A/N: This story is a sequel to my previous story entitled "The Avatar and the Alchemist." If you haven't read that one yet, I'd encourage you to do so before starting this one. There are some things you'll probably be confused on if you don't, but it's completely up to you. This one is about half the length as the original (in word count).

There are some AU things on the Avatar side of the story: my Avatar (OC) was born in the Fire Nation, but otherwise the story centers around the timeline and events of LoK. This particular story mostly follows Book Three events of LoK, with some OC from FMAB.

Disclaimers because apparently those are necessary: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or Legend of Korra

Previously, in "The Avatar and the Alchemist":

After finding herself thrown into a strange, unfamiliar place, the Avatar learned that she had been ripped completely out of her own world and thrown into another. The country of Amestris was different than the world she was used to, and she found the people there relied on alchemy instead of bending elements. She befriended two young alchemists, and together they journeyed across the country, seeking out the solutions to their problems. The alchemists had committed a taboo and had paid dearly. Their goal was to get their body's back to normal, while the Avatar simply wanted to find a way home. Their adventures solidified their relationships, and together with their friends, they faced the threats to both Amestris and the Avatar's world. With both worlds safe again and the enemies defeated, the Avatar returned home with the promise to return and visit Amestris someday. However, many months went by, and her alchemist friends were saddened when she never reappeared. They decide to take matters into their own hands….

Chapter 1

Edward

It had been fifteen long months since Ayana, the Avatar of the United Republic of Nations, had disappeared into the spirit portal in the underground labyrinth of Central Command. Ed was disappointed that she hadn't returned for a single visit in all that time; he missed her. The ghost of the kiss she'd given him the day she left still lingered in his memory, and he found himself wondering why she'd never come back. Had something happened to her?

He was pulled out his reverie as he watched his little brother approach him where he sat by the tree in the front yard of the Rockbell house. Winry was right behind him, and together they sat on either side of him.

"You're so predictable, Ed. You're always out here by this tree." Winry commented.

He didn't respond with words. Instead, he just made a humming sound. He liked sitting out here because it was the closest he could get to Ayana. Every time she'd been here, this tree is where he would find her. Either that, or the roof of the house.

Winry didn't seem to care that he hadn't answered. She looked at him curiously. "You guys are planning on going away again, aren't you? Are you going to try and find Ayana?"

He didn't return her gaze as he stared up into the canopy of the tree. He answered nonchalantly. "Yeah. We're sick of waiting on her to come visit. If she can't come here, then we'll go to her."

Al chimed in, "But we haven't figured out how to get to the portal. Last time we talked to General Mustang, he said that its still under guard. I doubt they'll let us just walk right through."

Winry looked thoughtful. "Have you considered asking Mustang for his help?" He and Al looked over at her in surprise, and she berated them. "Seriously, you guys hadn't thought of that? You don't have to do everything yourselves, you know."

While his relationship with Mustang had improved after the events of the Promised Day, he was still reluctant to ask the man for a favor. He was the type of person that kept track of that sort of thing, and Ed didn't want to place himself in his debt if he could help it. On the other hand, he had been brainstorming with Al for a few days on ways to get past the guards and through the portal undetected, and so far they hadn't come up with any good ideas. Maybe Mustang was their only option.

His brother spoke into the silence. "We hadn't considered that, Winry. Thanks for the advice."

Later that evening, he got the chance to talk to Al alone as they were getting ready for bed. "Do you really think asking for Mustang's help is the only way to do this?"

Al paused as he dug through his dresser. "We've been trying to think of other ways for days, Brother. I think asking Mustang is our best option."

He wasn't happy about it, but he nodded anyway. "We'll call him tomorrow, then."

The next morning, he waited until Granny and Winry were both in their workshop, hard at work machining some parts. He picked up the phone and dialed Mustang's direct number. Al had his ear against the receiver, too.

The phone clicked as the call connected. "General Mustang speaking."

"Hey, its Ed and Al."

"Oh, hey Fullmetal, what a surprise."

"You know you don't have to call me that anymore." He'd resigned his State Alchemist title after trading his alchemy for his brother's body, so he technically wasn't the Fullmetal Alchemist anymore.

"Old habits die hard." He could hear the amusement in Mustang's voice. "We haven't heard from you in a while. What's up? Is everything okay?"

