Slight trigger warning ahead of time due to some references to some PTSD, character death, including that of a child, allusions to toxic relationships and brief mentions of graphic violence. Also a lead up to some smuty smut, nothing too graphic, but it's obvious. So just a heads up.
The fire nuns had let the travelers back into the Sanctuary to patch up their wounds and heal their injuries. The Avatar Knight had a nasty bruise around her throat, but after a bit of healing, she was feeling better. Those of this universe had only gotten a glimpse of what Sha-Garou and Dark Korra could do, and that was enough for them to agree to join the fight against them. Something which the crew were very thankful for.
Hattori caught sight of Fire Nun Shali. She was coming up to him, something small clasped in her hand.
"I want you to have this." she opened up her palm, revealing the small brooch. It had the shape of a small, pointed flame with swirling red and gold painted under the shiny gloss.
The metalbender looked at it with a look of wonder on his face. "Ohhh, what's this?"
"A token. You will more than likely leave this universe and never return, but if I am to bear your child, you will have this as a symbol."
Feeling like he just hit upside the head with a pro-bender, Hattori looked around, making sure no one else heard that, before hesitantly taking the pin. "If... If you… m-MY… " He suddenly felt terrible. Would he be leaving a fatherless child in a far away universe? He already knew what it was like growing up without a dad
Oh spirits, is this what mother felt like when she gave up Lin?!
The nun shook her head to calm him down. "Don't worry. It is customary for us. While some of us children of fire are brought in from the outside world, some are born here, like Fire Mother Ty Lee. And judging by the nature of our society, we do seek male travelers at times."
Hattori tilted his head. "Huh. Interesting."
"We give these to them. As a reminder that their child will be well taken care of."
"So I'm not THAT special then?" He joked to which Fire Nun Shali chuckled as she hugged the metalbender.
"Not in this way." She smiled. "Perhaps in others as I did sense your energy when you and your female friend stayed behind. That's how I knew you had the blood of fire coursing through your veins."
"Well, not completely." Hattori had to admit once he realized Shali meant that she knew he was born from a multicultural relationship. "Only my father was fire nation, my mother's actually Toph Beifong, the world's greatest Earthbender."
"Which explains why you have a strong heart too, Hattori Beifong. And so will our child." Shali said with a look of happiness, taking Hattori's hand to feel her stomach where it'd grow.
The Chief was happy enough with that. He then took the brooch and pinned on his belt buckle. "Looks nice..." he said.
"Hey One-Eye, what's taking so long?!" One Arm Kya asked her partner who quickly tried to deny anything and told her to hush or else he'd reveal what SHE was doing with the other nun as the fire nun giggled at this.
Just as Shali was about to walk away, Hattori stopped her. "Hey, just one thing before I go…"
She turned to look at him.
"If the, ah, child is a girl… Would you name her 'Lin'? Please. After my sister who, um, passed away."
The fire nun was a little perplexed. Lin was very much alive as far as she knew, and there was that one of her who lead the metal guard, but the look in Hattori's eyes was sincere and she had the impression there were things she didn't know about his universe. Regardless, she nodded with a fair smile. "Of course, Hattori."
The rest of the crew was gathering themselves up, now with everyone feeling better, or at least as much as they could. Sami had one last talk with Ty Lee II, the new Fire Mother. The nun had a lot of work to do to rebuild themselves and the Sanctuary, on top of the rituals that were meant to be organized to honor Ty Lee's transition to Fire Mother.
"As much as we have to do," She said, "We are powerful. We will be of use to you in the final fight against the evil spirit."
"And you will too have the help of me and my fellow Air Monks." Master Tenzin said as he approached her and gave a bow.
"Thank you both," Sami said. Who else would be best at fighting Sha-Garou other than a group of firebenders that devoted their lives to learning about spirits? Plus, they'd have the help of Master Tenzin and the Air Monks.
"Thuy, young child…" Fire Mother Ty Lee asked said girl who looked at her as she was able to join her friends. "I know you had no knowledge of your bloodline's past, but maybe if all goes well in your quest, might I suggest trying to look into your ancestor's home in your universe? Perhaps you can learn not just of Avatar Knight Hiromi's past, but maybe more about yourself."
The mohawked girl knew what the Fire Mother was asking her, the idea did peak her attention as she felt Mako's hand on her shoulder, giving the older woman a smile. "Perhaps I will, Fire Mother."
She turned towards the rest of the crew, taking Mako's hand along with Sami's. They congregated together and they seemed ready to go.
"Let's hope the next one isn't too crazy," Lin said.
Kya chuckled. "Is there any way we can go back to the Panda Lin universe?"
Lin huffed. "I don't want to be a panda..." she muttered.
Sami got everyone to link together, and powered up the crystal. In a few moments, the Sanctuary around them vanished behind the purple light and they braced for whatever came next.
Fire Mother Ty Lee smiled, knowing that while the final battle will settle the fate of the universes, that these brave travelers would make sure victory was theirs.
"Fire Sister Doremi- I mean…" The voice of another fire nun called out, with the older woman turning to the young girl who realized she screwed up. "Apologizes, Fire Mother Ty Lee."
Ty Lee gave the girl a kind smile. "Need not worry my child, I'm still getting used to the title myself."
It was then both her and Tenzin realized the girl had the old book on Shadow Spirits in hand, opening it, the Master Air Monk wondering himself.
"What is it you found?"
"I myself was curious as to what details this book held about shadow spirits…" The fire nun explained before pointing out some text and an image she had to reveal. "I think I found something that we could have informed our travelers with before they left."
Both Ty Lee and Tenzin looked at what the book held, seeing the image was of two shapes looking to merge with each other, one was done in black ink while the other looked to be painted in white. Then the both noticed one had red dots where it was and the other had blue colored ones.
