"Catastrophe?" The words echoed out of her, as hollow as the Tree of Life's remains.
Korra looked at the elder Firebender like he had just spoken in riddle. Not that she was in the best mental shape anyway. The weight of her previous battle had not only taken a huge toll on her body but also on her mind as well. Azula's venomous laughter pierced through her ears, prompting her to bite her own lip. How could she have let her escape?
"You really should sit down Korra, you look like your head is about to explode" Iroh said, wearing that same old smile.
"My head is fine! Azula's the problem! She's out there somewhere and if I don't do something more innocent people are going to get hurt!" She snapped back.
"You will confront Azula again, of that I have no doubt, but there are more pressing matters to deal with." He spoke with such gentleness yet an overwhelming amount of authority that Korra stopped her rant altogether. "Trust me, I understand. I understand the anger that boils inside you. You are desperate to stop her, and rightly so. She excels when it comes inciting desperation and a desire for revenge in people. I have felt this first-hand. However, above all else, you are the Avatar, and the Avatar's sole duty is to protect life as we know it," he stated calmly. "And right now, the world faces a threat that is far greater than Azula, a threat that you cannot ignore."
Korra's anger slowly dissipated, her eyes fell to the scorched earth below her, looking like a child who had just been reprimanded by a teacher.
"...I understand."
Iroh's chuckle came back in full force, ruffing up her hair in the process.
"My, my, you really do remind me of my nephew when he was your age. A fire forever in his belly and an eagerness that gave me no end of headaches" he teased. "Though he never had as much luck with the ladies as you do."
"Iroh!" Korra laughed before she lightly punched his shoulder. A moment of levity before the gravity of the situation once again made itself known. A serious look plastered itself across her face. "What can I do to stop this?"
"Alone? Very little," Iroh said while pointing to the sky above. "The broken branches are radiating the same spiritual energy as the tree, but without any control. Their power is distorting across not just our world, but other realities."
"Other realities?" Korra questioned.
"It's tricky to to explain, so perhaps its best that you witness it with your own eyes" he said as he drew her attention to the shifting sky. Instead of its usual pastel afterglow, there were multiple images weaving through the air. Like moving pictures that appeared for only a handful of seconds. Within each picture appeared to be many strangers and sights that were totally alien to the Avatar.
"What are those?"
"Worlds. Countless ones. Separated yet bound together by the threads of time woven out by the tree," he explained. "Some bare striking resemblances to our own. There are heroes..."
One image showed what appeared to be a shadowy figure bent over a roof top, his face obscured by the darkness, but from what Korra made out his likeness was similar to that of a bat.
"And villains."
A new image, a much more haunting one, showing a man with bleach white skin, dressed in the most bizarre of outfits. He stood over several bloodied bodies, all the while laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world.
"Until now, these worlds have been divided by the Tree of Time. Like the pages in a book, separate yet all held together by the same cover. But now, the worlds have begun to bleed over."
The images in the sky began to distort even further before taking shape again, a shape that Korra knew all too well.
"That's Republic City!"
"It appears so, and one of the focal points of the world bleeding."
"What does this-"
"Hush, keep watching" he instructed.
The picture of Republic City appeared to be moving in real time. Various landmarks fluttered by, all filled with people going about their daily lives. In fact, there was a person in the crowd that Korra could tell from a mile away.
"Asami?" she whispered.
The Future Industries CEO looked to be in a rather melancholy mood, she was sat outside a café, all alone. She stirred her tea with a spoon absentmindedly.
Korra felt the family bite of guilt, eat at her. A medley of adoration and worry filled her. Before she fell any further into her brooding, her attention was drawn to something else in the image, something that was shimmering with an unnatural light, perched just on the edge of said cafe's roof.
"Is that...?"
"A fragment of the Tree of Time," Iroh interjected. "It seems that multiple shards have fallen into our own world, and in doing so are acting as a razor that gnaws at the edge of reality, all the while serving as a beacon for unfortunate souls to pass on through," he explained before looking at Korra with stern eyes.
As if to elaborate the point, the shard's luminous shell began to radiate more intensely, and as it did so, there was a sudden dispersal in the crowd below. It was minute, but Korra saw it. There was another face in the crowd. They wore different clothes, had an odd hairstyle, and had a confused look about them. It was like they had suddenly came into being Right then and there.
"...Soos! Soos what's going on here! Did you and the kids switch out my coffee again?! You are so fired for this!" the newcomer snapped.
Korra's look was beyond bewilderment.
