Content and Trigger warning- This chapter contains PTSD, references to death of loved ones, including a child, and a reference to rape. So just a heads up. Be sure to give it a review and fave!
"... So after Sami explained things, we all used her 'ahchoo crystal' or whatever the heck it's called to hop through different dimensions, from one where the Red Lotus were actually able to capture Korra and turn her into their most powerful member..." Lin kept saying.
"A universe where things between the Fire Nation and Air Nomads were switched around during the Hundred Year War…" Opal brought up.
"And one where there were animal people, like Lin and Opal, and I assume you and Suyin were pandas. I wasn't around for that one, but apparently I was a bobtail cat, which I'm still trying to wrap-" Hattori said before Toph raised her hand up over his mouth, silencing him.
"Alright, I think I heard enough. What you three are saying is quite the insane story, quite detailed to be not true, but still insane…" The master earthbender explained as she lowered her hand.
"So, does that mean you believe us?" Lin asked, a small grin forming on her face as she realized this may have worked.
"Are you kidding, FUCK NO!" That straightforward response from the old woman sunk that grin off of Lin's face along with the other two. "Truth be told, I can't even tell if you are telling the truth or not, you three honest to the spirits actually believe your crackpot stories, which makes it impossible to read your heartbeats! It's Azula all over again!"
That in turn earned a groan from Hattori.
"Oh Raava, don't even get us started..."
"Look, we've been telling you all the truth this whole time!" Opal cried out at this other version of her grandmother. "We're your family from other universes, grandma!"
"Yeah, I'm a guy version of your one daughter, we even have the same taste in women!" Hattori yelled out, pointing his finger at Izumi just before Hatori suddenly aimed the tip of her sword between his legs, just avoiding the groin as his eyes went wide.
"Like you'd have a chance with her. And we're nothing alike."
"Well, you're not wrong there…" Hattori began, mockingly thinking to himself as the gold eyed woman took back her blade. "I mean, at least I'm not some crazy bitch who became a shadowbender all because-"
But his words were interrupted with a quick fist to the face from the one-eyed woman who became enraged at his choice of words.
"AAHH!"
"YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU KNOW NOTHING!"
"AH, DAMMIT! Why the nose?!" Hattori cried out in pain, feeling blood begin to drip from it. "I hope my blood gets on the good linen!"
"Look, we get what we're telling you sounds crazy, heck, Lin keeps saying it is, but it's all true, every single sentence!" Opal pleased, trying to get them to listen as Izumi shook her head.
"You've given us nothing but nonsense, you and your friends have all been stalking Korra and her friends, while taking their forms since this morning."
"Because we are them, we've been trying to protect her! What do we-"
"Le-fa-ta-va…" The six then noticed Lin having lowered her head, making odd sounds out of her mouth in rhythm.
"What's Not-Me doing?" The alternative Lin asked as the sounds from Lin's mouth began to become more clearer.
"Lea-fro-tha-Vin…"
"Aunt Lin? What are you-"
"Quiet Opal, let me focus and remember!" Lin said back at Opal before getting back to making the sounds before remembering what she needed to say, her voice cracking a slight bit as she… began to sing.
"Leaves from the vine…"
Hearing those words coming out of Lin's mouth got Hattori's attention as he began remembering the lyrics.
"Falling so slow…" He sang as Lin turned to him, giving a slight smile at him which he returned, turning to the other Lin, Izumi and Hatori as Opal spotted this universe's Toph taking notice.
"Like fragile tiny shells…" Both Lin and Hattori began to sing together, if quite poorly, but they didn't care. "Drifting in the foam… Little soldier boy/girl…" Both chief's took notice of the other changing up the last lyric slightly, but kept going. "Come marching home..."
"Brave soldier boy and girl…" Toph began to sing along, her normally unmoving glazed over eyes were now looking to be misty eyed, approaching the three captives as the other three watched in a mixture of confusion and surprise. "Comes marching home…"
Once the singing had stopped, Toph had to close her eyes as both Hatori and the other Lin were caught off guard. "Mother?" Both women asked the woman who gave birth to them.
"I'm letting them go."
"What?" Izumi asked, confused as well.
"I said I'm letting them go, they're telling the truth!" Toph yelled out before opening her hands, freeing the three from their platinum bondage.
"Oh, thank you." Opal said as Toph ruffled her hair.
"Ah, it ain't much."
"Mother, you were just calling them crazy, why do you suddenly believe them?" Hatori asked as suddenly her katana was taken out of her hand and bended back into her sheath as Toph held her hand up, moving it back into her daughter's bedroom.
