Chapter 21: Goodbye for now

Normal POV

A few days after Ilena,Dizanna, Selvia and Femke had come to tell Tenzin and the others that Femke had survived Tenzin and his family went to the Wood Villages to see how Femke was doing, while P'li was kept safe in a family somewhere in the Wood Villages, though she thought it was to bad, since she really liked Femke even though she had no idea who she was anymore.

"Femke!"

Ikki exclaimed as she and her sisters ran over to Femke and hugged her tightly.

"Ow, ow, ow,ow. Shoulder, kids, shoulder." Femke groaned as she hugged the girls back with her good arm, her other arm was in bandages.

"You look horrible, are you okay? Does it hurt? Where is that Combustion Lady that was with you last time? She was scary…"

The young Airbending girl asked the brunette as she jumped up and down in her lap, which made Femke smile a little, since despite everything, she had missed the Airbending kids.

Femke's POV

"I know, I'm okay, it only hurts a little if you hug me or if i move it elsewise and P'li..."

I started swallowing hard as i mentioned her name, before I bowed my head acting like i was really sad about something.

"I'm sorry, she was here in the hospital with me but she was very badly injured. She.. she died in my arms."

I said as I bowed my head. I didn't want them to notice I was lying since P'li was okay and in a Wood Villages home right now, recovering from her injuries and her memory loss.

"I understood you were very attached to them." Tenzin said as he sat down on the side of the bed.

"That's only because you can't throw them back in jail. You didn't care one bit about them..." I bitterly said.

"It is kind of hard to care about the people that tried to kill my people. My children…" Tenzin said sternly, looking at the three young children as I looked down guiltily, remembering what the Red Lotus were willing to do if I hadn't talked them out of it.

"I'm willing to forgive you eventually. Please don't make me forgive the people that tried to take my family away from me."

"Yeah, about that..." Jinora said as she sat down on the side of the bed and looked at me with a stern look.

"When you brought us away you said we didn't know their backstory, like you did." She said, reminding me of what I had indeed said on the airship, which fell like a lifetime ago. "Does that mean you know their backstories? Was that what you meant to say with that?" She asked as she gave me a almost pleading look and for one moment i fell the strong urge to tell her everything. and I certainly had, if it hadn't been for my promise.

"I do." I said, holding up my hand when Jinora was about to ask me about it. "But I promised them to never reveal it. And I want to respect that wish. Now that they're gone." I said as i bowed my head again.

"They're not all dead. They're moving Zaheer back to prison in two weeks in the afternoon." Jinora said, which made my head snap up.

'He's alive! He's okay!' Shot through my head. The first thing I wanted to ask after that was what happened to Ming Hua and Ghazan, but I quickly decided I rather asked Zaheer myself. At least then I would hear the full truth.

'At least three of us survived though. I won't be able to tell Zaheer under the nose of the White Lotus.'

I thought as I talked with the Airbender family for the remainder of the afternoon, noting they seemed more friendly than they used to be, but I decided it would be best if I didn't make a comment about it since that could ruin everything.

"Korra is on the South Pole with her parents to recover from the poisoning. Did you know they poisoned her?" Ikki asked me with a sad look in her eyes.

"No, I didn't know that and believe me, despite the fact that I don't like Korra and we didn't always agree on things, I would never have agreed with that." I replied with a stern look on my face, since this was the honest truth. I didn't like Korra, but I would never let Zaheer poison and then kill her.

"You would have stand up for her against Zaheer if you had known?" tenzin asked. He hadn't expected Femke to stand up for Korra. Not against Zaheer.

"I did before. Against the Earth Queen I questioned if there had been no other way to solve the problem and..." I stumbled as I looked at my lap. "Despite the fact that Zaheer can be really intimidating if he wants to, I would do it again if I had been there with them."

I said as I looked down, carefully choosing my words, as to not upset Tenzin further.

"Intimidating?" Tenzin asked without thinking, thinking it was rather odd Femke thought of her leader and self proclaimed 'friend' as intimidating.

"Yes, when I asked him if there wasn't any other way to solve the problem of the Earth Queen he threatened me." I said, remembering how he got into a bending stance as soon as I asked him if there hadn't been any other other way to solve the Earth Queen problem.

