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 V

Chapter 65: Vision

Turles:

The suit felt good, and it wasn't a three piece one. Instead, a Saiyan chestplate adorned him for the first time since he'd been killed on Planet Namek. It'd taken a bit of modification for it to feel like his old set, though there were obvious differences. The lack of shoulder or thigh plates couldn't be helped, and this set happened to have an undersuit that complete covered him. Still, beyond that, he'd managed to change the colour from white and yellow to Black and Grey, giving him a sense of continuity. There was also the opportunity to see if he could indeed get someone to modify at least a couple other sets of the plate to have his more traditional armour plating around the shoulders at the very least.

With just the chest piece, he reminded himself of being too much like Bardock, honestly.

It was frustrating to not transform and let him stretch his Super Saiyan legs, but there was still the matter of keeping his skills honed, more than it was about pushing raw power, at least for the moment. Anytime you were surrounded by would-be enemies, you should try and keep your hand concealed the entire time. Strength was more than just raw power, it was born from multiple sources and Turles aimed to master every facet of it.

Right now, he was standing at the top of a mountain, with Kakarot at his side. The flawed replica that Kakarot was had things he'd not really been able to believe. There was one Saiyan of a new generation, and it was Kakarot's doing. That in and of itself seemed maddening. On a planet full of weaklings, he'd found one of the few creatures here with a power level above 5. Altruism was hardly his main point of interest, but Turles cared about the fate of his species. A species that only had five members in it, and disgracefully, one was Kakarot.

The strangest thing he'd never admit to however, was that he was proud to have killed the Super Namekian alongside another Saiyan Warrior, even if it was Kakarot. Even if it was tactically flawed to do so as well. Because Turles knew that there would be a conflict between the two of them at some point. Kakarot wasn't nearly ideological enough. His supposed twin… well, sadly, despite how much he wished it, it wasn't supposed… had no connection to who they were as a people. Kakarot went by Goku, and was uncomfortable being called the name that he truly was.

For all of his flaws, and there were many, Vegeta was a Saiyan, and the same thing held true for Raditz. There was respect there because they mutually understood what they were. Kakarot being one of the humans but with a Saiyan body, was infuriating, also because it wasn't true. His nephew, Gohan, had proved to be every bit the Saiyan Warrior on Namek, and his behaviour afterwards. Part of being a Saiyan was in the blood. Even Kakarot instinctively behaved like his species in several ways without realizing it. It was one of the things that made him reluctant to annihilate Vegeta, Raditz, and Kakarot.

It would doom him to being the last of his kind.

Raditz was a Saiyan, and the eldest among them, but it was obvious that his brother had lost his way. He wasn't sure what had pushed his sibling so far from what they were, but it was obvious. Even Turles recognized that they all had a different vision of what it meant to be a Saiyan. The greatest shame was that Raditz probably would have had the best idea of the four of them, only his warped perception had created a flawed man. It had become obvious to him when he met him again on Namek, he was not the man he had been when he'd collected him in the past.

The cold wind from the north pole washed over him as Turles floated above the shifting sheets of ice beneath him. His eyes peered over the world from the top down seemingly.

The greatest connection he ever had to his past was gone now. It had been, it was someone he'd reviled. He could still feel the Spirit Bomb which he'd forced him to live through. His admission that he'd enjoyed watching him die in it for the first time had been something that had chipped away at him. Finding out his own history had been… something he could have done without. Between the vision he'd experienced of him falling into darkness, and Bardock confirming something he really could have done without. Killing your own mother on your birth was usually something that could be frowned on, even if he hated the weak. Especially since he suspected whatever vision he'd had; had shown him the unconditional care she'd expressed towards him.

He used the term care, because he hated the word loved. That was the true source of most weakness right there.

Something had changed in his mind, even before the vision however. The visions he'd experienced with Bardock hadn't fully disappeared, as evidenced by his unconscious nightmare documenting things he could have never known. Even with his memory being fuzzy on certain parts of it, he could feel himself falling away from everything, even things he actually cared about, like himself.

All of this meant he'd need to cement his plans. The real question was going to become what to do? To rise up and destroy every other competitor on this planet would prove his strength, but would doom the species that he was. The other option was to be the strongest amongst his kind and the universe. Because strength was what he could use to forge his legacy, and force his vision for the world.

Descending to the iceflows below, Turles's boots hit the ice before he knelt down, frozen air coming out of his lungs. Meditation was going to be the start of today's joyful training.

There was a third option, and it was something he openly laughed at as he crossed his legs as he began to hover.

