Light...light...light...light...

Death.

AVATAR

The Celestial Sailors

BOOK THREE: DEATH

28: A Bitter Farewell

In the Beginning, before the Origin made All, there were infinite possibilities, infinite worlds in these possibilities, and infinite timelines that every world could follow. As soon as Creation began, however, those infinite possibilities changed; they were a different set of infinite possibilities, forever divorced from the first set, and forever alien and unknowable. Every moment from that point on winnowed another possibility out of time, like a pebble flowing down a river with limitless tributaries. Going left here, hesitating here, careening off to the side there, resting there, swiftly moving along the current here, trailing slowly there... Every moment another possibility was cast aside: every "could be" was rejected in favor of "what was". Oh, perhaps beyond the boundaries of time and space (and even imagination), there existed a universe where the pebble went left instead of right, or quickly instead of slowly, or orderly instead of chaotic—but on the whole the path that it set itself upon was the only true path, and as far as those living in its reality were concerned, the only true reality. There could be no going east once one went west, no hurrying when one stopped, no fighting the current once it rushes forward. Time was, paradoxically, both flexible and immutable, a grand tapestry that could be woven into anything, but once seamed together, could not be undone.

Perhaps "could not" was too restrictive a word. It infers absolution, and with few exceptions, there were no absolutes in creation. Of course time could be changed. Of course one could reach their hand in the river, say My Will Be Done to the pebble, and set it on a new course. Time could, with enough power and authority, be altered, or reversed: but in this case, "could not" becomes "should not". Consequences always follow actions, their magnitudes reflective of the actions taken. Changing time to find a lost ring alters little; stopping time altogether to unbuckle a strap yields little trouble; reversing it to mend a single wound, while dangerous, is no serious matter. But significant alterations yield significant consequence. Death can be held at bay for one person, only for it to overcome a legion; a storm may be prevented from destroying a small town, only for it to unleash upon a city; history itself can be rewritten, but who could say whether the alternative was more desirable? And there is always a sacrifice, even under ideal conditions. Even the Primordials could not escape this truth. Yes, one path could be closed up for another, but the river itself might flood from the results.

Akarana, Zurvan's Avatar on the world, the Hadean Sailor, Setsuna, had all of this ingrained upon her since her inception. Power was inextricably yoked with responsibility. She was tasked to guard, to guide, to maintain, to advise and assist, and to only interfere when there was no alternative. Slight alterations in the timeline were permissible, so long as the end result was made. If a pebble hesitated slightly, or twisted incrementally to the right, what did it really matter so long as it flowed inexorable? But now one of the trillion-trillion possibilities was playing out before her eyes. Setsuna had prepared for loss and pain. She knew this conflict would result in many deaths. There would be sorrow and misery and so much anguish, but it was the path with the greatest chance of success. Do everything a certain way and probability works out. But there were no guarantees in this venture; anything could still happen. She had expected Iblis to raise his defenses and survive the initial onslaught, but when he opened fire and obliterated the Avatar...

Setsuna watched helplessly as Usagi was annihilated. She didn't even know who else survived. It could have been everyone, or no one, or a portion; it didn't matter. The fact was that this was an unexpected outcome, a dice roll with nigh-impossible odds, a future she had worked tirelessly to avoid. Yet here they were, Iblis looming in all his might, Usagi dead, and the Avatar of Time gawking like a child. She couldn't even register anything else. The Avatar was gone, and the Guardian Kings had failed. Even if Usagi had been killed outside of the Avatar state, the world would end long before a successor could rise.

But there was more to it than that. Setsuna could assess the situation coldly, and react logically. It may have been taboo but it was perfectly sensible to bend time backwards to avoid this fate. She would be punished, but forgiven, because there was no alternative. Light must not overcome; balance must be restored. Reach into the river and set the pebble on a new course, one that would not terminate. Setsuna could treat the matter clinically...but no. It wasn't so simple as that. It wasn't the Avatar who had died, it was Usagi, and she had made an oath, long ago, to protect this child no matter the cost. She would not fail her queen again.

