Author Note
Disclaimer: I, Jonny Nam, 100% do not own KFP or any of its characters. Any song titles that show up in the story [I'll explain at the end of the chapter] I also do not claim ownership to. I do however own the OCs and story.
Additional Disclaimer: There will be drug use in this story eventually. If that kind of thing makes you angry, you do not have to read this. If you plan on writing me messages about how wrong it is, don't bother, because I won't read them and it won't make a difference or change my opinion.
On with the story.
Better Off Lost
Chapter 1: A High Standard Death
"Tell us another one Po."
The giant black and white panda looked down into the little rabbit girl's face, even in the sitting position the panda towered over the girl. In fact he towered over every student in his class, although it wasn't hard they were all at least under eight. They were growing though, it had been a year and a half since he had his first teaching session with the Introductory to Kung Fu class and they had grown considerably since then.
"Another one? I just finished the epically epic tale of my battle with Tai Lung, what more could you ask from me in one day?" Po asked incredulously raising his right eyebrow.
"Pleeeeeaaaase," the entire class chorused in unison.
"Ok, ok, you win," Po relented easily with a mischievous smile. Although he would never admit it to his class he loved telling stories of epic kung fu proportions; it was one of his hobbies. Even before he became the Dragon Warrior he enjoyed entertaining bored patrons of his father's noodle shop with stories of kung fu masters who were long gone. But his favorite subject hands down had to be the Furious Five, his encyclopedic knowledge of them often earned him the title "Furious Five Nerd." Of course that changed when he became The Dragon Warrior. No one dared to call the village hero a nerd; this was not out fear but respect. "How about the story of The Five at the battle of Baotou?"
"You told that one last week," a young goose in the back row stated. "Tell us a story you haven't told us before"
"Ok, what about the story of when Shifu saved travelers on the silk road from bandits?"
"We heard that one the week before last week," the rabbit in front said quietly but insistently.
"Oogway and Shifu's battle at the Great Wall?"
"Heard it."
"Um… Ok… How about… The… Uh..." The panda fumbled helplessly.
"Why don't you tell us about the Xiongnu invasion and Master Líng?" A calf to Po's left asked.
The smile the panda had been wearing on his face faded, but only for a second, he quickly returned his face to his usual grin. "Why do you want to hear that one for? You were here living in the village while everything happened."
"We were here, but we never got to see the battle, and we don't know anything about what happened before the battle." The calf stated bluntly crossing her arms.
"Well ok, I suppose it is like The Greatest Story Ever Told!" His class responded with cheers and excited conversation. "Alright, alright settle down and gather round," his class quickly hushed and moved in closer. "The beginning of the story takes place about six years ago, near a small village at the mouth Yangtze river…"
Damn I hate this base. The wolf looked thoughtfully at the earth and stone walls and ceiling that made up the room he occupied. There was not one thing he liked about the place; it was sweltering hot most of the year and then freezing cold during the winter months. It was far to dark as well, the only light that made it into the place came from a square hole covered by a grate in the roof, the amount of light it let in during the day was minimal and the few torches they had barely emitted more light than the hole.
If there was one thing he hated more than his location, it was the room's only other occupant. The wolf cast his gaze to the center of the room where the person in question stood… or more accurately hung. The lizard was a pitiful sight in his current state, usually he was a more magnificent example of warrior. The lizard was hung by his arms from a rope that was tied to the grate in the ceiling; his head was pointed toward the ground and dangled lifelessly. His chest, however, heaved as the lizard took several deep breathes, as if he had just ran a mile and back. Although the lizard's torso was bare, he did wear long black pants, a standard issue clothing article that even the wolf himself wore. His feat, which were wrapped like most martial artist, were barely dragging along the floor making scraping sounds caused by the lizards long claws as his body swayed slightly on the rope. The long tail of the lizard dragged limply behind his feet. Most who had the "honor" of being hung from the rope usually never came close to touching the floor, but the lizard's length gave him that ability.
The wolf would never admit his envy of the lizard's size; when standing the lizard easily towered over the wolf at six foot eight. His body build was something to be admired as well; it was chiseled in a way only strict military training can accomplish. The wolf had never seen a creature like him before, a soldier that used to be stationed with the wolf said their type came from a island far south called Komodo, it was hard for the wolf to believe there were more like him. But what interested the wolf the most about the lizard was the vast amount of scars that covered the lizard's body; from the front anyone could spot the telltale signs of battle, a number of slash wounds lined his chest most probably came from close combat knife fights. A short but narrow scar on his belly suggested a stab wound, he must have had a doctor close at hand otherwise it would have probably have been fatal. A small more diamond shaped wound shone on his shoulder, an indication of an arrow wound.
The wolf slowly paced around to the lizards back; there were scars here as well… and some new wounds. Uniform scaring riddled the lizards back, each scar was the same: long, narrow, going down diagonally from middle outwards, and each scar came as a set of three. Yes, these scars were not obtained in any battle they were the sign of a whipping. The wolf did not need to guess where these had come from, he already knew. He was the one who administered the blows. The wolf grinned at his handiwork; old and new, for on top of the old healed scars were fresh open wounds from a lashing that happened only seconds ago.
