Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or Legend of Korra
Ayana
This can't be happening.
Ayana fell forward as her strength seemed to leave her, and her body shook in her devastation. She struggled to move to push herself up. She felt hands grabbing her arm, trying to help her, and she glanced over to find that Edward had crouched down beside her.
Bitterness bubbled up instantly and she pushed out, shoving him away from her. He fell backwards, and the removal of both her supporting arm and his help caused her to collapse to the ground again. A hurt look crossed his face as he met her eyes. She gave up on trying to move, so she just lay there staring at him.
"Why?" She wanted to sound angry and threatening, but all she heard in her voice was absolute despair. She tried again but achieved the same results. "Why?"
Ed looked at her in pain, with a trace of guilt. "Sh-she said your soul would get pulled, too. I couldn't…" He trailed off, unable to finish.
She was drawn back to awareness of her surroundings as Father laughed maniacally. Her arms were shaking weakly, but she managed to push herself to her elbows so she could see better.
"I have it! Bue, at long last!"
Bue moved to stand beside Father as panels moved in the floor, revealing the black orb of the closed spirit portal beneath them. She saw Hohenheim's eyes widen and heard Ed gasp beside her.
There was nothing she could do to stop it, so she just watched desolately. She was too weak to move, anyway. She felt empty inside, like a giant piece of her was missing, and it left her feeling weirdly detached from what was happening.
Ed was shaking her shoulder roughly. "Can't you stop him? Firebend or something?"
Her eyes fell to the ground in front of her, and she felt like it took a lot of effort to form the words in her mouth.
"Don't you get it?" Her voice was low, nearly a whisper. "He stole Raava. He stole my bending. Without her I… I'm useless."
Ed gently put his hand under her chin and forced her to look up at him. His eyes were kind. "You're not useless, Ayana. You're not defined by the Avatar spirit; you're more than that."
She wanted to believe it, but all her life, her entire existence had been validated because she was the Avatar. Without that, she felt incomplete. She felt like she had a massive hole in her heart and soul without Raava there. She almost felt like a ghost of herself. She looked into Ed's golden eyes and tried to believe his words. He returned her blank look with one of concern.
She shifted her gaze and watched, feeling miserably disinterested, as Father put his hands to the portal and it pulsed in response. It sent a pillar of bright light straight through the ceiling, obliterating any pieces of the building in its way to do so. It punched through several floors before finally stretching to the sky. Ayana could see through the smashed hole that the solar eclipse was in totality now. Dully, the realization crossed her mind that the eclipse was why her firebend had failed earlier.
The portal's pulse faded, and it shone brightly as vertical tendrils of yellow light swirled and danced in its core.
Hohenheim had been gazing at the eclipse, too, but now he began speaking passionately to Father.
"Your plan was a flawed one. Over the many years, I have performed many calculations, plotting against you. I've planted my own Philosopher's Stones across the entire countryside in preparation for this day. And what's more, my circle is self-activating! And it's a powerful circle, the moon's shadow from the eclipse!"
Father was regarding Hohenheim in rage, and Bue stood frozen as red alchemic energy flashed across the sky, activated by Hohenheim's counter-circle. It struck like lightning, hitting Father squarely. He screamed as the energy coursed through his body, and Ayana watched in both fascination and horror.
The lightning stopped, and Father staggered backwards with his hand on his chest. His entire being seemed to pulse, and he screamed in agony as a massive amount of energy shot from his body. The souls of the people of Amestris were released in a thick stream, flowing up and out of the building in search of their physical bodies.
Ayana realized with the spirits being released by Hohenheim's circle that Father's Philosopher's Stone was losing a significant amount of power. Maybe it would weaken him enough so he'd be unable to contain the Avatar Spirit. Maybe it would be enough for Raava to break free.
Renewed hope coursed through her veins and, by sheer willpower, she pushed herself to her knees. Edward supported her and helped her the rest of the way up. Once on her feet, she felt confidence flood through her brain as she watched the souls continue to stream from Father. Ed remained beside her with a steadying hand on her back, and the others were all scattered around the room, watching. Or listening, in Mustang's case. Ayana caught Hohenheim's eyes, and he gave her a small, confident nod.