Setsuna allowed herself to shed a single tear in mourning, then put a Stop to Everything. Iblis froze in place. The survivors were forever fixed in position. The wind, the water, the earth, the fire, all locked rigidly. The world itself ceased to spin. Everything ground to a halt. Creation held its breath.

Back. Go back. I do not care about the price. I will pay it. Only go back. Back. Please.

Then, slowly, Setsuna began to reverse Time.

dead was Usagi Avatar.

light but nothing, nothing leaving, disintegrated, unmade was body The. nothing, nothing, nothing...then and, flashed pain of moment brief A. itself sky the, sea the, island the apart cleaving, power destructive blinding, searing issuing, blast a into energy the focused and mouth his opened Iblis. gods the by him to authority all, strength his of all, absorbed had he light the out drawing, grumbled He. "Enough."

No, further back than this. I need to keep going, to the point where time's divergence is most pliable, giving Usagi the greatest chance of survival.

So, she kept going.

defeated, drained herself felt Usagi. deflated women The. unharmed was but, flinched Iblis. attack their deflected light of shield A.

Further still. Just a little bit more, please.

directly Iblis striking, Avatar the of fury full the by augmented, spire single a into attacks their all united women The. State Avatar The. Earth. Wood. Water. Air. Fire. lives their for battling, off leaped then, halt a to ground tablet the until strong held They.

Here? Wait. Just a little bit more. I'm almost there.

death in and—life in united, Avatar Team was This.

Here!

Setsuna stopped. This was the point where time could be bent in their favor, a little. It wasn't ideal, but it was the best Setsuna could hope for. She held it still for a moment, though. Usagi needed to know what happened, and what was going to happen, and why Setsuna could no longer be with them. Nothing ever comes free, and power like this exacts a very heavy toll.

"Usagi," she spoke, her voice a formless echo in the void between times. She reached into Usagi's mind, into this single moment before everything went wrong. "Usagi, can you hear me? Raava, help me reach her."

What is this? What's going on? Who's talking to me? Why is everything...

"Calm down. This is Setsuna. I'm speaking to your mind. I've stopped all of time so that I could speak to you one last time."

You what? How are you doing this? I mean, I think I know HOW; you said you were a time-bender, but I never thought you could... Wait, what do you mean, "one last time"?

"Usagi, please, just listen. In a few seconds the slab we're all on will crash to the ground. You'll be surrounded by Lightbringers. You will all fight very bravely, and will unite all your powers in an effort to destroy Iblis. I'm sorry to say that it will fail. He's formed a protective barrier around himself that I didn't foresee. When that happens, he's going to attack you, and...you're going to die, Usagi."

I...what?! Are you sure?

"Yes. I saw you disintegrate right in front of my eyes. It was...unbearable. I...could not allow that to happen...so I acted selfishly and reversed time. I'm speaking to you now so you'll have a chance at avoiding this fate."

Wait, if I'm dead...or no, if I will die...ugh, this is confusing! What happens? Is the world still all right?

"It doesn't matter. This is your future now. I can no longer be a part of it. Reversing time is a serious taboo, and I must pay for my transgression."

Setsuna, no, we need you! You're part of Team Avatar! We'll find a way to make it out of this together! We've got to! I don't want to sacrifice anybody, especially one of my friends!

"Oh, my darling," Setsuna sighed, weeping openly, "you have no idea how happy that makes me. But there was no surviving this battle without sacrifice—and between the two of us, I'm far more expendable."

Not to us you're not! Setsuna, please...

"The world needs its Avatar," she insisted solemnly. She smiled sweetly, her hand caressing Usagi's face as it began to fade. "Thank you for letting me be a part of Team Avatar...and your friend. I will always cherish that. And don't worry about me. I'm just...glad I was able to save you this time."

...What do you mean, "this time"? Setsuna? Setsuna, no...

