The crew had to say goodbye to this universe's Asami and Korra. They were still in shock over everything that happened, and they had another talk about whether they could count on them in the final fight against Sha-Garou.
It was a difficult decision for the couple, no doubt, but as they talked, Sami didn't feel like she had the energy anymore to convince anyone, so she hung around the edge of the group, leaning against the doorframe to their living room.
She heard tiny footsteps in the corridor and turned to see Yasuko walking clumsily, rubbing her eye with her hand sleepily. The talking must have woken her back up.
The child looked up at Sami, her eyes curious, though tired. She looked like she was trying to understand who she was seeing.
"Mommy?" she said, confusedly. She was distraught from what happened tonight, and she held her hands up to be picked up.
Sami stared down at her for a few moments. The initial shock of seeing the daughter of her other self had dwindled, but she still didn't know how to feel about this. The child clenched and unclenched her fists, her expression growing increasingly more troubled as who she thought was her parent seemed to be ignoring her.
The engineer looked back at the crew. They were still busy talking and they hadn't noticed Yasuko wandering up to the door. She let out a sigh, turning back to the child and before she started crying, she knelt down, shushing her.
Yasuko smiled and walked closer, throwing her arms around Sami. She froze, this simple act throwing her off guard.
As she pulled away, the crystal on Sami's bracelet caught her eye and she took hold of it, bringing her hand closer so she could look. The expression of utter fascination on the child's face was so adorable that it made the engineer smile.
"It's an Uchū crystal," she whispered to her.
"Achoo," Yasuko tried saying.
Sami chuckled. For just a moment, her heart filled with joy, seeing the child happy in her presence.
Something about the crystal must have looked appetizing to Yasuko and she tried to grab it and put it in her mouth before Sami pulled her hand away.
"Not for eating, not for eating." she said. Its purple color might have made it look like rock candy.
The child pouted and she let out a sob.
"Hey, no it's ok." Sami put her arm around her. "It's ok." She pulled her into another hug, shushing her gently as she calmed down against her chest.
A tear rolled down the engineer's face. While Yasuko might have confused her for her mother, Sami knew she wasn't her daughter.
"Alright, then we'll count you in." She heard Korra from across the room. Their conversation must have been coming to an end.
She pulled away from Yasuko and stood up. "Go back to bed," she whispered. The child looked up at her, her eyes still searching her face like something was different but she couldn't tell what. "Back to bed, okay sweetie?" Sami repeated, and Yasuko did as she was told, giving her a silent wave as she walked back down the hall.
"You ready, Sami?" the Avatar asked her.
She turned round to face them, making sure her tears were wiped, and nodded. "Let's go."
As they exited the purple energy light, they caught the attention of a pair of guards, but before they could be questioned, smoke started to rise on the horizon.
"The palace!" Korra yelled. "She's here already!"
They rushed through the streets, followed by the fire nation guards roaming the town. People ran to get to safety as the smoke spread, and an explosion burst through the walls of the palace, which had clued in the crew of where they had landed. From it, two figures emerged, fighting each other.
One was shrouded in shadows, and the other surrounded by swirling flames. The two Avatars were in the midst of battle as the crew jumped to this version of Korra's help.
The Dark Avatar sprung shadows up all around the palace courtyard. She was panting, but this world's Korra was too. She seemed at the end of her powers, as though her and the corrupted version of herself had already been fighting a while.
Dark Korra hurled a storm of sharp shadow spears, and the Avatar's eyes widened, before a wall of fire dispersed them all.
The firebending master known as Zuko pounced out from the hole in the palace walls, and dropped to the ground, his fists flaming. Behind him, Izumi followed her father, assuming her fighting stance and readying her firebolts.
"Protect the Firelord, the Princess and the Avatar!" One of the guards yelled, and the soldiers dashed into the courtyard, getting into position against the intruder.
Dark Korra snarled, contorting the shadows towards them. The inexperienced town guards struggled against the strange powers, but their numbers were enough to throw the Dark Avatar's attention for a moment.
Sami used the opportunity to grasp at her with a shadow hand, managing to grab her hand.
"You again?!" Dark Korra growled, trying to pry her hand free.
Izumi sent forward a fireball in her direction, and she had to use her free hand to block it with a shadow, separating the flames into small flying embers that rained down around her.
Bolin kicked the ground hard, rising up a boulder and heating it up before sending it towards the Dark Avatar from the opposite direction, and she saw it at the last moment, just in time to throw herself backwards out of the way.
