This next chapter is a birthday gift for Red Panda Obesessor. Happy Birthday! I"m sorry it's late, but i couldn't upload it for some reason.
Chapter Ten- Final Battle
Shifu snarled, ready to fight the lion that had almost taken away something he held dear.
Bā hén backed up a little, angry that his plans had failed, and scared that Shifu was in his werewolf form and was about to attack. Then he noticed the shark tank and got an idea; if he couldn't use Shifu to take over the valley, then he'd destroy Shifu to prevent him from thwarting his plans.
Bā hén walked backwards towards the ladder to the broken plank. Shifu followed, not taking his eyes off the evil lion. Quick as a wink, Bā hén sheathed his sword and started scrambling up the ladder. He barely had time to dodge Shifu's teeth as the large wolf jumped up high, destroying part of the ladder. Shifu kept going up, snapping at Bā hén. When the lion ninja reached the top, he turned to face Shifu. The kung fu master got to the top and snarled at Bā hén. Bā hén took out his dagger and flung it at Shifu as the werewolf master charged. Shifu skidded to a halt, wincing as he transformed to normal. The dagger had embedded itself in his shoulder. Shifu grasped the handle and pulled it out, wincing from another wave of pain.
"Not so strong now, are you?" Bā hén taunted. He drew his sword and lunged. Shifu raised the dagger and parried the strike. Bā hén lunged again, and he and Shifu engaged in battle. Shifu was a bit worried; he had a dagger with a foot-long blade and Bā hén's sword blade was at least four feet long. But Shifu knew he had to hold Bā hén off so everyone else could get away. Shifu parried, lunged, kicked, and punched as much as he could without falling off the broken plank. After a furious battle, Shifu kicked Bā hén away and looked over the edge of the tank to see his students. The Five and Po were checking on Lin, making sure she was okay. Zhan shi, Chen, and Yī fù were still engaged in a battle with Bèn zhuō, Jiǎo, and Lǐng xiù.
Bā hén got back up and attacked Shifu again, punching him hard and hitting him off the wooden plank. Shifu managed to grab the plank before he fell, but he dropped the dagger into the waters below. Two great white sharks leaped up to grab Shifu's tail, but he lifted it at the last second. Shifu swung up and did a flip as he landed dangerously close to broken edge of the wooden plank. Bā hén growled and lunged. Shifu had a harder time dodging the blows of the sword without the dagger, as Bā hén was basically trying to run the red panda thru with his katana. Shifu took one step backwards and a piece he was stepping on broke. Shifu lost his balance, and Bā hén tried to slash his sword. Shifu dropped down, grabbed the plank, and swung up to land a hard kick to Bā hén's face. Bā hén grabbed Shifu's foot in mid-kick and slammed the master to the plank. Bā hén pushed against Shifu's throat, pinning him to the plank.
"If only you could see yourself." Bā hén sneered. "You're nothing but a worthless rat."
Shifu wasn't trying to pull away very much. He heard the three sharks below him, splashing around and waiting for Shifu to fall in and became their snack. But Shifu could feel Bā hén's paw push harder against his neck. Shifu was losing air, and if he didn't die from Bā hén cutting off his airways, the lion would let Shifu go and give him to the sharks.
"Don't worry about dying." Bā hén said. "It'll happen soon enough."
Shifu was scared. Not for him, but for Lin and everyone else. If he died, what would Lin do? Bā hén raised his sword to kill the kung fu master trapped in his grasp. That's when Shifu got an idea. He was already leaning off the plank a little ways. If he moved enough, he'd fall off.
Shifu grabbed Bā hén's arm and pulled hard, pushing off the wooden plank. The two of them fell, both plunging headfirst into the shark tank. Shifu closed his eyes and mouth and held his breath right when he hit the water. When Shifu opened his eyes, he saw nothing but bubbles for a second. When the bubbles cleared, Shifu saw himself on the bottom of the tank, sitting on a small pile of sand. He pushed off and started swimming up to the surface. He burst thru the surface and gasped, coughing as air rushed to his lungs. Shifu looked around, trying to find a way out. He could feel his blood running down his chest and into the water. If he didn't get out soon, the sharks would smell his blood and attack.
So, here's the good news and the bad news.
Good news: Crane was flying overhead with Viper on his back, ready to fly down and grab Shifu.
Bad news: Before Crane could touch his master, one of the sharks grabbed Shifu's broken leg and pulled him under.
Shifu barely had time to hold his breath before disappearing under the surface of the water. Shifu gave the shark a hard kick to the nose to make the shark let go. The shark attacked again, his friend joining him. Shifu noticed out of the corner of his eye that Bā hén was fighting off the third shark. The two sharks attacking Shifu swam towards him from two different directions. Shifu moved in time so the sharks collided. Shifu found Bā hén's dagger and grabbed it, ready to fight. The first shark that come at him, he stabbed the dagger into its head. The shark died quickly, but Shifu couldn't get the dagger out. The master frantically started swimming to the surface, Shark Number Two on his tail.
Quite literally actually; the shark grabbed Shifu's tail and pulled him down again. Shifu struggled to fight him off as he was forced to hold his breath longer. That's when Viper dived down and helped her master, wrapping herself around the sharks and strangling him. Viper grabbed Shifu with her tail and helped him to the surface. They got to the top and burst out, coughing.
"Thanks." Shifu whispered.