"I remember seeing something similar from what Khu-Shui showed us and your mother…" Tenzin said as he and the Fire Mother took notice of the text, what it said getting both leader's attention as Ty Lee knew what must be done.
"Before the final battle begins, we must inform her of what we found out."
The crew blinked a few times, the light around them coming back to normal as the world came into view. They shook their limbs a little - the pins and needles from the journeys were unpleasant at best.
Bolin frowned, looking around them. "Guys?"
The roads were smooth, grey tarmac and they were relieved that this wasn't another medieval universe, and then the Satomobiles came into view. Brightly colored, quieter than they remembered, closed off vehicles sped this way and that.
"Are those Satomobiles?" Hattori asked, blinking his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
"Those definitely look different," Asami said.
"And all that," Mako pointed up to the buildings. They were tall skyscrapers almost entirely lined with glass panes. Large, strident billboards caught their eye.
"Is that... Is that Varrick?" Lin said, squinting at one of the adverts. It showed a very familar man with that same ridiculous moustache, dressed in a brightly colored suit holding up a bottle of hair gel with the brand name "Varrick's Beauty Line".
Everything was fast-paced, loud and obnoxious.
"It's so..." Kya started, unsure how to say it.
"Futuristic." Sami finished for her.
"Well I guess it's my fault for complaining about medieval culture," Lin scoffed. "Now look what we got."
The crew took a moment to get their bearings. Just like in the medieval universe, although this Republic City looked different, it still had the same gist to it. They could probably find their way around but the only question was:
"Where to?" Korra asked. She turned to Sami, but the other version of the engineer had no clue.
"Wait, is that-?" Thuy said. They followed her gaze to a sheltered bus stop. A bright yellow, massive vehicle pulled up next to the curb and a group of young people hurried on wearing backpacks. Among them, they spotted someone that looked familiar.
"Could that be?" Lin asked.
"Only one way to find out!" Korra shouted back as she started running to the bus, waving her hand to get the driver's attention before he drove off. He waited as the crew started to board.
"Pass?" He stopped them before they could get any further.
"Pass? No we're not passing. We're coming in." Bolin said, gesturing to themselves trying to head further into the bus.
The driver rolled his eyes. "If you ain't got a bus pass, you can buy a ticket."
Korra frowned, but dug into her pockets. She pulled out a few pieces and handed them to the driver.
"Do I look stupid? What are these - a hundred years old?" He scowled and shoved the money back in Korra's hand. "Off."
"But-"
"Off. Now."
The crew had no choice. They walked off dejectedly.
"So our money is no good?" Korra said. "This universe is stupid."
"We should follow it," Opal replied.
The bus had started driving away, but with traffic, they might be able to keep up with it if they ran.
"Oh no no no," Hattori started waving his hands. "No way I'm running."
Korra and Opal started off down the street, and the rest started to follow.
"Hey! What did I just say!" The Chief called out to them, but no one was listening to him. "Fuck, I'm too old for this." He gave in finally, dashing off after them.
After what seemed like hours, the crew finally stopped, having seen the bus stop in front of a large building where many people, almost all consisting of young people and some adults, entered it, including the figure that caught their attention.
One who turned her head to look at some others, showing she looked just like…
"That's me! We found me!" Korra said, happy they already found her doppelganger from this universe. "Though what is up with those clothes? And the hair?" She asked, just noticing how different this version of her looked before entering the front doors.
"That's all fine and good, but we may have ran into a bit of a roadblock." One-Arm Kya brought up, pointing with her single thumb at a nearby sign which the others looked at.
"Republic City High School?" Thuy said, having read it.
"Wait, so this Korra is younger and still in school? Does that mean we're in school too?" Bolin asked, pointing at his brother before rubbing his fingers together a bit embarrassed. "Because… Me and Mako… we never really…"
"Went to school, how hard is it to say that?" Mako finished, though even he admitted he felt bad for never going to school due to both brothers being forced to live on the streets after their parents died.
"Still, me in school? I must be SO BORED." Korra noted, surprised to actually see a version of herself in a school. The only school she went to was for bending and being the Avatar thanks to the White Lotus.
"Actually, it's more fun than you think, just have to give it a chance, maybe you might find something you like." Asami said with a smile as she held Korra's hand. "And if you and the boys are here, that must mean I'm here too."
"And me and Thuy!" Opal said, putting her arm around her gal pal. "Though this is different for me too as I was actually homeschooled."
"Still, we can't wait for classes to be over with because "You-Know-Who" may be in this universe and looking for this universe's Korra." Kya pointed out as Sami shook her head..
"I don't know, her energy is… back to being that weird form, like it's far away, but still different… maybe perhaps more than before." She said before Lin herself gave a rather surprising laugh, like one her mother would give.
"Guys, I don't like it when she laughs like that." Bolin said, rather afraid at what was going through the female Chief's mind.
"Sorry about that, but I think we may have an easy way to get all of us into that school." She said, giving a glimpse at the other versions of Kya and Hattori. "Something I think both of you are familiar with."
"Police Chief Beifong, what are you doing here? Who are these people? And what's up with that attire?" The Principal asked, rather shocked to see who he thought was the real Chief of Police, if only he knew of multiverse theory.
"Something my mother likes me wearing." Lin deadpanned before smoothly transitioning with her plan, sitting across from the principal, having realized whose alternative universe version she was talking to, having seen his nameplate. "Now, listen here Mr. Raiko, we've gotten some… possible information that a serial killer is on the loose and is headed towards this school."
Raiko's eyes widened behind his glasses, dabbing a handkerchief against his head as a bead of sweat dripped down it. "Oh no, you mean "The Equalist Ripper Murders" have started again?"
"What?!" Hattori asked out loud, both realizing that the version of him was still alive and that he might be in jail. "Wait, I'm-" He tried saying, only for One-Arm Kya to cover his mouth.
