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

Edward

It all happened in slow motion. Edward had successfully knocked Kimblee's Stone away and sliced his palms, rendering his tattooed transmutation circles useless. Thinking he'd won, Edward had withdrawn his attacks. But Kimblee had produced a second Stone from his mouth and dropped it into his hand.

Ayana appeared out of nowhere, and her glider fell forgotten down the shaft. She airbent Ed back with a gust powerful enough that he hit his head hard on the wall. His eyes were spotting as he watched her blast fire at Kimblee, and then there was nothing but dust and debris as the catwalk exploded right before his eyes in a dazzling flash of red light.

He stared in shock, wondering if he'd hit his head hard enough to make him see things. As the dust and snow settled, though, the horrible truth hit him. The entire mine entrance, the catwalk, the stairs; it was all gone. All blown to pieces.

His ears were ringing from the explosion, but he still vaguely heard someone moving nearby. He turned his head to see Kimblee's chimeras helping each other to their feet. She must have blown them back to safety, too.

He finally pulled himself out of his daze. "Ayana!" He yelled as he scrambled to his feet and darted over to the shaft to peer down into the mine. He searched frantically for her with his eyes, but there was so much debris everywhere he couldn't pick her out. He did spot her glider though; the sails were torn, and the staff was cracked almost in half.

"Ayana!" He called again as he began scanning for a safe way down. The chimeras were at his side now, searching with him, their animosity for each other forgotten.

"Look, I think we can get down over there." The gorilla chimera suggested as he pointed across to a spot where the rubble was in large chunks. The pieces were big enough to use as stable steppingstones to get down.

Ed jumped up and ran over, and the chimeras followed. Together, they carefully climbed down, and within a few minutes they'd reached the bottom of the shaft. They spread out to search.

Ed was going through a pile of debris near the glider when he heard the lion say with a heavy voice, "Hey, Fullmetal kid, over here." His tone sounded subdued and desolate. No, please, no….

He hurried to where the lion stood, and his heart stopped in despair.

Ayana was lying on her back in a pool of her own blood, and a massive I-beam protruded through both sides of her body, right through the left side of her abdomen. Several inches of the beam were visible underneath her, keeping her body propped off the ground at an awkward angle, while a few feet jutted out the other side of the wound. She was breathing, but they were rapid and shallow gasps, and she had a stream of crimson blood trailing out the corner of her mouth.

"No…." Edward's world was spinning as he rushed over. He collapsed beside her and gently pulled her head into his lap. "Why, you idiot? Why did you do that?"

Her eyes fluttered open at his voice, and the dim, unfocused look in them made it even more difficult for him to breathe.

"Because… idiot." She managed to pant in between breaths. She squeezed her eyes shut. "Couldn't just… watch him… kill you."

Ed could feel the tears threatening to overflow from his eyes, and he didn't bother to try and stop them. Gingerly, he ran his finger down her cheek to wipe away the blood. It didn't do any good, though; more streamed down to replace it. He didn't know what to say, and even if he did, he wasn't sure any words would be able to get past the massive lump in his throat.

The chimeras were watching the exchange in silence with sympathy swimming in their eyes.

Ayana opened her eyes again and looked up at him. "Medical… waterbend… Avatar…." She couldn't continue as she winced in discomfort and struggled to breathe.

Ed swallowed hard as he tried to get past all the emotions he was feeling. He wasn't sure what she was trying to say, but he guessed she was talking about the Avatar State.

"Y-you can't. If you die in the Avatar State, there'll never be another Avatar. You can't. I can fix you. I…I've sort of studied medical alchemy…"

She squeezed her eyes shut again as she coughed up blood, shuddering from the pain the spasming muscles brought.

"Give what… in exchange?... No… No way…." Her voice was barely audible now. She took a couple trembling breaths.

Ed was startled as the air shimmered beside them, and a very tall woman appeared out of nowhere. She had a blue ethereal glow around her body, and she was wearing a layered green outfit that he could only describe as a skirt or a robe of some kind. She was wearing a golden headdress that looked akin to a half sun. The chimeras jumped back at her sudden appearance.

"Kyoshi…." Ayana murmured.

