Chapter 1: New Times

Femke's POV

After I bid Zaheer one last goodbye, I was thrown back into the normal daily routines I used to have, get up, brush my teeth, go do whatever is needed to be done, practice my bending (in secret), paint, housework and then to bed. But one thing had been changed since the last time; I was also an Airbender now and no one could know because if they were to find out I was an Airbender they would go and ask how and when I learned how to use Airbending and if they would find out it was Zaheer who taught me how to Airbend, well, they wouldn't believe me anyway and think I knew all along and lied about knowing it. So I stood low and tried to avoid using my airbending in the open. That was until i would be able to 'master' the Airbending gates.

'Since I technically already mastered them with Zaheer and company.'

I thought as I painted the high hills behind the island, imagining Zaheer in his cell somewhere out there, all alone, thinking his friends were dead. All of them, except me and I wasn't able to reach him.

'Oh zaheer. If only I had been able to tell you the truth.'

Femke thought as she painted Zaheer somewhere in between the hills with a light around him, meaning he was more a ghost because she had no idea where he was but in her memories he was still with her. Just as much as her friends,

"Hello Femke, what are you doing?"

I turned around when I heard jinora behind me, looking at the painting I had just made with wide eyes.

"I was just painting and he popped into my mind like this."

I stammered as I looked at Jinora, hoping she would buy it and just leave me be. I didn't want to be like this towards her but at this moment I didn't want to talk to her. I just wanted to be ignored for now, Left alone with my own thoughts and memories.

"It's okay. I saw how you looked at him and all. And he looked the same way at you. It's clear to me you're in love."

The new Airbending master smiled as she sat down next to me and looked at the painting I had just made, her bald head shining in the setting sun which made another pang of emotion hit me. She was so much like Aang, both in appearance and in behavior.

"No, it's not like that. Not at all. I'm not in love. I can't be."

I said firmly as I felt my face started to glow at the very idea. Even though that one kiss had given me a strange feeling in my stomach, I couldn't be in love. I had to think about Grovyle. I had to think about P'li, who was still out in the Wood Villages waiting for her memories to get back. After which she would be able to get back to him. Somehow, someday.

"Femke, you don't have to lie to me. You know you can trust me." Jinora said with a smile as she placed a hand on mine."But I'm worried about you. You're in love with someone that tried to kill me. My father. My family… My entire Nation." She looked at me with sad eyes. "Are you still… Do you still think they were right to do that?"

Jinora looked at me insecurely and a bit scared, and I carefully smiled, if only she had been there with me. She would know what he was like, what they had been like. They were no monsters, they were misguided people. Misguided people that only needed a second chance in life.

"Oh Jinora. If only you had been there with me. You could have seen them. They were the most amazing friends someone could wish for."

I smiled at her as I folded back in my sketchbook to a painting I had made during my time with the Red Lotus. All five of us were sitting around the campfire, Zaheer was holding his arms in a strange motion, like he was telling a ghost story, while Ghazan was smirking at Ming Hua.

"The look so normal. Almost like all the things they did doesn't affect them..."

Jinora observed as she looked at the picture that I had been made. I smiled and folded to the next page were Ghazan was putting some toothpaste on Zaheer's nose as the older male was fast asleep, and the next one was P'li, standing behind a tree, giggling behind her hand since she thought I didn't see her, the next was Ming Hua and Ghazan bickering over the last dumpling. I gasped again when I saw what I had painted on the last page. It was a painting of P'li, standing on top of Laghima's Peak, the sun was setting behind her back, making the sky light up red and above her head was the tekst: 'P'li, Laghima's Peak. '

"P'li. You made this for her. In honor of her."

Jinora asked gulping as she looked at the cross behind her name with a uneasy look, knowing just as well as I did what that cross meant. It was the day she died.

"If only that was the case. I made this one the day before she died."

I said, feeling tears well up in the corner of my eyes as I let my finger go over the cross again, despite the fact that she wasn't death, I felt like I should have made sure she had stayed behind with Ming Hua and Ghazan.

"Really? How can that be?"

Jinora asked with a curious glance as she looked from the painting to me, realizing this had to mean I knew what was gonna happen to P'li before it really was gonna happen. Something the Avatar had only been able to before. At least for as far as she knew.

"I don't know. I was absent-mindedly painting and suddenly I was looking at this. And believe me, I have showed this to Zaheer. I have tried to make sure it wouldn't happen."

I told her with a stern look as a memory from that day came back to me.