His gaze now turned down to the three strap leather whip in his hand, the instrument that easily tore through the lizards grayish green scales. How many times had he hit the creature twenty? Thirty times? And yet no matter how many times the lash tore flesh from bone the lizard never cried out in pain or agony, that is what the wolf hated most about the lizard; stubbornness. He was there every step of the way when the lizard was being trained to be the soldier he was today. The wolf was an "enforcer" he helped train the soldiers showed them how to properly perform moves and exercises and when the need arose he would punish trainees for being sluggish, sloppy, or insolent. The wolf was most well "acquainted" with the lizard than any other soldier that went through the training. The lizard was by no means the slowest or clumsiest soldier he had laid eyes on; in fact he was the best he had ever seen, his form was perfect, his reflexes were unmatched, and his battle tactics were brilliant. But his attitude was lacking, he did not follow orders of anyone he did not feel worthy of his respect.
The wolf was among the people the lizard didn't respect, sometimes he thought the lizard went out of his way to disobey his orders. At fist the wolf believed he could break the lizard's spirit, after all there were few who didn't succumb to the threat of a whip. But alas the lizard never gave in, in fact with every one drop of blood the whip claimed, the lizard gained one more reason to protest the wolf's authority. And on top of everything, the lizard was promoted to a special highly trained group of soldiers despite the wolf's protest. The General who promoted him said the lizard's talent could not be ignored and that the wolf's authority seemed to be the only one threatened. It was infuriating! Dominance is a requirement to have over your soldiers, without complete dominance the chance of mutiny is great. The wolf smiled to himself once again. And today was the day the lizard proved the wolf was correct.
The wolf finding new energy raised his whip in the air to deliver another blow.
"ATTENTION!"
The wolf's body went rigid and he quickly straightened himself by bringing his heels together and his arms to his flat to his side. The entrance to the small room was filled by a wolf much like himself except this wolf was smaller and dressed in very standard military clothes; he was but a lowly footman. After making sure the other wolf was standing ready he quickly stepped to the side of the doorway flat against the wall. The next one to pass through the doorway was the exact opposite of the footman, gilded with medals of honor made of jade and sporting a silk black uniform, this was unmistakably a general. The general was a tiger of all things, his orange and black fur was primped and cleaned as if he had just bathed seconds ago. The general's mustache and beard were combed and trimmed to perfection as if measured every strand. This was a man who commanded respect from everything that fell under the gaze of his dark orange eyes. The general took a quick look around the room before stepping inside.
"As you were Biān," The General spoke to the wolf with lash.
"Thank you, sir," Biān said as he let his body relax.
The General made a quick pass around the lizard; he spent little time regarding the blood seeping from the open wounds on the lizard's back. The General stopped at the lizards front, "Has he said anything?"
"Not a single word since he arrived, sir," Biān replied coldly, "Then again he has never been much of a conversationalist when it came to me."
"Can you hear me soldier?" The General spoke directly to the lizard as softly as his deep voice allowed.
"Yes… sir," for the first time since the punishment began the wolf heard the lizards voice; it was surprisingly light for such a large creature, but it was tinged with a deep rooted confidence. His voice was strong though, not labored like a person who just suffered a beating.
"Good," the General continued, "I wouldn't want you to miss anything. I must say disappointed in you, I never once thought you would fail me. You were my best fighter, you succeeded in dominating the toughest and most unusual training this empire has ever created, you could overcome any enemy you faced, and you were the best on the field battle tactician I have ever seen. I truly believed one day you would join my side as a fellow general. But not only did you fail me you betrayed me." The General paused, "Am I correct Xià?"
Silence overcame the small chamber; the General let it linger for a moment before he gave Biān a curt nod. Biān smiled as he raised his whip in the air and brought it down on Xià's back with snap. The lizard's head jerked upwards but he made no sound.
"I asked you a question Xià. Am I correct in my accusation or not." The General fixed his gaze on the lizard, he would not leave without an answer.
Xià slowly lifted his head and opened his dark brown slit eyes to meet the general's stare, "I did not betray you. You betrayed The Empire and Heaven itself by sending us on that mission, if I knew the objective before I left I would have slit your throat without hesitation. You were going sit here in comfort of your base while we went out to soil the only morality we still clung to. You pompous bastard!"
As soon as the lizard finished his sentence the air was filled with a quiet shock; Biān couldn't believe his ears; no one spoke to the general like that. The footman who stood at the door had a grim look cast on his face. The General himself was frowning, he sighed heavily and then without warning planted a right hook on the side of the lizard's mouth. The blow knocked the Xià's head to the right; he kept it there for a second before turning back to the General sporting a split lip. "How like you Xià; defiant to the end…" The General's voice was only harsh whisper.
