Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, Avatar the Last Airbender, or Legend of Korra

Ayana

The rest of the trip was uneventful. They finally arrived in Resembool and slowly made their way down the winding, country path. Eventually a large yellow house appeared, and as they drew near, Ayana could make out the sign out front that read 'Rockbell Automail'.

A short elderly lady greeted them warmly, introducing herself as Pinako. Ayana returned her handshake.

"I'm Ayana, it's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Pinako smiled. She puffed on a pipe absentmindedly and glanced over at Edward. "Ed, I hate to say it, but it looks like you've gotten shorter since I last saw you."

Ed fumed. "At least I'm not as short as you, you old hag!"

They continued to banter until Ed took a flying wrench to the head, which sent him stumbling backwards and rubbing his head as he muttered curses under his breath. A girl about their age, who had to be his mechanic, and likely the source of the tool, stood on the second story porch laughing.

Ayana leaned over to whisper to Al. "Is this… normal?"

"Oh yeah. Granny and Brother always argue about who's shorter." Al laughed. "And watch out, Winry is always armed with a wrench. You don't want to make her angry if you can help it."

"Thanks for the advice." Ayana meant that. She'd just witnessed Winry's incredible aim and had no desire to be on the other end of it.

Pinako ushered them all inside where they assessed the damage to Ed's limbs. After quoting him three days to build a new arm and make repairs on his automail leg, Winry pushed them all out the door.

"Go do something to occupy yourselves besides bothering me, I've got a lot of work to do!"

The Major set Al's crate down at the bottom of the porch, then wandered off to examine the chickens in the coop nearby. Ayana sat on Al's left, and Ed plopped down on his right.

"Three days, huh?" Ayana gazed around the yard, taking in the scenery around her. The chickens that Armstrong was watching were chasing each other around in their coop, clucking loudly. The breeze was stiff today, causing the branches in the large tree that stood nearby to dance, the leaves twirling and rustling to their own rhythm. She inhaled deeply. The clean country air tasted so fresh compared to the city's smog. This was a beautiful, serene place.

She pondered what had happened at Marcoh's. The Philosopher's Stone… she knew now it was the source of the chi she'd felt. It unsettled her. She could sense the spirits of multiple individuals inside it. Not only that, but she had felt their emotions, and they were in anguish. It was strongest at the beginning, when she hadn't been expecting it; by the time they had left Marcoh's home the emotional surge had diminished to a dull throbbing, but it had still been a troubling experience overall. It concerned her that this was what the boys were after. They wanted to make one of their own; to use Marcoh's research notes to unlock the secrets to creating one.

She couldn't let them make a Stone if it meant trapping innocent souls to spend the rest of their eternity screaming in pain and despair, so she decided to broach the subject with them. "Hey, guys, can we talk about what happened at Marcoh's?"

Al didn't react at all, but Ed stiffened. After a short hesitation, he asked, "what do you want to talk about?"

He didn't sound angry, but she could hear how tense his voice was. She was treading on dangerous ground here. She probably should have thought of a better way to bring it up. She'd just put him on the defensive. "I just… well…" she hesitated, but decided it was too late to back down now. "I'm not sure creating a Stone is the best idea…"

"How the hell would you know?" Ed's anger bubbled up instantly. He jumped to his feet and pointed a finger at her. "You've been here for all of what? Two, three days? What makes you think you know better than we do?"

"Brother, please stop yelling!" Al pleaded. Major Armstrong looked over at them, his attention drawn by the shouting.

Ayana waved Al down. "No, it's alright, Al. I know it's a sore subject, but I just…"

"Listen." Ed had indeed stopped yelling, but now his voice was low and dangerous. "No offense, but you haven't been around very long, and we've been looking for this Stone for a long time. Our goal is, and always will be, getting our original bodies back. And nothing you say is going to stop that. So don't waste your breath, Avatar."

He'd never referred to her by her title before. The way he said it, it sounded like he spit the word out. Like it disgusted him to say it, and that brought Ayana's own anger to the surface. If he didn't want to listen to hear her reasons, then fine. Why bother trying? She knew she was feeding off his anger but she didn't care, and she felt like punching him for being so selfish and stupid.

