Redux Chapter 1: Bar Fight Déjà Vu
The hooded figure's head snapped up as he found himself dozing off in at the bar of the dimly lit tavern, mentally kicking himself for such carelessness. 'Why does it feel like I've been here before at this exact moment?' he thought to himself as he was overcome by a feeling of déjà vú. He quickly dismissed the sensation and raised a paw, "Hey bartender, another shot of baijiu!" he called out to the large heavy framed rhino cleaning a glass with a rag. The pachyderm huffed heavily and briefly eyed the four other empty shot glasses in front of the hooded man before pouring another one and sliding it his way. "Last one Yuè." he snarled disdainfully. The one called Yuè chuckled and quickly downed the alcohol, slamming the shot glass down hard and spitefully on the bar counter, nearly shattering the cup.
He looked about The Dragon's Maw, the establishment full of thieves, assassins, bounty hunters, and other unsavory types. Almost like second home to the gray furred grizzled wolf. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wanted poster for another look, the second or third one that day. But that was lowballing it from the numerous times he'd checked it before. 'WANTED: Dead or Alive,' it read, 'The Dragon Warrior: ¥75,000'
At the forefront of his mind the price for the bounty's head was of only secondary interest. He cared more for who the Dragon Warrior was and what he could do for Yué. He'd heard the tales, many he thought were fairly embellished, but impressive they all were. The only solid, or at least believable, leads Yué could find were only in places this mysterious warrior had been. The most reliable being in Gongmen City. 'A warrior of black and white' they said. And one who had felled Lord Shen and his mighty weapon harnessing the destructive power of fire and iron. He recalled the tales of his battle with Tai Lung in The Valley of Peace. How he destroyed the demented snow leopard with a mere flex of his pinky finger. The wolf chuckled softly at how impossible the stories sounded, even after telling them to himself once more. "Only an idiot would believe that." He muttered to himself before rolling up the poster and shoving it back in his pocket.
"Well, color the whole of China stupid. I heard that even the Emperor believes the tales told about this guy. The rumors about The Dragon Warrior, that is." says a patron to his right. Yué glanced over to the speaker, a fox with bright auburn fur. From a quick inspection he could see the pelt was seared and singed in a few spots. This stranger seemed to be a bit of a fire bug. He chuckled softly and sipped his drink, "I saw the poster and heard you talking to yourself. It's a bit hard not to believe rumors and tall tales as fanciful as the ones surrounding The Dragon Warrior." With a quiet sigh Yué continued to listen. "Especially considering a lot of them involve the Furious Five. A crew like that, kung fu masters and stuff, lotta legends made from that."
"And legends are just stories you tell to children. Hardly anything to rave about or make a big deal of." The wolf said pessimistically. "Besides, rumors have been exaggerated before. Walked into an entire village of 'Dragon Warriors' the other day." The fox laughed heartily and almost chocked on his drink. "A whole village? I guess some people take this guy way too seriously. They practically worship him in the Valley of Peace." Yué raised an eyebrow curiously as he listened on. "Last I was there the entire village was holding a celebration in his name."
"Did the guy ever make an appearance?" The wolf asked. "So I hear. I left early and didn't see." Yué swore under his breath and sighed softly as he stood from the barstool. "Thanks anyway for the tip." He reached out a friendly paw to the singed fox, grinning gently. The vulpine accepted graciously. "No prob. Say, I never got your name friend."
The wolf chuckled, "So you didn't, Zònghuǒ." The Fox called 'Zònghuǒ' looked at Yué dubiously and rose from his seat a bit, hackles raised as he put his guard up. "How do you know my–" Before he could finish his question the lupine struck him in the stomach with a swift and harsh punch, knocking the wind out of him and forcing bile up his throats from his belly. Before the fox could vomit from the sheer force of the strike Yué clamped his muzzle shut with a paw. "Don't." He threatened, "I don't want the bartender to get pissed because you ruined his floors. Now swallow."
Zònghuǒ did as he was commanded, the sour taste stinging his throat as he gasped heavily to get his breath back when the lupine released him. He slunk exhaustedly onto the bar countertop, Yué roughly grabbing hold to the scruff of the vulpine's neck and showing him a wanted poster, his wanted poster. "You were quite the pyro back in Kong Lang City." The wolf smirked. Zònghuǒ teared up a little as he bit back the pain in his abdomen and held back the urge to dry heave as the once amicable seeming canine spoke. "You set fire to three storefronts, four market stalls, and almost burnt down an inn. I take it you get off on this sorta thing or think it's some kinda joke?"