"Before I gave birth to any of you…" Toph began before pointing her hand at a surprised Izumi. "Her great-uncle Iroh taught me the lyrics of that song to sing as a lullaby to my children. I may have been what alot of people would call a shitty parent, but I made sure I sang that song at least once to every one of my children."
"I remembered you, or my mother, singing it when I and Suyin were little." Lin said as Toph nodded as Hattori looked up at her.
"Same here."
"Yes, and I sang it to you Lin." The master earthbender pointed at her actual daughter, then at Opal. "I sang it to Suyin…" Then finally, she pointed at Hatori. "And before I gave you to Hattori Hanzo The VII and his wife, I sang it for you."
The old woman then helped the three up from the seats. "I don't need earthbending to know they're now telling the truth…" She smiled, closing her eyes. "Even if they butchered the song with their horrible singing."
"Thank you?" Hattori said, confused at how to feel about this.
"Also, we have a guest." Toph then brought up.
"We do?" Izumi asked before the door slammed open, all seven people in the house seeing Kya at the door.
"Okay, took me forever to track you down with just your aura, but…" Kya began saying before noticing the group of people with those she knew, including one she didn't quite know. "... why does the lady with the eyepatch look like Hattori?"
"Long story…" Both Lin's sighed out before noticing what the other just said at the same time.
"Man, school was SOOO boring," Bolin said as they were left the hotel, needing to get out. "I mean, I thought it would be more fun than that."
Mako and Thuy followed along, hand in hand, as Bolin started complaining about the math class they had. They listened to him at first, but as he started babbling on about it, they slowly zoned out.
"Hey!" A voice caught the group's attention and they turned to look. It was the universe's versions of themselves walking up, including Wu, who stepped forward to talk to them.
"You're them new kids, right?" he said and they nodded. "Where are you from?"
"Err..." Mako looked across at the others. "Omashu."
Wu smiled. "Earth Kingdom? Nice! My ancestors are said to be related to the royal family!"
This universe's Mako rolled his eyes. "No one knows who the actual descendants of the long gone royals are well enough to argue with him. Anyway, did you guys want to come with us for dinner? We're going to a noodle bar we like."
The crew looked at each other. "Sure! Why not? I'm famished!" Thuy finally answered.
"Great!" Wu said. "Come on, you can tell us about yourselves on the way."
Mako cleared his throat. "Ah well... there really isn't much to say."
"Oh come on! I bet lots of interesting things happened in Omashu!" Their Opal said. "We all took a trip there, so awesome."
"Well actually," Bolin started, earning a concerned look from his brother as he started making things up. "We're exchange students. We always get the opportunity to travel to new places for a few weeks, and me and the gang here chose Republic City. We thought it would be a change from the Earth Kingdom vibes."
"Is that so?" Wu said. "So what school do you go to in Omashu?"
Bolin gulped. "Err... The... General Highschool of Omashu?"
Wu raised an eyebrow, looking up as he thought, as though he was trying to remember. "I see. Not heard of that one, but I've got a cousin living in the same city. He's always saying he loves going to the park near the Western wall after school. Do you guys know it?"
"Oh yeah! Totally!" Bolin said. "Right guys?"
"Yeah," Mako chuckled. "We... we totally get ice cream there sometimes."
"So yummy yum." Thuy said with a nod, rubbing her stomach.
It felt like a weight was lifted off their shoulders as they saw the noodle bar come up in the distance. It wasn't like they knew it to be though - the front was lit up with bright signs and through the windows they couldn't see any waiters, just customers typing their order in on the screens. Just when they thought they had this universe pegged down.
"There's a shorter way, this way," their Opal said, leading them off the side of the sidewalk and between two buildings. The alleyway seemed to curve round the back, but it didn't seem like it would get them there any faster.
"You sure this is-" Thuy started, but before she could finish, the ground raised around all three's feet, trapping them as they realized both Bolin and Wu had earthbended them in place.
"There is no park by the Western Wall," Wu said. "Omashu doesn't even have walls anymore."
The crew gulped, looking at the angry high school seniors that had so quickly trapped them.
"Look 'ere..." Thuy said. "We can explain."
The other Mako held up a small fireball in his hand. "Let's hear it."
Twenty minutes later...
As the three members of the crew finished explaining the different universes, the four students looked at each other, no idea what to believe.
"You're telling us you're actually... us?" Opal said. "That there's multiple universes?"
"And not just that, but there's an evil Avatar out there?" Mako said.
"Yeah, excuse us for not buying it." Wu added.
