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

Ayana

They were just finishing up loading the airship as she watched Tenzin hugging his family farewell. Ed and Al had both disappeared with Asami; she was giving them a tour of the ship, and probably explaining how it worked. Kai, Jinora, Bumi, Mako and Bolin stood with her at the bottom of the ramp, waiting for Tenzin. Sona was milling off to the side, ready to follow from the air. The Master Airbender finally turned and joined them, and together they walked up the ramp onto the ship. They found the others on the bridge, ready for launch. It didn't take long for the massive ship to climb into the sky and turn east toward Ba Sing Se.

The journey wasn't long, and they passed over the outer wall of Ba Sing Se by late morning the next day. Knowing they'd want to see the city, she meandered around the airship in search of the Elric brothers.

She found them sitting at a table playing cards. She noticed Ed was wearing his favorite red coat, but she didn't say anything about his card-in-the-sleeve cheating habits as she approached. "We're coming up on the city, do you want to see?"

"It's a city, what's so special about it?" Ed asked in a bored voice.

Al looked at him funny. "That's not what you said when you first saw Republic City, Brother."

Ed blushed. "That's because Republic City is massive. I never imagined a city could be that big."

She laughed, and they both looked at her curiously. "You think Republic City is massive? You really should come take a look, then." She knew she'd piqued their interest, because they dropped their cards and followed her to one of the observation decks. Their jaws dropped as they rushed to the window and pressed their faces against the glass.

They were coming up on the inner wall, which separated the agricultural lands and the city. The city itself sprawled in front of them, all the way to the horizon and beyond.

"I told you it was big." She came up behind them and giggled at their expressions as they looked down and watched as the airship crossed over the wall. "The city is separated into different rings. We just flew over the Agrarian ring, and now we're over what's called the Lower Ring. There's a Middle Ring and an Upper Ring, as well."

"Do those refer to the classes of people living there? Because the buildings down there look a lot like slums." Al asked.

"Yeah. I don't much agree with it, but it's how it's been for centuries. If the Queen doesn't want to change it, she won't." She answered sadly. It broke her heart to see the people living in those conditions in the Lower Ring.

"Queen? I thought Republic City was the capital." Ed questioned.

"Each nation still has their own government. Republic City is the capital of the United Republic, which is a melting pot of all the nations. The Earth Kingdom has their Queen here, the Fire Nation has the Fire Lord, and each Water Tribe has a Chief who leads them."

As time went on they passed over the wall into the Middle Ring, and eventually they crossed into the Upper Ring, making for the Queen's palace. They felt the airship slowing and decided to meet everyone up on the bridge. They watched as Asami settled the ship down in a large landing area, then everyone disembarked together.

A man wearing green robes greeted them at the bottom of the ramp. He bowed formally. "Avatar Ayana, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Grand Secretariat Gun."

She stepped forward and bowed back, placing one fist into the other palm. "Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here."

Gun glanced over at Sona and Bolin, who had Pabu on his shoulder. "Oh, no, the Queen hates animals! We must get them out of sight. Please, follow me and I will take you to your quarters."

The group fell in line behind Gun, and Sona brought up the rear. As they walked, Gun was going over the many rules of the place, and how not to offend the queen. He was suggesting things like how low they should bow upon meeting her. She was starting to think this queen was a little too high maintenance for her liking.

The arrived at a very nice building, three stories tall, with a large back yard. Gun led them inside, and they found a very spacious interior. They would have no problem fitting everyone comfortably in here.

Gun stood back to allow them all to pass inside. "Please, make yourselves at home, and keep those animals in the back and out of site. Avatar, if you'll follow me, we don't want to keep the Queen waiting." She followed him back outside and walked with him to a garden, where they found the Queen supervising the gardeners as they worked.

"Your Majesty, may I present Avatar Ayana." Gun announced their arrival.

She bowed politely, but the Queen didn't notice as she kept her eyes on her servants and yelled at them for their inadequacy in their work. Ayana waited patiently but could feel her annoyance starting to bubble up.

