Oh...yes, I know that I haven't updated in a very long while. I'm very sorry. But it doesn't really help that I got one review for the last chapter after such totally awesome feedback on the first one...not very much support to make me continue. But I will anyways!
I apologize ahead of time for the bit of crappiness, I kinda had writer's block.
So I don't own the movie...who cares!?
....I do....
"So…where exactly are we going?" Po asked once more, earning himself a snarl from both Shifu's and Tigress' throat. Po darted his eyes back and forth at the two, and began to feel self-conscious.
"Viper?" Shifu looked at her with pleading read in his eyes. She nodded and turned towards the panda, who know stared questionably into her eyes. He had never been through this before. "Po, we're going into Bandit Country. From there, we'll get into the gang and to Vietnam. After that, we'll see what the "game" is all about."
Po nodded once, twice, three times. He did not want to go, he feared whatever they were to face. What was it that people had put down on the reports…? Night Flyers? It was a supposedly "monster" of some sort that looked very feminine and only flew at night, capturing its victims and killing them. Once they suck the last breath of the poor thing, they fly away, leaving no trace of what they've done. No trace except a wire used to choke their victim, Chiang. Monkey concluded once, that whatever this thing was has always left its victims with no trace of weaponry, or location, or anything. But this time, it had something that they would want, and it wanted to be found. Po was afraid, he admitted. Bandit Country was like some sort of holocaust for weaklings. He was told by Crane himself, who flew over it, that they tortured their victims, made them work to the bone, took whatever was valuable, and if they were of no use to them anymore, they would be executed.
And that wasn't even the worst that could happen. Po remembered Crane and Mantis telling him that once there was a member of the clan who didn't steal all the gold from a rich family. He was severely punished. They lay him on a flat board and hit him in his bare back twenty-five times with a whip of some sort of hard material. The person who delivered the whips was known as the Lady of Whips, and that was one lady Po did not want to meet.
He was visibly shaken by this; his face had become pale and his stared mindlessly at the table before him. Not anyone could stop what would happen next. How could they?
As the single tear fell from his face, the others understood what he felt at this very moment. Would he ever survive?
"Po," Shifu said sternly. He stared at his student, silently praying that he would be strong enough to handle the next few weeks of the mission. "You mustn't show fear. You have to focus. Do not waste your tears on what has yet to come…you must live in the present. Not the past or future."
Po nodded and gave a shaky sigh.
Monkey couldn't help but feel sorry for Po. He's never been far from home before. The missions that would they would go on were far, but not this far. Po was only twenty-three; he was an adult by law but not by moral code. He was just a teenager! Po's personality has made him too emotionally unstable for this mission. But he was Dragon Warrior, he had to come. He was supposed to be strong on the inside and out. He couldn't imagine being in Po's position, and was secretly glad that he wasn't chosen as the Dragon Warrior. It was too much hassle, and he wasn't able to handle such responsibility. And apparently, neither was Po.
Monkey sighed; this was going to be the hardest night on Po.
They were leaving this very night.
---------------------------------
"The Bandits will be able to recognize who we are by appearance, so in order to fit in, we must dress appropriately." Tigress explained as she opened a dusty vault that hid behind a closet in the small house now called the Jade Investigation Headquarters.
Po scratched the side of his nose. "And what do they consider 'appropriate'?" He was answered by a black garment landing right on his head, covering his entire face. He quickly pulled it off and observed the piece of clothing. He held black sweats that increasingly grew thinner at the bottom to tighten a few inches below the knee. Tigress then threw a pair of black shoes and bindings at him.
"These," she said pulling out more clothing, "Master Shifu had it especially made for a mission such as this."
"These?" He asked still observing them. "They look more like spy clothing to me…"
"Po."
"Yes, Mantis?"
"Tigress just gave you exactly that."
"Really? Wow…we're gonna look so badass in these. Whaddya think Monkey?"
"I think that these bandits aren't from around here."
Viper turned her attention to him. "What do you mean?"
"Ever heard of thugs, the ones from India?"
"They worshipped the Goddess Kali and believed that they had a right to kill, what's your point?" Tigress asked abruptly.
"How did they kill their victims?"
Tigress remained silent. She knew the answer but refused to accept it. The thugs were in India, what would they be doing here? Unless…no. That wouldn't be possible. But it explains so many things! She shook her head. Folding her arms over her chest and looking away she asked, "What makes you say that?"
"Science," he replied flatly.
Her ears flickered at the uncalled for answer. Although his theory seemed very possible, Tigress believed in no such thing. The supernatural was not real to her, yes she believed in her religion, but there are some things that she just can't believe no matter how hard she tries. The thugs--she very well knew that they killed by choking their victims, but there was still something off about this.
"Not everyone was killed by suffocation."
