The Avatar has Returned

The freaky large man with the third eye on his forehead gave Ed a death glare. The man looked around the room for anybody else, and inhaled deeply. He looked pissed. Suddenly, a light popped out of the third eye, which resulted in one of the walls exploding. There was nothing left but rubble. How the hell did he do that?!

Ed stared at the man briefly, trying to figure out how the freakish explosion came out of that tattoo. The man turned toward to the other wall, his bright metal limbs temporarily blinded Ed. That automail was nothing like Ed had ever seen before, but he didn't have the luxury to question the man. Another wall exploded with the freak's rage. Ed finished carving a circle on the post, and struggled to touch it with his left hand. The chains around his hands were too tight, so Ed couldn't reach the circle. Irritated, Ed pulled as hard as he could with his right arm, hoping the chains would break. Instead, the wooden post bent and cracked. Ed was finally able to reach the circle, and quickly touched it. The pole became nothing more than a pile of splinters.

The man was still destroying the room, not even caring if Ed was caught in the crossfire. Deciding it wouldn't be a good idea to question the man about his weird alchemy, Ed jumped through one of the crumbled walls and ran as fast as he could into the forest. He tired out more quickly than he usually did, but that was only because he hadn't eaten any food since landing in this freak show place.

As he walked aimlessly, Ed clapped his hands and destroyed what was left of the shackles around his hands. There were strange noises in the forest from unseen animals, none of which sounded familiar. Where was he? Maybe it was Xing, at least, the people dressed like they were in the Xing region. The only problem was Ed could understand the people when they talked. Xing had its own language.

Then there was the matter of the strange flame alchemy. No one had used a circle of any sort. The man had a tattoo on his head, which was where the explosion came from, but the tattoo wasn't a transmutation circle; it was an eye.

Wandering through the forest more, Ed also began to why he had been captured. Those freaks had said Ed was the avatar, returned. What the heck was an avatar? Obviously, it had to be some sort of weapon, or they wouldn't have attacked and chained him.

Up ahead, Ed could hear the sound of people talking and he could see a faint light coming through the trees. He quickened his pace to a jog and discovered a small town. The smell of food hit Ed like a rock wall. Ed rummaged through his pockets, even though he knew there was nothing in them, except for his pocket watch. He drooped his head slightly, clapped his hands, and fixed his tattered coat. It would be less conspicuous for a normally dressed person to show up than someone who looked like they had been in a horrendous fight. Now, who should he say he is? Ed smiled mischievously. This avatar fellow might do.

Ed strutted into the town confidently and watched as people gave him strange looks. He burst into the building that the food smell was coming from, and sat down eagerly on a chair. The people in the diner looked shocked, many of them began to mumble, one even pointed at his hair. Ed looked around and saw a few men dressed up in the same uniform as the ones who attacked him. Quickly, Ed clapped his hands and giant fists popped out of the ground, trapping the uniformed men.

"…Did he just earthbend…. and bend lightning?" Someone in the crowd asked aloud. The people in the room panicked. Many left, but a few still remained and stared at Ed with their mouths open with disbelief.

"That's right!" Ed said aloud, "I'm an avatar! Feed me!"

"The Avatar has returned! He's come back to take revenge on the Fire Nation!" The remaining people screamed and ran out of the restaurant. The employees peeked their heads in the room to see the boy.

So, Ed thought, there is one Avatar (whatever that is), they said the Avatar has returned. Did he die? Revenge on the Fire Nation. What's a Fire Nation? Maybe this Avatar fellow was killed by these fire freaks. He was going to use this assumed knowledge to his advantage.

"That's right! I have returned, and I'm here to fulfill my quench of revenge." Ed yelled, then spoke calmly, "Unless you feed me." The terrified employees scampered and put piles of food on Ed's table, then retreated to the kitchen. Ed drooled and devoured the spicy food. He glanced impatiently at the servers when the food was eaten. One of them nervously set a tin pitcher on the table, and ran into the back room.

