Earth!
Fire!
Air!
Water!
A long time ago, Avatar Kalkin disappeared without a trace, and with the absence of any successor, the world was thrown into chaos. However, a new Avatar named Usagi was eventually revealed, and after many long and perilous struggles, she fulfilled her destiny and restored balance to the world. For most people, this is where her story ends, but as we all know...
"What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from." -T.S. Eliot
AVATAR
The Celestial Sailors
Epilogue
Two years later
"That's it. You're almost there. Just a little bit more..."
Holding out his hands, Mamoru encouraged his daughter to take another step, and another, and another. Though wobbly, unbalanced, and inexperienced, the girl toddled her way over, giggling as her hands fell into his.
"Great job!" He hugged her and kissed her temple; she babbled, clapping and flailing.
"Doo daa dee ma muh!"
"Yes, daddy's very proud of you. You walked a long way, and didn't fall once."
"Po," she said, pointing to a dandelion. Mamoru encouraged her to get it and bring it back, but the girl forgot her mission and sat down playing with the flower instead. Mamoru chuckled warmly, plucking a few of its neighbors and weaving them together to form a circlet. He placed it on his daughter's head, but she immediately cast it off.
"You don't like it?" he laughed.
"Daa daa ooo," she grunted, thrusting the crown in his face. He laughed and lowered his head so she could place it easier.
"Thank you. This is better than daddy's real crown. Ah!" He spotted a young woman walking quietly in the distance, the night wind playing with her long yellowy hair. Daffodil seeds rose up and flew around her; she paused briefly to keep her hair from whipping. The wind calmed and she smiled at the two.
"Look, it's mommy," Mamoru said. "Go get mommy."
"Mah," the girl cried. She lurched after the lady and nearly fell over, but managed to steady herself. The lady met her in the middle, kneeling down and scooping her up.
"That was wonderful, sweetheart! Mommy didn't know you could walk so well! Has daddy been teaching you?"
"Daddoo mam. Tee-tee."
"Daddy used to teach mommy, too," she said as she carried the child over to her father. "Daddy put rocks on pillars and told mommy that if she could push them off without touching them, then he would love her forever and ever. And you know what happened?"
"Happoo!" the girl exclaimed, slamming chubby arms on the woman. She chuckled.
"That's right! Mommy knocked them all down."
"Is that the version we're going with?" Mamoru laughed. The woman, his wife, the mother of his child, sat down next to him on the blanket.
"Hey, it's the truth, isn't it? I hit them all."
"Well, in a manner of speaking," he muttered playfully. She grinned and gave him a loving swat. The girl grew bored with her parents' flirting and decided her mother's long hair, easily within reach, was much more interesting. She locked her fingers around the closest tail and gave it a firm tug.
"Ow. Sweetie, that's mommy's hair! Please don't...pull." Mamoru laughed.
"That's what you get for embellishing the truth, bun-head." The woman winced as she tried prying her daughter's fingers away.
"I didn't...embellish anything, weasel-face! You saw me—ow—knock those off! Twice!"
"Oh, so you were referring to the second time, eh?"
"Oh, you're impossible!" she grunted, finally freeing herself from her daughter's grasp. She sighed and shook her finger in front of the girl's face. "Rini, it's not nice to pull on people's hair, okay? Remember when you fell and hurt your arm? You were crying for a long time. That's how mommy feels when you pull her hair."
"Maybe you should cut it," Mamoru suggested. "I've always wondered what you'd look like with short hair. And it must be a pain to wash..."
"You know, it's really hard to believe you're a king sometimes," she grumbled, tying her hair back so her daughter couldn't get to it. Mamoru laughed.
"You said something very similar the day we first met. I offended you, you got mad at me, I fell hopelessly in love..." The woman blushed and looked away. Her daughter was gesturing to be held, so Usagi held her.
"You just love getting on my nerves." He smiled, leaned in close, and whispered:
"And you love it when I do." Her entire face, and most of her neck, turned furiously crimson.
"Ah...e-enough of that, you...psycho wiener!" He laughed loudly, which caused their daughter to laugh as well.
"That's a new one! And I fall deeper still. My love for you is a chasm that I find myself eternally plummeting into."
"You really do say the corniest things!" she shrieked, only causing him to laugh again. He kissed her neck, working his way to her cheek, before finally settling on the side of her nose. He then parted her hair, kissing her ear.
"Well, long or short, you're perfect to me." She grinned and found herself weakening. She leaned back so he could kiss more of her. Their daughter grew bored after awhile and started pulling on their clothes.