"Raava!" Ayana called as loud as she could and was rewarded when she saw the glowing outline of the spirit on his chest, responding to her cry. The flow of souls abated, and Father looked down at Raava's outline in surprise and outrage.
"No!" He growled passionately. "You will not take it, too!" He raised his hand and surprised everyone by airbending, but it was weak and poorly controlled. The air currents dissipated before they traveled far enough to do anything.
Raava's body glowed bright as she separated and immediately propelled herself toward Ayana. Father tried to reach out and grab the spirit, but the shortened tail left him grasping nothing but air.
Raava wasted no time and impacted Ayana's chest with enough force that she had to take a step back to steady herself. She closed her eyes, reveling in the sensations as the hole in her heart filled and Raava fused herself with her soul once more. The power and strength returned to her body, and she vaguely felt the wind whipping around her strongly.
She heard Raava speak in relief, "We are one."
Ayana opened her eyes, and she knew they burned pure white as Father looked at her, aghast. Bue was whispering to him, and her sharpened ears caught the words.
"There is one more chance to gain the power you seek. I can take you to the spirit, but I make no guarantees on his willingness to aid you."
Father replied, "Show me."
She had to stop them. Raising her fingers, she unleashed her wrath in a bolt of lightning aimed right at Father. But Bue moved quick, and he swiped the homunculus up and threw him on his back. He dashed through the portal as her lightning just barely missed its target. Hohenheim looked mortified.
She ran toward the portal. Ed followed her, and Hohenheim, Al, Mei, and Izumi all converged on the beams of light, too.
"Young lady," Hohenheim addressed her hurriedly, "We cannot allow him to hide in there…."
"He's not hiding." She cut him off and waved her hands. Hohenheim jumped at the echoey sound of her voice. She came down out of the Avatar State as she continued, "He's going after Vaatu, to try to fuse himself with him. I have to stop him." Without waiting for a response, she stepped into the portal.
She emerged in the spirit world and found the portal surrounded by her spirit friends. Kin trotted up to her, yelling in worry.
"Avatar! A spirit emerged just before you, bearing a human. They headed that way." He pointed with his antler. As he spoke, Raashu had approached and flattened himself to his belly, anticipating her next move.
She moved to climb up to the wolf's back and shouted behind her. "Kin! Allow no one to pass through the portal, spirit or human!" She started as she saw that Ed, Al, and Hohenheim had followed her. "What are you guys doing?" She demanded.
"We're here to help. We're going with you." Ed replied. He was already climbing up to Raashu's back with Al pushing him from below.
"But…"
"Don't bother arguing, you're not going to change our minds." He cut her off stubbornly. "He's our problem, too."
Ayana sighed and relented. After Ed was settled, she helped Al up by airbending his heavy metal body up and over to the furry wolf's back.
"I will stay and aid Mr. Kin here." Hohenheim stated as he gazed around at his surrounds with uneasy interest.
The dragonfly bunnies were buzzing around in agitation, and Zotu paced, lowing anxiously. The colors had drained from the world, feeding off their emotions, and dark clouds had gathered overhead.
Kin saluted her by raising his hoof to his head. "I will guard this gate with my life, Avatar. Good luck."
Raashu stood and sprinted headlong towards the Tree of Time. It wouldn't be a long ride, especially on the back of a running spirit as large as he was, but she guessed it would still take several minutes to get there. The dragonfly bunnies flew to either side, keeping pace.
She hoped they arrived before Vaatu escaped. She honestly didn't think he would merge with Father, but Father was desperate and would try anything he could to reclaim his lost power. Then again, Vaatu might be desperate, as well. Desperate enough to bind himself to a human.
Ed was sitting behind her, and he shouted over the wind in her ear. "How come you can airbend now? You couldn't any other time we came here, right?"
She shouted back, "Because we're physically here. It's the same reason Al's in his armor this time."
Al yelled to her, "What are we going to do? What's the plan?"
"Depends on what we find when we get there." She answered truthfully. Hopefully they made it before Convergence. "Hurry, Raashu." She urged her friend, and he barked in response and lengthened his stride.
