This chapter was not meant to be this long. And updates won't be regular; I have ideas for this, but many different scenarios. This will not be a redemption fic, as least not for the majority. Maybe not at all. Shen is deranged, and shall cast aside his family for anything. This scenario also came from the idea that Po died along with his parents; Tigress is the Dragon Warrior. I'm thinking about exploring, in more depth, the consequences of that for her.
Also, ocs. And an original family called 'Guo' a Noble House, once of Gongmen, who come into play later. Guo comes from the chinese word for 'Boundary'. (In certain contexts, as in the Boundary of a country.)
Chapter 1
Parting Gift
A sizzle.
In far off lands, a red sky in the evening signified a sign of prosperity. A sign of easy travels; of luck. That fading sunlight cast thick shadows upon the courtyard, the but the buildings blackened against it like they'd been burnt. The smell of ash and fire rose into the soft breeze of the fading day, a foul smell that stung at the eye.
Masters Croc and Ox were staring, transfixed. It happened so quickly. One moment their friend and fellow had been standing between them; hammer aloft, poise ready, and then he wasn't.
The noise was unlike any they had heard in their lives and neither of them could call themselves youthful. Perhaps it was akin to an earthquake, a shatter, and a crackling spark all at once. At yet the sprinkled sound of pretty fireworks was tossed in as well... like seasoning to a horribly spoiled dish. Croc and Ox, lain on their sides in mid-recovery, stared at the crevice in the stone where Master Thundering Rhino had been seconds before. Croc's lean snout moved first, and he saw the hammer. Not his friend. The hammer - poised unevenly, embedded deep in the courtyard floor. And past it was a shape, lying still and stiff.
The Soothsayer was silent, her face bare and eyes broad, old body trapped in a half-standing movement. She leaned on her cane, gawking at the body lying in the dust and dirt. Ox was the last to see, and the first to break.
His roar tore through the air and he was on his feet; horns down and back arched as he charged full tilt towards the contraption – the thing – that had slain his comrade. The shock wavered from the old goat's face long enough for her to call after him, he warn him off – but he did not listen; his weapon lifting –
The figure cloaked by the shadow of the Tower lifted a crooked talon; eyes narrow and bright, and the machine sparked to life once again. Croc moved fast, slinking down; evasive, his mind swimming incoherently with years of old teachings – unknown enemy, avoid and learn, do not engage until –
"OX!" His smooth voice did not sound right in a shriek. The machine fired; the spitting metal spinning towards the sprinting Ox with the speed of an arrow. Croc sprang; his tail curling around the other Master's horn and he tugged. Pulling the Ox's massive weight onto his own, he tipped him out of the way. He narrowly missed being struck by the spinning ball. The thing glazed the floor; parallel to the last, and it crashed into the doorway of the Palace behind them with a crack. The air around it scorched and the Soothsayer ducked her head to avoid the burn.
Ox and Croc clattered to the floor in a mess of fallen weapons. Ox's breathing was laboured, Croc's chest rising and falling rapidly. The two Masters hadn't been so shaken by something, not in decades.
A husky, onward chortle dragged them from their second spell of shock and they stared upwards, gaping, at the white peacock perched upon the weapon.
"I do hope you like it." He crooned. His grey-lidded eyes where narrowed, his wings tucked together into each long sleeve, perfectly composed. Coupled with his smirk, the deranged air around him made their insides curl.
"Murderer." Ox rasped at last, where he and Croc lay on the stone floor. Wolves where circling them, none bothering to run. They were not fools. Whatever this weapon was, it was beyond them. Beyond their strengths. They were trained for years to think this way, and to not think of the body lying crooked mere meters away.
But it burned. It took all they were not to cave. The wolves' lances pointed down on them one by one in a perfect circle; the swoop of metal like a rush of music. Ox bore his teeth; Croc curled his hands. Shen tilted his head, admiring the Palace before him. He didn't bother to look at them, the body, or even the silent Soothsayer. Her old, hunched form lay too far from them to read her expression, but she was still. Very still, like a little old statue.