Finally, the queen turned to face her. "So, the Avatar finally sees fit to visit me? Why are you here?" Her tone of voice suggested she thought talking to the Avatar was beneath her.

She tried to keep a professional demeanor as she responded. "Your Majesty, I'm hoping you can help me with something. You see, we're looking for airbenders, and we're hoping you could help us find the ones in Ba Sing Se."

The Queen narrowed her eyes at her and scoffed. "Who says there are airbenders here? Where did you hear that?"

"We've gotten reports about them. Airbenders are popping up all over the world." She replied.

The Queen turned her back to her. "I don't see why I should help you, unless you're willing to help me, first."

She sighed inwardly, but she didn't dare to actually do it in front of the Queen. "Of course, your Majesty. What can I help you with?"

The Queen yelled at a servant in the garden again, then turned to glance at her sideways. "There is a small town outside of the city where I keep some of the tax collections. The last two shipments have been intercepted and stolen by thieves. I want you to go there and bring the next shipment to me here safely. Deliver my gold, and I will help you." Her eyes probed her as she continued her sideways glare.

Ayana bowed slightly. "I'll do my best." She turned and walked away promptly, leaving Gun blubbering behind her.

Returning to their quarters, she opened the door and found everyone there except Kai, Mako and Bolin. She relayed the Queen's request.

"Doesn't sound too difficult." Ed commented with confidence.

"We can take the airship. It'll be hard for thieves to stop us with that." Asami offered.

"Perfect. Let's leave tomorrow morning, first thing." She decided.

Edward

He, Ayana, Asami and Al left early the next morning. The four of them climbed aboard the airship and Asami took off and flew steadily in the direction the small town. They passed over the rings of the city again and eventually arrived at the tiny village the Queen had indicated. It didn't even really look like a village, there were so few buildings there.

Asami landed the airship in the large yard in front of what was obviously the vault. Ayana approached the door, knocked, and spoke to the guard who answered. The guard opened the door swiftly, and his comrades began wheeling bags of gold in a wheelbarrow towards the airship.

Ed watched as a red flare shot up into the sky nearby. So, the thieves were about to make their move.

He heard them before he saw them. The whine of engines grew louder, and a handful of motorcycles burst into view, followed by a large truck. The guards panicked and ran, abandoning the gold. Ayana ran to it and stepped in front of the fallen wheelbarrow protectively. He followed her, and Asami and Al positioned themselves behind him.

The motorcycles circled, and the riders yelled and taunted them. He raised his fists, ready for their attack. The guy who looked to be their leader jumped from the truck and rushed them with his arms raised. Ayana waited for him to close in before bending the ground, punching him sideways and sending him flying. The rest of the band hollered and charged on their bikes. Al clapped and transmuted a wall in front of one of them, causing it to crumple, bent and broken. Asami rushed one the bikes head on and jumped at the last second. She reached down in midair and shocked the rider with a special electric glove she wore.

Ed found a target for himself and rushed the man as he ditched his bike. He crouched and swung his legs around, sweeping the guy off his feet. He knelt over his fallen enemy and punched hard, knocking him out. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a bike closing in, and he jumped to his feet to face it. He was just about to dive out of the way when an air current blasted from the side, knocking the man off and sending the bike skidding harmlessly away.

He didn't have time to thank Ayana for the help as he watched one of the thieves grab a bag of gold and take off running toward the truck. He sprinted, aiming for an intercept course. He tackled the man hard, and he dropped the gold as he fell. The man rolled but recovered quickly, and Ed climbed to his feet, too. The thief aimed a punch, but he dodged and landed a blow of his own. The man grunted in pain and raised his hands up to shield himself. Ed threw a feint, which the guy fell for and opened himself up on the left. He took advantage and swung, striking the guy hard in the jaw.

Their boss man was hollering for his comrades to retreat. The man Ed was fighting threw one last attempt at a punch before turning tail and running. The would-be thieves all jumped in the truck, which took off at high speed. The leader shouted to them as they left.

