The Hall of Heroes was scarcely used for anything other than tourism and meditation, so when a sickly pig walked inside presenting no visible signs of eagerness or wonder, Master Shifu was predictably confused. After all, the Hall was the strict property of the Jade Palace; trespassing could be punishable. A rarity, considering the security of the Palace, Shifu mused in his head, his furred eyebrows twitching painfully to make sense of the situation. Besides, the Hall, by itself, was in not state for visitors. The flat wooden roof groaned, its decrepit arches atrophying from the lack of maintenance, letting in the morning rays of light through the proliferation of cracks that had appeared on the surface of the rugged paneling. The stream of sun cascaded over the Hall, creating small ponds of light at the center of the green marble tiling, its symbol nearly opaque from dust. The robust crimson-gold pillars stood somewhat proudly above the desolation that was the floor, their golden contours lessened and shine dulled. The Hall was nowhere near collapse, but it was certainly not up to the monumentally high standards that its primary caretaker had held it to.
Cursed panda. One day his indolence will get the best of him…
Shifu did not have the time to complete his thought however, as once again the noise of heavy footsteps of feline and panda splashed into the Hall, startling the rest of the Five (who had quietly gathered behind him), but only earning a slight huff from the pig nearby and a mere exhausted sigh from Shifu himself.
Po pranced over to the Hall of Heroes, following Tigress. He quickly spotted the six motionless figures by the pool of water, its glittering surface containing distorted versions of the now seven figures (Tigress was quicker than he was, as usual) as well as the Dragon statue which had captivated the attention of nearly every viewer for so long. He gulped silently. He knew that whatever the reason, the tiny, ugly figure had not come for conversing about his imprisoned demon brethren.
He's a pig. No… he was the pig.
He fought a fleeting urge to laugh at his own repetitive joke. He would have liked to say that he was no longer afraid of him, that he had transcended fear and apprehension to replace them both with courage and confidence… but he could not convince himself. It was self-preservation after all, right? Cowardice and safety… two sides to a ridiculously convoluted coin. The pig's appearance did not look viscerally threatening, or even angry: a dirty brown cloak enveloping his petite body, only interrupted by what Po hoped to be only four limbs; a swelling set of toes and old, rotten fingers, their nails degenerating into ragged edges. Perhaps Po's reaction should have been disgusted or fearful, but it was indeed quite the opposite - rather, Po felt a perverse sense of curiosity, eager to learn why suddenly, his old foe had reemerged from his proverbial shadows. In any case, would he have the courage to speak to him? He walked forward. If anything, he would have six masters to guard him, albeit six masters whose previous success against the pig were less than admirable. He might as well surround himself with tofu. Heh. If he was able to enjoy tofu after this, he would thank the Gods relentlessly until his spine broke from the repeated prostrations.
"You're going to fall in."
Freezing on the spot, Po snapped back into observance and took note of Shifu's disappointed expression, before looking down and observing the pale blue, rippled reflection which was as beautiful as it was odious: a snowy face putridly stained with caution, a scrunched up fat nose, and a pair of eyes wide enough to fit two entire dumplings inside. That was perhaps what scared him the most.
"Hi Ke-Pa," he blurted out quickly, "What's up?"
The pig considered him for a moment, watching the panda's suppressed heavy breathing underscore his visible pallor. An impressive feat, considering the colors in play…
"I am quite well, Dragon Warrior," the pig started in a seemingly genuine impression of tenderness. "I hope," pausing to further enjoy the panda's delectable consternation, "you have been equally… healthy."
Po thought this was a bit cruel. He felt too much shame to look at the water again, afraid that what he would see would demoralize him further.
"Yes, I have been, in fact-" Po began, before Shifu cut him off.
"This is one of those rare moments," the red panda muttered with an air of superiority and aggression Po had scarcely ever detected in him before, "when I actually have questions instead of answers." The pig smiled.
"How are you alive?" Shifu spat, with pure loathing.
"Alive is such a broad definition…" Ke-Pa sardonically slurred.
"Then what are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here?"
"I've no time for your twisted mind games."
"Mind games…"
"Neither your infuriating repetition,"
"Imitation is the highest form of flattery, they say…"
"Nor your vague, malicious nature."
"Of course…"
The pig stared at Shifu, smiling with such gentleness that Po swore he missed something… an unreadable expression manifested in Shifu's round features – almost… No… Po still did not understand.
"He broke me you know," the pig continued, this time with sincere gentleness. "A kind of breaking I have never felt before…" Po closed his eyes hard, unable to control his emotions.
"But of course, I recovered." Ke-Pa spoke, bending down to gracefully touch the water with the tip of his stubby, calloused thumb, twisting it inside to lazily fumble with the loose chippings of marble hidden by the water's blue depths.
"Details are of little importance, but –" Scratch. " – if I may try to explain –" Scratch. " – that – " Scratch. " – the present is more important." SCRATCH. Ke-Pa lifted his round finger upwards, leaving the cool blue expanse to trail water droplets, causing small ripples to be conjured in the middle of the pool before an even more massive ripple was formed from the THUNK of a marble chipping, evidently removed from the pig's disdainfully yellow nail.
"Oh why does it matter anyway? I just dropped by to greet you all! I'll take my leave now."
Po snapped back into reality. This was unexpected. Already? Surely there must be some hidden diabolical plan, some twisted motivation, some dramatic monologue that the pig wanted to make before his exit. He must have had something in mind…
In mind.
"Wait, what – who – but – when – " came a shrill red panda's voice.
"No Master Shifu," the pig scorned, forcefully taking Shifu's hand into his, "I will hope to catch up to you later… After all, we have plenty of time to catch up." And with that one-sided handshake, the pig was off, trotting down the Hall.
"What are you scheming?" Tigress muttered, though with her strength, it might as well have been a scream.
"Scheming?" Ke-Pa playfully questioned, his suddenly booming voice dripping the same kind of irony and sarcasm Po had learned to detest from the moment of recognition, "I don't have to."
And with that, the pig was off, leaving the 7 masters locked in a deep stupor, a powerful trance that controlled their minds and manipulated their souls. Po stared more intently at the pig's retreating pair of hunched shoulders, awaiting the inevitable conversation that he knew no one would attempt to start.
A/N: Feedback needed! There are a couple of questions I just realized I should ask...
-How is the chapter length working out for you guys? Too short? Too long?
-Character Development? The Five (sans Tigress) aren't given a lot of limelight usually, but its already tricky enough doing CD for three (soon to be four) main characters... But like I said last time, I'll do it if it becomes a "public" thing...
-Any other stuff?
All reviews that I read, I implement the changes if possible. (Big thanks to my first reviewer, who recommended Ti-Po! Consider it done.)
Finally, spread the word! (Only if you like it though... its counter-efficient to recommend "bad " fics...)
P.S: Don't get too used to the chapter-a-day thing... I guess I'm just in a really great streak right now, LOL.
