Disclaimers: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or Legend of Korra

Edward

They stepped out into the spirit world. Ed had forewarned Al about the dragonbird spirit guarding the portal, so neither of them were surprised with Kei Shei Rah looked over at them, startled at their sudden appearance. He had been curled up on the ground, but he now jumped to his feet, stretching his wings and neck impressively.

"Edward Elric. It has been a long time. Who is this with you?" His deep voice asked.

"I'm Alphonse Elric!" Al shouted up to him.

The dragonbird folded his wings. "Greetings, Alphonse Elric. You are also allowed passage."

"Can I ask you a question?" Ed inquired, and when the spirit didn't object, he continued, "When was the last time Ayana was here?"

Kei Shei Rah thought for a moment. "Hm. Perhaps two months ago. She comes every now and then to check in on me, and to ask if anyone has come from your side." His tone suddenly became angry, and his eyes flashed dangerously. "One time she came physically and crossed over herself, but was driven back by some humans beyond."

"Yeah. Our friend told us." He replied irritably.

"Brother, do you remember the way to the other portal?" Al asked.

He gazed around. No matter which direction he looked, everything looked the same. Finally, he pointed off towards a mountain. "I remember there were mountains around it. Maybe that way?"

"Do you seek the Avatar's home world?" Kei Shei Rah asked curiously.

"Yes, if it's not too much trouble, could you point us in the right direction?" Al asked formally.

The dragonbird moved again, stretching his neck straight into the sky, and let loose a loud, shrill call. He lowered his head to look at them again. "I like you, Alphonse and Edward Elric. You are kind and polite humans, which seems to be rare these days. I will do you one better. My daughter will escort you to the portals." He looked around as a similar call sounded in the distance, and Ed followed his gaze to see another dragonbird approaching.

He didn't notice the size difference until she landed beside her father. She was quite a bit smaller, and her coloring was blue with gray accents. They talked to each other briefly in a language he didn't understand before Kei Shei Rah addressed them again. "She does not speak your tongue, but I have told her your destination and she is willing to take you. Do you know where you are headed after entering the physical world?"

"We figured we'd start asking around, see if anyone's seen Ayana and could point us in the right direction." He answered.

"There is a great metropolis called Republic City. I would recommend you start there. It is the capital city of the United Republic of Nations, and it is likely you will find her there." The spirit advised.

"We're grateful for your generosity and kindness, Kei Shei Rah." Al responded, and together they approached the female dragonbird. She lowered her neck to the ground and allowed them to climb on. Once they were settled, she raised her head and opened her wings wide. In one powerful sweep, she was off the ground.

He found that he couldn't keep the smile from his face as they flew. The view was breathtaking. The valley disappeared and the mountains grew closer, and he could see many spirits below them, going about their daily lives. It didn't take long for the glow of the twin portals to appear on the horizon, and the dragonbird glided down to the closest one. She lowered her neck for them to dismount.

"Thank you." He thanked her even though she couldn't understand him. But she nodded back, so he thought she at least knew what he meant. She regarded them for a moment before taking off again and heading in the direction back towards Kei Shei Rah. Ed glanced towards the giant Tree off to his right and could barely make out Vaatu's form, still trapped behind the veil. Turning back to the portal, he strode forward. The exhilaration of experiencing a new world was overwhelming him as he stepped through.

They emerged in a snowy forest. He had expected there to be a village or something built around the portal, but there was nothing. There wasn't even a guard posted. The wind, the trees, and the snow were the only things there to greet them.

They opened their bags and donned their winter gear, then followed what appeared to be a crude pathway. They walked until they emerged from the forest, and they both looked up in shock as the night sky danced with colorful lights, shifting and phasing across the atmosphere. They'd never seen anything like that back home, and he was awestruck. It was gorgeous and mesmerizing.

"Which way should we go, Brother?" Al asked as he examined the vast expanse of the tundra. Ed took in their surroundings, too. There was no clear direction on where to go. He couldn't see any signs of recent travelers to follow, and there weren't any road signs posted. He didn't realize until now much he'd really been counting on there being some sort of guardian posted at the portal who could give them directions.