Xià lowered his head down and spit a serrated tooth and some blood on the floor. "You're lucky those grow back."
The General turned his back to Xià, ignoring the comment, "You know at first I was unhappy Shao, Meng, and Taíshi brought you and Qióng back here instead of just killing you out in the field, but now I am grateful I get to see you suffer." The General turned back to Xià fixing him with another cold glare. "Not only did you and Qióng disobey a direct order, you killed your commanding officer Xiān. It is under my power to put any mutinous soldier to death." The General allowed himself a small smile as he let the news sink in. "But do you know what I am going to do? I am going to put your little accomplice to death first; thankfully these rooms are close enough together so you will hear every second of it."
The General smiled darkly once again and turned to Biān and spoke in a normal voice, "I leave him with you Biān, just make sure you don't rough him up too much he needs to be conscious for his friend's execution… and his own…"
"Understood, sir."
"You know, you truly are a Friend of the Devil," Xià spoke once more as the General headed for the exit.
"True, but what does that make you?" The General retorted without stopping. Xià didn't bother answering.
Biān regarded Xià until the General and his footman left the room. The wolf walked up to the lizard's back; he leaned his head close to the lizard's ear and spoke in a soft whisper, "I am suppose to let you live but accidents do happen." The wolf let his grin grow wider.
What happened next occurred so quickly the wolf couldn't keep track. The first thing he knew the lizard's head leaned forward slightly and then rocketed backwards into the wolf's nose. The wolf found himself holding his now bleeding nose while lying on the floor. While the wolf was occupied Xià used his long tail to loop around the hilt of a long knife that was tucked in the wolf's belt sash. Biān feeling the knife at his waist move; tried to grab it in vain. The lizard used his tail to raise the long knife above his head and slash through the ropes that suspended him. The Biān clambered to his feet to try and restrain the prisoner, but instead rose just in time to receive a blow to the head from Xià's fist. Biān unconscious body fell to the floor.
Qióng lifted his head slightly; he rotated his ears to pick up sounds coming from behind, he would have looked but he was suspended from the ceiling facing away from the doorway and he didn't want to put out the effort to crank his neck and look over his shoulder. He could hear sounds of footsteps coming towards him, probably Biān on his way for another whipping session. He listened carefully as the footsteps loomed closer; it sounded like two separate sets of footsteps. One set was owned by somebody a little on the small side; he could tell by the short time between each footfall and the barely audible sound each step made. The other set must have been owned by somebody a little bigger; his steps sounded louder and the time between each step was longer. Whoever it was it wasn't Biān, although the wolf was rather large he was also light on his feet.
Qióng didn't have to wait long to find out the person's true identity, in moments the mystery person entered the room and walked to Qióng's front.
"Hello Qióng," The General spoke in a soothing and condescending tone. The leopard shot the General a harsh stare with his green eyes. "You are comfortable I trust," the general asked mockingly, the leopard didn't have to look over his shoulder to know the other person was one of the General's guards.
"Go to hell," The leopard's voice was deep but silky at the same time.
The General's face retained its pleasant smile. "I'm afraid you'll have that honor long before I will." The features on Qióng's face melted only slightly, it wasn't like the leopard didn't expect the death penalty after what he did. The General continued to smile as he pulled a straight sword from the sheath at his hip; the sword was jade encrusted, it was more of a ceremonial sword. But it was still a sword. "Any last words?"
Qióng remained silent, his left ear perked up a little. What was that sound he heard? Running? It was light but defiantly closing in fast. Qióng smiled, "I already told you to go to hell, I suppose my friend can do the rest of the talking for me."
The General looked confused, "What are you talki-"
"ACK."
The General turned swiftly to his guard. The guard was still standing, there was a wild look in his eyes, the wolf reached up with his left hand to his throat and grasped at the hilt of the knife that was lodged there. With his right hand he grasped at the hand that held the knife. It was Xià's hand.
"Hello again General." Xià released his grip on the knife as he did the wolf fell to the floor dead.
The General lunged at the lizard with a roar filled with rage; he raised his sword in the air but before he could plunge it into his target, the lizard delivered a roundhouse kick to the General's chin sending the tiger and his sword flying into the nearest wall, the body slumped against the wall unconsciously.
"Do you always have to be so dramatic?" The leopard inquired jokingly.
Xià moved to Qióng's side and started untying his arms, "you know me, I like to leave them stunned."
"What do we do now," The leopard asked as he dropped to the ground, the lizard turned around and started fumbling with the dead wolf. Qióng stifled a gasp when he saw his friend's torn back. He knew Biān hated the lizard but not to that extent.
"Put this on," Xià said as he removed the guard's black coat, "it will cover those fresh back wounds."
"I'm not sure I am the one who needs it the most," the leopard took the jacket regardless; an order was an order. He slid it on, it was a little tight but the leopard liked tighter clothes. He buttoned it all the way to the top he stopped when he felt something wet. He looked down at the collar; the blood of the wolf ran down the front of jacket but it wasn't visible on the black cloth.
