Earth...Fire...Water...Air... This is the age of the new Avatar, and after many years of chaos, the world is poised to enter into a time of prosperity and peace. But every light casts a shadow, and in the days to come, the very balance of the universe will be in danger, and the true purpose of the Avatar will be revealed. The Avatar's name is Usagi, a warrior of love and justice, and despite all the great deeds she has accomplished, her story is not over yet!
AVATAR
The Celestial Sailors
BOOK THREE: DEATH
13: The Sky, the Sea, and the Serpent
The waves came into the shore, and the waves came away from the shore. The wind blew into her face, and the wind blew into her back. The sun wheeled in light, the moon wheeled in darkness. She breathed, she exhaled. The world worked in cycles, just as the universe, just as her body, every molecule and neutron and particle within thrumming with an ebb and flow all of their own. She was at peace now, perfectly balanced with the wind in her hair, the sun on her face, and the sea lapping at her bare feet, but the words they whispered were fading, their promises giving way to ill tidings. Within a mere moment—a year, a month, the next hour, maybe—all of this would be taken away, the balance would tilt, and everything would plummet beyond reach, beyond light, into silence and Nothingness. She did not want to think about that moment, because now was her time; this peace was hers. But eventually she must leave it of her own free will, else it would be taken irrevocably.
Just a moment longer, though, a moment longer. They had earned that much at least, hadn't they?
Life's full of those moments, she recalled someone telling her. Times of peace, peril, and the stages between the two. Regret and yearning fill the void when they are gone. All things in balance, Haruka—all things.
She stood there taking in one of those moments as Michiru finished swimming. She got out, dried herself, and joined Haruka. For just one moment longer, they said nothing, enjoying their borrowed time.
"Michiru," Haruka said as she closed her eyes, "what are you more afraid of: failure or victory?"
"I don't understand." They exchanged a look. The wind played with the crashing waves.
"We won't have a future if we fail. That's certain enough. But what sort of future will we have if we succeed? How much of our lives have we spent preoccupied with hunting down spirits, uncovering information about the Sentinels, staving off this...vague cataclysm? Not even giving a second thought to who we are outside of battle, what we'll do once we don't have any of this chaos to worry about..." Michiru draped arms around her, still a little damp from her swim.
"It's bad form to put so much thought towards a future that may not come to pass. Eggs placed precariously inside a basket..."
"I know, but...it scares me, just a little." Haruka smirked, touched her hand. Michiru's face warmed her.
"Failure frightens me more, but we have to confront them both. One monster at a time." Haruka nodded, squeezing her hand. Just a few seconds more...
"The wind bears an ill breeze. I can hear it crying out to me."
"As do the tides and their tidings." Haruka snickered.
"Wordplay, now? That's bad form."
"But do you feel better about the future?" Haruka sighed. She turned around. Their eyes met. Their fingers entwined.
"I have the best partner in the world at my side. I can face anything when I'm with her."
"A smooth talker to the very end," Michiru smiled. Haruka grinned and winked at her. She definitely felt a little better.
Their target was further inland. Soon they left the beach to pursue it.
…...
No longer content to plow up crops, boulders, fences, and orchards, the enormous boar spirit charged into the house, blasting stone and wood and straw everywhere. Its tusks rent the hearth asunder, scattering ash and embers; it plowed through bedrooms, a storage area, splintering keepsakes and heirlooms. The house crumbled to bits as the boar left it behind and steered into another, but this one still had occupants. The mother grabbed their child forcefully by the wrist and ran with them out the window while the father lunged at the monstrosity with a pitchfork. The weapon sank in fully but only served to enrage the creature, who had but to shake its head to rip the pitchfork and the man apart. The house fell as the boar burst out; it focused its attack on the village's stable and grain silo, snorting as it clawed at the ground with its hooves. The boar spirit howled with bloody rage and charged, trampling everything in its path—but the barn door opened of its own accord before it could break.
"I think you've done enough!" An enormous surge of water swept through the stables and smashed into the boar's face, the force of it so strong that even the gigantic spirit was no match. An entire river had been diverted for this purpose, its rushing waters lifted through the village to carry its oppressor away. The boar scrambled to safety but was knocked over by a fierce wind. Water and air joined forces to uproot a nearby tree and shove it over, crushing the boar spirit underneath. The creature struggled in vain, and soon met its challengers.
"You know, you're lucky I'm a vegetarian," announced a tall, sandy-haired woman. The boar blinked crimson eyes, blood and pus issuing out as the person stood over it in triumph. "Otherwise," it resumed, "I'd skewer you myself."
