Chapter 3: Planets for Destruction are Debated; Gods Descend on Planet Yadrol

"Oh, wow, this is…" Shin looked at the table Beerus had set up, stacked with books, documents, and even a pen and paper at each seat.

"Impressed?" Beerus asked with a grin, pleased with himself.

"Yes. I didn't expect things to be so organised."

"Well, of course they would be!" Beerus slid an arm around Whis's shoulder. "Whis is excellent at this sort of thing after all."

At least he's not taking credit for it, Shin thought, but kept his mouth shut as he took his seat. "I look forward to whatever you have planned. I did talk to some of the other Supreme Kais so I could have a bit of an idea of what to expect."

"Oh? What did they say?"

"They just described what a typical day of working together was like. And told me I need to make sure I put my foot down if you take over too much."

"Don't worry, I've told Whis to act as a moderator. He's going to advise us neutrally." Beerus took a file and flipped it open. "So, I thought I'd show you how I go about picking which planets to destroy."

"It's not just whatever takes your fancy?" Shin asked.

Beerus flicked his eyes up from the paper to look at Shin. "No. I won't lie and say I do all this research myself – I leave a lot of it to Whis, but I do read through it all. Usually I spend a couple of days working non-stop right before the coordination meeting, and that's all the admin work I do in a thousand years. The destroying part is obviously done at my leisure." Beerus tapped the paper. "I'm looking at a small planet without a name in the Whirlpool Galaxy. It's slowly been pulled closer to the star it orbits over the years, and now there's no way for it to support life or be of any use. That's one for the destruction list, wouldn't you agree?"

Shin nodded and held out a hand. "May I see?"

Beerus pushed the file over and waited while Shin flicked through.

"This is quite amazing." For a nameless planet, there sure was a lot of information about it. This had been created by the North Supreme Kai, which made his heart ache just a little, and had once been situated in the habitable zone. There had been a lot of potential and promise for this planet, but due to an asteroid collision knocking it off its orbital path, it had been gripped by the gravity of its star, falling closer and closer. There were notes about how the seas were evaporating, notes about the crater formed by the asteroid having brought microorganisms to the planet, but never being able to progress before the planet became too warm for survival.

"I never knew you kept such information."

"You don't?"

Shin looks slightly embarrassed as he thought about what information he'd collected over the years. "Well, I have some information. Maybe not quite as much as this… The things I have are more about the life on the planets." He certainly had quite a large collection of literature from across the universe, full of information about peoples and cultures. Probably all from planets that would never be considered for destruction. That thought made him feel better; cataloguing lifeless planets like this one wasn't his domain, was it?

"I've got ones on planets with life too." Beerus hunted through the pile for one, and Shin was surprised to realise that Beerus must have already read through all of these to know which one he wanted. "Here - Planet Tiburon, looks lovely from the surface, in fact, I had a nice nap on the beach there once."

"So, what's wrong with it?"

"The life there is feral and refuses to progress out of the water."

Shin frowned. "What's wrong with having a planet that only has aquatic life?"

"I went in the sea for five minutes and one of the bastards bit me!"

Shin rubbed his nose so he could hide his smirk behind his hand. Of course, he had forgotten that Beerus could be so childish about his reasons for destruction. "I see. I think we should put that one to the bottom of the pile and focus on some more…'worthless' planets." Not that he thought any planets should be called worthless! They had all been created with love at some point.

Beerus took his time going through the pile in order – about 20 planets had been chosen for today's discussion. There were a couple, like Tiburon, that Shin managed to persuade Beerus to take off the list, and Shin wondered if these planets had been put in to test if he would stand up for them.

"I've saved this one for last," Beerus said, and Shin couldn't quite read the emotion with which he announced it. "Planet Yadrol." He slid the file over and waited for Shin to skim through while he had Whis pour tea and plate biscuits now they'd almost reached the end of the hard work.

"There's a lot here," Shin said. "I can see why you'd put them on the list, but at the same time, I can't condone it."

"I knew you'd say that, which is why I left it until last. Now you've argued your case for some easier planets, can you argue for this one?"

"This planet has advanced life and advanced technology. I can't possibly say yes to their destruction, even if it looks like they'll blow themselves up within the century." Shin looked through the notes again. "They're a lone planet without near neighbours, so it's not like they're doing harm to anyone else. Maybe I should ask you why you want to destroy them? Why do you want to take away their chances of stopping all this and saving their planet before it's too late?"

