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The Wishing Tree (1): A Destiny City Star Festival Tradition to be held every year; In Town Square, there is a beautiful tree with spreading branches. It is tall, but the lowest branches are easily reached. The city has decorated the tree with small, starlike ornaments and glistening lights. Thick leaves and beautiful purple flowers dangle from the branches, along with a myriad of different colored papers with handwritten wishes. Next to the tree is a stack of blank paper with twine attached, and a handwritten sign that explains:

Write your wish on a sheet of paper and tie it to the tree. Take one wish off the tree and do your best to grant it. When you have granted the wish, bury the paper in the park.

The papers are biodegradable and filled with seeds. There are no rules for wishing, but you are encouraged to wish for something vague enough that it can be interpreted in many ways so that it can be granted; you do not write your name on it, but it is encouraged to write something that doesn’t wish for self gain, but rather something that can make the world a better place. Some wishes dangling from the tree already include things like “I wish there wasn’t so much litter in the park,” “I wish someone would clean the graffiti off the old historic buildings,” and “I wish there were more volunteers at the shelter.”

If you choose to use the Wishing Tree, what do you wish for? If your wish is private, you may write it on the paper and choose a spot in the park and bury it yourself instead of hanging it on the tree.


Paracelsian would ordinarily have powered down when approaching an area like the Wishing Tree, but the presence of a powered aura raised his guard and made him opt not to. In fact, it was a Super Senshi aura, which made him even more curious. Was the tree being guarded? The aura wasn't advancing on him, which was curious, as he expected Order auras to approach upon detection, regardless of whether it was to fight or to negotiate. The senshi was holding their position and clearly not about to move, so he decided that he would just take the bait and make his approach.

The senshi standing in front of the Wishing Tree made Paracelsian's heart drop into his stomach. Cor Caroli was nonchalantly tying a wish to the tree, not even responding to the aura that he knew the senshi had to have felt. All he could do was stare at him as he finished up, unsure of what to expect. He thought he felt his fingers twitch or tremble.

Cor Caroli turned to face Paracelsian, and he didn't even register surprise. "Oh, hey," he said, raising a hand in greeting. "You wanna make a wish too?"

"How can you ask me something like that?" Paracelsian asked, taken aback by the casual meeting. "I told you that next time we met, I couldn't promise that I'd leave you intact."

"I don't see you summoning your weapon or diving for my starseed," Cor said with a shrug. "Where's your sense of urgency?"

"Where's yours?" Paracelsian quipped back. An awkward pause ensued as he found himself completely unsure of what to do.

Cor gave a short, sharp chuckle. "Just as I thought. You don't really have it in you to do this whole Negaverse thing, do you? I can think of at least two other agents I've met who would have me relieved of my starseed either permanently or until they could get me corrupted."

"Don't say that," Paracelsian growled. "I... I have killed a senshi before." He tried not to think of Bezel's lifeless final expression often, but he could remember it with ease.

"Yeah, sounds about right," Cor said with a nod. "Where did it get you?"

"It got me to Captain."

"And you thought that corrupting me would take you to General, right?" Cor waited for the Captain's nod. "But you couldn't do it, and you're not doing it right now. Where do you really stand, other than at an awkward crossroads?"

"I..." Paracelsian stalled to try and gather the right words. He tried to do a rapid-fire compilation of what was stopping him: Pendour's firm disapproval, the burning slaughter of Operation Firepit, and the nagging feeling that his quest was foolish from the start and he would never be able to institute his reforms. Yet, something inside him told him that he would never be able to properly purify as he was right now. The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became.

"I see your gears turning," Cor said. "What'll it be?"

"It can't be," Paracelsian sputtered. "It can't be anything. No matter how horrified people are at me, no matter what atrocities happen on my way up... I need power. I need power to be able to enforce my wishes, to make people listen, to create a better world for everyone. I can't give it up. Even if everyone hates me and I become a monster... I can't give it up."

For the first time in the whole exchange, Cor Caroli's expression shifted into an obvious frown. "Well, there you have it, then. I guess I should say I'm glad I helped you make your choice, even if it's... kind of a disappointing one."

"Disappointing?" Paracelsian snarled, growing more agitated by the second. "How can you say that when you were so close to giving up yourself?"

"Let me tell you what I was wishing for just now." Cor's voice trembled ever so slightly. "I was wishing that more people would find answers to their important questions. Guess it's been kinda granted, huh?"

"I wanted to wish for the same thing." Paracelsian held his hand out, the only warning Cor would get that he was about to summon his weapon. "I can only hope you had your questions answered before now."

"I was kinda almost there, yeah, I guess I've still got some senshi pride left in me," Cor muttered, his gaze going to Paracelsian's hand. "What are you doing?"

Paracelsian's dagger coalesced into existence. "I'm making good on my promise. You wasted your second chance, senshi. This is what I must do to preserve humanity in the long run."

"Oh, shi-!" Cor began to back away. "No way! Did I just break something in your head? Snap out of it!"

"You could say that. It was something fragile to begin with, teetering on a precipice. It was only a question of where it would fall." With a grunt, Paracelsian lunged forward. The dagger in his hand was merely a feint; the true danger laid in his left hand, poised to plunge into Cor's chest. Cor was not fast enough to dodge the thrust forward, and all he could give was a choked cry out when Paracelsian hit his target.

Cor had only felt this sensation once before, long ago. What Paracelsian said next did not stem the tide of pain and dread washing over him. "Don't worry. You have my word that you won't be without your starseed for long. It will be returned to you, and you will help me on my journey to right all these wrongs."

With that, Paracelsian retracted his hand, and Cor Caroli slumped forward in a way that allowed him to catch him on his way down. He un-summoned his weapon, and unfurled his hand to take a look at the gleaming blue-tinted prism that, in essence, was Cor Caroli. If he thought about it like that, it made him shudder. He made the mistake of looking at the glazed-over eyes of the soulless senshi, and it made him shudder yet again. There was no more Bezel. There would still be a Cor Caroli, in a fashion.

It wasn't too late. He could return Cor Caroli's starseed to his body and leave it at that. Here he stood at yet another awkward crossroads, if not the same one he started with. The Negaverse would not let him fail twice. It was all or nothing now.

Slowly, he dragged Cor Caroli away from the Wishing Tree.

[Words: 1092, 2x solo bonus]