Knowing Mustang was using a military phone line, he decided he shouldn't ask his question in an obvious way, in case anyone was eavesdropping. "Listen, how often do you see the shiny new addition in Central Command? I hear its practically an exclusive club to get in."

A brief pause, then Mustang responded. "Yes, from what I've been told, one has to be on the bouncer's good side to get through, and I've heard his list is short. I'm unlucky enough to not be on that list, but I still get a peek, sometimes."

He and Al shared a smile, knowing Mustang had caught on. "Al and I were thinking of trying our luck; we think we might be able to convince him to let us in. But I've heard he's got some guard dogs outside, and we were hoping you might be able to help us get past them."

Mustang thought for a few seconds. "Hmmm. That sounds like a dangerous endeavor. I know for a fact that there's at least three dogs, and they bite before they bark. But I might be able to help. How about you meet me next week Wednesday evening, at the place the fat man nearly bit my head off?"

Gluttony. The safehouse outside Central. "Wednesday works, see you then." He hung up the phone and shared an excited look at Al. They were finally going to do it. They'd waited long enough.

They had said their goodbyes to Winry and Granny, rode the train to Central, and now sat waiting in the safehouse for Mustang to arrive. The house was even more dilapidated than it was two years ago, and he was honestly surprised it was still standing.

They heard a vehicle pull up outside, and the sound of two doors opening and closing. Mustang appeared in the void in the wall, and Hawkeye was visible behind him with her back turned to keep watch.

"Fullmetal. Miss your girlfriend and finally decided to do something, huh?" He jibed.

Ed wasn't really in the mood to joke about it. "Yeah. I honestly thought she'd have come back by now, but…" he trailed off.

Mustang suddenly looked guilty and gazed down at the floor, refusing to meet his eyes. "Fullmetal. I confess I haven't been completely forthright with you." Ed looked up in alarm, not liking the tone in Mustang's voice. "The men guarding that place. After several instances of spirits passing through, Grumman ordered the guards to shoot anything that appeared on site."

His stomach dropped. "What are you saying?"

Mustang took a deep breath and brought his head up to look him straight in the eye. "She did try to come back, many months ago, but the guards shot her. I don't know if any of them hit, but she hasn't tried again since. That's what I meant by 'they bite before they bark,' Ed. They'll shoot anything that moves down there without asking questions first."

He felt rage course through his blood. "Why didn't you tell me!?"

"Because I knew you'd be hurt and angry. I'm sorry." And he looked like he meant it, the look on his face said it all.

"Brother, it doesn't matter now. We're here, and we're ready to go, so let's do it." Al said confidently as he placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Fine." He agreed irritably. "We need to know how to get in and past the guards. Once we're through we'll be fine, even if they follow us. The dragonbird won't let them get far."

"They operate on four shifts, three guards each. Each shift runs for six hours, and the guards don't leave until the new shift arrives. It's not going to be easy." Mustang relayed his insider information.

"There used to be a few different paths to get down. Did they seal them all up?" He asked, his anger abating as he switched to problem-solving mode.

"I believe so. The only entrance now is the staircase you're aware of." Mustang replied.

They stood in silence for a while, thinking. A few times one of them opened their mouth to speak, but closed it again, having thought of a flaw in their suggestion. A lightbulb went off in Edward's head, and he spoke into the quiet night. "I have an idea. Maybe they didn't seal up all the entrances after all."

Mustang and Hawkeye drove them to their hotel in Central that night, and they spent the next morning shopping for supplies for the trip. Alphonse had pointed out that in the past, Ayana had mentioned that her portals both exited at the north and south poles of her world, so they needed winter gear. Thankfully, Ed had kept his cold weather automail, so they didn't need to worry about that.

After they'd finished packing up their new purchases, they waited for Mustang to report back on his findings before they made their move.

Ed had remembered that, back on the Promised Day, there had been several floors of the building that had been exposed when the portal had broken through to stretch to the sky. Grumman, of course, had repaired the top layer in the courtyard, but had he repaired all the other levels? There might be a way to get above the portal, or maybe jump into it further up its shaft.

They waited anxiously in their room as the afternoon sun began to sink toward the horizon. A knock on the door sent his heart jumping into his throat in excitement as he ran over and opened it to find Havoc standing there. He entered the room quickly and shut the door, then faced him and Al.