"We will stop by the armory so I can grab one of my own." The lizard walked over to the unconscious General and picked him up over his shoulder, and then walked to Qióng's side, "Do me a favor, could you carry this?"
Qióng shouldered the General; he was heavy tiger, but with the leopard's military build the weight wasn't an issue. "What? Why are we taking him," the leopard asked incredulously.
"A high standard man like himself does not deserve a standard death." Xià walked to the doorway, "Now follow me and try and keep up." The lizard shot Qióng a smirk and bolted down the hall.
"Here we go again," Qióng muttered as he ran after the lizard. The leopard stayed alert as he passed through the corridors; the hallways, much like the room where he was tied, was made out of large stones and compacted earth. They were also quite narrow; about five feet across and a seven foot clearance overhead. Nothing adorned the walls except an occasional torch; which bathed the halls in a dim gloom. The halls in this place usually stretched over one hundred yards before they came to an intersection connecting to another hallway. As the leopard made his way to the end of the hall he passed several doors leading to single rooms; all the rooms in the hall had wooden doors, most were closed, and the few that were open were empty or contained modest living quarters for the troops stationed there. Qióng assumed some of the rooms may have had occupants, so he continued with as much delicacy as possible.
The leopard controlled his breathing as he ran, he looked ahead and saw Xià pressed against a wall waiting for him. Despite carrying the heavy general over his shoulder the leopard quickly caught up to Xià; the leopard had always prided himself on being fastest member of the squad Xià and he were a part of. Qióng was always used as a scout on whatever mission the squad was sent on, it was practical that they used the fastest member as a scout, he could cover area more quickly than anyone and get back just as fast to deliver vital information.
Everyone in the unit had a role to fill; a cobra named Meng was coveted for his ability to infiltrate any enemy encampment without being spotted thanks to his low profile that all snakes shared. Shao, a hulking seven foot tall Alligator, was the squad's muscle; when an obstacle presented itself Shao removed it. One time the squad was sent to kill a Mongolian outlaw responsible for ransacking several villages to the north with two hundred bandits at his command; the bandit had barricaded himself in a fortress made of solid stone, the front door was guarded to heavily to attack straightforward. Xiān decided if going in the only entrance wasn't an option making a new entrance was; Qióng recalled watching in quiet awe as the alligator smashed through a three foot thick stone wall with one of the heavy war hammers he favored so much. Just as Qióng and Xià were best friends within the squad, so were Meng and Shao; rarely was one without the other, they did everything together train, eat, and one time Meng was entertaining the idea of going to a nearby village to get a tattoo; he left with Shao not far behind. When they returned they both had matching tattoos going down their backs in big black Chinese characters which read: lost cause.
Taíshi, a tan corsac fox, was third in command and was in charge of enemy intelligence among other things. Taíshi studied the mission's objective for hours or days before the mission commenced; if the objective was a person, Taíshi studied were that person usually was on any given day at any given time. If that person was likely to have someone with them or be alone at a certain time; Taíshi would know. If that person was likely to have a weapon on them; Taíshi would know. Taíshi also studied the location where the target would be located; if there was a nearby village, Taíshi would know if they traded with strangers or not. He also acted as the squad's translator; he knew how to speak nine different languages fluently; Mongolian and Turkish were among his repertoire. Taíshi was without a doubt the most loyal to their squad leader Xiān, Qióng literally believed if Xiān told Taíshi to cut off his own hand Taíshi might hesitate… For about three seconds.
Xiān was promoted to squad leader by the General himself, a promotion he eagerly accepted. As squad leader Xiān was in charge of making every major decision during a mission; when to attack, when not to attack, if the mission should be called of due to an unforeseen aspect, whether lethal force should be used on enemies other than the mission's objective, or if another person should be considered a target. Xiān also had to endure the responsibilities that went with the leadership role: if the mission was not completed or was completed incorrectly Xiān would receive blame and punishment for the mistake. But lucky for Xiān he never had to endure any punishment for botching a mission simply because the squad never failed, they carried out every mission efficiently and effectively and without hesitation. Every mission ended in complete success… except once, and Xiān certainly paid a price. And it was Xià who had the honor of giving Xiān what he had coming.
It was no secret within the unit that Xiān had a deep distaste for Xià, it was a simple matter of their two conflicting personalities; Xiān was a person who approached everything with a no-nonsense business like attitude, a trait that was perfect for a commanding officer. Xià on the other hand was more laid back when in between missions and possessed an innate sense of humor; Xiān viewed Xià's sense of humor as insulting and not appropriate for a man in uniform. Xiān often punished Xià for making jokes; often Qióng witnessed the lizard having to stand up all night instead of enjoying the comfort of his own bed or running two miles while carrying a fifty pound bag of sand. Xià grew to resent Xiān for his stiff nature, he also despised Xiān's unfaltering obedience; Xiān would carry out any order regardless of what it entailed. Despite how they felt about each other their differences were always set aside during missions; when Xià joined the squad he was made second in command, using his tactical brilliance he presented all possible courses of action to Xiān, who then decided on which choice was best.