"Is it murder to be the fair victor in battle?" Shen drawled smoothly, "It was a fair match as far as I could see." A hulking ape shuffled over to the weapon. He held out a burly arm and Lord Shen stepped, elegantly stiff, onto his arm and back onto the ground, his arms remaining neatly tucked together. He grazed the two Masters with a leering smile as he strode by, painfully slow.
"Thank you ever so much for keeping the place up to standards." The two stared at the back of his head as he moved across the yard; his men pouring along the neat stone like poison in a clear glass drink. Lord Shen's clinking feet finally came to a halt before the body of Master Rhino, and he leaned down as if expecting something as innocent as a flower.
He lay in one piece, unexpectedly. His early quip would have held more ground if it had actually happened. Perhaps he would have looked upon this incident with more amusement; but he'd settle with pride. The body that once was one of China's greatest warriors lay face down. Hiding most of the damage to the chest, which on closer exception, he could see had caved in. There was no great amount of blood; but he saw it staining the dark robes around the neck, the abdomen. It had crushed him inside and caved him like an old building. Shen, a smooth smile flickering onto his beak, straightened up and began towards the Soothsayer.
Composure was the old woman's finest point, and now she could have won a prize. Her eyes where splits, her hoof tight upon the tip of her cave; the only thing giving her away. The winding wood of it ground into the floor like a root from a tree. "Do you feel nothing, Shen? No remorse? Lying there was a Good Man."
"Was, Old Goat." Shen returned shortly, his smile gone. With a slicing of metal his feet moved again, his left wing waving to one of the apes flanking him. "Bring her with us into the Palace. Toss the rabble into the dungeon."
He glanced over his shoulder, and a ghost of a smile returned to him, "Remind them that if they so much as think about escaping and trying to stop me, I'll be giving more 'gifts' to the people." With a curt nod, the ape ambled away, while the other landed a thick hand on the heavy shoulder of the Soothsayer. Slowly, she began walking along, shrugging it off. Making no moves to struggle.
She watched as the Ox and Crocodile where nudged away, their heads bent, backs stiff. She could see the mourning begin to sink onto them at last, and her sorrowful gaze fell upon Master Rhino's body. Shen nodded towards the Leading Wolf once, and she watched, perplexed, as it seized hold of the Hammer. He lifted it, and lodged it into the crevice trail left by the blast.
The ribbon wound around it fluttered aimlessly in the breeze.
...
The Master's Council effectively destabilised, Shen took the city exactly overnight. The authority beneath the Masters; the Elk and Deer Guard and any other policing force, had no choice but to surrender as Ox and Croc had done. The Canon, as Lord Shen had called it, had struck down a warrior capable of taking down thousands of vicious serpent fighters, in the space of a second. And the peacock was quick to alert him that he had more.
So it was with sombre resignation that the lean Deer-Guard poised around the Palace dropped their lances and hung their heads. That night, wolves swarmed the city; on every corner. Huddled and terrified, the people where forbidden to send word out – but the news got out anyway. By that time, morning had come, and Shen's forces had sunk their claws deep into the city. The people where all hostages, every single one.
The Soothsayer would have been amused on any other morning at Shen's next antics. While the ape guard placed her in the throne room, back among her rug, potions and herbs, the Peacock took his time scaling the Palace stairs. When he finally emerged, she could sense the dark aura around him. Not cold, but gripping; a weight in the air drifted in with him like a cloud of unseen smoke. His wings folded neatly before him and his eyes like slits, his calmness was nerve wracking.
He strode towards the throne. Blue, gold, green; metal plates arranged like a perfect fan. Shen's voice was soft and smooth; a near hush. "My father's throne."
The Soothsayer idly swayed her bowl around and around, watching him quietly. Her mouth came ajar when she saw him wave a wing to two more apes – hulking into the throne room, carrying the same weapon that had struck down the Master below.
