AN: This is the 'Evil' Rehashing of 'Dynasty of the Fated and Cursed'. Or not exactly evil, more like less . . . good. Anyways, I appreciate your interest and please enjoy the intro . . .


Tetsu

Day -237 : Midnight

China – Far Outside the Valley of Peace

"...I'm in pain... Agonizing pain... '

'Mother... Father... Everything hurts... My heart... My soul... My flesh... Am I losing blood or am I losing pride? Am I suffering a massive injury, or am I dying inside?'

'Everything hurts, mother... make the pain stop father... it hurts so bad... I can't die... I don't want to die... I have... to fulfill... my goal...'

'I want... a second chance... but it hurts... so bad... I don't want to die...'

'I can't die..."

The cries of the dead were often unheard by the living. However even travelers without sensitive ears, or an affinity for hearing and speaking to the dead, would be able to hear the suffering of this ghoul. For this particular howling undead... actually wasn't dead, although you wouldn't come to that conclusion from a single glance. He had been flayed of his fur and flesh, revealing the veins and pulsing muscles that would normally be hidden under his thick gray speckled hide. He was lucky that both his eyes were still in his head, but the blood that had washed over his corneas denied any vision except for crimson haze... The flowing essence had to serve as his eyelids, for he didn't have eyelids, or skin at the moment. The cadaver wasn't able to move due to the pain he was in, although any movement that occurred was muscle contractions and nerves sending off random signals past the unrealistic pain his frame was being driven through.

Pain wouldn't comfortably describe the agony that the fallen hero was being put through, for living through such feverish suffering is a fate slightly worse than the pain of dying. He didn't want to die, he wanted to live. This fallen hero, this tyrant merely wanted to rise to his feet, and find a place to recover all that he'd lost... This didn't specifically mean his missing fur and flesh, but it was included.

"... I … cannot... I … Will Not... die..." The zombie began to growl out loud, as he forced one of his skinned arms into the air, to make a fist at what he was hoping was the moon. A roar escaped him as a gentle breeze blew onto his naked muscles and the pain he was currently in, reached new heights... It was agonizing … It was unfathomable, but he was enduring... Slowly, he pulled himself onto his skinless feet but he wasn't standing for very long. As soon as his two feet were the only things touching the ground, meaning he had managed to actually stand in his horrifying condition, his body gave out and went back to the ground in a strobing flurry of burning, stinging pain. The zombie fell into his hands and knees, which had to be the least painful of all ways to fall, but he was still breathless from the lull-less torture of being flayed.

"God... such... Agony..." The tyrant managed to hiss through his own lipless face. "No... I won't die... I can't die... I will … recover." He shuddered and attempted to rise again, but all he managed to do was force more of his precious blood to leak from every crease and fold of his fully exposed muscles and flesh. The blood even flowed across his lidless eyes, but his vision was temporarily cleared long enough to see a bright light was surrounding him. At first he thought there was actual sunlight around him, but there was no warmth cooking his flesh... the air was cold, and he felt as though he were freezing... So the light surrounding him had to be something more malevolent …

"The Wuxi Fingerhold?" The zombie shivered. The first thought that had come to his mind was the very flash of divine brilliance that had flayed and broken him in the first place. He could only see a small glimpse of a shadow on the stained dirt under him before his vision faded back to bloody obscurity. He thought The Dragon Warrior was here to finish the job that he had started and there was no way the skinless devil could defend himself. His fangs were already bared due to the lack of flesh, and his muscles already pulsing with both anxiety and agony, but he wasn't feeling hostile or malevolent... Terror had gripped him. He wasn't ready to fight, how could he be? He wasn't prepared for another explosion for he didn't think he'd survive the first... However his spirit wouldn't allow him to crumble and back down... It was merely his time...

"Are you here to finish me off? I'm already on my knees, just kill me, or I'll come back and kill you, I swear it." Tai-Lung confessed, being half prepared for his complete incineration. But to his joy, he wasn't destroyed... He instead was liberated.

"Shhhh... You're condition is grave. You'll never survive on your own..." Responded a deep and wise old voice flowing into the holes where Tai-Lung's ear canals would be located.

