Leo was working on the gun. Mantis and Mark were close by, helping, and Simon was chilling on the floor.
"This is an incredible handmade work…" Leo stated, analyzing the weapon. "And this smell..." He sniffed it. "I like it. It means it's a recent creation!"
Mark looked at him, scared. "Stop contemplating his work! That's not why they entrusted you with the weapon."
Leo laughed awkwardly. "I know, it's just I really like everything that's mechanical..."
Mantis changed the topic. "How much longer is this going to take?" he asked, moving the toolbox closer to him.
Leo searched inside, pulled out a wrench, and opened the gun. "I guess a couple of hours… It seems to be in good shape, so, luckily, I don't have extra repairs to do."
"Can't you do it faster?" Mantis hurried. "Who knows what will happen if this gun hasn't been fixed yet?"
"I understand that," the human replied quietly. "But I can't work miracles."
Time went by, and as the others watch him working, Leo didn't show hesitation or worry, giving the others positive vibes that everything was going smoothly. "Time for good news." Mantis climbed on his shoulder, hoping to hear something good.
He smiled. "If someone stops annoying me every moment I'll be able to finish in a couple of hours."
Mantis saw him sealing the weapon; that's why he asked. "But..isn't it-"
"The weapon? Yes, it is." Leo cut in. "That wasn't the hardest part..." he sighed, showing them what he had inside her pocket, wrapped around a handkerchief.
Mantis and Mark stared at it very closely, trying to understand what that was. "Is it a bullet?" they asked.
Leo nodded. "Yes. This is the one that hit Fulvio." He moved it around, showing them that it was broken; totally useless.
"If we don't have any ammo, how can we save him?" the bug asked.
"I saw a laser back there when Fenghuang tried to get me as well," Simon commented, hearing their conversation. "How's it possible that there's a bullet..."
Leo's eyes shined, ready to explain how the weapon worked. "This little capsule created an electric area around itself. When shot, the bullet is so fast that we perceive some sort of laser..." He continued adding details over details until Simon stood up to cover his mouth.
"I think I get it, thanks." He frowned, annoyed.
Mark laughed. "He's such a nerd."
Leo moved Simon's fang away. "Sorry, I got carried away." Then he glanced over the broken bullet, sighing, "If only I had a better bullet, I could finish way faster."
The crocodile's eyes widened, remembering something. "Maybe we can find another one."
"It's not like you can find them anywhere," Mantis joked.
Simon rose an eyebrow. "Fenghuang shot three times since she got here."
Mark remembered where and when. "He's right; she used it against Monkey and Fulvio, then she missed trying to get Shifu or Simon."
"At least someone here has a brain," the crocodile commented sarcastically.
"Hey, I couldn't know that," Mantis muttered.
Simon turned his back to them, heading outside. "Mantis, come with me. We'll look for the bullet she missed on me." He stopped right before the exit. "Mark, you should get the one stuck on Monkey. Who knows? It may be useful."
Po, Tigress, Viper, Crane and a fox were on their way to Taotie's house in the middle of the bamboo forest.
"Hey, Emily...you okay?" Crane saw her looking kinda lost, meaning something still bothered her. She hadn't talked at all from the moment they left the palace.
The girl nodded, uncertain, to not cause more problems for them. "Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry."
"Soon we will be there," Viper reminded them, but mostly the fox. "Get ready."
Po suddenly stopped, causing a reaction until everyone reached him. "I'm tired..." He panted heavily, falling on the ground. "I need a break."
"We're almost there," Tigress commented. "I thought you stopped to prepare some sort of plan."
"Oh..." Po stood up, thinking. "We could go there in stealth mode and..."
"It's a shame that both Monkey and Mantis are not here," Crane commented sarcastically.
"Uh? Why?" Po rose an eyebrow. "Isn't it a good idea?"
"It is," Tigress continued. "I'm not sure about you doing it, that's all."
"Are you talking about what happened in Gongmen city?" He blushed, turning away.
"That was your first and last time I've ever allowed you do that," Tigress specified.
"I...I won't do that again," the Dragon Warrior mumbled. "A friend's life is at stake this time."
"Let's just send Viper to look around the place first," Tigress suggested, glancing at the leaving serpent.
The feline, hiding in a bush, followed her friend with her eyes. Everything seemed too quiet. Fenghuang should have been here already, but they didn't meet her on their way to the forest. She must be here. Viper reported the same things Tigress noticed, more or less.
"There's something odd in here..." Tigress commented, rubbing her chin.
"It may be a trap..." Crane suggested. "She saw us capturing Fung, so she's waiting for us somewhere, ready to attack when our guards are lowered."
"So what are we going to do? Sit here and do nothing?" Po asked impatiently.
"I saw that someone broke down the entrance," Viper added.