"Fine." She airbent herself to her feet and slapped his accusatory finger away. "Don't say I didn't try to warn you. Don't come crying to me when you find something you don't like!"

And with that, she turned on her heel and marched away, seething. She felt like punching something but settled instead for sending a fireball at a nearby boulder, which cracked in half at the impact. She stomped over to the tree and gazed up at its large, inviting branches. She brought her arms up and, sweeping them around easily, airbent herself about halfway up, probably twenty feet or so. High enough to where it would be difficult for someone to follow her.

She sat on the branch, leaned back against the trunk, and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. She could still see Ed and Al through the branches. She pointedly looked the other direction and crossed her arms.

Ed's words from Marcoh's house rang through her head. 'If it's a mistake then it's one I have to make! There is no other way!'

There's always another way. She realized she was clenching her fists. Relaxing them, she closed her eyes. It had been a mistake to bring this subject up. She wouldn't make that mistake again.

Edward

"Who does she think she is?" Ed growled under his breath as he watched the infuriated girl march away.

"Brother, why are you so angry?" Al sounded concerned. "I don't think…."

He stopped talking as they watched her send a large fireball at a boulder, cracking it in half. Al must have lost his train of thought because he didn't finish his sentence. Ed was relieved she'd sent the fireball at a rock and not him. When she approached the tree trunk she didn't even jump. She just swooped her hands around and sailed upwards into the branches. He could still see her, barely, between the leaves.

Edward groaned as he rubbed his temples with his thumb and middle finger. He sat back down next to Al.

"Al," he looked over at his brother, who met his gaze earnestly. "We will get our bodies back. I promise. I'll do whatever it takes to get you out of that armor. I'm confident that we'll find Marcoh's notes, and with them we'll finally be able to create a Philosopher's Stone. Don't worry, okay? We'll do it together."

Al nodded. "Of course, Brother." He looked away, back towards the tree. "But I don't think you should ignore anything Ayana has to say."

Ed shook his head sharply. "She doesn't know anything about alchemy, much less Philosopher's Stones." He stood again and moved in front of Al to block his view of the tree. "Don't worry, okay? We'll be headed to Central in no time."

Al didn't look convinced, or at least that's the aura his expressionless face gave. He didn't respond to Ed's words.

Major Armstrong had wandered back over, glancing sideways at the cracked boulder and the tree as he passed them. Ed couldn't remember if Armstrong had been present that day Scar had attacked. If not, then this would be his first time witnessing Ayana fire- and airbend. He didn't feel like explaining it to the Major.

The Major, however, didn't comment on it. Instead, he held a piece of paper out to Edward. "The young lady dropped this."

Ed grabbed it and unfolded it carefully. It was a drawing of what looked like a stick with wings. "What is it?"

"I helped her draw it on the train earlier. She described it to me as a staff that doubles as a glider, with spring-loaded sails that extend from the sides. She said she was going to try to build one, if she could gather enough materials." Armstrong gave him a sly look. "It would be much easier to transmute it instead. Perhaps you'd like to give it a try?"

"In case you haven't noticed, Major, I can't do much transmuting at the moment." Ed gestured vaguely to the empty space at his right shoulder.

"Nonsense, any alchemist worth their salt can draw regular circles."

Ed sighed. "Why don't you make it then, Major?"

"Because I'm not the one she was planning to request assistance from, Edward." He replied with a small twinkle in his eye. "Perhaps you can use it as a sort of a peace offering. She would probably come down from that tree if you offered her an object she so obviously desires. I can help you draw the circle, if you like."

"No thanks, Major." Ed balled up the paper and shoved it in his pocket, waving him away dismissively. He turned his head away with his nose in the air, eyes closed. "She can sit up there all night, for all I care."

The Major looked slightly disappointed but didn't say anything more. Instead, he climbed the stairs up the porch and went inside the house.

There was silence for a few minutes. Finally, Al said, "Brother, you should go visit mom."

Ed turned to look at him. He was gazing off into the distance, in the direction of the graveyard.

"Yeah…. Maybe you're right. I'll take Den with me."

At the sound of his name, the dog barked and stood from where he'd been sunbathing on the porch. He barreled down the stairs and stopped by Ed's feet with his tail wagging excitedly.

Ed laughed. "C'mon, Den, let's go."

With that, they set off down the path together.