The years following that night had been uncomfortable at best. Shifu was still trying to help everyone out, with problems that kung fu could not solve. With Yingtao killed by his own brother, things got awkward amongst them and despite their talk, he noticed more and more scars that laced up and down his brother's arms beneath his robe. Despite that, there was still a strong between all of the Furious Five. They had trained hard under Grand Master Oogway and had fought in numerous battles. Pride as protectors of China united them and they faced many dark-hearted foes.
That evening, they were training as usual, and they practiced each for themselves. Usually, their practice as a team was when they fought real battles, so this was not uncommon for them. Wolf was ferocious, his werewolf styled kung fu immensely powerful, and also having the bonus of huge fangs and claws. Rhino was strong with his horn defense and favored weapon-the cloud hammer. He had named it, Shifu found rather humorously, because he said it sent his enemies flying up to the clouds. Ox was bold, but rash, and he often charged into things too quickly, which sometimes made him a brave warrior, but at other times unprepared. Croc had the agility of snake when he fought, and was very good at underwater attacks, being as it was part of his nature. Shifu had learned how to be as strong as his friends, and his speed made up for his size. Master Oogway was the keeper of all the secrets of kung fu and protector of the Valley of Peace. Shifu was not sure what he would do when they all had to leave the Jade Palace, for he as the others, had come to love it there. Generally, they called the old tortoise Oogway or Master Oogway. They often did not refer to each other as their elongated names such as Red Wolf, Thundering Rhino, and Storming Ox. Together, they were possibly the mot skilled Furious Five generation yet.
"There is news from Ziben," Master Oogway slowly plodded into the training hall and Shifu stared at him and the others exchanged excited glances. As capital of China and home to the emperor and empress peacock families, this was either very good or very bad news. "The masters of all the provinces of china have been called together to fight against a new enemy- Junfa, warlord of the Gorilla Bandits. He has been rallying an army of various criminals and defeated masters throughout the land. I will be gone for awhile. Practice in my absence," he told us.
"Wait, we are coming with you, aren't we?" Ox demanded, of course, always wanting to be the first to charge into battle.
"No, this is too dangerous," Master Oogway said, but Shifu shook his head.
"If it's dangerous for us, it's dangerous for you too," he reasoned.
"We have defeated many enemies before. You'll need help," Wolf added.
"Very well, but stay away from Junfa. His power is growing stronger and you must remain safe," he ordered us. Rhino looked at me and I saw him just in time to see his eyes roll. He certainly wasn't going to stay out of a good fight either. Then, the old tortoise turned to Wolf. "Do not tell anyone of the Valley of Peace where we are going. I do not wish them to panic."
"I won't," Wolf grinned, "I'm going with you."
"That is not your choice," Master Oogway sternly said, "Have you forgotten what you did?"
"No Master, but this is probably one of the biggest fights in history and I wish to assist you," Wolf carefully said and Shifu knew he was speaking this way to be allowed to come. Then, he did something Shifu found really strange. He wasn't sure if werewolves or even regular wolves did this, but his brother, still in werewolf training form, lowered his belly to the ground and began to rub himself in the earth and make his body appear smaller.
"You cannot come," Master Oogway was not swayed by this strange werewolf action and motioned for us to come with him. Shifu cast a glance back at his brother to see him staring indignantly at the back of Master Oogway's head and then his gaze flick to him and slowly attain a new look to them. Shifu knew that look well. It was a sign of trouble.
Master Oogway was right. Their journey was long and by the time they had reached Gongmen City, where the Council of Kung Fu lived, most of the other masters had already arrived, and they were just in time to see them fighting against Junfa's troops.
Launching into battle, Shifu ducked a snow leopard female's arcing claws and whirled to kick out at the face of her mate behind him. Fighting several crocodiles, a gorilla, and the two snow leopards, he watched anxiously out for his friends. They were similarly outnumbered and while there were thousands of enemies besieging Gongmen City, there were only about two dozen masters. Whirling underneath the gorilla, he rolled back, kicked him in the stomach and sent him flying. The other tried to pummel him while he was on the ground, but he easily caught the pressure points in their arms and with a massive heave, flung them away. Flipping over a fox, he nimbly parried its paws and twisted to avoid a wolf, causing the little fox to catch the wolf's fist straight in its face. Whipping a leg over the wolf's arm, Shifu snapped it down, effectively fracturing its elbow.
Someone bumped into him and he whirled with a snarl, ready to take on tis newcomer, but it was only a dazed Croc. Backflipping and slamming his feet into an ox, he did a forward flip off its head and did a full split in midair to catch two leopards and send them flying. A rhino whipped an ax at his head, but he slammed it to side with his hand and Croc took the pause to leap over Shifu and smack the rhino with his tail, effectively knocking him out.