A cluster of wolves seized the throne; two others slid the doors aside, and the throne was tossed clean out of the Palace. The Soothsayer's hand fell on her chin, but she said nothing. Instead she cast Shen a heated look. He caught it, and smiled callously in return.
...
The tiger moved through the mountain side's moss-covered boulders in silence. Back straight, arms moving slowly, shifting against the yellow garment she was clad in. Her head lifting, she caught a dampness in the air. She heard a leave move nearby as a twinkle of water fell from its tip and to the ground. Exhaling slowly, she moved to the caves.
It had been years since she had been made the Dragon Warrior. She had expected a great deal of change to have overcome the valley, China, even. The Legend of the Dragon Warrior had been widespread for centuries. But, with the spreading cities and differing forces throughout the land in recent years, one warrior more wasn't much.
She did not complain. She had done her duty. The past few years had been quiet. She had improved. With Oogway's passing, her master had taken his place, and she his. The Five remained as they where, fighting beside her. Perhaps that much change hadn't been needed.
A crinkle nearby made her head snap up. A butterfly bobbed through the air aimlessly; knocking against some plants. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and moved onward.
Standing, as still as a statue, his back to her, was a small figure clocked in brown and green; large ears unmoving. He was crouched upon a staff, stood elegantly within the pool. The mountain's mist faded here. She moved closer.
"Tigress."
"Master."
Her hands lifted together and she bowed. Shifu turned, his thin fingers together, her eyes grave. "I have sensed a great disturbance. Of what, I do not know – but you and the five must be prepared."
"Yes, Master." Tigress's eyes narrowed. "Nothing is out of the ordinary in the valley, however."
"Then an outside force it must be." Shifu leaped and landed upon the moss beside her, twirling the staff into both hands. Frowning openly, he went on, "I have a feeling we'll hear word soon enough."
"You have been up here for some time, Master." Tigress ventured evenly. Shifu gazed down at the staff in his hands; moving his palm along the wood.
"I have been meditating to balance myself. You would do well to do the same, Dragon Warrior."
"I am balanced. I just keep myself alert. It is my duty." Tigress said, the slightest note of defence crossing her voice. Shifu placed his hands behind his back; staff with it.
"As you always have, Dragon Warrior." The slightest smile tugged at the corner of the old man's lips. Tigress, for a second, nearly felt one pull at her face, too.
"Thank you, Master."
"Master Shifu! Dragon Warrior!"
A mallard messenger, who's named escaped Tigress, came stumbling around the rocks. Her brow furrowed; no-one outside of Kung Fu teachings came here unless -
Tigress' first curled instantly, "What is it?!"
"A m-message from Gongemen City, Masters!" The duck was quivering like a leaf in the wind. Shifu's gaze hardened and he held out a hand. The water fowl held out the scroll, trembling, and ducked back as soon as the Red Panda swiped it from his grip. Shifu pulled it open without delay. Behind him, Tigress found her eyes drawn to the scroll before she could stop them.
Her brows lifted.
"Master Thundering Rhino is dead?"
...
"This was no technique."
They where sat in the courtyard within the Jade Palace; a tree hanging above them; green grass cushioning their feet. Pillars tangled with plants and carvings shielded them from the wind, but no amount of scenery comfort could lift the weight in the air.
Tigress stood before Shifu again; Mantis and Crane on one side, Monkey and Viper on the other. Their faces stricken with alarm. The tiger, however, kept her hands planted firmly behind her. She could see Viper's concerned glance from the corner of her eye, but she refused to look back.
"Lord Shen has returned after thirty years of banishment, and has created a weapon that burns fire, and spits metal." Shifu paced back and forth, her face hard, "You must stop him before he spreads this destruction any further – these methods..."
"How could any warrior use such a low move?" Crane inquired, a wing raised, "It's – it's no show of strength, to use some kind of weapon that you can't even hold."
"Shen is beyond pride or honor." Shifu returned roughly, staring each of them in the eye, "Remember this when you confront him. He is deranged, and dangerous. He single handily took town two opposing noble houses, a city overnight, and an entire species."