Cresting the top of a mountain, they looked down into the valley where the Tree of Time stood. Vaatu was still inside it, and she could see Bue, who had grown exponentially upon entering the spirit world, standing before it. She couldn't see him, but Father had to be there, too.
Raashu didn't slow as he made for the closest portal where a group of humans stood. As he approached the portal he skidded to a stop, nearly crushing poor Ed as Al's body was thrown into him from the momentum. She jumped down and ran to the group as she registered multiple friendly faces.
"Mako! Bolin! Tenzin!" She hit them all in a group hug, which they returned heartily, if only briefly. Jinora was there, too, smiling with happy tears in her eyes.
Tenzin pulled out of the hug and grabbed her shoulders to command her undivided attention. "You've made it just in time, Harmonic Convergence is imminent. Who is that man down there?"
"He's the enemy and needs to be stopped at all costs." She responded, deciding that any other details were unnecessary at this point. Ed and Al came up behind her and gazed around at the strangers curiously.
The two portals pulsed, and as they all looked up to watch, the lights bent in an arc and fused together above the tree. A large shockwave reverberated as they joined, and the energy was flashing across the atmosphere threateningly. The sky turned a dark, sinister purple.
"Uh, Ayana," Bolin pointed down towards the tree. They were close enough to make out Father's figure facing it, most likely trying to talk Vaatu into merging with him. Bue was nowhere to be seen. "Where'd the croc bear thingy go?"
"We can worry about him later, Bolin." Mako said sternly. "All that matters right now is the Convergence."
The merged portals sparked, and lighting flashed to strike the Tree beneath the apex. She watched, alarmed, as a massive explosion sent a shockwave of energy rushing towards them. Everyone bowed their heads and raised their arms, shielding themselves as the energy rolled past. A sickening laugher echoed around the valley, and she looked up to find Vaatu towering over them all.
He appeared similar to Raava, but his coloring was black and red instead. His body size was much larger than hers had been, too; he must be at least thirty feet in height. His tail extended twice that length behind him, coiled and twisted, as he floated above the ground. His deep, intimidating voice reverberated loudly as it bounced off the surrounding mountainous terrain.
"Raava, nothing could stop this moment. Harmonic Convergence is upon us again."
She stepped forward to separate herself from the group. "I won't let you fuse with Father! I'm going to put you right back in your prison for another ten thousand years!"
Vaatu didn't reply. Instead, he performed a backward loop, aiming towards Father, who waited with open arms for the dark spirit. She jumped forward and kicked flame at Vaatu to push him away from Father. Spinning her body, she airbent Father and threw him up and over her head and past her friends to slam him into the terrain beyond.
"Keep him away from Vaatu!" She shouted to anyone who was listening, then she turned to face the spirit.
Gathering water from the many rivers around the portal, she propelled herself forward with a waterspout. She felt her blood pulse as she entered the Avatar State; she knew she needed all the power she could get. Vaatu was charging her, too, on a collision course. Bending the earth beneath him upwards in a sharp spike, she deflected his attack and sent him up and away. He circled back as she took some more water and threw a frozen spear. His body distorted itself to avoid the missile easily. His tendrils reached out to grab her and threw her down on to the ground, knocking the wind out of her lungs.
Heaving to catch her breath, she stood and immediately began jumping and kicking to send air and earth volleys at him as he closed the distance. He avoided them all by either dodging or morphing his shape. He was getting dangerously close; she bent the water beneath her feet into a wave and rode it to the side to flank him. He followed her progress easily and shot a thick beam of dark energy flaring straight from the center of his body. His attack missed, but barely.
Still riding her wave, she earthbent a large boulder up and over her head. She heard the menacing sound of the energy beam again as it disintegrated the boulder and hit her square in the chest, sending her flying backwards and sliding on the ground as she landed. Her momentum was finally stopped by a jagged outcropping, which smacked the back of her head hard.
Momentarily stunned, her eyes tried to focus and blink away the blurriness. Vaatu closed in, extending his tentacles. She could hear his voice echoing in her ears, taunting her.
She was saved at the last minute as the ground before her heaved and smacked the spirit hard, sending him reeling backwards. Boulders flew from her left to pummel Vaatu's surprised body. Searching for the source, she watched Bolin as he furiously earthbent flying boulders in her defense. Edward was beside him, clapping his hands and sending his alchemy rippling through the ground once again to send another spike of earth up at the dark spirit. Vaatu roared in anger at the intrusion.