"Hey, Chief. The Boss says he went down to the portal room and found your suspicions were correct. They only repaired the topmost layer to stop the light from making it above ground. I guess they didn't see the need to repair the floors of the other levels, since those tunnels are all unusable and abandoned."

Ed grinned, excited that he'd been right. "Perfect. So, we just need to navigate the labyrinth above it and find where the portal blasted through."

"But how are we going to get into it, Brother? If I remember right, the blasted hole was pretty big. I don't think we're going to be able to just jump into it." Al asked worriedly.

Ed put his chin in his hand, thinking. "We could make a path with alchemy, but the reaction would probably alert the guards."

Havoc wore a thoughtful expression on his face, too. "Didn't Ayana have a glider? Could you make one of those and use that?"

"Yeah, but she controlled it with airbending. Without being able to do that, it seems too risky. If we accidently missed or something, we'd get caught." He considered the options. "Maybe we can distract the guards somehow, so that they don't see the alchemic reaction."

"Mustang's already been down there once today, if he went again to create a distraction, it would draw suspicions." Havoc replied. "Breda's on the rotation tonight, but none of us are ever stationed there together. Grumman sure is a paranoid bastard."

"Can we talk to Mustang? See if he can get Breda to do something to distract the other guards?" Al asked.

"You've got a phone, don't you? Call him up." Havoc pointed towards the phone lazily.

"Don't you guys have a whole made up language you use for code? Can't you call him? You'd probably be able to say more than we can, knowing your codewords." Ed pointed out.

Havoc sighed. "Yeah, I guess you've got a point there, Chief." He smiled suddenly, and his eyes twinkled. "I have an idea." He walked over to the phone and dialed the number, pushing the speakerphone button afterwards. After a few rings, Mustang answered, and Havoc said, "Hey, Boss. I was just having a nice conversation with your favorite nieces, Sarah and Rachel. We were discussing the party tonight; you know, the one Renee is hosting. Rachel was wondering if Charlotte was going to be there."

Mustang paused but only briefly. "Yes, I believe Charlotte told me she would arrive around eight o'clock, and you know how punctual she is. But I know she'll have two friends with her, and I've heard they can be a handful to deal with."

So far, Ed was able to follow most of the codes. Sarah must be Al, and he was Rachel. Charlotte was Breda, but who was Renee? Ayana? Or was that just their word for the portal?

"I've heard the same thing, definitely something to keep an eye on. Maybe they'll loosen up if Jaqueline lets Charlotte take her homemade whiskey to the party with her. You know how good that stuff is." Havoc winked at them.

"Hmm. Yes, that might be a good way to make sure they loosen up. But I'd tell Jaqueline to not be stingy. Two bottles should work. Unless there's something else, I have to go, Elizabeth is giving me the stink eye."

"All right, take care." Havoc hung up with a wide grin on his face. He stood and moved quickly to the door.

"Wait! What's the plan? What whiskey?" Ed asked as he followed him.

Havoc stopped and glanced over his shoulder. "Just find your way to one of the upper levels of the labyrinth and wait for Breda's signal, got it? We'll take care of the rest." With that, he swept out of the room.

He and Al left shortly after Havoc did and entered the Third Laboratory without much fuss. Even retired, most military personnel still recognized him as the Fullmetal Alchemist and paid him no mind as they walked the halls.

The stairs leading down to the portal, to Father's old lair, was in Central Command. But he knew the labyrinth behind the giant white door was accessible through this lab. If they could get to the labyrinth, they should be able to find one of the exposed sections above the portal and have a bird's eye view of it from above.

He remembered exactly where the stairs had been, and he wasn't surprised to see that the entrance had been covered by alchemy again. Al leaned against the wall while he milled around the end of the hallway, watching the corridors. When they'd cleared of people, he nodded to Al, who clapped and transmuted a door. They quickly entered, and Al clapped again, erasing the door and covering their tracks.

Together they descended the stairs and found the right-side passageway blocked. Left was their only option, but he knew both tunnels led to the same place, anyways. They turned and hurried down the tunnel. Ed was getting a weird feeling of déjà vu.