The five glanced downward. Viper's head the heaviest.
"We destroy Shen, and the weapon. Any trace of it." Tigress elaborated stiffly. "No one else can build another."
"Indeed." Shifu said, striking Oogway's staff onto the ground with a tap, "This could be the end of Kung Fu. This kind of dark machinery cannot be possessed by anyone, friend or foe."
"Yes, Master." The five bent their heads, hands together. Then, they turned, whipping back and breaking into their runs. Tigress took the lead; soaring up onto the shingled rooftops and off the side of the wall, the others collecting behind her.
"Tigress, we have to take our time with this." Viper called, sliding by her side. Tigress shot her a scathing look.
"I can handle this. Keep the focus on Shen."
...
"Look into your bowl, and tell me what glory awaits me."
It had been so many years. The Soothsayer remembered it well. She stared down at the ashes in her bowl, feeling the weight upon her return. It had dwelled there, in the back of her mind, for thirty years. She remembered the prediction; A peacock is defeated by a warrior of black and white. A panda. But there had been an 'if'. And in Soothsaying, ifs were a large piece of the process. Of course, sometimes it seemed they were meaningless. Most predictions that began with 'If' ended with 'It most certainly will'. Or at least, they were treated that way.
"Are you sure the truth will be something you will like?" The Soothsayer ventured slowly, her eyes perhaps the tiniest bit narrow again. "I recall your last reaction."
Shen laughed briefly, striding down the stairs as he went, "Oh, I recall it well. Whatever your predictions may throw my way, I assure you, I am strong enough to endure." He paused, his talons clinking. "So. Get on with it."
"I predicted the pandas." She interrupted quietly; swishing around the ashes in a cup, her gaze fixed on the bowl at her old feet. "I did not give you any reason to suspect the Guo Family."
Shen's eyes narrowed and he glared at her darkly. "How do you know about that?"
"It wasn't a secret through the Courts. You are almost lucky that your parents had long passed before. The pandas may have stood in your way, but the Guo Family were trusted friends of theirs."
"They brought it on themselves." Shen drawled, idly pacing around the spot where she sat, his voice low, "I have no time for any boundary in my way. They were a threat. In order for success in this world, you must destroy those boundaries."
"You left them with almost nothing." The Soothsayer remarked, reproachful, "And your reasons are still not clear."
"Hmph. We are not here to discuss the Guo family." The white peacock snapped, his voice raising just a tad, "You are here to tell me my –"
"Fortune?"
"...I was going to say future." Shen replied stonily, "Now tell me."
It happened in a split second. Her hooves reached out and plucked a feather from his wing. He drew back with a startled yelp; next came the tearing of fabric.
"How dare-?"
"Many times have you consulted what may be one path among thousands. Remember this." The Soothsayer told him quietly, "The most important time is now, Shen. But if you really wish to see the most prominent future..."
Into the bowl she tossed her powder; it ignited like fire onto the feather and fabric. Shen's scowl faded and his eyes grey wide. His voice but a murmur, "What do you see...?"
The Soothsayer did not pay him heed. She lifted her head, her hooves moving with the smoke drifting between them. The silvery smog took the shape of a peacock; the faintest of calls echoing against the walls.
Lord Shen, she read, clear. On this path...
"A peacock..."
The shapes contorted, and colour pooled into the smoke. Red and brown, green and blue, twirling on either side of the white peacock's silhouette.
Her face grew stony. She felt a coldness set into her chest, but her face, as always, through years of witnessing horrors yet to come, remained still.
"What is this?"
She did not reply. The two shapes on either side swung downward, as if striking the peacock between them. Red-brown, Green-blue, and the misshapen form of the peacock morphed into the shape of the very Tower they stood upon. Unmistakable. Her brow furrowed.
Shen's scowl wavered with barely hidden worry. Worry that turned to poison. The smoke faded into an empty cloud between them. The Soothsayer bowed her head. She breathed, her hooves together.