"You're on the wrong side, Avatar! That money belongs to the people!"

He lowered his fists and glanced around to find everyone else standing scattered about the courtyard. The money pile appeared to be intact, and the small bag that the man had grabbed lay at his feet. He picked it up and tossed it onto the pile with the rest. The guards returned, righted the wheelbarrow, and continued their task.

Ayana looked sad. "Why do I get the feeling that he's right?"

He walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. They'll get by fine, if not this way, then they'll find another." She looked at him unhappily but didn't respond.

After the gold was loaded, they boarded the airship and returned to the city. They landed back in the Upper Ring, and Ayana left to see the Queen. He went with Asami and Al back to their lodgings to wait.

He figured now would be the perfect time to ask Asami about her glove. She proudly showed it to him and explained how it worked. "Do you want me to make one for you?"

"No, that's okay." He thought about it, and sudden inspiration hit him. "Actually, I do have an idea for something else you could make, if you're up for the challenge."

Excitement flashed across her face. "I'm always up for a challenge. What are you thinking?"

He explained how his arm used to be automail, and he'd transmute it into a blade to fight with. She looked thoughtful at his explanation. Or maybe it was confusion on how his arm was once metal and now wasn't.

"Hm. Well I'm sure I could make something similar. Give me some time. I'll come up with a prototype."

He couldn't explain why, but the idea of having his favorite weapon back excited him. He didn't miss the automail at all, but having a handy, hidden weapon like that had always been convenient.

Ayana returned around fifteen minutes later and announced that the Queen was thankful for their help but had told her that there were no airbenders in Ba Sing Se, and that they'd have better luck looking in one of the other provinces.

"There's no way that's true. Statistically speaking, with how many people live here, it's impossible that there's not a single airbender here." He pointed out.

"I know. She has to be lying." Ayana sat down next to him with a thoughtful look on her face. "But why lie? What's the point?"

"Maybe she doesn't want you taking her tax paying subjects away." Al reasoned.

"That sounds like her." She responded. "We can't leave just yet. There's no way there's not a single airbender here. Besides, has anyone seen Mako, Bolin, or Kai lately?"

After discussing it, everyone realized the last time they'd been seen was the day prior, right after arriving in the city. They hadn't even returned to sleep here last night. Ayana and Tenzin looked worried.

"They'll come back." He tried to sound reassuring, but deep down he knew there was more to it than that. They wouldn't just disappear overnight without telling anyone. Something must have happened.

The general nervousness of the house steadily climbed as the day went on and evening fast approached, and still none of those missing had returned. The group briefly discussed sending search parties out for them, and Tenzin even offered to take his glider to look, but the city was so huge that it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. There were simply too many people here. All they could do was hope and wait.

Asami had been spending most of the day in the airship, working in her shop. Ed had found a bookshelf stocked with earthbender texts and sat leafing through them with Al. They were filled mostly with diagrams of different bending stances. It was fascinating to learn about it, even if it wasn't anything they could try or do themselves. He found it interesting that particular movements of the body achieved specific results; for some reason he'd thought it was all random. Ayana was kind enough to give them demonstrations of some of the moves that were hard to understand with just the drawings.

They had an unexpected visitor later that evening. Poor Al nearly fell out of his chair, startled, when a large, four-legged spirit burst into the room, passing right through the wall. He was smaller here in the physical world, but even so he was still massive for his species, and Ed recognized him immediately.

"Raashu!" Ayana ran over and greeted her friend by wrapping her arms around his neck. He pushed her away hurriedly with his head and touched her forehead with his nose, talking to her with mental pictures. When he pulled away, her face fell in worry. "What? Really?"

"What's going on? What'd he say?" He asked as he jumped to his feet and approached them. Ayana was already moving away, though, to find a spot on the floor to meditate.

"He says Kei Shei Rah had three strangers come through the Amestrian portal. They fought him, but he was able to push them back. I'm going to talk to him." She closed her eyes before he could respond and was gone.

