The sky darkened with a rumbling crack. Black clouds moved over the bright blue sky like a roaring sea, instantly enveloping the world in a veil of darkness. The air around them crackled with intense electricity and power, and the wind flew fast and sharp, rushing past them and twirling into the air. A lightening bolt of golden energy charged out of the sky, spinning and turning and taking the form of a humongous dragon. An inhumane roar was let out, and it shook the foundation that they were standing on, causing everything around them to tremble at its strength. She shut her eyes tightly for a moment to block out the radiance of the sight, squinting through the beams of shimmering golden light that were so intense it seemed as if they were coming straight from the sun. He was so beautiful and so powerful that the mere sight of him made Marron’s breath catch in her throat. Wise eyes looked down on her silently, as if the dragon already knew what she would be asking him for.

And if Marron was not mistaken, there was just the slightest glint of compassion in the powerful beast’s eyes --- as if he could sense the grief that was overwhelming her at that moment. She wondered if he could see the battle that was raging on inside of her heart, if he could sense the deliberation that was running wildly through her mind.

She could be selfish.

It would be easy to forget about Satan City, to forget about everything that happened. It would be easy to ignore all of those innocent people that had died and think only about herself. She had a wish, a free wish, a wish that she could do anything with. If she wanted to, all she would have to do was speak the words --- and her mother would come back. It would be that simple. She could turn her head up to the dragon right now and wish her mother back to life. But that wasn’t the kind of person that she was. Even though her deepest and most secret wish was to just have her mother, Marron knew that it was not the right thing to do. Thousands of innocent people had lost their lives in that attack on the city; she couldn’t justify wishing their murderer back to life. It was wrong, and she knew it. But now that she was faced with this powerful dragon and the even more powerful prospect of having her every desire at her fingertips, she couldn’t quite force herself to do the right thing.

She placed her hands on her temples and gripped her hair tightly, letting out a quiet sob. She wanted her mother back so badly that she could feel it burning inside of her; she wanted to be able to come home and see her there, sitting in her favorite chair and reading a magazine, or chatting with her father in the kitchen. She wanted things to be normal again --- she wanted them to be a family again. Her father was going to be heartbroken and she would not know how to make it better; she didn’t know how to console someone when she felt like dying herself. The truth was, she simply did not know how to deal with this black, ugly death that had forced itself upon her so swiftly. She just didn’t want it to be real.

But it was real. And she couldn’t hide from it. Although she wanted her mother back in her life, it was impossible. She had to do what was right. That was what her mother would have wanted, and that was what she would do. She just didn’t think she had the strength to say the words.

Goten watched her carefully. Marron appeared to be going through some awful kind of internal anguish, crying openly as she stared up at the dragon before her. Without hearing even so much as a word from her, he already knew what the problem was. He had seen this coming from the moment that Dende had given them the horrible news about Juuhachi-gou and Juunana-gou. Before then, Marron’s only focus had been to make this wish for her mother, so that Juuhachi-gou would be able to come back into the world guilt-free. She had wanted to wish the dead of Satan City back to life for her mother. But now things had changed; it wasn’t so easy for Marron to continue on with this wish, because her mother was no longer there. And that presented an even bigger problem: with the dragon’s capacity to grant any desire, Marron was now facing a terrible choice. She could either do what she originally planned and wish to take back the destruction and death of Satan City, or she could bring her mother back to life.

He didn’t blame her for being upset; he wouldn’t have wanted that choice either. He had to admit that if he were in her position, it would take him a moment to deliberate the situation as well. He loved his mother --- needed his mother. But at the same time, he wouldn’t want thousands of innocent people to be dead. Just the thought of making that kind of a choice made his stomach churn like an ugly mass of writhing snakes. No one should have to make a choice like that. But….If he were indeed forced to make a choice --- as Marron was now, then he knew in his heart what he would do. One life, no matter how precious, was worth sacrificing thousands of lives. He would want to wish his mother back to life, to be selfish, but that would be the wrong choice. Innocent people had died, and their families were grieving in the very same way that Marron was now. If she was going to wish anyone back to life, it should be them. Sacrificing personal needs to help others was always the right choice.

