The Mysterious Traveler
(2nd Version)
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Avatar: The Last Airbender!
Chapter Seventeen:
Learning New Skills
Severus couldn't decide whether if he agreed with Sokka about Jet or not. From one point of view, the guy wasn't all that bad. He had a confidence that didn't appear to be arrogant, had intelligence, knew how to fight, had the qualities of a good leader, and seemed to be more about taking care of the children who were with him.
But he couldn't help shaking the feeling that there was something off about him as well. Like as if he had a hidden agenda or something he was keeping under his relaxed attitude. After all, he had seen it before.
Then again, maybe he was just looking for the slightly hint of a negative detail to nitpick.
"Alright, Jet," Sokka folded his arms as he leaned against the tree of the platform they were all on. "What's this mission you want our help with?"
Jet smiled, earning a blush from Katara, "Glad you asked, Sokka. Details first, my Freedom Fighters and I have been attacking Fire Nation supply lines for a few years now. However, our trouble has attracted the attention of a commander, who just arrived yesterday and is planning to take up residence in Giapan. He means to stay as long as long as possible to tear us down."
Katara gasped.
"And who is this commander?" Severus asked.
"His name is Commander Rin-Shaw. Funny name, in my opinion. And it's exactly the opportunity I've been waiting for. He's one of the commanders in the Fire Nation. I plan to... force him and his men out of the valley for good."
"And how, exactly, are you going to do that?" Sokka raised an eyebrow.
Jet nodded towards the fabric that covered the doorway of the hut, pulling it open for them to go through. Once everyone was inside, they all suddenly came to a stop at the sight before them.
A woman in a Fire Nation outfit was tired up to a post, mouth gagged and laying on a furry blanket beneath her. Her eyes flashed furiously at them as they entered, struggling to escape her bounds with a muffled cry.
Katara covered her mouth in shock, "Jet... what... who is she?"
"And most importantly," Sokka turned to point at him, accusingly. "Why do you have her tied up like this?"
Severus closed his eyes and sighed, beginning to wonder if he was right to suspect the worst from Jet.
Jet put up his hands, "Guys, calm down. It isn't what you think."
"Well, it looks like you just kidnapped someone and bound her up like a prisoner!"
"She's Fire Nation, Sokka!" Jet pointed at her. "A few days ago, my Freedom Fighters found her trying to hurt a bunch of people, even ordering her men to start burning down trees. When we put a stop to them, we discovered something important about her. Something that can turn the tide in the fight for this valley." He paused, turning to look at the woman below him. "She is one of Commander Rin-Shaw's lieutenants... and his daughter."
Everyone stared at her with wide eyes.
"Her father runs a large number of forces surrounding Giapan. When we discovered who she was, I made sure a message was sent to Rin-Shaw. The attack that happened yesterday, that was a way of sending up a red flare. To tell him where to find us."
Severus frowned at him, sensing that he wasn't telling the whole truth.
"By leading him to you?!" Sokka ranted. "You just painted a target on your back by doing this!"
"No, Sokka, you don't get it. This kidnapping is going to make Rin-Shaw leave the alley. I made it clear that if he doesn't withdrawl his forces, he won't ever get to see her again."
Sokka's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, "You're going to kill her if he doesn't leave?!"
Jet's face turned to confusion and then surprise, "What? No! I'm not going to kill her! We're just going to keep her hostage and wait for Rin-Shaw to leave."
Severus shook his head, "That plan has a ton of holes in it. Even if he leaves, what's going to stop him from coming back and burning down this forest to find you?"
Jet smiled, "I've thought about that, and I have a plan."
"Which is?" Sokka motioned for him to explain.
"A convoy is on its way to resupply the troopers in Giapan and also mining villages down south. However, this is no ordinary supply line. From what I've been able to learn, Rin-Shaw has been making side-dealings with anyone willing to do business. Some of who just so happens to be with those in the Earth Kingdom army."
Katara and Aang gasped, while Sokka was left surprised. However, Severus couldn't help but be suspicious about the whole thing.