"I could become like Kakarot and pretend to be one of these insects," he laughed. "And let my legacy and species die with a whimper."

The first thing he saw in his mind's eye as he began to meditate was not anything revolving around himself. He could see Hell, and standing in the middle of the wasteland, he saw… Bardock. The sensation he'd felt in his head before itching, if only slightly.

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Raditz:

"So, what exactly are you going to do once you get your wish from the Dragon Balls?"

"I wouldn't bother with the details, they'll get messy," Raditz replied as he laid back against the beach, his head resting on the side of a half-destroyed tank. "But, for all of your service I'll see to it that you survive."

Kicking sand up absent mindedly, Violet pulled the ring off a dead soldier, examining it briefly before pocketing the valuable. Clearly, she hedged her bets against everything. In this instance she had no idea that Nappa and Vegeta were many times stronger than he was, but it was amusing to watch to say the least. So far, they'd devastated most of the forces near the beach. Correction, he'd killed most of the soldiers, and Violet had been picking up valuables off the dead men and women that she could get away with while holding the very valuable Dragon Balls.

"So, this Prince Vegeta," she said after a few moments. "How much do you trust this guy? With the wish that your saving up for him? Is he going to give you the knife in the back? Or is this oath of loyalty you have go both ways."

A roll of Raditz's eyes followed as he decided not to answer the question. Sitting up from the tank, he could smell the sea breeze mixing with the less than pleasant odor of the bodies which had been left in the sun a little too long. They should really get a move on again soon. Jumping off the hull of the tank, Raditz saw one man trying to crawl to safety a few metres away. Before he could think to do much about it, from around 20 metres, Violet drew her sidearm and fired, blowing his brains out from afar. It was easily enough to make him grin.

"Also, we're going to need to stop off at a town, and I don't want you to wreck it. I've got about 150 widow bands I need to flip," she informed him as she slid the gun back in its holster. "And yes, I'm aware that once you and your friends conquer the world there will be no money, but…"

"You're just hedging your bets," Raditz laughed. "Oh, I'm aware. You should have a little faith."

After taking another few steps along the sand, Raditz paused as he stared out over the sea. This was daytime, but he could see a few of the flaws. Firstly, this had happened at night. Secondly, there was no tank. The last and most notable point for him to realize this was a dream, was that Violet was smiling at him. It wasn't something he cared about either way, but that was something she never did. The only time she smiled was when she was getting something she'd wanted.

Also, she never told him about the town. He realized she'd taken on money when the backpack she had stopped jingling with all the wedding rings she'd been pulling off the bodies.

"This is a dream," he observed to himself, coming out of his almost self-imposed trance. "You also had more blood on you here. You complained about it."

The spectre of the woman he'd fallen in love with just stared back at him through a blank expression. At least this was one of his more pleasant dreams, as opposed to the ones where he was stopped at the top of that damn mountain, digging her out of the rubble that Nappa and Vegeta had left her in. The only dream that he ever wanted to fulfill now, was the ones where his hands were wrapped around Vegeta's throat and he was choking the life out of him.

He'd been loyal. Everything he'd ever done was for his people, and the Prince he'd sworn to follow since he was a child. Vegeta's betrayal of him was not his fault. Sometimes he'd caught himself, wondering if he'd just not failed, that perhaps Vegeta would have spared her. But he could see the look in his former master's eyes. It was done to strip something away from him not just out of punishment, but a desire to keep him in his place. His whole life he'd been stuck under the bootheel of the Prince, only ever following orders.

He was still living with her ghost. With his eyes scanning over the coastline, Raditz dreamt of feeling the sun's warm rays over his face. It helped him forget the wound that had been left on him. The one thing that time didn't seem to heal, and left no mark on his body. It was something he could never let go, because it never stopped hurting him in the quiet moments of his life. His dreams were filled with things he could no longer have. He imagined himself saving her, or living some kind of life together, or living with her last few moments, or skewed nightmares of what happened. Even when the dreams made no sense, they still hurt. In his waking moments, Vegeta was never far from his mind.

All he could think, was that he wanted Vegeta to suffer as he'd suffered.

Walking over to the colonel, Raditz reached out, resting his hand on her chin while she stared back at him. Within a few seconds, he could feel sand running through his fingers. Her eyes turned to dust as her skin started to turn into the very sand beneath his feet. There was the same moment of fear she possessed before the light had gone out in her eyes.

"You are a monster, Raditz," she managed as her body started to fall apart in his hands. "But you were supposed to save m…"

The body fell apart, her face forming into nothing but sand before it flowed through his fingertips. As she disappeared into the beach, Raditz just felt the world he had to live with sink further into his dreams.

