Chapter 12 - Righting The Wrongs
A few days pass, and after some well needed rest, Goku felt well rested enough to get back to training with Whis
Goku and Vegeta agreed to talk to Beerus about their plan, or rather what they felt needed to be done. The Saiyan's would not stop until Vegeta went back, and Goku was dead, but Vegeta had no plans to, and he certainly wasn't going to allow them to kill Goku.
Vegeta felt it was a shame in his eyes. The Saiyan's could have been more, better even. He felt stupid for thinking they would change. Vegeta knew that Goku kicked himself for bringing them back, he knew Goku felt the same. Goku thought they could change too, but he felt that way about a lot of people he has faced. Goku was always one to see the good in people, he always believed people could change. He always gave people a chance, it was the person he is, but in this case, it was probably the biggest failure. Goku had held out hope that if Vegeta could change, the other Saiyan's could too. Goku's mercy didn't always go the way he wanted it to, but this was the worst it had ever gotten. The Saiyan's were too stuck in their old ways, they did not seem to want to move forward and better themselves. They just wanted to kill, and fuel their own ego. Goku wondered if they had any idea what Saiyan pride was really about.
Goku and Vegeta arrive at Beerus' planet.
The God of Destruction and his Angel attendant were waiting for them.
"It has been some time." Whis says "You've missed training."
"I know. I'm sorry." Goku says "Something came up."
"Oh?" Whis looks at Goku curiously
Goku goes on to recount the events with the Saiyan's in full detail, sparing nothing. He told them about being kidnapped in order to force Vegeta's hand. How the king blamed him, how Goku threatened them and what he said. Goku explained how they locked him up, what they did to him. He went on to recount what happened when he escaped from the cell, how he killed so many, how he wasn't himself, how he acted rashly at the time, how he had planned and executed his revenge, which everyone knew was very much unlike Goku to do. How Goku spared no one who got in his way. He went on to explain how he returned to the king, ready to not only take his life, but the life of the planet as a whole. Goku told them how the Saiyan's only currently live because Vegeta pulled him away before he regretted it further. He even told them about the confrontation with his father, who noticed the blood covering his son, how he knew it wasn't Goku's blood, how he seemed disappointed.
"I almost wish I could have seen it." Beerus says amused
"The thing is, Lord Beerus, we need your help." Vegeta says
"For what?" Beerus peers at Vegeta through curious eyes
"I think you already know what I'm suggesting." Vegeta answers
"I think he wants you to destroy Planet Vegeta, my Lord." Whis says looking at Beerus
"I thought as much." Beerus replies before turning to Vegeta. "But why? Isn't having your race back what you wanted?"
"Once, sure." Vegeta answers. "The truth is I never wanted nor expected things to go this way, but we have no choice. They've become a threat. They may be after Goku now, but it won't be long until that turns into other planets in the universe."
"We wouldn't ask if we did not feel it was important." Goku says "They'll threaten and kill whoever they want. They're far more ruthless than I could have ever imagined. I would know, I've experienced it first hand. I've heard how they talk about other life. They don't care as long as it benefits them."
"If you do this, we will bring you the finest selection of food Earth has to offer." Vegeta says "I mean, after all, you will want to stop them before they destroy Earth and put and end to the food you love so much."
"I'm listening." Beerus says, ears perking up.
"They're a risk to everything." Goku says "I don't want to risk anything."
"You mean you don't want them to kill you?" Beerus says through questioning eyes.
"This isn't just about me anymore." Goku says "This is about the countless lives that will be lost because of them, and their ego.
"Please, Lord Beerus, we don't have a lot of time." Vegeta pleads "Do you really want to lose that food supply we've been supplying you with?"
Goku and Vegeta watched as Beerus' expression changed from one of rumination to that of solicitude. Beerus loved Earth's food and he was not one to be willing to give up on something he loved so much after searching for so long. Earth's food was far superior to anything he's tasted to date. He was not willing to lose it to some Saiyan's.