Despite being the squad's joker, Xià was, without a doubt, it's best and most lethal fighter; after Meng had located the target it was usually up to Xià to close the deal. Xià was perhaps the most frustrating sparring partner one could have; even with his great speed, Qióng found Xià near impossible to defeat during one on one training. Xià possessed lightning fast reflexes, the second an opponent moved to attack Xià was already prepared to block as well as mount an attack of his own. Once after a defeat in the training room Qióng had asked how Xià seemed to know how he was going to attack before he even moved to attack; the look on Xià face had been the most serious look the lizard had assumed, without another word Xià stocked off to his room. Taíshi who had been watching stepped in to explain; apparently a year before Qióng had joined the squad, Xià was submitted to an experimental training program. Taíshi said they used several strange types of drugs on the lizard to see if they enhanced performance in anyway; Taíshi said the end results were negative and the program was abandoned, but Taíshi noticed Xià's personality had changed since the experiment as well as his performance during training.
Although all members of the unit had their specialties, all were highly skilled hand to hand combatants. Each of them had also received training in wilderness endurance and basic medicine; if any of them were ever stranded in the wilderness for a long period of time, they would have the ability to survive off of their surroundings. The skill that set them apart from any other soldier in the Chinese army was their most used and most deadly skill: Stealth. Each of them had received extensive training in all areas of this particular subject; they knew how to make camouflage using objects from their surroundings, they knew how to use a distraction to mask their approach, they knew how to fully use the cover of darkness to make themselves invisible, they knew how to hide their scent from the enemy, and most importantly they knew how to kill without making a sound and thus not attracting unwanted attention. Qióng sighed to himself as he pressed himself as close to the wall as he could next to Xià; Qióng hated to admit it but it came down to the same simple fact: they were nothing more than common cutthroats.
Xià slowly leaned forward to peek around the corner; he took a quick glance left then right, "Alright we're clear, move... now!" as soon as he uttered the word the bolted around the corner to the right with Qióng not far behind.
They found themselves in another hallway except this one was different; about fifty yards down the hall on the left Qióng could see a large two door opening and about twenty yards past the opening, the hall made a sharp left turn to another hallway. Xià ran at full speed to reach the doorway and once again he hugged the left wall and peered around the corner into the room to check for occupants.
The leopard followed and hugged the wall beside Xià. Qióng didn't need to look into the room to see what was in it, he already knew; it was the training room he had practiced in ever since joining the squad. Qióng could picture it clearly in his mind; it wasn't like most training rooms he had previously been in, this one didn't have a high ceiling to allow for "upward movement", instead the training room floor was about fifteen feet lower than the rest of the base's floors. Immediately after walking through the doorway a short set of stairs led down to the training room floor; the room was by far the largest in the base, about thirty yards long and twenty yards wide, it was mostly empty to allow room for sparring. Along the walls, beside the numerous torches, hung a variety of weapons; from knives to spears, non-lethal and otherwise. The room, like all others, was made of stone and earth, at the ceiling heavy timbers were held in place to prevent collapse.
Xià looked carefully in the room before giving the all clear sign by waving his right hand. Xià stayed against the wall as Qióng passed and then followed. Qióng had just about made it to the turn when a bear rounded the corner in front of him; the bear was dressed in a full uniform, in his right hand he held a singular scroll, his left hand rested on the hilt of a sword tucked in the sheath on his waist. Without doubt the look of surprise on the bear's face must have mirrored his own; the bear's eyes went from the leopard's face to the unconscious general the leopard carried over his shoulder. The daze in the bear's eyes lessened and a look of determination crossed his face as he dropped the scroll in his hand and went for his sword.
The bear's mouth opened wide for a yell, "PRISO-" Qióng reacted fast before more noise could be emitted, he used both of his strong arms to lift the General off his shoulder and raised him over his head to hurl him at the bear. The heavy general landed sideways across the bear's chest, knocking the bear to the ground. As the bear struggled with the General's weighted, Qióng ran to the bear's head and landed a swift kick on the bear's cheek. The bear stopped struggling as his head lopped to one side with blood trickling out of his mouth.
Xià ran past Qióng to check down the next hallway to see if anyone was around to hear the ruckus. "I don't see anyone, I think we are clear." Xià turned to look back at Qióng, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," the leopard picked up the still unconscious general off the bear and slung him back over his shoulder, "You know this guy is more useful now than when he is awake."
Xià allowed himself a smile, "Alright lets move on, and I think I'll take the lead this time."
Xià and Qióng moved through two more hallways undisturbed before they reached the hallway containing the armory. Xià took a quick look around the corner, "Damn, they have someone guarding the armory." Xià retracted back around the corner and placed a clawed hand to his chin, in seconds the lizard's brown eyes lit up signaling an idea. Xià turned to Qióng, "Give me the General's jacket."