She was horrified as Vaatu turned his attention to them and moved to attack. Her head having cleared now, she stood and firebent rockets beneath her feet and flew over to intercept him. Bolin and Ed were holding their ground valiantly, but she knew they were no match for the dark spirit. She couldn't allow them to get hurt.
She hit Vaatu at the last second in a flying, fiery punch, deflecting his momentum to the side and safely away from her friends. She landed in front of them and scolded furiously, "Stay out of this! I can't fight him and protect you, too!"
"Geez, how about 'thanks for saving me, Bolin'?" Her earthbender friend replied sarcastically. Edward said nothing.
She didn't have time to answer since Vaatu was coming around behind them for another attack. She had to draw him away from her friends. Firebending beneath her feet again, she flew backwards while throwing fireballs at Vaatu. He headed straight for her, ignoring Bolin and Ed by flying right over them. She landed on top of a boulder and aimed for what she thought was his core. She shot lightning as strong and hot as she could.
She was mildly shocked when he couldn't dodge in time, but he was able to move enough that she didn't hit her intended target. But it was still a hit, and he grunted as the energy coursed through him. His body sparked as the electricity dissipated.
That was the first reaction of pain that he'd shown this entire battle. She smiled to herself, thinking that perhaps she'd found a weakness to exploit.
His tendrils were reaching for her again, and she blasted them away with strong air gusts. She bent the water and shot three ice spears at him in a row, and as he moved to avoid them, she again summoned the lightning.
He dodged the shot completely and retaliated with another beam of dark energy. She bent the earth beneath her feet upwards and sent herself flying over the beam and towards Vaatu. Twisting in midair, she picked up water and earth from below and sent them straight at her enemy. The projectiles punched holes through his body, but he repaired himself quickly. As she landed on the ground before him, he threw his tendrils into the earth and split the terrain below her feet into a chasm.
The move caught her off guard, and she fell down into the hole and found herself wedged and unable to move. She could see him staring down at her as his tendrils wrapped around her body. His core was changing color, and she knew he was about to hit her with another beam of energy.
"I have been waiting for this exact moment for the past ten thousand years. Your reign is over, Raava!"
She couldn't let him hit her with his dark beam, especially not at this close range. She concentrated hard and focused her energy to spit a tornado of fire at him. Vaatu growled in surprise as the fire pushed him up and away from her, and his tendrils receded. The flames had blasted enough of the earth around her that she was able to get her body unwedged, and she airbent herself up and out of the chasm.
"You will not win!" She was surprised when Raava spoke through her, taunting her rival.
He reached to grab her again, but she retaliated relentlessly with consistent shots of all four elements. She created another wave of water and moved around him, dodging his reaching tendrils as she continued to harry him with earth and fire volleys. She watched his core glow, and at the last second, she jumped away from her wave and twisted in midair as the beam passed underneath her harmlessly. Extending her hand, she put everything she had into a explosion of lightning right at his core.
This time she hit her target. His body sparked at the impact, and she heard him growl in pain. As the electricity flashed, she quickly airbent a sphere around him, trapping him inside. Sustaining the vortex, she added the other three elements in spinning circles to complete the elemental sphere. She moved her captive towards the Tree slowly and carefully, concentrating hard so as not to lose the upper hand. Vaatu was frozen inside her trap, unable to move.
Upon reaching the Tree, she pushed him inside its hollow and it immediately released a shockwave as the barrier closed. Vaatu was confined once more.
"I will see you again in ten thousand years, Raava! And next time, I will prevail! I will unleash my vengeance on you!" His deep voice was outraged as he spoke, and she thought she could feel the hatred within her own being, so strong it was.
It was over. She released a deep sigh. They had won. But abruptly, she realized the battle wasn't quite complete. They still had to deal with Father.
She pulled herself out of the Avatar State as she rushed over to the group gathered by the portal, dimly noting that it was no longer merged with the other. She noticed some people were missing. Al and Mako were gone, and she didn't see any sign of Father, either.
