Author's Notes:
I abhor fixfics and refrain from writing or reading them. But sometimes, when one feels so strongly about a thing, one simply can't help but address the issue...
DRAGON BALL SUPER: "CHECKS AND BALANCES"
by Mythril Moth
With a great roar, Super Shenron faded away, scattering the Super Dragonballs once more to the far-flung reaches of the cosmos.
Team Universe Seven returned to the World of Void, landing once more in their own spectator box across from the dais where Zen-oh, Mirai Zen-oh, and the Grand Priest had watched over the Tournament.
The stands around the ruined fighting stage suddenly became lively. One, then two, then three at a time, the erased fighters, Kaioushin, and Hakaishin faded back into existence. They looked around, startled, blinking with dazed expressions.
"I'm...I'm not erased?" Quitela asked dizzily. "I'm...I'M NOT ERASED!" He laughed joyously. "I SURVIVED!"
"Did...did we all seriously just die?" Caulifla asked in the Universe Six stands. "What the heck's going on here?"
"Vados? What just happened?" Champa asked.
Vados smiled. "Ah, Champa-sama. It's so good to see your pudgy face again." She coughed delicately. "Universe Six was erased just over halfway through the tournament. The tournament ended with Son Goku-san's win over Jiren-san."
"Eh?! Beerus' universe won?!" Champa cried, looking over at the Universe Seven stands, where something of a celebration or conference was in play. Everyone except Vegeta and Beerus was gathered around Son Goku. Vegeta was staring pointedly at Cabba, an unreadable, tight frown on his face. Beerus was glaring at Champa, but it was the sort of glare that spoke volumes about his true feelings—things he'd never say in words.
And then suddenly, Beerus was in Champa's face. "Oi, kimi," he grunted. "Come with me." Without another word, he grabbed Champa and dragged him over to Universe Eleven's stands.
"Ara maa, I wonder what that was all about," Vados said mildly.
Cabba shook his head. "So...in the end, none of what we just went through mattered?"
"Oh no, it absolutely mattered," Vados said. "If anyone but Son Goku-san had won the Tournament, the outcome would have been vastly different. It's just good fortune that Son Goku-san is exactly the sort of pure soul who would wish everybody Zen-oh-sama erased back from oblivion so everyone can keep getting stronger and fighting. Or, that's how he explained it."
"Sou ka," Cabba said, nodding. "That...does seem like the sort of wish Son Goku-san would make, from what I know of him."
"If your friend Vegeta-san had won, he would likely have wished back only Planet Sadala and the Saiyajin," Vados noted.
"Well, that'd have been good for us either way," Caulifla said, looking around. "Maa, ii ka! We're alive, we can fight some more, and—"
A commotion interrupted her. Everyone was pointing up at the dais where the two Zen-oh sat. Much confusion had erupted among the fighters.
The twelve Hakaishin all stood in a semicircle around Zen-oh and Mirai Zen-oh.
"Everyone's back!" Zen-oh said happily. "We can all play some more!"
"It was fun!" Mirai Zen-oh said. "Playing this kind of game is the best fun!"
Champa growled. "Do you little bastards even understand the gravity of what you did?" he snapped. Zen-oh's bodyguards stepped forward, but a glare from Beerus quelled them.
Heles folded her arms and glared imperiously at the two All-Kings. "There is no need for impulsive, reckless children with absolute power over life and death and no concept of empathy," she said.
Zen-oh blinked, then looked at Mirai Zen-oh. "They're mad at us."
"Yeah, it's no fun bein' yelled at," Mirai Zen-oh agreed. "This is annoying."
"Totally annoying. I think we should er—"
"HAKAI!"
Twelve burning purple orbs of destruction energy collided around the two All-Kings, forming a flashing, sparking, surging, warping bubble of absolute destruction. The stunned gasps of the Kaioushin and the fighters filled the tense air.
"Might I inquire as to what you think you're doing?" the Grand Priest asked with a frown and a tilt of his head.
Beerus, straining to hold his portion of the collected Hakai, grunted out, "What we should have done ages ago."
"Mortal life is fragile enough as it is," Heles said. "The Kaioushin exist to observe and protect mortal life. We Hakaishin exist to bring about the end of anything that threatens the safety and natural growth of an entire universe."
"The Kaioushin and Hakaishin balance each other out," Iwne added. "There is nothing to balance Zen-oh. He has absolute power, goes completely unchecked, and has no concept of empathy or the consequences of his actions."
"These little bastards just killed billions of mortals and fourteen gods without a second thought," Champa added. "No being deserves that kind of power if they can't use it responsibly."
"No...talking!" Quitela hissed, straining. "We're...destroying the undestroyable here!"
Within the sphere of destruction, Zen-oh looked at Mirai Zen-oh. "Huh. They're gonna erase us."
Mirai Zen-oh considered this. "Did we make them angry?"
"They sound angry."
"Huh. Wonder why." Mirai Zen-oh looked up. "Ne, why are you all angry? Everybody got wished back, right?"
"Goku-kun brought everybody back, and we didn't just erase everything again."