"That was brave of you." Tenzin said sounding impressed.

"Well. It wasn't hard. It is never is. As long as it is the right thing to do." I said with a smile on my face.

"Will you be there when they take him back to jail?" Jinora asked as she looked at me with a sad look.

"Yes. I definitely will be." I replied with a small smile on my face.

"Femke, after that, if you're strong enough, will you come back to live with us in the Air Temple?" Ikki asked a little unsure, which earned her a stern glare from Tenzin.

"Yes. I don't think I'll have a choice." I replied as I looked at Tenzin firmly, knowing he'll most likely would demand me to live in the Air Temple even if I said I didn't want to any more. As a reply, Tenzin gave nothing but a firm nod, to sign this was true, before they decided to talk about happier things. The remainder of the afternoon the kids happily chatted with me, like things had never been different. I had to admit I had really missed talking to them and acting silly but a part of me now missed Zaheer, Ming Hua, Ghazan and P'li… here with me.

'They would have loved to be here as well happily chatting and fooling around.' I thought with a smile on my face as I chatted along with the kids, being very much on guard as to not slip something about my friends' past, since I didn't wanted to break the promise I made to my friends. Not like that. Especially not now they were most likely all gone.

"We will see you at the Air Temple in two weeks then?" Ikki asked me with a beaming face after two hours of happy chatter and laughing, since the nurse had come in to call it was time to leave because I needed my rest.

"Yes, I will be there." I smiled at them as I hugged them goodbye, awkwardly shaking hands with Tenzin afterwards, most likely he was still a little scared of me after that beat-up me and my friends gave him.

'Serves that bastard right for treating my poor friends so poorly.' I thought before I shook my head. 'No. He tried to protect his family. His children… I have to be fair to him. Just like he's trying to be fair to me.' With that I said my goodbyes to everyone after which I lied down to take the ordered rest.

Two weeks later

Normal POV

Everyone came together to witness how Zaheer, the Red Lotus leader, was loaded in a truck to go back to jail. But just as they wanted to load him in the truck a young woman dressed in a cloak and a green dress walked out of the bushes, her one arm was in a bandage as she came closer. Zaheer looked at her, instantly recognizing her.

"Femke!"

He exclaimed as he tried to pull free and towards the last other Red Motus member, who had tears in her eyes as she walked to him, running into his arms since Zaheer wasn't able to come near her thanks to his chains.

"Zaheer! You're alive!"

Femke exclaimed as she ran his way, pulling down her hood as she did so and revealing her face. Zaheer felt a tear of happiness fall from the corner of his eye as he ran towards Femke as far as his chains let him and wrapped his arms around her. She looked haunted. The last fight at Laghima's Peak did a number on her, but it was his dear friend, Femke.

"Ow,ow,ow, my shoulder."

Femke groaned as Zaheer pulled her in a hug.

"Sorry." Zaheer replied with a smile on his face as he let go of Femke and looked at her with a smile as he observed her shoulder, which was wrapped in a bandage and looked pretty nasty to him.

"What happened? Where is P'li? I thought you two would be together."

Zaheer asked with a smile on his face, having hope that if Femke came out of Laghima's Peak in one piece, his love, his P'li, would be okay as well. And that the two of them would have come together to see him off, despite the risk of her getting caught as well.

Femke's POV

"What happened? Where is P'li? I thought you two would be together."

Zaheer asked me after we pulled out of that hug, hope gleaming in his eyes. A hope that his love was also alive and well. And she was but he couldn't find that out. Not now. Not with all these White Lotus members watching us.

"I'm sorry. She was with me in the Wood Villages hospital but she was very weak. She died in my arms."

I lied. How I hated to lie to him about this. I would have told him the truth if I could but. I couldn't. Not now. If I did I would endanger the lives of my best friend and she didn't remembered what happened so if she were to go back to jail now, she would think of it as unfair.

"P"li... It can't be. It can't end for us like that."

Zaheer mumbled as his eyes started to fill with tears. I gently placed a hand on his shoulder and for one moment i wanted to say it was a lie and that P'li was waiting for him at the Wood Villages hospital. But then I thought about her current state, what would happen if I were to betray her now and decided I couldn't. Even if it broke Zaheer's heart.

