Legend told of the day a powerful warrior would be born. A dragon among mortals, power hailing from the stories of old. A being with power beyond normal comprehension. Chi more powerful than most before him, only under his wife and her father. Strength second to only one. History told of his kindness, his desire to help others. He had conquered every aspect of himself to protect and serve. The legend of a warrior, was one of a kind. The Dragon Warrior. The Warrior of Black and White.
Legend did not tell of his premature death. Paw cold against the floor, a raging fire burning around him. A collapsing home crashing all around him. Almost a full day would go by until the body was found. Half a year would go by until he was buried. It had been ruled that he had choked on the smoke, but they knew better.
Slowly and surely, the kung fu world was dying. He had been the first, the first to parish for this new world of devastation. Thousands would die and any civilized world that existed in China would fall into chaos. An Order— no . . . Regime, would take over the surface. They purged who they sought fit. First, they destroyed the Jade Palace and the warriors there and then, they destroyed the Temporal Gate.
They spread across China, influencing who they could and destroying those who refused. The leaders of the Regime, the Talons, had no mercy. They sought to destroy and conquer. After the Dragon Warrior's death, they finally had the room to stretch their legs. However, had they known he had a son, they might have killed him off with the mother of the child. Instead, he and a select of Kung Fu Masters survived to fight another day.
Damn fools. The tiger's eyes glanced around the corner, watching the armored soldiers moved about, searching buildings with half-effort, looking for victims. They knew the village was empty, but their protocol forced them to keep searching. Their mistake was not checking behind them. He snuck around the corner and slid up to another wall, effectively blocking him off from their view. His tail swished from side to side.
Literally everyone he knew would be upset as soon as he returned to his 'home'. Freedom was no longer a value. Staying close to the herd was of top priority. He frowned, that also meant not getting anything done. Speaking of getting things done . . . this was going nowhere. When he had first started following this pack he had thought they were collecting supplies from Project Xodara, but he was mistaken. He should have left. He had planned on it, but his gut told him to stay. Or was it his heart? He never could tell the difference.
They scanned another building before moving on and he played catch-up. Project Xodara. Truthfully, he had no idea what it was. Once he had found a file on a group of soldiers he 'took care of' and it peaked his interest. The supplies for this project took top priority and if the Regime wanted something . . . it was his responsibility to hinder them in any and every way possible.
He considered it payback for what the Regime took from him. A normal life? Happiness? Parents? All of the above. He grit his teeth. Just thinking about it made his blood boil in rage. And then . . . Shifu. It was his reasoning that they should stay locked up underground. Survival above all else. He would have snorted if he hadn't been sneaking around. The Regime had taken everything away from them and yet Shifu acted like a coward.
And then there were his 'Uncle and Aunt'. Masters Crane and Viper. Literally the only couple to survive this war. Them and their daughter Lily, whom he didn't actually mind. He had practically been raised by the two, he . . . loved them like a family. However, he couldn't excuse their blind following of Shifu. He allowed himself a small sigh. They were at war, the least they could do would be acting like it.
His ears twitched as one of the soldiers said they found something. He peeked around the corner as they started ripping open a door. Now that he thought about it, no doors should've been locked or even close. A survivor. He had to do something and it wouldn't be walking the other way or ignoring it. He peeled himself from the corner and stalked forward as they ripped the door of wall. It was now or never.
He punched forward, his tunic rufling from the sudden jump in velocity. The soldiers were usually wolves or rhinos. A water buffalo turned to him as he slammed his fist into their face. They went spinning into the wall, falling limp to the floor. Neat. Never seen one of those before. The rest of the squad turned to him. A wolf raised his sword and swung it at him. He sidestepped it and slammed his fist into their gut.
He fought to keep his bloodlust under control.
He grabbed them by the wrist and squeezed just hard enough to almost break his wrist. He hated the Regime, but he had been taught to only kill as a resort. He was having trouble following that rule. He swiftly chopped them in the neck, causing them to fall over. He made short work of the Rhino that decided it was indeed a good idea to charge him. Three punches to be exact.
Still, he wanted blood. He craved it. He wanted them to pay.
Good thing there were two more soldiers. A wolf charged him. The sword barely missed it's target, but he knew that there was never a chance for it to hit home. He grabbed the wolf's wrist and squeezed as hard as he could. This time he broke their hand. They screamed and he pulled them closer, lifted his knee, and raised his arm above his head, ready to crunch the arm between his arm and leg. "Wait, wait, wait!" The tiger stopped andeyed the wolf with distaste. "Please don't break my arm."
His eyes hardened with pure hatred. How dare? The Regime was all he hated and despised an yet this man begged for mercy. "Sure . . . I won't break your arm." He lowered his arm and leg and shoved the wolf's arm off to the side. He grabbed the wolf's head with both of his paws and easily snapped his neck. Like a twig. "Was that any better?" His eyes turned to his next target, another wolf. As soon as their eyes met the wolf dropped his weapon. "You! Tell me what you found."
The wolf was panicking. He found it quite annoying, "I— well, we f-found— ah— "
He narrowed his eyes, "Spit it out already!"
"These houses shouldn't be boarded up. Someone's here who shouldn't be." He whimpered.
The tiger stepped closer, "That's all I needed to know." He unsheathed his claws, making the soldier take a step back.
"Ah! Wait! I thought you Hero types were supposed to be merciful!" That only anger him and he growled. "I promise I don't have a choice! I had to join!" He took another step closer.
"Everyone has a choice." . . . including me. Dammit. He stopped his advance. He didn't have to kill this . . . how old was he anyway. He looked kinda young to be part of the Regime. He sighed and unsheathed his claws. He could kill him, he really could. His body craved it, but mercy had been drilled in him. "Fine. You can go— on one condition!" He leapt forward, landing directly in front of the man, snout to snout. "You leave the Regime and go somewhere else— anywhere else."