The confusion must have been apparent on the leopard's face so the lizard reiterated, "Give me the General's jacket now... please." The leopard hesitated for a moment and then moved to remove the article of clothing. As Qióng removed the jacket the lizard walked over to a lit torch and removed it from it's holder on the wall. Once Qióng removed the jacket he handed it to Xià and picked the General up off the floor and threw him over his shoulder once again.
Xià took the jacket and threw it on the floor as close to the corner of the next hall as possible but at the same time kept it out of the guard's sight. Xià then touched his torch to the fabric and in no time the uniform was consumed by smoke and fire. Within a minute the guard who must have seen the smoke rounded the corner to investigate only to receive a blow to the head from Xià's torch. The torch broke apart in a torrent of embers, as the guard fell to the ground. Xià stamped out the embers that used to be a nice silk jacket and picked up the guard. Xià and Qióng rounded the corner with their unconscious loads and made their way into the armory.
Before coming to the base Qióng had rarely viewed such a fine collection of beautifully crafted weapons; rows of pikes and spears lined most of the left wall, a rack directly across from the door held at least twenty broadswords, above the broadswords hanging on pegs were beautiful long bows, to the right of the bows hung numerous battle axes, and on the right side of the room was where every soldier stationed at the base get their gear locked in their own personal cabinets. The armory truly was a warlords paradise.
Xià walked over to a bench in front of the cabinets and set the guard down as Qióng did likewise with the General. Qióng went to a cabinet just left of the middle and undid the latch, "We better make this fast Xià, you never can tell when someone may walk by." Qióng exchanged the uniform he was wearing for one from his own cabinet; they were about the same size but the new one didn't have blood on it. After buttoning up the black uniform he reached deep into the back of the cabinet, he did some digging around until he found what he was looking for; he produced a long dagger in a black sheath, he pulled out the blade and inspected it before attaching the sheath to his hip and replacing the blade.
Qióng looked over his shoulder at Xià; the lizard was at his own cabinet still rummaging through the contents. Xià had found one of his jackets and had already put it on; the jacket was jet black just like the pants the lizard wore. Unlike Qióng, Xià preferred his jackets long and baggy so they ran close to the lizard's knees. Xià liked the sleeves to be baggy so he could easily access hidden items located there, and he rarely buttoned up because he kept weapons on the coat's interior as well.
After placing what looked like a hand full of throwing stars in his interior jacket pocket the lizard closed his cabinet and latched it. Qióng looked at the guard laying on the bench, "You aren't taking him with us too are you?"
Xià regarded the guard as well, "Of coarse not." Xià moved down the row of cabinets until he stopped in front of a particularly large cabinet, one that Qióng identified as belonging to Shao. The lizard opened it and removed a rather large object; one of the alligator's war hammers. The hammer was huge, almost taller than Xià, its handle was made of solid sturdy oak which connected to the head of the hammer. The head was nothing more than a solid block of polished iron, it alone weighed close to forty pounds. Xià carefully leaned the hammer against the bench and picked up the guard. Qióng lifted the General over his shoulder and checked the hallway while Xià placed the guard in the large cabinet and latched it shut. "Alright lets move," Xià said as he picked the hammer back up and rested it on his shoulder. He passed the stunned Qióng and darted down the hall.
"Are you taking that hammer!? Shao is gonna be pissed." Qióng exclaimed as he caught up to Xià.
"Does it really matter anymore?"
Xià and Qióng ran at full speed toward their goal; the exit was mere yards away. They rounded one last corner and were rewarded by the promising sighted of the exit; it was nothing more than a rickety staircase leading up to a wooden hatch in the ceiling, but it was still a glorious sight to behold. The only problem was the two guards standing at the base of the stairs with spears at the ready. Qióng was the first to attack; he drew his dagger with his free hand and threw it at the guard on the left. The bear didn't have time to react as the dagger sunk into the bear's throat killing him almost instantly. Xià charged the guard on the right, another bear, with the hammer. The guard reacted foolishly; instead of holding the the spear straight out, he raised the shaft of the spear in front of his face to block the oncoming hammer attack. The spear proved to be a poor guard and shattered when the hammer struck it, the hammer then continued to collide with the bear's face. Qióng swore he heard the bear's spine and neck crack in multiple places.
Qióng walked over to the guard he had killed and pulled his dagger from the bear's throat. Qióng knelt down (which was difficult while still carrying the large tiger over his shoulder) and wiped the blood off the dagger and onto the bear's uniform; he felt very little remorse for the guard, Qióng remembered when he was being dragged down the stairs after his less-than-successful mission, the guard had spat at him and Xià and called them "traitors."
Qióng sped to Xià who was already waiting at the top of the stairs just below the wooden hatch, he was holding the war hammer with both hands just below the head. "When I break open the hatch be cautious, we don't know who is up there." The leopard nodded his head in understanding. "Alright, one... two... three!" The lizard thrust the hammer head upwards smashing into the wood; as the hatch fly open the leopard rushed up the remaining stairs and into the room above with Xià close behind.