"One, I don't think this lot will learn. They've been hanging on by a thread for a long while now. Two, if you okay the destruction now, I'm going to destroy them first and watch the fireworks. Nothing quite beats blowing up a planet covered in nuclear reactors." Beerus grinned at the thought. "Tell you what, why don't you take a trip there before you decide? I'll wait. I think you'll agree once you've seen it."

"I think I will. It would be good for me to visit somewhere new."

"I'll go with you. You know, because I think it'll be the last time I get to go. Whis, was there anything good to eat? I can't see anything in your notes."

Whis leaned over to take the file from them, smiling at how they'd unintentionally ended up right next to each other as they poured over it. He flicked through the pages, of which there were many due to how advanced the society was. "Ah yes, here we are. You said the food was too greasy when we visited about 600 years ago. Quite recent, really."

"600 years, eh? Well, a lot can change in that time." He hummed. "Yes, that was when I first noticed that I could have a nice little bomb in the making, and boy, they haven't disappointed in that department. I always hate it when societies fix their energy problems and turn to renewable resources. That's no fun."

Shin turned to Beerus. "I hate it when societies turn to nuclear energy when the planet was already more than capable of providing all the energy needed. In a safe and non-damaging way," he added.

Beerus pulled the plate of biscuits closer, offering them to Shin first. "Nuclear energy is a sign that you've managed to create an intelligent society. You should be happy about it."

The chocolate covered biscuits looked enticing, but Shin chose a plain shortbread biscuit (which Beerus was secretly glad about – more chocolate ones for him). "I am even happier when nuclear science is discovered and discarded. It shows an even higher level of intelligence than whatever Planet Yadrol has achieved."

"Let's put this discussion behind us," Beerus said as he scooted back over to where he'd left his tea, finally realising how close he'd moved his chair to Shin. "I think that's enough work for today, and we should talk about whatever you have against chocolate biscuits."

"I don't have anything against chocolate biscuits?" Shin said, confused.

Still, Beerus found that he and Whis got to eat the majority of the biscuits, while Shin had a grand total of 3 to be polite.

"Thank you for today," Shin said once they were alone, Whis having taken everything back to the castle. "I think it was a good experience for us both."

"I agree. It was way more fun to discuss it like that than just throw you a list at the coordination meeting." Really, Beerus just enjoyed flexing his knowledge in front of Shin. It had been worth all the prior reading on this occasion, but he guessed if he did this every time it might lose its appeal.

Shin wanted to point out that how they'd just discussed the planets was how a coordination meeting was supposed to go. In the past Beerus had always left the 5 kais to argue amongst themselves, and even though Shin now had no one else to debate with, Beerus had never stepped up to the plate. He hoped that today might be the start of a positive change.

"When were you thinking of visiting Yadrol?" Shin asked.

"As much as I'd like to go tomorrow, Whis promised the saiyans a training weekend, so he won't be free to take us."

Shin cocked a brow. "Oh, are you involved in the training?"

"No."

"Then why do we need to wait for Whis? I'll take us – it'll be quicker."

Beerus narrowed his eyes. "It's quite far away, you know. You wouldn't be thinking of leaving me there, would you?"

"No? Besides, even if I did leave you there, Whis would know exactly where to find you."

"So, just the two of us?"

"Um, yes, I suppose," Shin said, realising what Beerus was getting at. "I trust you can behave on a work outing."

"I'm looking forward to it. It's not often I get to go somewhere without Whis. He always goes off gallivanting to Earth without me, you know. So, I'll call you after I've finished enjoying whatever offerings the saiyans bring?"

"Very kind of you to offer to share," Shin said. "I'll be waiting."

"You don't seem to like eating much anyway, so why would I share?"

Shin shrugged. "It's the thought that counts, Lord Beerus."

Ooo

The largest city on Yadrol was packed with tall buildings, mostly made of metal. As they strolled down the streets, they couldn't see the sky unless they looked up, most of their path being lit by halogen lights and neon signs.

"Whis was surprised when I said I wasn't going with him," Beerus said. "For once he asked me if I'd bring back food, assuming we find anything good."

"I'm sure we can find something," Shin said. "Surely you didn't try everything the planet has to offer?"

"Obviously not, but planets often, in my experience, have a certain quality to their food across the globe. I went to one planet where the people had a naturally high tolerance for spicy food, and there were hundreds of chilli varieties growing. Whis, you remember…?" Beerus trailed off as he remembered Whis wasn't there. "Anyway. Everything on that planet was too hot for me."

Shin thought that maybe Beerus hadn't looked hard enough, but for now he just nodded and agreed.

"What are your initial thoughts?" Beerus asked.

"It's warm and quiet. Apart from the rather depressing atmosphere, it's nice."