"B-b-but I can't j-just— "
He grabbed the wolf by the from of the uniform he was wearing, "Deal?!"
"D-deal!"
He let go of the wolf, "Get out of my sight." He watched as the wolf immediately scampered off. He turned to the building. A large hole in the wall had appeared since they ripped the door out of it's socket. He walked forward, his ears twitching at the slight sound of a light whimper. He had a gut-wrenching feeling hit him as soon as he walked in. Laying in the corner was a child, coiled in on themselves and whimpering.
One word shot through his mind, rocoshaying and coming back to echo through his consciousness. Shit.
He slowly walked over to the child. Even he wouldn't leave a child here. Besides . . . he was a curious cat. The child was a bunny, and seemingly alone. It was in that moment he realized that maybe y'know being a tiger wasn't the best for this. "Kid . . ." The kid froze and titled his gaze to look up at him. "You okay? Are you hurt?"
The kids gaze rested on his face for a couple of seconds. "Are . . . are you Master Tigress?"
He froze. This kid just asked if he was his dead mother. "Ah . . . no."
The child stiffened, "Are you here to hurt me?"
"No." He bent down, "My mother was Master Tigress. Please, don't be scared." The child's eyes softened. "Are you alone? Where are your parents?"
The childs lips quivered, "Mom and Dad siad they'd only be gone for a bit. Said they would come get me once it was over."
"It?"
The child whimpered, "I haven't seen them since yesterday." The hopeless look in his eyes brightened, "But I know where they went!"
"You do?" He thought for a moment. He could help this kid, but he could also just take them back to the shelter. He stared into the kids eyes. He sighed, he really didn't have a choice. "Alright. I'll help you find your parents." He picked the rabbit up and set him in his arms, just as his grandparents used to do to him. "What's your name?"
"X-Xun."
He nodded, "Xun, close your eyes for me."
The rabbit looked up at him, "Why?"
"Trust me." He waited until the rabbit closed his eyes before he walked of the building, stepping over the bodies of the vanquished. He made sure he rounded a corner before he told the boy it was okay to open his eyes. "Where did they go?"
"Home." And so they boy started giving him directions to their old homestead. Apparently his parents had went back for supplies, or so he figured. The kid had spoke about "old family books". Old pictures of the family's past. He hadn't asked deeper, but something seemed wrong. His parents hadn't come back for him. Not a good sign. Suddenly the boy spoke up, apologizing for mistaking him for Master Tigress.
"It's fine, Xun. I am curious thought, Master Tigress hasn't really been around for awhile." A long time. "How did you know what she looked like?"
"My mom said she was a warrior with stripes, pointy ears, and sharp teeth."
"Oh." Apparently this kid wasn't afraid of sharp teeth or pointed claws. In fact, he seemed kind of thrilled by it. "She said Master Tigress would keep us safe." A bedtime story to keep the children from feeling scared, maybe? "You did though. Did she send you?"
"Kinda." From a certain point of view she put me down this path, I guess. He rounded the last courned he needed to make. His eyes locked onto a two story building with it's door bashed in. Unlike the others, the door had extra wood planks nailed into it, torn at the edges. That was the house. He was sure of it. "This one?"
When Xun nodded, he walked to the opposite side of the street and set him down. "Hey!" He eyed the kid briefly, his eyes hard and unforgiving. Xun bit his tongue as the tiger leaned in.
"Stay here."
Xun nodded as he stood to his feet and turned around and started to cross the street. "Mister?"
He stopped and turned his head, "What?"
"What's your name?"
"Jie Long."
Xun smiled and nodded and the son of the two mightiest warriors got to work.
Jie Long walked into the building and immediately grabbed his nose. There was a heavy stench in this house. One that didn't like. He already knew what was at the end of the scent trail, but one could never be too sure. Not in this case. He followed the smell, having to go up a flight of stairs and down a hallway. Once he got to the last set of doors he could already imagine the crying child. He pushed open the door and was greeted with exactly what he expected. Brutal death.
Two rotting bodies were sprawled across the ground, slashed open with what appeared to be some kind of blade. Of course. This wasn't surprising. He had stumbled across many victims of the Regime, all brutal as this one. Each one had increased his anger and rage, but . . . this was different. There was a kid waiting for him to bring back his very dead parents. He sighed, another kid without parents. Great.
He walked forward and bent down. The mom was wearing a necklace around her neck. It looked like it could flip open. He carefully removed it from her neck and held it up. Thankfully it was clean of blood. He clicked a small button on the side and it flipped open. His hearts sunk. There was a small painting of the kid with his parents. Oh . . . Xun.
He made his way back to the kid, a bit more swiftly than he would have done normally. But . . . the stench made his nose curl up in disgust. The necklace was clenched in his paw. He still had no idea how he was going to let the kid know. He though for a moment, how would he like to find out his parent died?
Bitterly he thought, does it matter? They're dead. Always will be. He shook his head. This was no time to bring his own sorrow and loss into this. This kid had known his parents. His loss would be harder to deal with than Jie Long's. He walked outside and turned his head to the kid. "Good . . . you didn't run off on me."
Xun took one look at the necklace in his paw and turned away from him. "They're dead, aren't they?" He started to sniffle, "I knew it! I just knew it."
Jie Long slowly sat down next to the bunny. He didn't know how to deal with this situation so he held the necklace out to Xun. "This is yours."
The bunny stared at it before taking it slowly into his paws. He clutched it, not daring to open it up. Tears rolled down his cheek, but he refused to full blown cry. "Do . . . do warriors cry?"
For the first time since they met Jie Long could answer a question without thinking about it twice. "Every day."