He knew that Marron had discovered this same conclusion. She had a heart that was kind and good --- the kind of heart that would never do anything selfish. But although he knew she must have decided what she needed to do, he wasn’t so sure that she would be able to do it. Although she would definitely be doing the right thing, she would also be letting her mother down. Goten was certain that Juuhachi-gou would never hold anything like that against Marron, but it was still horrible. It would be enormously hard for her to have to look up at that dragon and do the right thing, knowing that in a way, she was betraying her own mother. And knowing Marron’s kind, compassionate heart, the girl was probably killing herself over this. Her mother had meant the world to her, and having to let her down now would be extremely painful.

One thing was for sure: Marron could not do this alone. Some things were just simply too hard to do on your own, and this was one of them. His heart went out to her, not just because he felt sorry for her or was concerned for her, but because she was his friend. He didn’t want anyone to have to make a decision like this, but especially not someone that he truly cared about. He moved his dark eyes to study her tearful expression, taking in the gentle slope of her nose, her flushed cheeks, her watery eyes. She was not looking at him, but he could almost feel her pleading, reaching out for help. His heart answered in reply, thudding gently against his ribs as he stared at her. He could never let a friend --- someone that he cared so much about, face something like this alone.

Marron turned back to face the others, studying all of them with a tear streaked face. They all stared back at her, looking grim and torn. Goten tilted his head slightly, his expression full of empathy. The sobs that were consuming her were now so frequent and so vicious that she could not even open her mouth to speak. She bent her head down and cried hard, knowing that she did not have enough strength left in her heart to make this wish that she so desperately needed to make. Just when she was about to give up, she felt something soft and warm press into her hand. Strong fingers intertwined with hers, pressing against her skin with more love and compassion than she had ever felt. Her watery eyes opened to see Goten beside her, holding her hand.

One by one, everyone stepped forward to be at her side. Piccolo and Koronu stood on either side like tall, invincible pillars of strength; Bra rushed up to wrap her little arms around her legs, and Trunks clapped his strong hand down on her shoulder, giving her a dazzling smile that just barely glimmered with sadness. Gohan ruffled her hair in a fatherly fashion, training his eyes to up stare at the monstrous dragon hanging above their heads. Even Tayhei placed a cool hand on her shoulder and regarded her with encouraging green eyes. There was something halting in her expression, something that made Marron believe that there might be more to Tayhei than just beauty and a sharp tongue. Standing there beside all of them, she felt a rush of friendship and gratitude; that rush circled into a quiet whirlwind of strength, and she felt it growing inside of her heart, filling her with the determination that she needed.

She was so moved by their gesture of kindness that her tears began to fall harder, and she struggled to regain her composure. She felt Goten squeeze her hand gently, and calm fell over her once more. The last echoes of her sobs died in her throat, and though the tears still fell, she knew that she was now strong enough to do what needed to be done. They had all given her that strength, in the simplest, most unexpected way; just by showing that they cared --- that they understood, was enough.

Her eyes turned up to look at the dragon again, this time with not even a trace of fear. The dragon was not here to frighten her or make things difficult for her. He was simply giving her a chance. The wise eyes glinted down at her, shining with more power and knowledge than she had ever seen in anyone else’s gaze. The long scaly tail whipped around a bit like a willow branch in the wind, moving over the dark sky in shining tones of gold and yellow.

“I have a wish to make.” Marron said in a strong clear voice, speaking through the river of tears that was moving down her face. The dragon narrowed his eyes in reply, saying nothing, but listening intently to her. She shook a bit and wiped away her tears with her free hand. “I wish to undo all of the death and destruction that was caused in Satan City. All of the death and destruction that was caused by….my mother. Please, take it all back. Give the innocent people their lives back, and reunite them with their families. Make it so that it is just as though she never attacked Satan City at all.”

The dragon narrowed his eyes again, and Marron felt something very powerful running through her, like a long wire of electricity. It spiraled though her strongly but pleasantly, creating a brilliant display of lights and colors before her eyes. The magic seemed to float around all of them for a moment before dispersing into the air, and she knew that the dragon had fulfilled her wish. Her heart leapt, knowing that at this very instant, the world was suddenly brighter --- filled with the joy and the surprise that her wish would bring. All of those innocent people had come back to life, and their families would no longer have to suffer with grief and depression. It warmed her to her very core to know that she had done something to help people; she had truthfully done the right thing. Even though it had hurt her deeply to have to give up on her mother and her uncle, she had done the right thing.

