Hey guys, this is my first Fanfic so please be kind! I am open to constructive criticism and pointers from other authors. Master Crane is my favorite of the Kung Fu Panda franchise because I feel he matches my personality. PleaseReview and enjoy the story!
THANK YOU
Crane was on the ground, his ears were ringing, and his feathers were drenched in blood. As he faded in and out of conciseness, Shadows and demons seemed skip around him. Whatever control he had over his sanity was draining away, and he felt the life seeping out of him. He knew that if he let himself slip away, he might not be able to return...
15 minutes earlier…
"If my calculations are correct, then the bandits should be upon the Tóugǔ pass soon." estimated mantis. "Good." Replied tigress "We can use the heavy brush to cover our attack." The Tiger turned to face her allies. "Alright everyone, here's how this is going to go down.
"Mantis, I want you and monkey to create a diversion to stop the convey from moving any further." The duo smiled at each other and nodded affirmatively. "Viper, I want you to help me retrieve the thunder stones." "If we're lucky we might be able to get out of this one without a fight". "Crane, I need you to scout from above." If something goes wrong I want you to strike from the sky and provide us with cover". "Po, I need you to… well, just find a way not to compromise us this time." He nodded in embarrassment. The last time he had nearly gotten them killed by a group of rouge wolves when he decided to use "stealth mode". He had to admit it was not one of his strongest "modes".
"If this goes correctly, and we can acquire the stones without a fight, then we will meet here". Tigress pointed to a small village located southeast on their map. "If things go bad, just regroup where we are now. Does everyone understand?" The five nodded agreeably and took their positions upon the path.
"Monkey, mantis, I'm going to signal you with three flashes when you are to create the diversion." Tigress said "Fine with me, we have a few tricks up our sleeves." Monkey chuckled. The tiger than looked at Crane. "in three minutes I want you to report back to me and provide the information we need about the convoy." "Can do." The avian replied before taking flight.
Crane soared over the Tóugǔ pass, looking for his targets. One of the things about flight that he never got tired of were the amazing views of the foreign valleys bellow.
The avian had noted that between seven and eight thirty PM was the best time to admire them. The gleaming sun would turn a beautiful shade of red and transform the white clouds into vibrant oranges, yellows, and purples. If the Sights were simply extraordinary, than he would sometimes skip his usual calligraphy sessions and paint what he had seen. This evening, Dark clouds and heavy showers reduced visibility to a minimum. This would make scouting a whole lot harder for the avian master.
He started to descend to an altitude of only 75 feet. He saw nothing but the wet, dirt path for about a minute. He began to wonder if mantis's calculations were off. At that moment, a flash of lightning briefly revealed the shadows of what seemed to be a large group of travelers. That was all crane needed before he was able to identify the number of warriors and how they would advance tactically. The avian then returned to his leading comrade.
"Tigress! This is going to be harder than we thought. The enemy convoy has about thirty armed defenders both in front and back of the wagon they are using to transport the stones. They also have four heavily armored rhinos and about ten dead shot wolves with crossbows."
"I'm not sure we are capable of taking down a force this large by ourselves." He said unsure of himself.
"Well, what do you suppose we do?" Tigress replied.
" since the wagon is covered from all sides, I would say that once mantis and monkey stop the convoy, we use the cover of the storm to pick off members of the group until we can successfully reach the cart." "And how do you suppose we do that?" she asked. "Well, you might think I'm crazy, but this might be the only way we get the stones." Crane replied.
Meanwhile… Bandits P.O.V.
"Geez, man. This place gives me the creeps." One of the wolves whispered to his companion. "Yea, no kidding. They call this place the Tóugǔ pass for a reason." the wolf beside eyed him curiously. "Why is that?" "I've heard stories from the locals in this area that something evil lurks in the shadows. "He said. " More evil than us?" the wolf responded with a mischievous grin. His companion sent him a look full of daggers. "Listen." He said harshly. "I'm not evil. I actually need this money. Unlike you I have children to feed." "Whatever." The wolf next to him replied as if he could care less."anyway, I guess according to the locals, that anyone who glimpses upon this beast dies before they can react." He said tensely. "Ha! And what exactly does this spooky demon look like?" his companion responded sarcastically. "Like A dragon, but without the magnificence or splendor. It is completely black, has the wings of an eagle, and the body of a lion." "C'mon, Sounds like a myth to me. I can't believe you're still scared of little fables that ar-"
CRASH!