"What? What did you see?" Shen's voice, growing more uneven by the syllable.
The Soothsayer had never lied. Never once in all of her many, many years, had she hidden the truth of her vision, for hiding what she saw would deal worse consequences than whatever grief her blatant words dealt to the listener.
"...Someone else has been born. Someone else shall stand in your way, should you continue on your path." Her voice was empty, and she stared back at him as his calmness gave way to fury, boiling up inside him. Stretching his face till it brimmed with barely suppressed rage. "And if you do not relent, they will bring you down, and take the throne of Gongmen City."
Shen's face flashed. His wing whipped out; a dagger struck the bowl, shattering it to pieces. He swirled, and with a whip of his tail he cast the remaining smoke aside. His foot struck the ground before her; metal shielding clinking.
He let out a hollow laugh, his chest barely moving. "That is absurd, and you know it."
"It is not absurd. You vanquished your right to Gongmen on the day you cast aside your honor." Her voice was firm, but then it gave away. Softer. "It is not too late, Shen. Even now. This future need not become what it is if you choose to change it."
"My parents died without an heir aside from me. There are no others who can claim right." He turned away, placing his wings together and glaring around. Thinking hard. "Whoever you believe it will fall to, they shall not have it."
The Soothsayer sighed gently. Then, Shen's head tilted. Turned and glared back at her, his eyes unreadable. "...And who exactly is it you have in mind?"
"That what not revealed. A specific Panda wasn't, either." She replied.
"You just don't want to admit you're wrong." Shen retorted smugly, sneering unpleasantly. The Soothsayer stood, a small smirk of her own on her face,
"I'll be sure to remember that during your next disappointment."
"Very well. If you do not tell me willingly, I shall find other methods." He crooned, beginning back along the marble floor. The Soothsayer felt her brow crease, but she said nothing. Shen turned to one of the wolf guards,
"Have the hooves from every Deer Guard of this palace removed."
"Shen."
He turned his gaze back at her, peacefully smug. Scowling quietly, the Soothsayer sat back down. Shen would, undoubtedly, continue on this path. So if he did, what she saw would indeed come to pass. Something in her told her to tell him.
She hoped, to whatever powers that bestowed her ability to her, that this time it wouldn't result in tragedy.
She plucked another feather; tore another piece of robe ("Will you stop that – ") And placed them into the bowl. Wordlessly, she tossed the ashes to the new bowl, and the smoke lifted again.
Shen's slit-like eyes watched her closely.
"A peacock..."
The smoke moved.
"Shall be defeated by his children, and they shall take the Throne, harsh and decisive, caring and merciful."
Shen's wide, ruby red eyes stared up at the smoke in disbelief. Then his eyes turned cold. It seemed an eternity passed before he broke from the spell.
He slammed a taloned foot down upon the second bowl. It shattered, and the Soothsayer stared up at him wordlessly.
"...Impossible." He hissed down at her, pupils dilated, eyes wide and blazing. "I have no children."
"It is not impossible." She replied loftily, a slight shrug passing her shoulders. Shen remained in that stance for a very, very long time. Perhaps he hoped staring violently at her would make the truth in her words falter. But she knew. If the future foretold it, then there was a possibility. One he was aware of. At last, his feathers bristled. Whatever inward storm had raged, he was finding a sail.
He straightened up slowly, his face still frozen. He blinked once, twice, before again placing each wing together within his sleeves. "...No one stands in my way, Soothsayer." He began stalking away from her, his posture stiff. "No enemy, no blood, no ties."
"Someone shall." She said, a small smile gracing her lips. "You know that I am right."
Shen paused in his walk; His head lifted, a smooth smile spreading across his beak with his next words, coated with malice. "Then I will kill them. And make you wrong."
So this was going to be a 'reveal' story. I am your father Darth Vader moment. Or reverse. But that's bee done.
But this is more of a 'I am your father, and I'm going to find you and kill you' moment. DRAMA.