I'm going to organize the plot as such: every other chapter will be a flashback and likewise the other chapters will be present day. I will be alternating from my OC, Ziyeng's, POV, to the Avatar cast's POV. So this chapter will be present-day Gaang, and the next chapter will be a Gaang flashback, then a Ziyeng present-day, then a Ziyeng flashback, and so on. The formula may be broken occasionally.
PRESENT-DAY
Fire Lord Zuko, now twenty-six, woke up from his peaceful slumber. After nine years, Zuko had long gotten over Mai's tragic death. Ex-Admiral Ziyeng was a thing of the past. After he got out of prison, he lived a quiet reclusive life now in his late 50's (though he looked much older). Until today, he had only been of importance twice; Mai's murder and that time a few years ago when…
"Your majesty!" a soldier walked in, nervous and trembling.
"What is it?" the Fire Lord asked. "Why are you so nervous?"
"There's something you need to see. There's been a murder."
Zuko's eyes widened. He whipped around at the soldier. "Who was murdered? Who did it?"
The soldier gulped. "I don't think I'm the right person to tell you."
Zuko grabbed the soldier and hurled him into a wall. "You listen to me! Who. Was. Murdered?"
The soldier tried to flee, but relented from his Lord's grip. "It was… his name was Tom-Tom."
Mai's little brother, Zuko's eyes widened in anger at his past memory flaring up. Fire pulsed through his hands in a way it hadn't much since ten years before. Zuko took a few deep breaths, and inhaled to attempt to speak calmly.
"Now. Who. Killed. Him?"
The soldier hesitated, and then drabbled. "Sir, I really think I've got to leave, my gopher bear is getting hungry, and you should see for yourself…"
Zuko's eyes glared straight into the soldier's, his grip fastening around the poor soldier's collar. "Who. Killed. Him?"
The soldier took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and flinched. "It was Ziyeng, sir."
Zuko's world crashed around him. This was all his fault. If he had cared for Mai more he would've been banished and Tom-Tom wouldn't be dead. In fact, if he hadn't underestimated his sister Mai wouldn't even be dead. The soldier tried to run away, but Zuko summoned a wall of fire in the corridor, being careful not to burn anything, that sent the soldier running straight back.
"Where is he now?" Zuko asked when he finally came to his senses.
"He's… gone. He got away this time," the soldier didn't dare make eye contact with his Lord. "Should… should I tell them you want to send a search party?"
A pause.
"No."
The soldier was genuinely surprised. "But sir…"
"No. This is my job."
"Er… yes, my Lord." The soldier scampered out of there as fast as his tiny legs could carry him.
Zuko, now thoroughly stressed, rubbed his forehead and walked out the Fire Nation palace where a body bag was being carried. Zuko couldn't look and rubbed a few tears off of his face he didn't know were there.
"Is there anything you need?" one of Zuko's many advisors asked, as Zuko stepped down the large staircase where his grandfather's funeral had been held.
"I need an airship."
"And why is that, Lord Zuko?"
"I'm meeting with the Avatar."
One week later…
Zuko attended Tom-Tom's funeral somewhat reluctantly, and comforted the family whom he had had to comfort only nine years ago. Zuko then went to the Palace, sorting through old files. He found a file with a drawing of Ziyeng.
"You, my friend, are just one trouble after another,"
Immediately following, Zuko's arranged three-day trip by airship was set to take off. Zuko was last to board.
Three days later, Zuko arrived in the Southern Water Tribe.
"Why, hello, Fire Lord," a female villager dressed in a Water Tribe parka greeted him. "Welcome to the Southern Water Tribe. Is there anything we can do for you?"
"No, thank you," Zuko replied adamantly, as he was pelted by a few adolescent teenager's snowballs, whom he guessed still had lingering animosity towards him and his nation for the War and Zuko's personal invasion back in the day. "I just need to see Avatar Aang."
The villager laughed. "You must be mistaken, Lord Zuko. Aang left six weeks ago for Kyoshi Island."
Zuko sighed with a lighthearted laugh. Even as friends the Avatar was still hard to track down. "For what?" he asked.
The villager laughed again, slightly to Zuko's annoyance. "Haven't you heard?" the villager looked around, and whispered in Zuko's ear. "Sokka's going to propose to Suki. I don't think he's sent invitations yet, though."
Zuko's eyes widened and he laughed, something that came rarely in the monarchal position as Fire Lord. "It's been ten years! How has he not already?"