Goku watched the Destroyer God with a pleading look behind his eyes. Goku did not want to go back to Planet Vegeta, he did not want to go through all that again and He did not want Earth to be put at risk. The longer Beerus stayed quiet, the more tense Goku felt his body get. The thoughts of possibly going back to the planet to hopefully avoid Earth's destruction rose within him. He knew if he went back there, he'd never leave again, and if he did, he wouldn't be alive when he left. He knew that he would suffer far more the second time around, so if he thought it was bad enough before, it would only get worse. Much much worse.
Vegeta's mind too silently pleaded. He knew all to well what would happen to Goku if the Saiyan's got hold of him. He knew Goku would not survive and he was not ready to lose Goku. Not yet. if Goku died there, he could not guarantee the Earth's Dragonballs could bring Goku back due to him not being on Earth.
"Alright." Beerus says finally breaking the silence. "On one condition."
"Anything." Goku says "You name it, it's yours."
"I want Earth's finest food." Beerus says "And those cup noodles Whis brought back that once."
"Done." Vegeta says "I know where to get plenty of those."
"I'll get Bulma to put together some of the finest and your favourite dishes." Goku says "Oh! And that strawberry sundae you loved so much!"
"I look forward to it." Beerus says "It's probably a good idea for one of you to come along for confirmation."
Goku and Vegeta look at each other silently, as if debating which should go.
"I'll go." Goku says suddenly
"Are you sure?" Vegeta asks
"Yeah, I'm sure. I doubt you'll want to see it." Goku says
Vegeta nods.
"Then it's settled." Whis says
"Do you want to get this done now?" Beerus asks
"Whenever you're ready." Goku says
"Let's get to it then." Beerus says
"Alright." Goku nods as he approaches Whis and Beerus.
Beerus and Goku place one hand on Whis, preparing for the travel. Goku looks at Vegeta. Vegeta notices a sadness in Goku's eyes.
"I'll be right here when you get back." Vegeta says
Goku nods silently, and Whis whisks himself, Goku and Beerus away in a beam of colourful light.
Goku feels a wave of guilt and anxiety rise within him as they travelled toward the Saiyan planet. He hoped things were different, he wished it didn't come to this, but it was clear that change would never happen.
The trip did not take long, and the 3 arrived after 20 minutes of travel.
Upon arrival, Whis placed a transparent green bubble around himself and Goku, providing Goku with the air and oxygen needed for him to survive in space.
Goku looked at Planet Vegeta. The red planet just floating there in space, the Saiyan's on it's surface having no idea what was about to happen. The red desert planet sat blissfully unaware of the destruction that was about to happen.
Beerus moved some distance away from Goku and Whis, beginning for form a sphere of Hakai energy.
"I really wish things could have been different." Goku sighs, his eyes still fixated on the planet.
"You had good intentions." Whis says "But sadly things don't always go the way we hope they do."
"No, it does not." Goku says with a little sadness present in his voice as the sphere of Hakai energy Beerus formed grew large enough "Imagine what could have been if they did change their ways. I now have to live with the fact that their blood is on my hands."
"They could have done great things." Whis says
"Agreed." Goku says watching the purple sphere Beerus created hurdle toward the planet. "So much wasted potential."
Goku watched as the Sphere engulfed the planet and disappeared.
The planet began to expand and swell. Cracks in the surface began to form, big enough for even Goku to see from this distance. The cracks followed the planets existing fault lines, while also creating new ones. The continental plates started to lose integrity. Brightly glowing magma from the planets core could be seen through the cracks. As the planet becomes less dense, it continues to expand. The core of the planet starts to vaporise. As the crust of the planet fragments, the core becomes more visible, the planet now looking like a crazed sphere of glowing orange cracks. Any water on the planet at this point will have started to boil away, thick vapour beginning to form.
10 minutes pass, and Planet Vegeta is now twice the size of what it used to be, glowing orange with black and white patches of crust and cloud. Localised steam explosions force some matter outwards, faster than the general expansion, but is barely visible to Goku. The heat released from the core scorches the land until it's black. The atmosphere has become thinner and so transparent.
As planet Vegeta continues to expand at a steady rate, the intense heat of Beerus' attack causes the planet to start glowing brightly and evenly, before the expansion cools the iron vapor in the middle enough for it to stop glowing and starts to condense into liquid iron.