“Is that all?” A deep, rumbling voice spoke from the sky. It was so loud and so rich that it shook the air around her. The dragon narrowed his eyes at her, and they glowed yellow in the darkness of the stormy sky.

Before Marron could even speak, she felt Tayhei’s cool hand slide away from her shoulder. The girl walked straight ahead, standing at the very base of the dragon without even so much as a hint of fear. She was too far away for them to hear what she was saying to the dragon, and Marron had a brief moment of apprehension, realizing that Tayhei had a lot of power right now. The girl could do whatever she wanted to; she could turn them all into weasels, make the world her own empire, even wish for someone to die. Tayhei had never told her what she was going to wish for, which worried Marron even more. Marron would have loved to hate her then. She would have loved to despise Tayhei for her long legs, her thick golden hair, her vindictive nature, and her unfailing confidence. But as much as she struggled to hate Tayhei, she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Although, if Tayhei actually did turn her into a weasel, she didn’t think she’d have any trouble loathing her then.

“She’s wishing her sister back to life.” Goten said softly, and Marron’s heart jumped when she realized that his mouth was right next to her ear. He was so close to her that she could feel the heat coming from him, warm and clean. He smelled like pine trees and sunshine. “Her little sister died almost a year ago. I bet that is what she is wishing for. That’s why she came here, you know. She tries to act like her sister’s death didn’t affect her, but I know it did. No one could ever be that sad and lonely inside if they weren’t heartbroken and grieving.”

Marron bit her lip, feeling instantly foolish and immature. She had never known. All this time, she had been so angry with Tayhei --- so suspicious that she was going to use the wish to do something predictably evil. And all the girl had wanted to do was wish her little sister back to life. It softened her heart towards Tayhei a little, made her seem more like a real person. Now that Marron truly knew what it felt like to lose a loved one, she understood why Tayhei acted the way that she did sometimes. Tayhei just hadn’t let go of her sister’s death; she never gave her wounds any time to heal. She had just packed up and moved somewhere new, hoping that the pain wouldn’t follow her there. Marron frowned as she thought about that. If she didn’t give herself a chance to heal after her mother’s death, then she would probably grow mean and bitter as well. From that moment, Marron knew that she would never be able to look at Tayhei in the same way. Her cruel words were nothing more than her way of protecting herself. Tayhei wasn’t quite the evil girl that she originally thought; she was just a normal person with normal fears and heartaches.

Her eyes swam with tears again, and her chin trembled slightly. She was glad that Tayhei was going to wish her little sister back to life. Not just because the cruelty would probably stop, but because it make Tayhei happy. No one deserved to be that miserable, not even someone as mean as Tayhei. All of them deserved a chance at life and love and happiness. No one should ever shut themselves off from what the world had to offer them.

When Tayhei approached the dragon with her head held high and not a trace of fear anywhere in her expression, Trunks thought that his heart was going to break. She looked so beautiful; she always looked beautiful. With her long blond ponytail swaying behind her back and her bright green eyes gazing fearlessly up at the dragon, Trunks was certain that he’d never seen anyone so perfect. But it wasn’t her outside beauty that made his heart ache for her --- it was just….her. It was the person that she was inside; the person that she so desperately tried to hide from everyone else. He knew that there was an amazing amount of kindness and good in her soul; he had seen flashes of it before and knew without a doubt that it existed inside of her. And it was that kindness, the childlike vulnerability, that he found himself undeniably attracted to. More than anything, he wanted to gather her up in his arms and let her cry; he wanted her to know that she was protected --- that she was safe. He wanted to set loose that beautiful person inside of her and let her know that she never had to hide anything again.

He had heard Goten whisper to Marron about what Tayhei was wishing for, and it had made Trunks’s heart ache yet again. Perhaps this was what Tayhei needed to become whole again. Maybe her little sister was the missing key to her happiness. He had a feeling that things were going to change soon. A feeling that from now on, his life was going to be completely different. That feeling, along with what his heart felt as he was gazing at Tayhei now, combined into one thrilling, perfect emotion: love. It was love for what she had been in the past, love for what she was now, and love for what he knew she could be in the future. And it was a love that had nothing to do with destiny or a pile of pictures that he hadn’t been meant to see. He knew that he would have felt this perfect wash of warmth and peacefulness even if Mirai Trunks had never wandered into their world.