"Where are Ming Hua and Ghazan? I thought they were with you?"

I asked as I looked around, suddenly realizing that Zaheer was the only one to get transported back to jail. Zaheer looked at me now, tears in his eyes from the loss before he shook his head, bowing it sadly after that.

"They're not coming back, Femke. Never again." He said which made me gasp.

'No, they can't be. Not them too.'

I thought as I looked at him with a shocked look, tears visible in the corners of my eyes at the realization of what that gesture had meant. Though it was hard for me to comprehend.

"They were killed in battle while I was away fighting Korra. You were right. You were right about them. I should have listened to you when you told me about your visions."

Zaheer's voice called out of the distance. Too far for me to hear. Dead. They were all dead. I would never sit around the campfire with them again. See them smile at me. They were all gone. My vision had come true.

"I'm sorry. We're the only survivors. The last two Major Red Lotus members left."

Zaheer called me out of my trance, as two strong arms hugged me gently. I now nodded, letting out a sob as I placed my head in is chest before I let my tears flow freely, letting all the pain and sorrow flow out of me.

"You're going to be fine Femke, know that whatever happens, I'll always be by your side."

Zaheer whispered in my ear as the guards came over and started to pull him away from me, making me look up at them with tears in my eyes, realizing that if I would let him go now, I would never see him again. Just as I would never see Ming hua and Ghazan again. And I didn't even had a chance to bid them farewell.

"Please, give us ten more minutes. He can't run. Just let us say goodbye to each other."

I begged the guards with tears in my eyes. It wasn't a lie that I was close to crying. I was so close to lose the last one of the only four friends I had made in this dimension. Of course I was crying. I now saw the guards shrugged and looked at the World Leaders who looked from me to Zaheer and then they nodded, giving me some time to get out of ear reach with Zaheer. The first thing that I wanted to tell him was that I had lied and that P'li was still alive and well, but somehow I couldn't bring the words over my lips, So I sighed and waited for him to say something first.

"Well, it was nice for as long as it lasted. I guess this is farewell."

Zaheer started, calmly looking around, avoiding to look me in the eye for some odd reason, though I had no idea why. Normally he would tell me all kinds of things and quote Guru Laghima in the meantime until I had to stuff something in his mouth to stop him from talking, but not this time. This time an awkward silence hung between us and I had no idea what to say or do to stop it.

Zaheer's POV

Femke managed to talk the guards into giving us some time to say goodbye to each other, since this would be the last time we would ever see each other. But for some odd reason when we were alone, Femke didn't started to talk as she would usually do. She fell silent. And now that P'li was gone, I had the same problem. With all the others around it had been easy to talk to her, because they would start the conversation. But now, I was all alone with her.

"Well, it was nice for as long as it lasted. I guess this is farewell."

I started, avoiding to look her in the eye, fearing I was going to blush if I were to look her in the eyes. This was the first time since P'li that I was alone with another woman and I have to admit Femke's isn't an ugly woman as well. So I had to do my best not to blush or give other strange signals. Femke was married and i just lost my love. I shouldn't already think of her as more than a friend. That would mean I never loved P'li, And I definitely did.

"It's a shame I have to go so soon."

I replied calmly as I tried to focus on my surroundings rather than her but every time I tried I felt my eyes were being pulled her way and whenever my eyes met hers I felt a strange flutter in my chest.

'Get a grip. You let go of your Earthly tethers, remember? You want to stop knowing how to fly?'

I thought as I heard her voice say we could always meet up in the spirit world, after which I heard the guards call out we only had four minutes left. Four minutes until I would have to go and would never see Femke again unless we would go in the Spirit World to meet.

Femke's POV

"It's shame we have to go our separate ways so soon. But we can always meet up in the Spirit World."

I replied with a smile on my face, though I was wondering why he didn't look me in the eyes. Why he kept looking away from me. I just wanted to ask him when the guards called out we had four minutes left. Then Zaheer looked at me straight in the eyes and I felt strange. Light, when he did so.

"Promise me you won't try anything stupid when I'm gone. It isn't worth it."

Zaheer said as he took my chin in his hand, forcing me experience those strange flutters in my chest as he looked me in the eyes.

"How can you make me promise something like that? You know how much you guys meant to me."