"Just when it was getting good," Usagi muttered. She sat up and put her daughter on her knee, bouncing gently. This entertained her for a minute or two until she got off and wandered away. The girl occupied herself with picking flowers, leaving her parents some time to themselves. Usagi drew her knees to her chest, content to sit in the evening air. She still couldn't believe that she was a mother, even with living proof waddling a few feet away. She held Mamoru's hand, feeling a sense of pride—and maybe a little apprehension.
"So, where to next, dad?"
"Home for a bit. Boris and Motoki want to meet up with me to discuss a few things."
"I thought you were finished with those pirates."
"Oh, we are, don't worry. They just want to go over some boring political stuff. Should be pretty engaging."
She smiled faintly. "And after that?"
"I'm staying home for a bit so I can catch up, then it's off to the Northern Water Tribe. They've started seeing ghouls there." He shuttered and grit his teeth in revulsion. "I'd like to get to the bottom of those things. Who are they, where did they come from, why do they behave that way, how did they get that way? Are they humans, spirits, Fomoriians? Oh, that reminds me: I'm having another meeting with Pwyll next month. I'd really like it if you could come along."
"Well, I might be able to come along for the ghoul-hunt." Usagi yawned and stretched her arms up. "It'll be nice to see Ami again, and Mina as well. No, wait: they're in the Swamplands now. Something about local spirits causing trouble with the water-benders there."
"I feel sorry for the spirits," Mamoru muttered. "Daryll and Rubella are no slouches, and if anything hurts the people of the Swamp, Gi'll be there to fight tooth and nail, literally!" Usagi laughed but just as quickly shriveled.
"I wish I could say for sure what my plans are. Lately I've been feeling lethargic and...cold. On the inside." Mamoru stiffened grimly.
"Are you unwell?" She gingerly touched the scar on her left palm.
"No, but I...have remissions. Some days I still can't go outside in the daylight, or I get nightmares. Other days I just feel...cold. I don't know how else to explain it." Mamoru quietly took her left hand and kissed it until her mood brightened. "Anyway, enough about that. Tell me about this trip to Taku. Will you be taking Ael and Ann with you?"
"I should hope so," he muttered, laying back on the blanket. "They're the ones who organized the whole thing."
"Oh yeah. I guess they're your go-between now."
"Diplomat, honey. It's called a diplomat."
"I know," she snorted, dropping a handful of dandelions on his face. He blew them apart, seeing his daughter hovering over him, giggling.
"Honey, are you helping mommy throw flowers on daddy's face?"
"Yeeeeaaaaah." He smiled warmly at her and sat up.
"Rini, daddy's going to be visiting his house soon. Would you like to come see it?"
"No," she said, somewhat crestfallen. He gently patted her head.
"No? But you've never been there. Besides, mommy's not feeling well."
"No," she pouted, crossing her arms stubbornly. "No, no, no. Nnnn daa. Mo."
"Do you want to be with mommy?" Usagi said, kneeling down. Rini shook her head.
"No." She reached out and took Usagi's hair in her hand again—gently. Her other hand held Mamoru's shirt. "Bab oh. Ma." Usagi looked at her husband, crestfallen.
"She wants to be with both of us. Sweetie, I...I wish we could, but...mommy and daddy have different jobs. Daddy works at home and mommy works all over the place. We'll all get together in a little while, okay? Stay with daddy now." Rini grunted mournfully, too young to understand the pain she felt, or the pain of her parents. Usagi and Mamoru both hugged her until she let go. They heard a loud whistle, causing Mamoru to stand up.
"That'll be Wei Fong. I'll go see what he wants."
"Noooo," Rini wailed, reaching for him. Mamoru laughed and knelt down to hug her again.
"Daddy's going to be right back! He just has to go talk to someone for a bit. You be good and play with mommy for awhile, all right?" The child nodded reluctantly; he kissed her forehead and walked away, backwards, waving at them. Usagi and Rini both waved until he was gone. The girl was soon distracted by a firefly, so Usagi sat down and watched her daughter give chase. One settled on her arm, which she gently caught in her left hand. She cringed—even now, more than two years after the fight with Iblis, her wound had not healed—but she bore the pain and held the firefly gently. Rini came over to admire it.
"Look, Rini. This is called a firefly. Do you like them?"
"Yeeeeaaaaah."