They found the white room quickly and found that the large door still hung open. They passed through it and continued, and found themselves in the labyrinth. Al had never been this far down here, so he allowed Ed to take the lead. He tried to lead them by memory, but all the walls looked the same. It was difficult to tell if he recognized something, because he felt like all of it looked familiar.

They wandered for a while, and he was starting to panic. Maybe they were lost. They should have drawn marks on the walls or something as they went, so they knew if they were going in circles. He looked at his pocket watch, which was smaller than his old silver one, but he still liked it well enough. It read 7:30.

His apprehension was mounting when they finally entered a room he recognized. It was the one where the crazy alchemist had drawn his circle on the floor. The circle was gone; in fact, most of the floor was gone, and the portal's light pulsed as the dancing beams shot upward from below.

Al had been right; it was much too far to jump. But as Ed glanced around, he found they had plenty of material to work with to create a bridge over to it. He watched Al quietly place his suitcase on the ground, approach the broken edge, and gaze down, and he followed suit cautiously.

The shift hadn't changed yet because Breda wasn't there. There were three soldiers, none of whom he recognized, positioned around the room. It had to be a boring job. They had a small table pushed against one of the walls, and two of the guards were sitting at it, playing some sort of card game. The other soldier stood facing the portal with his rifle held loosely in his hand.

He didn't dare to even whisper to Al, fearing the large echoey expanse would carry his voice. Instead, he pulled out his pocket watch and showed it to Al, who nodded. They had another fifteen minutes before shift change. He could feel his excitement growing. He couldn't wait to get through this stupid portal.

The minutes dragged, but finally they heard a door open below, and new voices echoed around the room. The two sitting at the table stood, one of them throwing his cards down angrily, and walked out of sight. For a few moments they couldn't see anyone at all; they only knew they were there by their voices. After a bit, three men walked towards the portal and into their line of sight. Breda was easily recognizable by his large size compared to the other two. He was talking with them, laughing at something one of them had said.

Ed wasn't really listening to the words; they were difficult to pick out with the echo. But the men continued to talk and laugh as they stood, facing the portal. He and Al waited for a long time before the men seemed to finally relax, and all three moved toward the table and began shuffling the cards. I wish Havoc would have given us more info…. He glanced at his watch again. It was nearly nine already.

His attention was peaked when he heard a familiar name, easily distinguishable even with the echo. "Gentlemen! I've got a special surprise tonight! My lady friend Jaqueline gave me some of her old man's homemade brew. And, if you're lucky, I might just share it!" Breda had pulled out a couple of bottles from his bag. He popped one open and took a hearty swig. The other two guards laughed enthusiastically as Breda passed the bottle around, and each of them took turns sharing the drink.

Havoc had called it whiskey, but Ed doubted that's all that was in the drink. If it even was really whiskey. That could have been another codeword.

They continued to have their fun, playing cards and sharing the 'whiskey'. They'd cracked open the second bottle, but he could tell it was already having its affects. The two guards swayed where they sat. Breda didn't seem affected, though. It didn't take long for both of the soldiers to slump over in their chairs, either asleep or unconscious.

Breda poked them a couple times to make sure they were out cold, then stood and stretched his arms above his head. Then he spoke loudly enough that he was practically shouting, "Elizabeth and the family say good luck, and they'll miss you. Be safe."

Al apparently recognized this as the signal because he clapped and put his hands to the floor. He transmuted a bridge that extended over to the portal and wrapped around it nicely, forming a rather wide ring of flooring around it. He supported it from below so that it wouldn't crumble from its own weight. It took a few minutes for the transmutation to end, but when it was done, Ed was impressed with the result.

"Nicely done, little brother." He complimented him.

"I tried to make it so that, when viewed from below, it won't look like a random platform sticking out. Hopefully, if anyone looks up, they won't be able to tell the difference."

"Good thinking." He was glad Al thought of the important details like that.

They grabbed their suitcases and crossed over to the portal. There really wasn't much of a hole in the floor anymore, but he peeked down through an opening to see Breda looking up at their bridge. He decided he should acknowledge what they'd all done for them. He raised his voice, "Rachel and Sarah say thanks. Please tell Elizabeth not to worry!" He watched Breda salute in response.

He looked over at Al and saw his own excitement reflected back at him in his brother's eyes. Together, they crossed the portal.