"I am a monster," he managed, his voice trembling with anger and the hurt he associated with everything this was. "And if I can't save you. I will avenge you."

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Son Goku:

A big yawn escaped the Saiyan as he stretched on his way out of bed. Another great sleep, as usual. Hopping out of bed, Goku started the day with his typical stretches. Today was a great day to be alive. There was no big interstellar threat on its way, at least not today! Better yet, he could smell breakfast coming from the kitchen already and was already excited. Of course, he knew he had to shower first before going to the kitchen, otherwise Chi-Chi would get mad. There was a brief moment of childish resentment, before Goku walked with almost a skip in his step into the bathroom.

Hot water rained down on him for a couple minutes before he popped out. A good towelling later, Goku got dressed and walked with a bright smile, seeing Chi-Chi lording over the kitchen with a big smile herself. Gohan was already at the table, eating modestly as he looked over at him.

"Morning dad!"

"Morning Gohan! Morning Chi-Chi! Oh man, it looks great!" Goku said brightly, looking over all the food with saliva forming already in his mouth.

There was always extra food every day since Raditz had moved in. His elder brother lived in the attachment they'd finally decided to add to their home after he'd bummed around on the couch for so many months. They really didn't both to do it until Chi-Chi had to come out one night and Raditz, along with his hair, were still awake and scared the Hell out of her when she thought a bear had broken into their home… again.

Still, the one room expansion package capsule had been a gift from Bulma at least. The only problem Goku ever had with having his big brother around was he was a terrible morning person. He always woke up half dead, or looking extremely depressed or angry. Really, they'd kinda touched on it like two or three times, buuuuttt Goku was pretty sure his brother had told him he really didn't need to get anything off his chest, or that it hadn't mattered, so he took him at his word on that. That still didn't improve everyone's moods to when the bear impersonator woke up in the morning.

The knock at the door sounded familiar, and Gohan's eyes brightened up. As per usual, Piccolo was here for the beginning of their daily training exercises.

"It's open!" he shouted back, sitting down at the table with his first five plates of food.

The only problem was it wasn't Piccolo. Instead, it was Tien and Krillin? Not that it was a problem, it was just a bit jarring. Piccolo always got here first. Of course, these thoughts only followed Goku around for a few moments while he was eating, instead focusing on breakfast.

Another door opened a few seconds later as Raditz came out, acting like the bear Chi-Chi had accused him of being on more than one occasion, grabbing several plates of food and beginning to eat. Ill tempered Raditz was eating at the table as he looked over to see Gohan staring back at him, who then looked over to Goku himself.

"Dad, when do you think Piccolo's going to get here?"

Another bowl hit the table as Goku grinned, feeling like he was just getting started. That was delicious! As always it was delicious, anyway. Taking a second to finally listen to Gohan's words appropriately though, Goku realized his son was concerned. Really, for once there was nobody here to kill them, except for maybe a group of shadowy, manipulating monsters acting behind the scenes. As soon as that thought finished, Goku sighed. His mind began to reach out, looking for any signs of Piccolo's power. It took only a few seconds to sense him at the lookout.

"Hey guys, you mind starting without me?" Goku asked, dropping another bowl on the table.

"Wait, what?" Raditz asked, looking up with a mouth full of meat before Goku pressed two fingers to his head. "Uhh, Raditz is in charge today until I get back!"

Vanishing a moment later from his room, Goku felt the cool air around Kami's Lookout brush past him. His eyes stared out over the clouds around them before looking over to see Piccolo standing there with Mr. Popo.

"He's been missing for days," Popo exclaimed. "I am so worried. What will the world do without Kami?"

"The same thing it's always done," Piccolo snapped. "What's that old dried bag of bones done for anyone lately?"

"Hey guys!"

The visible tensing of Piccolo's shoulders, even beneath his weighted clothes, made Goku grin as he approached the two. Kami was missing? That was actually concerning, because if Kami died, Piccolo died. They could look on the bright side at least, Kami wasn't dead. This still seemed like a big problem though, because if Piccolo just died on them, that'd probably not go so well with the Androids.

The real question was, who would want to hurt Kami?

King Piccolo, dead, and technically right in front of him.

Garlic Junior? Worse than dead.

People mad at Kami for not answering their prayers? Possible, but probably too weak. Thinking about it more, definitely too weak. They were paying to Kami in the first place, for the strength they needed, for whatever they were doing. Oh! It could be Yamcha, he always seemed to ask Kami for help. But… he seemed to lack the motivation… probably.

Androids? Would they know about here, and Kami? Is that a thing?

