Hey everybody. I'm sorry this took so long to put up, but I just spent the weekend driving to Boston and back moving my sister into college. But I'm back now, and ready to write. Enjoy

Chap. 14

Jealousy of the Avatar Part 1

Aang stumbled through the streets of the market, his mind barely registering what he was doing. His eyes darted from left to right with an empty gaze, searching for something that existed only in his mind. Occasionally, he would remember what he was supposed to be doing, and call out for Appa, or blow the bison whistle. In those brief moments, Aang resembled himself But for the most part, the boy that made his way through the market did not look like the Avatar, or a young Airbender. He looked like a broken, empty, old man, looking at the world through tear filled eyes.

And as Aang saw it, there had been much to break him. He was the last of his people, alone in the world as no other person could be. Appa, the last real friend he had from that time, was gone, and he had no chance of ever finding him, despite what lies others might say to him. And now Katara, the girl that he had loved from the minute he had first seen her, was lost, to his greatest enemy….

How could she do this to me? Aang's troubled mind whirled once again. I loved her, I protected her, I would've spent my life with her. And she chooses him? The voice of Gyatso had vanished from the boy's mind, taking all reason and retraint with it. Aang forgot the pity he had felt for Zuko, forgot the kindness that had made him save the boy prince before. All that was left was the pained, lovelorn emotions that swirled and twisted the fragments of Aang's pschye.

"Thanks anyway." Ocuridad said, as he left the small shop. As the door clicked shut behind him, the bat turned and saw Zuko leaving a nearby store. "Any luck?" Oscuriad asked.

"Not a thing." Zuko said. "No one here has seen anyone matching the Avatar's description. You don't think that he's left the city?" Indeed, it was a grim possiblity that both of them feared. Zuko feared it because he knew that the situation was partly his fault, and that without the Avatar's help, millions would die. Oscuridad feared those deaths as well, but the bat knew that fear of the unknown would lead them nowhere, so he stomached it as best he could and answered Zuko's question.

"Where would he go? Besides, as long as Appa is here, Aang will never leave this place." Oscuriad replied. "But this is starting to get pointless. I don't know where else to look, and we don't have time to search the whole market."

"I wonder if the others are having better luck." Zuko wondered aloud.

"No, they would've signaled us." Oscuirdad replied.

Zuko nodded his acceptance, but loudly snorted in frustration. "I can't believe things can go so badly so fast!" the former prince snapped, as he and the bat began to walk towards the next set of shops. "How can we find the Avatar in the biggest city in the Earth Kingdom! It's impossible!"

"Calm down Zuko." The bat said. "I'm frustrated too, but yelling about it won't make a difference. If we want to find Aang, we need to curb our tempers and think."

At that, Zuko visibly calmed himself, then nodded. The time he had spent with the group had dulled Zuko's pride, but his impatience and temper were as strong as ever. His frustrations at both causing Aang's disapearance and being unable to fix it were weighing quite heavily on him, and Zuko found himself straining to keep control. Still, Oscuridad was glad to know that Zuko was stuggling over wanting to correct his mistake; it showed some growth on the part of the prince.

"Don't worry about it." The bat reassured his companion. "Aang's around here somewhere, and we'll find him."

"Besides," he added, as they walked along the streets. "how hard can it be to find a twelve year-old with arrow tattoos all over his body?"

"Arrows, you say?" a broken voice creaked out from behind a nearby alleyway. Pausing, Zuko and Oscuridad turned towards the alley. For a moment, they looked at each other in hesitation, then the voice said, "Come on, I ain't got all day!" The two of them nodded then, and they entered the alleyway.

"'Bout time. I thought you two had been beaten by the stupid stick and didn't know what to do when somebody speaks to ya." Said the owner of the voice.

"And what would that be?" Zuko asked, as he looked over the man who sat in the alley. The man was an obvious destitute, dressed in filthy ragged clothes that blended in with his filthy brown skin. He looked at the two of them with a look of promise and greed in his eyes, and an all too distressing smile on his sore covered lips.

"For one thing, hello and salutations!" the man spat out.