Opal followed up, airbending her off balance so she struggled to stay on her feet, arm still held tight in the shadows grip until she slashed at the tentacle with a blade of air she formed in her other hand.
Dark Korra looked around her. She was surrounded and greatly outnumbered. The fire nation was more ruthless than she had expected.
The Dark Avatar wasn't going to give up again after last time, so with her utmost strength, she yelled out, sending the shadows around the courtyard into a shaking frenzy as they grew and lashed out at anything around them, forming into hooked vines that curled around anything they touched.
The crew was taken by surprise, suddenly feeling the vine-like darkness wounding around their legs, climbing up their bodies as they struggled to get free. The more they slashed away at them, the more they grew as Dark Korra focused more and more of her power into them.
As their arms became bound by their sides, the one-arm Kya smiled. "You didn't think I could do this, did you?" She waterbended towards her missing arm, turning the tip into a sharp ice spike as she slashed herself free from the vines, taking Dark Korra by surprise.
She hurled a row of ice spikes in her direction, forcing Dark Korra to dodge as the woman cut Hattori free. The Chief grinned, readying a metal hook and chain in his hand, spinning it around a few times.
The bloodbender took a hold of the Dark Avatar, contorting her body as much as she could as the powerful shadowbender fought hard against it, but it was enough for Hattori to throw out the hook, metalbending it to curl around her.
He yanked hard, trying to bring the shadowbender to the ground, only for her to steady herself, widening her stance against the bloodbender's attempts. As her foot slammed down on the ground, she shadows rippled, squeezing the crew tighter and tighter, causing them to grunt as the vines were crushing their chests.
As both One-Arm Kya and Hattori hurried to free their friends from the grips, the metalbender's wrist was wrapped up by another shadow tentacle, which had begun to slowly drag him into its cast source.
"Hattori!" The bloodbender yelled out as her friend called for her to focus on freeing the others, Dark Korra grinning as she saw the chance to regain herself.
She turned her attention back to this world's Avatar. Firelord Zuko had rushed to her side as soon as he was free of the vines, and stood to protect her.
The Dark Avatar was convinced he was a powerful bender indeed, but having never seen shadowbending before was his greatest downfall against her. She glared into his eyes.
"How about another scar?" She said, springing up a shadowclaw behind the firelord.
He realized what was happening too late, and before he could do anything he was pinned to the ground by the shadow's sharp fingers, their tips touching his neck, just about breaking skin enough for him to feel the small trickle of blood running down his throat. He breathed slowly, not daring to move against them.
His daughter saw this and was ready to rush right into her father's side after freeing herself from the shadows grip when Izumi noticed the man with the mismatched eyes about to be dragged into the shadows, quickly thrusting her fist out towards it.
The flames just hit the living shadow as Hattori's hand was about to enter it, causing it to fall back in after letting go of it's grip.
The Metalbender held his hand back, both at almost having the flesh of his hand stripped from the bones like of his sister's victims, but also the flames too, turning to see it was the princess of the Fire Nation who had saved him.
His mind went blank as Izumi nodded at him before running off to come to her father's aid.
"HEY! ONE EYE!" He heard the Kya he knew call out to him, snapping his attention back to freeing his allies, slashing his hook at a shadow grabbing onto Lin.
"And as for you..." Dark Korra said to this world's Avatar, having decided to stroll up slowly towards her target.
This Korra rushed to help Zuko from the shadow claw, but she was grabbed herself by a shadow hand, clasping her wrists together behind her back.
The Dark Avatar smiled as she approached her. She wasn't going to lose again.
That was until Opal sprung up into the air, airbending herself between them and blowing gusts against the shadowbender, forcing her to back up to regain her balance.
Dark Korra was beyond furious at the interruption. With a roar, she waved her arm through the air, causing a shadow hand to hit Opal out of the air. She braced herself, using airbending to break her fall, only to be hit dead on by a firebolt from the Dark Avatar. The flames hit her chest, sending her flying backwards onto the ground with a loud grunt.
"OPAL!" Bolin yelled, rushing over to his girlfriend, weaving out of the remaining vines in desperation.
Seeing him free wasn't a good sign for Dark Korra. She looked behind her, seeing the rest of the crew and the fire nation soldiers had been set free from the vines. They walked towards her in their fighting stances as she panted, holding their Avatar and Firelord hostage.