"Daddy will be back soon. Come on, help mommy catch them so he can see them." This caused the girl to smile, so she ran off and helped her mother as the sun set and the stars came out. They had caught a fairly impressive number together when all of a sudden, Usagi's world went pitch-black.
"Sneak attack!" she heard someone hiss, startling her. Usagi burst free and turned around, her heart swelling rapturously as she saw someone very dear standing behind her:
"Mako!"
"Hey, short stack, what's up?" Makoto nearly fell over as Usagi tackled her. They laughed and squealed, temporarily forgetting about everything else. They complimented one another, asked how the other was, discussed how much they had missed the other... Then Makoto noticed Rini, who quickly hid behind her mother's legs. She knelt down and saluted.
"Whoa, is that Rini? Goodness, you've gotten big! The last time I saw you was...what, a year and a half ago? Rini, do you remember me?" She shook her head fearfully. Usagi smiled and attempted to coax her daughter away.
"Rini, this is your Aunt Makoto. Can you say 'Makoto'?"
There was a long pause. "Koko."
"Good job!" Makoto cheered. She looked at Usagi. "Is she already talking?"
"Not really; she's trying. She knows mom, dad, and no, of course. How about little Shinozaki?"
"What, are you kidding? He's barely gurgling. Hey Rini, you wanna go for a bison ride?" Makoto knelt down and presented her back for Rini to climb. The girl hesitated at first, but was quickly encouraged by her mother and "aunt". She wrapped short, soft arms around Makoto's neck and squealed with delight as the tall woman stood up and stomped around, roaring and bellowing like an air-bison.
"So what brings you here?" Usagi said. "Are you on vacation or something?"
"Mmm, something like that." She smiled mischievously, tilting her head in a sly manner. Makoto could be subtle if she wanted to, and since this was anything but, there was more to this visit than she was willing to reveal. Before Usagi could probe any further, Makoto gestured to something behind her friend, and when she turned to see what it was...
"Rei! Ami!" A familiar flicker of red and black beamed at her, sharing an embrace with a delighted blue-haired doctor. The process started all over again: joy, compliments, gossip, awe, inquisitiveness. There was something missing, though: "Wait, where's Mina? Is she not with you?" Ami looked away, guilt and embarrassment written all over her face. Rei closed her eyes, mustering all her discipline as she sighed.
"Well..."
"Hark! The cries of a beautiful battle-maiden echo across the land! Evildoers scowl as they behold the blinding spectacle! The golden emblem of love and justice, the Thunderbird of the West, the one and only!"
A figure called out from a nearby treetop, then leaped down, softening her blow with a billow of air. She landed gracefully, her arms thrusting and jerking in overly-dramatic poses as she announced:
"Me! Nah! Ko! Aino! The Air-Sailor, ally of righteousness, sworn enemy of the wicked! Look upon my works, ye mighty, and feel bad for yourselves!"
There was a very long, very awkward pause. Minako held her pose as the wind blew past a silent world.
"She wanted to make an entrance," Ami offered timidly. Rei sighed in frustration.
"It's despair, Mina: look upon my works and despair. If you have to quote a tyrant, you may as well get it right."
"I prefer my version, thank you very much!" she announced. Usagi smiled patiently and gave her sister a hug.
"I missed you too, Mina, and your silly poses most of all." The other blonde relaxed and returned the hug.
"Thanks, dumpling. I guess I still got it."
"Hey, you never lost it!" Usagi winked and tapper her shoulder with a fist; Minako sniffled and wiped a tear away.
"You're darn right! Hey, Mako, Rei. Hey there, sport!" By now Rini had tired of riding on Makoto's shoulders, and wanted to approach the new guests. Each of them got to greet the little girl, with Rei humbly bowing, Ami waving, and Minako giving Rini her very first high-five. Usagi was happy to see them—downright ecstatic—but something was bothering her about all this.
"Hey, not that I'm complaining or anything, but why are you all here? I thought you two," indicating Ami and Minako, "were in the Swamplands, and you," pointing to Makoto, "were trying to negotiate something with someone over...um, well, I forget, but—"
"I was," Makoto laughed, patting her friend on the head. She winked and added, "Was being the key word. The negotiations went very favorably..."
"Thanks in no small part to our involvement in the Swamplands," Minako announced. Ami smiled proudly.
"And since the three of us were all together in the same place, we got to talking, and..."
"Well," Makoto concluded, "we decided to take a break and come see you."
"Naturally, they couldn't even pull that off without me," Rei said haughtily. "I was doing some research with Nergal and grandpa when Artemis came crashing into our koi pond, literally. Needless to say, grandpa excused my lack of discipline."
