Elementary Alchemy
Chapter 5: quiet moments and tough decisions
By Vox Deruste
Korra didn't know what she would find, she did remember her friends but the same connection was not there. She also didn't really tell anyone that her full memory had returned but even then she barely trusted it.
Would you? If your memories told you that you were some kind religious figure that fought threats around the world, and yet the clearest memories of it you had were romantic entanglements and a long string of bad decisions? Would you believe it?
Korra didn't feel like that was really the case, the only thing in her fighting that feeling was the fact the memories felt real, even if she felt disconnected from them. And when Winry told her that she ran into someone who knew her name.
A part of her hoped she was wrong.
She wasn't. In front of her was a beautiful young woman with delicate features and heavily detailed orientated make-up. She had some scuffed marks on her but she seemed physically fine, mentally however was an incoherent mess. Muttered to herself, mostly Korra's name and some plan. Occasionally something green is on fire. Korra walked to her as the doctor checked her vitals.
"Hey...Asami." Korra said awkwardly and slowly. "You remember me?" She asked as she looked into her blank eyes. They still had beautiful eyeshadow despite her dazed state, a lovely shade of purple with her rouge lips.
"Korra." Asami gasped. "Found you." Korra held her hand and looked toward the doctor.
"Can you tell what's wrong?" Korra asked.
"She appears to be suffering from slight delirium and malnutrition. Honestly, it seems like she was drained of nearly everything. She will be fine after getting some fluid and rest." The doctor explained. "She will be better in a day or two of observation."
"Need to leave, need…" Asami nearly tried to get up but collapsed back onto it. Korra pulled up the sheets of the hospital bed for her.
"Get some rest, I'll be back and you can bore me with how you got here later. Alright?" Korra tried to look comforting and put on a brave face for Asami. But internally she was unsure about her state. She remembered how Winry described her when she wandered toward their home. And Asami matched it tit for tat. But what caused it?
Why did she lose her memory? Why was she drained of all her nutrition's? What brought her here?
Korra waved at Asami and left the hospital room, Winry staying by the side of the door.
"At Least you found one of your friends...that was one of your friends right." Winry asked, trying to comfort Korra, whose brave face was turning into a hard frown as she walked away from the door.
"She is my friend. I remember her." Korra said solemnly. Korra wanted to deal with the whole Asami thing when she was all better, and more importantly when Korra finished mentally preparing for what she was going to do about her.
She hasn't been here long but she did strangely enjoy it. The Elric's brother company and drive, the Rockbells' kindness. Even the goofiness of Armstrong and his lieutenants. It felt refreshing to her.
In her memories, she was an important person with an important job with the weight of the world on her shoulders. She loved it, from what she remembered from it. At the beginning at least. Then the reality of it came during an uprising in Republic city. That no matter what she did, it became worse and worse until she faced the big bad behind and lost. They only won in the end because she had her friend's and the universe handed her airbending when Amon took the rest of his bending away.
The kicker was that wasn't what stopped, it was his own brother in a suicide pact situation or at least that was the guess when they found the bodies.
She did get her bending back but it all felt hollow. The threat was barely stopped by her and all she purposefully did amounted to not much. Everything that went right, went right by accident.
"Korra?" Winry snapped Korra out of her worse thoughts. Korra herself shook her head and lightly slapped her cheeks to her psyche her up.
"Sorry, It's just nice to see a friend. Not that all of you have not made me feel welcomed." Korra said with a slight smile. Winry smiled back. The blonde girl did notice that was burying something deep down, something that Edward did really. Bury things so you can look through them.
"Let's get back to Edward's room, I need to make sure he drinks his milk." Winry said with a sarcastic groan.
"You don't really milk to grow, at least that cow stuff. Honestly, it was a good thing you noticed that I was lactose intolerant early on." Korra joked. Winry slightly grimaced.
"It's not just the milk thing, he can just be so childish sometimes, and just ignore other people because he thinks he knows better." Korra was going to try and counter that but after remembering the times she acted like that, she decided that she barely had a right to defraud an accusation.
The day started to brighten slightly as they entered the room and an excited voice said.
"Oh, so you're the young blonde girl Ed call to service him!" An energetic Hughes yelled as he turned from Edward toward the two young women. Winry stopped in her tracks while Korra started to hold back a laugh, failing to do so. Edward shot from his bed.
