Chapter Text
"What do you mean there is a problem with the Spirit World?"
Korra had just come back from the Fire Nation. It appeared that the great Zuko had fallen. The whole nation was mourning the death of their hero. The Avatar could definitely not not be there. However, she had come back in a rush after Zhu Li declared a secret and urgent meeting. And she really didn't like the reason behind it.
"Come on, Korra," Jinora said. "As the Avatar, you should feel it."
"Well, excuse me for being away! I'm not connected to the Spirit World all the time. Not when I'm on the other side of the world!"
"Anyway, you should check it out," Zhu Li said. "We put a barrier around the portal but I can put an order for you do go through."
"Oh, I'm going too!" Jinora said.
"I'll make two passes then."
Korra sighed. She had not seen Asami for days and now that? She just wanted to go home, take a nice relaxing bath and cuddle. Was that too much to ask for? Then, she got an idea.
"Wait, if Jinora can come, does that mean I can take whoever I want with me?"
"Sure," Zhu Li answered, cautiously. "As long as it helps with the mission."
Korra grinned.
"Make it three."
"I'm not sure I'd be of any help," Asami said.
They were standing in front of the security barrier and she was having second thoughts. Of course, when Korra had asked her with that cute face of hers, she couldn't have helped but agree. Now that she was actually seeing the portal buzzing with some kind of dangerous energy, she was not quite sure she was fit for the job. She was a non-bender and didn't have any spiritual connection. Well, she had spent some time there, that was true, so she did understand the Spirit World better than your average person. But still.
"Well, to be honest, I'm not sure either," Korra whispered. "But I missed you too much and I'm sure we could use that smart brain of yours."
"I heard that," Jinora said. "I agree on the last part, though. What you wrote on the Spirit World was quite accurate and I'm sure you would help to figure out what the problem is."
Ah, right, she had written about the Spirit World. It was not an ambitious essay. She just wanted to remember her trip and inform common people of Republic City of that new world that had opened up to them. Of course, the Spirit World was a restricted area but the spirits were everywhere and it was important to understand how they worked and how they perceived the world for a better cohesion.
"Well, thank you, Jinora. I'm glad at least one of us had serious thoughts about it."
"Hey! I had serious thoughts about it!" Korra complained. "I'll protect you. You can count on me!"
"Of course," Asami rolled her eyes. "We should go."
"Yeah, let's go," Jinora said, and Korra nodded.
"Everything's seems fine to me," Asami said. "Except for the sky. It is a bit weird."
Indeed, the sky was not a clear, vibrant blue like it usually was. The colors were a bit darker, and the sky was red and white, like numerous pieces of paper that were torn apart. There were bits of dark, thin and broken lines in there too. However, the spirits were behaving like usual.
"It's not only the sky," Jinora said. "I'm not sure what it is, though. Can't you take us there, Korra?"
"I can try. But I don't know what we will get into. It might be dangerous."
"We don't have much of a choice, do we?" Asami said.
To be quite honest, she felt a bit uncomfortable in the Spirit World. She was used to a bit steadier environment you might say. She felt completely helpless in the Spirit World. She had to cling to Korra to have the slightest bit of control of her environment. She felt everything could go wrong anytime.
"Hey, take my hand," Korra offered with a soft smile, extending her arm. "I don't want us to be separated."
As kind and thoughtful as ever. The CEO smiled and took her hand.
"Good idea," Jinora said, taking Korra's other hand. "I'd like not to be swallowed by a giant spirit and get lost somewhere."
Korra released an amused sigh but pressed both hands firmly as she tried to locate the source of the problem with Raava.
"Korra, I sense a bit of Vaatu," the light spirit spoke inside of her.
"He's back?" Korra asked, feeling a fleeting sense of panic.
"I don't think so. It is very faint."
"Do you think he is the cause of the disturbance?"
"Well, it certainly feels chaotic. However, he is not the only one that can bring disturbance. That being said it would take a Great Spirit to affect this much the whole Spirit World. We have to fix this Korra. It may come to the human world or affect the spirits."
"I got this. Can you bring us closer?"
"Yes. Please, do be careful."
"I will."
What happened next was… just utter confusion. Where had she landed exactly? She was used to landscapes going by but it usually stopped. Why couldn't it stop? She looked on both her sides, where Asami and Jinora stood with looks of confusion on their faces. Well… At least she wasn't the only one.
Actually, looking around, she realized that they had stopped. Then why everything was moving so strangely? There were flashed of images all around them. She tried to concentrate, to see if she could understand them. Flashes of colors, unknown faces and places, but sometimes among those… Was that Raava and Vaatu fighting? Was that Wan? She was pretty sure she saw the face of one or two other Avatars she knew. There were wars, kisses, bloodshed and peace… There was everything from every ever-existing time. What was going on?
"What-" she heard herself say.
"Korra! The tree!" Jinora said.
That's when she noticed that among those bright flashes of images stood the Tree of Time. Of course! Everything was stored in there! And Vaatu was locked in it too! That must have been what Raava had sensed.
Maybe getting the tree to notice them was not a good idea though. As if it had heard them, a giant bright yellow eye opened in the tree. It seemed to be made of energy alone. Actually it was not quite an eye because it was… getting closer to swallow them?!
"Oh oh… Run!" Korra screamed.
But it was too late. They could not turn around and run, not before the eye swallowed them. Instantly, everything went black.
Korra woke up. She had some kind of headache. She started to rub the back of her head with a scowl. Then, she suddenly remembered why she was having a headache and looked around her.
"Asami! Jinora!" she called, freaking out.
She could not have lost them. She had their hands in hers. She got up on her feet quickly and turned around. She sighed in relief when she saw the two other women lying on the ground a few meters away. She walked to them and checked on them. They seemed fine. They were probably going to wake up soon. She took that chance to look around.
