Chapter Ten- Facing the Shadows
"This is beyond insane!"
"Shut up, or they'll hear us!"
"Kivu, get off my foot!"
"Sorry."
"Ow! You kicked my stomach!"
"Well this trunk really isn't that big."
"Maybe that's your fault!"
"You calling me fat?"
"So what if I am?"
"Kiki, Kivu, quit it."
"Says the old man who is currently sitting upon my tail; I can't feel it!"
"All of you be quiet!" Yuki nearly yelled.
Ok, so maybe piling into a large trunk and being shipped across to Elysium wasn't exactly the best idea in the world. But it did get them off the island. However, it was quite a bumpy ride as the trunk was lifted onto a carriage and carted off to its destination, only to have it drop once they got there.
Kiki, who had been gazing at their surroundings thru the keyhole, declared the coast clear and the four of them pulled themselves out of the box. The only other person in the room was Kiki's aunt.
"Thanks again." Kiki told her aunt as the group came out.
"My pleasure." The elder cheetah said. "Now I'd get going if I were you; there are security ghouls searching all over the place for you. And once Hades finds out, he'll be sending even more powerful forces to stop you." The group thanked Kiki's aunt again before leaving. Yuki led the group out of Elysium, hiding in the shadows as security ghouls passed by. Then it wasn't much but caverns and corridors of stone. Shifu, remembering Madame Tera's warning, returned to his werewolf form.
"So, where exactly are we going?" Kiki asked.
"I've been hearing rumors." Yuki replied. "And I think I have a good idea on where the girls are being held."
"Where?" Kivu asked a bit too eagerly.
"In Hades' palace." Yuki said grimly. "The darned place; I was hoping that I'd never have to go back there. But this is important, so I'll make an exception. Underneath the palace is the dungeon. We'll go in, save the girls, and get out."
"But shouldn't we find out why Hades stole them?" Kiki put out.
"That might have to wait." Shifu said. "Depending on how our luck goes."
"Being in the Land of the Dead, I can't imagine having much luck on our side." Kivu muttered. Kiki whacked the zebra's head with her bow.
The group traveled on. They had to hide at least ten times as security passed by, but one ghoul did see them. Shifu took him down with ease. All that was left as they walked on was a pile of bones and a torn-up uniform. After what seemed like hours, the group stopped to rest after Kiki complained that her feet hurt.
"How long have we been walking?" she wondered aloud.
"Who knows?" Yuki shrugged. "Time is different in the Underworld." Suddenly, Shifu tensed up.
"Hide!" he hissed. Everyone dived behind some nearby rocks and cautiously peeked out. They watched as a group of shadow warriors came by, stopping in front of their view. Standing before the army was an albino ferret with bright red eyes, black leggings, a denim mini skirt, a black tank top, and a denim jacket.
"Skia…." Shifu growled quietly. Luckily, he wasn't heard.
Skia, King of Shadows (despite being a girl) stood before the group of shadow warriors. "My master, Hades, tells me that there are living beings down here. We must find them. I want all of you to spread out; check everywhere. If you find them, you may wound them. But they must be kept alive. Anyone who disobeys this order will be thrown into the Fields of Punishment." The shadow warriors saluted and dispersed. Skia lingered for a moment, but then disappeared in a black cloud.
"How do you know her?" Kiki asked. Shifu told the group about his dream.
"What would Hades want revenge for?" Kivu asked.
"How would I know?" Shifu demanded. "I woke up after that because you were pounding on the door."
Kivu looked sheepish. "So, should we be worried?"
"She's the King of Shadows." Yuki groaned. "I would think that having that title means we should be worried, seeing how we're her enemies." The group traveled on, but there was a flash of hatred in Shifu's eyes.
"How much longer until we're there?" Kiki asked nervously.
"Not much longer." Yuki assured. "We may have to sneak past the Furies to get into Hades' palace, but after that, it'll be easy to find the girls and then get out."
"Great." There was a long pause before Kiki finally asked, "What are Furies?"
"There are three Furies." Kivu explained. "They work for Hades and Zeus, punishers of the evil. But if Hades says so, they will attack us."
"How bad can they be?" Kiki shrugged.
"They're hags with wings and talons." Kivu added.
Kiki went silent after that. It actually wasn't long until she suddenly tensed. "You guys hear that?"
"Yep." Shifu growled.
"Hide!" Yuki ordered. Everyone hid where they could. Looking up, they saw human hags with large, black feathery wings and long talons for fingernails.
Yuki heard a growl and looked to her right, seeing Shifu beside her. "Calm down." She told him. "We can't let them catch us or they'll take us to Hades."
"Or kill us." Shifu added. "But I'll tear them to shreds before that happens."
