Chapter 2: After all these years

Femke's POV

The master ceremony of Jinora was so bittersweet. It was sweet because of the beautiful words and the cute father daughter moment between Tenzin and Jinora which made me really happy for her, but when she first showed her shaved head and tattoos I felt tears flow over my face. She was the spitting image of her grandfather; Aang.

'I miss you guys. I wish you were all here with me.'

I thought as I painted Aang behind Tenzin and jinora with Pema and Katara and the other world leaders. A hand on my shoulder as he was looking at his granddaughter proudly since Korra wouldn't have been here if he had still been here and he would have listened to me and let me talk to the Red Lotus members, which would mean they would have been saved. All of them. Not only P'li. After the ceremony I went to my room to color in my picture, letting the door fall in the lock with a soft 'click'.

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 3 years later
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Three boring years passed by after that day in which (for me) nothing interesting happened worth mentioning. Ming Hua and Ghazan are still in a coma and P'li's memory is still gone, though the doctors say she should have gained them back by now. Oh well, they will come back eventually. I hope. Because I can't really get used to P'li as she is right now. She is far too silent and locked away. It's even worse than it used to be. And that says something.

'If only you would be able to see Zaheer again. That would bring your memories back for sure.'

I thought as I was painting absentmindedly while i watched the ceremony that was held to open the new infrastructure of Republic City and after that I watched Mako and Asami catch up with each other after three years of not having seen or heard from each other while some brown haired boy was trying to flirt with Asami who was (obviously) not interested. When he realized this, he gave up and headed my way.

'Just great. Like I want to talk with him.'

I thought, annoyed as I looked at the picture I had made from P'li smiling as I started to color her eyes and then started to give her dress a orange and red color.

"Hey. The name's Prince Wu. I'm the Heir to the Earth Kingdom throne."

The boy said as he leaned against the wall next to me,trying to act cool, but it came over as clumsy. I groaned annoyed in reply and turned away, looking at him annoyingly when he got before me again.

"I'm Femke and not interested in you, so if I were you I should leave me be now."

I said with a sour look on my face, which made that the prince bow his head sadly and walked away, giving me some peace. I sighed in relieve and went to sit in a far corner of the room until we would go home, looking at the pictures of my friends for the sixth time this day, remembering all the good times we had together. The small moments of happiness we have experienced. That was until I heard a rustle and after that there was a piece of paper next to me.

'I swear, if it's a love note from that spoiled Prince i'm gonna..!'

I thought as I picked up the note and opened it, reading a few lines before gasping. It wasn't a love note. It was a note from the Wood Villages' hospital Ming Hua and Ghazan were in.

Dear Femke

We have waited three years and yet Ming Hua and Ghazan have not given any sign of live. We have come to the sad conclusion that we will put an end to their suffering at sundown in two days. I hope you understand it's for the best and if you wish to come and say goodbye you're welcome to do so before sundown.

Kira Den (Head of Wood Villages Hospital)

The note said. I gulped as I read it over a few times. At sundown in two days my friends would be no more. I would never see them smile at me again. I looked at the forest with a sad look before i saw a tall figure standing between the trees. I had to blink a few times before i saw who it was. It was P'li, who was obviously standing there because she wanted to speak to me. So I made up a simple lie before I headed to the edge of the woods were P'li was standing still and silently, wearing a cloak, which covered up most of her face, but despite that I recognized her by her eyes.

"P'li? What the heck? You know it is dangerous for you to come here. If they see you..." I told my best friend with an accusing look on my face.

"I know what I did is dangerous."P'li replied as she looked around to make sure no one was listening in on our conversation, which indeed wasn't the case, since Chief Beifong, President Raikou and Lord Zuko were too busy dealing with that Prince, while the members of Team Avatar met up with one another after a long period of time. Well all except Korra, who was still on the North Pole to recover and from what I heard, wasn't still doing very good.

"But I had to see you. After I heard what they're going to do to Ming Hua and Ghazan. I don't remember anything but it sounded harsh." P'li said as she looked at me sadly and placed a hand on mine. "I thought you would like to see me because, well… We used to be friends as…" She stated, but stopped when I suddenly threw my arms around her and hugged her, sobbing.

"I am. And we're still friends. Which is why I was so worried about your wellbeing." I said as I smiled at her.

"I am?" she asked with a surprised look on her face, not believing I still considered her a friend after she had lost her memories.

"Of course." I smiled as I wrapped an arm around her shoulder in a friendly way. "The fact that you lost all your memories doesn't takes away the fact that we're friends." I said as I gave her a playful push. "Whatever happens, you will always be my friend, P'li." I said smiling.