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flashback
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"Zaheer, can... can we talk?"

I asked nervously as I walked up to the older Airbender. I had never been nervous to speak my mind to him, knowing there was normally no reason too. Zaheer was very kind and caring and he wasn't gonna get mad at me like Korra used to but I didn't knew how he was gonna react to what I had just seen.

"Sure, Femke. I was just getting the last things ready. You see, Korra has agreed to our terms."

Zaheer said as he stepped aside to let me into the small radio chamber where he had been working in just now. I gulped, holding onto the painting as I walked in and closed the door behind me.

"Good to hear. About what I wanted to talk to you about, I think we should leave P'li behind with Ming Hua or Ghazan and take one off them along instead. And not because I don't like P'li or something, but..."

I stammered, seeing how skeptical Zaheer was looking at me at first, then he looked at me with a shocked look, as if he was realizing something before he placed a hand on my lower arm.

"What is it? You know you can talk to me. Remember, we're friends."

Zaheer said as he looked at me with that look, the one I always so admired of him. He wasn't showing he was afraid. Not even when he was and he was a true friend. A friend you can always count on even if things were going crazy.

"I had a vision in the form of a painting and a dream. And my dream and the painting are predicting nothing good." I said as I placed the painting on the table. Zaheer looked at the painting I had made. It showed P'li on Laghima's Peak with a cross behind it. Meaning P'li wasn't going to come back from Laghima's Peak.

"You saw this in the dream?"

Zaheer asked with a shocked look as he let his fingers glide over the painting, unable to believe what I was telling him. Just as much as Korra never trusted me since the Avatar was in her eyes the only one who could have visions like that.

"Yes, and I have a bad feeling about Ming Hua and Ghazan as well. I think something Is gonna happen to them. Something bad."

I said as I felt tears of impotent rage and sadness flow over my cheeks since I knew that if Zaheer decided to ignore this now. they would certainly die. A thought I couldn't bear since I cared about them more than I would ever be able to say.

"Okay. I'll try my best to change P'li's mind about going with me, but I can't promise she will listen to me. Once her mind is made up, it's hard to change it. Especially if I can't tell her what I now know. That's bound to make her go anyway to prove you wrong"

Zaheer said as he looked at me firmly. I nodded and looked back at the door, where I could hear talking as a sign the others were coming this way as well.

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A moment later Femke and the rest off the gang were getting ready to depart. Zaheer hadn't been able to change the minds of his teammates about splitting the group differently, it only made them ask Zaheer why he would do that. Which, after some accusations, made that Femke blurt out that she didn't want them to die and told them about the dreams and the painting. Which set their minds. Everything was going on as planned. They didn't want to let fear get the better of them. Not now that they were so close to their goal.

"Guys, be very, very careful okay? I wouldn't forgive myself if any of you got killed."

I said with tears in my eyes as I swung the radio over my shoulder, tears in my eyes as I faced my fellow team members, not realizing this would be the last time I would ever see them alive.

"We will, Femke. Take care of yourself, okay?"

Ming hua said as she hugged me around the neck, and so did the others, we shared this small group hug before P'li, Zaheer and I walked into the airship.

"We're all gonna be fine, Femke. It was just a dream. Nothing is going to happen, you'll see. Korra surrenders and then everything will get better for all of us."

P'li said as she grabbed me by my hand and let me into the steering room with a smile on my face.

'Oh, P'li. If only I had the courage to tell you more about that dream. You wouldn't be so sure of yourself.' I thought as I watched zaheer get the airship afloat and onwards to our doom.

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end of flashback
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"And what did Zaheer say about it?"

Jinora's voice called me out of my memory. I looked at her with tears in my eyes, the memory of our last group hug and P'li's promise that everything would be okay freshly in my mind. I couldn't bring out the words I was looking for, so I just shook my head as I let tears run over my face freely.

"He believed me and he did his best but he couldn't get his friends to change plans. That marked the end. For all of us."

I said as I placed a hand on her shoulder and looked at her with tears in my eyes. Jinora had a sad look in her eyes as well, probably because she felt the sadness of this story as well.

"That's so sad for you."

Jinora said, even though she didn't know my friends like I did, she knew I was sad they were gone because I had deeply cared about them. That was how Jinora was. She and her sibling had been the only ones that cared about me the way I really was.

'That's why I wished she had seen the real them. She would have understood.'

I thought as i watched Ikki and Meelo storm my way as well, jumping in my lap as they looked at me with bright smiles, happy I was back, though if I had gotten the choice, I had stayed with them.