I said as tears formed in the corners of my eyes.

'If only I could tell you the truth.' I thought as I watched the hurt in his eyes caused by the loss.

"Because even stopping to talk won't change their minds. Femke, I don't want you to get hurt. Not because of me."

Zaheer whispered harshly as he had tears in the corners of his eyes as well. This separation hurt him just as much as me. Well, worse for me since It was the second time in a row I had to say goodbye to someone I had gotten really close with. Only this time I would never see that someone back since I knew they would never let him out of jail ever again. This was goodbye, for real.

"I promise i won't try anything stupid like stopping to talk."

I said with a broken voice as the guards called only one minute left. Zaheer nodded to the guard as a sign he understood and then hugged me.

"Goodbye, nice, sweet Femke. Take good care of yourself."

He whispered in my ear as I felt his hand touch mine handing something to me and when i looked at it, I saw it was the Guru Laghima medallion. Something that was a part of him, resting in my hand. Like he wanted to give me a part of him I could remember him by.

"I"ll never forget you."

I said as I walked after him towards the dock were a truck was waiting to take him to his last destination. And apart from me, there were no other Red Lotus members that were strong enough to come and free him.

'Though he did mention Xai Bau was alive but what are the chances he would find him? Wherever they are taking him?' I thought as I walked after Zaheer towards the White Lotus members that chained him down again.

"Femke..."

Zaheer said as he was standing before me one last time. I looked at him, expecting him to shake my hand or hug me one last time but when I looked him in the eye, he hesitated for a moment before he pushed his mouth against mine and kissing me.

'Zaheer? What? Why?'

I thought as I let my hand slip out of his, after which I felt the soft hand of Jinora on my shoulder. I felt tears flow over my face as I started to walk. First I just took a few steps but I felt I started to run, faster and faster towards the edge of a cliff that hang over the road the truck with zaheer had to cross.

'I have to see Zaheer one last time. I have to get there.' That was all that spun through my head as I kept running "HEY! GET BACK HERE! STOP!" some white lotus guards called as they tried to grab me, but I was faster and when i reached the top, I placed the medallion around my neck and looked down the cliff just as the truck passed down under me.

Normal POV

Zaheer stood tall behind the bars as he watched strange Coloured leaves float into his cell. He looked up and smiled when he saw Femke stand on the tall cliff, looking at him smiling as she held the medallion he got her in the bandaged arm.

'I'll never forget you. Thanks for everything.'

Femke thought to him as she waved after him, making the same gesture as she had seen the Native American Princess Pocahontas make in her favorite Disney movie when she was a child. Zaheer made the same gesture with his other hand mirroring the move she had just made even though he had no idea what it meant but he knew it had to mean something, since it was her making the sign at this moment.

'Goodbye Femke. You're the best friend anyone could wish for. Good luck with the rest of your life.'

Zaheer thought as he looked at Femke one last time, making a sign with his hand, like he was going to bend. Femke's eyes lit up when she saw this and as a last sign of gratitude and thanks. She bended all the elements : Water, Fire, Earth and Air. The element she had had so many difficulties with and which she had finally overcome thanks to her friends. Thanks to him.

'She's the most amazing bender I have ever seen. Toph didn't got it from a stranger.'

Zaheer thought as he bowed for her in the traditional way. Femke smiled as she did the same before waving happily and for one moment, Zaheer could swear he saw the spirits of his friends, holding Femke by her shoulder, smiling as they waved as well.

'Take good care of her. She'll need you now more than ever.' Zaheer told them in his thoughts as the truck took them further and further away from each other.

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And with that I end this story, I will see you all in the sequal, which we are working on right now!

A/N:

Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, that last scene was exactly the same as the last scene from Disney's Pocahontas. I don't own the scene! But I thought it was both very sad and very fitting scene for the parting between Femke and Zaheer and it also might hint on something more between the two. Though Zaheer kinda let go of his earthly tethers.

That kiss was definitely a hint on something more between Femke and Zaheer, despite the whole 'let go your earthly tether' thing. Though neither of them will think of it like that, right now it was just a way to make the White Lotus think they are in a relationship.

Well that was all for now! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this! Thanks for reading and thanks paranoidgirl for doing such am awesome job as a beta reader!

Please leave a review!