"Yeah, we didn't erase you all again! Besides, having another tournament would be a lot of fun!"
"That right there is why!" Liquiir exclaimed. "All you two care about is having fun! What you don't get is that your idea of fun kills billions of innocents! Mortals who deserve the chance to live and die as they please!"
The Grand Priest raised an eyebrow. "That's an interesting thing to hear from a Hakaishin," he commented.
"Hakaishin destroy so mortals can live in peace," Heles pointed out. "We may act like monsters, even devils sometimes, but that's just to keep the people in line who would be completely out of control otherwise. We know our responsibilities and we don't abuse our power to satisfy our own selfish whims." She glanced at Beerus, then added, "Mostly."
"What happened here today led all of us to a rare agreement," Belmod said. "Whatever issues we have with each other, watching one universe after another simply cease to exist...it was horrifying. This is something that cannot be allowed to happen ever again." Solemnly, he added, "Forgive us, Zen-oh-sama, but for the justice and peace of all universes...you must be erased."
"Ah, you think so?" Mirai Zen-oh asked. He turned to his twin. "This sucks. It's boring. We should erase them, no?"
Zen-oh frowned. "Ne...what if we did something bad?"
Mirai Zen-oh tilted his head. "Something bad? We did bad?"
The Grand Priest coughed. "My lords? I'm not one to take sides, but there are those who would say that, yes, erasing seven universes and the billions of mortals living in them just because you're bored is a bad thing. Of course, your rule is absolute and all the universes are yours to do with as you please." He stepped back.
Zen-oh and Mirai Zen-oh looked at each other, then around at the Hakaishin.
"If we die, it'll make people...happy?" Zen-oh asked.
"Of course not," Beerus growled. "Don't you get it? Death isn't such a casual thing. What we're doing right now is murder, and we're going to be answering for it for millennia. But you've left us no choice. This is the only way we can guarantee the peace and safety of our universes."
"Beerus-sama," Whis whispered at the Universe 7 stands.
"I can't...let them do this..." Goku said, gathering his flagging stamina. "This...this isn't right..."
Vegeta put a hand on his arm. "No, Kakarotto," he grunted. "This doesn't concern us. We may have the power of gods, but we're not gods. Stay out of this."
"But—!"
"Vegeta's right," Piccolo said solemnly. "What's happening right now, we have no business even witnessing." He frowned. "If you absolutely can't deal with this, I suggest you take it up with Beerus-sama directly later. Just be sure to tell us what you want on your headstone first."
Goku's clenched fists trembled. "Chikushou...!"
Up on the dais, the gathered destruction energy swelled, shot through with thick ribbons of black. Inside it, the two Zen-oh calmly, blandly appraised the ring of Hakaishin surrounding them. "So we're bad guys, right?" Mirai Zen-oh asked.
"They think we're bad guys," Zen-oh agreed sadly.
"But we just wanted to play!"
"We liked it when these strong guys played together for us."
"But you forced them to play by threatening to erase everyone they loved and cared about from existence," Heles pointed out. "That's not something a good little boy does, now is it?"
"Is it?" Zen-oh asked.
"I don't know," Mirai Zen-oh answered.
"Zen-oh-sama," Belmod said calmly, eyes closed, "for your crime of erasing multiple universes with no empathy or regard for the countless lives you erased..."
The Hakaishin all bowed their heads.
The sphere of Hakai collapsed in on itself, burning bright white-hot at the core, then expanded outward in a pale violet shockwave that dissipated before it reached the stands.
Zen-oh and Mirai Zen-oh were gone.
Silence fell in the World of Void.
The Grand Priest walked calmly to the Hakaishin. "The act which you have just committed...you understand the magnitude of your sin, yes?"
"We do," Iwne answered for the group. "But we also understand the magnitude of his."
"We're prepared for the consequences," Beerus said boldly. "We've fulfilled our duties as Hakaishin. That is all that matters."
The Grand Priest watched them all silently for a moment...then stepped back, bowing his head. "Then if there is no further business," he said calmly, "please return to your respective Universes with your compatriots. This Tournament of Power is concluded."
The Hakaishin shared a brief nod of mutual respect, then returned to the stands, where their Kaioushin counterparts, Tenshi attendants, and chosen fighters looked at them in shock, disbelief, and horror.
Each of the twelve would have to answer for their part in the assassination of Zen-oh, but in the balance of all things, no one could fault them for their logic in the end: An unchecked, temperamental God-King with the empathy of a toddler was a greater threat to the survival of the multiverse than any other force in existence, and without him, the Twelve Universes could continue to grow and thrive under a properly balanced system of deities.
In time, the multiverse would collectively come to a single conclusion, vindicating the treasonous Hakaishin:
Zen-oh was simply not needed, and did more harm than good.
Dragon Ball Super is the intellectual property of Toriyama Akira, Bird Studio, and Toei Animation. This intellectual property is used without permission with no intent to profit from said use. The unique content contained on this page is the property of Mythril Moth, and redistribution of this content without express permission is strongly discouraged.