The Darkest Timeline AU
Here we go @peregrine-the-jedi here is the darkest time line AU that combines Zuko knowing about Kiyoi's waterbending early. I hope you like it:
TW: child marridges (betrothal only), mentions of age gaps and predatory ickiness, but don't worry I'll be dark but I won't go that far. x_x
Kiyoi is 10 years and 9 months old when her life changes forever. During a grading with her firebending instructor, her firebending instructor attacks her and Kiyoi waterbends for the first time.
This forced her adoptive father, Tarz Ben Kuzo, to immediately challenge the instructor Kai Ra who witnessed the bending, to an Agni Kai. But unlike the Element of Change’s story line: Tarz loses the duel and is killed.
Immediately following Tarz’s death, Kiyoi's mother, Miyuna, takes Kiyoi and flees south to attempt to find refuge in the South pole with Kiyoi’s birth father. She does not tell Kiyoi why. But her plan to sail to the South Pole is thwarted when they are captured by Southern Raiders.
To save Kiyoi, Miyuna attempts a risky and enormous lie: she declares that Kiyoi is not merely a waterbender, but the Returned Avatar—the next in the water cycle, born by chance into the Fire Nation.
Miyuna uses “evidence” to back this up, citing Kiyoi’s birthday as the Festival of the Grains, once known as Szeto Day, an anniversary of the late Fire Avatar’s death.
She prompts Kiyoi to recount details from her 'past life,' which Kiyoi does convincingly.
The Southern Raiders, loyal Fire Nation citizens, are prepared for the remote possibility of encountering the Water Avatar and have collected several small, supposed relics of past Avatars. They arrange these in a test, similar to the one the Air Nomads performed for Aang. Kiyoi correctly chooses the items.
(this will be explored more later in EOC but if you are an Avatar Super fan and read some of the novels or watched film theories time line (highly recommend) you may have already realised something about Kiyoi’s mother’s side of the family. Miyuna’s maiden name, is Szeto, the last name Riza still uses.)
The reason for Kiyoi's success is Miyuna’s connection to the Szeto family, who secretly passed down detailed knowledge about their ancestor, Szeto, a great administrator and advisor to the Fire Lord and the Fire Avatar before Roku. Kiyoi, who did not know Szeto was an Avatar (the stories focused only on his statecraft), is able to recount very detailed descriptions of people and events from Szeto’s life. And as for the relics test, she uses logic to select the correct relics. Her choice is based on her father's interest in history, allowing her to accurately judge the items' style and aging to match the correct date range. (It is also possible that Avatar Szeto’s spirit subtly reaches out to protect his descendant.)
Convinced, the Southern Raiders hold off on executing them and take mother and daughter to the Fire Nation Capital to inform the Fire Lord.
During the voyage, Miyuna—whenever out of earshot—intensely coaches Kiyoi on the nature of the Avatar and how to pass future tests. She convinces Kiyoi that she is the Avatar, and that her waterbending must be the unfortunate first step in the cycle, meaning she will eventually master fire and serve her nation by winning the war.
Kiyoi is presented before Fire Lord Azulon and the Fire Sages. She passes their tests, and they genuinely believe they have found the Avatar. Which reinforces the lie; Kiyoi herself genuinely believes she is the Avatar.
Azulon accepts the claim but keeps it an absolute secret, knowing that any discovery of the Avatar being in Fire Nation custody would intensify resistance from the other nations. Kiyoi and Miyuna are confined to the palace.
But Azulon's goal is not balance of the world and harmony, but power: he intends to integrate the Avatar’s powerful bending genes into the royal line and, crucially, prevent her from mastering any elements beyond water.
The Sages advise betrothing Kiyoi to Lu Ten, then third in line for the throne. However, Azulon despises matches with large age gaps, due to the suffering his mother endured from marrying the much older Sozin (that is implied cannon btw, Azulon was born around 0 BG, meaning Sozin was 82 years old when he had his first and only son. Going by the oldest plausible age for Azulon’s mum being around 45, means there’s a 35 year age gap at minimum, she was probably a LOT younger). Instead, he betroths Kiyoi to Zuko, who is six months younger than her. His long-term plan is to integrate the 'extra-strong' Avatar genes through a second-cousin marriage in the future.
Zuko (10) finds Kiyoi ‘gross and annoying’ and the betrothal ‘dumb.’