"I don't think any of the villagers would have such restrictions," called another voice, this one belonging to an aqua-haired lady. She joined the other woman, standing side by side, leering down at the fallen. "What do you say, Haruka? Do you think they'd enjoy having pork chops?"
"Vile waste of flesh!" the boar spat, fighting as the ground beneath it softened into mud. "Let me be! I have unfinished business."
"With who, those innocent townspeople whose houses you've ruined? Or that family whose father you just killed?" The sandy-haired woman crossed her arms and glared hotly. "The only waste I see here is you! A noble spirit like you should be ashamed!"
"What do you know, daughter of fools? Our world lies on the brink of collapse and you speak of ruined hovels? What is a life or two compared to that?"
"Go justify your madness someplace else," the aqua-haired woman growled. She held her hand out, and the river froze around the boar, trapping him further. The sandy-haired woman pushed a gust of wind into its mouth, almost suffocating it with the excess air intake. The boar gasped and wheezed, but still could not escape.
"You are still fools!" it spat, shaking vile tusks at the ice and wood. "Did you seriously think I came here alone?" The two women stared at each other nervously for a moment before being knocked away. The forest itself rose up to repulse them, trees and stones and earth in upheaval as a second spirit broke through, freeing its companion. A wretched odor immediately permeated the air, causing the two women to gag and backpedal in disgust. What was left of the forest soon turned to rot and decay as an immense reptilian monstrosity slithered through, parts of its body falling off and festering, a single elongated skull grinning at them with flames where its eyes would be.
Haruka and Michiru didn't know it, but this was the same spirit of decay that Rei had encountered over half a year ago.
"Boar," it croaked in its nauseating voice, "shall I kill them now? Even my methods would be considered a mercy."
"No, let them live," it snorted. "To know the full extent of their folly would be worse than any death. Come, let us leave this place!" Together, the two spirits tore through the forest and over the newly-formed river, leaving Haruka and Michiru behind. Haruka called up a swift breeze to blow the stench away and went to her partner's side.
"I'm all right," Michiru coughed. "We've got to stop them before they cause any more harm!"
"We're no match for them if we split up," Haruka said. Michiru nodded and climbed back to her feet.
"We'll take out that spirit of decay first; it's going to do the most damage." She reached out to the river and solidified a block; they stood on it and rode it up the stream, propelled by Haruka's wind. It wasn't difficult picking up the trail of desolation and ruin both spirits left behind, and after a few minutes, they split off, one heading back to town while the other went east. Michiru changed her mind and went after the boar spirit, as the spirit of decay was heading into an unpopulated area; the boar proved the swifter of the two, though, and once they caught up to it, they were greeted by huge pieces of debris the spirit upheaved while it continued its rampage. Haruka swatted most of it away with her wind but decided to retaliate after another house was flattened. She grabbed a fisherman's spear and rope with the wind, tied them together, and thrust it at the boar, sinking it in deep, then pulled on the rope, gradually closing the distance. She kept pulling as their ice-platform broke away; when it was reduced to a small foothold, the two women jumped, grabbing hold of the creature's meaty flank.
Michiru immediately called to a nearby water pump, covering the boar's eyes with ice. While it was distracted, Haruka forced a gale into the creature's left side, sending it careening into a stone wall. It still galloped, so she sent it left, ramming directly into a domestic beehive. She and Michiru quickly leaped off and shielded themselves as the furious army overwhelmed the boar. While it weathered the stings of thousands of angry bees, Haruka looked around for a means of dispatching the boar for good, and noticed a scythe next to an upended grindstone. The wind jerked the scythe to her hand, and she was just about to plunge it into the boar's skull when the entire sky exploded in a burst of blinding light.
Haruka stared in defenseless awe as four immense humanoid figures stepped out of the light. Each one was nearly twice as tall as she was; they even towered over the monstrous boar. The bees, sensing a danger far greater than they could match, fled immediately, leaving the boar spirit to fend for itself. It stood transfixed before the four Sentinels of Light, powerless to contest them or even move. It finally jerked to the side as a terrifying screech pierced the silence, followed by a blinding column of light that shot into the heavens.
"Such is the fate of those who would defile the light," spoke one of the Sentinels, though it was impossible to tell which. They all drew closer to the boar, bearing weapons of fiery light, their bodies like white fire. They spoke again, "And thus will you share in that fate," before striking at the creature, consuming it with a bright flash. When Haruka and Michiru could see again, there was nothing left of the spirit but a broken spear and a smoldering pile of fine ash.