"Look, I know it sounds strange but we really are you. Just different versions of you." Thuy said, but seeing as the others weren't believing them she turned to the alternate version of Mako. "Look, I know why you and Thuy, the other me, broke up. I know she's a descendent of Avatar Hiromi and she went to research her heritage at some Fire Sanctuary, or whatever it's called in this world. We've been there too in a different universe."
This Mako frowned. There was no way she could have known that.
Heck, he hadn't told anyone other than his friends who looked at him in surprise, and he knew Thuy had mostly kept it a secret too. "Guys," he said slowly, still processing what this meant. "I think they're telling the truth."
Wu and Bolin both looked at each other and shrugged, letting them go.
"So it's true?" Wu said. "Someone really is trying to kill our Korra?"
Mako nodded. "Unfortunately so. But we're here to make sure it doesn't happen."
They took a moment to let everything sink in. In the span of a few minutes, everything they knew seemed to have been turned upside down. Then, both Bolin's stomachs rumbled.
"Hey, is there any way we could still go get noodles? The food at the school was terrible." Bolin said, to his alter self's approval.
The crews nodded, and they stepped out of the alley. Perhaps a pit stop for some dinner wouldn't hurt.
Things were heating up between the couple, but Korra couldn't ignore the presence she felt. With her feet not on the ground, she couldn't feel the seismic vibrations as good. She hated to do this, especially in her current state, but she couldn't push it to the back of her mind.
"Asami, wait a moment," she said, which the engineer in training stopped what she was doing.
"You alright?" She asked, looking up, cheeks flushed, her hair a tangled mess.
This universe's Korra stood up, feeling the floor with her bare feet, a concentrated look on her face as she mapped it all out in her head.
"Don't panic," she said, which immediately made Asami stand up too, throwing her top back on. "I think there's someone in the bathroom. Three people actually."
She grabbed her clothes too and they walked slowly down the hall to investigate. Korra held her arms out in a defensive stance while Asami grabbed a nearby hockey stick to defend herself as they approached the bathroom and as they got close enough, she gave the door a kick, making it swing open with a bang.
The three intruders let out a scream at the sudden entrance, and the couple stopped in their tracks.
"What the-" The defensive Korra said, keeping her arms up. "Aren't you the new kids?"
The three of them stared wide eyed at the couple. They had no backup plan if they were to be found.
"Yes..." Asami said, trying not to provoke them. "We... are."
"What are you doing in my house? What do you have planned?!" The modern Avatar who lived there questioned.
"Listen, we can explain," Sami walked forward, then immediately realized her mistake.
"Stay back!" The angry Korra yelled, conjuring two fireballs in her hands as her Asami rose up her weapon, making the crew retreat further back into the bathroom. "There's nowhere for you to go, so don't try anything!"
"We don't want to hurt you!" Korra said to her alter self. "We're looking out for you! You're in danger."
"Looking out for me? By sneaking into my house? Already bad enough you were stalking us!"
"We didn't want to raise the alarm and it was the only way to keep a close eye on you! You're being hunted by a shadowbender corrupted by Sha-Garou and-"
"Wait, were you here all along?" The Asami of this universe asked the three of them. "Were you hiding all this time? Did you...?"
They looked at each other, knowing what she was suggesting. Answering this honestly would surely lead to a severely awkward moment.
"I... I don't know what you're talking about..." Sami finally answered, hoping that it would be enough to deter any further questioning.
The couple bought it, letting the shadowbender sigh.
"Anyway, a shadowbender is coming for-"
"I heard you the first time, but that's impossible," This universe's Korra said. "We got rid of Sha-Garou after I energybended him out of Hatori!"
"Multiverse theory is so annoying..." Korra muttered, earning a nudge from Asami.
"I know it's hard to believe but we're actually from different universes and we're trying to help you! There's others who can verify what we're saying!" Sami carried on.
The younger Asami looked at her girlfriend. "Are they telling the truth?"
This universe's Korra concentrated. She couldn't feel them lying, but she put it down to her lack of experience at seismic sensing. "I can't tell," she said. "Come on, give us some proof, actual proof! Not just… words."
Sami wasn't going to stand there and take that. Without a warning, she dropped down into the shadows, and the different Avatar and her girlfriend panicked, frantically looking around the bathroom for where she went. Just as suddenly, she reappeared behind them, giving both of them a tap on the shoulder so they spun round to face her glowing red eyes.
"Now you believe us?"
The two of them glanced from her, to the other two, and back to her.
Slowly, the younger Korra lowered her defensive stance, getting rid of the fire she was holding as the third Asami approached her other self, lowering her weapon as she reached out to her, realizing what this meant.
