Author's Notes: Based off Ceres: Celestial Legend by Yuu Watase.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar.

Prologue: The Fall of the Tennyo

A beautiful young woman surfaced from the water underneath the shadow of the Eastern Air Temple. She clung to a rock as her gray eyes searched the water before her for signs of movement. Her light blue hair floated around her. She tensed as the water shifted. Suddenly something struck her from below, knocking her up out of the water. Her body flipped through the air as she tried to dive back into the safety of the sea. A massive demon wolf with flaming paws sprang up from the waves & caught her in its great jaws. It landed on the shore & shook its head, its teeth tore at the woman's flesh. It threw her into the base of a nearby cliff.

"You thought that could finish me? Ha! Is that all the power the mighty Tennyo can muster? Pathetic! Now you will die!" The wolf reared back & howled, fire flew from its mouth & turned the sky red.

The woman lay wedged among the rocks, unable to move in time to escape or block the blow. The wolf bent down towards her & opened its jaws. She cringed & tried to shield her face. There was a hissing noise & a loud boom. An arm slid under the woman's back.

"Akiko! Are you all right?"

Her eyes flew open.

"Avatar Hiroki!"

"You're bleeding all over! I have to get you back to the water! You still have healing abilities, right? Put your arms around my neck."

Her arms slid around his strong shoulders & he wrapped his arms around her waist. He carefully lifted her & took her to the water's edge. The cliff base had formed a deep pool so it was safe for Akiko to dive out of Hiroki's arms. As soon as the wounds were healed, she surfaced again, parallel to where Hiroki stood on the shore. The demon wolf was beginning to stir. Akiko propelled her body upwards so her arms were free of the water. She wore a silver, v-necked halter top that glinted in the sunlight at her every movement. It stopped just below her breasts. A shinning white pearl was embedded in the center of her breast bone.

She raised her arms & began to swing them in circles, sending rings of water shooting at the wolf. Its blood began to pour from the various wounds & soaked into the ground. Hiroki pulled a mass of earth down on top of its head. The wolf groaned & struggled to get its feet back under it. Akiko encased the enormous paws in ice.

"Hold him down, Akiko! I'm going for his throat!" Hiroki shouted as he bended an earth bridge so he could get to the head. Akiko sent water whips snaking across the wolf's back & held it down with all her strength.

"Do it!"

Hiroki leapt off the bridge & landed just in front of its nose. He let loose a sharp blast of air, aimed directly at the beast's throat. Blood began to stream out of the wound. Akiko released her water whips & the body crashed into the sea with an enormous splash. She dived beneath the waves & swam for the shore. She surfaced next to Hiroki's feet, her head barely above the water.

"You saved my life," she said quietly. Hiroki said nothing.

"Do you know what that means?"

"No."

"By the law of heaven, my Hagoromo is yours & I must serve you until it is returned."

"No, Akiko, I won't steal from you."

She swam upwards until her entire torso was out of the water. She motioned to the glistening pearl with one hand.

"Take what is yours."

He hesitated for a moment, then reached for the pearl. He gently touched it with the first two fingers of his right hand.

"Brace yourself & do not let go," Akiko warned him as the water around her began to swirl.

It rose in shooting columns of water, surrounding them. Akiko felt one of the torrents tear her power away from her & take it into Hiroki. The swirling torrents lifted Akiko from the water & set her on the shore before flowing back into the pool. Hiroki stared at her. The halter top had become the top of a tunic & the pearl had lost its shine. Her clothes were dry, there was no sign she had just come from the water. Her blue hair flowed nearly to her waist & fluttered slightly as the wind blew.

"Akiko?" Hiroki asked, gaping at the sight. She nodded sadly.

"Can I return it now?"

"No. If you return it before I have repaid you, my soul will be destroyed."

"Then what do we do now?"

"It is up to you, but I recommend going to assist Carmenasa, she is holding off an assault on Omashu. A pair of griffins has been attacking the city since last week."

"All right, shall we ride my dragon?"

"As you wish."

A brown-haired centaur galloped through the night in the southern Earth Kingdom. She wore a deep green tank top with one strap that wrapped up over her right shoulder. The glowing sapphire in her chest guided her way. She kept glancing over her shoulder as if she was being chased by something. Suddenly a tornado began to whirl around her. She stopped & reared on her hind legs, looking for an escape. An especially strong blast knocked her over, one of her arms got pinned beneath her. She began to bend with her uninjured arm.

"No good, Carmenasa. Your chi is blocked by the air. Your Earthbending has been sealed." A voice said from the darkness. "Next is your soul."

A swan soared over the Si Wong Desert. The sun reflected off the diamond in her forehead. A sand storm began to rise & followed her no matter which way she flew. The sand suddenly hardened into solid rock & brought her crashing to the ground. Chains of earth wrapped around her body & crushed her wings. She struggled for a moment then a hand pinned her down & reached for the diamond in her head. As the hand touched it, the wind rose & howled around them, stirring up the sand. When it cleared, a white haired woman in a white tunic laid in the swan's place. The diamond was still embedded in her forehead but it had lost its glow.

"What do you plan to do with me?" She demanded.

"Same as what I did to your sister. Drain you of your power & seal you. But I am sorry to see you in chains, Xandyri. You are much prettier than the others."

A tigress bounded through the western jungle of the Fire Nation. She had chased a mongoose dragon to the edge of the river & was determined to catch it. She raised one paw & batted it in the direction of the lizard. The ruby on her head shined & fire shot from her paw, burning the lizard. It fell to the ground & she pounced on it. The water from the river suddenly crashed over the banks & swept over the tigress. She growled as she felt it freeze around her.

"Really, Zadia, using your powers to hunt. Your prey had no chance. Then again, neither did mine. The last Tennyo has finally fallen." She felt a hand on her head, feeling for the ruby. When it found the gem, she felt her power drain from her. Her claws turned to fingernails & her fur into a tunic the color of blood. She had transformed into a woman.

"Who are you?" She demanded as the hand stroked her black hair. She her felt hands on either side of her face, they twisted her head sideways & she saw her captor's face.

"The greatest Avatar that ever lived."

"Hiroki!"