"She's my mechanic!"
"Oh, so you seduced your mechanic." Hughes said quizzically. But Korra got the idea he was just messing with him. He honestly kinda reminded her of a more comedic version of her own father. He was warm and caring because he is strong enough, or at least confident enough that he didn't need to put up a front to make people feel safe. Or disarm them with humor.
"What are you even doing here Hughes?" Edward asked, slumped on his bed.
"Well, I gave Sheska some overtime and used that extra time to see how all of you were doing."
"Your a real piece of work, aren't ya."
"Well someone needs to tell you that you didn't need the bodyguards anymore." Hughes explained. Korra honestly forgot that was the reason he had the guards. She remembered that it was something about a traveling murderer. But one look at and she remembered that unlike someone else, she was at least told.
"Guards? What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into!?" Winry yelled at Edward. Edward breathed in and out but didn't answer.
"Apparently there is a murderer after state alchemist's." Korra explained to Winry.
"You don't have to-"
"He's something that is called Ishvalen. He was the one that destroyed his arm the first time." Korra went against Edwards's words and told Winry what she was told by the lieutenant.
"Ed why didn't you tell me!" Winry yelled at Edward. He gave a crossed look to Korra.
"You didn't have to tell her." Edward said coldly.
"Don't blame her for actually telling me what's going. You and Al never tell me this, why didn't you tell me?" Winry had a very worried look on her face that mixed with the anger but Edward kept quiet. Korra felt a slight bit of guilt over starting an argument but a part of her knew this was something they needed to talk about.
Sadly she noticed a quiet pattern. Winry waited for Edward to give her an answer but he won't answer. A deadlock. Winry sighed and grabbed her work bag.
"Fine, be that way." Winry said bitterly. "I'll just go get a hotel room for the next few day's." The lieutenant's got out of her way but Hughes stopped her with his words.
"You can stay with my family." Hughes said happily. He grabbed her by the back of her shirt and dragged her away from the room.
"Wait!? What?" Winry stammered as she was dragged away, too confused to really fight back against it.
Korra was left with an angered Edward, a quiet Alphonse, and awkward military officers.
"Why didn't you tell her?" Korra asked flat out. Edward still remained quiet. "Yeah, yeah…"Korra guessed that he didn't want to be a bother because he wants to only be his problem, but this was ridiculous.
"Take it from someone that tried the whole, 'I can take care of things myself' shtick, It rarely works out." Korra remembered Amon, Tarloq, and her cousins. Despite being a powerful bender in her own right and the Avatar, for spirit's sake, she still needs help. Even recently she need help against a man with a sword. Sure a very successful murderer who was soul bonded to armor, but a man with a sword nonetheless.
It's arrogant to think you can do things on your own...She had to learn the hard way too many times.
But the room became a bit quiet again.
Korra did manage to also get Armstrong and Al to try some Tai-chi with her, which she was glad she could remember what it was, given it was from her own culture. And the fact she felt dumb for knowing the last few days.
"This actually seems very relaxing." Al remarked as they practice their forms on the roof. Ed wanted privacy and Korra obliged. Brosch took up watching Edward. Not to protect him but just so he would stew over his thoughts by himself.
"Edward should try it when he recovers fully." Armstrong added, putting a slight bit more gusto than necessary into the moves.
"Yeah, well spirit know that he needs to calm down." Korra realized the irony in her words, but at least when she got angry it was over slightly important things. Like her training or autonomy. Korra might not like how much of a brat she expressed her feelings, but not the root of her feelings.
Korra tried to keep her mind on the forms and stances of everyone else. In reality, she was counting the time down till the day ended, Hoping Asami would be better tomorrow and that Edward would be less of an ass.
Near the epicenter of the spirit world, The tree of time marking it, was the king of the Northern Water tribe. Along with Wan Shi Tong and the eponymous Green Flame. Sitting around the tree as the spirit of chaos chafed against his prison.
"How can two spirits and one Human King fail this badly at finding one Human!" Vaatu bellowed. Green Flame clicked his black smoke tongue.
"Yelling about it won't help you, Oh Lord of Chaos." Green Flame chastised. Wan Shi Tong was befuddled by the audacity of Green Flame but then again Vaatu could only do so much while restrained within the tree of time.