"What the heck was that!?" The two wolves yelled in unison. Their voices blocked out by the yells of panic and frustration ahead of them. " Get them out of there!" "it's blocking the path! We need more men!" "Get a medic!" the frantic voices screamed.
Two of the rhinos behind them ran up to help with the situation. One of the wolves stopped them. "What's going on up there!?" he anxiously asked." I think a boulder just rolled up onto our men up front! The rhino replied ''Its blocking the path now!"
Thunder crashed and the rain came pouring down even harder.
"Once we get this cleared up we better find shelter from this storm!" the rhino shouted as he continued to run to the face of the caravan.
Screams now came from the back of the convoy.
"Luó! Where'd you go!? Luó, you better not be playing games with me this time!"
"HOLY S-"
His voice abruptly stopped, and all that could be heard now was the distant thunder and the confused voices of the convoy members.
The attention was now directed to the center of the caravan.
"What is that thing!?" the panicked wolves howled as they pointed to the skies.
The lightning revealed a large shape that could only be mistaken as the body of some large bird.
On the lower half came what looked like a large felines arms and legs.
It soared down yet again and grabbed another panicked wolf from its position and into the clouds.
"Well? Don't just stand there like idiots, DO SOMETHING!" their commanding officer screamed. "ARCHERS, TAKE YOUR POSITIONS!
READY!
AIM!
FIRE!
Meanwhile… Tigress and Crane's P.O.V.
"You are crazy!" Tigress shouted through the wind and rain. "Yea, but my plan worked!" Crane shouted back. "Who would've thought that by you carrying me through the clouds to ambush the enemy from the air would've worked!?" She questioned. Obviously I did! The avian chuckled. "Crane! We have arrows!" She called out.
"Tigress, land in those tress over there and assault the enemy, I'll take care of those arrows!" Crane said. With that he released the tiger from his grasp. He now eyed the wall of arrows that approached him. "WINGS OF JUSTICE!" He screamed before sending a mighty explosion of wind hurling towards the arrows that confronted him. They were immediately redirected towards the ones who had shot them.
Meanwhile, tigress had regrouped with the five right outside of the caravans main perimeter. "Great diversion with the boulder up front" tigress said to mantis and monkey. The duo smiled. "Our pleasure." They replied simultaneously. Po glanced around. "Hey, where's Crane?" he asked, noticing the avian masters absence. "I think crane is sending these bandits a message." Tigress replied tonelessly. Just as those words came out of her mouth, a rain of arrows fell upon the enemy convoy wounding fifteen.
"Alright here's our chance, attack now!" tigress shouted. The five rushed onto the battlefield, and began to assault the enemy. Tigress delivered a series of bone crushing kicks to the rhinos, rendering them unconscious. Beside her, Viper was tripping up the wolf bandits allowing Po to fight them with ease. Then, you had monkey, who would toy with his opponents while mantis would take them down while they were distracted.
"Po, grab the thunder stones!" yelled viper.
"Don't worry, I got this under control" Po said coolly. He effortlessly delivered a double backfist combo to a line wolves that blocked his path.
"Geez, that was… too easy." Po said chuckling to himself.
however, the panda faced a new problem. Finding the Thunder Stones. The lightning flashed once again, as a sinister voice rang from behind.
"Looking for these?"
A leopord, covered in black cloth, extended his hand which held a velvet sac. "His paw tightened around it. "If you want it, come and get it panda."
"FEET OF FURY!" Yelled Po.
He delivered multiple rapid-fire kicks to his enemy. The figure in return, swiftly blocked each blow, and grabbed Po by the neck, hurling him into a nearby boulder.
The panda got off the ground, and faced his foe. However, he was nowhere to be seen.
"AAAAARGH!" A knife was forced around his neck, and would've killed him, if it weren't for the panda's quick actions with his hands. The knife was becoming exceedingly close, and it was only a couple inches from his flesh. "Po! Hold on to something!" Shouted the avian who had returned from his previous scouting mission. The panda hurriedly elbowed his opponent in the stomach and held on to the ground for dear life.
The master then reared his wings and shouted "KA KAW!" as he propelled a massive gust of wind towards his foe.