"What in the name of the heavens just happened?" Haruka gasped, scarcely able to whisper. The Sentinels took notice of them but did not advance. One of them leveled what appeared to be a flaming sword at them.
"Its wickedness was blotted from the earth, and thus was the wickedness of the spirit of decay blotted. Their evil is no more. Rejoice and be glad."
"You killed them," Michiru said in shock.
"We extinguished their darkness and restored the light. Was that not also your intent?" Haruka and Michiru opened their mouths, but they couldn't respond. Why else had they come here but to drive off those spirits? Now their task was finished, wasn't it? They clenched their fists and stood. No—there was something else they needed to do. These Sentinels of Light were their focus now.
"Perhaps," Michiru said, "but I think you owe us more of an explanation." One of the Sentinels stepped closer, leveling a long spear.
"Have a care, mortals, lest you share in their fate. We owe you nothing."
"Why do you feel compelled to wipe out these spirits? Were you the ones responsible for killing those ghouls in the Southern Ice Flows?"
"We don't owe you any answers," they repeated. "Do not attempt to interfere with our work."
"Our goals are the same," another said. "Is that not enough?"
Haruka and Michiru frowned, staring at each other with grave uncertainty.
"We just want to know who you are and where you come from," Haruka stated cautiously. She held her hands up, showing she meant no hostility. The Sentinels didn't lower their weapons.
"We are the Bringers of Light, here to cast out the darkness forever. That is all you need to know."
"I don't like how we're getting brushed off by these things," Michiru muttered. Haruka nodded.
"Yeah, hits a little too close to home. Remind me to apologize to the bun-head and her friends."
"If we make it out of this," Michiru muttered. They held hands. The Sentinels didn't have eyes, but the women could imagine them narrowing.
"Do you...oppose us?"
"No...but I don't think we're on the same side, either. Call it a hunch."
"Sorry, but you light-bringers really rub us the wrong way," Haruka said. She smirked snidely and added, "Nothing personal." Now all four of them had their weapons out, and were surrounding the women.
"Stand aside and we will stand down. Do not provoke us into an unnecessary battle."
"On one condition," Haruka announced. She and Michiru stood back to back, dauntless in the face of four blinding creatures. Haruka grinned and asked, "Do any of you know who or what the Ouroborus is?" The four Sentinels looked at each other before immediately leaping at the two women. Michiru held two back with a wall of water while Haruka repulsed two with a strong breeze.
"Was it something we said?" Michiru quipped. The Sentinels lashed at the women, blinding hot bolts of searing white energy against a torrential storm of wind and waves. Haruka and Michiru stood back to back and fought ferociously, sometimes so blinded by the light of their enemies that they could barely stand, much less see. Michiru shot a stream directly through one of the Sentinels while Haruka whipped another in half. They both issued a horrific gravely screech before dissolving, leaving their allies perplexed and the women stunned.
"So they can be killed," Haruka remarked. "Good to know." The two remaining Sentinels stood their ground unflinchingly. Haruka and Michiru were ready to blast them apart when the skies lit up once more, and four streaks of light shot out from the heavens and landed on the ground. Four fresh Sentinels marched out, all of them armed. Haruka and Michiru looked at each other nervously.
"They also multiply. Equally useful." The women prepared to give their lives when time itself seemed to freeze, and a deadly scream permeated the air. The six Sentinels trembled, and a pulsating shockwave of power overcame them, banishing them from the world. Haruka and Michiru didn't know what to make of this new development, so they kept their guard up. A vague form appeared in the distance and approached them with deliberate stateliness.
"And who might you be?" Haruka called. The figure didn't speak. Haruka clenched her teeth, already agitated from the day's excursions. "Answer me!"
"There's no need for hostility," the figure replied, a soft womanly voice that calmed their nerves. "Friends should greet each other with more dignity."
"How can you be a friend of ours?" Michiru replied cautiously. "We don't even know you."
"That can be fixed—in time." The figure finally appeared, tall and regal, long emerald hair swishing in magnificent contrast to her deep crimson eyes and swarthy complexion. It was a lady, noble and striking, a smile on her mouth and a distant, humble warmth in her demeanor. She bowed. "You'll find there is much that can be mended with time. I'm honored to finally meet you, Haruka, Michiru."
"How do you know who we are?" Haruka snapped, becoming defensive again. The lady merely locked eyes with her, and Haruka softened.