"My knowledge Seekers still scour the globe, we still have time before the convergence comes." Wan Shi Tong tried to conceal but a loud hum of energy surged within the tree.
"I am confident that I have an alternative." Unalaq spoke with false confidence. "I believe that I can break the barrier with the strength of my own bending." The spirits were quiet as they let the stupidity of the plan set in. "I can enter the spirit world physically, with my bending, a skill no spirit has." Before Wan Shi Tong could correct the king, Green Flame stopped him, enjoying the pit that the king was digging for himself.
"You're a water bender? Right?" Green Flame asked.
"Yes?" Unalaq said with slight confusion of the spirit's question.
"Just that you seem confident that your bending, a material ability that uses water, could be more of a match than the cosmic powers of a spirit." Green Flame smarmed.
"And the spirit that masquerades as Human is speaking confidently." Vaatu said, his singular eye trained on the Spirit. "You wouldn't also have something to actually add or are you going against my chosen vessel to cover your own deficiencies." The Chaos spirit stared down the green spirit.
"I may have something that can break you free but I need your consent and time." Green Flame said with false hesitation. Pretending he was placing bait.
"You will not deny me a way out of this prison!" A bait that Vaatu fell for. "You will explain this instant!" Vaatu cried out. A small smile was on Green Flame's face but he reigned it back to show a reluctant one. He pulled out a leather-bound book that was heavily damaged. While no one in the room beside him could read it, it was called The Notes of Dr. Marcoh.
"In these passages, it speaks about the power that can be obtained when an individual uses a certain technique, a circle and use of energy." Green Flame explained. He tried to make it sound like a humble suggestion, enough to make it so he doesn't sound too overeager. Unalaq and Wan Shi Tong looked at Green Flame suspicion.
No matter what was said at this meeting, Green Flame's expression did not change or even crack. A calm smile throughout but knowing that he wanted to suggest something he pulls a bashful act. One did not need to know Ten thousand things to have an inkling that this was a ploy.
"You claim all that is required to break out of this damned prison is a circle." Vaatu said coldly. Green Flame took a bow.
"If I may demonstrate the effectiveness of what I learned so far?" The spirit asked of Vaatu. The Ancient being rolled his eyes.
"You may." As soon as the word's left Vaatu, A few of the fingers of Green Flame detached and started to sear a circle into the ground. The fingers drew further symbols within that circle and Green Flame finished the display by pressing a fiery palm on the circle. A flash of blue light appeared around the circle like lightning. From the circle sprouted a large pillar of the stone material beneath them.
The pillar had depictions of spirits and lion turtles on it. Vaatu and his opponent at the top and a plain-looking, human figure holding it up
"When can I make preparations." Green Flame said with no doubt in his mind. Vaatu didn't respond right away. While Wan Shi Tong started at the feat of mysticism in front of him. Unalaq was not impressed.
"You did something an accomplished earth bender could do, without a circle."
"I believe you said you weren't an earth bender." Green flame playfully retorted. Before blows could come between the spirit and the king, Vaatu spoke.
"You may continue looking into this technique of yours Green Flame." Unalaq looked toward Green Flame, who stuck a tongue out against him. "The rest of you continue looking for that sack of meat Raava calls a body." Vaatu said sternly as everyone began to dismiss themselves.
Wan Shi Tong followed Green Flame.
"And just like that, you have a spirit older than the material world asking for your assistance." Wan Shi Tong said as they both flew above the immaterial grounds of the spirit world. The scenery changing in subtle ways as they made their way toward their destination.
"He's been stuck in a rotten tree for ten thousand years. He'll listen to the opinion of insects, given the chance. Boredom and desperation." Green flame clicked their tongue once more. "Why else would he use a human and have him take away the autonomy of spirits."
Wan Shi Tong ignored the sleight. The strangeness of his involvement was enough strangeness without trying to figure out a why?
"I'm sure your knowledge seekers will find something soon about their whereabouts." Green Flame said with false cheer, imagining the confusion of the foxes as he rest secure in the knowledge that he is the only one who knows where Korra really is.
"I'm still speculating what will happen if she is not here when the promised day comes." Wan Shi Tong spent the last few days, scoring for information on Harmonic Convergence. Rarely did any recorded knowledge serves him well here. What little he did learn was from asking various spirits, old enough to have faint memories. It wasn't much he did understand that spiritual energy would be amplified.
