Chapter Seven- Torture
The next morning, everyone was silent, dong pretty much nothing. Shifu was curled in a ball in the corner, staying silent. Monkey and Mantis kept whispering up plans for escape, but they were quickly hushed by Tigress' cold glare.
Around midday, two guards, both boars, came into the cell. They grabbed Shifu and roughly dragged him out the cell door. Tigress leapt up.
"Where are you taking him?" she demanded.
"Bojing wants to see him." One boar said. He slammed the door shut before Tigress could jump forward to stop him. She growled.
"What do you think is going to happen?" Po asked.
"I don't know." Tigress admitted.
*****
Shifu was practically dragged back to the throne room, where he was thrown to his knees.
"You are dismissed." Bojing's voice said. The guards nodded and left. Shifu looked around but didn't see Bojing anywhere. He rolled his eyes, standing.
"Showing off a bit, aren't we?" he commented. Bojing suddenly appeared at his throne.
"I wouldn't call it that." He said. "I'm not a show off." He disappeared again and reappeared right behind Shifu. He whispered in his ear. "Everyone already knows I'm great." Shifu growled and turned to punch Bojing. But the leopard jumped back.
"Having power doesn't make you great." Shifu said. The leopard smiled evilly as he casually walked to his throne.
"For the next five days, you will undergo the tradition my father carried out in the war five years ago." Bojing said. "It's what my father did to prisoners. You see, first, he'd make them slaves. If they refused to work or if they attempted escape, they would go thru this. You, of course, will be skipping the slavery. For the first three days, you will be tortured, each day being more painful than the first. On the fourth day, you will be given the entire day to recover from any wounds during the torturing. On the fifth day, you will be executed in any way I see fit." Bojing smirked. "Personally, I believe a fight to the death seems appropriate."
"Remember our deal." Shifu said.
"I know." Bojing said. "And don't worry. Your students and the pathetic mutt will be released and they are free to go." Bojing snapped his fingers and two guards returned Shifu to his cell.
"What did Bojing want?" Mantis asked. Shifu sat down and repeated what Bojing had said.
"He can't do that!" Viper cried.
"Apparently, he can." Shifu said. "Besides, he somehow became ruler of Japan, and we are his prisoners. But he said he'll release all of you. That's all that matters."
"And your life doesn't matter?" Tigress growled.
"Not anymore." Shifu said. "I've been thru a lot. And now, I'm ready to die."
*****
The next day, Shifu started his tortures. Bojing had his dad's sinister mind and used his dad's most terrible punishments.
The first day, Shifu wa given a hundred lashings of the whip. Shifu was able to hold back his cries, but he still felt much pain. But he had been whipped before, and once the whip left deeper wounds. However, Bojing made sure that Shifu had been whipped in the face, and Shifu almost screamed.
The second day, Shifu had his hands placed on a fire for a full minute. Every second was painful, and Shifu cried out now and then. When the painful ordeal was over, Shifu's hands were badly burned. Then, he was restrained by a guard while Bojing badly beat him.
The Five, Po, and Jin could hear their master's screams, and their hearts hurt. When Shifu came back, he was thrown to the ground by a guard and barely had the strength to prop himself up. Tigress came to his side and led him to the hay in the corner, the only soft spot in the cell.
"This can't go on." She said.
"It's alright." Shifu wheezed. Bojing had given him a pretty hard punch to the stomach and he had the wind knocked right out of him.
"Master, sometimes you think your strong, but then you break down." Tigress said. "The next time Bojing does something like this, you could really die!"
"I'll be fine." Shifu said. He trembled a bit and Tigress softly coaxed him to lay down. Jin curled up next to his master, whining. Shifu fell asleep.
"There has to be some way to help him." Po whispered, as to not wake Shifu.
"What can we do except tend to his wounds as best we can?" Crane said. "We can't save him. So maybe it's time we let go." Everyone reluctantly nodded, accepting the idea. They drifted into an uneasy sleep, dreading their master's fate.
The third day came, and Shifu was taken to a small cell.
"Today is your final day of torture." Bojing said. Shifu glared at him. "Today, you will spend the entire day in this freezing chamber." Bojing opened the door. Inside, there was a small bench and the entire place was covered in ice and snow. "Good luck staying alive." Bojing shoved Shifu inside and locked the door. Shifu growled and started beating at the sides of the cell. He kicked, punched, and slammed into the walls, trying to stay warm and hoping he could break out. But he kept it up for a long time, and nothing happened. Shifu kept going, but then he landed a kick and his foot got stuck. He pulled hard, but eventually had to push off the wall with his other foot. Fortunately, he got his foot out. Unfortunately, he flew backwards and, since it was a small cell, slammed his head into the wall. Shifu was out cold in seconds.
He woke up some time later, shivering a bit. Shifu stood and walked over to the opposite wall. He saw a hole where his foot had hit, but it was just ice. No metal. No hole to the outside. Shifu groaned and kicked the wall in anger. He sat on the bench and held his head in his hands. He sighed. There wasn't much left to do except sit and wait for Bojing. But the leopard said an entire day in this cold place. How long had Shifu been in there? Shifu got bored. He walked around the tiny cell, climbed onto the bench to see outside, and messed around with the snow. But he really didn't find anything that could keep him entertained. Shifu sighed and sat down, leaning against the wall. He started shivering again. Shifu had half a mind to just sleep. But if he slept, he could freeze to death.
