"He's... gone"

Her hands lowered in defeat. Emptiness erupted, a broken promise. Her fingers relaxed, as those two words ghosted over her consciousness. A chill settled on her spine.

In reaction to her lack of steady focus, the forest fire regained its previous strength and sprang at the opportunity to consume more of its densely brushed target. The Suya National Park just beyond the rocky ridges of the Northeast Territories. Birds flocked away from the scene, flying around her figure that levitated hollowly in the crisp sky. Grey smoke drifted back upward, having nearly been eliminated from the area due to her initial swift reaction.

"Killed... by some... some guy. An alien came and- and captured his son, Gohan, and-"

Descriptions of the incident continued to flow from her sister's voice on the opposite end of the small communicator that wrapped around her ear, but each word was drowned out by the intense ringing that ensued from within.

Her blue eyes strained, then drooped. Broken promises, that's all she could think of. There was nothing to feel but disappointment and sadness now. No turning back time, no changing what had happened during her absence. A dear friend, an old friend from her youth, was gone. Seven years of letters promising to meet up, fell flat in one, unforeseen moment.

Her arms went limp at her sides, and from there, her body plummeted to the grassy plain beyond the tree line, as if she were a rock. The communicator unattached from her ear and disappeared into the wind, taking her sister's voice with it. Her feet collided with the ground first, and she dropped to her knees. Ice sprang from her kneecaps and embedded itself into the dirt around her, a result of the sudden emotional upset.

Ahead, the forest fire raged. Animals burst from the soot-stained brush, racing to free themselves from the simmering flames. The reactionary ice that sprang from her knees traveled across the plain, involuntarily heading towards the fire. It spewed and cracked on its path, killing the grass. She hunched forward with a pained expression, resting her hands on the newly created sheet of ice. Her distraught reflection stared back at her, her palms and fingertips burning from the frigid surface temperature.

Killed, gone...just like that.

Will I see you again? He had asked, tenderly, so long ago. Back then, mere minutes before life took a complicated turn, she stood at the base of a long, steep staircase. Each step led ominously towards a temple that stretched into the foggy, purple sky. People with shaved heads and orange robes stood nearby, ready to lead the newly discovered Avatar to her destiny as the peacemaker. A task that required her to leave her old life behind.

She looked back at her young, spiky-haired friend. She appeared to be a fish out of water amongst the ritualistic formalities, but she smiled assuredly and feigned confidence I... have things to do, it looks like.I don't know how long I will be here she shot a glance up to the Eastern temple, taking in its magnificence in the evening glow.

But... here, with these monks at this temple... my powers will come to make sense. I will understand what I am, and who I am, and what these powers mean she lifted her hands, thinking hard about her promises Then, once I'm done, once I am who this world needs me to be, I will come back, and we will continue our adventures.

Okay, well, you better promise me he giggled in return, holding up his pinky to her. She was taller, and brought her pinky down to wrap around his. It was a common quirk of theirs.

Promise.

She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing the tears back into hiding as another wave of subzero ice zigzagged across her body and shot towards the brushfire. The ice made contact with the flames at their source, extinguishing them. Slowly, the fire was replaced by ice, then by ash. Sadness had subdued the fire, but also destroyed the grass of the plains and untouched plants of the woods in the process.

Shuddering breaths escaped her lips.

I'll miss you, Roman, but I know you'll make a good Avatar... whatever that means he had laughed while saying that.

Well, when I find out, I'll tell you all about it she responded.

Soon after that, she was gone. Her legs carried her up the staircase and mingled with the monks in their robes. He had stood watching her go.

Leaning back on the ice, she tilted her head upwards toward the sky. A single tear slid down her cheek and hit the frozen ground, instantly evaporating into steam as it made contact. The world kept turning, clouds floating by overhead while an eagle soared high above the devastated forest, now covered in a thick layer of ice.

It would seem the world was unaware as to what it had just lost.

Son Goku, was dead.