Then she felt the heat of a ball of fire right behind her head, close enough to feel it, but not enough to burn her hair. Yet.
"Let the Avatar and my father GO!" Izumi threatened, ready to unleash the fire into her hand right into the back of the intruder's head the second she or the shadows made a move. "You have no other choice."
Dark Korra considered her next move, but there were too many of them, and the fight had gone on too long, allowing reinforcements from throughout the city to come to the Zuko of this universe's defense.
"You need to retreat." Sha-Garou told the shadowbender to her confusion.
"I'm powerful enough. I can take them," she whispered to herself, catching her breath.
"Repeat that?" Izumi asked, keeping a cool head.
The spirit sensed her anger after failing in the last universe. Dark Korra wasn't thinking straight. "There's power in choosing your battles too." he told her. Now he was telling her to retreat?!
Dark Korra took a moment, staring at the forces gathering around her. He was right. She took a deep breath.
"You haven't won yet," she said, grasping her gloved hand before vanishing in the purple energy.
The claw pinning Zuko down retreated and the shadow tentacle holding this universe's Korra slowly disappeared. The fire nation soldiers looked around them in shock, but the Fallen Avatar had already evaded them.
Zuko slowly stood up with Izumi's aid, wiping away the blood from his throat, and feeling the damage. It was nothing more than a few cuts. He looked across towards the Korra he taught firebending to. "Are you alright, Korra?"
She nodded. She was shaken up, with no clue what just happened, but she was still alive.
He looked then turned to his daughter who gave a simple, but thankful nod of the head. With the vines gone, she let out a sigh of relief.
The crew watched as someone rushed out of the palace, pushing past the guards towards Korra. Their eyes widened, seeing this Asami's watertribe influenced getup and her darker skin complexion. It was then that they also realized this Korra was wearing fire nation clothing and had lighter skin than her other counterpart, who was surprised to see herself look in this different manner.
As Bolin knelt over Opal, the airbender was slowly coming to. She groaned and tried to sit up, her painful chest making breathing difficult.
"Opal? Are you ok?" he asked, his voice full of worry.
She nodded slightly. "Yeah." She held onto his shoulder to help steady herself. "I'm alright."
"Oh thank the spirits! I was so scared!"
His girlfriend let out a small chuckle, patting his shoulder. "It's only a scratch." Her husky voice from her burning throat would have said otherwise, but she didn't want to worry Bolin any further.
Kya walked over to them, healing water in hand as she got to work on the airbender as Bolin insisted on staying at her side, a thought coming back into mind.
This world's people looked at the crew, realizing their strange resemblances. They didn't know what to do about them, and the guards stood around awkwardly waiting for an order.
Sami sighed. She knew what was coming. "We can explain," she said, her voice tired of saying the same things over and over again, but after seeing the fight the fire nation put up, they absolutely had to have them as allies.
Zuko hesitated a moment, staring at the doppelgangers of the people he knew. "Alright," he agreed. They had after all helped them in the fight against that evil version of the Avatar he knew. "We'll show you inside."
The inside of the palace was banged up, with scorch marks running along the walls and floors, and broken furniture lining the halls. They were brought to the Firelord's throne room, treated to some tea as Sami and Korra explained the situation.
As they were talking, Hattori stole a glance at Izumi. Seeing her brought back a hurricane of memories from his own universe, except this Izumi was a firebender and still the Princess. He had to admit - seeing her bend fire had definitely turned his head.
For a split second, he thought as he turned away, this Izumi stole her own glance at him. But that couldn't be, she didn't know him here.
At least that's what he thought as his mind went back to the night both he and the Izumi he knew shared their first kiss. And then the argument that ended their relationship..
Asami took the time to notice that since this universe's Korra was Fire Nation, that had to have meant that Aang had been from the Earth Kingdom.
"I see," Zuko said, hearing the end of the explanation. "Then we did well to protect Korra." He looked over at the Avatar. Her girlfriend sat at her side, her expression growing more and more worried as she heard what the Dark version of Korra wanted to do all along.
One of the attendees walked around the table, refilling their cups with freshly brewed tea as the Firelord considered the preposition of joining up with their alliance.
"You bend shadows too. There's a spirit inside you too, isn't there?"
Sami nodded, allowing her eyes to briefly turn glowing red before back to their natural color. "Her name is Khu-Shui. She's on our side. She's helping us against Sha-Garou… she saved my life."