"P'li? As in the Red Lotus member P'li? I thought you said she died." I heard a voice call from behind me,which made me jump in shock since I had been so busy consoling P'li that I hadn't noticed Tenzin and President Raikou came up to me. We were caught in the act.

Normal POV

"Yes, I know I said that." Femke said as she turned around and looked at President Raikou and Tenzin with a sad look in her eyes. "But she was very weak after the fight on Laghima's Peak and she lost all her memories." She started to tell as she walked towards them a little while she kept holding P'li's hand.

"I lied because i had no other choice. She would have been thrown back in jail without even knowing what she had done wrong if I hadn't stepped in." The brunette said as she looked at P'li with a small smile, then back at the world leaders who looked at each other with a sad look.

"I did what I thought was best for her, Ming Hua and Ghazan, who are also in the Wood Villages' custody. though they're in a coma and..." Femke looked down at the mentioning of her two friends. "Won't come out. They'll put them out of their misery in two days." She said with her head down.

"So you lied to us all along. Just to protect these... these..." Tenzin raged as he looked at Femke angrily, who in return looked up, her eyes shooting daggers at Tenzin as he spoke.

"Don't you dare call them that. They're the only friends I have left in this miserable world." femke glowered at Tenzin as her face turned white with fur, her eyes gleaming yellow as she spoke.

"If it hadn't been for them I had left this misery months ago!" Femke raged, letting out all her bottled up emotions and frustrations of the past few years.

"I... I don't remember anything about what happened." P'li spoke up all of a sudden, which made Femke's face instantly change back to normal.

"But seeing her so enraged, she must have been through a lot of pain and hurt." P'li said as she walked next to Femke and placed a hand on her shoulder, on the place the wound was.

"No one deserves to be treated badly. If there is one thing she learned me the past few days is that it doesn't matters what you look like." The Combustion Bender smiled as she looked at Femke, who nodded smiling in return. "All that matters is that I trust this woman. She is a fairy. Fairies exist. I believe in it now." P'li said, and as she did so, something hit the Combustion Bender's nose. Something white and cold.

"Snow?" President Raikou mumbled as he looked up at the snowflakes with a shocked look.

"How can that be? It's Spring. It shouldn't snow here anymore." Tenzin mumbled as he looked at the two women. The Fairy and the Combustion Bender. Both suddenly wore brilliant white dresses and had wings on their backs.

"How is this possible?" P'li asked her best friend with a shocked look in her eyes.

"Magic." Femke replied as she looked at the snowflakes with a bright smile on her face.

Meanwhile far away in a unknown cell, Zaheer looked at his chest with a shocked look as a light glowed on his chest on the place where his heart was.

"What?" Zaheer mumbled.

In the Wood Villages Hospital, the same happened to Ming Hua and Ghazan who were in a coma, the nurse that was just then with them looked at the light gasping, before she kneeled down, recognizing the light from a book she had once read.

"The Voortrix have returned." She muttered as she looked out of the window where everything had turned white with snow. Something only magic could have done.

Back with Femke and P'li, everyone looked around in awe at the magic snow and the clothes of the two girls that had changed from red and green to white. the sign of purity.

"How did I do this, Femke?" P'li asked her best friend with a shocked look, but as she said this, Femke turned around and looked at her best friend with the same look.

"You said my name." Femke stammered, unable to believe that her best friend had addressed her by name after all these years.

"Of course I did. It's your name, isn't it? We're best friends." P'li asked with a confused look on her face, not getting why her friend was so confused about that all off a sudden.

"You remember!" Femke exclaimed in a very excited way as she ran over to her best female friend and pulled her in a hug, happy her memories were restored after three years of waiting.

"You're right!" P'li exclaimed as she and Femke jumped around screeching, after which a column of snow suddenly started to swirl around P'li, who looked at Femke with widened eyes, while Femke nodded with a smile on her face, as the magic made her now white clothes into a orange and red mini skirt with brilliant red glowing wings on her back and the sign of her third eye tattoo on her chest, her hair went into a long braid like she had always worn it with two eye formed clips on either side of her head.

"Li you're… you're beautiful!" Femke gasped as the light cleared. P'li looked at herself with a shocked look.

"But how is this possible?" P'li managed to bring out as she looked at her best friend with a shocked look in her eyes, then back at her wings.

"Your strong connection with the Voortrix. Just like with Zaheer!" Femke said as she beamed at her friend, who gasped in delight, after which we shared another hug, screaming like two teenagers to show how happy we were.

