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Ayana

Where am I? She sat up from where she lay sprawled. Wherever she was, it pitch black, and she couldn't see a thing. She could tell that she was sitting in a pool of some sort, since she was drenched. She counted herself lucky that she hadn't landed face down.

She stood carefully and heard the liquid slosh around at her movement. Distantly she could hear shouting; she thought she could pick out Edward's voice.

"Edward!" She shouted, but if he answered, she couldn't hear it.

Lighting a small fire in her palm to light the way, she started walking towards his chi. He must be with Ling, since she could sense him, too. She had to watch where she was going; there was a lot of random debris here. Boards, boulders, heaps of metal. She noticed the liquid around her had an eerie red tint to it. Her stomach turned as she realized it was blood.

"Edward!" she shouted again, and this time she thought she heard her name being called out in response. She shot a stream of fire straight into the air, hoping her friends would see it. She continued walking and shouting, and finally heard sloshing in front of her. She found Ed and Ling standing together, holding a small torch between them.

"Where the hell are we?" She asked them both.

"If I had to take a guess, I would say Gluttony swallowed us. Look, that's the wall of the safehouse he swallowed." Ling pointed to a pile of boards that matched the safehouse. She gulped.

"There has to be a way out of here." She tried to say it confidently, but even she could hear her voice wavering.

Ed clapped and transmuted what looked like a well into the ground. He approached it and said, "Ling, drop your torch into it."

"Good idea." Ling stepped over to the hole. "Here it goes."

He tossed the torch in, and they all listened intently. After several seconds of silence, their hopes were dashed. "We should have heard it land by now."

"Let's try walking in one direction. We're bound to hit a wall eventually." She suggested. Ed and Ling nodded, and together they picked a random bearing and started walking, guided by the light she produced with her fire.

They walked for several minutes in silence; the only sound was the splashing of their steps through the sea of blood. They passed a lot of unusual objects, including Mustang's car. They even saw a few skeletons, which caused everyone to quickly avert their eyes.

After a while, Ling finally broke the silence. "Ayana, are we going to talk about what happened with Gluttony and Bradley back in the city?"

Ed looked between them curiously but stayed silent. She kept walking and didn't look at him as she answered. "What's there to talk about?"

Ling scoffed. "How about the fact that you were hiding your identity. You're Yosono Kami. And don't bother lying about it, I know it's true."

"Don't call me that." She snapped, and she realized she'd sounded harsher than she intended. She sighed. "Sorry. Please don't call me that."

"Why not? And why didn't you tell me, that night on the roof? When Fu told you about the legend?"

She was still determined not to meet his gaze, so she continued to walk. "I don't like it, that's why. Either call me Ayana or the Avatar, but please not that. Why didn't I tell you? Because at the time I'd just met you and didn't trust you. And I didn't say anything later on because I was afraid you'd drag me to Xing to save your clan."

Edward reached out and grabbed her right hand with his left, silently offering her his support. She squeezed it in thanks.

After a short pause, Ling replied, "You thought I'd use you to save my clan? As proof of immortality?"

"Yes!" She sounded exasperated, but she didn't care.

Ling sounded hurt. "You're my friend, Ayana. I would never use you like that." She didn't respond. Finally, he sighed. "Look, don't believe me if you don't want to. But please know I would never do that to you."

They walked in silence once more, and this time it stretched much longer. They walked for at least an hour, and still hadn't found any sign of an exit or edge to this place.

Exhausted, they lay on their backs on a sandy island they'd found. They had walked for hours, and finally given up on finding the edge of this seemingly giant expanse. Ling had nearly collapsed from hunger before Ed thought of the idea of cooking his leather boot for them to eat. He transmuted a pot, she provided the fire, and they'd cooked and eaten the boot some time ago. Now they lay there, trying not to let the hopelessness of their situation drag them down.

Edward had asked for the full story of what happened in Central, on why they never sent up the signal. After filling him in, he asked, "So after trapping the Fuhrer, you guys followed Gluttony and found him attacking us. Ayana, why were your eyes glowing when you showed up? I've never seen that when you've bent elements before."

She turned her head to look at him, but he was still laying on his back, eyes staring up into the black void. She turned away and stared upwards, too.

"We call it the Avatar State. It allows me to draw upon the knowledge and power of my past lives, which increases my abilities and strength exponentially. There is one caveat to using it, though. If I die while in that State, the reincarnation cycle will stop, and there will never be another Avatar again."

"Reincarnation cycle? So that's how it works…" Ling mused. "So, how did you find out you were Yoso… I mean, the Avatar?"

"I was three when I bent fire for the first time. Which didn't surprise anyone, since my dad's a firebender. But when I bent my second element a year later, that confirmed it." She replied.

"Three? Wow." Ling marveled. "So, there are others in your world that control elements, too?"

"Yeah. It's a common thing." She replied nonchalantly. "But only the Avatar can bend more than one. That's why when I bent earth after I'd already bent fire, my parents knew."