The Firelord nodded. He had never heard about shadow spirits before, and trusting one but not the other seemed strange. It was times like this Zuko wished his uncle was still alive, he might have had some knowledge of them.
"I think they're telling the truth," Izumi said, looking at all those who had helped her nation in the fight.
Zuko looked around the table at his Avatar and the water tribe Asami. They also seemed to be in agreement. "Very well then," he said. "Then the Fire Nation will have your back in the fight."
The crew let out a sigh of relief. Having Zuko's soldiers would be a huge advantage.
"Thank you," Sami said.
"Ah, thank Raava…" Thuy said, having held her breath as Mako patted her shoulder.
"And I'll be there too, other versions of… me, Asami, friends, think we should come up with nicknames?" The universe's version of Korra asked, now having to get used to two, if possibly more versions of herself, let alone her friends and her lover. "I think they should have nicknames." She noted to her fiancée, who held onto her hand.
"Was actually thinking the same thing." The Asami from the Water Tribe said, kissing her cheek as both Korra and Asami took notice of the betrothal necklace's both women had on. They were reminded of the necklace Kya always wore.
"Take all the time you need to prepare for your journey." The Firelord added, taking another sip of his tea. He smiled at the taste. It was just as his Uncle Iroh used to make it, though he was never able to get it quite as perfect. He wondered if Toph ever got close enough.
As they finished their tea, Bolin turned to Opal. "Could I... Could I talk to you outside?"
The airbender raised her brows at his nervous tone. "Sure," she said, following him out into the courtyard as the rest of the crew stayed behind.
The air outside was still hot from the fire blasts, and the ground was ruined from the impact of the fight. Still, the earthbender paced around nervously before turning towards his girlfriend.
"So I was really scared when you got knocked over." he said.
"Bolin, I'm fine, I promise."
"No, I mean I realized how easy it is for one of us to get hurt. Like really hurt. And I'm scared with all these close calls that I won't get the chance to say something." His palms were sweating and his mouth had gone dry. In his head, he was telling himself to keep it together, but in reality, his voice was shaking.
Opal looked at him attentively. "What are you talking about?"
"Umm... well..." He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to find the right words.
The airbender's mind drifted to what she thought was happening, but she didn't want to rush him. She waited patiently as he gathered his thoughts.
"So you're like... awesome... and stuff," he started saying, earning a little chuckle from his girlfriend. "And ummm... well..." He stopped trying to say nice things, realizing he wasn't exactly nailing it, and instead reached into his pocket. He pulled out the small black box with a shaky hand, fumbling with it and nearly dropping it before catching it again, mumbling under his breath. "Ummm, right. Ok." He steadied himself, opening the little box up to reveal the ring inside.
Opal's eyes widened as her boyfriend cleared his throat. Her thoughts rushed back to the Red Lotus universe when she realized what he wanted to do.
"So, Opal... will you marry me?" He gulped, red in the face.
A huge smile spread on the airbender's face as she rushed to hug him tightly. The wound on her chest protested, but she held him close nonetheless. "Yes!" she said into his shoulder. "I will."
Bolin let out a huge sigh of relief and as they pulled away, he clumsily slid the ring onto her finger.
"So you're my fiancé now?" he said.
Opal chuckled. "Yeah, that's usually how this works."
Bolin smiled widely. "Woo!" He punched the air excitedly. "I'm engaged!"
His fiancé laughed with him. Though she might have realized this moment was coming a while ago when she found the ring, it still came as a surprise to her. And a happy one too.
Something she knew was needed.
While some of the others in the crew had begun laying out a plan, some felt like they needed at least some time to rest.
Such as Hattori who politely asked where the closest couch was to the Fire Lord, who gave him a humored chuckle, telling him about a guest bedroom that wasn't too far off from the throne room they were in before telling him not to oversleep.
After thanking Zuko, Hattori let his allies be as he exited the lavish area, just as he heard Bolin and Opal come back in with some form of news he wasn't able to hear all of, walking down the halls by himself.
As he looked for the bedroom, memories came to mind of when he was only six years old in his universe when Toph brought him and Suyin to the palace for the funeral of Fire Lady Mai, who had passed away peacefully in her sleep after having fought some unknown illness.
He remembered seeing so many sad people in attendance paying their respect to the grieving Fire Lord, from diplomats, civilians and those who served in the Fire Nation armies, to even the ruler's own family members.
Hattori also remembered seeing his mother's friends also in attendance, having privately given their condolences to their longtime ally. He even saw his mother give brief, but noticeable tears for him and his late wife.