But now a new mystery.
"I know of every language, living or dead, cyphered and coded. And yet I see nothing like the one you presented?" Wan Shi Tong pointedly questioned. Green Flame shugged.
"I know of places, even you aren't aware of." Green Flame said simply. But quickly course-corrected. "I mean you have not set foot on the Human word in several decades! That is a lot in human." Green Flame tried to change the subject.
"When you came to my library for the first time, all you would ever do was ask about gates." Wan Shi Tong recalled. "How do they work? Who makes them? What can you do with them? And yet now you're showing me something I don't have a reference for?" Wan Shi Tong said cryptically. Green Flames face became hard.
"Is it really that strange spirit of knowledge?" Green Flame asked the Owl as they reach sightlines of his library.
"I don't understand your angle, and I'm fairly certain that you're sabotaging all this." Wan Shi Tong continued.
"Bold accusations, Especelliy from the empty nester who decided the best use of knowledge was to hoard where no one can use it, wasting away for all of eternity." Green Flame twisted the knife. Wan Shi Tong rolled his black eyes and went back to his library. Green Flame continues to his destination. The gates. A small alcove of souvenirs and items underneath the wooden gate.
Several books, novels, and history books of the like. Several models that he had gotten from Asami before sending her off the other word. And something he took from that other world.
A map of the nation he hid Korra in, several lists of names, and books of alchemy. All underneath his notes. Even spirits need reminders.
He then started to draw on the ground beneath him and strategize with the information he had. Where everyone was, what everyone is doing, what they should be doing. He looked over his notes.
The Avatar and now her friend Asami are in another world. He made contact with a mysterious organization on that side of the gate. He had his two big players, this father underneath this nation, the homunculus think they have him in the dark but he used his abilities to go through the wall without being seen and listened into their chats. It's how he got the book, go to the library before they burned it.
He has promised both them and Vaatu great power in exchange for taking part in their plans. He wasn't of course, they greatly bored him. But the chance to play them off each other with the Avatar as a focal point. What great fun it will be! The thoughts of Green Flame went. But how to proceed was the next question.
Korra's other friends are still in Republic city, waiting for confirmation on Korra and Asami, the airbender family, still on their temple vacation. The question was how can he get them to all be in the same space. The more people involved the more fun it would be. Korra's friends would be the easy ones. He can send them to the other world when the same way he did the others, the airbending family was the snag. He wanted to bring them along as Korra's allies but only one, possibly two have promise.
He thought about various ways he could wrangle them while holding a photo from the other world. It had a young man with white hair, red hair. Brown skin with cloth clothing.
"Perhaps I should make contact now." As Green Flame looked at the picture and all his plans. Wan Shi Tong's knowledge seeker watched, just out of sight. Watching, observing, and taking note of the machinations of the spirit.
"Am I me?" Alphonse asked Edward. Al held off the question of his one existence to when there was ample time. Now that Edward's wounds were nearly completely healed, during breakfast. It was him, Edward, Korra, and Winry on the roof of the building. Looking down on Central city.
"What do you mean Al?" Edward asked as he ate his food. Korra dumped the milk out of sight of Winry with her bending.
"It might be dumb….but I started to question my memories recently...How true they may be...then one of the guards got into my head...for a little while...I honestly thought I might not be real. Just a collection of memories you made. That maybe you might have left some of me behind." Al managed to get out. The atmosphere was quiet, the warm sun and cool breeze mixing together.
Edward finished his food and stood up. And kicked Al.
"Ed!" Korra and Winry yelled. Edward raised a hand to keep them from interfering. As he and Al went into an impromptu sparring session. Edward pressed his surprise advantage, using moves he saw Korra used with her fire to sweep at the leg. Al managed to tip toe away from it.
He was still off center from Edward's sudden desire to fight. Edward then threw one of sheets the hospital was drying onto his brother, blinding him.
"Aren't you going to get involved!?" Winry looked toward Korra. At first Korra thought about it, this did seem too sudden but she went against it after seeing the determination in Edward Eyes.
"Edward is thickheaded but rarely an idiot. He's trying something. If things get more intense, I'll step in." Korra promised with a reassuring smile. Winry was still against the fight but she continued to watch.