"You're... not the Dragon Warrior? Then I beg of you... Aide me, and I'll repay you anyway I can." The skinless Tai-Lung coughed, spitting more of his precious life blood to the stained earth that was now sticking to his hastily drying, exposed muscles.

"Shhh..." The mysterious figure shushed him once again. Tai-Lung didn't know what to think, or what to do... Inwardly, he was hoping that he hadn't damned himself by mentioning revenge to this stranger. All he wanted was to be restored back to health so he could return to the Jade Palace and right everything that he had done completely wrong... He had finally began to fade, the unbearable agony coursing through his body had finally made it's way to his brain and nervous system. The lights went off in Tai-Lung's mind and his skinless mass collapsed in front of his apparent savior right as the brilliant glow surrounding him faded.

"At least you'll be silent now..." The figure whispered as he crouched beside the bleeding tyrant. "If you think revenge is your fate, you're sadly mistaken, Setsuna... Your future is a lot brighter than that, but you'll never see your future if you can't restore your standing in the eyes of the righteous and overcome your greatest challenge." The dark feline beside Tai-Lung didn't waste anymore time talking. He began to chant in Japanese for a few short moments. At the end of his whispering, he and Tai-Lung were suddenly swallowed by a burst of purple smoke, as if a firework had detonated at their feet.

Once the smoke had cleared, the two men had vanished completely. The only thing remaining at the scene was the vomit, short stitches of flesh and blood that had soaked into the unearthed dirt of the impact area... and two sets of foot prints in the moist dirt...

.

.

Day 1 : Morning

China – The Jade Palace

* ! DONG ! *

"Good Morning Master!" The hall echoed as the morning bell rang, signaling for the Furious Five to exit into the hall to greet their Grand Master, Shifu.

Shifu was silent for a moment, as he examined the hall from his usual spot. Everyone was accounted for, Master Mantis and Master Viper were standing tall at attention. Master Tigress appeared slightly drowsy, along with Master Crane but it wasn't something that Shifu felt like mentioning. Master Monkey had a grin on his face so perhaps he slept the best out of everyone this morning so that was good, he would need that good mood for the work they were to be doing in the Valley today... Now all that was left was …

"The Panda..." Shifu muttered out loud.

"Is he still asleep?" Tigress sneered, while guiding her eyes towards the Dragon Warrior's door.

"How can he not hear the bell?" Crane shook his head with a sigh.

"Oh lay off him," Monkey added as he began to stretch, but returned to his saluting stance. "He's not as fit as we are, and he works for just as long."

Master Mantis stroked his antennae for a moment, "But he's the Dragon Warrior. Shouldn't he be able to do all of this without so much as breaking a sweat?"

"Maybe he can do it with more training?" Spoke Master Viper from her place in front of her own room door.

Shifu sighed and began to walk up the hallway, not yet dismissing everyone from their ready stances. He swiftly threw open Po's room door to reveal the Dragon Warrior sleeping half in-half out of his bed with stacks of empty and stinking noodle bowls erecting in different directions like intentional decorations in the corners of his room.

"How in...?" Shifu took a step back from Po's room, highly shocked at how disheveled Po kept his living area. "This is disgusting... Bowls? Socks? Underwear! PANDA! WAKE UP!"

Within a second of Shifu shouting, the Dragon Warrior popped back to reality and consciousness like a toy. Without even showing an ounce of fatigue, or drowsiness he rolled his girth over to sit on his rump and wave at Master Shifu and the nosy faces of the Furious Five sneaking a peek at Po behind Shifu's turned back.

"Oh, hey guys. What's up?" Po said, standing up and patting off his shorts. It was then that he noticed the unhappy scowl on Shifu's face and the angle at which his ears had been lowered in irritation. "Oh uh... I'm sorry Master, did I miss the first bell?"

"Yes... YES you DID!" Shifu shouted, only half as irritated as he lead onto. "And your room is un-ac-ceptable! I want it cleaned by the end of the day!"