"I guess we just start walking and hope for the best. Maybe we can climb one of these hills and see if we get a better view." He answered, not really liking the lack of options. But they didn't have any other choice, besides turning back. And that wasn't an option in his book. He picked a direction and began trudging through the snow, and he heard the crunching of Al's footsteps behind him.

They climbed one of the hills nearby, but the only view it offered them was more tundra. Unwilling to entertain the thought that maybe this trip had been a mistake, he descended the hill with Al and they marched on.

They walked for a few miles before they decided they should stop for the night. Al transmuted them an igloo, and they spent the night comfortably shielded from the wind and snow.

He woke up the next morning and felt surprised with how well he'd slept. He crawled out of the igloo to take a look at their surrounds for the first time in the daylight. Nothing much had changed; it was just brighter, and the dancing lights in the sky were gone. He crawled back inside and opened his bag to grab some of the canned goods he'd brought for breakfast. Al woke up shortly after and joined him.

"I thought Ayana said there were water tribes at the poles?" He asked.

"She did. Don't worry, we'll find them." Al sounded confident.

They packed up, destroyed the igloo, and continued their trek.

They walked for hours. The sun was at its peak in the sky, which wasn't saying much since they were at the bottom or top of the planet, they weren't sure which, when an odd sound caught his attention. It almost sounded like a giant bee, buzzing louder as it got closer. He looked around for the source. Honestly, he wouldn't put it past this place to have giant arctic bees; not after witnessing the crazy creatures that existed in the spirit world.

Al pointed, and he spotted two objects headed toward them, moving swiftly. They approached rapidly and stopped in front of them. Having a good closeup view now, he could see it was some kind of vehicle, but with no doors or roof. Instead of wheels, it had two skis in the front and a small tank track in the back. The drivers jumped off the seats and approached them.

"Hello, strangers. Are you lost?" The taller of the two asked.

"Sort of." He responded. "We're looking for a friend of ours. Do you know anyone by the name of Ayana?"

"Avatar Ayana?" The strangers looked at each other in surprise. "Of course we know of her. Who doesn't?"

"Oh… well uh, she's a friend of ours, and we're looking for her. Do you know where we could find her?" He'd have to be more careful in the future. Apparently, implying that someone didn't know who the Avatar was would be suspicious.

"You're her friend? Really? That's so cool, I've always wanted to meet her!" The younger driver exclaimed.

"Calm down, son." The man then addressed Ed. "I don't personally know where she is, but I would say your best bet is to start in Republic City. The best way to get there is to take a ship from the port in the Southern Water Tribe Capital City. Is that where you're headed?"

"Yeah." Al chimed in. "We were trying to find the city, and got a bit turned around out here."

The man eyed him, looking slightly skeptical. Finally, he replied, "Walking around out here is dangerous; you could freeze to death. The city isn't far via snowmobile, we can give you a lift, if you'd like."

"That's a kind offer, thank you." Al responded before Ed could say anything. He didn't want to spend a lot of time with strangers. He didn't really want to tell them where they were from, and he figured the longer they were around someone, the more likely it was that they'd ask. He was pretty sure telling people that they were from the portal would get them odd looks. He was starting to appreciate how awkward it must have been for Ayana when she was thrown into Amestris.

They each climbed on the vehicles the man had called 'snowmobiles' and the drivers took off, turning together and speeding across the tundra. Thankfully, the engines were so loud that it was impossible to hold a conversation, so his fears about being asked about their origins faded. For now.

After a while they crested a hill, and he was amazed at the city sprawled before him. The buildings, the wall, the towers, everything was constructed from opaque ice that reflected the sunlight dully, giving the city a bright, inviting look. The snowmobiles rode parallel to the outer wall until they came to a gate, where he and Al jumped off. They thanked the generous strangers, who waved and drove off.

There were two guards posted at the gate who looked at them curiously as they passed but did not challenge them.

"This is amazing, Brother." Al marveled softly.

"We need to find the port." He answered as he glanced around. He'd seen the bay from the top of the hill, so he knew the general direction they needed to go. Turning down the next street, they headed towards the water.