"Sorry, he's, ah… kinda still peeved he shares the same first name as the Ripper." She lied, hoping the foolish principal would buy it.
"OH, sorry to hear that. Thank the spirits I got out of being President before those murders happened." Raiko said, at least thankful that was one thing the woman who beat him in the elections had to deal with.
"And no, it's not him." Lin noted, not noticing the slight look she got from Raiko as she continued. "We believe this killer is targeting one of your students, you may know her as the Avatar?"
"Korra Nanouk?" Raiko asked in a shocked manner to which Lin herself was caught off guard by this Korra having a last name, giving a quick glance to the one she knew hurriedly nodding along with it.
"Ye-yes, her. Now, we don't wanna raise any alarms, so what I'm proposing is me and some of my fellow officers-"
"Including the two sets of twins who look like Ms. Asami Sato and Nurse Kya Kisu-Ahnah?" The principal pointed out at the two versions of each woman as Lin sighed, looking at them.
"YES, be undercover as teachers and students here, to try scoping out and hopefully find this killer before she strikes."
"Okay, that's… erm, a serious plan of yours. Mind if you indulge me on who this killer looks like?" Raiko asked, rather afraid that not even two years as principal and already there's a killer on the loose that might make him look bad.
"Trust me, you'll know who she is when you see her." Sami pointed out, going along with Lin's plan.
"So, can we trust you to keep this little operation on the down low, maybe turn the other cheek if needed?" The Chief asked, her steely light green eyes focused on Raiko's frightened beady eyes, moving his head up and down in his frightened form of way.
"Y-YES- erm…" He tried coughing, putting on a braver voice. "Yes, yes I will allow this to go on."
"Thanks a bunch, now…" Lin began pointing out the younger members of the crew. "These junior officers will be undercover as students and will need to be in EVERYONE of Korra's classes, maybe some of her friend's too, just to play safe. Same applies to me and these three…" She said, pointing out the two Kya's and Hattori. "We'll be the teachers in the classes Korra goes to-
"That might be a problem." Raiko had to say, raising a finger up as Lin gave him a glare.
"How so?"
"Ah, well, well some of her teachers just so happened to have gotten some food poisoning, both of the female gym teachers and our agriculture teacher, so some substitute teachers are needed, but you have more than enough senior officers." The glasses-wearing man pointed out as Lin shrugged.
"Alright then, me and… Katara will be the gym teachers…" She began, looking at One-Arm Kya who was surprised that she'd be using her mother's name while the Chief looked at her healer lover and her brother from another universe. "My partner Yue will be the Agriculture teacher-"
"I thought Nurse Kya was your partner?" Raiko interrupted, now just getting on the Chief's nerves.
"Yue's my POLICE partner, not LIFE partner like Kya, focus man! And Hattori... he'll be the janitor." Lin thought of, with Kya rather liking being able to use the name of her uncle's first love and the moon spirit while Hattori... was offended at what he was given.
"EXCUSE ME?! Why the fuck am I the janitor?!"
"Because you're blind in one eye and have tons of scars, you can easily look like every creepy janitor in a mover." Lin pointed out. While Hattori was about to react with such a comparison, even if he hated to admit it was true, Raiko pointed up his finger, having something in mind.
"Actually, if he knows his stuff…" Raiko began, looking at Hattori. "Our Sex-Ed teacher does need an assistant aide, if you wouldn't mind." He asked to which Hattori sighed.
"Eh, I guess it wouldn't hurt helping your teacher out with some little bastards, teaching them all about that…" Hattori said before stopping and realizing something. "Question, what's "Sex-Ed"?"
Raiko blinked his eyes twice at the rather snarky man. "Sexual education, didn't you learn that while you were in school?"
Hattori's entire face blushed as he swore Lin, One-Arm Kya, Bolin, Thuy and Korra were snickering at him, the man with the different eyes stewing his anger as he shut his eyelids tightly before stepping over to Bolin and slapping him upside the head as the earthbender whined in pain.
"I was homeschooled, thank you very much." The metalbender gritted the lie through his teeth before taking a deep breath, opening his eyes. "BUT, I think that I got enough experience to help your teacher teach these kids a thing or two about… sexual education."
"Ah, okay, perfect. If you all wait a bit, I can get you Korra and her little friend's schedules, show you all around the property while class is in session, hopefully let you guys get started as soon as class tomorrow begins. I'll be back" Raiko smiled, happy to be of some actual help to who he thought was the Lin he knew and her officers as he left the crew alone in the office before Lin could ask if he could do it sooner.
"Spirits, I can't believe that actually worked." Asami said, looking at Lin. "Did you think it was going to work Lin?"
"Honestly, I thought 50/50 odds that it'd work." The Chief said in a matter of fact tone. "But hey, mother didn't raise no idiot, too bad I couldn't get him to do it sooner."
"Do you really think we can be undercover long enough for at least two days to protect myself from dark me?" Korra asked, looking at the others. "I mean, you older guys-"
"Watch how you talk…" One-Arm Kya threatened herself as the Avatar took notice, feeling the glare.
"You LOVELY and YOUNG looking adults is one thing…" Korra tried to save face with a cutesy tone. "BUTTTT… what about us?" She said, pointing out herself, Asami, Sami, Mako, Bolin, Opal and Thuy. "Aren't we a little too old to be in school?"
"And we don't even have the proper fashion!" Bolin noted himself as the Chief realized this, facepalming herself.
"Fuck me, he's right. We'd be too obvious…" She droned out before noticing outside the school's window, looking through it.
Across the school was what looked like some clothing store and next to it was another shop claiming they'd buy old antiques, gold, silver and old coins. That got the gears in her head turning as Kya looked outside and too got where her lover was getting at, looking at Korra.