Qióng spun in a quick circle with his dagger drawn surveying the room; the leopard squinted as his eyes were met with real sunlight for the first time in two days. The room was tiny, barely sixteen feet in any direction; it was made entirely out of wood, including the floors. It had two windows and one door leading outside, just left of the door was a small desk strewn with scrolls. In front of the desk was a small wooden stool, and sitting on the stool, looking very shocked, was the room's only other occupant: A gray goose wearing ordinary peasant clothes.
Qióng grinned slightly and put his dagger back in it's sheath, "Hello Cho." The shock on the goose's face subsided slightly when the weapon was lowered.
"Holy hell! Qióng is that you? I thought you would be dead by now, OH-MY-GOD IS THAT THE GENRAL?!? Is he dead?" The goose leaned on his stool to look behind the leopard, "Is that Xià with you? What happened to the guards? Did you guys kill them? Are you two insane?"
Qióng walked over to the goose and calmly clamped the goose's bill shut with his paw to stop the torrent of questions. "Yes I am Qióng, no I am not dead, this is the General, he is not dead either, that is indeed Xià, both of the guards downstairs are dead, insane is such a harsh phrase, and by the way it is good to see you too." Qióng answered the questions one by one in as patient a voice as he could muster, while Xià leaned against the hammer with an amused look on his face.
Qióng released his grip on the goose's bill so he could once again speak. "Oh I am so glad to see you two again! I knew they would try to execute you two, after what you did..." The goose looked down towards the floor with sad eyes. "I kept asking the guards downstairs for updates, but those fools didn't seem to care."
The leopard would have cried if he had any tears left. It was good to know that someone at the base cared. It was true; the goose was as much a part of the military as the leopard or the lizard. The goose's job was much safer though; he posed as a average peasant living in a small shack in the woods, if a soldier needed access to the base the goose would perform a series of knocks on the floor, and the guards downstairs would unlock the hatch and allow the soldier passage. Any normal passerby would never be able to tell there was a mile's worth of tunnels just below the small house.
"Cho, where is Taíshi and the rest of the squad?" Xià's voice broke the leopard's train of thought. "They weren't down in the base."
"Oh, good lord, the General gave them permission to go to village and drown themselves at the bar." Cho looked worried, "You two had better move, they may be coming back soon."
As Xià moved towards the door he spotted a coil of rope hanging on a peg, "Cho, do mind if I have this?" The lizard inquired as he removed it from the peg.
The bird looked confused, "My clothesline? Um... yeah sure I guess."
Xià leaned the large hammer against the wall and slid the coil up his arm to rest on his shoulder, "When Shao gets back and asks how it got here, tell him I took it for a spin and it preformed adequately." With that the lizard walked out the door.
Qióng stayed for a few more seconds; he liked the bird, Cho had been nothing but nice to him ever since he arrived. "Thanks for all your help Cho, you don't know how much we appreciate your kindness." The leopard turned and started for the door.
"Wait!" The goose hopped down from his stool, "Will I ever see you guys again?"
The leopard kept his back to Cho, "I doubt it," the leopard turned and fixed the goose with his kind green eyes, "But I hope so." Qióng repositioned the General on his shoulder and darted off toward Xià with great speed without looking back.
Qióng followed closely behind Xià as they passed through sparse forests. They had already ran a mile to the east towards the shoreline. Qióng was rather confused by Xià's move, it didn't seem logical to head towards the shore to escape unless he was planning to acquire a water vessel. The leopard shifted the General's weight uncomfortably on his shoulder; he didn't mind the load at first but it was starting to get irritating. The General had showed signs of waking, but the leopard leaned the General's head into a tree as he ran past.
Slowly the trees started to thin away, and in the distance Qióng saw the rocky shoreline. Shortly after Xià skidded to halt and Qióng had to dig the claws on his feet into the earth to prevent running into him. Xià looked ahead at the waves as they smashed into large rocks, he then walked to Qióng and transferred the General from the leopard's shoulder to his.
"Stay here." The lizard's tone was dead serious as he walked toward the shore.
The leopard looked dumbfounded, "What? Where are yo-"
"Just stay."
Qióng crossed his arms and leaned against a tree as he watched the lizard's retreating form.
The General groaned at the pain in his head and his jaw. He tried to move his hands to massage his jaw but he found he could only bring them so close before they stopped; restrained by some persistent force. The tiger opened his eyes blearily, and looked at his hands; they were tied together by rope, he tried to move his legs but found they were tied together as well. The tiger turned his head around as far as he could while lying on his side; he could see his bound leg, he also saw a length of rope running from his tied feet to a large jagged rock which the rope was tied to. The General looked around himself and found he was in a pit about six feet deep composed of slightly wet jagged rock. He was also strangely bare chested.
"Oh good, your awake, I wouldn't want you to miss anything."
The tiger's head turned to the source of the sound; at the top of the pit sitting on the rock was the hated lizard shrouded in one of his usual pitch black jackets. "Xià!" The General more growled the name instead of speaking it, "You son of a bitch get me out of here. Now."