"We need to do an investigation," Goku said, crossing his arms. "Who would want to hurt Kami anyway?"

Piccolo became more visibly irritated as he turned his eyes towards Goku himself.

"Son, that is why I'm here," Piccolo explained tightly. "We have no idea what happened, and there hasn't been any trace of him in a while. I can still sense my connection to him, I know he's alive, but outside of that I can't communicate with him."

So, there went that lead.

"Does Kami have anyone right now who really hates him?"

"You mean beyond a few hundred thousand furious humans that their city was just destroyed in a huge fight, and a swathe of their loved ones killed?" Piccolo asked bluntly, sounding irritated. "No, there isn't anyone who lines up. And also, who wouldn't want to kill him, if they had the power to make him disappear?"

This may be more serious than Goku realized at first. It wasn't just Kami going on a senior's cruise or anything like that. He was missing, and even Piccolo and Mr. Popo didn't have a clue where he was. What about the Dragon Balls? That was another thing that became a red flag. All those people who died would just be gone, and they might need the Dragon when those Androids showed up too. What if something did happen? Piccolo would be gone, the Dragon Balls, gone, and the Earth would be left without a Guardian.

"Anyone come to mind yet?" Goku asked, looking between the two of them, only getting an irritated glare from Piccolo and a stunned look from Mr. Popo.

"Go train, Goku," Piccolo advised. "I'll spend time looking into this. I'll let you know what comes up in a day or two. If nothing, then we'll have a problem."

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Bardock:

In the distance he could see a mountain of fire rise up. He probably had another few days before it finished tearing through the other side of eternity and got to him. That was far from the most exciting things he had going on today of course. Watching King Vegeta and the other Saiyans, by the thousand, try to get their revenge on Frieza from a distance had been a spectacle he got to see today. The outcome was far from surprising. Even after thirty years, King Vegeta couldn't accept his failure, or that he'd allowed Frieza to kill him and his world and people. Well, it happened again, and worse than it had the last time.

Expecting things to be different down here was just another kind of Hell in and of itself. There was no death, there was no end to this existence. It was the long eternity, where your hatred and bitterness were left to fester and consume you from within. There was no day, there was no night, and certainly no horizon. It was an endless field of existence with nothing but the worst of the worst. And sadly, he deserved to be here, along with a staggering number of his species. The few of them that had been the best of them, didn't exactly go to heaven either. He knew their souls were just recycled back into the universe, which explained part of his own pain.

After over twenty years down here, his mind only able to tell from looking into the real world outside this, Bardock was already tired. This was only the beginning. It was just… a long road to the end of eternity.

The events above had been the main thing keeping him going right now, watching, peering into the world through the fragmented visions he had of the present and future. Turles had become a Super Saiyan, something a year ago he would have mocked the very idea of. The fact that he'd saved Kakarot, reluctantly so, was something at least he could be happy about. As happy as he could be down here.

There was the fact he knew Gine would be happy about it too, wherever she was. Perhaps without realizing it, his son had given him a gift he'd wanted for almost as long as Bardock had been alive on the Earth. The chance to say goodbye was something he never got in real life, and even if he knew it wasn't her… it felt like she knew. A small smile crossed his features as he took in the warmth from the fire, even from this far away. Resting back into his mind, receding from his existence in the nightmare around him, Bardock sat down, crossing his legs as he prepared to find some kind of escape from where he was. Without a connection to Turles, he couldn't see events unfold in front of him, he couldn't truly escape. He could just find a stilled shot in time and hope he came upon something. This was his only escape from the nightmare that was his reality.

Where are we going to go this time?

The world almost started to bleed away. The Kanassans had indeed cursed him in life, and even in death… but their powers had given him a small window to look into to relieve himself from the nightmare that was his existence here. They'd even given him the gift of being able to look into the lives of the people he'd been close to, namely Kakarot. In a weird way, his thoughts had strayed over the last few days, looking not only at the son he'd principally cared about. But his time to influence things was over now. He wasn't going to be the one to fix what had happened to time here, was he?

In the darkness of his own mind, he felt himself constructing a world around him as Kakarot appeared seemingly in the morning. Raditz was eating along with his grandson, Gohan. The pair of human warriors, Tien and Krillin were there, as was his daughter-in-law Chi-Chi. Walking through the front door, Bardock looked at the scene and let himself smile sadly. This was just a still shot, a single brief moment in time. That was all he could get like this without any connection, or without a vision overwhelming him.

When Turles walked in a few moments later, Bardock felt him bump into him as he came through the door. Bardock sneered instinctively.