"Hey Korra, you still have those pieces on you?" She asked, to which Korra nodded. "Okay, everyone else, check to see how much you got on you, think we may have a way to get around our currency issue."
Dark Korra shut her eyes as her head throbbed. Even the purple light from the crystal was enough to make her thoughts feel like they were exploding. Her body ached from Azula's attack, but she had to pull through. Unlike the rest of the crew, she didn't have two healers with her at her command.
She slowly opened her eyes, squinting at the world around her. This one sure was just as different as the last.
"Great," she muttered. She walked out from the dark corner in the shadow of the building, looking out at the streets ahead of her. "Some modern universe."
People threw a few glances at her as they walked past. Judging by the way they were dressing and acting, she sure was the odd one out. She ignored them. It's not like it was the first time that was the case.
Republic City still was roughly similar, but so much more confusing. There were too many traffic lights, too many street signs and too many loud, obnoxious lights and billboards. She didn't even know what half the things they advertised were.
She had a vague idea of which way to head, but the energy of the Avatar that she was seeking was difficult to pinpoint in all this noise. She was no stranger to electrical devices every now and then, but this world was brimming with electricity everywhere. When she searched for Korra's energy, the interference sounded like static in her mind.
"Focus..." Sha-Garou said.
"I am doing."
"Focus harder."
She rolled her eyes at the spirit.
"I know you're doing that." he said.
"Good. Now shut up."
"I would if you were doing your job."
"I would do my job if you would shut up."
In the midst of the argument she lost track of the Avatar. She must have taken a wrong turn somewhere and headed down the sidewalk between two skyscrapers. The path narrowed into an alley, and the tall buildings shadowed the light from the billboards here.
"Great. Now where to?" she muttered to herself, not failing to hear the snark remarks from the spirit in her mind.
Then, she frowned.
"Hush a minute," she said.
"Oh, not this again."
"For real, shut up. Listen."
The spirit stopped talking for a moment to hear what she was talking about. They could faintly hear two people's voices.
"I'm gonna go see," Dark Korra said.
"Don't you dare. You have a task to do, remember?!"
"After."
The spirit relented, letting the Dark Avatar round the corner of the alley to see what the commotion was about.
"Last time I'm gonna say this, bitch. Hand me your purse."
"Please, don't do this!" Dark Korra could make out the woman in the dimly lit alley. She was facing in her direction while the man she was talking to had her back to the shadowbender. "I need to make rent this month. I can't give you anything!"
"You're full of shit."
Dark Korra squinted, trying to figure out what the man was holding. His hand was being obscured by his torso.
"Please..." the woman whimpered. "Don't."
The man held his arm up towards her and she started shaking. Slowly, she held her purse out to him and he snatched it, before turning on his heel and running.
Unbeknownst to him, Dark Korra was waiting for him in the shadows, and before he could pass her she leaped out, wrapping a shadow hand around his neck and stopping him in his tracks. He struggled against it, and she heard the metallic clank at her feet. He dropped his knife.
"What sort of coward intimidates people with this shit blade?" Dark Korra drove her foot down onto the knife. The feeble metal snapped in two under her force.
"Ghh..gak..."
"Yeah-yeah. I hear you." She grabbed the purse, yanking it out of his hand.
"Kill him..." Sha-Garou said.
Dark Korra looked at the robber. He wasn't a man after all. He looked too young, and the blisters around his face indicated that he had some habits he shouldn't be proud of.
"N-no," she said. "He's just a kid."
"Kill him. Make him answer for his crimes."
"He needs help. Not death."
"KILL HIM." Sha-Garou commanded, but Dark Korra insisted she was right, and slowly unraveled the shadow away from the young man's neck.
He gasped for breath, holding his bruised throat. He looked up at Dark Korra, eyes full of fear as she looked deep into them with her own red eyes.
"Clean your life up, or I swear to Yue, I'll find you, and I won't hold back…" She began before the young man began scurrying away from the alley as fast as he humanly could.
She walked the purse back up to the woman, who hid behind a broken lamp post, having watched the whole thing go down. She heard the shadowbender talking to herself and she was convinced she was mad.
Dark Korra held the purse out to her.
"Th-Thank you." The woman said, hesitantly taking the bag from her.
"Don't take shortcuts through alleys," Dark Korra said. "Stick to the main roads."
The woman nodded, before hurrying away back into the city.
"What. The fuck. Was THAT?" Sha-Garou asked.
"What?"
"You disobeyed me. Again."
"I'm not killing a drugged up teenager."
"You can't be serious!"
"I couldn't, he didn't need to die, he needed help!"
"OH, but you were fine draining a toddler of her Avatar powers and lifeforce?"
Dark Korra gulped. She stared into the darkness of the alley, remembering the moment vividly.
"You were fine killing her parents in front of her while she wailed... and screamed... and yelled for her mother. Do you think she understood why her father fell on the floor and didn't get back up when she cried?"
The shadowbender clenched her fists, shutting her eyes, trying to get the image of her younger self crying out for her parents as she struggled in the shadowbender's hands.
"Do you think she knew what the red thing coming out of his chest was? And why it was pooling around him?"
A tear rolled down Dark Korra's cheek. ".. shut up." Her throat tightened as she thought about what she'd done.
"See?" She could feel the spirit grin. "You're capable of doing all that. That was ALL YOU. You wanted to do it…"
At that moment, she noticed a broken mirror leaning on the wall, seeing herself in it's reflection, now seeing what she chose to become.
"That's it Korra, take a good look! However cleverly you sneak up on the mirror, your reflection always looks you straight in the eye…" She damned the spirit as his words spoke true. "Remember your anger for Guan and why you're here - you're doing this for revenge and revenge is never pretty. You accepted that when you accepted me."