He knew his mother and this was one of the few times he really saw Toph cry. The only other notable instances he remembered was when Avatar Aang died along with his sister Lin passing away in his arms after taking a falling piece of metal to her back and her funeral.
It was then that Hattori noticed a room during his walk, one with couches, chairs and a fireplace, with the walls full of so many books and scrolls.
Looking inside, it reminded him of a similar room he went into during the service where he and his friends stayed in for some time before the service.
Entering it, Hattori looked at the massive shelves full of books and their spines, turning around, seeing in his mind a younger him sitting and laughing as Kya played around on the couches, Bumi looking at a globe and Tenzin trying to look at the books. Suyin wasn't around as Toph had held the infant in her arms during the entire time they were there.
Then the playing and ruckus stopped once Fire Lord Zuko approached the entrance of the room, with a quiet Izumi at his side, holding a doll in her arms.
"Izumi, would you like to play with the others?" He asked his daughter, knowing that between the two of them, Izumi was affected the most as Mai was really close to her daughter, seeing her nod silently.
The three siblings, with Tenzin taking his attention away from the books and both Kya and Bumi knowing now wasn't the time for games, approaching the girl, giving her hugs and saying they were sorry as Zuko left them be.
"Thank you." Izumi said, her eyes filled with sorrow behind her glasses.
"Your mother was very nice, she one time slipped me some extra pastries during a fancy dinner I went to." Bumi said, trying to cheer up his friend, but saw she wasn't reacting.
"Bumi, I don't think that's what she wants to hear about." Kya chided her older brother, giving a small slap on his back with her single hand.
"I hope she's happy among the spirits." Tenzin too said to the sad girl, who felt her eyes water more and rushed up onto the couch next to Hattori, who hadn't moved from his spot, holding her doll tightly in her arms.
"Way to go Tenzin, you made her cry more!" Bumi called out to his younger brother who objected.
"I didn't mean to!"
"I'm gonna tell mommy and daddy!" Kya said as she and Bumi gave way to leave the room, the young airbender calling out to them to stop as it was an accident, leaving Hattori alone with Izumi, the boy not knowing what to do with the sad girl.
"... Hey Izumi…" He began after a moment, not getting a response from the princess, before noting the doll in her hand, noticing it had a small resemblance to her mother. "I like your doll."
Izumi sniffled, looking at the boy with the different looking eyes. She had met him once or twice before, but this was the first time she really got the chance to talk to him, and he to her.
"Thank you Hattori…" She said, looking at the doll. "My… my mommy gave it to me a year ago for my birthday. She said to take it with me wherever I go, so she'd always be there…"
Hattori, for as young as he was, already figured out why she clung so deeply to the plush doll at the moment and why she cried at Tenzin's words.
Izumi didn't want her mother in the spirit world, she wanted Mai to be there with her.
The young boy knew her pain in a similar manner.
"I'm sorry about your loss…" He began, slowly sliding his hand towards the one holding the doll, trying to be of some form of comfort.
That and he was hoping she wouldn't react harshly to a boy touching her, but she didn't. She just looked down at his hand before moving her sad gold eyes towards Hattori, seeing as he held his head down.
"At least you got to know your mother." The boy said before looking at her with both his own gold and blind eyes. "I never knew my father."
"Really?" She asked as Hattori nodded.
"Yeah. my mommy says he died before I was born." The boy said, remembering what Toph told him one night when he asked about his father. "He actually served in your daddy's army."
"He did?" Izumi asked again as Hattori nodded, sadness forming in his eyes. "Wow, he must have been brave."
That got a small smile from the kind boy who knew what she was feeling.
"That's what Mommy said." Hattori said before something came to mind. "I mean, he had to have been, being in the Fire Nation Army and all that!"
Izumi couldn't help but find herself giggling at how jovial Hattori became when they heard footsteps and saw it was Toph with Suyin in her arms. "Hey, Hattori, it's time for- OH, hello Princess Izumi…" She noticed the small girl's heartbeat, remembering that Zuko said she was in the room too. "Sorry, but the service is beginning."
"Thank you Ms. Beifong." Izumi said, trying to give a respectful bow to the Chief of Republic City police, who smiled back.
With that, both children got off the couch and began making their way when Izumi stopped in front of Hattori. "Hey Hattori?"