Another half an hour passes, and Planet Vegeta appears less solid than it was before. The exposed mantle and outer core exist as hot liquid in outward moving globules. Pieces of the planets surface move apart at incredible speed, in all sorts of sizes and shapes. Some small like specks, others the size of asteroids.
As the planet continues to expand, its clear that the surface was only a small part of what the planet is made up of and becomes somewhat irrelevant. On little bits of the crust, some parts of mountains and rock formations could be seen. Some buildings could be seen on some of these pieces of crust, but were now crushed and flattened by the initial outward acceleration, but these were only tiny fractions of the total number of planet fractions that filled Goku's view.
As the cloud of fragments expand over the next hour, individual globules of iron core and molten basalt core mantle begin to cool on the surface and darken. the glow begins to fade and once the glow is gone, all that is left is a void, which only 10% of the void being filled with fragments of the planet.
There is not really anything left.
Goku looked at the now almost empty space. He could not deny that it was hard to watch. He felt he was part of the reason the planet was now destroyed and it killed him inside. He believed after what he did on planet Vegeta tainted his once pure heart, he felt that now, it was tainted even more than before. Goku told himself that if he was able to still ride the Nimbus before, he definitely could not now. His heart was tainted by the actions he has taken.
Goku realised he was not the person he used to be, he did not see things as he used to. Years ago, he'd have recoiled at the thought of being part of such a thing. Goku had to tell himself no one was perfect. Everyone made mistakes, everyone did something wrong in their lives. He has had his fair share of being selfish, arrogant and on times let his ego get the better of him, and now to add to it, he has been ruthless and destructive, to the point it has been the cause of a planets destruction, even if it was for the best.
Watching planet Vegeta's destruction did not give Goku the satisfaction he thought it would, it did not fill him with relief, instead it left him feeling more guilty and empty. Goku knew that not every Saiyan deserved it, but what else was he supposed to do? It's not like he could have gone to every Saiyan and decided which deserved to live. How would he even decide that? He wished things were different, but nothing went the way he hoped it would. He had to live with the fact that it's done, that he was a part of this, that he was a big part of the reason it came to this. Goku wondered if any of this would have happened if he did not ask Vegeta to visit the planet the first time. Maybe, just maybe, if they'd never gone to the planet, it would have never come to this. There was no going back now, no fixing this. It was done. It was over.
"Satisfied?" Beerus asks approaching Goku and Whis
"No." Goku sighs "I'd have rather it not come to this, but we had no choice."
"Well, you can rest easier knowing Earth and many other planets are safer." Whis says
"Maybe." Goku sighs again "But I'll have to live with the fact that a planets destruction is on me.
"And you may have just saved far more lives." Whis replies
"Whis has a point." Beerus says "You did this because you felt there was no other way, because you knew the possibilities."
"Hm." Goku replies not fully convinced but unsure what else to say.
"Whis, let's head back." Beerus says
Goku and Beerus place a hand on the Angel before he begins transporting them back.
Whis, Beerus and Goku arrive back on Beerus' planet after 20 minutes.
Vegeta had been solo training while they were gone, keeping himself occupied for the several hours they were gone.
Vegeta noticed the less than satisfied look on Goku's face, guilt even. Vegeta assumed Goku would seem a little more satisfied than he presented himself but they both knew it had to be done. He could see the conflict in the younger Saiyan's eyes.
"Are you okay?" Vegeta asks
"I wish I could say yes." Goku sighs "I wish I could say I felt better for it, but I don't. That was fucking hard to watch. Why did it have to come to this?"
"Because they were stupid enough too fuck up the second chance you gave to them." Vegeta says "Because they were a danger. I don't like it either, but they made their choice, and this is the result of that choice. We did what we had to do. They chose their fate, we just delivered it."
"I know, Geta." Goku sighs again "I just wish it did not have to go this way. Now I have to live with this for the rest of my life. Maybe if we didn't go there things would have gone differently."
"Me too." Vegeta replies "This would have happened regardless, whether we went there when we did or not. You aren't going to go through this alone."