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

Edward

The city was arguably more impressive at night. The lights shone brilliantly on every street, and the skyline across the bay reflected in the water, which made it look even brighter. The stadium was a large building, also brightly lit, with a large glass dome on top and four towers on each corner. The whole thing looked like it was made of gold, but that was probably just an illusion from the lights.

There were throngs of people outside, waving tickets as they passed through the doors and flooded in to find seats. He was happy they didn't have to deal with that; Mako and Bolin led them to the player's entrance, where they got a brief look behind the scenes before making their way up to the team boxes. They found themselves seated perpendicular to the centerline of the field, with a good view of both sides. The box was about halfway up the stands, close enough that he could easily make out the zones that Mako had told them about.

They waited as the seats slowly filled. The buzzing of people's conversations grew louder and louder as they tried to talk over one another. He couldn't think of a time where he'd been someplace where there were so many people together in one area like this. There had to be thousands of people here.

The lights dimmed suddenly, and the crowd began to cheer. Spotlights roamed the stadium dramatically, and a man's voice came over a loudspeaker. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, WELCOME to Republic City's Pro-Bending League!" The crowd's cheering was deafening. "Tonight, our first matchup consists of two bitter rivals! On the red side, we have the hot, the spicy, theeeee slippery Eel Hounds!"

The stands on their left roared as the spotlights focused on the team sporting red and white uniforms. They crossed over to moat to the platform using an earthbent bridge, waving and blowing kisses at the crowd.

"And on the blue side, we have the stubborn, the resilient, the hardyyyyyy Badgermoles!" The announcer continued. The other side of the crowd cheered as their team appeared, wearing green and brown. They also crossed to the platform and shook hands with the other team at the centerline with the referee standing between them.

"Who should we root for?" He heard Al shout above the boisterous crowd.

"The Eel Hounds! They're from the Fire Nation, and they're Ayana's favorite team! Well, except us, of course!" Bolin shouted back.

The players all took their positions in their respective zones, and at the clang of the bell, the match began.

He was fascinated. Sure, he'd seen Ayana bend plenty of times, but watching multiple people all bending together like this was different. They all moved the same way Ayana did; twisting, jumping, waving, kicking. It was like the element was part of their bodies, and it looked so effortless. And the way they worked seamlessly together was amazing.

He watched as the waterbender on the red team spun in the air and waved his arms up, bringing water from the moat and sending it over to block the fire attack that nearly took out his earthbender teammate. The earthbender used the resulting steam to his advantage, taking several earth disks from dispensers in the platform and shooting them at the blue team's firebender. The attack successfully knocked him back into zone two. The round ended with the Eel Hounds having gained one of the other team's zones, and the announcer declared them the winners of that round.

The second round went similar as far as the amazing action but ended in a stalemate. The blue team won the coin toss and picked fire as their standoff element. And so, the two firebenders battled alone, sudden death style, to determine the winner of the round. After a short skirmish of fiery blows, the Badgermoles took victory.

The crowd's energy was infectious, and Ed found himself pumped up for the next round. He watched, inwardly cheering, as the red team advanced to zone one of blue territory, when the platform was suddenly obscured by a whirlwind of dust.

"What the…" He heard Mako say, and judging by the sounds the rest of the crowd was making, he determined this wasn't a normal part of the games.

As the dust settled and the field came back into view, the entire stadium gasped as a random civilian stood in the middle, holding the referee hostage with a knife at his throat. The players had all been knocked into the moat and were swimming for the ladders.

The man shouted loudly, and the whole stadium went quite to listen. "I have a message to send. I want the radio personnel to patch me through!"

The crowd waited anxiously as a man came running from the radio booth, holding a small microphone and dragging the cord behind him. He approached the man cautiously, who snatched the device and began speaking into it.

"People of Republic City, and citizens of all the Nations. I am here to deliver a message, and I apologize for the inconvenience in my methods of sending it. I speak directly to you, Avatar. I have this arena, and all the spectators inside, as my captives. I want you to come to me and turn yourself over. You're lucky I'm feeling generous, and I'm aware you're not in the city. I'll give you twenty-four hours to do what I ask. Afterwards, for every hour you do not show, I will blow up a section of the stands. Don't keep me waiting, Avatar."

Ed exchanged a look with Al, and he noticed both Mako and Bolin were sweating nervously.