"Yes?" He asked before she looked down, making him realize he was still holding her hand, a slight blush of red on his face. "OH, right! Sorry-"
"No… it's okay. Can you keep holding my hand, until we get there?"
The boy with the mismatched eyes was caught off guard and a bit speechless, but something about those golden eyes behind those glasses seemed to just make him feel… something he didn't know…
… but he liked it, and unknown to him at the time, so did Izumi, so Hattori held onto her hand as they left the room.
That was the blooming of a relationship between both the children of Toph Beifong and Fire Lord Zuko.
Hattori sat on the couch, remembering that day before other memories of him and Izumi together played out, from playdates whenever either was in town, to seeing each other more when they were teenagers in Republic City with Kya, Tenzin, Bumi and Suyin.
Then there was when they shared their first true kiss under the night sky on Ember Island.
But then things just fell apart.
"Excuse me?"
Hattori's attention broke from his thoughts as he lifted his head and turned to see Fire Lord- NO, Crown Princess Izumi standing there in her regal attire, still wearing those glasses with her hair in the bun.
"I-I-Izumi?!" The metalbender sputtered out, trying to get up from the couch with his face reddened, only to trip a bit, almost into the bookshelves, but he stopped and tried to regain a more proper form, bowing to her. "I mean Crown Princess Izumi, how can I help you?"
To Hattori's amazement, he heard the daughter of Fire Lord Zuko give him a light, if amused laugh as she entered the room, sitting on the couch.
"Just call me Izumi, Mr. Hanzo."
"H-Ha-Hanzo?" Hattori stuttered out the last name as the glasses wearing woman looked at him.
"That is your last name, yes?"
Hattori shook his head. "Ah, actually, n-no… It's Beifong, Hattori Beifong." He corrected her, now a bit curious as he looked at her sit where he was sitting, patting on the spot next to her for him to sit back down, which he did. "That… why did you call me that?"
"I thought you looked like someone from my past." Izumi answered, getting a good look at the man, who felt himself internally blush madly at this different version of a past lover so close to him.
"Are you positive about that?"
This got a slight snicker from the regal woman, who grabbed his head by the chin, looking into his blind eye. "I've only met one man in my entire life who had one blind eye…" Then she turned his head to the other side, looking at his gold eye. "And one gold eye."
The Chief started to have a feeling where she was getting at. "That… I think you may have me confused with… the version of me from this universe."
The Princess nodded, Hattori thinking to himself how beautiful she looked for her age, still exactly like the one he knew. "I had a feeling once Mrs. Sato, the shadowbender one and your Avatar began explaining multiverse theory. But I wanted to make sure for myself."
"Actually, I'm not from Korra's universe, or Sami's for that matter. Me and Kya, the one armed one, we come from our own universe." Hattori explained as he saw Izumi listen. "But I get it, it's all very confusing. Apparently in one universe full of animal people, I'm a bobtail cat. And Lin, Opal and apparently my mother are pandas, not really sure how that worked, considering my father there had to have been a cat."
The daughter of the Fire Lord could see into him trying to bring some levity into the situation.
But it was obvious to Izumi through his eyes that she could see that Hattori remembered her, or at least a different version of her as well, and was using humor as a coping mechanism. "Interesting…"
The Chief noticed how she was acting and realized what she was thinking, the thought of himself in this universe peeking his attention. "You said you knew me, how?"
Hearing the question, the princess nodded. "Many years ago when I was a teenager, me and some friends of mine, we decided to… "cut loose" if you will, so we snuck out of the palace one night to check out the local area in disguise, be among the locals. There we found this bar and decided to partake in the drinking of alcohol."
Izumi began remembering more of that night with her and her friends as they drank, Izumi trying her first real glass of Fire Nation Whiskey. She quickly realized it was not for her, afterwards asking for water for the rest of the night.
"It was different for sure, there were no guards watching every move I made, even know my father taught me to defend myself if I had to." She explained, bending up some fire in her hand as Hattori looked amazed as she easily moved it along her fingers like that trick with the copper pieces.
"But at the same time, it just felt nice to not be Crown Princess Izumi, but just regular old Kana."
"Kana?" Hattori asked when hearing the name as Izumi gave a small cheeky smile.
"My alias, case I ran into any trouble." She said before remembering that moment. "Just then, some disgusting moo-sow's began hitting on us. They tried saying and doing every vulgar thing to get our attention. We told them we weren't interested, and one actually tried to backhand me."