With one sip, Ed spat the liquid out and dumped the contents on the floor. Milk!

"Hey! Bring me anything else but this nasty white crap!" A jug of water was set on his table, which he quickly chugged down. Sure, it made his mouth hotter from eating the spicy food, but it was better than milk. Once Ed's stomach was satisfied, he stood up and defiantly exited the building. The streets were empty, the houses on the road were full of whispering people. Not knowing what to do next, Ed walked on the edge of the road until he met a few more fire freaks.

"Halt." The man did not seem confident, rather, he looked terrified. Ed clapped his hands and made many fists of earth come out of the ground. Ed managed to trap one freak, while the others fled.

"Gah! Don't kill me!" The man stuttered and pled.

"Calm down. Tell me how you do that." The man was confused.

"Do what?"

"Don't play dumb. You can do flame alchemy without an array. Where's your Philosopher's Stone?" The trapped man looked horrified and started to babble like an idiot.

"…Useless bastard." Ed said finally and walked away. He wasn't sure where he was going to go, and he still didn't know where he was. The road led out of the town and into the forest. Ed followed it, figuring it was better than aimlessly wandering in a mysterious forest. As he walked away from the town, he could hear the people yelling and scrambling around. This Avatar person must have been a dangerous person, if even the mention of him had these people this terrified. Ed wasn't even a bit worried about the real Avatar, since those people said he had been killed. A big grin spread across Ed's face. He was going to use the Avatar's identity until he figured a way out of this strange land.

Ed did not sleep well that night. The road kept going on and on; he thought he would've found another village with an inn by then. He had decided to sleep in the grass by the side of the road. His headache from being knocked out the other day was finally starting to fade. Mysterious creatures of the night filled the forest with their loud calls.

Ed was finally able to fall asleep, but he was not safe in his slumber. Nightmares filled his head and wouldn't end. Nina. Hughes. The failed human transmutation. Al being trapped in a suit of armor. Why did all of these bad things always have to happen to him? Because he deserved it. He committed the worse possible sin. He deserved this anguish.

When morning finally arrived, Ed stood up and stretched his aching back and limbs. Sleeping on the ground hadn't been a good idea, after all. There was nothing else to do but keep following the road until he found another town. What was he going to do when he got there? Terrorize the people until they fed him? Looking back on it, Ed felt a tiny bit remorseful for causing all of those people to panic. That, and he sort of destroyed part of the town while interrogating a fire freak.

Besides, food shouldn't have been his top priority. Figuring a way out of this land and finding Al was. It was decided. The next town Ed stumbled across, he wouldn't use the Avatar disguise. He would be just a normal citizen.

Another freakish lizard with horns appeared on the road with a cart full of people behind it. Ed hid behind a tree and waited for the large chimera and people to pass.

"…The Avatar has come back. What do we do?…"

"…I doubt it. Those people are insane. The Fire prince killed the Avatar…"

"…What if it's his spirit? They say he didn't look like an ordinary human…" The wagon finally passed by, and Ed couldn't hear anymore of the people's mutterings. What did they mean by, 'didn't look like an ordinary human'? Ed looked perfectly fine, except for his automail, but none of the townspeople had seen his artificial limbs. Slightly irritated, Ed continued down the road until he saw rooftops. Finally! He ran into the large town and tried to spot an inn. People were giving him strange looks, so Ed pulled up his hood to cover his hair and face.

In the depths of the city, Ed wandered and tried to find some food. There was a large creature that looked like a hippo and cow chimera, which was eating steaks. What a waste of perfectly good meat!

"…Everyone here eats meat. Even the meat!" Ed could hear an enthusiastic voice say about the chimera. So, people created chimeras and ate them in this place? Weird.

Ed's stomach was growling constantly. He watched the boy that spoke, and watched him take a small copper coin out of his bag. So, that's their currency?

