Disclaimer: The following chapter is entirely fictitious. Any similarity to the history of any person living or dead is entirely coincidental and unintentional, except when specifically noted otherwise in the cast and crew credits. All celebrity voices are impersonated and no celebrities have endorsed any aspect of this fic.

Pade lao… Pade lao… Pade lao…

Author's note: CONTEST: I need a world! As in some kind of planet. Think up a world that you'd like the Avatar to go to. (E. g.: A world where everyone has the power to read minds, but they can't hear people speak. Or it could be completely normal! It could be based on a specific era.) Or think of a country, and make up a world based on that theme. It cannot be anything disturbing or disgusting though (as in perverted). Then, make up a character from that world (min: 1, max: 10). Give me full description. My email is on my bio. I will only be picking one! So get them into me before the twelfth chapter (I might extend it) PLEASE! (No one cares, do they? Also, this was after the modification.)

Blackened-fire: Yeah, sure, people with bending abilities can't touch it (shifts eyes) well, since you're the only person who voted, we'll go with Sokka. So Sokka it is! Yeah, I could explain why Tsuchi and Aang can't touch it, but I can't. I'll give you peeps a hint: remember the sword's handle! And the message on the wall in bold italics (it's in a different language. Want to decode it? Go to langtolang. com, it should be obvious as to which I used. It ain't Spanish, though)! And I can give you another, but then that'd be stupid of me. NEHO, sorry for making your head hurt. Was it me or was it Hiashi? She makes my head hurt too.

Chapter twelve: The Next Step

'-'

"Well, we don't know that for sure," Tsuchi responded, "you two haven't tried."

"After seeing what happened to you two?" Sokka laughed. "-Pfft- I don't think so!"

Katara eyed it. "It can't be all that bad. You never know unless you try."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's what the Fire Nation thought," Sokka replied. "Look at them now: nearly taking over the world and half the human population wiped out."

"Then why don't you try?" Aang said to him.

Sokka looked at him oddly. "Yeah, like I'd be able to hold that!"

"Well, he has a point," Katara encouraged. "Go ahead and try."

Sokka looked at all of them. All of them stared at him, urging him to at least try. He exhaled deeply. "Fine," he mumbled, "I don't want to, but I'll do it anyways. If I get my hand fried, then someone else is to."

"That's all we ask," Aang smiled.

Sokka walked up the stand, nearing his hand towards it, still unsure as to what he was doing. What am I doing? Just touch the stupid thing, get your hand burned, and the sooner we can leave! He moved his hand closer, more swiftly. His hand was now no less than an inch, yet the sword wasn't reacting. It sat there, still calling out to someone. He decided to get it over with, rather than anticipating the moment. He quickly grabbed the sword's handle, pulling it away from the platform. Nothing happened. "Well, what did we say?" Katara smiled.

"Well, I guess I am the one who should have it," he said with a hint of egotism. "I mean, after all, you guy have the element stuff and—OW!" He suddenly dropped the dagger, falling to the floor with a clank. "I-it-it bit me!" he turned his hand up to reveal a gash across his fingers, thumb, and the middle of his palm.

"Ouch," the three of them said in unison.

"That must've hurt," Aang cringed.

"No, it tickled!" Sokka said sarcastically. "I knew that stupid knife wasn't any good." They turned to look at the knife, the handle covered with blood. But no sooner, the blood evaporated, leaving it clean. It glowed with a dim light, but the light faded away. Sokka didn't notice. He was too busy dressing his wound, streaming out a list of curse words, bashing the knife.

"Maybe you should try again," Aang suddenly said.

"And have it do that to me again?" he laughed. "You have a better chance of me liking Tsuchi!"

"What the hell?" she laughed, even though it was caustic.

"Just try," Katara pleaded.

"Forget it! Get someone else!"

"Did you ever think that the dagger did that for a reason?" Tsuchi asked him. "Maybe it was designed to be used by one person and one person only, and it chose you."

"Forget it! I'm not touching it!"

"He's not going to give in," Katara sighed, "he's stubborn like this, let's just go and leave the stupid knife here."

Tsuchi hatched a plan. "Tell you what, you try to handle the blade again, I'll tell you what the walls say."

"You can't speak this language!" he snorted.

"How do you know? Do you know me well enough to make that judgment?"

"If you knew, then you would have translated earlier." She glared at him. "AHA! See? I'm not stupid!"

"What if the people who owned this place come back? Won't they know that we took it?" Aang asked out of the blue.

"Then why would they have let us in? You'd think they'd have better security," Katara stated.

"Well, we can't pick it up. Someone has to, and it better be him," Tsuchi said to the two of them, pointing her finger at Sokka.

"Fine!" he said extremely irked. "I'll put the stupid knife back on the stand, and then we're out of here, no ifs, ands, or buts! Man!" He shook his head and walked over to the sword and picked it up. Unexpectedly, the walls started to shake, the language changed from its native script to reveal a message:

The World Sword is a sacred heirloom past down from the generation of the Resistance.

