And we're back, with something a little different this chapter! This has been my favorite chapter to write so far. I'm changing the update days to Tuesday. Thank you all so much for bearing with me! Enjoy! =D
Heng swung his heavy claws forward, catching large clumps of dirt and rock and tossing it behind him, where Chow and the rabbit twins packed it into a tight pile to be discarded later. The giant armadillo glanced next to him where the two wolf sisters and Drig the pangolin were helping him dig, while Zhao and Cong guarded their troublesome prisoner several tunnels away.
He'd had Yin chain Zhen to the wall to prevent her from trying to escape again. The meddling cat had already ruined his map of the Valley of Peace, though she hadn't destroyed the chart that really mattered to him. It was still a shame that they didn't have the former map anymore, but Heng knew that his plan would still work just fine without it.
He smiled slightly to himself as he thought of what he was plotting to do. The complete destruction of the Valley would come soon enough, and there was nothing that the Furious Five or Dragon Warrior could do to stop him, not that they even knew what the Fuchou were up to. Almost everything was now in place, and the bandits were set back only a little by the Kung Fu warriors' recent attack because they now had to dig out a new entrance.
A familiar anger boiled inside of him as he thought of the damage they'd caused. Though it was a small issue, it still irked him to no end that they'd somehow found the Fuchou and had managed to be the cause of the collapse of a few tunnels, thanks to the explosion's shockwaves. He visualized that he was digging his claws into the Five, exacting his revenge for the unparalleled pain that they'd caused so many animals, including his son Cong.
His eyes narrowed and he scowled at the dirt and mud he was digging through. The Furious Five would pay. If the destruction of the Valley didn't satisfy Heng and his bandits, then maybe the extermination of the Five themselves would.
Zhen yanked on the chain around her left ankle for what felt like the hundredth time. As it always did, the clasp held strong and she didn't get anywhere with it. The metal was hard and heavy, and she was certain that her ankle was getting chaffed every time she moved it. She sighed in defeat and sat on the ground, facing the bar door with her back leaning against the wall. She knew that she could unlock the clasp with her claw, but if she got caught she would surely be punished. Besides, there was no way she was going to escape now, so why bother trying when she would just be hurting herself more?
She stared dully at the stationary rhino that stood guard next to her cell. Zhao had complained of how boring it was to watch the little cougar, but Heng hadn't cared and assigned him to the job anyway. Zhen could also see Cong, who was uncharacteristically fidgety as he stood nearby with his ears twitching occasionally and his foot tapping slightly on the ground.
She blinked when he suddenly moved over to Zhao, getting the rhino's attention.
"Can I talk to her for a minute, alone?" Cong asked quietly, surprising Zhen. What could he possibly want to talk to her about?
Zhao snorted and lazily walked away. Once he was out of earshot, Cong sighed and sat in front of Zhen's cell. She stared at him expectantly, curious as to what he had to say despite still being mad at him.
"Zhen, I—" he started, but closed his mouth and stared at the ground for a moment.
Zhen couldn't tell what he was thinking about. His expression looked torn between sadness, anger and utter confusion.
"I don't know what to think!" he abruptly blurted, startling Zhen. "I-I just, I don't… I don't think that Heng is right anymore."
Zhen's eyes widened in surprise. Cong had been trying to convince her to join them and such all this time, and now he was telling her this?
"I need help, Zhen," Cong admitted humbly, tears brimming in his eyes. The broken look on his face was enough to dissolve Zhen's anger towards him completely.
"What makes you think I can help you?" she inquired honestly.
"Because you've never lied to me before," he answered. "A-and I never really wanted to hurt the Five, or the Valley, or especially you. Heng's always told me how it's always been their fault and that they have to pay for what they did, but what you've said has got me wondering if it was really their fault at all." He looked her in the eye and she could see his sincerity. "I don't want to be a bandit anymore."
Zhen stared at him for a moment, shocked and impressed by his words. He really wanted to change?
"Then don't," she finally stated, earning a surprised look from Cong.
"What? It's not that easy, Zhen." His expression turned to one of concern.
"I never said it was," she pointed out, taking courage. "What I'm saying is, you've got to stand up for yourself. That's something that my family has always told me: even when you're afraid, you've got to stand up and make a difference. The only way I see you getting out of doing these bad things is by talking to Heng and tell him the truth."
His eyes widened in alarm. "I can't talk to him! He'll get mad if I tell him how I feel!"
"Would you rather keep destroying others' lives?" Zhen asked bluntly. She hadn't quite meant to speak her mind in such a direct manner, but she'd said it and couldn't take it back. Fortunately, her words seemed to get through to Cong, who frowned in thought at her question.
"I… no, I don't," he finally replied with determination. "I don't want to hurt anyone anymore." He paused for a moment, giving Zhen a contemplative look. "… What are the Furious Five really like?"
She smiled, and for the next hour they talked like friends again, even making each other laugh a few times. They didn't see or hear any of the other bandits, even Zhao, and it seemed to them like nothing else mattered while they happily conversed with one another, unknowingly mending their broken friendship.