"Please, you don't have to take me in." Zònghuǒ panted and pleaded, "I-I'll pay you double what they're paying you!" Yué pointed to the price of five hundred yuan for the fox's capture and chuckled. "So you happen to have a thousand yuan lying around?" Crestfallen and defeated the fox looked over the wolf with frightful eyes as he prepared to be carted off to Chorh-Gom Prison. The gleam of his fangs beneath the hood of his cloak. The flash of his twin blades sheathed on his waist. Crossbow slung across his back.
Just as Yué pulled him to his feet a large and heavy hand tapped his shoulder. "Not so fast wolf," said a deep booming voice from behind, "That's my mark." The canine turned to face the stranger, a large heavily built and muscular snow leopard. He was clothed in dark blue pants with a black sash and armored with a single padded cloth shoulderguard, a steel plate riveted in place between the cloth and padding. Yué gave the feline a once over glance to size up the sizable leopard. He stood at least two heads taller than him and bore a few scars, visible burn marks, on his arms. One of most note being his paw, pink, callused, and devoid of fur.
The canine looked at him defiantly with a smirk, "Sorry but I got here first and caught him first. Mark's mine." The snow leopard growled with slow boiling rage. "I'm afraid I'll have to insist, dog. This fox has caused me quite a bit of pain and I'd like to return the favor." The snarl deepened and he stepped closer and loomed over Yué with fangs bared, "So turn. Him. Over." The wolf snarled back with his teeth bare as well, "Step off kitty. You think you scare me? I know bunnies more intimidating than you." The eyes of the entire bar were on the three. Cheers began to fill the air, all hungry for conflict. The patrons saw potential for a fight, free entertainment, and they were eager to see some action. They wanted to see blood.
('I'm Shipping Up To Boston Instrumental' by Dropkick Murphy Plays)
Slowly but surely the patrons made a semicircle around the bar. Surrounding the leopard and wolf with a wall of flesh and noise. The leopard had succumb to his feral rage and shoved Yué, pushing his back against the counter. The lupine glowered as he smirked and stood back to silently challenge him. With a quiet chuckle the wolf swiftly punched the fox, knocking him out cold, before bounding off the counter's side with a leaping punch to the snow leopard's face.
The feline stumbled back against the crowd, a tiger, pig, and antelope struggling to hold him up. He brushed his mouth off with the back of his paw and looked down at the liquid filling his mouth with the taste of copper, blood. A busted lip. He snarled and unsheathed his claws before charging at Yué, attacking with a roundhouse kick and knocking him into the other side of the crowd. A fellow wolf kept him from falling to the ground but before he could recover the leopard attacked again. He lifted the lupine by his throat and slammed him onto the countertop of the bar, running him along its length and crashing glasses into Yué's head as he braced for their impact and was thrown off and into a table. Liquor splashed and drenched the wolf and he groaned to himself as he got to his hindpaws. "Well, that could've gone better."
He gripped a shot glass in his paw and pitched it at the leopard. The feline dodged the glass, causing the cup the slam into the face of a crocodile behind him and enraged the reptile. "Hey!" shouted the croc. Beside him another patron, an armored rhino, pointed and laughed at the reptile before receiving a swift punch to the face.
The leopard was briefly distracted by the two men fighting and was punished for it. Just as he turned back to face Yué the wolf dashed towards him and struck his jaw with a jumping knee to the chin. The giant feline was felled at the moment but Yué surmised it wouldn't be that easy. He looked up briefly to see that the crowds cheering had devolved into shouting and breaking furniture.
The rhino snorted at the crocodile and swiped a chair to strike him with, right from under a boar. The wrathful porcine mistook a gorilla beside him for taking the seat and promptly headbutted him, causing his associates to get involved. The bar soon fell into chaos. An all out brawl. Shards of glass and wood flew through the air accompanied by the occasional tossed body of another patron.
The snow leopard soon began to stir once again, drawing the wolf's attention back. The feline stood tall with a snarl, fangs gleaming and claws at the ready. He grabbed a nearby barstool, swinging it at Yué. The lupine acted quickly and drew his butterfly sword, cutting off the legs of the stool before they could impact his skull. He flipped his blade into a reverse grip and slammed the crossguard into his stomach, using it as brass knuckles. Yué unsheathed the twin matching sword and slammed its crossguard into the side of the leopard's face, knocking him out cold.
The wolf sighed but wasn't afforded the chance to catch his breath before another attack was launched his way. He dodged to the side to avoid being slashed by a broken bottle wielded by a large water buffalo. Yué growled and retaliated with a leg sweep, sending the bovine to the ground with a groan. He snorted as he began to get back up but was quickly downed by a punch to the face.
