Chapter 10: Anxiety Issues
"I told you not to come with us!"
"Yeah, but you didn't stop me when I came, did you?"
"Of course not; it would have done no good! Once you were out there, with us, it was too late! That's why I didn't say anything!"
"Then why get all huffy-puffy with me now?"
"BECAUSE YOU DID COME! Don't you realize what he's doing? He's baiting you, Kitty! He'll lure you right to him, weaken all your resolves, and finish you."
"How do you know that's what he's planning?"
Shen took a deep breath.
"Because...that's what I tried to do to your brother. I told you that already."
"And I already told you: you're not like him!"
"Maybe not, but he IS like me...or at least, the me that I was before!"
Kurisu growled.
"Then are you sure it's me he's baiting?"
Without another word, she ran off.
Shen hissed softly.
That's the second time we've argued like this, and she's run off...
"She's wiser than one would think for her age," murmered Lanying, who had left her room to look at the commotion.
Shen sighed.
"Wise, but not necessarily clever. There is a slight difference, and she's a child."
"She won't rest until she's gotten what she wants, will she?"
Shen smirked despite himself.
"I certainly hope not."
"Master Sheng Li!"
Sheng Li and Lanying turned to see Master Storming Ox coming up the stairs.
"Master Croc is still overseeing repairs. You wanted to see me?"
"Ah, yes," Shen said, and cleared his throat. "What do you know about a weapon called a pistol?"
Ox raised an eyebrow.
"Only that it was built by a foreigner who had seen your cannons."
"Well, it seems Maddohatta is well acquainted with a place pistols are available. He has created a 'portable' version of my firework cannons."
"Gave it some kind of weird name," added Xun, who was just returning from the kitchen downstairs. "What was it...the Dragon's Neck?"
"The Dragon's What?"
"Neck. Our mad cat seems to be on the theatrical side in names, to say the least," Shen said.
Ox crossed his arms.
"He seems theatrical with everything, Shen. How bad is it?"
"Did you see the house fire?"
"Yes..."
"That bad...or worse."
Ox sighed.
"This is getting exhausting...when was the last time somebody stood up to three masters..."
"And a wolf..."
"And held his own? Present company excluded, of course."
Shen said nothing.
"Does Shifu know yet?" asked Lanying; she was starting to grow uncomfortable in the crowded area.
"We sent word to him, just as your husband requested. Tang returned this morning, but had no reply to give."
Shen raised an eyebrow.
"Really? No...rally for action? No...I don't know...words of clichéd wisdom?"
"Nothing. According to Tang, when he heard the name of the assailant, he was speechless."
Shen, himself, could not say a word.
Again.
"What now?"
"We find out where he's keeping these weapons; in making them smaller, he could easily mass-produce them at a fairly quick pace. Far quicker than it took me to make my cannons."
"How much quicker?"
"It took me thirty years and a lot of metal to make my cannons, and I still had some to spare. These will require less, his army is – I hope – smaller, and I do not believe he has as much in quantity of supplies."
"How. Much. Quicker?"
Shen gulped and looked down.
"If we use one hundred as a number of reference...about two weeks, at best, depending on how long he has been making them already.
There was silence.
"We need to find his factory. Fast."
"Duly noted. I already have an idea of where it might be."
"What is it?"
"Every time this...Maddohatta escapes, he departs by boat. Tell me, are there any islands nearby Gongmen, just large enough for a building about the size of the factory we had here?"
Ox blinked.
"Only one," he said. "It's an underwater mountain; the peak forms the island. We call it Mt. Unes."
"How far away is it?"
"Not too far, but you wouldn't be able to see it from the harbor..."
"And how fast could we reach it by boat?"
"About three days...two if we hurry."
"I have a fair guess that that's where he is."
"Then we check?"
"Yes; we must get to the island. With luck, there will be a factory there."
"And if not?"
"We beg the gods that we find the true destination fairly soon."
"And once we get there, we destroy the building, yes?"
"Correct, Master Ox; we must take care of the factory before we can take care of the cat in the hat. If we're lucky, we'll be able to take care of both."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Xun grinned.
Within a few hours, Shen, Xun, Croc, Ox, and the whole company were on the harbor...minus Kurisu, who had refused to leave her room.
"Show me your painting when we return," smiled Shen, giving Lanying a peck on the cheek.
She grinned.
"I shall, Lord Shen," she chuckled, curtseying mockingly.
Shen rolled his eyes and turned to the Soothsayer.
"You do realize why, for once, you have to stay?" he said flatly.
"I'll remain...someone needs to watch your two ladies."
"Nana!"
Min Yun only smiled, old eyes twinkling.
"Come on, chicken-bones!" barked Xun, loading a few boxes of supplies for the trip. "Do you want to catch this guy or not?"
"Coming!" called Shen, and turned back to the Soothsayer. "Please, tell Itty Bitty Kitty I'm sorry, and let her know I'll take her with me next time."
The old goat nodded.
Shen smiled, glanced at Lanying, and boarded the boat.
Not long after, it disappeared over the horizon. Lanying and Min Yun watched until the last second.
"We'll need to be ready for archers...he might have a few," said Croc, holding up a few shields he had brought for protection.
Shen nodded.
"Is there any way to move around the island where we won't be so visible to any guards?"
"There is a tunnel in the side of the peak...we might be able to land the boat there and make our way to whatever stronghold is set from there."
Shen only nodded a second time.
As the ferry moved forward, no one noticed a small blue tail whisk itself under a tarp that covered some boxes...