"Heh heh, yeah, I kind of let the litter get away from me. So uh, why not clean it now? Are we gunna be busy today Master?" Po asked curiously, while stepping out into the hallway, passively forcing the Furious Five to return to their ready stances now that they were within eye shot of Shifu's judgment once again.

"Yes, you will be." Shifu responded, waving his wooden flute in a hand to set the Furious Five 'At ease', finally. "You six will be finishing up the Valley Restoration project."

"Augh..." The Furious Five sighed.

"Master..." Tigress began to complain, "You know we've restored every building in the Valley, all that's left is the hole that's under the Valley and the outermost wall of the Valley, that's out past the farm land."

"That's precisely what I'm asking." Shifu explained, "If that tunnel is discovered by any bandit leaders fighting under Tai-Lung's name, the Valley could be in trouble if the tunnel gets expanded."

"But Master," Crane stepped towards the red panda and unfolding a wing to tip his hat off his head and onto his back, he was indoors after all. "That tunnel smells like a bathroom, and it's been nearly eight months since Tai-Lung was defeated by Po's Wuxi Fingerhold. I don't think anyone will want to fight for Tai-Lung anymore, and-"

Shifu interrupted Crane's argument by holding up his wooden flute to the white Crane's beak. "I don't want argument, Master Crane. The sooner you and the others fix the tunnel, the sooner you all will be taught how to unlock your inner chi spirits."

Crane was quiet, along with everyone else. Hearing that they were all going to actually learn something new, instead of rehash what they had been doing for years woke up Tigress, curled Viper's tail, sent a shiver down Monkey's tail, caused Mantis' pincers to shudder and such juicy news made Po's mouth water.

"C-can you say that again Master?" Crane asked, sounding completely floored by the news.

"I – will – teach – you – something – new." Shifu repeated himself.

"Yes Master, anything you ask Master." Crane saluted again.

"Anything you want Master." Tigress jumped in beside Crane and saluted as well.

"Your wish, is our command Master, Shifu." Monkey Mantis and Viper all chimed in, also excited about the idea of learning something new.

"A new skill? Awesome, that's gunna be awesome!" Po cheered as he stood with everyone in front of Shifu.

Shifu always found the fact that all his students were taller than he, all except for Mantis of course, but no matter how old tall or old they were... If Shifu could introduce something completely different into their training sessions the six of them would cheer like children getting their favorite dessert and would obey any command or request the old Master could think of.

"Well, now that you all are clear on what awaits in your very near future. I expect that tunnel to be filled completely."

"With God-Speed." Responded everyone in unison, including Po.

"Then go and have your breakfast, and meet me at the base of the stairs in one hour."

"Uh, Which stairs Master?" Po asked as Shifu turned his back on the six saluting soldiers.

"In the Valley, at the bottom of the mountain, past the training ground, before you actually reach the village. Meet me there." Responded Shifu, and he waved his wooden flute behind his back before turning the corner and exiting the student dormitories. He signaled the 'At Ease' call once more, which the group all heeded to, and began to swiftly excitedly chat about learning a new ability.

"What did you think he meant exactly by 'Inner Chi Spirits'?" Viper asked Tigress, slithering up to the stretching Master of Tiger style.

"I'm not exactly sure, but I can't wait to see it." Tigress replied and released a satisfied huff as her back popped. "Oh that feels good."

"Back problems Tigress? What you need, is acupuncture!" Mantis chirped and leapt from Monkey's shoulder, onto Tigress' to begin tugging and massaging at shoulder he had landed upon.

"Hey hey hey," Tigress protested and batted away Mantis like he was an even smaller insect. "I'm fine, I don't need massages and I certainly don't want your acupuncture. I just slept rough was all. Besides, I don't think I could settle my spine to relax enough for anything to work. I'm too excited about what Shifu is going to reveal."

"Hey, think it will hurt?" Crane asked, preening his feathers. "You know like 'Dragon Warrior first day of real training instead of reading about it training'."

Mantis, Viper, Monkey and Tigress all began to chuckle as Po scratched his head, feeling his cheeks getting hot.