The villager shrugged as she led Zuko back to his airship to leave for Kyoshi. "Well, from what I heard, they've had a few rough patches and I think something happened with Toph of the Bei Fong Family a few years back that made it even tougher."
Zuko raised an eyebrow. "Toph? What, did she have a crush on him or something?" he smiled.
"I guess so. So why do you need to see Aang?" the villager asked.
Zuko's smile instantly turned into a frown. "My cousin's dead."
"Oh…" the villager flinched. "I'm so sorry."
"It's alright. Well, I better be off. Where's Kyoshi again?"
"Twelve miles directly north. Good luck."
And with that, Zuko returned to his ship. "Start the engines, we're taking off."
"What, again? But we just landed."
"What do you think you're paid to do? Start up the engines!"
Twenty minutes later…
"IT'S THE FIRE LORD!" a strange man yelled out loud as Zuko's airship landed, foaming from his mouth and fainting.
"Greetings, Fire Lord," a Kyoshi boy said. "What can we do for you?"
"Yes, I need to speak with Aang immediately." Zuko replied curtly.
"Go ahead, he's on the beach at the other side of the island. Do you need an escort?"
"No, I'm fine, thanks," Zuko gave his thanks and began trekking through Kyoshi Island. It still seemed funny that only ten years ago he burned down Kyoshi and now he was walking through it as an ally of its citizens.
Zuko was about three-quarters down the relatively small island when he heard a familiar voice.
"Zuko?" asked an ever-so familiar voice. Even at twenty-five not much had changed about him.
Lord of the Fire Nation turned around and saw one of his old friends Sokka of the Water Tribe.
"How's it going, Scarface?" he asked casually, walking up to his old buddy in his casual Water Tribe wear and two bags filled with food.
"Not so good," Zuko admitted. He then tried to change the subject. "Congratulations on the proposa—"
"Shhh!" Sokka slyly shut Zuko up. "I haven't told anyone yet except a few people back home… how do you know?"
"I went there looking for Aang," Zuko remarked. Thankfully Sokka didn't ask why. "They brought me here!"
"Well, great to have ya!" Sokka patted him on the back. "Now that you're here, that just leaves your uncle, my dad, and Piandao, my sword master. They'll all be here within a week if my letters reach them in a few days, and I'm going to do it seven days from now!" Sokka began counting with his fingers. "Aang, Katara, Pakku, Bumi, and some other people we met on our travels are already here."
"Not Toph?" Zuko asked out of curiosity.
Sokka winced. "Well… it's a long story… but she hasn't even spoken to me in a year."
"Ouch." Zuko said. "Well, I need to talk to Aang. Can you take me to him?"
Sokka shrugged. "I don't see why not. The groceries can hold off till tomorrow."
And so Sokka and Zuko reminisced their decade-old adventures as they finally reached the opposite end of Kyoshi Island. They saw the smooth sandy beach that sparkled in the hot sun, the waves lapping on the shore. The sun by now was in high noon, and most of the children were at the more popular beach down south. Just Aang, looking much older at twenty-two, and with a head of hair, and Katara, now twenty-four, with the same dark tan and long hair.
"Has Aang… you know… proposed yet?"
"No, I won't let him," Sokka laughed, eyeing the couple. "Just kidding. He's even more hesitant than I am."
"Hey, Aang! Katara!" Sokka ran up to them, and tripped, reminding a smirking Zuko of Sokka's old clumsiness.
Aang and Katara turned and laughed as Sokka picked himself up and pouted.
"Hello, Crowned King of the Fire Nation!" Aang laughed with a mocking tone. He used his signature laugh that still sounded like a twelve-year-old's but a bit deeper. Aang Airbended up to Zuko as Katara and Sokka followed. "What are you doing in Kyoshi?"
Zuko's smile faded. "I need to talk to you." He held Ziyeng's drawing up.
Aang's smile was the next to fade. "Oh, no. What has he done this time?"
"Who has done what this time? Katara asked curiously, asked Katara with her usual tone of voice.
Zuko turned to Katara and Sokka. "I'm sorry, but I need to speak to Aang in private. Do you mind, Aang?"
"Not at all."
Zuko turned his back as he saw Katara and Sokka walk off, suspiciously eyeing Zuko.
"You remember Ziyeng?" Zuko asked Aang.
"How could I forget?" Aang said, wincing at a past memory. "Wasn't he the guy who I had to—?"
"Yes, that's the one," Zuko nodded. "Anyway, he's killed another person."