"Do you think Fenghuang forced Taotie to work for her?" Tigress guessed.
"Yes, there's no other reason to do so." The serpent nodded.
"Ok, it's time to check it out directly," the feline said, heading towards the house.
"Finally..." Po commented, relieved. "I couldn't take it anymore..."
Tigress walked inside, checking carefully if the owl was there, but nothing was weird; however, there were many surprises around. Taotie's body was found on the ground. She turned around, sending a signal with her paw. After that everyone joined her.
Viper slithered next to her. "What happened?" Then she saw the warthog. "Is he okay?" The snake put her head against his body, worried. "Luckily he's only unconscious."
Po ran past them, lifted him up and shook him several times. "Hey, wake up! Did Fenghuang hurt you? We need your help!"
Crane reached out to him. "Po, don't do that. It's not healthy to agitate someone who's unconscious like that."
Po lowered him down. "Sorry, I thought it would have helped somehow."
Taotie slowly opened his eyes. "Po is that you?" he mumbled, his vision still blurry, but anyone could have recognized Po's shape.
"Uh...yes, sorry about before." The giant panda smiled awkwardly.
"What are you talking about..." he commented, confused, then looked around, seeing the other masters. "What are you doing here?" His voice was very low, he could barely hold himself. Something must have happened.
"We're here because of what you built for Fenghuang." Tigress glared at him, ready to punish him.
That phrase called back the warthog's memories. "That stupid owl! She stole my beautiful work, and then used it against me!"
The fox approached him, having an idea. "And...would you like to get your revenge?"
He laughed. "I don't know you, but if you're here that means she won; there's nothing I can do."
"I don't think so," Emily insisted. "I had an idea, but you must be willing to cooperate with us to make it work."
"Why would I help my enemies like that?!" Taotie complained. "I really don't care what happens to you."
The fox frowned. "You are too farsighted to understand what happened, but not enough to understand what will."
"She'll come back. Are you ready to take her on by yourself?" Tigress crossed her arms, glaring at him.
"A-Alone?!" Taotie shivered. "You're here, you'll help me! That's your job after all."
"I usually help anyone in need, but...you made a mess and the least you could do is redeem yourself," Po added.
"Alright, consider this a truce; Fenghuang has to pay." The warthog nodded. "What's the plan?"
Emily gathered everyone around and explained, shortly, what she had in mind. They seemed to like what she thought.
Mark headed back to Leo first; his task was easier and quicker. He had to examine Monkey's body, not an entire area.
"How did it go?" Leo lowered down the weapon to look at him.
"That was easy," the man stated proudly.
Leo smile, taking the bullet from his hand, yet his smile disappeared and a disappointed look replaced it. "Sorry. This isn't worse than the one I have, but...it won't work."
"I tried..." Mark commented. "Let's hope Mantis and Simon will find a better one."
"I heard my name. What were you talking about?" Simon said, walking inside.
"I literally just called you."
"So? Did you find it?" Leo raised his head.
"There's nothing around the palace," Simon explained. "But I remember which direction the bullet took when we dodged it, and sent Mantis there to check it out."
Leo nodded. "Okay, thank you for trying." Then he searched for one specific tool among the others in the box Mantis left. He pulled out a hammer, placed the bullets they had gathered on the table, and smashed them into pieces.
"What are you doing now?" Mark questioned, watching his friend work.
"I don't know if Mantis will eventually find it," he said, gathering some specific elements that came out of the destroyed bullets with the pliers. "So I'm preparing a new bullet using what I have. It'll take much more time, but it's better than nothing."
"I heard that you fixed the training course before, then you fixed a weapon you had never seen, and now you're crafting new bullets out of broken ones," Simon said nonchalantly, "Are you some sort of mechanical prodigy or...?"
Leo laughed, covering the fact that he was blushing. Then his expression quickly shifted into a sad one; a painful memory had come forth. "Thanks to my family I have a good amount of knowledge." He picked up the broken shells and cleaned them, "Medicine, physics, mechanics, languages..."
"Do you know all of those?" Mark questioned, tilting his head. "I barely know my name..."
"Your family must have considered your education to be really important..." the crocodile pointed out, leaning against the closest wall.
"Probably more than me..." he whispered.
"What did you say?" Mark moved closer.
"No-Nothing!" Leo mumbled. "I was...judging how good the shells are! Even if Mantis won't find the bullet, everything's going good, isn't it?"
"Leo," Simon called him to draw his attention to him. "Who taught you those things?"
"I had, like, ten private tutors. One for each subject I needed to learn."
"What do you mean private? Are you saying that they were coming to your house?" Mark looked confused. "Didn't you go to school?"
"I went to school for a short period, but my father thought it wasn't what he was looking for..." he suddenly stopped. "Why are we even talking about this?" Leo commented shyly. "It doesn't matter now..."