"Now, if anyone higher up in command were to discover this, Rin-Shaw would be declared a traitor and stripped of everything. That's my backup plan."
"So, by leveraging his daughter and his dealings with the Fire Nation's enemies, he would have no choice but to listen," Katara's face lit up. "I knew there had to be a reason for this. Though, I do feel sorry for her." She looked at the woman behind her.
"Don't be sorry," Jet placed his hand on her shoulder. "She's no innocent."
"I don't know, Jet," Aang rubbed his neck, trying to make sense of it. "I know you're not going to kill her, but I just don't feel comfortable with any of this."
"Don't worry, kid. She'll be free once her father is out of the valley."
The woman began to scream, which was muffled by the gag in her mouth.
"Um, can't she firebend?" Sokka asked with worry in his voice.
Jet pointed back at her, "See those wet spots? I make sure that oil is poured on her every day."
"Oh... that... works... too..." Sokka back away with a disturbed expression.
Once back outside, Jet turned to face them.
"Look, I'm sorry if this is too much for you. But I really would appreciate your help in this mission tonight. If we raid that convoy and get that money, my back-up plan will assure that they will leave. So, are you guys in?"
"We're in!" Katara and Aang declared at the same time.
Sokka sighed and smiled, "Yes, I'm in."
"Alex?" Jet looked at him next. "With those powers of yours, plus the Avatar, I know there is no chance we can lose."
Though conflicted with himself, Severus nodded, "Alright."
"Nice! Now things are really looking up! Be sure to be ready tonight, because we are taking the convoy."
Except for Severus, everyone nodded.
Commander Rin-Shaw looked over the maps before him, trying desperately to find any hint of where a good hiding spot the Freedom Fighters would choose. But the problem wasn't that he couldn't find one, but rather that there were too many to choose from. The forest was a haystack, with a needle that could blend in perfectly.
He sighed, frustrated with the problem he was presented with.
"Coral," he whispered, his voice full of emotion.
"Sir?" he heard a voice from behind, turning to find one of the lieutenants standing in at the entrance of his tent.
"What is it?"
"Just reporting that the convoy is on enroute for Giapan. It will arrive on time, from what the status update says."
Rin-Shaw nodded, "Good. Once the convoy arrives and is sent on its way again, I want everyone searching those woods. Lieutenant Coral must be found, dead or alive."
"Yes sir."
Exiting his tent, he ordered his men to tear it down and begin packing everything up. Getting onto his ostrich horse, he began to rode forward, ahead of his men.
And looking on forward, he saw the village of Giapan before him.
Once the sun had begun to set, everyone immediately prepared themselves and began rushing through the woods, making way for the road that the convoy was scheduled to cross. Aang and Katara were especially excited for what they were about to do, happy that they were doing something to help fight the Fire Nation. Even Sokka seemed content with what he participating in.
Once arriving, everyone got into position, whether it be in the trees or the bushes, and waited.
An hour went by.
And then a second, making others grow anxious.
"Man, if I went it would be this boring, I would have brought the waterbending scroll," Aang complained.
"Shhh!" Sokka glared at him. "We're going to give us away."
"Guys, we're supposed to be quiet!" Katara whispered.
Severus rolled his eyes as he laid on his back, staring up at the stars, listening to the animals in the night. He struggled not to move, considering the dirt, grass and bugs were moving against his body.
Then he began to hear a distant noise, making him freeze. He recognized the sound of wagons getting closer and closer.
Slowly turning onto his stomach, Severus got a closer look and pulled out his wand, ready for action.
He then began to hear bird sounds, which he found to be dangerously close. It took him an extra second to realize that it was the Freedom Fighters who were doing it. A fact that made him praise their intelligence of being using the art of stealth.
"Hey, I think I hear birds," whispered Aang.
Soon, the convoy came within sight of them and were within seconds of passing them by.