"Were so happy you're back! Have you missed us? You've turned brown! I heard you can bend lava as well now? And air and combustion and..."

Ikki chimed in actively as she jumped up and down in my lap. I looked at her sternly as I covered up the paintings I had made from the Red Lotus, not feeling the need to show her those before I gently stroked her and Meelo over their heads.

"I'm happy to see you again, I might have indeed turned brown thanks to the time I spend in the sun with them. And what I bend is not your business."

I replied as I looked sternly from Ikki to Meelo before I just got up and left with my tools, not wanting to tell them. Yes, I was a airbender now as well as a Combustion and a Lavabender. They wouldn't understand. They would only tell Tenzin and get me in trouble, which was the last thing i wanted now.

"Femke,please wait!"

Jinora called as the three Airbender kids ran after me. I looked back at them, feeling the need to attack, to strike someone or something. I rather spend my life in jail like Zaheer then here back at the Air Temple where I was ignored and chewed out.

"Listen, I know you're feeling lost right now. But believe me, everything is going to be fine if you give it time. Believe me."

Jinora said as she placed a hand on my upper arm and looked at me with a stern look. I looked back at her, shaking my head at her sadly, knowing it would never be the same as before. I had to miss my friends now, the ones that had been there for me through thick and thin were recovering from the brink of death, without knowing if I would ever see them smile at me again, which I only knew since a few days because Ilena and the others told me right after Zaheer had told me Ming hua and Ghazan had died in battle.

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flashback
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"Femke, can we talk?" Ilena asked me as she walked into the room just as P'li and I were trying to recall some memories, though it was really hard since P'li lost all her memories but I was planning on keeping up trying so she would at least have an idea how her life had been before.

"P'li, please get me a glass of water, my throat is as dry as a desert." I smiled as I asked P'li this, feeling this was going to be something between me and Ilena anyway.

"Coming up." She said before she walked out of the room, despite the fact that she had been badly injured and lost her memories she was already getting back to her old ways, which made me glad. At least she would be safe and warm here with me.

"Thanks for that. Now, I know you heard. You must have heard about what happened to Ming Hua and Ghazan; your other two friends." Ilena said as she looked at me a little nervously, at which I nodded, since I had indeed heard from Zaheer the day before that Ming hua and Ghazan had died in battle as well.

"Well, we have scouted the place you mentioned and we have found them. We wanted to take them for a funeral until we noticed they were still breathing." Ilena said as she looked up at me with a small smile.

"They did?" I asked gasping as I looked at one of my best friends with a hopeful look in my eyes.

"They did. Want to go and see them?" She asked with a small smile on her face. "They're in a coma though, so don't get your hopes up too much. They won't hear you."

Ilena said as she led me to another room where the light was a little dimmed, and there in the beths, lied my two best friends I immediately recognized them despite the fact that their bodies were wrapped in bandages and looked pretty banged up.

"Ming. Ghazan." I silently said as I walked to the beds and sat down in between, a sob coming from my throat as I placed a hand on their shoulders.

"I'm sorry femke. We could get them out of the ruins but I'm not sure if they will ever wake out of their coma and if they do, how they will be." Ilene said as the blonde placed a hand on my shoulders as tears started flowing down my face, feeling more than horrible, knowing that my friends were all either dying, in jail or without their memories.

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end of flashback
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"It's not. My friends are gone forever and the last survivor will be locked away."

I replied to Jinora's last comment with my head bowed down, feeling more than horrible thanks to the fact that except for Zaheer all my friends were either dying or didn't remember who I was anymore.

'And it is my fault. If I had forced them to stay behind, none of this would have happened.' I thought as I felt tears welled up in the corners of my eyes. I was so wrapped in my own thoughts, that I didn't notice Jinora had come to stand next to me. I looked up quite surprised when Jinora placed a hand on my

lower arm, looking me deep in the eye before she pulled me in a hug

making tears run down my cheek.

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And with that hug I end the chapter. I hope you all liked it!

A/N:

Jinora is the wisest and most friendly of the three older airbender kids (Rohan most likely doesn't remember what happened since he was just a baby back then) so it was most likely she would try and help Femke feel a little better after she had been with the Red Lotus for so long.

Femke and Korra have a difficult relationship at the moment. Mostly because femke took the side of Tarrlok, Amon and the Red Lotus (she didn't like Unalaq so she didn't help him), but don't worry this will get better in the end.

Well that was all for now until next time. Don't forget to review.