Kiyoi (nearly 11) does not think highly of Zuko either, often issuing passive-aggressive insults with a far more eloquent vocabulary than his own.
The children's mothers intervene. Ursa and Miyuna encourage the children to be friends. Miyuna tells Kiyoi that while she cannot choose the arrangement, she can make the best of it, just as Miyuna and Tarz made the best of their own dutiful, yet loving, marriage. Ursa similarly encourages Zuko, framing the betrothal as a sacred and honourable duty to protect the Avatar.
With Lu Ten away fighting, Zuko has few other friends. Kiyoi is now Azula’s favourite person to torment, as Kiyoi is an infuriating puzzle: she handles Azula’s spite surprisingly well and shows no fear.
Naturally, Kiyoi and Zuko become allies, and then close friends.
But this is the darkest timeline… it’s not dark enough yet. The cannon events of the show happen. Lu Ten dies, Iroh abdicates, Azulon dies, Ursa disappears, and Ozai ascends. Zuko is 11, and Kiyoi is nearly 12.
Ozai is less shrewd than Azulon. He views Kiyoi purely as a tool and clearly despises Zuko. Miyuna sees her daughter's position is now precarious, realising Zuko’s protection is insufficient. To maintain influence and a measure of safety for Kiyoi, Miyuna manipulates Ozai, stroking his ego until she becomes his unofficial consort.
In secret, Miyuna procures waterbending scrolls and tries her best to train Kiyoi in a fusion style of fire and water bending (much like Kiyoi’s future style).
Kiyoi and Zuko grow up in constant isolation and fear, forming an intense, protective bond based on their shared proximity and reliance on one another. Zuko, however, resents Miyuna, believing she is the reason for his mother’s disappearance. Kiyoi hates Ozai, seeing her mother’s unhappiness despite her assurances that she is 'fine.'
During this period, Iroh returns and, though consumed by grief, finds solace in spending time with his nephew and niece-in-law-to-be, playing Pai Sho and enjoying the young Avatar's wisdom and tea enthusiasm.
But then, Zuko is 13 and a half, and Kiyoi is 14 when he incurs Ozai's wrath at the ill-fated war meeting.
Before the Agni Kai, Kiyoi is incredibly upset. She tells Zuko not to die, reminding him that her own father died in an Agni Kai. She gives him strips of fabric from her clothes as a token for his Prijiad armbands and gives him a kiss on the cheek for good luck.
But then Ozai turns out to be is his opponent. Zuko refuses to fight and is burned in front of Kiyoi and Miyuna. Instead of being sent on a quest to find the 'missing' Avatar, Ozai strips Zuko of his title and banishes him to serve the rest of his days as a Fire Sage at an unknown, remote temple island—a controlled imprisonment and a life of disgrace. No one is told which temple he is sent to.
Kiyoi is devastated. Her sole friend and protector is gone, and her danger is amplified as Ozai's focus shifts entirely to her.
(buckle up this is nasty)
Ozai's resentment for Zuko, Lu Ten, and his father (Azulon) was rooted in a deeper, more monstrous desire. Two months after Zuko's banishment, Miyuna is alarmed when a brave maid tells her that Ozai has been inquiring about Kiyoi’s moon cycles.
Miyuna immediately snaps into action, breaking into the royal study. She is horrified to find letters from the Sages and the royal physician confirming Ozai’s plan: he intends to marry Kiyoi ceremonially now to secure the match, with consummation to follow when she is sixteen and 'mature' enough to bear children. He is already making arrangements for the ceremony.
Miyuna realises the lie has gone too far and nowhere in the Fire Nation is safe. She begins planning an escape, sleeping in Kiyoi’s room as a guard until they can leave. She procures supplies and an eelhound (Pebo), and searches for a passage out of the city.
One night, Iroh pounds frantically on her door, telling her his brother just announced his engagement to Kiyoi in a council meeting. Miyuna hangs her head, sighing that she had 'hoped they had more time.' Iroh is enraged—first his nephew, now this!—but his anger fades when he realises Miyuna already knew and has been planning. He asks what she needs; she asks for a way to the inlet.
Iroh shows her a secret emergency outlet tunnel into the aqueduct—a dry, unused passage that runs straight to the harbour.
