52nd: Mermaid, Aquarius

Summary: She had to see that others were suffering even more to reach her goal.

She was angry – once again. She sat on a stone in the lake of the celestial spirit realm where Pisces had been training their combat in their weaker form before the spirits had left the water to resume their stronger form.

She glared at the leaving spirits – especially at their legs because they were able to walk and to fight even on land while she was damned to stay in the water.

Aries – Aries of all people – had pointed out that she had been acting strange lately and no matter how much it hurt to admit it, the shy pink-haired spirit was right. Technically, Aquarius had everything and yet, she envied everyone who had legs. By now, she was more than willed to exchange bodies with any spirit who had legs – even if it meant to have Corona Australis' ridiculous bright pink hair and lacking sense for fashion for the next eternity. Ah well, speaking of the devil…

"You have been missing the general training yesterday," the pink-haired swordswoman said as she sat down on the shore. "I was worried that you might be sick."

"And since when do you care for your fellow spirits, Corona?" the water-bearer snapped.

"Hey, calm the hell down, Aquarius-sama," the other woman said sarcastically. "So, let me guess: Aries was right and something is the matter with you. You are annoyed by something and it's my duty as a fellow spirit to ensure that you won't lose it."

"You and Aries and even Virgo and the other women … do you think that you are better than me?" Aquarius asked depressed as she stared at the water. "Look, when I first came to be, I was told that I am good the way I am … but I am so useless. I can only be summoned if water is around and I can only do that one water attack … and that water mage can outcounter me. I cannot fight on land … I should be stronger."

"You are perfect the way you are, Aquarius. Look, we cannot even stand each other and I say nice things to do. Look at the water. True, there is one water mage who managed to defeat you in your own realm and that got to hurt. But your power is a pretty neat thing if you ask me."

"Says the swordswoman," the mermaid-like spirit snorted. "As long as you have your sword, you win most fights for your master who happens to be a complete jerk."

"I could a new sword after so many centuries of fights though," the other woman sighed. "I think that we are both different in a good way. I would probably lose to a human master of swordsmanship but I don't care because even though I dislike my master, I will serve him with greatest respect until he is defeated and someone else will receive my key."

"Other than your incompetent master, you have no problems, Corona. That's the difference. You have everything … you got the legs, the allrounder skill and the guy."

"You think so? Very funny," the pink-haired woman said amused. "Look at the sky, Aquarius. It still holds so many secrets and everything we possess is worthless anyway. I have only very few things I really care for … like my sword even though I wish for an update after so many years. It's getting too old-fashioned lately."

"But … you can walk around in the human world! You can see the other side. You may say that it's no big deal but it's a huge deal to me. You can grab your useless boyfriend and go dancing all night long because you look like humans.,"

"I have pink hair, remember?"

"So? Many mages around my master have strange hair colours as well. The point is that you can leave this world without that anyone would wonder what you are. When I am somewhere else, everyone knows that I am a celestial spirit. I would sell my soul for a chance to get to know the other world."

"To leave this world is bothersome and might get me in trouble with the King. And I never thought that you of all people would lose your pride as a celestial spirit. The thing is that no one is completely happy with his or her appearance – especially not the human-like spirits. Leo complains about his hair, Aries about her horns. You complain about your fin and I'd rather have a less bright hair colour. But we cannot change what we are. In the end, we were meant to be nothing but mere objects but by overcoming our empty pride that we are the King's most trusted servants, we can develop our own pride."

"So, what are you proud of? Because I am sure as hell that you aren't proud of your master because you are complaining for years in the Human World…"

"The guy summons me whenever he is unable to cook his dinner. Do I look like a maid to you?" the swordswoman said annoyed. "But yes, I have a different pride: I am proud that I have never been defeated in a battle between my summoner and another summoner – no matter how much I wish to change my master soon."

A loud noise interrupted their conversation as Corona Borealis, Northern Crown, appeared and Corona Australis had to suppress a scream as she saw her partner's state. She got up and hurried over to him before she hugged him tightly. "Are you okay?" she managed to ask before she was summoned as well.

"No, I am not okay," the black-haired man muttered. "Hell, a dragon slayer…"

Aquarius raised her eyebrow. "What's going on?" she asked. "All day long, Yukino-san's and Lucy's spirits were summoned in and out of the Spirit Realm…"

"Big battle of mages," he shrugged. "No water – that's why you are still here. Master used me to protect himself … I could have won if it hadn't been for this."