Created by a shaman by the name of Shakuson Kyomash, it was designed from exactly three pure metals:

Iron

Copper

Silver

It was also devised from a synthetic metal made from Oxygen and Nitrogen. It was left untouched for fifty years in hope that someone would use it.

The dagger was designed to allow the possessor to travel beyond the stars, helping them move through the different worlds that the Creator has made.

The metals combined make it more powerful than anything, allowing it to cut through anything. The only way to conceal its powers is a special made sheaf fashioned with dragon hide from a Burrow Drache.

As the legend was to have, the possessor was to use it for good and for good ONLY. If the person was to suddenly turn, the sword would destroy itself. It chose one owner and was to be used by one person. If anyone was to try and purloin it, or use it, it will put up its shield. However, in the even that one was to break through it, it would break itself, so that no one would be able to.

This sword was devised to end the war, allowing all four elements to live in peace and separated.

That was changed now. The Fire Nation has cut through and there is only hope that someone from the Resistance or from the outside will use this sword with care.

All elements must live on, but only separated. There is no more risk.

Use it wisely.

"Well, we now know these people are crazy," Sokka smiled with sarcasm, "let's go, shall we?"

"Wow," Aang said breathlessly, "a knife that can take you to different worlds? That is so cool! Let's try it out"

"Calm down, Aang" Tsuchi said to him, "we haven't asked Katara." The three of them turned to her.

"Well, to leave this world, wouldn't we be spreading the war?" she observed.

"Not really," Tsuchi explained. "If we plan right, we could go to those worlds where we can plan a route to the Fire Nation that can't be flawed. We could learn a few things on the way, and I doubt Zuko and my sister could follow us. If the wall was right, then there was only one made, and it was designed for the use of ending the war. That means that their only chance of following us is if they made their own. They wouldn't know where to start. So in reality, it wouldn't, or shouldn't do any harm."

"Well, when you put it that way," Aang smiled, "it sounds like the world is on our side. Let's go!"

"But I want to stay here!" Sokka protested. "What if we do something? Someone innocent could die (o-O)! We can't put someone else through that."

"But if we do, we could avoid it," Tsuchi replied. "We have the knife, which can make our escape cleaner. Please?"

He looked at the three of them, all pleading for him to give in. He was outnumbered, and that could lead to trouble. "Argh! Fine, are you guys happy now? We just need to figure out how to work this thing."

'-'

"How long is your stupid assumption going to take?" Zuko sighed heavily, very exasperated that they had to take a different course. "You said so yourself, they went northwest!"

"Then the islands could alter, the world gyrates!" Hiashi snapped. "The closest land was right here, "she said, pointing to a series of islands close together with a long, black nail. "They've been up since yesterday morning, and I'm sure that could enervate anyone. My conjecture: they stopped at the closest form of land they could find, and they might have stopped here. They couldn't imperil us spotting them up in the air, so they selected land, where they could disappear, us assuming that they're up in the sky endeavoring to get as distant from us as feasible."

"Why do you think you're always right?" he asked her vexed.

"Because I'm always right," she smiled.

"You disgust me."

She frowned. "I aghast a lot of people. But you'll change your mind, once you see that I'm right."

"I doubt it," he smirked, "you don't impress me."

"I'm only here so I don't get killed," she shrugged. "Hurry up!" she shouted over her shoulder. "They could be doing anything!"

'-'

"Okay," Sokka said, "I think I got it." He tried again, but this time he missed. "Alright, lemme try this again." He missed again.

"I think it's more like meditation," Katara said to him.

"Look, I can handle this!" he assured them, although he didn't sound so sure himself. He tries again, but it wouldn't work. The sun was almost setting, now the sky was just a faint orange, the purple taking over it more. The winter breeze was sharp on them, but they didn't notice. They were more focused on how to work the sword; the wall left no instructions on how to use it. "Okay, Sokka," he said to himself, "calm down, and let the stupid sword do the work." He relaxed himself, and raised the blade. And with one swift movement, a glow of light appeared in front of them, emitting an entrance. It had no depth, but the door was large enough to fit even Appa. "Finally!" he shouted triumphantly. "I did it! Ha! Beat that Zuko!"

"Fine!" a voice from the forest snarled, an orb of fire suddenly shooting out at them.

"What?" The four of them turned, but there was no where; they were surrounded.

"You thought you could get away form me?" Zuko suddenly appeared from behind them, closely followed by Hiashi. "It wasn't hard to find you."

Hiashi coughed mockingly. He fiercely turned to her, his arm extended, striking her in the shoulder. "Damn it, don't you have any respect?" She didn't move, but she did look at him with a pained expression. "Anyways, before I was rudely interrupted, you're not getting away- what is that?" he asked, pointing to the portal.

"Like we'd say anything to you!" Katara yelled at him.