Then Izumi smirked a bit. "So I returned the favor. But then the bastard hit a chi point in my wrist, I couldn't move it for a bit. But that's when I heard the words come out of his mouth. And I quote…" She then began trying to impersonate the voice of a guy. "Come on, is that any way to treat a lady?"
"Okay, that was a bad attempt at sounding like a guy." Hattori noted as Izumi shrugged.
"I tried." She said before resuming, remembering the man who said those words. "There I saw him, or, well, you. When the bastard wasn't paying attention, preparing another Chi strike, a beautiful katana blade slid just an inch away from his throat. He told him to leave me and the girls alone."
Then the Fire Princess had to chuckle at what happened next.
"Of course, the oaf or his friends never took "No" for an answer and tried attacking. What happened next…" She gave a slight, if humored huff before looking at Hattori. "Let's just say your other self taught them a very good lesson in being polite to women."
Now it was Hattori's chance to laugh, not how he remembered meeting Izumi, but he liked it. "What happened next?" He asked
"Well, because your other self was so nice, I offered to buy him a drink… only because he broke his own glass of whiskey over one of those moron's heads."
"Uh-huh, that's certainly a "Me" thing to do." Hattori agreed with that last part.
"Nothing else crazy happened that night, we talked, we sang along poorly to the music the musicians were playing… we just had fun together." Izumi explained, remembering the fun night the two of them had together. "The furthest we got was a kiss or two, but that was it. By the end, when I had to take the girls back to the palace, we said our goodbyes."
Then Izumi remembered the last words the both said to each other. "Up to that point, neither of us had given each other our names. He said his name was Hattori Hanzo, and I said my name was Kana. I never saw him again after that night, don't even think he found out who I really was."
Listening to the story and seeing how solemn the glasses wearing woman got, Hattori had a feeling she might know more. "Do you know what happened to him?"
The Chief didn't need an answer to know she knew what happened to his other self, from what Sami said, it happened in other universes.
"Months ago, I heard his name again in the news…" Izumi began, a look of sadness on her face. "Turns out he became a serial killer in Republic City known as the "Equalist Ripper", a shadowbender. All because some Equalists caused him to accidently kill his wife and daughter before dying himself. Turns out he was corrupted by a Shadow Spirit, but died saving Lin's life."
She then looked into Hattori, who lowered his head, damning the shadow spirit that caused this. "Did it happen in your universe too?"
"And some others." Hattori noted before remembering Lin. "But in mine and Kya's, it obviously wasn't me who was the Ripper… it was my sister, Lin Hanzo."
The firebender's eyes went wide hearing this, seeing how mournful Hattori was at remembering this. She knew it was maybe best not to pry more into the subject.
"Did you know me in your universe?"
That got a sudden laugh from Hattori, who looked at the princess. "Know you? Shit, we were friends growing up because of our parents! And then we…" Izumi then saw the metalbender's lip quiver a bit as he looked down. "We were lovers…"
That… actually made sense to Izumi, who admitted to herself that seeing this other version of the man she met once, it brought back the brief feelings she felt for him, even if this clearly wasn't the same Hattori Hanzo she knew.
"I think the thing I liked most about her, is that Izumi, the one I knew, not… you," He noted, moving his hand up and down in front of her. "Was that she didn't define herself just by her family's legacy, she lived her own life. Lived it with me… she didn't care if I was just some beat cop who happened to have been the son of the Chief of Police…"
Hattori then looked forward, seeing the image of his younger self comforting his friend at her mother's funeral. "She just loved me for me… and that's why I loved her."
Hearing this, Izumi could sense the metalbender still held feelings for her other self, sensing there was pain that remained in him. "What happened? Why aren't you with her anymore?"
Hattori turned to look at her, the image of the past vanishing. "Is it really that obvious?"
"Like a Polar Bear Dog dancing to "Secret Tunnel"." Izumi answered with a smile that was both sad and humored.
That made sense to the Beifong man who shook his head, remembering the day. "When her father abdicated the throne. By the way, that's one difference between your universe and mine, Korra and Sami's." He pointed out to make sure Izumi didn't get confused. "He bequeathed the status of Fire Lord to Izumi…"
He then gave a forced smile, looking at the woman next to him. "You got to be Fire Lord, and… she needed a Fire Man… partner, I forgot the proper title for the guy when it's the woman who becomes Fire Lord.."
"Fire Gentleman." Izumi answered for him, having to give a smile at how he forgot.