"I'm only kidding, Dragon Warrior." Crane apologized, "Although I did expect you to leave come the first sunrise."

Viper and Monkey nodded. "So did we."

"Hey guys, guys." Po held up his hands in defense. "We could go on about how embarrassing my training was, or how terrible I looked in my first 24 hours of being in the Jade Palace, but we're going to be learning NEW stuff soon. So how about we get some food, and get down to the Valley huh?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Mantis cheered.

"I suppose I could eat." Viper commented and began to exit the hall. "But you're seriously going to need to clean your room before he turns you into a blue and black panda."

Po stood still, "Shifu can change colors?"

Monkey laughed out loud, "She meant, he'll hit you... a lot, if you don't clean your room, Po. But he gave you the whole day to do it so, lets eat first."

"Ok then, I guess I'll get those bowls out when we get back." The Dragon Warrior laughed nervously while leaving, but he stopped in mid stride to turn back to Tigress who was idling in the middle of the hallway by herself.

"Tigress?" Po asked, "You coming? I'll make you something special."

"I'll be there, but need to take care of some things. So leave me an open seat an a hot bowl ok?" Tigress responded in a happier than usual attitude.

"No problem!" Po said with a warm smile and thumbs up, and turned to exit, leaving Tigress alone.

"... Who 'Thumbs Up', anymore? That boy needs to quit reading all those graphic books." Tigress however, let it go, and turned away and proceeded further back into the hall of the student dormitories to approach Tai-Lung's old room. She entered and shut the door silently behind her. The room had been vacant for years, so it was more like a study than anything else, especially for Tigress, but more than anything, it was the perfect place for her to escape and actually relax. Tai-Lung's old bed was a lot softer than her own, and simply sitting on it and meditating eased her mind and body a lot swifter than anything else that she had been doing to calm herself down for the past few days.

Being utterly defeated by Tai-Lung, then later hearing that he was completely destroyed by The Dragon Warrior left her with a sick feeling in her stomach that Tigress had been attempting to alleviate on her own for a few months. It wasn't the pain of loss, not personal lost at least, nor was it a juvenile sense of lost love... She was partially more upset that there was never a chance for a rematch than she was irritated by the fact that Po, being a flop, had managed to surpass the Furious Five in less than a week. He was a Kung Fu miracle, a lot like how Tai-Lung was a Kung Fu Prodigy. It was unreal... completely unheard of, and her pride took the largest hit because of the recent events, and here months later Tigress is still, partially mulling over the entire ordeal.

She was, however, happy that Tai-Lung was gone. That meant she didn't have to share the transcending feeling of being in his room with anyone, or at least not until others came looking for her. His room, his bed, his floor boards all felt like hers now and by comparison, she felt more comfortable in his place than she did in her own. And secretly, Tigress had an inkling that Tai-Lung wasn't dead . . . being here made her thoughts more clairvoyant and the very tunnel that Shifu is so aching to be patched is probably where Tai-Lung's cadaver, or his remains will be kept... Perhaps Tigress was the only of the Furious Five to think that Tai-Lung was still alive, but she knew the smell of the tunnel wasn't because of sewage, or farm manure... The scent was the decayed flesh of the snow leopard being skinned alive as he was propelled through the dirt.

She had never been inside the tunnel, but she didn't have to enter the tunnel to know put those facts together. The queezy ache in Tigress' stomach had passed, and she unfolded her legs and threw her body backwards on the vacant bedroll that used to belong to a murderer.

"He can't be dead... This room isn't haunted enough for him to be dead... Which means he'll come back for Po, he'll come back... not for the Dragon Scroll, but he'll come back for revenge..." Tigress spoke with all confidence like she was a case worker for a serial killer.

"Po is technically still in danger... He may have won, but I know it wasn't by sheer skill... No one knew the Wuxi Fingerhold could be triggered so easily, nor did we know the catalyst to make it so deadly..." Tigress was talking to herself as she got up off of Tai-Lung's bed and approached his desk to begin thumbing through a journal that she had been keeping. "I need to get closer to the Dragon Warrior..." She whispered to no one but the walls.


Chapter 2 coming soon . . .