"No way, I'VE become a shadowbender?"
Sami nodded, her eyes going back to normal. "Sadly, yes. But there's a much more powerful one coming for your Korra. This is what we were trying to tell you..." She said, turning her attention to the equally shocked other Korra before closing her eyes for a second before reopening them, showing her emerald eyes had turned bloodshot red and yellow
"And trust me Avatar Korra, you're more closer to this other shadowbender than you realize." Khu-Shui spoke through Sami.
The universe's Korra gulped as her girlfriend covered her mouth in shock at the voice they knew. Now the couple was willing to listen.
"... and that's the thick of it." Hattori said, having finally finished the story of the crew's adventures up to this point along with Lin, Kya and Opal, explaining everything that had led to them three sitting on the couch explaining to this universe's Lin, Toph, Izumi and Hatori.
Grabbing the bottle of whiskey he brought, he opened it and poured himself a glass, holding it in hand. "That's why we've been following your Korra and her friends, to protect her from a more evil version of her." He said before downing the drink with ease, letting the hotness of the liquid burn his throat.
"Even know it's that damn shadow spirit who's making her do all of this." Lin mentioned.
"Okay, maybe if you began with mentioning Sha-Garou, we would have bought your story more." Toph said in a matter of fact tone as she sat on the floor which the three Beifong's not native to the universe and Kya had to agree with.
"Apologizes Grandma Toph…" Opal said, now having to get used to interacting with another version of her grandmother. "But we've been through so many different universes, we've only had a few moments to really clear our heads since we've been trying to stop Dark Korra. This is actually the longest we've had a break."
"And now, you're saying the only way to stop Sha-Garou for good is to kill this evil Korra while he's still in her body?" This universe's Lin asked to which the four silently nodded. "Is Asami, the… shadowbender one from this 'Dark Korra-verse', she's okay with this?"
"She's the one who insisted that we had to do it after we found out there's no Bright Spirits left to kill Sha-Garou." Lin answered her other self's question, now taking Hattori's glass to his protests and began pouring herself a drink from the bottle, only for Kya to take the full glass herself and drink it all to her three allies' surprise.
Lin was especially the most surprised at what her lover just did as she never really drank the more powerful forms of liquor, maybe except for some Cactus Juice.
"Judging by her aura I felt when she said those words, it's something that she knows has to be done, but is still unsure if she could do it or not." Kya explained, the taste of the whiskey stinging her throat, but she pushed through. "She's at battle with herself."
"When the time comes, she'll know what must be done." Hattori noted before just taking note of Hatori having been sitting in the corner on the ground, Izumi at her side, noticing the two hadn't said a word since they confirmed that the events of the one-eyed woman happening in the other universes, with this entire adventure happening because of what transpired in Lin and Opal's universe.
"I must ask, Hattori and Lin Hanzo… did they… ever meet… well, the me's of their universes?" Toph asked, having her blind eyes seemingly focused on the stone cup full of her tea, yet sensing how her daughters were acting, especially Hatori.
"Yes, and even after everything she found out, she still considered Hattori her son." Opal answered as she knew Lin didn't want to speak of it, only confirming it by taking her niece's hand in her own, letting some tears fall. "And her daughters consider him their brother, even if my mother never got to meet him. And he is my uncle."
"And you Guy Hattori?" Toph asked, having to call Hattori that nickname to separate him from her daughter of the almost same name, to which he easily nodded along.
"Same answer as the kid, my mother didn't care what my Lin had done, she was still her daughter. It took awhile for me, my Opal and Suyin to accept her as family…" He then took Lin's other hand in his own, looking at her with a kind smile. "But if I could go back in time and find a way to save Lin, if just to hear her be a smartass and call me "brother" one more time, I would."
Even for someone who tried not to give as much emotion as it wasn't her bag, there were the moments that this universe's Toph gave in to them.
From having to be at the funerals of some of her closest friends and family, to when she finally made up with Lin and Suyin for the mistakes she made as a mother during the Earth Empire fiasco, when she finally met and bonded with the daughter she had to give up so many years later, even as they sat in an interrogation room.
Hearing that even in other dimensions, no matter the changes, the Beifongs become stronger than ever before as a family always puts a small tear in her eye.
"I'm happy to hear that…"
Opal gave one of her sunny smiles hearing that before just hearing a sniffle from Hatori and Izumi's direction, looking at the couple. "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing kiddo, it's nothing…" Hatori said simply in a small tone before she slightly lifted her hand up and touched her guitar, sliding it, her wife holding her closer.