Suddenly, one of the Furies tensed up. Everyone below tried to make themselves smaller, shrinking back into their hiding places. The Fury's eyes scanned the area below her, and she suddenly screeched. She dive-bombed towards the ground, and Kiki suddenly darted out from her hiding place in the shadows. Kiki fired an arrow, which pierced the hag's stomach. The Fury reared back, screeching like a banshee. Kiki kept running as the other two Furies came after her. Their sister recovered and joined them. Kivu, Shifu, and Yuki recovered from their shock and ran after the group. One of the Furies, however, managed to grab Kiki in her talons and flew off with the cheetah cub. The other two Furies dived in to attack Shifu, Yuki, and Kivu. Shifu darted past them and charged after the Fury that held his granddaughter. He managed to leap up and off the wall and launch himself at the Fury, tackling her to the ground. Kiki rolled away and looked up to find her grandfather and the Fury fighting fiercely.
The Fury slashed her talons and bit into Shifu's neck with her sharp teeth. Shifu snarled and kicked the Fury off. He tackled the hag to the ground and held her there, growling and baring his sharp wolf teeth. The Fury hissed and slashed her talons across Shifu's face. He jumped back and the Fury flew off, her sisters joining her. Kiki ran over to Shifu, Yuki and Kivu joining them. Surprisingly, they didn't have many wounds except for a few scratches. But Shifu was whimpering slightly like a wounded dog. Yuki looked at his face and saw the claw marks from the Fury's final blow. There were three scratch marks across the right side of Shifu's face; one to the right of his eye, one over his eye, and a third running slightly down his muzzle.
"That looks pretty nasty." Kiki cringed.
Kivu took a better look at it. "It's not bleeding much, but it will scar." Kiki took out a cloth she uses to clean her bow with and lightly dabbed away the blood.
"We must keep moving." Yuki urged when Kiki was done. "No doubt those Furies will be warning Hades and Skia about where we are." Everyone nodded and rushed off, seeing Hades' palace just up ahead. They burst thru the doors, expecting guards. But there was nothing but a courtyard. Once the group had stepped thru, the gates slammed shut behind them. A black cloud circled down from the cave ceiling and materialized in front of them.
Skia made a tsk tsk sound. "Are you really that dense? Did you honestly believe that it would be that easy?"
"Where are Lin and Shinjitsu?" Kivu demanded.
"Look, I'm trying to do you a favor." Skia groaned. "Trust me when I say that it'll be better for everyone if you all go home."
"We're not leaving without them." Kiki declared.
Skia sighed. "I don't want to have to kill you."
Shifu was the first to stand ready. "Bring it on."
Skia sneered and brought out a spear. Its tip was blood red. "One touch from this spear's blade and you'll burst to ashes." She moved her jacket to reveal a metal fan on her belt. "This fan is as sharp as the Sword of Heroes, and can launch powerful whirlwinds and shockwaves." Skia held her spear ready. "If you value your life, you'll just leave now."
"Well, then we must be suicidal." Kiki retorted, notching and arrow into her bow. For a moment, there was a tense silence. Then, Kiki fired her arrow.
Skia deflected the arrow with her spear and summoned her group of shadow warriors. Then, the two groups attacked. While Kiki, Kivu, and Yuki fought the shadows, Shifu charged straight for Skia. The two of them fought hard. Skia swung and stabbed with her spear and sliced thru the air with her fan. Shifu did his best to dodge both of them, but he soon noticed he didn't really need to. Shifu couldn't help but notice that Skia's aim seemed a bit off. It wasn't until Shifu pinned the ferret down that he noticed something else about her. For one thing, he remembered her eyes from somewhere.
I wonder… Shifu thought.
He jumped back when Skia slashed at him with her fan. When she stood to face him again, he stopped. "You're holding back." He said.
Skia seemed surprised, but her eyes narrowed. "Why would I hold back?"
"Because you know me from somewhere." Shifu replied. "And I know you; we've known each other for a long time."
"That's impossible." Skia snapped.
"Nothing is impossible." Shifu retorted. Then, he went back to his red panda form. "Does this help you remember?"
Skia didn't say anything. She was too busy staring at the kung fu master before her. "No….." she breathed. She suddenly barked an order. "Retreat!" The shadow warriors didn't hesitate, disappearing in multiple puffs of smoke. Skia took one last look at Shifu, who had transformed to a werewolf, before flying off in a black cloud.
Kiki, Yuki, and Kivu caught up with Shifu. "What did you do?"
"Raised some unpleasant memories." Shifu sighed.
"What do you mean?" Kiki asked.
Shifu turned to them. "I've known Skia for a long time. Her parents were good friends of mine, and Master Oogway's. When their house was destroyed by a fire, we gave them shelter in the Jade Palace." Shifu smiled softly. "Skia was always an energetic little kit. Her parents always talked with me about training her. But….." Shifu sighed. "..Skia's parents died during Tai Lung's rampage. Master Oogway found Skia the next day and brought her to the palace. My leg was still broken pretty badly, but once I could walk again, I started training her. When she was sixteen, she went off on a mission without my knowledge. When I found out, it was too late; we never found her."
"So, you think Hades brainwashed her?" Kiki wondered.
"Not if she remembers me and wasn't willing to hurt me." Shifu disagreed.
Yuki saw her lover's pained eyes. "We should find the girls." Everyone nodded in agreement and quietly snuck into Hades' palace.
A/N: I should probably mention that the security ghouls came from Percy Jackson, too. And Skia's weapons are actually mine from Demon Slayers: Yin and Yang.