"You're still not leaving!" he snarled, stepping forward in fighting stance, sending a rope of fire towards Aang. As soon as the first shot was fired, the others started to attack. There was nothing but attack after attack. It was the usual paring: Zuko fighting Aang, Tsuchi fighting her sister, and Sokka and Katara got the rest of them.

"You're not going to get away with this, Avatar!" Zuko growled mid-fight.

"I have a name!" Aang said within the sound.

"It won't matter when you're dead," he sneered, attempting to kick Aang onto the floor. But he failed when Aang send a wind current to him, also moving the ground to form a small bump, tripping him. Zuko fell on his arm, but jumped back up, sending a fist to Aang's jaw. He flew about two feet, into a tree. He hit it with a loud crash, but wasn't stopped. He quickly avoided the end of Zuko's sword, which soon embedded itself deep in the tree.

Hiashi was busying herself with her sister, quickly tossing her off to one of the crew members. She had another prey on her mind. While her prey had their back turned, she quickly sent a wave of fire towards them. "OW!" Sokka cried, as something hot hit his back.

"I discern that it was you," she whispered, "I'll find out how you did it!" She spun around, sending a back kick to his stomach. Sokka tried to block it, but he stumbled a bit, dropping the dagger. She went to try to pick it up, but the knife knew; it put up its shield, sending a bolt of magenta lightning at her hand. "Damn!" she mumbled, shaking off the pain.

"Ha!" Sokka laughed at her from the ground. "Don't even bother to try! You'll never be able to get it!"

She knew he was right. Quickly devising a sharp plan, she put it to the test. "You'd think you'd use it," she simpered, "instead of allowing me to finish you off. Weakling."

"I am NOT weak," Sokka yelled at her, jumping to his feet. He quickly dived for his blade. Hiashi dived after him, kicking him in the ribs.

"You're not getting it! You have a better chance of me falling over, dead." Sokka quickly rolled on his back, jumping on his feet.

"I usually don't hit girls, but I'll allow it this time." He drew out his boomerang, hurdling it at her. She jumped up, kicking it onto the floor in the direction of the penknife. Sparks flew, but it didn't seem to do any damage. She made a wry face, but didn't do anything. She quickly flipped around, sending her foot to his head. He blocked her off with his arms, pushing her to his side. But she landed like a cat, sending a wave under the ground. He kicked the air around her, but she grabbed his foot, twisting him around, causing him to do a flip. He fell hard on his back, stiffening him. Although, her was right next to his sword and his boomerang. He swiftly grabbed both of them, just in time because Hiashi's fist was coming right to him. He swung the bend of the boomerang around her wrist, sending her in a different direction, permitting himself to get up.

"Guys!" he shouted over to them. Katara, Aang and Tsuchi glanced over to him. "Let's go!" They didn't need to be told twice. They abandoned their station, running towards the portal, Appa and Momo already in.

"Don't let them get away!" Zuko snarled to the crew. They quickly sprang into action, attempting to stop them, but to no avail. They were through the hole, and it disappeared. "DAMN IT!" Zuko hollered into the night. "Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!" he repeated, striking the air, and at one point, a tree. "How the hell are we going to get them NOW?"

"Follow them," Hiashi said calmly from across from him.

"And how do you suppose we do THAT, Miz I-think-I-know-everything-because-my-vocabulary-is-gigantic?"

"Heh, 'gigantic,'" she laughed to herself. "Imitate their weapon that the Water Tribe Warrior had."

"And do you know what's in it?" he snarled.

"No, but I'm sure that," she said, turning around, "this shall facilitate us." She held up what was a shard or the knife. "This is all we necessitate."

'-'

The four of them were panting, trying to relax. In this world, there was nothing special. The most they could see was a forest along with a lake. They were at the base of a hill, leaving them out of view of the other side. In this world, the sun was up in the high point of the sky, signaling that it was mid-day. "Well," Sokka said after the midst of their wait, "that was interesting. Maybe they won't follow us."

"Let's just hope they don't figure out traveling through the worlds," Tsuchi sighed. "I doubt they will, though."

"I'm just tired and want to go to sleep," Katara yawned. "We've been up so long."

"I wonder how this world is," Aang chimed, looking around a bit. No sooner he say that, the four of them were ambushed. Blindfolds were put over them, pinned to the ground, their arms bound with an odd feeling rope.

"You are now apprehended," one said to them, sounding about sixteen. "Don't try to resist capture, for it will lead you into a deeper sentence."

'-'

I just finished watching the new episode (The Storm) and I nearly cried! I was all like, "Man that seriously sucks for Aang and Zuko!" I felt so bad, but now I know, which is good for me. Future chapters. NEHO, the fourteen year old Zuko, now THAT'S a different story! The first time I saw him I shouted, "OH MY GOSH, HE LOOKS LIKE ME!" I was so crept out! Just tint his hair brown, turn his skin tone down two shade and give him brown eyes, and I'm animated! That's WAAAAAAY too creepy! That's- that's just weird! EW! Freaky! I'm leaving before I creep myself out some more. Signing Off!