"Thank you." Hattori noted before his face saddened. "But… the thing was… I couldn't do it. Like, I loved you- SORRY, I loved Izumi, my Izumi." He corrected himself, his feelings coming back up. "But… having to leave my old life, start a new one in royalty, even with the woman I loved…"
Tears began falling from both Hattori's gold and blind eyes, remembering the last words both he and Izumi said to each other. "I couldn't do it. I was scared, here she was, the most beautiful woman I've seen, the closest person in my life next to my family, asking me to be her husband, to be the Fire Gentleman, to help her lead the Fire Nation… And I said no."
Hattori lowered his head. "I didn't think that I, some half Earth Kingdom, half Fire Nation guy could live up to her life… I was a coward. We talked back and forth, her trying to convince me that she didn't care how I was raised, that she loved me regardless…"
Izumi patted Hattori on the shoulder. "But I just couldn't do it, live up to what I thought at the time standards would be, even though she said she didn't care… and before she could finish what else she had to say, that was it, I walked out on her. Within the next year, she'd ended up with Kyo, had Iroh II, then Miyoshi… and I just remained alone, other than the occasional one night stand."
"And if you had the chance to go back and say "Yes"?" Izumi asked to which she saw Hattori nod his head.
"I'd jump on it more than a Flying Lemur on cabbage."
Izumi saw the saddened Chief think back in his thoughts at how things could have been, thinking back to her own husband. "My Kyo, he passed away many years ago, did the same happen in your universe?" She asked, getting another nod from Hattori. "Have you ever thought of possibly trying to get back with her and apologize?"
"The idea has come up once or twice, but either something bigger was happening, like Kuvira with the Earth Empire… or I just pussed out like a bitch." He admitted, remembering the most recent time both had seen each other during Kuvira's invasion, it was clear the damage was still there between the two.
"Hattori, I can't speak for my other self as things happened differently here…" Izumi began as the Chief listened. "But I loved Kyo, all the years we were together, they were the happiest in my life, he was a good father to Iroh and Miyoshi. And even after he died sooner than he should have, I still love him. That said…" She noted, thinking back to that night when she was younger. "Remembering your other self, who knows what might have happened if we saw each other again, maybe he would have become Fire Gentleman, maybe not. But some stuff, you can only wonder and look back on with fondness or curiosity."
Then she got up, holding the metalbender's hand as still was sitting. "Other stuff, you may regret not making a certain choice and it'll haunt you, making you wonder "What if?"..." She then pulled Hattori up and looked into his different looking eyes as he looked into her golden ones. "Some people never get a second chance, so maybe if we all survive this, maybe you should at least heal your wounds and try talking to her."
Hearing those words, from a version of an old lover, it made Hattori think, giving it some thought before shaking his head up and down, looking back at Izumi as he held her hands, bowing to her. "You're right. Thank you princess."
Said princess smiled and leaned into the side of his face, giving him a light kiss on the cheek, smiling at how badly he blushed at this. "I told you, just call me Izumi."
With that, she made her way out of the room, not even caring that the Kya that Hattori knew was standing there near the entrance, having just watched what happened in amusement, especially at how her friend just now noticed her.
"Shit, how long have you been there?"
One-Arm Kya couldn't help but give a shiteating grin, the side where the arm was missing leaning on the doorframe. "Oh, since around the end of Izumi's story where she was Kana."
"Right." Hattori said, not even that bothered that she was eavesdropping, deciding to change the topic. "So, what was, ah, Bolin and Opal talking about when I left? I missed it."
"OH, the silly bastard proposed to her. And she said yes." Kya said with a smile, happy for the two, sensing what Hattori was trying to do as he nodded.
"Really? Huh, good for them." He said as paced a bit in a line before beginning to walk out of the room "Gotta give them my congratulations when we get back, maybe threaten Bolin into treating Opal like a princess-"
"Hattori…" Kya said, just as he was about to pass her, putting her single hand on his shoulder to stop him, her voice no longer full of snark, but of comfort. She knew about his relationship with Izumi, but didn't know the whole story of how it ended and what she heard was the first time she knew. "Are you feeling okay?"
Thinking back quickly to what Izumi said about what he should try to do, Hattori looked at his close friend before turning back around, now seeing the image of him and his Izumi as teenagers in the room sharing a kiss, nodding. "Yeah," He said before looking back at her, a simple smile on his face. "Much better actually."
With that, he and Kya walked back to the throne room.