The Dark Avatar nodded, but her thoughts were drifting away from what the spirit was saying to all those she took power from, those who had to witness what she did. It wasn't like he didn't notice.
"Focus on what Guan did to you. What he did to Asami, to Yasuko. Soon, you'll set things right and you'll be the most powerful Avatar in all the universes."
She pushed all her feelings of remorse to the side. Sha-Garou was right. A little longer and everything will be righted.
For a moment, she had the sense that she had no choice but to believe the spirit. It was too late now for second thoughts. What was done was already done.
"I'll try looking for the Avatar again," she said, trying to sense Korra's energy in all this mess.
Sha-Garou smiled in her mind. "Good little Avatar, GOOD..."
"So, guess we haven't really had the… time to talk to each other…" Kya began talking as she started disrobing out of her clothes to try out those that had caught her attention in the clothing shop.
Outside of the changing room where the healer was in happened to be her one armed counterpart, having already found what she was looking for as she sat on a chair as she listened to the healer.
One-Arm Kya chose to wear a blue and white sports jacket that she knew had to be altered around the right sleeve to suit her, along with a matching pair of track pants, sneakers and socks, One-Arm Kya was still going to keep her collar, the simple dark blue cap she found matched it.
"With all the crazy shit that's been happening with different universes, versions of us and a corrupted Avatar, can't say the idea ever came to mind." The Bloodbender noted, this whole experience of her and her partner joining up in this surreal journey was certainly not what they expected.
After getting the schedules of this universe's Korra and her friends, what classes they were to go to at certain times and all that, the crew first made their way over to that antique store where they offered to sell what old pieces and coins they had on them.
To their amazement, not only did the owner of the shop offer far more than they were expecting, on the count of what they had was considered highly rare in this day and age, but the bills of Yuan they had was also accepted as currency, even if the image of Avatar Aang on them shouldn't have fit with the more modern aesthetic of the universe.
They all chalked it up as Aang having the same taste in fashion in both universes.
With the tens of thousands of Yuan they left the antique store with, all of the crew then went into the clothing store next door to try finding some articles of clothing that'd let them blend in this new environment, within a reasonable budget of course.
"True…" Kya herself agreed with her other self, trying to put on one of these newer "Push-Up Bra's", something she had to get used to as she never wore one before, having always wrapped up her breasts. "So, what is like in your universe, being a cop?"
"Well, it can be hard work, as I'm sure your… lover could attest to." One-Arm Kya answered, it clear from how she worded her term for Lin that she still had some stuff to get used to.
"Tell me about it, you have NO IDEA how hard it was to even get Lin to lighten up all these years and admit her feelings for me, especially with Hattori-" She stopped her words as she hooked in the back of her bra, realizing what she was about to say.
"Being the Equalist Ripper? Yeah, could say the same about your Beifong." The Bloodbender brought up, still trying to get a grasp on it.
Kya felt like she had to know the truth about the "Lin Hanzo" she briefly heard about, how things came to be due to different events happening.
"What was she like in your universe, Lin… Hanzo?"
"You want me to be honest, or try sugarcoating the more bitchy comments of mine?"
"Do as you please."
"Well, since you asked, she sounded different from your Lin. And didn't act like she had a stick up her ass half the time…" One-Arm Kya remembered, one moment coming to mind. "In fact, I remember when Lin was brought into interrogation for the first time that she…" She tried to think of the proper term to describe the Lin she knew, not the one she has been fighting alongside with. "... she was her own person."
One-Arm Kya was in the same room as Chief Hattori as they witnessed Lin Hanzo flash that smile, turning her head to show the scars on the right side of her face as she sat there in a red/black/gold hooded jacket similar to her alternative universe brother's, her white top under it bloodied from assaulting some prisoners earlier.
"... we'd have to go back five years, before... well... I became so damn pretty."
But there weren't just the two scars on her chin like her prime universe counterpart, the entire right side of her face looked like somebody slashed it up with a blade, as was the fact that it seemed like someone used said blade to stab Lin Hanzo's eye right out of her socket.
"But before I do, would you mind doing a girl a favor and please undo the cuffs?" She held his hands out to Hattori. "I have no intention of doing anything stupid. I just want to feel more comfortable."
Kya herself made sure her opinion was clear. "We don't remove cuffs from violent prisoners. You get to keep yours."
Lin was disappointed. "Violent?"
"We saw you stomp down your foot onto the throat of a guy three times larger than you enough times to turn it into paste, then beat his sister within an inch of her life before chucking her in front of an oncoming truck, that kind of qualifies as 'violent'." Hattori himself noted, seeing Lin take a deep breath having heard his and Kya's words.
"I suppose I don't blame either of you for thinking of me as some kind of... monster, perhaps." She then looked into Hattori's mismatched eyes with her single light green eye. "But remember you don't know me, brother, and you want me to talk, don't you?"
The Chief's brows furrowed as she called him brother again, but she was making a valid point. They didn't want her to refuse questioning. "I will do you this one favor," he said. "Any sudden movements, and your toned ass is getting cuffed and thrown back in your cell, got it?"
Lin smiled and nodded.
Hattori sighed and undid her bindings as Kya kept a close eye on… well, Lin's eye, remembering it from nights before, seeming so... different.
"Much better," She rotated his wrists around, stretching them out. "Where were we?"
"Focus, Ms. Hanzo." Kya was getting impatient. "You were telling us about your shadowbending."
""Ah," she chuckled. "Yes, well, years ago I lived a happy life with my wife as a non-bender. A simple life. My wife's name..." she sighed and closed her eye as she remembered the beautiful black haired woman with those dark eyes, then the girl back at Asuki's brothel she met. Even from across the table both cops could tell she was remembering something. "Her name was Sakura. So full of life and wisdom. She loved getting Moshi for her birthday." She paused for a moment, as though those days flashed before her eye.