Simon rubbed his chin, spotting something odd in what he said. "Usually every kid is forced to go school unless under special conditions. What are you hiding? Teachers who were coming to your house, just for you?"
Mark's eyes shined with excitement. "Are you some sort of celebrity?!"
Leo winced hearing him, then laughed. "I'm just an ordinary boy; I'm no different from you."
"Leo, stop lying. I saw your manners, your composure, how everything must be perfectly placed and in order..." While Simon listed down the things he saw, Leo started to sweat.
"Just...don't look at me differently once I tell you, okay?" He sighed, looking away.
"JUST TELL US!" Mark shouted.
"I come from a very rich family and..."
Mark instantly stopped him. "Do you have a mansion?!"
"Uh...yes...?" Leo walked back slightly, nodding.
"A POOL?!"
"Sort of..."
"BUTLERS WHO DO EVERYTHING YOU ASK?!"
"I usually prefer to do things on my own, even if my father forces me to..."
"What?! You're serious?! I would love to have someone who does everything for me!" Mark giggled.
"Thanks for respecting what I asked about not looking at me differently," Leo sighed again.
"What's the point?" Mark questioned, confused. "You can do whatever you want yet you care more about what the others think of you."
"You can't understand...you have something I'll never get..."
"That's kinda impossible since I have nothing..." Mark crossed his arms, waiting to hear what he could possibly have.
"The freedom. You are free."
That answer caught him off-guard. "Well...aren't you?"
"It's been twenty years since my father sealed me inside our mansion, creating a son who would be worthy of something important in the future," he explained, depressed. "I just want to go outside, meet people, make friends and to travel… I'd like so much to take my plane and just leave, but people look at me like I'm different, like I'm from another world."
"Do you hear him?" Mark whispered to Simon. "He has a plane, too!"
"Okay, I get it." Leo resumed his work on the weapon.
"Unfortunately, there isn't a perfect life," the crocodile admitted, "Good things will always bring bad ones. You have to live with them, otherwise you'll never be happy."
Leo didn't stop working, nor did he look at him to reply, but he smiled and understood.
"How long this will take?" Crane whispered to Tigress. They were hiding among the bushes outside Taotie's house again.
"Fenghuang could come at any moment, so be ready," Tigress repeated.
"Okay, I get that, but it's been so long," Po complained. "I bet she went somewhere to eat first." His stomach agreed, grumbling. "I should have done the same."
"That's stupid. She would never-" Crane was denying what Po stated, but Tigress hushed the duo. Fenghuang's flapping noise was heard, but the owl couldn't be seen. She lowered down in the bush even more, pushing her friends along.
"HEY TAOTIE!" the owl shouted, landing in front of the house. "I'm back! Hope you've prepared another weapon for me!"
Tigress, Crane and Po shared glances with each other. They were asking when they should attack. Fenghuang was walking inside, but right on the edge she stopped and looked around.
"Did she see us?" Po whispered.
"If you weren't shaking so much maybe we could have done it better," Crane muttered, trying to keep his voice as low as possible.
The owl kept walking inside while they followed her. Viper was ready from the inside to make Fenghuang fall, but she stepped on her. "Do you really think that I didn't notice you, little snake?"
Viper screamed in pain, trying to struggle free. The others, hearing her cry, instantly rushed to help. The owl raised the serpent with her fangs and threw her at them. Crane and Tigress ducked down while Po got hit by his friend.
Fenghuang was able to dodge and block every attack as if she wasn't even trying. She punched Crane in the face and kicked Tigress in the stomach, pushing them both away. "I'm sorry, I can't play with you right now. I have an important date I can't miss." The owl laughed, disappearing inside.
"Wake up you useless pig." She lifted Taotie up, shaking him violently. "You rested enough for today. Now you have to work!"
"Hey!" Emily showed herself, even though her friends prohibited her to fight. "Put him down!"
Fenghuang turned, surprised to see her, but happy at the same time. "Oh...that's very nice of you. You spared me the time to look for you. I thought you weren't so stupid as to come to me so easily."
The very same feeling that stopped her before showed up again; Emily froze. Fenghuang's presence was enough to stop her completely like there was nothing she could have done.
"EMILY!" Viper screamed, reaching for her. Shortly after the others shielded her as well.
"We won't let you touch her," Tigress growled.
"Now give back the chi you stole!" Po added.
"You mean..." Fenghuang surrounded herself with a green aura. "This one?"
Po nodded naively. "Yes, exactly! That one! Give it back."
"That's why she didn't show up before," Tigress commented. "She wanted to train."
"I really appreciate when you assume things on your own, you know. I don't need to explain." Fenghuang smiled, flying at them.
As soon as she used her chi aura, her movements became faster, her attacks stronger. Nobody was able to get her. They imitated her, showing off their training, yet everyone activated a golden aura while only Fenghuang had a green one.