Viper thought deeply about this. "Not all were choked…" she thought aloud, capturing the attention of the other five warriors, "but they were stabbed, poisoned, lynched, beaten, or beheaded…only one was choked. They…" she stopped herself from continuing the thought and turned her attention towards Monkey. "You said that it led to an abandoned warehouse, right?"
"Yes…?"
She breathed out and looked at the ground, deep in thought. She blinked a couple of times, and the others could see that she was fight with herself. She then turned towards Tigress and said, "We should go."
She shrugged and shook her head. "What?"
"The house--"
Mantis barely let her finish. "It's a trap."
The red-crowned crane nodded in agreement. He tipped his hat forward and flapped his wings a couple of times. "Those bandits, from what I can tell are smarter than we think. The abandoned warehouse is only meant to look like that. It's really just a place where the missions are given, the weapons, the clothing; all that they would need to complete that single mission. If we're going to have to fit in…"
"We need to get into the game." Tigress finished for him.
Po was confused, he exchanged a look with each master and rubbed his forehead. "…what are you saying?"
"I'm saying that if we want know who does the killing, we have to get a mission of our own." She slammed the vault shut, causing Po to wince at the loud noise that echoed in the room. She turned and banged her hands against the table. The ground itself shook at the rage that she released, and the sad part was that she didn't even know why she was angry. Maybe it was the fact that they would have to kill someone when they get what they need…
She glanced at the window and saw a black object flying towards her. Acting on instinct, she jumped away just in time, avoiding the hit by mere milliseconds. The noise of shattered glass brought everyone up to their feet. It wasn't before long that Viper was the one to notice that it was a stone that had almost hit Tigress.
The stone was jagged and fractured, seeming to have been molded by a larger stone. It was strangely crystal-like, cherry red and slightly translucent. Maybe it was a crystal? It looked beautiful she'll admit, but she had never seen anything like it…
Tigress cautiously picked up the stone and removed a small rope that was tied around it. In doing so, a folded piece of paper fell to the ground. She took one look at Viper and handed her the rare mineral, reaching for the paper all at once. She unfolded it at skimmed over its text. Monkey read over her shoulder and widened his eyes at what it contained. He began to read aloud,
"There are six little feathers falling from the sky. One dashed down and hurt his eye…the bird swooped down and the old bird said 'O' dear Gods, this quill's soon dead'…" he stopped himself and gazed at Viper, who looked worriedly at Tigress. Tigress continued the narration,
"'Unless you want that quill dead, I suggest you do exactly what I say. You are to attend the warehouse. You must go and ask for Mother Lu. She will give you the rest of the directions to follow. If you are to resist her orders in any manner, she will get you…and she will kill you."
Tigress looked around frantically. Monkey, Mantis, Viper, Crane, Po…wait. Where's—
"Master Shifu!"
It all happened too quickly. Tigress swiftly turned around to Po, who was helplessly watching the scene unfold as he saw something fly off into the sky with a worn-out animal. They carried it by the feet of this strange creature. They couldn't do anything; the creature was already gone in a blink of an eye.
Po shook his head in disbelief. He had yet to process what had just happened. One second a stone flies in through the window and the next Shifu…is taken held captive!? He slammed the walls in anger, and the others can only cringe at the side they had never seen before. He did not stop. Tigress closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again, taking her rage towards the giant panda.
"If you hit that wall one more time…" she seethed.
Po glared at the tiger, which would not drop her gaze. He could have stopped there—"And if I don't?" He hit it.
Tigress growled menacingly. Extracting her claws, she attempted to slap him, but was stopped when Viper wrapped her tail around her wrist.
"Fighting would just add more to the problem." She said wisely. Tigress snatched her hand back and turned around, crossing her arms across her chest.
"Get out."
Without a second thought, Po was the first to go. He was soon followed by the other males and finally with one last look, Viper left. The door was shut tight behind her and Tigress realized that she finally had her chance. She felt under the table for a button that was placed there secretly. It didn't take long for her to feel the small bump. She pressed it. She stood in the middle of the room and took a deep breath.
"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you're looking for ransom, I don't have any money. But what I do have is a very meticulous set of skills; skills I have obtained over a very long period of training. Skills that make me a nightmare for animals like you. If you give me my master now, I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, we will find you…and we will kill you."
She had remembered the lines…
It took a while for Tigress to hear anything, but in a few moments, she could hear something being tossed inside the room she was in. In a flash, she caught the same rare stone. Another piece of paper seemed to have something written on it as she hastily untied the rope.
In very sloppy handwriting, each character slanted right, it read only two words: "Good Luck."
The words echoed through her head as someone had voiced the words, flying off into the distance. And this time…empty-handed.
I hope you liked it...And yes! I did borrow that quote from the movie "Taken"! Oh Geez, I'm sorry! Please don't hate me! *hides behind a couch*
Can you please be so kind as to leave a review? Even if it's just one word...or two...or three...possibly four.
Thanks for reading! And please review!
