Days later, after everyone walked out of the war meeting, Iroh remained behind. Ozai, the flames still rising up around him as he sat on his throne, looked down at him.

"You have something you want to say, Brother?" said the Fire Lord.

"You cannot allow Prince Zuko to fight the Agni Kai," said Iroh. "He's just a child."

"A disrespectful child who should not have spoken."

"Ozai, he is your son..."

Ozai scoffed at Iroh's words. "Any son of mine would've known to keep his mouth shut!"

"You know he is right," argued Iroh. "To sacrifice our own men, it is disgraceful."

"It was my understanding that you were retired, General Iroh. Your opinions no longer bear weight when it comes to the war. And as for Zuko, I am Fire Lord, not you. He will pay for his disrespect."

In the Agni Kai chamber, Zuko, preparing for his duel against General Bujing, stood up and turned to face his opponent. His eyes grew wide when he saw not Bujing but Fire Lord Ozai facing him.

"Please, Father! I only had the Fire Nation's best interest at heart. I'm sorry I spoke out of turn."

"You will fight for your honor," said Ozai as he approached him.

Zuko knelt before him with his face down. "I meant you no disrespect. I am your loyal son."

"Rise and fight, Prince Zuko!"

"I won't fight you," said Zuko.

Ozai stood before him. "You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher."

After the duel, Iroh immediately went to the infirmary. When he entered, Zuko lay unconscious as the doctor was putting a burn salve on the injury.

"How is he?" asked Iroh.

"He's not awake right now which is probably for the best," answered Asa. He briefly glanced up at Iroh who now stood opposite him. "Is it true, Prince Iroh?" he asked softly. "The Fire Lord did this during an Agni Kai?"

"I am afraid so," said Iroh sadly.

"His own son," he said in a near whisper.

"It is shameful," said Iroh. He looked down at the fresh injury feeling disgusted by his brother's actions against his own child. "What about his eye?"

"I'm afraid he's lost his sight in this eye, and the scar will be quite...prominent."

Iroh shook his head.

"In all my years serving the royal family, I have never seen such a terrible injury," said the physician. "And to be deliberately caused by his own father..." He sighed as he began bandaging the wound.

Iroh remained by Zuko's side, and it was not long before he began regaining consciousness.

"Prince Zuko," said Iroh softly.

Zuko moaned in pain. As he went to open his eyes, he realized he could only open one, and above him stood Iroh. "Uncle? Wh-where am I?" he asked.

"You're in the infirmary."

The whole left side of his face was in excruciating pain, and he reached up and felt the bandage that covered his left eye.

"Be careful, Prince Zuko," said Asa. "We don't want your bandage to come undone."

Zuko could not help the tear that fell from his right eye as he realized it was not a dream.

"H-how bad is it?" he asked in a small voice.

Iroh hesitated. "You will not have use of your left eye, and there will be scarring," he answered honestly.

Just then a messenger entered the infirmary and hesitated as he saw the young prince with the dressing over his eye and part of his face.

"What is it?" asked Iroh.

"A...a message from the Fire Lord for Prince Zuko," he answered holding a scroll.

Iroh held out his hand and the messenger handed it to him before bowing and turning to leave. Iroh looked at his nephew, his one gold eye looking up at him.

"What does it say?" Zuko asked softly.

Iroh unrolled the scroll and read the message. He closed his eyes finding himself even more disgusted by his brother. Zuko sat up.

"What? What is it?"

Iroh did not want to read it aloud.

"Tell me, Uncle."

Iroh sighed. "Would you please excuse us, Asa?" he asked looking at the doctor.

"Of course, Prince Iroh." He bowed and left.

When they were alone, Iroh looked down at the message. "Crown Prince Zuko, having shown great weakness in refusing to fight in the Agni Kai, by command of Fire Lord Ozai it is hereby ordered that you are to be banished from the Fire Nation..."

Zuko's mouth opened in shock when he heard the word banished.

"...You are forbidden to return, and any attempts to return to the Fire Nation will result in severe punishment up to and including execution.

You are advised to use the time of your exile to prove your loyalty to the Fire Lord by undergoing a quest to find the Avatar. If you succeed in finding and capturing the Avatar and return him to the Fire Nation, your banishment may be overturned and your honor may be restored.

You have two days to prepare for your departure and withdraw from Fire Nation territory."

Zuko looked down as another tear escaped his eye. He could not believe he was being forced to leave his home at thirteen years old, and he wondered what it meant for him, his mind reeling with questions. Would he be removed from the Fire Nation in chains, dropped off in a foreign territory, and left on his own? What would happen to him if he was left in the nearest Earth Kingdom land? He had no idea what he was going to do or where he was going to go or even how he would get there. Yet it could all be undone if he found the Avatar. He knew only too well how that turned out for his ancestors though.