Miyuna wakes Kiyoi in the dead of night, telling her to get dressed in warm clothes. As they run through the palace gardens, Miyuna reveals the shocking truth: Kiyoi is not the Avatar; she is just a waterbender. Tarz was unable to have children, so Miyuna met a nice man, Hanokka of the Southern Water Tribe, who promised to keep the affair a secret. Hanokka is Kiyoi's birth father.
They reach the tunnel. Miyuna uses her bending to light the way. But unfortunately, Azula, who has always been suspicious of Kiyoi and Miyuna, spots them fleeing (though she doesn't know why). She immediately alerts the guards and her father.
Miyuna and Kiyoi reach the end of the tunnel, which is covered by a metal grate with a steep drop into the ocean below. Miyuna begins melting the grate but hears the thundering of footsteps and knows there is not enough time. She melts the grate just enough for Kiyoi to squeeze through. Kiyoi waits for her mother on the tiny ledge.
As the footstep get louder and the light of flames gets closer Miyuna reaches through the grate, grabs Kiyoi, and gives her final instructions: find the eelhound stabled at the docks, find Zuko and take him to the South Pole.
'Protect him,' Miyuna says. 'He is the only hope of someone who can oppose Ozai when he is older, and a friend who will look after you.' Kiyoi protests, desperate not to leave her mother. Miyuna shoves her off the ledge. 'Go! Rescue Zuko and find your father. I love you.'
Kiyoi is forced to waterbend to survive the fall, pulling herself out in the harbour. She finds the eelhound, Pebo, and uses her waterbending and the eelhound to swim under the flaming gates and escape the city.
Miyuna is publicly executed the next day. Kiyoi’s escape is successful, but she is now burdened not only by her mother’s sacrifice but by an intense identity crisis: she is a bastard waterbender, not the Avatar, 'not anyone special, not anyone worthy.' She is alone, tasked with finding Zuko and her birth father in the South Pole.
The situation is about to get worse.
Unlike the calculating Azulon, Ozai acts in rage. He publicly announces that Kiyoi is the Avatar and puts an immense bounty on her head. This disastrous tactical error makes Kiyoi a target for every nation:
The Northern Water Tribe sends out search parties to retrieve the Avatar, believing that if she escaped the Fire Nation, she must be looking to master waterbending.
The Earth Kingdom, hearing the Avatar is a waterbender loyal to the Fire Nation, issues a bounty to kill her, hoping to accelerate the cycle and allow the Earth Avatar to be born.
Azula, desperate for favour after not being named the chosen heir, volunteers to hunt Kiyoi down (still unaware of the real reason her father wants Kiyoi returned alive).
Meanwhile, Zuko, disgraced as a Sage, has fallen into a depression for months. Luckily, he has been cared for by Sage Shyu (that nice Sage at Roku's Temple). Everyday at the Avatar’s Temple, he looks at Roku's statue and thinks of Kiyoi, his 'Avatar.' He eventually begins finding purpose, learning more about Fire’s spiritual side with Shyu, improving his bending, and gaining philosophical depth.
When he hears the news: Miyuna has been executed, and his father has placed a bounty on Kiyoi for running away. Zuko begs Shyu to turn a blind eye and help him escape to find the Avatar—his duty as a Sage and her betrothed.
Shyu agrees and lets him go.
Following the public execution of Miyuna and the announcement of Kiyoi's bounty, Iroh makes a calculated move. He feigns assistance to Azula, offering his 'wisdom and experience' to help hunt down the fugitive Avatar. Azula, desperate for any edge, accepts, convinced that the most logical move for her would be to flee north to master her first element. Iroh insists they follow this line of reasoning, which Azula accepts.
Iroh's presence is a deliberate shield. He guides Azula away from the true paths, ensuring she does not stumble upon either Kiyoi or Zuko. He attempts to be a guiding presence for his niece, though subtly, trying to plant seeds of doubt by getting her to question her motives for this obsessive pursuit.
Azula ignores him, focused only on returning the Avatar to their father to secure her place as heir.
Kiyoi, burdened with the truth of her identity and her mother's final mission, searches for Zuko with Pebo. Based on the limited information she has, she searches the various remote Fire Sage temples, hoping that each one will be her friend's prison. She quickly discovers that these temples are not sanctuaries, but death traps, filled with Ozai loyalists and soldiers ready to kill or capture the 'Avatar'.