As they walked, they got views of what life was like here. There were strange camel-like animals pulling carts and being ridden as mounts, their fur as white as the snow. The children ran down the streets, laughing and throwing snowballs at each other. As they passed a construction area, they both stopped and watched in awe as they saw multiple people moving in unison, bending water together and shaping it into walls and roofs, and then freezing it to hold its shape. Pulling on his brother's sleeve, Ed coaxed him on, anxious to find the port.

He noticed that they were attracting curious looks, since their clothes were very different from the local garb. It seemed that everyone here wore blue. He was wearing a red coat, and Al a green one. They definitely stood out, and he didn't care for the attention it was drawing.

The bay finally came into sight, still a few blocks down. He hurried the last few blocks to find the port sprawling in front of them. There were currently two ships docked; one was flying a purple flag; the emblem looked like a brown diamond with two legs on the bottom. The other ship was smaller and flew a red flag with a black flame symbol on it. He headed straight towards the ships.

"Brother. We don't have any money. How are we going to pay for passage?" Al asked in a worried tone.

"Don't worry, we'll figure it out." He replied confidently. He figured they could simply stow away on one. He was almost to the dock leading to the first ship when a voice to his right startled him.

"Well, don't you two look out of place." He turned to see an old lady smiling at them. She was kind looking and had white hair, with two thin strands that looped around the sides of her face.

"We're just tourists, that's all." He replied, trying to dismiss her as he continued toward the dock.

But she was a persistent lady, and apparently a well-informed one. "Are you here looking for Ayana?"

Ed stopped midstride, startled, and gazed back at her. Al answered for him. "Yes, but how did you know that?"

She smiled warmly at them. "I happen to be a friend of hers, too. She tells me a lot of interesting stories about her adventures. The most recent one was of a place called Amestris, and how she traveled the world with two blonde boys when she was there."

Ed's skepticism disappeared. He approached her earnestly. "We're trying to find her. Have you seen her? We've been told Republic City is the place to start."

"That's good advice. I would advise the same. The last time I saw her was nearly a year ago, on her way back from the South Pole. She was in rough shape and came to me for healing. My name is Katara, by the way. You are Edward and Alphonse, but which one is which?" She asked politely.

"I'm Al." Al pointed to himself. "That's Ed."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." Katara bowed slightly.

"What did you mean by rough shape?" Ed asked, thinking he already knew the answer but wanting to know for sure.

"She had a couple wounds, but nothing serious. I'm a healer, so I patched her up and sent her on her way." Ed winced at the word 'couple'. Katara looked up and down the street. "You should come with me. I can get you into some clothes that won't draw as much unwanted attention."

Katara gave them blue winter coats, which helped them blend into the local population. She also helped them secure passage on the larger of the two ships, which departed in two days, and allowed them to stay with her until the ship departed. He was anxious to get going, but he knew there was nothing he could do to make the ship launch early. He and Al spent their time wandering around the city, marveling at the similarities and differences to Amestris. A few days later they boarded the ship, which steamed onward to Republic City.

They'd been at sea for days, and he was getting antsy. He hadn't gotten sea sick, but he didn't like the feeling of being so far from land.

He was in their cabin, trying not to think about the ship swaying beneath him, when Al burst through the door and grabbed his hand and dragged him to his feet. "Brother! We're there!" He allowed Al to pull him up, and together they hurried down the hallway and emerged on deck. Al ran to the railing of the ship and pointed excitedly.

Edward had thought Central was impressive. But as he took in the city before him, he had a change of heart.

The ship was headed for a large bay with a peninsula jutting out in the middle, and the city was sprawled across the peninsula and around all sides of the bay itself. There were massive buildings, taller than any he'd ever seen, extending upwards hundreds of feet in the air. The tallest of these were in the middle section of the city, but there were shorter ones along the sides of the bay, as well. The horizon was blocked by large mountains that loomed over the metropolis. There was a small island near the middle of the bay with what appeared to be some kind of temple, and another island was dedicated to a giant statue of a man holding a staff extended in front of his body, his robes flowing behind him.

