger, or wants, or malice. Slug had saved him from a wasteland of a world, and had raised him from the time he'd been a hatchling. Everything he was, he owed to the father who now judged him from his throne on high. Slug had given him his life, and decades of growth and knowledge, he was the only one who could take it away.

If he forgives me. I will bring him the ruined body of the one responsible. I will move the stars themselves to acquire my revenge for this.

When Slug lowered his finger a moment later, Achatin felt relief slowly enter his chest, only to feel his heart skip as Slug spoke once more.

"You have fifteen minutes to find and bring me the one responsible for this, Achatin. Then I'll decide what to do with you," Slug demanded.

From behind him, Shell, Staff, and Colchico all arrived as if on time, their bodies halting in the air. Turning his head towards the others, he saw them all looking at them through their helmets.

"FIND him!" Achatin felt himself roar, before his own body blasted off into the sky, sweeping his hand across the islands and icebergs he saw, huge waves of blasts rained down onto them, as the dimly lit north of this world was illuminated in light.

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Staff:

The anger on display from both Lord Slug and Achatin was a very good motivator. There was a lump in his throat before Staff swallowed it. Whoever this last fighter was, he'd destroyed everything, and worse, he'd escaped. Even as Achatin destroyed much of the landscape for a hundred kilometres, they all knew whoever had done this had slipped the net. Which meant the main way to drive them out was going to be to do the same to them.

"Threaten the population," Shell was quick to remark. "We split up… wait…"

Even Shell, caught up in his passion for the justice they were going to bring to this Earthling realized a flaw in the plan he'd just proposed.

"Breaking up is what he wants, so he can pick us off one by one," Colchico. "That way he can lure us from our strength while he tries to… tries to…"

Colchico blinked as he sensed what Staff now sensed as well. The power had re-emerged nearby. Even Lord Slug seemed taken back by the brazen nature of what was happening. Turning their heads down from their spot in the sky, a single huge bolt of blue energy flew up towards them. Raising their guards, Staff, Shell, and Colchico prepared for the impact before Achatin blasted down towards the bolt, shoving his hands into the blast. As it reached critical mass, the entire landscape was bathed in blue light during the detonation. Smoke filled the air as the oxygen itself caught fire. The water beneath them was forced back, pushing the ocean down and away for a dozen kilometres.

The power began to rapidly move away, clearly having gotten too close to them and gotten too cocky.

"He's heading south!" Shell shouted.

Achatin's frame floated there, unscathed as he breathed in and out, exhaling the smoke from the blast, his body trembling with rage. He didn't even need to give the command as his body launched after the power. Bursting ahead of all of them, Lord Slug's body propelled further forward, tracing after the power they'd been made fools of by. All of them blasted off, waves over the already chaotic and turbulent seas being cast even higher. Waves as high as their flight began bulging up from the sea as each one of them blasted off after the blue bolt.

What did he hope to achieve in all of this? Was this a suicide? Did he know how doomed they were? Such bold methods of attack against us, he had to know… we will never let him survive this.

Even as he chased after the power, seeing Lord Slug closing in, he noticed his master waiting for the right moment to strike, clearly having the ability to overtake the other warrior. Where was this one leading them? And for what purpose? He must have spiked his power intentionally, that last attack would have been impressive against himself, Shell, or Colchico, but not Achatin or Lord Slug. He would have known that…

Which means he is leading us. Which means this… this is a trap.

"It's a trap!" Staff shouted ahead, only catching Colchico's attention, who turned his head back to look at him. "Get them to stop! They're luring us here! He's not alone!"

As he shouted, Lord Slug descended on their prey.

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Lord Slug:

This rat had caused him at least a year's worth of trouble, if not more. Most of his foot soldiers had been killed in the blasts, and in all likelihood, most of the rest had drowned within the ship. His lead scientist, and likely most of the rest, were killed in the satellite's impact on his vessel. Which meant he needed to rebuild everything out of this planet, including using these would-be slaves. Was this part of a ploy to save his people? Slug didn't know, or care. He'd utilize the humans to rebuild his ship, and then he'd exterminate them all for daring to be so obstinate about their conquest.