Then, Shifu realized that he still had his wounds open. No wonder why he was so cold so suddenly. Already, he felt like his bones were being covered with ice. Shifu moved away from the wall of ice to remove the ice from the cut on his back. Shifu started shaking. He tired to see out the small window on the door, but didn't see anything that would indicate how late it was in the day. Shifu figured that it had to be around midday. So he was stuck in here for several more hours. Shifu stepped back and tried to kick the door open. But the door was shut and locked tight. So Shifu had to stop, feeling very tired. He sat on the bench, his eyelids drooping. Though he fought hard to stay awake, Shifu fell asleep.
*****
Tigress couldn't stop pacing. All she could think about was what Bojing was making Shifu go thru. She desperately wanted to be by her father's side, even if it meant watching him suffer.
"Would you stop pacing around?" Po said.
"Give me one reason why I should!" Tigress snapped.
"Well, for one thing, you're making a ditch in the floor." Po said. Tigress looked down and realized he was right.
"I can't help it." She said. "I'm so worried. What if Shifu doesn't come back alive?"
"You heard what he said about Bojing." Crane said.
"Yeah, and remember that Shifu's a strong warrior." Po said. "He's lived thru hundreds of battles and this is only the worst that's happened. Think about what Bojing did to him: he whipped him, beat him, and burned his hands, yet Shifu still stayed strong."
"You really think he'll be alright?" Tigress asked.
"Bojing's giving him a day to recover." Po said. "That should be just enough time for him to heal and kick Bojing's butt."
Tigress sighed, praying the panda was right.
*****
Shifu forced himself to open his eyes. He was shaking so much you would've thought there was an earthquake going on. Frost and snow coated his clothes and fur. His ears drooped a little. His hands, feet, even his tail, were numb with cold. Shifu struggled to stand and realized that he had fallen off the bench in his slumber. His vision was disoriented and he was hardly aware of anything as he fell to the ground once more.
How long have I been in here? He thought. How much longer until I die? I can't feel half of my body. I'm slowly dying. Why can't they just kill me now? Why won't they end my suffering? Shifu chuckled lightly. I'm losing my mind. I'm such an idiot. What was I thinking by even going to war? If I hadn't gone to war, I wouldn't be here. I hate war. I hate Bojing. I hate everything. Shifu's breath was frozen in his lungs. It's cold. I'm shaking. Jin? Why do I hear voices but see no one? Why can't you be with me? My faithful friend, you were there for me when no one else was. Help me. Shifu went unconscious.
When he had finally woken up, he had stopped shivering. But every single fiber in his body felt cold. Not a single ounce of warmth could be felt. The old master used what little energy he had to curl into a ball, but it didn't help. Finally, he couldn't stand it any longer. Shifu slowly rose to his feet, falling thrice before he finally stood on his feet. He breathed hard as he stepped back to the wall, on the opposite side of the door. Shifu took a deep breath of cold air.
Then, he ran forward, leapt off the bench, and landed a hard punch to the small window on the door with all his strength.
The window shattered.
Shifu fell to the ground and lay there, unmoving except for the small rise and fall of his chest as he breathed faintly. The cold air in the room slowly crept out. Shifu felt the faintest feeling of warmth on his body.
Bojing returned an hour later, smiling triumphantly as he stared at the half-dead red panda on the ground.
"Take him back to his students." Bojing said. "I will join you momentarily." The guard next to the leopard nodded and grabbed Shifu by the scruff of his neck. Shifu was too weak to move or say anything. The guard dragged his limp body to the Five, Po, and Jin, who watched, horrified, as Shifu was thrown inside. The guard slammed the door and locked it. Tigress rushed to her master.
"Master?" she whispered. Shifu hardly stirred, but he managed to open his eyes halfway to show he was still alive. Tigress gently picked him up and set him down on the hay.
"What happened to him?" Po asked.
"Well, something that had to do with a freezing chamber or something." Viper said.
"You must be right." Tigress said. "He's so cold to the touch."
Then, the door opened. Jin jumped forward and snarled fiercely as Bojing came in. The leopard rolled his eyes.
"Somebody call of the mutt or I'll drown him in the moat." Bojing said. Monkey came forward and gently pulled Jin back. The wolf pup lay down next to Shifu, but he was still growling slightly. Bojing simply handed Tigress a small blanket.
"What's this for?" she growled.
"Well, it has come to my attention that it gets quite cold down here at night, so I thought I'd give you something to help." Bojing said.
"One small blanket for the eight of us?" Po said.
"Good luck in choosing who gets it." Bojing said, walking away. Everyone glanced at each other.
"He wants us at each other's throats." Viper said.
"So what do we do with it?" Mantis asked. Everyone looked at each other and they all simultaneously nodded. Tigress tucked the blanket around Shifu's frozen body, and they all curled up to sleep.
A/N: Ok, the big fight should be next. ……….Yep, it will be. Read and Review!