"Excuse you!" Minako snapped. "Artemis has never crashed anywhere in his life—except maybe for one or two times when we were being pursued by enemies. Or when Bodmall called him down that one time. Or when he was really tuckered out. Or when I was attacked by pirates and—"
"The point is," Makoto exclaimed, clapping her hands over Minako's mouth, "we talked Rei into joining us so we could all visit you together. After fixing the pond." Usagi nodded blankly.
"So...everything's fine."
"Yes, quite," Ami said, correcting herself slightly as she added, "or as fine as we could make it."
"We've all been real busy," Minako emphasized, "so I think we deserve this."
"And if you're wondering about Yuichiro," Rei added, crossing her arms stuffily, "I made sure he apologized and forgave Mina. I had to invoke his own code to do it, but they're on acceptable terms now."
"Oh, thank goodness," Usagi sighed with relief. "I was hoping he'd come around." Minako winked.
"Yep! Consider the sword buried!"
"Hatchet, dear," Ami corrected softly, "you buried the hatchet." Minako chuckled bashfully, and the two rubbed noses.
"Oh! That reminds me!" she exclaimed: "Ami and I had our first fight!"
"You what?" Usagi blinked and took a step back. The two women smiled proudly, putting their arms around each other.
"We had an argument in the Swamplands," Ami explained. "Things got a bit heated, so we decided to spend some time apart. We, uh...accidentally spent more time apart than we had planned."
"Yeah!" Minako exclaimed sheepishly. "It's funny how easily you forget a lover's squabble when a giant crocodelk is running loose!"
"Don't forget the tree-men, sunshine," Ami said. Minako lit up.
"Oh yeah! This kid here fought off twelve of them! They were these huge shaggy guys covered in leaves. They were like tree spirits or something."
"Six," Ami corrected: "I fought off six of them."
"I counted twelve."
"Trust me, it was six."
"No, I'm pretty sure I counted twelve, muffin."
"The POINT is that you two had your very first argument," Makoto interjected. "But, you came out of it stronger and even deeper in love." Ami giggled.
"Definitely!"
"I can't wait for the next one!" Minako chuckled. Usagi and Rei both turned quite pale, looked at each other, and stared incredulously at their friends.
"Whatever makes you happy, I guess," Rei muttered. "Anyway, Usagi, since we're all here, what would you like to do?"
"Hmm? Do? Oh, sorry, I'd love to hang out with you all, but..."
"But what?" said Makoto.
"Yes," called Mamoru, his visage peeking over the horizon as he returned. "Why can't you take some time off?" He and the girls waved at each other.
"You know why," Usagi grumbled. "You're leaving for Ba Sing Se soon with Rini, and I..."
"Yeah, about that," he replied sheepishly. "Fong Wei just got a message from Motoki and Boris. They're excusing me from the meeting, so I've got some free time on my hands."
Usagi blinked. "Okay, but don't you have to catch up on things back home?" Mamoru grinned slyly.
"Usagi, are you trying to get rid of me?"
"Of course not, but...you do, right?"
"Well, sure, but it's not going anywhere. I want to spend some time with my two favorite ladies." He smiled at Rini and put her on his shoulder. Usagi turned pale.
"Are you sure it's okay for you...I mean, for all of you to be away like this? I mean..."
"Usagi." Rei took her closest friend's hand, smiling beatifically. She didn't need to say anything else; the loving glow in her lavender eyes was convincing all on its own. Usagi squeezed it and returned her smile.
"Listen to me, acting worried when my friends are here to have fun. Okay!" she yawped, "Why not!? One more adventure, for old time's sake! But, ah, where's Artemis?" Well, that was a problem: the giant fuzzball was nowhere to be found. Ami and Minako looked up, just in time to see a shape in the clouds forming. The shape grew larger, closer, hurtling at meteoric speeds, building a squall around it until it burst into view, sliding to a stop on the ground, carving a large rut in its wake.
"There he is!" Minako exclaimed. She hugged him and hopped on first, lifting Ami up to join her. Makoto followed her, then Rei, with Mamoru carefully carrying Rini with him. He lowered his arm for Usagi.
"Room for one more." She smiled sweetly and reached up, brushing his fingers with her left hand. It throbbed with a cold, numb pain, and she withdrew. Mamoru turned pale with concern and was about to climb down to give her a better boost, but Usagi kicked the ground instead, lifting herself up by a stone pillar. Mamoru smiled proudly as she cuddled next to him and her daughter.