He wanted to rush forward and tell her all of this, wanted to let her know right now exactly how he felt. He had put it off for far too long now --- they both had. But this was not his moment, it was hers. She was doing something that was very important to her, something that quite possibly had a chance to completely change her life. And though he felt in his heart that his place was right there by her side, he stood where he was. He would let her have a private moment to make her wish. Somehow, she sensed that that was exactly what she needed right now.

Tayhei stared up at the powerful dragon, her eyes not really seeing him. Instead of seeing the scaling coils of gold and yellow and red, she saw nothing but the ghostly image of little girl. A little girl with dark brown curls and chocolate colored eyes; a little girl who had always been so free. She watched her little sister spin around in her mind, holding her arms out to twirl, holding her head back and giggling. Yakosoku danced and twirled and laughed until Tayhei thought that she might not be able to take it anymore. She wanted to be with her so badly, wanted to grab a hold of those little hands and twirl with her. For once, she wanted to feel like a child again, wanted to feel the freedom and wonder that came with spinning madly, a grin stretching from ear to ear. She had felt that before, felt it when she was flying with Trunks --- the delightful, perfect feeling of complete and utter freedom. And when Yakosoku had been alive, she had felt that amazing feeling every day. Her little sister had been so vivacious and so happy, no matter what terrible things had happened to them. She had faced all adversity with that impetuous little smile, her brown eyes glinting.

She hadn’t deserved to die. No matter how wise Dende thought he might be, he was certainly wrong about that. How could fate justify taking away such an angel? Such a bright and cheerful little girl, who was just on the verge of growing up? Yakosoku had had her entire life ahead of her, a life that had been completely full of promise and hope. But instead of getting the chance to live that life, it had been taken from her. She had gotten ill, so ill that her spirit just didn’t have the strength to go on anymore. And in the months before she died, that vivacious little girl’s light had died as well. Her cheerful grin had been replaced by sunken in eyes and unnaturally pale skin; the giggling had been replaced by a fever that was so wicked and hot that it had hurt Tayhei’s hand to touch her forehead. Yakosoku had not deserved that. She had not deserved that. How could fate be so cruel as to take away the one thing that she loved? It simply wasn’t fair, and she didn’t know if she would ever be able to accept it or not.

But Dende had been right about one thing: she had to accept it. If she ever wanted to be able to live again, if she ever wanted to get rid of the gnawing cold that surrounded her heart, then she had to let go. She had to stop running away from all of the pain and frustration that her little sister’s death had brought. In order to truly be whole again, she needed to turn around and face that pain, and deal with it. She needed to cry --- she had needed to cry so badly over the past year that it was about to burst out of her. Whether Yakosoku was back in her life or not, she needed to let go of the pain that had so forcefully attached itself to her. And letting go also meant letting things in; it meant that she had to stop being so scared of love. Although she knew that this was what she needed to do, the mere thought of it frightened her so much that a chill went down her spine. She didn’t know if there was any happiness left out there for her, but if she ever wanted to find out, then it was time for her to drop her well built defenses and allow a little bit of hurt to wander inside. She had come to accept that happiness without even a flicker of pain was impossible; it was the pain that let you know how truly brilliant joy could be.

She didn’t ever want anyone to have to feel the bitterness and loneliness that she did inside. No one deserved to feel so closed off from the world and so cold. There was warmth in life and in living, and it was something that every person needed. No one should have to deal with death, especially not the ones that weren’t strong enough to make it. Innocent people should never have to suffer like that. And if she had the power to change it, then she would. She would wipe away all of the sadness and all of the grief, selflessly throwing away her own desires. She would do that, because she knew what it was like to be on the other side. She knew how much it hurt. And after she made this wish, after she let her heart do what it needed to do, she would start.

This was it. This was her first step towards a new life. And no matter what happened, at least she knew that she would be living. She was tired of closing herself off from the world --- she was ready to let everything in, the good and the bad. Her life was far too precious to spend it detached and numb from the rest of the world. Although she was afraid, she knew that it was something that she had to do. She was courageous enough to let go, she knew that she was. She just didn’t expect it to be this hard. Somehow she had a feeling that in the end, it would all balance itself out. That was how life worked. Pain and happiness circled around each other endlessly, in a brilliant symphony of sorrow, hope, love, life and death. It never ended, it never began. It just went on and on and on.