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 VI

Chapter 84: The Inner Self

Android 20:

The data he had compiled on Raditz was by default, wrong. That much he had determined for himself just by virtue of so many other things involved in the series of events that brought them here, being wrong. He had assumed that Raditz was substantially weaker, but if Vegeta and this "Turles" had proven themselves so strong, then his calculations involving this Saiyan as well were likely off, whether he could transform or not. This created a large quantity of calculations which were being run in rapid succession between his still living brain, and the computers assisting it. He needed to defeat this Raditz, very quickly, and get into his base and activate Android's 17 and 18. Android 21 would need to be reactivated as well, in order to replace the role which 19 filled.

The destruction of his creation, the rebuilt body of Dr. Album with a computerized mind, was the greatest loss of his professional career, either as Android 20, or in his brain's former role as Dr. Gero.

A conclusion was made, namely, to waste as little time as possible in order to return to the laboratory. The Saiyan would need to be eliminated with a decisive attack in order to ensure that this could be achieved. Examining the full size of the giant in front of him, he noted the civilian garb he was wearing, rather than the fighting attire of the others. It'd been apart of his own ambush against them.

As he assumed an aggressive position, 20 did the same. Briefly his eyes flashed southwards as he calculated how much time he had. A function 14 minutes, he suspected. He needed to defeat Raditz in 10 before the others arrived. The two of them assuming aggressive stances would mean that neither would be trying a defensive play in the coming encounter, both of them were on the footing of aggression.

"Going to waste time?" Raditz asked. "I wouldn't, I can sense them coming. I'd hate to see you pulled apart limb by limb."

An obvious ploy at trying to get him to make a mistake, while the Saiyan spoke, 20 looked instead for a weakness in his enemy's stance. Much to his frustration, his form was excellent, a blend of alien and human pose. His records listed this as being very similar to the fighting style acquired by the Saiyan Nappa, as well as Son Goku, and Krillin. It was important not to give in to frustration, and instead, embrace patience. Raditz's entire form shifted a moment later, where 20 immediately took his opportunity to move.

With the Saiyan pounced, 20 immediately took after him as well. Both of them drove straight into one another, testing speed and strength immediately. 20's fist connected with the Saiyans in a flurry of blows. He had managed to absorb energy from the one named Yamcha, but he knew that it was not the primary energy he'd need to win such an engagement. In a series of strikes, 20's blows were deflected, taken straight on, or blocked in the dance the two performed with one another. Even as they blurred in and out of sight, 20 himself deflected or blocked every strike the Saiyan placed on him, batting away fists and blocking quick, sharp kicks.

It was only when he missed a straight right punch hidden behind a left jab, that 20's head shot to one side, his hat flying from his body before he staggered back. The Saiyan pressed his advantage, moving inside and crashing his fist into his 'ribs'. Twenty took the blow, it reverberated around his body, but that was where it ended. The follow-through attack would have been a right hook, aimed for his head. Instead, he shot his own skull forward, slipping past the punch and driving his head into the Saiyan's mouth and chin. It knocked him low, driving him to one knee, the dry earth cracking beneath him from the sheer force of the strike. It was his turn to follow up, this time driving a knee into the Saiyan's face. The blow was tremendous, the noise itself was a thrill to the sensors of the Android as the Saiyan violently snapped back, his body slapping into the ground.

The blow he'd taken had yielded little damage, and his response had clearly been successful.

Too easy.

So far, the Saiyan's strength had been impressive, but he knew he was weaker than his energy. The Super Saiyans were able to overwhelm him, but despite his obvious strength, this one just didn't cut it. Standing over the Saiyan, 20 reached down to grab the Saiyan by the neck and begin draining his energy, instead, he saw eyes flash open with awareness and point up towards him, towards his chest, inside where his arms would be able to block or absorb an attack.

"DOUBLE… SUNDAY!"

Two red bolts hit his chest immediately as 20'ts shirt and jacket were vaporized. His eyes widened as he tried to move away from the unprotected attack, but it was almost too late. His mustache caught fire as his hair blasting back with his body, sending him surging upwards into the air. Only after he'd lifted a hundred metres off the ground, did he force his hands into the beam, draining what energy he could back into himself.

His facial hair ceased burning once he patted it out gently, before his blue eyes focused in on the Saiyan, now pulling himself up. Sensors detected a mild decline in physical performance, offset by the absorbing of new energies from Raditz himself. Still, it was an exchange that saw him only gather a mild advantage. He would need to keep trading like this, in order to achieve his final, and glorious victory.