He really didn't want to, but it was for his survival in this strange land. Ed sprinted at the unsuspecting boy and swiped the little coin out of his hands. He ran quickly, and only glanced back once. The kid he just stole the coin from had three others at his side. The kid then pointed in the direction Ed ran. Ed kept running, and made a harsh turn down a side street. Not being familiar with this city, like those kids likely were, he dashed into the nearest house until the threat passed by.

"Where did he go? That was our last coin! Toph, can't you feel him?" The voice belonged to the kid Ed stole the coin from. These guys didn't have any money except for the coin Ed took. Oops.

Ed heard a squeaky floorboard behind him, and he spun around quickly. A woman with her small child were huddled in the corner, horrified at the sight of the intruder. Ed had messed up big time. He stole the remaining money from some poor kid, and he traumatized a small child. What could get worse?

The woman finally screamed; her child started to bawl.

"T-take our money. Pl-please don't hurt us." The woman said loudly. Ed took off his hood, in hopes of not looking menacing, and spoke softly to the woman and child.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Please, quiet down." It didn't have the effect Ed was looking for.

"The money is in the trunk. Take it all!" Ed peered out of the window and saw the four kids looking at the house he was in. After hearing the commotion, they ran to the house. Ed glanced around and spotted a set of stairs. He sprinted up them and looked for a way out.

"What's wrong?" Ed heard a young boy ask. "Are you being attacked?"

"He went up the stairs!" The woman yelled.

"Damn it, woman." Ed said to himself. He used his left foot to break a window, and climbed onto the roof of the next house. With a quick clap, Ed fixed the window, and ran away on the rooftops.

The town was much bigger than Ed had thought. He ran for what he guessed was a mile, then stopped when he reached a building that had a copper roof. He clapped and made a pile of copper coins, (knowing full well it was illegal to make money) identical to the one he stole.

He climbed down from the roof and bought a bowl of spicy noodles and meat kabobs from the nearest food cart. With his hunger satisfied, Ed bought a fruit basket, and walked in the direction he had come from. He finally found the house he broke into, and left the basket on the doorstep. He figured it wouldn't be a good idea to show his face to the woman and child he'd traumatized.

Satisfied, Ed walked down the road, only to be stopped by the sound of a man yelling at him. "It's over. We caught you." Edward spun around, but saw the words were not aimed at him.

"Who, me?" A young boy asked. Edward immediately recognized the voice as one of the companions of the boy he stole the coin from. Thankfully, the young boy did not recognize him. Ed watched as the boy was dragged away by the soldier.

Ed breathed a sigh of relief and planned his next move. He was drawing too much attention; he needed to be less conspicuous. As lovely as sleeping on a soft bed sounded, Ed decided he could live without spending the night in an inn, and left the city as soon as the sun went down. When he walked down the road, he passed a brightly lit cave that was booming with unfamiliar music. He figured it was best to leave it alone and kept walking.

As far as he could gather from this strange country, which was probably near Xing, the people; could do flame alchemy without an array, they created chimeras for being beasts of burden and food, Their (what Ed presumed) leader, the Avatar, was feared, and also, dead. Blonde hair was unheard of (more proof he was far east), and everyone liked to wear red. The last part was cool, but this place was beyond messed up.

The moon was in the center of the sky, so Ed veered off the road, gathered up some leaves, and fell asleep using his automail arm as a pillow.

It was nearly noon when Ed woke up. The skin connecting to his automail was burning, but he had no choice but to keep moving. Ed stood up and continued to walk on the uneven cobbled road. He passed a wooden stand and curiously stopped to see what was on it. Once he was closer, he realized there were posters, wanted posters, covering the wood. Ed couldn't understand the writing because they appeared to be in Xingese. Ha! He knew he had to be near Xing. This definitely proved it.