Viper wrapped around Fenguhang's claws, forcing her to fly. Otherwise she would have fallen. Crane flew behind her, holding her wings. When Po and Tigress headed to her, trying to land the finishing blow, Fenghuang's aura grew bigger, setting her free. The panda crashed against a wall with a kick to the face. Then the owl punched Tigress in the face as well, stepping over her.
"Now...where was I?" She looked around, trying to find the fox, as if she didn't know exactly where they were.
Crane and Viper stood up again. The owl grabbed Viper, wrapped her like some sort of ball and threw her into Crane's face. As soon as the bird moved away, Fenghuang was ready to punch his body as hard as she could. Everyone's aura disappeared.
"I really can't believe how easy this fight was." Fenghuang cleaned her wings, approaching the prize she earned. "You really don't understand what kind of power lies within you, but don't worry. I do." Ready to steal her chi, the fox was lifted as they headed to Taotie.
Emily tried to struggle free, but how could she? She didn't know anything about fighting.
"Let her go!" Viper slowly stood up again, weak yet unable to stay still.
"Get out of my way." She was kicked aside.
"Emily..." Viper breathed out, slithering towards the owl.
"You're pathetic, stop doing that. What can you do?" Fenghuang kicked her again. "I defeated everyone at the same time. There's nothing you can do."
The serpent didn't want to give up! "I told her that everything..." she panted, "-was going to be fixed, that we would save him."
"Shut up, I don't care." She kicked her harder, hoping to knock her out definitely.
Those words and what happened struck Emily hard. Deep, deep down within, something moved and replied to her cry for help. Her necklace glowed even brighter than it usually did. "What the...?" The owl walked backwards, surprised. The fox who was in her wing just a second ago had disappeared.
"I can't take it anymore! You're so cruel and cold. You hurt my friends, I'll never forgive you." Emily voice echoed through the house; the owl couldn't identify precisely where she was.
"And what are you gonna do about it?" Fenghuang grinned, challenging her.
The fox appeared right in front of her like she was there all along. At first, Fenghuang seemed surprised, but soon enough she went to punch her and her wing went through Emily's body. "WHAT?!" She moved her wing in and out of the fox that was just an illusion.
The real fox appeared behind her, kicking her head. The villain's head slammed on the floor.
"How dare you?! Pulling off such dirty tricks." She stood up, ready to avenge herself, but just like before her punch missed and the illusion disappeared.
Six of Emily's clones surrounded the owl; she wasn't able to understand which one was real or not. She unleashed her chi trying to eliminate them all at once.
Po, Crane and Tigress stood up again and saw, amused, what Emily was doing. They had never seen such a particular and unique way to use chi, if that was chi. Regaining their bearings, they ran towards the owl once more. Fenghuang was too confused to focus on everyone; they were finally able to put her down.
"Seems like you've lost." Tigress grinned.
"Don't be so sure about that," the owl threatened.
Tigress' eyes shot open, knowing that she was up to something. The feline grabbed her friends and moved away as Fenghuang created some sort of explosive aura that didn't destroy anything around itself, but wounded every warrior with an active chi around it. The damages weren't serious thanks to Tigress, but they were all wounded and weakened from the fight.
"Isn't it amazing?" the owl laughed. "I can even heal myself!" She stood up like nothing ever happened to her.
Emily was still hiding somewhere, but her clones disappeared. Fenghuang quickly turned her head in the opposite direction, glaring towards the nothingness, then grabbed something who wasn't visible and tried to crush it. "So that's what you can do," the owl commented, enjoying her screams. "Even if you can turn invisible, I was still able to hear your footsteps."
The others tried once again to help her. Fenghuang threw Emily against them. "It's been fun, I really enjoyed it, but it's time to end this." She glowered at them, smiling. "I won the game."
The fox panted heavily. Her necklace stopped shining; everything seemed lost. "We knew all along we couldn't stop you..."
Something behind the owl moved, but she didn't notice.
"I technically won from the beginning." Emily raised her paw.
Fenghuang looked at her, confused. The truth reached her brain too late. She turned around just to see Taotie shooting at her with another gun. "THAT'S FOR MY HOUSE!" the warthog screamed right before she passed out.
"It's over…" Emily sighed, lying on the ground as if it were a bed.
The others slowly stood up again, except for Viper. "Shouldn't Fulvio's chi be on the ground or something?" Po questioned, ready to bring back his friend.
"This is the first prototype of my weapon." The warthog showed it proudly. "Unfortunately this only works as a stun gun. Now get that stupid bird and leave this place!"
Po started to tie her up. "We'll bring her back to the palace before she wakes up."
"I just hope Leo's done…" Tigress added, worried. "Crane, fetch Viper and fly back to the palace. Bring Emily with you. We'll catch up later."