Edward used the faint of the sheet to sweep the leg with his metal leg and get Al on his back.
"I finally won!" Edward shouted.
"Only because of a faint!" Al retorted. Edward collapsed to the ground.
"A win is a win and you know it." He said with no shame. Korra and Winry sighed. "After all this time, I finally beat you." Edward said as he stared into the azure sky.
"We used to fight over a ton of stupid stuff."
"You still do." Winry mumbled.
"We even fought over who would marry Winry."
"What?" Ed said with sheer confusion.
"I won the fight but she shot me down." Al said nostalgically. Winry nodded.
"Oh." Edward and Al quietly lay on top of the ground with little worries or cares. "Are you telling me those memories are fake, or that your desire to get your body back is fake?" Al turned his helmet.
"I'm sorry brother." Al apologized.
"Honestly…." Edward trailed off and then looked toward Korra. "Honestly I don't like to unload my own stuff on other people. But honestly, I thought...I thought...that you blamed me for what happened?" The air became quiet. Not even a breeze to ruin the moment of thought.
"I would never!" Al refuted. "We both did what we did...we share the blame. I never blamed you for that day." Al clarified and Korra was glad that they let it all out. Winry seemed to have a similar joy from it.
"Well then if that is enough." Korra got up from the ground. "Maybe we can start getting the okay from the doctor to leave now." Korra did some quick stretches and cracked a few of her knuckles. "I also want you all to meet one of my friends for once." Korra looked slightly distrubed. "She should be awake now." Edward noticed her tone.
"If it takes a bit longer to come home, you can hang around for a bit longer. Our search is already being thrown a curveball anyway." Edward shrugged trying to seem aloof but Korra gave him a bear hug. Squeezing him.
"Thanks, Ed." They went straight to Asami's room after the brothers reconciled. Korra was eager once more to see her, hopefully in a more lucid state. The doctor said that she was well enough to walk around and speak but they wanted her to stay for observation. Thankfully Hughes signed her off using his authority. Korra still had lingering doubts but buried them down. Al noticed it from their talk but also kept it to himself, more out of a desire for Korra to freely share than anything.
The first thing the Resembol trio noticed about the girl in the hospital room was that she was very beautiful. Smokey eyes, bright eyes, and shining black hair. A beauty unlike any the trio has ever seen. Yet she had a great intelligence look about her and seemed very fit. Beauty that covered brilliance.
Asami herself seemed very happy when Korra walked into the room.
"Korra!" Asami got off the hospital bed and hugged Korra deeply. The trio saw that she was also a smidge taller than Korra. "I found you, we can...we can...I don't remember what we were going to do but I know I'm happy that I found you." Korra hugged her back.
"Thanks...You don't really remember how you got here...do you?" Korra asked Asami. She released Korra from the hug and frowned.
"I remember bits and pieces. Green,...something about green. Also you." Asami went quiet. "Nothing else. There is a deep hole where my memories should be but all I could see is green fire and you." Asami explained. Korra raised an eyebrow but felt a strange emotion when she said green fire. Why did that seem familiar? Why was their dread along with the familiarity?
Korra snapped back to reality and realized how rude she was being.
"Asami, meet the people who helped me recover my memories." Korra said, gesturing toward the Resembol Trio. Asami, embarrassed, quickly shook their hands.
"Asami Sato, you are?"
"Winry Rockbell." Winry shook Asami's hands with a gentle smile.
"Edward Elric and this is my brother."
"Alphonse Elric." The brothers said sequentially. Asami shook their hands with gratitude.
"Thank you for helping Korra, she can be...she can be...be." Asami's mind was caught in a feedback loop. Trying to recover information that was shut off from her. Winry noticed and grabbed Asami's hands and clasped them together.
"If we managed to help with Korra's memories then we can help with yours in no time with practice." Winry said hopefully. Asami gave a soft but wavering smile.
"I think the plan was to find you and….I should have a note. Where is the note?" Asami was wearing clothes provided by the hospital, as she scoured the pockets from the jumpsuit she usually wore. She did manage to pull out a note written in a language that Winry and the other couldn't understand. Korra did, however. She stared at it, she squinted her eyes.
"It just says to meditate and think of Wan?" Said with confusion. "Also something about getting more...model vehicles? Signed Sage." Korra didn't have a clear idea who G.F might be Thought there was a twinge of recognition in Asami's eyes.