The lupine sighed and looked towards where he'd left Zònghuǒ but found that the fox was nowhere to be seen. "Ah, dammit." He swore and scanned the chaotic tavern. By now a few of the armed patrons brandished their blades, the clanging of metal permeating the air as well as the raucous shouting. A bar full of drunk and sordid individuals was bad, armed drunks made it worse, and now armed drunks brawling made the building a near death trap. If he didn't find the fox quick he'd kiss that reward goodbye. He quickly knocked on the counter for the bartender hidden beneath it and toss a sack of coins onto it for his troubles, the rhino quickly grabbing the money from under the bar.
Yué rolled his eyes, dropped to all fours, and began his dash across the tavern to the exit. If there was anywhere the fox would want to go it'd have to be outside the massive brawl. The wolf leapt over a pair of rabbits beating the tar out of each other as they rolled about the floor and tossed aside a tiger coming at him with a chair. The run was going better than he had expected, barring he hadn't caught even a glimpse of the fox yet. A knife soon interrupted his train of thought as a bear swung the blade in his face. The wolf quickly side stepped the attack and grabbed the ursine's arm, twisting his wrist and forcing him to drop the weapon. Quickly, before it could hit the ground, Yué caught the knife by its handle and stabbed it into the bear's paw and pinned him to a nearby support beam. The thug screamed his head off but the lupine ignored it and continued on his way. Out the corner of his eye Yué spotted what looked to be the fox crawling under the mass of clashing bodies and iron towards the exit, just as he anticipated. "Bingo." He said to himself and changed course to the far corner of the bar.
With a split kick the wolf incapacitated a pair of sword wielding goats, landing with a roll to keep up his momentum. Yué was soon stopped in his tracks once again by a golden cat. The feline struck him in the muzzle with a jab and swept him off his paws before he could recover. The wolf growled and rolled to the side, avoiding the cat's slashing claws. He quickly got to his hindpaws and grabbed a chair beside him, whipping it around and smashing it against the feline's back.
Yué snarled as he looked around for any sign of the fox in the chaos but saw none. He made his way through the masses to the exit but was once again stopped, this time by a large crocodile standing a head and a half taller than him. He wore a hood very similar to the canine's and in the place of most of his right forearm was a metal prosthetic with sharpened claws. And in his left claw he held Zònghuo. The crocodile grinned at the wolf and nodded at the fox, "Looking for this?"
Yué sighed with relief, "About time you joined in on the fun Jian." The large reptile chuckled lowly, his voice gravelly and deep. "Well, I had to do something when you ruined my chances of getting another drink." He teased, gesturing to the riot with his metal claw, the digits and wrist clinking softly with its every move. "Totally not my fault. You saw the whole thing." Yué said defensively. Jian punched out a dhole running their way without changing his focus from the wolf in front of him. "Whatever. Let's get out of here before someone kills the bounty and I lose my cut." He smirked and opened the creaky wooden tavern door. "Yeah. Should tidy up a bit too." The wolf reached into a small satchel he kept on the small of his back and pulled out a small wooden canister with a fuse at the top, a grenade. He lit the fuse with a nearby candle and the pair of bounty hunters left the tavern before the bomb detonated, releasing small wooden pellets to bounce through the building and incapacitate the rioters. Not to mention shatter several bottles of liquor behind the bar.
When the building became quiet the bar owner peeked over the countertop and gazed at the patrons writhing in pain on the floor. The rhino sighed heavily at the mess that'd take a good while to clean up. He then turned to the bottle rack behind him and nearly fainted at the sight of the destroyed bottles. The pachyderm snorted and swore under his breath. On the bright side he could always take the funds from the passed out and knocked out patrons on his floor.
Two And A Half Days Later...
The night was soon to come to a close as Yué and Jian traveled through the mountain pass, stopping at a chasm linked from end to end by a single rope bridge. The Thread of Hope, as the bridge was called, extended for a thousand miles through the pass and was the only way to get across for one without wings.
"This is my stop," Jian said with a gentle sigh, "Beyond this point it's up to you." Yué took a long wistful look down the length of rope and wooden planks, his view obscured by light mist. "I guess it is. I can't thank you enough for your help Jian." The crocodile and wolf embraced for a moment before letting go. "Don't thank me yet. You need me again you know where I'll be." Yué nodded, "Let's just hope the intel wasn't a load of bullshit." He muttered as they parted their ways.
The wolf cautiously stepped paw on the ancient looking bridge, praying silently to the gods that it holds, and began walking.
Hey guys, Drac0 here! Long time no see! Super sorry about that long absence, I lost my muse for writing for a bit there. Figured this would be the best way to come back. A fresh start with a fresh start.