"What am I going to do, Uncle?" he asked softly.

Iroh placed his hand on Zuko's shoulder. "For now you will get some rest; allow your body to heal. I have some business to which I must attend, but I'll return to check on you."

Zuko, still looking down, nodded sadly.

Iroh felt bad for him. "You are not alone, Nephew. I promise."

He gently squeezed his shoulder before leaving the infirmary. He wanted to confront Ozai again, but he knew it would be no use, and he was worried it might even make things worse for Zuko as Ozai was determined to punish his son. But Iroh had another idea.

It was hours later before he returned to the infirmary, and Zuko lay on the bed looking dejected, his one eye staring straight ahead not focused on anything.

"Prince Zuko, I have some news for you."

"What now?" he asked somberly. "Did he decide to burn my other eye too?"

"I assure you, this is more promising news," said Iroh. "I've been able to procure a ship and I'm gathering a crew for you to take you wherever you desire."

Zuko sat up, his gold eye widened as he looked at Iroh. "Really?"

"Yes. You can travel the world."

"I...I can look for the Avatar," he said hopefully.

Iroh was just a bit crestfallen that Zuko would consider that, but he did not want to discourage him. "If that is what you want."

"It's the only way to regain my honor. Then I can return home."

"In time, I'm sure," said Iroh. "For now, you should take it easy."

Zuko looked down as he thought about whom he would be leaving behind. "I don't know when I'll see you or Chiara again," he said sadly.

"Well, I don't know about Chiara, but you'll see me everyday if you like. We can play Pai Sho so you can brush up on your skills."

He looked up at Iroh puzzled by his words.

"You didn't think I'd send you out on your own, did you?" said Iroh with a slight smile.

"My dad did," he said softly.

"I am not Ozai," he replied with a hint of disgust as he spoke his brother's name.

Zuko appreciated his uncle more than he ever thought possible.

"Thank you, Uncle."

Iroh patted his shoulder.

Zuko wished Chiara would be going with them, but he felt that it would be unfair to her to share in his banishment. His sense of urgency in finding the Avatar in order to return home increased as he realized it would mean returning to her, but then a sudden melancholy descended upon him as the constant throbbing pain of his injury made him consider him that she might not want to see him ever again now that he was scarred and blind.

"What is wrong, Nephew?" asked Iroh noticing the sudden sadness that had followed his hopefulness.

"Can...can you say goodbye to Chiara for me?" he asked sadly as he realized how much he was going to miss her.

"You can say goodbye to her yourself. I'm sure she'll want to see you."

"No. I-I'd rather you do it."

"Oh, Prince Zuko, that is something you need to do."

"I don't want her to see me like this." A tear formed in his eye, but it did not fall.

"She won't let you go without saying goodbye to you in person."

Zuko looked down. "I...I...don't want to see her."

"We will see."

That evening Iroh came abruptly into the house to find Chiara.

"Chiara!" he called.

When she appeared, she noticed he looked somewhat distressed.

"Yes, General."

"Come. I need to speak to you."

He took her to a room where he could speak to her privately.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Prince Zuko..."

"Did something happen to him?" she immediately asked feeling worried.

"I allowed him to be present for the war council. He defended some soldiers by speaking against a general."

"Is that a bad thing?" she asked.

"The Fire Lord insisted it was a sign of disrespect..."

"But how can defending soldiers be disrespectful?"

"It was not his place to speak out against the general at the council, so the Fire Lord insisted on an Agni Kai."

Tears came to Chiara's eyes. Though she had never been present for one, she was familiar with the duel. "No. When?"

"It has already been done."

"What happened? Is he okay?"

"He faced his own father," said Iroh softly.

Chiara began crying. "Why would Fire Lord Ozai do that?"

"Speaking out against a general is an act of disrespect against the Fire Lord."

"Poor Zuko. How is he?"

"He's badly burned; he will be blind in his left eye."

She gasped at the news. "I have to see him," she said as she went to step towards the door.

"No," said Iroh as he grabbed her hand to stop her. "You cannot see him."

She looked at him. "But I can help him."

Iroh shook his head.

"Please let me go to him," she begged as more tears fell down her cheeks.

"You cannot risk him finding out who you are."

"I'll...I'll tell him it's a special salve; he'll never know it was me."

"There is no salve that can completely heal his injury," said Iroh. "Somebody will figure out what happened and they will hurt you, maybe even put you to death."