Tenzin had a relieved smile on his face. "You did it, Ayana. The threat of Vaatu is gone for another ten thousand years."
She ignored his praise and addressed Edward. "Where's Father?"
"I think he's headed back to our world. He can barely contain the power he's got, so we think he's going to try to create another Philosopher's Stone. Al and your friend followed him."
"Let's go help."
Together they approached the waiting Raashu, who lowered himself to accommodate them.
"Wait!" Bolin called as he hurried over to them. Tenzin and Jinora stood at a distance, watching. "Need a hand?"
"Climb up, then." They would take all the help they could get. Bolin earthbent the ground beneath him, giving him enough upward momentum to easily climb onto Raashu's back, and together they raced back to the portal to Amestris.
Edward
As they crested the mountain on Raashu's back, he tried to take in the scene below. He could see a group of people standing at the nearest portal, and he thought he could see Father with Bue beside a large tree.
They descended the mountain quickly, stopping short to meet the group at the portal. Ayana jumped down and greeted them warmly. They must be friends from her world.
There was a tall, older man wearing robes; he had a cleanshaven head, with an odd tattoo of an arrow pointing down his forehead. The girl he'd met before, Jinora, stood beside the man silently, garbed in similar clothes. They looked alike, and Ed guessed this man was her father. Beside them stood two boys about Ed's age, both with dark hair. They looked similar to each other, too. Maybe they were brothers.
He and Al slid down off the wolf's back and approached the group. The portals flashed and arched to join, and the meeting point pulsed with energy. The curved light sent lightning bolts at the tree in the center between them. The sky turned a deep purple, darkening everything around them.
As Ed watched, the tree sent out an explosion and a massive wave of energy shot out. He raised his automail to shield himself, but it didn't hurt as the surge rolled past.
Lowering his arm, he looked up to see a massive spirit floating before them. It looked like Raava, except it was red and black, and was much larger.
It spoke with a deep, reverberating voice. "Raava, nothing could stop this moment. Harmonic Convergence is upon us again."
Ayana approached the spirit with her fists clenched at her sides. She shouted her reply with determination. "I won't let you fuse with Father! I'm going to put you right back in your prison for another ten thousand years!"
The spirit didn't respond, but he moved back towards Father, who still stood by the tree. Ed was about to cry out but Ayana responded quicker. She deflected the spirit with fire and whipped Father up and over the group. He landed behind them with a thud.
"Keep him away from Vaatu!" She commanded. And then she was gone, flying towards the dark spirit by bending the water beneath her.
Her three friends raised their fists as they faced Father and waited for him to move. Ed glanced towards Al, who nodded back at him. They both raised their hands, too, poised to clap.
Father staggered to his feet and examined his opponents with anger swimming in his eyes. His gaze briefly flashed beyond them, most likely looking for Vaatu.
"Give yourself up!" One of the boys surprised Ed by shouting in a commanding tone.
Father responded by giving him an evil smile, then used his alchemy to split the ground beneath their feet. Everyone stumbled as they tried to keep their balance, and Father's alchemy lifted nearby rocks and threw them at the group. Ed blocked the attack by clapping quickly and raising a shield from the ground.
"Woah!" The second boy marveled. "Is that guy an earthbender? Are you an earthbender?"
"We're alchemists!" Ed shouted as he clapped again to transmute a spike to impale Father. He blocked with his alchemy shield with a sharp glare in his eyes.
"Don't know what that is, but okay!" The stranger shouted back and Ed watched, amazed, as he started weaving his body the same way Ayana did, throwing rocks and moving the ground. The other two were doing the same thing, but with fire and air. These guys are benders, too.
Father's body pulsed, and his face froze in alarm. Gazing around frantically, he sent out a shockwave of alchemy that knocked everyone back several feet. Ed recovered and sat up in time to see Father fleeing in the direction of the Amestrian portal.
He heard a deep, threatening sound behind him and, turning his head, he watched Ayana barely dodge a thick beam of dark energy that had originated from Vaatu. She bent a large boulder up and over her head and sent it straight at the spirit, but he shot another beam that blasted it to dust and sent her skidding across the ground and into a rock. She didn't move to get up.
Vaatu laughed as he taunted her. "Raava, how weak you have become! You are no match for me!"