"What's depressing about it?"

Shin shrugged. "The lack of natural light when the sun is still up, even if it will set soon, and the lack of nature. We haven't passed a tree on the street, or seen any plants… It's not the kind of place I'm used to. It feels very cramped and…dirty."

"Well, the air's far from clean." Beerus pulled Shin into an alley to hide from the lone person walking down the street. "See? The people here can't even go outside without gas masks because it's got so bad."

"Why are we hiding?" Shin asked.

"Because if we're seen walking down the street without masks, we'll just draw attention to ourselves."

"I'll make us some," Shin said, happy to be of use.

"Did you know the people here have oxygen piped into their houses just like water and electricity?"

Shin held a newly-made mask out to him. "So they're essentially prisoners in their homes and whatever buildings they travel to?"

The pair walked out onto the street again, looking less conspicuous now. "Yes, although of course, they have everything they'd ever need in their houses, assuming they can afford it. I presume the poor slave away in their own homes with little time to do anything else."

"That looks like a restaurant." Shin pointed to a place with photos in the window.

"Food later," Beerus said. "I've yet to convince you this place isn't worth keeping. And besides, without Whis, I'd have to carry anything we bring back."

"So, if they can't breathe out here, how are they getting oxygen? Where is food being grown? Are there indoor farms?"

Beerus cocked his head. "Did you do any research?"

"Seeing as we were coming here, I thought I'd let it be a surprise."

Beerus hovered and motioned for Shin to follow him as he flew up above the city. He paused as he looked around once he was high enough. "What do you think that is?" He pointed to a large building made of a dull metal, but there were no windows and it seemed like bits had been added to it over time.

"A prison?" Shin suggested.

"No. That's their solution to nuclear waste." Beerus flew a bit closer. "They're smart, but not smart enough. At first they dumped it in the oceans, but that polluted the water and created more problems, so then they started burying it, and that caused different problems. In the end they said fuck it, and just decided to die on those hills. Quite literally. That shitty excuse for a building is just one of the original dumping sites that they've decided to keep building on."

"No one's come up with a solution? After all this time?"

Beerus shrugged. "Maybe. But I'll tell you a secret: not everyone wants to solve the problem."

Shin didn't understand. "Why? What benefit is there to keeping things like this?"

"Money. Control. As I've said, this planet is just one massive shit show." Beerus turned away. "Many planets have a system where water is a paid commodity. I didn't like that, but Whis explained that on those planets the people were paying for others to transport the water to them, and to make sure it was clean, so I accepted it. But this planet charges for air, the thing that should be all around you for free. If there's no air on a planet, it won't generate life, and others won't colonise it. Even if someone does decide to colonise an airless planet, they always put a lot of effort into making it habitable. They wouldn't charge people for the privilege of breathing. I just –" Beerus clenched his fist. "It's disgusting that this has happened to a once hospitable planet. The people who control the oxygen don't want to heal the planet, because otherwise their business goes bust. Do you get it now?"

Shin nodded, but his face showed wonder. "I didn't realise you cared about things like this."

"Because you're my kai, I'll tell you – before I became a destroyer I was just like the poor people on this planet. I didn't have much, and anything I did have, I gave a greater share to Champa. So when I see societies punishing the poor, I think about how I was once in their position, and that if I was born on this planet, that's how I would be living. Yeah, you'll always hear stories about me being rude and arrogant, and you'll hear them from kings and queens – people in power. It's not really my scene to go to planets and spend time with ordinary people, after all. But nearly every ruler I've met deserves to be taken down a notch in my opinion."

"Thank you for sharing that. But, how do you know the people here are poor? They don't have nearby planets to move to, so some of them must be wealthy enough, right?"

"The richer people on this planet are still being oppressed by the richest, as I've explained. Besides, if the people here were well-off, we would have seen more of them out on the streets earlier. Come, we have somewhere else to go." Beerus flew off in the opposite direction to the waste building.

As they flew further, Shin saw greenery coming into view, except it wasn't quite right.

"A forest? Is this where they're getting oxygen from?" Shin asked.

They touched down at the edge of the forest, and finally Shin could see what was going on. Tubes trailed up the trees, the leaves carefully encased in plastic to capture the gases given off. The trees looked like they were captives, or maybe more like hospital patients hooked up to machines. It was not the pretty natural picture Shin had been hoping for. Even here, there was the hum of machines at work as they entered the forest.

"Stay close," Beerus said. "Things live here because there's a higher oxygen concentration."

"What, they actually let some of it escape?" It seemed unbelievable after what Beerus had told him.