"Don't thank me yet!" Viper exclaimed as she swam. Shifu swam after her when he realized the last shark was coming toward them. Crane swooped down next to them. Shifu helped Viper up first before climbing on himself. But before Crane could fly away, Bā hén burst thru the surface and grabbed his foot. The extra weight pulled Crane down towards the shark, which was jumping up to the bird. Crane tried to fly away and kick Bā hén off, but the lion took out his katana and tried to stab the avian in the heart. Shifu jumped down and gave Bā hén and good kick to the face. Both of them fell, hitting the end of the wooden plank and breaking it more. Bā hén grabbed a piece of the plank that was hanging off the plank by a small group of strong splinters. Shifu grabbed a sharp spike of the wood. But Shifu's piece was breaking fast, and Shifu couldn't get a good hold of it before he fell to the hungry shark below.
Shifu braced himself for three rows of sharp teeth ripping his flesh apart.
Instead, Shifu felt a scaly, clawed paw grab his paw.
Shifu looked up and saw Lin holding his paw with one of her paws and clawing the plank with her claws so she didn't fall off. Lin pulled with all her might and managed to haul Shifu up to the plank. Shifu sighed with relief and smiled at the dragon.
"That's my girl." He said. Lin smiled and nuzzled him. Shifu's smile disappeared quickly when he heard Bā hén yell, "Back off you beast!" Shifu looked over the edge and saw Bā hén trying to climb up to escape the shark below him. But he couldn't get a good enough grip. Bā hén stabbed his katana into the plank to pull him up, but he slipped, falling back and leaving his katana stuck in the plank. Shifu could see the piece of the plank Bā hén was holding onto breaking. Shifu grabbed onto the plank he was on and reached down towards Bā hén.
"Bā hén! Grab on!" Shifu yelled. Bā hén growled, unsheathed his claws, and swiped them at Shifu's arm, leaving deep scratches. Shifu recoiled, but reached down again. "Bā hén, just grab my hand and I'll pull you up!"
"I don't need you help!" Bā hén screamed, trying to pull himself up.
But Shifu saw that Bā hén's claws had cut half of the splinters that were holding the piece of wood.
"Bā hén, come on!" Shifu begged. "I'll help you." Bā hén snarled and swiped his claws one more time.
His claws missed Shifu's hand.
But they cut the last few splinters.
Bā hén fell to the water, yelling. Shifu pulled Lin close so she couldn't see the bloody water and Bā hén be devoured by the shark. Shifu felt dizzy and weak from his wounds. He grabbed Bā hén's katana. He took Lin in his arms and wearily climbed down the ladder to his students and werewolves. Zhan shi, Chen, and Yī fù had chased off the hyenas Bèn zhuō, Jiǎo, and Lǐng xiù. Yī fù walked to Shifu.
"Let's get home." She said. "You need medical attention." Shifu only nodded as he walked off to the palace. Everyone else followed without a word. The sun had set when they arrived at the steps. Once at the palace, Shifu almost collapsed from pain and weakness. Yī fù led him to the infirmary, Tigress, Viper, and Chen following. Everyone else went to bed. Shifu set Lin down to play with Chen while Yī fù urged him into a bed. Tigress and Viper helped tend Shifu's wounds while Yī fù gave them directions. When they were done, Yī fù, Viper, and Chen left to give Shifu some rest. Tigress stayed next to Shifu's bed. Lin crawled into Shifu's bed and curled up next to him. Shifu stroked the dragon's fur and sighed.
"What's wrong?" Tigress asked.
"I could've saved him." Shifu said. "I could've saved Bā hén's life."
"And then what?" Tigress said. "You think he would be a changed man? He would've just killed you anyway."
"I didn't want him to die like that." Shifu said. "I'd rather he be put in jail for attempted murder than have him be devoured by a shark."
"At least you tried to save him rather than try and push him into the water." Tigress said.
"Baba wise." Lin said, yawning. "He will be the greatest for eternity." She yawned again and went to sleep.
"How does she know that?" Tigress asked.
"I guess it's a dragon thing." Shifu said. They chuckled.
Suddenly, Lin started to twitch. She snarled, and her eyes snapped open. They were glowing bright gold.
"What's happening?" Shifu asked.
"I don't-" Tigress started.
Then, Lin spoke in a voice much older than hers. It sounded distant, yet close at the same time.
"Eight shall go to the house of ghosts,
One shall face the terrible host.
Beware of the traps that lie within,
One will be confronted by his sins.
To defeat the evil that will show,
The heroes must be aided by their foe.
One will perish to save his friends,
Should the ghosts be released, it will all end.
Sadness and grief shall follow the end to danger,
But joy shall come from a powerful stranger."
When Lin was done, she collapsed. Shifu lifted her head and the little dragon blinked, opening her eyes.
"What was that?" she asked.
"Tigress, can you remember what she said?" Shifu asked. Tigress nodded. "Write it down. I think it's a prophecy." Tigress obeyed, grabbing a scroll and ink and quickly writing what Lin said.
"What does this mean?" Tigress asked her master.
"I don't know." Shifu said. "But we need to hold onto that until we find out." Tigress nodded and handed it to Shifu to hold. Tigress left for bed.
"What happens now?" Lin asked.
"I don't know." Shifu said. "We just have to wait. Destiny works in mysterious ways."
With that, the two of them went to sleep.
They didn't realize just how soon the prophecy would come true.
A/N: Done! Again, Happy Birthday RPO. Please help me decide my next story to start. You can review any of my stories and tell me, take my poll or PM me. I don't care how many stories you choose. You can choose all of them if you want. Thanks for reading! Review please!
By the way, the winner of the contest for which story i will write next is OC Heroes and Villains. I will be posting the first chapter soon! So read and review that too!