Descending down to Raditz's level in a rapid motion, his feet pulsed off the surface of the ground just before he landed.

"Very impressive," he remarked to the Saiyan, who was glaring back at him. "Your power and performance are almost five times what it was expected to be upon contact. The efforts you must have gone through to achieve such a power, must have been trying. However, you will not last the remaining time you have, at this rate, Saiyan."

A frustrated Raditz took that as his queue to prove him wrong.

Excellent.

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Raditz:

This guy hit like an asteroid. The headbutt felt like it'd driven his jaw into the ground, and the knee that followed was already causing swelling on the left side of his face. Just because these things were overmatched by Vegeta and Turles, didn't mean, evidently, that he could overwhelm them. From what he'd seen from 19, Raditz had thought he might have had a good chance at winning, let alone buying time, prior to 19 absorbing energy. However, apparently not all Androids were made equal.

It meant he was going to need to change his strategy. Because if he went head to head with this thing multiple times, he'd start end up on the losing end of the fight within another three or four rounds. He didn't have the stamina or energy to compete at this level for long, and considering he saw the machine absorb part of his Double Sunday, it'd be doing nothing but feed this guy as he got weaker. It meant he needed to start looking for avenues to a quick victory, and he wasn't finding them as they traded shots initially.

Worse yet, the Android seemed to understand the material advantage it had, and by the time it landed, it was already poised to strike out at him again.

Shit, you couldn't have raised your power level before starting to fight him, Raditz? Damn it.

The scolding thoughts came in as the machine launched itself at him. It was hard to keep up, but he definitely could, only now he found himself on the backfoot. Being on the defensive meant ceding the initiative, and that was a huge pain. A metallic fist caught him even as he dodged the assault, clipping him across the side of his eye. It was noticeably strong, which meant the Android wasn't pulling his punches. Managing to only be dazed for a second, Raditz pulled himself back as another swing went past his midsection and a straight kick slipped past his torso as he twisted at the last moment before impact. The real problem was, he doubted this thing tired very easily.

Each punch felt almost as strong as the last when he deflected what he could as the flurry of blows came at him. There weren't many openings he was fast enough to exploit either. What was important however, was patience, the longer he drew this out, the better.

A second later a kick landed on the inside of his left knee, causing him to tilt in the air before a double punch slammed into his chest and stomach. The world drifted away from him as his body jetted back, but he rapidly recovered in the air, flipping around once as he dispersed the energy which had launched him into the sky. His eyes didn't see where the Android was, which he immediately knew was a problem, dodging to the left out of pure instinct, the Android came in from above, swiping down, cutting past where he'd been with a stabbing kick.

The frustrated old man glared at him as he'd avoided the blow, before Raditz took his opportunity, striking hard with a straight right punch, connecting with the Android's head, before he landed two hard body blows. Swinging around with high velocity, he then clipped the Android in the side of the body with a huge, sweeping kick. The body jerked and was flung back, but Raditz noticed as it stopped in the air only a few metres away it'd not taken significant damage. Internally, he cursed as the machine just smiled at him.

"You will not be able to overwhelm this chassis with the limited array of abilities you have at your disposal," the machine told him. "And you are not making your time limit. I estimate I will defeat you in four minutes, giving myself an eight-minute lead on your friends."

The older Saiyan reformed his composure as he let his power flow through his body, trying to keep himself at an even pace. Funnily enough, it'd been the human Krillin who'd taught him that technique. The Earthlings had taught him a lot about how to fight, and he'd taken whatever he could adopt into his repertoire. The humans were able to overwhelm their opponents, even at a power disadvantage. It was how they'd defeated him, or most of Frieza's goons, and it was how Kakarot had become such an incredible fighter.

Strangely, he was leaning on them right now, much more than his own people's approach to battle.

Pointing one hand out, he felt energy begin to radiate off of it. This wasn't going to be his fight to win if he just kept at it, even if energy attacks had a great deal of risk against this thing, he had a plan.

"Tuesday Firestrike!" he shouted, pointing both hands out as the orange bolts left his hand, first two, then four, then six, and finally eight.

Each one swirled through the air, twisting and turning towards their target. Number 20 just grinned as he looked up towards them, raising his hands to absorb the incoming attacks. Instead of making contact with the machine, they bolts started to break their pattern, shooting out around him in a web. The machine's eyes widened before he tried to track all of them, giving Raditz his opening.