"Watch it," Bardock snapped.

The world shattered into darkness a second later at the disruption.

"It's a lot less interesting in real life," Turles told him a moment later. "The only thing that even keeps this place going is the woman, from what I've seen. That idiot Kakarot stays poor by being a raddish farmer most of the year, did you know that?"

"Yes I…"

Bardock paused as he realized what was happening.

Turles…?

Sensing in the back of his mind for any signs of what was happening, Bardock sensed the tether he'd severed from Turles's mind only a week prior. His eyes widened as he realized Turles was just looking forward, not saying anything further.

Why?

Bardock asked himself after a few moments, not being able to find his voice outside of his inner monologue.

Even if there was only an edge of what Bardock sensed in himself, and on Kanassus, he realized there was a fragment of him in Turles in that respect. He'd cursed Turles through their connection, if only with a shard of the power he'd been cursed with. For a brief rippled in time, he could sense a few of the stray nightmares.

And that connection is what finally let me see Gine.

Stunned, Bardock was just left standing there, sensing the connection between them reengage. What was there to say?

Clearly, Turles wasn't interesting in answer his question before he sat down in the empty void of his mind, his arms crossed. There was something there, an understanding that Bardock slowly started to understand as Turles crossed his arms. It took him what felt like an eon to let his thoughts slowly catch up with his mind. The kid wasn't here for anything, was he? He'd just reconnected with him through the dead line, for what? To test something? To test that fragment of power he'd been discovering more for himself? The best Turles was ever going to be able to hope for were nightmares of things he could never understand. He was surprised he was able to find him with it, or project himself at all.

And then he realized he wasn't projecting here. He'd just reopened the connection between them. Turles wasn't in his head, he was in his.

The only answer Bardock could even begin to come to as he was left standing there, was that Turles had reopened their connection because…

"Not one word," Turles commented coolly.

The silence that emerged around them was enough for Bardock to swallow once. The kid, his kid, had reopened their connection for… him. It was a realization that after everything that had happened… after everything he'd put Turles through since they'd "met", and after admitting he'd been happy to see him die, Bardock realized what this was.

"… I let you down. I was wrong, Turles."

"I can't see the future anymore, at least not any kind of readable version of it," Bardock finally commented, looking for a hidden motive, not believing Turles would just reopen their connection. There had to be something in it for him.

"I know," Turles remarked, not bothering to look at him. "I have training to do, don't be too annoying."

Standing up, Turles vanished into the darkness.

He almost didn't know what to make of it, but there was something slowly emerging across his face without even realizing it.

He was smiling.

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Author's Notes:

It was funny reading all the reviews, as this chapter has been long done, with people being like "I guess Bardock's story is done!" It's just a new arc now for him is all, as it is for Turles. So lololol :P

Reviewers:

Blades of Fury: Tragedy is always in the equation though :P

Dharshan: Yea, I wish I'd gotten it done. I've just been so busy lately I've not been able to touch it for a couple weeks. Le sigh.

Warga: lol

Guest1: It was okay. It was better than I thought it would be, I thought it'd be bad and it ended up being reasonably okay. So I'm pleased, as its not a dumpster fire, lol.

Super Mystic Gohan: Oh Vegeta, he's got such a fun arc. Lol

Luke: Thanks! Turles is very much a snake though… I'd never trust him 😐

Hylnb93: Love triangle? Sadly, I don't think Chi-Chi is capable of that. But there will be an interesting dynamic, at least I think, coming up between them. Love triangle? Ehhhh… I dunno about that.

Thomas-The-TMC: Cell eh? That is an interesting character to mention. :P

MalikJamalTimberlake: Piccolo can totes do that too. Lol

RabidJack: It is literally tied to The Long Road, just I wouldn't call it a prequel. Same multiverse.

Guest2: Raditz is currently not in Saiyan armour. Turles's armour is black, white, and gold. Vegeta's blue, white, and gold. Turles is almost never going to struggle to keep up with Goku, that's a big part of his arc. But he is fundamentally a completely different character, but intrinsically tied to Goku. And I agree, he is a major mover in the story. Just ended up being that way, lol

Kacarrot: Turles doesn't really have control over that gift, in the same way Bardock doesn't really have control over it.

Maximussj: Is he?

OuterSpaceHooker: Turles is more predatory, than the other Saiyans. And I don't mean that in a creepy way, what I mean to say is that he approaches everything with a cynical, and aggressive motivation, even when he has feelings for something, it's all taken through that lens. The other Saiyans are more… warriors. Turles would call himself a Saiyan Warrior, but really, he's a hunter more so than a warrior.