"I haven't had this much fun since we first became friends," Cong admitted, grinning. "I never knew I could learn so much from someone."
Zhen chuckled. "I'm just glad that you're my friend again."
His expression turned serious. "You know how sorry I am for what I did, right?"
She gave him a reassuring smile. "I know, and I forgive you."
He stared at her in shock. "Really?"
Zhen grinned. "Really."
Cong opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by a loud shout from far down the tunnel.
"Cong!" Yin appeared from around a corner. "Heng wants to speak to you. I'll watch the prisoner for you."
Cong casted a nervous glance at Zhen, conveying to her without words that he was going to try to talk to his adoptive father.
"Good luck," she whispered to him, giving him an encouraging smile. I know you can do it.
He nodded slightly in thanks and turned, passing Yin on the way. The gray wolf glared at Zhen as soon as Cong couldn't see the canine's face anymore.
"I really wonder why Heng wants you to stick around," she growled. "You're of no use to us and you're obviously never going to be on our side. Plus, you're nothing but trouble for us. A distraction, especially to Cong."
Zhen crossed her arms, returning Yin's soured expression. "He probably values life, unlike you."
Yin let out a dark chuckle. "You think he values life? How can he when he's the one who came up with the plan to destroy the Valley of Peace and everyone in it?"
Zhen couldn't come up with an answer to that and decided to turn their conversation in a different direction. "What is your plan, anyway? What are you going to do?"
"I've answered enough of your questions." She scowled. "Stop talking or I'll turn you into a pin cushion."
"Why do you hate me so much?" Zhen demanded. "I never did anything to you."
Yin's eyes narrowed and her arm suddenly jerked out towards the little cougar, sending a dagger her way with startling speed. Zhen jumped back in alarm and the projectile barely missed her head, cutting a few hairs from her ear and lodging itself shallowly into the rock wall behind her.
Adrenaline still rushing through her veins from the abrupt attack, Zhen tried to control her rapid breaths and stared at the bandit, watching her carefully for any more rapid movements.
"You're a thorn in my side that I'd rather remove," Yin snarled maliciously, stepping forward. "The rest of the Fuchou don't seem to realize that you're just weighing us down. I told them that it was a bad idea to have Cong pretend to befriend you to get your guard down. I warned them that you'd fill his head with lies. They didn't listen, and now Cong doesn't know where he's supposed to stand thanks to you. If I was in charge, this wouldn't have happened and our plan would already be executed. The Furious Five would already be overwhelmed with pain and suffering as we are, and we would be free to live our lives as we please!" She was breathing hard and clutching the bars of the cell door now, looking at Zhen with so much animosity that the young cougar couldn't stop a fearful shudder.
Silence filled the air for several moments as they both regained their composures. Yin released the bars and stood off to the side of the cell, far enough that Zhen could only see part of her left shoulder. The mountain cat slowly relaxed, and something Yin had said started to bug her.
"Why can't you live the way you want to now?" she asked timidly, watching for the wolf's reaction.
Yin visibly stiffened, and Zhen prepared to dodge another knife attack. It never came, however, and a full minute passed without either animal moving or making a sound. Finally, Yin spoke, her voice low.
"Anger is… consuming, if not mended quickly." The canine's voice was filled with dulled emotion, surprising Zhen. "If you fall too far, you can't get back up, no matter how hard you try."
Zhen stared at Yin, who was still tense and almost completely out of sight. Feeling a bit nervous at how the gray wolf could react, she turned and grabbed the dagger that was still stuck in the wall. She carefully and quietly pulled it out with a swift yank and walked up to the door, where she could see part of the gray wolf's guarded expression. Sticking her arm through the bars, the cougar passively held out the weapon to Yin.
"With everything my first and second families have taught me and through my own experiences, I've learned that you can never fall too far," Zhen stated with conviction, getting Yin to look at her. "There is always a way to get back up. Sometimes you just have to look harder to find it." She offered Yin a smile of encouragement.
Yin blinked and stared at her for a moment before taking the knife out of the cougar's hand and turning away again. Zhen retracted her arm back into her cell and took a step back, smiling to herself. There was definitely more to Yin than what she'd first thought, but maybe she could somehow get through to the jaded canine. Maybe, deep down, Yin wasn't really an enemy after all.
"Quickly!"
"I'm going as fast as I can!"
"Do not look down!"
"AAAH!"
"I told you to not look down!"
"You're not helping!"
"…"
"I'm scared!"
"Don't worry; you're hardly twenty feet off the ground!"
"… That doesn't make me feel better!"
"Just keep going!"
Po took a deep breath before stretching himself to reach the next thick branch. He tried to focus on the trembling bunny several feet away instead of the dizzying height he was at. Now that he thought about it, griping about how high up he was probably wasn't helping the frightened, young bunny very much as she clutched onto the branch of the tree she'd climbed up. He couldn't figure out why the kid had thought climbing a tree that hung over half of the mountain was a good idea, and he also wasn't sure why he'd listened to Monkey, who had convinced him to save the bunny instead of himself. Po thought that Monkey was just trying to be lazy, but he insisted that Po needed the climbing experience.