"Do you know where you are General?" the lizard asked nonchalantly ignoring the order. "I used to come here after almost every mission, this place has always given me peace, it seemed an appropriate place to put you to peace."
The General's face drooped slightly, "What?" His voice was now more subdued and quiet.
"General, do you know what you are lying in?" The lizard waited for an answer but received none. He stood up and started walking along the rim in a relaxed manner. "It's a tide pool General, when the tide comes in it fills to the top with water, regardless if you are in there or not."
The General's eyes widened in horror, "You can't do this to me." The General's voice had diminished to a fearful whisper.
"I can and I have," the lizard stopped his pacing and stared coldly at the General. "We must all pay for our crimes, I will eventually, but I fear you have been past due for awhile now." Xià pointed an accusing claw at the General to drive the point home.
"You don't have to do this Xià, I can pardon you and Qióng, I can make it seem like you never killed Xiān!" When the lizard pretended to be more interested in a seashell atop a rock the General increased the pleading. "I'm a very rich man, you know that Xià, you could have a home of your own paved in jade!"
Xià mocked a yawn, "That all sounds so interesting, I would love to hear more, but the tide is coming in and I don't have any interest to go swimming." The lizard turned and started to walk away.
"NO! DON'T LEAVE ME, WHAT DO YOU WANT?" The General was yelling desperately at the top of his lungs, "YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME HERE TO DIE! WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?"
Xià paused a moment and turned to the pool, "I don't want you to do anything, General, but if I were you I would try to learn how to swim while tied to a rock... and damn quick" Xià turned once again and walked out of the General's view.
"NO! NO, I CAN'T DIE!" The General tried to struggle against his bindings but found them far to tight. The General froze; he felt something on his back, something wet. He turned his head around as far as he could.
The water was already leaking in.
Qióng perked his spotted ears up as he heard someone approaching; the leopard stood up from where he was sitting as Xià came closer. He didn't need to be a genius to know that if he was coming back alone, the General was dead. "Are you alright?" Qióng noted the contemplative look Xià wore on his face. Was there also a trace of satisfaction?
"I'm fine." The lizard sat down an started re-wrapping his left foot wrap, it must have loosened from all the running.
"What is our next move?" The leopard asked as he leaned against a tree.
"We have to move as far way from here as possible," Xià stood once he had completed his task, "They will send Taíshi, Shao, and Meng to retrieve us." Xià let out a deep sigh, "Whether we want to admit it or not, they now consider us an enemy target."
"Where are we going to go?"
Xià sighed once more and looked strait into his comrade's eyes, "Qióng, we need to split up."
Qióng looked away from his gaze, "I knew you would say that."
"We don't have a choice," Xià's voice was filled with certainty. "You know how good of a trackers they can be, if we split up they will only be able to follow one of us; they won't risk one of them having to face one of us alone."
"Alright," the leopard knew the logic was sound, "I'll probably follow the coast and head north, maybe try and find a farm to work on. What about you?"
Xià scratched his chin with a claw thoughtfully, "I'll probably head west, find some tiny village to settle down in, you know me I always wanted to Give Peace a Chance."
"Will we ever see each other again?" Qióng couldn't keep the hope out of his voice.
"Do you remember that small village in Hubei?" The leopard nodded, "Meet me there exactly one year from now."
"Make sure you're on time, I know how forgetful you can get," the leopard smiled ruefully as he held his fist out towards Xià.
"Take care of yourself, be wary of strangers, okay?" The lizard bumped his fist with the leopard's, "A year will pass before you know it."
"Farewell Xià." The leopard turned and started walking towards the north. He turned back to look at the lizard one last time, but he was already long gone.
Author Note:
Damn that took some effort and a whole lot of Doritos.
Just a few notes: In case you didn't catch it, Xià is a Komodo Dragon, the largest living species of lizard. I made his body proportional even though in reality a Komodo Dragon's length is 65% all tail.
The Xiongnu was a confederation of tribes to the north of China, they were one of the reasons China started building the Great Wall. The Huns originated from the Xiongnu as well.
The next chapter I fully intend to dedicate to Po and the rest of the Valley of Peace. It probably won't be as long, but will start to set the scene for the rest of the fic. It may take me awhile to produce a new chapter because I am being forced to write on a borrowed laptop, I also have work, I go out to eat all the time, I hang out with friends, I spend time outside... which reminds me, I think I lost my favorite sunglasses today. Or maybe I just them over at my friend's house. Did I leave them in my car? Was I even wearing them today?
...
Anywho, sorry my mind tends to jump of the train while it's still in motion.
Oh yeah, and before I forget, I put the song titles of three Grateful Dead songs and one John Lennon song within my fic. If any of you 60's/70's music fans can spot them, let me know.
And make sure you review as well, I would like a couple helpful tips before starting the next chapter.
Oh and by the way I found my sunglasses... they were on my face.
Jonny Nam