In spite of her usual demeanour and her grudge against the swordsmen, Aquarius felt sorry for them. Every spirit had had at least one slightly psychotic summoner at one point or another but the Southern and the Northern Crown always got the weirdoes among the mages. Once they had been owned by rivalling mages and had been forced to fight each other again and again which had – according to the pink-haired nuisance – ruined their formerly great relationship which had been based on trust. They had recovered from this emotional trauma after a few years under the care of a sweet and kind summoner before they had continued their journey through the hands of psychopaths. And now, they had a summoner who rivalled the former summoner of Aries and Leo, Karen Lilica, on terms of cruelty. There hadn't been a time when Corona Australis hadn't returned in a state of complete disarray and close to tears which was shocking for everyone who knew the tough woman. The problem was that injuries caused by the summoner himself weren't a reason for a spirit to return on his own accord – it had to be an injury caused by an enemy or another celestial spirit under the mage's command.

Aquarius drifted over to Borealis and patted his shoulder in an awkward way. "I wish that I could do something," she said calmly. She was fiercely protective about her fellow spirits. Once, a century ago, she had forced her gate open with sheer willpower to fight alongside Pisces when the Paired Fish had been trapped in water where they were at their weakest. She had also come to Libra's help once when the other spirit had been cornered and her summoner's power had been decreasing fast because of an injury.

Aquarius' pride was different from Leo's or Aries' – she took great pride in the fact that she had never failed her summoner or her comrades even though she would have kicked herself for leaving Lucy in the battle against Angel. Well, she had no legs so the kicking-herself-idea was kind of stupid anyway but so was her huge pride. She hated to see others in pain – even the Crowns didn't deserve such a fate.

"Pisces were just summoned in their human form," Borealis said as he watched the gleaming stars above them. "If they leave enough water, you might join the battle as well, Aquarius, but wait until they are finished or you will end up hindering them."

"Aren't you going to join the battle again as well?" the mermaid asked. "You are recovering quite fast after all … damn you and your stamina."

"No, I won't return today," he said. "Usually, yes, I would switch with Corona as soon as I am able to hold my sword again but I would end up fighting Pisces and this would be quite dumb of me because Corona has a higher anti-water-protection than I have."

"So, a dragon slayer and Pisces' summoner fight against yours?" Aquarius asked, more or less desperate for the details of the battle as she felt how Scorpio was summoned as well after Capricorn and Leo returned from wherever they had been summoned to.

"From what I saw, it's a huge battle out there," the black-haired man replied, watching how Aries blushed at Leo's encouragement before she disappeared as well – obviously having been summoned to the same fight everyone else had been going to or returning from.

"I am going crazy here! Everyone is fighting and I am forced to wait here like a little kid! No, not like a little child … like worthless scum because children are allowed to fight."

Libra who looked like she had just gotten a beating coughed as she stumbled over to them with her veil being half-ripped of. "Pisces said that they will switch with you as soon as Corona returns," she said as she collapsed onto the shore. "Yukino-san is alright and from what I saw, Lucy-sama is fine as well, Aqua."

A loud crash and Pisces reappeared next to the lake, coughing just as bad as Libra and tumbling as well. "Hell, Corona held back and still got us, momma," the son stated.

"Aqua, it's your turn now," the mother nodded as she supported her son. "Force your goddamn gate open and end this damned fight before our summoner gets hurt."

"Understand," the female spirit said as she concentrated. "See you later, okay?"

"Don't forget to kick my summoner's ass for abusing me and Corona all the time," Borealis said as she disappeared in a loud crash and reappeared without a sound in the middle of the battle. For a moment, she looked at her hands and her urn, wondering how she had gotten here in her daze and her euphoria that she had been able to force her own gate open – with was always a feat for a celestial spirit.

"Uh-oh," Corona said as she raised her sword but in spite of her words, the zodiac spirit saw the hopeful gleam in her eyes. 'Please, free us, Aquarius.'

"Aquarius!" the white-haired summoner of Pisces and Libra called out as she looked at the water-bearer in awe. "What – how?"

"Pisces left enough water for me to appear in this place," she said as she swung her urn – and for once, she took the time to aim properly and missed Corona on purpose and hit the swordsmen summoner with her complete power which was more than enough to knock him out. She snorted as she picked up the both keys and handed them over to Corona. "I trust you to pick up a better summoner this time," she said annoyed. "Really, Corona, it's not all that difficult – but I'll kill you if it's my summoner. She already got so many spirits that she hardly uses me and you know that I can't stand that."

"Thanks, Aquarius," Corona said as she sheathed her sword again and stepped onto her summoner's hands. "I will make a better decision this time. I promise."

"You know that there aren't many decent summoners left in this world, right?"

"Yeah … and that's why I would like to ask you, Yukino-san, to become our new summoner," the pink-haired woman said as she turned towards the white-haired woman and the black-haired man next to her. "I guess that Borealis and me where the reason why you picked him as opponent in first place."

Aquarius took this as her clue to return to the spirit realm where the others were waiting.

"Mission complete?" Leo asked with a grin.

"What did you expect?" she replied with a scoff.