"Oh, Serenity," Setsuna sighed as she vanished, tears in her eyes, "you would be so proud of your..."

And then she was gone.

The tablet ground to a halt, smashing into the Lightbringers, clearing a path. Everyone leaped off but the Avatar was sent flying, crashing to the ground, bouncing painfully before skidding to a halt. Horrified, the other women formed a protective circle around her, holding the horde at bay. Usagi trembled, sniffling, struggling to stand. Makoto reached in and picked her up.

"What happened?! Are you all right? Usagi, talk to me!" Usagi was stricken, wrenched with sorrow beyond words. Tears streaked down her dirty face, and she trembled uncontrollably. Artemis roared, clearing away a huge portion of the Lightbringers while Rei threw up a barrier of flame.

"What's going on?" Haruka demanded. Ami quickly put healing hands on Usagi.

"She's not hurt bad. Usagi, what..."

"Hey!" Minako shouted. "Where's Setsu? Where'd she go?" The group quickly scanned around for the woman. Usagi cast her face aside.

"She's gone. Setsuna's gone."

"What?" Michiru cried. She took hold of Usagi, staring intensely at her. "What do you mean, she's gone?"

Usagi shook her head. "She reversed time to save us. She said that I was going to die if she didn't. And then she...vanished. Gone."

"What in the name of..." The Lightbringers broke though their barrier before they could say anything else. Usagi was paralyzed with grief, barely able to stand. The team were surrounded before long, even as they fought back with all their strength.

"Usagi, we could use some help here!" Makoto shouted.

"Snap out of it, Usagi!" Rei bellowed.

"We can't hold them off without you!" Minako exclaimed.

"Usagi, please!" Ami begged her.

"Now's not the time, bun-head!" Haruka roared.

"You swore you wouldn't bail out on us!" Michiru stated. The Lightbringers surged, and the women fell, leaving only the Avatar standing. Intense despondency overcame her, and she fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Setsuna...why..."

Get up, she heard a voice calling out to her. Usagi raised her head. Get up! I didn't break the laws of nature just so you could sit there crying. On your feet, Avatar!

Stand, she heard Vainamoinen command her. There is no grief or sorrow! There is only life or death! Stand, oh Avatar!

Turn your lamentations into a blade, Kalkin proclaimed. Let your sadness become fury!

Rain the righteousness of Raava upon them, Kung Ming cried out.

Y'all didn't come here to start sobbin', ya came to whup some butt, Bitasu screamed.

You can do it, Usagi, Kiyone said.

We're with you, Sung Jiang added.

All of us, Wang whispered.

Show them the might of the Avatar once more, Raava told her. The last of her tears fell. Usagi's eyes burned white. She stretched her arms out and repulsed the army, clearing a path. Even Iblis seemed disquieted. Avatar Usagi took a deep breath and looked around her.

"I apologize," she said, now fully in control of the Avatar State. "We've been given a second chance. Let's not squander it any more!" She gestured over to a forest, cleaving a large tree in two with a flaming whip. "He's weak at the base of his neck! If you all can get his barrier down, you can drive this in there and finish him! Do whatever it takes! I'll cover you!"

"Shouldn't it be the other way around?" Rei exclaimed. Usagi glanced over at her, burning with a light wholly unique from the foul glow of Iblis. She smiled, her eyes flaming and hair whipping in the wind.

"I fight now with all of my love. I have faith that you will do the same." She grinned and even winked, causing Rei to fluster.