Ayana

She appeared in the spirit world next to the portal and saw the dragonbird on high alert, gazing at the portal with his tail lashing in agitation.

"Kei Shei Rah! How long ago did this happen?"

He turned to look at her and bowed his head in greeting. "Avatar. An hour, at most. I sent Raashu as soon as I could."

"Please describe what happened."

"Three men came through together, all short in stature and with black hair. They spoke with an accent that was different from others from that world that I have spoken to previously. It seems they were not expecting my presence but were armed with weapons regardless. I challenged them by asking who they were, but they responded only by attacking. I gravely injured one, and another is, regrettably, dead. They returned to the portal and have not returned."

She wished she could go through and find out who these guys were. In order to do that, though, she'd have to physically travel to one of the portals, and that wasn't feasible right now. "If Mustang or anyone else comes through, don't let them leave. Send someone to fetch me, I want to talk to them if they show."

"I will do that, Avatar." He bowed his head.

"Thanks. I'll check in later, okay?" He nodded, and she pulled herself back to the physical world. She found Ed and Al on the floor in front of her, waiting apprehensively. The rest of the group was sitting on the couches and chairs, but they turned their heads to listen as she spoke. "He said they had black hair and accents. I have a feeling they were foreigners, not Amestrian soldiers."

The brothers looked at each other. "Xing?" Al asked, and Ed nodded.

"Probably. But why are they coming through the portal?" He sat back on his heals as he brought his hand to his chin. He had a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Maybe somehow word is spreading about it? It was one of their legends, after all. Remember Fu telling us about it?" She reminded them. "Maybe they're trying to explore it again, to claim whatever power they think is inside, like their legend says. I told Kei Shei Rah to get me if anyone else comes through. Hopefully, someone we know will show up, and we can get some answers."

Edward

The next morning everyone milled around, entertaining themselves however they could. Asami had gone back to the airship, saying she was almost done with his prototype. Around midmorning he decided to go see how she was progressing, and Al volunteered to tag along. They needed something to distract them from worrying about what was happening in Amestris with the Xingese. Together they found their way back to the large landing area and passed several enormous, green airships before they arrived at Asami's silver one. They found her in one of the bottom floors, working a contraption on a machine.

She turned as they called out, and she answered excitedly. "Perfect timing! I've got the prototype pretty much finished. Let's see how it fits, and we can see what needs tweaking." She approached him and held out what looked like a sleeve, with a curved metal portion on top and leather straps underneath. She held it out with the open end towards him so that he could slide his arm in.

He was expecting it to be heavy but was pleasantly surprised with how lightweight it was. It extended up to just below his elbow and fit the contour of his arm snuggly. Asami tightened the strap to secure it to his forearm. At the other end was a thin glove, with a final strap at his wrist. There was a large button on the side of the metal piece, positioned about halfway up his forearm.

Asami began explaining. "I made it so that it its spring loaded open. Right now, its closed. When you want to open it, you press that button, and the blade extends." She grabbed his arm and extended it out straight, then pressed the button for him. Instantly, the blade appeared. It wasn't sharpened yet, but at least he had an idea for how it would look and feel. It extended roughly two feet from the end of the contraption.

"Did you see how this piece here moved forward, too?" She indicated a thick tab on the top, now sticking straight up. "To retract it, you have to move that tab back and snap it down into the groove to lock it in place, but it locks in the extended position too. To unlock, slide it out of the detent, and then back." She demonstrated. "Give it a try."

He stepped safely away from Asami and Al, held his arm out, and pushed the button. The blade clicked as it slid forward and locked into place. He had a little trouble retracting it, but eventually got it to stay. On the first try, he didn't lock it successfully and it snapped back open when he let go of the tab. On the second try, he was able to get it to lock. He opened and closed it several times before taking a few practice swings. He grinned, excited with how this was turning out.

"The blade feels a bit heavy toward the front when I swing." He told Asami as he approached her. "And the retracted lock is too stiff, I have to push it pretty hard to get it to stay."

