Picking Up the Pieces

Chapter 16: Doubts

While wisps of fiery blue ki surrounded him, Goku had his eyes closed, focusing hard as he channeled all his ki inwards into a single point.

"Alright then... release it all at once!"

Goku let out a quick yell as the blue aura surrounding him exploded, engulfing him completely. However, it did not do anything to further their endeavors, and Goku slumped to the ground in exhaustion. They had being doing this for two months or so, around four hours outside of the chamber, and they barely made any progress! What was wrong? Was there something that he was missing that didn't allow him to transform?

Merus placed a hand on his chin in thought, "There must be something that is stopping you from breaking the metaphorical 'wall' that is holding you back."

The Saiyan quickly sat up, "What d'ya mean Merus?" he looked down at him, "Goku... perhaps there may be some doubts or worries on your mind that may be hindering your ability to push past your limits."

At that, Goku's tail curled up tensely and he looked down. Merus noticed this and sat down in front of Goku with questioning eyes. While he couldn't see Merus nor hear his voice, he knew what unspoken words were being said.

"I... I'm just worried about all of this y'know? I'm worried about if I'll be strong enough to defeat Hearts and the Grand Priest. I know I usually cut it pretty close when there's danger but... there's too much at stake now. If we don't win, who knows what could happen! You know what happened with Whis, if we fail, they could end up hurting all of our friends, our family! Especially Jiren, Gohan, Pan, Videl and... and Goten."

Goku clenched his fist that was resting on his knee, "I made a promise to him a while back. I promised Goten that I would protect him even if it costs me my life. He's been through too much in his life for me to let him down, especially after what Chichi did to him and Gohan." he spat her name out in disgust, "If I'm not strong enough, bad things could happen to him! I don't want that. I know I'm careless sometimes and end up making awful decisions for a good fight, but even I know when to draw the line. I know there's a difference between fighting for fun and fighting for others. My family, including Jiren, are everything to me, even if I can't express it."

At that the Angel couldn't help but give a sad smile, understanding what Goku meant, "I know what you mean. It's hard fighting for the ones you care about. Despite me not showing it often, I really did care about my colleagues back at the Galactic Patrol, and I was deeply saddened to know that I couldn't protect them due to my status. However, your situation is different."

Goku perked up slightly as he continued, "You have been granted an opportunity to do good with the faith that your friends have put in you. Everyone is counting on both you and Jiren to end this once and for all. We need you two, and I know that you have the power within you to fight. Hope still burns, and as long as we have that, we can't lose."

The Earth-raised Saiyan contemplated his words for a few seconds, before smirking and taking Merus' outstretched hand. He was right, they did have a chance as long as they still had hope. They weren't going to let those that fell die in vain.

Son Goku's fighting spirit had returned, and his tail twitched in anticipation, "Let's try this one last time! I can feel that this is gonna be the one."

Merus smiled, "Very well then. Let us continue."

-Meanwhile-

It wasn't just Goku who was struggling to awaken his transformation. Jiren was having trouble finding inner peace within himself as he meditated, twitching slightly. While tranquility was easy for him in times of peace, it was hard to do so when there was much at stake here. The clone of Merus understood that and knew what he had to do.