A/N: Hola! Welcome everyone to my first ATLA story! This story is kind of AU. Everyone has fics where some girl gets captured by Zuko during some raid and they fall in love, and blah, blah, blah, so I wanted to try something a little . . . different. I think I'll eventually converge this story in with the main ATLA plot, after everyone in the beginning gets their problems sorted out. Anyway, I hope you all like it!

EDIT: Hey, everyone! I know I finished Blackout a while back (and I should be concentrating on other things *ahem*) but, upon rereading this, I found a few errors and kinks in my writing style that I just wanted to sort out, so I'll be slowly rewriting it just a bit! -A.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA, but I do own Kaida.

B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T

PROLOGUE: THE UNIVERSAL LIGHT SWITCH GOES OFF

"Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness
to pull another hand into the light."
-Norman B. Rice

I peered silently through the shadows of the late-summer trees, watching the small village as it nobly went down in chaos. Blood-red flames licked at the straw-thatched roofs of the few insignificant homes that were nested there. The fire slowly ate up the innocent houses, dissolving them in its potent acidity and suffocating heat. Waves of searing air pulsed into my face with an eerie rhythm. Children clung to their mothers and older siblings, their eyes begging, desperate to know why this was happening to their only home.

I huffed impatiently, wishing that I could just go already, but held myself down with some effort. We weren't there, I reminded myself for the hundredth time, not yet. My quick eyes scanned over the apocalyptic scene, searching for the reason for my silent presence there. Every direction I looked, there were men in crimson-stained armor, tearing apart the pitiable village without restraint. Disgusting. It made my blood boil just watching them. I was once again tempted to blow my cover, if only for the satisfaction of getting in a few good punches at the so-called warriors that were hell-bent on destroying everything in sight. I mentally shook myself out of it, forcibly remembering that it would not do me any good if I went about my plans so childishly. No, I had to stay put.

The horrible flames danced through my line of vision, flickering dramatically across my nearly-invisible features; laughing at me, taunting me. Suddenly, there was a large flash of crimson, much brighter than the others. My gaze snapped toward it instinctively, seeking out the source. My thin fingers crossed as I leaned forward to get a better look.

Yes.

He was there, standing indifferently right in the center of the ensuing chaos, as if it were all just make-believe. I flipped backward, allowing myself to fall from the steady branch I hade been so carefully watching from. My knees bent as I made contact with the soft grass, absorbing most of the shock that threatened to shoot up my legs at impact. I tried my best to look inconspicuous as I enclosed on the inhuman scene of the crime, where people were running about like wild animals. I wrinkled my nose, turning to look instead at the bright points of light that twirled around my head.

I stepped past the scorched houses and seared ground toward the center of town. Some people, I could see, were watching me at a distance with frightened glances as I fearlessly walked through the debris and madness, each step slow and deliberate. I approached him, my gaze never faltering or wandering. It was something that I had been waiting for years to do. He did not turn, even as I came to an audible stop directly behind him.

Too easy.

"Hello there, young prince," I said calmly, as if I wasn't standing right in the middle of a war zone. The flames popped and crackled on all sides of me, like a very angry campfire. He spun around sharply at the obviously unexpected sound of my voice, eyeing me warily.

"Who are you?" he demanded immediately. I sighed. Royalty was so rude these days; no knowledge at all of how to properly address a lady. I only smiled, holding my silence. I knew what was coming.

Wait for it . . .

Then, the whole world went black.

B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T

A/N: Yes, I know it was short, but it was just the prologue. The actual chapters will be much longer than this little snippet thingy. Read&Review! -A.M.