Kyoshi bent to her knee beside them. "Ayana, you must stay conscious for me to help." She brought her gaze up, and her fierce green eyes pierced Ed's urgently. "Edward. I need water."

He had no clue what was happening, but he didn't question the newcomer. He clapped his hands and put them to the nearest snow pile. The resulting water pooled on the ground, and Kyoshi turned her gaze to the lion chimera.

"Pull it out." She instructed sternly.

He got over his shock and knelt beside Ayana, across from Kyoshi. "The minute I pull this out, she's going to bleed to death pretty quick."

"I'm going to do everything I can to prevent that." Kyoshi responded severely. "Please. Pull it out."

The lion looked up at the gorilla, who just shrugged, then they both looked at Ed. He couldn't say anything, even though he tried. He wanted to yell at Ayana, to tell her to let him try the alchemy. He was sure it would work. She'd saved his life, now it was only fair that he save hers, even if it meant giving another limb!

But he couldn't bring himself to say anything, so the lion sighed, took a deep breath, and pulled.

Ayana screamed and writhed in agony, and Ed watched with terror as the blood-soaked beam was removed and thrown aside. All three of them watched anxiously as the crimson liquid now poured freely from the wound.

Kyoshi wordlessly put her hand on Ayana's forehead as she surveyed the injury. Simultaneously, both of their eyes glowed white with the Avatar State, and Ed watched Ayana's hand bend the water from the ground and move it over to the hole in her stomach. The water began to glow, too.

They watched in tense silence for several minutes as the water flowed around and inside the wound gently, pulsing with light. Neither Ayana nor Kyoshi made a sound the entire time. It went on so long that Ed felt hope stealing into his heart. She hadn't bled out yet; that was a good sign.

Suddenly, her hand fell limp, the water splashed uselessly, and her eyes dimmed before rolling back. Kyoshi faded away quickly and was gone.

"Ayana!" Edward croaked as he pressed his fingers to her neck. Her pulse was there, but it was weak.

The lion chimera tenderly moved the torn, blood-soaked fabric of her shirt away from the wound. Ed looked too and was taken aback by what he saw.

It appeared that Kyoshi hadn't quite finished but had made good progress. He guessed she'd prioritized fixing Ayana's insides because there wasn't a see-though hole in her body anymore. Her skin was still gouged deep, which made the wound look like a massive crater in her stomach, and the blood flow had nearly stopped. It looked ghastly.

"That's incredible." The gorilla said in awe.

"She needs a doctor." Ed stated firmly as he wiped his eyes with his hand and determination washed over him. Carefully, he moved around to her side and slid his hands under her limp body. He cradled her into his arms as he gently lifted her from the ground. She didn't react at all to the movement.

"We're coming with you." The gorilla chimera declared. "She saved us, too. We owe her our lives."

Ed didn't argue. He was too intent on getting her out of there. While she was no longer in immediate danger, she still needed help, and fast.

He inclined his head at her glider. "One of you grab that glider and let's go."

Without waiting for a reply, he carried her towards a tunnel, hoping they'd find an exit. Or at least a way back up out of the shaft. He was so focused on his mission that he didn't notice as the lion chimera, who had picked up the glider, reached down and examined a red Stone sticking out of the rubble nearby. He pocketed it before jogging to catch up to Ed.

They followed the tunnel for a while before finally coming across a map hanging on a wall. Using that, they were able to pinpoint the nearest exit that also led them towards the closest populated town.

Knowing that time was of the essence, the chimeras didn't complain at the quick pace Ed set as they marched on through the mine and eventually trudged through the snow. Over the course of the next several hours they only stopped once, and that was just long enough to wrap Ayana up in Heinkel's, the lion chimera's, coat.

The sun was starting to dip in the sky, and Ed was nervous about the how low the temperature would fall once it disappeared below the horizon. They were exposed out here with no shelter, food, or means of making a fire. While he was confident that he and the chimeras would be able to handle it, he didn't think Ayana would survive that. She was already shivering violently even under the thick coat, and her skin was clammy and pale.