"So it would seem."

"You don't know why?"

Beerus shook his head. "Look, I could only read up so much about this place before we came. And I don't remember it being anything important compared to the consequences."

"Is this a consequence?" Shin asked, motioning to something that looked like a wolf, but had several more pairs of eyes and a double jaw.

"Yeah." Beerus reached out, pulling him closer. "Nothing that has survived here is natural."

"It looks harmless, if a little scary."

They walked further in, and more and more creatures followed them in the shadows.

"Say, Lord Beerus, where are we going?"

"To see the people."

"People live here?"

"Yes, the workers who maintain the forests often live within them. The city is quite a commute, and not only would you pay for fuel for the journey, but also the oxygen. It's cheaper to just build your life out here. We're walking because I wanted you to see the kinds of things that have been left to mutate out here."

"I think it's beautiful that life has found a way to continue to persist."

Beerus noticed that Shin's voice was further away, and turned to see the kai had stopped, waiting to see if a small dog-like creature would approach him.

"You're going to get your hand bitten off," Beerus said.

There was quite a number of eyes watching them now, and suddenly everything went still as that little sort-of-dog approached. The pad of footsteps in the trees was gone, only the sounds of gases being collected remained. For a moment there was a beautiful image of a god reaching out to a creature that was never meant to exist. It was never to last.

From the trees came something bigger, more aggressive. The 'dog' was swept away in a flash of blood as huge teeth crushed it, a yelp that sounded like a deflating balloon being emitted. That was all it took for more of the creatures to come out from the shadows and go wild.

Shin stumbled backwards and bumped into something. He was just about to attack when he realised Beerus had acted faster and scooped him up under his arm.

"What did I say?"

"I still have both my hands."

Beerus sighed as they hovered high above the carnage below; it was a free-for-all now that the smell of blood was in the air.

"Will we be safe here?" Shin asked.

"None of the creatures can climb trees. The workers make sure of that so they don't destroy the network. Anyway." Beerus continued onwards.

"You can let go of me, you know." Shin was still tucked under Beerus's arm.

Beerus released him. "Don't do anything stupid again."

A compound came into view, and Beerus touched down on the high wall that surrounded it. "This is it. The world of the workers."

"It just looks like a factory?" Shin said.

"Yep, and there's some bedrooms somewhere in there. Wonderful life, isn't it?"

"At least they can breathe outside?"

Beerus cocked a brow. "Can they? I never said that, I only said the oxygen was higher out here than in the city. They'll still have a very difficult time without a mask."

"Lord Beerus, all you've shown me are bad things. I know it's in your interest to show me these to prove your point, but, to help me form an unbiased opinion, could you show me something nice?"

"No. As Whis said, this planet really is on its last legs."

Shin hummed. "But if all the people die, then at least the forests can continue to thrive in their absence? There's still life that can continue."

"Maybe, but the pollution on this planet will take hundreds of thousands of years to clear before nature can truly reclaim it. Shin, this isn't about saving everyone and everything. This is about looking at our Universe's mortal level and deciding what is contributing to it, and what isn't."

"We have so few advanced civilisations compared to other universes. How can I agree to this?"

Beerus frowned. "I destroy this one, and we create a balance that allows you to build something better in its place."

"And why is that better than letting the planet destroy itself naturally? Apart from giving you a nice firework display."

"If we turn a blind eye, then in the end it will reflect badly on us. It will be seen as a failure, both as something one of your predecessors created, and something we didn't notice and erase. It would look as if we condoned what the mortals were doing all this time."

"I see –" Shin was suddenly pulled forward, crashing into Beerus as a bullet shot through the space he was just standing in.

"Who's there?!" one of the workers called.

Beerus flew off with Shin still in his arms, zipping through the trees until they were out of the forest once more, only then letting go. He noticed Shin's blushing face and really, really had to try hard not to say anything.

"What?" Shin said, looking about his person. "Did something get me?"

"No. I wouldn't allow that."

"What's with that look?"

"Nothing," Beerus lied.

"Tell me or I won't take you home."

"…!" Beerus gaped at the audacity. "It's because I want you to take me home that I didn't say anything." He crossed his arms and looked away. "I was going to make fun of your blushing face again."

Shin stood there willing his face to return to normal. "Well, it's unexpected that all day you've been keeping me close rather than at arm's length! I would have expected you to kick me out of the way rather than pull me close."

"And when have I ever 'kicked you away'?" Beerus asked.

Shin opened his mouth, expecting an example to come to mind immediately, but actually, there wasn't one. He'd seen Beerus put distance between himself and others many times, but never with Shin. Although, Shin had always tried to maintain a good distance himself, so there hadn't been many opportunities for Beerus to create space between them.