"That's very touching, but get to the point."
Lin brought her attention back to the Chief. "Then, brother, I caught word of the Equalist movement." Her sad look turned to anger. "And like so many of those damned fools I believed every word that fraud Amon said. The bastard, he was a scheming, lying, masked motherfu-"
"Alright, Hanzo, settle down."
Lin calmed herself again when Kya said that. "I'm sorry. So, as you can guess, I became an Equalist. Hated the benders around me, mindlessly, believed everything I heard as the truth." He shook his head. "And then the unthinkable happened. My own wife…"
Hattori could see where this was going, but he was losing his patience as was Kya. This had nothing to do with shadowbending. "Alright, you got to speed things along and get to the point of the story."
At this, Lin slammed her fist on the table, her single light green eye turning red in anger. "Have some fucking compassion! You don't know what it feels like! I would have thought you, of all people, would try to understand me!"
The Chief was taken aback, quickly glancing and mouthing 'Of all people, the fuck?' at Kya, then he looked back at Lin as he brought out the cuffs. "I told you no sudden movements. Your cuffs are going back on, Kya, get ready to freeze them to her-."
"No! No…" she held his hands up in defeat, her eye turning back to light green. "Sorry just… let me finish. Please."
Kya let out an exasperated sigh. "Get on with it."
She nodded his head, silently thanking her, while also giving a courteous glance at how beautiful she thought the one armed bender was. "My own wife… turns out Sakura was a firebender, a late bloomer. I saw her throw a little flame around in her hands… lighting up candles with just her finger… all the while laughing and giggling at something she never knew she was. It was like watching pure happiness." Lin shook her head, something coming to mind, an odd smile on her face. "Not that I knew what bending was like, the family trait skipped a generation."
Then the look on her face soured once more, knowing what was next.
"It was happiness that was too wonderful to have been tainted by the cruelty in this world." She said before taking a deep breath, holding her head up with her hand, elbow on the desk as she continued. "I realized I was so wrong, so foolish. I also remembered what the Equalists would do if one of their followers had a bender for a partner. Spirits, I didn't even know how they were with same sex couples." The memories coming back to mind started making things harder for Lin to continue, but she pushed through.
"I tried everything to keep Sakura in hiding, told her to stay with her mother, but of course the bastards just had to find out. One day, I walked down to the docks near the Avatar statue, asked by a galpal of mine who was also an Equalist to meet up with some buddies there…."
Lin then turned her head, it clear the memories were taking the biggest toll on her, judging by her eye tearing up. "Turns out it was a trap… it was a damn trap…"
Seeing her eye tear up a bit took both Hattori and Kya by surprise. They would never have guessed the vicious Equalist Ripper could get emotional, but then again we all have someone we love, or loved. If this was an act, it was a damn good one.
"She's dead, brother. She's dead because of me." She cast her glance down onto the table. Her voice had started shaking, sobs forming before she began whispering something to herself. "Oh spirits, I can't do this…" Even Kya had become concerned she wouldn't be able to carry on.
"Are you alright, Lin?" She looked at Hattori, who nodded towards the glass of water on the table. "Do you need a drink maybe?" She was the police lieutenant, not a therapist.
Without warning, Lin raised his head again, looking straight up at Kya. Both she and Hattori flinched, seeing his light green eye had changed color once more, but now, it was bright scarlet. It looked bloodshot, and its edges had gone yellow. "Ms. Lin may not be fit to tell you the rest of the story," she spoke in a voice not of her own, it being of a male's that was deep and unnervingly low. Something big had changed about her, and both Kya and Hattori were struggling to understand it as Lin seemed to turn her head to Hattori. "I'll carry it on for her."
"If you don't mind me asking, was that how your Hattori was?" One-Arm Kya asked, remembering that first time hearing Sha-Garou's voice in place of Lin Hanzo's.
Kya, who had come out in what looked like a sleeveless dark blue turtleneck sweater, a long white skirt and sandals. "I don't know per say, I only got second hand knowledge of how that went in my universe, Lin and Toph informed me of what happened after he escaped." She explained before moving around in place. "Think this suits me?"
"As some free loving spirited version of me, works just fine. I'd go for it." The Bloodbender answered, admitting that she actually pulled the look off, though that may be because of the extra arm she didn't have. "Did the same happen to Hattori, him trying to save his girl, but he… you know." The Bloodbender didn't want to even think of the man she knew accidentally stabbing someone he loved with a sword.
"Worse, it happened to his wife and child."
One-Arm Kya suddenly felt a sinking feeling in her gut, looking at the similar look on Kya's face. "Wha-he… He actually had a wife? And a child?" She asked, the whole idea of the Chief she knew actually managing to have a family, after what happened with Izumi, it threw her in a complete loop.
"A daughter actually. She was the earthbender he tried to hide along with his wife... " Kya explained, crossing her arms. "When I first met him in that bar, I noticed he had no energy or aura for me to feel. For the longest time, I always thought it was because he died and came back from the dead, but now…" She shook her head. "I think it was the loss of his family that caused it to happen."
That got the bloodbender nodding, her single hand to her chin. "Funny, my aura reading skills are a bit rustier, especially compared to yours, but I thought the same thing about Lin back at the bar that night. Now I'm thinking the same may be true about her."
Then a thought came up in One-Arm Kya's mind. "Now Lin, your Lin I mean. What is it you see in her, it can't be… well, how blunt she is."
"No, it's not that." Kya said before shrugging a slight bit with a smile. "Okay, maybe the "Stone cold bitch" persona can be kind of attractive at times, but that's not why I love her." She then remembered all those years ago. "Ever since we were kids, I never felt any attraction towards boys, only girls… and Lin was my first and longest crush."