"It's not his full name but it is the ending of it. The person that brought me here. Not human." Asami said casually as Korra turned to the shocked faces of the Resembol trio.
"And when you say not human?" Edward asked cautiously.
"Green fire, black eyes with red eyelids and bright robes." Asami said straightforwardly. Korra tried to signal her to cut it off there but she kept going. "I think spirit, beings made of natural energies like that chakra's that are used for bending. He did also have strange symbols on his clothes that resemble-" Asami unleashed a deluge of information that seemed barely connected and seemed extremely stream of consciousness. Al calmly listened but didn't seem to believe a word of it, Edward took notes but had that skeptical, I am taking notes but it's more to prove you wrong, kinda deal.
Winry patiently listen, not showing judgment on her face, and kept a warm disposition, occasionally helping Asami to say out certain words or to elaborate. It was hard to see if she was genuine or taking pity. But she make sure that Asami felt heard.
Korra felt mixed about the deluge. Especially since the two of them the trio barely did a good job of even pretending that they didn't believe it.
There was still a disconnect between herself and her memoirs, that prevented her from understanding or even believing parts of it. Edward motioned to Korra so he can whisper.
"Does any of this go against your memories?" He asked. Korra didn't know how to answer the skeptical alchemist in a way he would accept or understand. It left the one option.
"Every word." Korra said with a straight face. Edward was waiting for it, but it never came.
"I'm going to be straight with you."
"You don't believe a word of it." Korra guessed.
"I don't believe parts of it. She is describing an entire world and portal, spirits. Those aspects I can't believe, the part about a conspiracy and a bigger hand behind everything...that I can get behind." Edward explained as he showed his notes and sketches. The long-haired figure and the women with the long finger knives. "I think we should share notes."
The Ishvalan monk was lying on the ground, on top of an old mat and a blanket. The sensation of bandages and lingering pains and aches keep him awake. He was ready to attack whoever was near him but a hand with the same skin color as his was in front of his eyes.
"You're among, well not friends, kinsmen at the least." The voice belonged to a young man, early twenties. The monk relaxed slightly when he saw the white hair and red eyes. He looked like a medic or a nurse on a budget. The same garb as one but with stains that haven't been cleaned in some time, callous hands."I would apologize for the mess but I know who you are." The monk stared at the young man. "I don't mind that you're targeting...them but the Elric kid, the one that people genuinely like? Stick with the veterans and I'll keep quiet." The young man looked down on him. "Do you speak or does the bloodlust impact your higher functions."
The young man was still stitching together the monk.
"Why do you help, if you hate what I do?" The young man continued the stitching.
"I was a medical apprentice in Amestris before the war, when the war began I lost my apprenticeship and had to endure the scorn of the people I medically cared for." The young man listed out as he finished the stitch. "I wandered around, no one would hire me and the war got worse and then it ended." He looked into the monk's eyes. "While we live in squalor and slums, the murder's who decimated our people and nation walk free." A near-crazed look was on the young man's face. "The leader of this slum has words about your actions but so long as you keep to alchemist's who fought in the war I see let you have your death wish." The young man packed his tools and stood up.
"Do you see my path as righteous?" The monk questioned. The young man sighed.
"Righteousness is for people who can afford to lose in the name of it. We have nothing left, you know that better than anyone 'scar'." He said with a sneer. He walked outside and let the two fished Scar from the river meet the patient. He could of the way of inner slum and smoke by a tree.
He wanted to deny it but he was jealous of Scar. What Ishvalen, deep down, wouldn't be? He is a one crusade against the alchemist who ruined their homeland. While all he has done was stay in the slum, doing back-alley surgery and free medical checks for his kin. In the young man's mind, the only mistake was going after Edward Elric and not for Mustang.
Amestrian could spin the Elric's death as a reason to persecute their people further but Mustang? Straightforward revenge killing. Though he did admit he was talking out of his ass with that thought. As he lingered on it he saw something, in the corner of his eye. he saw what looked like a note written in the common script. Badly written but legible.
If you want to be someone and no longer be in the background, you will go toward central. You may use this.
The young man looked around where the message was and found an envelope of money.
Enjoy Azuma, you will see a world of new opportunities from now on.
Love, Green Flame sage.