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The Spirit World

James jumped over the edge of the ship and into the deep water below. He saw Sarah, floating beneath the surface, unconscious, with her eyes closed. He reached out to grab her hand but missed. He was too far away. He swam with all of his might, trying to get to the girl.

He grasped her wrist and pulled her close. He savored the feeling of her in his arms for the first time in 100 years.

His lungs begged for air and he carried Sarah to the top. James watched as Iroh threw down a thick rope for him to grab so they could pull them up. He held on as Zuko helped the old general haul them up.

When they reached the railing, James struggled to set Sarah on the deck and not fall. When it became obvious he would not succeed Zuko took Sarah from his arms and laid the girl down gently. Katara rushed to her side. James swung his leg over the rail and ran to Sarah as well.

"Oh Agni, please don't let her be dead. Wake up Sarah! Please wake up!" James cried over Sarah's lifeless corpse. "I don't want to lose you again. I just found you."

Zuko stared at James. So the firebender was the Lady Avatar. He saw the distress on James's face as he shook Sarah, trying to make her wake up.

"James, she's dead." Zuko said softly. Katara was shocked that Zuko could be so gentle.

Sarah watched helplessly from the spirit world as James reached to grab her hand. It was as if she was seeing through someone else's eyes.

"James, go back! I'm already dead! Go back to the ship!" Sarah screamed but it was no use. James couldn't hear her.

She stared as James cried over her body.

"Sarah." Sarah's eyes grew wide when she heard the voice that had been silenced 110 years before. Sarah turned.

"Lizzie." Sarah gazed at the five year old figure before her.

Lizzie grinned, "Hi big sister. Have you missed me?"

"How could I not?"

Lizzie's face grew serious. "Sarah, Mommy wants to talk to you." The princess turned to leave.

"Don't leave me Lizzie!"

She turned back, "I never have Sarah, and I never will. I love you more than anything. I wish I could stay but Mommy needs to talk to you."

"But you said you'd never leave me!"

"And I won't. I promise. I'm alive in you and nothing can change that. I love you." Lizzie left.

"I love you too Lizzie." Sarah whispered and waited for Serena to appear.

"She can't be dead. She just can't be." James murmured.

Tears escaped Katara's eyes as she gazed at Sarah's pale face. She grasped her friend's hand, not ready to let the airbender go.

"What will we do with the body?" Iroh asked, sipping his tea sadly while his uncle sat by the corpse.

"We'll have to throw her overboard." Zuko sighed.

"No!" Katara and James shouted.

"She is the queen of the Air Nomads. Sarah deserves a proper burial." James argued.

"James." A young voice spoke.

James whipped around to see Lizzie.

"How is this possible, Lizzie? You're dead."

"I kind of noticed that James. Sarah is in the spirit world."

"So she is dead." James's head hung.

Lizzie opened her mouth to speak but she disappeared.

Lizzie found herself back in the spirit world.

"Drat," she said, "I didn't get to tell him Sarah's not dead."

"James, we need to dump the body." Zuko told him, trying not to upset him more.

"No, we can't." Something told James that it would a bad idea to drop Sarah into the water. Zuko, not questioning his judgment, didn't approach the subject again.

Sarah didn't have to wait for her mother long.

"Hello Sarah." Serena smiled.

"Mother!" Sarah ran into her mother's open arms. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too, my angel, but there are important things to discuss. Your father is alive." Rage appeared in Sarah's eyes.

"I'll kill him."

"No!" Serena screeched.

"Why not Mother? He killed you and Lizzie. He's made my life miserable."

"Sarah, it wasn't his fault. Do you remember when your father was summoned to the Fire Nation?"

"Of course I do. It was right after you got sick."

"Yes. When your father returned he told me what had happened. The Fire Lord wanted him to help destroy the airbenders. Your father told him no and the Fire Lord threatened what your father loved most."

"What was that?"

"You." Sarah was stunned by her mother's reply.

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Your father agreed under the terms that you wouldn't be harmed in any way."

"What happened? Why did he try to kill me if I wasn't supposed to be harmed?"

"The Fire Lord messed with his mind somehow. I'm not sure how but your father was himself enough to warn me. I told him to tell you. He went to find you but the full effects of the Fire Lord's control took over. Your father came back to my chamber after a few minutes. I could tell he was fighting it, but in the end it won. The last thing I heard was 'I love you.'"