The waterbender sighed as she turned around to enter the changing room to get the new clothes off her body and put back on her regular clothes. "Her childhood, from what I can gather, is different from the Hattori you know. She didn't have it easy with Suyin and ESPECIALLY TOPH growing up, only in recent years have the three of them been getting along. But when I was around her, she would just break out of that shell she formed up, be happy for a change. Those eyes of hers, the way they shined…"
Then she remembered when she thought she lost her. "Then she and Tenzin began going out."
"WHAT?! Really? Tenzin and Lin? WOAH, that's a big surprise." One-Arm Kya had to laugh at the idea of her younger brother actually being with Lin, let alone the one who later turned out to become the Equalist Ripper. "Oh man, your little brother must have had one brass set. In my universe, he began seeing Pema immediately, love at first sight and all that crap."
That got Kya to give a laugh. "It's funny, I remember being so jealous that Tenzin, well, stole Lin from me." Kya admitted, remembering those feelings she felt seeing the two together, which in hindsight, explained why she always picked on him more in their teen years before getting back to reality. "And mind you, he was NOT a bad boyfriend. In fact, he got the same results with her that I did tenfold and she actually got him to not be all "I must live up to my father's legacy because I'm the kid of his who could airbend!" a lot of the time."
"Nice to know that aspect of him wasn't exclusive to my universe." One-Arm Kya snarked.
"So yeah, my brother was dating the girl I crushed on hard, awkward as it'll ever be, but they were happy and I couldn't take that away…" Then Kya remembered that night. "Then twenty years ago, the topic of children came up."
That mention of the topic got the cop's attention as she watched Kya come out of the dressing room back in her Water Tribe clothes, seeing the sadness in her eyes.
"They had been together for a long while and my brother was considering even proposing to Lin. But before then, the idea of them having children came up and Lin told him she couldn't see herself as a mother."
"Wh-what?" A younger Tenzin asked, feeling like all the airbending in the world couldn't stop him from feeling like he was freefalling from the sky due to the sudden weight put on him once he heard those words.
"I… I can't see myself as a mother, I… don't… think I'd want to raise a child." An also younger Lin reiterated to the Airbending master's surprise as they stood on a balcony in the Air Temple under the moonlight.
"But… how can you say that? I've seen you around children, playing with them and helping 'em out, you'd make a great mother." Tenzin tried to reason, but Lin shook her head. The idea of even having to carry one in her womb scared her as she turned her back to him.
"But those aren't my children, they're either some Air Acolytes or random kids on the street amazed to see the daughter of Toph Beifong!"
That last part got the airbender's attention, slowly approaching her girlfriend from behind, ready to put his hands on her shoulders.
"Is… Is this because of things between you and-"
"I TOLD YOU, I DON'T WANT CHILDREN!" The metalbender cried out, pulling away from her boyfriend, turning to look at him as her steely light green eyes watered, not wanting to truly answer the question he asked.
She didn't want to be her mother and screw up like her.
She then took note of how chestfallen Tenzin was hearing this, the Beifong woman seeing the devastated look in his eyes. "I… I have to go home… have to go into work early… I'll… I'll see you tomorrow."
With that, Lin left Tenzin alone on that balcony, not even putting to use her seismic sensing in her current state, or else she would have known that a brown haired Kya had been eavesdropping on the two, sensing both's energy slowly fading, turning from her spot to see Tenzin take out a ring out of a pocket in his robe in silence.
Kya knew at that moment what that ring meant.
"From there on, the energy in their love just… slowly drained away more and more." Kya explained, shaking her head as she wiped a tear with her wrist. "Soon enough, Tenzin broke up with Lin to be with Pema, who knew what he was feeling and admitted her feelings for him."
Then she remembered the massive freakout Lin had and what she did on the island, trying to have Pema arrested on some false charge.
"And let's just say Lin didn't take things so lightly."
"Think I may have some kind of inkling." One-Arm Kya noted, not in her usual snark filled tone, but one full of pity, realizing that in either universe, both Lin Beifong and Lin Hanzo suffered heartbreak and responded to it in different, yet somehow similar self-destructive manners, If Lin Hanzo's was the more depressing of the two.
Hearing the remorse, Kya nodded, giving a sad smile. "I'm sure." She then remembered what happened afterwards. "At that time, I still had my crush on Lin and knowing things would get worse if something wasn't done, I offered to take her on a trip, just us two going around the Four Nations." She explained, thinking to herself. "It was like when I went off on my own when I was 19, but this time, I took Lin with me… well, more like dragging her along with me."
The grey haired woman had to snort and giggle at the memory of trying to pull on Lin's arm to get her out of the police station, having already packed a bag for her and the Metalbender insisting she had to get back to work.
"But I convinced her and soon enough, we were walking among Ba Sing Se, checking out our mother's home and the Northern Air Temples. Lin was still being stuffy as usual, but some of that old her was cracking through the shell that she formed up because of the break up, so it looked like it was working." Kya explained before that night came up. "Then on our last night over on Ember Island…"
The healer remembered the night by the campfire, the night things between the two went in the direction neither were really expecting.
"Me and Lin, sitting by a campfire, we were talking and the topic of Tenzin OF COURSE came up.
"... Am I to blame?" Lin asked Kya, her eyes focused on the campfire as it crackled, the embers slowly rising up into the sky. "Or was it all Tenzin's fault?"
The waterbender nodded her head, rolling over near her friend. "Do you want my honest opinion?"
"Oh spirits, now I'm dreading it."
"I think both of you are to blame."
"What?!" Lin asked confused at the answer Kya gave, blinking madly. "He's the one who broke up with me to be with that floozy Pema!"
"Hey, you asked for my opinion. I gave you it." The healer said, sitting up next to Lin, unsure if she should admit it. "Look… I… I was there when you and Tenzin talked about… having kids." She knew her friends' light green eyes looked in confused bewilderment, but felt the need to continue.