"I don't care," she said to his surprise. "If it will help Prince Zuko I'll do i..."

He was stunned. "No, I forbid it," he said adamantly. "It's not worth your life."

She did not argue with him, but tears continued falling as she desperately wanted to help her best friend. Seeing her sorrow, Iroh took her in his arms and held her. She cried on his shoulder making him hesitant to tell her the rest.

"There is more," he said sadly.

She moved back, more tears falling from her eyes as she shook her head not wanting there to be more.

"He is to be banished from the Fire Nation," he said in a soft voice.

She was shocked as she had not expected the news to be so drastic. "Banished?! But why?"

"Zuko refused to fight against his father, so the Fire Lord is banishing him and sending him to search for the Avatar."

"But the Avatar hasn't been seen for over a hundred years."

"I know. But I have arranged for a ship and a crew for Prince Zuko."

"I'll go with him," she said immediately. "He shouldn't be alone."

"He will not be alone. I will accompany him on this quest."

"I'll go with you," she said.

"Chiara, I don't know when we will next return to the Fire Nation. You may stay here indefinitely with my household to serve you."

While he was home Iroh informed his household of his upcoming voyage and they helped him prepare as they had always done in the past prior to his leaving the Fire Nation.

Iroh returned to the infirmary that evening in order to remain close to Zuko for the night not wanting him to be alone. He also felt he should be close by in case Ozai decided to pay Zuko a visit to inflict more abuse on him, but neither Ozai nor Azula ever visited him.

The following morning, Zuko woke up early after a restless night as the pain of his burn never diminished. As he lay on the cot, he opened his eye and was surprised to see Iroh sleeping on the next bed over. He slowly sat up.

"Uncle?"

Iroh opened his eyes and saw him looking at him. "Good morning, Prince Zuko."

"Were you here all night?"

"I told you I was going to stay with you."

Zuko thought he had only meant until he fell asleep.

"How did you sleep?" Iroh asked him.

"Not well."

"A burn this severe will take a long time to heal, Prince Zuko," said Asa as he walked into the room. "It may be some time before the pain subsides." He had a jar and bandages in his hand. "I'm going to put more ointment on it as well as a fresh bandage." He looked at Iroh. "I sent for breakfast, Prince Iroh. It should be here soon."

"Thank you, Asa," said Iroh now sitting up, his hair a bit disheveled from his night on the cot. He looked at Zuko. "After breakfast, Nephew, I will need to run some errands and prepare for our journey. Is there anything you need?"

"Maps," he said as he winced at the pain while the doctor was trying to carefully remove the bandage. "I'd like to look over them and plan our course."

"Good idea," said Iroh believing it might keep him occupied while sitting in the hospital. "I will bring you maps."

Later, after Iroh had left the infirmary and after convincing the doctor he would like to sleep, Zuko quietly crept out of his hospital room, and using the secret passages he managed to sneak to his bedroom. Iroh had informed him the night before that his clothes had been packed and would be on board the ship for him, but there were some items he knew he did not want to leave behind. He grabbed his dao swords and his knife from Iroh, and while going through a drawer he found several masks. He remembered finding them among his mother's belongings after she had disappeared, so he had taken them and kept them in his room. He touched each one, and his eyes lingered on the blue mask representing the Dark Water Spirit. Wanting to keep something of his mother's with him during his banishment, he put it in his bag. He stood up and looked around his room wondering when he would return to it, but then, interrupting his thoughts, sitting amidst the dark red colors of the furnishings, a bright green stone glowing on his windowsill caught his eye. He walked over and picked up the crystal that Chiara had given him after her return from the Earth Kingdom. As he looked at it, he thought about visiting her one last time before he left the Fire Nation. Turning the stone in the light, he suddenly saw his reflection in one of the facets; he could see the bandage that covered most of his face. He placed the crystal in the inside pocket of his tunic deciding not to go to her. He returned to the infirmary where he hoped nobody noticed he had been gone.

Meanwhile, Iroh had returned home to give Chiara an update on Zuko's condition, and he prepared for the voyage and said his goodbyes to his household since he did not plan on returning before they sailed out the following day. He also took a trip down to the harbor to make sure the ship would be ready to sail the next day, and then he returned to the infirmary to remain with Zuko who was happy to have the maps Iroh had obtained for him as promised. Zuko spent the rest of the day making a mental list of places he wanted to visit, starting with the Fire Temple.

That evening long after Iroh had fallen asleep in the hospital bed, Zuko got up and stealthily crept out of the infirmary again, but this time he left the palace before returning a few hours later, his bag just a little bit fuller.