"Uh...roger that! Okay, you fat lizard, come get some!" Rei peppered Iblis with fireballs, leading the charge. Ami and Michiru followed, covering Iblis's face with jets of water. Haruka and Minako vaulted themselves into the air, slashing from all directions, while Makoto took the tree and smashed it against the barrier like a battering-ram. It splintered after the fifth strike, but she just uprooted two more. Rei ignited them and Minako helped send them on their way. Iblis roared as the women overwhelmed him, attacking from every conceivable angle, making it difficult to focus. Meanwhile Usagi was a bright beacon, fighting back the waves of Lightbringers as they encroached. She called upon the world's wind, her wind, pushing them back with a gale force. She uprooted huge slabs and crushed them, opening fissures and canyons to swallow them, raining stones upon them. The ocean itself bent to her will, an undulating serpent roaring across the island, sweeping the Lightbringers away, creating a river. The fire inside her burned bright, consuming their light, dancing and cascading.

Iblis groaned. He tried to produce more Sentinels but was overwhelmed. Makoto had uprooted almost the entire forest by now. Michiru and Ami were enveloping his barrier in ice. Rei focused all of her energy at a single point, causing sparks to fly and ripple as she slowly burned through. Haruka and Minako blasted him from both sides, a tornado and a hurricane, a gale and a storm, crushing pressure and terrible static electricity assaulting. There were no breaks in the attack now, no mercy, nothing but relentless fury: assault after assault, fire atop fire, wood and stone following air and water, his children slowly dying around him, the light beginning to fade.

The barrier gave way. He roared, bellowing long and loud, his cry reaching the far corners of the world. The women clutched their ears in pain; Usagi broke out of the Avatar State; the entire island began trembling. Iblis reared up on his hind legs, a massive titan that rivaled the very mountains, and stomped down, cracking the island, knocking everyone off their feet, sending rippling tremors to the ocean and surrounding lands. An earthquake the likes of which no Avatar could contest broke the land to pieces, knocking the forests over, leveling the mountains, diverting the river, churning the ocean. Before anybody could recover, Iblis drank up the world's darkness and populated Sumeru with Lightbringers. He then made more, and more, and more, and more.

"Defy me at thy peril!" he cried out, no longer serene or warm. He then lifted his leg, stomping the ground, creating another earthquake. More Lightbringers appeared. The women were helpless. Another earthquake to emphasize the futility of their actions. Still more Lightbringers. Usagi slowly rose on shaky legs. The other women stood, glaring. They fought. Forests were ripped apart. Fire burned out of control. The broken river roiled, and the wind battered relentlessly. Hundreds of Lightbringers were brought down. More swarmed to fill their ranks. They fought. Usagi sputtered in and out of the Avatar State. Her friends fell. They got back up. They began to bleed, bruise, and burn. Lightbringers were mowed down in masses. The women fell again. Usagi fell. She dealt with the pain. No time to bleed now. Restore the balance. Bring back the night.

This stalemate would not last. Iblis had numbers and overwhelming power on his side. His sentinels could fall by the hundreds, but he could always make more. They could attack him all they pleased, but his barrier would hold. Soon Sumeru itself would not be able to support them. The land was laid waste around them—flat, featureless, hostile. Two suns beat down on them mercilessly. Sweat, blood, weakness, exhaustion. The inevitability of defeat. Rei cast off one last fireball before she was struck down. Ami was supporting Minako, who had nearly passed out. Makoto shielded them from a blow and was cast down; Ami glared and shot an ice-dagger before crumbling. Haruka and Michiru stood side by side, heaving and filthy with blood and dirt. They soon collapsed. The Lightbringers wouldn't stop coming. Iblis sat, undaunted, unblemished. Usagi looked around her, taking a moment to catch her breath. She was the last one standing. The Lightbringers closed in on her. Iblis loomed.

This was it. It all came down to this. Setsuna's sacrifice. Shingo's future. The faces of those suffering from this malady. The cries of those in torment. The sins of the Guardian Kings. The Avatars who came before her. Suen. Raava. The world. Mamoru. One girl who had only recently turned seventeen. All of that against the Scion of Light.

Now what, she heard Beryl mocking her. Is this the force that wrenched Me from My throne? I died...for THIS?

Usagi went into the Avatar State one more time. Not yet, she said to herself. Not yet.

The End of "A Bitter Farewell"

Next time: "Defiance"