Jet flew out of the trees, holding his hook swords, and took out the two guys in front, knocking them off of their ostrich horses as he rolled against the ground, making another bird cry. The rest of the convoy came to an abrupt stop, not wanting to run over their guys.
All of the Freedom Fighters came rushing out of their hiding spots, beginning their assault.
Severus Snape ran out from the bush he was behind and targeted the first two soldiers he could find, taking them down within a second of each other. He saw Aang, Katara and Sokka joining in as well.
An entire battle broke out as the firebenders tried to fight back, but found themselves being taken out. And before they knew it, the whole thing was over.
Everyone cheered as they began taking the wagons, using the ostrich horses to begin their journey home.
"Is that it?" Aang asked. "I was expecting this to be... well, challenging."
"Yeah," Sokka nodded, having a look of disappointment on his face. "So much for some action."
"Well, better easy than hard," Jet smiled, patting the side of a barrow from one of the three wagons. "Don't be too sad, this is just another step in the mission that brings us closer to victory. But if it makes you feel any better, you all did good."
Katara blushed, which made Severus roll his eyes, "Thanks, Jet."
"No problem. Now, lets get this back home. I think we've all earned a good night's rest."
Finding no problem with that, everyone began heading back to the treetop hideout, along with the wagons in tow.
Commander Rin-Shaw nodded as he heard the report from one of his men, keeping his face neutral as he faced all of the lower ranking officers in front of them.
"So, they highjacked the convoy and took out a dozen of our best men," he repeated the report out-loud, his voice hinting anger deep within. "And now, not only are our weapons and food in their possession, but they have highly dangerous explosive gel."
"We believe they must have discovered the convoy's schedule from the campsite they attacked yesterday," one of them added.
Rin-Shaw shook his head in frustration and annoyance.
"Now it would appear what their target has been the whole time. By kidnapping Lieutenant Coral, they gain leverage over me. And by stealing explosive gel, they now have the power to cause real problems."
"But what is their plan, sir?"
"I don't know," Rin-Shaw formed a fist with his hand. "But the lives my men are at stake, including my d-" He stopped himself. "First priority is to find their hideout and wipe them out. They know leveraging one of my own won't stop me from going after them, no matter what they do. They're planning something that will eliminate us."
"What should we do, sir?"
"We can't risk waiting anymore, they can attack at any time now. Our best option is to continue searching the woods and tighten security around here. Anything that comes into this village, I want searched. Anyone traveling these roads, I want interrogated. We'll start by burning down the trees, on a contained level. We will find out where they are and burn their home to the ground."
"Yes sir!" all the men chanted at once.
As Severus made his way towards the large dinning table, which was filled with tons of kids. He took his seat next to Aang, Katara and Sokka, who were all digging into the food presented before them.
"Hey- Alex!" greeted Aang, who was chewing on a piece of fruit.
"Morning!" Katara smiled.
"Hey," said Sokka, who appeared to be more happy than yesterday.
Taking some fruit, he began to eat, quickly realizing that a lot of the children were staring at him now. He tried to ignore it, but ended up meeting the eyes of one boy from the other side of the table, who's face looked as if it was in a trance.
"It's rude to stare!" he growled, making the boy look away.
The rest of the kids averted their eyes at the tone of his voice.
"Oh, don't be such a jerk," Katara giggled. "They're only interested in you."
"They didn't seem like it before."
"That was because they never saw you in action before," said Jet. "Not to mention the rumors that some of them have been hearing about you this morning."
Severus kept quiet, continuing to eat his food.
"And quite frankly, I've been curious too." He leaned forward against the table. "How does one like you gain these abilities of yours?"
"I was born with them," he answered. "It's a common thing where I come from."
"Well, I'm just happy you're on our side. Though I think we could use more like you in this war. I mean, it isn't like you can teach us your skills."
Before Severus could take another bite of his food, his eyes lit up with a realization coming to mind. He began to look around, studying everything around him. The treehouses, the food, the weapons, taking it all in.
Skills.
If there was anything he desperately needed, it was to learn new stills. And these guys clearly knew how.