Ed wished they knew where Dr. Marcoh was. Last night, during the winter storm, Miles had found out that General Armstrong had been summoned to Central and had left Briggs. Knowing it was no longer safe for Winry and the others to go there, they'd sent Al out into the storm to head them off and warn them. Now, Ed had no idea where they'd go, so his chances of finding Marcoh were slim to none.

"How much further?" He asked Darius, the gorilla chimera.

"It should be beyond this next hill. Maybe another mile or two."

Good. They were almost there. Just hang on, Ayana.

Darius was right. As they crested the hill, they beheld the small village spread out before them. It wasn't huge, but it was big enough that it should have at least one doctor. The site of the town gave him renewed energy, and Ed immediately headed for it with Darius and Heinkel following behind.

Shortly, they reached the outer streets and started asking the locals for directions to the closest doctor. The people were kind enough to point them the right way as they shot worried and sympathetic looks at Ayana.

It wasn't long before they'd found the building, and Darius held the door open for Ed. He turned sideways to fit through the door without hitting Ayana, who was still lifeless in his arms. Over the entire excursion, she hadn't made a sound, nor moved at all, besides shivering. The only way he knew she was still alive was by her shallow, uneven breathing.

The doctor was an older man, sitting at a desk and going through some papers. An older lady that Ed assumed was the man's wife was in the process of restocking a cabinet. They both looked up at their entrance. Seeing the pale girl in Edward's arms, the doctor jumped up and rushed over to another door. He opened it and ushered him inside urgently.

"Please, bring her in here."

Ed did so and found himself in an exam room with a few chairs and a padded bed, which was reclined in its fully horizontal position. Carefully, he placed Ayana on it and reluctantly stepped back to make room for the doctor, who immediately pulled the coat away from her and examined the wound. His wife grabbed Ayana's wrist to feel for a pulse, then immediately set to work gathering equipment.

"Tell me what happened." The doctor ordered. Ed didn't like the grave look on his face.

"An explosion. She was impaled with an I-beam. She tried healing part of it with… uh, specialized medical alchemy." He didn't think the doctor needed to know the exact specifics.

The doctor didn't even look up at him as he spoke, but he'd taken a pair of scissors and was cutting Ayana's bloody shirt away. "Please wait in the other room, I'll do what I can and update you when I have a better idea of what we've got here."

Hesitantly, Ed complied with the request and joined Heinkel and Darius outside. He found he couldn't sit down, so instead he paced the room. The chimeras watched silently.

After an hour or so, the doctor finally appeared in the door, holding a clipboard. Ed stopped pacing and eyed him as apprehension overwhelmed his brain. The doctor approached and sighed before speaking.

"Medical alchemy, you say? It may have been incomplete, but I'm positive it saved her life. All her inner organs appear to be, miraculously, intact, but there is some bruising and swelling. The bottom three ribs on the left side are shattered. The bones are simply gone. There's enough tissue missing that I'll have to do a skin graft. It's a somewhat new procedure, and it'll leave some nasty scars, but frankly that's unavoidable with an injury like that. She also lost a lot of blood; we've given her a transfusion and that seems to have helped." He looked up from his clipboard with a sympathetic look. "She's going to be here for a while. We have no other patients at the moment, so you're welcome to use the beds in the other rooms tonight. My wife and I will give you another update when the surgery's completed." He turned and left them again.

That was a lot to take in, but the doctor had sounded confident that she'd survive. Ed fell back into a chair as the events of the day finally hit him full force. His body ached, and he was so tired his eyes hurt. But he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, at least not very well.

He put his elbows on his knees, head in his hands, and tried not to think about the girl in the other room.

Heinkel put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, kid. She'll be fine. From what I hear, she's pretty tough."

Ed responded with a soft, "Yeah."

He heard the two chimeras walk away, probably checking out the beds in the other rooms. He knew it was going to be a long night and that he should probably try to sleep, or at least eat something. He hadn't had anything since breakfast, and even that had been meager. But he couldn't bring himself to move.

Hours passed. At one point someone shoved a cup of coffee in his hands, but Ed didn't look up to see who it was. He didn't remember drinking it, but after a while he noticed the mug was empty. Putting it down on the table, he glanced up at the clock, which read two in the morning. He couldn't remember when they'd arrived, but he knew it had been a while.

He wished Al were here, he would know exactly what to say to give him hope and cheer him up.