"I can fix that, loosen it up a little. And I'll balance it better when I sharpen it. Any other suggestions?"

"Maybe lose the glove? Will just a strap around the wrist work?"

She twisted his arm around and examined his wrist and glove thoughtfully. "Probably. I might add one more strap in the middle, too. Does it feel too heavy?"

"No, I was actually surprised with how light it is." He confessed.

She smiled, elated. "Great! I used titanium. Lightweight but strong." She loosened the straps and pulled the sleeve off. "It shouldn't take me long to finish up and sharpen it. Should be done in a few hours."

They left her alone and disembarked the airship, talking excitedly about the sword sleeve, as they decided to call it. On the way back, they were surprised to see Mako and Bolin entering the house. He caught the door before it shut and held it for Al behind him.

Tenzin looked up from the couch. "Where have you two been? We've been worried sick!"

Mako answered. "Kai tricked us into boarding a tram to the Lower Ring, while also stealing our wallets. We couldn't pay to get back, but we ended up finding our relatives on our dad's side, and they helped us out. They also told us there's rumors that the Queen is rounding up all the airbenders in the city and locking them up."

Jinora gasped, and Tenzin turned pale. Ayana's eyes narrowed, "I knew the Queen was lying! Where is she keeping them?"

"No one knows." Bolin replied.

"What if Kai was seen airbending and they took him?" Jinora asked worriedly.

"If he was, we'll find him." Ayana reassured her. "We just have to figure out where they're being held."

"I'll bet they're under Lake Laogai." Mako interjected. "Isn't there an old Dai Li fortress down there?"

"Yeah, there is!" Jinora's eyes lit up at the possible lead. "I can go take a look without being spotted. I can project my spirit down there."

"Great! Let's go now, no sense in waiting." Ayana stood and headed for the back door, and Jinora followed. He wanted to ask how one projected one's spirit, but they'd left too quickly for him to ask.

Ayana

She and Jinora airbent up onto Sona and headed straight for the lake. It was a short flight, and they landed on the shore smoothly. Jinora jumped down and sat down in a meditation pose near the water, and then closed her eyes. Ayana passed the time by skipping rocks on the lake. She wasn't very good at it unless she cheated by bending, but it was something to do.

It bothered her that the Queen was taking airbenders captive. What was the purpose? Was she threatened by them? Maybe Kai would know why, if he had indeed been captured.

Jinora opened her eyes and stood, looking sad. "There's nothing down there. There's no sign of them."

She hummed in response as she through their options. "It might be a long shot, but you know how Furry-Foot can go between the physical and spirit world, and yet somehow always find you? Maybe you can do something similar with Kai? I know you two have a connection with each other." She eyed Jinora knowingly with a smile, and the girl blushed in embarrassment. She'd seen how they acted towards each other and knew there was something there.

"I'll give it a shot." Jinora sat down and tried again.

She walked back over to Sona and rubbed her head for several minutes while she waited. The sky bison growled happily and licked her face with her giant tongue in thanks. After a few minutes, Jinora stood, and Ayana could tell by the look on her face that she'd had better luck this time.

"They're beneath the Queen's temple."

She nodded. "We have to get them out, tonight."

Mustang

After reporting to Grumman about the massive spirit guarding the other side of the portal, it had taken a few days for the Fuhrer to decide his plan of action. He met with the Xingese himself, dragging Roy along, and told them he would allow them to pass on the condition that they keep the existence of the portal quiet. They had readily agreed, eager to have access for their clan alone.

They'd watched apprehensively as the men had entered. Grumman had not told them about the dragon-like creature on the other side.

Not long after they had left, they came back. One man was bleeding profusely with multiple ugly wounds, and the other was dragging a dead Chen. They were outraged and accused the Fuhrer of having laid a trap for them. Roy had to admit that they were only slightly wrong on that count. In his humble opinion, this had been a mistake; they should have never allowed the foreigners passage.

The injured man succumbed to his injuries that evening, and the lone servant left the next day, promising he would return to avenge his murdered prince.