"Jet," he coughed, forcing his pride down on what he was about to do. "Can I ask a favor of you?"
Jet laughed, "A favor? In my opinion, it is I who owes you favor after last night."
"Can you teach me your skills?"
Everyone looked at him with shocked expressions, more specifically from Katara and Aang.
Jet raised an eyebrow, "And when you say skills, you mean-"
"Hunting, fighting, fishing, anything that you can offer."
"And you've never learned these before?"
"Father was nothing more than a drunk-" his eyes widened at the mistake he had just made. He began cursing himself for letting something as personal as that slip from his mouth.
Katara, Aang and Sokka had eyes as big as oranges, unable to believe what they had just heard. Jet's eyes lowered, as if feeling some sympathy for him, which didn't help in his case.
He coughed, "So, can you teach me?"
Jet leaned back in his seat and sighed, nodding, "Alright, I'll teach you." He stood up and began to walk away, picking up his hooked swords. "Follow me."
Despite not done with his breakfast, Severus quickly followed him, actually anxious to get started.
"Hey- wait- for me," Sokka tripped over himself as he tried to get up, his mouth still full of food.
Katara rolled her eyes and laughed with Aang, followed by everyone else as well.
"Alright, a few of the many keys to learning how to fight... is focus and balance," said Jet, as he rotated his hooked swords, circling both Severus and Sokka on one of the platforms.
Holding onto a sword of their own, they tried lifting the heavy metal.
"You must not think of these things as something separate from yourself. You must become one with your sword, to see it as an extension of yourself. Like an arm, you cannot drop it."
"Mine feels a little too heavy," Sokka complained.
"They're as heavy as they need to be," Jet countered. "When you find your balance, you can do unlimited things with the sword."
Without warning, he brought the side of his hook swords forward and grabbed the feet of his opponents, making them fall over.
"And never assume that the battle will fair," he began to circle them again. "Anticipate any attack and always be moving. A moving target is hard to catch."
Getting back up, both boys had looks of frustration, humiliation.
"Focus on your surroundings and block anything else out. Hold your sword with one arm, focus on its weight and balance."
Following his instructions, they suddenly found themselves being knocked over, with their weapons falling out of their hands.
"Remember, always be vigilant. Lets try again."
"When it comes to catching fish, you must be quick and observant."
They were standing in the river, struggling to stand against the rushing water that reached up to their chests.
"Balance is the key," Jet stared into the water, arms and hands ready. "Speed can be your weapon."
Suddenly, he reached into the water and came out with a fish, trying in vain to wiggle free.
Following his lead, they attempted to try and failed, missing their targets.
"Come to Sokka, fishy-fishy. You're going to be my meat for the day."
Sokka cried out as he tried second time, missing as the fish came out of the water and smacked him with its tail. Groaning, he fell backwards into the water.
"Use the leaves and dirt to track your prey. Recognize the difference between what is fresh and what isn't."
Sokka rubbed his neck as he tried to track the animal he believed to be a fire ferret, "Um, how are we do that what we are hunting has made this? For all we know, something else could have stepped right here."
"Look at its print and see if it matches," Jet folded his arms as he leaned against a tree.
"They all look the same to me!"
Severus sighed in frustration as lost track of what he was looking for.
"Well, at least we can cross off building a fire from the long list of things to learn, " Jet joked.
"Hey, it's a gift," Sokka smiled as he put his hands over the fire he had made.
Severus took his time as he worked at his, quickly getting the hang of it as he got a spark going.
"Oh Spirits!" Sokka covered his mouth as his face turned purple. "I think I'm gonna- BLAA!"
Even Severus looked as if he was going to be haunted by what he had just seen.
Jet put down his knife and began washing his hands from the stream, "And that is how you skin an animal, boys."
"Whenever it comes to close quarters, always go for the knife," Jet began doing tricks with the man-made knife in his hands, bringing it up against Sokka's neck, who cried out a bit. "Or anything that is small and be used as a weapon."