Launching forward, his huge fists smashed into the doctor's face with two hard shots before he could shift focus back onto him. When his guard reacted, Raditz began to guide the missiles back towards the Doctor, the bolts of light trailing around them as they began to pull in towards them. Number 20 battered away three well placed strikes, though as he prepared to counterattack, he quickly turned, trying to catch the blast coming straight at him, which deviated at the last possible moment. With his back turned, Raditz quickly moved in, driving his knee into the machine's back before grabbing its shoulders and heaving it around before tossing it towards the ground. The bolts veered towards the old machine who landed on his feet, reaching up to capture them again before they changed direction once more.

A scowl emerged on the old man's face as the orange bolts diverted away from him again.

"A deception and nothing more," he spat before launching himself forward and up towards Raditz himself.

In a blur of pure speed, he collided with him, landing a punch on Raditz's midsection. Before the Saiyan could raise his guard, another stiff shot hit him in the side of the head, just above the jaw, before the Android proceeded to hit him twice in the midsection and once in the side of the neck. Two kicks cracked into his ribs a moment later before he felt the machine's hand grab him. His energy immediately declined as Raditz looked him in the eyes and smirked, blood drippling from his lip, grabbing the machine himself and holding firm, making sure he couldn't move away.

As the machine stared into his eyes, both eyebrows show up on the old man's features before he turned his head at the intense heat and light coming from behind.

"I hope you're ready, old man," Raditz breathed. "It's about to get hot in here."

The eight Firestrikes came in from all directions, plunging into the Android's back. Raditz immediately felt the heat himself, as part of his hair caught fire and his own skin burned. The detonating blast was intense enough that his hands couldn't hold on, forcing him to let go as he felt like he'd just stepped onto the surface of a star.

The air around them caught fire as his lungs filled with burning hot gas. The machine in front of him started to melt before Raditz was blinded, and the intensity of the blast finally shot him away. When his body hit the hard, barren rock below, it was only a few moments before the surface of the world caught fire. The intensity of his attack was something he'd expected. When the flames came for him, he took what power he had left and tried best to shield himself.

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Turles:

Someone had turned up the battle they were all rapidly approaching. Raditz was clearly fighting the machine to the best of his limited abilities. It wasn't that these Androids were a threat to a Super Saiyan, even one of the two future Saiyans could have beaten either of those machines. The issue was that Raditz was not a Super Saiyan, and Turles already knew as they approached that there was little real chance of him defeating one of these things.

Everyone else, barring Vegeta and Piccolo, seemed to be upbeat by the power increase. He could see it written across the human's faces, as well as his nephew. The two other Saiyans he couldn't read, but they didn't seem to be indulging, at least.

"Man, think Raditz might do it?" Krillin asked. "That's a lot of power out there. He must have been training like a madman. Hey, Turles! You trained with him, right? Did you see this coming?"

For the moment he decided not to answer, but he did exchange a look with the Namekian for a moment. It wasn't worth getting into, not yet. For now, he was focused on flying ahead. Turles would never claim to be a caring, or nice person, and no one else would either. Others were things to be used by him, for the most part, but even he couldn't help but feel for Raditz's struggle. It was a hopeless one, but he just needed to buy them time.

It was strange that he was flying nearby the monster that had stolen much of Raditz's life from him, even if Turles didn't care about his sibling's struggles in that respect, it was Vegeta who hung over his life, and now it was Vegeta flying to where Turles suspected Raditz would… die.

"Raditz has much to answer for," Tien said. "The West City massacre is just one, but you can sense that power out there. He might just pull this off."

"I never thought Raditz was going to bail me out," Yamcha almost laughed. "And now he's going to save the world from the Androids too!"

When Gohan, the younger, Gohan, laughed, Turles had finally had enough.

"Quiet!" he barked, his face twitching once as he glared at the others.

He heard the next laugh come from Vegeta of all people, before the mightiest Super Saiyan took off, his body bursting ahead, faster than any of them were going to be able to keep up without wasting substantial energy.

"Vegeta wait!" the teenager shouted before launching after him, putting immense amounts of his own energy into his speed, well beyond what Vegeta of any of them were spending.

Turles knew that being a minute earlier might make the difference, but he honestly doubted it. When this was decided, it'd be in two minutes from now. Raditz was at his peak, as far as he could tell, and it was all downhill from here.

"Trunks!" the older, unintroduced nephew, shouted. "Trunks come back! Trunks!... I wish people should listen to me for once."

"Man, there was no need to be such a killjoy," Yamcha said. "Can't you tell? Raditz is really pushing his limits out there."