"Al! Follow that bastard! Don't let him make another Philosopher's Stone!"
"Right!" Al immediately gave chase to Father, who was just disappearing over a hill. A few of the dragonfly bunnies followed.
"I'll help!" The firebending stranger shouted and raced after Al.
Ed sprinted towards Ayana. He clapped and threw his hands to the ground to bring the earth up in a pillar. He managed to hit the charging spirit just in time to deflect him away from her.
The earthbender must have followed him because he watched as boulders and rocks began flying from behind. Ed clapped his hands again and created a large spike that impaled Vaatu. The spirit roared in anger as his body repaired itself and he advanced on them.
The earthbender continued to throw boulders, but it didn't slow the spirit down at all. Ed clapped, erecting a barrier, but Vaatu blasted right through.
He was just starting to think they were screwed when Ayana appeared suddenly, fire-punching Vaatu sideways so he sailed harmlessly past them. She landed in front of them and gave them an irate look.
"Stay out of this! I can't fight him and protect you, too!" She rebuked in her distorted voice.
"Geez, how about 'thanks for saving me, Bolin'?" The earthbender replied.
Ed thought he saw her eyes shift, although it was hard to tell with them blazing white like that. She hastily blasted herself backwards with fire flying from her feet and threw fireballs over their heads. They both ducked as Vaatu passed above them to pursue the Avatar.
The airbender man appeared from seemingly nowhere. "Let's get back a safe distance!" He instructed.
Bolin didn't argue as he turned to follow. Ed was hesitant, but reluctantly trailed behind them to the portal, where Jinora still stood with Raashu and the remaining spirit rabbits. Ed glanced over in the direction Al and the other boy had gone, but they'd disappeared.
The loud crack of thunder sounded, and everyone turned to watch the battle. They saw Vaatu's body sparking in energy. He reached for Ayana, but she pushed his seeking tendrils away with air and immediately threw water and ice at him, followed by another shot of lightning. The spirit somehow managed to dodge the electricity this time, and he sent another beam of energy at her. The earth beneath her feet heaved as she propelled herself up into the air. She bent multiple shots of earth and water at him from midair, but they had no effect as Vaatu simply shifted his body to avoid them or repaired the damage. Just as she landed, the spirit threw his tendrils into the ground and split the earth below her, and she disappeared from view as she fell.
"No!" Ed moved to help, but the airbender held his arm out to block him and shot him a hard look out of the corner of his eye.
"I know it's difficult, but the best way for us to help is to stay out of the way." He said sternly.
Vaatu's voice echoed menacingly. "I have been waiting for this exact moment for the past ten thousand years. Your era is over, Raava!"
"I can't just stand here and do nothing!" Ed protested.
Before the man could respond, a massive torrent of flame shot up from the crack in the ground and hit Vaatu forcefully. The spirit recoiled from the attack, and Ayana jumped up out of the hole.
"You will not win!" It was Raava's voice that spoke, and she said it with resolve.
They watched the Avatar fight Vaatu with relentless volleys of all the elements. He tried reaching for her several times but none of his attacks connected. As the spirit shot another beam of dark energy at her, she dodged by jumping high in the air. Simultaneously, lightning erupted from her hand and impacted him right in his core.
Vaatu's body sparked as the electricity coursed through him, and he seemed momentarily stunned. Ayana trapped him in a sphere created from all four elements, and then she walked him towards the giant tree. As she shoved him inside the hollow, a blinding shockwave of energy shot out.
Blinking the spots from his eyes, Ed looked back to see Vaatu gazing out angrily, imprisoned behind a veil of energy inside the tree. Ayana was approaching them quickly.
She had eyes only for him. "Where's Father?"
"I think he's headed back to our world. He can barely contain the power he's got, so we think he's going to try to create another Philosopher's Stone. Al and your friend followed him." Ed explained hastily.
"Let's go help." She replied as she moved towards Raashu. He followed her, and she helped him climb up the wolf's back.
"Wait!" The earthbender yelled after them. "Need a hand?"
"Climb up, then." She responded, and he immediately jumped up with the help of a quick earthbend. Raashu stood, and together they headed back to Amestris.