"Wait until Ming, Ghazan and Zaheer see this!" P'li exclaimed as she flapped her wings a little, looking at them in an excited way. "They will love to hear this." At this I bowed my head and looked to the side, knowing in two days Ming Hua and Ghazan would never be able to hear about her new fairy powers again. Though this was something I hadn't told P'li yet since she didn't remember them anyway.

"What is it?" P'li asked shocked when she noticed Femke looked to the side, clearly seeing something was up with the younger girl.

"li... I hate to bring it you but that isn't going to happen." Femke sighted as she looked up at her best friend with a sad look in her eyes. "You have had amnesia for three years, they have been in coma for the same amount of time and..." Femke stammered as she looked at her best friend with tears in her eyes who was now shaking her head in disbelieve.

"They're going to put them out of their misery in two days. I'm sorry." Femke sobbed as she looked at her friend with a sad look in her eyes.

"And Zaheer?" She managed to ask weakly, feeling everything was collapsing around her right there and then.

"In jail. They arrested him after Korra defeated him." Femke said before she gave P'li a stern look, "Which reminds me; did you know Zaheer wanted to poison her and kill her in the Avatar state?" Femke asked looking at her best friend with a firm look, since even though she wasn't very fond of Korra, she wouldn't let anyone end the Avatar cycle, knowing it was needed to keep this world balanced. Not to mention murdering people, no matter how much you disliked them, was wrong.

"Yes. Zaheer did mention he wanted to kill Korra in the Avatar state using that poison." P'li admitted as she looked at her best friend with a sad look in her eyes.

"Why? I mean, I know Korra and I will never be the best of buddies like when she was still Aang, but I would never have agreed to end the Avatar line." Femke said firmly as she looked angrily at P'li, feeling betrayed by her best friend, just as she had gotten her back.

"We did what we thought was best for the world! " P'li snapped at Femke angrily as she looked away a little. "But… Looking back on it now, it was a bad thing we did... huh?" P'li asked as she looked at Femke with a sad look in her eyes. "Yeah, though I can't blame you to much really. I mean, it wasn't like you had anywhere else you could go." Femke said with a smile on her face as she placed a hand on her friend's arm…

"I could…. Xai Bau offered to bring me somewhere and put me in a nice family. It was all my choice." P'li said as she looked at Femke with a small smile, remembering the time Xai Bau had offered her to bring her to a nice loving family in exchange for P'li leaving the Red Lotus to him and zaheer. P'li had refused then, because she had been determined to prove to Xai Bau that she could handle whatever he and his Red Lotus people wanted to do and ever since she and Zaheer had gotten into a relationship, she hadn't even thought about leaving again

"Well, it's a bit late for that now isn't it? Let's just agree we will never try and do something like that again." Femke smiled as she hugged her friend

"I will." P'li promised as she hugged back, happy Femke wanted to stay their friend, her friend even though she knew everything about the plans and missions of the Red Lotus. Since the mission failed and Zaheer was in jail, probably forever (do she hoped he wouldn't have to since she still loved him) she didn't feel bad about promising Femke to never try and do something like that ever again.

"So I guess I too owe you some apologies." P'li said as she turned to team Avatar and the world leaders now, suddenly realizing they were standing there and were watching them.

"I'm truly sorry for all the harm I caused you and your loved ones and I hope with all my heart..." P'li said as she placed a hand on her heart. "That you will believe me when I say that it won't happen again. I hope you can find it in you someday, somehow, to forgive me." the Combustion Bender said, tears glinting as she said this, looking from Tenzin to the other with a sad look in her eyes.

"Give us a reason why we should believe a word you say." Lin said to the younger girl angrily, not believing a word she said. "How can we be sure you won't stab us in the back once we turn our backs on you?" She continued at P'li, who looked down apologetically.

"Because I was misguided back then. As I said; filled with hatred towards World Leaders because of that Warlord Mogui did to me." P'li said as she turned towards Femke and as she did so they could all see the tears blink in her eyes, the things Warlord Mogui had done to her were still deeply rooted within her. That was one thing Femke knew for sure. When they saw P'li cry, the World Leaders and the Chief of Republic City Police looked at each other with a sad look in their eyes.

"We knew there were still Warlords left. We have dealt with several over the years." Tenzin said as he looked down with a sad look on his face.

"Is that Mogui still alive?" Raikou asked figuring they could at least bring this man to justice if he was still alive, since he had obviously put this girl on the path of the Red Lotus.