"Hello and salutations then." Oscuridad said, as he bowed to the destitute. As the bat stood back up, he gave Zuko a nudge. The former prince grimaced, but bowed to the man.

"Now that's better. We can be nice and sociable now." The destitute said with obvious glee. "Now you boys are looking for a kid with arrow tattoos, are ya?"

"Have you seen him?" Oscuridad asked.

"Of course I have! Do you think I would have called you over here if I hadn't?" the man snapped. "I saw him about half an hour ago. He was stumbling around, calling for someone, papa or something like that."

"That's him. Where was he headed?" Zuko asked urgently. But the man simply smiled and said, "Well, here's where we have a little work to do. See, I have something you want, but you don't just get what you want without a little sacrifice."

"And what do you mean by that?" Zuko asked, slight anger creeping into his tone.

"About twenty gold pieces, that's what I mean." The man said, crossing his arms over his chest. "That is, if you want to find this kid."

"Why you arrogant little.." Zuko growled, advancing on the man. But Oscuridad quickly sidestepped the prince.

"Zuko, calm down." He urged.

"What are you talking about? Can't you see this little germ is trying to exploit us?" Zuko answered back. "He just wants the money to waste on whatever garbage keeps him alive. And from the smell, it's some kind of liquor. He probably didn't even see the Avatar."

"I know that, but if he does know something about Aang, we have to investigate." The bat insisted. "And that means swallowing your anger and doing what we need to help Aang."

"But we don't even have any money! Hierro didn't make anymore for us before we left!" Zuko said.

"I know, but we might have another option. Just let me work something here." The bat responded.

Moving over to the man, he said, "Listen we don't have any money…."

"Then I guess you boys are out of luck." The man said as he began to get up.

"Actually, I think I have something else that might interest you." Oscuridad said, as he reached into the folds of his cloak. Zuko rolled his eyes, unable to believe that they were even trying to humor this leech. But the former prince watched all the same, curious as to what the bat had to tempt the destitute. And a second later, Oscuridad pulled his hand out to reveal….. absoultely nothing.

Zuko's eyes widend, as he wondered what kind of insane plan that Oscuriad could have up his sleeve. But the destitute's eyes widened in surprise and greed. "Gimme!" he cried out, as he grabbed for the bat's hand. But Oscuridad pulled his hand away.

"Tell us what we want, then you can have it." The bat said, as he shook his hand, which Zuko now saw was curled as if he was holding something. The destitute grumbled, but said, "He was heading into the Western side of the marketplace. But I don't know if he's still there."

"Fine." Oscuridad said, as he flicked his hand forward and released his grip. The destitute cried out and grabbed upwards trying to catch the invisible object. He seemed to succeed, because a second later he grinned and cradled something to his breast.

"Let's go." The bat said to Zuko, as he turned for the open market. Zuko followed, but his face was quuite confused. "What did you just do?" he asked.

"I'll tell when we're out of range." Oscuridad replied. "In about five minutes, that guy's gonna realize that he isn't holding a bottle of Earth Nation wine, and he will be quite pissed."

Zuko was even more confused at that, but kept quiet until they were about ten shops away from the alleyway. Seeing the distance, Zuok turned to Oscuirdad and asked, "Will you tell me now?"

"I thought he was a liqour man the second I smelled him." The bat explained as they walked. "And once he asked for money, I knew just how to exploit him. So I created a shadow in his mind of a bottle of Earth Kingdom wine, and used it to bribe him."

"You can do that?" Zuko asked in astonishment.

"Of course. Illusion is one of the essiental parts of shadow; I could've made him see anything. The only problem is that it doesn't last, and as I said, he'll be quite angry once I'm out of range and the effect wears off."

Zuko was silent for a moment, and then said, "You know, I probably would've just set him on fire."

"Not a horrible idea, but still morally wrong." The bat replied kindly. "You just need a bit more control with your temper Zuko; then you would've figured something out. Now come on, we've got an Avatar to find…again." Zuko nodded, and they two of them headed for the western market.