"Time reveals all. Don't worry, you already know who I am. 'Just as the serpent devours itself, so too is it renewed'. I believe that is how I was referred to you." The two women immediately went wide-eyed.
"Are you...Ouroborus?" Michiru said. The lady nodded.
"Some call me that. I have many names. I've been Persephone to some, the Hadean Sailor to others. Pluto, Trista, Akarana...take your pick." She smiled and offered a little laugh. "But it would be easier if you called me Setsuna. Most people do."
"Setsuna," Haruka repeated, feeling a thrill surge across her body. She gave the mysterious woman a level stare, which Setsuna matched. Finally, Haruka broke eye contact, relaxed, and touched the other woman's shoulder. "Well met."
"Things are moving into motion, aren't they?" Michiru said. She, too, touched Setsuna's shoulder, and soon the lady placed her hands on theirs. The three were now linked together.
"Indeed," Setsuna replied. She tilted her head up and stared intensely into the sky, at some unforeseen peril or promise. Haruka and Michiru looked up, but they saw nothing.
…...
Haruka glared as the sun flickered in the west, and continued to glare as it sank imperceptibly. Shadows lengthened all around them, and the brilliant blue canopy above was becoming dusty rose, lavender, and deep indigo in the east. A little lizard-turtle scurried across her hand as she rested it on a rock, and she shook the critter away. A deep sigh escaped.
"Do we really have to do this?" she muttered impatiently. A few steps away, Setsuna stood with her back to the other woman, eyes closed.
"No. But it may help you." Haruka pursed her lips, glancing over at Michiru, who shared her restless expression. Waiting wasn't the issue; it was what would come after. Far away, just barely visible on the outskirts of a settlement, a spirit with eight angular legs and a body shaped like a perfectly-chiseled hexagonal crystal marched out of the village, leaving a small trail of destruction behind it. Michiru leaned forward and nearly threw herself at the fire it left behind.
"Wait," she heard Setsuna say. The other woman hadn't moved, yet Michiru could've sworn she felt a hand grasp her shoulder. Michiru could feel her mind's eye being penetrated even while Setsuna remained motionless. "The fire will be attended to. No harm will come...to the villagers." The way she emphasized that last statement was disquieting, but Michiru resumed her vigil. The spirit continued marching away, its legs moving with mechanical precision, as more screams and cries rose into the wind (Haruka winced horribly). Then, just as the spirit put distance between itself and the settlement, the skies lit up, and a dozen or so lights blazed through the darkening skies and struck the ground, issuing Sentinels. Together they attacked the spirit, losing two as its legs pierced their blinding bodies, and brought it down, searing off its limbs with their blazing swords. They then enveloped the creature's body, consumed it—there was no other description for what they did—and left once all traces of the spirit were gone. One of the Sentinels remained, however, turning around and looking up at the high precipice where the three women stood in observation. Michiru couldn't explain how it was possible, but it felt like it was peering directly into her eyes. It finally motioned to the village, extinguishing the fires before leaping into the sky and out of sight. Haruka and Michiru relaxed.
"Is that what you wanted us to see?" they asked. Setsuna nodded.
"I wanted you to understand what those things are: where they came from, their capabilities, their limits...perhaps even their motivation. You see, they are not evil in the way that you would know it, but one cannot really call them good, either. They call themselves the Lightbringers. As you can see, they are incredibly powerful, and use that power to eradicate spirits—specifically, spirits that have pierced the veil separating our two worlds and are running amok. They can be killed, but whether there is a limit to their kind remains a mystery."
"I saw a bright flash in the sky," Haruka pointed, "and then twelve streaks of light. Those Lightbringers came out of those streaks. Any idea where they originate from?" Setsuna craned her head around, a single crimson eye shimmering in the dusk.
"Presently, I'm afraid not. That this secret is veiled even to me is of considerable concern. Indeed, they are nearly as puzzling to me as they are to you—but at least now you are armed with a little more information."
"So what do we do now?" Michiru asked. Haruka was already on the move, carefully sliding down the precipice.
"We go help those people. I can't stand to hear people suffering." Michiru nodded and followed her, smirking as she reminisced on a very similar conversation she had with Haruka on the day they met. It had been a lifetime ago, but Michiru could still recall every detail in perfect clarity...
"Why hello there," she had said, smiling proudly as she beheld the woman who would stem the tide of malice and horror alongside her. "So you're the pariah I've been hearing about. You're an incredibly difficult person to track down, and even harder to catch up to." Haruka looked over at her, an aqua-haired vision from the Water Tribes, and snorted.