"Maybe he can pay for what he has done to you." Tenzin tried, they knew that Warlords often held children with as their soldiers, there was little they could do about it, because they didn't had the resources to fight all of them.

"Well, no. Zaheer killed him when he set me free, knowing he would do whatever he could do get me back if he hadn't." P'li said as she looked from Tenzin to Raikou and then to Chief Beifong with a sad look in her eyes.

"Oh." Raikou simply said as he looked down. "So, the Earth Queen wasn't the first one he murdered." Tenzin asked firmly, and it was the truth, even though it had been to save P'li, a murder was a murder.

"Yes." P'li said firmly "But he did it with a good reason. My parents sold me to that monstrous Warlord when I was five. I was fourteen when Zaheer set me free." P'li continued as she gave Femke a meaningful nod, who nodded in return, giving her best friend some moral support. "In the end it turned out I lived nine horrible years by that man, with only his wife Ti and some soldiers that pitied me as little rays of hope." P'li said as she placed a hand on her tattooed forehead.

"All because of the talents she had. How fair is that?" Femke questioned as she placed a hand on her friends back, who was on the verge of crying.

"You know her whole history?" Tenzin asked somewhat surprised as he looked from Femke to P'li, since he hadn't expected the Red Lotus members to tell their personal history to Femke. Both because of their secrecy during their time in jail and the fact that Femke hadn't been with them for longer than two months.

"Yes, but I promised I would never tell anyone else about their personal history and I want to stay true to that promise if you don't mind."

Femke said sternly as she gave P'li a small smile, at which P'li reacted with a beaming look, happy her friend wanted to keep true to her promise, despite everything that had happened.

"We understand you wanted that and we will try and respect your wish. Though you really got us interested now, how did you make them tell you in such a short time?"

Tenzin asked as he looked at Femke. "I didn't make them. I just asked and, well... After I promised never to reveal their secret , they told me." Femke said calmly.

"Unbelievable." Tenzin said, somewhat shocked that Femke managed to earn the trust of these people and got them to tell their lives stories.

"P'li, do you know about any Warlords that might be active except your former master?" Raikou asked sternly.

"Yes. Mogui often went to other Warlords for his work, mostly to see if they had found any Combustion Benders he could add to his army." P'li said, remembering Mogui often went off for business travels, which allowed Miss Ti to help her.

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flashback
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It was a two years after P'li was bought. Mogui suddenly had to go off for a business trip to the Northern part of the Kingdom and he had given his wife strict instructions. P'li had to stay in her cell and wasn't to be talked to. Ti had said she understood but on the inside she had already made up her mind, she would give that poor child some food and comfort, she would love that for sure.

'Since the poor child has little experience with it.' She thought as she waved her husband a good journey and after that waited until the last soldiers had left, before she almost ran towards the cell blocks were P'li was.

'Now let's hope the poor child is alright.'

Ti thought as she walked towards the door she knew P'li was behind carefully, as to not scare the poor child and praying to all the spirits she was alright, sighing in relieve when she saw the poor child was there, looking up with a scared gaze as her mistress walked in. Seven years old. Tall for her age, covered in rags. Yet her eyes, Ti saw her eyes still spoke of hope, love and above all, of forgiveness.

"Hello P'li." Ti smiled as she very carefully walked to the little girl, knowing she was very easily scared, hungry and cold. Though that would soon come to a stop. Ti knew that for a fact.

"Good day, Mistress." P'li smiled a little shy, knowing her Master had told her quite strictly she wasn't allowed to come here and yet she was here now, which gave P'li a fine warm feeling, since she knew Ti was a nice woman that cared about her deeply.

"Your master won't be here for a few weeks so I will take care off you. Come on, little one."

Ti smiled as she stretched out her arms towards P'li, who crawled away from her, absolutely terrified because of all the things Mogui had said and done to her. Ti knew this as well and gently sat on the floor as close to the child as she could, holding out her arms towards the child, which made P'li only duck closer into the wall, not understanding the good intentions of her Mistress.

"You poor darling. Come on, I'm not going to bite. How does a bowl of hot soup and a nice bath sound to you?"

Ti asked as she showed P'li the key of her chains which she held in her hand.

"Like a dream come true." P'li whispered as she now allowed Miss Ti to take her chains of and what P'li said was the truth back then. A hot bath? Nice warm soup? Not in her wildest dreams. Only real children like the son of the mister and the mistress named Hong Lee had the right to get things like that,

"You know what?" Ti asked as she scooped up the frightened child and put it on her arm where it was safe and warm. "Since Mogui won't be here for some time you don't have to sleep here either." Ti said, and as she said 'here' she nodded to the wooden plank that was her bed. "I have a nice warm bed in the attic with a beautiful outlook over the forest that has your name on it." Ti said as she hugged the child, that let out the smallest giggle Ti had ever heard from a child.

