Picking Up the Pieces

Chapter 17: Sol et Luna

"Dad!" Goten yelled, running over and hugging his father tightly. The gang had given themselves a few minutes to allow Merus to pinpoint Hearts' location thanks to Frieza's intel that Hearts had passed by Universe 7 and Goten had managed to find out about the entire thing. He wanted to see his father again... in case he didn't make it (At this point, Goten had grown by at least a few inches, and his hair no longer resembled his father's; he had become his own man now).

"Hey Goten." Goku ruffled Goten's hair and gave his trademark Son grin, "Good to see ya again, son!"

"I heard everything from Bulma. Are you really gonna face this 'Hearts' guy?" Goten asked. Goku gave a small nod, "Jiren and I are going to take him down. We managed to get a bunch of training done, and we ain't coming home until we beat him!"

The Saiyan turned to his eldest son, "Whatever happens, take care of your brother for me, okay? Keep him safe."

Gohan nodded, "You got it, Dad."

Jiren placed a hand on Goten's shoulder, "Don't worry, kid, we aren't going to lose to him."

At that, the Demi-Saiyan smirked, "You got this Dad, Pa."

Jiren smiled brightly. He still wasn't used to Goten calling him 'Pa' but he was glad to know Goten thought of him as a father-figure to him. He might not have been the best guardian to Goten, but anyone was better than Chichi, right?

The sweet interaction was interrupted, however, as Merus emerged from the building, "Thanks to Frieza's intel, I've located Hearts. He is with the other Angels in the Null Realm."

"Null Realm?" Piccolo repeated, "Isn't that where the Tournament of Power was held?"

Merus nodded, turning to Goku and Jiren, "I can take you both there now that I have a lock on it. I'm afraid I won't be of much help since my siblings are much stronger than I am, but I pray that you will succeed."

The two warriors nodded to each other, holding onto Merus. They looked towards all of their friends who had hopeful expressions on their faces. They were counting on them to make sure that neither Hearts nor the Grand Priest would ever get their hands on the Omni-King title. This was the battle of a lifetime, and it would change the course of the future for years to come.

-Null Realm-

A few minutes later, Merus had taken Goku and Jiren to the Null Realm, and were surprised by how much it had changed. There no longer was the broken and battered Tournament of Power ring, and in its place was a large, white, circular area with eighteen white pillars on its circumference, the symbols of all eighteen universes on the top of them. In the middle, the kanji for 'all' was written in black. All the Angels of the eighteen universes stood at the front of the pillars with the exception of Universe 7 and, surprisingly, Universe 6. Goku and Jiren soon noticed the Grand Priest and Hearts in the middle of the circle, the two sleeping Zenos hovering above them in teal orbs and both future and present Attendants collapsed onto the ground.

The two warriors walked forward, making Hearts and the Angels turn to them with darkened expressions. The 'Ultimate Godslayer' chuckled as they saw them, "So you've finally come. Welcome Goku, Jiren."

Merus suddenly noticed the absence of his sister Vados and narrowed his eyes at his father, "Where is Vados?"

Hearts shrugged, "Oh, her? She was rather... distraught once she found out what happened to Whis, so we put her in her place."

Merus' eyes widened, "Y-You didn't!"

The Grand Priest floated over, "I didn't wish to lose any more Angels, but I suppose sacrifices had to be made." he then turned to his son, "I expected better from you, Merus. I hoped that you could have joined me when you had the chance."