She has several harrowing close calls with professional bounty hunters. These close encounters, which edge Kiyoi back toward Fire Nation waters, inadvertently drawing Azula’s attention, back there.
Meanwhile, Zuko, has joined a bounty hunting guild as “the blue spirit” to try get leads. He follows the rumour mill, tracking the sightings and movements and listening for any news of a mysterious young girl travelling with an unusual amphibian pet. He eventually gets a solid lead indicating Kiyoi is heading toward the central islands.
The two finally reunite on a neutral, isolated island after Zuko betrays his bounty hunting guild to save Kiyoi. The reunion is fraught with relief and fear. The are over joyed to see each other. But Kiyoi—too ashamed of her bastard heritage, too afraid that Zuko will desert her if he realises she is not the Avatar—cannot bring herself to confess the truth.
She maintains the lie, telling Zuko only that they need to get to the South Pole, specifically to Wolf Cove. She explains that Pebo is an amphibian and will freeze solid in the icy polar waters; they need a proper sea-worthy vessel.
Playing the 'Avatar gambit' one last time, Kiyoi suggests they head for Kyoshi Island, knowing it is independent of the Earth Kingdom and deeply reverent of the Avatar's legacy.
They arrive, and the news of the massive bounty has preceded them. The Kyoshi Warriors believe the Fire Nation Avatar has escaped their captors. They agree to give the pair a strong, seaworthy boat and promise to look after Pebo until they can return.
Just as they prepare to leave, Azula’s ship appears on the horizon.
Azula, radiating triumph, steps ashore. She congratulates her brother.
'Well done, Zuko,' she drawled, her voice sharp with false admiration. 'Finding the Avatar and keeping her safe from that riff-raff. I'm sure Father will see your role in her capture as honourable, if you simply hand her over now.'
In that moment, Zuko hesitates. He sees a path back to the palace, to his life, to safety alongside Kiyoi, unaware of Ozai’s true, horrific marriage plan or why Kiyoi fled. He considers the proposal, an option for the old life of privilege but wonders if Kiyoi will be punished for running away. Kiyoi, seeing the destruction Azula's could wreak upon kyoshi village, almost steps forward to surrender herself.
Before either can act, Iroh steps forward and drops the bombshell. Iroh reveals Ozai's plan to marry Kiyoi and use her to bear powerful bending children, exposing the true reason for the banishment of his son and the murder of Miyuna.
Zuko is instantly disgusted and profoundly ashamed that he even considered Azula’s proposal.
Azula is momentarily caught in a state of stunning indecision, not out of disgust for the plan, but because the implication is clear: Kiyoi would be her stepmother, and her father was looking to replace her with a new, stronger heir.
The momentary shock turns to fury. Azula unleashes a bolt of lightning straight at Kiyoi. In a move that astounds everyone present, Iroh intercepts the blast and redirects the lightning. (this would be the first time the technique is witnessed)
Seeing that Azula possesses no compassion and cannot be swayed from her murderous path, Iroh makes a choice and fights Azula. He grabs Zuko and Kiyoi, and they escape on the stolen skiff, leaving the disgraced and conflicted Azula behind.
Aboard the skiff, heading south, Kiyoi can no longer keep the secret. Guilt-ridden by Iroh and Zuko's faith in her, she confesses the entire truth: she is not the Avatar, but a bastard waterbender. She tells them about her mother's affair, the identity of her true father, Hanokka, and the terrifying real reason they fled the palace.
'My mother told me to find you,' Kiyoi whispered, staring at the waves. 'To protect you so you could challenge Ozai and end this madness when you were older and skilled enough. I’m a cheat, Zuko. I’m nobody.' Zuko is briefly hurt that she didn't feel she could tell him immediately. Kiyoi explains that she was afraid because he was so adamant in his duty to the Avatar. He corrected her, gently. 'It wasn't duty to the Avatar, Kiyoi. It was duty to you. My duty is to you. I love you.'
Zuko, Kiyoi, and Iroh arrive at the desolate and frozen Southern Water Tribe. And they are treated with suspicion and taken captive. It is up to the elder women to decide their fate. When asked why they came, Kiyoi tells them she is here to find her family. It is then Kiyoi learns that her birth father, Hanokka, has recently left the tribe to fight in the war. However, her grandmother, Nami (Hanokka’s mother), is there. Nami is a respected elder and claims Kiyoi without hesitation, recognising the wavy, dark hair and facial features that resemble her son.