"I wouldn't do that to my life-link. It's like suicide. Besides, as I said, I want to keep my lift home."

"Well, I've seen and heard enough." Shin looked back at the forest with a forlorn expression. "I can't see these mortals reforming themselves in time. When you destroy them…how do you do it?"

"The faster you blow a planet up, the more spectacular it looks," Beerus said. "That's my usual way. But this planet has hundreds of nuclear reactors across it, so I think I'll look into how I can make them all go off at once."

"Won't that be a more painful end for the mortals?"

Beerus shrugged. "Maybe? It's not something I think about."

"For a moment I forgot," Shin said. "Earlier when you were sympathising with them, I almost forgot that you'd destroy them without hesitation."

"Some people who pray to gods beg for deliverance from whatever hellish lives they lead. I don't know if the people here do that, but I, a god, will come to deliver them from this hell hole very soon. I'm ending their suffering; it doesn't have to be a nice end, as long as it is an end."

"I'm sad." Shin looked at the sky, the sun having set, a few stars in the distance. "I've never visited a planet you've listed for destruction, because I never wanted to feel like this. I've never wanted to see the poor souls of those who would no longer be."

"It's not like you met any of them personally."

"That doesn't matter. I'm even sad for the trees."

Beerus rolled his eyes, thinking about how kai-like that sentiment was. "Well, you'll just have to get over it. Let's go and see if we can find anything worth taking back for Whis."

They flew back to the city, walking the empty streets, on the lookout for the most enticing place. At least, Beerus was. Shin walked alongside him feeling melancholic about the place. This was the first and last time he'd walk these streets. Even though they only passed a few people, he couldn't help but think about how their days were numbered. Would this be the last time they went to wherever they were going? Would they be able to do all the things that were important to them before it was over? Or were they perhaps one of the people praying for an end sooner rather than later?

"There's actually three customers in this one!" Beerus said as he peered through the window. "It must be worth going out for." Beerus looked at the menu posted by the door. "You've been quiet. I bet you're thinking about everything being destroyed, yadda, yadda. That's life, Shin. It's how it always goes, every time we have a meeting, every time you say 'yes, you can destroy that.'"

"How often do you destroy a place like this?"

"Oh, this is definitely a once-in-a-blue-moon kind of place, which is why I'm spending a bit more time here. Are you gonna eat?"

"No, I'm not hungry."

"Knew you'd say that. Would you feel better if I said I'll get a takeaway just so we don't use up any of their oxygen? I know we don't need it, but I can't just tell my cells not to use it if it's in the air. And I can't stop breathing if I'm eating."

Shin nodded and Beerus wanted to pinch his cheeks with how cute he looked with his that little pout on his face as he realised he couldn't do anything to help here. "I want to go home."

"A kai once told me that this whole universe was her home." He laughed at a memory. "Yeah, she was a strange one. Anyway, apparently all the meat on the menu is lab-grown, so I've gotta get some of that to try. Maybe Whis will know why they seem so proud of that?"

Shin waited outside, not wanting to go in and see someone else he'd just condemned to death. What if the person working there was a jolly old person? Someone who seemed happy with life despite the circumstances they were living in? Or would it be worse to meet a young person who thought they had their whole life ahead of them?

"Alright, let's go."

"I don't want to stick around," Shin said. "I do want to go home."

"Sure. Drop me off at the front doors of my castle and we shouldn't bump into anyone."

Shin put his hand on Beerus's arm, unable to take his hand due to the food he was holding. "Before we go, I just wanted to say thanks for today."

"Do you mean that? Seems like you haven't enjoyed yourself."

"Well, no, not really. But I think it's been very educational. I think this was something I needed to see and experience, even if I don't like it. The universe is not all sunshine and rainbows, after all, even if I like to think that everything we create is. And I wanted to say thank you for looking out for me too."

"You're welcome, now let's go."

They appeared on Beerus's planet and the air seemed fresher than it'd ever been. For a moment they both just stood there breathing it in.

"Oh, and talk to Kibito and that old fart," Beerus said. "I think it'd do you some good."

Shin nodded and disappeared, meanwhile Beerus made his presence known.

Yadrol's food was still very much in the bad category, but Beerus hadn't expected much at all. He found the most enjoyable thing about the meal he'd brought back was telling the saiyans about the planet they'd never visit while he ate.

A/N: This chapter isn't meant to be a commentary on nuclear power. I feel like Yadrol was a product of lockdown and watching Chernobyl.