"I know that I of all people shouldn't be the one talking about heterosexual relationships, but from what I saw, both of you were to blame. Obviously you have issues with being a parent stemming from how your mother raised you and Su."
Lin shook her head, not believing the response, though deep down, she was denying it. "Seriously?! No fucking way, that's not-"
"Oh, come on, it's plastered all over your face!" Kya called out, pointing at the two scars on her friend's face before realizing she made a bad move, choosing to grimace at what she said, turning away as Lin watched her in silence. "Sorry…"
Yet Kya continued anyway. "But… I do believe Tenzin is to blame too, obviously you two were together for a long time, but the idea of having kids before you're even married, that's kind of a rookie move, both in regular and same sex relationships. He expected a lot out of you, possibly bringing in a new generation of airbenders, and you clearly weren't ready for that sort of commitment. Heck, I just wonder how you would have took him propos-"
As soon as she got mid-word, Kya covered her mouth with her hands to stop herself from finishing that certain word, but she already knew she messed up.
"He… Tenzin… was going to... propose to me?" Lin's throat cracked out, her eyes widened at this development. She had no idea Tenzin was even thinking of marriage, that talk about kids was just something that happened to pop up… or at least she had thought so.
Realizing there was no going back, Kya sighed. "Yes… I saw the ring, he was all set to do it underneath the stars… then what happened between you two happened and…" She shook her head, turning to her friend. "Lin, I'm so sorry, I should have told you, maybe if I didn't have my stupid crush on you at the time-"
"You had a crush on me?"
Now the Waterbender was kicking herself like crazy for not keeping her mouth shut, she silently nodded before looking into her friend's eyes
"I still do, you're a wonderful woman Lin. You've always been and I brought you on this trip not just because I didn't want you doing something stupid… but because I wanted to see the girl I liked all those years ago again, just being happy."
Kya shook her head, looking back into the flames burning the woodpile they made.
"But I think that may be-"
Before she could finish her words, the healer suddenly felt herself be rolled over on the towel she was on, just able to look up at Lin's face before the metalbender collided her lips with hers, holding Kya in place as Lin kept at it.
Once lip contact was broken, Kya looked up at her friend in shock. "Lin? What was-"
"Kya, I'm only asking this because I'm not sure if this is some deep rooted sexual conflict or I'm trying to forget the stupidass mistake both me and your brother made that we can't take back, but… please… tonight…"
The Beifong woman looked at her, her eyes unsure of what she was feeling, but Kya could just tell from her energy alone that she needed to do this, just let it all out.
"I need you, right now."
The waterbender herself wasn't sure if she was the right woman for this, as much as she loved Lin, she herself didn't know at the time if what she was about to do was to help the younger woman through a rough time or if she was giving into her feelings.
But one word sealed the deal for seemingly only that night.
"Okay."
Once that was said, Kya leaned up and kissed Lin back, holding her by the chin as both threw in as much as they could into the kissing, their tongues slipping through each other's mouths, becoming entangled.
Then Lin broke off the kiss as she reached down to the end of her white top, pulling it over her own head and threw it to the side before putting her mouth near Kya's earlobe, nibbling on it softly.
Something which earned a light moan from the waterbender as she undid the string to her top and let it fall, leaving her bare breasts out before slipping her own hands under Lin's bra, seeking to slide it off.
That got the metalbender to groan loudly at the touch of the waterbender's hands against her nipples as Kya lowered Lin down, able to get the black bra off, seeing up close her friend's light toned and fit body, especially compared to her own caramel toned shapely and curved body.
"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this Lin…"
That got the Beifong woman to look into the waterbender's teal eyes with her own light green ones, rubbing her thumb near her beauty mark.
"Well, now's the timeeaaAAHH…" She tried to say before moaning at feeling the waterbender's healing hands glide almost softly down her stomach, slipping under her shorts and towards her womanly spot, knowing what was next.
"... FUCK, and here's me thinking I was nice in bed." One-Arm Kya said in surprise at how things went from what Kya told, which the healer nodded.
"We spent that whole night exploring each other's bodies, right until the dawn of the sun, thank the spirits, even the bad ones, we were on a private beach." She said, thinking more. "And while the experience wouldn't really lead to anything developing between us two for a long time, mainly because Lin going back to her work and me taking care of Mother after my father passed away not long after…"
The memory of Kya accidently revealing to her mother of what she had to do for Lin on that beach played in her mind like a mover. While she didn't go into the graphic details, she remembered Katara, during one of the brief moments of happiness during her grief filled period, approving of her daughter's choice to help a friend in need, even considering the circumstances of how it happened and that nothing seemed to come from it other than a simple one night stand.
"I always kept that memory of the girl I loved coming back for that one night, allowing me to finally show how much I loved her."
Kya then turned to her other self, seeing how into the story she was. "Lin's true feelings didn't really spark up until just after Hattori was arrested and after a little squabble between us two… she finally admitted the truth to herself, she finally decided to not keep that Lin I knew locked up, and we have not looked back since. That's why I love her, because for all the little quips and anger moments… there's a beautiful woman who just wants someone to love her for who she is, not as the harsh Chief of Police of Republic City… but just as Lin Beifong."
After hearing all of that, One-Arm Kya gave a bit of a huff, but it wasn't one intended to sound bad, rather, it was more humored and amused as she stood up, patting Kya's arm. "Reminds me of why I loved Reiko so much, even if she wasn't the typical "Girl"."
"She sounded lovely from what you said about her."
"Still is…" The bloodbender said before sighing. "Alright, let's catch up with the others, probably thought we both fell into some hidden portal in the dressing booths.
That got Kya to laugh along with her other self, both happy that the other was there to share this moment with each other. "Won't have no crystal to get us out of there…"