"Ah, how cozy! Uh, hey," she said somberly, addressing the entire group: "thanks for talking me into this. I'm sorry I sounded apprehensive. I guess I just needed a push in the right direction."
"That's what friends are for," Makoto said. "Besides, you know we'll probably run into some trouble along the way."
"Even if we cause it ourselves," Minako added cattily. Ami clucked her tongue and kissed her girlfriend's cheek.
"Oh, you... But Mako does have a point. There's no reason we can't mix business with pleasure."
"It's certainly never stopped us before," Rei muttered. Usagi laughed and nodded—and as Mamoru held one of her hands and Rini held the other, all the troubles of the world, her pain, and her concerns for the future, vanished entirely. She was with the ones she loved, and that...
That was true perfection.
"So where to, bun-head?" Mamoru said. More fireflies came out, mirroring the sky above. A spark lit up in Usagi's eyes, and she pointed to the endless shroud spread out before them.
"Second star to the right, and straight on til morning."
That was all the direction Minako needed. She let out a yip, and Artemis went off like a shot, his passengers whooping and hollering for joy. Soon the land below them was a distant blur, the ocean a churning expanse, the wind whipping as they pierced the clouds, ascending still, beyond the sky and the stars: faster and faster, higher and higher, brighter and brighter, forever and ever.
…...
AMI MIZUNO, the Wise Salmon
Together with Minako, her love, dignity, and grace spread across the world with the swiftness of a river. Later, she would be hailed as a hero for curing the ghoul plague, and would become a legendary teacher and healer of the Northern Water Tribe, as well as a renowned Pai Sho player.
MAKOTO KINO, the Thunderhorn
The world's only wood-bender would go on to raise five children, two of them taking after their mother's unique style of bending. Alongside her husband, she led Omashu and the Southern Earth Kingdom out of its crisis and into a long age of prosperity, though her greatest accomplishment would always be her friendships. She still chops wood for local restaurants occasionally.
MINAKO AINO, the Thunderbird
Learned to forgive and love herself in time. She found her true calling in fashion design, and modeled several of her own creations to high acclaim. Remained energetic, loving, and relatively carefree for the rest of her days, even when she obtained the rank of Grand Master of the Western Air Temple.
REI HINO, the Enflamed Stallion
Finally lived out her dream (again) when she sang for the yearly Agni Day celebration. Kuni and Iku encouraged her to pursue her passion, and with their patronage, Rei traveled the world, singing to sold-out crowds. She always returns home, though, if only to check in on her grandfather and Yuichiro.
MAMORU CHIBA, the Armed Servant
Became a king worthy of his lineage, a man worthy of his wife's love, and a father worthy of his daughter's adoration. Once the royal court learned of his heir, he managed to find a way to make Usagi his wife officially, while respecting her role as the Avatar. It's said that roses grew in every garden of the Northern Earth Kingdom during his long reign.
AVATAR USAGI TSUKINO, the Pronged Hare
She and her friends may have called themselves "Team Avatar", but future generations will forever venerate them as those who have sailed in the celestial heavens. It is said, somewhere, that the planets themselves are named after them.
"'My woe and my pity, what matter? Do I seek for happiness? I seek for my work! Up! The lion hath come. My children are night. Zarathustra hath ripened. Mine hour hath come! This is my morning. My day beginneth! Come up, then, come up, thou great noon!' Thus spake Zarathustra and left his cave, glowing and strong, like a morning sun which cometh from dark mountains." -from Thus Spake Zarathustra
Author's notes
Six years. I've been working on this project for six years, from conception to completion. Even as I'm writing this, it's difficult to believe that something that's been such a major part of my life has come to an end. No other writing project has even come close to the length, scale, effort, and scope of this one—and it was almost entirely a labor of love. It is, as best as I can make it, "the kind of story I've always wanted to read", juxtaposing two unique and strangely similar fandoms into one massive composition. All the research, the stress, the imagination, the lost ideas, the planning, the editing, the despair and joy, the labor, the inspiration... And now it belongs to the ages. This is, finally, the end. It'll take awhile for me to process that, even as I move on to other works. For those of you who have made it this far, no word can describe my gratitude. It has been a privilege.
…...
Many decades later, a child was born in the Fire Nation—and the Avatar cycle continued, just as it always had, and always will.
The End of "Avatar: the Celestial Sailors"
Thank you for reading my story.