"Interesting." Ling said thoughtfully.

"So, when'd you do the other two?" Ed asked curiously.

"My parents taught me earth and fire at home, until I was eight. Then a Master Airbender came and took me to one of the Air Temples, and he taught me airbending. The acolytes also taught me the meditation stuff while I was there. After that, I went to the South Pole and learned waterbending from several teachers. Water was the hardest for me to get for some reason."

"You don't seem to have a problem with it now." Ling commented.

"I've had lots of practice…." She tensed, having sensed a new chi approaching. Ling had sensed it too, and they both sat up at the same time and peered in the same direction.

Ed noticed their actions and sat up, too. "What is it?"

"Someone's coming." Ling answered. They watched the darkness as Envy materialized. All three of them stood to face him.

"Aw man, I figured it would only be you guys." He complained as he sat on a rock near the edge of their island. "I can't believe you got me swallowed with you."

"So, we really are inside Gluttony's stomach?" Ling asked in a disgusted tone.

"Yes and no, it's more complicated than that. Gluttony is a failed experiment by our Father to create his own portal of Truth. It's more accurate to say that we're stuck inside a defective portal."

"What? A defective portal…" Ed cried in alarm. "How do we get out?"

"There is no way out. We're stuck here until we die." Envy replied bluntly.

"No… no, we can't die here! We can't! Ed has to get back to Al, I have to get back home, and Ling has to get back to Lan Fan!" She ranted desperately. No, this can't be the end!

Envy didn't reply. Edward's clenched fists were shaking. "I want to know who your Father is! Who tried to create their own portal of Truth? It was King Bradley, wasn't it?"

Envy scoffed. "Are you serious? Bradly is nothing more than a homunculus."

"We know. I saw his tattoo." She responded. She was still trying to wrap her head around this. This can't be the end! She refused to believe it. There has to be a way out of here!

Ed was thinking hard, talking to himself. "The Fifth Lab, homunculi, Philosopher's Stones…" Then he accused Envy angrily, "I'll bet you guys were behind the massacre in Ishval, too!"

Laughing maniacally, Envy answered, "Ishval! What an enjoyable assignment that was! You remember how the war started right? An Amestrian soldier reportedly shot an Ishvalen child on accident, right? Well, guess who had the honor of pulling the trigger? It was none other than yours truly!" Ed gasped at his words. "You have no idea how good that felt!" Envy's insane-sounding laughter, along with his admission of guilt, made Ayana feel sick to her stomach.

Ed's face showing nothing but rage. She watched as he marched threateningly towards Envy, shouting at him, "It was you! You started the war; you drove out the Ishvalens! You destroyed my hometown, and you're the reason Winry's parents were killed! You're the one to blame!" He swung his automail arm and punched Envy hard right in the jaw.

Envy didn't budge an inch; he didn't even flinch at the impact. Instead, he glared at Ed and growled, "It's a fight you want, is it? Ok then." He stood, and Ed stepped back as red energy began sparking around Envy's body. "I'm going to show you all something neat before we die here!"

The red energy increased as Envy's body grew taller, his back arched, and he transformed into a giant green monster. It almost looked like a hairless dog and a lizard morphed together, but it had eight legs. He did still have his hair on the top of his head, but his eyes were two different colors. Out from his neck and down part of his body protruded human faces, screaming and writhing. With horror, she realized these were likely manifestations of the souls in his Philosopher's Stone.

"How is that a homunculus?" Ling yelled in shock.

Envy reared on his hind legs, roaring angrily, then stomped down to crush them. All three of them dodged. Ling turned to Ed, asking about weapons. Edward bent down and transmuted a sword from the blood ocean and tossed it to Ling, then transmuted his automail into his favored arm blade. She made eye contact with him and they nodded to each other. Let's do this.

Together the three of them attacked Envy. She knew the blood had water in it but was still surprised to find she could bend it. Bloodbending was supposed to be a specialized sub-skill; only strong waterbenders on a full moon could do it. Ordinarily she'd never even consider bloodbending, but this was different. It wasn't inside someone's body.

She sent a pillar of blood up Envy's front leg, then froze it into red ice. He stumbled as he tried to shift his weight away and found the leg immobile. She sent volleys of fire all over his body, trying to avoid Ling and Ed while they slashed and cut at him. Envy swung his huge tail at her, and she narrowly avoided getting hit. He finally broke out of the ice, roaring furiously. She saw one of his limbs connect with Ling as it sent him flying. Edward dashed in for an attack but paused before burying his blade into one of the faces on Envy's neck.

She took the blood and sent it up in front of him, turning it to ice as she did so and spearing the head that he'd been staring at. Ling had recovered and grabbed Ed, pulling him back and shouting at him to snap out of it.

She sent flames directly at Envy's eyes, and he roared in pain as her attack connected. His hand swiped quickly and managed to hit her this time, sending her sprawling. Ed and Ling charged back in. Ayana felt her head spinning; she must have hit it pretty hard on something.