"There's too many. We're helping, but there's thousands of them and Junfa has trained them well," Croc shouted above the battle and Shifu growled. He whirled on one hand and sent several enemies flying with fierce kicks.
"No, we will never be beaten!" Shifu snarled with pain as he twisted to avoid a leopard's raking claws, but caught the edge of an ax in his shoulder. Now, he noticed how tired he was getting and the fact that Croc was bleeding a few places and looked weary too, although he fought beside Shifu as they talked.
"I know, but we have to find Junfa. If we can defeat him, with their leader gone, they might stop," Croc protested, "or we might have a better chance at least." Shifu whirled and ran up the ax that had drawn his blood and leaped onto the black rhino's head. Atop his head, he sent whirling kicks at various fighters, keeping his balance on top of the enraged rhino and then pummeling his neck nerves with quick jabs.
"Where are the other?" Shifu asked. The deep gouge in his shoulder was hurting badly, but he tried to ignore the pain as he slammed a fist into the stoach of a gorilla, doubling him over, and then sweeping his legs. Leaning back to avoid a swinging mace, Shifu leaped and kicked a snow leopard's chin back and whipped the mace around right as Croc, beside him, twirled his tail to trip several rats before Shifu's mace caught them full on in the face.
"Rhino went with Ox to help him and I think they are somewhere near the trees. I am not sure where Master Oogway and Junfa are though," Croc replied, twisting in midair to slash at a few attackers with one arm. The other was held at middle height and Shifu guessed it was hurt, but he didn't see any breaks of cuts. Dodging attackers swords in a quick almost dance-like movement, Shifu motioned for Croc to follow him.
"We must find Rhino and Ox and see if they need help. Then we can worry about Master Oogway and Junfa," he told him. Following his ears, Shifu raced as fast as he could through the army, scattering them in various stages of injury as he went. He could hear the excited bellow of Ox and pretty sure he could feel the tremors from Rhino's hammer. Croc arrived a little after Shifu and they all stood back to back as they fought.
"What are you doing here?" Ox asked.
"We can take care of ourselves," Rhino added. Shifu leapt high to counter a leopard diving for them and grabbed its tail, pummeling its back with his feet and then landing to sweep its legs and send its body flying into the army. He looked quickly at Rhino ad Ox. Ox had numerous slash marks on him, but he did not seem to be injured otherwise. Rhino meant it when he said he was doing well and it took Shifu a while to notice a lump on the back of his head and the fact that he was looking dizzier and slower every moment.
"Yes, but for how long? We must find Master Oogway and help him fight Junfa," Shifu insisted, Rhino have a grunt and he assumed it was a 'fine….' Dislocating several monkey's knees in a rapid twist and jabbing motion, Shifu suddenly thought of something, but Croc asked first.
"So…do you know where they are?"
"No and I don't know how we can find them. We'd better stay here," Ox retorted, smashing his hoofs into the faces of his enemies, and headbutting another ox.
"How did you find us?" Rhino asked, whipping his hammer in a long arc, causing Croc, Ox, and Shifu to duck.
"Shifu could hear you," Croc replied. Surprised, Shifu stared at him and then began to turn his ears this way and that. His large ears turned out to be very good for hearing better than most people, and so, he listened for Master Oogway. But Master Oogway didn't talk very loud and he had no idea what Junfa sounded like. Then he froze. But he did hear that. The sound of huge thundering pawsteps came closer and Shifu whipped around, knowing what he would see.
A huge red wolf was pelting through the warriors, bleeding from several smaller cuts along its legs as it ran. Shoving them aside like they were nothing, he ran over to the Furious Five and stopped.
"Looks like you need help," he grinned a very wolfish grin and Shifu glared at him, stopping an alligator from hacking at his brother with a sword, by swiveling and kicking the blade, causing it to shatter.
"No, we don't," Shifu began to growl, but Rhino interrupted.
"Yeah, can you see where Master Oogway and Junfa are?"
"He's not supposed to be here. Master Oogway will be angry at him," Shifu warned, but he had to admit that was a good idea. His brother, in wolf form, was taller than all of them.
"I think so. To your left, quite a ways," Wolf's eyes opened wide as he stared at the fight, and then began bounding rapidly over the warriors.
"Follow him," Shifu sighed, leaping up in a front flip and running quickly over the heads of the fighters. Up higher, he could see Master Oogway…getting beaten.
The huge gorilla clearly knew many kung fu secrets and though he wasn't originally very good at fighting, the moves he used were mainly chi-enforced and he was winning.
