Gosh, I didn't get a single review! I bet the description drove a lot of people away, but that's kinda what I wanted the effect to be. Rated for possible later violence and language, Nick and creators own everything...

"I'm the what?" Aang looked really confused.

"The Avatar." Zuko replied.

"I'm an IM icon?" Aang's poor head hurt.

"NO!" Zuko looked mad. "You're the Avatar. Able to bend all four elements!"

"Zuko, I think you should start from the beginning." Sokka demanded, darting furtive glances around him and keeping Katara and Aang near him.

Zuko sighed. "I've never been here. Apparently it's some sort of alternate universe, my uncle told me about it. He's traveled here before, and told me all about it. I don't know how he got here, or how he got back. It seems that it carries harsh memories for him..." Zuko paused for a second. "I wonder..." He took a deep breath, and assumed a meditating pose.

"What's he doing?" Katara whispered to Aang. Aang shrugged. After a few minutes, Zuko opened his eyes disappointedly.

"Oh well.." He murmured. "Ok, so anyway, in this land there are four nations. Fire, air, water, and earth. When my uncle visited, the four nations were in a war. Fire is the strongest, and was taking over the other nations. They had already wiped out the air nomads, and are battling the kingdoms of earth and water."

"Dwuhh..." The gang gave Zuko a blank stare. "So, you're trying to tell me that we're in this land where everyone gets to be of a different element?" Sokka said incredulously.

"Yes." Zuko looked very angry.

"And how did we get here?"

"If you'd shut up and listen to me you'd find out!" Zuko took several deep breaths. "My uncle gave me that necklace when I was very young, telling me to keep it for him. I don't know what happened to him, or why he wanted me to have the necklace. All I know is that he told me that only the Avatar, master of all four elements, can bring us from one world to the next."

"Master of all four elements?" Sokka was more than skeptical. "So, what? He can shoot fire out of his hands?" Sokka laughed.

"Yes."

"Yes? What the hell?"

"There are people in each nation called benders, they can control an element."

"Ohh! Cool! I want to be an earthbender!" Sokka made Matrix moves, trying to 'bend' the earth.

"You're born into it, you simpleton. It's not something you chose."

"Aww, darn." Sokka looked disappointed.

"But why are we here?" Katara looked frightened.

"Apparently all the Avatar had to do was touch the necklace, and whoever else was connected with him, and he opened some sort of portal to this place."

"So, how do we get back?" Sokka felt himself the most responsible, in charge of the two freshman.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Zuko told him haughtily.

"Aang, are you still touching the necklace?" Katara asked.

"Yeah..." Aang replied dubiously, holding out his hand with the necklace still tightly clenched in it.

As everyone crowded around it Zuko said, "Those four symbols must be the four nation's symbols."

"Fascinating." Sokka replied. "Aang, do you know how to get out?"

"Erm... There's no place like home, no place like home..." Aang started to chant.

"Argh, this is hopeless." Sokka yanked the necklace away from Aang.

"That's mine!" Zuko grabbed it from Sokka and fastened it around his neck. Suddenly, they heard a crack in the woods. Everyone froze, ears open.

"I don't know where we are, but we should find shelter of some sort and plan what we'll do now." Zuko said practically.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Looking around, all they saw were trees. Zuko motioned for them to follow him. Sokka grumbled that Zuko was just assuming leadership, but followed him anyway. After about a half an hour they found a few boulders leaning against each other, and apparently weather had created the perfect niche for them. Katara looked fascinated, she kept rubbing her hands around the walls of the hole/cave.

"What is it?" Aang asked her.

"Look how perfect it is." Katara said, sliding her hand across it. "It's not perfectly smooth, but if it had been weathered why would there be this perfect little cave near the ground? Wouldn't it get weathered from the top, not from the bottom and the side?" They looked at each other.

"Earthbending?" Aang whispered.

Katara gave him a frightened glance. "Maybe..."

"Great, magic." Sokka said sarcastically. "This is just like one of those stupid fantasy books or movies you guys are always forcing me to watch." Sokka had never been a big fan of Harry Potter.

"That's because all you care about it hard-core action." Katara told him snippily. "You didn't have a problem with Lord of the Rings."

"And there are wars going on." Zuko interjected.

"Wait, Zuko, you never told me about this whole Avatar deal." Aang said.

"All I know is the Avatar is the only person who can do more than one element, in fact he can do all four. Apparently he is the 'keeper of the balance'."

"But, I'm only 14." Aang looked scared. "There must have been a mistake, I'm just a normal kid, trying to get through high school. I'm nothing special."

"All the more reason to get outta here." Sokka said practically.

"Well, we don't know how." Zuko said darkly, taking note that night was rapidly falling. "So for now we should get some sleep." He neglected to tell them about the Prophecy his uncle had told him, and how you could figure out what nation you belonged to, and he "forgot" to mention a few other things.

"Sleep?" Katara looked scared witless. "We can't sleep here! This is a strange place, there are wild animals, even worse, what if one of these bender people come and decide to kill us as we sleep? We should find a village or something."

"And I'm hungry." Aang whined.

"It's like babysitting." Zuko grumbled to himself. "Yeah, and if this forest is thousands of miles across? What if a town is just east, and we just go west for miles? That would be intelligent." Zuko said. "We can set a watch if that make you feel better. As for food, you'll just have to tough it out. Unless you want to go hunting for strange food in a strange wood in a strange world."

"No, it, it's ok." Aang stuttered. "Gosh, Zuko is so practical about all this." Aang thought to himself. "Oh yeah, dad is a big military dude. I bet he's even done this before..."

"Sokka, you take first watch." Zuko ordered.

"What? Why me?"

"Because it's hardest to do watch in the middle of the night when you've already got some sleep, and still need to sleep. I'll take that one."

"Oh, how noble of you." Sokka grumbled.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help." Zuko fumed. "Without me you'd probably still be stumbling around in the dark, and end up getting offed by some insane rogue!"

"Without you we wouldn't be here in the first place! You're the one who had that stupid necklace!"

"Oh, so now we've got the blame game going on? Fine, blame it on my uncle who gave the necklace! Or blame it on the girl who stole my planner, which forced me to go to your stupid home in the first place!" Zuko and Sokka glared at each other, anger visible and sparks flying.

"This isn't helping!" Aang shouted. "Let's just get some sleep, tomorrow we can search for someone who knows what's going on!"

"Fine." Sokka took his place at the front of the niche. Zuko rolled into a little ball as far from the others as he could. Aang and Katara gave each other a despairing glance, then lay down together, using each other as a blanket. Sleep was a long time in coming for all of them.

Later that night-

Crack

Katara snapped to attention, ears straining for the slightest sound. It was her turn for watch, Zuko having just gone to bed minutes ago. After a few moments of nothings, she relaxed. "Animals." She muttered. "I wish we'd brought some supplies, blankets, food, flashlights, or something. All Zuko has in his backpack is a buncha school books. Then again, we had no idea this would happen..." Katara thought about this insane trip, still half-thinking it was a dream. This was not how she had planned on spending her weekend.

A dark shape loomed out of the darkness, and came right towards them, fire in their hand. Katara gave them a shocked look, seeing where the fire was coming from. "AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Her shriek split the air.

Not much of a cliffy, but I needed somewhere to stop. Hope you liked!