Back in Bai Sing Se, a young man with a flamed-shape scar over his right eye ran through the darkness. He had to find out where that man named Jet went off to. The police had taken him away, but this young man had something different in the idea. He expected that his friends were somewhere in the city, and he was going to find them. Hearing some people laughing and walking down the street, the young man hid in an alley way, waiting for them to pass. A couple of men drunk. The typical thing found in the lower ring of Bai Sing Se at night.

The young man was swift, agile, and down right impossible to catch. He had been trained by the Fire Nation, having been born in that culture as well. This young man was named Zuko. Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, now known as Lee. He was on the run from the Fire Nation with his Uncle Iroh, who went by Mushi. They were supposed to be Earth Refugees, refraining from Firebending and from revealing who they were. Thanks to Zuko's actions as the Blue Spirit, they were wanted.

Zuko finally got what he needed. Smeller Bee was walking along with Longshot, talking about things he couldn't hear. They stopped walking, looking behind them. Zuko stood in the middle of the street, arms at his sides. He stared at them, not saying a word. He moved forward, causing Smeller Bee to get a funny feeling in her stomach.

"What do you want? Come to cause more trouble?"

"I don't mean any harm," Zuko shook his head, holding his hands up in peace. "Where is Jet?"

"What do you care? He took that thing too seriously. Thinking you and that fat man were Firebenders. You would've been kicked off of the ship if you were. How come you fought Jet? Why didn't you try and tell him the truth?" Smeller Bee started questioning. She wanted answers.

"I fought him because he wouldn't believe the truth! Besides, I had to protect my job! That's the only job my Uncle could find! I don't know why Jet thought we were Firebenders, but you need to get this straight; we are not Firebenders!" Zuko hissed, pulling Smeller Bee up by the collar.

Longshot came forward, giving Zuko a stare. Zuko seemed to understand, setting Smeller Bee back down on her feet. She was short. Zuko gave them a nod, heading back towards his apartment. As soon as he arrived, his uncle was standing outside, waiting for him.

"Where did you go off to?"

"I caught up with a few friends, that's all," Zuko muttered, shoving past him.

"You made friends? I would like to meet them!"

"No, you don't want to," he muttered. "We aren't friends anymore now."

Iroh gave a shake of his head, entering the apartment after his nephew. Zuko seemed to lose friends as soon as he made them. Zuko was more of a loner, though. He enjoyed becoming powerful on his own. The boy seemed to do better by himself as well. Iroh shut the door behind him, heading towards the stove and starting a fire with the spark rocks.

"Would you like some tea?"

"Uncle! We were just working in a tea shop! We go through this every evening!" Zuko sighed, lying back on his bed.

"I know! But you can never be sick of tea!" Iroh smiled.

"Yes, you can," he grumbled, turning his back to his uncle and facing the wall. "I just want to get out of here. Something is weird about this city, and I don't like it."

Iroh gave his nephew a quizzical look, shrugged his shoulders, and started boiling some water over the tiny fire. His nephew just wanted to catch the Avatar before his sister did. It was a difficult task, seeing as the Avatar was going from here to there and all around the place. He had an Earthbending teacher with him as well, and that Waterbending girl was still teaching him new techniques that she learned herself. He was becoming more and more powerful each and every day. Iroh walked over to his nephew, setting a cup of tea on the side table.

"Zuko, you know that you can't run from your problems. I know we are, but this is a different problem. You and I will catch the Avatar, and we will return home as heroes."

"Uncle, I appreciate your concern, but there isn't any chance now. Didn't you notice that flying bison going over two days ago? That was them. They've left Bai Sing Se, and we can't even leave the city. We're prisoners," Zuko murmured.

"Not prisoners, we are just tourists that have a job here! We are merely on a little detour, like you say," Iroh chuckled.

Zuko turned to his Uncle, smiling a little bit. He was right. It was just a tiny detour. The Avatar still had to master Firebending, and there was no chance he could master it without the Fire Nation wanting him. There was still the chance he could find one that was a deserter, but then again, why didn't he just fly on into the Fire Nation and try to get one? He wouldn't put that girl in harm's way. He wouldn't put the other two and that huge bison of his and that silly lemur-like thing in danger either. The Avatar was too protective of everyone that traveled with him.

"See? A detour is a fun little vacation. Remember what Song said, everyone is in this war together. The women and children who have had their husbands and fathers taken away from them are in the war. They protect their villages. Like the Kyoshi Warriors, they are strong," Iroh said, going over to fix himself a cup of tea.

"The Kyoshi Warriors were worthless when I fought them. I defeated them! They ran, cowards. They are just women who shouldn't even fight," Zuko grumbled.

"They fought with diligence, pride, and hopefulness. They wanted to save and protect their culture and heritage. You burnt Kyoshi to the ground, and they rebuilt it. They worked as a family. The Fire Nation is one family, but I doubt you and your sister would agree to that."

"You're right though, we are a family. Everyone in this world is one family; we just are different on the outside and with what we do."

Iroh smiled. His nephew was learning. He was training and teaching his nephew in the perfect setting as well. Zuko needed to learn in poverty. He learned in the reigns of royalty, and now he would learn the same way a poor Firebender would. Iroh sat down on his bed, drinking his tea.

"Uncle, do we have any cards?"

"Cards? What for?"

"I want to play a game. I'm bored," Zuko laughed, Iroh joining in.