"Furious Five, attack!" Wolf yowled. Forgetting his brother would probably be in the worst trouble of his life, Shifu darted into action with his friends, as one, as they were trained. Wolf would leap at his opponent, ready to dodge out of the way, but being a huge and fierce distraction. While the opponent was distracted, Shifu would dart around his legs and trip him. Rhino would give him a mighty blow with his hammer while Ox would bounce the flying opponent back with his belly, and Croc would finish with a nerve attack if the opponent wasn't already knocked out or too injured to continue fighting. Junfa met Wolf head on with the Chao Wa Punch Kick, paralyzing Wolf. Shifu saw this and tried to trip up the gorilla anyway by tripping him instead of as expected with his feet, ducking and popping his kneecap with one arm. Instead, Junfa grabbed him by the tail and flung him hard into a tree. Shifu yelped his head and his wounded shoulder hit the tree first and he fell to the ground. Dazed, he scrabbled to his feet and stood shakily as the huge gorilla had time and enough balance to lean back into a flip and use his feet to grab the Cloud Hammer with his feet and throw it out of Rhino's range. Ox and Rhino both rushed him and whirling, he did the Fluttering Finger Mindslip on both of them and while they were confused and dazed by this trick, he sent them both flying with a couple heavy punches. Croc aimed a nerve attack as was planned, but Junfa had the knowledge of the kung fu secrets of the masters and leaped high to avoid the rapid-fire jabs and did his own right in the back of Croc's skull, making him fall.
"Stop, your fight is with me," Master Oogway coldly commanded, "I am the grand master of the Jade Palace." Shifu stared at him. How could the old tortoise defeat Junfa by himself when he had beaten our best move in a matter of moments. Rushing over to Wolf and Croc, the only ones he could probably wake, Shifu reversed the nerve attack and did similar movements to remove the effects of the Chao Wa Punch Kick.
"With the masters' secrets of kung fu, I am invincible," Junfa roared, charging Master Oogway, but Shifu got an idea from this. They would just have to use skills not of kung fu.
"Wolf, See No Evil!" Shifu shouted. His brother had trained with him before becoming students of Master Oogway and had named their own made-up moves. While the old tortoise defended himself from Junfa's attacks, Wolf raced circles around Junfa, creating a huge dust cloud very similar to a sandstorm.
"Shifu, Blue Moon!" Wolf barked back. Pinpointing Junfa's stumbling location with his hearing, Shifu launched himself in the air and came down with a twirl and huge chi-enforced kick. With a roar of pain, Junfa skidded to the edge of the water.
Wiping blood from his mouth, the gorilla grinned and a strange red power began to eminate from him. Wolf immediately dove for the gorilla.
"Wolf, stop!" Master Oogway yelled, surprising Shifu, but before he could think to stop his brother, the wolf's paws touched the surface of the water. All the red chi surrounding Junfa shot into Wolf and his body gave one big spasm before slumping into the water with a splash. Slowly, the body turned back to his brother's usual form and Shifu stared in dismay. He willed him to get up. Then, he glared at Junfa. The gorilla had hurt his brother, but he needed him out of the water so Junfa could not attack him the same way. "The Lightning Ocean chi attack…" Master Oogway sighed. His eyes were hard now, rather than the soft mossy pools they were normally. "You have killed one of my students. You deserve this."
"What do you mean old man?" the gorilla snorted. In one fluid, graceful moment, Master Oogway seemed to absorbed red chi from the gorilla, who stared in shock with black eyes. Shifu stepped back. What was this? Finally, Master Oogway dropped and red chi began to leak out of him.
"Master?" Croc hurried to him, and Shifu quietly pulled his brother out of the lake. He would be fine with a day's rest.
"It's alright. I have removed Junfa's kung fu skills. They absorbed into me and the power would have been too much and killed me, but I expelled it. Only I know how to do this and he was a threat that needed to be stopped," Master Shifu sighed, standing.
"Wow," Croc stared, then turned to Shifu, "I guess we go home now."
"We will rest somewhere and wait for Ox and Rhino to wake up," Master Oogway said.
"What about Wolf?" Shifu asked, feeling confused. His brother would wake up eventually…
"No, little one. Junfa is without honor and the Lightning Ocean attack was meant to kill many. He would not have survived being only him in the water. Without more bodies to dispense the power and being a bigger target, he was doomed," the tortoise gently said, but Shifu shook his head helplessly. That couldn't be right. His brother…was his brother…his best friend, his mentor, his father. He couldn't die and leave him. But as he felt the limp red panda's scarred wrist, he knew that his brother was gone.
"We will bury him here before we leave," Master Oogway gently told him.
"Not at home?" Shifu hoarsely asked. He at least wanted to be close to him.
"No, we can't bring him all the way home. He never should have come," Master Oogway replied sadly.
"He was only trying to help," Croc defended him.
"His help was not needed," Master Oogway shook his head.
"Find a place to stay and send Croc back to tell me where. I will bury my brother. That's the least I can do for him," Shifu sadly told them.
"But you're hurt," Croc protested, but stopped when Shifu turned his hopeless gaze at him.
"Losing my brother hurts far worse. Believe me," the red panda sighed.