At long last, the door opened quietly, and the doctor and his wife stepped out, looking exhausted. They didn't seem surprised to see Ed sitting there, and the lady approached him with a kind smile on her face.

"Surgery went fine and she's resting. You can go in if you'd like."

Immediately, Edward stood and headed for the door, muttering a thank you as he passed the doctors.

He slipped inside quietly to find the room dark. There were no windows in here, so the only lights were the ones created by the various machines scattered around. A heart monitor beeped softly, but the room was otherwise silent. Seeing an outline of a chair in the darkness, he pulled it over to Ayana's right side and sat. He grabbed her hand in his own.

He couldn't see too well in the dark, but her breathing seemed to be more even. He couldn't see her stomach since she was covered with blankets, but there was a bulge where the bandaging had to be. She also had an IV stuck in the back of her left hand.

Some of the tension he was feeling left his body, and he relaxed slightly. Heinkel was right. She was going to be okay.

Ayana

She felt like she was floating in a warm pool of water. The waves were gently caressing her body as they pushed her up and down lazily. It was dark, but not unpleasant. She could hear voices but was unable pick out what they were saying. They sounded too distant. She was perfectly happy staying right here, though. She didn't know how long she'd been here, but it seemed like a very long time. She couldn't remember ever not being here.

Her stomach began to ache, but it wasn't too bad. She was still content in this warm world of bliss. She reveled in it, not wanting to leave.

But as the aching started to get worse, she groaned, wishing it would go away. Her left lung was starting to ache now, too; it hurt to breathe. Why couldn't the pain leave her be and let her relax?

The aching was turning into a burning sensation, and suddenly the world wasn't dark anymore. There was no ocean of warm water around her; instead, she stood in a cold snowstorm, and a man in a pure white suit stood laughing at her. The evil twinkle in his eyes scared her.

The burning sensation was unbearable now; she looked down at her body to see a river of blood pouring from a massive wound in her abdomen. No…. That man must have done this to her, that's why he was laughing. She knew him; his name came to her memory suddenly. Kimblee.

"You're dreaming." A voice was telling her. "Wake up."

Dreaming? It couldn't be a dream. He was right there, right in front of her, grinning viciously. She could feel the cold wind and the snow lashing at her face. You can't feel things like that in dreams, right?

As she watched, Kimblee disappeared as his laughter echoed around in the blizzard. She glanced around nervously, not liking the feeling of being here all alone. Where was she, again?

Where Kimblee had stood, suddenly a dark spirit appeared. It was the kraken, the one who'd dragged her under water. The one who'd nearly drowned her. No, please! Leave me alone!

That strange voice spoke again, and it sounded urgent. "You're okay. It's just a dream."

Maybe it was just a dream. None of this made any sense, how could the kraken have followed her here? But where was here, again?

Her thoughts were interrupted when the monster roared and lashed out at her.

"Stay back!" She screamed as she threw her hands up defensively to firebend a torrent of flames at it. The kraken recoiled from her attack in anger.

"AYANA! WAKE UP!"

That voice. Suddenly it sounded familiar. She knew its owner, but the name was escaping her.

The kraken seemed unwilling to attack again. It was curling in on itself, shying away from her. She stood still, not wanting to provoke it, and listened for the voice again. It had called her name. It knew her.

Just as Kimblee had, the kraken faded and left her once again in the snowy wastelands alone. She was cold, but her stomach still burned in pain, and every breath was excruciating. She sat in the snow and curled into a shaking ball. She was so lonely, and so confused. Why wouldn't the voice come back? Did it leave, too?

She abruptly remembered the voice's owner. Edward.

"Please. Please wake up. Come back to me."

She didn't understand what he wanted. She longed to see him, and to feel his embrace. She wanted to gaze into his golden eyes, and to hear his joyous laughter. Her heart began to ache. She missed him. But she didn't know how to get back to him. She was trapped here with no way out. There were monsters lurking in the dark, so she couldn't risk moving. Edward, I'm sorry. I can't.

She didn't hear his voice again as, slowly, the snow disappeared and her world turned black again. The warmth returned and she sighed, relaxing into the pleasant sensation as the pain receded.