She dragged herself back up and watched as Envy swiped at Ed hard. He fell limp, and it like he'd been knocked out. Ling jumped over to help but Envy's tail came around and sent him flying away. The monster's tongue lashed out, stretching impossibly long, and wrapped around Ed. He retracted his tongue, dragging him toward his open mouth.

"Ed! Wake up!" She shouted desperately. Bending the blood beneath her and surfing on it, she tried to close the distance. She couldn't attack Envy's tongue from that far away; she didn't want to risk hitting Ed. Instead, she sent fireballs at the monster's face, trying to get him to drop him. It didn't work, and his tongue retracted, his jaws snapped closed, and Ed was gone.

"No!" Ling shouted.

She couldn't believe it. He'd eaten Ed!

Overwhelmed with emotions of sorrow, anger, and vengeance, she entered the Avatar State. With renewed fury she created a huge tidal wave of blood, covering most of Envy's body, and froze it. Ling took advantage of the immobile enemy and ran in, sword flashing. He sliced at Envy's chest while she shot fire at his face again. Envy had one limb free and was using it to bash at the ice, trying to free himself. He roared in pain as Ling's sword cut deep and sent blood gushing to join the ocean below.

Ayana picked up a massive rock nearby, vaguely noting it had some weird inscription on it, and threw it forcefully at Envy's snout. She heard a satisfying crack as it connected. He simply regenerated and continued to punch at the ice encasing his body.

Suddenly Edward's foot kicked out from Envy's mouth, knocking out a tooth. His muffled voice was shouting from inside his jaws.

"Open up, Envy! Your breath is killing me! And I think I've figured out a way to get us out of here!"

Envy froze at that, as did she and Ling. Lowering his head to the ground, Envy spit him out. He looked relatively unharmed, although he was wincing in pain as he stood. He probably had a few bruised or broken ribs.

He brushed off his clothes as he got to his feet. He opened his mouth to explain but was apparently shocked silent as he looked around for something. "Uh… I thought I saw a mural on a rock, it was right there…" He pointed off to the side.

She felt guilty as she realized he was talking about the rock she'd cracked Envy's muzzle with. She bent it up from where it had fallen and stood it upright so that the mural was visible. She suddenly remembered she was still in the Avatar State and pulled herself out of it. She also freed Envy from his frozen prison since he was no longer a threat.

"Right, that mural." Ed pointed at it.

He began explaining his idea to the group. She didn't understand most of it. Something about a human transmutation circle and activating it would open the real portal of Truth, and would hopefully send them back to the real world if they passed through it. It sounded like as good an idea as any to her, and she trusted him to know what he was talking about when it came to alchemy. They needed to pay a toll to get through the portal though, so Envy offered the use of his Philosopher's Stone.

She watched as Edward drew out the required transmutation circle on a flat stone that served as an island in this sea of blood.

"What happens if something goes wrong?" She asked him as he stood up and examined his finished circle.

He met her eyes. "Then the transmutation will rebound. A failed transmutation will ricochet onto the alchemist performing it, in this case, me."

"Oh." It was all she could think of to say. She didn't really know what that meant, but it didn't sound like a good thing. She hoped that nothing bad would happen.

They gathered around the edge of the circle with Ed standing in the middle. When everyone confirmed they were ready, he clapped his hands together and put his palms to the circle to activate it. Blue alchemic energy flashed, and a similar eye to the one she'd seen on Gluttony's stomach appeared under Ed's feet.

"Ling, Ayana, jump in it!"

"You better know what you're doing! I'm trusting you!" Ling shouted back, and then he stepped into the circle. His body was instantly deconstructed into nothing, and he was gone. Envy's body was disappearing, too.

She met Edward's gaze. "I'll see you on the other side!" She shouted at him, and he smiled back confidently at her. She stepped into the circle and watched herself disintegrate as she was deconstructed.

The next thing she knew, her body was being reconstructed, reappearing right before her eyes. She was flying through a white void. There was nothing there, no frame of reference; so how she knew she was flying she didn't know. Just a vast white expanse in all directions surrounded her. Suddenly a massive door appeared, which yawned open at her approach, and she rocketed right through. Everything went black for a second, and she realized she was now sitting on a hard surface.

She opened her eyes and found herself leaning against Envy's collapsed monster body. Ling was sitting next to her, and Ed was further down. Alphonse was kneeling in front of Ed, talking to him.

"We're back in the real world." Ling said in relief as he shared a fist bump with Ed.

She stood and looked around at their surrounds. "Where did we wind up, though?"

She froze as her gaze landed on a strange man standing in a white robe in the middle of the room. His chi felt… weird. She couldn't place her finger on why. It was similar to how a homunculus felt, yet somehow different, too. Her eyes landed on something further behind him, and her heart jumped as she realized what it was. It was the last thing she'd ever expected to see here.

A dark spirit stood there, returning her surprised stare with an evil one of its own.