Whilst Po struggled to keep his grip on the ground, The cat was blown off of his feet, and flung into the trunk of a tree.
The cloth that was concealing his face unraveled, revealing a young snow leopard with a jagged scar that ran down the side of his face.
Crane glanced back at Po. "Go give the Tigress the thunder stones, I'll take care of him." He said as he gestured to the leopard in front of him before taking flight.
The avian soared above him, before plunging to the ground, talons outstretched. Prepared for this, the leopard blocked the anticipated attack and countered it with a series of concrete punches.
Crane, also skilled in hand to hand combat, used his powerful wings to deflect all punches thrown by his opponent. The master assaulted with agility and swiftness, Just as he was trained at the Lee Dai Kung Fu Academy. Crane delivered a deafening blow, Knocking the young cat into one of his enemy comrades.
"I swear, If you even consider touching one of my friends again, You're as good as dead." The avian said severely.
The leopard spat out some blood and chuckled. "Of course! He responded merrily. Why would I ever want to touch your friends again if I could just do THIS every time?"
Upon saying those words, the cat cranked back an arrow into his crossbow and fired, narrowly missing the avian master and hitting a tree. "You Bastard!" Crane shouted. He sprang into action before prepping himself for the next projectile that would be sent hurling his way.
This time, crane was ready for it. Everything slowed down, and the arrow seemed to approach gradually. He leapt into the air, grasped the dart with his talons underneath him, flipped forward, and using the same momentum that it was shot with, launched the arrow back towards the shooter. The leopard did not expect the arrow he had shot at the bird to come flying back to him with such speed. He didn't move in time, and the arrow was sent straight into his thigh.
"AAAAAARGH!" The cat screamed in agony as he crashed to the ground. The crimson blood began to trickle from the wound site forming a small puddle beneath him. "DAMMIT!" he cried through gritted teeth before glaring at the Avian in pure hatred. "Well?!" he shouted angrily "Are you going kill me?!"
Crane shook his head. "You see, I'm not like you. I don't kill." The cat was perplexed by this. "Wait! Didn't you say that I would be good as dead if I touched your friends again?" The avian chuckled to himself. "Well, you never actually touched my friends considering that you failed to do so… You have fun pulling that thing out of your leg." With that, the avian left him to his rather unpleasant endeavor.
The leopard was absolutely calm on the outside. You could even call it subtle, but on the inside, there was a typhoon of fire and hell.
His eyes darted to the avian that had rejoined his comrades. "I wont kill you bird." He whispered wrathfully. "You have proven yourself well." His eyes then narrowed on the tiger beside him. He smiled menacingly. "But I will not hesitate to kill your friend."
He glanced down at the wound in his leg and groaned before unsheathing his knife. He set the blade in his mouth before reluctantly gripping the arrow in his thigh, the slightest movement causing unbearable pain. "well, here goes nothing." He said shakily. With that he began to wrench the projectile out of his limb.
Meanwhile, crane, who had just regrouped with Tigress, was aiding her in the assault against three masked wolves who seemed oddly familiar.
"Crane!" the tiger shouted, "Blue dragon!" the avian nodded affirmatively. The five always had "code names" for their attacks to prevent their foes from learning them.
Crane flew low and extended his right leg to the ground. In turn, tigress grabbed it, before the avian made three flips in the air before releasing tigress and sending her flying towards her attackers with tremendous speed. The force of her impact was so great, that the foes were sent hurling through trees and into boulders.
However, No mater how loud the fight was, nothing was as loud as the deafening whistle that sliced through the air.
Without thinking, the avian screamed at the top of his lungs. "TIGRESS WATCH OUT!"
Crane couldn't stop the arrow this time. It was too late for that.
The only thing that could be done was the last idea that would ever appear in his mind. He knew that once he was committed, there was no going back. But like the rest of the five, Tigress was his friend, and there were no options left.
He leapt in front of the tiger at the last possible moment, stopping the arrow dead in its tracks.
Tigress unaware of what had just happened whirled around only to find crane collapsed on the ground and not moving.
" Crane get up! we have to keep fighting!" He didn't respond.
"Crane!
Tigress lowered herself onto her knees and turned the avian onto his back, only to find that his once snow white chest had turned blood red.