Author's Note: I should warn you, this is about how far I got when I originally planned out this story, so there may be long delays between future chapters due to writer's block. Like, longer than usual. Just a head's up.
Chapter 9: Motives
"Ugh…where am I?"
As Skunk slowly regained consciousness, the first thing he noticed was that he was lying on the ground in a place that was definitely not the Valley. The second thing he noticed was that his wrists had been securely tied together with thick rope. After a few moments of struggling he managed to sit himself up and he took a look at his surroundings.
This wasn't the first time he had been captured, but the monkeys had never taken such extreme precautions to contain him. He was not only tied up, but sitting inside of a large cage, and a metal cage at that. Even his usual cocky bravado couldn't delude him into thinking it would be easy to bust out of here. Looking outside the cage, Skunk saw that he was in a cave of some sort, probably one of the many caves the monkeys liked to hide out in. Though this one was clearly under new management…
He was interrupted in his thoughts by a strange sound coming from outside the room. It sounded like metal scraping against the ground and seemed to be coming towards him. Expecting to see a wolf dragging an executioner's axe, Skunk was only slightly relieved, when what appeared to be an albino peacock entered the room. The peacock wore stark white robes that matched his plumage as well as large metallic blades on his talons, which Skunk realized was the source of the scraping sound. He glared over at him with piercing red eyes that could give Su's a run for their money.
"So you're Skunk? The 'kung fu kid' I've heard so much about?" He looked him over and gave a dismissive snort. "You certainly don't look like anything that could possibly be a threat to me. Then again…neither do pandas…"
"Who are you?" Skunk asked. He yelped as a knife went sailing past his head, skillfully passing through both sets of bars to embed itself on the wall behind him.
"Don't interrupt me!" the peacock snapped. "The only reason you're still alive is because I need you that way for my plan to work. After that, I will take great pleasure in killing you." He turned and started walking away, still speaking. "None who fit that accursed prophecy can be allowed to live. I must eliminate them all if I am to take back my rightful place in Gongmen City!" Skunk didn't know what Gongmen City was or anything about a prophecy, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.
Just before the peacock exited the room, he looked over his shoulder and said one last thing.
"As for your question…you may call me Lord Shen."
"Lord Shen?"
"Yeah, that's what she said."
The Valley was assembled for their second emergency meeting of the week after the surprise wolf attack that morning. No one had any idea who these invaders were, where they came from, or why they had all suddenly retreated in the middle of battle. At least, not until Skunk's team returned…without Skunk.
Fox watched as Bird handed over a small scroll to Master Panda. She didn't know who this "Lord Shen" was, but clearly Panda did if the look on his face was anything to go by. In all her years of living in the Valley, she had never seen the old master look so frightened before. Of course, with Skunk in danger, she wasn't exactly calm herself.
"Care to fill us in here, Pandie? Who the heck is this Shen guy?" asked an impatient Rabbit, fiddling with his new leopard fang necklace. Panda seemed to ignore him as he silently read the scroll, but finally sighed and spoke again.
"Most of you are not aware of this…I never saw reason to tell you…but there are not many giant pandas left in the world. In fact, I may well be the only one left."
This unexpected announcement caused a chorus of gasps to erupt from the crowd, something that was quickly becoming common in these meetings. For a few moments, everyone was too shocked to ask the obvious question until Fox finally managed. "W-what happened to them?"
Panda gave another sigh and looked over at everyone with a serious gaze. "Lord Shen happened." Sensing that there was a story coming, everyone leaned in close to Panda as he spoke.
"Shen used to be the prince of a place known as Gongmen City, far to the north of here."
"Isn't that the place where fireworks were invented?" Master Crane asked.
"Indeed. But Shen wanted to harness the power of the fireworks to create deadly weapons. His parents were worried about him and consulted their family soothsayer, who told them a prophecy." Panda paused here, letting everyone know that this was the important part of the story. "It stated that if Shen continued on his current path, he would be defeated by a 'warrior of black and white'. Unfortunately, Shen overheard and…"
"Hold on a minute," Rabbit interrupted. "Are you saying this guy just assumed something that vague was talking about a panda? I could dump black and white paint on my head and fit that prophecy right now."