He handed the knife over to Severus, who began copying what he did.
"Alright, write your name with your sword."
They were back to training with swords again, this time on the ground.
"How does writing my name with a sword make me a better swordsman?" Sokka asked.
"Haven't you been listening? It's not a sword, it's your sword. It is part of you. You must stamp your identity on the battlefield."
Facing each other, Severus and Sokka charged at each other, their swords clashing against each other.
"Good job, boys! Now you know how to properly make animal traps!" Jet smiled.
"Oh yeah! Sokka's awesome! And now my meat will no longer be expensive to buy!" Sokka did a victory dance and turned towards Severus, who was looking at him with caution. "High-five, bro."
"I am not high-fiving you!"
Sokka's face fell as he realized where his right foot was, feeling his own trap get tangled around his leg and shoot him up into the air.
"Um... little help, please..."
"Always make sure what you pick fruits and vegetables that are healthy for you," Jet cautioned. "Sometimes what may look like berries may end up being something that can cause you to stop breathing. It is important to tell the difference when it comes to nature."
"Hey, Alex," Sokka presented a mysterious type of berries in front of him, smiling. "You want to test them out and see if they're dangerous?"
Severus glared at him, "You do realize I can end your life with one word, right?"
"Um, why are we fighting with blind folds over our eyes?" Sokka asked, nervously.
"Because you must learn to fight by visualizing your surroundings."
"And last time I checked, that involves actually seeing."
"True, but you will find yourself having a second to visualize your surroundings. By practicing this, you'll learn to be observant and quick-thinking."
Grabbing both of their blind folds, Jet pulled them off.
"Alright, look around."
Severus and Sokka shrugged at each other and turned to look at the trees and ground, only for their blind folds to reappear over their eyes.
"Alright, fight!"
"AHHH!" Sokka smiled as he felt his sword hit something. "Ha, got ya!"
"That was a tree," Jet laughed.
"Wait, wha-OW!" he felt something hit him in the back and then felt the same thing on his head, falling over into a black abyss.
"Hand to hand combat is very important," Jet explained as he punched Sokka in the gut and head locked Severus, flipping him onto his back. "You won't always have weapons to help you."
Sokka threw up as he fell to his knees, "I think I'm ready for dinner now."
"Yes, I got one!" Sokka cheered as he held up the fish he had managed to catch from the river, accidently tripping on a rock and landing face-first into the water, with the fish falling out of his hands. "Sokka, one! Fish... Eh, I lost count."
Both Severus and Jet rolled their eyes, grinning.
Taking his chance, Severus drove into the cold water and felt his hands grab ahold of a fish, pulling out with all of his strength.
"Nice catch!"
"Good!" Jet was taking on both Severus and Sokka at the same time, impressed with how well they were fighting together against him. "Use your identity! Concentrate and focus!"
Both Severus and Sokka were doing knife tricks against the trunk of a tree, getting faster as they went at it.
"Alright, now you'll use them against each other," Jet smiled.
Sokka's eyes widened, "Wait-AH! Alex, go easy on me!"
Sokka and Severus were going at each other in hand to hand combat, throwing their best into it as they fought to no end.
"Wow, I'm impressed" Jet nodded, impressed with them. "I think maybe we should turn this into a three-way standoff."
He cracked his knuckles and jumped right into the match, immediately regretting it when he realized they were going to gang up on him.
"As long as you are near a river, you can always find a fresh source of water. And always make sure you have water, that's very important. Not to mention if you're ever lost or on the run, rivers always mean civilization is nearby."
"What about when you're in the desert? How do we get water then?" Sokka asked.
Jet's face fell, "Well, I've never been in that situation, so I don't know."
"When it comes to the bow and arrow, you must aim without tension and only use three fingers to hold the arrow on the string. Focus on nothing but your target, everything else must be ignored."
Sokka and Severus let loose their arrows, missing their targets. They both sighed in frustration.
"Don't worry, this one takes a lot of practice."