The man threw the device down and shouted to those in the stands. "Cooperate, and you will not be harmed! My friends are guarding the exits, and if anyone tries to leave or attacks any of us, we'll blow up the stands. Cooperate, and you will live!" The crowd erupted in shouts of confusion, anger, and fear. But no one moved as the man continued to hold his knife against his hostage's throat.

"What do we do, Brother?" Al whispered.

"I don't think there's anything we can do without someone getting hurt. We'll just have to hold out and wait."

Ayana

She gazed towards the horizon, watching the sun dip lower as the sky blazed a bold orange color. The wind up here felt pleasant for now, but she knew it would start to get chilly as soon as the suns rays disappeared. The soft, white fur of the sky bison beneath her would help keep her warm for a while, and the others behind her probably had blankets stashed somewhere in the saddle, but it had been a long day. They should stop anyway to let Sona rest.

She called back to the group behind her, "Should we stop soon? It's been a long day."

She watched Tenzin pull a map out and examine it. "I think there's a small town a little further up. We could stop there."

Nodding agreement, she turned her attention back forward and began scanning the ground for any signs of the village.

They found it without too much trouble and descended from the sky to land on the outskirts. She jumped down from her perch on Sona's head and turned to help Tenzin and his three kids, Meelo, Ikki and Jinora. Together they entered the village to find something to eat. It didn't take long for Meelo to start drooling as he smelled something cooking nearby, and they followed his nose to a restaurant.

"Meelo, calm down! The food will be out shortly." Tenzin scolded his son, who was slamming the table with his fork impatiently. Tenzin sighed as he put a hand to his head and closed his eyes.

She was trying not to laugh. That would only encourage Meelo's bad behavior, but she still found it entertaining. In an attempt to distract Tenzin, she asked him, "How many more do we have to check?"

Tenzin lowered his hand and looked over at her. "You mean the reported airbender locations? A handful. After this next one, I really think we should head to Ba Sing Se. I know its further than some other spots, but the city is so large that I believe we stand a good chance of finding some people who will be willing to come with us."

"I agree." After coming back from Amestris over a year ago, she'd come home to find that Harmonic Convergence had done more than release Vaatu. Miraculously, new airbenders were popping up all over the world. Since they'd nearly gone extinct during the 100 Year War, she figured this was the world's way of restoring balance and bringing the Air Nation back from the brink of nonexistence.

She and Tenzin had spent the last several months traveling, finding these new airbenders and trying to recruit them. So far, they weren't having much luck. They'd only managed to convince one boy, named Kai, to join them. They'd sent him back to Air Temple Island months ago and hadn't gotten a single new recruit since.

Ikki and Jinora were arguing over something, and Meelo continued to squirm impatiently until the food was brought. They all dug in hastily. The restaurant wasn't busy, they were one of the few groups there that evening. It was fairly quiet, and the radio was audible in the background.

"Isn't there a Pro-Bending match today?" She asked, but before Tenzin answered, she shouted over to the waiter, "Hey! Do you mind tuning to Republic Radio?"

"Sure thing, anything for the Avatar! I think there's a few matches tonight, right?" The waiter answered as he fiddled with the dials.

"Yeah! The first one is the Eel Hounds versus the Badgermoles." She answered.

Being born and raised in the Fire Nation, the Ember Island Eel Hounds were her home team, and her favorite. She made a point of listening to or watching their games when she could.

The radio crackled and the voice of the announcer came through. It sounded like the match had just started. Perfect timing.

They continued to eat while listening to the game's commentary. It sounded like it was an exciting one, and she wished she were there to see it. The teams were evenly matched, with the second round ending in a tiebreaker standoff.

The game was nearly over and they were preparing to leave, their dinner eaten, when she heard the commentator begin to relay some odd events.

"Well, folks, I'm not sure what's happening but the field is currently blocked from view. The dust in the air is thick… wait, what?" He was silent for a moment, and everyone within ear shot of the radio had frozen and turned to stare at the speaker. "There is an unknown man standing on the field. The teams have all been knocked into the moat. I'm being told he wants to say something, let's listen in."

There was another stretch of silence until a new voice spoke. It was a man's voice, low and threatening.