"Raditz is going to run into his limit, very soon," Piccolo corrected. "When is does, there is a very strong likelihood that the Android will kill him. He's not nearly strong enough to stop that thing…"

As if on cue, Raditz's power began to decline, rapidly. The mood became very quiet for several minutes before his sibling's power fell entirely off the radar. Far in the distance there were a series of violent explosions, and Turles felt himself push forward regardless. He hated weakness, and looking out for his older sibling wasn't his job. But he felt the compulsion to move forward anyway, breaking from the others.

Sadly, he was probably the only one Raditz had, outside of their nephew. As far as Turles was concerned, he didn't really have him either. Even with Bardock still being silent, he could almost hear his voice for a moment, chastising him for having left his sibling to the wolves. Even if that was ridiculous, he wasn't in the mood to arrive seeing a corpse, at least not a Saiyan one.

"Do you guys think he made it?" Yamcha asked, his voice nervous. "I mean… he should have had him, right?"

Gohan was quiet as a ghost now, before Krillin spoke.

"Let's… let's hope for the best."

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Android 20:

The concussive force of the blast was significant, damage was read across all sectors of his body. Warning's popped up across his mind's readout, even the temperature in his brain was abnormally high, and regulators were struggling to keep them together. The surface of the earth for at least ten square kilometres had been turned into a blasted, burned, mutilated wasteland of fire and melted stone. The hand he'd gripped the Saiyan with the hardest, was registered as non-responsive. When his optics came back online however, it wasn't hard to see what. At the elbow his left arm had been blasted off by a combination of searing heat and the explosive force of the eight rapid fire attacks which had landed on him.

The entirety of his clothing had also been destroyed, along with the entirety of the fleshy, outer shell he had created for himself. He was in the most natural state of being his body could be in, entirely naked of any flesh, or false musculature. Instead, metallic feet slowly lowered to the surface of the Earth, hissing as the touched the still burning hot, blasted ground beneath him. The flames around him almost were the mirror image of Hell.

The place he one day hoped to send Son Goku.

Mechanical hands raised in front of him, his optics, unhindered by eyelids of the false eyeball around them, stared at what was no longer the hand he remembered. The mechanical digits opened briefly before he looked ahead towards the figure, pulling himself out of the rubble while coughing.

He had indeed made the mistake of underestimating this one, but the fight was now well and truly over. He didn't need to do more than take a few steps towards he stopped himself, standing tall, his metallic endo-skeleton now shining in the light of the fires around them.

"You have the same nerve as Son Goku," Gero said, his vocalizer no longer working as well, resonating with mechanical tones. "But you were still two minutes short."

The beaten man stared up at him with a nerve which he knew all too well. It was the same look Son Goku gave Piccolo junior at the world's martial arts tournament. He certainly hoped that Son Goku would grieve.

Energy coursed through his body until it emerged openly at his eyes. The Saiyan rose in a blur to strike him, only for the Android to unleash his full power from his optics. Raditz was moving almost in slow motion before the world in front of what had been Dr. Gero was illuminated in a glowing golden light. The Saiyan froze in place, pain appearing in his eyes as what was left of his shirt evaporated, and the body of the Saiyan, his mouth agape in agony, was sent vaulting back, disappearing in the wave of energy before the beam collided with the Northern mountain range in the distance. As soon as it did, the explosion which followed annihilated the side of the mountain in a single, devastating blow. The world seemed to rumble itself before the Android hopped several times and launched himself towards his facility.

60 seconds remain.

As the timer wound down, his body landed in front of the doors. He was scanned and they parted for him, allowing him to step through them in rapid motions before they closed behind him. His chassis had sustained immense damage, he had no human outer shell at the moment, and he needed to activate 21 immediately.

After that was done, 17 and 18 would be next, and then he would allow Dr. Rossa… Android 21, to complete his repairs. Then he would watch as Vegeta and his comrades… died.

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Raditz:

It was dark.

Briefly he wondered if he was alive, or if he was dead. There was so much pain… he knew he was alive. It was almost unfortunate, a long, drawn out moan escaped him as he tried to even move, finding himself unable to do so. There was no ki left to move his muscles. He could still detect moving air, but he could barely breathe. The entirety of his body was… destroyed… That much he was sure of. Every piece of his body was weighed down by untold amounts of rock. The last thing he could remember was… was the light.

Trying to move at all again, it failed him. He almost wanted to just… go to sleep.

If you pass out, that's it. It might be over.