It looked like it was still the Spirit World. It felt calmer somewhat. The sky was clear blue and they were in a middle of a very bright-green meadow covered with pink flowers. The air was fresh but not cold and you could only hear the rustling of the grass and the leaves of the trees. Somewhat, it reminded her of her trip with Asami. She remembered vaguely passing by some kind of meadow. Not that she often had been to the Spirit World, so it reminded her either of her time with Asami or other not so fun times. She liked her time with Asami better.
Speaking of which, the CEO was finally waking up groaning, followed by Jinora.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"I don't know. Somewhere in the Spirit World. It looks like the influence of the Tree of Time does not reach here. Which is weird… I mean, I don't feel it anymore."
"Yeah, I don't feel it either," Jinora said. "It's as if we are in another Spirit World altogether. Even back in Republic City I felt it better than that."
"Maybe we should go back to the Tree of Time?" Asami suggested. "It may have calmed down when it sensed Raava energy."
"We're never that lucky, you know," Korra said.
"Well, I don't have a better explanation," Jinora stated, thoughtful.
"Fine! I'll ask Raava, then!"
"I'm sorry, Korra, I'm afraid I cannot help you," Raava said when the Avatar tried to reach her.
"What do you mean?"
"It seems like some force is interfering with my powers. You will have to move on your own."
"What?!" Korra said, out loud.
"What is it?" the young airbender asked.
"Raava says she can't take us to the Tree of Time. Something is getting in the way. I don't understand. That's never happened before."
"So, basically, we are on our own," Asami summed up.
"Yeah."
"Well, we'd better start moving then."
"But we have no idea where to go!"
"We'll certainly find something along the way."
"She's right," Jinora said. "We don't have a choice. We've always found a way back up until now."
And so, they began moving. They were all worried, so they did not talk much. They focused on trying to stay together and taking in their surroundings. Their focused silence was interrupted by Asami who was furrowing her eyebrows, pondering.
"Korra."
"Yes?"
"I may be wrong, but doesn't the scenery feel awfully familiar? I'm pretty I've already been there."
"You too? I thought that was me! Looks a bit like our vacation, right?"
"Yes. I mean, I don't think we've taken this exact same way but…"
"Yeah, maybe we saw it from the sky or something. But it sure feels familiar."
"Don't you think… Wasn't Iroh this way?"
"Maybe he moved," Jinora said.
"Well, it's worth a shot," the Avatar said.
And so, they took the direction that the CEO pointed. In less than an hour, they came face to face with a familiar old man. He hadn't changed. Not that a spirit form could change anyway. The three of them felt so relieved when they saw him. Finally something they knew!
"Korra! Asami!" he greeted them. "Oh, I didn't know you were there too, Jinora."
They had met and talked a few times when Jinora would take little spirit-trips in the Spirit World. Not that her father was a fan of the idea. But she was an adult and she loved the Spirit World anyway. Now that Vaatu or crazy people like Unalaq weren't there, she felt at peace there.
"Iroh! Finally a familiar face! How have you been?" the blue-eyed woman asked.
The old man chuckled.
"You've already forgotten?"
"Forgotten?"
"Yes, we just saw each other!"
"The Spirit World must have been playing tricks on you because I've not been here for a while."
"Have you now? I could have sworn I just saw you and Asami being all lovey-dovey."
He seemed deep in thoughts.
"They always are lovey-dovey," Jinora stated, rolling her eyes.
"Hey, you don't get to say anything," Korra told her. "You and Kai are no better."
"I must agree with Korra on that one," Asami said, with a smirk.
The younger one was starting to pout but they heard a noise and Iroh told them to hide quickly. They were confused by the order but did as they were asked. They hid behind a few trees and bushes that were behind the tea table and kept quiet.
"I'm sorry, Iroh, I think I forgot my gloves near your Pai Sho game," they heard a familiar voice say.
"Isn't that…" Korra started, looking at Asami with a confused expression.
The CEO had a blank look on her face and was frowning deeply. She leaned a little bit to the side to confirm their stupid idea and couldn't keep her eyes away from the scene.
"Oh, of course! I thought you would come back for them, so I kept them. Wait a moment."
The old man went away and took a pair of gloves from a box and handed them to the raven-haired woman.
"Thank you so much. I hope we can play Pai Sho again next time we see each other."
"I'd love to."
"Goodbye, Iroh. And thanks again!"
"Goodbye, Asami. Have a safe trip!"
She smiled one last time and went away. When they were sure the young woman had left, the three women got out of their hiding place, more confused than ever.
"That was definitely… me," Asami said, puzzled.
"But that's like… impossible," Korra said. "Unless there are two you."
"Well, I knew I saw you not long ago," Iroh commented. "Since you didn't ask for the gloves, I thought something was odd."
"But… Wait, the gloves? Korra, didn't something like that happen when we were on our vacation?"
"Now that you mention it…" she said, with a hand on her chin.
"Actually, I think you looked a bit different," Jinora said. "Like you were a bit… younger?"
"So that means…"
"We went back in time," the engineer stated. "To the time of our vacation. If that makes any sense."
"It would explain why we feel like we've already seen all of that. And maybe also why Raava cannot help me like she usually does. Maybe the other me is interfering."
"But why would the Tree send us here?" Jinora asked. " And how do we go back?"
"Well, I guess that's what we'll have to find out," the CEO said.
"Great. Just great," Korra groaned.
She really didn't have enough of spirit weirdness. Now, both present and past were mixed up and they had to find the cause of the problem of the Spirit World in the past, in hopes they find a way back to their time. Why couldn't it have been simple?