Panda shot him a glare, another expression not commonly seen from the peaceful master. "As I was about to say, Shen is not in his right mind. As soon as he decided that pandas were a threat to him, he took his army to their nearby village and massacred them all." He paused to allow another wave of shock to pass through the crowd. "His parents banished him from the city for this crime and he's been in exile ever since. But his madness didn't stop there. He brought his legions across the rest of China, hunting down the rest of the panda species and anything else that could potentially be this 'warrior of black and white'."
Tiger looked down at his fur and gulped. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be in my cave. Forever." The feline turned and ran until he was out of sight. No one stopped him.
"How do you know about all of this?" Fox asked. "You've lived in the Valley your whole life."
"Isolated as we may be, I like to keep informed on events in the outside world. And something like this is hard to keep low-key…" As he said this he started squeezing the scroll in his paws out of stress and Fox realized that he had never told them what it said. As if reading her thoughts, Panda spoke up again.
"Shen wants me to surrender myself in exchange for Skunk's life." No gasps this time. Everyone had feared as much. But that didn't mean they were silent about it.
"He won't follow that agreement," Master Turtle protested. "Skunk fits the prophecy too!"
"How are we supposed to win the war without you?" asked Frog.
"You can't just give up!" Rabbit yelled.
As the rest of the Valley fell into an uproar, Panda turned and looked up at sky in reflection. Both a trio of assassins and a psychotic warlord were gunning for him and now he was faced with a decision where either choice could doom the Valley.
It was hard to believe that just last week, everyone was complaining about having nothing to do.
Lord Shen walked through the halls of the cave, leaving the annoying brat behind. Kids these days. They didn't know how to respect their betters. As he walked, several wolf soldiers caught sight of him and either bowed or just did their best to stay out of his way. Shen snorted in disgust. Honestly, these fools were barely any better than those "Ninja Monkeys" the Wu Sisters mentioned.
Said trio was coming down the hall from the opposite end. Wing and Wan were both talking to Su, but seemed to be having two completely different conversations.
"…can't believe that little creep actually took one of my fangs! I mean, I know that no one will see it because of my mask, but it's the principle of the thing! You can't just.."
"…and he had these big strong muscles too. Not Tai Lung-level of course, that guy is ripped, but still pretty hot. Oh, and a cute butt…"
"…just hid in the grass like a coward! Aren't kung fu warriors supposed to honorable or something? What a complete load of…"
"…and they went and dragged me off of him when they were running away. But that's alright, because I'll find him again. And when I do, I'll…"
"…beat him to an inch of his life and…"
"…hug him and cuddle him and…"
"…tear his head off!"
They both stopped abruptly when they noticed Shen. "Come with me," he ordered. They didn't budge.
"What's the magic word?" Wan asked. They didn't actually care about manners, of course. This was just their way of reminding Shen that they were working with him, not for him.
The warlord looked like he was in physical pain. "…Please."
She smiled. "That's better." Shen tried to ignore the amused looks from Wing and Su as he continued down the hall, the sisters following behind him.
"You didn't kill the kid already, did you?" Su asked, only half-joking.
"No, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't tempted."
"Then what did you want to talk to us about?" Shen suddenly turned around on the spot, stopping them in their tracks.
"Why did you contact me?"
They looked confused. "I didn't like our odds of taking down the panda alone and I thought we could use some assistance," Su explained. "Didn't I tell you that before?"
"Yes, but why exactly did you need my army? You could have pulled off this same plan with Dragon and his monkeys."
"Because we don't like Dragon and his monkeys." Wing said bluntly.
"So what? He was paying you a small fortune!"
Su smiled. "That's just it. A small fortune. For some petty assassination. But we are helping to eliminate a threat to your future empire and to your very life. That warrants a far greater reward, don't you think?
Shen's displeasure was extremely evident. "And what would that be?" Su crouched down to meet him at eye-level, a move he would've found condescending if not for the serious look in her eyes.
"Power. When you become Emperor, when all of China bows before you, we want a position of power in the 'Shen Dynasty'."
Shen was briefly caught off guard by the request, but regained his composure and smirked. "You should have held that over me before you led me here. What if I decide I don't need you anymore and fire you right now? What happens then?"
Wan looked shocked, Wing looked outraged, and Su…smiled calmly. "Well, I suppose we could find other ways to move up in the world. Like, say, claiming the bounty on your head…"
Truth be told, Shen didn't particularly like the Wu Sisters, but their skills in kung fu and assassination certainly made him respect them. The audacity to threaten his life to his face even more so.
"You have a deal."