"... so, if I had to guess, events were no different for her either?" Hattori asked, watching the female version of him just begin to cry silently as Izumi looked up at him, a small look of worry on her face. "I mean, in my universe, I was in a relationship with Izumi too."
That caught the former Fire Nation princess by surprise as Hattori had to snicker, taking another glass as Kya nor Lin hadn't given his back.
"Yeah, I wasn't kidding when I said me and Lady me there had the same taste in women…" He then sighed, looking at the glass. "Nice to see she didn't make the same mistake that I made. She said yes… I said no." He noted, remembering what Sami and Khu-Shui explained to him about each universe being different.
"Spirits, I fucking hate multiverse theory…" He muttered to himself.
"I assume that's a mistake you're still hung up on?" This universe's Lin asked her alter brother who nodded his head, preparing himself another glass of the drink.
"At least until I get the chance to talk to my Izumi one last time, if just so I can tell her how wrong I was..."
"There is something I am curious about though…" Opal asked, now standing up and approaching Hatori and Izumi, kneeling down next to them, seeking to comfort the one-eyed woman.
"In mine, Aunt Lin and Kya's universe, my uncle lost his wife and daughter, Ula and Karai. And in Uncle Hattori's universe, Lin Hanzo lost her wife Sakura…"
"... please don't…" Izumi just heard Hatori whisper in a soft, hushed tone, hearing her voice shake, raising her hand up to her eyepatch.
She knew what this meant. "Opal…" The daughter of the fire lord began to say, trying to get her attention, yet the Airbender hadn't taken notice.
"If you don't mind me asking…"
"Ah, Opal…" Kya herself began saying, having just sensed Hatori's aura changing in an unnatural way as the young woman kept asking.
"Who did you lose?"
"Kid, stop it." The alter version of her grandmother began to warn herself, already sensing along with her Lin what might happen as Hattori and Lin's attention focused on what was going on, beginning to stand up as Opal looked at Toph, not knowing what was about to happen as Hatori took off her eyepatch.
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to know their na-"
"Shut up, SHUT UP, JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Hatori screamed out, her voice full of pain as she turned to look the airbender right into her green eyes.
The young girl was shocked to see the massive wound where Hatori's left blind eye was, a noticeable scar running down along it in conjunction with it looking like the single glazed over eyeball of her's was stabbed into and hadn't healed.
The airbender saw the hurt in the woman's lone good gold eye, and so did Hattori, Lin and Kya who were caught completely off guard by the outburst and what was under the eyepatch the woman gripped.
The sight reminded both Lin and Hattori each of the first time they had saw the wounds their long lost siblings had.
Hatori's breathing hitched up, trying her best to control it with what the man who raised her taught her. But it wouldn't, she just felt the tears fall from both of her eyes, looking at everyone seeing her in this state, even her own wife who tried to reach out to her. Yet she pulled away from Izumi, standing up and taking the guitar in hand.
And without a word, the woman walked as fast as she could out of the room, pushing past her sister, leaving the room in silence as the four travelers were confused, yet concerned at what just happened.
With the sound of a door opening and slamming shut not long after, Opal looked at Izumi, who too began to tear up, sitting down on the rugged floor next to Toph, taking the bottle of whiskey and began drinking it from the bottle as her mother-in-law comforted her.
"It's not your fault Opal, you didn't know, none of you wouldn't have known…" Toph said in a voice that barely anyone had ever heard her use, that of a saddened mother as she took the bottle of liquor away from Izumi, holding her in her arms. "It's okay Izumi, it's okay…" She said in a hushed tone, patting her
"... wh-what didn't we know?" Lin asked for the four as she saw her modern self kneel down next to Toph and Izumi on the ground, joining in on the comfort hug.
"Do you want me to…?" The Chief of this universe began asking in her own soft tone to Izumi who shook her head, taking her glasses off and wiping her eyes, looking at the four, knowing they had to know the truth after what they just witnessed.
"Before me and Hatori met, five years ago, she had a wife, Jissika… and a stepdaughter, Miki, who turned out to be a waterbender."
"And those Equalist's made Hatori accidently kill them before they killed her?" Hattori asked with a solemn voice, pissed and furious that the same events seemingly happened here too, only to see Izumi look up at him, her eyes trembling at the truth of what actually happened.
"No, those Equalists murdered all three, but before they did…" Izumi corrected, not wanting to say the rest as she felt the hug from both Beifong women in her life tighten, just then hearing what sounded like notes of a guitar from her bedroom being made.
"... what?" Kya asked, not prepared for Izumi about to let the words come out, and the four members of the crew then wished they didn't know the truth.
"They beat and raped Hatori and Jissika."