They ended up indeed leaving him to bury his brother, but he did not speak his words of grief and good-bye, lest their worth be lessened by being spoken aloud.
The loss of Wolf was hard for everyone: the Furious Five-students who had trained with him as a friend and loyal fighter, Master Oogway-who had just lost one of his close pupils, and Shifu-who still couldn't believe that his brother was dead. What ordinary thing could kill a werewolf? Alone by the edge of the water, Shifu watched the villagers disperse, elated that Junfa was no longer there and Shifu knew Wolf would have given his life for anyone else's. Junfa was being led away by Master Oogway and the rest of his students trailed after him, Rhino pausing and giving the red panda a sympathetic glance.
As he said, Shifu buried his brother alone. The fight had left him and his body urged him to rest, but he couldn't. Standing by the water's edge, he knew he had in a sense, lost the last of his family. For the first time in years, Shifu let anger ripple through him, at himself for not protecting his brother well enough, at Wolf for leaving him, and at the world for taking him. Shifting into a wolf, he let out a great howl. It started as a blissfully happy recounting of his family when it had been together and projected images through the song of him, younger, cooking with his mother, reading with his father, talking to Yingtao, and sparring with his brother. The sweet symphony of lilting notes and clear love wavered in the air. But as quickly as the joy had sprang, he let it slowly fade through the passage of time and change, his images of his mother: frightened of what her sons had become, his father: furious that his children were monsters and could not be brave enough to tell him, his best friend: feeling deserted before she died, and his brother: hastening towards his death. Then with a sudden burst of anger, he alarmed many of the citizens out of their celebrating by a howl of pure rage and anger climbing through the skies before suddenly stopping in a heart-wrenchingly unwolf-like sob.
Moments passed before he started in surprise. He was still alone, but something eerie made the fur at the nape of his neck rise.
A beautiful song was beginning at least a few miles away, his werewolf ears told him. It seemed hauntingly familiar, showing all the good times he had had with his family before. But this time…they continued, not as memories but projected images. His mother, still comforting her sons, but afraid not of them, but for them. They would be leaving to a strange new place and though she shied away from them, she was frightened that they did not want her to be their mother anymore. Then he saw his father, adamantly protective of his only sons, but when they showed they could definitely take care of themselves, ashamed of himself and furious for it. He saw Yingtao and knew it never would have worked out between them, for though they had been best of friends, he had not told her his ultimate secret and yet, she seemed to accept that they should move on. His heart felt at peace. Lastly, his brother, anxious at his own parents' rejection, resorting to secretly cutting and finally taking his anger out on Yingtao. He had felt he couldn't take his pain out any other way, loving his friends and brother too much to do so. When he had destroyed Shifu's friend, he had been horrified and wanted to make it up by this fight. Even then, he was trying to protect those he loved. Then, the song spoke of a secret love, that someone had been watching him ever since she had first seen him. She, being a werewolf too, knew what he was, and loved him all the same. This was the first time she was contacting him and despite her feelings, it would be the last. She was in trouble herself, but not from warfare. She was sick. The happy notes never wavered, comforting him and seeking comfort at the same time.
The whole village was silent and for the first time, Shifu noticed that Croc, Ox, Rhino, and Master Oogway were staring at him, but he didn't care. As he voice faded, the happiness brighter as her voice grew dimmer, Shifu howled again.
Their duet spiraled higher and higher into the sky, this time of wordless and infinite understanding, Shifu's low crooning tone oppositely matching her high sweet song. And as it grew louder, Shifu saw that the crowd was parting and another wolf was coming closer. She was as beautiful as her temperament and her voice. A light silver she-wolf with back ripples, she stopped her running, voices never wavering, and they stepped closer until they were almost touching.
'Who are you?' Shifu asked in his head wonderingly.
'I am Liumao. Do you remember me?' she replied. At his hesitant pause, she added, 'You and the others saved me from being kidnapped and forced to be a concubine.'
And he did remember. She was and is a female snow leopard with amber eyes, that glowed purple at times of heightened emotion. They had come to her rescue at her family's desparate pleas and saved her. Shifu had fought with a skill that she had watched with admiring eyes, and he had smelled that she was a werewolf, but only recently. She had not changed yet. When she bowed in graditude and purred a thanks, he had bowed back and she was pleased and embarrassed. She had not expected the warrior who had saved her life to show her such respect. She had been greatly sorry when he had left, and after she had found she was a werewolf, she had sought him out. When she found him, she knew at once that he was like her, but had seen Yingtao and was unwilling to disturb their happiness. Now, she had come to see him and he stare at her. Shifu certainly would not forget his best friend and first love, but he knew she had refused him and they could move on. Just this once, he would spend a night with this female werewolf. He was so lonely.
Together, silent for so long in everyone else's eyes, they finally gracefully turned as one and padded out through the water, wading to a small island in the cool water.