The tribe accepts Zuko based entirely on Kiyoi's declaration that he is her betrothed and chosen partner. Within the Southern Water Tribe structure, family and matrimonial matters are primarily the domain of the women, giving Kiyoi the final authority on who is welcomed into her home.
Iroh is personable, diplomatic, and vouched for strongly by Kiyoi, who confirms that Iroh sacrificed his position to ensure their escape. He is accepted as a travelling elder and respected guest.
In this timeline, the Southern Raiders found the 'Waterbender' they were looking for (Kiyoi) and departed, meaning the tragic raid that claimed Kya and Hanokka's life never occurred. Kya, giving Sokka and Katara a bit more of a stable home life and not as big a chip on there shoulder with the fire nation, but Hakoda's departure for the war has left them worried.
The group settles in, and the dynamics quickly shift:
Sokka is initially highly suspicious of the false avatar, the Fire Nation ex-prince and his uncle, but he is genuinely happy to have two new people near his age to talk to, especially another man to share his thoughts with. He does unfortunately also get a bit jealous that Kiyoi is betrothed to Zuko, as the dating pool of Wolf Cove is nonexistent. But this is not a very long enduring crush as Kiyoi scares him too much. Sokka and Zuko become fast friends.
Kiyoi and Katara bond immediately. Katara is overjoyed to finally meet another waterbender her age. They share notes on their limited training, but Kiyoi's temper quickly reveals itself. Kiyoi, having experienced the loss of both of her parents and then having Miyuna sacrifice herself for her only to be burdened by an identity crisis, and a mysterious absent father, is a angry girl. Her frustration and self-loathing only compounds as she, like in the original timeline, is still unable to bend ice and snow. She is now the angrier, hot-headed, brooding one of the pair, obsessed with the idea of atoning for her mother’s death and, internally, Zuko’s banishment and disownment. To restore her honour, she feels she must help Zuko retake the throne.
Zuko, on the other hand is more like his book three self, he is still impulsive and can’t stand injustice. But having trained with Sage Shyu and completely abandoned wanting recognition or “honour” from his father and now under Iroh’s direct guidance, Zuko is surprisingly self-actualised and focused. He faces the challenge of Firebending in the South Pole with discipline, finding that the extreme cold pushes him to a new level of strength and internal focus. He is the voice of reason and calm, constantly reminding Kiyoi that she doesn’t owe anything to anyone. He does not want to retake the throne. He sees the Fire Nation as irredeemable and knows he can’t take on his father. He believes that once they are able to they should start looking for the real Avatar to restore balance.
The core of the Avatar story unfolds: Aang is found. And instead of zuko finding Aang like in the original series, the bounty hunter guild Zuko abandoned managed to track him and Kiyoi down and attacks the village, in the process they discover Aang. Aang agrees to go with them as the real Avatar and an air nomad would be worth more than his new friends. And so goes with them and like the original series, Katara and Sokka, and now Zuko, Kiyoi and Iroh take Appa to get him back.
They rescue Aang and Kiyoi, ironically being given information and lessons, as the false Avatar, is able to confirm he is the Avatar and make an actionable plan to get him to the Northern Water Tribe to master water. Kiyoi and Zuko officially become part of the Gaang in Book 1. And Iroh, knowing the real Avatar has been found and that his nephew has found a new, noble purpose, bids Zuko and Kiyoi a safe journey. He declares that he will journey ahead and contact the White Lotus to help them on their journey. He immediately travels back to Kyoshi Island to retrieve Pebo and use the eelhound for his own secret travels. He pops up every now and then an tries to provide them with contacts and support.
Meanwhile, Azula, having failed to capture the 'Avatar' and still reeling from her humiliation, receives the news that Kiyoi has been exposed as a False Avatar. This revelation is a strange mix of relief (she was not hunting a future stepmother) and renewed furious determination (she still needs to make her father proud). She immediately commits to the new hunt: chasing the real Avatar, Aang.
The new Gaang, now pursued by a relentless Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee, begins its journey. Azula although clever and ruthless, the task is not any easier as she is also up against two extra opponents Kiyoi's determination and intelligence and Zuko's enhanced combat ability and protective instincts, they have the resources needed to protect the true Avatar on his journey.