"Why would the Fire Lord do that? There was peace between us. Father did of his own free will." Sarah refused to believe her mother.

"Sarah, think of the man you knew before I died." Serena pleaded.

Memories flooded Sarah's mind.

Flashbacks

Sarah entered her parent's room. "Daddy?"

"What is it little dove?" Sarah jumped in his arms.

"I'm hungry but Mommy won't let me have anything before dinner." Sarah pouted.

"Hmmm." Keith stroked his chin and then moved to the bed. He reached under it and pulled out a jar. He took the lid off and handed his daughter a cookie. "Don't tell your mother about this. She'd kill me if she knew I let you have a cookie before dinner."

"I won't Daddy." Sarah skipped out of the room, munching the cookie.

"Father!" Sarah yelled as her father arrived back from the Northern Air Temple. She hadn't seen him for three weeks.

He took her in his arms and spun her around. "Hello little dove. How are you?"

"I'm fine Father. I've been practicing my airbending. Do you want to see?"

"Of course I do. Let's go inside so your mother can see too." He carried her into the temple.

End Flashbacks

"Do you think your father was capable of killing me and Lizzie?" Serena asked.

"No."

"You need to bring your father back. No one else can save him."

"Why not?" Sarah questioned.

"He agreed to help the Fire Lord so you wouldn't be harmed. Your father is fighting the evil that has taken over his mind. The Keith I married is still in there somewhere and you have to help him get out. If the good in him were gone you would be dead. He would have killed you the first chance he got. You have to save him."

"I will Mother. I'll help him." Sarah promised.

Serena stroked her daughter's cheek and said, "You are so like your father. You have his spirit. When I look at you, I see him. Maybe that's why I love you so much." For the first time, Sarah didn't think of being like her father as an insult.

"Mother, I'm a firebender." Sarah confessed.

"I know. You're the Lady Avatar. It's expected."

"Was I born able to firebend?"

"Yes, but your anger helped you discover it."

"So I'm not an airbender?" Sarah hated the thought that who she thought she was, was a lie.

"No, you were born an airbender as well. Your father and I were shocked when we discovered that you were both. We decided to keep your firebending a secret so you would be accepted as the Air Princess."

"Why didn't Father say anything when I battled him? You'd think that he would use it against me."

"The evil the Fire Lord implanted in your father doesn't know because the Fire Lord didn't know." Serena drew Sarah into her arms. "I know you'll save your father."

"What do I do?"

"Help Aang save the world and tell him I love him. Find your father and save him from the evil that controls him. Blend fire and water. Marry James and spend the rest of your life with the man you love."

"How did you know about James?" Sarah inquired, bewildered.

"A mother knows everything." Serena smiled, broke the embrace, and grabbed Sarah's shoulders. "I love you more than anything. You were my firstborn and I've loved watching you growing up and becoming a beautiful young woman," Tears fell down Serena's cheeks, "but now I have to send you back."

"No! I don't want to go yet. I just got you back. Mommy, please, don't leave me!" Sarah sobbed.

Serena kissed Sarah's forehead. "I never have and I'm not going to. Not even death could stop my love. I'll always love you and I'll always be with you. Don't forget that."

"Just like what Lizzie said."

"Just like what Lizzie said. Good bye my daughter." Serena disappeared and Sarah woke up.

"James." His heart seemed to stop when he heard Sarah's voice. Katara stared at her friend who had just come back from the dead.

"Sarah! Thank goodness you're alive. I thought I'd lost you forever." He hugged her. "What happened?"

"I was in the spirit world. I talked to my mother."

"Why did you leave?" He asked, talking about the past.

"I had to find Aang. James, he's the Avatar. He was my brother. I couldn't just sit around and act like nothing had happened. I had to go after him. I wanted to contact you but I couldn't risk the Fire Nation learning my location. I thought you were dead." Sarah explained.

"I thought you were dead too. I missed you so much. I love you Sarah."

"I love you too James." Sarah paused, "You'll never believe what my mother told me to do."

"What?"

"She told me to marry you." Sarah smiled, finding the joy that had been missing from her life.

Me: I'll give you all two hints to what James is looking for. Here's the first: James has found her. Now for the second: It has to do with Sarah.

Gidget: It'll be a shame if no one guesses it. It is so easy. REVIEW!