The panda was now almost within reach of the little brown bunny. He accidentally glanced down at Monkey again and felt his stomach twist in knots as he quickly snapped his head back up to look at the kid in front of him.
"Come here," Po coaxed, reaching a hand out to the child. "It's okay."
The little girl looked at Po's large hand and shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut again and holding the branch tighter.
"I'm here to help you get down! Don't you want to go back to your mom and dad?" Po inched forward and gave the bunny a friendly smile when she dared to look at him again.
Still shaking in fright, she tentatively reached out and touched his hand as though making sure he was really there. Once she did, she lunged toward him and grabbed onto his fingers, grasping them so hard that they started to hurt slightly.
Po immediately pulled her to him, holding her close as she trembled in his arms. Slowly and gently, he crawled backwards until he was close enough to the trunk of the tree to turn around, where Monkey was already waiting.
"I can take her," Monkey suggested, reaching out with his long arms.
Po gladly handed the kid to him before returning his attention to climbing down the tall tree. By the time he was at the bottom, Monkey had already descended the steep hill and given the bunny to her worried parents.
"Oh, thank you, thank you!" they cooed, cradling their now-happy child in their arms.
The sight was so welcome and filled Po with a peaceful warmth. This was what he and his friends really needed; a little break from all the stress that the Fuchou had put them under and the constant searches. The warriors had all split up into groups of two once they'd gotten various reports of animals in trouble, whether it was because of an ambush by crocodile bandits or saving a little one from a tree.
Sure, it wasn't much, but it was the least they could do right now and Po knew that they were making a difference, no matter how small it was.
"Father, you wanted to speak with me?" Cong asked timidly as he entered Heng's room.
"Yes, Cong." The giant armadillo gestured for the fox to come to him.
Cong walked up to the table his father was standing in front of. He could see some new marks on Heng's map of the underground tunnels and immediately guessed what he was going to say, sending a sinking feeling to the pit of his stomach.
"We can't afford to wait any longer," Heng began. He tapped a claw on a drawn circle towards the middle of a particularly large tunnel. "With our new exit tunnel complete, we can now move forward with the last few placements. I've planned them to be around here, because the shockwaves should cause a chain reaction as they destabilize the buildings above it. Then they should hopefully hit other structures as they fall, and we can thus make more destruction with the fewer resources we have."
"Dad, this is wrong," Cong spoke suddenly, gaining his father's attention. Butterflies raced through his stomach as he thought about what he was about to say and how his father would likely react.
"What is, son?" the armadillo asked, looking up from the chart.
"Revenge. It isn't sweet like you said it would be. This just doesn't feel right." Cong watched in trepidation for his father's reaction.
Heng's expression turned surprised and then guarded. Only after a few moments of silence did he finally respond, his voice dangerously low. "What we're doing, Cong, will fill a hole that has been void for far too long. You remember the destruction, the carnage..." He stared blankly down at the map as he spoke, lost in a dark memory. "None of it would have happened if the Furious Five had done their job. They claim to save, to restore... but to us they just let the heavy waves of death and destruction tear us apart."
Cong stared at his father, almost afraid at the fierce, angry passion that appeared in the armadillo's eyes. He had seldom seen him like this before.
"What we're doing," Heng continued, finally looking back at Cong, "will fill the hole that they brutally dug with the very dirt they now stand on. They will finally come to know what it feels like to lose everything that they care about. I thought you understood that."
Cong blinked and looked at the animal he called 'father.' His mind raced as he thought of everything Zhen had taught him about the true beauty of the world, and suddenly realized that Heng's eyes were shut to that beauty. Slowly, he opened his mouth and spoke. "If destruction is what took everything from you... then how can more destruction bring it back?"
Heng opened his mouth to speak, but stopped, looking somewhat startled at his son's simple yet profound words. He broke eye contact with Cong and looked back down at the chart.
"... I... I need some time alone," he finally said. "I need to finish planning our next course of action."
Cong bowed solemnly. "Yes, father."
Giving Heng one last look, the fox turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him as he left.
The armadillo waited until he heard Cong leave before dropping his facade and leaning forward heavily, his face in his hands and his elbows on the table. He stared at the map through his claws as he thought of his son's words. Cong should have felt the same way he did. After all, he was the one that was truly stripped of everything he'd loved and had. Heng had lost so much as well through similar events, but not to the extent of his son. So why didn't the fox want revenge anymore?
His brow furrowed in deep thought. Had Cong ever really wanted revenge? He'd never actually voiced his desire for vengeance or showed much lasting anger towards the Furious Five without Heng's prodding. In fact, the giant armadillo couldn't think of a time when Cong had ever expressed wanting revenge on the Kung Fu Warriors. Had Heng imagined his son's anger and hurt this whole time, his judgement being clouded by his own pride and hurt feelings?
For the first time in many years, Heng thought about his life and whether anything he'd done had actually made him feel any better about what he had lost or not. The more he contemplated it, the emptier he felt.
Finally realizing his terrible mistakes, he slid off the table, collapsed to his hands and knees, and sobbed.