"You a bounty hunter?"
"Nothing of the sort. I've been searching for a partner." Haruka raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Business or pleasure? Either way, you could probably do better than...well, if people are calling me a pariah, who am I to argue?"
"I'm looking for a Flying Tortoise." Haruka's eyes widened, and she stared at the other woman with increased caution.
"What do you mean?" she said slowly. Michiru's coy expression hardened.
"You've been hearing voices carried on the wind, haven't you? The cries of a world in torment, the wailing of millions suffering..." Haruka snarled and walked away from the woman.
"Tch, freak. What do you know, anyway?"
"Because I can feel the same thing in the water." Haruka stopped, her back turned. Slowly she looked back at the aqua-haired woman, and saw a Sea Dragon standing there, writhing and lamenting in pain. "I can feel misery in the ocean, despair in the rain, confusion in the mist...yes, even in the water I drink, there is sorrow. My body aches with it. The waters of the world led me to you, because it knows you understand." Haruka cast her face down, contemplating, saying nothing. Michiru approached her and waited until their eyes met.
"Am I mistaken?" Haruka looked away shamefully.
"No, but what can I do about it?" she grumbled. "Believe me, I can't stand to hear people suffering, but..." Haruka squeezed her eyes shut. Michiru's face trembled in sorrow, because she knew what it meant to feel helpless—to be helpless. She, too, had once wondered what she could do against such an evil. Carefully she reached for Haruka's hands, and was not turned away.
"Nothing—alone." Haruka swallowed and sighed deeply.
"I don't even know your name." Michiru smiled.
"Listen to the wind. You'll know." Haruka closed her eyes, holding on tightly to the lady's hands. A breeze tickled her short, sandy-blonde hair, caressing her skin, bending the grass at her feet.
Michiru...
She opened her eyes, startled. Michiru smiled and called her by name, Haruka. Haruka smiled, too.
"Where do we begin?"
"Where Kalkin left off. The world is bereft of an Avatar. We must search for one."
"So, the Fire Nation. That's a long way from here."
"True," Michiru smiled, "but distance doesn't concern ones who command the wind and waves—eh, Flying Tortoise?" Haruka grinned. It had been a very long time since she last felt optimistic about anything.
"I guess you're right, Sea Dragon."
The two women narrowly avoided getting caught up in Beryl's conquest of the Fire Nation. They spent most of their time fighting Kunzite and Zoicite's forces, and didn't learn about the Avatar until the world at large did. By then, the barrier dividing spirits and mortals was waning, and they kept themselves busy shielding the world from all manner of creatures. Michiru thought back to their encounter with one of Koh the Face-stealer's children, an abominable centipede spirit who was threatening a child. Michiru wanted to vanquish the spirit at all cost; Haruka would have done anything to save the child. Neither was willing to compromise her belief, so it was their first real fight.
"How can you be so heartless?!" Haruka had bellowed in the heat of battle. "Innocent lives always come first!"
"But if we don't kill that spirit now, it'll move on to harm even more people! I understand how you feel, but—" The centipede had slithered its way around another building, sending it crashing to the ground. Haruka held it up with a powerful air-barrier, straining as she yelled for everyone to run out.
"We're wasting time arguing!" she said to Michiru. "You can do whatever you want, but I'm staying here!"
"But I can't defeat one of Koh's children on my own, Haruka!"
"You'll have to manage without me," she grimaced, teeth clenching as she struggled with her burden. "I can't stand to hear people suffering!"
Somehow, they managed to save the child and the village, all while driving the centipede-spirit away. Both women came to a harsh realization that day, and it shaped them into the cold, calculating—but still compassionate women they were. Haruka worked twice as hard to repair the damage the crystalline spirit did to the settlement, her face cloaked in remorse even as the townspeople gave her their thanks. Setsuna later asked for forgiveness, but Haruka stated it would not be necessary.
They worked long into day, and were invited to spend the night, which they appreciated, but...something was amiss. Evening was upon them, but the sky was still bright, even in the waning east.
"That's odd," Haruka whispered as she observed the heavens. Shadows of trees, buildings, grasses—even the shade their own bodies were casting—all started to wane under the light of the setting sun. They didn't lengthen like they normally would, they just...vanished.
Night came eventually, but left much sooner than usual. The darkness it left behind seemed to retreat in fear.
The End of "The Sky, the Sea, and the Serpent"
Next time: "Firefly's Serenity"