This would be the first chance to experience anything close to a fight in his young form as well. He was going to make this Earthling pay. And then he was going to unleash his power himself across the inhabitants of this world. He had a near eternity to do it as well. He'd had a chance to overwhelm and destroy this creature several times so far, but he would choose the right moment to strike. Part of that would be to make sure that the people of this world suffered as their last champion died.

A settlement lay ahead, and it was perfect. Tilting his flight and increasing his speed, he shot past the retreating target, swinging around and driving his elbow into the warrior's back. When the black-haired figure shot down, his body tore through a habitation building, before cutting into the streets below, breaking through several transports. Bursting down to follow him, Slug's feet touched the ground, his arms crossed as he did.

Sirens, alarms, and screams were filling the air around him as Slug gave a cruel grin. His revenge had only started.

"Do you have any idea how foolish you are, human?"

The figure pulled himself from the rubble, his Frieza Force clothing torn… Frieza Force? As well as shoving a piece of road off his body.

"You hit harder than I thought," he arrogantly proclaimed. "And I didn't get quite as far as I thought I would."

Something seemed wrong about this. Narrowing his gaze, Slug unfolded his arms and began to walk forward.

"You should feel accomplished then, you're the first one to inconvenience me this much in centuries. However, the only reward you've earned is a slow death."

The other figure stood in defiance as a smirk emerged across his face.

The sound of figures landing behind him couldn't be missed by his Namekian ears.

"Lord Slug! It's a trap!"

What?

A familiar power emerged at its peak strength out of nowhere. It was right next to him and moving at a speed that couldn't be traced at least at such short notice. A boot connected with his face before Slug felt his body shoot through the side of a small shop nearby, colliding with a moving vehicle as he saw the form of the Super Saiyan he'd killed before.

The vehicle exploded around him as Slug stepped off of it, his face turning into a grimace of anger and disdain.

You… Son Goku.

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Author's Notes:

It's a trap!

Chapter 60's the first real fight chapter in this go. We've got about 27 or 30 pages of people beating the Hell out of each other coming up. I'm looking forward to putting it up. 😊

Chapter name comes from the proverb: "He who dares, wins."

Reviewers:

Pyromania101: Raditz has an alright plan. In terms of team planning, really only he and Piccolo have any kind of hope, lol.

Perfect Carnage: It'd be too bleak to kill off 3 of my favourites, lmao. The Vegeta + Turles show would get bleak, quickly, lol.

Guest1: Absolutely. I don't expect things to ever really get to a point where there is no tension. Lol

Anonymous: I'm just writing Goku for the most part how I'd expect him to act based off the manga/movies/animes, lol. If Slug were 10x more powerful, Goku would be looking at more desperate options, like letting the earth wither, lol.

Maximussj: I think they're a great group of 5. 3 brothers, one green guy, and the guy whose got a napoleon complex walk into a bar…

Fung'Ma: Nope! Turles was the last one with a tail, and Goku got rid of that.

Guest2: Oh yea, the Catalyst is always meant to be a much more grounded story. I've always strived to make it as much like Dragon Ball as I reasonably could. PS: Krillin and Tien aren't here for a bit, but watch for a chapter coming up in the 60's, you'll be happy if your wanting to see them.

Luke: How dare you predict part of this chapter? Lol

Super Mystic Gohan: There is an android chapter coming up in the 60's. It's pretty bleak, I've redesigned them a bit… it's based off of horror, body horror, and the derangement of the mind.

Ardee: It's always meant to be that one. One reason I didn't write this for a LONG time (as the plans are still in place for the most part, this is all based off my original notes still, I've made almost no deviations from the original plan), is that this is kinda harder to write for the most part.

OuterSpaceHooker: More people find Turles Sexy eh? :P

Michael Stone: His role's far from done. Stay tuned to find out.

Thomas-The-TMC: Raditz has turned a corner, but he's got his demons. I love the character he's become, but I feel bad for him all at the same time.