"Wow. I thought Central was big." He told Al, who just nodded silently as he took in the sprawling city. They stayed at the railing, watching the city grow bigger as the ship closed the distance. They got a good look at the statue as they passed; the man had tattoos exactly like the ones he remembered seeing on Tenzin's head. Actually, now that he thought about it, this man bore a resemblance to Tenzin. Perhaps they were related.

The ship eventually docked in a port on the right side of the bay, and they gathered their things and disembarked. Katara had given them some extra money, and a paper with an address. While Ayana apparently didn't have a permanent address anywhere, Mako and Bolin lived in the city, and they would most likely know where she was. Assuming she wasn't with them. He hoped they were home, and that they'd find her there.

The ship captain was kind enough to explain how to get to the address before they'd left. Even with his directions, they were soon lost and had to ask multiple people for help. This city was intimidating, and he felt out of his element. There were things here that simply didn't exist in his world; cars were similar, but there was a lot more of them here, clogging the streets as they tried to hurry to their destinations. And there were vehicles with two wheels instead of four that looked like bicycles with engines. The flying machines caused them both to stare as one passed by overhead. It looked like an elongated balloon and seemed to be propelled with multiple large fans.

They eventually made it to the address, which was an apartment building. Climbing the stairs to 5B, they knocked and waited. Ed's heart was racing. He hoped she was behind that door. He heard the lock turn, and the doorknob jiggled. This is it…

Mako opened the door and stared at them for a minute before his eyes flashed in recognition. "Hey! You guys are Ayana's friends, from the portal, right? C'mon in!" They followed him inside as he shouted their arrival to Bolin. "I'm sorry, Ayana's not here right now. She's off in the Earth Kingdom with Tenzin." Ed couldn't hide the disappointment on his face, and Mako must have seen. "But I'll bet they'll be back soon. You probably need a place to stay, right? You can stay with us."

"Thanks. Mako, right? If it's not too much trouble for you…." Al started.

Mako cut him off by waving his hands. "Of course not. Anything for Ayana's friends. Friends of hers are friends of mine."

The apartment wasn't anything fancy, but it was homey. They had a small living room with a couch and a chair, and the dining room and kitchen were squished together into one. Two bedrooms were down the hall, along with a small bathroom. Ed wasn't sure how the sleeping arrangements were going to work with only one spare couch, but they could figure that out later.

Al moved to look out the window in the living room, and Ed wandered over to a sports poster on the wall. There were several, and most of them were of the same topic. He pointed at it and asked Mako, who had seated himself in the chair, "What's Pro-Bending?"

Bolin entered the room and answered before Mako could. "Only the best sport in the world! There's a few matches later tonight, do you want to go? We have a box, since we play on the Future Industries team, so they would be free seats!"

"That sounds fun! But what is it?" Al repeated Ed's question.

"It's a sport, each team has three players. One water, earth, and firebender each. Two teams battle at a time on a platform in the middle of a water moat. The goal is to knock the other team off the back of the platform or beat them back far enough to gain their territory before time runs out. It's easier to understand after you see it in action." Mako explained.

"Why only three? The teams don't include airbenders?" He asked.

Mako and Bolin's faces dropped. "No. Over a century ago, most of the Air Nation was wiped out by the Fire Nation. At the time, the Avatar's name was Aang, and he was the only airbender left in the world. You probably saw his statue in the bay on the way in. His son and grandchildren, until recently, were the only airbenders left." Mako explained.

"You left out the best part though, bro!" Bolin added. "Ever since Harmonic Convergence, new airbenders have been popping up all over the world! Ayana and Tenzin are out there recruiting them, trying to rebuild the Air Nation."

"That's tragic... but it sounds like its working out alright." Edward said, trying to sound consoling. It seems this world had their own problems between their countries, too.

Mako shrugged. "Avatar Aang defeated the Fire Lord and founded the United Republic, and Republic City. It's supposed to be the meeting point of all nations and all people. Here, everyone is equal. He brought the world together again."

They fell back into discussing the details on Pro-bending games, and Ed learned that Ayana had served as their team's temporary waterbender for a while until they found a replacement for the member who'd quit. They played as the Fire Ferrets, and he wondered if Pabu was the team mascot.

They had a small meal that evening before heading off to the stadium.