"The master will never allow that." P'li stumbled as Ti carried her inside their house, then went upstairs and started to gather some tools before she carried her into a light bathroom that looked beautiful in the eyes of the seven year old that had never in her life been treated like a human child before.

"Mogui can bite me. You deserve to be treated like a human being. Get decent clothes, toys and a nice hot bath like any normal seven year old." Ti whispered in the child's ear, who listened to the kind woman like in a trance, as her sweet voice whispered kind words in her ears while she got bathed dried of with a nice soft towel after that she put some ointment on the wounds to heal them up faster, before she carefully put the child in her arms again and took her downstairs to a cozy looking kitchen.

"And now I just know you're hungry." Ti smiled as she put P'li on a chair that was made a little higher with a pillow so a younger child could sit in a normal chair while it was high enough for it to reach the table.

"Yes, please." P'li replied with a small smile, looking up with a surprised look as the son of her master and mistress named Hong Lee came out of nowhere from wherever he had been playing and sat on the other higher chair next to her.

"Hey P'li, you here as well?" The six year old asked with a small smile on his face, since he wasn't scared of P'li. His mother had taught him from a very young age that P'li was just a human being like everyone else and that he shouldn't fear her. This was why he always secretly went to P'li to play with her whenever his father wasn't teaching his new friend Bending.

"Miss Ti said I was allowed to come here now that my Master isn't here." P'li said a little shyly as she accepted a bowl soup from Miss Ti and started to eat from it hungrily.

"Daddy can be very mean, huh?" Hong Lee asked smiling as he took a bowl of soup as well and started to eat. At this P'li looked up at him with a shocked expression, her spoon still halfway to her mouth while Ti turned around and looked at her son, also shocked, since this was the first time Hong Lee said something bad about his father.

"Your father is a unique man, that knows what's good for a weapon like me." P'li stated calmly, not letting Hong Lee trick her into saying a bad thing about her master, even though he was one of her only friends, knowing she would be in a lot of trouble if her master found out she did say a bad thing about him, which always happened to her.

"P'li, sweety, you are allowed to say if you don't like Mogui." Ti said as she put her spoon down and walked to a scared looking P'li. "We know you have difficulties with that, that you're scared of him. But Hong Lee and I want to help you." Ti said as she placed a warm hand on the child's arm.

"I won't tell daddy if you say a bad word about him either, Li. I promise." Hong Lee stated firmly as he wrapped his arms around his one year older friend with a smile on his face, at which P'li reacted by bursting out in tears since she wasn't used to a gesture like that, at which Ti wrapped her arms around the child.

"There, there. Let it all out. You deserve to let all those bottled up emotions out." Ti whispered in her ear as she gently stroke her over her back, which p"li did. In the end she cried herself to sleep, feeling amazing because she had been able to do so.

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end of flashback
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"Very tragic, but don't think that you will be welcome in Republic City with open arms just because of your tragic past." Raikou said firmly, which snapped P'li out of her thoughts.

"Well, we kinda hoped you would give us a second chance since like we said; were both very sorry for all the harm we caused." Femke said as she looked at raikou with a sad look in her eyes.

"Certainly not. You're an accomplish in a murder, Femke. And your friends murdered two people. She just admitted to that." Raikou said firmly as he took a step towards Femke. "Lin, arrest them," Raikou turned to the Chief of Police, who nodded and immediately bended a metal cable towards the two girls, but Femke managed to bend them away and before anyone could do anything, they were gone, Back to the Wood Villages.

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And with that said I end my chapter. I sure hope you all enjoyed it.

A/N:

I had some difficulties writing this chapter since I wanted it to be a mixture of the Season Four episode one of the Legend of Korra and another main event; P'li getting her memories back. I was listening to 'Snow in August' from the Movie 'Nanny McPhee' while writing this, so that's where the scene is based on (believe me I get many idea's from listening to certain music). I don't own the scene.

I had to use a time skip in order to keep the story moving to the part where the Legend of Korra picked up the story, since I had no idea what happened in between the two seasons.

Now P'li has her memories back we will see more flashbacks about her past, please keep them all in mind, their playing a role in the story later.

Well that was all for now!

Thanks paranoidgirl for doing such a awesome job as beta reader.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to review.