There was a real… chance, that he'd surrender to his impulses and just let himself quietly drift away. Even as a Saiyan, he knew his injuries were severe. Without a Senzu Bean, he would be unlikely to recover. Worse, if he did, the scars across his body might last a lifetime, perhaps even preventing him from fighting anymore. The want to drift away was almost as real as his body's desire. He'd fought the battle and lost, not just failing to destroy his adversary, but failing to hold him long enough. Much like when he'd failed to avenge Violet. Or when he'd failed to protect Gohan from Vegeta… or when he'd failed to protect the human in the first place, or when he failed to kill Vegeta after Nappa's death.

At every step of the way, he'd failed. This was just the last failure in a long line of them. Whether this was his worst failure or not didn't matter, he knew it'd be his last.

Gohan, nephew, survive this. Turles… avenge me.

The last thought was almost humorous to him. Given that he'd thought Turles had died shortly after even meeting him all those years ago, he'd always imagined he'd be avenging him.

And Kakarot…

Hey, don't give up.

Without a word spoken, he heard the voice of his brother. The brother who'd rejected him, after he had… betrayed him, and his trust. That was the apology he wanted to give, but could never provide. To apologize to Kakarot would mean to apologize for doing what he had to, for doing the right thing. He was right when he'd told him that his only regret was failing. But that wasn't wholly true. His other regret was…

That I lost my brother.

Idly, he barely realized it, but his arm was reaching out, as if to grab hold of his sibling.

Just you and me, Raditz. We'll see how far you can push yourself. I think you can grow much faster than you are now, and I want to see it.

The memory of his brother's voice encouraging him in the past stung, but he could feel the pain in his limbs returning, rather than feeling himself drifting away. Managing to get a sense of where he was, Raditz looked down, seeing the gashes across his chest and the extensive burns over what he could see. There wasn't enough power to just blast the rock away from him, but he found enough strength to start to move.

I don't think I need to know. I think all that matters is who you are now. How you got here is your own story. If you don't want to share it, you shouldn't.

It was almost like he could see the moment in his mind's eye, not just hear it. Honestly, all he wanted to do was reach out and grab himself.

Tell him. Tell him what happened, explain to him everything.

It was something that could never happen, but his brother was here with him, now. Even if he wasn't there physically, even if he wished he'd never met him, the words Kakarot had told him years ago had never gone away. It was his brother, who had taught him to persevere, both by word, and example. Raising his arms, he shoved the first rocks from his body, before slowly starting to free his legs.

This wouldn't be his grave. He wouldn't die here. He just had to keep on trying.

For the first time his senses extended past his grave… how long had it been? Who was out there? When he finally climbed to his feet, barely able to stand, Raditz managed to gently start pulling himself into the air, looking for power levels…

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Author's Notes:

I am exceptionally tired today, and thus, posting this 3 hours early.

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Reviewers:

KagariAsuha: I'm sure they will :P

Ardee: Just watch, Piccolo's gonna transform into a new form! The form of… A slug! Super Slug Namekian Gold! :P

Blades of Fury: I have proven your theory wrong, lol

Pyromania101: O.O

Super Mystic Gohan: Sometimes the underdog, just ends up being the underdog, lol.

FabDuwangIsFab: Bulma is not interested in helping Turles or Raditz, for any reason, lol

Guest1: I just can't say the humies are going to be super relevant in power. I know people want that, but the cast is already super bloated.

Zyr0TruthCanExist: Future Gohan is weaker than both Turles, and Vegeta at this point.

Guest2: Sometimes you get the egg, other times you get the shells. Raditz got the shells today.

Warga: I concur. Go Raditz! Lol

ILiekFishes: I agree.

DarkFalconZ: Goku's not exactly responsible, lol. I hope you enjoyed the confrontation :P

RedHunter87: There is a lot behind that, it depends on how things go. I think you'll be surprised. I don't wanna spoil anything. Lol

Thomas-The-TMC: He's such an asshole. It's great. Lol

TheItchyCocoon: It's gonna be fun the next few chapters, I promise.

Gfranciah: Hopefully I can keep them coming :P

Luke: I hope this answered your question, lol.

Cerric: Poor Dr. Gero. All he wanted to do was kill everyone who wrong him and enforce a brutal tyranny over the world. Is that so wrong?

Kacarrot: Gohan does feel betrayed, that much I can confirm.

Anon: I'd love it if Raditz killed Gero, and just the whole thing came to an end. That's be hilarious, as the Z fighters would cannibalize themselves very quickly over the course of a few weeks as egos flew out of control, lol.