Aang collapsed against the wall, his body drained and his mind wiped. He had no idea how long he'd been walking, if it had been hours, or if the turmoil in his mind had made it seem longer. It didn't really matter to him anymore though. Appa was nowhere to be found. The merchant had probalbly traded him by now. Aang would never see him again, and now, he was truly alone in the world.

I can't go back. He thought suddenly. For a moment, Aang was shocked, but it faded quickly. It was true; he couldn't go back to his home, or the others? And really, why should he? To lie down among the bones of his people? To see Zuko and Katara care for each other? To see him touch her with the gentle caress of a lover? To see them smile at each other in secret, with the smiles that only those in love can have? No, he would never do that; he would die first. From now on, he would travel alone. He would do his duty as the Avatar, but after that, he didn't care. All he had left was his duty, and he was going to complete it alone.

Slowly, Aang picked himself up off the wall. He was going to leave this city, where so much had been taken from him. He would find a Firebending teacher, and then he would find the Firelord. And he might have very well done these things, had not a high-pitched voice called out, "Hey you brats, get away from my animals!" Aang turned his head towards the stand the voice had come from. Actually, it was less of a stand then a space on the ground where several rugs were spread and cages, filled with all variety of animals, had been placed on top of them. Two young children dodged in and out of the maze of cages as they escaped into the crowd. "And don't come back!" the merchant yelled, as he came into the Avatar's view. The merchant grunted at the children, and walked away.

But Aang continued to stare. The merchant was quite tall, and dressed in expenisve looking blue robes. Those robes were decorated with the images of crashing waves and the moon's lunar phases- the symbols of the Water Tribe. Aang sniffed the air; the smell of fish was coming heavily from the merchant's stand. And then, Aang saw a pile of puches near one of the cages, and he knew all he needed to know. "Hakin." The Avatar whispered as he moved towards the stand.

Hakin checked the last cage that the cildren had tinkered with, and then, he heard the sound of footsteps. "Ahh, business!" he said gleefully. Turning to face his customer, he said, "Welcome friend. I am Hakin, purveyor of exotic animals. How can I help…"

But before he could finish his speech, Hakin felt a hand grab his collar and drag him down, where he stared into the face of an angry twelve year old boy. "Where's Appa?" the boy asked with barely restrained anger.

"I… Don't know what that is." The merchant gasped. Normally, if someone had grabbed him like this, Hakin would have beaten them off, but something about this boy filled him with fear. There was great power behind this boy's anger, and Hakin knew that angering him further would result in his death.

"My bison! You got him from the Sandbenders! What did you do with him!" the boy screamed at the merchant. Frantically, the merchant scanned his mind, trying to remember what he done with that animal. "I-I don't have him anymore…" Hakin said. The boy's eyes narrowed futher, and suddenly Hakin himself being pushed back by a strong current of air. He hit the back wall with a thud and slid down. As Hakin looked up at the angry boy as he came to a halt, he saw that others had heard the commotion and were now looking over with fear and concern. For a minute, Hakin thought they would help him, but then he saw how deep the fear ran in their eyes and he knew he was on his own.

"Who did you trade him to?" the boy cried out, as he drew a long staff from his back and pointed it at the merchant. Trembling, Hakin answered, "There were some F-Fire Nation s-soliders, who s-said that they were interested in him. I'm an open trader with a-anyone, s-so I arranged it. They p-picked him up outside the city two nights ago. H-He's probably on his way to the Fire Nation right now."

Hearing this, the boy's face cracked. His staff dropped from his hands, and he drew his shaking fists to his face. Slowly, Haking rose, thinking that perhaps he could escape this madness now. But it was not to be. A second later, the boy trembled and threw his hands away from his face, revealing a glowing tattoo and a glowing pair of eyes. As Hakin and the others in the market stared, the winds around them began to pick, and spin faster and faster. Carts and stands began to break apart under the stresses of the wind. And still they increased. People began to scream and run, as the winds began to destroy everything around them. Hakin stared a moment, at all the damage a single sale had wrought, and then he ran too.

Close to a mile away, Zuko and Oscuridad walked the streets. Suddenly, they stopped and looked forward, as a huge funnel of dirt and wind began to rise form the distant market. The two of them looked at each other for a moment, then they began to run.