"This is a single grain of the chaos to come. Strangers awakening in strange lands, confusion leading to countless confrontations. The Spirit World will eventually start to feel the same effects and be forcibly integrated into this new viscous cycle. Balance will be broken," he sighed, heart heavy with worry. "You must find them Korra, find the tree's remnants and return them to the Spirit World before our home is torn apart by this unseen calamity."
Asami's face passed through Korra's mind again. She was in danger. The woman she loved was in danger. She wouldn't allow it. She couldn't. This enemy may have been formless, but it was still an enemy she would have to defeat. After Amon's manipulation, Zaheer's poison and Kuvira's brutality, nothing was too much for her. A sentiment she cemented with four words.
"I'll get it done."
"I'm glad to see you resolve hasn't wavered," Iroh commented.
Korra opened her mouth, almost hesitantly, but was once again cut off.
"You're about to ask about Azula, aren't you?" he said softly.
"She's still out there. People are going to die if she's not stopped. I can't just abandon-"
"I am not saying that you should abandon anyone. My niece is a clever one, but her appetites are predictable. Above all else, she only desires one thing; power" he said, his eyes almost glistening with deep-rooted pain. "She has finally reclaimed what she sought for decades, she will do whatever it takes to maintain it. As it stands, there's only one thing that could undo her plans."
"You mean the shards?"
"Find them, and it is likely she will come to you. In the meantime, I suggest that you leave things to Zuko. No-one knows Azula better than him. While he keeps her contained, you and the others must recover the fragments if there is any hope of reversing this."
"He won't be happy that I'll be jumping ship so early."
"Just tell him life happens wherever you are, whether you make it or not" he added with a grin. "For all of his grouchiness, my nephew is one who understands the importance of setting off down a dangerous and difficult path for the sake of the greater good."
"I hope so," Korra added sheepishly. "I'll need to...wait a second," she paused before turning back to Iroh. "What do you mean by me and the others?"
"Hmm? Didn't I say before? Alone you can do very little."
"But I can-"
"Scour from Zaofu all the way to the bottom of the Serpent's Pass. Even if you recover every shard within a day, it is beyond all likeliness that the rest of the tree has scattered across other plains of existence. Without those lost pieces, your efforts will be fruitless." He explained. "Which is why, dear Avatar, you won't have to handle this burden alone."
There was another explosion of colour in the sky, the picture shifting into two distinct shapes. On closer inspection Korra could see that that they were each showing two individuals, each fundamentally different from one another, and from the looks of things appeared to be engaged in battles of their own.
"Who are they?" she asked.
"Your allies," Iroh said with a grin. "I have searched and searched, using my connection to the Spirit World to locate the remaining fragments, and to the best of my knowledge, they appear to have nestled within three realities, including our own. These two shall aide you in your crusade. They are, in many ways, just like you"
"Are they Benders? Avatars?" she questioned.
"Protectors."
"The princess, born a soldier, raised to destroy, and yet chose to take up the sword as a guardian of peace"
The cries of battle echoed out, machines blasting away at the structure of a luminescent stronghold, only to be met by fierce resistance, each member adorned in such a way that one could mistake them for royalty. At the core of the confrontation stood a figure who towered over others, and not just with her height. Radiant blonde locks flowing behind a face steeled with determination, her gaze fixated on the encroaching forces. Raising her hand to the paling sky, her sword cascaded light from its crystalline edges. The company around her shared in her expression, empowered as the heavenly glow encompassed them. It was a look that Korra knew all too well.
"For Eternia!"
"The sorceress, torn between her dark destiny and an urge to right the wrongs of her lineage."
It was all ablaze. Hellfire coated the horizon, with a howling behemoth at its center. It was as large as the Colossus, but this was a creature of flesh. Eyes aglow with a visceral red light, its body emblazoned with dark markings and ritualistic clothing. It was lashing out against a small group below, one of which happened to be a woman clothed in shimmering white, contrasted only by her deep lavender hair. From her hands poured forth equally blinding waves of light that seemed to be repelling the hulking demon. It was so radiant that Korra could have sworn she was looking at someone who had entered the Avatar State.
"I was protected by the monks of Azarath, I was raised by my friends. They are family, this is my home, and you are not welcome here! Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!"
Korra had to take a moment as she watched the events unfold before her eyes. She soon turned to Iroh, who was giving her a quizzical smirk.
"You want me to team up with them?"
"Indeed, though there is no way for you to physically cross over to their worlds. The push and pull of the shards is too unpredictable, and who knows if any of you would survive such a trip," he explained.
"Then how are we supposed to work together?"
The smile that followed gave Korra cause for concern.
"There is a way, though it is most...unconventional."
"I'm going to hate this aren't I?"
"Most likely."