"People of Republic City, and citizens of all the Nations. I am here to deliver a message, and I apologize for the inconvenience in my methods of sending it." He paused, most likely for dramatic effect. "I speak directly to you, Avatar. I have this arena, and all the spectators inside, as my captives. I want you to come to me and turn yourself over. You're lucky I'm feeling generous, and I'm aware you're not in the city. I'll give you twenty-four hours to do what I ask. Afterwards, for every hour you do not show, I will blow up a section of the stands." Everyone in the restaurant gasped at what was happening. She locked eyes with Tenzin, and saw her terror reflected there. "Don't keep me waiting, Avatar."

She immediately stood and headed for Sona in a sprint. Tenzin and the kids followed behind quickly.

It was going to be a long night if they were going to make it before twenty-four hours went by. But she thought it was possible. They might cut it close but… no, she couldn't think like that. They would make it in time, and no one would die.

She airbent up to Sona quickly, then waited briefly as Tenzin and the kids all airbent up behind her. "Sona, yip yip!"

They flew through the night and all the following day, not stopping for any reason. Sona was a trooper; she didn't make any complaining sounds. She could probably sense the gravity of the situation, and knew it was important to go fast and hard.

She and Tenzin discussed the situation briefly, but there wasn't much to talk about. Neither of them had recognized the man's voice, and there wasn't anything more to chat about. As the day wore on, the apprehension everyone was feeling grew. Even Meelo had no complaints about the long, rushed journey.

The sun was setting, and the skyline of Republic City appeared ahead of them. "Almost there, Sona. You can do it, girl!" The sky bison growled in response and aimed straight for the Pro-Bending stadium.

"Ayana, what's the plan?" Tenzin called up to her.

"The time limit is nearly up, we can't waste time trying to be sneaky about this!" She replied. "I'm going straight in to see what this guy wants!"

"Just be careful. I'll take the kids to Air Temple Island, and then I'll come straight back." Tenzin sounded worried.

She gave him a thumbs up and looked down at the city below them. She watched the stadium come into view. There were a few police airships hovering above, but there was otherwise no sign of what was going on inside.

"Take the reins!"

She switched places with Tenzin, then she pulled her glider off her back and stood ready. As Sona made a pass over the glass dome, she jumped.

Edward

The fear in the air was so thick, he could taste it. The crowd had obeyed the man's demands, and no one had tried to escape. He still held his knife ready but had let the referee sit down in front of him as he paced impatiently. One of his cohorts, a man with long black hair, had patrolled through the crowd as the hours passed, taking small groups with him to stretch their legs and use the restrooms. But as the deadline drew closer, the aura in the room had progressively gotten darker as the crowd fidgeted and grew increasingly nervous.

It had been a long day. The time limit was almost up, and he was worried Ayana wasn't going to show. What if she hadn't even heard his message?

"She'll come." Bolin said for the twentieth time. Ed figured he was saying it more to comfort himself than anyone else. Mako patted his brothers back, wordlessly reassuring him.

The stadium erupted in a confused uproar as a portion of the glass ceiling suddenly shattered, and a red glider with a white flamel symbol shot through the opening. Even with the dire situation they were in, his heart leaped for joy at the sight of her.

The man on the platform froze as he watched her land in front of him and airbend the referee safely away, into the moat. The stadium had fallen quiet after her sudden entrance, and every word spoken between the two was audible to everyone.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" She demanded angrily as she stowed her staff on her back.

"My name is Zaheer. I'd like you to come with me. We have some business to discuss." Zaheer answered smoothly.

"How about you just tell me now?" She had her hands up, ready to bend.

"C'mon." Mako said, pulling on Bolin's arm. Together they quietly slipped from the box. Ed looked at Al and nodded, and they moved to follow.

Mako must have heard them move because he turned and hissed, "Stay here. She'd kill me if you guys got hurt."

Ed was disappointed, but he obeyed. He and Al watched as the two benders left.

"I'd rather not discuss this in front of thousands of people." Zaheer was saying, indicating the stands with his hands.

"You're the one who picked the location. I don't have any intention of going with you." Ayana declared.

"That's too bad. If you won't come willingly, we'll do things the hard way." He abruptly raised his hands and began airbending sweeping attacks at her.

She jumped backwards, spinning as she dodged. She picked up some disks from the platform and earthbent them at Zaheer. He swiped the air in front of him furiously, knocking the disks away. The crowd began panicking and the people streamed for the doorways, trying to escape the stadium all at once.

