Two sides of the same Coin (Helix)

Smiling softly as he soundlessly strolled, Helix sauntered alongside the small mound of soil on the left region on the lookout, casually sprinkling the dry dirt with water. The future guardian couldn't help but grin as he watched the parched earth thicken with moisture. Grinning with guilty pleasure, the prophet held the spout of the watering can up to his own lips, greedily gulping down the trickling liquid and wiping of the streams dribbling from his chin.

Shaking the can, as if to test how full it was, he noticed that it had lightened significantly. Realizing there was still foliage left un-watered, Helix decided it was time for another refill from the lake below.

Letting his magically materialized garb turn to ash, the now naked guardian gave a relaxed leap into the air, enjoying the cool wind between his fingers before eventually splashing down into the lake below. Pulling his submerged watering can up from below the surface, the guardian shook the now full can, and upon confirming that it was completely refilled took a step out of the pool, allowing his peasantly garb to dematerialize on his wet body.

Something strange— The guru's eye was caught by a queer looking reflection in the water. Staring at himself curiously, he furrowed his brow as he noticed the abnormality. The spiral flame marking engraved in his forehead appeared to be white, instead of it's usual black, due to the reflective angle of the sun in the sky. Raising his eyebrows, the curious guardian dismissed the occurrence and teleported back up to the lookout, experiencing momentary nausea before shaking it off and returning to tending the shrubs.

"—G-Gah…ngh…" Helix's field of vision began to spin for a moment, as a strong pulsing pain centered in his forehead washed over him, and then was gone. "That… was odd," The namekian prophet whispered, not usually one for talking to himself, but shaken enough to act out of his typical character.

And then the watering can clattered on the tiles of the lookout. Helix nearly jumped, disturbed by the noise. Looking down at his still clenched hand, his shock only deepened.


Helix had absolutely, positively NOT dropped that watering can. His hand was still positioned as he had been holding it a second earlier. Kneeling down in a haze, the dragon caste examined the watering can, before glancing back to his own hand. But his dark green fingers were… Ever so slightly… Translucent?

Flustered and concerned, Helix decided to go lie down and rest. He reached down to grab the watering can, in order to put it away, but found that it slipped through his fingers. Each time he grasped at the handle, it slipped out. Nay, his hand… Slipped through..?

Attempting to grab the base of the watering can itself now, Helix's hands phased through it entirely, unable to make contact. Standing up, Helix realized that all sensations had ceased. The pleasurable, if somewhat irritating warmth of the sun was absent, as was the delicious spring wind. Breathing more and more heavily, Helix looked down to his feet, only to see that his clothes had fallen to the ground, with no body to fill them. Now hyperventilating, the prophet looked down at his hands that were no longer there, and felt tension building.

And then he relaxed.

He was no child. He was no idiot. Helix was unafraid.

He had been here before. On that fateful night, when he bore the burden of those
whose hearts were black with hate.

He had been here before. In the cloudless dreams
that always trickled at the corners of his eyes,
dragging him into the inevitable.

He had been here before, where all living things,
where all souls,
start from,
and where
they
end

Helix felt himself relax as the last traces of life rushed to his head and dissipated. The prophet was relieved. He wasn't going mad after all, he was just dying, was all. That was much less concerning. Resigning to his fate, Helix felt a wave of nostalgia as the white tiles of the lookout wobbled and distorted, and he was suddenly standing above what appeared to be a stone path. Er- perhaps standing wasn't the right word for it; the namekian guru was floating.

His vision had changed. Helix no longer was seeing the world through his eyes, rather, he was feeling the world through his spirit. And in his new enlightened state of being, he noticed that he was made entirely out of what appeared to be white smoke. The first words he heard in the afterlife were those of another puffball, this one seemingly darker in shade than his own pearly silver. It was hard to describe why, but the two side by side spirits seemed to be opposite each other in practically every way. Helix felt that if he floated one inch closer to the other cloud, he would be sucked in by the sheer gravity of their polarity.

"Oh… It's you,"

The guru nearly jumped with surprise, it hadn't occurred to him that he could talk to the other puffballs in the line. "Er- Excuse me for my manners, but… Have we met before? There is certainly something recognizable about you but… It is challenging to identify others whilst in a line full of nigh identical souls…" Helix laughed lightheartedly with a hint of unease… What was that about splitting?

The line moved forwards, and the spirit in front of him spoke again, and another presence appeared behind the duo, manifesting out of thin air.

Helix was intrigued at the strange spirit's knowledge of him. "Erm- Yes… I was on earth… The great lord inspired me to travel there many years ago in order to… Well, I certainly was aware of the latent benevolent dragon clan energy wafting about the planet. They had dragon balls, and created by one of my kind no doubt… And as for their guardian… He is a noble man of great renown, a native with a genuinely pure heart…" Helix paused, realizing his rambling probably wasn't making any sense to the stranger. "Er- did I ever get your name?"

Helix recoiled slightly at the other soul's chastising, becoming rather baselessly offended. "Well I-- I certainly recognize something about you--! I mean no disrespect, you can imagine.." As Helix spewed flustered bumbles, another soul, having joined the line just after Helix, became seemingly interested in the conversation between the two namekians.

The seasoned prophet held his tongue for a moment, and then repeated back. "Did you say… Brother?"

After patiently listening to the seemingly ridiculous purportion that the two were results of a namekian fission, with the other being the original, Helix spoke up. Sure, it would certainly make sense that they were fissions. They had both died at the same time, he seemed to be namekian as well. However, Helix knew that he had fissioned when he struggled with the influences of darkness in his youth, and knew that the namekian soul hovering beside him certainly was the result of such fission. But there was no need to argue with his blood brother. Evidently he was of adopted Mazoku heritage, and there was no need to irritate the already strained relations between castes.