"Everything we've done takes a lot of practice," Sokka complained.
"Which is why we're practicing."
As Severus went up against Sokka and Jet in a three-way standoff, he disarmed Sokka and knocked him over, turning his attention fully towards Jet. The two clashed their swords and danced around one another, dodge attack after attack. However, he miscalculated as Jet disarmed him from his sword, making him stumble backwards.
Jet grinned as he prepared to deliver the finishing blow, only to find himself being flipped into the air and onto his back, losing his sword in the process. Looking up, he saw Severus's foot just inches away from his throat.
He smiled, "Well done!"
Severus gasped when he felt someone grab him from behind and flipped him backwards, his own weight turning against him as he hit the ground. Staring up, he found a grinning Sokka, who began doing a victory dance.
They went at the bow and arrow again, this time hitting their targets after the tenth try, feeling a sense of victory at their success.
Doing it over and over, they found themselves getting better at it.
"Um, you guys done yet?" they heard a voice ask, turning around to find Aang and Katara.
"Seriously, you've been going at it all day," Aang pointed up towards the sky, making them realize that the sun had already set and nighttime was slowly taking over.
Jet shrugged and stretched his arms, yawning, "Guess practice is over. We should do this again. Most fun I've had in a while."
"Definitely!" Sokka smiled, while Severus just nodded.
They all made their way back up to the treetop hideout, getting ready for bed.
"You know, I am pretty hungry," said Sokka as he laid down in the hut.
"Good night, Sokka!" everyone called out at the same time.
Later on during the late night, Sokka woke up to do his business outside, leaving the hut. Going to the ground, he went behind a tree and peed against the trunk of the tree. But then he heard a noise and froze, slowly leaning to the side to look around the corner of the tree.
He saw Jet and Smellerbee coming down from the treetop hideout, landing on the ground.
"You're certain?" he heard Jet ask.
Smellerbee nodded, "Commander Rin-Shaw is currently in Giapan, along with all of his men. And judging from what our spy says, he is planning to burn down the forest."
"He must be desperate to seek us out and destroy us."
"Jet, do you think we're going too far with this? We've already lied to the others about our true intentions-"
"We're driving the Fire Nation out of the valley, just like we promised. I promised I had a plan, and I do."
"Yeah, but... all of those people down there. They'll die if we do this."
"We've tried everything, Smellerbee! We raided their supplies, took out as many of their men as we could, even kidnapped the commander's daughter and it still wasn't enough! At least this way, we can wipe them out with one single strike." He sighed. "Are the barrows ready?"
Smellerbee nodded.
"Good! Get the others and have them wheel the wagons on down to the dam."
Sokka's eyes widened at what he had just heard and kept quiet, hoping to get a look at what was really happening. He watched as Sneers, Pipsqueak, Longshot and the Duke joined them, helping wheel the wagons on down through the forest. Following closely from behind, he began to wonder what it was that they had in the barrows, guessing that it was never gold or food or weapons.
Soon they came to a cliff and began taking the wagons on down a pathway, struggling to make sure nothing fell over.
Looking on over, Sokka saw a dam and then turned to the left, his eyes widening as he saw the village of Giapan down in a small valley. His mind began to form theories about what was happening and he didn't like what they were forming into. He continued to follow them, going straight to the bottom. And when he got a closer look from behind some bushes, he saw the Duke open one of the barrows, revealing explosive gel inside.
He immediately turned around to run, hoping to warn Katara, Aang or Alex. But then he rammed into something hard, and yet soft as well. Falling down on his rear, he looked up and saw Pipsqueak and Smellerbee in front of him.
"Where do you think you're going, ponytail?" Smellerbee asked, bringing a knife up to his throat.
Bringing his hand forward, he snatched the knife out of Smellerbee's hand and delivered a punch to the gut, tripping him to fall on his head. However, before he could make a run for it, the hand of Pipsqueak fell against his head and found himself falling into a deep abyss once again.
Still similar but I promise there will be a difference between this and the episode.