"Another person?" Aang asked incredulously. "Who was it this time?"
"His first victim's younger brother," Zuko solemnly remarked. "And this time we couldn't catch him,"
"And why do you need me?" Aang asked.
"Well, considering how you…" Zuko didn't know how to put it. "I don't know how, but he got what you took from him back. Tom-Tom was burned. If we find him, you're gonna have to take it back again and we'll have to find out how to stop him."
"Did his wife say anything?"
"Jia refuses to speak."
Aang grunted. Then he snapped his fingers. "There's always June! You know, the crazy girl with the badger who you used to try to capture me with! We could get one of Ziyeng's possessions and track him down!"
Zuko sighed. "It looks like the best way of tracking him down right now. But it's been ten years. For all we know, she could've gotten a different job or the Shirshu may have died." Zuko started walking away.
"Well, let's hope not…" Aang looked to the sky. Then something hit him. "Do you think we'll take more than eight days?"
Zuko raised his eyebrow, "Why is that?"
"Well, between you and me," Aang whispered, smiling. He pulled out a betrothal necklace with the elemental insignias of the Water Tribe and the Air Nomads on it. "… I designed it myself. I was going to ask Katara to marry me."
It hit Zuko with immense frustration. You've got to be kidding me.
"What is it, Zuko? Is something wrong?"
Zuko looked away. "Er… um…"
"Hey, guys!" Suki, twenty-five appeared, noticing Zuko and smiling. "Long time, no see, Lord Zuko. Have you seen Sokka? I sent him out for groceries a while ago."
"Yeah, he's down the beach with Katara," Zuko pointed back in the direction the Water Tribe siblings went, immensely grateful for the save.
"Thanks!" Suki said, running off after him. "That Sokka is always so unpredictable!"
"Is it going to take more than a week?" Aang asked again. Zuko didn't answer for a few seconds, and sighed.
"Let's hope not."
A few hours later…
Aang and Zuko made all of their goodbyes to Kyoshi citizens and they boarded Zuko's Fire Nation airship with the sun now setting. Unfortunately, it still had to cool down because it was overused from the Southern Water Tribe sidetrack. Aang and Zuko were at a loss until they came across a sleeping Appa in a field near the Avatar Kyoshi statue.
After several minutes of waking up a now-lazy and usually resting Appa, and getting him to take off, Aang and Zuko watched Kyoshi Island shrink over distance and eventually disappear on the horizon.
"It's just like old times, isn't it?" Aang laughed, rubbing Appa's head while Zuko sat up in the back.
"Yeah," Zuko smiled faintly.
Several minutes later…
"Wait a minute," Aang had a sudden thought. The sun was now gone and replaced with the moon, reminding Aang of the late Princess Yue.
"What is it?" Zuko asked, laying down.
"You said Ziyeng murdered… um… the first person because Azula made him."
"That's true," Zuko sighed, closing his eyes and attempting to sleep.
"If Azula's at the Boiling Rock, then how exactly did she make him kill… um… this person."
Zuko's eyes lit up. He hadn't thought about that.
"What if she's…" Aang continued. "Escaped?"
"I would have learned about it by now unless it was very recent, but we should make sure…" Zuko nodded. "How far away is the Boiling Rock?"
"Just a few miles from where June usually is," Aang estimated.
"Then that's where we're going next." Zuko said.
MEANWHILE
A prisoner inside the Boiling Rock, the Fire Nation's strongest prison hold, was eating her meal, her chi being blocked against her will along with everyone else's every five or so minutes, making her unable to bend.
"Did you hear?" a male Earthbending prisoner across the table asked.
"Hear about what?" a female Firebending prisoner next to him asked.
"The Avatar and the Fire Lord are coming to visit," the Earth Kingdom prisoner said.
The first prisoner mentioned before the Earthbending prisoner's eyes widened with bloodshot eyes.
"Wow!" the Firebending prisoner across the table exclaimed. "Two of the most powerful Benders in the world coming to the most powerful prison stronghold in the world. This must be big."
The first female prisoner's eye started twitching.
"Are you alright, Azula?" the Earthbender asked from across the table.
Azula regained her composure after a second. "Yes. I'm absolutely fine."
"Glad to hear it," the other female Firebender said.
While they may have noticed Azula of the Fire Nation's eye twitching, they did not notice a slow, demonic grin form on the former Princess's lips.
--
Zuko's and Aang's discussion may seem confusing. This has to do with the past, and I'm purposely avoiding any major spoilers.