Hello. Just a note before we start. This is my first attempt at writing a fan fiction in the form of an actual storyline. I'm used to writing in the form of dialogue and script so just bare with me. This is also my first Avatar fic and I hope you can enjoy it. By the by, if any of them are OOC, I'm sorry but you'll just have to deal. That or find another fic to read.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters on the show. I do own Kali and the concept of Shadowbenders, though. If this is alike to anyone who has had this concept, I am sorry and it's completely coincidental because I did not see any other idea like this in another fic while scanning around the site. If you'd like to use my concept, I'd appreciate if you would ask me first and give me at least some credit. I'm not a complete bitch after all.

Summary: While on his search for the Avatar, Prince Zuko runs into a problem and is in need of some help. The help he and his crew finds is something none of them would ever expect or even begin to believe.

Chapter 1

This is unbearable. Zuko thought to himself. They were on the Avatar's tail only yesterday, but today the flying bison became lost from the Fire Nation's sight again all because Uncle Iroh had fallen ill due to a poison from an insect bite. The illness started soon after they stopped on a forested island for supplies. No one seen what type of insect it was or even if it was an insect. They just saw the swollen area on his leg.

This is not good at all. We have to stop at an island and look for a medic of some sort. Zuko bellowed orders to his crew to stop at the next island along the way. Iroh was down bellow deck while the crew doctors were trying to figure out the right anti-venom to use on him. They had no idea which one to go by and all they could give him was something to slow his blood flow to prevent even more of the venom from spreading. (A/N: I'm not a doctor. I don't know if this could be reality. Just go with me.)

Soon, the soldier in the crow's nest spotted an island and the ship sailed in its direction. After a few minutes of sailing, Zuko disembarked the ship and walked to the small town along with two soldiers. He scanned the market place in search of someone who would be intelligent enough to give him any information on a skilled healer or medic. He finally spotted a man working at a fruit stand and walked up to him.

"Do you live in this town or are you a traveling merchant?" Zuko asked.

"Yes." Replied the older man with a grin on his face.

"Which one, you old fool!"

It was apparent that Zuko did not find the man's jest too humorous. The man just gave him a blank stare and confirmed he lived in the town his whole life and made an unclear suggestion that the young prince should show a bit of respect for his elders. Good thing for him it was in a low mumble, though.

"Now that you've answered that question, answer the next one. Does your town have any type of healer? Specifically one who is skilled with poisons?" Zuko asked.

"We've had a young girl living in the area for a few months now. She young looking, but she refuses to tell anyone about herself so we don't know her actual age. However, she knows quite a lot about poisons and anti-venoms. It's quite scary once you think about it. In fact, nothing about the girl seems right. She's just plain out strange." The vendor responded.

Zuko seemed to be able to ignore the remark about the man's overall description of the girl. He didn't care what she was like as long as she was able to do the job he needed her for. "Where is she located?"

"She's been living with an older couple who reside on that hillside." The man answered as he pointed at a road that travels up a hill. "You shouldn't be able to miss the house. It's the only one on the road that has a barn attached to it."

"Thank you for your time." And wasting mine. Zuko thought bitterly as he walked away from the vendor with his two soldiers following him like the mindless drones they most likely were.

Following the road the man pointed to, he looked at the few houses that were along it and finally spotted the only one with a barn. He went up to the front yard of it and spotted an elderly woman outside feeding some chickens. He then spotted a man coming out from the barn holding a pail and only could assume that he was her husband.

"That bird in there eats more than all our chickens combined!" the elderly man exclaimed with a bit of laughter as he walked over to his wife.

"Well, Kali's been seeming awfully distressed lately. More than what she'd appear usually. I think that swim might cheer her up a bit. I hope she doesn't decide on traveling again… I'll surely miss the younger company around the house." Responded the old woman with a soft smile on her face.

Zuko coughed, not out of sickness, but out of annoyance because the older couple didn't seem to notice him and his guards being there. The older woman turned her gaze from her husband over to the banished prince and offered him a smile. "Why hello there. May we help you?"

Zuko gave her a bit of a glare because of her "stupid question". "I'm here looking for a young girl. A villager told me that she's skilled in poisons and I'm in need of her services."

"You must mean Kali. She's not here right now, but she'll be back later." The man responded with a smile.

"How long is 'later'?" Zuko asked with a tone of annoyance.

"We've never been too sure when it comes to that girl. She likes to get away from the hussle and bussle in this area and go to a place that she can relax." The woman answered.

Suddenly a thought popped into Zuko's mind. She's a traveler and they let her live here for free? "Why does she stay on this property? Is it because you allow freeloaders?" He asked with an obvious disgust in his voice.

"Oh heavens, no. She wouldn't allow it. She does all the final chores of the day. Not to mention she does anything we might ask of her. She's such a sweet girl. A bit strange, but sweet." Said the woman.

Again with this "strange" nonsense. "Tell me this then… Where would she be right now? I overheard you both talking about "swimming"? Is there a body of water around here other than the ocean?"

"Yes, young sir. There's a lake up this path behind our house. A small waterfall leads into it and she's usually up there. She says the sounds calm her." The woman replied while pointing to a wooded trail diagonally leading away from the barn.

After she finished, Zuko nodded to the woman and her husband and started towards the trail. He didn't make it more than five steps before the woman added, "Please don't be alarmed by her outward expression to you. She's very unique in her ways."

Zuko continued walking with his guards following behind him. Like a young girl would alarm me. She can't be as strange as people put her off to be. He thought as he continued along the wooded path. The walk wasn't that long until a lake with rocks and a waterfall flowing down a great cliff behind it was in site. The three Firebenders looked at it in awe instead of a threat, being it was their opposite element, because that's how immense the sight was.

The young prince scanned the cliffs while walking closer to the lake to get a better view of the top. Something made his heart skip a beat at the sight he seen, though. At the top of the cliffs, there was a girl standing. She had black hair that was tied into a short ponytail while two short strands hung to both sides of her face for her bangs. She wasn't very tan, but she did have a healthy appearance for her skin tone. She wasn't skinny either, but had a nice build like she was used to working and exercising a lot. She was wearing a black, sleeveless shirt that reached right above her navel to only show a small portion of her stomach. The pants she was wearing didn't look like they were pants anymore. They appeared to be cut off into a pair of shorts that just barely went past her knees. What shocked Zuko the most was the fact that she was wearing a black blindfold and standing on the edge of the cliff.

No! She's my only chance right now for a possible cure! Was all Zuko could think at this point. The value of his uncle's life was more important than the girl's, yet just as equal at the same time. Without her, there would be no medicine and the death of the only family member who stands beside him. The guards had seen what caught his attention and were running towards the cliffs to try to climb up them in time. The girl took a step closer to the edge and had the toes of her right foot over it. "Don't jump!" The prince noticed escaped from his lips.

Too late though. By the time he said "jump", the girl had already been in the air.

Well. I left it as a cliffhanger. Sorry, but I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can with work and swimming and all that. As always, read and review. Please no flames. Constructive criticism is more than welcome, though. bows Thank you for your time.