Helix nodded in thought. "Well met, brother. As I suppose you know, I am Helix Crust of the dragon caste. It is interesting to have finally encountered you again. I believe it is what one might call a 'full circle.'" Helix scratched his chin, or, he would have, if he had one. "However, the timing of our mutual demise is quite unideal," the prophet noted, only slightly passive aggressively. "I can only hope that namek can find a sufficient leader… I'm sure you know that Grand Elder Nai has fallen into a state of weakness… I can only guess at how much time he has remaining in the world of mortals."

The line continued forward in one of the typical periodic lurches. The blackened observer behind the two namekians continued to silently listen to the brother's conversation.

Helix would've furrowed his brow at the name Scargot. "I have heard whiffs of one named Scargot… Is he of dragon caste origin?"

The prophet's puffball spirit form physically cringed as his opposite detailed his attempted coup on namek. With a breathy grunt of frustration, the dragon caste reprimanded his brother. "What are you thinking… Playing the villain while the elder is in such a state…" The dragon namekian would've jolted back at the mention of a saiyan defeating his brother. "What… Saiyans on namek… Conducting war? I must admit this is quite an unsettling revelation… Almost as unsettling as your own careless conduct, if slightly more surprising…"

In spite of the namekian's pointed words, he genuinely held no spite for his brother, and was simply stating from his opinionated worldview that his actions were careless, not realizing the aggressive connotation behind his words.

"Why was there a saiyan on Namek?" The guardian eased up, realizing a possible outcome. "Had they come to defend the dragon caste and rekindle our ancient forged alliance? Goodness…" The prophet was soon lost in thought, but was interrupted when his brother continued on that the saiyan was of the solar empire, the new regime of seemingly brutish saiyans who had less respect for life then most. "I am sure whatever their purposes, they be noble… or their purposes be noble in their minds…" Affirming his own beliefs in his head, helix would've nodded decidedly. "I assume they are for the greater good, and I suppose I shall continue to assume so until given reason to believe otherwise. After all, I'm sure they saved lives in their plight…" Helix paused gravely, "Mazoku clan attacks in the recent years have been bloodlustive and aimlessly destructive," He concluded, "or at least, last I had heard."

"And, about the untimely double demise of ours…" Helix sighed and acknowledged his brother's apologies, releasing his grudges, "It is quite alright… I only could've wished I had a bit of warning, so that I might've finished watering the shrubs, and not have been so frightened of the strange occurrences that come with death."

Although the brothers were opposite in ideology, they remained alike in dignity, both addressing the other with respect and well learned manners.

Helix would've gravely nodded at the mazoku caste's lamenting over the impending ascension of grand elder Nai to the other world. His disruptive actions were less sinful in light of his ignorance of the situation. "Yes it is rather-" the dragon caste paused, waiting for his brother to continue speaking, and would've furrowed his brow at his only concern being the dragon balls and pleasing the empire. "Now then, I'm sure the saiyans are reasonable, we have had long strong ties with the saiyans." The Namekian paused, and would've looked down slightly as he considered the perspective of his brother. "Err- well, to you, the saiyan intervention likely has been nothing but trouble…" Wary to take his brother's word for it without a grain of salt. The prophet considered telling his brother about his plans to make the dragon balls for several moments before dismissing the notion. The mazoku cast evidently had enough on his mind, and was in no position to use the knowledge in a way that benefited the namekian race.

Helix remained silent as his brother baited him with his warped view of namekian caste relations. Knowing that his counterpart was incapable of looking at the situation as anything but a disgruntled Mazoku softened his words. "Brother now, let us not argue, now in our last moments together for quite some time…" Helix would've put a hand on his opposite's shoulder gently. "I only wish I could've met you in your full personhood on namek, I don't believe we would be able to bicker so. We have too much of ourselves that we share."

Helix glanced to the side of the long walkway that was the path to the check in station. Hunched down alongside the cobblestone path, hidden among the clouds were two ogre children, one red and the other blue. The blue child gazed up at the passing souls with wide eyes, watching as each puffball disappeared and another appeared at the end of the line to take it's place. The red youngling seemed to be picking his nose. Helix would've smiled gently.

As the two inched closer to the end of the line, the once daunting number of souls ahead of them had dwindled to near none. His brother cracked what Helix only could have assumed was some sort of joke, but Helix spoke truthfully. "In each of our hearts we are true and good, if you are punished for your deeds, so should be I."

Helix simply chuckled quietly at his brother's last words. So ardently firm in his belief of his own dark heartedness. The line had finally dwindled off, and the dark soul standing ahead of Helix finally floated forwards, ready to embrace judgement. Helix looked around the clouds, gazing across the horizonless plane of infinity, watching the ogres loaf about on the puffy clouds and the line regenerate it's judged souls, one by one. It was a beautiful day to die. Helix stopped himself from trying to nod, finally getting a hang of his new spiritual form.

"Goodbye brother.. I wish you only the best," He paused, and mumbled more to himself then Xylo, "Perhaps I shall join him..." Helix paused, wondering if he would be able to visit his brother in hell. As he watched the namekian step forward and be sucked down into the black abyss, his last words lingered within Helix's mind.

That he was positive they would see eachother again.

Helix smiled. He'd make a friend out of that mazoku yet. And then, he stepped forwards.

---

Exiting!
I love helix xylo interactions omg
I'd like "Super Pl" for this, but if not i'll take shoki(?)