Zaheer airbent himself high into the air as he continued to whip air currents at Ayana. Her eyes followed him up and she raised her hands to attack, but a popping sound rent the air as the platform exploded. She flew backwards out of the resulting dust cloud, her eyes scanning the stands for the source of the blast. Zaheer had since landed and catapulted himself towards her, but she blasted him away with a stream of fire, and he landed back on the platform. How it wasn't destroyed in the explosion, Ed didn't know.

He tore his eyes from the action and looked around the stands, scanning to see if he could find what she sought. As the popping sounded again, he tracked the source; the fourth box down from theirs to the left. There was a woman standing there, watching the action with a menacing look. She had a weird tattoo on her forehead; it almost looked like a third eye.

The explosion rocked the stands where Ayana had just been, but she had dodged and was looking again for the source. Her eyes roved past their box, and he watched as she froze and her eyes came back to lock with his. She looked bewildered and shocked.

The brief distraction was what Zaheer needed. He jumped and kicked both feet out, sending a spear of air at her. The attack caught her off-guard and sent her sailing into the moat.

"Oh no!" He heard Al cry.

"Let's go get that bomb lady!" He hollered, and they both rushed into the hall and down toward the box she was in. As they opened the door she turned, and the popping sound warned them before the explosion hit the wall behind them.

He rushed her, yelling a battle cry, and swung a punch. She dodged it by rolling away to the side. Al clapped his hands and touched the wall, creating a fist that punched out and sent her staggering.

She managed to stay on her feet and assessed them both. Apparently deciding she didn't want to fight them, she backed towards the front of the box and jumped down into the stands.

Ed yelled in frustration as he made to chase her but stopped short at the edge of the box. He watched her jump over to the platform to join Zaheer and his long-haired friend, and another lady whose arms were made of water. They were on the platform facing Ayana, Mako, and Bolin. Al ran past him, jumped out of the box, and sprinted for the platform.

"Al, wait!" He ran after him.

Al clapped and touched the ground to transmute a bridge over to the platform. Ed followed him over, and they moved to stand behind the three benders and face the enemies.

Zaheer examined them all with a furious expression, and then he glanced up as more people dropped in on cables through the broken ceiling. They looked like police officers. Cursing, he bent a large windstorm out of nowhere, and he and his friends disappeared from view. Ayana tried to counter it with her own air, but it was too strong. As the wind dissipated, they saw the group had somehow escaped.

The police started shouting at each other and moved to search the building and surrounding areas. He didn't hear any of it. He had eyes only for Ayana as she turned to look at him.

She seemed lost for words as she ran over and threw her arms around him and Al, and they hugged her back wordlessly. They stayed like that for a long minute before she pulled back, having finally found her voice.

"What the hell are you two doing here? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see you! But… how?" She didn't sound angry, just amazed.

"We got sick of waiting, so we decided to come to you." He answered, then added. "We missed you."

She smiled at him as her eyes teared up a little. "I missed you too. I wanted to come back, honestly, I did…"

"Mustang told us they attacked you. Don't worry, we understand why you couldn't come." Al reassured her.

A police officer approached and asked everyone for their statements, which they took turns giving. After that was done, they were allowed to leave. They left the stadium and found Tenzin waiting in the courtyard outside. A giant furry monster stood with him. It looked like a buffalo, but had six legs, and a large flat tail similar to a beaver, except it had fur. It had arrow markings like Tenzin's on its head.

The airbender approached them, "Is everyone alright? What happened?"

"Some madman airbender wanted me to go with him for some reason." Ayana explained. "He and his friends got away. The police are searching for them."

Tenzin looked thoughtful but didn't say anything. Mako and Bolin were climbing to the back of the beast, and Ed suddenly noticed there was a large saddle on its back. Tenzin airbent up to it, and Ayana was about to follow but looked back at him and Al.

"Aren't you coming?" She sounded confused.

"Where are we going?" He asked. He approached the animal cautiously and allowed Tenzin to help pull him up to its back.

"To Air Temple Island. It's where I usually stay when I'm in the city." She answered as she shoved Al up to the saddle. She then jumped up to the beast's head and grabbed the reins. She snapped them and shouted, "yip yip!" The creature immediately rose into the air and headed toward the island in the bay.