With a smug face, Ed started to walk away, but did a double take when he saw a familiar mug shot. It was a picture of him! Ed stared at the hastily drawn picture of himself. The eyes and hair were colored with an unrealistic yellow pigment. His hair was definitely not neon colored! They made his teeth pointy, and his whole face was wearing an evil grin. "I don't look like that!" He yelled, then tore the poster up.

Great. Three days in Xing, and he was already a criminal. He had to get back to Amestris soon. Al had to be freaking out. If he didn't hurry, Al might replace him with a stray cat. He smiled at the thought and continued to walk on the endless road.

A few travelers were walking up the road, so Ed quickly put up his hood to hide his blonde, not neon, hair. He flagged down the travelers when they were closer.

"Excuse me! I'm a bit lost. Could you tell be how to get to Amestris?"

"Aren't you a little young to be traveling on your own?" The woman inquired.

Ed flared up. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A HALF-PINT PIPSQUEAK!?" The couple looked shocked, and they backed away slightly.

"Amestris?" The man finally answered when Ed calmed down. "Never heard of it."

"But, it's across the desert. How have you not-?"

"The Earth Kingdom is across the desert. Are you sure you're well?"

"I'm fine. Where in Xing are we?" The couple continued to glare at Ed.

"Xing? Is that a village?"

Ed snapped. "It's a huge country! So is Amestris! How have you not heard of them? Where the hell am I!?"

"We're in the Fire Nation." The woman answered nervously. They both started to back away. The man added, "You should see a healer. I think you may have bumped yor head." They stiffly and quickly walked away.

How had they never heard of Xing or Amestris? Wasn't everyone afraid of Amestris because of its history of war and violence? What about Xing? Ed was so sure that's where he was because of the peoples' clothes, food, and writing. Where was he?

Now he was just a lost criminal who everyone thought was insane.

Ed was starting to understand why this strange place was called 'Fire Nation'. It was immensely hot, their food was spicy, many of them knew a strange form of flame alchemy, they wore red and gold clothes, and many of them were hot-tempered.

How long had he been in this damned place, anyway? A week. He had a routine now. Travel in the coolness of morning, buy food from a cart at noon, relax in the shaded forest in the afternoon, travel at twilight, sleep at nightfall.

This particular night was eventful. A meteorite fell out of the sky and impacted with the ground. Ed went to go check it out and watched from a safe distance as a small group of people put out fires. He fell back asleep, thinking about everyone at home. They were going to be pissed at him when he made it back.

In the morning, Ed decided to take a break from his stupid routine. He followed the forest's edge until he was close to the impact sight of the meteor. He climbed onto a tree to get a better look. The group of people, who Ed recognized right away as the ones he stole money from, were pushing the meteor. They had to be crazy. Ed rested his back against the tree and fell back asleep.

Ed didn't know what he was doing anymore. All he ever did was follow the damn road. He had to hide himself when he traveled, and he was always hungry. His automail caused problems, too. He just had to be dumped in a hot place. This was getting ridiculous.

As always, Ed kept walking, hoping there would be food nearby. He could hear some people chatting off the road, so Ed crawled up a little hill to investigate. The sight that befell his eyes was shocking. There was the biggest chimera Ed had ever seen! It was huge, white, fluffy, and had six legs. What did they use to make a chimera that big and freakish looking? Bison was definitely the first thing that came to mind. While he was trying to figure out the animal combinations, a girl's voice yelled out.

"I feel it again!"

"Sparky Sparky Boom Man!?" Ed recognized the boy as the one he'd stolen from. Great. These guys.

"No, it feels a bit, …different." Three kids came rushing up the hill. Wait, wasn't there four? He turned around, ready to run, but he bumped into something. The something turned out to be the forth kid. How'd he get there so fast? The other three surrounded Ed.

Ed stood up with his hands ready to clap.

"Who are you?" Demanded the kid Ed had bumped into. Ed smiled mischievously. He knew exactly how to scare these kids away.

"I'm the Avatar." Ed stated matter-of-factly. "Feed me."